The next day, Baekhyun and Chanyeol returned to Youngsoo’s office to pick up the records. Youngsoo wasn’t quite as... nice… as he had been the previous day, but he handed over the box full of old diaries and letters as promised. He also informed Baekhyun that he had included all of Kwangsun’s handwritten notes on the subject, from when he had spent time studying the records. Baekhyun was extremely grateful for that, and left the office looking forward to reading everything.

Neither he nor Chanyeol had work that afternoon, so they decided to head back to Baekhyun’s apartment and get started. Chanyeol had offered to help read through all of the records, since there were a lot of them and it would be difficult enough trying to read through all of the hangul. Both of them could speak and read Korean to an extent, but since their primary language was English, they didn’t get much practice with it. Thankfully, Kwangsun’s notes at least were in English, though they had no idea if his notes would contain anything that they were looking for.

The pair got settled on Baekhyun’s couch after sorting through the box, each with something in hand to read. Baekhyun was starting with his father’s notes, while Chanyeol started at the beginning of the records, finding what appeared to be the oldest of the diaries. Baekhyun had tried to switch at first, feeling guilty about giving Chanyeol the harder work (besides being in Korean, the language used was old and unfamiliar, so he would have to decipher that too), but Chanyeol insisted on it, knowing how much it must mean to Baekhyun to be able to read his father’s work.

It didn’t take very long for Baekhyun to realize that he had been one hundred percent correct about the pendant. Kwangsun’s notes started off simple enough; in the first few pages, he discussed his reasons for the research, saying that he wanted to know more about his family and his Korean heritage. He noted various details about their ancestors, recording any significant cultural traditions and creating a sort of timeline of important events. After a while though, the tone of the notes began to change as Kwangsun noticed some disturbing patterns in his family history.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said quietly, pulling himself away from the reading for a moment. “I think this thing has been causing trouble in my family for a long, long time.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked, looking up from the book in his hands. The diary was in remarkably good condition considering how old it was. So far though he hadn’t found too much of interest, what he could understand of the words as he skimmed through was mostly mundane, everyday life. There were a few mentions of the pendant that he had spotted, but nothing that stood out as strange. It seemed the author had recently inherited it from his father, who passed away of an unknown illness. From what Chanyeol could tell, the father had been the member of the Byun family to purchase the pendant, sometime in the early 1700s.

“I’m not sure if he ever figured out that the pendant was causing it, from what I’ve read so far it doesn’t look like it,” Baekhyun said, gesturing to the pages in his hand. “But in his research, he started to notice a pattern. Pretty much all of the men in my family – the ones who would have worn the pendant – wrote about strange things happening to them. Some thought they were going crazy, some suspected ghosts or evil spirits, one even thought he was receiving signs from God, but regardless they all experienced some kind of paranormal activity. Many of them died fairly young too, even with the lower life expectancy of their time, and often the causes were strange accidents. It could be coincidence, but my father didn’t seem to think so.”

“Whoa… do you think the deaths are because of the pendant then?” Chanyeol sounded worried, obviously wondering what that could mean for Baekhyun. “I mean… what if it’s cursed or something?”

“I doubt that,” Baekhyun replied, thinking back to what he had read. “It seems more like the paranormal events were causing the accidents to me. For example, one of them fell down the stairs and broke his neck… I’d be willing to bet he saw something that spooked him and made him trip, and that most of the accidents are similar stories. It’s possible that evil entities could have been involved, though the likelihood of all of these men managing to draw an evil spirit to them is slim. No, I think more than likely it was just all of the paranormal activity that surrounded them and their inability to deal with it… at least, I really hope that was all. One of them apparently couldn’t take the voices he was hearing anymore and killed himself, thinking he was losing his mind.”

“That’s really sad,” Chanyeol said, frowning slightly. “All that time and none of them ever realized what was causing it.”

“Yeah, well, they didn’t exactly have EMF detectors back then,” Baekhyun said, though he agreed that it was sad. How many of their lives could have been saved had they realized? “We still don’t know why it’s attracting spirits though. I think my theory about residual energy might be correct, but we need to know more about the pendant and the history to figure it out for sure. I still have quite a few pages of notes to get through. Have you come across anything interesting yet?”

“Not particularly. This guy mentions the pendant a few times, says his father was the one who first bought it, but there isn’t much about where he got it from,” Chanyeol explained, wishing the guy would have written more about its origin. “He hasn’t really talked about any strange events so far either, but there’s a lot left to go through.”

“Yeah… we’ll just have to see what the rest of this uncovers,” Baekhyun said. He was suddenly not as excited to read through all of it, now that he was realizing just how much it was. He was glad for his father’s notes though. “If it is residual energy build up, it may have taken a few generations for anything to start happening.”

The two of them continued reading for another hour or so before they decided to call it quits, heading out to get some dinner before Chanyeol went home. They hadn’t found out too much more, none of the stories that Baekhyun’s father talked about popping up in Chanyeol’s reading yet. Over the next few days, they both found themselves rather busy with work, without much chance to continue looking at the records. Neither of them were too worried about it though; they wanted to know the whole story, but they were at least pretty certain now about the pendant, and the fact that Baekhyun was much safer without it on. It was a relief to both of them, Baekhyun especially – Heechul was enough to worry about, he didn’t need to risk attracting any more spirits on this upcoming case. Baekhyun was feeling more and more certain as the days went on that his initial suspicion about the murderer was right – somehow, his spirit had become attached and followed Baekhyun home from the prison. He hadn’t had a chance to do much research on the subject yet, but he was trying to come up with a way to ask Kyungsoo about it without sounding suspicious. Thankfully, nothing else serious had happened since the incident in the shower, though he had dreamt about the murder again a few times (without the sleepwalking). He wasn’t sure if Heechul was making that happen, or if it was just some kind of side effect of having the spirit around.

Soon it was Saturday, and the team excitedly packed up their equipment for the short drive over to the fort. It took only a little more than an hour to get there, much closer than the last few cases had been. They still left several hours before dark though; the place was huge and they would need the extra time for set up. When they arrived, they were surprised to find someone there waiting for them, standing alone outside the entrance to the fort.

“Ryeowook!” Suho said happily, hopping out of the van’s driver seat and going over to hug the other man. Ryeowook hugged him back, smiling widely as he saw Kyungsoo and the others getting out of the van as well. Since it was a short drive, they had decided to just squeeze themselves into the van instead of Baekhyun driving his car this time. “Kyungsoo, why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”

“I thought it would be a nice surprise,” Kyungsoo replied, going to hug Ryeowook as well. Baekhyun moved to do the same, and Kai and Sehun waved, smiling. Chanyeol just looked confused. Ryeowook was an old friend of Kyungsoo’s from culinary school who had occasionally helped the team out, finding cases for them and helping to review evidence. After graduating, he had gotten a job at a restaurant in downtown Baltimore and moved there, but he would still join them sometimes when they had cases in the area. He would mostly just be sitting in central command, watching cameras so that they could have all three pairs investigating the large fort, but it was still nice to have him along.

“How are you all?” Ryeowook asked once the hugs were over, shifting his gaze to the unfamiliar member. He hadn’t been able to join them for a case since before Chanyeol joined the team.

“We’re doing well, for the most part,” Suho said, deciding not to go into all the details about what had been going on with Baekhyun. There was no reason to get Ryeowook worried over something that was (hopefully) over. “Things have been interesting, to say the least. This is our newest member, Chanyeol. He’s been with us for a couple of months now. Chanyeol, this is our good friend Ryeowook – he helps us out on cases sometimes.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol,” Ryeowook said, holding out a hand to Chanyeol who shook it, grinning.

“Nice to meet you too, Ryeowook!” Chanyeol said cheerfully. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“He’s also Baekhyun’s new boyfriend,” Kyungsoo added, ignoring the look Baekhyun gave him.

“Oh? That’s great!” Ryeowook said. He hadn’t exactly known about everything with Tao and Kris, but even he could tell that Baekhyun looked a lot happier than the last time they had seen each other. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Baekhyun said, cheeks going slightly red. “Anyway, don’t we have some set up to do?”

The team got started, Suho, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun going in to meet with the client as usual, with Ryeowook joining them this time. The claims in the fort, reported by staff, rangers, volunteers, and visitors, had the whole team excited to start the investigation. People had heard footsteps and disembodied voices, doors and windows had opened and closed on their own, lights and off, and apparitions of soldiers and shadow people had been seen throughout the fort. After the tour, they got to work setting up the DVR cameras throughout the fort, making sure to get the places with the most reported activity in view. They also sent Kai and Sehun over to the Visitor’s Center to place a mini DV camera, since activity was reported there as well, but it was a bit too far from the main fort to run wires to.

They finished set up even faster than usual, all of them eager to get to investigating. Ryeowook agreed to watch central command by himself, so all six members of the team went out into the fort. Suho and Sehun went down to check out the dungeons, Kai and Kyungsoo headed to the officers’ quarters, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol decided to walk around the grounds, where the cannons were.

“So, I guess this is the test,” Chanyeol said, looking over at Baekhyun as they walked along the grass. “If nothing crazy happens to you, then we know this whole mess is over.”

“Yeah…” Baekhyun said, keeping his eyes on the display of the thermal camera in his hands. He was pretty sure that it was far from over, but hopefully this case at least would go well. So far he hadn’t had anything happen to him outside of his apartment, which meant that most likely Heechul was staying there and not following him around, for now at least.

“Hey, everything is going to be okay.” Chanyeol stopped walking and turned to face Baekhyun, mistaking the uncertainty in his voice for fear. “And no matter what happens, you know that I’m here for you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” Baekhyun replied, smiling softly at the sincerity in Chanyeol’s words. Suddenly he had the urge to just tell Chanyeol everything, about Yunho and Heechul and the scratches, because he trusted that somehow Chanyeol really would protect him. And no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, he was starting to get very scared. Now was not the time or the place, however, so he held his tongue.

The pair continued walking, looking around the grounds and watching the thermal for any strange hits. After a few minutes, Baekhyun’s eyes widened, watching the heat signature that suddenly appeared on the screen. It seemed human in shape, and was moving around in front of them, quite a ways down the path they were walking. Muttering something to Chanyeol about a figure, Baekhyun took off after it, holding onto the camera tightly to make sure he didn’t drop it. He had to find out if that was a person or not. He tried to make out any kind of movement through the darkness, but he could see nothing with his eye, just the heat source that kept fading in and out of sight on the camera display.

“Baekhyun, wait up!” Chanyeol called, running after his boyfriend as fast as he could. Baekhyun kept running though, determined to catch up with whatever he was seeing on the camera, which only seemed to get farther and farther away from him. He was so focused on his task that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was stepping, not noticing the large rock in his path until his foot caught on it, sending him tumbling to the ground. He hit the ground with a grunt, the camera slipping out of his hands. Thankfully it didn’t have far to fall, and the grass kept it from getting damaged.

Chanyeol watched the whole thing happen, immediately filled with worry when Baekhyun didn’t get up right away. He ran even faster, reaching Baekhyun within seconds. “Are you okay?”

Baekhyun rolled over onto his back, groaning as he did so. Of course he had managed to fall right on the injured side of his back and shoulder, the unhealed scratches throbbing from the hit. He looked up at Chanyeol, who had kneeled on the ground next to him, and tried not to show any pain on his face. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a bit winded. Stupid rock came out of nowhere.”

“Of course it did,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head. He was relieved that Baekhyun didn’t seem to be injured though, and moved to help the older man up.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo and Kai had entered the officers’ quarters. Most of the furniture, like the bunks and dining table and such, was kept behind a glass display window in order to keep it in good condition. Activity had been seen in those areas, however, so the two of them stood outside of one of the displays, looking in through the glass to see if there was anything that seemed out of place.

“You know… you didn’t really say anything the other day,” Kai said. Kyungsoo just looked at him in confusion, so he clarified, “About us moving in together. I mean, Suho was just messing around, but I don’t know… I guess I’m just wondering if you would be opposed to it.”

“Kai, I was choking, how could I have said anything?” Kyungsoo pointed out, though he knew that wasn’t what Kai meant. They hadn’t really talked about it afterwards, and though it had just been a joke, it was still something to think about. Especially if Kai was bringing it up; his tone was casual, but Kyungsoo could tell it had been on his mind, that he was worried about Kyungsoo’s response. “I can’t say I haven’t thought about it before. I thought… I don’t know, maybe you would want to wait until you graduate. But no, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”

“Do you want to wait until I graduate?” Kai replied, looking slightly nervous about what he was going to say next. “Because I don’t. I don’t have that much longer anyway, really, and Sehun can manage on his own. It wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Living together.”

“Kai… Jongin, I love you. I love being with you, I love falling asleep next to you and waking up next to you and I don’t even mind your occasional snoring,” Kyungsoo said, staring directly into Kai’s eyes as he spoke. He wanted the younger man to know that he meant it, to not have any doubts about their relationship. “If you wanted to drag your stuff to my apartment tomorrow you could, I would be ecstatic. I just didn’t want to move any faster than you were ready for.”

“Well, I’m ready for this. Though maybe not tomorrow, I think I’ll be a bit too tired for that,” Kai said, smirking a little. Then his face turned serious again. “I love you too Kyungsoo. Anything that means I get to spend more time with you is okay with me.”

“Then… I guess we should start apartment hunting,” Kyungsoo said. He laughed at the odd look Kai gave him. “What, you don’t actually think my apartment is big enough for two people do you? It’s practically a closet! All of your junk is not going to fit in there.”

“Hey! I do not have that much stuff, and it’s not junk,” Kai argued, pushing Kyungsoo’s shoulder playfully. The two of them messed around for another minute or so before remembering that they were actually supposed to be investigating and getting back to work.

“Did you find out anything during the tour that we could use for a K2 session?” Kai asked, referring to information about the supposed entities haunting the fort. They generally didn’t like to assume the identity of anything they came across, but if the client had speculations about who was there, they could sometimes use the information to get responses.

“There’s a Lieutenant Levi Claggett who died during the War of 1812 who they think may still be here, but I’m not sure if he’s been seen in this building in particular,” Kyungsoo replied, trying to remember what the client had said. “I also noticed that there were names on some of the bunks, so maybe we could try those? Confederate prisoners were kept here during the Civil War, so we could also go that route.”

“Alright, let’s see if we can’t make contact with something then,” Kai said, sitting the K2 meter as well as an audio recorder he had brought on the ledge beneath the glass window. After a few seconds he remembered the new equipment they’d bought and reached into the equipment bag he was carrying, pulling out two more devices: the geophone and the REM pod. He walked to the far end of the room, way from where Kyungsoo was standing, and set both devices up on the floor next to each other. Then he went back to join the other man, making sure both of them were far enough away that they weren’t going to set either of the devices off themselves. “Lieutenant Claggett, are you here with us? If you are, can you make a noise?”

“If you aren’t Lieutenant Claggett, can you tell us your name?” Kyungsoo continued, squinting to read one of the names on the bunk closest to them through the darkness. “Are you Sergeant Luckett?”

They tried a few more times but got no responses, either through bangs or any of the equipment, so Kai decided to switch tactics. “Okay, so if you’re not one of the soldiers who served here, were you a prisoner? A confederate soldier?”

Almost as soon as Kai finished the question, the K2 meter lit up briefly. When it didn’t happen again, he thought perhaps it was just a coincidence, until Kyungsoo brushed his arm to get his attention.

“Kai, can you hear that?” Kyungsoo whispered, not wanting to scare off anything that might be in the room with them. Kai could hear it. It sounded as though someone was walking around on the other side of the room, despite the fact that neither of them could see anyone there. The sound was slightly muffled, but still recognizable as heavy boots stomping on the wooden floor. Then, almost in unison, both the REM pod and the geophone started lighting up.

“Are you kidding,” Kai said quietly, starting to see why Baekhyun had wanted to try out these particular devices so badly. The geophone picked up vibrations, meaning that something had to be causing the vibrations that were setting it off, except neither of them were moving. Between the sounds, the geophone, and the fact that something was simultaneously interrupting the REM pod’s EMF field, the personal experience really felt like something more than that. Hearing footsteps was common, and it could also often be written off as any number of other noises – animals, the normal settling of an old building – but how could they explain away the movement the devices were picking up in front of them when there was clearly no one there?

The pair of them stood, frozen, as they listened to the footsteps get closer and closer. It seemed like who or whatever was there was planning to walk right up to them, the sounds getting louder with each step closer to them. Kyungsoo was almost certain that it was just going to walk right through them, until suddenly the sounds stopped completely. The source of the footsteps couldn’t have been more than a foot away from him, and then they were just gone. Turning to look at Kai after a moment of silence, Kyungsoo mirrored the awed expression on his boyfriend’s face. The investigation had barely started, and it was already turning out to be a very interesting night.

While Kyungsoo and Kai had their fun in the officers’ quarters, Suho and Sehun had entered the dark, dreary tunnel that lead to the dungeons. Prisoners of war had been kept there, including many confederates during the Civil War, and several of them had died down there as well. At least three men, including two union soldiers, were known to have been executed at the fort.

“I wonder if the other four are actually investigating,” Suho said as the two of them walked into the area where the cells were. “I probably should have split up the pairs differently.”

“You know, complaining about how everyone but you is dating someone doesn’t count as investigating either,” Sehun pointed out, earning a glare from the older man.

“I think Kai is rubbing off on you too much, you’re turning into a snarky brat lately,” Suho retorted, though they both knew he didn’t really mean it. “I’m not jealous or anything, if that’s what you’re trying to say.”

“All I’m saying is that maybe it would be good for you to think about yourself for once,” Sehun said, showing a rare moment of concern for their leader. “You’re always making sure we’re all okay, you don’t even give yourself a chance to find someone. Why don’t you ask Ryeowook out or something? He’s cute, seems like your type.”

“How would you even know my type? Actually, why are you assuming I like guys?” Suho asked, despite the fact that it was true. “Anyway, Ryeowook is already dating someone, and as far as I know he and Henry are very happy together.”

“I don’t know, I mean, the rest of us do. You and Kris seem to have found a whole collection of gay paranormal investigators,” Sehun said. He hadn’t really thought of it like that before, but somehow it had turned out that the majority of them were gay or at least biual. He couldn’t speak for Jongdae, Minseok, or Yixing, but the rest of them were not only into guys, they were all dating each other with the exception of Suho. Weird how these things worked out sometimes.

“Well, you do have a point there,” Suho agreed. “I’m not really sure how that happened either, it certainly wasn’t intentional.”

“Maybe it was fate or some crap like that, who knows,” Sehun said, shaking his head. “Can we get back to investigating now? I want to get off of this topic before you start teasing me about Luhan, again.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll let you off this time,” Suho replied, going over to inspect one of the prison cells. “So, they say that three soldiers were executed here during the Civil War, all for murder or attempted murder. Presumably, they would have been kept down here before their execution. Want to get in?”

“You want me to get into the tiny prison cell where they kept murderers?” Sehun asked, looking at Suho in slight disbelief. “I don’t know how I could fit anyway, there’s already a mannequin in there.”

“Yup, that’s about right,” Suho confirmed, though there was confusion evident on his face at the second part of Sehun’s statement. “What do you mean? There aren’t any mannequins down here.”

“There aren’t?” Sehun’s face paled slightly. “Then um… what was sitting in the cell when we entered the room? You didn’t see it?”

“No, I didn’t. You’re sure?” Suho asked. If there was really something sitting there earlier… well, their chances of catching evidence tonight just increased.

“There was something that looked like a person sitting in that cell when we came down here,” Sehun said, certain of what he saw. “I didn’t say anything because I seriously thought it was a mannequin. But I guess not, since there’s nothing there now.”

“Then I guess we should try to get whoever you saw to come out and play,” Suho replied, grinning. There was a DVR camera in this area already, but he decided to set up the mini DV he had brought to record that particular cell, just in case. He also set up one of their new laser grids so that it was shining into the cell; that way, if something moved in there, they would be able to see it more easily. “Are you one of the people who was kept prisoner here? You don’t have to hide from us, my friend already saw you and we know you’re here.”

There was a shuffling sound in the darkest corner of the cell, where they could only see with the help of a laser grid. It sounded like someone was shifting around the floor, as if they had been sitting there too long and were trying to find a more comfortable position. It was quick, but Sehun swore he saw a few of the laser grid’s dots get blocked out by something.

“Suho,” he said, keeping his eyes trained on the dots. “I’m about ninety percent sure I saw something move in that back corner.”

Suho opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a resounding bang, sounding as though it came from outside. It was loud enough that he was sure the whole fort must have heard it, and he simply stared at Sehun for a moment, both of them too shocked to notice the continued movement in the corner.

Outside, Chanyeol had helped Baekhyun halfway off the ground when they heard the noise, surprising them both enough that Chanyeol lost his grip and they both fell down.

“What the heck was that?” Chanyeol asked, pushing himself up on his arms so that he wasn’t crushing Baekhyun.

“I… have no idea,” Baekhyun replied, just as surprised at the sudden noise. It sounded like it hadn’t been too far away from them, and it was incredibly loud.

“Um… did everyone else just hear that cannon go off?” Ryeowook called over the walkies.

“Is that what that was? Holy crap that was loud,” Kai responded. He and Kyungsoo had been just as startled at the sudden interruption of their investigating.

“Maybe someone should go check out the guns,” Kyungsoo added. “There might be something hanging around them.”

“Good idea,” Suho called back. “Sehun and I aren’t too far from the ones to the right of the fort, we can head over there now. It sounded like it came from that direction, but just in case, why don’t you and Kai go check out the ones by the front entrance.”

“Chanyeol and I are close as well,” Baekhyun joined in, finally managing to unclip his radio from his pants while still lying down. Neither he nor Chanyeol had made a move to get up yet, more concerned with whatever the hell had just happened. “We can meet you over there, Suho.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in a few,” Suho said. “Kyungsoo, Kai, when you’re done at the front entrance go back to central command, see if you and Ryeowook can spot anything on the DVR cameras.”

“Got it,” Kai said, ending the conversation.

Chanyeol looked down at Baekhyun, realizing that he should probably get off of the older man but not making any move to do so. Baekhyun was stunning up close, he thought, eyes taking in the smallest details and imperfections of his boyfriend’s face. He noticed a bit of black around Baekhyun’s eyes, framing them in just the right way, and smiled slightly. At first Chanyeol had thought the makeup was a bit strange, but now it was just one of those little things that he adored about Baekhyun, admiring how well the eyeliner suited him.  It occurred to him then just how close their faces actually were and he swallowed nervously, trying to fight the urge to close the distance between them.  Now was really not the time or place for that, and he fought for something to say to keep his mouth occupied.

“Sorry. I was trying to help you up and I ended up making you fall again,” Chanyeol said finally, though he still hadn’t managed to tear his eyes way from Baekhyun’s features. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Baekhyun said distractedly, not even noticing the pain in his shoulder anymore. He had been having similar thoughts to Chanyeol’s, debating with himself internally on whether or not he should make a move. He apparently wasn’t as concerned with propriety as Chanyeol was though, because eventually he found himself lifting his head slightly, completely forgetting his promise to meet Suho when his lips touched the younger man’s.

The kiss felt different from the previous ones they had shared, more intense. There was more passion, more desire – not to say that they weren’t attracted to each other before, but the rather emotional start to their relationship hadn’t left much room for them to dwell on it, the previous kisses they had shared being more for reassurance and comfort. Baekhyun barely felt the small rocks on the ground beneath him as Chanyeol pushed him back down gently, changing his position slightly so that he was straddling Baekhyun’s waist. His arms were placed on either side of Baekhyun’s head, supporting him as he leaned down and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue past the older man’s lips. Baekhyun brought his arms up around Chanyeol, trying to pull the other man closer than he already was. One of his hands found the bottom edge of Chanyeol’s shirt, and his fingers had just slipped under when a voice called over the radios again.

“Hey Baekhyun, where are you guys? Sehun and I just got to the battery,” Suho said, snapping the couple back to reality. Face bright red at the realization that they had just been making out on the grass of a fort, Baekhyun pulled his hand out from under Chanyeol’s shirt and reached for his walkie.

“W-we’re on our way, be there in a minute,” Baekhyun replied, trying his best to keep his voice normal even though he was slightly out of breath from the kiss. Chanyeol, looking like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar (despite the fact that Suho hadn’t technically caught them), pushed himself up off the ground. He stood up and held out a hand for Baekhyun, who took it gratefully, part of him glad to finally be up off of the rocky ground even if he had been enjoying their activities. The two of them brushed the dirt off of their clothes, collected he equipment they had managed to drop or set down on the ground, and finally started walking towards the cannons where Suho and Sehun were waiting.

“I think maybe that was not very professional,” Chanyeol said sheepishly. Baekhyun laughed despite his complete and utter embarrassment over the whole thing.

“You think?” Baekhyun shook his head in amusement. “At least no one saw us. Kai and Kyungsoo got caught doing worse on a case when they first started going out, more than once. They’ve toned it down since then, thankfully, but there is a reason we’re always joking about not entering central command if those two are on duty there.”

“Let’s try not to be that bad,” Chanyeol said, flushing slightly as he added, “In public, anyway.”

Baekhyun hit Chanyeol’s arm playfully at the comment, but really he didn’t think he would mind that at all.

They walked for another minute or so before Suho and Sehun came into view. Sehun was panning around with a mini DV, trying to catch anything that might still be lingering around, while Suho inspected the cannons. He knew it was impossible that one of them had actually been fired, but he had no other explanation for the noise. He looked up as Baekhyun and Chanyeol approached, waving them over to where he was.

“Find anything?”  Chanyeol asked when they reached their leader, who just shook his head in response.

“Obviously a cannon didn’t actually go off, and we’ve seen nothing strange since we got here,” Suho said. Sehun nodded in agreement, stepping closer to them and looking up from the mini DV screen. He hadn’t seen anything with his eyes or on the screen. “Kyungsoo and Kai haven’t checked in yet, but I imagine if they had found anything they would have called. Did you guys see anything before it happened? You were the only ones outside.”

“Actually… yeah, we did,” Baekhyun said, remembering why he had tripped in the first place. “We were walking in this direction and I got a strange thermal hit – it honestly looked like a person. It was moving pretty fast, so I started chasing it to see if it was one of you guys or something, but I tripped and lost track of it. It was headed right in this direction though, and the bang happened within a minute or two afterwards.”

“So what does that mean?” Sehun asked, trying to put the pieces together. “We’ve got a soldier who thinks he’s still at war?”

“I don’t think we can make any assumptions about that,” Suho replied. “What I do know is that this place obviously has some activity going on. Sehun thought he saw an apparition down in the dungeons, you saw something on the thermal, and I would be willing to bet the other two had some kind of experience as well. And whatever that noise was, it wasn’t normal.”

“Definitely not,” Chanyeol agreed. That bang had been something else – he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d heard something that loud. “So, back to investigating?”

Suho informed Kyungsoo and Kai of their findings, and the pair reported that they hadn’t found anything, nor had Ryeowook seen anything out of the ordinary on the DVR. They would just have to review the audio and the thermal footage and hope for the best. After that, Suho and Sehun decided to go back down to the dungeons, wanting to see if they could figure out what Sehun had seen earlier. Kai and Kyungsoo took their turn to walk the grounds, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol went into the main part of the fort.

The group spent several more hours investigating, calling out to the spirits that supposedly haunted the fort. They tried to make contact with Levi Claggett, as well as a private who shot himself after being arrested for falling asleep on guard duty in the late 1800s and several other soldiers they had heard about. They had a few more personal experiences after the night’s chaotic start, but they wouldn’t know for sure how much they had caught until they reviewed the evidence. It had been a great case though, and they were all looking forward to seeing what they had managed to record.

A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the wait on this guys, school has been crazy this week. This is the longest chapter by far though, so I hope that makes up for it a little bit? I do have to warn you though, I'm getting into the last few weeks of the semester so school is going to be pretty busy for me. I'm going to try really hard to update, but I can't guarantee anything =/ I'm finished with exams on December 12th, and I assure you that after that updates will be regular again! I plan to finish this thing over my winter break for sure. As always, thank you all for the comments and support, it really means a lot to me! I love you guys <3