{ all alone, he's holding his breath half to death }

[iluphone]

Who: Kunsel Reinhardt (iluphone), Angeal Hewley (banoraboy), Zack Fair neverwinged), and open to Sion Ashe (preposterism) and Cloud Strife (still_moseying).
When: Same morning as when Zack's S.O.S. goes out.
Location: Near Sion's house, Midgar.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing, hallucinations, seizures, Zack, and other distressing things of that nature.
Summary: Sephiroth takes a little more from Kunsel

Comments

[neverwinged]

It probably would've been better if Zack had been on the ground like Angeal had thought. It would've been considerably less frightening of a spectacle if he was curled up on the ground and bleeding.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case. Zack didn't know how long he'd waited there after sending out his message for help; he was even more surprised that he hadn't passed out yet. Everything still hurt to an unimaginable extent, and the blood, he'd lost a lot of it. And his left shoulder felt so heavy. He still had no idea where all those feathers had come from.

The former SOLDIER was only glad that he knew Cloud wouldn't be the first to find him. Cloud was too far away still, while Angeal and Kunsel were still in the city - what was left of it. They'd arrive first, they'd help him off the concrete slab and fix him up, and then Cloud would arrive to be the worried Chocobo he was. So he waited, because even though no one had heard him screaming in pain before, they'd received his message now. Help was on the way. All Zack had to do was wait, and try not to bleed to death again. Shera would be mad enough that he'd torn the nice shirt she'd lent him.

More time passed, he couldn't tell if the moments were short or long, but they passed. His one good hand held on to the steel pipe, trying his best to hold himself up on it even though it hurt, gods it hurt so much, but it was better than letting himself simply hang from it.

Another shudder travelled through him as he once again saw flashbacks of what had just happened only moments - long or short - ago. It started one way, went bad, turned another way, became worse. The words that the person . . . that, that person, the not-Cloud, the General . . . he was so confused, so hurt and so confused, and that voice kept ringing in his head, kept laughing at him, guilty.

He was guilty.

Zack never felt guilt in the Lifestream, because there was no feeling there at all. And now that he could, he was nearly overcome by it. He'd died, he'd left the sword to Cloud and then he'd died, and he watched as one of the only friends he had left wandered in a daze, believed it was him instead of Zack all that time, and he'd been forgotten about. Cloud had been broken, and at least partially because of him.

Zack's hand fell from the pipe, another of his many pained whimpers escaping as his weight pulled him down, and he still hung there, the tips of his toes unable to brush the ground beneath. Just before his eyes closed, he heard a different voice break through the haze of . . of that other person's voice, and he managed to lift his head and look up.

Somehow, after all he'd been through, Zack was able to smile, just a little, at seeing his mentor rush to aid him. The closer Angeal got, the easier he could see his student move one hand (the other hanging limp and useless at his side) to gesture at the blunt metal pipe portruding from his midsection, all that was holding him up barely two inches from the ground and pinned to the concrete.

"A-Angeal . . . could . . could ya . . get this out . . please?"

[ooc! Apologies for somewhat retconning your tag, Angeal, but Jenova was far more merciless than originally expected. The lowdown is as follows: Zack's left shoulder has been cut deep, he has three broken ribs, both legs are broken, and he's been impaled through his abdomen by a steel pipe to hoist him up against a big block o'concrete. There's also a crushed but in tact black feathered wing on his left shoulder; Zack has no idea it's there. Read the log for details if desired. And be gentle, bbs ;~;]