“You won’t see her?”

Luhan’s eyes stayed fixated on the reflections in the orbs around him. He did not answer the voice that questioned him from behind. He remained focused on his task at hand. He raised his hands and orbs shifted their position in eerie silence. The black room that surrounded him, immersed him in its dark company, was completely quiet except for the person’s voice who spoke to him again.

“Don’t pretend you’re busy right now, because I know you’re not.”

Luhan’s hands froze in mid-air, his fingers twitching slightly before he resigned to lowering his arms altogether and with that the orbs stayed hovering in place.

“What happened last time won’t happen again. It won’t happen to any of us. So quit worrying about it.”

But, he was worried. Luhan couldn’t stop himself from being taken over by doubt. What were the chances it wouldn’t happen again? It was the reason they had gone so long now without a Seeress. If it happened again, the ones who take their place would be just like how they were before, left without a Seeress to lead them. He didn’t want that to happen. And, if preventing that from happening by his own hands could be avoided if he stayed where he was, here in this dark room by himself with only the reflections of places far away connecting him to the world beyond it, he was willing to do it. Luhan was more than willing.

“You mean well, Kris. I know you mean well.” Luhan gathered himself as he answered the person who had been speaking to him all this time. He lifted his arms upward, once more continuing on with what Kris knew to be busy work, “However, the chances that something could go wrong are high. I am here among us to calculate these chances and take them into account as I go about my work. As much as I respect your personal decision, and as much as I would be unable to refuse leaving here if you or her highness demanded it from me, I believe maintaining my place here is better for her highness, Exotians, and all of Exo planet as a whole.”

Kris didn’t say a word in response as he stared at Luhan’s back. He knew the ramifications of what the guardians before them had warned them of, everyone did, but Luhan had taken their words to heart more than any of them did. Kris, while he disagreed that they were like those who came before them and would thus act in the same way, did not have it in him to pull Luhan away from something he thought was right. Thus, he ended up leaving with only a single statement more passing from him to Luhan, “I respect your decision.”

My eyes drifted from one side to the other, back and forth as a ball of fire went flying to the right and a shards of ice went flinging to the left. It was like watching tennis on television. Except, this was up close and personal. This was Sparring day. The day in which, as explained to me by D.O., the guardians tested their metal against one another. The day in which they went head to head in actual combat. Right here in this large room that could be accessed by going down a set of stairs that were in the Hall of the Guardian’s training room. The ground was made up of solid dark brown rock and the walls painted white. The ceiling was high and the room itself wide and long.

On one side of the room, to my right, stood Xiumin and Suho. Both of whom looked as healthy as can be. It was relief to say the least. They remained unharmed. At least for now they did. Because at the current point in time, a fight was going on. That brings me to the two who stood on the other side of the room. Chanyeol and Sehun. A rather excited looking Chanyeol and a casual looking Sehun. This fight was pair against pair. This fight that I had walked in and had no clue about, causing D.O. who led me here to have to explain it to me while we sat on the sidelines.

Kai, Baekhyun, and Lay were there already, all of whom bowed over extravagantly as soon as I entered. Lay was being completely serious, Kai was doing it out of admiration, and Baekhyun was doing it simply to mess with me. Because he knew I wouldn’t like it and did it anyway. How did I know such a thing? Because he thought it to himself openly. And I was not mad in the least. In fact, I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the sight of him peering up at me as he bowed, a sly smile on his face.

I feigned a glare as I took a seat down next to him and D.O. politely left more than enough space for me to move around if I felt the need to between the two of us, “It’s a partner fight now with one amplifier and one attacker on each side.” I turned to D.O., staring at him as I searched the database that was my head for my familiarity with this explanation. And I found nothing. Kai, who was seated next to Baekhyun, kindly spoke up on my behalf.

“She’s not going to understand if you say it like that.” D.O.’s lips parted as though he only now realized how vague his explanation was. He bowed to me in his seat multiple times as he repented.

“I apologize, your highness. Let me explain to you the specifics.” He turned back towards the current fight going on in front of us. “The attackers in this case are Xiumin and Chanyeol.”

The two stood on either side of the room, staring each other down. The tension between them was like a war zone that Chanyeol, his flame burning with impatience and excitement, decided to cross first. He took long strides forward, causing Xiumin to do the same, matching his pace as both raced towards each other, settling on close combat at this point in time. It wasn’t long before they had met each other near the center of the room, Chanyeol being the one who acted first once more. His left foot pivoted, sending his right leg swinging through the air as he landed a roundhouse kick aimed at Xiumin’s temple. It was an easy feat to accomplish as Chanyeol’s height and long legs gave him an advantage over the shorter Xiumin. It was easy to accomplish, to succeed in doing, but it was an attack that would not be so easily landed. Instead of coming into contact with Xiumin’s skull, the heel of his foot was stopped as it hit a brick wall, or in this case, an ice wall.

Xiumin had blocked his attack with his own arms. His own arms that seemed as though they were incased in crystal. Except, it wasn’t crystal. It was ice. A casing of ice had formed around Xiumin’s arms. Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed downwards, his teeth clenching as though this weren’t the first time Xiumin had stopped him this way. His leg returned to his side with a simple twist of his waist and his frustration erupted in the form of flames engulfing his fist.

The sight of it was amazing. His clenched fist was covered in flames yet he seemed unaffected by it. Unaffected by the heat it produced that even from so far away, I could feel bat against my face. My jaw went slack in awe at the sight of him throwing that fiery punch right at Xiumin. Xiumin’s hands fell from the side of his face where he once was blocking Chanyeol and the ice casing around his arms fell off, shattering quietly and falling onto the ground in twinkling, harmless shards. It dissipated as quickly as it appeared as Xiumin went side-stepping to the left to avoid Chanyeol’s jab at him. Chanyeol didn’t let up as he reared back again, his left hand seeking vengeance with a sudden flaming uppercut.

“Attackers are front line fighters. Every one of us has the potential to be an attacker but there are those of us who are better at it than others.” D.O.’s voice from next to me invaded my eardrums as I kept my eyes forward, not wanting to miss a single thing. A single second in which I diverted my eyes could have meant missing a deciding action in the fight.

Whatever attack Chanyeol attempted to throw was evaded by Xiumin. But, Xiumin couldn’t evade forever. With each attempt to get a hit in, Chanyeol’s impatience grew along with the size of the flickering flames that danced across the knuckles of his fists and the heels of his feet.

“Chanyeol and Xiumin are not as fast as some of us are. That is why they are often paired up against each other.” D.O. explained and I couldn’t help but question it. Chanyeol and Xiumin were slow? Compared to who? To what? To the speed of light? Yes. But, there were others within the guardians who are faster?

I stared forward, my eyes almost clenching shut as I saw Xiumin attempt to land his own hit on Chanyeol and succeed. He succeeded in socking Chanyeol right into his stomach, causing the taller guardian to go stumbling back. And for the first time since the fight began, from what I had seen of it all, Sehun acted. With his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slouched down as his facial expression remained impassive, a small vortex of air appeared in front of him. The turbulent mini tornedo went ripping across the ground, creating cracks in the floor that caused D.O. from next to me to utter a complaint about having to fix it later.

The vortex of wind came to a stop in front of Chanyeol, whom once he saw it got a devious smile on his face. With a simple flick of his wrist, a flame went dancing out of his palm, to his fingers, and into the vortex. And in an instant, the tornedo was consumed in flames. And it went ripping across the ground again, leaving a small trail of fire as it went forward. Flying forward towards Xiumin who looked in no way as nervous as I felt for him.

He had good reason to look so confident even as the sparks coming off of the flaming gust in front of him his face. He had a good reason to look so confident because in that last second, Suho raised his hand from behind Xiumin and water came sprouting up between Xiumin and the fiery vortex. And then, it froze over. The water that had appeared due to Suho’s interference froze over, creating a wall of ice that once the flaming tornedo slammed into, it faded away.

“The other member on the team is an amplifier. They use their abilities to enhance the attacker and in some cases provide for defense.” D.O. elaborated, giving me all that I needed to know of both attackers and amplifiers now. There was something exciting about it all. Something exhilarating. Despite the dangers of it, seeing them like that made me feel somewhat proud. No, not somewhat. I was utterly proud of them. I wanted the fight to continue. I wanted to continue watching the battle that escalated with each passing second in front of me. Except that was the problem. The fight was escalating.

As the flaming tornedo was reducing to a simple breeze in the wind, forgotten in an instant, Sehun decided to provide more than just a little support for Chanyeol. He gathered wind again, however this time it was more concentrated. It was concentrated into a tight ball.

And soon, the ball became mass produced, multiples of itself lining up in front of Chanyeol as though waiting for his word to go flying forward. And in reality, they were. The orbs of storming winds only went flying forward after with a single flick of his fingers did Chanyeol set them aflame. Xiumin looked nervous for a second then, a single second as he glanced back at Suho, looking for his support. With a single nod, a single nod of Suho’s head, Xiumin looked confident once more as he ran forward, straight towards the flaming orbs that headed his way. He wasn’t alone. Suho was right behind him, both of them heading forward, crossing over into enemy territory.

What happened in front of me at that moment was breathtaking. I’m not sure I even breathed out at all the entire time. I was too stunned as I witnessed Suho send water flowing over the flaming projectiles heading towards them as they reached them, and Xiumin subsequently froze them before sending them flying right back at Chanyeol with a kick of his leg, as though he were playing a simple game of soccer. Xiumin kicked each and every, now incased in ice, flaming spherical gust right back at Chanyeol. Chanyeol wasn’t fazed in the least as flames incased his hands again and he struck down each and every one, sending flaming shards of ice flying.

That’s where the problem was. The escalation of the fight to this level caused the sidelines to no longer be a safe place to be and the flaming shards of ice went flying in every direction, including the one I was currently sitting in. I stared wide eyed, completely mystified by it that I didn’t realize that I could be hurt within the next second. Luckily for me, I had at my side four guardians who realized the risk the fight posed at this point. Before I could even process what was happening, I felt a pair of arms engulf me from the front. A pair of arms that caused me to feel as though I were being engulfed by a warm ray of sunlight. A pair of arms that was accompanied by a head of brown hair and blurred out features that I recognized to belong to one certain guardian whom had grown comfortable with me.

Baekhyun.

It was Baekhyun’s arms that held me close to him before I felt another pair of arms wrap tightly around me from my right and another pair from my left, forming a protective shell like that of a turtle’s. I heard three things. First, the sound of the ground shifting right from beneath my feet. Second, a piercing sound from behind me. And third, silence. Complete and utter silence as my vision was blurred by three people. By Baekhyun in front of me, Kai to my right, and Lay to my left, all of whom made up my protective turtle shell. I only regained my full range of vision when Baekhyun pulled away, his eyebrows creasing downward as he looked on at me, a single sigh escaping his throat in relief.

I let my eyes fall to my right first, finding Kai sitting there with an angered expression on his face. Then, as I looked to my left, Lay wasn’t meeting my eyes. Instead, he was looking me up and down, checking me for, after I read his mind, injuries of any kind. But, how could I have a single bruise when these three practically engulfed me like three body-sized pillows? I set his fears to rest as I spoke up, “I’m fine. Really, I am.” His features relaxed as did those of Kai’s, only for a moment, before Kai shifted his gaze from me to what was in front of him. Only when I followed his gaze did I find out where D.O. had gone. He was standing in front of the three of us. A large slab of rock stood firm in front of him. However, it stood there only a little while longer before it descended into the ground again.

Like a mother scolding her children, D.O. stated firmly to those who were revealed as the rock slab receded into the ground, “What are you four thinking? You are in the presence of our Seeress and you attempt to go all out against each other?”

Chanyeol, Sehun, Xiumin, and Suho stood as still as mannequins in front of him, not saying a word. But, I could hear their responses. Their explanations they directed not at D.O. but at me.

I got carried away. Forgive me for not thinking of you first, your highness.

Chanyeol’s deep voice echoed in my head.

You saved my life yet I put your own in danger. Accept my utmost apologies, your highness.

Xiumin’s tone of regret wretched at my heartstrings.

I cannot even think of asking you for forgiveness but I would only hope you would continue to let me be by your side, my Seeress.

Suho’s eyes which began to swell with tears caused my own to start to water.

And lastly, Sehun’s voice entered my head. And it was a well-welcomed voice of reason amongst all of the saddening talk going on right now.

I’m not going to apologize because I knew what I was doing. None of the shards hit you because we have no intention of ever hurting you. Are you disappointed in us, though? Did you not think we were cool?

He was right. Every single shard went flying a good three meters off from where I was sitting, not endangering me in the least if I had just simply sat there. And Sehun, as a matter of fact, I did think you were. They all were, in his words, cool. I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face as I answered his inquisition, “I’m not disappointed in the slightest. You were all undeniably cool.”

Sehun’s own lips hitched, just for a second, before he scoffed and his neutral expression returned. The other guardians were confused and stared between the two of us, not understanding my sudden statement. I would have explained to them that it was alright. That they had no reason to be so apologetic when I was completely fine. I’m the one who chose to be here. I’m the one who asked D.O. to show me even when he second-guessed his decision before we entered. I put myself here, not them. They had no reason to be sorry for that. So, I would have explained to them my thoughts if not for at that moment the rushing in of three guardians, Tao leading in front of Kris and Chen, stopped me.

“Luhan called us saying something happened, is everything alright?” Kris asked as his eyes scanned the room. He saw the melting ice that had embedded itself in to the wall behind me and onto the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room itself and the look of anger on D.O.’s face. From that, he was able to piece together what happened. He instinctively glared towards the four who stood in the middle of the room whom all diverted their eyes guiltily excluding Sehun.

“What did you do?” Chen directed towards the wind guardian, his jaw squared as he clenched his teeth.

“Your highness, are you alright?” Tao asked as he forwent talking to them at all for an explanation and approached me, nudging Baekhyun and Kai out of the way in the process to make room for himself. He turned to Lay and posed to him the same question, “Is she alright?”

Before Lay could answer and before the situation could turn into an even bigger misunderstanding than it had to, I stood up from my seat and clapped my hands, startling Tao and Lay who were nearest me. The eleven guardians turned to me, most likely not expecting in the least the next words that came out of my mouth as per directed by my own grumbling stomach, “Who’s up for breakfast? I know I am.”  

A/N:

I was going to update this on Sunday but then school got in the way, held me down and said, "Pay attention to me!" like a clingy friend who can't take a hint. So, here I am in school updating this story (it's my off period. No more classes for the day. I'm a good girl~). In all honesty, this chapter was going to be very long, so much so that I decided to cut it off where it is at this one scene and instead add more detail to what I had before making it it's own chapter. So, that's the story of this chapter. More will happen in the next chapter, promise promise promise, but I still hope you all liked this one!

Also, I would like to thank Jongkeyinmypants for putting this story in "Exo Fanfiction: The Highly Recommended." So, if you are reading this, thank you bunches!  

Announcement! Read post haste: I will be updating this story every Sunday unless a special occasion occurs such as a release of a music video (I'm looking at you SM, bring EXO back!) in which I may update a special chapter in the middle of the week. Sunday is now the day I will update all of my ongoing FF (to all of those readers who read my other FF) so I hope to see you all again then!