“The bus should be leaving,” Taekwoon remarked, watching as Hakyeon flinched and Wonsik glared harder at the door.

“How could he do this to us?” Wonsik hissed, “How could he leave? How could Jaehwan and Hongbin leave?”

“They thought it was best,” Taekwoon sighed.

“Well it’s not,” Wonsik snapped, “it’s stupid. They’d be better off here.”

“We should have said goodbye,” Hakyeon muttered.

“Huh?”

“To Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon spoke up, turning to face the other two, “we should have said goodbye. I said…..I told him to wait until I said goodbye before leaving.”

“No way,” Wonsik snapped, “I’m not going to say goodbye to a selfish brat who left us.”

“Wonsik,” Taekwoon scolded.

“No,” Wonsik yelled, “he packed his stuff and left! He left us! He took a look around, saw how ty everything was, and abandoned us to deal with it.”

“Wonsik!” Hakyeon cried, not at all happy to hear such words coming from one of his friends about any of his other friends, “stop it! Sanghyuk is our friend.”

“He’s no friend of mine,” Wonsik retorted, “I hope I never see that stupid, worthless human again. I hope he--.”

“Something’s wrong,” Taekwoon jumped up from his spot, rushing to the window, “the sentinels……they’re leaving.”

“What?” Hakyeon rushed to the window as well, “why would they be leaving? Aren’t they here to protect us? They shouldn’t be leaving like this, it leaves us open for attacks.”

“Something’s wrong,” Taekwoon repeated, running to the door, “something’s very, very wrong.”

The three ran, meeting up with several other students who’d noticed the sentinels leaving.

“Any idea what’s going on?” one student asked, earning shrugs and head shakes from everyone else.

The gathered students heard the X-Men’s jet taking off as quickly as possible and more fear gripped them. It hadn’t been that long ago that the depowered students had left, accompanied by a couple X-Men and the new X-Man team that the headmistress had picked a few hours prior in a rather……..annoying way.

Wonsik knew he’d be feeling the effects of Santo’s fist for weeks to come.

Stupid rock person.

--

It felt like hours went by before the jet and the sentinels returned. The gathered students looked at each other before racing to the elevator that led to the basement levels. None were willing to enter though, none wanted to be the first to find out what had happened. So instead they all stood around and waited for someone, anyone, to come up and tell them what had happened.

That person was the headmaster.

“I’m sorry to tell you this,” he said, looking anywhere but at the children, “there was an attack. The bus that was carrying the depowered students……someone……..” The headmaster sighed sadly before deciding that there was no easy way to say this. No way to word it that would spare the feelings of those left behind, “There were no survivors.”

It became so silent you could have heard a feather hit the ground. No one dared to move or breathe. No one could believe that their friends were……were dead.

“This is a joke, right?” Hakyeon was the first to talk, “they can’t…..you have to be joking.”

“I’m afraid not,” the headmaster replied, “everyone on the bus was killed. Surge and Hellion were injured in the attempt to save them, to save anyone. I’m sorry.”

This time, is words were met with crying. Hakyeon fell to the floor, sobbing as in sunk in exactly what had happened. Taekwoon stumbled back as if struck, a strange noise spilling past his lips that sounded partly like a sob and partly like a scream. Wonsik just stood there, his words from an hour or so ago echoing in his mind.

“He’s no friend of mine, I hope I never see that stupid, worthless human again. I hope he--.”

Wonsik took off running.

--

“Is Jaehwan coming?” Hakyeon asked, mindlessly playing with his tie.

“He said he can’t,” Taekwoon replied, fixing his suit jacket because he just needed something to do with his hands and mind, “his parents are too scared to let him near this place.”

“Have you heard anything from Hongbin?” Hakyeon questioned, “I think…..him and Sanghyuk were closer then all of us. He should know. He should be here when we……when we--.”

“His parents answered his phone,” Taekwoon was quick to cut Hakyeon off before the other started to cry, “They said that they’d tell him, but…..you know his parents.”

“It will be on the news,” Wonsik finally spoke up, voice empty, “there’s a bunch of reporters out there, trying to get details about what’s going on. Hongbin will have heard about it by tonight. Maybe tomorrow. He’ll find a way to call us.”

“He’ll hate himself,” Hakyeon sighed, “for missing today. For not forcing Sanghyuk to leave with him. For not staying here and talking Sanghyuk into doing the same.”

“He can join the club then,” Wonsik muttered.

“Wonsik,” Hakyeon frowned slightly, knowing exactly where Wonsik’s thoughts were but unable to help.

“We’re going to be late,” Taekwoon voiced, making his way to the door, “come on.”

--

The three remaining members of Team VIXX watched as their fellow students, their friends, were laid to rest one by one.

“Forty three,” Hakyeon whispered was he and Taekwoon walked away from Brian Cruz’s grave, “forty three dead.”

“Yeah,” was all Taekwoon could say. They’d heard the death toll before, they knew how many were dead. But actually seeing the graves and coffins of the students who were being laid to rest in the school’s graveyard…….

It made everything real.

Seeing the sixteen coffins of the kids whose families rejected them even in death drove home the fact that they’d lost their friends.

Sanghyuk was dead.

“I heard Josh talking,” Hakyeon said, “he said…..he said that Mark was alive when he found him. He just…..he couldn’t save him.”

“No, he couldn’t,” Taekwoon frowned slightly, glancing over to where Josh stood with Laurie.

Laurie was crying and Josh just looked so….angry with the world. Taekwoon could relate. But it was true what he had said; Josh couldn’t have saved Mark. Taekwoon had talked to Laura, trying to understand what had happened, and she had described everything in perfect detail – not that he was surprised considering who she was a clone of. If Laura’s account was to be believed – and it was – then Mark was too far gone by the time Josh got to him.

Josh couldn’t breathe life into the dead, he could only heal the injured.

“Wonsik,” Hakyeon spoke, looking to where the coffins were resting…..where Sanghyuk was resting until they put him in the ground, “he’s blaming himself.”

“I know,” Taekwoon nodded, watching as Wonsik made his way over to Sanghyuk’s coffin and just stood there like a guard.

The part of Taekwoon that was angry and hurting over the loss of Sanghyuk – sweet, adorable Sanghyuk who wouldn’t hurt anyone unless he had no other choice – found this to be rather pointless. What could Wonsik protect the youngest from? Worms? Sanghyuk was dead, they had failed to keep him safe and guarding him now was a worthless endeavor.

“We all blame ourselves,” Taekwoon whispered, so quietly that Hakyeon almost missed it. But he didn’t miss it. He heard it loud and clear.

He agreed.

--

“Hey,” Wonsik called, slowly approaching the young X-Men team who was headed to the Danger Room for some training.

“Wonsik,” Nori nodded slightly in greeting, “what’s up?”

“I just….I,” Wonsik looked down, trying to find the right words.

Nori and her team shared a look, all figuring out pretty quickly what Wonsik wanted. Hakyeon had come to them a few hours before asking the same thing; did any of them see Sanghyuk after the bus was blown up.

“None of us saw him,” Nori said, “I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Wonsik glanced up before his eyes returned to the floor, “oh. I just…..I….I needed to know if…..if he…..suffered…..at all.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Nori said before wisely escorted the team away. It wouldn’t do to set anyone off. Like Josh for example. Or Santo. The last thing anyone needed was for those two to get caught up in their self-hating thoughts again.

“Th…..thanks anyway,” Wonsik nodded before leaving.

He just……he wanted to know what those final moments were like for Sanghyuk. Was he lucky and killed instantly? Or did it take a few minutes of pain for the blood loss to take Sanghyuk’s life? Did……did Sanghyuk cry? Did he call out for his team, his friends, to come save him?

Wonsik needed to know.

But more than that, he needed to make the people who’d taken Sanghyuk’s life suffer.

--

“What are you doing?” Hakyeon almost screamed when he entered Wonsik’s room to find the younger packing. It brought up horrible memories and he rushed forewords to stop the other.

“I’m going to find the people who did this,” Wonsik explained, “I’m going to kill them.”

“You’re being stupid,” Hakyeon snapped, “you’ll get yourself killed.”

“I don’t care,” Wonsik replied, glaring darkly at the other, “I need to do this.”

“No,” Hakyeon said, shoving the suitcase off the bed and spilling its contents on the floor, “I’m not going to let another of my friends leave. Especially when the last time one left…….the last time someone left….they--.” Hakyeon cut himself off with a sob.

“I’m sorry,” Wonsik hung his head, his leader’s cries reminding him that he wasn’t the only one hurting.

“We can’t separate,” Hakyeon whispered, “not now. Not after what happened.”

--

“So he’s dead, huh?” Taekwoon sighed as the three watched Josh laying in bed, looking at the ceiling blankly.

“Yeah,” Hakyeon nodded, “Josh….Josh killed the man responsible for all of this.”  Hakyeon grabbed his arm, rubbing the bandages that went from his shoulder to his wrist.

Hours before, the man who’d ordered Sanghyuk’s bus to be blown up had attacked the school with his followers. The bad guys lost and ran, but the school was not without casualties. A kid had died, a couple teachers and students had been banged up in varying degrees, and Hakyeon didn’t know what to say about Josh. Killing Stryker had made something snap in him, it had turned his golden skin an inky black colour. What the hell did you call that?

Hakyeon had taken a couple bullets to the arm. Taekwoon had gotten stabbed in the side. Wonsik was ok, just a little shaken. They’d been attacked after deciding not to follow the headmistress’ orders to stay in their rooms. They stood by that choice though. The student who died, Max, was killed because he’d stayed in his room.

“What now?” Wonsik asked, looking at Josh and feeling a bit envious. He wanted to be the one who killed the man responsible for everything. As cold blooded as it sounded……that blasted reverend had taken Sanghyuk from him and the others. He’d taken a bunch of others’ lives as well. All innocent kids who’d done nothing wrong, whose only crime was being born a mutant.

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon questioned, “It’s over. Sanghyuk and the others are avenged. We can……we can go back to……to being students I guess.”

“It isn’t over though,” Taekwoon spoke up, “some of that monster’s followers got away. They could attack at any time. And why wouldn’t they? They still think we’re freaks, that we don’t deserve to live. And since one of us killed their leader……since Laura killed a bunch of their buddies……..”

“They’ll probably try this again,” Wonsik scowled, “and they’ll probably take more lives.”

“So…..what?” Hakyeon asked his friends, “What do you want to do? Run off and hunt them down?” The silence he got as a response answered that question, “you’re joking. You two have to be joking. Going after those guys…..it….it’s nuts. Suicidal nuts! You’ll get yourselves killed.”

“Sanghyuk wouldn’t want us to sit on our hands,” Wonsik shrugged, “not when we can help protect people.”

“He wouldn’t want us to go off and do something so foolish and deadly either,” Hakyeon snapped.

“Do you remember what Sanghyuk wanted to be?” Taekwoon questioned.

“And X-Man,” Hakyeon sighed, already knowing that he’d lost this argument.

“Exactly,” Taekwoon nodded, a small smile forming on his face when he realized that he’d won, “even though it’s super dangerous, he still wanted to do it. And do you remember why?”

“Because he wanted to protect people.”

“That’s why I’m leaving to hunt these people down,” Wonsik smiled sadly, “I’m going to protect people just like Sanghyuk wanted to do. I….I want this will be his legacy. This will be what people remember him for. I don’t want him to be just another kid who died on that bus.”

“I agree,” Taekwoon nodded, “that’s why I’m going with him.”

“I can’t talk either of you out of this, can I?” Hakyeon questioned.

“I thought I proved you couldn’t already,” Taekwoon replied.

“Then,” Hakyeon sighed, “I’ll go with you. Both to help with Sanghyuk’s legacy and to make sure neither of you see him again anytime soon.”

“Then go pack,” Taekwoon said, “We’ll meet you in the front hall.”

A/N: as much as I hate killing Hyukkie, this ended…….it just seems so much more…….emotional? idk.