~Chapter Twenty-Two~

Confusion

Key's POV~

“You seriously are a pabo.” I scoff.

“Hey, as leader, I should protect my dongsaengs!” Onew yells.

“Darling, I love you and everything, but I seriously disapprove.” Joon shakes his head.

“You too?” Onew whines.

“Think about it, doing that is only going to trade lives. If Taemin dies, you die instead of him. If any of us get hurt, you get hurt in our place. We're fighting in a war, you can't just cast that spell. Even if one of us falls, you have to be able to replace us, as our leader.” Jjong says.

“It doesn't hurt to cast that spell. If all of the injuries go to me, then my dongsaengs can continue on.” Onew says.

“It doesn't matter, without my help,you can't finish the process anyways! Mehrong!” I stick my tongue out and fold my arms. Problem solved. “Where the hell is Minho?”

“How would I know?” Onew pouts.

“I think he's- Thunder.” Joon gasps.

“What's wrong?” I get up and check his energy. Nothing seems to be wrong with him.

“He finally joined Mir.” Joon tears up. “My dongsaengs have all left me.” He chuckles bitterly, and cries. Onew wraps his arms around him, and gently rubs his back.

“Thunder, one of our friends, is dead now. Joon is the only one left from his group. I have no idea why Thunder died though...” Onew explains.

“I killed him.” Minho says as he steps inside.

“You what?!” Jjong stands up.

“Why would you do such a thing?” I ask slowly.

“He asked you to, didn't he?” Joon stutters.

“He told me, that this was the only way to keep me alive.” Minho sighs.

“My dongsaeng.” Joon closes his eyes. “He sacrificed himself. Why is he so stupid?”

“Please don't blame yourself internally. I know you too well. He chose to kill himself; love, please don't cry.” Onew hugs him.

“Now that he risked his life, we have a better reason to stay alive. We have to live and not let those like him die in vain. The angels must win.” Minho says.

“Agreed. So what should our next step be?” Jjong asks.

“I believe...Minho needs to get captured.” I say slowly. We have to do this, now or never.

Kai's POV~

“What's your plan?” Taemin hyung asks me.

“In order to not gain any suspicions, we have to manipulate Minho hyung's real emotions. Everyone in the demon realm knows you are part of the SHINee warriors. It would be natural for Minho hyung to care for you. If we act like you are fighting me and he is worried and follows into the realm, no demons would suspect that we want him to get captured. Minho hyung himself is choosing to be captured. We need you to act as heartless as possible when he is captured; show no mercy. Minho hyung needs to act pained and betrayed. We have to act really well, since everything will be done in front of the general's eyes. Unlike the other lies, we can't make things up. What happens in front of him, will remain as clues. Eventually, if we keep messing up, he will kill us.”

“I get it.” Taemin hyung nods. “We'll tell the general our plans. You and I will start sword fighting somewhere near the headquarters when Minho hyung is alone. When he finally spots us and tries to save me, we lead him through the gates and capture him. And then...”

“And then, we have to act. We have to act like you joined the demons because of hatred. We have to act like you hate Minho hyung, and eventually, we might have to hurt your other hyungs.”

“What if our plan fails?” Taemin hyung looks at me.

“Then I will risk my life and make sure you all make it out of here alive.”

“Then you'll die-”

“I'll die a happy death.” I cut him off. “I will die happily knowing that I have saved you, hyung.”

“You told me that you will tell me about our past when the time comes. What if you never get the chance to tell me? What if you die before I get to know anything. Even though my angel memories have slowly returned to me, I still know nothing.” He sighs.

“If it's really that important to you...I'll tell you right now.” I hold his hand and look into his eyes. “I still am not sure if it was a dream or not, but you lived two lives in a time period. You died once, and then you returned again as a new person. Then, you died and then lived again. It was seriously mind blowing.” I start.

“How many lives did I have? Are you sure in my past life I wasn't a cat?” He jokes, trying to make it easier for me to tell the story.

“No silly.” I smile. “I rarely understand what happened myself. I'll just tell you briefly. We became very fond of each other. You would treat me like I was your family. You would help me fight and train, while I would try to entertain you. You risked your life for others many times, and once, you went missing. Everything after that was a blur. My brain somehow got injured...” I close my eyes and try to remember the unreachable past. “I turned crazy. I acted like a younger person, and lost my ability to help you. I then became a burden, just like everything else was to you at that time.”

“So you want to protect me in this life, because I protected you in our human life?” He asks. I can't tell him our true past. It's much too complex, too heartbreaking, much too unbearable (A/N: All of SHINee and the others' past are actually going to be revealed in the sequel, even though it's not totally based on their past, more or less. Sorry! It's not to make you read the sequel, but I just planned it that way!).

“Yes.” I lower my head.

“Don't feel this way.” He pats my head. “Hyung was protecting you because I wanted to, not because I had to. You were like a sibling to me, why are you feeling indebted?”

“Because, I feel like if I was normal back then, you wouldn't have lost your life, Onew hyung wouldn't have been hurt, Joon hyung wouldn't have died-”

“Joon? He was part of our past too?”

“They all were. The SHINee warriors, the demons, everyone was part of our past. They continued the cycle.”

“You mean?”

“This is all a cycle. Hyung, you have to understand this in order to win the fight...We all are in a cycle. No one can every leave the cycle unless they have been eliminated.”

“You mean their angel, demon, and human form must die?” His eyes widen.

“Yes. And I don't mean just die, they have to be gone. Forever. You have to be dead because of the war in order to eliminate one life.”

“So you're saying...if I die now, I will be out of the cycle?”

“More or less. Right now, you are all three in one. If you die now, you will not fit in Heaven or Hell. You would just...be gone.”

“So in order to kick everyone out of the cycle and win this war, I must kill all three of their forms?”

“Yes.” I nod.

“Meaning this isn't the end of the war.” He says in defeat.

“Precisely.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “This is only the third battle of the war hyung. Only some have actually been out of the cycle.”

“So you're saying, only we remain in it now? The SHINee warriors and the demons?”

“All of the angels and demons will be in it...but those who started it, have to end it. The cycle will never end unless you have eliminated enough evil, or bad. That's why this battle is so important. Whichever side that loses this battle, will slowly weaken.”

“The demons and angels...were once human?”

“Yes.”

“Then if we go back and save them from their fate of being a demon, maybe this war would end sooner!” He says.

“If we could go back in time and change it, then we can win.” I nod.

“Then we have to find a way! If we do this, then none of us have to suffer.” Hyung smiles.

“But how will we go back in time? If it was that easy, there would be those from Heaven and Hell fighting to fix it. Besides, you can't fix what has already happened. By trying to fix it, you'll only make it happen again, or make it even worse.” I explain.

“Why did those people turn into demons?”

“They died in vain.”

“Then what about the angels?”

“They died because of the ones they loved.” I look at him, for he is one as well.

“Meaning we all were sacrifices. Heaven is for the good, Hell is for the evil. If we somehow can go back, we can possibly change their fate.”

“Unfortunately, we have to just find a way to kill most of the demons now. We have no way to go back in time. And even if we did, the demons would be able to as well.” I sigh.

“One thing I don't understand...Mir died in the past in his human form, and he now died in his demon form...why is he out of the cycle?”

“Evil cannot turn good. If you died as an angel, you can become a demon, but no demon has become an angel. That's why, killing the angels will benefit the demons more. They will decrease their enemy and increase their numbers. Not to mention, the cycle is very confusing. You can be half human, half magical being. There's no indicated rule, except for the ones I have mentioned.”

“Got it!”

“Got what?”

“If we kill Heechul hyung, the general, then the demons would weaken since they lost their leader. Also, Joon hyung is the next one in line to lead. Since he's on our side, the demons would be 'a snake without a head.' This gives the angels a huge advantage!”

“One more problem, the longer the cycle continues, the more complex it will get.”

“Meaning?”

“There's no guessing what will happen.” I bluntly say.

“Nonetheless, we have to win this battle. Afterward, the cycle will continue. We'll just go with the flow.” He says confidently.

“Hyung, now we have to take action before the general catches up with us. If he kills either of us, we'll be out of the cycle.”

“Alright. Let's go capture Minho hyung.”

“Lee Taemin. I have been doubting you all along, but after this,” The general chuckles and stares at the chained up human Minho. “You have gained all of my trust. From now on, I will never question you.” He claps and a demon carries in a pair of large and powerful demonic wings. “I never gave you your reward for awakening the demon Minho.” He explains. He uses his internal strength and place it on Taemin hyung's back. With a flick of his wrist, the wings are permanently a part of Taemin hyung's body.

“Thank you, General.” Taemin hyung struggles to smile. How can he love such a horrible thing? Yes, he wanted wings, but these aren't his wings. These are not fit for an angel.

“I told you to call me Heechul hyung.” General smiles widely.

“Yes, Heechul hyung.” I can see Taemin hyung's uncomfortable face. He doesn't want to call the demon his loving Heechul hyung...Sometimes it makes me wonder how it would feel to have someone you love betray you like that...Taemin hyung must be very strong. He's the only one for me, and I know, I can never go against him.

“Kai!”

“Yes, sir.” I kneel down with my head low.

“Go fetch our secret weapon.” He snickers.

“Yes, sir.” I give Taemin hyung a hopeful look and walk out of the room.

Taemin's POV~

Today has finally came. Minho hyung is captured and I have to put on the best act as I can. I have gone through centuries of looking for my wings, and now I finally have a clue about them. After enrolling in the school for a while, I became family with my hyungs and regained memories of my angel life. I met the demonic Minho hyung after acting like I joined the demons. I slowly understood that what I felt for him as an angel is still there. I love Minho hyung, angel or not. Ironically, he's the one with my wings. I don't know if he is aware of this, or he simply is an enemy that I love. No matter what, I have to protect him.

I look at the dark wings with my peripheral vision. No matter what the cost it, I have to get rid of these wings and get my angel ones back. I must. Even if I die and leave the cycle, I have to. “Taemin, since we have captured human Minho, what should we do with him? I believe we should just slaughter him and feed him to our pets.”

“Please keep him alive.” I say.

“For what reason?” General raises his eyebrow.

“Since he connects to our weapon, if we kill him, we might weaken our weapon. Please keep him alive for the time being.”

“Very well.” General smiles. “You're here.” He stands up and greets the demonic Minho hyung. He changed his eye color to look for human, and he is wearing the same cloths human Minho hyung is wearing. The human Minho hyung shakes and falls unconscious. I resist the urge to protect him. It's difficult to not protect the one you love. Minho hyung- demon, human, or angel- is always caring and loving. I want to protect him- them all. Ironically, I am hurting both of them by letting them love me. “You will act as planned. Be our spy and make sure all of their plans and tactics are memorized. You will report them to me through Kai.”

“But sir, aren't I Taemin hyung's follower?” Kai bows.

“You're not questioning me, are you?”

“I wouldn't dare!”

“Very well then.” Demonic Heechul hyung glares. “Minho, make sure to act as human as possible. The human has only been gone for a half an hour, make sure you don't make it obvious.”

“Sometimes I wonder how dumb do you think I am. Are you sure you need me, or you can just do everything on your own? I am your weapon and I obviously know what my role is. I will act as the human and retrieve information. Plus, I can hurt them. By telling me all this, you're showing me that you have no trust in me.” Demonic Minho hyung folds his arms.

“I didn't mean-”

“Save your breath.” He cuts off the general with a wave of his hand. “I shall take my leave now.” As he passes me, he gives me a reassuring nod. He won't hurt my hyungs since he is still Minho hyung no matter how you put it. They are his friends. Even though he is angry at Him and the war, he will do what he believes is right. Which means, he has to help the angels, no matter what the risk is. Demonic Heechul hyung must think everything is going as he planned. Taemin- the enemy's secret weapon- has betrayed them, he made him their lead fighter along with demonic Minho- their secret weapon, human Minho is captured, and if demonic Minho succeeds, the angels will be eliminated easily. Unfortunately for him, our time together has bonded the warriors, no matter what form or lifetime it is. With other glance, demonic Minho hyung disappears into the shadows along with Kai. Only I am left here. If I make one mistake, the plan would fail.

Kai and I never made a plan. Since Kai thought he would continue to be on my side, we had to naturally act and earn the general's full trust. From then, we would defeat him and destroy the enemy side from inside the realm while my hyungs attacked from the outside...Now without Kai, I'm alone. I hate to act brutal and show how much I hate Minho hyung. The only problem is, where do I go from there? I should show demonic Heechul hyung that Minho hyung and I are enemies. Then, I can sneak into the prison and continue teaching Minho hyung how to use his powers, maybe even try to get my wings from him. As demonic Minho hyung, Joon hyung, and the rest plan outside, we can finalize the training. Lastly, I can be able to kill the general. If I die afterward, then I at least have done the most I can do to help. “Joon, you have returned.” The general says. Joon hyung appears from within the shadows.

“I apologize for my late return.” Joon hyung bows. Why is he back? The general has obviously lost all of his trust in him. Doing so will only hurt him and make the plan worse!

“I thought you even forgot this place was where you belong.” The general's voice lace with malice.

“I could never do so. As you have ordered, I have gained the angels' full trust. Their leader is in love with me and with my help, Taemin was able to capture the human.” The general eyes me. We never gave Joon hyung credit, because that simply wasn't part of the plan. We needed to gain the general's trust for my sake, not his...Why did he choose to return? “I have not done what I was sent there to do- which was to retrieve the angel wings-” Originally, Joon hyung became our friend to get my wings? Meaning human Minho hyung had my wings all along? Hyung never has any trace of power or unique qualities to him except for making my scars bleed; he kept my wings? Despite the explanations, I still am weary about whether to believe it or not. Now, I still am not sure. How can he possibly have my wings without knowing it? “But I have done what I could. Please do not mistaken my tricks for an act of disloyalty. I can never betray my kind.”

“Very well.” The general's eyes spark up. “Actually, I would like to change your mission. Since our purpose of getting the wings is to either have Taemin join us or we kill him, they are no longer needed. Now that our weapon is released, we have to make use of it. Joon, I order you to get rid of that Lee Jinki. For all I know, he is their leader. If we can dispose him, then chances of winning the war would risen.” He smirks. This what what the general was planning all along? Since Joon hyung is around the same fighting level as he is, he needs to get rid of him in order to stay in power. If Joon hyung fails or disobeys, the general has a reasonable excuse to kill him- if he doesn't kill Onew hyung that is. Whichever choice Joon hyung makes, the general will benefit from it. “I order you, eliminate Lee Jinki and lead us all into victory!”

Comments are loved, votes are appreciated!