“Have you heard from Jinyoung and Jaebum? It’s weird they haven’t come in yet today.” Youngjae looked around the room before his eyes fell to Bambam.

 

“They are working late, technical issues in Orange 4 I think.” Bambam shrugged, looking to the stranger at the far end of the bar that neither of them were familiar with before he looked to Youngjae. Nodding in understanding, he leaned back against the edge of the bar, wiping down the rugged countertops.

 

The two of them chatted casually, knowing to hold off on surface conversations with a stranger nearby. It took close to fifteen minutes for him to finally leave but they watched as the stranger finally got to his feet and started to stagger his way out the door. Tossing a few coins, Youngjae’s way before the door closed behind him. Youngjae rolled his eyes, adding them to his box before he turned to Bambam.

 

“How did they get out okay? I thought they were going in a few days. This is really soon.” He worried, chewing at his lower lip. Bambam shrugged, sitting upright some.

 

“I don’t know but they must have made it because nobody has heard from or seen them. They said something about having to go now, it was life or death. No reports of an outside escape, so they have to be safe… I hope.” Bambam worried, chewing his bottom lip before the door to the bar swung open. Bambam looked over at the door when it opened, eyes going wide at the sight.

 

“YUGYEOM!” Both Bambam and Youngjae yelled at the same time, rushing from the counter to wrap him up in a hug. The tired taller male hugged them both back before slumping down on the stool next to where Bambam was sitting.

 

Yugyeom had been gone for awhile but it looked as if he had been gone for years. The tired, violently purple bags under his eyes, the ripped state of his clothes. The way his shoes seemed to be encased in mud that would take ages to get off. Most people sent to the lowest level never made it out, despite only being sent for a ‘defined period of time’ the government found ways to get around that and hold them there.

 

“They let you free? Tell us everything, what happened?” Youngjae quickly poured Yugyeom a drink, setting it down on the counter.

 

“Time was up, had to do nine months. We haven’t been able to dig the last few weeks though, at least not down. Keep running into these weird white and gold root things? They said they were alien. Every time we try to cut them, these hard crystal things would shoot out and protect it. It’s like an infestation. They want to start digging outwards now.” Yugyeom rubbed the back of his sore neck, groaning even though the stiffness would likely be there for the next several months.

 

“They said they were finding them everywhere in Orange Zone and up on the first three floors.” Bambam sat back down, returning to his drink. Youngjae leaned against the back of the bar in deep thought.

 

“Where is everyone? It’s rare nobody is here after their shifts. I expected a big welcome!” Yugyeom looked around the empty bar, raising an eyebrow. A slight pout on his full lips.

 

“They uh… made it.” Bambam said in almost a whisper, almost as if he were making sure nobody truly was listening. At least there were no cameras in the bar, none that worked well anyway. Jaebum ensured they had a safe place to hang out, but that didn’t mean they were exactly safe.

 

“No ing way!” Yugyeom gasped out, his eyes going wide as he looked from Bambam to Youngjae to see if they were being serious about it. The two of them nodded their heads to confirm they were serious before Yugyeom sank back in his chair in awe, quickly throwing back the drink Youngjae gave him in one gulp.

 

“They left at first bell.” Bambam played with the rim of his glass, looking to Yugyeom. Youngjae walked over and poured him another drink.

 

“Why? That’s such an odd time to go. How did they get away with it…Why would they go so soon?” Yugyeom sat up more, eyeing the two, still in such shock.

 

“Something about a message from above and needing to reply.” Bambam said, Youngjae looked over confused.

 

“Like they got a message from someone above? That’s impossible.” Yugyeom said, shifting up on his stool, looking from Youngjae to Bambam, as if he were trying to figure out what was going on.

 

“You said you guys found vines when you were digging?” Youngjae asked, Yugyeom nodded his head, pulling his phone from his pocket to show Youngjae pictures of what they had found.

 

Youngjae looked closer at the photo, using his fingers to zoom in to get a better look before he stood upright. Yugyeom looked confused for a moment before he put his phone away in his pocket, Bambam watched Youngjae for a moment before he rose up and off the stool, feeling an odd vibe coming off of their friend.

 

“Did they say anything more about whatever was messaging them from above?” Youngjae asked, looking towards Bambam, who shook his head no.

 

“Just that someone was up there, contacted them, and they needed to go see if he was okay. I think they said they would try to be back by the early hours… I don’t know how they would do that. If they don’t get back soon, they will get noticed.” Bambam sighed, moving to rub the back of his neck before he downed the rest of his drink. Youngjae looked pensive, deep in thought, in a spaced out sort of way, before he quickly ran into the back.

 

Bambam and Yugyeom looked at each other confused, their eyes full of wonder before they got up and went to go see what was going on. Youngjae normally never ran into the back like that, at least not without mumbling something about a drink needing to be checked. It was also off limits to everyone. Bambam had always wondered what was behind his makeshift door, they knew Youngjae lived in the bar, so they assumed it was just a room for him. Walking over carefully, both Bambam and Yugyeom peeked behind the curtain to see Youngjae moving a painting from the wall, generally they just covered up ugly patches in the already ugly makeshift walls, but this one had a hole in it. Youngjae looked into the hole and waited a second before a vine started to crawl out of it. Beautiful flowers coming to life as it threaded its way down the wall. Youngjae ran his fingers along the gold and white flower, almost familiar with it before he turned to look at Yugyeom and Bambam, who had finally walked inside.

 

“His eyes…” Bambam gasped.

 

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The one thing the Zariflies were good at, was technology. They were able to whip up anything they could in a matter of seconds, using anything they had nearby. Their brains were so far advanced that little advances like phones and HD televisions were childs play to them. When the race first came here, they helped in advancing a lot of fields, not just technological but also medical; due to their vast understanding of how disease worked and what needs to be done to avoid and cure it.

 

The discovery that Mark was one of them put everything into perspective. His knowledge about the vines, the way the crystals seemed to want to protect the dome, the way he was able to tap into everything and survive so long on his own. They had no idea that camouflage was possible, that was a new discovery that had them all silently wondering if there were others down below, in their world, stuck. Wanting to go home but unable to. The thought that they could use the crystals to hide and come off as regular humans made it one of those situations where you didn’t know who to trust or where to look.

 

Just how many other Zari’s were hidden in the underworld, scared out of their minds, wanting to help but not knowing how?

 

“Hey… I’m sorry, look.. I.. You can see why we’re all so angry about what happened right? You guys did this to us.” Jackson spoke softly, despite the anger he felt for the people who caused the end of the world, being face to face with one for the first time, was different. There was something so pure and trustworthy about Mark, or maybe that was the allure they used to get humans to trust them in the first place.

 

“None of this was supposed to happen, the attack was never sanctioned. Retaliation is not our thing. They were ordered to come home.” Mark whimpered, lifting his head slightly. Jinyoung frowned, getting to his knees as he inched closer to Mark.

 

“What do you mean?” Jinyoung asked, putting his hands on top of his thighs to show Mark he wasn’t going to go after him. He kept his distance.

 

“The orders after the ship was attacked was to pull away. That the human race wasn’t yet ready for what we had to show them. There was a ‘try again’ order where we would return in a hundred years and see if the human race was ready, at least those were the orders from the royal family. We weren’t supposed to attack, but whoever was here, wanted to show the world a lesson.” Mark sighed, moving to sit as Jinyoung was, to show his own peace.

 

“What happened to the guy that ordered the attack?” Jackson moved closer, getting down to sit near Jinyoung.

 

“He was tried as a war criminal when he returned, he’s locked up in prison now. I’ve been on earth back and forth for two years, trying to find a way to get communication with humans back, every scan from my ship showed that there was still life but when I arrived on the surface, I couldn’t find anyone. I didn’t know you all went underground. Humans are a resilient race.” Mark sighed, his wings starting to relax as he started to feel less scared.

 

“So what now? How come you guys didn’t come back to help?” Jaebum asked, leaning against the tree near Mark rather than bending down.

 

“The orders are to not return here for a hundred years, we only just learned the true extent of what happened on earth recently. That’s why I’m here, but I wanted to talk to humans first to see if there was any way of repairing the relationship between us enough to where you’d let us help and not try to enslave us. Not that it would work but, you never know.” Mark sighed, looking up towards Jaebum who still had his necklace clutched in his hand.

 

“You know the second anyone sees you, that’s exactly what they will do.” Jackson said, knowing that his own anger was a clear indication of how the others would feel and react.

 

“I know. That’s why I need help, why I tried to reach out to someone for so long. I figured if I could get them to come to me and hear my story, they might be able to help me reach the others. I came here and found Jinyoung’s office, reading all the books… you are someone that can help. Someone who knows what we must do. Your writing also shows you are very kind. I wanted to try and find you, that’s why I fixed the internet up here, and tried to get it wired through to down below. “ Mark sighed, moving to get himself more comfortable.

 

“You said you got here a few years ago?” Jaebum chimed in, Mark nodded his head softly.

 

“A few years ago I saw some soldiers trying to set up solar devices in the area, none of them survived the weather outside, but I was able to make them work before a second group found their bodies. I tried to plant the vines in an effort to help, we have them on my planet and I thought it would work with the oxygen, but I can’t get them fused. Instead, I’ve been using them to feed wires into your servers so I could talk to someone from up here.” Mark sighed, looking to Jaebum. He held out his hand for his necklace back. Jaebum took a moment to look it over before handing it back.

 

“Thank you.” Mark bowed his head before he slipped it back around his neck. The crystal started to glow as Mark’s skin started to fade back to that of a humans. His hair became shorter, wings started to shrink, embedding themselves under his skin in what looked like a tattoo. It took a few moments for the clothes to appear, before Mark felt comfortable standing upright again. He tucked the necklace into his shirt and brushed himself off.

 

“I can survive out there just fine. The air is that of my own planets. Oxygen doesn’t bother us, though it makes us weaker until we get used to it, that’s why they changed the air. To give us an advantage but human lungs are not able to adapt to the world around them easily.” Mark sighed. Jinyoung got to his feet as well, eyeing Mark cautiously.

 

“Do you really think this plant thing can work?” Jackson asked, moving to get up.

 

“I don’t know but I don’t see another option. There is no way to introduce oxygen back into the earth. Did you guys take any animals down below? How are you keeping the oxygen inside?” Mark seemed to have his own slew of questions.

 

“We created a barrier of metal and concrete to prevent the oxygen from getting out, the further down we dug, the easier it became for us. All to fit and adapt. We had actually started when you guys first came out of fear, thinking an attack would happen, the underground world seemed easier for us. First we started in underground malls, underground car garages, and just kept going down.” Jaebum explained, Mark nodded his head in understanding.

 

“The vines are helping probably, They get into any crack and hole they can find and try to seal it from breaking, I noticed a lot of them dug down deep once I introduced them to the surface.” Mark moved through the forest more, leading the three humans towards the garden he’d grown.

 

“You brought them here? But why. Why did you even come after all was said and done?” Jackson asked, following behind Mark.

 

“We were told one story of what happened, and then the truth about earth came out after the royal family went through a mourning period. After the trial was said and done, I came to see for myself the extent to know what could be done. You guys don’t take long to get to.” Mark shrugged, moving around the vast garden he’d created.

 

Jinyoung eyed it in awe, kneeling down to run his fingers along the plants growing in the fresh soil. He loved to garden, it made him so happy. The sight of this warmed his heart, to think that a world where he could garden again existed, was too much to bare.

 

“You have the mint so close to the other things.” Jinyoung pointed out and Mark sighed.

 

“I didn’t know what that was, but it has taken over everything.” Mark huffed, moving to pull some of the mint from the garden and move it to a different pile, where he’d been picking herbs earlier in the day.

 

“So you want to come underground with us and find a way to reach the main vine?” Jaebum asked, careful where he was stepping before he went to look around at all the food Mark had stocked up from his garden.

 

“I would like to find a way to infuse oxygen into a vine in hopes that it could hybrid with the others and would produce oxygen into the atmosphere, rather than just working under our normal atmosphere.” Mark explained as he brushed his hands off on a nearby rag.

 

“The crystals that grow out of it are a result of the air right?” Jinyoung asked, thinking to himself as he helped pull fresh vegetables from the garden, Mark nodded in reply.

 

“They turn crystal in the air, they are flowers in their own way but the chemical makeup of them makes them hard the second they leave the vine in trouble areas to protect the flowers. Earth is still settling, so they don’t feel safe here.” Mark explained.

 

“If you find a way to infuse regular plants with the vines, would it turn the crystals into flowers?” Jackson looked at the three of them in the garden, finding it amusing how happy Jinyoung looked in the dirt.

 

“Correct, and if everything works the way it’s supposed to when that happens, it would start producing oxygen… Hopefully. It wouldn’t be a fast process, but it might work at rebuilding the atmosphere, if the vines are strong enough.” Mark added, pushing his hair from his eyes.

 

“So the whole human look thing, doesn’t change the hair?” Jaebum asked, cocking his head to the side, looking at Mark.

 

“No. I’m not sure how to hide that. Though humans have every color hair, so I didn’t think I’d stand out that much.” Mark laughed, looking up at the storm swirling around the glass dome.

 

“Not these days, it’s impossible to do anything other than cut hair, though some still have what was colored hair that faded over time.” Jackson ran his fingers through his hair, making a face.

 

“Well that’s why we need to fix things. You humans will be okay. You guys, though few, survived. That means you’ll rebuild. I will help in any way I can. You should all go rest, I’m sure you need it before we head back to where you started.” Mark looked up at them and smiled, the three agreed.

 

The day had been exhausting. From walking to the gardens to dealing with everything, a good rest was exactly what they needed. Jaebum and Jackson made their way for the guest area, having seen a few sofa-like chairs that would make for great beds. Jinyoung lingered behind, moving to kneel next to Mark. Turning to look at him, Mark offered a gentle smile, his eyes full of kindness.

 

“Do you not want to rest?” Mark asked, his hands moving to his lap as his body shifted slightly to better face Jinyoung.

 

“I do. But I’ve waited so long to be in a place like this again, I feel like… I just got here and already we’re leaving. Is it okay if I stay with you for a while and help? I just want to get my hands in the soil again… Which sounds weird since I live in the soil but I don’t get to work with it.” Jinyoung was rambling, but Mark seemingly didn’t care. He just had a warm smile on his face as Jinyoung spoke.

 

It was weird to Jinyoung, feeling as if his obsession with soil and plants wasn’t a weird thing. That he wasn’t being judged for wanting to sit there and plant. Even people in his field would tease his dedication, but Mark didn’t seem to care. He just handed over a few packages of seeds and let Jinyoung happily do his thing. The two sat there for what felt like hours, replotting and organizing the garden to fit all the new variety of vegetables and herbs. Jinyoung rattling on about soil to water ratios and how to make it so each kind of plant could live in a shared space. Mark was happy to listen and learn. Though he already knew most of what Jinyoung was teaching, he figured it had been a while since he was allowed to be passionate, so he wasn’t about to prevent his enjoyment.

 

When he started to feel sleepy, Jinyoung finally tapped out, stretching his body some before he rubbed his tired eyes. Mark looked over and giggled at the dirt now running along Jinyoung’s face. He moved to dip a towel in water, ringing the excess out before he walked over carefully, wiping Jinyoung’s cheek. Mark’s fingertips tilting his head softly as he managed to get most of the dirt cleaned up. Jinyoung’s eyes focused up on Mark’s own. He offered a smile of thanks before watching Mark use the clean side of the towel to clean the dirt off his hands for him.

 

“You’re very kind, I’ve never met a Zari before, but… I feel as if what you said in regards to the attack...That it really wasn’t the plan. I spent so long hating your kind, because of what was done to the earth. What was done to the plants. But that wasn’t you right? You truly do want to help.” Jinyoung looked at Mark, his words soft as his eyes scanned his face. Mark nodded his head gently, letting out a sad sigh.

 

“From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for what happened here on earth. I cried many nights when I got here, seeing the devastation that we caused. If you and I can work together, if this works… I truly think the earth can be saved.” Mark gave Jinyoung a reassuring smile, bowing his head politely before he got up to clean himself off. Jinyoung watched him for a moment before he got up, stretching his tired limbs above his head.

 

“You may go rest in your office, you can use that bed tonight. I have no need for it.” Mark added. Jinyoung looked at him carefully before bowing his head and taking his leave.

 

Getting back to his office, Jinyoung took a bit of time to reorganize his journals. He saw how Mark had scribbled notes in the sidelines of some of the books. Pointing things out that Jinyoung had never thought of before. Sinking down against the makeshift bed Mark had created, Jinyoung felt the exhaustion truly set into his bones. The second his eyes fluttered shut, he was out, falling into a deep and comfortable sleep. He had wanted to try and stay up so he could work some more on what Mark had been talking about, but the long day started to catch up to him.

 

When he awoke several hours later, he noticed a blanket had been put over him, and a pillow had been put behind his head. Blinking confused, he saw Jaebum tapping his foot, telling him it was time for them to head out. Yawning to himself, Jinyoung nodded his head, pushing the blanket off his body before he got to his feet, grabbing the mask portion of his suit that he’d left on the desk from their arrival. Heading out of the room with Jaebum and Jackson, Jinyoung looked around trying to see where Mark could be. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed he was nowhere to be found. Looking towards the entrance, he saw that the protective padding had been removed and set back to the side. Sliding his mask on, he made sure everything was secure before he took a final look at the building.

 

His heart hurt thinking about leaving all of the beautiful plants again but he knew they needed to get back before they were caught. The last thing they needed was for Bambam to be taken by the police because his roommates had vanished. Jackson and Jaebum joined in on his side, the three starting to walk away from the building before they saw something in the sky heading their way. Their first instinct was to run, to hide, but Jinyoung stood his place. Landing by his feet in a graceful swoop, Mark smiled brightly at them, bowing his body politely. He was transformed back to his true form, wings in all their glory, seemingly glowing in the early sun, casting an almost rainbow-like shadow on the ground below them. As he walked closer to them, his wings tucked closer to his body, shrinking down about half their size; Jinyoung was in awe at the true beauty of his anatomy. The gold tattoo looking lines running along the left side of his body, peaking out of the flowing white material every time he took a step. He was gorgeous.

 

Jinyoung found himself a bit tongue tied.

 

“I wanted to get out early and make sure the way was clear for you three. The storm was small, it didn’t create much chaos. I created a safe path for you guys.” Mark explained, Jaebum and Jackson nodded their heads in understanding.

 

“Are you not coming with us? The whole reason we came was your cry for help.” Jackson asked, knowing he hadn’t been the most polite guest, but he felt a worry about Mark being there on his own.

 

“Come.. with you guys? Underground? That is probably not safe for me at all.” Mark’s eyes went wide at the thought.

 

“You can help down there, please. Nobody has to know. You can stay with us!” Jaebum offered, a weird way of hoping that Mark would forgive him for his behavior.

 

“It’s not safe for you like this, but if you hide. You have the crystal right?” Jinyoung reminded, Mark nodded his head, pulling it out of a pocket none of them even noticed he had. Holding it out, Jinyoung took it carefully in his hands, his fingers ran along the smooth crystal before he put it in his own pocket for safe keeping.

 

“I don’t know if this will work, but maybe being down there will help me see a better way at saving you all.” Mark sighed, knowing it was a big risk for him but if Jinyoung were to stay by his side, he felt a little more comfortable.

 

“Come. Please.” Jinyoung moved closer to Mark, their eyes locking for a few moments before Mark nodded his head. He couldn’t say no for some reason.

 

From there, they started to walk, Jaebum and Jackson explaining how their entire system worked so that Mark would be able to fit in easier. It’s not that the people down there had a giant understanding of how their new world worked, but over time you started picking up on things that became routine. Mark seemed perplexed about the new way of life, more so because he couldn’t fathom a world in the dark. To him, the sun was the most important part of earth's beauty. Jinyoung was inclined to agree, but there were no other options.

 

Getting to a roadblock that must have happened recently, Mark sighed. Moving closer to the obstruction, he bent down and ran his fingers through the sand like debris on the ground, he said a few words asking for help from the vines and stood up. Where his fingers had been, a small vine peaked out, sliding around until it found the smashed cars in question and pushed them all out of the way for them. The three humans watched in awe at how easily that little vine looped into the metal of the car and lifted it away from their path, creating a safe walking space, understanding more of what Mark meant when he said they were there to protect and help.

 

“How did you do that?” Jaebum gasped, watching everything happen before his eyes in total awe.

 

“I asked politely.” Mark smiled, bending down to run his fingers along the vine in thanks before moving to start walking again.

 

“So they only listen to you?” Jinyoung asked once they were through, Mark shook his head no in reply.

 

“They are sensitive things, they will listen to anyone that respects the soil and them. You just have to ask politely.” Mark explained like it was the easiest thing in the world, Both Jackson and Jaebum looked at Mark like he was insane.

 

“He didn’t say anything though, you didn’t say anything!” Jackson said, taking a look back at the vines before he bent down and ran his fingers through the sand just as Mark had done, but nothing happened like it had done with Mark. He huffed, walking away to follow after Mark and the others still mumbling under his breath about the vines.

 

“Our language isn’t heard by humans. It was weird when we first came here, learning how to speak like you all do. So many languages, so many tones. Back home, it’s one planet, one language. Everything in unified.” Mark smiled, but it wasn’t a full smile. There was sadness, a homesick look about him that Jinyoung noticed.

 

“Would humans be able to live on your planet?” Jinyoung asked, moving to stand closer to Mark’s side, more so out of safety than anything.

 

“Probably? We can breathe whatever air we encounter even if the earth’s oxygen isn’t normal for us. Kind of headache-like at first, getting adjusted to it. There could probably be area’s and centers created if humans wanted to come live among us. Though humanity’s need for conquering is worrisome. I would be scared having humans would lead to an eventual war.” Mark frowned, and as much as they all wanted to deny it, the state of the earth was a clear indication that he was right.

 

All it took was one ill informed, uneducated nightmare, to end humanity as they all knew it. They could only imagine what would happen if given the opportunity to live someplace new. The wrong people would snap and find some way to try and take over, though if what happened to the earth wasn’t a full attack, it was clear the Zariflies were not anything to mess with.

 

Their walk to the entrance took another three hours, it was getting dark by the time the bay door came into view. Everything seemed as it was, a small layer of sand had built up around the door from the storm. Mark flew up a little and used his wings to blow it away, Jinyoung and the three watched in awe at his power before he landed. Jaebum walked over and waved the kemni tool to grant them access to the underworld of theirs. Mark put the charm back around his neck, letting his body transform back into its human form. He tucked the chain under his shirt and smoothed back his hair. Jinyoung watched him as the door locked behind them. The air was neutralized and the door was opened.

 

Luckily there were still no repairs on the unit that would alert anyone the doors were being opened and closed, they quickly got inside and got the suits back into their proper hangers. Mark walked over to the side where all the computer operations were and furrowed his brows at how broken everything looked. Was this really the world they were reduced to?

 

He was in for quite the surprise.

 

“We aren’t allowed up here outside of work, we have to sneak back in the way we came.” Jinyoung stated, looking up to a clock to see it was nearing final bell. Jaebum quickly fixed the wires and the four ran for the elevators. Jinyoung, Jackson and Mark climbing down the hatch just in time. The door locked as Jaebum moved to walk to the elevator door and press the button to call it up. Hands in his pocket, he looked as an officer walked over, clearly on his rounds.

 

“Got the security up and running if you wanna tell control. Whole sector was down, something ate the wires again.” Jaebum flashed his badge so the officer knew he was allowed there before nodding his head.

 

“That’s four times this month, we have to set better traps out.” The officer shook his head before walking off down a hallway. Jaebum let out a laugh as the doors finally opened. He was quick to hear the thud of the three above him as he got on. Killing the camera’s to let Jinyoung and them into the elevator as they made their way back down to their approved floor.

 

“You guys have a lot set up down here, how long have you been digging?” Mark was the one in awe now, opening the control panel on the side of the elevator to look around a bit, he quickly moved several of the wires around, making the lift run a lot smoother and sound a lot less noisy. Jinyoung looked to Jackson in awe before Mark put the paneling back and stood to the side. He looked at the three just gawking at him and covered his mouth some.

 

“I’m sorry! I can’t help it… Everything is done so primitive, I wanted to help.” Mark giggled to himself.

 

Shaking his head, unable to help but laugh, Jinyoung leaned back against the elevator as it took them all the way down to their approved levels. Stepping out, they heard the bell go off. Some people stood outside their rooms chatting, but not many today. It seemed less and less people reported for check-in times, not seeing a need with how unchanging their world was. Jinyoung and the others, instead of heading for the apartment, went straight for the bar. The safest place to have Mark for the time being.

 

A little early to be at the bar that was for sure, but the open light was still on, which raised some questions. Walking inside the bar cautiously, Jinyoung and Jackson saw Bambam and Yugyeom asleep at the bar. The door shutting behind them startled the two awake. They looked around confused before their eyes landed on the four that had just walked in.

 

“Yugyeom!” Jinyoung gasped, running over to his friend to embrace him in a giant hug. Yugyeom sleepily returning the hug back before he moved to look at the stranger.

 

“No ing way. Did you find him?” Yugyeom asked, Jinyoung looked confused before turning to look at Mark.

 

“Him?? Yes uh.. He was uh.. The one trapped.” Jinyoung said cautiously, not sure how to go about talking to them in regards to Mark.

 

Youngjae came out of the back to see what all the noise was. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked confused before his eyes fell on everyone standing in the doorway. Bambam seemed a bit uneasy around Youngjae which was new given how close they had always been, Youngjae’s eyes scanned through his friends before his eyes landed on Mark, gasping to himself, he ran around the counter towards his friends before falling to his knees at their feet.

 

Jaebum looked confused, moving closer to Youngjae. He put his hand on his back to try and get him back to his feet, confused as to why he’d be on his knees in front of all of them like that. Watching as vines slid out of the back room and started to cover all the windows and areas that showed light. Mark looked around for a moment before moving past Jackson carefully, to stand right by Youngjae. Youngjae bowed his head down to the ground.

 

“You’re okay. I thought… Your highness, you’re okay.” Youngjae whimpered, Mark bit his lip before he moved to remove his necklace. Jinyoung yelled for him not to as Mark transformed, the lights unseen to the outside because of the vines.

 

Youngjae looked up and watched in awe, reaching into his shirt to pull out his own crystal, he removed it from his neck and let himself transform to his true self as well. Everyone watched in awe at the way they phased, noting how Youngjae’s wings were much smaller and less vibrant compared to Mark’s. They held more gold to them, almost armor like in a way as were his clothes. Youngjae was as gorgeous as ever, though not as regal looking as Mark was. He looked more a warrior than anything, gold tattoos covered his entire multicolored body as he got to his feet and moved closer to Mark. He held his hand out and Mark gripped his forearm. Youngjae smiled wide before their heads pressed together gently.

 

“My… King? I’m sorry to hear about your father. He had many milena of peace, may your reign be as calm as his was.” Youngjae said, kissing Mark’s forehead. Everyone looked around confused. Bambam sliding off the stool to walk closer. Mark just smiled wide and cupped Youngjae’s cheek happily.

 

“I’m glad you survived, I don’t know what I would do if you were truly lost, my old friend. Help me fix this world so we can go home. I made a promise to the people I would right what we had done.” Mark stated, letting go of Youngjae’s arm to think some. His wings vanishing down, looking like gold tattoos on his back. Youngjae did the same, sinking down on a bar stool.

 

“What is going on?” Yugyeom asked, mouth still hung agape.

 

“You’re a king?” Jinyoung asked in shock. Mark turned to look at him quickly. Youngjae got up in surprise.

 

“You heard us talking?” Youngjae asked, Jinyoung gulped but nodded some.

 

“Sir, it worked.” Youngjae smiled wide, rushing back behind the counter to pull up a somewhat peachy gold drink, setting it down on the table. Mark walked over and looked at the liquid before turning to Jinyoung.

 

“Have you drank this?” Mark asked, Jinyoung looked confused before nodding his head.

 

“I think so.. I don’t know what he gives me.” Jinyoung let out a nervous whimper, walking over to the counter to smell the liquid before groaning at the memories.

 

“Yeah, he gave me that a few times.” Jinyoung remembered all the drunk nights they spent in the bar where Youngjae made them try different things he concocted. Mark moved to Jinyoung and raised his hands up.

 

“Can I do something? I promise I won't hurt you.” Mark asked, and as scared as he was, Jinyoung nodded in consent.

 

Mark moved to put his fingers on Jinyoung’s face. By his temple and near his eyes. He closed his own eyes for a moment. Little gold markings started to show up on Jinyoung’s face and his exposed arms. Opening his eyes, they flashed a similar purple color to Youngjae and Mark’s own, though not as bright as theirs. Jackson walked over and looked in awe, poking at Jinyoung’s skin.

 

“You can hear me, you can understand me?” Mark asked, Jinyoung nodded his head.

 

“How… how is this possible.” Jinyoung whimpered, pulling back from Mark to look at the markings on his skin.

 

“The juice… I made it from the flowers on the vines and other things I have from home. It infused into you. I’m sorry, I wanted… to see if I could bring some of us into them... Maybe we could save them by bringing them home to us, give them a second chance, while we teach them how to fix their world.” Youngjae looked upset, more so because he knew what he was doing was wrong. Mark sighed, pulling his hands from Jinyoung. The gold on his body started to fade before you couldn’t tell it was there at all.

 

“This means if I go to your world, I’d survive…” Jinyoung asked, Mark chewed his lips some, a bit unsure.

 

“Not sure about that, you don’t look or act anything like us, but then again you don’t act anything like a normal human.” Mark commented.

 

“What does that mean?” Bambam asked, moving closer to look at the small purple strand of hair near jinyoung’s forehead that stayed from when Mark touched him.

 

“He is rational, even tempered, calm… he doesn’t have an appetite for war rather a mind on how to fix things, not conquer. A trait very painfully human.” Youngjae added, moving to put the mix back under the counter. Jaebum moved to rest his hands on the bar, looking at him.

 

“I want to try that stuff, I want to drink it. If Jinyoung goes anywhere, we all go. Nobody is leaving his side for a place he doesn’t know.” Jaebum made clear. Youngjae looked nervously to Mark, who shrugged.

 

“Nobody is going anywhere, any time soon. We have to do all we can here first.” Mark made clear.

 

“Will this stuff hurt me… or them? Will I become like you?” Jinyoung asked, reaching out to grab Mark’s wrist lightly. The gold marking on his skin came back from touching Mark, looking down at his hand, he looked up to meet eyes with Mark’s own.

 

“Please tell me I’ll be okay.” Jinyoung’s voice was so full of fear. Mark moved to cup Jinyoung’s cheek with his other hand, nodding his head yes.

 

“I promise nothing will happen to you guys. I came here to see what I can fix, I just hope it can be done without having to go home and get more things, but the state of earth is far worse than I could have imagined.” Mark frowned as he spoke, even if he never ordered it to happen, he felt responsible for not being more careful.

 

“So that’s what you meant… on the surface when you said this was never supposed to happen. You know because you gave the orders?” Jackson asked, moving to finally sit on the bar stool.

 

“I didn’t, my father did. He’s been king for quite some time. He gave the order for all that were on earth to come home, but was not prepared for the attack on his own people when they did. Something about being here made them turn, made them angry. We’re not…” Mark sank down in a nearby chair and rubbed his eyes. Youngjae rushed over and knelt down near him, resting his cheek on Mark’s thigh.

 

“The commander went back and killed his father, tried to take the planet over. He was stopped and dealt with rather quickly. I stayed on earth by orders of Mark, he wanted me to keep an eye on the humans and report back, but our link got broken and I’ve been stuck here living as a human. I was his… assistant, I guess you could say.” Youngjae sighed, looking up to Mark who reached over and put Youngjae’s necklace back around his neck for him. Youngjae changed into the human version of him, tugging his beanie on to hide his purple hair.

 

“Explains why you’re never without that hat.” Bambam laughed, shaking his head some.

 

“The hair won't change. I also can’t show my arms, they don’t go away.” Youngjae pushed the sleeves of his sweater up to show the still glowing gold marks. Bambam ran his fingers over them before Youngjae swatted him away and pulled his sleeves back down.

 

“You had to infuse the crystal with human DNA in order to get the markings to go away, similar to this situation, where they can be seen if we come in contact with each other, but not to the eye.” Mark waved his own crystal around, Youngjae rolled his eyes, acting as if he were mimicking Mark but quickly stopped when he remembered who it was..

 

“Do I look like I’m infusing any human DNA these days?” Youngjae replied before remembering what he said. He coughed to clear his throat as his face turned a dark shade of red. Both Mark and Jinyoung snickered to themselves.

 

“Do you want to?” Jaebum offered, giving Youngjae a sly smile. Youngjae just tossed a rag his way and folded his arms over his chest.

 

“Humans would never be able to keep up with us.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. Mark just smiled silently on the side, leaning against the bar as he carefully put his necklace back on, letting his body change into the human version of himself gracefully. He cracked his neck when it was done, the gold markings on his arm the last to fade out as the vines covering the doors retreated back into the ground, revealing the little windows once again.

 

“It’s been a long day, we should rest properly.” Jinyoung sighed, knowing it was early but everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours took a toll on his body.

 

“I still haven’t gotten that drink.” Jaebum reminded, looking to Youngjae, who sighed. He moved to grab the correct jug and poured all of them a drink. Mark raised an eyebrow, moving to look down at the cup before picking it up. The drink glowed in his hand, he could see the little flecks of gold in the mix from the vines that Youngjae used to create the mix. Everyone watched before picking up their drinks, quickly finishing them. Mark sighed, setting his cup back down and pushing it towards Jinyoung.

 

“I want you safe if anything happens.” Mark said in his language, Jinyoung looked up a little confused but he took the cup anyway and drank it down. He made a face as the less than appeasing liquid slid down his throat, setting the cup down with his other one before he moved towards the door.

 

Even if they had work, Jinyoung felt like doing anything but. He walked to the nearest command computer and input his information. It wasn’t much, some wires and a computer hooked into the wall, almost like old style payphones, where workers could check in and ask for help. He reported himself sick, taking the day off. When he got approval, he logged out and shut the system down. Jaebum didn’t need to bother, he could easily work from his room and did more often than not. His distaste for public interaction well documented during his arrest.

 

“So how does all of this down here work?” Mark asked, looking around. Jaebum nudged his shoulder and shook his head no, pulling the hood section of his hoodie over Mark’s shoulder, doing his best to cover his vibrant purple strands.

 

“When we get back.” Jinyoung commented without saying anything more on the subject and Mark wondered what they were so scared of. Everyone seemed too scared to say anything, people talking in hushed whispers, not looking at any of the cameras. He kept quiet for now, but he couldn’t deny the observations. The human race was scared, but of what, he had no idea.

 

Being lead down to their apartment unit, Mark noted the sea of wires everywhere. The messy trail leading to the living room section, up the crumbling walls and towards another closed door. Jaebum made straight for the door everything seemed to be threaded through. Typing in a code, Mark could briefly see the sights of a bedroom setup behind the newly opened doors before they sealed shut.

 

“He will be working for a few hours to make sure nobody saw us go in and out.” Jinyoung said as he moved to his own unit, typing in his code, he walked in once the door was open. Mark followed behind, taking a good careful calculated look at everything.

 

It wasn’t until he saw the plant on the desk, did he step further inside, the bay doors closing behind him as he walked the expanse over towards the small flower sitting on Jinyoung’s desk. Fingers carefully sliding along the soft petals before he bent down to smell it. Jinyoung watched in awe, his heart light at the sight of Mark seemingly so taken by flowers. A relatable feeling.

 

“Been a long time since I’ve seen one of these.” Mark smiled brightly, giving the plant some water before he watched it’s petals open more in thanks.

 

“I don’t know what it is. I found it years ago and brought it home with me. Have been keeping it alive in that little pot ever since. Weather doesn’t bother it, lives all year long. No idea what it is.” Jinyoung sank down in his computer chair, chewing his lower lip in thought.

 

“Apollus” Mark said softly, smiling even more as he leaned on the desk, a wave of his hand showed small little vines sprouting from the inside of the plot, making the flower stand up stronger.

 

“Alien?!” Jinyoung gaped, sitting closer to watch.

 

“This is what the vines really have growing. The crystals you see are to protect the flower. Inside every crystal are these flowers.  If the environment outside is tolerable enough, the crystals are not necessary on my planet, there are fields of these flowers cascading over mountains and it is beautiful. They were my mothers favorite, so my father made sure to plant them everywhere for her.” Mark had a sad somewhat far-off look in his eyes at the mention of his mother, but it was apparent he wouldn’t be sharing his pain with how quickly he brushed it off and smiled at Jinyoung.

 

“Your home… it sounds so beautiful, do you think that perhaps if we are unable to save the earth that humans would be able to live among you guys?” Jinyoung turned to see Mark easier, weird how despite knowing his rank and feeling as if he should be more formal with him, there was this unspoken comfort between them.

 

“Maybe when the human race grows and sheds it’s violent shell we could talk about it. My planet is not perfect and I am sure the worst is not over yet… but I am not ready to introduce a new species and risk having you guys try to dominate us, enough blood has been spilled. I won't subject my kind to more.” Mark tried to put it politely but Jinyoung knew that he was basically saying that humans, in all their war and rage, their hate and prejudice, that they had a long ways to go with negotiations of a peaceful nature. Jinyoung couldn’t fault Mark for his words, he agreed with him.

 

Jinyoung only nodded his head, moving towards the bed to lay down carefully among the lumpy cot. He looked up at the painted ceiling and sighed. The ache in his bones and the drinks from Youngjae’s shop had him feeling the last few days all at once. He felt strange at the thought of being able to adapt as the Zari’s could, the way Youngjae had been hiding among them this entire time without anyone noticing. Eyes scanning down, he took in Mark, who seemed busy working on the wires in his room, fussing around to make everything a lot more stable and secure, as if he couldn’t rest until it was fixed. Admirable of him.

 

Jinyoung had never spent time with the Zari’s to truly get to know their kind, and he was sure, like humans, there were many different types of Zari’s, but if even half of them were like Mark; maybe being changed over wasn’t such a bad thing after all. The kindness and compassion Mark was showing had him in awe.

 

“How old are you?” Jinyoung asked, cocking his head to the side. Mark turned to look at him, leaning against Jinyoung’s desk some.

 

“Old.” Mark said with a smile, his arms crossing over his chest.

 

“Come on, what does that mean? Do you guys have immortal lives or something?” Jinyoung smirked, rolling over onto his side to see Mark without having to strain his neck.

 

“No, but it feels like it. We age roughly one year for every one hundred human years. So if I had to give myself a human age, I would be closest to 24 years old?” Mark itched at the back of his head, Jinyoung sat up in shock, his jaw hanging slightly.

 

“You’re 2,400 years old. That’s like… for the love of Christ. Does that mean all those alien markings in South America really are you guys?” Jinyoung was beyond amazed, now sitting fully upright.

 

“They are us, yeah, kind of land markers so we know where we need to be going.” Mark laughed, cocking his head to the side.

 

“Funny how you humans were always obsessed with war, but back then from what my father told me, it wasn’t as bad as it is now. That in recent years the fight for power became more deadly and brutal. He wanted to try to come here and help calm things down, give the humans a chance at making something amazing with what they have, rather than being blinded by skin color and the need for power.” Mark sighed, pushing himself off the counter to move and sit next to Jinyoung.

 

“I want to see your world so badly now, tell me about it… please?” Jinyoung turned his body, making room for Mark on the small bed. His head leaning against the back wall.

 

“It’s like this earth, rivers, oceans, areas of land; though twice as big as earth is. The waters are red, the sands are white. We have gorgeous creatures living among us, free to run around as nature intended them to, our cities are not giant stone buildings set into the foundation. Most of our buildings are up in the sky, floating.” Mark smiled at the thought of home.

 

“Not all Zari’s can fly, so there is an intricate rail system connecting everything together, we don’t have those giant airplanes like humans do, though we have ships that can fly through the world. The seasons are about the same, it gets hot, it gets cold. Though we don’t have snow? You and two other planets have snow.” Mark loved to talk about home, it made him miss it the more he spoke about it, but he knew that Jinyoung was curious and who was he to be bottled up. His faith in humanity not entirely lost.

 

“So there are others, not just the Zari’s and the humans?”Jinyoung was in awe at the thought, chewing his lower lip some as he allowed his eyes to scan Mark, truly noticing the subtle differences between him and a true human, the things he wasn’t able to hide even with the stone around his neck.

 

“Oh there are tons. Planets and planets of different species. Some older than mine, some younger. Earth is the newest one we have on record, which I think is why we wanted to help so much. Because if you all learn peace as we have over our time, you will thrive like we do. Earth has so many resources that make you very valuable, but humans seem to underestimate the true beauty of your planet.”  Mark looked up at Jinyoung, catching him looking him over, which made him smirk. Moving carefully, he pulled the stone from his neck, letting the chain and crystal fall to the bed. Jinyoung covered his eyes as the transformation light blinded the room before he looked back to Mark.

 

“You can touch, it’s okay.” Mark had seemingly read Jinyoung’s mind.

 

“You sure?” Jinyoung asked, waiting for Mark to nod his head before hesitant hands reached out and felt along the skin.

 

Jinyoung thought it being almost translucent it would have a sticky feeling to it, but it felt like he was running his hand along the fuzz of a peach. Impossibly soft, free of hair. The gold tattoos he found were embedded into the skin, not laying on the surface like he’d originally thought. His fingers trailed up to the crown on the top of Mark’s head, crystals grew from his scalp. He watched them retract back into the amethyst colored hair. Gasping to himself, Jinyoung felt the softness of the strands. The entire time he was making contact with Mark, the gold tattoos on his own skin started to come back out, littering the left side of his body just like Mark had on his.

 

“How come Youngjae has gold symbols all over his skin and you don’t?” Jinyoung asked, pulling his hand away before he allowed himself to touch any further, keeping his inspection up with his eyes, though as he noticed the ever changing pattern in Mark’s skin almost as if you had dropped a bath bomb into the water and watched the colors start to infuse.

 

“He is a soldier, his family are soldiers, his ancestors are as well. The markings show what your position and rank is. Each new generation will get it’s own seal. Since there have been so many, he’s more covered. My family has held power for as long as time can tell. We are pure bloods, so we don’t have much of a story to tell.” Mark moved to flip his arm over, pointing to an odd shape on his forearm.

 

“That’s new though, and matches the one you have. I don’t know what it means, the letter doesn’t exist in our language.”  Mark moved to run his fingers along Jinyoung’s skin, noting the way they had a matching ruin in the same exact place.

 

“Maybe you were destined for this, to forgo human life and come back to Ludus and live happily.” Mark laughed, moving to take some of his long braids out. They had been messed up over the last few changes, and he was itching to get his hair back in some type of order.

 

“Ludus? That’s a Greek word, it means playful love.” Jinyoung said in awe, unable to tear his eyes away from Mark.

 

“Where do you think they got most of their language from? Almost all of the older languages came from us.” Mark smirked, and it did make sense. Their name was ancient African, their planet name ancient Greek. It made Jinyoung wonder just how many more signs there were scattered through history, that the Zari’s had come to try and help.

 

“Is that really why you came back? After seeing humans mess up century after century, wouldn’t you just want to give up on us?” Jinyoung sighed, finally looking away from Mark. He picked up the crystal and started to spin it with his fingers.

 

“No. Because when our race was very young, we had a lot of help from others as well. At first we thought they were trying to take over but then we learned peace. There were wars, deaths, it took a long time for us to see the good and light. I feel as if earth is similar to us, and that you guys in time, will grow. Humans are a resilient little bunch, I haven’t given up hope yet.” Mark smiled wide.

 

Jinyoung was about to talk when the door to his room opened, a rather distressed looking Jaebum rushed into the room with a tablet in his hand. He set it down on the bed before rubbing his face.

 

“We have a problem…” Jaebum groaned, looking down at the footage that showed police in another sector pushing Youngjae up against a wall, ripping his beanie cap off. Youngjae looked as if he were trying to fight it but he was restrained before he could do anything. Mark sat upright, a worried look on his face.

 

“We have to help him. I can’t have my commander be tested on. They can’t know about him.” Mark went into a panic, snatching the crystal to put it back around his neck. His change happening as he ran out of the room. Jinyoung bolted after him, grabbing Mark before he could get out the door.

 

“You will get killed if you go out there like this, just wait. Let us think of something together.” Jinyoung got Mark back against the wall, preventing him from running out of the apartment.

 

“He was here to help, here because I told him to stay. If anything happens to him, it’s my fault.” Mark whimpered, looking at Jinyoung with worried eyes.

 

“I won't let a single thing happen to us, do you trust me?” Jinyoung asked, Mark studied his face for a moment before slowly nodding his head yes.

 

“Good, come on.”