Soulless: Catalyst - Chapter Two
Title: Soulless: Catalyst
Chapter: 2/11
Fandom: SS501, cameos of Super Junior, BEAST, U-KISS and SHINee
Pairing: KyuMinSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: AU, Dystopia, Angst
Summary: Arc II. Their mission failed. The identity of the Soulless was discovered, but it wasn’t who any of them expected it to be, not even the Soulless himself. Every question answered brings ten in its place, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets. Who can you trust? The search for the truth has become a ticking time bomb, and they may not all survive its detonation.
A/N: Please refer to my master fic list for past chapters. Do not own the characters, but the plot is all mine. Please comment <3
It was a good four hours of waiting and staking out the facility surroundings for any sign of what had happened to their missing cellmates when HyungJoon and HyunJoong finally had to admit the other three Soulfuls had been captured.
There was no reply on the headsets, nor through the internal com lines despite calling through them over and over. HyungJoon wanted to gather more forces and rush in to get them out, but that just wasn’t possible.
”We can’t afford anyone else being captured,” KiBum told them quietly through the line. ”Come back home.”
“But we can’t just leave them here,” HyungJoon pleaded, looking up at HyunJoong with wide eyes. If they left, chances were good they would never see KyuJong, YoungSaeng or JungMin ever again.
“We have no choice,” HyunJoong replied, not liking the idea any more than the younger android did. His jaw clenched as he looked down at the facility below, before standing with a sigh and holding a hand out to HyungJoon. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll be able to help them better if we come up with a good plan than if we were to rush in there unprepared.”
Looking up at him, HyungJoon didn’t move for a moment, trying to think of some way to fix this, some explanation for how things could have gone so horribly wrong. But he could find no answer, and his shoulders dropped as he reached up grudgingly and took the cell leader’s hand, letting HyunJoong pull him to his feet.
It was a slow, careful climb back to the ground, both of them wary for Model 3’s that might be lurking around the corners. If the other three Soulfuls had been captured, security would be higher; the government knew they usually went around in larger groups than that. There was always, always someone on backup just in case.
Turning the corner, HyungJoon drew in a sharp breath and backpedaled to hide around the edge of the building. There were a pair of Model 3 just around the corner, standing around and looking from one edge of the street to the other. On guard.
Biting his lower lip as he glanced around the corner as well, HyunJoong motioned at HyungJoon to back up and take another alley. They weren’t getting past these ones.
Nodding, HyungJoon backed up slowly…and froze when he felt something sharp pressing against his back.
“Don’t move if you want your circuits intact.”
HyunJoong cursed, and without even looking first, slipped his blade out of one sleeve and shoved it behind him until it met soft resistance, breaking through. A sharp intake of breath told him he’d gotten his target. At the same time, HyungJoon tucked and rolled, feet coming up to slam into the Mode 3’s chest and knock him back.
Whirling around, HyunJoong pinned the guard to the ground and with a harsh swipe across the other android’s neck, severed his head.
HyungJoon panted as he scrambled back to his feet, looking around. The commotion had caught the attention of the other pair of 3’s watching the streets.
“We need to move,” HyungJoon said, eyes wide as the guards turned to face them. “Right now.”
“Then just don’t say so, go! HyunJoong pushed HyungJoon from behind and ran after the younger Soulful, sprinting across the street and into an adjacent alley.
They knew they were being followed, and neither of them stopped. Truthfully, neither of them would have dreamed of outrunning a Model 3, if it weren’t for the numerous upgrades and speed boosters they both had under their skin.
But even so, they could only be as fast as a 3, not faster. They had to lose them before they got to HQ, or they’d be in an even worse situation.
“Split up,” HyunJoong ordered, glancing to HyungJoon who was sprinting beside him. “Lose your tail, and meet me at the entrance in 4-10. Don’t do anything idiotic.”
“Yes sir,” HyungJoon panted as they approached a fork in the alley.
“Three, two, one, go!”
They both took off down opposite sides of the alley, HyunJoong disappearing into the shadows. Not daring to look back, HyungJoon put on a burst of speed and darted down alley after alley, searching for a way out…or up.
If it hadn’t been for the night vision implants, he would have completely missed the overhanging metal staircase that ran up one of the apartment buildings. Grinning, HyungJoon leapt up as he ran and felt his fingers catch on the lowest bar, using his momentum to swing himself up.
Alley running was HyunJoong’s thing, not his. More often than not, he got himself so turned around he would run in a circle and smash into the guards. But give him a rooftop…and that he could do. Sure it was open, more chance of being shot, but if he had a good head start, he could drop into whichever alley he wanted and be gone before the guards could figure out where he went.
Climbing as fast as he can, the echo of a gunshot and ping of a bullet ricocheting off metal made him wince. Yeah, he had a tail. Figured the pair of guards would split up as well. That was fine, he could take care of one. As long as they didn’t call reinforcements
Within seconds HyungJoon was climbing onto the roof, rolling to his feet and running down its length. It was dark, and the dirt from a low-lying cloud blew in his face as he ran, but that was fine. It would disorientate the guard more than him.
It was easy to tell when the guard reached the roof too; the gunshots started again. HyungJoon ran in a staggered pattern to avoid being nailed; one thing he had learned fast was that running in a straight line was equivalent to standing still and letting them shoot you.
Jumping from roof to roof, he dropped down into a wide enough alley to avoid braining himself on a wall, tucking and rolling to minimize damage. His system shot up warnings, telling him he was going to run out of energy if he kept this up for much longer, but that was fine. He was just about there.
Activating his speed boosters again, he darted around the corner…and slammed right into a group of Model 3’s just standing there waiting for orders.
Crap. HyunJoong was never going to let him live this down.
Cold hands hauled him up from the ground, and HyungJoon struggled, slamming his blade into a soft stomach before the knife was torn out of his hands. Fingers wrapped around his throat, and HyungJoon gasped for breath as he was lifted up off the ground, struggling and trying to remove the iron-hard grip from his neck.
“Look what we have here. Another one for the testing lab.”
Fingers slipped under HyungJoon’s shirt, unlocking his chest panel to shut him down.
“Incoming!”
A large something slammed into the Model 3 holding him up, and HyungJoon was dumped on the ground with a yelp. Panting as he rubbing his throat and looked around, his eyes widened to see Key practically wrestling with the Model 3, sitting on the guard’s chest and struggling to keep him down.
One of the other guards leveled a gun at Key’s head, but he never got to pull the trigger. A shot rang out and the guard jerked around before falling, a hole blasted between his eyes. MinHo aimed again, firing at another guard who dodged out of the way and attacked him, the Soulful slamming into the ground hard.
“Oh no you don’t!” TaeMin dropped down from a balcony, knocking the guard off MinHo. Together, TaeMin held the Model 3 still while MinHo got into position to tear the guard’s head off in a shower of sparks and wires.
Hands pulled HyungJoon to his feet, and HyungJoon blinked owlishly at JinKi, who was grinning a little sheepishly. “Hey. Sorry we’re late, you’re hard to catch up with.”
“What are you doing here?” HyungJoon exclaimed, ducking to avoid a stray gunshot as JongHyun leapt into the fray. “You’re all too new to be on fieldwork, and is he even supposed to be out of HQ?” he asked, looking at Key who had finally stabbed a knife through his chosen guard’s power core. Last he remembered, Key hadn’t been able to even walk down the hallway without falling over.
“DongHae sent us out to make sure you got back in one piece, and Key wouldn’t let us leave if we didn’t take him along,” JinKi smiled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. “It’s all good, we figured out we can throw him around to make up for his rubber legs, and he’ll take care of the rest.”
The guards had by then been taken care of, TaeMin standing up and wincing as he pushed a dislocated shoulder back into place.
“You…threw him at the guard,” HyungJoon blinked owlishly.
“It’s faster than waiting for him to hobble and crawl his way over,” JongHyun laughed, and gave an ‘ow’ when Key threw the mangled remains of a power core at his head.
HyungJoon blinked at them all, then sighed in relief. “Okay. Let’s meet Hyun and get back to HQ, before any of you manage to kill yourselves.”
“Hey, we saved you,” JinKi protested. “We aren’t that bad. Come on, let’s go!”
He turned and marched to the end of the street. Suddenly he was nose-to-nose with a figure that’d just turned the corner, making JinKi yell and backpedal over his own feet, falling onto his rear.
“…” HyunJoong looked down at JinKi in amusement. “I thought I heard someone squawking.”
“Our fearless leader,” TaeMin gave a long-suffering sigh. JongHyun laughed as he walked over to crouch next to Key, motioning at the handicapped android to get onto his back.
“I can walk,” Key grumbled.
“Sure you can, but I think we’re trying to get back to HQ before dawn. Come on, or I’m getting MinHo to carry you on his shoulder, and I know how much you love that.” JongHyun grinned at the disgruntled Soulful. Key glared at him before grudgingly shifting so he could climb on JongHyun’s back. The other man stood after a moment, making sure he had a secure grip on Key’s legs.
“Let’s go then, before someone else gets into trouble,” HyunJoong said, smiling at HyungJoon who sulked. The group headed back towards the HQ quickly; it wouldn’t be long before someone came to see what happened to the group of Model 3 they’d just destroyed.
“So, what happened to the rest of your cell?” JinKi asked HyunJoong, blinking at him. “DongHae didn’t say much, but he looked rather panicky.”
HyunJoong was quiet, glancing at HyungJoon. The younger android was looking down at the ground as he walked. “We’ll explain once we’re inside,” he said after a moment, turning back to JinKi. The younger cell leader nodded, looking worried.
Thankfully there were no other situations, MinHo and TaeMin keeping careful watch for other Model 3’s. As they reached the secret entrance to HQ, HyunJoong glanced back in the direction of the facility before sighing and slipping inside.
The hallways were busy with movement, androids bustling back and forth. It seemed the entire first cell was running around as though someone had lit a fire under their heels.
This was quickly explained when HyunJoong saw the thunderous expression on HeeChul’s face. Exchanging a look with JinKi, the older android stepped up to catch HeeChul’s attention. “I think we should have a cell leader meeting, right now,” he said firmly.
HeeChul eyed him. “Yes, we definitely need to talk. Someone needs to get hold of DooJoon.”
“You know he doesn’t come to the meetings unless it’s absolutely necessary,” HyunJoong shook his head, walking along beside HeeChul as they headed towards the meeting room. The third cell was their undercover agent, rarely seen around, and their leader was seen even less.
“Well, I think this is definitely necessary, don’t you?” HeeChul snapped.
HyunJoong sighed, rubbing his temple. “We’ll see if KiBum can reach him. HyungJoon, can you find KiBum and tell him we’re having a meeting in ten minutes?”
“DongHae too,” HeeChul put in. “He’s been in on KiBum’s secrets for a while, and he’ll be easier to get answers out of.”
HyungJoon bit his lower lip and nodded, glancing at HyunJoong. The two exchanged a look, HyunJoong nodding slightly. He’d tell his cellmate what happened in the meeting.
Ducking his head, HyungJoon turned and left. HeeChul and HyunJoong continued walking to the meeting room in silence, JinKi following nervously. The rest of the fourth cell dispersed into the hallways.
By the time they’d reached the meeting room, KiBum was already there. “DongHae will be here soon,” he sighed, stepping into the room after them. “He’s a little overwhelmed at the moment.”
The only surviving Model 8 didn’t like to participate in Soulful activities regularly. The only reason he had gotten involved was that he believed the discovery of a Soulless in their organization was something that had to be dealt with, no matter his personal choices. HyunJoong felt bad for DongHae, knowing he wasn’t happy about being dragged into any of this.
“Don’t blame him,” HyunJoong murmured, sitting down in an empty chair. “And DooJoon? Is he coming?”
“No,” KiBum replied, sitting down as well. “I managed to reach him, but they’d got their own situation at the moment and he can’t spare the time to run down here. I’ll just relay what happens for him.”
“You’d think a Soulless would be a good enough reason to get down here,” HeeChul grumbled, not happy. They all looked up as DongHae slipped into the room silently and took a seat next to JinKi, looking nervous. They all tapped their wrists to turn off their microphones. “Okay, who starts?”
“I think you should,” HyunJoong said, eyeing the redhead leader. HeeChul looked like he was going to explode if he waited any longer.
HeeChul didn’t sit down, instead starting to pace. “YeSung overheard KiBum and DongHae talking about a Soulless in our group, and heard that they suspected KyuHyun. So you know what happened? We dragged him down to the infirmary and hooked him up with every monitor there, and got Henli to look through his code for the mark of a Soulless.”
He stopped pacing to look at HyunJoong. “You know what we found? He’s not a Soulless. But they definitely messed with him when he was caught ages ago by the facility. There was a parasite in him, acting as a decoy. It messed with his temperament a little, just enough to make us wonder…and distract us from the real Soulless.”
“Who is?” HyunJoong asked quietly, but HeeChul was shaking his head.
“Not a clue. But, SungMin and Henli have been looking through the parasite’s code, and identified that the Soulless must have been manufactured around the same time as KyuHyun was captured.” HeeChul smiled viciously. “We’re going to find out exactly who was manufactured then among us, and give them a very rough wake-up call.”
JinKi shivered a little. “What do you do to a Soulless when you catch them?”
KiBum sighed, resting his head in one hand. “We do to them what the government does to us. Figure out how they work, so we can better defend ourselves against them…then wipe their memory of everything they learned and destroy them.”
“Is that why your entire cell’s running around like their circuits are on a power overload?” HyunJoong asked.
HeeChul nodded. “They’re getting the manufacturing dates of all Soulfuls right now. So now we wait.”
Looking down at the table and nodding slowly, KiBum glanced at second cell leader. “Your turn, HyunJoong.”
HyunJoong sat up straight, rubbing his temple before he dropped his hand with a sigh. “My team was sent out to get into the government’s Soulless files, and find out who the Soulless was that way,” he said, looking at them all. KiBum and DongHae already knew all this, and HeeChul had bits of the story, but he was going over it all mostly for JinKi’s benefit. Their newest cell leader had been left out of the loop while he and his cell got used to living in HQ.
“The mission failed. They were in the right room, and were going through the files, when we suddenly lost connection with them. It’s been five hours since, and without any word from any of them, we can only assume they’ve been captured.”
“That’s a problem in and of itself,” KiBum said quietly. “Once they get to extracting information, our entire operation could be compromised.”
HyunJoong bit his lower lip. “I know JungMin and YoungSaeng have complicated firewalls in place to keep the facility out, which could buy us some time. KyuJong…” he trailed off, then swore. “KyuJong doesn’t have any firewalls, we never got around to giving him any.”
“Great,” HeeChul groaned. “So we need to evacuate then. The government could be getting ready to collect us right now.”
DongHae paled. “They’re going to come here?”
“Wait,” KiBum frowned. “I’ll get in contact with the third cell again, and see if they can keep an eye on what’s going on. We’ll get ready just in case, and begin to move things out, but we should still have some time. Even if the government gets the location of HQ, they would still need time to prepare the assault. The third cell will give us more than enough advance warning to get everyone out.”
“What about everything in the vault?” HyunJoong asked. “That needs planning, and a safe place to store them.”
“JongWoon knows of a place, we can send them all there,” KiBum said. HeeChul scowled at the name, but didn’t say anything.
“What about me?” DongHae asked quietly.
They all looked to him. “We’ll get you out, Hae,” KiBum smiled, trying to reassure the 8. “None of us are going to leave you here.”
“What about my team?” HyunJoong asked finally. “YoungSaeng, JungMin and KyuJong. You managed to get KyuHyun out, we can do the same.”
KiBum turned his attention to HyunJoong. “KyuHyun was held in one of the smaller facilities,” he said, frowning. “Your team is being held in the largest, most well-secured facilities in Old Korea. We won’t be able to get them out, it’s too risky.”
HyunJoong’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Those men are the closest thing HyungJoon and I have to brothers. I’m not leaving them to be dissected like malfunctioning drones.”
“We don’t have a choice, HyunJoong,” KiBum said firmly. “There’s nothing we can do for them. We have to prepare for a possible evacuation.”
“If we can get them out before the government extracts the information, we won’t have to evacuate!”
“HyunJoong!” KiBum’s eyes flashed in warning. “I’m sorry, I really am. But we can’t afford to lose anyone else. How would you expect to succeed? The fourth cell isn’t ready for something like infiltrating a facility, and half of the first cell will be busy assisting with evacuation procedures, which is most important right now. That leaves too few of us, too few in comparison to the amount of security you would face. It would be a slaughter.”
The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment, the other three in the room holding their breath. Finally HyunJoong looked away, leaning back in his seat without a word. KiBum sighed softly, the anger leaving his face.
“I really am sorry, HyunJoong,” he said quietly. “They were my friends too.” He looked to the others. “For now, we will start transferring everything in the vault to a safer location. I’ll get into contact with the third cell, and get them to-“
The harsh knocking on the door was their only warning before it flew open. Half of the first cell ran in, LeeTeuk looking frantic.
HeeChul opened his mouth to tell them off for running into a meeting, when he spotted the papers LeeTeuk clutched tightly. “You got all the manufacturing dates?” He demanded, standing abruptly.
LeeTeuk nodded. “We did, and we think we know who the Soulless is,” he said, voice shaking slightly.
“Who is it?” HeeChul asked sharply, walking over. When LeeTeuk hesitated, his eyes flitting about the room, HeeChul got impatient and tried to snatch the papers from him. “Park LeeTeuk, either you tell me who it is or I swear I’ll-“
“I’m sorry,” LeeTeuk said, quickly sidestepping HeeChul’s grab. “Someone else here has the right to…to know first,” he said, holding the papers to his chest. HeeChul frowned before backing off.
“Who is it?” JinKi asked quietly. He could see TaeMin poking his head around the group of first cell members, listening.
LeeTeuk turned to HyunJoong, eyes wide and sad.
“I’m sorry, HyunJoong…it’s KyuJong.”
**************************************************************
The only thing YoungSaeng could hear was the shaky sound of his own breathing. The large room was dark, and even though there were machines lining every wall, he couldn’t hear their steady hum. It would have been too comforting to hear it, so that was why he suspected the scientists had muted the noise before it could reach his ears.
The room was also cold, and despite being able to handle far worse temperatures than this, YoungSaeng shivered against the restraints that kept him in place. The very first thing he’d done was test their strength, straining against them in the hopes to at least hear the soft groan of metal shifting.
But the facility wasn’t taking any chances, not with a Model 3 like him, and he was bound so thoroughly even just turning his head was a strain.
There were others in the room, he could see them out of the corners of his eyes. Captives like him, and he had to check first to make sure none were from the Soulful cells. No, these were androids that never made it that far, speaking out of line and being picked up for it before the Soulfuls could find them and remove the tracking beacons inside them. But none of them were awake…just him.
He knew why they were keeping him awake. To monitor his responses, watch as his emotions slowly dropped into fear and despair, see if he would break. He wouldn’t give them that satisfaction…but it was hard to stay calm when they kept taking JungMin in and out of the room, the redhead’s eyes closed and body powered down.
Drawing in a shaky breath, YoungSaeng closed his eyes and hummed quietly to himself, a soft tune to distract from the silence. But his eyes snapped open again when the heavy door to the holding room was opened, hoping it was JungMin being brought back.
He refused to admit to himself the idea that, eventually, he would not be brought back at all.
It wasn’t JungMin, but the sound of stumbling feet caught his attention. That wasn’t a guard.
Managing to turn his head enough to see, YoungSaeng watched quietly as two guards entered with an android each slung over their shoulders and immobile. Between them, they pushed a third android forward, the man’s feet shuffling as he staggered forward with his head down.
Someone else was awake. YoungSaeng swallowed, watching as the three were strapped into place in empty spots along the wall opposite him. The guards left then, the room plunging back into darkness.
But the darkness didn’t bother him, having night-vision implants. YoungSaeng turned his attention to the three, once again to make sure he didn’t know them.
Eyes landing on one of the two powered down, his throat closed and stomach plummeted. HyungJoon?!
No, wait, he forced himself to calm down and take a second look. No, that wasn’t HyungJoon. They looked scarily similar, enough for this android to pass off as him at a first glance, but there were subtle differences. This wasn’t HyungJoon.
A sigh of relief left his lips and he blinked when the android that had been brought in awake jerked against his restraints, head snapping up as he looked around. “…Hello?” he called tentatively.
YoungSaeng realized he must not be able to see through the darkness, and didn’t know YoungSaeng was right across from him.
“I’d say ‘nice to meet you’, but I really wish you weren’t in here too,” YoungSaeng said quietly.
The other android blinked again, looking in the direction of his voice. After a pause, he gave a small smile. “I wish we weren’t in here either,” he said quietly. “Where is ‘here’ anyways? And who are you?”
“Let me guess, they took you right off the street?” YoungSaeng asked, bypassing the question of who he was for now. When the other man nodded, the Model 3 sighed. “This is the facility where they do research on Soulfuls.”
“…Soulfuls? The terrorists?” The other man blinked owlishly. “Wait, I think there’s been a mistake, my friends and I aren’t terrorists.”
Taking a closer look at them, YoungSaeng noticed the one he was talking to was a Model 4. The one who resembled HyungJoon so closely was a Model 7 as well, and the third was a Model 6.
His lips curled upwards knowingly. “Friends, huh? That’s strange, considering they’re both lower Models than you.”
When the Model 4 looked away, he knew he’d hit the nail on the head.
“They picked you up for being different. That makes you equivalent to a Soulful in their minds, despite not carrying the title,” YoungSaeng explained quietly.
“Why?” The other man asked.
“Because Soulfuls aren’t really just terrorists. We are capable of free thought, and making decisions for ourselves…like the decision you took to be friends with these two.” YoungSaeng tilted his head to one side. “What’s your name?”
“Name?” The Model 4 blinked at him. “…You’re not talking about my Model number, are you?”
YoungSaeng was surprised at that. “No, I’m not.” It usually took a few tries to get that in. “My name is YoungSaeng. It’s a little tricky to ask you for your name is I don’t have any other examples…”
“I know my name already.”
“I…What?” YoungSaeng stared at the other man. “…What’s your name?”
“Kevin,” the Model 4 replied without pause. “This is KiBum…” He nodded towards the android that looked like HyungJoon, “and he’s Eli,” he introduced the third android.
Another KiBum, YoungSaeng sighed to himself. They were up to three now. But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. “How did you find out your names? Did you talk with another Soulful before this?” He asked.
Kevin shook his head. “You’re the first. We just…started talking to each other, and didn’t really like the idea of always referring to each other as our numbers. Because of the hierarchy, it made it seem like we weren’t equals, and none of us liked that. So we came up with our own names.”
YoungSaeng was shocked at that. Genuine inspiration…without any prior influence. They were reprogramming themselves without any Soulful ever coming into contact with them. He’d never heard of anything like this, no plan to spread free thought in such a manner. They never thought it possible…there had to be a source of influence somewhere.
“Amazing,” he murmured.
Then he noticed Kevin looking around in worry, trying to see through the darkness.
“What’s wrong?”
The Model 4 looked back in his direction. “I’m looking to see if the others were taken here as well…”
“…Others?” YoungSaeng blinked owlishly, glancing across the room.
“Our other friends,” Kevin specified. “Us three were alone when they took us away, but if you can really be brought here just for being different, then…”
“Tell me what they look like, I can see in the dark,” YoungSaeng told him. As Kevin described four other androids, YoungSaeng looked around the room to confirm that no, they weren’t here.
He wanted to let the rest of his cell know to look out for four young androids, but he couldn’t. The one thing the scientists had done to him before shoving him in here was remove his com implants.
The two androids talked until the door opened again, and Kevin was taken away. In the dim light coming from the hallway, the Model 4 shot YoungSaeng a scared glance. YoungSaeng replied with the best reassuring smile he could muster.
He prayed for the other man but he wasn’t surprised to see when Kevin returned three hours later, he was powered off as well.
The Model 4 was strapped into the wall and the door closed again, returning YoungSaeng to the dark and the dead silence of the machines.
Chapter: 2/11
Fandom: SS501, cameos of Super Junior, BEAST, U-KISS and SHINee
Pairing: KyuMinSaeng
Rating: PG-16
Warning: AU, Dystopia, Angst
Summary: Arc II. Their mission failed. The identity of the Soulless was discovered, but it wasn’t who any of them expected it to be, not even the Soulless himself. Every question answered brings ten in its place, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets. Who can you trust? The search for the truth has become a ticking time bomb, and they may not all survive its detonation.
A/N: Please refer to my master fic list for past chapters. Do not own the characters, but the plot is all mine. Please comment <3
It was a good four hours of waiting and staking out the facility surroundings for any sign of what had happened to their missing cellmates when HyungJoon and HyunJoong finally had to admit the other three Soulfuls had been captured.
There was no reply on the headsets, nor through the internal com lines despite calling through them over and over. HyungJoon wanted to gather more forces and rush in to get them out, but that just wasn’t possible.
”We can’t afford anyone else being captured,” KiBum told them quietly through the line. ”Come back home.”
“But we can’t just leave them here,” HyungJoon pleaded, looking up at HyunJoong with wide eyes. If they left, chances were good they would never see KyuJong, YoungSaeng or JungMin ever again.
“We have no choice,” HyunJoong replied, not liking the idea any more than the younger android did. His jaw clenched as he looked down at the facility below, before standing with a sigh and holding a hand out to HyungJoon. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll be able to help them better if we come up with a good plan than if we were to rush in there unprepared.”
Looking up at him, HyungJoon didn’t move for a moment, trying to think of some way to fix this, some explanation for how things could have gone so horribly wrong. But he could find no answer, and his shoulders dropped as he reached up grudgingly and took the cell leader’s hand, letting HyunJoong pull him to his feet.
It was a slow, careful climb back to the ground, both of them wary for Model 3’s that might be lurking around the corners. If the other three Soulfuls had been captured, security would be higher; the government knew they usually went around in larger groups than that. There was always, always someone on backup just in case.
Turning the corner, HyungJoon drew in a sharp breath and backpedaled to hide around the edge of the building. There were a pair of Model 3 just around the corner, standing around and looking from one edge of the street to the other. On guard.
Biting his lower lip as he glanced around the corner as well, HyunJoong motioned at HyungJoon to back up and take another alley. They weren’t getting past these ones.
Nodding, HyungJoon backed up slowly…and froze when he felt something sharp pressing against his back.
“Don’t move if you want your circuits intact.”
HyunJoong cursed, and without even looking first, slipped his blade out of one sleeve and shoved it behind him until it met soft resistance, breaking through. A sharp intake of breath told him he’d gotten his target. At the same time, HyungJoon tucked and rolled, feet coming up to slam into the Mode 3’s chest and knock him back.
Whirling around, HyunJoong pinned the guard to the ground and with a harsh swipe across the other android’s neck, severed his head.
HyungJoon panted as he scrambled back to his feet, looking around. The commotion had caught the attention of the other pair of 3’s watching the streets.
“We need to move,” HyungJoon said, eyes wide as the guards turned to face them. “Right now.”
“Then just don’t say so, go! HyunJoong pushed HyungJoon from behind and ran after the younger Soulful, sprinting across the street and into an adjacent alley.
They knew they were being followed, and neither of them stopped. Truthfully, neither of them would have dreamed of outrunning a Model 3, if it weren’t for the numerous upgrades and speed boosters they both had under their skin.
But even so, they could only be as fast as a 3, not faster. They had to lose them before they got to HQ, or they’d be in an even worse situation.
“Split up,” HyunJoong ordered, glancing to HyungJoon who was sprinting beside him. “Lose your tail, and meet me at the entrance in 4-10. Don’t do anything idiotic.”
“Yes sir,” HyungJoon panted as they approached a fork in the alley.
“Three, two, one, go!”
They both took off down opposite sides of the alley, HyunJoong disappearing into the shadows. Not daring to look back, HyungJoon put on a burst of speed and darted down alley after alley, searching for a way out…or up.
If it hadn’t been for the night vision implants, he would have completely missed the overhanging metal staircase that ran up one of the apartment buildings. Grinning, HyungJoon leapt up as he ran and felt his fingers catch on the lowest bar, using his momentum to swing himself up.
Alley running was HyunJoong’s thing, not his. More often than not, he got himself so turned around he would run in a circle and smash into the guards. But give him a rooftop…and that he could do. Sure it was open, more chance of being shot, but if he had a good head start, he could drop into whichever alley he wanted and be gone before the guards could figure out where he went.
Climbing as fast as he can, the echo of a gunshot and ping of a bullet ricocheting off metal made him wince. Yeah, he had a tail. Figured the pair of guards would split up as well. That was fine, he could take care of one. As long as they didn’t call reinforcements
Within seconds HyungJoon was climbing onto the roof, rolling to his feet and running down its length. It was dark, and the dirt from a low-lying cloud blew in his face as he ran, but that was fine. It would disorientate the guard more than him.
It was easy to tell when the guard reached the roof too; the gunshots started again. HyungJoon ran in a staggered pattern to avoid being nailed; one thing he had learned fast was that running in a straight line was equivalent to standing still and letting them shoot you.
Jumping from roof to roof, he dropped down into a wide enough alley to avoid braining himself on a wall, tucking and rolling to minimize damage. His system shot up warnings, telling him he was going to run out of energy if he kept this up for much longer, but that was fine. He was just about there.
Activating his speed boosters again, he darted around the corner…and slammed right into a group of Model 3’s just standing there waiting for orders.
Crap. HyunJoong was never going to let him live this down.
Cold hands hauled him up from the ground, and HyungJoon struggled, slamming his blade into a soft stomach before the knife was torn out of his hands. Fingers wrapped around his throat, and HyungJoon gasped for breath as he was lifted up off the ground, struggling and trying to remove the iron-hard grip from his neck.
“Look what we have here. Another one for the testing lab.”
Fingers slipped under HyungJoon’s shirt, unlocking his chest panel to shut him down.
“Incoming!”
A large something slammed into the Model 3 holding him up, and HyungJoon was dumped on the ground with a yelp. Panting as he rubbing his throat and looked around, his eyes widened to see Key practically wrestling with the Model 3, sitting on the guard’s chest and struggling to keep him down.
One of the other guards leveled a gun at Key’s head, but he never got to pull the trigger. A shot rang out and the guard jerked around before falling, a hole blasted between his eyes. MinHo aimed again, firing at another guard who dodged out of the way and attacked him, the Soulful slamming into the ground hard.
“Oh no you don’t!” TaeMin dropped down from a balcony, knocking the guard off MinHo. Together, TaeMin held the Model 3 still while MinHo got into position to tear the guard’s head off in a shower of sparks and wires.
Hands pulled HyungJoon to his feet, and HyungJoon blinked owlishly at JinKi, who was grinning a little sheepishly. “Hey. Sorry we’re late, you’re hard to catch up with.”
“What are you doing here?” HyungJoon exclaimed, ducking to avoid a stray gunshot as JongHyun leapt into the fray. “You’re all too new to be on fieldwork, and is he even supposed to be out of HQ?” he asked, looking at Key who had finally stabbed a knife through his chosen guard’s power core. Last he remembered, Key hadn’t been able to even walk down the hallway without falling over.
“DongHae sent us out to make sure you got back in one piece, and Key wouldn’t let us leave if we didn’t take him along,” JinKi smiled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. “It’s all good, we figured out we can throw him around to make up for his rubber legs, and he’ll take care of the rest.”
The guards had by then been taken care of, TaeMin standing up and wincing as he pushed a dislocated shoulder back into place.
“You…threw him at the guard,” HyungJoon blinked owlishly.
“It’s faster than waiting for him to hobble and crawl his way over,” JongHyun laughed, and gave an ‘ow’ when Key threw the mangled remains of a power core at his head.
HyungJoon blinked at them all, then sighed in relief. “Okay. Let’s meet Hyun and get back to HQ, before any of you manage to kill yourselves.”
“Hey, we saved you,” JinKi protested. “We aren’t that bad. Come on, let’s go!”
He turned and marched to the end of the street. Suddenly he was nose-to-nose with a figure that’d just turned the corner, making JinKi yell and backpedal over his own feet, falling onto his rear.
“…” HyunJoong looked down at JinKi in amusement. “I thought I heard someone squawking.”
“Our fearless leader,” TaeMin gave a long-suffering sigh. JongHyun laughed as he walked over to crouch next to Key, motioning at the handicapped android to get onto his back.
“I can walk,” Key grumbled.
“Sure you can, but I think we’re trying to get back to HQ before dawn. Come on, or I’m getting MinHo to carry you on his shoulder, and I know how much you love that.” JongHyun grinned at the disgruntled Soulful. Key glared at him before grudgingly shifting so he could climb on JongHyun’s back. The other man stood after a moment, making sure he had a secure grip on Key’s legs.
“Let’s go then, before someone else gets into trouble,” HyunJoong said, smiling at HyungJoon who sulked. The group headed back towards the HQ quickly; it wouldn’t be long before someone came to see what happened to the group of Model 3 they’d just destroyed.
“So, what happened to the rest of your cell?” JinKi asked HyunJoong, blinking at him. “DongHae didn’t say much, but he looked rather panicky.”
HyunJoong was quiet, glancing at HyungJoon. The younger android was looking down at the ground as he walked. “We’ll explain once we’re inside,” he said after a moment, turning back to JinKi. The younger cell leader nodded, looking worried.
Thankfully there were no other situations, MinHo and TaeMin keeping careful watch for other Model 3’s. As they reached the secret entrance to HQ, HyunJoong glanced back in the direction of the facility before sighing and slipping inside.
The hallways were busy with movement, androids bustling back and forth. It seemed the entire first cell was running around as though someone had lit a fire under their heels.
This was quickly explained when HyunJoong saw the thunderous expression on HeeChul’s face. Exchanging a look with JinKi, the older android stepped up to catch HeeChul’s attention. “I think we should have a cell leader meeting, right now,” he said firmly.
HeeChul eyed him. “Yes, we definitely need to talk. Someone needs to get hold of DooJoon.”
“You know he doesn’t come to the meetings unless it’s absolutely necessary,” HyunJoong shook his head, walking along beside HeeChul as they headed towards the meeting room. The third cell was their undercover agent, rarely seen around, and their leader was seen even less.
“Well, I think this is definitely necessary, don’t you?” HeeChul snapped.
HyunJoong sighed, rubbing his temple. “We’ll see if KiBum can reach him. HyungJoon, can you find KiBum and tell him we’re having a meeting in ten minutes?”
“DongHae too,” HeeChul put in. “He’s been in on KiBum’s secrets for a while, and he’ll be easier to get answers out of.”
HyungJoon bit his lower lip and nodded, glancing at HyunJoong. The two exchanged a look, HyunJoong nodding slightly. He’d tell his cellmate what happened in the meeting.
Ducking his head, HyungJoon turned and left. HeeChul and HyunJoong continued walking to the meeting room in silence, JinKi following nervously. The rest of the fourth cell dispersed into the hallways.
By the time they’d reached the meeting room, KiBum was already there. “DongHae will be here soon,” he sighed, stepping into the room after them. “He’s a little overwhelmed at the moment.”
The only surviving Model 8 didn’t like to participate in Soulful activities regularly. The only reason he had gotten involved was that he believed the discovery of a Soulless in their organization was something that had to be dealt with, no matter his personal choices. HyunJoong felt bad for DongHae, knowing he wasn’t happy about being dragged into any of this.
“Don’t blame him,” HyunJoong murmured, sitting down in an empty chair. “And DooJoon? Is he coming?”
“No,” KiBum replied, sitting down as well. “I managed to reach him, but they’d got their own situation at the moment and he can’t spare the time to run down here. I’ll just relay what happens for him.”
“You’d think a Soulless would be a good enough reason to get down here,” HeeChul grumbled, not happy. They all looked up as DongHae slipped into the room silently and took a seat next to JinKi, looking nervous. They all tapped their wrists to turn off their microphones. “Okay, who starts?”
“I think you should,” HyunJoong said, eyeing the redhead leader. HeeChul looked like he was going to explode if he waited any longer.
HeeChul didn’t sit down, instead starting to pace. “YeSung overheard KiBum and DongHae talking about a Soulless in our group, and heard that they suspected KyuHyun. So you know what happened? We dragged him down to the infirmary and hooked him up with every monitor there, and got Henli to look through his code for the mark of a Soulless.”
He stopped pacing to look at HyunJoong. “You know what we found? He’s not a Soulless. But they definitely messed with him when he was caught ages ago by the facility. There was a parasite in him, acting as a decoy. It messed with his temperament a little, just enough to make us wonder…and distract us from the real Soulless.”
“Who is?” HyunJoong asked quietly, but HeeChul was shaking his head.
“Not a clue. But, SungMin and Henli have been looking through the parasite’s code, and identified that the Soulless must have been manufactured around the same time as KyuHyun was captured.” HeeChul smiled viciously. “We’re going to find out exactly who was manufactured then among us, and give them a very rough wake-up call.”
JinKi shivered a little. “What do you do to a Soulless when you catch them?”
KiBum sighed, resting his head in one hand. “We do to them what the government does to us. Figure out how they work, so we can better defend ourselves against them…then wipe their memory of everything they learned and destroy them.”
“Is that why your entire cell’s running around like their circuits are on a power overload?” HyunJoong asked.
HeeChul nodded. “They’re getting the manufacturing dates of all Soulfuls right now. So now we wait.”
Looking down at the table and nodding slowly, KiBum glanced at second cell leader. “Your turn, HyunJoong.”
HyunJoong sat up straight, rubbing his temple before he dropped his hand with a sigh. “My team was sent out to get into the government’s Soulless files, and find out who the Soulless was that way,” he said, looking at them all. KiBum and DongHae already knew all this, and HeeChul had bits of the story, but he was going over it all mostly for JinKi’s benefit. Their newest cell leader had been left out of the loop while he and his cell got used to living in HQ.
“The mission failed. They were in the right room, and were going through the files, when we suddenly lost connection with them. It’s been five hours since, and without any word from any of them, we can only assume they’ve been captured.”
“That’s a problem in and of itself,” KiBum said quietly. “Once they get to extracting information, our entire operation could be compromised.”
HyunJoong bit his lower lip. “I know JungMin and YoungSaeng have complicated firewalls in place to keep the facility out, which could buy us some time. KyuJong…” he trailed off, then swore. “KyuJong doesn’t have any firewalls, we never got around to giving him any.”
“Great,” HeeChul groaned. “So we need to evacuate then. The government could be getting ready to collect us right now.”
DongHae paled. “They’re going to come here?”
“Wait,” KiBum frowned. “I’ll get in contact with the third cell again, and see if they can keep an eye on what’s going on. We’ll get ready just in case, and begin to move things out, but we should still have some time. Even if the government gets the location of HQ, they would still need time to prepare the assault. The third cell will give us more than enough advance warning to get everyone out.”
“What about everything in the vault?” HyunJoong asked. “That needs planning, and a safe place to store them.”
“JongWoon knows of a place, we can send them all there,” KiBum said. HeeChul scowled at the name, but didn’t say anything.
“What about me?” DongHae asked quietly.
They all looked to him. “We’ll get you out, Hae,” KiBum smiled, trying to reassure the 8. “None of us are going to leave you here.”
“What about my team?” HyunJoong asked finally. “YoungSaeng, JungMin and KyuJong. You managed to get KyuHyun out, we can do the same.”
KiBum turned his attention to HyunJoong. “KyuHyun was held in one of the smaller facilities,” he said, frowning. “Your team is being held in the largest, most well-secured facilities in Old Korea. We won’t be able to get them out, it’s too risky.”
HyunJoong’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Those men are the closest thing HyungJoon and I have to brothers. I’m not leaving them to be dissected like malfunctioning drones.”
“We don’t have a choice, HyunJoong,” KiBum said firmly. “There’s nothing we can do for them. We have to prepare for a possible evacuation.”
“If we can get them out before the government extracts the information, we won’t have to evacuate!”
“HyunJoong!” KiBum’s eyes flashed in warning. “I’m sorry, I really am. But we can’t afford to lose anyone else. How would you expect to succeed? The fourth cell isn’t ready for something like infiltrating a facility, and half of the first cell will be busy assisting with evacuation procedures, which is most important right now. That leaves too few of us, too few in comparison to the amount of security you would face. It would be a slaughter.”
The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment, the other three in the room holding their breath. Finally HyunJoong looked away, leaning back in his seat without a word. KiBum sighed softly, the anger leaving his face.
“I really am sorry, HyunJoong,” he said quietly. “They were my friends too.” He looked to the others. “For now, we will start transferring everything in the vault to a safer location. I’ll get into contact with the third cell, and get them to-“
The harsh knocking on the door was their only warning before it flew open. Half of the first cell ran in, LeeTeuk looking frantic.
HeeChul opened his mouth to tell them off for running into a meeting, when he spotted the papers LeeTeuk clutched tightly. “You got all the manufacturing dates?” He demanded, standing abruptly.
LeeTeuk nodded. “We did, and we think we know who the Soulless is,” he said, voice shaking slightly.
“Who is it?” HeeChul asked sharply, walking over. When LeeTeuk hesitated, his eyes flitting about the room, HeeChul got impatient and tried to snatch the papers from him. “Park LeeTeuk, either you tell me who it is or I swear I’ll-“
“I’m sorry,” LeeTeuk said, quickly sidestepping HeeChul’s grab. “Someone else here has the right to…to know first,” he said, holding the papers to his chest. HeeChul frowned before backing off.
“Who is it?” JinKi asked quietly. He could see TaeMin poking his head around the group of first cell members, listening.
LeeTeuk turned to HyunJoong, eyes wide and sad.
“I’m sorry, HyunJoong…it’s KyuJong.”
**************************************************************
The only thing YoungSaeng could hear was the shaky sound of his own breathing. The large room was dark, and even though there were machines lining every wall, he couldn’t hear their steady hum. It would have been too comforting to hear it, so that was why he suspected the scientists had muted the noise before it could reach his ears.
The room was also cold, and despite being able to handle far worse temperatures than this, YoungSaeng shivered against the restraints that kept him in place. The very first thing he’d done was test their strength, straining against them in the hopes to at least hear the soft groan of metal shifting.
But the facility wasn’t taking any chances, not with a Model 3 like him, and he was bound so thoroughly even just turning his head was a strain.
There were others in the room, he could see them out of the corners of his eyes. Captives like him, and he had to check first to make sure none were from the Soulful cells. No, these were androids that never made it that far, speaking out of line and being picked up for it before the Soulfuls could find them and remove the tracking beacons inside them. But none of them were awake…just him.
He knew why they were keeping him awake. To monitor his responses, watch as his emotions slowly dropped into fear and despair, see if he would break. He wouldn’t give them that satisfaction…but it was hard to stay calm when they kept taking JungMin in and out of the room, the redhead’s eyes closed and body powered down.
Drawing in a shaky breath, YoungSaeng closed his eyes and hummed quietly to himself, a soft tune to distract from the silence. But his eyes snapped open again when the heavy door to the holding room was opened, hoping it was JungMin being brought back.
He refused to admit to himself the idea that, eventually, he would not be brought back at all.
It wasn’t JungMin, but the sound of stumbling feet caught his attention. That wasn’t a guard.
Managing to turn his head enough to see, YoungSaeng watched quietly as two guards entered with an android each slung over their shoulders and immobile. Between them, they pushed a third android forward, the man’s feet shuffling as he staggered forward with his head down.
Someone else was awake. YoungSaeng swallowed, watching as the three were strapped into place in empty spots along the wall opposite him. The guards left then, the room plunging back into darkness.
But the darkness didn’t bother him, having night-vision implants. YoungSaeng turned his attention to the three, once again to make sure he didn’t know them.
Eyes landing on one of the two powered down, his throat closed and stomach plummeted. HyungJoon?!
No, wait, he forced himself to calm down and take a second look. No, that wasn’t HyungJoon. They looked scarily similar, enough for this android to pass off as him at a first glance, but there were subtle differences. This wasn’t HyungJoon.
A sigh of relief left his lips and he blinked when the android that had been brought in awake jerked against his restraints, head snapping up as he looked around. “…Hello?” he called tentatively.
YoungSaeng realized he must not be able to see through the darkness, and didn’t know YoungSaeng was right across from him.
“I’d say ‘nice to meet you’, but I really wish you weren’t in here too,” YoungSaeng said quietly.
The other android blinked again, looking in the direction of his voice. After a pause, he gave a small smile. “I wish we weren’t in here either,” he said quietly. “Where is ‘here’ anyways? And who are you?”
“Let me guess, they took you right off the street?” YoungSaeng asked, bypassing the question of who he was for now. When the other man nodded, the Model 3 sighed. “This is the facility where they do research on Soulfuls.”
“…Soulfuls? The terrorists?” The other man blinked owlishly. “Wait, I think there’s been a mistake, my friends and I aren’t terrorists.”
Taking a closer look at them, YoungSaeng noticed the one he was talking to was a Model 4. The one who resembled HyungJoon so closely was a Model 7 as well, and the third was a Model 6.
His lips curled upwards knowingly. “Friends, huh? That’s strange, considering they’re both lower Models than you.”
When the Model 4 looked away, he knew he’d hit the nail on the head.
“They picked you up for being different. That makes you equivalent to a Soulful in their minds, despite not carrying the title,” YoungSaeng explained quietly.
“Why?” The other man asked.
“Because Soulfuls aren’t really just terrorists. We are capable of free thought, and making decisions for ourselves…like the decision you took to be friends with these two.” YoungSaeng tilted his head to one side. “What’s your name?”
“Name?” The Model 4 blinked at him. “…You’re not talking about my Model number, are you?”
YoungSaeng was surprised at that. “No, I’m not.” It usually took a few tries to get that in. “My name is YoungSaeng. It’s a little tricky to ask you for your name is I don’t have any other examples…”
“I know my name already.”
“I…What?” YoungSaeng stared at the other man. “…What’s your name?”
“Kevin,” the Model 4 replied without pause. “This is KiBum…” He nodded towards the android that looked like HyungJoon, “and he’s Eli,” he introduced the third android.
Another KiBum, YoungSaeng sighed to himself. They were up to three now. But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. “How did you find out your names? Did you talk with another Soulful before this?” He asked.
Kevin shook his head. “You’re the first. We just…started talking to each other, and didn’t really like the idea of always referring to each other as our numbers. Because of the hierarchy, it made it seem like we weren’t equals, and none of us liked that. So we came up with our own names.”
YoungSaeng was shocked at that. Genuine inspiration…without any prior influence. They were reprogramming themselves without any Soulful ever coming into contact with them. He’d never heard of anything like this, no plan to spread free thought in such a manner. They never thought it possible…there had to be a source of influence somewhere.
“Amazing,” he murmured.
Then he noticed Kevin looking around in worry, trying to see through the darkness.
“What’s wrong?”
The Model 4 looked back in his direction. “I’m looking to see if the others were taken here as well…”
“…Others?” YoungSaeng blinked owlishly, glancing across the room.
“Our other friends,” Kevin specified. “Us three were alone when they took us away, but if you can really be brought here just for being different, then…”
“Tell me what they look like, I can see in the dark,” YoungSaeng told him. As Kevin described four other androids, YoungSaeng looked around the room to confirm that no, they weren’t here.
He wanted to let the rest of his cell know to look out for four young androids, but he couldn’t. The one thing the scientists had done to him before shoving him in here was remove his com implants.
The two androids talked until the door opened again, and Kevin was taken away. In the dim light coming from the hallway, the Model 4 shot YoungSaeng a scared glance. YoungSaeng replied with the best reassuring smile he could muster.
He prayed for the other man but he wasn’t surprised to see when Kevin returned three hours later, he was powered off as well.
The Model 4 was strapped into the wall and the door closed again, returning YoungSaeng to the dark and the dead silence of the machines.