This is a collection of unrelated shorts, set in a variety of of AUs or canon settings. I'm combining two different Goretober lists and picking my favourites from each, and doing them in any order. I plan to post these regularly throughout October.

#1 Amputation

Flynn took a deep breath. "It's alright, Yuri. Help is coming. When I don't arrive in Mantaic by tomorrow, knights will be sent out looking for us."

"We can't wait that long." Yuri paced around the path. Ever since he'd hit his head, he'd been determined to stay on his feet and keep himself active, in fear of passing out and never waking up again. Against Flynn's advice, he'd stayed awake all night, refusing to sleep in case monsters showed up.

The pair had met up in Nordopolica and then travelled to Mantaic together. They'd taken a detour after passing through the Weasand of Cados to hunt some monsters and have a good time before Flynn was expected to arrive in Mantaic for meetings with the local captain, but the trip had gone disastrously. Just before lunch, the narrow ledge they were crossing cracked and gave out, sending them tumbling thirty feet to the loop of the path below. For once, Yuri had the luck. He'd banged his head in the fall and took about a minute to regain consciousness after they landed, but he seemed to have gotten off with little more then scratches and bruises.

Flynn hadn't been so lucky. He'd landed on the ground, and then the rest of the ledge had landed on him. He was on his side, with one leg pulled up to avoid the rubble, while the other disappeared under it. The space between the ground and the underside of the boulder was nowhere near as wide as his calf. The pile of rock on top of it was nowhere near light enough for Yuri to lift. Until someone came with a really good lever, he was stuck.

They'd tried everything, of course. Yuri had pulled and tugged until Flynn screamed for him to stop because it felt like his leg was being ripped off. Yuri tried wedging other rocks under the boulder in hope of getting a few extra centimetres and enough wiggle room to slide Flynn out. They'd tried yelling for help, but stopped when to attracted monsters and Yuri struggled to fight them off while protecting Flynn and dealing with his own wooziness from the head injury.

That had been twenty-four hours ago. They didn't have much water left, and what they had, Yuri insisted on giving to Flynn. The Desier sun baked down on them, which had been nice for the first ten minutes after the freezing night but now Flynn wanted to turn off the sun. His face was surely sunburned from lying here for so long. Sandpaper coated his dry throat, a dozen aches from the fall throbbed, and his lower leg below the knee was a constant mass of agony. If only he'd been wearing his armour, but he hadn't wanted to wear all of it on a day mostly devoted to walking long distances.

"Yuri, if you're really concerned, you should go to town." It was probably about a two hour walk to Mantaic from here, or longer due to weakness. "Go get help."

"No!" Yuri waved his arms, which turned into a pinwheel to keep his balance. "I can't leave you here. Monsters will smell the blood and you'll be dead by the time I get back with help!"

Flynn sighed, knowing it was true. He also knew that if Yuri didn't start drinking water and getting sleep, he wasn't going to last until knights finally found them. Flynn thought he could hold off for at least another day, but he wasn't so sure about Yuri. During their time stuck here, he'd watched Yuri grow progressively unstable. He must have a concussion at the least, and Flynn worried about swelling or bleeding in his brain on top of the dehydration and exhaustion "Yuri, please just sit in the shade and drink some water. You need it."

Yuri shook his head - a mistake, because it made him so dizzy he nearly fell over and clutched a boulder to stay upright. "You need it. You're hurt really bad, and losing fluid through blood loss."

"I'm not actually bleeding that much." He wiggled his leg as much as he could experimentally. It hurt so deeply and so constantly that he barely noticed the uptick in pain from the movement. "The boulder is pressing down with enough force that blood isn't flowing."

"That's not better!" Yuri waved his arms and then pressed a hand to his head. "You're going to die and the knights aren't going to come because fuck if I trust them and so it's just me, right? Just me. I gotta get us out of here. It's only me and you and the rock and this fucking sun and water we need water-"

"Yuri!"

"-and I have to get you out of here before more monsters come 'cause I don't think I can fight them any more and they're gonna eat you and fuck I'm so thirst aren't you thirsty?"

"No, because you keep giving me the water. Lie down!" His rambling was scaring Flynn. "Yuri, you are hurt, too."

"I'm not. I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. You're the one that's hurt."

"You have a concussion, and maybe worse. You're sleep-deprive and dehydrated. Please, Yuri, sit down in the shade and rest."

"How?!" He kicked a rock and it nearly smashed Flynn's head as it flew down the path. "Can't rest. Monsters might come soon. How can I fight monsters when the ground is shifting?"

"It's not shifting. Yuri, please, you're scaring me."

"No! I'm fine! I can't sleep because I hit my head and you know they say that if you go to sleep after you hit you're head you'll get a coma and die and what if I fall asleep and can't wake up and you're stuck here starving to death and monsters eat you. No, no, can't sleep won't sleep need to stay alert. Need to get you out of here." Yuri's face was bone white. There was a bit of pink on his cheeks, but Flynn was certain that was sunburn rather than a healthy flush.

"Drink some water!" It was impossible to reason with Yuri when he was delirious like this, and yet the only way to straighten him out was to convince him to drink and lie down.

Yuri stood on the edge of the path and looked down toward Mantaic. "We need to get there."

"Yes, and we will. Tomorrow. I'm supposed to arrive tomorrow, so when I don't, they'll send people out to look for us."

"They won't!" Yuri spun around so fast, he wobbled and nearly fell down the mountain. "They all think the sun shines out your ass! It'll be days before they start to think that mighty Flynn might need help! And we'll be dead by then!"

This argument was going in circles. Flynn was hungry, tired, thirsty, and in a good deal of pain, and he did not feel like having it again. "Then go. Just… just go to Mantaic. Get help." He rubbed his forehead, gently due to the burns. He'd actually feel better once he was alone, because Yuri had stopped being a comforting companion this morning when the concussion, sleep deprivation and dehydration had finally snapped him. Now he was just an added source of stress. "I'll be fine for a couple hours. Go get help if you're so restless."

Yuri stood over Flynn, leaning on the boulder with one hand to stay upright. He stared at Flynn with glassy eyes. "No. I can't leave you. You'll die and it will be because I left and I can't live with that. And what will the Empire do? They need you. I have to take you back with me."

"I'll be fine." Yuri's expression was really scaring him. He almost looked hungry, and Flynn's growling stomach reminded him that they'd eaten the last of the food in their pack yesterday evening. He didn't think Yuri was at the point of cannibalizing his body, but the hunger was certainly making him desperate. When Flynn spoke, he tried to keep his tension hidden and used a calm, reassuring voice. "Monsters haven't come by in a while. I have my sword. If something does show up, I promise I can fend it off until you get back. Go to Mantaic, tell them where I am, then let them deal with it and go to a doctor."

Yuri didn't seem to have even heard him. "We have to leave. We need food. We need water. We have to get out of here."

"Yes, which is why you should walk down to-"

"I'll get you out of here." Yuri swivelled around and then returned with their leather backpack. With fumbling hands, he used his sword to cut off one of the straps. Flynn watched with confusion until Yuri crouched by his side and began wrapping the strip around Flynn's leg, just above the knee.

"What are you doing?"

"Your leg won't come loose from the boulder. No one is coming to help us. I'll free you." He pulled tighter and with a flash of horror, Flynn realized he was applying a tourniquet.

"No!" With his free leg, he kicked Yuri away. "Don't even think about about it. I can hold out for the few hours it would take you to get help!"

Yuri slowly shook his head. "Monsters will come. I can't leave you here. I'll get you out."

"Not like this."

"I'll get you out." He tried to reach for the tourniquet again and Flynn swung his fists to keep him back.

"Dammit, Yuri! You're not being rational!"

"I just need to free you from the boulder."

Flynn kicked hard and Yuri fell off the balls of his feet. "If you try to touch my leg again, I will break your nose."

Yuri sat up, panting. It occurred to Flynn that his own face dripped with sweat, while Yuri's was dry as the rock. From the moment they'd been injured, Yuri had prioritized Flynn's survival, no matter what the cost.

"You'll die if I leave. I'll get you out. I can do unpleasant things to help you. I'll get you out."

"Stop saying that!"

Yuri opened the pack again and began digging. He pulled out a length of thin rope and nodded to himself. "Ok. It'll be fine. I'll get you out." Yuri carried the rope to Flynn's other side and then grabbed his arms.

"Let go! Yuri, dammit, you're not thinking straight."

Flynn was stronger, but Yuri had better leverage. After struggling with each other for a minute, Yuri managed to twist Flynn's arms behind his back and wrap the rope around his wrists. He wound it tight until the rope bit into Flynn's skin.

"Stop! Yuri, untie me this instant!"

Flynn used his free leg to try to kick him, but Yuri caught his ankle. He took the loose end of the knot at Flynn's wrists and wound it around Flynn's ankle until his leg was stuck curled upward.

"Ok." Yuri rubbed the side of Flynn's head with affection. "Ok, stop fighting. I'll get you out. I'm helping."

"You're insane!" Flynn twisted and pulled, but he could undo the knots holding his limbs. "For fuck's sake, Yuri, think about what you're doing!"

"I'm helping." Yuri knelt by Flynn's side and began tightening the tourniquet once more. There was a tin knife in the pack from lunch, which he wrapped with the rest of the strap and then began twisting.

Flynn felt the band tighten around his leg with a sinking heart. Yuri was really serious about this. "Yuri, come on, please think rationally. I'm not going to die if you leave me here for a few hours."

"You don't know that."

"I might die of blood loss if you go through with this."

"That's what the tourniquet is for." It was taking a long time for him to tighten it because his muscles were so weak.

"Then let's sit here together, share the rest of the water, and wait for the knights to come."

"Can't trust 'em." He sat back, satisfied with the tourniquet.

Flynn's heart throbbed as Yuri picked up Flynn's sword from the path. It was heavier than Yuri's. Better at crushing bone. "Yuri, don't."

Yuri gripped it in both hands and knelt next to Flynn.

"Yuri!" Flynn twisted and struggled but there was nothing he could do to protect his exposed leg. "Please! Don't do this, Yuri. Don't. We can wait."

Yuri took deep breaths, glazed eyes fixed on the leg. "It'll be ok, Flynn. I'll get you out."

"Not like this. Don't. Please, please, don't. Drink some water and think this-"

Yuri brought the sword down. It struck just below the knee and Flynn howled. When the sword raised again, blood smeared a patch along its length. It came down again and Flynn's vision went white.

"Stop! Yuri, please, stop! Don't! Stop, stop, stop!"

Yuri glanced at his face, and then dug into the backpack again. Flynn panted and tried to control his shaking. He was certain his tibia was cracked and all the skin and muscle in a line across the top of his leg had been sliced open. Yuri pulled out a bandana from the depths of the bag and folded it into a thick wad.

He shoved this into Flynn's mouth and said, "Bite down on that. You'll feel better."

Flynn's eyebrows knitted together in a pleading look, but he didn't spit out the cloth because he knew Yuri was right. Yuri picked up the sword again and Flynn struggled to steady his breathing. He squeezed his eyes tight and mentally chanted, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop….

The next time the sword bit his leg, he ground his teeth into the bandana and smothered his scream. He'd heard something crack and prayed that Yuri had broken through the first bone. Then the sword came again and the pain just got worse and worse. It was like cutting down a tree, and Yuri just kept hacking away with the sword, working through the muscle, sinew, and bone bit by bit. Flynn kept his eyes clamped shut, because hearing the squelch of muscle and crunch of bone was bad enough. Even with them closed, every blow of the sword made his vision flash red and his hearing turn to static. What might be the worst was knowing that this was the worst pain he'd ever experienced and Yuri was the one to cause it. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to look at his friend the same way again.

It dragged on, and on. Surely Yuri had made a hundred blows by now - a thousand. It just kept going, getting worse each time the sword dug into his flesh. Deep breaths through his nose and teeth digging into the cloth so tight his temples ached were the only thing keeping him grounded enough not to vomit.

"Flynn." Something touched his face and he jerked away, expecting it to hurt. "Flynn, it's over. I did it."

Flynn cracked his eyes open and then blinked away tears. Yuri's face was so close to his; he wanted to punch it. Yuri left, and then the rope around his wrists and ankle were cut away. He risked a glance at his leg and realized Yuri had already used his vest as a bandage and tied it tightly around the stump. Blood pooled in the dirt below the stump, and his stomach lurched at the sight of the mangled remnants of his leg still crushed beneath the boulder.

"We can go now. Get up."

Flynn spat out the saliva-soaked cloth. "Fuck you."

Yuri grabbed Flynn's arms and pulled. "Time to leave. We're going to get water. Let's go."

Flynn moaned as Yuri dragged him onto his feet - no, foot. Fuck. He leaned all his weight on Yuri and struggled not to pass out. He couldn't even walk. Yuri said he needed to save Flynn because the Empire needed him, but what good was he now that he couldn't walk? He clung to Yuri, unable to even stand without help. His breath came in shaky heaves. Yuri started walking and Flynn had to force himself to hop to keep up. It still seemed to unreal that he was leaving his leg behind. Maybe this was all a bad dream.

But a dream wouldn't hurt this much. His bloody stump throbbed with every movement. As he hobbled along, trying not to pass out, he had to face the grim reality: Yuri had chopped off his leg.