Chapter 14 – Enter the Players

Disney Sea is everything that I ever expected it to be.

Cheesy, way too cute and jammed packed with things that have me squeaking like a hyper two-year-old whenever I think it’s safe enough to do so. Which granted isn’t that often because the others are around me looking a mixture between very intense, relaxed but poised to kill or completely fascinated in a childish way. I’d forgotten that Sehun has never been to one of these kinds of places before and I’m glad that I can actually hold onto his hand without him throwing a fit because I’m pretty sure we would have lost him by now if I hadn’t been.

Though there was a moment earlier in the park when I had threatened to put baby reigns on him if he did wander off as we had lost him twice in the entrance because he had spotted something and just followed after it.

Stupid freaking adorable little kitten.

There again, if I remember things correctly, I managed to lose Chanyeol around something like this for freaking six hours once. How I managed to lose the nearly as tall as me giant I do not know in the slightest but it happened.

There’s probably been a time when me or Suho have lost someone, keeping an eye on these wayward kids with powers was never an easy task. Including the ones that are older than the pair of us. Can’t remember if I ever lost Suho or if he ever lost me but now I’m getting side tracked.

Or more correctly side dragged because Sehun has spotted something and wants to go and see it. I’m just about to remind him that we’re supposed to be keep an eye out for the others or else Tao when he points to something, “Panda.”

“What?” of all the things I expected Sehun to say, Panda was not one of them.

Sehun gives me a deadpan looks and points again, “Panda.”

Following the line of the point, I do actually find myself looking at a Panda. Not a real one, thankfully, but one of those animatronics things. It’s stationed next to a sign for one of the newer rides that is not quite open yet and Sehun is already tugging me towards it. “Sehun!” I hiss, trying to get him to stop but it’s no good in the slightest as once the youngster has something in his sights he will not let go, “It’s not open yet.”

The little brat ignores me, instead stepping to stand right in front of the panda and just stares at it. I sigh, turning back to see if the others have kept up or not because the last thing I need today is to be searching for them. Thankfully Yixing and Luhan are buying ice creams whilst Baekhyun is trying to get a photo taken with a mascot character so they’re fine.

“Sehun?” I question, turning back to him and nearly jumping out of my skin because the boy is petting the panda. Granted it looks really freaking cute and I’m already digging my phone out of my pocket because I need this blackmail photo like so bad but it’s a bit tricky when the panda is actually reacting to Sehun. No, I’m not going mad or anything, and Sehun is not just following the movements of the animatronics. The Panda is actually responding to Sehun’s movements and nudging him for more.

“Oh, is that one of the new interactive things?” Baekhyun asks, appearing suddenly wearing a cap which he did not have before and pokes the Panda in the eye. Then yelps when the apparent animatronics takes a bite towards his hand causing the little pipsqueak to use me as a freaking shield. “That’s a mean panda!”

“You poked it in the eye,” I deadpan towards him, accepting an ice cream cone from Yixing who is also staring at the panda in wonder and doesn’t notice that the black and white menace starts to eat his cone at the same time.

“Are they supposed to do that?” Luhan asks in a curious tone but I’m watching Sehun carefully, ignoring the playful bickering going on between Baekhyun and Luhan now.

Sehun has stopped petting the panda and is looking up towards the top of the ride, his eyes unfocused and glazed and for a second I’m afraid that he’s going to faint or fall or something like that but then he blinks and looks to the left. Instinct makes me grab hold of him before he can go running off like a demented chimpanzee but really, I shouldn’t have bothered because the next freaking second Kai is right in front of Sehun, launching a glomp attack hug the likes of which none of us have ever encountered and I’m the one who ends up sprawled on the floor, winded and possibly bruised because I’ve just had two teenagers land on me.

“Kai!” a voice yells and within seconds there is a figure hauling Kai upright and bloody hell, I swear the guy has gotten taller. However, the big eared giant is only focused on one person at the moment and doesn’t notice the fact that we’re all staring at him. “We’re supposed to be incognito here and you’re jumping right in front of everyone, causing a freaking scene and...”

“But Channie!” Kai whines, pointing at Sehun desperately but the other completely ignores him.

“Do you realize how much of a going over you’re going to get from...”

“Suho-umma!” Sehun literally squeals and launched himself at Suho before I can stop him and send the smaller man crashing to the ground with an audible thump and whine that has me groaning and yelling a Sehun for being a clumsy twit.

Chanyeol double blinks in surprise, goes to open his mouth and say something but is suddenly struck in the stomach by a seething Baekhyun who then promptly throws his arms around the others neck, “You bloody giant yoda eared git! Where have you been!”

“With me,” Kyungsoo says, appearing with a slick smile that would be a bit arrogant if I didn’t know how Soo works when it comes to his overly large boyfriend, “Not our fault you lost him.”

“Soo!” Baekhyun yells and throws his arms around his neck, leaving Chanyeol at the mercy of the others.

I just stay back a little, letting everyone squeal, hug and generally make a ruckus that has a few people glancing our way but we’re left alone for the most part which is good. A small, delicate hand slots securely into mine and I grin, looking down at Suho before pulling him into a one-armed hug because Kai has finally let go of Sehun long enough to start embracing everyone else. “Hey puppy, you causing trouble for your mama again?”

Kai looks a little bit on the sheepish side but Suho waves him off, “Go and say hi and no more jumping whilst we’re here, okay?”

A nod is our answer before Kai is pouncing on Yixing, sending the ditzy boy to the floor again and I wince. “We’re really got to stop him from doing that,” I whisper towards Suho.

Suho nods back but then shrugs, “They can have today, it’s been a long while.” His eyes travel up to mine, a warm brown which makes me feel safe and secure in the knowledge that we are in the right time and space.

“We’re still not fully clear,” I whisper back, unease making me keep a wary eye out for Chen and Xiumin because whilst I know we did not hurt them too much, they could be around here easily enough to take us out.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kyungsoo says, suddenly appearing next to us, the little creepy pocket penguin still able to sneak around virtually undetected, “I’ve got my eyes in the sky and if they spot either of them then we’ll know instantly.”

I nod my thanks and glance back towards the panda animatronics. Or at least to where it was before Kai turned up. I blink and turn rapidly, looking right and left because I know that damn thing was there and I even had a photo on my phone to black mail Sehun with. Actually, I check my phone and see that there is a photo of Sehun but where the panda was there is only a blank space.

A very cold chill goes down my spine and I subconsciously pull Suho tighter to my side, causing him to start complaining at me but he feels completely real underneath me fingertips so I’m fine. “Sehun,” I call to the youngster who is all smiles and looks to be just as happy to bounce around with everyone just like in the old days.

He turns to look at me with a bright smile, “Yes Kris?”

“What did the panda feel like to you when you were petting it?” I ask slowly, hoping not to sound too freaked out but something is definitely not right here.

Sehun blinked and looks at me confused, “Panda? What are you on about?”

“The Panda animatronics you were petting,” I say, really hoping that I’m not the one going crazy right now.

Now Sehun looks really confused and glances around, blinking rapidly, “Hey, where did he go?”

“Where did who go?” Suho asks, his own voice starting to fill up with the same strange tone that mine has taken on because he’s realised the same thing as me.

“Tao,” Sehun says, blinking, “But for some reason he was dressed in a panda costume, hence why I said it.”

Me and Suho share a glance, our eyes meeting and the next second I’m throwing myself to the floor, somehow managing to grab Sehun in the process and throwing him down as well.

Kyungsoo got Chanyeol down not a second later and the others are quick to follow suit because Chen is firing at us once again from the other side of the courtyard but the shots are wildly missing. I glance up and see that there’s a figure fighting with him and realize that it’s Xiumin. “Oh hell,” I breath out, ducking down another hail of bullets and trying to figure out just how we’re going to get out of this one.

When I notice a small ripple of green computer code on the concrete underneath my nose.

Without thinking, I my hand down into the glitch and the next thing I know, there’s an explosion of light and the world around me turns into a green and black grid before plunging straight into blackness.

A little sign flashes up in the corner, white text standing out starkly.

Game Over.

authors babbling: yeah, damn plot bunnies making no sense in the slightest. Lets see where this takes me eh?