Something Wicked

The Leaf and the Legends

"I’d want to be stranded with Kris. That way we could just leave the island right away."

"That's a cop out."

"Well it's the truth. What’d be fun about being stranded on an island?"

"It’s hypothetical!" Daniel replied shortly at Lyn’s realistic question.

"Okay then, who would you choose?" the girl questioned back from the driver's seat.

"I’d want to be with Jongin," D.O. said before Daniel had his chance to reply.

"You mean Kai?" Lyn asked.

"But what if he couldn’t teleport?" Daniel quizzed.

"I’d still pick him," Kyungsoo answered smiling.  

"Well, I'd want to be with Chanyeol," Daniel said. "He listens to me the best."

"I can see that," Lyn added in response to the class rep's answer. 

"What about you Kris?" Daniel asked, looking back at the dragon.

"Me?" Taking a moment, he thought quietly. "I’m not sure… I thin-"

"What the hell is she doing?" Lyn yelled suddenly, catching the group inside the car by surprise.

Their eyes quickly flickering to the windshield, the group watched as the SUV in front of them hastily turned off the dirt road, sending the dry earth scattering into the air.

"Off-roading?" Lyn muttered, following the SUV closely.

"She must sense another one of us," Kris commented, his eyes also focused on the SUV.

"I’ll call them up," Daniel said, quickly pulling out his cell phone. But before he could call, his phone began ringing. "Its Mina! ... Hello?"

"She said there’s two!" Chanyeol yelled from the other side of the line.

"Two?" Daniel repeated loudly.

"Yes! Keep following us!"

"Which ones are they? Daniel asked, feeling excited. "Hello? Chanyeol?" Receiving a dial tone in response, the class rep realized that he had been hung up on, as Chanyeol had prematurely ended the call in his own excitement.

"I told them!" Chanyeol reported lively putting Mina’s phone down.

"Great!"  

"So who are they?" Tao asked, also excited by the prospect of finding two Legends at once.

Eyes firmly concentrated on the desert-like land before them, Mina replied thoughtfully. "I can’t tell yet, but we just need to get closer."

Understanding, Tao smiled and looked over to Lay, whose own brown eyes were fixated on the female driver's back.

"Is this how she found me?"

Smirking, Tao nodded. "This is how she found you, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol."

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yep!" Chanyeol intercepted happily. "Amazing right?"

"Peculiar," Lay replied.  

Making their way further into the flat and dry area, the bright and blue sky slowly filled with gathering clouds, darkening the land and rapidly bringing down the hot summer temperature. Looking up briefly, Mina had a small fit of Déjà vu as the clouds continued to crowd together and block the sun. Feeling her stomach drop, a new sensation ripped through her. She needed to stop. She was leading the group straight into a place they shouldn’t be. Before she could even realize it, her foot fell down hard on the brake pedal.

With the unexpected slam of the brakes, the group was thrown forward and then jerked back into their seats by their seatbelts. At first it seemed as though Mina had reacted to nothing and unnecessarily gave everyone whiplash, but not more than a second later was there a large series of small explosions in the Earth just feet in front of them that created a large dust cloud. 

Wide-eyed and speechless at her own actions, Mina looked over to Chanyeol to find that he wore an intense expression on his face.

"Turn the car off," he instructed seriously, taking his seatbelt off. "Stay here with Lay. We'll be back."

Not saying word, Mina followed her instructions and watched as Tao and Chanyeol left the vehicle and ran into the dust cloud in front of the car. Keeping her eyes focused in front of her, Mina caught a glance of another figure running into the same place before she felt Yixing's hand unbuckle her seatbelt.

"It’s better for you to stay close to me," Yixing said calmly motioning her over.

Nodding, Mina made her way out of the driver's seat and into the second row besides Lay.

As if she, herself went into the heavy dust cloud, Mina felt dazed by everything happening so fast. She knew she had slammed on the brakes because of what she felt… But she didn’t know what exactly that feeling was.

"Your reaction time wasn't a second off," Lay complimented, looking at the girl beside him. "You sensed it before any of us could."

"But…" Mina began, finally finding her voice again. "What is that? It can't be just a Chaser or even a couple of them. This feeling is… darker."

Agreeing, Lay nodded confirming her suspicions. "It’s not just a Chaser…"

"It’s still the Red Force though, isn’t it?"

"It is."

Looking back to the front windshield, Mina shook her head. "But I thought all manifestations of the Red Force were Chasers?" 

"There is an exception."

"An exception?"

"When the Red Force is concentrated enough, it can act on its own… That’s what's out there."

Blinking and trying to understand, Mina looked back to the tranquil Yixing. "How do you fight something like that?"

"The only way is to use the powers given to us by the Tree." Sharing his knowledge with the girl, the healer was relieved to not have a moment to think of the perils his brethren were facing. As long as she kept asking questions, the better off he was. However at the moment, he had a question of his own. "Mina, do you still sense the other two?"

Realizing that she had lost the original signal awhile ago, Mina's face grew dark. "No."

Sighing, Yixing looked down to his folded hands. "I figured as much… I can't sense the others at all either. The Red Force is blocking everything."

Upset, Mina bit her lip in frustration. "I lead us into a trap didn't I? What do we do no- Lyn!" Jumping up and grabbing her phone from the front row, Mina flipped it open and went to dial her friend. About to press the 'call' button, the front driver's side door flew open. 

His face completely covered in dirt and sweat, Chanyeol's eyes found the two in the backseat and quickly began talking. "Change of plans, I'm switching out with you Lay."

Not hesitating, Yixing nodded and immediately jumped out into the fray.

Taking in Chanyeol's disheveled appearance, Mina had a million questions on the tip of her tongue, but only allowed the most important ones to escape her lips. "What about the others? Lyn and Daniel? Are they okay? Are you okay?"

"Everyone is fine. Kris is covering Daniel and Lyn as they head out to the designated rendezvous location." 

Feeling relieved, Mina allowed another question to spill out. "What's happening out there?"

"Put your seatbelt on," Chanyeol replied, turning on the SUV and putting it in drive.

Doing as she was told, Mina knew just how serious things were based on Chanyeol's tone of voice and disposition. Now was not the time for her questions. Not when the phoenix emitted such a sense of urgency. 

Moving further and further away from the others, the girl sighed and closed her eyes as the silence in the SUV grew to an unbearable level. Why were things like this again? Chanyeol had told her in great detail just how she was able to move and use their powers... Why couldn't she do it now? Lost in her thoughts, Mina was able to hear her own distressed heartbeat. Exhaling a deep breath, Mina's eyes shot open suddenly as she moved to get closer to Chanyeol in the front row.

"Turn left!"

Jolted by Mina's unexpected outburst, Chanyeol called back. "We're not yet far enough."

"Turn left here!"

"I have to get you all out of here. I promised."

"Please Chanyeol!" Mina begged. Away from the Red Force, she was able to sense the two wandering Legends once more.  "You have to! It's them! They're here!" 

Hearing the confidence in the girl's voice return, Chanyeol hesitated for a moment before reaching his left hand over his right on the steering wheel and turning the car to the left. "How far?" 

Smiling at Chanyeol's reply, Mina's dark mood lifted as the excitement of finding the Legends returned. "I'd say five minutes away. They aren't moving that fast because they're not strong enough right now."

"They probably felt the Red Force and had to retreat," Chanyeol said, listening closely to Mina. 

"I think that's it." Looking out the window to make sure they were being followed by Lyn and Daniel, Mina found that the sky above them remained dark and heavily clouded. Hearing a clash of thunder, and looking back through the front windshield, a bright and jagged light touched down on the earth and it began to pour.

"Is the Red Force on us?" Chanyeol questioned, as the rain poured down harder and the lightning strikes became more frequent.

Shaking her head, Mina replied. "It can't be." Seeing another bright and jagged light quickly flash right before them, Chanyeol stopped the car.

"It hit us!" The phoenix yelled, taken aback.

Before Mina could reply, a second jolt hit the SUV. "It's them!" 

"Why would they attack us?"

"They don't know we're friendly yet!" Mina replied happily.

"Where are they? I can't see them." Chanyeol said, squinting is eyes to look beyond the wet windshield. 

"We just need to get closer! Let's go!"

"No," Chanyeol responded, turning the car off.  "I'll go myself, I move faster."

"Yeah, but can you find them on your own? They stopped moving."

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Chanyeol turned to face Mina. "Tell me which way to go."

"But he'll attack you again!"

"Who?"

"Chen!"

"It's Chen?"

"Of course it's him! Who else can manipulate and create lightning?"

Blinking at his own delay in making the connection, Chanyeol turned back around. "Well, why didn't you say so before? I can out run his lightning! Tell me which way." 

Reluctantly telling the phoenix where to go, Mina could then only watch as Chanyeol jumped out of the SUV and turned around momentarily to give her a thankful smile. "I'll be back soon. Wait for me." Slamming the door closed, Chanyeol left.

Upset with herself at being so quick to give into Chanyeol, Mina unbuckled herself and moved to open her door, but stopped when a call came in. 

"What's going on?" Daniel questioned as soon as Mina answered her cell. "Why are we stopped? Where did Chanyeol go?"

"We where attacked by the other Legend in the area."

"They're out here?" 

"Yes and Chanyeol left me to go find them."

"One of them is Jongdae right?" Daniel asked, unable to hide the joy in his voice.

"I'm pretty sure of it," Mina answered. "Daniel, Chanyeol said Yi Fan was with you. Is he still there?"

"He was with us for a while, but about 20 miles ago he went back to help the others. Why?"

"It's only you and Lyn?" Mina questioned in surprise. 

"Don't worry. We're going to swing by to pick you up," Daniel replied.

"No, don't. I'll wait for Chanyeol to get back."

"Looks like he's already back," Daniel said, seeing a figure approach the vehicle Mina remained inside.

"Wha?" Watching her door being flung wide open, Mina dropped her phone seeing a drenched Chanyeol stand beside her. His face now cleaned of the dirt from earlier, his light brown locks were darkened by the unrelenting rain.

"Mina! You need to come with me!" Grabbing the girl, the Legend lifted her into his arms. 

"You found them?" Mina questioned, wrapping her own arms around Chanyeol's neck.

"Yes, though Chen took awhile to recognize me."

Looking at the phoenix's clothing, Mina noticed that just above his right shoulder was a singe mark. "He attacked you..."

"He had good reason. Joonmyun is hurt. Chen was protecting him," Chanyeol replied, moving quickly in the rain.

Remembering that she never did sense the second Legend to the point of identification, hearing that he was hurt made sense to the girl. "Suho... We need Yixing!"

"We do, but we have you here."

"Me? But I can't do what Yixing can!"

"He gave you his energy last time," Chanyeol reminded. "I know you can somehow tap into that." 

"I can't do that! I don't know how! We need to go get Yixing!"

Stopping and putting the girl down only mere feet away from the two figures in the short distance. Chanyeol placed his hands on Mina's dampened shoulders. "I know you can do it. I believe that you can. I've seen you use our powers before."

"But I can't even remember that!"

"I know, but please try," Chanyeol pleaded. 

Looking down and then back up as she continued to get wet standing in the rain, Mina met Chanyeol's genuine gaze. "I'll try, but how do I even begin to try?"  

Letting out a deep relieved breath, Chanyeol smiled and then moved his hands from the girl's shoulders to the sides of her face. "I'm hoping this will help." 

Realizing what was coming next, Mina hastily closed her eyes as Chanyeol took her lips into his own.  

- - -

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AhnCheonsa
[The Leaf and the Legends] That was the last batch of editing. The next Update Alert will be for the new chapter! You might be happy to know I started it!

Comments

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manii0728
#1
Chapter 42: I hope you are doing fine. I miss this. Please update!
PearLee #2
i actually commented this quite recently? guess i really miss this story
PearLee #3
Honestly this is one of the few best written story.. T. T where are you author?
aegyo_bom
#4
will this ever be updated??
Macire #5
Chapter 42: I need to know what is happening!!
manii0728
#6
Hope you can update
Angelz0715 #7
Chapter 42: This story is so good!!!
kevinoppa
#8
Chapter 42: I'm about to lose my mind KRIS YOU FREAKING SAID YOU WONT FORGET ASDFGHJ WHY???? I'm so trash for KrisMin
Lolypop123 #9
Chapter 42: Update if u can ^3^