「 hopefully 」
Legends: The Chosen TwelveD.O. moaned as Kai kissed down his neck, ing forward once experimentally, only to have the elder moan louder and tighten his legs around the younger’s waist, again. They moved in sync, groaning as they felt the couch move under them. All of a sudden, D.O. felt a shift in the air before he softly sighed at feeling a soft mattress come up under them. He moved his fingers to tangle in the back of Kai’s shirt to tug it off of him–
Kai yelped.
“If you’re going to intensely make out with someone, do so where you won’t teleport and have an audience surrounding you when you land.”
Kai growled, putting his weight on his elbow to look around where he accidentally teleported them to see Chen waving unabashedly with Xiumin’s ice blue eyes staring straight at them. D.O. looked around in a daze, only recognizing Baekhyun’s hunched over form with white wings behind him. “Baekhyun?”
“What do you need, dear? I’m a bit busy right now,” the other muttered out, flipping another page of his stack of papers, “The wings behind me are Kris’, and he is currently sitting next to me trying to figure out what I am doing.” He briefly looked up at him, and then back down. “Continue with your make-out session. Do not have on Tao’s bed.”
The teleportation user groaned, falling back onto the bed and feeling the ice on his back melt before D.O. unknowingly put his head on the younger’s shoulder and snuggled in close to him. Kai smiled. “Where are Suho and Tao?” His eyes fluttered shut when he felt fluttering kisses all over his neck from his calling’s soft lips.
“I haven’t seen you this affectionate in a long time, Soo,” Baekhyun offhandedly commented as Kris perked his head up to look at his friend, completely confused.
“You’re here?”
Xiumin sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall, as Chen lied back on his side, his head on the ice user’s lap. “They went to deliver your message to our people.”
Kai hummed, letting D.O. continue his ministrations, “‘Soo.’” He felt the elder shudder against him before he smiled, “That’s not your full name.” D.O. simply hummed in return, moving up to leave a hickey under Kai’s right ear. His breath hitched at the action.
“Suho and Tao should be back soon,” Baekhyun muttered out, seeming to read Kai’s scattered thoughts. He seemed to be good at that. “They left a few minutes ago.”
“Hopefully they’ll be back soon,” Xiumin mumbled as he played with Chen’s hair, “We also haven’t seen Chanyeol, Sehun, Luhan, or Lay.”
“I’m pretty sure my best friend was too busy getting The Flame into his pants,” Kai breathlessly laughed out, tilting his head to give D.O. a kiss when he felt the other peppering kisses along his jawline.
Baekhyun scoffed, watching with a critical eye as Kris picked up the recent paper he placed on the finished stack and tried to understand what he just did on it, “Knowing my friend – proba-” His eyes widened as a beam of light suddenly shot out from his chest, scaring Kris into moving his right wing to protect himself from the sudden attack.
Everybody jumped up, looking up with wide eyes as the ball of light settled itself in the center of the room before speeding off through the walls to go somewhere else. D.O. looked shocked as he looked to his friend, both of them staring at each other and then at the burnt hole in Baekhyun’s shirt, before jumping off the bed to head for the door. Baekhyun scrambled up after him, as Kris looked around confused with the other Night warriors looking the same.
Kai moved first as he teleported to the doorway and looked around before following his calling and Baekhyun down the hallway. Xiumin, Chen, and Kris looked at each other again before scrambling to do the same.
“Where is it going, Baekhyun?!” D.O. shouted as they hurried down steps and hallways to get outside.
“I don’t know! We need to get the others too! Especially Lay!”
“Kai!” the earth user called out, knowing the other four men were following them.
Kai immediately stopped running, looking forward as he watched each of his friends run ahead of him. “I’m going to Lay first before Sehun!”
“Find me!”
Kai nodded as he closed his eyes and expanded his power, searching for the silvery-white glow he knew was Lay’s. Once he found it, he immediately opened his eyes and teleported. He quickly scanned the room to see Lay still in bed and the room smell like – he scrunched his nose – “Did you and telekinesis man have in here?”
Lay flinched, lifting up his head to look over his shoulder and glare at his intruder. “Why are you here, dark knight?”
The other lifted a brow, thinking about the new title. “Dark knight, huh?”
“Why are you here?” Lay questioned again, turning around and sitting up this time to look at the other. His brows furrowed, “Does this have to do with Luhan?” He felt the other kiss him gently on the lips one last time before leaving the room. He figured it was to check on the land again.
Kai’s eyes suddenly widened, remembering why he was there, “Is he not around here?” He looked around the room before lowering his voice. “This bright light emitted itself from Baekhyun’s chest. D.O. told me to come get you immediately.”
Lay’s eyes widened, quickly looking down to the bracelet he was wearing before jumping out of bed to get dressed. “We have to leave,” he looked up to Kai who was looking out of the window out of courtesy for the man, “It’s not too late. You have to get whoever is already not down there where Baekhyun is and bring them there.”
The other looked back at him and nodded, “You will go by yourself? I will go ahead and find Chanyeol and Sehun.”
“I’m on my way there,” Lay hurriedly said, fumbling his way to the door while putting on his shirt correctly.
Kai hummed, closing his eyes and quickly finding Sehun’s energy source before disappearing.
“Tell Chanyeol we need him as soon as possible.”
Kai frowned, seeing the two disfigured lumps on the bed in the dimly lit room. He rolled his eyes when he heard his best friend let out a soft snore before walking over to the curtains and drawing them open. “Sunshine!” he sang out, banging his hands on the wall while walking over to the bed, “Get up, rainbow puke!”
“Oh dear spirits, Kai,” Sehun instantly grumbled out, sending a gust of wind to try and push his best friend away. It didn’t succeed.
“How did you get in here?” Chanyeol rasped out, both of them keeping their eyes closed to the light trying to push its way through their eyelids, “Get out, warrior.”
“Sehun’s one too,” Kai simply responded back. He stood by the bed, arms crossed, as he stared down at them. “Lay and D.O. told me to come get you.” He answered the inquisitive gaze from the fire user with a shrug. “Light burst from Baekhyun’s chest and Luhan wasn’t with Lay when I told him.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widened in surprise, “What?!”
Sehun flinched as the elder let go of him to start dressing himself as quickly as his long limbs could. He peeked up at him from under the comforter. “Chanyeol?”
The elder quickly turned to him and uncovered him enough to place a kiss on his lips. He smiled softly down at him before rushing to exit the room. “Your mission starts now, zephyr.” He took a brief moment to look at Kai, “Make sure he stays safe until one of your other friends comes to stay with him. Otherwise, hurry down there before someone dies.”
The other two men’s eyes widened before Kai looked to Sehun, door slamming in the background. They looked at each other briefly before the elder nodded, “I’ll bring Chen up here, and then Xiumin.” He looked back at the door before closing his eyes to find his friends. “Lock the door, and stay safe.”
Sehun watched as his best friend disappeared before concentrating his power into locking the door inside the doorknob itself. He looked around, taking a minute to stare outside the window, until Kai came back with Chen dry-heaving on the ground. He immediately got out of the bed, dragging the covers with him, to get to his other friend.
He looked up when Kai grabbed his hand, “What?” He was taken aback by the soft smile the other gave him.
“Take care. Stay safe, Sehunnie. Be careful all of you.”
Kai looked to Chen who was trying to look up at him too. He smiled at them both before taking a step back from them.
“I’ll see you in a few.”
A mist of black smoke suddenly appeared in the teleportation user’s place.
“That jerk,” Sehun laughed in disbelief, moving to help Chen up, “What an incredibly stupid jerk.” Both of them smiled softly at each other before they looked to the closed door behind them.
“He better live.”
xxx
“Amber! We got it here!” Baekhyun yelled out, dancing around Luna’s passed out form in the middle courtyard, “Get Luna out of here!”
“Well,” Amber muttered as she kept looking back and forth between her opponent and Luna, “At least we know the items Lay gave us worked.” She sighed as D.O. stood in front of her and erected a wall of earth between them and the queen, “I’ll get Luna out of here. Don’t die!”
D.O. scoffed as he kicked the wall through only to have Luhan shield the queen, “You don’t die, extraordinaire.”
Amber laughed as she ran behind Kris to quickly gather Luna up in her arms and get her to safety. Baekhyun growled as he stared down Luhan, not needing to cover Luna anymore, “Why are you protecting the queen when she tried to kill Luna?!” He looked to the queen next to the other, “What were you trying to accomplish?! You are our queen! You are sworn to protect your people!”
Xiumin quickly turned and put a thin shield of ice in front of Baekhyun just as D.O. erected another earth wall behind the ice. Baekhyun glared as D.O. slowly put it down, the ice shattering in front of him. “Your plan to end me is with a knife, my queen? Surely I deserve a harsher death.”
“Mother!” Lay yelled out as he ran into the courtyard with Chanyeol right behind him, “What in all spirits’ name are you doing?!” He held out a hand towards Luhan before his eyes started to glow, “You make one move, Luhan, and you will be invalid.”
“Where is that teleportation user?!” the queen yelled back, moving around Luhan’s still form, “How long have each of you known about him?! Are you trying to ruin our land?!”
“What did you do to Luhan?” Lay demanded, trying to step closer to them so he could touch his love. His eyes hardened when he saw Luhan’s conflicted look before he became impassive again.
“I did nothing, my son-”
“I am not your son, queen.”
The queen laughed, sound bitter to all those who heard it. “Oh, but you wish dearly I was your mother. I am your mother, Yixing,” she smiled eerily at him, “Simply one you never envisioned of having.”
“You are related to me by blood, but by no means are you my mother. You never nurtured or treated me as one of your own unlike father.” Lay paused for a brief second, returning his gaze to Luhan. “What did you do to him?” he questioned, raising his voice in frustration and anger.
“Luhan,” Chanyeol called out quickly, earning the other’s attention, “Come back over here, my friend.”
Xiumin and Kris heard the signature crackle of Kai arriving before seeing the smoke disperse around them. The queen and Luhan shifted their gazes to him immediately before she spoke. “See, my dear Luhan? This man has turned almost all of our soldiers against us – your dear friends.” She smiled. “It’s only right we turn him against his own people.” She turned to Kai, “Will you fight us?”
Kai smirked from between his friends, “Depends on who will be fighting me, queen.”
Chanyeol quickly looked to Luhan, Lay still looking at the latter and holding his hand out towards him. “Luhan,” the fire user softly said again, trying to coax him back to their side, “Luhan, come over here.”
“Love,” Lay tried next, moving his hand towards his mother instead, “Han. What did she do to you? Are you willing to fight me next?” Luhan looked troubled as his eyes kept flickering back and forth between everybody before settling on Lay’s unmoving, unblinking form. “Lu Han.”
“My prince,” Luhan softly started out, still sounding uncertain.
Baekhyun looked between all of them, trying to formulate a plan where nobody died and Lay could heal Luna. He looked to the person closest to him, who happened to be Kris, before slowly trying to get his attention.
Chanyeol eyed his best friend before looking to the queen, “Please help me, teleportation user.” The other side-eyed him quickly, waiting for him to ask what he needed help with. “Queen,” Chanyeol started off, taking a step towards her, only to hiss when the queen threw her second knife at him. Luhan looked at her with wide eyes as the fire user grabbed the knife from his shoulder and threw it on the ground, flames immediately erupting on his shoulder as he continued his speech. “You were truly from the Land of Night, the land of one. Our mighty guard knows this information as well; however, there was one fact we could not figure out, queen,” he paused, looking back to Kai briefly, “Why was your family exiled from the true land? What made your family so impure to have been casted out?”
The Night warriors’ eyes widened at the information. Kris looked back to Kai in surprise before finally noticing Baekhyun looking determinedly at him on his other side. His brow furrowed as he looked at the shorter man. In that instant, Baekhyun started harshly whispering to him his own little plan.
“Queen,” Chanyeol softly said, taking slow steps towards her while he healed himself, “I beg for an answer from you.”
The queen sneered before looking around at all the other users around her. She settled her gaze on her son. “I gave you a pleasant life with a wonderful man who could become one of the most powerful kings in the land, and you grow up to be as kind as those monsters from the other land.” Luhan snapped his head towards the queen; the queen looked back at him. “I apologize, sir Chanyeol.”
Luhan looked straight at Kai before running across the field for him. Lay moved at the same time only to be pulled out of the way by Chanyeol who flew forward to suffer the slash directed at her own son.
The queen growled, angry that their Phoenix took the blow instead, “All my family did was try to assert themselves into their right power.” She scowled, turning around and entering into a one-on-one battle with her guard’s right-hand man. “Have you truly turned your back on me and your best friend? What is it to you about these heartless men?”
“Now!” Baekhyun yelled as Kris nodded in confusion, immediately flying forward and capturing Luhan in a tight hug.
Lay frowned, thrown onto the ground by the force of Chanyeol’s pull, only to look up wide-eyed at Kris and Luhan before turning his head to look at Chanyeol trying to hold back his mother. He quickly regained his senses when he saw his mother stab his friend through his stomach, immediately getting onto his feet to catch his friend before Baekhyun rushed forward to attack the queen himself.
“It was not in your or your family’s place to do so,” Chanyeol spat out, flames appearing all over his back and stomach to heal himself. Lay hissed as he used his own healing powers to prevent himself from suffering severe burns as he kept his friend upright. He looked over to his boyfriend to see him a hands-width away from touching Kai.
“Luhan,” Kris whispered, trying to push back the telekinesis user away from his friend. He side-eyed Xiumin, trying to tell him and D.O. to get Kai far away from them. He didn’t get a chance to see Luhan close his eyes at the sound of his name coming out of the flight user’s mouth. “Do not do this, telekinesis user.”
Luhan’s eyes flew open, growling as he tried to fight his way out of the other’s hold, “Let go of me, Kris!” D.O. looked at him surprised, wondering why the guard suddenly called out the other by his name and not by his power.
“Luhan!” Kris shouted out as he started to flap his wings to get them off the ground, “What are you trying to accomplish by doing this?!” He looked to Lay for help who immediately offered it.
“Luhan! Please rethink your plan! They have done us no harm!”
The telekinesis user’s eyes started to glow more than normal, yelling as he expended his power more and was able to throw Kris off. He looked to Kai whose eyes widened when he noticed the specks flowing around in his irises before he realized the elder was going for him. His eyes immediately yx as he started to distort the space-time around himself.
“Move, Kai!” Xiumin shouted out, D.O. encasing his calling in an earthen box while the elder ran in front of it to intercept Luhan’s attack. He shouted in pain when he suffered a harsh punch to the abdomen before his vision blanked out completely, eyes simply glowing. Lay’s eyes widened at the sudden change in demeanor for the ice user before quickly letting go of Chanyeol to try and touch Luhan to drain his energy.
“Love!”
He hissed when his hand was suddenly encased in ice, immediately turning to see Xiumin staring straight at him as Luhan encased Kris in an invisible cage and brought him back to the ground. D.O’s eyes widened in shock, defensive stance natural, as Kai teleported out of the earthen box to stand behind him. He looked to Xiumin a few feet away from him tentatively, “Xiumin?”
Kai followed his calling’s gaze before reaching out to grab him and teleport to the other side of a struggling Kris. They both looked on in shock as a large patch of ice covered where D.O. once stood.
“Luhan! Let me go!” Kris yelled, fighting his own battle as he tried to fight his way out of the invisible barrier. He growled, flecks swirling, “Luhan!”
“Shut up!” Luhan shouted back, wincing when he tried to close his hand more. He turned back to Xiumin’s unmoving form, commanding him – “Freeze him to the core.”
Xiumin turned to face Kris, slowly lifting his hand up. Everybody looked at him in surprise except the queen as she took her chance to try and finally kill Chanyeol. Kris looked at his friend and comrade in disbelief, grunting when he started feeling cold from the inside out. “Luhan!” D.O. and Lay yelled out desperately, the latter flinching when his feet were simply frozen to the ground while the former was teleported to another area to avoid being frozen.
Kai watched with worried, completely dark eyes, quickly uttering, “You cannot do that, sir guard.” He flinched when he was shoved backwards before he stood his ground and teleported back to his spot next to D.O. “You kill Kris, you kill yourself.”
Lay, Luhan, and D.O. looked at him, wondering why in the world he said that. “Queen!” Chanyeol suddenly rasped out, completely engulfing himself in flames as he tried to fly away from her. The prince looked to him immediately, eyes filling with worry as he tried to get his feet out of the ice. He turned to Kai in desperation. “Please! Kai!”
Kai looked to him then before looking down to D.O. “You cannot kill him, Luhan,” he called out again before receiving the silent okay from his calling. He teleported next to the telekinesis user, “If you kill Kris,” he didn’t want to see his friends’ deaths, “You will kill yourself.”
Luhan ignored the sting in his chest as Kris started gasping for air. He growled, reaching out and ensuring a tight grip around the teleportation user’s neck, “What do you know?”
The other laughed weakly, D.O. panting and trying to fight through the invisible barrier to get to Kris, “My calling can feel my pain. You should be able to as well.”
“Nonsense,” Luhan muttered darkly, bright eyes boring into Kai’s dark ones. His body started to emanate a similar glow to when he showed Lay past memories, watching as the glow started to envelope Kai’s body this time. He slowly smirked as he watched Kai’s eyes slowly turn bright lavender like his own and Xiumin’s. “I do not have a calling.”
xxx
Suho and Tao walked in silence as they ventured throughout the castle back to the latter’s room, looking at everything that was frozen in time. The former wasn’t surprised that his parents and Kai’s father knew something bad was going to happen. It was just a matter of time. They were prepared to fight one of their own.
“Is that the maid who is usually cleaning the common rooms?” Suho softly questioned, wondering why another female was carrying her bridal style. His eyes widened at the blood frozen in thin air before hitting the ground. “Tao.”
Tao hummed as they heard a crackle before turning to their side to see Kai standing there, shocked as they were. His eyes widened, “How did you do that?”
“Tao?” Kai questioned in disbelief. He looked around to see everything frozen as well, “Where- How?”
The other shook his head, not knowing the answer himself. Suho shook his arm to get his attention. “Tao, that maid is bleeding.”
The time user whipped his head around, the complete opposite direction from Kai, before he ran in her direction. “Teleportation user,” he called out, “I will return time. Go fight the impending war.”
Kai looked at him worriedly before looking to Suho. “We’ll be fine,” the latter murmured before turning to go after Tao. The younger watched as everything around them slowly started to return back to normal.
“Sehun is with Chen in Chanyeol’s room. Re-group with him because I may not be coming back.”
Suho whipped his head around only to find wisps of black smoke in place of his longtime friend. “Tao! Luna-!” the moving female exclaimed, half in surprise, half in relief, “We need Lay or another medic who knows how to use his herbs!”
“What happened to her, Amber?” Tao quickly questioned, taking Luna from her to quickly run up to Chanyeol’s room.
Amber looked back at Suho in slight confusion before she followed after them, wondering why they were heading away from Lay’s medic room. “She was walking around outside, looking up at all the rooms while also tending to some of the plants.” She looked around quickly conspiratorially before whispering. “The queen questioned her on the whereabouts of the man named Kai and subsequently attacked her.” She held up her head higher as Tao instructed Suho to bang on the door so they could hide. “The necklace Baekhyun and Lay gave us lit up and signaled to Baekhyun that she was in danger,” she looked down at the necklace glinting through Luna’s torn shirt, “The healing effects haven’t kicked in yet. I assume she is in stable condition otherwise.”
“Dammit, Sehun! Let us in!” Suho yelled out in frustration, banging some more. He looked over his shoulder to see the girl barely breathing. He looked up at Tao, “I need more water to be able to heal her. She might simply bleed out if Lay’s item doesn’t start working soon.”
Amber looked at him completely surprised, quickly pushing them in when the door opened. Once the door was shut securely behind them and locked, she looked back to Suho who was quickly moving into the bathroom to find a bowl for water. “He’s a healer?”
Tao nodded, quickly following after the other, “Can we simply lay her in the bathtub full of water? Will that increase the healing process?”
“What’s going on?” Chen mumbled as he watched all of them with wide eyes. Sehun was already worrying his bottom lip.
Suho looked back to Tao as if he just solved every puzzle in the world. He nodded frantically, turning on the tub full blast. “Yes. Yes, that will fasten the process.” He looked to Chen and Sehun behind Amber. “The queen attacked her trying to find out where Kai was located.”
Amber looked at all of them confused before throwing it all to the wind and sitting by the tub beside her best friend. She reached out to pull her hair back from her face, “Luna.”
Looking on, Sehun frowned, turning back to Chen to yank him out of the bathroom. He looked down to his friend who was still staring worriedly at the others, a soft blue glow emanating from the tub as Suho tried to heal the girl. “Chen, we need a vantage point to see where the battle is taking place.”
“What?” the other muttered out, turning his head to look at him, “Why?”
“Or we need to hide until we know where everyone is.”
A furrow appeared between Chen’s brows. “What are you talking about, Sehun?”
The younger winced when he felt a prick run along his entire body. “Chanyeol told me I have to stop the battle and protect their prince if he can’t do it.” He watched as Chen started to look more confused than ever. He sighed, leaning down to gently place his forehead on top of his friend’s. “Chen,” he softly said, trying to make the elder understand, “We were dragged into this battle before we were even born it seems like. Chanyeol trusts me enough to help him protect his land even though our land might not even survive the day.” He took a deep breath, eyes unknowingly shifting to show the specks swirling. Chen continued to look just as confused, wondering why they suddenly changed. “He told me to end the queen if they cannot- ugh!”
Chen’s eyes widened as he gasped, taking a step back to catch Sehun’s body as the younger suddenly grimaced in pain, curling in on himself to try and lessen it. “Sehun?!” He fell to the ground at the younger’s dead weight as he looked with wild eyes to Tao, who looked back at him in curiosity. He looked back down to see sweat breaking out all over the younger’s body accompanied by harsh breathing, “Sehun?”
Sehun struggled to breathe, scrunched face trying to relax.
“Sehun!” Chen tried again, turning him over with difficulty to gently card his fingers through his hair and get him to come back to him, “Sehun, what happened?” He looked up when he saw Tao in his peripheral vision. “Suho! Something’s wrong with Sehun!”
“Nothing is wrong with him,” Tao softly said, crouching down to run a soothing hand down Sehun’s face. He looked up at the lightning user’s panic-stricken face, “Something is wrong with Chanyeol.”
“Ch-Chan…”
Chen looked down to Sehun, worry and elder brother instincts kicking in, “Sehun. What do you feel? Can you feel where he is?” He looked back up to see Suho looking at him with worry etched onto his face. “Don’t worry.” He turned to Tao before he tried to get up without the younger. “I need to make sure the other is alive. I need to bring them together.”
Sehun’s hand shot out to wrap around his ankle. Chen and Tao looked down in surprise. “N-No…” he whispered out, opening up an eye to stare at his friend, “H-Help me… Help me up.”
The eldest instantly bent down, helping the youngest sit up. “You can’t even move, Sehun. His injuries must be extreme for you to be in so much pain.”
Sehun shook his head, trying to regulate his breathing as he started to feel warm all over. “You can’t… go to him.” He closed his eyes, taking in deep, even breaths, “I have to keep up my end of the plan.” He looked to Tao then, “If you don’t mind, Tao, I need to know where Xiumin, Lay, and Baekhyun are. I’m assuming Baekhyun is fine though.”
Tao barely nodded as he looked to each of them before going to the door and cautiously leaving the room. The other two watched him leave, Chen letting Sehun lean against him as he continued to card his fingers through his hair. “You feel warm, Sehunnie,” the elder murmured, pressing a kiss to his temple, “He’s healing himself, isn’t he?”
The younger softly smiled, leaning more into the comforting gesture, eyes closed. “Yeah. He is.”
Suddenly, a startled shriek echoed throughout the room, jolting both of them into falling back onto the floor, little sparks of electricity dancing across Chen’s fingertips. “Luna! It’s fine!” Amber immediately shouted after. The other two lifted their heads up confused only to see Suho stumbling out of the bathroom, completely soaked and eyes wide in shock.
They all stared at each other, before they burst into laughter, Sehun and Chen falling on top of each other again. “You did a great job healing her, Suho,” the latter laughed out, trying to look around the water user to see Amber giving them an apologetic smile before literally kicking Suho out of the bathroom so Luna could properly redress in whatever they could find in there.
“Tha- Ow!”
xxx
“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol called out, circling the sky before holding his hands out to create a circle of fire around the queen, Xiumin, and Luhan who was still holding onto Kai. D.O. hissed when the fire nicked both him and Kris before the latter was suddenly released. Baekhyun jumped away from the queen just in time to avoid being burnt.
“What?!” the other shouted back, panting as he kept his eyes solely on the queen whose glowing eyes stared him down.
“Get Lay out of here!”
“No!” the queen shouted out, quickly diverting her gaze to the man flying high above them.
Lay looked at them in shock, the ring of fire stunning him. His gaze rapidly shot side to side, trying to take in everything at once. He wasn’t made to fight. He wasn’t made to fight his own people. He wasn’t even sure how the events escalated to this extreme measure. He wasn’t even sure how Luhan him so easily in an hour flat.
“Baekhyun!” D.O. shouted out, stomping his foot to disrupt the ice connecting the prince’s feet to the ground, “Now!”
Baekhyun growled, shooting a light beam right through the fire to try and injure the queen, before running around to try and get Lay out of there. Luhan simply shielded the queen before connecting eyes with Lay as the light user tried to drag him away, their bond of trust easily and completely breaking with one look. He looked slightly apologetic before his gaze hardened again, a bright flash of blue light surrounding them as Xiumin overpowered the fire with his ice.
D.O. continued to watch Baekhyun, creating barriers for them whenever Xiumin shot ice shards at their backs. Luhan looked to him and then Kris. “Kai,” he simply called out.
The other obliged obediently, teleporting in front of the earth user only to grab his neck and lift him off of the ground. The elder gasped in surprise, eyes wide as he tried to fight off the tight grip. “Kai!”
Kris growled, looking to Luhan before hearing Baekhyun scream when an ice shard embedded itself into his back. He quickly turned back to Kai before spinning and kicking him in the side. He cursed when Kai simply teleported at the split second contact. “Let him go, Kai!” he yelled, looking up to Chanyeol, “Burn them!”
Chanyeol looked down at him conflicted. His image distorted into what appeared to be a human-sized flaming bird. He looked to Luhan who wasn’t even looking at him before looking to Kai and D.O. next to a fighting Kris. He had no problems hurting the teleportation user.
Hissing at the sudden heat and fall to the ground, D.O. tumbled backwards into Kris’ arms who immediately scooped him up into his arms and flew off. D.O. stared worriedly into Kai’s bright, blank stare, whispering “Jongin” as they escalated further into the sky.
Kai didn’t flinch at all, not looking up, before turning to teleport back beside Luhan. The latter continued to watch Kris and the earth user depart, ignoring all turbulent feelings in his chest before turning around to face the queen. “This ice user was not a part of the plan, my queen.”
The queen scowled, looking at the obedient, shorter male. She looked up to the sky to see Chanyeol still circling them before flying off. She sighed, turning on her heels to go into her main office, butlers and maids quickly dispersing to not get caught up in the fight and die an early death, “Follow me. We will commence the plan with or without Chanyeol. The ice user will take his place. His power is just as effective.”
Luhan nodded as he commanded both Kai and Xiumin to follow after the queen. Once they entered the castle again, any and all staff unknowingly walking through the halls immediately paused in their steps. He swore he saw a glimpse of Tao standing in the middle of the hallway before he was gone as fast as he saw him.
“Think wisely of your choices, Head Guard.”
xxx
Tao winced as he felt a sharp pain in his back again before he waited a few more minutes until he froze time once more. He quickly looked up and down the halls before going down another one to find both Baekhyun and Lay wearing hurt expressions on their faces. His eyes widened as he immediately ran to them, returning time only to touch their arms and freeze it again. “Baekhyun,” he breathed out, arms automatically wrapping around the smaller frame as he gently touched the ice shard sticking out of his back, “Love.”
Baekhyun weakly hit his hands away, trying to stabilize Lay instead, “Worry about our prince first, Zitao.”
The time user looked him in the eye before obliging, moving around him to pick up Lay bridal style before hurrying up to Chanyeol’s room. He frowned hearing Baekhyun whimper behind him, before he felt something ice cold hit his chest. He looked down surprised to see Lay’s right hand completely encased in ice. “Don’t worry about it,” the prince muttered, mind still a complete blur on what just happened.
It took a few more minutes before they made it to their destination and Tao returned time. He quickly brought him in, making a beeline for Chanyeol’s bed. “Suho,” he called out, turning around to immediately open up his arms for Baekhyun to fall into them. He winced when he touched the ice, accidentally aggravating the wound. Sehun and Chen instantly scrambled up to flank the bed, the former sending a huge gust of wind towards Suho to mostly dry him off.
“Stop,” Baekhyun demanded weakly, closing his eyes, “It hurts.”
Suho flinched at seeing the ice in the light user’s back before involuntarily shivering at seeing Lay’s feet and hand covered in ice. He looked over his shoulder before reaching out and laying a hand on the ice shard on Baekhyun’s shoulder. His eyes turned vividly blue as Tao watched with critical eyes while the ice shard slowly started to melt under Suho’s touch.
Once it was gone and Baekhyun was breathing easier, Suho instantly looked back to Lay whose eyes were half-open, seemingly lost to everything around them. “Prince Lay,” Chen softly said, reaching out to grab the prince’s good hand. A gentle smile formed on his lips as the prince squeezed his hand in return.
Sehun waited until Suho started melting the ice on Lay’s body before softly breaking the silence. He looked as solemn as the day Kai’s mother died. “Where is Xiumin, Prince Lay?”
Lay’s gaze flickered down to Sehun’s grave one, barely uttering out, “Luhan has taken him too.”
Tao and Baekhyun looked just as distraught as Chen and Suho immediately lifted their gazes to him. “What?” the lightning user breathed out, at a complete loss.
Swallowing down a lump, the youngest kept his eyes trained on Lay’s face, “Where is Chanyeol?”
At that moment, Chanyeol stumbled in, flames still lighting up parts of his body as he supported himself against the wall before slamming the door shut and locking it. Sehun whipped around, completely surprised before running up to him to support his body. “Amber!” Tao called out, not even waiting for an answer, “Bring out some clothes for Chanyeol!”
The fire user looked completely worn out, but surprised, when Amber poked her head out before bringing out some clothes for him to wear. He chuckled breathlessly, putting it on with Sehun’s help. “Thanks, Ambs,” he rasped out, the other saluting before helping Luna out of the bathroom.
“But I am indecent!” Luna protested, everyone except Lay and Suho turned to look at the two struggling females.
“It will get you to your room where you may put on your own clothes!”
Sehun’s eyes narrowed when he saw Luna wearing one of Chanyeol’s large shirts. “Hurry on to your room before I do something I might regret.”
Chanyeol rasped out a laugh, tugging Sehun against him to placate him, “It is alright, miss Luna.” He looked to Amber who gave him a knowing, wide-toothed grin. He rolled his eyes. “Take her, miss extraordinaire. Then come right back here with extra supplies and clothes you two will need.”
The other two looked at him confused, Lay finally breathing regularly again as he stretched and flexed his right hand. Suho moved on to his feet. “Why, sir Chanyeol?” Luna questioned softly, although now knowing the answer.
“Head Guard Luhan, our queen, and two other men still lurk within this castle,” Lay softly explained, looking up at his newly freed right hand and reaching towards the ceiling, “We need to ensure you two are safe and away from harm until Baekhyun and I can create you a new necklace.” He tilted his head to the side, seeing the blood slowly seeping out of Baekhyun’s wound, “Come here, Baek.”
Chanyeol gestured for the two women to hurry, opening the door for them, “Return here quickly.” The other two nodded before Amber cautiously exited the room first, making sure Luna was close behind her.
Chen looked on with worried eyes, gaze flickering from person to person until his eyes landed on Suho in front of him who was too busy watching Lay heal Baekhyun’s back. He felt anxiety gnawing within him as he looked back to Lay who seemed to be just as distracted as his friend. He waited until the elder was finished before quietly asking, “Where is he?”
Everybody looked to him, sadness and a feeling of overcoming helplessness tugged at their heartstrings. Lay slowly sat up, looking him in the eye with as much honesty and power that he held as a prince. “Luhan is controlling him. He and D.O. tried to block him from touching Kai, but Xiumin jumped in front of the earthen wall.” He looked to Chanyeol. “I am pleased you have chosen my side though, but now we must amend our plans. Xiumin’s capture was not foreseen.”
“We still don’t know why this is happening,” came the response, “The queen would not provide an answer other than her family tried to assert themselves into the true royal line of the one land.”
Lay frowned, squeezing Chen’s hand to offer him some type of comfort, before speaking again. “Luhan has access to my memories, and he continues to know something I do not.” He watched carefully as his own people slightly winced at that statement, except for Tao. “What do you two know?”
“Where is Kris?” Suho intercepted, finally realizing the other was not going to come to them any time soon.
“He is safely bringing D.O. to your land,” Baekhyun softly answered, refusing to turn and face his prince, “They should be relatively safe for the time being.”
Chanyeol sighed, leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down it, effectively bringing Sehun with him. “Only I know the truth behind your memory loss, my prince.”
“Why is Baekhyun refusing to look at me then?”
“Because he and our earth user were there when the event happened. I was told by Luhan prior to the event and what his plan consisted.”
Lay’s eyes narrowed, starting to slightly glow, “Inform me of the event. Now.”
Baekhyun whimpered as Tao moved him away from the bed, towards the bathroom. Suho and Chen simply moved in closer, trying to provide comfort and a way to detain him if he suddenly lashed out at Chanyeol. Sehun shuddered, memories of Luhan attacking him flashing through his mind as he clung onto his calling’s waist.
“You may attack me if you wish, my prince. It is only right until we capture Luhan and the queen,” Chanyeol started off, physically and mentally exhausted from transforming completely into a phoenix earlier. He tipped his head back, banging it on the wall behind them. “We were young then, prince,” a rueful smile made its way onto his lips, “We were all growing physically, mentally, emotionally, and powerfully. Baekhyun discovered he could bend light in any way he could. D.O. discovered he could bend metal utensils with two fingers. Tao discovered he could isolate time in a certain area – I thought he excelled in his power at an alarming rate considering he was brought into this world a few years after us.” Tao smiled sadly at the memory.
“I learned fire could not burn me like other beings,” he laughed softly then, “You would have thought I would have learned that much earlier in life.” Lay’s harsh demeanor broke, a small smile threatening to take over. Sehun smiled at the image the memory produced in his head, sweeping in to press a soft kiss to Chanyeol’s ashen neck. “You learned you could slowly take energy away from a person unlike your father whose limits could heal diseases and beings near death.”
“What about Luhan?” Suho softly questioned, not knowing where Chanyeol was going with this. He looked back to Lay whose brow was starting to furrow in confusion as well.
Chanyeol sighed, eyes closing, “Luhan discovered he could enter a being’s mind and control that being however he wished.” Lay frowned, still not understanding. “He also discovered he could mess with others’ memories – hiding them, destroying them, bringing it back. The only thing he could not do was create new memories inside the being’s mind.” He opened his eyes, burnt orange irises staring directly at Lay. “The queen found out about it and requested he test it on a human. Everybody knows Luhan is willing to do anything for the woman who raised him, so he did. He tried it on those who were weaker mentally and physically. First, he tried it on an elderly person. Second, he tried it on one of the young maids who suddenly disappeared.” He paused, gaze flicking to Baekhyun who shivered in Tao’s grasp at the memory.
“Do you remember anything about the day your father died, Prince Lay?”
Chen and Suho looked at him confused before turning to look at Lay, a dark look now covering his face. “What of that day, sir Chanyeol?”
Sehun flinched at the tone the prince used. Chanyeol rubbed his hand up and down his calling’s side soothingly. “The queen found Luhan’s new skill impressive and extremely useful. She had been trying to find a way to take over the kingdom without any suspicions that it originated from her.” He closed his eyes again, remembering Luhan confronting him about it the day prior. “Luhan was frightened. He had always loved you since your first meeting. He never wanted to harm you in anyway, but he had no idea what to do except follow the queen’s orders. He couldn’t be banished. He came to me the day before your father’s death.”
“Was he the man who killed my father?” Lay managed to growl out, surprising Chen into squeezing his hand again so he had an anchor to who he truly is.
“In a way, my prince, he was.”
Lay waited, anger and waves of power radiating off of his body. Chen looked worriedly to Suho, feeling his energy being slowly drained. He tried squeezing Lay’s hand again to bring him back, but he only winced when the prince’s grip tightened on his hand unconsciously.
“Prince,” Suho hurriedly said, reaching out a hand to cup Lay’s cheek and turn him to face him, “Prince, we need you to remain as calm as you can.” Everybody watched as Suho tried to calm the other down even though he felt his own power being drained from him. “Prince, look at me,” Suho gently ordered, trying to find the other’s focus within the bright, blank orbs facing him, “Prince Lay.”
Chen timidly reached out with his free hand, gently touching the area above Lay’s heart, “Let him finish his tale, prince.” He tried to duck into the man’s field of vision around Suho’s own body. “You are a kind, selfless prince, Lay. You will become stronger after this and become one of the best known kings of the world. You are wonderful.”
Lay tilted his head in the lightning user’s direction, trying to take in the information before slowly nodding. Suho sighed softly in relief, staring at the prince as he gently rubbed his thumb over the younger’s cheek. “Continue, Chanyeol.”
Chanyeol nodded, trying to push Sehun away from him slightly in case the other suddenly attacked him. “In the dead of night while you were asleep and D.O. and Baekhyun were doing their rounds around the castle, Luhan snuck into your room. They both thought it was the usual routine where one of you would go to the other’s room to sleep easily for the night.” He looked to Baekhyun who was staring blankly at the floor in front of his feet. He sighed.
“Luhan told me his plan,” he reiterated before continuing again, “He went into your room that night. He whispered so many apologies, Lay.” Chanyeol looked at him brokenly then, remembering the pain his best friend went through. “He wanted to give you the world in exchange for what he did. He’s been carrying this, blocking your memories and hoping you would never remember it.”
“Chanyeol,” Lay softly said, gaze becoming sad at seeing his guard’s right-hand man struggling not to produce any tears.
Chanyeol looked Lay in the eye – “He dug himself into your mind at your weakest in the dead of night. He went in and manipulated you, waking you up as he monitored all your actions. He was ordered by the queen to use his newfound power on you to destroy your father.”
“What?” Suho breathed out, Chen’s eyes wide as they turned to look at Lay in surprise, whose gaze immediately broke, tears forming.
“My dear prince,” Baekhyun sobbed out, eyes squeezed shut as he clung onto Tao desperately, “I remember it clearly. D.O. and I were making rounds, stopping by your father’s office to simply converse with him. You showed up, eyes bright and glowing lavender, with Luhan nowhere in sight.” He opened his eyes and looked at Lay. “You almost killed us, but your father told us to run while he tried to find out what was wrong. We… We watched as Luhan showed up near the end of your father. He apologized profusely, and our great king understood. He wanted all of us to protect you as he willingly let you take his energy completely.”
“You drained him to the death,” Chanyeol softly said, another sob breaking out of Baekhyun, “Luhan promised your father he would protect you in return knowing you will become a great king, even from your mother, but now, I am not so sure if he is in his right mind any more. That was also the start of your long sleep. You had to recover after using so much energy to drain our great king’s strength.”
An air of uncomfortable silence fell upon them, everybody completely shocked as a tear fell from Lay’s eye. He tried to search his memory, only coming to a blank wall when he tried to remember what happened the day before his father’s death. “Are you telling the truth, sir Chanyeol?” he whispered, eyes closing as he tilted his head down to hide the onset of tears, “Because I will surely harm you a great deal if you are.”
“The teleportation user Kai had a single vision of the past,” Tao called out, his voice gentle, “He saw our king being assassinated. He watched his death. He knows of the Land of Light’s past.” He looked to Chanyeol and Sehun then, “It happened after he teleported so many times within our castle.”
“It’s true, Prince Lay,” Baekhyun whimpered, “We loved you too much to tell the truth of the great king’s death.”
The Night warriors looked to Lay worriedly, Suho hesitantly reaching out to lift the prince’s head by the chin. He bit his lip when he saw the immense pain in the gentle man’s eyes along with the tears running down his cheeks. Chanyeol looked away from them then, focusing his gaze on Sehun’s hand before playing with his fingers, trying to keep himself from bursting into tears like his other friend.
Chen intertwined his fingers with Lay, staring worriedly at Baekhyun across the room from him. The latter gave him a wavering smile, trying to end his tears. Chen sent a small, reassuring smile back.
Focusing his gaze on Suho, Lay saw the worry and care in his gaze as well as the pained expression reflecting off of the water user’s eyes. “Lay-”
“Luhan!” Lay suddenly called out, Suho’s eyes widening in surprise as everybody else turned to face the prince. He continued to stare into the water user’s eyes. “Luhan! Head Guard! I know you can hear me! I feel your presence in this room!”
Baekhyun’s eyes widened in fear as he and Chanyeol immediately started looking around the room in alarm.
“I am not one to get revenge on any being, but I will make sure those accounted for will be punished accordingly – even me!” He closed his eyes as he leaned forward to place his forehead gently against Suho’s. “We will meet at the gates! I will confront my own mother.”
Luhan frowned looking through his small crystal ball.
“I will fight you.”
“Luhan,” the queen softly said, bringing his attention back to her.
The Head Guard looked up at her, eyeing her for a few seconds before nodding. He looked behind him to the eerily still Kai and Xiumin before commanding the teleportation user. “Go.” He watched as Kai slowly closed his eyes, seeming to be thinking the command over, before leaving the room in a mist of black smoke.
“Luhan!” he turned back to his crystal ball, “You have already found your calling.”
xxx
“Flight user,” D.O. muttered out, looking up into the elder’s eyes to see a pained expression flourishing on his face, “Kris. Are you okay?”
Kris grunted, knowing they were still far away from his homeland. He could feel his heart being constricted with each pulse that ran through his body. Xiumin was indeed powerful. “I’m fine,” he eventually grunted out, refusing to look down into the earth user’s eyes, “We need to worry about our friends and my people.”
D.O. frowned, looking around them before tilting his head to the side to see how far away from the ground they were flying at. He was surprised to see sparse clouds floating beneath them. He tightened his arms around Kris’ neck out of instinct. “I have never left the ground for long – this high even.”
The other flinched as he chuckled, trying to take in a deep breath, “I would expect not, D.O. You are an earth user after all.” A raspy laugh escaped him as D.O. pinched his neck in retaliation.
“You are becoming weaker, Kris,” D.O. offhandedly commented, looking up further into the sky, “Will we be able to make it to your homeland?”
Kris’ brow furrowed, beating his wings down harder and faster to try and reach their destination safely. “I am okay, D.O.”
“Jongin is important to your land, right?”
The other’s gaze flickered down briefly to catch a glimpse of the earth user. “He is our own high general’s son. He is not exactly a prince, but he could be considered as one with how high his father is in our own type of hierarchy.” He shook his head affectionately as memories flashed in his head. “He is not like a prince at all, his father no less than a king either.”
D.O. chuckled, looking to his side to see if they were any closer to the Land of Night. He softly hummed, trying to make the travel more bearable. He was usually a man who didn’t speak much, but he could tell Kris definitely needed the distraction before they crashed to the ground – hard. He looked back to the other to see a flash of pain pass through the other’s gaze. He bit the inside of his cheek in worry.
“You do not need to worry, earth user. I have sworn on my honor to Kai to bring you there safely and protect you.”
“But you can’t protect me if you’re slowly dying,” D.O. softly rebutted back, moving the collar of Kris’ shirt to try and see his chest. He indeed felt something cold, but wasn’t expecting to see the middle of his chest turning a sickly color of blue from the attack earlier. His mouth opened in shock, looking up to Kris with panic written all over his face. “Kris.”
“Do not mention it,” the other grunted back, pulling back the smaller male’s hand to cover his chest. The frigid air passing by them was making the condition worse.
D.O. frowned, looking up to see Kris’ eyes still littered with specks. “You have found your calling.”
The other frowned even more, not wanting to talk about it.
“Kris-”
“I know.” Kris muttered out, cutting the younger off. He looked down to the other, “Luhan is indeed my calling.”
D.O. bit his lip, staring into the ruby-speckled irises, before speaking again, “How are you dealing with it?”
Letting out a wry laugh, Kris winced, swerving a bit to the right because of the pain. The younger’s grip on him tightened at the sudden movement instantly. “Well,” the elder started off, trying to steer them back en route, “Having your heart already halfway frozen is helping a lot.”
The younger frowned staring up at the elder’s face before he lifted himself up, using the elder’s neck as leverage, before placing a gentle kiss on Kris’ cheek. The elder looked down at him surprised. “What?”
D.O. simply smiled, looking back ahead of them to see the sky darkening the closer they got to the foreign land, “Like Suho and Chen, maybe in another life, we would be each other’s.” He shifted his gaze to look back at a flushed faced Kris, “You are truly endearing and genuinely strong. Luhan needs somebody like that to keep him balanced.”
Kris continued to stare down at him, studying his features, before his own smile took over his face. He brought the earth user in closer, hoping to warm out the ice still surrounding his heart. “Kai is truly lucky to have you as his calling,” he softly said, beating down his wings to go faster. His eyes started to glow a brighter color as he expended his power more. “Hopefully, luck will continue to be on his side.”
The younger’s smile grew faint as he moved to cradle his head in the nook between Kris’ neck and shoulder. “Hopefully.”
xxx
Kai’s father stood on the large balcony facing the Land of Day. His sword by his side, he waited patiently. He knew Suho’s parents were separated at other ends of the castle. Hopefully, his son would come to him first.
“Sir,” another warrior called out from the entranceway, “Are you sure you don’t want backup, just in case?”
“No,” the other answered back, not turning to look at him, “Stay away from me and our excellent water users. Be armed, and be prepared. Keep on the lookout for Kris, and make sure he and his partner remain in safety.” The warrior nodded, quickly closing the doors before leaving the vicinity. The general sighed, features relaxing for a minute before hardening again. “Kai,” he murmured, waiting for the attack, “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”
He waited for what felt like hours, reminiscing the times when his wife would teleport into his personal space for fun. He smiled softly. Kai got his attitude and power from her. Suddenly, he heard the familiar crackle before seeing a dark mist billow out around him from behind. He sighed softly, not turning to his son, “Kai.”
He didn’t receive any response, guard immediately coming up when he heard the slight rustling of clothes before he turned and crouched, intending to kick Kai’s feet out from under him. He dodged the punch but frowned when his son simply teleported away right after.
He was about to call out his son again until he noticed the other’s brightly colored eyes, completely different and foreign to what he was used to. His eyes widened in surprise. “Kai?”
Kai’s face was still impassive, looking around the balcony before focusing his attention on the man in front of him. He seemed to study him for a moment before running forward, teleporting in between, before landing a punch on his father’s face.
The general never expected the hit, falling over to the ground before rolling away and getting back onto his feet. He frowned, seeing Kai slowly turn his body towards him. He crouched low, grabbing his scabbard and hilt of his sword before slightly taking it out, ready to attack at any minute. “My son. Who is doing this to you? Recognize me, Kai.”
From the other end, Luhan had his eyes closed as he put himself in Kai’s position. He frowned, hearing that the other was this man’s son. He turned his head, looking behind him to see closed doors leading to the inside of their own castle.
“Luhan,” the queen called out. He turned back to look at the man in front of him, approaching him slowly with his hand still on his scabbard. “Luhan,” she called out again, “How is his stamina?”
Luhan’s forehead creased, not knowing how to tell. He watched as Kai’s dad held an arm out, trying to move in for a hug. He left one message in Kai’s mind as he retreated back out so he could talk to the queen without Kai mouthing and speaking his words as well – “Fight.”
The telekinesis user looked to the queen, opening his eyes again. They were outlined with a fine glow of purple as he still held the two men under his control. “I cannot tell, my queen. As long as he is under my control, he won’t be able to slow down until he just collapses.” He watched as the queen nodded, thoughtful for a moment before a wicked smile took over her face.
“Then run him into the ground.”
a/n: HAPPY 2YEARSWITHEXO from the states :) i have nothing to say. this chapter may be a bit crappy. or a whole lot. i'm sorry. next chapter might take a while to get out as well. i had to rewrite the beginning of this so yeah. oh! here's a little drabble about the backstory of krishun for those who wanted it [click]. also. the new title track is Addiction(Obsession) and good god. i bet it's going to blow us all away.
(Legends): otl. 400 subs?! this is truly amazing ;u; i want to give you guys something in return.. but what?? [02/02/2015]
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