Shock was the first thing to set in after Gunwoo was left standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring at the spot he’d seen his cousin’s face.  For just a moment, he could almost brush it off as a strange hallucination brought on by an overactive mind due to the most recent A&D news.  But as soon as he closed his eyes and invoked divination, he knew it to be true.  His stomach plummeted and he wanted to vomit the beer he’d had at the pub.

                “Frozen ether,” he exhaled, covering his nose and mouth with both hands before he forced himself to start moving.  Movement helped him to think and he shook his head while he walked, holding a running conversation in his mind that his lips mirrored.  Unconsciously, his hands gestured in front of him, drawing many strange glances when it was apparent he was talking to himself.

                ‘You’ve been found.’

                ‘I know that.’  Head turned to the side as if speaking to someone.

                ‘So what do you do now?’  Irritatingly light shoulders shrugged.

                ‘Run.’  One hand stretched ahead, gesturing forward.

                ‘You can’t.’  The other hand negated it.

                ‘Why not?’  His voice was briefly silent.  ‘Right.’  A quick nod accompanied the thought.

                ‘Alternative?’  Gunwoo scratched his head with a frown.

                ‘Your ship.’

                ‘No.  They’ll be watching the skies,’ he shook his head, the frown deepening.

                ‘Then what?’ his mental voice demanded.

                “I don’t know!” Gunwoo stopped and growled, hands balled into fists.  He was immediately aware of the number of people suddenly looking at him with uncertainty and fear.  Laughing nervously, he forced a smile and a wave before he ducked his head and continued moving, talking quietly to himself under his breath.

                “Calm down, Woo.  You know Earth is several solar systems from where the Celestial Scion likely is.  Even though Insoo saw you, that still means you have at least a few days to figure something out,” he reasoned, rubbing his temples with his fingertips as he tried to do the mental calculations between light years and warp speeds.  Too overwhelmed by this wholly unwelcome surprise, he couldn’t even begin to figure it out just then.  “At least he let you see him,” Gunwoo breathed, suddenly quite grateful to his cousin for that small mercy.  It at least allowed him a warning before he could be taken by surprise.

                He had no doubt his parents would be sending a party to retrieve him, so long as they got it past the Galactic Council.  And even if they didn’t, he wouldn’t put it past his mother to send someone anyway.  The questions would be who, when, how, and what would she do when she realized he didn’t have wings?  Gunwoo paused again and frowned.  He couldn’t inherit anymore; not without his wings.  Losing them gave him the equivalent rank of a standard angel at best and a Forsaken one at worst.  If not lower.  His betrothed’s family wouldn’t go through with the marriage as he was now, but he knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that his parents wouldn’t just leave him alone here, now that he’d been discovered.  Regardless of his condition, they would come to get him.  And then sort his ‘fate’ out from there…

                “Ugh!” he groaned, slapping his face with both hands as he finally approached the apartment complex he shared with Kibum.  “Stupid,” he berated himself, frowning up at the brick layered building that gloomily resembled the color of dried blood in the growing shade.  Standing in front of the complex, Gunwoo began to realize he had more than one problem he was going to have to figure out.  Maybe Kibum would still be napping?

                As soon as he carefully opened the front door to check, he knew he was out of luck.  The lowered volume of the TV told him his roomie was up and about.  There was little point in trying to sneak past him either.  Kibum seemed to have a sixth sense about that sort of thing, so Gunwoo kicked his shoes off, shut the door, and wandered in as if nothing was wrong.

                “Woo?” Kibum asked, poking his head out of the kitchen to smile at his friend.  “There you are!” he waved, glancing back over his shoulder.  “Where’d you go?” he asked in a friendly nosy manner.

                “Just to the pub,” Gunwoo shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he tried to walk to his room without further comment.

                No such luck there either.  “Eh.  It’s cheaper just to buy it and bring it home,” the slender man fussed, retreating back to the kitchen so he could peer in the fridge.  “We’ve even got some left over from last time we bought it,” he pointed matter of factly, waiting for Gunwoo to acknowledge him.

                “I know,” the other man nodded with a shrug, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.  He wanted to leave but just walking away without some sort of valid excuse would only make Kibum hound him more.

                His friend sighed with a shake of his head, upsetting his fringe in the process.  He leaned over to peer in the fridge again and asked, “Well, what do you feel like having for dinner?”

                Gunwoo rubbed the back of his neck and didn’t make eye contact when he answered.  “I’m not really hungry, actually.”

                “Don’t tell me you ate at the pub!” he gasped, aghast at the possibility that, one, he’d eaten there by himself, without Kibum, and two, that he had spoiled his appetite for dinner.

                “No, I just don’t feel like eating right now,” he shrugged, still looking away and towards him room instead.  The quiet sound of the fridge closing heralded Kibum’s arrival and the next thing he knew, the white and black clad bundle of immediately concerned energy was directly in front of him with a worried frown on his face.

                “Are you sick?” Kibum asked as he pressed the back of his palm against Gunwoo’s head.

                The thought of agreeing was tempting but it would also have the opposite effect of what he wanted just then: space and silence.  A sick Gunwoo meant a mother-henning Kibum and that was the last thing he needed.  “No,” he finally answered honestly, gently removing Kibum’s hand from his forehead and pushing him back a step.  Before his friend could ask any more questions, he opted to give him at least a sliver of the truth.  “I bumped into someone I haven’t seen for a while today.  It made me realize I might need to go home soon,” he grimaced, giving Kibum an uncomfortable look.

                “Oh,” Kibum sighed, chewing on the corner of his lip.  “Where are you from again?” he wondered aloud, obviously racking his brain to remember that tidbit.

                Gunwoo waved a dismissive hand and murmured, “Nowhere important.”  To keep him from prying about that fact – which he’d never actually said, he added another piece of information.  “I may need to leave for a while.”  Like forever…  The thought made him unexpectedly sad.

                Kibum pouted at him.  Literally pouted, and it killed Gunwoo inside a bit.  “Well, when will you know?”

                “Eh…” he trailed off, cringing at his own lack of information that he could give.  “I just need a bit of time to think,” he admitted, hesitantly edging towards his room as Kibum watched him with more concern than he wanted to think about.  He knew he was acting strange, but he hadn’t anticipated on how much it would affect his friend.

                “Okay, Woo,” Kibum nodded, pursing his lips together as he moved a bit further in the hallway.  “You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong,” he added with a hand partially raised like he could somehow stop Gunwoo and pull him back to pour out his worries.

                “I know, Kibum.  Thanks,” Gunwoo nodded with a quick wave before he retreated into his sparsely decorated room.  The door closed behind him and he braced his back against the wooden surface, taking a deep breath in the dim space.  Light from the last rays of day streamed through his soft green curtains, giving him more than enough to see by.  It was filled with mostly furniture: his double bed covered with a dark blue comforter, an oak dresser, a beech wood computer desk with no computer (though his mini-iPod and earphones – a hand-me-down from Junhong when he got a new one – were resting on top of it), and a small TV sitting on the almost empty set of bookshelves.  There were no posters on his walls; no hanging ornaments anywhere – except the random rainbow wind chime made of beads that Kibum gave him because his room “needed color”; and certainly nothing left to tie him to this place.  Despite that, he realized he didn’t actually want to leave either though.

                Locking his door, he pushed off and stepped over to the desk, picking up the positive energy wand he was using as a paperweight to hold his money envelope down.  Sandara had given him the clear crystal filled with purple and blue and dark yellow colored stones as a congratulation gift for successfully becoming the Lost Mystic.  He stared at it a moment longer before setting it down and pulling open the middle drawer of his computer desk.  The contents were mostly empty as well but when he reached inside, he pried a small device attached to the top of the drawer free.  Taking another careful look at the door to make sure he’d locked it, and another glance at the window to confirm no one could see in, Gunwoo tapped the central button on the palm sized device the color of onyx.

                With a quiet beep, it opened up, unfolding in a series of four panels that extended outward to create a frame the size of a laptop screen.  On the back, he removed the case, which was about the size of a deck of cards, flipped it over on the desk, and pushed the button on the inside of it.  A high pitched whine whispered over him, dissipating like smoke in a breeze as the techno-magi barrier enveloped the apartment.  Once secure, he the holoscreen, tapped the microunitranscoordinator under the skin behind his ear to synchronize the signals, and frowned thoughtfully, logging into his dormant ship’s computer remotely.

                If he was going to come up with a plan, then he needed to know how much time he had to work with and what possible options he could fall back on.  He already knew invisibility was impossible for him, and flying off planet would only help his pursuers find him sooner.  But there had to be something he could do to throw them off or better hide himself until he could slip away.  He just had to find it.

                After hours of searching and two heart stopping interruptions where he had to ward Kibum off with the promise that he really was alright, Gunwoo had precious few answers.  Setting the holoscreen on the desktop and leaning back to rub at his tense neck with both hands, Gunwoo focused on the good news.  Depending on how long the Council took to come to a decision, he should have a minimum of fifteen days to make sure he had a plan that would successfully keep him from being ‘retrieved.’  The bad news: he had absolutely no idea what that plan was going to be yet.

                Groaning as he got to his feet, Gunwoo tapped the micro universal translation and coordination transponder again to turn it off, silencing the connection to his ship and dropping him back into human speech patterns.  Tired, scared, and unsure, he rolled onto his bed with one leg cocked over the side and his hair splayed out messily on the covers.  “Can’t stay here,” he whispered, staring at the white ceiling in the darkness.  “Gotta warn Sandara.  She could be in danger too,” he sighed, covering his eyes with one hand.  Taking another peek at his room, he frowned.  “Have to get rid of everything that can be traced to me.  Damn divination,” he snorted when closing his eyes and invoking it gave him the impression that various things in his room were ‘glowing.’

                Readings for humans were much more vague and symbolic.  They were often harder to puzzle out because of a much reduced amount of cosmic energy or, as they liked to call it, magic.  Reading for angels was a different story.  Especially when he was focusing on things that were right there, screaming his presence for any with the gift to see if they knew what to look for.  “Trapped on a backwater planet with nowhere to run.  Good job, Woo,” he chided himself, turning onto his side as he closed his eyes to try and get some sleep.  He’d attempt to think of something else tomorrow, but in the meantime, life as usual seemed a decent plan to him.

                In the recesses of space, just outside the standard detection scanners of the RAS1-Celestial Scion, a swirl of glittering dust sparkled in the faint light of far off stars.  It undulated lazily in the vast coldness of space, regarding the direction it had come from before spinning in a circle and choosing a direction to fly in.  Barrel rolls and loops punctuated its path as it approached the RDS1-Khaos Scion cruising in space within easy summoning distance of the Negal Cemeste.  The Demon Emperor and Empress had not been summoned, considering the matter was of the angel’s concern, but they often had matters to discuss with the Council themselves, which kept them near at hand.  Most of the time.

                For a moment, the dust hesitated on the outskirts of the defensive shield, studying them intently.  After a brief pause, it swirled and slipped right through, finding the near impossible seams in an otherwise perfect structure.  Giddily, it bounced along and treated the outer hull in a similar manner, flowing inside the ship with little trouble.  Whispering softly through the panels filled with wires and tubing and delicate electronics, it made its way to the communication center where a message was just arriving.  With an air of mischief, it wrapped around the receptive translation module that allowed the coded messages to be read with ease and ‘fixed’ certain parts as they came in by removing ‘angel,’ ‘not,’ and ‘will,’ and adding ‘cannot just.’

                “Captain,” the communication officer announced on the bridge.  “We have an incoming message from Council Member Park Bom aboard the Negal Cemeste.”

                “Oh?” the immaculately dressed Captain hummed, twitching scarred black wings as he moved to see it himself.

                The tips of his frosted black hair hovered just out of his eyes as he leaned over the younger demon’s shoulder.  Captain Yang hummed under his breath as he saw the notice with a special attachment for the Emperor alone.  Bom explained:

                Full Galactic Council meeting today.  Emperor Yunho’s heir has been found on planet Earth.  A small party has been approved to retrieve him.  Per the instructions of both Lead Council Members, we should investigate this matter further.  Since the heir has been located, we cannot just continue to beseech the rest of the council to rethink their permission for the Jung and Jun family alliance by marriage.

                Captain Yang’s brows frowned at the underlying tone of the message and he ordered, “Send a copy of the message to my private log.  I will notify the Emperor myself,” he explained with a reassuring smile to the coms officer.

                “Of course sir.”

                Its intended job done, the dust retracted itself from the receptor and followed under the deck, trailing the Captain’s measured strides.  Observing happily, it watched as the demon took a seat behind his desk in their personal quarters, pulled up the message to read it again, and then promptly overrode the security so he could delete the original from the system, no doubt making sure it could not be used to incriminate the demons in the event that something happened.  The frown of thought and concern never left his face though.  Nor did he seem happy about the news.  With his hands loosely wrapped around the other as they rested on the desk, Captain Yang deliberated.

                Transferring the message to a personal storage disk before he wiped it from his logs, replacing it with a superficial dummy, Yang stared at the tiny chip and grumbled, “Perhaps it will be explained to them.”

                Obviously frustrated, he stood up and exited his room, moving quickly towards the Royal Chambers.  The familiar faces of all four guards greeted him as he was allowed entrance to the personal quarters of the Demon Emperor and Empress.  With his wife’s head in his lap as they talked and play fought on the bed, hands gently interlocked, Emperor Kwon looked up and the smile fell from his face.  “Captain Yang,” he nodded his ebony head, helping Chaerin into a sitting position as he untangled her long, honey hair from the buckles on his black pants.

                “Your Lordship,” the Captain bowed slightly at the waist, his right fist pressed over his chest.  “We have received news from the Negal Cemeste,” he announced, carefully opening his hand and approaching the bed with his head still bowed.

                Jiyong waved the tensing guards back as he stood up to retrieve the disk himself, peering at the tiny device between his slender fingers.  “And?” he prompted, scanning the Captain’s face with mocha colored eyes.

                “It is for your eyes only,” he murmured respectfully, bowing lower so that he did not have to meet his Emperor’s face.

                “I see,” the tall but thin demon hummed, tapping his bottom lip thoughtfully as he turned around and raised a brow at his wife.

                “Your eyes only?” she challenged with a knowing smirk, painted red lips in stark contrast to her ivory skin.

                “For now,” he promised, tracing the backs of his fingers against her cheek before they followed the arch of her bone and into her hair, threading one strand behind her ear.

                “Alright, alright,” she rolled her eyes, dark chocolate orbs returning to peer at him from expertly smudged eyes.  “We can find a way to make ourselves scarce,” she teased, letting her fingertips trail across his collarbones under the dark green top before she sauntered towards the door.  Her velvety, royal blue dress swayed with each step she took, bare feet padding on the faux fur covered floor.  “Come on boys,” she gestured with both hands, long painted nails curling into loose fists as she gathered up the guards, the Emperor’s assistant, and the Captain with one meaningful look over her mostly bare shoulder.

                For a moment, Jiyong thought to chide her for her nonchalance and lack of shoes, but then he just shook his head and waved, a bemused smile playing over his lips.  It faded just as quickly though, once he was left alone with the message in his hand.  “Let’s see what’s going on,” he sighed, inserting it into his handheld holoscreen before he took a seat on the bed.

                The waiting dust beneath the deck stirred with excitement, creeping up through a seam to see better as Jiyong quickly skimmed over the first part of the message.  Troubled but curious, the Emperor keyed in his password and unlocked the attached message, his expression darkening considerably.

                Excitement turned to glee when the demon set the holoscreen down, constantly looking at the message.  He was considering it!

                But Jiyong did not act immediately, much to the dust’s impatience and annoyance.  He thought about it for many hours, speaking with his wife in private before even considering a decision.  “I don’t like their arrogance, any more than you do, but if we violate the non-aggression pact, that will be grounds for war,” Jiyong sighed, his head in Chaerin’s lap in a reversal from earlier.

                She carded her fingers through his shorter hair and pet the inside of his sleek wing with her palm while she mulled it over.  “True, but if the head Council Members are backing this, however subtly, is that not tacit permission itself?” she hummed, brushing her hair over her ear so it wouldn’t hang in his face.

                “I just don’t think that ‘growing pains of a species’ should include courting war of any kind,” he groaned, placing his hand over his face.

                “I agree, but we are masters of the discreet,” she chuckled softly, full of confidence in their abilities.  “And you can send it to General Yong and let him take care of it from there.  Whatever he decides.  You’ve trusted his judgment before,” she reminded her husband, tracing her maroon nails along his sharp jawline.

                He laughed lightly at her argument, nodding in agreement with her.  “I think you’re probably right,” he mused, grabbing her hand to kiss her palm in quiet thanks.

                “I usually am,” she grinned back, obviously relieved to have helped solve the issue.

                “Should I send it now?” the Emperor asked, ready to sit up.

                “Later,” Chaerin chided.  “Sleep on it first.  You’ll have a clearer head in the morning.  And one more day won’t make that much difference anyway,” she reasoned.

                That was not what the dust wanted to hear, but it was at least satisfied that a plan was in motion anyway.  Impatiently, it waited for their sleep cycle to finish, wherein all excitement returned when Jiyong rose to pen his message to General Junhyung Yong.

                Vibrating with anticipation, the dust followed the signal off the ship, hopping and skipping through the immense vastness at supersonic speed; planets and moons and exploding stars passed by in mere hours until it slowed with the appearance of a ship in the distance.

                All spines and sleek elegance, the PMRDS-2 Demonic Essence (the first one had been destroyed by internal engine failure when the energy of the collapsed star they’d harnessed became unstable) floated like a bored predator with nothing to do.  Lights on the exterior blinked steadily to indicate all systems were functioning, and it… waited for lack of a better descriptor.

                Slipping past the shields with ease and sneaking inside to watch events unfold, the dust skittered out of sight but within earshot of everything.  General Yong received and read the private message in his study with his booted feet propped on his desk and his fuzzy, dark brown hair sticking out from between his fingers.  “This is an interesting turn of events,” he mused, biting into his bottom lip with a thoughtful frown.  “But…” he trailed off, removing his feet from the desk to lean forward, one hand on the armrest as he readied himself to stand.  “It may be just what they need.”

                Typing up the briefest of details from a standing position, Junhyung destroyed the original message and exited his steel-esque room, the space mostly unadorned save for artistic pieces the other demons often considered… abstract.  Sealing his door behind him, the demon made his way to the curiously quiet barracks in the belly of the ship.  His lips pressed together in habitual frustration as he noticed his greatest asset, who also happened to be the largest thorn in his side, attempting to bully another officer into reacting.  That one was always spoiling for a fight.  And his partner was never far behind either.

                With a long suffering sigh, he stomped his booted foot on the floor at the bottom of the steps to get their attention and looked at the two with a dry expression.  “Would you stop badgering the other soldiers for once?”

                “I’m not!” Hakyeon smiled with a cheerfully innocent wave as he greeted the General with a quick, shallow bow.  His bright red hair set him apart while the non-regulation, black bodysuit made it impossible to tell where he ended and his wings began.

                “I am,” Jaejoong smirked before he reluctantly let go of the burgundy uniform in his hands, shoving the other demon away.  As if bored, the tall demon shook his head and brushed at his deep auburn bangs while he took his time in approaching the General.  “It’s not often we see you down here, sir,” he greeted rather informally, brushing the panels of his black leather overcoat out of the way so he could stuff his hands into his black pants pockets.  Like Hakyeon, he refused to wear any sort of approved uniform.

                General Yong blinked at him, nonplussed.  “I have a job for you two,” he explained, pulling out the microfiber message so he could hand it to the leading demon.

                “Oh?” Jaejoong hummed curiously, his interest piqued.

                “A job?!” Hakyeon gasped, his hands appearing on Jaejoong’s shoulders before his head popped up to peer over it, mostly hidden behind the taller demon.

                “It’s dangerous.  You won’t get paid unless you don’t get caught.  And if you do get caught, we don’t know you,” Junhyung explained succinctly, watching their eyes glow with more excitement at each stipulation.

                “We’ll take it,” Jaejoong quipped, snapping up the mission details and stuffing them in the inside pocket of his overcoat.

                “But you don’t even know what it is,” the General snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

                “Doesn’t matter, General,” Hakyeon assured him, still clinging to Jaejoong as they started to make their way past him.

                “Anywhere is better than just sitting here,” the Royal Demon waved without looking back, quietly padding up the stairs so they could go outfit their personal ship.

                With a quiet sigh, General Yong could feel the air of relief settle over the rest of the soldiers behind him.  “As you were,” he waved, watching them disperse into more customary small groups as opposed to defensive mobs.  Jaejoong was one of the best fighters Junhyung had ever had, but he was nothing but trouble in peace time.  Hakyeon could keep him entertained for a bit, though ultimately, they both needed more than what he could offer after the non-aggression pact was signed.  And that had been eighty four years ago…

                Utterly delighted by the success of its meddling, the dust promptly followed Jaejoong and Hakyeon to their ship, fully intent upon hitching a ride with some of the demons' greatest troublemakers.  It was undoubtedly going to be fun.

                Pursing his lips, General Yong smoothed a hand over his head as another thought occurred to him.  The two he was setting free were dangerous but professional.  They’d also been cooped up for some time and there was a small part of him that worried they would cause intentional mayhem, simply for the fun of it.  On the other hand, there were a handful of demons he knew that might also like the chance to catch up with the destructive duo.  Frowning at his train of thought, the General made his way back to his room as he reasoned out his logic.

                The Vengeful Reapers were an underground trio of former soldiers abandoned by Jaejoong when he grew tired of them.  Hakyeon went with Jaejoong and the other three disappeared from the legion, becoming blades for hire.  Because they were formerly a part of his command, he liked to keep infrequent tabs on them, just to keep his fingers on the strings.  They were still free because they were experts at not being caught or incriminated in anything though.  And given the history between them, Junhyung wouldn’t even need to put a traceable bounty out.  A simple, anonymous tip should be enough.

                After that, the loose cannons would either be dealt with, or they would survive some much needed training, blowing a fair bit of steam off in the process.  If they did make it back and catch wind of his involvement, they might even thank him for the excitement.  Not sure if he was proud or disgusted with himself, General Yong typed up a carefully worded message, encrypted it, and then shot it into space using a scrambling and deflection program to make it as anonymous as possible.

                "Let the waiting begin."

(a/n: Mischief is afoot!  Hello strange, sentient, glittering dust?  haha  I'll explain it in time so no worries there!  Beyond that, how are you liking the other additions?  ^_^  Plenty of new characters to take note of but the games are slowly being set in motion.  And Gunwoo has no idea, dealing with his own problems on Earth.  >.>  If you're curious about Changmin's lot, we'll be getting to him soon enough, but there's still plenty to set up and plenty to explain and I'll be doing the best I can as I go!  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and if you're so inclined, I'd love to hear what you think.

Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next update!)