Wonsik cuddled against Sanghyuk’s side as they watched Hakyeon and Taekwoon playing a game on Sanghyuk’s Xbox. Well, originally it had been Hongbin’s, but the older had left it in Sanghyuk’s care when he left. It was kind of like a goodbye present, but all of them thought a better gift would have been Hongbin not leaving at all.

Up until a couple hours ago, Sanghyuk had been planning to leave the school. But at the last second he just……he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t grab his bag and leave his room, instead he just sat on his bed and cried for the loss of what had once been his life. Wonsik, Taekwoon, and Hakyeon had found him like that and taken him back to Hakyeon and Taekwoon’s dorm room.

None asked why he’d stayed, they were just happy that he had.

To tell you the truth, Sanghyuk wasn’t sure why he’d stayed either.

“Hey,” Wonsik suddenly said, “the sentinels are leaving.”

“What?” Hakyeon quickly paused the game before rushing to the window, “they……they are leaving.”

“Something’s wrong,” Taekwoon hissed, “come on, let’s go.”

“Go where?” Sanghyuk asked, trailing after the other three.

“To ask a teacher what’s happening,” Taekwoon replied, “they would know, right?”

“Um,” Wonsik frowned, “the jet just took off.”

“Oh god,” Hakyeon gasped, “something happened. Something big.”

“Do you think it’s the new team?” Sanghyuk asked.

He knew that the headmistress’ new X-Man team had been sent off to see the depowered kids off. It was their first mission and considering the roster and the fact that bad things tended to happen on a first mission……

Or……could something have happened to the bus?

That thought froze the blood in Sanghyuk’s veins. All he could think of was the horrible things that could have happened.

“Hey,” Wonsik was quick to grab Sanghyuk’s arm and break him from his thoughts, “it’s going to be ok.”

“I’m not so sure,” Sanghyuk whispered before following after Taekwoon and Hakyeon who’d left before Sanghyuk has asked his question.

--

It felt like hours went by before the jet and the sentinels returned.

The students and staff left behind had gathered in the living room and you could feel how nervous they all were. The staff had said that they didn’t know much of anything, just that something had happened and they were left in charge of protecting the remaining students. It did nothing to calm Sanghyuk’s nerves which didn’t help the nerves of the other kids.

“Hey,” David, another of the depowered students, tried to smile as he moved to sit down beside Sanghyuk, “you decided to stay?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, more than happy for the distraction. David probably needed it as much as he did. Probably more since he was dating the leader of the new team.

“What’s your plan then?” David questioned, “because honestly? I’m kind of lost. Without my powers…..”

“I know what you mean,” Sanghyuk sighed, “when your whole life plan revolved around the thing you lost…..things suddenly get real confusing real fast.”

“You’re telling me,” David sighed.

“We’re just gonna have to figure something out,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “at least we’ve got friends to help us. Plus you’ve got Nori.”

“Yeah,” David smiled slightly.

That smile died when the headmaster entered the room.

“I’m sorry to tell you,” 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 breath. 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 was sobbing, holding onto a crying Wonsik for support. Taekwoon just stood there in shock, tears running down his face. David rushed off to find Nori, leaving Sanghyuk sitting there alone. The former mutant sat there in shock, deaf the cries of those around him as his brain tried to process what had happened.

 “I should have been on that bus,” Sanghyuk whispered to himself, “I was supposed to be on that bus.”

--

“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.

“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, “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. We’re putting fifteen of our friends to rest and he’ll feel like he betrayed them by not being there.”

“It’s better then what Hyukkie is feeling,” Wonsik muttered.

“Yeah,” Hakyeon frowned slightly, knowing exactly where Wonsik’s thoughts were.

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

--

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

“Forty two,” Hakyeon whispered was he and Taekwoon walked away from Brian Cruz’s grave, “forty two dead. They’re really 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 fifteen coffins of the kids whose families rejected them even in death drove home the fact that they’d lost their friends.

“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.

Josh had nothing to feel guilty over, yet he was still feeling guilty.

Just like Sanghyuk.

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon spoke, looking to where the coffins were resting…..where Sanghyuk was standing while they got ready to put another child in the ground, “he’s blaming himself.”

“I know,” Taekwoon nodded, watching as Wonsik made his way over to Sanghyuk’s side and just stood there like a guard. Like his being there would somehow protect Sanghyuk from what he was feeling.

But there was nothing Wonsik could do that could protect Sanghyuk from his own thoughts. Sanghyuk had convinced himself that he should have been on that bus. Sanghyuk was convinced that his state of being was some kind of……betrayal to those who had died.

“I should have been in that seat right beside Brian. I shouldn’t be here right now. I should be dead. I should be in the morgue right beside all of them.”

That was what Sanghyuk had said to his friends the night of the attack. Taekwoon has…….those words……hearing them come from Sanghyuk……from sweet, kind, and caring Sanghyuk……..it broke Taekwoon’s heart.

 “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.

--

“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. They didn’t just kill our friends, they…….Sanghyuk………they broke him.”

Wonsik started to cry as he pictured Sanghyuk in his current state. His friend wasn’t eating anymore, apparently deciding that he didn’t deserve food. Sanghyuk slept as little as possible because of the nightmares he’d started having. He’d reluctantly told Wonsik about the dreams, about feeling their dead friends glaring at him and hearing them call him horrible things because he hadn’t been on that bus like he was supposed to be.

“I know,” Hakyeon said, rushing to hug Wonsik tightly, “but leaving…..it’s not going to help anyone. It isn’t going to help Sanghyuk. He needs us here to……to tell him it’s not his fault……that he deserves to be alive and that no one blames him for that.” Hakyeon started crying himself, “please don’t leave, I can’t lose anymore friends.”

“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. We need each other. More than anything.”

--

“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 the 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. Sanghyuk fine psychically, but he was even more of an emotional wreck now then he had been before. 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 the lives of a bunch of their friends, hurt several others and broken Sanghyuk. He’d done nothing but hurt the children of the school. Children whose only crime in life was to be born a mutant.

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon questioned, “It’s over. Stryker is dead and he can’t hurt us anymore. 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 have to be joking. Going after those guys…..it….it’s nuts. Suicidal nuts! You’ll get yourselves killed.”

“Not if we’re careful,” Sanghyuk spoke up for the first time since he shot and killed the man who’d been trying to put a knife in Taekwoon’s throat.

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon snapped, “no! Just….no. You cannot be serious. After everything that’s happened, you can’t really--.”

“Do you remember what I wanted to be?” Sanghyuk asked.

“An X-Man,” Hakyeon sighed, “but Sanghyuk, you’re human now.”

“Well, so is Hawkeye,” Sanghyuk countered, “and he’s still a hero. He can still save lives and take down bad guys.”

“He’s an expert marksman who never misses,” Hakyeon argued, “You aren’t. You’re just a normal teenager who used to be a mutant.”

“I can learn,” Sanghyuk huffed, “and if need be, I can always go to someone for help. Maybe Dr. Strange? Maybe S.H.E.I.L.D? I don’t know.”

“Great answer,” Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

“I do know this,” Sanghyuk snapped, not at all liking Hakyeon’s attitude about this, “I wanted to be an X-Man so I could help people. So I could protect people and stop bad guys. I’m not going to sit on my hands just because I don’t have my powers anymore.”

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon tired, but was quickly cut off.

“This is why I’m still here, Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk said, “I’m here to help people.”

“I’m with Sanghyuk,” Wonsik said, “even though it’s going to be super dangerous, it’s the right thing to do. So if he goes, I go.”

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

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

“No,” Taekwoon replied.

“Then,” Hakyeon sighed, “I’ll go with you. But just to make sure none of you end up dead.”

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

A/N: I part of me thinks that ending number two isn’t as good as ending number 1. I mean, it’s great that everyone is alive, but……idk. I kind of think that the “Sanghyuk is dead” ending had better, more emotional writing. Or my obvious Hyukkie bias is clouding my judgment hahaha