~ ♗ ~

There was nothing unusual about the four-story building. Nothing about its appearance made it stand out from the other buildings next to it, only the sign at the front that said White Tiger Laboratories distinguished it from the rest.

Nichkhun looked up towards the roof where he could hear Chansung and Rai setting up. Next to him, Junsu was mumbling some profanities at the sorry state his car was in- he was easily ignored. The guard watching the front gate was sleeping, and with one word from Jinwoon, Nichkhun waited until the surveillance camera above them swivelled away from them. However, before he could instruct Jinwoon to shut it down, a bolt shot right through it, disconnecting all the wires.

“See, I can be useful too,” Junsu said, though Nichkhun never once looked at him.

The two of them continued inside the building, Nichkhun cutting through the security officer before breaking through the glass doors.

“I wonder what you’d do if Jinwoon didn’t disarm the alarm systems.” Again, Junsu was ignored.

Nichkhun stopped by the lobby, and sent a sideways glance at Junsu before heading straight for the emergency stairs. The office was on the fourth floor, and Park Yoochun would still be there this night. Originally, Nichkhun was to assassinate the businessman in his home, but Fei and Jia had attached a tracking device on their target. Last minute rearrangements had to be done just as they had left for this assignment.

Junsu watched him go up the stairs, it was the smarter choice given the nature of their job, but Junsu believed himself smarter and walked straight up ahead and pressed the button to the elevators. It didn’t take long for the doors to open, and Junsu stepped right in, humming a song out loud. He gave a salute at the camera, and Jinwoon’s voice rung loud in his ear.

“You know, I’m the only one who can see you right now.”

“I knew that.”

“What are you singing?”

“My latest creation. Again and again and again and again, I don’t know why, but I keep coming back to you.”

“How...romantic.”

The elevators chimed the floor, and Junsu cocked the strings of his crossbow tight as the doors swept open. As he expected, three guards ran right towards him. It didn’t take long as three bolts shot through the air and straight to each man’s hearts. Junsu dusted of imaginary dirt off his bow and stepped out, arms flailing to the side as he gave a start- the elevator doors had started to close in on him. With a nervous laugh, he continued down the long corridor to the laboratory.

Grab the files and go, was his mantra. It was the only thing expected from him to do, and pretty much the only thing Junsu had been willing to do. Being inside a building was not exactly his cup of tea. He hated the stuffy feeling of being enclosed within four walls and a compound crossbow was not exactly easy to maneuver when your enemies were right in your face. Still, an assignment was an assignment.

The laboratory doors were at the end of the hallway, and according to Jinwoon, Hu Fengmin should be in there as well, and he wasn’t surprised to see two of the missing students in front of the door. Of course, they saw him too.

~ ♘ ~

Landing expertly on his toes, Chansung followed quietly behind Rai as she swiftly leaped from the top of one building to the next. Their target lab was in the middle of two taller buildings, and the both of them preferred an aerial assault than a more frontal approach as Nichkhun would do. The laboratory was a floor less than the building they were on, and Chansung felt the excitement creep up on him as he walked towards the ledge. It was less than two meters distance between the two- nothing too hard for a former thief and a shinobi. Rai went first, walking backwards a few steps before bounding towards the next building, arms spread wide as she dived into the air and into a straight-legged somersault- Rai never tucked her body in. She landed arms first, rolling on her shoulders several times before coming to a stop near an open vent. Chansung followed after her, but unlike Rai, he went for a feet first approach, running and jumping, but tucking his body in as he flipped 360 degrees in the air. He landed on his toes, and like Rai, he rolled the impact away, stopping next to her.

Their entrance point was a sunroof that opened directly into the hallway leading to the main lab. The padlocks and chains were easy for Chansung get through, and within minutes, he and Rai dropped down into the building just in time to see two of the missing students attack them.

The foreign looking one lunged at Chansung- Son Dongwoon. Chansung ducked just in time and pulled out his nunchakus. It was a narrow corridor, and it wasn’t the best place to fight. From his periphery he saw Rai dealing with the blonde one, and Junsu sidestepping, creeping along the walls and straight into the lab.

Dongwoon attacked him again, and his lack of weapon was the first thing Chansung noticed. Sidestepping to the left, Chansung tried to at least talk him out of fighting.

“Hey! Hey, we don’t have to fight, we’re not the enemy here!”

If Dongwoon understood him, he showed no indication of it and continued his assault on the taller man. A fist connected with Chansung’s face and he was flung back into the wall with a loud thud. Stars exploded behind Chansung’s lids, and he shook his head to get rid of them.

A guttural gnarling sound emanated from Dongwoon’s throat, and Chansung was only a hair-width away from being smashed into the wall. He dived into the floor and away from Dongwoon while the latter regained his bearings. Chansung’s eyes popped out of its sockets at the sight of the large crack on the wall where Dongwoon’s fist had struck. What exactly was the nature of the experiments done to them? Chansung was certain that it was the missing students who were responsible for the killings, but he was also sure that they could not have done it by will.

“Jinwoon, is there a way to save them?” he asked, dodging another one of Dongwoon’s punches.

“None that I’m aware of, Chansung just knock them all out!”

Dongwoon’s fist made contact with Chansung’s stomach, and the force knocked the wind out of Chansung’s lungs. He in air through his mouth, his mind screaming for him to calm down and breathe. His vision momentarily blurred, and he felt another blow to his side. Doubled-over, Chansung coughed out some blood, and he crunched up his nose at the metallic smell.

Dongwoon prowled like some wild animal around him, and Chansung forced himself up. Leaning on one knee, he eyed the predator in front of him. An assassin was never prey, and he wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand.

The next time Dongwoon attacked, Chansung was ready. He jumped back and into a one-handed backwards handspring. With his nunchakus, he blocked Dongwoon’s fist, twisting the chain around his hand and pulling him close, landing a kick to his opponent’s solar plexus. Dongwoon staggered back, but didn’t appear to be hurt. Chansung attacked again at the same time as Dongwoon. Again, Chansung caught his opponent’s wrist in his chain, twisting and landing into an arm-bar. Pressing his body against Dongwoon’s elbow, he struck Dongwoon with the blunt end of his weapon in between the eyes. Not wanting to waste any more time, Chansung closed the distance between them, continuously landing strikes on all the vulnerable areas he knew. Flat strikes on the face, jaw, ears, and temples, and using the bottom of the stick to repeatedly jab at the solar plexus. With one final swing of his nunchaku to the neck, Dongwoon finally fell unconscious to the floor.

Chansung was heaving by the time he was done. He gulped in much needed air, leaning forward and placing a hand on his knee. Dongwoon stirred again, and Chansung groaned in frustration, driving the nunchakus hard into his cervical vertebrae, the back of his neck, feeling it crack under the pressure of the wood. Chansung slumped backwards on the wall, finally able to regain his strength.

~ ♖ ~

Rai landed on her knees just in time to see the blonde one throw himself at her. She escaped to the side, and Yang Yoseob flew right into the wall creating a large gaping hole. Rai followed after him, jumping through the hole, claws at the ready.

The next room was a dusty construction area, and Rai shielded her eyes from the cloud of dust that rolled by. She could feel him through the thin material of her boots. He was close by.

“Noona...”

Rai reeled at the sound of the traditional term used to refer to an older female. Yoseob had both hands cupping his face, eyes wide and lips in a big pout. Rai blinked twice, then stared. And then blinked again, this time three times.

“You...can talk...Jinwoon, it talks.”

“Well of course it- he can talk.”

Rai flexed her shoulder muscles. Yoseob wasn’t moving, save for swinging his arms back and forth and bouncing on his feet. He bumped his fists together and Rai sprung forward. She twisted in the air, rotating sideways landing a kick on Yoseob’s face. He blocked it easily, grabbing her ankle and flinging her to the side like a rag doll. Rai skidded on the floor, gathering dust on her clothes. Yoseob was looming over her in a second, and he jumped up into the air to drive a fist down into Rai who rolled away just in time. He caught her feet again, and Rai dug her claws to the ground. The sound of metal scraping on concrete resounded loudly in the floor and Rai kicked wildly in an attempt to free herself. Yoseob pulled her up by the ankle so she dangled upside down, her head grazing the ground.

Rai’s eyes zoomed in on his foot, and she scratched it as hard as she could with her claws. The fabric of his pants tore into shreds, and the sharp blades dug into his skin, but Yoseob still held her, repeatedly bobbing her up and down. Rai tried to pull herself up to reach his upper body or his face, but she could feel the bandages on her midsection straining. With one big breath of air, Rai kicked as hard as she could, finally wrenching herself free from Yoseob’s grasp. She struggled somewhat as the blood rushed back to her foot. Limping, Rai stepped back and faded into the shadows.

“Noona! Where are you?!” Yoseob shrieked as he whirled around, his fists dropped to his sides.

Rai silently heaved herself up a low beam and crawled all the way until she found herself directly above the blonde. He still didn’t see her, and she waited for the right moment to attack. As soon as Yoseob turned in the another direction, Rai pounced on him, her knees landing on his shoulders, claws digging into his face. With a sharp twist of her knees she broke his neck and slashed through it, severing his major blood vessels.

She hopped off him as Yoseob’s body crumpled down to the floor. Two parts of her body were in major pain right now, her old injury and her ankle. Hoping not to find anymore of Yoseob’s kind, Rai dragged herself back to the other room where Chansung was.

Down the hall, appearing from behind the rubble, was someone Rai instantly knew to be a police officer. Said officer stepped into the light flashing her torch at Rai’s face, and the assassin smirked. It was the rookie from Schatten, Mai Tran. Rai studied her new opponent for a moment. Single wooden jutte, mid-weight frame, slightly taller than she, Rai was certain she could kill Mai easily. Still, blood was already seeping out from her bandages, and she quickly calculated how much more time she had before she couldn’t fight anymore.

“Yoseob? Where are you?”

That voice. It didn’t matter to Rai who it was, but the fact that it was looking for her previous enemy was enough to make her cringe. Mai was still in front of her, and the voice came from somewhere behind her. Chuckling to herself, Rai made the decision.

“Hey you,” Rai said, and Mai looked at her as if she was surprised Rai could talk. “Survive this, and I’ll make sure there’s a next time.”

~ ♗ ~

Junsu quickly slipped into the laboratory after evading the two beasts outside. He didn’t want to experience first hand just what they were capable of, and he shut the door tight behind him. Hu Fengmin was spluttering out some Chinese and Junsu rolled his eyes. Seeing no other threat in the room, he easily shot a bolt right through the scientist’s heart and proceeded to the main computer in the middle of the room. He connected his flash drive in and perused through the files Hu Fengmin was studying before he came in.

“You getting all this Jinwoon?” he asked, pulling out some results from a folder.

“Yep.”

Junsu listened with half a mind to the rest of the conversation between Jinwoon, Chansung, and Rai. He paused for a moment after hearing that those things could actually think and talk but he easily shrugged it off. When the file transfer was done, he gathered the files from the desk, ejected the drive, and walked out of the room.

“What happened to you?” he asked, clutching the files closely to his chest.

Chansung was slumped against the wall, the body of one of those things by his feet. Rai stumbled in shortly, limping slightly.

“You two look great. Honestly, never seen you two in better shape.”

“Shut up Junsu,” Rai said, with much less snap than Junsu was used to. “Police are here, just ran into miss rookie over there.”

Junsu looked over Rai’s shoulder and peered into the hole behind her. “Is she cuter in person?”

“Don’t make me gut you. Besides, she’s probably already dead. One of those things are in there, you can go see for yourself.”

Junsu visibly cringed. “No thank you. Well, I’m done here. Front door’s probably blocked by now so up we go,” he said, pointing up to where Rai and Chansung had come in.

Chansung hauled himself up, using the wall next to him for support. “I’m not exactly capable of tossing you both out the roof and following. We need a different route.”

“Amateurs, and you’re supposed to be the professional.” Junsu shrugged off his backpack, stuffed the files inside before pulling out a grappling hook gun. “These run on pneumatics, so just fire ‘em and they’ll do all the work.”

They heard a loud crash from inside, and Junsu shoved the hook into Chansung’s arm. “Well, I’ll see you later!” He hastily fired his own hook up, and easily ascended.

Chansung rolled his eyes. “He only has two?” Sighing he turned to Rai who looked just as resigned as he. “Just be glad you’re never left alone with him.”

~ ♕ ~

Nichkhun took his time making his way up the stairs. He could hear fighting from the upper floors- the laboratory floor, and he knew that Hell had engaged the things Fortuna had produced. His target was on the floor he was on now, and his hand itched for his sword. There was blood screaming out to be spilled and his lips twitched into a crooked smile.

Using his shoulders to open the emergency staircase door, Nichkhun strode into the hallway, each step slow and deliberate. He turned the corner, and froze.

[A/N]: Double update. because it's my birthday <3

PS: and can I just say...(I'm taking liberties, since its my birthday and you love me) where are all the important questions? XD I've been leaving hints here and there, along with several obscure to overly blatant references. Y U no call it out o__o people. its all in the details <3

and the most important question from here on, is how and why.