Seungri smirked, elated by the horrified expressions in front of him. "Aren't you happy to see him?"

"You bastard," Mingyu growled, hate distorting his face. "Turn him back to normal!"

"Or what? You're not exactly in the position to make demands, Mingyu." Seungri nodded towards the two guards who straightened up at his acknowledgement, weapons still aimed at the group.

The smug smile on Seungri's face made Jisoo's bile rise. He wanted nothing more than to wipe it off - wipe it off and get Hansol back. It hurt too much to see the lively, loud-mouthed Warrior quiet and emotionless. Forcing himself to not look at the empty eyes and wounds that riddled the face of his former Bonded, his gaze fell on the left guard instead, a handsome guy approximately his age, who was staring wide eyed at the sleeve of Jisoo's borrowed hoodie. Confused by his expression, the Wielder followed his stare, glancing at his sleeve, but the only thing he found was a small patch in the shape of a cherry that someone had neatly sewn in place.

Jisoo's attention got brought back to Seungri when the Forcebearer turned towards the other guard. "What are you waiting for?"

Mingyu paled at his words while the guard was visibly uncomfortable with the task he had been given. "But Sir, I'll hurt myself..." His voice was shaking and Seungri's self-satisfied expression darkened at once.

"Are you resisting my orders, Minhyuk?!"

"N-no, Sir!" The guard took a hesitant step towards the group, the grip on his weapon tightening, but recoiled when Mingyu and Seokmin immediately moved in front of their Wielder.

A shot rang through the hallway, deafening loud, and Jisoo's blood ran cold at the sound, images of Hansol dead on the ground flashing before his eyes. The panic that rose in his chest took his breath away, drowning him, blocking out everything around him. He needed to know who had gotten shot but he couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't comprehend. Something crawled over his skin and it took him too long to realize that it were fingers, trying to loosen his clenched fists, his own nails cutting into his palms. As soon as his brain had registered the pain, the world snapped back into focus. There were too many sounds around him, worried faces and outstretched arms.

"Jisoo, deep breaths, come on. Just like we practised, Soo, yeah, that's good. Relax, nobody got shot and now's not the time to freak out." Seokmin's whispers held urgency and Jisoo tried to follow his instructions. The adrenalin rushing through his body made him tremble.

"What the hell happened to him?" Mingyu was clearly worried but still tried to keep an eye on the situation at hand while petting the Wielder's head.

"Later. Help out Zelo, will you?"

The Warrior nodded without complaint and moved next to the younger who protectively stood in front of the group, facing the guard named Minhyuk as well as emotionless Hansol and his equally impassive duplicate. Wonwoo quietly remained next to Seungri in the back, who was chewing out the guard who had used his weapon without being ordered to.

"Stay back, please," Minhyuk pleaded, his voice too quiet for the Forcebearers behind him to hear, and the Warriors exchanged surprised looks. Before they could respond, Seungri focused his attention back on them, the guard next to him already close to tears.

" this. Kihyun, call Seunghyun for backup." The guard flinched and immediately lifted his transceiver, while Seungri turned towards the group. "And next time someone pulls a stunt like this, Kihyun won't stop the bullet, so I recommend you behave."

" you, I'd rather get shot than stay here again," Mingyu snarled and took a threatening step forward, Zelo fruitlessly trying to hold him back. Minhyuk tensed and Hansol as well as his duplicate crouched down, ready to attack, but Seungri only looked mildly amused at his words.

Reaching under his coat, he pulled out a handgun, small and deadly, cocked it and aimed at Jisoo, a smile playing on his lips. "You seem to like him. Maybe you want to change your attitude?"

The Wielder's still slightly muddled mind took a moment to sort through the feelings of terror that rushed through the bonds until it deciphered his own emotions. He felt oddly calm, not all that bothered by the thought of dying for one of his friends as long as it would help them escape, but his Forcebearers obviously thought otherwise.

Mingyu had stiffened, wide eyes glued to the gun, and had not moved a single finger when Hansol had stepped behind him and secured his arms in an iron grip. The same had happened to Zelo, who had struggled at first against Hansol's clone but immediately ceased to resist after a sharp look from Wonwoo.

Seokmin had placed himself in front of his Wielder once again, face filled with fearful determination, and Seungri watched them with a bored expression while Jisoo tried to pull the Healer back. "You know, even if you stand there I can still hit the guy behind you; Kihyun here controls metal." The guard next to him flinched again at the mention of his name, transceiver already back around his neck, and Seokmin's shoulders slumped at his words. "Minhyuk, the taller one first."

"No! Leave him alone!" Jisoo struggled to get past the Healer when the anxious guard stepped closer but Seokmin wordlessly wrapped him into his arms and held onto him, determined to stop him, while Zelo and Mingyu looked on in horror. Desperate sobs burst out of the Wielder as soon as the guard reached the pair and not even Seokmin's lips on his temple could distract him from his panic while he clung to his Bonded's chest, not knowing what would happen to him. Minhyuk's shaking hands met the Healer's back and Jisoo cried out in fear at the sudden coldness that ran through their bond while Seokmin's face paled, his body slumping against the Wielder who tried to keep him upright but ultimately failed.

"What a heartwarming scene." Seungri's sarcastic comment cut through the silence and shook Jisoo out of his shock.

He looked up from his Bonded's unconscious form on the floor, fists clenched in rage. "You are a disgusting, horrible excuse for a human being."

The only reaction he got was a raised eyebrow accompanied by a smug smile before Seungri nodded in the Wielder's direction and Minhyuk closed in on him. Mingyu immediately began to fight against Hansol's grip, spitting curses, but the smaller Warrior held on.

Without even trying to defend himself, Jisoo watched the guard reach out for him, Minhyuk's scared expression a stark contrast to his uniform and the gun. Kihyun anxiously watched them from his spot next to Seungri and Wonwoo, jumping when the latter spoke. "Hurry up."

"Yes, Sir." Minhyuk's voice was shaking and Jisoo forced himself to remain calm when hot fingers wrapped around his hand. To battle his fear, he focused on sending positive feelings towards Mingyu, but a sudden surge of fatigue made him stumble, almost falling against the guard. It was hard to keep his eyes open and Mingyu's and Zelo's voices seemed to move further and further away. Through his blurry vision, he could barely make out Minhyuk who kept holding onto him, a pained expression on his face, small gasps escaping him. Just when Jisoo fell to his knees, pulling the guard down with him and struggling to stay conscious, footsteps became audible and Minhyuk let go of his hand. The Wielder managed to crawl next to Seokmin, before he collapsed and everything turned black.

-

My heavy breathing was drowning out the footsteps next to me and I could feel my heart racing in my chest, anxiety and strain equally taking their toll on my body. Wild thoughts were running through my mind - past, present, and future. It was almost funny how much we had predicted that something would go wrong.

I had tried so hard to take my mind off things, to focus on other stuff,