Baekhyun had dealt with death before. His family had always been involved with the military, so it had been inevitable, and the Pythia hadn’t spared many in his circle. Rarely had a year gone by when he hadn’t lost someone. Of course he had never gotten used to it, but he had learned ways to cope. 

But he could not cope with this. This pain was not just his own- really, it was hardly his at all. The twist in his stomach every time he looked at Chanyeol was awful. Baekhyun had befriended Luhan over the past few months, had grown to care for him, but he knew his shock was nothing compared to the grief of the Guarders. Those boys had grown up with the Telepath. They had been family. 

Baekhyun had never seen Chanyeol like this, so lost and quiet and vacant, and he could do nothing except clutch him close and tight. 

But with Jongdae it was a different story. 

“I won’t sit here and do nothing,” he said, for perhaps the tenth time. Silent sobbing had only distracted him for a few heartbeats. His cheeks were wet with tears, but it was violent anger that distorted his face. “I won’t. They’ll pay for this. Something needs to be done.” 

“I don’t see how there’s anything we can do,” Baekhyun said, trying his best to soothe, unsettled by the unhinged look in his friend’s eyes. 

Jongdae squinted at him, the fury turning to intense focus, and then a smile began to spread across his face. “There is,” he said. “I know there is.” He turned to place his hands over Yixing’s shoulders. “Yixing, I need your help.” 

In a flash Baekhyun remembered their conversation from a few days ago and felt instant regret. He caught Yixing’s gaze, seeing his confusion, and hurried to speak. “Jongdae, I don’t know if right now is the time-”

“There’s a document in the training computers,” Jongdae cut him off. “I remember the file name. You’re good at computers. Could you find it?”

“I...well, I-” Yixing stammered, unsure at this sudden change of topic. 

“Could you or could you not?” Jongdae insisted, his voice rising. 

“I don’t know,” Yixing responded, shaking himself from Jongdae’s tightening grip. “I don’t know what kind of security they have on their mainframe.” 

Jongdae’s words dropped into a growl. “Then find out.” 

-

“Kris, I think you need to leave.” Tao’s voice was measured, calm. 

“What is happening?” Kris asked, eyes trained with mesmerized horror on the spreading crystals of ice. 

“I don’t know, but you need to go,” Tao said again, and when he turned Kris could see the genuine concern in his eyes. He felt his heart tighten, realizing that Tao was right. He had overstayed his visit anyway, Mr. Lee would be wondering what took so long, he should go, go right now, but- 

But he wanted more than anything to scoop Tao off the ground and take the smaller boy with him. “Okay, I’ll go tell them what’s happen-” 

He was cut off by the sound of cracking. 

“What the ,” Jongin whispered, his warm breath forming clouds when they hit the frosty air. 

Tao was standing, backing away from the wall. The ice had fully coated the glass separating him from Minseok, and was still spreading, across the ceiling and around the cell, transforming the cage from clear to a frosty translucent glow. The temperature had dropped at least fifteen degrees. And the glass was beginning to crack. 

“Kris!” Tao repeated, now at a full shout. “Out! Now!”

Kris moved blindly back, his body going without him, and he stumbled to the cell door, slamming the keycard they had given him against the lock. At first it didn’t move, the hinges frozen shut, but when Kris threw his full weight against it, finally the lock gave way. 

Not a moment too soon. 

It happened so fast. As Kris stepped out of the cells into the black hallway, the sound of cracking erupted into cacophony of hissing fractures, and the wall separating Tao and Minseok shattered. 

Kris stumbled backwards, feeling the impact from the weight of the falling glass through the floor. Instinctively he shielded his eyes as a spray of shards flew upwards, and his back slammed into the wall behind him. He peered through his fingers, hearing Jongin’s screams. 

It unfolded almost like a song. Only a beat after the first wall had whooshed down in a confetti sprinkle of frozen splinters, the ceiling began to rupture. And then one, two, three, four, five, the glass collapsed around its inhabitants. The barrier between Tao and Jongin. The ceiling. And the walls in front of Kris, the ones that had once contained doors. 

Only when it had been silent for a full minute did Kris dare move. Tao and Jongin were both crouched in the centre of their destroyed cells, hands over their heads. Everywhere, everywhere there was glass. Sprinkles of it coated them both, falling from their bodies like sheets of water when they shifted their weight. The long hallway of clear cells had transformed into a singular, dark, open room. 

Minseok’s machine had stopped beeping. He was still unmoving, unconscious on his cot. But not a single fragment of glass had fallen on him. 

Kris only needed a second of eye contact with Tao to understand what he needed to do. Turning around, he ran for the exit.  

-

Junmyeon knew the other boys were breaking the rules, and he also knew there was nothing he could do. He had heard the rustling from next door when Yixing and Jongdae had made their way outside and down the hallway, and for a brief moment had considered confronting them. But for what? He didn’t have the heart to tell them to go back inside. If anything, he would have opened his door just to talk to them, to have some sort of reassurance aside from his own lonely company. 

Instead he stayed inside his room, as Mr. Lee had instructed. 

He couldn’t bear to think about Luhan. It was almost crippling when the Telepath crossed his mind, his body freezing in a seize of fear, his breath stopping in his throat. 

So he tried to think about other things, mainly, Kris. He hadn’t made it back to their room after the lockdown, and several hours later, he was still missing. 

Junmyeon was thinking himself into circles, worrying. What he wanted most was to sleep, but he wasn’t naive enough to think that it was happening any time soon. Despite this, when Kris continued to be absent he readied himself for bed anyway, brushing his teeth and tucking himself under the covers, only to stare at the ceiling. 

When Kris finally erupted through the doorway Junmyeon was up in a second, not even a hint of fatigue in his body. 

“Junmyeon,” Kris gasped, and Junmyeon could see that he was shaking, a sheen of sweat shining on his forehead. “Junmyeon, something bad has happened, something really bad-”

“Slow down,” Junmyeon commanded him, all at once sharply attentive. “What are you talking about?” Somehow he knew it wasn’t Luhan. There was something else. 

“I shouldn’t even be here,” Kris was rambling, his eyes darting around the room in a crazed panic. “I don’t know why I didn’t go to Mr. Lee, I was supposed to go to him, he told me to come straight back-”

“Kris,” Junmyeon interrupted, impatient. “Look at me.” He was unshaken by Kris’s disheveled appearance, lasered in with a focus that he relied upon while in simulation. “Talk to me, tell me what happened.” 

“The boys are in trouble,” Kris said after a breath, finally meeting Junmyeon’s eyes. “Jongin and Minseok and...and Tao. They’re in the detention wing, but maybe they’re not anymore...I don’t know, I should have gone back to Mr. Lee, but-”

“But you didn’t,” Junmyeon cut him off. “Why are they in trouble? What happened?” 

Kris looked lost. He opened his mouth, trying to form an answer. 

And then the air erupted in a squealing alarm. 

-

Jongdae was up and moving without a second thought. He felt Yixing’s hand grabbing him but shook it off, already at the door. He had only heard this alarm once before, and it had been a long, long, time ago. But once was all he needed to know it brought bad things. 

Though right about now he wouldn’t mind if Tao was wreaking havoc. 

It was louder outside the room, at a squealing, almost painful pitch. Jongdae had to pause for a moment, wincing, but when he steeled himself to look up he was surprised to see Kris and Junmyeon already in the hallway. 

“What’s going on?” he shouted over the blaring alarm, running to meet them. 

“We’re going to the detention wing,” Junmyeon answered him, managing to keep his raised voice calm. 

“Why?” asked someone from behind, and Jongdae turned to see that Baekhyun and Chanyeol had followed him into the hall. His gaze darted further back, but there was no Yixing. Fine. If he wanted to stay in that room, so be it. 

“I think they’re in danger,” said Kris, and Jongdae was momentarily taken aback, not used to hearing fear in this boy’s voice. 

“Who’s in danger?” Chanyeol demanded. 

“Jongin and Minseok and Tao,” Junmyeon said, and his voice was tight. “We’re going to help them. I don’t know what we’re walking into, but Kris thinks it’s bad.” 

“Well no , listen to this!” Jongdae said, ing a finger up in the general direction of the screeching alarm. 

“You understand we’re not supposed to leave our rooms,” Junmyeon said, strained. 

Jongdae laughed. “Now is the last time to be thinking about the rules, Junmyeon.” 

“I know,” he replied, measured. “I just want you to...to realize how dangerous the consequences might be.” 

Everyone was silent for a moment. Junmyeon had a point, as usual, but strangely, it was also goody two-shoes Junmyeon that was going to the restricted detention centre during a lockdown. And while Jongdae didn’t particularly respect Junmyeon’s complete compliance to the Academy’s desires, he did understand that for him to not comply was a huge deal. 

“We’re with you, Junmyeon,” Jongdae said, and when he turned to look at Baekhyun and Chanyeol they were both nodding in agreement. “We want to help them too.”

“Okay, then we better move,” Junmyeon said, taking the lead, as he always did in simulation. He glanced at Baekhyun and Kris. “It’s our job to protect them,” he said, and Jongdae and Chanyeol both instantly knew he was talking to them. 

He thinks we’ll need to fight, Jongdae realized.

None of them had weapons. But the Guarders were never truly unarmed.