Father is staring at you. At you and Kai, to be more precise. Kai is a bit weired out by his presence - he hasn't exactly met him in your universe, except for that one time Father showed up to help you get rid of the three angry male witches. This universe's Father looks slightly different from trhe Father in the universe you've visited before. First of all, he has a man bun. 

You admit that you find his image quite interesting. He's quite tall, incredibly well-built for his age (you've seen him shirtless, okay, and his muscles are more well-defined than Kai's. You're never gonna tell him this, though), there's tiny, colorful beads in his white hair, and he's covered with tattoos. Not only his forearms, but also his back, his neck, his calfs. He has a pair of sharp eyes and a soft smile on his lips.

He looks a bit scary. 

"Okay," he says, his voice stern. 

"Okay what?" you question. You came to him for advice. You glance at Jaejoong, who's standing behind the man, and he shrugs. "You're gonna help us?" 

"I can't," Father says. You frown.

Seeing as you'll be moving away in a while (if you pass your exams, that is), you wanted to make sure you'll be able to use your magic even as you're far away from Kai. Your magic is connected to him. The closer you two are, the stronger your magic is, and because of the soulbond thing, and because of the price you have to pay for brining Kai back from the dead, you probably won't be able to use your magic if you're away. You were able to use your magic when you visited Chanyeol and Suho that one time to get rid of the ghost that was haunting their friend Youngjae, but you felt weak then, and if you're really going to the police academy, you know that your magic will be even weaker. And you don't want to part with it.

You thought Father will help you. 

"I don't have the right materials," Father says. "They do not exist in this universe." 

You squint at him. "This universe? What universe do they exist in, then?"

"Wait," Kai interrupts. "Does that mean we're gonna have to travel to some other universe? Again?"

"There's a universe in which special, sacred stones exist, stones that can store energy inside them," Father explains, crossing his bulky arms over his chest. "If you go there, you may find your other selves there, and they might be able to help you."

You glance at Kai the same second he glances at you, unsure. 

"If you get the stone, I'll teach you how to store magic inside it. Then, you'll be able to use your magic even when you're away from Kai," Father continues. "Of course, travelling through universes will be a bit hard on you, but it's nothing you haven't felt before. Or experienced before."

"You'd open a portal for us?" you ask him, trying to figure out his words. Sometimes you still feel weird with him being around; even now, as you look at him, you feel like he's hiding something. It doesn't help that he's so serious and unreadable most of the time. Jaejoong trusts him, and you trust Jaejoong, but what if you're making a mistake? The man's presence isn't always as comforting as it should, as you thought it'd be at the beginning. 

"Yes," the man says. "But you'll have to come back on your own. I can't open a portal when you're in another universe."

You wonder when has universal travel become a thing. A year earlier, you wouldn't even think about such a thing; now someone tells you that you actually should travel through alternative worlds. 

"What stone would we actually be looking for?" you ask. 

"A lacertus stone," Father says. 

"How do you know it even exists if it's not from our universe?" Kai questions, wariness in his voice. 

"It doesn't exist anymore," Father replies. "All stones were destroyed in medieval ages, believed to carry magic."

Everybody knows that magic creatures were hunted during the Middle Ages. You're not surprised to hear Father say that the stones were destroyed as well. 

"Okay," you say, nodding. "What time should we be here?" 

*

You're in the middle of packing when you feel your tattoo warm up. 

"Suho's here," you mutter, shaking a jar of ash to see how much there's left inside it. It's been a while since Suho has visited; he's been too busy with school. He enters the loft with a big duffel bag and a big smile on his face. You smile back at him. 

"Hello friends," he greets. His smile falters a little when he sees both you and Kai packing. "Where are you going already?" 

"We're moving," Kai jokes. Suho frowns.

"Where to?"

"Another universe," you finish.

"Forever?!"

You and Kai laugh at him. He puts his bag down. 

"No," you reply. "We need to find a stone. So we're going." 

Suho stares at you for a few seconds. "You do realize how that sounds, right?" he asks at last. "'Hey, glad you're here, we're going to another universe because we need to find a rock'."

"Not a rock, a stone," you correct him. 

"Okay, then I'm going with you," Suho says, shrugging. You send him a look. "Don't tell me to stay here. I really, really need a break from all the studying. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a chance to fight? We haven't been to an adventure in a while." 

"Everything is an adventure for you, even grocery shopping," Kai says, chuckling. You're done packing and you throw your backpack on. Suho looks at you hopefully. 

"Well?" you ask. "Pack your , we're going!" 

*

Travelling through a universe tunnel is unpleasant to say at least.

You land on the ground. You always land on the ground. It's always the ground. You wonder if there's some kind of an unspoken universal rule about landing on the cold, hard ground. Like, couldn't the universe make you land on a bed for once? 

You open your eyes to see the sky above your head. It's windy. You sit up, spotting Kai and Suho a few meters away from you, both of them looking confused. Suho is swaying even though he's sitting. Kai flashes his eyes red to regain focus and you look around. 

You're on a rooftop. 

"Wow," you say. "That's really random." 

"A few meters more and we'd have landed in the air," Kai notes, nodding at the edge of the building. You swallow hard at the thought. 

You stand up to look around a little. What you see is a city incredibly similar to your own, only...slightly bigger, maybe. There's more people and places you don't know, or don't recognize. Then again, you're looking at it all from some random building's rooftop, so it's easy to mistake things. 

"How do we get off?" you ask. The boys could probably jump from this rooftop to another, but you're on a scyscraper, and the closest building is good five hunred meters away. You'd be too scared to pull off a jump like that. "I'm not jumping." 

"Let's just go down," Suho says, pointing at a booth in the middle of the rooftop. "Maybe they won't scold us if we're careful enough." 

"I wonder what universe this is," you say as you walk towards the booth. "Do you think there's a universe in which Kai has pink hair?" you ask.

"Do you think there's a universe in which you're not dumb?" Kai asks back. 

"Shots fired," Suho grumbles as you shove Kai to the side. 

You unlock the door using magic and then, together with the boys, you make your way downstairs, using the evacuation route. At some point you need to use your magic again since you spot some security cameras on the walls; you send a spark of electricity to turn them off for a while. You finally reach a pair of door that looks like it should lead you out of the staircase, and you find yourself in the middle of a corridor. 

"This looks like a business firm, or something," Suho says, pointing at the glass door by the end of the corridor. 

"Left or right?" you ask, looking around the empty corridor.

"Right," Kai decides. You follow him through the corridor, then find an evelator. Suho pushes the button and you wait patiently. The walls are grey here, there's a dark carpet under your feet and big plants in the corners of the corridor; you've only passed five rooms on your way, all with glass door and nobody inside the rooms. 

As you wait for the elevator to come down, you notice a stain on the carpet to your left. Now, there's nothing weird about a stain, but this one looks a bit weird. You frown, then sniff at the air like a true werewolf. 

"It smells weird in here," you note. 

"Yeah, cleaning stuff," Kai says. The elevator tings and the door slide open. You stare at the stain for a few seconds longer, then Kai rolls his eyes and pulls you inside the elevator before the door can slide close. Suho pushes the ground floor button. 

It takes ages to get down. It's a tall building, after all. You lean on the wall, impatient. 

"How did your exams go?" Kai asks. 

"Good, I think," Suho replies. "What are you guys doing tomorrow? Any plans?" 

"I thought you were meeting Heejin?" 

"I am. Kinda wanted to spend time with her and you both." 

The elevator stops. 

"We weren't really planning on anything," Kai admits as the door slide open. 

What he sees in front of him is not exactly what he suspected to see and at first he frowns in confusion. There's a man running towards him, screaming loudly, a bloodied knife in his hand; he looks like he's just escaped from a prison for mentally ill. You push yourself off the wall and the man screams even louder when he sees Kai. 

He runs into the elevator full-force, not stopping even a little, the knife helf high above his head, with pure intent of stabbing you all to death. You see Kai move a little and before you know it, the man literally runs onto Kai's stretched-out arm, receiving a killer punch in the face. His whole body jumps back and he falls onto the ground like a sack of potatoes, completely unconscious; the knife he was holding lands next to him. 

Kai is a bit confused. His arm is still raised in the air, fist still clenched, he hasn't moved it from where it has made contact with the psycho's face. Suho and you are staring at the man now, a little disgusted. 

"Today just took an interesting turn," Suho sums up. The door to the elevator begin to close, the man's legs in the doorstep, so Suho clicks the right button to open them up again.

You hear footsteps then and when you look up, three people run from behind the corner. Your face lights up. 

"Jongin!" you shout, recognizing the blonde hair. 

"Dal!" Jongin shouts, skidding to a stop right in front of the elevator. He's breathless and sweaty, something you rarely see with your own Kai. There's Xiumin and Tao with him and then both squint at you, susprised. 

"Dudes," Tao says, grinning. "Nice seeing you." 

The three of you smile so widely you feel giddy. Even Kai is smiling now. You take in Xiumin's spiky hair and Tao's...blue hair. 

"See, Tao has blue hair, why do you think it's impossible for you to have pink hair?" you ask, poking Kai on the side and forcing him to look at Tao. Tao wiggles his brows at Kai and then laughs when Kai makes a confused puppy face. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Jongin asks, pleasantly surprised. Then he takes a look at the man who tried to massacre you and squints. "You know what, let's talk about that in a second. Let's move him first." 

The boys carry the man out of the elevator. Then Jongin pulls out rope from his backpack and ties the man to a column in the reception. You look around; it's a law firm and it's completely empty. No people around. 

"What happened?" you ask. "Why is nobody here?" 

"They evacuated," Tao explains. "This dude here ran into the building, threatened everyone with a bomb, and then continued to look for someone on every level. He's mental, we think." 

"And you're here because?" Suho asks. 

"We thought it's something supernatural," Jongin explains. "Once we got here, it turned out it's not, and we started chasing him. There's probably police outside the building, and if there isn't, they'll be here soon. You caught him in record time." 

You look at the man, quirking a brow. 

"Timing," you shrug. 

"Oh, I can hear the sirens," Tao states. "We should probably leave." 

You find the evacuation path and make your way outside. Just as you turn the corner, you hear a police cruiser stop in front of the building, and then more approaching on signal; the boys choose a path between buildings to go back to safety.

"How did you even know something like this was happening?" you ask. 

"Kris is a cop," Jongin says. Kai whistles. 

"So his sense of justice doesn't change no matter the universe, huh?" he jokes.

You're still a bit breathless every time you look at them walking next to each other. Double Kai. It's like a dream come true. It's also a little bit too much for you to handle. 

"Yunji is gonna have a nosebleed," Tao informs. 

"Dal," Kai and Jongin correct him at the same time. You throw your head back in a laugh and Xiumin lets out a shaky giggle. 

"Creepy," Suho says with a smile. 

"Man, I'm hungry," Xiumin informs. "Let's go eat something." 

"With Jongin's double?" Tao asks, pointing at your Kai. "Not sure this is such a good idea." 

Kai throws a hoodie over his head and shrugs. 

"Let's say I'm a relative and we have strong genes, I'd eat something too," he says. 

"I asked you if you were hungry before you left," you say, rolling your eyes. "Suffer your life choices now." 

"I want food." 

"You're like a kid," you scoff. "Should've asked you if you've peed, as well." 

The boys burst out laughing. Kai grabs you by the middle, his fingers dangerously close to your stomach, and you jump back before he can start tickling you; you run away from his touch with a yelp, then raise a threatening finger at him. 

"No!" you shout. Kai stops in his tracks. You cross your arms over your chest. "That's why I said you're like a kid." 

You go to a cafe and the second you enter, you spot Heejin behind the counter. Your heart leaps happily and you almost start waving at her crazily before you remember that you don't know her in this universe. And that she doesn't know about magic, probably. You feel Suho perk up at the sight of her next to you. 

"Hi," Xiumin says, waving at Heejin. She spots you all and smiles widely—

—Until she spots Suho. Then her face shows painful indifference. Suho literally sags next to you.

You choose a table. 

"Okay," Jongin says, looking around the place. "Nobody I know is here. Kai, hide when Heejin comes to take our orders." 

"She doesn't know about the supernatural?" you ask in a low whisper. 

"She doesn't," Xiumin says. "So, you know. Pretend to be Yunji." 

You scoffs. "Uh-huh, because I know her this well." 

"Then pretend to be Kai," Tao says, winking at you. 

"That I can do." 

"No way you can pull that off," Kai says, nudging you with his foot under the table. You nudge him right back, grinning. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Jongin asks, leaning forward. "It's a bit weird. How did you even get here?" 

"A friend of ours opened a portal for us," you explain. "We need your help. I mean, you do kinda owe us a favor." 

Jongin quirks a brow at that. "Yes, I kinda do. What is it then?" 

"Your necklace," you say, remembering the time Jongin came to your world. He was able to do so thanks to a necklace he was carrying, one that stored various kinds of energy that he could use. Suddenly, you know why Father chose this universe to send you to. "We're looking for the same stone." 

"Why'd you need it?" Jongin asks, looking you in the eyes. It still feels weird talking to him. He really looks very good with blonde hair. You glance at your Kai, who's next to him, and smile, thinking about how lucky you are. Then you look back at Jongin. 

"I can't use my magic unless I'm close to Kai," you explain. "But I'll have to move in a while and I need to be able to use it, obviously." 

"Does that have to do with that price you have to pay?" Jongin asks, curious. 

"What price?" Xiumin asks in confusion. 

"Hey," a voice chimes. You all jump as if burned and are met with Heejin's amused eyes. "Lively as always." 

You only notice now that she's not wearing her usual pair of glasses. She also looks a bit more confident, now that you're able to take a closer look at her. 

"What can I get you?" she asks, smiling. Jongin is the first one to speak up.

" I'll have a cheesecake and vanilla latte," he says. Then he looks around the table. "What about you?"

"Frappe for me," Tao says. 

"I'll just have a piece of chocolate cake, thank you," Xiumin adds, smiling widely. 

"Cappucino for me," you say. Heejin's eyes stop on you. "And...a bagel." 

"Has your hair always been this long?" the girl asks all of a sudden. Everyone by the table freezes. Right, you think. Yunji from this universe has short hair. 

"Extensions," you say quickly, laughing nervously. Heejin raises her brows. 

"Whoa," she says. "Looks great. I wouldn't guess." She looks at Kai and frowns; he's hiding behind his hoodie, looking pretty suspicious. Only his nose and lips are sticking out. "Uh. Nice to meet you," she greets. "What can I get you?" 

"Chocolate milkshake," Kai says, nodding at her. "And a cinnamon roll." 

"Coming right up," Heejin says, writing it all down. Then her face changes a little and she looks at Suho. 

Her eyes show impatience and coldness and when Suho sees that, you swear you can hear his heart shatter into million pieces.

Tao and Xiumin stiffle their laughs next to you and you look at them in confusion, wondering why that's funny. 

"What can I get you, Junmyeon?" Heejins asks, her voice stone-harsh. Kai chokes on his own saliva, you stare at Heejin like she's just lost her mind. 

You glance at Suho. He looks more hurt than when you told him that it's the last episode of Buffy. He's quiet for a few seconds; then Jongin elbows him, cleaning his throat. 

"Oh, yes," Suho says, startled. He looks around, as if in search for something good to eat, and his cheeks go pink. "Uh...Oreo cupcake, please." 

Heejin stares at him, brows furrowed. 

"We don't have Oreo cupcakes," she says. 

"Yeah you do," Suho says, forgetting himself. You kick him under the table. Heejin raises her brows. 

"No we don't," she says. "Also, what's up with your hair?" 

Okay, so you should've thought this through. This universe Suho had black hair, after all, dammit. 

"I'm trying new...things," Suho mutters, looking down at the table. Heejin tilts her head to the side, suddenly worried.

"We have red velvet cupcakes," she says quietly. "If you want Oreo, then we have Oreo ice cream."

"Sure," Suho says awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. "I'll have that."

"Cupcakes or ice cream?" Heejin asks, smiling with her brows creased, which makes her look a bit annoyed and a little confused.

"Both," Suho chokes out.

"Okay," she draws out. "Be right back." 

You all wait until she's gone in the back and then Xiumin, Tao and Jongin burst out laughing. You and Kai stare at them while Suho hides his face in his palms. 

"I've never felt as embarrassed," he says. "She totally hates my guts!"

"That's true," Jongin says, giggling; he's trying hard to breathe normally. "She totally hates Junmyeon. He's been hitting on her for the past year and he still hasn't given up."

"But...that's awful," Suho says, emerging from behind the curtain of his hands. "I couldn't live like that!" 

"Oh, Junmyeon thinks it's adorable," Xiumin states. "The reason he's hitting on her is precisely because she doesn't like him." 

"Ugh," you find yourself saying. If 'ugh' could count as a word.

"He sincerely likes her, though," Tao defends. "He knows everything about her and cares for her. He's just really ty at flirting with her. He acts like a douchebag and then is mad at himself for it; he's so nervous around her he can't think straight." 

You all hum. That's when Heejin comes back with half of the stuff for you. She puts the tray down. 

"I'll bring the rest in a sec," she says. 

"No rush," Suho says out of habit. Heejin almost drops Kai's milkshake and then walks away quickly. Suho stares at her. "Okay, what the hell did Junmyeon do to her that she's so surprised about me being nice to her?" 

Tao shrugs. "He acts arrogant around her." 

"I hope there's no stupid ist jokes involved, because if yes, then I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna punch him in the face," you inform them all. Jongin laughs, Xiumin shivers. 

"I'm not sure if I should feel offended or not," Suho mutters. "I mean, practically, it's my face you'd be punching..."

Heejin chooses this moment to re-appear. 

"Lovely!" Jongin exclaims as the girl puts his order in front of him. She leaves Suho's cupcake for the last and Suho thanks her for it with a dazzling smile. 

You can see the exact moment something in her brain breaks. She doesn't even reply, just turns on her heels and walks away even faster than previously. Suho digs into his cupcake and the boys from the other universe watch him closely. 

"Wow," Xiumin says. "That's cruel." 

"Yeah. He can have Heejins from both universes, and our Junmyeon can't even have this one," Tao follows. 

"She's not a thing," you roll your eyes. 

"See, that was something Yunji would do!" Jongin says happily.

You eat and talk about different people and whether or not you've already met them. Turns out that this universe's pack has known the Jung siblings since the very beginning, but they still haven't met Sulli or Amber. What is even worse is that they also don't know who Eun is. 

"Okay, what about a witch named Sunny?" you ask. At that, all the boys groan, disgust showing on their faces. 

"That one was a piece of...work," Tao says. 

"Real charming," Xiumin adds with a fake smile. 

The food is just as great as in your world and before you know it, it starts to get dark outside. You pay the bill, leaving a nice tip behind, and just as you're leaving, Suho suddenly stops. 

"Okay," he says. "Wait a second here." 

Then he turns on his heel and goes towards the counter. 

"And don't eavesdrop!" he shouts over his shoulder, making a few people at the cafe turn their heads at him. You all stare as he approaches Heejin. You glance at the boys to see their faces contracted in focus, and you shake your head. 

"Ohh, no," you say. "He told you not to eavesdrop!" and with that, you push them out of the cafe, making them yell in the process. Twenty seconds later, Suho runs out of the building, his cheeks pink, and when you glance back inside, you see Heejin as red as a tomato, looking at the door in confusion. 

"What did just go down in there?" Jongin asks, nudging Suho's elbow.

"Let's just say Junmyeon owes me big time," Suho replies.

*

Jongin places a little wooden chest in front of you, on the table. Then he opens it and you open your eyes widely at the sight of colorful stones inside it. The whole chest is filled with them; they're different shapes, sizes, and colors, and they're all shining as if freshly polished. You let out a gasp. 

"Whoa," you say. Jongin smiles at you, gleeful. 

"You can take some," he says. "Our family has loads of them." 

"What did you guys do in the Middle Ages?" you ask, confused. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Why are the stones still here?!" 

"It was forbidden to destroy them," Jongin explains. "The Pope said that God has created them and so they kept a close eyes on them. My family obtained it along the way."

You stare at the stones. "Okay," you say. "I suddenly really want to learn history. I think that's a first." 

Jongin laughs. You hear the door to his house open - he lives in the suburbs - and a few people come in, bickering. You turn to see yourself coming into the room, followed by Jessica. 

They both stop short after seeing you and Jessica's eyes grow as big as saucers. 

"What the hell?!" she shouts. "I thought that cloning spell was a joke?" she then asks, looking at Jongin. 

"Because it was!" Jongin argues, offended. "That's Dal!"

"Oh," Yunji says, letting out a gasp. "Good. Don't ever try to cast a cloning spell." 

"Like I even would," Jongin rolls his eyes. Kai sticks his head out from the kitchen, where he and the rest are playing cards. 

"Hey," he greets. Jessica startles at the sound of his voice. Yunji frowns and tilts her head a little. It's so freaking weird looking at yourself your head gets dizzy. "We decided to drop by." 

"Yeah, because we're such good friends," Yunji says, scoffing. She crosses her arms over her chest. Kai comes into the room, Suho, Xiumin and Tao following. Jessica loses her mind at the sight and starts laughing. 

"Oh my God," she says. "You were telling the truth. They have a blonde Junmyeon." 

"Suho," Suho says. "Nice to meet you." 

"Likewise," Jessica says, smiling like a cat. She reminds you more of Seon or Hyoyeon than of your Jessica. 

You choose the stones you want to take with you. You take five, just in case, even though they can be used more than once. You go for smaller ones, all in pastel colors. Jongin gives you a small bag to put them in, and you throw it into your backpack. You join the others in the kitchen just as Jessica starts taking photos with Suho and Kai, and you roll your eyes. 

You look to the side to see Jongin and Yunji talking. They're standing close to each other, their shoulders touching, and they're both whispering; Jongin's attention is entirely on the girl and Yunji looks a little bit less hostile than she did before. She smiles at something Jongin says and then smiles even harder when Jongin says 'Suho'. 

Jessica grabs your hand and tells you to take a photo with her and at that moment, someone barges into the house, screaming from the corridor. 

"I got a date with Heejin!" Junmyeon screams, limbs flailing around. "And she asked me why I'm not blonde?!" 

*

"Where were you guys?" Luhan asks when you enter the loft. Kris and Baekhyun are sitting next to him on the couch. "We were waiting for you to watch a movie." 

"Should've done that without us," you say, smiling at him. 

"Yeah, we did," Baek scoffs. "We watched two. What took so long?" 

You glance at Kai, then at Suho, and smile with a shrug. 

"You could say we had an interesting afternoon."

Just wanted to point out that travelling through dimensions actually takes a lot of power. Dal wouldn't be able to travel using her magic alone, and blonde Jongin was able to travel through it thanks to his own family's stone that stores a lot of magic inside it. Lots of it, magic of many mages from his family. Father is obviously strong enough to send three people through the dimensions, though. 

But what are you trying to say, Ali????/

Love ya Toffifees.