There it was.  Planet Earth.  Rotating in space like a giant marble in a race it was never going to win.  Jaejoong stared at it with curiosity, trying to figure out why the Angel Heir would come to this planet, out of all of them.  A brief search for information regarding it showed the civilization to be barely getting into the space age.  Their entertainment was tame at best and their lives apparently pitifully short.  Not to mention they had little to no cosmic energy of their own, making them a generally unremarkable species.

                “Any readings yet?” he hummed aloud, the vibrations of his voice ghosting over the hand that was picking at his bottom lip.

                From the smaller seat at the very fore of the ship, Hakyeon’s fingers played the control panel like an artist, but the headshake he gave in response wasn’t encouraging.  “Not yet.  We’re a bit far out,” he explained with a glance over his shoulder.  He had to dip his wing to see Jaejoong clearly, but the cocky smile he gave indicated he wasn’t done yet.

                “Keep looking,” the Royal demon encouraged with a dismissive wave, getting up to pace behind Hakyeon’s chair while they glided in on autopilot.

                He knew there was another ship that had been sent from the angels, so locating them was a priority.  It was highly unlikely they would have entered the atmosphere with a standard transport ship so he had Hakyeon searching for one hiding in orbit around the planet.  He doubted they would have already retrieved the Heir either, since the space waves had been relatively quiet after that one signal burst they’d caught traces of coming from this vicinity.  In all probability, it was a basic confirmation of arrival message.  And if so, that was good news for them.

                Jaejoong’s lips curled into a smile and he turned to lean over Hakyeon’s chair with his hands resting on the seated demon’s shoulders.  The tail sticking through the hole in the seat wound loosely around one of his legs.  Jaejoong traced his thumbs gently up and down Hakyeon’s neck, scratching just under the fall of his hair as he stared ahead, willing himself to see something more.  “Well?” he practically purred, fingertips pressing into the slender shoulders firmly.

                Hakyeon hissed in distracted pleasure and shook his head with a shuddering breath before he responded.  “There are trace cosmic readings on the surface.  They’re in the dark too,” he groaned softly, head dipping just a touch when just enough pressure was applied.

                “And our guests?” Jaejoong inquired, leaning close so that his chest pinned Hakyeon’s wings in place while his lips nearly brushed against the other demon’s ear.

                The fluidity of Hakyeon’s fingers stumbled and he shivered involuntarily.  “Still searching,” came the whispered response, teeth digging into his bottom lip.

                He tensed when the hands fell away so that one arm could brace against his chest while another reached down beside the chair.  “Then use this,” Jaejoong encouraged, gently placing a thin band over the red hair so that curved prongs reached into the openings of his ears and the fingertip like tendrils circled around his eyes.

                “That’s cheating,” Hakyeon pouted with narrowed eyes, sniffing his nose in distaste.

                “Ah, but time is against us,” the taller demon chuckled, resting the fingertips of his left hand against the curve of Hakyeon’s throat.  “And I want to see what’s so special about this planet,” he explained with a wicked grin.

                “Hmph,” the other demon scoffed, shaking his head with a practiced eye roll.  “So impatient.”  When Jaejoong didn’t respond, he smiled anyway and tilted his head enough to brush his cheek against the nearest hand.  “Fine.  Just this once,” he confirmed, closing his eyes with an exhaled breath as his hands stilled on the control panel.

                This close, Jaejoong couldn’t miss the tensing in his partner’s body, the way his nostrils flared and ears pricked up.  His closed eyes shut even tighter and a small, choked groan fled from his throat.  Even though he was on the outside, Jaejoong could practically see the way Hakyeon was using the ship’s magi-techno enhancement to scry ahead while sending out a wave of minute vibrations to try and pick apart the unseen from the debris around the planet.  When his partner jerked against the seat as if he’d been struck, he knew the signal had come back, filled to the brim with location data that was almost overwhelming in its onslaught; it always was in cluttered space after all.

                Hands pulled away from the control panel to grip the arms of his chair tightly; a wet cough rattled from his chest.  Jaejoong leaned far enough over Hakyeon’s shoulder to spy a dribble of dark, viscous fluid coming from his nose.  Gently, he reached over to wipe it away before caressing the side of Hakyeon’s cheek with the back of his fingers with the same hand.  “Find them,” he whispered encouragement so that this time his lips did brush against the outer shell of the demon’s ear.

                One more body convulsion followed by Hakyeon going limp with a relieved sigh signaled the end of something happening.  “Got it,” he rasped with a crooked smile pulling at one corner of his mouth.

                “Show me,” Jaejoong commanded in a soft tone as he removed the headband which helped Hakyeon straighten in the seat.

                Reddened eyes pried open and slender fingers pulled free of the chair to dance over the control panel once more.  “Right… there!” he laughed once, relaxing noticeably when Jaejoong started carding his fingertips through the red locks.

                “Smart,” the standing demon chuckled as the ship screen identified the null space near one of the satellite objects around the planet.

                “They’re running silent,” Hakyeon added with a sniff, wiping at his nose with one hand distractedly.

                “I figured.  Why don’t we see if we can cause a stir in the meantime,” Jaejoong suggested as he reached to brush at his auburn tips.  He stopped when he noticed the dark red on his fingers, an annoyed frown pulling at his mouth.  When a quick look around showed him nothing to clean it off with, he brushed his hand down Hakyeon’s black covered arm, smirking when the color blended in seamlessly.

                “Sounds like fun,” Hakyeon laughed, gaze falling to the slightly smeared hand with a bemused snort.  “Adjusting course,” he murmured as he powered down the ship so they’d have less of an energy signature.  “Still floating in shadows,” he confirmed with the dimming of the lights.  “Preparing final approach.”

                “Line us up behind the engines,” Jaejoong instructed, giving Hakyeon one last pet before he turned away, freeing himself from the lithe tail in the process.

                “Oh,” Hakyeon hummed in delighted excitement.  “Are you going to freeze them out?” he inquired with a gleeful twinkle in his eyes.

                “Maybe,” Jaejoong smirked, the ambiguous answer anything but.  He sat down back into his seat, slipped his hands into the keyed open panels in the armrests, and looked ahead with a predatory gaze. 

                Stretching his arms over his head, Jongdae fought a yawn before he rubbed at tired eyes.  Of course they’d taken turns sleeping on the way here but he was tired after three solid days of travel time.  And staring at the holoscreen for more clues wasn’t helping.  A light snore caught his attention and he frowned, glancing over his shoulder to spy Jaeseop leaning back in his chair, head propped on the rest and very clearly sleeping.  “So helpful,” he drawled with a thin press of his lips.  “Hey!  Jaeseop,” he called, reluctantly getting out of his chair to go check on the other angel.  He’d just made it to the pilot’s chair before the sharp, piercing wail of the proximity alarm howled through the ship.

                “Yah!” Jaeseop shouted, falling out of his chair as Jongdae whirled on his heel, lurching towards his seat again. 

                The moving angel gave a muffled shout when the ship bucked under him, suspending him in the air for a brief second.  It stretched into eternity as the temperature in the ship began to drop and systems started to fail, including artificial gravity.  “We need backup power!” he cried, flailing with his wings to try and do something.

                “What’s happening?!  What hit us?” Jaeseop demanded, clinging to his chair so he could clamber up it and snap himself in.

                “I don’t know!” Jongdae fired back.  “Get the systems back up!”

                “They’re not responding!”

                “Reroute the power then!”

                “From where?!”

                “Anywhere!” Jongdae snapped, finally getting to his station under the flickering lights of the cockpit.  The holoscreen showing them earth and the surrounding area had gone out with the power loss and they were tumbling blind.

                “Fragging ether!” Jaeseop cursed, slamming his fist against the console.  “System’s frozen!”

                “Literally?” the other angel demanded to clarify, his head twisting around to stare at his companion.

                “Yes!”

                “Royal demon!” he gasped in response, eyes wide with the whites glinting in the flickering lights.  “We’ve got to warn Victoria!”

                “Gyah!  We can’t even help ourselves!” Jaeseop growled, jerking in tense surprise when the ship suddenly stopped with the brief sound of pierced metal.  “They’ve caught us,” he breathed in wide-eyed horror.

                “Not yet,” Jongdae muttered through gritted teeth, flapping from his seat to the rear of the ship.  “Here!” he called, snapping the astrilite swords free from their storage cases so he could toss one to Jaeseop.

                “We can’t take on a Royal!” the other angel hissed, though he did catch the weapon before it hit him in the face.

                “We can’t just sit here!” Jongdae snapped back, flinching when a much softer sound, like metal embracing metal, clanged through the ship.  He grabbed a support to steady himself and peered around the hull suspiciously.  “Put up your protection!” he muttered through clenched teeth, flailing his free hand at his companion while he followed his own advice.

                “Not like it’ll do any good,” Jaeseop mumbled, though he begrudgingly did so anyway as he got to his feet, freeing his blade from its sheath.  He also summoned thin, celestial armor, the semi-transparent covering lying just over top of his body.

                “Oh star shards!” Jongdae hissed when the tell-tale cracking of metal drew his eyes to the side of the ship.  White, frozen metal splintered when the tip of an ice sword pushed through.  Both angels winced when it slowly started to rotate, the sound akin to a thousand grinding bones, and then cried out as a sudden flick made the surrounding metal shatter.

                Shrapnel exploded out and into the cockpit, raining on Jongdae and Jaeseop.  It wasn’t much but it was enough distraction to set them off balance when a slender, dark clad demon bolted through the opening.  Jongdae panicked when he caught a glimpse of red hair and the gleam of light off a diopsilite sword.  ‘Not the Royal!’  His weapon came up in both hands, catching the first swing, but momentum and a lack of gravity drove him back, slamming him into the control panel next to Jaeseop.

                “Die!” the other angel snarled, swinging wildly at the first attacker.

                Redhead’s sword shifted to block, filling the cockpit with iridescent sparks.  Jongdae took his opening and attacked in response.  His sword bounced harmlessly off something invisible just around the demon though.  “Novas take you!” he hissed, using his right wing to buffet the demon.  Unable to block both his sword and the secondary strike, the redhead winced when hard bone hit the back of his head – their deflection wasn’t nearly as complete as protection.

                “Ow!” he yelped, kicking out at Jongdae only to hit the shield around him.  He pushed off it anyway, floating back through the air to stop when another demon caught him, steadying him on the ship’s floor.

                Dark eyes flashed at them from under the fall of auburn hair and Jongdae’s sight was immediately drawn to the ice sword gripped loosely in his other hand.  It was so cold, wispy vapors whorled around it before dissipating into the air.  “Royal…” he breathed without so much as blinking.  Quickly, Jongdae managed to grab his courage with a nervous glance at Jaeseop.  “Demon.  You are in direct violation of the Non-Aggression Treaty,” he stated as firmly as he could, wincing when his voice trembled regardless.

                The smiles they shot him were anything but comforting.  “That’s only if they find out,” the Royal smirked with a wink, his cool gaze taking in both angels with amused indifference.

                Taking a page from Jongdae’s book, Jaeseop gripped his sword in both hands and leveled it at the intruders.  “How did you know we were here?”

                “That’s not important,” the shorter demon waved his hand dismissively, the tip of his blade resting against the floor.

                “A better question would be, where is the Heir?” the Royal inquired dangerously, taking a half-step towards them with his ice blade hanging threateningly from his fingertips.

                Both angels inhaled sharply, exchanging tense looks.  Finding them was one thing.  Knowing about their mission was another entirely.  Tight lipped, neither said a word, though Jongdae was aware of a steady pressure against his shield.  Looking at the red haired demon, he could see the off-weapon hand was open and he had a look of concentration on his face.  So he was trying to use hold.  That wouldn’t work unless his shield was down and he was distra-

                “We don’t know,” Jaeseop admitted tensely into the silence, surprising Jongdae enough that the feeling of hold around him intensified.

                “And we wouldn’t tell you even if we did,” he growled in response, gripping his sword tightly as he bolstered his protection.

                The two demons exchanged knowing glances and Jongdae felt a chill run down his spine.  Like blending images, the pair crossed paths, trading places in the blink of an eye.  Before he could take a surprised breath, the Royal was in front of him, whispering sword striking for his body.  He reacted to hit it away, knowing his shield wouldn’t hold up against a direct attack.  The blow reverberated through his hands and made him step back.  Fighting to stand his ground, he partially flared his wings, extending them beyond the safety of the barrier.

                His opponent’s dark eyes flickered to them and Jongdae knew he’d made a mistake.  Immediately, he tried to retract them, but the demon was just as fast, parrying his counterstrike with ease as he slipped around enough to snag the edge of a white wing in his left hand.  With a strangled gasp, Jongdae’s strength abandoned him completely and his legs gave out, sending his body crumpling to the hard floor.  “No!” he groaned, clinging doggedly to his sword and his protection while the demon peered at him with dark amusement in his eyes.

                “If I didn’t know better, I’d say the peace has made you soft,” the Royal laughed, finally relinquishing Jongdae’s wing, though the debilitation remained.  “Did you get him?” he inquired with a look that made Jongdae follow his gaze.

                “Of course,” the other demon preened, and Jongdae saw that Jaeseop was pinned in place, literally and figuratively.  A sword lingered near his throat and one of the demon’s hands rested on a similarly outstretched wing, holding him still.

                The Royal appraised them both with his lips twisted in thought before he focused on Jongdae once more.  “Which one of you wants to be helpful?”

                Jaeseop remained silent while Jongdae dropped his gaze and muttered, “Go jump in the ether.”

                “I see.”

                A pinprick of power against his shield made Jongdae wince.  When he looked, he saw the ice sword prying at the barrier, trying to find a crack.  He inhaled sharply as he realized what the Royal intended.  Gathering the last of his shredded strength, he hauled his sword around, blindly hoping to score some sort of blow.  His shout was cut short though.  Pain blossomed and his mouth fell open in a muted cry when his sword stopped short on the infernal armor of the demon.  Parallel to his sword, the ice weapon hissed and crackled as the tip rested in his chest just under his raised arms and through his all too flimsy celestial armor.

                “Don’t…” Jongdae exhaled as his eyes trailed to Jaeseop, desperate to send one last message, but his body failed and he fell into darkness.

                The angel’s body slipped off the edge of Jaejoong’s sword while his sword clattered noisily to the floor.  “Well then.  That’s what happens when you try to be something you’re not,” he explained to the remaining angel with a wink.  “You die.”

                Hakyeon laughed and patted their captive on the shoulder.  “Now.  You might not know where the Heir is but you are going to tell us what you do know,” he promised with a wicked smile.  The angel looked between them and then at his companion’s bleeding out body, a wide, frightened look in his eyes.  He trembled at being their focus, but to his credit, didn’t say anything.  Yet.

                They always did though.  At least for Jaejoong and Hakyeon anyway.  Which was how the former found himself trailing the angel Victoria.  Wreathed in shadows like only a Royal could be, he slunk from one patch of dimly lit space to the next, making sure to keep out of her vision.  The angel’s eyesight was better than his, after all, but she didn’t know she was being followed either.  Still, she was suspicious enough, glancing at every dark patch around her warily.  Clearly she’d lived through the Great Feud.

                Jaejoong smiled at the memory but didn’t let it distract him.  The angel was moving again and apparently, she was investigating the cosmic energy saturation signatures they’d noticed from above.  Instead of the strange building filled with smaller shops he’d found her in, they had now made their way to a larger complex that many of the earth creatures apparently resided in.  So far, it really was a boring planet if this was all they had to offer, the sight of the boundless water notwithstanding.  “Here we go,” he whispered to himself, eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he ‘sensed’ her invisible form while she flew up to open a window on one of the upper floors.

                He waited for a few breaths, allowing her a chance to move away from the open space, and then quietly followed up after her, keeping his wingbeats as silent as possible.  There was an art to it, for sure.  Wrapping his fingers around the windowsill, the demon poked his head up oh so carefully, peeking above the ledge to try and see where she was.  Strange.  His brow furrowed as he looked harder, sensing for the angel he knew had to be there.  But he didn’t see her.  After a moment, he laughed quietly to himself and chewed on his lip in amused delight.  She suspected she was being followed, was that it?

                Tensing up as he got ready for the next move, Jaejoong hauled himself through the window as fast as he could, slipping inside with a rush of wind and leathery wings.  A brief flash of light flickered behind him, followed by a surprised hiss, and then he was inside, standing across the room from her.  Probably.  The surroundings were strange so sensing her in the new terrain wasn’t as easy, especially when she remained admirably still.

                “Treacherous coward,” she taunted, giving him a clue as to her direction but little else.

                “I would hardly call myself a coward,” he laughed breathily, giving her the courtesy of his approximate location as well.  However, treacherous he would gladly accept.  “How did you know I was following you?” he wondered, genuinely curious.  It had been far too long since he’d had the pleasure of tracking a Royal angel after all.

                “You should know an angel never trusts the shadows,” she snorted, a wealth of disdain in her tone.

                “Still,” he pouted, a little put off she didn’t want to give him a straight answer.  “You didn’t see me,” he challenged knowingly.  She would have reacted differently if she had.

                “But the cosmos did,” she supplied instead, explaining he’d been discovered with her divination.  Tricky, tricky.  “Are Jongdae and Jaeseop dead?” she asked into the resultant silence, carefully controlled tension in her voice.

                “One of them is,” Jaejoong answered easily enough, feeling the subtle shift in the air.  “The other may prove… useful in the near future,” he chuckled quietly, beginning to edge in her direction.

                “I see,” she murmured.

                “So what now?” he prompted, taking another step.  “I know you’re here to retrieve the Heir.  You know I’m here to kill him.  And yet neither of us know exactly where he is.”

                “Now?” she whispered, the subtle hint of a threat in her tone.  “I kill you and figure it out from there.”

                “Sounds like fun,” Jaejoong grinned, summoning his ice blade and infernal armor so that the shadows around him pulsed with an eerie light before subsiding into amorphous darkness once again.  He knew it gave away his position, but it wasn’t fun if they weren’t even a challenge.

                She closed with him first, the telltale rustle of feathers the only warning he had.  Her flame sword clashed against his deflection but under the veil of her invisibility, he could only feel the heat from it.  Pushing back, he attacked her in return, coming up against the sturdy wall of her protection.  Much stronger than the angel on the ship, it wouldn’t be half so easy to break through.  Nor was she ignorant of his tricks.  As soon as his fingers ghosted against the edge of one of her wings, she yanked it free, threatening him with wounds by the same token.

                Oh yes!  She was a survivor of that time indeed!  Quietly subdued, they dueled in almost darkness.  He had the advantage of seeing better with his senses, but her defenses were stronger, and she was strongly attuned to the cosmos as well, divining his location consistently.  They might need to move this outside.  For a brief moment, they managed to lock weapons against each other, the icy heart of a planet hissing against the heat of a burning sun, but then something unexpected happened.  The door to the room started to ease open and the pair rushed apart to either side of the space, avoiding the incoming ray of light from the outside.

                “Gunwoo?” the newcomer asked quietly, uncertainly, as he stuck his dark head into the room.  Jaejoong felt more than saw the surprise from the angel.  Right on target.  “Are you back?” he asked with a tremulous quivering of hope obvious in his voice.  One slender hand reached for the light switch and Jaejoong smiled preemptively.

                The room lit up from the overhead bulb and Kibum gasped when a shadow in the corner moved.  His stomach dropped as hope turned to fear in an instant, and he couldn’t seem to move nearly fast enough to react.  “Watch out!” a feminine voice warned before something invisible crashed into him.  Nothing made sense as a woman then appeared out of thin air, holding onto him defensively.  Even more insane, she had wings.  Giant, freaking wings!

                Kibum managed a whimper, it was all his frozen throat would allow, before he grabbed onto the woman to steady himself.  She was still moving, pushing him back into the apartment, away from Gunwoo’s room.  And over her shoulder, the shadow followed.  Kibum’s dark eyes widened even more and he knew he was dreaming.  He had to be.  There was no other explanation.

                “Brace yourself,” the winged, dream woman whispered to him without looking his direction.

                He didn’t know why she was saying that and it didn’t make sense anyway, so the beam of light that suddenly appeared behind her, shooting towards the shadow caught him by surprise.  The following explosion that decimated his apartment and banished the moving shadow left him in complete shock.  “Aaahhh!” Kibum shrieked as he clung to the woman while she ran, breaking through the front door and bodily carrying him into the open air when she crashed through the window at the end of the hallway.  “What’s going on?!” Kibum wailed as giant wings carried him away from his burning apartment.

                En route with his precious cargo, Changmin couldn’t help but feel nervous and uneasy as he continued to make his way to Earth.  He hadn’t received word of anything happening, not that he expected it since he wasn’t even supposed to be out here, but he was undeniably on edge.  For many reasons, if he was being honest with himself.  He both feared and longed to see Gunwoo after all this time.  He was also worried the actual transport team would find the other angel first, thus revealing his lack of wings.  And another part of him couldn’t help being paranoid that something else might happen.

                Maybe it was all his years as being a personal guard, jumping at shadows and seeing threats everywhere; maybe it was the cosmos trying to warn him after his encounter with the Discoverer; maybe it was nothing at all.  But that didn’t stop him from wishing his ship would go faster when he was still half a day out.  Ten hours were far too many for his tastes.

                He just couldn’t help but worry that the closer he got, the more danger there might be waiting for him.  It was unsettling and he frowned harder.  “Wait for me, Woo.  I’m coming,” he promised with a determined look ahead as the stars continued to pass by in streams of light.