お帰り [Welcome Home] - Chapter Thirty-Six
Title: お帰り [Welcome Home]
Authors: curionenene and yeonah
Chapter: 36/36 + Epilogue
Fandom: SS501 + Epik High Cameos
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU
Summary: Black and white... white and black. It isn't always possible to tell what is good and what is evil; and four players in the never-ending fight for freedom would know. In a world where things are painted by shades of grey, taking a stand could mean life or death. And the struggle to be free, truly free, may tear them apart until there is nothing left but ash.
A/N: KyuJong, HyunJoong, and Tablo are played by curionenene , while JungMin, YoungSaeng, HyungJoon, Mithra and Thaestae are played by yeonah .
WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH
"Everyone to the forest, now! The gate's opening!"
HyunJoong clutched at YoungSaeng, feeling the felinefolk’s effort and banked on them, managing to reduce the effect significantly. Standing up, he panted. “Come on, let’s go.”
“It’s too early.” KyuJong murmured again as he forced himself to his feet, still holding onto JungMin. He was beginning to get used to the effects, but it wasn’t to say it was pleasant.
Thaestae pulled the effects away from JungMin as best as he could so the human could stand as well. We need to get there fast, he said. The new arrivals were casting spells to quicken the travel, and from the sudden lack of power in the anti-hunter base, HyungJoon, Tukutz, Tablo and Mithra had already gone. Get close, I can open a portal to the forest.
YoungSaeng held on to HyunJoong's arm, looking up at his partner and lover with fear in his eyes before shuffling closer to the other two.
HyunJoong tightened his hold around YoungSaeng, bracing himself. He needed to be strong now, if not for the world, then at least for YoungSaeng. “It’ll be okay.” HyunJoong murmured as he shuffled closer towards the other pair.
KyuJong nodded, holding on tight to JungMin. “Ready when you are, Thaestae.”
I'll bring us to the forest entrance...any further in isn't safe to teleport directly.
JungMin nodded, drawing in a breath. He was always up for surprise missions, but this was something else. This was something that, if they failed, would have much bigger consequences than anything before. Ducking his head, he pecked KyuJong's lips quickly before straightening as he felt Thaestae draw on his power, the pendant around JungMin's neck glowing a little.
The world dropped away from them, everything disappearing for a brief second. Then the ground was back under their feet and JungMin staggered to keep his balance, the others doing the same.
YoungSaeng recovered first from the dizzying jump, looking up and paling. "Oh...God..."
HyunJoong swallowed the bile in his throat that was threatening to come out and looked up where YoungSaeng was looking. His exclamation didn’t differ far from YoungSaeng’s.
Above them, the sky was a forbidding blood red. And in the middle of it was a vortex of black shadows, crackling with snaps of black electricity. There was no doubt as to what it was.
It was the portal into the demon world.
"How are we supposed to close this?" JungMin asked; he could feel the power in the air through his connection with Thaestae. Nothing they'd ever encountered compared to this. "Where are the hunters?"
Probably dead, Thaestae said. From the looks of it...it wasn't opened purposely. With all the energy put into creating a gate, it burst open like an overripe fruit.
Turning towards the forest, YoungSaeng was glad all the animals had left beforehand. The trees were losing their leaves, wilting and falling off into ashes, bark peeling and small patches of grass catching on fire.
HyunJoong grit his teeth. “I suppose it’s a bad time to say that I hope that the hunters have learned their lesson. Anyway, we should get to Daniel, Mithra, Tukutz or HyungJoon and see what they kn - crap! Watch out!”
HyunJoong quickly grabbed YoungSaeng, dodging to the side as a wave of energy barely swept past them, careening into a tree, obliterating it into dust. “Shit. Demon. Saeng, you’re going to have to synchronize with me in order to feel it.”
Demons didn’t have corporeal forms in this world, and the only way that they were going to be able to fight them was to sense where they were.
YoungSaeng nodded, reaching out through the bond to HyunJoong as he watched where the tree had been warily.
It was probably the first time JungMin had truly been thankful for his connection to Thaestae, able to see the demon clearly. "Uh...what are we doing?"
Just do as I say, I don't need to take over your body to fight back.
"Backseat driving, great," JungMin yelped and dropped to the ground to avoid another attack, whirling to face the demons. Going with what Thaestae was showing him, he pulled out his gun and fired a few rounds.
Thaestae's energy coated the bullets, piercing right through the demon and injuring it.
“Great shot!” KyuJong called out, but before he could do anything else, the demon let out another attack - stronger this time.
It seemed like JungMin’s attack had angered it.
“Saeng!” HyunJoong was about to fire energy at the demon when he felt another one come up from behind. Whirling around, HyunJoong pulled YoungSaeng out of the way again as he fired off his gun.
Yelping, YoungSaeng finished synchronizing with HyunJoong just as the attack hit, the demon releasing a shriek of rage before attacking back. The felinefolk didn't know what to do; he couldn't control enough magic to do any damage; what he could control was mostly through the bond.
But he was fast, very fast.
Hyun, I'll distract him to give you a clear shot, he called through the bond. The next instant he was out of HyunJoong's grasp, purposely darting right in front of the demon to get it's attention. The felinefolk used tree branches to maneuver quickly out of the way of an attack, swinging up into a tree and back out again as the tree was turned to ash.
“Saeng!” HyunJoong called out, too late to stop the felinefolk, and he bit his lip in worry, watching YoungSaeng dart from tree to tree as each was destroyed.
There was no helping it. He needed to at least incapitate the demon before YoungSaeng got hurt.
Quickly gathering up enough energy, HyunJoong began firing at the demon rapidly, not letting up until even as it let out howls of pain, trying to fight back.
JungMin kept firing at the other demon, but was running into a problem; yes the spelled bullets hurt, a lot, but the demon was too fast to be caught half the time. Thaestae had reached the same conclusion and was working on another spell.
Go! White threads spilled from JungMin's fingertips and solidified into thin lances, pinning the demon to a tree. It gave JungMin and KyuJong a few seconds pause to finish off that demon, just as the one HyunJoong was attacking disappeared.
YoungSaeng watched warily from up in a tree, making sure they were both gone. "Were those high-level demons?"
No...lower-level imps, Thaestae replied. Sent on ahead before their masters.
“That was what I was afraid of.” HyunJoong muttered, straightening up. The imps were already rather nasty to deal with, then what more their masters.
“Come on! We need to get to the rest!” KyuJong quickly grabbed onto JungMin’s hand, pulling forward. The more time they wasted, the more likely things would degenerate from bad to worst.
YoungSaeng dropped down beside HyunJoong, hurrying with them. He could sense HyungJoon up ahead, the others nearby.
Heading into the forest, the scene was worsening. The trees were still standing, but they were little more than twigs with cracked branches. Leaves, grass, and half of the bark were gone. The red sky could be clearly seen through the branches.
There was the sound of fighting all around them, spell casters and non-humans battling demon imps. The ground rolled under their feet a little, earth cracking and making JungMin stumble.
KyuJong turned around, just in time to see the ground split up in front of them. Eyes widening, he tried to reach out to JungMin, only to be driven back as the crack deepened into a crevice. “Min!”
Yelping in surprise, JungMin hurriedly backed up as well to avoid falling into the crevice. He didn't know how far down it went, but he didn't want to find out. Whole trees were falling in with loud crashing and snapping noises. By the time the ground had somewhat settled, the crevice was far too wide for even the non-humans to jump. And it left JungMin separated from the others.
"Shit...” JungMin looked up and down the crevice's length, searching for a way to get across and rejoin the others. It looked like it might end further on. "Keep going, I'll get across further up," he yelled.
“No, wait, Min!” KyuJong quickly unfurled his wings, trying to get to JungMin, only be thwarted by more imps appearing. “Damn!”
HyunJoong quickly began to fire at the imps, trying to clear a pathway for KyuJong. “KyuJong! You go after JungMin. We’ll take care of these! Saeng! Go find Daniel hyung!”
JungMin had already disappeared on the other side of the crevice, searching for a way across. YoungSaeng wavered in indecision, not wanting to leave HyunJoong alone. But he could sense Tablo nearby, as well as Mithra, and getting them would be of far more help. He darted off quickly, running as fast as he could.
Clearing a path took longer than KyuJong wanted, and although he was worried about JungMin, he couldn’t really bring himself to leave HyunJoong entirely alone either. Staying until the number of imps had dwindled down to a manageable size, KyuJong turned to HyunJoong, shouting, “You sure you can handle yourself here?”
“Yeah!” HyunJoong called back, ducking and rolling to dodge an attack. “Go on to JungMin! It’s dangerous for him to be alone!”
KyuJong bit back the reply that it’d be dangerous for HyunJoong to be alone either. He could sense that YoungSaeng had already gotten to Tablo. HyunJoong would be able to fend for himself for a little while. “Alright! I’ll meet up with you guys once I get Min.”
HyunJoong didn’t even spare a glance as KyuJong took off, flying across the crevice. A few more imps and…
“…Crap.” Was the only word HyunJoong managed to get out before he was practically floored by an enormous energy blooming a few meters above from where he was.
A demon had appeared.
JungMin had run quite a ways down the length of the crevice before he realized something. He could sense the others...and HyungJoon had been separated by the crevice as well. Turning around, he went to where he could sense the White Rabbit instead, just as Thaestae let out a curse. There's a middle-level demon here.
"Your level?"
Yes.
"Great," JungMin clenched his teeth. They were working their way up. If a high-level demon came through, it was all over. "HyungJoon!" he yelled.
The White Rabbit blasted an imp into nothing, panting a little as he whirled around. "JungMin! Where are the others?!"
"On the other side of the crevice," JungMin replied, getting to him before stopping. "What are we doing?"
"The portal's too big, and we don't have enough energy," HyungJoon shook his head, hands clenched into fists.
"You...you mean we can't close it?" JungMin demanded, heart sinking. HyungJoon swallowed thickly.
"I'm thinking, we'll come up with something, we have to." The White Rabbit pushed JungMin back the way he came. "Get back to the others, get rid of as many demons as you can! I'll let you know what's happening."
Meaning HyungJoon was just as lost as the rest of them. JungMin drew in a shaky breath before he headed back to where the crevice was, continuing his search for a way across. What were they going to do?
The distortions were making it hard for KyuJong to track down anything. Unlike the rest, KyuJong’s magic was mostly offensive. And now, he made use of it, fighting against a mid-level demon in his half-form.
“Damn.” KyuJong growled, attacking the demon again and cursing as it dodged. “I don’t have time for you!”
Meanwhile, HyunJoong wasn’t having an easy time with the demon that had appeared on his end.
“Gah!” HyunJoong grunted as he rolled to the side, the demon’s strike barely missing him. “Come on, Saeng…”
The ground rumbled again; another earthquake?
Suddenly a stream of sand came shooting out of the ground and caged the demon in, long enough for shots to ring out. The combination of spiritual energy finally overpowered the demon and it disappeared.
"Hyun!" YoungSaeng ran to his partner, pulling him up off the ground and hugging him tightly as Tablo and Mithra ran after him.
“Phew… that was close.” HyunJoong sighed, hugging YoungSaeng and placing a soft kiss on the felinefolk’s head in thanks. “Daniel hyung! What’s the situation now?”
“We’re trying to figure out a way to close the portal.” Tablo panted, obviously tired out. He hadn’t had much sleep before this since the foreign agents had begun coming in. “In the meantime, we just need to hang on.”
“We don’t have much time though.” HyunJoong noted. That had been a middle-level demon. Soon, the big shots would be coming through.
"We're going to need to make more time," Mithra said. "HyungJoon's trapped on the other side of this hole in the ground, and Tukutz...who knows where he is. Where are the others?"
"JungMin got stuck on the other side as well, and KyuJong went after him," YoungSaeng replied, eyes worried as he looked up at the portal above them. "None of the ways we discussed before would work?"
"We don't have enough collective energy," Mithra shook his head. "HyungJoon was working on an emergency teleport to get more people here before the mid-level demons came through...but I don't think it's possible now, the distortions are interfering with everything."
HyunJoong bit his lip, deep in thought. “If I can meet up with HyungJoon. I might be able to help him focus his spells and get past the distortions.”
“That might be the only possible solution now.” Daniel glanced at Mithra before nodding. “Let’s go see if we can get to HyungJoon.”
"It's impossible to get through the crevice where we are now," YoungSaeng replied. "KyuJong had wings, but none of us do. It's too wide to jump."
"If we find a narrower section I can create a bridge for us," Mithra said firmly, starting to run. "Let's go!"
More mid-level demons were coming through, and where before the spell casters and non-humans had been able to hold off the imps...they were starting to die now. YoungSaeng could smell blood in the air, so much blood.
HyunJoong squeezed YoungSaeng hand as they took off in search of HyungJoon. They needed to hurry, or getting more people in wouldn’t matter. Not when the people on their side were getting slaughtered.
Meanwhile, KyuJong had finally finished off the demon, flying off in search of JungMin again. He paused when he finally spotted a familiar signature, swooping down. “HyungJoon! Have you seen JungMin?”
HyungJoon yelped in surprise, whirling around so fast his rabbit ears hit his face. "KyuJong!" The White Rabbit was looking distressed; all attempts to form a portal and bring more people in had failed because of the increased strength of the portal to the demon world. "JungMin, yeah, he went in that direction," he pointed. "Where are the others?"
The ground rolled under their feet and sent the rabbit sprawling. Another demon appeared, drawn to the two strong energy signatures.
“Tch…” KyuJong growled, grabbing HyungJoon, and flying out of the way, while sending attacks back. “They’re still on the other side. I need to get to JungMin!”
HyungJoon scrambled to get out of the way, throwing up restraints on the mid-level demon attacking them to buy time to get away. "JungMin's fine last I saw, the demons are ignoring him for the most part because his lack of spiritual energy covers for Thaestae's. KyuJong, we don't have enough energy to close the portal," he panted, looking up at the vortex in the sky.
KyuJong bit his lip. He was itching to get back to JungMin, but he knew that if they didn’t close the portal, no one would be surviving. “What do you propose we do?”
"I don't know," HyungJoon sighed, swallowing. "And I can't find Tukutz at all in this mess. We need to regroup, right now. If we don't think of something...” The portal would be letting high-level demons through in minutes; he could feel them arriving.
“…” KyuJong bit his lip, casting one last longing look in JungMin’s direction. “Alright. I’ll fly you back to where they are. Hang on tight!”
And without waiting for an answer, KyuJong quickly picked HyungJoon up by his arms, flying at full speed towards the crevice.
Yelping in surprise, the rabbit held on to KyuJong's sleeve as they passed over the crevice, not daring to look down.
The group running alongside it slowed to a stop as KyuJong appeared with HyungJoon in his grasp. "Well that's one way to do it," Mithra remarked wryly. "HyungJoon, any luck?"
HyungJoon was placed on his feet, stumbling before straightening. "No, the vortex is interfering with anything coming and leaving the area," he shook his head, looking up at it. "We don't have much time, and we don't have enough raw energy to close it."
“I could transfer energy to you and clear the interference to help you get people in.” HyunJoong quickly offered, “We should be able to do at least that.”
“And quick. Or there won’t be enough people left here to make up the numbers.” Daniel added, his eyes still darting about to watch for an attack.
HyungJoon swallowed thickly. "Okay, we'll try that. It's the interference I'm mostly worried about...ready when you are." He drew in a breath and let his eyes turn white, restarting the emergency transportation spell and striving to reach past the demon vortex.
HyunJoong was about to aid HyungJoon in activating the spell when a sudden wave of energy bloomed barely ten meters from where they were. The sudden pain in his head was almost overwhelming, and HyunJoong didn’t even realize he’d fallen to the ground.
“C-crap.” Daniel bit his lip, taking a step back. Of all the times for a high-level demon to appear.
YoungSaeng staggered back, eyes wide at the immense energy signature. It was huge, ten times stronger than the mid-level demon from before. Driven to his knees next to HyunJoong, feeling the backlash of the pain through their bond, the felinefolk grabbed his partner's arm with shaking hands and tried to shield him from the pain.
HyungJoon somehow managed to stay standing, body trembling a little as he redirected his focus to this new threat. He threw up a shield around them bare seconds before the demon attacked, the white barrier wavering and cracking under the force.
This wasn’t the time to crash under pressure, and HyunJoong grit his teeth, throwing up a secondary shield, just in time as HyungJoon’s shield fell. Surprised, the demon had fallen back, but it would only be a matter of time before it attacked again.
“Tch…” Tablo cursed under his breath, pulling out several ready-made barrier spells, hoping to slow the demon down. “Retreat!”
So...that was it? They'd lost?
YoungSaeng pulled HyunJoong up to his feet as HyungJoon moved to pull up another shield, drawing energy from Tukutz who he could finally sense nearby. Even as they held this demon back with barrier after barrier, he could sense more high-level demons on the way, only minutes away from appearing.
Mithra sent the order to retreat to all the spell casters and nonhumans in the area, those that were left. The amount of life energies he could sense was nearly half of what there had been, and rapidly decreasing.
“JungMin…” KyuJong muttered to himself, practically panicking now. He needed to find his partner, and make sure they both got out of here. Quickly spreading his wings, KyuJong shot up, departing from the group to find JungMin.
“KyuJong!” HyunJoong yelled, spotting the ankou taking off - they couldn’t afford to split up now. But before he could do anything, the demon attacked again and he yelped, feeling the strengthening pressure with each blow the demon lay.
He needed to do something. But there was only one thing that he could think of now. Something only him, as a Merus, could do. And it wasn’t something that any of the other would agree on.
But…
HyunJoong glanced at YoungSaeng, the felinefolk struggling with his weight to get them both out of there. And he closed his eyes, feeling his resolve strengthen.
“Saeng…” HyunJoong whispered with a smile, before he closed his eyes and quickly severed the bond between them, pushing YoungSaeng away. “I love you.”
Taking a step backwards, HyunJoong took in a deep breath, and let loose the pure energy that was stored inside him - an amount that only he, as a Merus, could hold.
Demons were attracted to pure energy. They would be drawn to it, trying to devour it.
And they would invade the source in hopes for more.
HyunJoong was offering himself as a trap.
YoungSaeng felt something inside him snap in two a second before HyunJoong suddenly released such a large amount of energy, it forced those around him to the ground as all barriers evaporated into the air. A loud keen rose into the air, demons turning towards the source of that energy.
"HyunJoong, don't!" HyungJoon yelled, figuring out first what the Merus was trying to do. YoungSaeng stared with wide eyes, realizing the bond was broken when he couldn't feel HyunJoong's thoughts and feelings anymore, couldn't feel anything.
Then the demons attacked. YoungSaeng felt arms pulling him back away, Tukutz throwing up a shield around them all...except for HyunJoong.
"HYUN!" YoungSaeng screamed as the high-level demon disappeared inside HyunJoong's body, followed by other demons drawn to the Merus' power.
For a moment, everything was quiet - as if time had stopped still. All the demons in the area had gone, the malicious energy absent. It was almost as if everything was all right.
Then HyunJoong let out a bloodcurdling scream, falling to the floor in agony. His body was being ripped apart from the inside as the demons fought for dominance to take over his body. And his eyes, opened to reflect a fraction of the struggle inside, flashed from red to brown as he fought both the demons for taking over, and his own instincts to push the demons out to protect himself.
"Let me go!" YoungSaeng yelled, trying to get free of Tukutz's grip. He had to help; he had to get the demons out of him. It was too much, HyunJoong was going to die.
Turning around, JungMin stared in the direction of the sudden energy signature, definitely not from a demon and through the roof in power. But it was quickly becoming tainted. "What the hell..."
That's the Merus, Thaestae said quietly. The high-level demons will be here soon...we're out of time.
"No...no, no, no," JungMin shook his head, swallowing. "There has to be something. We need energy to close the portal, right?"
Yes, but there is not enough energy available...unless...
Perking up at that, JungMin instantly turned his attention to the demon inside him. "Unless what, Thaestae?"
I was hoping not to resort to this...but...
And he told JungMin what needed to be done. The color drained out of the human's face, before he gave a shaky breath. "There's no other way?"
No...our time's up.
"...Okay," JungMin nodded. "The hotspot's near here, right?"
Yes, to your right.
"Okay," JungMin headed off in that direction. He hoped KyuJong was okay, and would forgive him. "Can you connect me to HyungJoon, he needs to know about this."
Watching with wide eyes and tears gathering as HyunJoong screamed and thrashed, HyungJoon tried not to look at the felinefolk struggling to be free beside him. Suddenly he felt a light touch in the back of his mind, and listening to it, his eyes widened in shock. "...Oh no..."
He tried to reply, but the connection had already been severed. Instead, he reached out to KyuJong. KyuJong!
KyuJong had felt what happened as well, but he’d only let it distract him for a bit before he continued to search for JungMin. The high-level demons were coming, and he needed to be by the human before that happened.
What?! He snapped back when HyungJoon called to him. He was beyond frustrated, the energy in the area messing with his senses as he tried to scry of JungMin.
JungMin’s at the center of the vortex, where it originated! the White Rabbit called, barely able to be understood through all the interference. He and Thaestae are going to close the portal!
Wait…. What?! KyuJong sent back in slowly growing horror. They’re going to close the portal? But they can’t! How are they going to do that?
HyungJoon’s mind-voice was sad. Thaestae said he’s just barely missing enough energy to do it himself, but with their combined energy they can pull it off. Combined spiritual…and life energy.
KyuJong’s eyes widened and in that moment, he lost control of his emotions. There was a bright burst of light as he transformed into his full form, his eyes filled with a terrible anger as he let out a scream that was a combination of pure rage and sorrow.
His full set of wings extended, the ankou began to fly at full speed towards the center of the vortex, uncaring if any other humans saw him or not.
Following Thaestae’s instructions as the demon began to lay the spell, JungMin looked up at a sudden increased energy signature. He knew without Thaestae telling him that this one was KyuJong, and he swallowed thickly, drawing in a shaky breath.
Ready? Thaestae asked softly.
“Yeah,” JungMin smiled sadly, wiping away tears as he stood directly under the middle of the vortex, closing his eyes.
Thaestae spoke in his own language, voice echoing with power in JungMin’s head. White threads snapped into existence around him, the ground below him trembling as the threads secured themselves to him. One on each wrist, one for each ankle…and a fifth, the end disappearing inside his chest.
And the spell was in place, unmovable. All that was left was for Thaestae to speak the last words, and it would all be over.
KyuJong could feel the spell starting, and it only drove him to move faster. Maybe, just maybe, he could be in time to prevent this. There should be some other way. There must be.
“JungMin!” He could see the human now, it was just a bit more, a bit more, and maybe he could try to sever the spell. Just a little bit more…
Hearing KyuJong’s voice, JungMin’s resolve shook, his eyes opening to see the ankou in his full form. Looking at him now wouldn’t hurt JungMin; Death had already put its mark on him.
Blinking back the tears, JungMin managed to smile. He reached up to lightly touch the dove pendant around his neck, feeling the clipped wing. He wasn’t going to let all those people down…no matter what.
“I love you, Kyu,” he said softly, looking up at the ankou who was just feet away.
Do it.
Thaestae shouted out the last words in his head, and everything went white for a split second. The threads attached to JungMin’s body drawing out everything the demon and human had to offer before snapping.
It was at that moment that KyuJong reached and grabbed JungMin’s body, pulling him away from the hotspot, JungMin's form cradled in his arms.
But it was already too late, the vortex above shuddered, as if something had pierced it. Then, there was a sound like the screech of a murdered cat and a single point of light burst from the center of the vortex, the darkness being sucked inside like dirt into a vacuum cleaner.
All around, the demons were being sucked back into the vortex. And there were cries as some desperately tried to stay on the current plane - but the force was too strong, pulling all of them back, regardless of how powerful they were.
It was the same for the demons trapped inside HyunJoong’s body. Pulled by the strength of the reversing vortex, they tried one last desperate attempt to take HyunJoong's body over, in order to escape their fate. But sensing the change, HyunJoong focused on pushing the demons out of his body - an easy task now due to the external force.
HyunJoong shuddered as the last of the demons exited his body, before he sank back to the ground, motionless, breath harsh, but relieved. He didn’t know what happened, but they must have done it - his stunt would not have been in vain then.
With a final screech the vortex closed, all the red in the sky being sucked back to its center until it was completely gone.
Tukutz slowly loosened his grip on the felinefolk, YoungSaeng bolting to HyunJoong’s side immediately. “Hyun! Hyun, are you okay?” he cried out, begging the Merus to reply, to be all right.
Someone was calling him. Someone important. And HyunJoong crack open an eye to see YoungSaeng staring down at him and he grinned shakily. “S-Saeng…” He croaked, lifting a weak hand up to cup the felinefolk’s face, only to be seized by coughs racking his whole body.
HyungJoon looked up at the clear sky, eyes wide. “They did it,” he whispered.
“Yeah… they did…” Tukutz frowned at the scene before him, before looking up to see a lone figure in the sky. “But such a high cost…”
HyungJoon sniffled a little, wiping the tears from his eyes as he looked up as well. Then he returned his gaze to YoungSaeng and HyunJoong. The Merus was weak, very weak.
“I need to use my ability again,” he said shakily, looking up at Tukutz. “Or he might not make it.” YoungSaeng was clutching HyunJoong’s hand tightly, crying.
“Don’t hesitate to take more from me when you do.” Tukutz didn’t even bother persuading HyungJoon otherwise. “You might be able to turn the time on others, but no one can turn the time on you.”
Nodding, HyungJoon stood and walked to HyunJoong, placing his hand on YoungSaeng’s shoulder. “I need to heal him,” he said quietly. “You’re going to have to let go for a minute.”
Looking up at him, tears rolled down the felinefolk’s cheeks before he nodded. He turned back to HyunJoong and leaned down to kiss him softly, before moving back out of the way.
Mithra watched as HyungJoon started to work the spell against time, the bubble slowly forming around HyunJoong. “What now?” he asked Tablo quietly, sitting next to his partner.
“I don’t know.” Tablo sighed, rubbing his face and looking upwards. “… Maybe we should warn people not to stare too hard at the figure in the sky. I think KyuJong is in full form…”
He looked down, reminded of what KyuJong must be doing up there. He had been keeping tabs on the vortex, and so he knew what had happened…
There was no way JungMin could have survived such a spell.
Mithra nodded, gaze down on the ground rather than on the ankou in the sky. "I will find who's still alive and round them up to bring back," he said quietly, squeezing his partner's shoulder before standing. "Stay, keep an eye on them..." he looked towards the others. The bubble around HyunJoong was fully opaque, the White Rabbit drawing energy from Tukutz to complete the spell. YoungSaeng watched with tears in his eyes, praying.
Tukutz frowned as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, feeling a little dizzy. Although he had expended a lot of energy before this, it was still taking the White Rabbit abnormally more energy than usual to complete the spell.
Finally after what seemed like ages, a crack ran through the time bubble, the spell complete. And the whole thing shattered and disappeared, HyungJoon taking a shaking step back.
Watching nervously, YoungSaeng's eyes widened when he saw not the HyunJoong he had expected to see...but a child HyunJoong, lying peaceful and serene on the ground. "H....Hyun?" he whispered, crawling forward.
"It's gone," HyungJoon whispered, white eyes slowly opening again.
"What?" YoungSaeng looked at the younger man.
"The curse is gone," HyungJoon murmured, before the white disappeared from his eyes and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Tukutz quickly ran forward, picking the White Rabbit from the ground. “Gee… you didn’t take nearly enough yet again…” He murmured, slowly transferring a bit of energy from himself to his partner.
Tablo wasn’t too far behind, bending down over the child HyunJoong and placing a hand over his forehead with a frown. “He’s… as he was… ten years ago.”
YoungSaeng's eyes widened, looking down at the child and scooping HyunJoong up into his arms carefully. "Did...did HyungJoon really turn time back ten years?" he asked shakily, looking back at them. HyunJoong's body had been completely reverted back to when he was only ten? What of his mind?
Tablo nodded shakily, wondering the same question as YoungSaeng. But his fears were addressed immediately by Tukutz’s statement.
“Don’t worry. He will get back his memories… soon enough.”
Giving a shaky sigh, YoungSaeng pressed a soft kiss to HyunJoong's forehead, tears spilling over his cheeks. HyunJoong would be all right. He was back to being ten, but with the curse gone, he would age normally. YoungSaeng could deal with that. Now he just needed to wait for HyunJoong to wake up.
"Can we go back home now?" he asked quietly, looking up at Tablo with glassy eyes.
Tablo nodded, smiling lightly as he put a shoulder on YoungSaeng as he helped the felinefolk up. “Come on, let’s get HyunJoong home.”
Tukutz watched as the trio began to walk slowly back, looking down at the unconscious White Rabbit in his arms. “Do you think that was necessary, HyungJoon?” He murmured, sighing. “And after you did all that, you leave me with all the hard details. I hope it won’t be too big of a blow for YoungSaeng to know that HyunJoong won’t be waking up… for a while…”
“… And there’s also that person I’m going to have to deal with, huh?” Tukutz murmured to himself as he felt another presence near. And he looked up to see a magnificent sight - an ankou in all its full glory, flying down towards him. And he was glad at this moment that he was the partner of the White Rabbit, and thus even depleted like this, he could gaze upon KyuJong in his full form.
But what marred the magnificent sight was the body cradled gently in the ankou's arms as he landed, eyes that had been usually known as emotionless filled with tears and sorrow.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Tukutz waiting, and KyuJong searching. Searching for something in Tukutz's face, as if a truth that he wanted was there, rather than the truth that he held in his hands.
“He’s gone.” KyuJong finally whispered, “He’s really gone.”
Tukutz didn’t say anything. Not even when KyuJong fell to his knees, burying his face against a shell that once held the soul of a human he held dear. Not even when he let out a cry of pure grief, silver tears of healing falling wastefully from his eyes.
It was because there was nothing else that could be said.
Park JungMin was dead.
Authors: curionenene and yeonah
Chapter: 36/36 + Epilogue
Fandom: SS501 + Epik High Cameos
Pairings: KyuMin, HyunSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, AU
Summary: Black and white... white and black. It isn't always possible to tell what is good and what is evil; and four players in the never-ending fight for freedom would know. In a world where things are painted by shades of grey, taking a stand could mean life or death. And the struggle to be free, truly free, may tear them apart until there is nothing left but ash.
A/N: KyuJong, HyunJoong, and Tablo are played by curionenene , while JungMin, YoungSaeng, HyungJoon, Mithra and Thaestae are played by yeonah .
WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH
"Everyone to the forest, now! The gate's opening!"
HyunJoong clutched at YoungSaeng, feeling the felinefolk’s effort and banked on them, managing to reduce the effect significantly. Standing up, he panted. “Come on, let’s go.”
“It’s too early.” KyuJong murmured again as he forced himself to his feet, still holding onto JungMin. He was beginning to get used to the effects, but it wasn’t to say it was pleasant.
Thaestae pulled the effects away from JungMin as best as he could so the human could stand as well. We need to get there fast, he said. The new arrivals were casting spells to quicken the travel, and from the sudden lack of power in the anti-hunter base, HyungJoon, Tukutz, Tablo and Mithra had already gone. Get close, I can open a portal to the forest.
YoungSaeng held on to HyunJoong's arm, looking up at his partner and lover with fear in his eyes before shuffling closer to the other two.
HyunJoong tightened his hold around YoungSaeng, bracing himself. He needed to be strong now, if not for the world, then at least for YoungSaeng. “It’ll be okay.” HyunJoong murmured as he shuffled closer towards the other pair.
KyuJong nodded, holding on tight to JungMin. “Ready when you are, Thaestae.”
I'll bring us to the forest entrance...any further in isn't safe to teleport directly.
JungMin nodded, drawing in a breath. He was always up for surprise missions, but this was something else. This was something that, if they failed, would have much bigger consequences than anything before. Ducking his head, he pecked KyuJong's lips quickly before straightening as he felt Thaestae draw on his power, the pendant around JungMin's neck glowing a little.
The world dropped away from them, everything disappearing for a brief second. Then the ground was back under their feet and JungMin staggered to keep his balance, the others doing the same.
YoungSaeng recovered first from the dizzying jump, looking up and paling. "Oh...God..."
HyunJoong swallowed the bile in his throat that was threatening to come out and looked up where YoungSaeng was looking. His exclamation didn’t differ far from YoungSaeng’s.
Above them, the sky was a forbidding blood red. And in the middle of it was a vortex of black shadows, crackling with snaps of black electricity. There was no doubt as to what it was.
It was the portal into the demon world.
"How are we supposed to close this?" JungMin asked; he could feel the power in the air through his connection with Thaestae. Nothing they'd ever encountered compared to this. "Where are the hunters?"
Probably dead, Thaestae said. From the looks of it...it wasn't opened purposely. With all the energy put into creating a gate, it burst open like an overripe fruit.
Turning towards the forest, YoungSaeng was glad all the animals had left beforehand. The trees were losing their leaves, wilting and falling off into ashes, bark peeling and small patches of grass catching on fire.
HyunJoong grit his teeth. “I suppose it’s a bad time to say that I hope that the hunters have learned their lesson. Anyway, we should get to Daniel, Mithra, Tukutz or HyungJoon and see what they kn - crap! Watch out!”
HyunJoong quickly grabbed YoungSaeng, dodging to the side as a wave of energy barely swept past them, careening into a tree, obliterating it into dust. “Shit. Demon. Saeng, you’re going to have to synchronize with me in order to feel it.”
Demons didn’t have corporeal forms in this world, and the only way that they were going to be able to fight them was to sense where they were.
YoungSaeng nodded, reaching out through the bond to HyunJoong as he watched where the tree had been warily.
It was probably the first time JungMin had truly been thankful for his connection to Thaestae, able to see the demon clearly. "Uh...what are we doing?"
Just do as I say, I don't need to take over your body to fight back.
"Backseat driving, great," JungMin yelped and dropped to the ground to avoid another attack, whirling to face the demons. Going with what Thaestae was showing him, he pulled out his gun and fired a few rounds.
Thaestae's energy coated the bullets, piercing right through the demon and injuring it.
“Great shot!” KyuJong called out, but before he could do anything else, the demon let out another attack - stronger this time.
It seemed like JungMin’s attack had angered it.
“Saeng!” HyunJoong was about to fire energy at the demon when he felt another one come up from behind. Whirling around, HyunJoong pulled YoungSaeng out of the way again as he fired off his gun.
Yelping, YoungSaeng finished synchronizing with HyunJoong just as the attack hit, the demon releasing a shriek of rage before attacking back. The felinefolk didn't know what to do; he couldn't control enough magic to do any damage; what he could control was mostly through the bond.
But he was fast, very fast.
Hyun, I'll distract him to give you a clear shot, he called through the bond. The next instant he was out of HyunJoong's grasp, purposely darting right in front of the demon to get it's attention. The felinefolk used tree branches to maneuver quickly out of the way of an attack, swinging up into a tree and back out again as the tree was turned to ash.
“Saeng!” HyunJoong called out, too late to stop the felinefolk, and he bit his lip in worry, watching YoungSaeng dart from tree to tree as each was destroyed.
There was no helping it. He needed to at least incapitate the demon before YoungSaeng got hurt.
Quickly gathering up enough energy, HyunJoong began firing at the demon rapidly, not letting up until even as it let out howls of pain, trying to fight back.
JungMin kept firing at the other demon, but was running into a problem; yes the spelled bullets hurt, a lot, but the demon was too fast to be caught half the time. Thaestae had reached the same conclusion and was working on another spell.
Go! White threads spilled from JungMin's fingertips and solidified into thin lances, pinning the demon to a tree. It gave JungMin and KyuJong a few seconds pause to finish off that demon, just as the one HyunJoong was attacking disappeared.
YoungSaeng watched warily from up in a tree, making sure they were both gone. "Were those high-level demons?"
No...lower-level imps, Thaestae replied. Sent on ahead before their masters.
“That was what I was afraid of.” HyunJoong muttered, straightening up. The imps were already rather nasty to deal with, then what more their masters.
“Come on! We need to get to the rest!” KyuJong quickly grabbed onto JungMin’s hand, pulling forward. The more time they wasted, the more likely things would degenerate from bad to worst.
YoungSaeng dropped down beside HyunJoong, hurrying with them. He could sense HyungJoon up ahead, the others nearby.
Heading into the forest, the scene was worsening. The trees were still standing, but they were little more than twigs with cracked branches. Leaves, grass, and half of the bark were gone. The red sky could be clearly seen through the branches.
There was the sound of fighting all around them, spell casters and non-humans battling demon imps. The ground rolled under their feet a little, earth cracking and making JungMin stumble.
KyuJong turned around, just in time to see the ground split up in front of them. Eyes widening, he tried to reach out to JungMin, only to be driven back as the crack deepened into a crevice. “Min!”
Yelping in surprise, JungMin hurriedly backed up as well to avoid falling into the crevice. He didn't know how far down it went, but he didn't want to find out. Whole trees were falling in with loud crashing and snapping noises. By the time the ground had somewhat settled, the crevice was far too wide for even the non-humans to jump. And it left JungMin separated from the others.
"Shit...” JungMin looked up and down the crevice's length, searching for a way to get across and rejoin the others. It looked like it might end further on. "Keep going, I'll get across further up," he yelled.
“No, wait, Min!” KyuJong quickly unfurled his wings, trying to get to JungMin, only be thwarted by more imps appearing. “Damn!”
HyunJoong quickly began to fire at the imps, trying to clear a pathway for KyuJong. “KyuJong! You go after JungMin. We’ll take care of these! Saeng! Go find Daniel hyung!”
JungMin had already disappeared on the other side of the crevice, searching for a way across. YoungSaeng wavered in indecision, not wanting to leave HyunJoong alone. But he could sense Tablo nearby, as well as Mithra, and getting them would be of far more help. He darted off quickly, running as fast as he could.
Clearing a path took longer than KyuJong wanted, and although he was worried about JungMin, he couldn’t really bring himself to leave HyunJoong entirely alone either. Staying until the number of imps had dwindled down to a manageable size, KyuJong turned to HyunJoong, shouting, “You sure you can handle yourself here?”
“Yeah!” HyunJoong called back, ducking and rolling to dodge an attack. “Go on to JungMin! It’s dangerous for him to be alone!”
KyuJong bit back the reply that it’d be dangerous for HyunJoong to be alone either. He could sense that YoungSaeng had already gotten to Tablo. HyunJoong would be able to fend for himself for a little while. “Alright! I’ll meet up with you guys once I get Min.”
HyunJoong didn’t even spare a glance as KyuJong took off, flying across the crevice. A few more imps and…
“…Crap.” Was the only word HyunJoong managed to get out before he was practically floored by an enormous energy blooming a few meters above from where he was.
A demon had appeared.
JungMin had run quite a ways down the length of the crevice before he realized something. He could sense the others...and HyungJoon had been separated by the crevice as well. Turning around, he went to where he could sense the White Rabbit instead, just as Thaestae let out a curse. There's a middle-level demon here.
"Your level?"
Yes.
"Great," JungMin clenched his teeth. They were working their way up. If a high-level demon came through, it was all over. "HyungJoon!" he yelled.
The White Rabbit blasted an imp into nothing, panting a little as he whirled around. "JungMin! Where are the others?!"
"On the other side of the crevice," JungMin replied, getting to him before stopping. "What are we doing?"
"The portal's too big, and we don't have enough energy," HyungJoon shook his head, hands clenched into fists.
"You...you mean we can't close it?" JungMin demanded, heart sinking. HyungJoon swallowed thickly.
"I'm thinking, we'll come up with something, we have to." The White Rabbit pushed JungMin back the way he came. "Get back to the others, get rid of as many demons as you can! I'll let you know what's happening."
Meaning HyungJoon was just as lost as the rest of them. JungMin drew in a shaky breath before he headed back to where the crevice was, continuing his search for a way across. What were they going to do?
The distortions were making it hard for KyuJong to track down anything. Unlike the rest, KyuJong’s magic was mostly offensive. And now, he made use of it, fighting against a mid-level demon in his half-form.
“Damn.” KyuJong growled, attacking the demon again and cursing as it dodged. “I don’t have time for you!”
Meanwhile, HyunJoong wasn’t having an easy time with the demon that had appeared on his end.
“Gah!” HyunJoong grunted as he rolled to the side, the demon’s strike barely missing him. “Come on, Saeng…”
The ground rumbled again; another earthquake?
Suddenly a stream of sand came shooting out of the ground and caged the demon in, long enough for shots to ring out. The combination of spiritual energy finally overpowered the demon and it disappeared.
"Hyun!" YoungSaeng ran to his partner, pulling him up off the ground and hugging him tightly as Tablo and Mithra ran after him.
“Phew… that was close.” HyunJoong sighed, hugging YoungSaeng and placing a soft kiss on the felinefolk’s head in thanks. “Daniel hyung! What’s the situation now?”
“We’re trying to figure out a way to close the portal.” Tablo panted, obviously tired out. He hadn’t had much sleep before this since the foreign agents had begun coming in. “In the meantime, we just need to hang on.”
“We don’t have much time though.” HyunJoong noted. That had been a middle-level demon. Soon, the big shots would be coming through.
"We're going to need to make more time," Mithra said. "HyungJoon's trapped on the other side of this hole in the ground, and Tukutz...who knows where he is. Where are the others?"
"JungMin got stuck on the other side as well, and KyuJong went after him," YoungSaeng replied, eyes worried as he looked up at the portal above them. "None of the ways we discussed before would work?"
"We don't have enough collective energy," Mithra shook his head. "HyungJoon was working on an emergency teleport to get more people here before the mid-level demons came through...but I don't think it's possible now, the distortions are interfering with everything."
HyunJoong bit his lip, deep in thought. “If I can meet up with HyungJoon. I might be able to help him focus his spells and get past the distortions.”
“That might be the only possible solution now.” Daniel glanced at Mithra before nodding. “Let’s go see if we can get to HyungJoon.”
"It's impossible to get through the crevice where we are now," YoungSaeng replied. "KyuJong had wings, but none of us do. It's too wide to jump."
"If we find a narrower section I can create a bridge for us," Mithra said firmly, starting to run. "Let's go!"
More mid-level demons were coming through, and where before the spell casters and non-humans had been able to hold off the imps...they were starting to die now. YoungSaeng could smell blood in the air, so much blood.
HyunJoong squeezed YoungSaeng hand as they took off in search of HyungJoon. They needed to hurry, or getting more people in wouldn’t matter. Not when the people on their side were getting slaughtered.
Meanwhile, KyuJong had finally finished off the demon, flying off in search of JungMin again. He paused when he finally spotted a familiar signature, swooping down. “HyungJoon! Have you seen JungMin?”
HyungJoon yelped in surprise, whirling around so fast his rabbit ears hit his face. "KyuJong!" The White Rabbit was looking distressed; all attempts to form a portal and bring more people in had failed because of the increased strength of the portal to the demon world. "JungMin, yeah, he went in that direction," he pointed. "Where are the others?"
The ground rolled under their feet and sent the rabbit sprawling. Another demon appeared, drawn to the two strong energy signatures.
“Tch…” KyuJong growled, grabbing HyungJoon, and flying out of the way, while sending attacks back. “They’re still on the other side. I need to get to JungMin!”
HyungJoon scrambled to get out of the way, throwing up restraints on the mid-level demon attacking them to buy time to get away. "JungMin's fine last I saw, the demons are ignoring him for the most part because his lack of spiritual energy covers for Thaestae's. KyuJong, we don't have enough energy to close the portal," he panted, looking up at the vortex in the sky.
KyuJong bit his lip. He was itching to get back to JungMin, but he knew that if they didn’t close the portal, no one would be surviving. “What do you propose we do?”
"I don't know," HyungJoon sighed, swallowing. "And I can't find Tukutz at all in this mess. We need to regroup, right now. If we don't think of something...” The portal would be letting high-level demons through in minutes; he could feel them arriving.
“…” KyuJong bit his lip, casting one last longing look in JungMin’s direction. “Alright. I’ll fly you back to where they are. Hang on tight!”
And without waiting for an answer, KyuJong quickly picked HyungJoon up by his arms, flying at full speed towards the crevice.
Yelping in surprise, the rabbit held on to KyuJong's sleeve as they passed over the crevice, not daring to look down.
The group running alongside it slowed to a stop as KyuJong appeared with HyungJoon in his grasp. "Well that's one way to do it," Mithra remarked wryly. "HyungJoon, any luck?"
HyungJoon was placed on his feet, stumbling before straightening. "No, the vortex is interfering with anything coming and leaving the area," he shook his head, looking up at it. "We don't have much time, and we don't have enough raw energy to close it."
“I could transfer energy to you and clear the interference to help you get people in.” HyunJoong quickly offered, “We should be able to do at least that.”
“And quick. Or there won’t be enough people left here to make up the numbers.” Daniel added, his eyes still darting about to watch for an attack.
HyungJoon swallowed thickly. "Okay, we'll try that. It's the interference I'm mostly worried about...ready when you are." He drew in a breath and let his eyes turn white, restarting the emergency transportation spell and striving to reach past the demon vortex.
HyunJoong was about to aid HyungJoon in activating the spell when a sudden wave of energy bloomed barely ten meters from where they were. The sudden pain in his head was almost overwhelming, and HyunJoong didn’t even realize he’d fallen to the ground.
“C-crap.” Daniel bit his lip, taking a step back. Of all the times for a high-level demon to appear.
YoungSaeng staggered back, eyes wide at the immense energy signature. It was huge, ten times stronger than the mid-level demon from before. Driven to his knees next to HyunJoong, feeling the backlash of the pain through their bond, the felinefolk grabbed his partner's arm with shaking hands and tried to shield him from the pain.
HyungJoon somehow managed to stay standing, body trembling a little as he redirected his focus to this new threat. He threw up a shield around them bare seconds before the demon attacked, the white barrier wavering and cracking under the force.
This wasn’t the time to crash under pressure, and HyunJoong grit his teeth, throwing up a secondary shield, just in time as HyungJoon’s shield fell. Surprised, the demon had fallen back, but it would only be a matter of time before it attacked again.
“Tch…” Tablo cursed under his breath, pulling out several ready-made barrier spells, hoping to slow the demon down. “Retreat!”
So...that was it? They'd lost?
YoungSaeng pulled HyunJoong up to his feet as HyungJoon moved to pull up another shield, drawing energy from Tukutz who he could finally sense nearby. Even as they held this demon back with barrier after barrier, he could sense more high-level demons on the way, only minutes away from appearing.
Mithra sent the order to retreat to all the spell casters and nonhumans in the area, those that were left. The amount of life energies he could sense was nearly half of what there had been, and rapidly decreasing.
“JungMin…” KyuJong muttered to himself, practically panicking now. He needed to find his partner, and make sure they both got out of here. Quickly spreading his wings, KyuJong shot up, departing from the group to find JungMin.
“KyuJong!” HyunJoong yelled, spotting the ankou taking off - they couldn’t afford to split up now. But before he could do anything, the demon attacked again and he yelped, feeling the strengthening pressure with each blow the demon lay.
He needed to do something. But there was only one thing that he could think of now. Something only him, as a Merus, could do. And it wasn’t something that any of the other would agree on.
But…
HyunJoong glanced at YoungSaeng, the felinefolk struggling with his weight to get them both out of there. And he closed his eyes, feeling his resolve strengthen.
“Saeng…” HyunJoong whispered with a smile, before he closed his eyes and quickly severed the bond between them, pushing YoungSaeng away. “I love you.”
Taking a step backwards, HyunJoong took in a deep breath, and let loose the pure energy that was stored inside him - an amount that only he, as a Merus, could hold.
Demons were attracted to pure energy. They would be drawn to it, trying to devour it.
And they would invade the source in hopes for more.
HyunJoong was offering himself as a trap.
YoungSaeng felt something inside him snap in two a second before HyunJoong suddenly released such a large amount of energy, it forced those around him to the ground as all barriers evaporated into the air. A loud keen rose into the air, demons turning towards the source of that energy.
"HyunJoong, don't!" HyungJoon yelled, figuring out first what the Merus was trying to do. YoungSaeng stared with wide eyes, realizing the bond was broken when he couldn't feel HyunJoong's thoughts and feelings anymore, couldn't feel anything.
Then the demons attacked. YoungSaeng felt arms pulling him back away, Tukutz throwing up a shield around them all...except for HyunJoong.
"HYUN!" YoungSaeng screamed as the high-level demon disappeared inside HyunJoong's body, followed by other demons drawn to the Merus' power.
For a moment, everything was quiet - as if time had stopped still. All the demons in the area had gone, the malicious energy absent. It was almost as if everything was all right.
Then HyunJoong let out a bloodcurdling scream, falling to the floor in agony. His body was being ripped apart from the inside as the demons fought for dominance to take over his body. And his eyes, opened to reflect a fraction of the struggle inside, flashed from red to brown as he fought both the demons for taking over, and his own instincts to push the demons out to protect himself.
"Let me go!" YoungSaeng yelled, trying to get free of Tukutz's grip. He had to help; he had to get the demons out of him. It was too much, HyunJoong was going to die.
Turning around, JungMin stared in the direction of the sudden energy signature, definitely not from a demon and through the roof in power. But it was quickly becoming tainted. "What the hell..."
That's the Merus, Thaestae said quietly. The high-level demons will be here soon...we're out of time.
"No...no, no, no," JungMin shook his head, swallowing. "There has to be something. We need energy to close the portal, right?"
Yes, but there is not enough energy available...unless...
Perking up at that, JungMin instantly turned his attention to the demon inside him. "Unless what, Thaestae?"
I was hoping not to resort to this...but...
And he told JungMin what needed to be done. The color drained out of the human's face, before he gave a shaky breath. "There's no other way?"
No...our time's up.
"...Okay," JungMin nodded. "The hotspot's near here, right?"
Yes, to your right.
"Okay," JungMin headed off in that direction. He hoped KyuJong was okay, and would forgive him. "Can you connect me to HyungJoon, he needs to know about this."
Watching with wide eyes and tears gathering as HyunJoong screamed and thrashed, HyungJoon tried not to look at the felinefolk struggling to be free beside him. Suddenly he felt a light touch in the back of his mind, and listening to it, his eyes widened in shock. "...Oh no..."
He tried to reply, but the connection had already been severed. Instead, he reached out to KyuJong. KyuJong!
KyuJong had felt what happened as well, but he’d only let it distract him for a bit before he continued to search for JungMin. The high-level demons were coming, and he needed to be by the human before that happened.
What?! He snapped back when HyungJoon called to him. He was beyond frustrated, the energy in the area messing with his senses as he tried to scry of JungMin.
JungMin’s at the center of the vortex, where it originated! the White Rabbit called, barely able to be understood through all the interference. He and Thaestae are going to close the portal!
Wait…. What?! KyuJong sent back in slowly growing horror. They’re going to close the portal? But they can’t! How are they going to do that?
HyungJoon’s mind-voice was sad. Thaestae said he’s just barely missing enough energy to do it himself, but with their combined energy they can pull it off. Combined spiritual…and life energy.
KyuJong’s eyes widened and in that moment, he lost control of his emotions. There was a bright burst of light as he transformed into his full form, his eyes filled with a terrible anger as he let out a scream that was a combination of pure rage and sorrow.
His full set of wings extended, the ankou began to fly at full speed towards the center of the vortex, uncaring if any other humans saw him or not.
Following Thaestae’s instructions as the demon began to lay the spell, JungMin looked up at a sudden increased energy signature. He knew without Thaestae telling him that this one was KyuJong, and he swallowed thickly, drawing in a shaky breath.
Ready? Thaestae asked softly.
“Yeah,” JungMin smiled sadly, wiping away tears as he stood directly under the middle of the vortex, closing his eyes.
Thaestae spoke in his own language, voice echoing with power in JungMin’s head. White threads snapped into existence around him, the ground below him trembling as the threads secured themselves to him. One on each wrist, one for each ankle…and a fifth, the end disappearing inside his chest.
And the spell was in place, unmovable. All that was left was for Thaestae to speak the last words, and it would all be over.
KyuJong could feel the spell starting, and it only drove him to move faster. Maybe, just maybe, he could be in time to prevent this. There should be some other way. There must be.
“JungMin!” He could see the human now, it was just a bit more, a bit more, and maybe he could try to sever the spell. Just a little bit more…
Hearing KyuJong’s voice, JungMin’s resolve shook, his eyes opening to see the ankou in his full form. Looking at him now wouldn’t hurt JungMin; Death had already put its mark on him.
Blinking back the tears, JungMin managed to smile. He reached up to lightly touch the dove pendant around his neck, feeling the clipped wing. He wasn’t going to let all those people down…no matter what.
“I love you, Kyu,” he said softly, looking up at the ankou who was just feet away.
Do it.
Thaestae shouted out the last words in his head, and everything went white for a split second. The threads attached to JungMin’s body drawing out everything the demon and human had to offer before snapping.
It was at that moment that KyuJong reached and grabbed JungMin’s body, pulling him away from the hotspot, JungMin's form cradled in his arms.
But it was already too late, the vortex above shuddered, as if something had pierced it. Then, there was a sound like the screech of a murdered cat and a single point of light burst from the center of the vortex, the darkness being sucked inside like dirt into a vacuum cleaner.
All around, the demons were being sucked back into the vortex. And there were cries as some desperately tried to stay on the current plane - but the force was too strong, pulling all of them back, regardless of how powerful they were.
It was the same for the demons trapped inside HyunJoong’s body. Pulled by the strength of the reversing vortex, they tried one last desperate attempt to take HyunJoong's body over, in order to escape their fate. But sensing the change, HyunJoong focused on pushing the demons out of his body - an easy task now due to the external force.
HyunJoong shuddered as the last of the demons exited his body, before he sank back to the ground, motionless, breath harsh, but relieved. He didn’t know what happened, but they must have done it - his stunt would not have been in vain then.
With a final screech the vortex closed, all the red in the sky being sucked back to its center until it was completely gone.
Tukutz slowly loosened his grip on the felinefolk, YoungSaeng bolting to HyunJoong’s side immediately. “Hyun! Hyun, are you okay?” he cried out, begging the Merus to reply, to be all right.
Someone was calling him. Someone important. And HyunJoong crack open an eye to see YoungSaeng staring down at him and he grinned shakily. “S-Saeng…” He croaked, lifting a weak hand up to cup the felinefolk’s face, only to be seized by coughs racking his whole body.
HyungJoon looked up at the clear sky, eyes wide. “They did it,” he whispered.
“Yeah… they did…” Tukutz frowned at the scene before him, before looking up to see a lone figure in the sky. “But such a high cost…”
HyungJoon sniffled a little, wiping the tears from his eyes as he looked up as well. Then he returned his gaze to YoungSaeng and HyunJoong. The Merus was weak, very weak.
“I need to use my ability again,” he said shakily, looking up at Tukutz. “Or he might not make it.” YoungSaeng was clutching HyunJoong’s hand tightly, crying.
“Don’t hesitate to take more from me when you do.” Tukutz didn’t even bother persuading HyungJoon otherwise. “You might be able to turn the time on others, but no one can turn the time on you.”
Nodding, HyungJoon stood and walked to HyunJoong, placing his hand on YoungSaeng’s shoulder. “I need to heal him,” he said quietly. “You’re going to have to let go for a minute.”
Looking up at him, tears rolled down the felinefolk’s cheeks before he nodded. He turned back to HyunJoong and leaned down to kiss him softly, before moving back out of the way.
Mithra watched as HyungJoon started to work the spell against time, the bubble slowly forming around HyunJoong. “What now?” he asked Tablo quietly, sitting next to his partner.
“I don’t know.” Tablo sighed, rubbing his face and looking upwards. “… Maybe we should warn people not to stare too hard at the figure in the sky. I think KyuJong is in full form…”
He looked down, reminded of what KyuJong must be doing up there. He had been keeping tabs on the vortex, and so he knew what had happened…
There was no way JungMin could have survived such a spell.
Mithra nodded, gaze down on the ground rather than on the ankou in the sky. "I will find who's still alive and round them up to bring back," he said quietly, squeezing his partner's shoulder before standing. "Stay, keep an eye on them..." he looked towards the others. The bubble around HyunJoong was fully opaque, the White Rabbit drawing energy from Tukutz to complete the spell. YoungSaeng watched with tears in his eyes, praying.
Tukutz frowned as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, feeling a little dizzy. Although he had expended a lot of energy before this, it was still taking the White Rabbit abnormally more energy than usual to complete the spell.
Finally after what seemed like ages, a crack ran through the time bubble, the spell complete. And the whole thing shattered and disappeared, HyungJoon taking a shaking step back.
Watching nervously, YoungSaeng's eyes widened when he saw not the HyunJoong he had expected to see...but a child HyunJoong, lying peaceful and serene on the ground. "H....Hyun?" he whispered, crawling forward.
"It's gone," HyungJoon whispered, white eyes slowly opening again.
"What?" YoungSaeng looked at the younger man.
"The curse is gone," HyungJoon murmured, before the white disappeared from his eyes and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Tukutz quickly ran forward, picking the White Rabbit from the ground. “Gee… you didn’t take nearly enough yet again…” He murmured, slowly transferring a bit of energy from himself to his partner.
Tablo wasn’t too far behind, bending down over the child HyunJoong and placing a hand over his forehead with a frown. “He’s… as he was… ten years ago.”
YoungSaeng's eyes widened, looking down at the child and scooping HyunJoong up into his arms carefully. "Did...did HyungJoon really turn time back ten years?" he asked shakily, looking back at them. HyunJoong's body had been completely reverted back to when he was only ten? What of his mind?
Tablo nodded shakily, wondering the same question as YoungSaeng. But his fears were addressed immediately by Tukutz’s statement.
“Don’t worry. He will get back his memories… soon enough.”
Giving a shaky sigh, YoungSaeng pressed a soft kiss to HyunJoong's forehead, tears spilling over his cheeks. HyunJoong would be all right. He was back to being ten, but with the curse gone, he would age normally. YoungSaeng could deal with that. Now he just needed to wait for HyunJoong to wake up.
"Can we go back home now?" he asked quietly, looking up at Tablo with glassy eyes.
Tablo nodded, smiling lightly as he put a shoulder on YoungSaeng as he helped the felinefolk up. “Come on, let’s get HyunJoong home.”
Tukutz watched as the trio began to walk slowly back, looking down at the unconscious White Rabbit in his arms. “Do you think that was necessary, HyungJoon?” He murmured, sighing. “And after you did all that, you leave me with all the hard details. I hope it won’t be too big of a blow for YoungSaeng to know that HyunJoong won’t be waking up… for a while…”
“… And there’s also that person I’m going to have to deal with, huh?” Tukutz murmured to himself as he felt another presence near. And he looked up to see a magnificent sight - an ankou in all its full glory, flying down towards him. And he was glad at this moment that he was the partner of the White Rabbit, and thus even depleted like this, he could gaze upon KyuJong in his full form.
But what marred the magnificent sight was the body cradled gently in the ankou's arms as he landed, eyes that had been usually known as emotionless filled with tears and sorrow.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Tukutz waiting, and KyuJong searching. Searching for something in Tukutz's face, as if a truth that he wanted was there, rather than the truth that he held in his hands.
“He’s gone.” KyuJong finally whispered, “He’s really gone.”
Tukutz didn’t say anything. Not even when KyuJong fell to his knees, burying his face against a shell that once held the soul of a human he held dear. Not even when he let out a cry of pure grief, silver tears of healing falling wastefully from his eyes.
It was because there was nothing else that could be said.
Park JungMin was dead.