A really long chapter for a really long wait! ~ Sorry guys! >.<

Ya know...life stuff, anyways, enjoy!

They had to make sure not to make a spec of noise, in either human or creature sound shot. The hallway to the caged room was longer than they thought, but Minho and Taemin gave them exact directions. Apparently, the hallways were built in confusing right-right to left-right patterns in order to confuse anyone who tried to…well, basically do what they’re doing right now or vice versa. But the Cerberi men told them, once locked in, no wolf ever was able to get out. The words put a small crumble to their Key and Onew’s syncing thought process of what to say to the Hallasan Wolves. They weren’t very open creatures, after all.

The directions they’d been given were full of confusing yet oddly straightforward turns. Rights and lefts of course, including old wooden stairs that were new from barely being touched but, definitely had seen better attention days long gone, leading down to a much, much more ominous hallway. Its glow was soft but there, illuminated by small specs of light attached to the upper walls and some kind of dark grey stone. Onew looked up at the cracked corners and dust-filled edges. This had to be the lesser side of the house that got taken care of. There was such a difference. Dark wood on dark wood for the walls and floor, with etchings of carved decorations that were probably once beautiful when first built. Now, just dusted and frozen memories left in the wake of what was the Cerberi nature.

“Down the hallway, is kinda an understatement, don’t ya think,” Onew retorted. He referred to the short statement given to them by Taemin when they asked just where to find the cell the wolves were kept in.

Key snorted, strolling a little ahead of him.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

There was silence between the two for a good minute after that.

“In dire need, we tend to run towards the things we were running from,” the words lapsed from Onew’s lips without warning, but he found himself nodding in some kind of quiet agreement.

“That was random,” Key replied.

The hall had been vacant for so long, their footsteps sounded like ghosts rather than echoes.

Onew crossed his arms behind his back, just like he’d do if he were laying down. Then he shrugged.

“It popped up in my head. It’s from a book that I studied a long time ago. It’s been a while since I’ve actually studied, now that I think about it.”

“Why?”
“Why?” he laughed, “well Key if you haven’t noticed, we’re in a bit of a situation right now-“

“No, not that,” the boy chuckled back, “I mean, why did that particular quote pop up in your head. Were you thinking about something?”

His friend sighed, eyes darting away and to the side, “I don’t know. Maybe it-“

“Fits the occasion,” Key finished.

He didn’t really need to ask Onew questions anymore. They were so in sync, it scared him sometimes. Then he nodded as well. He was the same, meaning things randomly popped up in his head as well, especially when he least thought about anything at all. Like the caress of those fragile fingers from his dream, touching his skin as if his skin were a piece of broken glass — how skinny they were—how familiar. And how—deep down he thought, no, he knew, that those fingers belonged to his mother. But why they decided to infiltrate his sleep in a hectic time like this, he wasn’t sure. And thus, with those random thoughts, came possibilities — scenarios. It was like a butterfly effect. What if his mother was calling out to him, what if she was in trouble, or what if…and this was the worst one…what if that meant something had already happened to her? That trouble had come and gone. What if she was de-

“Key, what’s wrong?”

He looked up to the sound of Onew’s voice, only realizing then that he’d been looking down the entire time.

“Nothing,” but his tone betrayed him.

“Trust me, it’s not the fact that you’re an awful liar that tipped me off,” he switched his finger between the both of them, “did you forget? Bonded?”

In fact, he had. It was such a vital detail that has been escaping his mind a lot recently.

“It’s about —"

“Who’s there.” Kai’s voice echoed from around the corner.

Key pursed his lips and looked to his best friend — his brother.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright,” Onew replied in a stern tone, “but you will tell me.”

“I will.”

“I said who’s-“ But Kai stopped when he saw the two of them. There was surprise for a moment. As in, why hadn’t he smelled them first, but the surprise was gone, short-lived. Still, his brows bent into towards each other. Kai was an ally, but he wasn’t dumb. That’s for sure. He could tell something wasn’t right. He turned the corner to where they were, but there were other forms of shuffling nearby that caught Key’s hearing. Perhaps, not nearby since his hearing was so much more advanced then everyone else’s it seemed.

“Taemin told me to come and get you,” Key announced, his voice truthful and sterile.

But Kai’s expression never faltered.

“Why?” The “w” was long sounded and he pressed it out, even more, gliding almost cautious-like as he came closer.

“He said there’s a matter he wants to discuss with you. He doesn’t want to talk to the Uncles. He only trusted you.”

“And you, apparently.” the reply was for Key, but his eyes turned to Onew.

“Look,” Key sighed, “even if he does trust us, he wouldn’t tell us what it was he wanted to talk to you it. He said you’re the beta or something like that. And your loyalty and friendship are what he trusted out of all of this. And as you probably know already, he definitely doesn’t trust the Uncles. Would you?”

Kai was silent for a moment. Then his head turned back to where they guessed the cage was stationed.

“What about those two, I can’t leave them unguarded.”

“Taemin told us to keep watch,” Onew replied, “don’t worry, we won’t tell.”

Kai scoffed.

“You think I’m gonna let two Tribeless watch over my station. A duty I was given by the Uncles, the two Cerberi that actually rank over all of us?”

“Rank over you guys,” Key clarified, “technically we have nothing to do with your ideals.”

Kai breathed out heavily through his nostrils.

“And you think that argument is winning you over.”

“Kai,” Key ushered, “we respect you, we respect the adults, we respect your Uncles.”

“We do-“

Key shoved Onew in the chest.

“He seems to think differently,” Kai nodded.

“Kai, Taemin says he needs you. I thought you were loyal to your alpha.”

Kai grimaced, straightening his posture with a stern narrow of his eyes but it didn’t seem like he was willing to move a muscle. Onew sighed this time around, deciding to take the lead.

“Look, Kai, just so you’re in the know, we think there’s more to Donghae the adults are willing to put the extra effort in. We—we think the other Elders are dead-“

Kai scoffed.

“The Taemin excuse, I can take, but this. Your imaginations are going a little-“

“We know how it sounds,” he interrupted, “but it’s what we came to. Come on Kai, you never thought it was weird how you didn’t really see them but there was always orders from them. Donghae could have easily executed those orders. He is an Elder after all. And just think — we haven’t heard a peep from the Elders even after the commotion that Donghae caused in the woods. We were almost caught by humans. HUMANS,” he emphasized, “you think your oh-so respected Elders would have allowed that and not have stepped in?”

Kai was still grimacing, but his features softened.

“Come on Kai,” Key whispered.

Like walking down the hallway, there was a moment of silence. Then, abruptly, Kai pointed his finger out at the two, staring them down. They shook for a second at the sudden motion. His brows were still fuming.

“I’m only complying because Taemin is my alpha. Don’t think I favor the two of you.”

Key smiled.

“Trust me, never crossed our minds.”

“But make it quick, I don’t want the Uncles suspecting my loyalty because two Tribeless have been causing havoc.”

“Technically we’re not Tribeless anym-“

“We got it,” Key interrupted.

Kai grimaced once more, switching his gaze between the two and overlooking his surroundings. It was evident he had not a bone of trust in his body pertaining to the two friends, but they were right—though there was much respect dug into his system surrounding the Uncles, he was still loyal to Taemin—his alpha. After staring them down like statues he walked away, in long quick strides, probably as not to turn back. And when the cost was clear, Key brushed off a breath.

“Well, that’s over, now what?”

“What’d you mean, now what?” Onew asked. “We go and scare the hell out of them, I thought that was the plan.”

“Says the one who always wants a plan,” the boy cocked his hip to the side, placing both hands down and outward. “I mean, how do we get information out of them.”

“Hmmm, well, what are they afraid of.”

“Donghae,” Key answered quickly. “It’s obvious they’re terrified of him.”

“Who wouldn’t be though. We can’t threaten them with that. Think a little outside of the box. What else are they afraid of?”

They sat in a wide, yet confided rectangular cell, long thick cinder blocks aligning the walls down to the floor. The doors were nothing but thick steel bars, a steel different from what humans made. Stronger, more durable for an unstable Cerberi—something they were labeled at the moment even though the four of them calmly sat with glaring eyes. And there was something else especially particular about this steel. It stopped them from changing. It didn’t stop their strength, hence the thickness and make of the material. Their strength was natural-born. Something that couldn’t be stripped or softened. But their change — their change was powered by the earth and the moon. The stars and the winds of the woods. It couldn’t be taken away, but, like the black skin bands they used to wear, it could suppress the wolf.

The lamps that illuminated the space were also embedded into the wall, maybe so the glass around it wouldn’t break if the wolf trapped in here ever went haywire. No, the lights were just small spheres forced into the wall. There were no windows down here and to be honest, none of the wolves knew just how long the hallway from here was, to go back to the normal landing. When they were forced down into the cell it was with dark opaque sheets covering their eyes and misleading of steps just in case they counted. Even though an obvious Elder was on their tail, the dumb fools called, The Uncles, still went by protocol when dealing with betrayals. But were they really betraying? They followed the orders of none other than an original itself — Donghae. The youngest Elder of the Tribe.

None of it mattered. They may be stuck in this situation, but they were no strangers to being uncomfortable and they definitely weren’t strangers to confined areas, the Hallasan wolves, It didn’t mean they particularly enjoyed the comfort of one another’s presence. They separated themselves after all—Jackson and Eunhyuk on one side, and Siwon and Jonghyun on the other. Back in the Hallasan mountains, everything felt just like the cell they were in now. Stuffy, even though there was enough room for them to breathe. With the Griffons back home, it was impossible to feel anything other than stuffed.

The sound of distant mumbling is what first got their attention, making their ears perk up in the direction of the sound. Their heads turned at the same time past the steel bar doors and into the thing narrow hallway. They had only been blessed with Kai so far, so what was this new presence, who could it be? Soon, they smelled just who it was. The scent of a Gumiho and a Night Owl isn’t something that vanquishes overnight.

Key and Onew.

Odd. Not particularly the duo they were thinking was going to be sent to them. They each exchanged uninterested and tired glances at one another.

“Well, that wasn’t the greetings we were hoping to get,” Key commented.

The boy surveyed the area.

It was new to him. New to them — that, the four of them could tell. What else was new to this duo just introduced to their world? ‘Their.’ The word held power to them, the Cerberi sitting in the cell for a crime not even scarred in stone as law for their kind. This was their world and they wanted it back, no matter what the Uncles said. ‘Their,’ world. Not the two Tribeless that got ahead in the game based off of some old script monarchy. So just now, as the jailed creatures looked these new beings in the eye, they were uninterested and the uninterest didn’t come from who they were — no. Eunhyuk and Siwon first-hand remembered the large looming beast that could have easily ripped them apart last night. Key, he was interesting and Onew, the fact that they were bonded by birth, that was interesting. But their trying-to-be-threatening façade wasn’t something to be curious about. As far as the Hallasan wolves were concerned, the Tribeless were nothing but pups, unintroduced to the world around them or their true selves. They acted big and bad, but the situation could only ever be called a threat if they used their abilities. In their human form, they were just like the humans outside these walls.

“Do you suppose we gravel in your presence,” Siwon retorted.

Eunhyuk didn’t expect him to say anything.

Onew snickered.

“You don’t look so hot, man. Guess this guy is different when there isn’t some luxury suit hanging off his shoulders.”

Siwon felt his teeth grind together. The sharp bone on bone scratched as they clashed in his mouth. His lips stayed seal though. The “,” as he felt like calling Onew, was right in a way. He didn’t have on a suit. He was stripped of that once the Uncles labeled them as traitors on their way back here. Instead, today, just like the rest of them, he wore regular clothes. But they were distasteful. Uneven sleeves and outdated cotton. Worn out colors that had seen the wash too many times. Material too tight yet too loose. Jeans. The worst part of it all. Nothing sharp, nothing lined. Regular tennis shoes and old pants. If the label of “traitor” didn’t insult him, the outfit he was forced to wear certainly did.

“I don’t see Kai with you,” Eunhyuk responded tiredly. He adjusted the fake glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, the metal, worn down unlike before —the frames, thin like small sticks. Unlike Siwon, he was wearing what he’d always been— but then again— the style they were forced into, for the time being, was already a skin he wore on a daily basis.

“…meaning you either bribed him away,” he continued, “or the Uncles really are as stupid as we thought they were and let you two take over the post. I highly doubt it’s the latter.”

“Let’s just be straight,” Key announced aiming closer to their cell, “we want to know about Donghae and you don’t want to be locked up. I think—rather we think, that there can be a compromise here somewhere.”

Siwon scoffed.

“I knew the two of you were Tribeless but I didn’t know how far the idiocy went. Everything you need to know about Donghae, you learned last night. And let’s be honest, there is no bargain you can give us that would succeed or change the Uncles’ minds. I’ve seen you’re Aunt as well, little Key. You really think any bargain the two of you come up with, she’ll let go.”

“We don’t speak for the adults,” he answered.

“We speak for ourselves,” Onew finished.

They really were on the same wavelength. It disgusted them—Siwon and Eunhyuk. Siwon narrowed his eyes. A pathetic bond.

“That’s cute,” Eunhyuk responded, “but you know everything there is to know about Donghae. Doesn’t matter. You all are gonna lose as soon as he returns.”

“And you think he’ll let you four go?” Key retorted. “And you call us idiots.”

Just then, Jonghyun and Jackson began to stir uncomfortably. For a second both Key and Onew saw the glances that switched between them….for just a second.

“Now, why would that statement make you guys nervous, if we know there’s everything to know,” Key smiled, naturally aiming his response towards the two with goosebumps rising on their skin.

“Ya know, me and Onew thought about it. What if you guys were telling the Uncles the truth. What if there isn’t anything more, what if we know all about Donghae. The Uncles told us something anyway. They said that it didn’t matter because whatever came out of your mouths would only be lies to protect yourselves or the Elder. You wouldn’t tell us the truth no matter what. However,” he shot a finger into the air, “we like to think outside the box. We like to think differently because we aren’t the grownups. They are clouded by their hatred and disgust. Their honor among your laws. But we’re—”

“Tribeless,” Onew interrupted.

“And Tribeless,” Key continued, walking back and forth in slow sounding paces as the words spilled out of his mouth, “have no commitment. No laws, no restrictions, and we don’t hold that centuries-old grudge from the warlike my Aunt. Yeah, I hate you guys. But that’s just you and the Elder. As far as we’re concerned you are actually honorable creatures who didn’t know about the tragedy of what happened all those years ago. You were fooled and lied to by the Elders. You four were fooled and lied to by Donghae. And honor among your species is everything.”

“Y-You’re wrong,” Jackson replied, “Donghae told us everything. He recruited us to carry out this sacred mission. He came to us personally. He trusted us—”

“Ruthless Cerberi that didn’t care about getting exposed by humans,” Onew interrupted, “That means he was looking for Cerberi who weren’t afraid to break the rules, spread their wings a bit and, of course, Cerberi who were fueled by rage because they had unwanted company. The Griffons.”

Eunhyuk kept his disinterested look, but he still felt it in his chest. That moment of hesitation. He kept the façade, but their argument actually held his attention. But again, it was Siwon who spoke.

“What’re you trying to say, Tribeless,” he spat the word out like a disease lingering in the air. If eyes could narrow further, Siwon’s were doing just that.

“He’s saying, Donghae played you guys,” Key chuckled, “and he played you good. Did none of you ever question why, if Donghae himself came to you, the other Elders didn’t?”

The four of them exchanged glances. Then Jonghyun spoke up.

“Because it was his mission to contact us himself. No one ever sees the Elders together. It’s just not a thing.”

Onew shook his head and turned to Key.

“Didn’t I tell Taemin and Minho that, that was weird.”

“Excuse me?” Eunhyuk interfered. “You need to watch your tongue speaking against our kind.”

“Well, it’s not like you can really get me, can you,” Onew spread his arms wide, gesturing at the thick bars that separated them and the thick ceiling hovering above the four of them.

“Is your kind that dedicated that it never crossed your minds why things were the way they were?” Key asked, closing in the distance, “You really think that Donghae was on some solo mission given to him or compromised by the other Elders? You said it yourself Jonghyun, seeing them all at once just wasn’t a thing. Why is that?”

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” Siwon smirked, “then you are still a dumb young Tribeless. If Donghae was the only one left, there wouldn’t be stories about the other Elders. Throughout our existence, we rarely get to see them, yes, but one was never the same.”

Key nodded his head as if soaking in the information, then he started pacing back and forth again.

“Which, I get. There were other Elders for a while. But, when did things get slow? Or when did the rarity become just a myth? You know what we think, we think that the Elders or at least the ones besides Donghae have been dead for a while. And we think it was Donghae who killed them. Now, who knows when he killed them when he decided that he didn’t need them, but it’s obvious he’s obsessed with power and—”

“Watch your tongue!” Eunhyuk hollered.

It made the lot of them jump, not used to the man’s voice going above a respected mumble.

“You speak against our kind when you speak like that.”

Key smirked this time. He’d done it, he’d gotten under their skin. Jackson and Jonghyun, by the looks of it, were the first ones to doubt. They didn’t even look up anymore. They stared down at the solid ground, gazing at the small pebbles of debris. Eunhyuk and Siwon, on the other hand, were fuming from their expressions to the heat the emitted from their skin.

“Now, who sounds like the idiot,” Onew chuckled. “We get it. You’re not traitors. You listened to the top of the top. An Elder. You were loyal. But…who was disloyal first? If it wasn’t you guys, then who?”

“My aunt said it herself. It even came out of Donghae’s lips,” Key continued, “he started that war because he was tired of the way things were. She was fooled into believing he had good intentions. Now, maybe your kind was good all centuries ago. But, it doesn’t change the fact that they went along with the war. The Elders.”

He shrugged.

“However, it was Donghae who started the war. He wanted power. And maybe, just maybe that meant the Cerberi having power…at first. But someone who craves power doesn’t just stop,” he shrugged again, “You were loyal, but he played you guys. He used your anger about the Griffons and how wild you were to stir up problems over here and took the opportunity. So I’m just wondering—”

Eunhyuk stood up.

“What do you want to know,” his voice was back to its normal tone, bleak and dissatisfied—but he looked them in the eye.

Siwon’s lip twitched and he abruptly stood as well.

“Eunhyuk, what the hell do you think you’re-“

Eunhyuk held up his hand.

“Please brother, let’s not act like you don’t know what I’m doing. He played our loyalty for a fool. They’re right and I know you hate to think of it like that but they are,” he sighed, letting his shoulders heave up and then slowly simmer down. His eyes closed for a second before landing on the duo beyond the bars again. “So, what do you need to know.”

“Well that’s easy,” Key replied, voice serious as he came face to face with Eunhyuk though the steel bars separated them, “we want to know his weakness but if you don’t know that, we want to know what he knows. We’ll figure out how to defeat him ourselves.”

, as we found out, helped“Well,” the man sighed again, “I don’t know about what’s really his weakness since he’s an Elder, but have you heard about the families? He told us of ones long ago that helped our kind—being an interesting word to use.”

“The families?” Key whispered.

“You mean the human families from his real story that he made a bargain with? Those families?”

“Yes, the human ones,” this time it was Jonghyun. He stood abruptly as well and caught stares from Siwon and Jackson just as he did. “But he said most of those families died off a while back. There’s only one remaining.”

“One family left,” Key mimicked.

“And,” Jackson responded hesitantly, still sitting, voice not really above a whisper, “it’s a family that still helps them—or him, if the other Elders are really dead. He told us if we ever needed help with a human cover up, that we should go to them. But we don’t know anything more than that. And, now that I think about it, he gave us that statement but never gave us the name of the actual family. So, who knows if they really exist.”

“Are you all stupid!” Siwon hollered, “helping these Tribeless.”

“Our loyalty is to our species,” Eunhyuk glared, “and Donghae is against it. He just wants power. What if they’re right about the other Elders?”

“And what if they’re wrong.” He stated back.

“Well,” Eunhyuk sighed again, seating himself, “that’s a bargain I’m willing to take.”

Key eyed the three of them and nodded his head in respect.

“I’ll expect that freedom bargain,” he continued silently, creating a small smirk from the corner of his lips.

Key nodded again.

“We’ll do what we can. We promise. We’ll keep our end.”

“You better.”

Onew and Key moved away, walking down the narrow ghost hallway. With a soft touch on his shoulder, Key gained Onew’s attention.

“One living family left who knows the secrets. Are you thinking of who I’m thinking of?”

Onew smirked.

“I’m your guardian, of course I am.”.