Random Rambles: GUYS OMFG I CANNOT ANYMORE... " CALL ME DADDY "?!?!?! REALLY?! TT_TT I don't even know anymore OTL... I'm so bittersweet about the comeback...I'm not ready, but I want to see them, but ugh---- EXO FIGHTING! C'mon SM, please, PLEASE, don't F this up -_-" /// le sigh/// ugh... *moment of silence for my sanity*...... okay. Alright. Rant over ^^" How have you guys been? <3

***

“Time for a break! I don’t get any of this!” Chen whined, holding his head in frustration. 

“A break? It’s been fifteen minutes, Chen,” I told him, placing some snacks on the table now that everyone had arrived. The dagger was placed in the middle of the coffee-table, though it had been passed down around the group so everyone could take a look at it. 

“I could use a break! Yeah, let’s talk about why and how Sehunnie was already here while the rest of us came together,” Baekhyun said in an accusing tone, making the maknae roll his eyes. 

“Jealous much, hyung?” he provoked with a smug grin, obnoxiously the straw of his bubble tea. 

“Guys, enough,” Suho warned, looking on edge and acting tense with the dagger around. “Sehun, don’t be a brat. Baekhyun, we’ve more important things to talk about,” he added for good measure, causing both Sehun and Baekhyun to pull faces at him. 

“Are you sure you’re alright, Jae-yah? I can heal you if you want, you know,” Lay asked, helping me to bring in more snacks before he sat down. 

“I’m good, Lay, don’t worry. I’ll let you know if I need some healing,” I promised. When they arrived, the first thing I made sure to tell them was what happened with the dagger when Sehun was here to witness it. After hearing that, the assumption that the dagger might somehow be sentient didn’t seem all too strange anymore. They each inspected it, but no one knew what to make of it. I guess all of us had expected the answers to just fall on our laps after requiring the dagger, so I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed and frustrated, as Chen had expressed. 

“So, if this thing is alive, wouldn’t it be able to tell us the answers? Provided that this was the heart the ghost wolf was talking about,” Luhan asked, making Suho jolt when he casually reached out to grab the weapon, twirling it around deftly before grabbing it tightly by the hilt. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Be careful!” Suho called out, taking the dagger from a surprised Luhan and ever so gently placed it back on the velvet cloth on the table. “If that thing is alive, it won’t appreciate you for handling it the way you just did,” he hissed worriedly.

“What’s it going to do? Stab me?” Luhan provoked. 

“It’s a dagger! It might!” Suho nearly shrieked, and I leaned over towards Lay. 

“Maybe Suho could use some healing and relaxation,” I commented softly, making him chuckle. 

“I already tried, Jae-yah- that’s the sad part,” Lay whispered back as I bit the inside of my cheeks to prevent from laughing. I was glad that I managed to relax somewhat now that the others were here, but the fact that these guys didn’t know what to do with the dagger either was unnerving. 

“Didn’t the ghost wolf tell you what you’re supposed to do with it, Jae?” D.O. asked, frowning at the dagger as it lay innocently on the table. 

“No. Otherwise I would’ve already done it,” I shrugged, twirling absently with a stray lock of hair. 

“And you haven’t woken up yet?” Tao questioned, to which I shook my head. 

“Great. So, why did we steal this thing then?” Kai remarked dryly, but because he was looking at Suho my guess was that he made the comment on purpose to irk the leader just a bit. The muscle beneath Suho’s eye twitched. 

“There is no way that I have risked imprisonment and shame to my family for something that’s not important,” Suho exclaimed, biting his nails. 

“Will you relax? Look, the thing has a little heart and everything, I’m sure this is what the ghost wolf meant,” Kris patted the leader on the shoulder, sounding cool and calm as he reached to grab some chips. Suho glared at him as he watched Kris chew on the crispy delights, the silence that fell being only broken by the duizhang crunching down on the snacks. 

“How can you eat at a time like this?!” Suho asked, astonished. 

“It’s easy, you get some chips and put them in your mouth,” Kris said casually, lazily grabbing a handful of chips and stuffing his mouth. “See? Easy,” he said with a muffled voice while I had subconsciously leaned back out of fear that Suho was going to explode when he was obviously trying to find the right words to scream during his impending freak out. 

“Okay, so, the dagger,” D.O. called out while raising his voice just a little to get everyone to focus. “How is it going to help Jae wake up and how will it help us save the world?” he deadpanned, looking around as though someone had the answer. 

“Maybe we’re supposed to plant it instead of E.T. Corp? You know, free energy for everyone?” Chanyeol was brave enough to reply to D.O., but it only resulted in him getting chucked at the back of the head by the smaller teen. 

“Yah! What was that for? It could happen,” he defended. “Remember what we saw at that fake forest? The dagger has to be linked to that tree, somehow.” 

“That’s actually a pretty valid point,” D.O. admitted, a tiny smirk on his face when he went to pat Chanyeol innocently on the back, while the taller teen flinched in fear at him. 

“So, what? We stick this thing in the ground and- Ow!” Luhan retracted his hand from the dagger, grabbing his head in alarm, causing Suho to stand up. 

“See! I told you!” he pointed, while Luhan rubbed his sore fingers, face contorted in pain as he rubbed his temple. The dagger glowed a moment, the heart pulsating briefly. I was just in time to catch a weird symbol disappearing from the blade. 

“Did anyone see that?” I asked. 

“Luhan getting attacked by that dagger? Yep!” Suho panicked and I rolled my eyes. 

“Not that. There was a symbol on the blade just now. I’ve seen different symbols on that thing but they keep disappearing,” I mused, carefully reaching out towards the dagger. 

“Don’t touch it, Jae,” Luhan warned, squinting his eyes in pain.  “It feels like that thing just stabbed my brain,” he complained hissing through his teeth when he inhaled for breath. Lay got up at that moment, rubbing Luhan’s head while taking care of the pain. 

“It never done something like that before,” I mused, taking another gander at it. Then again, what did I know about this thing? 

“Jae, don’t touch it,” Suho repeated Luhan’s warning, but did I listen? 

Nope. 

I felt the strange energy pulsate underneath my finger tips and a warmth shooting through my hand when I touched it. I picked it up gently, treating it like it was alive just to be sure, and inspected the blade. 

“There’s nothing on it now, noona,” Chen said, reaching his finger towards it. The dagger grew mysteriously warmer in my hands when he did so. 

“Um, Chen, maybe you shouldn’t-,” I started, holding in my breath when he didn’t do as told either. 

We both shrieked when Chen was thrown back by an invisible jolt of electricity, while I felt the energy jolt through my body like I was some kind of conductor. 

“Whoa! That thing is evil, noona! Put it down!” Chen protested, getting up with help from Tao and Baekhyun to get off the floor. I was so startled that I threw it back on the table. What was wrong with that thing? 

“Why is it so angry, all of a sudden?” Sehun questioned in concern. “It didn’t do anything like that when it was just the two of us, noona,” he reminded me. 

“Maybe it doesn’t like it when others touch it?” Baekhyun stated. 

“But we’ve all touched it before and it was fine then,” Tao argued, keeping a weary eye on the gleaming weapon. 

“It’s like it’s angry we don’t know what to do with it,” Xiumin suddenly commented. 

“Well if that’s the case then it should just tell us,” Chen grumbled, still peeved that he got shocked. “I say we call an exorcist, though,” he sulked. 

“Hold on,” Kris piped up. “You just got stabbed in the brain,” he looked at Luhan. “And you just got shocked?” he looked at a frowning chen who nodded while pouting. “That’s…” he mused, while we anticipated what he was going to say. 

“Weird,” Kris finished, bobbing his head seriously. I heard myself scoffing. 

“Keen observation, hyung,” D.O. remarked, shaking his head. 

“Yah, what’s with this hyung? I thought you were going to say something useful,” Baekhyun argued, Chanyeol laughing at the confused duizhang.

“What?” Kris replied, shaking his head. “No, I mean-,”

“It’s odd that it attacked using the abilities similar to the people who touched it,” Xiumin interrupted. 

“Whoa, you’re right, Xiumin-hyung! You think it can sense what we can do?” Tao asked. 

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “If that is the case though, then it means that we’ve got the right heart. The only thing to figure out now is what to do with it,” Xiumin mused, looking at the dagger. 

Tao nodded wholeheartedly and smacked Kris on the arm, who was sitting nearby. “How come you didn’t say that?” he accused. 

“But that’s what I meant to say!” Kris replied and clapped his hands together. “Great minds think alike, right, hyung?” he said with a wide grin. 

“Though some great minds are faster than others, Kris,” Xiumin joked, stunning Kris while the others laughed. We were silenced when the dagger jittered slightly on the table as if it was responding to our laughter by laughing as well. This thing was seriously starting to freak me out. 

Senses on alert, we watched it gleam and glow. I didn’t think any one of us wanted to touch it, until Lay, of all people, spoke up. 

“Hao ba,” he stated resolutely. “Okay, let me try,” he said, rubbing his hands on his jeans before standing up to get the dagger. 

“Whoa, hold on!”

“Wait, Lay-hyung!”

“Don’t be stupid, Lay!” 

The healer looked utterly confused at the rising protests and refrained from touching the dagger- for now. 

“What is it?” he asked and I still couldn’t believe that there would be anyone on this earth this naive and clueless to a fault like Lay. 

“What is it?!” Suho repeated in disbelief. “Have you been sleeping all this time? That thing is alive and hurting everyone it touches!” 

I was surprised when Lay looked at Suho before laughing. 

“This isn’t funny, Lay!” Suho replied. 

“Yeah, that dagger doesn’t play around,” Luhan added, frowning a bit as though he’d never expected having to say a crazy sentence like that.

“It uses our strengths to hurt us, hyung,” Chen said slowly to clarify to Lay what everyone was trying to say. Judging by his smiling face, I doubted whether Lay was aware of this. 

“I know,” Lay then answered calmly.

“Do you really?” I blurted out as he turned around to meet my gaze. He nodded. 

“Yes, Jae-yah,” he stated. 

“And you still want to touch it?” Baekhyun asked, Lay letting out another chuckle again. 

“Sure,” he answered matter-of-factly, a carefree smile dimpling his face. 

“Lay-,” Kris tried, but Lay sighed now, shaking his head and still chuckling at an inside joke. 

“I know, gege, I know,” he said. “Think about it. Chen just said that dagger-nim uses our strengths against us to hurt us. But what could it do when I touch it? Heal me to death?” he laughed at seeing our faces get hit by realization. “And I always thought I was the slow one,” he added good-naturedly before turning his attention towards the weapon again. 

There was just a shimmer of hesitance in his eyes before he regained himself and slender fingers wrapped themselves around the hilt of the dagger. I held in my breath when Lay picked up the dagger, worried that something might happen to him as well. 

“Oh,” Lay suddenly cooed, holding the dagger in both hands. 

“What is it, hyung?” Sehun watched him as intently as the rest of us, but it didn’t seem like he was experiencing any kind of pain. Lay held up the weapon into the light, frowning as he gazed at the blade. I craned my neck slightly to try and see what he was staring at and my eyes widened as a green glow started to outline a symbol in its blade. 

I knew it! I wasn’t just seeing things; they were really there! 

“A unicorn?” I squinted, jumping a little when at the same time, Lay dropped the dagger and staggered backwards, Luhan and Kris catching him on time. The dagger fell, but Chanyeol caught it, yelping out pain when it seared his skin and he threw it up again. We backed away out of instinct when the dagger plummeted down before clattering on the floor. I was wrong thinking that that would be that, since the weapon started jittering again and on its own accord started moving. 

The freaking thing moved! 

And not in a slow way, sliding over the floor leisurely- nope! The possessed weapon from Hell shot all over the place like an unguided missile, wreaking havoc as it shot over us. Baekhyun dived down when it came too near, while Chen and D.O. laid flat on the floor. 

“Whoa! What did you do with it, hyung?!” Chen called out, the dagger bumping against furniture, its heart glowing a fierce green. I’d almost think that it behaved this way because it was reacting to us, somehow. Maybe it was reacting to our energy? Being together in a room like this? Was it too much for it to handle? 

“I-I didn’t do anything,” Lay breathed, ducking his head as the dagger continued shooting wildly in the air, the tip of the blade scratching against the wall, making a screeching sound as it dragged over the floor. 

“Let me try this,” Xiumin followed the dagger with his eyes and at the right moment, shot a blast of ice its way, encasing it. The dagger fell promptly on the floor, but it bothered me to see that its heart was still beating vigorously and I pointed at its blade when it showed yet another symbol. 

“Tell me that you guys saw that!” I exclaimed. 

The dagger shuddered and right before our eyes the ice around it broke off, shards of it flying over the room. 

“Whoa! Let’s not do anything against that thing, we’re just pissing it off!” said Baekhyun, as I watched another symbol disappear from the blade while the dagger ran rampant. 

“We have to stop it somehow- ah!” Suho held to his hand when the dagger skimmed past it. The wound closed as easily as it was made, and seeing the symbol appear and disappear on the blade again got me thinking. 

“I think it’s looking for something,” I mused, ducking again when it flew over my head, missing me by a hair. 

“Looking for something? Oh man, what if it has a built-in security system and it gets activated once it realized that we stolen it?!” Baekhyun replied, seemingly being the only one to have heard me. 

“Fat chance! I’m telling you, that thing is possessed!” Chen piped up again, using a pillow to knock it down. We watched as it spun in the air, heading straight to a stunned Kai. 

“Kai, watch out!” Sehun yelled as the dagger soared towards the youth - blade first. I thought it was going to hit, but the dagger flew through a black cloud and pierced the couch where Kai had been sitting. 

Kai reappeared, startled and fell down on the floor as the weapon tried to escape again. 

“Oh my God, that is it!” I ran forward and grabbed the hilt, damned the consequences. How was it going to hurt me anyway, since I needed the strength of others to put my power to use? The hilt felt hot as I held it firmly in my hand and this time, the weird triangle symbol stayed on the blade. 

“Careful, Jae,” Suho panted, swallowing hard. “It’s not hurting you?” 

I shook my head. “I think it tried to earlier, but now it just feels hot in my hand,” I breathed, keeping a close watch on it, just in case it started to play satan again. 

“Sheesh. Kai, are you okay?” Kris asked, looking at the startled teen on the floor. D.O. helped him up as he only nodded, unable to speak. 

“Oh man, what the hell was that all about?” Luhan asked, disgruntled. 

“I’m sorry, maybe I did-,”

“It’s not you, Lay-hyungie,” Chen cut in immediately, pointing accusingly at the glowing dagger. “That thing is the spawn of satan! What is that ghost wolf thinking, making Jae-noona go look for it?!” 

I was about to reply when I felt the dagger tug in my hand, the outline of the triangle glowing as it pulled towards Kai. 

“Hey, noona, that’s not funny!” Kai scolded, but I shook my head. 

“It’s not me, I swear,” I said, pulling back the dagger and letting out a squeal as I felt it literally drag me towards him. 

“Whoa!” Luhan reacted first, placing his hands around my waist to keep me in place while Tao and Sehun stood in front of Kai. 

“W-what’s going on?!” I cried out, hearing Luhan grunt something unintelligibly behind me. 

“Don’t let go, Jae,” D.O. said, helping Luhan to keep me from moving. The three of us exclaimed when the dagger pulled again, tugging us forward. Xiumin came, wrapping one of his hands over mine so I wouldn’t let go of the dagger. 

“Sorry for the cold,” he grunted, pushing back with Luhan and D.O.. 

“What cold?” I asked, but Xiumin didn’t answer. I caught the quick look he gave me before he turned away, using his strength to prevent the dagger from dragging us forward. 

“Yah! What is it with that thing? What does it want with Kai?” Chanyeol asked, but no one knew the answer. 

“Does it matter? How do we stop it?” Suho pulled on my arm, surprise evident on his face when the dagger forced me to jolt it back forward. 

I felt the sweat beads form on my brow while using the little strength I had to prevent the dagger from slipping from my hands. Why was it acting this way? How was this going to help us save the world, or wake me up, for that matter? Was everything the ghost wolf told me a lie? Was it maybe a ruse from that woman after all? Was the ghost wolf on that woman’s side? 

Or was this the key to our answers? Just now I thought the dagger was searching for something, the way it went through the boys, frantically flying about with those weird symbols. The triangle was still on the blade. It hadn’t disappeared. Last night the symbol glowed as well, but it shimmered blue, like it was doing now. The other symbols had been green.

I gasped when the dagger pulled harder again, as if it could hear my train of thoughts. 

Black pearl, I heard a voice say. Was that what the dagger was? A precious gem? A rare black pearl? 

What are you? I thought, actually believing that it could hear me. I froze when an image surged from the weapon into my mind. I found myself standing on a round platform again, one moon above me, another below me. I’ve seen this before, but what was new, was the fact that the platform I was standing on resembled a large clock. In each part of the hour stood one of the symbols I had seen on the dagger and I realized now that I saw those symbols hover around a huge tree before. 

Of the symbols in the clock, the one with the triangle and a weird eye inside of it was lit. What was I looking at? But when I looked at my feet, I noticed that I was standing on a lock. A keyhole?

My mind was spinning when I was back in the living room, the dagger throbbing briefly before its force noticeably died down. 

“Wah!” I shrieked, my hands snapping back towards me as I fell back against Luhan, who toppled over D.O., as Xiumin domino-ed along with Suho as well. 

“Ow,” I rubbed my head as the dagger laid innocently still in my other hand. 

“What happened?” Luhan asked, looking down at me. I tried to hide the fact that I was blushing into his chest and attempted to get up, except that Luhan still had his arms firmly around me, so I couldn’t actually move. 

“Noona! Are you okay?” Sehun rushed over, nearly prying me from Luhan’s arms to get me up. 

“I’m fine, Sehunnie, thanks,” I said. 

“Are you sure? That was a hard fall, Jae-yah,” said Lay, already looking me over to make sure I was uninjured. 

“Oh yeah, no, we’re fine, thanks!” Luhan interjected sarcastically, getting up on his own accord. 

“Is it over? What happened to it?” Chen asked as he watched the dagger in my hand. 

“I don’t-,” I bit my lip, holding the weapon up and carefully touching the blue symbol on the blade. “Wake up,” I mused, my thoughts leading me through a sea of theories and possible answers. 

My beautiful black pearl, I heard it sing, as the clock appeared in my mind’s eye again, with in its center, a keyhole. 

The boys had been looking for answers for years. What if the dagger knew how to unlock them? What if it would help bring back their memories and with it- my own? Was that what it tried to tell me? 

“Noona?”

“Jae?” 

“Xiumin,” I called out, surprising the young man in question. “Xiumin, you said that you thought that the wolf wanted me to wake up because I was somehow linked to you getting memories again, right? So if I would wake up, then it would mean that you guys could wake up and get your memories back as well, right?” 

Xiumin rubbed his neck and shrugged a little. “Um, I guess. But I was just thinking out loud.”

“I think you may have a point, but it’s backwards, you see,” I knew I sounded like a babbling baboon, but I think I figured out what the dagger was trying to do, what it was trying to say. “I think this dagger is the answer to our questions, but I think it’s reversed. I think you need to wake up first in order for me to do so.” 

To me, everything was clear as day now, but judging from the looks on the boys’ faces, I figured they were still lost. 

“So, what? We need to wake up first?” Tao was trying his best to wrap his mind around this. “But the ghost wolf said you, specifically, noona.” 

“But it didn’t say how. I think the dagger helps with that, and you guys too. It’s obvious by now that we’re all involved and I think this dagger is definitely the missing piece to the puzzle. I mean, you guys want to know the answers too, don’t you?”

“Sure, but not if that thing means to stab all of us,” Chen replied sassily. 

“I know, I know,” I quickly waved off, holding the dagger up. “Trust me on this,” I told them, looking at Suho. “Please?” 

The leader frowned at me before glaring at the weapon in my hand and sighed ever so deeply. “Okay, Jae,” he nodded. 

I smiled gratefully, feeling scared and excited at the same time, now that I knew what to do- well, sort of. I just hoped I was right in my interpretation of what the dagger was trying to tell me. 

“Kai, get over here,” I called. 

Kai’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Are you crazy, noona? Suho-hyung might trust you, but I don’t! I’m not getting near that thing. It tried to kill me!” he immediately protested. 

“And I take my trust right back!” Suho added. “Jae, what?” he exclaimed. 

“Guys, please. It won’t hurt him,” I said, though I didn’t know where I got the confidence from. “Just try it,” I urged.

“Try what, exactly, Jae?” D.O. asked, holding Kai back. 

“I don’t-, um… Try holding it,” I said, holding the dagger by the blade so Kai could easily grab the hilt. The triangle shone a brighter blue when he neared it and he shook his head again. I extended the weapon further towards him. “Go on,” I smiled tentatively at him, and Kai clacked his tongue, reluctantly grabbing hold of the hilt. 

I wasn’t sure what happened next. I doubted Kai knew, either. The triangle symbol gleamed as Kai held it in his hand, watching breathlessly as it slid over the blade, up the hilt and onto his fingers. Startled, Kai dropped the weapon, where it lay motionless on the floor, the symbol traveling up his hand until it found a place between his collarbones. 

“Whoa,” Kai uttered, trying to wipe it off his skin, but failing. 

“Okay. That is freaky,” Baekhyun commented, carefully touching it. 

“Is it- is it dangerous?” Kai asked, looking at Lay for some reassurance. The healer immediately responded, hovering his hand over the new tattoo. 

“Does it hurt?” he asked, and Kai shook his head, his eyes wide with bewilderment. 

“It doesn’t seem to be dangerous,” Lay finally concluded. “Do you feel any different?” 

“Not really,” Kai walked to the mirror that hung over the mantelpiece of the fireplace, jumping back when the symbol disappeared into his skin. “What happened? Noona?” 

My chest tightened at hearing the helplessness in his voice. Kai usually had a bit of a stoic pokerface, so to hear him like this almost made me want to wrap him in a blanket and tell him that everything was going to be okay. 

“Don’t worry, I think that’s meant to happen,” I stammered, picking up the dagger from the ground. 

“You think?! You mean, you’re not sure?!” Kai argued. 

“Hey- I’m pretty sure,” I said sheepishly, feeling the dagger tug at my hand again. “Oh!” I exclaimed and blinked. “Luhan?” 

“Nope. Keep that thing away from me, I don’t even like tattoos,” he attempted to move away, but that didn’t mean a thing to the dagger as it dragged me towards him. 

“I think you should just do as it wants you to, Luhan,” Xiumin said, holding me steady. 

Luhan narrowed his eyes before reaching out to the weapon. “Black pearl? What does that even mean?” he asked. 

“I heard that, too,” I told him. “I guess we’ll find out soon.” 

Luhan sighed and carefully grabbed the hilt, scrunching up his nose as if he was expecting to get hurt again. But the same thing happened with him, as it did with Kai. Another symbol shone blue on the blade before traveling up where it stayed on the nape of his neck before it disappeared. 

Next up was Tao, whose symbol was an hourglass, and disappeared into his wrist. Chen was absolutely reluctant to touch the dagger again, so after attempting to run away from it, Kai and Tao pinned him down where a strange scorpion crept its way up his skin and settled itself on his upper arm. Each time a symbol appeared on the blade and was transferred to one of the guys, I saw the clock lighting up inside my mind, one hour piece at a time. 

Sehun’s symbol was etched on his hand and Lay’s - a unicorn - settled on his collarbone. Xiumin’s tattoo stayed on the palm of his hand while D.O.’s symbol moved to his bicep. 

Baekhyun was a whiny mess when his symbol moved to his throat and disappeared there. Having a flair for dramatics, he coughed and pretended to choke. Suho, who genuinely did not like the idea of his skin getting tainted, closed his eyes in defeat and sulked when he saw the water drop symbol on his left chest, just below the collarbone. 

Kris, rubbing his hands together, nodded in approval at seeing the symbol of a dragon form on the blade before it flew over his arm and disappeared underneath his clothes. 

“Oh, it’s a shy dragon,” Lay commented. Kris rolled his shoulders and pulled his shirt up before I had the chance to look away. 

“Where is it?” he asked, moving to the mirror. “Ah, nice. Duizhang approves,” he stuck up his thumb when he saw the dragon shimmering on his shoulder blade. “I think I’ll call him, Ace the Second,” he grinned. 

Shaking my head, I gave the dagger to an eager Chanyeol who exclaimed happily when the symbol of a phoenix soared up from the blade and branded the side of his neck. He stood next to Kris in front of the mirror, the two of them smiling cheerfully and admiring their tattoos before those, too, disappeared. That was it. The clock was completed. 

“Okay, so, now what? We become the Power Rangers?” Baekhyun asked.

“Shouldn’t noona touch the dagger as well?” Tao stated, waiting for me to take the dagger back from Chanyeol. 

“Um, I guess,” I breathed, though I doubted anything would happen. I held the dagger firmly by the hilt and watched curiously for a symbol to form as well. When it didn’t and the dagger didn’t seem to react much, I huffed out of exasperation. Of course. I’m the odd one out… 

“Well, that was disappointing. I had expected some kind of awesome climatic event to happen,” Tao muttered. 

“So, all this was just for show?” Sehun questioned. 

“I don’t know,” I muttered, looking at the weapon. “I don’t understand, I thought-,” I abruptly shut my mouth when I realized that I wasn’t the only one talking at that moment. I turned around and saw Kai rocking back and forth gently, facing the door and mumbling something. 

“Kai?” Suho called, but there was no response from him. 

“Kai, what is it?” D.O. tried, but Kai didn’t even turn around. 

“Map… my heart will-, rough the road- obstacles-,” he muttered under his breath as though he was saying a prayer. 

“Kai, snap out of it,” Luhan called out, but he was starting to look a bit iffy as well. The heart on the hilt of the dagger started pulsing again and I swallowed when I approached Kai and he sharply turned around. His eyes were crimson red, and fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth. He was transforming, but why? 

“Kai, are you okay?” I asked. His eyes darted across the room and without warning he ran to the front door and out of the house. 

“Whoa! Kai! Get back here!” Suho yelled, suddenly gripping his chest as though he were in pain. 

“Suho? Oh my God, what’s wrong?” I grabbed his arm to keep him steady, feeling a sting inside of my head when Luhan promptly ran by, following Kai in his footsteps. 

“Jae, stop them,” Suho breathed, but all I could do was jump back when Tao pushed Xiumin roughly out of the way, his eyes shining red, glazed over as though he wasn’t really there. One by one I lost them, as if they were suddenly possessed by something. 

“Suho, don’t! Fight it!” I called out in a panic since I had no idea what the hell was going on. It dawned to me that when I saw Chanyeol running out of the house last, that I was left alone. The dagger still tugged on my hand, as though it wanted me to follow them. Unbelievable. 

I ran after them, hoping that no one had seen them bolt past. I only stopped in my tracks shortly when I heard their voices flood my mind. 

No need for a map, my heart will find the way. 

Not caring how far I have to go, how rough the road or how many the obstacles. 

My heart never left you for a moment, or forgotten you. 

I wish to find your face above that distant horizon… 

I ran to follow their tracks. Ran to follow their voices. Something had a hold on them and I needed to make sure they stayed safe. 

I raise the sail and begin the journey, the wind behind me all the way. 

The tempestuous ocean even turns calm in my wake. 

Flowers bloom in the dark, a stream of moonlight on the sea. 

A mysterious place…

Where were they running to? Why were they running at all? Did it have something to do with the symbols? Did the dagger do this? Argh! What is going on, and why am I, again, the last to know?! My sudden rage had caused me to shift shapes as well. I quickened my pace, the rush of the wind pushing my cyan green tresses from my face. 

Is this reality, or fiction? - I don’t believe it.

Have I been in a dream world all along? 

You seem to be there, a fairy tale, within a myth. 

I looked for traces of you between time and space. 

For you, day and night, I imagine the moment I can reach you. 

I think I knew where the boys had run towards. The path ended here. I ran along the cliff, towards uprooted trees and dead earth. This was the place D.O. had shown me before, but why would they go here? 

In the thick fog, in the surging sea, a blurry shape appears.

In my deep remorse, in this sad song, resounds faintly;

My beautiful black pearl. 

The voices stopped and fog rolled in, because the environment here wasn’t scary enough as is. 

“Guys? Kai? Suho?” I peered through the mist, the throbbing green heart being the only vague light source around. 

“D.O.? Luhan? Guys, say something!” I gasped when I thought I saw Chanyeol in the distance before he fell from my sight. I quickly ran towards him, but my legs turned to lead when I found them. The dagger fell from my trembling hand as I looked at a horrific sight. 

The boys lay scattered around me, unconscious, unmoving. I couldn’t even tell whether they were still breathing. 

“Oh my God,” I breathed. “Oh my God… Guys! Lay, Xiumin? Tao, Sehun! Chen- get up! Baekhyun, Chanyeol?” I ran towards the person that was closest to me and fell to my knees. “Kris? Kris, this isn’t funny, get up!” I shook him by the shoulders, but he didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and wouldn’t open. 

Oh God, no- no! What have I done? 

My eyes were wide with fear when I heard something drag over the hardened, barren earth behind me. The last thing I saw before darkness took me was a pulse of bright green light and shimmering silver.