The sun was high in the sky when Jaejoong slipped up the staircase and into the shack that marked the entrance to Yunho’s tunnels. He wasn’t entirely sure why his hyung made a habit of leaving during the daytime, but the thick trees gave him enough of an answer. The shade of the forest was so thick, so complete, that Jaejoong was certain he could’ve walked through the forest and not feel a single ray of sunlight burning his skin. The leaves were beautifully sunlit, and for a moment, Jaejoong wondered if Yunho was the kind of person to enjoy something so lovely.

His cloak draped over his shoulders, Jaejoong slipped from the shack and headed out into the forest, hoping at least there would be a town or village nearby. He breathed the scents wafting through the air, trying to find the ones associated with human habitation, the most common one being smoke. As he walked, he thought he caught faint whiffs of it, but they were so brief he wasn’t entirely sure he’d even sensed it.

The fog was pounding through his head as he broke into a brisk run, searching everywhere he could for those tell-tale signs of mortals. It warned him to turn around and go back, but an equally as strong urge to help Tao balanced it out, often leaving his mind terribly blank. He had to stop several times to remember just what it was he was doing, and his precognitive abilities simply weren’t working. He’d been nearly unable to use them consciously since Yunho had begun to feed him his blood. He tried to focus on Tao, but it seemed the harder he tried to focus on the young man locked up in the arena, the more the fog tried to occupy his thoughts, and the more he thought about Yunho, the more he wanted to turn around and run back into his arms.

He couldn’t let that happen.

The scents hit him just as the canopy above his head was beginning to thin. Tugging his hood up, Jaejoong rerouted himself, following the scents of wood smoke and something...fresh.

A farm, Jaejoong thought. Finally, his precognition kicked in, giving him a brief glimpse of a small family and enough food to last at least a few days. A generous one, he concluded.

Jaejoong stuck to the trees for as long as he could, eventually slipping out into the open and heading towards the farmhouse nestled in the crook of the gently sloping hill that marked the beginning of the large valley and eventual mountain range that Yunho called home. There were several more farmhouses in the distance, many of them surrounded by brilliant, verdant patchworks of crops steadily growing in the sunlight. The sight stirred a distant memory in him, one that made him think of sweet pies and warm hugs. Though he tried to fish out the memory, it was quickly obscured by the thick fog, leaving him with unshakeable nostalgia. He just wished he knew why the farmhouse was filling him with such feelings of sadness and joy.

Pushing the emotions away as best as he could, Jaejoong trotted down the hill, weaving his way between the corn, momentarily reaching out to brush his hand along the stalks, yanking it back the moment the sunlight touched his skin with a wince. Somehow, the emotional impact of being unable to pluck at the corn hurt more than the burn itself. He bit his lip, ignoring the burning in his eyes as he approached the farmhouse, reaching out to knock on the front door without a second thought. He realized a second too late that he had no idea what his excuse was, and the door swung open, revealing the exited face of a little girl.

Eat her, his instincts whispered as -watering scent reached his nostrils. But no, he couldn’t. Children were off limits, though he couldn’t quite remember who had always told him that.

“Mama!” The girl shouted, turning and dashing into the house. “There’s a pretty man at the door!”

Jaejoong felt a surge of affection, a soft smile curling his lips.

“Jinnie love, you know it’s rude to call a man—“ the sentence was cut off as a middle aged woman with soft features appeared, the little girl hanging off her arm, peering at Jaejoong with her wide, innocent eyes. The woman had frozen in her tracks, hanging open slightly as she stared at Jaejoong with an expression of wonderment and awe. He didn’t have to ask to understand.

“Is there something you needed, sir?” The woman asked, breaking into a toothy smile, her eyes glazed over with the enchantment.

“I was merely passing through,” Jaejoong said politely, already knowing he could get whatever he wanted out of her. “I am travelling, and need supplies. Could I purchase some off of you?”

At the mere mention of needing supplies, the woman hopped to it, leaving her daughter standing shell shocked in the doorway of the main room, her eyes so sharp, Jaejoong was convinced she knew what he was. Her eyes met his, and slowly, but cautiously, then began to approach. Her scent washed over him as he crouched down to greet her with a smile. The woman was unconcerned, busy gathering vegetables, fruits, loaves of bread and bottles of water into a travel bag. Jaejoong easily could’ve scooped the little girl up and taken her away.

“Are you an angel?” The little girl breathed, reaching out with her tiny hands.

Though it was far from the truth, Jaejoong simply smiled, allowing her delicate fingers to brush at his cheeks and play with his hair. Wonderment filled her dewy eyes as Jaejoong gently swept a lock of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. He silently wished he was an angel, opposed to the reality. If only she knew what he was; if only she knew he burned in sunlight, fed off mortal blood, and had no heartbeat. If she knew, she would be afraid, and rightly so.

“There you are,” the woman said holding out the bag to him. “And please, don’t worry about paying,”

Jaejoong stood, taking it and bowing. “Thank you for your hospitality,”

“God bless you,”

“I should hope he blesses you more than I,” Jaejoong replied, smiling as he pulled his hood up and turned, sweeping off the porch and making his way back towards the cornfield, disappearing among the stalks once more. The bag was heavy, filled with enough food to last several days. Tao wouldn’t go hungry, that was for sure.

He began to run when he met the tree line, racing back towards the shack. He hoped with everything he had that Yunho would still be out when he got back. If he was caught with the food, he already knew there would be hell to pay. He tried to summon his precognition to find out if Yunho would find him, but the fog swept through, clouding whatever image tried to form. Growling in frustration, Jaejoong picked up the pace, reaching the shack in record time.

A quick sniff of the air beneath the tunnels told Jaejoong he was safe. Yunho wasn’t home. Not yet at least. Hoisting the bag a little higher, Jaejoong headed towards the arena, hoping the food wasn’t leaving a scent trail. He bit his lip, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that before as he pushed into the arena, being careful to not allow the door to slam shut behind him. With a quick leap, he was over the railing and on the dirt of the floor. He quickly slid over to the cage and set the bag down, his eyes searching for Tao in the darkness of the cell.

“Tao,” Jaejoong called out softly. “Are you there?”

“Why are you back?” Tao’s voice wasn’t nearly as bitter as it had been before. Instead, it was almost concerned, as though he didn’t want to know why he’d come.

“To help you,” Jaejoong confessed, realizing the gaps between the bars were far too thin to simply push the entire bag through. “Come here,”

For a moment, Tao was still, but the soft sound of his katana becoming unsheathed met his ears as he slid into the light, the metal gleaming as he settled down a foot from the bars. Jaejoong didn’t blame him for drawing his weapon. He would’ve done the same thing in his position.

“Yunho won’t feed you anymore,” Jaejoong told him. “So I brought food for you,” he removed an apple from the bag and held it through the bars.

Tao hesitated for a moment before taking it from him and setting it aside.

Bit by bit, Jaejoong emptied the bag, handing carrots, wax covered cheeses, bread, water and more apples through the bars. Tao eventually set his blade down to take the food and when it had all been passed through, he efficiently stuffed it back into the bag and hid it in the back corner where very little light shone. If Jaejoong hadn’t known it was there, he never would’ve seen it.

“Thank you,” Tao said as he settled back down in front of the bars, the hilt of his blade calmly.

“Please be safe,” Jaejoong managed to whisper. “I’m so sorry it has to be like this, I swear I’ll find a way to get you out,”

Tao bit his lip before picking up his sword once more. Jaejoong watched as he slid it back into its sheathe, hiding the gleaming silver from sight.

“Why are you here beside that monster?” Tao asked, his brow creased.

“I’m just as much of his prisoner as you are,” Jaejoong replied, though the fog wanted him to speak loving words about Yunho.

Tao looked confused, but he didn’t ask. Jaejoong was glad for it. He didn’t think he could resist the lavender fog a second time.

“...Jaejoong?” Tao wasn’t looking at him as he said his name. “Can you do something for me?”

“Depends what it is,” Jaejoong replied calmly.

Taking a breath, Tao reached behind his neck and unclasped the necklace that hung over his chest. The charms clinked as he hooked the ends together once more before holding them out to him. Jaejoong reached for them, but as he did, he recognized the glittering hourglass and pulled it back.

“Right, sorry,” Tao mumbled quickly. “They’re silver, so be careful,”

“No,” Jaejoong said quickly, not worried in the least bit about the silver. “Tao, why are you giving these to me?”

“Because we made a promise,” Tao said quietly, running his thumb over the charms one by one, a sad expression on his face. “My brothers...when we became a team we made these charms, and we swore the last one standing would be buried with all of them, that way, they would never truly be alone,”

“Then you need to keep them,” Jaejoong said, watching the slayer examine a dragon shaped charm longer than he had the others.

“No,” Tao rasped, clenching the pendants in his fist once more. “Don’t you get it?” He turned towards Jaejoong again, the pain apparent in his features. “When my brothers were killed, we never got to bury their bodies. Hell, if we didn’t leave our charms back in this cage before we stepped out there, I wouldn’t even have them all. That monster did something with their bodies, and I don’t know what. That’s why...Jaejoong, please, if I die, I need you to bury these for me,” he held the charms out again, his eyes pleading.

“You’re not going to—“

“Please.”

Jaejoong swallowed, then nodded, holding his hand out again, this time, keeping his hand inside his sleeve. “I promise,” he said.

Tao gave him a weak smile before he handed the charms over, the metal clinking rather pleasantly as they landed in his covered palm. Jaejoong slipped them into the inside pocket of his cloak, swearing silently to himself that he would keep them safe. He knew how much they meant to Tao. They were the last thing he had of his fallen brothers. He would guard the charms with his life.

“I have to go now,” Jaejoong said, sensing Yunho’s return to the tunnels. “I’ll come see you later,”

Tao just nodded numbly, offering the smallest of smiles before he picked up his sword and retreated to the shadows once more. Jaejoong turned away from him and didn’t look back as he left the arena.

...

Hakyeon couldn’t sleep.

Though he’d eaten a hot, wonderfully cooked meal for the first time in days, and had a comfortable bed to sleep in, he still couldn’t sleep. His mind darted in every direction, thinking about everything that had happened and what was to come. Every time he even began to fall asleep, Hongbin’s moan from the other room ripped him back into consciousness, tears splashing down his face.

When he at last faded into sleep, he was quickly overcome with unspeakable nightmares that left him sweating and shaking. Supressing a sob, Hakyeon clambered out of bed and stepped around the cots containing the sleeping forms of Yoochun and Junsu beside his bed. They’d all agreed to share a room. Hakyeon had offered to share the bed, but they’d only insisted he take it.

Stepping from the room, Hakyeon made his way past two other bedrooms, one containing Hongbin and Sanghyuk (and more than likely Wonshik), and the other containing several members of Doojoon’s group. The ones who remained were scattered about the living room area. Hyunseung was draped over the couch, his harsh features made gentle by sleep. Doojoon and Yoseob lay nearby on two more cots. Sighing softly, Hakyeon debated waking someone up for the sake of talking. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb their rest.

“Can’t sleep?”

Hakyeon jumped, whipping towards the voice, relaxing when he realized it was only Taekwoon.

“You scared me,” Hakyeon rasped.

Taekwoon merely shrugged casually, glancing away as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Sighing, the slayer bowed his head. “No...I couldn’t sleep,”

“Let’s get away from them,” Taekwoon gestured to the sleeping slayers. “Don’t disturb them,”

Hakyeon merely nodded and followed Taekwoon into the kitchen area of the chalet. A sliding glass door looked out onto a slightly overgrown lawn. There was a path that led to the woods where years of feet had squashed the earth so flat, nothing could grow. Hakyeon thought it was rather comfortable, even if the sight of the distant trees made him feel like vomiting from anxiety.

“What’s on your mind?” Taekwoon tilted his head to the side slightly, his golden eyes strangely inquisitive.

“Everything,” Hakyeon mumbled. “Hongbin’s dying, we still don’t know where Yunho is, and the forest is getting so dark I just...” he shook his head.

Taekwoon turned his gaze out the window, sitting calmly on the counter. His dark hair swept over his eye, giving him a rather mysterious image. Hakyeon inexplicably found himself taking a few tentative steps towards the vampire.

“I get it,” Taekwoon said softly. “Though I think if I could sleep, I would,”

Hakyeon nodded slowly. “I do wonder why vampires don’t sleep,”

“We just...don’t need to,” Taekwoon shrugged. “By definition we’re not even alive,”

“Yeah, but you think and you eat, which makes you alive,”

“We have no heartbeat,” Taekwoon turned towards him. “The only life inside us is fake; a twisted echo,”

The pain of his own words flashed through Taekwoon’s eyes so fast, Hakyeon wasn’t entirely sure he’d even seen the suffering there. Without thinking, he took several more steps forward, finding himself close enough to reach out and touch the vampire. Taekwoon leaned away, just slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.

“Do you hate being a vampire?” Hakyeon asked, his voice shivering ever so slightly.

“All the time,” Taekwoon replied, barely hesitating to say the words. He quickly looked away, as though he considered taking them back.

Sensing his distress, Hakeyon placed a comforting hand on Taekwoon’s knee. He flinched beneath his touch, his head snapping back towards him.

“Is it all bad?” Hakyeon asked, a frown creasing his brow. “Will Hongbin be okay?”

“If your legend it true then we won’t need to worry about that,” Taekwoon’s voice was stiff, his hands clenched into fists in his lap.

“What if it’s not?” Hakyeon felt his eyes burn. “What if Hongbin turns into a vampire anyway? I just want to know he’ll be okay,”

Taekwoon opened his mouth to reply, his words immediately cut off by a loud crashing sound. Before either of them had a chance to think about where the sound had come from, there was a scream of pain and several shouts from the living room.

“HYUNSEUNG!”

Taekwoon ran to the living room immediately, Hakyeon hot on his tail. The slayer froze in the living room door, his eyes widening in horror.

Changmin had escaped where he was tied up in the basement. The chains were dangling from his wrists, swaying slightly as Hyunseung thrashed in his grip, screaming as Changmin’s hand clenched tightly in his hair and pinned his arms behind his back. A trickle of blood was running down the side of his neck. Yoseob and Doojoon had their stakes out, but the vampire was using Hyunseung as a shield – they couldn’t get close if they tried.

“You can think of this as revenge for everything you did to me, okay pretty boy?” Changmin said, grinning coldly, blood staining his lips.

Hyunseung groaned, falling limp as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Another scream choked in his throat before it could manifest.

A scramble of many footsteps announced the arrival of the rest of the slayer group, several of them shouting at the sight of Hyunseung and Changmin.

“Now then, I think we can wait here for a while, don’t you think?” Changmin asked, shaking Hyunseung slightly as he let out another groan. “Wait for your pretty boy to turn into what you hate the most, and then I’ll set him loose on the lot of you. Sound good?”

“Not really,” Yoseob’s voice was surprisingly strong.

A light suddenly appeared on Changmin’s cheek. The reaction was instantaneous. With a cry, the vampire raised his hands to protect his skin from burning, all the while Yoseob continued to hold his normally useless cellphone in the light shining from the window, reflecting it onto the vampire’s face with a determined expression.

Hyunseung scrambled away from Changmin, quickly scooped up by Dongwoon who pulled him as far away from the vampire as he could. Changmin continued to shout, Yoseob mercilessly finding every patch of exposed skin he could. Before any of the other slayers could step forward and do something, Taekwoon rushed over to Changmin’s writhing form. He swiftly yanked him to his feet and with two kicks, snapped both of his legs clean in two. The vampire screamed, struggling as Taekwoon dragged him to the front door and swung it open, yanking Changmin up by the front of his shirt.

“N-No, please,” Changmin begged, his eyes darting to the sun bathed ground out front. “You’ll never find Yunho without me,”

“I think we’ll manage just fine from here,” Taekwoon growled. Without hesitating, he hurled the vampire into the sunlight.

Changmin screamed, trying to get away from the burning rays as his skin began to char. His broken legs prevented him from running, and seconds later, his body exploded into flames. Changmin’s screams pierced the air, but Taekwoon realized there was another set of screams – these ones coming from inside.

Whipping towards the sound, Taekwoon’s eyes widened at the sight of Hyunseung writhing on the floor, just as Changmin was in the yard. He clawed at the wooden panels hard enough to snap his fingernails, his blood leaking from his fingertips. His scream choked off as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and a moment later he was still.

Changmin’s screams had ended, but so had Hyunseung’s.

.

.

.

A/N: I AM SORRY FOR KILLING CHANGMIN—I LOVE THE GUY I REALLY DO HE WAS MY FIRST EVER BIAS—BUT THIS STORY NEEDED VILLAINS AND CHANGMIN PULLED THE SHORT STRAW AND ENDED UP DYING.

ALSO I AM SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER. I RAN OUT OF WORDS.

WITH MANY MORE APOLOGIES

~STARLITSKIES