Memento Vivere
Title: Memento Vivere
Pairing: Sehun/Lu Han, Baekhyun/Chanyeol, Kris/Tao, Kai/Kyungsoo, Joonmyun/Yixing, Kris/Yixing, Minseok/Jongdae, OT12 (+probably others)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Angst, Drama, Humour, Action, Romance, Fantasy
Word count: 25502
Summary: The planet was in danger again. They weren't heroes, by any means, but the twelve had to join together once more. (AN: Basically, what happens when you put MAMA, Final Fantasy and me together.)
Warning: Violence, character death
“How is he?”
Lu Han looked up at the lean figure sitting across the bar counter, gauging the cat-like eyes curtained by jet black hair briefly before redirecting his attention to cleaning the used martini glasses in his hands. Even after two years, the objects looked a little out of place in hands roughened by things more heavy and tough than delicate glassware and fine drinks. Then again, it hadn’t always been that way. The figure on the stool across from him was a familiar one but was an unusual sight in the midst of the quiet bar in the wee hours before the sun rose for the next day.
“I don’t know.”
The man quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly. “What do you mean ‘I don’t know’? You’re the only one he keeps in contact with; shouldn’t you know?”
The caramel-haired bartender almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the claim because ‘in contact’ was definitely not how he would describe it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and grabbed the man’s empty beer glass with a little more force than necessary. “It means I don’t know. Why do you all assume that I know everything that he does?” Quietly, as if speaking to himself, he added, “I don’t think I know anything about him anymore.”
The other man’s eyes softened their gaze and he reached across the counter to pat Lu Han’s shoulder with a rueful smile. “Hang in there, Lu Han.” He pushed himself off his seat, surveyed the nearly vacant bar, its last customers practically snoozing into their drinks as sunlight began to peek through the drawn blinds, and dropped his payment onto the counter before the other man could object. “You really don’t belong in a place like this - really, you of all people running a bar?” He chuckled with a shake of his head before spinning on his heel and waving over his shoulder. “Today’s kind of a bad day but call me if you want to have fun again, okay? Being stuck in here too long can’t be good for you and you know we’d always welcome your company. Oh, before I forget, tell that idiot that Kris wants to see him when you have the chance. Later.”
Lu Han allowed a small smile to grace his face as he waved the disappearing figure farewell before it was replaced, once again, by a melancholy frown. He continued his tasks as usual, patiently waking and ushering home his drunken patrons, before finally flipping over the ‘Closed’ sign on the door. By the time he climbed up the stairs to the small connected apartment located above the bar, past a closed door that had a fine layer of dust on its doorknob without a glance and into the next one where he promptly collapsed on the bed in exhaustion without bothering to shed his dark clothing, the man’s words were dancing in his mind insistently in the deafening silence of his home - if it could still be called that. It seemed to have lost that definition over the years. For a moment, he watched the sun rise outside his window, its rays illuminating the discoloured outlines of the rundown city and reminding him of the time, many years ago, when the world buzzed with life and iridescence instead of the dreary gray listlessness to which they had all grown accustomed. The recollection only made the man’s words more prominent in his memory so, with a heavy sigh, he tugged the cordless phone off its place on his bedside table, as well as several post-its lying next to it, and dialed the only number he knew from memory.
After precisely five rings, the call connected to the voice mail. As always.
“Hey.” Lu Han greeted in an unnaturally happy tone and he knew that the receiver, if he ever listened to the call, would be able to tell. “Sulli has another order from the same place. She’ll send you the money later today and is expecting the package by next week so don’t forget. And Donghae wants you to deliver a chocobo egg to their sister farm. I’ve already told him that it’s too risky to take the egg on a motorcycle but he insists that you take it - you know how he is.” He paused, biting his lip uncertainly. “Tao came by. He said that Kris wants to talk to you. I’m not sure what it’s for but… don’t do anything rash… okay?” He then sat up, returning the sticky notes to their place while the hum of his last word drifted into the still air, and hovered his finger over the disconnect button.
“Just… Take care of yourself, Sehun.”
The phone beeped, line dead, in his hand. Lu Han screwed his eyes shut and ignored it.
-
“You need change, Lu Han. You can’t just stay cooped up in that little bar of yours, waiting for him, forever. You have so many other things you could be doing and you helping me out on your day offs doesn’t count.”
Lu Han frowned at the medic that was wrapping a fresh roll of bandage around the dark sores on a young boy’s arm - sores that even Yixing couldn’t heal - as he himself tied off gauze on the black splotches of an elderly woman. The room, a makeshift infirmary in a barely habitable building located in one of the shabbier parts of the city, was filled with similarly afflicted people of all ages and backgrounds. Around the globe, he was sure the scene had become more and more common since that last great battle that left none untouched by sacrifice and loss but also signified the start of what Lu Han could only describe as the world’s retribution for humanity’s stupidity.
“I didn’t think you and Tao would say something so similar.”
The other man halted his actions abruptly and looked back at Lu Han, who chose to continue his task without indicating that he noticed the other’s reaction, while pushing his dark hair out of his face, incredulity overpowering the annoyance in his expression. “You met Tao? When?”
Lu Han grunted in confirmation, placing a damp towel on another patient’s feverish forehead with a reassuring grin and circles rubbed against the back of her hand; she wasn’t going to last the night. “The other day. Kris wanted to meet him, apparently.” Ignoring the narrowing of the other’s eyes by rubbing his own tired ones, laden with sleep deprivation and stress, he looked at the sorry sight around them. “It’s getting worse, Yixing. There are ten more just today.”
Yixing nodded, allowing the conversation to digress; he didn’t really want to talk about them at the moment anyway. He dropped to his knees before a patient thrashing about in his sleep and placed a glowing hand to his heated forehead until the man became calm. “I can’t do anything though. There’s only so much I can do in these conditions.”
“You know that Suho is trying his best to help. The government can’t really do much with so many other problems still arising.”
Yixing smiled sadly, nodding his head. Other than Lu Han, the only person he truly trusted was Suho. Kris was once highly regarded as well but that was long ago, too far in the past to hold any meaning any longer. “In any case, my healing can’t cure this… whatever this is. I can only really prolong it at most; I’m not as talented as Tae-”
Lu Han’s face contorted in a way that made Yixing’s mouth snap shut.
“Sorry.”
The other man sighed. His hand smoothened the crease in his brows before dropping to finger the small pendant of a silver hexagon around his neck absentmindedly; his eyes strayed to the identical charm on Yixing’s wrist. “It’s okay. You shouldn’t be.”
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a surprised screech from a person by the door. The sound was soon echoed by a number of others in the same vicinity, bringing both men to the door with hurried steps and hands already reaching into the pouches tied to their waists. When they arrived outside, they were greeted by the sight of a bird similar in size of and frame as a falcon, other than the long, flowing tail and the fact that it was made entirely of scarlet embers, and they immediately relaxed. Lu Han stretched an arm toward the bird and allowed it to land on his open palm where it instantly burst with a bright effusion of golden light, leaving a lucid, paper-like sheet covered in glowing letters on his hand. He scanned it quickly then released the sheet into the air where it disappeared into the sunlight, leaving the impression that it had never existed in the first place.
“Minseok’s missing.”
-
A lone figure clad entirely in black sat on the seat of a parked black motorcycle situated near the precipice of an arid mountain. Strapped to his back was a bladeless hilt with a stylised insignia of a hexagon adorning it. Mahogany eyes swept across the equally desolate landscape below, unperturbed by the brown hair occasionally blowing into his line of vision with every gust of dry wind, as the message on his phone replayed for the seventh time just that morning.
“-Just… Take care of yourself, Sehun.”
Sehun closed his eyes as the phone beeped, signalling the end of the message. After a few silent minutes during which the phone was snapped shut and tucked into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of sunglasses, fixed them on the bridge of his tall nose and drove into the barren road.
-
“He’s coming.”
Tao directed the statement to the blond man sitting regally on the turned leather swivel chair behind the grand oak desk; even without seeing his face, he knew that a smirk was glued to the man’s face. Beside him, a shorter man dressed in the same black suit as he, with slicked dark hair and high cheekbones, tensed, fingers clenching in preparation.
“Let him in. And give him a nice greeting, will you?”
At that moment, the door slammed open and a gust of wind blew in, causing the files on the desk to disperse around the room. Immediately, the man beside him jumped at the intruder, bluish sparks of electricity shooting from his fingertips, only to be pushed back by a barrier of air enveloping the newcomer and forced against the wall with a thud. Tao moved away from the attack, movements accelerated by the familiar surge of power in his veins and quickly pulled out a retractable steel pole from his belt. Just as he activated it to elongate to its full length, the cold edge of a translucent blade, the strange feeling of its surface moving like a steady stream of air against his skin making him recall distant and unwanted memories, pressed against his neck, as if waiting for the contact, and stilled his hastened movements.
Despite the obviously dangerous situation he was in, Tao grinned cheekily. “I see that you haven’t lost your touch, Sehun.”
The man glared at him and retracted his weapon slowly, the blade vanishing to leave only its decorated hilt; the howling wind that accompanied him quieted as well. “What do you want, Kris?”
From behind the desk, chair now turned towards them, Kris laughed. “Now, Sehun, is that any way to treat old friends? You’ve even gone and hurt Chen.”
Sehun side eyed the said man as he pushed himself off the wall and rubbed the back of his head. “I wasn’t aware that you still thought of me as a friend.”
Kris frowned, crossing his fingers under his chin. “What happened in the past is in the past. I’ve never stopped thinking of you as a friend despite what you believe. And, with recent times, old friends must stick together.” At Sehun’s suspicious look, he sighed, knowing that pursuing the topic would have no effect. “Sehun, it’s spreading. And this isn’t an ordinary disease, you know that. It’s related to what happened two years ago.” He rolled up a sleeve to present the small, ugly patches of graying skin lying beneath. Sehun stiffened, mouth stretching to a narrow line and left arm flexing involuntarily. “And strange occurrences of late appear to be related to it too. You can’t deny it, Sehun. We need to do something.”
“Whatever it is you’re planning, I don’t want to be a part of it.” Sehun glowered at the blond, matching the intimidating gaze aimed at him. “Just because you say you’ve forgotten the past doesn’t fix anything.”
Kris’ thick eyebrows knitted even more closely together, the dark eyes beneath blazing with sudden emotion. “Is that why you’ve stopped all contact with everyone? Is that why you’ve left the bar? Is that why you’ve left Lu-”
“SHUT UP!”
Wind raged erratically around the room, circling Sehun like a tornado and forming shallow cuts on the exposed skin of the three men. When the winds died down, scattering litter and debris everywhere, the dangerous glint in Sehun’s eyes never left. He re-sheathed his bladeless weapon and turned to the door.
Before a step could be made, there was a low whisper behind him. “You aren’t the only one who has suffered, Sehun. We’ve all had our own fair share.” A glance thrown over his shoulder showed him tired lines etched onto Kris’ skin and a melancholy smile aimed at the picture frame on his desk. His jaw clenched as he turned away.
“I’m leaving.” With a deathly glare in Tao’s direction, he growled. “Don’t talk to him again to contact me.”
Just as he was about to step through the door, a tentative hand gripped his sleeve. Sehun looked over his shoulder at Chen with eyes narrowed more in confusion than anger because even before the fissure between the three and the rest of the twelve, he and Chen seldom spoke to each other. The shorter man eyed him carefully before whispering, “He’s still waiting. Always waiting.” The brief flurry of sentiment that appeared vanished with a blink and a scowl immediately took its place on Sehun’s face. He forcefully wrenched this arm away and fled.
-
A man dressed in gray robes, the hexagonal emblem once representing the small rebel group but now a symbol of the new government visible above his heart, dashed down the hallway, traces of light floating behind him before disappearing. He stopped at the last door, a little more opulent than the rest, and swung it open hurriedly; it collided with the wall with a bang, making dust and the tinkling sounds of the rattling chandelier overhead fill the musty air. The sole occupant of the room, donning similar garbs and identical emblem glinting under the light, didn’t seem at all fazed by the intrusion, keeping his head of dark red hair buried in a mountain of paperwork as he said, with a hint of exasperation in his voice, “What did I tell you about the doors, Kyungsoo?” Only a little sprinkle of pink on Kyungsoo’s cheeks betrayed his embarrassment as he walked forward to stand before the other man.
“Chanyeol and Baekhyun sent a letter. Minseok didn’t return from his venture to find new energy sources in Mideel. Something happened, Suho.”
Suho was on his feet at once, papers left forgotten on his desk. “There’s something afoot. This pandemic is getting worse and no one can figure out how to cure it, Chanyeol and Baekhyun have been fending off hordes of monsters - something that hasn’t happened since two years ago - and Jongin sent word of something amiss in the east too.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, eagerness reflecting out of his eyes rather than the worry the words should have caused. “Jongin called?”
Suho allowed a small smile at the other’s reaction; Kyungsoo had always been an open book - it was one of the things that had drawn him to Kyungsoo in the first place. “Yes. But don’t get your hopes up. Nowadays, he’s almost as hard to reach as Sehun.” They both exited the office, paces brusque with urgency. “Your little love problems aside,” Kyungsoo released a flustered huff that almost made Suho laugh aloud, “these could only mean that there’s a disruption of sorts with the Tree of Life and something unusual - or someone - is causing it. We need to gather the others and quickly.”
-
Crimson liquid trailed down his arm, now partially visible through the jagged tear running down his sleeve, as his motorcycle skidded on the gravel road, coming to a stop only when it rammed into an ancient tree at the edge of the trail. Sehun clicked his tongue in annoyance as he pushed off his bike, weapon at the ready and dripping with dark blood from the red-scaled carcass lying meters away, and scanned the premises for the hidden assailant because, even with the recent influx of monsters, Vlakorados never appeared this far south. His suspicions were confirmed by the sinister chuckle emitted from within the dense woods.
“I don’t have time to be playing games. Show yourself!”
Another chuckle, a little closer this time, was heard. “Now, now - patience is a worthy virtue to have, don’t you think so?” A boy, barely in his twenties, stepped out into the open, smile echoing the remains of his laughter though the eyes behind tendrils of vibrant scarlet portrayed malice. He was flanked by two figures of roughly the same age, perhaps slightly older; the taller and more muscular of the two, with a mop of dark brown curls, cracked his fingers menacingly before enclosing them on the handle of a spiked mace while the other, with platinum blond hair streaked almost haphazardly with all possible hues of the spectrum and fox-like eyes, balanced a crossbow by its trigger on the tip of his finger.
Sehun tensed, lifting his sword higher as he warily eyed the closer of the three, the redhead bearing a large silver revolver with a long blade attached to the barrel - a gunblade. “Who are you and what do you want?”
The redhead grinned sweetly as he approached with languid steps; the other two remained where they were, watching his every movement with tensed stances. “Oh, no one important - nowhere close to being as important as you, I dare say, Mr Saviour of Exoplanet.” He stopped a meter away, his cherubic face now completely void of mirth while his knuckles paled with the clenching of his fists.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what’s funny?” The redhead continued as though he had never been interrupted, the smile that returned to his lips now ironic, while he circled around Sehun without closing or widening the distance between them. “It’s funny that everyone seems to acclaim you as the planet’s saviour - saviour from the hands of the so called evil DBSK Corporation - when you’ve soiled your hands just as much as, or perhaps more so than, they had.” He stopped again and pointed an accusing finger at Sehun, eyes blazing with blatant hatred and all pretense of amicability lost. “They did what they had to do for the planet’s greater good but you killed them all! And for what? Glory? Prestige? Some warped sense of justice? And now you go around delivering parcels while your friends set up some ridiculous façade of a government to cover up what you did? What a laugh!”
Sehun’s grip tightened as the boy barked out a laugh. “Who are you?”
“Oh, can’t you tell? Don’t you see the family resemblance, Mr Saviour?” A cocky grin, almost challenging him to state otherwise, stretched across the boy’s face. The same grin, on the face of another man, had been stuck in Sehun’s memories for over two years.
“You’re Jaejoong’s son.”
The grin widened, revealing white teeth that seemed to glisten at him menacingly. “Bravo! You got the right answer.” He clapped his hands mockingly then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the gunblade was aimed at him, its cylinder whirring in anticipation and his smiling face once again reverting to an emotionless mask. “Key, Minho, why don’t we give Mr Saviour his prize, shall we?”
A case of air enclosed Sehun just as a bullet was shot in his direction, his sword, now bladeless, nearly dropping from his grip at the suddenness of the action, deflecting it towards the surrounding terrain where it evaporated in puffs of smoke. The turbulence of winds around him caused the arrows from the blond’s crossbow to fly about precariously, narrowly missing the curly brunet’s head as he charged toward Sehun with a raised hand, the spikes on his mace glinting dangerously in the moonlight seeping through the canopy overhead as they ripped through the fabric of Sehun’s already damaged sleeve and scratched his skin deeply enough to create new paths of red liquid flowing along his arm. Sehun swung his sword, the blade springing forth spontaneously as the winds died down, at the redhead, only managing to slice through jets of scarlet flames from the gun attachment that licked his arm painfully before aiming a wave of air at the other two to knock them off their feet.
The brunet roared at him angrily. “Is that the best you can do? Fight me like you fought my father, you coward!” He stood and raised his weapon while smirking at the mild surprise reflected on Sehun’s face. “That’s right, I’m Changmin’s son. And Yoochun is Key’s father.” The blond beside him acknowledged the statement by raising his crossbow, trigger finger at the ready.
Sehun sneered at them. “I guess it’s true what they say: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The three glared, taking offensive stances with grim determination; Sehun did the same.
Before any of them could move, charcoal flames rained from above, dividing Sehun from his attackers, and a cloaked figure materialized in front of Sehun with the same black flames dancing on his arms.
The blond called Key clicked his tongue in annoyance. “This wasn’t in the plan. Taemin, let’s go!” The redhead grunted, anger clearly defined on his face, before aiming one last bullet at Sehun that was diverted with a swing of Sehun’s sword and disappearing into the dense trees with his comrades.
Once they were out of sight, the blade of Sehun’s sword dissipated and he relaxed his stance. He sheathed the hilt and turned to the cloaked man, only his tanned face and black hair visible under the high-collared attire, who was now walking to his motorcycle to examine the damages. “Thanks, Jongin.”
The man looked up from his task and smiled cheekily. “Fancy seeing you here, Mr Saviour.”
Sehun rolled his eyes and kicked Jongin in the shin before settling himself on the ground beside him, ripping off his torn sleeve to reveal pale skin marred with red gashes and gray splotches. “If you were here the whole time, why didn’t you come out sooner?”
Jongin plopped down and gave the exposed arm a questioning once over that Sehun pointedly ignored. With a frown, he pulled out a bottle of red liquid to toss to Sehun who uncorked it and poured the contents gingerly on his arm, wincing when it came in contact with his flesh. “I was following those three for a while now. More monsters have been popping up and they seem connected but I wasn’t quite sure how. Until today, when they confronted you, of course. I should have known they were related - you’d think the evil, glaring eyes and pretty boy faces would’ve been a dead giveaway but no.”
Sehun narrowed his eyes, ignoring Jongin’s imitation of the redhead’s expression. “You can’t be suggesting that they’re planning on reviving DBSK and using the Tree of Life for money again. The planet is barely functioning with all the damage on the Primary Stem; any more and the world may just collapse.”
The Tree of Life was the planet’s main source of energy and power - essentially its source and embodiment of life as all creatures on the planet inherited some energy from it at birth. It stood at the centre of the planet, earning it the alternative name Primary Stem, and had eight smaller trees called Secondary Stems, which possessed similar capabilities and were located at the cardinal and intercardinal points of the globe, all connected through an extensive network of roots kilometers below the surface. Each Stem had one specially selected Anomaly - a person who possessed more concentrated amounts of the Tree’s life force, giving them abilities beyond that of normal humans - named maidens or guardians, according to their gender, who protected and managed them to prevent their misuse and exploitation. That, however, was exactly what had occurred with the rise of the DBSK Corporation, sending the world into an era of turmoil that only ended, not without many weighty sacrifices and after-effects, two years prior at the Primary Stem.
Jongin nodded gravely. “I’m not a hundred per cent certain but it seems like it. They’re deluded teens. Probably bought all that crap their fathers were spouting about it being for the better future of the world. And they’re probably not the only ones; both Yunho and Junsu’s sons are almost certainly going to go after the others. We need to go help them.”
Sehun turned to look at him, a blank expression pasted on his face. “They can handle them themselves. They don’t need me there.”
Jongin narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Sehun, Lu Han needs you.”
Sehun looked away, busying himself with covering as much of his wound and discoloured flesh as possible with his torn sleeve. “He can take care of himself.”
“You know that isn’t what I meant.”
His lips thinned to a slim line, paling with the effort it took to stop the thudding of his heart at every mention of the man. “He’s stronger than he looks.”
“If you already knew that, then why did you leave him?” Sehun moved his mouth wordlessly, unable to piece together a response. Jongin’s eyes softened and he sighed, melancholy laced in every breath. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for Taeyeon’s death. It wasn’t your fault and no one blames you for what happened. Everyone just wants you to come back. He wants you to come back. He’s still waiting for you.”
Sehun heaved a sigh. “I know… But you really shouldn’t be talking.”
Jongin grinned wryly. “I don’t count. Kyungsoo and I have come to an understanding.” He paused and looked at Sehun inquisitively. “You haven’t even talked to him at all, have you?” When Sehun had no response, he continued in a softer tone, “Even strong people have their moments of weakness, you know.”
With an aggravated groan, Sehun ran a hand through his chestnut locks and closed his eyes. “But Lu Han deserves so much more. I shouldn’t be the one by his side. I don’t want him to feel obligated to stay with me because I’m sick and because I’m his best friend. And I don’t want to… No, forget it. Just… I can’t be with Lu Han.” The name, though absent from his lips for a long time, felt as if it belonged - as if his mouth echoed back the name each time it reverberated in his mind more times than he could count or want to admit.
Jongin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think Lu Han should be making that decision.”
“You’re such a hypocrite.” The corners of his mouth twitched upward briefly, the concept of a smile as foreign to him as the name that had, just moments ago, graced his lips with its presence once more.
“Yeah… But you wouldn’t have me any other way.”
Sehun rolled his eyes and leaned back against the tree that was supporting his motorcycle. “You suck. I’d rather have Baekhyun or Chanyeol here instead.”
Jongin joined him, knocking shoulders with Sehun as he settled himself against the rough wood, mock hurt fixed on his face. “I’m a little offended that you’d rather spend time with the lovebirds instead of me. Heaven knows how rowdy they get.”
Sehun’s lips twitched up at the thought, falling to the temptation of old memories for once. He looked up at the moon that was barely visible through the foliage wistfully. “Why are we all so bad at this?”
Jongin sighed. “I wish I knew.”
-
“Lu Han, we really don’t have time for this. Your customers will figure out that you’re out and will find some other rundown bar to get drunk in so hurry up, you workaholic worrywart!” Yixing exclaimed in exasperation as he watched the blond flit about the bar, looking for a piece of paper to write on while waving a pen around in the air.
After scribbling a hasty message on a loose sheet and taping it to the door, Lu Han shook his head with a roll of his eyes. “See, this is why you aren’t a business person, Yixing. And I’ll have you know that my bar is the best in the city, thank you very much. Besides, I still have to get all my potions before we lea-” He cut off his speech at the sound of floorboards creaking from above. Immediately, both drew their weapons: Yixing brandished two silver pistols while golden butterfly knives circled Lu Han, floating in the air in what looked like a silent dance. “Who’s there?”
“You just make it too easy to hunt you down that it’s no fun for me.” A slender man with light brown hair and mirthless eyes that turned to half moons when a toothy grin crept on his face descended from the stairs; the quiet thumps of his staff on the floors filled the silence that fell as he moved to face them. “I mean, if I’m going to take an assassination mission, the least you could do is make it interesting for me. I should have just made Minho do this instead. But, really, who would have thought that the people who supposedly brought peace to the world would have such drab lives?”
The sound of a gunshot echoed around the room, ringing in their ears. The man glanced at the small hole that was just centimetres from his toes thoughtfully while Yixing aimed the smoking barrel of his gun to the stranger’s forehead. With a venomous glare, Yixing barked out, “Answer the question.”
The man clicked his tongue distastefully. “You people don’t have any patience, do you? Fine, if you want to play that way, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
Suddenly fire shot out from the tip of his staff, catching their heels as they dodged the attack. Gunfire filled the room as jets of water and sparks of lightning replaced the flames. Lu Han evaded the array of attacks and exploding debris just barely, his knives flying through the air in their own death dance. A blade sunk into the man’s thigh right when a powerful blast of vine-like flames wrapped around Yixing’s arms and forced him to drop his weapons with a strangled cry. The man laughed, swinging his staff to send Yixing’s writhing form into the broken remains of several barstools while water rushed out of the hand he stretched out in Lu Han’s direction, pushing him back from the force.
“That’s right, suffer! Suffer like our fathers - my father - did!” He cackled then added with a crazed gleam in his eyes, “Suffer just like your pathetic, little friend did!”
The knives quivered in the air, their movements slowing visibly while a table floated off the ground and took its place between the jet of water and Lu Han to block the attack until it died down. The table fell to the ground with a heavy thud while both Lu Han and the man stared at each other, panting.
“What do you mean? What have you done?” The golden knives flew around Lu Han, twitching sporadically.
The man cackled. “That Minseok guy didn’t put up much of a fight. Jonghyun and I got bored of him pretty quickly.”
A dozen miscellaneous objects around the room suddenly rose to the air, joining the jerking movements of the golden blades orbiting Lu Han. “What have you done to Minseok?!”
The man just giggled with child-like amusement. “Oh? Mad, are we? Worried about your little friend?” A sadistic grin planted itself on his face, making his eyes glint maliciously under the dim bar lights. “What about your other friends? Not worried about them? A particular brunet, perhaps? With pale skin and rather pretty, droopy eyes? Goes by the name of-”
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SEHUN?!” The levitating objects trembled in place, seemingly frozen seemingly frozens he turned away.in the stifling air.
“Don’t worry; after Taemin and the others are done with him, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
The objects dropped to the ground. Lu Han’s eyes widened and the cynical smirk on the man’s face grew.
Yixing forced himself to his knees painfully, the marks on his arms glowing as they vanished ever so slowly. “Don’t listen to him, Lu Han! He’s just trying to get to you!” Lu Han didn’t move, seemingly unable to hear anything any longer. Yixing saw the mage lift his staff, ready to deal a final blow. “LU HAN!”
Suddenly, a blur of movement entered Yixing’s vision and the man was thrown against the case of liquor behind the counter. Blinking in surprise, Yixing glanced at where Lu Han stood to see a familiar tall figure wielding a long metal pole standing between Lu Han and the mystery assailant. “Tao?”
The unknown man sighed, standing up from the wreckage of broken glass and lumber as if he had not just been thrown halfway across the room and was sporting various open wounds on his body. “An unwanted guest has arrived. That isn’t very nice. I guess we’ll have to meet again next time. But be warned: that will be the last.” He vanished with a swish of his staff.
Lu Han collapsed the ground the moment the stranger disappeared, bringing Tao and Yixing to his side immediately. His eyes stared unseeingly at the distressed wooden flooring as his mouth moved to form words involuntarily. “Sehun… Sehun…”
“Sehun is fine.” Tao said, pushing a button on his pole to return it to its shorter form. Lu Han looked up at him hopefully while Yixing eyed him with blatant distrust. “He’s on his way to help Baekhyun and Chanyeol with Jongin. He’s fine but that man - Onew - he wasn’t lying about him getting attacked.”
Lu Han released a long breath and buried his face into his hands wordlessly. Yixing, however, remained wary. “How do you even know this? And what are you doing here - shouldn’t you be with Kris?” Venom filled Yixing’s voice. Tao winced.
“Yixing… Please.” Lu Han placed a hand on Yixing’s to stop the other from glaring daggers at the taller male and smiled weakly at his saviour. “Thank you, Tao.”
Tao inclined his head in acknowledgement with a hesitant smile. “He told me not to come back to you in order find him when he came to see Kris. But that idiot never left another way to contact him anyway. It’s a good thing Jongin contacted Suho before I came here.”
Yixing frowned, disbelief all too apparent on his face. “Suho sent you? I thought you and your little group didn’t want to follow ‘our naïve ideals’?”
“Yixing.”
“No, Lu Han. They’re the ones who were selfish and left us to get their bloody revenge! They’re the ones who left us when we needed them! They’re the ones who caused so many people to die because violence - always violence - was their answer to everything!” Yixing’s eyes blazed with increasing ferocity, a far cry from his usually mellow nature. Then, in a softer tone that carried more vehemence than his loud outburst, he continued, “They’re the ones who betrayed us.” The silent betrayed me didn’t need to be spoken out loud for the other two to catch it in his voice.
Just as Lu Han was about to speak, Tao raised his hand to stop him. “No, it’s okay. He’s right. We were blinded by rage; we didn’t think of how our actions might have affected everyone else… And we did break your trust. I’m truly sorry.”
Yixing grunted in response. He avoided eye contact with Tao by hovering his hand over Lu Han’s arm; the soft glow that emitted from it started to heal the cuts on it until Lu Han swatted it away. “No, Yixing. Save your energy. I’m fine.” Yixing grunted again and Tao took it as an opportunity to continue speaking.
“After we all fought DBSK at the Primary Stem, Kris - no, we - realized that violence only spurred more violence. It was too late, I know, but we’re trying to help too.” Yixing’s frown conveyed his scepticism. Tao released a frustrated breath. “Please, Yixing. You have to understand! You can’t just ignore us like this!”Tao ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m just… Yixing, please don’t be mad at Kris. I know you have every right to be but please. Kris is the only one I have and he’s dying and you’re the only one who can help.”
“Kris is dying?” Both Lu Han and Yixing stared at the taller man in shock.
“He has that disease. It just appeared this spring.” The two remained silent, letting the heavy words fill the air. Tao turned to Lu Han and began hesitantly, “I don’t know whether to tell you this or not but when Kris was talking to Sehun, it seemed like-”
“I know.” Lu Han pushed himself off the floor slowly, choosing instead to watch his knives fly back to their place in his pouch with a flick of his hand than look at the surprise on Tao’s face and confusion in Yixing’s.
Tao opened and closed his mouth wordlessly before finally blurting out in a strained voice, “H-how? Since when?”
“Since the first outbreak.”
Tao gasped. “He’s had it for that long? How is he still okay?”
Yixing’s gaze flickered between them uncomprehendingly then, with a sudden burst of enlightenment, he clapped a hand to his mouth, eyes wide in shock.
Lu Han sighed deeply, eyes shut tight. “We were the only ones left inside the inner chamber when the Primary Stem was collapsing… Some strange miasma was being released and Taeyeon only had strength left to shield one person so Sehun told her to save me.” When he opened his eyes, they were glazed with unshed tears. “I don’t know when it manifested but, when the disease started to show up everywhere, I was certain that he had it too. He wasn’t very good at hiding it anyway - I noticed the missing bandages from the first aid kit before the second outbreak began. Then he left the bar during the second outbreak even though it was confirmed by then that the disease isn’t transmittable. I’m not entirely sure how it hasn’t progressed as quickly as others’ have either; maybe it’s because being an Anomaly with more natural life force than a normal person gives some protection against it or maybe it’s the lingering effects of Taeyeon’s magic. I guess it doesn’t really matter since he’s so determined to suffer through this whole thing alone.”
Yixing stepped closer and put a hand on Lu Han’s shoulder. Lu Han shook his head with a small smile and shrugged it off. “I’ll go get my potions then we’ll leave.” Lu Han left the two in silence.
Yixing sunk into a chair that had mercifully escaped unscathed and ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this… Kris is… And Sehun… Does Sehun know that you - that he - knows?”
“I doubt it. For all his abilities, Sehun isn’t exactly the brightest of the lot. Besides, these two always skirt around the important things they need to talk about - why do you think they’re not together yet?” Tao glanced at Yixing carefully. “I’m really sorry, by the way… Even though my words may not mean much to you, I hope you know that, Yixing.”
Yixing shook his head. “No, it’s okay; I know you are. It’s just hard to let go, you know? You’re right anyway; we need to move on.” He looked up at the taller man with a smile. “I’m content with my life right now. And Kris… I hope you two will be happy together.”
Tao looked out the window where moonlight was already fading to the day. “I hope so too.”
-
Two men perched on the saddles of large, yellow birds known as chocobos sped through a maze of trees, frantically evading masses of debris hurled their way from a pursuer hidden by the cover of twilight. The smaller of the two, with normally neat brown hair plastered against his head due to his sweat, forced himself to pull a hand away from where it was firmly glued onto the neck of the chocobo and moved dainty fingers in the air. Light emitted from his hands and solidified into star-shaped blades that he immediately threw behind him, earning him a deafening roar from the creature behind them.
“Chanyeol, do something!” He yelled to his companion, hand back to where it was positioned on the bird to keep himself from sliding off his seat.
The other, long-limbed and frizzy-haired from their flight, grinned at him widely. “Don’t worry, Baek! I’ve got this!” He raised both arms, almost toppling off the bird, and released bright orange flames from his palms; the fire morphed into a phoenix that stretched out its wings and flew at the assailant, setting fire to surrounding branches that brushed its long tail and nearly coming in contact with the other boy’s steed.
“CHANYEOL! I SWEAR, IF YOU SINGE MY HAIR AGAIN, I’LL SHAVE YOUR HEAD WITH MY LIGHT SHIRUKEN!”
The man laughed, apology getting lost in his snickers, but was cut off by an ear-piercing cry from behind. Both turned to see a gigantic, horned, dog-like creature charging straight towards them with a cackling muscle man riding on its shoulder. As Chanyeol raised his arm to direct the phoenix at the monster, they heard a roar of an engine before a motorcycle burst out of the forest and collided directly with the creature, sending it crashing into a tree trunk and causing its rider to yell furiously as he dropped to the ground.
“Really, you two? Flirting on the battlefield?”
“Jongin! Sehun!”
The cloaked figure on the back of the motorcycle waved with a smug grin while its driver, a stark contrast of furrowed brows and a grim frown, pointed a translucent blade at the attacker.
“Glad to see you too, Baekhyun.” Jongin greeted nonchalantly, hopping off the vehicle lithely, hand already engulfed in black flames that flickered in the advancing darkness of the night.
Chanyeol grinned happily, as if the angry man with the monster wasn’t in their presence. “Wow, I can’t believe Sehun is here too! Does that mean Lu Han’s around? He promised us free drinks when he sees us again!”
Sehun felt a smile tug at his lips; it was just like Chanyeol and Baekhyun to act as if everything was the same as it had always been, as if the two years that had passed had never really existed. “I’m afraid he isn’t here right now but I’m sure he’d love to if you dropped by the bar sometime.”
“I’m sorry; am I interrupting your little reunion?” All eyes redirected to the man that was now flexing his muscles, obviously preparing for an attack, eyes glowering at them; the summoned monster beside him did the same.
Sehun scowled at him, ignoring the remark and sliding off his seat into an offensive stance. “What do you and your group want?”
The man laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? Revenge!” His laughter died with an angry glimmer in his eyes. “We will make the ideal world our fathers dreamt of. And to do that, you bothersome pests need to get out of the way.” He lifted his gloved fists, smirking. The beast beside him howled in anticipation. “Why don’t I start now, no?”
Sehun clenched the handle of his sword in preparation. From his peripheral vision, he could see the flickering darkness of Jongin’s shadow fire and the unmistakable flash of light from Baekhyun’s blades while the phoenix squawked above them, heating his skin even in the cool air of the early morning. Before either side could make a move, another man materialized next to the monster.
The muscular man stared at the newcomer, apparently as surprised as the others at his arrival. “Onew, what are you doing here?”
Onew smiled. “There’s been a change of plans, Jonghyun. We’re regrouping.” He turned to the others, eyes settling on Sehun; his lips curved even more. “Oh, you’re alive. Shame - that means I’ve made a false promise to that cute, little telekinesis user.” Sehun tensed visibly, veins showing on the arm exposed by his torn sleeve. “Ah, it’s fine. I always keep my promises eventually; this is no exception.” He smiled again and waved his staff; all three of the attackers vanished before four simultaneous attacks could touch them.
“Oh, they left?” Baekhyun voiced, confused, as he turned his chocobo around to see Sehun jumping back onto his bike and hastily strapping his empty hilt to his back. “Sehun, where are you going? You just got here.”
“They went to Lu Han…” The seething anger in his low growl alarmed his companions; Sehun never was good at taming his temper - the split of the twelve was evidence enough for that. Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun quickly dismounted their chocobos, ready to calm Sehun down - with force if necessary. “If they fucking touched him…” He slammed a fist down on the side of his motorcycle and gritted his teeth when pain shot up his arm for an entirely different reason that went unnoticed by the others.
With a raised brow, Jongin commented, “And you said that Lu Han didn’t need you - that he was strong enough to fend for himself.” Sehun glowered at him, his grip on one of the bike handles tightening until his knuckles paled even in comparison to his porcelain skin. “What? I’m just saying that despite all your excuses, you want to be with him more than anything so stop feeding yourself and everyone else that bull about how ‘you can’t be with him’. Besides, you probably don’t need to worry; if anything happened, we would have gotten a call from Suho or something.”
As if fate was taunting them, a shrill noise from Jongin’s pocket pierced the silence. All eyes stared at Jongin; Sehun’s face looked to be completely void of colour. Hands shaking slightly, Jongin picked up the phone, wide eyes locked with Sehun’s. “Hello?” A few nervous seconds passed with Jongin making small noises of acknowledgement to the speaker on the phone while the others’ fixed stares at him never wavered. When he finally ended the call, Sehun was the first to bark out, “well?”
“They’re fine. They were attacked but Tao got there in time.”
Sehun released a long breath, shoulders slumping with a sudden release of tension. “Kim Jongin, I swear, one day…” He let the threat - a harmless one, they knew - hang in the air as he rubbed his face tiredly.
“Tao was the one who helped them?” inquired Baekhyun in a tone of pleasant surprise.
Chanyeol looked just as enthused, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Does that mean we’re getting everyone together again? Oh! How exciting!”
Sehun raised his face from his hands to give Jongin a questioning look, mixed with a little resignation if Jongin wasn’t imagining things. “Well, are we?”
Jongin grinned. “We’re to meet at Kris’ place as soon as possible.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol cheered and exchanged high-fives while Sehun grunted with a frown. “I know you’re still a bit sore over what happened but people make mistakes, Sehun. We’re going to need their help especially since we’re facing the heirs of DBSK - they probably still have a lot of underground followers left while our side barely has anyone even with the government’s help.”
Closing his eyes again, Sehun sighed. He didn’t need Jongin to tell him that. Sometimes, the distorted faces of the hundreds of Anomalies who had passed - fallen in their fight or under the malicious hands of DBSK’s followers - still haunted his memories. He opened his eyes and gripped the handles of the motorcycle. “I already know. So what are you waiting for? Get on; we need to get there by tomorrow night at the latest.”
Jongin hopped onto the seat behind him with an exultant grin while Chanyeol whistled excitedly. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“How do you expect us to get there that quickly? I know you’re a crazy driver and all but, if you haven’t noticed…” Baekhyun coughed pointedly, gesturing towards the large birds.
Sehun raised an eyebrow and turned his key, the engine beneath him humming to life in an instant. “Tomorrow night at the latest.”
Part II
Pairing: Sehun/Lu Han, Baekhyun/Chanyeol, Kris/Tao, Kai/Kyungsoo, Joonmyun/Yixing, Kris/Yixing, Minseok/Jongdae, OT12 (+probably others)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Angst, Drama, Humour, Action, Romance, Fantasy
Word count: 25502
Summary: The planet was in danger again. They weren't heroes, by any means, but the twelve had to join together once more. (AN: Basically, what happens when you put MAMA, Final Fantasy and me together.)
Warning: Violence, character death
“How is he?”
Lu Han looked up at the lean figure sitting across the bar counter, gauging the cat-like eyes curtained by jet black hair briefly before redirecting his attention to cleaning the used martini glasses in his hands. Even after two years, the objects looked a little out of place in hands roughened by things more heavy and tough than delicate glassware and fine drinks. Then again, it hadn’t always been that way. The figure on the stool across from him was a familiar one but was an unusual sight in the midst of the quiet bar in the wee hours before the sun rose for the next day.
“I don’t know.”
The man quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly. “What do you mean ‘I don’t know’? You’re the only one he keeps in contact with; shouldn’t you know?”
The caramel-haired bartender almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the claim because ‘in contact’ was definitely not how he would describe it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and grabbed the man’s empty beer glass with a little more force than necessary. “It means I don’t know. Why do you all assume that I know everything that he does?” Quietly, as if speaking to himself, he added, “I don’t think I know anything about him anymore.”
The other man’s eyes softened their gaze and he reached across the counter to pat Lu Han’s shoulder with a rueful smile. “Hang in there, Lu Han.” He pushed himself off his seat, surveyed the nearly vacant bar, its last customers practically snoozing into their drinks as sunlight began to peek through the drawn blinds, and dropped his payment onto the counter before the other man could object. “You really don’t belong in a place like this - really, you of all people running a bar?” He chuckled with a shake of his head before spinning on his heel and waving over his shoulder. “Today’s kind of a bad day but call me if you want to have fun again, okay? Being stuck in here too long can’t be good for you and you know we’d always welcome your company. Oh, before I forget, tell that idiot that Kris wants to see him when you have the chance. Later.”
Lu Han allowed a small smile to grace his face as he waved the disappearing figure farewell before it was replaced, once again, by a melancholy frown. He continued his tasks as usual, patiently waking and ushering home his drunken patrons, before finally flipping over the ‘Closed’ sign on the door. By the time he climbed up the stairs to the small connected apartment located above the bar, past a closed door that had a fine layer of dust on its doorknob without a glance and into the next one where he promptly collapsed on the bed in exhaustion without bothering to shed his dark clothing, the man’s words were dancing in his mind insistently in the deafening silence of his home - if it could still be called that. It seemed to have lost that definition over the years. For a moment, he watched the sun rise outside his window, its rays illuminating the discoloured outlines of the rundown city and reminding him of the time, many years ago, when the world buzzed with life and iridescence instead of the dreary gray listlessness to which they had all grown accustomed. The recollection only made the man’s words more prominent in his memory so, with a heavy sigh, he tugged the cordless phone off its place on his bedside table, as well as several post-its lying next to it, and dialed the only number he knew from memory.
After precisely five rings, the call connected to the voice mail. As always.
“Hey.” Lu Han greeted in an unnaturally happy tone and he knew that the receiver, if he ever listened to the call, would be able to tell. “Sulli has another order from the same place. She’ll send you the money later today and is expecting the package by next week so don’t forget. And Donghae wants you to deliver a chocobo egg to their sister farm. I’ve already told him that it’s too risky to take the egg on a motorcycle but he insists that you take it - you know how he is.” He paused, biting his lip uncertainly. “Tao came by. He said that Kris wants to talk to you. I’m not sure what it’s for but… don’t do anything rash… okay?” He then sat up, returning the sticky notes to their place while the hum of his last word drifted into the still air, and hovered his finger over the disconnect button.
“Just… Take care of yourself, Sehun.”
The phone beeped, line dead, in his hand. Lu Han screwed his eyes shut and ignored it.
-
“You need change, Lu Han. You can’t just stay cooped up in that little bar of yours, waiting for him, forever. You have so many other things you could be doing and you helping me out on your day offs doesn’t count.”
Lu Han frowned at the medic that was wrapping a fresh roll of bandage around the dark sores on a young boy’s arm - sores that even Yixing couldn’t heal - as he himself tied off gauze on the black splotches of an elderly woman. The room, a makeshift infirmary in a barely habitable building located in one of the shabbier parts of the city, was filled with similarly afflicted people of all ages and backgrounds. Around the globe, he was sure the scene had become more and more common since that last great battle that left none untouched by sacrifice and loss but also signified the start of what Lu Han could only describe as the world’s retribution for humanity’s stupidity.
“I didn’t think you and Tao would say something so similar.”
The other man halted his actions abruptly and looked back at Lu Han, who chose to continue his task without indicating that he noticed the other’s reaction, while pushing his dark hair out of his face, incredulity overpowering the annoyance in his expression. “You met Tao? When?”
Lu Han grunted in confirmation, placing a damp towel on another patient’s feverish forehead with a reassuring grin and circles rubbed against the back of her hand; she wasn’t going to last the night. “The other day. Kris wanted to meet him, apparently.” Ignoring the narrowing of the other’s eyes by rubbing his own tired ones, laden with sleep deprivation and stress, he looked at the sorry sight around them. “It’s getting worse, Yixing. There are ten more just today.”
Yixing nodded, allowing the conversation to digress; he didn’t really want to talk about them at the moment anyway. He dropped to his knees before a patient thrashing about in his sleep and placed a glowing hand to his heated forehead until the man became calm. “I can’t do anything though. There’s only so much I can do in these conditions.”
“You know that Suho is trying his best to help. The government can’t really do much with so many other problems still arising.”
Yixing smiled sadly, nodding his head. Other than Lu Han, the only person he truly trusted was Suho. Kris was once highly regarded as well but that was long ago, too far in the past to hold any meaning any longer. “In any case, my healing can’t cure this… whatever this is. I can only really prolong it at most; I’m not as talented as Tae-”
Lu Han’s face contorted in a way that made Yixing’s mouth snap shut.
“Sorry.”
The other man sighed. His hand smoothened the crease in his brows before dropping to finger the small pendant of a silver hexagon around his neck absentmindedly; his eyes strayed to the identical charm on Yixing’s wrist. “It’s okay. You shouldn’t be.”
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a surprised screech from a person by the door. The sound was soon echoed by a number of others in the same vicinity, bringing both men to the door with hurried steps and hands already reaching into the pouches tied to their waists. When they arrived outside, they were greeted by the sight of a bird similar in size of and frame as a falcon, other than the long, flowing tail and the fact that it was made entirely of scarlet embers, and they immediately relaxed. Lu Han stretched an arm toward the bird and allowed it to land on his open palm where it instantly burst with a bright effusion of golden light, leaving a lucid, paper-like sheet covered in glowing letters on his hand. He scanned it quickly then released the sheet into the air where it disappeared into the sunlight, leaving the impression that it had never existed in the first place.
“Minseok’s missing.”
-
A lone figure clad entirely in black sat on the seat of a parked black motorcycle situated near the precipice of an arid mountain. Strapped to his back was a bladeless hilt with a stylised insignia of a hexagon adorning it. Mahogany eyes swept across the equally desolate landscape below, unperturbed by the brown hair occasionally blowing into his line of vision with every gust of dry wind, as the message on his phone replayed for the seventh time just that morning.
“-Just… Take care of yourself, Sehun.”
Sehun closed his eyes as the phone beeped, signalling the end of the message. After a few silent minutes during which the phone was snapped shut and tucked into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of sunglasses, fixed them on the bridge of his tall nose and drove into the barren road.
-
“He’s coming.”
Tao directed the statement to the blond man sitting regally on the turned leather swivel chair behind the grand oak desk; even without seeing his face, he knew that a smirk was glued to the man’s face. Beside him, a shorter man dressed in the same black suit as he, with slicked dark hair and high cheekbones, tensed, fingers clenching in preparation.
“Let him in. And give him a nice greeting, will you?”
At that moment, the door slammed open and a gust of wind blew in, causing the files on the desk to disperse around the room. Immediately, the man beside him jumped at the intruder, bluish sparks of electricity shooting from his fingertips, only to be pushed back by a barrier of air enveloping the newcomer and forced against the wall with a thud. Tao moved away from the attack, movements accelerated by the familiar surge of power in his veins and quickly pulled out a retractable steel pole from his belt. Just as he activated it to elongate to its full length, the cold edge of a translucent blade, the strange feeling of its surface moving like a steady stream of air against his skin making him recall distant and unwanted memories, pressed against his neck, as if waiting for the contact, and stilled his hastened movements.
Despite the obviously dangerous situation he was in, Tao grinned cheekily. “I see that you haven’t lost your touch, Sehun.”
The man glared at him and retracted his weapon slowly, the blade vanishing to leave only its decorated hilt; the howling wind that accompanied him quieted as well. “What do you want, Kris?”
From behind the desk, chair now turned towards them, Kris laughed. “Now, Sehun, is that any way to treat old friends? You’ve even gone and hurt Chen.”
Sehun side eyed the said man as he pushed himself off the wall and rubbed the back of his head. “I wasn’t aware that you still thought of me as a friend.”
Kris frowned, crossing his fingers under his chin. “What happened in the past is in the past. I’ve never stopped thinking of you as a friend despite what you believe. And, with recent times, old friends must stick together.” At Sehun’s suspicious look, he sighed, knowing that pursuing the topic would have no effect. “Sehun, it’s spreading. And this isn’t an ordinary disease, you know that. It’s related to what happened two years ago.” He rolled up a sleeve to present the small, ugly patches of graying skin lying beneath. Sehun stiffened, mouth stretching to a narrow line and left arm flexing involuntarily. “And strange occurrences of late appear to be related to it too. You can’t deny it, Sehun. We need to do something.”
“Whatever it is you’re planning, I don’t want to be a part of it.” Sehun glowered at the blond, matching the intimidating gaze aimed at him. “Just because you say you’ve forgotten the past doesn’t fix anything.”
Kris’ thick eyebrows knitted even more closely together, the dark eyes beneath blazing with sudden emotion. “Is that why you’ve stopped all contact with everyone? Is that why you’ve left the bar? Is that why you’ve left Lu-”
“SHUT UP!”
Wind raged erratically around the room, circling Sehun like a tornado and forming shallow cuts on the exposed skin of the three men. When the winds died down, scattering litter and debris everywhere, the dangerous glint in Sehun’s eyes never left. He re-sheathed his bladeless weapon and turned to the door.
Before a step could be made, there was a low whisper behind him. “You aren’t the only one who has suffered, Sehun. We’ve all had our own fair share.” A glance thrown over his shoulder showed him tired lines etched onto Kris’ skin and a melancholy smile aimed at the picture frame on his desk. His jaw clenched as he turned away.
“I’m leaving.” With a deathly glare in Tao’s direction, he growled. “Don’t talk to him again to contact me.”
Just as he was about to step through the door, a tentative hand gripped his sleeve. Sehun looked over his shoulder at Chen with eyes narrowed more in confusion than anger because even before the fissure between the three and the rest of the twelve, he and Chen seldom spoke to each other. The shorter man eyed him carefully before whispering, “He’s still waiting. Always waiting.” The brief flurry of sentiment that appeared vanished with a blink and a scowl immediately took its place on Sehun’s face. He forcefully wrenched this arm away and fled.
-
A man dressed in gray robes, the hexagonal emblem once representing the small rebel group but now a symbol of the new government visible above his heart, dashed down the hallway, traces of light floating behind him before disappearing. He stopped at the last door, a little more opulent than the rest, and swung it open hurriedly; it collided with the wall with a bang, making dust and the tinkling sounds of the rattling chandelier overhead fill the musty air. The sole occupant of the room, donning similar garbs and identical emblem glinting under the light, didn’t seem at all fazed by the intrusion, keeping his head of dark red hair buried in a mountain of paperwork as he said, with a hint of exasperation in his voice, “What did I tell you about the doors, Kyungsoo?” Only a little sprinkle of pink on Kyungsoo’s cheeks betrayed his embarrassment as he walked forward to stand before the other man.
“Chanyeol and Baekhyun sent a letter. Minseok didn’t return from his venture to find new energy sources in Mideel. Something happened, Suho.”
Suho was on his feet at once, papers left forgotten on his desk. “There’s something afoot. This pandemic is getting worse and no one can figure out how to cure it, Chanyeol and Baekhyun have been fending off hordes of monsters - something that hasn’t happened since two years ago - and Jongin sent word of something amiss in the east too.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, eagerness reflecting out of his eyes rather than the worry the words should have caused. “Jongin called?”
Suho allowed a small smile at the other’s reaction; Kyungsoo had always been an open book - it was one of the things that had drawn him to Kyungsoo in the first place. “Yes. But don’t get your hopes up. Nowadays, he’s almost as hard to reach as Sehun.” They both exited the office, paces brusque with urgency. “Your little love problems aside,” Kyungsoo released a flustered huff that almost made Suho laugh aloud, “these could only mean that there’s a disruption of sorts with the Tree of Life and something unusual - or someone - is causing it. We need to gather the others and quickly.”
-
Crimson liquid trailed down his arm, now partially visible through the jagged tear running down his sleeve, as his motorcycle skidded on the gravel road, coming to a stop only when it rammed into an ancient tree at the edge of the trail. Sehun clicked his tongue in annoyance as he pushed off his bike, weapon at the ready and dripping with dark blood from the red-scaled carcass lying meters away, and scanned the premises for the hidden assailant because, even with the recent influx of monsters, Vlakorados never appeared this far south. His suspicions were confirmed by the sinister chuckle emitted from within the dense woods.
“I don’t have time to be playing games. Show yourself!”
Another chuckle, a little closer this time, was heard. “Now, now - patience is a worthy virtue to have, don’t you think so?” A boy, barely in his twenties, stepped out into the open, smile echoing the remains of his laughter though the eyes behind tendrils of vibrant scarlet portrayed malice. He was flanked by two figures of roughly the same age, perhaps slightly older; the taller and more muscular of the two, with a mop of dark brown curls, cracked his fingers menacingly before enclosing them on the handle of a spiked mace while the other, with platinum blond hair streaked almost haphazardly with all possible hues of the spectrum and fox-like eyes, balanced a crossbow by its trigger on the tip of his finger.
Sehun tensed, lifting his sword higher as he warily eyed the closer of the three, the redhead bearing a large silver revolver with a long blade attached to the barrel - a gunblade. “Who are you and what do you want?”
The redhead grinned sweetly as he approached with languid steps; the other two remained where they were, watching his every movement with tensed stances. “Oh, no one important - nowhere close to being as important as you, I dare say, Mr Saviour of Exoplanet.” He stopped a meter away, his cherubic face now completely void of mirth while his knuckles paled with the clenching of his fists.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what’s funny?” The redhead continued as though he had never been interrupted, the smile that returned to his lips now ironic, while he circled around Sehun without closing or widening the distance between them. “It’s funny that everyone seems to acclaim you as the planet’s saviour - saviour from the hands of the so called evil DBSK Corporation - when you’ve soiled your hands just as much as, or perhaps more so than, they had.” He stopped again and pointed an accusing finger at Sehun, eyes blazing with blatant hatred and all pretense of amicability lost. “They did what they had to do for the planet’s greater good but you killed them all! And for what? Glory? Prestige? Some warped sense of justice? And now you go around delivering parcels while your friends set up some ridiculous façade of a government to cover up what you did? What a laugh!”
Sehun’s grip tightened as the boy barked out a laugh. “Who are you?”
“Oh, can’t you tell? Don’t you see the family resemblance, Mr Saviour?” A cocky grin, almost challenging him to state otherwise, stretched across the boy’s face. The same grin, on the face of another man, had been stuck in Sehun’s memories for over two years.
“You’re Jaejoong’s son.”
The grin widened, revealing white teeth that seemed to glisten at him menacingly. “Bravo! You got the right answer.” He clapped his hands mockingly then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the gunblade was aimed at him, its cylinder whirring in anticipation and his smiling face once again reverting to an emotionless mask. “Key, Minho, why don’t we give Mr Saviour his prize, shall we?”
A case of air enclosed Sehun just as a bullet was shot in his direction, his sword, now bladeless, nearly dropping from his grip at the suddenness of the action, deflecting it towards the surrounding terrain where it evaporated in puffs of smoke. The turbulence of winds around him caused the arrows from the blond’s crossbow to fly about precariously, narrowly missing the curly brunet’s head as he charged toward Sehun with a raised hand, the spikes on his mace glinting dangerously in the moonlight seeping through the canopy overhead as they ripped through the fabric of Sehun’s already damaged sleeve and scratched his skin deeply enough to create new paths of red liquid flowing along his arm. Sehun swung his sword, the blade springing forth spontaneously as the winds died down, at the redhead, only managing to slice through jets of scarlet flames from the gun attachment that licked his arm painfully before aiming a wave of air at the other two to knock them off their feet.
The brunet roared at him angrily. “Is that the best you can do? Fight me like you fought my father, you coward!” He stood and raised his weapon while smirking at the mild surprise reflected on Sehun’s face. “That’s right, I’m Changmin’s son. And Yoochun is Key’s father.” The blond beside him acknowledged the statement by raising his crossbow, trigger finger at the ready.
Sehun sneered at them. “I guess it’s true what they say: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The three glared, taking offensive stances with grim determination; Sehun did the same.
Before any of them could move, charcoal flames rained from above, dividing Sehun from his attackers, and a cloaked figure materialized in front of Sehun with the same black flames dancing on his arms.
The blond called Key clicked his tongue in annoyance. “This wasn’t in the plan. Taemin, let’s go!” The redhead grunted, anger clearly defined on his face, before aiming one last bullet at Sehun that was diverted with a swing of Sehun’s sword and disappearing into the dense trees with his comrades.
Once they were out of sight, the blade of Sehun’s sword dissipated and he relaxed his stance. He sheathed the hilt and turned to the cloaked man, only his tanned face and black hair visible under the high-collared attire, who was now walking to his motorcycle to examine the damages. “Thanks, Jongin.”
The man looked up from his task and smiled cheekily. “Fancy seeing you here, Mr Saviour.”
Sehun rolled his eyes and kicked Jongin in the shin before settling himself on the ground beside him, ripping off his torn sleeve to reveal pale skin marred with red gashes and gray splotches. “If you were here the whole time, why didn’t you come out sooner?”
Jongin plopped down and gave the exposed arm a questioning once over that Sehun pointedly ignored. With a frown, he pulled out a bottle of red liquid to toss to Sehun who uncorked it and poured the contents gingerly on his arm, wincing when it came in contact with his flesh. “I was following those three for a while now. More monsters have been popping up and they seem connected but I wasn’t quite sure how. Until today, when they confronted you, of course. I should have known they were related - you’d think the evil, glaring eyes and pretty boy faces would’ve been a dead giveaway but no.”
Sehun narrowed his eyes, ignoring Jongin’s imitation of the redhead’s expression. “You can’t be suggesting that they’re planning on reviving DBSK and using the Tree of Life for money again. The planet is barely functioning with all the damage on the Primary Stem; any more and the world may just collapse.”
The Tree of Life was the planet’s main source of energy and power - essentially its source and embodiment of life as all creatures on the planet inherited some energy from it at birth. It stood at the centre of the planet, earning it the alternative name Primary Stem, and had eight smaller trees called Secondary Stems, which possessed similar capabilities and were located at the cardinal and intercardinal points of the globe, all connected through an extensive network of roots kilometers below the surface. Each Stem had one specially selected Anomaly - a person who possessed more concentrated amounts of the Tree’s life force, giving them abilities beyond that of normal humans - named maidens or guardians, according to their gender, who protected and managed them to prevent their misuse and exploitation. That, however, was exactly what had occurred with the rise of the DBSK Corporation, sending the world into an era of turmoil that only ended, not without many weighty sacrifices and after-effects, two years prior at the Primary Stem.
Jongin nodded gravely. “I’m not a hundred per cent certain but it seems like it. They’re deluded teens. Probably bought all that crap their fathers were spouting about it being for the better future of the world. And they’re probably not the only ones; both Yunho and Junsu’s sons are almost certainly going to go after the others. We need to go help them.”
Sehun turned to look at him, a blank expression pasted on his face. “They can handle them themselves. They don’t need me there.”
Jongin narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Sehun, Lu Han needs you.”
Sehun looked away, busying himself with covering as much of his wound and discoloured flesh as possible with his torn sleeve. “He can take care of himself.”
“You know that isn’t what I meant.”
His lips thinned to a slim line, paling with the effort it took to stop the thudding of his heart at every mention of the man. “He’s stronger than he looks.”
“If you already knew that, then why did you leave him?” Sehun moved his mouth wordlessly, unable to piece together a response. Jongin’s eyes softened and he sighed, melancholy laced in every breath. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for Taeyeon’s death. It wasn’t your fault and no one blames you for what happened. Everyone just wants you to come back. He wants you to come back. He’s still waiting for you.”
Sehun heaved a sigh. “I know… But you really shouldn’t be talking.”
Jongin grinned wryly. “I don’t count. Kyungsoo and I have come to an understanding.” He paused and looked at Sehun inquisitively. “You haven’t even talked to him at all, have you?” When Sehun had no response, he continued in a softer tone, “Even strong people have their moments of weakness, you know.”
With an aggravated groan, Sehun ran a hand through his chestnut locks and closed his eyes. “But Lu Han deserves so much more. I shouldn’t be the one by his side. I don’t want him to feel obligated to stay with me because I’m sick and because I’m his best friend. And I don’t want to… No, forget it. Just… I can’t be with Lu Han.” The name, though absent from his lips for a long time, felt as if it belonged - as if his mouth echoed back the name each time it reverberated in his mind more times than he could count or want to admit.
Jongin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think Lu Han should be making that decision.”
“You’re such a hypocrite.” The corners of his mouth twitched upward briefly, the concept of a smile as foreign to him as the name that had, just moments ago, graced his lips with its presence once more.
“Yeah… But you wouldn’t have me any other way.”
Sehun rolled his eyes and leaned back against the tree that was supporting his motorcycle. “You suck. I’d rather have Baekhyun or Chanyeol here instead.”
Jongin joined him, knocking shoulders with Sehun as he settled himself against the rough wood, mock hurt fixed on his face. “I’m a little offended that you’d rather spend time with the lovebirds instead of me. Heaven knows how rowdy they get.”
Sehun’s lips twitched up at the thought, falling to the temptation of old memories for once. He looked up at the moon that was barely visible through the foliage wistfully. “Why are we all so bad at this?”
Jongin sighed. “I wish I knew.”
-
“Lu Han, we really don’t have time for this. Your customers will figure out that you’re out and will find some other rundown bar to get drunk in so hurry up, you workaholic worrywart!” Yixing exclaimed in exasperation as he watched the blond flit about the bar, looking for a piece of paper to write on while waving a pen around in the air.
After scribbling a hasty message on a loose sheet and taping it to the door, Lu Han shook his head with a roll of his eyes. “See, this is why you aren’t a business person, Yixing. And I’ll have you know that my bar is the best in the city, thank you very much. Besides, I still have to get all my potions before we lea-” He cut off his speech at the sound of floorboards creaking from above. Immediately, both drew their weapons: Yixing brandished two silver pistols while golden butterfly knives circled Lu Han, floating in the air in what looked like a silent dance. “Who’s there?”
“You just make it too easy to hunt you down that it’s no fun for me.” A slender man with light brown hair and mirthless eyes that turned to half moons when a toothy grin crept on his face descended from the stairs; the quiet thumps of his staff on the floors filled the silence that fell as he moved to face them. “I mean, if I’m going to take an assassination mission, the least you could do is make it interesting for me. I should have just made Minho do this instead. But, really, who would have thought that the people who supposedly brought peace to the world would have such drab lives?”
The sound of a gunshot echoed around the room, ringing in their ears. The man glanced at the small hole that was just centimetres from his toes thoughtfully while Yixing aimed the smoking barrel of his gun to the stranger’s forehead. With a venomous glare, Yixing barked out, “Answer the question.”
The man clicked his tongue distastefully. “You people don’t have any patience, do you? Fine, if you want to play that way, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
Suddenly fire shot out from the tip of his staff, catching their heels as they dodged the attack. Gunfire filled the room as jets of water and sparks of lightning replaced the flames. Lu Han evaded the array of attacks and exploding debris just barely, his knives flying through the air in their own death dance. A blade sunk into the man’s thigh right when a powerful blast of vine-like flames wrapped around Yixing’s arms and forced him to drop his weapons with a strangled cry. The man laughed, swinging his staff to send Yixing’s writhing form into the broken remains of several barstools while water rushed out of the hand he stretched out in Lu Han’s direction, pushing him back from the force.
“That’s right, suffer! Suffer like our fathers - my father - did!” He cackled then added with a crazed gleam in his eyes, “Suffer just like your pathetic, little friend did!”
The knives quivered in the air, their movements slowing visibly while a table floated off the ground and took its place between the jet of water and Lu Han to block the attack until it died down. The table fell to the ground with a heavy thud while both Lu Han and the man stared at each other, panting.
“What do you mean? What have you done?” The golden knives flew around Lu Han, twitching sporadically.
The man cackled. “That Minseok guy didn’t put up much of a fight. Jonghyun and I got bored of him pretty quickly.”
A dozen miscellaneous objects around the room suddenly rose to the air, joining the jerking movements of the golden blades orbiting Lu Han. “What have you done to Minseok?!”
The man just giggled with child-like amusement. “Oh? Mad, are we? Worried about your little friend?” A sadistic grin planted itself on his face, making his eyes glint maliciously under the dim bar lights. “What about your other friends? Not worried about them? A particular brunet, perhaps? With pale skin and rather pretty, droopy eyes? Goes by the name of-”
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SEHUN?!” The levitating objects trembled in place, seemingly frozen seemingly frozens he turned away.in the stifling air.
“Don’t worry; after Taemin and the others are done with him, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
The objects dropped to the ground. Lu Han’s eyes widened and the cynical smirk on the man’s face grew.
Yixing forced himself to his knees painfully, the marks on his arms glowing as they vanished ever so slowly. “Don’t listen to him, Lu Han! He’s just trying to get to you!” Lu Han didn’t move, seemingly unable to hear anything any longer. Yixing saw the mage lift his staff, ready to deal a final blow. “LU HAN!”
Suddenly, a blur of movement entered Yixing’s vision and the man was thrown against the case of liquor behind the counter. Blinking in surprise, Yixing glanced at where Lu Han stood to see a familiar tall figure wielding a long metal pole standing between Lu Han and the mystery assailant. “Tao?”
The unknown man sighed, standing up from the wreckage of broken glass and lumber as if he had not just been thrown halfway across the room and was sporting various open wounds on his body. “An unwanted guest has arrived. That isn’t very nice. I guess we’ll have to meet again next time. But be warned: that will be the last.” He vanished with a swish of his staff.
Lu Han collapsed the ground the moment the stranger disappeared, bringing Tao and Yixing to his side immediately. His eyes stared unseeingly at the distressed wooden flooring as his mouth moved to form words involuntarily. “Sehun… Sehun…”
“Sehun is fine.” Tao said, pushing a button on his pole to return it to its shorter form. Lu Han looked up at him hopefully while Yixing eyed him with blatant distrust. “He’s on his way to help Baekhyun and Chanyeol with Jongin. He’s fine but that man - Onew - he wasn’t lying about him getting attacked.”
Lu Han released a long breath and buried his face into his hands wordlessly. Yixing, however, remained wary. “How do you even know this? And what are you doing here - shouldn’t you be with Kris?” Venom filled Yixing’s voice. Tao winced.
“Yixing… Please.” Lu Han placed a hand on Yixing’s to stop the other from glaring daggers at the taller male and smiled weakly at his saviour. “Thank you, Tao.”
Tao inclined his head in acknowledgement with a hesitant smile. “He told me not to come back to you in order find him when he came to see Kris. But that idiot never left another way to contact him anyway. It’s a good thing Jongin contacted Suho before I came here.”
Yixing frowned, disbelief all too apparent on his face. “Suho sent you? I thought you and your little group didn’t want to follow ‘our naïve ideals’?”
“Yixing.”
“No, Lu Han. They’re the ones who were selfish and left us to get their bloody revenge! They’re the ones who left us when we needed them! They’re the ones who caused so many people to die because violence - always violence - was their answer to everything!” Yixing’s eyes blazed with increasing ferocity, a far cry from his usually mellow nature. Then, in a softer tone that carried more vehemence than his loud outburst, he continued, “They’re the ones who betrayed us.” The silent betrayed me didn’t need to be spoken out loud for the other two to catch it in his voice.
Just as Lu Han was about to speak, Tao raised his hand to stop him. “No, it’s okay. He’s right. We were blinded by rage; we didn’t think of how our actions might have affected everyone else… And we did break your trust. I’m truly sorry.”
Yixing grunted in response. He avoided eye contact with Tao by hovering his hand over Lu Han’s arm; the soft glow that emitted from it started to heal the cuts on it until Lu Han swatted it away. “No, Yixing. Save your energy. I’m fine.” Yixing grunted again and Tao took it as an opportunity to continue speaking.
“After we all fought DBSK at the Primary Stem, Kris - no, we - realized that violence only spurred more violence. It was too late, I know, but we’re trying to help too.” Yixing’s frown conveyed his scepticism. Tao released a frustrated breath. “Please, Yixing. You have to understand! You can’t just ignore us like this!”Tao ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m just… Yixing, please don’t be mad at Kris. I know you have every right to be but please. Kris is the only one I have and he’s dying and you’re the only one who can help.”
“Kris is dying?” Both Lu Han and Yixing stared at the taller man in shock.
“He has that disease. It just appeared this spring.” The two remained silent, letting the heavy words fill the air. Tao turned to Lu Han and began hesitantly, “I don’t know whether to tell you this or not but when Kris was talking to Sehun, it seemed like-”
“I know.” Lu Han pushed himself off the floor slowly, choosing instead to watch his knives fly back to their place in his pouch with a flick of his hand than look at the surprise on Tao’s face and confusion in Yixing’s.
Tao opened and closed his mouth wordlessly before finally blurting out in a strained voice, “H-how? Since when?”
“Since the first outbreak.”
Tao gasped. “He’s had it for that long? How is he still okay?”
Yixing’s gaze flickered between them uncomprehendingly then, with a sudden burst of enlightenment, he clapped a hand to his mouth, eyes wide in shock.
Lu Han sighed deeply, eyes shut tight. “We were the only ones left inside the inner chamber when the Primary Stem was collapsing… Some strange miasma was being released and Taeyeon only had strength left to shield one person so Sehun told her to save me.” When he opened his eyes, they were glazed with unshed tears. “I don’t know when it manifested but, when the disease started to show up everywhere, I was certain that he had it too. He wasn’t very good at hiding it anyway - I noticed the missing bandages from the first aid kit before the second outbreak began. Then he left the bar during the second outbreak even though it was confirmed by then that the disease isn’t transmittable. I’m not entirely sure how it hasn’t progressed as quickly as others’ have either; maybe it’s because being an Anomaly with more natural life force than a normal person gives some protection against it or maybe it’s the lingering effects of Taeyeon’s magic. I guess it doesn’t really matter since he’s so determined to suffer through this whole thing alone.”
Yixing stepped closer and put a hand on Lu Han’s shoulder. Lu Han shook his head with a small smile and shrugged it off. “I’ll go get my potions then we’ll leave.” Lu Han left the two in silence.
Yixing sunk into a chair that had mercifully escaped unscathed and ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this… Kris is… And Sehun… Does Sehun know that you - that he - knows?”
“I doubt it. For all his abilities, Sehun isn’t exactly the brightest of the lot. Besides, these two always skirt around the important things they need to talk about - why do you think they’re not together yet?” Tao glanced at Yixing carefully. “I’m really sorry, by the way… Even though my words may not mean much to you, I hope you know that, Yixing.”
Yixing shook his head. “No, it’s okay; I know you are. It’s just hard to let go, you know? You’re right anyway; we need to move on.” He looked up at the taller man with a smile. “I’m content with my life right now. And Kris… I hope you two will be happy together.”
Tao looked out the window where moonlight was already fading to the day. “I hope so too.”
-
Two men perched on the saddles of large, yellow birds known as chocobos sped through a maze of trees, frantically evading masses of debris hurled their way from a pursuer hidden by the cover of twilight. The smaller of the two, with normally neat brown hair plastered against his head due to his sweat, forced himself to pull a hand away from where it was firmly glued onto the neck of the chocobo and moved dainty fingers in the air. Light emitted from his hands and solidified into star-shaped blades that he immediately threw behind him, earning him a deafening roar from the creature behind them.
“Chanyeol, do something!” He yelled to his companion, hand back to where it was positioned on the bird to keep himself from sliding off his seat.
The other, long-limbed and frizzy-haired from their flight, grinned at him widely. “Don’t worry, Baek! I’ve got this!” He raised both arms, almost toppling off the bird, and released bright orange flames from his palms; the fire morphed into a phoenix that stretched out its wings and flew at the assailant, setting fire to surrounding branches that brushed its long tail and nearly coming in contact with the other boy’s steed.
“CHANYEOL! I SWEAR, IF YOU SINGE MY HAIR AGAIN, I’LL SHAVE YOUR HEAD WITH MY LIGHT SHIRUKEN!”
The man laughed, apology getting lost in his snickers, but was cut off by an ear-piercing cry from behind. Both turned to see a gigantic, horned, dog-like creature charging straight towards them with a cackling muscle man riding on its shoulder. As Chanyeol raised his arm to direct the phoenix at the monster, they heard a roar of an engine before a motorcycle burst out of the forest and collided directly with the creature, sending it crashing into a tree trunk and causing its rider to yell furiously as he dropped to the ground.
“Really, you two? Flirting on the battlefield?”
“Jongin! Sehun!”
The cloaked figure on the back of the motorcycle waved with a smug grin while its driver, a stark contrast of furrowed brows and a grim frown, pointed a translucent blade at the attacker.
“Glad to see you too, Baekhyun.” Jongin greeted nonchalantly, hopping off the vehicle lithely, hand already engulfed in black flames that flickered in the advancing darkness of the night.
Chanyeol grinned happily, as if the angry man with the monster wasn’t in their presence. “Wow, I can’t believe Sehun is here too! Does that mean Lu Han’s around? He promised us free drinks when he sees us again!”
Sehun felt a smile tug at his lips; it was just like Chanyeol and Baekhyun to act as if everything was the same as it had always been, as if the two years that had passed had never really existed. “I’m afraid he isn’t here right now but I’m sure he’d love to if you dropped by the bar sometime.”
“I’m sorry; am I interrupting your little reunion?” All eyes redirected to the man that was now flexing his muscles, obviously preparing for an attack, eyes glowering at them; the summoned monster beside him did the same.
Sehun scowled at him, ignoring the remark and sliding off his seat into an offensive stance. “What do you and your group want?”
The man laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? Revenge!” His laughter died with an angry glimmer in his eyes. “We will make the ideal world our fathers dreamt of. And to do that, you bothersome pests need to get out of the way.” He lifted his gloved fists, smirking. The beast beside him howled in anticipation. “Why don’t I start now, no?”
Sehun clenched the handle of his sword in preparation. From his peripheral vision, he could see the flickering darkness of Jongin’s shadow fire and the unmistakable flash of light from Baekhyun’s blades while the phoenix squawked above them, heating his skin even in the cool air of the early morning. Before either side could make a move, another man materialized next to the monster.
The muscular man stared at the newcomer, apparently as surprised as the others at his arrival. “Onew, what are you doing here?”
Onew smiled. “There’s been a change of plans, Jonghyun. We’re regrouping.” He turned to the others, eyes settling on Sehun; his lips curved even more. “Oh, you’re alive. Shame - that means I’ve made a false promise to that cute, little telekinesis user.” Sehun tensed visibly, veins showing on the arm exposed by his torn sleeve. “Ah, it’s fine. I always keep my promises eventually; this is no exception.” He smiled again and waved his staff; all three of the attackers vanished before four simultaneous attacks could touch them.
“Oh, they left?” Baekhyun voiced, confused, as he turned his chocobo around to see Sehun jumping back onto his bike and hastily strapping his empty hilt to his back. “Sehun, where are you going? You just got here.”
“They went to Lu Han…” The seething anger in his low growl alarmed his companions; Sehun never was good at taming his temper - the split of the twelve was evidence enough for that. Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun quickly dismounted their chocobos, ready to calm Sehun down - with force if necessary. “If they fucking touched him…” He slammed a fist down on the side of his motorcycle and gritted his teeth when pain shot up his arm for an entirely different reason that went unnoticed by the others.
With a raised brow, Jongin commented, “And you said that Lu Han didn’t need you - that he was strong enough to fend for himself.” Sehun glowered at him, his grip on one of the bike handles tightening until his knuckles paled even in comparison to his porcelain skin. “What? I’m just saying that despite all your excuses, you want to be with him more than anything so stop feeding yourself and everyone else that bull about how ‘you can’t be with him’. Besides, you probably don’t need to worry; if anything happened, we would have gotten a call from Suho or something.”
As if fate was taunting them, a shrill noise from Jongin’s pocket pierced the silence. All eyes stared at Jongin; Sehun’s face looked to be completely void of colour. Hands shaking slightly, Jongin picked up the phone, wide eyes locked with Sehun’s. “Hello?” A few nervous seconds passed with Jongin making small noises of acknowledgement to the speaker on the phone while the others’ fixed stares at him never wavered. When he finally ended the call, Sehun was the first to bark out, “well?”
“They’re fine. They were attacked but Tao got there in time.”
Sehun released a long breath, shoulders slumping with a sudden release of tension. “Kim Jongin, I swear, one day…” He let the threat - a harmless one, they knew - hang in the air as he rubbed his face tiredly.
“Tao was the one who helped them?” inquired Baekhyun in a tone of pleasant surprise.
Chanyeol looked just as enthused, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Does that mean we’re getting everyone together again? Oh! How exciting!”
Sehun raised his face from his hands to give Jongin a questioning look, mixed with a little resignation if Jongin wasn’t imagining things. “Well, are we?”
Jongin grinned. “We’re to meet at Kris’ place as soon as possible.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol cheered and exchanged high-fives while Sehun grunted with a frown. “I know you’re still a bit sore over what happened but people make mistakes, Sehun. We’re going to need their help especially since we’re facing the heirs of DBSK - they probably still have a lot of underground followers left while our side barely has anyone even with the government’s help.”
Closing his eyes again, Sehun sighed. He didn’t need Jongin to tell him that. Sometimes, the distorted faces of the hundreds of Anomalies who had passed - fallen in their fight or under the malicious hands of DBSK’s followers - still haunted his memories. He opened his eyes and gripped the handles of the motorcycle. “I already know. So what are you waiting for? Get on; we need to get there by tomorrow night at the latest.”
Jongin hopped onto the seat behind him with an exultant grin while Chanyeol whistled excitedly. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“How do you expect us to get there that quickly? I know you’re a crazy driver and all but, if you haven’t noticed…” Baekhyun coughed pointedly, gesturing towards the large birds.
Sehun raised an eyebrow and turned his key, the engine beneath him humming to life in an instant. “Tomorrow night at the latest.”
Part II