The metal rod that sped towards Chan with deadly force stopped abruptly only centimetres from his chest with a resounding clunk that seemed to make the air itself vibrate, and the Guardian fell to his knees, limbs no longer supporting his weight. The pole landed in front of him and the heavy impact shook the ground.

Chan looked up at the Forcebearer who had hurled the piece of metal and found him sneering in his direction, fingers already wrapped around pieces of concrete which looked too heavy for a human to lift. The Guardian fruitlessly tried to get up, but his legs felt like jelly and the adrenaline that was running through his veins made the finality of the situation horribly clear, every detail painted in vivid colours. In a hopeless attempt to make himself as small of a target as possible, he ducked his head, hiding behind his arms, and the guard's grin widened in certain victory - but just as he had picked up a chunk of concrete, he got flung against the remaining pillar of the gate, his eyes bulging at the force that pinned him against the flat surface, strong enough to keep his feet from touching the ground.

Shaking, Chan turned towards Minghao to thank him, but his strained smile immediately froze at the sight of the older on the wet ground, desperately struggling against the grip of a guard who was pressing his face into the muddy water of a puddle. With monumental effort, Chan forced his legs to finally support his weight and - casting a quick glance at the limp guard still pinned against the gate post - stumbled into the direction of the redhead.

During the time it took him to reach the pair, Minghao's struggling had noticeably lessened and for a few horrible seconds, Chan thought he wouldn't make it in time - until his fist connected with the neck of the guard and the male crumbled to the ground. For good measure, Chan kicked him in the face to get him off Minghao's back and hurriedly pulled the Warrior out of the water who spluttered and gasped for air.

"Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, I guess." Coughing, Minghao tried to wipe wet soil off his face, the light drizzle still falling from the sky helping to wash it off. "That jumped me while I was distracted." He weakly kicked the unconscious guard in the shin and Chan smiled before he got up to assess the situation in the frontyard.

Yongguk looked tired but satisfied, surrounded by bodies who had gotten caught in his gravity field, while Himchan leaned against him, completely exhausted and almost unable to keep himself from falling asleep. Jongup seemed the least affected so far, still knocking out guards who dared to step out of the front door of the mansion, and Youngjae was sporting some ugly cuts and bruises but looked otherwise relatively unharmed.

All in all they had gotten off much better than Chan had expected, although the lack of truly high ranking guards made his skin crawl.

The feeling of impending doom was getting stronger and Jisoo forced himself not to close his eyes in defeat. Slowly he raised his arms and turned around, the other group members following his example.

Near the door stood four people, all armed with assault rifles but dressed casually in hoodies, not in the grey uniform of the guards. The tallest, most imposing looking male stepped forward, his eyes focused on Mingyu. "How are you still alive?" His voice was softer than Jisoo had expected, more curious than threatening, and although he didn't lower his gun, the Wielder felt a small bit of hope blossoming in his chest.

"I'm like a cockroach, Shownu; I'm not that easy to kill." The Warrior smirked and the broad shouldered male grinned at his answer.

"I think a nice little bullet in your brain would solve that problem. There's no room for traitors here," the guy who had spoken first hissed, venom dripping from his voice, and the Wielder could feel the little spark of hope sizzling out in an instant.

"Interesting, I.M. Mind telling me what you guys are doing here - outside your schedule and without your uniform? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

The one named I.M visibly flushed and raised his weapon at Mingyu's words while the other strangers turned pale. Jisoo could hear one of the Forcebearers behind him in a scared breath and he took a daring step towards his Warrior to stop him from irking the other group any further. The guns immediately pointed in his direction and panic flooded through Mingyu's and Seokmin's bonds, causing the Wielder to freeze.

"Keep moving and I'll shoot you. And we don't have to answer to you anymore, you little er. I think GD would appreciate it if we finish you off," I.M snarled before Shownu raised his hand and the other reluctantly stepped back.

"Why did you come back? And who are they?"

Mingyu's panic lessened noticeably after the apparent leader had taken the word again but Seokmin remained restless at the weapons aimed at Jisoo. "They caught a guy because of me, now I'm getting him out. Those are my friends and my Wielder."

Somehow - although it really wasn't the right time to worry about trivial matters - the last sentence stung and Jisoo bit his lip to keep his emotions from travelling through the bonds. He knew that the Warrior was wary towards Wielders but he still had assumed that they could be considered friends after what they had been through.

"You got yourself a Wielder and you brought him? Are you nuts?!" a guy with rather prominent lips asked, taken aback.

"Maybe he's trying to kill him off? We could give him a hand," I.M offered helpfully and Mingyu's stance turned threatening at once. Before he could make the situation worse with a sharp retort, Shownu stepped in for the second time, visibly annoyed by the exchange.

"As far as I know, there's only been two new additions recently. If you couldn't find him here, he's probably upstairs. Or dead. What's his name?"

"Vernon."

"Hansol."

While the eyes of the other group flitted back to Jisoo, Wielder and Warrior shared a quick look. Seokmin's anxiety rose again and Jisoo rubbed his chest guiltily. "S-sorry."

"And you are?" the fourth guy questioned, his pretty face distrustful but his tone not unkind.

"Jisoo. I'm Mingyu's n-new Wielder."

"You got some serious balls coming here; there's no Wielders here apart from the bosses." Guy number three almost sounded admiring. "Why would you do something so stupid?"

"Hansol was my Warrior before and he's my friend."

The Forcebearers at the door eyed him with a mixture of pity and newfound respect as silence descended over the room. Breaking it with a low sigh, Shownu lowered his weapon under the disbelieving stares of the rest of the group. "Jooheon acted up again and they took him away. We just want to check if he's okay," he said distractedly while fiddling with the shoulder strap that secured the gun to his side.

"Why are you even telling them? Let's get rid of them and go back up; if we get caught, we'll be the ones paying," I.M groaned, his face distorted in annoyance.

"Stop whining. They're not from the group; they could help us get out."

"You want to leave?!" number three blurted and the others shared glances.

"We can't leave; we're bonded," pretty-face stated matter-of-factly and Shownu looked as if he was surprised by the revelation, while Jisoo had to suppress a chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.

When Mingyu spoke, the attention turned back to him. "If he still has that ugly haircolour, he's in cell 53. That was the only one with a redhead."

"I liked you more when you were just quietly following GD's orders," pretty-face mumbled and the tall Warrior pierced him with a glare.

"Well, we can't always get what we wish for, Wonho, and trust me: it's better that way. So, what's gonna happen now? Are you going to shoot us or are you going to hand us over?"

The Wielder didn't like the prospect of either of the two suggestions but fortunately neither seemed the other group - apart from I.M who apparently bore quite a deep grudge against Mingyu. Nonetheless they all lowered their guns slowly, following their leader, and some of the tension in the air vanished.

"Is there a way to sever our bonds? You did it before, right?"

Shaking his head, Mingyu moved closer to his Wielder, only a few inches separating them. "I didn't, it was gone when I woke up. I guess Jisoo did something?"

"N-no, but maybe I could-"

Seokmin stepped in before Jisoo could finish his offer and the Wielder winced at the disapproval the other made him feel, secretly glad that he couldn't see the Healer's facial expression behind him. "You were unbonded when we found you and Jisoo can't cancel a contract while the current Wielder is conscious - at least not without killing himself."

The disappointment of the other group was clearly visible even in the faces of those who had seemed sceptical. Wonho sighed. "So ther