Wolf Noir

ACT II - TRAILER - DISASTER

[AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR ACT II]

-

Hello and greetings to you all! I know, it's been a hot minute since I've updated Wolf Noir or really worked on any sort of fanfiction. I know I am a little late for the New Year but life has admittedly been quite busy and I would prefer to spend more than a week working on the baseline for the first act before editing it on and off for the next two!

Admittedly, fanfiction writing has become less of a priority inside of my life as it once were, I've been more focused with writing my own drafts for novels as well as experimenting with world building beyond using a template. Couple that with the fact that life has been busier and more turbulent than ever and you get an inconsistent uploading schedule coupled with a spectacular case of mild writer's block or lack of motivation.

Hah, if you think I'm saying I'm already bored of writing Wolf Noir, you'd be dead wrong. I've had this in the back of my mind for a long time and I am still dedicated to bringing it to you all, yet I realise that life is something that'll sneak up on you as it stalks you in the bushes and my original plans of having this done in a few months may have been a little ambitious.

Motivation ultimately comes and goes, and I cannot dedicate myself to a rigorous schedule like some are able to. I am already aware that it's been over two months since I updated this, time really does fly and I hope you've all had a spectacular winter alongside school break- if you are still attending school, that is!

I will also cleanly admit that this is just the trailer for Act II, you can easily skip this and move straight onto the chapters once they are published in late-February. I know, I know, I'm basically asking for my profile to die with how inactive I've been but with how little time I've had mixed in with my motivation decaying due to that busy schedule; I've had to prioritise some other things.

Alright, I think that's enough rambling! - I will admit though, Act II is going to bring a profound change, hopefully you all enjoy the trailer and I hope to see you with the real act II within a month's time! Now, without further ado, Naidvar proudly presents to you:

-

[ACT II - Trailer - Disaster]

-

Our story's second act and its trailer featuring our heroes begins in one of the most graceful ways possible... With half of the former Bad Guys stuck with their legs in the air and their backs to the floor as their calves lean against the seats of the navy sofa which Foxington was housing inside of her suburban settlement. Mr. Piranha was borderline drunk as he hung his eyes up towards the sky whilst candles flickered surrounding the room. Mr. Wolf was hoping that the slightly moody ambience would spark ideas but it instead kindled the joy of Foxington's romantic side.

No ideas had been conceived ever since everyone gathered inside of Foxington's apartment. In fact, a whole week had passed ever since the conclusion of Wolf's first day. Of course, this meant he had to reach out to several people and inform him that he could no longer conduct business whilst investigating this case, yet everyone had stubbornly refused to bring in Misty Luggins. Wolf feared that dragging the authorities into this case when it was supposed to remain private would end up endangering those supposedly held at the supposed dropzones.

Fortunately, not all was lost for our rag-tag gang of former criminals, considering someone had the bright yet pessimistic idea that the drop zones were meeting points where people were either being housed, interrogated or at least held against their will. If anything, the cases of people suddenly going missing had seemingly drawn absent, almost as if the criminals themselves had caught onto the mere fact they were under investigation and bordering the frontlines of justice.

One captivating thing about this case was the investigation the (former) Bad Guys launched into Winter Gonzalez. Their case against her has grown firmer than ever, especially considering they had made the shocking discovery that Winter happened to be fronting a gun running operation inside of Colombia, which made her case against her even stronger considering she was fronting a raiding business inside of neighbouring Venezuela alongside outsourcing her work in Guatemala to a rag-tag group of Mexican thieves who would do anything to steal on her behalf.

The whole situation became even more confusing when Japanese contacts from across the Pacific ended up getting involved, it's the primary reason why Wolf, as of this very moment; sits inside of an arm chair with Foxington within his arms, merely pondering whilst many of his friends with legs ponder whilst staring into space. Their discovery that the Japanese were involved only surfaced the day prior, which complicated their operation even further considering Wolf's Russian mercenary contact would be unable to solve an issue this large.

"Guys, I hate to admit it but we've been sitting here for a week and we've done nothing except think. When I became a Private Investigator, I thought it would be a thousand times less lamer than this. Here it is, the big case that I've dreamed of since I was a little pup and got into crime thrillers for the first time... Only to end up sorely let down by the complexity of this whole job!" Wolf let off a distressed growl, accidentally waking up Foxington in the process as his friend's and their beady eyeballs turned to him. "I appreciate all of your help but, honestly, I think you all should go back to your lives; I should give up and call Misty whilst asking her department to handle everything... Or, at the very least, hand over the intel and establish some sort of agreement with her. There's no way I can use Jakob's guns, either," For those in the audience as it's been a while, Jakob is Mr. Wolf's mercenary contact who can provide big guns for this whole operation; if it were to go down.

"We're not going to give up on you, hermano," Piranha pitched in with his vow of support as he flipped up from his back, choosing to rest against one of the navy pillows lining the sofa. "Not this easily. Sure, it's been a week... But do you remember how long it would take for us to orchestrate our jobs? Literal months to line up everything and compose the perfect plan. Everything's about patience, Wolf. All of us spent a year inside of jail and we can surely spend a week thinking about how to approach this thing properly. We've been going out for intel like you've asked, we may have returned with nothing but not needing to check there again is certainly something," Mr. Wolf's seaborn friend attempted to reason with him, only for Wolf to let off a defeated sigh.

"It's 11 PM, it's pitch black outside. We've found nothing yet again. There are people out there who are relying on our help. Valeriya, I think I've told you about her. How she's Jakob's wife who went missing around the same time of the attacks... How he knows about the drop zones and that she's stuck in there? Every minute we spend thinking instead of acting, we end up possibly compromising someone's life, potentially hundreds or thousands of people," Wolf felt a defeated whimper echo throughout the room, which drew the attention of Diane; whom nuzzled his neck for some comfort.

"It's sweet that you care, Wolf... But if there's one thing I've learned from my own story of redemption, it's the fact that not everyone can be saved. You may wish to redeem yourself considering you lived a life of evil but it often comes slowly and steadily. I mean, at least you found that missing car for Frank two days ago! That's a little victory, right?" Foxington's vague attempts at reassuring Wolf seemingly achieved the effect of comforting him as he merely lay back in his arm chair and let off a breath of air. "You're still helping people, it's just the fact that usually a big case such as this requires a lot of effort, a lot of thinking and a tremendous amount of collaboration. There's no way that you could handle this by yourself considering this operation is far bigger than anything you've ever operated and anything I've been a part of... No offence, guys," Foxington turned back to the rest of the former Bad Guys, only for them to let off shrugs of vague forgiveness.

"This is a literal criminal syndicate, Wolf. I'm pretty sure you're not the first person to be investigating this. Slow and steady wins the race, if you get what I'm saying," Foxington smirked whilst nudging Wolf's chest, which made him grow flustered considering all of his friends adopted wide-eyed stares. "Ah, forgot that my house is still filled with our friends. I will admit, though; it's a little strange seeing how silent Winter's operation went after we started our investigation. Maybe word finally got out that she was being investigated or perhaps some federal agency caught hold of her first-"

"Uhm... Guys?" Ms. Tarantula poked her head up from a tiny cell phone that she was using as it beeped with the tones of urgency smashing into everyone's ears. "You might want to check the news. There's a reason why Winter's New Blizzard has been silent and I think it's just been unveiled. The entire Californian news crew as well as several press vehicles are arriving on the scene now in what seems to be the middle of nowhere... Pass me the remote!" Piranha lazily tossed the remote towards Tarantula, who caught it with her legs before fiddling with the controls.

Eventually, the blinding glow of the harsh and cold TV light contrasting against the candles flashed up onto the screen as Tarantula input the channel 1001, which directed to California's own news station with none other than Tiffany Fluffit flashing on screen, the sounds of bullets ripping across in the background mixed with distressed yells and a distant explosion suddenly rose from the ashes of what seemed to be a disguised military base.

"Greetings, all. Tiffany Fluffit reporting from the distant mountains of the isolated Californian desert," Tiffany's tone was completely different from her own playful self, she was even wearing a black suit as everyone picked themselves up from their positions on the floor and began to watch. "As of late, a criminal syndicate known as the New Blizzard has been rampaging across the streets as the cities neighbouring the Pacific coast of California. Many of those watching may have experienced the loss of loved ones due to tales of ransom, kidnapping, perhaps even unexpected disappearances. Yet today, we see the growing emergence of a conflict that's been growing under the shadows of the distant Californian mountains for months. What was thought to have been impossible has been unravelled before our very eyes, the lies of the disguised military bases and encampments exposed for what they are... A hidden base of operations housing thousands of hostages. Many private investigators have been called onto the case through their own independent efforts, including Los Angeles' own Mr. Wolf according to the witness account of a certain Lana Jacklin, who was working as an informant on behalf of the FBI to further investigate the case of the New Blizzard," Suddenly, an interview flashed on screen of Lana Jacklin herself, the very same woman who had held Wolf at gunpoint inside of her own apartment whilst he was investigating the case of the New Blizzard.

"It was thanks to the attention of Mr. Wolf that I was able to finally leverage the strings necessary to pull to orchestrate the operation which would liberate thousands from their positions inside of the drop zones. The moment I heard that a P.I, a new one, as a matter of fact, was involved with this case... That's when I knew it was time to finally pull the trigger before this case got any more heated than it did. Mr. Wolf, I know you're watching this broadcast with all of your friends gathered inside of your living room. I expect to meet you at your place of residence tomorrow morning. However, the nature of this meeting cannot be broadcast on national television. As for everyone else, your loved ones shall soon be reunited with you for the defence forces of the United States are going to do what they do best and that is protect the citizens of this great nation," The broadcast abruptly cut back to the face of Tiffany Fluffit, who was being ordered away from the frontlines of the action by a military general whilst anxiously attempting to speak into the microphone.

"The Governor... Diane Foxington. You must speak to her before banning the press from this site! You can't just kick us out of here! This is a safe-zone!" Tiffany protested to the canine soldier who was currently forcing his way into the crowd of press surrounding him, lights flashing as if there were fireworks launching in the middle of the night which didn't originate from munitions fire.

"The Governor will be contacted in the morning. Not like it matters considering this is an operation being conducted on the federal level which has been in the making for months. Your precious press wishes to know what's going on? Winter Gonzalez is currently under investigation for not only orchestrating the operations of the New Blizzard but for also supposedly leading the Northern Storm. We are currently placing these decoy military bases under siege indefinitely in the hopes of liberating the people trapped inside. This is now a government matter. All press shall be ejected from the sight immediately as this has been declared a war zone... Now, turn off the cameras!" Not two seconds later, the news broadcast suddenly cut to a black screen all before the channel switched to a comedy show which happened to be airing late that night.

"The Northern Storm? I've heard of them... They tried to recruit me at some point considering they saw my work as the Crimson Paw. They're based in Michigan and New York, how on earth does Winter have the power to do all of this? Is this country now at war with a criminal syndicate? Guys, I need everybody out of here except for Tarantula and Wolf. It's nothing personal, I just need some space without the eavesdropping! Come on, everybody! Move it! I've got some Governor's work to do!" Piranha, Shark and Snake soon made their way to the exit without saying another word, with Snake merely looking back at Wolf as he shrugged before the door was slammed shut behind them. "Tarantula, you're going to be in charge of keeping an eye on every single development that occurs. We need as many eyes on that operation as possible and Wolf. I need you to go through your case files and tell me as much as you know, things that haven't been discussed. Literally anything. You've already told me that the government getting involved on the federal level is a bad thing, but I need to know why-"

"Oh, I won't need my files to do that, my love," Wolf rather solemnly stated as he opened up a single case which had the simple words "Radioactive Imports" scribbled onto it followed by a recovered translation log of Winter's purchases from an unknown scrap source in Japan. "I'm sure everybody here is somewhat aware of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, right? Where there was a massive radioactive meltdown? Apparently, one of the reactor cores went missing shortly after the tsunami flooded everything and... Well, Winter has it," Wolf directly stated as Foxington's jaw practically dropped to the floor and her lungs froze in bewildered shock. "She's been trading with this Japanese scrap company, Saigai... I have a feeling they're Winter's backpocket for this thing. I just... What on earth is she planning to do with an old reactor? That's the one thing that's been on my mind ever since this case started to develop-"

"SHE HAS AN OLD NUCLEAR REACTOR AND THE GOVERNMENT ARE ATTACKING HER FACILITIES? DIANE! YOU NEED TO CALL THE GOVERNMENT- THE PRESIDENT! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Tarantula exclaimed, with Foxington slamming her fist into her desk.

"There's no way I'll get through in time. I can attempt to contact the military and the commanders associated but we need to get downstairs, into the basement, right this instant. I have a feeling whatever Winter's planning with that nuclear reactor isn't good. We've already had Professor Marmalade's whole incident with a comet that could mind-control guinea-pigs into doing whatever he desired. Who knows what Winter wishes to unleash with an entire decommissioned nuclear reactor, whilst the army attacks them," Foxington's pondering mixed with her sense of panic as hairs started standing up along her back was slightly undercut by the fact that Tarantula's tiny cell phone wouldn't stop notifying her about events happening right now.

"Tarantula? What's blowing up that device of yours?" Wolf inquired as Foxington sprinted over to the microwave, her heart racing as she input the infamous code before shoving both Tarantula and Wolf into the elevator.

"Radiation levels are increasing rapidly around the site. I'm going to let the guys know to get back here," Tarantula reached to her cellphone and sent out an automated text that told every single member of the Bad Guys to get back into the house immediately and to input the code 1996 into the microwave. "It's all... Making sense now. A week of deadlock and pondering, the silence, the increased military activity. The federal government were planning this and so was Winter, yet nobody was seemingly aware of it until right now," Webs let off a shudder all the while Piranha stood outside the house with Shark and Snake by his side.

"Huh, got a text from Tarantula. It's probably saying goodbye or something, I think we should ignore it and get back home, people," Piranha noted as Snake did his best to pull out his tail-operated phone.

"I don't know about that, seems kind of urgent. She even used that red message border that she usually uses whenever we're trying to rob things together," Snake pointed out, his eyes enchanted by the red outline on the message notification.

"Guys! That's because it is urgent! We're being asked back inside and to immediately enter Diane's panic room! I don't know what it is but we better get back inside, now!" Shark soon sprinted for the entrance whilst scrambling to unlock his phone. The candles that previously lit up the living room ominously blew out as Snake slammed the door behind him after Piranha slipped through the entrance, locking it behind him. "Enter the code 1996 into the... MIcrowave? What sort of security system is that? Ah well, follow me, party people!"

"I don't think this is going to be much of a party, Shark. I mean, what sort of party starts with urgency?" Snake quipped as the trio entered the elevator, all the while Foxington was practically readying herself for the inevitable with Tarantula operating the huge control panel that stood in the centre of the room as Wolf watched on with a sense of panic radiating throughout every heartbeat that pulsed through his body.

"Hey, amigos, I've been to my fair share of parties that tell us to return in an instant; maybe there's some sort of hidden surprise or apology that's going to come from the fact we spent our free time pondering over nothing again. Maybe they found an answer," The elevator door opened with Piranha smiling, his eyes shut as Snake as well as Shark stood there with their mouths agape. "Hey guys! What's with the recall? Don't tell me you forgot to start the party without us!"

"Piranha! Winter's got a nuclear reactor and radiation levels are reportedly increasing around the site of that siege! We're inside of this bunker preparing for the inevitable blast that may come from it!" Piranha's happiness immediately faded as the lights turned red, sirens began to blast into their ears as everyone's anxiety was cranked to a hundred as Foxington's automated defence systems started announcing the circumstances of its readiness.

"INCREASED LEVELS OF BACKGROUND RADIATION DETECTED - INITIATING MAXIMUM LOCKDOWN."

The alarm would repeat this message three times as Diane's contraptions suddenly sunk back into the wall before everything started to gently lower itself; including the elevator door itself as everything rumbled on the inside.

"Diane? What's going on? Is this it? The apocalypse? Is this the bunker's way of being dramatic about everything?" Wolf had to cover his ears thanks to the low-tonal sirens as the internal messaging system started to break up, converting into different languages before settling on another message that appeared on screen in front of everyone.

"NUCLEAR ANOMALY DETECTED INSIDE OF THE CALIFORNIAN DESERT!" The automated alarm system continuously reminded everyone of their incoming demise.

"No. This isn't a dream. This isn't any sort of drama. This is happening. This must be Winter's way of avoiding prosecution... If she can't have the world, nobody can. It's the ideology of the Northern Storm. They attempt to project themselves as these outlaws that give back to poorer communities when they just steal for themselves. Everybody! Special suits are descending from the ceiling, I want everyone to grab one and secure themselves inside of the capsule that follows!" Diane instructed as suits of various sizes suddenly flew down from the ceiling followed by six capsules. "You're lucky there's six. They'll all house us as the blast echoes throughout the bunker, although I cannot promise you that you'll remain awake to witness the explosion yourself-"

"EXPLOSION? FROM A NUCLEAR BOMB? I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

"Relax, relax! Nobody's going to die! Diane's prepared for this. I kind of wonder... Why do you have this much preparation in place?" Wolf's inquiry sent shockwaves across Diane's body as she merely replied with one word.

"Russia. Now, climb inside one of the capsules!" Ladders fell from the sky as Wolf climbed into one capsule, followed by Tarantula, then Piranha, Foxington herself, Shark and then finally, Snake.

"NUCLEAR BLAST DETECTED! SHUTTING DOWN SYSTEMS! BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE INEVITABLE."

"I love you, Foxington. I hope I see you on the other side," Wolf managed to figure out the intercom system and managed to broadcast a message to his canine love as he sat within the padded cylindrical capsule awaiting the blast.

"I love you too, Wolf. I guarantee we'll climb out of these capsules alive... As for the rest of the world? *CRACKLE* - We'll see about that. Heh, it was actually kind of nice seeing everyone turn to the good side, including yourself. Unfortunately, it seems as if everything's rather abruptly turned to *CRACKLE* a fight for survival. We have food, water, energy, and we should last a long time. I just can't believe the rumours were right."

"There were rumours about this?" Wolf replied, perplexed by this situation. "How come you never told anyone?"

"Inducing a great panic because of some criminal syndicate would've just aided their cause. Little does Winter know what she's doing is... *INCOMPREHENSIBLE INTERFERENCE*"

"Uh... Diane? I can't hear you anymore? What was that about Winter?"

"Wolf? You there?" She sweetly asked through the crackles of the radio.

"Always will be. What were you saying?"

"I was just saying that she's... Willing to sacrifice the world to rule it. I'm sorry I hid this from you and everyone for so long, I'm sorry the government is like this. Forgive me... For politics make me a bigger villain... Than when I was the Crimson Paw-"

"Diane, that's not true! You've been making a difference!"

"At the cost of preserving federal secrets when the world deserves to know about the incoming storm!" Diane was attempting to hold back her tears at this point as she swallowed her final piece of anxiety and looked Wolf straight in the eyes through the screen that was built into the capsule. "Secrets... They govern the world. Now, the world shall be filled with truth at the cost of its beauty."

*EXPLOSION*

-

To be continued inside of Act II -  Chapter VI - Fallout

[Author's Notes]

-

Heya everyone! Hopefully you didn't mind me dropping this trailer out of nowhere for the next act! I am still currently working on the drafts of some of the earlier chapters or segments of this story but as you can tell by the trailer alone... There's going to be some profound changes moving forward. I know not everyone may enjoy the plot of this but personally, I would rather write something that I can enjoy writing and well... Plans happen to change whilst you're developing something!

I learned through previous drafts and my hiatus that I kind of suck at investigative stories, plus I've always wanted to sort of write something that's a little more dystopian in nature. I figured with what I had already written and with my changes in plans, I could write something that diverts off course a little bit but could still be interesting to those who are willing to read; of which I appreciate you all for your patience!

Now, I don't have an exact E.T.A, but I am hoping to finalise the drafts and have them out by the end of the next month; I couldn't leave you all waiting forever, and I couldn't leave myself starving in what I call developmental hell and so I decided to break out by doing something. Your patience is appreciated more than ever, especially when the original chapters of Wolf Noir were all rushed together in two weeks. I finally have the chance to write this story the way I wished for it to be, even if it's a little dark to some; hey~ that's kind of the point I had set for myself since the beginning!

Alright, alright, I'm not completely dead but please don't expect uploads for a while; I've got a one-shot for the Bad Guys hopefully coming out later this month but my time has been strained as of late- and with strained time, I only wish to write what's on my mind and that's usually been stuff outside of the fanfiction sphere of influence!
Alright, that's enough rambling! Thank you so much for your patience, all! I hope you have a wonderful day and I shall see you next month!