PLEASE READ!!!

A/N: I'm putting this up at the top so no one decides to plot my death at the end of this chapter.  You know that saying, 'sometimes things have to get worse before they get better'?  Well, there you go.  So don't hate me too much, and PLEASE, don't give up on the story and stop reading it altogether, you will miss out BIG TIME!!!  For those of you who've been with me long enough and have read my other stories, you know what a huge, sappy, er I am for happy endings, so please TRUST ME ON THIS! I PROMISE things will work out in a way that you will find acceptable.  I love you all, you are the best!

The creature stealthily crept up behind him, knife in hand.  It was only when someone screamed his name that he turned around and noticed the creature poised to strike.  Daehyun was shocked when Youngjae jumped in front of him, blocking the attack.  He watched as Youngjae crumpled to the ground with the knife sticking out of his chest.  He stared at his best friend with wide eyes, not wanting to believe what he saw.  He heard a screeching cry as the creature that had tried to kill him was gunned down by one of his comrades, most likely Yongguk, his aim was impeccable, but none of that mattered to him at the moment, his best friend had just saved his life and now lay dying. 

Daehyun collapsed to his knees next to Youngjae and pulled him into his arms.  “Jae, why?”

Youngjae gave the faintest of smiles.  “I couldn’t let my best friend get stabbed in the back.  Besides,” he coughed and blood came up as well, painting his lips, “Eunji needs you.”

Daehyun shook his head, tears starting to fall.  “And I need you, you idiot.”

Youngjae placed his hand on Daehyun’s cheek.  “I love you too, Dae.”

Daehyun choked back tears as he watched Youngjae’s eyes flutter shut.  He let out a roar that was a mixture of rage and anguish and held Youngjae tighter.  They’d been best friends their whole lives and had always been inseparable; Daehyun couldn’t imagine his life without Youngjae in it.  He kissed the top of his friend’s head and simply cried, and when hands grabbed at him and tried to pull him away he fought against them.

“We have to get out of here now!”  Yongguk shouted. 

Daehyun shook his head.  “No, I won’t leave him.  Help me carry him back, maybe Himchan can…”

Yongguk grabbed Daehyun’s face between his hands.  “Look around us, we are quickly being closed in upon.  If we carry him we won’t make it out.”  He sighed.  “Besides, Himchan can only do so much...”

Daehyun nodded in understanding as his eyes took in their surroundings.  Yongguk was right, they needed to get out and they needed to do it fast.  He looked down at the man in his arms and felt his heart break.  He kissed his friend’s forehead and hugged him one last time.  “I’m sorry, Jae.  I love you.”  He released Youngjae, leaving him to rest on the ground where he’d fallen.  Yongguk pulled him along and they ran for cover as their enemies pursued.  As they neared their destination, fellow comrades fired into the enemy ranks allowing them their escape.  When they finally reached the safety of their stronghold, Himchan and Jongup were there to greet them. 

“Where’s Youngjae?”  Jongup asked.

Himchan elbowed Jongup and he let out a yelp.  He had noted the other’s absence and taken notice of the look on Daehyun’s face.  “I’m truly sorry, Dae.”  He whispered, he, more than any of them, knew how Daehyun felt at the moment, and as his thoughts lingered on what he too had lost he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Daehyun nodded numbly at Himchan’s words, knowing full well the man understood his feelings.  It was bad enough that they’d been parted from the women they loved, but now they both had had someone they loved dearly taken away from them as well.  He felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder and he looked up to find Yongguk.

Yongguk just stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug, making Daehyun stiffen at the unexpected gesture.  “I’m here for you if you need me.”

Daehyun looked at Yongguk in complete surprise.  Was this the same man that hated it whenever Daehyun tried to playfully tease with him?  He could tell from the look in his eyes that Yongguk was trying to help Daehyun patch together his wounded heart.  He smiled at the warrior and nodded.  “Thanks, that means a lot.”

Eunji woke with a loud sob as she sat up in bed.  The dreams were getting worse.  But they weren’t really dreams exactly.  Somehow she and Daehyun shared some sort of link with each other, albeit one-sided; her dreams allowed her to be a bystander in events that Daehyun experienced.  She’d gone to battle with him and seen all sorts of horrible things, but…this dream…

“Are you alright, Eunji?”  Zelo’s voiced called from the doorway.  As he studied her face he knew what was wrong.  “It was another dream wasn’t it?”  She nodded and he came and sat down on the bed next to her.  “What sort of report shall I be receiving soon?” 

He frequently received updates from the men so he knew what was going on.  And when they had realized that her dreams matched some of his reports they’d kept track of all the dreams, because sometimes not everything she dreamed got sent as a report.  Some of the dreams she had were actually pleasant ones, like when the men were able to meet with their families and friends whom they hadn’t seen in years and share stories with each other.  But this dream was anything but pleasant. 

“Youngjae was killed.”  Eunji whispered.  She could still feel the pain Daehyun had felt at the loss of his best friend and it made her heart ache.  She watched as Zelo’s eyes closed and moved rapidly beneath his eyelids and she knew he was receiving a transmission.  When his eyes opened he stared at her with a look that she’d come to understand was a look of sadness for him.  He didn’t fully understand emotions the way she did, but he tried. 

“Youngjae was killed in battle trying…”

“To save Daehyun.”  Eunji finished for him.  They sat in silence for a while, both mourning over the situation in their own way.  It had been seventeen years already since they’d last seen them.  Eunji and Minhee were fast approaching their forties and Kyuyun had sadly died in childbirth, due to a hard labor of surprise twins.  Zelo had cryogenically frozen her body and stored it in the small ship that housed his charging station as well.  The small craft was hidden in a large cave that lay nestled in the hillside upon which their house rested, and their basement allowed access to the cave as well. 

Kyuyun’s twins had survived the birth, and she and Minhee were raising them for her.  She’d had twin boys and they were both a spitting image of their father, and extremely mischievous.  They’d named them Namkyu and Sangkyu.  The boys, being half alien, aged slower than humans, so, after almost seventeen years of life they only appeared to be five.  The boys absolutely adored Zelo and he would take them down into the ship to visit their mother, whom they called ‘the pretty frozen lady’.  They loved to hear stories about their father and the other men.  And they especially loved it when Eunji would tell them about the star deck on the spaceship as well as the water planet Daehyun had made for her.  They had her tell them about it over and over again, never growing tired of her descriptions.  But as time went by Eunji felt like her experiences had simply been a dream. 

Eunji looked up at Zelo, who still sat on her bed, and smiled at him.  “Thank you for taking care of us.”  She watched as his face scrunched up, and it made her giggle.  He always did that when he was trying to process the proper emotional response for a situation.

Finally, he smiled at her.  “You are welcome.”  He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers.  “Your face is changing, why is that?”

Eunji gave a wry chuckle.  “It’s called aging.  Research it thoroughly because I think you will need to know all about it.”  She said with a sad smile.  “I’ll probably be an old lady when he finally comes back for me.”  She whispered more to herself than to the robot, but he’d heard her of course.

“And that is bad?”  He asked.

She looked at Zelo and smiled, ruffling his hair, which she knew he hated.  “Research aging and you’ll understand.”  She yawned and stretched.  “I think I’m going to go back to sleep now.”  She kissed her fingertip and placed it on Zelo’s nose.  “Goodnight, Zelo.”

Zelo bowed his head and stood up.  “Goodnight, Eunji.”  He said as he left her room, rubbing his fingers against his nose.

Eunji lay there, thinking of Daehyun, longing for his return.  He’d told her to find another man and live a full, happy life and Yongguk had told Minhee the same, but neither of them had been willing to do so.  She and Minhee would remain faithful till their dying days.  Besides, they had Kyuyun’s boys to look after, the little rascals.  She sighed and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to envision the star deck or the water planet, but those too seemed to be slipping away from her just like Daehyun had.  She longed to be with him again, to be held in his arms, and to see the things he’d shown her, to be together on their own private paradise planet. 

“Dae,” she whispered aloud, “Come back to me soon.  Come back to me before it’s too late.”