The Emperor's Dragon

Aftermath I

The scene was carnage.

There were fires. There was smoke. There were damaged and collapsed buildings. What was meant to be a city street, a city block, a city was nothing but rubble. Water gushed from broken pipes. Gas hissed, and exploded. Sewage thankfully was below ground but the pipes were probably leaking.

It was apocalyptic. No one knew for sure what had happened.

Bomb? Earthquake? Terrorist Attack? The damage was so bad no one knew for sure.

The cries and moans of the injured underscored everything.

The silence of the others was worse.

Rescue Heroes were frantically combing through the ruins looking for survivors. Paramedics were treating who they could. Police were doing the same. So were those civilians well enough to move. Everyone was helping. Even the media. This was no time to document anything.

"Shit! Medic!" There was an edge to the scream that brought the attention of those gathered.

The responder trembled for a few moments, just staring.

The scene was red.

There was blood everywhere. It was splashed on the debris. Splashed on the ground. Splashed on the hero, who was on his knees, head bowed. It ran in rivulets down his side. It covered the body that lay before the hero.

The responder gagged, looking at the damage with the knowledge of who the hero was and what had caused this carnage.

There was a pounding from behind the responder. Runners, they crested the mound of rubble that surrounded the scene, and similarly froze.

On his knees, blood covering blond hair and running down a side that was not there was not how anyone expected to see the Number One Hero. This was a man they had watched for years defeat villain after villain with barely a scratch. To see him like this...

At least one of the paramedics was more conscious of their job than the others. "Move!" came the yell as they skidded down the rubble slope. "Get me a spine board, now!" the order was added on.

The others rushed to comply.

"All Might!" The cry was urgent. "All Might!"

The hero's eyes fluttered and blood gushed from his mouth.

"Shit, get him down! Get pressure on the wound!" It was a misnomer to call it a wound. It wasn't even a gaping hole. All Might's left side just wasn't there. His intestines were bulging and leaking into the mess. His stomach wasn't visible and there was bubbling in the blood from his lungs. It was a miracle his heart hadn't stopped. It was a miracle his heart was still in his chest.

The paramedic pushed All Might down, straining even when the hero was unresisting. He was a large man. Other's helped and swiftly the Number One hero was strapped to a spine board and bandages pressed into his side. As they were lifting him, he stirred. His arm moved weakly but his grip was still strong.

"Is he?" More blood dribbled from All Might's mouth but his eyes were intense. "Is he?" The question came again.

The paramedic who'd taken charge figured out what the Hero was asking about and cast her eyes to the other body.

The man had been muscular. The clothes, what was left of them, were high class. They were drenched in blood and his hands were curled into fists. His head was missing though. He would be lying face down if he still had a face though the nap of the neck was still there. Blood covered everything and what looked suspiciously like brain matter was scattered around.