C h a p t e r T e n 
A Slight Delay
    Greenwich Village - Year X665     "Okay, so, today were going to have to be careful," Min stated as the group gathered in the local Tavern located within the Greenwich Village Inn. After regrouping the night before they were all able to get their much deserved rest after almost three days straight of traveling via foot. Unfortunately, forms of public transportation, mainly the Express Train and country busses, were unable to provide any kind of travel to the Sabbia Eastersands. It was a region made up of white desert sands and dunes so it was almost impossible to use any other means of travel besides walking. Plus, now knowing that there were people looking for them, it was a safer and smarter strategy to stick away from those areas that they were expected to be.   It was a long and rigorous trip but there were plenty of places to stop and rest along the way. The 4th Elite decided that Greenwich would be it considering that it was right in the center of distance between where they came from, the Dome City of Loxus in Lumen, to the Underground City of Terra in the Sabbia Eastersands.   "Why careful?" L asked, his eyes glued on Min as he took a swig of his drink.   She sighed. She hadn't gotten around to telling them about what happened the day before, but even then she should've suspected that L would be able to sense something was up. "Word's gone out. There's a hit on us."   "What?" Jia hissed as she set down her fork.    "Or at least that's what it sounds like."   Bom looked at her carefully. "What makes you say that?"   "One of the Thieves," Min sighed. "I met with them again and they told me that word had gotten around that the Reaper was a female. That's why they attacked us. Which makes me think that maybe-"   "That maybe they purposefully spread the news to get people talking," Taeyang interrupted, turning his attention away from the window to Min. He sighed and straightened before making his way toward the table and sitting on one of the chairs, with the back facing his chest to rest his arms over. "I hate to say it, but that's a genius way of tracking us."   "So now the Daevas have their eyes open," Jiyong concluded in understanding. "If we're spotted, they'll be notified."   Seungri gawked over at Min. "Now we have to watch our backs from Thieves, too?"   "Those bastards would do anything for money," Taeyang sneered in distaste. Thieves were a bunch of ingrates, disliked by Humans and Daevas alike. They had no loyalty. They were on the side that offered the most money.   "Luckily..." Min stopped herself before continuing. She wanted to tell them about Kris and how he helped her, but at the same time she wasn't sure it was the right moment. So she continued as if nothing happened. "I was able to convince them that they got their intel wrong."
"As expected from our reliable leader," Zelo smiled proudly as he continued eating.   Min shook her head, unable to hold back a smile, "Point is, that I don't know what Woobin wants with us. But whatever it is, we need to notify the rest of RED before they find us."   "Do you think that whatever they want with us has to do with Suzy?" L asked, his eyes on the ground before staring up at Min who had already pressed her lips together in a straight line.   "My only objective right now is to warn the rest of the divisions," Her expression had hardened as she said that, instantly becoming unreadable to the other members. "We can worry about the rest later." Getting up, Min made her way passed her friends and out toward the garden outside the establishment.    The group was silent for a moment before Bom let out a small sigh.  "L-"   "Look, I know," L snapped, frustrated with himself mainly, "But she can't not talk about it."   At this moment, while the group was distracted, Taeyang took it upon himself to go after Min. Not going unnoticed by the team's second-in-command.   "We know that you're worried about Min," Jia said carefully, genuinely understanding her teammate's feelings. "Hell, we all are. But Suzy... Suzy can't be our main focus right now. You know that. We have other things to do. Other priorities that need to be taken care of."   "Woobin's group is strong" Jiyong then added. "And we can't go in blind. If he really does have Suzy, then we need to know what we're dealing with first before we make any moves to save her. And we can't be distracted by that. Especially Min. Distractions lead to mistakes. And mistakes lead to serious consequences."   "Min isn't capable of making mistakes," L spoke confidently, taking the group aback by the dark tone in which he spoke with. He was clearly still blaming himself for what had happened.   Jiyong sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, she is. We all are."   Outside, Min leaned her head back against the wall as she sat just outside on one of the wooden banches that leaned against the building's exterior. The window was open but she could only faintly hear what her members were saying inside. Not that she really cared to listen. Her mind had already begun to wander as she closed her eyes and thought about all the things that were happening around her. Of course Min wanted to save her sister. But she was a leader first and she had her priorities. She had to think about their safety and what was best for them, because no matter how cruel it sounded, they were the ones who were with her at the moment. She was responsible for them. She couldn't focus on someone whose status was unknown and possibly put their lives in danger.   "You know," A familiar voice broke through her thoughts, making her look up to see Taeyang casually leaning against the wall beside her. "Your friends are worried about you."   Min blinked at him and then looked ahead toward the forest in front of her, squinting at the light that reflected of the Ecru's leaves. "Are they?"   "Yeah," He sighed and tapped Min's shoulder, making her roll her eyes in annoyance when she saw him motion his hand towards her by giving it quick little flicks. She scooted down the bench to give him room to sit. "They are. You're keeping them in the dark about something"
She folded her arms against her chest and scoffed. "What makes you say that?"   "The fact that you didn't even deny it just now."   Min looked at him in surprise. He was a lot sharper than she gave him credit for. "If I am holding back something, which I'm not, there would be a good reason."   "What ended up happening with the Thieves, Min?" He asked, not believing her.   "What do you mean?" She asked as she furrowed her brows at his sudden interrogation.   "One of them nulled your powers. Didn't they?"   Once again she was shocked by his claim and stared at him with blinking eyes, "H-how-"   "It's a Wolf thing," He smiled arrogantly. He stared at her for a little when she looked away, his heart giving a little thump before he shook it off and faced ahead. He could vividly recall that moment Min fell, how something had changed around him when he saw her at the bottom of the ridge. There was nothing coming from her. And he didn't want to admit it, but it had him in a panic. "Min, your Moxie Pressure can overwhelm just about anyone. It has a special kind of sensation that I can easily recognize over anyone else," Min was thankful she was looking away as a blush began to appear on her cheeks. He didn't notice, but saying that out loud didn't do too well for his fluttering heart. "And when you fell down that cliff, it was like it was wiped away completely."   She regained her composure and looked at him, and he was thankful he was able to control his expressions when she did. "Why didn't you say anything?"   He just stared at her. "I didn't want to worry your friends." Unfortunately, it had me worrying instead.   "Yeah, well... I was caught off guard. I never thought anyone can cut off my abilities like that."   "Understood. But it's situations like those when you need to rely on your comrades. You need to trust that we can have your back whenever it does happen. "   "We?"   "You know what I mean."   "Yeah, well, this time around it was unnecessary. I didn't have to tell them because I wasn't in a position where I was in any direct danger. And I know they could take care of themselves, so I wasn't worried. And if I wasn't worried, than no one else had to be. No point in causing panic for no reason."   This frustrated him. Because she was right. He was panicked the entire time he was away from her and knew she didn't have her powers. And she needed to know it was for a good reason. "But what if you had gotten attacked?"    This clicked something in Min's mind as she recalled that moment when she did get attacked.  Min was always strong, to be placed in a situation like that was really unsettling. She then looked at Taeyang with a hard gaze. "I didn't." She was lying through her teeth. But he didn't have to know.   His brows furrowed in frustration of the proud girl. "But what if you had?"   Min's eyes softened and she looked away. "I would've found a way back to you guys regardless." Someone had to save her this time around. But she swore it would never come to that again. Min had to figure out a way to prevent that from happening again. "By the way, you have Primary abilities of your own, don't you?"   "Of course," Taeyang straightened boasting his usual smug expression. "I'm an Alpha."   Min rolled her eyes. "What does that mean?"   "As you know, Daevas are just as capable of learning how to control their Moxie to perform Charges."   "Right," Min nodded for him to go on.
"There are some Daevas who are incapable," He began to explain as he looked off toward the forest. "Like the lesser-Vampires who are unable to think of anything other than their bloodlust, so they become the sole exception to this fact. With Werewolves it's different. Only Omegas are incapable of performing strong Charges, though they do have hightened reflexes, agility, speed and strength but it's not the same when they're up against anything with Charges. As an Alpha, not only do I have my own abilities which heavily rely on Earth Charges, like the decoy I made when we first met, a Red Herring of sorts, but I have more of an advantage and can use Augmenting Charges on myself to buff up before a fight."   "Like before," Min stated, having recalled it. "During the fight in HQ."   "Yeah..." His voice trailed off as he looked down somberly for a moment. "Like that."   Min immediately realized what she had said and immediately regretted out. She wasn't the only one dealing with stuff. And now she felt stupid for being so insensitive. She had only been thinking about herself and forgotten about the fact that Taeyang had just lost someone not too long ago. "Sorry."   Taeyang waved it off, keeping his eyes ahead depiste feeling Min's gaze on him. "No big deal. It's hard to remember what you've already forgotten." Min kept quiet, thinking that maybe he didn't want to go any further into the subject. She couldn't blame him. She wasn't the type to talk much about her feelings either. But she was surprised when she heard his voice again. "It's especially hard when the last thing I can recall saying to him was that I didn't need him anymore. Of course I'd just want to forget."   Min looked at him sadly, his gaze had become distant. It was as if she was watching him revert to that day in his past. Reliving that painful moment. It made her recall something in her own memory. "I can understand that." She looked ahead when she felt Taeyang's eyes land on her suddenly. "The last time I spoke to Suzy was the day before the attack." She then looked back at him, surprising him a little by what he saw in her eys. "Do you know what I said to her?" Taeyang shook his head quietly, his eyes softening. "I told her she was worthless. That she wasn't good enough to be a RED Hunter." Min was cynical in the way she spoke, she even laughed darkly, making Taeyang feel for the small girl even more. She was clearly hurting. She just didn't want to show it. "We argued, like we usually did. We were never the type to see eye-to-eye." Min sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, sweeping her fringe back as she leaned against the wall, keeping her eyes ahead. "I assumed the reason she went to go see the Master was to tell him something about it. Convince him that I had made the wrong decision about not letting her into a team and to reconsider her. That she belonged in RED as a Hunter."   Taeyang sighed, regretting having opened his big mouth. "Min-"   "HELP!"   Min looked at him. "What was that?"   "HELP! HELP!"   Min and Taeyang quickly stood up and walked back into the Tavern to find a man running in and rushing toward the group. Min just happened to look off to the side to see L sitting with his back against the wall that had the window. She couldn't even begin to describe the look he had in his eyes before she quickly turned away from him when she realized that it meant he had possibly heard her and Taeyang talking. Instead she returned her gaze back to the man that was badly injured and listened to what it was he was saying as Bom had him sit down to bein curing his injuries as best as she could.   "Shadowlins..." He choked between breaths. "In the village."   "Shadowl