Chapter 5: Midnight Scuffle

January 8, The Great Woods

Yoona sits in front of the campfire looking at her companions’ faces; all them gaunt. Even the Black Devil, who Yoona now knows as Kai, has a sullen expression.

“From what I’ve gathered it’s not just orcs that are behaving weirdly.” Yoona says. She takes a pause and looks at the group, eyes sunken.

“Ice trolls have been spotted near the base of Winter’s Foot, near Glasskeep. There have also been sightings of Sand Stalkers in the Cennel Wastelands. There have even been sightings of Stormborn along the Verdant coast. It seems that whatever had caused the orcs affected all unnatural creatures as well. Nothing like this has been seen in the past decades, it’s quite unsettling.” Yoona concludes, looking at her companions whose faces have turned from anxious to fearful in a matter of seconds.

There is silence, as the party digests the information given.

Kyungsoo is the one who speaks first. “Any word on the Krags?”

There’s sullenness in his voice, a hint of hesitation, of paranoia. His eyes looked weary as they gazed at Yoona, fierceness replaced by a soft yearning; eyes searching for a glimmer of hope.

Yoona is used to these situations. She was appointed head of Intelligence and Reconnaissance for a reason. She was trained in the art of stealth and deception. She knew how to persuade and she knew how to hide. But facing Kyungsoo seemed more difficult than any egotistical warlord Yoona had ever faced. She prays that her voice doesn’t fail her and her face doesn’t give out anything. She hopes that her eyes don’t flicker and her words do not get stuck in . Because Yoona deceived for a purpose, it was okay to deceive criminals and corrupt royals, she hated deceiving her friends. However, Yoona had to choose, her friend’s trust or the success of this mission.

She had chosen to keep their leader san.

“No. No abnormalities sighted.” she says, her voice even and her eyes unmoving from the gaze of her friend.

There’s a pause as Yoona looks at Kyungsoo’s pensive expression. Slowly it settles, there were no longer creases on his head, his eyes were no longer as dark as a moment before, and his shoulders slacken a bit.

“Okay” he responds, there’s resignation in his tone, but he slowly recomposes.

“We have to report this to Valera as soon as we get back, but right now we have to turn our attention to the situation at hand.”

There’s a murmur of general assent, and Yoona almost heaves a sigh of relief, but keeps it buried in her chest. She can’t flinch yet.

“We have to first locate the orcs. Jongdae, did you find anything when you were looking around?” Kyungsoo asks the hunter.

Jongdae looks around, then suddenly his eyes widen as he remembers something. He quickly rummages his pockets looking something, then stops as he releases a breath of relief. He fishes the object out of his pocket and presents it to the party.

It’s a leather glove with a star embroidered on it.

“I found this on the forest floor right before Kai attacked me.”

There’s a slight scuffle as Kai races forward, grabbing the gloves from Jongdae’s grasp.

“This is Baekhyun’s!” Kai almost screams, holding the glove aloft for everyone to see. There’s a glint of excitement and remorse in his eyes.

“This is bad,” Kai then murmurs.

“Why? At least we have something to start with,” Chanyeol mumbles in confusion.

“You don’t get it, there’s a reason why Baekhyun wears gloves. His hands glow with energy, if the orcs sense it, who knows what they’ll do to him.” Kai explains, shaking the glove above our heads frantically.

“They’re going to know that there’s something more to Baekhyun than a small boy wearing leather gloves,” Kai half-screams.

Kyungsoo now stands, hands gesturing for Kai to settle down, “Kai, we need you to calm down, we’ll get Baekhyun safe and sound, I promise.” Kai nods reluctantly, handing back the glove to Jongdae and seating himself down dejectedly.

“It’s okay. With this we can track him easily,” Yoona assures, “We’ll get him in no time.” Kai give grunts, but nods his head altogether.

“Right now, we have to finalize how we’re going to go about this,” Jondae interjects.

“Do you have anything in mind?” Yoona asks the hunter. Jongdae nods, now standing up and facing the party.

“Yoona, Kai, and myself will be infiltrating the orc encampment to find Baekhyun,” he starts explaining, while pacing around. Everyone’s eyes were now on him as he begins to debrief the team of how things were going to go down.

“Most of them would be asleep by now, with some probably patrolling the area,” Jongdae continues, “We’ll assassinate the patrol and look for Baekhyun. Once we free him, we’ll head east to Everspring Lake, the natural energy is too strong there, it also helps with recuperation.”

Kai’s hand shoots up, Jongdae acknowledging it.

“Yes, Kai?”

“Two things. First, what is natural energy? Second, why would orcs not set foot in this Verph-this whatever lake?” Kai asks.

“I think our resident druid can give you an answer to that,” Jongdae says gesturing to Yoona.

Yoona gives Kai a small smile, now facing the thief, “Well, Kai, our world is made up of energy.  It is present in all things, from the buildings, the trees, and ever to that very rock you’re sitting on, all of it is made up of energy.” she says picking up a leaf from the forest floor.

“These things around you, substances born from the natural world, are created by the use of natural energy, the life force that Gaia had bestowed upon the land. By design natural energy is used to create and sustain life. That’s why, we, creatures of Gaia, are drawn to fonts of energy filled with life. We tend to live places teeming with life, from the water, the trees, and the highlands. However, there are creatures that dwell this earth that were not born from natural energies. Creatures born of abhorrent magic—the demon born. These creatures tend to dwell in the regions devoid of life, like caves, mountains, and deserts, mainly because Gaia’s energy works to balance the general equilibrium of life. Their energies are tainted by unnatural energy, so by instinct, natural energy attempts to refine the abhorrent energies that reside in the bodies of these creatures. It attacks their bodies and makes them weaker.” Yoona explains.

“You with me so far?” she says to the thief. Kai looks at her and nods, his eyes trained at the druid, mind absorbing the new information.

“That’s why it’s so surprising to find orcs in these parts, because the Great Woods is one of the largest fonts of natural energy, the forest itself weakens the orcs, but for some reason the orcs are neglecting the effects of the forest on their bodies.”

“But what’s so special about this Everspring lake?” Kai then asks.

“Everspring Lake is said to be where Gaia created natural energy. The lake itself has healing properties that can be utilized by the use of magic. But more importantly, the natural energy surrounding the lake is so dense that lake and the forest surrounding it is under and eternal spring, hence the name.”

Kai nods, understanding clear on his face. Then Chanyeol pipes up from behind Kai.

“Dae, what will me and general rock head be doing while you guys go one your sneaky plan?” the tallest of them ask.

Jongdae looks apprehensive at this, “Honestly, I don’t know, you guys might just slow us down. The plan works better if everyone on the infiltration team knows what they’re doing.”

Chanyeol frowns. “B-but, I want to see the little starlight.”

Kyungsoo groans and whacks the man on his head, “Seriously, Chanyeol, we’ll be on the lookout if things go wrong. If ever we see signs of trouble, we’re bursting in and taking them down.”

Chanyeol smiles at this, while Jongdae gives a soft chuckle, “Ah, you two have the most violent solutions to everything.”

“I have a hammer for a weapon, Dae. Don’t be surprised if whacking things is part of my plans. Not to mention I’ve been together with this walking tower of idiot for gods know how long.”

Jongdae scoffs at this, chucking a stray rock at the armor of his friend.

“Anyway, we can serve as a distraction if ever things go awry, we promise to make as much noise as humanly possible when attacking the orc encampment.” Chanyeol grins.

The hunter ignores his friends antics, choosing to explain the rest of the plan to the other two.

 “So, once the infiltration team locate Baekhyun, the kid and I will ride Gertrude to Everspring Lake, and we’ll meet you guys there. Does anyone have any qualms about the plan?” Jongdae asks surveying the small circle, “Well if there are no questions, I thinks it is best we head out.”

The group starts moving, readying their weapon, and packing up the camp. Kai and Chanyeol had started sharpening their blades. Yoona was fiddling about with a pack of darts, daintily dipping each tip into a vial of tranquilizing potion. Jongdae and Kyungsoo have begun going over the map, trying to track where the orcs may have gone. After everyone had sufficiently prepared, the group set out to the direction the tracks the orcs had left on the ground. Jongdae and Yoona taking the front, Gertrude lazily circling around the general area above them.

After some time, the tracks had become more prominent on the ground. The indents of the large boots becoming more and more obvious as they trudged forward.

They were near.

However, what the party did not anticipate as they followed the footsteps under the blanket of night would be the faint thrumming from the distance. Jongdae quickens his steps, as the darkness in front of him changes from the deep blue to a faint yellow. Fire.

Jongdae reaches the edge of a steep incline. In the distance his fears are realized. In a clearing near where he stood, was a small encampment lit by a numerous torches, a rowdy group of about fifteen orcs were jeering and cheering at a figure that was tied to a tree. Jongdae tries to look at the figure and his eyes widen. It was young man with raven black hair, he was unconscious and had bruises on his cheek. Jongdae could also see that one of his hands was gloved, the other one emanating a faint glow.

He looks at his team, his face sullen.

“Guys, change of plans.”

Everyone goes up to the clearing and each share the same expression of fear and anxiety. Kai looking the most affected, his face contorted into a look of grim despair. There’s a pregnant silence that fills the thick air as the party gazes at the ungodly sight before them.

It was their leader who spoke up.

“We’re charging the camp, there’s no other way around it.” Kyungsoo says, his eyes never leaving the camp. There’s a murmur, each accepting the predicament.

“There are about fifteen of them. Securing Baekhyun should be the priority.” Kyungsoo says still looking at the clearing.

“Once they know that they’re being attacked, they’ll secure Baekhyun and take him away, we have to find a way to get to him first.” Jongdae sounds from where he’s positioned.

Kyungsoo thinks of a plan, looking at the possible things that would allow him to distract the rowdy orc party. He looks for boulders, large trees, anything. Then he looks at the sky and notices the shadow of Gertrude gliding above them, then his eyes widen.  “Jongdae, could you take me up on Gertrude with you?”

The hunter looks at him skeptically, trying to see if he can decipher what his friend was trying to do on the back of his eagle.

“I can, but I want to know what you’re planning.” Jongdae says, his eyes never leaving their leader.

“Our distraction.” Kyungsoo states, before shifting his attention to Kai and Yoona.

“Kai and Yoona, you guys are in charge of taking the boy. Once you guys get to him, ride out. Once you guys are out of sight, hand Baekhyun to Jongdae, he’ll take the boy to the lake.” He says to the two, with both nodding.

“Jongdae, you stay up, try to kill some if you can, but once you see Yoona and Kai get Baekhyun, you’re bolting out of there. Don’t worry about me and Chanyeol, we’ll survive.” Jongdae responds with an “Aye.”

Now he directs his attention to Chanyeol. “Big guy, how do you feel about trying to kill fifteen orcs in one night?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Good. Now, everyone get into position, once I setup the distraction, you guys rush in.”

“How will we know what the distraction is?” Yoona asks.

“Oh, you’ll know.”

The drumming from the encampment grew louder and louder as they neared the clearing. Chanyeol tensed up as he saw the scene before him.

All the orcs were in a fit of pure joy and excitement as they jumped at the sight before them. Chanyeol did not get a look at the boy when they first saw him from afar, but from his position, he could clearly see the raven haired boy. He had very soft lips and a pointy chin. His eyes were closed and his hands were tied. Chanyeol caught a glimpse of dainty fingers of the boy, and true to what Kai had said, the boy’s hand glowed faintly in the night. He had a delicate face which was marred by bruises and traces of dried blood. Chanyeol felt a clawing of disgust and rage fill his gut as he looked at the sight before him. He cannot imagine what the boy had gone through, but Chanyeol knew that no one should be subject to that treatment. It made Chanyeol’s blood boil.

There’s a tap on his shoulder and he sees Yoona staring at him with warm eyes, “Chanyeol, calm yourself, getting mad might just put him in more danger.”

Chanyeol nods in understanding, as he tears his gaze away from the tortured boy. He starts looking at the group of orcs, trying to see where he should strike first. He didn’t know what Kyungsoo had in mind, but he trusted Kyungsoo, so he just had to wait.

After some time, Chanyeol notices that there’s a ruffling from the tent as an orc slightly smaller and frailer than the rest comes out of the tent in a brown bear skin robe, with the skull of a bull resting on its head. In the small orcs hands was a perfectly circular stone of pure black. Chanyeol had never seen a hue of black as pure and unadulterated as the one he saw right in front of him. There was a feeling of dread that came with looking at it, an amalgamation of fear and awe settling gruesomely in the pit of Chanyeol’s stomach. He feels Yoona freeze at the sight of the stone. Chanyeol takes a peek at the druid as sees that she is visibly shaking.

“Yoona? What’s wrong, do you know what that thing is?”

He can see Yoona shiver at the sight, her eyes glazed with dread. She takes a gulp, trying to steady her voice, “I-It’s a, t-that’s a, demon eye.”

Chanyeol freezes. Whatever happened, that thing could not get near Baekhyun.

“What’s a demon eyes?” Kai asks from beside Yoona.

This time Yoona finds her voice, “It’s an ancient artifact left by the demons to the tribes of the creatures that they left behind. It’s an artifact specifically made for The 12.”

“What do you mean specifically for The 12?” Kai asks, his voice wavering.

“It was specifically created to siphon the power of The 12 and leave them powerless. In other words—”

“He’s going to the light out of Baekhyun.” Kai finishes, earning him a nod of affirmation from Yoona.

“We need to move, we can’t let them get Baekhyun’s powers.” Kai pleas. The boy looks agitated and looks about ready to bolt, but Yoona places a hand on the boy.

“Trust Kyungsoo.” She states firmly, “If we march in there right now, you and Baekhyun will die on the spot. Don’t risk it Kai.” The thief lets out a breath of frustration, but yields all the same.

Chanyeol looks up above the canopy, the stars shining brightly in the night sky.

Where are you, Kyungsoo?

Up in the air, Kyungsoo was preparing himself for his most daring feat of his life. In front of him was a fuming Jongdae.

“I still cannot believe you’re going to jump right in the middle of everything, seriously Kyungsoo, are you planning on not returning to Sanctuary? Because if you do die today, get ready, cause Valera will find your corpse and kill you again.” Jongdae rambled, guiding Gertrude through the sky.

“Don’t you trust me?” Kyungsoo says.

“Right now, no.”

“Well, too late for that, my drop off is about to come.” Jongdae sighs as they make their descent into the camp.

“This is so stupid.”

3

“Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this alive,”

2

“How do you know?”

1

“I just know.”

And with that Kyungsoo jumps out of the warmth of Gertrude’s back and into the chilly night. The breeze was nice at, and for a moment the Stone Sentinel was at peace. It was only him enveloped in the silence of the night, his body swimming in the ephemeral nothingness. Kyungsoo releases his energy, his body slowly feeling heavy, his skin starting to turn black once more. Then he falls, the wind rushing swiftly against his smooth skin. He can see the encampment racing towards him, he brings his hammer forward.

Crash

Chanyeol is taken out of his stupor hearing a loud crash a few meters away from, with the camp suddenly being encompassed in a cloud of dust, rock and debris.

Kyungsoo, you are brilliant.

He rears himself, brandishing his two swords and rushing forward into the fray. To his right he sees Yoona once again engulfed in a swirl of green energy, emerging from it a large dire wolf. Kai phasing out of existence with a soft poof.

Chanyeol barrels forward into the unknown, his swords now glowing a violent red.

He enters the smoky encampment and finds a large body standing confused in front of him.

Not small, not slender, not poofing. Orc.

Chanyeol s both his swords forward as he pierces the orc straight through its chest, the creature roaring as it slumps on Chanyeol’s sword, flesh and innards sizzling upon contact with Chanyeol’s heated blades. Chanyeol then shoves the creature forward with his foot, the body sliding cleanly off his blades, a singed hole smoking on the orcs back.

He moves forward once more, the cloud of dirt, offering the perfect cover as he tries kill the orcs one by one. He hears a loud crash and a thunk from somewhere.

Kyungsoo’s getting busy.

He moves quicker, hearing the rowdy footsteps of disorganized orcs running around the camp. He spots another two more in front of him, however, unlike the first orc, these two spot Chanyeol as well. Charging at him with their hand axes; their eyes ablaze. The swordsman moves forward, his blades at the ready. Chanyeol is exhilarated now, adrenaline pumping ferociously through his veins. His blades reflecting his state of excitement. Glowing white before being set ablaze. This takes his assailants by surprise, their charge hindering slightly at the sight. Chanyeol takes this opportunity to strike. He leaps at his enemies, his two blades directed at the first orcs arms, both sliding clean off as he brings his blades down with a swift . Blood and skin sizzling upon contact. The orc roars in pain, but its growl is short lived as Chanyeol brings his swords up again, this time swiping the orc’s head clean off. The orc’s body slumping to the ground, limbs cut, head gone.

The swordsman now directs his attention to the other orc, who was now swiping away at him. He dodges the first strike cleanly, but he finds himself almost tripping on the body of the orc he had just killed, which causes the second strike to graze his right arm. Steadying himself, he parries the next strike, his sword searing the edge of the axe directed at him. He then lunges forward, bringing his other sword forward and ing it through the chest of his attacker. The burning steel goes clean through, tearing a searing hole through the orcs chest. The orcs body catching fire as the white hot flame churns through its organs. Chanyeol pulls out his blade from the limp body and moves away, looking for his next target.

Chanyeol notices that the dirt cloud had thinned out, giving him a better view of the battle around him. On one side he could see Kyungsoo pummeling away orc after orc. Each creature being swatted away easily as the Stone Sentinel ravaged through the battlefield. He searches for his other comrades and notices Yoona on one side battling an orc almost twice her size. Chanyeol notices that even among the orcs around it, this one was larger, burlier, and more ferocious than the other creatures that Chanyeol has faced. However, Yoona was in no means at a disadvantage. The druid was moving so fluidly and gracefully against the orc, dodging and dipping at each of the creature’s strikes, leaving the gargantuan creature roaring in agitation. This made its movements more frantic and sloppy. Yoona had this one covered.

So Chanyeol tried to look for Kai, and his eyes widened at the sight. The one with the demon eye was now standing near the place Baekhyun was, but instead of the boy with the glove, it Kai was squirming grotesquely before the creature. His body being held by two orcs, as Kai’s body squirmed erratically in their grasp. Chanyeol made a beeline for the sight, his swords gleaming in the night.

Apparently, the orcs were too busy with whatever was happening with the boy they were holding, so they did not notice the two blades which suddenly jutted out of the magic user’s body, tongues of white flame burning through flesh and bone. So when the first orc slumps on the floor and Kai ceases convulsing, the two orcs are too late to notice blades slicing through their arms, as each of their limbs fall dully on the ground. They do not even have time to scream, as two blades sink down their throats, burning a hole through their windpipe, their breath hanging in their chest, never to reach their tongues.

Once the bodies were slumped dead on the floor, he reaches over to Kai trying to shake the boy awake. Noticing that he was far too gone at this point, Chanyeol hurriedly trues to take Kai into his arms, but is stopped by a large hammer. Chanyeol looks up to find Kyungsoo standing there, his face dirtied with dried blood and dirt, but looking intact.

“You take Baekhyun and start running, I’ve got Kai.”

“What about Yoona?”

Kyungsoo points to his right, Chanyeol following his gaze. In the distance was Yoona clutching her staff, pointing to the dark circle on the ground, behind her was the slumped figure of the orc she was fighting a few moments ago. It seemed that orb had rolled down to where Yoona was fighting. The druid was in a trance, her eyes closed and moving fast as she chanted, roots now growing from the earth, grasping the demonic artifact on the ground.

Chanyeol nods and heads for the tree where Baekhyun was tied up. Thankfully, the boy was still there, his head still slumped, his body still limp. Chanyeol quickly dispelling his swords, swiftly cut through the rope that was tied around the boy’s body. He then sliced through the rope on the boy’s hand, before heaving the boy up, keeping the body secure in his arms.

He gives a final look at Kyungsoo.

“Meet you at the lake!” he bellows, his companion giving him a curt nod before lunging for the closest orc. Chanyeol then turns to run. He moves swiftly across the forest, his legs now numbed with adrenaline. He doesn’t know how long he sprints through the forest ground, he never even knew he could run that long, but he does. Then finds himself in front of a lake, the dark waters serene in the night, the moon gracefully sitting atop their heads, the sky tranquil. It felt like a lifetime away from the scene that he had just come from, and Chanyeol could only release a sigh of relief.

He looks at his surroundings. The trees are thicker, lusher here, there were flowers on the ground, cascading colors which would surely look beautiful when there was light. The lake was vast, the other end a few miles from where Chanyeol was standing. Chanyeol, even in his state of exhaustion, felt a sense of relief and life flooding his body.

Chanyeol looks over his rescue and notices the scar and bruises on the boy’s face. He gently places the boy on a patch of grass near the lake and lays him on the ground. He then grabs his wineskin then proceeds to clean the boy’s face of the dirt and grim.

After fully cleaning it, he takes out the herbal kit Yoona had prepared for them bringing out a healing salve and some bandages. He pops open the bottle and takes a generous amount with his finger. He then rubs some on the boy’s bruises. He surveys Baekhyun’s body, looking for any signs of damage and notices a gash on his right arm. It’s quite large, but Chaneol is surprised to find that it wasn’t bleeding out. In fact, it had begun healing already. Not taking any chances, Chanyeol cleans the wound, before rubbing another generous amount of salve on the boy’s arm. He then takes the bandage and gingerly ties it around the boy’s arm. He finishes by tying up the bandage nice and tight before carrying the boy once more.

He finds a tree situated near the lake, he walks there and brings himself to sit, his body slumping on the bark. He moves Baekhyun’s body so that it was sitting in front of him, the boys back resting on Chanyeol’s chest. He knew it was quite a compromising position, but the situation had called for it. He takes a closer look at the boy and is surprised at how serene he looked even in his current state. Chanyeol then moves to survey the boy’s hand. True enough, the hand not gloved was glowing faintly in the night. What looked like stars and galaxies were calmly moving inside the boy’s hand. A grand spectacle of energy. Chanyeol had not seen anything quite as beautiful as this in his life. His hands unconsciously moved to hold the Baekhyun’s, cradling gently in his own, feeling warmth pulse through his hand. Wanting nothing but safety and warmth to come to the boy. Chanyeol did not know why, but he felt this primal urge to protect the orphan. The boy, Chanyeol realized, who never had a home.

“We’ll be your home, starlight,” he begins to whisper to Baekhyun’s ear. “There, no one will harm you. There, you’ll be safe.”

Chanyeol holds onto the boy’s hand more firmly.

“You won’t have to run anymore, Baekhyun, we’ll bring you home, don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

Chanyeol smiles at this. He’s supposed to keep awake, he was to keep himself conscious, but the fatigue and the exhaustion comes over him suddenly. Their endless travels suddenly drowning him in exhaustion. Chanyeol tries his best to stay awake, murmuring, “I’ll keep you safe,” over and over until his head slumps forward, forehead resting on Baekhyun’s shoulder as sleep takes him. Chanyeol doesn’t know why he is acting like this, why he is so attached. But maybe, just maybe, it was because Baekhyun reminded Chanyeol so much of him.

He fails to notice the look of contentment that graced Baekhyun’s face as they both slumbered peacefully under the guard of the silent night.

---

January 9, Everspring Lake

Baekhyun wakes up rested. He has not felt this calm since he had left Everdale. He feels warm and comfortable, his body relaxed. He tries open his eyes trying to grasp his surroundings. It’s night, but he did not feel cold. He’s in a forest, the trees are thick, and the grass he is sitting on is soft and warm.

That’s when it dawned on him, the orcs, the ambush, being tied up, getting beaten. He tries to jolt forward, his eyes manic, but his movement is marred by a strong grip on his waist. Baekhyun looks down and notices that there is an arm on his waist and a hand on his own. His eyes pop up in surprise as he violently pries himself away from his captor. Resulting in him falling forward as he tried to scramble away, but his legs were weak and his limbs were sore, so he could only crawl a few feet away before giving the man a good look.

He was surprised to find that his captor was not in fact a brutish looking green creature, but actually a very tall, very handsome young man. A young man who was holding Baekhyun rather intimately. Baekhyun checks himself and realizes that his wounds had been tendered to and he had a bandage on his right arm. He looks around and sees that there is a used bandage and a bottle of thick substance not far from where he was.

Did he bandage me up?

Baekhyun touches his face, and sure enough there is a thick salve on his bruises. Then, the man suddenly stirs awake, Baekhyun crawling farther away from him, cursing his limp arms and legs. He notices how the boy opens his eyes and jolts awake caressing the nothingness before him.

A deep, very worried voice is heard as the boy bellows, “Baekhyun! Baekhyun! Where are you?”

How does he know my name?

Baekhyun on one hand wants to know, but his instinct tells him to leave, so he tries scurry away from the scene, however the boy was tall and apparently his legs worked also, as he sees the boy suddenly barreling towards him.

“Baekhyun, stop moving, I’m not going to hurt you! I’m here to protect you!” he screams while moving towards the boy. But Baekhyun ignores the pleas and continues crawling away. But is stopped as the tall man grabs him by his waist and carries him back.

“L-let me go!” Baekhyun attempts to scream, his voice coming out raspy and weak from the prolonged non usage.

“No, you’re injured, you have to rest. You just came from being held prisoner by orcs, I’m not letting you exert stress on your body.” The boy says once again sitting on the tree, Baekhyun freezing at the mention of the orcs.

He suddenly remembers his companion at the mention of the orcs, “The orcs,” he murmurs sullenly.

The boy, taking notice of Baekhyun’s sudden change in mood moves to reassure him, “Don’t worry, we took care of the orcs. They won’t bother you anymore.”

Baekhyun is suddenly filled with a sense of relief at the boy’s words, but is once again troubled at the reminder that he was not supposed to be alone. His head is slumped once more, his eyes looking at the glove that Kai had given him.

“Don’t worry, Kai and the rest are on their way.” The boy says cheerfully, “We can finally head home after.”

Suddenly Baekhyun looks at his captor, his eyes hoping, “Kai is alive?”

“More alive than you when we found him.” The boy smiles. Baekhyun notices that there’s a great warmth in the boy’s smile. Baekhyun finally settles into a state of calm, but realizes that the boy said he was going home.

“I don’t want to go back to Everdale.” He murmurs.

The boy gives a soft chuckle, “Silly, we’re not going to Everdale, we’re going to your new home.”

New home? Baekhyun turns back at his captor, “What?”

“Oh, yah, you don’t know about anything. I think it would be better when the rest arrive, but we’re not going to Everdale, you’re going back with us.”

Baekhyun just looks more confused, “Who is us, and who are you?”

“Well, the names Park Chanyeol,” he says cheerfully, he moves one of his hands off of Baekhyun’s waist and offers it to the boy. Baekhyun only looks at the hand, his hands flinching at the closeness. Chanyeol notices this but gives it no mind.

“Um, you can let go of me now, I won’t run away, I promise.” Baekhyun says softly.

Chanyeol looks at the boy’s flustered face and smirks, “Eh, I like holding you, you’re warm.”

The tall boy notices the red tinging the smaller boy’s ears, earning Baekhyun another soft chuckle.

Baekhyun wants to protests, wants to say that this quite intimate, but is perplexed at how relaxing the position was. So he yields once more.

“Whatever, but who is us?” Baekhyun asks once more. Chanyeol moves to answer but hears a faint flapping from a distance. He looks up and sees a familiar flying chicken up in the night sky. He then hears a gentle rustling as a familiar clanking of metal and what sounds like bickering invades his ears.

“Kyungsoo, you can let me down!” the two hear, both recognizing Kai’s voice.

“Kai, you can barely walk, you’ve just been exposed to demonic energy, you need to rest.” Kyungsoo’s patronizing voice rings through the forest.

“But you’re tired, you fought like ten orcs at once, you shouldn’t be heaving me around like a rag doll,” Kai protests.

“For the hundredth time, I doesn’t matter, you’re really light.” Kyungsoo says as Chanyeol and Baekhyun see the small figure of the Stone Sentinel carrying Kai on his arms like a husband carrying his bride into the threshold.

Suddenly, the two burst out in laughter at the sight before them. Baekhyun laughing for the first time in days, and Chanyeol cackling at the sight of the two.

This catches the attention of the bickering men, looking at the source of laughter and finally seeing the two people they’ve been looking for. Kai turns beet red at his position, but calls out nonetheless.

“Baekhyun!”

“Chanyeol!”

The two scream simultaneously, Kyungsoo trudging along forward, taking Kai by surprise as his body jumps haphazardly in the boy’s arms.

They reach the two, Kyungsoo still not letting go of Kai.

“Kyungsoo, please let me down, I can walk, seriously.” Kai seethes.

“The last time I did that you almost rolled down a hill. So, no.” Kyungsoo scolds. Kai only rolls his eyes in his very awkward position, but nonetheless he feels relieved at the sight of Baekhyun awake and seemingly happy.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Kai says.

Baekhyun looks up and sees his friends face for the first time, “Likewise.” And there are tears dropping from his eyes. As relief washes over his body.

“It looks like your more than alright though,” Kai smirks, eyes looking over his position with Chanyeol.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, “The guy won’t let go of me.” Kai looks over at Chanyeol with a knowing look.

“He’s really warm.” Chanyeol singsongs, which makes Kyungsoo scoff.

Kyungsoo looks for a place to sit and gingerly places Kai against the tree bark. Kai trying to stand up, but true to Kyungsoo’s prediction, doesn’t his limbs still uncooperative.

“This is the most caring I have ever seen Kyungsoo in my life, what did you do, Kai?” Chanyeol gasps.

Kai chuckled in response, “Apparently getting your powers almost by a demonic artifact brings out his motherly side.”

Kyungsoo whacks Kai on the head, “Shut up, and rest.”

“See, so warm.” Kai remarks. Which earns a laugh from Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and a small smile from Kyungsoo.

Then soft footsteps are heard, bringing the party to look at the source of the disturbance. There they see Jongdae assisting a very tired looking Yoona, in her hand a sack which carried an orb like object.

They near the group and Jongdae sets Yoona on a tree.

It was Baekhyun who asked first, “What happened to her?”

“She exerted a lot of magic trying to seal the demon eye, but she’s okay, she just needs to rest.” Jongdae said.

Baekhyun nods, assuming that whatever it was the woman was sealing was the things hanging from the burlap sack they were holding. Then he looks at the group before him, “Um, I think I should thank you guys for saving me, and I don’t really know what’s happening, could you…um…explain, I don’t know, everything?” Baekhyun says rather confusedly.

There’s a silence before Chanyeol chirps, “Kyungsoo, you do it.”

Kyungsoo groans from his position beside Kai, who he was still fiddling over.

After Kyungsoo had explained to Baekhyun the nature of their mission, and the nature of Baekhyun’s being, the boy stilled quietly. By this time, Baekhyun’s control over his limbs had returned and he had begged Chanyeol to let him go, which he achieved after some convincing care of Kyungsoo's hand.

He looks at his hand, his mind confused and perplexed and just overwhelmed with emotions.

“So, you’re telling me that the five of us are the ancient warriors chosen by the gods to stop the demons from taking over the world?” Baekhyun asks incredulously.

“Pretty much,” Chanyeol chirps.

Baekhyun tries to speak, tries to say something, but he is too overwhelmed to even say anything.

“Look, I know it’s confusing, and overwhelming, but it’s something that we’ve learned to accept.” Kyungsoo explains trying to appease the very frazzled Baekhyun.

“How sure are you even? How sure are you that you’re not making a mistake in me?” Baekhyun asks.

“You’re energy is so in tuned with nature,” Yoona says rather tiredly, “It’s so tethered to the earth and the sky, normal humans do not have this, only ones that have been touched by the gods.”

“Look, I know you have a lot of questions, but right now we have to get you back to Sanctuary. We can clarify everything there.”

Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo weirdly, “Sanctuary?”

This time it’s Chanyeol who responds, “It’s going to be your new home, Baekhyun, the one I was talking about.”

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol and finds himself drawn to the idea of a home.

“Home?” Baekhyun murmurs.

Chanyeol stands and approaches Baekhyun, “I know you’ve never had a home to call your own, you’ve been an orphan all your life,” Chanyeol says, “You’ve been alone all your life.”

This brings Baekhyun to look to the ground, his eyes stinging at the memory.

“But you won’t be alone anymore.” Chanyeol says, bringing Baekhyun to look over at the tall man.

“Being part of The 12 is scary, but you won’t be alone anymore,” Chanyeol explains, putting a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, “It will be hard, it will be scary, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“We’ll make a home for you, so you never have to feel alone anymore.”

With this Baekhyun, feels himself calming down. He still has a lot of questions, a lot of doubts, but looking over the people before him. Looking at the people who had saved him without even knowing him, looking at how they took such great care of him and each other, it felt warm. He felt like it was okay to be scared, because he would be scared with the people with him. For the first time in a long time, Baekhyun didn’t mind the night, it didn’t feel cold and frigid on his skin. Baekhyun felt safe.

“O-okay.” Baekhyun says. Chanyeol gives him another warm smile, his hands resting firmly on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun thinks that maybe it’s a bit hot tonight considering it was spring.

Kyungsoo looks over at Kai, who had not spoken throughout the entire ordeal, “What about you, are you going poof out of here?”

Kai shrugs, “I’ve been looking for a change of pace. Maybe saving the world is more up my alley.” Kyungsoo roll his eyes, settling himself next to the thief once more.

“Can you stop fiddling over me, I told you I’m fine.” Kyungsoo just slaps him over the head.

He looks at his companions, “Rest up guys, tomorrow we’re heading home.”

---

Author’s Note

Yay to some Baekyeol and Kaisoo loving! And finally they’re all together and are heading back to Sanctuary! Also, the plot is thickening! So many things happening in this chapter, I can’t deal.

I cannot deal with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo taking care of their baes, like seriously. My heart.

Anyway, the next few chapters will be the group coming to Sanctuary and adjusting to their new lives, so there won’t be excessive action in the coming chapter, but with the lack of adventuring comes a load of character development for the fab five. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I’ll try to finish another chapter as soon as possible.

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