The trio began walking, completely oblivious to the various sets of eyes watching them as they did. In the viewing room the group of men had gone dead silent, staring straight ahead in shock. Each man was gaping at the large screen, their eyes zeroed in on the dark figure on the sand dune behind DongHae, SungMin and Henry. HeeChul recovered first from the initial shock, blinking twice before regaining the ability to speak.

“I-Is that?” HeeChul spluttered.

“Yes…yes…it is…” SiWon answered lowly.

“Why is he in there? He’s never taken an interest in the game before…” HanGeng mumbled.

                Leeteuk burst into the room, nearly throwing the door off of its hinges as he entered; the man was looking frantic, his eyes searched the men’s eyes before they moved slowly towards the screen. He looked on the verge of tears; the man was near hyperventilating.

“ShinDong told me HE appeared. Tell me it isn’t true. TELL ME IT ISN’T TRUE!” Leeteuk said frantically.

                The room was silent and Leeteuk fell to his knees and let out a choked sob; HeeChul stood and rushed over to Leeteuk’s side. The slightly younger man gathered the elder in his arms and attempted to calm the angel. Leeteuk shook like a lead and buried hid his head in HeeChul’s arms; his breathing became shallow and uneven, muttering “no, no, no!” under his breath.

“Shh….Teukkie, calm…deep breaths come on…” HeeChul whispered.

                HeeChul gently rocked Leeteuk back and forth in on effort to calm the man down. The main screen cut away to black and Zhou Mi’s voice rang out over head.

“Is Leeteuk-gege there?” The chipper man asked.

“Yeah he’s here Mimi, he’s distraught but he’s here.” HeeChul shouted.

“Okay good…well….not good…I guess? ShinDong found him hyung. It is him…” Zhou Mi said.

“He confirmed it’s him?” KangIn asked.

“Yes…see for yourselves.”

                With that a man’s picture appeared on the screen, the picture however seemed blurry and nondescript compared to the sharpness of the previous images. His features were blurred, but he was clearly the same man as before, the one who had been watching the players. HanGeng in haled sharply, SiWon cursed and KangIn growled at the sight of the picture; Leeteuk looked up at the screen and cursed, this was NOT good.

“Where is he? Zhou Mi! Tell me he’s nowhere near the players! Tell me he’s not near my babies!” Leeteuk cried.

                HeeChul tightened his grip on his elder and tried to calm the hysterical man.

“I—I can’t…sorry Teukkie-gege…” Zhou Mi said solemnly.

                The screen cut back to the trio who were navigating through a dense jungle; SungMin and DongHae were hacking away at the dense overgrowth. SungMin’s machete cut through some of the dense foliage; every once in a while DongHae would clutch at his ribs in pain. The jungle’s wildlife cooed around them, beady eyes watching them every turn they took. Henry trailed behind the elder pair, worrying over DongHae; every once in a while the musician would glance around nervously. SungMin watched the youngest out of the corner of his eyes; he was rather jumpy ever since they left beach. SungMin stopped and turned to Henry; DongHae was wheezing and he leaned on a tree.

“Henry, what’s wrong?” SungMin asked.

“I don’t know…I feel like we’re being followed…” Henry mumbled.

“I…hah…think we should—ow, keep moving.” DongHae wheezed.

                Hearing DongHae’s difficulty breathing SungMin rushed over to the younger male. He began checking DongHae over, making sure he wasn’t injuring himself even more.

“Hae, where does it hurt?” SungMin asked worriedly.

“…Ribs…”DongHae hissed.

“What does it feel like?” SungMin asked.

“…like…pain?” DongHae replied.

“Should I try to heal him again?” Henry asked.

“No, we can’t have you exhausting yourself. Can you make sure he doesn’t injure himself?” SungMIn asked.

                Henry nodded and took charge of DongHae; the younger man led him along, SungMin returned to hacking away at the shiny, multicolored foliage. The eldest cut in half a branch and the trio found themselves in a clearing. They had arrived at the base of the mountain, a tunnel lay ahead of them; Henry groaned.

“Not again!” The youngest groaned.

“Do we…have to?” DongHae whined.

“I see no other alternative…” SungMin sighed.

                Another dual groan from the younger pair; SungMin’s left eye twitched. He ignored their protests and marched into the cave. Begrudgingly DongHae and Henry followed; they trudged behind the eldest as the dim lighting of the cave engulfed them. On the rocky walls were lit torches; the flames lined the pathway, and the group breathed a small sigh of relief. While the trio was calm the group in the viewing room watched with bated breath; Leeteuk held on to HeeChul tightly, his grip tightening with every step the group took. The sound of a low chant echoed through the cave and Leeteuk let out a whispered “no”. The trio stepped into a cavernous room, lined with torches and candelabras. The walls were decorated in gold, Egyptian hieroglyphics and runes were etched into the walls; ornate golden statues littered the room. At the center of the room was a throne, jewels decorated the golden and silver ornate throne; the chanting was louder but still unintelligible. SungMin inhaled sharply as the realization set in, they were in a throne room.

“We shouldn’t be here, let’s go back.” SungMin hissed.

                The other two nodded and the three turned to back track as quickly as possible, practically running to the entrance they came through. The three ran to the entrance; the exit disappeared into thin air, leaving only rock wall behind. The three stopped dead, SungMin banged his fist against the rock wall in frustration. DongHae swore and Henry bit his lip, kicking the rock wall.

“!” The eldest swore as he pounded against the wall.

“Umm….Hyung…there’s someone….there.” Henry whispered nervously.

                The trio turned around slowly, and watched as a dark figure materialized in the room; the man crossed the room and stood in front of the throne. In the viewing room Leeteuk began sobbing; his babies were in danger, a danger more real than anything the game could possibly throw at them. An evil smirk drew at the man dressed in black’s full lips; his onyx eyes were alight. His tongue drew out to wet his lips. The atmosphere in the room was dark and tense; the mysterious man’s aura was deadly and instilled fear in the trio.

“Were you planning on leaving so soon?” The man asked.

                His voice was deep and velvety, his tone dark yet charismatic; DongHae gulped. The men exchanged fearful glances, none of them wished to address the man; the room was silent and the man sat down in the throne.

“Well?” He asked expectantly.

“Yes.” SungMin spoke up hesitantly.

                He stood in front of his dongsaengs; he was terrified by the man but he still felt obligated to protect the younger man. The man sighed and place his right elbow on the throne, he placed his middle and pointer finger resting on his temple; a bored expression on his handsome face. He looked at the trio in amusement through black bangs; SungMin shivered under the gaze.

“Lee SungMin, you are a weapons specialist are you not?” The man asked.

"How...do you know that?" SungMin replied with a question of his own.

“I’m asking the questions here Bunny.” The man snapped.

                SungMin closed his mouth, fearful about what would occur if he spoke out of line; above all he must protect his dongsaengs no matter what.

“You have a fighting spirit; I can tell you are biting your tongue. I wonder how long it will take for me to break that will.” The man wondered aloud.

“W-what?! What do you mean?!” SungMin yelled in astonishment.

                The man ignored him and turned his soul-piercing gaze to Henry.

“Henry Lau, famous violinist…so young to die, but you aren’t exactly innocent now are you?” The man asked.

                Henry stared at him in shock at the statement.

“Your poor, poor sis—“

“SHUT UP!” Henry yelled in English as he panicked, interrupting the man’s statement.

                The man’s amused yet bored gaze turned dark at the outburst, he rose from the throne and glared down at the younger man. SungMin pushed Henry behind him, and prepared himself; the man walked towards the men.

“Leave him alone.” SungMin growled.

                SungMin stepped in front of Henry protectively, his palms glowing as he prepared himself.

“Quiet Bunny.” The man snapped.

                He raised a hand and flicked his wrist to the left; SungMin flew to the left, launched backwards by an unseen force. He hit the wall and groaned as pain spread throughout his back; the shadows cast by the flickering flames crept towards him and wrapped around him. The martial artist was pinned to the wall, trapped by a band of shadow; he struggled but the shadow’s grip was relentless.

“SungMin-hyung!” DongHae yelled.

                The angered man turned his gaze from a cowering Henry to the still wheezing DongHae. The onyx eyes stared them down, the depths cold and calculating.

“Silence fool.” He growled dangerously.

                DongHae gulped and stepped back, however as he did the man snapped his fingers; thick black vines rose from the floor and wrapped around DongHae’s abdomen. The young man squirmed as the vines encircled him, and they began to tighten. As DongHae squirmed he briefly noted that the vines had neon purple spike-like thorns protruding from them.

“I’d stop that, those thorns are quite deadly; nasty little ers.” The man said nonchalantly.

                DongHae stopped immediately, but the vines continued to tighten around him regardless; DongHae cried out in pain as the pressure began to re-break his ribs. The sickening cracks from DongHae’s ribs being crushed echoed throughout the room, preceded by the yells of pain and followed by the pained wheezing. Henry winced at the sound and SungMin swore at the man, yelling at him to stop.

“Stop it you bastard!” SungMin roared.

                The martial artist resumed thrashing in his restrictive, shadowy bonds; Henry focused on DongHae’s writhing body to form a barrier on the elder male. Before he could act Henry found himself pinned between the dark man and the wall behind him; the man’s left forearm across the young violinist's throat.

“Don’t even think about it Violin boy.” The man snarled.

“I—“ Whatever Henry had wanted to say was cut off by the man pushing his forearm further into the younger’s windpipe.

“STOP IT! STOP HURTING THEM!” SungMin yelled hysterically.

                The eldest had tears running down his cheeks as he helplessly watched his precious dongsaengs being tortured by the man. He was a reflection of Leeteuk, who was also crying heavily with each choked wheeze from Henry and every crack from DongHae’s ribs. SungMin thrashed some more, trying to break free; his body too worn to summon a weapon, not that it would have done any good.

“Stop it!” He yelled weakly.

                The man turned his head away from Henry, a wicked smile on his face as the man stared down the crying martial artist.

“Why should I? I’m having fun, aren’t you?” The man laughed.

“W-who, are you?” Henry wheezed as he gasped for air.

“Me? The Devil.” The man replied darkly. 

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Oh damn....another, umm...intense chapter. Aish.... sorry for it being short AGAIN....I have failed you my dear readers, and for that I apologize. *bows* Regardless of its fail length I hope you enjoyed the chapter, comments, critisism and subbies are all wonderfully recieved. I love you all, please don't kill me for hurting the babies even more...it did say the action was gonna start picking up so well, yeah...it did. Ummm......not sure what else I can say here.....ummm, love your faces. Drop me a comment or PM if you have any questions, but beware some questions I MAY answer cryptically simply because they may partain to future events and I don't want to spoil it for you all. Love you guys, thank you for recieving this story so well I'll try to have another update soon-ish.

~Key