Good evening everyone, now I did promise that I would do a sooner update, due to the delays of my last, so here is chapter 29 a couple of days ahead of schedule :) So please enjoy…

Music of inspiration – Haunted ~ Taylor Swift…

'Have you gotten through yet?'

'Not yet, please Hellboy this could take some time.'

Following Abe's worrying feelings in the Seattle bureau where they had been sent to deal with a brutish entity, Johann Krauss had done all in his power to contact Liz and the BPRD. Though the efforts had proven to be so far, unsuccessful…

'Shouldn't we depart?' a female agent suggested, her tall, thin figure and sharp features giving her a harsh appearance of a woman with a stiff upper lip. 'This entity could cause more destruction, costing lives and were just sitting around doing nothing.'

'Listen lady, I don't care if it's Godzilla out there, I ain't leavin' until I know my girlfriend is safe, got it?'

'Don't speak to me like-'

'Enough!' Johann remarked coming between them, 'Agent Brookes, I understand your concerns, even your frustrations at ze situation at hand. But Hellboy and Abraham are our guests and have no requirement to stay here. Though having vorked vith zem personally, I know zat zey are ze best team for ze job. So please show zem respect. Understood?'

'…Yes, sir,' Agent Brookes nodded finally, dismissing the subject just as contact was made with the BPRD…

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

As Belle was taken inside the Lucivia's family home, she was laid carefully on the sofa, Liz seeing a large white dog come and lie before his mistress protectively, as if to guard her. Though despite the fire being put our, a lot remained unanswered, something that Glenna and Harold were naturally livid over.

'Please, Mr and Mrs Lucivia, you should sit down,' Agent Steele remarked, trying to calm the anxious parents.

'Where is Manning?' Harold asked through gritted teeth, 'my daughter is supposed to be safe and then this happens! Not to mention the incident last night, and damn it I will not stand for it!' he said raising his stone as he almost squared up to the Agent. If there was one thing that Harold had found the most difficult over the past two months was coming home from his business meetings and trips to find his daughter was no longer there. She had been taken away from the place she had grown up in…and he hated himself for the fact they could do little to protect her. So here they were, faced with their only hope for Belle…yet to him they could never understand just how much pressure that put on the Agents before them. They had his daughter's life in their hands…the most precious thing in him and his wife's life.

'Sir please, Agent Manning is on his way,' Agent Steele assured him, 'though for now may we arrange for our medical staff to see to your daughter?'

'…Of course,' Harold finally nodded submissively, resigning to the seat beside his wife, Harold grasping her hand tightly, a grip that Glenna returned as Liz looked on from a distance. So this is what it's like… she thought to herself with a wistful expression, this is what it's like to have family so loving towards you…to have parents so caring…so worried for you… looking to Belle who lay unconscious with worried eyes, she glanced to Chance who was watching her with his steady blue eyes, seeming to trust her as he lay his head down and gazed up for some sign of his owners awakening. Though it wasn't long before the pyrokinetic's presence was noticed…

'You…what you did…'

'I'm sorry…it couldn't be helped…it was the only way to stop whatever that woman had done. But I promise I'd never hurt Belle I-'

'Well I don't know what's going on…but…' Glenna remarked with a soft tone, 'if Belle trusts you…I suppose we shall have to trust you to…though tell me, what is your name?'

'She is Elizabeth Sherman, and was one of our finest agents before her retirement last year, along with her two fellow team-members,' Agent Steele remarked calmly.

'Call me Liz,' she made sure to add, the tension finally breaking as a voice sounded quietly from the sofa.

'Mm…Chance?' Belle uttered softly, receiving a lick in return as the Samoyed barked, looking from Belle to the others and back.

'Oh Belle, thank god you're awake,' Harold said, crossing the room to his daughter,

'Sorry if I worried you…' she remarked, wincing slightly as he went to embrace her, 'I must have been held tighter than I thought,' she said quickly, offering a weak smile as she sat up. 'Is everyone else okay?'

'All fine,' Liz remarked sitting on the arm of the sofa, Belle looking relieved by this news as she sat back. 'Though we didn't catch the woman who did that to you…' she added with some distaste…

'Do we know who she was?' Belle asked, the expressions of those in the room denoting that they were unsure of the woman's identity before anyone spoke.

'I'm afraid not Miss. Lucivia, though all will be done to identify her,' Agent Steele reassured her, Belle smiling softly, though Harold was still pessimistic.

'Well in light of this happening, I now worry about your coming home for the holiday…' Harold remarked wistfully, placing his hands on her shoulders.

'No…' she began, looking at him with a broken expression that he couldn't bring himself to fully look at. 'You can't…Daddy please, I'm fine,'

'Belle, I don't want to do this-'

'Then don't, Mother, please, can't you say something?' Belle appealed, Glenna being lost for words, wanting her daughter home, but the fear of her safety pulled hard on her heartstrings.

'Darling, we would love to have you home…and well…though we were going to keep it a surprise for you…we have spoken with a few relatives, and we are having them as guests here for the week through Christmas to New Year,' she remarked, Belle seeing this as a possibility for her to be more safe in any case.

'Then surely, wouldn't I be safer amongst more people?' she returned, the Agents in the room agreeing.

'Mr and Mrs Lucivia, with the things we have put in place, I can assure you Belle would be perfectly safe here for no less than a few days,' Agent Steele remarked, Liz looking on, as the conversation continued, realising just how much Belle missed her family…

'Belle I'm not sure that-'

'Dad, please…I just want this to be settled and have a normal afternoon with you both for once,' Belle exclaimed. 'It's Christmas soon, I just want to forget about all of this for a few days…what use is it trying to put blame on the people who are working around the clock to help us? I just want you to appreciate that they're doing all they can and I couldn't be more grateful, but you have to understand, the pressure you are putting on people who have become my friends is not fair.' Though with nothing more left to say, Harold suddenly took his daughter into his arms,

'I'm sorry Belle,' he whispered, 'but when your life is at risk you have to understand how much it tears me apart to think I can't take your place…because believe me…if I could…I would do it every time,' he remarked, Belle feeling tears prickling slightly in her eyes, Liz leaving the room, feeling an unbearable pain…a heartache that for years she had denied herself. Though with little time to compose herself, her phone rang, Hellboy's voice sounding in concern as he spoke.

'Liz, what happened? Manning said something went on with Belle, I knew Abe was right when he said somethin' was up, are ya okay?'

'I'm fine Red,' she replied, though her voice gave her away in an instant.

'Liz?'

'Honestly HB…I just…just got reminded of my parent's that's all…I just couldn't handle it…damn hormones,' she remarked humorously, 'but we're okay, though I think we've met someone that's linked to who's after Belle.'

'Crap, if I'd had any idea we'd have told the FBI where to stuff their job, are you sure you're not hurt…what about the kids?'

'I'm fine really, I think Belle's probably more shaken than she's letting on, though it's thanks to her that I didn't get crushed, but she did…by an enchanted tree...I know how it sounds Red, but it was dark magic, I know it.'

'Oh I swear to god the minute I get hold of the guy that dared to come anywhere near you, he is dead,' Hellboy seethed bitterly, his fist clenching as he spoke to her, shock coming into his expression as Liz told him it wasn't a man that had done it, but a women, Abe listening carefully in the background and following the conversation through his telepathy. It was unbearable…Belle had gotten hurt…because they weren't there? He couldn't help but feel a harsh guilt at that, though with the sound of a shriek, his attention was immediately drawn to the nearby window where a large bellow came from the creature they had been sent to find.

'Red…we could probably use your input here…' Abe muttered with a slightly weak voice,

'Babe, I gotta go, tell Tinkerbelle to take care of herself yeah?'

'HB please be careful…'

'You know me babe,' Hellboy grinned, Liz muttering how that worried her when Hellboy cut the call short, turning to see the creature and backing up slightly. 'Crap…'

The creature itself looked like a bull, though it hard a sharp curved horn in the centre above its brow, its eyes glowing red as it let out a harsh roar that shattered the glass of the windows in the rooms.

'What the hell is that thing?'

'If it's what I believe an ancient mythical creature…Karakadon,' Abe responded, trying to remember all the details he had read on the beast before them, the Agents all silent as they watched the bull for a sign of movement.

'Great, so we could have had Godzilla, or King Kong, but no I get an oversized bull…' Hellboy grumbled, throwing himself out of the window and landing into the roof of a parked car.

As they all exited the building however, the team of Agent's shot frantically to no avail, the bull only angering further as it launched itself towards Agent Brookes, Abe coming between them. Though as it charged straight into the building above, before shaking itself off, the pair were threatened to be encased in concrete when Hellboy pushed them both aside.

'So how the hell do I destroy to damn thing?'

'It doesn't say Red! The book didn't give any more information that I remember!' Abe called back,

'Story of my life…well we're screwed if red sets it off, cause all the damn things gonna see is red!' Hellboy called back, taking out the Samaritan and shooting the oversized bull. Yet as the creature howled in pain, it became clear to Abe that one of the ingredients in Hellboy's bullets was a danger to the creature itself as it careened violently, only to take off, wounded, towards the city.

'We must stop it at all costs!' Abe called out,

'Hellboy, Abe, vhat it ve took ze helicopter and vent above it?' Johann yelled in returned, Hellboy and Abe deciding quickly on a plan.

'Yeah, an overhead shot will probably get it down sooner, get the helicopter,'

'I'll go with the ground teams, we'll split and take each entrance and I'll try to get hold of Liz or Belle…I'll let you know if I find anything out.'

'Sure Abe, just remember, plain English,' he emphasised, Abe smiling weakly as they split off.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

With few things left to discuss at the Lucivia home, it was agreed that Belle would return to them two days prior to Christmas Eve, following a winter ball at her high school. Though with Manning's hasty arrival, it was clear he was faced with a heated confrontation from Belle's father, giving the clairvoyant and pyrokinetic a chance to talk following a check-up with the FBI medics.

'So has there been any reports from the FBI?' Belle queried, Liz shaking her head.

'They're clueless and so are your parents. No one seems to know who that girl was. Did you not pick anything up?'

'No…the only thing I remember noticing was her aura. It was tainted…'

'A dark aura?' Liz repeated, watching as Belle's brow furrowed a little.

'Yes…but this felt different…like there was something beneath. I believe it is someone else or an event in her life that has caused her aura to darken…'

'Well she kept referring to her "master." Wouldn't you think that could link?'

'Yes but-' Belle started when Liz's phone rang again, the pyrokinetic presuming it was Hellboy as she answered her cell.

'Red?'

'Actually it's Blue,' Abe responded, 'I need to know are you back home?'

'No why? What's happening? Where's HB?'

'Ah well, currently he's flying fifty feet in the air following a large entity that is making its way toward the city…' Abe answered, Liz's panic being something Abe hadn't predicted as he found himself trying to speak over her continuous questions. 'Liz, please, the big monkey can take care of himself, you know that…but to help I need to know any information on this creature that could help us stop it…'

'Abe there's no way we can get home quickly enough. What is it you need information on? Can't you just shoot it?'

'We need to know it's weakness Liz, it's not that simple…'

'Oh god Abe…' Liz returned in concern, Belle listening in and thinking swiftly, trying to come up with an answer when her eyes brightened.

'I might be able to help,' Belle offered, Liz handing her the phone as the clairvoyant gestured Liz follow her down the large hallway of her home. Looking around her as Belle walked swiftly into her Father's study on that floor, Liz became aware of just what kind of lifestyle Belle lived in, the rich décor and modern design giving the impression of a high class representation of the family. Yet Belle almost didn't completely reflect that…her down to earth nature being more alike her than that of the daughter of an apparently wealthy family. Though as she seemed to miss the details of her family's home, Belle sat down at her Father's desk, lifting the lid of his laptop as she typed with considerable speed as she asked Abe an array of questions.

'What do you need me to find?'

'I need to know about a creature known as a Karakadon,' he remarked,

'Nothing simple then,' Belle responded using Harold's laptop to search the mythical entity, though she found her still weakened frame slacking slightly as she had to lean back into the softness of her Father's chair.

'Are you alright?' Liz asked, Belle nodding weakly, though Abe picked up on what Liz has questioned.

'Belle?'

'It's nothing…but I can't find anything on this thing…' Belle remarked in concern, flicking through various webpages as she searched frantically.

'Well it's definitely real,' Abe returned when the bull suddenly stopped in the road and kicked back, the Agent's screaming as they were all forced to dive out of it, the cell phone Abe held flying out of his hand as Belle tried to get a connection. 'Abe? Abe?'

'We're fine…' Abe breathed heavily as he grabbed the cell and stood back, his hand on his gun.

'Abe, give me something solid here, and don't do that to me please…what does it look like?' Belle asked…running a hand through her blonde hair hopelessly as she scanned the internet for anything that could possibly help them.

'A bull, one horn, about the size of a multi-story building…' he remarked, nerve slipping into his voice when Belle was struck with an idea as she finally found an old drawing of the beast.

'The horn…'

'What?'

'The horn? Wouldn't it be sensitive to a sharp blow? Like hitting a bone?'

'It's weakness…' Abe murmured, 'Belle you have no idea how grateful I am to have your help…'

'Please just take care and stop that creature before it does something dangerous,' Belle encouraged with worry, Abe pausing, seemingly unable to know what to say when he finally managed to utter,

'I'm glad…so glad you're okay…'

Though with the connection cut, Belle had little chance to say anything to his remark, putting the phone down and resting her head in her arms, wishing things could be simpler. Yet as Liz asked what was happening, Glenna appeared in the doorway…having looked for them both and walking to Liz as she waited for a moment before thanking her, leaving Liz completely surprised…

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

As the helicopter flew high over the rampaging creature, it became apparent they were a target for the bull. 'Come on Brother Blue…give me something to work with…this things eating up all my damn bullets…'

'The horn Red, aim for the horn,' Abe managed to call over the locator, Hellboy looking to Johann and the other Agent that was with them.

'Well you heard the man,' Hellboy remarked, taking aim as the other two Agents got down ready to shoot the creature. Though it was only as it reared up, that Johann made the final shot, something in Hellboy's bullets reacting with it as the bull caught up in violet flames, it's howling screech ringing in the ears of the Agents below when it took out the back wing of the helicopter, sending them to a shaky landing to the ground as the bull vanished. With the only trace of it being the destruction that was left, Hellboy and the others managed to clamber out of the helicopter, the other Agents and Abe approached when Hellboy remarked dryly, 'well that's what ya get for interrupting me when I'm on the phone.'

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Meanwhile, in a secluded and dark location, there was two people in a large stone chamber, a man being sat in a large throne type seat whilst a woman approached him with a wide smirk across her features.

'You return…and with good news?'

'Yes, my master,' she replied in a silken voice, her eyes gazing upon the man before her with calmness, his dark eyes studying the girl with a sinister smile as he moved slightly to sit up, his body being clad in black robes.

'So she was alone as planned?'

'Not quite, a woman was with her…the one that you spoke of. But her powers are limited. Mere parlour tricks compared to the power of my dark magic,' she returned, 'though I made sure to remind them not to mess with the workings that you have placed in their paths.'

'Yes…the Karakadon I sent was destroyed. The flame has gone out,' the man returned, the girl glancing over to a shelf of rock where a line of candles were placed, some unlit, some having lost the light from the wicker.

'Master…they are proving strong…though the girl you seek is weak,' the girl remarked with a sneer on her face, the eyes of her master piercing into her when he smiled wryly.

'You have done well my dearest Ruxandra…though I believe in order for us to gain what we require it would be easier to have them come to us…'

'But master I could have her here at your request…I could have done away with her on this day if you had permitted it sire…'

'No!' he snarled, turning to her with fierceness in his expression as Ruxandra stood down with fear touching her features. Though the man before her soon recomposed himself, his voice becoming dangerously smooth as he cupped the side of the girls face in his hand… 'I require the girl here…for her powers may be of good use to us, if harboured correctly. Though it is not only the girl I wish to bring here, but her…comrades…they have evaded me once before and shall not again. But for now…let us watch them…and see just how capable they are against my forces. You have done well in your warning Ruxandra…and I promise you…the gift of eternal riches shall be yours. Everything you have dreamed of…it shall be yours…' he said. Though as another figure entering the room, it's clockwork pieces moving in a rustic fashion as it knelt before his superior, the man then rose to full height, meeting the darkened eyes of the one before him.

'Kroenen…my ever loyal associate. I am glad that you have arrived…after all, in resurrecting your body; it was only then that I too was able to regain a mortal body…so that I can set upon my final mission and ultimately, my revenge. To bring the end of Anung Un Rama…the one that they call Hellboy…' he remarked, Kroenen and Ruxandra looking up into the eyes of the man they loyally served…Gregory Rasputin.

Okay, probably my biggest revealing moment of this fanfic so far...yet anyway ;) So yes. Rasputin is behind all of these strange goings on and he has a new henchman in the form of the girl Ruxandra...but how does she come into play and what ultimately does Belle have to do with Rasputins revenge on Hellboy? So much yet to happen, it really is quite exciting.

...and yes I know Christmas has literally been dragging with this fanfic. But I promise, the next chapter will feature the wonderfully festive time of the season, with a few surprises and a couple of new additions to the story...so lots going on! On another note, I hope your all getting excited about Christmas (though for some of my readers Thanksgiving is first, so Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers for the 25th I believe it is ^.^) and then Christmas is on it's way, time for the house to be transformed into a magical wonderland.

Though what is also just as magical is those pretty reviews that I'm sure you lovely readers know by now keeps me smiling. Thankyou to everyone who reviews regularly! No doubt will mention names again soon enough. But for now, it is almost 1am here, so I think I'm going to close by simply saying I will be updating soon!

Thankyou and Goodnight!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x