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The Rescue Me Meme

'Cause, sometimes, you just can’t save yourself.

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1. A Bad Date - You get a text, a phone call, or maybe you can just see the other person floundering on what clearly must be the worst date of their life. Time to step in and save the day.

2. Prison - Maybe they've been wrongly convicted, or maybe you're an accomplice. Either way, it's jailbreak. Maybe the guards will fall for the old 'wounded prisoner' technique.

3. Taken Hostage - They're being held at gunpoint, either for money or for fun. Maybe you can talk down their captors, or maybe you are a captor, secretly working to help them.

4. Abuse/Neglect - Your body is damaged, your suffering taken it's toll. You can't save yourself anymore. You're wounded, you're starving, maybe even dying. Someone, help.

5. Addiction - Just one more. Nothing bad will happen if you just get one more. Either way, you can't save yourself from this downward spiral. Someone else is going to have to help.

6. Yourself - One bad choice after another, your self-destructive tendencies are going to get the best of you unless someone steps in, quick, to save the day.

7. Climactic Situation - You're hovering over an active volcano, a pit of sharks, about to fall off a cliff. Whatever it is, you've only got precious seconds of life left.

8. Loneliness - You've been secluded, locked away, and the emptiness is overwhelming. You need company, or you might just drown.

9. Unwanted Social Function - A family reunion, your three o'clock board meeting, whatever it is, you desperately don't want to go. Hopefully your good buddy can come up with a distraction.

10. A Bad Romance - You're trapped in a relationship that's headed south, and you can't seem to get away from the other person. Looks like you need a helping hand, maybe a prince charming.

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Kunsel notes the shift in Zack's weight, and takes that as a good sign. He just hopes Zack can recover enough to hold his own balance if it turns out that Cloud can't walk on his own. One of them will need to be able to defend them if they run into any more guards. Preferably Kunsel, since he's in fighting condition, whereas Zack's clearly suffered from six months of captivity.

"Alright." It galls him to leave Hojo with nothing more than a pounding headache as punishment for what he's done, but Zack's right. They don't really have much time. How much do they have?

Who knows? Kunsel didn't exactly have time to scope the routine of the guards out before he came.

Although... Maybe there is something he can do. Kunsel looks at the door that Zack indicated as Cloud's prison. Looks at the access key in his hand.

Then he looks at one of Hojo's computers. That...

"Hey... If I cast another Cure on you, think you could handle Cloud by yourself? At least enough to explain the situation and get him over here? He might react better if it's just you, and..." And with the way he's looking at that computer, and if Zack still knows his friend, it shouldn't be hard to follow his train of thought. "I think I have an idea."

It's not a question of can he recover his balance, it's a question of how long he can hold out. He couldn't even swing a practice sword right now, forget the behemoth that's the Buster, hidden away in some storage locker. Kunsel's going to become their only line of defense on the way out. Which means Zack's going to have to carry Cloud.

Not like he wouldn't do it anyway. When they don't move he follows Kunsel's gaze, eyes shifting from the card to the computer, then to his friend. He knows that look. Even six months removed from the world at large, Zack knows that look and a half-smile curves across his face.

"Let's try it."

He doesn't feel the slightest bit sorry about what Kunsel's going to get up to on that terminal. Not for Hojo, not for who worked with the "good" doctor, and not for ShinRa. If Kunsel wants to wreak havoc, he won't stop him. A little more chaos would be a good idea.

There's really only so much a Cure can do, even cast repeatedly. If Zack's only problem was cuts and bruises - superficial, physical things - then sure, Kunsel could cast spell after spell until the damage was gone. But long term damage is a whole lot harder to heal.

Still, it's worth a shot.

It only takes a few moments of concentration for Kunsel to warm the spell up again. As soon as he's cast it, he waits another moment, then cautiously releases his friend.

"I'll go open the door. Let me know if you think you're good to go."

If not, he'll come up with a different plan.

Practically holding his breath, Zack shifts away. Both feet are planted firmly on the ground, despite the ache in his bones, and he doesn't sway. He's not as straight as he used to be--parade rest is out of the picture, for sure--but he's upright.

Slowly, cautiously, as if concerned one wrong move will tip him head over ankle, he straightens himself out and drags in another breath. It's going to take months, if not longer, for every sign of his captivity to fade. Some scars will remain. The internal damage lingers, bones that weren't set properly left to heal in odd, achy positions. He's not in fighting shape, that much is obvious, but walking? He lets his slow steps speak for themselves, carefully heading for the door.

"I think we're good."

And a little bit more of the rasp is gone, too! He could sleep for a week, but they should be okay. So long as they can get out of here before backup arrives. Mindful of the broken glass and the mess he made with that desperate struggle, he pads towards the door.

"Watch your back in here."

Not that Mr. Scared over there's in any hurry to move, but who knows. Who knows.

"I will." And that's a promise. Kunsel has no interest in getting captured in a place like this, let alone dooming his friend. Even when he finishes unlocking the door and turns to head over to the computer, he's got an ear trained for even the slightest hint of movement - from the room's two occupants or from anywhere else in the complex.

Sitting down at the desk once Zack's disappeared through the door, Kunsel smiles grimly as he starts inputting commands. Alright, let's see what we've got here, and how much damage I can do... "You're probably going to have a hard time finding work soon," he says conversationally to the only other conscious person in the room. "You know, assuming this doesn't turn you into a wanted criminal. Gee, wouldn't that be a shame."

The guard's eyes widen at that, face going a shade paler.

But he doesn't say anything, too terrified to work his mouth. Because if he does, he doesn't know what Kunsel will do if he points out that at least he'll still be alive.

On the other side of the door, Cloud isn't where Zack last saw him. At some point he was moved back into the mako tank, and now he's floating there, unconscious and looking almost peaceful. Only the involuntary twitching of his fingers tell the lie for what it is.

But then, Zack already knows about that lie. He's been in there himself and felt the mako burning, sinking in, a more pervasive agony than anything Hojo can do.

Hojo's agonies would end. They'd be released, slammed back into the too cramped cell with its too large mako tanks, but the pain would ease for a time. In the tanks, the agony sinks in, never ending. Takes days to ease off once they're out.

There's very few people Zack would wish that on, and Cloud is not one of them. With a concerned frown, he makes his way to the tank, one hand coming to rest on the glass to regain his balance. Cloud being out of it like this wasn't what he was expecting to find. The techs must have put him back in while the guards were holding him to the table. But the how doesn't matter, and if Zack hits the release button a little harder than he should, well, he's just worried.

Probably rightfully so. The pervasive stench of mako lingers even after the tank has drained and the door has slid open, bits of green and tiny flecks of black--Hojo's doing, no doubt--clinging to the base as Zack reaches up, ready to catch Cloud when he falls forward, the mako no longer there to hold his body up. That doing so puts Zack on the ground, puts him on his knees, is no real concern. He still shakes Cloud, tries to rouse him.

"Cloud--come on, man. Up and at 'em."

They're almost free, spiky. Don't quit on him yet.

Cloud's response is sluggish, but eventually he groans, head lolling as consciousness slowly returns. Zack's nothing if not persistent, though, and eventually Cloud cracks one bleary eye open before flinching instinctively. Waking up to someone hovering over him has never been a sign of good things. Not for the past six months, anyway.

But there's only one hand on his shoulder, not the pairs that usually haul him to his feet when his body hurts too much to cooperate (or when he's fighting tooth and nail). And that voice...

Cloud cracks his other eye open, staring up in surprise - and maybe it's a trick of the fluorescent lighting in the room, but his blue eyes are too, too blue. They might almost even seem to glow. "Z-Zack?" What's Zack doing here? And why aren't there any guards? They don't usually leave them loose like this. Not since Zack wrecked a bunch of the equipment last time. "What...?" He has to cut off with another groan. Ugh, he doesn't feel good at all. Every inch of his skin, every piece of his body hurts, and his stomach...

Ugh, it feels like he's going to be sick.

Edited 2015-07-27 02:10 (UTC)

Those eyes may be almost glowing, and not the same sky blue they'd been before, but Zack is too relieved that they're opening at all to really care. He lingers, trying not to loom but too big to not take up space in Cloud's vision.

Especially since he's moving to help Cloud up after that groan. Okay, maybe not on his feet, but up. Up up up!

"Hey--stay awake. We're getting outta here."

As soon as he can tell what kind of help Cloud needs, at least. If he's gotta carry his friend out, he will try, but if Cloud can put any weight on his feet, they'll go that route. Trying to carry him on his back may just put Zack on the ground, and they certainly can't have that. Not now, when they have got to move.

"Come on. Can you stand?"

"Out...?" Cloud echoes that one word, not certain he understands. Zack can't mean...

Can he?

But up, up he goes, and while Cloud's nowhere near steady or strong enough to walk entirely on his own, he's at least not buckling completely in Zack's arms - though it's kind of a near thing for a moment. In the end, he ends up with one arm slung around Zack's shoulder while he leans heavily against the older man. The room's spinning around him as his brain tries to reorient to a world that isn't filled with burning mako.

Well, not counting the mako still soaked into his clothes. He'd almost, almost be grateful for the humiliating hospital gown that doesn't cover anywhere near enough, since it means less mako-soaked fabric clinging to his skin, but he can't find it in him to be grateful for anything.

Anything, except Zack. He's always going to be grateful for him.

"Where are we going?" he slurs, and for a moment the world seems to be green. Green, green, so green he could get lost in it...

Oh, he does mean out. He really means it.

He means it despite the odd secondhand burn of the mako clinging to Cloud as it runs in rivulets down his bare back. He means it despite the concern that buries itself in his stomach, heart pounding as he tries to keep Cloud upright. They're both unsteady, Zack's weight shifting as he tries to find the best way to stand after six months of atrophy and tests. The best way that won't send an already unsteady Cloud toppling.

Because a concussion on top of what he's already got wouldn't help. Zack watches for a second, mind working a hundred miles an hour and leaving him struggling to keep up. Cloud's slurring like he's already taken a bonk to the head; Mako poisoning can't set in that quick, can it? No. Of course it can. Cloud's not SOLDIER. Gritting his teeth, Zack begins to move with purpose.

Or at least, as much purpose as his body will let him move with. Scrubs, change Cloud's clothes, then out. It's a plan.

"Getting you changed first."

Then anywhere but here. His steps stumble, shoulder banging into the metal door with a thud, and he hisses. That's going to bruise. They're going to be the slowest, most awkward three legged race pair ever, but they're moving. It's a start.

It takes Cloud just a second too long to respond, his mind drifting in and out of a daze. It's Zack's stumble that brings him back to reality. "...you okay?" Maybe he shouldn't be leaning so heavily on the older man. He's sixteen (seventeen? How long have they been here?); he should be able to pull himself together at least enough to walk.

With focus and deliberation, he tries to straighten up - but really, he only partially succeeds. Not so much of his weight (and even scrawny as he is, he still weighs something) is having off of Zack, at least. Still can't find his balance on his own, though.

Hopefully, it'll be enough.

What he isn't expecting, though, is for the door to open. Cloud jerks back, losing his footing in the process, as alarm shoots his adrenaline sky high. "Zack!" he shouts in warning, and never mind how non-threatening that head of tousled brown hair appears to be that pokes through the opening door. He's long since learned not to judge by appearances here. No one who works here is safe to trust.

(But really, it's only Kunsel, looking at them with an eyebrow cocked in concern.

"...you knocked?"

Yes, he heard that painful thud on the door.)

"Yeah," Zack grits out, staring at the metal door. It's taking both hands to keep Cloud upright against his side, so how's that going to open? Provided it didn't lock again behind him, it's going to--whoa okay Spike, warn a guy before you move. The motion is less unsettling than the shift in weight, forcing Zack to step back to compensate. It's...definitely something.

But not nearly as much of a thing as Cloud's reaction to Kunsel's sudden appearance.

"Easy, Cloud!" He shouts, forced to scramble back and feeling the strain in muscles that don't want to so much as twitch as he struggles to keep both himself and Cloud upright and not on the floor. It's harder than it seems, his bare feet slipping across the stone before he can lock his knees and haul Cloud back, breathing hard once he's gotten them balanced again. Ifrit...no more sudden moves!

"Yeah..." He almost laughs, settling for a tired little chuckle in Kunsel's direction.. "Something like that." Swallowing, he turns to Cloud. "Cloud, this is Kunsel. He's a friend. It's okay."

He promises.

Even with Zack's reassurance, Kunsel can see the clear fear in Cloud's face, pale as a sheet as it is. Well, to be fair, most of that paleness is just his complexion, as pasty as Zack's from six months of no sunlight, but there's still terror lurking in his eyes and in the way he's clutching Zack. Kunsel holds his hands up and steps away from the door, demonstrating physically that he has no intention of hurting them or keeping them locked up.

"I came to tell you guys that we've got about twenty minutes before the next scheduled guard shift comes back from town. Found the schedule in Hojo's computer." Along with a lot of other things that made his stomach churn, but he's not going to bring those up right now. "Though honestly, I'd cut that down to fifteen, assuming that lab tech who got away goes to find them. I'm pretty sure we're alone here for the moment, though. This part of the operation's smaller than I thought it would be." Just Hojo and two techs, and the guards necessary to keep the "subjects" subdued.

"What about Hojo?" Even uncertain of Kunsel as he is, Cloud knows where his true worry is.

Kunsel smiles grimly. "Out cold, along with all the guards he had." Yes, even the one guard who'd been conscious. Kunsel had knocked him out before turning his back on him. "You can see for yourself if you come out."

Smart man, Kunsel. Always been the brains of the op. Even if the fifteen minute warning makes Zack pause. Fifteen minutes. Not a lot of time to get the two of them up the stairs and then somehow out of visual range. The mountains have a lot of hidey-holes, sure, but that still involves getting out of the manor. For a second, the span of a heartbeat, Zack contemplates telling Kunsel to get out and save himself. That he'll already have enough to be concerned with just dodging the military once Hojo comes around.

But he knows how loyal his oldest friend is. Kunsel would sooner stay here and rot with them than abandon his friend. So it's with a nod that Zack grits his teeth and begins to move forward. Not a lot of time, and certainly not enough to spend thinking about crazy stuff like that.

"Come on, Spike. You can look on the way out." One step; his knee trembles, threatens to cave, holds. Keep moving. Don't stop. Stop and you're dead. "Just don't touch. Who knows what kinda crap he's carrying."

Did he just compare Hojo to an actual monster, and the warnings to never touch because you don't know what kind of disease they may have? Yes. He did. It's an apt comparison. Honestly, he'd take a Malboro over Hojo, and that's without having a Remedy in his supplies! Definitely the less likely to kill you option.

Kunsel takes a moment to judge the speed of their progress, eyes lingering on Cloud's soaked clothes, then nods to himself at an unspoken thought. "I'm going on ahead to collect some things for you. You guys just follow as fast as you can. We'll save time if we split up. Holler if you need help, though, and I'll come running." Probably literally.

Then, true to his word, he heads for the door, ignoring the crumpled forms on the floor as well as the computer the computer he'd been at before. The computer which is now... flashing two words. Two words and nothing else.

SYSTEM FAILURE.

Yeah, Kunsel might have vindictively destroyed all of Hojo's data on the machine. The research was vile and disgusting, and Hojo deserves it. Besides, it'll likely keep him distracted for a few minutes as he desperately (and futilely) tries to salvage the thing.

Though of course, not quite everything has been lost. Eventually he'll discover a few key files that somehow just wound up on the network. Sent to the President, sent to the Turks and SOLDIER, sent to a few reporters Kunsel knows.

Kunsel's steps are just a little bit lighter now, buoyed by vindictive satisfaction.

Edited 2015-07-28 12:17 (UTC)

Cloud's eyes stay glued to Kunsel's back as the strange man disappears through the door. Then his eyes flicker to the men on the floor, anxiety twisting loops in his gut. Kunsel was telling the truth, though. There's Hojo on the floor, and even just the sight of him makes panic rise in his chest. He tries to swallow it back. Hojo clearly isn't moving.

"I wasn't even thinking of it," he says honestly. Getting close to Hojo is the last thing he wants to do.

With Kunsel gone, though, and the threat of Hojo diminished (though never entirely gone), the adrenaline in his body is starting to fade, leaving him shaky. He's forced to focus on his feet to keep from tripping (and possibly taking Zack down with him.)

Beneath that, though, there's something fluttering wildly. Something he hasn't felt in months. "Zack, are we...?" He almost doesn't even dare to voice it.

But how long have they both dreamed of escaping from this place?

There is no mistaking the chaos Kunsel has left in his wake. The blinking white on blue draws Zack's attention for a moment, and under better circumstances he'd have laughed. As it is, he can only let the righteous satisfaction strengthen his spine. It's not quite what he wanted, but maybe this is better. If Hojo has lost all his precious data, that's just fine and dandy.

Except, of course, if it means he's going to come after them even harder. Yeah. Okay. Time to move. As Cloud starts to sag, Zack shifts his weight and takes more of Cloud's. Stay with him, Spike. Home stretch coming up.

"Yeah," His voice is a bit strained, teeth grit with every step that threatens to topple them. Stairs are going to be fun; under normal circumstances he'd have no trouble just carting Cloud on up. But these are hardly normal circumstances, and he knows if they go down he's not getting them back up. One foot in front of the other, inhale, exhale. Move. "We're getting out."

And if his eyes are burning, it's only from sheer relief. They've both been dreaming of escape, of the sky and the sun, ever since Cloud recovered from his Sephiroth-given injuries and woke up. Zack's been dreaming alone for longer. Freedom calls like a siren, and only the stairs are between them and it. Despite the shake in his legs, the burn in his thighs, Zack grits his teeth and faces the steps head on.

"Hang on tight, okay? This could get rough."

Out.

For a moment, Cloud can't speak, though Zack will no doubt hear his breath hitch in his throat. Out. How long has it been since they thought they had any real chance of getting out of this place? Of the torture ever ending. No more injections, no more knives, no more mako, no more green...

...green...

It only lasts a few seconds, but his attention slips out of focus again, his feet only moving on autopilot, up one step, half dragged by Zack, then up another step. When he finally comes back to the present, they're halfway up the stairs.

And at the top of them...

Unlike Zack and Cloud, Kunsel is hampered by neither health nor another person. He was able to move a lot faster than either of them. In the few minutes they've been trudging up the hall and up the stairs, Kunsel's already found what he was looking for.

"Hey, once you guys get up here, I think you should both change." He flashes a smile and holds up one piece of what looks like a SOLDIER First uniform. All the rest is bundled in his other arm. "I know we don't have much time, but I don't think it's a good idea for either of you to travel around in the Nibel mountains in your condition with what you've got on."

Not to mention the mako clinging to both of them now.

"You need any help making it up the rest of the way?"

One step at a time. One breath at a time, half-hitched or otherwise. Like the falling of night, freedom closes in with every passing second. It's been too long since he considered freedom any more than a fever dream, lost and forever out of reach.

But now, thanks to one too-loyal friend, they're almost free. Time ticks away, but he still takes a second to pause, to look up at Kunsel, and almost smile wryly. Does he want to know where those came from? Probably not. He resumes movement, taking the step and then pulling Cloud up, leaving a glowing trail of mako behind them like some giant slug.

"Think...we got it..."

His voice is still stained, but they're still moving. Once they're on even ground this'll be easier. He hopes.

"How we looking? Clear?"

Tired as he is, the Gongagan accent is slipping back in, words slipping through his teeth as some stay in his brain and never in the air. Are they okay with regards to guards coming this way? It's got to have been at least five minutes already.

"Clear enough," Kunsel answers. He's worked with Zack more than long enough to be able to decipher his accent when it slips. "The bedroom up here where I found those clothes has a pretty good view of the road and I didn't see anyone coming up it. That's not to say we're safe, or that we have a lot of time, but..." He shrugs. They'll take anything they can get at this point.

Even with Zack's reassurance, though, he keeps a close eye on them until they reach the landing. They both look pretty ragged, and like a strong wind could knock them down. If they fell on those stairs...

Fortunately, nothing happens before Zack manages to drag himself and Cloud to the top. Kunsel nods to the door he just came from, then reaches over to push it back open.

"I'd recommend toweling off with the bedsheets. The less mako on you two, the better."

Especially Cloud. Kunsel doesn't like the way the blonde's eyes keep drifting in and out of focus.

"No kidding. Stuff stinks."

Hard and bitter and acrid and metallic and almost...minty. If Zack ever gets the smell out of his nose, he'll be amazed. He almost prefers woodsmoke to this, no matter the memories it brings in behind them. Wood creaks beneath his feet as he continues to haul Cloud, focused only on the bedroom. Sunlight streams through the window, not quite blinding but bright enough that he has to blink a few times. Cozy. Would be nice to stay and sleep.

But they can't. So he nods once they're over the threshold, knowing that if he sits he's not getting back up.

"Just toss the stuff in. We'll figure it out."

Somehow. Cloud feels like he's gotten a little limper in Zack's hold, more deadweight than determined and tired. Not that Zack can blame him, but still. Something's up.

"You sure you don't want some help?" Kunsel nods at Cloud, making it clear he's talking about the teen, not Zack. He can see just as clearly that Cloud's barely reacting, barely putting one foot in front of the other anymore. "Kind of hard to get a shirt and pants on someone by yourself if they can't even sit upright." Especially not with how exhausted Zack himself looks.

But as though to cement the need for concern, Cloud doesn't even blink when Kunsel starts talking about him. Doesn't stir, just stares listlessly at nothing at all.

And all that mako...

Shiva, what was Hojo doing to this kid?

Putting him through hell. For a moment, Zack contemplates; Cloud's pride would hate it, hate having someone he doesn't know help to clean and dress him, and after the past six months Zack can't blame him. But they don't have the time for Zack, about ready to flop over and not get up, to try and struggle him into a clean uniform.

So he sighs, nods once.

"Could use it. Thanks."

But Cloud's lack of response is starting to terrify him. Heart pounding, he shifts his weight to give Cloud a jostling little shrug. Come on, you. Wake up. Wake up!

"Come on, Spike. Up and at 'em. We gotta get you changed!"

Please let him respond. He's not dead, but...Ifrit, please let him respond!

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