here's your well deserved chapter!!1! happy reading guys!
thanks for sticking to aeternalis all this time!!! (a/n to be deleted)

*quidam inscitias: some misunderstandings

Tao walked back and forth worriedly, still looking at his Xiumin-ge. He had bandaged him properly- years of wushu training didn't go to waste after all. Xiumin's breathing was steady, but he still won't wake up. He looked at the clock worriedly, wondering where the hell was his Lay-ge at. It was already past midnight, and Yixing's mind channel was shut off.

He knew that Yixing manually disabled it. He always did that when he's distressed.

Unable to hold it any longer, Tao huffed impatiently, and walked to Xiumin. He kneeled before him, and placed his hand on Xiumin's shoulder. Looking at the older made his heart crunch because Yixing said that he was controlled by The Evil. If that happened to him, he would be ashamed. Gently, he shook it, hoping to wake him up.

"Xiumin-ge," he softly murmured, hoping that it would work. "Wake up. Please."

A few seconds of silence passed, and it made Tao sigh. Xiumin still wouldn't wake up, and he almost gave up on trying. Tao thought that maybe he'll just sleep his worries away, but another part of him wanted to be the first one to see his gege wake up. 

And he's still worried that Xiumin might still be disoriented and that he would run off.

Finally making his decision, he stalked off to the kitchen, lazily searching for the coffee jar Yixing bought for him. Coffee helped him to stay awake, and if waiting for Xiumin meant that he will need to pull out an all-nighter, so be it. Term break was starting soon, and he finally got the agreement from his parents. Yixing politely introduced himself to his parents, and his parents even invited him to practice wushu with Tao- they whispered to Tao that he looks weak.

Tao almost snorted when they said that.

A slight rustle alarmed him, and he stalked his way back to the living room. He was hoping that his wishes came true- for his gege to awaken. The scene almost made him cry out of relief- Xiumin was sitting, looking bewildered. Tao frowned, because why the hell would Xiumin-ge look bewildered? Xiumin snapped his head to Tao, and he shrieked in fear.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Xiumin screamed, throwing a pillow at Tao. Tao was caught off guard, and he failed to dodge the coming pillow. It hit him squarely in the face, making him cry out from surprise. He rubbed his face a few times before staring at Xiumin, bewildered.

"Ge, is this a game you're playing with me?" Tao asked, unsure, as he advanced towards the older, his steps full of hesitation.

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Xiumin screamed again, backing off from him. 

A gust of cold just flew straight pass Tao, and ice just appeared out of nowhere, freezing the whole room, except for him. Everything was covered by a light sheen of frost, making it look like it was winter. He just stared at his surroundings, confused and shocked.

What the just happened.

He looked at Xiumin again, or where he was before, because he isn't there. He gasped in horror and ran to the couch, checking for anything. His mind is terrorized by the thoughts of Xiumin controlled by The Evil again or something else- or maybe he was just shocked- but why would he be? Tao was one of the Guardians. Why would he-?

Following his feelings, he looked at the door, and he cursed himself because Xiumin's shoes were nowhere and the door was unhinged. He gritted his teeth and slipped on his shoes before going out, slamming the door and locking the door hastily before it.

"Let Mother Nature help me with this," he muttered under his breath.

He shrieked, the ice crippling on his skin. He convulsed again, blood painting his eyes. The agonized groan he let out sounded terribly distorted to himself, not sounding like himself anymore. He fisted his palms tightly, eyes shut tightly, hoping to endure the pain. He screamed again, choking in his sobs, not being able to bear the pain.

The electrical current shot through Luhan's body again and--

"Luhan," the man with strong jawlines murmured, sounding displeased. He looked at the boy in front of him, his eyes crinkled in suspicion. The boy in front of him only smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes?" He replied hesitantly, as if he was afraid with him.

"Did you book the training room for yourself again?"

The asked boy sighed, looking at his friend. "I was hoping to train!" He explained. "I need to train!"

"But that doesn't mean you can change the schedule all you want, you idiot!" the other cried out, shaking his head in exasperation. "You know that we twelve all need to train. Why are you booking a private session yourself? That's selfish, you know?"

Silence.

"...I want to practice pranking Tao. He was always a scaredy cat." The man admitted, finally giving up.

The other facepalmed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You may be one of the oldest here, Luhan, but you have the mentality of a fetus."

"That's not a way to talk to your big brother."

"...you know that I can zap you here right here right now, right? And now, I have the urge to fry you to death so I can live peacefully without your idiocy."

"But you need me. You can't murder me, I'm one of the Guardians."

"Just shut up. Shut up."

Luhan gasped, finally breaking out from his hallucination. He curled himself into a ball, the dark surroundings enveloping him, his room seeming to make him claustrophobic than ever. The tears streamed down his face. A sudden wave of painful nostalgia flooded him, and even without him knowing where it came from, he still burst into tears, his own sobs shaking his own body.

He screamed again, and that was when someone's strong arms hugging him, comforting him.

"Luhan," someone sobbed. "Luhan, what happened?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It only made him scream harder because god damn it he was a wreck - and now his mother came to his room with her spare key- great. Now she knew about his abnormality and he didn't want her to know about it- and he tightened his fists harder until his nails cut in the flesh, leaving blood to appear gently on the surface.

"It's going to be okay, Luhan," his mother choked, and he could feel his shirt starting to dampen because of her tears. "It will get better, okay darling? Please, please believe me. It will all get better, okay?"

Between his sobs, Luhan couldn't help but to think that nothing will ever be okay again.

Kyungsoo gulped anxiously when he saw his friends walking down the streets, waving a timid hand to them. In a split second, they all notice, and they laughed, running towards his direction.

"Kyungsoo!" Youngjae smiled, high-fiving with him. "What's up? You look deathly pale today!"

He smiled sheepishly, bowing a little. "Sorry guys, I just feel a little bit sick today," he apologized, but his friends roared out in laughter, cradling him in their arms. They all began walking, and Kyungsoo can't help but to smile a little.

"What are you saying sorry for?" Minho mused, shaking his head in amusement.

"I don't know?" Kyungsoo replied, shrugging his shoulders. They all laughed again, and Kyungsoo can't help but to smile a little. They all really knew how to cheer him up. Well, that was what friends are for, right?

"Is that Kai over there?" Jinki whooped, smiling in satisfaction. "Oi, Kai! You kept your promise!"

The said boy looked at the group, and smiled. He ran over to them and they all enveloped him in a warm hug- well, except for Kyungsoo. He awkwardly stayed at the sidelines, not knowing who that was. A few chatter was heard, and finally, someone noticed him.

"Oh! Kyungsoo!" Kyuhyun shouted, earning a few glances from his friends. He felt tiny in their glances, but Kyuhyun hopped to him and cradled him in his arms again, chuckling. "You never met Kai, haven't you?"

"...no?" He awkwardly answered, earning a few chuckles from his friends.

"Do Kyungsoo, meet Kim Jongin, or preferred to be known as Kai! Kai, meet doe-eyed Kyungsoo!"

They all burst into laughter again, and Kyungsoo looked at Jongin, smiling despite of the awkwardness, They both smiled at each other, and Kyungsoo can feel something was familiar with the way his lips curved up and when the corner of his eyes crinkled when he's smiling.

But then, Kyungsoo felt a sudden dread when he met those black orbs of his-

Those black eyes. Those deep eyes.

That hand.

The Hand.

He widened his eyes, and without even knowing, he ran off as fast as he could, the fear starting to grow again. He can sense his friends staring at him and within a split second they called for him, but he didn't care, because something was wrong with that Kai guy. How can they not notice? Behind that smile, he's a monster! He choked him in his hallucinations!

"Kyungsoo! Where the heck are you going?!" Daehyun shouted, confusion laced in his words.

"What happened, Kyungsoo?!"

That unknown fear crushed his heart and he felt himself breathless again- no not this time please please please I beg you no-

Silent footsteps rang into the air, the sound of water splashing trailing after it. In the darkness, a silhouette could be seen, his movements seeming confused and scared. 

Minseok's breathing was labored, and he was disoriented.

Why would he wake up in a stranger's room? And why would the person call him ge? This is absurd! Ridiculous! The person acted as if he knew Minseok- but if he knew him, why would Minseok himself not know that person? Is he some kind of stalker or something? The man seemed to be older than him- why would he call him ge?

Or maybe his appearance lied.

Shaking his head, Minseok stopped at the street and crap- his bag was still at the building and he did not know where he is now. His head was pounding so hard and he doesn't know why- something was tearing up his seams but it just won't burst out. Everything just doesn't make sense- he felt as if he knew the person but god he just can't remember- it's like amnesia.

He's 23 years old and he's lost in the streets of China.

He slumped down, and the water soaked his clothes. He can't help but to think that god his life is miserable- he couldn't even get up because he was tired. He's tired of everything because it just started with a simple headache at class. Now he was lost without even knowing where he is. This is insane. He didn't want this.

It's all caused because of that damned delusions he experienced.

And suddenly he heard footsteps coming to his direction. He froze, unable to think clearly. His mind was clearly screaming runrunrunrun but his legs wouldn't cooperate, for god's sake. He's tired and confused, and he just can't bring himself to panic or scream.

It was him. 

The person that appeared was a boy with slickly-gelled hair, deep eyes boring inside his own. He didn't notice it was Minseok for a few seconds, but in a couple of seconds, he did. He gasped loudly and stumbled to Minseok's side, Minseok stiffening in hesitation because god what is this person doing to me. 

"Xiumin-ge, why did you run away?" the boy asked bravely, looking seriously at Minseok himself. He can feel conflicting emotions inside his heart- one saying just run you don't know him and the other one he's finally here oh my god he saved me again. And another one was why did he call me Xiumin.

"Let's just go home and straighten up everything, yeah?" the boy mumbled.

Minseok could only stare at him as his eyes widened in realization.

The ticking of my wristwatch stopped since I ran away from him.

"Oh my god- hyung!"

Sehun fell back on his , groaning in pain. He can hear someone's familiar chuckle and he growled- he was not used to be chuckled by someone. He sat up again, and there was his Suho-hyung- alive, breathing, and existing in front of his eyes- and boy, did he miss him so much. He jumped out and hugged his hyung, who toppled back in the couch again, laughing.

"Sehun-ah, I'm still recovering, you know." Suho breathed, cringing.

"I'm so sorry, hyung!" Sehun squeaked, and sat back down at the floor. Suho breathed heavily, and after a few seconds, he straightened up his pose. Sehun could only smile childishly, because oh my ing god my hyung is alive and he knows me and he recognized me oh god-

"Sehun-ah," Suho's voice broke Sehun's thoughts, but Sehun frowned, because he sounds so guilty. So sad. "I- I attacked Baekhyun, am I right? I- I hurt him, right? Sehun- I- I-"

And that was when Suho broke into sobs and Sehun frantically hugged him because no he didn't hurt Baekhyun-hyung because who in their right mind would hurt Baekhyun-hyung? But- the mess they made- the blood- did they fight? But how? Why? Baekhyun-hyung was attacked by the evil! Not Suho-hyung!

"Why on earth would you think that you hurt Baekhyun-hyung, Suho-hyung?" Sehun asked, hugging his hyung tightly. If he was going to calm down his hyung, he needed to know the reason why it broke Suho in the first place. His hyung was always like this. He may seem so wise, so strong- but in the end, he was always the one that broke down.

And Sehun was always there for him.

"I- I was controlled by The Evil, Sehun-ah-"

What.

"WHAT?!" Sehun shrieked in surprise, jumping off from the couch, looking at Suho in horror. Suho only sighed and buried his face inside his palms, Sehun still eyeing him in shock. 

And then he realized.

So that's why he felt that The Evil was attacking Baekhyun-hyung. It was Suho- Suho himself. The Evil inhabited his body and it made him attack Baekhyun with his water power and oh god he just can't imagine the guilt and humiliation flooding through Suho's body. 

"I'm such a weak leader," Suho mumbled between his sobs, his voice muffled by his own palms. "I can't even repent The Evil from controlling myself. I'm pathetic. I'm sorry."

"No," Sehun denied, sitting beside his hyung. "Don't be sorry. You aren't a weak leader. You managed to break free from it, right?"

"With the help from Baekhyun-"

"But Baekhyun-hyung wouldn't help you if he didn't realize it from you! You were the one that willed to break free, even though it needs hard work. It needs all your strength and will to escape from The Evil's grasp, didn't you know that hyung? You are the strongest here! If I were you, I'd fail. Really. I'm not kidding. I don't have the same amount of will as much as you do."

"But still-" Suho continued to deny it, but Sehun only cupped his hands over Suho's mouth.

"You're the best leader someone can ask for, Suho-hyung. Deny it again and I'll kick you out from my house."

"...mmph."