No, my dear readers, you are not entitled to shoot me as I did not start yet anotherstory and forget about my other lovely babies. Rather my good friend Shadowno started a story on my request but I wasn't getting the fluffy angsty element I had specified so it is now a co-op.
Chapter 1
Blurs and creeping shadow.
That's all Sephiroth could make out through the fog in his head as his eyes slowly opened, the lids heavy like someone had traded them for Angeal's gym weights . Gradually his perception of the world crawled to the range of semi-focused as his senses came back online. His first greeting was smudgy grey clouds of billowing smoke and roaring flames. Then it hit him.
Pain.
Pain, the kind that crushed the breath out of your chest and tried to kill you from the sheer immensity of it. Unbidden, a strangled half-scream-half-gasp ripped itself from uncaring lips as his entire being was flooded in pure, white hot agony. Reflex and training caught up a beat later, telling him to push back against the firestorm in his mind until he regained enough semblance of control to gulp down one measured lungful, not scream again on its way out, then another, until he got a semi-regular intake reestablished.
Now more focused, despite the intense baritone throb in his skull, he looked down for the original source of discomfort and was shocked at what he found.
First and closer to his eyes, an alarmingly large metallic shard stood embedded in his gut. Somewhat further down, he could also see that his leg was at an extremely awkward angle. While there were a number of smaller gashes and bruises to add to the symphony of pain now known as his body these two stood out as the most prominent problems. "Not good." Sephiroth told himself, letting his head fall back onto the sand beneath him.
"SEPHIROTHHHHH!" Sephiroth jerked involuntarily at the wild scream that cut through the roar of blood in his ears, or was that the flames? Who cared, the sudden movement threw open the door for a fresh wave of assault on his raw nerves that sent black spots dancing over his vision till he almost blacked out again. Gritting his teeth against the sensory assault he turned his head in the direction the offending noise had come from, only to see one of the Shinra infantrymen literally bouncing towards him wildly across the smoldering wreckage that semi-blurred memory informed him used to be a helicopter.
"SEPHIIIIROTHHHHHH!" The IM shrieked again, as it drew near him.
"Oh god." Sephiroth managed to groan out as the franticly scrambling IM slid to his knees, almost crashing into the General and kicking up a massive sand cloud.
"THANK GOD YOU'RE ALIIIIIIIIVE!" The IM squealed, before peeling off his helmet. Of course it's Cloud, Sephiroth thought to himself. It's always Cloud.
"Oh god!" Cloud gasped, eying the injuries that Sephiroth had sustained. "Ohgodohgodoh GOD! You're hurt."
"No shit, what happened?" Sephiroth demanded, trying to sit up but failing miserably after barely a second of pressure on his injured torso. Ok, so moving was really not in the good idea, much less possibilities, category right now.
"I'll tell you later." Cloud said, moving faster than Sephiroth's still sludgy reflexes could keep up with. When he finally slowed enough for Sephiroth to see what that damn whirlwind had been he saw the contents of a standard issue emergency kit spilled out on the sand next to him and a several inch thick layer of gauze piled high over where the offending metal piece protruded from his stomach.
Sephiroth couldn't help gawping at the mountain of fabric. Surely the little blond's medical skills couldn't be that horrible? A sudden image of himself wrapped head-to-toe like a mummy intruded on that idea. If he wasn't hurting like he did that picture might have almost tempted him to smile at the stupidity of the idea.
"What happened to the rest of the squad?" Sephiroth asked, eyeing Cloud wearily as the IM went to work patching his wounds. He vaguely wondered if it wouldn't be better to leave his injuries be rather than risk the possibility of further damage under the hyper blond's loving care.
Cloud ignored the question as he pulled up a clump of gauze to inspect the wound beneath. Even injured with his brain trying to crush itself the General quickly grew impatient at the lack of response to his demand for answers.
"Cadet Strife…!" At least he could still manage to sound authoritative despite feeling anything but. And the way the little cadet was so enthusiastically poking at his injury was not doing his condition any favors.
"Brace yourself." Cloud said.
"What? Why?" Sephiroth asked, ignoring the lack of formal respect for his rank in favor of suddenly being concerned at the dead calm in the other's tone.
Without warning a massive pain ripped through his abdomen as Cloud yanked out the offending shard. Sephiroth's vision shattered under the fresh wave of liquid fire that flooded his being and slammed into his head. His last sight of Cloud showed the cadet holding the offending material, a slight gleam in his eyes.
He's not smirking is he? Sephiroth asked himself, before the darkness took him.
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