[ in retrospect, maybe they should have thought about this a little more than they had.

one moment, they're all standing together, trying to have a normal -- or, at the very least, a moderately un-strange -- conversation with kanji tatsumi, resident gang member and generally frightening human being.

the next moment, yosuke asks what should be the most innocent question, and surprise, the younger boy takes it the wrong way. and. well.

oh. ]

YOU ARE DEAD!! YOU ARE SO FRIGGIN' DEAD!!

[ funny thing about that is.

he's pretty sure he believes that.

run. ]

[YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL HIM THAT TWICE OKAY JDKLFSAJLK

Except... Yosuke starts out with his wires a little bit crossed due to pure fear for his life, darts off in the wrong direction and is promptly rewarded with a door to the face. But at least he has sense enough to turn his ass around and keep running!!

Eventually he gets the bright idea to actually get out of there, if only for a little bit, and wills himself onto the Plane - because that's how it works, right? Please, for the love of anything Holy that might not have actually forsaken him in his life, let that be how it works--

Oh hello, stars.

He's gasping for air, finally slowing his running, and he has to brace his hands on his knees to keep from completely faceplanting on the floor while he tries to catch his breath.]

[ ... good job, yosuke. he'll try to remember to ask about your face once everyone is out of immediate ( and impending ) danger, but for now.

just. running. and one of the first things that manages to make its way into his addled mind is the fact that they actually have an escape route. they just have to --

dropping to the plane has gotten easier with the passage of time, and yu is there before he knows it, surrounded by the glittering little specks of light that make up the floor beneath his feet. trying to catch his breath is currently akin to trying to shove something where it doesn't belong, and the burning in his lungs is proof enough that he's pretty sure they almost died.

he might still be dying. you never know.

when he finds yosuke, he's relieved. more than relieved, truth be told, and he makes his way over to his friend, chancing reaching to brace a hand against his shoulder to get his attention. ]

… Did that … really just happen?

[He's still not sure he's able to speak over his own labored breathing yet, but he does nod a few times, swallows hard before he looks up at Yu, wincing at the memory.]

Yeah. Yeah, it did. Dude... I think... I just saw my life flash before my eyes.

( ooc: canon-bump for partners! yu and yosuke, again for reference~ )

[ he's already taken care of one of these things. this one's gonna be a piece of cake!

( because it totally doesn't matter that he only has five minutes before the place goes up in flames. he's got this in the bag and he's going to show director lazard that not only is his dream of becoming a hero not unattainable, it's just within his reach. )

he takes a swing at the thing – man, you're ugly! – and it goes down just as the one before it had. with a heavy thud and a settling of even heavier limbs, and zack thinks he's pretty well-deserved in the way he strides up to the body, swinging his sword back into place over his shoulder. ] Gotcha, didn't I, you –

[ smack!

a heavy hand comes up, catches him right across his front and sends him flying backward. oh, crap, not good. so not good –

and where he expects to get up close and personal with one of the pillars that circle the outermost space of the room he'd been in, the impact doesn't come. he ends up sprawled on his back, arms and legs akimbo, and ow okay sword digging into my back ow ow ow. he sits up, shakes his head and winces when a sharp little stab of pain forms right behind his eyes, looks around to see just what on gaia had happened. ] … Huh? Wait, this isn't – [ this isn't fort tamblin.

this isn't wutai at all.

unless wutai had always had a floor made up of stars and he just hadn't noticed. maybe he'd been too busy taking out their soldiers, or something, because that has to make a bit of sense, doesn't it? ( no, it doesn't. it doesn't have to make any amount of sense, zack fair. ) ] Where … hellooo? Angeal? [ he pulls himself up to his knees, wincing again as that pain behind his eyes creeps up on him a second time. ]

Director? [ nope. nothin'. ] Jeez, that thing must've hit me harder than I thought. [ he finally manages to get to his feet, rolling his shoulders and reaching behind him to ensure that his sword is securely in place, stretching himself out with a couple of squats just to be sure – because you never know, he's pretty much convinced that there's always going to be time for squats – and he takes a few steps forward, still peering down at the floor like he's never seen stars before.

which. he has, naturally. it's just that they're usually in the sky and not on the ground and how is that supposed to make sense. ( here's the thing, zack … stop trying to make sense of things already. you'll save yourself a lot of headaches along the way if you just go with it. ) ] Hey, uh … Anybody here?

… At all? [ no? :| ]