“So you’re saying I – I died.” Jongdae was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor in complete shock. “But – but how? How is that even possible?”

“We aren’t sure,” Jiyoung admitted. Frowning at her response, he tossed her rock in the air. “But you seemed to be possessed by your aura.”

He froze, almost missing the stone as it fell back in his hand. “You mean that – that thing possessed my body?” For a second, he swore everything froze. He could remember nothing of what happened and felt goosebumps on his arms over the newfound information. What really made him shudder with anxiety, though, was the fact that his aura was an insane manifestation of his negativity that not only has no sense of morality but hates absolutely everyone he knows. “What’d it do? No one was hurt, right?”

“Actually, quite the opposite,” Kris commented from where he was sitting on the couch, petting Ace. “If I’m being frank, your aura is the whole reason we’re still alive and have the new guardian.”

Luhan nodded, smirking at Jongdae’s shocked expression. “Ya much cooler to be ‘round when ya evil, that’s for sure.” He laughed at the glare he received, but quickly recoiled when an elbow rammed into his rib. Rubbing his side, he turned to see a glare from the youngest in the room.

“It ain’t funny,” Jongin scolded him as he crossed his arms. With a forlorn sigh, he leaned his elbows on his knees, not hiding the stressed frown on his face. “We thought you was dead, Jongdae.” He sniffled, his swollen, red eyes gazing at the floor. His voice fell into a whisper. “It was scary,” he finished shakily and gulped hard. He didn’t want to break down, but he did, and to hide the shame he felt for not staying strong, he buried his face into his hands, trying to conceal his sobs.

Jongdae stepped off of the bed and quietly went over to the other’s side, wrapping his arms around his trembling form. Despite wanting to assure him that everything was going to be okay and that he wasn’t going anywhere, he kept quiet, for he didn’t know what the future held. His thoughts wandered on to the upcoming war - the war that had already began the moment his house was blown to pieces. The possibility that he might die and stay dead was high, and when he took in account all of the odds that were stacked against him, he opted to stay silent, because he couldn’t bring himself to lie to the younger in his fragile state. So he held on tighter, hoping it would be enough.

But it would never be enough, not as long as the Council and Red Force were still alive and continuing to ruin innocent lives like his mother’s or Jongin’s.

When Jongin finally calmed down, he accepted the cup of tea Kris had gone and made him, taking a tentative sip. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, staring at the liquid with intensity, like he was trying to find his reflection in the darkened water. “I didn’t mean to cry.”

A shimmer of light surrounded him, then his tears were dried. His face brightened a bit. “It’s alright to break down every once in a while,” Jiyoung said. “What happened… It’s not going to happen again. I swear that as long as I’m here watching over you guys, no one else is going to die. I plan on keeping my word, too. Don’t worry.”

Kris gave her a sad smile, before he voiced Jongdae’s thoughts. “But can you really promise something like that? Death...” His finger Ace’s head. “Death is inevitable. And in a war against such dangerous opponents, there are definitely going to be casualties, and lots of them. Especially seeing as how we’re going to be the primary soldiers in battle and the key to taking these guys down… Is it really possible to say you wield the power to stop death?”

Jongdae could almost feel the glare she was giving. “I didn’t get my into this mess just to see my soldiers die before they actually accomplish what the they were destined to do. You guys are important, and I’ll be damned if I’m just going to let you get killed on my watch. So yes, as your leader and mentor, I promise.”

Coming to Jongin’s other side, Luhan wordlessly handed the other a black pencil, to which he gave him a bemused glance. Luhan sighed. “Ya be right. It ain’t funny to kid ‘bout what happened. I’m sorry.” He and Jongdae gave each other nods of acknowledgement. “Glad ya back on ya feet, Dae.” A grin slowly spread across Jongin’s face, and he grabbed the pencil, observing it excitedly.

Luhan stood up, slapping his knees and gave them a smirk. “Well, I’m takin’ a shower.” Then, he disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

“Ya see, he ain’t so bad.” Jongin looked at his friend with a smile that successfully lightened up the gloomy atmosphere.

Jongdae scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“You’re such a child.” Jiyoung snorted.  

For a while, a comfortable silence filled the room, the only thing heard being the water from the shower hitting the floor.

That is, until the nameless guardian, who was currently tied to a chair, groggily woke up. When he realized his position, he let out a growl-slash-screech and began thrashing around in his restraints.

They all jumped with a start, Jongdae’s hand flying to his chest.

“Oh my Lord, I totally forgot about you!” Jiyoung shouted, panting. “You scared the crap out of me, man.”

The man snarled in reply, saliva frothing and flying from his mouth. Jongdae’s nose scrunched up in distaste at the sight, and he turned to see Kris was full on cringing and backing away, gripping tightly to Ace.

Jiyoung tried to calm him down. “You’re okay, you’re okay, we aren’t going to hurt you, we just need to ta-“

“Let me out!” he screamed, trying to move his legs, but those were also tied up.

The cup in Jongin’s hands began to tremble as the tea inside slowly began to rise.

“Oh no you don’t!” The cup went still, and the ropes around the guardian turned a bluish hue. Jiyoung made a hum of approval. “Good to know I’ve still got some juice left in me,” she muttered. “Until you stop fighting, those ropes are staying on. I suggest you let us talk before- oh c’mon, now we have to pay for that!”

One of the legs was ripped out of place, resulting in the chair along with the guardian’s body to teeter over and onto the floor. Despite being in a vulnerable position, however, he continued to put up a fight.

The bathroom door opened and let out a wave of steamy air. “I leave for a secon' and ya'll start the party without me.” Luhan tutted and continued to dry his hair with his towel.

Jongdae rolled his eyes, seeing the male’s attire, or lack of. “Do us a favor and put some proper clothes on.”

Luhan looked down at the single towel, which was wrapped around his waist and ended mid-thigh, and smacked his lips. “Nah, I’m good.” The fridge opened and a beer flew to his hand. After a giant gulp, he let out a content sigh, pointing at Jongdae with an exaggerated smolder. “Plus I know ya secretly like me all like this. We know ya be havin’ wet dreams about me. The cat is outta the bag. ”

Jongdae spluttered, his face going red. “You’re insane.”

“Can’t hide nothin’ from me, kid. But I don’t blame ya, I wouldn’t be able to resist this sweet either.”

“As much as I love where this conversation is going, this is really not the time,” Jiyoung interjected before they could continue. “Now, a little help here.”

With a flick of his fingers, Luhan brought the chair into a standing position.

“Now, what’s your name?” Jiyoung’s voice was a few octaves higher than usual and she’d spoken in an overly sweet tone, which made Jongdae almost snort.

Of course, instead of some cooperation, they received growls and snarls. Jongdae saw it coming, but still, he wanted to get this over and done with so he could get on with his day. But how exactly does one explain to the person they practically kidnapped that they’re the good guys in a war that could quite possibly change the world forever?

This was giving him a migraine.

When the guardian thrashed more, Jiyoung tried again. “Please, we can explain everything if you’d just liste- really?” The other leg had been ripped out, and if not for Luhan, who lifted the chair in the air, the guardian would be on two legs with the intent of taking them out. Kris flinched at the sight, letting out a strangled yelp, which caused Luhan – the man who could almost never be serious – to snort.

Jiyoung groaned. “God forgive me. Patience was never one of my strong suits.”

This made Jongdae snicker. “Just realizing this?”

“Oh shut up.”

“Nuh-uh.”

Standing up, Jongin took it upon himself to try and console their “prisoner”. With a sincere smile, he slowly stepped over and patted the boy’s knee. The limb attempted to fly forward in response but was stopped and made the male in the chair yell again. But even then, the youngest didn’t falter. Instead, he crouched down, staring up at the other, and gave him an unwavering stare.

“I know you’re real confused right now,” he started slowly, gauging the stranger’s reaction, which was of course more growls. “And I know you be real angry, too, but we got a good reason for taking you here. Please, listen, and if you don’t be liking what you hear, then we’ll take you back to your family. We ain’t trying to hurt you or anyone. We’re just tryin’ to do the right thing, and we won’t force you to do nothing you don’t wanna do. But at least listen to what we gotta say first. Please.”

Something he’d said made the male calm down. Or perhaps it was the other’s sincerity that sparked a shred of interest. His glare was constant, but he’d quit fighting against the ropes. Luhan didn’t take off his hold though, just to ensure Jongin’s safety.

When the room went silent, Jiyoung started again. “Thank you,” she said. “Now, my name is Jiyoung, and I am a sorceress from over a century ago. You see, the world was once called Exoplanet and magic flourished there before it was taken over by a group called the Red Force and became the world you know today. The head sorcerer had a vision of twelve men called guardians, who would help destroy the Red Force and restore the balance to the universe blah blah blah, and here we are, trying to find all of the guardians to fight in the oncoming war.” She sighed. “God, that’s so redundant.”

Jongdae didn’t know what he expected, but he had to admit that he was disappointed when the man scoffed at them. Just as he turned his head to glance out the side window, Jongin shrunk away in the corner of his eyes, and he looked back to see a smirking man and saliva dripping down Jongin’s face.

Kris, who was closest to Jongin, grabbed him by the shoulder and handed him a handkerchief. “That was uncalled for! We may have tied you up but we did not take advantage of you or spit in your face!” he exclaimed, cringing as he watched Jongin wipe his face.

Luhan held out his hand before clenching it together, and almost immediately the unnamed guardian’s cheeks squished together and turned a bright red. “Hey Dae, how ‘bout we throw him out o’ the window?” The side of his grin twitched. “He’ll be like that one story ya be tellin’ Jongin ‘bout. What was it again…? Oh, humpty dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty dumpty had a great fall.”

Jongdae couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction after seeing the marks on the guardian’s face. Luhan released his hold and the man sat back with furrowed brows, wiggling his jaw to ease the uncomforting ache in his bones.

“Look, man,” Jiyoung started, a bite in her tone, “I know you don’t want to come with us but there’s the possibility that in this war your entire family could be victim to the Council’s power. And if not protected or even aware of the war, everyone including you can be wiped out, very painfully, might I add. The Red Force is not a force to be reckoned with, and you can imagine the fight they'll put up when the war starts and they’re pissed off.” The sudden hardening of his features gave away his interest. “Everyone, including magical beings, are in danger of being destroyed in the war. The Red Force is also not an enemy you can defeat in a single battle! No, they managed to take over an entire army of various beings, murdering hundreds and thousands of people in the process. Do you really want to risk your family’s lives because of your stubbornness?”

Jongin nodded handing Kris the napkin back, and (surprisingly) gave another genuine smile to the man. “Ya see, we ain’t trying to hurt you or your family. We need you for our mission to help the world, which in-in-cludes your family.” His eyes crossed as he struggled to remember the word, though, he grinned proudly once he said it. “Whaddya say?”

Finally, the guardian was still, actually seeming to mull over their words with a tensed expression. His hands were balled and his toes were curled.

Jongdae studied every tense muscle in his body, making sure that he wouldn’t try to lunge last minute for Jongin. He remembered the way the younger sobbed when he thought he’d died; or how Jiyoung, too, was choked up by his death. Luhan and Kris, well, he wasn’t too sure, but they seemed shaken up in their own sort of way – the former more tamed than usual. He sighed at his thoughts. That wasn’t what was important. Jongin is his friend – his family – and although they needed the new guardian to join the team, if he dared lay a finger on him, he’d be a dead man. Sure, they needed him, but altogether as a group they needed Jongin more. They could be one man short.

And perhaps that was when he’d paused for a second. When had the thought of murder come so easily for him? After his mom died? Or his dad? Had those horrid thoughts always come to mind? His thoughts drifted off to the demon lingering in the back of his head. Should he just give into it? His brows twitched at the thought of accepting the power.

“When you use your magic, why does it feel so wrong, even though initially, it feels so right? Like, something is just screaming at you in the back of your head, telling you that it’s not morally correct?”

He wanted to know so bad. Why was his magic such a taboo idea? Yes, the West raised him with the mindset that magic was wrong, but this – this was something deeper. Deep down there was a wall of anxiety and dread that was dead set on keeping him as far away from magic as possible. He couldn’t understand it, and yet, something was screaming at him making him not want to understand it.

Stop Jongdae, this isn’t the time to be questioning everything.

Somewhere between his obsessive worrying, the guardian had begun staring at him. He awkwardly gazed back, clearing his throat while wiping his clammy hands on his jeans. The room was quiet, and he couldn’t help but wish he’d been paying attention to what was happening.

“Suho.”

 Jongdae sighed in relief when those eyes looked back at Jongin and away from him. They were sharp and held an uncanny resemblance to an animal’s.

Luhan raised a brow. “Suho…?” He waved his hand in the air.

“My name.” Suho flipped his long hair out of his face with a toothy grin. “It’s Suho.”

His brows flew to his hairline for a fraction of a second, before falling back into place, an I-really-don’t-care expression came to Luhan’s face. “Well, Suho, ya plan on stickin’ ‘round?” He snapped his fingers in a haughty manner. “We ain’t got all day now, kid.”

“Can you stop being a jerk for one second,” Jongdae hissed, rolling his eyes.

“Now Dae, we both know that ain’t happenin’ any time soon.”

Unperturbed by their comments, Suho eyed them from the corner of his eyes, before looking at Kris, who was trying (horribly) to shrink into the cushions of the couch. His shoulders shook when Suho scaled his curled form with judgment. Sensing that his caretaker was uncomfortable, Ace growled and snorted smoke, which elicited a gruff chuckle from the tied up individual.

Suho turned back to Jongin and bobbed his head with a smirk.

“I’m in.”

All heads turned at this comment.

That easy? Jongdae couldn’t believe his ears. For what reason would the previously hostile guy suddenly want to join the people who kidnapped him? Sometimes he wondered if he was the only guy with a of common sense.

“Wow, really?” Jiyoung exclaimed, aura bursting out like mini fireworks to show off her excitement. “That makes things a hell of a lot easier, oh my god!”

Jongin also joined in on the cheering. He clapped and glanced at Jongdae with a grin, then looked back at Suho. “Yay!” Kris was a bit shaken, but overall, quite thankful to see that they now had a new ally.

Skeptical, Jongdae narrowed his eyes with pursed lips, while his fingers picked at the fabric of his jeans. To his surprise, Luhan seemed to share the same disbelief. The elder’s head tilted, his eyes studying the tied up man, until his hands flew in the air and his shoulders rose, a nonchalant quirk on his lips, as he asked:

“What’s the catch?”

It was but a simple question, yet it managed to rack uncertainty in the group. One of Luhan’s brows quirked upwards in a judging manner, which earned another glare. He didn’t back down, though, and smirked. “C’mon, man, ya can’t just go from tryin’ to kill us to bein’ on our side. You want somethin’, so what is it?”

Suho wiggled his jaw before replying, “So say if I join this little posse of yours, I’m ensuring the sirens’ safety?”

“Exactly,” said Jiyoung.

He shrugged. “The