Bam
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It was over. Finally, it was over. Through the floating rubble and smokey haze, Bam could see Traumerei's Battleship melting into the horizon. The Nest, the once impenetrable Lo Po Bia stronghold, stood in ruin and up in flames. Allies gathered around Bam and joined him in staring off into the distance where Jahad's army was moments ago.
They all stood in relative silence, staring off into the distance where Jahad's army had disappeared. Suddenly, Yama let out an earsplitting roar, quickly joined by the howls of his canine troops. Slowly, all of FUG's allies joined them in their celebration, as the weight of their collective victory settled in. But Bam didn't have the heart to cheer with them. He couldn't help but wonder, Did we really win?
The fight at the Nest had been going well enough at first, but Traumerei's unexpected arrival marked the moment where it all went wrong. When he discovered that Bam had acquired Leviathan, he flew into a rage and unleashed his shinheuh, unleashing devastation upon rankers and regulars alike. Karaka, Dowon, Cha, Yama, and Yasratcha were closest to Traumerei and fought to contain the beasts, but the gap in power was obvious. They weren't fighting Traumerei, they were fighting to keep each other alive. Doom, Paul, Jinsung, and Sophia Tan fought to protect the rest of their troops as they made their way towards the warp gate in the needle. Even so, the divine sea creatures under Traumerei's control pushed back, trying to reach Bam, and the defensive line against them started to falter. Their only saving grace was the appearance of Grace Mirchea Luslec, who provided enough of an opening for Bam to deliver a Wave Explosion. It didn't do much damage, but as soon as it landed Bam knew something about his attack was different. Traumerei showed no sign of injuries, but the attack left him rattled, and without a word he called back his shinheuh and retreated with his fleet.
"My my, I wonder what's so interesting off into the distance that you haven't been able to take your eyes off it?" The voice of Hwaryun startled him and brought him back to the present. "Don't feel like celebrating, my god?"
"It doesn't feel like there's much to celebrate. We didn't really win, we just barely survived" replied Bam.
Hwaryun's face hardened in a rare moment of seriousness. "Believe what you want, but FUG has never once defeated Jahad's army in a battle. Just surviving is much more than what we've ever accomplished." She turned and locked her one good eye with Bam's. "Don't forget, the people that we lost today, they came only because they believed in you, in what you stood for. It's in their honor that we celebrate the fact that we survived, that the cause they put their life towards wasn't in vain."
As she turned and walked away, Bam could hear it. The more he listened, the more he could hear a melancholy note in the celebration, as if their cries could ward away the feeling of loss and uncertainty from overwhelming them. Not for the first time, Bam wondered if it was all worth it, if he was worth fighting for.
"Come on, Bam, let's see if there's anybody that can be saved," urged Jinsung, who had been watching him quietly from behind. Bam took his eyes off the horizon and his focus snapped to his surroundings. Looking carefully, he could see lifeless corpses littered among the rubble, both of allies and enemies. Casualties were heavy on both sides, but FUG dealt a heavy blow against Jahad's squadrons. The Lo Po Bia family leaders retreated to their battleship as Traumerei began his rampage to avoid getting caught in the crossfire and so most of their family remained intact. On the other hand, FUG had suffered some bitter casualties. Love, Augusgus, and Namo died in the battle, along with many of the canines with Yama. Evankhell and Hansung Yu were taken by the enemy. Of all the rankers, Cha and Doom suffered the worst injuries and would be out of battle for a long time, and even Karaka lost an arm despite his seemingly invincible regeneration. It was a miracle that the rankers manage to shield the regulars from harm, and so many of the regulars who sympathized with FUG managed to escape through the warp gate. As Yama, Paul, and the canines tended to Doom and Dowon was taking care of Cha, Bam saw a crowd congregate in the distance and started rushing over
Reaching them, he took in a sharp breath. In the middle between Khun and Hockney lay Elaine, her body covered in lacerations and punctures. He immediately recognized the wounds. They were bitemarks and scratches from where her own spirit wolf had ravaged her. She was engulfed in an ice coffin, courtesy of Khun, to prevent her from bleeding out more.
"Is, is she even alive?" Hockney asked quietly, his eyes taking in the full extent of her injuries.
After a pause, Khun gave a small nod. "She's alive. But, as soon as she's taken out of the ice, she'll bleed to death," he said quietly. "And thanks to the spell on that wolf of hers, no matter of time will stop the wound from bleeding."
"If it's a spell, I can erase it!" Bam interjected. But as soon as he said it, could see Karaka shaking his head.
"Even if you could remove the spell on her wounds, the injuries themselves would still be there, and she's already lost too much blood. We can't keep her frozen forever, either." His voice was uncharacteristically soft and kind. "Viole, it may be a mercy to put her down now."
Bam felt like his heart shattered into pieces all over again. There was already so much bloodshed, bloodshed because of him. Bam knew what he was during when he declared he would take back Jinsung, that he was leading FUG into war. All the bloodshed in this conflict was a direct consequence of his actions. But even so, why was the tower so determined to take from his friends instead of him? Why did always have to watch as his friends get hurt. He could feel all his feeling of helplessness twist and churn inside him until it started to bubble out as frustration. "No. There HAS to be a way to save her." The conviction in his voice startled the gathered crowd. "There HAS so be some healer we can take her to, some way to mend her injuries like we did with Khun. There must be."
Everybody stood in silence, as if unsure how to break it to him that Elaine was too far gone when Jinsung spoke up. "Viole bought Elaine to free her. For his sake, I can't stand by and let her life slip away, not after she only got a taste of freedom. If she's going to die anyway, we have one last option that may keep her alive, but it has no guarantee to work, and we may end up taking her life with our own hands. It all depends on you, Viole."
Bam's eyes widened, "Kill her ourselves? What do you mean?"
"The answer's simple. If she's lost much of her own blood, it could be replaced by the blood of another," explained Jinsung.
For a moment, everybody paused to take in what Jinsung was offering. Hwaryun stood there thoughtfully as if new future possibilities had opened up to her. Good or bad, Bam couldn't tell.
"Master, surely you don't mean–," Karaka started before getting interrupted.
"Blood transfusion!? You can't be serious. Blood transfusion is impossible. The only real successful examples of blood transfusion are the Princesses of Jahad," Khun blurted out. "Old age must finally be catching up with you if you think..." he trailed off as Jinsung gave him a pointed stare.
"It's not impossible. However, it is extremely risky. It took Yama 100 years for him to create just three mad dogs, and he needed to use the diluted blood from Great Family members to pull it off. For blood transfusion to be successful, the donor's blood must overpower the blood of the host, otherwise, the host will resist the transfer. At the same time, the host must be strong enough to survive its blood being dominated by the blood of another. This is why Princess of Jahad are chosen through a competition, where only the strongest candidates become Princesses, and why it's rare for there to be a Princess outside of a Great Family. They must be strong enough to survive being exposed to the king's blood," explained Jinsung. "Yama has the resources to do the procedure. Viole, it has to be your blood. Your blood is the only one that might be strong enough to overpower Elaine's."
Bam didn't hesitate. "I'll do it. If there's any chance it'll save her, I'll do it." I'd gladly give my own blood if it prevents the ones I care about from spilling theirs. But then he stopped. He couldn't ignore his hypocrisy. The small voice in his head, the voice that had once been soft enough for Bam to ignore, boomed in his head. FUG warned you didn't they? When they first took you in, they told you that you would bring death to teammates around you. Your selfish desire for others only brings them death. Would you protect the ones you care about even if it means living out your fear? If it means staying away? And Bam was starting to realize that the answer was clear. Yes, whatever it takes. Even if it means climbing this tower alone.
Word Count: 1621
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A/N
If you are reading this, thank you! This is my first time writing anything like fanfic, though I've always wanted to put into words all the headcanons that go through my head, and I've decided it's finally time to do it. Please feel free to leave a comment and help me to elevate this story!
8/2/2023
Made some edits. Nothing that changes anything for future chapters but I wanted it to flow better.