Chapter 1 - Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

 
Tifatan X - Prologue

She was an extraordinary sight. The warmth of her seeped out from the watery portal through which she was being watched, by eyes unknown and faraway. Those eyes narrowed as the chill that covered them began to melt into something more carnal. The heat grew stronger as the image of the girl became clearer. Soon it was like watching a campfire come to life. Then the heat reached the smooth cheeks beneath those eyes, and it was like a furnace door easing open. Finally, it flared, then ebbed, the unmistakable tide of warmth that could only be a pulse. A heart was beating, quickly, intensely, to watch another heart in that image.

Tifa Lockheart.

The eyes that watched her sleep were sapphire pools, filled with awe for her proud body. Midgar lay around the girl in fathomless night, but the portal spanning a thousand dimensions refused to obscure any detail. Smooth, unblemished skin. A body hardened but sensually curved by many long treks, many fierce battles. Long brown hair that combed over to reveal more of her lovely face on one side, and gently cushion the other as she rested. Wide eyes, closed in sleep, wine-red and strong beneath soft lids. Long arms and legs that brushed together every so often, teasingly punctuated by a dozing coo from her pink lips. Blankets entangled about a body crafted to torment guilty dreams, fuel brooding fantasies. She was so blissfully unaware in her rest. Innocent, like a princess locked in a tower, awaiting her awakening kiss.

Mere thoughts could not encompass her beauty. Soon enough, though, the eyes watching Tifa accepted the heat- and began to burn in response.

This is Tifa Lockheart.

It was not the first time that the woman reclining on the magnificent red bed had watched her. Many times before, in fact, the same portal had been opened to light the dark, spectacular master bedroom. Sometimes it had been different...a city's lights instead of a bed, a fighting stance instead of languorous sleep, but the girl was always the same. The undefeatable, indomitable Tifa Lockheart, a hero such as a villain could only dream of contending with. Kind to her friends, defiant to her enemies, and never mindful of surrender. Her will and strength were formidable. Overpowering, sometimes, so much that those chilly eyes actually closed occasionally.

Through the portal, Tifa's eyelashes fluttered, soft lips pursing. So did the other woman's, in a perfect, shamelessly voyeuristic smirk. Oblivious temptation...was there any better kind?

I desire you, Tifa Lockheart.

"And so shall I have her," sighed the woman, her eyes swiveling lustfully to the other inhabitant of her bed. "Just as I now have you, my little Gullwing."

The girl dozing amidst those covers was a lovely contrast to the peacefully sleeping Tifa. Curtained in sweat, skin flushed red, and lungs exhausted beneath her heaving chest, she was a portrait of conquest to the eyes that now roamed her nude body. She had once been a proud member of the Gullwings, one of whom, Paine, already languished elsewhere in the palace, and before that a summoner, as brave and willful as the long-haired woman in the portal.

Now, though...well, thought her captor with a thirsty smile, now she was broken. It had taken no short amount of time, that long series of trials which finally shattered the will of Yuna of Spira, but it had succeeded.

And it had been well worth it. The darksome mistress shifted on the long bed, her scant black robe already slipping away to reveal tantalizing curves and swells, and prowled over her helpless captive, like a lioness over a fresh, wet kill.

"Yuna..." She pressed her palm to the girl's flushed face, drying the sweat on her brow, combing back her disheveled hair, tracing the outline of her pink lips. Yuna could only weakly turn her head from side to side, mere beginnings of words on her desperate breaths. Her captor slunk closer, casting her in shadow. A sleek thigh slid carefully between Yuna's splayed legs, hiking the cool sheet that covered the girl from belly to knee. A moment later, there was a touch, soft and warm...and Yuna cooed gently in her sleep, her rounded chest lifting high, almost touching the ample breasts of her ravisher's, hovering so close above them.

The woman's smile spread as she continued to toy with Yuna's body. "Another playmate for us," she purred, "won't that be nice? With a body like hers..." Her fingers traced a line down Yuna's smooth neck, briefly cupping her chin. "And with such fire in her spirit...it would be a victory to treasure forever. As it was with you, my Yuna." Her hand fell to Yuna's collar, fingers massaging the sweat into her bare skin. The Gullwing's head was starting to crane back, and as her mistress' thigh continued to work below, her fingers began to curl.

"But, I wonder," continued the woman, "will she break sooner than you did, Yuna? Or will she press on, until there is only she and I? My trials for her will be many..." A long pause, and then two fingers clasped together, curving down, gliding through the sweat...and circling up over one sweet breast. With a murr the woman took Yuna's stiff nipple into her hand, squeezing the nub tenderly, pressing it into the breast. Yuna gasped, eyes shut over hotly blushing cheeks. Her lover spread her palm over the creamy globe, squeezing, rolling, pressing, tingling with the feel of Yuna's pink nub blossoming to life against her palm.

Yuna's back arched gently, mouth spreading open in a low moan. "Aa...wh, what..."

"Shh..." Her captor sank leisurely to nestle against Yuna's side, hand still toying with her breast, thigh still rubbing carefully under the wrinkled sheet. The press of her naked body to Yuna's only further arched Yuna's back. Wild scarlet locks fell on Yuna's chest as her mistress dipped her head closer, and her lips brushed softly against the pocket of neck and shoulder. They parted only to take in a sensuous bite of Yuna's flesh, suckling at her neck. The Gullwing turned her head again, her huffs starting to blend with her moans into that wonderful, erotic pace that so pleased her captor. Her hand continued to knead that full, milky breast, coaxing the heat to rise within Yuna's body, until the Spiran girl's legs began to spread of their own accord.

"Mm...do you remember, Yuna?" she whispered between suckles. "It was such an adventure for you, going through all those arenas, fighting all those others who have come before you...those others who have succumbed to my magic, become my bondmaids." She arched her back, her supple curves molding to Yuna's. "You defeated so many, nearly freed them all from the bond that keeps them mine...I was impressed. And, for a moment, I feared I had met my equal in you. But even you had your limits, slave...like all the rest."

Her hand slipped away after another moan from Yuna, and she brought it slowly down the girl's smooth stomach, her finger pausing to toy with the deep press of Yuna's belly button. A pleading sigh was her reward. With a smirk, her mistress flattened her palm against Yuna's belly, caressing that sleek expanse of white skin for a moment...and then slid it beneath the sheet clinging moistly to it. Inch by inch her fingers crawled, pulling the sheet down to bare more of Yuna's voluptuous hips, until there was contact- warm, and wet...

Yuna's hands seized the blankets and curled them into fists. "O-oh...mmf..."

The red-haired woman was rewarded with the wet ache of Yuna's sex, drinking her fingers into its warmth. She closed her eyes and blew a shuddering breath against Yuna's neck, her knee rocking gently between the Gullwing's legs. It was so hard not to plunge her fingers in right away and turn her prize inside-out, but she was patient. Only through patience had she acquired so many women from so many other worlds, placed them under her spell, aligned the various portals of her carefully crafted palace to arenas and chambers of lust and heat. So she continued to test Yuna's womanhood, a long finger circling the moist labia, tracing her name over those hot folds.

"You lie so still, Yuna," she whispered, softly kissing the Spiran girl's cheek. "You want me to think you don't want this...but it's a little too late." She slowly clasped another finger to the one flicking a teasing inch from Yuna's clit, just enough to gather the heat there. "You're wet for me already. You know why you lost to me..." Pursing her lips, she drew herself closer, pressing the full, smooth front of her body against Yuna's soft curves, her magnificent breasts pushing with the arch of her back into Yuna's. Her captive's will was starting to crumble. Yuna was flushing from head to toe, her nipples stiff with arousal on her sleek breasts, the outlines of her legs beneath the rumpled sheet showing lewd motion. Only a little more...

The woman loomed over her closed face, then, her wild crimson hair falling into a curtain that joined her face with Yuna's in shadow. The darkness fixed her eyes into a seductive stare as she brought her mouth nearer, as though to sip from a water fountain. "You lost to me, Yuna," she murmured over the other girl's lips, "because you wanted to lose to me."

Slowly, Yuna's eyes creaked open. Blue and green eyes, weakened by sex and submission, pleaded up into hers. Even in conquest, Yuna was fighting, just not as literal now- she was fighting the desire, as clear as her beautiful eyes, to surrender totally. Her captor enjoyed that, and rewarded her with another hot press of her voluptuous body to Yuna's. A rounded thigh coaxed Yuna's legs further apart. The Gullwing swallowed, trying not to let the sweet breath creeping into her mouth weaken her.

"Please..." Yuna whispered, "don't do this to her...I'll do anything, if you j-just stop..."

Her captor smirked, her skilled fingers tracing Yuna's folds. "Oh?"

"I'll...do anything...just," Yuna gasped, rocking her head back against the mattress in barely restrained euphoria. "Oh, g...Paine...th-the others...let them go...do anything if you'll just...let...aah..."

"Isn't this sweet..." her mistress giggled. "My little slave still thinks she's the hero she used to be...I guess she needs a reminder of what she is now."

The last was only a faint whisper, and then her lover tilted her head, closed her eyes, and leaned in. She let Yuna turn her head, let her moan in protest, but it was all too much. The intimate embrace of her mistress, the closing space between their lips...the fondling of her hot sex below- too much, even for Yuna. The young adventurer's writhing became even slower, less insistent. Her head gently tilted, no longer trying to turn away, her eyes narrowing...but not in defiance, no. Her supple body began to relax. Her breasts rose with stiffened nipples. Her legs slunk apart, but not of her mistress' doing. And, most telling of all, her hips began to lift, with all the strength she had left, to quietly push against the other woman's waiting palm.

The darksome woman cooed over Yuna's lips- and more of her hypnotic breath, vanquisher of so many others, swam into the Gullwing's mouth. "Who do you belong to...?"

"S...Siren," Yuna moaned, spreading her arms high over her head. "Siren, I belong to Mistress Siren..."

Siren smiled, and claimed Yuna's panting mouth with a long, wet kiss. Down the line from moaning lips to swelling breasts to smooth belly to the soaking heat that lay blanketed below, her fingers joined, massaging Yuna's waiting sex...and then, with a swirling plunge, she took her lover.

I am Siren Red. And this will be you, Tifa Lockheart.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tifa had originally been uncertain about Cloud just up and buying Shinra's retreat in Costa Del Sol, but apparently she'd underestimated the value of some of the materia they were carrying around. She definitely had to listen to Yuffie's rants more often. She shot the still-sleeping materia hunter in the other bed a smile as she rose from her own, stretching from one of the best nights of rest she'd had in a while. She reminded herself to thank Cloud- with Costa Del Sol's sunny climate and soothing atmosphere, this was definitely the best investment they'd made since that lucky chocobo down at the Gold Saucer.

She sat on the edge of her bed, noting it was already 6:30- the others wouldn't be up for a while (well, maybe Vincent, wherever he was), and she didn't want to break her routine early-morning warmup. She sighed ruefully at having to leave this warm, soft bed that would probably fit her and the average pack of Nibel wolves, but she'd been taking it way too easy the last few days. Already her muscles were a bit sore, and her chest felt a little funny when she tried to lift her arms. With the stuff Cloud and the others had lying ahead of them, she didn't want to be a burden- and if that meant glaring sleepily at a digital clock every morning, so be it.

Good for your figure, anyway, she thought with a yawn. At least she wasn't putting on a belly or anything- her outfit, no matter what Cid muttered, was made for ease of movement and nothing else (not since she'd lost the bar, at least).

Tifa got up, made her bed, and showered as quietly as she could, though even with that extra effort to keep Yuffie from waking up she finished quickly. She shot the dozing ninja another smile as she stepped out of the shower and moved to the bedside cabinet. It looked like Yuffie was fast asleep, the touch of a minkish smirk on her face making Tifa wonder if her dreams were filled with materia- and on that note, Tifa made sure to grab hers out of the cabinet as she dressed for the morning workout. Not that she expected to run into any monsters in Costa del Sol, but she was used to fighting with it.

Finally, with her best glove on one arm and her bangle on the other, and her usual snug outfit slipped on, Tifa was ready to start. It was funny, though, that was the gentlest, quietest blow-dry she'd ever had. Guess even the shower pays for itself she added. Not bad, Cloud...

She couldn't help tossing a look over her shoulder as she left the bedroom, smiling softly at the stairs that led up to the guys' bunks. “Sleep easy, Cloud,” she whispered. And she meant it. He needed it the most, after everything they'd been through...and everything they were going to face next.

Now, she decided, down to business. Tifa's regimen was pretty set by now; a good warm-up stretch, a hard jog, and then the fun stuff, like maybe possibly five hundred situps. Resigned to the fact that her back was never going to forgive her, she came to the front door and took the knob, opening it...

...and then something wrenched her through it.

“Huh?!”

She gasped, and for that precious moment was left vulnerable to some unseen force taking hold of her. It felt like a huge wave of pressure came up on her from behind, but she also felt something pulling her forward, as though she were a piece of metal before a giant magnet. And just as that moment of confusion cleared and her feet left the ground, Tifa realized she'd seen nothing on the other side of that door when it opened...not the familiar warmth of the Costa del Sol morning, not the rush of the ocean, nothing but...

Red...red mist, all around me...

No...it can't be...!?

With that realization came a quiet tremor of fear inside her heart, but before she could even make anything more of it, Tifa felt the pressure disappear. Suddenly she was falling, dropping fast- but only a few feet, before her soles hit the ground and her legs braced by instinct. She still staggered a bit, though, but on that same instinct used it to bring her arms up, taking a stance as she threw her hair from her eyes with a flick of her head. The red mists were clearing, and the air felt cold...too cold. Heart pounding from the surprise, Tifa clenched her fists. If it was...if it was him, again-

“Sephiroth...” she growled. “Sephiroth! If you're here, show yourself!”

Her voice didn't carry as much authority as she would have liked, but she soon saw that it didn't matter. The mists cleared...and there was no danger. No smirking, silver-haired murderer to greet her, no monsters, no threats. Instead, she found...

Tifa blinked, once, twice. “What...?”

She was in a palace.

That was what it looked like, at least. A finely woven carpet lay at her feet, rolling up a huge chamber in a purple strip over pearl tiles that stretched to high walls, gleaming with thousands of red gems, which looked like rubies and garnets. There were pillars, and faceless statues, and trickling fountains, and lit candles, and all of them decorated with the same luscious red tint in some way, but the more Tifa took in, the less doubt she had. It was the front hall of a great palace, like the kind she'd heard of in fairy tales.

Something stopped her from being awestruck at its beauty, though. At the end of the carpet she stood on, just a few yards from where she stood, was an ornately carved door...but when she turned around, she saw nothing. There was only that one door. There were no windows, no hatches, no other openings of any kinds.

If she hadn't already been through so much, Tifa would never have had this suspicion, but there it was. If this wasn't an illusion, then it meant she'd been...spirited away. Teleported, or summoned, or called in some way, but she had definitely been transported right out of Costa del Sol.

It took her a moment to quell the countless concerns and urges welling inside her (if the others woke up to the same thing...!), but she did. Tifa told herself it was useless to panic, it was better to keep a cool head...just about everything she had said to herself during that long search inside Cloud's mind, as a matter of fact. Thinking of that time with him, what he would do in her situation- just him in generally- kept her calm. She resolved to channel her panic into fighting spirit instead, if it had to come to that. Somehow, she imagined it would...

When it became clear she was alone, Tifa straightened up, looking around her carefully. “...Hello?”

Even as a whisper, her voice carried far. The water dripping meekly in the fountains was the only other sound she heard. She craned her head up to look at the ceiling. Weird...she couldn't see one. If there was a roof to this place, the ceiling must have been pretty high up.

Then she heard it.

Welcome, Tifa Lockheart.

She stood still for a long moment, her stomach tying itself into knots. It was a woman's voice...and like the carpet before her, it was young, and soft, and silky. Tifa initially looked out of the corner of her eye at the voice, but saw nothing. Soon, though, she...felt something, a presence nearby. Trying to describe the sensation to herself made her mind reel, and she had to tense her calves to stay steady. She felt. That was it, really. It was something she knew by association rather than actual contact, something like...heat, and drowsiness, and breathlessness, and other sensations that left her without words. She had never heard this voice before, but it reached out to her, brushed at her senses, so she still felt as though she knew it...

She realized she was holding her breath. She let it out, slowly. “...Who are you?”

No shock to hear my voice? it asked her. You are a brave one...and I always have enjoyed breaking the bravest of you.

The little threat there didn't sneak by her. Frowning slightly, Tifa brought her fists just an inch up from her hips. “Who are you,” she repeated, “and what are you talking about? Where am I?”

You're in my castle, Tifa, the woman's voice cooed luxuriously. A wonderful castle, the festivities of which are just about to begin. And I have chosen you, my beloved, as the warrior who will brave them. Through my deepest, loveliest magic I have summoned you here, and only you, to undergo the trials I have so tenderly prepared for you. The tone of her voice gave Tifa the impression of a woman rolling back on soft cushions with unabashed comfort. A test of your...womanhood.

Tifa blinked at that word, and her fists suddenly loosened. “Womanhood?”

She heard a distant, rippling giggle. Yes, your womanhood. I've watched you for a long time, Tifa...so long it might scare you, and while I have confidence in your fighting ability, I'm curious about...other things.

It took that whole, sultry whisper to do it, but a hot blush finally arrived on Tifa's cheeks, and her eyes went wide. “You...you brought me to this weird place just to-”

Find out firsthand if you're a girl or a woman? She heard the giggle again. Yes, I did. Because I want you, Tifa Lockheart.

“You...” She wondered whether it was the shock, the embarrassment, or the indignation that got to her first. Whatever it was, though, had Tifa throw her hands to her side, glaring off into the ceiling above her. “You've got to be kidding me! You're not seriously...w-why?!”

Oh, come off it, the voice said, with a clearly audible sniff. Do you find it hard to believe, that a woman such as I may find you appealing? Have fantasies about you? Well, I have. I have for a long time, and now I have decided to act on them. Certainly you, of all women, cannot find it so strange when one acts on her desires. You are going to show me what kind of woman you really are, Tifa Lockheart.

“Who are you?” Tifa demanded, trying not to shiver in...in whatever, she couldn't believe this! “Am I dreaming this, or are you really this- I just can't- who are you?! Tell me who...”

She trailed off. Her head...felt strange. She touched her temple, eyes starting to flutter. “Wh...what?”

Shh...

Despite the rage she'd been about to fly into, Tifa suddenly couldn't help but acquiesce to that gentle whisper. She sank down to one knee, a low, breathy moan moving up her throat. She closed her eyes, vaguely aware of a fear inside her, an instinct warning her that something was terribly wrong. But right now, it...really didn't matter to her, did it? Tifa swayed, placing a hand on the carpet for support. As she moved out her arm, though, a cool pang spread through her stomach. Her body tried to warm itself with a flush of its own, and it left her feeling even stranger. She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, her mind swimming in darkness. Her hand rolled on the carpet a bit, taking a little fistful. Her toes curled inside her boots, and her smooth knees trembled. She really shouldn't have dressed so light, should she...

No...that wasn't a bad thing. It was a good thing. Her head eased to her side, her long brown locks spilling over her shoulders, bare save for those two, thin straps of her top and the black suspenders of her skirt, both clinging so snugly to her. Her whole shirt was snug, really, she was noticing now. Warm, though tight, and a bit small, and it left a lot of skin exposed. That was all right, though. Her lips twitched with a strange, disquieting smile. Yes, it was all right.

Besides...if she didn't like the tightness or something, she could take the suspenders off anytime she wanted. Even now. It would be easy. She could just cross her arms slowly over her chest, and make an “X” there, so that her hands fell on either shoulder. Then, she could hook a thumb under each suspender. She could pull, gently...let them slide down her toned arms, and come to rest at her sides, so that she was just kneeling there in her white top, stretched over her full, heaving breasts, and...and she didn't have to stop there, really. No one was there, right? No one was...

“No...”

Tifa came back into reality with a hoarse gasp, lungs suddenly begging for air. She blinked widely, feeling her body tense up with alarm. She looked down...and was left gaping, silently.

She'd taken off her suspenders.

Mmhmm, lovely, came the voice again, with that mocking sweetness. You don't have to pretend otherwise, Tifa...I can feel it stirring you. Do you know what that is? It's my song. I have sung it for years, to many different people, in many different worlds and times.

I am Siren Red, Tifa Lockheart, and tonight, I sing for you.

Blushing furiously, cursing mentally, Tifa came to her feet, adjusting her suspenders and swearing she was going to break something. “I don't know what kind of sick game you're running,” she said, “but I'm not interested, and the others need me! If you don't want me to break everything in your castle, you'd better send me back!”

Hee. Siren Red's voice segued into another giggle. So considerate, even of those who comb your body with gazes almost as lustful as mine. I definitely did not make a mistake, selecting you over your dear, peacefully dreaming friend...but if you insist, I could put you back where I found you and bring her instead.

Tifa froze. “What...?”

I wonder...might she succumb more easily? She is younger than you, so fragile, so inexperienced...

She shut her eyes, biting back a swear. “Yuffie...!”

Don't worry, Tifa. You can finish your journey without her, and of course, she wouldn't miss her home so badly... Siren Red dropped her voice to a whisper. For once in my bed, no one does.

Tifa stopped her, or hoped she did, with an upraised fist. “You...don't touch her,” she said, shakily. “If it's me you want...then, fine, you've got me. Just don't touch her. Leave Yuffie alone.”

That's better.

“And you're going to get a lot more than you can handle,” Tifa vowed, seething.

Mmm, promises, promises... The candles of the front hall flared in unison. You've made me so happy, Tifa. Well then. Let me explain the rules.

The sensation Tifa was feeling seemed to direct her attention forward. Reluctantly, she did, all the while trembling in disbelief...and what Siren Red told her only caused her to flush even more.

My palace has a different take on certain silly things like time and space than your world is accustomed to. That door before you is the first of a potentially very long series to the final one...my own. You will pass through many rooms, many places, and in each of them, meet another of my bondmaids. I assure you, they are just as...eager...to meet the legendary Tifa Lockheart as I am. Unlike me, though, they cannot restrain themselves at a glance. And you are such a tempting sight. “Combat” with them may not be as straightforward as you're used to. In fact, I would count on it. Be prepared, Tifa. If you aren't careful, you may fall well before you reach my chambers. If you should reach your breaking point, however, don't worry...all you have to do is surrender to me.

Tifa tried to busy herself by looking over her materia, flexing her muscles, doing anything to convince herself she wasn't helpless and that this woman would regret messing with her. Still, the flush on her cheeks would not fade. “What do you mean by 'bondmaids'?” she asked.

Just that. They are my bondmaids. My disciples. My slaves. They have already fallen to my spell, danced to my song...and, for the most part, shared my bed. And the only way you can make them stop hearing the song is by singing your own...

“You sick...”

Actually, I've kept myself in excellent shape, Tifa. And I'm wearing something really sexy. I can't wait to show you.

Tifa threw up her hands. “I don't believe this! This is way too weird! How do I know this isn't another of Sephiroth's tricks?” She paused at a stray thought, then frowned even more deeply. “How do I know you're not Sephiroth?”

Because you don't have six feet of steel sticking out of your sternum by now.

It was a cold, horrible thing to say. She knew that was exactly why Siren Red had said it. Knowing that didn't stop Tifa from going dead silent, hanging her head, and having to close her eyes to fight the tears back.

Oh...I'm sorry, Tifa. Me and my big mouth. Do you need a hug?

“You...” Tifa rasped, turning her head up with a frosty glare. “You just made it personal.”

Mm, much better. It would disappoint me to see you cry so easily, and I want the pleasure of drying your tears myself. So. Shall we begin, my beloved Tifa? My slaves against your womanhood. Your prize is freedom, and my prize...is you.

Drawing in a deep breath, Tifa strode forward. “Don't count on it,” she said, feeling the strength of determination for the first time since she'd found herself here. “I'm going to take you down, Siren Red, and your slaves are going free. And for what you've done, for what you've said...I'm going to make sure you do all the crying tonight.”

She expected a taunt, but as she came to the door, Tifa heard nothing more than a last whisper of farewell:

I'll be waiting.

Tifa felt the presence of Siren Red move on, and sighed, shaking. “Cloud...everyone,” she said softly, “wait for me. I'll be home soon.”

With that last, desperate hope, Tifa turned the knob on the door, and stepped through.

For better or worse, her test had begun.