Title: Drenched, Drownded

pg-13, adventure, hurt/comfort
(MAMA!AU) After a mission on earth gone horribly wrong, EXO-K is missing and feared dead. EXO-M is tasked with the impossible; to bring the 12 back together and come out of Earth alive. What makes it worse - EXO-K's powers are now corrupted, and they would stop at nothing to kill EXO-M. 

Chapter 4

The pouring rain I cannot see before one

Put it all to the side, wishing, hoping to not walk there

Difficulty standing, trembling horribly like on the edge of a cliff

Folding my small two hands to pray

-          IU, Lost Child

The sound of the dart was akin to blowing fast between front teeth. The loud thump that followed immediately afterwards had Lay turning around quickly. Jongin was slumped on the ground on his side, unmoving. It must have hurt, to fall down from the high counter, and Lay winced at the imaginary pain before his tired mind registered what had happened.

“What are you d-” he demanded, before his head was forced to tilt back from behind. The thick, sausage fingers covered his mouth and gripped the hollows of his cheek painfully.

“We’re collecting EXO-K now,” the burly assailant informed him flatly. “Release the Water Guardian.”

Lay’s eyes widened and darted to the glass panel to the side. There was anti-contaminant fog behind the panel. Suho was out of sight, probably dozing off from his crouch on the ground against the wall. There were red alert pings rattling off from the widescreen computer on Lay’s desk. That was not good.

Lay tried to twist his head to give himself room to be able to speak, but the gesture simply made the man’s grip tighten.

“Are you going to do it, or do we have to do it ourselves?”

“You don’t understand!” Lay shouted. Through the calloused fingers, it simply sounded like “MmsddderDD!” Both his hands flew up to tug away the firm grip from his mouth. A knee kicked out from behind his knobbly knees and Lay’s back arched in pain before he collapsed to the ground.

The half-healed burns that rubbed friction against the white clothes he wore had Lay biting down so hard on his lower lip that he drew blood. “You mustn’t!” he cried, gritting his teeth. “He’s contaminated – the risks –!”

“Nobody cares anymore, kid.” Whack.

Lay gasped, doubling over clutching his stomach from where he was kicked. Kid?! he thought in indignation. The man spared a second to smirk, before he slammed his hand down on the ‘release’ button.

XXX

The fireball in Chanyeol’s open palm burned his skin like a brand. The skin on his palms used to be thick and hard like a glove, essentially making it fireproof. After Lay had healed him, the dead epidermis had shed off revealing soft baby skin that was unused to the fire. It explained why his right hand was shaking so badly, as Chanyeol continuously swallowed hard from time to time as if to swallow the pain away. God, it hurt.

Still, he didn’t relinquish his only upper hand. He pointed to the guards with his left hand, hoping to whomever that his deep voice wouldn’t tremble as well. “Let Baekhyun go,” he warned fiercely. As if as an afterthought, he bared his teeth.

He was basing the reactions from his performance to those that Kris got upon first impression. It appeared that he was failing. Though the two men eyed the crimson fireball warily, the shorter man was still resolutely carrying the unconscious Baekhyun in a fireman’s lift. In fact, he hugged him closer to his chest, which somehow made Chanyeol subconsciously curl his fists.

Then, the bottom of Chanyeol’s vision swirled, as he studied Baekhyun’s unmoving form and saw the thick, yellow paste that covered Baekhyun’s forearms. (How the heat was burning his palms right then!) Tears were pooling quickly in his wide eyes. “PUT HIM DOWN!” he yelled suddenly, startling the men. He abandoned his uncomfortable fierce façade, sobs creeping into his speech. The desperation weighed down from each word like stone. “Can’t you see he’s hurt? You can’t bring him anywhere; he needs to stay here to heal!”

There was a knock on the door, and light shined in the background behind the two guards and Baekhyun. Someone was shoved inside. The taller guard immediately hurled him up to his feet. The boy’s knees buckled, but the guard supported his weight fully with just one tight grip on the arm.

Suho barely lifted his chin. There was sheen of sweat reflected on his white face, dripping down the point of his chin. He was breathing shallowly; his chest barely making any movements. There were black lines that ran from his temple down to his chin and neck and disappearing under his white shirt collar, like excess paint droplets rolling down vertically on a freshly-painted wall. It looked liquid, and abnormal. His half-closed eyes were focusing blurrily on the ground. It seemed like it was through sheer willpower that he was still conscious.

It was as though Chanyeol’s blood had run cold. “What happened to you, Suho?” he whispered, horrified. He stumbled back, fear prickling at the back of his neck. This was not- this wasn’t how he imagined to die. Not on a spaceship hurtling down to an unknown planet; not being dragged to his death, threatened, beaten, defeated. He wanted to go down like a hero, fighting, fiercely happy of what he was standing up for. This was all so wrong.

Suho didn’t even have the strength to talk. He mouthed words, and the exertion had him sweating more profusely than usual. It upsetted Chanyeol to the core, not understanding what could cause Suho to act as such. There were no physical marks on him, other than the black liquid.

Don’t fight.

Chanyeol was physically the fittest and the strongest in power in the room. He ought to do something!

Please.

If he took out the two guards, he could try to carry Baekhyun and drag Suho along to find help at- at– err – at –

I’m sorry.

There was nothing quite like the taste of utter hopelessness.

The fire flickered and died in Chanyeol’s hands. The skin of his palm remained unmarked.

XXX

The high-pitch crash of the china vase falling onto the ground and breaking into little sharp, porcelain pieces gripped the occupants of the dormitories. Xiu Min stood still near the dresser in the living room, holding a cup of milk, staring at the ground in shock. There were cuts littering his ankles; he had bad luck to have been passing the dresser on his way to his room. But that was not why he was in shock. The entire training building was earthquake-proof, testament to Kyungsoo’s power. While the rest could sometimes warn the others using their powers, like Chen’s lightning flashes, Kyungsoo was practically powerless in his own facility. Good with his hands, Jongin had set up the dresser for him. It was just uneven, so that if Kyungsoo stomped his feet, the resulting reverberations would echo throughout the building and send the vase crashing to the ground. It was his personal signal flare.

Luhan ran out from his bedroom, his mouth opened to shape a perfect ‘O’. There was cursing in the distance, as Kris accidentally broke the door hinges from jerking it open too hard.

“I thought you just left Kyungsoo!” Kris shouted, as he emerged from the bathroom with a toothbrush sticking out from the corner of his mouth and the first-aid box in his hands. Xiu Min gingerly tip-toed over the visible pieces and pulled out a chair to sit down.

“I did,” Luhan stressed, wringing his hands.

Xiu Min anxiously put down the cup on the table while Kris gave him the antiseptic bottle. “Did you hear the announcement an hour ago? Do you think EXO-K is gone already?”

Luhan turned his wide eyes to Xiu Min. “They took Sehun without saying goodbye?” he said quietly. He averted his gaze, not waiting for a response, blinking rapidly.

“They’re not gone yet, or Kyungsoo couldn’t have possibly pushed over the vase,” said Kris, tactfully ignoring Luhan. He furrowed his brow. “We-”

“Pass the bandage,” interrupted Xiu Min.

Kris stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“I said, pass the bandage,” Xiu Min repeated levelly, locking gazes with the taller man. Eventhough he was sitting down, he managed to hold his ground. He appeared to be taking measured breaths by the way his shoulders were tensed. “EXO-K is just leaving for a few weeks. We don’t have to see them off.” He raised a single eyebrow, challenging, eventhough he looked sick at what he just said.

It was the closest look to hatred that Luhan could summon. Kris caught Luhan’s arm before he walked away. “We did agree not to show that we know about the sabotage,” he concurred tiredly.

“They’re probably just downstairs,” Luhan pleaded, trying to shrug off the hand. “I didn’t think it would be so soon. Let me just say goodbye.”

Kris considered it. Luhan and Sehun were almost attached to the hip, from how much time they spent together. It wouldn’t be odd for Luhan to say goodbye.

“No,” Xiu Min cut in again firmly. “Count the number of people in the room, Luhan. Where’s Tao?”

“He’s… training…” Luhan tried to think of something, and then threw his hands up. The light-weight items in the dining room started to fall over in their places in his agitation. The paper-thin clock unhinged from its hook and fell to the ground with another high-pitched smash. “Who cares? I’m going.”

“Tao is probably sedated right now,” Xiu Min corrected, louder. His calm posturing broke; the temperature took a nosedive. “He hasn’t returned since he was called out, right after the announcement. They don’t want him messing with the time, interfering with their plans. But what do you think they’ll do with you, Luhan? The plan you made to save EXO-K – it depends on you. If you don’t want to think of yourself first, then think of EXO-K.”

It could have been as if the three of them were carved from statue.  Luhan trembled from head to toe in anger. His doe eyes were red and b with unshed tears. “What if my plan fails? What if the camera on the spaceship doesn’t work and I can’t stop it from crashing?”

“What if the scientists get to you and there’s nobody left to help Sehun?”

“Went too far, Xiu Min,” muttered Kris.

“Lay isn’t here; someone has to tell him this,” Xiu Min rebutted, steadfast.

Luhan drew back his hand to strike. Xiu Min didn’t flinch. But Luhan wasn’t a fighter and the hand fell limp by his side almost immediately. All bravado was knocked out of him. “I don’t mean this in the long run,” he mumbled, “but I hate you. Tonight, I hate you Xiu Min, so so much.” He did a tailspin back to his room.

Nobody in EXO-K sans Kyungsoo knew about the shaky plan to save them. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Sehun was waiting for that goodbye.

Xiu Min reached for the bandage himself, but his fingers faltered as he touched the box. The guilt was eating him inside out. I’m sorry.

XXX

Time Skip

A large, calloused hand held the baggy white t-shirt by the scruff of the neck. The heavy breaths reeked of alcohol. Tao turned his head away, scrunching his nose in disgust. His Trainer snarled at the insolent expression, and slapped him hard across the face. A quiet, sharp intake of breath was the only reaction.

“Did I ruin that pretty face?” the Trainer sneered, his face close to Tao’s cheek. His large build completely blocked the boy from a passers-by’s view, if they happened to peer behind the thick white pillar that jutted out from the end of the dead-end corridor.

Tao closed his eyes, knowing that any reaction would probably prompt a more violent response. There was always a point of time, for everybody, when they wished for Jongin’s power – and that was Tao’s moment. But Jongin was on now Earth.

“I think you did something to sabotage the EXO-K flight,” the Trainer slurred, releasing his hold so that Tao slumped on the wall. Tao did not panic; his power was untraceable. All he did was pause time, a few hours ago for only one minute, so that Luhan could get into the control room to sneak away a laptop that showed EXO-K’s spaceship flight. The Trainer stabbed a stubby finger painfully into Tao’s chest. “I recognise your power signature.” He backed away. His shoulders were sagged, giving him a hunched over look as he swayed dangerously from side to side.

The ingrained thirst for more knowledge, a trait of any East facility member, made Tao ask, “What power signature?”

The Trainer nodded unintelligently, bending forward and tapping his eyes. The instinct to teach never left him either, even in his drunken state. “Double images form in a split-second, before everything goes back to normal. It’s too quick to notice, because one is usually preoccupied with what they’re doing. But.” He paused dramatically, puffing out his chest in pride. “I’m your Trainer.”

“Not now,” Tao told him, unintentionally blunt, “you’re drunk.”

There was a roar of anger, and a dull pain exploded at the back of Tao’s head as he was pushed roughly against the corner, where the wall and the edge of the pillar met. If Tao could think properly through the haze of pain, he would have been regretting his words.

“You ungrateful boy,” the Trainer snarled. He spat on the floor. “I put my neck on the line for you. The higher-ups want to know why EXO-K is still alive on Earth.”

It took self-control not to exclaim at the piece of news. First, the Trainer unwittingly confirmed Xiu Min’s guess of the scientists killing EXO-K immediately. Second, EXO-K was still alive.

Then, the third inferred point of information got through to Tao. “I don’t know anything,” Tao mentioned, “Why would the higher-ups want anything to do with me?”

“They’re angry,” hissed the Trainer, pursing his lips. “Allowing EXO-K to roam on Earth is like setting off loose cannons. They failed all the tests, for compatibility with Earth. We’ve learnt all we can about their powers throughout the years of training. They’re disposable. That’s why they were sent off first.” He sniffed in Tao’s general direction. “Your Time power, it’s still relevant. I said you were just a boy, despite your appearance you’re meek, you wouldn’t dream of sabotaging EXO-K’s flight.”

Tao put a hand on the back of his head, willing the ache to cease as he desperately tried to keep a clear head. He had seen his Trainer drunk before; he wouldn’t remember any conversation afterwards. He needed to milk as much information as he could, but he was already reeling back in shock at what he just learnt.

“EXO-K can’t all have failed the compatibility tests,” Tao reasoned quickly, standing straight in front of his Trainer to grab his attention. His Trainer growled, exhausted, and drew his hand back. Tao ducked the punch in time, but as he bent down, he continued, “Kyungsoo is the Earth Guardian.” He threw all caution to the winds, pressed for information. “Suho is a human.”

An uppercut from the bottom would leave purple bruising on his left cheekbone by the morning. “That’s what makes him defective! Suho, Baekhyun. Failed experiments!”

Tao brushed aside the term ‘experiments’, though it cut through him keenly. Pathetic images of Chen and Sehun after their episodes in the Neutral Room flashed through his mind. “Chanyeol and Jongin are powerful. You would never kill South facility Guardians. Yah, don’t ignore me!” He shouted the last sentence.

“SHUT UP!” A large hand covered his mouth. There was a dangerous glint in his Trainer’s eyes. “I knew you were involved in the sabotage,” he mumbled. “Do you want to know how EXO-K was chosen to be terminated?”

Tao nodded behind the hand, his wide eyes never leaving the narrow, slanted ones. His Trainer’s eyes were bloodshot. He had been crying. Trainers were attached to their Guardians, in one way or the other.

“We only want Jongin alive;” he admitted quietly, “Chanyeol is volatile. He’s never been able to control at one hundred percent. He is raw power, and his power grows by the day. One day we won’t be able to contain him. We would have to chuck him in the Neutral Room, until every sap of his power burns him inside out. His intended death is mercy killing.”

There was a choke, but the Trainer was on a roll. “Nobody ever liked Sehun in the Central facility apart from you boys. He’s a brat to deal with, and he’s a human. Who wants that kind of combination? Even his Trainer hates him – you’ve seen how many times the boy has been into the Neutral Room. He might as well set up a bed in there.”

Tao gently pried the fingers from his mouth. “Jongin?” he persisted.

“We’re testing him to see if he can teleport between planets. He has a tenacious character; he will try until he succeeds.”

“He can die trying.” Tears were starting to prick at the corner of Tao’s eyes.

There was hollow laughter. “If he cannot manage that, he’s expendable. We have new Guardians in training in the other facilities. There’s a particularly talented teleporter called Moonkyu in the South facility.”

“Kyungsoo. He’ll survive. He’s the Ea–”

“He’s been poisoned before the flight.” The Trainer pulled a haggard look. “Now you. Keep your head down. The East facility favours their Guardians; they won’t kill you yet.”

“The East facility?”

A hard knock came on Tao’s head. “The researchers, you moron, who else would come up with enough evidence to convince the higher-ups to dispose of Guardians?”

The Trainer gave Tao one last searching look. It was disturbing, as if he was trying to memorise every inch of Tao before it was his turn to die. “You were always good kid,” he said at last, “you’re lucky you have me.”

 “Who wasn’t so lucky?” Alarm bells sounded in Tao’s mind. “Who got blamed for the sabotage?”

“The higher-ups don’t know for sure. But they need a scapegoat, and most of us appealed on behalf of you guys and got drunk afterwards.” He laughed, sounding more like a low, bitter moan. He turned away.

Most of us.

Tao started running down the corridor to the Neutral Room. But.

They can do a lot worse than the Neutral Room to us.

Baekhyun’s voice echoed in his mind like a ghost’s.

XXX

Chen was in a squatting position outside the Neutral Room, his back leaning against the door. Tao bent down next to him, putting one hand on his back. There was no static charge; he hadn’t been using his powers recently then. “Are you alright?” Tao asked, relief washing over him.

“I don’t know,” Chen replied, not looking up. “I just did something bad.”

Tao shook his head vehemently. He was acting every inch the protective older brother, eventhough he was younger in age. “Don’t believe your Trainer,” he urged fiercely. “You’re a good person, Chen.”

Chen turned his head to Tao. There were red marks along his cheekbones, like a handprint. “You won’t think the same soon,” he whispered.

“Come, I’ll make Kris make some tea for you,” Tao decided. He stood up, offering a hand to pull his friend up. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Tao,” Chen said in a pained voice, “I pushed my Trainer into the Neutral Room when he tried to force me in. He’s in there now and I don’t know what to do.”

XXX To Be Continued XXX