The Battle

“Why are you doing this, Suho?!” Wu Fan sidestepped and dodged the sword aimed at his chest.  He slashed his own through the air, but was met with a clanging resistance.  “We were supposed to be brothers.  Be a family.”

                Suho scoffed as he moved back to free his sword from Wu Fan’s and circled the much taller boy.  “Brothers?  A family?  Don’t spew nonsense.  How could I ever be in a family with someone like you?”  He leapt forward again, but Wu Fan was quick to block and send him stumbling back.

                “What’s the supposed to be mean?” Wu Fan snapped, his hands clenching tight on the hilt of his sword as he crouched low in a defensive manner.  He didn’t want to hurt the other leader, but he wasn’t going to let himself be attacked either.

                “As if you don’t know.”  Suho recommenced his circling, Wu Fan mimicking every move.  “We entered training together, and even though I put in even more hours and went on even more missions, you were always the one praised by the teachers.  Then we were knighted and even though I worked so much harder than you, we were both assigned leaders.  And even though we were the same rank, you were always in the spotlight- everyone’s favorite leader.  You were always the go-to for the Bangs.  No one could ever notice me while you were around.”

                Wu Fan was shocked to say the least.  In the fifteen years they had known each other, Suho had never let on that he was holding this sort of resentment. Wu Fan had always assumed they were as close as real brothers.  They had been through thick and thin together.  But now, the apparent hurt in Suho’s eyes made his heart throb, and unfortunately also dropped his defenses.

                Suho noticed the weakening of Wu Fan’s stance and took advantage of it.  He leapt forward, sword raised.  Wu Fan came back to his senses at the last moment.  He was quick enough to catch Suho’s sword against his own, but his legs were not properly anchored and the force of the other’s blow sent him tumbling backwards.  He hit his back on the hard ground, sword tumbling from his hand at the impact.  He lay still momentarily, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked from his lungs, as Suho moved over him.

                “Now it’ll be my time.  I’ll be the hero who killed the traitorous leader.  Without you around, I’ll finally be the best.”  His voice was eerily quiet as he raised his sword high.

                Wu Fan looked up into his friend’s eyes, which were overcome with hatred and bloodlust, and tried to reason.  “Please, Suho.  Don’t do this.  It’s doesn’t have to be like this.”

                “Goodbye, Wu Fun.” Suho’s sword came slashing down and Wu Fan closed his eyes, arms shooting up to protect his head.  But no impact ever came.  Instead he heard a gurgling noise and opened his eyes to see Suho standing in front of him, sword by his side, with another blade protruding from his chest.  His shirt was already stained red and his body had fallen limp.  He was pushed off the blade, body falling forward and Wu Fan rolled out of the way to avoid it.  He looked up to see his savior and paused, puzzled.  It took him a minute to remember the face, but when he did, a large smile spread on his face.

                “Woo Jiho!  You made it!”

                “Yeah, just in time too, it seems.  I would have been here earlier if you guys knew how to send a damn message on time.”  Jiho extended his hand with a large smile and Wu Fan graciously took it, rising to his feet.

                “Sorry about that.  I forgot how to get in touch with you.  We had to wait until we could get to Daehyun,” Wu Fan explained to the blond as his eyes turned to the courtyard.  He started in surprise.  Before his fight with Suho his men had been greatly outnumbered, fighting for honor with no real expectation to win, but now there were many more soldiers flooding the area.  They were in various uniforms from various countries, but were all fighting against Bang’s army.

                “What is all this?  I thought it was just you and the six guys.”

                “Yeah, about that… Well, you know how much our prince hates Yongguk, so he sent some men.  And then, you know Princess Sulli from Dongye?” Wu Fan nodded his head.  “Our little Jihoon is pretty sweet on her.  Of course she always shoots him down.  I mean, she’s a princess and he’s a knight and they’re not even from the same kingdoms.  But when he told her that he was going off to battle in Goguryeo she seemed to have a change of heart and sent some of her soldiers.  She also made sure to tell him that she’d kill him if he let himself get killed by someone as pathetic as a Bang soldier.”

                Wu Fan smiled.  “Sounds like Sulli.”

                “Well, what are we doing sitting here chatting like a bunch of old ladies.  Let’s go join the fun, shall we?” Jiho gave his friend a huge smile before running back into the fray. 

                Wu Fan turned to grab his sword, which was lying next to Suho’s body and sighed at the sight of his friend.  He felt betrayed and alone, but knew he’d need to move on.  He turned the body onto its back and closed the surprised eyes.  “Goodbye, Suho.”  With that he stood and shook the emotions from his body, rushing back into battle.

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                Himchan rushed down the hall, head whipping back and forth.  Where the hell was his cousin?  Nothing was going according to plan.  Everything was in chaos and he didn’t know what to do anymore.  All of these soldiers had appeared out of nowhere and the courtyard was turning into a bloodbath.  He needed to talk to Yongguk to figure out what to do, but his cousin had taken off the second he had heard that Daehyun had escaped the dungeons.

                “Why can’t he just let that bratty prince go?” he growled under his breath, “Can’t he see that it’s a lost cause?”  He turned down another hallway when he heard a familiar voice.  Seconds later Junhong and Jongup whipped around the corner, but halted when they saw the older boy.  Junhong was still unarmed but Jongup’s sword was already drawn.

                “Well, well, well, fancy running into you two,” Himchan smirked, but the other two boys ignored him, their faces never faltering from their expressions of steely determination.  Junhong slid behind Jongup slightly, using the older boy’s bulky build to protect him.

                “No matter what, I’m not staying here with you anymore.  You can’t make me,” he spat.  Himchan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise his expression didn’t change.

                “Trust me, I’m done playing with you.  I don’t like toys that don’t work right.  So why don’t you just run along and get out of my way?”  Honestly, Himchan had grown tired of the younger boy.  He didn’t like people who didn’t break the way he wanted them to.  And he had bigger problems, considering that he was still searching for Yongguk and had yet to arm himself.  He wouldn’t be any match for Jongup right now.

                The other two boys eyed him suspiciously, not believing that he’d actually let him go.  They stepped slowly around him, eyes and sword tip never leaving his direction, but once they had reached safety, they turned and took off running.  Himchan watched them until they were at a distance and then started down the hallway they had come from.  If it was just the two of them, they must have left Youngjae and Daehyun somewhere.  And wherever Youngjae was, Yongguk was sure to be nearby.

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                Youngjae cowered against the wall as his eyes tried to keep up with the fast movements that were accented with clangs of metal on metal.  Yongguk was surprisingly skilled with his sword for a royal member and neither boy could get the upper hand on the other.  It was just one strike and block sequence after another and the anxiety was ripping through Youngjae’s nerves.

                Yongguk growled as his attack was once again blocked by the brunette knight.  The boy was too agile and his focus was as sharp as a needle.  He knew that he couldn’t keep this up forever, that he would be the first to tire if they kept uselessly sparring.  He didn’t have the same amount of training in this area as a knight.  If he was going to get anywhere in this fight, he was going to have to break Daehyun’s concentration.

                “Doesn’t Youngjae just have the prettiest voice when he’s underneath you?”  Bingo.  Yongguk moved forward and struck.  Even though Daehyun managed to block the attack, he stumbled backwards a few steps then froze.  “I can’t think of anything ier than when he was screaming my name until his voice was raw while I pounded into him.”

                Daehyun’s chest tightened at Yongguk’s words.  He looked at Yongguk’s face, at the prince’s revolting smirk, and felt the blood in his veins start to boil.  He couldn’t forgive someone for touching his Youngjae like that.  He leapt forward, sword outstretched and attacked.  Yongguk blocked, but his timing was too slow and Daehyun managed to slice into his arm.

                “!” Yongguk snarled, partly in anger and partly in surprise.  Daehyun’s reaction was the opposite of what he wanted.  Before he had a chance to recover, however, Daehyun had spun on his heel and was heading back.  Yongguk just managed to jump out of the way, trying to back down the hall, but Daehyun was quick and back on the attack.  He brought his sword down, Yongguk blocking just in time.  But the angle and the force of Daehyun’s attack knocked Yongguk’s sword from his hand.  Both boys watched it clatter a few steps away before Daehyun raised his sword one last time.

                “Go to hell, you bastard.  I’ll never let you touch Youngjae again.”

                He brought his sword down, slicing sideways, focusing on the sword’s tip as it made satisfying contact with flesh.

                Yongguk closed his eyes, waiting for the impact and knowing it was too late, but it never came.  He opened them at the sound of a hiss of pain and saw a mess of black hair obstructing his view.  The body in front of him fell to his knees and slumped on the floor.

                “H-Himchan?” Yongguk called, immediately dropping down to take the body in his arms.  He forgot about Daehyun and Youngjae, who were staring on in shock, and focused on his cousin who was losing a considerable amount of blood.  “Channie, what did you do?!”

                “Sorry I couldn’t pay you back better,” Himchan groaned, his sentence clipped by his gurgling cough.  Flecks of red stained his milky skin.  “You deserved better than a useless cousin like me.”

                “No, no, no.  Don’t say that, Channie,” Yongguk rubbed his thumbs over the face in his hands.  He shook Himchan slightly, trying to shake strength back into his weakening body.  “You were better than anything I deserved.  Just hold on, ok.  Please, don’t leave me.  I can’t live without you.”

                Himchan couldn’t help a small smile as he looked up at his teary cousin.  “Don’t worry, Gukkie.  If there’s an afterlife, I’m sure we’ll end up together.  Even if it’s hell, I’ll be ok if I’m there with you.”

                “Stop, don’t talk like that,” Yongguk sobbed, his tears falling onto the boy below him as he shook him.  “Channie!  Channie!”  But the boy below him had gone limp.  A feral roar was ripped from Yongguk’s chest as he stood, Himchan’s body falling off his lap.  In a second he had his fallen sword in his hand and leapt at the bewildered knight.

                “You.  You will pay for this.  You and everyone you have ever loved.  I’ll rip you all apart piece by piece with my own hands.”  He struck at Daehyun, who managed to dodge, but not quickly enough.  He spun on his heel as he caught Yongguk’s sword against his own, their positions now switched, but the force knocked his own sword from his hand which went clattering down the hall.  Before he could react there was a searing pain underneath his ribcage as Yongguk lunged forward, eyes ablaze with hatred.  He stumbled backwards, clutching his side.  His hand was growing increasingly wet and sticky from the blood of his wound.  His heels hit something hard, and he fell backward, over Himchan’s body, and sprawled on the ground.  The pain from his wound was excruciating and it blurred his vision slightly.  He looked up to see Yongguk coming at him, eyes bright with triumph, and a satisfied smirk on his face.

                “Finally.  Your blood will be on my hands.  And Youngjae will be completely mine.  I want you to die knowing that I will make sure to torture and kill every one of your family members and that Youngjae will be trapped here with me until the day he dies.”  Daehyun tried to get up, but couldn’t.  He watched Yongguk bring his sword up, positioned to give a fatal blow.  He averted his eyes, looking instead for Youngjae.  If he was really going to die, he wanted his prince’s face to be the last thing he saw.  But, Youngjae wasn’t there.  Daehyun groaned and closed his eyes.  I’m so sorry, Youngjae.  I failed you again.

                Youngjae’s stomach churned as he watched Yongguk’s sword sinking into Daehyun’s abdomen, a deep red stain instantly blooming on the white shirt.  He watched Daehyun stumbled backwards and fall, Yongguk moving to leer over him.  No no no.  This can’t be happening, he cried to himself.  Yongguk couldn’t win.  He felt despair taking over when he watched Daehyun try to get up, but fail.  How were they going to get out of this?

                He averted his eyes, not wanting to watch anymore, when a glint of silver caught his attention.  Daehyun’s sword.  He leapt forward, taking the heavy weapon in between his hands.  He went unnoticed by Yongguk whose sole focus was on Daehyun.  He lifted the sword, trying to steady his arms against the weight, and closed his eyes as he moved forward.

                Yongguk adjusted the sword in his hands before raising it over his head, preparing to bring it crashing down into Daehyun’s chest.  He took a last moment to observe the bloody boy below him, relishing in his moment of victory.  He flexed his muscles, ready to move, when a sharp pain struck through his back, knocking the wind out of him.   He fell forward on his knees and glanced back to see an astonished Youngjae standing behind him, hands raised over his mouth as he looked down at what he had done.

                “Y-Youngjae?  Why?” Yongguk’s voice was hoarse, a barely audible, husky whisper as the pain seared through his body.  “I loved you so much.”    

                “You didn’t love me,” Youngjae finally found his voice.  “If you had really loved me, you would have wanted me to be happy.  You were just obsessed with the idea of something you couldn’t have.”

                Yongguk tried to ponder the meaning in Youngjae’s words, but his mind was fuzzy and his focus was faltering in and out.  He managed one last look at the boy standing above him, tears streaming down his face, before consciousness left him.

                “Daehyun!” The knight managed to crack his eyes open at the sound of his lover’s voice.  Youngjae was on his knees, kneeling over his injured boyfriend, trying to assess the damage.

                “Youngjae,” Daehyun croaked out.  He tried to bring his hand up to wipe the prince’s tears away, but his hand fell back limply to his side.

                “Just hold on, ok?” Youngjae tried to make his voice sound more cheery, but his eyes betrayed his abjection as he looked at the still bleeding wound.  “It’s not that bad.  Just hold on until someone can patch you up, ok?”   Youngjae grabbed Yongguk’s sword and used the blade to rip the bottom of his shirt.  He folded it over and pressed it hard against Daehyun’s wound, causing the knight to hiss.

                “Youngjae, I love you,” Daehyun finally managed.

                “Don’t say it like that,” Youngjae cried as he pressed down hard.  “Don’t you dare tell me goodbye.  Not now, not now that we can finally be together.”

                “I’m sorry, Youngjae.”

                “Daehyun!  Daehyun!  Daehyun!” Youngjae’s screaming voice faded into the distance as Daehyun’s mind went black.

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Author’s Note:

Sorry this was so short, but I’m really at action scenes and I didn’t think that you guys wanted to read endless descriptions of swords clanking together.  If I’m wrong about that, I apologize.

I can’t believe this is almost over.  I almost want to put off writing the last one just so I can draw this experience out, but I won’t do that to you guys.  I love you too much. I’m actually probably going to start on it right now. (Though it will be considerably longer because it’s the end.  Can’t slack on the last chapter.)

Well, I hope you enjoyed (^^) Until next time!  

<3 Dani