Facade
Disclaimer: Dead or Alive does not belong to me.
-A ChristieXHelena shoujoai fanfic set during Dead or Alive 3 when Helena was captured by Donovan. What happens when two proud woman meet and immediately begin to test each other's limits? Is it all just a game…Or something more?
Chapter One: DOATEC
To say that I hated my father, Fame Douglas, was an absolute understatement. I loathed him. The news of his death didn't upset me at all. In fact, I actually rejoiced the bastard's passing. The man hardly had any respect for women, demonstrated by the numerous mistresses he had, including my mother, in the mansion. We were nothing more than trophies to be collected and exhibited at parties and meetings for his publicity.
My mother raised me herself.
Douglas rarely appeared in our lives, only dropping by possibly once or twice a year to drag us to an important event for him. He was distant and a workaholic. But, my mother always had faith in him and warmly welcomed him home. Only I could see what kind of man he truly was while my mother was helplessly charmed by his quiet and genteel demeanor.
When my mother passed away…He never came. He sent me a note; expressing sorrow and guilt for not visiting her at the funeral and his excuse…He had work. He was busy.
The only good thing that man ever did was reject the experimentation and creation of an ultimate fighter; an ultimate being. As much as I resented him, he was still my father and surprisingly, he did have some morals that he refused to break.
Defending his values, however, had cost him his life. He was promptly assassinated and as his living kin, I had an opportunity to replace him as head of DOATEC.
I had no interest in associating myself with my father's business but, once again, I was dragged into his political affairs anyways.
After my mother passed away, I searched persistently for the cold-blooded killer who shot her. To my surprise, my search linked her death as well as my father's death to DOATEC.
I learned that Donovan, a rival of Douglas was the culprit behind my father's death; hiring an assassin to kill him. I also acquired information on Project Alpha and Epsilon organized by DOATEC. But there were more tightly-sealed secrets that I couldn't unearth. The only way I could gain more knowledge and clearly find my mother's killer, was to inherit DOATEC.
That was my goal but Donovan was one step ahead of me. I was the only one stopping him from gaining absolute control of my father's corporation and right after the ending of the 2nd Dead or Alive Tournament, I was ambushed by his men.
Exiting the gate to the 2nd DOA Tournament, Helena was startled to see a squadron of armed soldiers stood waiting for her. She cautiously took one step back and watched them carefully while her mind ran through the options she had to get away.
A total of 15 men in dark gray uniforms stood before her, ready for combat. Was it possible for her to take most of them down and get away unharmed? The chances were very slim which unnerved her. She didn't let it show however and stood tall, raising her head higher. Her piercing deep green eyes swept to each man's stern face, daring them to challenge her.
One man in darker military uniform stepped forward and spoke harshly.
"Miss Douglas…Please come with us. Mr. Donovan is waiting for your arrival."
Helena smiled slyly despite the overwhelming odds and tilted her head.
"Is that so…? And…If I refuse…?"
"…Then we'll have to use drastic measures to ensure your arrival to his office."
The graceful Opera singer laughed mockingly, a delicate hand rose up to cover her open mouth while her intense emerald eyes slid shut in amusement.
"..Oh my," she murmured in between giggles.
The men remained motionless and indifferent.
She took a moment to compose herself then stared hard at the leader standing less than 10 feet away. She confidently took a step forward and settled into a low battle stance, her arms poised for attack. A smirk tugged at her rosy lips as she taunted them.
"If you think you can…Then show me."
Instantly, as the last syllable rolled off her tongue, she dashed forward into the group. Half of them barely had time to comprehend what was going on her arms rotated lightning fast, knocking 4 soldiers unconscious in less than 3 seconds.
The other men finally broke out of their daze and raised their guns, loaded with rubber balls to stun targets. Donovan wanted her alive.
As the 4 men slumped heavily to the ground, Helena immediately rounded on the others, bounding away as they repeatedly shot rubber balls at her lithe form. She leapt back and forth closer to them, dodging the slugs with ease. But, she was also progressively tiring herself as her legs grew weary.
She edged closer to them with each leap until she was close enough to strike them with her arms. She launched herself at a pair standing close together and swiftly sent them flying into a wall with a sharp roundhouse kick.
Suddenly, as she turned back around, acute pain shot up her spine, knocking her breath away as she saw nothing but white for a moment. A specific spot on her slender neck ached terribly. So painful it constricted her throat and her mouth grew dry.
The leader in the dark black uniform had shot a paralysis dart.
Helena stumbled on her feet as she struggled to regain her balance and shake off the growing numbness of her limbs. Sucking in a breath she threw herself at the leader even as he raised a stun gun towards her.
Before he could even pull the trigger, she tackled him, sending him crashing to the ground and bashing his head upon the concrete. A dark pool of blood gushed out from the large crack of his skull.
Helena forced herself back up; her arms trembled as she fought the numbness seeping through her limbs. Fury was bubbling inside her like an active volcano ready to explode. She shouted a bone-chilling battle cry, startling the men as she hurled herself at the remaining 8 soldiers.
They barely had time to react and shot recklessly, firing wildly to stop her rapid advance.
Despite her agile form, she only managed to dodge half of them. Dozens of slugs slammed into her, sending her spiraling backwards as her bruised flesh pulsated with white hot pain.
She clenched her teeth tightly and bit back a scream as she pushed her body forward, regaining her balance.
The men halted their assault for a moment.
Enough time for Helena to take them by surprise again. She swung her arms wildly in wide arcs as they suddenly felt heavy as bricks, knocking 3 men backwards and another pair of soldiers unconscious.
However, at that moment, another soldier leapt at her, throwing a powerful right hook that sent her soaring backwards onto the hard floor.
She drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness as darkness began to descend upon her. Her eyelids grew heavy and she could no longer feel her arms and legs at all. Darkness enveloped her.
"Enough." A monotonous, husky voice commanded.
The remaining three men lowered their guns and immediately stood at attention.
A figure stepped out of hiding and strode towards them. "Bring her to the tower. Donovan will see her later."
The soldiers saluted and began to lift the motionless and bruised body of Helena Douglas into their arms.
"She's at the tower," A deep, husky voice declared.
"Ahh…Perfect." Another voice, much deeper and throaty replied tersely.
"When do I kill her?"
"Not yet, Christie…I'm curious to know what that woman will do…Stay close to her and observe her carefully. Do not let her escape."
"Fine."
"…Wait. If she finds out too much…Kill her. Do as you please with her."
Her emerald eyes slowly, painfully, fluttered open and instantly, she felt it all at once coursing through her body. She ached terribly all over and sharply hissed in pain.
'Damn it!'
Breathing hard through clenched teeth, she forced her eyes open again and took in her surroundings.
'…A castle?'
The high brick ceiling and walls were medieval-like, with large, square double-paned windows. Beside her, was a small mahogany desk with a black vase resting on top; brilliant white lilies glistened in the pale moonlight.
Helena took a moment to admire them before her situation finally hit her at full force.
'Where am I? What happened?'
At that moment, the sound of a door opening echoed from a distance.
Helena jumped slightly in surprise, and then promptly winced as pain shot through her body. She immediately silenced herself as she heard footsteps. They were footstep that seemed to be climbing stairs. Her gaze locked on a thick, metal door across from her. Her pulse quickened as the steps grew louder and closer.
'I have to get out of here!'
Helena forced herself to sit up, biting back howls of pain as practically every part of her body bruised and ached excruciatingly.
A key jingled from the other side of the door.
Heart pounding rapidly, Helena threw off the covers and swung her legs off to the side, planting her feet firmly on the carpeted floor.
'I can escape!'
Fueled by the Flight or Fight response, she stood abruptly and began to sprint towards the door even as her legs throbbed in unbearable pain.
A yard away, the door jerked open at the same time as Helena's weary legs gave out on her. Helena didn't catch a glimpse of the other person at all as her arms waved wildly for something to grab a hold of to steady her fall. A split second later, a pair of strong arms encircled her slim waist, catching her from falling forward onto the floor.
Those arms tightened around Helena's waist and steadied the normally graceful Opera singer. The first thing that Helena noticed other than the warmth emanating from the tall stranger was a faint scent of roses. It was soothing yet intoxicating and Helena unconsciously took a deeper breath, inhaling the comforting scent.
All at once, her other senses finally began to work as she could hear her own heart beating rapidly against her ribcage. Helena also heard another heartbeat; much slower and normal than her own. Gradually, the comforting steady beat of the other person slowed her own heart rate and began to beat together in perfect harmony.
It was calming and the exhaustion finally sunk in as Helena's eyelids grew heavy and slowly slid shut.
'I'm so sleepy…'
She collapsed heavily into the stranger's arms drifted very briefly into slumber.
She awoke a few moments later, being carried like a bride back over to the queen-size bed. Helena lazily forced eyes open to gaze up at the other person just as they set her gently upon the soft bed.
The first thing she noticed was their eyes.
Deep, cold, golden whirlpools.
They were apathetic. Emotionless. The eyes of a killer.
Helena gasped in surprise and quickly pushed the person away with both of her arms. She froze however, upon touching, feeling soft warm mounds in her palms. The unmistakable proof of gender.
A woman.
Her mind went blank as Helena stared at her hands, still resting upon the other woman's firm yet soft breasts.
A woman.
A few moments later, a light chuckle startled Helena out of her daze and it dawned on her that she was still staring and touching the other woman's bosom.
'Oh my god. Take your hands off already!'
It took her another two more seconds for her body to finally react as she quickly snatched her hands away.
The woman chuckled again and strangely, an odd feeling stirred in the pit of Helena's stomach. It was uncomfortable yet pleasant. It made no sense to her and she reasoned with herself. "Perhaps," she thought, "Perhaps it was something I ate this morning."
Helena slowly raised her gaze from her trembling hands to the fascinating woman that caught her earlier.
And that was when Helena finally got a clear picture of the woman's face.
She had silky-smooth white hair. No she wasn't seeing things or maybe fatigue really was making her see things.
The woman had white as snow, short hair and glowing golden eyes. She seemed older. Intimidating yet enchanting. Her rosy pink lips were curved slightly in a confident smirk. She was breathtaking. Because Helena actually had to release a breath she didn't realize she was holding a few moments later.
This amused the white-haired woman even more as her confident smirk grew wider into a grin, her golden eyes sparkling slyly.
"…Are you feeling better, Miss Douglas?"
Another fluttering in her stomach and her pulse suddenly quickened as she heard the other woman finally speak. Her voice was deep, husky and smooth, sending chills down Helena's spine and making her shudder.
'What the hell is wrong with me!'
Frustrated and immensely confused, Helena tore her gaze away from the other woman's captivating golden pools and took a moment to compose herself.
'Breathe in…Breathe out…Breathe in…'
"Who are you?" She asked abruptly once she finally regained her composure.
The sly grin of the white-haired woman extended into a Cheshire grin.
"Christie." She answered tersely yet it was enough to raise goose bumps all over Helena's arms.
It was too much for her exhausted body, and now, her exhausted mind to handle all at once. This time, the fatigue was far too great for her to resist as her eyelids slid shut and she collapsed backwards.
Christie promptly caught the golden-haired Opera singer and gently laid the smaller woman back onto the soft bed.
The grin faded away into a thin line as she slowly pulled the covers up to Helena's chin and tucked her in.
She stared for a long period of time at her beautiful prey. Her target.
Then, without a sound, she stood up and silently turned off the lights, crept out of the room and down the staircase to her own room.
-This fic won't be as long as Red Thread. I was just itchin' to write a scenario on how they met and interact with each other. So, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and should you have time to spare, please leave a review so I know how the fic is so far and possibly improve it. Thank you again. –Kan