two. zelos doyeon (1/2). envy.
 

The teachers’ compensation for the whole Zhou Jieqiong shenanigans is a plane ride for their home trip. With the initial schedule trashed to bits and an extra day added to their formerly 3 day long trip, everyone’s left cozy with a much less time-consuming ride. The teachers set a rigid closure to the whole scenario; no explanation whatsoever to the curious inquiries. The ones awake enough to be involved were told to shush.

Chungha was quite characteristically adamant about it at first before giving in. Nayoung understood the initial refusal – keeping something of this urging importance away from the others must have left a chalky aftertaste that not even the five-starred feast they just had could wash away.

A full stomach and satiated glutton bode well for a good night sleep, but not tonight.

“Keep a close eye on anyone suspicious. Sleep with your eyes open. Stay on your toes, at least until we’re back home.”

“Can we have this conversation when I’m, like, awake?” Mina eyes her incredulously. Like she’s a pop of vein away from kicking the sophomore out of the room she’s sharing with Hyeyeon.

While Mina settles into a lazier position, back smoshing against the bed’s headboard, Nayoung pulls herself into a tighter upright sitting posture. “Okay, this is gonna be my last repeat. After my fifth. Those lamb skewers really dumbed you down. So I need you to be on code red at all times ‘cause—“

“—you’re sensing an unhealthy amount of concentrated negative energy, and the eye of the storm might be someone among us.” Hyeyeon repeats for her, still seated behind the work desk with her back hunched over a book. “And should we let it slide, it might snowball into a case similar to Zhou Jieqiong’s, so we’ll have to tame the budding despair before it gets the better of the person ridden.”

Nayoung throws Hyeyeon’s back an appreciative tight-lipped smile before frowning back at Mina. “The lamb didn’t skewer her brain cells.”

There’s a change in Mina’s expression (she’s grown annoyed now), which means she bothered to listen this time around. “So you have The Spidey Sense now?”

“It’s kinda hard to explain but I just—I can feel it. You’d be able to tell who’s the one affected too if you pay enough attention. In full cash. Like, I can feel it. It itches.”

“Your cheap version of the tingles?”

Either Mina has grown into a huge crank overnight or she’s PMS-ing. The Mina in the yesterdays wouldn’t shame her cryptic blubber like this. Fortunately, Nayoung doesn’t feel like putting up a fight. She turns to Hyeyeon, seeking assistance. “Tame your girl!”

Hyeyeon’s movement suggests that she’s flipping a page. Her voice leveled, “It’s kinda hard to believe you when you’re a… Zero. You’re not… a manifest of anything.”

“I’m aware.” She grumbles at the way Hyeyeon fumbled with her words. That long publicized fact of her being powerless isn’t a well dug landmine. “Thing is, it might be of your interest.”

Mina crosses her arms, impatience giving creases along her brows.

The key is to lay it out as gently as possible. It’s not the mosquito-sized dilemma that could fit into their usual weekdays. “It’s Doyeon,”

It takes the drop of the keyword to gain the full attention of Mina. The cross of arms are briefly undone. Her eyes impersonating two huge platters.

“It’s a hunch. A shot in the dark – but still a shot.” Against Mina’s dumbfounded face she perseveres. “How’s Doyeon lately?”

Mina sounds a click of tongue before rolling into a sentence, “Not good at all. God, it all makes sense now,” panic flushes all over her complexion, “she went back halfway into the feast and didn’t eat much so we all thought she had, like, stomach cramp? She hasn’t been out ever since. God! No wonder she didn’t steal things off my plate.”

Nayoung hears the slight scuffle from her left. Hyeyeon has left her seat, walking a breezy beeline to them.

“Doyeon hasn’t replied to any of my messages.” Mina whips a hand for her phone, laid an arm away on the bed. “Not even read yet. I’m—I’m worried sick. I’ll give, her a checkup.”

To Mina’s brusque movements Nayoung nods. As Mina scrambles out of the room in power walk, Hyeyeon seizes the spot Mina left. The first year shoves the book she’s been reading onto Nayoung’s lap and taps a finger onto a jumble of words surrounded by a hurried red ink circle.

“I’ve done a little bit of digging by myself. To quote from the book, negative emotions attract the Chaos onto oneself. The one affected will receive a huge power-up and heightened potentials for a limited amount of time before having their fire dying bit by bit. Am I correct?”

It’s definitely not much of a surprise that Cho Hyeyeon would go on an indie investigation of the whole matter. Hell, she’d have the leeway and access to records Nayoung herself couldn’t. Her father has a rather important spot in the nation’s Ministry of Defense. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I’d rather die knowing,” Hyeyeon closes the book in one soft snap, “than living on without. I know you’re in cahoot with a few others.”

“I really hope you could involve yourself less,”

“Why?”

“Why are you doing this?”

There’s a flare in Hyeyeon’s eyes. “’Cause the authorities aren’t doing a damn thing,”

Hyeyeon’s phone rings, rupturing the tension to pieces. Hyeyeon picks it up with a click of her tongue and lets it on loudspeaker. “Mina?”

“Hey—um—pass the phone to Nayoung please she broke her phone right—“

“I have it on loudspeaker,”

“Okay. Doyeon’s asleep I think! I can’t get into her room and Yoojung isn’t inside either so she’s also locked out and she’s staying with Somi for the night! I tried to contact Yeonjung but she skipped on me saying she’s not in the mood for my “spy games”.  God, it can’t get any worse.”

The panic in Mina’s voice is infectious. Nayoung can feel it transferring over the line. “What’s Yeonjung got to do with this? The lesser people involved, the better.”

“So like – oh god, where to start – there’s this love triangle. Doyeon likes Yoojung, who’s super-glued to Somi. Doyeon and Somi don’t like each other. I mean, who likes Somi? Oh also Yeonjung is head over heels with Doyeon so um, make it a love RECTANGLE.”

Nayoung share a look with Hyeyeon, who has that comical helpless look painted over.

“Why would Doyeon lose her over a damn teeny-weeny love tria, rectangle?”

“I mean, it’s probably more of a mixed bag, like her complex thrown in somewhere, and friendship… yeah, you know what it’s probably the friendship.”

“And how do you know all this?”

A static silence stretches out before Mina finally comes up with a reply, “I… I don’t know, I mean. They all look in love.”
 

At the last airport waiting room just fifteen minutes before their departure, Doyeon flings a trash can towards Somi’s general direction. The contents scatter themselves out onto the vacuumed carpet. The staff power-walk to their direction with ire.

Nayoung knows all along that getting ticketed in the same plane as the SUSPECTED love rectangle set and Mina would only net her a front seat to the ensuing mess.

“Whata’s your problem?” Somi snaps with gritted teeth, standing back to her full height after ducking to avoid the flung trash can. Her voice lacerated with fury and venom, Nayoung swears she spots electricity crackles and pops faintly around her tense posture.

Doyeon snaps back with a leveled amount of venom and fury. “Can’t you and your gang keep it down? We’re in public, not everyone’s tolerant towards your noises.”

“Well, we’re in public. Not everyone’s tolerant to your psycho act. Don’t make the cleaners do extra hours.”

Beside her, Mina leaps off her seat. Presumably to assist Doyeon in whatever event is going to transpire.

Yeonjung doesn’t, though – face too pale for confrontations and her head held in her hand.

It only hits Nayoung then, the reason behind Doyeon’s unprecedented outburst. She’s been going through random time-killing topics with Suhyun and hasn’t paid attention to the background chatters, but the reason is quite simple.

Somi and her gang have been noisy. Yeonjung’s down with a migraine. Mina has been too anxious to distract Doyeon with talks. Doyeon bears green-eyed grudges towards the blue eyes. Yoojung has agape at the show unfolding before her.

“I swear to god Doyeon,” Somi paces across the room towards Doyeon, fists tight and veins popping, “I’m gonna snap you out of your crap,”

“My friend is sick. Have some decency.” Doyeon raises an obnoxious chin and her lips curve into a lopsided smile as one of the s“For the so-called golden freshman, you sure talk trash.”

“You—“

The light flickers dangerously, twice, thrice, before settling back on. All gazes pour onto Somi.

And Somi looks just as surprised as she waves deflective hands towards the onlookers, but particularly the staff people looming over them. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t mess with the lights!”

“Calm down, Ace. Losing your marbles over me?”

Pairs of hands shoot up from each of their own shadow, tearing them away from each other with iron grip. Struggles can be seen, but Nayoung can’t fathom first years winning over Sejeong’s tight shadow-hold.

“Okay kids, playtime’s over. We’re boarding in five minutes,” Sejeong pauses, side-eyeing the digital clock, “less than five minutes. Whatever bad blood you have with each other, keep it until we’re tucked back in the academy.”

With the grips loosened, Doyeon and Somi awkwardly pull back and the tense atmosphere slowly disperses as Sejeong and a few other volunteers unwillingly do the talking with the staff.

The teacher assigned to their plane’s planted still in his seat. Verily busy with his phone. She glares at their supposed adult figure until she realizes that there’s a smashing chance that it’s all deliberate on his part.

She’s learned to never rely on Jang Geunseuk, knowing he’s all lip service and no punches (he quite literally can’t fight, it’s a wonder how he’s gotten himself a spot in the academy’s faculty at all). Still, it gives her all the more reason to resent the man.

Nayoung finds herself sharing looks with Hyeyeon and Mina in a scheming triangle formation. And hearing herself swallows a huge lump of gulp as hauls her bad omens along with her to the plane.
 

“...ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or…”

Luck is definitely not on her side. She missed out on a strategic seating, what with Doyeon getting seated in the first row and her a little far behind. Though at least Mina lucked out and landed the seat right behind Doyeon. Yoojung’s tucked somewhere in the middle with Yeonjung a couple seats behind.

Though she has the worst scenario swarming her mind, Nayoung leans back into the recliner, attempting to wrestle herself to sleep.

Beside her, Sejeong has her eyes longing for the blue sky outside. Fingers tapping on the armrest in crescendo, the temp building up after every pensive pause. Nayoung realizes that she’s never the only one restless. What started out as a lonely journey has panned out into a network of outliers among the oblivious lots.

 “Mute the taps, someone’s trying to sleep,”

Sejeong’s eyes stand unmoving, but the back of head relaxes into a slow roll against the recliner. “You?”

“Yessss, me,”

With a smile that could ruin sleeps, Sejeong whips her head to her for one generous second, “Make me,” before turning back to her initial position.

“God, Suhyun shouldn’t have given up her seat for you.”

“You can’t let me sit in the far back! In case of emergency, you know. You need me. You barely survived Jieqiong.”

Nayoung closes her eyes. The darkness couldn’t take over for long, the tapping worsening to quick, uneven hiccups.

So she holds Sejeong’s hand in hers, enveloping the hardened skin with brushes and the jutting sharps with small pinches. The tapping’s put on halt. And Nayoung finds herself slowly lulled to sleep.
 

“—Nayoung, Nayoung,”

Sejeong’s light slaps on her forearm winds the sleep out of her. There’s the dripping urgency in her voice.

“It’s… something’s not right. Can you… can you feel it? I mean, for me it’s just hunches but, I’m sure you can tell.”

Even before Sejeong’s slaps, the sleep had been slowly getting sapped away from her. The plane is obviously going through a rocky course, everyone has their belts fastened, the seat belt signal blaring an alarming red, and the sky outside looking the murkiest she’s seen. Faraway, a lone flash of lightning ruptures their hope of a sunny travel.

“You attract troubles don’t you? Day in and day out, things just happen.”

Sejeong’s forlorn smile instills something in her.

“Sejeong, it’s—is it what I think it is?”

The plane shakes in a greater intensity this time, sending everyone into frenzied shouted questions as the plane’s indoor lighting flickers ominously. They’re not allowed room for answers as claps of thunder ring throughout the body of the plane.

Panic. Halfway into hysteria. The stewardesses move into action, trying to hamper the sinking morale.

“Do not leave your seat! Make sure the belt’s safely fastened!”

At the end of the day, heroes in training or not – they’re still kids. With exceptions here and there. But the majority of them are foreign to mortal dangers and situations where they’re left stranded and helpless. Such as getting pitted against natural courses, caged in a steel bird two thousand feet above the ground.

Except it might not be Mother Nature after all.

“Something about this doesn’t feel natural at all,” Sejeong remarks, “feels like the sky’s specifically out to get us,”

Nayoung has her sitting height stretched as she aims for the front most seat. Doyeon’s. “Definitely not natural at all. I can feel it – the Chaos.”

“So… it’s on?”

“Yeah,” Nayoung frowns at the lack of particular movement from Doyeon’s seat, “I can’t believe she couldn’t even hold it in at least till we’re back on land. Over a love rectangle, really…”

“Love rectangle?! Talk about first world problem.”

Another quake shakes up the plane. A haunting explosive noise follows not even a second later, and following its wake is the resounding ardent cries as the light goes out without so much a flicker as a warning.

“, do you think the plane’s damaged?” Worry has finally cropped up in Sejeong’s tone as she clicks her seat belt open. Sejeong holds onto Nayoung’s shoulder to support herself as she abruptly stands even amidst the turbulence.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna check up on Doyeon,” Dislodging her hold from Nayoung’s shoulder only to lean against the seat in front of them, Sejeong lets out a grunt over another big quake, “hopefully, this is all Doyeon’s doing, so we can… slap her back to her senses and arrive at Incheon safely.”

“This isn’t my doing!”

Nayoung hears Somi’s distraught voice loud and clear. The light has been slowly restored back on, though still very much glitchy and flicker-sensitive, but enough for Nayoung to make out the figures previously obscured by the dark. Somi stands in her seat. Face stricken.

The captain is apparently among them in the body of the plane.

“We advise everyone to calm down first before I explain the situation!”

The stewardesses power through and everyone’s calmed down significantly. Sejeong tanks back into her seat after a stewardess kindly asked her to. Though she’s seated back, her feet dance in restless reverie.

Nayoung turns her attention back to the man donning the captain’s cap.

“First of all – there’s no need to panic. The co-captain is attempting communication with the nearest tower and we have been getting responses. The ILS system will ensure safety automated landing. And most of all, it’s highly possible for us to get through this. Likely because this isn’t the nature’s doing—“

The captain’s interrupted by another blast a part of the plane involuntarily shouldered. Sejeong was right when she said it felt like the sky itself is gunning for them.

“You were right. It’s looking like… as if we accidentally got Zeus’ tit in a wringer.”

“Well Zeus has always been a temperamental prick in every interpretation he’s featured in. Iliad more so.”

What comes next is a bit of a curveball. Somi and the captain are head-to-head in a tight argument, the captain’s folded face seemingly more potent than before. Nayoung realizes that he’s arrived in a conclusion: that Somi might be the one behind this faux catastrophe. Jang Geunsuk hurriedly approaches them after losing his balance on the way, but if anything, Somi’s voice only raises an octave higher.

This blaming game benefits nobody. But she understands – desperation hangs in the air hooked to an invisible gallows.

“I didn’t do it!”

Nayoung sees it, even with the distance, a blade of lightning flashes going through the captain’s chest, before spreading into faint sparks and dying crackles. Unbuckling her belt with haste, she feels Sejeong’s steps behind her as she closes in on the captain’s fallen body and the crowd of stewardesses circling around him.

Violent tremor terrorizes the plane once more as the weather worsens, and it pushes Nayoung to lose her footing as she desperately latches onto the nearest headrest for support. Sejeong bypasses her by surfing along the floor with her shadow. “That wasn’t Somi! It was by someone behind him!”

All the eyes are on Sejeong.

With all the attention she needs, Sejeong lashes out an accusing finger at Doyeon’s seat. “It was Do—oh my god,”

Nayoung reaches the front most row with bated breath. She comes to Doyeon’s seat empty, and the girl beside her just as confused as she is.

“She, she was there. Just a, a second ago.” The girl pales, almost like she’s downed a liquid drainer.

“She disappeared,” Mina announces, in a small voice, eyes lost, “I swear she was there. I didn’t take my eyes off her. Where did she run off to?!”

The door to the cockpit is kicked open by force, revealing the girl they’re looking for.

And a glimpse of the co-pilot, unconscious with his head over the panels.

There’s quiet for several milliseconds, as if everyone is going through their own personal reality check even under the oppressing atmosphere. The palpable fear that’s laced with the air mutates into the being standing victorious in the doorway.

Doyeon has fully caved. The girl in front of them is no longer the valiant Zelos, but a monster dictated by sodden negativities.

“We’re late,” Sejeong mutters between grinded teeth before switching full gears, “everybody seated in the front slowly move to the back!”

The dim lighting certainly gives Sejeong the unfair advantage she needs. Larger body of shadows she can manipulate into shapes of her own liking, and it very much limits Doyeon’s visual senses and confuses her trigger-happy electrocuting tendencies. The key is to keep Somi away from Doyeon with the help of the clunky headlights and panic-driven hasty movements of the other students and the stewardesses as they attempt to stow away the unconscious body of the captain.

Doyeon finger-guns a straightforward lightning aimed towards Sejeong’s torso, which she deflects easily a quick wall she forms with her own shadow. Another couple of lightning blasts are fired, this time avoiding the shadow wall by beelining to the right side. Sejeong extends her wall the right, but misses on a bolt as it hits the interior of the plane and reaps out screams from the girls presumably narrowly avoiding the stray bolt.

“Sejeong! I need to get to the cockpit. Cover me!”

“I’ll try to. I already got my hands full, you see,” Sejeong catches another quick bolt trying to cheat its way from her left by nullifying it with a quicker stalactite she conjures from above, “alright, go! Mind bits of grazes though!”

“Thanks!” She launches herself forward, out of the headrest she’s been hiding behind, “I’ll leave this scorned woman to you.”

“Leave it to me—“ Sejeong terminates her sentence midway the moment her walls pool back into her own shadow. Doyeon is gone.

The previously flickering lights suddenly stay on and alight with twice the intensity. Sejeong curses loudly as the shadow of the surroundings thins from the blaring lighting.

Nayoung makes use of the timing as she cannonballs herself to the cockpit, making use the definitely suspicious absence of Doyeon. It is until she’s five leaps away from the doorway that she’s wisened up regarding Doyeon’s disappearance and why the previously damaged lighting power back on in succession.

Doyeon, with Somi’s power thoroughly copied, could “materialize” her own self with the electricity itself. Doyeon didn’t pull any teleportation trick.

She simply sapped herself into the electricity running through the veins of the plane.

Nayoung stops her track into a full halt the moment Doyeon’s back blitzes right in front of her eyes. Her reflexes couldn’t outchamp Doyeon’s light-speed elbow and she’s sent to the floor groaning as the electrifying pain spreads along the left side of her face. Coming almost a split second later is Doyeon’s remorseless foot making a full vertical swing down Nayoung’s head, which Nayoung misses by a hair-breadth as she rolls to the side, hitting the limit to the available space in the center walkway. Doyeon swings down an electrocuting punch next and Nayoung, running out of space for her to roll over, holds up her arms to guard protect her head from the impact. She closes her eyes. Bracing herself for fractures.

The punch never sacks the arms she has crossed before her head as Sejeong sends Doyeon back by two steps with a baseball bat made up of Nayoung’s shadow. The bat pools back into her shadow for a second before reconstructing itself into arms that pull Nayoung back to her feet.

“I owe you a dinner, I guess,”

Sejeong chuckles. One of the shadow arms gives her a gentle push in the back. “Get in the cockpit, Nayoung!”

“Where’s,” Doyeon starts as small discharges of electricity flare around her in faint buzzes, “where is… Somi…”

Nayoung doesn’t bother giving the insane a reply. She dashes towards the cockpit and Doyeon mimics her movement, closing in towards her with light side-steps.

This time she easily passes Doyeon as the latter is flown off to the opposite direction, pulled across the carpeted walkway with a potent invisible force towards Hyeyeon, who has an arm stretched out towards Doyeon’s arriving body. She then takes a firm hold on Doyeon’s collar and sets her still.

Doyeon retaliates by swinging a shocking jab, which Hyeyeon dodges by doing a half-body duck. Hyeyeon, being the manifest of Castor, has the exclusive ability that is the opposite of Mina; she pulls in the inner force of an object towards her. A dangerous ability for those who can’t bear its double-edged nature, but Hyeyeon has her sharpened reflexes she often boasts about. Doyeon unnaturally lunges over to the front – forcefully pulled by Hyeyeon’s power, Nayoung guesses – and all of a sudden Mina and Yeonjung materialize just behind Hyeyeon’s stooping figure, Mina with a punch pulled back and ready to catapult.

A team attack with Hyeyeon pulling the target closer, Yeonjung sneaking Mina in with her invisibility power, and Mina all prepped up with a charged fist. Hyeyeon makes a good substitute for the Doyeonless duo.

Mina performs a backhand to the right and Doyeon’s sent flying to the wall before ricocheting down to the seats. Though she’s just taken damage, Doyeon rolls off from the seats, letting herself fall to the ground, launches herself back to her feet, and lunges at Mina with a fast right hook. “Out of my way…!”

Mina tries to dodge out of the way, but Doyeon switches gears and swings the punch against the air towards Hyeyeon’s direction instead. No waves of electricity are procured, but the surprised look on Hyeyeon’s face tells it all, “She—she deflected my pull. Careful she’s gotten Mina’s power copied! Yeonjung get behind me!”

Sejeong follows Hyeyeon with her own announcement, “Everyone who can’t fight please move even further into the back! All the attendants please focus on protecting the students! Leave the fighting to the frontline!” And finally, Sejeong turns towards her. “Get in the ing cockpit, Nayoung!”

Without any further spectator’s sport she speeds into the cockpit and closes the door behind her. She hurriedly pulls the co-pilot’s unconscious body off the panels and sets him on the floor in the corner, and takes his cap for the much needed novelty.

"I'll be borrowing your plane for a sec. We'll land safely, don't worry."

The co-pilot doesn't even budge an inch.

Alone with the controls, she takes the mic for herself.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet… the tailwind is definitely not on our side and the occasional turbulences would be the proof of its murderous intent,” settling into the captain’s seat, Nayoung wipes the blood along the cut on her upper lip and continues, “I’ll talk to you again later. Until then, please stay alive.”
 

Notes: [1] ive been MIA from aff for god knows how long, back with another packed chapter that’s gonna be a set up for the next chapter’s showdown!! Ive promised myself not to abandon this thing plus ive written way too much for it to be left alone as ANOTHER abandoned fic…….

[2] as per usual, thank you for reading till the end and putting up with horrendously clunky writing. Till next time! (hopefully soon, like, a week soon cause I already have the rough draft for the next chapter)