***

“Tao, what do you think you’re doing?” Suho whispered urgently at seeing the lanky teen walk towards the cabinet with trepidation.

“Don’t you want to see what’s in the cabinet, hyung?” Tao asked as Suho’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“Are you crazy? Of course not! Tao, didn’t this house teach you anything? What if it’s a bloodthirsty monster?” Suho warned, holding him back.

“If it was a monster, wouldn’t it have burst out of the cabinet by now? It sounds like whoever is in there is trapped there, hyung,” Tao tried, though he was admittedly rather nervous.

“Maybe it’s trapped there for a reason, Tao. Let’s just go, we have to find Jae,” Suho tried to reason, and even though Tao did agree with him, there was a strange gut feeling he had that there was something in the cabinet that needed help. Call it instinct, but Tao didn’t think that what was in the cabinet was so dangerous.

“I’m sorry, hyung, but I have to check. You stay here and I’ll go look, okay? I’ll be right back,” Tao said, moving forward to the cabinet which shook violently while someone inside of it was yelling. Tao jumped a few times when whatever was inside had started banging on the door, but he wouldn’t be deterred.

Inching forward, he took the chains from the cabinet doors and with a deep breath swung the doors open. He shouted along with a startled Suho when something loud fell forward and wriggled like a worm on the ground, still struggling and shouting unintelligibly.

Tao had recovered enough from his own shock to be able to see that there was a human on the ground, wrapped in a straight jacket, with a cloth wrapped around his mouth. Tao tilted his head and pushed the wriggling human on his back so he could look at his face. He gasped.

“Chen-hyung!”

“HRM!” Chen exclaimed, wriggling around in excitement as he looked at Tao.

“Oh, Chen-ah,” Suho quickly joined Tao in helping him get out of the straightjacket. Tao took the cloth around his mouth off as well as Chen inhaled for breath.

“Yah!” he yelled loudly, looking frustrated and angry. “Where is he? He tricked me!” Chen grumbled, getting on his feet with Tao and Suho’s help.

“What are you talking about, Chen? Calm down first,” Suho tried to soothe, but Chen’s rage was electrifying.

“That old fart! The crazy doctor! He put me in that thing, gagged my mouth and slammed me into the cabinet when I had my back turned!” Chen shouted angrily, the air buzzing with static.

“Calm down, hyung!” Tao said, staying back with Suho when Chen paced about, looking very peeved at having been tricked for once. Tao would have definitely thought it funny, were the situation not so grave.

“If you want to zap his , hyung, then come with us. We know where Jae-noona is,” he then said as Chen finally stopped to calm down a bit.

“Really? Where is she?”

“In the library, but we don’t have much time, we have to be quick and careful about this,” Suho said, stressing the word ‘careful’ to keep Chen calm.

“Oh. Right, hyung,” Chen nodded, still looking agitated, but a lot more calm than he had been a few moments ago. “As long as I get to kick that doctor’s !”

“You will, hyung, but for Jae-noona’s sake, stay calm and quiet, okay?” Tao added, Chen blinking at Tao as if he just noticed him for the first time.

“Tao-yah? Wait. What are you doing here? Were you tricked too?” he asked.

“No, hyung, I came in because I got worried about all of you. You guys took so long in getting out, and I guess now I know why,” Tao explained briefly as Chen was still looking at him in disbelief before he finally smirked that catlike grin at him.

“Wah, our biggest chicken actually went inside a haunted house for us? Aww, that’s so sweet Taozi, come give your hyung a hug,” Chen immediately quipped, hugging Tao tightly as the lanky teen whined.

“Yah, be serious, Chen-hyung! We don’t have time for this! Jae-noona is in real trouble!” he reminded him.

“Right! Let’s go,” Chen nodded as the three of them made their way towards what they assumed was the library.

As expected of a Victorian styled library, this one was filled with book shelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling, a second floor could be reached by means of a winding staircase, and under different circumstances, it looked like a legitimately nice place to stay to read a book and drink some coffee. It would be a nice background for a good selfie, but it was exactly this same innocence of the library that freaked Tao out.

Everything looked rather normal, sure the decor was kind of dark and creepy, but there was not a speck of dust anywhere, no cobwebs to be seen, everything that was meant to shine, shone, and even the books looked like they were in pristine condition.

“Jae-noona!” Chen suddenly shouted, startling the heck out of Tao and Suho. “Where are you?” he yelled again before Suho covered his mouth with his hands.

“Will you be quiet? Do you want to get us killed?” he hissed.

Tao sighed as he soothed his nerves when he caught sight of some chairs that stood in front of a blazing fireplace. He squinted his eyes and peered at the figure that sat in front of it. “Noona?” he mumbled, rushing his way towards the chair.

His heart pounded in his chest as he approached, seeing a feminine hand, a glimpse of dark hair. “Jae-noona?” he called out, gasping when the person turned their head and Tao’s eyes met that of Jae.

“Noona!” he called out, all of his anxiety and hesitation melting away. Jae seemed happy and relieved at first when she saw him, but her relief soon made way for stone cold fear. Tao could see it in her eyes immediately. She was warning him, telling him to stay away, but he wouldn’t be scared off that easily. Not after the hell he’d been through.

“Noona, it’s all right, we’re here to save you,” he started, reaching out to touch her arm when a volatile force unexpectedly knocked him back.

“Tao!” Suho yelled out, helping him get up.

“Yah, are you okay, Taozi?” Chen asked as the fire in the fireplace started flickering wildly, the lights in the library dimming and surging.

“Guys!” Jae called out to them, her voice helpless and small. “Get out of here!”

The house rumbled again, the walls shaking and the doors of the library shutting themselves. Books fell out of their bookcases, and despite Jae’s warnings, the boys got up to go to her, to protect her as best as they could.

“No, I told you to leave!” she scolded.

“Yeah, right, as if we’d leave you!” Chen retaliated, the three boys looking up in alarm as something manifested in front of them. The ghost appeared in a sickeningly green light, looking like a proper gentleman, though it took but one look at his eyes to see that this was a demon in human clothing. The doctor’s eyes were colder than Xiumin’s ice, and filled with so much hatred and anger it brought a chill down Tao’s spine. As Suho and Chen automatically stood before Jae, Tao was still standing beside her, carefully watching the doctor approaching them, standing before them as though he were solid.

“You! You locked me in the cabinet!” Chen growled, but the doctor sneered and barely even glanced at Chen.

“Intruders,” he mused, his voice grave and deep. Tao knew immediately to fear this person. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, he was frightened. The doctor looked like he was an in control gentleman, but it was easy to see that there was a tinge of madness about his persona. Something incredible unstable that could burst out at any moment, like a time bomb.

“Have you enjoyed my mansion, mortals?” he asked, walking calmly around, picking up his notebook and flipping casually through the pages.

“You’re a sick bastard, that’s what,” Chen immediately piped up despite Suho’s warnings.

“Sick? I assure you, sir, I am many things, but I am never sick!” he slammed the notebook on the desk and soared right up to Chen, his face distorting like a mask trying to cover up the inner demon that was lurking inside him. “I am a doctor, a healer! I am never sick!” he hissed, visibly calming down when he caught sight of Jae.

Tao protectively shielded her as the doctor eyed her up and down longingly and this caught the attention of the insane owner of the mansion.

“Such heroism and strength,” the doctor commented, though it was obvious he was mocking Tao. “You believe you’ve bested my mansion, and thus you shall be able to best me, is this the case?”

“I won’t let you win, that’s for damn sure,” Tao replied, Suho and Chen nodding at his words.

“Ah, I see. How do you know I have not won yet, already?” the doctor then asked, throwing him off for a second.

“We found Jae-noona,” Tao answered. “We know what you want to do, and you won’t be able to do it! You want to use Jae-noona’s magic to cure death, but that’s beyond crazy, man! You won’t succeed, and we won’t let you!”

The doctor cackled at that moment. His laughter booming around the chamber like thunder. “My, my, you truly believe you have it all sorted, eh? How fortunate you are, Miss Jae, to possess so many heroes at your disposal,” the doctor mocked as Jae shook her head, though she seemed unable to answer him.

“Don’t you dare hurt them,” she only said, but there was a quiver in her voice as if he was holding something against her from lashing out completely.

“I would never dare to, Miss Jae,” he spoke, but none of his words seemed to be true. He looked at Chen and Suho, but his focus was mostly on Tao, as if he was aware of his journey to get to Jae,

“Do you honestly believe that you were the first hero to try to save Miss Jae from my genius?” the doctor then asked, paying no mind to Suho nor Chen.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tao asked as Jae became more anxious, tears forming in her eyes.

“You have to leave, Tao, all of you, please,” Jae begged, as the doctor’s aura changed, the room becoming darker, a morbid grin appearing on the doctor’s face.

“Behold, another hero,” he announced and out from a cloud of green appeared Sehun in a cage.

“Sehunnie!” Tao exclaimed.

“Sehun-ah!” Suho and Chen called out.

“H-hyung! Save noona!” the maknae coughed, looking beaten and terribly cramped in the hanging cage the doctor had stuffed him in.

“Yah, let Sehunnie go, you old fart!” Chen called out, but the moment he took a step forward, the doctor waved his hand and the cage shrunk even more.

“Tao, get Jae out of here,” Suho then shouted, but when Tao grabbed Jae’s hand, she was pulled back and tied into the chair, a chain wrapping around her neck.

“What a dilemma, a social experiment!” the doctor exclaimed, the madness radiating from his eyes. “You honestly believe I’ll let you save both? Such insolence! You seem to be making good decisions, hero. Why not make another? Who will you save first? You precious little brother?” he grabbed Sehun’s chin and squeezed it. “Or your lovely, beautiful noona?” The chain around Jae’s neck slithered like a snake, as Tao’s mind started reeling in a panic. What now?!

>>> SAVE SEHUN! HE’LL BE SQUISHED! <<<
>>> SAVE JAE BEFORE HE STRANGLES HER! <<<