The emotional turmoil had depressed everybody’s mood. They decided it was best to leave first thing in the morning, after they’ve got a chance to try to rest. Try being the keyword.

Even though the mood was somber, they had to prepare.

Kris, Xiumin and Jongdae where devising the route towards Incheon city, at the west side of the country. Since South Korea was a peninsula driving south wouldn’t help them at all, they’d stay stuck. Going east there’s the East Sea, driving west there’s the Yellow Sea and north -well north was just not an option. With or without a war, there’s no way they could just ride through the demilitarized zone and cross the border. Their best option was to head to Incheon, hop on an airplane or ship and leave towards China. But they didn’t dare take the same highway that passes by the collapsed dome –which in fact was a direct route to the metropolitan city. So they had to find the route that would go around Odaesan National Park, avoiding the dome.

D.O noticed that he was getting avoided by the members who were most affected by the news, but he wasn’t the only one receiving a form of silent treatment. Lay and Kai were also reproached from what they revealed to the group, though they weren’t as concerned about it as D.O was.

‘They just need time,’ Lay had told him with a soft smile. D.O understood that, but the waiting was unbearable.

Tao and Suho were diligently folding and packing their clothes. Kai and Luhan were sent to snatch some money –they’ll probably need some for gasoline since that’s something they can’t just take. Baekhyun and D.O were packing the food as Chanyeol, Lay and Sehun loaded their stuff into the two Hyundai minivans.

No one spoke.

D.O was absorbed in his own thoughts as he walked out of the kitchen. He didn’t notice Suho walking down the stairs until he was standing in front of the water bender. The burgundy haired boy was holding a duffel bag with the intention of storing it in one of the minivans. When their eyes met, Suho looked away. He didn’t seem angry or bothered at D.O –he just couldn’t look at him.

D.O averted his gaze towards the floor, feeling discomfort towards the other’s actions. Suho silently walked passed him towards the door, leaving D.O standing alone in the hall.

Kris called him over –that couldn’t be good. D.O didn’t protest as he walked up to the taller boy nor when he was lead to the room in the first floor for them to speak privately. D.O hadn’t been in this room before, it was just like the rooms upstairs with a closest and floor mats to sleep on. But this room was smaller, which made him wonder how Kris, Tao, Chanyeol and Lay managed to fit in it.

D.O stood awkwardly in the middle as Kris closed the door and leaned his back against it. He fitted his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared up at the ceiling.

“He’s not disappointed in you,” Kris’ deep voice broke the silence in the room.

“How can you know?”

“I’ve known Suho the longest. He’s not disappointed in you,” he simply explained. “He just needs time, everyone does.”

“That’s what Lay told me,” D.O said sadly as he looked to the floor.

“D.O, I’m glad that you had the initiative to tell us this,” Kris admitted, tilting his head to the side so he could look at him.

D.O wanted to scoff, but kept his face straight. “I thought you didn’t trust me.”

“Your eyes are pretty clear to me,” Kris said seriously, softening his observant gaze. “That’s why I want to ask, one last time, if there’s something else you haven’t told me.”

D.O didn’t think twice as the memory resurfaced. Future Kai’s hidden warning behind his request and their promise to secrecy. D.O quickly thought of Kai’s lips to disperse the memory away –good grief Luhan wasn’t in the house.

“There’s something else?” Kris asked expectantly as he pushed himself off from leaning on the door.

“Um, no,” D.O shook his head. “Well, yes, but it’s between me and Kai,” it wasn’t really a lie.

Kris’ eyebrow curved upwards as his eyes tried to decipher his meaning.

D.O kept his mind on the kiss –unwavering his thought or he could get caught. But that thought in particular made him feel embarrassed, he could feel the heat rise in his face.

Kris smirked. D.O shyly looked away.

“Alright,” the taller said, dropping the intimidating gaze. “You and Kai…” Kris’ tone began to grow deeper in meaning. “You, Kai and Lay did the right thing in telling us. And well,” Kris paused as he pondered on his words, “sometimes doing the right thing isn’t easy at all.”

D.O huffed as he settled himself to fall back into a serious tone. “That’s what Kai said. Honest people tell the truth no matter how much it hurts.” He grimaced, “I didn’t expect everyone to feel hurt. I kind of hoped it would only be me.”

“Unbelievable,” Kris scoffed and shook his head incredulously. “I don’t get how you do it, D.O.”

“Do what?” the smaller frowned puzzled.

“How you have the strength to burden yourself so much.” D.O’s frown only deepened as he stared utterly confused at what the other meant. “I mean,” he sighed as brushed his blond hair. “First you had to deal with Mama, being her puppet and tricking us into her game, while at the same time helping us get through it,” he explained while taking a step closer to face him. “Then we put you through a rough spot and interrogated you until the reality you knew collapsed. And even after all that emotional load, you had the drive to keep going and figure out a more hurtful truth.” He stopped himself from getting worked up and placed his hands on his hips. “I wish I had your strength,” he said with a softer tone.

That was it. That last statement took all the seriousness away and made D.O laugh out incredulously from the irony. He chuckled lowly as he looked up to the ceiling –catching a glance at Kris’ confusion before his eyes met the white expansion above them.

“What’s so funny?” Kris asked alarmed.

D.O pressed his lips as he breathed in to calm the nervous chuckling to a manageable one. “I couldn’t give it to you even if I wished to,” he said with dying amusement as he looked back at the taller boy.

“What do you mean?” Kris’ angled brows turned inwardly, frown mixed with confusion and concern.

“I lost it Kris.”

“Lost what?” he asked, eyes trying to catch the other’s meaning. “Your sanity?”

“I wish it were just that,” D.O managed to crack a sardonic smile to mask the whirlwind of emotions stirring in his chest again. He knew his eyes were betraying him as he could feel them glistening with moisture. It took a lot of courage to voice it out, “I lost my strength Kris.”

The taller boy’s eyes widened in realization. He didn’t expect Kris to react the way he did, but he let it happen anyway. The taller boy grabbed his shoulders and pushed him, as if he was testing to see it was true. D.O did nothing to avoid stumbling three steps back. Kris frowned, that wasn’t what he wanted. This time when he pushed D.O, the smaller boy offered resistance and held tightly onto Kris’ arms to keep himself from falling down. Testing him further, Kris held onto D.O’s wrist forcefully. He tried to free his hand from the vice grip, but it was fruitless. He couldn’t summon the strength he was used to, and every fail attempt just tormented him further into the horrific truth that he had lost his ability.

Damn he hated feeling so weak.

Kris’ loosened his hold and carefully held onto the smaller boy’s shoulders, keeping him in place to look at his face, merely a step away left between them.

“Does Lay know about this?” Kris asked softly.

He simply replied by shaking his head.

Kris squeezed his shoulders gently before leaving the room. He came back with Lay by his side. Kris quickly explained the problem to the healer. Strangely, Lay didn’t look surprised. In fact his passive expression didn’t faze at all. D.O let Lay feel up his arm without protest. He let the healer turn him around and pull down his hood. He felt Lay’s fingers massage the back of his head with such expertise that he let himself relax and close his eyes, enjoying the soothing movements.

“Might as well cover this up,” he heard Lay say as he felt his finger delicately rub against his shaven hairline. D.O knew he was covering the code inked into his skin.

“Is he fixed?” Kris asked worriedly.

Fixed wasn’t the best way to phrase it.

Lay paused –he did not answer immediately. He did not answer at all and that worried D.O. Something settled in his gut, that same damn feeling he had after waking up. He knew he wasn't ‘fixed’.

Lay’s arms s around his shoulder as he brought D.O’s back to rest against his chest, making D.O feel secure in his hold. Lay leaned his head against the shorter boy’s shoulder and breathed slowly. D.O fell into a hypnotic state, his breathing matching Lay’s slow rhythm and in seconds he felt completely relaxed. The tension in his gut smoothened and the fear dissipated. D.O felt as if he was calmly floating on a cloud. He slowly moved to look at the healer’s eyes –void of any sorrowful emotions, all that he could see in Lay was an innocent glimmer inside an apologetic gaze. He couldn’t feel mad at Lay for not being able to rekindle his strength. Somehow he knew, from gazing into Lay’s eyes, that the solution was out of Lay’s abilities.

“Sorry,” Lay whispered.

“It’s okay.”

 

Late at night, D.O couldn’t sleep. He sat with his back against the wall, blanket covering his bent legs as he rested his head on the top of his knees. Jongdae was sleeping at the opposite side, facing the wall since Xiumin kind of pushed him away. The latter was being used as a human pillow by Kai, as he slept peacefully right next to him. Even in the dark, they looked adorable huddled up that way, it made D.O wonder if they had slept that way before. Holding onto each other during the night, finding comfort in their dreams. D.O waited –he waited for Kai to loosen his hold on Xiumin so he could turn him around and hug him instead.

If he had his strength, he wouldn’t need to wait.

D.O remembered his conversation with Kris, but forced himself to think of something else.  He tapped the floor twice before flattening his hand against it. He could feel them –he could feel them all. Closing his eyes to concentrate, D.O perceived the small movements of their bodies as they breathed with ease. He focused his senses on the telekinetic in the other room. He could tell his body was pressed against Sehun’s long and skinny frame. Their breathing was synchronized. They’re definitely asleep. This was his chance.

D.O opened his eyes and struggled to glimpse in the darkened room. Kai’s frame was still snuggled comfortably against Xiumin. He didn’t have time to wait.

D.O kicked the small of his back as careful as possible, fearing to hurt him. Oh… right. D.O tried harder to shake the other awake, remembering that no matter how strong he hit, he wouldn’t break the other’s bones.

Kai stirred and turned to face him. Sleep still hogging his eyes. “What?” he asked tiredly.

“We need to talk,” D.O whispered.

Kai turned around and D.O kicked him a little harder than before. Kai looked back displeased.

“It’s very, very important. And you have to keep it between us, okay?”

Kai grunted as he forced himself to sit up. D.O helped him sit beside him, leaning against the wall. Even in the shadows D.O could tell Kai had his eyes closed.

“What is it?” Kai asked tiredly, his voice thicker than usually.

“Kai, when you teleport, how do you know where you’re going?”

Kai sighed, “Can’t we talk in the morning?”

“No,” D.O nudged his side to try to wake him up. “The others might hear us in the morning, and I definitely don’t want Luhan to meddle with us,” he insisted. “Kai I must teach you something. You asked me to do this.”

“I did?” he said confused as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Well, your future-self did,” D.O said.

“Oh,” Kai tried to look at him in the dark, with only one eye fully opened. “What did I –he ask?”

“Well, um.” D.O faltered, unsure of how to explain. “What do you see when you teleport?”

“I asked myself that?”

“No,” D.O smacked his own forehead. “I’m asking you this. What do you see when you teleport? How do you avoid appearing in something solid?”

“Oh,” he yawned. “It’s complicated.”

“I know you’re tired, but try to explain,” D.O rubbed Kai’s arm, trying to stop him from sleeping.

“I warp through dimensions. It’s…” Kai rested his head against D.O’s shoulder. “It’s not that I see. I mean, I see, but I don’t feel like I’m seeing. You understand?” he described sluggishly.

“Not sure if I understand what you’re saying,” D.O admitted.

“It’s not that I see everything. I read it,” Kai sat up straight, leaning his head on the wall. “Projections of space-time fabric. Multidimensional space-time matrixes. Projections,” he mumbled.

“So could you appear in someplace new? Someplace you’ve never seen before?” D.O nudged him awake again.

“No,” Kai forcefully opened his eyes. “I don’t think so. I need to know where I’m going to find it. There’s too many… events.”

D.O sighed. Sleepy Kai was hard to understand.

“When I perceive vibrations, I can visualize my surroundings like a map,” D.O explained. “Even if I’m in some place I’ve never been before, I can use my senses to understand my surroundings and everything and everyone on it. I project and I perceive. I don’t see it, I read it as well. I get a feeling of what’s around me and mentally map out what’s out there. Does it make sense?”

Kai was looking lazily at him with his head, and half of his upper body, leaning on the wall in an attempt to stay up. He nodded sluggishly in response.

“Could you do the same?”

“What do you mean?” Kai asked, sounding a little more awake.

“When you’re traveling through dimensions, could you project towards the unknown?” D.O asked hopefully. “Could you, somehow, find out what’s out there and make a map? So you could teleport to places without prior knowledge?”

Kai frowned a little. “I have done that… Sort of,” he sounded groggy.

“Really?”

“Well,” Kai sounded more tired than before, “I knew where I needed to go, but I didn’t see it before.”

“It’s not the same,” D.O said disheartened.

“I said ‘sort of’ for a reason,” Kai deadpanned as he rested his head onto D.O’s shoulder again.

“If you…” D.O felt Kai nuzzle his face against the crook of his neck. “If you map out your surroundings, then you could find things, right?” he tried to keep serious as he felt Kai’s breath fanning against his neck.

“Mhmm,” he hummed. “What do you want me to find?” he slurred as he started to fall asleep again.

D.O sighed, giving up on keeping the other awake. He accommodated his arm so he could hold Kai closer, letting the sleeping boy rest his head against his chest. He shared his blanket to keep him warm.

D.O caressed Kai’s soft hair. “Me,” he whispered.

 

Maybe half an hour had passed, but D.O hadn’t been able to sleep. He kept himself busy by playing with Kai’s hair and observing as the other deeply slept. But movement on the first floor caught his attention. Two members had woken up and by the feeling of their steps he knew who they were. D.O carefully laid Kai on his mat, making sure he was comfortable before leaving the room.  

When he reached the kitchen Chanyeol was sitting at the table heating up a mug of water to brew some infusion tea. He rested his head against his hand as his eyes were slightly opened –barely keeping himself awake. D.O quietly made his way to sit on the opposite side of the table.

“Chanyeol,” he called out cautiously.

The fire boy frowned as he looked up surprised. He blinked a couple of times to make sure that D.O was really there. Chanyeol let his hand fall as he sat up straight to look at him. Neither spoke for a moment. D.O recalled the taller boy’s words from before and all he wanted to do now was to muster the courage to apologize.

“I,” D.O his lips nervously. “I didn’t want it to happen that way,” he admitted apologetically. “I didn’t mean for everyone to feel-”

Chanyeol cut him off by abruptly raising his hand. He sighed tiredly and then shook his head. D.O frowned, not quite understanding what the other meant. Chanyeol wordlessly pushed the tea filled mug towards D.O, offering it to him. The smaller boy looked up at him curiously, silently asking for permission to accept the mug. Chanyeol gave a small smile as he gestured for him to take it. D.O nodded and accepted the peace offering –he felt warmer inside before even drinking the hot beverage.

Chanyeol lazily got up to prepare another mug, popping a tea mix inside after heating the water. He set the mug down and walked away from the kitchen. He stopped at the entrance and turned around.

“It’s…” his voice was awfully hoarse. “It’s not that you ed up,” he smiled sadly as he looked down to the floor, “Our lives are ed up. You just kept reminding us that.”

It wasn’t a direct apology, but D.O felt better nonetheless.

After Chanyeol went back to his much needed sleep, Tao walked into the kitchen. He looked completely awake, contrasting greatly with Chanyeol’s appearance. He acknowledge D.O’s presence and went to sit in front of him, where the abandoned mug was.

“Can’t sleep?” Tao asked amused.

D.O shook his head as he warmed his hands while holding his mug.

“That will help you,” he said as he pointed to the hot drink.

“Did you wake up Chanyeol just for this?”

“Yeah. Why do you think he has been in charge of cooking all this time?” D.O shrugged his shoulders in response. “The damn stove doesn’t work,” Tao jabbed his thumb towards said object.

“Oh.”

They fell into an easy silence and enjoyed their drinks, until Tao decided to speak.

“I’ve seen that conversation many times in my dreams,” he said serious as he motioned towards the living room, “but I never get to hear it all.” D.O caught on that he meant the conversation about the clones. “I would spend hours trying to figure out what would happen, but I couldn’t ever imagine this. Or at least that’s what I thought.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Tao looked uncomfortable, but spoke anyway. “One of my earliest visions isn’t one about the future, but one about my past,” he said somberly as his thumb swiped against the brim of the mug, “I see myself in the first trials, just sitting there in a test lab, meditating as they monitor me. I know what I try to do,” he looked at D.O, “I try to travel through time. But I die.”

D.O stared surprised. He couldn’t look away from Tao’s prominent eyes –the natural darkness of his skin made his gaze look more intense. But behind the seemingly hard gaze, he could see the little fears, the insecurities that kept Tao up at night.

“You don’t look dead,” D.O lamely said.

Tao took a nervous sip before bracing himself to speak again. “He died. The first Tao,” he corrected.

“How come you know he’s the first?” D.O asked.

“Because he’s the only one I’ve seen,” he replied. “And the dude still talks to me.”

“What?”

Tao sighed. “I know it sounds strange, but the first Tao’s consciousness never returned to his body, but somehow he’s stuck in mine.” He chuckled, “I call him Spirit Tao, because he feels like a ghost, who only appears in my dreams to help guide me.”

D.O smiled. This was the first time Tao had opened up to him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Knowing that we’re clones is the worst ing thing I can think of right now,” Tao said straightforwardly, “And I’ve seen a lot of horrible things, more than anyone of us.” He clenched his jaw as his eyes began to glisten. D.O felt surprised to see Tao show this side of him. “I’ve had to live with memories of deaths that never happened because I changed it. That’s the burden I live with; memories of pasts that were changed,” Tao wiped away a single tear as he kept his composure to speak.

“Tao,” D.O said softly as he reached forward to hold his hand.

“You have no ing idea all the I have in my head,” Tao said with bravado, despite the tears falling down. “But I have Spirit Tao to keep me on the verge of sanity.”

D.O felt a pang in the gut as he heard Tao’s declaration. He bit his lip as he realized something –everything he went through, every struggle, every burden and every pain, couldn’t possibly compare to what Tao has had to endure. His heart felt heavy again as he helplessly watched Tao fight his tears away.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized.

Tao shook his head. “I’m not angry that you figured it out,” he sniffed, “I’m content.”

“What?”

Tao took a minute to compose himself. “I realized something important,” he said with a steady voice. “My first clone and I aren’t exactly the same.” Tao shook his head, “Physically, yes. But his personality,” Tao tilted his head as he moisturized his lip, “he’s not the same as me. He exists inside of my head, but he doesn’t feel the emotions I do. He doesn’t experience life the way I do. It’s like… like, we’ve grown different.” Tao paused and took a moment to drink his tea. “What I’m trying to say is that, even though we’ve been cloned,” he said the last word with distaste. “Even though they’ve taken away our sense of individuality, we are never the same as our clones,” he said serious. “We are still individuals.”

D.O understood what his statement implied. Being different to a clone, even in the slightest way, was a comforting thought. It reaffirmed who they were as individuals, permitting them to believe in their uniqueness despite being a clone. It was what Kai had thought out before; as long as they weren’t replaced after meeting the group then it was as if they were always themselves and never changed. But remembering that brought up an uneasy thought.

“But,” D.O frowned, “But what about Kai?”

Tao looked apologetic this time. “I met Kai after he… after it happened. The guys always talked about him, but the Kai I met wasn’t the same they spoke of,” Tao explained slowly. “I imagined him to be fearless, reckless and sassy,” he smiled at the memory. “But the Kai I met was shy and caring. It took time for his personality to resettle, or whatever –I’m not sure how to say it. When,” he paused, “when we were in a trial, that’s when the Kai they spoke of resurfaced,” he smiled. “Kai’s personality changed a bit, but he kept living in continuation. So it’s like he restarted at a checkpoint, and kept living from then on,” he explained better.

D.O nodded languidly –he began to feel the effects of the soporific brew. “I didn’t know you were so wise,” he complimented.

“I’m not,” Tao bluntly said. “But Xiumin is. And we had a lot of time to talk. A lot of time,” he remarked.

D.O chuckled tiredly as he spotted the double meaning behind his phrasing.

Tao ruffled his hair as a yawn escaped his lips. “Being cloned , but it’s how we’ve lived long enough to stay together.”

D.O felt like cold ice settled in his gut.

“Tao,” he said as calm as possible to not show his worry. “How? How far can you see into the future?”

Tao looked surprised at the sudden question. “I don’t know,” he said resting his chin against his hand. “My visions don’t come with a time line. It’s just loose images floating around, like memories. Sometimes they happen different from what I’ve seen, or they don’t happen at all,” he shrugged sluggishly.

“Have you…” D.O bit his lip as he briefly lowered his gaze. “Have you ever seen yourself alone?”

Tao remained silent as he stared at him with an unreadable expression. His gaze looked suspicious as his eyelids lowered from drowsiness. D.O could feel his body begging for sleep as a horrific yawn caught him by surprise.

“Have you?” D.O asked again as he rested his head over his crossed arms against the table.

He didn’t want to sleep, but his eyes closed by their own accord.

“Yes,” he faintly heard.

 

“D.O. D.O, are you alright?”

Said boy opened his eyes to greet a concerned looking Suho.

“Did you fall asleep here?” he asked.

“Here?” he asked with a hoarse voice as he looked around to figure where ‘here’ was. It was morning, the sunlight barged into the kitchen through the window. Tao was still sleeping at the table, where he recognized was the ‘here’. “Yeah,” he groaned, stretching his tired neck.

“Comfortable?” Suho asked amused. D.O shot him an annoyed look, to which Suho replied by surrendering his hands up.

“The tea really kicked in,” D.O said as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Why didn’t you wake Tao?” he complained.

“I know better than trying to wake him up,” Suho said as he took a seat next to him. Water from the sink started to pour and levitate in the air. The stream wrapped around a glass and hovered the cup in a sphere of water towards the table. The water moved to settle inside the glass as Suho held the cup to drink from it. “Want some?” he offered.

D.O chuckled, “Sure, why not.”

Water from the faucet made its way inside D.O’s empty mug.

“There,” Suho said pleased.

“Thanks,” D.O smiled. He wasn’t just happy because of the gesture. He was glad that Suho had gotten –somewhat- over his shock from yesterday and was acting more like his old-self.

Suho used his water manipulation to clean up an apple and levitate it towards his hand –never once leaving his seat.

“Are you okay?” D.O asked cautiously.

Suho looked at him with a mouthful of apple. His gaze faltered as he munched away. “I’ll be fine,” he honestly answered with a soft smile. “You?”

D.O looked at Tao’s sleeping figure, their conversation briefly replayed through his mind. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

Suho nodded but his concern didn’t leave. “What about your strength?”

D.O’s confidence slumped. “Lay can’t bring it back,” he informed.

Suho patted his shoulder caringly. He was about to say something, but stopped himself.

“What?” D.O wondered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Suho smiled reassuringly. “We have your back.”

“Thanks,” D.O nodded.

Suho nodded as well, as if they were silently agreeing to take care of each other.

“You should use the shower before the others wake up,” he suggested.

D.O nearly jumped out of his seat. He would have more time to shower if he went in first.

 

Everything happened in a hurry and now they were back on the highway, the group separated in two cars driven by Jongdae and Xiumin.

D.O sat in the back of the silver minivan with Kai. In the middle row sat Lay and Tao, Jongdae was driving while Kris sat as his copilot.

“Incheon should be around four hours and a half,” Kris said as he looked at the map.

“I didn’t know Chen could drive so well,” D.O commented.

“He did drive the RV,” Kai remembered.

“Why do you call him Chen?” Tao asked.

“Because that’s my name,” Jongdae muttered annoyed.

“Because, umm,” D.O felt embarrassed. He really didn’t want to say why.

“Is it because of his code?” Lay bluntly asked.

“Yeah,” D.O admitted. “It’s supposed to be our names. Chen has Chen, not Jongdae.”

“Oh,” Tao frowned. “But we call him Jongdae.”

“You’re the reason behind that,” Jongdae argued, but kept his gaze on the street.

“When we met him, he did introduce himself as Chen,” Kai brought up.

“Because we end up calling him Jongdae at some point, so I figured, why not now,” Tao shrugged.

“Chen is rather short,” Kris commented.

“Hey. I’m not short, you’re just a freakin’ tower,” Jongdae bickered.

“I didn’t mean height. I meant name length,” Kris shook his head exasperatedly.

“Lay is short,” D.O commented.

“But it suits him,” Kai said, earning an approving smile from said boy.

“Are you kidding me?” Tao kicked the back of Kris’ seat.

“What?”

“Kris is freaking short as well,” Tao pointed out.

“Right,” Jongdae agreed.

“But Chen is shorter,” Kris countered.

“How the heck is Chen shorter than Kris?” Jongdae asked annoyed.

“It’s quite obvious if you stand up,” Lay said, making the others laugh.

“It’s not about height,” Jongdae mumbled.

“When you say Kris, the s elongates the word. Kris, Kris-s. See? It’s longer,” Kris explained. “Even Lay is longer, it’s Leh-ee.”

“Leh-ee. Leh-ee,” Lay repeated. “Lay.”

“Okay, we get your point,” Jongdae said.

“Chen is just Chen. It cuts off shortly,” Kris continued.  “Jongdae remember to turn right at the intersection. We’ve got to take highway 50.”

“Okay,” Jongdae said. “Is it bad that Chen is short?”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re short, D.O’s shorter,” Tao joked.

“Hey,” D.O said annoyed.

“So, according to you guys, what’s my name?” Jongdae asked.

“Jongdae.”

“Chen.”

“Great,” Jongdae said sarcastically.

“Take the right,” Kris ordered.

“Are they still behind us?” Jongdae asked.

Kai turned around in his seat to spot the twin car. “Yeah, they’re right behind us.”

“They’re so slow,” Jongdae commented.

“That’s because Xiumin drives like snail,” Kai said, earning a frown from D.O. “What? That’s what Luhan said.”

“He’s in your head?” the smaller asked.

“Not right now, but he’s keeping us communicated with the rest,” Kai said.

“Then next time tell him to ask the others what my name really is,” Jongdae requested.

“It’s Jongdae,” Tao snickered.

“Chen Chen,” Kris suddenly said.

“What? Chen Chen? Are you serious?” Jongdae briefly glanced at him with a baffled look.

“Chen is too short. So Chen Chen,” Kris reasoned.

“Chen Chen sounds like a nickname,” Jongdae opined.

“Then it’s settled. Your name’s Jongdae and your nickname is Chen-Chen,” Tao declared.

“But my name is Chen,” Jongdae whined.

“Stop fighting against it, your name is already Jongdae,” Kai smirked.

“You guys are the worst,” Jongdae complained.

“Why?” Lay asked with an innocent pout.

“Don’t pull that face. I’m not falling for fake innocence,” Jongdae argued as he looked at the healer through the revere mirror.

“Chen Chen keep your eyes on the road,” Kris warned.

“It’s Chen,” Jongdae mumbled as he complied.

“Chen Chen,” Tao laughed but then he stopped abruptly –too abrupt.

Tao’s body slumped forward as if he fainted, but then he snapped back up and looked around disoriented. D.O’s gut stirred as he figured the other had reversed time –and that couldn’t  mean anything good.

“What happened?” Kai asked frightened.

“Stop the car,” Tao bluntly ordered.

“What?”

“Stop the car,” he urged.

“It’s the highway, I can’t turn around. I can’t stop,” Jongdae said alarmed.

“Stop the ing car!”

“!” Jongdae cursed as he stepped on the brake.

D.O felt as the seatbelt forcefully constrained his body, the fabric scraped against his skin as the wheels screeched against the pavement. Before the car fully stopped a harsh bang was heard as the car behind them crash against their rear. D.O screamed as the force was hard enough to make his body coil in pain. Their car turned and then two other cars collided on the side. Each hit made their bodies shake harshly against their seats. Their screaming ceased as the car stopped moving, they were trapped between the cars and the divisional railing.

“What the hell, Tao?” Kris screamed.

“Sorry, I panicked,” Tao admitted with a grunt as he took his seatbelt off.

“What the is happening?” Kai asked, he looked pained as well.

“We have to get out,” Tao said as he tried to open his door, but it wouldn’t budge. “,” Tao yelled frustrated as he kicked the door.

“Turn back time,” Kris ordered.

“No. We ha-”

A loud crack was heard and then metal grazing against metal as the roof of the car was peeled off.

‘Take your seat belts off,’ they heard Luhan say.

Kai phased with D.O out of the car. Kris flew out while Luhan helped the others get out.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Suho asked worried as the stood in front of the wreckage. The others had managed to avoid the collision and park further in front.

D.O noticed other cars had stopped to help out the other drivers that had crashed.

“What the hell are you?” a man asked as he got out of his car. He looked at them terrified.

He wasn’t the only one. One of the horrified citizens had stepped out of his car with a crowbar.

“We’re nobody, off,” Luhan said heatedly.

“Are you crazy?” Kris said alarmed as he held onto Luhan’s shoulder.

“He thinks I’m a freaking monster,” Luhan accused, pointing at the guy. The man look even more horrified as Luhan read his thoughts.

“Tao why the hell did you make us stop?” Suho asked.

“To avoid too much…” he looked around at the four crashed car, “damage.”

“More than that?” Jongdae asked pointing at the wrecked cars.

“Much more,” Tao said. “It’s better to avoid a fight.”

“She’s stuck,” they heard someone say.

The car that was trapped between the minivan and the third car had no exit for its driver. A woman of middle age was unconscious behind the steering wheel. There were two guys trying to break through the back window to get her out.

“Kai just do it,” Suho said.

“We shouldn’t,” Kris argued.

"They already saw us,” Suho countered. “Go,” he said with authority as the other members got out of the second minivan to join them.

Kai walked up to the car, as normal looking as possible. He looked back at the group before making his body intangible. Gasps were heard from the crowd that formed, the whole transit had stopped since the multiple collision hindered the lanes of the highway. Kai touched the lady and phased her out, pulling her to lay on the concrete. Once they became tangible again there was a commotion from the crowd.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t touch her,” someone yelled.

Kai raised his hands as he stepped back, letting two guys check on her. Lay made his way to her as well and kneeled down to help.

“Hey back off,” one of them said.

“I won’t hurt her,” Lay smiled.

“Get away.”

Lay frowned.

“, they made Lay frown,” Chanyeol gasped.

Lay raised his forefinger and attempted to touch the woman’s forehead, but the man shoved him away.

“Don’t push him!” Kris yelled.

Lay quickly held onto the man’s extended arm and paralyzed his limb.

“Ah! What did you do to me?” he screamed in terror as he stumbled away.

“Don’t you see he’s trying to help?” Suho said.

“This is helping?” The man questioned as he pointed at his immobile arm.

“Ugh, them,” Luhan said and used his telekinesis to shove the men away. “Go ahead Lay.”

Lay nodded and placed his hand on the woman’s forehead. The lady woke up and sat up.

“What happened?” she asked confused.

“You were in a car crash,” Lay smiled.

“What?” the woman’s eyes widened in shock.

“Sorry, it was our fault. But you’re alright. No broken bones,” Lay reassured with his dimpled smile.

"Let me help you,” the second man said as he helped her stand up.

“How the did you do that?” the man with the paralyzed arm said as he got back to his feet. “What kind of freak are you?”

Lay frowned again. “I don’t like you.”

Jongdae quickly ran to stand behind him. “Let’s go,” he said as he helped Lay stand up. “No need to start a fight,” he said as he escorted Lay away.

“Yeah, get lost,” the man said.

“Can I shove him one last time?” Luhan asked as he balled his fists.

“No,” Xiumin said.

“Tao, can you please explain what we have to do?” Suho asked again.

“We have to surrender to them,” Tao said looking at the floor. “We were going to fight and cause a disaster and…” he shook his head. He said enough.

“Surrender to whom?” Baekhyun asked.

“Them,” Tao said pointing towards the sky.

“I can’t see anyone,” Sehun frowned.

“Me neither,” Kris said.

“Well if Kris can’t, then why bother,” Kai shrugged.

“Tao?” D.O asked.

“Yeah?”

"They're not just in the sky, right?”

“Yeah,” the taller boy replied.

“Who are you talking about?” Sehun asked worried.

“I don’t know their names, but they will help us,” Tao said.

Then they heard it, a loud chopping of the wind in the distance. A black helicopter flew towards them, high in the sky.

“Finally the police are here,” they heard the man with the crowbar say.

“Shut up,” Sehun said annoyed this time.

“Tao are you sure about this?” Suho asked worriedly as big black cars were approaching them, driving in the opposite direction of the highway.

“You guys are going to have to trust me with this,” Tao said loudly over the buzzing of the chopper.

They heard a blunt shot and something fell next to them. Gas began to escape from the can. The crowd dispersed as they screamed in terror, fearing for their own lives. Sehun didn’t think twice as he blew the smoke away towards the forest.

The big jeep crossover cars parked near them, in a perimeter. Men in black jumpsuits and shields jumped out of the cars completely armed.

“Tao?” Kris asked worried.

“Just raise your hands,” Tao yelled as the helicopter flew in circles above them.

The men surrounded them in a perimeter, but they didn’t point any weapons towards them. A man without a helmet stepped out of a passenger seat and made a hand signal towards the air. The helicopter flew away, but D.O’s ears still heard an incessant ringing.

The man walked up to them as he pushed his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose. He placed his hands on his hips as he looked at them from a safe distance.

“Well this was uneventful,” he sounded disappointed.

“We were expecting you,” Tao bravely said.

The man nodded. “Very well. This way then,” he said as he motioned towards the cars.

“Tao, what is this?” Kris asked worried as he grabbed Tao’s arm to keep him from following the man.

“Trust me,” Tao said as he pulled Kris along.

D.O was nervous. He surely didn’t want to fall into another trap with ‘friendly soldiers’.

He felt a warm hold on his hand. He looked up at Kai as he led the way towards the cars.

“We’ll be fine,” Kai said. “Trust in Tao.”

“Okay,” D.O agreed, but that didn’t alleviate his anxiousness.

“If anything goes wrong, we can just leave,” Kai sounded confident.

D.O was grateful to lean on Kai’s courage, because right now he had no idea what to expect. He felt as if he was hanging from a cliff, waiting without sight of what’s to come.

 

 

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A/N:9. Yay! Cliffhanger! Even D.O’s left hanging… I’m so lame.

This chapter was more of a closure for the past topics. Kind of slow, kind of boring and not as long -but as Tao said it’s best to avoid the fight, so it didn't end with a bang.

For those who want to know the rest of the codes, I might reveal them further on or in a separate format, like a trivia blog or something. However, you can figure out the ending code number from them all on your own. All the numbers are out, meaning that they are can be any number from 1 to 6, excluding 3. The numbers have a connection with the members, something you can find in OT12 facts. So if you want you can try to figure it out and then compare to what I’ll reveal later. (Extra hint: think pre-debut).

Now welcome and thanks to all this lot, firmanhaziq, ot12forlife, xoxo_exo27, Dead_Frog, MRSG-RIN87, kyungsoobigfan, Lily-Lexia, seokartic, Conxus, hikariyamada, SleepingBalrog, Xanthophyll, Xbrave_heartXSNOW and I3ubbleI3unny for subscribing to my story.

Have a great weekend guys. Annyeong!

-Blackie.