[A/N: YaY! More suspense and action!! fun stuff! Read on! XD ]
..x.x.x.x.x..
"Got it!" Tifa said triumphantly, having packed the rest of her supplies. She had her Premium Hearts on, fitted comfortable over the black velvet gloves that went with her dress, along with her favorite black boots. They didn't seem to go too well with the formal crimson velvet gown she was wearing, but she didn't want to risk the time of changing. She slipped her pack on over her shoulder and headed wearily for the door, while drinking her last High-Potion. It was sweeter tasting then the regular potions and left a tangy residue on her tongue, but it was highly refreshing.
She looked both ways while peeking her head cautiously out the wide door frame, and seeing it to be clear, tiptoed to where she thought she heard Blade before, somewhere downstairs.
/I'm going to need to watch myself carefully; that lunatic bastard is after me, and after the mark I left on his face, he won't be at all happy to see me./ She smiled silently to herself, remembering how simply -good- it felt to hurt Tadrith. It almost made her feel warm and tingly. But wait, no- that was probably the potions.
Holding the hem of her gown up a little to keep from tripping while she walked, she slowly made her way back downstairs. /I wish I knew where the hell I'm going../ She tuned into her fighting senses, which Zanghan had so diligently taught her, and extended them all around her. Her hearing extended to every corner of the room, so she was able to observe the slightest little sound if anyone was approaching. Her vision became more acute, readily tensing her muscles for action at any given moment.
/Go ahead, Tadrith. Just try and stop me from leaving now./
.x.x.x.
Cid felt a little paranoid at the endless pounding noises that echoed through the hallway they were in. He tensely gripped at his Venus Gospel, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead, under the visors of his precious goggles. He instinctively sucked at the air, as if he had a cigarette in his mouth, wishing even more that he at least had even a -quarter- of one.
"Any idea of what that might be?" CaitSith asked, as they neared the sound of the loud, relentless noise.
"Well, we're about to find out." Cid said precariously, his heart pounding in his chest. /I hope to God it's something we can handle ourselves../
They rounded a corner, and down the hall a ways was a large, homely, oak door. It was vibrating vigorously from furious pounding on the other side, as if someone or something was trying to get out. Cid's eyes widened in fear.
"What if that's Tifa?" He asked, a spark of fear and worry in his blue eyes. "But then again, what if it's her kidnapper?"
"I highly doubt it." CaitSith answered. "Seein' as how he knows all the locks an' stuff to this place."
Cid neared the door. "Hey! Who's in there?" He demanded gruffly.
The pounding stopped suddenly. A great fluttering could be heard from the inside, as if a giant bat had just taken flight. A deep, harsh voice called back, "Let me out of here!"
"It's Vincent!" Cid and CaitSith immediately leapt for the door, trying to find a way to pry it open. After fiddling with the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't budge, Cid tried prying the end of his spear into the doorframe, attempting to wedge it open. Cait meanwhile tampered with the control box next to the large frame, trying to type a code that would unlock it.
"It won't fuckin' budge!" Cid grunted, flustered.
A devious, light laughter sounded behind them, and Cid whirled around to see a very tall man standing behind him. Cid's eyes narrowed in anger, instantly recognizing the mans clothing. /Businessman../
"You're the one, ain't you?" He implied angrily.
The man's eyes seemed to glow a deep red, almost dark enough to be mistaken as black. His features had become sharp and rigid, as if his skull had grown thicker. His fingers were longer then a normal humans, and seemed to be tipped with short, stubby claws. His whole body just seemed to be a bit longer than normal, his pants ending at his ankles and his sleeves above his wrists, as if he'd had a sudden 6 inch growth spurt in the time of half an hour. His muscles, however, were still equally proportioned, his broad shoulders radiating with strength.
/What the fuck../ Cid thought, stalling at the sight of the oddly formed man in front of him.
Tadrith remained smiling, displaying his teeth which seemed to be tipped slightly, like fangs, and reached forth an unnaturally long, thick arm, past CaitSith to type in his personal code into the silver control box. With a mechanical click, the door slid open just enough to see the demonic form of Chaos on the inside, his hands bloodied from his furious wracking at the door.
Cid and Cait naturally turned to look into the room, and just as they did, Tadrith shoved them both inside with such a strength that the both of them sprawled to the floor at Chaos's feet. As the demon screeched, Tadrith pushed the door closed, feeling the impact as the enraged creature flung himself at the door, trying to hopelessly break it open. Tadrith just smiled, and with his unusual fingers, he typed in his code again, sending the steel-enforced door to it's usual locked state.
Walking away, smiling his dark, wicked smile, Tadrith said to no one in particular, "Play nice now, boys."
.x.x.x.
Tifa felt a shiver creep down her spine as she looked upon the broken body of her dear, beloved golden chocobo.
She knelt down before it to stroke it's head one last time, feeling pity, guilt, sorrow and stark rage build inside her, all at once. She felt her eyes sting, on the verge of tears, as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Blade.. I didn't mean to drag you into this.. I loved you so much.."
She stroked the soft golden feathers, then stood, turning to further survey the odd looking dungeon around her. This place definitely gave her the creeps; she didn't want to imagine the other people that had been left here to die. Or maybe worse...
Sparing one last look back at her favorite chocobo, she turned back to where she came in from. /Great, now I have no quick way of escape. I'm going to have to sneak out.. Which will be dangerous, considering all the creatures I'll have to face.. / She mentally scanned the map of the continent she was on, thinking of the closest place she could go to for sanctuary.
/Let me think.. If I go east across the ocean, Wutai is the closest place I could go to.. Yuffie's there, so I can stay with her until things clear up../ She peered around in the dimly lit hallway she was standing in front of. There were two different ways she could go; either straight, which would eventually lead her to the room Tadrith had locked her in, which would then lead to the main entrance, or left, which would be the long way to the front, but would avoid any of the obvious places she could be.
She didn't want to take the chance. Tadrith was probably out searching for her now, and she was in no condition to defend herself fully. She headed left.
.x.x.x.
Tadrith pulled uncomfortably at his collar, feeling how tightly it fit against his skin, so suddenly. He stared into his closet, looking for something that would fit him more suitably. He didn't want to search the house for his little dove with clothes that limited his movements; he didn't want to take the chance with that woman.
While searching for something larger, he pondered wondrously at his newly found strength, and began to laugh to himself.
/Maybe Hojo's chemical elevated more then just human years, after all./ He smiled wickedly to himself, unaware at just how much he was changing. /I wonder why it so suddenly came upon me now. Perhaps the stress from my dear Tifa? Yes, that must be it./ He selected a long, black overcoat that belonged to one of his deceased grandfathers; It had always been too large for him.
He slipped off his formal jacket, leaving on the loose silk, white, dress shirt underneath. /At least -something- still fits right./ He slid his arms into the sleeves of the pitch black coat, smiling to see it now fit perfectly. He failed to see, however, how unnaturally pale his skin had become. He was so infected with the thought of -his- Tifa that he scarcely anything else came to mind.
He examined his coat, seeing how it fell all the way down to his ankles, and saw that his pants, too, fit too short. Sighing irritably, he slipped them off and tried on a pair of black, formal looking slacks from the same dead grandfather, along with his old dress shoes.
He clasped only a couple of buttons on the overcoat, and looked down at himself. He smiled, admiring his appearance. His grandfather's clothes were styled from the later years, giving him an old-fashioned appeal. /I guess you could say I look somewhat like a vampire./ He thought, amusingly.
He brushed a lanky, pale hand back through his raven hair and stepped out the door, eagerly ready to capture his prey.
.x.x.x.
When the hallway suddenly stopped to another locked door, Tifa stomped her foot furiously. /God I hate this place! Just when you think you're on you're way to the right exit../ Tadrith had only showed her certain parts of the house, apparently. She didn't remember seeing anything that made up her current surroundings. /What's the point of living in a house so large, especially all by yourself?/
Tifa turned around and began her trek back to the hallway she had just turned out of. On her way, she examined the doors that she passed. They were all as large as her guest room upstairs, and some of them were labeled with silver plates above their monstrous frames. They were numbers, however, which meant absolutely nothing to her. Yet.. She turned around and quickly went back to the dead end of the hallway, and scanned the plate above the door frame at the end.
"Research and Development Library"
Tifa's eyebrows knitted together with curiosity, and reached forward to turn the knob. It wasn't even closed all the way; it tipped forward to her touch. Looking around carefully, Tifa stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. /I won't take long.. Just a quick peek../
Before switching the light on, she kicked the small entrance rug up against the bottom of the door, so as not to let any light escape through the small crack, giving away her position. Feeling satisfied, she flipped on the light and gazed around the room, her pupils dilating harshly to the sudden bright light.
She was in a rather large room, every wall lined with bookshelves that touched the high ceiling. There were a couple of desks around the center of the room, littered with scattered papers and a couple of books, haplessly tossed on the tables.
Tifa carefully approached the closest desk and scanned over the contents strewn atop it. The loose papers were all scribbled on with a very messy style of handwriting, and she squinted her eyes, trying to read the words that lay before her.
"So far the experiments are showing no progress. P. Shin-Ra is losing his patience, as always, pushing my work days ahead of schedule. I'm really tiring of his antics. Someday he'll regret his mistreatment of me, and will see that my intelligence far outranks that of his precious Professor Ghast."
Tifa looked up from the papers, processing the words she had just read. She assumed that by "P. Shin-Ra, the writer meant the President of Shin-Ra at the time. "Is it.. Who I think it is?" She whispered to herself. She selected another paper, hoping to find an answer to the mysterious author.
"Jenova - possible Cetra
Cetra - great powers exceeding that of humans, connected to Promised Land
Promised Land - abundance of Mako energy
Extraction of Jenova - sample cells showing high amounts of activity in living tissue
Humans? - possibly increase strength, mentality, metabolism, endurance, life expectancy
Promised Land? - possible Jenova Cells lead their host to Promised Land"
Tifa's heart was beating in her chest, as she scanned over the rest of the notes, and examined what was at the very end.
"Note: Ask P. Shin-Ra for permission to sample Jenova Cells in an active environment - Preferably the town of Nibelheim. Will need personal lab - ask to have one made - preferably Tadrith Shin-Ra."
Tifa set the paper down to it's respectful position on the desk. /Hojo.. This is Hojo's house I'm standing in. No wonder Tadrith is staying here, he's protecting this place from possible infiltration../ She needed to get out. She wasn't safe her right now, especially not in this dead end of a room where she could be trapped very easily.
She turned and headed back to the door, turning off the lights and replacing the carpet back to it's original spot in front of the door. She thought about Hojo's notes, specifically the part about Jenova's Cells possibly increasing one's life expectancy. /I wonder if Tadrith has anything to do with that.. Maybe he was deceived as a test "specimen" by Hojo, as well../
Tifa slowly crept out the door and closed it behind her, carefully and quietly heading for what she hoped to be an exit. She exhaled slowly, remembering the hallways she came in from and mentally readied herself to slink down in the other direction then from the one she went last time, which lead her here, to this dead end. /Well, at least I got something important out of it. When we get our wits together, we'll all come back to this place and check the rest of it out.. There's definitely some important documents that need to be looked through. There's still a LOT to be learned, here-/
She paused suddenly, her thoughts jolting to a complete stop as she heard a muffled noise coming from around the corner in front of her. She had reached the intersection of hallways without even realizing it, kicking herself internally for not paying closer attention.
She froze where she stood, unknowingly holding her breath as she listened for the noise again. She wished the lights were out, or that it was darker than it already was. The hallways were dimly lit, but she could still be seen, clear as day, by anything that happened to walk by.
She started to tiptoe backwards, keeping her eyes trained on the intersection, watching for whoever it was who might possibly be approaching. Just a few more feet, and she'd be able to disappear around the bending hall behind her, which would only lead her back to the library. A dead end. Either that, or she could sprint as fast she could and hope to outrun the enemy to the nearest exit.. (by now, the only one she knew of was the front entrance.)
She weighed those options. She was a very fast runner, with great endurance and stamina, and could more then likely make it to inner Kalm without being caught. If she could at least hide herself in the eye of the public, Tadrith wouldn't be able to do anything. The only problem was, she didn't know her way at all around this monstrous place and risked running to another dead end, with the pursuer right behind her. She smiled to herself. /If that happens, I'll just turn and deliver a quick and unexpected blow to his face and run back behind him./
Her choice was made. She steadied her stance, gripping her shoes into the floor, and lifted her skirts a little higher. Sprinting around in this velvet gown wasn't exactly her idea of a getaway, but it would have to suffice. She took a deep breath, hearing another muffled scuff from around the bend in front of her, and decided now or never.
With a great leap, she sprinted forward. She pumped her arms for speed, her crimson gown swaying side to side with the quick relentless motions, and she ran straight ahead of her. As she sped through the intersecting hallways, she spared no glance to see who was there to catch her. She honestly didn't care who it was, as long as they couldn't reach out to grab her. She heard a surprised reaction from the tall, shapeless person she passed.
"Huh?"
But she was gone in a crimson flash, smiling happily to herself. /Just keep going, don't stop.. You'll make it Tifa, you're gonna get out of this place../ She breathed evenly as she madly dashed through the endless hallways, searching desperately for the front foyer. It didn't sound like she was being followed, but she didn't want to risk slowing down to look back.
Her heart pounding furiously, she finally reached a hallway that looked familiar. Her smile brightened as her heart jumped with joy.
/Yes! Take it to the left, the front entrance is just right there! You're almost free Tifa!/
Her muscles began to feel famished, but she pressed on, feeling so close to the end of this charade. She rounded the corner left, feeling victory consume her, as she passed a shadowy figure around the bend that she didn't remember seeing there before. /Wha-/
Just as she passed around the corner, strong arms reached out and plucked her off of the ground. The arms wrapped around her arms and waist, pinning her in such a way that it made it difficult to move, her chest heaving heavily from her vain flight.
"No!" She shouted, feeling her hope instantly drain away. She moved and kicked furiously, struggling to free herself from the incredibly strong grasp of her enemy.
"I won't let you take me ba-"
"Hush now, my little dove." A harsh whisper interrupted her. "I wouldn't want to strangle that beautiful neck of yours."
Tifa's heart pounded fiercely, not from her running, but from the stark dread that overtook her body. Her gown didn't let her accomplish anything as far as the kicking went, so she reluctantly subdued, letting her body fall limp under Tadrith's extremely ardent grip. Her feet dangled unusually above the ground, fleeting Tifa's mind to think, /I don't remember him being -that- tall../
A cruel chuckle escaped from his lips. "That's a good girl. Now, if you'll calmly submit yourself, we can end this relentlessly pointless chase. You've angered me quite enough for one day."
Even through her gloves she could feel his oddly clawed fingers grasp into her skin. He slowly and calmly placed her on the ground, yet kept a firm, demanding grip on her arm. She turned to slowly look into the eyes of her predator, and gasped at his changed appearance; all her questions from earlier most indefinitely answered. She gasped in disgusted horror.
He was taller, about 7 and a half feet, with broad, muscular shoulders and arms. He was wrapped in a long, fitting black coat, that dusted around his ankles. His skin was unbelievably pale, his fingers tipped with strange claws and his face, starkly pale and smooth, his handsome features remaining unaltered except for the paleness of his skin, and his eyes.
His eyes struck her the most. They were the deepest crimson she had ever seen, even deeper then Vincent's and herself's. They displayed hunger and power, and even more; lust. She felt fear strike her heart and pierce her mortal soul.
"T.. Tadrith.. What.. What happened to you?" She asked, hesitantly. She already knew the answer, but desperately wished to delay time, so to think of a possible way of escape. This time, though, escape seemed highly impossible. It was finally hopeless.
He laughed in his usual deep, silky voice. "Hojo's miracle of science. I suppose you could say that's what I've become. Spare me your questions. Attempting to delay of the inevitable is truly pointless." He smiled wickedly, making Tifa grimace at his vampire-ish fangs. "Come, my little dove. I have some.. Unfinished business with you."
His eyes emphasized the deepest hunger for her. What she didn't know this time was if he was going to finish what he had tried to start with her before, or if it was something far worse, far more terrible. She feared for her life, for she knew how angry she had made him. He was probably going to ravage her body, and then her soul..
She feared for the pain she was going to feel. Tadrith wasn't going to be gentle with her. Not anymore.
..x.x.x.x.x..
[A/N: Thank you soo much to everyone who's been with me on this ^.^ To those of you who review, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!! To those of you who read this, thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! I feel pretty good about this story, personally; there's a lot of things that just came up out of no where that fit pretty nicely, or that I suddenly got the urge to add in, so, for all of those enjoying this little thriller, here's some more action for ya ^.~ I never knew action/suspense/drama/more action could be so much fun to write :D Welp, read on, dear friends. Thanks again for you're encouraging reviews, or messages just to say 'hi' :D I love 'em all ^.^ v]
::waves:: Hi everybody! :D
..x.x.x.x.x..
"Got it!" Tifa said triumphantly, having packed the rest of her supplies. She had her Premium Hearts on, fitted comfortable over the black velvet gloves that went with her dress, along with her favorite black boots. They didn't seem to go too well with the formal crimson velvet gown she was wearing, but she didn't want to risk the time of changing. She slipped her pack on over her shoulder and headed wearily for the door, while drinking her last High-Potion. It was sweeter tasting then the regular potions and left a tangy residue on her tongue, but it was highly refreshing.
She looked both ways while peeking her head cautiously out the wide door frame, and seeing it to be clear, tiptoed to where she thought she heard Blade before, somewhere downstairs.
/I'm going to need to watch myself carefully; that lunatic bastard is after me, and after the mark I left on his face, he won't be at all happy to see me./ She smiled silently to herself, remembering how simply -good- it felt to hurt Tadrith. It almost made her feel warm and tingly. But wait, no- that was probably the potions.
Holding the hem of her gown up a little to keep from tripping while she walked, she slowly made her way back downstairs. /I wish I knew where the hell I'm going../ She tuned into her fighting senses, which Zanghan had so diligently taught her, and extended them all around her. Her hearing extended to every corner of the room, so she was able to observe the slightest little sound if anyone was approaching. Her vision became more acute, readily tensing her muscles for action at any given moment.
/Go ahead, Tadrith. Just try and stop me from leaving now./
.x.x.x.
Cid felt a little paranoid at the endless pounding noises that echoed through the hallway they were in. He tensely gripped at his Venus Gospel, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead, under the visors of his precious goggles. He instinctively sucked at the air, as if he had a cigarette in his mouth, wishing even more that he at least had even a -quarter- of one.
"Any idea of what that might be?" CaitSith asked, as they neared the sound of the loud, relentless noise.
"Well, we're about to find out." Cid said precariously, his heart pounding in his chest. /I hope to God it's something we can handle ourselves../
They rounded a corner, and down the hall a ways was a large, homely, oak door. It was vibrating vigorously from furious pounding on the other side, as if someone or something was trying to get out. Cid's eyes widened in fear.
"What if that's Tifa?" He asked, a spark of fear and worry in his blue eyes. "But then again, what if it's her kidnapper?"
"I highly doubt it." CaitSith answered. "Seein' as how he knows all the locks an' stuff to this place."
Cid neared the door. "Hey! Who's in there?" He demanded gruffly.
The pounding stopped suddenly. A great fluttering could be heard from the inside, as if a giant bat had just taken flight. A deep, harsh voice called back, "Let me out of here!"
"It's Vincent!" Cid and CaitSith immediately leapt for the door, trying to find a way to pry it open. After fiddling with the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't budge, Cid tried prying the end of his spear into the doorframe, attempting to wedge it open. Cait meanwhile tampered with the control box next to the large frame, trying to type a code that would unlock it.
"It won't fuckin' budge!" Cid grunted, flustered.
A devious, light laughter sounded behind them, and Cid whirled around to see a very tall man standing behind him. Cid's eyes narrowed in anger, instantly recognizing the mans clothing. /Businessman../
"You're the one, ain't you?" He implied angrily.
The man's eyes seemed to glow a deep red, almost dark enough to be mistaken as black. His features had become sharp and rigid, as if his skull had grown thicker. His fingers were longer then a normal humans, and seemed to be tipped with short, stubby claws. His whole body just seemed to be a bit longer than normal, his pants ending at his ankles and his sleeves above his wrists, as if he'd had a sudden 6 inch growth spurt in the time of half an hour. His muscles, however, were still equally proportioned, his broad shoulders radiating with strength.
/What the fuck../ Cid thought, stalling at the sight of the oddly formed man in front of him.
Tadrith remained smiling, displaying his teeth which seemed to be tipped slightly, like fangs, and reached forth an unnaturally long, thick arm, past CaitSith to type in his personal code into the silver control box. With a mechanical click, the door slid open just enough to see the demonic form of Chaos on the inside, his hands bloodied from his furious wracking at the door.
Cid and Cait naturally turned to look into the room, and just as they did, Tadrith shoved them both inside with such a strength that the both of them sprawled to the floor at Chaos's feet. As the demon screeched, Tadrith pushed the door closed, feeling the impact as the enraged creature flung himself at the door, trying to hopelessly break it open. Tadrith just smiled, and with his unusual fingers, he typed in his code again, sending the steel-enforced door to it's usual locked state.
Walking away, smiling his dark, wicked smile, Tadrith said to no one in particular, "Play nice now, boys."
.x.x.x.
Tifa felt a shiver creep down her spine as she looked upon the broken body of her dear, beloved golden chocobo.
She knelt down before it to stroke it's head one last time, feeling pity, guilt, sorrow and stark rage build inside her, all at once. She felt her eyes sting, on the verge of tears, as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Blade.. I didn't mean to drag you into this.. I loved you so much.."
She stroked the soft golden feathers, then stood, turning to further survey the odd looking dungeon around her. This place definitely gave her the creeps; she didn't want to imagine the other people that had been left here to die. Or maybe worse...
Sparing one last look back at her favorite chocobo, she turned back to where she came in from. /Great, now I have no quick way of escape. I'm going to have to sneak out.. Which will be dangerous, considering all the creatures I'll have to face.. / She mentally scanned the map of the continent she was on, thinking of the closest place she could go to for sanctuary.
/Let me think.. If I go east across the ocean, Wutai is the closest place I could go to.. Yuffie's there, so I can stay with her until things clear up../ She peered around in the dimly lit hallway she was standing in front of. There were two different ways she could go; either straight, which would eventually lead her to the room Tadrith had locked her in, which would then lead to the main entrance, or left, which would be the long way to the front, but would avoid any of the obvious places she could be.
She didn't want to take the chance. Tadrith was probably out searching for her now, and she was in no condition to defend herself fully. She headed left.
.x.x.x.
Tadrith pulled uncomfortably at his collar, feeling how tightly it fit against his skin, so suddenly. He stared into his closet, looking for something that would fit him more suitably. He didn't want to search the house for his little dove with clothes that limited his movements; he didn't want to take the chance with that woman.
While searching for something larger, he pondered wondrously at his newly found strength, and began to laugh to himself.
/Maybe Hojo's chemical elevated more then just human years, after all./ He smiled wickedly to himself, unaware at just how much he was changing. /I wonder why it so suddenly came upon me now. Perhaps the stress from my dear Tifa? Yes, that must be it./ He selected a long, black overcoat that belonged to one of his deceased grandfathers; It had always been too large for him.
He slipped off his formal jacket, leaving on the loose silk, white, dress shirt underneath. /At least -something- still fits right./ He slid his arms into the sleeves of the pitch black coat, smiling to see it now fit perfectly. He failed to see, however, how unnaturally pale his skin had become. He was so infected with the thought of -his- Tifa that he scarcely anything else came to mind.
He examined his coat, seeing how it fell all the way down to his ankles, and saw that his pants, too, fit too short. Sighing irritably, he slipped them off and tried on a pair of black, formal looking slacks from the same dead grandfather, along with his old dress shoes.
He clasped only a couple of buttons on the overcoat, and looked down at himself. He smiled, admiring his appearance. His grandfather's clothes were styled from the later years, giving him an old-fashioned appeal. /I guess you could say I look somewhat like a vampire./ He thought, amusingly.
He brushed a lanky, pale hand back through his raven hair and stepped out the door, eagerly ready to capture his prey.
.x.x.x.
When the hallway suddenly stopped to another locked door, Tifa stomped her foot furiously. /God I hate this place! Just when you think you're on you're way to the right exit../ Tadrith had only showed her certain parts of the house, apparently. She didn't remember seeing anything that made up her current surroundings. /What's the point of living in a house so large, especially all by yourself?/
Tifa turned around and began her trek back to the hallway she had just turned out of. On her way, she examined the doors that she passed. They were all as large as her guest room upstairs, and some of them were labeled with silver plates above their monstrous frames. They were numbers, however, which meant absolutely nothing to her. Yet.. She turned around and quickly went back to the dead end of the hallway, and scanned the plate above the door frame at the end.
"Research and Development Library"
Tifa's eyebrows knitted together with curiosity, and reached forward to turn the knob. It wasn't even closed all the way; it tipped forward to her touch. Looking around carefully, Tifa stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. /I won't take long.. Just a quick peek../
Before switching the light on, she kicked the small entrance rug up against the bottom of the door, so as not to let any light escape through the small crack, giving away her position. Feeling satisfied, she flipped on the light and gazed around the room, her pupils dilating harshly to the sudden bright light.
She was in a rather large room, every wall lined with bookshelves that touched the high ceiling. There were a couple of desks around the center of the room, littered with scattered papers and a couple of books, haplessly tossed on the tables.
Tifa carefully approached the closest desk and scanned over the contents strewn atop it. The loose papers were all scribbled on with a very messy style of handwriting, and she squinted her eyes, trying to read the words that lay before her.
"So far the experiments are showing no progress. P. Shin-Ra is losing his patience, as always, pushing my work days ahead of schedule. I'm really tiring of his antics. Someday he'll regret his mistreatment of me, and will see that my intelligence far outranks that of his precious Professor Ghast."
Tifa looked up from the papers, processing the words she had just read. She assumed that by "P. Shin-Ra, the writer meant the President of Shin-Ra at the time. "Is it.. Who I think it is?" She whispered to herself. She selected another paper, hoping to find an answer to the mysterious author.
"Jenova - possible Cetra
Cetra - great powers exceeding that of humans, connected to Promised Land
Promised Land - abundance of Mako energy
Extraction of Jenova - sample cells showing high amounts of activity in living tissue
Humans? - possibly increase strength, mentality, metabolism, endurance, life expectancy
Promised Land? - possible Jenova Cells lead their host to Promised Land"
Tifa's heart was beating in her chest, as she scanned over the rest of the notes, and examined what was at the very end.
"Note: Ask P. Shin-Ra for permission to sample Jenova Cells in an active environment - Preferably the town of Nibelheim. Will need personal lab - ask to have one made - preferably Tadrith Shin-Ra."
Tifa set the paper down to it's respectful position on the desk. /Hojo.. This is Hojo's house I'm standing in. No wonder Tadrith is staying here, he's protecting this place from possible infiltration../ She needed to get out. She wasn't safe her right now, especially not in this dead end of a room where she could be trapped very easily.
She turned and headed back to the door, turning off the lights and replacing the carpet back to it's original spot in front of the door. She thought about Hojo's notes, specifically the part about Jenova's Cells possibly increasing one's life expectancy. /I wonder if Tadrith has anything to do with that.. Maybe he was deceived as a test "specimen" by Hojo, as well../
Tifa slowly crept out the door and closed it behind her, carefully and quietly heading for what she hoped to be an exit. She exhaled slowly, remembering the hallways she came in from and mentally readied herself to slink down in the other direction then from the one she went last time, which lead her here, to this dead end. /Well, at least I got something important out of it. When we get our wits together, we'll all come back to this place and check the rest of it out.. There's definitely some important documents that need to be looked through. There's still a LOT to be learned, here-/
She paused suddenly, her thoughts jolting to a complete stop as she heard a muffled noise coming from around the corner in front of her. She had reached the intersection of hallways without even realizing it, kicking herself internally for not paying closer attention.
She froze where she stood, unknowingly holding her breath as she listened for the noise again. She wished the lights were out, or that it was darker than it already was. The hallways were dimly lit, but she could still be seen, clear as day, by anything that happened to walk by.
She started to tiptoe backwards, keeping her eyes trained on the intersection, watching for whoever it was who might possibly be approaching. Just a few more feet, and she'd be able to disappear around the bending hall behind her, which would only lead her back to the library. A dead end. Either that, or she could sprint as fast she could and hope to outrun the enemy to the nearest exit.. (by now, the only one she knew of was the front entrance.)
She weighed those options. She was a very fast runner, with great endurance and stamina, and could more then likely make it to inner Kalm without being caught. If she could at least hide herself in the eye of the public, Tadrith wouldn't be able to do anything. The only problem was, she didn't know her way at all around this monstrous place and risked running to another dead end, with the pursuer right behind her. She smiled to herself. /If that happens, I'll just turn and deliver a quick and unexpected blow to his face and run back behind him./
Her choice was made. She steadied her stance, gripping her shoes into the floor, and lifted her skirts a little higher. Sprinting around in this velvet gown wasn't exactly her idea of a getaway, but it would have to suffice. She took a deep breath, hearing another muffled scuff from around the bend in front of her, and decided now or never.
With a great leap, she sprinted forward. She pumped her arms for speed, her crimson gown swaying side to side with the quick relentless motions, and she ran straight ahead of her. As she sped through the intersecting hallways, she spared no glance to see who was there to catch her. She honestly didn't care who it was, as long as they couldn't reach out to grab her. She heard a surprised reaction from the tall, shapeless person she passed.
"Huh?"
But she was gone in a crimson flash, smiling happily to herself. /Just keep going, don't stop.. You'll make it Tifa, you're gonna get out of this place../ She breathed evenly as she madly dashed through the endless hallways, searching desperately for the front foyer. It didn't sound like she was being followed, but she didn't want to risk slowing down to look back.
Her heart pounding furiously, she finally reached a hallway that looked familiar. Her smile brightened as her heart jumped with joy.
/Yes! Take it to the left, the front entrance is just right there! You're almost free Tifa!/
Her muscles began to feel famished, but she pressed on, feeling so close to the end of this charade. She rounded the corner left, feeling victory consume her, as she passed a shadowy figure around the bend that she didn't remember seeing there before. /Wha-/
Just as she passed around the corner, strong arms reached out and plucked her off of the ground. The arms wrapped around her arms and waist, pinning her in such a way that it made it difficult to move, her chest heaving heavily from her vain flight.
"No!" She shouted, feeling her hope instantly drain away. She moved and kicked furiously, struggling to free herself from the incredibly strong grasp of her enemy.
"I won't let you take me ba-"
"Hush now, my little dove." A harsh whisper interrupted her. "I wouldn't want to strangle that beautiful neck of yours."
Tifa's heart pounded fiercely, not from her running, but from the stark dread that overtook her body. Her gown didn't let her accomplish anything as far as the kicking went, so she reluctantly subdued, letting her body fall limp under Tadrith's extremely ardent grip. Her feet dangled unusually above the ground, fleeting Tifa's mind to think, /I don't remember him being -that- tall../
A cruel chuckle escaped from his lips. "That's a good girl. Now, if you'll calmly submit yourself, we can end this relentlessly pointless chase. You've angered me quite enough for one day."
Even through her gloves she could feel his oddly clawed fingers grasp into her skin. He slowly and calmly placed her on the ground, yet kept a firm, demanding grip on her arm. She turned to slowly look into the eyes of her predator, and gasped at his changed appearance; all her questions from earlier most indefinitely answered. She gasped in disgusted horror.
He was taller, about 7 and a half feet, with broad, muscular shoulders and arms. He was wrapped in a long, fitting black coat, that dusted around his ankles. His skin was unbelievably pale, his fingers tipped with strange claws and his face, starkly pale and smooth, his handsome features remaining unaltered except for the paleness of his skin, and his eyes.
His eyes struck her the most. They were the deepest crimson she had ever seen, even deeper then Vincent's and herself's. They displayed hunger and power, and even more; lust. She felt fear strike her heart and pierce her mortal soul.
"T.. Tadrith.. What.. What happened to you?" She asked, hesitantly. She already knew the answer, but desperately wished to delay time, so to think of a possible way of escape. This time, though, escape seemed highly impossible. It was finally hopeless.
He laughed in his usual deep, silky voice. "Hojo's miracle of science. I suppose you could say that's what I've become. Spare me your questions. Attempting to delay of the inevitable is truly pointless." He smiled wickedly, making Tifa grimace at his vampire-ish fangs. "Come, my little dove. I have some.. Unfinished business with you."
His eyes emphasized the deepest hunger for her. What she didn't know this time was if he was going to finish what he had tried to start with her before, or if it was something far worse, far more terrible. She feared for her life, for she knew how angry she had made him. He was probably going to ravage her body, and then her soul..
She feared for the pain she was going to feel. Tadrith wasn't going to be gentle with her. Not anymore.
..x.x.x.x.x..
[A/N: Thank you soo much to everyone who's been with me on this ^.^ To those of you who review, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!! To those of you who read this, thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! I feel pretty good about this story, personally; there's a lot of things that just came up out of no where that fit pretty nicely, or that I suddenly got the urge to add in, so, for all of those enjoying this little thriller, here's some more action for ya ^.~ I never knew action/suspense/drama/more action could be so much fun to write :D Welp, read on, dear friends. Thanks again for you're encouraging reviews, or messages just to say 'hi' :D I love 'em all ^.^ v]
::waves:: Hi everybody! :D