~*~M~*~

It was a mystery to Kris how long it had been since the incident with the upperclassmen on the roof, but something about it was still bothering him. He thought through the faces of the people who had surrounded him as he tried to figure out the rest of the crazy puzzle he had built in his mind's eye. Mindlessly chewing on his lower lip, he leaned back in his chair. It was lunch time and his favorite teacher had given him permission to relax in the classroom until the bell; but none of that mattered to him as he continued to mull over the limited bits of information he had gathered.

"Bang..." the single word slipped out of his mouth unconsciously as he tilted his chair back a bit further.

"At your service!" A voice called out from the doorway, causing Kris to fling himself forward as his chair slammed back to its rightful position on the floor. Letting out a surprised gasp, he jumped up and turned toward the other,  his thoughts having frozen in place and melted away to the farthest reaches of his mind.

Sheepishly tossling his hair, Kris gave a small smile, "S-sorry, I-I didn't mean to... to..." He fumbled for the words as he brought his hands together in front of himself and fitfully twisted them together. He didn't know what her was trying to say, but that didn't stop him from trying to humble himself before the other.

Yongguk let out a laugh, "Yah! There's nothing to apologize for." He smiled before taking the chair Kris had been sitting in and sitting on it himself, "So, Mr. Stoic, want to fill me in on what you've been thinking about that had you calling my name?" Yongguk teased while raising an eyebrow suggestively in an attempt to get a reaction from the other.

"I wasn't calling you," Kris immediately defended himself, "I was thinking about a level in this game I was playing last night..." he quickly attempted to cover up his thoughtless 'Bang...' that had brought him into this conversation.

"Ahhh... if only the girls were that clever!" Yongguk continued teasing before breaking into laughter once again, "Anyway, are you free after school today? Some of the guys want to get together and grab a bite to eat before we crack down on studying for the exams next week."

Kris paused as he mentally went through his schedule for today. It was only as he opened his mouth to respond to the other that he realized he had a meeting with Luhan, "Sorry, I already promised a close friend that we could hang out today, maybe some other time." He feebly responded before grabbing his notebook off a nearby table, "Hey, I have a teacher meeting in five minutes- I'll see you later, okay?" Kris quickly excused himself before hustling out of the room so quick that he almost missed Yongguk shouting about seeing him in their next class.

~*~K~*~

Suho smiled to himself as he left the building, he had finished the early morning vocal session with Baekhyun, his swim practice was not until evening, and he now had about ten hours to kill. As he leisurely walked down the street he began reflecting on Baekhyun's vocal session and wondered if the other ever realized he had had the ability to hold the note even without Suho's help. Lost in these thoughts, it surprised Suho to be jolted back to reality as someone ran into him and knocked him down.

Both Suho and the other person groaned as they sat up on the pavement, before opening his eyes he quickly evaluated his own health- his hands were scrapped up, and his right hip would be bruised, but he was perfectly fine otherwise. Blinking, Suho stared at the other person, "D.O.! Are you okay? Why were you running? What happened to you the other night? Did you end up-"

"Please shut up." D.O. calmly interrupted Suho as he pushed his fringe out of his eyes, which were anything but calm, "Suho-ssi... can I ask a favor?"

"D.O., you can ask any favor you want- but only if you start using 'hyung' instead or 'ssi'."

Clenching his teeth, the younger thought over his options before giving an imperceptible nod, "Suho-hyung, can I move in with your family?"  D.O. watched as the surprise on Suho's face appeared to become permanent before the elder shook his head and pulled out his phone.

Quickly entering a number, Suho turned his head away from D.O. as the other end picked up, "Mom? Hi, you know that friend I told you about the other night? Yeah, mmhmm, that's the one. His parents kicked him out, can he live with us, please? I'll help with any expenses." He rambled promises into the phone as D.O.'s mouth dropped open into an 'o' of surprise, "Really? That's fine be me! Okay, yes ma'am! Love you! Bye." Suho locked his phone and placed it back in his pocket before turning to D.O., "Alright, I hope you don't mind sharing a room."

"I-I never gave you a reason... why did you...?"

"You need a place, right?" Suho paused long enough to see D.O. nod, "I told my mom what I knew she would agree to. You better appreciate it too, I now have dish duty for a month and I have to maintain an 'A-' average in that advanced English class I brought you to last time." Suho shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Do you have to stop anywhere or are you ready to go home with me?"

"I... n-no... Let's go." D.O. mumbled, still a bit stunned by the elder's willingness to assist him.

~*~M~*~

Xiumin entered Luhan's work room to see the other staring at the groups he had made in the middle of the room, as he was about to call out something to Luhan he noticed Kris standing a few feet off to the side. Happy to see the other two safe, Xiumin casually crossed to Kris's side and poked the elder's cheek, "You look healthy." He casually commented, cracking a playful smile when Kris turned, startled.

"Xiumin!" Kris let out a hushed outcry before giving the other a hug, "Sorry I forgot to contact you..." he quietly mumbled just before Luhan let out a frustrated grunt, causing both to focus on the working male.

"It makes no sense!" He called out before causing six of the silvery orbs to float over to Xiumin and Kris, "These are us. The six we know who they are, what they can do, and where they are." He quickly explained before causing a second group to float over, moving the first group off to the side, "These are the four we have since located that Siwon has verified." He continued before bringing the third and final floating group before Xiumin and Kris, "Here are five more that all hold signatures for people holding powers- but have yet to be identified- and I can still sense more."

"I thought there were only twelve, us and the six on the other planet." Xiumin muttered as he watched the three groups of orbs float before them, resisting the temptation to touch them.

"There are supposed to only be twelve." Luhan agreed as he started moving the groups back to their location in the center of the room.

"But you already have fifteen..." Kris unconsciously continued out loud.

"And there's still more..." Xiumin restated, a bit surprised at the new development.

Luhan turned to them and frowned, "And Siwon hasn't returned since he said something about the other planet needing his assistance- so we can't even ask him for help."

Silence reigned in the room as the three men stared at the number of orbs, the pictures just beneath the surface of each one flitting to the top for an instant before disappearing again. Luhan frowned as he moved the first group back to its original position, nodding to himself he went to move the second group when Xiumin suddenly spoke out.

"Wait." It was a simple, quiet, word- but it shocked all of them, especially the speaker. "S-sorry. It's just..." He gently bit his bottom lip before stepping closer to the orbs and pointing at one,  "C-can you bring the image to the surface of this one, please?"

"Xiumin, what are you doing?" Kris began to scold the other in a hushed tone until Luhan cut him off.

"Kris, wait." Luhan looked at Xiumin for a moment, "You feel it, don't you?"

"Feel what?" The youngest present asked, his eyebrows arched in curiosity.

Staring at the orb, Xiumin nodded, "I-I don't know what it is... but I have to see what's happening in that person's life." he quietly murmured, his eyes completely trained on the orb as an internal conflict visibly took place inside the male.

Luhan simply nodded, as though he understood, before forcing the watery image to the surface. Luhan's eyes were fixed on the orb in a manner similar to Xiumin's while Kris just watched the whole scene in confusion. There wasn't much to show on the surface. Just a young male around the same age as them from the other planet- K. Xiumin didn't know anything about this guy but there was this indescribable sensation driving Xiumin toward this orb- or more specifically the person this silvery orb belonged to. After what felt like hours of gazing into the watery image, memorizing every contour of the face presented to him as they spoke to another male, Xiumin pouted as the image disappeared and he looked up at Luhan.

"Sorry, I need to rest a bit." Luhan explained as he finally redirected the orbs back to their original spots before facing the other two once again, "Xiumin, that was him. Your other half, and he's probably going to discover his powers soon. I'll be able to give a more definitive time span for that when he finally discovers his powers." He quietly explained to his friends with a soft smile.

"Other half..." Xiumin repeated quietly, not allowing the others to see the sense of dread that had filled him. There was a strong connection present, and this person was on another planet completely. To top it off, if what Siwon had said was correct, one of them wasn't supposed to exist in the first place- so what would that mean for the future? Xiumin completely zoned out as Luhan explained to Kris that they could only sense his own other half when it was nearing the time for them to discover their powers.

"So Xiumin found his other half?" Kris asked, dragging Xiumin from his thoughts in time to hear Luhan's response.

"Indirectly." Luhan agreed, "It's been predicted that there will come a time that we will have to meet them and become as one.The two halves meeting and becoming one to protect the planets and fix time. So this could be an advantage." He explained calmly.

"An advantage? For what?" Xiumin spoke up this time.

"I don't know." He responded honestly, his eyes wandering over to the orbs and landing on the one he felt a connection to, the image of the orb's owner floating into his mind's eye.

~*~K~*~

Silently groaning, Sehun dragged his feet down the hallway. He had been forced to come to the school on a Saturday. He had received an email from a teacher stating that he had to come and pick up an extra credit assignment if he wished to pass  the class for the first marking period. It was a Saturday though, a day where he should be sleeping in until he would finally crawl out of bed at noon. He was almost to the office he had been told to me Mr. Park at when someone called out to him, "Excuse me!" Sehun ignored the voice and kept walking, "Excuse me, can you please lend me a hand?" Exhaling softly, Sehun finally turned to face the direction the voice was coming from.

Baekhyun's arms were completely loaded with boxes to the point where he couldn't see over them. It had taken him nearly twenty minutes to make it to this point in the hallway before giving up and pressing the bottom box against the nearest wall, using his knees to help him support it. He had no idea how long he was standing in this position before he finally saw someone walking in his direction down the main hall. In the spur of the moment he called out to them, asking for assistance. As the other male turned and saw him with the boxes, his mouth dropped open.

"Are you insane? How are you carrying all of that? Isn't it heavy? How long have you been there?" Questions poured forth and Baekhyun couldn't keep up with the speed that the other was speaking at.

"W-woah! Hold your horses! I called for you because I need help! I've been stuck here for a while and I can't move without the top half becoming unbalanced." Baekhyun explained, 'And the last thing I need is for a box of costumes to hit me on the head.' He added in his mind.

"Ah, right! Sorry..." Sehun mumbled swiftly moving forward and grabbing the top half off of the pile and stepping back. "I'm Sehun, by the way." He offered, knowing he hadn't met the other before.

"Baekhyun." Came the response as he removed himself from his position against the wall, "Do you mind following me to the costume closet?" Baekhyun asked the younger.

"That's fine. Do you mind leading the way?" Sehun asked back, a small smile on his lips.

"That was my intention." Baekhyun responded, a slight teasing lilt dancing in his voice before starting off down the hallway.

The two continued down the hall while making small talk, their light-hearted laughter filling the empty hallways as a slow friendship formed between the words they spoke. Stopping at the costume closet, Baekhyun use the wall to assist in balancing the box in his hands once again before unlocking and opening the door, "After you." He quipped, a slight teasing smirk on his lips as he motioned for Sehun to proceed him. "Just find an available place on any shelf and put it there." Baekhyun continued as he followed Sehun inside the small space. There was only one working light in the costume closet and all of the shelving units were aged and a bit rickety. Sehun placed his box down on a lower shelf before helping Baekhyun pull out a step stool so that he could place his box on a higher shelf.

What happened in the following moments had both of the shouting a curse or two. The moment Baekhyun's box touched the dusty surface of the shelf, the unit collapsed in front of him, knocking Baekhyun off balance. Sehun managed to save Baekhyun from any serious injury, but was forced to watch as the shelving unit disintegrated and fell toward the front of the costume closet- and against the only exit. As the dust settled, and both males finished coughing up a storm, Baekhyun let out a frustrated groan.

"My phone is still in the auditorium!" He exclaimed before turning to Sehun, "Do you have yours?"

Sehun slowly shook his head back and forth, "No, I left it on my bed. I was supposed to be in and out in five minutes flat." He explained himself as the light above them flickered and Baekhyun swallowed thickly.

"D-do you have anything on you?" Baekhyun asked, a slightly frightened edge clearly present in his voice as he spoke.

"No, are you okay?" Sehun quickly responded, watching the elder.

Baekhyun opened his mouth to respond as the light flickered a little more vigorously before switching off completely. A slight yelp was heard and then Sehun let out a pained gasp as he felt a hand tightly gripping his arm. "N-n-no..." He heard the whispered answer, even though he had already figured it out.

Fighting back the urge to tell the older one off about how tight his grip was, Sehun took a breath before speaking into the black abyss of the destroyed costume closet, "Think about something that makes you happy. Close your eyes and think of the light, the sun, or even a nice day on the beach." He calmly suggested, trying to make the elder relax.

At first the suggestion didn't appear to be working, but eventually, Baekhyun's grip loosened slightly, "So, mind telling me why you're so terrified of the dark?"

"Nyctalopia." Baekhyun whispered the term like it was an extraordinarily common one, "Night blindness." Baekhyun clarified as an after thought before dropping his words off into an unintelligible murmur of a prayer for light, his hands coming together in front of him.

Sehun leaned against the shelf behind him and opened his eyes, his own beginning to adjust to the dim lighting. It won't be until much later that he is truly grateful for opening his eyes when he does, but one day he will realize how it had affected his life. He manages to tune out Baekhyun's constant murmurs, but when the lighting in the closet begins to change he can't help but try to figure out why. It's then that he sees it, Baekhyun's hands are placed palm-to-palm, and as the elder continues to focus on this need for light they begin to glow. The more fervid and urgent the prayer, the brighter the light becomes. "Okay, Baekhyun, keep doing whatever it is you are doing, but open your eyes." The words stumbled from Sehun's mouth quicker than he could register what he was saying, but Baekhyun's reaction was much like his own.

Amazement filled Baekhyun's face as he continued his prayer for light, slowly separating his hand and turning them so that the palms faced the ceiling- producing to perfect beams of light. He had no idea of exactly how this was happening, but it confused, amazed, and calmed him all at once. They may be stuck in the closet for now, but Baekhyun was no longer absolutely terrified. In the new light, the two distracted themselves by discussing random things once again. Nearly two hours later the costume designer found them and within the forty following minutes, they had been retrieved from the closet. Neither discussing what had happened with Baekhyun's 'powers' in detail other than silently acknowledging that it had happened- for now.