Heat radiated around the room; a burning, scorching, heavy heat. The kind that all the moisture from the air, but then again what did you expect when a phoenix and dragon occupied the same space. The building looked like a missile had hit it, walls were collapsed, fire raging all around them, objects their side, burned and scorched. In a way Kris had wished this destruction was from a missile, that way, when the humans investigated they would have an explanation for the extensive amount of damage done. But sadly, it wasn’t the cause of a missle; the destruction was caused by his Potential, himself and another Watcher, Chanyeol. He didn’t know what caused her power to metldown, but she had slipped into over-drive, trapping Chanyeol and himself in the middle of it.

               His dragon emerged the second it sensed danger, which unfortunately was half a second too late; his Potential had sent a barrage of rubble at him. His dragon deflected most of it, but a good chunk was sent crashing into his ribs. He heard a sickening crack and pain exploded throughout his side. He heard Chanyeol call out to him the second it happened, before sending flames towards the Potential who blocked them with a wall of rubble. Chanyeol made his way over to Kris, a warning growl was emitted by his dragon but Chanyeol ignored it to tend to Kris

               “Dude, are you alright?” asked Chanyeol, worry etched over his youthful face.

               “I’m ok, she just hit me hard” he told him, his breath coming out in gasps.

               “You’re not alright” Chanyeol told him, reaching for his jacket, Kris smacked his arm away.

               “I’ll live” he told him “we need to immobilize her”

               Kris quickly told Chanyeol his plan, and while the younger Watcher had his doubts, it was all they could think of at the moment, and with backup an hour away, it would have to do.

               The deafening sound of objects being thrown around the building, the endless heat, and the searing pain emitting from his side was all that Kris was aware of. As he waited for Chanyeol to give the signal he thought back to the young woman his Potential was before her power got the best of her. She was sweet, she had been at the upper end of Stage 1 when he was assigned to her almost 6 years ago, and had slowly evolved into Stage 2 throughout the years. She rarely used her power; she volunteered, she worked, she went to school. She tried to have a non-Potential life. And maybe that was what caused her power to meltdown and go into over-drive, the fact that she didn’t use it. However, Kris also felt that if she had someone to help her grasp it then maybe things wouldn’t have turned out the way they had.

               The shrill cry of Chanyeol’s phoenix alerted him that it was time. Pushing back the pain in his side, he stumbled to his feet and peered around the side of his dragon. Fireballs were raining down on his Potential, more and more coming each time the phoenix flapped her wings. He knew it was now or never. Summoning his power and flying towards his Potential he saw the surprise in her eyes the second he wrapped his arms around her, using his strength to immobilize her.

               “Now Chanyeol!” he yelled, waiting for the Watcher to grab the syringe from his pouch,

               It was filled with a serum all Watchers were equipped with for times like these, when, and if, their Potential's went into over-drive and their power went out of control. Kris felt relief wash over him as he saw the white tube emerge from the pouch, but his relief was short lived, he saw the fear in Chanyeol’s eyes before he felt the piercing pain in his abdomen. His heart stopped when he saw the objects that were flying around the destroyed building drop where they were and felt his Potential slump in his arms.

               “KRIS!” screamed Chanyeol, heat spreading around the room caused by the unstable emotional Watcher.

               He looked down and saw the blood soaked rod that connected his Potential and him, a sinking feeling overcame him and with shaky hands he gripped the offending metal and pulled. The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before, the deafening roars of his dragon shook what remained of the building as it felt what its master was going through. He threw the blood soaked rod away from him and was caught by a pair of powerful hands as his knees gave out on him. His Potential fell away from him, and as much as he wanted to reach out for her he was too weak to raise his arms. She hit the ground with a soft thud, body turned and facing towards the two Watchers, and it was only then that he saw her face.

               A peaceful smile; that was what he saw, a genuine, peaceful smile, and it was in that moment, that his heart broke. He didn’t know what to do, he wanted to reach out to her, assure himself that she was just sleeping, but the sinking feeling in his gut told him otherwise. She had killed herself, her power, the power he saw as something wonderful and magical, had killed her. Sadness engulfed him, he heard Chanyeol telling him that everything was going to be ok; he heard the quite mournful singing of Chanyeol’s phoenix and the rumbles of his dragon. Darkness started to bleed into his vision and the pain became too much for his body to bear, but one last thought entered his thoughts before darkness overtook him, he opened his mouth and coughed, blood spewing forth causing Chanyeol to panic even more,

               “Burn her,” he croaked out, “give her a prop...er… proper burial”

               “But Kris…” Chanyeol started

               “Please…” Kris interrupted “for me”

               Chanyeol nodded, and gave a silent command to his phoenix, who lifted her wings and sent a pillar of flames towards the dead Potential's body. That was the last thing he saw before his vision out and nothingness overtook him.

~*~*~*~

               Byun Baekhyun walked into headquarters to chaos. It had been a couple of days since the news had reached him that one of the senior Watchers, Wu Yifan, otherwise known as Kris, had been injured while on assignment. His best friend Chanyeol had been involved in the incident and was currently in the Commander’s office briefing him about what all went down; he had been at the hospital with Kris these past couple of days, refusing to leave his side. Talk around the office was that the Potential had killed herself, and almost took Kris with her. Baekhyun shook his head at the group of people still talking about the incident, yes it was shocking, however they all needed to move on. As Baekhyun walked into the locker room he was met with an unusual sight, Kyungsoo and Jongdae, known by his Watcher name Chen, sitting there in full gear. Kyungsoo rarely came to headquarters, he preferred to stay at his bakery and work from there. He went out on assignments only when it was necessary. So to see Kyungsoo dressed in combat gear, and sweating, it was shocking sight; what was even more amusing about the situation was that Jongdae was sitting beside him, calm, collected and smirking from ear to ear.

               “Well this is a nice surprise” Baekhyun told the two

               “The Commander called us in for reassignment, well, Kyungsoo for assignment, me for reassignment” said Jongdae, reaching up to smack Baekhyun’s hand in greeting.

               “And you decided to hit the training gym I see” said Baekhyun

               Kyungsoo nodded his head over in his direction, while Jongdae laughed.

      “More like Kyungsoo decided to get his kicked again” Kyungsoo sent a hard kick into Jongdae’s leg, all the while Jongdae kept laughing

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the two, if he didn’t know them, he would have pegged them as hostile colleagues, not the best friends that they were. They were all brought out of their thoughts as the door to the locker room was slammed open and items were thrown at a locker. Chanyeol stood in front of them, rage seething out of every pore, the tempature in the room started to rise as his anger got the better of him.

               “Yo Park, what’s got your in a bunch” called Jongdae; Baekhyun and Kyungsoo sent him a glare.

               “ing Commander benched me!” yelled Chanyeol

     “What? Seriously?” asked Baekhyun, his actions of putting on his shirt were halted as his attention focused on the tall giant in front of them

       “Why?”

               “He thinks that due to the breakdown of command at the accident I acted irrationally and inadvertently caused Kris to get injured” Chanyeol told them through clenched teeth

               “What?” said Kyungsoo, “that’s so stupid, you did was what any of us would have done. You listened to a superior and followed their orders. You didn’t know that the Potential was going to commit suicide and injure Kris in the process”

               “You don’t think I know that” snapped Chanyeol, he huffed and turned away “Sorry, it’s just….another thing for me to add to my ‘I ed up’ list. Did you guys hear that Kris is leaving?”

               “WHAT?!” four voices yelled out at once, they caught a glimpse of Tao before he stormed back out the room.

               “Great” called Chanyeol

               “Wait, what do you mean Kris is leaving? Like for good?” asked Jongdae

               “No…I don’t know….” Chanyeol sighed “the Commander told me that he was informed that Kris had requested a leave of absence with an undisclosed amount of time off”

               Silence filled the room, shock was all that registered on their faces. This was shocking, Kris was the one that always told them that their powers were special and that they should all be thankful for these miraculous gifts. To hear that he was leaving the EXO Division, even to take a break, was heartbreaking.

               “Wow, Chanyeol, I’m sorry” said Baekhyun, stepping forward to grasp his friends shoulder “I know how much you looked up to him, dude this ”

               Chanyeol nodded, and sent a small smile over to Baekhyun, “You might want to finish getting dressed, Commander said that he has something to announce….to all of us”

               Baekhyun, Jongdae, Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol stood at attention in the assembly hall, every Watcher in the Division was there. Baekhyun could see Kai messing with Tao, who turned around with his face. Even from where he was standing he could make out the redness in his eyes. The news of Kris hit him hard, but at least he was able to talk to him before the Watcher cleaned out his locker and waved goodbye to everyone, tears in his eyes. Baekhyun knew in his gut that he was going to be back. Kris just wouldn’t leave something as important as the EXO Division; he just needed some time to clear his mind, refocus and then he would be back.

               Minseok, and Luhan stood close by, sending reassuring smiles to Tao. Kai was trying to cheer him up, and his partner in crime was suspiciously absent from his side. Baekhyun turned his attention back to the podium where the commander and two other Watchers stood; Baekhyun knew one of them, Joonmyeon, or Suho as people liked to call him. He used to be part of the EXO Division before he was reassigned to the F(x) Division down in Busan; Baekhyun suspected that he was called back after the accident. The other Watcher looked spaced out, a peaceful expression spread over his face. He wasn’t looking at anything in particular, which made Baekhyun think he was higher than a kite.

               Baekhyun was brought out of this thoughts when he was pushed forward as someone came rushing in beside him and Jongdae. It was a breathless Sehun. He fixed his uniform before standing beside him with his usually cold emotionless stare broken by concern,

               “Miss anything hyung?”

               “Yah, you brat, show up on time for once!” said Kyungsoo beside Jongdae,

               “Sorry, sorry was wrapping up a case” he told them, a small hint of a smile crossed his face.

               Baekhyun shook his head, more like making out with one of the rookie Watchers is more like it, he thought. Sehun and Kai were known as the playboys around headquarters, they never dated, only hooked up every once in a while with someone new. Baekhyun still cringed when he thought of his ex-girlfriend from the Generation Division; their breakup had not ended on good terms and she accused him of stringing her along. Where she got that idea, he did not know. It was all good though, she was starting to talk about kids and the future, and everyone knew that Baekhyun did not do kids... or the future.

               Whatever comment Chanyeol or Jongdae were going to say was drowned out by the mic screeching, alerting the hall that the Commander was about to speak.

               “Watchers, Monitors, Rookies; as all of you may have heard, a couple of nights ago a fellow Watcher was injured in the line of duty due to careless actions.” Baekhyun felt Chanyeol clench his fist beside him “the Watcher in question has decided to take a leave of absence to recover from his injuries. Once he is healed he will be back.His assignments will be taken up by several different Watchers who will be alerted at a later time.

                "On a happier note, we are pleased to inform Rookie Kristian that she will be promoted to Monitor status in hopes that her training will go well and that one day we shall have another flight Watcher join our ranks. Please treat her kindly.”

               Applause exploded around the room, Baekhyun could have sworn that Chanyeol got whip lash with how fast he turned in the direction of the now Monitor, the resentment and hurt filled his eyes as he looked at her, she was smiling shyly as people congratulated her. He nudged his side to bring his attention back to the front, the Commander was looking down at their quintet, and Chanyeol glared right back.

               “On another note” the Commander stated, turning his attention back to the crowd, “Watcher Suho has been brought back from our sister Division in the south to help with training and Monitoring. He has been promoted from Watcher to Supervisor as of now”

               An even louder round of applause erupted around the hall, Baekhyun could hear Jongdae and Kai holler out their congratulations, but he was pretty sure Suho didn't hear them seeing as how the noise of the applause overtook the hall. The Commander raised his hands to bring order back once again,

               “And finally, Watcher Kris’s speedy recovery was due impart to our newest addition, Watcher Lay, Zhang Yixing. His healing skills are known far and wide and we welcome him with our deepest thanks to the EXO Division”

               When the young man smiled, the deepest dimples Baekhyun had ever seen graced his face as he bowed to each section before turning and bowing to the Commander. Baekhyun could tell this man was humble and very kind, he was someone that Baekhyun could talk to and quite possibly bring into his fold. Suho was already a part of their little clique inside the Division, but he missed a lot when he left for F(x).

               “As always Watchers, keep a sharp eye out.” A roar of ‘Yes, Sir!’ followed, “Watchers Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Chen, Sehun, and Lay please meet me in my office in 10 minutes”

               Baekhyun always hated being called out in front of an assembly, it always made him feel as though he did something wrong. Kai and Tao smirked as they made their way outside while Minseok and Luhan gave those pitying looks. Suho smiled at them before turning and making his way over to the small group.

               “Welcome back gramps” said Jongdae, reaching forward to smack Suho’s shoulder.

               “Yah! Respect your elders and higher ups Jongdae!” Jongdae laughed when he saw the smirk on Suho’s face.

               “They bring you back just because of Kris?” asked Chanyeol, a grimace on his face

               “That and my time at the F(x) Division was coming to an end” nodded Suho “Chanyeol, don’t take what the Commander is doing as personal. He has to follow the rules too”

               Chanyeol scoffed, “Yeah, the rules” before he turned and made his way towards the Commanders office for a second time that day.

               “Don’t worry about him, he’s just stressed about the whole situation. He blames himself for not making sure Kris was alright, and following orders even though he wasn’t sure about them” said Baekhyun “we’ll catch you later, yeah?”

               Suho nodded and let them move to follow Chanyeol.

              Once they were in the Commanders office they were told to sit down, each taking a seat on the two couches in front of the Commander’s desk. His secretary made her way over to them, and carefully set the six folders that were in her arms in front of each of them.

               “These are your new assignments” he told them, motioning for them to pick up their respective folders. “Jongdae, we have been informed about a new Potential in the Gangnam area, you are to Watch, analyze and bring back the data you’ve collected. Under no circumstance are you allowed in interact with this Potential, from what we have heard, his power is still unstable and could be dangerous. We do not want a repeat of what happened to Kris.”

               The air in the room suddenly became hotter and the smell of burning paper reached their noses

               “Chanyeol, you are benched from active watching, however, you are in charge of showing Monitor Kristian the ropes. She is still on the lower end of Stage 3, teach her what she needs to know. We need her ready in case Kris does not come back”

               “I thought Kris was just taking a leave” said Kyungsoo, “why would you think he isn’t coming back”

               “We are trying to prepare for everything at the moment” the Commander told them, “We are being audited by the government due to the accident. We need to make sure EVERYTHING is in order, do I make myself clear Chanyeol”

               Chanyeol shut his folder and quickly stood up, his face scrunched up in anger

               “Is that all Commander” he asked through clenched teeth

               “Yes, Watcher Park, it is”

               “With your leave”, he at least had the decency to wait for the Commander to nod before he bowed stiffly and walked out the room, slamming the door behind him.

               Silence filled the room, no one wanting to speak yet. Baekhyun knew that Chanyeol was heading to the training room to fire off a few rounds to cool off, otherwise he would have fried everyone in the room.

               “Well” the Commander coughed “where were we, yes, Kyungsoo. The Potential you are assigned to is much like Sehun, Lay and Baekhyun’s. This Potential came from America, her power was not registered in the American database, most likely because she has been hiding her power since it manifested. You are to report what her power is, what level she is at, and if she can manifest her power.” Kyungsoo nodded his head, eyes trained to the folder.

               “Am I to be relocated?” he asked him

               “Fortunetly no, the Potential is said to be moving into your neighborhood soon” Kyungsoo nodded, relief filled him, he would have hated to leave his little bakery

               “Baekhyun, yours is the same, the Potential came from America. She is originally from Mexico, she moved to the States when she was young. Her power is also unregistered. You are to report what that power is, what stage she is in, and if she can manifest her power. You will, however, need to relocate to Chuncheon”

               Baekhyun looked up from his folder, “Excuse me? Chuncheon?”

               “Yes, your Potential is a middle school teacher and counselor there. You will be registered as a history teacher who works closely with her own homeroom.” Baekhyun looked at the Commander as though he grew another head; Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Sehun tried to control the smirks on their face, while Yixing was confused.

               “A middle school teacher?” Baekhyun asked, “As in you want me to be around kids, pre-pubescent kids, all day”

               “Yes, is there going to be a problem Baekhyun? If so, I would like to hear a valid reason as to why, and not liking kids isn’t a valid reason”

               Baekhyun was speechless, “No sir, no problem”

               He sent a death glare at the three snickering fools across from him, he was so going to get his revenge on them. Right after he survived his ordeal with his newest Potential.

               “Yixing, you are going to be watching the sister to Baekhyun’s Potential” the Commander informed him.

               “Wait, there were two Potentials born in the same family?” asked Yixing, “that’s extremely rare”

               “It is, which is why I need to you to keep in contact with Baekhyun. I want you two to compare whatever you find. This is a rare opportunity to understand the workings of how powers are manifested and chosen with each individual”

               Yixing nodded and went back to studying the folder in his hands, even though the file was void of an image, he felt as though there was something special about this woman.

               “Which leaves you Sehun, I understand how tiring it can be coming off back to back watching’s, however I need my best people on these cases. It is quite unusual for four Potentials to go unnoticed by several countries in the span of 21 years, I need these four Potentials documented and in our database. After the incident with Kris, I am not taking any chances with these female Potentials. You are all dismissed, get what you need in order and make sure you're on active duty in two days’ time”

               They all stood up and saluted the Commander before filing out of his office. Sehun took the rear, taking his time to glance over his Potential’s profile. He had just stepped outside of the Commander’s office when he saw the address of where his potential worked; he felt his blood freeze and his breath catch.

               “Sehun, are you alright?” asked Kyungsoo, looking back at the younger Watcher

               “Huh?” Sehun looked up from his stupor, “Oh yeah, I’m good”

               But he was not good, in fact he was screwed. He glanced down at the folder once more to find three words glaring back up at him, Sabor de Amor, the name of the restaurant in which he had been frequenting for the past couple of months. The restaurant in which he became smitten with the owner, the owner, whom he just learned was his newest Potetnial, Alexis. 

A/N: Yeah I finally updated something! LMAO, I am really horrible at updating things in a timely manner. I am trying to be better at it. BUT here is the prolouge. Kris will show up from time to time in future chapters, to me he is still a part of EXO, and always will be. I really hope you guys like this, I wrote it for a friend of mine, more like she requested me to write this (<3 u lexis~). Let me know what you think in the comments below, please let me know what you liked and what you did not like, but please no bashing. Happy Reading~