It'd been about thirty minutes since Daehyun and Youngjae had stepped out. Himchan was getting worried. He'd just finished patching up Jongup, and those two were still outside. What the hell were they doing?

A faint sheen of sweat had formed on Jongup's brow, and Himchan wiped it with a towel; he ran a hand through Jongup's damp hair, hoping to soothe the younger. 

"Junhong, watch Jongup, will you? I'm gonna go look for Daehyun and Youngjae," Himchan said as he walked out of the control room. "I'm bringing Bbang with me."

"Okay," Junhong answered. "But, you know, they're probably making out behind a tree."

Himchan paused in the doorway to stare at Junhong in mild horror. "Why would you say that."

Junhong shrugged. "Himchan, oh my god, have you not seen them?"

"Not sure if I want to," Himchan replied, turning around to walk out. "I'm getting Bbang."

"If you guys find them ing each other in a bush, don't say I didn't warn you," Junhong called out just before the door closed. 

Himchan sighed. Where was Yongguk anyway? Surely all the commotion earlier would have alarmed him even if a little bit. 

Five minutes later, Himchan found Yongguk sleeping on his bed, snorts coming out his mouth at regular intervals. Sighing, Himchan began hitting Yongguk's shoulder. 

"Bbang," Himchan said, and Yongguk groaned. "Yongguk, get up."

Yongguk inhaled a deep breath, turning to his side to face Himchan. "What is it? Did somebody die?"

"Daehyun and Youngjae haven't come back yet," Himchan replied. "Come on, we gotta go get them."

"Where'd they go?" Yongguk asked. 

Himchan sighed. "Outside. Come on, Bbang. I'm worried."

"They can take care of themselves, Himchan," Yongguk said, waving at Himchan dismissively. "Stop being so paranoid."

Himchan punched Yongguk's shoulder, and Yongguk let out a yelp of pain. He sat up, clutching his shoulder as he stared at Himchan in surprise. 

"What—"

"Jongup just got shot, and those other two went out to retrieve some swords. Don't call me paranoid when I have a reason to be worried," Himchan chastised in a firm tone. 

Yongguk stared at Himchan as the last bits of sleep faded. "When did Jongup get shot?"

"Something like thirty minutes ago," Himchan explained. "Youngjae told me it was a Legion soldier. I'm guessing the soldier was dropped off by a Republic helicopter."

Yongguk immediately hopped off the bed, and began walking to the control room with Himchan beside him. ". Did Youngjae tell you how many soldiers there were?"

Himchan thought about the question for a brief moment. "Probably one. Any more, and I don't think those two would have survived."

"Recon purposes, then," Yongguk reasoned. "Why else would there be one? But why would the Republic send a recon soldier—"

Himchan glanced at Yongguk, wondering why he stopped so suddenly. "What?"

Yongguk's pace sped up as he burst into the control room. "They're looking for us."

Cursing, Himchan headed into the weapons room, and fetched two handguns, one of which he handed to Yongguk. Junhong stared at the pair as they moved in tandem. 

"What happened?" Junhong asked before Yongguk and Himchan headed up. 

"The Republic is still looking for us," Yongguk replied. "That's why they had a recon soldier sent all the way up here."

The room was engulfed in tense silence, save for Yongguk and Himchan's footsteps as they moved around. They headed up the ladder shortly after, handguns tucked behind their backs. 

//

When Yongguk and Himchan reached the clearing, there wasn't a thing in sight. Everything seemed normal, not a thing out of place. Yet, there was something unsettling about the air that made them restless. 

"Something's not right," Himchan said as he walked around the perimeter of the clearing. 

"The katanas are still here," Yongguk mused aloud. "Why though?"

Himchan paused to look at Yongguk looking at one of the swords on the ground. There was no way Daehyun and Youngjae were really making out behind a tree, right? Well, there wasn't exactly a lot of privacy in the bunker, sure, but would they really go into the forest?

No... Junhong was just ing around. Right?

"These footprints...," Yongguk muttered, crouching down to the ground. "Hey, Channie, come here."

Himchan strode to where Yongguk was, and examined the set of footprints in the dirt. 

"Do any of us have shoes like this?" Himchan asked curiously. He looked at the bottoms of his own shoes briefly. 

Yongguk shook his head. "These are standard-issued Legion boots. And there's more than one set."

"Maybe the soldier just walked around multiple times?" Himchan offered. He didn't want this to be true, and yet...everything Yongguk was pointing out seemed to bring them closer and closer to that conclusion. 

Yongguk shook his head again, and looked up. He stood up, and followed the set of footprints, retracing the path. He stopped just outside the clearing, and turned around. While Yongguk did that, Himchan walked some steps away, and found an oddly shaped mark on the ground beside one of the katanas. 

"Yongguk, stay right there," Himchan instructed, rotating slowly in his spot. Then, he stared at the katana on the ground by his feet, and took a few steps back to examine the area. "Do you think they were taken?"

There wasn't a response from Yongguk, and Himchan looked at him, not too surprised to see expressions flipping from horror to devastation, from guilt to rage.

"I'm going to strangle something," Yongguk muttered.

"I'd rather you not strangle me, thank you very much," Himchan answered almost out of habit. He picked up the katana. "But, really, what else do we really have to go by? Those two couldn't have just run away. They didn't have any supplies when they went out, weren't acting suspiciously. And why would they leave behind the only weapons they would have had with them?"

Yongguk drew in a deep breath. "Well, we can't just go out looking for them. We need some sort of plan."

"No ."

There was silence for a moment as the two of them retreated into their own thoughts.

"Youngjae's importance to the Republic would give the Empress enough reason to send somebody all the way out here," Yongguk concluded as he walked back into the clearing. "Perhaps she saw the chance to find us as well as take Youngjae in. What was that Old World saying? 'One bird, two stones'?"

Himchan let out a laugh. "It's 'two birds, one stone'."

Yongguk shrugged. "Same thing."

"But... Why would the Empress send a soldier just for those two reasons alone?" Himchan asked. "Was it really worth it?"

"If they have Youngjae, then I'd say yeah."

Himchan scratched his head, his thoughts bouncing around in his head. "They were never this diligent with us, were they? Even with you, the renegade soldier, they just...dropped your case after a couple months."

Yongguk turned to face Himchan, a grave look on his face. "We need to get those two back. If we don't, everything will go to ."

A/N: Ok, sorry if this chapter just came out of nowhere. Somebody in the comments mentioned wanting to see the other members react to daejae's disappearance/kidnapping, and I kinda wanted to write that anyway and this needs a tiny bit of comic relief too??? By the time you guys are reading this, though, I'll be working on the next chapter. (((((I'm also laughing at that one unsubscriber. You'll be missing out big time, kiddo.)))))

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