HOME | DD

Description
It had been a long time since Fiona met someone... Someone that did not look as though they wanted to harm her. The stranger’s steel blue eyes were giving her a soft gaze. They were filled genuine concern and honesty. Her heart was still beating fast even after the commotion was over. She didn’t know what to do or say. This was not what she had in mind when she decided to help him. She knew what Krauser would do. There was no doubt he would notify Riccardo about this and not only would she be punished, Hewie could get hurt as well. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I should be thanking you,” spoke Leon.

“Hm?”

Fiona glanced up at him. She caught sight of a small, thin scar below his right eye under the light brown locks hanging over the side of his face.

“I mean, you did save me from that big guy back then when we met. Thank you.”

She reached out to stroke Hewie’s back. “Well, I... couldn’t let Debilitas kill you.”

“What exactly happened earlier with Krauser? The muscle that attacked you.”

Her head lowered. “...He was supposed to take me somewhere but was being a little rough. As far as from what just happened, I see Krauser is not a man of patience.”

“That sounds like him,” he agreed.

Fiona could see it. Any second he was going to start asking more questions. About this place. About her. It made her wonder... Should she tell him? Would it be the right thing to do?

“No!” her own thoughts automatically objected. “He shouldn’t get involved in this. He shouldn’t even be here!”

She stood up and he followed in the act. She was shorter than him, coming up to his below chin.

“We ought to get going,” she said. “Come on, Hewie.”

Hewie barked in response and trailed behind her as she began to walk a few steps ahead, turning her head to look back at Leon.

“This way, Mr. Kennedy.”

“Just call me Leon,” he lightly chuckled, casually shaking his lifted hand. He had to admit it. He actually liked the politeness in the way she talked.

She nodded. “If you insist.”

And so the three began to make their way through the castle. Leon saw something on her back. On her left shoulder blade was a reddish-pink mark. At first he thought it was another bruise but its shape was too unique and clear, unlike anything he had seen before. A birthmark, maybe?

Fiona prayed that they would have enough time before Riccardo would find out. Or better yet, that he would not find them at all. She didn’t think they would have that luxury but she was petrified of the thought of seeing him face to face again after this. Yet she knew the moment she locked that door, it was too late to turn back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Comfortably sitting at his desk, Riccardo was reading through files from the silver case. He had to make sure every single page was present and accounted for. He was still furious that one of the intruders stole the case and almost escaped with it. They were of information about what the capsule contained inside and more. It was all written by a researcher named Luis Sera who worked for that Los Illuminados group that Krauser temporarily served in Spain.

His icy blue eyes flicked to a tank with a window in the corner of the room. A miniature made of flesh creature floated in a red liquid behind the glass, twitching now and then as if it was in pain. He then looked at his hand. A black substance swirled in his veins, visible through his skin. It was gone as soon as it appeared.

The memories of the Las Plagas... It was so many years ago when his ancestors had associated their vocation together with the Salazar family. With knitted brows, he went through each file once again, still failing to find anything related to the work his ancestors had done for the Salazars. There was nothing about the Bellis, a clan of alchemists that prospered in this land for centuries. He repeatedly scanned the sentences, searching for the particular word ‘Azoth’. Not once did he see it written on any of the pages. It seemed that proud Ramon Salazar did not give credit to their original derivation.

The things this researcher had documented, however, were extraordinary. He was more always interested in his own work yet circumstances made him accept that they had to be taken into consideration. Especially since Krauser had both sources of power from the Bellis and Salazars flowing in his body. He found it peculiar upon their first meeting when he learned that someone like the mercenary had control over his mind and actions, unlike others who were infected with the parasites.

He proceeded to read the next file when the door unexpectedly burst wide open. Krauser was standing there in the doorway heaving. His left arm was larger than usual, shrinking to its normal size as blood trickled to the ground.

Riccardo only raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“We’ve got a problem.”

He slowly put the file down with his eyes fixed on Krauser’s. “Where is she?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Fiona...”

The blonde woman looked over her shoulder for a second to show Leon that he had her attention. They travelled up a long set of stairs, passed a shattered mirror at the middle of it. She opened a door at the top to a circular stone room. They went in and down spiral steps with chain railing barriers that curled all the way to a pool below. Droplets of water fell from above.

“I came here in search of a group of six dispatched from America,” he started. “They were sent to investigate this place but disappeared some time afterwards. I found one of them, Ben Tyler, outside murdered. I’m worried for the safety of the others.”

Fiona had her back to him but he could tell she was listening. He just wished she would look his way so he could know for sure.

“The remaining five go by the names of Nicholas Edmondson, David Baxter, Adam Fitzgerald, Garrett Newman and Charles Dawson. Do you think you may have seen any of them?”

She stiffened to that final name, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Unfortunately for her, he did and was about to speak but she beat him to it.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this... but they are dead.”

“What? ALL of them!?”

Fiona continued walking. “And you will be too if we don’t keep moving.”

Leon moved faster to get in front of her. “But how? Were they also killed?”

He watched her flinch again as her eyes grimaced shut. She knew what was going on, alright. She stayed quiet for a moment until she bore her eyes into his to show how serious she was.

“The ones in charge here do not take outsiders lightly. You’re lucky to be alive right now,” she stated bluntly.

“What about you?” he interrogated a little firmly. “Why are you here?”

In an instance, he could see pain, fear... terror all over her face. It didn’t last long for she was walking again, rushing to get to a door at the bottom of the stairs.

“Fiona...!”

Hewie looked up between them before following her. She opened it and waited for Leon, her head facing away from him. He sighed, shaking his own head and then went through. The last thing he needed was for them to start off on the wrong foot. She was all he had here and it was better than nothing. Despite their first encounter, he had a good feeling that he could trust her. But could she trust him?

“I’m sorry if I—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted, closing the door and taking the lead.

Leon frowned. He could literally feel the insecurity emerging from her. He needed to think of something to ease the tension.

Fiona walked around the corner and into an octagon-shaped room. The door to it had broken off from the frame at some point, lying on the floor. On the sides were a ticking grandfather clock, a display cabinet, a plant and in the centre was a small statue of a woman, the size of Hewie, holding an oil lamp with a bright blue glow. She opened a red door with a diamond engraved on it at the back and Leon was confused when he saw a wall instead of another room as he expected. She didn’t seem that surprised about it.

“Damn,” she muttered to herself.

“Guess this castle’s got a sense of humour,” he joked.

“There’s a mechanism ahead connected to sectors in this area,” Fiona explained. “It rotates to either open of close them off. I was hoping we could use this one as a shortcut. Other sectors could be sealed as well if this one is.”

“Ah, I take it our first stop is the place that makes this mechanism rotate?”

She gave a single nod and left the room, turning left. Hewie rubbed himself against her leg, sensing her discomfort as much as Leon could. He didn’t say anything although he wanted answers now rather than later. Were Charles and the Spec Ops unit really dead as she claimed? He knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting her to talk. It did not take a genius to see that she was afraid to tell him anything.

What bothered him was... how did she end up from a car crash to an unknown castle?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“WHAT!?” roared Riccardo.

“Better believe it,” Krauser grumbled as his arm continued to agonise him even after it had restored its form. “I tried to stop them but they got away. The dog’s with ‘em, too.”

“You let them escape, you fool! Why didn’t you use the drawbridge!?”

“I did but by the time I got in the Saturnus door was locked. Leon or Fiona probably found the key to it... and I doubt he knew about the key and where to find it.”

Riccardo gritted his teeth tightly. It could not have been Fiona. She learned well what would happen if she were to defy him. He had to teach her the hard way for her own good. The intruder must have forced her to go with him. Would more bullets have to be wasted if what Krauser was saying was true?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fiona pursed her lips together as she tried to think things through. She and Leon hadn’t exchanged a word with one another as the three went along the manor, which she preferred, yet the silence made everything feel incredibly awkward. She was aware that he was itching to know more even though he was keeping his questions to himself. She appreciated that he was being patient but didn’t know how long it would last.

She did not know this man. He was tall and strong. He wasn’t as big as Krauser compared to his largely built physique but he had to be strong enough to have been able to take him on the way he did. She couldn’t help but feel scared with him behind her. He walked with a stride in his steps. Like he was prepared at act at any moment. What would he do when he could no longer put up with her secrecy? Yell at her? Threaten her?

She tried hard to shake off her nerves. Leon couldn’t be a threat if Hewie was not on guard. Quite the contrary, the white canine could detect the slightest of dangers and was always wary of strangers. And he liked their new companion a lot. He was completely on edge with Riccardo, Krauser and everyone else they met but with Leon, he appeared to be truly happy to have his company. She admired him for being so calm, even if he was a dog.

She would be lying if she claimed that she was not curious about him, especially the story between him and Krauser. She would not pry, though. It was none of her business after all and it would have given him the right to ask her his questions. He had already asked a few and she wanted them to be kept at a minimum. She still couldn’t believe what she saw with Krauser’s arm during that fight before Leon dragged her away. She had seen things here considered unthinkable but nothing like that. How was it possible?

Fiona’s train of thought came to an end when she spotted a door close to a chain-link fence reaching to the ceiling. There was furniture covered with sheets behind it. The door reminded her of something, so she went up to it.

“I just need to collect something.”

“Okay.”

Leon followed her and Hewie into a bathroom. A machine that resembled a typewriter sat on a side table. An odd place for one to be in, in his opinion. He could also see a candle stand, a damaged mirror above a sink and next to it was a toilet and a little set of drawers. Across from them was a rusty bathtub full of discoloured red water. Near the drawers was what, to him, looked like a word grid with numbers outside of it. It probably held a clue to something. A window with open blinds showed an endless blue void. Nothing else could be seen outside. It was so bold, their reflections easily stood out. He then saw tiny bubbles rise behind the glass. Was that water outside?

Fiona crouched in front of the drawers and took out a pouch attached to a flat, cotton rope cord from underneath it. Rattling sounds were made as she blew and carefully patted off dust that formed on top of it. Hewie inquisitively leaned his head forward to smell it. She made a bunch a while ago and hid them in different locations throughout the castle. It relieved her to see that Riccardo never found it

“Hopefully he hasn’t found the other ones as well.”

After she put her hand inside of it, Leon saw her take out a handful of little objects. Some were clear spheres filled halfway with a purple or yellow powder. The others were green and red jewels. She got up and handed them to him.

“Here. You might need these,” she said before typing the rope around her waist in a knot. The same rattling indicated there was more of the objects were in the pouch.

“What are these?” asked Leon as he examined one of the spheres between his finger and thumb.

“They’re called Antimonies,” she answered. “If someone is pursuing you, throw one at them and it will temporarily paralyze them with a small shock of electricity.”

She then pointed to the jewels he carried.

“And those are called Magnesias. You set them on the ground and they will explode upon impact.”

“Very handy. Thanks, I’ll keep a hold of them.” He put them into his attaché pack. “Have you ever used them before?”

“......A few times,” she replied, her tone hinting that she did not want to talk about it. “Let’s go.”

Hewie was busy scratching himself with his back leg until he noticed Fiona and Leon head out. He scurried onto all fours to catch up with them.

After going through an arch doorway, they entered a dark hallway. The ground was in a T-shape with red lit light bulbs on the floor. Leon could have sworn he could hear carousel music playing behind a blue door with a diamond that matched the red one from the octagon room. He thought nothing of it as they passed it to a waiting lounge and Fiona led them into another corridor. In the middle of it, they went down some stairs at the left side of it.

She looked in both directions of two optional paths with doors at either end as Leon observed a large painting before them between torches hanging on the wall. There was an inscription underneath it...

‘The right path leads to the truth,
whilst the left path leads to deception.

When the shroud of deception is lifted,
the fog will fade and the hidden path
will make itself known.

Oh ye faithful flock, right these wrongs.

If three truths exist, it must be so that
three lies also exist.’

“More riddles and puzzles,” he thought. “...typical. What is it with these weird places? Even the police station back in Raccoon City had those crazy puzzles.”

“Over here,” called Fiona, who was already down the right path.

As he got closer, he saw that the door that had a mark on it which was the planetary sign of Jupiter. It reminded him of the door with the sign of Saturn. Going in first, Hewie started to growl and bark as though he was trying to warn them about something. She wasn’t fazed, running a hand along his back to calm him down.

There was a closet and framed boards with unrecognisable bugs and butterflies pinned to them. Two desks faced each other against the walls. The first had a chemistry set with a couple of notebooks stacked beside it. The second had a chessboard with its pieces on the single squares. At the back were wax models of two, scrawny men. They were not as well made compared to the one Leon found in the music room. One was on his knees while the other had his hand on his shoulder. Next to them were an old distillation device, a fireplace with a kiln on top and a heavy hourglass to the side of it.

“The room opposite this one is identical but there are three things here that are not the same,” said Fiona. “They’re somehow linked to the mechanism.”

“Sooo... by correcting them, the mechanism is activated,” Leon guessed.

“Right.”

“You’ve done this before,” he figured.

She chose not to respond to his comment, turning to approach the chessboard. She already began to feel jitters take over her.

“You alright?” she heard him ask behind her.

“Mm...”

Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she placed her fingers on a chess piece, moving them all to their rightful places, one by one. Straight away afterwards, they could feel the ground shake slightly under their feet. The objects around them clattered. Hewie shifted over his paws as the rumbling continued.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A loud noise emitted from somewhere far beyond the many walls of the castle. Churning chains were added to it, causing Riccardo and Krauser to both look up. It was repeated two more times with a pause between in between. Riccardo instantly knew what it meant.

“They are in the Room of Truth. Krauser, find them!” he ordered. “Kill the agent AFTER you bring her to me.”

Krauser nodded and headed for the door, his dagger ready in his restored hand. He stopped midway when Riccardo spoke again.

“Do be sure to be more careful with Fiona this time. I will be VERY disappointed if anything happens to her and you will pay the price for it.”

“...I will treat her like a princess,” Krauser answered with a dull voice and his arms up before leaving to begin his hunt.

“That imbecile...!” Riccardo scorned when he left.

He knew he should have shot that agent while he was weak and defenceless. Now he had Fiona and was going to take her away from him. Everything he had striven for countless years could be foiled. He marched to the desk. On it were the photographs he confiscated from the intruder, along with the rest of his belongings. He laid them all in a row on the surface, recognising each face as the previous intruders, glowering at the one with greying blonde hair.

“I will allow Krauser to have his fun with this ‘Leon’ friend of his,” he mused. “But I will not let him risk her safety.”

There was too much at stake and he would never approve of her spending a second longer with the agent. He glared at Charles’ picture, a stern face staring back.

The faint sound of a creak barely caught his ear.

It was enough for him to grab his flintlock pistol, spinning around and aiming it high, only to see that he was the only one in the room. He lowered the gun yet his eyes continued to drift to every corner. It became too quiet and he couldn’t hear anything else. It was not the first time he had the feeling that someone was watching him. At first he had his suspicions of who it could be but lately he was doubting the possibility. If there was someone spying on him, regardless of their identity, he had to make certain that it wasn’t another threat to take Fiona from him.

He almost lost her before... and he was not going to lose her again.

Description
It had been a long time since Fiona met someone... Someone that did not look as though they wanted to harm her. The stranger’s steel blue eyes were giving her a soft gaze. They were filled genuine concern and honesty. Her heart was still beating fast even after the commotion was over. She didn’t know what to do or say. This was not what she had in mind when she decided to help him. She knew what Krauser would do. There was no doubt he would notify Riccardo about this and not only would she be punished, Hewie could get hurt as well. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I should be thanking you,” spoke Leon.

“Hm?”

Fiona glanced up at him. She caught sight of a small, thin scar below his right eye under the light brown locks hanging over the side of his face.

“I mean, you did save me from that big guy back then when we met. Thank you.”

She reached out to stroke Hewie’s back. “Well, I... couldn’t let Debilitas kill you.”

“What exactly happened earlier with Krauser? The muscle that attacked you.”

Her head lowered. “...He was supposed to take me somewhere but was being a little rough. As far as from what just happened, I see Krauser is not a man of patience.”

“That sounds like him,” he agreed.

Fiona could see it. Any second he was going to start asking more questions. About this place. About her. It made her wonder... Should she tell him? Would it be the right thing to do?

“No!” her own thoughts automatically objected. “He shouldn’t get involved in this. He shouldn’t even be here!”

She stood up and he followed in the act. She was shorter than him, coming up to his below chin.

“We ought to get going,” she said. “Come on, Hewie.”

Hewie barked in response and trailed behind her as she began to walk a few steps ahead, turning her head to look back at Leon.

“This way, Mr. Kennedy.”

“Just call me Leon,” he lightly chuckled, casually shaking his lifted hand. He had to admit it. He actually liked the politeness in the way she talked.

She nodded. “If you insist.”

And so the three began to make their way through the castle. Leon saw something on her back. On her left shoulder blade was a reddish-pink mark. At first he thought it was another bruise but its shape was too unique and clear, unlike anything he had seen before. A birthmark, maybe?

Fiona prayed that they would have enough time before Riccardo would find out. Or better yet, that he would not find them at all. She didn’t think they would have that luxury but she was petrified of the thought of seeing him face to face again after this. Yet she knew the moment she locked that door, it was too late to turn back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Comfortably sitting at his desk, Riccardo was reading through files from the silver case. He had to make sure every single page was present and accounted for. He was still furious that one of the intruders stole the case and almost escaped with it. They were of information about what the capsule contained inside and more. It was all written by a researcher named Luis Sera who worked for that Los Illuminados group that Krauser temporarily served in Spain.

His icy blue eyes flicked to a tank with a window in the corner of the room. A miniature made of flesh creature floated in a red liquid behind the glass, twitching now and then as if it was in pain. He then looked at his hand. A black substance swirled in his veins, visible through his skin. It was gone as soon as it appeared.

The memories of the Las Plagas... It was so many years ago when his ancestors had associated their vocation together with the Salazar family. With knitted brows, he went through each file once again, still failing to find anything related to the work his ancestors had done for the Salazars. There was nothing about the Bellis, a clan of alchemists that prospered in this land for centuries. He repeatedly scanned the sentences, searching for the particular word ‘Azoth’. Not once did he see it written on any of the pages. It seemed that proud Ramon Salazar did not give credit to their original derivation.

The things this researcher had documented, however, were extraordinary. He was more always interested in his own work yet circumstances made him accept that they had to be taken into consideration. Especially since Krauser had both sources of power from the Bellis and Salazars flowing in his body. He found it peculiar upon their first meeting when he learned that someone like the mercenary had control over his mind and actions, unlike others who were infected with the parasites.

He proceeded to read the next file when the door unexpectedly burst wide open. Krauser was standing there in the doorway heaving. His left arm was larger than usual, shrinking to its normal size as blood trickled to the ground.

Riccardo only raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“We’ve got a problem.”

He slowly put the file down with his eyes fixed on Krauser’s. “Where is she?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Fiona...”

The blonde woman looked over her shoulder for a second to show Leon that he had her attention. They travelled up a long set of stairs, passed a shattered mirror at the middle of it. She opened a door at the top to a circular stone room. They went in and down spiral steps with chain railing barriers that curled all the way to a pool below. Droplets of water fell from above.

“I came here in search of a group of six dispatched from America,” he started. “They were sent to investigate this place but disappeared some time afterwards. I found one of them, Ben Tyler, outside murdered. I’m worried for the safety of the others.”

Fiona had her back to him but he could tell she was listening. He just wished she would look his way so he could know for sure.

“The remaining five go by the names of Nicholas Edmondson, David Baxter, Adam Fitzgerald, Garrett Newman and Charles Dawson. Do you think you may have seen any of them?”

She stiffened to that final name, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Unfortunately for her, he did and was about to speak but she beat him to it.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this... but they are dead.”

“What? ALL of them!?”

Fiona continued walking. “And you will be too if we don’t keep moving.”

Leon moved faster to get in front of her. “But how? Were they also killed?”

He watched her flinch again as her eyes grimaced shut. She knew what was going on, alright. She stayed quiet for a moment until she bore her eyes into his to show how serious she was.

“The ones in charge here do not take outsiders lightly. You’re lucky to be alive right now,” she stated bluntly.

“What about you?” he interrogated a little firmly. “Why are you here?”

In an instance, he could see pain, fear... terror all over her face. It didn’t last long for she was walking again, rushing to get to a door at the bottom of the stairs.

“Fiona...!”

Hewie looked up between them before following her. She opened it and waited for Leon, her head facing away from him. He sighed, shaking his own head and then went through. The last thing he needed was for them to start off on the wrong foot. She was all he had here and it was better than nothing. Despite their first encounter, he had a good feeling that he could trust her. But could she trust him?

“I’m sorry if I—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted, closing the door and taking the lead.

Leon frowned. He could literally feel the insecurity emerging from her. He needed to think of something to ease the tension.

Fiona walked around the corner and into an octagon-shaped room. The door to it had broken off from the frame at some point, lying on the floor. On the sides were a ticking grandfather clock, a display cabinet, a plant and in the centre was a small statue of a woman, the size of Hewie, holding an oil lamp with a bright blue glow. She opened a red door with a diamond engraved on it at the back and Leon was confused when he saw a wall instead of another room as he expected. She didn’t seem that surprised about it.

“Damn,” she muttered to herself.

“Guess this castle’s got a sense of humour,” he joked.

“There’s a mechanism ahead connected to sectors in this area,” Fiona explained. “It rotates to either open of close them off. I was hoping we could use this one as a shortcut. Other sectors could be sealed as well if this one is.”

“Ah, I take it our first stop is the place that makes this mechanism rotate?”

She gave a single nod and left the room, turning left. Hewie rubbed himself against her leg, sensing her discomfort as much as Leon could. He didn’t say anything although he wanted answers now rather than later. Were Charles and the Spec Ops unit really dead as she claimed? He knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting her to talk. It did not take a genius to see that she was afraid to tell him anything.

What bothered him was... how did she end up from a car crash to an unknown castle?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“WHAT!?” roared Riccardo.

“Better believe it,” Krauser grumbled as his arm continued to agonise him even after it had restored its form. “I tried to stop them but they got away. The dog’s with ‘em, too.”

“You let them escape, you fool! Why didn’t you use the drawbridge!?”

“I did but by the time I got in the Saturnus door was locked. Leon or Fiona probably found the key to it... and I doubt he knew about the key and where to find it.”

Riccardo gritted his teeth tightly. It could not have been Fiona. She learned well what would happen if she were to defy him. He had to teach her the hard way for her own good. The intruder must have forced her to go with him. Would more bullets have to be wasted if what Krauser was saying was true?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fiona pursed her lips together as she tried to think things through. She and Leon hadn’t exchanged a word with one another as the three went along the manor, which she preferred, yet the silence made everything feel incredibly awkward. She was aware that he was itching to know more even though he was keeping his questions to himself. She appreciated that he was being patient but didn’t know how long it would last.

She did not know this man. He was tall and strong. He wasn’t as big as Krauser compared to his largely built physique but he had to be strong enough to have been able to take him on the way he did. She couldn’t help but feel scared with him behind her. He walked with a stride in his steps. Like he was prepared at act at any moment. What would he do when he could no longer put up with her secrecy? Yell at her? Threaten her?

She tried hard to shake off her nerves. Leon couldn’t be a threat if Hewie was not on guard. Quite the contrary, the white canine could detect the slightest of dangers and was always wary of strangers. And he liked their new companion a lot. He was completely on edge with Riccardo, Krauser and everyone else they met but with Leon, he appeared to be truly happy to have his company. She admired him for being so calm, even if he was a dog.

She would be lying if she claimed that she was not curious about him, especially the story between him and Krauser. She would not pry, though. It was none of her business after all and it would have given him the right to ask her his questions. He had already asked a few and she wanted them to be kept at a minimum. She still couldn’t believe what she saw with Krauser’s arm during that fight before Leon dragged her away. She had seen things here considered unthinkable but nothing like that. How was it possible?

Fiona’s train of thought came to an end when she spotted a door close to a chain-link fence reaching to the ceiling. There was furniture covered with sheets behind it. The door reminded her of something, so she went up to it.

“I just need to collect something.”

“Okay.”

Leon followed her and Hewie into a bathroom. A machine that resembled a typewriter sat on a side table. An odd place for one to be in, in his opinion. He could also see a candle stand, a damaged mirror above a sink and next to it was a toilet and a little set of drawers. Across from them was a rusty bathtub full of discoloured red water. Near the drawers was what, to him, looked like a word grid with numbers outside of it. It probably held a clue to something. A window with open blinds showed an endless blue void. Nothing else could be seen outside. It was so bold, their reflections easily stood out. He then saw tiny bubbles rise behind the glass. Was that water outside?

Fiona crouched in front of the drawers and took out a pouch attached to a flat, cotton rope cord from underneath it. Rattling sounds were made as she blew and carefully patted off dust that formed on top of it. Hewie inquisitively leaned his head forward to smell it. She made a bunch a while ago and hid them in different locations throughout the castle. It relieved her to see that Riccardo never found it

“Hopefully he hasn’t found the other ones as well.”

After she put her hand inside of it, Leon saw her take out a handful of little objects. Some were clear spheres filled halfway with a purple or yellow powder. The others were green and red jewels. She got up and handed them to him.

“Here. You might need these,” she said before typing the rope around her waist in a knot. The same rattling indicated there was more of the objects were in the pouch.

“What are these?” asked Leon as he examined one of the spheres between his finger and thumb.

“They’re called Antimonies,” she answered. “If someone is pursuing you, throw one at them and it will temporarily paralyze them with a small shock of electricity.”

She then pointed to the jewels he carried.

“And those are called Magnesias. You set them on the ground and they will explode upon impact.”

“Very handy. Thanks, I’ll keep a hold of them.” He put them into his attaché pack. “Have you ever used them before?”

“......A few times,” she replied, her tone hinting that she did not want to talk about it. “Let’s go.”

Hewie was busy scratching himself with his back leg until he noticed Fiona and Leon head out. He scurried onto all fours to catch up with them.

After going through an arch doorway, they entered a dark hallway. The ground was in a T-shape with red lit light bulbs on the floor. Leon could have sworn he could hear carousel music playing behind a blue door with a diamond that matched the red one from the octagon room. He thought nothing of it as they passed it to a waiting lounge and Fiona led them into another corridor. In the middle of it, they went down some stairs at the left side of it.

She looked in both directions of two optional paths with doors at either end as Leon observed a large painting before them between torches hanging on the wall. There was an inscription underneath it...

‘The right path leads to the truth,
whilst the left path leads to deception.

When the shroud of deception is lifted,
the fog will fade and the hidden path
will make itself known.

Oh ye faithful flock, right these wrongs.

If three truths exist, it must be so that
three lies also exist.’

“More riddles and puzzles,” he thought. “...typical. What is it with these weird places? Even the police station back in Raccoon City had those crazy puzzles.”

“Over here,” called Fiona, who was already down the right path.

As he got closer, he saw that the door that had a mark on it which was the planetary sign of Jupiter. It reminded him of the door with the sign of Saturn. Going in first, Hewie started to growl and bark as though he was trying to warn them about something. She wasn’t fazed, running a hand along his back to calm him down.

There was a closet and framed boards with unrecognisable bugs and butterflies pinned to them. Two desks faced each other against the walls. The first had a chemistry set with a couple of notebooks stacked beside it. The second had a chessboard with its pieces on the single squares. At the back were wax models of two, scrawny men. They were not as well made compared to the one Leon found in the music room. One was on his knees while the other had his hand on his shoulder. Next to them were an old distillation device, a fireplace with a kiln on top and a heavy hourglass to the side of it.

“The room opposite this one is identical but there are three things here that are not the same,” said Fiona. “They’re somehow linked to the mechanism.”

“Sooo... by correcting them, the mechanism is activated,” Leon guessed.

“Right.”

“You’ve done this before,” he figured.

She chose not to respond to his comment, turning to approach the chessboard. She already began to feel jitters take over her.

“You alright?” she heard him ask behind her.

“Mm...”

Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she placed her fingers on a chess piece, moving them all to their rightful places, one by one. Straight away afterwards, they could feel the ground shake slightly under their feet. The objects around them clattered. Hewie shifted over his paws as the rumbling continued.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A loud noise emitted from somewhere far beyond the many walls of the castle. Churning chains were added to it, causing Riccardo and Krauser to both look up. It was repeated two more times with a pause between in between. Riccardo instantly knew what it meant.

“They are in the Room of Truth. Krauser, find them!” he ordered. “Kill the agent AFTER you bring her to me.”

Krauser nodded and headed for the door, his dagger ready in his restored hand. He stopped midway when Riccardo spoke again.

“Do be sure to be more careful with Fiona this time. I will be VERY disappointed if anything happens to her and you will pay the price for it.”

“...I will treat her like a princess,” Krauser answered with a dull voice and his arms up before leaving to begin his hunt.

“That imbecile...!” Riccardo scorned when he left.

He knew he should have shot that agent while he was weak and defenceless. Now he had Fiona and was going to take her away from him. Everything he had striven for countless years could be foiled. He marched to the desk. On it were the photographs he confiscated from the intruder, along with the rest of his belongings. He laid them all in a row on the surface, recognising each face as the previous intruders, glowering at the one with greying blonde hair.

“I will allow Krauser to have his fun with this ‘Leon’ friend of his,” he mused. “But I will not let him risk her safety.”

There was too much at stake and he would never approve of her spending a second longer with the agent. He glared at Charles’ picture, a stern face staring back.

The faint sound of a creak barely caught his ear.

It was enough for him to grab his flintlock pistol, spinning around and aiming it high, only to see that he was the only one in the room. He lowered the gun yet his eyes continued to drift to every corner. It became too quiet and he couldn’t hear anything else. It was not the first time he had the feeling that someone was watching him. At first he had his suspicions of who it could be but lately he was doubting the possibility. If there was someone spying on him, regardless of their identity, he had to make certain that it wasn’t another threat to take Fiona from him.

He almost lost her before... and he was not going to lose her again.