Here is the new chapter. I hope that you enjoy it. If you have any questions about do not hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to answer any question you throw at me. Well anyway, let's get this show on the road.
Chapter 10:
She was completely encompassed by a sea of black. Everywhere she looked her glowing ruby eyes met nothing but darkness. Dread gripped her as the sound of her shuddering breaths resounded around her. Something brush past her shoulder and she jumped reaching out into the blackness.
"Who's there!" She asked but received no response. A chill ran down her back as she took careful and hesitant steps forward. The thuds of her booted feet echoed throughout the hollow place. She inhaled deeply and the dank musty air flowed into her nostrils. She gasped when whispering flowed past her. Looking over her shoulder, she searched for the source of the whispers.
"Hello!" She called out into the black abyss. She pulled her arms around herself as she trudged forward.
Tifa
"Who are you?" She asked the whisperer.
Follow my voice
Tifa reached out her hands sweeping the air as she stumbled forward blindly. Fear sat in her belly as she swallowed hard. Her hand met something solid she hit her palm against it swiping back and forth to see how far it extended.
Over here
"Please . . . who are you? Where are you?"
This way
"Just tell me . . ." Tifa trailed off as she tripped over a rock on the ground. She fell face first knocking the wind from herself. Tifa rolled on her side as she wheezed and coughed. She heard trickling water not too far from where she was now.
Tifa, you are nearly here
Tifa pulled herself to her feet reaching out with her hands once more as she moved ahead. Her bruised hand slid along the wall as she waved about with the other.
You are doing great, Princess
Tifa almost scuffed at the voice as she followed it. Irritation filled her, shoving her fear aside as she staggered around in the dark place. The sound of the trickling water began to speed up to a steady stream becoming louder. Her hand slid into a curve in the wall as a dim aqua glow hit the adjacent wall ahead of her. A small trail of bright aqua light began piercing the darkness becoming more pronounced. The sharp acidic smell of mako stung her nose causing her eyes to water.
Ruby eyes danced around her surrounding as she emerged into a large cavern. A large pool of glowing mako was at the center of the room. Above it was a small mako fall spilling into the pond below. Jagged rocks lined the large cavern. The light of the mako shimmered across the walls pushing the darkness away. The energy from the mako crackled within the cavern. Tifa gasped. This is the place where I had my accident. She thought as her eyes fell on a woman at the bank of the mako pond.
The woman was beautiful. She was average height and clothed in a white elegant gown. Her long chestnut hair was pulled in a high ponytail with a single yellow cloth loosely holding it. The woman's bangs defied gravity sticking into the air falling over one of her green eyes that were now gazing at Tifa. She scanned the younger woman carefully, smiling warmly at the Princess. Her smile melted away the young warrior's irritation. Tifa's mouth parted slightly as she looked at this gorgeous woman. She seemed so familiar to the Princess. She tilted her head this way and that to trigger a memory as to where she might have seen her. The woman giggled at her closing the gap between them. Her dainty feet were bare gliding across the ground without the slightest sound.
"See. You found your way. You always find your way." Her soprano voice was kind. "You are more beautiful than I'd imagined." Tifa blushed tucking her silver lock behind her ear.
"Who are you?" Tifa asked again. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere. Have we met?"
"No Princess, we have never met. But I knew your mom. You look just like her." The woman reached out to Tifa caressing her cheek lightly. "Your mom was very kind to me. We were friends once."
"How did you know my mom?" The woman shrugged with a slight smirk on her face as she regarded the younger woman.
"Well, I will just tell you that I had a hand in getting your Mom and Dad together." The woman said dancing around Tifa's questions. Tifa shook her head bringing her ruby eyes to her bright green ones.
"Wait? You knew my Dad too? Who are you?"
"Tifa, who I am is not important." Aggravation shone in Tifa's crimson eyes as she sighed in annoyance. The woman simply giggled. "If it is so important to you then you may call me Lucrecia." Tifa snorted as a stubborn smile peeled her lips. They locked eyes and Lucrecia gazed at her patiently.
"Why are we here? In this cave?" Lucrecia looked around as if noticing the place for the first time then brought her gaze back to Tifa.
"Here, is where it all began."
"Um . . . okay?"
"The planet's destiny for you."
"A destiny . . . for me?" Tifa said mockingly as she looked around the place. She sighed rubbing at her left temple.
"You were chosen before you were born by the Goddess Minerva, Gaia's avatar, as the planet's final weapon." Lucrecia tilted her head as Tifa groaned now rubbing both temples.
"Excuse me? What are you talking about it?"
"In times of danger, Gaia summons her weapons to protect her, and you and a select few warriors were also chosen to protect the planet." Tifa scuffed rolling her eyes to the roof. She noticed the large opening that she fell through when she was a child and shook her head.
"This is a mistake. You have the wrong girl."
"Everything that has happen to you has all led to this point. You can not deny your destiny." Tifa shook her head placing her hands on her hips.
"If I'm a weapon, what are you suppose to be?" Lucrecia smiled looking into her ruby depths.
"Sweetie, I'm your guide." Tifa sighed raking her hand through her mismatched locks. "I will be there whenever you need me."
"Lucrecia . . . I'm just a girl. I don't know how to protect the planet. What am I suppose to do?" Lucrecia cupped Tifa's face in her hands her patient eyes watching the Princess carefully. As uncomfortable as Tifa was she couldn't help leaning into Lucrecia's embrace.
"Tifa, that's why I'm here, to guide you. I know you don't understand everything right now but you will." She tucked the silver lock behind Tifa's ear still holding her face in her palms. "You have many trials ahead of you and I will be there with you. Guiding you on the right path." Lucrecia suddenly looked up her eyes darting around anxiously.
"What's wrong?" Tifa asked at the woman's diverted attention. Bright green eyes returned to ruby and a warm smile peeled her lips. She kissed Tifa's forehead before bringing her eyes back to her scared ones.
"It's time to wake up."
Tifa was jerked from her vision bolting upright in the bed. She inhaled deeply as her heart skipped a beat. Tifa fell backward on the bed panting heavily.
The midmorning sun hung over the small town of Corel. The peaceful village was shaped like a rather large square. The cobbled streets circled the town, with four main roads forming a cross. The roads met at the statue of a folk hero in the heart of the village. The stone statue that stood proudly, in the image of man wearing a sombrero with cigar hanging from his lip. A pick axe was slung over the shoulder of the folk hero's immortalized statue. Corel City Hall was directly in front of the statue and behind it was the town's church. The mines were along the far northwest edge of Corel and the school was to the far east. The first Shinra constructed reactor was at the south part of the town looming over the city. Shopping centers and market places lined the roads.
Corel was quiet. The townspeople that were normally bustling about village were not. Aside from the AVALANCHE guerilla fighters, the place was a ghost town. The undead Ravens marched the streets on sentry duty never needing food or sleep. Some members of AVALANCHE sat at a café helping themselves to whatever they wanted. All of the townspeople were gather up and placed in the City Hall as hostages.
The burly man Shears stood on the steps of City Hall finishing off his cigarette. He was a man deep in thought. The turn AVALANCHE was taking was not what he signed up for, and he surely did not like the way things were going. He took a deep drag from his cigarette exhaling slowly. His mind traveled to the events of last night, when Fuhito carried a half dead Elfe into the building. He remembered how limp she hung in the demented Professor's arms. He never trusted the guy. No one's that polite all the time. Since that freak got back from Northern Cavern he's been weird, well weirder.
Shears rolled his hazel eyes to the sky shielding the glare from the sun with his hand. He could hear the birds chirping in the park across the way and it irritated him. Don't those stupid birds know Gaia could end at any moment? What're they so damn happy about? He shook his head at his own thoughts berating himself for being silly. The door opened revealing a member of AVALANCHE approaching him. Shalua sauntered over to him. She stood beside him watching his profile. He glanced at her turning his gaze to the ground.
"What's up Shalua?"
"The hostages are getting restless. They want to know how long this is going to take?" She said tiredly. Shears blew out a puff of smoke tossing the cancer stick to the ground stamping it with his booted foot.
"It's that Barrett guy again isn't it?"
"Yeah it's him again." Shears scuffed rolling his eyes to the sky. "But can you blame him? He has a pregnant wife and a son in there."
"Tell him we'll be out of his way in no time." Shalua rolled her eyes away from him.
"Shears, I joined AVALANCHE because Shinra is an evil corporation. They took my sister and I became a part of this organization to offer my expertise and to find Shelke."
"I know why you joined." He snapped at her. She sighed turning him around to face her.
"Do you?" Shears looked into her sparkling blue eyes. "We were suppose to take a stand against Shinra for the planet, but now we don't look that different from them. You can't let Fuhito stay on this path." The man nodded his head. "You can't let this continue. Let these people go, Shears."
"You're right, Shalua. Tell the hostages it shouldn't be too long now." She nodded her head and placed a hand on his shoulder before disappearing into the building. Truth be told Shears had no idea how long this was going to take. He growled pushing off the steps ascending them quickly. He entered the building to find some of the Ravens standing guard. One of them turned their dead purple iris on scelar eyes on him and it was enough to make him cringe. "Fuhito fucked you up my man. Damn." The Raven tilted his head never speaking a word. Shears shook his head walking toward the open elevator. He quickly entered pressing the button for the third floor exiting when it arrived just as quickly. Shears approached the office of the mayor attempting to go inside but was stopped by a Raven. "My man, you wanna get out of the way?" The Raven never spoke merely blinking very slowly. "I need to speak to the boss so get your creepy ass out of the way." The Raven slowly moved to the side allowing Shears to enter the office. Fuhito was in the middle of a full blown conversation with himself but stopped mid sentence looking up with a grimace. Shears looked at the man strangely.
"I was not to be disturbed, Mr. Shears."
"Yeah, yeah whatever. When are we gonna let these people go?"
"When we do." Fuhito said in a snippy tone. Shears glared at the Professor.
"Blowing shit up, I'm your man. Knocking off banks, I'm definitely your man, but I didn't sign up for this. We came into these folks town hauled their ass up in this City Hall and never gave these folks a reason. Now, I don't know about you but I wouldn't stand for this shit, and these people have been doing alright. You need to tell them something. Hell! You need to tell me something."
"I do not have explain anything that I do to the likes of you. I am in charge. It's over when I say!" Fuhito's blackened eyes glowed red for a moment and then faded. Shears swallowed a lump in his throat but he was determined not to let this man unnerve him.
"What the hell happen to you man."
"I have been enlightened."
"No, you're screwed up, my man. You need help." Fuhito shrugged as he leaned back in his chair.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, I got something else to say. What the hell we gonna do about Elfe? She's need medical attention." Fuhito sighed scratching lazily behind his ear.
"Elfe's fine."
"Bullshit, that girl is half dead and getting worse."
"She needs to rest and that is what she is doing. Why don't you go check on her and leave me alone. You are dismissed." Fuhito said swiveling around in the chair facing toward the windows. Shears mouth fell open then closed. "You are still here? Should I have my Raven escort you?"
"Naw, my man. I know where the door is."
"Good. Use it." Shears bit the inside of his jaw as he stormed out of the room. The Raven standing by the door looked at him with his dead black and purple eyes.
"What the hell are you looking at?" He yelled at the Raven. Shears stomped off leaving the Raven to stare after his figure. The irrate man stood in front of the elevator glaring heatedly at it. Who does that asshole thinks he's talkin' to? Shears fumed within his mind. The elevator opened with a cheerful ding making the man stare at the door with disdain. He entered the elevator car pressing the button for the first floor. He leaned against the wall his arms tucked to his chest. Shears growled as he pressed the button for the basement. The doors opened on the first floor revealing two Ravens marching passed before they closed again opening to a dim lit hallway.
The burly man stomped out of the elevator walking to the end of the hallway. He rounded the corner to his right, and was met with a large metal door at the end of the hall. He opened the door tipping inside the room. The Mayor's panic room was a medium sized with four bare concrete walls and a single bookshelf on one of them. Shears found Elfe laying on a small bed covered in blankets. Near the bed was a desk with a lamp and a chair. Her still form looked so fragile. Dark circles hung under her eyes, her normally shiny hair was dull, and her olive skin was pale where she laid. He sighed taking the chair from the desk sliding it by the bed. The old chair could barely support his weight as he hunched over on his knees. Shears watched Elfe his heart breaking for her and his anger forgotten for the moment.
Prince Mishima sat at a desk in the finest hotels in Midgar. The Prince rent out the whole top floor of the Emerson Hotel on the top plate for he and his men. President and Vice President Shinra both had their own private suites in this hotel. Only the most elite were allowed to stay there. He leaned back in the chair crossing his leg as he listened to his brother voice come across the speaker.
"Relax, brother. Everything is under control." Mishima sighed rolling his eyes to the ceiling.
"Mishima, how am I to relax? I gave Zangan my word that I would protect Tifa, and she has fallen into enemy hands. Leviathan only knows what they are doing to my child."
"Brother, I swear to you on my honor if any harm comes to Tifa I will deliver President Shinra's head to you on a platter." Mishima looked up as his General entered into the office space of the luxurious suite. General Nagano took a seat across from the Prince.
"Zangan . . . my old friend is dead?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, my lord. Zangan has passed on to the lifestream. His remains are being transported to you as we speak. Yuffie is on that helicopter as you requested." Emperor Godo sigh came across the speaker.
"How did Yuffie take seeing Zangan dead?"
"She has not spoken since she saw his body." Mishima sat up straighter in the leather chair. "Brother . . . be gentle with her."
"Mishima you always defend and protect Yuffie. She has deliberately disobeyed me."
"Godo, the child has been punished." The Emperor was quiet on the line and another sigh came across the speaker. "She saw her Sifu and friend dead, Godo. I just do not believe anything you do to her will hurt her more than that right now." Emperor Godo chuckled sadly.
"My girls are your weakness too, eh? I will not punish Yuffie."
"Thank you, Brother." General Nagano met the Prince's violet gaze. "Godo, I have a lead that I need to follow. I will have to call you back."
"Okay. Be safe, Mishima. You and Tifa return to me in one piece and alive. That is an order." Mishima chuckled.
"Yes, my lord."
"May Leviathan watch over you."
"May Leviathan watch over you and all of Wutai." There was a click and the line was severed.
"You do have quite a soft spot for your niece." Mishima shrugged his shoulder.
"I suppose I do. She reminds me of me at her age. Godo was so much older than me. He was more of a father than a brother." Mishima's stared at a far wall in the suite.
"It makes what you have to do that much harder does it not?" General Nagano's tight brown eyes studied the Prince.
"It does but I will not be stopped, General. That is the difference between Godo and I. I will not compromise when I want something. That is what Wutai needs, a strong Emperor to lead them into victory. Wutai will be the one true superpower of all of Gaia, and I will lead us there." The General bowed his head.
"And I am here to serve you, my Denka."
"What of our guest, Nagano?" A dark smirk peeled Mishima's lips. "Has he been made comfortable?" Nagano smiled.
"He should be getting his midmorning wake up call as we speak." Prince Mishima rose from his chair.
"Good. I have goals and I intend to reach them." The Prince said as he and the General left out of the room.
Yuffie peered out of the window of the luxury helicopter. A heavy sadness weighed on her shoulders. Vomit bags were placed on the seat next to her but she was far too sad to even be airsick. The mid morning sun cut through the stratified clouds as they traveled over the sea heading for her island home, Wutai. I know father must have cooked up a dozy of a punishment for me. I don't care. She thought looking down at her hands in her lap. The helicopter bounced on the turbulence but Yuffie barely noticed turning back to the window. She was numb.
Yuffie's mind kept traveling back to the memory of Zangan dead on the cot. He seemed to be sleeping and all she had to do was give him a strong shake. He would open his eyes and berate her for disturbing his sleep. He could fuss at her about how sloppy her dragon fist technique was and everything will be as it was. Yet, he was not sleep and nothing will ever be the same. A hollow pit rested in her chest and no matter how hard she rubbed at it, the pain would not subside. Moister filled her eyes and drizzled down her cheeks. Will this pain ever go away? Is this how Tifa feels? Is this how she felt when her father died? She trapped a wail in her throat holding her mouth closed as her shoulders convulsed.
The Co-pilot looked over the seat to check on the Princess. He found her hugging herself trying desperately not to make a sound. The pilot looked over at him.
"How is she?" The Copilot just watched her trying to be strong. Turning around in his seat, the Copilot said solemnly,
"She'll be okay."
Rufus watched Tifa's sleeping form on the screen. He sat at cherry wood table, in one of the offices located in the Medical Department of the Shinra Laboratory. He studied her features his eyes dragging lazily over her. The heart monitor beeped with the rise and fall of her chest. His father sat across from him watching Rufus watching Tifa. A smirk peeled his thin lips as the wheels in his head began to turn.
"Beautiful isn't she." Rufus looked at his father, the question hanging in the air between them. "I've searched the whole world for her and now she is finally in my grasp. She will make a fine addition to our research and power." Rufus bit the inside of his jaw dragging his gaze to the screen.
"What do you plan to do with her?" Rufus asked his hand gripping the chair underneath the table.
"Perhaps Hollander and Hojo can come up with a way to make more warriors like her. Maybe find a way to make her complacent." President Shinra drawled swiping lint from his blood red suit. He gauged his son's reaction carefully.
"So you are going to allow them to experiment on her?" Rufus rolled his azure eyes to his father. President Shinra chuckled. Just a small push.
"Of course. What else am I suppose to do with her? She is beautiful maybe she would make a fine mistress." Rufus gave his father a cold stare. "Unless of course it is true that you might have an interest in the Princess."
"Perhaps I do." Rufus said with a roll of his eyes. He berated himself for being so visible to the old bastard. He was losing his edge against his father and that just could not do. "Think of how powerful Shinra could become if we made Wutai an ally. There are four superpowers in all of Gaia and Midgar and Wutai are the strongest." Rufus finished with a well placed nonchalant shrug. President Shinra smiled at his son's clever escape. He'd taught his son well.
"A union between Midgar and Wutai would be very advantageous. What better way than a marriage between two powerful countries. Hojo mentioned that a child born from Sephiroth and Tifa would be very powerful. Maybe Genesis and Tifa would make for a good union as well?" President Shinra sighed his chubby hands interlocking as he rested his elbows on the table. "If my son wasn't so rebellious a union between the Vice President and a Princess would be perfect, but Rufus I simply can not trust you." President Shinra waited to see if Rufus took the bait. The two pair of matching azure eyes burned into the other. Rufus growled as he relinquished control to his father.
"What are your terms?"
"Well," he began leaning back in his chair, "for starters this rebellious nature of yours has got to stop. I have grown tired of the blatant disrespect you show me." A grimace pulled on the elder Shinra's face. "You will stop undermining my authority." Rufus's blood turned cold as held his breath hoping he and Lazard had not been discovered. "I am tired of the Turks following the orders that you give them instead of mine. Veld and Tseng have a soft spot for you and it usurping my control! I am sick of your behavior, Rufus. If you do not straighten up I will place Tifa somewhere you will never find her. Do you understand me." Rufus kept his face neutral; while, his knuckles were white and trembling as he held the handles of the chair in a death grip.
"Yes, sir. I have terms of my own."
"I figured that you would. What are they?" Rufus leaned forward on the desk.
"I will be allowed to court Tifa, in whatever way I choose." President Shinra smiled and nodded his head. Rufus took that as his cue to continue. "She will not be experimented on any capacity without my explicit consent. Only minor test may be ran and only Hollander can administer them. I want to oversee her and the Cetra's stay here. Everything pertaining to them will go through me and only you will have the last word after mine."
"Anything else, son?"
"Nothing at this time but if something comes up I will let you know."
"Very well. Your terms sound agreeable." President Shinra extended his hand to his son, and Rufus took it giving it a firm shake. Rufus went to release his father's hand but the older Shinra held on tightly to it. "Make no mistake son you step out of line and she will disappear."
"If one hair on Tifa's head is harmed by any of these Scientists, Dark Nation and I are going on Safari starting with this lab." The Shinra's glared daggers into one another neither relenting in their stare down but both turned at the door's opening. Hollander and Hojo shuffled into the room carrying files.
"Good morning Mr. President and Vice President." Hollander said as he sat his stuff on the table. "Please forgive our tardiness." Rufus smirked at him as he eased back into his chair.
"Good morning, Doctors." The younger Shinra said politely.
"Good morning. It's quite alright, Hollander." The President met his son's eyes once more before giving his complete attention to the Scientists. "What do you have for me? Were you able to find anything useful about the girls?" President said shifting his gaze between the two scientist. An excited gleam appeared in both of the Scientists' eyes as they shared a look. Hojo cleared his throat opening a file.
"I'll start with the Cetra. As you are aware President, we were able to do extensive research on the Ancient during her last visit here, twelve years ago." President Shinra nodded his head. "She has developed nicely, even surpassing her mother. As you also know, Cetra anatomy is slightly different from a regular human such as you or I. They have a larger brain mass as well as an area in the brain that is fully developed where as in humans it is severely underdeveloped."
"That area is what allows them to communicate with the planet." Hollander jumped in much to Hojo's annoyance. "Over time Miss Gainsborough would be able to manipulate the planet to her will. That is how the Cetra were able to survive so long without the amenities that we now enjoy. They asked the planet for their needs and in return the Cetra replenished the planet."
"That is all well and good but can she lead us to the Promise Land?" President Shinra asked gruffly his bushy blonde eye brows knitting together in a line. Hojo and Hollander exchanged looks.
"Yes, she can." Hojo said looking from Shinra to Shinra.
"Excellent! All that mako will be property of Shinra." A slight twinkle appeared in the President's eye as he sighed leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, sir." Hollander smiled at the President. "Now, the Princess . . . she's,"
"Extraordinary!" Hojo interjected and Hollander nodded his head in agreement. Hollander reached into his lab coat revealing a vial with glowing fire red liquid inside of it. Rufus frowned slightly glaring at the vial.
"What is that?" He asked locking eyes with Hollander, who smiled back.
"Tifa's blood. After the Nibelheim incident, we collected all of the village doctor's notes. When the Princess was eight years old she had an accident where nearly every bone in her body was either broken or crushed. She was submerged in a pool of mako for a day and a half. Her DNA was permanently altered."
"I remember that a couple of Junior Scientist were sent to collect her after the incident but her father refused." Hojo spat. "She would have made a fine specimen." Rufus glared at Hojo, who was well deep within his own thoughts. Hollander rolled his eyes and continued.
"At any rate, the lifestream fused with her blood, hence the color and glow. Also there is a calcified tumor resting at the base of her lungs on the diaphragm." Hollander opened a file removing a X-ray chart. He walked over to a device on the wall sliding the chart on it. He pointed to the circular image on the screen. "Here, is where the Professor and I believe her powers originate." Rufus arose from his chair walking to chart. He looked at Professor Hollander.
"Does it cause her any discomfort?" The Professor shook his head.
"No, it is very much apart of her. It's like any other organ in her body."
"That's not all." Hojo said coming up behind them his glasses sitting on the tip of his nose. "Her bones are much denser than ours." He pointed the chart. "She's stronger and faster than the average female." President Shinra stood up walking over to the chart.
"What do you mean?" Hojo looked over at him.
"The Subject is stronger than a fully grown human male that is at the peak of health, but she is probably as fast if not faster than our three enhanced Generals." Hojo said walking away.
"Tifa is an accident gone right. The planet made her close to perfect." Hollander said looking at the screen.
"She is not perfect!" Hojo spat glaring at Hollander, who shrugged at him.
"I didn't say that she was, Hojo, but she is close." He turned his honey brown gaze to President Shinra and Rufus. "Imagine SOLDIERs who didn't have to relay on materia but had all the powers of every materia they've ever come in contact with at their disposal. They could heal themselves faster, they would be faster. If we combine Tifa's DNA with Jenova cells . . . there is no limit to how powerful that squad could become." President Shinra smiled nodding his head,
"What do you need?"
"We need to study her more." Hojo said with irritation in his voice. "We need to run more test and experiments to see just what she can do." Rufus turned to his father and the elder Shinra nodded.
"I have put Rufus in charge of Tifa and the Cetra's care and stay here. Whatever he says goes in regards to the girls."
"With that being said, every experiment you have for them goes through me, and I want Hollander to administer any and all approved experiments. Are we clear gentlemen?"
"What is the meaning of this?" Hojo growled glaring from Shinra to Shinra. Rufus returned to his seat looking at the image of the sleeping Tifa.
"The Princess and the Cetra are special and I would prefer a man with a conscience operating on them." Rufus turned his gaze to Hojo, "If you have no problems with the experiments that have been conducted on your own son over the years, then Tifa nor Aeris stand a chance under your care." Hollander turned back to the X-ray chart to hide his smile from Hojo. "You are to have minimum contact with the Princess understood?" Hojo's mouth fell open as he continued to glare at the young man. President Shinra looked at his son with pride as he too took his seat. "I will accept your silence as confirmation of your understanding." There was stiff tension in the room. Hojo seethed from the chair he sat in; while, Hollander took a seat across from Rufus.
"Mr. Vice President, Hojo and I would like to gather information on her powers in combat. We wanted to have her spar with the twenty best infantry men and one of the Generals to collect data." Rufus nodded his head.
"I see nothing wrong with that. However, I would prefer Angeal or Genesis considering her history with Sephiroth. I want her stay to be as comfortable as possible." Hollander nodded his head. Hojo scuffed rolling his eyes to the ceiling.
"Genesis is currently on a mission but Angeal is here."
"Very well, when would you like to conduct this test."
"When the Princess wakes up, if at all possible." Rufus looked deep in thought for a moment before getting of his seat.
"I will make arrangements." The young Vice President said as he left the room. The elder Shinra smiled to himself.
"Oswald, what is the meaning of this? You let the rug rat boss me around?" Hojo said with his beady black eyed stare on the President.
"I'm afraid so, Hojo. My son asked for this assignment and he rarely shows interest in any of the Corporation's affairs so how could I deny him?"
"This is madness!"
"Calm yourself Hojo. You will have your chance to run your experiments, but we have to play along for now." The President said interrupting the evil Scientist's rant. Hojo continued to frown but he was calmer relaxing back into the chair. Hollander shook his head but remained quiet. "However, Rufus has a point about you Hojo, you have no conscience. Should my son step out of line, you will have your new specimen to do with whatever you choose." Hollander shook his head again. "I want to know what makes this Princess tick. She is a very special girl. A weapon for Shinra use. Find a way to keep this girl under our control." All three pair of eyes turned to the screen as they witnessed Tifa sitting upright in the bed looking around wild eyed. "Hollander?"
"Yes, sir." The Doctor quickly made his way out of the room leaving Hojo and Oswald.
"Do you think your son will hold up his end of the bargain?" Oswald shrugged.
"When Rufus gets tired of the Princess he'll do what he always does, move on to the next girl."
"I have known your son all of his life and never has he shone this much concern for anyone but himself, Lazard, and his Turks." Oswald chuckled looking at the Scientist.
"Keeping tabs on my son?"
"Your son is going to be a very powerful man should anything happen to you, I consider it an act of self preservation to observe him." Hojo rolled his beady black eyes to the image of Hollander and Tifa talking. "That girl is special, Oswald and I expect great things out of her."
"As do I."
Tifa fell back on the bed with a winded grunt. Her ruby eyes squinted against the bright lights that stung them. She went to shield her eyes only then did she realize that her arms were strapped to the bed. Tifa tugged against the restraints that began to cut into her wrists. She flailed on the bed trying to free herself when the sound of someone sighing froze her movements. She looked to her right and found Aeris on the neighboring bed sleeping. The flower girl's chest rose and fell in rhythm with her heart monitor.
"Aeris?" Her voice came out a horsed whispered. Tifa swallowed and licked her lips to wet her dried and gummy palate. "Aeris?" She called again but to no avail the Cetra was deep within the world of dreams. Tifa surveyed the room. She noticed that they were the only two in the room and in the upper right corner was a camera hanging on the ceiling watching them. She cringed at the thought of who might be watching. The blinking red light taunted her as she glared at it.
The thoughts of what transpired before her arrival her flooded her mind. Sephiroth! She growled within her mind. Shinra had succeed in capturing her. She berated herself for her carelessness. Master Zangan warned her about allowing her emotions to cloud her judgment. Shame followed soon afterwards. Sifu. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room opened slowly revealing a man in a white lab coat. She narrowed her eyes at him. Tifa heard stories about the doctors here. They were evil men of Science, but this man smiled at her politely walking over to her.
"Good midmorning to you Princess. How are you feeling?" Her face fell as she tilted her head at him. The man's happy honey brown eyes were nonthreatening to the point of nice. She studied him closely as he took a seat on the stool between the beds.
"Who are you?" She said gruffly watching him very carefully. The man chuckled and shook his head.
"How rude of me, I'm Professor Hollander." He smiled warmly at her. "Would you like those restraints removed?"
"How do you know I want beat you to a bloody pulp once you do?" She asked him with a suspicious glare.
"I don't dear Princess but I have faith that you won't. Would you like for me to remove them?" She nodded her head.
"Yes, please." He rose from his stool and walked around the bed unbuckling the restraint on her left arm and leg and did the same with the right side and reclaimed his seat watching her watch him. "Thank you." Tifa said as she rubbed her wrists.
"You are most certainly welcome." She peeked over his shoulder looking at Aeris.
"What did you do to her?" Hollander looked at the young woman in the neighboring bed.
"We gave her a mild sedative to help her sleep. She should be waking in an hour or two." He reached for his stethoscope holding it out to her. "Would mind if I checked your vitals?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean you no harm." She nodded her head. Hollander stood from his seat placing the stethoscope to her chest his eyes darting around as he listened to her heartbeat. He removed the instrument as he wrote on the chart laying on the small table between the beds. He checked her pulse then her temperature. "You have a very strong heart." Tifa nodded. "Did you know that your temperature is slightly lower than the average human?"
"Yes, my physician in Wutai is marveled by it. He can't figure out how I'm not anemic."
"Hmm. It's because of the mako in your blood." Tifa narrowed her eyes. Hollander smiled at her. "We ran a few test on you while you were resting. You are in optimum health."
"Why am I here Professor Hollander?"
"Because you are special." Tifa scuffed rolling her eyes to camera. "We can learn so much from you and you from us if you give it a chance?"
"So you want to poke and prod me. Treat me like some sort of lab freak? An experiment? Is that it?" Hollander shook his head a slight grimace on his face.
"Tifa, you are not a freak. Don't you want to know what you are and of what you might be capable? There is so much that we can learn from one another." Tifa was quiet as she mulled over the Professor proposition. Hollander watched her carefully. "Don't you want to test your abilities in an environment where there are no risks to those you love?" The Princess chewed her lower lip.
"How can I trust you?" He chuckled at her and she was immediately on guard.
"Tifa, trust is earned. I'll tell you what, we'll start with one test and the moment you are uncomfortable we'll stop. Deal?" She smiled despite her predicament. He was one of the most disarming men she had ever met. Who is this guy?
"You are a strange man." He chuckled again.
"So I've been told. Are you interested?" Tifa shrugged.
"What's the test?"
"You get spar against some infantry men and one of our star generals. You will have to wear some sensors so that we can collect the data."
"I have two request if you want me to do your test." He shrugged smiling at her.
"Name it."
"Aeris and I are placed in the same cell."
"Cell?"
"You know a prison cell." He laughed out loud. The sound nearly startled Tifa, who looked at him with wide eyes.
"Dear Princess you will not be staying in a cell. You have living quarters that are being set up as we speak. You're a guest." Tifa shook her head.
"No, guests can leave." He nodded his head at her. "I want Aeris and I to share living quarters then."
"Done. What was the other request?"
"I want to talk Aeris and I to be able to talk to Cloud and Zack. If you can make that happen then I will do your test."
"I will see what I can do but if you are allowed to see them you will not be able to mention the Nibelheim incident to them." He gauged her reaction. Tifa looked down at her hands and shook her head. "They do not have the clearance for such information." Tifa nodded her head.
"Fine."
"Wonderful!" Tifa looked at him strangely. "We'll get started in an hour." Hollander rose from his seat walking to the door. He turned back to her, "Princess we are going to have quite an interesting learning adventure. You'll see." With that he left out of the door.
"I'm sure we will?"
Prince Mishima sat in a leather chair with his legs crossed. Across from him, were four of his royal guards and a man being tortured. His violet eyes blinked slowly as he wore a bored expression. The monarch yawned placing his chin on his fist. Wedge was tilted backward in a chair by two guards, while one held a towel over his face, and the other poured a bucket of water on top of his covered head. Wedge flailed and gurgled as he tried not to drown. General Nagano stood in a corner with his arms against his chest. Prince Mishima sighed his finger beginning to tap on the chair's handle.
"General Nagano?" The General looked at the Prince. "I'm hungry where shall we dine for lunch?" The Prince asked looking over at his most trusted friend. General Nagano shrugged.
"I have heard good things about the Mideelian fine dining restaurant from the travelers. It's worth a try." Mishima shrugged with a slight frown on his face.
"I don't know, General. Mideelian food gives me indigestion." The Prince said sliding a hand down his washboard abs. "Maybe I'll ask our guest once he comes up for air." General Nagano nodded toward the guards and they removed the towel sitting Wedge upright. The chubby man gagged spitting up water his face was bright red. He took greedy breaths his bloodshot eyes darting around landing on the bored looking Prince. "Welcome back, Mr. Wedge. I must say I'm impressed. Most people do not last this long."
"There was one fellow." General Nagano said catching the Prince's eyes.
"Oh, I remember. He was a tough one." The Prince smiled coldly at Wedge. "Are you ready to talk now or are you still going to be a tough guy? We like breaking tough guys."
"Why are you doing this?" Wedge asked in-between taking puffs of air.
"Because you refuse to answer my questions." Mishima said as if it was the most simple explanation in all of Gaia. Wedge glared at him the normal tan pigment returning. "Mind that glare Mr. Wedge. It makes me think you want to harm me and we can't have that can we?" Mishima said reaching for his Samurai sword. He showed it to Wedge and the chubby man's eyes bucked.
"You're asking me to betray my organization."
"No, I'm asking you to tell me who your leaders are and I want to know right now." Mishima placed the tip of the sharp blade against the frighten man's chest. Wedge looked down at the blade and noticed his soaked jeans. "Mr. Wedge I am losing my patience with you."
"How do I know you want turn us over to Shinra?" Prince Mishima chuckled removing the sword.
"Is that what you're worried about? I think I like you Wedge. I love loyalty. I'll tell you what I promise not to turn any member of AVALANCHE over to Shinra. How is that?"
"How can I believe you?"
"Under normal circumstances I would cut out a man's tongue for questioning my honor, but I will allow you this one transgression." The Prince said his smile never faltering. "Now, I need you to set up a meeting with your leader." Wedge sighed as his heart filled with guilt and relief.
"Shears will come if I tell him we have a new benefactor for the organization."
"Excellent! General your PHS." The General reached into his jacket pocket handing the device to Wedge, who sighed once more as he dialed Shears. "Tell him we want to meet with him tonight." The defeated man nodded his head placing the PHS to his ear. His brown eyes darted around.
"Hello? It's me, Wedge." He paused listening. "No, that's Biggs . . . yeah I'm the chubby one." Wedge said his eyes downcast. The men of the royal guard chuckled among themselves. "Yeah, I'm still in Midgar. Listen I have someone who's interested in financing the cause. Huh . . . . what do you mean this is a set up? I wouldn't . . ." Prince Mishima stood from his seat taking the phone from Wedge.
"Mr. Shears, I am Prince Mishima of Wutai and I am very interested in financing AVALANCHE. Of course I am the Prince . . . I beg your pardon?" Mishima snarled. "Listen you pathetic insect . . . five million Gil? Not a problem. I'll make it ten if you come alone." Mishima held the PHS away from his ear as Shears shouts could be heard. "Where would you like to meet? Yes, of course I know that location. Be there nine o'clock sharp." The Prince hung up tossing the General his PHS. "That was easy." He sat back down in his chair. He met Wedge's expectant look. "What?"
"When are you going to let me go?"
"Oh, that. As soon as I get what I need I will free you with 100,000 Gil for your service."
"Are you serious?" Wedge asked tilting his head.
"Yes." Mishima said with a shrug. He leaned back in his chair gazing at the floor but brought his attention back to his hostage. "Mr. Wedge, do tell me a place that serves good cuisine?"
Shears shook his head at the PHS as he walked back into the Mayor's panic room where Elfe was resting. He reclaimed his seat beside the bed watching the rise and fall of Elfe's chest. Shears noticed a small smirk on her lips and raised an eye brow.
"Elfe?"
"So how long are you going to sit there watching me? I'm sure there are more important things that you could be doing." Elfe opened her tight dark brown eyes. She turned to face him pausing when a sharp pain shot up her back. Shears shrugged.
"I don't like seeing you like this."
"I'll be fine."
"Elfe you're getting weaker by the minute. You need to see a real doctor, not that psycho upstairs." Elfe shook her head as she sat upright in the bed.
"I don't need a doctor, Shears. I'm fine. So who was that on the phone?" She said diverting the attention away from her. Shears sighed looking down at his hands.
"You remember that chubby kid, Wedge?" Elfe frowned as she thought then nodded her head. "Well he claims he found us a benefactor. Some asshole claiming to be the Prince of Wutai gets on the PHS ordering that I met him at 9. The man was a real dick if you ask me." Elfe leaned forward.
"Was the Prince's name Mishima?"
"Yeah . . . I that was his name."
"Shears that was the Prince of Wutai!" Elfe sighed rolling her eyes. "What did you say to him? What did he say?" Shears shrugged with a very grumpy expression on his face.
"Well I might have called him an asshole. Might have said that he was lying about being the Prince, and that I wasn't stupid enough to fall for this trick. I also might have told him to go fuck himself." Shears winced looking away from Elfe's shocked gaze. "Hell! Elfe I didn't know who the man was!"
"Shiva help us." She whispered dropping her head in her hands. "Shears do you know what you have done? We are out of money. That was the Prince of Wutai! He's here looking for Tifa, he would have paid you anything you asked for, Shears! Stupid!"
"Hey! I didn't know!" Shears yelled back. "Besides, I was being jackass and I told him I wanted five million Gil." Elfe looked up at him with hope in her eyes. "He told me if I came alone he'll make ten. All I have to do is meet him outside that Sector Seven's bar at 9:00 tonight."
"You're going right?" Elfe demanded more than asked. Shears nodded his head.
"I guess I am."
"Midgar's a long way from here. How are you going to get there in time?"
"Don't worry. The Mayor has a chopper on the roof." Elfe smiled for the first time in weeks.
"This is great!" Shears chuckled. "When are you leaving?"
"You ready to get rid of me already?"
"No. It's not that it's just." Elfe shook her head blush appeared on her face. He smiled brushing his thumb against her cheek. She closed her eyes to the sensation leaning into his palm. Their eyes met washing over the other.
"I know Elfe. I'll get us the money."
"Be careful."
"Always."
That is that! I know I made a few tweaks to the original story-line giving Barret a son and a pregnant wife but hey this is an AU story. Any questions just ask. Well that's it for me. Please remember to read and review for me. Adios amigos!
~Auktober