It was clear Vincent was taken aback, eyes widening slightly as he stood a little straighter. "…Veld."

There was a sudden shout from the other room, followed by the sound of rending metal and a flood of liquid, and some distant part of Veld was grateful for the distraction because he had absolutely no idea what to say. Vincent gestured back towards the labs, and Veld nodded, turning and jogging back in time to see Kunsel gently lifting a limp Zack Fair into his arms, Cissnei fluttering around him removing the breathing mask and monitoring cables with a frantic expression.

He couldn't blame her, but there really wasn't anything she could do once Kunsel had made up his mind. "You couldn't wait for -"

Kunsel turned, curling over Zack defensively, and snarled, his eyes a dangerously green shade of teal.

"Hey," Cissnei said gently, touching his arm.

"Cissnei," Veld warned.

"Shh, hey, it's okay," Cissnei said, the kind of soothing tone you'd use on a scared animal. Kunsel looked at her, but other than a quick, nervous lick of her lips she stayed calm, keeping eye contact. "He brought you here, remember? He helped you get Zack back. We're on your side."

Kunsel took a slow, deep breath and let it out in a rush. His voice was rough with emotion. "Help me get this off of him."

"There should be a chemical shower in the little room off to the left," Veld said.

Kunsel nodded, turning back that way, boots clacking over the discarded safety glass, heedless of the fact that it was slick with mako solution. "Have one of the guys get the bag I packed. He can't wear this, it's soaked."

Veld hesitated to leave Cissnei with him, and felt a hand light on his shoulder.

"I'll find someone," Vincent said. "And a tech, if I can."

Veld nodded, grateful. Whatever had happened to Vincent, no matter how strange his appearance was at first, when he looked into his eyes he still saw his partner. Instinct said to trust him, and there was too much going on to fight his own instincts. "Go."

Vincent turned and left silently, leaving Veld to deal with a borderline-greening SOLDIER entirely too close to one of his Turks.

Cissnei was keeping up a soft, steady stream of chatter - nonsense, really, but it helped keep her calm and it seemed to be relaxing Kunsel some, and she'd talk until she was blue if it would help. Zack was dead weight, completely unconscious and stripped down to his boxers, more modesty than she expected Hojo to care for.

The shower was harsh, even from the movable shower head, but Zack didn't stir, and it was powerful enough to let them rinse the clingy mako off of him. Kunsel startled when Veld came to the doorway with a large dispenser, but he didn't growl and Veld counted that a win.

"This is the soap Hojo would have used to keep things sterile. It'll take the mako off, and the scent shouldn't be too much," Veld said, holding it out.

Kunsel weighed his options a moment, then stood and took it before opening it to sniff. Deeming it acceptable, he knelt by where he'd laid Zack down and started carefully lathering him up to get the faint, lingering residue off.

"What about the trooper?" Cissnei asked.

"His name is Cloud, and he's coming too," Kunsel said. "He's Zack's friend."

"Okay," Cissnei said softly. "We'll get him next. Maybe one of your friends can help and you can sit with Zack."

Kunsel nodded, a jerky sort of gesture that said adrenaline and heightened emotion were making a volatile mix.

There were sudden footsteps and he looked up, making another low sound. Veld looked back and waved sharply. "Vincent found a tech who can help us, it's fine. Finish here."

Kunsel rolled his shoulders, forcing himself to relax, and got back to working Zack over carefully. The second time there were footsteps, he recognized them. "Ask Ky if he found a towel."

"I did," Kythe called, enhanced hearing easily picking it up even through the patter of the shower spray.

"Good." Kunsel jerked his head. "Go get that, Cissnei, I'll finish up here."

She arched a brow, but nodded, getting up and heading back out. She shared a tight smile with Veld, both of them on edge but determined to count their blessings - sure, someone had died, but it wasn't their loss.

Kythe shooed Cissnei out of the way, bumping Veld on his way past. "Hey, I got it. He's not looking half bad for a dead guy."

Kunsel snorted, a shadow of a smirk flitting over his lips, and rose. "Here, give me that."

"Please, you're soaked. Just hold him up and I'll do it and we can try to wrestle him into some clothes."

"Shouldn't be too bad, I brought pajamas," Kunsel said. He hadn't known how Zack would be, beyond injured, and loose clothes would be best for that.

"Yeah, I saw. Why two pair?" Kythe asked.

"One's a lot bigger than the other," Kunsel said. "Which works out, since we've got two people to dress."

"Guess that works out," he agreed. "You ready for the towel? I can hold him and let you do it."

Kunsel considered it, then nodded and stood to get the towel, giving Veld a look until he stepped back out. Then he got to work drying him off, gentle even though it was painfully clear Zack was completely unaware. He tried to remind himself that Zack could have slept through this on a good day, if he was tired enough. He could sleep through anything, unless it triggered his sense of danger.

Just like he's sleeping, Kunsel repeated to himself, and tried to ignore the way his throat threatened to close with emotion, the way his chest had gone tight and his eyes burned. He's just sleeping off the mako, just like after a booster shot. God, he's always floppy when he's out. It's fine. He's going to be fine.

"Kunsel?" Kythe sounded like he was repeating himself. He was grateful he couldn't see his eyes. "Hey, why don't you go get that bigger set of clothes and we'll get him dressed, okay? Then you can go take him to the chair in the other room or something."

"Yeah, okay," Kunsel said, voice deceptively even. "That's fine."

He moved mechanically over to where the duffle had been set on the lab table, absently drying his arms before taking the soft clothes back to the little shower area and helping Kythe wrangle him into it. When that was done, he took Zack in his arms, with a huff, grateful for enhanced strength; puns aside, SOLDIERs were denser than they looked, with all that muscle. "I'll go wait in the library. You get Cloud."

"Cloud Strife? The little trooper that -" Kythe cut himself off, nodding. "Yeah, okay. Let me grab somebody. Ey Silva!"

Kunsel chuckled and took Zack out, bringing him back to the warmer library and sitting down in the chair with him. He listened to the others moving around, to the vaguely familiar hiss and burble of a mako tank draining - the tech must have actually been good for something after all. He could hear them talking about Cloud but it was background chatter compared to the noise in his head as he looked down at the limp figure in his arms.

Zack was alive. Really and truly alive, with a strong pulse even if it was a little sluggish, no doubt from whatever high grade drugs it took to keep up with a First Class SOLDIER's metabolism. He was alive, and he'd be safe. The Turks had kept their word, and he intended to make sure that didn't change. He wasn't sure what was coming next, where to go from there, especially with it just sinking in that Hojo had been a Director and even if he'd deserved it - even if Kunsel still wished he'd done it himself - you didn't just kill a department head with no consequences.

Things were going to have to change. They'd been changing, ever since Genesis had defected two years ago. Losing Sephiroth, nearly losing Zack, was just the last straw. It was too much to take, and he knew he wasn't the only SOLDIER who felt that way. ShinRa had lied to them, and manipulated them, and had been treating them like disposable tools ever since the start of the war. Probably before that, knowing what he did of Sephiroth's background.

They couldn't keep living like this. They wouldn't. It was too much for anyone to ask. Even Zack, in his endless optimism, would have said it was time to cut ties. They'd talk about it when he woke up.

Because it had to be when.

To get this close to getting him back, to have him in his arms again, and not get him back for real, was unacceptable. They couldn't be too late.

Gods please, don't let me be too late.