Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Steel eyes didn't betray the thought. His voice did neither, which was for the best because the wind would have carried it to who knows' ears. Forget it. Just focus you idiot.
Twenty stories up a thirty story building was not the right place to be second guessing himself. Considering how dangerous what he was about to pull off single handedly, was even moreso. No, the rappelling up a thirty story tower right before a storm in the middle of the night did not count as dangerous. What was dangerous was what he might come to find on the inside of the twentieth floor.
"Come on focus." He muttered to himself, placing a diamond sharp device he'd borrowed to the window wall. He swung it around in a wide arc and watched the plane fall quietly inward. The man swung in at the last moment and grabbed it, guiding it gently to the ground. Infiltration had never been his specialty, but he had to admit, not a bad start.
The man left the rope where it was, in case he needed to make a sudden escape. Twentieth floor. Okay, now down one and right to the middle. They'd worked hard to get that information. He burned it onto his freakin' eyelids by now. Even though it was by schematics, he knew every inch of the twentieth and nineteenth floors.
The man did a once over to check that there as nothing revealing. His face was covered, including hair that he still hadn't got cut. Everything was covered in black, nothing out of place. He felt very much like thief for a moment. He made to move.
Instantly, everything put him on edge. This whole floor felt wrong, corridors and corridors, unlike what a building floor should look like. He knew about it sure, but only now did its nature really occur to him, and how instantly threatening it felt. The walls were pale metal but bathed in this bluish glow from light lines on the floor. The overhead lights were off, but with those floor lights on, he felt as exposed as if it were daytime. Honestly. How does she do this? He didn't feel much like a thief now.
He continued along the corridor, stopping at a door and hugging the jam. It was open. It shouldn't have been open. This floor was supposed to be empty, no security for another hour at least. A lance of concern hit his stomach. Was this information wrong? Is security here early?
His determination bit back angrily. All the more reason to get a move on. He slid through the doorway and noticed that it opened up to an office. Yep. He was coming back to himself now, he was on track. Everything the still going to plan.
Most of his fear had been assuaged when he'd made it to the stairs. The card had worked like a charm and he'd noticed no other deviations from what he expected. The 19th floor would be crawling with guards though. So he took cleansing breaths on the way down. It didn't help that the stairwell was completely different. The reddish brown brick was a stark contrast to the metal interior of the twentieth floor. The nerves were coming back. Damnit. They couldn't at least make things look the same? Yes he was being picky, but he was nervous damnit. Hand on the door to the nineteenth, but he wasn't hearing the occasional shuffle he was expecting. There was almost no noise in fact. That was NOT supposed to be what was going on. The man took a steeling breath and cranked the handle.
"This is NOT good." He hissed. The first step he took found his boots in blood. It was trailing from a body half a foot away. It was a guard. What the hell? The man hissed in his head. He looked further. The walls were the same, with that eerie glowing light like upstairs, but this time it was occasionally marked with red. In this room alone there were five guards, all facedown in pools of blood. They were alive though; The man could hear their ragged breathing with the quiet of the floor. But that was it.
In fact, it's too quiet. He ignored best he could the bodies he stepped over as he moved towards the hall. The quiet was unnerving. There was no hum of an A/C or chirp of computers. He was in the heart of Shinra's Dark Tower, and there was no noise at all.
Nor were there windows. He knew this, but he was suddenly extra aware that he was effectively trapped with two entrances and two exits, and this mission was going sideways very fast. He edged along along the hall, keenly aware that he'd gone from a stable situation to out of control in an instant. A glance out into the next room showed another two guards in a similar situation, dark clothes and weapons askew as they laid facedown, alive but unwell.
He took a step and suddenly jumped. A huge blade came down not two inches from him. The attacker! The man was on high alert instantly, rolling out into the open room. He'd left his own weapon of choice out of this mission to not give himself away, instead having a small thin saber. That wouldn't fare at all against this monster weapon.
"You're not a guard." The voice was tenor, and somewhat smooth. The man traced it to the owner of the huge blade. The wielder was a couple inches shorter than him. That wouldn't help against that kind of a sword. This man also seemed to be very sure of that, holding the sword lazily in one hand.
He'd obviously not come with the intent of stealth. Save the black he was wearing, one of the sleeves were missing, and nothing was covering his head. Which let huge golden spikes wave about, making this man as stealthy as a freight train. But what was really revealing, what was startling, what was making him pause, were those burning blue eyes.
"Neither are you." He huffed out, pulling his own substitute blade from the holster on his leg. He wanted to laugh at himself. His growling baritone didn't give it away, but he had no confidence in this pig sticker.
"What do you think you'll do with that?" So did his opponent. Those eyes showed complete disconcern, haughty arrogance maybe.
"Whatever I have to do. If you're not a guard, who are you and what are you doing here?" His opponent shifted, taking a step forward. The man didn't want to give ground, and instead shifted sideways, toward his target. It was at the end of the hall, under lock and key; He just had to get there. The movement wasn't lost on his blond counterpart.
"Looks like the same thing you're here for." The man growled at the half answered question and the fact his cover was blown.
"Who are you!" It came out much louder than he wanted. But he was on edge, with this crappy blade, in the biggest deathtrap in Hollow Bastion, and his plan gone all to hell.
"You first." The blond leveled the weapon at him. The man grit his teeth. So I'm gonna fight a stranger now huh? That's what this is? What happened to stealth?
"I asked you." The man took his stance, feeling awkward with the lack of weight in his hands. This was also not lost on his enemy.
"You're out of your element. You're a swordsman, not a thief." The man growled again. That was even more information he was at a disadvantage to. This man must have spent a lot of time studying his craft then, how else could he know that?
He squared himself anyways, ready to start a fight now. There was tension in the blond now, the muscles coiling. The man blinked and suddenly lost him. Where- And then he felt the ghosting of a hand on his head. Shit, he was about to get smashed into a wall. How the hell could this man move so fast? There was a shifting sound and he suddenly felt the fabric moving on his face.
"Damnit!" He cursed loudly as he rolled away. The covering came off as he stood up. He leveled an angry glare at his opponent. This asshole had just screwed everything up. His long brown hair settled into its shaggy position. At least it feels better now. He had been getting stuffy with that thing on. He returned to see those blue eyes staring critically. "So. Got a good look at my face then? Who are you? How'd you get in here?"
Then something struck him. Those boots, that kind of monstrous custom weapon, the dark clothing, and those damn eyes. How could he have not seen it?
"You're a SOLDIER." He hissed out. The man scoffed. "Why would one of Shinra's dogs attack their own me-"
"Ex-SOLDIER." The blond butted in, those blue eyes darkened. "An ex-dog of Shinra's can do what he wants."
"So why the hell are you here then?" Leon growled it out, angry more at himself that he didn't catch it earlier. He was also worried. With this crap weapon, he wouldn't stand a chance against a SOLDIER.
"I told you. The same as you. I'm here for the Mako." The brunet's breathed hitched. If this SOLDIER knew about it, then the information he got wasn't as secure as he hoped.
"I'm gonna kill that woman." He growled to himself. He was royally screwed. He turned back to his opponent, hoping he might reason with the blond. "I don't suppose you'll just let me take this then?"
"Take a guess." There was a smirk on his enemy's face. The brunet sighed.
"Fine." He smirked now. If he was screwed, at least he'd get a good fight out of it. Maybe he could keep this man from taking it and find another chance at swiping it later. Heh. Fat chance of that. Especially with this idiot making it obvious what we're after. He tensed, ready to face that power and speed.
The man leapt and this time Leon swung. The blades screeched together for a minute before quieting again. "You may be fast, but I can at least keep up with that." The brunet taunted. If this man's behavior said anything, it's that he should rise to taunts.
"I won't need speed against you." The blond swung his massive blade and proved the brunet right. The tiny weapon all but shattered in front of him, cleaving into a bunch of pieces. The brunet's steel eyes broke wide. He'd expected it to break quickly, but not after two swings!
He rolled away again, this time weaponless. The blond had the massive weapon shrugged over his shoulder now. "Just go, or you'll join them." The brunet sneered in return.
"I don't think so SOLDIER." That being said, he was in a pretty bad position. What'd he have left, a small knife? Now he wished he had taken that stupid gun.
"Your death." The man unshouldered the weapon.
It was at that moment that all the lights suddenly burst to life. It was what the brunet had been worried about all along. "Crap." He huffed, staring at the ceiling. They'd definitely been caught. He spared a glance at the SOLDIER, who had paused, startled by the lights. Then he tore ass for the stairwell. It was his only chance. The elevator would already be locked out. He just hoped the card would still work.
Oh thank you. He heard the soft beep and the thing unlocked. He threw the door wide open and made for the floor above him. He heard the stomp of boots from below. He had maybe two minutes. The stairs disappeared from his mind and he just focused on his escape. He was so happy he'd left that rope hanging.
The brunet crashed through the door to the twentieth floor, noting that this one was also alight now. He kept his head down in case of cameras, barreling towards the window. He skid to a stop as he saw the rope, dangling in the wind. Now there was rain too. "Oh I hate this." He growled, staring at it swaying sinisterly. He heard the thundering of boots on the open stairwell behind him and admitted he was out of time.
Shit shit shit. He took a running leap and was for a moment terrified of the weightlessness as he grabbed for the rope. Then the weight hit and the rope snapped taut. He swung out wildly, going at least twenty feet from the side of the building and into the rain. Then he swung back.
The brunet rolled into the windows and redirected his spin. He then let up the slack on the rope and started his way too rapid descent. Two hundred feet in maybe 15 seconds, if that, left him feeling the heat through his gloves. The window panes shot by and ground came rushing up almost too fast to react. The hard pavement around the Tower's side only served to add to the shock when he finally landed, rolling out of an almost fall.
He stayed mostly on the ground, but spared to look up through the spitting rain if he had any pursuers. He waited for a second and then saw a shock of yellow burst from the lit window. He saw the rope swing wildly too and the man catapulted way further than the brunet had. But then it made sense as he watched the blond roll gracefully into a landing on the roof of the building over. The blond must have had a sixth sense or something because the brunet saw him stand and turn around. The two locked eyes for a moment. The brunet wanted to mock that blond for using his own escape route, rather than finding one for himself. The rest of him wanted to climb up to that roof and pound that haughty glare out of that face. You ruined this SOLDIER. Better hope I never see you again.
They both broke their gaze and stormed off in different directions.
The blond sighed. Plan shot to hell. Things had been going fine until that fake thief brunet had shown up. Now he was toweling his hair dry in a dingy bathroom in a dingy apartment, without the Mako. The place was dingy but it was his, After a few minutes of furious rubbing, he tossed the thing aside and checked himself once over in the cracked mirror. No damage, no anything. Even his eyes were back under control. He knew they hadn't been back in Dark Tower. He'd been on edge because of how close he got. He could have ended it there, with this one snag. Then that idiot had to show up. The blond sighed again.
Stepping out of the bathroom, he noticed a vibrating noise. His phone always did take the most opportune times to go off. He pulled it up as he flicked off his boots. It was a text, from Sora.
Hey Cloud.
Probably early to check in, but I was wondering how your big mission went. Let me know if you need help. I mean, I know you and all but I'll be in Radiant Garden for a while so, let me know anyway. I guess I'm just checking in right?
Cloud shook his head. That kid was always like that. Always had this bubbling optimism, curiosity, and light about him. Cloud had never asked to become Sora's friend. It just happened. And he owed the kid a debt, so he never complained about how the kid pestered. He wasn't so bad actually, just a little too hyper. The blond responded absently.
Mission was a bust. Some idiot showed up and screwed it all up. I'll think of something else.
He sent it, and immediately regretted it. Sora would, and he knew would, do everything he could to help. Sora was better off out of this though. He was better off doing whatever the kid was used to doing. It would come to an argument, he knew it. But he couldn't give in to what he knew would be a very heated, very emotional teenager. This was something way out of the kid's depth.
But he was tired and decided rather to regret it in the morning rather than face it in a couple minutes when Sora would come back with a huge tirade of plans. He'd find his own way.
"Hey Leon. How'd- whoah, not good I'm guessing." Leon glared at the woman on the stairs hotly for a moment. He was cold, wet, and very angry. He did accept the towel thrown at him however. He also accepted the soft and warm glow of his house. He may have been cold, wet, and angry, but the soft wood and orange-brown of low light was starting to take the edge off.
"No. It didn't go well. That information you found was crap. There was someone else there and he messed everything up." He squeezed water out of his hair, redirecting as much of his anger as he could.
"Wait. Someone else. Hey that's dangerous! How could someone else be in the Dark Tower? It's not like people just walk in there."
"You tell me. That idiot went and cut down a bunch of guards, probably set off some security too. Gave us away." Leon tossed the towel back to the woman.
"I'm not your maid!" The woman snapped, though there wasn't any real bite.
"Yuffie, give me a break. The mission was a disaster and I just want to go to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"But-but-" Leon mostly ignored her as he approached. He was on the second landing before she stopped uttering 'buts.' "Leon. Sora's coming over tomorrow. He's gonna be here for a little while. We should talk about this now so-"
"So what? You know that kid. He'll get wind of it anyway. Forget it, we'll just tell him up front." Leon was mumbling now. He was really tired. Yuffie mustered up something else but the brunet ignored her in favor of turning to his door and slamming it closed behind him.
"Damnit!" He cursed softly behind the door. That mission shouldn't have been the flop it was. Had Yuffie gone, despite the risk, she'd have probably pulled it off. No, he'd had to let his ego get in the way and play big brother. Now they were back to square one. Shinra would move the Mako before they could try again, and then they'd have to start all over. This was two months completely wasted.
He stomped over to his bed, ripping off the dark clothing and boots in an angry huff. His head hit the pillow extra hard. "I swear if I ever see you again SOLDIER, I'll beat the life out of you." He growled to his pillow, knowing that sleep would be a hard fought battle tonight.
Author's Note: This one started decidedly rougher than I imagined. But it worked. Enjoy. (Also, consider the 19th floor The Eye of this Maelstrom)