THE EVIL FANTASY.

A/N: I´m writing this in honor of the best gaming franchises in the world (for my liking of course, no insult intended): Final Fantasy XIII and Resident Evil. A dangerous crossover! Yaaaay! I´m getting all excited about it! Hope you like it too!

The usual disclaimer applies here: I DON´T own any of the games nor any of the characters. They´re owned by their respective.

Reviews will be completely commented! And I would REALLY appreciate some suggestions too! I´m just learning this fantastic world of writing! Thank you!

/

The young officer was having a hard time breathing in the warm weather of the jungle, somewhere in South America. The forest was bathed in green all over, and he felt as if the place was determined on stopping his desperate sprint, with the thick and endless barrier formed by the multiple tree branches and midget trees, as well as high plants, constantly getting in his way and assaulting the exposed skin of his arms, face and neck, creating small although bothersome obstacles in his path, something that had started to grow heavy on his already strained muscles. The air was thick and hot, making it such a struggle to inhale deeper, moreover as deep as his lungs were pleading right now, given the long run he had been taking. Breathing in the dampened air felt as if he was trying to breathe oil, and it surprised him that, in spite of being almost midnight, the heat and level of humidity were still unbearable.

His body felt sticky all over and his clothes clung tightly to his skin, his blond-ash bangs stuck to the front of his sun-reddened face, dampened by the constant sweat. He was losing so much body water and so fast, he almost felt afraid to lose consciousness out of dehydration. But he knew he couldn´t lose it in that moment, his current mission was of uttermost importance, and he couldn´t forget his BSAA comrade counted on him to escape out of the small village alive, and they could only make it together. The tall blond couldn´t understand how such a prolific business like drug traffic could be developed in such an unhealthy environment, but he did have experience on the deadly virus growing exponentially in small countries like this. Truth be told, it wasn´t the first time he and his partner had to survive on a town of an underdeveloped country infested by zombies or zombie-like creatures, but their previous experience didn´t make it any easier.

He stole a glance at his right and met eyes with the dark orbs of his new comrade, who suddenly opened them wide in surprise and, in a rush of well honed reflexes, shoved the blond´s body forcefully, making him crash against a nearby tree… The blond stood up and recovered quickly from the surprise, but when he turned around to glare at his new friend for his sudden and unwelcomed action, he found a huge, bloody and sturdy ax embedded on a tree close to him… exactly in the path where his head had been just seconds ago.

"Are you alright, Leon?" Chris asked, concern displayed in his countenance but his well trained senses still focused on their surroundings, ready for the next attack.

Leon Kennedy sent a thankful glance at his partner, grateful that he was teamed up with the best BSAA officer, the legendary Chris Redfield. The blond took the hand he was being offered and propped himself up, slapping thankfully his partner´s back. "Thanks Chris. Let´s move on then, they´re catching up with us."

"Yeah, I think I´ve noticed, partner. Wonder when they got so fast."

"It must be part of the effects of this new virus. C´mon, we need to get out of here fast and get reinforcements."

"Tsk. And to think this little town is called el Paraiso." The young, raven haired man smirked. Irony came always in the form of Umbrella, and the officer didn´t know whether to laugh or feel angry.

They glanced at their backs, and were easily able to distinguish the dozens of silhouettes barely drawn by the moonlight. They took another sprint forward, their guns still at the ready and their skills in an extreme level of alertness, when they suddenly found a clear view of the moonlit sky, free of trees, when a feeling of tightness over his chest enveloped Leon and made him halt their rush in a sudden movement, grasping tightly his friend´s sleeve. Chris felt himself yanked backwards, right before his foot touched the emptiness of a high cliff that extended below them. The blond was extremely happy both their sixth senses were at their tops, otherwise, they would´ve been death for a long time by now.

They took a glance downwards, hearing the water running below, but with the dim moonlight they couldn´t possibly guess the depth of the fall. Both men swiveled around, just to be faced with a murderous mob that immediately surrounded them.

And It wasn´t a normal mob. Mostly men, the group had their skin almost grey, their clothes were torn and in some parts had patches of clothed blood, but their eyes were the most dreadful feature. Each eye had dark red irises, bloodshot, and now each pair were fixed on the officer´s bodies, while a threatening countenance was displayed in each face.

The two comrades had met that look before, but those past encounters hadn´t prepared them for what they had found in that village. It seemed as if the new virus strain seemed improved, for the murderer´s movements were nothing like the zombies nor the ganados each one had encountered on other missions. These ones moved fast, and were, therefore, more deadly.

"Shit! We´re surrounded!"

Leon glanced around, searching for a way out and finding none. "Guess it´s time to unleash hell, my friend."

Chris just smirked.

"Guess so."

On cue, they both took out their uzi guns, and started firing skillfully at the zombie group, fending off their proclaimed territory and fighting to make good use of each bullet, but in spite of their efforts, the zombies kept their steady steps, getting closer by the minute. Leon was readying a grenade when a blinding lightning tore the sky apart and stroke right in the middle of the dire mob, followed by a thunderous bang that made both their ears ring, leaving the two men completely deaf for a moment, and immediately after they felt the force of the blow slamming against their bodies, sending them flying backwards. They both fell in desperation as they felt themselves traveling on the air, feet losing all contact with the ground… and felt their bodies plummeting helplessly into the cliff. Fortunately for the young officers, and thanks to their honed reflexes, Leon managed to grab a prominent tree root and felt Chris´ hard grip on his foot. Their bodies dangled menacingly at the gorge, the chasm below calling for them derisively.

"Hang on, buddy! I got this!"

"You better do! Or I´ll tell Claire to kick your ass if you let me die!"

In spite of their plight, the blond man chuckled at the empty threatening words, but immediately focused on clinging tightly on the root, struggling to hoist himself and his partner, as his other foot searched for a place to steady his movements. He found a small prominence on the rocky wall and fastened his foot on it, pulling his body closer to the wall. He took a glance to check on his partner and felt relieved to see he was grasping too, the rock and nearby roots, finding a loose safety in that place.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I think we were lucky…" The raven haired man whistled as he looked downwards, now finally able to grasp the height they were in. "So close… hopefully we can climb through this roots. And let´s pray they´ll resist our weight."

"You read my mind."

The blond turned around and strained his muscles at the top, grunting for the effort and hearing his friend working his way up as well. The roots scratched their bodies furthermore, and he even felt tiny bloody trails over his abused skin, but after some minutes of grunting and panting, he finally felt the edge of the cliff and propped himself up, planting his feet hard on the ground and turning around to help his partner on his last inches.

"Thanks, Leon."

"Anytime, buddy."

They both exhaustedly crawled to get further away from the cliff, and then sat on the ground, finally giving up after the enormous exertion, panting and sweating even more, as they both fought to recover their breaths and ignored the loud protests of their aching muscles. After some minutes and still out of breath, Leon took a glance at the spot where the zombies had been moments ago, and found the bodies burning, motionless and scattered all around a center area that seemingly had formed a crater.

He shakily stood up, and walked with his feet still refusing to move, forcing them to obey nonetheless, weary of the explosion but with his curiosity getting the best of him. It had always been his worst problem… and his best ally.

"Leon…?"

He waved a calming hand towards his partner and approached further, avoiding the blazing bodies and blocking out of his mind the retching smell that came from the rotting, burned flesh. When he reached the edge of the crater, his body stood still, awestruck, refusing to move, while his mind went completely blank.

Some seconds after, and still panting, Chris reached his level and stood awestruck as well, at the sight that met them both.

"What is…?"

But before the raven haired man could finish his sentence, the blond rushed forward, downward, to reach the center of the crater. "Leon! Wait! You can´t get close! It´s dangerous!"

The blond unheard the warning voice and stood close by to the origin of the explosion, kneeling over it.

There, laying on the ground at the center of the crater, and still surrounded by small sparkles that, from time to time, lashed out the air close by, he found the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She seemed unconscious, her body sprawled over the uneven, rough terrain, making her look as a broken, desecrated princess resting over an unfitting bed of rocks. Her body was slender, with smooth curves that were accentuated by her slightly sideways position, her abdomen enveloped by a crimson and torn piece of fabric that seemed to be born on her back, and that in some way resembled a cape. She wore (surprisingly to him) what seemed to be military-style boots and a very short leather skirt that just barely covered cream-like skin of well toned legs. He forced his eyes away from her legs, and followed the trail up her body, struggling to prevent his thoughts from falling astray, but still appraising her white sleeveless coat and the dark gloves that enveloped delicate fingers. He also noticed the plateau in her left shoulder, its significance making him frown at a loss of the meaning, when suddenly his eyes fell captured by silky pink tresses that billowed lightly with the soft night breeze that passed by… and that were framing delicate, goddess-like features.

"She´s…" he could barely register his partner´s voice right behind him.

"Beautiful..." The younger officer finished the sentence without thinking and, without registering the movement either, he leaned forward, hesitantly kneeling at her side. His mind had gone blank, but his arms reacted on their own accord and reached out to her, straining to raise her up from the ground. One arm behind her legs, one on her back, and as delicately as he could muster, he strove to carry her bridal style. Fortunately for him, the action wasn´t foreign for his body at all, having lifted many women that same way so many times before.

"Err… Leon… tell me you don´t plan on taking her with us. Please?"

Still with delicate movements and pressing her limp body against his, he took a glance at his partner. "Of course we are taking her with us! We can´t just leave her here on her own! Especially not unconscious as she is now!"

"Wrong. We can leave her here with no problem whatsoever. Besides, have you considered the possibility that she might be one of them?"

Leon was growing impatient, as well as his partner, but at the last statement he took a glance at her features and his eyes softened. "How in the world would someone like herbe part of them?"

The raven haired man rolled his eyes. "Pffft… as if you don't already know."

Leon made an attempt to rise from the ground, when they both heard the young woman moaning slightly, and saw her eyes striving to open. Both men stood frozen in time as her pink lips seemed to struggle for making up words, but only producing unintelligible sounds, her hands moving as if fighting to reach something to grab on, her eyelids fluttering slightly, and then Leon found himself able to take a glance at baby blue, almost gray orbs that, once they found his face, seemed desperate to focus on his eyes, desperate to convey something, only to be closed again, and he suddenly felt her body go limp under his arms once more. The blond felt rooted to the spot, mesmerized by the split moment their eyes had met, completely hypnotized by the depth of her stare.

Chris sighed in defeat at watching Leon´s confused (and awestruck) look and placed a hand over his partner´s shoulder. "Okay, lover boy, time to go, you can see now she´s completely gone."

Leon turned his face to address the man and shot a glance at him, menacingly. "Don´t even think that I will…" but the man stopped him in his tracks with a hand.

"Don´t get all fussy, Leon. I agree with you, we can´t leave her like this." He raised his arm and signaled into the woods. "As we ran I thought I saw the silhouette of a hut back there, I reckon not too far away from where we stand now. Let´s hope it´s abandoned and, if I got it right, the place seemed far enough from the village, and probably safe enough. We could hide there until the chick wakes up, how ´bout that?"

The blond grinned thankfully. "It sounds like a plan to me." He sighed in relief at his partner´s helping disposition and stood up, astounded at how light her weight felt on his arms, how easily she fitted on them, and gulped when his mouth felt suddenly dry the moment her face became close to his after he had accommodated her upper body against his shoulder.

Chris smirked at his expression, turned around to walk goofily towards the hut and placed his hands at the back of his head. "´Sides, old habits die hard, and I know I won´t be able to change your mind. After all, you´re always the ladies man, a guy drawn by hot-and/or-dangerous-chicks-in-distress, like a mop to the fire, something that won´t change for a long time, no matter what I do. And I don´t want to leave you alone in the dark with a girl like her."

Leon blushed at his statement. "Hey! What do you mean by that? It´s totally nottrue!"

Chris rolled his eyes again. "Sure thing, partner, as if wouldn´thave examples of those!" Before the blond could utter another word, the raven-haired man turned around to face his partner and raised his hand in front of him, counting with his fingers, much to the blond´s annoyance. "Hot-chick like in hot-dangerous-Ada, like in Manuela-or-Ashely-in-distress, like in…" he rose his eyes and glared at his companion. "I really hope I don´t have to include my sister on the list."

It was time for Leon to roll his eyes. "You should be thankful for that. But rest assured, there was nothinggoing on between us."

"Pfft, I knewit, partner… glad to hear it, though." After a small chuckle, Chris approached him further, studying the young woman on his friend´s arms. "Anyways, I can´t deny it. The chick is hot. Guess I would´ve done the same if I were you, my friend."

The blond grinned at the more experienced man, trying to ignore the heat that crept into his chest at his words. "Thank you, comrade."

"Tsk. Don´t thank me. I´ve learned my lesson well with you. So let´s not waste any more time. I´ll take point, you follow behind, and let´s see if we can take that girl of yours to a safer place until she recovers… and hopefully she won´t chop our heads off." He smirked the moment he heard Leon scoffing at his words, then turned around once again and started a fast pace towards the direction where he thought he had seen the hut, his back against the younger man.

Leon smiled and followed suit, his eyes trained on his partner´s leading form, but from time to time he couldn´t prevent himself from stealing glances at the sleeping beauty in his arms.

/

I adore this story, because I adore the two franchises, and especially Leon and Lightning, so let´s hope I can do them some justice! (Especially because I kinda hate the chicks placed on Leon´s path on the movies and, especially, on RE 6… OMG can´t you just leave him with Ada and let us be happy!? She´s WAY MORE substantial than any other women they are trying to give him!)