Ep.54: A Painful Betrayal, Part 3

With Cinder vanished, each of us, besides Anaea, knowing our own inability to help Gwyn, are plastered to our places on the ground, feeling hopeless and unable to move beyond the rise and fall of our labored breathing. Ramsey is the first to recover the strength to stand. He uses that strength to walk forward to my side. “Don’t worry about it, Fukai, everyone has this feeling… eventually. It’s because you’re an idiot that it took you longer to realize.” Ramsey puts his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

“What?” I ask, uncertain.

“You know… Cough. Right, I almost forgot. You are an extreme idiot.” Ramsey looks at me and smiles. “That’s fear you’re feeling.”

“Huuuuuuh?! And you call me an idiot?!” I finally force myself to my feet grinning at Ramsey. “Kekekeke! I’m the Man without Fear!” I declare, my legs trembling. “See! I-I was just worried for you guys! Yep! That’s it! Kekekeke!”

Ramsey walks away, completely ignoring me. “Idiot.”

I follow Ramsey as we make our way to Maka. “Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

“No. No. No. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. Come on, Maka, go to your happy place,” Maka mumbles to himself.

“Yo! Maka, how’s it hanging?!” I ask jovially.

Ramsey slaps me upside the head. “Shut it. Are you ok, Maka?”

“Huh? What?” Maka looks at us, his pupils blown wide in panic. “Me? Hahaha! Of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be okay?!”

A little confused, I scratch my head. “Ummm… okay, if you say so.”

Maka begins to curl up in a ball, mumbling to himself, “I should have just stayed home, but no, Maka, you just had to listen to Fukai. Now we’re all going to die.”

“…” I quietly lean over and whisper into Ramsey’s ear. “I think he’s talking about you.” Ramsey gives me an unimpressed look. “He seems fine to me.”

Ramsey ignores me once again and steps closer to Maka’s curled up form. “Maka, this isn’t the place to be losing your s…” Ramsey pauses, rubbing the back of his head and sighs. “I mean… come on, Maka, let me help you off the ground.”

I look over towards Gwyn and Anaea where she’s trying to help him. “Anaea.”

“Professor Gwyn! Professor Gwyn! What do I do?! How do I stop the bleeding?!” Anaea begs in panic.

“Anaea?” Gwyn struggles to turn his head to address her. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me! I’m not sure what I need to do…!” Anaea cries out.

Gwyn meets Anaea’s eyes with his own, he can see the overwhelming panic within them. “Calm down, Anaea, I need you to focus. Please help me sit up,” Gwyn asks her weakly.

Despite her fear, Anaea swiftly does as Gwyn has asked her. “Umm… right here?” Anaea asks, concerned as she lays Gwyn’s back up against a rock.

“That’s fine. Listen, Anaea.” As Gwyn puts more pressure on his wound to staunch the bleeding, pain lances through him, forcing out a teeth-clenched gasp as he succeeds in fighting back the scream building in his chest, refusing to further concern his students. “There is something that all of you need to know,” Gwyn’s face, contorted with pain, schools itself into a serious expression, “if we are to continue on.”