Mercurio fired his revolver, and the bullet flied over Leona's shoulder into Ash's chest. A crimson flower bloomed on his shirt, with blood dripping out through the cloth.
"…Thank you, stranger."
Ash stepped back for a bit, muttered in a grateful smile, and Mercurio walked in front of Leona, took his second shot without anyone hindering, hitting right through Ash's heart. "You're welcome." He responded to Ash's gratitude, in a low, mild voice.
"My Childe…"
The second fire finally woke up Issac's frozen mind. He dropped his sword and kneeled on the ground, crawled to Ash's body and held him in his arms, lamenting. By that time, Ash Rivers wasn't fully unconscious, and when Issac grabbed his hand, he gripped it back and tried to shake it with his remaining strength. There was an radiant excitement on his face when he respire with his bleeding mouth, like he was having a sweet dream:
"Thank you…Mr. Abraham…for giving me this chance…I won't…disappoint you…I will make…Laputa…a great piece…"
Those were his last words, and then, he burned into ashes in his Sire's embrace.
Leona couldn't stop her body from shivering. She turned around and looked at Mercurio in shock…almost guilt, as if she just killed an innocent man by accident. And Mercurio just gave her a soft, one-handed hug, said to her ear: "Come…Issac needs some time alone, and we still need to find Alice, right?"
She almost collapsed when he said Alice's name, because she realized the worst part…the part she never wanted to face, had just arrived.
"Leona, listen to me, you cannot lose it right now, not for Alice, you understand me?" Mercurio held her arms and shook them, kept her concentrated, "You saw what those women became on the video, didn't you? Do you want Alice to become that? Do you want to remember her that way?"
Leona closed her eyes, swallowed her fear and said: "No."
"Then you know what you have to do."
Mercurio handed his gun to Leona, and out of a nearly instinctive rejection, she didn't hold it, so he used his fingers to help, or force her to grab it tight, and kept persuading: "You are her friend, you should be the one who is by her side right now, and if you are not calm and strong enough to…to lie and comfort her, she will have doubts, and she won't be able to die in peace…do you hear me?"
After a long silence, Leona nodded. Mercurio tried to give an encouraging and relieving smile, and led her deeper into the chalet.
The first thing they saw, and the most eye-catching object in the house, was the huge cradle chair hanging from the ceiling, and the only way to climb in and sit on it was through a stair of 1.5 meters' height. It wasn't almost a chair, but a tiny study room built in a cocoon: there was a mini-shelf on the side to put in books, and a wooden, mobile desk pad where the person could read and write on it…
It was the final piece Noah made for Emily at the end of the movie—he made a Laputa, the floating island in Gulliver's Travels for her, so she could finish her work in an actual…Laputa.
Now, Alice was sleeping in there, and on the desk pad there were medicines that Ash bought her. She looked just like Ginger Swan in the video when she first appeared after the infection…Leona couldn't bear to imagine what would come next.
Leona took a few breaths, tried to adjust her expression to make her face not so stiff, and walked up, sat next to Alice. Though being very weak, she still sensed someone coming close, and asked: "…Ash? Is that you? I heard some noises…"
"It's not Ash, dumb girl…it's Leona." Leona smoothed her tune at her best, "Ash told me to come and take a look at you."
A beam of life shone upon Alice's face: "Leo…"
She reached out for Leona, as if she couldn't see very well, so Leona held her hands, which were as cold as her vampire skin. Feeling a little more assured, Alice took a few breaths and said: "Everyone has been…looking for you…You should have said something…you know? They all thought…you are dead…"
Alice kept coughing, seemed hard to speak a complete sentence, so Leona took over and answered: "I…It was very urgent…I had to check into the hospital immediately…I'm sorry to keep you worrying…"
The moment these lies came out of her lips, Leona felt their stupidity and worried Alice would sense something wrong, but it looked like she was too feeble to think straight, and just took her words for real so easily: "It's OK…you are safe now…that's the most…important thing…"
It was now blood Alice was spitting when she coughed, but she herself didn't seem to realize. Leona wanted to clean it away, but Alice was too excited about the topic she was eager to share: "By the way…Can you believe it? I live with Ash Rivers now…It's like in the movies…"
"Yeah, he told me. I'm so...jealous of you." Leona just kept…lying.
"Ha…I'm a charmer…what can I say…" Alice tried to laugh, but with her condition, all she could do was to just twitch her face convulsively, "I feel guilty…you know…I took an advantage…he was in a…very emotional state…he was so sad, despite…all his fames…He taught to me how to…play Emily's role…you know…and he said I was gifted…"
"Maybe you could actually try the audition…after you get better."
"Yeah…and I think he kissed me…when I'm asleep…" A blush of happiness appeared on her pallid cheeks, "Even after…I got the fever…he was still caring me…all the day…read me books…where is he?"
Alice tried to get up to look for Ash, but her body was so unsteady that it almost fell off the chair. Leona held her down and comforted her: "Don't worry, he went out to find you a doctor…the hospital will send someone to pick you up, and…you will get better…"
"Oh, you poor, poor thing."
Suddenly a puckish, sarcastic voice of a female came out of the window besides them, interrupted their conversation. Mercurio turned back immediately, aimed the shotgun he picked up after Leona at the speaker, and turned out it was just…a head.
Bishop Bridget's head, reached down into the interior from the rooftop, with her neck lengthened like a snake. "Oops." She evaded Mercurio's first shot easily, put her face in front of the hanging cocoon, with her body climbed into the chalet slowly afterwards, "Come on, I just wanted to talk to these cute little girls, let's not get so violent, hmm?"
Just while she was saying, a group of Sabbat soldiers from Tzimisce clan flooded into the house and surrounded them, with guns and blades pointing out like the thorns pointing at the animals trapped in bushes.
"Leona, are you? Dear old Garrett's kid…You are one troublesome pain in the ass, you know that? Like Sire, like Childe, poking around for your untimely curiosity." Bridget walked around below the cradle chair, wagging her finger, "No, no, no, that's not a good girl, you spoiled my plan. See, if it weren't for you out there dragging people with you to find your friend, no one would have found out my thing! It was intended as a surprise!"
Thinking of what Ash said before he died, Issac realized, with the sword shaking in his grasp: "You…you are the woman who made him a plague-bearer!"
"Bingo! That's me! And you precious little Alice here, is our important specimen. In fact, considering how Leona pissed me off, I just decided to make her my personal favorite. Now, if you guys just remain still and let me take Alice away, nobody will get hurt, and I will make sure Alice receive the special treatment in my boss' lab…"
Bridget prolonged her arm to capture Alice, but her hand was instantly hit by a 500 magnum, leaving a bloody hole that could be literally seen through.
"No. Don't you dare lay your hand on her." It was Leona.
"What…what is going on…Leo…"
"It's ok, Alice, no one would hurt you."
When holding Alice's hand and comforting her, Leona spread the lone blood wing behind her left shoulder, determined to fight Bishop Bridget, whereas Mercurio looked at her with an unbelievable expression—only a crazy would think a new born Neonate could even confront a Bishop, a high-ranked member in Sabbats.
Healing the whole on her palm in a blink, Bridget was clearly agitated:
"You ignorant worm!"
Then her hand suddenly expanded into the size of a dinner table, swept on the hanging chair like she was merely patting a ball, and everything in her way was slapped down on the floor.
Alice fell down in a mess of broken furniture like an abandoned toy, completely fainted, and was absolutely defenseless when Bridget walked towards her and picked her up.
"No…"
Leona tried to get up, wielded her wing to beat Bridget, but the Bishop just gripped her Strings of Curse bare-handed so very easily, and threw her back away again.
"Leona! Don't forget what I told you!"
Mercurio's shout woke Leona up from the raw wrath that possessed her mind. She took a glimpse back at him, and he didn't say anything further, but she knew what he meant.
Then she looked up at Alice, being carried on Bridget's shoulder.
"Special treatment" in Sabbats' "laboratory", that was what waited ahead for Alice if she was taken away by Bridget…alive. If what happened to the girls kidnapped by Ash wasn't special treatment enough…then…what would they do to her if they simply saw her as a specimen?
Leona knew, she couldn't…allow this to happen.
She wanted to fight back, but what were the chances she could win? And even if by the possibility of one out of hundred, she won, she would have to explain to Alice what happened here…at best, she came up with a bigger lie, and at worst, Alice would know the truth—the horrible truth about Ash, about the friend she'd tried so hard to find…and about herself.
That's too painful. It would be…easier to let her go in ignorance.
So Leona picked up the revolver, pointed it towards Alice's forehead. Luckily, she was asleep now, so she wouldn't know…she wouldn't know. Leona bit her lips, wiped away her tears to lift her barrel and aim precisely, convincing herself so, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang…"
But fate just didn't want Leona to escape from it so easily. The moment of the bullet flying out of the nozzle, Alice opened her eyes, staring at Leona and the gun in her hand in consternation, as if asking why.
"Alice, I…"
Leona tried to say something to explain, but Alice didn't live to hear that. The shot had gone right between her eyebrows, and exploded the back of her head.
Upon the sound of gunshot, Bridget paused and glared down at the brain and bone fragments dripping off from her shoulder. Now this time, she was angry. The real kind of anger. She turned around, looked at Leona like she was already a dead meat:
"I'm going to rip your spine out…"
"You stole my line, you fucker."