^.^ Since mimifoxlove is my loyal reviewer and new buddy, I will dedicate this chapter to her. I was afraid she was going to explode in anticipation. O.O
Leon rubbed his wrists as he made his way down yet another endless hallway. The black marks were still tingling and it was beginning to annoy him. He was only on the fourth floor, but he supposed he could track to the Eastern wing then take a staircase up and be right on her. The seven guards didn't really bother him that much. He figured his unavoidable encounter with them would go one of two ways:
One, he arrives to Ashley's room and the guards step aside like they have been. He scoops Ashley up and they are on their merry way.
Or two, Saddler decides Ashley is more important than him, and sends out a kill order. Or a simple detain order. Either way, it would end in bullets flying.
Leon sighed as he thought about how many bullets he had left. That damned merchant would sell him everything under the sun except for ammunition. Leon came to the end of the hall, marked by a large picture of Saddler. Leon made a face at it and turned to the staircase. The distinct echo of chanting could be heard reverberating down the stairwell. Leon sucked in a deep breath before quickly scaling the stairs.
He slowed as he neared the top. He could hear Ashley banging on the door, yelling to be let out. Hearing her voice sent a flurry of relief through Leon. So she was alive. Grateful, he pulled out his gun, readied himself, and walked into view. Red Robe was the first to see him. The gold helmet he wore glinted in the light as he turned and ran down the hall with the key.
"Damnit!" Leon fired at the retreating form. Red Robe fell as the bullet buried itself in the back of his leg.
Something red caught Leon's eye and he ducked behind the stairwell wall as a flaming arrow zipped by.
"Okay. Kill order then." Leon said.
He quickly turned the corner and fired a quick two shots. One of the guards went down. The black marks around his wrists tingled more intenesly as the guard died. Ignoring the sensation, Leon ducked behind the wall as more arrows were released. Using the same technique, he fired two more shots, this time aiming for two guards. A direct hit on each and they fell to the ground. The tingling grew to an hot feeling. Leon heard footsteps and he looked around the wall. The remaing three guards were making a run for it. Red Robe was trying to crawl away, leaving a red smear on the floor.
Leon approached him, gun trained on his back. Red Robe groaned in pain as he struggled to move. Leon noticed the large amount of blood. 'I must have hit an artery.' he reasoned. Leon fired two shots into Red Robes back. The man went limp and Leon flipped him over. Ignoring the burning around his wrists, he plucked the key off Red Robe and walked back to Ashley's room.
"Ashley?" He called, forcing the key into the lock.
"Leon? Is that you?" Came her muffled voice.
"Yeah. It's me."
He turned the lock and pushed open the door. Ashley threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Leon, I knew you'd find me!" She said, her eyes shiny with grateful unshed tears.
"Come on, let's go." He pulled her arm, guiding her out into the hall.
He felt her delicate fingers trace his lower arm. "Leon, what happened to you?"
"What?" He looked down. The black marks were spreading up his arms. They hadn't made it very far, but he could tell.
"What in the hell?" He pulled his arm away form her.
Concern crossed her face. "Leon, is everything okay? Is it the Plagas?"
"I don't know." He told her honestly. "I have no clue what's going on."
CONTROL ROOM...
Saddler watched through the monitors. Leon had taken down his men fairly quickly. He smiled, it was unsurprising. Leon was the best America had to offer, after all. He looked with interest at the marks making their way up his arms.
So, the Plagas was indeed doing it's job. It looked as if it would still take some time, though.
"The way to a lovers body is through their heart." Saddler said to himself, chuckling.
FOURTH FLOOR...
Leon had taken Ashley back down to the fourth floor. He still didn't know how to get out of the castle, but it wasn't going to happen if they weren't on ground level. That he knew. He couldn't very well have Ashley jump out of a window of scale a wall. She followed behind him nervously, eying his arms. He didn't have to look at her to know she was.
Personally, he didn't blame her. The marks were weirding him out. They came from no where, and burned like hell. If he were in her shoes, he'd be wondering the same thing.
What the hell was happening?
