“The Tree of Life?” asked D.O., his voice curious at the mention of a being that he did not know. Being the member whose affinity was closely related to the earth and its ground, he was fascinated by all living things, his time spent researching them in libraries amassing to over half of his life.

“What I am about to tell you shall never pass your lips ever again, unless it is only in the presence of your brothers and the Tree itself. Promise me that and I will continue,” said their manager sternly.

“We promise, manager,” replied Suho on behalf of EXO.

“Wait. You’re not really a manager though are you?” interjected Chen, who had his eyebrows raised.

“Uhm, no, I guess not.” The manager looked confused, baffled by the sudden question.

“What should we call you then?” Chen carried on, unaware of the sighs that everyone else let out.

“Is this important right now, Chen?” interrupted Kris, impatience lining his features. Chen pouted, upset that he would not be able to satisfy his curiosity.

“No, it’s fine. Call me Leeteuk,” he smiled gently, the twelve boys mouthing the new name.

“So Leeteuk-hyung?” D.O. said, looking at him. Leeteuk nodded, motioning for him to continue. “You were saying something about the Tree of Life?”

“Ahh yes. How much did you understand from the prophecy that I told you?” Leeteuk was met with blank stares, and he chuckled. “Well, it is a lot to take in, especially the wordy phrases that seem quite vague.” His eyes roamed to Suho and Kris, who shifted uncomfortably under Leeteuk’s solemn gaze. “You two have been given responsibility over K and M, which is no mistake. But your objective is different.” Everyone gulped, sensing the significance of the situation. “The Tree of Life is currently broken, split into two hearts and you,” he pointed to each and every one of them, “are the ones that will be able to heal the Tree.” He paused, letting the information sink in.

“But if we got our powers from the Tree – which is currently broken – then how do we still have our abilities?” asked Baekhyun.

“The hearts are still beating but they are weak. Your powers are much more powerful than you realize, it’s just that you are unable to unlock your full potential unless the Tree is healed,” explained Leeteuk. “One half rests somewhere in Korea, the other in China,” he continued. A pained gasp escaped from someone’s lips.

“No, it can’t be,” whispered Sehun, who gripped onto Luhan’s hands as if he never wanted to let go. Leeteuk just looked sadly into the wide eyes of Sehun, Luhan, Lay and Suho. The others gave them sympathetic looks, the pain that was to come heavy in the air.

“Suho, you will lead K to locate the missing half in Korea whilst Kris, you will lead M to locate the other half in China.”

“But-”

“I understand.” Suho’s determined voice cut off whatever Luhan was about to say.

“But-”

“Guys, the quicker we get this done, the quicker we’ll get to be together,” clarified Suho. “I don’t want us to separate, but like I said before. We do this job for a reason.” There was silence as everyone absorbed his words, unable to argue back. “Leeteuk-hyung, please, do continue.”

Leeteuk coughed, trying to ease the tension in the air.

“The reason that the Tree’s heart had to split into two was because of the evil that threated to take over it. By splitting it into two, the evil would also be weakened, spread over Korea and China simultaneously. We sent guardians along with the pieces of Mama; however, the evil soon corrupted their hearts and we lost all contact.”

“What do you mean?” asked Chanyeol.

“We have no idea where the two halves of the Tree are now…” Leeteuk’s voice trailed off, shame leaving him speechless.

“Then how are we supposed to retrieve them and heal the tree?” Xiumin spoke up, his voice rising slightly at the daunting task that was presented to them.

“Your abilities,” Leeteuk quickly answered. “Since Mama is the source of your powers, each of you has a connection that will allow you to find the missing halves.”

“Like a beacon?” suggested Tao.

“Exactly. Kai, you should be able to transport to the half in Korea’s location by visualizing it in your mind. Kris, your wings will lead you to the half in China in the same way.”

“But how will I get the rest there?” inquired Kris. “I’m not that strong to be able to fly five full-grown males…”

“You will message them your location. And you too, Kai. The other five members must walk to the location on their own,” said Leeteuk.

“Why?” someone asked.

“You just do,” was the firm response.

“And what do we do once we’ve obtained the two halves of the heart?” asked Lay.

“Come back to HQ.” responded Leeteuk, avoiding their questioning looks as he did not want to divulge any more information.

“So when do we leave?” Suho asked the question that everyone had dreaded. With a sympathetic gaze, Leeteuk replies.

“Tomorrow.” Everyone felt their hearts drop. One night. That was all the time they had left to say goodbye for who knows how long. “Before I go, I’ll leave you all with one piece of advice.” Everyone faced Leeteuk, his mouth set in a soft smile.

"Stick together, no matter what. You are stronger as a team than you are alone. Do not separate under any circumstances, even if you feel you have no other choice."

~

Sorry for the four/five days of no updates D; //bows in apology//

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I'll try to update more frequently, but I don't want to release crappy updates :P (hoping that no-one thinks that my updates are crappy >_<)

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