A/N, I finally finished this story! Thank you so much for staying till the end. Comment and upvote if you haven't, it would mean so much.

Na Jaemin was about to pee his pants. Never had he been in such a situation before, people treating him and his lover like it was a sin to love. His friends were all dressed and pacing in front of the Battle of Peril court.

This isn’t how it was supposed to be, Jaemin thought.

This place was for the cheaters, those who corrupted the council, and those who were in the gray area on the arena. Sound familiar? It was a place for Hwang Yena but why… Why was it that it was him and Yahoo standing there and she as a witness to testify against him?

The master of the council, Mr. Lee Sooman, was sweating. Yahoo and Jaemin could not even speak to one another because it was “against the rules”.

What was worse was that Jaemin had his friends but his girlfriend had no one. Nabi, Dana and Bunny must have noticed that Yahoo needed emotional support that they told him that they’d go sit on her side. Jaemin saw Yahoo’s eyes light up hopefully before she once again burst out into tears.

The trial began as a blur. Yahoo could hardly speak and Jaemin could not drag his eyes away from Yena who had that god forsaken smirk on her face.

“They deserve for than a warning, Master,” Yena’s father began. He looked exactly like his daughter with his prim and proper suit. “My daughter did her best. Rules are put up for a reason. A CC staff and a player? There is no guarantee that she hasn’t trampled with his performance being the one person who’ll be able to.”

Jaemin took a deep breath when he felt a nudge, the male turning to the side to see that Jeno had slipped his hand into his to squeeze it tightly.

“I beg to differ,” Doyoung began, the male standing from the crowd. He turned to the master to give him a low polite bow. “I am the Head of the Control Center Staff and I can vouch for her. These things, they can be audited. All of our games are recorded. Yahoo has never once tried to change the arena and did anything different from how Na Jaemin plays.”

“Recordings can be tampered.”

Doyoung’s jaw locked and he looked furious. Nothing pissed Doyoung off more than someone questioning his integrity.

“You know nothing about the operations in NCT Training Center, Mr. Hwang,” Doyoung answered, surprisingly calmly. “And are we not going to talk about your daughter ing the Teacher’s Assistant—”

“Objection. This has nothing to do with…”

“Everything is relevant only if it helps you,” Nabi interjected. Mr. Lee Sooman looked deep in thought. It was weird how everyone kept on piping up with their own opinions, not like it hasn’t happened before, but everyone had no respect for authority.

Authority being him.

“This is a violation of basic rules,” Yena’s father said. “I demand the master side with what is right.”

“What is right is to expel your daughter, Hwang,” a voice said, two men pushing the door open. One wore a suit, buttoned up to his neck. He was very much human and even Nabi knew who he was. “Apologies for my sudden arrival, I had to pick up Kim from the airport.”

“Hi, uncle.” Jungwoo waved at the other man who winked at him. Taeyong dropped his head slightly to the male.

“My son told me there has been signs of injustice. I’m not surprised you found a way to twist things around, Hwang. You tend to do that,” Taeyong’s father spoke calmly. “Good to see you, son.”

“Father,” Taeyong replied.

“I do know this trial is all about two students but let’s focus on the bigger picture, shall we?”

“Always straying from the point, Lee.” Mr. Hwang narrowed his eyes on Taeyong’s father, the male giving him a graceful smile.

“It’s for the greater good, Hwang. Don’t you always want to do things for the greater good?” Taeyong’s father dripped with poison. “Instead of trying to expel two students, why do we not talk about the corruption that has been happening closed doors?”

 “And if we do, do you not know the consequences?” Yena’s father replied, also a little bit too calmly. “Do you not know that it will implicate NCT Training Center as a whole?” Mr. Hwang’s whispered was brought down into a whisper. “What makes you think Master Lee is on your side?”

Master Lee Sooman swallowed. He knew it was a losing game for the opposite team, in the end, he was the final call and he already knew what he had to do. Politics never ended well for the side that had never played dirty.

“What makes you think that if you go out there and speak of corruption, Do Kyungsoo will walk free?”

Yena smiled as every head in the room turned to look at Kyungsoo who paled.

“What did you do?” Kyungsoo asked, slowly standing up. It was a sinking feeling of realization.

“Just because you do not know does not mean it hasn’t been happening, Headmaster Kyungsoo. Integrity,” Yena’s father laughed. “What a joke.”

They would find out later that Hwang Yena’s father was the master in the plan and he would use his two daughters to get the outcome he wanted in every game. How hard would it be? Sabotaging the arena, switching schedules, tampering with recordings under Doyoung’s nose.

Extra money in under the table bets between schools.

This was going to be a bigger thing beyond a control center intern dating a player and if they wanted to fight, Hwang Yena’s father had everything planned out. No wonder Yena was never scared. She knew that Kyungsoo would do anything… anything to protect the center that was his baby.

“So, I dare you, Headmaster Kyungsoo, to stand up against me,” Hwang Yena’s father said before turning to the master. “And you to agree with him. Your choice.”

Kyungsoo was sick to his stomach. This was how they did business; the Battle of Peril was biased beyond their control. The Hwang’s loved power. It was how they rolled.

Then there it was, a pounding on the ground. It was like the ground was moving, a rhythmic pattern of heavy shoes and something dragging along the ground.

A squeak could be heard from beyond the closed doors.

“Queen! Queen!”

Jeno’s eyes widened, his eyes strained on the wooden courtroom doors when they opened and none other than his mother walked through. Her cloak was long and thick and she towered over everyone in the room. Her eyes were covered with expensive sunglasses that shielded her away from the Seoul sun.

She looked over her sunglasses before lowering them. Behind her, her tentacled servant struggled to keep her coat above the ground.

“Ma’am, I think you’ve entered the wrong—” Yena’s father murmured but the Queen gave him one look.

“Oh, shut up, you flimsy weak human,” Queen Julya snapped. “Jeno?”

“Mother,” Jeno greeted, lowering his eyes on the ground. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of her but he knew the deal.

“Oh, son. There you are.” Queen Julya beamed when she whipped her head around and glared at Mr. Lee Sooman. “You, old man. It has come to my attention that your council has done something that angered my son. As much as I thank you for allowing him to reach out, I am now as angered as my son.”

“Julya….” Master Sooman was trying to wrap his head around the situation. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Queen Julya,” she corrected him. “The last royal bloodline for the Draxian species. I’m a business woman, Master Lee, and I know of the business deal set between you and that butterhead over there.”

“It’s funny how you were at the bottom of the pyramid a few years ago, Sooman. Has the power gotten to your head? Did you not forget that it was I that won the vote of the Russians to bring you to the top?” She waved a hand. “Imagine my surprise when Octo said your name. Ah, it’s that short nincompoop that was begging for votes. You wouldn’t be where you are right now if I hadn’t campaigned you to the rest of Europe.”

“You did that so your son would be accepted to one of the best training centers and so his identity would be kept a secret,” Master Sooman said and Jeno’s eyes widened.

“And even you couldn’t keep your promise because one of your people exposed him.” Queen Julya shot Yena a look. “Through an article.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait….” Jeno said, raising a hand to both his mother and Master Sooman. “You struck a deal so I could become a player? Didn’t Johnny and Kyungsoo recruit me because of my—”

“Not all training centers keep secrets about their players being halflings, Jeno. Would you have been okay if everyone knew you are my son? The royal blood is in your veins, it’s blue and not red. You know that. You went in all on your own, I was just protecting you from the past you did not want to be associated with.”

She ran a hand through her short hair. “Secrets are expensive to keep but now the cat is out of the bag and since you did not keep your end of the bargain, I am here to ask for a compensation.”

Silence.

“Tiktok, Sooman. It’s him or me,” Queen Julya sang.

Master Sooman let out a deep breath. “Tell me what you want.”

A smile of triumph travelled up Queen Julya’s face and she turned to her son. “Your call, Jeno.”

“I want her expelled and blacklisted. Never to go on the arena ever again. Her and her sister.”

A gasp from Yena, the female grabbing her father’s arm.

“Just that?” Queen Julya asked, raising an eyebrow. “I want her eyes, Sooman. I think they’d look pretty on my basement wall.”

A squeak, Yena unconsciously reaching up to touch her eyes.

“Julya…”

“Fine. Just one eyeball then,” Queen Julya shrugged, looking over to Yena. “Give it.”

“Queen Julya!”

“No?” Queen Julya batted her eyelashes at Sooman. “Are we done here? What is it that you civilized people do? Sign a contract?”

Master Sooman sighed. No way was he going to risk his position over an intern and a player dating.

“Master Sooman!” Yena’s father protested, Queen Julya threatening him with her gaze. “You barbaric aliens always try to mess things up.”

“Boohoo.” Queen Julya smiled before her smile dropped from her face. “We barbaric aliens are the ones who’ll wage war.” A step closer to Mr. Hwang. “And I would like to see your kind fight against mine. We love blood, you see. We love tearing limbs apart. Your death, Mr. Hwang, will be slow and painful and no one will even bother to ask you where you went. You know why? Because you civilized people forget. You pay attention for the first second and as time passes by, you find the next shiny new thing to focus on. My kind?”

Queen Julya emphasized, her massive structure getting closer to Mr. Hwang. “My kind feeds off revenge. We don’t even call it revenge… We call it returning the favor. I will prey on you, Mr. Hwang. For years and years, I will make your life a living hell. I have lived long enough to make connections for myself. I’m a Draxian, we live for hundreds of years. The man on the street? Most probably he knows me. Most probably he has his eyes on you.”

She smirked, her eyes flashing to the man. “I would recommend you to bring your family far, far away and bring your dirty grubby hands somewhere else before I change my mind about demanding for your daughter’s eyes. Very pretty, by the way.”

Mr. Hwang did not have to be told twice. In the end, she was a royal bloodline. He knew that she was a woman of connections way more than he was. The lanky man rushed out of the courtroom; his daughter being dragged after him as the queen straightened up.

“Nothing a little threat can’t fix,” Queen Julya chirped. “Nice to see you, Sooman.”

And just like that, it was like the tension of the room has lifted. Taeyong went to greet his father properly.

“It’s not yet over, Jeno,” Queen Julya suddenly said and Jeno nodded. “We have a little cleaning up to do. We’ll have to make sure we protect your little center of yours.”

“Nothing you can’t handle, I suppose?” Jeno asked back from where he was at.

“Yes,” she answered. “Once you confirm your enrollment to Orx Training Center. Keep your part of the deal.”

Nabi wondered what that meant but she was then distracted by Jaemin jumping over the seats to get to Yahoo, his body engulfing her in a hug just as he kissed her smack on the lips. To him, it was over and that was all that mattered.

As everyone rejoiced, they didn’t notice Sooman and Julya step out of the room. The air was thick between both of them, Sooman clearing his throat.

“What have you become?” Queen Julya asked. “I was surprised it was you. When Octo said your name, I wondered what these people have done to turn you into one of them.”

“He bears a similarity to you,” Sooman replied, his hands slipping into his pockets. They felt clammy. “Jeno.”

“He’s my son. He’s your nephew,” Queen Julya snapped, flickering her eyes at him. “Your brother would have been disappointed in you, Sooman. I asked you to protect him. That’s all I asked for. Protect him and I’d be happy to help you in whatever you wanted me to. You failed.”

“I’m not my brother, Julya,” Sooman’s voice had a tint of pain. “He was a good man.”

“And he made me a good woman. He was the one I truly loved.” Queen Julya let out a sigh, flashes of Jeno’s father painting a small smile on her face. “Memories of him make me sentimental. Jeno reminds me so much of him, those eyes.”

Sooman watched as the royal queen of the Draxian’s tilt her head at the outside window.

“I’m growing older, Sooman. I am no longer a hundred years old but beyond that. My children are my utmost priority. When I left Jeno at that landfill, I did because I knew that he would be brought up in a loving place. Had I left him with you, you’d turn him into a monster.”

Sooman’s eyes clouded with guilt.

“I heard your wife left you?” Queen Julya asked the stout man behind her and he nodded.

“You keep an eye on me?” Sooman asked back and she nodded.

“I keep an eye on the people I care about.”

Sooman looked down.

“I can’t tell you what to do from now on, Sooman, but live a life that’d make him proud.” Queen Julya turned to Sooman. “Your brother loved you.”

Sooman didn’t say anything to that, stepping away from the woman. He didn’t even big her goodbye but Queen Julya knew that he walked away with a heavy heart. She spent some time looking out the window, the gray spaceships flying back and forth when she heard someone clear their throat.

“Jeno,” Queen Julya said without turning back. She knew how heavy his footsteps were and she would be able to pick him out from a crowd with her eyes closed.

Jeno had come out to thank his mother. How he was supposed to do that, he had no idea. He wasn’t one for words.

“Why did you call me?” Queen Julya asked, turning back to see her son stand there in a suit. What a handsome young man, she thought. So much like his father.

Jeno did not hesitate to reply.

“Because you’re my mother,” Jeno said back, looking up when his eyes met hers. “And if you’re anything like me, you’d do anything to go against them. Even if you didn’t strike a deal with Master Sooman before, you would have found a way because you care.”

Queen Julya sighed, her heart going soft to her half-human, half-draxian son.

“I will keep my promise, Mother.” Jeno had promised his mother that he’d train in Russia for a while so she could come and see him. In the end, she did want to reconnect. “But I can’t promise you that I’ll forgive you—”

“No, no… Jeno. You don’t have to forgive me.”

“But I want to,” Jeno cut in, pressing his lips together. “I don’t want to live with hurt and hatred. It might take time but please, let me forgive you. Allow me to.”

Queen Julya smiled. He was just like his father. So solid, so good.

That night, Queen Julya sat in a hotel with photos of Jeno’s father laid down in front of her as Octo served her spicy tea.

In her mind, she knew she was lonely.

She hoped that Jeno would never feel that way.

Deep down, she knew Jeno would never feel that way.

“What are you thinking about?” Octo asked, refilling her glass.

“Who,” Queen Julya corrected, her fingers running down the yearbook that was propped on her lap. “I’m thinking of Kim Bunny.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few days after

They haven’t seen Bunny around for a while. It was close to summer so they’ve been training like their lives depended on it – trying to get scouted from the best training centers and teams from all over the world. Jeno and Jaemin were tied to the hip except the only difference was that Yahoo would always be around too.

They found the most basic solution for players and control center staff dating and that was to make sure the control center staff would that would be that both of them would not be assigned to one another. Easy, right? Now, why did they not think of that instead of setting up stupid rules?

That was Yuta’s question.

While everyone spent their time trying to win the hearts of other training centers to further upgrade their resumes and skills, Jeno could not help but notice the disappearance of Kim Bunny. Her bouncy pigtails and her bright red cheeks when she was embarrassed… Not to mention her loud and obnoxious voice—

“Is there wifi in Russia?” Jaemin asked from beside Jeno, studying the brochure beside his partner slash best friend.

After the help of Queen Julya (or more so the threatening gaze of the last royal bloodline of the Drax species), Jaemin had vowed to repay Jeno and his mother with everything he had for being able to save his love. Jaemin was a romantic…. Jeno? Not so much.

“What the ?” Dana’s voice floated from behind the two, leaning back against Johnny. The two were finally calling it quits on trying to be toxic and were attending couple’s therapy. They had issues, but would try to work through it. “Of course, there is wifi.”

“You know you don’t have to go with me?” Jeno said mildly, fixing his sock and pulling it over his bare feet.

Jeno had promised his mother that he would go back to Russia, train in a training center there and visit her as much as he could to make up for lost time. Jaemin insisted that he would come along. They were partners after all.

“Jaemin, you do know that the players at the Orx Training Center are mostly half Drax?” Nabi interjected softly. She seemed worried despite Jaemin’s care-free demeanor. “And that the culture there is entirely different? They might break you in half.”

“Well… Thank you so much for the confidence in me,” Jaemin scoffed, turning just in time to see a flash of concern run through his girlfriend’s features. “Yahoo! Not you too!”

“I love you, Nana. I really do,” Yahoo began, a hand reaching up and running it through Jaemin’s hair. “But Nabi unnie is right.” Her voice dropped into a whisper. “I heard they are very aggressive.”

“Jeno isn’t aggressive and he’s half Drax,” Jaemin countered and Yangyang snorted, walking over just in time before raising his camera to snap a picture.

“He is. You are just blinded by friendship,” Yangyang murmured. “Say cheese?”

“Cheese,” everyone chorused.

Jaemin blinked. “Right. I tamed Jeno.”

“When are you leaving?” Johnny’s question was directed to Jeno. “After summer when the term starts? In a few months?”

“Two days,” Jeno replied and Nabi’s jaw dropped. A clang and then a gasp before he felt his body turn and he was pulled to meet his eyes with the older woman.

“Two days?” her voice came out sharp and demanding when Jeno nodded slowly. “Two days? I thought you’d be with us for another two months!”

“The term starts in two days. It’s summer here, but it’s training season there.” Jeno shrugged. “It’s the way it is.”

Nabi let out a breath, her eyes shifting back and forth as she studied Jeno for a short while.

“Did you tell Bunny?”

The question stunned him for a moment. Not because he didn’t think about it, but because he thought Bunny would find out one way or another.

“I…” his voice trailed. “I’m pretty sure Jaemin texted her.”

“I didn’t,” Jaemin butted in, shaking his head. “Oi, Haechan! Did you know that we’re both leaving in two days?”

Haechan raised an eyebrow, a hand gripping his backpack with Mark Lee beside him.

“Two days?” Haechan screeched. “Does Bunny know?”

“Did you tell Bunny?” Mark asked, Jeno blinking rapidly.

A sigh from the older woman who was standing in front him. Park Nabi stared at him pointedly.

“Tell Bunny, Jeno.”

Jeno failed to see what this was all about. A part of him ached at the thought that he’d never see her stupid pigtails again but was it that important?

“I think she should hear it from you. It’d mean a lot to her.”

“Nabi!” a voice called out and everyone turned to see Jung Jaehyun walking towards the bleachers. Jeno noticed the sparkle in his eyes, the way Jaehyun’s shoulders relaxed at the sight of his girlfriend and the way Nabi gravitated to him, running over to run and collapse against his chest.

Jaemin placed a kiss on Yahoo’s temple.

Dana sighed, telling Johnny how much she loved him.

Jeno had no idea why but he felt empty.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kim Bunny was in bed, the female sniffing. She knew that Jeno was going to leave in two days. How could she not? She thought back to after the court hearing, the female leaving the room to go to the bathroom.

She had overheard the conversation between Queen Julya and Octo (the servant who looked weirdly kind for someone who had tentacles, she couldn’t imagine how Jaemin thought that Jeno would look like that in his alien form)

“Prepare for Jeno’s return to Russia. I want to be able to spend most of my time with my son, Octo.” Queen Julya murmured but her deep and husky voice caused such a vibration, it made Bunny shiver.

“When will this be?”

“The term for Orx training center starts in a week.” Queen Julya fiddled with the front of her belt that was wrapped around her cloak. She was one hell of a fashion icon. She turned around just in time to see Bunny peaking from behind the wall.

Their eyes met and Bunny narrowed her eyes at her.

“Lower your eyes, child.” The dominant voice of the queen made Bunny gulp but she did not do what she was asked. “You are?”

“Bunny,” Bunny replied, stepping out of the shadows. “My name is Kim Bunny.”

Queen Julya had to lower her ear to the short tentacled servant, Kim Bunny’s throat going dry.

“Ah.” Queen Julya knew of Kim Bunny. She had somewhat seen the small statured woman beside her son when she watched Jeno’s fan-cams. She smirked, taking long strides towards Bunny.

She was a tiny, tiny female. But for someone so tiny, Bunny looked defiant.

“You should not be taking him away if you’ve abandoned him before.”

Bunny’s voice was dripping with… Was it annoyance? Protectiveness?

“You should not take him away if you’re going to abandon him again!” Bunny’s voice rose with courage that it took Queen Julya by surprise. So brave for someone so small.

There was tinge of appreciation that spread through Queen Julya’s chest. If she was never there for her son, at least he had someone like this little midget right next to him. She held back a smile.

“And what makes you think I will?” Queen Julya asked, Bunny’s lower lip disappearing over her front teeth. “Are you in love with my son, little one?”

Queen Julya knew love when she saw it and it looked exactly like this little girl crying over the pain her son had felt when she abandoned him. Love was selfless and love was understanding.

“Yes.” Bunny’s voice quivered. “And I don’t know what to do about it.”

Queen Julya let out a sigh. It didn’t take long before both of them sat at the side of the courthouse, Octo standing guard in case anyone would try to eavesdrop. Queen Julya made it a point that whatever she was saying to Bunny was meant to remain confidential.

“Tell me.”

Bunny told her about Jeno. She started off with how Jeno was so hard working. How he had a smile that could make girls swoon. She continued to how he never cared about what people thought.

How she was his complete utter opposite and she was a hundred percent in love with him.

“Tell him.”

“I did.”

“The apple does not fall far from the tree, Bunny. If Jeno is anything like me, he needs love just as much as I do. I know it’s hard to believe but—” Queen Julya sighed, turning to look at Bunny who had her head handing low. “We all want to be loved. Humans. Aliens. Creatures. Shoot your shot.”

So fast forward to present time, Kim Bunny was trying her hardest to come to terms that Jeno