When you came to, it was dark. A faint whispering diminished to silence. The clock read: 5:47 PM. Quickly, you slid out of bed, stumbling and almost losing your balance. Your head felt heavy, reminding you of that previous headache. Putting a hand against the wall for support, you left your room. The kitchen was quiet. There was a cloth, the dishcloth, you noted covering the betta tank. For some unknown reason, seeing it sent shivers up your spine. You walked past the kitchen into the living room, hearing VIXX talking in hushed tones. They looked up when you walked in and immediately flocked to you. Hakyeon took your arm and led you to the sofa. Ken placed a hand over your forehead.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, with a worried expression.

Taekwoon added, "Can you hear us?"

"What happened?" You recognized Hyuk's voice.

Hakyeon waved everyone back, "Give her some space! Don't overwhelm her with all questions at once." He glanced back at you. "Do you remember what happened?"

Wonshik rolled his eyes and muttered, "His questions get first priority too, eh?"

You frowned, "I remember hearing a voice--"

"Us? We were all talking at once."

Shaking your head you tried to recall that voice. "I don't think it belonged to any of you. But after I heard it, I felt this burden or heaviness. It was so overwhelming, it caused me to pass out." You hesitated, "At least, that's what I think happened."

Hyuk nodded, "That's what it seemed to us. We didn't hear anything though. You just suddenly began panicking and talking really loudly, as if you were trying to shout over something. But the thing is, there wasn't anyone talking besides you."

You remembered eating dinner with them, then everyone was suddenly crouching down under the table. "Was there an earthquake or something?"

"Ah! I think I remember what I heard. There was something asking a ton of questions. It seemed to be repeating over a while though. Something along the lines of 'Where am I? What am I?...Save me'....and...there was this...terrible wailing..." The excitement of remembering what you heard began to die down as you recalled more. Again, you shivered. Hakyeon patted your shoulder, "Hey, don't push yourself." You looked up from your lap just in time to catch him sharing a knowing look with the rest of VIXX. 

"What is it? Did you guys figure something out? Does this have something to do with the covered tank? And you've still never answered me about why or where--" At that moment, the pieces clicked in your mind. It make sense now, why Ken who was always so polite would cut you off in the middle of a sentence, and why Wonshik had done the same. You wondered why you had never realized it before. It was so obvious now, VIXX even mentioned it in the very beginning.

"Stop calling his name."

"And like Taekwoon said yesterday, could you not call our stage names?"

And that was why Hyuk was always there, watching attentively when you talked about him. That was why he followed when the little girl called him. That was the real reason behind the fake names on the collar tags. What Wonshik told you the other day was a lie to cover up that reason. But why? Speaking of which, Wonshik was always willing to answer all your questions.

"Ask me another time."

He meant when he was a cockatiel didn't he? The only problem was that you didn't use his stage name normally, but when you did yesterday his eyes glazed over. Did that mean there were questions he couldn't answer? And he was unaware of that. You were certain now. The voice belonged to Hongbin. You knew because you called out his name, which had triggered his voice. No, not triggered his voice, it had allowed you to hear his thoughts. It was like Taekwoon, who seemed to do everything you told him. You recalled the day the cat chased Hyuk around with murder in his eyes. Hyuk was confident that you'd be able to save him by asking Taekwoon to stop. 

Ken was the only one comfortable with his stage name. As for N, you never used Hakyeon's stage name in the first place. You frowned, was it possible that VIXX chose 'this', then realized the downsides but weren't able to revert back to humans? Or their company experimented on them? Maybe they were kidnapped and experimented on? That would definitely explain the wounds and condition you found them in. Whatever happened, they were kept against their will and had escaped. It was so obvious now, you wondered why you hadn't picked up on it. Taekwoon was strongly against setting up found posters in the very beginning. VIXX was content in staying quietly with you and tried to keep attention off of themselves. 

"Hey, you guys said you were okay now right? Does that extend to him?" You gestured vaguely towards the kitchen. Wonshik smiled grimly, "Honestly, we're not sure."

Hyuk interuppted, "We really hope so though!" 

"Hmm." You nodded absently, wondering whether it was because Hongbin was in a tank that he didn't change. Maybe he had to be taken out, which unfortunately was risky for a fish. You played with the idea that he couldn't change because his stage name was his real name. But that wouldn't make sense at all, would it?

All six of you jumped when your cellphone came to life, ringing. "Who is it?" 

You checked the caller ID, "Hm, it's Jessica, my friend from work. She's the lady who met Taekwoon last time. Hold on, let me just see what she's calling about. It shouldn't be too important."

"Hello?"

"Hello, um..did I get the right person?" A male voice answered the phone.

You frowned, "Uh, I'm Jessica's friend from work..if that's who you're trying to reach? Sorry, could I ask who this is?"

"Ah!" The voice brightened and you realized it sounded familiar. "Hello! This is Wooyoung, the journalist from work."

"Oh, hello! Sorry, I didn't recognize you voice!" You weren't sure how to ask why he had your best friend's phone.

"Um, are you busy right now? And if not, are you at home? Jessica and I went out for dinner and we got a couple of drinks, but she's completely out now and I don't want to leave her at home by herself. I was wondering if I could drop by your house and have her spend the night there?"

You nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see you. "Of course! That's very courteous of you, by the way. Let me give you my address."

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You got off the phone and groaned, "What have I done? I'm so sorry guys, my friend is drunk and completely out so she'll be spending the night here. But, I completely forgot that you guys are here too! Would you mind very much if she was here for a bit?"

Hakyeon nodded, "Of course we wouldn't mind! Us being here shouldn't have to affect your normal life. We'll stay out of sight when she's conscious. Actually, we'll probably be different by the time she wakes up."

"Right. By the way, isn't it way past five now?"

Ken chirped in, "It's different on Saturday!"

"For annoying reasons." Taekwoon sighed quietly, rolling his eyes.

It wasn't long until the doorbell rang. Instantly, VIXX hushed and filed into their room. You opened the door to the sight of Wooyoung with an unconscious Jessica on his back. "Hello, sorry for calling in like this. It's really unprofessional of me."

You smile, "Not at all. Here, you can lie her down here." Leading him into your room, you gestured to your bed. Gently, Wooyoung eased her onto the bed and nodded to you, "She's lucky to have a great friend like you. I'll be leaving now!"

"Are you sure you can drive?" He didn't seem to have drunk much, but you were worried nonetheless. 

Wooyoung sheepishly laughed, "Well, I actually didn't drink yet. She ordered something quite too strong for her and was instantly out."

Laughing, you nodded, "I'll be sure to make sure she gets that out of her system then. Have a good evening!"

You followed him to the door and sent him off, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Hey you guys, he left. You can come out now." 

Immediately VIXX burst into the room, Hyuk and Ken cackling in laughter. "Did I miss something?"

Hakyeon shook his head, "Nah, they're just kids being immature. Is your friend from work okay?"

You nodded, "Yeah, she'll be fine. This has happened to her before, she just doesn't want to accept her limit."

"Ah, good thing she had someone nice with her."

"No kidding. She's lucky he's a gentleman. The person who carried her in is a journalist doing an article on our company. We barely know him, personally anyway."

"Anyway, going back to what we were talking about. Actually, not really. But it is slightly related. Why did you cover the tank? This probably doesn't make any sense, but I think what I heard was his thoughts. He was confused and sounded very frightened."

Hakyeon sighed and Hyuk's smile faded, "He often describes what he sees right? So in the case that someone else can hear him, like you, it'd be better to let him not describe things."

Hyuk added, "Even though we know it's scaring him, it's better that way."

You knew it had something to do with whatever they weren't telling you, so you didn't push any further. Instead, you heard a shuffling sound and looked beyond Hakyeon, startled at its source. "Jessica! W-what are you doing there?"

"Where....is he?" She slurred.

She was stumbling around the kitchen area on wobbly legs, unfocused eyes looking everywhere. "Wooyoung? He dropped you off here and left. I hadn't known you were one to sleepwalk," you chuckled as you guiltily hoped she was drunk enough to confuse VIXX for hallucinations or even hallucinations of one person. "Here, let's get some water into you and get you back to bed. Do you think you'll need the restroom?" You quickly rushed over to her and took her arm, offered her a cup of water, then hastily led her back into your room.

"I think she was probably too drunk to register you guys' presence. Hopefully anyway. I'll see if I can get her to believe she was imaging things if she brings it up tomorrow."

Wonshik nodded and Taekwoon spoke up, "I think we shouldn't risk things. Let's just turn in for the night." He glanced at the clock, "It's a bit early, but we can keep quiet in one room."

"Where are you staying?" Ken asked, reminding you that your bed was taken.

"I'm fine with staying in the living room, to be honest. That way, you can go in the study room, close the door and work there for a bit if you like. I'm sure Jessica won't try to go in there."

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The next morning, you were up early, wanting to be up before Jessica. Double checking the study room, you realized Ken had again fallen asleep at the desk and was currently in bird form. You carefully eased the pencil out of his claws and scooped him up, heading to VIXX's room. Most of the animals in there were asleep as well, except for Taekwoon, whose eyes were open and fixed on the doorway. "Are you doing a night watch thing?" You giggled to yourself at the absurd thought, "But I guess you'd do that if it means taking care of your friends." You gently laid Ken down by the cat, "Anyway, I'll bring some food in here in case Jessica wakes up and decides to stay for a while."

After you left the nearly empty animal feeds in their room, you made a mental note to stop by the pet store today. At this point, Jessica sleepily opened the door and stepped out into the kitchen area. "How I did end up here?"

"Wooyoung dropped you off here last night. He said you tried a really strong drink."

"Oh my--I did! How embarrassing!" She covered her face, "Anyway, I'm fine now. I'll be on my way home!"

"Are you sure? You can stay for a little while longer if you need to."

"I'm really fine." Jessica hurried to the entrance hall and slipped on her shoes. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"Alright then, I guess I'm also going out soon anyway. Be sure to give Wooyoung a call and thank him! Send me a text or something when you get home!" 

Jessica nodded and headed out. You shrugged, she probably procrastinated as always and had things due Monday. You knocked quietly on VIXX's door and opened it a crack. Again, Taekwoon was the only one up. "Hey, she left just now. I'll leave the door open a crack if you guys want to come out later. I'm going to pick up some things at the pet store. It won't take long!"

You quickly changed into warm clothes and headed out.