T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter Fourteen

‘I’ll do it.’ Ryeowook’s voice was clear, no hint of a tremble or uneasiness. He was sure of himself despite the pain it took to come to his conclusion. ‘Whatever you want… I’ll do it.’ Yunho’s smile was as devilish as the Cheshire Cat.

‘Wow we actually did it.’ Kyuhyun breathed, wiping his grimy forehead. Kibum didn’t know whether to laugh, scream, cry or just collapse in a dark corner. In the end he settled on patting the demon’s shoulder, giving him a smile and then stepping up to the machine to check it over one last time.

It was a metallic pod about the size of a small car. Wires and circuits ran all throughout the frame to connect in the middle of the dashboard where there were handles and a head set. They’d even furnished it with a seat to make it more easily accessible. The theory was that Shindong would be able to sit in it, get hooked up to the attachments and use his power through the machine which would hopefully allow him to extend his range considerably. He’d find Ryeowook; they’d track him down, rescue him and find out once and for all what the Dark Elves were plotting. But this was all still in theory, they had to make sure the mechanism worked first.

‘Let’s go and get cleaned up. After that, we’ll find Shindong and meet back here.’ Kibum suggested and Kyuhyun nodded.

‘Good idea.’ They left the chamber and tiredly wandered through the hallways to the sleeping quarters without wanting or needing to say anything. It had been a long night with no time to stop and take a proper break. There had been a small interlude when they’d heard the sounds of angry growls echoing around the section of the Institute they were in and knew that Kangin’s transformation must have been completed. Master Lee will have been dragging him down to his cage that was nearby to the chambers.

When Kibum reached his bedroom at last, he briefly debated whether he could get away with flopping down onto his bed for a while but decided it wasn’t a good idea because he probably wouldn’t be able to get back up again. Instead, he went through to his bathroom and peeled off his grubby clothes, throwing them haphazardly into the laundry basket. He the shower and let the water heat up while he took a glance at his reflection in the mirror. The shadows under his eyes were almost black against the whiteness of his skin. Kibum looked away and stepped into the shower, groaning with relief when the hot water ran over his weary body.

He allowed himself the time to properly wash himself clean and work out the aches and sores that he’d accumulated in the last day and a half. When he was done, he reluctantly removed himself from the shower cubicle and shut off the water, hurriedly grabbing a clean white towel. Once he was dry, he paced back into his bedroom and dug around in his chest of drawers for fresh clothes which he then tugged on. He checked the time and quickly figured out that he’d been awake now for over twenty five hours. As soon as they made sure the machine worked, he was having a well-deserved sleep.

He left the room and strode down the corridor to go knock on Kyuhyun’s door. When he heard a shout from within, he let himself into the demon’s bedroom and stood around patiently by the TV stand. Kyuhyun was in the bathroom, presumably finishing off getting washed and dressed. Kibum’s eyes drifted over the stack of games that had been left out by the consoles connected to the television. Huh. So that’s where his Assassin’s Creed IV went.

‘Ready to go?’ Kyuhyun returned from the ensuite looking a lot healthier than the psychic had seen him last; he hoped he was giving off the same impression.

‘Ready.’ He assented and they left the room together. It was nearing midday so with any luck, Shindong would still be in his bedroom and so they headed the short distance back down past Kibum’s and along the hall. Kyuhyun knocked and they waited about five seconds before Shindong appeared with a smile.

‘Hey guys, what’s up?’ He greeted them, making way for them to enter his room.

‘To cut a long story short, we’ve built a machine that can amplify your power so that you’ll be able to hopefully find Ryeowook.’ Kibum explained as he went into the bedroom, Kyuhyun following closely behind.

‘Oh! Wow, that’s amazing.’ Shindong replied in a state of mild shock.

‘We need you to come and test it so that we know it works.’ Kyuhyun added.

‘Of course. Lead the way.’ And so they returned to the chambers. Shindong asked questions all along their journey which the pair readily answered, everything still fresh in their minds from having only just stopped working on the project. While Kyuhyun explained how Shindong’s power would connect to the mechanics, Kibum took the opportunity to send a telepathic message to Master Chen informing him that they had completed the machine and were about to test it. It made him recall their meeting yesterday and he silently wondered what his father would think of his hard work.

The machine was waiting, right where they left it, in the middle of the chamber. Shindong ooed and aared over it for the time it took Kyuhyun to switch it all on, then Kibum directed their older friend inside of the pod and sat him down in the chair. He gave Shindong the headset to put on and proceeded to attach all the wires that connected it to the rest of the technology then indicated for the other boy to grab a hold of the metal handles in front of him, giving a reassurance that it wasn’t an electric shock arcade game.

‘Do you want to take over?’ Kyuhyun called from the back of the machine. Kibum joined him and positioned himself in front of the computer system that was built in there.

‘Here goes nothing.’ He muttered. With a steadying breath, he typed in the codes that would start up the processor and got to work making sure that everything was stabilised before he gave Kyuhyun a nod.

‘Try sending out a radar.’ The demon said to Shindong. At first, nothing changed and then slowly, the machine began to whirr and hum. Kibum watched the frequencies on the screen oscillate and he ran through the data that was being collected with keen eyes.

‘Everything’s good on this end.’ He confirmed.

‘Shindong? You getting anything?’ Kyuhyun questioned.

‘I’m locating all of the agents patrolling the grounds. My range has never gone that far before!’ Shindong exclaimed in amazement.

‘It works!’ Kibum cried happily. Kyuhyun gave him a high five. ‘Now all we have to do is crank it up and keep searching until we find Ryeowook.’

‘If he’s still in this country.’ Kyuhyun pointed out.

Now that he knew what had gone on, Heechul had become aware that he’d been noticing the last couple of days that Sungmin just wasn’t himself. At first he’d just been ier than usual, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for a typical week. However, throughout yesterday and the day before, he’d gotten gradually closed off; hardly speaking to anyone, hardly looking at anyone. Heechul struggled to remember the last time he’d eaten anything either which was more than enough reason to panic. He didn’t look back on the days when Sungmin starved himself with any kind of fondness.

‘Oh this is just too depressing!’ Heechul cried out in exasperation. Sungmin’s eyes flew over to him in surprise. ‘Come on Hannie.’ The shifter grabbed his lunch companion and dragged him over to where Sungmin was sat.

‘What’s happening?’ Hankyung mumbled in a daze, his sandwich halfway to his mouth. He was ignored.

‘What’s wrong?’ Sungmin asked, sitting up properly. Heechul gave him the face he reserved for the truly dim.

‘You’ve been like this for days now. For Shisus’ sake, what is the matter with you?’ He demanded.

‘Like what?’ Sungmin feigned naivety.

‘Moping. Like a sad old moping mop. I’m sick of it, Hankyung’s sick of it, we’re all sick of it!’ Hankyung tried to object but again, he was ignored. ‘Tell me what’s wrong and maybe I can help.’ Heechul put on his best pleading expression which usually got him what he wanted and he wasn’t disappointed. Sungmin sighed.

‘I had a fight with Kyuhyun and now we’re not speaking.’ He admitted. Heechul didn’t want to let on that he knew more than he should – courtesy of Lee Donghae – so he continued his interrogation.

‘Why did you fight?’ He asked. Sungmin deliberated over his next answer.

‘Well I got mad at him the other night for being so insufferable and overprotective in Faust and… I thought that girl he was dancing with was such a .’ His tone became spiteful.

‘It seems like he was jealous of you and you were jealous of him.’ Heechul replied, expecting the demon to start getting defensive. He was extremely surprised, however, when Sungmin just sighed for a second time and looked completely resigned.

‘I know.’ He muttered. ‘I don’t know what happened… I just got so angry.’ His eyes were downcast and woeful, his hands fidgeting in his lap. Heechul suddenly didn’t want to keep complacently questioning him and he got up and moved to sit next to his friend, nudging his knee against the other boy’s. Sungmin’s mouth turned up at the corners slightly.

‘I know he’s been your best friend for years but do you think maybe you love him in a different way?’ The café was practically empty now which made it easy for Heechul to lower his voice to a comforting level and ask Sungmin these all important questions.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well it’s something to think about.’ The shifter’s eyes flicked over to Hankyung who was watching on with curiosity. ‘Sometimes you can never realise what’s right in front of you.’ Sungmin gave another small smile and he gently leaned over to rest his head on Heechul’s shoulder. The latter curled his arm around the younger boy and used his other hand to his long wavy hair. They stayed like that for a while, Hankyung still watching contentedly.

‘Chullie?’ Sungmin then piped up.

‘Yes darling?’

‘Me and Kyuhyun had .’

It was lucky that the front of the machine opened out like a window frame because, occasionally, when Shindong was concentrating particularly hard, he’d accidentally release a sonic blast in the form of a banshee-like screech. It was also lucky that the chamber was reinforced because the wall in front of Shindong and the machine was taking the impact. The noise wasn’t pleasant either. Master Chen had sent for ear protectors not too long ago.

‘How are you holding up?’ Kibum called to their resident caterwauler.

‘This is one of those times I actually need sugar.’ Shindong replied breathlessly. He sounded worn out and didn’t look any better.

‘I’ll take care of it.’ Master Chen interjected. ‘Ailee, get someone from the kitchens to send down a few of the energy shakes.’ He spoke into his wristwatch communicator. A ‘yes sir’ crackled faintly from it. ‘Oh and a coffee for me as well, thank you.’ Kyuhyun decided that he needed a secretary to get him coffee whenever he wanted. Perhaps Henry could be manipulated into becoming his slave…

‘Ready to go again?’ Kibum asked Shindong.

‘Go for it.’ Was the weary reply. So far they’d covered most of the north and the Kwangju Mountains, the amplifier allowing Shindong to locate things as far as the western coast. Steadily they were moving south and covering as much ground as possible each time despite the toll it was taking on Shindong’s energy levels. Master Chen was adamant that the Dark Elves would not be far since they’d want to keep an eye on things. As well as that, it was unlikely they’d have the resources to transport Ryeowook to the other end of the country. Why go that far anyway if they wanted to strike the Institute in the near future?

‘We’re somewhere south of Chunchon.’ Kyuhyun informed the others, looking over coordinates and compasses and charts. Shindong made a noise of discomfort and they waited for a few moments before he started mumbling names and places under his breath as he tried to process all the information filtering into his locator brain. It usually took him about twenty minutes to digest everything which was why the process had been going on for so long. Kyuhyun knew it would be heartless to complain that he was bored and tired because this was so much worse for Shindong.

Anyone with a gift knew that if you used it too much in one go, it would drain you. Sungmin was the one prone to disregarding that far too often and Kyuhyun told himself it was no use trying to scold him for it anymore because he never listened. There were some of them that didn’t suffer as badly as others because of the way their powers and their genetics worked. Eunhyuk was one of them. He used his gift all the time in different ways but his body was designed to be that way so it could withstand the physical demands. In contrast, they’d all been playing Heechul’s ‘guess what I am’ game a few months ago until, little over an hour into the game, Heechul had returned to human form and unceremoniously fallen asleep.

While he waited for Shindong to finish, Kyuhyun dropped down to sit on the floor which was at least partially more comfortable than standing up. He mulled over all the far more entertaining things that he could be doing right then and sighed. Top of the list was hanging out with Sungmin but that wasn’t happening any time soon. It hadn’t escaped his notice that Sungmin had not only stopped speaking to him, but he was now not speaking to anyone and Kyuhyun didn’t like how guilty that made him feel.

‘I know everything darling.’ Heechul replied. ‘Keep up Hankyung.’ He called behind him to the pyro jogging to keep pace with the two in front of him. Sungmin was currently dragging Heechul to his bedroom for much needed answers. If the ginger princess knew about his secrets, god knows how many other people knew by now. When they finally got to his room, he slammed the door shut behind them and stood with his arms folded and his eyebrows raised at the pair now sat on the end of his bed.

‘Well?’

‘There’s no need to get your knickers in a twist, I haven’t told anyone.’ Heechul started examining his manicure.

‘Yes but how did you find out? Did Kyuhyun tell you? Has Kibum been reading my thoughts? That little fuc-’

‘Wait, wait, wait.’ Heechul threw up his hands in a calming gesture though it did little to make Sungmin relax. ‘Donghae told me.’

‘WHAT?!!’

‘Now hang o-’

‘How the bloody hell does Donghae know?!!!’

‘Would you just let me explain the whole story?’ Sungmin started pacing up and down his room in a hysterical manner, biting his nails and running a hand through his hair. Heechul, without waiting for the admittance he wasn’t going to get, decided to further explain. ‘Donghae overheard your fight with Kyuhyun the other night so that’s how he found out. He hasn’t told anyone apart from Hankyung and me.’

‘He was eavesdropping on me?!!’ Sungmin cried in outrage.

‘I don’t think he meant to at first, he was just outside when you started yelling.’ Heechul was likely leaving out a few details and at some point, Sungmin would get to the bottom of it all but for that moment he just went to his bed and face-planted down into the fuchsia duvet.

‘Are you ok?’ He heard Hankyung ask and gave an unintelligible mumble in reply.

‘Look what I want to know is when this all happened and, more importantly, is Kyuhyun actually overcompensating or does he just like big guns?’ Heechul shuffled around on the bed so he could lie down next to Sungmin, however, facing the ceiling. His questions at least made Sungmin smile. The demon decided he’d roll over as well and let his head rest against Heechul’s shoulder like before.

‘It was after we caught you making out with Siwon.’ He began, obliging an explanation. ‘We came back here and I was upset and Kyuhyun was trying to calm me down and then we just… kissed.’

‘Just kissed?’ Heechul interrupted teasingly. Sungmin swatted at his side, his cheeks burning.

‘And then other things.’

‘y things.’

‘Do you really want to know every detail?’ Sungmin asked incredulously.

‘I really want to know every detail.’ Heechul replied, sounding far too sure of himself.

‘Err…’ Hankyung then cut in with a nervous tone and the other two laughed.

‘I won’t give you the play by play, for Hankyung’s sake.’ Sungmin then said. ‘But Kyuhyun is absolutely not overcompensating.’ Heechul squealed gleefully.

They then lay there for some time, the three of them, in comfortable quiet and Sungmin noticed he actually felt a lot better than he had for the last couple of days. Heechul wasn’t always the nicest person, or the most empathising but he was one of the best friends Sungmin had and he knew that most of the other special agents felt that way though they wouldn’t admit it. He knew he could always count on Heechul to cheer him up or know what he was thinking or just say the right things at the right time.

‘I think you need to work things out with Kyuhyun. Soon. Otherwise, you might end up ruining your friendship.’

‘I miss him.’ Sungmin admitted.

‘What?! Really?!’

‘He’s out on Yeongjongdo!’

‘Ailee, sound the alarms. Level five.’ Kibum threw Master Chen a startled look. Threat level five meant everyone in the Institute was needed. He turned back to Shindong who was clambering out of the machine looking absolutely exhausted. Kyuhyun ran to him when he stepped down and nearly fell to the ground.

‘Woah, take it easy.’ Kibum went to help his friend support Shindong and prop him against the side of the metal structure.

‘There’s an elf with him.’ The older boy panted.

‘Well we figured that much.’ Kyuhyun replied though he still frowned.

‘Oh crap not again!!’ Eunhyuk exclaimed. Yesung frowned at him and then noticed that Donghae had turned into a human water feature.

‘Sorry!’ Donghae yelped, trying to keep his distance. ‘It’s the full moon!’

‘Yeah, yeah, we know.’ Yesung waved off his excuses and flashed out of sight, teleporting himself straight to the meeting point. There were hordes of people crowding around and plenty more running up and down the corridors, pushing past agents with panicked expressions. Yesung caught sight of Siwon, Leeteuk and ZhouMi and darted over to them.

‘What’s going on?’ He demanded.

‘Nobody’s got a clue and everyone’s getting more and more worked up about it.’ Leeteuk cried in frustration. ‘Apparently Master Chen’s on his way.’

‘It’s the elves, isn’t it?’ Came a very worried voice from the ether. Henry must have been lurking around as well and then all of sudden he popped into view but disappeared just as quickly. It was just their luck that they’d get a threat level five when the full moon was sending all their powers into a muddled up mess.

‘We better go and find out.’ Hankyung said. For once his calm demeanour was weakening but Heechul couldn’t have found that more unsettling if he tried. They took off quickly from Sungmin’s room where they’d been hanging out for most of the day, laughing and playing around with how the full moon was effecting them. Now it didn’t seem so funny.

‘What if it’s the Dark Elves?’ Heechul voiced, his blood running cold. The others stopped and looked at him then at each other, all of them exchanging anxious faces.

‘As you should all be aware, our own Agent Ryeowook went missing a few days ago. It is with deepest regret that I inform you… that he was abducted by the Dark Elves.’ The ones that didn’t know – amounting to almost everyone except the special agents – gasped and whispered anxiously. ‘But to my great relief, we have located him.’ Even more muttering followed, especially since now Yesung was close to fainting.

‘Where is he?!’ The teleporter yelped hysterically.

‘Yeongjongdo. There’s an elf with him.’ Master Chen replied, keeping calm though his eyes were betraying him. Shindong then tried to interject with something but Yesung shrieked once more.

‘We have to go! Now!! Let’s go!!’ He was flailing around, looking for support from the others around him though they were mostly just trying to hold him steady with weakly agreeing expressions. Master Chen held up his hands pacifyingly and continued to address the Institute.

‘I want 40 troops on their way to Yeongjongdo ASAP. Shindong, do you know where exactly on the island we should be headed?’

‘Seonnyeo Beach.’ Shindong responded quickly.

‘Right then. I expect a perimeter set up around Seonnyeo Beach, closing off the target from civilians. Special Agents,’ twelve heads looked up and one more tried to as he flickered in and out of visibility. ‘I need you in the copters and on that beach before night fall. You take out the elf, you grab Ryeowook and you come straight back. Got it?’

‘Got it.’ Leeteuk voiced for all of them.

‘Good. I need all Masters with…’ The rest of Master Chen’s orders filtered into background noise now that the special agents had their assignment. When Kibum, Kyuhyun and Shindong joined them, they moved away from the rest of the group and went down one of the corridors slightly so that they could speak without interrupting the rest of the proceedings at the meeting point.

‘We have to get there before Ryeowook’s forced into opening a portal.’ Kibum immediately burst out.

‘Trouble is we don’t know what time the elf is planning on using the Blue Moonstone.’ Siwon then said.

‘Well, logically, everything will want to be aligned with midnight.’ Kyuhyun replied. ‘That gives us five hours.’

‘More than enough time!’ Leeteuk exclaimed positively.

‘However,’ Kyuhyun went on and everyone groaned. ‘The moon has already risen and I’m willing to bet the elf is going to want to speed things along once he realises we’re onto him. The quicker we do this, the better.’

‘Right, then let’s get suited up.’ Eunhyuk decided. The group started to move off.

‘I think we should bring Kangin.’ Heechul’s voice made them all turn rapidly back around.

‘We can’t.’ Leeteuk stated, trying to keep his tone amicable.

‘We can, we just have to get one of the choppers to carry his cage.’ Heechul reasoned. He looked up at Hankyung and Sungmin who were closest to him, his eyes searching for them to back up his argument but they both seemed unsure.

‘It’s not a good idea.’ Siwon asserted which got him some nods of approval from the others. But then Heechul snapped and his face twisted into a mixture of anguish and annoyance.

‘ you Siwon.’ To the sounds of low whistles and catcalls, the shifter flounced off in the opposite direction. Siwon took a flabbergasted step back. Before he made the decision to follow Heechul, Hankyung took a quiet celebratory moment to let out an unrestrained grin.

‘Sungmin, are you ready to go?!’

‘No! ! Leave me alone!’ Exhibit A.

‘Are you crying?!’

‘ off.’ The demon whimpered. The door opened and in came none other than Choi ing Siwon. Oh brilliant, he was just the guy Sungmin wanted to see right now.

‘What’s wrong?’ He stood in the doorway but Sungmin caught a glimpse of the madness behind him. The rest of the group were running around like headless chickens trying to organise themselves and get to the helipad as quickly as possible.

‘I can’t get this stupid ing zip to pull up, I think this suit is too small for m-m-m-’ He broke off into a sob. Siwon tutted and shook his head as he drew nearer to Sungmin.

‘Don’t be an idiot.’ He muttered and reached out to help readjust the faulty zip. ‘It’s just stuck, there’s room for two of you in there.’ Sungmin turned his head and fixed watery, needy eyes on the younger boy.

‘Really?’ He knew he should probably obey the voice in his mind telling him that one of the emotions he usually went through during the full moon was desperation but he was finding it hard to care. Siwon gave him an earnest smile which Sungmin returned until he heard a noise by the door. He flung his eyes in that direction and just managed to catch the sight of Kyuhyun stomping away. He briefly thought that he’d probably start wailing noisily then but was shocked to find himself feeling strangely detached. He said thank you to Siwon for helping him get dressed and then ushered him out of his bedroom so he could collect up his whip and guns. If he armed himself a little aggressively, he didn’t notice.

‘You’re out of your mind!!!’ He yelled, simultaneously trying to bat away Donghae who insisted on telling him something right that second.

‘We need him!!!’ Heechul shouted right back. He’d somehow convinced Hankyung to assist him in his ridiculous endeavour though Leeteuk wasn’t entirely surprised. They pair of them were now trying to figure out how to get Kangin into the biggest copter which was specifically designed to carry larger loads; how it would handle a ferocious lycanthrope on the night of the full moon was another story.

‘Then he’s your bloody ing responsibility!! I’m not ing covering your mistakes one more bloody time Heechul!!!’ Leeteuk shrieked, his anger reaching a hysterical level that Donghae must have noticed since he suddenly cowered away. After Heechul gave him the finger, Leeteuk screamed in frustration but decided then and there that he was beyond caring so he retreated from the entryway and strapped himself into his seat with more force than necessary.

‘T-Teukie?’ Donghae piped up nervously.

‘What?!!’ The psychic snapped.

‘Um…’ Oh great now he’d upset the younger boy. ‘I don’t whether it’s just my power going crazy or something else but err… I might have peed my pants.’

‘Oh for the love of-’

‘It’s fine! Leeteuk!’ ZhouMi suddenly cried, cutting in before their leader could have a meltdown. ‘I’ll sort it out.’ Leeteuk tried some deep breaths and determinedly stared out of the window at the chaos unfolding across the helipad. He tuned out Donghae and ZhouMi but found himself narrowing his eyes at the sight of Heechul having to shift to wolf form in order to coax Kangin into the chopper. He wasn’t going to try and stop him anymore; however, he could at least make sure he wasn’t doing anything stupid.

The creature in question was nearby, keeping one arm outstretched to maintain the invisible bonds that kept Ryeowook where he was. The other limb, fully tattooed with runic markings, was drawing patterns in the sand and chanting things in an ancient, foul language. Ryeowook didn’t care to pay attention to what he was doing too closely; he tried to keep himself focussed on the horizon in front of him. If he could only stop his eyes flicking to his peripheral vision and catching the sight of the man laid to waste beside him. The innocent blood was running into the ocean, turning it a murky red.

Yunho had made sure they wouldn’t be disturbed by meaningless humans. The beach hadn’t been crowded or even largely populated at all; a few dog-walkers and teenagers playing football. But they had been clearly in the way of the elf’s plans so now the beach was littered with not only empty bottles and cigarette butts, there were a number of bloodied carcasses there as well. It had made Ryeowook want to violently throw up. Not the mauled bodies or the shower of blood or even the splattered entrails – it was the way Yunho had obviously got a lot of pleasure out of doing it. 

The sun was going down and it wouldn’t be long until the full moon rose into the sky. Ryeowook hadn’t even noticed if he’d been affected by it at all, he was too distracted. Although, on the subject of distractions, his eyes then caught a strange movement in the water and he found himself unable to disregard it as nothing more than a fish. His eyes strained to decipher what it was but then the thing began to get closer and Ryeowook gasped as its form took shape before him. There was a sea otter paddling towards him. An otter… in the Yellow Sea. It just didn’t make any sense!

…unless

It was Jay. Ryeowook’s eyes widened to saucers. Jay was a shapeshifter just like Heechul; that was how they bonded and got closer and fell in love. Ryeowook had seen this same otter many a time before because it was Jay and he just knew it was Jay. Jay was swimming towards him and Ryeowook didn’t know why but for some reason the very sight of his old friend gave him the tiniest shred of hope he needed to believe that he might make it out of this alive. 

keep reading, keep reading

chapter 14 and 15 are like a two-part special

~JC