Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil...and I've just lost two seconds of my life saying it.
Authoress' Note: (Please READ) Thank you dear readers for reading this fic and your lovely reviews! As I have mentioned in the summary, this was inspired by 1wingangel's fic: Resident Evil 4: Real Life Edition! Truly an amazing fic and you should read it before reading mine. Savin' Me is done by Nickleback and Hero is done by Chad Kroeger. Man, I love these songs! They fit, right? I apologize for leaving out the fanboys of Leon, sorry!
1wingangel and Nicole this fic is for you!
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Resident Evil 4: A Fangirl's Dream Come True!
Chapter Five: El Gigante!
"Oh my god..."
"Aye yai yai!"
"Merchant... what happened to her?"
"Ah... the lass was gettin' carried off by the villagers and I helped her. But she was roughed up pretty badly by one of 'em."
I opened my eye sleepily and was being stared at by Leon and Luis. They both had shocked expressions and worry in their eyes. Ah... shit, they just saw my face. I looked away and heard the agent curse himself. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He thought that this was his fault and in reality that wasn't the case. It was my fault not his.
"Don't you dare say it was your fault." I growled as I looked back at them. I guess I kinda looked like some ex-convict or something because they froze when I growled at them. And I probably did, between my scars, bloody face, the anger in my eye and my dangerous growl.
"But-" Leon protested but I cut him short with a glare.
"Damnit, Leon, it's my fault!" I snapped as I stood and flinched. My muscles were sore and stiff from my akward sleeping position. "I deserve to have these on my face." I added softly, lightly tracing one of the cuts that ran down from underneath my left eye. The cuts hadn't scabbed over yet and were still bleeding... and they still itch.
The agent's gaze harden, something that I didn't even know Leon could do. "No one deserves to be that cut up even if they say they deserved it."
I snorted at his statement. A gentleman as always, Leon. "Yeah? Well, I do."
Leon crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a semi-glare. Luis and the merchant looked at each other then began to back way from us both. "Why would you deserve it?" the agent questioned, eerily calm.
That scared me. The way his blue eyes looked somewhat cold and his tone was calm, he didn't seem like himself. He looked like... A mental image of Wesker overlapped Leon like a veil. I shuddered inwardly at the image. Wesker was always cold and calm...that's just the way he was and I liked him because of that. But Leon... he was always a hero and gentleman, that's just the way he is. Acting like Wesker just didn't fit him... it was frightening. Leon Scott Kennedy, the always warm and gentle type, now a cool and calm man... like my favorite RE villian.
I looked away from in hopes of getting rid of the odd image and sighed. I could literally feel Leon glaring at me. Great. That Wesker image was still there in my head. "It was my fault that you and Luis were caught in the blast." I muttered, keeping my gaze away from the agent. I wasn't sure if the cold gaze was still there but I'm not risking it. Seeing Leon be like Wesker was creepy.
"Were you the one that pulled the pin?"
"It was my trap, Leon. They used it against you."
"Were you the one that triggered it?"
"It was my trap, my responsibility."
"Were you the one that triggered it?"
Why does he keeping asking me the same damn question?! Is he deaf?! Hello?! Earth to Leon! My trap! It was mine! I didn't trigger it when I had the chance. The Ganados used it in hopes of blowing you and Luis to shit!!
"Were you the one that triggered it?"
Argh! Damn it Leon! Quit asking me the same fucking question!! I snapped my head in his direction and glared at him. Sure enough, the Wesker look was still there. He's even in the same stance as the guy! All we need is an all black special operations outfit, slick his hair back, give him an earpiece, and a pair of those perpetual mirror shades. And viola! We got ourselves a neo Wesker!
I clenched my fists and resisted the urge to grab him by the neck and throttle him. "No! No, I didn't damnit! But-" I yelled angrily then trailed when I looked at his face. The Wesker look was gone, replaced by a boyish grin that Leon mostly wore. The cold gaze softened and his tone changed.
"What's so damn funny? My trap that the Ganados used against you and Luis nearly blown you both to hell!" I griped, trying to figure out why he was grinning.
Leon continue to grin at me, "Because it wasn't your fault."
I stared at him with a confused expession, though hard to see with all the dried blood on my face and the fact my right eye was still closed. "What?"
"It wasn't your fault."
"And why not? My trap just nearly blew you to bits!"
"True... but you weren't the one that tried to blow me up."
"It is! I had a chance to trigger it before but couldn't take it!"
"And why is that?" he asked with a grin.
I was about to give him a sharp retort when I remembered what happened. The reason why I couldn't trigger the last of my trap. The villagers knew where I was... and I dropped the string in order to keep the wardrobe doors closed... I let my hand drop as realization came to me. Leon was saying that it may have been my trap but it was the Ganados who triggered it to kill him... I didn't. Holy shit... he got me.
"I was protecting myself..." I muttered sourly, feeling like an idiot for yelling at Leon. And I was once again glad for the dried blood covering my face.
"Right." He held up a First Aid Spray, "Now, can I heal those for you before they turn into scars?"
I sighed, "Yeah. But first I need to wash off the dried blood."
"Then you're in luck." Luis suddenly said as we both whirled around and saw him standing there, leaning against the twisted rail. How the wooden rail managed to survive a close range blast is beyond me but then so is everything else out here. I mean, come on, I'm in a game that happens to be real life! Now exactly how times do gamers go through their favorite games like this? Right. None... at least as far as I can tell.
"Really? How's that?"
"It's raining. You can just go outside and stand there, letting the rain wash it off for you."
True enough, the steady rhythm of rain tapped the roof of the cabin. I looked at Leon, who looked back at me and shrugged. Whatever works. I nodded and we all went downstairs, the merchant had already left. I walked out of the cabin and was instantly drenched in the rain. I smiled a bit. It felt good, like a massage. A ton of tiny hands massaging me wherever it touched. I tilted my face up and allowed the rain to massage it as well as wash it. I didn't know how sore my face was until the rain began to soothe it. I felt the dried blood crack and slide off, mixing with the water. I gently rubbed at my right eye, which was stiff from all the blood collected there, and worked the rain into it as well. The dead weight of the blood on my eye disappeared and I finally opened it , seeing the world once again in full view.
The rain felt so good that I just had to have a little fun in it for a bit longer. I laughed softly and twirled in the rain, my arms outstreched. Oh, it feels so good to let my fears go and enjoy life a little more.
"Do you believe in heaven above? Do you believe in love? Don't tell a lie, don't be false or untrue, it all comes back to you." I sang softly, "Open fire on my burning heart I've never been lucky in love. My defenses are down, a kiss or a frown, I can't survive on my own."
(A/N: We're now switching over to look at the two cuties while I'm still twirling in the rain, okay? It's just for the fic and felt like doing it. Song: Send Me An Angel by some group I can't remember... I think it was the Pet Shop Boys or something.)
Luis smiled from the doorway as I twirled about in the rain while Leon merely watched me like I was nuts. The spainard grinned and elbowed Leon a bit, causing the agent to look at him.
"You realize something, Leon?"
"What?"
"She's very fond of you."
"Of course, I'm the one protecting her."
"You're talking about a "rescuee-appreciating-rescuer" kind of fondness. I'm not talking about that."
Leon's eyes widen at Luis' words and looked at him with surprise.
"What?"
The spainard grinned toothily, "I see that you understand what I'm saying now. But it's true. She's fond of you."
The agent narrowed his eyes a little, "And you would know how?"
Luis went back to watching me with a grin. "You took the full brunt of the explosion and were out another hour than I was. I heard her say you were her favorite while I was half out of it. And that you were cute."
"You just imagined her saying it while you were half out it as she was healing us both." Agent Kennedy muttered, turning his attention to my twirling form.
"Empty dreams can only disappoint in the room behind your smile. But don't give up, don't give up, you can be lucky in love. It gets in your eyes, it making you cry... Don't know what to do, don't know what to do. You're looking for love, calling heaven above..." I sang out, holding my arms out to the raining sky, "Send me an angel, send me an angel... Right now, right now... Send me an angel, send me an angel... Right now, right now..."
Luis grinned again. "That's not what the merchant said...or did."
"The merchant is just- wait..."did?" Did what?"
"I ain't saying nothing."
"What did he do, Luis?" Leon growled.
The spainard shrugged his shoulders and nearly laughed out loud at his thought. The agent wasn't going to let this go 'til he got his answer and gave his comrade a warning glare. Luis held up his hands in defense while still wearing the sneaky little grin.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"You either tell me or I'll take your Red 9, shove it down your throat and pull the trigger."
"Okay, okay!" He motioned Leon to come closer. When the agent did, the spainard whispered what the merchant did into his ear. Leon pulled away in a flash and was pissed.
"He what!?"
"It was just a prank."
"I don't care! That's just wrong!"
"Rally seemed to enjoy it. I told you she's fond of you."
"Shut up and let's bring her in so we can heal her face."
"Are you blushing Leon?"
"No! Just pissed!"
"So says the red faced agent."
Leon ignored him and called out to me. "Rally! Come on, I need to heal your face...!"
"...so I can give it a big kiss.." Luis whispered loudly. The agent glared at him and elbowed him in the stomach as discreetly as possible. (Which was kinda useless when I'm a bit far away to actually see it.) I bounded up to them and watched as Luis held his stomach and looked a little sick.
(A/N: I'm just going to go for the want to get closer but can't deal. There won't be any romance between us no matter how much you gals, or I, want to otherwise. It's just the way it is... (cries))
"What's wrong with him?" I asked as wiped the rain water off my face. Leon glanced at Luis for a bit. Did he just give him an evil glare?
"A stomach ache." the agent muttered as he held up the little spray bottle. I believed him and faced Leon so he could spray my face. I took a deep breath and held it as my hero gently sprayed medicine on me. The wounds on my face began to bubble and fiz as the medical liquid cleansed the cuts. It was cold but then it began sting. Oh, how it stung! I whimpered a bit and clenched my hands but stopped when I felt Leon circle his hand on mine and gave a reasssuring squeeze. I squeezed his hand back as the pain continued for another ten seconds. After that was done, I wiped the leftover medicine off my face and smiled up at the two.
They smiled back at me. The cuts were healed and left no scars. Now, back to business. Luis looked out into the darkness toward the village farm as Leon reloaded his weapons. I placed more grenades around my waist and counted them. Damn! I only have about fifteen left. Five of each kind.
"So, what do we do now?" Luis asked as he continued to stare out at the night. The agent blew out his breath and frowned a little.
"The bridge I crossed to get here is out, so I guess we have no choice but to keep moving." he sighed, placing the TMP into his attache case. I sighed. Ah, that's right. From the get go of the game, the bridge was taken out, so Leon couldn't go back to get help. This sucks. We have to go through one of the two log gates in order to leave the village.
Luis looked a little worried and avoided looking at us both directly as he began to leave. "I forgot something." he said as he headed for the open doorway, "You guys go on ahead."
Leon looked at him a little sorrowful. I guess he wanted Luis to join up in order to protect me better and didn't want him to get killed because of us.
"Luis." the agent murmured as the spainard left the cabin. I watched him go and realized that this will be the second to last time I'll see him alive. I had to do something to keep him from dying. But how can I do that?
"Will I be able to? That's the million dollar question..." I muttered as Luis disappeared into the raining darkness. Man, why does Capcom have to make things so damn difficult? Should I stick to the rules of the game? Or should I just break them and help Leon that much more better? I sighed inwardly. Something tells me that doing so may actually make things more difficult than easy. This sucks eggs big time.
Leon sighed. "Come on, Rally. Let's see where we have to go to get the hell out of here." He headed for the doorway and I silently followed. To get the hell away from here we gonna have to go through the nine levels of hell and then some. Sorry, Leon, the village is the least of our problems.
We trekked out of the cabin into the rain, we circled around back and headed for the little shack that was behind the cabin. I recognized it as the place where I was rescued by the merchant and got my face slashed. Ohh, look the perv had set up shop there. If Leon wasn't here and wasn't in need of the guy's help, I'll break the merchant's arms and fire every weapon he had on him at him. Jerk. We headed there and somewhat greeted the merchant. The agent bought a few much needed items while I glared at the cloaked figure for pulling that damn prank on me. And my mind won't stop showing me that picture!
"Come back any time." the merchant laughed and gave me a cheeky grin. I could tell that because his gaze was focused on me and the fact that his eyes were scrunched up to make room for his grin. I felt my face grow hot and we both glared at him. Wait...both?! Why is Leon glaring at him? And blushing?
Agent Kennedy narrowed his eyes at him and walked away. "Rally, wait here for a bit. I'm gonna go check those log gates, okay?"
"Okay, Leon. Just don't touch anything that may trigger something."
He walked away with his face still slightly red. I didn't know why he's acting like this but that at least this gave me an excuse to threaten the merchant. As soon as Leon was out of sight, I whirled around and stabbed my finger against the merchant's chest. I guess the act must have surprised him because he looked startled. Good. I want him to be scared of me.
"Listen," I hissed lowly, "if you so much as show Leon that picture, I'll kill you myself."
"Aye, the stranger won't hear or see anything from me." the merchant chuckled, grinning like the Chesire Cat behind that damn scarf of his. He still thinks it was funny. "Lass...you enjoyed it, didn't you?"
I froze, my expression switching to surprise as blush slowly crept over my face. My finger crooked to a hook as I shifted my gaze around, fumbling over for an answer. Shit... he's right! He's right! The blush deepened after finding out that he was right. "N-no...! Y-you're wrong...! I... I..."
"Thought so, lass." The merchant grinned and I wanted to take the Chicago Typewriter and pump him full of lead. But I can't do that since we need his help to survive. Lucky bastard.
"Hey, Rally!" Leon called out as he approached the little shack again, holding the ever helpful shotgun in one hand. "I think I found the way out!" I turned around and headed for him, glad to get away from the merchant. Damn you merchant...why did you have to be right?! I rejoined my protector and we headed for the twin log gates.
I sighed as we stopped and stared at the little lever that controlled both gates. It merely sat there, silently mocking us as if it knew what we had to go through to leave. Great, another "choose your fate" deal. I hate you lever. To the left, more Ganados and the twin chainsaw wielding, hack-n-slash maniac ladies, the Bella Sisters. To the right... one big, strong, deadly, U-G-L-Y gigante. Now for me, its no contest to which way I like to go but... Leon doesn't know and the "game" may decide to play against the rules and shove something else to keep El gigante company. This sucks...
We stood in the sheltered room in the warm glow of the torches that were placed by the entrance as Leon studied the lever and stood back with a thoughtful look. "I wonder which way is safer..." he murmured as his gazed shifted between the two gates. I watched him, deciding whether to tell where to go or not. It would be helpful but risky. I was never dragged here...at least not while I was conscious. If Leon questioned me about it then I would have no lie to give...other than saying "I knew because I played the game."
Tell him or not? Tell him or not? Or I could suggest the path we should take, the one we are more likely survive and not waste ammo. Yeah, I'll go with that. "Um, Leon..."
"Yeah?" The agent titled his head in my direction, listening.
"I have a good feeling about the right side. At least, a less bad vibe from it."
Leon looked toward the right gate and his head slightly bobbed as he thought about it. But he surprised me as he smiled and reached to pull the lever to the right. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too. We're going to get attacked by something no matter which way we go."
I sighed as I cross my arms over my chest, "True. Hopefully, it's only a few enemies to take out. I'm almost out of grenades."
The agent gave me a sympathic look, "I know... I don't want to put you through any other dangers tonight; I mean, you've already been through a lot at the crazy cabin." He rubbed the back of his neck and... is he blushing? "But we're not safe here out in the open, chances are they'll be back with more. Can you last a little longer until I find a safe area to rest?"
I smiled, "I'll last as long as you want me to, Leon. Whatever gets us out of here the soonest." I knew that it was far from the truth. I'm about ready to drop. I only had about half an hour's worth of sleep. I gazed at Leon for a bit and knew that he was exhausted. His eyes were slightly dull and had a somewhat glazed look. He was about ready to drop, too. He didn't have any sleep, other than the the hour he was unconscious but that didn't count.
Agent Kennedy sighed and pulled the lever to the right. Oh, yeah...he's exhausted. As the lever touched the right half of the base, the machinery that was cleverly put together clanked to life. A Whir! and a loud crack! followed, then silence. Oh wow... so exciting. I hope we didn't break the damn thing. Leon headed for the gate as I followed suit and he paused long enough to pump the shotgun before he pushed the gate open. The narrow, cliff-hugged path looks exactly like it did the game, including the heavy boulder that is miraculously being supported by the cheap looking platform. It was the same all right but... something was off about the area too.
"Leon, wait." The agent paused and turned to me, wet blonde hair glizening in the soft light of the moon that barely broke through the dark clouds. "There's a boulder up on that platform." I pointed it out as I kept an eye out for El Gigante, he may just jump in at any moment.
(A/N: Is the boulder platform in the midsection of the first area or close to the entrance/exit? I can't remember, and it doesn't say where exactly it is in the Player's Guide. If it is by the entrance or exit then sweet! If it is in the mid point then damn this will sound weird.)
He looked up and scowled a little. "Huh, that may be a trap set for us. I had boulders shoved at me before. Wait here." I stood by the gate as my hero walked forward cautiously, switching to the handgun. As he continued to walk, I looked at the boulder. It looked a little wrong. Was it supposed to be in the middle of the path?
As Leon edged toward the boulder's shadow, the giant monstroisty decided to leap into the path... right between me and Leon. Cutting us both off from each other. Great. The ground quaked under the powerful landing and shook again as it threw back its short head and roared out into the night. The agent whirled around in surprise as El Gigante looked at each of us deciding on who it should attack. It focused on Leon, glaring at him with beady eyes.
While it was distracted, I began to sidle along the wall and hopefully go around it but it seemed that it had already choosen on who it should kill first. El Gigante whipped around and made a grab for me, its size blocking my view of Leon. Holy crap! I shrieked in terror and ran out from his reach just in time for him to miss.
"Shit!" Leon swapped his handgun for the TMP and fired it at the giant in hopes of distracting it. The short bursts of the weapon illuminate Leon briefly as he shot at the wild beast's side. The pain from the weapon caused the giant to miss me as it tried to grab for me again. Angered by its miss, El Gigante turned to the agent and slapped him aside like he was annoying puppy. I watched in horror as Leon sailed through the air and slammed against the cliff wall before bouncing off and landing on the muddy earth.
He wasn't moving.
"Leon!"
Grinning, El Gigante began to stomp his way toward the downed agent. Oh... shit! I had to keep the creature away from Leon, long enough for the agent to recover! I grabbed the nearest the rock and threw it. It bounced off the creature's head and it ignored it like it was nothing. I grabbed another, my slingshot, loaded it and fired it at El Gigante's face. The rock slammed itself against giant's nose. That... got its attention very well. It whirled around, glared at me and thundered his way toward me in order to crush me like an orange. I began to jog backwards and fire rocks into its face.
"Focus on me! That's right! Get the little girl that bitch slapped you with a rock!" I yelled angrily as I led it away from Leon and back toward the exit. El Gigante snarled angrily, its pale blue eyes not leaving my small figure for a second. I glanced away from the giant briefly and saw that Leon was beginning to revive. El Gigante seemed to know that as well as it turned away and walked back toward the half conscious agent. NO! Nononononono!
I ran around the creature and fire another rock at its face. The rock jammed itself up the giant's nose, causing it to rear back in shock and pain and clutch its face. It sputtered in anger and glared at me with a murderous glint in its eye. Then everything happened in slow motion.
El Gigante swiped its hand at me in an attempt to grab me. It was moving too fast for me dodge it, then suddenly I heard Leon's screaming battlecry and the giant's roar of bloodlust. I whirled around in time to see the agent's bluring body running towards me.
Leon...!
Leon pushed me aside and El Gigante wrapped its giant hand around the agent's athletic frame, trapping his arms to his sides. There was no way for Leon to free himself now! The giant lifted him off the ground and gave him an experimental squeeze, causing Agent Kennedy to howl in pain. The creature grinned and began to close its fist slowly. I shrieked angrily and charged at the giant, ready to throw a Flash grenade when the creature slapped me aside. I skidded across the muddy ground and heard Leon cry out in anger and pain.
I sat up and struggled to stand but a blast of pain shot up me left arm, forcing me to kneel down. I looked at my arm and saw that a gash had formed just below my shoulder and down the length of my upper arm. I must've skidded over a sharp rock or something like it. I looked back toward Leon as El Gigante continued to "play" with the agent.
My eyes widen in terror as the agent threw his head back in one final cry of pain before finally passing out in the giant's grip. I stared at him with a sheen of tears threatening to fall. Leon did not move, his body sagging in the creature's fist, head bowed in defeat. NO! No, not again! No! LEON! WAKE UP!!! El Gigante grinned once more and lifted the unconscious agent above its short, ugly head, ready to smash him into the ground.
"LEON!" I screamed in terror as the agent's lithe form dangled limply in the giant's grip. No! He's going to die for real!! Leon! WAKE UP! For Christ's sake, Leon! Wake up!!
Just as El Gigante was about to throw Leon into the ground, there was a howl from some animal and a blur of white leaped down the cliff. The animal landed gracefully on the path, barked at El Gigante and leaped toward the giant's frame and latched itself onto the giant's face. Is that the...?
El Gigante reared back in surprise and dropped Leon. It only took me a second to react to my hero's free fall and ignoring the pain in my arm, shot toward the agent's falling frame. I caught him and continued to run from the fight. I didn't think of anything else, why I can carry a injured man with a bad arm, how I ran carry a guy that is heavier than me like it was no sweat. All I thought was to get Leon away from the fight and revive him so we can get the fuck out of here or kill the giant.
As I carried him toward the locked gate, the agent's head fell against my chest. When it did, I realized that I was carrying him with a bad arm and he is heavier than me. Because of that my arm flared in pain and my foot slipped from beneath me and I fell back, taking the agent with me. His body landed roughly on top of my chest and knocked the wind out of my lungs. I gasped out in shock and took in gulps of air to feed my lungs and gently rolled Leon off. I coughed and looked toward the fight and saw that it was indeed the white dog that helped Leon earlier.
The dog was hanging onto the giant's nose with its jaws and keeping it distracted. Apparently, the dog wasn't sure if Leon could get through this without some help and followed him. Thank you, doggie! I quickly turned back to the agent and gently patted the side of his face in an effort to wake him up.
"Come on, Leon, wake up." I murmured as I continued to pat his face, "Come on, the dog won't be able to hold El Gigante off for long." I patted the side of Leon's face a few more times before he was finally coming around. His blue eyes fluttered open and they seemed unfocused and lost.
"Ugh...wha-?" he mumbled dizzily, lifting a hand to his face. I smiled down at him with relief.
"Leon... you're okay!" I squealed softly and I sat back to allow the cool air to snap him out of it faster. It worked since the agent was now upright and shaking his head to clear it.
"Wh-where's the giant?"
"Behind us. The dog you saved is back and is now distracting that thing."
Leon shook his head and looked toward the battle, blinking in surprise. "This is the second time that dog helping me." He stood shakily and went for the shotgun. I smiled and grabbed a Flash Grenade. We were going to end this fight!
We both ran at the giant as the white dog continued to gnaw on the thing's nose. Leon fired off a shot, careful to not hit the dog and El Gigante threw the dog off and tried to grab Leon once more. I threw the flash grenade and grinned as it went off at point blank in its face. It roared in pain and backed away from us... toward the boulder's shadow. I noticed it and called toward Leon.
"Leon! It's heading for that boulder! Shoot out the support beam!"
The agent whipped out his rifle, turned to the supprt beam, waited for Gigante to walk right under it and fired. The support beam of the platform shattered from the shot and the platform itself collapsed under the weight of the giant, heavy rock. The boulder bounced down the cliff's wall and smacked onto the giant's thick skull. The crack! of both the boulder and the giant's skull was completely deafening and made us cringe. Man, that's loud!
The monster groaned loudly and clutched it cracked skull, swaying on its feet. It straggered toward us, blood flowing from its mouth like a waterfall, and dropped to one knee. El Gigante's back split open, revealing its monstrous Plaga in a mess of blood and strange brownish goo. The Plaga clawed the air in pain, its long slimy tentacles flailing wildly. Leon saw what was happening and grabbed his knife.
"Rally, stay here! Looks like this thing is ready to keel!" He darted to the giant, circled around it and climbed onto the creature's back. I cringed upon hearing the digusting squishing and ripping noises as Leon continued to slash at the Plaga, which shrieked in pain as blood and bodily fluids sprayed everywhere. Ewww...!
With a dying roar, El Gigante flailed wildly as its eyes rolled to the back of its head. The Plaga fell limp and shriveled up like a raisin, its tentacules curling in agony. Leon yelped in shock as he fell along with the giant as it died, and rolled off its back and onto the ground, safely. The entire area trembled, including us, when El Gigante's body finally fell to the ground. And silence followed soon after, with the exception of the rain and thunder.
"Leon!" I rushed toward him, my arm still flaring in pain and the dog following closely behind. I helped him up weakly with my right arm and sighed. We're soaked, our clothes are plastered to our skins with water and mud. We're clean and dirty at the same time... great. I clamped my right hand over the wound of my left arm and shivered from the cold. "Are you all right, Leon?"
He smiled grimly. "I should be asking you that." He focused on my left arm and frowned slightly. "Are you okay?" I hissed a little and shook my head as I moved my hand and revealed the wound.
"Nope. I got another gash. I must've skidded over a sharp rock or something when this thing slapped me aside." Leon hissed at the wound and came to me with a First Aid Spray, I lifted my sleeve to show the cut to him. He first allowed the rain to wash off the mud and sprayed it. I hissed at the spray's sting but smiled as it stopped and the cut was healed.
My smile faded as I remembered what happened a few minutes ago. "I'm sorry, Leon."
The agent looked confused, "For what?"
"For nearly getting you killed again."
"Ah, that. Don't worry about it."
" 'Don't worry?' Why not? I nearly got you killed again. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have been grabbed by this thing."
"I did it out as reaction to save you." He grinned at me, "Besides, knowing you, you would have done the same without thinking twice, now wouldn't you?"
I blushed. He was right...again... "True."
We smiled at each other and heard a bark. We gazed down and saw that the white dog was glaring at us for not giving him some credit in the rescue. I grinned as I knelt down stroked the dog's head. "Ah, yes. You get some credit too, boy. If it weren't for you, we would both be dead." The white dog wagged its tail and enjoyed the petting.
Leon knelt down and stroked the dog too, "Yeah, if you didn't come in then I would a secret agent smuge. Thank you." The dog barked out a welcome and sat there. I looked at the dog and grinned, an idea forming in my head.
"Hey, Leon. Why don't we keep him?"
"Keep the dog?"
"Yeah! If we get seperated, he could help out one of us! If we get seperated and he's with me then he could protect me while we look for you or vice versa when he's with you."
"Hmm...interesting. That would be helpful but he may get injured from the villagers once they take a swing at him with an axe."
"Maybe...but if he could handle a giant monster, a villager is nothing to him. Right, Caleb?"
" 'Caleb'? You've already thought of a name for him?"
"Yup, it means 'faithful' in Hebrew. It was either that or I'll call him 'Leon', which is 'bold lion' in German."
"All right, all right! Caleb it is."
"Yay!"
"Okay, let's get the hell out of here before something else goes wrong."
"True to that!"
We collected the large amount of pesetas left by El Gigante and headed for the locked gate. Leon blasted the chains off and we entered the next area cautiously. Other than the two cabins in the area, it was pretty much empty. We raided the two cabins and knocked down a Purple Gem which Leon stuck to the Elegant Mask. As we headed for the second locked gate, I realized that we didn't find the Old Key. We stared at the gate, even Caleb titled his head to one side. We could blast the chains off if it weren't for the fact that they were super thick and so were the doors. Even I wouldn't be able blast this gate open with my grenades.
"Odd. We can't get through, wouldn't a villager have a key hidden here to open the gate?" Leon wondered out loud as I stared at the gate in horror. I said nothing back but ran back to the cabins and tore through them looking for the Old Key. The agent rushed after me and watched in surprise as I threw out a chair that was in my way.
"Rally, what's wrong?" he asked as he ducked under another chair I flung outside. I was panicking again, I could tell.
"Sorry, about that! I'm looking for the key! But I can't find it!" I wailed, "There were supposed to be two!"
"Two? How do you know?"
"I saw them while I was held captive. I didn't know what doors they opened but they were pretty important to the Village Chief, he gave one to one fo the villagers and told another to hide it in the "other passage"." I lied as I flipped over a table. Keeping secrets sucks at times, "This is the "other passage", I think. So why isn't the key here?"
"Maybe one of the villagers took it." Leon suggested as I paused in my search and felt color drain from my face. Or, it never existed. To get to the gandola, one has to either face El Gigante or brawl with the Ganados at the barrier station, meaning two keys but no key was placed here. Therefore, there are no two keys just one. This was a dead end, another trap set up by the villagers. Which meant that we have to go back and go left.
And face the twin chainsaw-loving dames...
The Bella Sisters...
Oh...fuck...
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Whoo! Another chapter finished for just Sabertooth and Wolf, and Misty Maxwell...my two only loyal readers for this fic. Thank you! You'll get a Leon pic that I drew once I'm done coloring it in. But be warned, I'm not that good of an artist and I made him look more like a teenager than adult. It's a pic from The Resurrection of the Nightmare, though I'm not that far in it yet. I made him look more like Link...bummer.
Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it! Please R&R!
