Suho, Kris, Lay and the boys went with the former animals, leaving Luhan, Kyungsoo, and Kai under Jaesun's guard. Some bodyguards were with the group, just for the sake of the kings' safety.

Monggu was on the lead, walking few feet in front of the others while stretching his neck up and sniffed the air once every few steps.

"What are you doing actually? You're not a dog," Sehun furrowed his eyebrows.

"Searching for my scent," Monggu replied shortly.

"Do horses mark their territory..?" Baekhyun mumbled, pondering over the idea.

"He pissed on a tree near the entrance to mark it," Jjanggu said carelessly as if it was an everyday thing.

"So you even had time to piss there before you left," Kris said as an image of a horse pissing popped out in his head.

"Yeah. Why not? We weren't in hurry," Monggu turned his head and glanced at the king. "Don't imagine it. It's embarrassing."

Kris parted his lips and widened his eyes, slightly panicking when all heads turned to him.

"No, no I-"

"I can't believe it, hyung. You're not just a pedo," Suho chuckled and slapped Kris' back, causing the older king to pout.

"There it is," Lulu said, pointing at a hole, tearing everyone's attention much to Kris' relief.

"It looks different now, must be because of the quake," Tao flew his gaze around, seeing the fallen trees scattered here and there.

They all went down and went through the same path again. The only difference underground was that the metal door had gone, leaving a big hole on the wall with explosion marks around it.

"He blew it up," Suho growled. "Let's get in, everyone."

"Is it safe? It looks so dark," Tao hid behind Kris, who wrapped his arms around the panda behind him protectively.

"There's this thing called flashlight, Tao-yah," Baekhyun waved the flashlight in his hand on Tao's face.

Pouting, Tao followed the others walking into the path. He gripped two flashlights in his hands tightly. Seeing that, Kris chuckled and flung his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm here," Kris whispered. Tao looked at him with puppy eyes, but smiled hesitantly anyway.

The small path was slowly getting wider. There was an opened door at the end of it. Just by taking a glance at the room behind the door was enough to give them goosebumps. Nevertheless, Monggu, Jjanggu, Lulu and Bomi kept walking with blank faces.

They stepped inside and stopped to look around. The room was dark, the walls were covered with moss. There was a metal table with old papers and some rusty materials on it. Some weird looking machines and devices were scattered all over the room. On the right, there was a wide clear glass attached to the wall, and they could see the empty spacious room behind it.

"This place looks like a lab," Lay said in awe. "Underground lab. Wow."

"This must be Beom's," Kris said, aiming his flashlight across the room. He stopped when the light fell on a glass display showcase.

"That machine looks familiar, doesn't it Suho-yah?" he elbowed the shorter king's arm.

"It's only a big coffee roaster. Maybe you have the same one in your kitchen," Chanyeol said while eyeing a switch on the wall.

Click!

He flicked it, and the room became bright.

"Waaa it's still functioning!" The boys looked up at the lamps in awe. "How come??"

"Ahh, I know!" Suho clicked his fingers. "Beom invented this kind of power source that can be used without electricity for years. Like, really long time. These lamps must be connected to that source. He's brilliant!"

"Shame on you, Baek hyung. What have you invented so far?" Tao stuck his tongue out at Baekhyun, who imitated him mockingly and rolled his eyes.

"Oookay enough being childish and let's find our main target here," Chanyeol stepped between them and turned Baekhyun around facing the other direction.

"He's right, let's go," Suho said after stealing a glance at the machine in the display case.

Everyone turned their heads towards Monggu and Jjanggu, expecting them to continue the lead.

The two horse boys were touching each other's faces and bodies awkwardly.

"Uhm.. Excuse me, what are you two doing?" Suho pretended to clear his throat. "We need to get going now."

Monggu and Jjanggu pulled back immediately and made space between them, looking away in opposite directions.

"Sorry, we're just getting used to our new looks," Monggu said sheepishly.

"Yeah. I think he.. we look quite nice," Jjanggu added, his face was slightly flushed.

"Aww aren't they cute?" Lay cooed, instinctively resting his head on Suho's shoulder. The king's heart fluttered just by the short contact. Sehun raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"They're just in heat, it's- Mmph!"

Jjanggu covered Bomi's mouth with his hand and cracked a creepy grin, which was a little bit too wide.

"Ignore this kid, she doesn't understand what she's saying," the tanned boy laughed awkwardly, and then quietly turned around and dragged Monggu, marching towards the door at the end of the room.

"They need to find some mares real soon. You know, mating season," Lulu grabbed Bomi's hand and grinned at the others as they began walking, following the two boys. "You should take care of them, Sehun oppa. They're yours."

"Ah.. I see," Sehun mumbled while still gaping at his two pet horses. "I'll.. find one later."

"Two would be better," Chanyeol added with serious expression, actually considering to help the prince.

"Changing them back into horses first would be much better."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Lay's remark.

They exited the lab, walked a long long way through the tunnels lit by dimmed lights, before they finally reached their destination.

"I'm tired! My legs hurt, let's stop here and rest for awhile," Tao whined and bent down, hands resting on his knees.

"But we're there already, Taozi," Xiumin patted Tao's head without tearing his gaze off the light behind the opened metal door.

They all walked in cautiously with eyes locked on a certain tree in the middle of the cave-like room.

The broken tree was still glowing, but was covered with black smoke around it.

"It's.. magnificent," Suho whispered. "Finally, we've found it."

"So it's the Tree of Life?" Baekhyun stepped closer to the tree and reached out his hand to touch the trunk.

"It is," Kris said. "Be careful, kid."

Just when Baekhyun was about to lay his fingers on it, the dark smoke swirled and swayed around his hand. The boy widened his eyes, but kept his hand on the same position.

"Baekkie, step back. You shouldn't touch that," Chanyeol warned in alarm.

"It's fine," Baekhyun cocked his head to the side. "It's not harming me. Is it supposed to be like this? What's with all this smoke and creepy aura?"

"I believe it's because that little devil Jun has affected this tree. Because he's the first one to find it, and he has a bad intention of using the heart," Kris gritted his teeth. "So much of a bastard he is."

"I don't really understand," Xiumin shook his head confusedly. The other boys nodded, agreeing with the oldest boy.

"The first one to find the tree and how they treat it might affect how it will be; either filled with positive or negative energy," Lay explained. "Now that it's full of negative energy, we need to be careful around it."

Lulu and Bomi crouched down under the tree and poked the slightly wet ground.

"The liquid that we tasted was here," Lulu said. "It's almost dry now."

Lay also crouched next to them to observe the wet trail. It started from the trunk, flowing down to the ground. He traced it with his fingers and sniffed on it. The smell was sweet like honey.

"I think the tree wasn't leaking, like what Monggu and Jjanggu said. Maybe it's the fluid from the heart. Jun might have destroyed the shield covering it," he declared.

"Yeah, maybe," Jjanggu nodded. They all stared at the tree in silence.

Clank! THUMP!

"Aish!"

"AAAAHHH!"

They jumped and ran around in panic, surprised by the sudden loud sound coming from their back. The kings' bodyguards aimed their guns to all directions in alarm.

"Grrr..."

Everyone froze.

"Wh- What was that just now?" Baekhyun squeaked, his hand grasping a fist full of Chanyeol's sweater.

"Oww.. My head.."

They snapped their heads towards the voice.

Somehow Chen was sitting on the ground on the darker side of the place, a bit far from the others. He was whining and rubbing his head.

"Chen-ah! What happened to you?? Why are you there? Come here!" Xiumin called out in panic. He snapped his head side to side, searching for the source of the growling sound.

"I tripped on something," Chen pouted as he got up and brushed the dirt off his pants.

Everyone except the oblivious Chen widened their eyes and held their breath when a pair of glowing eyes appeared behind the boy.

"Oh my gosh Chen-ah," Xiumin covered his mouth with both hands. "Come here now. Slowly. Don't look back."

"Nobody aims flashlights at it," Suho warned the others. "Stay still."

"Grrr.."

Chen's body turned somewhat rigid.

"What's behind me?" He tried to keep calm. "It's not just a ghost, is it?"

"Ghosts don't growl, hyung. Just come over here already,"