#whumptober day 28

[finn-m-corvex]

Whumptober Day 28: Sacrifice

SACRIFICE SACRIFICE SACRIFICE! This is actually a concept that I talked about a WHILE ago with Shark and I realized that this was the perfect chance to help it get to fruition! Go me!

Taglist: @splinnters @abigailxoxo @tornoleander @mondothebombo @ghostwalloper @toastingpencils37 @lightning-chicken

Words: 2k

The guy holding him captive had two heads.

That wasn’t normal, right? Like, Jay had seen guys with two heads before, but those were snakes, so were they really guys or was it just something different? Maybe Garmadon would know something about it since he had extra limbs?

Now was not the time to start thinking about that, especially with him being tied to a strange chair covered in flowers and leaves and sticks and all sorts of other nature-y stuff.

“Let me out of here!” Jay demanded, pulling on the rope holding his wrists and feeling it dig into his skin. They were tighter than what he was used to. “I’m innocent I tell you! Innocent!”

Mr. Two Heads looked very unimpressed with his display, instead only turning away and walking out of the door. Jay didn’t know what kind of building he was in, a small hut if he had to guess, because whatever the purple lightning was had knocked him out cold. Trying to be a good audience for the king afterwards only proved to backfire, and the next thing he knew he was stuck here in this stupid hut. Being tied to a chair and kept there against his will wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time, but who knows! Maybe this was just their way of greeting people.

The man turned back, but this time he was carrying a tray laden with enough food to feed Jay for days. There were coconuts and berries and bananas and weird star fruit looking things and wow maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. It had been a while since Jay ate anything substantial—

No! He was the enemy! They were the enemies! He shouldn’t eat an enemy’s food!

“Food? Drink?” the man offered, and Jay recoiled away when the tray of food was shoved in his face. There was something about being offered a feast of food that tugged at unpleasant corners of his mind, and Jay pushed those feelings down as soon as they threatened to come back up.

Grimacing, Jay did his best to squirm away when it was pushed even closer. “No thanks, I’m really not that hungry.”

“You’re not? You just made a long trek through the jungle trying to make it to our village, and even battled against our stone guardian! Surely you must be at least a little hungry after all that?”

“Yeah, no. Not hungry, thank you though. Can you let me go now? Maybe let me go and see my friends?”

Frowning, Two-Head put the tray down on the ground next to Jay. The motion was slow, deliberate, and sent shivers down Jay’s spine. He said the wrong thing.“You are not being a very good guest, gift of Jay. It would do you well to eat some of our food.”

He was not prepared for a large fist to slam into the side of his head; he didn’t even see it coming. Pain blossomed across his temple, and Jay grit his teeth as the first came down again with enough force to try and bludgeon his face open. It drew blood the second time, warm and sticky and dripping down the side of his face and onto his gi.

Jay barely opened his mouth to yell about how this was assault before the guy was shoving food into it, and it took everything in Jay not to choke. A not entirely unpleasant sweet-salty taste exploded across his tongue, and he swallowed thickly to try and clear his mouth, working his bruised jaw and chewing.

The food was flavorless when he bit into it. Whatever he was tasting was only coating it.

Only when he was on the verge of actually choking from food inhalation did the two-headed man stop stuffing his face, and almost instantly Jay felt light-headed. The taste was overwhelming, coating his throat and making him cough violently as his head started to spin. Something was wrong. He couldn’t feel his hands or his legs, and his tongue was rolling around in his mouth like someone had disconnected it from the rest of his body. Kinda like how his head was feeling, actually.

Drugged. This was far from the first time that Jay had been drugged by random strangers looking to take advantage of him, but it never got any easier, especially when they used different drugs every single time. Would it kill his enemies to at least try and have some sort of consistency?

“You should be grateful, gift of Jay,” said the purple man, but his words sounded more like gobbledeguk than actual language, “because the king originally wanted you to have to do this completely sober. At least now you will remain somewhat unaware of your fate.”

“What fate?” Jay slurred. “What’s happening? What are you doing?”

Something was lifting his chair up. Jay struggled against the restraints keeping him in place, but his body refused to cooperate, his vision blurry and fading in and out like one of his pa’s old radios. The movement aggravated his head, and Jay would’ve thrown up if there was anything in his stomach. Bile still dribbled down his chin when he heaved, and there was cruel laughter as the chair was carried out of the hut and onto a strange wooden walkway. The dancing lights of the torches painted red streaks across his closed eyelids, and Jay only vaguely realized that they must’ve put some sort of primitive plant drug on the food.

First Master, the least they could’ve done was let him eat some that wasn’t drugged!

Tugging at his bonds, Jay realized that the knots were too tight for him to just pull, especially with his weakened strength and flimsy coordination.

But the real problem came about when one of the guards struck him with one of the lightning spears.

Purple arched through the air and Jay screamed. He slammed his head against the back of his chair, yanking at the restraints and desperately trying to squirm away from the sharp tip digging into his side. The person just kept pressing it further and further into his side, eventually drawing blood and making Jay gasp before finally pulling back. Unfamiliar electricity was still running through his body, and the sensation made Jay want to tear his skin off and throw himself into the nearest thundercloud to be cleansed. Mr. Two-Head was chuckling at the display, eventually reaching behind him and grabbing Jay’s chin.

Jay hated that he couldn’t fight back, feeling his stomach roll at the thought of even trying to move in his condition. “You are being quite unruly for a sacrifice,” Two-Head clicked his tongue in fake remorse, “but that is alright. We will be sure to beat it out of you before we arrive.”

“Where are you taking me?” Jay asked. The blood was starting to cover his eye, and he swallowed down the panic that started to swell up when half of his vision was turned red.

The two-headed man's grip tightened on Jay's chin, forcing him to meet the unnerving gaze of both heads. "You are being taken to the place where you will meet your end, gift of Jay. There, you will meet the beast and fulfill your destiny as a sacrifice."

A chill ran down Jay's spine, making him shiver violently, and he mustered the strength to spit at Two-Head's face. The glob of saliva landed on one of the heads, causing the man to react with a disgusted expression. Jay yelled when the butt of one of the spears slammed into his temple in retaliation, and he was fairly sure he had a concussion by this point. If they kept hitting him in the head like this then he wasn’t going to be conscious for much longer.

"Feisty, aren't we?" Two-Head wiped the saliva away, his expression shifting from amusement to irritation. "You will learn to respect our traditions, gift of Jay. The king demands it."

With that, the procession continued down the wooden walkway, torches casting long shadows in the dim jungle night. Jay's mind raced, his body still sluggish from the effects of whatever drug they had fed him. He needed a plan, an escape, but the restraints were unforgiving, and the guards with their pulsating purple spears kept a watchful eye. It reminded him too much of what it felt like to be on the shipl; he was just a thing for them to parade around, an object to toy with and throw away whenever they were done with using it. Even the notion made him sick to his stomach.

He thought he may be able to hear the ocean some ways away, but instead of trying to know for sure Jay let his head thump against the back of the chair. Closing his eyes, Jay did his best to get his breathing back under control, helping his heart to stop galloping in his chest. The drugs definitely weren’t wearing off, maybe they were of a variety that got stronger over time? That wouldn’t be good. Well, nothing in this situation was good, but Jay would really like it if at least one thing were to start going his way.

There was a rustling sound in front of him, and Jay cracked his eyes open to see his guards messing with something on the ground. Two-Head noticed that Jay was looking, cracking a toothy grin to the blue ninja that was just off enough to make alarm bells ring in Jay’s head. Jay craned his head to try and see what the object was, but one of the other guards was quick to grab Jay’s chin and force his head forward again. Jay was getting really tired of being manhandled.

“Now, how could we forget the best part?” Two-Head said, holding the thing behind his back. “A gift of our own for you, gift of Jay. I hope you enjoy it.”

It was a flower crown made from oddly colored roses, and Jay’s eyes widened when he spotted the thorns still embedded in the stems. He struggled to get away as it came closer and closer to his head, and someone shoved him forward to make it easier to put the damn thing on him. They grabbed at his hair, keeping his head in place as Two-Head finally pushed the flower crown down.

Jay hated how he could feel every thorn digging into his skin, the blood rushing down as the crown was pushed farther and farther. It was painful and definitely something that someone like Nadakhan would’ve enjoyed, and Jay bit his tongue to keep from crying out as he felt the thorns scratch at his forehead. It was getting tangled in his curly locks but the man didn’t care, continuing to adjust it until it was exactly where he wanted it to be: right in the middle of Jay’s forehead, so that even the most miniscule of muscle twitches would cause it to move.

A cruel smile played at the man’s lips that had Jay reeling. “There we go! Isn’t that so much better? Look how nice it looks on you, it even matches the color of your blood!”

“That’s not a good thing,” Jay ground out, doing his best to keep his head still. He probably shouldn’t be poking this bear, but he couldn’t care less about the consequences of literally anything right now.

Scoffing, the man gestured for the procession to continue, and Jay could’ve sworn that they were rocking the chair more now just to get a rise out of him. The thorns kept digging into his skin, almost as if they were trying to burrow into his skull, and every sensory issue Jay had was screaming for him to take it off. The blood was making his skin crawl, especially when it went directly down his next and onto his undershirt. The ocean sounds were getting stronger, and Jay wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to know what the next part of the process was.

He hoped that the others would be there, though. They would make it better.

#ninjago #ninjago jay #finn's writing #whumptober day 28 #whumptober 2023

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumptober day 28, bloody knife

Ugh hey I found a way to write this one. Ok this is another super short one, it’s meant to set up the next few days. So this is also important to know what is going on.

Once again, please for the love of all things that are holy DONT tag this as LU. This is not LU read the gosh darn tags before you reblog please!!!

Warnings: bloody injury, poison kinda?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyrule woke up with a jolt. It was dark outside, and all he heard was the quiet snores of his companions, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something woke him up. He sat up, staring at Windy who was keeping watch with Green.

“Hey Freckles!” Windy called out quietly, and Green waved. Hyrule rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the dark forest ahead of him.

“Is everything alright?” Green asked.

“I… I dunno,” Hyrule said quietly, still staring at the dark forest. Windy only snorted.

“Scared of the dark are ya?” He teased, and Hyrule glared at him.

“No, Eyebrows, I just… I have a bad feeling.”

Green looked at Windy concerned, and he got serious quick.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Green asked, and Hyrule shook his head.

“N-no.”

“Did you hear anything? ‘Cause we didn’t.”

Hyrule shook his head again, and the two younger heroes glanced at each other.

“Do you need to pee?”

Hyrule gave the two a look and they lifted their hands defensively.

“It was just a suggestion!”

“I don’t think a sense of impending doom is a sign that I need to pee,” Hyrule deadpanned, and Windy giggled.

“Well, do you?”

Hyrule glared at them harder and stood up silently. The two burst out laughing as he grabbed his candle and marched into the forest.

“W-wait!” Green called out to him. “Do you want someone to go with you?”

“I won’t be far away, I can just holler if something happens. Now shut up before you wake up the others!”

The other two nodded and Hyrule marched behind a tree, far enough to not be heard, but close enough in case something happened. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of the dark, in fact, he’s found comfort in it at times, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease tonight. He stared ahead at the dark forest, holding his sword tightly as he listened to the night sounds the forest normally made. Suddenly, it all went silent, and he spun around, only for something to slash at his chest. He tripped over a root and landed on the ground with a yelp, clutching his bleeding chest. He gasped at the dark figure standing over him, holding a bloody knife, not needing the light to know that this was one of the puppeteer’s creations. Hyrule shot up, pulling his sword out and ready to call for help, but suddenly it felt like the energy was sucked out of him. His sword fell to the ground as he collapsed, feeling weaker by the second.

The figure stepped closer to him, and he tried to summon any form of magic to protect him, but he realized that it was his magic that was being drained. He laid helplessly on the ground, watching as the figure reached out to grab him, but he heard a yell before he was touched.

Windy game barreling in, swinging his sword left and right in a maniacal, yet a strategic manner at the same time. He put himself in between Hyrule and the perpetrator, pointing the sword at the puppet. Green appeared behind the puppet, with the rest of the colors surrounding him. Windy jumped to Hyrule as they attacked the puppet, and Hyrule only laid there helplessly as he started to get dizzy.

“Hyrule! You’re bleeding!” Windy exclaimed, rummaging through his pack for a potion.

“W-wait,” Hyrule breathed out, “p-poison, my magic… it’s being drained.”

Windy frowned at that and looked up at someone else who knelt at Hyrule’s side.

“Time? Do you have a magic potion?”

Hyrule looked over at Time who was the one who sat near him. He looked through his pouch and shook his head.

“What’s happening?” The older hero asked.

“Hyrule says his magic is being drained. I wonder if the blade that cut him had some sort of magic draining poison or something.”

Hyrule breathed heavily, watching as Twilight appeared, helping the colors fight off the perpetrator. He felt cold but hot at the same time as his strength left him, and he no longer was able to hold himself up.

“C’mon, Hyrule, stay with us!” Windy begged, giving him a red potion. “This should help with the wound and the poison! Just stay awake!”

Hyrule fought to stay awake as he sipped some of the potion, with Time helping him keep his head up. The potion helped give him strength, but his magic was so drained that he had a feeling that he couldn’t stay awake. He suddenly heard shouting and magic being blasted at the others.

“Wild! Age! Get back!” He heard Twilight yell out, and Windy held Hyrule.

“He’s…. A portal… out…!” He heard Windy shout out, but Hyrule felt the world grow dark around him, and the familiar dizzy feeling of losing all his magic overcame him, and darkness whisked him away.

#windy and Hyrule are best friends #they will relentlessly make fun of each other #smiles writes #whumptober #whumptober 2023 #whumptober day 28 #link between links #lbl Hyrule #lbl windy #lbl green #lbl twilight #lbl time

[comfort-questing]

28. bloody knife

they could not quite remember why everything hurt, or why the world faded in and out so oddly around them, in snatches of light and shouting and hands grasping them tightly. voices saying wake up, hold on, stay with us. voices that needed something so very badly, and they had no idea how to give it to them, because they were so dreadfully tired, and the pain was eating them up entire.

they supposed it had something to do with the battle, but even that they couldn't quite remember. strange; they would have to ask someone what had become of them, as soon as they could breathe properly again. their armor had become so heavy on their chest for some reason, and each indrawn breath seemed never to reach the bottom of their lungs, leaving almost as air-starved as before.

which was, really, quite strange.

I need to get the arrow out, someone was saying, it's pierced the lung, you're suffocating.

that was Tana. they couldn't disappoint Tana; she sounded so frightened. they dragged their eyes open, though they hadn't been aware they'd been closed.

sunlight somewhere above them, filtered through leaves. faces floating in and out of their vision. somewhere distant, someone was crying out, a bitter anguished sound.

they pulled in another breath, sobbing with the effort, bubbling iron-scented dampness filling the back of their throat.

the flash of a knife in the sunlight, moving downward.

the white-hot pain driving like a nail between their ribs, turning their sight into a swimming haze. something pulling, unspooling their blood along with it, stealing their breath out of their chest. pressure, and then a sudden lightness, and they gasped and coughed against the wet rattling in their lungs.

then Tana's voice above them, Tana leaning over them, a bloodstained knife and the warped shaft of an arrow clutched in her hands.

damn it, stay with me. don't you dare die on me.

they tried to smile at her, and spat out blood as they did so, metallic and sour. talking wasn't going to happen but they could give her that at least.

hold on till the healers get over here and fix you up properly. c'mon. you have to stay with me.

she'd dropped the knife and the arrow and gathered them up then across her lap, a sudden motion that made their head spin again, but the upright position helped her bring another breath in.

the last thing they knew for that while was her kiss pressed against their forehead, and her hoarse voice murmuring into their hair, words too low to understand but whose sound made them smile nonetheless.

they'd ask her, later, what had happened.

#whump #hurt comfort #whumptober 2023 #whumptober day 28

[dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night]

Eden VAU & Blood Sacrifices crossover

Whumptober No. 28: Sacrifice

TW: insomnia, referenced religious abuse, referenced human sacrifice, referenced colonialism, vampire carewhumper, human whumpee, referenced vampire whumper, referenced human whumpee

Note: This works if you've only read Eden VAU, but it may or may not contain spoilers for Blood Sacrifices. I played a game of telephone with the plot for myth building realism, so any spoilers are at least a bit inaccurate to what'll actually happen in the plot.

Ezra sat on the sofa with a glass of warm milk, hoping that Christopher could lure him into sleep after hours of insomnia. He hasn't slept at all the night before, and was suffering for it.

"English speakers start stories with once upon a time, yes?" Christopher asked.

"Yes," Ezra affirmed. "At least older stories."

"This is very old story, told for centuries by vampires of the Americas." Christopher cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a vampire. He lived on outskirts of small city state in what we now call Southern Americas. Before European plunderers ravished beautiful jungles in search of gold. This vampire's name has been lost to time. Society he preyed upon was not any remembered culture for their pyramids, and was long destroyed by colonizers."

Ezra nodded. He knew very little of history outside of the United States, and was often embarrassed by it. This seemed a fine way to get an education. Even if it was wrapped in myths and legends.

"This vampire," Christopher continued, "watched for years with jealousy as humans sacrificed one another in their gods' names. He could not understand why he should be forced to hunt humans like wild jungle cat when blood flowed so willingly over ornate altars within temple walls."

Despite his revulsion at the concept of human sacrifice, Ezra couldn't help but think that made some amounts of sense. After all, gods were imaginary, they didn't need human blood. But vampires did, even if sacrifices and murders were equally brutal.

"So, watched civilization for years, hatching a grand plot to disguise himself as god of hunting, harvest, and new life. This went well, and soon he was power of great authority over the people. But he made a grave and simple mistake. For he found sons of men lovely to behold, and fell in love with his high priest. They spent much time together, and his high priest would go any lengths to please the charlatan he believed to be his god."

This reminded Ezra of the many Greek myths he had read, with gods falling for mortals, usually under very unethical circumstances. Like Zeus and… Every woman in Greece ever.

"The charlatan relentlessly pursued and romanced his priest, until no person or treasure in all their land mattered more than their marriage. But secrets always come out, no matter how long they take. The priest had no knowledge of vampire kind until the charlatan confessed to nature of his kind."

Ezra found himself growing invested in the story. It was an odd kind of myth. More something he would read in a history text book than hear before bed. But as it seemed to be known to vampires alone, he counted himself lucky to be introduced to these ancient men of renown.

"The priest felt as betrayed as any man could, and hatched plot of his own. Next time the charlatan fell into slumber, the priest made attempt on his life. It was unsuccessful, and the two men disappeared from their city shortly after. No one knows what became of them, but even now some claim to have met two vampires, always traveling under different names and creating schemes to pull wool over eyes of mankind."

"I like that story," Ezra said, sensing that it was over. "It's really unique. I like the idea that the charlatan turned the priest into a vampire so they could run off together. Even if the start of their relationship wasn't great, for obvious reasons."

"I am glad you enjoyed my telling it. We vampires have many stories of this kind, and I would be pleased to tell you them."

Ezra yawned, and set his empty glass on the coffee table. "How about tomorrow? I really have to sleep."

"Of course, my darling." Christopher stood up and kissed Ezra on his forehead. "Pleasant dreams."

Eden taglist: @hugh-lauries-bald-spot @thedarkmongoose @whumpsday @whump-by-robin @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @annablogsposts @whumpshaped @seetheothersideofparadise @knittedeyebrowsandcardigans @whatwasmyprevioususername @boonasaurusrex @suspicious-whumping-egg @heavenlyeden @melancholy-in-the-morning @snakebites-and-ink @suck-my-clit-loser @i-eat-worlds @scp-1296 @chiswhumpcorner @skittles-the-whumpee @whumpki @dokidokisadness @enbygesserit @canislycaon24 @be-gay-do-crime-ahaha @a-crumb-of-whump @pixelated-whump @whumpytine

Blood Sacrifices taglist: @hugh-lauries-bald-spot @thedarkmongoose @whumpsday @whumpshaped @boxboysandotherwhump @thecyrulik @heavenlyeden @whumpitisthen @whumptier @whumpy-writings @desiresandvampires @whumpytine

#Abraham original: Hot off the press #Whump #Whumptober2023 #Whumptober day 28 #Sacrifice #Whump writing #Whump crossover

[acciowilltolive]

"Wait, so they sent three of you for ah five year old? Seems a bit like overkill, dude, not gonna lie."

"Kid, I will ask you one last time. This doesn't concern you. Get. Outta. Here."

"Well, too frickin bad. If you wanna get to Morgan, You'll have to go through me."

OR

Tony and Pepper are out of the country for a fundraiser, leaving Peter to babysitting duty. But the night goes very south very quick as three thugs with the motive to kidnap Morgan enters the mix.

Activate: Protective Brother Peter

Whumptober '23: Day 28 - Bloody Knife | Sacrifice | "You'll have to go through me

Chapter 1:

“Those are the only choices you have.”

“But what about-?”

“No,” Peter held up a finger, squinting his eyes threateningly, “You either pick The Lorax or Megamind or, I swear, I will not hesitate to play another Star Wars film.”

“But Petey!” Morgan whined, bouncing on the couch, “Both of them are so old.”

Peter gasped, beyond offended, “I’ll have you know, missy, I grew up with those.”

“Yes, Peter,” she rolled her eyes dramatically, assembling her Frozen Lego set, “That is because you’re old.”

He scoffed, “...Remind me to apologise to Mr. Stark. This hurts. And speaking of things that can hurt; isn’t this practically a safety hazard?” he poked the Lego castle, “This is very sharp and could probably seriously maim someone.”

“Dad can seriously maim someone.”

Peter agreed with a laugh.

“When will Mom and Dad be back?” Morgan asked, cozying against his side.

He wrapped an arm around her, patting her head, “They said not to wait up. So, a few more hours at least.”

Mr Stark and Pepper had gone to New York for a fundraiser helping all the people who lost their livelihood due to the snap, leaving Peter to babysitting duties. He didn’t mind it. He loved Morgan. Her sharp humour (even for a five-year-old) kept him on his toes. He shared her stories from before she was born and in exchange she told him stories from the years he was - ah - MIA, to put it lightly.

He wondered himself when Mr. Stark would be back, and checked his wrist to see the time only for his eyes to widen, “Oh shi-” Morgan looked at him with a look that was just pure Tony.

“...sheeps. Time to… count sheep! In bed! Time for bed! Sleep!” he said jerkingly, getting up, shutting off the TV, and gathering Morgan in his arms.

“But I’m not sleepy,” Morgan said, letting out the cutest ever yawn oh my god.

Peter smiled, “Of course you aren’t.”

In less than ten minutes, he had gotten Morgan to brush her teeth, change into Iron Man pyjamas –with Spider-Man socks!-- and tucked her in her bed. He freshened up too and was scrolling mindlessly through his social media after chatting with May when he felt it.

His spider-sense.

He paused, holding his screen to pause the video of a rabbit nibbling on a strawberry.

Nothing.

Peter had learned by now to never doubt his tingle, so he put his phone on the bedside table –a decision he’d come to berate himself over later– and made his way down the staircase.

He held his hand onto the handle of the door leading into the main hall, steadying his breathing. He opened the door and-!

No one.

Huh.

He swallowed and found his throat dry. He made his way to the kitchen, ducking to reach the lower cabinets for a glass.

Maybe his senses were just warning him against dehydration.

The lights turned on.

…that’s probably just Morgan who woke up and followed-

“Get out from under there. Hands in the air. No funny business.”

Okay… maybe his senses were not just warning him against dehydration.

Peter slowly straightened up, hand clutched around the glass, and frowned at the sudden onslaught of lights.

“Seriously? Are you trying to get caught? Who turns on the lights in the house they are trying to rob!”

At least, he hoped they were just robbers. There were three guys –all in black attire, complete with ski masks– all of them tall, with knives in their belts. The guy on the left looked the strongest with muscles bulging out of his arms, whereas the other two seemed more on the leaner side.

“Look,” said the middle guy, “You don’t have to get hurt. We are just here for Stark’s kid. Get outta the way.”

Peter’s head vibrated with an inner ‘Activate: Protective Brother’ as he tried to stall them to formulate a plan.

“Wait,” Peter shook his head, “So they sent three of you for ah five year old? Seems a bit overkill dude, not gonna lie”

“Kid-” the middle guy spoke again, the other two as still as rocks. Was he like the spokesperson of the group? “I will ask you one last time. This doesn’t concern you. Get. Outta. Here.”

“Well, too frickin bad. If you wanna get to Morgan,” his hands clenched around the glass.

This glass empty.

“You’ll have to go through me.”

Yeet.

He threw the glass straight at the thug nearest to the stairs, both –the dude and the glass– shattering on impact, leaving the spokesperson and the strong dude to be dealt with.

“You’re gonna regret that, punk,” the kidnapper spokesperson moved in front of him as the other guy moved behind him, essentially trapping Peter between the two thugs and the countertop.

“You know, I regret like ninety-five percent of my decisions, so it’s really not that bold of a statement.”

Using his banter as a distraction, Peter rolled over the countertop and before the spokesperson could turn around, rammed his shoulder between his shoulder blades, sending him flying into the bulky guy.

The bulky guy rolled the other thug off of him and came at Peter with his knife raised high. Peter looked around and ended up using a rolling pin to defend himself. He punched the assailant in the ribs, before throwing the rolling pin on his masked head. He was about to follow it up with a kick when-

Spider-sense.

He ducked.

And not a second too late, if the knife embedded in the wall by his head was anything to go by. The Spokesperson looked almost offended that Peter had dared avoid getting shish kebab-ed by his knife.

Peter was about to show some real offence to his face when he was tackled by the muscle of the group. The guy manhandled him into standing in front of the spokesman, pinning his arms behind him. The spokesperson took advantage of his bound arms and punched him square in the jaw, his body stumbling further into the guy behind him. Blood gushed in Peter’s mouth as the spokesperson continued raining down punches on his face.

Peter’s vision started blurring around the edges and knew that he had to think of something; and fast. Thrashing around was useless –only tiring him further– and unless he wanted to reveal his identity to these creeps (he didn’t) he couldn’t Spidey his way out of this one.

So he did the only smart thing he could think of.

He bit the arm holding him.

Hard.

The bulky guy howled in pain and released him. Peter gave him a hard kick in the nuts for good measure before whirling around and throwing a punch at the spokesman’s abdomen, the impact sending him skidding across the floor till he hit his head on the window.

He wasn’t getting up anytime soon.

“Peter?” Morgan stood at the doorway, her Black Widow plushie grasped tightly in her arms.

“Oh… hey Mo!” he smiles awkwardly, waving a bloodied hand. Oh, he must look horrible, blood covering his face, staining his teeth, trying not to collapse on the floor.

Trying to be as non ‘character in a horror movie’ as possible he spoke in a calming, yet hurried voice. “Mo, I have a mission for you: I want you to go to your bedroom, lock the door, call Mr. Stark, and not come out until he asks you, can I trust you with that?

“Yes, but about you- Watch out!”

A sudden weight on his back sent him sprawling across the floor.

“Morgan! Lock the doors!”

He listened to her hurrying up the stairs and sighed internally. Fingers grabbed at his hair and sent his face pounding into the floor. Repeatedly. Each thud resonated painfully in his skull. Peter gritted his teeth against the pain, placed his palms on the floor, and jerked his head back with everything he’s got.

The weight disappeared off his back and in a split second Peter got up, crouching low to the floor, and before the muscle-man had time to recover, tackled him around his shins, using his bulky build against him as he dropped to the floor like a bag of bricks.

Bag of Bricks, however, had more fight in him than Peter gave him credit for. He sat up, grabbed the back of Peter’s sweater, and hurled him across the room.

Peter’s body collided painfully with the sofa’s edge, sending him rolling across the sofa and onto the ground, all the air being knocked out of him, leaving him winded and dizzy.

Footsteps walked in his line of vision and Peter couldn’t do anything but cry out as a foot reared back and kicked him in the ribs.

“Punk,” The guy scoffed and Peter saw with bleary eyes as he made his way towards the stairs.

Peter scrambled to get up, looking around desperately for something. That’s when his eyes fell on his weapon of choice. He grabbed it and with a final burst of strength ran towards the assailant and just as he turned-

BAM!

Peter slammed Elsa’s Lego Castle across the bulky guy’s temple, efficiently knocking him out for good.

He stood for a few seconds, reeling with the aftershock, panting with exhaustion, sweat dripping into his eyes.

“Yep,” he bounced the Lego set in his hand, “Could definitely maim someone.”

He winced and looked around at the destroyed living room. He hoped Pepper wouldn’t be too mad. He heard the distant hum of thrusters and knew Mr. Stark was near. He’d know what to do. Mr. Stark always does.

Peter blamed his momentary sense of relief as to why he didn’t notice the first guy getting up.

Glass guy grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him and pushed a knife to the hilt into Peter's side. A broken gasp lodged itself in his throat which turned into a hoarse cry as the guy ripped the knife out, slowly. Peter felt each jagged cut of the knife tearing through his insides as it was pulled out and felt his eyes closing against the pain.

When he opened his eyes, it was to find himself leaning against the countertop, legs spread in front of him and head lolling onto his shoulder, the assailant screaming crazily something which Peter was too far gone to comprehend. A steady nothing had taken over Peter’s hearing; only the sound of blood dripping onto the floor audible to him.

He knew he should do something. Put pressure on the wound, stop the blood from flowing, shut the stupid yelling, but he was just so tired. Fatigue had settled heavily on his bones and made home. His eyes threatened to roll back into his skull.

A great stream of light blasted across his vision, his eyes squinting against it and when he opened them he was seeing red and gold.

Red and gold meant safe.

Red and gold meant he was okay.

“Peter! Kid! Stay with me, please. Come on, don’t do this. Talk to me!”

Mr. Stark had gotten out of his suit, his cream Armani suit –which probably cost more than Peter’s existence– was stained a rusty shade of red as he pressed his hands to Peter’s sides.

Peter knew he should feel pain. But he felt absolutely nothing.

He gathered his strength and choked out, “M-Morgan-”

“Rhodey’s got her. That’s it, kid. Keep talking to me.”

He shivered, “S’ C-Cold.”

Mr. Stark’s face crumbled painfully as tears flowed freely from his eyes, “We’ll get you warmed up soon. Okay? You hear me. Just- just, hold on. Please.”

“I’m – I’ll be okay. I’m safe.” he coughed, and felt blood dripping down his lips, “As long as you’re here, I am okay.”

Mr. Stark smiled.

And he thinks he smiled too.

Before passing out in Mr. Stark’s arms.

#whumptober2023 #peter parker #morgan stark #tony stark #peter parker whump #fanfic #whumptober day 28

[serickswrites]

Thunder

Warnings: abduction, yandere whumper

“Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?” Whumper whispered in Whumpee’s ear. 

“What? No! What the fuck!” Whumpee shrieked as they recoiled from Whumper. 

“We see eye to eye.” Whumper said as they cocked their head. 

“No. No, we do not.” Whumpee said as they rose from their chair. They needed to get out of there and away from Whumper. 

“I can feel the thunder breaking your heart. You are lost without me.” Whumper punched the wall next to Whumpee’s head. 

Whumpee flinched and started to walk away. “Can’t you see just how lost you are without me?” Whumper grabbed Whumpee’s wrist.

“The only thing that is lost here, is your mind. Let me go!”

“I just need to help you remember how much you need me. See how much I guide you.” They pulled Whumpee close and clamped a hand over Whumpee’s mouth to muffle their pleas. Whumpee would understand. They would see. 

#serickswrites #whump #whumpblr #whump writing #whump community #tw abduction #tw yandere whumper #whumptober #whumptober 2022 #whumptober day 28 #prompt: it's just the tip of the iceberg #punching a wall #queue #this piece was 100% ghost inspired #like cirice is such a good creepy song #i love them so much #thebandghost

[basicallyjaywalker]

Whumptober Day 28

Morning

Character: Cole

Prompts: "We might not make it to the morning so better tell me now," bloody knife, sacrifice, "you'll have to go through me"

Length: 1,255

Aaaand I got like 2 days before I fell behind again. Don't worry, I have the next one already partially ready, Day 31 will be published tomorrow night after 29 and 30. In the meantime, Cole angst bc I seriously neglected it this whumptober

#ninjago #lego ninjago #cole brookstone #whumptober 2023 #ninjago fanfiction #whumptober day 28 #whump #whump fic #'we might not make it through the night so better tell me now' #bloody knife #sacrifice #'you'll have to go through me' #jay walker #clouse

[calinaannehart]

Day 28: It’s just the tip of the iceberg

Anger born of worry | Punching the wall | Headache

If Eddie was being truthful he should have seen it coming.

He’s been feeling off all day, a lingering presence in the back of his head as though there was something poking at the soft tissue, unwilling to be ignored. It only grows as the day progresses and it’s a call to a car show that lights the final spark, the migraine exploding into existence as engines and exhausts rev and bang all around him.

#whumptober 2022 #whumptober #whumptober day 28 #eddie whump #soft eddie diaz #eddie díaz #soft evan buck buckley #911 fox #evan buckley #911 on fox #evan buck buckely #fanfiction #9 1 1 on fox #911 fanfic #9 1 1 fanfiction

[fletcherwilbury]

@whumptober Day 28: "You'll have to go through me."

Warning for Verbal abuse, attempted physical abuse, burns, past injury, bruises, broken bones

#whumptober #whumptober 2023 #whumptober day 28 #“You'll have to go through me.” #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2012 donnie #tmnt 2012 mikey #tmnt 2012 leo #verbal abuse tw #attempted physical abuse tw #burns tw #past injury cw #bruises cw #broken bones tw

[boowhumps]

Whumptober 2023

Day 28

(@whumptober)

By - B.W

⚠TW⚠

~ Swearing

~ Mentions of Death

~ Mentions of Blood

~ Mentions of Injury

Enjoy!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Running.

That was all she could do.

It was an attempt to escape the inevitable, but she still tried.

Her breaths were shallow and ragged, and her body was on the edge of giving out.

Her vision was hazy and she swayed as she ran. Black crept in the sides of her vision, causing her to try and blink them away several times.

She pushed her body to run faster, feeling the figure behind her getting closer..

Suddenly, something grabbed her leg, causing her to fall with a shriek.

She attempted to push herself up but a sharp foot on her back pushed her right back down.

She felt herself graying in and out of consciousness..

But she still saw her..

And that's the last thing she ever saw.

__

Zaaron took a deep breath, eyes narrowed as he searched the seemingly endless void.

She was here.

She had to be here.

The sharp clicks of footsteps snap him out of his trance. He looks up to spot Silva, frowning down at him.

"She sent you.." She mumbles.

Zaaron sighs. "No, I'm here on my own account."

Silva hums. "Well.. that just makes things easier for me.."

Zaaron glares at her. "Where is she.?"

Silva raises an eyebrow. "Who is the one you're searching for.?"

"You know who." He says coldly. "You have her here."

Silva sighs. "Oh you naive soul.. I don't mess with the dead.."

"That's why you revived her, no? A slave is better alive than dead." He mumble.

"Oh, of course, you're here for Karyme.." Silva replies with a sinister smile. "That's just too bad.. she's been gone for a while now.."

"Lies.. she's here." Zaaron responds.

Silva huffs. "I did bring her back to life.. but she's really gone now.."

"What did you do to her.?" He asks.

"What she wanted." Silva replies. "It was either you or her.. and she played as a sacrifice.. funny how it always like that for her, no?"

"She was a good slave for a bit.. but she tried to outsmart me.." Silva says softly. "She's been taken care of.."

Zaaron narrows his eyes. "Where is she..?"

"Gone." Silva replies coldly.

There's a suffocating silence as Zaaron processes those words.

"Did you-" He starts, but Silva's gone.

A sudden thump makes him jump, and his gaze falls to the floor.

He feels the color drain from his face as he sees Karyme laying there, bloodied and not moving.

His legs move automatically, and before he can even process it, he's kneeled down next to her.

She isn't moving at all..

He takes her body into his arms gently, speaking to her in a hushed tone.

"She asked for you.." Silva starts, now a couple feet behind Zaaron.

Zaaron looks over to her. "..you.."

"A shame she died before you got here.." Silva says with a slight laugh. "No worries, let's restart the show you missed."

Once again, she disappears.

Zaaron turns his attention back to Karyme, who's still unconscious.

Suddenly, her eyes snap open, and she begins to fight against him.

"Karyme-!" Zaaron says, grabbing her wrists. "It's me kiddo, look at me-!"

She stops a bit, her breaths quick. "Z-.."

"It's okay.." He whispers. "I'm getting you out of here.."

He begins to lift her off the ground, but she responds with a cry of pain.

"Shit.." Zaaron mumbles. "Easy kiddo.. breathe.."

His eyes scan over her, taking in the injuries that were worse than he previously thought.

Karyme begins gasp for air again, clearly in distress. One hand is clutching onto him, and the other is pressing into the side of her torso.

Zaaron notices, and slowly tries to move her hand away.

She only cries out again, and Zaaron realizes he needs to get her out of here, and quick.

"I know, I know.." He whispers to her as he presses both of his hands into the wound on her side.

Karyme reaches out towards him, gripping his arms as he does. She gasps and groans as Zaaron increases the pressure.

"Okay.. I'm going to lift you up again.." He tells her, knowing she's not listening.

He slowly begins to lift her again, and Karyme only cries out again.

"C'mon kiddo, keep those eyes open for me.." He mumbles.

He finally gets her up and begins to run to where he knows the way out is.

He keeps glancing over to Karyme, who's still clutching onto him, gasping.

A voice rings out suddenly, but Zaaron is blocking everything out. His only focus is Karyme's well-being, which is on the line right now.

He spots a dark figure up ahead, and dashes towards it.

"Where is-" The figure starts, stopping when he spots Karyme in Zaaron's arms.

"We need to go, now." Zaaron says, catching his breath.

The figure nods, and he throws a crystal into the air. It floats for a few seconds, and then spins, which makes a portal appear.

Zaaron's is about to go through, but he feels Karyme's grip on him loosen.

"Karyme.?" He whispers, but she doesn't respond.

"Zaaron, go." The figure responds.

"She's not moving.." He says.

The figure looks at Karyme. "Give her to me."

Zaaron nods, slowly handing her to him.

The figure holds her, and he puts something on her.

The glint of a star-shaped necklace is bright in contrast to the void.

"It'll hold for now." The figure says. "Now go."

They both make their way through the portal, which lands them in a world where they came from.

Karyme's hand finally gives way, but she's far from death..

She won't die.

...

Not right now, anyways..

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

#whumptober #whumptober day 28 #whump writing #god. #this was a pain to write #i was so tired yesterday that i had to finish this when i woke up #at least i posted it #anyways i was partying all day yesterday which is why i was so tired #but tumblr doesn't go before real life #anyways thats all i have #and as always #enjoy! :)

[fanfictasia]

Whumptober Day 28

Headache

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Fading

“Anakin,” his master says, and for all that it sounds soft and caring Anakin simply can’t… trust that anymore. Whatever little trust he had has been irrevocably shaken and changed, though he doesn’t know why. This would hardly be the first time Obi-Wan hurt him irreparably. “I saw Sidious hurt you again. I –”

He does not want Obi-Wan to touch him so intimately, not right now, but… “Okay,” he says, pushing himself to his feet unsteadily. He feels faint, either from blood loss or electrocution, he’s not sure. Or maybe just from fighting in such a hot atmosphere. And that’s not to mention how badly his head is throbbing. Maybe he’ll be able to think this through at a different point in time when it doesn’t feel like He’s being repeatedly smashed over the head with something.

He feels hands steady him, and for a painful moment he yearns for Ahsoka and Rex – they might think the less of him, but he just doesn’t… want this. And he feels guilty for needing it seeing everything Obi-Wan himself just went through. “I can do it myself,” he mutters.

“Really,” Obi-Wan replies flatly. He sounds almost irked now.

Anakin barely manages to not flinch at that. He… just doesn’t understand. Doesn’t have the mental space to. Not right now. Not when he’s fairly certain his head will split in two any moment.

“Are you afraid of me?” Obi-Wan asks quietly.

He could swear they had this conversation before. “I don’t know. Maybe. Sometimes.”

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan says, something almost haunted in his expression.

“Don’t look like that,” Anakin mutters. “You look too old.”

Obi-Wan makes a sound that Anakin can’t tell is a laugh or not. “Go lay down,” he says, shoving him towards the door.

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #whumptober #whumptober 2022 #whumptober day 28 #day 28 #anakin skywalker #anakin #obi-wan kenobi #obi-wan #anakin and obi-wan #anakin needs a hug #obi-wan needs a hug #day twenty eight #headache #whump #obi-wan is anakin's father #and they're adorable okay #how does this manage to be angsty and fluffy at once

[insertsomthinawesome]

Whumptober No. 28 - "You'll Have to go through Me"

I'm v soft for Stellaron trio 🥺🥺🥺 Blade protecting silverwolf/treating her like a friend or a younger sibling-ish relationship is so precious to meeeeeee. I think whether he thought about it or not he'd keep an eye out for her. -NO ROMANCE INCLUDED-

#whumptober2023 #No.28 #'you'll have to go through me' #honkai star rail #digital art #blood #injury #Whumptober #Blade hsr #Blade #Silver wolf hsr #silver wolf #InsertSomthinawesome #isa's fanart #December2023 #Wooooo this has been done forever!! #i was very busy during october so I missed the post day lol #hi ya'll long time no art WHEEZE #i got con crud :Db #for the first time ever so honestly it kinda feels like #a milestone in my con attendance experiences aldfjSLKJGSg #bless my friends they complimented blade's hair and i still think about that ueueueueueueue #his hair is fun to draw... #Silver Wolf's too if I don't get confused by the curling lol #Its hilarious that with blade i don't even have to qualify that he'll be fine. because its blade

[kikker-oma]

Warning: Blood and Chains

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#im toootally not late.. of course not #i will get back on track for day 22 and 23! #i didnt feel good today #but i also spent almost all day canning applesauce #i made 28 pints😄 #it took HOURS cus i did it on my own on top of pain lol #but i digress #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu fanart #lu hyrule #whumptober2023 #whumptober #blood chains

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 28: Sacrifice

Yeah I’m basically just going to do the rest of these a day behind I think... If a miracle occurs and I can get some of these out on their proper days then yay! But uh... probably won’t happen. Yeah.

It probably doesn’t help that this one is stupid long 🙄

Read on ao3

Warnings: well. Um. Discussion of death. Thinking about death. And... temporary character death.

————————————————————

The sacrifice of one leads the way for the many.

A chill went down Sky’s spine as he read the inscription, and he stepped back to let the others read the words on the stone as well.

“Well, that’s not creepy,” Legend muttered, and Sky couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. The fact that the words were written on a pitch black stone in red letters didn’t help either, and Sky glanced around the room in unease.

The dungeon so far had been somewhat creepy, but not to this level. The room they were in now was large and dark, lit only by oddly purple torches along the walls that made the rock with the inscription shine strangely. Another similar dark stone stood on the other side of the room, but it was blocked off by bars, and there appeared to be no way through.

“What do you think it means?” Wind asked, standing on his toes to better read the inscription.

“Obviously a sacrifice of some kind is needed for us to continue,” Warriors said, and Time nodded slowly, rubbing his chin as he studied the stone.

“But what kind? I mean... my favorite spoon would kind of be a sacrifice, right?” Wild asked a little hesitantly, and Time shook his head.

“...I don’t think so,” he murmured.

The room went quiet as they all looked at the stone again, and Sky glanced across the room to the other identical one, squinting a little as he noticed something. He stepped over to the bars, and felt something cold land in his gut as he saw a faint outline of a handprint on the opposite stone.

“I think... the sacrifice has to be one of us,” he said in a quiet voice.

“No, no way,” Four said with a rapid shake of his head, stepping away from the inscription. “We’re not doing that.”

“I agree, that’s not an option,” Time said firmly.

“It must mean something else,” Twilight said, glancing around. “Look around for any switches or something, there’s got to be another way out of here.”

The other Links spread through the room, mostly around the perimeter, but Sky stayed by the bars, an odd feeling keeping him there. He studied the metal, then the ground, and saw a slightly darker ring of stone on the floor. It was faintly outlined in red, but nothing happened when Legend and Hyrule walked over it on their way across the room.

That must be where the sacrifice goes...

The heroes searched the room for a long time, checking every nook and cranny, trying various items to get past the bars blocking off the other part of the room. But nothing was found, and nobody’s items were able to get through. They even started trying combinations of things, but Time finally put a stop to it, saying it was getting late.

None of them spoke of the inscription as they made camp for the night, and nobody mentioned how the door they’d come in through was barred off as well.

Nobody talked about how they were trapped.

Sky couldn’t help thinking of it though, and the thought he’d had in the back of his head the entire time they’d been combing the room was slinking to the forefront of his mind again.

And as he got into his bedroll along with the others, he found sleep hard to come by.

They’d been in this dungeon for a few days now, and hadn’t been the best stocked when they’d gone inside. Nobody wanted to admit it, but they were low on water, starting to get low on food, and it would only get worse since they were trapped in this room.

They were running out of time, and there was only one way out.

Sky felt the cold feeling in his chest come back, and he rolled over, staring over at the bars that blocked off the other part of the room.

It must have been extremely late now, and the others were all asleep, worn out from the various trials of the dungeon. Nobody else was awake— they hadn’t set a watch since there was no way for anything to get in here— and Sky slowly sat up, still staring at the bars as the words on the stone ran through his head yet again.

The sacrifice of one leads the way for the many.

It was the only way through.

Sky breathed out, and looked back at the others, listening to their soft breathing. Wind was spread out like a starfish, half on top of both Warriors and Twilight somehow. Wild was curled up by the rancher, and his feet were dangerously close to hitting Hyrule in the face, the traveler back-to-back with Legend. Four was near his head, and Time was a little further away from him, more by himself then the others, but still plenty close.

All of them here, with homes and loved ones to go back to. They had so much to lose, but Sky... he had so much to make up for. So much to repay.

And between watching one of them sacrifice themselves, or being forced to endure a slow death of starvation and dehydration, trapped in this room with freedom so close...

Neither of those were options.

Sky swallowed, then slipped out of his blankets, quietly putting on his boots. He stood, then after a moment’s hesitation, fastened his sailcloth around his neck, comforted by the weight of it.

The familiar smell wafted around him as he walked across the room, and he held tightly to the pendant as he stepped into the darker circle on the floor, his hands surprisingly still.

He’d faced death countless times before, and found himself oddly calm as he stared it in the face yet again.

“I am the one,” he whispered.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then a quiet rumble came from the floor, the bars in front of Sky slipping away before his eyes.

He breathed out, and stepped past them, the bars immediately sliding back into place behind him. Sky slowly stepped towards the stone on the other side of the room, the handprint more obvious now that he was on the other side of the bars.

He wondered if it would be painful.

“Sky?”

He startled and looked behind him, seeing Twilight sit up and rub his eyes. The rancher looked around in confusion at the sight of Sky’s empty bedroll, but then their eyes met, and Twilight’s went wide with horror as he realized all of a sudden what he was doing.

“Sky!”

His shout woke the others, and before Sky could blink, all of them were by the bars, staring or shouting at him.

“Sky, what are you doing?!” Wind cried, his eyes wide. “How did you...”

“Sky, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but come back,” Time said in a voice that was much less steady then usual. “This is not the way.”

“You don’t need to do this,” Warriors said carefully, hand outstretched towards him. “We’ll figure something else out, just... Sky, don’t.”

Sky couldn’t stand the heartbreak on their faces as they talked to him, and he turned back around, facing the stone again. The handprint had disappeared, but he knew it was waiting for him.

He stepped towards it, and the others’ voices grew more frantic.

“Sky don’t you dare!” Four shouted, banging his hands on the bars separating them. But Sky ignored him and the shouts of the others, and continued to walk alone across the room.

“No, Sky!”

“Sky! Stop please!”

“The sacrifice of one leads the way for the many,” Sky recited quietly, and their desperate shouts finally quieted at his voice. He turned back and gave them all a sad smile, and looked over all of them again, his companions, his friends.

His brothers.

“That’s what the inscription said. This... this is the only way through.”

“It can’t be, we’ll find another way Sky, please,” Twilight begged, but Sky didn’t move.

“We’re almost out of water, and there isn’t any other way out,” he said softly. “One of us has to do this.”

“Sky,” Legend choked out, but Sky took the last few steps towards the stone without looking back.

He inhaled, taking in one last breath of the sweet smell of his sailcloth, then squared his shoulders and pressed a hand to the pitch black stone.

“SKY!”

(...)

Sky crumpled the moment his hand touched the pedestal.

He didn’t cry out, didn’t let out so much as a gasp, and Twilight could only watch in horror as he dropped to the floor with a quiet thump.

The bars lifted mere moments later, all entrances and exits opened, and Twilight bolted forward, rushing with the other Links to Sky’s side.

“No no no Sky, come on,” Four choked out as they all dropped to his side, and Warriors shoved past them all, turning Sky onto his back and pressing a hand first to his wrist, then his throat.

Twilight’s heart was in his throat, and he could only stare at Sky’s blank eyes, open, but lacking any of their usual warmth. He was reminded horribly of that nightmare Lanayru had given him all that time ago, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away, just like then, no matter how much he wanted to.

Warriors might’ve done or said more, but Twilight could only stare, and he didn’t check back in until the captain finally pulled away from Sky.

Twilight looked at him with a desperate feeling in his chest, but Warriors only shook his head. The captain’s eyes had a dull look to them as he looked at them all, and he reached forward with a shaking hand to carefully brush Sky’s eyes closed.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Warriors whispered, closing his eyes. “He’s gone.”

Twilight felt like he’d been dropped into the frozen lake at Snowpeak.

“He... he can’t be,” Wind said, voice trembling. “He can’t, that’s not...”

Hyrule moved forward then as well, hands already lit, but the moment he touched Sky, the desperately hopeful look on his face slipped away.

“There’s nothing to heal,” he said in a small voice. “I can’t do anything.”

“But there has to be something!” Wind gasped, his eyes already watering. “Don’t... don’t we have any fairies? They’ve brought us back so many times, there must— there has to be—”

“Get up Sky,” Legend demanded, hand trembling as he gave Sky’s shoulder a hard shake. “You can’t do this to us, get up.”

Sky didn’t move.

Twilight stared as Legend shook Sky harder, his face desperate, and Warriors finally tugged the veteran away, placing his hands on his shoulders.

“He’s gone, Legend,” Warriors said in a voice so full of grief that Twilight almost didn’t recognize it. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Wind let out a sudden sob, and Twilight quickly pulled him into his arms, the sailor crumpling in his hold. Warriors looked away as Time placed a shaking hand on Sky’s cheek, and the others all looked down at him, shock and grief and too many emotions to name on their faces.

“He’s not dead, he’s not,” Legend choked out, looking wildly around at the others, as if hoping someone would agree with him. But nobody spoke, Four silently crying, Wild looking like his world was crashing around him, Hyrule merely staring much like Twilight was, like he couldn’t quite believe it.

“Why would he— why?” Wild choked out, and Hyrule leaned against him, looking equally overwhelmed. “How could he—”

“He did as the stone said,” Time finally whispered, his voice somehow equally heavy and weak. “He did it for us.”

Wind let out a muffled wail in Twilight’s arms, and Twilight closed his eyes, unable to take in the scene any more.

Sky was gone.

(...)

Somehow they made it to the boss room.

They couldn’t stay in the dungeon forever (Sky had been right, they were running so low on supplies but why like this, why—), and through the haze of grief that had fallen over Twilight, he was glad that Warriors had taken charge.

Time seemed like he was floundering, barely replying to anything anyone said to him, his face eerily blank, and Twilight himself couldn’t summon up the energy to try and figure out what to do next. Nobody else was in any state to do anything, and as soon as Warriors realized, he took over.

He quickly settled into captain-mode, all emotion rapidly shoved to the side in favor of getting them moving again. Twilight could see it on his face, the blank look in his eyes as he gently prodded them all to their feet.

He’d slipped behind a mask, and Twilight was too lost in his head to even be too worried about it.

Twilight carried Sky’s body as they continued through the dungeon, barely a word passing between anyone as they trooped onward. He tried not to think about exactly what it was he was holding, and when he glanced down, he could almost tell himself that Sky was merely sleeping, eyes closed, his bangs falling over his face.

They hadn’t even discussed leaving him in the room where he’d fallen. None of them were going to leave Sky alone down here, in an eerie dungeon thousands of years from his own time.

Twilight felt another wave of grief hit him, and he looked down at the skycloth they’d wrapped around him.

Oh Goddesses, what are we going to tell Sun?

A thick sniffle came from where Wind was walking, and Twilight looked over at him, the sailor stubbornly walking onward despite the tears pouring down his face. Four was next to him, clasping his hand, and Twilight was sure Wind wasn’t the only one crying.

But they kept walking. They needed to get out of here, and then...

Wild pulled his hood over his face nearby, and Legend continued on at the front, his shoulders faintly shaking.

...Then we can grieve.

After several rooms that Twilight barely even took in, they finally went through what had to be the boss door, large and ornate. Twilight was the last through, and he gently set Sky’s body by the wall out of the way.

Something clattered, and they all drew their swords.

A dragon made entirely out of bones stomped out from behind a pillar moments later, a screeching roar coming from its throat. It glared down at them all, purple eyes glowing, and the sight of it set something burning in Twilight’s gut.

He wasn’t the only one, the sight of an enemy seeming to light something up in all of them, and they all ran forward with enraged shouts.

The fight wasn’t long, all of them fighting with an intensity that didn’t surprise Twilight in the least. Legend was the fiercest of them all, attacking like a madman, and as the others knocked off the bones on the dragon’s feet, the veteran lunged forward with an enraged cry.

His sword slipped into the ribcage of the dragon, cutting into the purplish core that laid inside. It let out a roar louder then any it had before, and the others took from Legend’s cue, jabbing their swords at the ribcage and dodging the spiked tail and teeth.

Time finally smashed straight through the ribcage itself with an especially fierce jumping slash, and Legend darted in, the dragon screaming as its core burst from the countless attacks. It writhed around the room, letting out increasingly louder screams before collapsing suddenly into faintly purple dust.

Legend fell to a knee once it was gone, and Twilight saw his shoulders shaking as he wiped his face with his sleeve. Time put a hand on his shoulder, and said something that Twilight didn’t catch, but Legend leaned into the hold, his head bowed.

Nobody was injured enough to dip into their meager supplies, and so they didn’t linger, heading for the stairs that had appeared at the dragon’s death.

The boss was defeated and the dungeon clear, but the victory felt hollow as Twilight gently lifted Sky’s body again, and headed for the exit. None of them spoke as they climbed up the stairs that had appeared in the room, and the only sound was an occasional muffled sniffle.

Twilight felt even more hollow as they finally emerged from the stifling dungeon, blinking in the early-morning sunshine that met them. They’d been spilled out into a forest clearing, more of a garden almost, birds chirping happily as the sun filtered through the leaves.

Twilight wanted to scream at the beauty of it.

Wind abruptly sat down on the grass, his eyes red, but finally dry, and the rest of them either sat beside him, or spread out, poking around the clearing, still nobody speaking.

Twilight walked around as well, Sky still cold in his arms. He wasn’t sure why he felt like he couldn’t set him down, but he didn’t want to think about it too hard. He was afraid if he did, the grief would sink it’s jaws so tightly into his heart he wouldn’t be able to do anything.

He’d let that happen once. He wasn’t keen on doing it again.

Twilight stepped idly toward a small paved area, moss growing between the bricks and up a small pedestal. A bird chirped happily from a branch above his head as he leaned down to look at the stone, and Twilight realized suddenly there were words on it, half covered by moss. He shifted Sky around, and scrubbed the plants away, squinting at the inscription.

The sacrifice of one leads the way for the many.

But if made from pure love, then death will not tarry.

Twilight stared, the weight of Sky’s body in his arms heavier then ever as he felt his heart suddenly speed up. Death will not...

Sky opened his eyes.

Twilight cried out and nearly dropped him, saved only by Wild bolting over and grabbing his arm.

“Sky?!” he gasped, and the others immediately ran over at his shout, Twilight sinking to his knees as he stared at his brother.

Sky stared up at the leaves overhead as the others leaned over him, and Twilight felt himself begin to shake as he didn’t move.

Sky, please, please tell me I didn’t imagine that, please—

“Rancher...” Four began in a small voice when several minutes had gone by. “I don’t...”

Sky suddenly jerked, letting out a series of thick coughs that made no less then half of them shriek in surprise.

He blinked several times, looking like he was trying to get his bearings, but then nearly everyone crashed into him, hugging and crying and yelling at him for being the “worst idiot self-sacrificing Hero they’d ever met.”

“Don’t do that ever again!” Wind sobbed, hiccuping with relieved laughs as he hugged Sky.

“How are you alive?!” Wild gasped, his cheeks wet as he clutched Sky’s hand.

”Gods Sky, we thought—” Warriors began, but his voice broke and he clenched tighter at Sky’s shoulder, shaking his head as he turned away.

“Never do that again,” Time said in a heavy voice, his own eye shining, and Sky could only look around at them all as they stared at him and clutched at him.

“It... did it work?” Sky said finally, voice raspy, and Twilight nodded, feeling like his heart would give out from the events of the past several hours.

“It worked,” he replied in thick voice, and smiled shakily at Sky. “We all hate you for it, but it worked.”

Sky opened his mouth again, but was cut off by Legend giving him a punch to the shoulder, his hand shaking as he stared at him.

“You— you’re horrible Sky,” he choked out, then joined the others in hugging him, his face buried in Sky’s chest. Sky hugged them back, and Twilight clutched his hand in his, skin cool but no longer icy, a healthy beat pulsing through his wrist.

He heard someone sob, and Twilight clutched tighter at Sky’s hand as everyone hugged him, clutching his hands and shoulders and holding him close as they reassured themselves that he was alive alive alive.

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu Sky #lu chain #all the links #linked universe fanfic #whumptober2023 #day 28 #sacrifice #writing from the floor #the rhyme is a liiiittle iffy but it was the best thing I settled with #I tried like five different things before I found a rhyme that actualky worked #and I don’t like the ending gahhhh #anyway #today’s is coming but #...probably not til tomorrow #I’ve been too much of a mess to catch up #sorry #whumptober

[kybercrystals94]

To Fight Alongside Heroes

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023 | Day 28 | Prompt 28: Sacrifice

Rating: G

Words: 593

Summary: Fives sits with Echo while he grieves lost brothers.

Fives wakes up in the middle of his sleep cycle to the sound of the barrack’s door sliding open and closed. He glances at his chrono. There isn’t a shift change for another two hours. He leans over the side of his bed to look down at Echo’s lower bunk. Empty.

Worried, Fives kicks off his blankets, drops to the floor, and makes his way out of the barracks as quietly as his sleep addled brain will allow.

Fives can’t help but marvel at how quickly the destruction of the battle has been cleaned up. There are still major repairs that need to be done to the outside of the city; however, the halls, which only a few hours earlier were stained in the blood of their brothers, are back to their pristine, sterile white. Like nothing even happened, like lives weren’t lost. Swept away like a bad mark on a record.

If it had been natborns killed on their home planet…

Thinking like that doesn’t help or change anything, so Fives pushes it to the back of his mind, putting his focus on finding his batch mate. Echo doesn’t usually go off on his own, and certainly not in the middle of the night when he doesn’t have a shift of some sort. So, Fives wanders on hastened steps, checking down each hall he passes.

He ends up at their old training room, the door’s lock unactivated. He goes inside.

Echo sits on one of the benches along the far wall. He is leaning forward, elbows propped on his knees, hands knotted together in tight fists, head bowed. Fives sits down next to him but doesn’t say anything. Echo doesn’t move, absolutely still. Fives sits back against the wall, eyes taking in the familiar room shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the safety lamps dimly illuminating the floor.

After several long minutes, when Echo still hasn’t moved or acknowledged him, Fives asks, “Are you alright?”

Echo’s head turns slightly. “I should be.”

“On who’s orders?” Fives leans forward, mirroring Echo, so that they are shoulder to shoulder. He nudges him. “Is it about Ninety-Nine?”

“It’s about all of it,” Echo growls. “It’s about every sacrifice we make for the Republic. I know what I said to Rex and Cody, but…it’s not fair. And I know that life isn’t fair, and never will be — but I’m tired of watching our brothers being used as cannon fodder.”

Fives reaches over and tugs on Echo’s wrist until Echo gives him his hand. Fives grips it painfully tight. “You can’t think like that, Echo. Our brothers deserve to be remembered for the heroes they were, for the lives they saved. Ninety-Nine died exactly where he wanted to be…on the front lines serving with his brothers. And we were there for it, Echo, we got to fight alongside him.”

Echo grips back. “I know,” he whispers.

“He’d be proud of us,” Fives goes on, “becoming ARCs. Domino Squad too. After they got over the shock, that is.”

A ghost of a smile trembles on Echo’s lips. “You didn’t seem surprised today, when they told us about our promotions.”

“I’ve always known we’d make ARCs someday,” Fives says.

“You could’ve let me in on the secret.”

Fives chuckles. “And ruin the surprise? I wouldn’t deprive you of that.”

“I miss them, Fives.” Echo’s voice breaks on the syllable of Fives’ name.

Fives wraps an arm around Echo’s shoulders, holding tight. “I know. I miss them too.”

And that’s when Echo finally begins to cry.

END

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#Whumptober 2023 #Day 28 #Prompt 28 #Sacrifice #Star Wars #The Clone Wars #Star Wars The Clone Wars #echo needs a hug #soft fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #ninety-nine mentioned #The Clone Wars Season 3 Episode 2: ARC Troopers #Grieving #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #fanfiction #fics by kyber

[whumpshots]

Whumptober #28

Trope of the day: "You'll have to go through me."

_

Whumpee feels their legs shake as they get up from the ground. Their body is at its limit, but they can't just give up. Not now, not here. With a soft grunt they move to stand in front of caretaker, who is fighting with consciousness.

Blood. There's blood everywhere.

Their own, caretaker's. It's too much.

But they can't just give up. Whumpee faces their attacker and straightens their shoulders. "If you want them, you'll have to go through me," they hiss and try to stand straight, even readying their hands to throw a punch.

Even if they feel like passing out any second, they just want caretaker to be safe. Want them to survive. Whumpee doesn't care if they have to die to achieve this goal.

Caretaker grunts something, but whumpee can't understand them. They just have to keep it up a little longer, not long and help will arrive. At least they hope so.

#whumptober 23 #whumptober #whumptober23 #trope of the day #“You'll have to go through me” #whump #whump writing #caretaker #whumpee #self sacrifice #kinda #no.28 #whumpshots