Edited; Re-uploaded

            Siwon had everyone gathered in his office that afternoon, though only a few of them actually knew why. It was obvious to Luhan that they'd be informed about Lay and his memory loss. He hadn't told any of the others, and by the looks of things, neither had Kris or Suho. This news wasn’t meant for him to spill, and he was more than happy to avoid explaining the situation they faced.

            Siwon had figured out about the plan that was made to bring Luhan and Yixing back overnight, and it hadn't taken him long to find out after Sehun and the others had left the compound. Youngjae had told them earlier that Siwon knew from the beginning that they would do it, though Luhan thought they should've just told him in the first place. Despite how thankful he was for the rescue, it was unbelievably risky and quite naïve of a task. Luhan was surprised to know Youngjae had been the one to plan it, as hadn’t thought the teen to be so rash, but Sehun proved that Youngjae had his own reasons for sending them in, and he realized that he would’ve done the same.

            Luhan was quickly growing anxious for Siwon to spill the news. He hadn't heard anything about Yixing's condition since Youngjae had him and Sehun return to their room to free some space, but he was almost sure it wasn't going to be good. How could it, when he’d already lost his mind?                

            After a few minutes of the teens standing around and shifting uncomfortably, Siwon stood from the chair behind his desk and cleared his throat. He then held out his arm towards a few couches across his large office. "Please. Sit." It was a small order, which just showed how nervous they were to be around someone so undeniably intimidating. Only when everyone did as he said, did he continue. "Would any of you care for some tea?"

            "Can you just tell us what's wrong, already?" Sehun snapped, his bad attitude returning due to his obvious worry. Luhan smacked him lightly on the arm, though he wanted Siwon to hurry just as much. He was actually kind of surprised that Sehun was so upset. He hardly knew Yixing at all, yet he was worked up enough to lash out, which made Luhan wonder how much he spoke with the others while he was away.

            Deciding it was inappropriate think about that now, Luhan focused his attention on Siwon, and the older male soon began to speak. "Well then... I'm sure all of you know of Luhan and Yixing's return, and you are probably well aware of the fact that Yixing remained unconscious throughout the trip." When everyone stayed silent as a sign of impatience, Siwon went on. "He woke earlier today, but as foreseen, he isn't at his one hundred percent best. In fact... Yixing has lost his memory."

            Several gasps chorused throughout the room, and Luhan once again found himself holding back tears. Just hearing the words aloud made him weak. He bit his bottom lip as he continued to wait for more, not daring to look at the reactions of his friends. If any of them showed even the slightest bit of sorrow, which he knew they did, he wouldn't be able to hold himself back.

            "Yixing was put to sleep for a while, but now he is awake again, and he seems to be fine other than the fact that he can't remember a thing." Siwon stated. "He is to be coming here soon to be introduced to all of you."

            "But he's already our friend!" Chen suddenly burst out, voice thick and pained. "We've already been introduced to him! We know exactly who he is!"

            "Yes, but he is without memories, so he has no idea who you all are. As a part of his team, you will need to re-friend him until he gets his memories back, if he does at all." The last part sent a sharp pain through Luhan's heart, and he heard someone sniffle somewhere to his right. Siwon didn't seem to notice. "I would like for you to pretend you've never met for the time being. I do not wish to scare him, and I already plan to tell him who and what he is. I only hope he will take that well."

            Siwon was quiet after that, and Baekhyun took the chance to speak up. "So what you're saying is that we have to pretend and lie to Lay about everything?" Baekhyun glared at Siwon, looking angrier than Luhan had ever seen him before. "Can't you do anything to help him!? With all this huge amount of money I keep hearing about, you should be perfectly capable of giving him some sort of medicine to help!"

            Siwon stared at Baekhyun with an unbelievably calm, straight face. "Medicine can only do so much, and in this case, it will hardly help. Youngjae has come up with a theory as to what has been done to him, and we can only go from there."

            Youngjae stepped forward once Siwon was done speaking and he cleared his throat softly. "This may not make much sense now, but our enemies have been working on creating a perfect people." He started, voice much smoother and more understanding than Siwon’s had been. "Like us, they have their own set of powers and abilities to use, but there is one thing that they are without, and it is something they’ve strived to attain for many years: Healing. These people will do anything to repopulate and grow, and they don't seem to understand how fragile the people here on Earth are when they go ahead and experiment on them. It's miraculous that Luhan and Yixing have returned so intact after whatever tests they were put through, but despite this, I also believe something went wrong on their side so as to halt their progress."

            "Like what?" Xiumin spoke up quietly.

            "Like I said," Youngjae continued. "They want to be able to heal, but why would they want Yixing if they have their own healer?"

            "Because they don't have one..." Joonmyun murmured, his eyes wide as he gained an understanding of the other’s words.

            Youngjae gave him a firm nod. "Exactly. Luhan told me that they took Yixing's blood, and I believe they wanted to extract his powers from that blood. Though in the end, it proved to fail, so they weakened us by making Yixing forget about his own healing ability. It's the only explanation I have reached thus far, and I will do all I can to help Yixing from now on."

            Youngjae stepped back to show that he was finished, and Suho suddenly slammed his fist against the wooden armrest of the chair he sat in. "Damn it all!" Everyone stared in shock at his outburst. No one expected their kind, motherly friend to shout in such a manner, and he wasn't done. "Why did they have to make him forget everything!? What is all this even for!? What did we ever do to them to have to go through this!?" He stood abruptly after his uproar and sped over to the door with his head down, but when he turned the knob of one of the great wood doors, he was faced with Yixing himself.

            Luhan stared from where he sat as Yixing stood with his arm raised in the doorway, as if he was just about to knock. Luhan couldn't see Suho's face from where he sat, and he could only imagine the other's shocked—and maybe even horrified—expression. Joonmyun appeared frozen as Yixing bowed politely to him.

            "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I misunderstood that you were just keeping an eye on my health while I was asleep."

            So the lies have already begun...

            Joonmyun didn't seem to have any proper response, for the others all watched as he squeezed past Yixing and sprinted out of view. 

            Luhan didn't know what Suho was feeling, but he could guess that it was probably ten times worse than anything he ever had to go through. Maybe even more. Yixing, on the other hand, looked confused as his gaze shifted to Youngjae, who had walked over to stand by his side.

            "Is he angry that I misunderstood?" He asked innocently, and Youngjae shook his head.

            "No. He's not angry. More like... disappointed, that your first interaction started off so roughly." Youngjae smiled somewhat sadly at Yixing. "But don't worry. He'll come around. He's quite nice and he'll make a great friend. Just like the others."

            A smile lit up Yixing's face as he gave a small nod, as if that alone answered all the questions and concerns that he had, and Youngjae led him over to the couches that were occupied by Luhan and the others. Luhan was the first one in the line of introductions that needed to be made, and he could hardly bring himself to look at Yixing straight in the face.   

            When they first met, Yixing already had seventeen years of life experience, but now he held the expression of a completely innocent child. It was amazing that he could even speak and walk, seeming to have retained his basic motor skills, so Luhan wondered if he still had little bits of himself trapped deep down.  

            Coming back to the present, Luhan slowly stood and faced a friendly looking Yixing. He tried not to reveal how incredibly miserable he was, and he put up a small smile. "Hello, Lay. I'm Luhan."

            Yixing looked shocked, which confused Luhan until he spoke. "You know my name?"

            Luhan's own eyes mirrored Yixing's wide ones and he bit his lip. I already messed up!

            "Youngjae told us we'd be meeting you." Xiumin stepped up quickly, and Luhan sent him a smile as a silent thanks. Yixing bought the lie easily, and he gave Minseok another smile as the older male continued speaking. "My name is Xiumin, by the way."

            "It's great to meet you."

            One by one, everyone exchanged names, some with better acting skills with others. Yixing didn't seem to think anything was wrong, though, and a smile remained on his face until Youngjae said that he should get a tour and the two left.

            As soon as their friend was gone, Luhan collapsed onto one of the couches. It was just the beginning and he already hated it. Yixing didn't deserve all the lies or the torture. He was the kindest, most precious person he had ever met, and something this horrible wasn't supposed to happen to him. If anything, Luhan should've been the one to get brainwashed, but that wouldn't change the amount of suffering his friends went through. Nothing would.   

            Luhan stood once more in preparation to return to his room for the night, but Siwon speaking up again caught his attention.

            "One more thing, everyone."

            All eyes turned to the man in charge, and he went on.

            "I know you haven't been here long, but we don't have time to sit around all day like you have been. I gave you these two days to get accustomed, but now it’s time for your training." He kept talking before anyone could even think of asking any questions. "All will be explained soon, and I also wish for you to take part in lessons that are set up to explain everything that is happening. You will be confused at first, but after you take part in these lessons, you will be more understanding and you'll know that what I'm doing is for the better."

            In Luhan's opinion, what was just said screamed "Don't ask me anything. Just wait to find out." So when Siwon was done talking, he took it as a sign that the long, informational conversation was over and he returned to his room to think about everything that was going to happen from then on out.

            Baekhyun barged into his own room on the verge of tears. Chanyeol closed the door behind them and Baekhyun immediately took to smacking his fluffy pillow against all surfaces as a way of venting his emotions. He was angry and frustrated and something else he couldn't quite name, and if it weren’t for his lack of forceful powers, something in their room would’ve been broken. . But instead of letting himself sink to a violent tantrum, he just stuck with blindly attacking the wall until a large hand grabbed his arm.

            Baekhyun stared up at Chanyeol through watery eyes, and his lips shook as he spoke. "What!?"

            Chanyeol frowned sadly, voice soft. "You need to calm down, Baekhyun."

            "No! No, I can't!" Baekhyun shook his head and a startled, perplexed expression spread on Chanyeol's face. "It's because you were right, Chanyeol! You were right all along!"

            "Baek..." Chanyeol edged torwards him, his confusion shifting into concern, but Baekhyun pushed the pillow against his chest to keep him away.

            "Lay couldn't take care of himself, just like you said..." He murmured, a heavy tear sliding down his cheek. "He's hurt in a way where we can't help, and I don't know what to do... I thought it would be okay. I thought things would be a little more normal with Lay and Luhan with us again, but now... now I don't know what to think anymore..."

            Another tear carved a path over his skin, and he wished Chanyeol wasn't here to see him like this. His breath was shaky as he inhaled, and his arms dropped to his sides. The pillow fellto the floor and he thought he was going to do the same, but strong arms wrapped around him to keep him standing.

            "I'm so confused..." Baekhyun went on, struggling to keep his cries to a minimum. "Siwon wants us to do all of this stuff and I don't understand why. I want to know what's going on, but I'm afraid of what I might get myself into... I don't know what's going to happen to us and it scares me..."

            Chanyeol's arms tightened around Baekhyun's body, and the shorter teen felt something wet drip onto his shoulder as a deep voice confessed softly into his ear. "I'm scared that you'll forget me just like Lay..."

            Baekhyun's eyes widened for a moment and he pulled back just enough so that he could see Chanyeol's watering eyes. He lifted his hands to wipe at the other's wet face and he quickly shook his head, his own tears momentarily forgotten. "No... That's not possible. They wouldn't do that. I'm not anyone special, and even if they tried to pull something on me, I wouldn't ever forget you." Baekhyun brought his hands around to hug Chanyeol tightly, his cheek resting on his shoulder. "I could forget how to walk, talk and use the bathroom, but I'd never forget you, Chanyeol."

            The shoulder under Baekhyun’s face shook lightly as the arms once again tightened around his waist. Chanyeol didn't utter a sound, and neither did Baekhyun, for a change.. Baekhyun rubbed Chanyeol’s back gently as they stood in their tight embrace, trying not to resume his own sobbing. Chanyeol always did a lot to help him settle these days. It was time he did something in return, as little as it was.

            Jongin had stayed silent throughout the whole meeting in Siwon’s office, unsure of how he should take Siwon and Youngjae's words. Everything that was said about Yixing was still sinking in, and he stayed seated on one of the couches for a moment longer as the others all began filing out of the room. As he too stood to leave, he found that Kris was waiting at his side.

            "Oh, sorry." Jongin apologized softly, unlike his usual loud, cocky self. "Do you need something?" 

            "I just noticed that D.O didn't come to the meeting." Kris said. "Is he alright?"

            At the mention of Kyungsoo, Jongin began chewing on his bottom lip. It hadn't been long since the other spilled what had sounded like one of his life experiences. As it was only the afternoon, not even a day had passed since their sudden conversation at the dead of night, and things weren’t going well at all. .

            When Jongin woke that morning, Kyungsoo wasn't in bed. He had found that the bathroom door was closed and locked, though the light wasn't on from what he could tell. Jongin could only guess that that was where he was, but no one answered when he knocked. He had tried talking to Kyungsoo for a bit, anyway, asking why he was acting in such a way and if he could come in, but in the end, he had to go to Sehun's room just to use the bathroom. He hadn’t told them why.

            When he had returned, Kyungsoo still hadn’t emerged, and that’s when he really began to worry. Especially after how long the other was crying that night. Jongin had gotten into bed in hopes of settling his own bad thoughts, but he had ended up listening to Kyungsoo's shocking story instead. He had completely forgotten about his own issues once the other started crying, and he was overwhelmed with some sort of emotion that he'd never felt before. He couldn't stop himself from holding Kyungsoo, for that was the only way he could think of getting his thoughts and feelings across. Even then, it probably didn't help much.

            Jongin wished he could've seen Kyungsoo's face. Just the way he spoke sounded pained and he wondered what was going through the other's mind as he spoke—and even now. It had sounded like he could see everything right before him, and the way he spoke definitely suggested that he knew the subject well.

            Even so, Jongin wasn't scared. At least, not of Kyungsoo. He was scared about the things his friend thought about. When he had spoken, he sounded so horrified and in pain. And the way he just broke down brought an ache to Jongin's heart. He wondered how long he's had to suffer by himself. How horrible the real event was. How he's coped without completely destroying himself. Jongin wondered what part of Kyungsoo believed that he had to go through this all by himself.

            "Kai?"                                                                                                              

            Jongin jolted back to reality and blinked rapidly, finally getting around to answering Kris' question. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. He's fine." He nodded a few times too many, and Kris tilted his head in very plain suspicion.

            "Oka-ay?" He drawled. "If you say so."

            Jongin nodded once more with pursed lips, then he turned and made his exit.

            At his and Kyungsoo's shared room, he lightly knocked on the door before walking in. Normally he wouldn’t have to, but he was hoping that Kyungsoo had got up to move around in his absence. However, the lights were off when he opened the door, and his friend was still occupying the bathroom.  Slowly, Jongin made his way over to the closed door and he lightly placed his hand on the wood.

            "...Soo?"

            There was no answer, and he tried again.

            "Kyungsoo, it's Jongin. Won't you come out?"

            He knew that Kyungsoo knew who he was, but he said it anyway—for reasons even he didn't know. He didn't completely understand why his friend was hiding, but he had an idea that made a little sense given the somewhat vague information he’d received.  

            Based on Kyungsoo's story, Jongin could assume that he hurt his family badly, and he didn't want to imagine how sickly and terrified he must've been afterwards. Jongin wouldn't be surprised if Kyungsoo had some sort of fear of hurting his friends after what happened, but he had been completely fine up until he told Jongin what happened. Though he didn't go into exact detail, or even confirm that it was an actual event of his life, Jongin knew that it was real in some way, and that it didn't end well for those present.

            Another thing Jongin didn't understand about the situation, was why Kyungsoo was starting to lock himself away now. They'd lived together for a while at this point, and Kyungsoo never once minded his touching or joking around. Though he was distant in the beginning, Kyungsoo eventually gave in and got to know everyone more. Jongin has still never seen his friend using his power, and it makes sense as to why after his story, but nothing should change just because Jongin knew, so why wasn't he showing himself?

            Sure, he could be embarrassed that he had such a huge sobbing fit, but it happens to everyone at some point in time, and Jongin couldn't even see him in the dark. Also, he had to skip two meals so far, and soon he would miss a third. He had to be starving, and it seemed to be a little extreme for just being embarrassed. There had to be something else, and the only thing that came to mind was that Kyungsoo might fear hurting someone again.

            Maybe he's just going through a small phase. It might pass soon. Maybe he goes through these often? He probably just has a lot on his mind, so maybe I should leave him alone... But I don't want him to starve or hurt himself...

            Jongin was having an internal battle with himself and he bit his bottom lip as he began pacing around the room. With everything going on with Kyungsoo and Lay, and the whole "Mountain-base-training-thing" he wasn't sure how to act or what to think. He was so unsure of himself and for once he didn't feel like the king of the world like he usually did. He felt like the troubled, confused fourteen-year-old that he was supposed to be.

            Glancing once more at the door that Kyungsoo hid behind, he sighed and his lips dipped into a sad frown. I just want to help you... So why won't you come out?