There weren't many times I was ever afraid of anything.

Maybe with the exception of the night of the cursed baseball game all those months ago, and the days leading up to this fight.

I only discovered that, during those times, I haven't been afraid for myself. Rather, I've been afraid for others, the guys.

The feeling was wretched - your body burns up. Your ears and cheeks feel like they're on fire. The hairs on the back of your neck literally stand up. Cold sweat uncomfortably begins to dampen your palms...

You feel so vulnerable...as if there was nothing you could do to save yourself.

But the question is - should I be afraid for my own safety now?

Are the guys even scared of what was going to happen?

"CL, get you and your group out of here," Suho told CL softly, yet sternly, "The Volturi would want to know what happened, and we don't want to get you involved."

The four females nodded once. I could only feel less secure, knowing that there will be fewer vampires to reassure my safety. How selfish was that? I knew I couldn't help it. It's only human nature to survive, isn't it?

"Are you sure, Suho?" Bom asked firmly.

"Positive. We can handle this."

"Alright," CL agreed, "Let's go."

And with that, the four women disappeared from the field.

Clammy sweat began to dampen my palms as my heart beat almost doubled.

Was this fight really worth Victoria's revenge? She didn't end up killing anyone from our side. Maybe she overestimated the newborns, or underestimated EXO and the girls.

I knew I shouldn't go and hide, but was it really necessary for me to be there?

To think that EXO are going to confront the vampire authority for my sake just scared the living daylights out of me.

What would the Volturi do once they find out that I was their mate?

Before I knew it, I felt my body trembling. Blood seemed to rush faster through my arteries, up to my face and ears. My breathing became slightly shorter.

"Baekhyun, she's on the verge of hyperventilating," Kris said firmly, "go and help."

Honestly, I didn't want any help. I can calm down myself, but before I could start doing so, I felt a pair of lean arms snaking around my waist. He pulled me against his body, my hands instinctively made their way up to hold onto his wrists.

Baekhyun's soft lips brushed against my ear, making my knees grow weak, "Calm down. They know us," he murmured softly, his honey-smooth voice soothing my shaking nerves.

I sharply inhaled before shaking my head. "It doesn't matter. What if they do something to you?"

"They won't," he reassured gently, "If anything, we can talk civially to them."

I swallowed the burning lump that was developing in my throat.

All my trust was handed to them.

"They're coming in two minutes," Luhan's voice informed.

"You, come with us," Kris commanded the newborn girl, who was still on the ground, holding her knees close to her chest.

She whimpered and obeyed, scrambling upwards to follow Kris.

I took in a staggered breath, closing my eyes for the short minutes before facing fate.

"Do you think they'll accept her?" Lay calmly asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

"There's a chance, but I'm certain that it's very slight that they will..." Suho answered.

My heart dropped.

"Don't worry, _________, we've got this." Kris' deep voice chimed in my ears.

I gulped once more before slowly opening my eyes, only to be faced with the ever billowing smoke from the bonfires of body parts.

A gasp was suddenly heard of which I recognised as Luhan's.

The guys were looking ahead, through the smoke. I tried following their gaze, but obviously, my sight wasn't as strong as theirs.

Baekhyun's grip around my waist became slightly tighter as the twelve of them were forming one straight line, making me feel slightly more secure.

"Hmm..." a musical male voice, soothing like velvet, murmured from the mist.

My eyes averted to the source of the foreign presence.

I felt my stomach sink.

There were four women, just like the other four girls, and three men.

The Volturi.

I froze instantly. The wore similar black cloaks with red satin beneath the outer layer. Their eyes were of a dark, crimson red, not as brilliant red as the newborn girl.

But most of all, they look like they were only in their early to mid 20s.

"Jaejoong," Suho greeted formally.

I shifted my gaze to the other group, trying to figure out which one of them was Jaejoong.

The seven of them pulled back their hoods in unison before boring their gazes into us. The tension in the atmosphere could have been sliced with just a pindrop.

The man in the centre, probably the most attractive of the group, twisted the corner of his lips up into a small smile. "Junmyun, my boy," said rather nonchalantly, "My, you and your brothers have grown quite a bit since the last time we saw you."

Suho lightly chuckled in appreciation. Jaejoong slightly frowned before saying, "We are utterly sorry for your loss over the past few years,"

The guys gulped. He must have been talking about Baekhyun, Luhan, Lay, and Sehun's parents' deaths.

Suho pressed his lips together before answering. "We appreciate your concern very much, thank you."

A hardcore fight just happened minutes ago, and the ultimate vampire authority just rocks up and compliments on how much EXO have grown up? What kind of authority was this?

Jaejoong then scanned the area, his red eyes shifting left, right, centre...

"Impressive," he said monotonously, "I have never seen a coven escape an assult of this magnitude intact,"

His eyes wandered around, observing the chaotic damage made to the field.

Suho only nodded, "We were lucky." he replied politely, leaving out the details about the girls helping.

"I doubt that," a feminine voice came from the group of females behind the three men. It must have been one of the so-called 'guards'.

"Jia, hush." a tall man, on Jaejoong's left, said softly, yet sternly.

The woman only rolled her eyes.

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight," the same man commented.

Short silence.

"Yes, Yuchun..." Jaejoong added, "it's rare that we're rendered unnecessary,"

"If you came half an hour early, you would have fulfiled your purpose," Kris said immediately, in tone so dead that it made me question if it was actually Kris who was talking.

Talk about formalities.

"It seems like you've missed one," the man with a youthful baby face, similar to Luhan, said light-heartedly.

The guys began to shift around, I felt my own gaze move away from looking at the Volturi.

I heard a staggered gasp from behind me. The guys turned around, I followed suit, and the line split in half, revealing the newborn girl.

She was terrified. Her bright red eyes were wide with fear, eyebrows creasing the centre of her forehead. She looked left, right, centre...it seemed as if it was all too much for her.

Tao made his way over to her, his gaze fixed on the Volturi. We turned back to face the Cold Ones.

"We offered her asylum in return for her surrender," Suho informed, his expression still emotionless.

"Ah, but that was not yours to offer," Jaejoong continued rather menacingly.

The girl continued to stagger her breathing, but she did not speak a word.

What were they going to do to her?

Though they haven't question me about anything, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

"What's your name?" he asked in a clear, firm voice, "Why did you come?"

She didn't answer, was open, but it was as if she was lost for words.

"Jia," he ordered. A female, much shorter than the three men, stepped forward. Her hair was of a shocking bright pink. Her eyes reminded me of a cat, but the irises were crimson red.

She smirked before slightly lowering her head, staring ahead at something from behind me.

All of a sudden, a piercing, ear-splitting scream was heard from behind us. My heart stopped as I instinctively grasped onto Baekhyun's wrist. I snapped my head back around to see the girl sprawled on the ground, her eyes squeezed shut, her shrieks of pain resonating across the field.

I grimaced at the blood-curdling sound coming from . My heart clenched for her. I could only imagine what pain she was going through.

"B-Boram!" the girl gasped. 

"Who created you?" Jaejoong asked, still remaining relatively unfazed.

The newborn only continued her deafening screech, unable to answer.

"You don't have to do that, she'll tell you anything you want to know," Chen said worridly.

Jia returned to her normal, poker-faced expression. "I know. I was just making sure."

Boram rolled over, her hands on the ground to support her. She inhaled a gasp, which also sounded like a suffocated squeal, before coughing once. "I don't know!" she cried, "Ray wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe!"

"She means Victoria..." Kris murmured, "Perhaps you knew."

"Kris," Suho interjected, "If the Volturi knew about her, they would have stopped her, isn't that right, Jaejoong?"

Jaejoong smirked. "Of course...anything else, young one?"

"Ray-he said that our mission was to destroy those guys," Boram pointed to the line that was EXO, "He said it would be easy because they were mortals."

That made Jaejoong cover his mouth with his hand before sliding it down to show that he was pondering. "Right then...Fei?"

Again, another woman from the group behind the three men, stepped forward. Boram scuttered backwards closer to Suho in fear.

This time, she was brunette, her thick hair tied back into a tight ponytail.

I guessed that Fei carried immense strength by the way her fierce expression radiated off her face.

"She didn't know what she was doing!" Lay called out. EXO looked at him as if he was crazy. Even I was surprised. Lay was usually the quiet, calm one. I wonder what made him outburst like this?

Jia held her hand out, stopping Fei in her tracks.

"We'll take responsibility for her," Lay continued, a sudden boost of confidence in his tone, "Until she can control herself, that is."

What? They'll take care of the newborn? Even if the Volturi would let them, would the guys be able to take care of her?

"Give her a chance...please..." Suho said gently, hope bearing in his voice. Hope that all of us wanted for the newborn.

Jaejoong only stared blankly at us. "Her job was to kill you, and she had obviously failed. The Volturi do not give second chances to those who break the rules. Keep that in mind."

I gulped. I guess the guys were right about the authority. They sure were powerful.

"Take care of that, Fei, my dear." Jaejoong said in his sweet, musical voice.

This time, Jia removed her hand from Fei's track. The brunette Cold One only remained silent as she stalked up to the newborn.

Without hesitation, the guys and I reluctantly moved out of the way for Fei to complete her job. I assumed that they could only watch what would happen next.

Boram looked up at the guard, panting and whimpering with fear before she was roughly heaved up by her arm, forcing her gaze into Fei's eyes.

"Don't watch," Baekhyun's soft voice murmured into my ear.

I have never been so eager to do what I was told. I think I'd seen enough for today, for a lifetime. I squeezed my eyes shut, and turned to face into Baekhyun's chest.

"Cover her ears," I heard Chanyeol say lowly. A pair of hands, different from Baekhyun's, came in contact with my ears, palming each side.
But I could still hear. Oh, how much I wish I was deaf for this moment churned within me.

Though most of the sound was blocked, I could hear a frighteningly familiar, high-pitched screech; then, it was cut off by a sickening crunching and snapping.

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WELL THEN...this is awkward *AHEM* god, I hate studying =.=

Sorry for the late update again, guys OTL I have my HSC trial exams coming up in the next two weeks, so I can't update for that period of time.

BUUUUUUUUUT, as soon as those weeks are over, I have 4 weeks free before my final HSC exams, so I'll be able to finish this by then!

So, I hope you guys liked this chapter...OVER 2000 WORDS!!! I hope this makes up for the long time I haven't updated, so yeah HAHA

I now leave you with the newborn Luhan:

and his tattoo:

And the new MV teaser:

please comment and subscribe and spazz!! X)