Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil...and I've just lost two seconds of my life that I'll never get back. Now leave alone you mind-sucking perfectionists!

Authoress' Note: (Please READ) A New Year a New Chappy! Thank you dear readers for reading this fic and your lovely reviews! Oh, and I've figured that I'll adding Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler to the chapter where I get captured by the Novistador but I've just can't figure out how to do it. The reason why I placed all the songs you've read so far in the fic, is because it's my personality. I usually think of songs and sing them in my head when I get nervous or something. It just helps me calm down.

Final Note: 86 reviews! Wow, that's a lot for just a fic with 18 chappies. *blush* I didn't know that I'm becoming an idol to some of you. *smile* Thank you, you guys are my idols for being there to read my fic. I would love to thank all of you for your lovely reviews and suggestions for this fic! This is actually the first fic I've written that I believe will actually finish! Cool! I've written a lot of fics but nearly all of them are no where near finished.. or have a clear ending.

Everyone gets a Leon bottlecap that says: (pokes button) (Chibi Leon in his mafia outfit doing his mafia pose) "Aren't I cute?"

RESIDENT EVIL AND LEON FOREVER! WESKER TOO!

1wingangel and Nicole this fic is for you!


Resident Evil 4: A Fangirl's Dream Come True!

Chapter Eighteen: Exhibition Corridor and the Mezzanine

- Scarlet Bedroom

I awoke sometime later to find both Ada and the merchant watching me carefully. I was lying on the large bed back in the bedroom and was covered in some bandages. I blinked at them then lowered my gaze. The wound on my chest was healed, my right leg wasn't and I still had some bad bruising from those lashes. All of those could heal with time but one thing couldn't. There was no way for my innocence to return.

It was dead.

Oh god, Leon, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You were right. I realized that I was crying when their images wavered and blurred and I lowered my head to hide them. But it was too late, Ada and the merchant had already noticed them. I sighed sadly and didn't bother to wipe away the tears.

"I failed him." I muttered bitterly as I drew my legs to my chest, much to my right leg's discomfort. The older woman raised at brow at my statement as I rested my head on my knees and sighed depressingly. I just know the agent wasn't going to be happy about this. More like be pretty pissed off to be exact. "Leon isn't going to want to see me again."

"And why in the hell is Leon going to be like that?"

"I failed in keeping my promise."

"Lass, yeh knew that yeh were goin' to have to give it up to save the stranger. I bet the stranger knew it too."

I glared at the merchant and blew out my breath harshly. "Then why did he go and bite my head off when I asked him to teach me how to shoot?"

The merchant sighed, "Lass, the stranger wanted ya to keep yer innocence. But after gettin' caught in the trap, I bet yeh the stranger realized that yeh were goin' end up needin' to defend yerself... by yerself. In case he wouldn't be able to protect ya."

I scowled slightly. "Should have thought of that after the hell crazed cabin deal." I growled then sighed, "Either way, he ain't gonna look at me. I've changed too much to his standards."

Ada frowned at me. "And no one gives a shit about his standards. He can stand there and bitch that you've changed all day but tell me... Do you feel that you've changed?"

I didn't miss a beat. "Uh, yeah! I felt as though someone reached in and killed some part of me!" I snapped, "Did you expect me to be Mary fucking Sunshine?"

"If you did turn into a girlish woman who runs around throwing flowers after shooting something, then I'll think that you seriously flipped." the Asian shot back, "But other than that, I think you haven't changed a bit. Now get off your sorry ass and let's go save Leon."

I turned away slightly and lowered my gaze. "I can't."

Ada scowled, her patience running thin. "What the hell do you mean "you can't"?"

I growled as I threw up hands in anger. I climbed off the bed and limped my way to the foot of it. Ada and the merchant followed and stood behind me as I turned around and faced them. I wobbled a bit but settled most of my weight on my left leg. My right was barely touching the floor and still hurt like a bitch. Damn the cultist who fired that fucking arrow and the wolf that ripped it out of me. I gestured to myself, showing off the bandages and my wounded leg.

"Does it look like I'm battle capable?" I snapped, "I can barely walk! Let alone run!"

"Complete bullshit. You're making those excuses because you trying hide the real reason." Ada snapped back, "Now fess up."

I sneered at her. "Why don't you fess up first?"

"We're not talking about me, honey. We're talking about you and why you don't want to so much as stick your nose out of this room."

I hissed angrily and clenched my hands into fists. It took everything I had from just jumping Ada and throttle her but... She was right. I was making excuses to hide the real reason. The real reason as to why I feared continuing even though Leon was just a couple of rooms and one hallway away from where I was. I paced, more like limped, across the foot of the bed as I juggled the idea of actually telling them the truth or giving out another lie.

I voted for another lie but I knew that Ada would be able to sniff it out easily. She's made a living by telling lies and can lie with the best of them. Hell, hook her up to a Lie Detector, let her lie through her teeth and the damn machine wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Besides, why in the hell should I even give her an answer? She ain't gonna care, she's going to backstab Leon again anyway. Ungrateful bitch.

I didn't see the need to explain myself.

"What's the real reason why you won't go on?" the Asian agent asked dryly as she shifted her weight to her right leg. I grinned just as dryly as I stretched my right leg carefully, wincing at the pain still coursing through it. Okay, you want answer, Ada? Then fine, you got one.

"None of your fucking goddamn business, Wong." I answered acidly, earning a glare from her. Her gaze harden as she picked up her TMP. I bristled as she walked toward me with the weapon in hand. Was she going to try to point that thing at me and tell me to move? If she was then...wounded or not I am going to kick her Asian ass.

She said nothing but reached over, grabbed my arm and jerked me behind her as she marched toward the door that led to the Last Supper Corridor. I yelped out in pain since she just grabbed one of my badly bruised arms, and I pulled back, trying to break free. Though that move was basically useless since I only had one fully functional leg and I was still pretty weak from those attacks. That and Ada had anger on her side.

"OW! Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I yelled angrily, "Let go of me!"

"Stop bitching. We're going into that next room." Ada said coolly as she dragged me to the door. Despite the wounds I got, I pulled back, slowing her down. I struggled for bit then was finally able to break away from her grip, stumbling backwards. It was either that or she let go to watch me fall on my ass. I disappointed her in that department as I stopped myself by stopping my momentum...with my right leg. I winced and bit my lower lip to keep from crying out in pain. I quickly shift my weight to my left leg and glared at her.

"Me bitch? What about you, bitch?" I hissed as I rubbed my arm, the one she grabbed, gingerly.

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me. Anyway, I'm not going anywhere with you-" I griped as I turned away from her, limping back to the bed. I suddenly felt the barrel of a gun pressed to my back and heard the safety being taken off. I froze as the gun rose a bit higher, to the spot where the bullet could hit my heart.

"You're coming with me to save Leon whether you like it or not." the Asian growled and I stiffened angrily.

"I know." I hissed dangerously, not bothering to look at her, "Ada, you fucking bitch in a red dress, you didn't let me finish! I was saying, 'That I'm not going anywhere with you without Leon's gear.' Unless, of course, you're going to protect me the whole way through."

Ada lowered her weapon and I continued to limp back to the merchant. "Besides," I called over my shoulder, "I need to know if the Punisher is fixed yet."

After a bit of time, I gathered my stuff, carefully arranging them so there wouldn't be too much weight on my right leg. I spoke with the merchant for a bit and finally got the Punisher back. And man, did he do an excellent job. It was repaired back to perfection, Leon wouldn't be able to tell that it had been damaged at all. Nice.

Ada tapped her foot impatiently as I limped back toward her. I scowled at the Asian woman as I bypassed her and entered the next room. As we walked along side by side back to the cage room, Ada fished out a piece of paper and held it out to me. I scowled again as the parchment obscured my line of sight and I pushed it away, not wanting to be bothered.

She dangled it in front of my face again and I growled. "Ada, get that out of my face right now, or I'll cram it down your throat."

"I'd love to see you try with a injured leg. Besides, this is yours." she replied coyly then lowered her voice, "Nice joke. Don't try it again."

I glanced at the paper, read it and grinned. Ahhh, so she did find it. And apparently, she's trying to keep in a blush that threatened to emerge on her face. Now that I think about... I should tell Leon this and see what his reaction will be. Hmm... probably act the same as Ada.

"Don't even think about it." the Asian muttered.

Damn it.

"You're lucky, you know." I replied as we walked though the dinning room. Ada didn't say anything, merely keeping herself busy by walking. I sighed, not noticing that she didn't voice anything. "At least Leon doesn't yell at you for doing something wrong."

Again, the Asian didn't say anything so I continued, "I mean seriously, why did he go and bite my head off over for a simple shooting lesson? I'm almost out of grenades and he refuses to let me know how to shoot? He knows that I can help much better if I knew how to shoot, that way I can cover him if he needs to go somewhere and protect myself without being blown to bits."

I ranted on for a bit longer, ranging from Leon being irrational to the agent being a little overprotective. I was basically sharing my frustrations of Agent Kennedy to Ada and she made no comment. I continued my rants about the adorable government agent to the Asian, who remained silent through my talkings. Was she really listening to me or just tuning me out?

Wait... do I even care if she was listening? No, not really. If she was listening then good for her. If she wasn't then no big loss, I can just vent my anger about Leon on her and she won't be able to recall anything later on. Whoopie-fucking-doo. We reached the cage match room and began to clear the room of its valuables, taking what we would need later on... at least what Leon would need.

As I entered the cage and popped open the little red chest on the pedestal for its treasure, I sighed sadly. What right do I have to be frustrated with Leon? It was his job, his mission to keep me safe and get us back home. I'm not really helping him out by running around, lobbing grenades while screaming in pure joy about all of this. I stared at the reflective surface of Hourglass' glass in regret.

"Are you thinking about Leon?" Ada suddenly asked but I didn't jump just sighed.

"Yes, no..." I mumbled, "Actually I was thinking about myself. About how foolish I was acting."

"Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah. The entire time I was trying to help Leon, I was actually putting us both in danger." I smiled grimly. "It was Leon's mission to make sure I stay alive long enough for us to get home but I wouldn't let him do his job. I kept getting in his way to help because I didn't want to be a burden to him."

Ada inclined her head from the looks of the glass. I took it as a gesture to keep going. "I thought if I totally depended on Leon for protection and guidance then I was just being dead weight to him. That he would have to keep looking over his shoulder constantly to make sure that I was okay and following him. With everything else going on I didn't want him to always worry about me so I wanted to help." I narrowed my eyes at my own reflection. "But I realized that I wasn't a burden..."

"And what were you?" the Asian questioned patiently.

"A hazard." I answered with a hollow laugh, "A walkin', talkin', breathin' hazard to Leonardo Scott Kennedy. Not exactly something a hero should rescue. I sometimes believe that he shouldn't have come for me."

"Now you're being a little too harsh with yourself." Ada said, "Even if he wasn't sent for you, he still would have come..."

I turned to her as I packed the treasure away. "For someone who nearly got him killed in nearly every place we go? Come for someone that got him nearly crushed to death twice; nearly blown to bits with a grenade, shot with arrows, his ribcage crushed in by a mace twice; and almost got him skewered by a Garrdor." I countered dryly.

I continued before Ada had a chance to say anything. "Yeah, I'm being really hard on myself. I mean, if I can do that much damage to him just trying to rescue me... Then imagine what I can do to the cult by staying in their clutches? If I'm lucky, a hole will open up underneath them and the earth can swallow them whole. Oh, and did I mention that he got caught in a trap meant for me?"

The Asian sighed as we entered the next room. "So you feel the same way, huh?" she mumbled as she closed the door behind us, even though I wasn't sure if she really said it or not.


- The Exhibition Corridor

We entered the next room and heard them before they heard us. Ada narrowed her eyes as she sidled quietly toward the edge of the platform and looked over the ledge. She counted up the cultists that stood at the bottom of level chanting and after her quick count, she slinked back. She slid back to me while keeping an eye on ladder. The Asian woman looked back at me and seemed to consider something.

"Do you have Leon's rifle?" Ada asked and I blinked in surprise then nodded.

"Yeah..." I answered, giving her a suspicious look.

"Good. You can snipe them."

"What?"

"Take Leon's rifle and snipe the enemies below us so we can flip that switch."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"No. You don't look like the fun, joking type, huh?" I said dryly, "You hang around Wesker too much. All work and no play will make you a very dull wife for Leon."

Ada scowled at me, "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"And I'm going to pretend I didn't see your cheeks turn as red as your dress."

"Be quiet and shoot."

"Love to, if my fear of becoming a crazed gunslinger girl weren't bubbling up on me now."

The Asian glared at me, dark eyes flaring. "For the love of...just deal with it!" she hissed angrily, "Your innocence is dead, so what? Your job is to get your sorry ass to Leon and get the fuck out of this castle alive with him. The only reason why I'm helping you is because at this point you're weak and pathetic. Now stop whining and kill those freaks or you can spend the rest of your life in this part of the castle by yourself. And have nightmares of what happened to Leon since you were too afraid to go down one fucking room!"

Silence ensued for a time as I stared at her, completely shocked by what she had just said. And for the first time... I had nothing to snap back and why would I? She was right. She was right about what was going on now. I was afraid to keep going even with all the information of the game in mind...I was still afraid to go. And for most of the time I was alone looking for Leon... I was whining. Whining to getting this over and done with quickly... and trying to keep my innocence intact and I've realized that what the Merchant said was right. To free Leon... I had to give up my innocence. And considering the situation we were all in... I would give up my innocence a hundred times over.

Keeping silent so not to anger Ada again, I crouch-walked halfway to the ledge. I took out the Semi-Auto rifle and looked through the scope. I aimed for the red robed cultist and noticed that my aim was a little shaky then remembered I was still hesitant about killing.

Ooh, not good.

I tried to push aside the uneasiness and took aim again. I concentrated and fired off a shot... and missed the red zealot's head completely. Ada frowned at me and I gave her glare, mouthed her to fuck off and aimed again. But as soon as I did, I pulled back and laid myself flat on the floor. The Asian looked at me strangely, so I yanked her to the floor and motioned her to keep quiet. Reason? One of the cultists had lifted his head to the ledge and was basically staring at me. But thankfully he seemed drunk. Maybe a little too much red wine at the Last Supper Corridor?

Wait... are they allowed to get drunk?

We didn't hear the tell tale signs of being spotted, so I peeked over the ledge and saw that the cultists weren't chanting, they were celebrating something. The red leader held up a bottle of red wine and spoke sluggishly to his group. I tried to listen in as the drunken group spoke and laughed, chugging down their wine. I never seen wine disappear that quickly and I don't drink. Ada tilted her head in confusion as she tried to determine what they were saying. After a bit of time, the Asian gave up and looked at me as I strained my hearing to translate their slurred words.

"Well, what are they saying?" Ada asked quietly as I stared at the group.

My jaw dropped and scooted back from the ledge and stared out in space. "Oh my god..." I breathed in dismay, which alerted Ada. She stared at me, dark eyes bearing into my own chocolate brown ones and that told me she wanted to know. "They found Leon!" I whispered to her and her eyes went wide.

"What?" Ada hissed lowly. "They found Leon and they're celebrating? The only way they should celebrate is if they killed him."

I shook my head, "No, I don't think they have killed him."

"And why is that?"

"Well, they can't reach him. We're on the second floor and Leon is clapped to a wall on the first floor. Unless they're willing to break their legs, they can't get to him. So he's safe..."

The Asian sighed, "He's safe unless they called their buddies to finish him off."

"Right." I replied as I rubbed my temples with one hand and gripped the Semi-Auto with the other. From what I remember of the game, I know for certain that they did call in their buddies to pick up "Ashley". So that meant they did call the other cultists to kill Leon.

Not a good thing.

"Question is..." Ada grinned dryly, "Are you willing to put aside your fear and go get him back?"

Good question. I don't know if I'm ready to start killing again. I sighed and handed the rifle to Ada so she could kill off the drunken idiots while I tried to sort out my thoughts. I know that all the fangirls are willing to wring my neck for hesitating on saving Leon but... it's hard to break through your fears. Knowing that just using game experience.. you can take lives and when you look in a mirror, you are labeled as a living weapon. Not exactly a good thing for someone who wants to make games for a living.

Ada was aiming and sniping the drunken zealots as I kept an eye on the door behind us. I toyed with the Blacktail and sighed. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to fire a weapon at the cultists anymore. I may end up just running from them for now on. I shook away the thought. No, come on. I have to save Leon!

"Rally, go ahead and flip that switch. I'll stay here and snipe anyone that may try to get you." Ada called and I nodded as I headed for the ladder. I quickly scurried down the ladder and headed for the switch to flip it.

"Ahí están!"

I jumped and whirled around, expecting the robed enemies right behind me...and they were... on the other side of the barred wall. A shield wielder and a normal one were on the other side and were strangely walking towards me. Yeah, like they were going to phase through the bars. I stared at them with the 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing' look and felt like capping them but damn it... my fear is still with me.

So, instead I decided to ignore them for now and activated the switch. The hidden platform on the floor rose up and leveled off with the upper ledge. It locked itself into place above me and created a path to the door that led into the hallway where the merchant should be.

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

I snapped my head to the ledge as the Ada's TMP went off. I quickly scaled the ladder and looked on at the battle in front of me. Son of a fucking bitch... I forgot about this! Several cultists had broken down the door and were trying to corner Ada and failing miserably at it. The Asian woman was pumping them full of lead and keeping them back.

Ada looked at me and gestured to the door on the other side of the room. I nodded and raced for it, knowing that she wanted to me to go on. But stopped short as shield wielding cultists burst through the door. I leaped back in fear and held the Riot-Gun at them but couldn't pull the trigger on them. I quickly switched to the Blacktail, aimed upward and fired several times before finally hitting the oil lamp hanging above them. The lamp shattered and rained its burning liquid on the group of enemies. I quickly turned away as the zealots screamed out in agony as they danced about in the flames.

Wesker's agent had already cleared her area and was yelling at me to get over to where she was, her dark eyes wide. I looked over my shoulder and my jaw dropped at the scene taking place behind me. A larger group of cultists were pushing the burning ones aside to get through the walkway and coming out of the burning enemies were the Las Plagas in the third form. The Las Plagas scuttled across the path quickly, coming straight for me as they led the other cultists into the battle.

I raced across the carpeted platform back to Ada as my mind raced for anything logical as to what was going on. And to find away to get rid of them beside me killing them outright. Damn, fear... Though, I doubt there was another way. Jesus Christ! Where did they come from? There sure as hell weren't that many enemies before in the game! This was supposed to be an easy deal! Run in, blast a few zealots, flip the switch, blast a few more then go through the damn door! Why in the hell did they have to come at me like this is an all out gun war?

"We need to get out of here!" Ada yelled as she kicked aside a dead monk that was blocking the door. I caught up to her, whirled around and threw a Flash grenade at the group. The third stage Plagas shrieked as they died from the sudden burst of light. The zealots cried out in surprise as they stumbled about at which a few fell over the sides of the platform. The Asian woman fired into the ones that were still on the platform and killed a few... at least the ones she was able to tear into.

"And go where?" I griped as we ran back through the cage match room, "There are cultists the other way we came!"

"And how would you know?"

"Hello? They're chasing after me and Leon, remember?"

"We'll head back to the merchant. He's got more than enough fire power to help us wipe them out for the time being."

I sighed and nodded in agreement as we blitzed through the dinning room and heard the enemies chasing after us. You know... this may be a bad time to question something like this but... I gotta know. Why is it always the guys chasing after us? I mean... this is a castle and surely thre must be some girls working here. Where are the female cultists? Or at least the maids? Wait... never mind... Salazar's weird... and gay, so he only hired guys. Eww...

We burst back into the Scarlet Bedroom and startled the merchant, who getting ready to leave the room. I took him back to the side room as Ada moved along behind, keeping her TMP trained on the door. I quickly told the merchant about our situation and asked if he would help us. The merchant had no problem in helping us out and removed his pack to bring out his weapons.

I brought out my grenades and noticed his weapons and frowned slightly. "Hey, how come you don't sell those to Leon?"

The merchant grinned slightly from behind his scarf. "These are me personal weapons of choice, lass. Uzis are very hard to come by... legally."

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

"Looks like they're here." I mused as Ada's TMP tore into those getting through the door. The merchant and I joined her in the fight...well sort of. I kept behind them and lobbed Flash grenades as necessary while the merchant and Ada poured out the rounds. The two alternated between shots so that one could cover the other as they reloaded.

I was about to toss another Flash when suddenly I felt a wave of pain pulse through me. My throat went dry as my lungs flared in pain. No! Not again! I went into a coughing fit and dropped my unarmed grenade. I stumbled back, coughing like crazy as I wrapped one arm around my waist to suppress the pain while I covered my mouth with the other. Ada took a quick glance at me and her eyes went wide as I fell to my knees coughing harshly.

The merchant told her to check up on me while he kept the zealots at bay. I could tell she was reluctant to do it but didn't make a fuss over it. She rushed over and knelt next to me as I coughed, my throat feeling like it was on fire. The coughing fit stopped long enough for me to gasp as another wave of pain pulsed through me. Was this what Leon felt when he crossed the lake? I cried out in pain and coughed up another splash of blood at which Ada's eyes widen in horror.

"Ack!"

I coughed out some more blood as the Asian woman looked up in surprise. I struggled to do the same and saw that the merchant had been hit by an arrow, which was buried into his shoulder. He stumbled back and fell in pain as the cultists advanced into the room. And one of them was about to kill him.

"Merchant!" I cried out, the pain subsiding to a bearable level. As the cultist readied another arrow into the crossbow, I decided at that point that I had no choice but to change. Everyone is going to be killed if I don't and it'll be all my fault. Besides, it was silly of me to try to keep a promise that no one in the world was able to keep. No one is capable of keeping their innocence, it's human nature to lose it.

The zealot readied another arrow and aimed it at the down merchant. The monk grinned crazily as his finger curled around the trigger and the merchant growled angrily.

Cha-cha...BOOM!

The monk was blown back before he had a chance to pull the trigger.

"Get the fuck away from the merchant, you fucking trigger happy maniac!" I snapped and fired on another cultist that tried to sneak around. "Ada! Get the merchant!"

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

"All right, just let me clear a path!" Ada called back as she fired into the crowd as she walked over to the merchant. He managed to get himself up as Ada covered him and I covered her with Leon's trusty Riot-Gun. Scared little Rally is no more instead the real Rally is back in action! The merchant quickly retreated to where I was and Ada sidled back as well. I glared at the enemies as I aimed the shotgun at them.

"Alright, who else wants to piss me off and die for it?" I hissed acidly, swiveling the weapon between the zealots. The cultists only grinned and giggled hysterically. "Okay, so that's all of you in a coffin? Great! Please step into range."

They dumbly rushed forward and the three of us opened fired on them all.

Cha-cha... BOOM!

Ratatatatatatatatatatatatata!

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

Screams of pain echoed through out the room and after a few seconds, silence dominated the bedroom. We put away our weapons as the monks melted into the carpet. Ewww... Oh, great! They ruined the bedroom by melting into the carpet. Well, it'll give Leon and Ada a chance to decorate the bedroom how they like it. I turned to the merchant with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I placed the Riot-Gun in its strap on my back. The merchant grinned as he gripped his wounded shoulder and I noticed that he had already pulled the arrow out. Ouch.

"Argh... Heh... It's nothin', lass. Nothin' to get worried 'bout too much." he chuckled, grimacing in pain. I sighed in relief as Ada pulled out a First Aid Spray and held it out to the merchant for him to heal himself with. Which surprised me, didn't he -like- have a ton of those himself? I asked him what happened to his supply and he told me he ran out. He only had enough to heal the wound on my chest and a few of the gashs that the wolf had given me. Ah, that explains why my leg wasn't healed but I wasn't going to heal it myself just yet.

I looked around the bedroom and noticed that I had missed picking up the Female Intruder file and quickly snatched it up to take with me. After a bit of rest and reloading, we went back to the Exhibition Room, though I stopped at the Last Supper Corridor to pick up some food for Leon to eat. We headed back to the last room Ada and I were at and I told them to stay and I'll take care of the room. Ada stuck by the merchant and I went across the walkway to get the items on the other side of the room.

I walked along the platform and noticed at the two idiots were still walking into the barred wall and I sighed. I pulled out the Semi-Auto and aimed it at the shield wielder first. I looked through the scope and tried to locate the head since he kept the shield angled upward. I picked a spot to shoot and fired. I guess I must've hit his heart since the cultist crumpled the minute I hit my spot with the round. Hey, whatever works, y'know? I shrugged and aimed for the unarmed cultist. I fired and blew his head apart.

I reached the other side, sniped the another crossbowman, looted the platform I was on and jumped down. And there in front me, on display for the world to see... was the Rocket Launcher! Now, who in their evil right mind would place a weapon in a frail display case for the enemy to use? Obviously, not Salazar. He wasn't right in the head the moment Saddler asked him to open the freaking seal that bound the Las Plagas. Whatever, the Launcher now belongs to Leon.

I broke open the display case, raided the smaller items and carried the Rocket Launcher with me. I broke open the locked door and rejoined Ada and the Merchant. Together, we walked across the walkway and entered the hall. The merchant told me to get the Attache Case XL from his pack. I did so and moved everything into it, including the heavy Launcher. I took my items from the Leon's old attache case and placed them into the large one. I gave the smaller one back to him and dropped off the money in the pack.

I turned to Ada, "Ada, you need to get out here."

The Asian raised a brow, "Why?"

"Easy. One, I know you don't want to be around Leon when he starts asking questions about what you've been up to. And two, you don't want to be caught by the enemy, now do you?"

A flash of disappointment of not being able to see Leon crossed her eyes for a second then was quickly replaced by her normal attitude. "Alright, I see your point. Besides, I need to find Luis as you know."

I sadden only a brief second, but thankfully Ada had her head turned away. "Luis... right." I muttered, "Well, be careful on your way back. Salazar could be coming, okay?"

Ada grinned, "Yeah, sure."

She turned and walked away but paused and looked over her shoulder. "Rally, remember this. There are times to run and times to fight. The only reason why you feel as though you changed is in fact because you chose to fight. Your innocence is gone and there's nothing you can do to bring it back but now you're a fighter. An equal to Leon and he'll see it soon enough as you prove to him that you've changed for the better." She paused and grinned again, "And take care of Leon for me in his mission, okay?"

I blinked in surprise at her words. The Ada I know barely says a sentence or two, this is a new Ada. Perhaps she's changing for the better too? Or is it because I changed her a bit by exposing her false face? Who knows? "Yeah, sure. I'll be sure to keep Leon alive for you two to see each other again."

Ada rolled her eyes heavenward and left. I turned to the merchant and sighed. "Though I still don't think that Leon is gonna like the new me."

The merchant ginned slightly, "Lass, the stranger will understand that yeh did what ya had to do to survive." His grin grew wider. "Besides, yer still yerself... just under a new wrappin'."

"Think so?"

"Know so, lass."

"Alright." I muttered, "Anyway, I want you to hide as well. I don't want Saddler seeing you."

"Saddler's comin'?"

"Yeah, I know he's coming this way. He's chasing after Luis and Luis will be coming here. I need to free Leon and switch places with him before the two get here."

"Alright, lass. Good luck."

I sighed. "Thanks. I'm gonna need it." I turned to the door that led to the Mezzanine room, the very room Leon is at. I sighed again and tried to calm my fearful heart. Will I be able to save Luis? Keep him from being killed by Saddler, the jerk who caused all of this? I had a feeling about the meeting that was about to come after I rescue Leon. A bad feeling. I shook myself out of it, gathered my courage and pushed open the door.

Time to see what was in store for us all...


Whoot! I finally finished this chappy! Thank the Muses that inspire us all to be authors! Anyway, I apologize for dragging this chappy on for so long and keeping you guys waiting. I can see you guys looking for me to update... I hoped you enjoyed this long chappy and pray that I don't take too long to update again!

I've got a special treat for you guys in the next chapter!

Chat with ya later!

Wait... hold on. Don't go anywhere until you guys at least give me a review. A lot people read my fic but don't leave a review. I can't do a better job unless I know how you liked the chapter. I use reviews as way to improve my writing to keep you guys on the edge of your seats!

See that little purple box that says "Submit Review"? It's on the bottom left hand corner of your screen. See it now? Good. Click "Ok". Go on. Click it. Now type in what you like (or don't like) about the chapter and submit it. See? Wasn't that easy? Don't glare at me like that. You're not gonna break your fingers by typing in a few sentences, now are you? Besides, I always reply to my reviews!

Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

...Okay, now you can go now.