I bit back my tongue as we landed inside a military vehicle, all eight of us falling into different directions in the back of the truck. My back hit the hard metal and I groaned in pain. It was the second time in the last hour that I was hit so hard. I could feel blood forming on my throat and forcing itself out of my lips. Baekhyun extended his hand to grab mine before I could slip off the truck that went at 100 km/h, thrashing us back and forth as it moved to catch up to the two cars that drove further away from the train that exploded on its trail to the last station. Good God, I clenched my teeth when another wave of pain washed over as Baekhyun pushed me to the furthest corner, where I would be safer.

“What do we do, Suho? It’s better to come up with a plan now!” Luhan asked, almost shouting since there was loud noise everywhere and our voices would not be heard unless we shouted. I saw the aircraft flew overhead as it headed towards the Rebel’s cars. I, too, turned my head over to where Suho was – he was spotted with a wild look on his eyes, almost feral, his hair all messed up and his upper lip bleeding from the impact of the fall. I grimaced and spat out the blood and stood up. “They are directing the attack here now.”

The aircraft launched their second incoming attack against this military truck, which seemed impressive against the ordinary cars that they used, but held nothing against the military aircraft. Luhan waved his hands, clenching his fists together as those bombs burst to thin air, dispersing as if they had never been there in the first place. I stood, admiring his handwork, even as Kai tugged me back to reality. The two Presidents looked at each other helplessly and trusted their lives on lines, seeing as their most reliable Generals had also become part of the casualties in this treaty.

President Wang from China wholeheartedly believed that with every action came great consequences and a heavy price. It was nothing different this time. He knew that alliance with Mexico against the States was considerably risky and potentially destructive for all parties involved, hence he had asked for help from the Union, an organisation that encompassed all nations in this world, siding with no one in particular. He had long known of the existence of Transcendentals, for about forty years since he first entered the political scene. It came as a surprise to him, however, that today’s bloody battle would occur between the Transcendentals of two different parties – The Rebel and the Union. And in this long-standing enmity, he just happened to have the worst luck to be caught in the middle.

“Listen, everyone, we need to cooperate well this time,” Suho made a gesture with his index fingers and I rushed to where he was. His brown eyes swept over my face and they seemingly softened a little as he heaved a sigh – and whether or not it came out as a relief or frustration was a mystery. Luhan was still standing at the edge of the car, taking care of everything and listening all at once. I stole a glance at the figure of his back against us, and despite his youthful-looking appearance, Luhan looked steady and firm at this very moment. My heart throbbed a little in what I thought to be admiration and respect. Suho’s voice brought me back to the conversation. “Sera, concentrate.”

Kai snorted and mimicked Suho’s words and threw them at me. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought that Suho was bitter about something and he was brooding – but then again, this was Suho; why would he? He scrunched up his face as he explained to us the situation we had at hand and what to do about it, “Sera, I need you to tell us specifically what the Rebel is capable of – what the Transcendentals could do with their ability and their weakness, if you know of any. And Luhan…” He trailed off after calling out Luhan’s name. The older one gave him a questioning glance before turning around to focus on the task at hand. “You know what to do. Don’t let them escape easily.”

Luhan held the ghost of a smile on his face. The next time the Rebel’s aircraft attacked, he would be ready. He had been saving up his energy for a while now, letting it pent up into frustration as he watched the rest fought – completely in sync with their elements. He could barely feel the walls on his mind cracked up and sizzled – anticipation high in the air – as his doe eyes narrowed and watched upon the enemy like a hawk. I widened my eyes as he diverted the plane’s attacks towards the cars. These people from the Union were treating the battlefield like it was a game of chess or worse, because really, who fired away without much hesitation of the aftermath. They were either insanely high or just brutal. Then again, so was I.

Daniel sensed the attack and shouted at everyone to roll out of the car before it blew up. Irene clenched her jaw and braced herself at the impact as she jumped out and hit the ground really hard. Suga was relatively alright – he suffered skin-depth injuries but quickly recovered before those damned bombs attacked him in the midst of the savannah. Daniel was the last to jump after he made sure everyone was safe. Then he raised his hands, putting a Shield that was enough to cover a football stadium, his ability covered ours as we progressed. I clicked my tongue in distaste and turned my attention to Suho and the rest.

“I have to get to Daniel first and make sure that he lift down the Shield before any of you can fight as usual,” I explained, “He is a good Shield. A very talented one. Won’t be easy to break it out, but I knew Luhan and Sehun had done it before. I also need a cover-up, someone who will have my back. Kai is the best choice probably – but I’ll go with whoever.” I flinched when the bombs fell close to where we were and the sound almost deafened my ears. “Suga – that pathetic looking bastard on the floor you saw – is pretty much a pheromone-man. He makes people high and happy. Keep them satisfied and occupied – distracted and lost. Irene is just a Seer. Please don’t involve her with this.”

“I’ll take Sugar, or Suga, or whatever his name is,” Sehun picked on and left no room for arguments. His face had been dark since I saw him, and there was no way I could reach out to smoothen the lines between his brows. Suho bit the inner part of his cheeks, “Alright. Let Luhan deal with the Shield then. He will go with you and Kai. And Baekhyun?” He turned to the slit-eyed man with urgency. We had to be decisive to make the most out of the seconds we had left. Baekhyun raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, “I stay here. Guarding the Presidents. In case all of you forget.”

It was then that the unmistakable smell came to my sense that something was terribly wrong. I grabbed onto whatever was closest to me – a habit I developed early in the years in the seek of comfort and reassurance. That thing happened to be Suho’s hand, and he looked at me questionably. “Can you cleanse the air with water? Or I don’t know, build a barrier around us?” He waved his hand once like he was swatting a fly and I shook my head – caught between laughing at his silliness and choking from the lack of understanding. “Not like that, Mr. Genius. I meant a wall of water around this truck. Do it now!”

“What is happening?” Kai asked, wearing the same expression as the rest of them.

The foul smell was soon gone, “Well, it seems that you’re in terrible luck today.”

Luhan came by and squeezed himself between Sehun and Baekhyun. His face was still vibrant, only sweats dropping onto his neck like droplets of tears. His eyes scanned over everyone’s until they stopped on mine. I never thought for once in life before that oceanic blue eyes would be the bane of my existence. “There’s another guy jumping out from the aircraft. Around five feet eleven. Blonde hair, chocolate-coloured skin and lanky. Who is that?” I heaved a sigh, “Well, that’s RM from the Rebel,” courtesy to his consideration for me, I refused to reveal Namjoon’s real name to the rest. “Real danger, that one.”

“His ability travels by air. A little slower but extremely potent. It’s transparent and hard-to-tell, unless you have a sharp nose,” I sneezed quietly, “Foul stench like burnt corpses. Cause that’s what he does. He poisons the air, so when your skin comes in direct contact with it, your body will rot away quickly. Urgh, the smell alone makes me want to vomit,” I felt sick because it reminded me of terrible things – concentration camp, gas chamber, torture room. “I think it’s best that Suho and Luhan handle him, and let Sehun have Suga if he wishes to be. After all, the the two of them can crack through the Shield and you need that, Suho.”

“What about you, then?” Sehun asked, in all seriousness that never cracked. I glanced at him, amused, then gave Kai a light pat on his back, “Think you’re up for it?” He laughed amidst the tension and I couldn’t help but smile. Although he was grumpy earlier, he didn’t seem to be one to hold grudge nor dwell upon something for too long. “Basically covering your damsel-in-distress act to a T, no? I got that covered.” I glared at him, “This time, I’m no damsel-in-distress, alright? I’m doing the mission and you act as distraction.”

He mused and muttered loudly under his breath, “Whatever. It’s the same anyway.”

“Oh, and Sehun? Don’t kill Suga. I haven’t even had enough fun with him just yet.” I grinned at him and prepared myself to jump of the car with Kai, seeing that we had no choice otherwise when Daniel was being so defensive with this fight. Although it was originally a matter between two countries, in reality, this was no different than a simulation battle. It was like a routine for me – fight, then win or lose. Needless to say, it took hours but the operation concluded successfully. We had four new captives tailing us, two drivers and two pilots dead in the process. The Presidents couldn’t even voice a complain or a grieving cry for their Generals after we explained the situation to them – after all, this was directly tied to them.

And yet, I still had a nagging feeling that this was all too easy. Too smooth. Like the fight they put up was just pretense, and even as I was sitting in the airport in the city, I couldn’t help but think that this was a trap. It was only the beginning to our ending.

* * *

“Hey,” I approached Suho in front of the toilet where everyone else would be out of reach. He leaned onto the closed door with a smile, as if he was waiting for me to continue. The pretense was slowly wearing me down, especially when I remembered how much I had spilt to him that night. I was probably drunk, or high, or just terribly lonely to have said so much when I was used to privacy and silence. When I looked up again, his eyes were still radiant as ever, like they held the sun within. “Do you think I could make a request to you? Do you have enough power in the Union for that?”

“Careful there, Sera,” He scrubbed the non-existent beard on his chin. “Every request comes with a price. You should know better.”

I swear under my breath that Suho was such a thief – a good businessman always made a good thief because they knew when to close the deal. And this was me, trying not to make a fool out of myself. I hated owing favours because I was never good in it. I knew I was always on the short end of receiving a bad bargain every time someone did things for me. I clenched my jaw tight and looked at him straight until he chuckled at how serious I was, “Okay, forget that. You look so pitiful I can’t even do anything to you. Tell me, Darling. What can I do for you?”

It was then that I noticed Suho was probably British. Although his English had sounded so American, there were some words and mannerism of speaking he did that reminded me of that country, particularly London. The way he slurred out ‘darling’ with a very strong emphasis on ‘D’ was very much accented – and pretty damn adorable, too. I didn’t bother hiding the smile that threatened to spill out the longer I held and spoke to him frankly, “It’s about my friends from the Rebel, excluding Suga. I need your help in guaranteeing their safety – at least to make sure they won’t die. And I want to talk to Irene before we land in the headquarter.”

“Why Irene?” He raised his eyebrows in suspicion. “Why not that male friend of yours you so dearly cherish?”

“Daniel?” I grew defensive at the sound of his name escaping Suho’s mouth with acid. He didn’t seem to be too happy when I said his name, but Suho’s smile returned as quickly as it disappeared. I crossed my hands in front of my chest and stared squarely at him. The thought of my best friend, Daniel, being hurt by any of them was sickening. I swear I would raise hell if they thought they could leave a scar on his body. ”He’s literally my brother. Leave him out of this. I want to talk to Irene.”

When the clarification left my mouth, the storm brewing in his eyes dissipated to thin air. He replied without a second thought, “Consider that done. But Sera, you have to know that the higher-ranks in the Union are very heavy-handed, regardless of your ability, rationality or background. If possible, don’t get involved in this any further. You won’t like the punishment that they give you. Whatever it is, it’s not worth it.” I narrowed my eyes. My memories turned to Kris and the young Lieutenant. It seemed that everyone, even someone like Suho, was terrified of the Union’s punishment. Only Sehun would be an exception to that rule.

I didn’t reply to that. I didn’t think I needed to.

“Don’t be too stubborn, Sera. The Union likes to break hard-headed people,” He gave me a light squeeze on the shoulder, “Come. Follow me. I will take you to see your friend now.”

There were two soldiers guarding the Rebel members, each holding a rifle that was more of a show than anything else. Why would guns be fired mid-air when it could cause the plane serious attacks? I silently snickered at the logic of these people. My eyes settled on the sorry excuse of a human being, Suga (and I meant literally, because by the time Sehun was done, he didn’t resemble a man at all, and that wasn’t just a metaphor). His bloodied and battered face – if that was truly his face – was flat, like he wanted to speak but could no longer do so. I clicked my tongue in disgust. Daniel sat on the other side, frowning as he saw me walked in with Suho. I would very much understand the reason why he was angry, so as I passed by him, I brushed my fingers against his arms and he almost cursed out. It had all been too sudden and short-lived, but I managed to convey the message to him, ‘Please trust me’.

He clenched his jaw and slowly leaned back against the chair. Then he jolted, turning around to see where I was headed to. Irene was sitting right behind him, her face pale but she was not afraid. All of us were used to the sight of military uniforms, machine guns, bombs and violence like it was an everyday thing. She stilled when I approached. The soldier was hesitant to point the gun to me, but she did so in accordance to the protocol. “These prisoners are dangerous, Ma’am. You’re not allowed to talk to them.”

“Says who?” I coldly stared. A name slipped out, and it was the Old General, the leader of the Union’s Council of Ten that ordered them to. Ah, the mystery man that Tao mentioned. Right now, he sounded more like an urban legend than an actual figure. My throat felt itchy. “Step back. Turn around. Forget this ever happen.” The soldiers did exactly as was told, and I managed to bring Irene back to the small kitchen near the toilet area. Suho made eye contact with me and stayed together with the rest of the Rebel. He gestured to the two soldiers, “Put on the blindfolds for these people. We don’t want them tattle-telling later.” Although he doubted they would be able to.

“I am sorry for what they’ve done, but you, of all people, should have known better than to end up here,” My voice sounded like a hiss as I put my fingers on the tape around . Those large black eyes blinked at me. “This is gonna hurt.” She nodded and I tried to rip it away as quickly as possible. The soft, sad whimper actually pained me when I heard them, despite my best attempt at concealing it. “Irene, why are you even here? God, I don’t know what is going on in the heads of these people! Do you have any idea what will happen when we arrive in the Union’s headquarter?”

“Captain,” Her eyes were a little watery. My heart softened at the very sight of her. Irene was a good girl. I didn’t understand how someone of her nature ended up with a messed-up organisation like the Rebel, but she did. They found her on the street, in the aftermath of a and , with no will to live. Poor girl tried to drown herself many times before. Her story was a tragic one until the Leader found her. She kept on calling my name in whispers, as if she was trying to believe that I was not mere illusion that appeared in her premonitions, “Captain.”

“I’m here,” I breathed out heavily, “And it’s Sera for you, not… not Captain. Not anymore.”

For a Seer – and one as talented as her – Irene was very soft-hearted and fragile. Most Seers were usually pretty straightforward with strong mentality – they had to be, else the ability to know the future would take its toll on their mental health. Of course, some were more reclusive and private, but their minds were metal walls with heavy protection. “Irene, I need your cooperation, so listen to me, please?” I watched as she closed and breathed properly. She was always overly emotional when it came to things and people she felt close to – another weakness not befitting of a great Seer. “Dan said you had something to tell me. I want to know, but I won’t go back with you.”

“Do you remember what I told you before? Something about Leader being a soulmate for you, but not a life partner?” Her eyes glimmered as I nodded. “The two of you are connected through a complicated string of Fate, and you have been before you were born. When you met, I saw your souls in two minds, equally strong and powerful. One of yours, and one of the Leader. And the two of you cannot be separated.” She continued narrating her story like she was reading a fairy tale and I was completely lost in them. “There will come a time when you need to be together to fight for this world. For the good of us and the rest of humanity.”

“You know I can’t go back, Irene,” My voice shook a little as I tried to stay strong. But the pretense could only hold so much. “Not after what happened between us and the core members of the Rebel.”

“I know,” She smiled sadly at me. “That’s what I came to tell you. Very soon, you will face two paths, two choices down the road. And everything you know of will be brought into question. Whether you choose to embrace the Darkness or the Light, your choice will decide on the fate for the rest of us. For this world. As I told you before, the biggest obstacle you will ever face in this life will be closely tied to your love life and the men who will accompany you for this journey. You have to bear this burden on your shoulder and make the right choice, Captain.”

I didn't know where to start and where to end. All I knew was that my mind was making this buzzing noise and its judgement was to be doubted. Tears gathered but I refused to let them fall, especially when Irene's gaze was reverting between pity and guilt. "All of you are the same as him." I finally managed out a sentence after gaping my mouth open and closing it for the nth time. "But I'm not a good person. Nor am I a Samaritan. I... I most definitely am not a charity case," I was startled by how defensive I sounded, but those words had left my mouth like bullets fired one after another. It took so much to be strong, only to crumble when someone hit all the checklist on when to bring back the nostalgia past that hurt.   

Nobody understood why I was so desperate to leave, but if they had lived in my shoes for the last five years, I was sure they would run away, too. I didn't want to be . I didn't want to feel dirty and constantly telling myself I was never going to be good enough. I didn't want to stay in a relationship where I felt more like a charity case for the man that I loved  – that him staying was out of kindness and I ought to be grateful. I didn't want to put myself down when I could be more, and stayed in an environment where everyone I thought was my friends were looking at me with distaste, hatred, and pity. I doubted they understood where I came from. They had never seen him being him – manipulative, conniving bastard who always got his way out of everything. I thought this would be the same, too, and I wasn't about to let him.

"Irene," I sat very still and tall, maintaining that icy, arrogant demeanor that was starting to crumble little by little. "I will get you out. All of you. But this is as far as it gets. I won't go back with you. Not now. Not ever. I have learnt to have enough self-respect never to return. At the very least, respect my last wish as your Captain."

And then I stood, leaving no room for question as I escorted her back to the others. I imagined how stony my face must look like trying to hold back. Maybe I would lock myself in the toilet for a while until it magically got better. Anything to be rid off of this pent-up frustration. The three others were blind-folded, so even when I came in, Daniel only made a small movement where he was sitting as a sign of acknowledgment. I knew there was so much complication standing between our friendship – like how being on two different parties were harmful to us because of the beliefs and ideology. But I would save that kind of talk for later. Suho walked me out, and as soon as we were alone, he reached out to tap me on the arms gently, looking concerned of my well-being, "What happened? Talk to me." His voice soft like he was cooing a child – or a girlfriend, since they barely made a difference. 

I stared at him in contemplation and opened my mouth.

A/N: The forecast that Sera told Daniel in Close Encounters is told by Irene as well, this one:

'Forget today. Forget today until I come for you again. Soon, Brother. Very soon, we shall meet again. When the time is right, the clock will start ticking again. The Fallen shall descend and wreck havoc on the soil of this earth. We are heading straight to the Apocalypse. The doom’s day is near.'

Her forecasts are important, so if you like guessing, go figure. 

I would also like to recommend an Original story by a very talented writer on Wattpad if you guys are up for a change: Kissing is the Easy Part. Expect unwanted giggles, mushy hearts, and maybe more.