bakerstreet | (no subject)

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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.

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Beyond the rage still casting his face in a snarl, if Hojo is surprised to see another SOLDIER here, he doesn't show it beyond the slight rise of another eyebrow. A SOLDIER, then. That explains many things. Shame he can't be used. Or maybe he can.

With steadier than expected aim, being that he's using his off hand and he's only got one usable arm, Hojo shifts his aim from Zack's head...to Kunsel's. He sneers.

"Then I suppose you'd like to die in his place?"

Because that can be arranged. The useless guard, now not wanting to get in Hojo's line of fire, shifts slightly backwards as Zack, still restrained no matter how he pulls, barely manages to look at Kunsel with wide, fearful eyes. Not for himself, no, but for Kunsel. With all that chaos, he hadn't realized who'd stormed down here. But now, knowing who it is...he shakes his head as best he can, trying to get his point across. Don't don't don't! He can't watch another friend die and it wouldn't do any good anyway!

Run, Kunsel! Just go!

If Kunsel notices Zack's frantic headshake, he doesn't give any indication. His eyes simply narrow, as though considering Hojo's offer.

Except he isn't. Like hell is he going to give Hojo anything - not after what he's already done! Hojo will be lucky if Kunsel doesn't tear his arm off for even thinking of threatening Zack, for putting him through whatever hell this is!

But no, he is considering, lightning fast calculations in his head. Hojo's reflexes, his aim, the speed of a bullet once a trigger's been pulled. The fact that Hojo's aiming at a target that isn't trapped in place now. The fact that Kunsel is SOLDER and Hojo just isn't. Everything's considered in just that bare second before he delivers the only answer he can.

"Fuck. You."

The words aren't even out of his mouth before he bolts to the left. SOLDIER versus a scientist's speed? He'll take those odds any day.

SOLDIER versus Hojo? There's no contest. Hojo pulls the trigger, but all he hits is Kunsel's after image, the blurring lines that regular humans can't hope to keep up with. His shot hits the wall, able to punch a hole clear into stone; it's a good deal stronger than the standard issue pistols that SOLDIERs in training would get, but also a good deal slower.

The guard yelps, hitting the dirt with his hands over his head as Hojo fires a second shot, then a third. Holes are punched into the cold walls, but not one comes close to even grazing Kunsel as he moves. Hojo curses, moving to aim ahead, but he knows SOLDIER speed better than anyone but the SOLDIERs themselves. He can lead his shots all he wants, it won't matter.

Though Zack is still watching with wide, fearful eyes, something like hope blooms in his chest. Is this really the end of it? Are they going to get out of here? Please, please let that become truth.

The next shot grazes close enough to Kunsel's head that he can feel the whistle of air as it passes, but Hojo should know that almost doesn't count with SOLDIER in the least. Kunsel only jerks to the right, changing his path, then ducks and abruptly charges.

Only for a second, though. Only long enough to snag a tool off a nearby table. Maybe a set of forceps. He doesn't bother to look. All that matters is that it's something he can hurl at the scientist - because Hojo or no, it takes training not to flinch when something is flying at your head. All he needs is a second of distraction. All he needs is a chance!

And who knows? Maybe he'll even get a bit lucky and the forceps themselves will hit.

Edited 2015-07-22 11:29 (UTC)

Almost never counts with SOLDIER. But it does with scientists; those forceps almost graze his head, whistling past his glasses. They almost knock his frames from his face. But considering that he doesn't have that training, that the army made sure their soldiers got, that SOLDIER got, he flinches and ducks away instinctively.

Internally, as his fourth shot goes wide and carves into the floor, he's cursing hard. Kunsel is still coming at him, and at this range the stopping power of his pistol's not going to matter. He can't even recover quickly enough to raise his pistol and aim it at Kunsel's unarmored chest.

All he can do, as Kunsel finally gets close enough to reach out and grab him, is sneer. They'll be hunted for the rest of their days. All of them. It's almost a comforting thought. Almost. The fear in his eyes--this is the power of SOLDIER--is visible now.

Seems something is smilin on Kunsel after all.

Too slow, the scientist tries to recover from his flinch. Too late, he turns his head back to where Kunsel was before he flinched. Because Kunsel's not there now.

No, he's spun, shot forward like a shot out of a gun, and is slamming Hojo into a wall. It's only his own iron self control that keeps him from bashing the man's head in - Kunsel doesn't know what he did to Zack, doesn't know if he'll need information from him - but if the man gets a concussion from cracking his head against the wall? Well, Kunsel's certainly not going to waste any tears over that.

When Hojo slumps, knocked out cold, Kunsel just lets him drop. There's one more problem he needs to take care of.

"If I were you," he says the last guard, his voice cold and lethal as a Blizzaga, "I'd drop any weapons I have and sit real still to avoid drawing the attention of an angry SOLDIER Second Class."

Just in case the man hadn't realized just what he was dealing with here.

The only movement the guard makes is to drop his baton with a clatter and nod rapidly, like a bobblehead on a terribly maintained road. He sits right against the wall, hands on his head, and sneaks a look at his fellows. Out cold, if not worse, and the anger in the SOLDIER's voice is as obvious as a blizzard in winter. He was here for that last one. They lost three people to it.

He's not going to mess with this one. In the end, the only ones left who could make a problem are the guard sitting real still against the wall, the cowering tech in the other room, and Cloud in their shared cell, having missed taking part in the chaos.

And Zack, not lifeless on the table but getting there, even as he struggles to reach for the restraints that keep him held to cold metal. A green-black bruise rolls at his elbow--there's a reason that restraint is utterly broken--and blood carves paths down the pale skin of his side, across scars that will be unfamiliar to Kunsel. Unstitched wounds do not appreciate movement, clearly, but he is alive.

Lady Luck seems to have smiled on them both today.

Good. He listened. That's one less problem for Kunsel to deal with. And given the guard's reaction, Kunsel trusts the threat to hold, at least long enough for him to get Zack and get out.

Speaking of which...

A few quick, long strides make short work of the distance between him and the table where Zack is. Kunsel's eyes rake over him, taking in his condition with a mixture of worry and naked relief - and just underneath it, a hint of joy that he has to swallow like a lump in his throat.

"Zack..." There's so much emotion contained in his voice. He can't even begin to find words. But Zack is here. He's battered and tortured (and there's rage bubbling up again) but he's alive. Alive when everyone said he was dead. "Hang on, I'll get you out of there." Just as soon as he can figure out which one of these controls will release the rest of these retraints.

The look in Kunsel's eyes is nearly mirrored in Zack's. Relief, joy, concern--never for him, always for friends who shouldn't be here--warring with pain as the adrenaline begins to ebb. Hojo would usually stitch him closed after a "session", but with that out of the picture the wounds are left to their own devices, sapping his strength in more ways than one.

He can't even reach to gesture to the button that'll open the restraints. The controls aren't labelled--Hojo would hardly be that friendly--but one thing about ShinRa made tech is that the functions are generally all the same. Accept, enter, release, all the same command. Hard to believe something so simple can mean so much.

But it does, and when the bands spring open, when the metal gag drags across Zack's teeth, he doesn't linger. Despite his injuries, despite the weakness set in his bones, Zack rolls right off the table to land hard on the floor, coughing hard. Blood begins to stain the waistband of his scrub pants, drops onto the floor as he tries and fails to catch his breath. Tries and fails to stand. Cloud they need to get Cloud and get out before backup comes but he can't even get off his knees--

With wide eyes and nearly white skin, the guard watches from his place at the wall. Dr. Hojo had always warned them about never letting Subject Z go free. That it was a monster who would sooner kill them all than show any mercy. But now, given the subjects state...there's more than one reason he's not twitching.

"Whoa, Zack! Easy!" Not that Kunsel can blame him for wanting to get off of that table, but the speed that those bloodstains start to appear and spread is more than a little alarming. Either not knowing or not caring how dangerous the "specimen" is supposed to be, he drops to one knee, hands reaching to steady his friend. "Just hold still and let me cast Cure."

Because he'd planned this. Well, maybe not this specific scenario, but he'd known full well that the moment he ditched the Turks and got himself branded a deserter, he'd no longer have easy access to ShinRa medicine and doctors anytime he got hurt. He'd made certain to procure a Cure before he'd left. It's only somewhat leveled, after two months on the road.

Hopefully it will be enough for this.

Kunsel reaches in deep, searching for that connection with the magic, then doesn't wait for Zack's permission to cast the spell on him.

Six months of tests--scalpels and syringes and screams--are too much for any one Cure. It can't fix everything, but it can fix some things. Zacks coughing eases off as his throat, rubbed raw from earlier, heals. The more obvious injuries knit closed as vessels returned to their former, unbroken state. The flow of blood stops, but color does not return to lab-pale skin. The green-black bruise at his elbow doesn't disappear.

But then, that's not a bruise. With a deep, slightly raspy inhale, Zack tries to push himself up before the magic's done. Again, he can't manage and has to catch himself, one arm on the table and the other reaching for the floor. The world swims. His ears ring. Heart pounding, he looks to Kunsel. Under better circumstances, they'd be halfway out here by now. But as things stand, he shakes his head. They can't leave yet. He has to get that point across.

"Get...Cloud..."

Too used to screaming, his voice sounds like he gargled gravel. Nothing at all like the friend who promised to join him from drinks when their missions were done. Six months is a long time.

"Cloud?" Kunsel echoes the word (name?) blankly, not understanding what Zack's trying to say - and not because his friend sounds like he swallowed sandpaper.

In the mean time, he moves to hook and arm around Zack's back to try to help him to stand. Damn, he doesn't look like he's in any good condition to run. Have his legs atrophied from disuse? Has he been locked up that tightly? Or is this just residual effects of whatever it was Hojo was doing?

Either way, even if it means carrying Zack on his back, they've got to get out of here.

"Come on, I'll help you walk."

Like that one time he whacked his head far too hard, Zack doesn't fight. He's not limp, but he leans more weight on Kunsel than he usually would. Six months of a cramped cell haven't don't any wonders for his physique, and he's lighter than he was before all this. Hojo had run on the knife edge of medical stability with both of his active subjects; the paleness to his skin is borne of more than just six months beneath ground. There had been no need to keep them healthy, and certainly no need to keep Zack up to SOLDIER standards.

He's not running out of here, but despite leaning on Kunsel--there's a part of him that's sorry for this; he can't smell good--he's upright. Upright, and slowly pointing back to the other room. Not where the tech ran, but from where he was dragged. If Cloud slept through all this, he'll be worried. Amazed, but worried.

"Other subject." The word curdles, sours in his throat until it's another rasp. Explaining what happened here, why they were in Hojo's tender care, is going to take too long. Kunsel knows Zack; knows he won't abandon anyone to this place. Hojo's not dead. He wouldn't leave Cloud here even if he was. Not after all that's happened. "Bringing him...with us."

Wishing for a canteen, Zack swallows hard. Reaches back for the table for something to lean on so Kunsel can move. He's not going anywhere. Or so he thinks, at least.

If Zack thinks Kunsel is going to let go of him now, let him sit here by himself in a room with his torturer and one of his guards (no matter that Hojo is out cold and the guard is scared out of his wits), he can think again. When Zack tries to move to lean against the table, Kunsel only tightens his grip. Just enough to let him know he's not letting go of him. (Just enough to feel how too-thin those shoulders are, and that's another worry churning in his gut.)

But his lips press into a thin, grim line at the news that there's another victim here. Only one? Or are there more? Could Sephiroth...?

He'll ask in a minute.

"Show me," he says, though he actually means come with me. "If he doesn't know who I am, he might think I'm another guard. I'll need you to help reassure him." Which is true, even if it's only half the reason he's refusing to leave Zack behind. Step by step, he starts guiding Zack to the door he pointed at. "Any security systems I need to know about?"

Edited 2015-07-24 13:24 (UTC)

With no energy to waste on fighting Kunsel's stubbornness, no matter how touched he is by that loyalty and firm resolve to not let Zack go, the man in question makes a face. Oh yeah. There's security alright. How could he have forgotten? Too caught up in relief, apparently.

"Electric fence. Shuts off...with a keycard." Now that he's not reaching for the table again, he's free to gesture towards Hojo's still form and make yet another face. This one is twisted in disgust, not annoyance, but there's something else in the lines around his eyes. Lingering fear. "You should have...hit him harder."

It's said as he takes a few stumbling steps with his friend, teeth grit; they'd dragged him from the cell, unwilling to face pain and another session as he was, but they would have had to drag him back in, then thrown him to crash onto the floor as was becoming routine. Even SOLDIER stamina had its limits, and Zacks had long been crested. He may never give Kunsel all the details--may never share all the nightmares--but some are obvious enough anyway.

Unmoving from his place at the wall, hands still on his head, the guard watches with wide eyes. Maybe to him, they are monsters. They probably are. Zack's too tired to care, and doesn't even spare him a look. Cloud. Get Cloud, get out. Figure the rest on the way. Pain is familiar. Shove it aside and move.

It could be worse. It could have been years, not just six months.

"Don't get me wrong," Kunsel says grimly. "I wanted to hit him a whole lot harder than I did." Which Zack should know full well what that would mean. Any harder and Hojo would have been dead. "But I didn't know what he'd done. I didn't know if I'd need him to talk, or if I'd need him to input any security codes." Trust Kunsel to think of those kinds of things. "If all we need is a keycard, though..." His eyes land on Hojo's crumpled form.

Then, with a nod of his head in Hojo's direction, he detours their path to take them over to the man. Still supporting Zack (unless Zack lets go to keep standing), Kunsel crouches down to rifle through the scientist's pockets until he comes up with an access key.

"This all we need?" he asks, holding it up for confirmation. The question is directed at Zack, but after a second, his eyes flicker over to the guard. Just in case there's any sign on his face that there's something Kunsel doesn't know about.

Trust Kunsel to think with his head and not his anger. Well. Mostly. Despite his protesting everything, Zack nods. He'd watched every time he was still conscious, and the only thing besides the electricity is an iron door. If they, well, Kunsel, can't get that off the hinges, he'll eat his boots.

"That's it."

If he ever finds his boots, anyway. Barefoot on Nibelheim remnants is going to suck. Under Kunsel's piercing gaze, the guard shrinks back as if he can merge with the wall, but he gives no sign that there's anything Zack doesn't know. The only thing on his face is fear. Sheer terror. He's not about to do anything stupid, and Zack takes a deep breath. It catches in his chest, in the sharp burn of skin that's still tender pulling when it shouldn't, but slowly he's getting what strength he can manage back. Just as well; someone's probably going to have to carry Cloud.

"Cloud's not..." He stops, swallows hard, breathes again. Focus, Fair. No passing out yet. "He's not SOLDIER. Not like us."

And yet, he survived. That says a lot.

Kunsel's gaze immediately sharpens at that fact, something cold sinking into his gut. A normal human, put through the same kind of hell that Zack's clearly been through for six months? A normal human, when a SOLDIER First Class can barely stand on his own two feet? It doesn't take much to figure out what Zack is saying.

Cloud, whoever he is, is going to be in bad condition. Much, much worse than Zack.

With a grim nod, Kunsel straightens back up, though it's not without another glare at the man lying at his feet. "What should we do with him?" He nudges Hojo none too gently with the hard steel toe of his boot. Unfortunately, the heat of the moment has passed. Killing him now is killing a defenseless man, and that's something Kunsel's never enjoyed.

But sometimes you have to do what you have to do when it comes to taking a monster out.

Cloud's not precisely normal, but that explanation will take more energy than Zack has to spare. His weight shifts, a bit more off of Kunsel but still reliant on his friend, as his stomach curls. What to do with Hojo? There's not much to do. They can either leave him here, or pick up that gun and put a bullet in his head. They've both been trained how.

Gut instinct leaves Zack leaning towards the latter. Six months of tests, of torture, haven't left him with any good will towards the guy. And it's not like a concussion is going to stop him; with his two subjects gone, Zack wouldn't be surprised if he starts a manhunt for them and for Kunsel. They'll be hunted until they're either dead or recaptured, and Zack would sooner be dead than come back here in chains. But even so, the thought of killing him when can't defend himself...with a groan, Zack closes his eyes and turns away. Sometimes this heart isn't worth the trouble.

"Leave him. Hope he got amnesia."

Or something. Doubtful, but no matter what you have to do to put down a monster, there's still a line in the sand you can't cross. If or when Hojo comes after them, he'll deal with it then. Not now. Now it's get Cloud and get the hell out. Before that guard recovers his wits and decides to radio for backup, or the next shift comes and finds them among the carnage.

"Can't waste time."

It'll be easier if Cloud's as unconcious as he was when the guards came for Zack. Cart him over one shoulder, figure out weight distribution, and get the hell out. But will things stay that easy...well. That's the million gil question.

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.

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