“What’s it like to know you’re not in control anymore?”     “I can feel you struggling against my hold.”     “But you’re not strong enough. I can tell.”     “Do you think your little king will run away to someone stronger?”     “Someone who can protect him with everything he has?”     “Where’s Luhan now?”     “…”     “I can see your thoughts.”   Suho couldn’t breathe, could barely feel the tears slipping down his face in his exhaustion.   “I wonder when this happened.”     “Hmm, water user?”   ...   Kai waited patiently, sitting inside Kris’ room quietly waiting for the two to wake back up from another much needed rest. He was resting his own eyes, leaning back against the wall next to the door and just thinking about everything that was happening right now. He already met up with his calling, D.O. using every last bit of strength he had to complete the tunnel, but the last time he saw him, he was only a third of the way there. By now, D.O. must be exhausted, barely making it halfway before falling asleep himself to rest up.   Even Jackie was resting down there with him, keeping the man company, and that guy named Henry. Kai still didn’t know much about that other water user, but from the looks of it and the words from their parents, the man was okay and cleared during his seven-year coma. D.O. was particularly fond of him, which meant Kai had to have no objections there.   He didn’t really know how long he was asleep, dozing in and out, until he heard groaning. He jolted awake, becoming disoriented briefly until he remembered where he actually was. The groaning didn’t stop and when he got up, Kris was waking up too, gently lying Luhan onto his back to lean over and look down at him closely.   Kai frowned at the scene, shuffling closer towards them, before he quickly backed up when Kris flinched and his eyes immediately turned ruby red in his direction. Once he realized Kai wasn’t actually a threat, Kris let out a sigh of relief, irises returning back to normal, “Kai, what are you doing here?”   The other gave him a small smile, walking over closer to them carefully, “Lay’s in trouble over there, Kris. I’ve been waiting for you two to wake up from your rest.”   Kris frowned, looking back down to Luhan who wouldn’t stop groaning in his sleep, “What’s going on over there?”   “Lay’s closest supports are gone,” Kai softly said, frowning in confusion at seeing Luhan start to struggle in his sleep, “Both Suho and Luhan are gone from him. He probably feels trapped, and the one controlling his calling is inside his own castle.”   “What?” the flight user gasped out, looking back up at him, “The person controlling Suho is in there? Why haven’t we gotten him out yet?”   “He’s deep in the cellars. They’ll have to get through the frozen palace, our friends, and the doors and bars to get to him. It’s not as secure as our dungeons, but if we bring him out of there in broad daylight, he’s going to be completely gone.”   Kris frowned at the information, instantly reaching out a hand to grab onto Luhan’s when he flung his arm out trying to reach for something. They stared down at him, wondering what was going on inside his head as Kris pulled the other closer to him again, keeping him wrapped up warm with the blankets and his body heat.   “What’s going on?” Kai questioned quietly, staring at the other with concern, “What is he dreaming about?”   “I don’t know,” Kris whispered back, leaning down to give him a kiss on the forehead, “Lu Han, wake up.”   His call didn’t wake him up. Instead, someone banging on the door did. Kai dropped to the floor on instinct, seeing Luhan fling out his other arm instead and Kris curl himself more over his boyfriend protectively. They winced when a candle was flung to the door before Kai looked back to see the smashed wax on it, slowly getting back up to answer it and making sure Luhan wasn’t going to suddenly attack him next. When he looked back over his shoulder though, he saw Luhan panting, wide-awake and secure in Kris’ hold.   “I’m sorry,” he breathed out, fear evident in his eyes, “I don’t–”   “Sir Kris!” Henry’s voice rang out, no longer pounding on the door but frantically trying to open it, “Sir! Is Kai in there?!”   Kai looked at the door shocked before looking back over to the other two. “Did you have the same doubts about him as I did?” he whispered, making sure Henry couldn’t hear them. Even if he was supposed to have no objections about this guy, he couldn’t help his gut feeling bubbling to the surface. When he saw Kris nod, he shifted his gaze to Luhan. “I will only open this door if you are comfortable enough.”   “Sir Kris!” Henry shouted again, going back to banging on the door. “It’s urgent! Where’s Kai?!”   “I don’t understand what’s so urgent,” Luhan mumbled, nodding to the other, “Open it.”   “It’s–!” Henry’s eyes widened when the door suddenly opened and Kai caught his fist mid-swing. His gaze was filled with panic before he quickly looked to the other two men in bed behind him, staring at them confused briefly. He looked back up to Kai. “It’s D.O.”   Kai’s brows furrowed at the news. He hadn’t felt anything shift within him. He let go of Henry’s hand and blocked the doorway, Luhan instantly creating a cover for him and Kris to make it to the other’s bathroom without being seen . “What are you talking about?” he quietly asked, “I have felt no change within me.”   Henry immediately shook his head. “He’s not injured.”   “Then what–?”   “He’s fighting our comrades.”   ...   D.O. panicked, feeling out of control as he hid inside a small dome-shaped barrier he created, body curled up as he sat with his knees up against his chest. He could feel the earth rumbling underneath him, and he couldn’t remember how he ended up like this in the first place.   He was busy trying to create the tunnel, breaching the line of exhaustion when he simply kept going at it, losing Jackie somewhere along the way as she fell asleep curled up as a wolf off to the side of the passageway. He remembered suddenly feeling damp, maybe his foot slipping off into the small underground river, and then he was suddenly turning after hearing footsteps coming towards him. He knew it was Angela, but he had no idea why his arms suddenly struck out and flung rocks towards her.   He flinched when he started feeling the earth crack beneath him, quickly looking down and to the right to see plants starting to invade his earthen cocoon. His eyes widened, immediately flinging himself to the opposite side of his barrier and bringing it down. He watched as that lone plant sprung out of the ground and flung towards him. He scrambled backwards, dodging the plant before hitting the wall.   He looked around frantically, seeing multiple glowing plants throughout the tunnel, and down the way, he saw Angela’s hardened expression towards him. Her hands were out as she controlled the plant life, and before he knew it, the only thing he could see were the glowing plants moving their way closer to him at a pace he didn’t know was possible.   The earth felt rough underneath his palms, suddenly cutting into his hands despite the numerous callouses that had formed over the many years of having his power. He winced in pain, getting back up onto his feet to try and run his way around the plants to get to safety. But the only way he could escape was up, and that would ruin whatever plant life was directly above him.   He gasped when he felt something grab onto his ankle.   “I apologize, Sir D.O,” Angela calmly said, the sudden aquatic life glowing within the river next to them, “But attacking Henry and I so suddenly, we would have to take you to our General.”   D.O. froze when he felt the vine creeping up and wrapping around his leg.   “And do not think that just because you are in relations with his son that you will be let off easily.”   “But I don’t even remember attacking you! Or why I did!” D.O. shouted back, panic welling up within his chest again, “All I want is to connect the two lands as I was ordered!”   “Were you also ordered to attack us?”   D.O. looked at her shocked. “I’ve known you for years, Angela! Why would I attack you?!” He watched breathlessly as Angela slowly approached him, her fingers and hand twisting slowly so she trapped him with her vines effectively. He grunted at the force pushing against his rib cage.   “How would I know? You did so suddenly.”   He looked at her with wide eyes, wincing when her vines picked up his body weight and turned him so he was held up against the wall. He couldn’t see anything off about her, but he gasped when he felt something cold running through his veins. “Angela!”   “I have not done–”   D.O. screamed when he suddenly watched her be taken in by the river, water coming up behind her to take her backwards. The glowing life around him flickered as she struggled, the plants quickly coming her way to engulf her completely to try and save her air. He screamed again, trying to concentrate to bring her out of the water with the earth underneath her, but he couldn’t move. “Angela! What’s going on?!”   “I didn’t expect to come back to this land so quickly,” somebody suddenly spoke up and D.O. felt his heart drop to his stomach, “And this man’s energy is quickly dying out. I should probably let him rest so he won’t die, right?”   D.O. slowly turned his gaze to the side, watching as Suho climbed out of the small river, flinching as he tried to push the water back out of his lungs and his gills disappeared to allow him to breathe in air again. He opened his mouth briefly in shock at seeing the man so pale even with all the glowing leaves and vines illuminating his figure before he closed his mouth to clench his teeth together.   Suddenly, Angela was thrown out of the water again to the other side of the tunnel, gasping for air and choking. It seemed like the plants had a life of their own, crawling up her sides and all around her to try and make sure she was okay.   “I apologize, Angela,” Suho spoke up, turning to give her what looked like a sympathetic stare, “I just needed this man’s attention focused on myself.”   “You are not,” Angela breathed out, slowly getting up to her feet and commanding the plants to move towards the intruder instead, “Sir Suho.”   D.O. shuddered at seeing the murderous glint in his friend’s eyes.   “I can end your life now. Would you like that?”   “Don’t go near her,” D.O. growled out, trying to turn his friend’s attention towards him, “So, they are right. You have been compromised.”   Suho shrugged, looking away from a heavily panting Angela to D.O. “I would say I’m training this man for the better.”   “By running him to his core?”   Suho smiled at him. “What kind of animalistic nature does this one have? Do you want to find out?”   “Angela,” D.O. lowly said, watching as she stumbled to the side out of the corners of his eyes, “Let me go.”   Angela looked at him conflicted, carefully bending her fingers so the vines loosened on her friend slowly.   “Oh,” Suho commented, and the perspiration was persistent on his body, “Were you not ordered by Henry to keep him tied up?”   “Henry ordered you to?”   D.O. watched, as Angela looked away, ashamed, before he heard her gasp and then the familiar crackles resonated throughout the tunnel.   “Kyungsoo!” Kai yelled out, teleporting into the tunnel with Henry before running for him, “What’s going… on?” His eyes widened when he saw Suho standing so closely to his calling. “How did you get here?!” He teleported again, feeling something wet hit the back of his shirt before appearing in front of D.O. Thinking quickly, he immediately took off his shirt, throwing it towards Suho before touching D.O, and teleporting to Angela and getting out.   All the plant life surrounding D.O. and Angela were left behind, the two water users staring at the empty tunnel full of the glowing organisms. Henry scowled as he looked to the other water user.   “You came back too early.”   “I did?”   “You’re going to kill him before he’s able to do what you want him to do.”   Suho shrugged apathetically, moving over to lie down against the wall of the tunnel. “I think he still has energy left.”   Henry frowned, walking over to him to stare him down. Before he knew it, he was calling the water out of the river to engulf his hands before trying to feed it to and heal the dying man. “You aren’t able to tell how much energy one has once you take over their bodies. Let him rest for a bit before I have to move you out when they come back here to take you in.”   “If they’re going to take us in, then I have to be awake to fight them off.”   “You can’t fight them with the condition his body is in,” Henry growled back, getting angry with his friend, “Go to sleep so he can recover the slightest bit. You can’t even use your powers in his body.”   “Ah,” Suho breathed out in a knowing voice even as his eyes closed, “But I can use his powers to my disposal.”   Henry frowned as he waited for his friend to actually sleep, now taking the time to look around to see the plants still glowing around them, assuming Angela was too far away to make them retreat back into the ground. “For a mind user,” he grumbled, moving to sit against the wall as well, “You’re pretty stupid too.”   ...   “What the hell was that?!” Kai shouted out, teleporting just outside the beginnings of the tunnel near the entrance of the forest right next to the Night’s gates. He abruptly let go of Angela, causing her to fall to the ground out of shock, and turned to his calling to quickly check him over. “What was going on down there?!”   D.O. looked up at him surprised, trying to get a hold of Kai before he said anything. “Jongin,” he whispered out, looking up into panic-stricken eyes. They were both breathing heavily, relying on the rush of adrenaline and fresh air before D.O. stomped his foot and Angela was encased in a partial jail cell made of earth. The action made Kai jump, turning to look back at Angela who looked just as shocked as he did. “Where’s Luhan?” D.O. suddenly asked, looking back to his tunnel before he let go of Kai to close it off completely, trapping Henry and Suho down in there.   “They’re on their way,” Kai muttered, watching his calling carefully, “Kyungsoo.”   “We need to bring her in for questioning, but we can’t leave this area unattended.” He looked to the other. “Come back, lieutenant general.”   Kai looked at him wide-eyed, completely forgetting his title being too preoccupied keeping his calling safe, before he gathered his thoughts and nodded. He looked around, trying to spot the nearest guards before he disappeared again.   D.O. watched him leave, feeling a small weight being lifted off his shoulders before he looked down to Angela who looked all sorts of disheveled. He frowned down at her, wondering if she was really a part of the enemy, but she looked just as scared as he felt. What did Henry do to convince her he was her enemy?   He felt himself starting to shake from the fear slowly engulfing him. Was Amber in danger because of this man? Was Henry really not the person they all thought he was? Who was he really?   He flinched when he felt somebody suddenly appear behind him, turning to throw a punch only for his calling to catch it. He looked up at him and gave out a sigh of relief before looking over his shoulder to see their dad standing there as well as a few guards rushing out to stand next to them.   “It’s okay, Kyungsoo,” Kai softly said, and it was only then when he realized the other wasn’t wearing a shirt, “Put down the wall, and my dad and the guards can watch for them while we wait for Luhan to come down here to bring them in.”   D.O. continued to stare up at him before nodding, slowly bringing his fist down as Kai maneuvered their hands so he could link fingers with him instead. He just stared down at their hands as Kai continued to speak.   “Take Angela in for questioning after D.O. releases the bonds.” His other name sounded foreign on Kai’s tongue. “When Luhan comes here, be prepared to battle two experienced water users and possibly each other. We still do not know the extent of the foreign mind user’s powers. Do not inform Suho’s parents. Leave that to us.” Kai turned to look at his dad who gave him a small smile. “I will also need to bring Baekhyun of the Day back here, you will need light to travel the distance of the tunnel, as well as our own Sehun of the Night to help circulate the air within the tunnels.”   “What about the Land of Day?” Luhan suddenly questioned, walking towards them calmly with Kris in tow, “They will be defenseless.”   Kai stared at him, his eyes flickering black again before going back to normal. The subtle change caused everyone to stare at him with caution in their eyes, except for his father who just stared at him seriously. “They already are.”   “You don’t have enough energy to go there and back,” Kris muttered out, reaching out to slam his palm down on his shoulder, “Your eyes are acting up again.”   At the statement, Kai looked at him confused. “What?”   “As long as you’re on our side,” Kris answered back before looking to a shaken up D.O. and giving him a small smile, “Let down the barriers. We’ll take it from here.”   The offers took a while to be processed in his head, D.O. continuing to stare at him before looking to Luhan next to them and nodding, stomping his foot and twisting it. The guards all watched as the wall to the tunnel lowered into the ground and immediately went forward when Angela’s cage was let down.   “We’ve already discussed it,” Luhan softly said, the five of them including Kai’s dad the only ones who could hear him clearly. He walked forward to reach out and cup D.O’s cheek who flinched at the sudden intimate contact. “With Kai’s permission, I’ve already invaded and left my mark in Jongwook’s mind.”   “He’s already invaded my mind in more ways than one,” Kris added in with a cheeky smile, just to try and lighten up the atmosphere. He tried to contain the flinch caused by Luhan punching him on the side though. He sighed. “With your permission, D.O, Luhan will go in and leave a mark in your mind as well so she can’t get to you.”   D.O. frowned, shifting his gaze to the others around them quietly talking to each other. “What about them?”   “The more I leave marks, the weaker I become,” Luhan softly informed, eyes starting to glow subtly despite not receiving a verbal consent, “It’s not a lot, but it could add up in the end.” He stared into his friend’s eyes, seeing the fear hidden underneath the shock and panic. “If you do not want me to do this, D.O, please say it now.”   D.O. looked into Luhan’s eyes, seeing the genuine concern in them before feeling Kai squeeze his hand subtly. He nodded before closing his own eyes. “Jongin, get me out of here.”