Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and I *~*~* Faye led Henry from the town square, past Regina's mansion, and right to her own large house. She said to Henry as she walked up to her own front door, "Well. Here it is," She brought out her own keys and unlocked the front door, letting herself and Henry in. Henry had to adjust his eyes once more to the nearly pitch-darkness of the house (due to the power being out all across town), but stepped through the front door. "I can hardly see....but it smells nice!" He complimented, slightly awkwardly. Faye blinked and she answered his compliment just as awkwardly, "Er...Thank you," She stepped into the dark house, and reached to her side, where she knew was a decorative table. On top of that table, right where she placed her hand was a flashlight. She turned on the flashlight and pointed the light all around the house just in case. Had the power not gone out, her house would've been a lovely sight. It was clean and neatly decorated, except for the alcohol on the small table beside the large chair that sat in front of the empty fireplace in the living room. However, in the darkness, it looked like a perfect place for a monster to lurk about.... She led the way inside, and said "Right. I'll direct you to the guest room, and give some ground rules along the way," "Sounds lovely!" Henry replied, seething through grit teeth as his hand kept on flaring up. "Lovely place, very...mysterious, I like it." He complimented in his usual tone, managing to sneak a healthy glance of the doctor here or there as she walked in front of him. She heard his hiss and remembered to get antiseptics and bandages for Henry's wound. She led him down the halls (grabbing the antiseptics and bandages along the way), and when they past a set of stairs that went down towards a heavy metal door, she said to him "Henry. [b][i]Never[/i][/b] go downstairs, under any circumstances," For some reason, the darkness seemed to make Faye somber, grave, and even more wary than normal. It was as though she was scared of the possible monster that lurked in the shadows. Soon they reached the guest bedroom and she said "Here's the guest bedroom. Once you're in here at night, [i]stay[/i] here until morning. Lock your bedroom door," She then said "Let's tend to that wound," She then got out a handkerchief, poured a bit of the antiseptic on the cloth, and she warned Henry "This will sting," before she placed the cloth on the wound, "Goddamnit!" He swore with a hiss as the antiseptic felt like someone was literally putting salt in the open wound. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the sharp pain to pass. Faye looked carefully at the wound, watching as the Hydrogen Peroxide bubbled on his wound, killing any bacteria that may cause infection. She continued treating his wound with the chemical until no bubbles rose from his wound. She said to him as she put away the cloth and chemical "There we go. The disinfecting's done," She then got to bandaging the wound. "Good...good." Henry replied as he felt the pain slowly begin to linger away. "Because then I couldn't do this." He said before leaning in to kiss her once more. Faye blinked when he kissed her, and at first she started to kiss back. But then she felt a familiar stab of pain in her heart, and for a brief moment, black flooded into Faye's blue eyes. Knowing what the pain meant, Faye gasped quietly "No!" and pulled back away from Henry. Realizing she may have accidentally sent the wrong message to Henry, she said "I'm-I'm sorry about that, Henry. I'm-I'm quite tired...I'll...I'll see you in the morning," She then hurried out of the room while reminding him with a hidden tone of fear "Remember the rules I told you. [i]Please[/i]" She closed the door behind her and her footsteps could be heard, and it seemed that she was running. Henry could do little but sit there, dumbfounded, at what had just occurred. "Too soon, Chesh." He told himself, standing up to get undressed. "Too soon." He repeated bitterly, tossing his clothes to the ground until he was wearing only his suit. Soon enough, Henry would be able to hear footsteps moving about in the house, and soon enough, the sound of music coming from the large living room he had seen earlier, "[i]I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightnin'. I see those bad times today. Don't go around tonight, Well it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise.[/i]" Henry stared at the closed door as he picked up the sound of music from the living room. "Just...ignore it, Cat." He told himself as he tried to look back at his own Walkman player that was strewn on the bed. Though try as he might, he couldn't stop hearing that music continue on in his ears. The music continued, seeming to grow louder, loud enough to entice the cat's curiosity, "[i]I hear hurricanes a blowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers over flowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin. Well don't go around tonight, Well it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise.[/i]" Henry couldn't take it anymore, standing to his feet; he slowly and cautiously stepped towards the door of the room. He took in a deep breath and turned the handle, swinging the door wide open. He had a hunch who it might be on the other side... He walked through the threshold, down the halls until the living room came into view. "[i]Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.[/i]" The living room was lit only by the fire that was now burning with great passion in the fireplace. The large, green, cushioned chair that faced towards the fireplace, was now occupied by someone. On the table, the small glass and glass container of scotch, was replaced by two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. In the living room, Henry would also notice large bookshelves filled with many different books, along with a grand piano. The source of the music however, was coming from an IPod connected to a platform with speakers. "[i]Well don't go around tonight, Well it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise.[/i]" The occupant of the chair spoke up, the figure never standing up to show herself, but her voice was all too familiar, "Why, Henry. How good of you to join me," "Well...hello, Sweetie." Henry greeted in a flirty manner as he made his way to the large fireplace. "Been awhile, hasn't it?" He asked nonchalantly, hands in his trouser pockets, by habit. The woman's voice answered, "Hmm...Yes, it has. I see that the good Doctor has been quite...[i]generous[/i] to offer you a place to stay," "Yes...and I'm very grateful. Oh, but you already know that, don't you? Because our good Dr. Stevenson is sitting in that chair." He said nonchalantly, moving towards the small table to fill a wine glass for both of them. As he would grab the wine bottle, Henry would be able to see that the person sitting in the chair...was nothing more than a mannequin. And in that mannequin's lap, was a small voice recorder, replaying a message in eerie clarity, "[i]And yet...it appears you've been quite horrible...you chronic liar...[/i]" Before he knew, the woman was behind him, and she grappled him, pinning his arms behind him, and with her hand on his throat, not squeezing air out, but threatening to rip his vocal cords out with her nails. She said to him with malicious glee, "Gotcha. Now...what is it that you know?" Henry could only look at the mannequin with a slight sense of dread before the Woman was upon him in a flash. "What a reunion, eh? You should have told me you were gonna play hard-to-get." Henry joked, managing a small grin. "And I can see you're still as beautiful as ever...my, my, my, how the time flies." He added, seeming to regress back into his "Cat" persona. The woman seemed to smirk and she chuckled darkly "Hmhmhm, how cute. But you should know very well, that one of the morals to fairy tales..." At this point, she nuzzled the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, "Is to never trust flatterers," She then pushed him down to the carpeted floor, and got over him, her knees pinning themselves harshly against Henry's ribs. She was wearing a beautiful and seductive red dress that truly made her look as though she could be the Ruler of Hell herself. With a scalpal in hand she warned him, "Now then. We can do this the easy way...or the hard way. It's all your choice," She then asked seriously "Who do you think I am?" "That's a lovely dress, Ms. Hyde..." Henry began with a smirk across his lips, "Only thing lovelier would be to see you [i]out[/i] of it." He added, seemingly not paying any attention to the surgical instrument in her hand - he had answered her question without resistance... The woman looked serious before a smirk crossed her lips again, and she retorted "I see the [i]cat[/i] is out of the bag," She sighed airily "Such a shame...! It looks like I have to kill you," She then smirked wickedly and continued "And it's such a shame that you set yourself up for your own death. You really shouldn't have messed with that circuit breaker!" "I can see that now." Henry responded, masking his fear with airy confidence. "But I [i]so[/i] missed seeing you, why, I had to do something. So...how's about you kindly let me move, we'll both go to the bedroom...and by the time we're done, you'll be ready to forgive me, eh?" He offered with a cheeky grin, surprised at how he could feel so much fear and enticement towards the same woman. Her hands slammed against the floor, in a sudden quick movement, landing on either side of Henry's head. She gazed into Henry's eyes with her black soulless eyes, and she asked "Now, why would I be interested in someone who runs? You admitted it yourself that you've been running from your past, all your life," She licked her lips and she asked, not giving Henry time to answer the question, "You know what runs, Mr. Carlyle? [i]Prey[/i] runs," The word prey came out as an animalistic growl, and her lips curled into a snarl. "I'm a cat...it's my nature." He responded almost cryptically. "But you'll find that those who run, oftentimes simply wait for the best moment to strike." With this, he tried to lean his head in as best he could, given the circumstances. "I want you." He growled at her, eyes narrowing coolly. "And something tells me...you share the sentiment." He added, licking his lips slower-than-necessary. Hyde inhaled through her nostrils and she commented "You reek of fear. Not desire," She then added bitterly "I know where your loyalties lie...with that [i]Mayor[/i]," "Sleeping with someone and being [i]loyal[/i] to them are two different things, my dear. I'm *loyal* to Dr. Stevenson...both parts of her." Henry reassured seriously, occasionally shifting his eyes down to glimpse at her chest before looking back up again. "And I can assure you...there [i]is[/i] desire." He said in an almost seductive manner, keeping his composure. Hyde laughed bitterly "That's what they all said...The men who tried long before you. They swore they were loyal to us, but they were liars! They got their end. I'm not about to risk our identities being exposed to the mayor," Henry thought quickly, knowing that Hyde would soon lose her patience and decide to kill him. "Think about it this way, then...I know who [i]you[/i] are...and you know who *I* am...how's about we [i]both[/i] keep each other's secrets from the mayor, eh? Everyone's happy..." He offered, looking slightly tense. Hyde narrowed her gaze at him and she let out a growl like "Hmmm..." in thought. She then looked up at the ceiling, and she seemed to give a huff of annoyance. She backed away from him, and stood up with her scalpal in hand. She placed the scalpal on the table, and right after she did, the overhead lights came on. She said to Henry "Congratulations," He had survived his encounter with Ms. Hyde. Henry looked up as the lights suddenly flashed back on. He grinned as he centered his head on Hyde again. "Gratefully accepted." He said with a small glint in his eyes. "Now...maybe we could move on to that [i]desire[/i] part I was talking about?" He practically purred, amazing himself with how quickly he could switch emotions. Hyde smirked and she answered "Well...I suppose the survivor should get a prize..."