Her eyes felt so heavy. Still, Hyunjin forced them to open. It was dark, wherever she was, only a faint blue light reaching her field of vision. She moved... or tried to. Her arms, straightened above her head and slighty to the sides, and her legs didn't move, as if the force of several strong men kept them in place.

She remembered the dart, and a wave of panic pulsed in her body.

Where are the others? Where's Heejin? Where am I?

The questions rang in her mind, and as she still tried to move her limbs, an unpleasant metal clanging sound reached her ears. Her head jerked upwards, trying to understand what was happening, and her eyes widened when she realized why she couldn't move.

Her body was laying down on some hard surface, and four metal chains seized her ankles and wrists. Her breathing quickened, her heart rampaged, and she closed her eyes to activate them, so she could see better in the dark of the room.

But she couldn't. Maybe it was because of the panic, so she tried again. She closed them, focused on them, to feel them shift... but nothing happened.

With a stronger push of her right arm, she should be able to snap the chain apart. But instead, the chains hurt on her wrists, and the dull pain wasn't going away as fast as it used to.

Hyunjin moved her head again, this time to take a look around, now that her eyes got used to the faint light. At her right, she could make out Hyejoo's unmistakable side profile, her body also laying down on a metal stretcher and her limbs tied in chains, her eyes closed.

Hyunjin got her breath stuck on , and had to fight back the vomit. Looking to the other side, she could find an extension of other stretchers just like the one she was in. Most of them were occupied with other people who seemed to be sleeping, and few of them were empty. Hyunjin's next thought was if they were all vampires as well, but there was no way she could tell. She couldn't see their eyes or fangs, and no matter how hard she tried to get her nose to work to capture their scent, it was as if she couldn't smell anything at all. All of them were chained to the stretcher, exactly the way she was.

Something ignited inside Hyunjin's body. Tears fogged her eyes, and the panic overwhelming her was so strong she was about to scream, if it wasn't for a door opening. Hyunjin went quiet the same second, forcing her body to stay frozen, and shut her eyes down, making the tears roll down her cheeks. The last thing she wanted to do at this point was call attention to herself and be hit with another one of those darts.

The steps grew louder by the second, and Hyunjin's heart thumped faster with it. Whoever it was, was coming towards her way.

Then, the steps stopped.

"Hyejoo?"

Hyunjin had to use all her might to contain the gasp and not open her eyes when she heard a voice she could have never forgotten.

"Hyejoo," Yves called again, her whisper echoing in the room. "Wake up."

Why was she there? Had she captured and chained them up? Were they really... in the Silver Blades?

Hyunjin kept her eyes shut, pretending she was still out. Hyejoo grunted, metal scraping against metal. Then, it grew much louder.

"Calm down," Yves said.

Silence engulfed the room.

"Sooyoung?" Hyejoo's voice was low and weak. "L-Let me go!"

The chains rattled as Hyejoo struggled, making Hyunjin almost flinch, but she clenched her jaw instead.

"Stop, you'll wake the others up!"

"What the is going on?! Release me!"

"I can't, I'm risking everything to be here already. I just want to talk to you."

"You had nothing to say to me back then." Hyejoo spat. "What could you possibly have to say now?"

"They took Heejin and Chaewon. They're down at the cells."

Hyunjin's body jerked, and she prayed Yves didn't notice it.

"I don't know what got into their heads to come back here and say all those things," Yves continued. "But what the hell got into your head to come back here, and armed, for the matter?"

"You're right, I don't know what got into our heads to have an ounce of compassion for you and risk our lives to save yours. Look what we got in return," Hyejoo said, rattling her chains.

Yves sighed. "Well, when deserters come back here and bring an entourage of vampires with weapons surrounding the headquarters, what were they supposed to think?"

It took all of Hyunjin's might not to move a muscle. They had come to the Silver Blades to warn them about an attack, and they captured them like they were wild animals, chaining them down and arresting Heejin and Chaewon. Her jaw kept on clenching, so hard her teeth hurt against each other.

Hyejoo scoffed. "Do you really think we would risk our lives to come here and lie to you? What do you think six people would be able to do against the whole ing headquarters? We are not suicidal. We're trying to survive and do what's right, and maybe I didn't want to let you all die with no chance to defend yourselves, but look at what you're doing."

"I didn't have anything to do with this. I was away for the whole day and I heard about it only when I came back."

"Then get us out of here!"

"I said I can't!" Yves' voice sounded hurt. "At least not for now. I know you, and even though it was reckless, I know you wouldn't do this for no reason. What is this attack? How did you know about it?"

"Will you even believe me? Your vampire sister you banished?"

"You know it was not my decision."

"What if it was? Would you let me stay?"

Yves didn't answer. It was harder and harder for Hyunjin to maintain her breathing stable. The anger flowed freely in her veins, telling things to her mind she didn't want to listen to.

"You know even if I wanted you to stay, you couldn't. This was for the best, and you know it! There was no other way."

"Of course not." Hyejoo scoffed again. "Because I was the one deciding I wanted to become a vampire and get banished by the people I thought were family."

"Hyejoo!" Yves sounded desperate. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? We can't do this right now and you need to tell me all about that attack. I will believe you. If you don't hurry up, then you really will have come here for nothing."

"You better, or else you're all ing dead. And apparently, so are we, now that we're stuck here."

Hyejoo proceeded to explain everything. Since the night of the battle at the Blood Alliance, how Jiwoo and Jungeun joined them, and how the info came from a reliable source. And while Yves listened without a single interruption or question until the very end, Hyunjin kept fighting her own mind.

She killed your brother.

She's Hyejoo's sister.

She's just like them.

She's trying to help you.

Hyunjin felt her fangs prickle her lower lip, her fists balling into balls of rage. Still, she stood frozen in place.

"I will gather a small, trustworthy team, and prepare defenses," Yves said.

"What about me? Will you keep us here, like this?"

"I can't do anything about it right now or they will consider me a traitor too. If the attack happens, I'll have the chance to come here to release you."

"It's not an if, Sooyoung. They will attack, and do not underestimate them. They'll be going in full force, and they want you all dead. They're the bad guys, not us."

Yves didn't say anything.

"And another thing. If anything happens to Gowon, I swear to-"

"Nothing is going to happen to her or Heejin. I will go down there and release them myself. Even if it doesn't matter much to you, you have my word."

Hyejoo trashed in her stretcher, the chains rattling again. "When?! When the vampires are here, attacking the building from all sides? You go down there now and hand them the key and their weapons so they can escape and fight when they're here."

"I don't know where your weapons are, I didn't take them."

"Then you will find them, place them somewhere, and tell them where they are. I had my knuckles and Gowon's gun, Hyunjin had her gun and Heejin's blades. We need our weapons."

"Hyunjin..." Yves mumbled, and somehow, Hyunjin could feel her eyes staring at her. "She's the vampire Heejin protected from me. I always wondered why in the world Heejin would protect a vampire. Is she the one you have all been living with? What is there about her?"

Hyunjin took a longer, deeper breath, to try and remain as calm as she possibly could at that moment.

"You answered your own question. She took us all in when the place we thought we could call our home threw us out and even had the guts to hunt us down. But of course, you wouldn't understand."

"I'm sorry... about the attack. The orders were clear that we should not ever go looking for you or cause harm, and you can be sure they were properly punished."

"Hell with your apologies. You have no idea what is to be hunted like that. Like we were beasts. We were hurt, some got scarred forever. How can you possibly apologize for that?"

Yves sighed. "I can't."

"Exactly. Now get out of here, go down to the cells and hand them the key."

Instead of an answer, steps echoed in the room. But after just a couple, Yves stopped. "Your other two friends are in the next room. You four were shot with a special serum that conceals your powers. It should go away after a few hours, so, you should be able to fight later."

"W-What? It should go away? The attack is about to happen and I might not be able to fight?!"

"I will bring you your knuckles. Please don't attempt to run away, I will be back soon."

And with it, more steps, hurried now, towards the other side of the room. A door opened and closed again.

"!" Hyejoo hissed, with a loud and painful bang. "What the is going on?!"

"Hyejoo," Hyunjin called, opening her eyes and turning her head to her right, facing Hyejoo.

Hyejoo snapped her head to the call, widening her eyes as they met Hyunjin's. "H-Hyunjin! Were you awake?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want Yves to know."

Hyejoo's eyes sparkled in the dark. "Where are we? What the is this room?! I didn't know this even existed! Even if we got away, I have no idea where the in the building we are."

Her voice, the way the tears ran down Hyejoo's eyes hurt Hyunjin's whole body. She felt the same - all she wanted was to break free from those chains, get her friends, and run from the nightmare that was that room. Her primal instincts told her if she had the chance, she would gather all of them and run away before the attack even happened, and to hell with the Silver Blades. But her conscious mind reminded her of what was right, and that there was still hope.

"Do you trust Yves?" Hyunjin asked. "Will she really assemble a team and prepare defenses?"

"Like I know!"

"She's your sister. You should know her better than anyone. Would she lie in this situation?"

"She doesn't lie."

"Then we wait."

"What?!" Hyejoo's voice raised. "What about Heejin and Gowon? They're locked up!"

"She said she would go down there and give them the key."

"Are you seriously not worried about them?!"

"Of course I am!" Hyunjin's own voice raised. "But it's not like we can get away. You heard her. We don't have our powers now. I can't even activate my eyes. Only my fangs grew for a bit because of how angry I was. I don't have the strength to break these chains, nor do you."

Hyejoo let out a raw, loud groan, mixed with a sob and a sniff.

"No matter what happened, she's your sister. She will come back," Hyunjin said.

"How can you be so sure? Don't you hate her after what she did to you?"

Hyunjin gave her a small smile. "No."

Hyejoo stared at her, chin dropped, then shook her head with a scoff. "You can't be for real, Hyunjin."

"I know you don't hate her either. Just like she doesn't hate you."

"She does."

"If she did, she wouldn't have come here, and listened to you. If she was bad, she had the perfect opportunity just now to do whatever she wanted with us. Kill us, even."

There wasn't an answer from Hyejoo. She stared at the ceiling, jaw visibly clenched, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

In all possible outcomes, Hyunjin would never expected that one. To be chained up, powers concealed, something she never even imagined could be possible. What kind of sick technology did the Silver Blades have with them in secret?

She closed her eyes and prayed to her Goddess that from that moment on, things would go better, and all of them could get out alive.

---

A/N: Awn, a family reunion!

Okay, now for real. .

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