A few hours later, Cloud was sitting on his cot working his way through a crossword book Rikku had left him during her last visit. He made sure to only do a page a day to make it last longer. Seemingly occupied with his puzzle as he was, his head snapped up quickly when he sensed someone coming to a stop outside his cell. He straightened and looked curiously at the twins who were glancing around cautiously.
"May we come in?" Sora asked with some urgency.
Not asking permission before entering a fellow con's unlocked cell usually resulted in a stabbing. Animals they might be labeled, there were still codes to follow. Cloud gave them a curt nod and they stepped inside and sat on Reno's empty cot.
"You haven't seen Xaldin around have you?" Roxas asked anxiously.
Cloud was mildly concerned, he knew the guard still had it in for the younger brothers.
"Not since yesterday." He replied, watching them.
Sora was discreetly wringing his hands in his lap, while Roxas kept darting a glance at the hallway every few seconds.
"He didn't find you once lights were out?" Cloud asked since they seemed ready to not say anything more.
They shook their heads together.
"We snuck into the laundry closet by the security door, no one found us there." Roxas explained sounding strained.
While their cells were shut at lights out, they remained unlocked. The guards wouldn't be able to torment prisoners if they couldn't get into their cells. Only the warden and his right hand had a set of keys to the cell block locks, as well as the door into solitary. One could only assume too many deaths occurred otherwise, if the regular guards were given infinite reign.
"What brings you in here?" Cloud asked finally.
Sora caught Roxas's eye, then turned to face him looking determined.
"Can we stay here for a bit?" He asked.
Cloud could feel the sigh he wanted to let out, exhaling through his nose instead. He really didn't need any more drama, though his conscience wouldn't just let them be beaten up by Xaldin if he could help it.
"Fine. You get to tell Reno he has to find somewhere else to sleep." Was his one condition.
The twins blinked, Sora bit his lip uncertainly, but they both nodded in thanks. Cloud went back to his crossword and tried to ignore them. The brothers laid down to catch up on some much needed sleep, one doesn't sleep well stuck in a closet for eight hours.
A few hours later and they were approaching lights out. Reno had indeed come by a short time earlier and was rebuffed with threats coated in sugary sweetness, and told to 'piss off' until morning. The red-head had grumbled a bit but left without much fuss.
Sure enough, a loud buzzer sounded throughout the complex and all but the needed security lights clicked off. It was somewhat eery to look down the long hallways of steel bars only barely lit enough not to run into a wall. Cloud stuffed his crossword under his thin mattress and tried to punch his pillow into a comfortable position. Tucking the flimsy blanket around himself, he could just make out the other occupants lying close together and heard them whispering quietly. It wasn't enough to keep him from sleep, so Cloud felt himself doze off rather quickly.
He was snapped awake what felt like a couple hours later, by the sound of the cell door sliding open and then slamming closed. His eyes adjusting to the semi-darkness after sleep, he saw the twins glance around at their intruder and let out cries of exclamation. Xaldin wasted no time in darting forward with his nightstick raised high, the two scrambled off the cot before it struck the mattress with a dull thud. Cursing, Cloud ripped out of his bedding and grabbed Roxas, who was closest and pushed him back.
He knew that fatally injuring a guard added years onto your sentence, so Cloud quickly thought through his options. They would have to be careful to only knock out the brute. This would be tricky. Xaldin had spun and was backing Sora into the other corner. Roxas tried to get past Cloud but he none-too-gently pushed him away and dove forward to grab Xaldin's wrist that was holding his weapon. Xaldin growled and turned to grapple with Cloud over it.
Cloud could just make out Roxas beckoning to Sora to get out of the line of fire. He grabbed the guard's other hand that came up to snatch at the brunette and struggled to keep himself from being wounded, or hurting the asshole he was fighting with. Sora ducked and darted past them at the same time Xaldin slammed his boot into Cloud's shin and his grip faltered so the dreadlocked guard could whip his weapon across Sora's face. Roxas shouted the same time his brother gave a cry and spilled to the floor.
Cloud cursed again and threw himself forward to headbutt Xaldin into the wall behind them. The bigger man fell back from the impact and Cloud tried to keep him there. Roxas dashed forward to pull Sora away from the scuffle and turned his face towards the lights to see the damage. Blood was covering his face and he seemed a little dazed but okay otherwise.
"Strife-" Roxas started angrily.
"Get out of here!" Cloud snarled over his shoulder as he dodged a punch from Xaldin.
They didn't need telling twice; the twins threw open the cell door, Xaldin gave a roar of rage and then sprinted off down the hallway. Cloud caught that damned nightstick in his stomach for his trouble, Xaldin shoved him backwards and Cloud tripped onto his cot, out of breath. Xaldin growled out something that was probably a threat mingled with curse words, his furious tone making the words garble together, then took off after the brothers.
Cloud let his head fall back and winced as his clocked himself on the bars, ironic that he was only trying to help. Cloud had glimpsed the blood on Sora's face and hoped he would be alright, he knew there was no chance he could catch up with them at this point. The twins knew the best hiding spots anyway, more than likely Xaldin would search for them until daylight and come up empty handed. The blond rearranged his bedding and hoped the damn brute didn't come back to his cell, he could really do with some sleep.
Roxas kept a tight hold on Sora as they tore out of Cloud's cell and ran towards the cafeteria. They made sure not the slam the door as they whipped through it and made their way behind the serving counter and darted down to the closet holding all the cleaning supplies. They used to use the food pantry until the guards figured out to put a padlock on the door. Roxas jammed the lock, set his swaying brother gently out of the way and started grabbing haphazardly at anything heavy to bar the door with. After a few minutes frantic work, the blond was fairly sure that Xaldin would not be able to get through, even if he did find them.
Roxas was glad for the small security lights in this room as well, he forced Sora to sit on an upturned bucket so he would inspect the damage. The wound itself was not too bad and he sighed in relief, he was afraid that stitches would have been required, that would have meant searching out a guard to ask for medical attention. It was unwanted in any circumstance, the only time you would willing go was if you were actually bleeding out.
Sora mumbled something quietly, but Roxas for once couldn't make sense of it.
"Hold on Sora." He said softly.
Roxas spent a moment searching for a clean towel and found one to press against his brother's face. Xaldin had struck him across the cheek and he wiped up the excess blood while keeping pressure on the wound.
"Does it hurt badly?" He asked.
"No. My head kinda hurts though." Sora muttered and leaned into his hands.
Roxas moved closer so Sora could lean against his body because he looked like he would slide off the bucket otherwise. Worry about a concussion slipped through his mind, so Roxas started to talk about anything he could think of to get Sora to stay awake.
"That was really good of Strife to look after us like that huh?" He said into the small closet.
"Mmm." Sora agreed.
Hours later, Roxas assumed it was morning but was still unsure about unblocking the door. After a while he had felt safe letting Sora get some sleep, he was curled up in the corner in a light doze. The scratch on his face didn't look so bad now, although was there was a decent looking bruise over his cheek. The blond yawned and stretched, trying to make himself more comfortable against the wall.
Then he heard the sound of approaching footsteps on the tile outside the door. Roxas bolted up and backed away as he heard someone picking the lock on the other side.
"Sora." He whispered and took a step back to shake his brother awake.
The brunette became instantly alert, a side effect of living around dangerous criminals. They shared a worried look as they heard the lock pop open. Hoping that Xaldin wasn't strong enough to move the door with the debris in the way, they were surprised and concerned when the door started to push in. The man on the other side, (they couldn't hear any other noise or voices) finding the way encumbered started kicking at the door.
It only took three kicks for the clutter to fall away and the man forced his way into the closet. He casually shifted the mess off to the side and leaned against the door with a predatory look on his face. It wasn't Xaldin, that was the only thing that could be said at this point.
"I find it vexing when someone else disrupts my business." Sephiroth said, his voice was cool and calm but they saw his green eyes flash.
Sora stood up slowly off the floor and Roxas moved away further to press against the wall. The Silver-Haired Devil was the most dangerous man inside the entire prison, including any guards and the warden. Roxas couldn't bring himself to protest verbally when Sora moved so he was slightly in front of his twin.
"I'm sure Strife is okay." Sora offered with only trace amounts of uncertainly.
"Oh, he will live, yes indeed." Sephiroth brushed this off. "The fact that he is injured at all interferes with my day. The two of you are at fault for this."
"We won't go near him anymore, is that what you want?" Sora asked.
Sephiroth's cat-like eyes flicked over their forms, lingering slightly on Roxas and the blond gripped Sora's arm tightly. He moved away from the door fluidly, leaving only a handful of feet between himself and the door and them to him.
"That would be sufficient for now yes." He answered.
"For now?" Roxas echoed warily.
Sephiroth showed his canines but didn't say anything further. He held them there waiting for several tense moments, then slid one step sideways to let them pass. Not trusting this gesture, Sora never-the-less slowly moved forward, Roxas following inches behind. The killer in front of them made no move, but watched closely from his superior height.
Sora had made it to the door and pulled the handle further open to slip on the other side, when Sephiroth moved quick as a flash between them and slammed the door shut, trapping Roxas inside. Sora immediately pounded on the other side growling obscenities through the wood, but Sephiroth flicked the lock cool as you please. Roxas beat a few hurried steps away while he advanced forwards, pinning the blond against the wall by sheer force of will.
Roxas couldn't bring himself to say anything to his furious twin on the outside, who he could tell was dissolving into frustrated tears. He kept his eyes on his enemy and watched as Sephiroth slowly lifted a hand to run a pale finger down his cheek.
"You should be aware, that if something permanent were to happen to Strife," the Silver Haired Demon spoke with a chilled tone that made the hairs on Roxas's neck stand up. He slipped his hand up suddenly to grab a handful of blond spikes and wrenched his head back so he could lower his face an inch from Roxas's, all he saw was deep acid green pupils. "You would be his replacement."
Fear slithered down his spine and Roxas shuddered with it. Sephiroth's words were a benediction and a promise, there would be no disputing it as fact. He was clearly waiting for some kind of response from the younger inmate, so Roxas forced himself to nod briefly despite the painful grip on his hair. Seemingly satisfied his point had been made, Sephiroth backed towards the door and whisked it open to reveal an anguished Sora.
Not wanting to give Sephiroth any more chances to threaten them, Roxas forced himself passed the psychopath and clasped his brother tightly by the arm. They left the cafeteria as fast as they could without running, but the pretense was transparent and anyone walking by would be able to tell they were retreating from a threat at a glance. Sora was watching his face closely, but Roxas couldn't tell if he had heard Sephiroth's word or not because of the low tone he had spoken in.
They made their back to the shared cell they claimed as their own and all but collapsed onto the thin cots. Roxas forced himself to calm down, he would be fine as long as nothing happened to Strife. Sora was visibly pulling himself under control as well, he looked over Roxas with intense scrutiny at the same time.
"What did that maniac say to you?" He demanded in hushed tones.
Roxas shook his head, it might have been easier for Sora to have heard the threat himself, for he would not be happy to know that Roxas had no intention of telling him. His expression said it was nothing but his eyes glanced away and he felt unnaturally cold.
"Don't give me that bullshit Rox." He snapped while keeping his voice quiet.
Despite the lights being back on now, they were leery to make too much noise in case Xaldin was still on the prowl.
"It's nothing we need to worry about right now, okay? We just need to stay away from Strife . . . and make sure nothing happens to him." He barely mumbled the last bit aloud and Sora narrowed his eyes.
"You will tell me if it becomes a problem." It was not a question.
Roxas nodded tiredly. The brunette relented then and they agreed to take turns napping in case someone tried to catch them unawares. Roxas curled on the mat opposite the bars and closed his eyes, trying everything he could not to think about the horrible possibility of becoming Sephiroth's fucktoy.
