A/N: Here's the much awaited chapter! Thanks for all the lovely comments last chapter. DUH DUH DUN enjoy~ 

“Lady Yura!” Baekhyun screamed and jumped off Hunter. The Elves surrounding them hastily retreated at the sight of the red dragon. They remembered Hunter as the enemy during their previous fight a week ago, but when they saw the state the dragon was in, and the horrific sight of his rider, they knew that Hunter was now more friend than foe. “We need medical help immediately!” Chen screamed as the two boys ran towards the Pool of Tranquility, where Yura would most probably be.

They found her conversing with Elder Camilia. “Lady Yura… We need help. Tao and Hunter...” Baekhyun panted out. Lady Yura nodded and barked for her guards to summon all the healers to the infirmary. She followed Chen and Baekhyun and clasped her palm over at the sight of Hunter and his rider. There was so much blood… “Yifan, we should bring him to the infirmary now. The doctors are waiting.” Yifan nodded and slid off Hunter as slowly and carefully as he could, with Tao still unconscious in his arms.

They hurried off towards the medical wing as some other healers stepped forward to treat the wound on the red dragon’s foreleg. “What happened to him?” Yura blinked back tears as she watched Yifan lower Tao gently onto the bed. The healers sprung into action and carefully took off the rider’s clothes to unveil even more horrific wounds that were previously hidden. Baekhyun and Chen retched at the sight, as Yifan and Yura cried. “He was in the torture room…” That was all the explanation needed.

Yura pulled Chen and Baekhyun out of the room. “Where are the others?” Chen and Baekhyun exchanged glances before a sharp tug from Yura brought them to speak. “They’re still there. We were ambushed… the Guard… they knew we were coming. Kyungsoo forced us to come back with Tao when Zökr came.” A sharp gasp came from Yura’s mouth, “Zökr and Kyrûller were there?” Baekhyun nodded grimly. “It’s going to be fine… we have the Avatar and Midnight right?” Chen tried consoling them, though he had a weird feeling. The three entered the room again.

The healers had done their best, and Tao was now left to recover. Though he still remained unconscious, all his wounds had been patched up and the healers had given him a potion to drink. “He should be awake by tomorrow.” The head healer bowed and left the room; Yifan thanked him profusely before sitting beside Tao. “Tao’s fine, Yifan. He’s a fighter… he’ll be fine.” Baekhyun comforted him. Yifan nodded and glanced adoringly at Tao. He swept away the boy’s loose strands of fringe and leaned down to peck his forehead. “You’ll be fine, Tao. I’m here.” Yifan whispered into the boy’s ear.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun was on the other side of the room pacing. “Can you stop it? I’m getting a headache!” Chen snapped. Baekhyun sighed and sat beside the shapeshifter. “I can’t help it… I’m worried for the rest.” Baekhyun rested his head on Chen’s shoulder, seeking warmth and comfort. “I know. They’ll be back soon… I hope.” Chen whispered, and they settled into a nervy wait for the remaining boys.

A couple of hours later, a distant shout came from an Elf saying that a white dragon had been spotted. They left Yifan with Tao and sprinted out of the infirmary. When Whisper neared, they immediately knew that something was wrong. The dragon was struggling and Whisper landed awkwardly, belly-flopping onto the grass. His legs had given out after carrying the weight of four boys, not to mention he was dead exhausted from the far journey back. Chills crept up Baekhyun and Chen’s spine when they saw Chanyeol and Luhan scrambling to lift an unconscious Kai and Sehun off the red dragon. Chanyeol piggybacked Kai while Baekhyun and Chen went to help Luhan with Sehun. Wordlessly, they sprinted back to the infirmary as Lady Yura screamed for the healers again.

Sehun was drenched in sweat and was whimpering ever so slightly every few seconds. Luhan was patting his chest comfortingly, and whispering soft words to the boy’s ears. “You can speak… Lulu.” Baekhyun stared wide-eyed. Everyone else stared suddenly, as if they just noticed this drastic change. “Now’s not the time, Baekie…” Luhan sighed as the healers finally arrived. Kai, on the other hand, was out cold. There was a huge burn mark at his chest and everyone cringed when they saw the charred skin. The room was silent except for Luhan’s constant murmurings and the shuffling of feet as the healers had their way with the two injured boys.

“Where’s Kyungsoo?” Yifan asked. Immediately, all noise ceased and the room fell into a deadly silence. Chanyeol and Luhan’s face turned grave as they glanced at each other. “H-He’s with Zökr.” Finally the Elf spoke. Jaws dropped. “What do you mean he’s with Zökr?” Yura blurted out. “Who did this to Kai and Sehun? Was it Zökr and Kyrûller?” Chen seethed as he stared at the two on adjacent beds beside Tao. Luhan cleared his throat, drawing all the attention to him. “It was Kyungsoo that injured both Sehun and Kai.” The older twin whispered.

The room fell into deafening silence at Luhan’s words. “WHAT!?” Baekhyun screeched, unable to comprehend his brother’s words. Sehun was Kyungsoo’s best friend and Kai was Kyungsoo’s everything… why would he hurt them? “It can’t be…” Yura whispered. “Kyungsoo’s not Kyungsoo anymore…” Chanyeol muttered. When faced with all the confused faces, the Elf sighed and recounted the entire run-in with Zökr. “There was a Witch with Zökr. She was controlling Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo had blue eyes for goodness sake. He didn’t know what he was doing… he tortured Sehun with his pain inducement power. And Kai… I didn’t even knew he could manipulate blue fire…”

“Kai jumped in front of me and took the full brunt of Kyungsoo’s blue fire.” Luhan interrupted. “So, what you mean is that Kyungsoo’s being controlled for Zökr’s benefit.” Luhan nodded at Chen. “I knew it!” Yura slammed her fist on the table. “I knew Zökr was searching for someone with superior powers. I never knew he’d actually manage to find a witch! So Kyungsoo’s with Zökr now?” Chanyeol shrugged. “Zökr and the witch left when they saw Kyungsoo changed. His eyes and tattoos all lit up and all these fire just erupted from him. He set the whole bloody place on fire! The courtyard was still burning when we fled. By the time Whisper released us from under his wings, Kyungsoo and Midnight were gone.”

“But that doesn’t mean that he’s with Zökr. Does the witch even still possess control over Kyungsoo? How does her powers work?” Yifan turned to ask Yura. “I’m not sure. If they fled from Kyungsoo, it might’ve meant that they lost all their control over him. But whatever it is, to make sure… the witch must be killed to ensure that all existing ties to her are broken. We can’t have the Avatar working for them. We need Kyungsoo with us.” She said firmly. “I saw his eyes frequently slipping back to brown from the blue… it must be a sign of him fighting for control over his own body!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “Let’s all hope that we get the real Kyungsoo back soon.” Yura sighed.

Muffled words coming from Sehun on the bed brought all the attention back to him. “Sehun?” Luhan whispered worriedly. Sadly, Sehun was merely tossing in bed and had yet to wake. Luhan spent the whole night beside Sehun, guarding and waiting for the younger to finally wake up. Yifan was keeping watch beside Tao too, and the two boys stared silently at each other. Words need not be uttered for both merely embraced each other’s company, waiting for their respective loved ones to rouse from their slumber.

Luhan was awoken, not by the early morning rays but rather by the shifting of Sehun’s body. The younger wriggled his body to face Luhan and something slipped out of his pocket. Luhan reached for it under the duvets and when he saw what it was, the boy was nearly brought to tears. It was the special whistle that Sehun had purposely crafted for him. Luhan brought the whistle to his lips and blew hard. When there was no response from Sehun, Luhan teared and tried again. Like Sehun had mentioned, the whistle was pitched at such a high frequency that only he himself would be able to hear it since Yifan couldn’t hear the whistle at all, the boy still sleeping at the other end of the room.

Wake up, Sehun! You said that you’d come running if I blow this whistle… why are you still sleeping? Wake up. I need you now… come back to me. “Sehun…” Luhan whispered right in his ear and blew on the whistle. A tear slipped out of his ear when Sehun remained still. “Luhan…” Chanyeol placed a palm on the former’s shoulder to alert him of his presence. “I’ll keep watch over them… go have something to eat.” Luhan nodded and blew on the whistle one last time before he pocketed it. The Elf gave him an encouraging prod and Luhan left the room.

“You too, Yifan.” Chanyeol shook the sleeping boy awake. “Go get some breakfast.” Yifan sat up hurriedly, “WHAT WHAT… Is Tao awake?” He peered down at the still sleeping boy and sighed. At least most of the wounds had started their slow healing process. “No, I’m going to stay here. The healers said that he’d wake up today… I want to be here when he wakes.” Chanyeol knew that his protests would fall on deaf ears and returned to his seat between Kai and Sehun.

He stared at his best friend. Kai had remained unmoving for almost fifteen hours now. He was so still that he looked like a corpse, if you missed the very very subtle rise of his chest when he breathed in that is. Chanyeol wiped a wet towel across the boy’s face. “Wake up, Kai.” Yifan glanced across the room when he heard the tiny sobs from the giant Elf. Yifan rose from his seat and came beside Chanyeol. He clamped a comforting hand onto the Elf’s shoulder and stared down at Kai. “I wonder where Kyungsoo is right now.” Chanyeol squeezed Kai’s hand, “I don’t know. I hope he’s fine wherever he is and that my best friend will wake up soon.” He raised Kai’s palm to his own cheek, “Wake up, Jongin. Kyungsoo wouldn’t want you to lie here like this.” The two boys had to turn away when a lone tear slipped down from Kai’s eyes.

“Chanchan!” Baekhyun burst into the room, “I had the most brilliant idea!” The small boy yelled. Chanyeol and Yifan looked up curiously as Baekhyun unwrapped the cloak around his body. There lying in his arms were the two baby bunnies. “Kai will wake up in no time!” Baekhyun whispered as he shoved the bunnies at Kai’s face. The Elf lips curled up as he hugged Baekhyun. “Thank you.” Baekhyun smiled up at Chanyeol.

Soft grunts and a moan sounded throughout the room and as one, the three boys turned to see Tao slowly stirring from his sleep. “Tao!” Yifan yelled as he practically flew to the boy’s bed. “Tao? It’s me, Yifan. Are you ok? Does anywhere hurt? Can you recognize me? Sorry I came late Tao… Tao? Speak to me!” Baekhyun chuckled, “Give the poor boy some time to breathe.” Tao slowly slid his eyes opened and waited fo