-Kris’s POV-

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking. There was a terrible crook in my neck as I sat up. I looked around to see that I was inside a large brown tent. The others were in the large tent as well, but they were still asleep, except for one sleeping bag that was empty. Jayde…I thought to myself jumping to my feet.

I quickly made my way out the brown tent, instantly greeted by the blazing sun that shown proudly in the sky. I observed the area and saw that it was a large campsite.

Everyone seemed busy, some were training while others made weapons. Some were gathering or packing supplies and others were build something. Each and every one of their movements were made with a purpose, but the main thing that stuck in my mind was the assumption that we were no longer in the woods or even near the Dark Magic’s core layer.

I spotted Lee talking to someone. His face was stern and his voice serious. A saddening thought came across me…could that have been Lee’s empty sleeping bag?

I brushed the thought away and walked up to the two. “Hey Kris.” Lee said, his eyes never leaving the man nor his tone or facial expression changing. “Who is this?” I asked getting straight to business, not in the mood for small talk. The man looked at me and slightly bowed. “I am Yang, part of the Council of Five. The treasurer.” The man introduced.

I quickly bowed. “A man from the Council of Five, an honor to meet you. I’m Kris.” I said politely. “I’m part of the Council of Five too.” Lee murmured. Unimpressed. I looked at him confused and not really confused. Then I looked at Yang whom nodded. “He’s the war leader, our youngest member.” Yang confirmed.

I nodded, slightly impressed. Then things got serious again. “How did we get here? What are we doing here?” I questioned. “We don’t know. You see, we had set up a campsite here about a week ago to create a new faction or war base, I must say. While Lee was out on the mission with you all, Kuam and I took charge of the war scene and decided another war base was necessary. So I am here supervising and making sure everything is set up correctly and runs smoothly. Now to answer your question I do not know how you all got here or by what. Last night the ten of you appeared in the middle of the campsite, unconscious. So we simply just set up an extra tent for you and-,” “Wait, wait, wait…” I said cutting him off.

“Ten? You said ten of us? There’s supposed to be eleven right?” I said.

I looked at Lee. “There was twelve of us. But Jasmine betrayed us, so that makes eleven. So, why did he say only ten of us made it back?” I questioned. Lee’s eyes down casted as they began to get glossy.

I felt my bottom lip quiver. “Who’s missing?” I said, my attention returning to Yang. “Is it Tae? Zelo? Min? Because I can go find them without a problem.” I said. “I’m afraid you already know the answer to that.” Young said softly.

I shook my head. “That’s not an answer.” I said. The priest kept his mouth shut, only allowing a sad sigh to sneak through his lips. “ANSWER ME!” I nearly cried, earning the attention of the people who were around us. Still no response. I felt tears fill the wells of my eyes. “Where is she?”

“Where is she? I need to talk to her.” I said. “Please calm down.” Yang urged gently. “No! I refuse to listen to anyone but my leader. The one who led us through everything. I know she sent us here and I know you know it too. So where is she?” I burst. “Kr-,” “Where is she?!” I screamed. “SHE’S NOT HERE KRIS! DAMN IT! SHE’S NOT HERE!” Lee yelled, his voice cracking.

“What do you mean?” I could barely say without choking on my own words. “You know exactly what I mean. You were there. I was there. We all were there.” A tear streamed down his cheek.

“How are we going to tell the others?” I murmured, my mind all over the place. “We won’t. We’ll just let them wake up and figure it out themselves.” Lee said. “That’s not right.” I said feeling a sharp pain in my heart. “Well I don’t want to talk about it. So do whatever you want to do.” Lee’s voice was shaky, another tear making its way down his cheek. “You two should go and rest. Just call me if you need anything.” Yang said. We nodded and headed back towards the tent in silence.

We went straight towards our sleeping bags and sat there in silence, not saying a word. Suddenly, at that moment someone began jolting in their sleep screaming. “Ah! Aah! St-Stop!” Tae screamed in his sleep, rolling over.

Lee walked over to the hybrid, taking his hands. “Tae…” He whispered gently, his voice still weak and shaky. “No!!” Tae yelled, strangling himself in his sleep. “Tae…it’s okay, you’re just dreaming. It’s not real.” Lee urged. Min slowly opened his eyes, yawning, waking up to the sounds of his brother’s screams.

“Wh-What’s wrong?” Min whimpered, crawling over towards his brother and Lee. “Tae~…” he whimpered shaking him. “Ah! Help! Please!” Tae was now crying in his sleep. “Somebody help her!!” Tae cried.

Lee froze.

Min looked at Lee with confusion. “What’s going on? What is Tae talking about?” Min questioned scared. “I don’t know.” Lee whispered, he was afraid to know. Tae suddenly screamed viciously, sitting up. His eyes now open and red. He panted heavily as terror swallowed his eyes. “TaeTae.” Min whimpered hugging his twin.

The others slowly began to wake up, one by one from Tae’s screaming. Lee made his way back to his spat and sat there in silence, waiting for everyone else to gain consciousness. Tae rocked back and forth hugging his knees helplessly, with no one to help him. Even though Min attempted to calm him down, it didn’t work. I honestly couldn’t feel sorry for him, I couldn’t feel anything. The closest thing to a feeling I felt was numbness. If felt numb, internally and physically, and mentally.

“Where are we?” Daehyun was the first to speak. Lee looked at me, not wanting to answer. I looked back at him, giving him the same look. Daehyun looked around, confused, feeling the heavy, sad, could aura in the air. “Did we lose?” he asked again a little more hesitant. However, he still received no response.

The human looked at Youngjae, who only avoided his gaze. “I’ll just ask Jayde. Where is she?” Daehyun asked standing up. That did it.

Tae busted out crying loudly. Silent tears sped down Min’s cheek. Daehyun froze completely confused, wary filled his eyes. “Daehyun please.” Youngjae said quietly and weakly, pulling the elder back down.

“Jayde is…no longer with us…” Jae whisper sadly to him. “…She-She was killed.” Youngjae could barely say. “What? No…that can’t be possible.” Daehyun said. “By Who?” He questioned. Youngjae shrugged, not sure of who it was. “By her older sister, Karina.” I said distastefully.

“That was her sister?” Zelo asked surprised. Lee nodded. “The one we were supposed to go to after the battle, and supposedly help us win.” I said. “How…How…How can she kill her own sister like that?!” Zelo screeched outraged. “That doesn’t matter. If we had stuck to the plan, none of this would’ve happened.” Lee said. The room was filled with dead, heavy silence.

“It’s all our fault.” Min whimpered, curling into a ball. I felt my eyes burn as fresh tears formed in the wells of my eyes. I noticed Zelo sat there, looking angry, outraged, and hurt. His hair was a mess and his eyes were an irritated red. He was developing a pretty close relationship with Jayde, getting to understand her and his own powers. “It’s not your fault Min, or yours Tae, or you Daehyun and Youngjae, nor is it yours Kris.” Zelo said looking at each of us.

“Zelo.” I sighed. “No he’s right. It is our fault. You guys actually tried. I let my anger get the best of me.” Lee poke up sounding ashamed. “I’m sorry Zelo.” Bang apologized, sighing. “Don’t say sorry to me!” Zelo nearly screamed. “It’s Jayde who you need to apologize to.” He said coldly as tears rolled down his cheek. Bang didn’t bother to say anything else.

“Zelo, it’s not just one person’ fault, or a select few. We’re a team, so it’s all of ours.” I said. Zelo frowned, but slightly nodded in understanding. “And not to mention, we were pretty much controlled by magic.” Youngjae murmured quietly, gaining everyone’s attention.

“What do you mean?” Jongup asked. “Jasmine…Jayde said that someone put a spell in the atmosphere to bring tension. Jasmine ended up being the trader, so it must’ve been her who did that so we wouldn’t be united anymore.” Youngjae explained in a quiet voice. “I will wring her neck when I get my hands on her.” Lee growled animisticly. His hands trembled as he made a fist. “It’s all her fault.” Min whimpered.

“So what do we do now?” Daehyun spoke up, his voice shaky. “We fight.” I said.

“Without Jayde?! I feel no motivation to fight in this war anymore.” Min said, more tears rushing down his cheeks. “Me neither.” Jongup sighed. “That’s something Karina would want. She wants us to quit.” I said. They all looked at me.

“Isn’t there a really good reason why she would want us to quit, going as far as to killing her sister? We still have a chance.” I choked on my fresh tears as I spoke. “I don’t feel like fighting either, but think about Jayde. She wouldn’t want us to quit.” I said. Everyone looked away unconvinced and unmotivated.

“Fine, let’s be real. We’re not going to fight because Jayde wants us to. Let’s fight for those we were fighting for before all this. Youngjae your mom, my sister, those that lost family members because of this war. For each other, Suzy even…and for Jayde. Jayde protected us. Now let’s fight for her, she cared more for us than we for one another combined.” I said. I received no response. Everyone just remained silent and dead.

After a few long seconds Lee lifted his head up, revealing his irritated, teary eyes. “Let’s pay Karina back for what she’s done.” He said. At that everyone else raised their heads, the tension in the air shifting. “Let’s show her what happens when she messes with the wrong people. She always gets what she wants?” Lee just scoffed. “I wonder if she ever gets what she deserves.” Lee said, a sly smile forming in the corner of his mouth.

“I’m in.” Zelo spoke up quietly. “Me too!” Min chirped. Tae just kept crying his eyes out. “Tae is in too.” Min informed. “I’m in.” Youngjae said. “Sign me up.” Jongup gave in. “I’ll do it too.” Himchan nodded. “I’ll fight…only for Jayde.” Bang said. There was silence after he spoke, our attention slowly shifted towards Daehyun.

“What?” his voice cracked. “Are you in?” Lee asked. “Um…Yeah, I’ve been in since I heard what happened to Jayde. Is that even a question?” The human said. I just smiled. “So who’s going to lead us?” Min asked. “I don’t think we need a leader. We should all lead together, and work as a team.” I said. “No…No, a leader is necessary to keep things in check and flowing. We’re not playing a game, this is war. But we can still work as a team.” Lee said.

“Well I think Kris and Lee should both lead us.” Zelo suggested. “I agree.” Youngjae said. The others all nodded. “It’s official, the angry vampire and stealthy shadow are our leaders.” Daehyun said. Lee just looked at him. “What? Like my nicknames?” Daehyun smiled cheekily. Lee shook his head. “Those are the sorriest nicknames I have ever heard in my life…I am truly offended.” Lee said receiving a frown from the human. “I think Bang should lead too.” Tae spoke up quietly.

“Bang?” Lee repeated. “Yeah, he has good leadership qualities.” Min agreed, explaining for his elder twin. “Okay. So we got Kris, Prince Charming, and myself.” Lee confirmed. “And Zelo can be our advisor.” I added. Lee looked at me. “What is this? A bureaucracy now? Alright guys who wants to be treasurer?” He stated sarcastically.

I chuckled, slightly feeling a little bit better. “I was just saying that he could help us out since his powers are advantageous and he’s also pretty close to Jayde, knowledge wise.” I said. “Okay.” Lee gave in, getting serious again. “So what’s next?” I asked. “We need to talk to yang. I’ll be back.” Lee said leaving the tent.

“So where exactly are we?” Daehyun asked. “We’re at some camp base. It’s new.” Was my response. The human just made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth in slight understanding. Then it went silent again. The only sound that was made was Tae’s crying. “Poor kid.” Himchan sadly. “He’s been crying eve since he woke up.” Daehyun said quietly. “He woke up crying.” Jongup corrected.

“Tae…please stop crying. You’re gonna make me cry.” Min pleaded, tugging Tae’s arm. Tae just shook his head as the non-stop tears flowed from his eyes. “Jayde~…” He cried. Jongup crawled over to the brothers. “Hey there…You keep crying like that then you’ll flood up the whole place.” Jongup said.

“That can’t happen.” Min argued. “Yes it can, if you cry all your tears out.” Jongup said. “Oh.” Min said actually considering it for a few seconds before speaking again. “Stop crying Tae~. Please. You’re gonna lose all your tears and cause a flood.” Min started to beg again.

Everyone made their way over to them, except for Bang who made his way over to me. “What’s up?” I asked, already knowing that there was something he wanted to talk about. “I can’t do this leadership thing.” He confessed. I just looked at him. “Why not?” “Because, I messed up and almost betrayed you guys.” He said.

“It’s fine. There was already tension and distrust from before then. You can’t be blamed.” I told him. “But still, I didn’t listen to Jayde, who was the one person we should’ve trusted the most.” The new born sighed. “It’s fine.” I assured him, patting him on the back. “You can make it up now by taking this position and contributing to our victory. That’s the least you can do.” I smiled warmly at him. He nodded feeling a little better. “I’ll do it to make it up to Jayde.” He said sounding convinced. At that moment Lee returned with Yang right behind him. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the visitor.

“It’s a pleasure to see you all again, alive and healthy.” Yang smiled softly, bowing slightly. The rest of us bowed back slightly at his ironic statement. “So what is it that you need exactly?” The priest asked. “We’re ready to start again.” Lee said. Yang raised an eyebrow. “But first, what are our chances of winning our next battle? Or having the upper hand?” Lee asked.

Yang pondered on the thought for a bit as he furrowed his brows. “As of right now we’re barely hanging on a thin strand of losing the war.” He said “Especially with the loss of Jayde it’ll be very hard to make a comeback. She was our best war tactic leader. She was very smart. But you guys may still be of great help since you have worked with her side by side.” Yang went on. “The Dark Magic forces are somehow getting stronger. When we think we’ve got them, something else comes up or more back-up for the Dark Magic armies come.” Yang explained.

“I think we know the source to that.” Lee said looking at every one of us, his voice turning cold. “Oh? What is it?” Yang asked curiously. “When we were battling…Karina came in and…killed Jayde.” Lee said his eyes narrowed at the memory. Yang’s eyes widened in shock. “She’s the one leading the Dark Magic. She’s the one behind it all.” Lee finished.

Lee looked completely surprised by the sudden twist. “But her nature is good and pure. It doesn’t make sense.” He said in disbelief. “Nothing makes sense anymore. The tables are turned, flipped and thrown out the window. We can’t go by the way ‘nature’ works anymore, or by the way things should be or go. We can only go by our own intentions and our goals. We need to focus on that…and we’ll win for sure.” I said firmly.

“The Dark Magic are already too dominant, especially with Karina on their side. There’s a very slim chance of us winning. We’re losing hundreds every day.” Yang said. I just nodded looking at Lee. We were both thinking the same thing. “We’ll keep fighting with the armies that are out now, but draw back some of the soldiers. Don’t send out anymore groups and recall all the backup. Tell them to train hard and prepare for the worst. If we lose, make sure they remain undercover and abide by whatever rules come their way, but to keep training. No further actions will be taken until I send out an order to do so. And tell them, don’t lose hope we’re just taking a very small training break.” Lee instructed. Yang nodded, “I’ll tell Kuam that and I’ll also notify him about Karina.” He said.

“Is there anything else we should know?” I asked. The Priest nodded, of course, and said, “Ms. Sunhi reported to us that many of the Kingdoms fell, but she only reported two particular ones. She also mentioned that another Kingdom, the Jung Kingdom, has partnered with the Dark Magic and their top head general/advisor is Mr. Yoo.” Yang said. Youngjae’s and Daehyun’s eyes widened. Daehyun was the one that seemed surprised, however.

“Wh-What?” Daehyun stuttered surprised. “They…They couldn’t have. My-My parents. They aren’t really evil…are they?” Daehyun seemed to be in denial. “They could’ve just done that to protect their people.” Lee assured. But Daehyun shook his head. “They probably only did it to protect themselves and keep their riches. They most likely handed the villagers over to the Dark magic too.” The human said shamefully. Youngjae wrapped his arms around the elder to comfort him. “I’m sorry.” Youngjae said quietly. “What Kingdoms fell?” I asked. “The Bang and Kim Kingdoms.” Yang answered.

Yongguk and Himchan’s eyes widened as well. “I’m sorry.” Yang apologized sympathetically. “What about my parents? My family?” Himchan’s eyes watered.

“Ms. Sunhi said that she was able to save all of your parents before they could be captured, and she place them in a save hiding spot. Yongguk…unfortunately she was separated from your elder siblings but she believes that they will be fine.” Yang said. Yongguk just nodded, running his hands stressfully through his dark, smooth hair. Zelo looked at him with pity, but didn’t bother to say anything.

“However, the seven boys whom you were training with a re here at this camp. I brought them with me.” Yang said happy to give some sort of good news. “You mean Jiho and the others?” Youngjae perked. Yang nodded. “And about two days ago eleven Shadow Seekers showed up, wanting to join us.” Yang looked at me. I couldn’t help but smile, I missed those guys.

“Is that all?” Lee asked. Yang nodded. “They know you’re all here and are excited to see you, if you want to go out and talk to them. But I advise that you take a few days to rest. You’ve had a long journey. I’ll be here for another week or so and I’ll leave this camp in your hands. You guys will be in charge. I may not see you again after that.” Yang sighed at the last part. Lee and I just nodded. “Well, I’ll let the ten of you be. I’m here if you need anything.” And with that he left the tent.

“So how do you guys feel?” I asked once he was gone. “Ready to kick some D.M. .” Bang muttered under his breath. Tae’s crying calmed down and he was now sniffling with a few silent tears that streamed down his soft, chubby cheeks. “Honestly…I’m tired.” Jongup said stretching.

“Yeah, we should rest. That’ll be a good idea. We’re not in a rush anyway.” I said. The others nodded silently. The mood was a mixture of sadness and determination surprisingly working together. “I miss Jayde. It feels empty and incomplete without her.” Min whimpered.

I thought for a bit. “What’s-What’s something that Jayde would say if she were here too in this situation?” I asked. Everyone thought for a bit, thinking long and hard about what she’d say.

“I know.” Zelo spoke up after a long moment of silence. We all looked at him, listening carefully. “She would tell us to forget about her…things happen for a reason. But the lesson learned here is to know how important the people around you are, even if you don’t agree all the time and may fight. But the ones that are here now and did not betray you are the ones you need to put first and fight for. Fight for the living and for the dead, because they’d want us to fight for the future like they did.” Zelo said.

Lee slowly nodded. “That sounds like something she’d say.” He said impressed. “But there’s no way I can forget about her. I’ll fight for her and those in the future.” Lee said. “So that’s our new game plan. No more revenge, no more now, but the future.” I said. Everyone nodded. “And Jayde.” Min said. “The future and Jayde.” Bang repeated. “Man this is one crazy world.” Daehyun sighed.

A/N: IMPORTANT!!!!

Hey everyone! First of all thank you so much for reading. This actually is supposed to be the last chapter of the story (Yes I know I'm terrible for ending a story on a cliff-hanger, lol but what's new?). I had written this a long time ago, thinking that I was going to write a 3rd story, but that never happened. I did start to add extra chapters to the story. But WARNING!!! The chapters after this may seem a little off or different since it's been years since I've actually written in this story, and I'll have to get my creative juices for this story flowing again lol.So I apologize in advance. But thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it so far!!