Chanyeol and Luhan share a look. Zitao doesn’t seem fazed.

The other of the two homeowners that opened the door to them chuckles and nervously rubs his neck, tugging at the back of his hair. Chanyeol clears his throat.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s just embarrassed.” Jongdae insists, “I don’t think he was expecting company.”

The last of the three emerges again, now fully, but messily, dressed, pulling the sleeves of his jacket further over his shoulders as he blushes once again and smiles.

“Are these friends of yours, Baek?”

“These guys are like us!” Baekhyun cheers with glee, tugging on the oldest’s arm.

“You can’t just go around telling people we’re different, Baek.” Yixing mutters hotly, flicking the boy on the forehead. Baekhyun pouts.

“I didn’t!” Baekhyun wails, hiding behind an unwilling Jongdae. “They just came to the door and the short one lifted me with his mind and the tall one told me they knew what we could do.”

Yixing’s eyes widen and his hands become tighter around the hands of his best friends. He pulls them in tighter and narrows his eyes curiously at the tallest, who is perched comfortably in Yixing’s usual seat.

“How can we trust you?”

“Because we’re just like you. There are twelve of us. Including you three, we know of nine.” He replies clearly, pushing his hair from his vision.

“We won’t sell you to testing, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Luhan pipes up, his voice the exact real life replica of rainbows and glitter. Yixing rolls his eyes.

“I wasn’t worried about that at all until you mentioned it!” Baekhyun whines loudly. “Yixing! Don’t let them sell us for testing! Jongdae is replaceable, but I’m not!”

Jongdae reaches over Yixing’s chest to tug on a chunk of the older’s hair.

Yixing hugs them both tighter, Jongdae moulding into the space behind him, shyly peering around his shoulder and biting on his bottom lip. Yixing steps forward.

“So what do you all do? You can’t possibly expect us to confess to anything without proof that you are actually like us.”

Chanyeol shakes his head, “of course we wouldn’t.” He takes a deep breath and pulls out his trusty book, taking care not to grip it too hard or trigger any flames. He takes a deep breath prior to opening up the third page of symbols. “This is me.”

“That looks like a bird to me, no offence.” Yixing snaps flatly, squinting at the drawing on the paper.

“This is my symbol. The Phoenix. It symbolises my ability to manipulate fire.”

Baekhyun gasps in awe. Yixing spares him an unimpressed glance.

“This symbol,” he points to a triangular shape. “This is our friend Jongin’s symbol. He has the ability of teleportation – one of the four ‘special’ powers.”

“This next one,” the smallest boy smiles, “is my Sehun’s symbol.” He points to the next page when Chanyeol flicks it over. “He has the ability to control and manipulate wind.”

“The snowflake is our friend Minseok’s power.” Chanyeol states as he yet again, turns the page. “Minseok’s ability is controlling ice. He caused the missing part of Seoul Bridge. He froze himself to the bridge and when Jongin teleported him away, it ripped a chunk with him.”

Jongdae snickers, so Chanyeol glares. “I don’t suppose you were much better when you first got your powers; I wouldn’t laugh just yet.”

Jongdae goes silent.

“This one,” he flicks two pages, “is Luhan’s.”

“I have the ability of telepathy, as two of you have seen.” Luhan’s smile is wide and warm and Yixing finds himself being lead astray by the friendliness of the smallest boy along with the familiar accent. “None of us can really control our powers, and I’m sorry for levitating you when you opened the door. You caught me by surprise.” He blushes, playing with his hands.

“It’s okay.” Baekhyun mumbles, hiding beside the oldest of his friends.

“And last but not least is Zitao’s,” the dark boy on the end’s head raises at his name, but his blank expression doesn’t falter and Jongdae cowers further into the safety of Yixing’s arm. “Zitao controls time, hence the hourglass.”

“What about us?”

Chanyeol flicks back one page.

“You three correspond to this symbol,” the page before, “this symbol,” and one near the front, “and this symbol.” He explains, “If you tell us what each of you can do, we can tell you which one.”

Yixing looks to Baekhyun first, searching for an answer. Baekhyun shrugs, but seems interested as his eyes widen with curiosity. He then turns to the shy boy beside him, patting down his hair and smiling reassuring. Jongdae doesn’t say anything, but Yixing can see from the look in his eyes that he’s petrified.

“I can heal people.”

“You’re the unicorn.” Chanyeol immediately replies, causing Baekhyun to giggle.

“I’m a… unicorn?” Yixing sighs. “Of all things, I have to be a unicorn.”

“The unicorn symbol represents the last of our four ‘special’ powers. Jongin’s teleportation, Luhan’s telepathy, Zitao’s time control and now… now Yixing’s healing.”

“What about the eight other powers? Are they just mediocre?” Baekhyun asks, his eyes darting anywhere but at the tallest boy. Yixing’s eyes roam over the unicorn on the page of Chanyeol’s book with annoyance. He was in not at all impressed with the unicorn symbol. “Are we mediocre?”

“Not at all.” Chanyeol insists, his voice eager. Baekhyun finds his excitement and eagerness a little admirable, but the creepy grin on his lips and slightly-too-large eyes make him uneasy. “In fact, the powers are just separated into three groups of four. The special powers, the elements and the variables.”

“The variables?”

“The variables are the powers that link to another power. Minseok’s ice is a variation of the rain drop’s water abilities, but then the Scorpion’s lightning manipulation stems from the Earth power.”

“Hey, that’s me!” Jongdae blurts, suddenly turning shy, he finishes, “The lightning one.”

“Then you are the Scorpion.” Chanyeol smiles, flicking back to the page of the Scorpion. “This symbol represents the ability to manipulate lightning and its properties. You could potentially have a lot of power.” He pauses and guides his eyes to the smallest of the three (if only by a centimetre). His smile softens, as he is aware the older is scared, “What about you?”

“Light came out of my hand.” Baekhyun mumbles quietly, hiding behind the thin frame of his Chinese best friend.

“Then you must be the star. Your powers are exactly that.” Chanyeol turns back to the front of the book, to the second page of symbols. “You have the ability to bend and manipulate light. I bet that comes in handy when the Scorpion short circuits the apartment.”

“We have names.” Jongdae comments sharply, but Chanyeol doesn’t even so much as blink before he replies.

“I know, but you haven’t told us them yet.”

“Zhang Yixing,” Yixing starts, “and this is Kim Jongdae,” he ruffles Jongdae’s hair, “and Byun Baekhyun.” Baekhyun smiles shyly and waves. “You are?”

“Park Chanyeol, Archaeologist at S.I.A.”

“What the hell is S.I.A?” Jongdae whispers.

Yixing shrugs, “I’ll be damned if I know. Some Irritating Archaeologists?” He smirks. Jongdae snorts quietly.

“And I’m Lu Han, but you can just shove that together and call me Luhan.” The smallest chirps, “I couldn’t help but notice your Chinese accent. Where abouts in China are you from?”

“Changsha,” Yixing nods, “you’re not from around there.”

“No, I’m from Beijing, and Zitao here is from Qingdao, Shandong.” Yixing smiles as the youngest boy introduces himself monotonously.

“Huang Zitao.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.” The two beside him still don’t move, clinging tightly onto their elder’s shirt and even letting out a soft whine in Baekhyun’s case. They have plenty of reason not to trust the three of them, but the oldest seems to think they are reliable enough.

Baekhyun is the first to break away to offer them coffee.

He quickly refuses to let Jongdae help him.

~*~

“I wonder if Chanyeol is having much luck with the new symbols.” Minseok hums as he chews on another of Luhan’s homemade baozis. Jongin steals one from his plate and groans in delight.

“Man, your boyfriend makes the best food – ever.”

“Please don’t make that noise regarding my boyfriend ever again.”

Jongin giggles, so Minseok slaps him on the back of the head. Sehun takes a deep breath and stares at his phone screen. Why hasn’t Luhan called him yet? Why hasn’t he got a text from him yet? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“If you keep waiting, he won’t text.” Sehun glares. “I’m telling you; don’t worry about it. He’ll text when he’s free. He’s probably busy talking away constantly to one of the new guys.”

“He doesn’t talk constantly.”

“Yes, he does, don’t even try and defend your pretty-boy boyfriend. You know he talks too much.” Jongin smirks, prodding the younger in the cheek and then pulling up the edges of his lips to force a smile.

“Luhan is perfect.” He grumbles, swatting the boy away. “He talks just enough. I don’t like talking, so Luhan talks just enough for the both of us.” Sehun shoves the boy over, listening to the laughter that follows. “Anyway, you can’t talk. When you open your mouth, nonsense just comes out.”

“Hey!” Jongin fights, jumping over Sehun’s legs to pounce on him, pinning him to the floor and tickling his ribs in revenge. Jongin learns at that moment that Sehun is the most ticklish of his friends.

“I can’t take you anywhere.” Minseok grumbles, tugging the boy from Sehun’s lap and onto his own, force feeding him food so no more nonsense can spill from between his lips. “How old are you, Sehun?”

“Nineteen, why?”

“Hey, me too!” Jongin muffles out between bites. “What date?”

“April twelfth, you’re probably older than me. It seems like everyone else here is.” Sehun shrugs, pulling his legs into his chest and resting his head against his knees.

“He’s only older by a few months – January fourteenth. Don’t worry about treating him with respect; you won’t get it in return anyway.” Minseok adds with a playful smile, getting tackled himself by the boy sitting in his lap.

Sehun lets a rare smile loose at the sight of the two boys. Friendship like that is something he never had other than with Luhan. He wasn’t going to lie and say he never had friends; that would be absurd. He had tons of friends at school, hundreds probably; he just never had that casual, easy friendship that the two boys in front of him seemed to have.

Jongin wouldn’t understand what it felt like for him to be separated from Luhan at the moment because he still had Minseok with him. Had Minseok gone with Chanyeol and Zitao instead and Luhan stayed with them, Jongin would be feeling the same; he knew it.

There was something special about the comfort of a best friend that Sehun really needed at the moment. He needed to be reassured that everything was going to be okay.

What with all these magical powers flying around (not to mention that they lost Jongin about twenty minutes ago when he disappeared out of thin air and managed to reappear sitting in the bathtub) and God knows what else, he couldn’t bear the thought of Luhan being alone out there without him.

What if something happened? What if he was scared? Would he find comfort in Zitao – the Chinese heartthrob that was infinitely better than him because he had tanned skin and panda eyes and giant muscles and spoke Luhan’s mother tongue?

Minseok glanced over at Sehun and noticed the distant, longing look in his eyes, pushing Jongin away to sit beside the youngest boy and rubbing his back for comfort.

“You know,” he started, “no matter where Luhan is and no matter where you are, you’ll see each other again.”

Jongin continues, “just because he’s not here right now, doesn’t mean he won’t be back, and he’ll have missed you just as much as you miss him and when you see each other again it’ll be a hundred times better and those few hours you were apart will feel like nothing.”

“Jongin and I have been best friends since we can both remember. I even babysat Jongin for a while.” Jongin glares at this comment. “But I knew that at the end of the night when his parents came home and I had to leave, that we’d see each other tomorrow and the day after and the day after that. We’re not like you and Luhan, we don’t love each other that way, but we miss each other just the same when we’re not together.”

“Each other is all we’ve had growing up. Having Minseok around was like the Sun being in the sky in the daytime. Without fault, he would be there. I might not be able to see him sometimes because the clouds are in the way, but he’s there and he misses me too, so I’m okay with it.”

Jongin smiles warmly for once and reaches forward and wrap Sehun in a hug. Minseok is surprised to see such an emotional and compassionate side of the best friend he knows and loves, but the comfort he’s giving to Sehun is the most admirable thing the younger has ever done.

Jongin’s never been one to comfort, but now, what he was doing for someone practically a stranger? Minseok couldn’t help but be proud of the little boy who once set his jacket on fire using a lighter and a twig because he’d ‘seen it in Zelda’.

“So don’t look so sad, you big pansy.” Jongin grinned, ruffling the boy’s hair, who quickly darts up to fix it. “Luhan will be back soon, and he’ll have missed you too but more importantly, he’ll have lots of information about three more of our soon-to-be best friends!”

Sehun smiles gently and nods, sniffling ever so quietly. He puts his phone back into his pocket and looks up at the two of them.

“So what do you guys do to pass the time?”

~*~

“You know, Kris, fetching me coffee really is an important job.”

“Please don’t try to make me feel better by trying to make coffee boy sound like glitter and diamonds.”

“I’m not; I’m just saying that if you didn’t get me coffee, I’d probably fall asleep in my meetings and then no one would know the mysterious cause of the earthquakes out on the outskirts of Seoul.”

Kris rises in his chair slightly, eyes alert and ears perked. Junmyeon jumps, startled at the sudden movement, but a mouth full of coffee calms his heart almost instantly.

“You’re going to tell them about Kyungsoo?”

Junmyeon shakes his head.

“Of course not. I’m going to tell them that the Earth is slowly adjusting to Global Warming and causing pressure to be released under the surface. Then it becomes the weather nerds’ problem and not mine.”

Kris laughs softly to himself, tucking the throw cushions back behind his back as he spins in Junmyeon’s spare desk chair. Junmyeon sighs, “besides, I wouldn’t sell Kyungsoo out like that. Right now, he needs friends he can trust to look after him. It must be horrible not being able to remember anything. He must be so scared. I was worried enough about leaving him at home alone while we’re at work.”

“I’m sure he’s fine; you did only phone him half an hour ago… and half an hour before that… and half an hour before that.” Kris rolls his eyes, picking up speed until his stomach started to churn. He rolled himself closer to Junmyeon’s desk, leaning against the hard wood and sighing.

“You feel sick, don’t you?” Kris nods. “Why did you think I don’t use that chair anymore?”

~*~

“Kris, will you do me a favour?”

Kris stops flicking little balls of paper across the room to the bin to turn to face the younger man. “Kyungsoo isn’t answering my calls.”

“He’s a grown man. He doesn’t have to answer your calls.” Kris replies with a typical tut. “Besides, I’m sure he’s fine.”

“I’ll let you off work early if you go back to mine and make sure he’s okay.”

“You know, actually, I’ve changed my mind. He really needs someone to be there with him to make sure he’s okay.” Kris grins sheepishly. Junmyeon gives him a thumbs up and laughs when the giant trips over his own feet trying to get his coat on faster than the speed of light. Kris stumbles out of the office, dodging the judging looks of the other employees and heads for Junmyeon’s car when he realises he doesn’t have the keys.

If he gets the keys, how does Junmyeon get home?

He sighs, peering up at the blue clouds. It can’t be that hard, right?

~*~

Correction: it’s the hardest thing Kris has ever had to do.

Wings still feel alien to him, despite having them hiding in his back for almost a week. He contemplates just crash landing on the top of a building somewhere and walking the rest of the way, but he’s doing this for Junmyeon (and Kyungsoo) so he may as well get the practice while he can.

Five almost crash landings and twelve bruises from building sides later and he lands shakily on his feet at Junmyeon’s front door. He brushes the brick debris from his shoulder pads and admires the surprise cleanliness of his long, white coat.

He presses the doorbell and gets nothing, so he opens up the mail flap.

“Kyungsoo?” Silence. “Soo? You okay? It’s me, Kris. Open up.”

Silence.

Absolutely nothing.

He tries the handle.

“Kyungsoo?”

The house is unlocked, but eerily silent. He wonders if Kyungsoo is just so scared he’s silent, but he can’t even hear Kyungsoo’s usual frantic breathing when the boy is having one of his famous panic attacks. The entire building is silent. Too silent.

“Soo? C’mon now. Say something for Krissie.” He calls out, desperation laced into his voice. He quickly picks up the phone and listens to the messages left.

There are three.

“Hey, Soo. It’s Junmyeon. Are you doing okay? You didn’t answer the phone, so maybe you just didn’t reach it in time. I hope you’re doing fine! Sorry we had to leave you at home. Next time, you can come to the office with us, alright? Stay safe!”

Beep!

“Kyungsoo… You’re really scaring me now. It’s been an hour and a half and you haven’t phoned back. Contact me as soon as you get this message. If you take too long, I’ll set Kris on you!” There’s a pause. “Please be okay, Soo…”

Beep!

“Do Kyungsoo…” That isn’t Junmyeon’s voice. “The Auspices… You must kill them.” And that definitely isn’t something Junmyeon would say. “Kim Junmyeon, Wu Yi Fan; you’ve already got into their minds. It’s not long now before they are all under your spell… Wipe them out like pencil markings. Bit by bit… There isn’t much time.”

Beep!

“End of messages. If you would like to listen to your messages again, press one. To delete your messages, press two. To-”

Kyungsoo’s missing.