Mission Status - Contact
Three nights after Yongguk’s conversation, the commander had driven out to the countryside with his humanoid partner, waiting for his comrades’ arrival. Zelo had fallen asleep in the car, and stopping by for a moment at a dusty, run-down gas station, Yongguk had reclined the younger’s chair and draped a blanket over his body before continuing his journey.
In a secluded area with no sign of human activity, Yongguk parked the car and got out, waking Zelo up.
“You’ve finished your homework, right?” Yongguk ask, taking the sleepy Zelo’s hand in his and tugging him to the top of the biggest hill they could find. “I don’t want to get between you and your education by taking you out this late.”
“Yes, hyung,” Zelo replied softly, “and you’ve programmed me to be highly intelligent, like you said several days ago, so things like this are nothing to me.”
Yongguk smiled; making Zelo had benefited him in a lot of ways. He became more responsible, and, although he didn’t want to admit it, more sensitive and caring. There was a human term for it that Yongguk had learned upon arrival on earth - compassionate. He’s learned to be compassionate and protecting, seeing Zelo as someone who Yongguk held dear to himself.
The pair waited at the hilltop for about half an hour, and Zelo, although excited, was sleepy once more. They both sat down on the lush grass, Yongguk letting Zelo lay down and rest his head on the elder’s lap.
All was quiet on the countryside. The stars twinkled merrily as they minded their own business, and the crescent moon shone as bright as it could. A small wind blew once in a while, serving as a sort of reminder that everything was real and that nothing was a dream.
Yongguk looked up to the sky, knowing that amongst the twinkling balls of fire was his home planet’s dying sun, growing closer and closer to the final supernova stage by the second. He didn’t know how much time he has - three months? Two weeks? Would that even be enough to completely annihilate the entire human race? - to complete his mission.
As he kept his trained eyes on the midnight sky, four stars began to twinkle and shine brighter than the others. It continued growing brighter until Yongguk realized that those four stars were getting closer and closer, growing bigger and brighter as it crossed the Earth’s atmosphere.
“They’re here.”
It was a bit past midnight. Chanyeol was lazily sipping his coffee as he manned the monitors in the office of the apartment where he, Kris, Zi Tao, and Yi Xing now currently reside. He routinely checked the monitors, making sure that everything was okay.
He was one of the first to be informed of the new mission. He was none too happy about the fact that Kris and Suho decided to keep this new information away from the rest of them, but he managed to understand why in a not-so-convenient manner. Kris may or may not still have the bruises and burns from their fight that night in the outskirts of Hong Kong.
Taking a small bathroom break, Chanyeol checked on the other members. Kris was filing some reports in the kitchen, reading and signing paperwork that Chanyeol could only assume would be transferred to Suho and Xiu Min. Zi Tao and Yi Xing were fast asleep in one of the two available bedrooms, tired from making their rounds during the day and acting socially acceptable by the outside world. Giving Kris a small hug, Chanyeol made his way back to the office to continue his rounds.
Just when he sat down on the swivel chair, the alarm that’s wired to keep watch of the atmospheric pressures activated, informing Chanyeol of an imminent danger. He immediately called Kris in the room, who, knowing of what’s beginning to happen, took the seat next to the younger and helped him in controlling the situation. They both took up the headset and began transmitting emergency calls to Suho and Xiu Min.
“East Dragon to Water Boy, requesting immediate attention. Foreign objects detected on atmosphere, alien traces visible.”
“Happy Virus to Bao Zi, requesting backup. Four unidentified objects crossing atmosphere, potential alien attack. Immediate action required, over.”
The transmission lines were silent for a moment as the information moved along, and quickly after, the responses came streaming in.
“Bao Zi to Happy Virus. Sending Lightning and Windy to asses and control. Atmospheric pressures stable. Target located, aiming for South Korea.”
“Water Boy to East Dragon. Kkamjong and Bambi sent to help. Systems stable, over.”
Chanyeol and Kris continued monitoring in silence. They tracked the chips that were inserted to Kim Jong Dae, Oh Se Hun, Kim Jong In and Lu Han, watching as the four came in contact with the four unknown objects in absolute tension. Their hearts racing, Chanyeol subconsciously took Kris’ hand and gripped it tightly. The elder said nothing, merely gripping the other’s hand in return and reassuring that everything will be alright.
Yongguk continued to watch the night sky, keeping his eyes on the lights that were hurtling down to Earth at an immense speed. But the lights suddenly dimmed out, and surprised, Yongguk stood up, waking the sleeping Zelo from his slumber.
“What’s going on…?” Yongguk muttered, watching as the lights swerved from their intended path as if some sort of invisible forces were acting against them.
To add to his confusion, four more lights appeared, and Yongguk didn’t know who or what they were. They shone as bright as his comrades’ with a small tint of light blue. One thing he does know, though, is that his comrades were fighting against another power, another power that’s trying to keep them out of Earth.
“Kris, we have to do something,” Chanyeol said, watching as the four members fight against the unknowns. “We’re falling back, Kris. I’ll take Tao with me. We’ll go and-“
“No,” Kris said, taping several codes into the system, “you’re staying here. I’m going with Tao.”
“But…”
“Hold the fort, Happy Virus,” Kris said and giving Chanyeol a small smile, getting up from his seat and heading out to wake up the sleeping member. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Hyung…?” Zelo whispered groggily, rubbing his head. “What’s going on? Are they here?”
Yongguk didn’t reply, and that scared Zelo. Standing up, the younger looked at the elder before averting his gaze to the sky, not quite knowing what to see or watch for. “Hyung, what…”
Yongguk merely pointed to eight moving lights, and at first, Zelo thought they were stars until Yongguk clarified that among the eight were four of their comrades.
“Then… the other four…?”
“I don’t know,” the elder replied, “but whatever they are, they’re trying to keep them out.”
The pair kept their watch, heart racing faster and faster as they could only serve as spectators and see the fight as two more pale blue lights joined the party.
“Tao, stopping time about now sounds terrific!!” Sehun shouted, as he blasted one of the intruders in an attempt to push him out of the atmosphere.
It was six versus four, and although outnumbered, the intruders fought with all their might. None of the protectors have seen, or met, an opponent that could fare this long in a fight with them - not even Kris, who’s seen more centuries than the average vampire. But something about it excited them even further, and by some miracle, they’ve managed to capture an intruder.
But at the last moment, Kris, who was partially fighting and serving as Tao’s form of transportation, was targeted and shot. Tao, who didn’t realize the situation until the last minute, was dragged down by the unconscious Chinese, and they plunged towards the ground at a breakneck speed.
“Kai!!!” Tao shouted, calling the currently-preoccupied teleporter who grunted in response, letting go of his target unwillingly and vanished into thin air.
Time suddenly stopped. Everyone was trapped, left suspended in thin air. Tao himself had willed time to stop the momentum of his and Kris’ bodies, and he quietly counted in his head for the next ten seconds, wishing that he and Kai had timed correctly.
Just when the last syllable escaped Tao’s lips, Kai appeared in front of them. He grabbed the cuff of Kris’ shirt and took Tao’s hand, giving the other a nod before teleporting out of Earth’s outer atmosphere with the two Chinese men back to their quarters in Hong Kong.
The fighting ensued for another several minutes before the pale blue lights completely disappeared, leaving three of Yongguk’s comrades to continue their journey to his whereabouts. Their light shone brighter and brighter as they came closer before suddenly disappearing completely.
Yongguk and Zelo averted their gazes the grassy area in front of them, waiting for several moments. Three flashes went off, and Yongguk’s three comrades appeared, all three collapsing down to their knees in exhaustion.
The pair that stood on the hilltop ran down, helping the three up to their feet and bringing them to Yongguk’s car carefully. Soft pants and whisper or reassurances were the only things filling the early morning darkness as Yongguk started the car and headed back to Seoul, letting Zelo care for the three.
Midway through the trip back home, Yongguk asked, that familiar sense of fear lingering at the pit of his stomach, “Where’s Pink Bunny?”
“They got him,” replied one of the three who wore a light grey mask. “We lost his signal after they left us. We don’t know where he took Himchan.”
Yi Xing had just woken up in the morning and was about to eat breakfast when Kai, along with Tao and an unconscious Kris, appeared out of thin air and landed unceremoniously in the living room. The three looked battle-ridden, as if they just had a big fight between each other.
“Lay!!” Tao called out, beginning to try to move Kris to the couch. “Where are you!?”
All the noise fished Chanyeol out of the office. He had watched the entire fight, although not directly, and was curious as to why Kai’s, Tao’s and Kris’ signals had disappeared from everyone else’s. He was about to greet Tao and Kris with a small, warm welcome, but at the sight of the unconscious man, the torn and weary Tao, and slightly-miffed Kai, all the energy left him.
“Alright, what did Kris do now?” Lay asked, rushing from the kitchen with a small first aid kit. He crouched down next to the figure and started healing him, senses checking if anything within Kris was wrong or malfunctioning.
“We were fighting,” Tao tried to explain, sitting on the floor next to Lay. “Kris and I, along with some of the others, fought against these four things that apparently were trying to invade Earth. Kris got shot. I had to stop time. Kai teleported us back here. Is he going to be okay?”
Chanyeol, who had disappeared into the kitchen, came back with two glasses of water, handing one to the frantic Chinese and the quiet Korean. He sighed softly before retreating back to the control room, muttering a small excuse that only Kai might’ve heard.
After several moments, it was Lay’s turn to sigh. “Kris is fine,” he said, checking the elder’s pulse once more. “Extremely drained, potentially dehydrated, but he’s fine. He just needs to rest for the next several hours, maybe a day or two.”
“When is he going to wake up?” Kai, who has been intently listening to all the conversations the entire time, asked.
“An hour, maybe more, maybe less,” the healer responded, placing a damp towel over Kris’ forehead. “Kris recovers fast. He’ll be up and running by tonight, I’m sure, but he’ll feel more tired than normal, hence the rest he’d need for a couple more hours.”
Kai nodded and stood up. “Alright, then. I’ll tell Suho about his condition.” He ruffled Tao’s hair, mumbling a quiet ‘Take care,’ before dissipating into thin air.
“Go take a shower, Tao,” Lay instructed the younger Chinese. “Warm water, wash your hair. It’ll calm you faster. I’ll get Chanyeol to help me carry Kris to his bedroom.”
When Tao gave the unconscious Kris a worried look, Lay nudged this leg and smiled. “He’ll be fine. He’s Kris, and as far as I know, Kris will wake up and go back into that emotionless, permanent bitch face demeanor in no time. Now go take a shower, and get some breakfast in you. I’ll take your shift today so you can rest as well.”
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