POV: Ren

I move quickly down the hall. A door closes off the corridor that holds cage 5. It's locked of course. Luckily the bolts aren't bulletproof. A flash of light. The door opens with a slam. Damn, I'm getting tired and I'm starting to get hungry. And, , more security cameras. Alright, I'll have to destroy these too. A few more explosions and the cameras stop working. Good riddance.

I keep moving forward to find doors upon doors but none of them is the one I'm interested in. It's possible that there's food behind one, but now's not the time to check.

One less camera. I keep searching.

            POV: JR

I hear an explosion. A moment later, the door opens. Someone enters. Blond hair. It's the happy girl.

No, it's not her. This person isn't smiling.

            POV: Ren

Finally, room 5. The lock system is huge; I hope it doesn't put up much resistance. Okay, concentrate. I relax, searching for power in my mind. Explosion. The bolts explode. I open the door to find our newest companion.

            POV: JR

He looks around. He sees me. Fear. He's scared? Why?

            POV: Ren

Why is he screaming? God dammit, they're going to find us if he doesn't shut up. What is he saying?

Blood? I don't see any blood anywhere!

"Shh! Shhh! Be quiet! They'll find us!"

            POV: JR

Why is he telling me to be quiet? Since when have I been screaming?

            POV: Ren

He's either really drugged or really insane. I hope it's the drugged option. Although it doesn't surprise me that he's so distressed. He's totally immobile because of the steel cables and the walls are full of mirrors. Even his clothes are covered in mirrors. There's light coming out of the floor and it's reflected all over the place. This place could drive anyone insane. I walk closer. There has to be some way to untie him.

            POV: JR

He's coming closer. Why is he coming closer? Don't come closer! It scares me. Get away, blondie! Don't touch me!

I'm scared. I'M SCARED.

            POV: Ren

He screams louder with each passing second. Do I scare him? Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"Hey, calm down. I just want to untie you. Don't make this difficult, okay?"

            POV: JR

He keeps getting closer. Don't come closer! If he gets too close, he'll explode like the happy girl. I don't want to see any more blood. There's already a lot. It's hard to breathe. So much blood is suffocating me.

            POV: Ren

Why won't he stop screaming? At this rate they'll kill us all! I have to calm him down somehow. He'll end up mute if he keeps screaming like this. And, besides, it's kind of frightening. It's starting to actually scare me.

            POV: JR

NO! No more blood! Don't touch me! Get away! GO AWAY!

            POV: Ren

Maybe if I untie him first he'll calm down. I'll start with the cables attached to his hands. But he won't stop shaking. I'll have to make him sit still. I reach a hand out to grab his.

            POV: JR

NO! GET OUT! DON'T COME CLOSER!

            POV: Baekho

I hear the screams once I'm near. They'll discover our escape soon at this rate... much too soon. Hopefully when I get there the others are already there and we'll be able to hide before the alarms go off.

The cameras in the second corridor are burned. The locks on the door are in a similar state. My path is in the clear.

I push open the door to see the guy from cage 5 – completely restrained by cables – with wild eyes and a lost look on his face. But he's not alone. The blond I saw in the cleaning hall is here too and his hand is outstretched, ready to touch him.

I sense the start of an explosion. I can see the blood.

"Ren, NO!"

            POV: Minhyun

Wow, this guy runs really fast. 'This guy'? Oh, I don't even know his name...

"Hey, you still haven't told me your name."

I speak quietly, moving my mouth in close to his ear. My voice must've startled him because I can feel his body jump and shudder.

            POV: Aron

I don't know what it is about this guy that's done this to me. It had taken a lot of effort to stop thinking about having him on my back, pressed against me, with his limbs wrapped around me, his warmth... I had finally managed to concentrate on what I'm doing and on escape, on the cameras, doors, and halls... But his pretty voice and the feeling of his warm breath against my ear has become a distraction once again. What's wrong with me? What is it about him? Why am I so obsessed with everything about him? I don't know. All I know for sure is that I love having him like this, pressed against me, protecting him...

I don't even know what he's just asked me anymore. Oh, right, my name.

"Aaron Kwak. But just call me Aron."

"Ah, okay."

            POV: Minhyun

He took a while to answer. I'm not sure what's wrong, but he seems distracted. Like he has his head in the clouds.

His quickness surprises me. He runs down the white walled halls at a speed I hadn't known was possible to run. He goes around the view points of the security cameras with great skill and when he's sure that he can't be seen, he approaches from behind and jumps like we're in the Olympics to destroy them with a kick. He also opens doors with his fists. It's really impressive. Especially since he does all this with my weight pushing down on his back.

But I can see that's he's starting to breathe hard. Just like I had been earlier, he's using his ability without pause. I know very well how tiring that is.

"Aron."

            POV: Aron

His voice startles me again. Calm down. This can't keep happening; I have to relax. He's just a normal guy, just like me. Why am I like this with him? I my lips nervously before responding.

"Yes?"

"Put me down."

Put him down? I halt, surprised, and do as he asks. I'm kind of disappointed. Does he not like being carried by me? Does he not feel comfortable with me? I don't know what's happening with me. My chest feels empty.

It must've shown in my expression because he immediately smiles at me as if to say that nothing's wrong.

"It's just that you look really tired and that's not convenient. If you jump to break the cameras without me on your back you'll conserve energy. We might need that later. Besides, I'm feeling better. I think I can walk now."

He's right. I was so focused on him that I hadn't noticed how tired I am. I nod and return his smile.

I leave him there and run ahead to destroy all the cameras in the next stretch of the hall.

            POV: Minhyun

Leaning against the wall, I manage to take a few steps. I'm moving along better than before, but I'm still overly clumsy. And I walk slowly.

Aron returns to my side. He's already taken care of all the cameras in this zone. The ways he looks at me is very affectionate. Very protecting. His gaze makes a happy, warm feeling spread through my veins.

"Here, let me help you."

"Oh, thank you."

I pass an arm over his shoulders and lean on him while Aron holds me by my waist, pressing us closer together. Since he's a bit shorter than I am, I can comfortably use him to hold me up while we walk.

We keep moving, although not very quickly, but seeing as it's me who's walking without being carried it's not too bad.

I'm not sure what it is that happens, but suddenly my leg refuses to move. It doesn't respond and I've placed my weight where a leg ought to be to sustain me. But it's not there and so there's nothing to hold me up. Result: I fall to the floor.

But I don't want to fall and, instinctively, I grab onto what I can. In this case, it's Aron. He's not expecting my fall and doesn't react in time. We both stumble and fall.

My back hits the concrete. My head connects with the floor and sends a spike of pain through me. To makes things worse, Aron falls on top of me, crushing my body with his weight. Something hits my mouth harshly. Something slightly wet has crashed against my lips. No, it can't be... I look at Aron to confirm my suspicions. He lifts himself up onto his forearms and, with the same dazed expression that I probably have, runs his tongue over his lips. Almost unconsciously, he touches his bottom lip with his fingers.

He stares at me and when he sees that I'm staring back at him, he looks away, blushing.

So I was right then. Ours lips touched in the fall. Does this count as some kind of kiss? I realize my cheeks are burning. It's embarrassing to know I must look like a tomato.

There's some sort of liquid on my lips. It tastes metallic.

            POV: Baekho

I jump forward in time to push him away before he touches him. I was so scared for a moment there that I had seen what would have happened if I hadn't gotten here in time.

            POV: JR

Ren? Is that the blond? Now there's two blonds. But this second one doesn't approach me. He moves away and takes the smaller blond with him, protecting him.

He's protecting him.

He covers him with his own body to get him away from me.

Like the woman from the dark room. She protected me. She hid me. And then she fell. After that, all there is is blood.

The blood floods everything once again. Red, dark blood. But this time I'm not alone. There's someone in the darkness with me. A voice. It whispers. It sings to me softly. It drags me with it to the room of mirrors. It returns me to reality.

            POV: Ren

What am I doing on the floor? I was trying to calm this lunatic and suddenly I hear a yell. And I'm on the ground. The man that has just entered pulled me away from the lunatic. Is he really that dangerous?

Now he's singing to him. No, he's humming.

His voice has something special in it but I don't know what it is... It's like a vibration. Yeah. The cables and our clothes look like they're shivering because of his voice. It's like there's a wind moving things... Wait...

Did he call me Ren? How does he know my name? And this power... it can't be... Is this Baekho? It has to be him.

I'm nervous. I don't know what to say to him. Dammit I seem like a love struck teenager! I've known him for a long time, we've told each other so much through notes and now... What happens if I'm not what he thought I would be? If he doesn't like me? I've always been told that I have a girl's face and he's so... manly.

Dammit, Ren, stop thinking of such stupid things!

            POV: Baekho

I don't even know why I'm doing this. Randomly singing? I don't know. My little sister always stopped crying when I sang to her. I guess it was just a natural reflex. I had to calm him down. I had to protect Ren.

But how did I know that this guy is Ren? I don't know that either. I just knew.

If I really think about it, there's a lot of indications. He's the guy from the cleaning hall, he got here first and he's the only one that manages to get himself into trouble at least every half hour. But I didn't think of any of that. I just knew.

Anyway, now I have a larger, more important problem to deal with.

Number 5 seems to be calmer now. But he's much crazier than I thought he would be. When Nara told me that he had destroyed the arm of one of her friends just because she touched him, I knew he would be in deep, but this... It doesn't even seem like he sees me. He just keeps repeating 'blood, blood' over and over again.  Every now and then he throws in a 'get out' or 'be quiet' or 'don't touch me'.

Poor guy. I can't even imagine what he's gone through...

My singing seems to calm him down though.

"Um... Baekho?"

            POV: Ren

I had to do it. We have more important things to do but I need to know that it's him. To talk to him. To hear his voice.

He immedietly turns around with a huge smile on his lips. His smile nearly makes him shine. Seeing him happy makes me feel happy too.

Wow, what a smile.

"Hello, Ren! Are you okay? I'm glad to finally meet you, even if it's in this situation..."

He's said hello... and that he's happy to meet me! But what do I say now?

            POV: Baekho

Hello? Seriously? I spent so much time planning this yet I can't think of anything better to say? I'm an idiot...

He's really pretty. His hair is long and he's blond, like me. Large eyes and pink, inviting lips... I almost expect to see a blush on his cheeks and a small, shy smile.

But there' none of that. His face remains totally expressionless when he responds with cold words.

"Um... yeah, hi, thanks... I'm fine..."

Okay, perfect. On the inside, I knew that I shouldn't have thought so much of him. It's always the same. All those cards don't mean anything to him. I shouldn't have given myself so many illusions. We're just allies. He only spoke to me in order to get out of here. I was the only one he could talk to. It's normal that he would talk back, if only to lessen the sense of isolation. It didn't mean anything more to him.

Unfortunately, it meant everything to me. I don't know what to hold on to anymore.

            POV: Aron

A kiss. Oh my god! That was a kiss! An accidental one, of course, but that doesn't make it any less a kiss. I feel my heart flutter. I like him. It can't be anything else. He has fascinated me from the moment I saw him. From when he saved my life, from when I first saw his sweet smile... I want to be with him, to escape together with him...

"Um... Aron, I... this... I... I'm sorry..."

I finally look at him. His face is red and he keeps stuttering. Our collision has left him with a split bottom lip. He's bleeding. His body is still beneath mine. And he looks so cute...

            POV: Minhyun

I don't dare to look at him. This is so embarrassing. But I do look at him when I notice that his face is getting closer to mine. What is...? His lips part ever so slightly and he uses his tongue to clean the blood off my lips.

What is he doing? I should push him away. We're both guys. I'm not gay.

But I don't push him away. Why aren't I pushing him away?! I should do it, but I can't. My body doesn't move, doesn't respond. Okay, that's a lie. My body can move now, but I don't want to move. I don't want to push him away. What the hell am I thinking? Of course I don't like this! I don't like him! I should get him off of me! Dammit but I don't want to! I like what he's doing, I don't want him to stop... No! How can I like this? I can't like this! But I do, a lot actually.... Aaaah! I must be going insane!

He backs away abruptly. He gets off of me like he's been burned. Once he's on his feet, he turns his back on me. He looks just as confused as I am. I kind of miss the contact already...

            POV: Aron

What did I just do? What the hell did I just do? Oh my god, I'm crazy! How could I have let myself do such a thing?! Now he's going to hate me. I'm an idiot. Idiot, idiot, I'm such an idiot.

What did I do? What do I do? What do I say? How do I fix this?

I turn to glance at him. His mouth is open like he's still thinking over what just happened. When he returns to realty he'll scream at me and I'll deserve it. How can I be so stupid?

"Min, forgive me. I didn't... I didn't want to... What I mean is... is that this doesn't... that I... that you... that I'm not..."

. Now I really do seem completely stupid. Why can't I say anything that makes sense? I'm tempted to smash my head against the wall. Maybe enough to give a red tint to these impossibly white walls... What am I thinking? I'm getting off track...

"You don't have to apologize, Aron. I liked it... a lot."

Now I'm the one who's shocked. Did I hear that right? It can't be...! I stare at him with wide eyes. He seems to have just realized what he has said. His cheeks flush even darker than before and he covers his face with his hands.

            POV: Minhyun

, , ! What the am I saying? Why do I always talk without thinking? Now what do I do? What should I do?

I didn't lie. I really did like it... But I can't just say it like that! Besides, I'm not gay. I'm not gay dammit!

I should calm down, take deep breaths and regain control over myself.

            POV: Aron

It looks like he's calmed down a bit. His hands fall from his face and he's not blushing as hard as before. He sits up and looks at me.

"I think we should go. We have to find the others as soon as possible or else the guards will find us."

He's changed the topic so sharply. Maybe that's the best thing to do right now.

I nod and offer him help to stand. I'm not positive that he'll except, but he does. His arm goes around my shoulders just like before and we continue down the hall.

Soon enough we arrive to a sign that says 'Room 3'. Curiously, we look inside and find a small cage with metallic walls, a mirror, and some kind of round platform. The enclosure used to be kept closed by large metal bars that are now laid out on the floor, completely destroyed.

I'm sure that one of our companions was here and, judging by the room, that he has managed to escape. I'm glad to know that the plan has worked.

From here on out, all the cameras are already broken and all the doors are open. The one from that room has taken care of it all. Since I don't need to use my energy to destroy anything anymore, I tell Minhyun that, if he wants, he can ride on my back like before. We'll move faster that way.

I'm scared to hear his response, but to my delight he smiles and accepts. It's pleasing to know that his way of treating me hasn't changed after that.

            POV: Minhyun

I climb onto his back and let him carry me again. I like being like this. I had already been missing this while I'd been on my own feet. Something inside of me makes me hold onto him tighter than necessary. I dismiss the thought because holding him makes me feel good.

I don't know what's happening to me. I think I might like Aron, but that can't be. I'm not into guys! I must be confused. He's the first person that has helped me and who has protected me in a long time. We've both experienced the same torture and we both have the same infinite desire for freedom. It's nice to be at his side because he understands me and treats me well. I suppose that all this has caused me to confuse my feelings towards him. I'll just have to distance myself from him once we meet up with the others. I'm sure that'll put things in their place and will show myself that all I feel towards this man is gratefulness, respect and companionship.

While I'm thinking of all this, we move quickly through the halls. We pass 'Room 4' and see that it's covered by a curtain and that the zipper is open. Good. This guy has managed to escape as well.

We continue. At the end of the next hall I finally see a door labeled 'Room 5'. We've almost made it to our destination.

            POV: JR

The darkness blossoms over me once again. Red darkness. Black light swallows me.

The voice that rescued me before has left. The gentle melody that kept me in the room of mirrors has gone silent and the darkness drags me under again. I can see those images again. The blood, the pain. Now the face of the blood covered woman is mixed with the one of the happy girl. One cries, one smiles, and the both of them bleed. The wall of mirrors is covered in blood. The floor is being flooded in blood. Everything is filled with blood. I want to get out of here! I want to leave! There's too much blood! TOO MUCH BLOOD! And way too much pain.

            POV: Ren

Why can't I say anything other than foolishness? Now he'll think that he's not important to me, that I'm not interested in getting to know him, that I haven't been dying to hear his voice... He looks disappointed and sad... Dammit!

I have to fix this. I have to tell him something else. I have to...

A scream. What the hell is that? , the lunatic is screaming again. I totally forgot about him! Now he's screaming about the blood again. I'll end up going insane too if he doesn't stop!

            POV: Baekho

The yells of the crazy one brings me back to reality. I can't give up because of something like this. This isn't the time to think of issues in my love life, or lack of one. Right now, this is much more important.

I return my attention to the brunet and sing for him again. It's amazing how he changes from one second to the next. He relaxes again. He looks sane even.

Ren doesn't try to talk to me again, he just listens. No, don't think of him now. Forget him for a moment.

The last two arrive.

I know exactly who is who. It's almost as if I know them.

The stronger, shorter one with bandages and burn scars is from room 2. He's the fast one, the one in flames. The other one, the taller one with the face of a little boy, the one on the first one's back is from room 1. The sedated one, the one who controls elements.

Now we're all here.