Foreboding waves rolled in from the horizon, crashing down upon the jagged rocks along the coast. Ocean spray soaked the sandy beach, dyeing what was once pristine white sand to muddy brown clumps. Strong gales whipped past the silent duo standing ready for their impending showdown, neither of them retracting their piercing glares. Energy at the ready, Jae Rin and Hoya stood rigid, both waiting for the slightest movement to initiate their battle. The ground shook violently under their feet, rocking the strongest waves that day. No sounds penetrated the hollow walls boxing in their strained ears. Nobody took a breath. Nobody dared to move.

                “Don’t do it, guys! Let’s think this through before we do anything stupid!” Sungjong screamed, racing towards the fixed pair. “Let’s calm down and think for a second!” The rest of Infinite trailed behind him, hesitant on approaching the soon to be war zone.

                “I know you mean well, Sungjongie, but now is not the time. I’m sort of in the middle of something very important,” Hoya snarled, continuing to maintain his eye contact with his enemy. Jae Rin returned his gaze with an unwavering sneer.

                “I know hyung; you’re reclaiming what “belongs” to you. But, can’t we find another way? Do you really have to kill her?”

                “I don’t care for options. Her death will guarantee I never lose my powers again.”

                Sungjong panicked, wracking his brain to think of ways to convince them to stop and think. But, he knew that they were adamant on killing each other. Well, at least Hoya was. His eyes flickered about, darting from one place to another, trying to find an excuse that could possibly help him end the fight before it even started. A teetering tree in the distance caught his attention, giving him a hopeful idea. If I can’t stop the fight, the least I can do is stall it.

                “Hyung! Noona! If you’re going to fight, at least bring it indoors or underground. The earthquake is destroying everything as it is. Why don’t we save the citizens a few million dollars more by going elsewhere? Somewhere off land, maybe on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean?” He knew it was a long shot, but he had to at least try.

                “Uh, news flash, we’re creating this earthquake, Sungjong-sshi,” Jae Rin sarcastically remarked. As much as she wanted to deny the catastrophic damage her proximity to Hoya was creating, she clearly could not escape the transgression. But, it wasn’t entirely her fault. He found me. He came close. He’s also to blame! She grimaced at Hoya, her upper lip instinctively lifting up in distaste.

                The tic set Hoya off.

                “No! Hyung! Noona!” Sungjong leapt forward only to be held back by Sunggyu and Woohyun. By now, the rest of the boys had caught up and were watching the tense showdown. Although they, too, wanted to voice their opinions and stop their friends from fighting, they knew that their words would go to waste. Hoya and Jae Rin were too headstrong and stubborn when they had their minds set.

                “Sungjong-ah, it’s not your fight. Let them figure this out by themselves.” Sunggyu tried to reason, although it hurt him to see his friends fighting so mercilessly. Dark and light energy beams catapulted between the two, blasting large craters into the beach. Sand swirled around them, rising up in grainy clouds. Their eyes stung from the coarse sand yet neither withdrew from their relentless attacks, neither of them backed down. Neither of them wanted going to lose.

                Despite the dangers of stray shots and the natural disaster plaguing the city, bystanders crowded around along the beach, watching the battle unfold. Infinite stood amongst them, torn between whether they should intervene in the fight or if they should direct the onlookers to safety underground.

                “Sunggyu-sshi, Woohyun-sshi, get them to safety!” Jae Rin yelled, dodging a shot of light. She gave them a quick, hard glance before launching a dark spear of her own towards Hoya.

--

                Sunggyu was the first to react, unlatching himself from Sungjong first before turning towards the growing crowd. He mentally reached out to the nearest spectator, foreseeing their immediate future. Images of explosions and death filled his head and he winced, disturbed by the reading.

                “Woohyun! The future doesn’t look so hot. Do something. Mask the battle, avert their attentions, anything!” Woohyun scrambled over, tripping over his own feet before successfully making it next to his friend. His eyes widened as he scanned the crowd. There were over fifty people already gathered around with more on their way. News of the intense fight down by the coast was attracting more attention than it needed to. It’s not like safety mattered during an earthquake or anything; a fight would be the top priority.

                “Hyung, I don’t know if I can set a veil. There are too many of them. What do I do?”

                “What do you mean there are too many? You’ve controlled a crowd before,” Sunggyu panicked.

                “Yeah, but I had just woken up and hadn’t read any minds prior. Right now, I’m drained.” Woohyun shifted his weight, fidgeting with stress from the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to save the innocent bystanders. Sunggyu ran a hand through his hair, frustrated that more people were gathering on the boardwalk. What was he supposed to do now? More people kept showing up and he had no idea what to do anymore. The little control he had over the situation was rapidly slipping out his grasp and as a leader, it scared him. A lot.

                “Woohyun-ah, can you at least try?” he asked.

                “I…I’ll give it a shot,” Woohyun stammered. He faced the crowd and closed his eyes. Concentrating all of his energy to his psyche, he reached out to the minds of the growing mob, touching upon as many subconscious’s he could possibly contain. A growing headache tickled from the base of his neck, slowly throbbing, pulsing, faster and faster until a massive migraine hammered against his skull, the thin layer of bone threatening to split at its sutures. He pushed at his temples, futilely attempting to relieve the incessant pounding in his head. But there was no escape. He could feel his energy draining rapidly, his weak grasp upon the minds of the crowd promptly slipping from his control.

                No! I must hold on! I can’t let them get hurt! He screamed as an agonizing pain clawed at his mind, severing the little ties he had left on the people. His brain switched on to survival mode and he reached out for a support, an anchor for his whirling subconscious. Hoping to latch onto a superior mind, he unconsciously probed for a possible source. Who would’ve thought he would find one within a ten foot radius.

                Sunggyu felt a weird sensation veil his mind, shrouding the clarity of his thoughts, numbing his subconscious. What the hell is going on? He shook his head, trying to shake off the obscurity on his mind, but to no avail. It coiled around his brain, wrapping itself tightly onto his thoughts, onto his energy.

                “Hyung! What’s going on?!” Woohyun’s voice exploded in his head. He clutched at his temples, shocked by the familiar voice, yet baffled by the odd sensation.

                “What did you do, Woohyun?!”

                “I don’t know! I just thought about getting more energy and all of a sudden, I found myself in your head!” Woohyun blindly reached out and physically grabbed onto his friend’s arm. Their link skyrocketed by the simple touch. Colours burst before their closed eyes. A blurred image slowly cleared up before them in their mental sight. They could see the crowd, the buildings, all of the destruction that terrorized their city.

                “Whoa…” they simultaneously thought.

                “Seems like you’ve linked our powers and energy sources,” Sunggyu mused. He could see the events unfolding from behind lidded eyes; Hoya and Jae Rin fighting on the sandy battlefield while the other members of Infinite stood on the sidelines watching. They looked troubled, uncertain of whether or not they should intervene or just let it go. They needed their leader, his command.

                “Huh, this is really weird...Trippy, but weird.”

                “Weird or not, how about you do something useful like, oh I don’t know, get those citizens to safety?” Sunggyu sarcastically suggested, giving his friend a light, mental nudge for emphasis. He felt Woohyun roll his eyes in their link before a surge of power shot forwards. With their combined energies, Woohyun managed to camouflage the fight and manipulate the onlookers’ thoughts. One by one, they slowly turned around, robotically making their way to the closest earthquake shelter underground.

                “Now that that’s done....LET GO OF ME.”

                Woohyun shoved himself away from Sunggyu, peeling his eyes open thus breaking their mental link. They collapsed from the sudden power withdrawal, their frames shaking from the shock.

                “Friendly suggestion, never do that again. Ever.” Sunggyu shook himself off and helped Woohyun up. They joined the other guys and watched as their two friends continued to spar, fighting with everything they had. Ominous clouds loomed overhead as rumbling thunder resonated from the vast skies. “Guys, looks like Hoya’s got some company.” The sun completely disappeared behind the grey clouds, hiding their friend’s strongest resource.

                “We have to help him,” Sungyeol grumbled. Although Jae Rin was his friend, Hoya was part of their group. They were family.

                “No! We have to stop them!” Sungjong wailed. He was on the verge of tears. Witnessing his friends fighting pained him. Fighting won’t solve anything. Neither does death. We have to stop this somehow... He held his breath as Hoya launched a light boomerang at Jae Rin. She ducked out of the way, summoning a dark energy shield in front of her to block out more attacks. Unaware of the missile rounding back towards her, Jae Rin fought forwards, blocking Hoya’s nonstop attacks. Sungjong panicked as the boomerang got closer and closer, flying at a high speed and aimed right at her back. He bit his tongue, trying to hold himself back from doing anything rash. He knew he had to wait for Sunggyu’s order, but a life was on the line. It didn’t matter whose life it was; friend or “foe”, she was still a living, breathing human being. His conscience wouldn’t forgive him for letting her suffer an unfair battle.

                “Noona, behind you!” he screamed.

--

                “What the hell is going on?! Where did they go?!” the Commander roared.

                The viewing room was chaotic. Agents furiously typed away at the keyboards, hacking into all the security cameras still online, hoping to locate the battling duo. Their panic rose, increasing with the Commander’s rage. After the countless years of tracking and recording these two mutants’ habits and whereabouts, never would they have imagined the events that had unfolded.

                Agents 0581 and 0582, the second and third in command, the two agents who were the most familiar with Hoya and Jae Rin’s habits, were utterly confused. Their actions were way out of character. After recording and studying file after file of all the encounters, they way the two mutants handled the situation had not gone the way they had expected it to.

                Hoya would’ve killed her instantly. No questions. No hesitations. On the other hand, Jae Rin would’ve fought back. She would’ve attacked the power threatening her and made sure her attacker was fatally injured before calling for assistance and disappearing. Negotiating and rescheduling, making terms and coming to agreements. It wasn’t their normal behaviour.

                Whatever happens to them now, I’ll never know. The past thirty years, all put to waste. My work. My masterpiece. My Mona Lisa. Incomplete. I’ll never be able to witness the final . The Commander’s agonizing screams echoed through the underground base, startling the bustling halls. His hope was lost. His work unfinished. He had nothing to live for. With steady, certain hands, he unhooked his holster and slipped out the polished, black pistol.

                A single gunshot resonated through the halls, silencing the workers and Agents in paralyzed shock.

--

                Jae Rin whirled around, extending her dark shield behind her just in time for the boomerang to collide with the barrier and explode. A whirlwind of sand blew towards Infinite and they shielded themselves, shutting their eyes tight. They could hear more of Hoya’s attacks ricocheting off Jae Rin’s shield, each hit exploding like blasts from hand grenades. Their ears rang with each explosion, as did the incessant throbbing in their eardrums.

                “Watch out, hyung! Incoming left!” L cried out.

                Hoya threw up a shield in the nick of time, but was only able to block half the orb. The other half blew past the shield, grazing his left arm. It scorched his skin, a large red burn running the length of his forearm. Jolts of pain rhythmically pulsed from his wound, pounding to the beat of his unsteady pulse.

                “Shot for a shot, burn for a burn,” Jae Rin called out with a smirk.

                With a snarl, Hoya launched another energy ball from across the beach, but it dismally deflected of her shield and dissipated, just like his squandering hope of survival in the battle. The fight was taking its toll, for the distances of their attacks and the overcast skies rapidly depleted what little energy he had collected from the meagre rays of sunlight earlier. I’m going to die, he thought, I might actually lose this battle.

                Jae Rin could see his confidence crumbling, the foundations of his ego slowly crashing down, dropping a heavy weight upon his burdened shoulders. His knees gave out and he fell down onto the sandy beach, his frame shaking in a mixture of sadness, anger, and defeat.

                Defeat, a foreign emotion he could finally admit to experiencing in his lifetime, once in his lifetime. It’s odd. I feel so helpless, so weak. And even if I want to, I can’t do anything. His breath hitched as the reality sunk in. He just might die. One more fatal hit from her, the final shot, and he could be gone, erased off the face of the Earth with one simple motion. I can’t let that happen, but at this rate, it just might.

--

                “Sungjong! Go do something! Heal him!” Dongwoo panicked. He couldn’t stand it anymore. Watching his best friend on the cusp of surrendering a fight was killing him inside. And to put that extra dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top, one of his closest friends was the one hurting him. Despite the short time they’ve known each other, Dongwoo had grown fond of Jae Rin. He wouldn’t hesitate to claim her as his adopted sister. He would do anything for her; even take her side in a fight. But now, he was torn. Who should he choose? His best friend or a younger sister figure? If he could stop the fight, he would in a heartbeat. But, it wasn’t a fight he, or the rest of Infinite, could put an end to.

                Jae Rin was getting frustrated. The battle wasn’t going to end if they kept attacking from long range. She had to close the distance, move in and fight face to face. And, with her opponent weakened, this was her opportunity to finish him off. Maybe there’s hope for me after all.

                Wisps of black smoke hauntingly rose from the sand beneath Hoya, slowly drifting upwards. Snaking through open spaces, the dark matter s around his body, engulfing his legs first before painstakingly ascending up his torso. It penetrated his skin, infiltrating his nervous system and rendering him paralyzed. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t scream. He could only watch as the last seconds of his life rapidly ticked away. His legacy was about to end in the hands of his nemesis and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

                Jae Rin triumphantly smirked, taking long strides over to where Hoya knelt, basking in her sudden upper hand. Finally, she was winning. Finally, she was doing the chasing. Finally, she was strong. No more running. No more weakness. No more defeat. It was empowering, stalking over to her prey, standing tall while they cowered in fear. The strength, the control; it was intoxicating. Addicting.

                Five more steps. Five more steps until my triumph.

                She was blind to her surroundings, unconsciously drowning out the chaotic sounds around the city. Her only focus, her only mission was to eliminate her opponent. A strong urge to kill coursed through her muscles. Hoya’s shrunken frame luring her closer and closer, tempting her to finish him off right that second. But she held back. She was almost there right in front of him. She was so close. Her goal would be complete with just five more steps.

                Now I know why he chased me for so long. The pull, the power, it’s so addictive. Chasing and taunting the victim feels so empowering.

                With one last step, she was in front of him, grinning at her success of transforming the once egotistical chaser into a delicate mouse. His life was in her hands, and she was going to make him suffer. The fear she endured those five years, she was going to serve to him in one giant dose. Time to end this.

                She raised her arm, an energy ball materializing in her open palm. Static crackled off the orb, at charged ions in the air around it. It swelled in size, growing larger and larger with all the energy Jae Rin concentrated into it. Shadows gravitated towards her, absorbing into her body and sending more energy into the massive energy ball. Now the size of a large watermelon, Jae Rin smirked in satisfaction at the fear glistening in Hoya’s eyes.

                “Any last words before I blow you straight to the depths of hell?” she asked.

                “Spare my friends after you’re done with me.”

                Jae Rin scoffed at him. “I have nothing against them. Besides, they’re my friends too.”

                “Whatever. Just get it over with.”

                “It would be my pleasure.” She raised her arm a little higher, sending one last shot of energy into it before bringing it down him.

                Hoya shut his eyes and waited for the darkness to overcome him, but nothing happened. No energy ball disintegrating his flesh and bones. No excruciating pain. Instead, a refreshing spray of water rushed past him followed by a large explosion. His ears rang from the blast, rippling down his spine to the tips of his toes.

                “What the hell was that for?!” Jae Rin’s angry voice echoed across the silent beach. Nobody made a sound. Nobody took a breath. For the first time that day, everything was quiet.

                “I can’t let you hurt my friend,” L replied, his eyes dark and expressionless. He wasn’t scared of her. Even if he was afraid, he wasn’t going to let that fear stop him from doing something to protect his friend. Hoya was like a brother to him and he would do anything in his power to defend him.

                “Well, this isn’t your fight, so back off!” she snarled, attacking him with an energy ball in a fit of rage. L managed to duck out of the way of one orb only to come face to face with another one. He closed his eyes, instinctively crossing his arms before him to block the attack and was thrown back ten feet. His arms seared with pain and he checked for surface wounds and found light scorch marks. No energy ball would leave such marks, just fire.

                “What the…” He looked up to the sound of another explosion and noticed Jae Rin shielding herself from an onslaught of fireballs. Sungyeol stood protectively between Hoya and Jae Rin, giving Sungjong the opportunity to slip into the war zone and quickly heal Hoya.

                “I thought we agreed to play fair, Howon. Getting help from our friends doesn’t seem very fair now, does it?” Jae Rin grunted as another fireball exploded against her shield. Heels dug into the sand, she resisted against the raining attacks as best as she could.

                “I didn’t ask them to help me; they joined on their own free will. Bet it hurts to know that our friends chose to help me out instead of you, doesn’t it?” Hoya taunted, thoroughly enjoying the advantage he suddenly gained. With the help of his friends, he knew he had a chance to take Jae Rin down. And as unfair as it may have seemed, he wasn’t one to think twice of the situation if it meant he could win in the end.

                “Stop moving, hyung. I’m almost done,” Sungjong chided, trying to restrain an antsy Hoya. Brushing his hand one last time over the pinkish patch of what was the crimson burn, the skin cleared up and the burn healed over. Restless and fully recovered, Hoya pushed Sungjong away, hastily scrambling to his feet before joining in with Sungyeol’s attack.

                “Sungjong-ah. A little help?” L called him over. He raised his slightly burnt arms, silently asking for a quick healing.

                Sungjong promptly ran over, healing L’s minor wounds in the blink of an eye and found himself sprawled on the floor once again. He looked up to see L’s retreating back racing toward the battle zone.

                Three against one. The odds were heavily against Jae Rin now. With three strong, active powers fighting against her at full strength, she was dangerously outnumbered. All possible escape scenarios raced through her mind, all had tragic endings. There was nothing left for her to do but defend. She had nowhere to go, no strength left to attack. All she could was hope that she had enough strength to conjure her shield, and hope that it was strong enough to hold back the rain of light, fire, and ice attacks.

                With each blow, she dug further into the sand. The vibrations from the impact against her barrier ripped through her weakening frame. Hit after hit, she sunk further into the soft ground, bracing herself against her offenders as best as she could.

                This is it. This is the end...I might as well give up and face that final blow. There’s no other option.

                Her mind was made up. She was going to surrender. There was no standing chance she would survive her three attackers. Might as well face her death with pride.

                Closing her eyes, she took in one final breath before slowly lowering her shield and inviting her imminent death.

--

                “Yah! What are you guys doing?! Get back here!” Sunggyu yelled after the younger boys. He feebly reached out in attempts to stop them, but lowered his hand slowly. Why was he even trying in the first place? They wouldn’t listen to him once their minds were made, even if he was the oldest out of the lot. Warily, he watched as they entered the battlefield, L warding off Jae Rin’s attack and being thrown ten feet back, Sungyeol defending his brothers, and Sungjong doing what he did best.

                “Hyung, what should we do?”Woohyun asked even though he knew very well what his friend was going to say next.

                “Nothing, Woohyun. This isn’t our fight. We have no right or reason to join in and take sides.” Sunggyu frowned as he witnessed Hoya push Sungjong down to re-join the fight.

                “Even so, shouldn’t we be helping our friend? He is part of our family, after all.” Dongwoo spoke up for the first time, startling the other two. They had forgotten he was still standing with them. Being Hoya’s best friend and business partner, they figured he would be the first one out on the battlefield next to Hoya.

                “It doesn’t matter. This should be a fight between Hoya and Jae Rin only. I can’t believe the kids jumped in like that,” Sunggyu sighed. He had hoped they would listen to his warnings and stay out of the fight. Reading their blank futures was unnerving for him and he wanted to take cautionary steps. But, they were to gung-ho on fighting and defending, he couldn’t do anything to stop them.

                “I know what you’re getting at, hyung, but look at them out there. It’s three against one. Friend or foe, we have to help Jae Rin out. Even out the playing field.” Woohyun began to panic. Hoya, Sungyeol, and L were relentlessly attacking Jae Rin with everything they had. He watched as she willed herself to keep holding onto her shield and to defend herself. He watched as she tried to fight back, only to have another onslaught of fireballs, ice spears, and light orbs rain down on her. He watched as her hope drained and her spirits visibly diminished.

                “She’s giving up,” Dongwoo mumbled.

                “She is, isn’t she?” Sunggyu sighed.

                The three stood silent, witnessing the final seconds of the battle as if it were in slow motion. They watched as the edges of Jae Rin’s shield began to slowly fade away. They watched as she closed her eyes, lowering her hands, palms facing upwards as if to embrace the assault of fire, ice, and light attacks quickly closing in on her. They watched a bittersweet smile spread across her lips as her shield finally shattered with a loud explosion. They watched as the final attack that would end her life drew nearer and nearer to her defenseless body.

                “I can’t take this anymore,” Woohyun growled before sprinting towards Jae Rin and into the line of fire. Sunggyu and Dongwoo both reached out for him, but he narrowly slipped out of their grasps.

                “Woohyun! No!”

Sooo, I know I said there were two more chapters left in the last chapter, but it seems as if this battle scene is never-ending. I had to split up the chapters, yet again. The second part is nearly finished, same with the final chapter. 

WARNING, RANT AHEAD.

Okay, so I know I say this a lot, but I'm sorry for such sporadic updates. The past few months haven't been so hot, what with assignments, finals, and death. You know, all that good stuff. Also, I know I blame a lot of this on school too, but this term is truly a killer. It's only the 5th week in and I've had 3 papers, 2 presentations, and a whole crapload of tests/quizzes. And my booklist.....oh that booklist. 31 books people.....31 BOOKS, 15 of which are novels. NOVELS. If any of you are familiar with Charles Dickens, then you are all well aware of his abilitiy to write lengthy novels. I have to read Bleak House. And wirte a paper on it. *dies* Feel free to search it up if you don't know it. Oh, and look at the page number while you're at it.....Probably won't be as intimidating as you think, but do remember that this is fiction during the Victorian Age....Oh those never ending run on sentences and super flowery language. 

Anyway, I'm not going to promise a speedy update. I hate to admit it, but I've lost the motivation to write with all the stress from school. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but life kinda, sorta at the moment. Ranting here helps me destress a bit before trying to tackle life.

RANT END.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.I'll try to finish the other ones if I have the time. Which may be in late April/early May. Or earlier, who knows. Thanks for sticking around even though I'm so inconsistent with writing/updating. It's nice to know that people still read my work even though they're not typical, mainstream plots. I want to enjoy what I write rather than fish for subs. Just sayin'. Anywho......

See you in the next Chapter.

-greenninjapanda GNP-