Chapter 9: And the Cannon Sounds

“Group battle!?” Baekhyun squealed.

Hyukjae looked at him with an amused grin, “Yes, group battle. Now that you’re of an even number, we will be splitting you into teams and pitting you against each other. This is essential in synergizing your techniques. Know how your members and your enemies work and find a way to use it in your favor.”

“Why do you think I brought a cannon?” He asks, as if cannons were directly correlated to the possibility of a group battle. But Hyukjae was weird that way, so he didn’t question his logic.

The group of six were standing at the edge of the forest, Hyukjae and Donghae standing before them. Hyukjae then looked at Donghae with a knowing look, “Tell them the teams, Hae.”

Donghae flashed a mischievous smile, it seemed there was payback in the works.

 “Each team will be assigned team leader, and the team leader is in charge of making the decisions for the team.” Donghae smirks, his eyes looking over the group. “The leader may choose how he wants to lead the team, we will be looking evaluating each of you individually. If we see that you have failed your role as a team leader or as a team member, then there will be consequences.”

There’s a tension within the group, one that Baekhyun realizes belatedly. He knows that Chanyeol, Jongdae and Kyungsoo had experience with leading a team, but he also knows that out of them Kyungsoo was the best. After spending over a month in Sanctuary, Baekhyun knows how each operate.

Out of the three, Jongdae was the least team oriented, though he could synergize well with the others. Jongdae preferred accomplishing his task on his own. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was a bit more balanced, he knew how to operate a team, and knew how to work well with them, but his strategizing was subpar at best. He’s very instinctual.

Then there’s Kyungsoo, who was the best strategist out of all of them. His only weakness is that he knows that he’s the best strategist. The hardest task for the prince was taking orders and not going rogue to put his own strategy through. Scratch that, the hardest task for Kyungsoo would be working with Kai. The two have not spoken since the incident, and though he has seen Kyungsoo attempt to approach Kai, the thief had also acquired his powers back, which meant a lot of popping in and out when Kyungsoo was in a meter’s distance.

As for Baekhyun, he had learnt how to finally defend himself, but that was the extent of his training. He had liked hand-to-hand combat the most, quickly adopting his own, quick and light footed battle style. One that had surprised even his instructors. It seemed sneaking away from the orphanage had yielded something useful. He had not attempted to use his powers though, he was still too afraid. As far as anyone was concerned, Baekhyun was an easy target. But he would not fall easily, that he was certain.  

Then there was Lay.

It had been about two weeks since Lay’s entrance into Sanctuary. They found out that Lay had been aware of his powers for two years already and had been traveling around the land. They also found out that he was older than any of them, with the elder being 24 years old, as opposed to their ages of 19 and 20. Lay was a traveling bard, discovering the tales of the land through its song and dance, and sometimes its plays. Though a bit spacey at times, and sometimes lost in his own head, Baekhyun saw that Lay was not only the most mature, but also the most composed when it came to the impending war. In his words, “I left my town under the pretense of becoming a world renowned minstrel. The savior of the world may not be on the same wavelength, but the recognition is still there.”

 So far, the man had not shown his powers asides from the little display that saved Kai. So in Baekhyun’s eyes, Lay was the wildcard, the unknown that could prove to be the victory or defeat of either team.

“Firstly, the two team leaders.” Donghae begins. Baekhyun’s hands curl up in anticipation and anxiety.

“Jongdae, you’re the team leader of the first team. Please stand to my left.” The ranger moved to the instructor’s side. The move was predictable, this was going to test their leadership skills. If this was the case then the other leader would either be Chanyeol or Kai, maybe even Baekhyun himself.

“The other team leader is Lay. Please stand to my right.”

Now, this was a challenge. Put the most unpredictable one in the place of power and see how things pan out. Great.

 “Now for the teams.” Donghae barks.

Of the two, he wanted to be under Jongdae, just because he knew how to work with Jongdae. He was afraid of the unpredictability behind Lay.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun, you two are teamed with Lay. Kyungsoo and Jongin with Jongdae. We’ll give you time to strategize, then we’ll place ourselves within the forest for the fight.  Okay, spread out!”

Baekhyun realized that the teams had different things going for and against them. While Jongdae and Kyungsoo had the experience, Kai and Kyungsoo’s strained relationship would play into the mix, not to mention Kyungsoo’s ego. On the other hand, he and Chanyeol knew how to work together, but Lay was a different thing altogether. Winning was going to be difficult, on both ends.

Once he, Chanyeol and Lay had found a spot to strategize he looked at their team leader with a bit of apprehension. The eldest of them looked at the two with a bit of wariness.

“Now, tell me what you guys can do, we can move on from there.” Lay says with no hesitance or subtlety. Baekhyun looked at him and saw for the first time, his eyes weren’t blank. He looked contemplative.

“Well, I control fire and I channel it through my swords. Baek hasn’t fully mastered his powers, but he’s adopted a very unorthodox fighting style that baffles people.”

“How so?” Lay asks immediately, eyes tinkling with curiosity.

“Well, I rely mostly on countering and quick jabs to catch them off guard. It’s also reliant on pretty fast footwork and a bit of grappling.”

“So, least amount of effort for the maximum output, am I right?” Lay interjects.

“Well, yeah.” Baekhyun had not seen this coming, he might have expected Lay to have a bit of experience, but this was odd. Very odd.

Lay hums, closing his eyes for a moment, “They will most probably try to lure us with Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun looks at him pointedly. Would they really put Kyungsoo on the spot like that? He knew Kyungsoo was tough, but they wouldn’t do something like that, surely.

“He’s the toughest and would probably come out at the onset, and if Jongdae’s smart he would make Kyungsoo and Kai work together, their abilities go well. And if that’s the case Jongdae and Kai would stick to what they’re good at: Hiding.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol nodded, what the man was saying made sense, Kyungsoo at hiding, but to Kai and Jongdae it was second nature. They would hide somewhere, and strike from a distance.

“Jongdae will hide in the trees, it’s the one with the best Vantage point. He’ll be looking for opportunities while you or Baekhyun engage Kyungsoo. Kai would then pop out from time to time to distract you guys, or he’ll attempt to pry someone out of range if the fighting gets too much for Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol can only find themselves nodding as Lay narrated the ideal plan for the three.

“It’s a good plan, genius even, it play to their strengths. But it also relies too heavily on us falling for their ploy.” Lay says, “So, we disorient them, then go in for the kill. Once Jongdae is out of position, get him first, quickly. We can’t lose him. Once we take out Jongdae, the rest will be easy.”

“Why?” Baekhyun asks, he knew Kai and Kyungsoo were quite formidable and he didn’t like underestimating anyone, especially those two.”

Lay looks at Baekhyun with an amused grin, “They don’t have teamwork, that’s why.”

“But what about us, sure Chanyeol and I have sparred together a lot and we know how each other works, but we little to nothing about you.” Baekhyun says rather accusingly.

Lay chuckles a bit, “You’re loyal to your friends. I like it.” He then gives Baekhyun a smile, the one that he sees on the man’s face a lot, a genuine one, the one that comforts anyone it graces.

“I just haven’t fought in a long time.” Lay says offhandedly, “I got a bit carried away.”

“What do you mean, you haven’t fought in a long time.” Chanyeol interjects after a time of much silence.

“A story for another time.” Lay smiles, “But, regarding my powers, I just need you to trust me right now.” He then directs his gaze towards Chanyeol.

“You know them best, what do you think of the plan?” Lay asks.

Chanyeol smiles, “So far, your observations are right. It’s true what you say, sure Kyungsoo and Kai would be a handful on their own, but if they won’t work together they won’t stand a chance.”

Lay nods, “Do any of you know how to disable Kai?”

Chanyeol shrugs. Lay then directs his gaze towards Baekhyun.

Baekhyun thinks, tries to see if there’s a way to hinder Kai from teleporting all around the forest, then it hit him.

“Taking someone else while teleporting drains him.” Baekhyun says, “It’s the reason we rode horses while we traveled. He could teleport anywhere by himself no problem, but it drained all of his energy when he teleports with someone else.”

“Perfect. Baekhyun, you’re in charge of Kai. Chanyeol, you distract Kyungsoo. I’ll handle Jongdae. Keep them separated.” Lay says as a final reminder.

The two nod, “If you guys need help don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be in the sidelines.”

Baekhyun gulps.

“Ready?” Lay asks the two.

Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun, “Don’t worry, you’ll do great. No one knows how much you’ve improved. You have the element of surprise.”

Baekhyun can only nod and trust that whatever Chanyeol is spouting is true.

The foliage only allowed a portion of the sunlight to light the dense forest. It was quiet, from their position they could see Donghae at the center.

“Right, the team wins once all three fighters are either unconscious, unable to fight; or if the team captain calls for a surrender. You’re allowed to use any type of weapon or ability in your arsenal. Don’t hold back.” He screams to the clearing before him.

“We begin as soon as you hear the cannon sound,” Donghae says as he walks out of the clearing.

Baekhyun lets out a labored breath as he sees the retreating figure of Donghae. He sneaks a look at Chanyeol, who is positioned a few meters away from him blocked by a very large tree. Chanyeol gives a reassuring smile as the wind slightly picks up. He looks behind to a tree a nearer to where the trees were thicker, that’s where Lay was hidden. Baekhyun steadied himself, he knew what he had to do. Grab Kai, don’t let him teleport. Lay said to call him once he had him grappled.

Then, he hears it. The loud groaning as a cannon fires in the distance, rattling the eerie silence that had blanketed the thicket. His heart started to thunder in his chest. He could see Chanyeol begin his advance, swords drawn.

He, too, began his advance, making sure to keep his footsteps silent as he stalked from tree to tree. The distance to the clearing was nearer now, the proximity between the trees growing larger as he moved further in. He looks periodically as he heads forward, trying to look for any signs of movement from the treetops or on the ground. He moves further in, then he hears it. The distinct sound of heavy footsteps crushing the foliage as the figure stalked closer.

True to his name, Kyungsoo looked as foreboding as any guardian of a mountain. The black granite replacing his usually soft, white skin.

“You’re flashy today, Soo!” Chanyeol hollered as he stepped into view, swords now ablaze. At this, Baekhyun stalked closer to the two, making sure that he was close to Chanyeol as he approached Kyungsoo.

“Annoying as always, Chanyeol.” He smirked in reply. The two smiled at each other before there was the indistinct clash metal as the two engaged each other. Chanyeol moving gracefully as he slashed and turned to Kyungsoo. On the other hand, Kyungsoo made sure to dodge and duck, while still keeping his footing, Chanyeol the obvious aggressor.

If they hadn’t thought out their plan carefully, Chanyeol’s move would have been idiotic. The other group had the best mobility in Sanctuary, as it was, Chanyeol was a sitting duck getting ready to get killed.

Good thing they thought this out.

Because as soon as the pop resonated, Baekhyun had started running. As Kai appeared on Chanyeol’s back, with Kyungsoo preparing his hammer for the strike.

Baekhyun had successfully caught the boy by surprise as he grabbed Kai’s neck as he pounced, Chanyeol blocking, then redirecting the hammer to the ground. Once this was done, Chanyeol hastily jumped backward as an arrow flew right in the spot Chanyeol had just been a second before.

Baekhyun had successfully disengaged Kai from Chanyeol, however, he was not able to completely grasp him. Kai got up from the ground, dagger at the ready, beginning his assault on Baekhyun. The two had never sparred against each other, but he knew that Kai was quick, so he had to be sure that his footwork was rapid to successfully dodge the strikes. He also knew that at one point or another Kai would teleport out of sight, so Baekhyun had to be patient. There wouldn’t be that many openings, but when the time came, he had to be sure he took it.

True enough, Kai was relentless and insanely quick with his handling of the dagger. If Baekhyun wasn’t prepared enough, he would have been sliced and out of the field at the onset. But Baekhyun kept up with the teleporter, keeping pace with the quick slices. Then suddenly, Kai disappears. Baekhyun steadies himself, waiting for the boy to appear once more.

On the other end, Chanyeol was keeping his wits attempting to block both the blows from Kyungsoo and the arrows laced with electricity from the nowhere. The arrows seemingly coming from every angle. Though one who thrived on challenges, Chanyeol had to admit, this was a different ball game. Kyungsoo and Jongdae knew how each other operated, but more importantly, they knew how Chanyeol operated.

Luckily, they didn’t know how Lay operated, as he sees from his periphery movement from above the trees, he makes his move, “Lay! Northeast of my position. Atop the trees!”

And just like that the sound of a lyre begins to vibrate throughout the thicket. At first, Baekhyun doesn’t understand what’s happening, if anything, Lay’s giving his position away, but then there’s a faint rumble as large vines start racing from where Lay was situated, moving quickly through the soft ground, uprooting some trees as it moved forward, latching onto a tree on the other side of the clearing. The sound of lyre turns frenetic and fast paced, the tune more volatile and violent as the roots ravaged the bark. The tendrils moving quickly up the tree grasping everything in sight. Then, he sees a figure attempting to claws its way out of the roots grasp, but the vines are too quick and thick, the figure finds himself stuck onto the remains of the tree, unmoving. He then notices Lay run out from his position, lyre still playing as Jongdae is slowly being debilitated by the vines.

Chanyeol finds this the perfect opening to engage Kyungsoo once more, but the boy was not to be treated lightly. He immediately parried Chanyeol’s strikes, the two once again engaged in a fierce battle. But unlike the fight before Kyungsoo faced not only Chanyeol, but Lay also. The tune of his lyre once again increases, large vines now wrapping itself all over the sentinel. But unlike Jongdae, Kyungsoo easily pries his way out of the vines, but Chanyeol is still there, and he immediately strikes Kyungsoo down as soon as he’s out of the clump of vines. Suddenly, there’s a pop as Kai appears before Chanyeol, defending his teammate. Kai jabs his dagger straight at Chanyeol, making the taller man double over as Kai moves to place a kick to his face, Chanyeol falling ungracefully to the ground below. Baekhyun makes a move towards Kai, catching off guard once more, placing a jab straight to his jaw. Kai immediately recovers though, rolling off as he falls. Baekhyun sees the moment of vulnerability, and instead of preparing for a counterattack, makes a beeline towards the boy, grabbing his neck and pushing him to the ground.

It’s at this point that he thanks Donghae and Hyukjae’s extreme exercise regimen, pinning Kai seemingly too easy. There’s a surge of confidence, and Baekhyun realizes he doesn’t need Lay now, he can handle Kai. Baekhyun quickly maneuvers himself, hooking Kai’s neck under his forearm, and locking his limbs with his legs. He can hear Kai struggling under his grasp, so Baekhyun continues to tighten his grasp on Kai’s neck, until the boy goes unconscious. 

He disengages from Kai, rolling over after exerting so much effort. His breath is labored as he looks to the sky, but what meets him is not the image of the sun creeping through the foliage, but a hammer aimed at his chest. He quickly rolls away, his energy drained from his encounter with Kai. He notices that Kyungsoo is no longer made of stone, but is once again made of human flesh.

He gets up with whatever energy he has left, before he sees Lay suddenly in front of him.

“You’re more clever than we give you credit for.” Kyungsoo smirks, clearly enjoying the surprise.

Lay smiles, “Oh, dear. I just played some music, I never expected those roots to go on a rampage.”

“Ever the charmer.” Kyunsoo smiles, “Anymore more surprises for me?”

Lay gives him a smirk, “Just this one,” he then raises his hand to reveal weird colored powder sitting on his palm, “Sweet dreams.” Lay then blows the fine powder, the particles flying into the boy’s face. Kyungsoo coughs before looking at Lay with a sour expression. He takes a step forward before his eyes star to droop and his body falls to the ground, unconscious.

“What was that?” Baekhyun asks.

“Powder of the from the Jellyfruit root.” He looks over to the carnage, “Looks like the plan worked.”

“Too well if you asked me,” Baekhyun scoffed, heading over to Chanyeol to attempt to stir him awake, but as soon as he shakes him, the boy is opening his eyes and giving a smile.

“Were you awake this whole time?” Baekhyun asked.

“Ya, was trying to for the element of surprise.” He smiled. Beakhyun scoffs. Then the sound of a cannon resonates across the forest.

Once everyone had settled back at the edge of the forest, the two teams shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, Donghae and Hyukjae come forward with clipboards on display.

“Well, we’ve analyzed each of you individually. And if you guys were not aware, we chose these grouping so that everyone was essentially out of their element.”

“Let’s begin with the losing team. Jongdae, though you were not able to get Chanyeol with a single arrow, you came up with a pretty decent strategy that would have worked if you were more aware of the circumstances. However, you also failed to know that one of the most important roles of a leader is to lead, and being pinned down first was not a good way to go about it.” Jongdae responded with a small nod and shy smile.

“Kai, good work being a good support to the team, you utilized your ability not only to your advantage, but also to the advantage of your team, so good work.” Donghae states, gesturing towards Kai, to which the boy gives a small thanks.

“Kyungsoo, we were very surprised with you, we thought you would combust and start screaming at everyone what to do. But, surprisingly, you also performed you duty well. A great guard knows that he must stand tall till the very end.” Kyungsoo gave him a shy nod. Chanyeol snickering lightly in the background.

“Now to the winning team,” Hyukjae says looking over to the other team.

“I have to say, you played these boys like a fiddle the way you handled them, great all around strategy that allowed you to predict the movements of the other team.”

Lay gives a small smile, “More like played them like a lyre, I would say.” Hyukjae smirks.  

“Chanyeol, good all-around, who knew being an annoying person came in handy when in a fight.” Chanyeol laughed at this and responded with a hearty, “It always comes in handy, right Soo?” There was a mumble that sounded much like “Shut up, you oaf.”

Then Hyukjae looks at Baekhyun, “Well, well, Byun, who knew you’d be the most important asset to the team. The stranglehold you had on Kai was absolutely perfect. Literally no one saw you coming. You were exquisite on the field, without any power still, mind you.” Baekhyun blushes at the compliment, as he feels an arm wrap around his shoulders.

“Told you, you’d be great.” Chanyeol smiles, and Baekhyun feels warmth travel from his face to every single limb in his body.

Kai then approaches Baekhyun and ruffles his hair, “So different from when I first got you, huh.” Baekhyun swatted his hand away as Kai, once again popped out of the scene. He knew it before it happened. Kai hardly trusted anyone, what Kyungsoo did really affected him. But he couldn’t fault Kyungsoo either, the boy had good intentions, he didn’t want to scare Kai, he was doing what he though was right.

He saw Kyungsoo deflate as Kai left the scene, immediately following suite and heading out of the clearing.

“Today’s the most Kai’s interacted with Kyungsoo, it’s really eating at him.” Jongdae says from his position.

“Those two seem like they’re in a lover’s spat.” Lay muses, “Oh, young love.” Chanyeol chuckles at this.

“Well, they’ve become quite chummy while Kai was injured, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a tryst of some sort.” His arm was still around Baekhyun as he and the others strolled out of the forest, heading to the mess hall for lunch.

“But seriously, we need to resolve this, those two for some reason really know how to work together, even if they’ve been feuding.” Jongdae chimes in from the rear.

“It was like they knew what they had to do. Their powers really complement each other, with Kai’s speed and Kyungsoo’s strength, they can take down armies.” The others could only nod at the assessment.

“Have any of you tried to talk to Kai?” Chanyeol asks as they near the mess hall.

Baekhyun and Chen gave a disgruntled yes, both failing at trying to convince Kai to forgive Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol huffs as they reach the hall, it was bustling with members of the Order, small groups eating amicably together on the long tables. But there were two figures that stand out starkly from the light atmosphere.

On opposite sides sat Kyungsoo and Kai, both clearly miserable, head ducked and staring at their food.

“It looks like it’s Lay to the rescue once again,” the elder says while walking past the group.

“The boy’s indebted to me for saving him, the least he can do is listen,” the rest nod, Lay then points to the brooding Kyungsoo, “You go handle the prince. I’ll tend to the pauper.” With that Lay whisks his way towards the other male.

He plops himself beside Kai, the boy belatedly realizing that Lay was sitting beside him.

“Oh, hey Lay, what do you need?” He asks rather blankly as he casts a gaze towards the other side of the room.

“My, my, Kai, I come here under the impression that we were friends, and I find that you only think I would approach you for something. I am quite offended my friend, deeply so.” Lay admonishes faking a gasp.

Kai is half paying attention to Lay, his eyes looking at the boy he rather misses and hates at the same time. But when Lay slaps his head, he stands in full attention.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.” He replies rather glumly.

“It’s okay, I actually came here for something, so no harm done.” Kai only looks at him perplexed.

“You see your lingering gaze at our prince have not gone unnoticed,” Kai clams up, he was in for another talk, and he didn’t have the energy nor the patience for it.

“And don’t you think you can slip out of this conversation, young man. As your one and only savior, I shall be using my privilege to ask you a favor.”

Kai looks at the man with a look confliction. “You’re seriously using that on me right now? This is so manipulative.”

“I’m not manipulative Kai, I’m merely persuasive.” Lay smiles. Kai groans.

“Now, you march up to that table, tell the others to head over here and give that boy a chance to explain, and possibly a chance at a kiss while you’re at it.”

Kai gives slaps Lay’s arm in response, his cheeks going crimson, “S-stop spouting such stupid things.”

“Oh, Kai, our little prince has quite a pair of lips, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving him a bit of loving, but I’m more of an eyebrow man myself.”

Kai splutters his food onto his plate coughing, “Please stop it. I don’t like him like that.”

Lay gives him a knowing smile, “Do you really want pursue this conversation, Kai, or do you want to march over to the other end of this room and talk to Kyungsoo.”

Kai doesn’t even wait and begins to stand up and head to the other side. He tentatively moves to the spot where the others were and clears his throat.

Everyone is quiet as they all look at him, Kyungsoo the one most visibly affected. His eyes opening really wide as he looked over at Kai.

“Ugh, I-I have to talk to Kyungsoo.”

There’s an instant reaction as three pairs of feet immediately scuttle out of the table and head over to where Lay was seated.

He took a seat opposite Kyungsoo, his eyes not meeting the other boy.

“What did Lay do to make you talk to me?” Kyungsoo asked resignedly.

Kai huffs, “He’s pretty persuasive.” Kyungsoo nods.

“So, maybe you can talk me through it then?” Kai asks hopefully.

Kyungsoo nods, “I found out a week before Lay arrived.”

Kai is silent. Kyungsoo goes on.

“It’s not that I wanted to keep you in the dark on purpose. At first it was because I didn’t want you to worry, you had so many things on your plate, so many things were changing. I thought I was protecting you.”

Kai looks over at Kyungsoo, “I don’t need any protecting. I’ve lived like this all my life.”

“I know, but I wanted to protect you, we’re in this together. I wanted to ease as much pain as I could.” Kyungsoo is looking at Kai as well, it looked forlorn, pleading even.

“Why?”

Kyungsoo looks at his hands, “Why?” Kyungsoo laughs, “Maybe because I care for you. It’s not a foreign concept, I hope.”

“To you, maybe not. To me,” Kai looks at Kyungsoo, “Very.”

“Well, I do, and so do the others. I’m sorry I kept you in the dark, but I thought I was saving you the pain, obviously I was wrong, I see that now.” he pauses, “But don’t think for one second that I wanted to betray your trust, or make you seem weak, I did it because I cared, Kai.”

Kai nods, “But when you saw it getting worse, why didn’t you say anything, that’s what baffles me the most. If you cared so much, why did you watch me hurt so much?”

Kyungsoo looks so lost, so sad at this point, “I was selfish.”

“Expound.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I was afraid.”

“What do you mean?”

Kyungsoo looks at Kai with glassy eyes, “I didn’t want it to be true. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to face the truth. I was a coward. Each day I looked at you getting worse, and all I could think was you’ll get better, you’re not going to die, Taekwoon will find a way to do it. He’ll find a way to save you. He has to.” A solitary tear leaves his eye.

“It was so hard, because I wanted to convince myself that it was a lie. I didn’t like the idea of dying, okay. I spent every day willing myself to try to be strong for you.”

Kai realizes that Kyungsoo had not only kept his illness a secret, but he had also carried the burden the secret bore, the burden that was supposed to be on Kai. He carried it by himself.

“Thank you.”

Kyungsoo looks at him with a look of confusion, “Huh?”

“All this time, you were only thinking me. I realize that now. Thank you.” Kai smiles.

“But next time, tell me, it’s my burden, not yours. I’m supposed to carry it. Don’t carry it for me, Kyungsoo. Carry it with me.”

Both look at each other, then they simultaneously look away. Crimson evident on both of their faces.

Kyungsoo heaves a long sigh, wiping his eyes, “So, we’re good?”

Kai nods.

“Since that’s out of the way, can I just say how sloppy you were today?” Kyungsoo scolds.

Kai scoffs, “Excuse me, after I saved your sorry self, this is how you thank me? What a grateful person.”

“You’re so much quicker than Baekhyun, Kai. I don’t know what possessed you today.” Kyungsoo admonished.

“He took me by surprise, okay! He was never that agile when I met him. I swear he moved like a sloth before.” Kyungsoo only rolled his eyes.

From the other side, the other four watched in amusement as the two continued to squabble.

“Lay, what did you do?” Jongdae scoffs.

“I’m quite persuasive.” The other three just snicker in response as the two just continue to squabble.

“You know Lay, you’re right. They do seem like a couple of lovers.” Jongdae quips as he sees Kyungsoo flick Kai’s head all of a sudden. Kai probably said something stupid.

“Oh, I just know these things.” Lay smiles. The three of them enjoyed their lunch as they gave Kyungsoo and Kai a bit of time to catch up.

Then mess hall doors open abruptly, revealing a very haggard looking Im Yoona. She strolls in and heads for the table with four boys.

“Urgent news, Valera needs to send you on a mission.”

“Why?”

“She’ll explain herself, but it seems that you guys will be heading for the Misty Isles at dawn tomorrow.” 

___

Author’s note:

I’m sorry this took so long, but work has been hectic, and it’s only now that I’ve found time to write.

 Anyway, this was sort of a filler, but also not, there’s a bit of fighting, hope you guys enjoyed that. Also, Kaisoo being idiots and Baekhyun getting some muscle. (I really intended for Baek to get buffed a bit, it’s only a coincidence that it happened in real life, not that I’m complaining.) He’s still not comfortable using his powers, but maybe this will change soon.

If you guys look into Lay’s lines, you’ll get a hint into who he’s gonna get paired with. I also realized that I love writing Lay, his character is such a joy to write about. I hope you guys enjoy him and his secrets.

The next chapter will be a new arc of sorts. Now, that the team has shown that they can work together, it’s time to show it through a mission. (AKA ’s gonna hit the fan hard.)

If you enjoy this, subs, comments and upvotes give me life.

I’d like to thank @Brookiebag, your comment compelled me to write this chapter! :)