Angel Trapped On Earth
Chapter Sixteen
.+. Is It Love? .+.
Sephiroth gripped his sword tighter and ran his fingers along the cool crimson orb of the GF materia that he was assigned to. It was Shiva, he noticed as he felt the icy-cool chill that wavered through him. His mind concentrated and in several seconds, he disappeared altogether from the scene. He was in total darkness, as it had always been when one summons a guardian force. The place felt like ice and he could see a blinding blue flash. Shiva had just performed her attack and then he re-emerged in the scene to find that only ten more guards stood firmly in place.
They were the stronger guards, he mused. He barely manages to dodge a bullet when one of them shot at him, and he was glad that only one of them carried a gun as a weapon.
"Fire!" One of them shouted.
Sephiroth felt hot sensations run through him, but the pain was only minimal. His HP went down by 50 and he cursed under his breath.
"Ice 3!" Another shouted.
Damn, they were summoning spells to quick for him to react and before he knew it, his HP was down only to 1,000. He ran towards one, twirled with his sword and made a clean cut across the guard's chest. He felt another spell hit him. It was thunder 3. The pain was minimal to him for he was used to these kinds of attacks, but his HP was dropping like flies. He was relieved when he felt gunfire erupts and the rest of the nine men fell.
Barret had aimed his gun-arm at all nine and let fire. Sephiroth had never been so thankful before for the man. Nanaki looked at him and sniffed slightly, and the Lion-like creature could tell that his HP had dropped heavily. Nanaki lowered his head and lifted it up a bit, and a blue aura circled Sephiroth. He felt warmth and it radiated through him. He had never been cured by anyone before and the effects of Cure 3 were surprisingly gentle and warm. He felt his energy being rejuvenated and he nodded his thanks, causing Barret to mutter something like 'whatever' under his breath.
"Tifa's gone." Sephiroth stated quickly, and Simon, Barret, and Nanaki looked at him quizzically.
"I locked her in my room and she broke free." He explained and Barret and Nanaki didn't look surprised.
"You locked her in!? SHIT! You should've BARRICADED HER IN!" Barret shouted, waving his arm frantically in the air.
"I don't know where the hell she is!" Sephiroth growled, raking a hand through his long silver hair.
Nanaki glanced at him and wondered why Sephiroth would even care in the first place. Barret, however, seemed oblivious by Sephiroth's sudden act of chivalry and started pacing around nervously thinking of where Tifa might be.
"The floor plan! Do you have it?" Nanaki asked.
Sephiroth reached inside his cloak and brought out the manual that had been left in his room. He scanned the floor plan, and noticed that the control room was not so far from here.
"We'll go to the control room. That's where they keep all the monitors." Sephiroth said, feeling slightly relieved.
"Simon!" Nanaki barked, "Go find Vincent and the others! Tell them to head for the control room."
"Yes, sir!" Simon replied enthusiastically and sped off.
"That Ling-Nhi woman is gone too."
Nanaki looked at Sephiroth and understanding flickered in his amber eyes. The three of them took off at an amazing run, with Nanaki and Barret following close behind Sephiroth. He looked at the floor plan then at the original scene, turned at the right corner, and barged right into a room finding a nervous-stricken Reeves and an impatient Rufus and Cid.
"Turn on the monitors!" Sephiroth snapped.
"Wha-?" Reeves uttered, bewildered.
"We've been set up." Nanaki said gravely and Reeves nodded, his eyes searching frantically for the right button.
"Oh damn it, just push something!" Sephiroth growled and he hit a purple button.
Suddenly, all the monitors flashed one by one to reveal separate rooms.
.+.+.
"Release her." A man's voice warned.
Cloud smiled sinisterly as he slowly released Tifa. Tifa stood there bewildered. Wasn't one of Cloud's men? Her puzzled eyes flickered from man to man and noticed that the new man that had just arrived on the scene was shaking slightly, his handle on the gun wasn't firm.
"Truman." Cloud said, his voice promised something deadly.
"T-turn around slowly." Truman ordered nervously.
Just as quick as a flash of lightning, Cloud turned around and gripped the gun by its revolver and yanked it away from Truman. Now it was Cloud who was aiming the gun. Cloud's grin spread evilly.
"Tell me, Truman. Did Hojo set you up for this little stunt?"
"…H-he made me do it! I swear!" Truman begged. Cloud loved it when people begged.
"Where is he?!" Cloud asked harshly and Truman yelped.
"He's in the Wutai--" Truman said and eyed Tifa before cutting off in mid-sentence.
"I see. Give me your cell phone." Cloud ordered and Truman gave him the silver cell-phone shakily.
"You can go." Cloud said with a false smile, and Truman walked away slowly.
'Poor idiot', Tifa thought to herself bitterly.
"Oh and Truman?" Cloud called.
Truman turned around and Cloud ended his life with one bullet straight to his chest. Cloud chuckled deliciously and caught Tifa backing away from here.
"Uh-uh-uh!" Cloud teased wagging his gun.
He then pressed it straight to Tifa's temple, causing her to stand stiff in one place, her breathing ragged with fear. Cloud flipped open the cell-phone and dialed.
"Come quickly. I have a treat for you." He said into the phone and then flipped it close.
"You bastard.." Tifa whispered and Cloud pressed the gun harder to her head.
"Don't tempt me Tifa." Cloud warned.
A few seconds later, Tifa heard the characteristic clicking of heels and her heart thumped.
"Yes, Cloud?" A familiar, sickly, sweet voice called out.
"Take her to the dungeon." Cloud replied coldly.
From the shadows emerged a smug looking Ling-Nhi and Tifa's hands itched to slap the bitch. She never liked the pathetic woman, not even once! Ling-Nhi's eyes narrowed in mock scorn towards Tifa and smiled with great satisfaction.
"My, my, look at what we have here." Ling-Nhi teased.
She brought a long fingernail to Tifa's chin to tilt it up and smiled mischievously. Tifa glared at her and Ling-Nhi just merely chuckled amusedly at the sight of Tifa looking angry and spiteful.
"Looks like my cat and mouse chase is over." Ling-Nhi clucked through a sick smile.
"Bitch, fuck you!" Tifa hissed and Cloud chuckled approvingly.
"I'd rather not. Maybe you can talk to Sephiroth about that." Ling-Nhi replied coolly, then squeezed Tifa's chin with her long elegant hand.
"You push my buttons. I push yours." She warned and let Tifa go, leaving a red nail marks on Tifa's creamy cheeks.
"Take her to the dungeon. I'm going after Hojo." Cloud muttered and thrust her towards Ling-Nhi.
"With pleasure."
Ling-Nhi drew forth a rope and with the help of Cloud pressing Truman's gun against Tifa's head, they bound her up and Ling-Nhi led her away. Tifa looked back at a smirking Cloud, and looked forward into darkness where Ling-Nhi dragged her to some dungeon.
.+.+
"Vincent, sir!" Simon called as he caught Vincent and Yuffie running down a hallway. They whipped their heads in his direction.
"Come with me to the control room, right away!"
Vincent nodded, and they sped off after Simon.
.+.+
Dungeons, Tifa can handle, but from the looks of the icy-like room she no longer felt confident. Ling-Nhi gave her a shove before closing the metal door with a slam and locking the door shut with a click. There was no keyhole from the other side. Tifa looked around and she shivered tremulously from the cold that was erupting through her. It was probably less than thirty degrees in here, Tifa thought to herself bitterly.
'I'm going to freeze to death. Ah, great. I can just hear Sephiroth now; 'Hah -I told her so.' Tifa thought to herself wryly.
This was no typical dungeon. This was a friggin' ice-room! Tifa slumped against the wall in a corner and concentrated on warm thoughts. Bullshit. That definitely didn't work since the fangs of the chill kept sinking its teeth into every portion of her body. She suddenly felt very sleepy and tired, indeed.
'No! Stay awake. STAY AWAKE DAMN IT!'
She sighed and wondered how the hell she ever got here in the first place. Oh yeah that's right, her stubborn streak. It was also her stubborn streak that kept Sephiroth inside her house instead of out of her life. One broken heart is enough, she mentally told herself, and you don't need another. Not from a guy who had taken everything away from you. She suddenly felt very sad too because she noticed that all the guys that she loved had paid back her love by leaving her empty and broken.
'Guys? Oh get a grip, Tifa. You don't love Sephiroth………do you?' Tifa sighed wearily and let her head fall against cold metal. Her eyes were beginning to droop and she knew that once she closed them, it would be forever. Stay awake, Tifa chanted to herself, stay awake. That didn't seem to work because she closed her eyes before murmuring the one name she dreaded to remember.
"Sephiroth…"
.+.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed darted around the dozens of screens until he narrowed his eyes upon one. One where he spotted a fragile looking female sat, nodding off to sleep in a room that looked normal, but something wasn't right. The girl was shivering. He walked closer to the screen and with one look, he tore out of the room, clutching the floor plan to his chest and his Masumune dangling from the sheath from his back.
"What the hell?" Cid muttered and peered into the screen that Sephiroth was looking at.
"HOLY SHIT! IT'S TIFA!" Cid exclaimed and the others clamored to take a look.
"What the fuck are you waiting for Reeves? Turn off the fucking power!"
"CID HIGHWIND! Do I hear you cursing in there?" Yuffie's voice boomed, and Vincent and Yuffie appeared in the doorway panting along with a happy-go-lucky looking Simon.
"Tifa's trapped in a room that looks like some sort of ice-dungeon!" Barret exclaimed, panic-stricken.
"Well what're you all waiting for! Let's go!" Yuffie shouted.
"Sephiroth's gone after her, " Vincent stated as he looked at the readable expressions on each person's faces, "Hojo's not in the building. I know of this."
"Where could he have gone? Our team was supposed to look for him, but we couldn't find him." Nanaki asked more to himself than the others.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Rufus said gravely.
"Any signs of Cloud?" Reeves asked Vincent. Vincent shook his head.
"Damn!" Reeves exclaimed and pounded a fist down on a red button.
"OH SHIT!" Reeves shouted worriedly, but just then he noticed that suddenly all the lights that seemed to flicker on the monitor screens went on and all the lights in the control room went on.
"……Fucking hallelujah! You just shut down the laboratory!" Cid whooped and slapped Reeves's back soundly.
.+.+.
"Tifa!" Sephiroth growled as he viciously sliced down the metal door with ease.
His eyes searched frantically for a hint of russet hair and he found her. Tifa was slumping against the wall with her hands tied behind her back and her head was nodding off. Sephiroth's breath nearly caught in his throat and he dashed towards her.
"Tifa! I've come for you, wake up!" Sephiroth urged.
Tifa gave a small groan and opened one eye painfully. At that moment, everything was clear to her. The moment she most dreaded ever since she laid eyes upon Sephiroth again had just come to pass. Her heart melted and not only did it melt, it soared. The moment she was so afraid of felt like heaven. She was glad he was here, in front of her and by her side and his presence caused her so much happiness, it felt like love.
"Sephiroth…you came.." She whispered hoarsely.
His hand reached to touch her face and he murmured, "Cure 3." Tifa felt a slight tremor of warmth surge through her and she closed her eyes comfortably. The room didn't feel as cold as it did before, and the aura of the spell floated all around her, making her feel alive and refreshed. She reopened her eyes and blinked several times. Sephiroth untied her then got to his feet and started to look around the room, then at the door in which it had a slice right through due to his Masamune.
"I'm going to kill her." She muttered, and Sephiroth grinned genuinely for the first time.
She decided that Sephiroth looked most handsome when he smiled, and she smiled back at him.
"Here." Sephiroth tossed two heavy objects at her.
She caught them with ease and her eyes widened with happiness as she recognized them as her Premium Heart. She looked at Sephiroth and wondered if she could ever forgive him for his deeds in the past, but she realized that it was too late to think about the past now because she just realized the fluttery feeling in her stomach whenever she saw him was indeed love. She brushed the thought aside and decided to think about such matters later.
"Sephiroth, let's go after them." Tifa said as she wriggled her fingers inside her gloves until it covered her hands comfortably.
He gave her a brisk nod and motioned for her to follow him. Tifa hoped that after this, everything would be all right.
"Hojo's not here…we've been set up. Ling-Nhi is working for them." Tifa said while running.
"I know. That's why I'm going to enjoy killing her." He returned coldly.
"No. She's mine." Tifa said with a triumphant grin.
.+.+.
[A/N: Not much of a good chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nontheless. =) Wow..I don't talk as much here! Finally huh? LOL]
[Disclaimer : Oh come now guys, you know I can never be even remotely THAT good. *bows down to Squaresoft*]