Chapter 1 - The Encounter

General POV

"Hands off the Globe!" Hoya hesitantly pointed his gun at Changjo,"Please, I don't want to hurt you."

Changjo glared at the older ones, and balled his fists in rage. "Must we go destroy another place when we've already destroyed ours?"

As the Sun intensified its blaze, Mother Earth had slowly transformed into an inhospitable home. Life on Earth was totally devastated. Even the strongest of all - humanity, was coming to an end. However, the discovery of a rare substance, the Globe, had raised hopes among people: it could possibly teleport individuals to an Earth-like planet millions of light-years away. Still struggling for existence, humans had moved to live underground, abandoning the ruined world above.

"That is our only hope, please don't do something stupid," Sunggyu calmly explained, slowly moving towards the younger, "We are only trying to save ourselves from a painful death. We might be able to cool down our atmosphere using the power-containing substances there. I'm sure you don't want to die of dehydra-"

"So we invade others' territory to save ourselves from death, which we'll all have to face eventually? We don't even know what will happen if we steal their resources, and we might ruin their place. This is definitely not something we humans should aim for!" Changjo roared, before grabbing the precious matter and flinging it harshly to the white tiled floor.

No poof,

No bang -

He vanished along with the shattered Globe,

And teleported to a whole new territory he hardly knew anything about.

Changjo's POV

It was pitch black and I could see nothing at all. I couldn't move my left leg, nor my left hand. I fidgeted with my greatest effort. No use. Was I tied? Anxiously, I ran my hand along my left arm, in hopes of untying myself - but I was wrong. To my surprise, my fingers came into contact with a wood-like surface before even reaching my elbow. Shortly I realized that my leg was in the same situation - it was entirely engulfed by a tree. My heart started racing, and a myriad of images flashed through my mind: all those news articles I came across lately, and the moment that I destroyed the Globe…

Putting all the pieces together, I realized that the Globe, that my so-called companions tried to protect, actually worked in teleportation. The substance was a recent discovery, but not yet a fully developed technology - probably the reason why I was trapped. This had to be a huge error that those scientists omitted. What's more, I was quite sure that I was no longer on Earth, but far away on planet Tarius.

I tried hard to keep myself at a highly vigilant state. I barely knew anything about this place and I surely didn't want to get eaten by any sort of beasts... I was exhausted. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I sighed in frustration, and leaned against the tree, waiting desperately for sunrise - if that was how people on Tarius, Tarians, called it.

General POV

It was the spring equinox on Tarius - beginning of spring, the season of Lush. Being a part of Lush race, Niel was definitely too hyped up to fall asleep, so he decided to sneak out for a stroll in the forests alone. It was near dawn and the sky was still dark. Carefully, Niel lit a candle and fixed his hair in the flaring light of the flame. Due to the seasonal change, his hair had started turning light emerald green, gradually replacing the blonde beneath - indicating that the powers of the Lush race were back in his body.

He then took a small slip of paper and carelessly scribbled a note to his allies:

'Dear all, You all know what day it is right? I'm going out for practice! Don't worry about me~~♡ I'll come back once I feel more confident.

-Niel'

After leaving the note on the table, Niel took his bow and arrows just in case, and set off into the wilderness.

Niel tip-toed out of the cabin and closed the door gently. He snapped his fingers and a lime green swirl of sparkles escaped like mini fireworks, before fading. His lips slowly curled into a genuine smile. As the sky lit up, Niel started strolling towards the enchanting forests in the neighbourhood.

Soon, Niel was surrounded by lofty trees. He causally stuck the paper targets he had brought with him onto the sides of the trunks and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. He shifted himself to the right position, slowly lifted his palm, aiming for the target and took a deep breathe. Thorned vines shot out from the soil, immediately hitting the bull's eye of a target, and eventually destroying the paper. It’s still here. He aimed for the other targets and repeated the process.

"Done." He whispered and let out a sigh of accomplishment.

Niel walked towards the tree and removed the paper targets from the tangled vines gently before stuffing them into his quiver [A/N: a container for arrows] between the arrows. His eyes suddenly widened. He saw an injured Larkin staring straight at him right behind the tree. Larkins were like leopards of Tarius - not extremely strong, but could be hard to deal with when it decided to attack. The stare was so creepy that it made Niel shiver. Preparing for a sudden attack, Niel slowly reached for an arrow from his quiver and carefully held up his bow, aiming at the huge cat.

He didn't want to hurt it - Tarians of the Lush race always tried to protect lives of all creatures, and could even communicate with them if they were willing to.

The Larkin seemed to be threatened by Niel's reaction, but still cautiously moved towards him, without breaking the eye contact. Niel's stomach turned, it was too long since he tried to commune with beasts. He stared at the violet iris of the cat with a mixture of fear and sincerity. He was anxious.

It was still moving towards him, and could charge at him in any split second. There was a sudden weird feeling that made Niel hesitate, before lowering and dropping his bow. The Larkin was asking for help - Niel could read from its stare. It was already less than a metre from him.

Changjo's POV

The sky slowly lit up and I was still here. The night seemed much longer than those on Earth. So it wasn't a dream? I was appalled when I realised how I was stuck in the tree. The visible part of my arm had started to turn a little purplish - probably due to the lack of blood circulation, but I wasn't sure. My stuck hand and leg were starting to feel numb and stiff. I was extremely tired. Did this freaking tree out my energy? I had to get myself out of here. I was starting to feel dizzy. It was already morning and it was possible that I could call for someone's help. I parted my dry lips and tried to shout - nothing came out. I tried again and failed. I couldn't speak. I panicked and struggled to free myself.

Soon, I gave up. It was just a waste of energy to panic. I calmly scanned my surroundings to look for help, and I suddenly saw the Globe lying on the ground at a distance. Didn't I shatter it? It was lying on the ground unharmed, giving off silver rays of light. I extended my free leg to retrieve it, but it was too far. The Globe was my only hope. I wanted to leave this place. I did not belong here. Again I grew frustrated and leaned against the tree, still staring at the glowing matter, but dizziness slowly took over. My eyes closed unconsciously.

Rustling sounds of leaves brought me back to reality. Much to my surprise, I saw a huge cat-like creature with silvery fur hovering over the Globe. I shifted myself for a better view of the situation, but the sound attracted its attention, causing it to whirl around and stare at me with its violet eyes. I didn't dare to move, nor breathe. It swiftly zigzagged its way towards me. In a split second, it reached where I was standing. It stood up with its rear legs and put its paws on my shoulders - it was heavy. Its face was only a few inches from mine and I could literally feel its warm, steady breathe on me. This is the end. I closed my eyes to avoid its intense gaze.

The weight was suddenly removed. There were scratching sounds. Timidly, I opened my eyes to see the beast scraping the wood surface with its dangerously sharp claws - it could've cut my hand off. I couldn't risk anything, so I pushed it off harshly with my free limbs. It fell to the ground but got up quickly, and began charging at me.

Every time it leaped towards me, I tried to shove it off. I knew all my energy would be drained if this continued, so for once I hit it really hard, causing it to bleed and roar in pain. It charged at me again, and I realised its iris had suddenly turned into a strange shade of amber which looked terribly threatening. Besides, its silvery fur started to darken.

Before I could even react, it smacked me with its strong foreleg, and everything went black.

Niel's POV

The Larkin was definitely seeking help. It had been long since I last healed any creature, but I could see it was injured, so I had to try. I squatted and covered the bleeding wound right above its eyes gently with my palm. Familiar green swirls of light slowly appeared and circled around the wound. The Larkin closed its eyes and lowered its head. It seemed to work. The light brightened gradually and went off after a blazing spark. I blinked several times to see that the wound had vanished. Relieved, I smiled at the silver cat and resumed my journey.

I wandered aimlessly in the peace of the forest. Golden rays of light came pouring down from cracks between the dense leaves above. I looked up and squinted due to the brightness. It was a breathtaking sight, but something felt wrong - I felt like being followed. Without a second thought, I pulled out an arrow from my quiver and immediately held it up with my bow. I gulped, and cautiously turned around to scan the surroundings. Nothing. Being suspicious, I didn't dare to lower my bow, but continued the stroll.

All of a sudden, a Larkin came leaping out of nowhere and bolted right past me before pausing. It turned around to look at me. From its gaze I knew it was the same one from a while ago. It hesitated for a second before continuing its way. Out of curiosity, I started running along with the Larkin. It was really fast. Luckily it didn't get out of sight and I saw it battling with another creature at a distance. It also seemed like a Larkin - except for its unusual dark fur. I saw the darker Larkin trying to reach for a tree nearby, and was blocked by the other. It was a strange behaviour. I rushed to where the cats were and what I saw was absolutely appalling.

A boy, around my age, was trapped in the tree. The sight was so horrible that I couldn't believe my eyes. His left limbs were literally inside the trunk, totally engulfed by the wood, and the visible parts of the skin were purplish. His hair was already matt black, which was terrifying - although I had never seen one, I was told that every Tarian's hair would turn black before they die. Seeing the unconscious being, I was horrified, but the fighting cats caught my attention.

The darker one looked very unusual - it had amber eyes, and didn't behave like a normal Larkin. I lifted my arm with my palm facing it, and tried to focus. Time to use something I'd just practiced for: thorned vines shot out from the ground and made their way towards the dark creature. I tried to surround and trap it with the vines. I succeeded. It was tangled in the network of vines. I made sure that it couldn't escape, before rushing to the tree.

Within seconds I reached the person. I immediately tried pulling his arm from the tree but it didn't work at all. I glanced at his face to realise how pale he was. There were scratches on his cheeks and arm. Luckily they weren’t very deep. His lips were completely dry, slightly parted. I shook him lightly and his eyes slowly cracked open. He mumbled something. I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say, but his voice was hoarse. He seemed dehydrated. I took my bottle attached to my quiver and held it up to let him drink from it. Very soon my bottle was dried out. He had to be terribly thirsty.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.” I reassured him and touched his cheek gently. It was cold - I had to hurry.

I actually didn’t know how to free him, but I remembered reading from a book that stated how the Lush race could manipulate the growth of every plant. I’d never tried that before, but I needed to. I just had to believe in my own ability. Without any hesitation, I put my hands on the wood surface, with his trapped arm in between, and exerted force to pull the solid apart. I didn’t know if it was the right way to perform the trick - and it didn’t work. I tried again. Nothing. After a few more attempts, I was discouraged. I ruffled my hair in frustration and kicked the tree hard. I was sure that I looked pretty childish - luckily my hyungs didn’t get to see this.

I turned around to check on the Larkins. The dark one was still struggling to free himself, and the one I had healed was already gone. I used more vines to ensure the trapped one wouldn’t come attacking us without any warning. A whimper suddenly came from the direction of the tree. I whirled around to see the guy trying to get up from the ground with his leg still stuck. His hand was freed. So it worked?

“Wait, I’m coming!” I bolted towards him and helped him up. I did the same thing to free his leg and it worked instantly this time. The process was stunning -  the wood slowly stretched and grew apart, forming a gap. Quickly, I helped him to get his leg out. He didn't have the energy to even stand properly, so I took his hand, put his arm over my shoulders, and made our long journey home.

Changjo's POV

After being knocked out, I really had no idea what was going on. Something shook me and I opened my eyes to see this guy with blonde hair, and some weird but cool green highlights on top. Finally, someone noticed me. I didn't expect Tarians to look so similar to humans. We actually looked the same, except for our hair, but we could easily dye ours anyway. "Please help," I pleaded, before he let me drink some liquid that tasted like honey. He said something to me, but I couldn't understand a word - we spoke different languages, as expected. Suddenly, he touched my face gently, causing my body to tense up - but I felt safe.

I was too exhausted to move, so I just leaned on the tree and watched him with my half opened eyes. I saw him trying to pull the wood apart, which actually made him look funny. How would that even work? He frowned and kicked the tree in a childlike manner, like a kid who just lost a video game. I would've bursted into laughter, but I simply didn't have the energy to. I trusted him and closed my eyes, in hopes of being saved.

A sudden impact caused my eyes to shoot open. I fell, to realise that my hand was freed. I immediately tried getting up before the blonde guy came to help me up. I wasn't sure if that was magic, but the wood started growing sideways as he tried pulling the wood around my leg apart. His reaction was amusing. His eyes were literally sparkling, and his mouth hung widely open - he looked as if it was the first time he realised his own power.

I was actually quite surprised, and glad to know that Tarians possessed supernatural powers. I wondered what other powers did they possess. He helped me up and smiled at me. I didn't know how to react to his kindness. Knowing that I am exhausted, he swung my arm over his shoulders and walked with me through the forest.

It was a long journey, which drained that little bit of energy left in me. All I saw were trees, huge trees, lots of them - but no more silver cats.

Tarius was beautiful.

My vision started to go blurry, and his scent was the only thing left in my memories -

He smelt flowery, and I liked it.

A/N - I’m sorry if this chapter seem boring (and confusing haha)! I had to set the scene and tell you more about the people there...ㅜㅜ Please tolerate my poor writingㅠㅠ (It’s my first fic after all haha) I'll try to stop switching the POVs and stick to General... I know this is not a good style of writing but I'm still a beginner so... @_@ More interactions coming in the next chapter!:D (The remaining Teen Top members will appear in the coming chapter:D)

Btw, that '~~♡' on Niel's note was a reference to his tweets hehe so yea I included that on purpose! (Cos he's too cute)

Please subscribe and leave lots of comments! They'll keep me going:D Constructive criticism are also very welcomed! (I'll try improving my writing here^__^)

Btw is this length appropriate for one chapter? Or do you guys prefer it shorter/longer? Do tell me your opinions in the comments section! P.s. of course, lengthy chapters will lead to less frequent updates lol so it's either (a) lengthy but less frequent updates or (b) relatively shorter but more frequent