Trapped.  That’s what the temporary truce at the tenth floor of the locked down central tower felt like to Minsoo.  One, big, disgusting trap.  Huddled behind the knocked over table against the wall with Jonghyun, he fidgeted with his stilettos and observed the other people that had made it to the relatively open top floor with them.  He knew more were around the corner or hiding in the stairwell but for the moment, the only ones that mattered were the ten, no eleven, individuals they’d have to deal with when the electronically bolted doors opened.

                Fear and desperation were an almost palpable force in the dimly lit room and Minsoo felt pain every time he looked at his brother beside him.  Exhausted, hungry and thirsty, covered in blood and clinging to only the barest vestiges of hope, he looked broken already.  Physically, he was almost entirely unharmed.  Minsoo was grateful for that miracle, sporting a gouged calf from a depression plate and arrows, as well as bone deep bruises from the few encounters they’d scraped by in earlier.  But he’d watched his brother cut a man’s arm off to keep him from stabbing Minsoo; another fragment of what remaining innocence he had disappeared with it.  And he feared worse was to come.

                He was also afraid that Byunghyun hadn’t made it.  There was no sign of the smaller, shorter man among the survivors at the top.  Only battered, desperate fools and well supplied, paid for opportunists.  Those were the ones he was most worried about.  By the looks on the faces of the similarly hidden around the room, he could tell the others were too.  It was hard to argue with experience, training, and full length swords.  Especially since most of them didn’t have that reach.  Minsoo was more than capable of puncturing a lung or punching through their skulls with his weapon, but he’d have to get close enough to do it.

                With that in mind, he’d spent a better part of however long they’d been waiting trying to make eye contact with whoever would look at him.  Few dared to even try to allow that connection, but a couple were warily on board.  All it took was a long look and a few meaningful glances towards the two in particular nearest the door.  He brandished his weapon over his barrier and watched a couple others across the way do the same with subtle nods of hesitant agreement.  It wasn’t a good arrangement, he knew, but it was all he had right now.

                Damn, he wished Byunghyun was with him now.  The little bastard could put up a helluva fight when he needed to.  It would be one more on his side and one more to help him look after his brother.  Another sidelong look at the young man made him grit his teeth.  Carefully, he reached out a dried-blood covered hand to brush his fingers against Jonghyun’s dark hair.  It hurt when there was the barest of twitches in response.  Biting his lip, Minsoo glanced at the prepared contestants again and felt his stomach twist.

                He didn’t have a watch to tell how much time had gone by, but he knew they did.  They kept checking them periodically.  The event runners wouldn’t keep them locked up too late; they still had to give them a chance to ‘win’ after all.  Those two were getting fidgety now as well.  And that could mean only one thing: it was about to begin again.  Minsoo took a couple deep breaths and started to check his person to make sure he was ready.

                Once those doors opened, everything they’d been through to that point wouldn’t matter.  The depression trap that nearly maimed him; the motion sensor bomb that almost took out their eyes; the trio of people they’d had to kill and the two or three others they’d incapacitated (it was hard to keep track sometimes); the numerous bodies they’d had to go around and over, and the many more they’d see on the way out; none of it would matter except getting the right voucher and getting the hell out of here.  Alive.

                “Jonghyun,” he urged, scooting close to nudge his brother with his shoulder.

                “Hm?” the younger man hummed, beginning to become aware of the shifting change.

                “Get ready,” Minsoo breathed, placing his right hand with his weapon against the top edge of their barrier.

                “You sure?” Jonghyun swallowed, his throat bobbing with the motion.

                Minsoo ignored the question and stared at the solid steel door before them, eyes narrowed.  “I’ll go first,” he explained, squinting as the lights above flickered just a touch.  His two concerns shifted once and he tensed.  “Stay behind me.  When I tell you, break for the voucher.  Got it?” he hissed under his breath, feeling his pulse beginning to speed up as his muscles tensed.

                “Y-yeah,” the younger man nodded, finally fully coming to his senses.

                “For Daniel, remember?” Minsoo reminded him with one piercing look.

                “For Daniel,” Jonghyun echoed, tearing his eyes away to glance down at the machete in his hands.

                The shift in the air dragged Minsoo back to the door and he shivered when he heard the almost imperceptible click whisper through the air.  No one moved for an eternity, each waiting for someone else to break the truce.  The heavy, metal double doors creaked open a half-inch.  Minsoo rose into a slightly taller crouch.  Someone behind him moved and his head whipped around to see one of his not-allies moving to stand in the middle, torn between running in and waiting for others.

                With a smirk, the two mercenaries stood up.  One took a step towards the door and the other upended a bag of metal beads that began to roll all over the floor.  Without a word, he slipped through the opening as well, leaving the rest to glance at each other nervously.  There was no way out except to come back so they held to their uneasy positions, waiting for their opponents to return.  So long as the lockdown remained in effect-

                Another long siren sound made all of them flinch as they looked around.

                Then the floor vibrated as metal clanged all around them.

                “The barriers!” Minsoo shouted, hearing several other voices echoing his sentiments.

                Immediately the front runner bolted to try and reach the doors first.  He hit the field of balls and lost his footing as soon as he reached the trap.  Arms wind-milled to no avail.  The man fell and skid across the floor, somewhat dazed.  His footing was equally unsteady when he tried to get up again.

                Frustrated by the stupid but effective barrier, Minsoo inhaled as he looked at the table.  “Let’s go boarding,” he urged his brother, seeing understanding blossom in his eyes.

                “Got it!” Jonghyun nodded, reaching for the table at the same time Minsoo did.  Together they hefted the heavy surface and flipped it so the legs were up and the top was down.

                “Now!” Minsoo yelled, feeling others beginning to understand what they were doing and move out to join or stop them.  They released the table at the same time, pausing just enough to let it go first before they sprinted to catch up.  Minsoo jumped first with Jonghyun directly behind him.  Their added momentum propelled the duo along the floor, aided by the balls on the ground, so that they were launched towards the door much faster than intended.  Minsoo held onto the front legs with his stilettos in hand.  He could feel Jonghyun behind him, leaning close.  “Hold on!” he hissed through his teeth as the one side of the doors came up.

                Metal screeched and the pair flew into the door, banging hard against the unforgiving surface.  It didn’t bend but part of Minsoo wished it had.  His head ached and there was a terrible ringing in his ears.  Pinned against the door by his brother’s weight, his eyes widened and he in his breath when he saw through the partially open door.  One of the mercenaries was waiting for him.  The sword was raised, ready to come down.  Panic flooded him but his body wouldn’t respond.  Down the blade fell and Minsoo froze entirely.

                Metal screamed with another horrid clang and the blade swinging down snapped, flying outward when another pair of table surfers careened into the other door.  The broken edge spun away and glanced off Jonghyun’s shoulder so that he jerked away, relieving the pressure on Minsoo.

                Fear abated and for a brief moment, Minsoo locked eyes with one of the men he’d established as ally before things had changed.  The other man nodded once.  So did Minsoo.  Then he shook himself and scrabbled for any kind of handle.  “Get the door!” he commanded, jabbing his stiletto into the space to use as an improvised pry bar.  His table slid when he tried to lever it open so they had to get off.

                Jonghyun kicked it back and away before coming to help Minsoo by bracing his back against the shut door so he could leg press the other one open.  It moved the other door boarders with it, sliding over the metal balls, but they scrambled to come around anyway, navigating the slippery ground with care.  There were two of them and Minsoo shared a tense look with the leader he’d seen earlier.  A quick nod let him know their truce remained, and he ducked his head through to see what happened to his attacker.  The other man was dazedly trying to pick himself from the floor, weapon hand empty and the broken sword lying across the floor.  It was clear he’d been knocked away when the table slammed into the door.  His partner was fiddling with a ballet line near the open window on the other side of the room.

                “Soo!” Jonghyun shouted, hauling Minsoo out of the opening as warning shouts alerted him to something else happening.

                With a yelp, Minsoo dove to the ground and watched as the third and final table was used as another board to shoot through the open door.  Two more people sped by hunched over on the upside down surface.  Neither spared anyone else a glance.  “Go!” Minsoo urged with a frantic wave at Jonghyun as they frantically tried to get up.  With their newfound allies, they were just in time to see the table slide into the room without any brakes.  Unable to stop the momentum and failing to jump off in time, the man in front crashed into the mercenary at the window and both fell through the open portal, screaming as they went.

                Immediately, the second mercenary lurched over to the stunned young man remaining and broke his neck with a deft twist.  Then he turned his attention to the wire which pulled taught and snapped, the metal twang loud even over the sound of their movement.  “!” the mercenary cursed, turning around to face his opponents.  He pulled out one short sword from his hip sheathes while his other hand darted into the utility belt at his waist.  A flash of gold showed he had the vouchers already on his person.

                Minsoo gripped his stilettos tight and broke the stalemate as he ducked inside, ready for the fight.  Powder from the other man’s hand burned his eyes though.  “!” he cursed, ducking to the side immediately so he wouldn’t be easy prey.

                “Minsoo!” his brother shouted, the voice hard to locate.  He was disoriented.  Sounds echoed everywhere: shoes squeaking on the floor, heavy breathing, another muttered curse, weapons clashing.

                Whatever was in his eyes kept them shut.  It burned too much to open them.  He could only pray the involuntary tears would wash them out soon.  And that he wouldn’t be stabbed in the back.  “Jonghyun!” he shouted, trying to find a wall to put his back to without getting into more danger.  A pained shout made him panic, lurching towards the voice.  But hands on his shoulder and a voice in his ear made him stop.

                “I’m here,” Jonghyun gasped as Minsoo kept himself from lashing out defensively.  “Are you alright?”

                “Talk to me,” Minsoo ignored the question, wiping at his eyes with the backs of his hands.

                For a second, Jonghyun didn’t respond.  But then he grabbed Minsoo’s wrist and started guiding him along.  “Two down on this floor.  The merc’s got the stuff and running.  Everyone else is chasing.  We’ve gotta catch him, Soo.  He’s got the vouchers.”

                “I know,” Minsoo nodded with a heavy swallow.  He pried one eye open to blurry, burning clarity and nudged his brother.  “You lead.  I’ll follow,” he promised, his lips.  He was only grateful when Jonghyun didn’t try to argue.  Still holding onto Minsoo’s wrist, his brother started dragging him along, back down the ten story building.

                New urgency filled Jonghyun as he hauled his partially blind sibling along.  They had to catch that mercenary or Daniel would never get the medicine he needed.  Another glance back when his brother stumbled sent the thought of leaving him behind flashing through his mind, but Jonghyun banished it as soon as it appeared.  He loved Daniel but Minsoo was family.  That mattered almost more than anything in this hell hole.  “Come on,” he encouraged, tightening his grip on Minsoo’s wrist as they sprinted down another macabrely decorated corridor.  “Stairs!”

                Awkwardly, Minsoo nearly fell onto Jonghyun when he missed a step, but recovered as soon as they hit the next floor.  Both inhaled sharply when they heard a combined shout somewhere down the hall.  “What’s that?” Minsoo asked, straining to come abreast.

                “ off!”  “Give me that!”  “Gyah!”  “It’s mine!”  “You thi-!”  “Get him!”

                Confused and panicked by the garbled exchange, Jonghyun and Minsoo threw themselves down the corridor and to the next set of stairs.  They heard the continued falling of the barriers in the distance and realized they had already disappeared on this level when the darkening sky was visible out the window.  More importantly, they saw a small pile of bodies and fresh blood littering the hallway.  Above the dead, a strangely open vent yawned darkly.  “It’s the merc!” Jonghyun gasped, letting go of Minsoo so that he could investigate the body.

                “Careful!” Minsoo warned by rote.

                But Jonghyun barely heard him.  He was more confused by the wire cord wrapped halfway around the man’s neck.  It hadn’t killed him – that belonged more to the gaping stab wounds in his torso, but it had obviously had some effect on his demise.  His stomach fell when the utility belt was gone though.  A frantic scramble in the surrounding area showed it was missing entirely.  “It’s gone!”

                “!” Minsoo cursed, grabbing Jonghyun to get him moving again.

                They didn’t make it more than two steps before a rough voice made them pause.  “Soo!”

                Both brothers skid to a halt and turned around with wide, disbelieving eyes.  “Byunghyun?” they whispered at the same time, frowning as one of the bodies in the hallway twitched.

                Minsoo inhaled suddenly as he moved towards it and Jonghyun realized there was someone under that body.  “You’re alive!” Minsoo laughed once, kicking the dead man off his friend so he could haul him to his feet and into a quick, relieved hug.

                Byunghyun winced and coughed, “Yeah.  Just barely.”

                “What happened?!” Jonghyun asked, torn between chasing the others and making sure their friend was good.

                “Move and talk,” Byunghyun urged, shoving Minsoo away with a grunt.  The taller man seemed to realize their position as soon as he was reminded and he slipped under Byunghyun’s arm to help him along.  Jonghyun fell into step at the front, casting continual glances over his shoulder.

                “Where were you?” Minsoo demanded as they navigated the rest of the building hastily.

                “Got caught under a collapsing floor,” Byunghyun barked a laugh as he wiped at the crusted blood on his temple.  “Being small counts for something sometimes,” he added with a shrug, shaking off the memory of being trapped in a corner with debris pressing in on all sides.  “Except for my wrist,” he added, motioning with his left hand so they could see the partially crushed mess around the equally battered band on his wrist.

                “!” the brothers winced simultaneously.  Byunghyun shook his head and flinched when they came to a stop against the wall near the open, front door.  “We’re running out of time,” Minsoo hissed with a frown at the decreasing light outside.

                “We can make it,” Jonghyun murmured determinedly.  “Let’s go,” he urged as he led the way again, the machete still gripped in his hand.  He heard Byunghyun explaining how he hid in the vents when the lockdown happened.  And how he surprised that damn merc with the wire noose.  He got pulled down when his left hand couldn’t hold the weight but it had been enough to slow the man down so the others could catch up.  He had tried taking the utility belt because he saw the flash of gold in it but he’d nearly been gutted before another dead man fell on him.  He figured it would be best to play dead himself at that point.

                “God dammit!” Minsoo spat, obviously frustrated with himself and the situation.

                Conversation stopped as they hit the fence they’d crawled through earlier.  “Hurry guys!” Jonghyun urged, pulling the opening as far as he could to make it easier.  “We can’t let them get away like this!”

                “Jong!” Byunghyun snapped when it almost seemed as if he would run off on his own.

                “What?!” the younger man growled back, balling his hands into fists as he rounded on them, filled with agitated energy.

                “Did you think I didn’t learn anything from my old man?” Byunghyun laughed once with a roll of his eyes as he fished inside the top of his pants with his good hand.  Stunned disbelief washed over their faces when the brothers saw the gold lined envelope.  “I got lucky,” he admitted with a sigh as he extended the crumpled thing towards Jonghyun between his index and middle fingers.

                “Elyixur?” Jonghyun whispered with a trembling voice.

                “Should be,” Byunghyun confirmed with a nod towards the perimeter.  “Won’t matter if we don’t get it back before sundown though.”

                “Right,” Minsoo agreed with a heavy swallow as he glanced at the band around his wrist, the tension in his body belying the hope they knew he felt.  He gave a quick look around and gasped before throwing himself towards Jonghyun and Byunghyun, shoving both to the ground with him on top.

                All three screamed when they heard a series of gunshots nearby.  Minsoo jerked and one more shot rang out.  It was followed by utter silence.  “Soo!” Jonghyun screamed as he shoved his brother off them so he could see what happened.  Blood oozed from an upper shoulder wound in Minsoo and a nearby dumpster bore a large fist sized hole in it.

                “!” Minsoo choked through gritted teeth.  “Get me up and let’s move!” he hissed, dropping the stiletto from his right hand.

                “Dammit!” Byunghyun scowled, slapping at Jonghyun once.  “Hide that,” he demanded with a nod at the voucher, his voice filled with self-recrimination.

                Sniffing and swallowing the frightened lump in his throat, Jonghyun did just that.  Then he hauled both Minsoo and Byunghyun up so they could start limp-running towards the safe zone at the perimeter.  “We can do this,” Jonghyun encouraged, running at the rear to keep them both moving with a hand pressed against their backs.

                He didn’t voice his fear about them dying.  He didn’t say anything about not making it by the deadline with the sun inching closer to the horizon.  They already couldn’t see it over the wall surrounding the city anyway.  He certainly didn’t mention his concern of seeing those few people still manning the perimeter who hadn’t crossed into the safe zones.  His mind was a running litany of curse words that helped drown out fear and hope in equal measure.

                “Hold up!” Minsoo urged, brushing at his brother with his good hand as they approached the perimeter.  Breathing hard, they stared at the scene before them: grabbers on one side, a merc of some kind straight ahead, a small handful of vultures on the other side, and freedom behind them all.  They noticed the mercenary glance at his watch and then look over at the grabbers who smirked between them.  With a quick conversation, the trio of grabbers waved at the three facing the outside and calmly stepped into the safe zone.  The vultures stared uneasily between the remaining people and stayed within the bounds of the arena.

                “We don’t have anything!” Byunghyun bluffed harshly, glaring at the merc with all the intimidation he could muster.  “So you should save yourself the trouble and just let us go!”

                Dark eyes through the open slit of a face mask appraised them while he held his dual short swords loosely in his hands.  For a moment, it looked like he might believe them.  Minsoo and Byunghyun held absolutely still, daring him to argue with their statement.  But Jonghyun couldn’t help but brush his fingers against the spot he’d hid the voucher, and the mercenary’s sharp eyes focused on him.  Without a word, he pointed his right sword at Jonghyun.

                “!” Minsoo spat, immediately stepping in front of his brother with his stiletto raised.  Byunghyun did the same a half-second later.  He looked halfway over his shoulder and muttered, “We’ll hold him off.  Whatever happens to us, you get your to the safe zone.  You hear me?” he commanded darkly.  Shaken by their position, Jonghyun nodded numbly, not even sure he could move.

                Byunghyun pulled one more small switchblade from his pocket and laughed once as he stared at the toothpick in comparison to the sword.  “Go,” he nodded with determination anyway as he lurched forward.

                Minsoo followed just behind him, catching up easily.  Roaring, the trio converged on the mercenary with nothing but blind hope and dogged determination left.  Just behind them, Jonghyun watched as if everything was happening in slow motion.  His body moved but he felt detached, disconnected from the current, dim reality.

                Only slightly faster, if more injured, Minsoo pulled ahead.  His taller opponent swung the right short sword with experienced grace, slicing a straight line between them.  The edge connected with the stiletto and sent Minsoo’s weapon hand wide, leaving him open.  A quick front kick made him stumble back.  Then Byunghyun was there, trying to stab through the opening.  Stepping back to keep his right leg in front and bring himself perpendicular to Byunghyun, the sword wielder parried the smaller knife with his left blade.  As his weapon flew out wide, Byunghyun tried to block the hilt slam to his head, but only managed to slow the attack.  When the bottom of the sword hit him, he jerked and fell sideways, obviously dazed, if not unconscious as he went down.

                “Byunghyun!”  The voice came in from afar, ringing through Jonghyun’s ears with a strange familiarity.  He had no time to identify it though.  The swordsman was there.  And ready for him.

                Screaming, Jonghyun hacked at the opponent with the machete and all the force he could muster.  The blade caught for just a second, snarling on the guard of the sword before the taller man adjusted the angle so it would slide off harmlessly.  Metal hissed as Jonghyun’s resistance pushed through, sending him forward for just a second before a backwards leg sweep clipped his planted shin, making him fly forward.

                Despite the fall, the safe zone was so very close.  If he could just-

                “No!”

                Minsoo’s cry of agony followed by a heavy thud made him look over his shoulder in time to see a sword sticking through his brother’s leg and another pointing down at his throat.  Mutely, the mercenary extended his hand and gestured for Jonghyun to give his voucher up.

                A frightened glance towards the border showed it was no more than a couple yards away.  So close…  He shook his head in denial and then whimpered when the tip touched his bare skin.  “Hand it over, kid.”  The deep voice surprised him, but it didn’t make Jonghyun any more inclined to move.

                “Wait!”  Another voice shouted from afar with a noticeable delay where time again stood still.  Then it continued once more.  “This is not how you should stay on TOP!” the man shouted with extra emphasis on the last word.

                Jonghyun watched with wide eyes and trembling breath as his opponent looked up and away from him.  Craning to see for himself, without pressing the blade harder into his throat, Jonghyun glanced over, through the safe zone to the other side of the outer perimeter.  A myriad of waiting individuals lined the chain link fence.  Under the bright, burning lights of the perimeter, it was easy to see Daniel pressed hard against the metal barrier.  Chanhee was there too, but it was clear that Changhyun was the mercenary’s focus.  “Please,” Jonghyun begged while he trembled on the ground.

                The mercenary’s eyes narrowed but then he looked down at Jonghyun speculatively.  His lips curled under the face mask and the eyes crinkled to show a hidden smile.  It would have been a relief if it wasn’t so chilling to begin with.  “Better hurry,” he murmured in that rumbling, deep voice again with another glance at his wrist watch.  He looked to the right and the left before pulling the tip of his blade away and moving towards Minsoo so that he could retrieve the weapon lodged in his leg.

                Minsoo screamed when it was yanked free but the mercenary paid it no mind, focusing instead on the vultures who had inched closer when he moved away.  He held his bloody blade out towards them as he provided a temporary barrier between Jonghyun and the mass waiting to try and get their hands on him.

                Stunned by what had happened, Jonghyun hardly knew how to respond.  Which was why he jumped when Byunghyun nearly scared him to death when the injured man fell to his side and started trying to drag him up with his good hand.  “Go, you idiot!” he scowled, shoving against him as he looked between Minsoo and the safe zone.

                “Soo!” Jonghyun cried out, wincing as he made it to his feet.

                “Go, Jong!” Minsoo growled through clenched teeth as he tried valiantly to get up despite the ruined leg.

                “Go!” Byunghyun grunted again, literally shoving Jonghyun in the back with his shoulder to get the taller man moving.

                “Jonghyun!”  Daniel’s voice was the final thing he needed to move on his own.

                Like a fish on a hook, he was pulled towards the sound with every ounce of energy remaining in his body.  Arms and legs pumped and his breath burned through his throat and nose.  The demarcated safe zone line came and went – the electronic signal that deactivated his wrist band jolted him into letting his weapon go too – and still Jonghyun ran.  He dodged around and shoved through the people milling there until he crashed into the fence separating him and Daniel.  “We did it!” he sobbed, pressing his forehead against the metal as he linked his fingers with Daniel’s.  “We did it,” he cried again while tears stained his face.

                “What about Byunghyun?!”  He heard Chanhee’s frantic voice nearby.  And he wasn’t proud at all but the only thing he felt was relief that he’d made it back to Daniel.  Everything else was numb.

                “Time’s up,” Changhyun inhaled sharply.

                Jonghyun thought he was numb to everything else in that moment.  He was wrong.  When the final signal horn went off to announce the end of the event, a small chorus of screams accompanied it.  His brother’s was the loudest.  It cut across the distance and sent Jonghyun collapsing to his knees as he accepted that he had left them behind.  They’d told him to and he’d succeeded in their mission, but he’d left his brother and friend behind…

                “We did it,” he sputtered once more, reaching a trembling hand to pull the crumpled, gold lined voucher from his waist.

                “Baby, it’s alright,” Daniel tried to comfort as Chanhee howled at his side and Changhyun remained eerily quiet.  “You’re okay,” he soothed, trying to touch as much of him as possible through the fence between them.

                He wasn’t okay.  Not even close.  But he had to check.  He had to make sure.  His hand shook so hard it was nearly impossible to open the voucher.  At last, he pried it open and pulled out the slip of paper hidden inside, praying to whatever god would listen that it would be what they needed.  Byunghyun had said it should be after all.  As he pulled the slip free and stared at the elegant font scrawled on the voucher, he started to cry harder.

                “Baby?  What’s wrong?” Daniel asked when he didn’t speak at first.  Jonghyun couldn’t.  His throat closed and he was unable to voice words.  “You’re scaring me, Jong.  What is it?” Daniel tried again, holding tighter to the fingers through the fence.

                Jonghyun finally hefted the incredibly thin piece of paper up, almost afraid it would disappear even with it in his hand.  He carefully pressed it against the fence, locking it in place, and waited for them to see the single word written on it:

                Elyixur.

(a/n: One more chapter left!  It's only sort of a cliffhanger this time.  But I will be able to resolve everything in the next update.  I'm trying not to lead myself into a direct setup for a sequel, because ideas are there, but hopefully everything will mostly be explained by the last bit.  If you have any questions right now, feel free to ask and I'll make sure I address them, either privately or in the last chapter.  Either way, thank you for sticking with me and I hope you look forward to the conclusion to this story.  ^_^  You guys are awesome!)