My hands continued to tremble as I held onto his cold body. Why did he feel so chilly in my grasp?  I held back the tears, filled with mixed emotions of joy and anger, from showing my vulnerability in front of an audience of strangers, my friends, and a maniac. Why did it hurt so much to see him like this, to see any of them in a position like this?

"Damien!" I called out. "Damien! Break the other glass cases!"

My eyes turned from looking at the boy in my arms to my best friend looking down on me. His hands were shaking also, but subtly. I knew him, he didn't like showing weaknesses. He didn't like being feeble in people's eyes; it made him feel pathetic about himself. He grasped onto his weapon, strapped on a holder across his back.  

"Soph..." he sighed.

"Please Damien!"

"I don't think they're... alive, Soph."

"Please listen to me just this once," I begged him. "Trust me."

He was factoring in all options. But he noticed just how much it mattered to me. After a few seconds, he wielded his sharp weapon, ing it against each of the tanks holding the other boys. I closed my eyes shut, expecting to hear five thuds against the ground. But didn't. When I reopened them, each of the Woo brothers was holding a boy, some teamed up to hold the bigger ones. This act caught me off guard. I thought they were so frozen in place; they couldn't even utter a single word through most of what just happened. Relief took over. I hoped, deep inside, that when I could explain everything later, they would understand me.

"Team Alpha, take them to the infirmary," ordered King Tablo.

That entire team nodded, indicating that nurses and doctors could stroll in with some beds that had wheels on them. I didn't want to let him go, but I knew I had to. Quickly each boy was lifted onto the transporters, to be moved to a safer and cleaner environment. All were still in a deep sleep.

Woohyun walked to my side, extending his hand to help me get up. He kept a simple smile on his face in an effort to mask his true feelings. Still, my hands shivered as they reached out for his. I turned my entire body to everyone looking at the show I just put. I didn't know what to say. I had to figure something out.

"I apologize," I bowed a couple of times.

"Go," King Tablo realized how much pain I was in.

"But... Father..." Sungyeol rebutted.

"Don't talk back to your own father," Professor Victor laughed. "You might just regret it."

Damien's eyes blackened at this point. He still had his weapon in his grasp, and in a swift motion, he scraped across Professor Victor's back. It was a simple, long cut from his right shoulder area to his left hip. "I'm going to see to it that I am the one to execute you," he growled. Professor Victor let out a fierce and sharp scream in pain. No one cringed because no one cared. My best friend then glided to my side, quickly returning his weapon to its proper place. "Let's go Soph."

I nodded to show that I understood. He and his entire team led the way to the infirmary. I kept my head down, staring at my feet. I didn't know how I managed not to run into walls, doors, or just other people during the entire walk. The Princes were right behind us, just as quiet as I was. My heartbeat echoed in my mind, showing the small ounce of humanity I still had.

When we reached the infirmary, all of the boys were on their own beds, with three on each side of the room. The nurses and doctors were carefully looking after each one, monitoring their every movement. I got extremely angry all of a sudden, at everyone that didn't deserve to be in their presence. This surprised the boys, but also myself. Where did this come from? All of the boys remained lined up against a wall, far from being a distraction or nuisance to the professionals.

"Get out," I snarled under my breath.

A nurse, just a tad bit taller than me, heard me first. She immediately turned around to try to calm me down. "We cannot leave you unattended with them."

"Why?"

"We do not know if they are going to attack once they wake up," she honestly responded.

"AmI attacking you?" I coldly replied to her harsh comment. "I am an experiment also, yet here I stand, perfectly able to control my emotions."

She took a step back, realizing just how cruel her words were to my ears. The entire room of professionals stopped what they were doing just to look at the two of us. They felt the tension rise. "I didn't mean it that way..."

"Then please," I needed to control my anger, "listen to my words. Leave."

"But Miss... that's not advisable."

"If you won't follow her orders," Sunggyu took a step forward to individualize himself as he spoke, "then follow mine. As a very respected and powerful figure in this facility, I strongly suggest you and your people exit this room quietly and calmly."

"There are seven of us," Dongwoo motioned to the rest of his brothers.

"And six of us," Damien pointed to his team.

"She won't be left here defenseless," Myungsoo spoke up. "Now go."

The nurse nodded as she realized that she couldn't disobey their orders. The entire staff exited the room in a matter of minutes. And it was just us—vampires, hunters, BEASTs, and a halfie. I grazed back to all of the boys, leaning against the wall before sliding down onto the floor to sit. They followed my movements. Damien and Hoya were right beside me, the rest of the boys around them. I felt Hoya's hand gently take a hold of mine, to express his care and worry.

"I can't believe it," Damien sighed in a release of his thoughts.

"Which part? The my mother is a vampire part or the they were kidnapped part?" I stared at the ceiling.

"All of it," he scratched his head furiously. "Too much for anyone to handle in a couple of hours."

"Not meaning to make things any more complicated," Ulrich spoke up. "But how do you two know them?" He pointed to the six bodies in front of us.

Damien and I took a few seconds before realizing that it had to be said. I nodded, not looking at him, to indicate that he should start it off. He noticed my gesture. "They are old friends of ours. We met over a decade ago. Six boys had snuck onto the back of a wagon that was carrying a bunch of watermelons."

"No one knew where they were from, for the wagon had made several pit stops to a bunch of kingdoms. But one thing was clear, they weren't related. That's the one thing they were willing to tell people aside from their names. How they came together, only the six of them know. All of them were immediately placed into the local orphanage to be looked after," I continued. "That's where Damien and I first met them."

"We were their closest friends, aside from each other," Damien added. "I really bonded with them, so much that I no longer considered them friends but brothers. We spent as much as we could with them. They lived in the village for two years. This was long enough for my mother to see just how much the eight of us had bonded and she was willing to adopt each and every one of them."

"But they just disappeared one day," I held back the tears. "Just as quickly as they appeared in our lives, they vanished. They didn't take anything with them. Damien and I never fully understood why. We thought they were happy to finally be able to call a place their true home. So the fact that they left just like that, hurt us more than it would have if they had said goodbye."

"This entire time we thought they just didn't want to be a part of any family," Damien angrily growled. "But it wasn't that. It wasn't their choice to leave."

I heard someone mumble under their breath; it was a distant call. My entire form immediately straightened up and my eyes focused on the body that was starting to move. It was him. Hoya's grasp on my hand loosened timidly, showing that he understood that he had to let me go. I semi ran to his side, grasping onto his hand. It was still a bit chilly, but much warmer than it was before.

He was a spitting image of the last time I saw him. It's just that his body is bigger, more defined, muscular—a complete contrast of his baby face. He still had the same round cheeks and blonde hair. It seemed like he was a boy from the neck up, but a man from the shoulders down. Not that I was paying close attention. His chest contracted with each breath he took. And in time, his hand tightened around mine.

I was so surprised that I nearly yanked my hand back. His eyes slowly opened, taking a while to adjust to the light surrounding him. They weren't the same brown color as I remembered. Now they were a bright blue, similar to that of the liquid that surrounded them in their tanks. It was an unnatural color, probably reminiscent and a side effect of the countless experimentation held on their bodies.

He stared at me for a while, probably trying to figure out who I was. "So... Sophia?" his voice obviously deepened over the years, just slightly though.

I felt the tears running down my face. It was immense relief. I was happy. He immediately stood up, pushing away the sheets over his body. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. The other boys immediately jumped up at his sudden move, their eyes focused on us. The Woo boys took control of their feelings, but barely. Damien was being pulled by Ulrich and William. I wrapped my own arms around his neck. This wasn't a dream.

This person in front of me was really him. It was Yoseob.

He let me go after a few seconds. His eyes still focused on me. "What are you doing here? If he finds you, you'll be put through hell. You should leave."

"Seobbie," I wiped away my tears. I hadn't said that name in the longest time. It was refreshing to finally call his nickname like that. "He won't do anything because he can't."

"What?" his voice expressed immense confusion.

"That creepy scientist has been captured. We aren't in a laboratory but an infirmary. You're all safe," I told him.

He stared at his hands. His fingers traced every inch of his tattoo on his right wrist. "It's... over?"

"It is," I nodded.

He let out a very animal like yell. It shook up the entire room, just enough to cause the other boys to immediately shot up and straighten their backs with focused eyes. I scanned each and every one of them, paying attention to their movements. "Wake up," Yoseob told them.

"Yah! Let me sleep damn," Hyunseung stretched his arms with his eyes still half way closed. His hair was a reddish brown color and curly in strands. It was slightly wet still, so he looked a bit odd. If he grew out his hair, to be honest, he'd make such a beautiful girl.

"What the hell?" Dongwoon pointed at me. His face had matured so much from our last encounter. His cheekbones were more defined and his nose more pointed. He wasn't that scrawny kid anymore. His hair was reminiscent of the old dirty blonde and light brown it was before.

"Sophia?! It's Sophia!" Kikwang yelled in happiness. He was still the same happy, positive thinking guy as before. I wasn't too surprised about him having the biggest, most muscular body of them all. Even as a kid, he was extremely athletic and cared for his body a lot. His nearly black hair contrasted his light personality.

Junhyung didn't utter a word for a while. He just kept squinting at everyone in the room. His body was still thin, yet lean at the same time. To be honest, he didn't look too happy about being woken up. His face was just the same, his neckline even more defined as before. His brown hair, shaved to a mohawk of some sort, was still drying. It gave him a dark aura, yet the color made it a friendlier style. "Who the hell are they?" he asked as he stared at the line of boys against the wall.

"More importantly, where are we?" Doojoon stretched his limbs properly, similar to Hyunseung. He had lost so much weight. The dark strands that were on his head were almost fully dry. His chubby cheeks were no longer there, but replaced with high cheek bones and a sharp face. He then cracked his neck several times. After taking a few blinks, he asked, "Wait, did you say Sophia?"

"Yeah yeah! Look!" Kikwang laughed as he also to point me out.

"Holy..." Hyunseung's eyes enlarged.

"We have got to be dead," Junhyung's mouth opened in awe.

"I agree with that theory," Dongwoon nodded.

"Nope," Yoseob grinned. "She's real. We're alive. And we are free!"

"Still haven't answered my question," Junhyung continued glaring at the boys. He wasn't very fond of new people still. Great to know some things never change. "Who are they?"

"Friends," Damien answered him. William and Ulrich let go of him at this point. I noticed how his eyes twinkled differently. The relief of knowing that they are alive really seemed to lighten his mood. "Our friends."

"We'll leave," Hoya motioned for the twelve strangers to exit the room. "The rest of us will be right outside if you need anything."

His brothers shot him a look of shock, not fully comprehending why he would suggest something like that. He motioned countless times for them to start filing out of the room in an orderly fashion. As soon as each of them left and the door behind them was closed, I could hear all of their voices. They discussed what just happened.

"Did someone mention," Doojoon turned his head to Yoseob, "freedom?"

Yoseob nodded at his comrade. "Yes, yes. We are finally free from that crazy man's grasp."

"Eight long years of torture... is over?" Dongwoon blinked a couple of times.

All of the boys drifted off into their own worlds. Damien walked to my side, looking back and forth from each of the boys. They didn't act any different. It's as if their personalities were not damaged at all during their disappearance.

"I see Damien still hovers over you," Hyunseung nodded at us, "with a worried expression. Still in love with her, no doubt."

Damien and I turned away from each other. Now this was awkward. "Hyunseung," Doojoon sighed.

"What? We all knew it," Hyunseung scoffed under his breath.

"Still the same observant and blunt boy I see," Damien fought back playfully.

"To be honest, it seems like none of you have changed," I announced. "All of your personalities are just like they were years ago. It's just your physical attributes that seem to have altered."

"Oh you mean our bodies?" Kikwang grinned slyly. "We do have some pretty outstanding musscles."

"From what, may I ask?" I averted the direction his question was leading to.

"The nutty professor had us training and competing against vampires he captured for the past eight years," Yoseob answered. "Plus all of the extreme experimentation and other stuff he was doing to us, we had to remain strong and fit. Or else we'd die."

"What did he do to you?" Damien questioned.

"Like we know," Hyunseung stretched a bit more. "Once he was satisfied with our fighting skills, he'd put us back to sleep in that stupid tank. When we'd wake up, we're back in a barred cage with a vampire. That went on forever."

"Every day?" the anger against Professor Victor grew in my body.

"No," Kikwang answered. "It would be for days or weeks or months. But it felt like seconds to us."

"So all of these years..." I mumbled.

"Feels like a mere week in our minds," Dongwoon finished my sentence.

"How cruel and vicious," I growled.

"Not as cruel and vicious as we were to the vampires he had us going against," Doojoon closed his eyes. "The six of us had to do everything and anything we could to survive, but we weren't necessarily humane about it either."

"Trust me," Damien scoffed once more. "Humane doesn't matter here."

The six BEASTs stared at him. They tried to comprehend what he meant, but couldn't figure it out. It would be impossible for them to fully understand until someone told them truly where they were. "Where is here exactly, if I may ask? Since we are no longer in the laboratory." Yoseob asked me.

"Vampire Hunter Headquarters," Damien answered for me. "You are at the center of all hunting activity that can cause a potential threat to human lives."

Just when they thought they were the only supernatural bearers of our group. Wait until they are told about me—that'd be a whole different story to try to portray properly. "And what are your roles here?" Dongwoo questioned us.

Damien and I turned to look at each other. We knew he could tell them the truth, but for me, that's a whole different story. I couldn't lie to them, but I also couldn't tell them the truth. I didn't even know a lot myself. I had to think of something simple and quickly.

"Hunter," Damien raised his hand.

"Part vampire," I raised my own. Might as well try to explain it now, right?

"Did you just say..." Hyunseung twisted his head as his eyes enlarged at my words.

"Part vampire?" Kikwang finished his sentence.

It truly surprised me that they didn't seem that astonished about the entire half vampire thing. I expected them to not believe me. But from all of the supernatural entities that surrounded us, this was normal. Nothing was impossible. Nothing was an urban legens. Nothing was unexplainable. 

"Just as surprised as you are okay," I let out a big sigh. "Found out about an hour ago. I know just as much about it as you guys know about yourselves at this moment. I am not really Jun and Cathy's child; when I was a few weeks old, my real mother put me on their doorstep to protect me. My mother was a vampire and my father was a human."

"Protect you from what?" Yoseob asked me.

I wasn't sure if I should tell them just from who exactly, but it would be unfair to keep it a secret. It's bound to be mentioned in the future, but today was already enough to handle. I shook my head numerously; I had to tell them. It linked the seven of us together. They had to know they weren't alone in their experience. "From the same guy who did all sorts of crazy stuff to you," I replied bluntly.

All six of them just looked down at their hands at this point. They didn't know what to say. Why couldn't they speak? I didn't undergo the same pain they did. Why would they feel bad about me being an experiment also? At least I was a fetus when it all happened, so the ache is not something I can recall. But for them... they experienced hell.

What lingered in my mind forever was how they could have possibly survived for this long. Not that I didn't believe in them, or was unhappy about it. But... how could they defeat vampires? Vampires are quick, strong, crafty, sneaky, and brutal when needed. It would take years of training to perfect one's skill to even defeat them. What sort of experimentations were conducted to give them such abilities? What made them so qualified to rip apart hundreds, maybe thousands, of vampires for years?

"How could the six of you defeat tons of vampires for eight years?" Damien questioned. He and I were thinking the same thing.

"How could Sophia be part vampire yet smell like a human?" Hyunseung asked in return.

I brushed off my clothing. I smelled? Like a human? What? "You... can tell that?"

"Yeah we can," Doojoon nodded. "Damien and you smell the same, plus five of the tanner looking guys who just left. But seven of the pale guys who were in the room before—vampires, correct?"

"Damn," Damien leaned against one of the railings on their hospital beds. "How the hell do you do that?"

"Advanced senses," Kikwang pointed to his nose. "Animal-like to be precise."

"We have the abilities of numerous animals," Yoseob continued. "The eyes of eagles, that can focus on items that are miles away. An elephant's strength. A cheetah's speed. A bear's sense of smell. The sense of touch of crocodiles. And the hearing of an owl."

"Crazy guy always mumbled about animals and their attributes around us," Junhyung growled. "Wouldn't keep quiet. Easily put the pieces together when you have a lot of time to think as you floated in a glass container, you know."

"If you guys have all of these unbeatable strengths of the best animals in the world," Damien scratched the back of his head. "Why didn't any of you escape?"

"We couldn't," Yoseob replied.

"Impossible."

"Not possible to even get close to the exit or him when there was a collar around our necks,"  Hyunseung raised his hands to gently wrap around his own neck. He rubbed it a few times before continuing. "That stuff electrocuted us whenever we misbehaved or made a wrong move."

"Treated us like real animals," Kikwang cracked his knuckles.

"Like true BEASTs..." I mumbled under my breath.

Before I could ask another question, one that would really shed a lot of light on their disappearance, our conversation was abruptly interrupted. Sungjong and Sungyeol rushed in. I noticed the panic in their expressions. What had gone wrong?

"Professor Victor..." Sungjong sighed while he pointed to the hallway. "He is fighting back."

"What?" Damien took a hold of his weapon, grasping tighter than ever before.

"He is refusing transportation," Sungyeol added. "After Sophia left the room, he wouldn't listen, answer questions, or even focus on anything. He just continued to mumble about experiments. Then, as soon as Father said he'd never see you again; it's like a switch was flipped."

"He's attacking anyone who gets close to him," Sungjong continued. "The entire room was evacuated and our brothers are already there with Teams Alpha, Beta, and Gama. We snuck out to get you. Sungyeol and I are going to bring you home, Soph. It isn't safe here."

"No," I nodded. "This is all my fault. Just let him have me."

"What significance could she possibly have that's so important to him?" Yoseob got up from his bed. The rest of the boys sat up properly. They were truly much taller than I had expected, especially Dongwoon. You would have never known that he was the youngest of the bunch.

"Easy," I walked to the side of the two vampires in the room. "I'm the key to his super race."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'M SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE AHFJHASDKJFH ;w; i feel like the worst writer in the world ): to be honest, I lost inspiration all of a sudden, but gained it back after reading a few books and watching a few more dramas. 

Not that exciting of a chapter, but shifted properly to the BEAST boys. 

DON'T WORRY INFINITE WILL NEVER LEAVE. I just needed to get across the BEAST boys' stories, you know? 

Opinions matter, so don't be afraid to drop by to say something! :D

dun dun dun dun! THE BEAST BOYYY IS YOSEOBBBB <3 My bias is actually Kikwang >___> but i realized that it was a typical person to fall for I guess. And everyone had such different biases. No one mentioned Yoseob! I was lyk :O asdhfas; making it yoseob so i'm not biased T_______T i hope no one is mad at me ): their relationship will be revealed eventually! :D