Wolf sits there, staring in disbelief as her heart begins to race. Her body, though still bruised and bloodied, seems to have healed a great bit from before this happened. Wolf stares with wide eyes until something catches her attention out the corner of her eye.
Wolf shifts her gaze to look down right beside her. She stares as a tremendous amount of emotions rush over her. Thoughts racing through her mind about what just happened, what to do next, anger, sadness, frustration but above all those things, the sight of what sits next to her brings about one emotion more than all the rest.
Guilt.
Sitting next to her is a small hand of one of the many victims lost on this night in that blast. But this small hand, child's hand, holds a plushie. One Wolf recognizes. The sight causes Wolf to choke on her own breath. She twitches as her eyes can't remove themselves from the sight before she keels over herself, pressing her hands to her head as tears begin to pour from her eyes. In one motion, her breath is no longer caught in her throat.
"AHHHH! HAHHH!!" Wolf screams out. She screams without pause, not knowing what else to do. As she screams, behind her come Phoenix, Moshiro and Yoko with a hurried pace, but they suddenly stop. Phoenix pants heavily as she looks at Wolf with a soft look.
Yoko sees what's before them and staggers back with wide eyes before suddenly they gag. Yoko covers their mouth for a moment before turning around and collapsing to their knees, puking from the anxiety of the situation.
Slowly, Phoenix approaches Wolf and crouches down next to her, placing her hands on her back gently. Despite the tears building up in her eyes, she speaks softly.
"Wolf? … Wolf." She tries catching her attention as Wolf continues to scream but suddenly stops after the second call. Wolf still looks horrified as she slowly looks at Phoenix.
"I-I-I didn't mean to…. I-I just wan- I just…" Wolf stutters out. Axe approaches them and exhales softly as his face subtly expresses the same emotions as the others. He examines the scene before him when Wolf turns around, shaking as she looks at Axe. "I just wanted to help…" she says softly.
Axe stands there for a moment before turning around and pressing a finger to his ear.
"Call in. D-1 11. Call code 4Alpha on my location. We need immedia…" Axe speaks clearly as he walks off, his voice fading as Wolf stares at him. Tears run down her face as everything around her gets muffled.
Her heart beats heavy in her chest as she takes in everything around her. From other people coughing and bleeding from the impact to pure destruction all around. Wolf takes it all in when Phoenix softly calls to her.
"Wolf?" Phoenix says as she lifts Wolf's face to look at her. "It's okay. Come on." Phoenix says with glossy eyes, trying to fight back the tears she wants to cry. Her voice barely audible in Wolf's hearing as they stand up.
Together, they walk towards the evac center outside of the city with Axe leading the way. Wolf walks with her gaze fixed on the ground as Phoenix holds her. Once they arrive, Axe approaches a small group of concerned emergency workers and explains something to them. They get worried looks before the team lead shouts to the others and rushes into the remains of the city with many other workers.
Axe watches them go for a moment before he winces and collapses to one knee, holding himself a bit. Phoenix sees this and gently lets go of Wolf with a nod as Wolf nods back. Phoenix rushes over to him with a worried look.
"Axe! Are you alright, sir? You've lost a lot of blood." Phoenix says with a concerned look. Axe just smirks a little in response.
"Heh. This is nothing. You know it doesn't kill me, right?" He says as Phoenix tries to smile but struggles to in the given situation. Moshiro sits Yoko down with a medical officer to examine them before she looks over at the news playing on a tv.
"…we are still trying to get information on what just happened, but from what we can tell, it appears as though Yupond City has been destroyed. We are unsure of the casualties or cause at the moment, but we are working to get…" the news reporter says, but it trails off as Moshiro's attention is drawn elsewhere. She hears a slight commotion going on as Wolf looks up.
"Wolf! Wolf, you found my baby, right? My baby, you said you'd-" the mother rushes over to her but suddenly stops when she sees her. Wolf stares with wide eyes as the mother looks around but can't find her child. "My baby..?" She asks with a breaking voice. Wolf's breathing deepens a bit as she takes a single step back instinctively. The mother begins to shake as tears start streaming down her face.
"No… no, not my baby… you promised me. You promised! Oh, my baby..!" The mother cries as she collapses to her knees. Others come to console her as Wolf stares, shaking with guilt, watching this mother cry before her.
Moshiro watches with a sad look as Axe looks too. He then gets up with a grunt, using Komori to help him stand, before he speaks to the students.
"Come on. Let's get you home." Axe says before turning and lifting Komori. Cutting through the air gently, a pink Sanir Portal opens up as he steps through. The medical officer nods as Moshiro and Yoko follow through. Phoenix takes Wolf's hand with a soft look and leads her through, back to the academy.
Somewhere else, in the crater left behind by the blast, as smoke covers the sky making it all black, someone crawls. This person, with only the upper half of their body and a single arm left, drags himself to this small mound of ground that has a metal pipe sticking out. The pipe is tall and shredded, almost looking like a metal tree without its leaves.
Maxus climbs close to the tree before flipping himself over, panting as he bleeds thick black blood from his body where his waist and legs used to be. He lays there for a moment with only the sound of his breathing and the wind blowing by being heard before he starts smiling. That smile soon turns to laughter.
"Huhuhaha… hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!!" Maxus cackles loudly as he twitches from his loud laughter. His eyes are wide as he stares into the sky. "TO THINK! HE DIDN'T EVEN USE IT! HAHAHAHAHA!" Maxus shouts as his laughter echoes in the dark.
Through the halls of the academy, Axe walks with the small group for a bit before they stop close by the infirmary.
"You all need to get checked out by Lady Sharp. Don't fight her on anything she needs from you, she knows what she's doing." Axe says firmly as they nod, excluding Wolf, who still keeps her eyes fixed on the ground. "Komori, I want you to go find the other Directors who are back. And find out if the others finally showed up." Axe says as Komori glows pink before transforming back into her human state.
"Axe!" She says before landing as a human and looking at him with a frustrated look. "You need to be looked at too." She says.
"I will, but first I need to talk with Southpaw." Axe says with serious eyes. Komori looks conflicted but eventually nods. Axe starts walking off as Komori turns to the students.
"I'm sorry, but everything's okay now. We'll handle it." She says before walking off, leaving the kids there in the hall. Suddenly, they hear footsteps approaching them and see the others of their pack coming their way with concerned looks. Killian, Saika, Alston and Galen gather around them.
"You guys okay?" Galen asks, looking at Phoenix. Killian immediately comes to Wolf with a worried look.
"Wolf? Wolf, look at me." Killian says as he gently places a hand on her cheek and lifts her to look at him. As he does this, Law approaches quickly from behind and before Killian can do or say anything else, Law yanks him away from Wolf and slaps her across the face.
Wolf looks stunned for a moment before Law continues and grabs Wolf by the collar of her shirt, slamming her against the wall. She has tears streaming down her face as she looks angry and in despair.
"What did you do?! You killed those people! You monster!" She shouts as she slams Wolf against the wall again. "You should just die! Die, you monster!" Law shouts through tears as Rye and Killian grab Law aggressively and pull her away from Wolf. Killian starts shouting at her as Rye looks upset too.
"What's wrong with you?!" Killian shouts as Rye stares at Law, holding her shoulders.
"You said you weren't gonna do anything!" Rye shouts as Law continues to cry out and shout at Wolf. Alston quickly rushes to Wolf's side as Killian continues to shout at Law in Wolf's defense.
Despite the commotion going on around her, Wolf doesn't hear it. She stays against the wall as her eyes shake and everything is muffled around her. Alston shouts something back before looking at Wolf softly, holding her arm gently. She speaks, but Wolf can't hear her words. Wolf just freezes up and hyperventilates as she stares at the ground. Alston looks worried when Phoenix slowly approaches her. She leans down a bit, getting her attention before she speaks.
"Wolfy. It'll be okay. We'll get through this." She says softly, her words coming through perfectly clear as Wolf weakly nods, tears filling her eyes. Phoenix then gently leads Wolf into the infirmary.
In the Southrange, Teach looks shocked.
"What?" he asks with a stunned look.
"Like I said, Yupond is gone." Axe says with a neutral stare. Teach looks away a little, trying to process what he's been told.
"How many?" Teach asks.
"Our agents are still gathering a headcount, but the casualties could range up to 50,000." Axe says clearly. Teach's eyes widen at the figure, but he doesn't change his gaze.
"And where we you?" Teach asks. Axe looks surprised and offended by the question.
"Excuse me?" Axe asks. Teach looks at him with a frustrated gaze.
"You were the Director on scene, what happened? How did you let those kids go through that?" Teach asks more aggressively.
"What happened was Maxus. And a Grand Fracture and a Rascilian soldier." Axe says back. Teach stops a moment hearing those words.
"He was there? And brought a soldier with him?" Teach asks. Axe looks annoyed as he answers.
"That's what I just said, wasn't it? Believe it or not, this wasn't how I wanted it to go down. In fact, if it wasn't for Southpaw's poor planning and the other Directors not showing up, this wouldn't have happened." Axe says angrily. Teach exhales a bit as he takes a step back.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I take full responsibility for this." Teach says as Axe glares at him.
"No, it's his fault. Where is he?" Axe asks. Teach hesitates before answering.
"He's been MIA since we got our missions. I haven't heard from him." Teach admits. Axe scoffs a little as they stand in silence for a moment. "And the drive?" Teach asks. Axe pauses before looking away.
"I don't know. Could've been destroyed, could've made it out. I didn't see Maxus after what happened." Axe says. Teach looks at him softly.
"How is she now?" He asks. Axe turns away a little before answering.
"She's shaken up. I don't blame her. Anyone would be if they did what she just did. Lady Sharp is probably healing her now." Axe says as Teach exhales through his nose with a nod.
"Alright. I'll go talk to them in a bit. Get yourself checked out too." Teach says with a mentor like stare. "You can handle the report?" Teach asks. Axe turns around and takes a step away.
"Yep. I was the Director on scene after all. It's my job." Axe says. Teach watches him walk for a moment before speaking up.
"Axe." He calls out. Axe stops and looks at him with a neutral look. "I'm sorry, for what I said earlier. I know it's not your fault, none of us would've been able to do better." Teach says genuinely. Axe stares at him for a moment before turning around and continuing on.
"Yeah, you're good. You know us weapons. Sometimes all we got is the body count after the war." Axe says as he walks away. Teach watches with an almost sad look at his words.