Chapter 4
Vincent paced back and forth, scowling at the shield cell that surrounded him. He kicked it with all his might, and sustained a bruised big toe, not harming the shield at all. The man, who had taken him captive, was watching him. Vincent wished he could reach out and smash the grinning face into the concrete floor until it was not a face anymore. The man had jested him, and disrespected his wife. He had made faces at him, and poked fun at his life. The man was forever asking him questions that he refused to answer, and the man scoffed and told him that he wouldn't feed him until he did.
Vincent finally just sat down and began to meditate. The man, deprived of his fun, left the room, and turned off the light.
This kind of treatment to any normal human would have cracked them in a few weeks, but Vincent had only been there a night and part of a day, and he enjoyed the dark.
Vincent stood up, and stepped to the shield, eyeing it with hatred. He willed his Demon to come; he opened himself to its approach. He felt the searing heat of the Demon entering his mind, and taking over his body and soul. He transformed, and grinned in derisive pleasure. Then with the single-mindedness of a brute, his Demon slammed at the shield, and it bucked and wavered, but it never gave. Then the Demon summoned its power to it, and belched forth an inferno of flames. The shield glowed brightly for a moment, then dimmed to nothing. The Demon bellowed with glee, and stepped to the barrier, only to get shocked, the blast sending the Demon into the wall, and with a sickening thud, it hit the ground.
The lights to the room flickered on, and the man walked in.
"Impressive! I have not seen anything so frightening in my life! Good for you Vincent!"
The Demon flew at the barrier, its arms raised ready to strike. But another blast sent it flying back, and it hit the wall again.
The man didn't even flinch as the Demon had charged. Instead he smiled that shit- eating grin of his, and said joyously, "Tsk, tsk Mr. Demon… You should know better than that! Are you sad Mr. Demon that you can't get out? Are you angry with me Mr. Demon? Because I have a friend for you to maul! You two can rip each other to shreds! Sounds fun to you Mr. Demon, doesn't it? You like destroying things? I know I do." The man turned to the door, and shouted, "Guards, bring in the Cat! On the double Lads! Move it, move it, move it! I want to see this reaction." He grinned at Vincent, who had changed back to his human form.
"Oh! Look who came back! Where did Mr. Demon go Vincent? Did he get tired of playing, and leave you alone again? Good thing I found you a play mate!" Solders marched in, trailing a large red cat behind them. He was wearing a muzzle, and his paws had been covered with special material, to keep him from scratching.
To Vincent's great surprise, Red Xlll stood before the barrier now, looking completely dejected and saddened. The guards pushed a button on the wall, and the shield changed to a dull green color. Vincent rushed the shield, and was flung back by a blast of green light.
The man chuckled to himself, and smiled an even broader smile.
"This shield only lets things in, and never lets them out again. You should know this Vincent, but you are a determined little bastard aren't you? You will never escape!"
The guards threw Red Xlll through the shield, and it abruptly turned white again, the man smiled once more, and nodded to the guards to leave. They left, and he turned back to his captives.
"You know this thing, don't you Vincent? You know him, and you are shocked to see him. But that is to be expected… It is a little disconcerting to have your friends show up, but unable to get you out of here isn't it?"
Vincent merely turned away from him, and looked at Red Xlll.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
Red Xlll looked at him with a sad look, and nodded.
"Good night you two. Have sweet dreams of a freedom you will never have! The only way out of this one is death boys, and you can't do that either!" The man left, and shut the lights back off again, closing the door behind him with a thud.
Vincent looked at Red Xlll, and shook his head.
"Where is Cait Sith?"
Red Xlll looked at Vincent, and nodded his head at him. Vincent then remembered the muzzle, and reached over, and cut it off with his clawed hand. Red Xlll shook out his mane of hair, and gave a sigh of relief.
"He is nowhere to be found. I don't know what happened to him, but I know he wasn't around when the Shinra guards came."
"Are you sure he wasn't near by?" Vincent asked.
"He was gone, that is all I know. I was hit with a tranquilizer, and then muzzled, and padded. Those cowards are afraid of a Cat!"
"You're not exactly just any cat, they have reason for fearing you."
"Good point," said Red Xlll, who had removed the padding on his paws, and was showing his brutal claws.
Vincent smiled at Red Xlll, and laughed, as the red cat pretended to rip apart something, hissing and spluttering, and making a general fool of himself. This was not normal behavior for the cat, but under these circumstances, it fitted perfectly. Red Xlll was not usually violent, but his captors had not been nice to him, and he wanted to exact revenge, if it ever became possible.
"Our chance will come Red, don't you worry… I have no doubt that we will get our chance soon… It will be a sweet day when I can throttle that man… I have never hated anyone, not even Sephiroth, as much as I hate this man. Sephiroth I feel sorry for, but that won't get in the way of killing him when the moment comes…"
Vincent reached for his gun, and found it gone. He cursed under his breath, and shook his head. He needed to rest, for his legs felt like Jell-O, after his Demon had exerted so much energy on the shield. He sat against the corner of the wall, leaning his head against the brick. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep after a few moments of silence.
Red Xlll sat down on his haunches, and stared at the candle like flame at the tip of his tail. He was intrigued about it for a second, and then he settled himself on the ground for a short catnap.
They wouldn't wake until morning…