✏ project exo {chapter two}

[illegiblesigns]

p r o j e c t   e x o  :  chapter two  
⇢ authors: illegiblesigns and mouthwash  
⇢ fandom: exo
⇢ pairings: various
⇢ 8989 words 
⇢ pg-13 (possible disturbing content) 


Athena's air reminded him of mud and summer days and he allowed himself to smile. How long has it been? Five years? He wasn’t sure anymore. He wasn’t even sure if he could find himself in the messy streets of Gaza, among the abandoned animals and trash. The neighborhood was already a mess when he left years ago but the state of it now left Yunho very upset.

Things indeed had changed.

He walked a little further. His backpack, full of things from the minor nations he had visited, weighing down so much on his shoulders he had to stop for a while, looking at his handmade map. Jessica gave him half-assed instructions when he called her yesterday from Egypt (one of the only Old World’s countries which survived the Third World War) but he just couldn’t find the way through his bad drawings. Maybe I should call her again? He thought, but a part of him didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

“Sir? Sorry to bother you, but would you know a place called All That Jazz Club?” The man stopped and looked at him a little wary at first. So it was true that the situation at Gaza was that bad. Yunho remembered a time when he and his sister could play around the streets until late at night without worry. But that was a long time ago.

“It’s just two blocks from here. Just walk down this street. It has this huge sparkly sign in front of it, kinda hard to miss.”

Yunho thanked the man and went his way. He didn’t remember any huge sparkly sign, though, and when he finally reached the place he wondered why he thought it was a good idea to left his club in Jessica’s and Yoona’s hands.

Beside that horrid sign everything looked quite the same. The building seemed even older then what he remembered. But the girls did a good job, nevertheless. That was still an Old World construction, one of the few left intact by Athena’s Government. The street looked even more abandoned than when he left. So it really seemed like the higher-ups still had no interest for any neighborhood which weren’t New Rome.

Only when Yunho went through the door he finally noticed how tired he was. The years and years of peregrination finally fell on his shoulders and for a moment he just wanted to sit on his old red couch and sleep.

God, how I missed this place.

The glasses, the bar bench, the old whiskeys and smell of cigarettes… Everything was so similar to what he remembered he could pretend he just left the other day. The only thing that’s different is the wrinkles on my face.

The first one to notice his presence was Yuri. She was sitting on a table right next to the door doing what seemed to Yunho to be a job interview. The boy in front of her was short and seemed to be a foreigner, maybe from some minor nation towards Kronos? He couldn’t really recognize his accent from afar.

The girl looked at him a bright smile appearing on her face.

“Yunho!” She exclaimed, standing up. Yuri looked back at the boy. “Your name is… Xiumin, right? You’re hired, you can go now.”

“What? But you haven’t even looked on my credentials-” He heard the boy saying, kind of disappointed. Yeah, most definitely he was from some minor nation near Kronos.

“What credentials do you need to have to wash dishes, boy?” Yuri said, making gestures for him to get up. Yunho couldn’t help but laugh a little. “If you keep talking I’ll go back on my decision so please, hurry up and go. You’ll start tomorrow at six.”

The boy stood up quickly, giving low reverences to both Yuri and Yunho. The girl turned on her red high heels, walking towards him with longs strides. She smiled at him.

“How long has it been?” He questioned her, who just shrugged at him.

“I don’t know exactly but you look so old,” She smiled while he laughed loudly at her.

“And you look exactly the same,” He answered, putting his backpack on top of the bar bench, frowning at how dusty it was. “Didn’t you girls hire anyone to clean this place up?”

“We’ve been closed for a while for reforms, for two weeks or so. I asked Jessica to take care of it but you know how that girl is lazy to anything that doesn’t involve outbreaks or this sort of things,” She sighed deeply, sitting on a stool and crossing her legs. “I just hired that foreign guy, he’ll take care of it, then.”

“Ok.” Yunho poured him some whiskey, drinking the whole dose in one go. He looked back at Yuri, who was smirking at him again.

“So does this means me and Jess and Yoona are not in charge anymore?”

“Poor Kyuhyun, he never had a chance to play boss?”

“Of course not,” She answered, taking the glass Yunho offered to her. “So, what are your orders?”

He sighed, straightening his back. He didn’t say anything to them about why he was coming back, but it seemed it was pretty obvious. It was time for the Resistance to gather again under his leadership. The situation was getting worst and even the minor nations were feelings the disastrous consequences of the war. He knew the girls (and Kyuhyun) did quite a good job at leading the movement while he was away but it wasn’t the same. They didn’t have the impact Yunho’s name had.

They didn’t know the things he knew.

“Call Jessica, Yoona and Kyuhyun immediately, tell them I’m back and I’m holding a meeting with the Resistance leaders,” He said, picking his backpack again and going towards his quarters. All he wanted was to sleep and smoke a cigarette while reading an old book. Old World Books... Yunho thought, pleased and suddenly a face appeared on the back of his mind. He stopped, looking to the door where his library was. “That friend of mine... She still comes by?”

“Actually, she just left. She appears here all the time but she doesn’t really talk with any of us, she just reads all those books of yours...”

“Call her too,” He looked back at Yuri who had a bright look, full of expectations. “We’re back.”

--

It was always the same.

He was sitting in the middle hallway, right in front of his room, and everything seemed a lot bigger than it actually was, the white walls towering over him as he felt like his body was having absurd reactions to a situation that at first look didn’t impose much of a threat to his safety.

He shivered in fear, heart pounding in his ears as he stared at the figure in front of him. A boy, who looked about his age, bloodshot eyes pierced right through him. Suddenly, there was a scream, and he tried to move, to get up from the cold floor, but his body was frozen in place.

He looked at the boy again. He was still looking straight at him, but now, his expression was different. His eyes screamed of defiance. His lips arched into a smirk.

With a loud crack he vanished, like he was never there in the first place.

“Kyungsoo?”

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. His eyes focused on the white board full of biology notes he was supposed to be taking down, and then on the chairs around him, completely vacant. His professor stood by his side. It took a few seconds for Kyungsoo to realize that she was running her hands through his hair, comforting him.

“It happened again, didn’t it?” He asked, a frown quickly forming on his lips. He let his face fall into his desk, screwing his eyes shut as embarrassment took over his entire being.

“I turned around for a second to write on the board and you just-” She stopped, retracting her hands from his hair and taking a seat on the empty chair next to his. “You blacked out. I told the others to go to the training area, to have some free time. I think we should talk about this, Kyungsoo.” Her eyes were full concern.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Mrs. Victoria. I’m sorry,” he said, forehead still pressed against his desk. “It’s just-”

“I won’t report you, I swear,” she blurted out.

“I know!” He raised his head to face her. “I’m fine.”

She exhaled slowly, eyebrows furred as she placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I’m always here if you want to talk,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “Now go. You look like you need some air.”

--

“It’s weird,” Kyungsoo said, sitting cross-legged on the synthetic grass. “It’s like my body just shuts down when it thinks I’m in a dangerous situation, but most of the time it’s just me sitting in class getting embarrassed because I don’t know the answer to Mrs. Victoria’s question.”

“Maybe you should talk to one of the doctors about this,” Kris finally spoke after a couple of seconds of silence. He always suggested this and although Kyungsoo knew he was right, he couldn’t risk being taken up to the labs for “improvement”.

“I’ll just- I’ll just try to control it. I think I’m getting better at it,” Kyungsoo uncrossed his legs and stretched them out in front of him. He frowned at his short limbs and wondered what was even the purpose of his creation. He was shorter than the others, weaker, and now his anxiety problems were getting worst. He tried his best at the tutoring sessions and physical training practices, mostly to try to drive away the attention from his fainting spells and panic attacks, but surprisingly enough, he was able to keep up with the rest of the group. At least I’m not as bad as Baekhyun, he thought, when he saw the boy falling on his back when Sehun was trying to show him how to do a high kick.

“You need to keep your balance!” Sehun yelled, pulling Baekhyun off the ground, who whined loudly.

“It’s useless,” Baekhyun said massaging his back end. “I’m not good at this physical stuff.”

“You need to try harder,” Sehun said putting his eyebrows together. “They’ll test us again soon and if you don’t pass-“

“I know!” Baekhyun shouted. He sighed loudly and went back to a fighting stance. “Just- just show me the move again."

Kyungsoo watched Sehun perform the series of intricate moves again. Luhan stood near them, examining Baekhyun for a second then turning his attention back to Sehun. A shy smile formed on his lips when the youngest finished the series brilliantly, sending a puff of hot air in their direction with a kick. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and brought his hands to his face in defeat.

“Excuse me,” a tiny voice called from behind them. “Can I sit with you guys?”

Kyungsoo turned his head around to find Suho standing over him with a wary expression. He never really had much contact with him. As a matter of fact, none of them had. He always preferred to be alone and never really joined in the conversation when they sat together for their meals. The others found him weird, but Kyungsoo thought he was simply very timid. He was the first Prototype, and he has been there longer than anybody. Who knows what kind of “improvements” the scientists and doctors had put him through?

“Sure,” Kyungsoo said with a smile and the boy quickly took a sit in front of him.

Kris excused himself, and floated off the grass, and moving slowly a couple of feet above the ground in Luhan’s direction. Luhan was now sitting by himself on a bench under a tree watching Sehun trying desperately to help Baekhyun complete the high kick series. Just when Kris was about to land, Luhan smirked, and put his leg up. Abruptly, the bench moved a few inches to the left and Kris fell to the grass with a loud thud. Baekhyun quickly exploded into a fit of laughter, bringing one hand to his stomach, and using the other to point at Kris who was still lying defeated on the grass. Luhan modestly covered his face with his hands to hide his own amusement.

“That was a good one,” Suho said chuckling.

“Didn’t think Luhan had it in him to pull practical jokes like that,” Kyungsoo said as he watched Kris get up from the ground. He pushed Luhan off the bench and took his seat. Baekhyun looked like he was going to explode at this point, red faced and wheezing from laughing so hard. “So childish.”

Kyungsoo placed both of his hands on the grass, feeling its steadiness. He loved feeling the solidity and strength of the earth. He closed his eyes, balled his hands, and with a quick impulse of energy he slammed his fits against the grass, sending a wave of vibration into their direction. As soon as Kris felt the ground shake, he leaped off the bench, floating above them. Sehun and Luhan fall on top of each other and Sehun quickly pushed Luhan off himself with a strong gust of air. Baekhyun fell to his back and rode out the quake like an amusement park ride, giggling like a five year old when it was over.

“Not cool,” Sehun called out.

Kyungsoo shrugged and turned back to face Suho, who stared at him gaping and with stars in his eyes. Kyungsoo gaze went straight to the ground in embarrassment.

“Way cool,” Suho murmured.

“You all have three seconds to get in line or I’m going to be the one knocking you all to the ground and I don’t think you’re going to enjoy it.”

They all jumped hastily as soon as General Changmin’s voice reached their ears. Sehun ran to the center of the field first, trying as best he could to clean the grass marks off his white shirt. Baekhyun let out a whimper before running over to join him. It took them less than a second to form a line, all of them staring pathetically at their shoes as the General walked in their direction.

“Well, fun time is over,” Baekhyun whispered.

Kyungsoo sighed. A vision came into his mind, that boy from his dreams, disappearing into thin air with a smirk. He wished he could do that same, just vanish without a trace. Maybe he could take his friends with him and they could simply enjoy moments like that for the rest of their existence.

Impossible, he thought, coming back to reality.

--

"Just try to relax! I'm gonna go get him!"

Baekhyun buried his face on his hands while the doctor left the infirmary, closing the door behind him. His whole body ached and the scratches on his face itched but he didn't really care for that. The boy had his share of bruises and blood on his life; he was already used to it.

But what came after that made him paralyzed with fear.

The mere recollection brought tears to his eyes and he wiped them away quickly. He couldn’t cry, not right now. Baekhyun never was the kind of boy to be ashamed of crying in front of others, but for some reason he didn’t want to cry in front of him. Not him, not in the state he was.

“I’m so pathetic,” He whispered to himself, sobbing quietly. The image of himself being dragged away from the training reappeared on his mind. He could still taste the bitterness of General Changmin words. The look he gave to Baekhyun made him feel like throwing up. Failure, he was probably thinking.

You’re such a failure.

On his way out he noticed Luhan whispering something on Kris ears, the taller look was a mix of disappointment and concern.

“I thought he would make it.” He didn’t need Luhan’s power to know what was on all of their minds.

The door stormed open and he looked up just to see the face he was expecting. Chanyeol stood there, as awkward as ever, his eyes wide at him. For a moment Baekhyun almost smiled.

“Chanyeol-” He whispered, suddenly feeling extremely tired. The boy walked towards him with long strides, and he got so close that for a moment Baekhyun thought he would hug him. But all he did was sitting on the chair in front of him without knowing what to do with his hands.

“Baekhyun, what-what happened? Lay told me to come here. He said you wouldn’t stop calling me. He said you hurt yourself at training, but how?”

Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol scanning his face, looking at his scratches and bruises. He felt so embarrassed at the intense look the other was giving him. He couldn’t just describe to him what actually happened. He couldn’t tell him that General Changmin punched him to the ground and he couldn’t even find strength to defend himself. It was too humiliating.

“There are certain things that I can’t do, I- I’m not that good at fighting and General Changmin gave us a test today. All we needed to do was to fight with him. All the others passed, but I-” He felt his throat tighten and it got hard to breathe. The tears started to fill his eyes and when he looked up at Chanyeol. He hated himself for being so weak.

No, not you, don’t judge me. Don’t think I’m a failure.

“And I thought-I thought you were the only one who could- who could help me.”

The pain in his chest became unbearable and the tears were burning his eyes. He choked and Chanyeol looked startled and it seemed like he couldn’t pick one expression to use. When Baekhyun noticed he couldn’t control his crying anymore he hid his face on his sleeves. Images of him strapped to a bed in and a dark room filled his mind and he had to bite one of his hands to stop himself from screaming. It hurts, he thought. It hurts so much.

“Baekhyun!” He felt Chanyeol’s hands on his, trying to take them away from his face, desperation filling his voice. “You’re hurting yourself, please-”

“You need to help me. You’re the only who can, Chanyeol, please-”

I’m so pathetic, I’m sorry.

Chanyeol face screamed of dispair. Baekhyun almost felt bad for putting him in such a position, but he had nowhere to run. He had no one he could trust anymore. The dark room was way too close to him now, it was almost like he could feel it’s cold walls against his skin. That feeling of hopelessness hit him again and he caught himself pulling Chanyeol closer, the words spilling from his mouth quickly.

“I don’t wanna be locked up again. Please, please, don’t let them put me on that cell again. I hate the dark. I hate it so much but they always put me in the dark. And I’m so useless I can’t even use my power and-”

“Stop saying that! Stop saying such things about yourself.”

“Please, Chanyeol” He kept saying, ignoring what the other just said. He heard these things everyday but he knew people were lying. He knew that what they actually thought was the complete opposite. “Just- Just please, don’t lock me up. Please don’t put me in the dark, please-”

“I do not understand what you’re saying.”

“Whenever I do something wrong they always lock me up! It’s not only with me, they do it to all of us. But I’m always the one who screws things up. I’m- I’m defective, they say,” he whispered the words, more tears streaming down his already wet cheeks. He never actually talked about that to anyone so he put all his attention in articulating the words, and not on Chanyeol’s look of pity. “I’m a failure. So whenever I can’t get something right they will lock me up at this place. I don’t know where it is. It’s a dark room somewhere and they keep me there for days, even weeks.”

He shivered at the memory. Baekhyun could still remember the very first day they locked him up in there. He remembered himself, only six years old, screaming for them to turn on the lights. Make your own light, they said, and when he couldn’t they just laughed. “You’re indeed Prototype Failure,” a man behind a mask said and whenever he cried, frightened by the dark, they would just repeat the same words.

“If locking me there doesn’t work they go to the next step. They plug cables on me and shock me. That's illegal? Isn’t it?” He looked back at Chanyeol who now was covering his face with his hands. “At first it hurts like a lot but then you kinda-” It was like he was there again, the dark embracing him and the words being repeated on his head.

You’re pathetic.

“Please, please-” He felt himself losing control again. The image of a tall doctor standing over him saying that he was the one forcing them to do those things emerged on his mind, and it got even harder to not cry. He knew he was the one at fault, he didn’t need anyone to tell him so.

But still-

“Please. I’m so sorry for bothering you but you’re the only one I could think of-”

His eyes widened when he felt Chanyeol’s hands holding his face. The young scientist was now kneeling in front of him, his eyes red. Baekhyun asked himself if he cried at some point.

“Stop it,” he said in a really calm, deep voice. It was the first time Baekhyun saw him actually serious. “You don’t have to worry. Whatever horrible things happened to you, I won’t let it happen again.”

Baekhyun felt his heart skip a beat. Something on Chanyeol’s eyes made him stop. The ache on his chest was replaced by a different kind of pain, a pain that Baekhyun never felt before. It hurt but not really, and when Chanyeol wiped his tears with his thumbs Baekhyun almost forgot how to breathe.

“I’ll take care of it. You don’t have to be afraid, okay? I’ll take care of everything. You just let Lay take care of your injuries. I’ll talk to him and I’ll talk to General Changmin. They’ll understand.”

He felt himself calming down while Chanyeol spoke. I believe in him, he thought. Baekhyun got used to never actually believing in anything people told him, but for some reason he believed Chanyeol. Unconsciously Baekhyun lifted his hands, touching Chanyeol’s, which were still holding his face. The scientist’s hands were big in comparison to his, and he was startled by the sudden touch. He took his hands away gently, giving Baekhyun a soft smile.

The boy watched as the other stood up, going towards the door, seeming a little uncomfortable. Maybe Baekhyun went too far by with all the touching? He freaked out a little, imagining a million ways of apologizing.

“You know-” Chanyeol turned back, looking at everywhere but Baekhyun’s face. “You should stop saying those things. You’re not useless or pathetic.” He stopped and for a moment it seemed to Baekhyun that he was gathering his courage to look at him. When Chanyeol eyes finally met him again, Baekhyun kind of wished they didn’t have. “And I think your power is actually really cool.”

He walked his way out awkwardly, mumbling something that seemed to be “good bye”, leaving Baekhyun alone with his heart beating loudly inside his chest.

--

It had been a busy morning and Lay was more than ready to call it quits by the time two o'clock rolled around. He was stuck in the infirmary, doing a million things at once, as his work piled up all around him. Having to skip lunch, he had to content himself with a cup of coffee and a stale energy bar he found in his bag.

For some reason he found himself looking at Suho's profile again, eyes lingering on the picture attached to it. He didn't even look like himself there, he remembered his smile and the way he laughed at Lay's shocked expression when he used his power for the first time in front of him. There was a lingering sadness behind his eyes and Lay could tell that he was lonely. Seemed like the boy that posed for that picture didn't exist anymore.

Looking through the list of updates, he found one which talked about this socialization with the other Prototypes. He knew that for a long time Suho was kept in seclusion. Maybe that picture was taken during that time, he thought.

Lay sighed loudly, scratching the back of his head, trying to come up with a plan or an idea that could help Suho. Going down to his room every night and giving him the sedative was messing with his sense of integrity. As he was racking his brain trying to think of something, there was a soft knock on the wall. He raised his head to find the new face, standing tall on the doorway, looking at him with tired eyes.

"Are you busy?" Chanyeol asked, sounding drained.

Lay wanted to laugh. Busy was an understatement, he was completely swamped. But in a weird way, Chanyeol was his superior. He had to make time for him. He shook his head, turning quickly to the screen behind to close out Suho's profile before Chanyeol could notice anything.

"Sorry to bother you," Chanyeol said taking a seat on a stool across from him. "But I have a favor to ask you. It's really important." His voice sounded somber, he was used to hearing Chanyeol's loud laughter and crazed expressions when they all sat together during lunch. He looked like a completely different person, sitting with shoulders hunched in front of him.

"What is it?" Lay asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the desk behind him.

"I noticed you are the one responsible for updating the Prototype's medical profiles," Chanyeol spoke slowly, eyes never leaving his shoes. "Don't add anything about Baek- I mean, Prototype Lux's infirmary visit today. I'm taking responsibly for it."

Lay couldn’t help but gape at Chanyeol's request.

"I already added it to his profile, Chanyeol," Lay said a little aggressively. "Each time the Prototypes come in here, I had to add the date and time of their visit. If I don't do it, it's my job that's going to be on the line. Not yours."

"I said I was going to take responsibility for it. Whatever happens it's going to fall on me. You could just-"

"Easy for you to say! This is just a summer job for you. I have a lot more at stake. You have no idea!" Lay could feel anger bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. Maybe Chanyeol was the spoiled and privileged kid he suspected him to be.

It must be nice not to have to worry about your future.

"Just-" Chanyeol brought his hands to his face, whipping away a desperate expression. "You know what will happen to him. You know what they do when they take them in for improvements? Since you are on the medical team, I bet you even participated in one of these sessions." His eyes were dark and accusing.

"There's nothing I can do, Chanyeol," he replied, taking a deep breath to try to calm himself down.

"You can help him." Chanyeol's voice went up a few decibels and Lay felt a sudden weight in his shoulders.

Suho's face popped in Lay's mind. It was only a few minutes ago that he was reading about Suho's improvement sessions and his periods of isolation. Also, he remembered watching Luhan's sessions and how it had been absolute torture, watching helplessly as he tried his best to hide his pain and stubborn tears rolled down his cheeks. He exhaled loudly and turned around to face the screen, pulling up Prototype Lux's medical profile and erasing the update he had made a few minutes ago.

"I'm not doing this for you," he turned back to face Chanyeol who already had a smile on his lips. Lay rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't get too attached."

"I know," he said getting up from his seat. "Thank you, though.”

"Whatever," Lay said, getting his tablet from his desk and trying to prioritize his tasks. He didn't even notice Chanyeol leaving the room.

Maybe I should follow my own advice, he thought. Eyes fixed his nine o'clock appointment with Suho at the end of his schedule.

--

When the five o’clock alarm sounded Victoria was already standing by the door. She waved goodbye to all her students and watched them silently make their way to their rooms. Baekhyun’s absence was painfully obvious. She missed his smiling face glaring up at her while she read Old World history books, the way he would always ask the right questions when trying to interpret literature, and most of all she missed how he would always run towards her at the end of the day and give her a tight hug before leaving the classroom.

She decided to pay the boy a visit at the infirmary since Yunho’s message still hadn’t come through. She was instructed to wait for a signal before getting on the Skytrain and riding it all the way to Corinth, the last stop before the Gaza area. There she would have to wait for a car that would take her to the place where the meeting was being held. She thought that all those precautions were extremely unnecessary. Maybe it was because Yunho didn’t want to risk her safety. She worked for a high-security government facility and they wouldn’t be too happy to hear that she would be meeting with people whose names were placed high on Athena’s wanted list.

She started to make her way down to the medical area, bumping shoulders with excited workers who couldn’t wait to leave the building, and saying polite “hello’s” and “have a good evening” to the faces she recognized.

As she waited for the elevator, she saw two men dressed in Athena’s cyan army uniform. They talked in rushed voices; the taller one even looking around to make sure none was listening to their conversation. He noticed Victoria and gave her a polite nod, not seeming to mind presence and continuing their conversation as if she wasn’t even there.

“Did you hear about that bombing in Apollo Island today?”

“Yeah, the army base got blown to bits. They even attacked a few civilian areas. Media outlets aren’t talking about the number of fatalities but I bet it will be thousands this time.”

“It’s getting progressively worst. For a few years there I thought we could actually turn it around but­-”

“Don’t say that. The deadline for this project is going to be due soon. I bet the kronian dictator is pissing himself.”

“Well, until then I guess we’ll just have to hope that the combat doesn’t get anywhere near Hera. We are not prepared for this. Apollo Island is less than three hundred miles away. That is way too close for comfort.”

The other soldier swallowed hard as the elevator doors opened. They placed their metal bracelets on the scanner and their destination was quickly chosen for them. Victoria stood back with her regular key-card in hand, waiting for her turn.

“Joining us, Mrs. Song?” The tall one said with a smile.

She nodded nervously, scanning her card and choosing the infirmary from the list of options that blinked on the screen.

The elevator ride was silent and she was glad the conversation had died. Talking about the war and the Prototype’s involvement in it made her uncomfortable. They were only children in her eyes. She was the one who taught them how to read and write, how to handle themselves in social situations, and in many ways, she was like a mother to them, watching them grow and develop into young adults. She had no idea when they would be shipped off to become the so-called Athena’s great weapons of mass destruction, the secret that would finally bring an end to this war and annihilate the enemies.

It was hard to picture this, when she had just witnessed earlier that morning a boy being beaten to a bloody pulp by a regular man, that didn’t possess none of the unique abilities the Prototypes had.

She reached her destination, leaving the elevator before the soldiers, wishing them a good night before the doors closed. When she stepped inside the infirmary, she saw that Baekhyun wasn’t alone and thought twice before coming any closer. There was a figure sitting by his bed, wearing a white lab coat. He was sitting very close, elbows pressed on the mattress by Baekhyun’s legs, resting his forehead in his hands with eyes closed. Victoria didn’t recognize him, but he seemed very young, maybe even younger than Baekhyun.

Baekhyun stirred in his sleep, trying to change his position but ended up shuddering in pain and staying as he was. The other boy raised his head startled and moved away from the bed as soon as he realized how close he was. Baekhyun’s hand extended to reach his arm, pulling him close again, and he went back to his original position, this time keeping his eyes fixed on boy covered with bandages lying in front of him.

Victoria smiled to herself and decided not to interrupt their moment. Seeing that Baekhyun was in good hands, she turned on her heels and started to make her way to the building’s main exit when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

Wait another fifteen minutes, and then get on the Skytrain. Line A3. Send confirmation as soon as you arrive in Corinth.

She read the message carefully, feeling a little ridiculous for following instructions coming from a blocked number that led her to a secret hideout where escaped war prisoners, anti-government supporters, and even people the media claimed to be terrorist, would all come together. The Resistance existed for many years. It was a project very close to Yunho’s heart. After his disappearance, its members struggled to keep its relevancy and gather supporters. They needed a leader now more than ever, and he had returned in perfect timing.

She followed the crowd walking to the Skytrain station nearby. It was cloudy and the New Rome skyscrapers were all covered by fog, taking away the usual splendor of Hera’s wealthiest region, making the city look monochromatic, gloomy, and desolate.

A lot of the crowd stayed at dock on the station’s first floor, waiting for the train that took them to New Rome’s residential areas. Victoria remained on the escalators, going up a couple of floors, noticing that the people around her looking down at New Rome residents with revulsion. Being very aware of the divide between New Rome and Hera’s less privilege areas, she couldn’t really blame them. Just last week another massive shopping area was inaugurated at New Rome’s commercial district, while Gaza residents have to travel at least one hour to reach decent health care.

The A3 line passed by the industrial district, picking up the factory workers. The train arrived quickly, opening its doors and commuters rushed inside to get good seats. Victoria found a place by the window. She rested her head on the glass, closing her eyes, pushing away all her anxiety as the train started moving on the tracks, rising over the city’s skyline and leaving New Rome behind.

Corinth was quiet, clean, and simple. It was considered a middle class area, mostly residential. Its tiny streets filled with humble houses and apartment complexes snaked around the train station. It was already dark when Victoria arrived. She sent a text message to the number Yuri had given her and had received a reply instructing her to wait for a black car. There was something off about this. Not too many people owned cars anymore. It was a luxury reserved only to important figures and aficionados who liked to collect vintages. She was a bit taken back when an antique Ferrari came to stop across the street, black and slick, looking like something straight out of an Old World movie.

The driver’s window rolled down to reveal Yunho, his eyes scanned the area, which was pretty much vacant. He motioned for her to cross the street.

“I thought you didn’t like attention,” Victoria said placing both hands on her hips as she leaned down to face him.

“Just hop in,” he replied with a grin.

As soon as she entered the vehicle she was mesmerized by its interior. Leather seats, shiny black panel adapted to include a computer and a navigator. Yunho made a U-turn and followed the path that lead to the abandoned highway that connected Corinth to Gaza. They drove by old abandoned dinners, rest stops, and broken down gas stations, all remains of the old civilization that occupied this area before them.

“There’s an army base a couple of miles down,” Yunho stated, pointing towards the sign with the Athenian army sigil. “We have to be very careful around here, particularly at night. They are getting very paranoid, searching anybody at random. Looking for spies, they say.”

Victoria nodded in response as the army base he mentioned came into view. It was a massive triangular shaped building, surrounded by tall concrete walls.

“We have a guy infiltrated inside.” Yunho put his foot down on the accelerator, making Victoria’s back stay glued to the leather seat. “He says there’s an underground prison. We think that’s where they keep the people they don’t really know what to do with, people who have to stay away from the public eye.”

“People that say too much?”

“People that know too much.” He corrected her.

The jazz club appeared on Victoria’s side, its lights were all out, and a red “Sorry, we’re closed” sign hung by its front doors. There were two cars parked right in front of it. A Jeep who looked like it was too old to even function and a burgundy pick-up truck which seemed to be brand new since its design followed the style of the cars built in the last twenty years.

“Oh, they are here already,” Yunho said. He made a sharp right turn, parking his vintage right behind the Jeep.

When they walked inside soft music filled Victoria’s ears. She recognized the song, her lips curling up upwards as they walked towards the closed door behind the bar.

“Didn’t take you to be a Pink Floyd fan,” she said.

“Although I am, this is not my playlist. Yuri’s the one who handles these things now.”

They reached the door and Yunho placed his palm on the scanner beside it. It beeped red twice before the face of a girl with long blond hair appeared on the screen.

“You’re late,” she said through the tiny speakers.

“Sorry, had to go pick up a friend.” Yunho placed a hand on Victoria shoulder.

The girl rolled her eyes and the screen faded to black. A soft buzzing noise came from the door before it opened. Yunho led the way through a dark corridor, there were pictures glued to the walls; magazine and newspaper cut outs, all artifacts from the Old World. There was also a collection of Polaroid pictures, she could recognize Yunho in some of them, looking a lot younger and wearing the cyan Athenian army uniform. There was also one of him and his sister, smiling, Yunho’s arm around her shoulders, and New Rome’s skyline behind them.

“Watch your step,” he said, grabbing a flashlight from his satchel and turning it on to reveal a flight of starts.

As they started to descend, Victoria could already hear voices.

“The Apollo Island attack was just the beginning. The Kronian army is getting cocky. They are going to start moving inland and trust me, Athena is not ready.”

“This means we are running out of time.”

They reached the end of the staircase, the room started coming into Victoria’s view. Much like all the other spaces inside the club, it smelled of mold and dust. Its walls were made of stone, making the room cold, and were covered with monitors, big posters of Old World cities, maps, and framed pictures of important figures. There was a large round table at the center of everything and four people sat around it. Eyes fixed on her.

She recognized the blond girl from before. Her hair was now pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, wearing a white tank top, which seemed a little dirty, and dark jeans. Her expression was very unfriendly and she had her arms crossed, looking a little impatient.

“Took you long enough,” she scowled.

“Settle down, Jessica,” Yunho said, pulling a chair for Victoria and finding one for him. “This shouldn’t take too long. Mrs. Victoria can’t really stay out late.”

“I still think you’re crazy for bringing a government worker here.”

Victoria found the owner of that voice sitting behind her. He was staring at one of the monitors, moving documents around with his fingers, wearing office attire and dark rimmed glasses. He turned his chair around to face her.

“I’m Kyuhyun, by the way,” he said with a grin.

“I trust Victoria with my life,” Yunho said, taking out his tablet from his bag and placing it on the table carefully. “Yoona, so glad you could join us.” He smiled towards the slim girl who was sitting by Yuri, the only familiar face Victoria recognized.

“Well, Yuri called.” Yoona turned to face the woman beside her, throwing her arm around Yuri’s shoulders and leaning in to press her head against the crook of her neck. “You know I couldn’t say no.” She said, her lips brushing against the other woman’s tanned skin.

“Urgh, get a room you two,” Jessica growled.

“Can we start?” Kyuhyun said impatiently.

“Yes, please!” Jessica grabbed her tablet, typing furiously, a second later it projected a map at the center of the table. “I got these from my contacts. It shows the current areas of combat. The Athenian army is getting crushed pretty much everywhere. Civilian fatalities are happening at crazy numbers every day.”

“We don’t hear a word about it in media,” Victoria mentioned, furring her eyebrows.

“Of course not, silly” Jessica rolled her eyes. “It would be admitting defeat. They are putting all their hopes in the results of Project Exo, which I’d imagine is the reason why you called Mrs. Victoria here today.”

Yunho shook his head, placing his hand on Victoria’s arm and turning his gaze over to Kyuhyun, who looked like he had something stuck in his throat.

“Not now,” Yunho whispered to him, the man nodded, crossing his arms and facing his screen once again. “Victoria, please share with us the status of Project Exo as of today.”

“Well-” Victoria looked around the room, all eyes were on her and there was a voice inside her brain screaming not to say anything that would compromise her. She wanted to help. She didn’t agree with Project Exo and was willing to do anything in her power to stop it. However, she wouldn’t be of much help stuck in a prison cell or buried somewhere in an unmarked grave in a minor nation. “The Prototypes are responding well to the training, some of them better than others. After the Kai-” She stopped, the memory of Prototype 0’s escape still to vivid and the images burned in her mind. “After Prototype 0’s escape, the project leaders very strict. Pulling in the Prototypes for what they called “improvement sessions” at random. They would all come back injured and traumatized. God knows what they do to them in the labs.”

“This is all information we already know,” Yoona said, her hand tangled inside Yuri’s long brown hair.

Victoria looked baffled, Jessica let out a soft snicker at her expression.

“Kyuhyun’s father is the senator responsible for funding Project Exo. We’ve been able to get weekly reports about what happens inside the Research Center.” Jessica turned off the projection, and turned her attention over to her tablet. It was clear she didn’t think the subject was of any relevance to The Resistance.

Victoria knew exactly who she was. She remembered seeing her face on the news a while back. Jessica was considered to be a terrorist. Number one on Athena’s wanted list. Her latest feat was releasing a group of Kronian war prisoners from captivity. She had also claimed many others acts of defiance against the government, but for some reason they were never able to catch her. Maybe her ties with The Resistance had something to do with it.

“Could we talk about the report Kyuhyun showed us last night?” Jessica said bleakly.

An awkward silence fell upon them, Victoria’s eyes wandered around the room, looking answers. All the major reports regarding the project were sent to her. Sometimes they even asked her to sign the ones regarding the Prototype’s academic development. She didn’t receive a report last night, although, she had heard the lab assistants murmuring something about an important meeting with the senators and General Changmin had been asked to attend. She saw all the project leaders leave the Center earlier than usual.

“What report?” She asked in a whisper.

“She doesn’t know?” Yuri asked in shock. She gently pushed Yoona away and the two of them exchanged a confused look.

Yunho shook his head in response.

“Please tell Victoria what the report says, Kyuhyun,” Yunho said calmly.

“There was a meeting last night about the conclusion of Project Exo,” Kyuhyun said, scanning through files until he found the one he was looking for. He pressed a button on the screen and the document was projected on the wall. He slid his chair over to the table to join them. “This is the report, it pretty much states that the project had reached all it's expected goals and all the gene mutations had been a success.”

He stopped to face Victoria for a quick second before clearing his throat and continuing.

“At the end it talks about the eventual disposal of the Prototypes,” he said, eyes fixed on the projection in front of them. “They are planning to start the gene mutation procedures on a group of ten thousand soldiers that have been training for the past five years.”

Victoria felt like the floor under her feet had disappeared. Blood running cold in her veins as the word disposal repeated itself inside her brain. Her heart pounding in her ears was the only noise she was able to hear. She felt Yunho’s hands reach out to touch her shaking ones.

“They never planned on sending the Prototypes off to war,” Victoria managed to say, almost to herself.

“No, they were created to be human guinea pigs,” Kyuhyun said. “They weren’t sure it would work, if the gene mutation was really possible, so they decided it was safer to test it out first. All the data collected is being sent to a group scientists at the Corinth army base, that’s where the real special army is being trained. It says in the report that they are planning on putting the Prototypes down by the end of the month.”

“This can’t happen.” Victoria felt tears burning in the back of her eyes. She looked at Yunho, desperation flooding her face as she grabbed his hands, her fingers gripping firmly around his. “Help me.” She begged. “We have to do something.”

“We’re one step ahead of you, sweetie,” Yuri said, getting up from her chair and walking towards one of the bookshelves full of that Victoria assumed to be DVDs. Her finger trailed the cases until she found the one she was looking for. She handed Yunho a unmarked black case and went back to her seat, wrapping her hand gently around Yoona’s waist and pulling her in.

“We need to get the boys out of there,” Yunho said looking at the black DVD case with a faint smile on his lips. “But the idea needs to come from one of them. They have to want to escape. We can’t get directly involved, but we can give them a little push.” He put the case in Victoria’s hands. “One of them needs to watch this. I’m sure there’s at least one of the boys who’s a little more sensitive, yes? It has to be someone who likes literature, someone who will watch this and want to be a part of this world.”

A face popped into Victoria’s mind almost immediately.

“Yes,” She said examining the case. “I have someone in mind. He’d be perfect for this.”

“Then make sure he watches this as soon as possible. Try to leave other subtle hints in the next few days. We only need one of them to create that spark, the idea that they are actually capable of being free, and then it will spread like a virus.”

Victoria nodded. Determined, she placed the DVD case in her bag. If it were up to her she’d drag the Prototypes off the Center herself, but she knew it was impossible and as much as it pained her to leave it all in their hands, she knew that she had no other choice.

“As soon as they step out of that disgusting place I’ll blow it to pieces!” Jessica said slamming a fist on the table.

“That wouldn’t help,” Yoona said rolling her eyes. “What we need to do is make sure all the data they collected from the Prototypes is erased. This would pretty much crush the entire project.”

Victoria’s felt lightheaded and her entire body was shaking. Still riding in the wave of shock, she stood up from her chair, pulling her bag over her shoulders.

“It’s getting late, I have to go,” she said pushing her chair back.

“I’ll walk you out, but before you go, there’s someone that wants to see you.” Yunho said standing next to her. “Is he in the library?” He directed his gaze towards Yuri.

“Last time I checked, yes,” She replied, her eyes not leaving Yoona, who rested her cheek on her shoulder.

They all say their goodbyes to Victoria sympathetically. She guessed that most of them already knew how involved she was with the Prototypes. While Yunho was away, the two of them would still communicate sometimes by letters that he managed to get delivered to the jazz club somehow. Yuri would always try to spark conversation each time she went to visit the library, but Victoria’s time was limited and she wanted to spend all her precious free time surrounded by her beloved books. However, there were a couple of times she had opened up to Yuri in the past, without getting into much detail. The woman always listened patiently and sometimes even gave her some useful advice.

As they climbed up the stairs, Yunho placed a hand on the small of Victoria’s back, showing her the way in the darkness towards the right direction. She was still too shaken up to even think about where she was going. They walked in silence and Victoria’s mind couldn’t stop unleashing negative thoughts at her. How could she have been so stupid? Why did she let herself become so involved? What if they are not able to escape? She would have to start preparing herself to sit back and just watch as soldiers and scientists take away their precious lives. The lives of the children she helped raise and now, she would have to stand powerless as they were being unjustly executed, because a group of idiots with a lot of power decided that they had served what they claimed to be the Prototype's purpose in this world.

The familiar creak of the library doors brought Victoria back to reality. Yunho walked in first, turning on all the lights, which were clearly not enough to light up the entire place. It was massive, two stories high and covered with Old World relics, treasures Yunho had collected throughout the years.

As soon as Victoria walked in she noticed a figure resting peacefully on a big leather couch at the corner of the room. It was too dark to actually make out its face, but Victoria could see that it was a boy, probably around the same age as the Prototypes. His pitch-black hair covered his eyes. He had a closed book in his hands.

When he noticed Yunho and Victoria had walked in, he placed the book carefully on the coffee table in front of him, standing up straight and brushing the hair out of his face.

He took a step towards the light, revealing his dark tanned skin, big brown eyes and full lips. It had been four years but Victoria knew exactly who that boy was.

Her knees buckled and she was glad to find a chair just in time, or she would have collapse on the hard wood floor. She looked deep into the boy’s eyes and sobbed. He walked in her direction shyly. She grabbed his arm, pulling him in for a tight embrace. She had to touch him to believe he was real.

He is alive.

“Kai?” She whimpered and the boy nodded in response, smiling as wide as his lips would allow him and wiping her joyful tears.

⇢ next: chapter three

a/n: soooo here is the second chapter. we really hope you guys like it :3 thanks a lot for all the amazing comments on the last post and thanks for the silent readers as well, you guys made us soo happy you don't even know! THANKS A LOT, REALLY <3 aand a special thanks for our beautiful beta hoooshi