「 to our king 」
Legends: The Chosen TwelveKai watched with a hazy vision as each one of his friends were covered in earthen boxes. He was pretty sure he saw a golden angel meters away before his vision out in front of him. He stared into the darkness, slowly drifting off to a tempting slumber when he heard Lay shout in hysterics again through the ground. He groaned at the sound of distress, eyes closing barely as he teleported out of the box to see D.O. standing his ground in front of him. He slowly tilted his head up, still lying on his side on the ground to see the winds slowly picking up speed. “Soo,” he mumbled out, not able to do much at the moment.
Hearing the faint call of his name, D.O. turned around, surprised expression immediately appearing on his face as he saw his calling outside of his barrier. He crouched down next to him, putting down the empty barrier, as he tried to sit him up. “Jongin,” he whispered, putting his hand on the ground and putting an earthen wall behind them in case the queen suddenly attacked them, “What are you doing? Stay inside the barrier.”
The queen looked at everybody confused before landing her gaze on the wind user who seemed to be the only one completely free. She watched as the wind user’s eyes glowed fuchsia completely, pupils disappearing, as he spread his arms out to the side. Her gaze hardened as she ignored the others and started to walk towards him, weapon in hand.
Kai shook his head, trying to turn to look at his best friend. He and his calling winced when the gusts became stronger and they started to feel cuts all over them, tearing at their clothes and skin. With D.O’s help, he turned to see Sehun slowly walking forward towards the queen as well, face emotionless as he started to lift up off the ground. “Does he,” he panted out, “Need help?”
“I don’t know,” D.O. whispered, pulling Kai back to him to hide his face in his chest to prevent more facial injuries, “Let me form a barrier around us.”
“No,” Kai refused, trying to move away from him, “You heard dad. I want to help end her too.”
D.O. frowned, remembering that clearly. While Suho’s mother was still trying to help Kai recover, he told the adults what they all knew of the queen from the Land of Day. Once the general got back, Suho’s father explained what they just heard and they quickly searched through the books only to find out that Kai’s own family was a relative of the original royalty through his mother before she was killed. They wondered how his father couldn’t remember that.
“I need to help Sehunnie,” Kai muttered again, pushing himself away from his calling and taking in a large breath, “Sehun! Do you need me?!”
“Wait,” Sehun’s calm voice drifted towards them. He’d grown since his arrival.
They watched as he created a large tornado around himself, cuts spontaneously hitting them and the queen while she was trying to make her way to end him. D.O. grunted in pain, about to put up a barrier again when he saw the queen stick her bone in the ground to prevent from flying off. His eyes widened in shock.
“Do you intend to kill me with minor cuts, wind user?!” the queen shouted out, her own healing abilities taking care of all the cuts she’s sustaining, “You will have to do more than that!”
Sehun smiled ruefully, blank gaze shifting down as he dropped back to the ground slowly and spun in a circle, winds becoming stronger as he expanded the area around him. “Kai!” he called out, knowing he couldn’t get closer without actually making the queen fly. That would injure her, but he knew that wouldn’t kill her. And it wouldn’t be enough. “Bring her to me!”
D.O’s eyes widened, feeling the secondary push as Kai immediately rolled away and concentrated, blood still dripping down his nose. He turned to see Kai disappear before looking back to see Kai jump to hug the queen from behind and teleport them into the tornado. The earth user looked around, immediately slamming his hands down on the ground as each earthen barrier was brought down so they could watch as well.
Kai in a deep breath, teleporting them into the heart of the tornado. He looked up as the cuts became more prominent on his face and he saw Sehun bending down towards them. He kept his grip tight on the queen, making sure she didn’t escape. His eyes widened as he suddenly lurched forward, head landing on the queen’s shoulder as she took the bone in her hand and stabbed it right through her stomach where Kai’s chest was located. D.O. screamed when he suddenly felt the pierce in his heart.
Sehun’s own eyes widened in shock, immediately leaning down the rest of the way and bringing the queen in close enough for a kiss. “What are you doing?” the queen threatened, eyes searching the bright, glowing orbs right in front of her. “You think mere wind will kill me?”
Kai tilted his head to the side, blurry vision coming back tenfold as he tried to focus his gaze on his best friend and what he was doing. He watched as Sehun’s eyes were trained on the queen’s own before he smirked. He raised a hand, microscopic gusts of wind coming to him from the large tornado around them to spin around his hand. He flicked his wrist, the gusts moving forward to attack several open areas of her body. The queen in a breath in shock, feeling her entire body going lax as almost all her pressure points were pushed, except for her right arm. Satisfied with his beginning work, Sehun slowly pulled back. “You forget, queen,” he muttered, lips slowly forming a circle as he the thin air in front of him, “Wind is air – the oxygen you need.”
The queen continued to look at him surprised, feeling all the oxygen quickly leave her body. She felt like she was slowly suffocating as she tried to breathe in again. Gasping emptily, she put a hand up to as her body started to glow white. She kept trying to heal herself to where she could breathe again. She started scratching at it like Sehun did when he was first held captive.
Once Kai was sure the queen was distracted and mostly immobile, he yelled in pain, pulling himself away from the queen and the weapon in him before falling backwards, the glow barely taking over his body as well. The woman fell forward without the support, increasing her scratching as she looked up, fear evident in her gaze.
Sehun took a step back, eyes narrowing as he started to take the oxygen out of her blood as well, causing her to cramp in pain. He kept the air as much as he could, visions flying through his mind as he rapidly passed each blood cell in her body to take the oxygen out.
Eventually, he tilted his head back to push the foreign substance out of his system, not liking holding anything of the queen on or within him. “D.O!” he shouted next, the other quickly squeezing his hand on the ground to cover Kai with earth. Sehun looked down, making sure his best friend was completely covered before leveling his stare with the woman who tormented all of them.
“Nothing will be left of you,” he whispered into the wind towards the paling woman, jumping back before bringing in all the winds around them to carry the queen up off of the ground. His eyes hardened as he threw his hands out in front of him, all of the winds concentrating into sharp gusts, cutting the queen’s screaming body until there was nothing left.
Suho grunted, holding out a palm towards them as he caught all the stray blood droplets in the air. Lay watched with wide eyes as his mother was destroyed in a matter of minutes, just like that. D.O. and Xiumin immediately got up and ran forward, the former slapping his hand down in thin air, as Kai was uncovered again. “D.O,” Sehun mumbled out, quickly losing his energy, “Make a small hole near the wall so the remains of her flesh and blood can stay there.”
The earth user looked to him amazed before doing as told, looking back for an appropriate spot before he brought his hand to the ground and twisted it slightly, opening up a hole. Suho took that as his signal to bring the blood over to it, Sehun delivering the other remnants with his winds. D.O. twisted his hand again, hardening the inside as best he could so it couldn’t seep back into the ground. “Chen,” Sehun panted out, starting to sway side by side as all his winds slowly ceased, “Strike Luhan with a bolt when you can.”
Xiumin let out a puff of air as he held his arms out for Sehun to fall into. He looked around, seeing D.O. and Chanyeol both trying to stop the bleeding of Kai and Baekhyun before looking to Lay who seemed to be slowing down in his own process. The light user looked just as pale as their other two friends if it weren’t for the glowing light still surrounding him. Chen was already moving away from Kris, going to obey the youngest male’s orders. Suho groaned, putting the stray remains in the hole before falling over, Tao returning time within the kingdom.
“You did amazing, Sehunnie,” Xiumin whispered, watching as the younger easily fell asleep in his arms, “Amazing.”
D.O. frowned, tears falling from his eyes as he put firm pressure on his calling’s wound. “Come on, Jongin,” he whispered, watching as Kai tried to open his eyes, “Don’t do this.”
Kai suddenly coughed, body contorting to try and lessen the pain. “Xiumin,” he breathed out, feeling his calling’s blood-covered hand cup his face lovingly, “Freeze Kris and Luhan completely.”
“What?” the other questioned in shock, wide-eyed and confused.
“Get Lay or Suho to preserve their organs while you do that,” the other rasped out, reaching out a hand to try and grab D.O.’s ankle since it was the closest thing within reach, “Freeze them to the core.”
The earth user looked amazed, wondering how the other could still think through the pain. Xiumin looked back at them, immediately understanding, before he gently placed Sehun on the ground and ran to Kris first. He blinked, eyes immediately turning ice blue, as he slid down on the ground next to his friend. “Tao!” he called out, “Get Suho over here!” Both hands hovered above Kris’ head first, eyes glowing brighter as he focused getting the temperature cold enough to cryo-freeze his friend from head-to-toe without causing him further damage in the future.
Once he got it below a certain degree, he waited, feeling Suho be placed gently next to him. “Can you preserve the organs while I freeze him?”
Suho looked at him confused before he nodded, trying to focus more of his energy into preventing the organs and blood from freezing completely. Once he gave the nod, Xiumin grunted, body tensing as he slowly brought his hands down, from Kris’ head over his chest and wings, down his body, until his feet. After a few long minutes, he let out a harsh breath, leaning back on the balls of his feet as he eyed the other, completely covered in ice before turning to quickly get to Luhan.
Tao helped bring Suho back before trying to keep Lay away from the telekinesis user without hurting him more as Chen tried to resuscitate the other. “Lay,” the time user whispered, earning a whimper in response, “Preserve his organs and blood while Xiumin freezes him.” Lay looked at him similarly confused before doing as told, Suho panting behind them in pain and exhaustion. Chen quickly left to help D.O.
The prince’s eyes widened when the ice user started to completely freeze his past love. He continued to make sure the organs weren’t completely frozen as the other did his work. Once they were done, Xiumin groaned, Luhan completely encased, before he fainted right next to them. Tao and Lay looked at him surprised and concerned before the former felt another painful throb in his chest. He turned to the prince. “Heal Suho and the rest, my prince. They now need you more.” He was already sweating because of Baekhyun’s pain. “You are their prince, and they need you.”
Lay looked up at him before nodding and turning around to take a step towards Suho. The latter fell towards him, the prince catching him with a wince before he tried to heal him. His eyes widened when he realized what Luhan cut within him. “How are you still alive, Suho?” he murmured, trying to repair the veins and arteries that were severed.
“It’s Junmyeon,” the water user mumbled, eyes closing at feeling the soothing sensation engulf him, “Blood contains water. I manipulated it… when I couldn’t heal it.”
The healer nodded, biting his lip as he tried to lay the other flat on the ground to heal him better. He looked up into the pained expression of the other. “Junmyeon,” he mumbled out, wondering how that felt so much better than saying ‘Han,’ “Thank you.”
Suho gave him a half-smile, eyes closing so he could finally relax as the other healed him. “You don’t need to thank me, little prince.”
Lay simply smiled, feeling Tao leave them after making sure Xiumin was okay. He looked up, watching Tao running to try and help Chanyeol stop Baekhyun’s bleeding while D.O. and Chen helped Kai. Sehun still laid asleep next to the latter three. The healer’s eyes widened as Tao let out a panicked shout, Baekhyun’s glow fading faster.
He frowned, exerting more of his power into healing Suho faster, so he could get to them quicker. He visualized the flowing blood without the tubes connecting within the water user’s body before creating new arteries and veins around the flow. Suho winced at the sudden creation within him.
It took a few minutes, but he let out a small puff of air when Suho was healed at his minimum. He bit his lip in uncertainty with tearstains marking his face, as he pulled his hands away to look at his other two friends. “Junmyeon,” he softly called out, the other slowly opening his eyes only to see the other’s worried look, “Can you help me start to heal them?”
Suho instantly nodded, slowly sitting up. He looked surprised as he felt most of his pain already gone. He looked over, following the other’s gaze, before sluggishly getting up. “You take Baekhyun. He needs you more, and I’ll go to Kai.” They immediately split off, Lay stumbling over his feet every few steps.
D.O. shifted his gaze over to his glowing best friend, tears still falling silently, watching as the glow started to fade away. He looked back down to Kai, feeling his own grip around his ankle loosen minutely by the minute. “Jongin,” he softly said, putting more pressure on the wound and watching Kai start hacking out a watery cough, “Jongin, please.”
“Too much,” was all the other whispered before his eyes slowly closed.
“No,” the earth user whimpered, eyes widening as more tears fell, “Jongin.” He saw Chen’s feet in his field of vision as the other placed his slightly larger hands on top of his to help stop the bleeding. They both knew with the cut on Kai’s arm, the blood from his nose, and this new injury, he was losing too much blood way too fast. “Jongin,” he whimpered out again, “Don’t leave me yet, okay? You’re not allowed to leave yet. Not now, not ever.”
The water user panted, not even running that fast, as he held his hands to his side and water easily enveloped them like his mother. He tripped, landing on his knee before he pushed once more with his other foot and landed next to the trio, surprised to see Chen tearing up as well. “Is he still alive?” he quickly asked, hands reaching out as Chen pushed their own away. The water glowed as he started to try to heal him. His brows furrowed in worry at the faint life force of the other.
“Barely,” D.O. whispered as Chen leaned in close to keep listening to Kai’s breathing intake.
Suho frowned, needing more water to heal Kai better. “D.O. Do you think there’s water deep underground?”
The others looked at him confused before the earth user winced in sudden pain. His eyes widened before he removed his boyfriend’s hand on his ankle and scrambled around the water user to grab at Kai’s face, Chen immediately scooting out of the way to not be smacked. “Jongin,” he hurriedly whispered, moving the hair out of the other’s eyes with his bloodied hand, “Jongin. Listen to me.”
Suho and Chen frowned, the latter taking a look to see even Tao crying because of Baekhyun, Chanyeol refusing to pass out due to exhaustion.
“I need you to live, Jongin. Survive this, you big dummy, or your dad will bring you back to life just to kill you again.” The other two smiled fondly at his choice of words. “Jongin. You hear me, right? Hearing is the last to go.” D.O. watched as his tears fell onto Kai’s face where it fell and mixed in with the dried blood on his hands, creating a messy trail down his cheeks. “I love you, Jongin. You learned my name without me telling you. I love you. Just live.”
Chen bit his lip sadly, concentrating on Suho’s glowing hands as the other cried silently while trying to heal their friend the best he could until Lay got there. D.O. kept crying even until Suho moved so Lay could help finish the process. He fell asleep next to him.
xxx
Tao and Chen watched as their friends fell into a deep slumber, the former freezing time all around them except the twelve still situated on the outskirts of the kingdom. They knew they couldn’t move everybody all at once so they opted to stay there, waiting until they recovered enough.
“Who knew Sehunnie would be the one to defeat her,” Chen mumbled out, stare blank as he looked straight ahead of him. He stayed next to Xiumin’s sleeping form, knowing the other was just exhausted from reaching a freezing level he hadn’t reached before.
Baekhyun tightened his grip around Tao’s waist automatically, cuddling into him despite the dried blood on his shirt and on Tao’s hands. He didn’t want to open his eyes and look at their lost guard and lost angel. “We all could’ve defeated her if we had the chance,” he mumbled, continuing to drift in and out of sleep.
“She was just persistent, terribly so,” Tao muttered afterwards. “Baekhyun’s light isn’t as sufficient against someone from,” he paused, “Technically, it should’ve hurt her more than it did if she’s from the Land of Night as well.” Chanyeol was exhausted before the fight, and Luhan injured Suho enough to where he was simply thriving to live. Their only options were the lightning user who was busy with Xiumin, Baekhyun who suffered a pierced lung, and Sehun.
“The True Land,” Chen softly said. He moved to lie down on the ground, staring up at the blue, cloudy sky. He thought he saw a cloud in the shape of a hammer that slowly morphed into a flower. Maybe he needed to sleep as well. He tilted his head to the side, seeing D.O. settled in close next to a still Kai with Chanyeol holding Sehun close next to them. Suho and Lay still managed to get up until they were sitting up against the wall of the gates before leaning against each other and falling asleep immediately afterwards. “I wonder what’s going to happen now.”
“You can’t keep time frozen for however long they need to recover,” Baekhyun mumbled, slowly falling back asleep, “You’re becoming exhausted as well.”
Tao let out a soft sigh, eyes still faintly glowing. “I know.”
“I’ll stay up as long as you are up,” Chen offered, tilting his head back to look at the other, “In case somebody else wakes up.”
The other nodded, leaning back on the ground so Baekhyun was close to his side and comfortable. “Thank you, sir lightning user.”
Chen softly laughed, not knowing where the sudden title came from. “Just Chen is fine, Tao.”
“‘Sir lightning user,’” Baekhyun mocked sleepily, earning an eye-roll from his boyfriend, “It’s nice to have somebody similar to me as my best friend in terms of element and color.”
“I don’t know how lightning and light are remotely similar as mine is an actual element.”
“They’re the same.”
Tao sighed at the insistent tone in his boyfriend’s words, “Okay, Baekhyun. Go to sleep now.” Within a minute, the elder was fast asleep in his arms. “I hope they will not sleep as long as Prince Lay did long ago.”
Chen frowned, nodding along even if he really didn’t know, because he believed that was indeed a long slumber. He yawned, continuing to stare up at the sky.
Before they knew it, Chen ended up falling asleep cuddled up to Xiumin what seemed like hours later when the sky turned dark enough. Tao sighed as he kept an eye on everyone. He observed everybody carefully, trying to take note of each individual to make sure nobody suddenly took a wrong turn like Luhan did. He’s had many visions of the future. He just never expected or actually saw someone break down like their Head Guard did.
He gasped, body seizing as his eyes widened, vision suddenly coming to him of its own accord. He didn’t feel Baekhyun stir against him. He waited, pupils trying to take in every detail, before he let out a breath, vision finishing and time almost returning back to normal if he didn’t stop himself completely.
“Vision,” Baekhyun mumbled out, too tired to open his eyes.
“It takes at least eight days for four of our friends to wake up completely.”
“That’s a long time.”
Tao only nodded as his calling went back to sleep.
xxx
D.O, Xiumin, and Sehun were the first ones to wake after Baekhyun and Chen, Tao keeping time for four days already. The ice user yelped when his calling flopped on top of him for a hug, causing Baekhyun to chuckle at the sight. D.O. sighed as he pushed himself up off the ground and his side to see Sehun doing the same. They both looked to each other before looking down to their own callings. Chanyeol softly groaned, but Kai barely moved.
“Jongin?” the earth user questioned softly, grimacing at seeing blood still crusted onto his hands. He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his calling’s lips. He frowned, barely feeling the other’s breath on his face. “Jongin?”
“He will be one of the last to wake,” Tao breathed out across the clearing, Baekhyun immediately taking over as the younger tried to stabilize his power so they were all still free.
“He, Prince, our Phoenix, and Suho will be the ones last to wake,” the light user answered, taking in account who has just wakened up and who hasn’t. He paused, looking to each of their frozen friends, “Besides our Head Guard and our guardian angel.”
D.O. frowned, understanding the explanation before getting up on shaky legs with Sehun’s help and his winds. He looked over at the other thankfully only to see the wind user panting slightly and leaning back over Chanyeol to try and balance himself. “Sehun?” he questioned, confused at the sudden weakened state of the other.
The youngest tried to wave it off, face grimacing at the movement. “Maybe I used too much energy when I…” he frowned, trailing off. He didn’t want to say he killed the queen directly yet.
“I would like to say you have grown a lot since you came here,” the earth user commented instead, walking slowly over to the other to make sure he didn’t trip, “You just seemed to have matured. You were so young, especially mentally, when you first came here.”
Sehun shrugged, regulating his breathing again. He took in a deep breath before sighing it out. “I don’t know.” He looked up to see the other’s hand held out towards him. He took it without thinking, as he was weakly hauled up. He looked at the elder surprised. “D.O?”
The earth user gave him a shaky smile, heaving his own sigh as they wrapped an arm around each other to go check on the others. “Maybe I used too much energy as well,” he softly mimicked, earning a tired chuckle from the taller male. He looked to the other four who were awake. “How are they?”
Chen finally got off of Xiumin, the latter quickly going to Luhan and trying to freeze him some more before doing the same to Kris. “They seem stable,” the lightning user answered back happily, eyes widening in fear when Xiumin fell to his side again after freezing Kris some more. He immediately got up, going over to the other, “Minseok!”
Baekhyun detached himself from Tao, following after the other. “It seems like,” the time user slightly panted out, watching as the other two tired users made their way for Kris first as well, “Using up so much of our energy weakened us a lot more than we thought.”
“Then Chen and I will protect all of you,” Baekhyun responded back. He turned back to Chen, “How is he?”
“I’m just super really tired,” Xiumin murmured, letting the lightning user reposition him so his head lay in his lap next to their sleeping friend. He sighed, cold gust of air accidentally leaving his lips. Chen shivered.
Soon enough, Sehun and D.O. made it next to them, the former falling to his knees in exhaustion as he leaned over Kris’ sleeping figure. He tried to touch the ice above his face, only to hiss at the extreme temperature.
“I froze him below normal freezing temperatures,” Xiumin softly explained, eyes closing, “So when he defrosts, hopefully Lay will be able to bring them back.”
The other two users frowned, Baekhyun moving back over to eye their Head Guard instead. Sehun and D.O. peered down at Kris, noticing how peaceful he looked with his wings slightly spread out behind him. Sehun sighed softly, caring gaze in his eyes. “Why are you such a dummy, Kris?” he mumbled, Chen and D.O. looking at him sadly. “Thank you for bringing D.O. to Kai.”
Xiumin fell asleep on his calling’s lap.
“Thank you for getting Kai back with D.O.”
Chen bit his lip, suspicions about them once dating before being confirmed right in front of his own eyes and ears.
“Thank you for loving me when I needed you.”
D.O. let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Thank you for being our guardian angel.”
Sehun continued to stare down at Kris’ sleeping face, only looking up when he felt D.O. touch his shoulder. He didn’t realize he let a few stray tears fall. He gently smiled up at him before smiling at Chen. He looked back to Kris and chuckled softly.
“Thank you for being my second idiot.”
The earth and lightning users softly laughed, the former helping up the wind user so they could make their trek over to Luhan next. They both panted lightly, looking over to see Suho and Lay still leaning against each other sleeping. They smiled before D.O. tripped, Sehun strengthening his grip around the other.
“I’m fine,” the earth user breathed, trying to get his strength and balance back, “It’s okay.”
“Not until our callings wake up,” Sehun muttered, earning a pinch in his side. He flinched, pouting down at the other, “Just saying. I miss them.”
“Kai is still alive, right?” D.O. quietly questioned, becoming unsure since his calling’s breathing never improved after being healed. But it never degraded either.
Sehun nodded as they finally reached Baekhyun and Tao, both of them falling to their knees when they hit their destination. “He looks like he will be fine.” He didn’t want to add ‘I hope’ to the end of his sentence.
They both observed Luhan’s sleeping face, amazingly calm and beautifully encased in ice. The earth user smiled softly, feeling Baekhyun come up next to him and loop an arm around him. “He’s actually beautiful,” the light user commented, gaze transfixed on the other, “Our prince was truly lucky.”
“The queen made it her intention to corrupt him ever since he was adopted into the land long ago,” D.O. quietly informed, looking back to Tao’s still form, “Is that correct, Tao? I heard Chanyeol one day talking about it with Luhan.”
Baekhyun and Sehun both looked to the time user as well, watching as he tried to pat sweat away from his face. The former frowned about to get up to go over to him. Tao simply held out a hand. “You do not need to, Baek. I am okay,” he paused, gaze shifting over to Chanyeol, “Only Chanyeol knows of Luhan’s past to the most extent. I do not think Prince Lay knows as much as he probably does.”
The other three turned back to Luhan. None of them were especially close like he was with Chanyeol and Lay, but they did care for him as friends. Sehun still feared for his life from the other man, but he had to agree the telekinesis user had a certain beauty to him. A small smile graced his lips as his thoughts flew through his head. “Maybe we could’ve been the best of friends as well,” he started out softly, looking over his shoulder at Chanyeol, “We would have to be to keep that dork happy.”
Baekhyun sighed, trying to keep his own smile from growing on his face. “We used to play around so much while we were younger.”
“He’s not dead,” D.O. muttered out, feigning annoyance. He frowned. “Both he and Kris are not dead.” The others looked at him uncertainly before he continued. They knew more than anything he was silently referring to Kai as well. “I’m sure Lay and Chanyeol will figure out a way to bring them both back.”
“I would hope so,” Tao mumbled, closing his eyes as he tried to wait out another four days for the others to wake up, “They surely will try.” He sighed, watching as D.O. stared at Luhan for a few more minutes before getting up on wobbly legs. “He will be fine, D.O,” he murmured out, shifting around in his position to try and become comfortable again, “They will all be fine.”
D.O. only nodded, letting Sehun come up next to him so they could make their way back to their callings. It took longer than they imagined, but the earth user finally collapsed on his knees next to Kai. He crawled up a bit until he was staring down at the younger’s face. He didn’t even realize he already fell back to sleep cuddled up against him.
xxx
“Chanyeol?” Sehun questioned curiously, feeling the elder move next to him. He winced as he sat back up. The ground wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought it’d be, but sleeping out there for eight days straight did something to a person. He looked over the fire user to see D.O. waking up as well.
“Is he finally waking?”
Chanyeol groaned, body stiff after lying in the same position for too long. Sehun realized his body temperature never went back to normal as the elder slowly healed himself while he was asleep. “Chanyeol?” he heard his calling say again. He grunted, trying to turn on his side. “Chanyeol, are you okay?”
The fire user simply groaned again before opening up an eye to see Sehun helping him turn on his side. He let out a breath of relief when he finally turned. “Hi, Hunnie. Ugh!”
Sehun laughed, arms thrown around his calling’s neck happily. “You’re back,” he whispered, pulling away to look down at a disheveled-looking Chanyeol before he leaned down and kissed him. “Hi, Yeollie.”
Chanyeol breathed him in, feeling like it’s been ages since he last saw and felt him, which was pretty much true. He gave him a tired smile before looking to his other side where he saw D.O. gently smiling at him too. He chuckled, voice raspy from lack of use, “Hi, D.O.”
“Hi, Chanyeol.” The other waved back before looking down to his own calling, hope flaring up within him. His small smile turned into a small frown the longer he looked at his love. He stayed still like a corpse throughout the whole eight days. Hearing rustling coming from his side, he turned to see Sehun trying to pull up Chanyeol. They winced when they heard something pop in the other’s back.
“That felt good,” the fire user breathed out in relief. He got to standing, closing his eyes briefly to gain his sense of balance back. With Sehun’s help, he took a quick glance down at Kai, frowning, before looking to see Suho starting to stir across from them.
“He needs water,” Tao called out, falling onto Baekhyun as he closed his eyes, “I am returning time. Try and wake up our Prince, Phoenix.”
Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he secured his calling before looking up to Chanyeol who nodded. “Bring him to the lake.” The ones awake looked to the gates to see the citizens slowly starting to move again. “Hurry. I’ll try and wake Prince Lay first.”
Chanyeol nodded as he tried to leave Sehun’s grip, only to almost fall to a knee if it weren’t for the younger. He chuckled, voice still raspy as the other held on to him tightly. “Help me, Sehunnie.”
The earth user frowned, standing up completely and running to the gates. The rest looked at him surprised. “What are you doing, D.O?”
The other skidded to a stop right before anybody had a chance to turn to them before he planted his feet in the ground. He turned his foot as he imagined lifting something high up in the air, causing a large rock wall to take the place of the gate that was still lifted. “Making sure our people don’t see Luhan’s iced form,” he grunted out, not realizing doing a move so simple would drain him so fast. He fell to a knee, hearing Baekhyun’s padded feet go around him from behind to reach their prince. Panting slightly, he turned, looking back to his calling who has yet to move.
“Suho,” Sehun called out as they slowly approached them. He watched as his friend’s eyes tried to open, face scrunching in disapproval at the simple task. “Suho, we need to bring you to the lake.”
The water user coughed, body wracking with the surprisingly violent movement, as he involuntarily stirred Lay still leaning against him. Sehun rushed to him after he made sure Chanyeol could stand on his own. “Can’t move,” Suho whispered out, voice gruff.
“Then we will carry you,” Chanyeol muttered, trying to move and stretch out his body some more without toppling over, “We need you to your fullest capacity.” He swallowed a thick lump in his throat. “And I need water as well.”
Suho frowned, letting Sehun move him how he wanted. His gaze shifted to his side where Baekhyun was trying to help out Lay too, Chen and Xiumin staying next to Kris’ form obediently although the ice user was still technically sleeping. “Xing,” he muttered, his arm getting thrown around Sehun’s neck as Chanyeol grabbed his other hand to pull him up, “Yixing.”
“Mmf,” the prince mumbled out, face scrunching similarly to Suho’s, in disapproval.
“My prince,” Baekhyun softly said, putting a hand up to cup the other’s face, “Can you move? Are you feeling better?”
“Prince Lay!” a guard from the high wall suddenly called out, causing the ones wide-awake to look up at him in shock. “What happened?!” he shouted out in alarm. His eyes took in the appearance of everybody outside the wall until he landed on what looked like Luhan’s frozen form with no queen in sight. “Prince Lay!” he screeched in panic.
“Stand down!” Lay abruptly bellowed out, willing his body to move as Baekhyun tried to help him, “Stand down, and shut – up!” The guard did immediately as told, Sehun holding back a giggle as Chanyeol and Baekhyun chuckled. Lay groaned, body feeling completely sore and foreign, before he flinched, Suho wincing at the sudden pain as well. The light user looked at him worriedly as he tried to move him again.
“Prince, what’s wrong?”
The healer sighed, trying to look around the area, “I have not healed my broken ribs yet.” He frowned as he brought a hand up but could barely summon enough energy to heal even a small cut. “I do not think I will be able to heal anything in a while.”
“None of us can use more than the minimum of our powers,” Sehun explained, slowly moving Suho to the wall where D.O. immediately brought down a door-sized hole by slamming his hand down on the ground, “Even what D.O. is doing is taking a lot out of him.”
Lay frowned, watching his calling go before looking around again. His tired eyes eventually landed on Luhan, Tao sleeping next to him. “How is he?” he softly questioned, trying to walk over to them.
“They’re both still completely frozen. Xiumin is able to summon up enough energy to create a new layer of ice around each of them before he passes out again.”
Sighing, the prince nodded, gaze flitting over to Kai’s still form, “He hasn’t woken yet?” They watched as D.O. put the wall back up before trekking his way slowly back to Kai. He felt Baekhyun shake his head as they stopped in place.
“Let me try and shock Kai,” Chen suddenly requested, the others looking at him surprised. He looked back at them with wide eyes, slowly maneuvering the sleeping Xiumin to lie flat on the ground. “He’s not dead and it’s not a bad idea. I’ll take out any extra electricity in him afterwards.”
Everybody looked to D.O. for his decision. None of them thought shocking him could wake him up. Then again, they thought he would wake naturally like the rest of them. D.O. looked back to his calling, walking the rest of the way until he collapsed on his knees next to the other. He frowned, hand coming up to cup his peaceful face.
“D.O-”
“Let’s try it.”
Chen looked at the other surprised before immediately running to him. He skidded on the free side of Kai, analyzing the other’s body. He looked up to D.O. while placing his hands gently on his friend’s chest. Lifting up his palms so only his fingertips touched the younger’s chest, he asked again for reassurance. “Are you sure, D.O?”
The earth user moved his gaze from his calling’s face up to Chen’s, noting the sincerity and concern in his eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he nodded gently, removing his hand from Kai’s face and making sure he wasn’t touching the other in any way. “You can shock him back to life,” he reassured, more to himself, as Chen took that as his signal to introduce the first shockwave.
D.O. flinched at the light tingle in his body, gaze completely focused on Kai’s face as Chen waited a few seconds. There were no signs of movement. The earth user flinched again, watching as Kai’s body barely jumped up off of the ground at the next shock. He leaned in close to hear his breathing, Chen placing a hand over his friend’s heart.
“He’s still alive,” the lightning user mumbled, looking at the other, “What do you want to do?” He started pulling out the extra electricity through his hand, the little electric waves swirling around his hand and arm.
The other frowned, tears welling up in his eyes in lost hope. “Once more.”
Chen looked at him sadly before nodding, resuming his position. “Tell me when, D.O,” he murmured, waiting for the other to move back again before he let loose one more spark of lightning.
“We will bring him back to the castle with the rest,” Lay softly said, continuing on, “We need to find a way to bring our passed friends into the palace until Kai wakes and is able to teleport Kris back home.”
“What?” Baekhyun slipped out confused, as he still kept his eyes on their friends across the clearing.
“Let’s just,” Lay mumbled out, almost dropping to a knee in exhaustion. They all needed proper rest and nutrients. He watched as D.O. cupped Kai’s face in his hands again, kissing him softly on the lips and seemed to be murmuring something to him. He looked at them sadly. “Let’s just recover the best we can.”
xxxx
Baekhyun smiled proudly, staring into familiar and unfamiliar faces as he stood on earthen steps created by D.O while Chen stood off to the other side of him on the steps. They were in the castle, doors and gates open to all those coming to see the coronation of the new king. He watched as D.O. walked out of a corridor with Kai’s father and Suho with his parents next to them as well. They caught sight of each other and smiled.
Those from the Land of Night looked around amazed, agreeing to come and see the new king after a lengthy and persuasive explanation from their general. Those from the Land of Day either looked very wary or very happy, meeting those they’ve only heard about in stories only to find out that they were not actually monsters of any kind.
The truths about the queen’s intentions were not made public in accordance to Chanyeol, Lay, and Xiumin’s wishes. They were kept quiet, the citizens only knowing that she perished whenever Luhan was frozen completely. An empty grave was made for her just inside the courtyard where a garden was present, the same one where she first attacked Luna. As much as they all wanted to explain what really happened to their great king, they knew letting the queen keep her image as being protective and beautiful would be the right thing to do. They believed it was because of Lay their land is still thriving even after the death of both of their strong protectors.
Amber and Luna kept up their daily duties, the former giving her necklace to the latter until Lay was healed enough to create another. She insisted she didn’t need one because she had the ability to fight while her friend didn’t. Lay sternly ordered her to stay within the castle and only go out of the grounds with one of them accompanying her, just in case.
Since they’ve opened the gates freely, there have been instances of robberies and kidnappings, only to be stopped by one of them when guards on the walls caught sight of it. D.O. took over Luhan’s position as Head Guard for the time being, staying up on the walls with the others for long periods of time to make sure everything was still operating smoothly. It took a while, but Sehun recovered enough to sometimes use his winds to travel between the lands for important messages. It doesn’t happen often though because they realized one thing.
They all had to start back at the basics of their powers, even Baekhyun included.
The only exception was Chen.
Chanyeol sighed, straightening up and stretching his arms above his head. “Wow,” he drawled out, getting the kinks out of his back from staying hunched over for so long. He looked to Xiumin and Lay who were still studying all the notes they’d taken after a full day of proper rest in a bed and lots of food and fluids. It was a huge stack that they still needed to sort out.
“It’s possible to revive them, Prince,” Xiumin mumbled in thought. They’ve already tested it on small insects since that was the most they could do. He finally looked up to the prince before looking to the strategist of the Land of Day, “We just have to constantly heal them while defrosting them to make sure their organs and blood don’t accidentally freeze and break inside of them.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Lay murmured back, moving to stretch as well. It had taken at least two months for his broken ribs to heal completely. He didn’t have enough energy to heal himself at all, but he accepted the pain as retribution. A sad look enveloped in his gaze towards the wall, stare becoming blank at the memory. “They were both gone already.”
Chanyeol hummed, looking to his office door when he heard two polite knocks. “Then we have to wait until we’re all back to our highest strengths again. It might take years… Come in!” He had the high temperature lock disabled for the time being until he could regulate his body temperature again to get it to that level. For now, he kept a normal lock on it in which only Sehun had the key. Otherwise, his office was usually open if he was inside.
Xiumin looked to Lay for his decision. He watched as the other nodded in acceptance. “However long it takes to get both of them back.” The ice user nodded, both of them looking to the door when Tao and Sehun poked their heads into the room.
“It’s time,” they both chimed at the same time, causing them both to laugh.
Tao was able to move around more, working on his physical fighting skills to be able to do so. Plus, he normally hated going anywhere by himself anyways, so one of their friends always had to go with him to keep him company. Chanyeol and Xiumin looked back to Lay, who simply smiled and followed them out.
As the minutes ticked by, Baekhyun kept watch, continuing to observe everybody carefully. D.O. and Suho stood off to the side, talking softly as the parents talked to themselves next to them. Both he and Chen waited, the latter looking around curiously, before they saw Tao leading the group out of a different corridor with Chanyeol and his arm around Sehun’s waist. They rolled their eyes as they watched the fire user place a gentle kiss on the wind user’s forehead before the two younger males moved to line up next to Suho and D.O. Behind them, Xiumin and Lay were quietly chatting, the whole party within the castle quickly growing quiet at the scene presented in front of them. Baekhyun took that as his cue. He nodded to Chen who started it off.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the lightning user greeted loudly, all gazes turning on him then. Xiumin and Lay stayed next to the steps and makeshift stage. “I am Sir Chen,” he introduced himself before looking to his partner, “And along with Sir Baekhyun, we will begin the ceremony.” Chanyeol stayed at the base of the steps, Suho quickly going off to get the crown and robe.
“You should’ve switched garments, Prince Lay,” Xiumin muttered, causing those near him to quietly laugh at the comment. Lay simply smiled, walking ahead so the other could go stand by the rest off to the side.
Everybody watched as Lay walked up to the steps, Suho quickly reappearing and draping the royalty robe onto his shoulders at the base. Everything really was a formality by now. The water user and the healer shared a smile, irises quickly changing as Suho’s hand lingered on his shoulder before dropping it and standing next to Chanyeol.
Baekhyun rolled his eyes at seeing what Lay was wearing underneath. The clothes weren’t even made of silk or completely sewn. They looked old, but what can he say? He and Chen turned to follow Lay up the steps all the way to the top of the stage where everyone could see them properly. Surprisingly, Baekhyun and Chen became the best of friends where they could complete each other’s sentences without even knowing. Lay turned to stand in the middle of them, facing the crowd.
“Prince Lay,” Chen called out so those around them could hear him, the last time he would be called ‘prince.’
They smiled at their friend, the light user taking over since technically, he was born and raised in the current land they were residing in. “Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of The Land of Day and The Land of Night, according to their respective laws and customs of the same?” Baekhyun paused, everybody focusing on Lay as his gaze scanned the crowd.
“I solemnly promise so to do.”
“Will you, in your power, cause law and justice and mercy to be executed in all your judgments, now and in the future?”
“I will.”
Baekhyun and Chen smiled proudly, the latter taking the past king’s ring from Suho and gently putting it on Lay’s right fourth finger. The ceremony really didn’t last long after their revision of the old rituals, only keeping the extremely pertinent parts. Chanyeol then took the crown that lay atop the pillow in the water user’s arm and climbed up the steps, smiling happily at his friend. Baekhyun nodded, looking to Chen who spoke first.
“Presenting His Majesty-”
Lay bowed his head, allowing Chanyeol to gently put the crown on his head, before the taller male stood off to the side, Chen and Baekhyun turning as they raised their arms in front of them as if to literally present the new king. Everybody who knew him knew this day would come soon.
“Lay.”
“King of The True Land.”
Cheers erupted, Tao breaking the trend as he immediately ran up to hug his friend in celebration. Some citizens gasped while others reassured them everything was normal to them. Lay laughed happily as the others ran up to hug him as well, the crown now lopsided on his head. He looked to Suho who stayed behind with D.O, smiling beautifully at him as he smiled back proudly. His gaze shifted to his new Head Guard, smile softening as the other gave him a small smile back.
“Go to him,” he mouthed, both of the other two looking at him uncertainly before he laughed, pushing Tao away from him to go to them. He brought Suho in for a soft kiss before looking to the earth user. “Go. Join us after.” The other two looked at him as D.O. took off, the water user bringing in Lay for another kiss before following after their friend. “Let me know if he wakes,” he softly called after them. He felt a light touch on his arm, turning to see Kai’s father and Suho’s parents waiting to congratulate him. He smiled.
Everybody conversed, coming up to properly congratulate the new king, some even going so far as to question him of motives or anything ill of any kind. Lay didn’t mind, especially when Chanyeol and Baekhyun simply stared down the individuals until they left because of discomfort. He laughed in those instances. He looked down to his father’s ring, a small smile on his face as he remembered the great healer he was proud to call his father. His parents were called to each other, and he still couldn’t comprehend the woman’s fear of his dad, why she needed to murder him through their own son. He rubbed the ring fondly with his other hand. They had to get it resized for it to fit his own. He hummed in thought; some questions were best left unanswered.
Chanyeol sighed as he and Xiumin conversed next to Lay once more an hour later, in a corner of the grand ballroom away from everyone else. “I don’t know what it is,” he started off, gaze shifting to where their other friends were slowly making their way back towards them, “But I don’t think those god-like beings from the legend died at all.”
“You can’t assume that we’re them,” Xiumin countered back, looking back up at him, “We all watched each other grow from infants to adults.”
“Every time we die, we assume we are reborn,” Tao commented as he stood next to them.
Baekhyun frowned, looping his arm around the younger’s waist as he leaned into him. “What are you guys talking about?”
Chanyeol hummed, watching Chen join their group as well. “Maybe we are reborn again and again, but then, I don’t know. We lost most of our powers trying to heal everyone and save them from death. We lost most of our strength fighting the past queen.” He held out an arm for Sehun to move in close to him. “I don’t know if we’ll ever regrow in our powers. In a sense, we are already being reborn right now.”
“Space stopped warping when Kai partially recovered,” Tao mumbled afterwards, his own thoughts becoming jumbled. “Perhaps those from the Land of Night knew who were going to give birth to those completing the legend and sent some of them to this land to be exiled along with the queen.” He looked to Chen and Xiumin. “Kai’s father told me the only other space user known to them was his mother.”
The ice user nodded. “She was excellent – one of our strongest warriors of the land. We have no worldly clue as to how she died though. I assumed right after her death, Kai inherited her powers because he showed no signs of having a power until after she passed.”
Baekhyun hummed, looking over his shoulder to see citizens conversing happily with each other. “We all have unique powers no one can really explain. We already reached a different level in power compared to everybody else as well. Tao is the only one known to be able to control time now.”
“So,” Chen interrupted, extremely curious now, “Are we really those legendary people? Because that would seriously be cool.”
The fire user chuckled, turning to look at Lay who stayed silent the entire time, “It is up to our King to decide.”
Lay looked back at them, his own playful, small smile breaking out on his face as he shook his head affectionately. “You cannot pin this one on me, Phoenix.”
“King,” Chanyeol suddenly called out, stepping away from Sehun to bow to him formally.
Sehun laughed, following after him, “To our King.”
Lay watched wide-eyed as they started a chain reaction. His gaze shifted to the rest of his friends who followed their example and then the citizens closest to them before the whole courtyard was bowing to him. He really wasn’t used to a lot of things within his land. This was one of them. He turned to glare at Chanyeol who was peeking up at him playfully from behind his bangs in his bowed state. “Fine,” he hissed, giving a polite wave to everybody as they slowly started to straighten up again, “We are not The Legends until all three of our friends have woken up from their slumber.”
His friends laughed, Sehun running up to give him another hug as everybody randomly clapped again. “But we’re close,” he whispered, emphasizing the last word and earning a soft laugh and pat on the back from the king.
“Until they have woken up, Sir Sehun. Then we will become The Chosen Twelve.”
It’s been a couple of months since they all awakened completely. Tao didn’t expect Kai to stay in slumber for so long after he woke up from his much needed rest. Chanyeol was the one to help bring Kai into the castle after the newly inducted strategist Xiumin and Head Guard D.O. carefully detached Luhan and Kris from the ground. A combination of Tao and Sehun had to be used to bring the two frozen users into the castle unnoticed, even though the guards on the walls already knew Luhan was frozen completely.
Every few hours, D.O. always came to check up on Kai in his bedroom, giving him a soft kiss and calling to him to see if he would finally wake. Today was no different. If he wasn’t at the gates monitoring those who left and came in, he would be cooped up in his room watching his calling, or at least walking around within the castle grounds to get some fresh air.
D.O. opened his bedroom door, half-expecting Kai to suddenly be awake and sleepily blinking at him, but knowing very well that he wouldn’t be up all of a sudden. The light in his eyes faded at seeing the other’s still form, barely having moved since they all first fell asleep months ago. He walked towards him, letting Suho close the door behind him whenever he followed after him, per Lay’s request.
“Jongin?” he called out tentatively, moving to lie down on the bed next to the other. He slipped under the covers, pulling the younger close to him. “Jongin. When will you wake?”
It’s a question that’d been asked one too many times, and each time, Suho found his spirit dropping for his longtime friend and brother. He truly believed the other would recover, but he didn’t know to what extent the damage he suffered had done to his body and mind. It might as well have been just as destructive as Luhan’s breakdown before they encased him in ice. The only difference was that Kai was definitely still alive. He was just in a deep sleep.
“Jongin,” D.O. whispered again, Suho finally closing the door behind him. The latter moved to the window, watching the citizens below as they passed by. Their parents already visited Kai before the coronation, and they still had high hopes for his recovery. “Jongin, I love you, you know? Sehun says he misses his idiot too.” The earth user frowned, feeling his eyes well up with tears once again. “You’re in there. You broke out of Luhan’s hold on you; you can break out of this hold on yourself.”
D.O. softly kissed him.
“You broke the barrier with Suho. You broke the stereotype. You broke my walls. You didn’t even harm me when we first met. Jongin, why can’t you… Jongin…”
Suho sighed softly, biting his lip to keep his own tears and feelings at bay. He didn’t want to see D.O. breaking down emotionally again. The latter let a few stray tears drop as he pulled away, trying to see any signs of movement or anything different. When he saw nothing, he let out a whine of disapproval and frustration. He hit the other on the chest before cuddling in close to him, placing one last kiss on his neck.
If Kai didn’t start wondering why their lands were separated; if Kai didn’t go to his father after his mother died and asked questions; if Kai didn’t suggest Kris and Xiumin to enter The Land of Day first to find answers, they wouldn’t be there. They wouldn’t have suffered. They wouldn’t have died. They wouldn’t have earned some of the best comrades they would ever obtain in this lifetime.
If Kai didn’t do any of this, none of them would’ve been able to find the one who would love them back wholly and completely, sacrificing their lives so the other could live. At least Luhan and Kris were together, albeit in another world. Come on, Kai, Suho drowsily thought, moving to sit in the corner of the room by the window, He’s waiting for you. Wake up.
Before they knew it, they were both fast asleep, hope still thriving in their pained hearts that Kai would wake up soon.
a/n: /cries. this is the end of legends: the chosen twelve. i can't believe i hit the end (and before this story has been out a year!). i can't believe so many people like this story, so it makes me very happy that you guys upvoted and subscribed ;u; (34 upvotes, 260 subscribed by april 25, 2014 3:03 pm)
(yes. i put jongin in a coma, and yifan and luhan are basically dead. that's how this story ends because i love angsty stuff and open endings ><)
on another note. i have decided there will be NO epilogue; however, i have a sequel in mind if everybody wants one. i already have most of the plot churned out, just in case it wins by popular vote (just comment here or in the blog post, whichever so i know what you guys like). it's not up yet, but i have all my stories compiled into one blog post found [here] where i'll link every exo oneshot/story of mine.
i really don't know what to say, except. this is the end ;~; i'm going to miss every one of you guys. thank you for being your beautiful self and a;ihrt;erih;erih.
until next time, loves.
-catalyst, aka ree
(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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