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) I am SO sorry for taking so damn long with these updates! You see... I caught by the deadly creative slump and writer's block! le gasp I wasn't able to easily escape, so I had to take time off and play Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles for inspiration. And replay Resident Evil 4 to make sure I wasn't off track, missing items, rooms or what-have-you. But in the end, I was able to escape! Yays for me! So again, I apologize for taking long! I hope you enjoy this chappy and furture ones! Thank you! (Plus now that I have College Math II, my updates are gonna be slower than ever. Curse thee math. Sorry, guys.)
Final Note: 133 reviews! Wow, that's a lot for just a fic with 23 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!
Everyone gets a Rally bottlecap that says: (pokes button) (Combat Rally w/ a Rocket Launcher) "Who else wants to piss me off?!"
RESIDENT EVIL AND LEON FOREVER!! WESKER TOO!
1wingangel and Nicole this fic is for you! May you two continue to bless this fic as I add flavors from both you and me! I shall promise to keep the originallity going! And may you help me along the way, if I stray from this promise. Thank you, truly.
Resident Evil 4: A Fangirl's Dream Come True!
Chapter Twenty-Three: King's Grail Battle Knightmare!
- Merchant's Shop and Shooting Gallery
After our run in with Salazar and Leon's unsuspected rage, we decided to rest at the merchant's shop. Once there, Caleb automatically leaped onto one of the couches and fell asleep. Leon wanted to try the Shooting Gallery again to beat his old score and vent out some anger he still had. I, on the other hand, decided to stay with the merchant and sell the treasures while the agent chose to take up the Sniping course B.
I stuffed the golden coins into Leon's money pouch as the mercant started up the game for the agent. I listened carefully with a smile as I heard the gunfire behind the double doors; sometimes hearing him say "Yes!" or "Gotcha!" as he blasted wooden cutouts of the villagers and tiny cutouts of Salazar's little head. The Shooting Gallery was working its calming wonders on the agent, since his tone was once again light and happy. An hour later, Leon emerged from the shooting range with a smile plastered on his face and a contented sigh.
I smiled, "Someone's happy."
"Hey, blasting cutouts of infected villagers feels good."
"As well as sniping the cutouts of Salazar's head."
"Those too." He grinned as he dropped off the case of borrowed weaponary at the counter for the merchant to take back and collect his prize. The merchant grinned as he handed Leon a little bottle cap of...
Dr. Salvador.
The agent stared at it as I looked it over. It was a perfect, scaled down replica of the chainsaw wielding maniac. It even had bloodstains splattered all over the chainsaw! How cool was that? I pushed the button that sat on the top of the blue base.
Dr. Salvador bottle cap: (chainsaw revving up) "Grraaah!"
Leon shuddered involunitary at the sounds the little plastic toy made. I guess he was reliving his first time running into the guy. I mean, how can one forget a time like that? It's scary to know that a chainsaw wielding maniac can chase you around and saw you in half while all you have to defend yourself at the time is a handgun.
"This is gonna give me nightmares." Leon muttered as he packed the little bottle cap away. I only shrugged then thought about the bottle caps we had now and from what were in the game. There were two more bottle caps from the first shooting game. I wondered if I could get those.
I looked up at my hero. "Hey, Leon."
The agent turned to me after reloading his weapons. "Yeah?"
"Can we stay here a bit longer? I want to try the shooting range and win something."
Agent Kennedy thought about and nodded to himself. "Okay, sure. That way you can get better at aiming."
I smiled and gave him a quick hug. "Yay! And while I'm busy blasting away at wooden cutouts, you can take a nice nap!"
Leon half grinned. "That would be nice but I think I've been taking way too many naps." He sighed. "That's not a good thing when you're a government agent."
"Maybe because this mission is tough and this castle is taking a lot out of you. More so than the incident at Raccoon City you experienced six years ago." I said softly, treading carefully about the doomed city. The agent's eyes sadden at the mention of the town; remembering all of the citizens who died and rose again as the living dead, thanks to the careless and greedy hands of the Umbrella Corporation.
I guess he never really did get over that; especially when the US Government solved the incident by nuking the city, reducing the area to a crater. I mean, they didn't bother to check if there were survivors and I believed there were other survivors but we'll just never know, will we? So I changed the subject to help lift the sad mood I accidently brought in. I smiled sheepishly and pretended to be nervous. "I just hope I don't accidenty blast holes in the cardboard mes. That would be embarrassing."
Leon slightly smiled as he pushed the horrid images of Raccoon City from his mind's eye and I could tell he imagined me putting a hole in a cutout Rally. Probably thinking that would be the only headshot I could get from the whole shooting game. His blue eyes brighten and he chuckled to himself as he continued to imagine me hitting every single cardboard Rally with headshots and missing every other target.
"Yeah, that would be embarrassing." he chuckled, grinning away at me.
I frowned playfully as I began to push him out of the Shooting Gallery. "Ha ha, funny. Now go take your nap before you jinx me."
The agent decided to give me a playful hard time by leaning back and putting his weight against me, making it that much harder to push him out the door. "You will hit nothing but the Rally targets... You will hit nothing but the Rally targets...!" Leon whispered jokingly as if casting a spell on me.
"Leon! Sh-shut up!" I wailed playfully, blushing at his playfulness and the fact one of the hottest men in Resident Evil was leaning against me. Seriously, I was on the verge of ripping that shirt off. Damnit. Curse you, Scorpio sign and Pluto's energies running through me. Damn you, hormones and dirty fangirl thoughts that won't leave me alone! "Go take your nap. Who knows how long before we're out of the castle and Salazar's madness."
"You've got a point." the agent said, still leaning against me.
"Good. Now go and rest up."
Leon sighed with a grin. "Okay, okay. I'm going."
The government agent pulled himself up and stood with that boyish grin on his face. I was relieved to see Leon in a happy mood but damnit... Doesn't he realize how close he is to being stripped by his smiles and playful actions?! Gah, I blame Capcom for making him so damn attractive! The agent turned to me and told me good luck on the shooting range before turning to the door and disappearing through it to the merchant's shop.
I sighed as I turned to the merchant, who stood behind the counter with a smile. At least I think he was smiling. Intrigued by his action, I lifted a brow at him. "What are you smiling about?"
"Aye, nothin', nothin'." the merchant answered with his grin still on his face then motioned to the two cases on the counter, "What'll it be, lass?"
I looked between the two and grinned. I was good at Rapid Fire, I've been using it for a long while. But my sniping skills were a little iffy, how I managed to not hit Leon at all when I was taking off the restraints was a miracle. One that I wasn't going to risk again, so sharpening those skills is a requirement if I really wanted to help Leon. I tapped at the case the agent had borrowed just a while ago.
"Sniping."
"Ahh, ya gonna work on yer weak point, eh?"
"Yup. May never know when I might get called to cover Leon by doing some sniping."
"Thinkin' ahead, lass? That's a good habit to stick with." the merchant praised wisely as he handed me the case.
I took the case and grinned at the robed figure. "Yeah, it is."
"Course, lass?"
"Course A."
The merchant typed out the information on his laptop, making the changes to fit the course I chose. He then told me that the course was ready for me. I smiled as I hefted the small case and headed into the double doors.
- Merchant's Shop (Two hours later)
"Hey, Leon!" I called as I strode out of the Shooting Gallery with a grin on my face. For two hours, I have trained to improve my sniping skills and man are my arms tired of holding and switching weapons quickly. So not only had I sharpen my gunslinging but I had beaten my old score and gotten a couple of prizes! My grin widen a little. Wouldn't Leon be surprised?
"Guess what?"
Leon cracked open an eye sleepily and focused the bright blue orb in my direction. Caleb flicked his ears and lifted his head to look at me drowsily. The agent sat up and looked at me, still half of asleep but had a half grin on his face. "You shot all the cardboard yous?"
I frowned at him. Leon, if you weren't half a sleep, I would chuck a bottle cap at you.
My blonde hero rubbed at his eyes as he yawned slightly. I mentally scowled at the action because now I couldn't be mad at him. It was adorable to see him do that, cute enough for me to imagine him as a little chibi. Damnit, why does everything you do look so damn cute? ...Ah, that's right... I'm a fangirl. Leon blinked at me as I stood silently in front of him.
"I was kidding, Rally." he said, rotating his shoulders, "So what happened?"
I fought down a blush and quickly pushed aside any fangirl thoughts that would have popped out. I smiled at him as I put my hands into the pockets of my cargo pants. "I beat my old score."
"Nice," Leon grinned, "So what bottle cap did you win?"
I grinned and pulled out one of my hands from my pockets, keeping the little figurine hidden in my hand. It was such a cute little thing. Dirty blonde hair, electric blue eyes and wearing a brown B3 bomber jacket; the figurine also wore a pair of black fingerless grip gloves, blue pants with a leg holster, black shoes, and within it's tiny detailed hand was... a standard government issue handgun. The figurine was none other than...
"Me?" Leon questioned as he stared at the little statue of himself standing normally in the palm of my hand as I showed it to him. I nodded eagerly as Caleb tilted his head to the side in confusion at the little toy then grew bored and went back to sleep. The agent lifted a brow as he looked at the mini-Leon. "Another one of me? We've already got two of me. One holding a shotgun and another holding a rocket launcher of all things."
"Yeah, well, now there's three figurines of you. Besides, this one is wearing a brown jacket and holding a handgun." I said as I smiled down at my little prize.
The agent crossed his arms over his chest and inclined his head, thinking about something as he continued to look at the bottle cap I had won. He frowned slightly. "You know, I have been wondering what had happened to my jacket after I was knocked unconscious when Mendez flipped me into Luis."
"Probably one of the villagers took it."
"Guess so." Agent Kennedy glanced at me, "So what does this thing say?"
I grinned slyly at his question and hit the button on the blue base with my thumb.
Leon with Handgun bottle cap: "Ada!"
Leon's eyes flickered to the bottle cap in surprise, shocked at what it said. I smiled slightly at his wide blue gaze as he stared at figurine of himself as it repeated the same word after I pushed the button again. Seeing his reaction to it, my mind decided that a little prank will make it more fun. My other hand in my pocket tighten it's hold on the second bottle cap I won and my sly smile grew.
I hit the button on the Leon bottle cap again.
"Ada!"
I hit the second bottle cap button.
"Leon, now!"
The message was muffled since it was still in my pocket but Leon was able to hear it anyway and his gaze zeroed in on my pocket. From the looks of his expression, he recognized the voice instantly and his cheeks burned slightly with color. I pulled out the second bottle cap and revealed it to him. Short black hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, wearing a sexy red cocktail party dress with butterflies on it and holding it's slender arm out while gripping a handgun. It was the one and only...
"Ada?" the agent murmured to himself but it was still loud enough for me to hear. I smiled a bit, knowing his feelings toward the Asian woman had not dimmed over the years. A mix of emotions ran through his eyes at the sight of the little figurine and I wanted to see him embarrassed for once.
At least for a few seconds.
I grinned as I held both bottle caps out and hit the buttons, alternating between the Leon bottle cap and the Ada figurine.
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
The agent bushed.
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
I smiled a little as Agent Kennedy blushed a little harder.
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
"Ada!"
"Leon, now!"
"Okay!" Leon snatched the two bottle caps from my hands and put them into his attache case as his face burned with embarrassment. I snickered a bit while the agent mentally tried to force down the flush of color as Caleb cracked open an eye and glared at us in irritation for interrupting his nap.
"Sorry." I managed between giggles then looked at the agent and cleared my throat, "So, that's her name? Ada?"
The agent looked at me then chose his words carefully, "Yes, but she died six years ago."
I faked looking confused as I dug the figurine out and looked at it. "Are you sure?"
Leon looked a bit relucant, "Well, she's supposed to. But I've done some investigating and found some evidence saying that she's very much alive. But since she hasn't showed her face for six years, I doubt that she would now. Not since she's working for him." He murmured the last bit but I heard it anyway.
Wesker. I thought as he gazed at little slender figurine. Well, I have to let him know that she's here. "Really? I saw her a few hours ago while I was looking for you."
The agent's eyes widen at the information and looked at me in surprise. "What? Ada's here?"
I held the little plastic bottle cap to him in a way that showed Ada's face. "Yeah. I bumped into her while I was searching for you."
"Did she say why she was here?"
I inclined my head in mock thought. "She only said that she was looking for something; or was it someone? She didn't talk much but she did help me out a couple of times." That much isn't a lie. Thank you, Ada!
Leon looked a bit mixed about the news, happy knowing that Ada was indeed alive and well but sad that she's still working for Wesker. But he pushed the thoughts aside for gratefulness that Asian woman had actually helped me during my time alone. And I'm not lying, I am grateful for her help.
"Don't worry, Leon." I said as cheerfully as possible, "I'm sure you'll meet up with her soon."
"Hopefully." the agent mumbled but got up and stretched out his muscles. I bit the inside of my cheek at the action and forced myself to not think fangirl thoughts no matter what. Leon looked at me as he picked up his Blacktail from the table next to him. "Ready to go?"
I nodded and gently woke Caleb up before picking up my Handgun and packing away a box of handgun ammo I found in a cabinet. We said our goodbyes to the merchant for now and headed out. Our spirits were high on being a step closer of leaving the castle but kept ourselves wary of the dangers that we may face to reach our goal.
It was time to go to the Armor Exhibit and get the King's Grail.
- Corridor of Royalty
"So where to now?" I asked to strike up a conversation as we stepped out into the corridor again. Yes, I know exactly where we're going but I needed to remind my hero about it. It would look suspicious if I just headed down the hall to the room and say the King's Grail was this way without a glance at the map. Besides, I also had to keep up the charade of me knowing nothing about this castle and be as clueless as the agent about the cult.
Leon frowned slightly as he took out the map and scanned it, looking for the area we were in again before marking off the Weapons Exhibit. He looked at the two other possible ways, marking the exit of this section of the castle with a star; which left only one place to search for the second stupid cup.
"The Armor Exhibit." he answered, tapping the the small area that was off to our right (since we just came out of the side room where the merchant was holed up in), "Besides that giant door leading out of here, which we can't open until we get both grails, it's the only area that we can access from this hall."
I glanced at the map in his hands. "Well then, we better hope the King's Grail is there." I said dryly, keeping up the charade. Well, no duh, the King's Grail is there. Where else is Salazar going to stash that thing? Under his hat?
Caleb agreed with a whine of exasperation. Clearly, the White German Shepherd was getting sick of the castle. We all were, but it's easier here than at the Island we're all heading to. Agent Kennedy folded the map back up and placed it in his back pocket, which I couldn't help but watch his action. Hmm, nice... I caught myself and bit the inside of my cheek at the thought. Agh! Curse you hormones and dirty fangirl thoughts! I stuck the tip of my tongue out and rubbed my knuckles hard against my head. Leave me alone! He's Ada's man! ADA's! Not mine! ...Even though, I wish he was... but he's not!
"Uh, Rally? Are you okay?" Leon asked quizzically, causing me to snap out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I looked between the two in confusion. My blonde hero inclined his head with a mix of confusion, curiosity and amusement crossing his features. Even Caleb stared at me, giving me his version of the 'You're-not-going-insane-are-you' look. I frowned at the dog. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?" the agent asked, "You looked like you were trying to burn a hole in your head with your knuckles and bite your tongue off."
I glanced at him suspiciously when I heard the tone of his voice while he was speaking. It held a hint of humor. When I looked at him as I understood why his tone held that light tone. Apparently, he thought what I was doing earlier was funny but from the looks on his face, he wasn't sure if he should laugh or not. His body was slightly shuddering as he tried to keep his laughs to himself as he bit his lower lip to prevent them from coming out.
It was cute to see him like that. A trained secret government agent slash bodyguard is on the verge of giving into a laughing fit.
I grinned. "Nah, I'm fine. I was trying to come up with ways to pay Salazar back for all the fun he's giving us. One of my ideas is giving him an atomic wedgie."
Leon and Caleb stared at me as if I was nuts but I noticed the agent's eyes glance off to the side as he imagined it. His eyes widen as a snicker escaped his mouth then bursted out laughing. My smirk widen before I began laughing along with him as I imagined Leon giving Salazar the wedgie. Caleb watched us both for a few minutes before barking sharply to snap us out of it and get us back on track. We calmed ourselves down then headed down the right hall toward the Armor Exhibit.
As we moved down the corridor, I glanced at the paintings in the small hall we were in and noticed that the last one was familiar. The man in the painting looked like Chief Mendez some decades back before the Los Illuminados had arrived. It was either that or Rasputin, the village chief's very distant cousin of Russia. I wouldn't be surprised if they were related; they were both insane.
We reached the table that sat in the middle of a waiting room in front of the door that led to the Armor Exhibit. Leon tucked the Yellow Herb into his attache case and I snatched up a Spinel from the cabinet nearby. The open windows led in a breeze of fresh air from the outside, but it was different. The winds that blew into the room howled mournfully and yet hollowly at the same time, as if sadden by the state the castle and it's inhabitants were in now. Yeah, I feel bad for this place too. It was once glorious in it's prime then slowly went to ruin thanks to Saddler tricking Salazar into releasing the La Plaga seal.
Leon picked up the Sample Retrieved file from the table and read it, saddening for a moment at the mention of Luis' death. I looked up at him as he continued to read it then noticed curiousity lit up in his eyes as he read over one sentence. I hid a smirk. Gee, I wonder what that sentence was? The agent read on and snorted at the rest of the file, rolling his eyes and tucking it into his case, not noticing the second attachment of the file fluttering out and landing on the table.
"What's that?" I asked, referring to paper as he closed his attache case.
The agent sighed as he checked his Blacktail. "Just a file talking about how the cult feels about Luis' death and their insane leader getting that stupid 'Sample' back." he muttered irritably, "And how much they want to recapture you and want me dead. You know, the usual insane cult crap."
"Ah, I see." I said dryly then pushed it aside for something new. "Anything else? Anything unusual about that paper?" Yeah, you know where I'm going with this.
Leon nodded, "Yeah, it said something about a 'mysterious woman'. I think it's Ada."
I smiled, "Well, other than me, she's the only other woman here, right? Besides, I'm not exactly a mystery to these guys since I'm the one they want."
"True... but why would Ada want the sample?"
"Don't know. You can ask her if you two meet up."
"Yeah, that's a big if."
We dropped the subject for now in favor of getting to the Armor Exhibit. Leon opened the door and we all entered the next area.
- Armor Exhibit
We stepped into another hall with a certain theme and not with just the killer Armaduras waiting for us further in. This exhibit's theme color is red. A blood red; like nearly everything else in this castle. Plush red carpet lined the center of the hall, which stopped near the marble carving of a sleeping lion. Red drapes adored the large twin red and gold murals on walls on either side of the carpet. The murals displayed the jousting of two knights and their horses running at full speed. I bet it hurts when they smack into each other, regardless of their armor. The candlelight bathed the hall in a soft, warm glow adding feeling to the hall's tone.
And it would feel real homey if it weren't for the fact Salazar had turned the castle into a killer funhouse. Whoopie- fucking- doo.
Leon instantly didn't like this area as he walked cautiously ahead, eyeing everything as if waiting for something to give itself away as a trap. And I don't blame him. After what happened in the Weapons Exhibit, he decided to take extra care in this area so is to avoid a repeat of the incident. Caleb and I followed as the agent walked up to the sleeping lion statue and picked up the box of handgun ammo from the statue's base. He tucked the ammo box away as he looked down the second hall. This hall was similiar to the first one in theme color and decor but it had a lot more drapes and no murals.
And it's loaded with a total of eight empty suits of knight armor... Mostly empty, anyway. Two of them were twitching, though very slightly. They were just itching to chop one of us in half, aren't they? Leon could sort of sense the danger but still couldn't see it as he started forward cautiously. I shuddered involunitarly as I kind of relived my nightmare run in with these killer suits then reach out to Leon, grasped his upper arm and pulled him back.
The agent looked at me in surprise. "What?"
"Wait." I said, "Look at the suits of armor. Do you see anything different with them?"
Confused, Leon looked at the hall and the suits of armor, which were standing still in attention. "I don't see-" he began then noticed the two out of sync with the others. Those two were in attack stance, holding their weapons at the ready, hoping to slice into anyone that walked by. "Ah, those two right? The second one on the right and the last one on the left?"
I nodded as my hero frowned at them. "Yeah, those two."
He glanced at me. "How did you know about these guys?"
"I ran into a group of these suits when I left the mezzanine and was trying to find a way to rejoin you and Caleb."
The agent's eyes widen in surprise. "And you took them on with just a handgun? Are they that weak?"
I shook my head in disagreement. "Oh, hell no. These guys are tough, going up against them with just a handgun is suicide."
"So how did you-?"
"I ran, Leon. I ran like a bat out of hell away from them. I ran into them in some dark cellar and when I lost my candle I used my handgun to light my way back to some doors I had uh, passed by. Granted I was nearly sliced in half a few times but I got away from them."
Agent Kennedy looked back at the hall. "So, how do we deal with them now?"
"Well, there are two different types of 'Armaduras'."
"Arma-what?"
"Armaduras, it was what the cultists called them when I was running from them." I lied, "Anyway, there's two types. One type, are the mobile Armaduras, the ones I ran into in the cellar. They're the ones that are hard to kill. Type two, are the stationary ones, the kind that we're seeing here now. These are easy to kill."
"Why?"
"They're easy because you don't really have to do anything but dodge their swing. For some reason, when they miss, they die. Don't ask 'cause I don't know."
"Really? Interesting, yet weird but interesting all the same. So is there a way to kill the mobile ones? You know, just in case?"
I looked at him in a slight bit of awe. Wow, Leon, just... wow. You're like a psychic, for some reason you know you're going to fight the moving ones. And that's just what you're going to do when you pick up that goddamn King's Grail. I grinned at him. "There has to, they're like everyone else who has the plagas. Killable. And just like any other plaga, they're exteremly weak to bright, intense light since it kills them on the spot. Only, these plagas have armor, which ward off any sudden brusts of light."
"How do you know?" Leon asked as he studied the Armaduras from his spot next to me.
"I tried tossing a flash grenade at them before and it didn't kill them." I answered honestly yet lying at the same time. I did try doing that in the game the first time through and it didn't work. But I never did it while I was running from them earlier by myself since it would just be a waste of flash grenades.
"Any suggetions then?"
"Uh, I guess if you knock their helmets off with a shotgun blast, you can kill them with a toss of flash grenade. With the helmet off, the plaga within the armor will be exposed to the light."
Leon nodded as he took in the information and stored it in his head for later. He glanced at me and ordered me and Caleb to stay near the lion statue as he walked forward. I nodded and reminded him of what to do with the stationary Armaduras and for him to watch their movements before acting.
Caleb and I watched intently as the agent moved down the hall as he kept an eye on the second one on the right side of the red carpet. As soon as he stepped within the enemy's attack range, the Armadura suddenly reared back and swung it's large axe downward at the blonde agent. Leon dodged it with a graceful backflip, missing the axe's sharp edge by a couple of millimeters. The axe slammed into the floor and the Armadura froze for a few seconds before crumbling into a pile of pieces; the plaga within it, dead.
The agent hissed as he hopped backwards twice from his landing, his backflip sending him to stand next to me again and I grew worried that he was hurt. "Are you okay, Leon?" I asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I didn't get hit. It was just...close. Real close." Leon sighed, "You gave me the information and I was ready for it but it was still... Well, it was still pretty fast."
I let out a sigh of relief to know he was okay. "Yeah, I know that feeling. You still have one more to go."
"Right, one more to go." Leon agreed as he made his way down the hall again. I grinned as I watched him go, unable to help myself. That backflip was totally awesome and sexy! Okay, I know I'm not supposed to let fangirl thoughts get in the way but...come on! That backflip ruled! Oh, the lovely arch of his body as he bent it backwards to dodge that axe! The way his muscles swelled and flexed as he moved fluidily, perfectly... Leon's backflip was so hot, girls would melt at the very presence of it! Or make them swoon, sigh, then faint as they hear wedding bells ringing in their heads. Me? I just wanted to freeze frame that backflip, print it out and stare at it all day.
"Huh!"
I snapped my attention back to the present and watched as Leon hopped back twice again from his backflip, indicating that he dodged the other Armadura's swing. I mentally frowned as the armor collapsed into pieces after it's sword struck the ground. Damn. I missed Leon's other backflip.
"Follow me." he said and Caleb and I joined him at the other lion statue. Only this statue was not a peaceful sleeping lion, it was a carving of an alert and evil looking lion. An evil lion that seemed to be staring directly at us. Creepy. Leon, on the other hand, ignored the marble statue and looked into the round room where the hall ends.
- Chamber of Wrath
We entered the chamber and gazed around in awe. It was large and grand, perfect for a king. Statues of two jousting knights that were eerily identical to the red and gold murals in the first hall stood near the door. Swords, axes and shields lined the walls in groups; carvings of warriors were set into the walls above each group of shields and weapons.
Three strange walls were also there; and topping it off was grand high ceiling with a greenish glass dome. At which allowed greenish light to stream through, lighting up the center piece of the entire room. A small dais stood at the very center of the chamber and within that dais was our prize and the key to get out of this sector of the castle...
The King's Grail.
"Well, there it is Leon." I said, motioning to the golden goblet in the dais. Leon looked at it and frowned, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"And that's what bothers me." he muttered, walking toward it, "The Queen's Grail had some defense around it. The falling, spiked ceiling and the two psycho Illuminados who got their driver's liscense from a Cracker Jack box."
"Yeah, so?" I shuddered at the memory of the Weapons Exhibit.
The agent eyed the dais critically, "Where's the defense for the King's Grail? Those two swinging Armaduras can't possibly be the only security this thing has."
Normally, I agree with you if we were discussing the game. But right now, I wished that was all the security it had. I thought bitterly but shook it away. "Look, regardless of what the security is, Leon, we need that thing to leave." I said, suddenly getting a very bad vibe from the room. "Just pick it up and we'll deal with whatever trap comes up then we get the fuck out of here."
He looked at the inscription etched into the surface of the dais. Which no doubt says, May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this holy grail. The agent narrowed his blue eyes at the warning as he nodded to my words. "I agree. Listen, I want you and Caleb to leave the chamber when I pick this up, okay?" Leon said, not looking away from the dais.
I nodded, "Right, we'll leave the second before you grab it."
The agent nodded as he reached into the dais to get the golden cup. Caleb and I stood near the doorway and readied ourselves to leave, watching Leon's movements, despite the fact I knew he was right. As soon as he picks that damn thing up, the real security will rotate in and try to slice him half. And I can't really help him fight those off with two handguns. Lord knows you're asking for a death wish if you go up against a group of Armaduras with a pair of little guns.
Leon's fingertips brushed the rim of the grail-
Shh-ink!
-and the bars slammed to the floor, blocking the only way out of the chamber. It was so sudden and unexpected, that I screamed in fright, jumping at the sound. Leon jerked his hand back from the grail without taking it as we whirled around and stared at the sealed exit in shock. That wasn't supposed to happen! The trap's not supposed to activate until after Leon picks the stupid cup up! Not touch it!!
Agent Kennedy growled angrily as the three strange, blank walls began to rotate. He backed away from one as the three walls revealed three Armaduras. "I knew it!" he growled as the silver knights lifted their heavy melee weapons and lurched forward. One of them turned and started for me, holding it's axe tightly as the other knights went after Leon, brandishing their swords.
Oh, man...! The knight swung and I ducked under the swing, avoiding getting my head sliced off. Agent Kennedy fired the Riot Gun at the Armaduras attacking him, only to see them shrug it off easily. He growled and fired again, pushing them back as I dodged the swings my Armadura was making.
"Shit... There's not enough room here!" Leon growled as he leaped back from a downward slice of one knight's sword and fired on it, hitting it's helmet. It staggered back from the force of the blow but still showed no sign of being damaged. "Aw, hell."
I dodged another attack and ran around behind it as Caleb scrabbled his claws at the knight's leg. Unforutanetly, the Armadura didn't feel a thing and calmly ignored the white dog as it turned to look for me. The agent glanced at me after he fired another buckshot at the other knight attacking him, forcing it back. His eyes widen upon seeing my trouble and remembered that I all I had to defend myself was a few grenades which aren't best used right now, the Handgun and the Punisher.
"Rally! Duck!"
I looked at him in confusion then surprise as I saw him aiming the Riot Gun in my direction. Holy crap! I ducked and Leon fired, hitting the knight's faceplate. It stumbled back and I looked up, seeing the knights attack the agent again. One knight swung vertically at him and he dodged. The other swiped at him horizontally and my hero stepped back. Only this time, the knight reversed the attack and whacked Leon in the chest with the broadside of the sword.
He gasped and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, falling backwards in pain. The first knight raised it's sword once more as the agent continued to cough. Oh, shit!! I looked around for something to use to help my hero and smiled as an idea dawned on me.
The shields!
I raced to one, avoiding my pursurer and gripping a shield on one wall. I yanked it off the stone and grunted a bit since it felt heavy. I turned and rammed the shield against my knight, shoving it back. It reared back in surprise, caught off balance. I ignored it and ran toward Leon.
"Leon! Catch!" I yelled, throwing the shield over the two Armaduras.
The agent barely caught it and kept it up, bracing his arms for the sword swing. The silver knight swung downwards and the blade bounced off the shield, Leon grunting a little from the impact. The Armadura staggered and my hero rolled to the side to avoid the other knight's swing. He leaped to his feet, brought up the shield and rammed the knight that still suffered from the block. It staggered back again and Leon swung the shield sideways, aiming high and knocked the helmet off.
The Armadura knelt in pain and tried to recover as the plaga revealed itself and shrieked angrily. The agent took care of it with another whack, hitting the parasite. It's tentacles were smashed to the rim of the armor from the hit, it shrilled in pain and pulled its limbs into the suit, deciding to leave us alone for now.
In the mean time, I had grabbed a sword from a wall and jammed the blade into the shoulder joint of the Armadura attacking me while it was preparing to attack. Caleb barked angrily at the one still pursuing Leon, who whirled around dodged the horizontal swing and rammed it back. Only this time, the knight was smart enough to bring up it's sword, blocked Leon's ram and pushed back.
The two were locked in a battle of strength as they pushed against their weapons. Err, shields I guess. The Armadura that had come after me tried to attack while its axe arm was still jammed with the sword. I guess the plaga inside was ignoring the fact the arm was jammed and forced itself to swing. And that's when I smirked, stiffling a laugh so's not to distract Leon. But I'll always remember this as one of the funniest things I've seen.
When the knight forced its arm to move, the sword bent a little, straining the joint which caused the axe arm to pop off. It was amazingly funny to see a one armed Armadura, despite the fact it was the same one trying to slice into me. Unfortunately, these guys always swing with both arms, so as funny as it was to see a dangling arm still gripping the axe, the Armadura was still deadly. The knight swung it's axe at me and I ducked, quickly crawling between it's feet to get at the forgotten Riot Gun. Caleb saw what I doing and ran to the shotgun, snagged it in his mouth and brought it to me.
I smiled at the White German Shepherd and cooed him a thank you for a second before whipping around and fired the Riot Gun. The buckshot knocked the one armed Armadura's helmet right off, exposing the plaga hidden within. The parasite flailed it's axe and disbodied armored arm in frustration before letting the razor sharp weapon fly from its grip in hopes of hitting something.
It did.
The axe slammed into the other silver knight, causing it to stagger. Leon seized his chance by aiming high and smacking the helmet off with the shield. The plaga popped out, shrilling furiously at the fact that it was exposed and lashed at the agent with it's bony blade. He blocked it with the shield and moved it forward with a quick jab. The shield smacked into the plaga's whipping tentacle and redirected the attack back at the parasite. The little slimy creature shrieked in pain as the bony blade pierced it's eye. It flailed wildly as the first parasite decided to join the fray once more, whipping it's tentacle around excitedly.
I quickly pulled out a Flash grenade. "Flash!!" I warned loudly and I saw Leon throw up his shield, facing it to me as Caleb scammpered over to a corner and curl into a ball. I threw down the flash bomb and the chamber was fill with intense light as well as the intensly loud death screams of the plagas as the light burned them.
After a few seconds, the light died away and the suits of armor collapsed into a heap of broken bits and revealing little treasures that they each held. I grinned as I snagged up a box of shotgun ammo and reloaded the Riot Gun with them, dropping the rest into my pouch. Leon snatched up a green herb and placed it into his case as I returned the shotgun to him. Caleb wagged his tail happily over the box of TMP ammo he had in his mouth.
Leon grinned as he held the weapon. "Well, I hope that's all th-"
The walls rotated once more, revealing the black knights standing guard, who raised their melee weapons. The agent swore under his breath when they lurched forward to attack. I know how you feel Leon, believe me... I do. I hate this room as much as you do. Caleb snarled and barked savagely in hopes of distracting them, but these guys weren't as stupid as El Gigante. They ignored the dog and came after us, only sticking close as a group. I sighed in frustration as I handed Leon a flash grenade as I armed myself with a hand grenade.
"To hell with this. We don't have time or the patience for you." I hissed as I placed a hand on a red grenade on one of my belt loops. I remembered the quick way of killing these guys off without causing harm to Leon in the game. Throw two grenades, either red or green, at the Armaduras then a flash grenade and volía! instant cooked Plagas! Wait... why didn't I do this when I was running from them in the Servants' Quarters? Oh, yeah, I was hiding from Wesker. Explosions would have brought him that much faster to my position that time.
The agent looked confused about my silent plan but said nothing as I threw my grenade into the cluster of suits. The resulting explosion shook the whole room as well as making the dark knights kneel in pain. I quickly snatched up an Incendiary grenade and hurled it at them too as they rose from their kneel. Fire erupted around them and flames licked at the armor as they knelt again, which made them appear as if they warped into the chamber in hell's fire. The Armaduras rose again but this time the plagas had knocked their helmets off themselves. They popped out, shrieking in anger and snapping their giant maws at us.
"Shriek this." Leon growled, throwing down the flash grenade in front of them to put an end to the short fight with them. The agent brought up the shield again, ushering me behind it as well just before the light erupted within the room. We cringed at the hight pitch death screams of the parasites as they shriveled up and burned away. The sounds of collapsing armor indicated that the room was clear and safe to get the cup and leave.
"Thank God." I muttered as Agent Kennedy dropped the shield in favor of freeing his hands. I walked over to the dais and snatched the King's Grail from it. "Stupid important key cup. If you weren't the only way out of here, I would sooo melt you down and turn you into a bedpan!"
Leon grinned slightly, plucked the grail from my grip and dropped it into his attache case. "I couldn't agree with you more and I would love to join you in your rant but I believe it's best to leave now."
I frowned for a second then smiled, remembering the fact that we're once step closer on leaving the castle. We grabbed up the pestas that black knights dropped and picked up any items we ignored in the chamber before leaving. We barely got out of the chamber and moved down two feet of the red carpet before we noticed something was wrong.
Deadly wrong.
Leon growled angrily as he glared down the hall as my eyes widen in shock. Caleb whimpered and drooped his ears in dismay that things were not in our favor. What the fuck?! This wasn't suppose to happen!
"Why am I not surprised?" the agent gripped, narrowing his electric blue eyes at our new obstacle. I couldn't look away but regarded Leon's comment. Not surprised? Hell, I'm fucking freaking out about it! This isn't supposed to happen at all! Then again, I really shouldn't be shocked. After all, since when did this adventure ever played fair or by the rules of the game? But I was hoping this room followed the rules... but it's not. This sucks.
In front of us, blocking our way, stood the last six suits of armor that didn't attack us in the hall. They were lined up three by three in attack stance and when we didn't proceed, they decided to move instead. They came forward menacingly, which pretty much told us that we weren't leaving this room without another fight. Or alive if we screwed up. I quickly threw another Incendiary into their group and they knelt down in pain. I grabbed another as they rose and moved forward in their deadly steady march. I threw it and flames from it caused them to kneel again.
Leon held his hand out to me and I knew he was asking for a flash grenade. And I reached for one-
-then paled when I didn't feel one.
"Oh, shit..." I muttered as I looked at my belt loops in slight panic. "We have a problem."
"You don't have any more?"
"No. I thought I had more but I don't."
"So.. the ones you did use..?"
"Were my last ones..."
"Well, shit..."
"My thoughts exactly, Leon." I said as the knights rose and charged forward, no longer wearing helmets and no longer patient. We freaked and ran into the chamber in hopes of getting some room. We raced to the other side of the room as the knights poured into the doorway and remembered what I did when I was facing them alone in the cellar. I glanced at the agent. "Leon, I got an idea."
"Well, I don't have any right now. So what's your idea, Rally?" Leon asked as mentally searched for a way to defeat the Armaduras without wasting so much ammo.
"Well, we can use the dais as a block, circle it and run around them to get a clear shot at the exit. I used this trick to escape the cellar."
The agent smiled. "It's better than nothing, I like it!"
I smiled back then let it drop as horror over took me. Did these guys just understood what I planned?! The six knights divided their group and each trio took up one side of the dais, leaving no room to run around them. The plagas snarled and snapped their jaws as they closed in, Leon reached for his shotgun then realized there was no point. Shooting one will only leave him open to get attacked by the other five. Even with my and Caleb's help, it still left us open to the other three. We really were screwed...
(A/N: We switch over for just a bit...)
A figure looked around the corner and narrowed its eyes at the situation. Then rolled them heavenward in irritation at the fact that these two couldn't save themselves even if life had given them the proper weapons and told them what to do. They were going to screw everything up but for things to come out as planned they needed a bit more time. And they were needed alive for just a bit longer, or else all this was for nothing. The figure was irritated by this fact but wasn't going to argue with it.
Just save them then go. That's all. It's for my mission anyways. Save them once then get the hell out of here before I'm seen again.
Right. For the mission, nothing more. The figure plucked out a flash grenade from its case, held down the trigger while pulling out the pin. Applied the right amount of pressure to delay the explosion for a few more seconds before flicking the grenade into the chamber, letting it roll the rest of the way. Then the figure turned and hurried down the hall, thankful for the plush carpet silencing its steps as it made its way to the door.
(A/N: And we switch back...)
We're screwed... we're screwed... we're screwed... we're- huh?
I blinked in confusion as something rolled behind a knight. What was that? Leon pushed me gently behind him as the plagas reared their ugly head back. He had told me that once they attack him that I should duck, crawl under them and run for the door. I refused outright but he made me promise that I would do that anyway. I didn't... I really didn't want Leon sacrificing himself to save me. Watching from behind the agent, I realized at that I may not have much of a choice in the matter as the Armaduras' jaws shot toward to Leon.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tighten my grip on the agent's shirt, waiting to hear his screams of pain before I had to move. Instead of screaming, I heard heard a soft explosion before finally hearing the shrieks. But they weren't the screams of a certain hero in pain and agony, on the verge of death... they were the shrieks of a certain type of parasite that were dying. The loud sounds of metal pieces hitting marble made me open my eyes and stared in shock at the all the armor pieces scattered all over the floor.
I glanced up at Leon and saw that he had his eyes closed, his body tense in preparation on receiving pain but not one scratch was on him. What the fuck?
"Leon?" I said softly and the agent cracked open one eye, blinked then opened his other eye, clearly confused. He glanced at me.
"Rally, did you-?" he asked and I shook my head, just as confused as he was.
"No, did you?"
"Can't be. I don't carry grenades."
"Well, it couldn't be me. I ran out of flash grenades."
"Caleb?"
We glanced over to the dog in question and saw that it couldn't be him for obvious reasons. One, he didn't have grenades. Two, he couldn't set one off unless he bit into it and I doubt that he wants something blowing up in his mouth. And three, he was laying on the floor with his paws over his eyes, clearly shaking in his fur.
Leon and I looked around the chamber in search of something that could give us answers but didn't find anything other than broken armor pieces, more pestas and some ammo. I picked up another hand grenade that one Armadura had dropped for me and looked qizzically at Leon.
"What do you suppose happened?" I asked as I hooked the green little bomb to my belt loop. The agent shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as he put the ammo into his case and reloaded all the weapons that needed reloading. Caleb whimpered and Leon seemed to agree with him.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Agent Kennedy said, standing up and sighing. "I'd like to say it's a blessing in disguise yet it's seems a little fishy to me. But it's best not to question it until we leave."
"Good idea." I agreed and we quickly left the Armor Exhibit before anything else went wrong. As we bolted through the door, I realized that we were going to be forced apart yet again.
The Ballroom and Novistadors were waiting for us...
Leon...
FINALLY!! I finally finished this chapter! I am SO sorry for the long ass delay! but finals for college quarter are up and I've been studying... as well trying to make this chappy as exciting as as possible! I'd like to thank you all for being paitent about this chappy as well as this fic! And I like to thank Sabertooth and Wolf, Zalger248, and Bluecupcakes (f.k.a AdaLeon) for helping me make the King's Grail trap so exciting! Hugs and kisses for you three!
I'm sad to say that I may have to stay with College Math 2 for another quarter so updates maybe slow then. Pray that I don't get it again. Curse you math! You hate me and you know it!
Okay, guys, you know the drill. Read and Review please. Comments and positive criticism are welcome. And ideas for future chappies, suggestions are also welcome.
If I had finished this chappy sooner, I would have told you all that RE4: A Fangirl's Dream Come True had reached 5,000 hits! That's right 5,000 hits! Well, right now, its over 5,000 hits! WHOO! Break out the sodas and streamers! It's party time! Wesker! I said "break out the sodas" not "break out the T-Virus vials!" Oh, well, at least it'll be fun shooting zombies right? A zombie fighting party! Cool.
Well, it's for me to plan out the next chapter, wish me luck!
Chat with all of ya later!
(Seriously, please put in a review. So far 104 readers read it and only 7 reviewed. Please put one in! Reviews are my reason to keep this going. Reviews tell me I'm doing a good job. Reviews tell me that people want this fic to keep going.)
