behind money power and fame

a disease remains untamed

sanity ceases to stay

seated in the highest chair

When Krystal woke up, she thought it was dark out. Her body almost jerked upwards but the pain in her right leg kept her down on her bed. Her head felt heavy; it was as if she had slept for days. ‘Hey,’ Kyungsoo’s familiar voice calmed her down, and she turned to see him standing by her desk, twisting a cloth soaked with water from a small basin. Her neck felt damp and sweaty and Krystal lied back down.

Her breaths were slightly faster than normal and she felt uncomfortable and hot. ‘I’m not dreaming,’ she murmured.

‘If you’re talking about coming home with a bad leg and passing out last night, then no, you’re not dreaming.’ Kyungsoo approached her and sat on a stool beside her bed, leaning forward to dap her neck and forehead with the cloth. It felt cold and chilling. ‘You passed out and got fever,’ he added.

Krystal looked down at her right leg, seeing that the area where she was wounded was tightly bandaged with cloth. ‘How long was I asleep?’ she asked.

‘Not as long as I expected. It’s only been 18 hours,’ he answered, continuing to reduce her temperature gently. It felt therapeutic to Krystal and she could feel her headache gradually lessening.

‘Where’s Kris?’

‘Downstairs minding the shop,’ Kyungsoo replied. ‘He went to school trying to figure out what happened but nothing seemed off.’

Of course. There was barely any evidence that could indicate that fight erupted sometime last night. The only thing that could have probably been spotted would be traces of Krystal’s blood at the entrance outdoor court but it had been snowing since last night, she doubted any remains of it could be seen. ‘Nobody’s seen anybody or anything suspicious either,’

Krystal rewind her thoughts to last night. To the man, the wolf, the green eyes. It was no doubt that whoever the man was, he had a thirst for blood, or was a killing maniac; a psychopath. The moment she saw the look in his eyes, she knew she was dead. There was no mercy to be seen and if that thing had not interfered, she would be as good as a corpse, maybe even his late supper. But animorphs don’t eat humans. He’s not just an animorph, he’s psychopath.

‘Wait here. I’ll fetch you something to eat,’ he placed the cloth on Krystal’s forehead and disappeared out of the room. Krystal sat up in her bed, holding onto her head. She did feel a little hungry. It was a restless sleep, although dreamless and Krystal still felt sore throughout her body. She blamed it on her trauma rather than physical exertion. It was very rare that anyone could scare her like that but the man she encountered was barely close to being humane and Krystal would not want to know if he was still trailing after her blood.

She heard footsteps emerge from the staircase, and a different man appeared inside her room. ‘Thank God you’re up,’ Kris had to bend down to make sure he did not hit the pane above the door, although his blonde locks slightly brushed under it. He was carrying a tray of baguette, hot chicken stew and honey water; a hearty supper for his sick sister. He placed the tray on Krystal’s bedside and sat on the stool. He seemed large to be sitting on such a small furniture.

‘Hey,’ Krystal took the mug of hot water and sniffed it, smelling the sweet scent of honey and lemon. She took a small sip.

‘How are you feeling?’ Kris’ voice was low and soft.

Krystal sighed, looking at her brother. He looked older than he was, as if he was in his 20s, which was befitting to his instinctual nature as Krystal’s older twin brother. Broad         shouldered with sharp eyes, he donned a more lively outfit of dark blue with gold ts. His hair, which reached below his shoulders were tied up in a high short ponytail. ‘Okay, I guess.’ She shrugged.

‘I meant emotionally,’ Kris said, looking outside of the room before he gently pushed the edge of the door shut with his legs. There were happy voices echoing from downstairs, and once the door clicked shut the room became silent. ‘What happened?’

Krystal swallowed.

Then calmly she tried to recollect every detail, but her voice kept failing her. ‘You don’t think…he’s lurking around here, do you?’

‘I can’t say,’ Kris truthfully answered. ‘I went back to the Academy but I couldn’t find anything. Nobody else saw anything and there’s no extra security being called for. I don’t think he was looking for you, but from now on, I’m not going to let you out at night on your own, okay?’ he said. Krystal lightly nodded.

The door then opened and Kyungsoo walked in. He was shorter than Kris, but had the build of an experienced baker and fighter. His hair was black and short and had the friendly look of a cheerful bachelor in his late twenties. ‘It sounds like the Transgenetic Effect,’ he said, sitting down on the edge of Krystal’s bed. When he saw both the teenager’s clueless looks, he continued. ‘Animorphs can change from the human form to animal form; it’s a given for them, but if they don’t learn to control it, eventually one form takes over the other.’

‘I don’t get it. It’s two different bodies.’ Kris argued.

‘It’s two different forms,’ Kyungsoo corrected him. ‘Imagine having two different data in one genetic code. It’s like how humans have their bad side and good side. If you don’t have control soon, you’ll be slaving after your own lust.’

‘So this Transgenetic-‘

‘It’s basically like having two souls fighting for control over one another, but usually when an animorph fails to learn how to control it, the animal genes take over and they are subjected to live in their animal form forever.’

‘That’s not so bad is it?’ Krystal asked.

‘Like I said, it’s all about control. Once that happens, they are by instinct an animal. They can’t think, can’t remember can’t feel the way a human does. It’s like turning into any other cat you see on the street.’

‘But the man I saw, he could change pretty well.’ Krystal explained.

‘But was he acting like a man? Like a human?’ Kyungsoo questioned. Krystal tore her gaze away, remember how much of a wild beast he was, even in human form. ‘For some animorphs, learning control is hard. Sometimes, genetics mix irregularly, and they end up developing mental systems that aren’t particularly…human. Sometimes instincts from their animus influence their human state, sometimes the damage it causes to their brain makes them...insane, or murderous.’ His demonstration made the two silent.

‘But the man was a sorcerer as well,’ Krystal said. Kyungsoo tightened his brows.

‘Sorcerer? A hybrid?

Krystal nodded. ‘I mean I was sure it was magic. He disappeared from one place and would appear behind me,’ she shuddered hard at the thought of it.

‘Teleportation,’ Kris answered for her. Kyungsoo gave it a long thought.

‘What did he look like?’ Kyungsoo inquired. ‘I mean, what did he wear?’

‘A white tunic,’ she tried to recall. ‘A long black coat, leather. Boots. Why?’

The look on Kyungsoo’s face was worrying. ‘You might have run into someone from the most powerful wolf pack in the entire continent.’

*

Some 30 miles south, a ruling family grew anxious. The Lupus Montague clan had gathered at their barely modest main residences up in the hills of the Terra Nymphet state. Several of them were waiting in the underground room, watching a particular kin of their own lie on a cold stone table.

A man with a mask over his mouth and a long coat was taking a close look at his patient, a hand on the patient’s chest, who was bound to the table with chains and thick metal cuffs. He was unconscious, of course, thanks to the effective anaesthetics he was injected with after a long struggle to get him to calm down. The man turned around and pulled down his mask.

‘Ma’am?’ his voice echoed. A woman stepped forward. He pulled her away from everyone else and began explaining his diagnosis. The rest only watched and stared at the sleeping boy. Or rather, a prince.

‘I’m sorry,’ the healer said.

‘But it’s the same as what’s happened before. If he gets the same medication and treatment, wouldn’t he get better?’

‘It is the same, but it’s not the Transgenetic Effect,’ he answered in a low whisper. ‘Whatever it is happened to him affected his animus, including the timing system and the control. Until he wakes up, I won’t be able to find out what that is,’

‘How long will this take?’

‘I can’t say, but I’ll set up some others to keep an eye on him at full time and I’ll give him thorough check up twice a day. In the meantime, I’ll try to get in touch with the board to see if they know anything about this.’

The woman sighed out of worry. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured. The healer nodded in response and excused himself, ready to make further preparations for the treatment of his royal patient. He had been serving as the family doctor for many years, and was not a stranger to the sick boy’s ill outbursts. Kai, the name sometimes scared him slightly every time he remembered giving him medical care when the boy was little. He had spent years specializing in the anatomy of animorphs, the genetic system of the animus and earned a reputation healing hundreds and thousands of animorphs throughout his service as a healer, and a medical researcher.

But this time around, what Kai brought back was new; an undiagnosed disease.

And unlike last time, he was afraid Kai would not recover from this illness.

‘He’s alright, isn’t he?’ Jongdae urged his aunt. Xiumin and Yixing had a more grim expression on their faces. The woman was less than calm.

‘It’s happening again,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘It’s happening again,’ she pulled her hair back as she paced around the room aimlessly. She exhaled heavily.

‘How is he?’ a man came into the room, and he seemed to have been travelling in haste. His hair was disoriented and there was the outdoor chill hanging around him.

‘The healer said he doesn’t know what’s going on but that it’s exactly like last time,’ she stuttered. The man sighed. ‘Honey, I don’t know who else to call.’ Her concern was audible even in whispers. ‘He said it’s the same but he doesn’t know the cause and he doesn’t know to what extent.’

‘It’ll be fine, okay?’ he assured her.

‘I’m scared. I’m supposed to take care of him, and look what happened.’ She was on the verge of tears.

‘Hey, calm down.’ He held her firm by her shoulders. ‘I’ll contact everyone I know and we’ll figure this out with everyone, like we always do.’ He talked to her slowly. ‘He’s gonna be fine. Kai’s gonna be fine. Trust me,’ he assured her. She shakily nodded her head. ‘Why don’t you go downstairs and take a rest? I’ll take it from here,’ he led her out.

Xiumin exchanged glances with Yixing, watching as their aunt and uncle exit the room.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Xiumin asked Yixing.

‘He can’t control it anymore,’ Yixing calmly replied. ‘That’s all I can tell,’

Xiumin’s eyes widened. ‘At all?’

Yixing nodded. ‘We’re going to have to wait until he wakes up if we’re ever going to get close to finding out what happened.’ He looked at Kai’s sleeping uneasy face. Kai had always been the centre of attention at Lupus Montague. He wasn’t from Terra Nymphet; or at least not always. The Lupus Montague was not always a politically involved family.

They were a modest aristocratic family who enjoyed a lavish life and originated from Leflores from around a century ago. But power became a new ambition and by marrying sorceresses into the family, they created a new stronghold and moved to Terra Nymphet, where they carried their political influence and became the accepted leaders for the animorph population there.

Kai was the second generation, along with his eight other male cousins, all of them also sorcerer-animorph hybrids. He was brought in 17 years ago by his grandmother after both his parents died. His next closest relatives cared for him since. But Kai was genetically a little weaker than his peers, and suffered numerous symptoms from the Transgenetic Effect, including damage to his mental system when he was young. He was awfully rebellious, which gave a bad mark to his reputation as his father’s only son and heir.

People who witnessed his mischievous attitude thought him to be extremely spoilt and unmannered but the truth was, Kai was sick inside. He improved gradually and seemed to be healthy and normal, strong and fit for several years. He began learning, disciplining himself under a strict private tutor.

Until he encountered Krystal yesterday.

‘Any idea why he sneaked out and where?’ Junmyeon had gathered his cousins in their favourite basement common room. They helped themselves, sitting comfortably on expensive velvet chairs around a mahogany table. Nobody gave a response.

‘How long he been missing, exactly?’ Baekhyun asked.

‘He came back yesterday afternoon,’ Jongdae answered. ‘But he has been out of the house since 7 evening the night before.’

‘That gave him nineteen hours in total to get from here to wherever he was heading and get back here,’

‘8.5 hours per trip?’ Sehun calculated.

‘How much distance can he cover?’ Junmyeon asked, turning to Zhitao. He looked the most bright-eyed out of them all and was munching on some grapes. He gave it a thought.

‘Kai can teleport within a maximum radius of 50 metres in 2.5 seconds. He’d need 0.5 seconds break before he travels another 50 metres.’

‘Let’s just assume that it took him seven hours, or six, since wherever he went he must have been doing something there.’ Jongdae voiced his opinions.

‘He’d get to travel maximum 260 miles,’ Baekhyun answered. ‘But Kai has low mage stamina,’

‘He can’t travel over 8 miles in one go,’ Zhitao said. ‘It take him another 3 minutes to cool down before he can teleport again,’

‘170,’ Yixing voiced out.

‘So where the hell did he go?’ Junmyeon tightened his brows. Everyone was quiet. Then Sehun inhaled.

‘What if,’ he raised his head. ‘He was trying to look for the flower?’

‘What flower?’ Baekhyun asked. Yixing then gasped.

‘The flower. The doctor said something two days ago in Luhan’s room. He said this one particular arctic flower was needed for him to make the tonic he always gives Luhan. But those flowers can only be found up North in the mountains. Only one state grows them,’ Yixing recalled.

‘Mount Rye,’ Sehun said.

‘The state with that lunatic bloodthirsty queen?’ Xiumin only knew so well about Mount Rye’s reputation. It was one of the stories they always heard that managed to keep them up awake at night when they were little. ‘Was he mad?’

‘It’s Kai,’ Zhitao shrugged, trying to make a point.

‘The doctor said retrieving the flowers would take weeks because of documentation processes and that thing had to be kept at optimum temperature or else it would die out.’ Yixing recollected his memories.

‘Kai must have thought it was too long,’ Sehun deduced. Luhan was another one fro the second generation who had been unconscious for two weeks already. Although the healers assured the family that he was alright, but in a constantly deep sleep and had no damage to his brain whatsoever, everyone was worried.

And Kai, being one who would sacrifice so much for his cousins whom he considered his brothers got a little too ahead of himself.

‘So he goes to Mount Rye and then what? Interacts with humans and gets triggered again?’

‘I doubt it,’ Xiumin spoke. ‘He wouldn’t have been able to control himself if he ran into humans. They’d have reported it and we’d have gotten a letter asking for blood compensation.’

Everyone agreed.

‘Then we’ll wait for Kai, and see what he has to say about this.’ Junmyeon dismissed the meeting.

Sehun could feel his mood dampen after the meeting. He walked alone to Luhan’s room, which was right next to his. He quietly opened the door and let himself into the dim-lit room. Luhan was lying in peace, still on his bed. His pale face looked a little sweaty, as if he was overcome with fever. Sehun stood by his side, pressing his hand against the boy’s forehead. It felt cold.

Nobody knew what happened.

He became a little weak and suddenly when he was coming downstairs for dinner, he collapsed. Luhan had not woken up since. Sehun was the one who worried the most. After all, Luhan was his unidentical twin brother. Luhan had constantly been deemed weak; he was the only hybrid who did not inherit visible traits of his animorph genes. He could only thrive as a sorcerer.

His physical capabilities were limited the same way any other sorcerers were; he could not run as fast, he was not as strong, he fell sick quickly and yet Sehun loved to play with him the most. Out of all them, he progressed the fastest in his wizardry skills, which was a pride Sehun always complimented time and time again.

‘Hang in there,’ Sehun the boy’s head. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow,’ he said briefly before he left with a heavy heart.

‘There you are!’ he was surprised by Zhitao’s sudden presence.

‘Tao,’ he closed Luhan’s door. ‘What’s up?’

‘It’s Kai. He’s up,’ he said in a rather cheery manner.