Not me procrastinating about my other stories nope not me lol
Anyways heres my first fic for Kung fu Panda and Crane-centric because he's my fave character and he needs to suffer hahahahahahaha
Anyways, enjoy!
Crane was falling.
Like, actually falling.
Like, fall-1,000-feet-to-your-death kind of fall and not the trip-down-the-stairs-and-fall-down kind.
Part of him wanted to scream, a kind of let-it-all-loose-as-a-kind-of-pitiful-last-sound-before-his-bones-crack-painfully-on-the-rocks-down-below-and-he-dies part. Most of him wasn't scared.
He didn't know why. He just wasn't. It was like his feelings had flown out of him as tumbled down to his death. Maybe they had, along with his common sense.
He laughed, albeit bitterly. What a way to go. Master Crane, one of the Furious Five, a master of Kung Fu, a comrade (and close friend) of the Dragon Warrior, defeated, because he was falling to his death and couldn't fly.
He looked at his left wing. It wasn't supposed to be bent like that, was it? It was sprained at best, broken at the probable worst.
It didn't matter. It hurt too much to fly and he was falling. There was, probably, a 95% chance that he wouldn't be saved, 4% chance where he makes it out alive with more injuries than he currently possessed, and the last 1% is where he gets out alive with just his broken wing. The odds weren't great.
Crane heard the others screaming. Just pure screaming. He thought he heard his name somewhere in there. He wasn't sure. He was falling too fast and too preoccupied on what to freaking do about his situation to pay attention to what they may or may not be yelling.
He wanted to say, to scream, that he was (and would be) alright, that he would fly back up as soon as possible to help them finish the fight, and to keep fighting without him. But saying anything like that would be a lie. That, and he couldn't seem to find his voice.
He wondered if anyone would reach him in time. He had, what, roughly 500 ft to go? It felt like nothing to him. He didn't particularly think it was a bad thing, which was bad.
If he were being honest, he enjoyed falling.
He liked feeling the wind blow against his face, ruffling his feathers. He liked the thrilling sensation as he fell. He liked to spread his wings, soaring back up in a sharp turn seconds before he hit the ground, as long as it was on his own terms.
But this was different. This was not on his own terms. And because he couldn't fly, it made it all the more terrifying.
But all in all, it was a nice last thing to do before he died. A free fall.
At least he got to feel the sensation one last time. That's more than enough to make him happy.
Sure, he's leaving everything - and everyone - he's ever loved behind, but hey, he'll die happy and loved.
He looked up, hoping to catch one last glimpse of his friends before his end.
He only met Tigress's terrified, but determined, gaze.
Crane felt confused, and a little bit hurt. What were the others doing that was so incredibly important that they had left him all alone? He knew, deep down, that they would never leave him (They cared too much for each other, as Tigress had said earlier in the last few years, though Crane had always known that was a lie. He knew she cared about them just as much as they did her), but it still hurt.
Suddenly, Po leapt down, quick as a flash, with Mantis on his shoulder, a rope wound tightly around Po's waist.
Crane let out a squawk as Po and Mantis grabbed him, his broken wing screaming in pain.
And then suddenly, they were sent whirling over to the side of the cliff, where Crane promptly smacked his head against it. Hard.
Dazed, he winced as Po yelled something (was it to let the others know to let them up? Or was he yelling at him to stay conscious?). Did he have to say it that loud? His head hurt a lot, and Po's screaming wasn't helping.
His head hurt. He was quite sure it hadn't hurt this much before. Did it? He couldn't remember. The only thing he could focus on was the pain.
He felt himself being tugged up (whether it was gently or forcibly, he would never be sure. The pain made it hard to focus), with Mantis standing in front of his face, whispering reassuring things, letting him know that he would be okay (Crane thought his voice was too loud. Was it supposed to be that loud? And was it supposed to hurt his head that much?), that they were almost there, and that the others were waiting.
He tried to nod, only to receive a full pounding inside his head. Wincing, he gave a little creak, just enough for Mantis to barely hear. (Were those tears in his eyes? Was Mantis crying?)
Suddenly, he was on the top of the cliff. All too soon, he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug by the others (Mantis seemed to be the only one who seemed to be concerned about the dazed look he had on his face, though albeit).
He tried to smile, he really did, but he felt too drained. His head hurt, his wing hurt, and he was tired. Not a very good combination if you asked him. Especially with his broken wing being crushed against his body by the others. It took what was left of his strength and willpower not to cry out in pain.
He didn't know how much time had passed (Maybe 30 seconds? 3 or 4 minutes at the most, he guessed. 5 minutes were exceptionally rare, and it was only if one of them had gone through a rough time. Didn't him falling to his death count as a rough time, though?), but it seemed like hours to him.
Was the light supposed to hurt his eyes so much? It wasn't a lot; the others blocked most of it from his view, but still some managed to find their way to his face. He blinked and squinted. He didn't think so. He was fine before, right? Crane thought he was. He believed he was. He wasn't too sure.
After what seemed like forever, the others let him go. He blinked in the sudden light. It wasn't this sunny before, was it? So many questions, so little answers, he thought vaguely. For some peculiar reason, he wanted to laugh at that. He wasn't too sure why.
"Crane?" He winced. He didn't think Viper was talking that loud, but it was loud. Really, really loud.
"Are you okay?" Was that Monkey? He was pretty sure it was Monkey. He was 95% sure it was Monkey, at least. It sounded like a male, so it had to be either Po, Mantis, or Monkey, and it sounded more like Monkey to him.
Everything was blurry. Was it supposed to be blurry? He didn't think so. He was fine a moment ago, wasn't he? Though, how long was a moment ago? Minutes? Seconds?
"Uh. . ." Even just saying that hurt his head. He winced again, which did not go unnoticed by the others. He briefly wondered if they hadn't noticed before. Probably not, if they had just noticed now.
Crane looked around, meeting the eyes of his concerned friends. It made him want to laugh for some reason. He stumbled backwards, causing another dizzy spell to hit him.
He regained some of his balance. He felt more tired than he was before. He blamed it just for his fall and his adrenaline leaving him, but he didn't really think that was the case.
The ringing in his ears seemed to get worse as he looked up. The others floated around like multicolored blobs at this point. Even with the concern and worry radiating off of them, it was still kind of funny.
He laughed once, and keeled over as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Crane!"