I do not own FF7 or any of its characters. Talin, Unit 28, and some other side characters are mine.
Chapter 3
Smoke choked his lungs and a sort of rushing roaring sound filled his ears. Nothing but darkness met him when he tried to look around. Pain bloomed at the back of his head, limbs became heavy, sound faded slowly but the smell of burning things was so strong...
With a gasp, Talin sat bolt upright out of bed. He could almost feel the grit of ashes in his mouth as the fog of nightmares cleared and he was left with a strange sense that he was forgetting something. Beyond the roar of flames and smothering blackness there was something he had... heard? Or maybe something he had felt? It was slipping away like sand the more he tried to recapture the sensation and finally gave up. With a sigh he flopped back down onto the bed and pulled his phone out from beneath the pillow. 0400.
With a groan he rolled off the edge and caught himself on the floor with hands and feet. Might as well get a shower before the others. Cold water woke him up the rest of the way and he let his mind drift to the night terror. He had had the same experience before but this was the first time he had the feeling like he had missed something. It felt important, but like most dreams it danced further away the more he reached for it.
He scrubbed away the annoyance and flipped the taps off with a little more force than needed before stepping out to dry off. Why was this bothering him so much? Forgetting was something he wished he could do and now he was angry about it?
Towel round his waist, he moved out to the main room and tried to get his gear out quietly to get dressed. Curfew was in effect from 2200 till 0430 so he threw on his lose gym gear before tapping Callian.
"Talin?" Came the tired grumble.
"Hey, I'm going to the gym for a bit. Be back before breakfast." He told the half-awake Cadet. No use worrying anyone by his unexplained disappearance. All the answer he got was a thumbs up from the pile of blankets and mop of blond hair. He wanted to smile at the exchange but could only manage half of one.
The quick trip up to the training rooms was silent. Not another person in sight, but he still worried about being caught unawares. He took a mid-hall room at random and then placed his shoes against the inside of sliding door where they would fall when it opened. For extra caution, he dimmed the lights to just 15%. He could see fine when acclimated but anyone coming in would be blind for the moments Talin needed to cut off the Mako. It wasn't much, but it would have to work for now.
Taking a fighting stance in the center of the room, he pulled hard on that burning lifeforce and let it disperse throughout his body. Small lines of his veins started to glow and his arms lit faintly where the skin was stained. The tingle that spread along his nerves told him to do something or pay for inactivity but he waited. Taking one long, deep breath then another before he started a slow shadow boxing session. Slow was hard with that much power built up but it was the better way to drain Mako. Focusing on every step, punch, hook, kick, and the few high flips he threw in. It was a sweet torture and about forty minutes in he was happily worn out. He had used about half of the store of power. No need to drain it too far, just enough to stop the burning itch under his skin for another day or so.
Shaking his arms out and cutting off the Mako he headed back over to his shoes and headed back to his Unit.
Some are still snoozing as he comes in, including Callian. Mood restored after the exercise, Talin sneaks up on the younger Cadet, drawing the attention of a few others who snicker quietly. Some subtle sense tips Callian off, but it is moments to late. Talin lunges at him and they tumble out the other side of the bed in a flurry of blankets and a yell of shock. Those watching burst into laughter as the blond struggles to free himself from strong arms and the tangle of fabric to no avail. Kyle jumps in like a referee and starts counting as Talin shifts his hold to a makeshift pin.
"Talin! C'mon! Naa...Seriously man let me up!" Callian's laughing complaints cause those in the bathrooms to peak out as well and soon all are calling out advice to him.
"Eight!... Nine!... Ten!" Kyle yelled over the commotion and Talin relents. Rolling off the other boy he helps him up and gets a light jab in the shoulder for the prank.
"I cover for you and this is how I get repaid?" Cal grumbled as he threw his blankets back on the bed and headed for the showers with Talin. The playful assault has all awake now and before long the Unit is ready for breakfast.
Classes that day were similar to the one before. More basic information that hardly covered anything at all but it was a start. In weapons and combat, Commander Fair gave them an ungraded test on weapons to see what was common knowledge and where they would need to devote more time to study. Talin was shocked at just how many types of weapons and guns were on the quiz. He had hardly heard of a quarter of them and felt slightly embarrassed till after when some of the others grumbled about their own inexperience.
Military history covered a broad section of the most recent war. They looked at some maps of Wutai that showed the major battle locations and the teacher spoke briefly on the three biggest. Talin had heard about the Wutai war but never really understood the scope of the fighting till then. The continent was massive. The number of combatants on both sides was staggering but, in the end, it had been the might of SOLDIER that had ended the fighting. General Sephiroth and his Commanders had decimated any foe. The fighting ended when they captured the enemies' main fortress in a single night, forcing their surrender as the last pocked of resistance was exterminated.
Talin felt sorry for the Wutanese. They had fought a losing battle from the beginning but they had fought anyways. For their homeland, for their people, and eventually, just for revenge of their fallen friends and family. Now they were at peace, but it was a forced and shaky thing built on fear.
They were all glad for the physical exercise of gym and pushed through the obstacle course without needing prodding from the instructor. It was good to move and get out some of the pent up energy from sitting through classes. Talin focused on his movements and kept strong reign on his body's urge to use Mako to assist him through the course. It was like forcing a bird to walk instead of fly but the need to fit in was stronger than that primal urge.
The rest of the day flew by after lunch. Tactics was slow and boring and monster studies was tedious for him. He knew the different types of monsters they were covering already and could tell male from female or the ones that had no gender. By the time they were released from the last class, Talin was ready to tear out his hair.
"Gods, if there was one class I could get out of it would be monster studies. I wish Lieutenant Roth would just give me the final so I could skip the rest of the quarter." Talin grumbled to Callian as they worked their way through the dinner line.
"You could ask but I doubt he would let you. I hear he is a bit of a hard ass on Cadets." Most of the unit was already sitting at one of the long tables and they quickly took the seats Dayton had guarded for them.
"I can't wait to get into hand-to-hand training with Commander Fair. At least then I'll be learning something new," Talin said as he dug into his dinner.
"Can't believe you're excited to spar with him. Dude is a 1st. I know he won't hurt us but still! They are way to freaking strong and fast for us to keep up with..." Hank said from down the table in obvious awe. Most nodded in agreement, Talin seamed the only one excited by the prospect of going toe to toe with the Commander and laughed at their hesitance.
"You'll never get better if you aren't challenged. What better way to learn than by working with the best Shin-Ra has to offer?" He said with an encouraging smile.
A scoff was heard from the table behind Talin and a sneering voice was heard saying, "If I were Commander Zack, I wouldn't spar with that freak. He would stain my gym clothes blue with that shit."
"I guess that won't be a problem for you, Bastion. No one wants to spar with known cheaters." Tores shot back. It was evident by the remark that the two knew each other. The words were aimed to sting and obviously they hit their mark. Tores was pulled forcefully from his seat and held up almost off the floor by the bigger boy. Bastion was tall and, like Michael, was well built for his age. His eyes flashed with rage for being called out and all froze as his other arm hauled back to drive a punch into Tores' face. The blow never landed.
Next thing Bastion knew, he was crumpled against the far wall of the cafeteria with said 'freak' standing over him. The eyes that looked down into his were not normal, crystal green and bright with a glow like a SOLDIER's... Pain finally registered along Bastion's back and head as his body caught up with the fact that he had been thrown almost twenty feet from where he had been standing with Tores. He groaned and his gaze wavered from pain till a hand gripped the neck of his shirt and his eyes shot open. The hand that was holding him was glowing a sickly green and their eyes locked again as Talin spoke.
"Never lay a hand on my unit unless you want to lose them..." The darkness in those words scared Bastion to the point that all he could do was shake his head mutely.
Talin hardly remembered standing or charging to the aid of his unit mate. As soon as that fist was raised to strike Tores he just acted. Mako flooded his system as he jumped from his seat and lunged. In a flash of green light, he wrenched the grasping hand from Tores' neck and his other slammed open palmed into Bastion's chest, sending him flying. The force was checked at the last second to lessen the impact but the boy's body still crashed into the wall with a loud smack. All Talin could feel was rage. He wouldn't allow Tores to be harmed for defending him from a heckler, but he hadn't intended for it to get this far out of hand...
As the words slipped from his mouth, Talin regained control of himself and realized his, possibly fatal, mistake. His arms were glowing an unearthly green and the eyes reflected in the other boys were just as bright with power. What have I done?!
With haste Talin cut off the flow of Mako and released the bully before taking a step back. Whispers assailed his ears and he couldn't stop the tremor of fear that ran down his spine.
"Look at his arms!"
"What happened? He moved so fast I missed it!"
"What is he?"
"Did you see? He really is a freak."
The panic that had rooted Talin in place broke like a dam and he bolted. Remnant Mako hastened his departure and he caught only one yell of "Talin!" from behind him before he was out the doors.
