Not long had passed before I was standing in front of the ominous front door of the home of the beast - or, Kris, as Chanyeol liked to call him- and as hard as it was to admit, I was shaking in my metaphorical boots. 

"Baekhyun!" I flinched as a metallic shriek assaulted my ears. A quick glance behind me told me that Suho and the others had finally caught up to me. "Are you insane?" He screeched, his eyed wide in a furious panic.

"What were you thinking?!" D.O. hissed, grabbing my wrist and shaking me lightly. "Why the hell would you come here?"

"My thoughts exactly," A familiar voice spoke from behind me, the clipped and clearly furious tone causing me to wince.

"Chanyeol," I said, turning, and had to suppress a gasp when I saw the man who stepped out from behind him. "Kris."

Kris' eyes narrowed; I could feel him striking fear into the deepest parts of my body with that penetrating glare. "Chanyeol, your friends are back." The threatening tone in his voice was not missed by me, and I felt a surge of protective anger wash through me.

"Hey, , who the do you think you are?" I challenged, feeling a surge of pride at the way his eyes widened in shock. 

"Baekhyun!" Chanyeol chided, but I was too caught up in my momentary victory to care much. "Please go," He pleaded, grabbing my wrist.

"No. Not until you tell me why you're with this monster," I argued.

"Please-" Chanyeol began to beg but I wouldn't have any of it. I walked forward, using my weight to push Chanyeol back into the house. The others followed me quickly, ready to intervene if anything dangerous happened, and Kris just backed away, allowing us into his house. 

"No, Chanyeol, I need to understand. Why are you hiding all this from me?" I stared into my friend's eyes, trying to show him all the hurt and confusion I'd felt for the longest time. I wished that he would just open up to me, especially now when I wasn't exactly giving him much of a choice. If he still wanted to keep his secret from me, I sincerely hoped that it was worth it. "I'm sorry, Yeollie but is this secret really worth losing a friend over?" The implied threat was low, I knew, and also quite a bluff since it was obvious to anyone that I wouldn't leave Chanyeol for the world, but the way his eyes widened in shock told me that it had worked.

"Please, Baekhyun, I don't want to lose anyone-" Chanyeol's voice cracked and shook, but I wouldn't allow myself to feel any remorse. I had finally broken through the wall, finally come face to face with the great Kris who started everything, and now, I wasn't going to back down.

"Yeollie-" I caught him glance at Kris and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to pay attention to only me. "Tell me now."

Before Chanyeol could open his mouth, I heard a low growl behind me.

"Let go of him," Kris snarled, his eyes darkening to a terrifying degree. 

"Or what," I hissed back, tightening my grip on the taller boy.

"Baekhyun stop!" Suho shouted, having enough of this display. "You're only making things worse-"

"I just want to stop him from hurting Chanyeol!" I shouted back, surprising everyone around me.

"Hurting him?" Kris frowned. "I would never hurt my Chanyeol."

I didn't like the implications in his words; first, talking about Chanyeol as if he were Kris' property, and second, implying that I was hurting my best friend. "And that blood you're making him drink?" I shot back, remembering the contents of the article that I had read less than an hour ago.

"Blood," Kris spoke, his voice now reaching a dangerous timbre. "You don't know what you're talking about," He whispered, finally moving from his place by the door and walking towards me. "Now let go of Chanyeol and leave, before I do something that we will all regret." He glanced at Chanyeol then, causing the boy's lips to twitch, corners turning down briefly. 

I hadn't missed the exchange, and now my suspicions were piqued even more.

"Please go," Chanyeol gasped, the desperation in his tone only setting me off further. 

"I won't leave unless he comes with me," I told Chanyeol's mysterious fiance, nodding my head back to the boy in question. "And I want you to get out of his life."

"You sure are asking a lot for someone who knows nothing," Kris' voice was breathy and threatening, and he advanced on me with malice in his eyes. 

My heart pounded and I could feel my friends' eyes on me, pleading with me to drop it and leave, but this was between me and Kris, and I summoned all my courage and stepped forward, meeting him in the middle of the hallway. It only took me a few seconds to realize that I was probably anything but intimidating, especially since a crink in my neck was developing from having to look up at him, but I didn't care. This was for Chanyeol.

"I know enough," I whispered, lowering my voice in an attempt to hide its shakiness, "Wu Fan."

Chanyeol gasped behind me and I saw Kris' stony mask crack. His eyes widened in what looked like a mix of fear and suprise, and his lips parted with a sharp intake of breath. The change was quick, and in the blink of an eye he was back, all threatening glares and scowls. "You," He whispered, before shaking his head.

"Baekhyun-" Chanyeol began but Kris held up a hand to silence him. 

"Baekhyun," Kris repeated, saying my name for the first time, and it sounded like daggers on his tongue. "You have tried my patience, and I warned you to leave. And now it seems that my warnings have not been heeded," He glanced at Chanyeol as he said this, the slightly shorter boy looking aghast. "And now, it is time for you to pay the consequences."

"Baekhyun leave," Chanyeol's voice was shaking and Kris began to back away from me, his eyes growing darker until both the irises and the whites around them were black. My heart dropped into my stomach and I realized that this little trip had not gone as I planned at all.

I was frozen, pinned by Kris' inky stare, and I felt like everything around me slowed down and the next few events still played out too fast. The next thing I knew, Suho had tackled me to the ground as a burst of flames erupted over my head, a shrill screech and the noises of concrete being shattered like glass exploded in my ears. Smoke and dust was everywhere and I realized that the house was falling apart. D.O. ran to us, grabbing our arms and hoisting us up as the ceiling cracked overhead. 

Kai and Sehun were in a panic., grabbing Chanyeol's arms and trying to pull him out of the house as it crumbled around us, but he was frozen, staring at the spot where Kris had stood. I followed his gaze, turning to look at the man, and laid eyes on the cause of all this destruction.

The leathery beat of wings flapping in the air sounded, and a gust of wind nearly knocked me to my feet, but the sight had me captivated too. I followed razor sharp talons and shimmering scales all the way up to monster-like teeth and black eyes. 

I wasn't sure if it was because of the smoke and debris in the air or the fear permeating my body as I stared upon the beast that was causing me to be unable to breathe, but I knew that if Suho hadn't been holding me, I would have collapsed right there.

It only took me a moment to gather my wits and take in the fact that it was standing up through what was supposed to be the roof and the upper floors of the house, and the structure of the place would soon be collapsing, and I willed my body to move, fleeing the house and grabbing Chanyeol on the way.

When we got outside, I was able to get a better look at the terrifying monster. It was even more frightening from this position, and its large black wings extended out further than the boundaries of the yard. I was glad that this area was practically abandoned, or else there would be a lot of unwelcomed questions.

Flames surrounded the creature, erupting from the house as if it were standing in lava, and the sight bore a striking resemblance to the picture that Suho and D.O. had found only the day before. I gulped, my throat and eyes burning from the smoke, and tried not to quiver in fear as I realized what exactly I was looking at, or rather, who.

"Wu Fan."

Wow sorry for the super long wait, got distracted with school work and the upcoming holidays. Anyways, I hope to have at least one more chapter up today, so review and stay tuned!