A/N: This came out as being really hard on the Turks. But that's only because it's from the SOLDIERs' view. On a random note, I know it's not canon, but the arrangement of the Shinra Tower for this fic is: the infantry are on floors 30-40, Turks are at about 50, and SOLDIER is floor 60 and up, with the department offices and presidential suite on the top several floors.
"Ah, crap." Zack stared at the shattered TV screen before him. Genesis' favorite team must have lost again, by looking at the wreckage of the entire entertainment room. Nothing was intact or functioning, leaving a very bored Zack with absolutely nothing to do. It was a weekend, so there was no training left, the secretaries were all on leave, and after his last escapade, Angeal had forbidden him from leaving the Tower alone. He was so bored.
Zack sighed and ran a hand through his hair, thinking. The other Seconds were off doing whatever other Seconds did on weekends. Kunsel was nowhere to be found - Zack would probably hear about whatever he was doing later, and wish to Gaia he'd been there. Cloud... Yeah, why not Cloud? Although he'd only just recently met the infantryman, he liked him a lot. Why not take this time to get to know him better, have some fun, try to get him to talk - become friends?
He immediately headed for the elevator, going down the several dozen stories to the infantry barracks level. He strode along the hall, whistling, enjoying the awestruck looks he got from the cadets. He was still a Second, but they treated him with the same terror they did the Firsts. Coming to the end of the hall, he kicked open the lefthand door and poked his head in. Cloud looked up, startled, from his bunk, and his roommate dropped a pot of coffee on the floor. They both stared at him, wide-eyed, not even moving to clean up the spreading mess.
"C'mon, Spiky!" Zack called, making both cadets jump again. "Let's go have some fun!"
Cloud quickly put down the book he was reading - War and Peace, Zack noted with a grin - and leapt to attention. "Yes, sir," he said in a slightly shaky voice.
"Let's go!" Zack said again, pushing away from the doorframe and heading with a long stride back toward the elevator. Cloud hesitated just long enough to slip on his boots.
"Good luck, bro," his roommate muttered, finally looking for some way to clean up the coffee. "I hope I'll see you again."
Cloud's eyes went wide and his hands started to shake even more.
"Spiky!" He heard his - sort-of - name called from the far end of the hall and he dashed out, trying not to trip on the flying laces of his boots.
The numerous heads that had withdrawn from the doorways at Zack's passing appeared again, gawking at him as he stumbled past. He reached the elevator without further incident, though, and stood inside, catching his breath, as Zack punched the button for the 50th floor.
"Where are we going?" Cloud asked, hastily adding, "Sir?"
"To watch TV," Zack replied easily, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning back as the elevator began its slow ascent.
Cloud's brain began reeling. A SOLDIER had come and collected him - to watch TV? Why did he sense there was more to it than that? Suddenly a thought struck him. The 50th floor. Something was wrong.
"I thought the SOLDIERs were on the 60th floor and above?" he asked, trying to make it sound conversational and also respectful.
"Yep."
Cloud, becoming slightly annoyed at first being called from his quarters and now not getting a straight answer as to what was going on, lost some of his fear and retorted, "So what's on the 50th?"
Zack didn't seem to notice that 'sir' had been dropped. "The Turks."
Cloud paled; everyone had heard of the war declared between the Turks and the SOLDIERs, ever since the numerous disappearances of Turks passing through the SOLDIER floor had come to light. Luckily, the two factions rarely worked together, but hostilities weren't confined to the battlefield. As a matter of fact, the most common battleground was the Shinra Tower itself. The infantry wasn't really involved, although individual cadets did pick favorites on either side, because they were luckily lower in the Tower than anyone else really cared to go. Cloud was thankful for that. However, now he was being led into the middle of a war zone?
"Hey! What'cha doing?" Zack yelled as Cloud leapt forward and hit the 'door open' button.
"I'm not going up there!"
Zack stepped in front of him, forcing him to retreat to the back wall. "Aw, come on. What could they do to us? You're with a SOLDIER; no Turk would take me on. Besides, the Turks need to learn to respect SOLDIER privileges; if we want to watch TV on their floor, they'll just have to clear out."
"You mean... I'm not some kind of sacrifice to them to let you pass?"
Zack stared at him with a hurt and slightly horrified expression.
The elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened as per Cloud's request. A long, shadowed corridor was revealed, with perhaps the hint of movement in the alcoves spaced unevenly along the walls. Nearby, in peeling, faded paint was written GREY 17.
"If you really want to get off, though, here ya go," Zack said, shrugging as he moved out of Cloud's way. "Suit yourself. But you'd better get off quickly - I'm going on up."
It took Cloud all of two microseconds to decide that he didn't want off on this floor. "N-no," he said, stepping back against the back wall. "That's okay. I'll go with you."
"Great!" The doors closed again and the ride resumed.
Cloud thought, if the Turk floor looks anything like whatever that place was that we just passed, then I'm staying on the elevator. I don't care where it takes me, anywhere is better than there.
But by the time he realized that they had arrived at the Turk floor, Zack already had him halfway out of the doors and didn't show any signs of slowing.
Cloud glanced around nervously, trying to ascertain if the barracks rumors were true, that Turks decorated their rooms with weapons and instruments of torture, and that they kept the skulls of their victims to use as drinking glasses, and that they lived in barbaric splendor. He saw none of that. The brightly-lit entry room was neatly black-and-white tiled, with black leather chairs and glass-topped tables scattered about. One endtable even had a vase of flowers on it, and a mirror on the wall above it. Tasteful, yes. Expensive, undoubtedly. Barbaric? Fear-inspiring? Not really.
Breathing easier for the first time since Zack had thrown open his door, Cloud relaxed and looked around with more curiosity. This didn't look like it had been decorated by someone who would out of hand kill a lost, innocent infantryman.
He glanced at Zack, who was striding ahead as if he owned the place; he certainly wasn't concerned in the least. Cloud risked the hope that maybe the so-called Turk-SOLDIER War was yet another cadet myth, as the interior decorating rumors so obviously were. Then again, maybe they weren't. Or maybe it was an accident and their arrival had not been prepared for after all. Or this was war.
Zack slipped on a pool of nearly-invisible liquid on the tiles, and narrowly caught himself from falling face-first into a marble and glass table.
"My mistake," he said, righting himself and stepping back from the puddle.
"It's oil," Cloud said in a monotone. What was he supposed to make of that?
"Yeah. Someone probably dropped something there. I'll have to tell them to clean that up. Someone could get hurt."
They continued through the room, Zack always staying within arm's-reach of a piece of furniture and Cloud watching his feet intently. He almost sighed out loud when they reached the door out of the foyer. Zack swung the tall bronze and wood door open with ease, and stepped forward - and got nowhere. Actually, he came backwards, and Cloud had to sidestep very quickly to keep from getting tripped over. Zack regained his balance and gingerly reached toward the doorway. He laughed when his fingers touched an invisible barrier across the frame.
"Invisible plastic," he commented, reaching for his SOLDIER sword. "Those Turks, think they're so funny."
The blade made short work of the plastic, and they started off down a carpeted hall with doors on either side.
"The TV room ought to be at the far end, if it's laid out like the SOLDIER floor," Zack said. He moved to replace his sword, but stopped just in time to keep from impaling Cloud, who was all but clinging to his back. He turned to face the infantryman. "They won't eat you," he said with a straight face, in a very serious tone. "At least, I think not."
"But - the way Turks disappear on the SOLDIER floor... Might they not want revenge?" Cloud asked, backing off slightly but still staying within arm's-reach.
"Course not!" Zack waved one hand. "What've we ever really done to them? Had some fun, got them drunk, tricked them into visiting Hojo... Besides, what could a Turk possibly do to a SOLDIER?" He laughed aloud at the image of a Turk trying to take down a Second. The comment, however, made Cloud feel no more secure, as he wasn't enhanced and knew it.
He wondered briefly about that other barracks rumor, that the mako injections had given the SOLDIERs a sadistic sense of humor. Zack, at least, had showed no signs of it - until now. One could never be entirely sure with Zack...
Something grabbed his shoulder and he shrieked, leaping forward and crashing into Zack, catching him in an unintended hug as they fell to the floor. Zack rolled over and jumped to his feet, fists ready to meet the attacker. Cloud, his knees trembling too much for him to even attempt standing, decided that behind Zack looked like a fairly safe place to be. He crawled over against the far wall and stared up at the faceless figure before them.
"Gee, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" an echoing voice said from inside the visored helmet. "Are you okay?"
"Kunsel!" Zack yelled, slapping the other Second so hard on the back that he staggered forward a pace. "I barely recognized you, with that helmet on! What'cha doing down here, buddy?"
"I might well ask you the same," the SOLDIER replied, readjusting his visor so it fully masked his face. "I was on a data retrieval mission, but I'm done now. I was just heading back. You?"
"Oh, Cloud and I are down here for the TV. The one up top is broken again, courtesy of Genesis, and infantrymen are media-deprived. But I've heard that the Turks have a 60-inch flatscreen in their very own private entertainment room!"
"Why are we simply standing here, then?" The other Second smiled - or at least it looked rather like he did, from the way his chin moved under the oversized visor.
Cloud had barely regained his feet with much help from the wall when Kunsel unexpectedly grabbed his shoulder again, causing a strangled yelp. Then he was being dragged along behind the two SOLDIERs as they forged ahead in search of the Turks' secret hideout. Cloud whimpered and tried to get back to the elevator, but as he glanced back, he caught a glimpse of several black-suited figures slipping silently among the shadows. One seemed to look his way, and Kunsel found a certain trembling cadet trying to climb into his arms. He looked at Zack, tilting his head to one side in question, but Zack just grinned and shrugged in embarrassment.
"You certainly pick strange friends," Kunsel commented, wrapping his arm around the blond's shoulders and trying to keep him walking straight.
"Tell me about it," Zack answered, shoving playfully at Kunsel.
They soon reached the end of the hall, where the TV room was easily found. The door was plainly marked and wasn't even booby-trapped, Zack was disgusted to find. Another sign of the Turks' complaisance, he thought to himself, that they couldn't even keep good security on their own homeground.
It was a spacious room with more leather chairs and glass tables, a drink machine, and the promised giant flatscreen. It was, of course, also completely deserted. Zack had never seen a place so empty since Shinra had announced open bar night on the house.
He flopped into one of the seats with a loud groan, and propped his boots up on an endtable. Kunsel, after carefully inspecting the room for hidden cameras, removed his helmet and sat down, running a hand through his sandy orange hair. Cloud felt thoroughly nervous and out-of-place, not to mention that he was sure the Turks would fingerprint everything he touched, track him down, and do... something to him. Infantry casualties from the Turk-SOLDIER War had been few, as they stayed far out of the line of fire, but Cloud was always one to get caught in the crossfire.
Now was no exception.
"Sit down, Spiky," Zack invited, leaning back as he crossed his arms behind his head. "I'm fairly sure the chairs don't bite." He shifted suddenly, a strange look crossing his face as he reached behind him and pulled out an empty beer bottle from somewhere within the chair. "At least, not hard."
Cloud gingerly settled himself onto the very edge of one of the overstuffed chairs and tried to look comfortable. Truth was, in battle, he felt safe with Zack, given the SOLDIER's skill and strength. It was in situations like this, though, that Zack's presence only made him more nervous and insecure. You could never know just what he was thinking, or what he would do next. And a SOLDIER was never punished, everyone knew that, but if there was an infantryman handy to blame... Cloud sometimes wondered if the only reason Zack insisted on dragging him everywhere with him was in case he ever needed a scapegoat.
The sudden noise as Kunsel flipped on the TV nearly made Cloud jump out of his skin. The Seconds grinned at his overreaction. He turned a shade red and forced himself to lean back in the chair and at least look like he was enjoying himself.
"Ow!" he yelped almost immediately, sitting bolt upright. He leapt to his feet and began ripping cushions off the seat, revealing another beer bottle - this one broken.
"Ouch," Zack commented sympathetically as Cloud decided that sitting on the floor was far safer. Some of the SOLDIERs' audacity had spread to the infantryman, for he didn't replace the scattered cushions.
Kunsel opened his mouth to comment on the deplorable standards the Turks held themselves to, when the TV volume suddenly increased dramatically, making conversation impossible. Both Seconds leapt up to grab the remote - they only wanted to watch TV, not get in trouble for disturbing the peace - only to find it mysteriously missing.
"Where is it?" Zack shouted over the roar.
"I don't know!" Kunsel yelled back. "I had set it right here beside my helmet!"
Cloud had his head covered by a pillow and so missed the rest of the action, only re-emerging when the noise died back down to a bearable level. He blinked when he saw the room again; it looked like a totally different place. Furniture was thrown everywhere, pillows scattered, tables knocked over, and more beer bottles in evidence than he had ever seen outside of a bar. Kunsel was perched atop a glass endtable, his helmet held firmly in his lap; Zack was reclining on several cushions on the floor in front of the screen.
"Did I miss something?" Cloud asked quietly, wondering if it was normal for SOLDIERs to throw random temper-tantrums and then return to normal just as quickly.
"Some Turk stole the remote," Zack answered laconically. "I don't think we'll see any more of him, though, at least until his hair has grown out."
Cloud sat up and hugged the pillow to his chest, rather glad he had missed the action. He propped his elbows on his knees and was just getting interested in the show when, without warning, the channel suddenly changed. Zack jerked up and stared accusingly at Kunsel, who blankfaced and held up the remote from his lap. The channel switched again - Kunsel hadn't moved.
Both Seconds' heads whipped to the doorway, but there was no one there. The channel changed yet another time, this time accompanied by an increase in volume. Zack looked about ready to beat his head into the floor. Kunsel had drawn his sword.
"If I catch that guy again..." the orange-haired SOLDIER muttered.
Cloud, wishing he hadn't left his nightstick in his bunkroom, picked up a beer bottle in each hand, holding them like clubs, and backed up until he hit a wall. He stood there and watched as the SOLDIERs took up fighting stances, each facing a different direction. The TV boomed on, unnoticed. Cloud glanced left, then right, then left again, in time to see a black-gloved fist heading for him. He ducked and swung a bottle up to block the blow, aware that all around him battle had suddenly erupted. The first blow was blocked, but he wasn't fast enough to keep the bottle from being jerked from his grasp and turned against him. It was all he could do to dodge and retreat fast enough to avoid being hit; going on the offensive was out of the question.
His peripheral vision showed Zack down flat on his back with at least five Turks sitting on his chest; Kunsel was faring little better, until an unearthly bright orange glow began to surround his right fist. The Turks quickly cleared out of his vicinity, and Kunsel turned the charged-up materia against the ones still attacking his two friends.
Hell Firaga truly must be seen to be believed. Even the Turks, skilled as they were in all warlike arts, scrambled to escape the blast radius and wasted no time with futile shielding spells. Within moments, not a single black suit was visible in the room, and even Zack had his hand over his eyes.
"Was that really necessary?" the black-haired Second asked, sitting up and blinking.
"Would you rather have been the next front-cover SOLDIER disappearance?" Kunsel shot back, the materia in his hand losing its glow.
Cloud looked around dazedly at the smoking wreckage around them and was relieved to see no bodies among it. "You didn't kill any of them?" he asked hopefully. Maybe he'd get off easy at the trial. Come to think of it, where had Kunsel obtained the materia, anyway? Probably the usual sources.
"Course not." Zack snorted. "What do you think this is, all-out war?"
Cloud was about to respond, well then, what IS it?, but just then there was a horrifically loud screeching sound from all around them. The infantryman dove his head back into the pillows, what of them weren't smoking and further blackened; Kunsel grabbed for his sword again; Zack stood in the middle of the chaos and yelled at no one in particular, "As if you haven't done enough damage already!"
The smoke detectors were going off. The three had about five seconds to realize that that was terribly, horribly bad for them, but by the time they had thought of that, it was too late for evasion tactics.
Shinra was stingy with water. They did not skimp on fire security, they merely skimped on the water supply. That meant that the Tower-wide extinguishing system ran on inadequate ingredients for its foaming compound. In short, it ran solely on foam. Thick, sticky, gooey foam that had a tendency to adhere to whatever it touched until water was applied, in which case the unfortunate victim would find himself coated in a runny, oily foam that soaked into everything and the smell of which could never be gotten out of clothes or skin.
All three were aware of this, having suffered through numerous fire drills. What made their fate all the worse was that it was inescapable. The entire room, as well as a good portion of the hallway outside, was filled with the horrid foam before you could say, "Minerva save me!" The three could hardly see through the thick, clinging stuff; moving was almost out of the question. Cloud was miserably thinking, what else could possibly make this any worse?, when the water part of the system spontaneously decided to kick in, dousing the room. The three drenched and white-coated warriors watched the foam dissolve into milky streams that ran into the corners of the room and disappeared through the airvents.
Zack was the first to break the dripping silence, flipping his sodden hair out of his face, flinging white foamy droplets all over Cloud. "Well, at least we can move now!"
Kunsel glared at him and jammed his water-filled helmet onto his head, ignoring the streams of liquid and semi-liquid that that sent running down his face. "Yes," he replied, "and I suppose it's also good that we've gotten free showers into the bargain."
Either oblivious to or deciding to ignore Kunsel's obvious ill humor, Zack grinned cheerfully. "Of course! I should have thought of that!"
Kunsel's expression said that if Zack had, he would probably not be standing upright at the moment.
Cloud, however, perked up at the mention of "showers." He was feeling vindictive now that the Turks had made an actual strike against them, and little things were the only revenge he could think of. Leave the big-picture ideas to the SOLDIERs, who could afford to think in battlefield-wide tactics - he was skilled enough in bunkroom intrigue that he knew that the very least things were sometimes the most effective way of getting back at someone. And showers... he'd seen enough of those sorts of tricks played on his own floor to have a vague idea of how they worked.
"Speaking of showers," he began, amazed that he could find the courage to actually speak to the SOLDIERs without being given permission - but then, it was difficult to feel very much in awe of someone covered in white slime, standing amidst a carnage of furniture, laughing as they tried to squeeze the stuff from their hair and uniform. Kunsel's chin looked dour. Cloud licked his lips, spitting slightly at the bubbles in his mouth, and continued, "How about looking for some? Serve them right for dousing us."
Zack spun to face him, a crazy-happy expression on his face, so that Cloud took an involuntary number of steps back. Zack threw an arm around his shoulders and knuckled his head anyway. "Great idea, Spiky! See, Kunsel, I told you we should bring him along more often!"
Cloud had never before wanted so badly to take off his socks and stick them in his mouth. Could he not stop getting himself deeper and deeper into this mess? And now he was going to be an integral part of the SOLDIERs' madness from now on, thanks to his big mouth! Bright idea, Cloud, real bright idea.
"Y'know..." Zack's grin turned sly. "I hear that Turks have hot showers."
In spite of himself, Cloud could feel his eyes bugging out. Hot showers? What were those? Kunsel, it would seem, felt a similar awe.
"You mean," he said, his surprise evident only in his voice as his face was currently hidden, "they actually have hot water? As in, above room temperature?"
Zack nodded emphatically, already headed toward the door. "Amazing, isn't it?"
Cloud began to feel more and more liking for the orange-headed SOLDIER as he stepped closer to him. "You mean, you don't get hot water, either?" he asked in a soft voice.
Kunsel looked at him and smiled faintly. "Nope. The Firsts take it all. Especially Sephiroth. He's the worst. Do infantry not - ?"
"Nope," Cloud answered. He never would have interrupted a superior, but at the moment he was completely lost studying the Second's helmet, trying to decide where exactly his eyes were behind that sheet of seemingly-solid metal. Kunsel noticed his perplexed look and removed his helmet, smiling at him with brown, aqua-streaked eyes.
"Really?" the Second said mildly, following Zack into the dim corridor.
"I hardly know what hot water is," Cloud continued, feeling positively talkative in the SOLDIER's company. "I hadn't even heard of a hot shower until I came here."
"Nibelheim," Kunsel muttered to himself.
"Excuse me?"
"The accent. Pardon me, but I can't help noticing things like that." Kunsel shrugged.
"Just goes with that nosy nature of his," Zack commented over his shoulder.
The black-haired Second quickly found the still-sopping helmet jammed firmly down onto his own head and he stumbled forward before catching himself against a wall. Struggling to pull the resisting headpiece off, Zack turned around to find the other two suddenly disappeared. The hall was silent. He grinned to himself as he noticed the trail of wet footprints leading into one of the darkened intersecting hallways, and headed toward it.
Behind him, Cloud and Kunsel had their hands firmly over their mouths as they watched Zack head off in the wrong direction. Cloud had had enough experience evading trackers that he knew to walk backwards to create a false trail, and Kunsel had quickly followed suit. Unfortunately for all involved, they were so intent on each other - and Zack on finding the others - that they failed to notice the gathering black-clad figures in the shadows until they were already closing in.
Two erupted from nowhere in front of Zack, catching him by the arms and carrying him over backward into the main hallway. Numerous hands grabbed Cloud and Kunsel from behind, eliciting a panic-stricken flailing from the former, and a battle-yell from the latter. It was impossible to tell exactly how many Turks there actually were, as they moved too quickly and the lighting wasn't all that good - to Cloud's eyes, there were over a dozen, each armed with some lethal weapon, with blood-red eyes and fanged mouths thirsting for his life. In reality, there were five, fighting harder than they had ever had to before, and still being beaten.
"Fall back!" a sixth was shouting, leaning out of an open doorway. "Fall back!" He had spiky red hair, greatly resembling Cloud's own, and waswaving a metal rod. The other Turks were attempting to disengage and retreat when Kunsel and Zack finally got within arm's-reach of each other.
"Come'n'get it!" they yelled together, linking arms and running at the Turks. They used the (super)human barrier thus created, combined with their sheer momentum, and bulldozed the blacksuits out of the way, clearing a path that the lone infantryman was only too happy to quickly follow as the animate shadows closed in again behind.
The SOLDIERs could run considerably faster than Cloud could normally, but these were anything but ordinary circumstances, and panic lent him wings. Somehow he kept pace with them until they turned a corner and arrived in the locker room, where he collapsed, shaking and panting. The other two were in little better condition, rallying their strength to chase out the two Turks lounging on the locker room bench. Kunsel was very careful to lock the door behind them and check the room for any other possible exits, while Zack browsed through lockers, ostensibly to see if there was anyone hiding in them. Cloud crouched on the bench, soaking knees drawn up to his chin, and watched the proceedings with disinterest.
"All clear," Kunsel finally announced, pulling off his helmet and dropping it beside Cloud, causing the infantryman to flinch slightly but not look any more interested in his surroundings. He was going to die, he just knew it. Any time now, something so terrible would happen that he simply would not survive, or if he did, he would never survive the courtmartial and subsequent punishment for being involved with these mako-enhanced lunatics. These so-called SOLDIERs were no better than super-strong, hyper children with a penchant for mass destruction. How had he ended up with them as his sole company? Oh, yeah. Zack.
He was startled back into reality by both Kunsel and Zack taking off their pauldrons and suspenders, followed by their slimy shirts and belts.
"See you when I'm cleaned up," Kunsel said, marching off in the direction of the showers, leaving his shirt on the floor in a puddle of what once had been bubbles. "Hot water, here I come!"
Zack was not two steps behind him, just as eager to get the greasy feel of the foam off his skin. Cloud watched them go and it wasn't until he heard the water cut on and saw the wisps of steam drifting from the stalls that he realized what a hot shower meant. Oh, wow! Going to the lockers, he opened them until he found an empty one and began taking off his clothes. He had just gotten out of his kerchief and shoulder-guards when another thought occurred to him. An uncharacteristic evil grin spread across his face as he closed that locker and went in search of an already-used one. Some Turk would find his neatly-pressed suit a little slimy the next time he went to put it on.
Clad only in standard-issue boxers, Cloud walked over to the bank of shower stalls. Kunsel had taken the first in the row, but Zack had randomly chosen one in the middle; Cloud got into one between them and turned the water on full blast. Full blast hot, that was. There was a muffled yelp of complaint from Zack as his hot water was diverted, followed by a much louder near-shriek from the poor infantryman, who hadn't realized how hot hot would be.
Kunsel could be heard snickering as Cloud quickly turned the tap down and proceeded to have the most enjoyable, comfortable shower of his life. Enjoyable, that was, until the lights suddenly, unexpectedly, inexplicably went out.
All three taps turned off simultaneously. There was a collective silence in the entire locker room, broken only by a slight scuffling and a quiet snicker that definitely did not come from Kunsel. Cloud knew the door was locked. He hoped the door was locked. He prayed the door was locked. How then had - someone - gotten in?
Drat those Turks! he thought, then froze. What was he doing? He was thinking like a SOLDIER! Bad company, he moaned to himself, cursing the day he ever thought of leaving nice, comfortable Nibelheim for the supposed glory of SOLDIER.
Zack was the first to break the resounding silence. "Well, this is rather problematic, wouldn't you say?"
Cloud realized what he was talking about. Like the others, he had tossed his remaining clothes out of the shower stall before turning on the water. And, what he and the SOLDIERs had failed to notice until now, was that there happened to not be any towels in the stalls. Which meant he was entirely clothes-less, unless he wanted to go out and scrounge on the floor with the possibility of the lights coming back on at an inopportune time.
"I think I remember where I left my pants," Kunsel said thoughtfully after a long moment. "I'll see if I can find them, then see about the lights. If anyone peeks - I'll kill you."
Such a threat was rather unnecessary, as Cloud certainly didn't possess the shamelessness to venture from the shower even with the lights completely out, and Zack, judging from the sounds issuing from his end of the row, was having difficulties with the shower head turning on and off sporadically. Wet footsteps followed Kunsel out into the main locker room, followed by the rather graphic sounds of someone running into an open locker door and then tripping over a bench.
"Okay - I could have sworn that bench was in the middle of the room five minutes ago!" he yelped.
"Find your clothes yet?" Zack shouted back. "It's getting cold in here!"
Kunsel growled. "No." Lockers banged open and slammed again and Cloud got the impression that the room was being frantically ransacked. There was a short humorless laugh and the noises ceased, followed by the soft sounds of cloth being shaken out.
"Find it?" Zack asked again.
"No, but I suppose I wouldn't look too bad in a suit. Gimme just a minute."
They waited for considerably more than a minute before Kunsel announced from farther across the room, "The lights don't seem to be working. At all."
"Lovely," Cloud commented, wondering how they were ever going to get out of there alive. Obviously the Turks could either see in the dark, or they were incredibly familiar with their own territory. He wondered how the Seconds could have thought this was even halfway a good idea, coming down here. But they were SOLDIERs. They could survive just about anything. Cloud, in comparison, had never felt so mortal.
"Here ya go! Blacksuits all around!" Kunsel called, tossing a locker-full of clothes over the top of the two showers.
As Cloud pulled on the stiff fabric, he caught the unmistakeable scent of perfume, and decided that he was going to do something very unpleasant to Kunsel if this turned out to be a woman's suit.
Zack, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten Reno's spare. "I swear, the zipper on this thing is gone!" he complained into the darkness from the middle of the row. He was still muttering as he finally stepped out of the shower to join Kunsel in the main locker room. "The shirt's barely long enough, and I don't think the pants even reach my ankles. And it smells funny."
Yeah, you're the lucky one, Cloud thought, hoping the others wouldn't notice the strange smell of his own clothes. If anyone so much as sniffed...
"Well, we can't be too picky right now," Kunsel answered, "unless you want to try to find your own uniform somewhere in this chaos."
"Nah. This'll do, for now. Spiky, you comin'?"
"Yes," the infantryman replied, zipping up his new suit as he exited the shower stall. "Can we go home now?"
"Why? This is just getting fun!" Zack said, but his tone was slightly unconvinced. "Although on second thought, Angeal will be coming back soon, and I'd better be upstairs. So, yeah, let's go!"
"Zack. Do you know where to go?" Kunsel asked quietly, and the three realized that in the fight and flight, they had gotten completely turned around, and Cloud had a sudden feeling that this part, at least, of the Turk floor was not laid out like the SOLDIERs'.
"Welll... Let's go out and see what it looks like. It's not like the building is that complex - we'll just find the main corridor again, and follow it to the foyer," Zack said, inordinately oversimplifying their task.
Cloud shuddered at mention of the foyer. There was absolutely no way they could all get through there unscathed, not in the dark with vengeful Turks on the loose. The images the barracks rumors had always conjured came unbidden to mind, of the terrible things Turks did to their victims. Oh, Goddess, save me and I'll do all my training next week without complaining once! Just let me be alive to do my training!
It took a few moments' feeling around to even find the door; when it was finally located, it was all but jerked off its hinges as the SOLDIERs were eager to finally see some light. But alas, the emergency lighting in the hallway outside seemed to be dead as well, and nothing could be seen in any direction.
"I thought SOLDIERs could see in the dark?" Cloud asked hopefully. Their eyes practically glow, he thought. Surely that allowed them to see, at least marginally?
"If we could, do you think I would've tripped over that bench earlier?" Kunsel asked. "We can see better, but there has to be at least some light to begin with. This, though...this is really dark."
"Hey, everyone, hold hands," Zack said, unexpectedly grabbing Cloud's arm and nearly making him shriek again. "I'll take lead. Turks, watch out!"
Cloud was caught in the middle between the two Seconds - a better place to be than at the end, he consoled himself; at least here there were two hands holding onto him if the Turks tried to drag him away into the depths. They ventured out into the pitch-black halls, listening carefully for the slightest hint of movement, eyes straining to see the faintest glimmer of light.
"This isn't so bad," Zack said after about five minutes of blundering around brought no untoward consequences.
"Don't say -" Kunsel began, but never finished as Zack suddenly made a nosedive, dragging the other two down with him. The black-haired SOLDIER landed on the bottom, grunting as both Cloud and Kunsel piled up on him.
"Tripwire," he gasped, pushing his way to hands and knees, the breath knocked out of him. Cloud stumbled back and fell against a wall, sitting down in a heap. Kunsel stood up and would have laughed at the spectacle they would have been making if the lights had been on, but hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him over backwards. He attempted to call out, but a heavy weight - it could only be Rude - was on his chest, and someone was working his helmet off.
Hearing the scuffle, Cloud shrank further against the wall, which turned out to be a door that suddenly and silently swung open, nearly making him fall over again. He made a quick scrabble along the base of the wall until he found a table and crawled under. Maybe they wouldn't see him. Maybe they would think he was too skinny to make a good sacrifice. Maybe, just maybe, they would fall for his innocent look and actually help him get out of this hell...although he seriously doubted that last possibility.
Meanwhile, out in the hall itself, Zack had struggled to his feet, shaking off the Turks that attempted to weigh him down, and swung mighty punches in random directions. If he took out a couple of them - without doing any serious damage, of course, or Angeal would have his head - then the Turks might back down and leave the three to wander the halls in peace. He thought he was actually making headway until he smashed his fist full-force into a wall. No, make that a door, from the sound of its subsequent crashing to the ground. Either way, his hand didn't appreciate the impact. The Turks took advantage of his momentary immobility and before he knew it he was surrounded again.
"Boy, you guys are bloodthirsty now!" he yelled as several blows landed and he began to fight back in earnest. Perhaps he could catch one and use him as a ransom? Nah, what he needed more right now was a shield...
Under his table, Cloud had his knees pulled up to his chin and his eyes tightly shut. Not that he could see anything anyway, but it made him feel better. He hoped that if he kept quiet enough, maybe the Turks would sate their lust for vengeance on the SOLDIERs and would leave without giving him a second thought. That hope held until he felt the protective shelter of the table being lifted from around him. He squealed and dove sideways, avoiding the blow that he was sure would follow. In fact, Zack had grabbed the table and was busy beating it against the walls in his attempts to hit their attackers.
Cloud's knee twisted under him and he landed on his side, rolling. He felt a couple of Turks go down on top of him as he slid into their shins, but he didn't actually lose momentum until he came up with a jolt against Kunsel, bringing down a mountain of Turks. He grabbed for Kunsel, hoping the orange-haired SOLDIER could help him, but all he got was the Second's helmet. Realizing that there was nothing the SOLDIER could do to aid him, Cloud started an army-crawl retreat backwards.
The Turks about him started yelling and - laughing? - making Cloud ever more frightened at what fate might be in store for him. Then a hand landed on his arm, and he sat up suddenly, swinging. In just a few panicked moments he did more damage to the Turks and their morale than the two SOLDIERs combined, judging from the muffled outcries and shouts of, "Look out for the little guy! He's dangerous!"
On the other hand, this did little to raise the Seconds' spirits, as Kunsel was currently immobilized on his back, and helmetless, leaving him feeling very vulnerable (to identity theft), and Zack was backed against a wall, attempting futilely to block blows he couldn't see.
Leaping to his feet, Cloud took off in a random direction, praying there wasn't a wall dead ahead. Which there wasn't. No, that was definitely a Turk. He collapsed against some blacksuit, his adrenaline spent, and began sobbing. He didn't need to feign the fatigue, and the tears came easily enough when he willed them to. Surely the Turks would have mercy on him now?
"Well, what have we got here, yo?" said a voice above him as he rose to his knees, still whimpering slightly. Cloud only hoped that he was doing a good impersonation of an innocent cadet.
"Please, sir, I was dragged up here against my will. Can you please point me in the direction of the elevators?"
"Sure, just let me clean up here first, 'kay? Then you'll be happily on your way. I've just got something to drop off here first..." Footsteps trailed off in the direction of the main scuffle. Cloud didn't like the ominous undertone the Turk's voice had in that last sentence, but as it was not directed at him, he decided it would be best to do as the blacksuit had suggested and remain put until he came back to show the way out of this madness. Standing up, he found a wall and stood by it very quietly, out of the way and unnoticed. He couldn't help but be a bit worried for Zack as there was a thick slopping, splashing sound followed by some colorful cursing from the Turks and a cry of horror and disbelief from Zack.
Glad he was no longer in the immediate vicinity of the two disaster-magnets, Cloud was considering moving even farther down the wall and out of the vicinity when the Turk he'd talked to came back and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Gaia, he really ought to be used to that by now!
"C'mon, yo, let's get movin' before those two get up. Not friends of yours, you said?"
"N-no...not exactly. You aren't going to kill them, are you?"
"Do I look like I wanna get fired, yo? We're just gonna teach 'em not to come down here like they own the place. Give 'em some memories they'll not forget easily. It's our only means of defense, y'know - memories."
Cloud had a feeling the Turks were plenty capable of other methods of defense, but wisely kept that thought to himself as the still-nameless Turk guided him down the hall in the opposite direction from the now mostly-settled-down fight.
"Hey! Wait!" a feminine voice called out behind them, and Cloud felt his heart leap into his throat. Could he run? No, the devious Turk probably had him pointed toward a wall. Fight? In the dark? He wasn't that desperate yet. Not quite.
"You can't just let him go," a second voice added. "He was the one to suggest the showers in the first place!"
"And he dumped his clothes in my locker!" the first voice chimed in.
"Sorry, yo," the Turk next to him said. "Almost got away, though; I have to hand it to you." He added in a louder voice: "What should we do to him, guys - and girls?"
There was a breathless silence during which Cloud fervently prayed he could pass out, but he had no such luck.
"Let's go easy on him, poor thing," the woman's voice finally said. Cloud noticed to his disgust that he was trembling unintentionally, but figured that it was a worthwhile disgrace if it got him out of this alive and whole.
"Nah, but he needs to be taught a lesson: fraternizing with SOLDIERs can be dangerous."
"How 'bout this...he's wearing a borrowed uniform - looks like yours, Elena - so why not just take back what's ours and let him on his way, yo?"
"No," Cloud said, hoping the Turks would mistake his voice for one of their own, but they weren't fooled, further reinforcing his belief that they could see in the pitch-black. He had a feeling he'd been picking favorites on the wrong side in this war.
"Off with it, buddy," the blacksuit nearest him said. Cloud crouched into a fighting position and clenched his fists. "Unless you want us to take it off for you."
Reconsidering, Cloud reached for the zipper on his jacket. The SOLDIERs couldn't see and would never know, and this humiliation was better than being killed by the Turks, or so he consoled himself. He slipped out of the shirt and trousers as quickly as possible, ready for this to be over with, and handed the uniform over to the Turks.
"Elevator?" he asked, shivering in only his boxers and socks.
"Dead ahead and through the door," a blacksuit answered as the group of them moved off.
Cloud resisted the urge to shout some fitting appellations after them, and instead hurried down the hall, one hand trailing the wall, the other held out in front to protect himself from the aforementioned door.
And Zack and Kunsel? In just a few moments, they went from being pinned underneath an unknown number of Turks, to being completely, utterly alone.
"Can you hear 'em?" Zack asked nervously, sitting up and gingerly touching his face, which felt rather bruised.
"No," Kunsel whispered back. "But if they've gone to get refreshments, I don't plan on being here when they get back."
"Me neither."
"Shhh!"
"Huh?"
In the sudden silence, Cloud's footsteps could be clearly heard hurrying away as quickly as he dared.
"Blacksuit," Zack said in a voice little louder than a breath.
Kunsel grunted. As one, they leapt up and ran after the footsteps, whose speed increased exponentially as the two pairs of booted steps pounded down the hall.
Forgetting all about the door, Cloud ran headlong into it; luckily for him it wasn't latched, so he sprawled through, rolled over twice on the tiled floor of the foyer, and regained his feet just as quickly. There was a faint shine of metal and the promising orange glow of emergency lighting up ahead - the elevator! He was saved!
"Gotcha!" Zack yelled as his hand closed around Cloud's bare ankle; the SOLDIER got kicked in the face for his pains, and the now totally-panicked infantryman made a flying leap for the elevator. Once inside, he held down the 'door closed' button until he stopped hyperventilating. He had to get back to his quarters before the lights came back on. He thought briefly of the Seconds, but they had left him to his fate, so he would do the same. Still holding the 'door closed' button even though his arm was beginning to tremble from pushing so hard, he punched the 30th floor and didn't relax until he felt the comforting rumble of descent.
Meanwhile, the two unfortunate SOLDIERs had reached the other elevator, grumbling that their last chance for revenge on the Turks had escaped.
"Just so you know," Kunsel said as the unlit car began its slow, grinding ascent, "I hate you."
"Save that for the blacksuits," Zack mumbled.
"Yeah. Them too."
"It wasn't my idea," Zack added after a moment. "Not entirely. I think."
An uncomfortable silence filled the elevator.
"So...what'd they do to you?" Zack finally asked.
"I'm not sure. I don't think I want to find out, either."
"It can't be as bad as what they did to me. I think they -"
The doors slid open on the SOLDIER floor and the two stepped out onto the darkened level. Luckily, the higher levels of the Tower, being farther above the pollution, had windows, lighting the interior just enough for their enhanced sight to see clearly. They split up, making beelines for their respective quarters.
Cloud ought to have counted himself lucky that the infantry floor was short on emergency lighting. It made seeing difficult, yes, but it also lessened the chances of being seen. When the elevator doors opened and the long dark corridor stretched before him, he dared to hope that this ordeal was almost over. Just a few dozen steps and he'd be in his own quarters, with a spare uniform, and all traces of the past hours gone and hopefully forgotten. He swore to Gaia that he'd never even talk to SOLDIERs again.
But such luck was not to be his. He hurried down the hallway, counting the doors as he passed them. He was three down from his own nice, safe bunkroom when all the lights unexpectedly came on. He stopped for a moment, his eyesight flickering as he adjusted to the brightness, and then headed for his door. Unfortunately, hot on the heels of the lights returning came the high sound of a klaxon calling all infantry to report. And of course the assembly room was at the end of the hall next to the elevator banks.
All the doors all up and down the corridor swung open simultaneously as cadets poured out into the hall, and Cloud finally achieved his wish of passing out.
Despite the lights coming on almost as soon as the elevator had reached the floor, Kunsel remained unseen as he jogged down the corridor and skidded to a stop in front of his door. His hand was shaking as he slid his access card and entered, slamming and immediately locking the door behind him. He ran a hand through his hair, glad no one had seen him helmetless and identifiable, then stopped suddenly as his hand felt somewhat damp. He was fairly sure he had towel-dried his hair before leaving the Turks' locker room; there should be no moisture remaining.
With some trepidation, he went into the bathroom and turned on the lights.
"Purple!" he wailed, clutching at his hair. "Why did they have to make it purple?"
Sure enough, Kunsel's formerly carrot-colored hair was now a deep plum-violet, almost the color of a 2nd's uniform. He didn't need to try washing it out to know that it was permanent.
Zack was almost surely busy repairing whatever damage the Turks had subjected him too, so Kunsel pulled out his PHS - which luckily had survived the transfer to his new suit - and dialed Luxiere.
"Hey, Lux," he said when the Third picked up, "I have a bit of a problem. Think you could find a spare helmet and bring it to my quarters? I want to superglue it to my head..."
Zack was almost to his quarters when he heard footsteps behind him and Angeal called out, "Zack! Where have you been?"
"Ummm...nowhere, sir." He continued edging toward his apartment, aiming to slip inside and lock the door regardless of whether Angeal was following him or not.
"Zack! Answer m- What is that on your sword?"
The Second froze. Too late to get inside. He turned to face his mentor, squinting up at his face through blurring eyes. Angeal felt a bit of a shock as Zack turned to him, blue eyes ringed with dark bruises.
"Where did you get two black eyes?"
"The Turks, sir," Zack answered, mumbling around a split lower lip. If only Angeal would stay focussed on his face... He inched his hand behind him, feeling for the doorknob.
Angeal wasn't really all that surprised at his answer - trouble between the younger SOLDIERs and the Turks had been brewing for some time, ever since the Turks had been kicked out of the more luxurious upper levels in favor of Shinra's newest experiments. But for Zack to take part...and get the worst of the fight? Angeal's mind reverted back to his original question.
"What happened to your sword?"
"Well...there was a fight, kinda, and I - um, they...the Turks poured paint all over it," Zack blurted out.
Angeal grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, then stared in horror at the white- and pale-pink- drenched monstrosity slung at the SOLDIER's back.
"Wear and tear and rust...and paint," Zack thought he could hear his mentor muttering.
"I'll clean it up, promise! Just let me -"
"No. You'll clean it now. And I'll be watching you."
Ah, crap!
A/N: Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoyed it! Thumbs up to anyone who caughtthe Babylon 5 or Stargate Atlantis references!
My sister did a story on the same prompt this one's based off of - hers is definitely worth checking out; just look for "Shot in the Dark" by anonymous1stClass.