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... the deadly creative slumps and writer's block are acting up again! It's been hard focusing on this fic, probably because I'm burning out my brain with ideas and plot twists. So again, I apologize for taking long! I hope you enjoy this chappy and future ones! Thank you! (Plus now that I've got projects to finish on my freetime to pass these classes, I don't have as much freetime as I used to. And I've been sick lately. But I'm better now! YAY!)

Final Note: 141 reviews! Wow, that's a lot for just a fic with 24 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/ Wesker's Shades) "Wesker! Kiss, kiss!"

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-Four: Things You Shouldn't Piss Off

- Corridor of Royalty

We scurried into the corridor, not wanting to take a chance of more Armaduras showing up in the room if we stayed there any longer. Leon quickly locked the door, just in case, as I leaned against the wood, sighing in relief that the armored attack ordeal was over. I glanced ahead of us and noticed that a piece of paper was sitting on the surface of the table. Curious, I pushed away from the door and picked up the paper, seeing that it wasn't a note but a photo. A photo of Luis Sera which was supposed to have been attached to the Sample Retrieved file. I gazed at the picture sadly.

Luis. If only you had survived... Not only would you be a big help to Leon on taking this cult down, but you would have been a good friend to us.

"Rally? You okay?" Leon asked before looking over my shoulder and seeing the photo, "Ah..."

"I..." I mumbled, staring at the deceased Spaniard's face. Caleb nuzzled my leg and whimpered, sensing my mood and wanting to cheer me up. I could tell Leon was sad as well and was trying to find something to say. I shook my head and forced a small smile. "I'm okay, just sad that we couldn't prevent Luis from dying."

The agent took a deep breath and let it out slowly, sighing sadly. "I know. I wish that I could have done something to prevent his death but what's done is done. We couldn't do anything then to help him. All we can do now is honor his last wish and prevent this from happening again by taking out Saddler."

I nodded as I tucked Luis' photo into my attache case to keep. "Yeah."

Leon placed a hand on my shoulder, "Come on, we shouldn't linger around here any longer than neccessary."

I brought out my Handgun and nodded faintly again, "Yeah, we do need to keep moving."

We quickly left the little waiting room, passed by the Merchant's shop and headed north toward the only exit out of this portion of the castle. I picked up a flash grenade that sat on one of the chairs as we neared the hall that led to the giant set of doors. The low moans of the winds that blew into the Salazar Family Art Gallery were much louder, thanks to the large open windows that are no doubt ahead of us.

I grinned to myself as we walked cautiously around a corner. If only Salazar was there so I could shove his tiny ass out of the windows. If he's lucky, the winds can make him fly for a bit before he falls. It's off to Neverland for you, Sal! As we rounded the corner, the most annoying phrase I have come to hate in this adventure rang out loudly.

"Ahí están!"

My eye twitched at the words as Leon sighed and Caleb growled.

"For the love of...." I growled, "Can't they say something different for once?!"

"Apparently not." the agent replied dryly as he raised his Blacktail toward the group of six monks as they charged at us. I sighed as I raised the Handgun as well, taking aim at one of the monks. Four scythe wielding crazies and two shielders. Yay. As they got within range of our guns, Leon capped two scythes wielders with headshots before they so much as giggled. I, on the other hand, took a bit longer at shooting my targets.

I have to admit, it's pretty hard to do kneeshots, when you really can't see the knees because of their robes. So yeah, I kinda wasted half a clip trying to hit the kneecaps before I finally was able to shoot them out. Then wasted the other half killing them as they toppled over in pain from the bullets in their legs. These shielders were a lot slower than they were in the game since I actually had time to eject the spent clip and search my pockets for a fresh one then slapped it into the gun. And Leon took care of them with the Semi-Auto, one shot to the heart and a shot to the head.

The shots were simply amazing. I glanced at him as he put away the rifle and blushed a bit. I don't care what people say, he rules at making top notch shots. Okay, yes I know Wesker outclasses him in this to a degree... but come on! It's Leon, who has untapped potential! And he still rules! Girls can fall for this agent a thousand times over and still not get tired of it. I know I'm not. I seriously wish I could shoot like him, it would make this adventure a lot easier. But then it wouldn't be an adventure, now would it?

Caleb barked and trotted back to Leon after retrieving something from mound of bodies before they melted into the carpet. That still disgusts me no matter how many times I see it happen. Agent Kennedy took the box of ammo from the dog's mouth and opened it. I leaned next him to see the contents of the box and smiled.

"Hey, that's cute." I said, smirking as the agent closed the ammo box and put it in his attache case.

He raised a brow. "That I got a 'shoot-two-get-three-bullets-free?'"

"Yeah. You get your two rifle shots back plus an extra one for a treat."

"What I like to get from this 'shoot-something-to-get-something-free' deal... is a way to get these parasites out of our bodies."

I nodded in understanding. "I agree. That would really be nice but hey, that's not happening anytime soon." Seriously, Leon, it's not.

"That reminds me..." Leon reached into his pant pocket and pulled out the jar of pills Luis had given him upon his death. "We need to take these to suppress their growth and give us more time to find a way to get rid of them for good."

He opened the jar and shook it a little until two pills rolled onto his palm. He gave one to me and popped his into his mouth, swallowing it. I did the same and he repeated the process again while I blinked in confusion.

"Why twice?" I asked as he handed me my second pill.

"We didn't get the chance to take them eariler because I forgot about these. And just incase." he replied before swallowing his second pill. I thought about it then nodded in understanding, seeing the logic in it. Hey, I forgot about them too. Then I popped mine into my mouth to swallow.

I glanced at the statued of women that lined the wall of the large hall. Oh, yeah! The Spinels and Purple Gem are still here! The agent noticed my gazed and followed it, seeing the sparkling things on the statues. We stared at the little treasures, looked at each other and grinned mischievously.


- Corridor of Royalty / Ballroom Doorway

We stood in front of the large locked doors with three more Spinels and a completed Elegant Mask in the agent's case. Before us was not only the doors but the puzzle we need to complete to unlock them and let us go on further. And we got keys to solve it. The agent opened his case and brought out the two goblets we retrieved, setting them on the floor before putting his case away. He picked them up and looked at me.

"Which one you want?" he asked, holding the two out in front of me.

I looked at the two and grinned, taking the one I want from the agent. "I'll take the Queen's. Is that alright with you, King Leon?" I teased, holding the golden cup as if in a toast.

Leon grinned and clicked the rim of the King's Grail to mine in a toast. "That's fine with me, Princess Rally."

I looked at him in mock offense. "'Princess' Rally? I'm holding the Queen's Grail, you should be calling me Queen."

The blonde smirked teasingly, which made me blush slightly. "I'm pretty sure that in this castle, a woman can't be a Queen unless she marries a King first. Or a crowned Prince. Which ever comes first, I guess."

"Oh." I said, my cheeks reddening further from the information. Please don't give me ideas... A sudden image of Leon in a cute tuxedo, standing proud at some altar while loud but beautiful chruch bells tolled. And someone in a long white dress walking down the aisle.... Isn't me, isn't me, isn't me! Damnit! Damn these fangirl thoughts! The thoughts of tackling Leon and ripping his clothes off were bad enough... but marriage!? No! Nonononono! He's not mine, he's Ada's! Ada is the one who's gonna marry him! Not me!

"Kinda sucks." I said calmly, referring to the agent's statement; despite the fact I'm running around in my mind and smacking my own naughty thoughts down with a bat.

Leon nodded, "Back then, yeah. But now, women are taking over the world."

I grinned, "Ooh, yeah..."

"Anyway, let's solve this puzzle, unlock the doors and get the hell out of here."

"Amen to that."

We approached our respective busts before the blonde agent called out to me to get my gun ready. You know, 'just incase.' I wouldn't blame him for being this cautious, things intend to go wrong when we trying to we're always doing. Caleb watched out backs again, looking down the hall to make sure no zealot tried to sneak up on us. He's such a good dog, very smart, loyal and lovable. Who wouldn't want him?

Anyway, we kept our sidearms in one hand and the keys in the other. Leon had decided that we should set the goblets down at the same time and say what the inscription says, just incase it was one of those puzzles you see in movies. Well, since the mansion was based off spy movies and incident at Raccoon was coming from a hybrid of horror/spy, I see the logic of his thought. We looked at each and nodded before turning back to the busts and raising the goblets.

Okay, here we go!

3...

2...

1...

"A toast to our Royal Majesty." we both intoned and set the grails down simultaneously. There was a loud click! and few seconds later the lattice, that had barred the doors, rose and disappeared into the doorframe. We smiled at the fact we solved the puzzle and unlocked the door, then turned around and half expected to see about a dozen Illuminados behind us. Surprisingly, we saw nothing but Caleb wagging his tail in joy. I don't blame him, I'm happy that we're finally moving on.

"Glad to see there's no party crashers." Leon said as we gathered at the doors.

I grinned, "Yeah, and let's keep it that way. On we go!"

The agent smiled as he held up his Blacktail ready, as I did the same. We pushed open the doors and stepped through. I sighed inwardly in dread, knowing that we were going to be separated once again.


- Ballroom Entry Hall

We entered a fairly short hallway that had obviously seen better days.

"What the hell happened here?" Leon wondered aloud as he gazed around the hall. I looked around as well and frowned at the mess. Something that didn't happen in the game. Other than the broken windows that are supposed to be here, the entire hall was a complete disaster. The cabinets were smashed open, the chairs were splintered from being flung around and one of them was stuck to a wall, broken of course. The vases were nothing more than bits of pottery on the floor that glistened in the sunlight due to the tiny shards of shattered glass catching the light.

The very state of the hall unnerved me. What could have done this much damage?

"I don't like this." the agent muttered as he stepped forward carefully, the already broken glass crunching beneath his boots. I followed him, picking up items and sweeping aside the shards with my feet to make a path for Caleb.

"I agree with you on that a hundred percent, Leon." I answered as I moved aside a piece of wood to find a small chest of pesetas. I crammed them into Leon's money pouch and stood, ready to look for more, just as I glanced at the walls. My eyes widen in surprise. "Leon," I called as I examined it, "Look at this."

The agent looked up from his finding of pesetas and headed over to me. I touched the wall carefully and looked at Leon. "Something big came through here."

Agent Kennedy looked at me then at the walls and his blue gazed widen in shock. Claw marks decorated the walls in crisscross patterns, carving straight through the stone. I recognize the marks as those of the Novistadors... but these were far longer and bigger than the monstrous bugs. Exactly what went through here? I looked at the destruction of the entry hall and decided to not find out. Whatever it was... it had been pissed.

The agent narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to shift uncomfortably about the area. I don't blame him, this is freaking me out too. He continued to look at the claw marks for a few moments, opened his mouth to say something then closed it, deciding it was best to not say anything about it. I'm only guessing that he didn't want to jinx us. Again, I don't blame him. Say anything bad while in the world of Resident Evil and you're bound to make things a lot worse for yourself.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Leon turned away from the claw marks and headed further down the hall. I followed him as well as Caleb. As we got closer to the wooden double doors, I saw the balcony and the ladder that led to a Butterfly Lamp. The agent picked up a box of shotgun shells and packed them away and was about to open the doors when I stopped him. Agent Kennedy looked at me in confusion and I grinned a bit.

"Before we head into the next room, how about we check the balcony?" I suggested, gesturing to the broken windows that allowed more fresh air to blow into the hall. He glanced outside, saw the railing for the balcony and smiled back at me.

"I think it'll be wise choice. Thanks, Rally." he said, which caused me to blush a bit.

"Think nothing of it." I replied and hopped over the window sill, Leon following suit. I picked up a Red Herb and handed it to the agent, who immediately tore it up and sprinkled it into a vial of Green and Yellow Herbs, making another Mixed Herbs. Caleb placed his front paws on the sill and whimpered. We turned and looked at him as he lowered his ears in sadness still whimpering. Leon smiled and gave our faithful companion a good scratch behind the ears, at which Caleb panted, enjoying the affection.

"I know you want to follow, Caleb, but seeing that it's ladder, you can't climb it." he said, which the dog whimpered again, "I think it's best if you stay here. You know, watch our backs."

The White German Shepherd brightened and panted, giving a small yip in happiness. I stroked the dog's head too. "Yeah. Besides, we're just going up the ladder, see what's there and come right back, okay?"

Caleb yipped again and seemingly smiled. Leon and I smiled in return before turning and climbing up the ladder. We quickly scaled the ladder and followed the long, narrow and rail less path that circled the outer wall of the Ballroom. As we cautiously walked the path, I noticed that Leon stuck close to the wall and was slightly tense. Is he afraid of heights? The agent glanced out toward the open air of the castle's estate and his eyes narrowed slightly, looking over the area. No, if he was then he would have flipped out on me at the gandola. Probably looking out for any surprise aerial attacks. I smiled slightly in memory. Ah, the Crows. Those attacked him at Raccoon City too.

We continued our walk and came upon the chest that I was hoping for. Agent Kennedy raised a brow at it in confusion then shrugged. I'm only guessing that he found it weird but not as oddly bizarre as the stupid Chess Plugs he had to search for to open the door in the sewers under the Police Station. I should know, I cheat when it comes to that puzzle lock. I could never find the last piece to it. Though, I can't remember if it was the Knight piece or the Bishop piece that was the bitch I couldn't find. Or was it the Rook?

The agent jogged forward, not noticing the large open window on the left, as he headed straight for the chest. He inspected it, making sure there was no trap rigged to the chest, before holstering his weapon. He opened the chest, looked into it, reached in and pulled out the item tucked inside. He held up the item and stared at it in confusion.

"A lamp?" he questioned, studying the nicely decorated piece.

I smiled. "It's not just any lamp, Leon." I answered, "It's a Butterfly Lamp!"

"A what lamp?"

"A Butterfly Lamp. Look at the decorations on it. They're butterfly designs! All you need is-" I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Blue Eye I had gotten in the sewers a while back. "-the right gems-" I popped the Blue Eye into a slot on the lamp. "-to finish it."

The agent blinked as he looked at the first completed butterfly and smiled. "Ah, just the Beerstein, huh?"

I nodded, "Yup."

"That's good. Got anymore of those gems to finish it?" he asked as we began to walk back to the ladder. I shook my head in answer as we were about to walk in front of the window. "Oh." He looked a little disappointed but shook it off for another question as we stepped within sight of the window. I looked into the Ballroom. "Where do you get the gems from?"

I didn't answer, opting to look through the window and staring at Novistador hive. The agent looked concerned then followed my "shocked" gaze toward the window. He stared in shock.

"What the hell is that?" Leon yelped, gazing at the greenish thing that hung from the ceiling of the Ballroom in confused horror. The hive pulsed a sickening slow rhythm, yellowish clear slime dribbled from it and hit the floor below with a loud smack! He continued to watch the hive in horrific fascination then shuddered involuntarily as another dribble of slime hit the floor.

"No clue." I lied, watching another trail of slime hang from the fleshy stalagmite. It moved slightly up and down, as if it didn't know which direction to go before gravity decided for it and pulled it down.

Smack!

I shuddered as well from the sight and sound. Uu-gh...

Another large glob of the stuff quickly slid down to the tip of the hive and dropped. Leon uttered a low groan of disgust as it splattered. I blushed from the sound he made and quickly shook it off. No fangirl thoughts. Ada's... Ada's... Ada's... He's Ada's...

"Oh, man... that's sick." the agent moaned and shuddered. And I made the mistake of glancing at him, accidently watching his body quiver in repulsion to the hive. Suddenly, the thoughts of tackling and ripping the agent's clothes off and doing other naughty stuff returned with avengance. My blush deepened further than usual and felt a shiver go down my spine. Oh, man... why did I have to be born a girl? A girl with the Scropio sign, raging hormones and being a huge Leon fan?! The mental picture of Leon unconscious and half naked (that my mind had stored away back at the cabin) sprang up. I whimpered. Why did it have to pop up?!

"I know... it's creeping me out too." Leon said as he continued to look at the hive. If you could see what's on my mind, Leon, that hive won't be the only thing that'll creep you out.

"I agree." I replied, referring to both things. I looked away from him, squashed down the blush and walked over to the ledge of the window, peering down. "Think we should jump?"

Agent Kennedy pulled his gaze away from the pulsing hive and joined me at the ledge. He judged the height of the drop and shook his head. "I don't think so, we're too high. I wouldn't want any of us to break a leg to just get into the room." He smirked as he looked at me. "Besides, we still have to get Caleb."

Ah, that's right. I smiled at the dirty blond government agent. "True. Let's go back to Caleb and go through those doors. They lead into the room anyway."

Leon grinned. "Yup. We promised."

We turned away from the sickening hive, returned to the ladder and rejoined with Caleb, who was more than happy to see us again. The dog hopped about happily, licking our faces and wagging his tail. He had even leaped over the window sill and tackled the agent to the balcony's floor to lick his face when we arrived. The White German Shepherd was damn excited to see us.

We quickly had a rejoining party, which consisted of giving Caleb a ton of affection and drinking from the canteen to rehydrate ourselves. Afterwards, we made sure our weapons were loaded and ready, then we pushed open the double doors and entered the next room.


- Ballroom

The room was, simply put, huge! And it had also seen better days. The once grand dancefloor was ruined; large portions of it were missing, presumably down below somewhere. All there really was of the floor was just darkness. The pieces that were still there weren't much to look at and would make navigating a bit hard, since the really only piece there was to walk on was the fairly large strip in the very center of the room.

The eggshell white walls were cracked, bits of it were crumbling and the color was stained into a very pale yellowish-green. Must have been the slime that stained them. The walls stretched high above us, curving into a lovely and elegantly done, high domish ceiling. Unfortunately, the ceiling was completely ruined by the large, pulsing hive that hung from it. More rivulets of slime dribbled down from it and Caleb seemed to gawk at it. If a dog could make a facial expression, Caleb's would definitely be the 'Just-what-the-fuck-is-that?!' look.

Leon glanced at the digusting, hanging thing before frowning at it. I'm guessing that he just doesn't like there. I smiled grimly at his wariness towards the hive. And for good reason. Mumbling about something, the agent looked away and walked ahead, focused on just getting us out of here as fast as possible. But from the way his body was being, I knew he wasn't letting his guard down. Playing my part, I followed alongside him, hoping nothing will go wrong. Caleb followed directly behind the agent, keeping an eye on the hive as he trotted along.

I was sure that neither Leon nor Caleb seemed to be aware of the soft, rhythmic alien hum as we walked. Which only meant one thing...

I let out a startled cry of surprise as something hard and fast slammed into me from behind. I fell forward but I never touched the ground as strong, scratchy limbs gripped me by the waist and hauled me off the marble floor. Novistador! I screamed again in panic as I was lifted into the air. I knew it was coming and was prepared for it but it still startled me badly.

"Rally!" Leon cried out in shock as the Novistador flew past him with me in its claws. "Damn it!"

Caleb jumped up and snapped his jaws at the bug's legs but wasn't fast enough. I wailed and thrashed in the monster bug's arms in a fake attempt to escape. I knew that I was going to be carried away anyway but I had to make it look good, right?

BANG!

Suddenly, the bug's grip slackened and I was let go, falling four hundred feet to floor. I shrieked in panic as I free fell, surprised that Leon had actually managed to hit the bug. Then I suddenly stopped falling, landing in something firm yet warm. And it's not Caleb.

"Are you alright?" the agent asked as I blushed, realizing that I just landed in Leon's arms. "I didn't accidently hit you or anything, right?"

I nodded, fighting to keep my fangirl thoughts in check and keep from overblushing. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

The agent smiled in relief to know that I was okay but the smile disappeared as Caleb began to snarl in warning. The soft alien hum of the annoying sewer dwellers suddenly exploded into high pitched shrieks as the Novistadors shot up from the dark abyss below us. Agent Kennedy growled in worry as we found ourselves surrounded by them, seeing nothing but blurs as they flew about crazily, shrieking and completely focused on us.

And from the sounds of their screaming, they were pissed.

"Crap." Leon muttered as he looked at each one carefully. "More of that thing."

I nodded, "I know," I lifted the Handgun and aimed at one, "These are the ones that drop the jewels for the Butterfly Lamp."

"I see. I wished I had a big can of bug spray."

"I do too."

The Novistadors shrieked once more and flew toward us in a charge, a few dropped to the floor and used their invisiblity. I fired at the ones that came at us from the air, since the Handgun is faster to aim. Leon had switched to the Riot Gun and fired on those attacking from the floor. Caleb leaped around and bit anyone of them that came a little too close.

Cha-cha...Boom!

Blam!

Blam!

Blam!

Cha-cha...Boom!

Cha-cha..Boom!

The Novistadors were dropping like...well...like flies, dropping the Eyes like crazy, but they were just a lot of them coming. I ejected my spent clip for the third time and slapped in a new one and continued to fire. Leon had switched back to the Blacktail and used his kicks to take a few down. Caleb was switching between collecting the Eyes and biting whatever bug was close enough to his jaws. We were tiring quickly and burning through the ammo we had but we were dwindling their numbers just as fast.

Bang!

The last Novistador fell under the agent's gunshot and he sighed, dropping the empty clip and placing in a new one. "For the love of God, how many were there?"

I sighed as well, scooping the Eyes into his attache case. "A lot, Leon, a lot."

The agent looked around and spotted the switch that controlled the drawbridge that was in the Ballroom. I gave him back his attache case as he headed for the switch. "Then let's get the hell out of here."

I began to agree as another rhymthic hum sounded in the ruined Ballroom, echoing off the walls and gave the sense of danger. Of much more danger as a chill went up my spine as I realized this hum was much more deeper than before. And louder. I glanced at Leon, who had paused and I could literally see the shiver go down his back. Caleb began to growl as the humming continued, though hard to pinpoint since it the sound bounced around the walls in the large and rather empty room.

We looked around everywhere, trying to find the source of the humming and either dispatch it quickly or drop the drawbridge and run. I wanted to run, glancing into the gaping darkness that made up most of the floor, wondering if more Novistadors were coming. There had to, otherwise there weren't be any humming. I shifted my gaze to Leon in a silent suggestion that we should leave and do so quickly, but noticed something odd. His attention was not on me, instead he was entirely focused on something above us. And I looked up.

The Novistador hive was pulsing rapidly and more streams of slime dribbled down the green sack. There were a few Novistadors clinging to the hive and staring directly at us; but that wasn't what was making Leon uneasy. It was the hive itself. It pulsed madly as if enraged that we killed the ones that had attacked us earlier. It pulsed and pulsed angrily until the loud, deep humming turned into a deep, low roar of rage.

Oh my god....

The hive continued to pulse crazily as if hypervetilating until the lower section of the hive exploded into a slimy mess. Pieces of the hive and goblets of slime flew every whichway and splattered all over the walls, staining them further. And what dropped down from the hive, made me remember that things were going to be a lot harder from now on. Leon stepped back in shock as, whatever the fuck it was, landed on the center isle of the floor and let out a roar of pent up fury.

Holy shit!


-Ballroom

"What the-?!" Leon gaped at creature that stood before us, blocking the way to the switch. "What is this thing?!"

"How the hell should I know?!" I yelped back. This sure as hell wasn't in the game.... but it should have been. It was difficult to see what it really was since it was covered in slime and bits of the hive. All I knew was the fact we were going to find out soon and we were going to hate it, no two ways about it.

The thing threw back its head screamed once more, the entire room vibrating under its mighty voice. Surprisingly, the slime that covered its body flew off from the force of the roar. My teeth chattered from it as the vibrations went up our bodies, shaking us to our bones; even Caleb cried and cringed in pain from it. Ow, senstive dog hearing, poor Caleb. Once the slime was cleared off, we all got a good look at it.

"You've got to be fucking kidding." Leon mumbled in disbelief. Our faithful companion snarled at it, waiting for it to move. I looked at it and wanted to cry. Okay, if you want to know what it is, it was this. Think Giga Bowser from Super Smash Bros. Melee and slapped it with a Novistador and you've got just about what we're looking at. A Giga Bowser sized Novistador with none of GB's cool badassness.

I still wanted to cry.

"It's a giant fugly Novistador!" I wailed, making Leon look at me in confusion.

"A what?" he asked quizzically, glancing back at the giant bug to keep an eye on it.

"An ugly bug that can turn invisible."

"I know that these things turn invisible but the name? Doesn't that mean 'no see' or something?"

"Yeah, basically but hey, it's the cult that names the freaks, not me."

"Figures." Leon said then yelped in shock as the huge Novistador charged toward us, not acting like a regular freaky bug should be. But I noticed something odd about it as we dodged the oncoming bug. Okay, besides the fact it was three times the size of a normal one and not acting like one. It was focused on one thing and one thing only....

"Leon, it's after me!" I said as the Novistador skidded to a stop after missing and whirled around. My theroy was proven correct as I moved from spot to another and saw that its gaze never once left me. It completely ignored Leon and Caleb. Good. We can use that to our advantage. But what can we use?

The agent aimed the TMP and fired at the creature, trying to get it to turn around and face him. Only, it wasn't working. The shots were bouncing off its tough exoskeleton and it didn't seem to care that the gunfire was tearing away at its wings. Its only mission was to get me. Leon growled angrily as the bug charged past him to get at me. I dodged and shook my head to Leon, silently telling him that trying to kill it with our current weaponry would do no good.

I looked around and finally lifted my gaze, seeing the hive still hanging there and got an idea. "Leon, aim for the hive! I'll lure the Novistador under it and we can crush it that way!"

"Are you-?!" Leon started but stopped when I threw him a glare, that basically asked, 'got-a-better-idea?' The agent frowned but lifted the TMP toward the hive and squeezed the trigger.

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

The shots pelleted the hive as I moved slowly backwards toward the switch, luring the bug under the repulsive thing. The Novistador didn't seem to notice our plan and continued to come after me. Once under it, I circled it to keep it in place, hoping that Leon would keep to his part and not worry.

The Novistador lunged for me and I dodged its grasp, still circling it to make my plan work. There had been a brief pause in the stream of gunfire as the agent quickly ejected the spent magazine and replaced it. The rapidfire started again as he aimed and fired on the hive, holding the trigger down.

Tattattattattattattattattatta!

I smiled a bit as I dodged the Novistador's grasp again, knowing that sooner or later I was going to get caught and taken away. A piece of the hive, the lower portion of it, jolted downward as the TMP's rounds tore at weaking piece to dislodge it. Leon glanced at me in worry, still not liking my idea. I smiled at him in return, which told him to not worry and concentrate on the hive. The agent sighed in protest but looked away and kept the gunfire up. I don't blame him, I thought my plan was crazy too, but what else could we do to get rid of this thing? Don't worry about it, just keep this up and ugly here would be a stain on the floor.

I nodded to myself as I barely dodged the bug's next lunge. Hmm, buggy is catching on to my tactics and is now trying to corner me in order to capture me. It lunged again and I dodged to the right, then seeing my mistake as it suddenly turned and went for me again. I narrowly dodged it again by jumping back and realized my mistake again. I fell for its trap as I was keeping it busy. I just cornered myself, empty blackness behind me and no way around the huge bug. Okay, now worry!

The Novistador seemed to grin and swiped at me, trying to grab me. I leaned back to avoid it and ended up with a small slash on the belly part of my shirt. And again made a mistake. Definitely worry! I had leaned back too far and teetered on the edge of the floor. I wheeled my arms in huge circles and arched forward to keep from falling over and regain my footing.

The bug lunged once more and I couldn't move, let alone dodge it. I had no where to run to even if I wasn't about to fall over. Except down. The little piece of ledge I was on, broke and I dropped downward, screaming in surprise and fright. The creature's arms missed me as I dropped toward the abyss. Luckily, I lashed out and grabbed ahold of the newly made ledge and gripped it tightly, dangling in the mouth of the hole. Okay, panic!

Leon looked down and saw where I was and freaked. "Rally!"

"Keep going!" I yelled back, my voice coming out a little higher than usual as the Novistador looked down at me. "You're almost there!"

"And you're almost dead!"

"Keep going!"

Leon snarled angrily but fired on the hive anyway; every once in a while firing at the alien bug to keep it away from me. The Novistador ignored him and Caleb completely as it reached for me. I looked past it and saw it happen. The piece dropped from the hive just as the bug's claws grasped my forearm.

BAM!

The hive piece slammed onto the Novistador's head and bounced off, flipping over me and disappeared into the darkness below. The force of it had split the bug's head wide open and greenish blood spewed out like a fountain. Its body stummbled back before toppling backwards, dead. I sighed in relief and smiled at Leon, who smiled worriedly back at me, half shocked that my plan worked. So was I but I mentally clapped in glee that it did as I began to pull myself up to get back on the platform.

RUMBLE!

"Rally!!" Leon screamed in panic as I looked at him confusion as I planted my feet against the side of a rock and used it to push up. The agent rushed toward me, desperate to get to me for some reason. Confused, I looked up, my brown eyes widening in shock and I gasped in horror.

The rest of the hive slammed onto the platform with a deafening BOOM! just as I hauled my upper body onto the floor. The force of it vibrated the entire room and made me loose my grip on the marble ledge as the shockwave of the landing threw me off the platform.

I screamed in terror as I flew back from the force of the shockwave. I looked at Leon, seeing his blue eyes wide in horror, knowing that there was no way he could rescue me this time. Dead, I'm so dead!

Suddenly, I heard a strange alien hum and a Novistador leaped out from the abyss below and caught me. It gripped me tightly with strong claws and keeping them wrapped around my waist, hauled me upwards. I didn't resist as it flew toward the window and I didn't bother screaming for help. I looked at Leon with a sorrowful expression, mentally telling him that I was sorry. I continued to look at him until he disappeared from my sight when the bug flew out the window with me.

I sighed and looked forward, seeing the castle from a bird's eyeview as the Novistador circled around and headed for the clock tower. It was really a beautiful sight to see, everything bathed in a very light golden hue since there were a few hours left before nightfall. I would have appreciated the scenary a lot more if it weren't for the fact that I was being kidnapped...again.

Alright, Salazar. Here, I come...

I could see Salazar with his bodyguards, standing on the bridge leading to the tower. The Novistador began dropping its altitude smoothly as I growled at the sight of the midget, wishing that I could kick him over the bridge. I stopped growling as I suddenly remembered something.

Oh, man... the ritual!


Finally, I'm done with this chappy! I am so sorry for taking forever on this one. I was hoping I would get this done by Halloween but alas... it wasn't ready. College can take up a lot freetime, not to mention trying to catch up on my college work and get my projects done. (sweatdrops) I'm failing some of my classes. Not good.

Anyway, thank you all for being paitent with me and this fic, I know you guys have your pitchforks and torches ready if I didn't update. I hope you liked this chappy and if you did, you would leave a review for me! And for those who are just tuning into this fic, please leave a review, that way I know I'm doing well and people like it.

Thank you!

Oh! Before I forget... what should the next chappy have while Rally waits around for Leon to show up before being dragged off to the ritual? Yay! The ritual is around the corner! And depending what will be in it, it could be in the next chappy or the one after it. (victory sign pose) And yay, the twenty-seventh of October was my birthday! Now I'm twenty-two, whoo! X3

Anyway, R&R please!