Kai opened his eyes and his breath got caught in his throat at the sight before him.

The room had no windows and no furniture, only a single light bulb hanging above a wooden chair with a terrified Angel tied to it.

“K-Kai?” Sungmi whimpered, tears trailing down her cheeks that have seemed to get even paler than before.

Kai immediately ran up to her and cupped her face with his hands, scanning her body for any major injuries.

“You actually came back,” she choked out, more tears falling from her hazel eyes.

“I promised you, didn’t I?” he smiled as the wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

Kai felt like he could take on the world when she smiled back at him. When her eyes turned into perfect half moons, everything seemed to just have melted away. And Kai was pretty sure his heart melted with it.

“Okay, well, let’s get you out of here,” he said, pulling out his dagger and starting to cut the straps around her wrists and ankles.

When the last strap fell to the floor, Sungmi mustered all of the energy left in her body to push herself off the chair and wrap her arms around Kai’s neck.

Kai froze for a few moments, heart beating at a speed that would probably send any person into cardiac arrest (but he guessed it was a good thing that he wasn’t human).  When he finally came back to his senses, he slowly wrapped his arms around Sungmi’s waist as she clung to him for dear life.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his neck, “for saving me.”

“Well, I haven’t saved you quite yet,” he chuckled, “Thank me when we get back to Homebase.”

“Homebase?” she asked, pulling away from him a little and slightly tilting her head to the side.

“I’ll explain later,” Kai said as he lifted her in his arms, carrying her bridal style towards the door.

“I can walk,” she mumbled.

“You’re way to weak to walk, let alone run,” Kai said as he managed to unlock the door and twist the knob.

Two boys stood up straight when Kai kicked the door open with his foot.  

“She okay?” one of the boys who had an uncanny resemblance to a fairy tale prince asked.

“Yeah, she’s just a little weak,” Kai answered, “But I don’t want to chance teleporting her to Homebase.”

“You might want to the carry her on your back then,” the other boy said, “It would be easier to move just in case we run into some Demons.”

Sungmi studied the other boy as Kai set her on her feet. Her eyes swept over his body starting from his feet. He wasn’t as strikingly handsome as the prince boy or Kai, but he was definitely good looking.

But when she reached his eyes, Sungmi gasped and hid behind Kai, clutching onto the back of his shirt and she peeked over his shoulder at the Demon.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kai laughed as he reached behind and placed a hand on the small of her back, “Hyukjin’s with us.”

“Yeah, he’s not going to hurt you,” the prince boy smiled, “I’m Suho by the way.”

She returned Suho’s smile and gave Hyukjin a timid glance before dropping her eyes to the floor.

Kai bent down a little in front of her and motioned for her to get on his back, “Come on, we need to get going.”

Sungmi climbed onto his back and secured her arms around his neck. She heard a faint voice coming from earpiece clipped to Kai’s ear. 

“We need to hurry,” Kai told the other two boys, “The guys are already fighting other Demons.”

“I’ll go first,” Hyukjin said, turning off the lantern he was holding, “Suho, take the rear and both of you stay close.”

They navigated through the maze of hallways, stopping at each corner to check for potential Demons.

“Is he really a good Demon?” Sungmi whispered into Kai’s ear.

“I can’t say for sure,” he mumbled back, “But so far, he’s done nothing but help us.”

The Angel nodded as they came to a stop, Hyukjin holding up a hand as he glanced around the corner.

“We’re about to enter the battle zone,” he said and his eyes slid over to Sungmi, “So brace yourselves.”

“Close your eyes,” Kai whispered over his shoulder.

Sungmi did as he said and screwed her eyes shut, burying her face into his neck.

Kai tightened his grip under Sungmi’s knees as Suho formed a whip using the moisture in the air.

The three boys nodded at each other before running into the hall and making a beeline towards the broken window.

All the Demons moved in slow motion thanks to Tao who was standing at the end of the hall with his eyes closed, breathing deeply as he tried to concentrate.

“We got her! Let’s go!” Suho cried over the loud screeches of Demons as Hyukjin used Kai’s baton to carve a path towards their exit.

The Guardians quickly flanked their leader as more Demons flowed into the hall. They quickly climbed through the opening that once had a thick sheet of glass. Kai handed Sungmi to Sehun before jumping through the window as well. 

“Hurry, I’m starting to lose it,” Tao said between clenched teeth with his eyebrows furrowed.

When Sehun carefully handed Sungmi down to Kai’s awaiting arms, Suho tapped Tao on the shoulder and he released the hold he had on time. Everything sped up to normal speed as they jumped down onto the grass and followed the rest of the group across the lawn and towards the vans.

Sungmi peeked over Kai’s shoulder and squinted through the rain to see one of the Guardians, probably the smallest of the group, fall behind and stand in the middle of the field, facing the swarm of Demons behind them. She was about to cry out for him when he lifted one foot and stomped on the ground, creating force of energy that took out about half of horde. She stared in awe as he turned around with a small smile and jogged towards the rest of the group.

“Kai, you and Sungmi go in the M van so Lay can start healing her,” Suho ordered as they approached the vans.

As the boys piled into the vans, Suho noticed that Hyukjin was just standing at the edge of the forest, shoulders squared as he faced the hundreds of Demons that were chasing after them.

“Baekhyun, open the door,” Suho said as he jammed the key into the ignition.

The younger Guardian stared at his leader confusion but didn’t argue and reached over to slide the passenger door open. 

“Hyukjin!” Suho yelled out the driver’s window and the Demon turned around to look at him in surprise, “Get in!”

Hyukjin glanced frantically over his shoulder at the wave of Demons barreling towards him before turning back to the Guardian and shaking his head.

“Just go!” he yelled back over the howling wind and rain.

“They’re going to kill you! Just get in!”

“I’ll be fine!” Hyukjin turned back towards the liar and planted his feet.

Suho rolled his eyes and looked into the van parked next to his. Fine, guess he was going to have to do this the hard way.

“Luhan,” he called and pointed to the Demon, earning a nod of understanding from the telekinetic.

Hyukjin set his jaw and clutched onto his baton, his eyes set on the mass of red glowing eyes approaching him. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down in glory.

When the Demons were mere feet away, Hyukjin felt a jolt through his body and suddenly found himself flying through the air. His back hit leather upholstery and the slam of a car door rang in his ears.

Only after an engine revved and he lurched back into this seat did he look around to see Suho smirking at him through the rear view mirror and four boys staring at him in curiosity.

Hyukjin pressed his back against the window of the van’s door as the four Guardians continued to stare at him with unwavering gazes.

One boy leaned forward, not a single hint of an expression on his face, to look the Demon straight in the eye.

Hyukjin braced himself for the searing pain that he only heard of and witnessed, but never experienced. They were Guardians after all. Demons hunt Angels, Angels turn Humans into Guardians, and Guardians kill Demons. That’s just the way it worked. So, Hyukjin stared back, accepting the fact that this Guardian was just going to do his job.

But a huge smile stretched across the Guardians face and he held out a hand.

“I’m Chanyeol, fire Guardian,” he said with a surprisingly low voice, “Welcome to Exo.”

---

Reunited and it feels so good~ LOL Well, there you all have it! Kai and Sungmi are finally reunited. And I even threw (or well tried to) in some action too! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

~Admin Kelc