NINE

"Lauren!" Wes screamed as I continued to stare at the scene, unable to process it.

"Did you just...?" Emily asked me.

"That wasn't me," I informed her. "That son of a bitch can portal!" I'd had no idea. None of us knew that about Aries.

"No!" Abigail screamed. "This is my fault! I ran off on Jamie and that's the only reason she was here!" She looked absolutely devastated. Jamie was great with kids and I knew Abigail adored her.

"We'll get them back," I promised her. I focused. I could still hear snippets of their thoughts. "They're close. He didn't get far. I don't think he wanted to leave a place he was familiar with. They're in one of the three buildings."

"Let's go," Wes said. I looked at him.

"Let's not," Angle said, slashing Wes in his side with what looked like a silver dagger. Wes howled in agony. I noticed Kenny was cringing and remembered he was also a werecreature, although he was a hyena, not a wolf. He stayed back, trying to be invisible.

"You son of a bitch!" I shouted. I could tell the wound was bad. I needed to get us out of there or Wes might die. Jeff didn't look much better. He was lying on the ground having a very violent seizure from the spell Aries had hit him with. James wasn't in the best of shape even though I'd healed him. Lauren and Jamie were gone. Emily and Abigail were still in danger. Abigail... Shane McMahon's daughter.

I looked at her. "We need to get you out of here," I told her. I could see Stephanie talking to the others, trying to give them some sort of orders. We had very little time.

"No. I can't go, not until we save Carlos... And Jamie and Lauren," Abigail said.

I looked at Carlos. "They will kill her, Carlos. Stephanie will take her and kill her. Do you understand me?" I asked him.

He nodded slowly. "You have to make a choice," I continued. "Which side are you really on? You have about thirty seconds."

"Go, Abby," he told her.

"Not without you. If I leave you here, this was all for nothing," Abigail insisted.

He sighed. "Will you let me come?" He asked.

"Yes," I promised him.

"I don't think so," Stephanie said suddenly. She snapped her fingers and Carlos vanished. Now that was a pretty fucking neat trick right there. "Sorry, Derrick, but Carlos won't be leaving our side anytime soon."

I wasn't surprised Stephanie didn't know my real name. I was vaguely surprised she even remembered my WWE ring name.

"What did you do?" Abigail demanded.

"Relax, sweetheart," Stephanie said in her fake, sugary voice. "He's perfectly fine. I'll bring you to him if you like."

Emily looked at me and then at Stephanie, and I knew she had a plan. I also knew she needed me to be a distraction. "So, Steph, I was thinking, what would it take to get you to bring me back to WWE?" I asked.

Stephanie looked at me with mild amusement. "While I reluctantly admit your talent has begun to show itself at TNA, we don't exactly have room for someone who shacks up with the Carters on our roster," she told me.

"Come on, Stephanie, I could be great! I'm the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion!"

"Hardly."

"You know you love me. I get more of a crowd reaction than Cena!"

"Ah, but Derrick, you can't wrestle," she told me.

"Yes he can!" James said suddenly. He was standing beside me now.

"Ah! Rockstar Spud survives! What a great underdog story! Now you I'd consider giving a contract to," Stephanie said pleasantly.

"Really?" James asked. He had a look on his face that said he was honored. Then he turned cold and said, "Wait, I just remembered... I don't work for racists, hypocrites, or bitches, so I guess I can't accept your offer, seeing as how you're all three of those things."

Holy shit, I thought with amusement. Rockstar Spud just called Stephanie McMahon a bitch.

Nelson and MVP were laughing so hard, I suspected they might wet themselves. For once, Kenny was silent. He was still staring at Wes and shaking. I could tell he was terrified. Storm just looked at her and said, "Well, he's not wrong, Darlin'."

Emily suddenly flew into action, flinging her body so hard at Stephanie that she knocked her straight into a wall. Stephanie cracked her head open and Emily flung some kind of spell at her. I watched as Stephanie began twitching.

"Go!" Emily told me. "Take them and get them out of here. I'll go after Jamie and Lauren."

"No way," I said. "I'll open a portal and you guys can go. I'll find the girls."

"Michael." She looked very serious suddenly. "I have to be the one. James is still hurt, and you burned yourself out healing him as it is. Jeff's half-dead, and Wes is bleeding out. If you don't get them out of here, they're all going to get killed. They can't navigate the portals when they're this hurt, and I'm not good enough at it to transport that many people, plus my daughter. It has to be you."

"I can't leave you here."

"You have to." She looked into my eyes. "Save them, Michael. Save my daughter. Please, no matter what, keep her safe."

I nodded, feeling a terrible sense of dread but knowing she was right. All of us were going to die if we didn't get out of there quickly. I opened the portal.

"Mommy, no!" Abigail cried. She hugged her. "I'm not going!"

"Abby, you have to," Emily told her. She hugged her daughter. "I love you so much, Baby, but I need you to do this for me. I need to know that you're safe." She kissed her on top of her head. Abigail started sobbing. James took her in his arms.

I pulled Emily into my arms and kissed her like I'd never kissed her before. "I love you," I told her. "I'm coming back for you."

"I love you, too," Emily replied. "And I know you are."

I helped Wes stand up. He was in bad shape, but being a werewolf was giving him enough strength to at least try to hold on and fight. The silver would prevent him from healing quickly enough to survive. I knew he needed medical attention. I also knew there weren't a lot of ways to get that for him.

I picked Jeff up and fireman-carried him to the portal. I looked over my shoulder at Emily one last time before all of us went through it.

It's not easy to portal on my own, let alone with so many "passengers." I had to focus all of my energy on getting us to a location I knew would be safe. We arrived a couple of minutes later.

A woman let out a startled gasp as we landed at her feet. I looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Reby," I said. "We were screwed."

The still very pregnant Reby Hardy stared at me before turning on her inner New York Badass and calling, "Matt! Get your ass in here right now and bring the first aid kit."

Jeff had finally stopped seizing. I put him down on the couch. Reby helped Wes sit down on a chair and started looking at his wounds. Matt came out and cursed.

"What the hell happened?" He asked as he handed Reby the first aid kit and rushed to his brother's side.

"Jeff took a spell from Aries. It was meant for Abigail," I told him.

Abigail was still in tears. James refused to let her go. "What do we do, Michael?" He asked me.

"You guys stay here. You'll be safe," I said. The Hardy Compound was more psychically locked down than Fort Knox. I knew they'd be okay. "Matt, I think Wes needs a healer, or at least Eddie. He might be able to call his wolf forward enough to get Wes to change form and heal."

"I've got him," Matt promised me.

"Lauren," Wes whimpered. "Please..."

"I'll find her, Wes," I promised him.

"What happened?" Reby asked as she tried to comfort him and take care of as much of his injury as she could.

"Aries apparently learned my parlor trick. He took Lauren and Jamie and portaled out."

"Jamie? Shit. Does Bully know?" Matt asked.

"I didn't exactly have time to tweet it to him," I replied. I suspected Matt would have found a way to do that, since Matt Hardy absolutely lives on Twitter, but I didn't add that aloud.

"I'll get in touch with him. If he figures it out on his own, all hell will break loose."

I looked at James. "Have you got her?" I asked.

He nodded. "She'll be safe with me," he promised.

"Abigail, I have to go back and help your mom, okay?" I asked.

"I know," she told me. She was still sobbing. I turned to walk away and open another portal, but her tiny voice stopped me. "Michael..."

I turned back and looked at her. To my shock, she ran into my arms and hugged me. Through her sobs, she whispered, "You can call me Abby now."

I held her for a minute. "I'll find your mom, Abby," I promised her.

"I know you will," she told me. "Please don't get yourself killed."

I nodded. She released me and I went through the portal. When I got back to the site of the battle, it was chaos. Emily had clearly fought her way out. Taryn still lay unconscious where Abigail had knocked her out, but everyone else was missing. Stephanie had vanished, and I suspected she'd actually left the area entirely. I couldn't hear her thoughts, but I knew she'd survived. McMahons are like cockroaches. It's damn near impossible to kill them.

I headed to the next building, searching for a hint of where everyone had gone. I finally found enough property damage to realize they were in the former bagel shop. Beams had collapsed from the ceiling. There was carnage everywhere. There was also a lot of blood. The remains of a dead body were scattered throughout the room. Someone had been mauled. I figured Kenny must have done it, but who had it been? The body was in so many pieces I couldn't recognize who it had belonged to, but I spotted a pair of shoes and realized it had been a male. Had Kenny mauled a member of his own team? What was going on?

I desperately searched for the girls. Suddenly, everything stopped. I couldn't breathe. Emily lay on the floor, unmoving and not breathing. I could tell from the angle of her neck...

No. It couldn't be... She couldn't be...

I started to panic. I rushed to her side and knelt beside her. Her eyes stared back at me, open and vacant. Suddenly, absolutely nothing else mattered. My world shattered. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I pulled her into my arms. She was still warm.

"No..." I whispered. I started repeating it over and over again, a single word, my mantra. If I said it enough times, maybe it would be true.

I kissed her lips a final time. Even they were still warm. A thought occurred to me.

You can save her, I thought. You can bring her back. I could. It would be hard, especially with how much energy I'd already expended, but it was possible. I rocked her body in my arms, bracing myself for something I knew was going to kill me. I didn't care. If I could save her, if I could bring her back and know the woman I loved was safe, if I could give Abigail back her mother, then nothing else mattered. Not even my own life.

I heard movement suddenly. "I'm so sorry," Jamie whispered through hysterical sobs. "We tried to save her... We tried to stop him, but... But Angle... I'm so sorry..." She couldn't stop.

To my confusion, a wolf stood protectively in front of her. It snarled at the carnage, clearly not willing to allow any threat anywhere near Jamie. Slowly, I began to realize what had actually happened here.

The mauled body belonged to Aries. That meant he'd be back, but it would take him a very long time to heal all of the damage. We were safe for now. This explained everything. The extreme emotions, the sudden rage, the miraculous healing, and the insanely powerful appetite... Wes hadn't called a healer in after all. He'd infected Lauren with lycanthropy and turned her into a werewolf to save her life.

Jamie began sobbing harder. I was drawn back to Emily's body in my arms. I could still do this. I really could. Yes, it would kill me, but I didn't care. I didn't want to live in a world without her, and who was I, really? Did I matter enough to justify not bringing back a little girl's mother? I certainly didn't think so. I started to try to call her soul back.

The Lauren Wolf came toward me. She growled at me once. I knew what she was trying to say. "I have to," I argued. "I can save her." She growled louder and bared her teeth at me. "I have to," I said again. I realized I was crying. "Please... Please." I began rocking Emily in my arms, knowing Lauren was right but unwilling to accept it. I couldn't let her go. Not like this.

Lauren rubbed her nose against my arm and began to whimper. She sat beside me and I used one of my hands to pet her while I still held Emily. I couldn't breathe at all. I buried my face in her fur and cried my eyes out in an extremely undignified manner. Finally, I knew what I had to do. Lauren was in wolf form and probably didn't know how to change herself back yet. Jamie was catatonic in the corner, repeating the same things over and over. I wasn't even sure she knew I was there. They wouldn't get out of there on their own and I couldn't leave them there. They needed me.

I tried to pull myself together. I released Emily with great difficulty, kissing the top of her head and closing her eyes before I walked over to Jamie. "Jamie... Sweetie, it's me," I said. "It's Michael."

She looked at me, finally registering that I was there, and flung her arms around me. "Michael... Oh God, Michael, I'm so sorry! I tried to save her... I tried so hard... But Aries attacked me again, so Lauren... Lauren did that." She motioned toward the carnage that had been Aries and eventually would be again. "And then Angle came up behind her and he... She didn't see him coming. I tried to warn her, but it was too late. He broke her neck..."

"Shhh," I said gently. "It's alright, Jamie. I know you tried."

"I know you loved her."

"Very much, yes." I tried not to cry, but Jamie hugged me harder and a few tears began to fall again.

"Where's everyone else?" I finally asked.

"MVP and Nelson fled as soon as they saw what Lauren did... I didn't even know she was a wolf!" She shook her head. "Angle disappeared while I was trying to see if I could save Emily..." Her voice cracked.

I suddenly heard motion beneath the rubble. I pulled Jamie behind me protectively. Lauren stood at attention, ready to attack. Whoever it was wasn't in good shape. I got closer and realized that it was Kenny, and he was still alive, if only barely.

"Let's go," I said to Jamie. I didn't give a fuck about him. I just wanted to get out of there. He was one of the bastards that had been involved on the wrong side of a battle that had just killed my girlfriend... He could rot in hell for all I cared.

Mama... I'm sorry, Ma, I heard. I realized I could hear Kenny's dying thoughts. I was so stupid... I never meant to disappoint you... I'll do better... I swear I'll do better... The pain was unbearable. He couldn't process it. He was hallucinating. More than anything, however, I could hear the regret in his thoughts. I never meant for it to go so far, Mama... She's just a little girl... You'd kick my ass for hurting a kid... But they want her, and I just thought, "Hey, I have orders. I gotta do this, so I might as well enjoy it..." But Mama... Ma, I'm so sorry... Oh God, what did I do? Why am I such an idiot? Mama... Oh God... Please... I-I don't wanna die...

"Damnit to fucking hell!" I said aloud. I knew I should leave him, but he was so pathetic right now... Pathetic and full of remorse. As much as I hated to admit it, Kenny King had just had his wake-up call. This was his moment. He was at a crossroads, and he could choose to change his path. I could tell that if he survived this, that's exactly what he would do, and I couldn't very well let the guy die if he was about to join the right side of things. I did mention I have a bleeding heart, right? "Son of a bitch..." I moved the debris off of him.

"Michael?" Jamie questioned me.

"We can't just leave him here," I said. I looked at Emily and said, "Enough death has happened today."

She nodded and helped me move the debris, which there was a ton of. Kenny had nearly been flattened by it. He was badly hurt. The internal injuries might kill him even if I did get him help, but I had to try. I looked at Jamie.

"Come on," I said. I carried Kenny out of the building and to my car.

"We're driving?" Jamie asked. Lauren was by her side as we approached the car.

"Yeah. I'm too weak to portal right now."

Jamie helped me get Kenny into the car, laying him on the backseat. I motioned toward the car and Lauren understood my order, sitting on the floor in front of him. "Take shotgun," I told Jamie. "I'll be right back."

She knew what I was doing and didn't argue. I went back inside and picked Emily up in my arms. "I love you," I whispered. "More than my own life. But I know you'd never forgive me if I left them here because then this would have been for nothing..." I carried her toward my car. I was crying again.

"I changed my mind. Can you drive?" I asked Jamie.

She nodded. "Of course," she said.

I sat down in the passenger seat and kept Emily in my arms. If we got stopped by cops, this might be hard to explain, but I didn't care.

"Where to?" Jamie asked me.

"A hospital first," I told her. "We need to get him help."

She nodded and we drove in silence. There really weren't words. She dropped Kenny outside of the hospital and sped away, not exactly ready to answer questions. His survival was in the hands of doctors now. We'd done all we could for him.

"Where do we go now?" Jamie asked.

I sighed. "We need to portal now. It isn't safe to drive that far." I mustered up the last of my strength for one good jump and took the car straight through a portal to the Hardy Compound. At least we didn't land at Reby's feet this time.

I sent Jamie inside first to make sure Abigail wasn't anywhere that she could see me come inside with Emily. She brought Lauren with her. I took a deep breath and carried Emily to the door. I peaked inside and saw Jamie sobbing in Mark's arms and Wes kneeling at Lauren's side, burying his face in her fur and sobbing in relief. Eddie stood nearby. He noticed me in the door and came over.

His face fell when he saw Emily. "Oh shit," he said. "Oh, God, Michael, I'm so sorry..."

I nodded. "Where's Abigail?" I asked.

"Reby took her over to Jeff's to stay with Beth until things calm down," he said. "Beth's trying to comfort the poor kid. She's insisting that... Well... She knows, Michael. We told her Emily was fine, but she already knew the truth." I wasn't surprised. I just nodded. Eddie helped me inside because I was unsteady on my feet.

I spotted Jeff awake and alert on the couch. Matt was fussing over him, but when they saw me, they both stopped what they were doing. "Oh no," Jeff whispered.

"I... I didn't know where else to bring her," I told them.

Matt nodded. "It's okay," he said gently. "I'll put her down in one of the guest rooms." He tried to take her from me. I stiffened and gripped her tighter.

"Let me," I said. He stopped reaching for her and led me toward one of the back rooms. I laid Emily down. "I need time," I told him. He respected that, muttered something about how sorry he was, and left me alone.

That was when I really broke. I cried until I had no tears left to cry, and even then, my body shook with hysterics. I crawled into bed with her, refusing to let her go. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be how it ended.

I don't know how much time passed, but eventually, there was a knock on the door. It opened a minute later when I didn't respond. Dixie stood there looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Michael," she whispered. She hugged me, and I tried to pull myself together, but I got worse instead. I felt like someone had torn me to pieces and thrown me into a blender and then tried to put me back together again. "Shhh," she whispered. "I'm here. It's alright. Just let it out, Darlin,'. I'm right here."

I shook. I hyperventilated. I cried fresh tears. I was a complete mess. Dixie just kept rubbing my back and whispering comforting words to me.

"I loved her, D," I finally managed to say.

"I know you did, Darlin,'. And she knew it, too. She loved you so much, Michael."

"I can't do this. I can't... I fucking can't!"

She looked me in the eye. "Yes you can, Michael. You're the strongest person I know, and I will not allow you to sit here claiming you can't do something, because that's bull!"

I was surprised by her use of such harsh words. I stared at her. "I love you, Michael," she told me. "You are my family, and my heart absolutely breaks for you, Darlin', but I won't let this destroy you. I know you're still in there, trying to cope with this and find a way to get through it, and I know you will. It doesn't feel that way now, and it shouldn't, because you loved her. But you will survive this. I swear to you, you will get through this."

"How?" I demanded. I pulled away from her. She wiped my tears away with her index finger.

"You're a Carter, Michael," she told me. "Blood doesn't mean anything. You've got the Carter spirit in your blood. You'll survive because that's what Carters do."

James peaked his head inside. "Michael?" He asked. His eyes fell on Emily, but he looked away quickly, unable to stand seeing her like that.

"Come on in, James," I said. He joined me, pulling me into a hug. He was ready to cry. "How are you feeling, Buddy?" I forced myself to ask. Dixie was right. Life had to go on, even if I didn't want it to. James had nearly died today. I couldn't ignore that.

"I'm doing better," he said. "You saved me, Michael. I wouldn't have survived today without you."

"Come on, Boys," Dixie said. "We're going to leave this room right now."

I looked at her with pleading eyes. "D, I can't," I whispered.

"What did I just tell you about that word, Michael?" She took my hand. "It's time to say goodbye, Darlin.' I am so, so sorry, but you have to do this." She looked at me. "We need you, Michael. And her little girl? She needs you more than any of us."

I knew she was right. Tears slowly streamed down my cheeks and fell onto Emily's face as I held her for a final time. I kissed her forehead. "I love you," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

I clung to Dixie's hand. I could do this. I had to do this.

With help from James, I got off of the bed. I held both of their hands as they led me out of the room. I tried not to scream as the door closed behind me. There was more work to be done, and even if there wasn't, Dixie was right. Abigail needed me. I braced myself for what would be the hardest conversation I'd ever had to have in my entire life.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know you all probably hate me right now. I absolutely hated writing this chapter, but unfortunately, I knew I had to do it. Excuse me while I go curl up in a ball and sob because I think I just broke my own Feels. I'll be back soon, because just like Michael said, there's still more work to be done.