Lamiya was in the middle of chaos, but her mind was calm.

 

How could it be anything but that? The powers running through her veins were finally her own, she was human and alive again and it’d been so long since she felt this way that she’d completely forgotten she could even feel like this ever again.

 

Oh, victory felt amazing. Now all that was left was wrapping this whole thing up by shutting the fickling witch until she could no longer deceive anyone.

 

She was calm, yet there was a sour spot in her chest she knew she could never fill with anything - especially not with the screams of Jessica she would get to hear by the time she was done with her.

 

Sweet Tae, she thought to herself. It had not been long, but the image of his warm eyes wouldn’t remove itself from her field of vision.

 

Was this the additional price she would have to pay?

 

Wasn’t it enough already, having lived as a freaking butterfly for eons and now being nearly driven to madness and having been almost murdered?

 

If she wasn’t enraged, every cell in her body would hurt.

 

But she would hold on somehow. She gritted her teeth and stopped worrying about her own stupid dramas, instead getting a grip on the situation and helping Sehun direct the furious tornado towards the villain, much like he had done mere seconds ago.

 

She could not think about him now. She could not even let her energy flow alongside his own - not when her powers still sang of the promise she had shared with someone else, not when they missed him, wanted him back, not when they’d always want him and yearn for him.

 

Sweet Tae. Why did it have to happen this way?

 

When she’d woken up, blood seeping from her arcade and her whole body aching from the hits it had sustained, because that tall, mindless brute apparently hated her for existing just because Jessica said so, she had only one thought in her head. Taemin.

 

She’d found him struggling to get away, flying unevenly through the sky, tilting to one side and to the other side in the next moment - he was as injured as she was, though she hadn’t thought she’d managed to do such great damage to him.

 

But as awful as it felt, she wouldn’t let go of her goal - getting her powers back. She would never be able to rest if she couldn’t have them. He had to give them back, if only to kill her afterwards.

 

“Taemin!” she screamed when she was close enough to his flying form. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel anymore - happy or sad, excited or scared, she wasn’t sure.

 

But as Taemin turned, his eyes only half-open and his neck sporting a nearly purple mark she knew the source of, her stomach sank.

 

Could she do this?

 

At that moment, there were so many things she was unsure of.

 

“How are you even alive anymore?” he screeched in disbelief as he landed on a nearby rooftop. This one had no similarity to the one they first fought on - it was a rooftop of a building built not too long ago, without rubbles or shards or the possibility of the whole building falling down if the two began fighting with full force.

 

She knew neither could fight with even half of their strength, though. The hissing pain of the bloody spot on her face was hard to ignore, and she was pretty sure she had at least a cracked rib because breathing in was getting harder and harder.

 

Taemin looked the same like she felt - bruised and out of his mind and just plain tired from having to go through another round of this.

 

But they would have to end the promise tying them together - he would have to give her back what he had stolen. Only after SM fell would she give up. But until she didn’t get front-row seats for the flame that the end of the whole curse her planet had fought against for eons was, she would keep breathing and asking for what was rightfully hers.

 

This was why she was alive in the first place, so she had to run and meet her destiny as soon as possible.

 

How exciting did it feel to have it standing right in front of her after so many years.

 

“Taemin, let’s stop this,” Lamiya said tiredly as her feet touched the ground. “Neither of us is a child - we both know how this ends. Even if you were stronger than me, you wouldn’t be able to walk out of here because you know this isn’t right.

 

Imagine how it would feel if someone was to take your very essence - how would it be if that essence was within an arm’s reach now, after thousands of years?” Her voice was desperate and tired, and neither was a lie. She didn’t have the strength to act anymore, and deep down, she knew who Taemin was - honesty would be able to get to him.

 

Just like she predicted, his whole posture slowly began to change as he began walking towards the edge of the rooftop. He sighed when he got there, and Lamiya started walking towards him, a slow but sure presence behind him.

 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “You are right,” he began. “I don’t even remember how long ago I crossed you like that, Na Eun. I know you don’t believe it, but it was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my whole existence.”

 

She was now standing next to him, and as silly as it was, her heart - which she hadn’t taken with her when Sehun had decided to protect her, instead leaving it to stay frozen in the sand forever, right where it was ripped out of her chest by the very same person that was talking to her now - did a leap and she started shivering, though she did not feel cold at all.

 

No, it was not the cold. She confirmed as much when his eyes turned towards her, watching her intently and reminding her of something she’d woved to forget a long, long time ago.

 

Taemin smiled sadly. “You know, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Na Eun. When you gave me your powers and I left, I thought you’d just leave the planet when you realized I’d crossed you and live a happy, long life somewhere else, with someone else.”

 

She found herself shaking her head, as if the thought alone was ridiculous, while his eyes watched her intently. He probably expected the denial to imply something romantic - her heart expected as much, but just like she’d said a minute ago, they really were too old for this.

 

“It was not my path,” she said as she locked eyes with her first love. “And I can’t imagine you ever believing my path would be one without fire and drama every step of the way.”

 

Taemin chuckled. “You sure are right, Na Eun. But as much as I like making small talk with you, let’s get this over with. Yes, I am weaker than you but I won’t just give you my powers - not when I know you’ll use them to destroy my whole race and end my cause. I’d rather cease to exist than let that happen.”

 

Could she have let it go then? Could she have said Yes, you are right and I don’t want you to die so go before I change my mind?

 

Would it have made a difference?

 

“You old hag!” Jessica screamed, bringing her out of her thoughts. She was functioning on autopilot now, without any real fire in her moves. How could there be? Using her powers felt dirty and unnatural.

 

Victory felt amazing, but it felt so wrong and wretched at the same time too.

 

“That was never my goal,” she had said not too long ago, “And you know that as well as I do, Tae. I was the fool who believed in the whole Romeo-and-Juliet-but-with-a-happy-ending utopia. You have no right to try to turn it against me, when you were the one who had shattered that world for me.”

 

His hand touched her shoulder lightly, and when he spoke, his words were equally light. “I’m sorry, babe. I just never thought anyone would ever believe in something so ridiculous. I thought you knew it was a lie.”

 

“It was a beautiful lie, Tae,” she whispered, and she didn’t know how it all made her feel. His hand drawing patterns on her arm was making her suffocate, and she could hardly breathe anymore.

 

It had been a long, long time…

 

They were silent for a couple of moments, watching over the horizon and pretending this was a whole different setting and they were not at the opposite sides of the spectrum. It was always some shade of grey with them, though they were supposed to represent black and white and never venture out, close to the line and in danger of crossing it.

 

“Do you love her?” she blurted out suddenly, not having wanted to ask the question but having thought of it many, many times in the past few minutes.

 

She knew everything because she possessed Luhan’s powers now. She knew his mind, but Luhan’s powers did nothing to help her know his heart.

 

Why did she feel so scared of Taemin’s answer?

 

Why did his answer even matter?

 

“Nah,” he scoffed, oblivious to the hurricane raging inside of her. Outside, she was emotionless, an old friend chatting with someone she hadn’t seen in a long, long while, but inside, she was shattering and being brought back together every couple of seconds, a taut string ready to snap at any second. Again. Always.

 

“It just… came naturally, I guess. She’s the most important person in her department, I’m the most important person in mine. But there was never anything real in it, just some fooling around and having the satisfaction of being able to be with the best one around.”

 

She started breathing again, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. His hand was now gliding upwards, leaving her arm and a fiery feeling in its wake, finding its rightful place on her cheek and staying there.

 

“She isn’t you,” he said brokenly, and then she found the courage to look into his eyes again. He wasn’t playing a game anymore - this was real.

 

This was the first real thing she was able to feel ever since he’d inflicted the pain she could never get over. It was only real if it was him.

 

“Tae, I…” she tried, but she didn’t know what she wanted to say. She’d felt angry for so long, and she was so sure that everything was a lie that she’d never even thought about the possibility that it wasn’t like that - not completely.

 

Had someone told her that she would be able to actually understand everything after such a long time back when she was young and angry and left alone and betrayed, she would’ve said never, I’ll never forgive him.

 

How was it possible that she found herself forgiving this unknown, yet so familiar, man smiling at her right now, then?

 

How was it that she found herself yearning for him the same way that she had when she was young and afraid and with her heart in her hands?

 

Taemin seemed to know exactly what kind of battle she was fighting, because his fingers were immediately on her lips while he shushed her. “I know everything,” he said softly, and his face seemed much closer than before. Was he going to…?

 

“We’ll have to finish this fight, Na Eun, but not immediately. I’ve missed my butterfly… I just want to pretend for a little while. Please.”

 

What was he even saying? She couldn’t think when he was that close, when his scent was intoxicating and she could do nothing but blink rapidly, trying to see anything but the brown of his eyes and failing.

 

He wanted them to pretend?

 

Her silence seemed like enough of an answer for him, because within a moment her back hit the solid ground and they were kissing.

 

It was the same like such a long time ago.

 

It was nothing like back then. For God’s sake, her body was different and he was a freaking alien that did not age. She had too many emotions for too many different people and the powers running through the veins of the guy who was kissing her like no tomorrow were not his - they belonged to her and she demanded them back.

 

The whole world was falling apart and yes, he was right - the whole Romeo-and-Juliet-but-with-a-happy-ending thing was really too ridiculous to be believable.

 

Yet she believed the lie anyway. Was this what he meant by pretending? Because it was working, whatever it was.

 

“Tae,” she gasped when they paused to take a breath. Her hands were all over his face, trying to feel him, trying to remember the person she was before she became a prisoner of this awful hatred threatening to make her burn out. “Tae, I need my powers back.”

 

Tae kissed her temple and chuckled. “Don’t think I’ve let my guard down just because we’re pretending. Why in the world would I do that, babe?”

 

She got a good grip on his hair and pushed, enjoying the feeling of having some control over this situation because he closed his eyes and let her do as she wished. “Because I want to kill her, not end your race,” she whispered hotly, finding the sensitive spot below his ear and planting a small kiss on it.

 

She didn’t remember, but somehow, he was too familiar to be forgotten. Her hands were moving on their own, knowing every inch of his body and how to make things as good as possible so that she could take advantage of the situation.

 

Taemin didn’t open his eyes, instead settling for a long chuckle while tracing patterns down her arms. He was impatient, she knew, and she felt the same - God knew what was happening on that rooftop. She didn’t have time for this, as much as she wanted to pretend, like he’d suggested.

 

“Babe, I told you she means nothing to me. And I know you’re not a jealous little girl, so cut the act, okay?” Taemin suddenly opened his eyes and ended her trail down his neck, roughly turning them sideways until she was hanging at the edge of the rooftop.

 

She remembered this feeling, too, because Tae had loved it too much to not exploit it every chance he got. She remembered the danger he always put them in, always at the edge of something, always unsure if he was joking or if he was serious, if he’d let something bad happen to her or if he’d catch her before she fell after being thrown by him.

 

He knew how much she loved it all, too, and the look in her eyes must’ve betrayed her, because Tae smiled widely. “That’s my girl,” he whispered. “Now get over here and do as I said - forget about the whole thing for a while.”

 

She let him kiss her again, but her mind was clear. She knew how to turn the tables - she remembered now.

 

“I’m not a little girl,” she whispered against his lips after some time, “But I am jealous, Tae. I am very, very jealous and very angry.”

 

“Oh? Is that so?” His voice was playful, his hands beneath her shirt and the course of things obvious, or well, at least the course of his thoughts.

 

But she was not a little girl indeed, and he seemed to have forgotten that, because he’d let himself get into that position when she was very unstable. “I’ve taken poor Luhan’s powers today, Tae,” she said slowly, her fingernails now digging beneath his skin. “And I’ve seen everything.”

 

She raised herself up above him, straddling him while his head hung off the rooftop, his hair now wild and free against the hot air. He had eyes only for her, and they were hungry - the whole thing with Jessica really seemed to have left him unsatisfied and she knew how much he loved to hurt the things he valued.

 

“I know all about what you let her do to you,” she said angrily, her fingernails now dragging across the skin of his arm, making him flinch. “And don’t think I’ll let her off that easily.”

 

Taemin seemed as if he was paralyzed by what she was doing, though she wasn’t doing much. In a way, he reminded her of Luhan, who’d thought about her so much that the whole thing seemed to surreal to him when it actually happened for him to ever even think that it was a lie.

 

But she knew Taemin wasn’t an amateur - he’d lived a long, long time and he wouldn’t be deceived by a little bit of passion and pain.

 

Taemin didn’t chuckle or laugh, though. He intertwined both of their hands and pushed her down, towards him and away from balance that was keeping them at the rooftop. She wasn’t scared, though, but another kiss left her breathless and her mind spinning.

 

Tae really did have style, she would give him credit for that.

 

“You are a real furia,” he said through gritted teeth, biting her lower lip. “So let’s see how that will go. Jessica is stronger than you, you know, so this won’t help you much…”

 

She didn’t even have time to gasp when she felt the power return into her body, back to where it belonged, back to where it was supposed to be.

 

She did not know what to think, what this even meant, why Tae was doing this, and she turned her frightened eyes towards the man hanging off the ledge. He was so handsome, smiling at her earnestly with warm eyes. “You really were right, Na Eun,” he said in a low voice. “I really wouldn’t be able to walk out of here without returning you your rightful powers.”

 

And then she felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she couldn’t breathe anymore.

 

Things were happening too fast - the powers seeping back into her body, Taemin still smiling at her earnestly while she found the hands holding the knife that was cutting into her already bruised and exhausted body.

 

He was murdering her, her mind was screaming, but she couldn’t connect the image and the audio - how could those warm eyes…

 

Then he took the knife out, and she felt as if she was really going to die.

 

“I’m sorry, Na Eun,” he said slowly. His face was frozen in that innocent image that had let her take her guard down, but things slowly became clear to her - he didn’t need her powers anymore, all he had to do was protect Jessica, she’d told him about Lu’s powers so he hid his thoughts from her, he was murdering her he was murdering her and there was nothing she could do about it.

 

She looked down at the knife - now she was the only one holding its handle. She recognized it. It was the same knife he’d used on her far too many times and she could do nothing about the irony that this would be the last time.

 

“I know, babe,” Taemin said, shushing her while he removed the stray hands of her hair from her face. “But you can let go now. You’ve done your job - it’s time to go to rest now.”

 

No.

 

Before she knew it, she’d managed to turn the knife around and strike as hard as she could - while she still had strength. While she still had the ability to finally exact her revenge.

 

She should’ve done this the moment she’d landed on this rooftop. She was supposed to be more intelligent, more experienced than this.

 

But she really was unstable today, having to face too many things from the past she’d been running from for ages.

 

The knife’s blade cut through tissue, and all other sounds, smells, tastes and images vanished.

 

All that was left was his face speaking of betrayal, shock and uttermost fear. She knew her face mirrored it, but…

 

“You’ve done this, Tae,” she said in a distraught voice. “If you’d given me my powers back without doing this, I wouldn’t have had to do the same to you.”

 

Somehow, the wound on her chest didn’t hurt anymore. She looked at her shirt - it was black, so no blood was visible. She knew there had to be a lot, though, but she had so many more important things to do now.

 

“She’ll kill you anyway!” Taemin shouted with difficulty, still hanging from the ledge, the knife deep inside of his chest. She slowly got up, trying to scramble away from what she’d done, but the image of it remained in front of her eyes.

 

Her hands felt dirty and bloody, and she couldn’t take a deep breath, but she couldn’t help but give an answer to Tae anyway, not sure if he’d hear her but not caring that much anyway. “She probably will… But you won’t be there to relish in it, you treacherous bastard!”

 

And so now she was here, fighting the witch that was the real cause of everything. Lamiya-Na Eun suspected that things would’ve been very different had she not been as thirsty for blood as she was, wanting to be the best SM agent in history, famous for her capture of the best Exoplanet agents and destroying the whole race altogether.

 

Not while there was a cell breathing in her body.

 

Lamiya also suspected that she didn’t feel any pain because she was too hyped from three different kinds of powers surging through her body - Lamiya’s, Na Eun’s and Luhan’s, but she had no idea to think about her impending bleeding to death.

 

She deserved as much for having killed Tae, a voice in her head sounded. She pushed it away.

 

At least Tao would be okay. She’d realized that much of their ancient knowledge was long forgotten, along with the fact that guardians could be kept in a comatose state in order to survive an enemy attack, and she knew she had a lot to teach the new generations.

 

But as she watched Sehun while he controlled the wind, she knew that wasn’t really true. Yeah, she knew a trick here and there but that wasn’t anything she could teach Sehun. Not when he was so good on his own.

 

Tae had probably calculated correctly when he’d said Jessica would kill her, but his calculation was wrong anyway, because she wouldn’t be fighting Jessica alone. She had her savior, her guardian to fight that one last battle for her and with her, and protect her from danger and certain death, much like he had such a long time ago.

 

But this time, she would not be a useless butterfly, there to pointlessly flap its small wings, deceiving itself it could throw off a hurricane.

 

No, today she would be a furia, in honor of a boy who had called her that name eons ago, who had loved her and believed in her powers and taught her everything she knew today.

 

Goodbye, Tae, she said silently.

 

Then she shouted as she summoned the power of wind and it surged towards Jessica, taking her breath away along with the power to destroy anything she loved anymore.

 

He would not be there to see it.

 

But she knew that as he bled to death on that rooftop, he already knew the outcome anyway.