~ Year 2523; 10 years after the Guardians departed the Moon Base

~ Location; Sector 25 of the Odin Galaxy. Entering Planet H20-76, codename 'Oasis'' orbit.

~ Weather status; Clear

~*~

The capsules lift with a hiss, the blue glow of Oasis pouring in through the REAl glass panels of the Time Bay. A low whir echoes throughout the room as the capsules shift into upright positions, all twelve males still asleep. It's been ten years, one hundred-twenty months, five hundred-twenty one weeks, three-thousand six-hundred fifty-two days, five million two-hundred and fifty-nine thousand six hundred minutes since they've departed the Moon Base. It's been a decade they've been in suspended animation; and now it's time for their journey to truly begin. It's time for them to wake up, time for them to carry out tasks, bond through the dangers of space, show that they truly are worthy of their acquired titles.

Show that they truly are Guardians.

Minseok's the first up, a low grumble escaping his thin lips as he swats away the fleeting mist showered on them. He at the oxygen rich air and squints his eyes. Having been closed for ten years does things to your eyesight, and Minseok hates it just about as much as he hates Joonmyeon. Just about. He kicks at said male's capsule in a fit of diminishing rage, scowling at the sharp pain that assaults his foot. "Stupid.."

Minseok sighs as he rolls his neck, puffs out his chest to rid himself of the settling stiffness in his muscles. He cracks his knuckles, glaring as Sehun's the second one awake. A scoff tumbles out of Minseok's throat as Sehun lightly shakes Tao awake, pulling and pushing on the raven haired male with narrow eyes. Tao whines and rolls over in his capsule, not yet ready to wake up, before he's abruptly ejected out of it, the Chinese male rolling on the floor a few times before jolting up with an: "I'm okay, really. You didn't see that."

"Sure I didn't." Sehun deadpans, walking over to Tao in order to grab at his thin wrist. He drags Tao along the clicking tiles underneath their boots, the hollowed echo bouncing off of the glass to get lost somewhere between the back hatch or through the vents located above. He maneuvers the other, dodging the capsules of Luhan and Jongin, and headed straight to Kyungsoo's. Sehun frowns, however, seeing Jongdae poking at Kyungsoo's face with butterfly fingers, whistling touches of alabaster skin, fragmented flits of electricity straining each time Jongdae withdraws his hand. Kyungsoo's hair sticks up haphazardly in varied places and Jongdae's amused at the outcome of his experimentation.

"What are you doing?" Sehun hisses, causing Jongdae to jump and involuntarily send a mild jolt into Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo jerks out of his capsule in a short lived fit of surprise, ultimately dropping to his knees and pulling his arms over his head, petite form trembling. Sehun glares misty icicles at Jongdae while Tao crouches down to tend to Kyungsoo, whom thanks him quietly before sending an aggravated huff towards Jongdae.

"Really, they could have given me any partner, but I end up with one like you. Splendid, absolutely terrific. I really want to know what wrong doings I've done in my life to receive such a curse that has manifested into human form." Kyungsoo sighed, wiping and smoothing down his suit, flattening out whatever creases emerged from his recent drop. Jongdae merely scoffed, walking over to the other and roughly patting him on the back before slinging his arm around Kyungsoo's neck.

"Now, that's not nice to say, Mr. Grumpy bottoms. Are you cranky, dear?" There was a sly smile on Jongdae's face, even as Kyungsoo made some sort of growling sound and shoved himself away from Jongdae.

"Refrain yourself from using pet names, will you? That shows that we are comfortable around one another, and we are not." Kyungsoo sighed, once again smoothing down his suit. Tao had dragged Sehun away to Kris and Chanyeol at this point, leaving Kyungsoo alone with Jongdae.

"I'm not sure if I should feel gross or not." Chanyeol frowned, looking down at himself as his capsule slid shut. Kris quirked an eyebrow in question and Chanyeol smiled at him widely, pearly teeth showing in their full glory. "We haven't bathed in ten years."

Kris' face twisted; a deep frown creating a fissure across his features as his expression slowly evolved into one of disgust. Chanyeol was cackling at this point, sitting down with his knees propped and his head tucked between.

"I need a shower.." Kris mumbled, covering his face with one hand as he walked off towards the entrance. As he walked, Kris turned his head to his right to see Oasis; patches of white, blue and a hint of green littered the planet. He stopped before he reached the exit doors, opting to walk over to the glass to get a clearer view of the alien planet.

"Jongin?" Luhan watched on as Jongin tried prying the lid of the capsule back open, groaning and kicking it in frustration when it wouldn't budge. There was a misty aftermath as Jongin vanished, reappearing inside of the capsule with a wide grin. Luhan was about to say something when the capsule began to shake, instead backing away from it slowly. Jongin began to panic, momentarily forgetting he could have teleported out, and yelped when the lid flew open and the small cot inside burst forward to eject him. Luhan gasped and immediately made a connection with Jongin's body, pulling on the temporary bonds, strings, to prevent him from colliding with the smooth flooring.

"Yah.." Luhan sighs, walking over to Jongin who's hiding behind his palms out of embarrassment at this point. Jongin shuffles away, however, when he feels the other edging closer to him. But.. Luhan's the persistent type and it's not long before he starts to invade Jongin's personal space to get him to come out of his temporary shell of embarrassment. It works, especially when Luhan's cooing to him like a mother does to her baby to get them to be quiet in an airplane full of businessmen trying to catch a break.

Airplanes..

"It felt like I slept for four seconds, not ten years. I want to go back to sleep." Jongin huffed, standing up from his curled up position in order to face Luhan, who had his back turned to everyone else. Luhan's eyes seemingly drifted away from Jongin's figure and down to the floor, gliding over the smooth panels with liquid movement before they snapped back up to him.

"I think that was the point. I mean, who can sleep for ten years? I'd wake up by month three." Luhan supplied, swinging his arms back and forth childishly. Jongin thinks about it, opening his mouth several times with no speech, before he gives up and just sits on the floor. Luhan watches him before looking around for his brother, smiling brightly when he sees Kris still stationed at the windows. The glow from the planet below is reflecting off of his face in pearly exposure and Luhan thinks it suits him.

"Kris," Luhan calls as he leaves Jongin, who watches him walk away, and jogs over to Kris. Kris turns upon hearing his name and immediately outstretches an arm to pull his older brother over to the glass with him as they both peer down at the water globe. "The planet's pretty."

"Too much water. I don't like water. I hope there's land on there." Comes the gruff, pessimistic reply of Chanyeol. He's pouting as he presses his face against the glass like a child, fingers sliding up and down on either side of his face. Luhan wonders what's so bad about the planet being mostly water..

"It's okay, we haven't showered in ten years." Kris retorts and Chanyeol instantly removes his face from the glass, pout increasing with his brows furrowing.

"Are you saying we can only bathe on planets? What about in the spaceship? They should have showers here! What if there are piranhas on that planet? Sharks? Killer whales?!" Chanyeol flails and Kris sighs and slowly covers his face. He should've kept quiet. Chanyeol's little rant is interrupted by the loudspeaker system reading off a pre-recorded message.

"Will all Guardians please report to the Observation Deck. I repeat, will all Guardians please report to the Observation Deck."  Everyone exchanges glances, with the exception of Minseok who leaves the room first, before filing out in a haphazard line. Joonmyeon's biting at his lip and he doesn't keep up with the others until Yixing shoves him ahead for 'being in the way', growling and muttering under his breath after he pushes him away. Joonmyeon merely apologizes meekly before trotting up ahead to Chanyeol. Chanyeol heavily drapes an arm around the shorter male, eyes sneaking a fiery glare towards the so-called healer of the group. Chanyeol doesn't trust him.

Trust is something they desperately need.

The walk to the Observation Deck takes a while, but it's mostly due to them not memorizing the ship's extensive layout. They go down numerous hallways, corridors and open doors to various rooms until Minseok kicks at a door and a service bot decides to drop in and lead them away. Minseok kicks the robot after it opens the door for them and the machine keels down in apology, earning a dictator smirk from the ice-hearted man.

As they enter the room, they are momentarily surprised to see what appears to be a human man sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. Minseok debunks it as a hologram and the man laughs and nods, crediting him for his keen eyes.

"No, it was common sense. No other human boarded this ship and no one's going to take the chance of teleporting through several billion light-years of possibly unstable data," Minseok dismisses and everyone wilts behind him. "Unlike what these buffoons thought." He spits, even towards his own 'comrades'. They say nothing in return.

"Peace, Minseok. Save your anger for later." The holograph chides, crossing its legs and prisming its fingers. "We have arrived at Oasis. And, as you probably have seen, it is covered in mostly water. This is a planet MAMA has given us the coordinates to, but with a blank objective. You must decode what it is she wants you to find." It speaks in a suave male voice. Minseok snorts and rolls his eyes, cocking his head to the side.

"So, we're going down to a planet 'MAMA' gave you directions to? Nothing about it being dangerous, having a hazardous atmosphere, murderous wildlife? Just going to send us away? Sounds great." The man mumbled. The hologram could only chuckle at this, nodding slowly.

"It seems so. But, I don't think MAMA would be sending you off to your deaths. Do you think she'd do that?" The program responded, causing Minseok to cross his arms.

"It's a tree. A tree on a planet billions of galaxies away, you moronic goose gibblet. You tell me what a tree would do." Minseok retorted, growling when a palm landed on his shoulder. Jongdae only shook his head before removing his hand from Minseok's shoulder, the hologram in front of the group humming until Minseok sighs.

"I take it you're not a morning person, Xiumin." The hologram buzzed, Minseok mocking it in a silent matter. "Either way, you all are to descend down on the planet in a scout ship together and find what you need to do. MAMA has informed us you will eventually find what it is you are supposed to do and complete such task. Or tasks. These missions are to ensure you all bond, so no killing each other off down there. You were assembled to be a team, not enemies. You all need the other more than you think." Came the lecture before the Guardians were dismissed.

As they left the observation deck, a drone was there to them quickly to the loading bay where a scout ship was waiting to descend onto the watery planet. They were to pair up with their partners before boarding the ship, the seats in pairs.

" sakes. I don't want to be next to him, can't I switch?" Minseok hissed, narrowing his eyes towards Joonmyeon who could only frown. This was all his fault; if only he hadn't been so cruel to the cheeky male, things wouldn't be like this. When the drone disregarded Minseok's rhetorical request, the ice guardian froze its circuits and kicked it down the hall, the robot slamming and shattering upon impact with the wall. "You piss me off and you'll end up like that piece of tin, you little ." Came the growl directed at Joonmyeon and all the Kellis leader could do was nod in understanding.

The twelve Guardians entered the bay and, as they were previously instructed, split into the designated duos. More were happy to do so than others.

"Hey, Kris, can I ride you?" Kris blinked several times at Chanyeol, face contorting into something akin to disgust. "Not in that way! Look, I don't like water.. And you can fly, right? So can't I just use you as a magic carpet or something? Oh, what about your dragon?! This is a valid reason, come on! You know, because I'm the guardian of fire and the planet's water and I don't think steam is a very good power." Chanyeol rambled and Kris had to pinch his lips shut to prevent himself from going ballistic.

"You are not riding on my back, Chanyeol. I'm sure there's land on the planet somewhere, okay? And even if here isn't, there's bound to be jet skis and whatnot on the scouting ship." Kris relayed, Chanyeol huffing and puffing up his cheeks once he released his lips.

"Yeah, but I'll still get wet on the jet skis! You know, water sprays when you ride those. And that water might be toxic or something, right? And if I get too wet I won't be able to concentrate and if I can't concentrate I can't use my powers and if I can't use my po-"

"Chanyeol!"

"Sorry. I just really don't like water.. Unless I'm drinking it or showering, then it's okay." Chanyeol nodded, a toothy smile ripping his lips apart. Kris could only sigh and pat his partner on the shoulder.

"How do you think the weather will be on the planet? Since it's mostly water, it would be all damp and stuff, right?" Baekhyun muttered, edging towards Yixing who was standing against a wall minding his own business.

"Don't know, don't care. Buzz off." He dismissed, grumbling before ejecting himself off of the wall to head towards the ship that was to descend onto the planet with the Guardians as cargo on a narrow strip of land just below. Baekhyun chewed on his lip as he followed his partner, walking up the stairs to the cockpit.

"You know, we'll have to get along sooner or later. Why not now? Why are you like this, anyway?" Baekhyun pried, brows furrowing as Yixing scowled at him while searching for their designated seats. He didn't answer and Baekhyun sighed, plopping down unceremoniously into his seat. Or, at least he assumed it was his. There was a marking that resembled a sun in a glittering gold imprinted onto the leather of the chair. The chair bound next to his own with an armrest had a green marking of similar size, but the symbol appeared to be a unicorn. "Yi.. Xin- Lay. Lay, your seat is here." Baekhyun called, Yixing turning around from the front of the cockpit towards him.

"A unicorn? Seriously?" Yixing grumbled, rolling his eyes as he sat down next to Baekhyun in his own chair. Though, not wanting to be close to the light user, Yixing scooted away as far as the space would allow him to after he buckled down in the chair. Baekhyun frowned, but otherwise said nothing else.

"Kai-ah." Luhan called, holding out his hand for Jongin to take as he located their seats soon after he walked aboard the ship. Jongin looked at the outstretched hand for a moment before taking it, walking with Luhan to a pair of chairs situated between Baekhyun and Yixing's on their left and another pair on their right. The two sat down quietly and buckled themselves in, falling into a rather peaceful and light conversation once finished.

"Tao, come on. Over here. Yah, Tao," Sehun sighed, knocking on his head lightly as Tao disregarded him completely, looking around at the interior of the ship. "Tao!"

It was at the umpteenth call of his name that Tao turned around to Sehun, a snarky smile on his lips as he casually went over to the seat Sehun was directing him to. "Yes?"

"Why were you ignoring me?" Sehun grumbled, settling himself down in the leather chair with a frown on his face. Tao just shrugged and leaned over to buckle Sehun down in his chair, the younger biting back a growl. "."

"Sit down, buckle up and don't say a damn thing to me." Minseok hissed, shoving Joonmyeon forward to the pair of chairs nestled in the very front of the cockpit. Joonmyeon stumbled lightly, grabbing onto the chair for support before nodding, lips sealed as he sat down in what he assumed to be his seat. With a water droplet containing an intricate design, it was bound to be his seat. Minseok sat down with a gruff in his own chair, an ice crystal adorning the leather finish.

Joonmyeon buckled up with a small sigh fleeting his lips, mind going elsewhere as he stared blankly ahead out of the glass.

"Your symbol looks pretty cool. Like one of those Aztec or Mayan things." Jongin pointed out, Luhan leaning forward to turn around and look at it. His eyes crinkled up into a smile before he gently moved Jongin forward. 

"I like yours, too. Who do you think designed them?" It wasn't an actual question directed towards Jongin, but he figured he'd answer it anyway to avoid a random silence.

"Maybe it was a contest on earth for kids of all ages," Jongin suggested, Luhan humming before looking up at the ceiling. "Or maybe they came from MAMA."

"What do you think MAMA is like, anyway?" Luhan continued on, Jongin sitting back in his chair again.

"I don't know. We know it's a tree, but.. That's it. You know, I read a story a long time ago about MAMA, but I can't remember all of the details right now." Jongin mumbled, arms crossing atop his chest as Luhan sat back in his chair.

"Something about powers being split or something? My mom used to read me that book all the time.." Luhan whispered, eyes closing with a light sigh. Jongin lightly patted his shoulder.

"It looks like a whirlpool."

"It's a tornado."

"Whirlpool."

"It's a tornado!" Sehun bit out, Tao snickering behind his fist. Sehun then forcefully moved Tao forward and rapped on the symbol embellished onto his chair. "At least mine doesn't look like a lopsided bowtie."

"What? It does not! It's an hourglass." Tao defended, Sehun shaking his head.

"Bowtie."

"Hourglass! You can see the sand. See? Yours looks like a whirlpool." The two bickered back and forth in rapid succession before Minseok snapped, hissing at them to shut up.

"Krissy, look. These must be out seats. See? That symbol is on the back of your hand and the Phoenix has this symbol on her chest." Chanyeol pointed out, moving towards the set of chairs on the right side of the middle row. Kris frowned, however, as he followed his partner.

"Did you just call me Krissy?" He asked, Chanyeol cocking his head up at him with an innocent expression once he sat down.

"No, why would I call you that?" Chanyeol asked, looking down to buckle himself into his seat. "Do you want me to call you that?"

"No," Kris sighed, settling down next to Chanyeol in his seat. "I just thought I heard you say it, that's all." Chanyeol shrugged, a goofy smile erupting on his lips not a moment later as he began laughing, Kris slapping at his arm.

"Come on, give me another chance." Jongdae pleaded, following Kyungsoo like a kicked puppy to the last remaining pair of empty seats. Kyungsoo simply ignored him, however, and sat down in the chair with the symbol of something that looked akin to a demon. Jongdae peered at it before it was obscured from sight and sighed, looking at the remaining symbol in sight. A scorpion. "We're supposed to bond, baby boy~" Jongdae cooed as he sat down and invaded Kyungsoo's personal space.

"Jongdae," Kyungsoo growled, hand whipping up to clutch the others chin. "You're annoying me. I do not wish to converse with you at this time. Please, find something else to do lest I do something I'll regret." Kyungsoo snarled lowly, Jongdae nodding quickly in rapid succession before Kyungsoo let him go. Jongdae rotated his jaw with a slight pout before sitting back in his chair.

There was a motorized hiss as the airtight doors locked, the bay sinking into a murky darkness as the ship droned to life. Fantastic rays of light flooded over the guardians as the ship was slowly ejected out of the main ship's bay.

"Descending in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Please hold on while the ship is descending onto Oasis. Remain calm and in your seats as turbulence is expected once atmospheric breach is attained. Enjoy your trip." A female voice droned as the scouting ship fell lifelessly from the main ship. A few seconds passed before the boosters kicked in, the ship turning to nosedive directly towards the planet.

"No, no, no. Too much water, I want to go back home. Get me off of this ride!" Chanyeol shrieked, slender fingers clutching onto Kris' attire. Kris could only shake his head as Chanyeol buried his face into his arm.

With a harsh jolt, the ship blasted off towards the water planet, boosters engaging and amping up power in order to break the atmospheric shell, high clouds swallowing the ship into a serene blue before dissipating, breaking away in violent bursts. The rockets simultaneously disengaged, the front brakes kicking into action as flames engulfed the nose of the ship. Minseok watched boredly as the sight of a lush and green patch of land grew increasingly bigger as they approached it. Joonmyeon swallowed, nails scratching at his arm rest.

There was a loud click as the water landing gear activated, the ship lowering into a horizontal placement and the flames burning out. A splash of water slapped the windshields of the ship as it landed on the water, just on the edge of the land.

"Check atmosphere." Kyungsoo called out, unbuckling himself from his seat. A probe was shot out from the ship and, a few seconds later, returned.

"Earth like atmosphere recorded, non-toxic. Oxygen renewals still suggested." The probe sounded off. As if on cue, panels in front of each male opened on the floor, orbs floating up to eye levels before opening with a hiss. Inside of the orbs were utility belts stocked with small disks that contained a viscous honey colored fluid and an earpiece. Kyungsoo was the first to place the items on, the others following suit after unbuckling.

"Check water and signs of wildlife." Kyungsoo ordered, two separate probes ejecting from the ship. One dove into the water and the other sent several dark green beams in all directions overhead.

"Download maps." Minseok ordered out, tapping his receiver once he got it on. Lights flashed on each of their earpieces as virtual interactive maps were displayed in front of them. Minseok cracked his knuckles. "There's a large island with a large hill, plateau possibly, 32 kilometers north east from our position. We'll head there first and see what we can find." Minseok continued, pushing out his map and enlarging it so the others could see. With a nod from the other guardians, Minseok tapped his receiver and retrieved an oxygen renewal from his belt.

"Life signs detected, life signs detected. Sizes and hostility vary, please proceed with utmost caution. Air, land and sea life signs were detected. Highest density on land were reptilian and beast, mammal types. Aquatic and aero detected in high density in air. Aquatic, beast and reptilian in equal density in sea. Intelligence unable to record." The probe broadcasted, each guardian looking at the other with mixed emotions.

"Water temperature recorded at 23.8°C. High oxygen levels." Came the second announcement from the second probe and Kyungsoo sighed.

"Whatever. We can't get scared about it. The faster we find out what that overgrown root wants us to do, the faster we can leave. Let's go." Minseok grumbled, leaving the ship. The rest of the guardians following suit after using an oxygen renewal.

-Sneak peek at next week's chapter! (Honestly, it'll be next week. It's already written up.)

"Minseok!" Joonmyeon cried, nails digging into the soft rock of the cliff he was dangling from. "Help me, please!"

Minseok merely stood over Joonmyeon, eyes narrowed and arms folded over his chest. As a roar erupted from the angry tides below, Minseok slowly placed a boot over Joonmyeon's hands. Another roar and a large beast opened its gaping jaws, several rows of rotating and jagged teeth ending in a grisly abyss surfaced to snap at Joonmyeon. Joonmyeon shook his head rapidly, calls from Luhan ringing in the distance.

"You're destined to stay here Joonmyeon, don't you understand?" Minseok smiled, crouching down to get close to Joonmyeon's face. As tears surged from the water guardians face, Minseok froze them with an icy hand to Joonmyeon's cheek.

"Minseok, please.. D-don't do this, I'm begging you! I shouldn't have done what I did years ago, I'm sorry! Just let us work things out!" Joonmyeon whimpered, the beast leaping from the water to snap at his heels. Minseok only laughed darkly, digging the ball of his boot and grinding it down on Joonmyeon's hand.

"Of course you're sorry. But when I begged and pleaded you to stop, did you listen? Huh?! Or did you continue to make my life a miserable hell?! You bastard, get out of my life!" Minseok snapped, kicking Joonmyeon's hands off of the ledge. Joonmyeon cried loudly as he fell, the beast's jaws opening wide in invitation..