Full Moon (24/24)
Title: Full Moon
Genre: Angst, Supernatural, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Tragedy
Rating: R
Characters (In this chapter): Changmin, Seohyun, Donghae, Kyuhyun, Kangta, Mithra, Yuri, Sooyoung, Siwon, Leeteuk, Ryeowook, Geunyoung, Geunseuk, Dara, Minho, Yunho, Yesung, and Sungmin
Pairings: KyuMin, HaeMin, YeMin
Warning: AU, Occasional Genderswitch (Min only), violent scenes, fictional characters, character deaths
Summary: Lee Sungmin is a strong boy who had feminine features that people always mistook him as a girl. His normal life was then changed when a guy named Cho Kyuhyun suddenly appeared and changed his life TOTALLY.
Previous Chapters:
Prologue ♣ 1 ♣ 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♣ 6 ♣ 7 ♣ 8 ♣ 9 ♣ 10 ♣ 11 ♣ 12 ♣ 13 ♣ 14 ♣ 15 ♣ 16 ♣ 17 ♣ 18 ♣ 19 ♣ 20 ♣ 21 ♣ 22 ♣ 23
“Kyuhyun…”
Changmin took steps back as he stared wide-eyed at Kyuhyun, who had his body fall limp on the ground, hand covering the part where lots of blood was gushing out from. He can’t believe it; he just knifed the one he treated as his own brother. He was blinded by anger that he didn’t listen to Kyuhyun’s explanations. The knife he used contains chemicals that are used to torture and kill vampires. He might just kill his brother.
What scared him more was when he saw Donghae crying and looked at him with full fiery on his red eyes. He moved to run as Donghae charged towards him, but a pair of bloodied arms wrapped around his waist stopped him from doing so… it belonged to his younger sister, Seohyun.
“Oppa… please stop…” she weakly whispered.
It hurt him at the sight of his precious sister being severely wounded. He did all of these for her, but it ended up hurting her… and his best friend.
He smiled at her, which she gladly returned, closing his eyes as soon as he felt the alien feeling of an extremely hot, sharp flame lingering inside him, which went thru his body and even reached Seohyun. He collapsed after Donghae withdrew his blood-covered arm from him, tears falling when he felt rough particles brushing his skin from the back, his tired gaze lingering on his weeping best friend, mumbling an “I’m sorry, Kyuhyun” before darkness overtook him forever.
Donghae went back to his senses at the sight of Changmin turning to dust. He instantly remembered his stabbed brother, so he ran back to the younger, encasing Kyuhyun in his arms whilst he cupped the boy’s face, tears running down his cheeks.
“Kyu…”
“Hyung, please take care of Sungmin for me… please tell her I love her and that I am sorry for not fulfilling my promise to her…” Kyuhyun whispered, scrunching his nose as he felt the pain intensifying.
“Ssh, don’t talk like that… you will survive… you promised Sungmin that you will come back to her, right?” Donghae gently said with a weak smile while brushing off the hair falling on the younger’s face.
Kyuhyun held his older brother’s wrist, choking as he says, “I’m sorry, hyung… for everything… I’m happy that you are my brother… thank you for taking care of me…”
This time, Donghae sobbed more, a feeling of something strong clenching his heart at every word his brother blurts out. He shook his head vigorously, burying his face on the younger vampire’s chest, “I forgive you, Kyu… please live! Sungmin will die if you die!”
But then, Kyuhyun stretched a smile… a smile that looks dreamy and gentle… a smile which is full of love. “Then, save her, hyung… make her happy…”
“No. Save her, Kyu. Make her happy.”
“What do you mean?” What Donghae said made Kyuhyun confused. He doesn’t know if this is the effect of being wounded that his brain doesn’t work properly now or Donghae didn’t make it clear to him.
Then, Donghae pressed a hand on Kyuhyun’s forehead, and whispered something only he could hear. Kyuhyun’s eyes widened the moment he knew what his hyung was doing.
“STOP IT, HYUNG!!!!” Kyuhyun tried removing Donghae’s hand from his forehead, but because he is weak, he can’t even move properly.
Donghae ignored him and smiled for the last time.
“I love you, Kyuhyun… I will always love my precious baby brother… you are the most special person in my life. I wish you happiness with Sungmin… please don’t forget me.”
“NO, HYUNG!!!!!”
____________________________________
Both Kangta and Mithra are lying flat on the floor, trying hard to catch their breath, losing hope for blood is blocking their airways. Kangta bitterly laughed, amused to see his mortal enemy dying, “Phantoms from other countries will soon arrive, and you know well that Phantoms are bigger in population than you, Crescents.”
“You will also fall, Kangta. Not only because it is a Full Moon, means that the success is yours. We don’t know what would happen next.” Mithra hissed in between his labored pants.
Kangta clenched his fist and yelled, “Shut up!” He slammed the ground, causing for it to break open into two, closing his eyes as the ground eat the two of them. I will leave the rest to your child, Dara.
Kangta was right; all of other Phantoms from other countries came to the rescue and attacked the Crescents. It startled the Crescents. However, Crescents are probably the bravest, or in a better sense of the word, wildest, creatures on Earth, so they still fought against the newcomers, who attain fresh energy and power.
After Yuri made six Crescents explode, her peripheral sight took notice of Kyuhyun, whose stomach was lying on the ground, unconscious. Panicking, she came near the boy and saw him crying while continuously mumbling Donghae’s name.
And then it struck her.
Being Donghae’s mother, a hard pang on her chest was suddenly felt by her. She became nervous… scared. Her gaze landed on the gray ashes being flown away by the wind, this so-called ‘motherly instinct’ inside her worked, her heart being clenched tightly as images of her cheerful son flashes on her mind.
“Umma…”
She heard Donghae’s voice ringing inside her ears. It is not the usual bubbly tone he uses, but it is melancholic… pleading.
“Please keep Kyuhyun safe, umma… please…”
She blinked her eyes for infinite times as she tries to compose herself, but her tears failed to do so. A big part of her was taken away from her. Her son… her only son… the only treasure she cherished and will cherish her whole life… was gone. What is now her reason to live? Why does it have to be Donghae? Donghae is the most kind-hearted boy she ever knew.
If only she knew this would be coming, she would have stayed beside her son and never left Korea for her personal leisure. She would have spent more time with her son.
She was about to break down, but a pat on her shoulder caught her attention, and she saw Sooyoung looking at her with a sorry expression. Sooyoung raised another hand, and on her palm laid the necklace Donghae was always wearing - the one she gave him before she went away when Donghae was still 10 years old.
She took the necklace, brought it to her heart, clutched on it tight, and there she sobbed hard, shouting out all the pain she is feeling… the pain of losing the most important person in your life.
Sooyoung is also a mother, so she understands what Yuri is currently feeling now. Throwing all of their disagreements in the past away, she encased Yuri in her arms, giving the comfort the woman needed, though it won’t be enough to ease the pain. No one could heal this kind of pain. Nothing.
Yuri saw Donghae’s smiling face, telling her that he is better than ever. And that’s when she remembered her son telling her once that he doesn’t want being a vampire anymore… that it sucks. Donghae wanted this. Donghae wanted to be free. Donghae is now happy. As his mother, she should be too. Donghae wanted Kyuhyun to be safe, so she is going to make sure of it… because it is Donghae’s last request to her.
She moved away from Sooyoung and wiped her tears, “Sooyoung-sshi, let us bring Kyuhyun to a safe place…”
I won’t let Donghae’s sacrifice come to a waste… I love you, baby.
____________________________________
Sungmin marched towards to where they came from, only to be stopped by Leeteuk. She snapped her head to the guy, reasoning, “Leeteuk hyung, I have to go search for Kyuhyun!”
Leeteuk tightened his grip on the woman’s arm to prevent her from struggling, “Kyuhyun is fine, Min. We still have to look for Master Siwon and King Kangta!”
“But… but…”
“I love you, Min…”
She froze after hearing that familiar voice from somewhere, echoing in her ears. That was when it struck her; it was Donghae’s voice. She can’t be mistaken. It really belongs to Donghae.
“Donghae…” she whispered to no one.
She feels that she is being suffocated. Something is making her chest heavy and tight. She faced Leeteuk, her knees weakened, causing for her to fall, with Leeteuk instantly taking a firm hold of her arms, “Teukkie hyung, Donghae… Hae… Hae… I need to find them, hyung!!! I want to see them!!! I need to make sure they are alive! Donghae is… He is… I don’t… No… please, no… Please don’t leave me, Hae!!! Hae!!!!” she wailed as she grips on Leeteuk’s clothes and buries her face on the guy’s chest, who was feeling the same fear as hers.
Leeteuk tried to be calm and strong for Sungmin obviously isn’t, and being the older one, he tried hushing his dongsaeng, though he felt like breaking down as well; he treated Donghae as his own younger brother. That guy is the sweetest he ever knew. “O-Okay, Min, we’ll find them. Come on…” he helped Sungmin stand up.
They ran back to where they previously were to check on Donghae and Kyuhyun, panic and worry all over their faces. However, Sungmin stopped as they landed their feet on the grassed ground. She raised her head to look at the sky, narrowing her eyes at the sight of the moon slowly turning to its quarter shape.
“Tonight is a Full Moon, right?”
Leeteuk was equally shocked and clueless. “What is happening?”
Then, to Leeteuk’s surprise, Sungmin screamed in pain, clutching her head as she crouches down. He knelt beside the younger, shaking her, “Min! Min! What’s wrong with you?”
His question remained unanswered for rain suddenly poured.
____________________________________
Siwon left Seunghyun disappearing to gray ashes. He clutched his wounded stomach as he used the walls as support to walk, stopping once in a while when he feel his vision blur or to cough blood. Yesung, who just emerged from a corridor, saw him and stared at his poor condition.
“Kim Yesung…” he weakly mumbled.
The former human continued gaping at the wounded Phantom royalty with a facial expression which probably lies in between confusion and certainty.
Remembering something, he struggled to grab something inside the back pocket of his pants, his butt landing on the floor with a loud thud after he fished out what he needed. He first stared at the paper, smiling after a few seconds before shifting his gaze to the young guy. Slowly, he weakly lifted the arm which had the paper on it, and pointed it to the direction where Yesung is, earning a questioning look from the younger.
Getting the expression of Yesung, Siwon smiled as he remained in his position, “Please… please give this to Sungmin. I can’t live longer now… I’m too weak to find for my niece… I’m glad that she had turned to a girl now… please… please give it to her…”
Yesung hesitantly grabbed the paper and was about to ask something, but Siwon already turned to ashes. His eyes fell on the paper on his hand and whispered, “Sungmin…”
He stared at it for minutes before deciding to put it inside one of his jacket’s pockets, and continued walking towards his destination - which is still actually unknown to him. He was just walking away from the fight going on outside. He hates wars. He wonders why people would want such kind of things. What would they get after? They just satisfied their greediness, but where is the sense of achievement in it when all you see were dead people who sacrificed their lives for them and don’t even get a single recognition from them?
When he agreed on Yunho’s condition on him, he never thought that he would enter this kind of life. This was probably the reason why Sungmin chose not to tell him that he is now a vampire. Sungmin knew he hates chaos that he doesn’t even want Sungmin getting involved on gang wars before.
He was blinded with vehemence. He should have seen Sungmin’s intentions.
Before reaching one of the staircases in the mansion, he narrowed his eyes when something caught his attention.
He panicked and got worried when he saw outside, body laid flat on the land, catching for his breath. He went to the guy and held his hand, afraid that if Ryeowook will be moved more, the wounds would get bigger.
“Wookie…”
Ryeowook slowly opened his tired eyes, his lips instantly curving into a small smile at the recognition of his Yesung-hyung despite his sight being blurry.
“H-Hyung…” he managed to croak; he is too exhausted to speak.
Yesung stroked his dongsaeng’s hair, the gentle voice Ryeowook knew came from him is now back. His Yesung-hyung is back to being himself.
“Wookie… I’m sorry…” it hurts for him to see Ryeowook this weak and broken.
Ryeowook gripped back the hand of his hyung, squeezing it as hard as he can, “It’s okay. I understand.”
“Ssh, don’t talk, okay? I’ll find you a place to recover…”
However, the younger didn’t seem to hear what his hyung told him and resumed on speaking, “Please tell Sungmin-hyung that I’m sorry for everything… I… I said bad things to him before…”
Yesung nodded many times, a tear escaped his eyes when he blinked, which was followed by more. “I will, I will…”
Ryeowook finally closed his eyes with a smile, tears also started falling from the side of his eyes, “I love you, hyung.”
Yesung then saw Ryeowook’s legs turn into ashes, making him slip his arm under the younger’s head, held his hand tighter while shouting, “No! No! Wookie, no!!!”
But it was too late; Ryeowook was now turned into small particles of gray dust.
He choked on his tears just the same time heavy rain fell from the skies, which was turning to the hue of ebony, the sound of thunder added to the music of sorrow in his heart. So this was what it feels to lose an important person in your life… in front of your own eyes.
“Yesung, go to the rooftop.”
____________________________________
Leeteuk stared in worry for Sungmin, who just stopped screaming and remained kneeling on the ground, her hands on either side of her head. He just pulled the younger inside due to the rain; Phantoms are weak against rain or any forms of water, and now he worries about his fellow Phantoms. It also weirded him out at the thought of a Full Moon turning to a Quarter just like that.
“M-Min…?” he bent to level his face with the younger, jolting back when Sungmin snapped his head up, a different kind of scary sensation filled his insides when he saw Sungmin’s eyes turn bright red… a familiar diamond-shaped yellow thing formed at the center of Sungmin’s red orbs.
He saw Sungmin frown at somewhere far from them and let out an annoyed tsk, much to his confusion; Sungmin never acted that way. It is more like Sungmin is, yet again, possessed by someone… probably Sungmin’s father this time.
To his surprise, Sungmin, no, Minho was gone and charged towards the Crescents as fast as lightning. He widened his eyes when the Crescents were like robots switched off by their controller. The vampires fell on the ground, unmoving. What’s more surprising, Minho didn’t even come near them. He just stayed on one position, but he caught the Crescents’ attention.
The next thing he knew, the Crescents are already groaning in pain and the rain has stopped… but the moon remained as it is.
Suddenly, Minho ran back inside the mansion, but not to Leeteuk, but to the staircase they found, and Leeteuk had no choice but to follow the vampire.
They stopped at the highest level of the place - at the rooftop. Minho slammed the heavy door open, Leeteuk’s eyes widening at the sight of Yunho hungrily drinking Yesung’s blood from the neck. Minho, who was using Sungmin’s body, moved to push Yunho away from Yesung, whose body was carelessly thrown to the side.
Minho was facing Yesung’s direction, so Yunho took this chance to attack the guy from behind. Minho was aware; however, Leeteuk blocked him and received Yunho’s attack instead. Minho quickly stole a glance at the Phantom slave before getting back to the young vampire in front of him.
“Foolish Phantoms. It is a Quarter moon tonight.”
Minho scowled at the younger before kicking him hard on the chest, enough for Yunho to be tossed far away, his back crashing on the iron fence, which instantly broke, but, being a skillful vampire he is, he was able to grab onto a tube and get back to the rooftop even before he falls.
“You forgot that I am a Crescent too, young lad,” Minho hissed as Yunho climbed back to their arena. Yunho just smirked back, not finding Sungmin’s voice as low as a male’s. He is still thinking that he is fighting against Sungmin. Yunho caught sight of his opponent’s eyes - those red orbs with a hint of bright yellow, which, weirdly, were not as alluring as the first time he saw the pair.
Knowing what those eyes would do to him, he avoided looking at those and decided to just look at Sungmin’s feet. He was alarmed when he saw the feet disappear, and now, he found himself trying to dodge all the attacks made by his strong enemy on him.
He felt a strong jab on his jaw as his vision turns fuzzy, making it hard for him to see, much to the advantage of the other vampire. His foe held him tight on the neck, choking whilst he tasted something metallic dripping from his mouth. If he didn’t make a move, this will be the end of him. He has to think fast.
Minho grabbed Yunho’s chin, and was about to make the young vampire look into his eyes, but what the boy said kind of caught him off guard.
“You must have been worried about your lover,”
Minho frowned; for all he knows, his only lover is his wife, Dara. How would he worry over her? They’re like… dead. “What do you mean?”
Yunho weakly smirked at him, his gaze focused on the smaller’s nose, “You know, Lee Donghae…”
Weirdly, at the mention of Donghae’s name, Minho felt his body tremble.
“Oh, and also that Cho Kyuhyun!” Yunho tried his very best to make his voice louder because he knew he got Sungmin.
Minho moved away from Yunho as he clutches his head. He is dizzy, and is feeling his head ache at the same time. “Sungmin, get a hold of yourself…” he angrily muttered to himself. Yunho took that chance to regain strength and just watched the other.
To Yunho’s confusion, he thinks he saw one eye of Sungmin change, and heard a female’s voice - well, Sungmin can be a girl, “What did you do to them?!” He doesn’t know what was happening to Sungmin, but he couldn’t care less. As long as he knows she fell on his trap.
He smirked and shrugged, “I didn’t do anything to them. It was actually Lee Donghae who injured me badly. But you know what, I saw Lee Donghae turning into ashes in front of a bloody Cho Kyuhyun. I don’t think he will survive in that state.”
Minho can’t take the pain anymore. Sungmin wanted to throw him out from her body. Thanks to Yunho for mentioning Lee Donghae and Cho Kyuhyun.
“STOP IT, SUNGMIN!!!!” he screamed in his original voice, now making Yunho understand that he wasn’t fighting against Sungmin earlier, but against a different person.
Yunho knew that Sungmin’s guard is off, so he attacked Sungmin. However, Leeteuk saw him, so Leeteuk shielded Sungmin, and now, he was the one stabbed by the ice blade formed on Yunho’s hand instead of Sungmin receiving the hit.
Leeteuk fell on Sungmin’s arms with a sad smile, making tears burst from her eyes and screech a very loud, “NOOOOO!!!!!!!”
At that, Yunho took steps backward. His eyes and mouth parted widely as he watches dark aura surround Sungmin, who just let go of Leeteuk’s body.
“Sungminnie, baby, please calm down!!!”
“Sungmin!!!”
=============
Yuri and Sooyoung, who were still in the process of finding a safe place for Kyuhyun, felt the earthquake.
The building they were staying at is gradually collapsing, making Yuri worriedly glance at Sooyoung and an unconscious Kyuhyun, who was being held by his mother. Then, she saw debris threatening to fall at the two, so she ran towards them, shouting, “Sooyoung-sshi, Kyuhyun…!!!”
Sooyoung wasn’t able to reply back for she and Kyuhyun were being harshly pushed by Yuri, realization hitting them that Yuri was now the one being buried under that large debris.
As much as she wants to check on Yuri, she thought of her son’s safety. She tried her very best on carrying her son, her legs wriggling due to tiredness and the shaking of the grounds. She knew that the building will fully break down in any second now, so with all the strength that she could bring out, she threw Kyuhyun towards the gate, where she is sure Kyuhyun will be safe at.
“Son, please be safe…” Those were Sooyoung’s last words before debris of the infrastructure fell on her.
=============
He bolted in surprise when he felt the place shake slightly. He looked around, only to hear faint sounds of cracking of the floor. It only registered to him that Sungmin caused an earthquake the moment the floor was divided into half. He ran away from the fissures, but Sungmin caught him on the collar and hit him on the cheek.
“This is for Kyuhyun.”
She kicked Yunho’s stomach hard, making the guy fall on one of the collapsed structures. She landed near the feet of the injured vampire, “Now that is for my lover, Donghae.”
On a broken cemented wall, Sungmin picked the gun - which she knows belongs to Zhou Mi, and the thought that the old man who took care of her, or him, all these years, was now perhaps gone as well, made her more furious - and pointed it to the vampire prince, “And this… is for Leeteuk-hyung.”
A pull of the trigger, and Yunho disappeared from her sight in the form of ashes.
She let go of the gun, the truth of the death of Donghae and Kyuhyun now slowly dawning on her. Blood was rushing to her head, feeling all the heat envelop her body as she screams, starting another strong earthquake.
“Sungminnie…” she heard someone whisper. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she recognized that voice. “Umma?”
“Sungmin…” this time, it is a male’s voice, so she deduced it belongs to her father. “Appa?”
“You have to take a hold of yourself, Sungmin. You are destroying everything.” Minho calmly explained.
“But Yunho killed Donghae and Kyuhyun!!!!”
Dara sighed, “No, baby… he didn’t…”
“Then, what was he talked about?!”
“Minnie…” it is definitely not her father’s… but to someone very special to her.
“Hae?”
“Please stop now, baby…”
“I’m getting revenge for you and Kyuhyun!”
“No one killed me, Min. I sacrificed my life for Kyuhyun,”
“What?”
“I turned him to a human…”
“…Kyu is alive, baby. Find him.”
“Hae…”
“I love you, Min. I will look over the two of you.”
“I love you too, Hae. Thank you. I will take care of Kyuhyun for you…”
“Make us proud, Sungmin…”
“I will, appa… umma… Thank you.”
She snapped her eyes wide open, and saw that she was still on the Crescents’ place. Everything is wrecked. All she could see were broken walls. She then remembered Leeteuk, so she instantly stood up and looked for the guy, but saw Yesung on a ground, surrounded by pieces of walls. To her relief, he wasn’t buried in it.
She dashed to where her best friend is, smiling after assuring that he is alive. She shot Yesung a questioning look when the guy brought out a paper from his jacket and handed her it, “Siwon-sshi asked me to give you that…”
She looked at the paper and a smile curved on her lips; it is a photo. “This is my umma and appa… and this is me when I was still a baby…”
It shocked her when Yesung choked, so she gathered him in her arms, “Minnie… pumpkin…”
“Y-Yes?” she’s got a bad feeling of this.
Yesung held her hand, the same way Ryeowook did to him hours ago, “I’m sorry for everything, Minnie… I thought that through this, I could be with you… but I was wrong… I even made you suffer more…”
Once again, she started sobbing, “No, it’s okay…”
“Ryeowook asked me to tell you that he is sorry too…”
“I never bore anger at Wookie…” her tears are now dripping at Yesung’s cheeks, making it look like Yesung is also crying.
The guy weakly chuckled, causing for more blood to gush out from his neck, “You know what, I read this one interesting book at the library of the Crescents about spells… and there is this one spell that I wanted to try out on you right now. I hope it will work.”
“You still have to recover.”
He slowly shook his head, “I can’t, Min. I have no time.”
She raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
Using the last of his energy, he reached up for Sungmin’s forehead and smiled gently, that smile which made Sungmin fall for the guy, “This is for my apology for hurting you, my Minnie.”
Sungmin then remembered what Siwon told them before about what really happened to her in the past with her parents, and it scared her that she will experience it for the second time… and this time, Yesung would be the one to do it. She grabbed the guy’s wrist and hrashly removed it from her forehead “No, no, don’t do this, Yesung! Don’t!”
Sungmin thought she already prevented Yesung from doing it, but she didn’t know that Yesung already brought out the chant for it.
“Too late. Good bye, Sungmin… I love you.”
=============
Geunyoung stared at the light blue sky, smiling for another morning is approaching. She whispered, “Oppa, is it over?”
Geunseuk, who was lying on the ground beside his younger sister, answered in relief, “Yes… at last…”
“Do you think appa is happy with what we have done?”
“Of course, baby.”
“Shall we clean this mess up?”
Geunseuk just held Geunyoung’s hand as a sign of agreement. It was fun being Taekyoung; the Phantoms are very nice and welcoming. They don’t deserve what the Crescents have done to them. At least, he was able to contribute something. Geunyoung and he will make sure that the mess created by their fellow vampires will not reach the knowledge of the oblivious mortals. There will be no one like them in this world anymore. At last… they will be at peace.
This is the end of the bloody war caused by greedy blood monsters, who want nothing but to achieve great power.
And now, the vampire world will forever remain quiet and unknown to humans.
EPILOGUE
Genre: Angst, Supernatural, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Tragedy
Rating: R
Characters (In this chapter): Changmin, Seohyun, Donghae, Kyuhyun, Kangta, Mithra, Yuri, Sooyoung, Siwon, Leeteuk, Ryeowook, Geunyoung, Geunseuk, Dara, Minho, Yunho, Yesung, and Sungmin
Pairings: KyuMin, HaeMin, YeMin
Warning: AU, Occasional Genderswitch (Min only), violent scenes, fictional characters, character deaths
Summary: Lee Sungmin is a strong boy who had feminine features that people always mistook him as a girl. His normal life was then changed when a guy named Cho Kyuhyun suddenly appeared and changed his life TOTALLY.
Previous Chapters:
Prologue ♣ 1 ♣ 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♣ 6 ♣ 7 ♣ 8 ♣ 9 ♣ 10 ♣ 11 ♣ 12 ♣ 13 ♣ 14 ♣ 15 ♣ 16 ♣ 17 ♣ 18 ♣ 19 ♣ 20 ♣ 21 ♣ 22 ♣ 23
“Kyuhyun…”
Changmin took steps back as he stared wide-eyed at Kyuhyun, who had his body fall limp on the ground, hand covering the part where lots of blood was gushing out from. He can’t believe it; he just knifed the one he treated as his own brother. He was blinded by anger that he didn’t listen to Kyuhyun’s explanations. The knife he used contains chemicals that are used to torture and kill vampires. He might just kill his brother.
What scared him more was when he saw Donghae crying and looked at him with full fiery on his red eyes. He moved to run as Donghae charged towards him, but a pair of bloodied arms wrapped around his waist stopped him from doing so… it belonged to his younger sister, Seohyun.
“Oppa… please stop…” she weakly whispered.
It hurt him at the sight of his precious sister being severely wounded. He did all of these for her, but it ended up hurting her… and his best friend.
He smiled at her, which she gladly returned, closing his eyes as soon as he felt the alien feeling of an extremely hot, sharp flame lingering inside him, which went thru his body and even reached Seohyun. He collapsed after Donghae withdrew his blood-covered arm from him, tears falling when he felt rough particles brushing his skin from the back, his tired gaze lingering on his weeping best friend, mumbling an “I’m sorry, Kyuhyun” before darkness overtook him forever.
Donghae went back to his senses at the sight of Changmin turning to dust. He instantly remembered his stabbed brother, so he ran back to the younger, encasing Kyuhyun in his arms whilst he cupped the boy’s face, tears running down his cheeks.
“Kyu…”
“Hyung, please take care of Sungmin for me… please tell her I love her and that I am sorry for not fulfilling my promise to her…” Kyuhyun whispered, scrunching his nose as he felt the pain intensifying.
“Ssh, don’t talk like that… you will survive… you promised Sungmin that you will come back to her, right?” Donghae gently said with a weak smile while brushing off the hair falling on the younger’s face.
Kyuhyun held his older brother’s wrist, choking as he says, “I’m sorry, hyung… for everything… I’m happy that you are my brother… thank you for taking care of me…”
This time, Donghae sobbed more, a feeling of something strong clenching his heart at every word his brother blurts out. He shook his head vigorously, burying his face on the younger vampire’s chest, “I forgive you, Kyu… please live! Sungmin will die if you die!”
But then, Kyuhyun stretched a smile… a smile that looks dreamy and gentle… a smile which is full of love. “Then, save her, hyung… make her happy…”
“No. Save her, Kyu. Make her happy.”
“What do you mean?” What Donghae said made Kyuhyun confused. He doesn’t know if this is the effect of being wounded that his brain doesn’t work properly now or Donghae didn’t make it clear to him.
Then, Donghae pressed a hand on Kyuhyun’s forehead, and whispered something only he could hear. Kyuhyun’s eyes widened the moment he knew what his hyung was doing.
“STOP IT, HYUNG!!!!” Kyuhyun tried removing Donghae’s hand from his forehead, but because he is weak, he can’t even move properly.
Donghae ignored him and smiled for the last time.
“I love you, Kyuhyun… I will always love my precious baby brother… you are the most special person in my life. I wish you happiness with Sungmin… please don’t forget me.”
“NO, HYUNG!!!!!”
____________________________________
Both Kangta and Mithra are lying flat on the floor, trying hard to catch their breath, losing hope for blood is blocking their airways. Kangta bitterly laughed, amused to see his mortal enemy dying, “Phantoms from other countries will soon arrive, and you know well that Phantoms are bigger in population than you, Crescents.”
“You will also fall, Kangta. Not only because it is a Full Moon, means that the success is yours. We don’t know what would happen next.” Mithra hissed in between his labored pants.
Kangta clenched his fist and yelled, “Shut up!” He slammed the ground, causing for it to break open into two, closing his eyes as the ground eat the two of them. I will leave the rest to your child, Dara.
Kangta was right; all of other Phantoms from other countries came to the rescue and attacked the Crescents. It startled the Crescents. However, Crescents are probably the bravest, or in a better sense of the word, wildest, creatures on Earth, so they still fought against the newcomers, who attain fresh energy and power.
After Yuri made six Crescents explode, her peripheral sight took notice of Kyuhyun, whose stomach was lying on the ground, unconscious. Panicking, she came near the boy and saw him crying while continuously mumbling Donghae’s name.
And then it struck her.
Being Donghae’s mother, a hard pang on her chest was suddenly felt by her. She became nervous… scared. Her gaze landed on the gray ashes being flown away by the wind, this so-called ‘motherly instinct’ inside her worked, her heart being clenched tightly as images of her cheerful son flashes on her mind.
“Umma…”
She heard Donghae’s voice ringing inside her ears. It is not the usual bubbly tone he uses, but it is melancholic… pleading.
“Please keep Kyuhyun safe, umma… please…”
She blinked her eyes for infinite times as she tries to compose herself, but her tears failed to do so. A big part of her was taken away from her. Her son… her only son… the only treasure she cherished and will cherish her whole life… was gone. What is now her reason to live? Why does it have to be Donghae? Donghae is the most kind-hearted boy she ever knew.
If only she knew this would be coming, she would have stayed beside her son and never left Korea for her personal leisure. She would have spent more time with her son.
She was about to break down, but a pat on her shoulder caught her attention, and she saw Sooyoung looking at her with a sorry expression. Sooyoung raised another hand, and on her palm laid the necklace Donghae was always wearing - the one she gave him before she went away when Donghae was still 10 years old.
She took the necklace, brought it to her heart, clutched on it tight, and there she sobbed hard, shouting out all the pain she is feeling… the pain of losing the most important person in your life.
Sooyoung is also a mother, so she understands what Yuri is currently feeling now. Throwing all of their disagreements in the past away, she encased Yuri in her arms, giving the comfort the woman needed, though it won’t be enough to ease the pain. No one could heal this kind of pain. Nothing.
Yuri saw Donghae’s smiling face, telling her that he is better than ever. And that’s when she remembered her son telling her once that he doesn’t want being a vampire anymore… that it sucks. Donghae wanted this. Donghae wanted to be free. Donghae is now happy. As his mother, she should be too. Donghae wanted Kyuhyun to be safe, so she is going to make sure of it… because it is Donghae’s last request to her.
She moved away from Sooyoung and wiped her tears, “Sooyoung-sshi, let us bring Kyuhyun to a safe place…”
I won’t let Donghae’s sacrifice come to a waste… I love you, baby.
____________________________________
Sungmin marched towards to where they came from, only to be stopped by Leeteuk. She snapped her head to the guy, reasoning, “Leeteuk hyung, I have to go search for Kyuhyun!”
Leeteuk tightened his grip on the woman’s arm to prevent her from struggling, “Kyuhyun is fine, Min. We still have to look for Master Siwon and King Kangta!”
“But… but…”
“I love you, Min…”
She froze after hearing that familiar voice from somewhere, echoing in her ears. That was when it struck her; it was Donghae’s voice. She can’t be mistaken. It really belongs to Donghae.
“Donghae…” she whispered to no one.
She feels that she is being suffocated. Something is making her chest heavy and tight. She faced Leeteuk, her knees weakened, causing for her to fall, with Leeteuk instantly taking a firm hold of her arms, “Teukkie hyung, Donghae… Hae… Hae… I need to find them, hyung!!! I want to see them!!! I need to make sure they are alive! Donghae is… He is… I don’t… No… please, no… Please don’t leave me, Hae!!! Hae!!!!” she wailed as she grips on Leeteuk’s clothes and buries her face on the guy’s chest, who was feeling the same fear as hers.
Leeteuk tried to be calm and strong for Sungmin obviously isn’t, and being the older one, he tried hushing his dongsaeng, though he felt like breaking down as well; he treated Donghae as his own younger brother. That guy is the sweetest he ever knew. “O-Okay, Min, we’ll find them. Come on…” he helped Sungmin stand up.
They ran back to where they previously were to check on Donghae and Kyuhyun, panic and worry all over their faces. However, Sungmin stopped as they landed their feet on the grassed ground. She raised her head to look at the sky, narrowing her eyes at the sight of the moon slowly turning to its quarter shape.
“Tonight is a Full Moon, right?”
Leeteuk was equally shocked and clueless. “What is happening?”
Then, to Leeteuk’s surprise, Sungmin screamed in pain, clutching her head as she crouches down. He knelt beside the younger, shaking her, “Min! Min! What’s wrong with you?”
His question remained unanswered for rain suddenly poured.
____________________________________
Siwon left Seunghyun disappearing to gray ashes. He clutched his wounded stomach as he used the walls as support to walk, stopping once in a while when he feel his vision blur or to cough blood. Yesung, who just emerged from a corridor, saw him and stared at his poor condition.
“Kim Yesung…” he weakly mumbled.
The former human continued gaping at the wounded Phantom royalty with a facial expression which probably lies in between confusion and certainty.
Remembering something, he struggled to grab something inside the back pocket of his pants, his butt landing on the floor with a loud thud after he fished out what he needed. He first stared at the paper, smiling after a few seconds before shifting his gaze to the young guy. Slowly, he weakly lifted the arm which had the paper on it, and pointed it to the direction where Yesung is, earning a questioning look from the younger.
Getting the expression of Yesung, Siwon smiled as he remained in his position, “Please… please give this to Sungmin. I can’t live longer now… I’m too weak to find for my niece… I’m glad that she had turned to a girl now… please… please give it to her…”
Yesung hesitantly grabbed the paper and was about to ask something, but Siwon already turned to ashes. His eyes fell on the paper on his hand and whispered, “Sungmin…”
He stared at it for minutes before deciding to put it inside one of his jacket’s pockets, and continued walking towards his destination - which is still actually unknown to him. He was just walking away from the fight going on outside. He hates wars. He wonders why people would want such kind of things. What would they get after? They just satisfied their greediness, but where is the sense of achievement in it when all you see were dead people who sacrificed their lives for them and don’t even get a single recognition from them?
When he agreed on Yunho’s condition on him, he never thought that he would enter this kind of life. This was probably the reason why Sungmin chose not to tell him that he is now a vampire. Sungmin knew he hates chaos that he doesn’t even want Sungmin getting involved on gang wars before.
He was blinded with vehemence. He should have seen Sungmin’s intentions.
Before reaching one of the staircases in the mansion, he narrowed his eyes when something caught his attention.
He panicked and got worried when he saw outside, body laid flat on the land, catching for his breath. He went to the guy and held his hand, afraid that if Ryeowook will be moved more, the wounds would get bigger.
“Wookie…”
Ryeowook slowly opened his tired eyes, his lips instantly curving into a small smile at the recognition of his Yesung-hyung despite his sight being blurry.
“H-Hyung…” he managed to croak; he is too exhausted to speak.
Yesung stroked his dongsaeng’s hair, the gentle voice Ryeowook knew came from him is now back. His Yesung-hyung is back to being himself.
“Wookie… I’m sorry…” it hurts for him to see Ryeowook this weak and broken.
Ryeowook gripped back the hand of his hyung, squeezing it as hard as he can, “It’s okay. I understand.”
“Ssh, don’t talk, okay? I’ll find you a place to recover…”
However, the younger didn’t seem to hear what his hyung told him and resumed on speaking, “Please tell Sungmin-hyung that I’m sorry for everything… I… I said bad things to him before…”
Yesung nodded many times, a tear escaped his eyes when he blinked, which was followed by more. “I will, I will…”
Ryeowook finally closed his eyes with a smile, tears also started falling from the side of his eyes, “I love you, hyung.”
Yesung then saw Ryeowook’s legs turn into ashes, making him slip his arm under the younger’s head, held his hand tighter while shouting, “No! No! Wookie, no!!!”
But it was too late; Ryeowook was now turned into small particles of gray dust.
He choked on his tears just the same time heavy rain fell from the skies, which was turning to the hue of ebony, the sound of thunder added to the music of sorrow in his heart. So this was what it feels to lose an important person in your life… in front of your own eyes.
“Yesung, go to the rooftop.”
____________________________________
Leeteuk stared in worry for Sungmin, who just stopped screaming and remained kneeling on the ground, her hands on either side of her head. He just pulled the younger inside due to the rain; Phantoms are weak against rain or any forms of water, and now he worries about his fellow Phantoms. It also weirded him out at the thought of a Full Moon turning to a Quarter just like that.
“M-Min…?” he bent to level his face with the younger, jolting back when Sungmin snapped his head up, a different kind of scary sensation filled his insides when he saw Sungmin’s eyes turn bright red… a familiar diamond-shaped yellow thing formed at the center of Sungmin’s red orbs.
He saw Sungmin frown at somewhere far from them and let out an annoyed tsk, much to his confusion; Sungmin never acted that way. It is more like Sungmin is, yet again, possessed by someone… probably Sungmin’s father this time.
To his surprise, Sungmin, no, Minho was gone and charged towards the Crescents as fast as lightning. He widened his eyes when the Crescents were like robots switched off by their controller. The vampires fell on the ground, unmoving. What’s more surprising, Minho didn’t even come near them. He just stayed on one position, but he caught the Crescents’ attention.
The next thing he knew, the Crescents are already groaning in pain and the rain has stopped… but the moon remained as it is.
Suddenly, Minho ran back inside the mansion, but not to Leeteuk, but to the staircase they found, and Leeteuk had no choice but to follow the vampire.
They stopped at the highest level of the place - at the rooftop. Minho slammed the heavy door open, Leeteuk’s eyes widening at the sight of Yunho hungrily drinking Yesung’s blood from the neck. Minho, who was using Sungmin’s body, moved to push Yunho away from Yesung, whose body was carelessly thrown to the side.
Minho was facing Yesung’s direction, so Yunho took this chance to attack the guy from behind. Minho was aware; however, Leeteuk blocked him and received Yunho’s attack instead. Minho quickly stole a glance at the Phantom slave before getting back to the young vampire in front of him.
“Foolish Phantoms. It is a Quarter moon tonight.”
Minho scowled at the younger before kicking him hard on the chest, enough for Yunho to be tossed far away, his back crashing on the iron fence, which instantly broke, but, being a skillful vampire he is, he was able to grab onto a tube and get back to the rooftop even before he falls.
“You forgot that I am a Crescent too, young lad,” Minho hissed as Yunho climbed back to their arena. Yunho just smirked back, not finding Sungmin’s voice as low as a male’s. He is still thinking that he is fighting against Sungmin. Yunho caught sight of his opponent’s eyes - those red orbs with a hint of bright yellow, which, weirdly, were not as alluring as the first time he saw the pair.
Knowing what those eyes would do to him, he avoided looking at those and decided to just look at Sungmin’s feet. He was alarmed when he saw the feet disappear, and now, he found himself trying to dodge all the attacks made by his strong enemy on him.
He felt a strong jab on his jaw as his vision turns fuzzy, making it hard for him to see, much to the advantage of the other vampire. His foe held him tight on the neck, choking whilst he tasted something metallic dripping from his mouth. If he didn’t make a move, this will be the end of him. He has to think fast.
Minho grabbed Yunho’s chin, and was about to make the young vampire look into his eyes, but what the boy said kind of caught him off guard.
“You must have been worried about your lover,”
Minho frowned; for all he knows, his only lover is his wife, Dara. How would he worry over her? They’re like… dead. “What do you mean?”
Yunho weakly smirked at him, his gaze focused on the smaller’s nose, “You know, Lee Donghae…”
Weirdly, at the mention of Donghae’s name, Minho felt his body tremble.
“Oh, and also that Cho Kyuhyun!” Yunho tried his very best to make his voice louder because he knew he got Sungmin.
Minho moved away from Yunho as he clutches his head. He is dizzy, and is feeling his head ache at the same time. “Sungmin, get a hold of yourself…” he angrily muttered to himself. Yunho took that chance to regain strength and just watched the other.
To Yunho’s confusion, he thinks he saw one eye of Sungmin change, and heard a female’s voice - well, Sungmin can be a girl, “What did you do to them?!” He doesn’t know what was happening to Sungmin, but he couldn’t care less. As long as he knows she fell on his trap.
He smirked and shrugged, “I didn’t do anything to them. It was actually Lee Donghae who injured me badly. But you know what, I saw Lee Donghae turning into ashes in front of a bloody Cho Kyuhyun. I don’t think he will survive in that state.”
Minho can’t take the pain anymore. Sungmin wanted to throw him out from her body. Thanks to Yunho for mentioning Lee Donghae and Cho Kyuhyun.
“STOP IT, SUNGMIN!!!!” he screamed in his original voice, now making Yunho understand that he wasn’t fighting against Sungmin earlier, but against a different person.
Yunho knew that Sungmin’s guard is off, so he attacked Sungmin. However, Leeteuk saw him, so Leeteuk shielded Sungmin, and now, he was the one stabbed by the ice blade formed on Yunho’s hand instead of Sungmin receiving the hit.
Leeteuk fell on Sungmin’s arms with a sad smile, making tears burst from her eyes and screech a very loud, “NOOOOO!!!!!!!”
At that, Yunho took steps backward. His eyes and mouth parted widely as he watches dark aura surround Sungmin, who just let go of Leeteuk’s body.
“Sungminnie, baby, please calm down!!!”
“Sungmin!!!”
=============
Yuri and Sooyoung, who were still in the process of finding a safe place for Kyuhyun, felt the earthquake.
The building they were staying at is gradually collapsing, making Yuri worriedly glance at Sooyoung and an unconscious Kyuhyun, who was being held by his mother. Then, she saw debris threatening to fall at the two, so she ran towards them, shouting, “Sooyoung-sshi, Kyuhyun…!!!”
Sooyoung wasn’t able to reply back for she and Kyuhyun were being harshly pushed by Yuri, realization hitting them that Yuri was now the one being buried under that large debris.
As much as she wants to check on Yuri, she thought of her son’s safety. She tried her very best on carrying her son, her legs wriggling due to tiredness and the shaking of the grounds. She knew that the building will fully break down in any second now, so with all the strength that she could bring out, she threw Kyuhyun towards the gate, where she is sure Kyuhyun will be safe at.
“Son, please be safe…” Those were Sooyoung’s last words before debris of the infrastructure fell on her.
=============
He bolted in surprise when he felt the place shake slightly. He looked around, only to hear faint sounds of cracking of the floor. It only registered to him that Sungmin caused an earthquake the moment the floor was divided into half. He ran away from the fissures, but Sungmin caught him on the collar and hit him on the cheek.
“This is for Kyuhyun.”
She kicked Yunho’s stomach hard, making the guy fall on one of the collapsed structures. She landed near the feet of the injured vampire, “Now that is for my lover, Donghae.”
On a broken cemented wall, Sungmin picked the gun - which she knows belongs to Zhou Mi, and the thought that the old man who took care of her, or him, all these years, was now perhaps gone as well, made her more furious - and pointed it to the vampire prince, “And this… is for Leeteuk-hyung.”
A pull of the trigger, and Yunho disappeared from her sight in the form of ashes.
She let go of the gun, the truth of the death of Donghae and Kyuhyun now slowly dawning on her. Blood was rushing to her head, feeling all the heat envelop her body as she screams, starting another strong earthquake.
“Sungminnie…” she heard someone whisper. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she recognized that voice. “Umma?”
“Sungmin…” this time, it is a male’s voice, so she deduced it belongs to her father. “Appa?”
“You have to take a hold of yourself, Sungmin. You are destroying everything.” Minho calmly explained.
“But Yunho killed Donghae and Kyuhyun!!!!”
Dara sighed, “No, baby… he didn’t…”
“Then, what was he talked about?!”
“Minnie…” it is definitely not her father’s… but to someone very special to her.
“Hae?”
“Please stop now, baby…”
“I’m getting revenge for you and Kyuhyun!”
“No one killed me, Min. I sacrificed my life for Kyuhyun,”
“What?”
“I turned him to a human…”
“…Kyu is alive, baby. Find him.”
“Hae…”
“I love you, Min. I will look over the two of you.”
“I love you too, Hae. Thank you. I will take care of Kyuhyun for you…”
“Make us proud, Sungmin…”
“I will, appa… umma… Thank you.”
She snapped her eyes wide open, and saw that she was still on the Crescents’ place. Everything is wrecked. All she could see were broken walls. She then remembered Leeteuk, so she instantly stood up and looked for the guy, but saw Yesung on a ground, surrounded by pieces of walls. To her relief, he wasn’t buried in it.
She dashed to where her best friend is, smiling after assuring that he is alive. She shot Yesung a questioning look when the guy brought out a paper from his jacket and handed her it, “Siwon-sshi asked me to give you that…”
She looked at the paper and a smile curved on her lips; it is a photo. “This is my umma and appa… and this is me when I was still a baby…”
It shocked her when Yesung choked, so she gathered him in her arms, “Minnie… pumpkin…”
“Y-Yes?” she’s got a bad feeling of this.
Yesung held her hand, the same way Ryeowook did to him hours ago, “I’m sorry for everything, Minnie… I thought that through this, I could be with you… but I was wrong… I even made you suffer more…”
Once again, she started sobbing, “No, it’s okay…”
“Ryeowook asked me to tell you that he is sorry too…”
“I never bore anger at Wookie…” her tears are now dripping at Yesung’s cheeks, making it look like Yesung is also crying.
The guy weakly chuckled, causing for more blood to gush out from his neck, “You know what, I read this one interesting book at the library of the Crescents about spells… and there is this one spell that I wanted to try out on you right now. I hope it will work.”
“You still have to recover.”
He slowly shook his head, “I can’t, Min. I have no time.”
She raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
Using the last of his energy, he reached up for Sungmin’s forehead and smiled gently, that smile which made Sungmin fall for the guy, “This is for my apology for hurting you, my Minnie.”
Sungmin then remembered what Siwon told them before about what really happened to her in the past with her parents, and it scared her that she will experience it for the second time… and this time, Yesung would be the one to do it. She grabbed the guy’s wrist and hrashly removed it from her forehead “No, no, don’t do this, Yesung! Don’t!”
Sungmin thought she already prevented Yesung from doing it, but she didn’t know that Yesung already brought out the chant for it.
“Too late. Good bye, Sungmin… I love you.”
=============
Geunyoung stared at the light blue sky, smiling for another morning is approaching. She whispered, “Oppa, is it over?”
Geunseuk, who was lying on the ground beside his younger sister, answered in relief, “Yes… at last…”
“Do you think appa is happy with what we have done?”
“Of course, baby.”
“Shall we clean this mess up?”
Geunseuk just held Geunyoung’s hand as a sign of agreement. It was fun being Taekyoung; the Phantoms are very nice and welcoming. They don’t deserve what the Crescents have done to them. At least, he was able to contribute something. Geunyoung and he will make sure that the mess created by their fellow vampires will not reach the knowledge of the oblivious mortals. There will be no one like them in this world anymore. At last… they will be at peace.
This is the end of the bloody war caused by greedy blood monsters, who want nothing but to achieve great power.
And now, the vampire world will forever remain quiet and unknown to humans.
EPILOGUE