The Lone Wolf

    "Don't be led astray, my Comfydants, and I'll catch you guys next time."

    The smile that had been plastered on Legatus' face collapsed as soon as he ended stream. The monitor went dark, no longer displaying a chat box full of content sheep. Instead an emotionless shroud reflected back at him. He stared at the solemn man for a few seconds, eyes narrowing into a glare, lips shrinking into a pout. Arms crossing over his chest, Legatus turned away from the monitor with a sigh.

    "Professor?" He asked aloud, voice still strained from the tension of their last conversation. The word echoed around the sound proof room, those echoes the only reply to his call.

    "Canis," he tried once more, this time softer. It had taken a long time, but Legatus had trained himself to sound less raspy and cold for his work. Growling and barking didn't comfort a flock, but a softer approach could work wonders. Even away from his microphone and not playing the part of weak archivist, the tone was slowly becoming his new normal.

    Silence settled into the room once more as Legatus turned to face his wolfsbane. Grey petals lay scattered at the base of the vivarium. Those that remained attached to the stem were dry at their edges and wilting too. Legatus reached out, and stroked at the plant, lifting one of the flowers to face the sky. The act caused several more petals to fall, some landing on the various pieces of merchandise he'd placed on his desk.

    Purple, orange, yellow, blue. If nothing else, these colours would never wilt. Plastic lasted far longer than plants. A citizen of The Republic knew that far better than any of the doomers would.

    "Fine..." The rasp and rattle crept back into his voice.

    Legatus pulled back his long grey hair and tied it back in a ponytail to get it off of his shoulders and chest. For the first few months he'd made sure to keep his hair trimmed the way he liked it. In the second year he'd allowed it to grow longer and simply tied up the parts that would tickle his neck and ears. Now that it reached as far as his mid-chest he felt better with the loose ponytail. It offered stability without him having to go to the effort of cutting it.

    "If you're going to delete yourself, old man, it would be nice to say goodbye first." Legatus could hear his heartbeat, quiet and slow in the otherwise silent room. Glancing over at his PC, he confirmed it was simply in sleep mode. It had been months since the custom built behemoth had last used its full power. Months of silence, as the cold of winter took root in the Noctyx house, and each member busied themselves with preparations for their 3rd anniversary.

    Legatus continued to wait, his heartbeat the loudest thing in the room. The old analogue clock that had once filled the room with a steady rhythm had broken down, and been thrown out in the autumn. He'd been gifted a brand new digital one for Christmas that had dozens of extra features, but simply left it in the box in a dark corner of the room after assuring the gift giver that he loved it.

    A short sigh, not quite his old growl, was all that he left behind as he slammed the door to his room on the way out. The whole house shook a little, and more petals and leaves would have joined the others scattered on his desk and floor.

    "Hey there, rust bucket, we still on for recording later tonight? If we don't get it done-"

    "Ukiki is gonna murder us. I know," Fulgur grumbled. "Why didn't you just record at the studio?"

    Alban grinned from ear to ear as he nudged Fulgur in the ribs with an elbow.

    "You think I'm wasting any of my free time in Japan at a studio!? They already had us in the 3D one for like 2 weeks straight!"

    "Probably the only thing straight about those recordings from what I heard on my end."

    "You're just jealous you couldn't join the orgy!"

    Fulgur shook his head as he headed down the stairs. A framed photo of the group hugging caught the light on his way down and showed a gentle smile reflecting back at him as he went.

    "Fulgur!?"

    Alban had called out as Fulgur's foot slipped over one stair and his hand shot out to catch him on the banister. Pain shot through his whole body as he limped down to the bottom of the stairs and struggled to flatten out his foot. A loud crack rang out as, finally, he managed to press the cynet foot flat down on the ground. Alban leaned left and right, staring at the leg as though he had any idea how the cynet worked.

    "I'm good," Fulgur reassured, patting Alban gently on the shoulder. "Always gets worse in the winter. You know that."

    "You really need to oil those joints, dad. Ow!" Alban dodged away after the first play punch caught him in the chest. "I'll see you at 6! Don't make me drag your ass into my room!"

    As Alban skipped off to the kitchen, Fulgur's smile faded. He grabbed a heavy winter jacket, pulling it on as he stepped outside into the garden.

    The cold air stung at Fulgur's lips as he took a deep breath in. Exhaling caused a cloud of vapor to appear out of his dry lips before being whisked away by the harsh wind. He took two long steps out into the snow before pausing. The ground was full of the telltale prints of cat paws in the snow as well as other markings. The sisters had been wrestling with each other in the morning, or so it seemed based on the little grooves and indents in the fresh powder. 

    Taking a moment, Fulgur watched some of the snowflakes as they gently danced on the wind, frolicking as the sun that managed to break through the clouds transformed them into little specks of pure light. Cautiously, he reached out, cupping a hand to let one of the snowflakes come to a rest on the black carbon fiber. The hand tremored gently, causing the snowflake to reflect the light at different angles and shine with all the colours of the rainbow. He admired it for a beat before closing his fist and walking on.

    Fulgur made his way to the gate, stopping for a moment to make sure that no-one was around, before following the wooden fence to the side. He had to push past some of the larger bushes that still had green leaves on them, a small avalanche of snow tumbling onto him as he did. He shook his head, wiggling his shoulders to shake out the bits that had gotten inside his jacket and chilled his nape.

    The feeling made his hair stand on end, and he considered that maybe leaving his hair loose would be better in the winter. Reaching out to the next bush, he grabbed hold of a stable branch, shaking it with a little force. Once the snow had fallen from that one, he pushed further into the shrubbery, coming to a small opening where the bushes had been trimmed away, giving him just enough space to take a full step and crouch down in front of a wooden structure.

    He hadn't even managed to scrape the snow off of the top of the box before two cats exploded out of it, each meowing louder than the other as if in competition. A gentle laugh released from Fulgur along with a puff of warm frost breath, as he reached down to pet the larger of the two. The smaller one pushed forward, pressing against her sister and digging her head into the palm of his hand to steal the affection for herself with a proud meow.

    "Okay, okay. Its a busy day, and I can see you've already been little menaces, so I'll have to play with you tomorrow instead." Having said that, Fulgur spent the next 5 minutes petting the two cats, using his second hand to split the two up and give them each separate attention so they wouldn't fight.

    When they had enough, he reached inside the hole he'd dug out for them in their first winter and pulled out one of the sealed cans of food he stored there. A chorus of meows erupted which were quickly drowned out by purring and the sounds of happy cats feasting as he put down the opened can for the pair.

    He watched them in silence with a smile on his face, rubbing his hands together for some warmth as they continued to eat.  Despite it being a daily occurrence, it had never lost the magic he felt the first time he had discovered the cats. 

    It had been right after he joined Noctyx and secured a job with Nijisanji. Walking around the city, with no destination in mind, he'd been caught in a thunder storm and took a moment to shelter in an alley. There, the pair had been crying, too small to even open their eyes yet, and in a box with several of their siblings that hadn't made it through the night.

    It was his first time seeing a kitten in anything other than a video, and he'd been worried about how to handle them, or if his metal hands would do more harm than good. He'd watched a few videos about how to handle and feed them before finally stuffing them into his jacket pockets and taking them home.

    Three years later, they were well fed and had their own little home, dug into the earth and with a solid wooden box with a hole cut into it to serve as the entrance. It was more of a dog house than a cat's shelter, but they seemed more than content with it.

    At first he'd thought they would leave once they'd grown a little and find a new home, but they never had, so Fulgur had just kept serving them meals twice a day. He'd never managed to get them to learn actual names, but they managed to make do without, simply responding when he called out "cats," and always running over when he opened a can of food.

    Fulgur brought his hands to his face, blowing warm air into the cupped palms, he trapped it there. Low on power as they were, the cynets still felt temperature well enough to cause him pain if he stayed out in the subzero for too long. The gentle mews and purrs of the cats were his entertainment as the bushes kept the chill of wind at bay.

    This moment of bliss was something he always looked forward to. No matter the weather, he always found an excuse to go out into the garden, and at some point he'd stopped even making excuses, simply stepping out without any of the other men that lived in the house questioning it.

    The wolf who once lived each day searching for his next mission had become domesticated, falling into a simple routine that brought him joy. Even before Canis had stopped talking to him, it had been weeks since he fought with the other members of Noctyx. He'd just kept his archivist persona up, as he often had in the past to avoid conflict.

    The acting was becoming easy at this point. He slipped into the friendly and goofy mask without even trying recently, and no longer kept up with the nerdy hobbies just to master the role. They'd become a part of the life and personality that made up Fulgur Ovid, along with these moments of joy which he knew he didn't have to hide anymore.

    "Okay, Catses, you be good girls and-"

    The whole world turned sideways and fell out from under Fulgur. For a moment he lay there, blinking in confusion with his head planted in the snow. Of all things, it was the smell that hit him first.

    Burning plastic, charred earth, and smoke which could have come from any number of sources. Dragging himself up on to his hip, Fulgur twisted his head to see the fiery ruin that had once been his house.

    "Catses?" Two pairs of eyes stared back at him out of their hole, but made no move to leave. Both were huddled back as far as they could be inside their shelter.

    Good, he thought, dragging himself back to his feet. The cats are safe, but what about...

    "Alban... Uki, Sonny!" Fulgur tore through the bushes, the branches of which tore numerous cuts into his face as he pushed through the pain and stared in disbelief at what remained of the Noctyx house. Most of the structure still remained, but a large chunk on the second floor was missing, and smoke poured out of it and numerous other spots from the house. In the windows, orange light flickered through the smoke, and the heat from the blaze within completely overpowered the chill of the snow.

    "No..." Fulgur ran forward, kicking the door to the house in with all the force he could muster. The wood splintered and shook, but held strong against the attack.

    "No!" Fulgur kicked out again, never having failed to breach a barrier before. As he did, he tried with all his might to disable power saving mode on his cynets, but the power had run so low that they wouldn't even receive the signal. Once again he kicked at the door, uselessly, as his home and anything or anyone left inside it continued to burn.

    "Please, no!" Fulgur pulled back, giving himself a running start before he slammed his entire upper body into the door, a scream coming out of him from the force of the impact. The action was enough though, and finally the door came tearing off its hinges and smashing down into what used to be the entrance hallway.

    Immediately, Fulgur retreated back from the inferno that raged within. Smoke billowed out through the doorway and into the air, as everything inside the building burned. All the memories that they had made over the last 3 years were going up in smoke along with the house.

    Stumbling back to his feet, Fulgur tore off his jacket and held it over his face, ready to charge forward into the burning building to look for any survivors, but he felt himself pulled backwards instead.

    They're fine, Fuufuu-chan. I got Alban out at the last second. Sonny went out earlier.

    "Fulgur!" Alban slammed into Fulgur from the side, wrapping his arms around his chest before pushing him away. The hug had made Fulgur shake in pain, but his face was one that only showed relief. "What the heck happened!?"

    Fulgur looked between Alban, who was panicked, with tears in his eyes, to Uki, who was approaching from around the corner of the house, rage and sorrow mixed together on his features.

    "I... I didn't," Fulgur stammered out. I didn't what? I didn't cause this? That's for sure, but they aren't accusing me. I should have been able to prevent it... He took a gasp of air, forcing his panic down into his chest, and pushed Alban back towards Uki.

    "Get back to the street. Until we know what caused the explosion, it isn't safe to get close." All the fear had left his voice as the wolf woke from his hibernation. "Alban, call the fire department. Uki, call Sonny to make sure he's okay."

    "Fulg-" Legatus dashed into the burning building, the heat immediately causing him to wince. He made his way up the stairs, two at a time, and seared the palm of his hand opening the door to his room. The far side wall was gone, making it easier to breathe through the clouds of smoke that tore out into the open air from every part of the house.

    Wasting no time, Legatus ran to his desk, scooping up the shattered case that held his computer. Before he could turn to leave with it another red and black object caught his eye, and he shoved it fast into his pocket before lifting the PC back up. He just got outside his room when the staircase collapsed, part of the ground floor being ripped down into the basement with it. More plumes of smoke threatened to choke him at the top of the stairs.

Whipping around, Legatus cleared the length of his room in just a few strides, leaping with all his strength out of what used to be his bedroom wall. The dark of smoke was replaced with the pure white of snow as he crashed hard into it.

    Blood spilled freely from his nose and mouth. Ash and debris rained down on the ground from the remains of his house. The world went dark and cold as Legatus struggled to breathe. His vision was a mixture of black ash, red blood and the grey mix that had once been snow.

    The fresh snow blanketed his fall, but the corner of the PC had stabbed into his stomach hard as he did his best to protect it from the fall. Each breath was another painfully shallow gasp as his lungs struggled to cough out the smoke he'd inhaled too.

    Vision cloudy and blurred, he fished around in the PC case, ripping out a small red chip that didn't look like it fit with any of the other parts. He brought the chip up to his neck, sliding it quickly into a port that opened in his Throa2 and confirming that the neural link was stable.

    Kid!? What's going on? The voice of the professor rang out in Legatus' mind as he struggled to catch his breath. Without all the extra computing power in the PC, Canis couldn't take on a visual form, but with the network chip back in his own body he had at least reestablished their direct connection.

    Kid, are you okay!? Any other time in the past few months, the genuine concern in Canis' voice might have made Legatus feel something, but with tears and snot already streaming down his face from smoke inhalation he could only roll onto his stomach and crawl further from the fire.

    "Fulgur!" Someone much more broad than himself dragged Legatus through the snow and out the gate where Alban and Uki met them. Together they helped lift him to his feet. "Are you an idiot!? Who goes back for their computer during that!?"

    Sonny was practically holding Legatus up himself, while Uki had slid one of his arms over his shoulder and supported a little from the opposite side. 

    "An idiot," Legatus agreed, between hacking coughs and laughter which rocked his whole body. Seeing the anger on Sonny's face, Fulgur grinned as much as he could and added, "thank you." It was all he could get out before more coughing made lights explode in his eyes and his body threatened to collapse.

    "Dumbass... could have atleast gotten mine too." When vision returned to him, Fulgur found Sonny was smiling back at him.

    "The fire department are on their way," Alban shouted as he approached the other men. "I don't think there's going to be much left by the time they get here though."

    "Albie," Uki called out, in a rare, commanding tone. He pointed across the street to the corner of another house. "There's a drone coming this way from across the street. There. Catch it as it comes over the neighbour's fence."

    Alban simply nodded, running through the snow, then positioning himself just under the white plastic fence that surrounded the building across the street. He crouched down on all fours, ready to strike.

    Fulgur finally stood up himself, feeling his breathing turn from gasps into long wheezes. He let go of both Uki and Sonny, doing his best to appear stable as he nodded at each.

    Kid, talk to me, Canis demanded, worry turning to annoyance. He could see and hear what was happening now, but hadn't seen any part of the fire or how his creation had injured itself.

    "I will, Canis. Still in the thick of it now though."

    "What?" Sonny looked, bewildered at Fulgur, who had responded to Canis out loud. In that instant, Alban flipped onto the top of the fence he was crouched under and leapt up into the air, clawing at a drone as it appeared in the sky. He held tight, riding it down from the air.

    The drone slammed down into the ground with a crash, one rotor smashing apart as two more snapped but continued to spin uselessly. The machine was jet black and bore a silver logo on it that all four men instantly recognized.

    All eyes turned to Fulgur, who stared down in disbelief at the giant wolf that used to always adorn his chest.

    "Legatus," a voice called out from the machine. "You really are impossible to kill. Even an ICBM didn't manage to catch you unawares. Perfectly suited for this time, with all the other cockroaches and parasites." The voice was condescending, but with an air of admiration that made it sting more.

    "Vulpes," Fulgur acknowledged, doing his best to keep any emotion out of his voice. It wasn't quite the rasp he had years ago, but it was passable. "Shouldn't you have fucked off to some other timeline with everyone dead?"

    "Vulpes?" Alban asked recognizing the name. "I thought he was gone?"

    "Oh, you told the pretty boy band about me? I'm honored to be recognized by Nijisanji EN's 5th wave, Noctyx."

    "What do you want?" Fulgur asked, unamused by the obvious threat. "Did you blow up the house?" Vulpes had made it clear that he'd been watching them, even using the exact same introduction that Fulgur himself always used for their unit.

    "Glad to see your brain hasn't completely turned to mush, Fuuchan. Yes, I blew up your house, and if you'd had the good sense to die in it, I wouldn't want anything more from you. That's the problem though. It's not that I want something. It's what I need."

    "Isn't this the guy that destroyed the world you came from?" It was Sonny this time who was connecting the name to Fulgur's debut lore.

    A laugh echoed through the streets as the snow continued to fall. Despite the cold, numerous bystanders had left nearby houses to find the source of the explosion that could be heard for miles.

    "I guess you didn't tell them the true story after all, Legatus. After all, this is the first time I've destroyed your home." The voice cackled again, before Fulgur snapped back.

    "What do you want!?"

    "You, Legatus. I need you. Either you can come back to The Republic with me, or I'll drag your corpse back there myself, no matter how many others I need to go through."

    "Wait... you said your home was gone." Alban and Sonny both looked up at Fulgur, while Uki stared away into the sky. "You said you had nothing to go back to?"

    "It is gone," Vulpes laughed. "Destroyed along with every other bastion of human civilization in this time. You want to tell them how, Fuuchan?"

    "Just tell me where to go..." Fulgur stared at the drone, ignoring the stares which bore into him.

    "You're not going with him," Sonny grabbed Fulgur by the collar, pulling him close to his face. "Look at me, you're not going with that genocidal maniac."

    Another laugh filled the air.

    "Poor choice of words, officer. I only attempted to end civilization. If anyone's-"

    "Just tell me where!" Any hint of softness had left his voice as Legatus grabbed Sonny's wrist, squeezing it until he let go with a gasp. "I'm not afraid to fight you again, you twisted apoloshit scum!"

    "Fulgur..." Sonny stepped back as Legatus walked straight past him, almost pushing through him as though he didn't exist.

    "You actually care what these doomers think of you?" Vulpes could hardly get the words out between laughter. "Tell them, Fuuchan, tell them that the one who ended The Republic, the one who brought an end to civilization in this timeline, the one who ran away to the past to become an idol, the bringer of The Second Fall as we now call it, that was all Fulgur Ovid, legatus of division 505, and traitor to The Republic."

    The wind howled, ripping between the four men as Legatus continued to move forward. Alban stepped off the drone, heading straight for him.

    "Oi, we're not gonna be fooled by-"

    "It's true." Legatus shoved past the thief, knocking him to the side as their shoulders collided. Casually, he strode up to the drone and glared down at it. 

    "Where?"

    "Fulgur, I..." The Officer's voice trailed off. Unable to find words for his thoughts, they were as faint as the snow in the wind. "Oogs, don't let him leave."

    Legatus turned back, looking at the three men he'd shared so much of the last three years with. The Thief was trembling, eyes darting between everyone else. The officer stared intently at The Psychic, full confidence etched into every one of his features. The Psychic simply watched Legatus, one eye glowing purple as the snow continued to fall.

    "You really think you can stop me?" Legatus glared at The Psychic, his voice coming out as a primal growl. "You know what I've done in the past." His eyes flashed to look at The Thief and Officer before returning to The Psychic. "I can do it all over again."

    Tears began streaming down The Psychic's face, only from the one glowing eye as it wavered.

    "I will never hurt you, Fuufuuchan," The Psychic whispered, barely audible over the wind. Legatus stumbled backwards, holding his head in pain. The line played over and over again in his mind as though the words were reverberating inside his skull.

    "...Auritus? Get the fuck out of my head!"

    When Legatus looked back up, all three of the men were beside one-another, watching him with concern. In front the friends he'd come to love, he could see faces of the men he'd killed, phantoms which haunted him more the longer he lived.

    Crushed skull. Half a head. Nothing left but a purple smear.

    Legatus whipped back around and grabbed the drone from the ground as he continued walking. The Psychic's voice shook as he did his best to shout over the wind that had picked up in force.

    "If you need-"

    "I don't need anything from any of you! Just leave me alone!"

    As he continued to claw his way through the snow, Legatus slipped his free hand into his pocket, pulling out the red and black cylinder he'd saved from the fire. He slipped the netjack back onto his belt loop, feeling it's weight once more become a part of him.

    One final mission.

Art from Legatus 505 MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ycwVMsM3l0