Making his way through the royal family’s personal wing of the palace, dressed down from his usual uniform and already in a foul mood, Tao felt the eyes on him before he actually saw anyone. The unnerving feeling of being watched, his instincts honed to pick up such a thing, Tao slowed his paces, trying to pinpoint who might be watching him. And from where.

The problem was, the royal family’s residence was filled with endless secret passageways. False doors, sliding walls and underground escape routes numbered in the dozens and the only people who should have known about any of them, with any sort of familiarity, should have been the king, his husband, Tao, and likely Xiumin. Possible Lay or Chen as well. With there always being a chance that those escape passages could be the difference between life and death, if the palace were compromised, it wasn’t safe to have anyone else know.

Tao knew that currently the king was busy arguing with his council, listening to their petty squabbling, probably trying to convince those bigoted old men to send aid to K. And Xiumin was actually away from the palace for the rest of the morning to visit his parents. That only left …

“Psst. Tao.”

Tao stopped completely. “Your majesty,” he said a little flatly, following the voice to a narrow looking hallway that Luhan was sliding out of. His face was a little flushed and his eyes looked apprehensive, which told Tao everything he needed to know right away. “Are you hiding?”

“Hiding,” Luhan said dismissively. “That’s not the word I’d like you to use. I’m … selectively choosing my company at the moment.”

Tao asked, “From Sehun? Tire of him already?”

“Oh, no.” A smile broke across Luhan’s face, making him look even more radiant. “I’d never ditch Sehun. He’s really very fun to be around. Actually, he’s still sleeping. He was up late last night with me planning our trip to the archive. I think he deserves to sleep in. I’ll send for him later, when lunch is served.”

“Then,” Tao concluded, “you’re running from your personal court.”

Luhan made a face. “Got it in one. Tao,” he said, a bit of a whine in his voice, “they want me to start picking things for the wedding. I don’t care about that. It’s boring. I don’t care what I wear or what kind of flowers there are, or anything. I don’t care. I can’t say that enough.”

The wedding. Tao tried not to let his true feelings on the matter show in the least bit. But the truth of the matter was that Luhan and the king had been married for close to a week now. However a private, almost desperate ceremony wasn’t going to appease the people, and so now almost everyone at the palace was caught up in wedding fever for the public event that would be held shortly.

“Have you made any progress?” Tao asked, reminding himself that Luhan was just as much a victim of circumstance as he himself was. Luhan hadn’t asked to be married to the king, and Tao knew personally that he was only making the best of an upsetting situation.

Luhan offered, “We settled on a date. Three weeks from now. More like twenty days, to coincide with the week of rest. The hope is that when the people take their customary rest from work during that week, they’ll spend their time preoccupied by the wedding and they’ll happily boost the economy with their celebration purchases. Everyone loves a wedding, right?”

The last sentence had been said with such distain that Tao was a little taken aback.

Giving Luhan a low bow, Tao said, “You’re the second most powerful person in M right now. If you don’t want to plan the wedding, and his majesty is too busy to do it, delegate the task to someone you trust. I know Lay’s been looking for something to occupy his time. Now, I’m on my way to meet--”

“Kai!” Luhan interrupted, his voice peeking. “I know. You’re going to see Kai. He’s going to teleport the both of you to the Forbidden City.”

Tao grit his teeth. “Right.”

“Tao,” Luhan said, his voice going soft. “Please be patient wit him.”

Immediately Tao returned, “I’m not planning to foster a friendship, your majesty. We’re going for work related purposes. I can be professional, as I assume he can.”

“I know you’ve fought before,” Luhan offered.

“We tried to kill each other,” Tao clarified. “It won’t interfere with what we’re going to the Forbidden City for.”

Luhan moved quickly to cut round Tao and stand fully in front of him. “Please try for patience. You’re going somewhere that is potentially very dangerous. I know that you can act in a professional matter, but Kai … he can be distracted easily. His resentment for you, over numerous things, might be a problem if you let it.”

A little immature, Tao’s own resentment slipping through, he told Luhan, “I should have expected this. Why wouldn’t you be the first to defend someone you care so much for? Someone you love. Someone you’ve given yourself to.”

Luhan’s features darkened right away and he said, “I care very much about you Tao. You’re family as far as I’m concerned, and Kris … he … well, I know how he feels about you. So I will forgive you without so much as a second thought, but don’t ever say anything like that again. If you were overheard … Tao …”

Tao suddenly felt flushed with guilt and shame. He was openly accusing Luhan of adultery, even if it had occurred before he’d been married to the king. If anyone untrustworthy were to find something like that out, it could be enough to have the marriage dissolved, and who knew then what would happen. Luhan could even be imprisoned, or worse. The king’s hands would be tired in that situation. And if such a thing happened to Luhan, it would kill the king. Tao would lose the both of them.

“I’m sorry,” Tao said, dropping to a knee. “I’m so sorry.”

Luhan placed a gentle hand on Tao’s shoulder. “I know you hate me.”

“Hate?” Tao looked sharply up at him. “I would never hate you. I couldn’t.”

Luhan forced a smile. “I ended up married to the person that you love with all of your heart. And I don’t even have the decency to offer him my heart in return.”

Voice quiet like a whisper, Tao rose and told Luhan, “You can’t give a heart that’s already been entrusted to someone else. And I don’t hate you, your majesty. I hate the … the situation. I hate what we’ve all become--jaded about love, angry and jealous of each other.”

“I want you to know,” Luhan told Tao, “I’ve already spoken to Kris about our situation. I don’t have the opportunity to be with the one I love, but that may not be the case for him. He can be discreet, and despite the fact that we are sleeping together at the moment, I do have my own private chambers. The king’s queen or consort is only expected to sleep in his room for a short while. It wouldn’t be unusual for me to move back to my own space. Especially if I had a reason to.”

His heart thumping in his chest almost painfully, Tao had to force himself to shake his head. “I don’t think that’s an option.”

“It can be, if you want it to be.”

“And the king’s position is on this?”

“Too noble,” Luhan said definitively. “But he listens to you. He takes you into consideration. Speak with him about this, then think about it. Someone deserves to be happy, and if I can’t be me, it might as well be someone I love.”

Tao wasn’t sure what he could say to that. The last thing he wanted to make the king was an adulterer, but the opportunity to be with the one he loved was a breathtaking proposition.

“Actually,” Luhan said, breaking through Tao’s thoughts, “I’m not just ducking out of my wedding duties. I came to ask you a favor.”

“I really am cutting it short on time,” Tao said, remembering quite clearly the last time Luhan had asked him of a favor. It rarely happened, but when it did, these favors were no small matter. And they almost always got him, or someone else, into trouble. “A favor.”

“Just one thingy thing!” Luhan pressed his hands together in a begging motion. “I just want to see it, Tao.”

“No.” Tao straightened right away, his mood completely different. “Absolutely not, and you know you’re only trying this with me because if Xiumin were here he’d have shut you down ages ago.”

“Why not?” Luhan demanded. “I want to see it, and you know as well as I do that I need you to get past the guards in the treasury. You and I know other than Kris, you’re my only chance.”

“You’re barred from it for a reason,” Tao argued back. And if he so much as considered indulging Luhan he’d be in for it. The king’s explicit orders were to keep Luhan as far away from what Sehun had brought down fro the life tree as possible. No exceptions. “Stop trying to use me to bypass your king’s orders.”

“He’s afraid I’ll touch it.” Luhan put his hands on his hips. “I said I want to see it, not touch it. And you’ll be there to make sure I don’t. Deal?”

Tao started walking again immediately. “No deal.”

“Tao!” Luhan chased after him, then kept an even pace with him easily. “I have to. Mama sent Sehun the compulsion to go get what she knew I couldn’t. It’s meant to be in my custody, and I have to see it. Just to check on it. I have to know it’s safe.”

Tao said, “It’s safe. There are half a dozen guards in the room. Nothing is going to happen to it.”

“You don’t understand,” Luhan said, sounding frustrated. “ I have to. It’s starting to drive me crazy, and I don’t know how much longer I can control myself and not go down there, cause trouble for Kris, and make a scene. I have to see it, Tao.” Then Luhan was tugging on his arm, more like a boy than a man.

Luhan’s gesture of casualness, familiarity and genuine gentleness was something that reminded Tao of the previous queen. Of Kris’ mother. She hadn’t been the type of queen that Tao had been raised to expect. She’d been warm and friendly and a kind soul. She’d never acted like her position made her better than anyone else, and Luhan had many of her qualities. Maybe that was why Kris had always loved him so unconditionally, almost right from the start.

“You could just do that,” Tao pointed out. “You know you’re more than strong enough to push your way into that room. Why get me to bypass the security for you?”

Luhan blinked a bit owlishly at Tao, then said, “Because my husband personally asked you not to let me take any risks because he’s worried. I don’t want to ignore his request or disrespect his authority, but I really have to see it Tao. It’s a need in me that’s getting worse with every second. Plus, what you’re going to do now is very important, and me getting past the guards, causing disturbance, and getting you called over anyway will delay your trip significantly.”

“Your majesty,” Tao groaned out. “This is going to get back to the king.” Luhan was just so good at wearing people down and getting them to do what he wanted. He was practically an expert by now. And Tao was fading fast against his charms.

“I only need five minutes,” Luhan promised. “Less than that, even. I just need a quick look. Can you give me those five minutes?”

“Are you really going to go anyway if I don’t you?”

Luhan gave a shrug. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell. The pull is getting stronger.”

That worried Tao. Any kind of physical reaction that Luhan was having right now would pale in comparison to the kind he could have if he got any closer. But keeping him away seemed to be causing him actual discomfort, and Tao was sworn against letting that happen. Which would the king see as more important?

Tao sighed. “I’m going to lose my post for this.”

Luhan gave a squeak of happiness and Tao couldn’t bring himself to regret his change of heart too much.

A few minutes later, with Tao feeling even more anxious, he was escorting Luhan past the posted guards, and into the room where the royal family kept their most valuable possessions. It was only the second time Tao had ever been in the huge room, and even though Luhan looked comfortable, striding forward with ease, Tao was not.

“Oh,” Luhan said, jerking to a stop early.

“What is it?” A few more steps and Tao could see that Luhan had paused in front of the display case that housed the crown he’d wear when he was publicly married to the king. Next to it was the king’s, but Tao could tell Luhan only had eyes for the smaller crown. “This can’t be the first time you’ve seen it,” Tao said.

“It is,” Luhan said, inching closer. “I guess I could have before now, but I didn’t want to … make it real, I guess.”

Strangely enough, Tao understood what he meant.

“Come on.” Tao nudged him. “I’m only giving you a couple of minutes and you’re wasting them.”

Almost at a run Luhan made his way, Tao following diligently, to the very back of the chamber. And there, protected by clear glass, was the single item that Sehun had risked his life to retrieve.

“I still don’t get the fuss,” Tao said, bending forward to better see the tiny object. “It’s just a seed.”

It really was, no matter the fuss Luhan was making over it. It was a tiny seed, no bigger than Tao’s thumb, brown in color, and absolutely ordinary in every way. Only it was something Sehun had been willing to risk dying in order to retrieve, and it was something that now looked like had mesmerized Luhan in some way.

Luhan put a pale hand against the glass. “You can’t feel it, can you?”

“No,” Tao said dully. The only thing he could feel was his career slipping away from him. It was almost certain that one of the guards posted outside had gone to inform the king. He was captain of the guard, but even his own men would betray him if they thought he was acting in a capacity that risked the royal family in some way.

“It’s incredible. Take my word for it.” Luhan almost looked on the verge of tears.

“It’s a seed.”

Luhan shook his head. “It’s not important what it is now. What’s important is what it’ll be.”

“And that is?” Tao asked.

A brilliant look on his face, Luhan assured him, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Tao said, “Try me.”

“No,” Luhan insisted, visibly breathing easier. “You really wouldn’t.”

It was almost a miracle that less than ten minutes later Luhan was delivered safely to his wedding planning session, and Tao was face to face with Kai.

Or rather, Tao was coming around a corner, heading towards their designated meeting spot, when he saw Kai. And Kai wasn’t alone. It wasn’t odd at all that Kai and Lay were standing near each other, as the king had likely passed on some parting words for Kai to Lay. Lay had the ear and confidence of both the king and Luhan like no one else. But it was still weird to see someone like Lay, anywhere near someone like Kai.

He was there just in time to hear Kai saying, “--looked kind of weepy, actually, when he gave this to me. It’s not a look he wears well or often. And I thought, hey, maybe he wants me to give it to you to pass along to Luhan or the king, but then he was very clear. I was only supposed to give this to you and no one else. On pain of death, apparently. I don’t even know what it is.”

Kai was holding out an envelope of some sort to Lay.

“Thank you,” Lay said, accepting the envelope with a slightly shaking hand. There was a look on his face, part hopefully, part almost giddy, and Tao was sad to say he hadn’t seen Lay look so excited in a long time. “Very much.”

“And,” Kai continued, releasing his grip on the envelop and taking a respectable step back, “I’m not supposed to come back to K without your reply. The Commander was very clear about that part, too. If I come back without it, I’ll be risking my life. So as soon as I get back from the Forbidden City, I’ll stop by your rooms for it. Okay?”

Lay slid the envelope into his vest expertly and agreed, “I’ll have my reply ready for you at that time.”

Kai frowned a little and confided, “The Commander was very clear that I’m not supposed to pry into this at all, and if I tell anyone that I’m helping you two pass notes with my ability that I’ll be scrubbing toilets like a new recruit for the next ten years. But I can’t help being a little curious. I mean, why not just send each other messages on your tablets? It’s way faster, no matter how fast I am.”

“This,” Lay said, tapping his chest where the envelope was expertly hidden, “is something requiring at bit of propriety. I doubt you would be as interested in it if you actually knew what it was.”

“Huh.”

After that Lay’s eyes darted over to Tao and he knew he’d been made.

“You’re late,” Lay said simply.

“Ah,” Tao eased out. “His majesty needed me for something. It was important to him. I’m sorry for holding you up.”

“Luhan?” Kai asked, an edge to his voice.

Tao ignored him completely as Lay said simply, “Kai couldn’t very well go without you. That would derail the point of us joining forces for this.”

Snorting a little, Kai assured, “I could go without him. I’ve thought about it.”

Tao took a moment to steady his nerves. Luhan had asked as a personal favor for him to keep his wits and maintain his patience. And though Tao doubted Kai and Luhan were having any sort of physical contact with each other at the moment, they were likely at least speaking to each other. Luhan would know if Tao didn’t keep his word.

“And how,” Tao asked, “would you explain that? Grow up. You’re an adult, start acting like one. I don’t want to be paired up with you any more than you do with me, but these are the hands we’re dealt.”

Lay cleared his throat and held up a electronic tablet for the both of them to see. He slid his finger across the screen until he stopped on a photo that was of a surprisingly high resolution. It was in brilliant color, and an almost too artsy shot of one particular building. The mosaic type art lining the visible walls of the building denoted its importance, along with the man sized replica of Mama’s life tree in front.

“As you both know,” Lay informed them, “the Forbidden City is … well, forbidden. We don’t go there out of respect for the mistakes our past generations made, and because it isn’t safe.”

Kai cut in sharply, “The whole continent isn’t safe. It’s a radioactive wasteland. Proof that when we get stupid as people, we really take it to a whole different level. Like half the planet is now a wasteland, level.”

Tao thought Kai knew all about stupid, considering he’d involved with the man who’d been promised to the current king since childhood.

Lay agreed, “It’s true that we’ve all been taught since birth to never go near the Forbidden City--the capital city of what used to be Exo. We were told the water, air and land are all poisoned, and that nothing can survive, including people. And yes, the land won’t hold a crop, and the water isn’t safe to drink, but the air is another story.”

Kai tapped his foot and pondered, “Why do I think you’re about to tell me something very few people know about?” Tao wanted to second that, but he couldn’t’ bring himself to show any kind of solidarity with Kai.

“I think it’s safe to say that K hasn’t had a resources as of late to venture anywhere near the Forbidden City, but M is another story. Before his majesty’s father died, he was looking into the viability of the area. He discovered, surprisingly enough, that the air is breathable again. And at least speaking short term, it’s perfectly safe to be there.”

Tao’s eyes narrowed. “How short term are we talking?”

“About a hour,” Lay said. “A little longer at the most. That’s the average time reported before nausea begins to set in, followed by headaches, vomiting, and likely death.”

Kai said, “I’m getting more excited by the second.”

“So what’s this a picture of?” Tao asked, pointing at the tablet.

Lay pushed the tablet closer to Tao before showing Kai. “This is as far inland as our exploration teams have ever managed to get before needing a quick extraction. This is one of Mama’s first temples, and it’s estimated to be around fifteen minutes by foot from the last known location of the main archive building. If you use it for reference, and walk fast, you could have up to fifty minutes, maybe even an hour, before you have to leave. That’s enough time to search for references to any of the information Luhan and Baekhyun have given us.”

Tao wondered, “Why don’t we just grab what we can within the time frame an bring it back here?”

Lay shook his head. “Everything, and I mean everything, in the area is radioactive. Touch only what you must, and use the protective gear you’re taking with you. Do not, under any circumstances, bring anything back with you. You’ll risk spreading that radiation if you do.”

Kai squinted at the picture. “This is the best shot you have of the building?”

Lay nodded. “You can teleport to locations based on a picture if you have a strong enough reference point, right? This statue of Mama’s life tree might be that.”

“I can,” Kai admitted, “but it’s a little more dangerous. And to be honest, my teleporting is still a little off since the accident. It takes more effort and energy than before. I don’t want to end up in a thousand tiny pieces, and I don’t think Luhan would appreciate me doing the same for Tao.”

Tao snorted, “You should worry less about Luhan. He’s not your concern now, and he never should have been.”

“How about you worry about yourself and not Luhan and I,” Kai shot back. “My point here is that I don’t want to hurt either of us on the way there, get stuck, and then get sick and die. I take it no rescue team will be coming for us if that happens.”

“We’re not going be there long enough to get sick.” Tao felt his promise to Luhan slipping away. “Or were you planning on ditching me at the last second and telling everyone that you did everything you could?”

Loudly, Lay cleared his throat and requested, “Can the both of you please focus? Or is it asking too much for either of you to act your age?”

Tao gave an annoyed grunt. Of all the people he could be teamed up with, Kai was likely the worst.

“Can you get yourself and Tao here?” Lay asked, focusing in on Kai. “Without leaving any body parts behind?”

“I’ve never left anything behind before,” Kai said stubbornly

Only he had. How was Tao supposed to ignore the fact that the second Kai’s ability had been tested in a moment of panic, he’d lost Luhan? He’d left Luhan behind. And not just that, he’d put Luhan in the kind of danger that Tao couldn’t even begin to think about. By all rights Luhan shouldn’t have even come back to them, not with how dangerous K had been to someone of his position, during the war.

Maybe that was ultimately what was grating under Tao’s skin. Luhan seemed to think that Tao hated him, or blamed him in some way for the situation with the king, and yes, Tao was angry. But Tao loved Luhan very much, and if anything happened to Luhan, Tao couldn’t see himself recovering. They were more than friends now. They were brothers.

Finally, Kai said, “I can get us there. All body parts included.”

With that decided, there was only one last thing to do, and it most certainly did not involve Kai. Tao planned to keep Kai away from Luhan as much as possible, no matter what Luhan’s feelings for the man were. Luhan would be better off without him, especially once those feelings started to dull down.

“Keep an eye on Luhan while I’m gone,” Tao said quietly to Lay while Kai studied the data screen.

Immediately Lay’s posture changed. “Is something wrong? Or are you just being overprotective like his majesty?”

Tao said, “If I was just being overprotective I’d enlist Xiumin. No. I want you to watch his behavior. Make sure he’s not doing anything … out of the ordinary.”

“Tao?”

Tao sighed. “He’s feeling compulsions, I think. Like when Sehun climbed the life tree. Only it’s got to be worse for him because you know his connection to Mama. Watch him. Follow him around if you have to. Just don’t let anything happen to him.”

“This has to do with the seed, doesn’t it?” Lay posed. “Luhan was very fixated on it when Sehun brought it down, and he wasn’t happy when we wouldn’t let him hold it. Neither was Sehun, for that matter. They’re both under the impression that it needs to be protected by Luhan, which makes no sense at all.”

“So you’ll watch him?” Tao asked, looking over to Kai as he started to become restless. “I can’t be here and Xiumin is with his family. This falls on you with Chen gone and his majesty occupied.”

Calmly, Lay assured him, “I won’t let anything happen while you’re gone. But you need to focus on your task at hand. You have to bring back something--anything useful. We need more information. Tomorrow Luhan and I are going to search through the palace archives.”

Tao gave him a rare thumbs up. “I have this.”

With a smile, Lay added, “Don’t let Kai get to you. And for all our sakes, don’t skewer him at any point. Imagine trying to explain that to Suho.”

Tao found himself returning the smile. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not even bringing my sword.” Tao paused, then questioned, “Did you just … call him Suho?”

Lay’s eyes quickly adverted to the floor. “It’s proper to call him by his first name now, and not his title. We are courting.”

Tao felt a little dumbfounded, but the smile on his face only grew. “Okay.” In many ways, the ones that counted the most, Lay was like a brother as well. And while Tao might have wanted him to choose a partner more befitting of his station, or at least someone in M, Tao couldn’t deny how big of an issue Lay actually courting someone was.

“Ready?” Kai asked.

It was an awkward thing, placing his hand on Kai’s shoulder for teleportation, but it was better than holding his hand, or something equally as bad. And then, as Lay gave them both a short wave, they were blinking out of existence.

To Tao, it didn’t feel like much. Just a quick pull below his chest, sort of like sitting down too fast, and then suddenly they were standing in the partial ruins of what had been Exo’s most advanced, populated and beautiful city.

“Okay,” Kai said slowly, eyes taking in the scenery. “This is pretty amazing.”

Tao gave his own silent nod. The Forbidden City was located almost completely on the other side of Exo Planet, which meant it was nearly sunset in the ruins. But there was more than enough light to illuminate the once beautiful architecture, and the picture of what had been the height of Exo’s culture.

Before everyone had started dropping bombs on each other and reduced the planet’s population to the mere thousands for a time, Exo’s now Forbidden City had been glorious in its perfection. From art to medicine, Exo had been a wealth of advancement. Though some M historians were still baffled by how their race had persevered after the collapse and managed to survive. In a radioactive wasteland, a few thousand survivors had beat the odds.

Kai said, “I think I see what used to be the capital’s archival building. It’s got the faded blue trim, right? Used to be their university and library all wrapped up into one. We should hurry, we probably have less than an hour.”

Tao went to take a step after him when he was suddenly doubling over, almost like he’d had a the wind knocked right out of him.

“Hurry up!” Kai called back to him impatiently.

Tao tried again, this time only attempting to edge his foot forward, but once more the feeling pounded into him, threatening to bring him down to his knees. He felt almost violently sick, to the point that he wondered if Lay had been wrong, and they had to get out of there right away.

But Kai was still walking on, not looking back for him, and Kai was perfectly fine. There was no way he could fake what Tao was feeling, if it was the same with him.

Instead, Tao leaned towards the building they’d identified as a temple. Back when Mama had been the dominate focus of nearly every citizen’s life. Tao was close enough to the statue of her life tree to lean on it, and every bit closer he got to the temple, the feeling of illness began to recede.

He was, ultimately, being pulled towards the temple.

Was this what Sehun had felt in regards to the seed?

In any case, no matter the reason, Tao was stumbling his way up the steps to the temple just second later.

The inside was huge. Once he made his way through the crumbling door frame, and stepped carefully over the broken pieces of the floor, he emerged into a great empty space with a high ceiling. There was a thickness to the air, and a sense that the temple had been something magnificent once.

“Hey!” Angrily Kai came storming into the temple, demanded, “We’re supposed to be going to the archive. You’re wasting time and risking our lives.”

“No,” Tao said, following the feeling in his gut to the center of the room. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” Then he knelt, and with his hand, he began to brush away the debris littering the floor. It only took a little work to reveal the tiled mosaic on the floor.

“What?”

“This is where I’m supposed to be,” Tao repeated, uncovering more of the art, including some of the symbols they’d found in the book, the very symbols that appeared on their skin when they touched the text. “And this proves it.”

He found his symbol quickly, the tile it was painted on faded and cracked a little on the edge, but still recognizable. Kai’s wasn’t far away. On instinct alone he was pushing down on the tiles, and then both he and Kai were falling.

Of course the floor was rotted through. It had been hundreds and hundreds of years since any kind of real weight had been put down on it.

“What just happened?” Kai asked in pitch darkness.

One second they’d been falling and then the next they were standing perfectly upright in a space with pure air to breathe and no light to see in. There’d actually been no real fall, only a sudden sense of vertigo. Now there was disorientation.

“I don’t know,” Tao said.

A clicking resonated around them and then lights were coming on around them. Light from no source. Natural light and not the artificial kind.

“I am really freaked out,” Kai said honestly. “Where are we?”

Tao looked down suddenly, feeling grass beneath his toes. His boots were gone, along with his socks, and after a moment more he realized that his clothing was completely different. His traveling clothes, the ones he’d picked specifically for the mission, were replaced by white leggings and an equally white tunic type top. His feet were bare and he was sanding on a green--too green grassy patch of earth.

They weren’t in a temple anymore. They were outside, in a valley of some sort, the sun gone and the stars sparkling above them with Exo’s twin moons lighting the area around them brighter than Tao had ever seen before. The trickling of water nearby was traced to a slow flowing river and bunches of flowers were grouped together in vivid and beautiful colors. This was no where Tao had ever been before.

“Tao.” Kai moved quickly to his side, dressed in new clothes as well, though unlike Tao’s they were a dark blue, almost midnight color. “Did I hit my head? Am I dreaming this?”

“Unlikely,” Tao bit out, looking down again at his feet to wiggle his toes. Maybe he’d been the one to hit his head on the fall and Kai was just the hallucination. But that wouldn’t explain how he could feel the breeze on his skin or the tickle from the blades of grass across is sensitive skin. “And I have no idea where we are or how we got here. It’s defying all explanation.”

Making them both jump a little, a soft, feminine voice asked, “Where is the Oracle?”

Tao spun, reaching instinctively for the sword at his waist that he kept typically to his side in almost all instances. He’d had to take it off before teleporting with Kai, however, and it was back at the palace. But where was the palace?

“Who are you?” Kai demanded, beating Tao to the punch.

The voice belonged to a child. At least it looked like a child. Standing a few dozen feet away, in a pale yellow dress, was a young girl. Dark brown hair curled at her shoulders and she had an apprehensive look on her face.

She repeated, “Where is the Oracle?”

Taking command of the situation, Tao moved towards her, indicating, “My name is Tao. I’m a representative of his majesty, King Kris. We don’t know who this Oracle is that you’re asking for. We aren’t even sure how we got here, or what here is. Can you tell us your name?”

“Where is the Oracle?”

“Listen,” Kai snapped, voice raising, “We don’t know an oracle. Who are you?”

The girls eyes narrowed. “I will speak only to the Oracle.”

“This is crazy,” Kai said, throwing his hands up. He stalked over to the nearby river and knelt by it. “Tao, the Forbidden City didn’t have any naturally occurring water sources. And it wouldn’t have any now with water this clean. Where ever we are, we’re a long way away.”

“It was sunset when we left,” Tao said, going to his side. He bravely dipped his fingers into the water and then brought them up to his nose. The water didn’t have a smell and he knew for a fact that polluted water did. “Look up at the position of the moons. It’s got to be much later than that, based where they are in the sky.”

Tiny bare feet settled next to Tao. “Keeper, where is the Oracle?”

“Keeper?” Tao stood. He was at least a head and a half taller than her. Maybe more. “Is that what you just called me?”

“Keeper of what?” Kai asked, head poking around Tao to question the girl.

Almost tiredly, the girl said to Kai, “Of time, Keeper.”

Confusion filled Kai’s face. “I thought he was the Keeper.”

Tao worked out, “Maybe we both are. My ability is time manipulation. Yours is manipulating distance, at least to a degree. We both keep these abilities.”

“Then who’s this Oracle?” Kai questioned.

“The Oracle,” Tao eased out, more tentative than anything else, “isn’t here right now.”

“I know that, Keeper,“ she said, almost like he was stupid. “Why not? You should not have come without the Oracle. The Oracle guides. He balances. He protects. You are not safe here without him.”

“We don’t even know why we’re here,” Tao returned. “Or what here is.” Then he was distracted. The twin moons were lighting everything up, casting shadows, and Tao could see his own creeping across Kai’s form. Kai’s was easily spotted, too. But the girl? She had no shadow. “What are you?”

Then, sending a chill through his body, Kai asked, voice shaking, “Mama?”

The girl giggled and Tao had to sit down suddenly. Hard.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Kai asked, darting forward.

Her cheeks dimpled as she told Kai, “I am what you need me to be.”

Almost pleading, Kai said, “No more riddles.”

“Luhan?” Tao ventured, “Is he the Oracle?” When Kai turned sharply to Tao, he reasoned, “Out of all of us, all of these supposed guardians, Luhan is the only one with the direct connection to Mama. Chanyeol and Baekhyun are sensitive to her, but Luhan is dangerously in tune with Mama.”

“Where is the Oracle?”

“Safe,” Tao said, getting his feet back under him. “And it may not be safe for him to travel. He can’t come here. That’s for sure.” If they ever knew where here was.

“I must speak with him. Where is the Oracle?”

“You communicate with him all the time,” Kai said, anger lacing his words. “You hurt him.”

The girl’s eyes flickered to Kai. “Calm yourself, Keeper. I am trying to save him. I am trying to save all my children.”

“Where are we?” Tao asked, determined to get a straight answer. “And why do you look like that?”

The girl’s head tipped back and she stretched her arms up to the stars, fingers straining. It was hard for Tao to think of this girl as Mama, or even some interpretation of her.

“This is,” she said, eyes closed, “nothing you might understand. The Oracle would, however. He would guide you, were he here. Away from the danger.”

“We were safe where we were,” Tao argued. “At least for a little, and at least we knew where we were. Why are we here now.”

“You were not,” she said so firmly that the ground rumbled a bit under them. “My children had poisoned the world around you. You were not safe. You remain unsafe.”

Kai frowned hard at the sky and posed to Tao, “You don’t think … maybe we’re not awake right now?”

Tao glared at him. “You think we’re experiencing some … shared vision? The kind that Luhan often has?”

Kai pointed out, “Mama did say, if Luhan were here, he’d know what was going on. He’d understand. He’s the only one who understands visions to begin with. Do you think there’s a chance? Because take a closer look at the sky.”

There was no answer for Tao to give. He couldn’t be sure about anything. But even he had to admit it was possible. There were too many unexplained things. And looking up at the night sky more carefully revealed that the twin moons above them were not, in fact, moons. Instead what he’d dismissively assumed to be two moons were clearly something much different.

“One of those is a planet,” Tao said, pointing upwards, specifically at the bigger of the two objects in the sky, big and blue and beautiful with a smaller, white moon orbiting it. “But is it one of ours?” They had several planets in their solar system, but they knew so little about them. Were they even looking up at their own night sky?

Mama gave a soft smile at the planet in question.

“Mama?” Kai asked.

“Bring me the Oracle.”

“I don’t--” Tao started. “It wouldn’t be safe for him. Even you can recognize that, right?”

“I must speak with him. He will be safe with me.”

“Tao,” Kai said, nudging him a little, “you can’t honestly be considering this. I don’t care if she is Mama. Luhan can’t--”

They were both thrown violently off their feet as the ground started to tremble. There was no gradual increase, only a crazy, frantic shaking that was violent from the start.

“What’s going on?” Tao demanded, clenching his teeth. The sky was falling. The stars were falling and the sky was blacking out.

The form of the girl spun on them, shouting, “You must leave now. Wake up.”

Then they were hurdling away, flipping end over end, arms flailing, minds whirling …

Only to slam into awareness with a violent lurch of nausea and disorientation. A half second more and Tao realized the ceiling of the temple building they must have been in all along was coming down around them. They had precious seconds before they were buried alive.

“Tao!” Kai yelled for him, reaching out to try and grab his hand. “Tao!”

“Kai!” It mattered less and less with each passing desperate second that Kai had once been an enemy, and was nothing more than a convenient ally.

Their fingers just barely brushed, but it seemed to be enough, and almost right away Tao could feel that pull rushing through him.

The sounds of yelling and screaming were roaring through Tao’s ears as he hit something solid and very hard. He bounced off it, rolled to the ground and choked out a groan of pain. Then, thankfully, he was blissfully still.

“What in the hell is going on?” Commander Suho’s voice demanded.

Tao cracked his eyes open to see several faces above him, looking down. He easily made out Commander Suho, and Chanyeol, and then surprisingly Chen who gave him a worried look.

“How did you end up here?” Chen asked, pulling him up with a strong grip. A look around told Tao that he was in some command centre. Maybe what had served as K’s war room during the actual war. He was certainly in K.

Next to him Kai rolled over to his stomach and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Head hanging low he tried to shake his sense back into himself.

“Explain,” Suho demanded.

“Something,” Kai breathed out, “really crazy just happened. Something impossible made possible.”

“What?” Suho demanded at the gibberish. “Did you hit your head on something?”

Tao added, “You have no idea.” He took a long, shuddering breath. “Commander Suho, please get M on the line immediately. I need to speak to his majesty Luhan, and Baekhyun for that matter.”

While Tao tried to steady the heavy thumping of his heart, he heard Suho ask Kai, “Why are you making that face at me?”

Kai grimaced and managed to lean back on his knees, going upright. “Sorry, Commander. I forgot to get that reply.”

Commander Suho looked as annoyed as Tao felt. That, and exhausted.