His Very Own Space Episode

[ziedrich_bearer]

WHO: Gladiolus Amicitia, Open
WHERE: Spooky Planet Surface, Back on Ships
WHAT: A Crash Landing, Attacking Allies, Tired and Healing
WHEN: May Adventure
WARNINGS: CW: Violence (Gladio against whoever), Crash Injuries (Broken Leg)

I. This Was Not The Intended Roadtrip | Shuttle Crash

He did the best he could. But sometimes fate is just against you, and sometimes crashes happen. And today? Today was one of those days. He's got enough time to shout for people to brace and then there's all the motion.

It takes a minute or two for him to come back aware after everything stops. There's pain, a lot of pain. But he can't think about himself right now. Gladio groans and starts to move his leg. And then curses.

"Everyone alright?" he shouts. "And can someone get out the split kit? I think my leg's sort of fucked."

Yeah, that's the life he is going to deal with. Because he's got to focus on getting his people back to safety.

II. When Paranoia Comes | A Paranoia Storm

There's nothing fun about trekking over long distances with a broken leg. Using his sword as a crutch was not the most pleasant thing, you know? But hey, he was making it. Going forward, listening to the rumbling roll of thunder behind them, it was no good thing to hear.

And honestly, he might just tell them to go on without him, to speed on. But the thing was...

He didn't want left behind. But they would. They were going to, weren't they?

Gladio shakes his head, tries to tell himself it's not true. That they wouldn't. Even if they should.

They should. They will. They'll take your gear and abandon you. Which is why you need to do it first. TO survive. To get back to Noctis.

It's building up in him. And he doesn't know how to keep it out.

III. Dealing With A Broken Leg | Glitter Food

The cast was, at least, a dark blue in shade. Where the doctor had managed that he didn't know. But he was definitely left limping and wearing a cast. And yeah, there are new cuts on his arms too, and bruises. He looks tired and worn out, and like he might fall over.

Like pure stubbornness is keeping him on his feet.

Though right now he's glaring at the food dispensers, like he isn't quite sure how to manage it and get to a table. Or maybe it's later when he's in the Deep End, trying to juggle his crutches and a chair at a table to sit without knocking over his drink. And of course there is by his tent, where he's clearly having issues getting down onto a sleeping bag. Talk about a big, frustrated guy.

Comments

[ziedrich_bearer]

"With a lot of complaints," Gladio said with a shrug.

But he wasn't going to be left behind. Not if he can help the others.

"I'll do the best not to slow us all down."

[thelastechidna]

"Maybe if you had something you could use as a crutch...." Knuckles looks around for something that could be modified into that.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Well, that was something achieved easily enough. Gladio flickers a hand out and his greatsword appeared.

"Hopefully this will work if nothing else does."

[thelastechidna]

Well, that was an interesting crutch. Knuckles stared at it.

"Yeah, it should," he said at last. "If it's not too heavy for you right now."

It looked like it would weigh a ton. Knuckles could probably lift it easy enough, though.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"The day my blade is too heavy for me is the day I'm dead and buried with it," Gladio answered.

Yes, it did weigh a ton. Yes, it did make a horrible crutch. But damn if he wasn't going to do it anyway.

[thelastechidna]

"Well, suit yourself," Knuckles said. Being from a warrior culture, he understood how important weapons were to those who had them. He wouldn't protest, although it did look like a horrible idea to him. And then he had another thought.

"... Maybe it'll get damaged being used like that, though," he said.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"I've used this thing to fight a mountain," Gladio answered with a shrug. He's not really worried. "But if we find something more suitable, I'll take it. This thing is tall."

Too tall to be a good crutch. But he's working with what he's got.

[thelastechidna]

That earns a pretty big stare. "A mountain?!"

Knuckles pictures something like the living mountain he saw in ads on Earth for some kid's playset, only vicious instead of friendly and waving arms around to swipe at people.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Well, it was also an ancient tortoise ready to destroy a large area, but yeah. A mountain."

And honestly, the thing had been about to attack a small town.

"In the end, we got it to go back to sleep. Which will probably hold for another few centuries."

[thelastechidna]

"... Oh." Well, that's not quite as weird as what he was picturing.

"So it's like a dragon then." At least as far as long sleeping habits. "Did you have a lot of crazy adventures like that?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"I mean, yeah, dragons tend to be stone and jewel encrusted as well," he says with a nod. Like that's a normal thing.

"And yeah, we had a lot to save the world."

[thelastechidna]

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't met any dragons. Read about them, though."

He grunts at this. "You too, huh?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"They're a pain in the neck," Gladio said with a shrug. He's fought far too many at this point.

"Yeah. Sorta fate or something. Really sucked. Sucks still, or will when I go back."

[thelastechidna]

Knuckles grunts. They don't sound pleasant. He's sure he could punch one out, though. Or drop a tree on it or something.

"Are you in the middle of saving the world or is it something that keeps coming up again and again, like us with Eggman?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Middle of it. Well, just about the end," Gladio corrects with a sigh. But he knows it's not that simple. "Sort of a whole 'fate has drawn us to this moment and we must defy it' sort of thing. Basically my king is fated to die to destroy a great evil. We have a plan to fight that while still saving the world."

[thelastechidna]

Knuckles listens with a frown. "Well, good luck with that. Fighting fate usually doesn't turn out well."

No tact, as usual.

"... Some people seem pretty good at it, though."

Like Sonic.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Yeah, it doesn't. But that doesn't mean Gladio's going to give up. He looks so very frustrated over what fate would expect of him. No sane person could accept their best friend, the man they care most about in the world, being a sacrificial lamb.

"Hopefully we can surprise our gods. If not, well, I might see about wiping them out in revenge. I know Ignis would be behind that, given he'd be the person the crown would most likely be offered to without Noctis, and I don't think he wants that."

[thelastechidna]

"You can kill gods?" Knuckles looks surprised by that. He gets wanting to fight unfairness, and he might even be all for taking down cruel gods himself, but can it really be done?

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Been happening in my world for a while. It doesn't fully destroy their true essence. But it highly hampers their ability to interact with our world."

Most people might have even suggested it prevented such things, but Shiva... Well, that's Gentiana's business.

"About a decade back on my world, basically all of them were killed but Bahamut."

[thelastechidna]

"Why not him too?" Knuckles wonders.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Bahamut has a thing for keeping himself hidden. Makes sense, given how angry people should be at him. If not for his decisions..."

If not for those decisions a good number of people might still be alive. But no, the dragon God was prone to pulling its strings of mortals, thinking that they would take it lying down for all of time. Gladio and his friends intended to prove him wrong.

[thelastechidna]

"But you know how to find him?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

" Not really beyond pissing him off. But he'll likely be close to the crystal. We're pretty sure he lives in it in a weird way. So get to the crystal, get to Bahamut."

[thelastechidna]

"... Huh." Living in the crystal doesn't sound too strange to Knuckles, given that he previously dealt with entities coming out of the Master Emerald. "Just be careful he doesn't come out causing more damage than you're ready to handle. That happened on Chris's world and a whole city was practically destroyed."

[ziedrich_bearer]

" I don't think anyone's ever really ready for the kind of damage that gods can inflict. But we've seen it first hand and fought a few of them, so I think we'll be able to manage."

He, of course has no idea who Chris is, but when you see an entire massive city destroyed by the wrath of a sea goddess, that they had worshipped, well... You learn a bit about caution. Probably helped that the place they would face Bahamut was going to be Insomnia and that was already a wreck.