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bakerstreet2015-07-19 07:33 pm
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The Rescue Me Meme

'Cause, sometimes, you just can’t save yourself.
→ Post with your character’s name, canon, and any preferences in the subject line
→ Those tagging, go to RNG and roll for a number between one and ten.
→ Alternatively, just pick the choice you’re interested in most.
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.

'Cause, sometimes, you just can’t save yourself.
→ Post with your character’s name, canon, and any preferences in the subject line
→ Those tagging, go to RNG and roll for a number between one and ten.
→ Alternatively, just pick the choice you’re interested in most.
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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His breath leaves his lungs sharply when that sinks in.
"K-Kunsel." He struggles with the name for a moment, and tenses when the other man glances back, but this is important. Important enough that it's making his insides churn. "We can't-" He swallows. "We can't go... back up there. There's..." How does he even explain? What can he say? But just thinking about that thing makes his skin start to crawl, and the way Sephiroth talked to it-
His brain quickly shuts that thought off.
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He stops when Cloud struggles, looking between his charge and his oldest friend. The concern is valid; if Jenova hasn't been moved, if it's still up there, then...who knows what could happen to either of them. That monster already got to Sephiroth of all people, and he was in his prime. The two of them, hurting and tortured? He wants to turn the other way. Run back down the mountain. But they can't. Shifting his grip, he shakes his head.
"We don't have a choice, Cloud."
Behind them, on the edge of his hearing, wood crashes. The manor has been breached, and if they don't keep moving, they're going to get spotted. Turning to look over his shoulder, sun catching on the windows, Zack shakes his head. He hates it, too. If he never stepped foot in another reactor it would be too soon. Explaining this to Kunsel is going to be really fun. Not.
The only consolation is it didn't have a back door. They're going to have to find a way down behind it, but they shouldn't have to through it. Hopefully. Gods, let him be right about that.
"It's up there or back at the manor, spike. Come on. We gotta keep moving."
If he has to drag Cloud, he will. There's no other option here.
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Kunsel's eyes flicker up the path, though he can't see the reactor from here. It's the only thing they could be talking about. It's almost on the tip of his tongue to ask why they're so afraid of it.
But all it takes is one look. Just one look at their faces. To see the haunted look in their eyes, to see the worry and fear. And considering it was on the mission to that reactor that they both disappeared...
Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something happened, and it probably happened up there. Kunsel purses his lips, then quells the urge to ask. Not here. Not now. Some things are more important than his need for information.
"We're not actually going to the reactor," he says, glad to offer at least that much reassurance. "We're just going to swing around it until we can find another path down." He slows his steps just a fraction, until he's right at Zack's side, grimly lowering his voice now that he can hear clear signs of pursuit. "Let me know if you need any help. It's probably going to get pretty rough."
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But he can't deny being relieved at the news that they won't be going back. Back to the place where everything fell apart, where the worst night of his life climaxed.
"Be careful... about monsters..." he feels like he has to warn. "Wolves. Sometimes dragons." Dammit, why does he have to be so weak? He's just slowing them down.
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"Take his other arm." Under normal circumstances, Zack wouldn't have an issue here. He'd have enough strength in his legs to trust the ground beneath his feet, to trust where he puts his boots, and not worry about the road giving way and putting him in the stone. But now, legs trembling and Cloud unsteady, he can't trust anything this unstable. Not with the time they don't have closing in on them. To Cloud, however, perhaps as a distraction, he tries for a smile.
"I've got Thundaga, Cloud. No dragons are gonna mess with us."
Well. They may try if the summer hasn't given them enough to eat on, but nothing likes a blast of Thundaga in its face. He's got enough energy for a few casts, and Kunsel's Second Class. They can handle wolves. Dragons...well. If they could aim the dragon at their pursuers instead, that'd be great.
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Once he's got Cloud's other arm slung around his shoulder, and his own arm snakes around him to help support his weight, he starts forward again, trying not to think about how slow their progress is. He tells himself that the men coming up the path will naturally search the mansion first, to make sure that they're not still there as well as to look for survivors. That will take time, and by the time they leave, the three of them should be well out of sight and off the path.
Speaking of which...
"Once we're off the path, I'm going to double back for a bit and cover our tracks. We're not making fast enough time that we can outrun them, so we're going to have to lose them. Keep an eye out for any good places to hide."
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Cloud blinks as his vision swims with green again, sounds dulling and his awareness going hazy, but he latches onto those words, holding onto them while he rides it out. A good place to hide...
"There's... there's a cave." It's a good thing both men have a hold on him just then, because in his struggle to concentrate, to think past the fog, his body starts to sag. He almost misses his next step with his focus on his feet lost, but this is important too. "Used to... go there... t'think..." To hide, to pretend he was too cool to play with the others, that he didn't need to play their childish games. "'S to th'left. Of that tree. Gotta walk a ways."
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They need to stop. Left of the tree, huh? Up this high, what plantlife there is--scrub and hardy thorn bushes--survived the fire six months ago, so the tree sticks out against the stone it's rooted itself in. Maybe sixty feet away, but that distance may as well be sixty miles, the barest shadow of a hole in the stone visible just past it. Hopefully it's big enough to fit the three of them. If it's not..well. They'll just have to keep moving.
"Just don't get spotted," Zack says quietly, energy focused on his feet and not his volume, "Don't go picking any fights."
Zack, please. Remember who you're talking to.
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Frowning when Cloud stumbles again, Kunsel glances at him, then adjusts the blonde's weight so he's relying more on him than on Zack. Maybe he's already carrying the lion's share of their burden, what with two swords and a duffel bag, too, but he's SOLDIER. He's got the strength to handle it.
And what good is strength if you don't use it?
After what feels like forever, they make it to the tree. He can see the shadowy depression from here, but there's only a thin rabbit trail between it and where they are. This last stretch is going to be tricky, but they'll make it.
"Cloud, when we get to the cave, I'm going to give you one of my materia. I want you try to use it while you wait." He pauses, waiting for a response.
But there isn't one.
"Cloud?"
Cloud's eyes are open, but he's very much not there.
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But he might. When no response comes, Zack pulls his attention from the road and stares at Cloud's eyes. Though they'd been a pale color before, now they more green than blue, unfocused and staring ahead unseeing. Zack's heart stops for the span of two beats, then thuds painfully in his chest. Dammit he was just fine what happened no no no this cannot be happening--he has to drag in a breath to stop the panic. There's no time for panic.
Eyes wider than they should be, he looks up at the trail. There's no room for the three across method that got them up this far. There's barely room for one. Taking in another deep breath, Zack swallows hard.
"Get him on my back. We'll have to go single file."
There's no time to try and bring him around in the open like this. The pursuit is still too far behind to be heard, but it won't be that way for long. Especially if they wake Hojo.
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But.
But he still needs to go back and erase their tracks. They can't found on having time to make it to the cave and then come back. Kunsel meets Zack's eyes, a moment of serious communication passing between them. Then, reluctantly, he nods and starts easing Cloud's arm from around his neck.
"If you can't make it, just hang tight. I'll be back in a minute." If he has to, he'll carry them both to the cave. Somehow.
He'll figure out how later, if it actually comes to that.
Once he has Cloud loaded onto Zack's back, he gives his friend one last searching, concerned look before slipping the Cure into the former-First's pocket. Maybe they'll get lucky and Cloud will come around before Kunsel gets back.
(Hopefully, that's the only reason they'll need it.)
"Good luck," he says, before heading back along the track. Time to make sure ShinRa doesn't find them.
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"Be careful", Zack quietly calls in return as Kunsel heads off. He's got both swords--even if the Buster's not his favorite thing in the world--and all the skills and strength of a SOLDIER; against regular army guys he'll be fine, and he really doubts Hojo would have employed any other SOLDIERs considering what he was doing to their Commander, but at the same time he worries. He worries and he turns to the path, forcing himself to take one step after another.
Standing still with Cloud's weight had been a trial in compensation. Walking with it is an effort in not collapsing. But even if he has to crawl, he'll get them there. And he may have to. The trail is so thin that each step has to be planned, back bowed under Cloud's sack of weight, calves trembling and thighs burning. He's hardly as heavy as Angeal would have been, or even Kunsel, but he may as well be a lead weight.
Six steps down the path, Zack's knee decides that enough is enough and gives way, putting him on the ground. For a heartstopping second one hand slips down towards the ravine below, ungloved palm scraping across the rough terrain. Rock tumbles down the side of the ravine, clattering for way too many seconds. Heart in his throat, Zack manages to pitch their combined weight back to solid ground, then laugh in relief. His pulse pounds in his neck, and he struggles to rise.
"Man," he groans quietly, meant only for Cloud to hear as he gets up on shaking feet, "knew I shouldn't have looked down."
One foot in front of the other. By some miracle, they're going to make it. Just...probably not before Kunsel gets back, considering how slow Zack has to take it now. That was too close.
Bad end
Run.
Or stand his ground.
Get back to Zack and Cloud and defend them with his last breath.
Or stay and buy them time. Fight and lead ShinRa away. Even if he dies, the fight itself will destroy any evidence of his friends' tracks so thoroughly that ShinRa will never find them. His life, to save his friends.
Kunsel's hand adjusts its grip on his sword.
It isn't a choice.
Gunfire and crashing steel sound like thunder on the mountainside - the sound, the poets say, of the funeral drums for a SOLDER Second Class.
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Damn it. Looks like we're about out of time.
With as much haste as he can safely manage, he walks backwards along the tracks he left. Then he bends down, picking up a stray branch still full with dead, brittle leaves. Swiftly now, he sweeps it along the ground as he darts into the rabbit trail to brush away the tracks that the three of them may have left. It's not a perfect job, and he knows it, but there isn't time for anything better. He just has to hope that the troops will be a in too much of a hurry to catch them to look too closely. If not...
Well. That's why he's armed with a sword.
On the trail, he can hear the voices getting closer, along with the sound of boots scraping rock. He drops the branch in his hand, no longer trusting even that soft sound not to betray him, and crouches down as low as he can while creeping backwards, until he's right behind a scraggly bush.
And that's where he freezes, hardly daring the breathe. On the trail, the first of their pursuers come into view. He can't move now. He can't, or they'll spot him easily. The bush doesn't feel sufficient, but he'd be completely exposed on the thin rabbit trail. Zack and Cloud at least seem to have gone around a bend, thank goodness, but it's too late now for him.
Just let them keep going, he silently pleads.
He's talking to both groups of men.
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Getting Cloud down is a bit tricky, a tangle of limbs and a head cradled in one hand, shoulder protesting the odd angle with a scream of pain, but soon Cloud is on the ground, sightless blue-green eyes staring at dark stone overhead. Only when he's down, when he's safe, does Zack finally listen to his body and drop like a sack of rocks. And though he collapses flat on his back, every inch of his body aching and protesting that move, he doesn't black out. He stares at the cave ceiling and breathes, waiting for Kunsel to return.
Except he doesn't. The inside of Zack's head rings with imagined gunshots and blood dripping down a familiar face, steel implanted into rock as his imagination and fear go wild, but then...there are no gunshots. No sounds of a battle. It's impossible to miss the utter racket made in the wake of that patrol coming rushing down the path, but the sounds of combat are only in his head as he struggles up to lean on his elbows. Up this high the shadows will hide them both. So long as no one makes a move down the rabbit trail with its drag marks and displaced scree, they'll be fine.
He still watches, heart in his throat and Thundaga pulsing along his arm, ready for a cast if he needs it. If Kunsel comes up with people in pursuit, he'll use it.
Let him get clear, he thinks to himself, scarcely daring to breathe.
He's only thinking about Kunsel.
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Keen vision, too. If even one of them looks in just the right direction at just the right time...
Seconds tick past, tension making sweat trickle down his neck despite the cooling temperatures. He remains in place when the men close the distance, doesn't move when they draw parallel to where he's hidden, doesn't even so much as twitch no matter how his muscles protest the forced paralysis, until...
Until, finally, the men press past with nothing but curses for the escaped specimens who've clearly made it farther than Professor Hojo estimated they'd be capable of moving. Move it, men! Move it! They need to catch these monsters before dark!
Caught between scowling and releasing a breath of relief, Kunsel waits several long minutes after they vanish to make certain they're gone before he finally emerges from his hiding place and makes his way back along the rabbit path. Still cautious, but no longer quite so urgent now.
"Zack," he breathes when he rounds the bend. "It's just me."
No one following behind.
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Well, almost all of them. He raises his head at the scraping-steps of Kunsel's boots, bright blue eyes glowing from the darkness of the cave, but when it's just Kunsel--no one behind, no one beside, no guns--the magic thrumming at his wrist drops away and he falls flat on his back.
"Thank Ifrit that's over," is his only response, heart still pounding in his chest. Cloud's breathing at his side, Kunsel is breathing and unharmed in front...he can take a minute to catch his breath before they have to figure something out about Cloud.
Freedom smells cool and dark, but it's freedom and he'll take it. They can figure out the cost later.
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So. Down to business.
While Zack catches his breath, Kunsel crouches down next to Cloud, taking a minute to examine the blond. Beyond the obvious signs of long term imprisonment and mako poisoning, at least his physical condition doesn't look too bad. Plenty of scars - some more healed than others - but no crippling injuries. He already proved that he can move when he's cognizant, too. That's good.
Not so good that he's unresponsive again.
Pursing his lips, Kunsel reaches out and slaps the blond's cheeks lightly. When that doesn't work, he takes hold of Cloud's hand and digs his thumb into the pad with increasing pressure until-
Until Cloud jerks with a flinch. Kunsel smiles and immediately eases up. "There we go. Not so far gone there, were you." He glances at Zack, encouraging the other man to talk. They need to draw Cloud back from wherever he slipped off to, and Zack's got a better chance of Cloud responding to him.
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But no, he gets it. This isn't a long haul place to stay. When the army doesn't turn up anything, Hojo's going to be livid. He'll call for as much back up as he can get; Turks and equipment and scanners...maybe a couple of dogs to catch their scent, even. If they're not off this mountain by tomorrow night, they're going to be in a world of trouble.
Which means there's no time to lay flat and grumble, as much as he wants to. Drawing in a breath, Zack rolls back to his front, ignoring his body protesting the idea of moving, and peers at Cloud. His eyes are still too green, too unfocused, but there's a hint of sky blue in there. He's still in there. And, for once, Zack knows just want to do.
"Hey, Spike? Remember how I said I was gonna train you for the next SOLDIER exam?" Despite them being about four months late for those, he says it casually, pulling the Cure from his pocket. It doesn't flare in his hands, mana tightly locked away, but it rolls between his fingers as he reaches for Cloud's hands. This had better work...
"I know it's kinda behind schedule, but we're gonna start those Materia lessons." A smile, meant more for Cloud than anyone else--you can do this. You can pull through this--and then he closes Cloud's fingers around the bauble, watching green disappear behind pale skin. "Show me whatcha got."
He's trying, maybe unnecessarily, to save what's left of Cloud's pride. He'll probably have to go back to the beginnings if Cloud's as lost as he thinks he is, but...they can figure it out.
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And for a minute, it looks like he might have to.
But no, as heartbeats pass, Cloud slowly, sluggishly blinks. His fingers twitch, as though he's trying to curl them tighter around the materia. Kunsel holds his breath, waiting. Waiting.
Then something stirs, a whisper of magic in the air. It's weak, barely noticeable even to someone paying attention, but there it is. A featherlight touch of something cool and tingling that probably couldn't even heal a scrape, reaching out to settle on Zack's skin.
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"That's it. You're doing it!"
It's hardly anything to be really impressed about; in proper materia lessons, this would get him to the front of the class and doing it on repetition. But under their circumstances, it cracks a bright grin across Zack's face. Baby steps are still steps.
"Can you do that again? Little stronger this time."
Baby steps are still steps. They just need to keep making them.
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"You've probably noticed how shaky Zack is, Cloud," he says out loud. "Do you remember what he looked like when we got you out? He probably could use another good spell." Sorry, Zack, he's going to throw you under the bus here and use you as bait to lure Cloud out and into trying again.
And you know what? The tactic works. Cloud twitches as though in response, eyes coming into a bleary focus on Zack, and after a moment, the magic stirs again. A little stronger this time, and directed more obviously on Zack. It lasts a few seconds before it falters, flickers.
But Cloud's still got his eyes focused on his friend. "Z-zack..."
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Zack's a little too busy being hopeful to be insulted. Kunsel, he will noogie you for that later. Or hug you. Maybe both. But later. Much later. Right now, he just leans forward with a grin spreading across his face. That's it! He knew Cloud had the strength to do that. He just needed some help, that's all!
"Morning, sleepyhead!"
As if Cloud simply overslept breakfast call. The faint honey taste of Cure lingering on the back of his tongue, Zack reaches forward, putting a warm hand on Cloud's wrist. On the pulse that pounds beneath too pale skin. Proof that he's alive, that he's still living. And if tears burn in Zack's eyes, it's been a long six months and they're finally safer. He can afford a few tears. He clears his throat, cheeks threatening to crack from his smile.
"One more time? Third time's the charm, right?"
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"You're... hurt...?" he slurs, but with an increasing awareness in his eyes.
Kunsel pounces on the opportunity. "He is," he says firmly. "And right now, you're the only one who can help him. My magic reserves are too low from using it earlier-" A blatant lie, but Cloud won't know any better. "-and Zack can't manage the concentration. Too much pain." Another lie, but he's counting on Zack to play along. "We need you to focus and cast the strongest spell you can."
Cloud's eyes flicker from Kunsel back to Zack, asking a question he can't quite manage with words. How bad is it, Zack?
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"A few more spells wouldn't hurt."
They really wouldn't. He has to shift his weight, leaning more heavily on his knees. It's not entirely an act; he hurts. He'll live, of course, but ouch? What he'd give for a bedroll and a good nap right about now. Cloud comes first, though, and so he draws in a deep breath, swallows hard. As if trying to hold back a moan or a groan. Maybe he is. Hard to say, the way he's grimacing.
"Or more than a few. Ow."
He might be laying it on a little thick. Whoops.
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