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skyward-floored · 9 months ago

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Febuwhump collab day 27 - left for dead

...and partially day 23 and day 29 as well.

This one was suggested by @silvrash-797, though several other people also asked for Sky angst. I didn’t exactly follow your idea because I’ve got a few fics already in the works about what you specifically asked for, but I hope you like this :)

(And just to remind y’all where we’re at here, in the regular Incredibles movie, Syndrome (Dark Link) tricks supers to his island to test the robot he’s developing. In this au, Sky ends up being one of these people (and I’m writing a longer fic about how this happens, and it’s coming I promise XD))

Warnings: blood and injury, nearly drowning, an explosion, general peril... just some heavy stuff here. Hopeful ending though.

Today’s lovely art (coming soon :)

Ao3 link

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“Well well well. Face to face again. It’s been quite a while, Loftwing.”

Sky glared, his chest still heaving with how hard he’d been running up until moments ago. Dark hovered above him, his boots emitting a soft light that somehow kept him suspended in midair, and the two machines at his sides blocked Sky’s escape route. A satisfied glint shone in Dark’s eyes as he stared down at him, one that made Sky feel more and more like a cornered animal.

He’d been trapped on this island more then a year, but he hadn’t been cornered this badly since the very first day.

Sky panted as he looked around for an way out, adrenaline pounding through his veins. Somehow he’d let himself be chased to the edge of a cliff, a steep drop into a gorge behind him with a river flowing far below. His wing was still too injured from a recent altercation to properly fly, and the drop was too tall for him to have any chance of survival if he fell.

He was trapped.

Dark smirked down at him, almost like he knew the thoughts running through Sky’s head, and Sky’s hands grew clammy as he continued to flick his eyes around, looking for a way out.

“It’s been, oh let’s see now... about three months since we last saw each other face-to-face?” Dark continued, humming thoughtfully as he watched Sky. “Something like that.”

“I’d prefer to go longer,” Sky croaked, his voice raspy from disuse. “Your face isn’t much to look at.”

Dark’s eye twitched, and Sky felt a flicker of satisfaction.

“Well it’s fortunate that this will be the last time we’ll ever meet, then,” Dark growled, and Sky let out a raspy chuckle.

“Oh I hope so. I’ve been praying for that for over a year now,” Sky said with a smile, but instead of making him madder like he expected, Dark’s face abruptly slipped into a malicious grin.

“Lucky for you, I have just the thing to make sure we truly never see each other again,” he sneered, setting a finger on his wrist. “And I’m afraid I have to prepare for a returning guest, so I don’t really have time to chat.”

Sky’s blood ran cold, his mind flashing back to Dark’s other ‘guests’. A handful of supers had been tricked here after Sky, but he himself was the only one who had survived, and he couldn’t watch anyone else die on this cursed island. Though Dark had said returning... that hadn’t happened at all since Sky had ended up here, as far as he knew.

“A pity, too,” Dark continued breezily. “As I recall, you and the Fierce Deity worked together fairly often.”

Sky’s blood turned to ice, but he didn’t have time to even properly think through Dark’s words before he pressed a button on his wrist.

Sky’s entire world froze, muscles seizing with energy he couldn’t escape. He felt himself being moved slowly up and far past the edge of the cliff, and his heart beat like a drum in his ears as he stared at Dark, seeing no pity in his eyes.

“Goodbye, Crimson Loftwing,” Dark said with a smile. “I’d say it’s been a pleasure, but I’m beyond glad to finally be rid of you.”

Dark released the energy.

Sky plummeted like a rock, a cry escaping him without his permission as Dark’s laughter flew past his ears. His wings tried to unfold on instinct, but his one was still injured, and both were weak from malnourishment and not nearly enough maintenance.

But Sky flung them out anyway, knowing it was his only chance. His eyes watered at the pain the action brought, but the tiny bit of steering his wings afforded managed to slow him down and get him to fall in the water instead of being dashed to pieces on the rocks nearby.

Not that it hurt any less when he plunged into the river.

Hitting the water was like slamming into a wall, and Sky blacked out for a moment as agony overwhelmed him. The pain and shock of being underwater jolted him back awake moments later, and Sky forced himself to focus through the panic screaming in his head.

He quickly pulled his wings close to himself, and tried to swim for the surface despite being battered by the current. Several rocks hit Sky as he tumbled down the river, desperately trying to hold his breath.

Air briefly met him as he surfaced with a gasp and a cough, but then he was plunged back under again, deeper than before.

Sky struggled furiously to free himself from the water, getting tossed by the current so much he could barely tell what was up from down. All of him ached, but he kept trying to swim anyway, fighting the current and the rocks he kept hitting.

He wasn’t going to die here, not now, not after more then a year of surviving by the skin of his teeth, fighting for survival and coming out alive after countless close calls before this.

Sky refused.

Then he saw something drift by in the water, something small, with a red light pulsing on it.

His panic tripled, and Sky struggled even harder, heart pounding in his ears as a burning feeling rippled up his wing and side. He knew exactly what it was he had seen, and he needed to get away now.

The river had widened though, and Sky was still far from shore. The current has lessened a little, bit he couldn’t really tell which way was up, and he struggled along, trying desperately to reach land.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach the shore though, and when a large rock caught his eye, he kicked towards it instead, praying the shelter would be enough.

He’d barely gotten behind it when he heard a piercing beep.

The explosion that came seconds later threw Sky backwards, and his world became nothing but a giant rush of water and heat and brightness.

Something slammed into him and he blacked out again, tasting blood in his mouth.

(...)

Consciousness came back slowly, accompanied by enough pain that Sky almost passed out again.

He choked out a shaking breath, thick and watery as some liquid spilled from his lips and dribbled down his chin. All Sky could do aside from that was lie there for a long time, trying to focus through the pain, water dripping off his face and pooling beneath him.

He finally managed to drag his eyes open, but almost immediately closed them again with a hiss, bright afternoon sunlight sending pain shooting through his skull.

The explosion had thrown him halfway out of the river, wings dragging behind him in the current. Sky thought he might’ve recognized where he was, but the brief glimpse he’d gotten wasn’t enough to be sure.

Though he wasn’t sure if he could even move yet, so it wasn’t like it mattered.

Sky drifted for a while, too exhausted to do much other than occasionally cough a bit of water up. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he couldn’t stay here forever, but the mere thought of moving made the pain seem to double.

So he stayed where he was. Lying on the riverbank, faintly shivering, wishing he was back home for the thousandth time since he’d gotten here.

A quiet beeping suddenly hit his ears, and Sky forced his eyes open again, blurry gaze landing on a flying machine that was scanning its way along the river. Fear jolted through him, and Sky sucked in a pained breath as he tried to get his battered body to listen to him.

Dark had obviously sent the robot to make sure the job was finished.

Get up, get up, you’ve survived this long you can do it longer get up—

Sky coughed, and despite every part of his body shrieking in protest, somehow dragged himself out of the water and behind a large tree by the riverbank, praying it would be enough to conceal him.

The beeping from the robot grew louder, the skywatcher buzzing right up by his tree. Sky could barely breathe, and felt his heart plunge into his stomach when he saw the feathers he’d left behind him, scattered along the ground.

If the skywatcher wasn’t already going to find him, it definitely would now, and Sky didn’t have any energy left to run.

This was it.

Sky wheezed softly, closing his eyes and thinking back to his wife and daughter as the skywatcher turned towards his hiding spot, red light scanning.

I’m sorry Zelda, I’m so—

An angry squawk pulled him out of his head, and Sky watched in surprise as one of the bright red parrots that lived on the island flew around the skywatcher, screeching in annoyance. Feathers fell from the bird, and Sky heard more cries as the drone buzzed around the tree.

A nest? he thought dizzily, then held his breath as the skywatcher scanned its light right towards the trunk where he was hiding.

The parrot swooped down in front of it again, joined by another as it cried out. Both birds began to peck angrily at the skywatcher’s underparts, avoiding its attempts to shoo them away. A beak hit a light, and something sparked as a parrot screeched. The machine jerked at the abuse, and the red light shook and glitched as it scanned right over Sky.

Then it paused, and made the negative chime that indicated it hasn’t found anything worth its time.

Sky would have collapsed with relief if he hadn’t already been on the ground, and the skywatcher finally moved on further downriver, the parrots letting out a few more angry squawks before returning to their nest.

Sky let out a hysterical croak.

I’m still alive.

Another wheezing giggle escaped him, and Sky closed his eyes, panting as the shock and pain started to catch up to him again. He knew he couldn’t stay where he was despite how exhausted he felt, even if all he wanted to do was pass out right now.

He’d gotten lucky, but he needed a spot to rest where he wouldn’t immediately be found by the next project Dark would inevitably send out.

Sky let himself rest for a few minutes more, then sighed thickly, bracing himself. Then slowly, agonizingly, he got to his feet, and began to stumble for his closest hiding spot. It was another stroke of luck that he’d been dumped relatively close to one of his most secure ones too, the entrance stealthy, and nearly impossible to find.

He usually only resorted to using it in emergencies, but this certainly counted as one.

Sky’s injured wing dragged behind him as he plodded along, feathers gathering more dirt and debris. Every step sent more pain jerking through him, and with every move he made, Sky wanted nothing more then to collapse back on the ground and stay there. But he knew if he stopped now he wouldn’t be able to get back up, and so he kept going.

Stumbling through the jungle. Nearly tripping on every root he walked past. Blood dripping behind him.

Still moving.

Sky almost didn’t realize it when he finally reached the entrance to the small caves he’d discovered a few months ago, his vision wobbling, and senses dulled. But then ferns brushed against his hips, and he stared, nearly crying when he realized he’d made it.

Blood stained the thin leaves as Sky pushed aside the ferns hiding the entrance, and he forced himself to crawl inside, his shaking growing more severe the longer he went. He didn’t remember it being such a long tunnel the last time he’d been in here, and it hadn’t been that long.

Right when Sky was starting to think he wouldn’t ever make it, the tunnel finally opened up into the larger spot he’d hidden in a few times now, a cozy alcove with a few precious supplies tucked inside. A small opening in the ceiling let in a thin shaft of light, and the spot in the corner that functioned reasonably well as a bed still had everything he’d put there to make it more comfortable.

Just seeing it made the last of Sky’s energy desert him, and he collapsed in the alcove, shivering with pain and cold, water and blood still dripping from his prone form. All he could do for a moment was breathe, thick and unsteady, and he coughed, liquid dripping from his lips he could only hope was just water.

Sky had had plenty of close calls while he’d been trapped here, brushes with the guardian robot Dark was developing, close encounters with his henchmen he’d barely managed to escape from, and the jungle itself lending its own dangers he’d had to avoid.

But he’d never come quite this close to death before.

Sky shivered, pulling his good wing around him as he closed his eyes.

His lungs ached from inhaling water, his body bruised and burning from the river and the explosion. His wings were barely functional, his mouth tasted like blood, and something had torn a gash right through his suit, more blood trickling from his chest.

And he was sure there were more injuries he wasn’t even registering at the moment, probably serious ones, but... he was alive.

And staying that way was all he had to do right now. Stay alive, heal, get his strength back. Then...

Try to stop Dark. Try to escape.

Do it all again.

Sky’s head ached, the pain in his middle increasing a bit, and he let out a shuddering breath as tears pricked at his eyes.

Endure, he thought weakly as he drifted off, pain the last thing he was aware of as something wet trailed down his cheek. Same as you have been. Endure.

Just hold on.

(...)

“...”

“Ledge, there’s... there’s someone over there.”

“What?”

“...”

“Ohh, I told you this was a bad idea... Following blood never leads to good things. I bet he’s one of those guys who were chasing us.”

“...”

“...No, he doesn’t look the same. I... I think he’s hurt, Legend.”

“How can you even tell, Roolie? He’s just lying... there...”

...

“SKY?!”

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