When the others left on their rescue mission, Himchan opted to stay behind. There was a few reasons he thought of for it, one being that infiltration would be easier with less people, but mainly it was to make sure there was someone who could stop Xiumin if he tried anything.

“I hate just sitting here” Seungri complained.

Himchan looked at him calmly. “There isn't really anything else you can do right now” he stated. Seungri rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath that Himchan didn't catch.

“Enjoy it while you can” Taeyang said from the couch where he had sprawled out once the others were gone. “I've got a feeling that things are going to get messy pretty quickly.”

“I guess, but there has to be something I can do in the meantime” Seungri stated.

“Right, you prefer to be busy” Taeyang sighed. “I don't know, build something. Xiumin's trying to make a break for it again, by the way.”

“Geez, you're persistent” Himchan muttered as he went to retrieve the Exoan who was somewhat successfully squirming away using his legs.

“If you were being held captive, would you just take it?” Xiumin retorted as he was dragged back.

“Fair enough, no” Himchan answered. “It looks like you're starting to get rope burns from struggling.”

Xiumin winced as Himchan prodded the skin near the ropes holding his wrists together. “In that case, it's been 'starting' for the past hour now” he grumbled.

“Maybe I could just loosen this a little...” Himchan muttered to himself, slowly reaching for the knot.

Xiumin waited until he felt a small amount of slack in the rope before he made his move. He pulled away, The rope unwrapping quickly as he drew his wrists apart. In one swift motion, he stood behind Himchan and wrapped the rope around his neck.

Himchan coughed as the rope was pulled tight around his neck. “Nobody move or the human gets it.”

There wasn't much Taeyang or Seungri could do anyway. Xiumin escaped easily with Himchan in tow.

~

Zelo and the others reached their destination long after the sun and fully set. They now stood in front of a small, rickety-looking shack in the woods.

“This is it?” GD asked. “This is where they're holding our friends?”

“Don't underestimate humans. A big compound in the middle of the woods wouldn't be very inconspicuous. It's probably all hidden under our feet” Emma told him, tapping the ground with her foot.

“The question is, how do we get in?” Daesung said. Nobody had an answer, they just looked at each other, hoping someone else had a plan.

“Well, first we need to know how it works” Zelo said, prompting Youngjae to walk over and take a look.

“Looks like it's just a four digit pass-code” Youngjae called over.

“Okay... Emma, you're telepathic, right?” Zelo said, receiving a nod in response. “Can you find and read the mind of someone who knows the code?”

“I'll see what I can do” Emma replied. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side like she was listening for something. “I've got it” she said, walking over to where Youngjae stood and punching a few buttons.

The door on the shack swung open, revealing an elevator inside. “Going down” Youngjae said with a grin.

~

Yongguk and Kai were carefully wandering through endlessly identical hallways when they heard a scream. Kai tried to run in the direction it came from, but Yongguk grabbed his arm, stopping him before he got far.

“That was Tao” Kai said, fighting to loosen Yongguk's grip.

“I know” Yongguk replied calmly.

“Then why are you stopping me?” Kai continued struggling to free his arm.

“Because all the real guards are probably already heading there, assuming they didn't cause it” Yongguk reasoned. Kai couldn't find an argument. “Our safest bet is probably to head in the opposite direction.

They turned around and kept walking until they found another door. “Do you think we'll find anyone behind door number who-know-what?” Kai asked.

“Can't hurt to check” Yongguk shrugged.

Kai slowly pulled the door open. “Suho” he gasped.

Suho looked up when he heard his name and smirked. “I should have known they wouldn't be able to hold you for long” he told Kai as they released his chains.

Kai flashed a big childish grin before a look of concern crossed his face. “Is that a hole in your shirt?” he asked. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

“Kai, I'm fine. Lay wouldn't talk and it frustrated the commander, so he took drastic measures” Suho explained.

“So he shot you in the chest?” Yongguk asked.

“Back actually” Suho replied. “It could have been worse, he originally pointed the gun at my head. I couldn't stop Lay from revealing his power though.”

Yongguk flinched, imagining what it must have felt like. “We should keep going, who knows when a guard might come by” he said. With that, the three found themselves back in the hallway trying to figure out where to go next.

They walked along for a while until Kai froze just before the hallway turned off in another direction. “I think I heard something around this corner. I'll check it out” he said, stepping around the bend before either of the other two could argue.

A few seconds later, he came stumbling back, landing hard on his back. GD came right after him, sword at the ready.

“G stop, it's Kai” Emma said, coming in close behind. She looked at Yongguk and Suho next. “Three down, five to go” she muttered to herself.

“We'd better keep moving then, there's probably a lot of ground to cover still” Zelo said.

“Not as much as there was a few hours ago. Kai and I have been searching for a while now and we've only found Suho so far” Yongguk said.

GD thought about this as he finally decided to help Kai up. “We should split up, we'll cover more ground faster that way” he stated.

“Sounds good. Three groups should do it since there's nine of us” Emma agreed. A contemplative look crossed her face quickly. “Although I just had another idea...”

The others looked at her expectantly. “Kai and I could, for lack of a better term, combine powers” she said.

“So, like, you find them and I take us to them?” Kai asked.

“Sort of, I'll just be inside your head when I find them so you can see where to go” Emma clarified.

“It's worth a try” Suho said.

~

So, after who knows how long, I have an update. Recently I just had a sudden burst of inspiration of what should happen next so hopefully I'll have another chapter in the not-so-distant future lol. Man is this story getting long though...

As always please comment and subscribe. I anticipate hearing what you have to say and possibly having small conversations with my readers. ^^