It was quiet. The stench of blood was clinging to everyone’s clothes as Yuri lay motionless as the pool of red only grew and refused to stop engulfing the floor.

Eunhyuk made his way to Hyoyeon to make sure that she was okay. She was not at all okay. Hyoyeon kept staring at Yuri and mumbled to herself, “dead…she’s dead…”, over and over. Eunhyuk was shaken up too, but he knew that if he showed any weakness or fear it would only make Hyoyeon feel worse.

Tiffany, who was still in the hallway, stumbled into the room. She heard the screams and saw the blood the second Yuri’s body hit the floor. Her heart pounded in her head as her nerves sent wave after wave of fear through her body.

Jessica and Sunny huddled tightly together. Neither could watch as Hyoyeon plunged the knife into Yuri, yet they could hear each second pass. Every thud from Yuri falling to the ground and every breath that Hyoyeon let out reminded them that they were not in just having a bad dream, but were truly in the middle of a nightmare.

Taeyeon stood still. She had the knife behind her back, but what use would it be now? She couldn’t threaten Yuri with it. In the end, Taeyeon dropped the knife. It fell to the floor and pierced into the ground slightly. She took a step towards Yuri’s lifeless body, hoping that Yuri would stand up and hold out an empty packet of fake blood.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Taeyeon was willing to consider giving Yuri a second chance if she would talk, but fate didn’t seem to like that idea.

The weight of death started to take its toll on Hyoyeon. She vocally cried and screamed and begged for Yuri to move again. She ran to Yuri’s body and kept shaking Yuri as if every vibration would force her heart to beat again. “Get up! Get up! I know you’re faking!” She screamed. “If you don’t get up I’ll kill you!”

“Hyoyeon, stop it! Stop this already!” Eunhyuk restrained Hyoyeon’s arms as best he could. “She’s dead, Hyoyeon. Just calm down, okay?”

“I killed her! I killed someone!”

“Don't worry, everything will be okay.” Eunhyuk tried his best to believe his own words. He couldn’t guarantee nothing bad would happen – in fact he was very sure that something bad would happen if someone were to find out the truth – but telling that to Hyoyeon would do nothing but push her farther over the edge. “We’ll take care of this and nothing will happen.”

Hyoyeon’s panic was contagious. Soon, Sunny started to freak out and Jessica was having a full relapse of the Krystal incident. Taeyeon, Tiffany and Eunhyuk were still able to keep their heads straight, but who knew for how long?

“Fany, make sure Sunny and Jessica are okay. Calm the down, got it?” Taeyeon ordered. Tiffany shakily nodded her head before crawling around Yuri to get to the two panicking girls.

As Tiffany did her job, Taeyeon pulled her knife out of the floor. She put it on the table for safe keeping before grabbing her phone. “Hey, Sooyoung and Yoona? We have a bit of an issue…” She said into the phone after dialing for the ZoNE members.

“What’s up? Are you and Jessica okay?” Sooyoung asked with concern.

“Define “okay”. Because we kind of are, but kind of aren’t depending on your definition.” Taeyeon answered. “Long story short, Jessica and I are probably going to be fine, but Yuri’s dead and Jessica is having a panic attack. Just…you know how to get to my house, right? Just come here and you can see for yourself.” Taeyeon hung up.

Sunny was crying herself to sleep into Tiffany’s shoulder while Jessica curled into a ball. After Sunny fell asleep, Tiffany asked Eunhyuk to carry her to Taeyeon’s bed. Tiffany was able to tend to Jessica and Hyoyeon. “Taeyeon, what do we do about the body?” Tiffany asked as she glanced at Yuri.

The blood was coagulating. Taeyeon still had no idea how to dispose of a body. It was never something that came up when she was training to kill Jessica. Did she just bury it? Should she throw it in a lake? And what about her other life…the life with her friends, the music company, her family? What would become of them? “I don’t know…”

“I think we have to call the police.” Tiffany said in reply.

“No!” Taeyeon said. “If we call them, Hyoyeon will get put in jail, if not worse. Plus, isn’t that going to draw more attention to ZoNE? They already have the public eye on them because of the last incident.” Taeyeon added as she thought back to the issue with Seohyun.

Tiffany was about to reply as Sooyoung and Yoona knocked on the door. “Tae? Taeyeon? It’s us!” They said through the screen. Taeyeon opened the door and let her friends in.

Yoona and Sooyoung both recoiled as the scent of blood grew stronger.

Taeyeon merely nodded. “Jessica was having a panic attack, but Tiffany seems to have it under control.” Tiffany got out of the way, letting Yoona and Sooyoung take care of Hyoyeon as well, and walked up to Taeyeon.

“I really think we need to call the police.” Tiffany whispered. “I know you don’t want ZoNE to have any more attention on them, but is it safe letting some maniac be free? For all you know, the third person could very well be a member of ZoNE.”

Taeyeon violently shook her head. “I can’t do that to them. I promised Jessica I would protect her. I’m not letting the police get in the way of that.”

“That’s the police’s job. They’re supposed to protect people.”

“Maybe, but they aren’t going to be able to protect Jessica the way I can. If anything, they’re going to just get in the way.” Taeyeon knew Tiffany would object to not seeking help from the police, but she had to get Tiffany to understand that police would really not help as much as she thought they would. “Let me take care of this. I just don’t know what to do with a dead body.”

Taeyeon and Tiffany sat down on the couch and stared at the body. Eunhyuk joined them. “Sorry I took so long. Sunny woke up and started thrashing around a bit. She’s sleeping again, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Hey, we need your input.” Tiffany said. “What do we do about Yuri? Do we get the police involved or do we try and get rid of the body on our own?” she asked.

Eunhyuk thought for a few seconds. “It would be nice to have police help, but I don’t think Hyoyeon would react well. She’s already this distressed and bringing in police might make her go over the edge.”

“Then how do you plan on getting Yuri’s body out of here?” Taeyeon asked. Yuri’s body had already been sitting for a good thirty minutes.

Again, Eunhyuk thought until an answer came to mind. “Are there any isolated places you know of?”

A few places came to Taeyeon’s mind. “I’d imagine Sunny’s rooftop is pretty isolated. And the back end of the local part is, too.”

“No, I mean, are there any places that hardly anyone goes to?”

Tiffany had an answer this time. “There are some pretty barren areas if we were to drive down towards the country side. Hardly anyone drives there so even the roads are empty.”

“There you go. Dump her body there. Burn it if you want.”

Taeyeon and Tiffany both stared at Eunhyuk. Neither expected such a morbidly cold solution to come from the innocent face they had met not too long ago. ”Isn’t that a little cruel?” Taeyeon asked filled with shock.

“They do it in movies. I can’t imagine it’s any less different in real life.”

“You people and your movies…” Taeyeon let out a heavy sigh. “But I guess we don’t have many other options, do we?”

“Tae, you can’t be serious, can you?” Tiffany was still watching Hyoyeon and Jessica. Both were still bordering the line of insanity, but Sooyoung and Yoona were helping them remain calm. “Do you really want to do something like that?”

“No…but I don’t want to call the police and we have very few options given that. Maybe we should see what Hyoyeon thinks…”

Eunhyuk immediately objected. “I really don’t think you should bring up the word “police” to her right now.”

Taeyeon felt so much guilt well up inside her. “Sorry, Eunhyuk, but I have to.” Taeyeon went over to Jessica. “You okay, Jessica?”

Jessica nodded, but her eyes were puffy from crying.

Taeyeon gave Jessica a hug before turning her attention to Hyoyeon. “Hey, Hyoyeon, can I ask you something?”

Hyoyeon didn’t give any reply. It was as if she cut herself off from the rest of the world.

“Can you look at me?” Taeyeon tried to make eye contact with her. “I know you’re scared, but we have to do something about Yuri’s body. Do you have any idea what to do? Should we call the police? Or do you want us to leave them out of this?”

“Po…lice?”

“Yes. The police. Should we call them?” Taeyeon put a hand on Hyoyeon’s shoulder. “We don’t have to call them. But we can if you want.”

Hyoyeon didn’t answer.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Taeyeon stood up and sat back on the couch. Her hit the cushions and her back settled into the soft comfort of the fabric.

Tiffany, Taeyeon and Eunhyuk finalized a plan to get rid of the body. At night, they would drive towards the country and dump the body in the middle of nowhere. They would ask Sooyoung and Yoona to report that Yuri was missing, and eventually someone else would conclude that Yuri was gone. Whether they would burn the body was still up for debate.

Taeyeon went to the kitchen and grabbed a garbage bag from a drawer. “Put Yuri’s body in here. We can start cleaning up after we move her away.”

“Wait.” Yoona turned around and went up to Yuri’s body. “She might have some ID or some sort of evidence that could tell us more about who she really is.” Yoona reached for Yuri’s pockets. “Kyaa!”

Yuri’s hand reached for Yoona’s. “Don’t…don’t count me out yet.” Yuri struggled to stay alive. “I’m going to get you for this Hyoyeon.”

Taeyeon grabbed Yuri’s arm and pulled Yoona away from her. “How are you still alive? You’ve been sitting there motionless for so long!”

“Lady luck happens to like me more than you thought.” Yuri carefully stood up. She cradled the wound with her left hand. The knife was still there. “So what do you say, Taeyeon? I think it’s time for one last dance.”

Taeyeon forcefully shoved Yoona away and into the protection of Tiffany and Eunhyuk. “I think it’s time that you learned to stay down.”

Yuri was considerably slower and her movements were like that of a drunken man. “Scared? Scared that a dead woman will kill you?”

It was evident in Taeyeon’s eyes. She was still in disbelief that Yuri was still able to stand, especially with the knife in her side. Taeyeon took a moment to understand the layout of the room.

Okay…so…Yuri is in front of me. Behind me are Jessica, Hyoyeon, and Sooyoung. Eunhyuk is behind Yuri, and Yoona and Tiffany are with him on the couch. The table is to my left, and the knife is still there. Glass is all over the floor, and so is Yuri’s blood. Wait, where‘s Sunny? Oh right, she’s sleeping in my room.

Taeyeon knew she had kill Yuri. At this point, Yuri was too much of a threat and too much of a harm. Sure, the knife would probably kill her, but Taeyeon didn’t want to draw it out.

Yuri stumbled around the room towards Taeyeon. It didn’t take much effort for Taeyeon dodge Yuri’s erratic arm swings, but Taeyeon had to be careful that Yuri didn’t hit anyone else. Yuri crashed into the wall.

Hyoyeon, Jessica and Sooyoung screamed and ran away towards Taeyeon.

“Eunhyuk, take everyone to my room!” Taeyeon helped pull everyone off the couch and down the hall. “Hurry up. Barricade the room and keep them safe, got it?” Taeyeon turned and rushed to the table with the knife.

Yuri let out a sick laugh. “One knife didn’t kill me. You think two will?” Yuri grabbed at the furniture until she got her hands on something. “You have a lot to learn, you child.”

To Taeyeon, the knife was less of a weapon and more of a defense. She knew that Yuri wouldn’t stay down without a fight, even with the knife in her side. “What do you want with us, Yuri? I’m not killing Jessica, and you aren’t hurting anyone. I won’t let you.”

“Then we clearly don’t see eye to eye. I thought we were allies. Thought that you wanted to save that girl.”

“We never saw eye to eye.” Taeyeon lunged at Yuri and aimed at Yuri’s wound with her elbow. “I was just your puppet.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Yuri said through clenched teeth. She swung her arm down at Taeyeon’s head with a glass vase in her hand. "You were never a good puppet to begin with. I knew you would betray us.

The impact sent Taeyeon to the floor. Her head started to bleed as little pieces of glass made her head a new home. The glass that was already on the floor cut into Taeyeon as well. Taeyeon gasped.

“I’ll be taking that.” Yuri took the knife from Taeyeon’s trembling hands. Taeyeon tried to resist Yuri as much as she could, and tried to hold her back. Taeyeon crawled on Yuri’s legs, but Yuri easily kicked her off. “It’s a shame I can’t let you say goodbye to your friends. Sleep tight.” Yuri gave Taeyeon one last kick in the head before walking to Taeyeon’s room.

Taeyeon lay on the floor. She tried to stand, but her head hurt from the blood loss and attacks. “Jessica…!”

~~~~

Everyone huddled together. Eunhyuk had set up a barrier and blocked the door off with Taeyeon’s belongings. The situation was explained to Sunny. She was calmer, but she was still very much scared.

Suddenly a knocking against the door sent shivers down everyone’s spine. “Give Jessica up and everyone can walk!”

Tiffany gasped. “What happened to Taeyeon?” She asked through the door.

“She’s incapacitated at the moment.” Yuri kept banging on the door and attacked it with all her might. “So will you give up the girl or not?”

Jessica tightly held onto Sooyoung and Yoona. Hyoyeon had regained her senses. She stood near the door with a book. Eunhyuk stayed back to defend the girls. “We’re not giving her up!” He said. Eunhyuk looked around the room. There wasn’t a safe way out. There was a window, but it would be dangerous to funnel everyone out the small and high up opening.

“Have it your way.” Yuri kept slamming her hands and feet against the door. She shoved the knife near the handle and tried to cut out an opening. “I’ll get what I want sooner or later.” The knife bore in and out of the wooden barricade. The violent s made everyone scream louder and louder.

It was only a matter of time until Yuri could break through the door. The wooden splinters scattered around and soon Yuri had made a hole big enough for her fist to fit through.

Sooyoung pulled out her phone and called the police. “Hello?”

“This is the police. What’s your emergency?”

“There is a crazy killer in my friend’s house and she’s trying to kill us!” Sooyoung gave the police operator Taeyeon’s address.

“Wait, didn’t we get a call from you a yesterday about a girl getting killed in the park?”

“Yes, but last time the situation sorted itself out. This time we really need help!”

“I hope you’re through with your pranks.” The policeman sighed. “I’ll have a unit sent there.”

“Send a medical unit, too!”

Yuri finally broke the door down and pushed the barrier out of the way. “Time’s up.”

“For you it is.” Hyoyeon slammed the book down on Yuri’s head. Yuri’s earlier blood loss made the attack more brutal than even Yuri expected. She fell to the floor as the knife escaped her hand. Hyoyeon continued to attack Yuri with the book. “Leave us alone!”

Yuri reached for the knife that had fallen away from her and swung it at Hyoyeon. It scratched Hyoyeon’s arm. The tussle between the two girls was unreal.

“Stop!”

Everyone turned their attention to Jessica.

“You said you would let everyone go if I went with you, right?”

Yuri started to laugh. “If you just did that in the first place, your friend wouldn’t have to be laying on the floor with blood streaming from her head.”

“Jessica, don’t!” Yoona cried. “Don’t do this, Taeyeon wouldn’t want you to!”

“I don’t want anyone to be hurt, though…” Jessica stood up and slowly stepped to Yuri. “And you promise that you wont hurt them?” She asked as she looked towards Eunhyuk and the others.

“Promise.” Yuri stepped aside to let Jessica into the hallway. “No guarantees about this one, though.” Yuri went for one last attack at Hyoyeon.

“Ahhh!”

Hyoyeon closed her eyes in anticipation of death’s arrival. But she didn’t feel anything. Was death really that painless? Hyoyeon opened her eyes and gasped. Eunhyuk was standing in front of her with a knife through his shoulder and a hand keeping Yuri from stepping away.

“No one hurts Hyoyeon.” Eunhyuk pulled the knife from his shoulder. Blood poured out of his open wound as he shoved the knife into Yuri’s chest. “Don’t even think about standing up again.”

Yuri fell to the floor. The knife pushed further into Yuri’s body as her body met the floor.

Eunhyuk’s leg started to buckle. Hyoyeon caught him before he collapsed. “Are you okay? I'm so sorry!” Hyoyeon started to cry.

Tiffany started to shove everyone out of the house. “Go hide out back. The police are coming, right? We’ll handle them.”

Sooyoung, Yoona and Jessica got up and followed Tiffany’s orders. They passed by Taeyeon who was unconscious on the floor. Jessica’s eyes started to water at the sight, but she pressed on towards the back yard.

The police and medical unites arrived minutes later. Tiffany opened the door and, along with Sunny, explained the situation – leaving the ZoNE members out. Their made-up story of how Yuri broke in and threatened to kill them was good enough to fool the police.

Hyoyeon carried Eunhyuk out and directed the police to Yuri’s body. Taeyeon and Eunhyuk were taken to the hospital as more policemen examined the crime scene. They asked question after question, each harder and more probing than the one before it.

The policemen left after wringing the girls of all the information they could get, followed by a medical unit that carried Yuri’s dead body. This time, it was confirmed that she was dead. They gave Tiffany a paper with where they were taking Taeyeon and Eunhyuk. When the policemen were far enough away, Sunny called ZoNE back inside.

“Now what?” Yoona asked.

“We’ll visit Taeyeon and Eunhyuk tonight and see how she’s doing.” Sunny replied. “We’ll call you when we know more.”

“I’m going with you.” Jessica said assertively. “And don’t try and say otherwise.”

Hyoyeon backed Jessica up. “We both need to talk with Taeyeon, and I want to see Eunhyuk.”

“And I’ll wear a disguise so that I wont be easily spotted.” Jessica added. “When are you going?”

Tiffany looked at Sunny before giving Jessica and answer. “We can all go after dinner.”

~~~~

Night came around. The dark sky hovered over Jessica’s car as it rolled into the parking lot of the hospital the loomed over their heads. “Tiffany, call us when you find her room. We’ll follow.”

Tiffany, Sunny and Hyoyeon pilled out of the back seat. “Finally! Never stick the lot of us in the back of that car again, you hear me!”

“You think I enjoyed sharing three seats among four people?” Yoona asked sarcastically from the back of the car.

Hyoyeon and Sunny stretched themselves out as they walked to the front door and asked for Taeyeon and Eunhyuk’s rooms. Tiffany called Jessica as soon as they knew where to find their friends and helped sneak them to Taeyeon’s room.

Taeyeon lay on the first bed with her head wrapped in bandages. Her eyes were glued to the news being casted on the TV propped in the corner of the room. Past her was a curtain blocking obstructing the view of a second bed.

“He’s sleeping. Do be quiet, ma’am.” Taeyeon said without turning her head. She had yet to realize that her guests were just that – guests.

“Tae!” Jessica said loudly. She rushed to the Taeyeon’s side and held her hand. “Are you okay? Do you need anything? What…are…wah…” Jessica’s eyes watered again at the sight of a helpless Taeyeon.

“Jessica?” Taeyeon looked at her. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re in the hospital!” Everyone rushed to her side.

Taeyeon pointed Hyoyeon to the bed behind the curtain where Eunhyuk was resting. Hyoyeon nodded her thanks before disappearing to the other side of the room. Everyone spread out in the room and took turns tending to their injured friends. Apologies were made and balance was restored in their lives.

Hyoyeon came back from behind the curtain. “Taeyeon, thank you so much for protecting us. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. Forgive me?”

“I’ll forgive you on one condition.” Taeyeon said. “Help me take down the last boss.”

“You don’t even have to ask.” Hyoyeon looked at Eunhyuk’s shadow that was casted on the curtain. “I’m not going to be a coward anymore. I’m saving Jungsu and making her pay for what she did to Eunhyuk.”

The serious atmosphere was disturbed by a playful ringing.

“Sorry!” Yoona walked into the hallway as she answered her phone. Everyone else was silent as they waited Yoona’s return. When she walked back in, she had a stunned look on her face. Here mouth was open wide and eyes unfocused on the area before her.

“What happened?” she was asked.

Yoona looked at Jessica and Sooyoung. “It was our manager.”

“What did he say?” Jessica asked. Jessica had a gut feeling that the news would be bad, but she didn’t know why. “Good news? Bad news?”

“Next Saturday. We have a live stage. And we can’t back out of it.”

--------

a/n

HAHAHAH DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING DID YOU?!!

...

sorry, I just had half an energy drink. I'm a bit crazy right now.

So yes. This is the official end of the Yuri Arc. No more crazy from her :P