Kris curses under his breath. He hovers back down towards Chen, Kai and Sehun. Kai looks around at the pillars. He remembered the symbols from the metal cage he and Tao were trapped in a while ago.

So one of these symbols is Chen’s. I remember him discharging lightning. Either it’s this bug-head looking one.. or this scorpion looking one with a lightning-like tail.

Kai remembers Tao’s words in his head.

“The scorpion symbol. It’s for lightning!” he says out loud.

Chanyeol shot down the arm that Luhan was trying to block, relieving Luhan of it.

“Thanks… again.” Luhan breathes out.

“No problem!” Chanyeol grins.

Three arms shoot out of the red clouds nearest Kai, targeting him, Chen and Sehun. Kai notices and quickly grabs both boys and teleports a few meters away. The arms miss but are now headed for Kris and D.O. Luhan turns and stops all three with another mental wall. The forces of the three mechanical arms were too much for him and he gets down on his knees. Seeing this, Sehun immediately runs out of Kai’s grasp and fires a slicing wind at the arms, cutting them all in half.

Kai looks up at the pillars frantically, looking for the bug-head symbol. As soon as he spots it, he grabs Chen and teleports besides Kris and D.O.

“Bring Dee to that pillar,” Kai instructs. “I’ll handle your friend’s symbol.”

“My name is Chen. And please tell me when you’re going to….”

They both disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear on top of the pillar with the scorpion symbol. The pillar was wide enough for the both of them to stand on it, but just barely.

“I’ll leave you, to give you more space.” Kai says, then he disappears and returns to the ground.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have the power to teleport. It’s making me queasy.” Chen says weakly. He drops to his hands and knees and crawls slowly towards the edge of the pillar. He uses his hand to feel the sides of the pillar, looking for the symbol.

Chanyeol shoots down three of the red clouds, destroying them. Luhan sends two flying into the sky and then he drops them heavily onto the ground. Sehun summons a small tornado, in five of the mechanical spheres, and letting the wind buffet them to pieces.

Kris grabs D.O. and flies towards the pillar Kai had pointed at and made him touch the symbol.

“Earth.” he whispered. The symbol started glowing.

After feeling the symbol under his hand, Chen says his power.

“Thunder.” He looks at the symbol through the edge. It wasn’t glowing. He touches it again.

“Electricity!” he says. Still nothing.

“Try lightning!” Luhan shouts at him.

“Right… Lightning.” Chen whispers to himself. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He reaches out one more time and touches the symbol.

“Lightning.” The symbol glows the moment the words were out of his mouth. Kai reappears behind him and then they both disappear, reappearing back at the ground. Kris and D.O. lands beside them.

“Only three more left.” Chanyeol says, referring to the three mechanical spheres Sehun had first blown away. They all look at the spheres a few feet away from them. “Shall I handle them?” Chanyeol steps forward, enjoying his newly found powers.

“Channie, let me try!” D.O. says, putting a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Be my guest!” and Chanyeol steps aside.

“So… what do I do?” D.O. asks. Just then, a bolt of lightning strikes from the sky, disintegrating the three remaining spheres.

Everyone looks at Chen.

“Woops…” he says with a shy smile.

D.O.’s stared at Chen with his round eyes. “Chen!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Chen apologizes, but he couldn’t help laughing at D.O.’s expression. Everyone else smiled.

They were all relieved the danger was eliminated. They all couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

Luhan looks at his friends. They were safe. Whoever that voice-lady was, he owed her. But other thoughts were troubling him.

What were those mechanical spheres? Why were they targeting Chen and D.O.? Are there more of them?

Luhan’s thoughts were interrupted when Kai suggested they all go back.

“Go back where?” Kris asks.

“I don’t know where that place is, exactly. But Baekhyun and Suho are there. So are your friends, Tao, Lay and… that other guy… with the chubby cheeks. Min…?”

“Tao! He’s safe?” Kris asks, almost immediately.

“Yeah. He is. I was the one he was paired up with.” Kai says.

Kris lets out a sigh of relief.

“Baekhyun and Suho are safe, too?” Chanyeol asks.

“Yes. They’re all safe.” Kai ensures them all.

“Well, let’s all go then.” Kris says.

“Alright. Everyone hold on to me… or, wait, no. Don’t. Hold hands. I don’t want you all grabbing on to me.” Kai says jokingly.

Everyone moves to form a circle. Sehun made his way to be beside Luhan. He looks at the older boy. Luhan mouths a silent thank you to him. He smiles and nods then he offers him his right hand. Luhan takes it with his left, and their circle is complete.

“Ready?” Kai asks.

“Finally, you ask.” Chen says, sighing. Then he closes his eyes, as if bracing himself. “Ready.”

Kai smiles, and they all disappear in a puff of black smoke.

The field of the 12 pillars was silent now. Broken mechanical spheres lay littered everywhere. Some of them were destroyed completely. Others were not so.

One of them beeped silently. A red light was flashing on and off on one of the spheres. On. Off. On. Off.

A signal was being sent.