Level One - Fated To Play (Chapter Four 1/2)
Title: Level One - Fated To Play
Main Characters: Kyuhyun, Sungmin
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Sungmin, Kangin/Leeteuk
Genre: Adventure, romance, action
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence, Swear words, character death
Summary: Life is precious... But not everyone agrees.
The government has created a brand new world out of greed and desire, a world where anything can happen.
And where death is the only way to survive.
Kyuhyun enters the Game World to save the person closest to him, and the only way out... Is to win.
[ Master List ]
A/N: ... I AM SO SORRY DON'T KILL ME!!! >W<
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Chapter Four: The Forest of Death
“Sungmin! Sungmin!” Kyuhyun grabbed onto Sungmin’s shaking shoulders as the man lay on the ground, thrashing uncontrollably, his hands tearing at his hair and his eyes closed shut. Kyuhyun pinned his arms down so he couldn’t do any harm to himself and laid his head on his lap, trying to get him to calm down.
“I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!” Sungmin cried and it took a moment for Kyuhyun to realize he wasn’t talking to him. He kept screaming and Kyuhyun was at a loss of what to do. He reached down to wipe his sweaty bangs off his forehead and Sungmin seemed to calm slightly, so Kyuhyun began to slowly caress his hair.
After a few minutes Sungmin had almost calmed down completely and the last words Kyuhyun heard were the soft whisper of, “I’m sorry, Jin-ah.”
Kyuhyun breathed a sigh of relief when Sungmin was swept into slumber. He had been so worried and confused when Sungmin had suddenly broken down in the middle of the forest. They had been near a cave and that was when Sungmin had seen something, or someone, and had bolted in the other direction. When Kyuhyun finally caught up with him the man had been on the ground sobbing and screaming about how sorry he was. Nothing Kyuhyun had said had gotten to him.
“Kyuhyun?”
Kyuhyun jumped when he realized Sungmin was crying. “Sungmin, are you okay?” He whispered as he gathered the older man in his arms, embracing him.
“I’m fine,” Sungmin sniffed as he wiped away his tears. He took a deep breath before pulling himself out of Kyuhyun’s arms and stood up, brushing off his clothes which were covered in dirt. “Let’s keep moving, shall we? I wanted to get a little farther than this before nightfall.”
“Sungmin…” Kyuhyun gave him a threatening glare which Sungmin quickly avoided. He knew he was putting up an act, but this was something he shouldn’t have to keep to himself. “Please, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Kyuhyun could see the conflict raging inside him through his eyes. He reached out his hand. “Please?”
He knew he had given in when Sungmin placed his hand gently in his and sat down next to him, their hands just barely touching between them.
“I joined this game with my brother. His name was Sungjin. I killed him.”
If Kyuhyun had any shock he hid it very well. He just nodded and urged Sungmin to continue.
“He was an Earth child. We were a very good team. We made it until the Forest of Death. That was when he realized the reason why I had joined the game.
“I joined because I want to shut it down for good. This… thing. It’s horrible. It’s using real, live people as a source of entertainment for the rich to watch and a way to lower the population by killing off the poor. It’s disgusting.” Sungmin shook his head sadly, his fists clenched tight so his knuckles were white.
“My brother didn’t agree. He believed, what was one less poor person?” He laughed bitterly. “He threatened to… To turn me in as a traitor. I couldn’t let him do that. He’d take me out of the game and I have a mission to do.”
Kyuhyun watched him carefully, wondering if he would break down again but he just seemed dazed, like he wasn’t completely there and all he was staring at was an empty shell.
“He attacked me first. I tried to defend myself but there was no way I could get away. I had to kill him. Do you understand, Kyuhyun? I had to! He didn’t understand.” Sungmin had turned to Kyuhyun and was gripping onto his arm like a vice. Kyuhyun was at a loss, he knew Sungmin was trying to convince himself more than him.
“I didn’t want to. He kept calling me a traitor and said he would tell father. He hit me right here before I died,” Sungmin said as he pulled back his bangs to reveal a thin scar over his right eye. “It’s a scar that runs deeper than the skin.”
Sungmin was shaking now, his whole body shivering as if from the cold. “Back there… That was where I killed him. But-but I saw him! He was just standing there, staring at me and everything came back, all the pain and guilt I’ve felt for the past few months just overwhelmed me.” He shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. “But it wasn’t him. Sungjin is dead.”
Sungmin turned to Kyuhyun and for a moment Kyuhyun thought he looked similar to a ghost himself. “Do you know why they call it the Forest of Death?” He whispered. “…Because in here the creatures of the dead come alive.”
“He’s not real, Sungmin,” Kyuhyun whispered as he gathered Sungmin up in his arms again when he realized the elder was crying. “It’s just a trick created by the game makers… It’s not your fault. You had to do it.” He only response was a silently shaking Sungmin in his arms.
Kyuhyun wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that but Sungmin gradually stopped crying and they just sat like that, Sungmin in Kyuhyun’s arms, not a word said between them. Finally, Sungmin wiggled his way out of Kyuhyun’s embrace, wiped his nose and sat next to him again.
“What’s your favorite color?” Sungmin finally asked, breaking the silence as he stared at the thick canopy overhead.
Kyuhyun blinked. He realized Sungmin wanted to be distracted from his thoughts. “Blue,” he answered, deciding to go along with it. “What about you?”
Sungmin paused before smiling softly. “Pink.”
The two spent the rest of the time talking like that. Asking each other simple questions like; what their favorite food was, or what their lucky number was. They had begun walking again somewhere in between “how old is your cat?” and “what is your favorite subject in school?”
It had been hours and they hadn’t seen a single person so they were surprised when they saw smoke rising from the trees up ahead.
“Fire.” Sungmin whispered in horror.
Kyuhyun knew what that meant. Even though the forest was moist and cold, the large number of trees and dry forest floor would burn easily. If the forest lit on fire, they could die.
“Come on,” Sungmin said urgently as he grabbed Kyuhyun’s arm, pulling him in the opposite direction. He frowned when Kyuhyun resisted. “What are you doing?”
“We should stop it,” Kyuhyun said, already walking in the direction toward the smoke.
“Are you crazy?!” Sungmin exclaimed.
“If this place lights on fire there’s no way we’ll be able to escape. We have to put it out before it can get any worse.” Sungmin was torn but when Kyuhyun didn’t turn back Sungmin was forced to follow.
Sungmin raced past Kyuhyun, grabbing his arm as he passed. “We’ll, we better hurry then.”
When they finally arrived they found out it wasn’t a forest fire, but only a single tree ablaze. From the thick trunk to the dark green leaves the whole tree was on fire. Standing near the inferno were three men. One’s arms were completely incased in flames, though he didn’t seem to mind. A second man, slim with bright blonde hair, was kneeling next to an unconscious man on the ground. Both of their clothes were ripped, covered in blood.
Sungmin and Kyuhyun looked on in horror. It was Leeteuk and Kangin.
They recognized the man too. It was the guy from the day before that Sungmin had almost killed. It seemed he wanted revenge.
The first man laughed as he watched Leeteuk trying to wake Kangin up. He didn’t seem to notice the large gash across his back as he tried to summon up energy to heal Kangin. When he finally managed to begin closing a cut on Kangin’s arm the man sent a blast of fire at them, lighting Kangin’s clothes on fire.
Leeteuk screamed as he tried to extinguish the flames with his hands, almost catching on fire himself.
“Shit,” Sungmin muttered. He lifted his hands and a blast of air shot out of his hands and the fire went out, extinguished.
The attacker frowned and looked around. “Who the hell was that?” He snapped.
“Get away from them!” Kyuhyun yelled as he ran into the clearing, Sungmin hot on his heels. They stopped when the Fire child jumped in their way and Kyuhyun backed up when he threatened them with his burning arms.
“One step closer and I’ll set this whole place on fire,” the man threatened, waving his arms around, getting much too close to the surrounding trees.
Kyuhyun backed up, eyeing the man cautiously. If he set anything else on fire the whole place would go up in flames. They had to play it safe.
“What do you want with them?” Kyuhyun asked, watching Sungmin in the corner of his eyes in case he decided to attack. It seemed like he understood that they had to be careful for he was just standing there, watching through narrowed eyes.
“Kill them, of course,” the man laughed.
“You’ll have to go through us first,” Sungmin sneered.
The man paused for a moment before he seemed to recognize them. A smirk spread across his face, the fire seeming to grow brighter. “Ah, it’s you two. I thought you seemed familiar. Trying to be the heroes, again, I see.”
“Says the one who got his ass kicked.” Kyuhyun glanced over at Sungmin uncertainly but he just shot him a glance that said he knew what he was doing. When he looked past their opponent Leeteuk was trying to drag Kangin back into the forest. Now he knew what he was doing. Distraction.
The man bristled, the flames crackling around his arms. “You only won because-”
“You didn’t stand a chance.”
Sungmin smirked when the man let out a yell of frustration and shot a ball of flames toward them. He jumped forward and extinguished the flame with a wave of his hand. Then he jumped into the air higher than any human could and slammed his hands down. A large blast of air sent the Fire child flying. His black slammed into the burning tree and there was a creak and a groan as the trunk began to give in, crashing onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Kyuhyun raced toward Leeteuk and Kangin, giving the two fighters a wide berth. As he got closer he could see the extent of the damage done. Kangin must have been knocked out early and because Leeteuk was unable to protect them they had taken a harsh beating. They were covered in cuts, the most prominent being the large gash on Leeteuk’s back and the deep cut on Kangin’s arm, and they were both burned badly from when Kangin had caught fire.
“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked when he saw Leeteuk’s hands, wincing at the raw and blistering skin.
Leeteuk didn’t even seem to notice as he half carried, half dragged Kangin into the security of the trees. “We’re fine, go help Sungmin,” he said as he immediately placed his hands on Kangin’s chest, his hands already glowing weakly. He looked up and his eyes flashed silver. “… Thank you.”
Kyuhyun ran back into the clearing, wanting to help, but almost as soon as he emerged a blast of fire was sent in his direction. He dove out of the way, the grass where he had been standing catching fire. He jumped up, quickly pulling out his bow and knocking an arrow.
He sent it flying in the man’s direction but as soon as it got five feet away it burst into flames and disintegrated. “Is that the best you’ve got, kid?” He laughed.
Sungmin took advantage of the distraction and ran in, coming up behind him and slashing with his katana. He cut the man’s back, but as soon as he touched him his sword burst into flames. He quickly left another cut before backing up, focusing the wind and extinguishing the flames. The man jumped at him with his knife but Sungmin sent a blast of air at him, cutting through his skin and sending him flying.
The man scowled. He knew he couldn’t win. Sungmin’s air powers were too strong for him. So he did the only thing he could do that would at least let him get even. He set the forest on fire.
The Fire child burst completely into flames, the fire consuming him as he grew and grew. Then the trees began to light on fire, one after another as the temperature rose to amazing new highs.
“Sungmin!” Kyuhyun screamed as he was caught inside the fire that was getting bigger and bigger as it grew. He tried using the wind power like Sungmin had but he had no clue how. The smoke was getting caught in his lungs and he was having trouble breathing. He pulled his shirt over his mouth, coughing as he squinted, trying to find a way out.
“Kyuhyun!” Kyuhyun was relieved when he saw Sungmin running toward him. A breath of fresh air wafted over him as he grabbed onto his arm and they began running. Kyuhyun screamed when they went right for a wall of fire but Sungmin quickly crossed his arms in front of him and ran right through, extinguishing the flames enough for Kyuhyun to quickly run in after him.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here!” Sungmin yelled over the crashing of trees as they finally began to give way under the flames. Kyuhyun grabbed his arm and they were running again as fast as they could, the wall of fire chasing after them.
“Wait,” Kyuhyun came to a stop, looking backward. “What about Leeteuk and Kangin?” They were both heavily injured, they would never make it.
There were tears in Sungmin’s eyes but he just shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before he grabbed a hold of Kyuhyun again and was pulling them faster than before, the flames dangerously close.
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A/N: I REPEAT. DON'T. KILL. ME.