Chapter 10: The Unguarded Door
Tifa sighed, rubbing the pounding headache she still had from the discussion she had last night with Masson. Could it be true, what he was saying? She knew Barret would never allow something like that to happen to his town, would he? Tifa sighed, not sure what to do. She had helped save the planet, and that should be enough, right? Wasn't it enough? She groaned again, burying her face in her pillow, now quite accustomed to its hard texture. She had been here at least one week, maybe two, but all days seemed the same, blending together in days of boredom and anger, of depression and hope. It was like an endless rollercoaster that wanted her to give up and take the plunge, but she couldn't, not when she knew Vincent was coming. She just knew, no questions, no doubts. He had come for her before, hadn't he? She sighed again, getting up from the comfy bed to stare out the window, humming as she stretched her sore muscles. She had been slacking for a week or two, and her muscles were getting lazily, so she might as well shadow box or whatnot. At first the usual flurry of combos, kicks, and flips strained her, but it was like riding a bicycle. Years of practice came back, the blood in her veins once again flooding with adrenaline. Soon she became nothing more than a blur, going into combos, overdrives, anything she could think of. Her mind soon was unburdened of all her troubles, she was free again. Soaring endlessly above her memories, above her doubts, emotions, feelings. She was light again, her mind only focused on the flurry of her punches, the rate of her rapid breathing, the strength of her kicks, and the height of her flips. It was like a dance, and she was a dancer, twirling with a flurry, the audience awed as she danced with a grace and agility that only came with years and years of hard practice. And the while, she didn't notice Masson had came into the room, eyes narrowed when he had heard the ruckus, expecting the worst, then his eyes widened with surprise seeing Tifa practice. He then settled himself comfortably against a wall, watching as Tifa practiced, her face lit with happiness, and hope. Masson gave a slight smile, watching the passion in her eyes as she continued to practice, not even noticing him. She looked so much like her, it was painful. Masson sighed, letting his memories flood him.
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Vincent stood in yards away from the fortress, which was disguised as a hotel, with no vacancies. The neon sign flickered in the distant, the 'No Vacancy' sign could be seen all the way from here, reflecting on the golden claw on his left arm, the ever painful reminder he was no longer human. Vincent gave a soft sigh, tilting his head slightly to the window that was barred. His blood red eyes we enhanced by whatever Hojo had done to him, and he could vaguely make out the shapes of the bars, and a shadow dancing across the room, or so it seemed. Even his eyes couldn't detect who it was. Chaos was telling him it was Tifa, since Chaos had far better eyesight than even Vincent, and for once the dark haired man hoped Chaos was right, though he was a bit suspicious of Chaos motives. However, the demon barely lied to him, just taunted him, a reminder again of his past, his sins. He looked up again, the cold wind blowing, chilling him to the bone, though he was used to it. He was used to feeling nothing ever since Tifa had been taken from him. Leaving her behind had been hard, harder than most things he had been forced to do, seconded only to the sins he had committed by his own will during his days with Shinra, and watching Lucercia during the time Hojo had cruelly done experiments on her, while Vincent was helpless to watch. Vincent shut his eyes, trying hard to fend off the memories, and he did, much to his surprise, for Tifa's smile pierced through the darkness he thought would never be pierced, but somehow she had managed to do all he thought was impossible. She had managed to get under his skin, something he thought was impossible, managed to hold the same control over him that Lucercia had, if not more than she, and she had managed to somehow rid him of his nightmares. Whenever he was with her, his sins were no more, he wasn't Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk, a man with many sins, he was just Vincent, who he was without the darkness clouding around him. He knew it was selfish to wish for her so much, to want to hold her and never let her go. He wanted her with him always, he wanted to be the source of her happiness. And all those emotions scared him, and he knew he should have walked off, not looking back, no matter how painful it was. But he had come back to her, because even just a week of solitude had seemed like eternity after he had tasted something forbidden. Love and friendship. Tifa could offer him all of this, and suddenly spending the rest of his lifetime alone, something that had never bother him before, seemed desolate and. lonely. He needed to save her, and he knew he should save her from himself too, but instead he was selfish and wanted to keep her for himself. Maybe that should be another sin to add to his list of sins to atone for. "Ready Vampy?" Reno appeared next to him, eyeing the 'hotel', his aquamarine eyes unreadable, and Vincent gave a slight nod. "Seems kinda small for all the mazes and traps you were talkin' 'bout." Kakyuu drawled softly, and Reno blinked and gave a small smirk. "That's because it's all underground. Elaborate really, with all the mazes, and it's cooler, more. spooky." Reno let another barely hid shudder, though no one commented. If it was bad enough down there to make a Turk, seasoned or no, shudder, than it was something to behold. "Let's just hope that we don't get stuck down there. You all know the plan, but are you ready?" Kojin asked, resuming his position as leader, and everyone else nodded, once again a unified group, with one common goal. To rescue their friends.
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"Sir!" A soldier flung open the door, his young pale face flushed with something like surprise and horror. Masson turned away from watching Tifa, who looked startled to find them both there, and looked at the young soldier. His piercing gaze scanned the young man's face, and he smirked. "Ah, Valentine has finally made his arrival. Good. Take her to the other prisoners." Masson said, gesturing to Tifa, who struggled at first when the two guards who usually guarded 'her' door came in and took her, and since she was visibly exhausted from her training, she didn't put up a very good fight, though she glared at Masson all the way, though Masson sighed, hating that look. Even though he knew she wasn't his beloved, but still. "Sir. what should we do?" The soldier stated, and Masson smirked, turning back to him, with an amused expression on his face. "Send them a guide of course. Bring them to the Room. That's where I'll be waiting." Masson said, and the soldier blinked, not sure what do about that strange order. He had just stayed on board this crazy crew just so he could help found Shinra again. This time not a corrupt company, but one that would turn around this corrupted world. Masson was already almost out of the door. "Uh.sir?" Masson stopped to look at him, an eyebrow arched. "Who should their guide be?" The soldier asked a bit shakily, a bad feeling gnawing in his stomach, and his suspicions were confirmed when Masson shrugged his shoulders and gave him a slight smirk. "Why don't you do it? You know your way about this place, don't you?" Masson asked, and was gone before the soldier could reply. With a slight sigh, he nodded, turning to head toward the door.
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"This is strange indeed." Kojin said, his eyes scanning the back entrance that Reno had said was the least guarded. "When you said least guarded, you meant it." Reno blinked, looking over Kojin's shoulder and at the door. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, though he said nothing for a minute. "It was more heavily guarded before this. Maybe they're expecting us?" Reno mumbled to himself, though it was apparent he was just as dumbfounded as everyone else. "Well, no use in sittin' here and pickin' our noses. Let's go." Kakyuu said, not one for waiting and cautious planning, but he would listen to orders. If all they were going to do was sit here and try and figure things out, he might as well go first. Without another word, Kakyuu was over the hill, crouching like a tiger in the high grasses, eyeing the door. Not waiting for the others, Vincent had followed, and Kojin sighed, turning to Reno with a shrug, motioning the Turk forward, going himself, hoping Kakyuu wasn't going to get them all killed. By the time they had reached the end of the tall grass, all Turks were eyeing the door, expecting something, anything to be patrolling, but the only thing that fit that description was the wind tumbling by. "This is some freaky s***." Reno muttered, and Kakyuu agreed wholeheartedly with him. "Hey Vinnie," Kakyuu said, looking at the stony man, who was eyeing the perimeter in any search of a trap, "is this friend of yours mental or does he have a big ego?" Vincent did not reply, instead, standing up in plain sight, much to the horror and surprise of the others. "Valentine what do you think you're doing?" Kojin snapped angrily, and Vincent walked forward to the door, and Reno blinked, turning to Kojin. "Well, I guess he's not one to sit still for a while." Reno commented, ignored as Kakyuu blinked, squinting as if trying to figure out what he was doing. When Vincent was exactly on the door, all Turks waited anxiously, wondering what in the world had gotten into Vincent's head, and to all of their surprise, he knocked. What probably shocked them even more is when it opened, and a young, blonde man with big green eyes opened the door, grinning politely up at the intimidating Vincent. "Now what in the h*** is going on?" Kakyuu snapped angrily, confused and thoroughly freaked out now. He had no clue why the heck everything was turning out the way it was, but obviously they had been expected. Vincent turned to them, an eyebrow raised as if to ask what they waiting for, before turning and going in. "Well, we're already at the river. Time to jump in." Kojin said boldly, getting up and following Vincent inside, and Kakyuu groaned, looking at Reno. "C'mon, this is madness. Am I the only one who sees that?" Kakyuu asked, and Reno shrugged, getting up. "Rude and Elena are in there, and if they're going to let us in, well, by all means I'm going for it." Reno said, going and entering the building. "Aw man!" Kakyuu complained, getting up, figuring that he might as well go in too, since he hadn't heard any gunshots or sounds of a scuffle. With a muffled curse, Kakyuu also went in, expecting the worst.
~*Author's Notes*~ Hehe! Sorry about the lack in updates, but I've been kinda busy, y'know! I love holidays! Well, anyway, I know I promised more action in this chapter, but that'll have to wait until next time. Anyway, finally Vinnie is near Tifa! Whoo hoo! *giggles happily* Well, read and review people. I think this story is near its end, ne?
Tifa sighed, rubbing the pounding headache she still had from the discussion she had last night with Masson. Could it be true, what he was saying? She knew Barret would never allow something like that to happen to his town, would he? Tifa sighed, not sure what to do. She had helped save the planet, and that should be enough, right? Wasn't it enough? She groaned again, burying her face in her pillow, now quite accustomed to its hard texture. She had been here at least one week, maybe two, but all days seemed the same, blending together in days of boredom and anger, of depression and hope. It was like an endless rollercoaster that wanted her to give up and take the plunge, but she couldn't, not when she knew Vincent was coming. She just knew, no questions, no doubts. He had come for her before, hadn't he? She sighed again, getting up from the comfy bed to stare out the window, humming as she stretched her sore muscles. She had been slacking for a week or two, and her muscles were getting lazily, so she might as well shadow box or whatnot. At first the usual flurry of combos, kicks, and flips strained her, but it was like riding a bicycle. Years of practice came back, the blood in her veins once again flooding with adrenaline. Soon she became nothing more than a blur, going into combos, overdrives, anything she could think of. Her mind soon was unburdened of all her troubles, she was free again. Soaring endlessly above her memories, above her doubts, emotions, feelings. She was light again, her mind only focused on the flurry of her punches, the rate of her rapid breathing, the strength of her kicks, and the height of her flips. It was like a dance, and she was a dancer, twirling with a flurry, the audience awed as she danced with a grace and agility that only came with years and years of hard practice. And the while, she didn't notice Masson had came into the room, eyes narrowed when he had heard the ruckus, expecting the worst, then his eyes widened with surprise seeing Tifa practice. He then settled himself comfortably against a wall, watching as Tifa practiced, her face lit with happiness, and hope. Masson gave a slight smile, watching the passion in her eyes as she continued to practice, not even noticing him. She looked so much like her, it was painful. Masson sighed, letting his memories flood him.
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Vincent stood in yards away from the fortress, which was disguised as a hotel, with no vacancies. The neon sign flickered in the distant, the 'No Vacancy' sign could be seen all the way from here, reflecting on the golden claw on his left arm, the ever painful reminder he was no longer human. Vincent gave a soft sigh, tilting his head slightly to the window that was barred. His blood red eyes we enhanced by whatever Hojo had done to him, and he could vaguely make out the shapes of the bars, and a shadow dancing across the room, or so it seemed. Even his eyes couldn't detect who it was. Chaos was telling him it was Tifa, since Chaos had far better eyesight than even Vincent, and for once the dark haired man hoped Chaos was right, though he was a bit suspicious of Chaos motives. However, the demon barely lied to him, just taunted him, a reminder again of his past, his sins. He looked up again, the cold wind blowing, chilling him to the bone, though he was used to it. He was used to feeling nothing ever since Tifa had been taken from him. Leaving her behind had been hard, harder than most things he had been forced to do, seconded only to the sins he had committed by his own will during his days with Shinra, and watching Lucercia during the time Hojo had cruelly done experiments on her, while Vincent was helpless to watch. Vincent shut his eyes, trying hard to fend off the memories, and he did, much to his surprise, for Tifa's smile pierced through the darkness he thought would never be pierced, but somehow she had managed to do all he thought was impossible. She had managed to get under his skin, something he thought was impossible, managed to hold the same control over him that Lucercia had, if not more than she, and she had managed to somehow rid him of his nightmares. Whenever he was with her, his sins were no more, he wasn't Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk, a man with many sins, he was just Vincent, who he was without the darkness clouding around him. He knew it was selfish to wish for her so much, to want to hold her and never let her go. He wanted her with him always, he wanted to be the source of her happiness. And all those emotions scared him, and he knew he should have walked off, not looking back, no matter how painful it was. But he had come back to her, because even just a week of solitude had seemed like eternity after he had tasted something forbidden. Love and friendship. Tifa could offer him all of this, and suddenly spending the rest of his lifetime alone, something that had never bother him before, seemed desolate and. lonely. He needed to save her, and he knew he should save her from himself too, but instead he was selfish and wanted to keep her for himself. Maybe that should be another sin to add to his list of sins to atone for. "Ready Vampy?" Reno appeared next to him, eyeing the 'hotel', his aquamarine eyes unreadable, and Vincent gave a slight nod. "Seems kinda small for all the mazes and traps you were talkin' 'bout." Kakyuu drawled softly, and Reno blinked and gave a small smirk. "That's because it's all underground. Elaborate really, with all the mazes, and it's cooler, more. spooky." Reno let another barely hid shudder, though no one commented. If it was bad enough down there to make a Turk, seasoned or no, shudder, than it was something to behold. "Let's just hope that we don't get stuck down there. You all know the plan, but are you ready?" Kojin asked, resuming his position as leader, and everyone else nodded, once again a unified group, with one common goal. To rescue their friends.
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"Sir!" A soldier flung open the door, his young pale face flushed with something like surprise and horror. Masson turned away from watching Tifa, who looked startled to find them both there, and looked at the young soldier. His piercing gaze scanned the young man's face, and he smirked. "Ah, Valentine has finally made his arrival. Good. Take her to the other prisoners." Masson said, gesturing to Tifa, who struggled at first when the two guards who usually guarded 'her' door came in and took her, and since she was visibly exhausted from her training, she didn't put up a very good fight, though she glared at Masson all the way, though Masson sighed, hating that look. Even though he knew she wasn't his beloved, but still. "Sir. what should we do?" The soldier stated, and Masson smirked, turning back to him, with an amused expression on his face. "Send them a guide of course. Bring them to the Room. That's where I'll be waiting." Masson said, and the soldier blinked, not sure what do about that strange order. He had just stayed on board this crazy crew just so he could help found Shinra again. This time not a corrupt company, but one that would turn around this corrupted world. Masson was already almost out of the door. "Uh.sir?" Masson stopped to look at him, an eyebrow arched. "Who should their guide be?" The soldier asked a bit shakily, a bad feeling gnawing in his stomach, and his suspicions were confirmed when Masson shrugged his shoulders and gave him a slight smirk. "Why don't you do it? You know your way about this place, don't you?" Masson asked, and was gone before the soldier could reply. With a slight sigh, he nodded, turning to head toward the door.
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"This is strange indeed." Kojin said, his eyes scanning the back entrance that Reno had said was the least guarded. "When you said least guarded, you meant it." Reno blinked, looking over Kojin's shoulder and at the door. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, though he said nothing for a minute. "It was more heavily guarded before this. Maybe they're expecting us?" Reno mumbled to himself, though it was apparent he was just as dumbfounded as everyone else. "Well, no use in sittin' here and pickin' our noses. Let's go." Kakyuu said, not one for waiting and cautious planning, but he would listen to orders. If all they were going to do was sit here and try and figure things out, he might as well go first. Without another word, Kakyuu was over the hill, crouching like a tiger in the high grasses, eyeing the door. Not waiting for the others, Vincent had followed, and Kojin sighed, turning to Reno with a shrug, motioning the Turk forward, going himself, hoping Kakyuu wasn't going to get them all killed. By the time they had reached the end of the tall grass, all Turks were eyeing the door, expecting something, anything to be patrolling, but the only thing that fit that description was the wind tumbling by. "This is some freaky s***." Reno muttered, and Kakyuu agreed wholeheartedly with him. "Hey Vinnie," Kakyuu said, looking at the stony man, who was eyeing the perimeter in any search of a trap, "is this friend of yours mental or does he have a big ego?" Vincent did not reply, instead, standing up in plain sight, much to the horror and surprise of the others. "Valentine what do you think you're doing?" Kojin snapped angrily, and Vincent walked forward to the door, and Reno blinked, turning to Kojin. "Well, I guess he's not one to sit still for a while." Reno commented, ignored as Kakyuu blinked, squinting as if trying to figure out what he was doing. When Vincent was exactly on the door, all Turks waited anxiously, wondering what in the world had gotten into Vincent's head, and to all of their surprise, he knocked. What probably shocked them even more is when it opened, and a young, blonde man with big green eyes opened the door, grinning politely up at the intimidating Vincent. "Now what in the h*** is going on?" Kakyuu snapped angrily, confused and thoroughly freaked out now. He had no clue why the heck everything was turning out the way it was, but obviously they had been expected. Vincent turned to them, an eyebrow raised as if to ask what they waiting for, before turning and going in. "Well, we're already at the river. Time to jump in." Kojin said boldly, getting up and following Vincent inside, and Kakyuu groaned, looking at Reno. "C'mon, this is madness. Am I the only one who sees that?" Kakyuu asked, and Reno shrugged, getting up. "Rude and Elena are in there, and if they're going to let us in, well, by all means I'm going for it." Reno said, going and entering the building. "Aw man!" Kakyuu complained, getting up, figuring that he might as well go in too, since he hadn't heard any gunshots or sounds of a scuffle. With a muffled curse, Kakyuu also went in, expecting the worst.
~*Author's Notes*~ Hehe! Sorry about the lack in updates, but I've been kinda busy, y'know! I love holidays! Well, anyway, I know I promised more action in this chapter, but that'll have to wait until next time. Anyway, finally Vinnie is near Tifa! Whoo hoo! *giggles happily* Well, read and review people. I think this story is near its end, ne?