Sungkyu was hot.

Sweat rolled off the tip of his nose as he watched Min’s boots move rhythmically in front of him as they crawled through the vents of the Facility. From whatever glimpses he caught of the place through the grids he deduced that the place was very, very white and very, very silent.

It unnerved him.

True, Aboveground HQ hadn’t exactly been a marketplace, but it at least had some semblance of life to it.

Deepground by contrast seemed dead.

There was a sharp intake of breath in front of him, and Min’s boots stopped moving. “Did you find her?” Sungkyu whispered as quietly as he could. He knew from experience that vents had a nasty habit of echoing and spreading noise to places where noise wasn’t welcome, and it would be especially loud in a place as silent as the Facility.

Min squeezed her knees to her chest as she the spot, indicating the grill beside her. Sungkyu crawled forward and peered into the room.

He almost gasped aloud. It was a rather large circular room, its walls lined with what looked like large glass test tubes. And floating in each one was what appeared to be a human child, curled in foetal position. They appeared to be asleep.

Sungkyu felt sick.

“Conditioning,” Min mouthed, her voice barely above a whisper. “This must be a new batch. This is where they prepare you before they operate on you.”

Inspecting a tube was a rather tall woman in a white lab coat, her midnight black hair tied in a loose bunch at the left side of her head. She turned, scribbling something on the clipboard in her hand, and Sungkyu instantly recognized her. “Kwon Yuri,” he hissed slightly, feeling a new flare of anger for this woman, for everything she had done. He felt Min touch his hand, and was aware that his own was shaking. He looked up into Min’s widened eyes.

“Go,” he said quietly, slipping his hand out from under hers. “And remember what I said.”

She looked as if she were about to say something, but then nodded and turned away. He watched her turn the corner, then looked back down at Yuri.

Kwon Yuri, he thought as he pulled out a muffler from his pocket. You are the ticket to my freedom. I won’t let you go. He thought he saw a slight, knowing smirk appear in the corner of her lips, but when he looked back she looked as oblivious as ever.

One chance, Kim Sungkyu. Don’t this up.

-

CL lay where she had fallen, feeling broken roof tiles digging into her back. She was sure the fall had broken a few ribs, but she wasn’t worried about that. What she was worried about was the fact that Jaeoong seemed to have disappeared.

“Regeneration must be nice huh?” said a pleasant voice to her right, and she bolted upright. Jaejoong was squatted in the corner of the abandoned house they had just crashed through, spinning his gun mindlessly on one finger and rubbing his eyes with his free hand. He looked less stern than when he was in the open, and he flashed an easy, completely carefree smile.

“What the hell are you doing?” CL demanded, staring at him. “Aren’t you going to fight me?”

Jaejoong pouted, rubbing his eyes again. “Nah, I’m too sleepy,” he shrugged. “I can’t be bothered.”

CL got to her feet, blinking, then walked over to him and kicked him squarely in the face. “You,” she growled. “Are a ing idiot.”

“BoA’s got it covered,” Jaejoong shrugged, holding his nose where it had begun bleeding. “Did you really have to kick me there, you know how sensitive my nose is.” He frowned at her. “So how have you been?”

“DO YOU THINK WE’RE HAVING LUNCH IN SOME NICE CAFÉ OR SOMETHING?!” CL yelled at him, a vein throbbing in her head. “PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MR. SECOND-RANKED-IN-ALL-OF-DEEPGROUND OR I AM GOING TO KICK YOU WHERE IT HURTS EVEN MORE.”

“Okay okay, calm down!” Jaejoong flapped his hands at her. “It’s just, I haven’t seen you in so long, and I’m going to get paid for something that BoA can handle on her own so I’d rather conserve my energy.” He smiled up at her as she slapped a hand to her forehead. “Your hair’s longer. But what’s with the bunny ears?” He held two fingers up to the side of his head.

“Jaejoong…” she said warningly, staring dangerously down at him from under her hand. “Quit ing around and tell me if you’re going to fight me or not.”

“Can’t we just sit and talk?” Jaejoong rocked back and forth on his feet. “Can’t we just – what word is it they use up here – chill? I think Junhyung’s got a mission somewhere around here, why don’t we just meet up and go for a coffee or -,” he let out a sound like a deflating balloon as CL punched him swiftly across the cheek. “Still as violent as ever, I see,” he said grudgingly, rubbing his cheek.

“I don’t know how BoA can stand you,” CL groaned. “I’m going.” She was gathering herself to leap out of the hole they had fallen into when Jaejoong grabbed her hand. “I can only let you go on one condition, CL,” he said in a low voice, his expression serious where it had been easygoing before. “Do not, on any account, interfere with BoA’s mission.”

“I can’t promise anything,” CL replied equally quietly. She pulled her hand back and gave an almighty jump out of the room and on to the roof. “You should know better than to trust a traitor, Jae.” They stared at each other for a few moments more, and then CL turned and disappeared from sight.

“Traitors are not just the runaways,” Jaejoong said to himself, sighing and flopping back down on to the floor, his hands behind his head as he stared up into the dim light. “And if I can’t trust you, how can I trust myself?”

-

No.

Sungkyu breathed heavily as he stared wildly at the glass tubes that surrounded him. Each child was ghostly pale, their black hair waving around their heads and their fingers curled tightly into a fist. He could see clearly now, the tubes snaking from behind the head of each child.

No.

He could especially see the child just behind Yuri’s head as he aimed Nero at her. He remembered burying his face into that dark brown hair, of having those small, delicate hands clasped around his neck. He remembered the day he saved this boy, and the day this boy saved him. The moments were so real, they were etched into his skin like indelible ink.

Sungkyu knew now where the kidnapped children had been taken.

No.

Yuri smiled knowingly at him as her eyes took in his direction of sight. “Ahh. I’m afraid you’re too late for this boy. But don’t worry,” she cocked her head to the side. “I’ll make sure he turns into a fine, invincible young man.”

“Shut up,” Sungkyu growled at her, blinding white rage flooding into his soul and turning his vision red. He cocked and locked Nero, taking another step forward. “Come quietly Kwon Yuri and you won’t be dying today.”

Yuri’s eyes grew wary. “Perhaps you’d like to see him in the flesh then?” she turned towards Jonghyun’s tube, pressing her fingers to the glass.

“Don’t move!” Sungkyu barked, his heart beating faster in his chest.

“He was an adorable little boy,” Yuri ignored him, as the fluid drained from the tube.  She opened the door of the tube and picked Jonghyun up in her arms, detaching the tube from behind his neck. “They always are.”

“Don’t touch him,” Sungkyu breathed, his teeth gritted. He was aware of the gun shaking in his hand, aware that things had gone wrong very, very quickly. Jonghyun’s head lolled against her neck, his eyes closed tightly and mouth slightly open as they had been when he fell asleep beside Sungkyu’s bed at Narsha’s place.

“I have big plans for this little one,” Yuri looked down at him lovingly, his hair.

Sungkyu fired a warning shot right, the bullet zipping past her head and shattering Jonghyun’s empty glass cage. “I said,” Sungkyu was breathing hard as Yuri shot him a cool, detached look, “don’t touch him.”

“But I suppose plans don’t always go as planned, do they?” she pouted, though her eyes gleamed. “Here,” she lowered her arms slightly, and Sungkyu had a sudden inkling of what she was about to do. She wouldn’t… “You can have him!” So saying, she threw the child through the air with a strength that belied her fragile appearance, a maniacal grin appearing on her face.

Everything happened in slow motion. Without taking a second to think, Sungkyu dropped his gun to catch the sleeping boy. As Jonghyun landed safely in his arms, he caught sight of Yuri throwing off her lab coat and drawing two short swords from behind her.

.

As Yuri rushed towards him, his only instinct was to protect the boy in his arms. He wrapped himself around Jonghyun, scrabbling backwards as he buried his face into the boy’s damp hair. “And it wouldn’t be so bad if you ‘died’ on the job.” He turned his head back towards Yuri, seeing the deranged look on her face and her blades raised. I’m really going to die here. He nearly laughed. Zinger had been right.

As Yuri raised her swords above her head, he was aware of the black shape swooping down from the ceiling, landing at his feet and blocking the blow with a black katana, the clang resounding loudly around the silent room. It took him another second to register the dark haired girl standing before him, pushing Yuri backwards away from them. “Min?” he asked blankly.

She turned to him, eyebrows knitted. “What are you doing?!” she demanded, looking as angry as he had ever seen her before. “Did you forget what you came here to do?”

“I don’t believe this,” said a voice from the other end of the room, and Min stiffened, her grip on her sword’s handle tightening. “Min? Is that you?” Sungkyu got silently to his feet, balancing Jonghyun on his hip as he picked Nero up from the floor. Yuri was staring at Min, wonder etched on her face. “You’ve grown taller, Min. How long has it been?”

Min narrowed her eyes. “It’s been a while, mother.”

She then lifted her sword rammed it into the control pad right beside Sungkyu. The hidden doors behind him slid open with a hiss, and she grabbed his hand. “Run,” she breathed, and he saw the terror in her eyes before she dragged him through the opening.

-

“Min, where are we going?” Sungkyu panted as he followed here down empty white corridors, all of which looked exactly the same to him. Jonghyun was still fast asleep in his arms, for which he was thankful. He wasn’t sure if a terrified, confused child was a good addition to the party, especially when he was terrified himself.

Fear. That was the feeling that stood out to him in the emotional tumult rolling within him.

Sungkyu had never been scared on a mission. He had been taught to be fast, and he had been taught to be silent. He had also been taught to never, ever get caught. And yet he had failed to execute those three basic principles on something that should have been easy for someone of his caliber. Jiyoon had been right. He had gotten slower. Even if he had never been a combat assassin, it was not a nice revelation.

“The exit!” she yelled back over her shoulder. “There’s no way we can escape through the vents now, they’ll shoot us and we won’t even know.” Her steps were so light she might as well have been flying, and Sungkyu realized that he had never seen her run before.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” he dared himself to ask, following her around a corner.

“I -,” she started, when a door to their left opened and they were both caught around the collars and dragged into a small, dark room, where Sungkyu and Jonghyun were thrown to the ground. Sungkyu laid Jonghyun down and immediately reached for his gun, but a light came on and L came into view, his hand over Min’s mouth and a finger to his lips. Min’s eyes widened at the sight of him.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” he demanded in a fierce whisper, releasing Min and staring down at Sungkyu. “Do you even know where you are?!”

Min opened to reply, but a look from Sungkyu silenced her. “It’s none of your business,” he said stonily, getting to his feet. The two young men stared warily at each other for a few seconds, L narrowing his eyes before turning to Min.

“Were you seen?”

“I… we… only by Yuri,” Min whispered, hands clench tightly at her sides.

“Yuri,” L breathed. “What…” He shook his head, and then looked back at Sungkyu, gaze lapsing back into the cold, hollow look that Sungkyu had come to associate with him. “I don’t know what business you have here, and nor do I care, but you were a fool to let Min come with you.” He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging at his hip. “I should just kill you right here, right now,” he sneered.

“L,” Min placed a hand on his chest, pushing him backwards. “Don’t. I came here on my own accord.” When he looked at her, she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You have to help us get out of here.”

“No,” Sungkyu interjected, and the duo turned to him. “Help her get out. And,” he picked Jonghyun up and put him in Min’s arms, “take him with you.”

“Sungkyu…” Min looked dumbfounded.

“I said that if anything happened to me, you’d have to get out of here,” he told her. “Remember? You pinkie promised.”

“But nothing’s happened to you,” Min protested. “We’re both still fine. And anyway,” she stepped forward and held Jonghyun out to him, “You can’t leave him. You saved this boy, Sungkyu, and you are going to be there for him when he wakes up and realizes he’s safe. Just like he was for you.” Sungkyu stared at her. “He was always asleep beside you when you were. I think you owe him that much.”

Dumbly, Sungkyu took the boy from her. “Min, I…”

She shook her head. “I could never run with him anyway. I’m not made for carrying children.”

“So are you coming?” L regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “The longer you stay the lower your chances of getting out alive.”

“I’m coming,” Sungkyu said firmly, aware of Min’s eyes on him. “But how are we going to get out? We stick out like sore thumbs.”

L’s mouth tilted into a lopsided smirk. “Right across this room is where they throw the dead Snatcher’s souls into the sewer.” He glanced at Min. “I can render you invisible for a few minutes. I’ve been practicing. Think you can handle the smell?”

 Min reached out and squeezed his hand. “You’re a lifesaver, L.”

L blushed.