75 years later: Year 2017

It was that time of year again. Halloween. Everyone at EXO Academy is getting ready for the holiday. Fake spider webs everywhere in the hallways, Jack-o-lanterns lit up, fake spiders on the lockers, paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling, and students roaming the hallways to get to their dorms because school is finished for the day. Everyone is excited and can't wait for the Halloween dance that was coming up in a couple of days.

As everyone went back to their rooms in their assigned houses, they did their homework, showered, and went to bed. However, there is one house that seems to be the odd one from the other houses. The house is known as the House of the Guardians.

"Legend has it that before the school was even built, twelve individuals with amazing abilities used to live in this very house. They were given the name "The Guardians." The number "twelve" then changed to thirteen two years after they were given the name. But something bad happened when the thirteen member entered the house. It appears that he had a mental issue and became a psychopath. He began torturing his dormmates and soon enough he killed them.....one by one. Only the twelfth and youngest member was able to defeat the guy. To this day, both the twelfth and thirteenth members' souls are trapped within this house and can't be free. And––"

"STOP! This is seriously creeping me out! Especially the fact that the house you mentioned is the very r house we LIVE in! Seriously, Kai! Cut it out!" a teenage boy cried out with his hands covering his ears.

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Taemin. It's just a story. It's not even real," Kai said.

"Yeah, but it's seriously scary to hear that the two guardians' souls are trapped in here. I mean look at Xiao Lu over there!" Baekhyun said as he pointed to said person sitting at a corner hugging his stuffed dear.

"Seriously, Lu Han? You're seventee and yet you still carry that thing around?" said a boy who was standing next to Kai. "And I can't believe that you made that story up, Kai. Or should I say Kim Jongin."

"Oh, come one, Jongdae. Don't be like that I didn't make it up. I just happened to read about it in a book," Kai replied.

"You? Read a book?" another boy asked laughing. "The world is ending!!!" 

Everyone just stood there trying to hide their grins.

"Hey! I'll have you know, I can read and I bet that I am a better reader than you or Taemin here." Kai reasoned. "And it's true! I did read about it in a book. And stop laughing, Sehun!"

"Shixun, nǐ tíng ba? Tā shēng qì le" Lu Han said as she came to Sehun's side and pulled on his shirt.

"Seriously Lu Han, stop speaking Chinese! No one knows what you are saying!" a girl said irritated.

"Only you wouldn't understand, Kyungsoo," another boy with a deep voice said.

"Oh shut it, Kris. No one asked you," Kyung replied harshly. "Only you would say that because you're Chinese as well!"

"Not just me. Lay, Chen, Tao, Sehun, and Chanyeol can understand and speak Chinese as well." Kris replied irritated.

"Can we stop? We need to sleep, it's getting late," said a girl whining on the couch.

"Of course we can, Tao. Sleep we must." Kyungsoo replied, teasing Tao of her accent. So they went to bed and the house was quiet. 

However, when they were all fast asleep, an evil laugh was heard throughout the house.

"Just you wait. All of you will be my prey."

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The next day, everything was normal. Halloween is another 24 hours away and everyone is busy getting last minute tasks done. Soon night fell and it was dinner time. 

In the House of the Guardians, the inhabitants were eating peacefully until the lights start to flicker and they heard an evil laugh.

"Okay. I know it's one of you guys. Cut it out!" Lu Han cried and hugged Sehun, who in turn tried to comfort him.

"It's not us. How are we doing that when we are right here in front of you?" Kai replied. But then the chandelier hanging above them fell and crashed onto the table. Everyone jumps away from the table before the impact. The next thing that happened were the portraits around the dining room began to shake and loosen from their hooks and began flying all over the place. 

Soon after the portraits began to circle around on top of the table making a tornado and a ghost-like man with an evil grin appeared. He cackled evilly as he looked at each and every one of the boys.

"Hello.... How are you my pretties? My, my. It has been so long. What year is it by the way?" the man asked.

No one answered.  

"No answer, huh?" The man frowned. "Well.....*[grins evilly]* I just can't wait to tear you to chreds and here your screams."

Everyone just look at one another then looked back at the man in the center of the room. It was silent and then....they screamed.

"RUN!!!!" Chen yelled. 

Everyone ran. 

They ran to the front door.

"HURRY!!! OPEN THE DOOR!" Baekhyun yelled.

"I CAN'T! IT'S LOCKED!" Chanyeol yelled back as he kept yanking at the door to open.

They heard the evil laugh behind them and froze. They turned around and saw the man floating in thin air holding what looks like an axe. They tried to back away as far as possible while Kris tried to find a way for them to escape. 

The man came closer and closer. He brought his arm up with the axe, ready to slash at the person in front, which happens to be Kyungsoo. As the man was about to bring the axe down, the students hid their heads and then a gust of wind came out of nowhere.

"I don't think so, Hyungshik," another ghost-like figure appeared. He looked like a he was in his late teens. "I am not going to let you hurt any of them!"

"Ah~ Lee Donghae. How long has it been? I still see you're still here," Hyungshik said.

"And I plan to stay as long as the students need me," Donghae replied.

"Ha! You will never win!" Hyungshik said and disappeared into nothing.

"He is gone now," Donghae announced and turned to the students. "You guys okay?"

"By the Tree! What the heck just happened?" Jongdae asked. Donghae just stared at him because of his remark.

By the Tree.....That's what Yesung used to say. Donghae thought as his expression changed to sad one.

"Hey," Chanyeol started, taking Donghae out of his thoughts. "Aren't you the twelfth Guardian?" 

Donghae gave him a smile and nodded.

"Then that means the man earlier was the thirteenth?" Suho asked and received another nod from the ghost.

"See! I told you I didn't make it up!" Kai cried out. "But wait..... Wasn't the thirteenth supposed to be the same age as you?"

Donghae shook his head. "No. What you read in those books in the House's library was just stories on what others thought. Hyungshik was actually our caretaker. And yes, I know you read all the stories."

"Jeez, stalker much?" Kai whispered earning a nudge on the side by Lay.

"So what happens now? The door is locked and we have night classes to go to," Kris asked.

"Unfortunately, you guys can't leave the house anymore. Hyungshik locked it up. The only way is to defeat him," Donghae answered.

"But how? I mean he's a ghost!" Taemin yelled.

"Wǒ hěn hài pà." Lu han said.

"Uh....what did he say?"

"He said that he's scared." Sehun answered as he wrapped his arm around Lu Han and kissed his head.

"Are they.....?" Donghae asked unsure.

"A couple? Yeah." Suho answered.

"Okay.... Well, I'm Lee Donghae, the twelfth guardian with the power of wind. And you are....?" Donghae began.

"I'm Wu Yi Fan, but you can call me Kris. The one that spoke Chinese earlier was Lu Han and the guy next to him is Oh Sehun, who is also our youngest. The one who asked how to defeat this psycho was Lee Taemin. This guy next to me is Kim Jongdae, but we sometimes call him Chen. That's Do Kyungsoo over there. Then we have Zhang Yixing next to him, we call him Lay. That's Park Chanyeol and Huang ZiTao, who we call Tao. The one sitting next to the HunHan couple are Kim Joonmyeong. We call them Suho. And last but not least, the guy next to you is Kim Jongin, or Kai," Kris introduced.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Now let's get you guys someplace safe," Donghae said.

"Why?" Kai asked.

"Because of that." Donghae said pointing towards the staircase.

The boys all turned to see what Donghae was talking about and saw a giant black dog-looking creature coming towards them slowly. Their eyes widened when they noticed that the creature was actually a demon dog with red eyes and sharp fangs and claws. Its size was five times bigger than kris. Not to mention that it has TWO HEADS.

"R-Run?" Suho asked. 

Kris nodded and looked at Suho. "Run."

They all turned back to the dog and screamed before running. The dog began to lung at them when Donghae managed to set up a wall of wind to help them escape.

"GO!" he yelled. "I'll hold him off! Head for the second floor, the first door on your left! You'll be safe there!" 

Without hesitating, they ran up the the stairs opposite to the ones with the creature. Kris was behind everyone and looked back to see that the ghost had the creature contained. He turned back to his friends only to hear one of them scream.

"What happened?" He asked concerned.

"Snakes! Everywhere!" Taemin yelled.

"Taemin, there's nothing!" Kyungsoo yelled back.

"C-Can't you see them? They're everywhere!" Taemin screamed.

"Guys! His eyes!" Kai pointed out. "They're bleeding!" 

Everyone looked and was horrified on the spot. Taemin's eyes were bleeding and he was screaming.

He! What's going on? Get into the ro––" Donghae yelled as he caught up to them, but stopped when he saw what was happening. "Oh.... that's not good."

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" Kai cried out.

"Actually, I'm floating. And I can't! I––" Donghae tried to explain when the lights went out. 

"Wh–What's going on?" Baekhyun cried out.

Then there was a scream followed by a slashing sound and a lough thud that echoed through the hall.

The lights flickered back on and everyone looked around.

"Where's Taemin?" Suho asked as he looked around to find said person was no where to be found.

Lu Han looked around when he felt something drip onto his cheek. He brought his hand up to his cheek and wiped away whatever it was. He then looked at his fingers and his eyes widened when he saw red. 

"Xiao Lu? What's wrong?" Sehun asked his boyfriend with concern.

Lu Han slowly looked up and froze. Sehun followed to see what got Lu Han so shocked. Once he saw what it was, he pulled Lu Han and burried the latter's head into his chest. He felt Lu Han shake.

"What's wrong?" Lay asked.

Sehun didn't answer. 

Lay looked to where Sehun was looking and covered his mouth before a scream could come out. 

There up on the wall, was Taemin. Eyes wide open with blood flowing out and an old samurai sword pierced through his chest. His mouth was opened for a silent scream but nothing came out other than blood.

"We can't stay in the hall!" Donghae yelled. "Everyone get into the room! It's the only safe place!"

But everyone was glued to the floor looking at their dead friend. Donghae used his wind power to push the boys into the room and shut the door.

"What in the name of the Tree just happened?" Kris yelled.

"I don't know! What I do know is that this is Hyungshik's power. He preys off the weak. His power was to tear people from the inside out. That's why he was not really involved with us guadians. Even though he was our caretaker, he was also a guardian. And why do you guys say 'Tree'?" Donghae asked.

"I don't really know. I just say it like I have said it many times before," Kris answered with a shrug.

"Interesting....Come here," Donghae said as he flew towards a shelf.

"Kris, can you get that chest at the top?" Donghae asked as he pointed to a chest on the chelf. Kris climbed up and brought the chest down and placed it on the floor.

"What is it?" Kai asked as he and the others gathered around the chest.

"This chest holds the symbols of the guradians. You see, we used to say 'Tree' as well. Instead of 'Oh My God' we say 'Oh My Tree' for we get our powers from the Tree of Life. I think that you guys might be our reincarnations. Though I don't know about Taemin....Go on. Open it." Donghae said.

When they opened the chest, eleven small lights shined and floated out and went to each one of them. 

Donghae watched with awe as the lights entered the bodies of everyone. "You guys are truly the next generation of Guardians."

He then turned to Kris. He brought Kris's hand up and a dragon symbol glowed a bright blue on the back of his hand. "Kris, you have the symbol of the dragon. Your power is the power of flight and you are to be the leader.

He then turned to the person next to Kris. "Baekhyun, you have the symbol of light." Donghae said as he pointed to the glowing symbol on the left side of Baekhyun's neck. "Your power is the power of light. You will shine and be everyone's guide in the time of darkness."

"Lay," Donghae called out as he turned to said male. He grabbed Lay's hand and looked at his wrist. "You have the symbol of the unicorn. Just like the unicorn, you have the power to heal any wound. From minor wounds to even fatal ones."

He turned and gave Tao a smiled. "Tao. You have the symbol of the hourglass. Your power is the power to control time. Use it wisely." 

"But....where's the symbol." Tao asked.

"Lift your shirt," Donghae said.

Tao lifted his shirt a little and saw the hourglass symbol on his right hip.

"Suho," Donghae continued telling the boys their powers. "You have the symbol of water, which means your power is the power to control water." 

Donghae pointed to Suho's right shoulder to indicate that that's where the symbol is.

"Chen, your symbol is the scorpion." Donghae said as he turned to Chen. He used his wind to lift Chen's shirt to reveal the scorpion on Chen's chest. "Your power is the power of lightning. Be careful with it, for lightning can be deadly."

He then turned to Chanyeol and smiled. He then pulled out a candle out of nowhere and held it in front of Chanyeol.

"Blow on it," Donghae said.

Chanyeol gave him a questioning look before doing what he was asked to. He blew the candle and a flame appeared. 

Chanyeol looked at the flame in shock. 

"Just like the phoenix, you have the power of fire. Burn brightly to help warm those who are cold," Donghae said with a smile as he poked his ghostly finger on Chanyeol's chest where his heart is.

"Kai. Can you go to that end of the room and back?" Donghae asked as he turned to said male.

"Huh? You want me to walk there?" Kai asked confused.

"No.... I want you to think of the spot there but don't move." Donghae said.

Kai gave Donghae an are-you-being-ridiculous look before closing his eyes and imaging the spot at the other end of the room.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his friends in front of him with shocked expressions. 

"What?" He asked confused.

"Instead of what, you should be asking how you got there!" Baekhyun said.

"Huh?"

"Kai," Donghae called out as Kai began to walk towards his friends. His friends could see the glowing symbol on Kai's left bicep. "Your power is the power of teleportation. You just have to imagine the place and you will be there."

Kai was silent for a few seconds until realization hit him like a train. "I teleported there? Wait! I was standing here and the next I'm over there! That is AWESOME!!!"

Donghae laughed as everyone else shook their heads.

"Kyungsoo," Donghae called out after he calmed down from his laughing fit. "I'm not going to ask you to demonstrate since your power is dangerous. On your lower back is the symbol of the wild beast. Your power is the power of earth. You are as strong as a tree or as hard as a rock."

Kyungsoo nodded as Donghae turned to look at Lu Han.

"You have the symbol of telekinesis. You can move things with your mind and read another's person mind as well. Use it wisely now. My friend who had the same power had headaches."

Lu Han nodded with a small smile as he looked at his boyfriend, who in turn gave him a smile.

"Sehun," Donghae said to get Sehun's attention. Sehun turned his attention to the ghost. A bright blue light shined between the two. Soon the light floated to the base of the left side Sehun's neck where it disappeared and was replaced by symbol.

"You being the youngest will have my power, the power of wind. May it help you protect the people you love," Donghae said as he motioned to Lu Han and gave Sehun a smile.

Everyone looked at each other after receiving their new found powers.

"With that being said, you are now the new Guardians. By working together, you will be able to defeat Hyungshik and protect the Tree," Donghae said.

"What Tree?" Sehun asked.

"The Tree of Life. It's the power that is giving life to earth. Like mother nature. It's where your powers are from and you must protect it from any evil that wants to destroy it." Donghae explained.

"How are we going to protect the Tree if we don't know where it is?" Lu Han asked what everyone thought.

Donghae smiled and flew to another part of the room. It was then that they noticed a tree trunk in the center of the room.

Donghae placed a hand on the tree. "This is the Tree of Life. This room is protected by a powerful magic that even with your powers combined cannot undo. That is why this room is the safest place. It keeps out all dark powers, plus it was once my room."

"And the fact that the roof is the shape of the top of a tree," Lay said as he tapped his chin.

"Yes... now we must get some sleep." Donghae said.

Everyone went around the room and found places to sleep. Lu Han stood, looking for a place to sleep, but was scared.

"Xiao Lu?" Sehun called out.

"Sehunnie," Lu Han whimpered. 

"Lu Han. If you're scared, sleep under the Tree. It will keep you safe." Donghae said as he watched the couple.

"Come on, Xiao Lu." Sehun said as he earned a nod from the deer and guided them to the Tree. 

Sehun sat down against the Tree and pulled Lu Han to sit in between his legs. He then wrapped his arms around the latter and kissed his head. "Better?"

Lu Han nodded and snuggled closer. "I love you, Hunnie."

"I love you, too."

Everyone slept peacefully with the help of the tree. Donghae smiled as he watched them sleep. He frowned when he heard Hyungshik laughed throughout the house.

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The next day, they woke up to a loud growling and scratching from the other side of the door. The door shook, indicating that whatever is behind the door is trying to get in. 

"Donghae-ssi, what is going on?" Tao asked.

"It seems that that dog is back," Donghae replied.

"What? I thought that you finished that thing!" Baekhyun yelled.

"Ah~ I said that I'd hold him off, not finish it. My power isn't strong enough alone to do such a task. That's your job." Donghae said.

"Are you serious?" Kai asked. He was about to ask another question when the door busted oped and the creature came in snarling.

"I thought this room was protected," Chen asked.

"It was. I don't know how this happened," Donghae replied. Then that evil laugh came again and Hyungshik entered the room.

"The Tree grew weak over the past few decades. There is no way the barrier will keep me away. Ha! Not a chance! Now.....Who's the next one?" Hyunshik asked as he looked around. He then grinned evilly when he spotted his next victim. 

"Ah~ I know....How about you?" He pointed at Lu Han.

Lu Han's eyes widened and he stepped back. Sehun stepped in front to protect his boyfriend. 

"So you want to take his place? Be my guest," Hyungshik said as his eyes turned a blood red and stared at Sehun, but nothing happened. Hyungshik was confused.

"Why isn't anything happening?" He asked himself. His eyes widened when he looked at Sehun and saw something glowing on his neck. "That symbol––"

"I see you've noticed. You can't hurt them, now that they have the symbols of the Guardians on them." Donghae stated with a satisfied grin on his face. 

"You––" Hyungshik started but was cut off when something hit him.

"Wow. I can't believe that didn't go through him," Kyungsoo said as he laughed.

"Hound! Get him!" Hyungshik commanded the dog. As the dog attacked Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo screamed and ran out of the room with the dog on his trail.

"Now that he is going to be ripped to shreds by Hound, what to do with the rest of you....?" Hyungshik began to think. Everyone else in the room just ook one big gulp of their saliva, scared of what Hyungshik will do.

"Ah~ I know," Hyungshik said as he stared to chant something in a language that no one knows. Then the floor started to shake and crack. Soon demons began to crawl out of the cracks.

"They are the nastiest things that you will ever see. Now, it's time for them to have a little snack," Hyungshik said with a big grin on his face. "Go and tear them apart!"

With that said, the demons went after each student and eventually they all split up. 

Each of the boys fought the demon that chased them by using their new found powers. Some flung them to the wall and stabbed them with sharp objects. Others either burned or electrocuted the demons. 

However, the only person having a little trouble was Lay. He had no power to defend himself with and he barely knew any martial arts. 

"A little help here!" He yelled, but then the demon pounced on him and bit his leg. He screamed in agony and wanted nothing but the pain to go away. He then felt the demon being shoved off him and a pair of hands pulling him away from the thing. 

He saw his friends by her side helping her. They managed to defeat the last demon and went to her.

"Lay, Nǐ hái hǎo ma?" Suho asked concerned for his friend.

"Wǒ hái hǎo" Lay replied. "I can just heal myself."

He then put his hand above the bit mark and his hand began to glow. The next thing they knew was that she was healed. Not even a scar was present.

"Now..." Lay began as he stood up. "Let's get Hyungshik, shall we?"

Everyone grinned. "Right!"

~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~

They entered the room where Hyungshik was fighting against Donghae. They stopped in mid-attack when they saw the boys enter.

Hyungshik was surprised to see that they made it back......alive. He expected them to be dead.

"H–How? I–It's not possible!" Hyungshik cried out.

"Hyungshik, you are going down!" Kai said.

"You couldn't think of something better to say?" Kyungsoo asked. Kai just gave him a confused look and Kyungsoo shook his head. "Never mind."

"YOU BRATS! I WILL TEAR YOU APART MYSELF!" Hyungshik exclaimed.

To everyone's horror, his appearance began to transform into a hideous demon. His yes glowed red and became slits, much like a snake's eyes. His teeth turned yellow and became sharp. His tongue looked like a lizard's tongue and he began to grow horns on his head. His hair grew and turned a blackish red and his skin turned a crimson red as well. His nails became claws and there was this disgusting smelling fluid seeping through the pores of his skin. To put it simply, he looks horrifyingly hideous.

"YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR THISSSSSSS," he said, sounding like a snake. 

He then lunged at the boys. Everyone spread out and began to attack. Lay stayed back by the Tree under the protection of Donghae and Lu Han. 

At some point, Baekhyun and Kai were knocked unconscious and is now being treated by Lay.

"Tao! Stop time!" Kris yelled over the chaos.

Tao did as he was told and allowed for only him and his friends to move.

"Chen, electrocute him! Chanyeol, burn him!" Kris ordered and they did.

When Kris told Tao to resume time, they heard Hyungshik scream in agony and burst into blue flames. Soon he turned to Kyungsoo to attack, but in the process the flames turned back to the original red, orange, and yellow color and poofed into nothing but ashes. 

Kris told Suho to put the fire out and all that was left was Hyungshik's ashes that began to disappear.

Everyone cheered and hugged each other––except the HunHan couple, they just made out.

They all turned to Donghae only to find him slowly fading away.

"Thank you. I finally got the revenge I wanted and can now rest in peace. Good luck Guardians. Goodbye." Donghae said and he was gone. But not really. He had found a place in each of their hearts as a great irreplaceable friend.

"Okay....now what?" Kai asked.

"We get Taemin and give him a proper burial. He deserves that much." Kris answered.

"You know......You have become a great leader Kris," Baekhyun stated and the others nodded.

"Not really," Kris said with a smile. "But thank you."

~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~ ` * ´ ~

One year later:

They gave Taemin a proper burial and the students living in the House of the Guardians lived happily. 

One night, there was a knock on the door. 

Everyone looked at each other, curious as to who would be visiting them this late in the night.

Krist stood up to open the door, only to find a boy their age standing there. 

"Hi. My name is Kim Minseok. You can call me Xiumin though. I'm the new member of the house. Nice to meet you," he said as he held his hand out for a handshake.

When Kris accepted the handshake, he felt a cold chill and looked outside. There on the doorframe was frost. Kris looked back at Xiumin and he smiled at him. 

In the room with the Tree of Life, the chest that held the last symbol began to glow.

 

I tried :P Hoped you enjoyed it

Chinese translations:

Shixun. Nǐ tíng ba. Tā shēng qì le = Sehun. You should stop. He’s already angry.

Wǒ hěn hài pà = I’m scared.

Lay. Nǐ hái hǎo ma = Lay. Are you okay?

Wǒ hái hǎo = I’m okay.