We Are Just Meant To Be 

Chapter Forty One

“Ji Yong and Seung Hyun have woken up!” 

Chung Ae gasped, as there was no pause in her son's so she could further explain what their brothers waking up meant. Both brothers rushed out, hopeful at the news of their brothers waking up. It was a relief, and already they were hoping that everything was going to be okay. It felt like a ray of good news compared to all the bad news and darkness that had fallen around them.

Their mother and Minzy were right behind them, but silent and keeping a distance. Both were talking before pausing right outside the doors, looking on with bated breaths. Daesung and Seungri were out of breath just as they reached the room that their brothers were in and immediately moved to the side when they noted that the doctor was walking out. The man had a concerned look on his face, and offered them a wry smile when he saw them.

“Is everything alright?” Daesung asked, his fingers trembling at his side as he tried his best not to push past the doctor to get to his brothers. Seungri wasn’t so eloquent about it, he simply dashed past the doctor and to the room. Daesung’s ears perked up when he heard Seungri loudly gasp. The doctor looked at him regrettably.

“They may have woken up, but it seems like they are stuck in their human form. That makes them vulnerable, I’m afraid.” The doctor shifted the clipboard he had been carrying and tucked it under his arm, “I would like for them to stay so we could keep monitoring them, see if this would affect them in the long run but we are going to be calling an evacuation and no one is allowed to stay. News that the creatures invasion has spread past what is considered safe have just reached us, we have to ask you all to evacuate.”

“We understand,” Daesung bowed his head. The doctor bowed in return and then dashed past him. Daesung felt hopeless as his eyes darted to Ji Yong and Seung Hyun whom were looking each other over with curiosity. It was a relief to see them awake and well. But they had bigger problems than he thought. He was torn between his needs to protect his mate and his kits, as well as now having to look after his brothers.

“We’ll get past this,” he whispered to himself as tears pricked his eyes. “We just have to.” taking a final shaky breath, he walked into the room. He smiled when Ji Yong turned to look at him, and placed a gentle hand over Seungri’s shoulder. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.

Ji Yong turned to Seung Hyun, blinking at his mate before he shrugged, “Tired, what about you guys. The two of you look awful,” he lightly joked. His voice sounded hoarse, and soft, causing Seungri to turn to Daesung with a confused look on his face. Daesung gave him a look that quickly read for him not to make a big deal out of it.

“We’re in trouble. The city Is under attack.” Daesung finally answered Ji Yong whose attention was now on Seung Hyun. Seung Hyun who was holding and looking over Ji Yong’s hand like it was something extremely precious to him. At least, their bond seemed to be just fine judging by their loving demeanor. “We have to go guys,”

Seung Hyun finally turned to look at them, “Who is attacking, and why?” he asked, moving to stand and offering his towards his mate. He helped JI Yong to his feet and Seungri moved to offer them some of the clothes their mother had brought for them.

“The creatures, those things are invading the city,” Daesung said as both his brothers started to change, “the hospital is now in danger and we are being evacuated. We have to find somewhere safe for the two of you, you are vulnerable.”

“Tired,” Ji Yong corrected, “But we will be fine Daesung, don’t worry too much. Seung Hyun and I are strong”

“No you’re not!” Seungri suddenly snapped, but neither Seung Hyun nor Ji Yong turned to look at his outburst as they continued to change. “You two were nearly killed, your bond nearly ceased, and you have reverted before it’s even your time!” Seungri kicked the bed in his rage, “there is no way you two are safe in your current state, this is serious. START TAKING IT SERIOUS!”

“Stop screaming Seungri!” Daesung moved to hold his brother back. “We can’t blame them, they just woke up, we don’t even know what they are feeling.” Daesung turned to Ji Yong and Seung Hyun, :”The doctors already think that you’ve reverted to protect your bond from ceasing, which means it could still happen. We are worried for you.”

Ji Yong latched his arms around one of Seung Hyun’s, burying his face in his shoulder.  “I know,” he whispered, “I can barely feel it, but I don’t want to panic. Please don’t even think it,” Ji Yong looked pained, causing his brothers to pause as Seung Hyun gently reached for his hand again and squeezed it.

“We wasn’t to believe that we will be fine, we can still feel our bond. So what do we have to do now?” Seung Hyun asked. “We can’t just be idle, we have to help as much as we can,”

“We already have everyone out there fending for our crumbling city, we just have to go for right now and figure out what is going on,” Daesung whispered, patting Seungri’s back. “We would also like to know where Young Bae is right now. He’s out there fighting.”

“I’m going to go out and look for him.” Seugri declared, “I can’t just sit here either, I have to go. But I need you two to be safe.”

“We’re okay, we can walk.” Seung Hyun said with a firm nod, “You are welcome to go if you like, We don’t want to hold you back.” Seungri looked like he was going to argue with them, but then just nodded and ran out of there. Daesung wanted to stop him but knew the conflicting emotions Seungri was currently feeling and decided that everything was down to him.

“Let’s get going,” he told his two brothers and turned to leave.

When the thing finally stopped screaming, both Young Bae and Hee Chul felt disorientated. Their ears were bleeding and they were off balance when they tried to move out of the way when the creature moved to slam one of its arms down on them. It caught Hee Chul’s tail, making him wail in pain. Young Bae turned to help him, only to fall onto the ground with his eyes rapidly moving back and forth as he tried his best to get himself to focus.

Before he could even hope to do that, the creature slither it’s other arm around his neck, pulling him straight up into the air. Every instinct was telling him that he was about to die here and now. Hee Chul hissed, moving his claws to attack the creatures arm. 

The thing was burning hot, heating up as it moved it’s arm to trap Hee Chul’s leg. It held him up, dangling him and he whimpered as he felt it’s apandage singe through his clothes, and darted his eyes to Young Bae who sounded like he was choking. He barely caught sight of Young Bae’s throat turning an angry red, and blood oozing down to his shirt.

“SIWON!” he cried out, slowly his own leg was being burn into. Unknown to the two as they were currently distracted by the pain, the creature had just opened its mouth. Its sharp fangs glittered as flames danced around it, like a tongue out and dripping down towards them. The creature went from a pitch black form to something crimson red with the heat. Young Bae could feel the skin on his neck being melted off completely, he was sure that he was dead now that he could hardly breathe.

The creature slithered it’s other appendage around Hee Chul’s leg, reaching towards his crotch and around his belly. It seemed to get interested in that, tossing Young Bae to the side. Young Bae coughed, clawing at his neck as he wheezed for a breath. His eyes could no longer stay open and he curled into himself in the sheer pain that he was feeling.

Hee Chul gasped, his belly being squeezed painfully when he was suddenly dragged, face to face with the creature. It screeched at him, causing his ears to push back to try and protect themselves from the sound. He found himself screaming alongside the creature, gasping as the air was pushed right out of him and then a slimy part that belonged to It was shoved into his mouth.

Hee Chul bit instinctively. Tears ran freely down his cheeks as the thing continued on, trying to get down his throat. It made him want to gag, and vile rose from his stomach as he tried to move his head away. He couldn’t breathe anymore, and he could feel like it was trying to reach something deep inside of him. Just as he was about to pass out, he felt himself fall and then get caught by the familiar arms of his mate.

The thing in his mouth was dragged forcefully out, and he finally vomited into the ground. He was crying, calling for Siwon to hold him. He needed him. Siwon was angry, he turned to the creature that had been doing something to his mate, and turned to attack it, slicing it down the middle with his claws and threw it to the ground, pouncing on it until no life seemed to be left in it. He turned back to his sobbing mate, and held him.

“Hee Chul, my love.”  He clutched at him, turning his head as he could hear the team he had been leading crying out in pain as they were hit. He had been so worried about his mate, mainly thinking about him while trying to fight and simply knew that something was not right. He had to find his mate, that was all he knew, and he was so glad that he had turned to look for him.

What had that thing been doing to his mate? He wasn’t sure but he knew he didn’t like it in levels that he had not thought about even during this battle. Clutching his crying mate, he looked him over making sure that he was alright but knew he was in no condition to be fighting. “We have to end this soon,” he whispered to himself and looked over his shoulder when he heard that girl, Bo Young, scream. He had turned just in time to see her be decapitated.

The young male that had been showing off, had just finished a back flip, tilting his hair to the side trying to look cool. Siwon sighed bitterly, turning back to his mate when he suddenly heard the boy scream his girlfriend’s name. She was dead. There was nothing that they could do about that. Picking up his mate, he looked around him and gasped when he saw Young Bae struggling to stand.

He needed to get them somewhere safe. He moved to Young Bae, and looked him over to see that his throat had been burned. “We’re not going to make it,” Hee Chul murmured, his throat sore as he clung to his mate. His eyes turned to Young Bae who was still struggling to breathe, but at least now his eyes looked focus and his hand was glowing with a small amount of his power, gently healing his own skin.

“Hee Chul is right, we’re outnumbered.”

“We will make it out of this,” Siwon snapped at both of them. “We can’t give up hope, now come on,” he urged them to stand up and all three started to run somewhere relatively safer so that they could regroup.

Half way there, three other Neko joined them. Two young female and one male that looked younger than both the females. They asked Siwon to rejoin the battle, leaving the young male with Hee Chul and Young Bae who was still recuperating.

Making sure that they were safe for the moment, Siwon regrettably rejoined the battle. There was nothing more that could be done. They had to keep a constant attack, but it was becoming harder. Their numbers were dropping, and they had yet to find out how to defeat these things for good. For one, they seemed to regrow the more that they tore them apart. He was scared that soon they would be outnumbered, and that they would cease to exist!

Night was soon approaching.

Seungri found himself running in a battle war zone, for lack of better term, keeping his head low as he searched. Searching for the man that would become his mate. He found himseelf looking past any others asking for help because he was not here for them as selfish as that was. He didn't stop until he found him, rushing to him as soon as he saw that Young Bae was hurt.

Hee Chul was there to hit him over the head. "Where are Ji Yong and Seung Hyun!" he snapped, "Why are you here!" 

"I came to help!" Seungri snapped. Hee Chul was about to scold him once more when Young Bae threw his body at them, pushing them out of the way when all of a sudden a creature appeared before them. It seemed smaller than the others, but it was still reaching. Young Bae forced his body up. As glad as he was to have Seungri around, he was worried. They weren't mated, and they couldn't share energy. The kid with them started to cry all of a sudden.

"Guys, we have to fight. We have to get along. Let's not attack each other." 

Hee Chul and Seungri pursed their lips, but they agreed. They had trouble here in front of them. 

Daesung had been diligent in getting his family out of the hospital and back to their childhood home. Chung Ae had asked Daesung to leave Minzy, Seung Hyun, and Ji Yong to them. It took some convincing, but finally Daesung headaed out to join the fight. Chung Ae looked over to her husband, Jung Hee, and smiled wryly when the man kept looking on with worry. No matter what way you looked at it, even here from their home, the creatures were getting closer. Orders to leave the area had already been issued. “We should prepare,” she whispered to him, grabbing his hand to squeeze in light support.

Jung Hee sighed, nodding in agreement with his wife. The both of them shared at tender moment. Looking each other in the eyes and thinking back to younger days, when they had fought. When they had been crazy young neko, wiling to dare their lives on a good battle. Who they used to be back then was so far behind them, because their family was not just them--- it was also their sons and whoever their mates were.

Needless to say, many neko who were not optimal for battle were already being evacuated from their town. This meant mothers and their children.

Others, like them were standing their ground and waiting until the last possible minute to either join the battle or leave. After all, they had a new mother, and two sons that were unable to currently fend for themselves. It was so unfair to have to leave, this was their home and they refused to be pushed out of it.

And then there were Neko’s that were being recruited into teams, pushed to fight a battle that no one knew the outcome too.

“I want to go out there and help,” Ji Yong said, determination burning in his eyes.

Both of his parents looked at him with disapproval. “You can’t fend for yourself when you are completely human son, you have to be patient!”

“But,” A glare from his mother had him snapping his mouth shut.

“Ji Yong, go pack up some clothes for you and Seung Hyun in case we need them.” His mother huffed, walking away from them.

He turned to his mate who was looking on dazed after he had learned that he had a mother. It was not news that they had been expecting, but news that his own mother, Chung Hee, had been more than happy to divulge. Only for a second later to learn that said mother had joined her other children in battle.

Ji Yong might not have been mated to Seung Hyun for too long but he could tell that his mate was distressed. Even now, as human and without his supernatural attributes, he could tell his mate wanted to go out there in the fray. Ji Yong wanted to support him and go out there with him. He huffed in frustration, looking down at his dulled hands and sighed. Seung Hyun’s hand soon joined his, intertwining their fingers. Ji Yong snapped his head up, looking towards his mate, hopeful. Seung Hyun grinned at him.

Ji Yong was confused for a second, before he smiled back. The two of them watched as Chung Ae walked around the house taking inventory as to what she would take if the need called. Jung Hee was making sure that they would have a few days’ worth of food to take with them. Minzy, was asleep, curled around her fussing new born konekos.

Quietly both of them got up and headed outside where they could breathe a little easier. The tension in the house was already heavy as it was. Not that the sight outside was any better. You could see smoke trailing up onto a cloudy gray sky. You could hear cries, explosions, and the distress of their town as it slowly crumbled.

“What do you think happened to us?” Ji Yong asked, turning to Seung Hyun.

“I really don’t know,” Seung Hyun whispered. He closed his eyes and then smiled. “Do you feel that though?” he asked.

Ji Yong tilted his head, and then closed his eyes. Yeah, he could feel a warmth in the center of his chest. It made him smile with how good it felt. “Do you know what that is?” he asked. Seung Hyun shrugged his shoulders.

“Ji Yong, do you really want to go out there and fight?” Seung Hyun asked.

Ji Yong looked at Seung Hyun imploringly. “Only if you want to go, I will follow you anywhere. You choose,”

“It’s our life Ji, I want you to be able to decide as well.” Seung Hyun leaned in and kissed his cheek. Ji Yong grinned, tilting his head as he reached his hands up to catch Seung Hyun’s cheeks. He gently guided his lips to his own. It was tentative at first, nothing but a press of lips. Ji Yong held Seung Hyun there, his thumbs caressing Seung Hyun’s cheek bones, his eyes locked with his.

“I trust you so much, my mate,” Ji Yong whispered.

“I trust you too, my love,” Seung Hyun returned, his head moving to lean in close-- he Kissed Ji Yong once, twice, and then hungrily.  Ji Yong returned the kiss with equal fervor. Just as Seung Hyun pushed his lips to push Ji Yong’s apart, his tongue staking his claim, the hotter their chest became. Ji Yong’s razor sharp teeth cutting into the invasive tongue—being reckless, taking, their hands eagerly pulling at the other and driving their minds blank to where only they existed—it was all raw emotion.

Both of them so lost in their passion that it wasn’t until a screeching scream pierced the air around them that they pulled back. Their eyes where angry, shinning a dangerous blue color….

Miles still away from home, found Hyun Seung and Hyuna running back. The craetures had lied. Before they had decided to go back, Hyuna had wanted to comfirm that those creatures had really decided to invade already. They had, nad they had left their town vaulnarable, with no one around and that was when they had found a stone with graphics that depicted a truth that was unimaginable. Their magic? What a joke, Hyuna couldn't believe that she had believed in such a blase lie. 

After learning the real truth, they ran faster than they had ever thought possible. You would think that they were running from something. But no, reality was harsh, and they knew that they had to get back to their town and quick.

Back in the land of the creatures they had found not only the reason why the creatures were so dead set on attacking them, but also the way to truly destroy them. Tumbling on, they were horrified at their findings and knew that they had to get to their town soon before anything to irreversible happened.

As much as learning how to take them down thrilled them, what really concerned them were the creatures motives. After having learned the truth, they couldn’t stop thinking about it. It brought the vile from their stomachs up to their throat and pushed them to run faster.

They were not simply attacking because they hated the race of the Neko, nor even because they wanted their magic because of some curse. That was where their knowledge was so completely wrong. Truth was, they were attacking to weaken them. Their goal was to take down the dominant part of their species, and kidnap the submissive and the female part of it. Those things wanted the fertile and precious part of their species. They wanted their birth givers because these creatures were some sort of parasites, and carriers were their favorite hosts.

Any and every creature in the world had its own form of reproduction. It was a vital means to have a species continue to flourish and be strong. Their children were the future that would carry them to newer days because even though they had long life spans, nothing lived forever.

These creatures were no exception.      

Their population had been dwindling. Those creatures were looking to reproduce. Their submissive and females were in danger. When learning this, Hyuna and Hyun Seung knew that neither of them could live with having been the reason that their species died. Not like the last one these things had invaded. Heck, no one knew that there had ever been another species in the past.

Not that they could be blamed for their downfall, these things, nameless as they were, couldn’t be killed easily. No, it was going to be a difficult battle.

The only way to beat these things was to obliterate them. They had to find a way to get them to spontaneously combust from the inside out. In other words, these creatures had to be blown up to fine dust, so that their core was destroyed, and no longer allowing them to regenerate.

They had to stop them!