#freaks on floor | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

skyward-floored · 3 months

Text

Febuwhump Collab Day 10 — killing in self defense

Nobody asked for more of Sky and Warriors when they’re teenagers but I’m delivering more anyway lol. If you ever wondered how the events of skyward sword fit in with the Incredibles au, here’s your explanation.

Aka: I’m unnecessarily mean to Sky again.

Warnings for mentions of blood/injuries, some stuff about killing, and vomiting (though it isn’t too graphic)

Today’s lovely art

Ao3 link

————————————————————

They’d decided not to say anything.

Sure they wouldn’t be able to keep it quiet forever— parts of it were still all over the news (spun as them causing needless destruction of course, despite the fact that they’d saved everyone) and a good block of the city had been totally destroyed— but Time and Malon had just gotten back from their honeymoon.

Their honeymoon that they’d already had to postpone for way too long and thought they might not even get to take because of all those stupid lawsuits.

At first Warriors and Sky had expected to have to explain everything once Time and Malon returned. They’d prepared for it, even. But when they had come back looking so happy, and Time more relaxed then Warriors had ever seen him... he’d made eye contact with Sky, and they’d decided it could wait.

Warriors didn’t want to burst their bubble with the news that he and Sky had stopped a plot to destroy the world and nearly been killed in the process.

(Besides, they’d handled it, right? There wasn’t really that much to tell.)

So they both agreed to just keep it quiet, and hide the pages of the newspaper with articles about the event. They only changed their bandages from the injuries they’d gotten while Time and Malon were busy, and Sky made sure to hide the limp he was still dealing with.

And Warriors was just starting to feel confident that their plan would work and maybe they wouldn’t ever have to bother Time with what had happened...

...when Sky suddenly cracked.

It was the evening two days after Time and Malon had gotten back, and Warriors was trying to find clean pajamas, digging through a pile of clothes that he was pretty sure were clean. Most of them smelled clean anyway, and aside from the shirt with the bloodstains (oops) and the socks that had been festering for at least a week (double oops), they all looked mostly clean too.

...Laundry hadn’t exactly been at the top of his priorities lately.

Warriors pulled out a shoe that had somehow been buried in the pile, and huffed at the teeth marks on the heel. He’d thought this pair had been safe from Twilight’s wolf teething, but apparently not.

Warriors rolled his eyes and set the shoe aside, then let out a noise of triumph as he finally unburied some pajamas that appeared unworn. He tossed them on, wincing as the movement pulled at an injury on his side, and then flopped on his bed, listening to Malon try and get Twilight to go back to sleep in the other room with a sigh.

He had to admit he’d missed having Twilight underfoot. He’d been left with his grandpa while Time and Malon were away, and while Warriors was a little offended they didn’t trust him and Sky to watch him for more then an afternoon, he was rather relieved his tiny nephew had been far away from everything that had happened.

It had been stressful enough without a barely one year-old to watch as well.

He could hear Malon singing a lullaby through the wall, steps creaking as she walked up and down the length of the room. The song was soothing, and Warriors bit back a yawn, closing his eyes for a second.

Mm, maybe I’ll just go to bed now...

A gagging sound interrupted his dozing, and Warriors startled, shooting up from the bed. It hadn’t come from the room Malon was in, and he poked his head out the door, quickly following the noise down the hallway to where he thought Sky had just been brushing his teeth.

And found Sky throwing up rather violently into the toilet, face pale and eyes wide and horrified.

Warriors ran to his side as he finished, Sky’s breathing little more than gasps, and his brother stared up at him, gaze haunted.

“Sky, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Warriors asked frantically, and Sky seemed to pale further.

“W-Wars I...” he wheezed, his face panicked, “Wars I killed him, I killed s-some—”

He gagged again and almost missed the toilet, and Warriors put his hands on his shoulders, holding him steady until he was finished.

“Sky, calm down,” he tried as Sky continued to choke on air, and when that didn’t work, he grabbed his hands, squeezing them tight. “Sky, please, you’re gonna hurt yourself, you have to breathe.”

Sky only wheezed, and Warriors watched him with a growing panic, unsure of what to do.

“Sky. You have to breathe,” Warriors repeated, giving his hands a harder squeeze and ignoring his own shaking fingers. “Don’t think about anything else, just take some deep breaths.”

Sky dragged in a breath that might’ve been slightly deeper than the ones before, but he still wasn’t breathing the way he should be. At the rate he was going, he would likely pass out.

But what could he do? Sky was completely freaking out, and Warriors was beginning to as well.

Sky gagged on a cough, and Warriors shot a panicked glance out into the hallway as quick footsteps came down it. Time appeared in the doorway, and immediately got to a knee beside Sky, his face creased with concern as he gently stepped past where Sky’s wings were splayed.

“Sky, what’s wrong?” he asked, putting his hands on his shoulders.

“I-I, I ki...” Sky wheezed, shaking like a leaf, “T-Time I was...”

He couldn’t get enough words out for Time to understand, and Time looked over at Warriors, confusion and worry on his face. Warriors made a helpless gesture, and Sky wheezed again and brought Time’s attention back to himself.

Time focused on getting Sky to properly breathe, and Warriors watched anxiously, kicking himself for not expecting this sooner.

He should’ve known it would all crash down on Sky at some point— he’d barely even reacted after everything had happened. He had shed a few tears when they’d gotten Sun back and everyone turned out to be okay, but he hadn’t fallen into an utter panic like he was now.

Warriors should have expected it. Sky’s best friend had been kidnapped, and he’d nearly been killed by the same man who’d murdered his parents, and then he’d turned around and had to—

Sky coughed, and Warriors squeezed that hand that was in his again, ignoring how the motion made his arm ache.

So much for keeping things quiet for a while.

“Sky, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Time asked again after he’d managed to get Sky to breathe a little.

“I’m—” Sky stuttered, then looked at his hands with a panicked expression. “I didn’t know I would— Sun was hurt, she almost died a-and he said he was— I just wanted it to end, and I-I—”

His voice died, and he closed his eyes, lip trembling.

“...Warriors?” Time asked quietly, and Warriors fiddled with the hem of his shirt, wishing he hadn’t taken his scarf off. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Warriors swallowed, but before he could speak, Sky choked out a few more words.

“Demise was back.”

Time froze, and looked between the two of them, his gaze suddenly sharp. Warriors didn’t meet his eye, and the heavy silence that fell over them was only broken when Malon came down the hall and peered inside the doorway, drawn by the noise after having finally gotten Twilight back to sleep.

“Oh Sky, my goodness,” she breathed worriedly, looking at his pale face and T-shirt speckled with vomit. “How long have you been sick, honey?”

“I’m not sick,” he whispered, and Time breathed out, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“Some things happened while we were gone, it seems,” he said in a quiet voice. “I believe a full explanation is in order.”

Malon’s face gained some suspicion along with the worry. “What kinds of things?”

Sky shivered, and they all looked over at him. He had finally gotten his breathing under control, but was still pale, and shaking in Time’s hold on his shoulders. Malon came forward and cupped his cheek with a sigh, worry bright in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Do you think you’re going to be sick any more hon?” she asked, and Sky softly shook his head. “Okay. Why don’t you get cleaned up and changed, and then we can sit down and discuss this somewhere that isn’t the cold bathroom floor, huh?”

Sky and Warriors nodded.

Ten minutes later found them all in the living room, Sky in fresh clothes and wrapped in a blanket with Warriors next to him. The top of Sky’s wings poked out from the blanket, and he looked a little less overwhelmed then he did earlier.

Malon had warmed up some milk, but she was the only one who had touched her cup, steam gently wafting from the other mugs on the tray. Warriors looked down at the milk in front of him, but the sight of it just made his stomach roll.

Time leaned back in his chair, and sighed.

“So. What happened?”

Warriors exhaled, and Sky looked down at his lap.

“...Sun got kidnapped the day after you left,” Warriors admitted, his voice quiet.

Malon let out a soft gasp, and Sky’s wings ruffled a little, but nobody spoke as Warriors continued.

“Sky was there when it happened, but he couldn’t do anything in time and she was... taken. We started out looking for her, but we met this weird guy, and it turned out he was the one who’d kidnapped her for his boss, and he kept fighting Sky, but... there was a lot more going on then we thought...”

“Sun was.... Why didn’t you call us?” Malon asked in dismay, and Sky and Warriors both fidgeted.

“We didn’t want to bother you,” Sky admitted quietly. “And we didn’t realize how big a deal everything was going to be... and Mr. Gaepora agreed with us.”

“Gaepora should have known better,” Time said darkly. “We could have come back and helped, why—”

“Because you were finally taking a vacation!” Warriors burst out, and met Time’s eye when he looked at him. “You never take vacations, Time! And this was your honeymoon, we weren’t about to take that away from you.”

“And we did handle it,” Sky added quietly. “Obviously.”

Time sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second before replying. “I still maintain that you two should have called, and I will be talking about this with Gaepora, but it’s too late now and I assume there’s more to the story.”

Sky nodded, and Time motioned for Warriors to continue.

“Right,” Warriors said, then sighed. “So Fi was helping us because it turned out she knew a little of what was going on, and Ghirahim— he was the guy that kidnapped Sun— actually knew Fi somehow, I think. He was talking like it anyway. But anyway, it turned out he was... working for Demise.”

Malon sucked in a sharp breath, and Time had that oddly blank look settle on his face again.

“How... but Sky’s parents defeated him, everyone thought he was dead,” Malon breathed, her face pale. “You boys fought him?”

“I killed him,” Sky choked out.

The silence that fell over the room was even heavier then the earlier one had been, and Warriors risked a glance at his older brother. Time’s face was impossible to read though, and he leaned closer to Sky, meeting his eyes when he looked up.

“You killed him?” he asked in a voice Warriors couldn’t gauge, and Sky nodded.

“I did,” he whispered. “He’s dead. For certain.”

Sky’s wings began to tremble, and Warriors felt the sick feeling roll in his stomach again. I should’ve done it, I should’ve fought him.

“Was he trying to kill you?” Time continued in the same emotionless voice.

“Yes,” Sky whispered.

“He was trying to resume that crazy plan of his Sky’s parents stopped,” Warriors quietly filled in for Sky’s sake. “And for some reason Sun’s powers were a part of it. I still don’t know how. But that’s why he kidnapped her.“

“But you stopped him,” Time asked, and Warriors nodded.

“Sky did. Ethereal and me were there too, but somehow Demise summoned these... monster things, and kept us busy with those while he fought Sky. I think we would’ve died if Fi hadn’t gotten Ghirahim to help us out at the end. Apparently Demise was only using him.”

Warriors closed his eyes again. “There’s more to it then that obviously, but... but that’s the basics. Sun’s okay now. We stopped Demise.”

“I killed him,” Sky said in a wretched voice, his wings tightly wrapped around himself. “I... I barely even thought about it at the time, but he’s— he’s dead.”

Malon’s face was distraught, and Time leaned closer as Sky shook in his seat.

“Sky. It was self defense,” Time said firmly, grief in his voice. “He was trying to kill you, and Warriors and Sun and countless other people. No court would convict you.”

“But he was still a person!” Sky stressed in a shrill, watery voice. “A horrible one, probably the w-worst one I’ve ever met, but he’s dead now, and I’m the one that did it!”

“Sky, honey you had no choice,” Malon said softly, placing her hand over his. “It’s like Time said, it was self defense. If you hadn’t killed him, he... he would’ve killed you. And so many others.”

“He still could’ve gone to jail or something!” Sky said more frantically, his breathing beginning to speed up again. “I didn’t even give him th-that choice, I was so intent on stopping him I— I felt proud when I killed him! I was happy he’s gone, I still am happy because he killed Mom and Dad but I shouldn’t be and I— I keep finding his blood in my feathers!” he choked out, and Warriors was almost afraid he would throw up again.

“Sky, listen to me,” Time said firmly, looking him dead in the eye. “You did what you had to do. Demise was a supervillain, and a terrorist. The list of people he killed over the years is long, and he would have gladly added you and Warriors to their number, without remorse or hesitation. Killing him was the only option available to you. And if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, and most of this city would be dead.”

“But I— I’m a murderer,” Sky whispered, and Time put his hands on his shoulders.

“No you’re not. Demise was. You did the only thing you could do, Sky. That never should have been a choice you had to make, but you made it anyway, and you saved so many lives by doing so,” Time murmured, voice heavy. He looked directly into Sky’s eyes. “And I know your parents would be proud.”

Sky crumpled, and Time put his arms around him, murmuring something Warriors didn’t catch when a soft sob came from his hold.

Sky’s blanket slipped as Time held him, and revealed the angry lines from Demise’s lightning that were still on his arms, red and painful-looking. Malon’s face turned a little red with anger at the sight, but Time merely pulled the blanket back to where it was supposed to be, and said nothing. Warriors could see the look on his face though, and he was sure that if Demise hadn’t already been dead, then the look in Time’s eye alone would have done it.

They all sat quietly as Time continued to calm Sky’s trembling, Warriors staring blankly down at his cup. He didn’t realize his own hands were shaking until Malon took one in hers.

“Warriors, are you alright?” she asked softly.

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t... kill anyone,” he said weakly.

Did you though? his mind whispered, thinking back to the blood he’d been covered in by the time he’d gotten back to Sky. Those monsters you killed had to come from somewhere, who’s to say they hadn’t once been hu—

Malon put her arms around him, and Warriors swallowed back the lump in his throat, letting her hug him.

“Goodness I’m glad you two are okay,” she said softly, holding him tight. “No wonder you’ve been so quiet since we got back, we...”

She trailed off with a sigh, and set a hand on his head.

“Call us next time, I don’t care what we’re doing,” she said, her grip tightening. “I mean it. You two are so strong, but you shouldn’t have to save the world by yourselves.”

“It was mostly Sky,” Warriors replied softly, thinking back to the look on his face while he’d been fighting Demise. Sky wasn’t normally a very imposing figure, but the look in his eyes as he’d dodged lightning, his wings outstretched, his sword raised, and eyes nearly glowing with a cold rage...

It wasn’t a sight he would ever forget.

Malon sighed again, but didn’t say anything further for the moment, leaning against Time while she continued to hold Warriors. All four of them ended up resting against one another, and Warriors closed his eyes as he suddenly felt very keenly every half-healed scratch and bruise on his person.

He hadn’t realized until now just how truly bone-deep exhausted he was.

“I’m so glad you’re alright. Both of you,” Malon said softly, and Warriors sighed, Sky’s head coming to rest on his shoulder, a wing settling around them all.

“Yeah. Me too,” he whispered.

Sky and Time said nothing at all.

#Sky was messed up from everything that happened but killing demise was the icing on the cake #plus idk about you but if I’d had to kill anyone as a younger teenager I would’ve freaked out too #linkeduniverse #linked universe #Incredibles au #lu Sky #lu warriors #lu time #lu Malon #and twi but he’s asleep #febuwhump #day 10 #killing in self defense #writing from the floor #Incredibles au fic #time: *flashbacks to when he killed someone the first time and freaked out about it* well crap

80 notes · View notes