His eyes opened and at once he felt the disappointment of the dream. It touched him with so much of that sadness that he almost wept as he woke up. D.O doesn't love me. We will never be together. He was still in the dream but he somehow still wanted to be inside it.

But he left the comfy bed. The sore feeling still twinging inside him from where Jongin had been only moments -or hours- ago. And he wandered, after getting fully clothed, toward the living room.

At once, even though his mind was shuttered, he knew that the adults were being quiet about something. It was almost like they were hiding something from him. "He can't come back. I mean," he interrupted. what did he mean? "Don't trust Arthur. He ..." But he couldn't say the words he was trying to. They wouldn't come out.

Probably because he was forgetting the details of his dream.

"I knew it." Kenneth stood up angrily. "We can't. We never could trust Arthur."

Xiumin's uncle stood up just as quickly. "You knew we couldn't. Now help us out. Bring us to that place and begin the alignment." He requested softly but firmly. "We need to do it quickly."

"What are we doing?" Jongdae asked curiously. He wasn't completely out of his fog yet, but what was this alignment thing they were talking about?

"Our father knows where our half of the tree is held. But he's refusing to bring us there." Chanyeol blurted out suddenly.

"Yifan... Chanyeol. Listen, I never said I didn't want to bring you there. I thought we needed more time. And we do. I need Zitao back. And Kai and Lay..." He looked pointedly at Jongdae then Xiumin.

"And Yifan?" Chanyeol spat out quietly. It was obvious that he wasn't used to talking back to his father. Jongdae could see that.

"We need the halves on each side for the alignment. If we don't, it's not going to work." Kenneth was still looking at Xiumin even though he was clearly talking to everyone in the room.

"Where is Kai and the others? When are they coming back?" Jongdae felt completely out of the loop. Not just out of his mind. Why could he still see D.O's eyes every time he blinked? He was with Jongin now. He should be more worried about his boyfriend than a complete stranger, the son of their biggest enemy, right now.

"They probably know now that time is of the essence." Jonathan replied reassuringly. "They will be back soon. Let's get to the palace first, in the meantime. Kai will find us. He will find you." He clasped a hand roughly onto Jongdae's shoulder.

***

The ride to the palace seemed much longer than it was and Kenneth drove the van in circles. Or so Jongdae thought. Was he just trying to stall or was there something more behind the confusion they were all experiencing? All except Jonathan. He kept breaking though their stupor. Getting Kenneth back on track every once in a while.

It wasn't until they were climbing out of the car, and all looking up at the monolithic house that appeared to be carved right out of the mountain, that they could finally feel at ease. And think clearly. Jongdae imagined that Suho and Baekhyun's house looked the same from the outside, even though he'd only been inside for a short period of time. All angles and points. Like shards of glass reaching out of the rock and towards the sky. It was cold yet very familiar.

Suddenly a gust of wind and butterflies erupted from seemingly nowhere. And they were there.

"See, I told you it would work." Jongin said giddily. His eyes sparkled with something.

"You told me?" Zitao grumbled behind him. Halted from starting a fight when Luhan and Chanyeol rushed forward to hug him tightly.

 Jongdae stepped closer to Jongin. There was nowhere else he wanted to be. If this was the end, he wished he could do this beside Jongin. His obsession with D.O completely forgotten now, he just couldn't wait to see Jongin again after this was all done.

He reached a hand forward to slide his fingers across Jongin's. Then in a 'what the hell' moment, he reached the other hand forward to Jongin's neck and pulled him close. Softly and forcefully pressing his lips against his boyfriend's. He spoke just as softly when they parted:  "So you did find me."

"Actually we went back to the house and everyone was gone," Zitao interrupted. "So we decided to try out this new power I can use along with Kai's ability to teleport anywhere he wants."

"New power? That's amazing." Chanyeol grinned and looked around. Eyes stopping on Kenneth. "Won't we all get more powers, then?"

"That's how it happens. Once we activate both halves, once we align, you will be able to do so much more." Kenneth admitted. "But none of you will be safe until that happens."

"Our side is already open." Jongin affirmed. "And we think Arthur is on his way."

"Well then, we better hurry."

Jongdae didn't want to let go of Jongin. Their fingers still tangled with eachother's and he gazed deep into Jongin's eyes.

"I wish we could be together for this." Jongin said softly. Voicing exactly what Jongin was thinking. They kissed once more and suddenly Jongin was gone. It felt so dreadfully final.