Everything felt so wrong.

There was no way what he was doing was right, but why... why did it feel like their encouragement was enough to convince him that it was? Why was it okay for him to destroy homes that sparked memories in the back of his mind?

Why was everything so wrong?

Chanyeol stumbled around on his feet, reaching out blindly for something- anything- that would steady him where he stood. He was in a clearing of a forest, just a few miles away from the town he had just destroyed; and though he wanted to say it wasn't so, everything seemed as if it were closing in on him. He could still hear their confused and scared voices perfectly, because hadn't he just been there with his brothers in order to save them from destruction?

Brothers that he hated yet felt strong attachment for. He could hardly understand his own feelings for them, but knew that his feelings while fighting them were forced and unnatural. Perhaps that was why he held back on his strength, and also why they held back on theirs. There was no doubt about the fact that they held back from hurting him seriously; the look of anguish in their eyes as he fought them was a perfect reflection of such. As for himself, however, he had no idea as to why he hadn't finished them off while he had the chance.

This new Chanyeol had no need for EXO, or whatever they were called. He existed merely to do as Yunso and Yunjee told him to do, because who could ever refuse the person that had control over them?

It still felt wrong, though. Moving on as if that battle were nothing but a stalemate and bad memory was wrong, wasn't it? That's what the slight pains in his mind told him. Those pains were also what made him start thinking of those brothers he was told to let go of. Were they alive and faring well? These thoughts and worries only fueled his anger towards them, however, and he found hatred bubbling in his chest at a rapid pace. Why was the weak powerless Chanyeol who was constantly being put down by those boys worrying about them so much?

In the end, that's what convinced him to go find them a second time; because in order to stop himself from worrying about them, he had to make sure they weren't around for him to worry any longer. Memories of eleven faces flashed through his mind as he stumbled forward, memories that gave him pain, hatred, and a sense of longing.

Would his powers be enough to take on all eleven mages? He was sure that after the last battle between him and the other few mages, the lot of them would no longer stand in the background and allow for their other friends to be trampled. His powers, no matter how strong when he was angered, was no match for the eleven of them put together. In order for his mission to be successful, he had no choice but to go after each of them individually and hope that the others wouldn't interfere until his plans had gone accordingly.

He searched for them for days. After the last battle, they had disappeared suddenly and he hadn't been able to send his pheonix after them in such short notice, but he could feel them. Their presence as a whole was ingrained into his very being, and his feet followed that presence as if his body wanted to be consumed by it. It didn't make sense to him; how he could still be attracted to those men that seemed as if they never wanted him around?

Chanyeo found himself in a town that was far too familiar to be considered a good thing. His mind swam with memories, but he forced out each memory because he had a reason why he arrived and he wouldn't be swayed by images sent to him by a weak mage who couldn't even control his own emotions.

His feet continued stumbling, though it had turned into more of a waddle and had gone off in a direction different to where the large presence had been. Chanyeol didn't know where he was going for a moment, but quickly realized why he was going in the direction at all. It seemed that a slight presence had broken free from the larger one, and his body automatically followed after it.

"Who are you?" When Chanyeol turned around, he eyed a warrior that was holding a sword between shaking hands. He obviously knew that Chanyeol was a threat, and even though he didn't want to kill anyone who wasn't his target, he easily reached forward and send the warrior to the ground, unconscious.

"A demon, I suppose." He answered no one, taking the sword in his hands as a momento. The sword felt much heavier than it should have, and after a moment, Chanyeol sighed and continued the slight presence he had sensed earlier.

It was the mage of light, Baekhyun. Chanyeol could differentiate this figure from any of the others in just a moment. He was standing by the bank of a small stream, his hands in his pockets and his gaze following something in the water. Chanyeol knew it could very well be a trap, but also knew he had better chances against Baekhyun while the shorter mage didn't seem to have any weapons at all. Slowly, he raised his sword, a smirk playing at his lips as he stepped forward.

"I thought you'd be here." Baekhyun muttered, and Chanyeol froze. Was Baekhyun really talking to him or did he have the mage of fire confused with someone else? Baekhyun turned his head, his blank expression tearing at something in Chanyeol's confused heart. "You can kill me if you'd like, Yeol. Just don't hurt the others, please."

After saying that, Baekhyun got onto his knees and bowed his head forward as he waited for Chanyeol to finish him. Was he really begging for death, so long as the others remained unharmed? Chanyeol didn't know if he was supposed to cry or laugh, but he felt his resolve falter for just a moment before his grip tightened around the helm of the sword.

"Now!" Shouted another familiar voice, and Chanyeol barely had a moment to react as Joonmyun ran forward and drew out strands of water from the stream to attack Chanyeol with.

"Did you really think we'd let you beat us, Yeol?" Jongin snickered, and Chanyeol found himself dodging blows from the mage of teleportation and all the while anticipating where he would next appear.

It wasn't just the two of them, of course. There were shards of ice being thrown at him and the two maknaes were using their own powers to distract him as the others attacked. It was a mess fighting them, and though he had been caught off guard, he quickly pulled himself together and sent a wave of fire out in every direction. Several of the mages, already having been tired out by fighting him, were brought to the ground, and Chanyeol spun slowly as he took in the remaining enemies.

Yixing had entered the battlefield only to pull away the injured maknaes and Joonmyun. Kyungsoo and Jongdae replaced them easily, and in the distance, Chanyeol could see the glimmer of Yifan's wings. Why hadn't the second leader joined in the fight? If Yifan joined, it would be only a matter of time before Chanyeol was defeated, but he stood back beside a figure that seemed familiar in his mind.

"Wake up, Chanyeol! We don't want to fight you anymore." Luhan's voice had his head turn towards him, but his calling was only a trap as the mage of telekinesis had chosen his moment of distraction to throw boulders Kyungsoo had risen from the ground at his head.

Enraged, Chanyeol charged for him, and although Luhan was wide open for attacks, Chanyeol was blocked by Jongdae. The mage of lightning had sparks of electricity running down his arms as he stood there panting, and quickly launched into attacks that kept Chanyeol on the defense as he backed away. Of course, staying on defense was dangerous as well, what with Minseok's powers and Jongin teleporting to places that had Chanyeol's head spinning.

"Wake up, idiot!" Just the shout of that word had Chanyeol remembering why he had started to hate them all so much. He had knocked Kyungsoo out so quickly that the other mages could only stare at him dumbly.

Taking their moment of distraction as an opportunity, Chanyeol was able to take out Jongin, Luhan and Minseok. It was from there that fighting back started taking effort and his waddle shifted into limping.The weak Chanyeol was fighting him now, because Jongdae and Baekhyun were two boys he cared for more than he cared for himself. He hated how familiar the looks of pain on their faces was to him. He hated that they made him falter just by standing there with their backs straightened and ready to fight back.

"Once I kill you two, he'll shut up." He muttered, and the two tensed for a moment before their eyes narrowed into death glares and they ran forward to charge at him. The two against him were a good match, as both had powers that mirrored his own, but he knew their weaknesses better than they did.

"Chanyeol! Stop it!" Sehun shouted, and Chanyeol could tell that the young mage was on the verge of tears. "Stop hurting them like this!"

He pretended not to hear the voice that called out to him, using his sword to slash across Jongdae's chest. In surprise, Jongdae spat out blood and his body fell forward onto the ground. As he stood there watching his former comrade hit the ground, time slowed down for Chanyeol.

"Jongdae!" Zitao had started running out into the field to get to the trio, only to be stopped by Minseok's grip on his arm.

"Jongin!" Yixing barked out, and with a nod, Jongin teleported into the field and pulled Jongdae back with him.

At the same time, as something in Chanyeol's heart broke, he noticed that Baekhyun was growing physically weaker. The two of them had been fighting for far too long, and their bodies were obviously not ready to fight each other like they had thought.

Before Chanyeol could strike him, Baekhyun fell to his knees once more, though this time the mage of fire was sure he wouldn't get up to fight again. He raised his sword high, his smirk growing again as the thought of finally getting rid of one of those mages filled his mind.

"Don't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life, Chanyeol!" Minseok's voice pleaded, and Chanyeol knew that the weak Chanyeol that was being pushed back wouldn't last long after Baekhyun's death.

"Put the sword down, Chanyeol." It was Yifan, who had finally joined the battlefield with a girl walking beside him, a girl whose face had immediately brought out a reaction from the weak Chanyeol.

Yun Seung was there. Yun Seung who had quickly caught his affections even though he didn't know her well. Yun Seung, who forgave them for their past and enabled them to live their future. He was disappointing her again, he knew, but those thoughts were also pushed away.

Or, at least, he thought they were. It seemed that the weak Chanyeol had enough of seeing his brothers writhe around in pain, or was it because of that girl? Why would Chanyeol care so much for them all? Those men who belittled him every chance they got? The girl who didn't even know them yet blindly let them go as if the twelve of them were better off ruling themselves?

He was fighting back now, and it seemed to be obvious to the other mages by how his body staggered while just standing still. Baekhyun had raised his head to watch, and though there was still pain swimming in his eyes, the mage of light lifted his hand and pulled the sword Chanyeol held until it was right at his throat. Baekhyun didn't even seem to care that his hand were bleeding, or that his neck was close to being sliced. His eyes remained fixed on Chanyeol's desperately.

"Kill me, Yeol. Kill me and then go back to who you were. I can't stand seeing this side of you. This isn't you, and you know it."

Chanyeol wanted to stop those words from reaching his ears, he really did. Baekhyun's words seemed to have given the weak Chanyeol a burst of energy to fight back, and that wasn't necessary. The old Chanyeol was nothing but a coward, and this Chanyeol didn't need him around.

Just as he jabbed his hand forward to cut the mage's head off, his eyes widened in horror to find that the only thing that sword cut was his own stomach, his body tumbling back onto the ground like it were full of rocks. Somehow, that weak Chanyeol was strong enough to save his best friend from himself.

"Chanyeol!" The lot of them shouted, and a moment later, the bleeding mage of fire found himself looking into the eyes of an infuriated Jongdae.

"No, you're not allowed to die until I get you back for that cut, you idiot!"

He wanted to get mad at being called such a thing again, but was distracted when someone held his hand gently.

"Chanyeol." It was Yun Seung, and as he stared at her, he remembered why he loved being with them all, including Yun Seung. "We'll be right here waiting for you when you wake up, okay?"

It didn't matter their past, or what they did in the future. When one of them messed up, the other eleven were there to fix that mistake. That's what he learned from the eleven mages, and also what he had learned from Yun Seung. Maybe that was why they were all so accepting of her, and so dependent on her. She had easily became one of them, accepting their faults and encouraging their drive to become better for the sake of the planet they lived on. He knew they thought of him as an idiot, and that they were right in calling him as such, but he also knew one thing about being together with them again.

Everything felt right.

Hey guys, it's Dal here! I'll be taking over for today's author's note since our author is a lazy chicken xD From what I can see, most of you are surprised with the sudden turn of events with Chanyeol suddenly turning to the dark side (Star Wars, anyone?) and the mages reuniting with our dear Yun Seung. Well, you're not alone. The only thing our author told me was '"I'm sorry." and guess what, she'd better be after tormenting my poor heart. The angst is too much!

Chicky, you made Chanyeol stab himself! I'm seriously thinking of roasting you tonight!

Also, do check out my recently established review shop! If you're interested, you can submit a request to be done by me or any of my wonderful reviewers. You can check it out here.

Now, enough of me ranting.. Thank you so much for subscribing and also for leaving wonderful comments! Jebby and I enjoyed reading them all. I hope that you'll also enjoy this update -- if you don't, you're welcome to join me as I grill our chicky for dinner. Jokes! (maybe). We'll see you guys in the next update! Have a nice day!

-Dal