Himchan, Daehyun and Zelo scurried to their feet, a bit pale in the face from Hyo Shin’s sudden announcement. “He’s here…” Hyo Shin repeated, walking quickly to the large window beside the front door of the house.

“Not that far either. The dark pressure he’s exerting is so heavy…” Hyo Shin was almost shaking as he spoke. Bang took a step backwards, realizing that the threat Hyo Shin had warned Zelo of the night before had arrived.

“It’s a he? A person?” Bang asked. Surprisingly, nobody questioned or scolded Bang for getting involved. The other boys looked just as freaked out and curious.

“Something like that. It doesn’t have its own physical form.” Hyo Shin stuttered a little bit as he explained it.

“So how do we find it?” Youngjae asked.

“There’s no time to explain right now.” Hyo Shin was about to call Edward, but his phone was already ringing the next second. It was Edward, of course.

“Edward.” Hyo Shin was silent for a minute after that, just nodding along with whatever Edward was saying. Finally, Hyo Shin spoke up swiftly. “Yes, we’re on our way there now. I’ll bring the outsider with us. Thank you, Edward.” Hyo Shin hung up and gave all the boys a serious look. There was something about the way the moon lit up the room that made everyone look ten times scarier. Bang watched and felt as the uneasy tension made its way from one boy to another, even the loudmouth Daehyun looked ready to run for the hills. Bang knew the only reason Hyo Shin was bringing him along was to have that Edward guy erase his memories, but Bang was going to make sure that didn’t happen. As freaked out as Bang was to go face this dark threat that had come to the city, he knew that running home now with his tail between his legs would only have him back at square one the next day.

“Don’t be scared. We’re strong.” Hyo Shin said to them. “We’re not really going there to fight it, just confront it.”

Bang walked fast trying to keep up with the group as they went back into that hidden portion of the house, maneuvering through like it was second nature. Finally, they came upon an underground garage. Hyo Shin spoke briefly, explaining exactly what was going on in the most assuring voice he could manage.

“Its name is Razzo and like I said, it has no physical form. It’s just pure evil and darkness that has become a living presence that can only survive with a host.” Everyone followed closely behind Hyo Shin, hanging onto his every word. Youngjae even looked back a couple times to make sure Bang was still there and paying attention.

“Edward and I encountered it about five years ago…”

“What happened?” Zelo asked. Bang was a little shocked to see how little Hyo Shin’s own family even knew about it all.

“Razzo was possessing a young boy in Japan. Edward and I tried to defeat it on our own and failed miserably. Razzo left the boy’s body and ever since then…we’ve been waiting for it to show up again.”

“How did you even know it was going to come here anyway?” Daehyun asked next.

“Ever since our last encounter with Razzo, we’ve had somewhat of a sixth sense towards it. The horrible feeling we felt the first time we encountered him never really left the pit of our stomachs.” Hyo Shin explained. “It’s at the city junkyard.” Hyo Shin stopped in front of a large black Range Rover in the underground garage.

“Bang, I’m only bringing you along because Edward plans on meeting us halfway to erase your memory. After that, you won’t remember any of this.” Hyo Shin said nicely, giving a quick nod to the boy. Bang tried to think of something to say, but before he could, Hyo Shin rushed him, Zelo and Youngjae into the backseat. Daehyun took the passenger seat and Himchan went to a small sports car a little further away.

“Jongup, stay here and watch over Hyori.” Hyo Shin said, starting up the large car. Jongup nodded diligently as both cars pulled out loudly. Bang and all the other boys stayed quiet as Hyo Shin drove through a dark tunnel that eventually led up and out of a small passageway beside the house’s back gate, completely unseen by anyone.

“Edward and his branch will be there. Please, no arguing.” Hyo Shin said, cutting all the boys a look.

“You’re telling us?” Youngjae muttered.

“Who is this Razzo thing living inside of this time?” Bang spoke up.

“We don’t know. That’s one of the main reasons we’re going to confront it.” Hyo Shin looked like he was starting to get a little irritated. “Really, there may be no need for any of you to get out of the car at all.” He tried to feign anxiousness. Zelo stared at his Uncle, completely taken aback by how shaken up he was.

“If that was the case, you wouldn’t have us here in the first place.” Daehyun said.

“Or you would’ve just let Edward’s branch handle it.” Youngjae added on.

“Is this why we’ve been training extra hard lately?” Zelo asked.

“Yes.” Hyo Shin answered. Making a sharp left, Hyo Shin went on speaking. “Nobody let their guard down and don’t be a hero.” Bang and the rest of the boys gulped, clearly afraid.

“Like I said, don’t be scared.” Hyo Shin felt like such a hypocrite telling his boys to be brave when he couldn’t even fake the slightest bit of bravery. There was so much about the encounter in Japan he didn’t speak on…as strong as he and Edward were, they had more reason to be scared than any of them.

                Gunwoo levitated before his three henchmen, still flashing his devil’s grin. “Let’s get started right away, shall we?” Gunwoo said, making Sunmi shiver a little with the sound of his voice. Gunwoo’s cell phone floated out of his pocket and called Insoo’s number on its own. Insoo answered and Gunwoo’s voice switched back to normal right away. “Hey, bro…I need you to meet me right now.” Gunwoo said.

                Insoo only half rushed to meet his brother at the junkyard. Gunwoo’s words had been so vague and confusing. Insoo didn’t think his brother sounded worried or scared, but still, it sounded really urgent that Insoo get there. However, without a car of his own, Insoo had to walk. After about forty minutes of walking, Insoo was halfway to the junkyard. Suddenly, Insoo stopped walking and took a good look around him. The full moon above was providing most of the light as he stood completely still in the empty street. There were no cars, no homes, no buildings, just the road. Insoo jumped when a hand touched his shoulder.

“Oh my God.” He yelled, spinning around to see Dasom standing there with a startled expression.

“Insoo, oh my gosh, I promise I didn’t mean to scare you.” She held her hands up, smiling sweetly.

“It’s alright, Dasom. I wasn’t even scared, just caught off guard.” Insoo regained his manly composure.

“Right.” Dasom said sarcastically, sweeping her hair to one side. Insoo and Dasom stood awkwardly in front of each other for a few seconds, not sure what to say next. Insoo was going to ask what she was doing so far from civilization but she beat him to the punch.

“What brings you out here so late?” Dasom asked, looking all around them at nothing in particular. Insoo laughed a little, not really sure if he wanted to lie and risk sounding like an idiot or tell the truth and possibly worry Gunwoo’s girlfriend.

“Gunwoo called me.” They said a few seconds apart from each other. Dasom jumped a little and Insoo stared, confused.

“Did you say Gunwoo called you?” Insoo asked, cupping his ear slightly.

“Yeah…he didn’t really say why, but that I needed to get to that junkyard right away.”

“Same here.”

“Maybe he’s having car trouble.” Dasom suggested. Insoo could tell the girl was more scared than anything. Dasom was somewhat of a sheltered girl and Insoo knew that she had probably never stepped foot in a junkyard or even been to this shady, barren part of town.

“But wait, you have a car. Why didn’t you drive?” Insoo asked, looking around for the girl’s car.

“My car is in the shop for a couple more days. That’s why I was late to the party.” Dasom said.

“Oh.”

There was a sudden shattering sound from the junkyard that made Dasom scream. Insoo instinctively just grabbed her close to him. It was not so much as a hug or embrace, but more like he just wanted to close the gap between them.

“What the hell was that?” Dasom said, frantically looking all around them again.

“I…just…” Insoo began, regretting pulling her so abruptly.

“You heard it, right?” Dasom asked him.

“Oh that? Yeah, I heard it, that was weird.”

“Let’s go. Gunwoo might be hurt or something.” Dasom lightly moved from Insoo’s grasp and power walked towards the junkyard ahead. Insoo watched the pretty girl walk ahead of him, grateful of how comfortable she had been with him pulling her close.

“Wait up, Dasom.” Insoo jogged to fall into pace with her.

                “Damn, there’s no reception in here.” Insoo said, after trying to call Gunwoo for the tenth time.

“Gunwoo! Gunwoo! Gunwoo, I’m here! So is your brother!” Dasom screamed out In every which direction. Insoo laughed a little to himself at how much she wore herself out just from shouting. Dasom wiped a bead of sweat from her face and smiled over to Insoo.

“Don’t laugh…but I’m really happy you’re here.” She said. Insoo hid his embarrassing blushed face by turning away as if he had heard something. Luckily, just the fact that it was so dark and junk in the actual junkyard helped to conceal Insoo’s red cheeks.

“Why would that make me laugh?” He asked after a minute.

“Because when Gunwoo called me here, I had a feeling he was going to break up with me.” Dasom managed to sound lighthearted even then, keeping up the sweet smile she always wore. Insoo stopped walking to stare at the girl with incredulous eyes. “Really?” He asked. Insoo couldn’t even imagine Dasom and Gunwoo breaking up after the way they had been making out so much at the party. Insoo was still on edge since Gunwoo had been acting so different since coming back, but if anything had remained the same about him, he would’ve guessed it was his love for Dasom. Hearing Dasom’s doubts really took Insoo by surprise and in a way, even angered him. Dasom was so sweet and good at heart, she didn’t deserve to be dumped by anyone lucky enough to have her in the first place.

“A month before Gunwoo come back, he was so distant from me. Nearly all of my calls and texts went unanswered. I even started writing him letters, he never wrote me back. All of my attempts to fly out and visit him were shot down.” Dasom laughed a little and let her brown hair hide the fragile smile on her face. The girl felt like saying this all out loud made her sound bratty and clingy somehow.

“I should’ve been more understanding that he was busy and not jumped to conclusions.”

“What?” Insoo said, taking two big strides closer to her.

“Gunwoo was busy studying really hard and I sometimes felt like I was bugging him.”

“Dasom, don’t be that way. You are his girlfriend, he should have made time for you, instead of neglecting you.” Insoo said sternly.

“My mom said the same thing. “

“Well, she’s right. Any guy would be lucky to have you, so don’t settle for being treated so poorly.” Insoo let his words trail off, afraid of sounding too passionate. It was too late, Dasom had already picked up on it and as touched as she was, she wanted to change the subject.

“It’s so cold. Where could he be?” She said, awkwardly turning her back to Insoo and walking forward.

“Gunwoo!” Dasom called several more times. Insoo walked behind her, silent.

                “We’re walking in circles.” Dasom finally said after a long, heavy sigh. The girl quickly put her hair in a ponytail and slapped on an exasperated expression.

“Have we really?” Insoo asked.

“We’ve passed this pile of care four times.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because.” Dasom answered blankly. “Maybe he left.” She thought out loud.

“Why would he call us here if he was just going to leave?” Insoo walked to stand beside the girl.

“Or maybe he was never hear to begin with?” Dasom went on speaking with a slight bite in her voice.

“You think…he was messing with us?”

“I don’t know. He’s been weird lately.” She admitted.

“You think so too?” Insoo quickly sidestepped in front of Dasom, looking her right in the eye for a straight answer. Dasom didn’t even have to open to give Insoo the answer he needed, he could tell just by her cracking expression that she indeed felt the same way.

                There was a loud crashing sound followed by bursts of shattering glass that sounded far at first and then suddenly close. Dasom screamed and covered her ears. Insoo grabbed the girl close to him and spun around while holding her to his chest.

“What the hell is that? Who’s there?” Insoo yelled so strongly that Dasom could feel the rumble in his chest.

“Ah, look at the cute couple.” An unfamiliar voice said. Dasom and Insoo looked above them to see Gunwoo on top of a pile of wrecked cars, just casually laying on the roof.

“Gunwoo…” They both said. Dasom moved out from Insoo’s grasp and gawked at her boyfriend.

“Gunwoo, what is going on? What are you doing up there? Why did you call us here?” She asked all the questions in the same breath, starting to work up a cold sweat again.

“Stop yelling.” Gunwoo said as he stood up on the roof.

“Be careful.” Dasom told him. Gunwoo did a quick spin on one heel and freaked bot Dasom and his brother out.

“Dammit, Gunwoo, be careful.” Insoo shouted.

“You two are so bossy. You’re perfect for each other.” Gunwoo laughed, jumping right off the pile of cars. Dasom screamed again, afraid that Gunwoo was about to break his ankles or worse. However, Gunwoo landed gracefully on his feet like the jump was no more than a foot high.

“You fool.” Dasom ran up to Gunwoo to scold him but he quickly grabbed her wrist and jerked her toward his chest. Gunwoo held her in an uncomfortable looking back hug and started whispering something in her ear that Insoo couldn’t hear. Dasom cringed at whatever he was saying.

“Gunwoo, what the hell?” Insoo said, taking half a step forward.

“I should be asking you the same thing, brother. What the hell is your reason for getting so cozy with my girlfriend? Why did you put your hands on her?” Gunwoo asked, only looking up at Insoo with one eye. Quietly, Dasom struggled to get loose of Gunwoo.

“I was just…looking out for her.”

“That’s all?” Gunwoo asked. “You weren’t perhaps, trying to cop a feel?”

“Gunwoo, you’re talking nonsense? Are you drunk?” Dasom exclaimed.

“Let her go.” Insoo demanded.

“Fine.” Gunwoo basically pushed Dasom away from him. The tall, petite girl staggered a bit, but Insoo was there to stable her.

“Hey! You’re really starting to piss me off.” Insoo was furious. The two boys started to walk towards one another slowly.

“Don’t fight.” Dasom said weekly, feeling too shaken up and cold to really shout anymore.

“Well, what are you going to do about it?” Gunwoo threatened.

“Gunwoo, you aren’t yourself.” Insoo said.

“I’m better.” Gunwoo agreed. Insoo’s hard expression lightened at Gunwoo’s words. More than he wanted to fight his brother, he wanted to help him.

“Tell me, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Please, Gunwoo.” Dasom chimed in, staying behind Insoo. Gunwoo took a long while before he spoke again, pretending to take a long hard think.

“…No.” Gunwoo finally said just before grabbing Insoo’s whole face in his hand and throwing him aside like a child’s toy. Insoo hit the ground hard and Dasom screamed, unsure of which boy to run up to. Insoo pulled himself up halfway, shocked and hurt…physically and emotionally. Gunwoo had never laid a violent hand on Insoo…ever.

“Who are you?” Insoo whispered. Gunwoo walked over to his hurt brother and kicked him in the side before he could get all the way up.

“Gunwoo! Enough, enough!” Dasom yelled and ran at his back, ready slap or claw or bite him, whatever it took to make him stop.

                “Don’t touch him.” Kai dashed in front of Dasom, stopping her in her tracks. Insoo quickly got to his feet then, wiping some blood from his cheek. Kai had boarder line came out of nowhere and had Dasom at a loss for words.

“Where did you? Who…” Was all the girl could manage as she took one step backwards. Gunwoo chuckled, not even bothering to turn around and face Kai and Dasom.

“Gunwoo, I’m going to kick your .” Insoo yelled, running at his brother, but Kai seemed to flash from one side of Gunwoo to another in a mere second. Now, he faced Insoo with a dark expression on his face.

“Don’t even think about it.” Kai warned. Insoo hesitated, but then decided he’d just kick both their asses and tried to swing at Kai. Insoo stopped short when Dasom screamed again. Looking past Kai and Gunwoo, he saw the other two henchmen who had flashed in front of Dasom and were both holding one of her arms, keeping her from fighting back. Tears started to run down Dasom’s face finally.

“Gunwoo! Help me.” Dasom pleaded, helplessly flailing herself around.

“Stop trying to break free, it makes you look even more pitiful.” Sunmi suggested, rolling her eyes.

“Doesn’t she remind you of yourself a little, Sunmi?” Jay asked with a goofily sinister smile on his light skin face.

“What the heck do you mean, idiot?” Sunmi hissed back.

“Well, you know a thing or two about being rejected?” Jay answered, shrugging.

“I broke up with you. Not the other way around.” Sunmi finally addressed the elephant in the room.

“Shut up, both of you.” Kai cut them an irritated expression. Kai directed his attention back to Insoo, kicking him right in the chest. Dasom screamed as Insoo flew back several feet into the bumper of a wrecked Cadillac.

“Leave us alone.” Dasom’s voice cracked as she fell to her knees, still unable to move either of her arms.

“No can do.” Gunwoo said cheerfully. “You two are my first test subjects.” Just then the Pisces stones came floating into view. Dasom watched the stone orbit around Gunwoo with a both amazed and frightened expression.

“You really think one of these two holds a Z Stone?” Jay asked, looking totally unimpressed.

“No. But it’s worth a try.” Gunwoo answered.

                Gunwoo used some dark ability to capture Insoo and Dasom in an invisible box. The two of them stood within its confines, trying to bang and ram their way out of the unseen walls.

“This is impossible.” Insoo fell backwards onto his , bruised and worn out from trying to break through the invisible box walls. Dasom sat in silence, shivering. Gunwoo stared at the two of them for a long while, which annoyed Sunmi.

“Sir, it’s late. Let’s get this over with please.” She complained. Gunwoo waved his hand in a wide motion and there was a shattering sound. Insoo didn’t waste a moment, he knew the box had been called off by Gunwoo and took his chance to scoop up Dasom and make a run for it.

“Hey!” Jay yelled, totally confused about what Gunwoo was doing. “Don’t you see they’re getting away?” He pointed harshly at Insoo’s back.

“I want to have some fun.” Gunwoo said slyly.

“Fun?” Kai didn’t catch on.

“Let them think they have a chance. Them go after them, chase them, toy with them, and bring them back to me when they’re on the edge of death.” Gunwoo said, smiling that joyfully evil grin again.

“Do we have to?” Sunmi asked, clearly bored with the whole outing already. Jay on the other hand was already rubbing his hands together and his lips like he was about to dig into a full course meal. Sunmi scooted an inch further from him than she already was, recognizing that crazed look in his eye. After about four minutes, Jay took off after them, howling like an idiot. Sunmi went too, just wanting to get it all over with. Gunwoo and Kai stayed behind…Kai snuck a long, sad look at Gunwoo.

Kyungsoo…I know you’re still in there. Kai thought to himself.

                With Dasom in his arms, Insoo ran through the junkyard at full speed. Frustrated because he had no clue where he was going, Insoo continued to make wrong turns that lead back to dead ends or spots he had already been to. Cursing under his breath, Insoo kept on running until Dasom tapped his arm rapidly.

“I can run on my own, put me down, please.”

“Are you sure?” Insoo asked.

“Yes.” Dasom replied. Insoo put her down and she took a good look around, clearly having more insight as to which way was correct than him. “This way.” Dasom said pointing to the right. The two were just about to take off when Jay shouted down at them from a pile of cars. Both Dasom and Insoo jerked their heads up to see Jay and Sunmi up above, one looking psycho and the other looking bored and sleepy.

“Don’t bother running anymore.” Sunmi said somewhat nicely.

“Run.” Jay told them. Dasom and Insoo started to run together, both panicked.

“Dammit.” Sunmi said. Jay grinned and held his left hand outward. “SUMMON.” He said. Just then, small lines of light gathered in his palm, colliding together into a long glowing stick, which suddenly just exploded into a sword. Next, Jay leapt from the pile of cars he and Sunmi stood on. While in mid-air Jay swung his sword wildly. “UNLOCK.” Jay said as he got closer to the ground. Dasom and Insoo were frozen in fear, watching Jay’s sword play above their heads.

“What are you people?” Dasom yelled.

“Samurai?” Insoo wondered.

“LOCKS.” Sunmi answered honestly.

“RAZOR GALE!” Jay shouted, swinging his now glowing sword. Insoo and Dasom were forcefully separated by a high speed stream of air that Jay had summoned with his abilities. The stream of air zipped through the ground between Insoo and Dasom, blasting them apart from one another. There were glowing razors inside the air stream that Jay sent outwards, chopping up some of the wrecked cars even more. A razor slashed right through the pile Sunmi had been standing on.

“SUMMON.” Sunmi summoned her own sword as she jumped down to land behind Jay. Rushing to his feet, Insoo took off, thinking Dasom was right behind him…she wasn’t, the two had ended up running in opposite directions just like Jay had anticipated.

“Go after the girl.” Jay told Sunmi right before he dashed off after Insoo. Sunmi took her time and walked in the direction Dasom had ran, letting her sword drag along the ground.

                Gunwoo stood silently waiting for his henchmen to come back with the two victims. Kai stood behind him, just as silent. Gunwoo looked to Kai slowly and nodded.

“We have company.” Gunwoo said with a large smile. “Ah, I recognize this person’s pressure. It’s him.” Gunwoo shoved Kai out of the way quickly, sending him flying backwards. Kai back flipped a couple times and stopped himself from crashing head first into a wall. Once he landed, Kai looked up to see Hyo Shin run at Gunwoo, shouting.

“Razzo, leave that boy’s body!”

“Not a chance.” Gunwoo answered.

“SUMMON.” They both yelled, summoning their blades with beams of light collecting in their palms. The two collided swords right away. Kai was surprised at how well Hyo Shin held his own against Gunwoo’s brute power. Gunwoo and Hyo Shin continued to clash swords, weaving around each other, slashing away, blocking, and leaping, rolling, dodging and swinging. Neither of the two landed a clear hit on the other’s body, they were both too skilled.

“Long time no see.” Gunwoo said, sidestepping a stab from Hyo Shin.

“Whatever plans you have for that body and this city…”

“What? You think you can stop me? Hyo Shin, I defeated you once before and from the looks of it, you’re just as strong then as you are now. I on the other hand, grow stronger every day.” Gunwoo shouted at the end, swinging harder than before…the mere force of his swing blasted Hyo Shin backwards. Hyo Shin flew backwards through the air flipping backwards so that he could kick off of a wall and come flying back to the fight. Once again, their swords clashed.

“I recognize that LOCK pressure. It’s Kyungsoo’s. He’s using a new body, but still uses Kyungsoo’s LOCK powers. Does that mean…” Kai whispered as he watched Gunwoo and Hyo Shin clash.

“UNLOCK.” They both yelled and unlocked the second level of their abilities.

“Shut up.” Hyo Shin shouted, jumping above Gunwoo and landing swiftly behind the possesed body. Hyo Shin jumped back and foot and prepared for a stronger attack. “GRAVITY RESTRAINT” Hyo Shin called out, pointing his sword’s tip towards Gunwoo. Kai watched, unsure if should step in or not. Kai’s main objective was to keep the evil Razzo alive so he could find all 12 Z Stones, fulfil his goal and then return Kyungsoo to him. However, most times it was difficult to do that job, since Kai hated fighting for something like Razzo. But if it meant getting Kyungsoo back, he would do it.

                Hyo Shin’s blade summoned a wide, dark purple circle to form around where Gunwoo was standing. Suddenly, a cylinder of transparent purple light blasted up around Gunwoo’s body. All the while, Gunwoo just grinned. The gravity inside the cylinder increased dramatically, keeping Gunwoo from even raising his sword to defend himself. The ground under his feet began to crack and fissure from the increased level of gravity Hyo Shin created.

‘”Same old tricks.” Gunwoo roared over the sound of the gravity crushing the ground he stood on.

“I didn’t come here to fight you, but you’re already pissing me off.” Hyo Shin said just before sprinting towards the cylinder he had created. Hyo Shin had Razzo right where he wanted. Unable to move because of the huge gravity increase, Hyo Shin got cocky and figured he could deliver the finishing slash right then, slashing right through his cylinder and through Gunwoo’s body. However, Hyo Shin slowed when he realized he would…kill Gunwoo…the innocent person Razzo was possessing. In that moment of hesitation, Gunwoo attacked.

“Coward.” Gunwoo roared again, exerting so much dark pressure paired with Kyungsoo’s LOCK abilities that the cylinder shattered and Hyo Shin once again went flying backwards, smashing into a heap of bricks.

“Five years after our first encounter and you’re still nothing but a joke. I’m so grateful I didn’t go through with my plans to use you as a host.” Gunwoo taunted, casually walking in a circle.

“I would have never let you possess me.” Hyo Shin shouted, pulling himself up out of the bricks. Once on his feet, Hyo Shin used more of his gravity/telekinetic powers to send a flurry of bricks at Gunwoo. The bricks moved at the speed of bullets shot from a gun and Gunwoo was prepared to defend himself but something in him let his guard down at the last second when he noticed Kai…in danger.

“Kai, look out.” Gunwoo shouted in a softer, familiar voice. Before Gunwoo could utter another word, about forty bricks moving at high speed crashed into him, filling his immediate area with a cloud of dust and debris.

                Kai braced himself after Gunwoo called out to him but it was too late, Edward was already swinging at him. Just barely, Kai was able to block the attack from Edward’s sword.

“Sneaky, I didn’t even sense your LOCK pressure.” Kai said, as he kneeled down, blocking Edward’s sword attack.

“Of course you didn’t.” Edward said easily.

“Ah, I see. You’re not a LOCK…but a KEY.” Kai used all of his strength to shove Edward back just a inch and took his chance to pounce backwards like a startled cat. Kai jumped from car to car until he was at the top of a large pile, looking down on both Hyo Shin and Edward. “Damn.” Kai said, positive that there was no way he could handle a duo like them. Not only was one of them a KEY but they were partners who knew each other’s fighting habits, strengths and weaknesses. “Razzo!” Kai yelled. Still, the dust around where the bricks smashed into Gunwoo hadn’t cleared. Hyo Shin and Edward waited with their swords drawn. “Kyungsoo!” Kai hopefully called next. Quickly, a big, sinister looking hand shot out of the dust. The shadow hand was aiming straight for Hyo Shin. Edward took his opportunity to attack Kai again instead of protect Hyo Shin. Edward pounced up once and was nose to nose to Kai, about to swing his blade. “UNLOCK.” Edward said, unlocking his next level of power. However, before he could swing on Kai, the hand made a detour and came sweeping up to Edward. Hyo Shin thought quick and used another Gravity Restraint, which increased the gravity around Edward and yanked him back down to the ground as if he weighed a ton. The shadow hand ended up just missing Kai instead as he flipped to the side. Walking out of the dust scratch free, Gunwoo showed everyone a creep smile. Kai took a deep breath, thankful…yet disappointed.

                Dasom knew how to get out of the junkyard, she had always been good with directions and remembering how to get places. Running faster than she ever had before, she lost her footing and fell on her left arm. It wasn’t until Dasom started pulling herself up that she realized Insoo wasn’t behind her. “Oh my God…” Dasom coughed out. The girl was just about to call Insoo’s name when Sunmi slinked from behind a pile of cars and pointed her sword towards her.

“Stay back.” Dasom said, picking up a long, metal rod from the ground.

“Or else what?” Sunmi shrugged lightly. There was a minute of stillness between them, which Sunmi finally broke by walking over to the scared girl.

“Don’t kill me.” Dasom fell backwards.

“I’m not going to kill you. But your boyfriend probably will.” Sunmi actually bad saying it. Really, she felt bad for Dasom. This tall, pretty girl looked nice and smart and dressed well. Sunmi kept approaching, feeling a little jealous and nostalgic at the same time. Sunmi hadn’t shared with anyone about how badly she wanted to go back to her old life. Go back to wearing cute clothes and spending time with her friends and most of all…her younger sister.

“Please.” Dasom screamed, snapping Sunmi out of her flashbacks. Sunmi hesitated and wondered what would happen if she just…left. What would really happen if Sunmi just left the girl to fend for herself and made a run for it as well? Would Razzo care? He was already so focused on his new mission, he wouldn’t possibly miss her. Sunmi was about to tell Dasom something when a small swarm of crows came circling around her head. Sunmi jumped backwards, but the crows followed until she swung at them, chopping them up. Strangely, the crows didn’t die…they just sort of turned to purple sparks and blew away in the chilly air. Sunmi sighed when she saw two guys standing before her, clearly there for a fight.

                Key and Onew stood before Sunmi with their swords already SUMMONED. Key had already UNLOCKED the second level of his powers and conjured up the small crow attack on Sunmi.

“I hate birds.” Sunmi said. Key and Onew stayed quiet with their swords out.

“Now you say something about yourselves. Like who the hell you are for starters.” Sunmi rose her sword up higher in case an attack was their answer.

“Hey…I like your haircut. It’s pretty.” Key said in a serious voice. Onew looked over at his ally, fighting the urge to punch him.

“Key! She’s the enemy here.”

“I know that. Dammit, it was just a comment. It’s not like I wanna be her best friend now.” Key fired back. Sunmi gave the boys a perplexed expression and then she jolted towards them, deciding to start the fight herself. Right away, the three of them started their sword fight. Sunmi skillfully took on both boys, evading their attacks and returning some of her own. Onew and Key swung away, trying to overpower the woman, but they surprisingly couldn’t seem to find a weak spot in her defense. Sunmi jumped up and kicked off their swords, sending herself high into the air.

“She’s good.” Key stated.

“Why don’t you marry her then?” Onew elbowed him.

                Insoo had come to his fourth dead end. Out of breath and still more than freaked out, he spun around, unsure if there was even a way out at all. Insoo was suddenly pushed backwards into a pile of dirty tires by a strong gust of wind. Jay came falling from the sky then, landing a foot or two in front of Insoo. “Die.” Jay said, swinging his sword like a madman. Another gust of wind surged at Insoo and picked him up. Jay made sure the glowing razors inside his wind attack slashed on the tires, shredding them into an even bigger pile of sliced rubber. Jay allowed his wind to drop Insoo back down and spin him around a couple times like he was a ragdoll.

“Ah, this is fun.” Jay said, making another wave of wind to knock Insoo into the ground. “I’ve got control over the wind, buddy. Which means you can’t escape no matter what. But that’s not it. The best part is my ability to create blades of energy inside the wind. I’m cool, huh?” Jay joked around. Insoo was so bruised he could barely open his mouth to give a smart response.

“Not really.” Someone else answered for Insoo. Jay jerked around to see Minho standing there with his sword already drawn.

“You’re annoying.” Another person said. Jay turned back around and there was Jonghyun. Jonghyun was standing in front of Insoo, pointing his sword at Jay. “I got woken up out of my sleep to come here, so I’m in a bad mood.” Jonghyun commented.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be sleeping again real soon.” Jay taunted. Jay took a quick, deep breath and summoned a much larger, bigger amount of wind. Jay spun around once and wrapped himself up in the fast moving wind. Jonghyun and Minho watched with stunned expressions as Jay became the center of a tall clyclone that spun rapidly in one spot for a while before moving. Jonghyun and Minho’s hair blew in every which direction as Jay’s mad tornado started to move fiercely to the right and then to the left and then right for Jonghyun.

“Taemin.” Jonghyun shouted just as he leapt out of the way. Taemin swiftly swept in and grabbed Insoo from the ground, saving him from the razor sharp cyclone that was coming his way. Jonghyun spiral flipped over the mouth of the tornado and landed beside Minho.

“UNLOCK.” Minho and Jonghyun yelled in unison.

“SLASHING CYCLONE!” Jay’s voice shouted from inside the cyclone. “I’ll finish this quick.” He laughed afterward like a madman.

“He’s not holding anything back.” Minho commented, dashing to the left with Jonghyun when the cyclone came right for them. Jonghyun jumped on top of a small car and smirked. “Then we won’t either.” He said. “TRANSFORM.” Jonghyun called out. Jonghyun’s sword started to glow a bright red and then turned into two separate clusters of light, one in each of his hands. When the glowing stopped, Jonghyun had his sword in one, but there was a chain attached at the hilt and connected to the other end was a large, fantasy type gun with flame designs running up the sides. Jonghyun jumped into the air and pointed both weapons towards the cyclone.

“TRANSFER!” Jonghyun exclaimed, sending energy from his sword through the chain and over to the gun. The flame designs on the gun lit up as if charged and even made a cute bell sound.

“That stupid sound gets me every time.” Minho laughed from far away.

“PYRO PITCH!” Jonghyun fired a heavy blast of energized fire from the gun that wrapped up the entire cyclone and quickly transformed it into a tornado of flame. Jay yelled out in frustration.

“That won’t be enough to take him out.” Taemin said quietly from the sidelines. Looking back to Insoo, Taemin sighed at the unconscious guy. With the flames starting to overpower his cyclone, Jay had no choice but to call off the attack. The cyclone blew outwards then, sending fire through the area. Taemin was quick to grab Insoo and go even farther away.

“Minho, now!” Jonghyun yelled when Jay was left vulnerably suspended in air for a second.

“GEO CAGE!” Minho swung his sword and the ground under Jay shot up from both sides, capturing him in a shrinking orb of rock and earth. By the end of the shrinking, the orb was only big enough for Jay to maybe move his elbows. Jonghyun and Minho waited in silence, unsure if they had really captured Jay.

                Halfway to the junkyard Edward had called Hyo Shin again to tell him he didn’t have time to stop and erase Bang’s memories. Hyo Shin was annoyed at Edward’s sudden change of plans but decided to still bring Bang along with them and just leave him in the car parked down the street. So…that’s exactly where Bang was, where he had been for the past forty minutes. Shortly after Hyo Shin jumped out of the parked car and ran inside the junkyard, Himchan pulled up on the side of them and did just the same. After seeing Himchan run into the junkyard, Daehyun and Youngjae wanted to go too, so they left. After a couple painfully awkward minutes, Zelo told Bang he was sorry for getting him caught up in everything again and then rushed off to go check on his team. It didn’t take long for Bang to get restless in the spacious car. After another twenty minutes, Bang decided to go take a closer look at the junkyard for himself. Bang figured his memories were going to get erased anyway so what was the harm in taking a look at what was causing all the fuss in the first place? Bang entered the large junkyard and immediately felt a heaviness all around him. There was so much pressure in the junkyard, like just being there instantly added thirty pounds on your shoulders and gave you a stomach ache to boot. Bang walked around aimlessly, getting lost in no time at all. However, Bang felt like there was something pulling in the direction he was going and each time he got the chance to take a different turn, he decided against it and pressed on.

                “Whoa…” Bang said as he walked up on the fight. Right away, Bang noticed Hyo Shin battling, but there were three others in the area. Bang assumed the man who wasn’t fighting Hyo Shin was Edward. But then there was a very familiar boy also in the heat of the fight…Bang quietly gasped when he remembered the tan boy from school earlier that day.

“I bumped into him…” Bang recalled. Nothing shocked Bang as much as the last body in the fray. With wide, disbelieving eyes, Bang took in the sight of Gunwoo, his friend’s brother.

“Gunwoo? What the hell?” Bang shook his head and rubbed his eyes, not positive anything was as it seemed at that point. Really? The evil threat Hyo Shin had been so worried about was Gunwoo? Or was Gunwoo the one being possessed? Bang’s head started to hurt as he went on watching the battle of swords and superpowers. Hyo Shin seemed to be holding his own against Gunwoo and Edward was just the same as he fought the tan boy from school.

“I thought they weren’t going to fight.” Bang said, a little surprised that he himself wasn’t more afraid. Suddenly Gunwoo got the upper hand against Hyo Shin and slammed him down to the ground, poised to stab him through the chest. Gunwoo, however was slammed with a large ball of intense water just then and went flying sideway. Gunwoo spun himself to ensure he landed safely on his feet.

“Show yourself.” Gunwoo yelled. Edward and Kai stopped their brawl for just a moment to see Youngjae and Daehyun come running into view.

“Get out of here.” Hyo Shin ordered from the ground. Himchan appeared next to him and pulled his mentor up.

“No.” Himchan said flatly. Youngjae nodded and used his sword to summon another wave of water that quickly spun around his sword like a drill. Youngjae launched himself towards Gunwoo. Bang cringed from the sidelines, expecting the worse. “I wouldn’t have done that.” Bang said, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Gunwoo was right in front of him, fighting. Youngjae came surging at Gunwoo with his water drill spinning rapidly around his sword.

“Fool.” Gunwoo said, holding out his hand. There was a collective audible gasp from everyone when Gunwoo caught Youngjae’s rapid water drill in one hand, stopping it completely. Youngjae stared at Gunwoo with angry eyes. “Damn you.” Youngjae shouted. Gunwoo grinned and shot a large purple energy wave from his palm, sending Youngjae crashing backwards. Youngjae’s body slid right in front of Bang’s feet, alerting everyone to the fact that he was there.

“Who the hell is that?” Edward said, kicking Kai backwards. Kai took the chance to land beside Gunwoo. Edward jumped to land beside Himchan and Hyo Shin. Daehyun ran to check on Youngjae, kneeling down to pat his friend’s forehead softly.

“Youngjae, that was dumb.” Daehyun said. Youngjae pulled himself up, stumbling a little.

“Who let you out of the car?” Himchan asked Bang in a harsh voice.

“I should be asking all of you the same thing.” Hyo Shin yelled right back at Himchan. Kai took his a sneaky opportunity to attack Edward then. “UNLOCK.” Kai yelled, going into his next level of power. Kai’s blade lit up in a bright blue color and three long blue beams shot up from the blade. The three blue beams quickly took the shape of a trio of large spirit snakes.

“Serpents, dance!” Kai yelled, commanding his spirit snakes to hiss and come ramming down towards Edward. Edward watched the vicious looking serpents charge downwards at him, their jaws wide open and prepared to swallow him up.

“SUMMON, UNLOCK, CUBE!” Henry’s voice was heard before anyone even saw him. Suddenly, a large transparently white cube appeared around Edward and blocked the attack from the three serpents totally. The serpents hissed in frustration and returned to Kai’s blade. Henry came jumping down from a car pile and landed on top of the cube he had just summoned.

“Don’t worry, Uncle, I got your back.” Henry said, pointing his sword towards Kai. Bang could only see the back of this new addition to the fight, but right away he disliked him.

“Himchan! Daehyun! Youngjae! I told you all the stay in the car.” Hyo Shin scolded them with both worry and anger in his expression.

“Henry, you’re supposed to be patrolling this area with the others.” Edward sounded a little more shocked at Henry than upset.

“That sounded too boring.” Henry shrugged.

“Sorry, sir. We just got a bit worried about you.” Daehyun admitted.

“Come out, Zelo. I know you’re hiding around here somewhere.” Hyo Shin yelled. Zelo hopped into view with his sword already drawn, however he didn’t really look ready to fight. Right away Hyo Shin jumped over to the boy and slapped him in the back of the head.

“You fools.” Hyo Shin had slaps for all of them, even Bang.

“Hey, I never said I’d stay in the car anyway.” Bang moaned, rubbing the back of his head.

                “This is stupid.” Kai said, raising his blade again. Once again, the three dark blue spirit serpents shot out of his blade and went charging for Henry this time. Henry poised himself. “TRIANGLE!” Henry yelled, quickly drawing a triangle shape with his blade. A big, bright green triangle shape formed in front of Henry and shielded him from the snake attack…it wasn’t enough though. After a couple seconds after impact, the snakes shattered through Henry’s triangle shield and sent him flying backwards. The cube that Edward was inside blurred away after Henry’s impact. Edward dashed after Henry, making sure to catch him before he fell to the ground.

“Thanks.” Henry flashed a bright, carefree smile while in his Uncle’s arms. Edward rolled is eyes and dropped the boy.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Edward said low. Himchan, Zelo, Youngjae, Daehyun and Hyo Shin all braced themselves as Kai and Gunwoo took a couple steps over to the group. Kai’s spirit serpents still swam around in the air above, ready to strike again at any second. Edward and Henry were just a couple feet from Hyo Shin’s group, also ready for whatever came next. Edward elbowed his nephew slightly then.

“Just focus on the weaker one.” Edward told Henry…but Henry wasn’t paying any attention to the fight at hand anymore. Neither was Bang. The two boys were staring at one another with the most twisted expressions.

“What’s up with those two?” Himchan asked, only sparing them a quick look. Bang and Henry started walking towards one another, one angry stomp at a time. Both of their index fingers started to raise until they were completely pointing at one another.

“You!?” They both shouted, jabbing their fingers in the other’s face. Bang now knew exactly why he hated this kid just by the look of his back.

“You’re my girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend!” Henry exclaimed, still jabbing his finger over towards Bang.

“You’re the home wrecker.” Bang accused right back. The boys didn’t even notice the agitated looks they were getting from those around them. Bang had seen a couple pictures of Henry shortly after Sooyoung moves away. Randomly, she would upload pictures of the blonde guy and each time Bang remembered thinking he was very unattractive.

“There’s nothing special about you in person…or in pictures. Ah, Sooyoung, your taste level is dropping.” Bang groaned, shaking his head all letdown. Henry stomped his foot on the ground and tried to turn his angry yelp into a cocky laugh.

“Nothing special about me? Then what do you call Sooyoung?” Henry teased. The only reason Henry even knew what Bang looked like was because in the short time he actually had lived near Sooyoung before he had to move with Edward, he had dug through her old digital camera and saw all of their photos together…and how Sooyoung had never deleted them.

“I feel like I’m looking at a ghost since, you know…you’re basically dead to Sooyoung.” Henry dealt another low blow. Tossing Bang an arrogant shrug, Henry turned from the guy with his arms folded. Bang bit his lip and cracked his knuckles. “I really hope you gave Sooyoung a proper goodbye because I’m about to kill you.” Bang said, nodding sincerely.

“Bring it on.” Henry motioned for Bang to come forward. Bang took a step towards the blonde boy, already about to swing his fist.

“Shut up, both of you.” Hyo Shin yelled at them. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re sort of in the middle of something here.” Hyo Shin went on scolding the two. “Whatever unresolved issues you to have is totally irrelevant.”

“Oh, trust me, the issue is resolved.” Henry said slyly.

“It’ll be resolved once I break your face.” Bang countered.

“I already told you to bring it on, big guy.”

“I’ll let you have the first hit, you’ll need it.”

                Kai and Gunwoo waited, also confused. Gunwoo cleared his throat and got everyone’s attention again. “Hate to break up your little moment and all…” Gunwoo started but Bang walked in front of the group and called over to him.

“Gunwoo, tell me what is going on. Are you tangled up in all this weird stuff too?” Bang was about to take another step to the possessed boy when Zelo stepped in front, keeping Bang at a distance.

“Zelo, what the heck? I know him…he’s my friend’s older brother.” Bang tried to shove Zelo out of the way, but Zelo wouldn’t budge.

“Damn, you giraffe. Move.” Bang struggled some more until Edward’s voice cut in.

“That boy is possessed by Razzo. He may look like your acquaintance, but trust me, he isn’t.” Edward explained trough tight, irritated lips. “Hyo Shin, you were right, this guy is definitely a pest.” He added on. Bang turned around and gave Edward a good look over…he was slightly less muscular than Hyo Shin with finer looking hair and boyish features…Bang could tell why Hyo Shin was so jealous of him.

“Possessed…” Bang said the word to himself, looking back to Gunwoo. “Get out. Get out of my friend’s body.” Bang said fearlessly. Gunwoo cackled and jumped high above all of them.

“Uh oh…” Bang mumbled. While suspended above the group of allies, Gunwoo swung his arm, sending a downfall of black energy downward. The black energy came crashing down on the group so quickly that half of them just barely dodged being struck. Zelo snatched Bang out of the way and stashed him behind a pile of cars. Bang tried to pull Zelo back to him when he saw the giraffe boy go back to the middle of the fight.

                Himchan, Youngjae and Daehyun all pounced up to battle Gunwoo, but none of them were a match for him. “CRUSH SUBMERGE.” Youngjae sent a slash of heavy energized water towards Gunwoo, but Gunwoo just used his bare palm to swipe the water into nothing but foam and energy particles. Gunwoo shot a ball of dark vibrating energy at Youngjae and this time when he fell, there was nobody quick enough to catch him. Still in the air, Himchan and Daehyun also tried to get one over on the possessed boy.

“VOLTAGE RUSH!” Himchan swung his sword, sending a wave of electric energy at Gunwoo. Gunwoo held out his sword and slashed through the electric wave with little trouble. Gunwoo laughed out loud and teleported above Himchan’s body. All in one second, Gunwoo his palm out and blasted Himchan with a laser straight beam of dark energy. Himchan fell onto the top the hood of a large minivan, making a dent. Daehyun came charging at Gunwoo head on, probably not the best idea. Daehyun, however, was courageous enough to muster up a smirk on his face.

“My sword can take whatever you dish out.” Daehyun shouted, swinging his thick, heavy looking golden sword down at Gunwoo. Gunwoo blocked the attack with his own and to everyone’s surprise, Gunwoo struggled to hold back the massively heavy golden sword.

“My sword is heavier than any of these cars you see around you. Only I can even lift it.” Daehyun swung away, sending Gunwoo closer and closer to the ground with every strike.

“Well then.” Gunwoo said, lowering his blade completely. Daehyun’s eyes bulged as his sword slashed right through Gunwoo’s body. Gunwoo’s body, however, wasn’t damaged. The body turned to thick smoke as Daehyun’s blade cut through.

“What the…” Daehyun whispered as the smoke faded into nothing.

“Daehyun!” Zelo and Youngjae screamed up to their ally. Daehyun spun around to see Gunwoo falling at him with a fistful of dark energy. Not moving quick enough to defend himself, Daehyun was punched right in the chest by Gunwoo’s high powered fist. Spiraling to the ground, Daehyun cursed the evil entity. Luckily, Zelo was able to catch Daehyun, even though his golden sword made his about 300 pounds heavier.

“Lay off the hamburgers.” Zelo winced, struggling to hold up his friend. Bang watched from his hiding spot, totally unsure of what to do or what the hell he had gotten himself into. All Bang had wanted was to confront Zelo and Hyo Shin, give them a piece of his mind, figure out what big threat was coming to city and then go back to doing and feeling nothing all day. Never had he expected to be caught up in some huge super powered junkyard sword fight. However, there was a part of Bang that was exhilarated and pulsating…apart of him that finally felt alive again. And even though Bang found the four boys from school, Hyo Shin and Zelo more than a little annoying, he found himself wishing that he could somehow help or protect them in their fight against Gunwoo.

Gunwoo.

That was another thing Bang couldn’t wrap his mind around. Of all the people in the world, Gunwoo had been the one to become Razzo’s new host. Feeling sympathy for both the innocent Gunwoo and Insoo, Bang also wanted to fight for them. Bang…wanted to fight. He wanted to help, he wanted to do more than what he had done for the past six months. The bad part was that Bang actually couldn’t do anything to help.

“You idiots.” Hyo Shin shouted, running to Youngjae’s side first and then Daehyun. “This is my fault.” He said. Daehyun and Youngjae weren’t too injured and pulled themselves up, trying to look brave as Gunwoo landed with that crookedly toxic grin on his face.

“We’re alright.” Himchan said, making his way back over to the group as well.

“We need to retreat.” Hyo Shin noted lightly.

“Not so fast, Hyo Shin. I want to show you something.” Gunwoo said, summoning the Pisces stone from wherever it had been. “Look what I got.” Gunwoo ran his fingers over the levitating stone.

“The Pisces stone.” Hyo Shin couldn’t believe it. “But how…”

“You’re wondering how you couldn’t sense its presence.” Gunwoo pointed out exactly what Hyo Shin was thinking. It was true, all LOCKS & KEYS had a natural ability to sense the pure power that the Zodiac Stones exerted when in their natural form. So, Hyo Shin was more than thrown off at the appearance of Gunwoo’s Pisces Stone which he obviously hadn’t just gotten.

“It’s because I’ve coated it in so much dark energy, that’s why.” Gunwoo said, laughing to the top of his lungs. Gunwoo’s laugh turned to a loud, demonic sounding roar. At the sound of Gunwoo’s roar, more car windows shattered.

“Gunwoo…where are you?” Bang said, still hiding on the sides.

                Edward was just as stunned at the revelation that Razzo had one of the last remaining Z Stones…and that he had pretty much ruined it with all his evil. Gunwoo ended his monstrous, inhuman roar with a quick flick of the wrist and a large rocky spike shot up from the ground, slashing Edward across the chest. Edward dropped to one knee after the attack.

“SQAURE!” Henry shouted, drawing a square shape around Edward. A large, solid, bright yellow square appeared under Edward and Henry’s feet. The square levitated right off the ground and lifted Henry and his Uncle high above everyone else.

“I let my guard down.” Edward moaned through the pain on his chest. “How embarrassing.”

“They fight dirty.” Henry said casually, not wanting his Uncle’s pride to be too scarred. It wasn’t until Henry was up above everyone else that he realized something…

“Uncle, where is…” Henry started.

“The other one.” Edward finished his nephew’s sentence, also realizing that Kai and big spirit snakes were missing all of a sudden. “There!” Edward said, tapping Henry’s calf and pointing down at Kai, who was taking a back way to sneak up on Bang.

“Hey, loser, get out of the way quick!” Henry yelled down in Bang’s direction.

                Bang looked up at Henry, ready to cuss him out…but then he looked to his right as saw Kai strolling over to him with a unreadable expression. Bang couldn’t really tell if Kai was about to attack him or sell him insurance from the look on his face.

“Don’t come near me.” Bang warned.

“I think I’m still mad about you bumping into me at school.” Kai said, letting his sword glow again. Bang was about to get up and make a run for it, but Kai had already sent the three spirit snakes out of his blade again. The snakes hissed and snapped as they came for Bang’s head.

“UNLOCK! BEAST MORPH!” Zelo landed in front of Bang and blocked the spirit snake attack from Kai. Zelo swung his sword with enough power to send the snakes crashing back towards Kai. With an annoyed expression, Kai absorbed the snakes back into his sword.

“Interesting. You’re stronger than you look, I’ll admit.” Kai said, jumping to stand on a car hood. Zelo had unlocked the second level of his power with the Unlock command. However, his Unlock was different from the others…because it changed his whole appearance. Bang was speechless as he stared at Zelo’s new look. Zelo’s blonde curls had grows frizzier and bigger to almost resemble a lion’s mane. Not only that, there were three marks on each of his cheeks that looked like tattooed whiskers and even his teeth were sharper, plus there were more of them. Zelo had short but intimidating claws on his fingers. Zelo grabbed Bang by the shirt and jumped backwards with him so they’d’ be closer to the rest of the group.

“I think…you just saved my life, buddy.” Bang finally said.

“Did you just call me buddy?” Zelo lit up.

“No.”

“Yes you did.”

“No I didn’t, you giraffe.”

“So we’re buddies now?”

“I never called you buddy.” Bang groaned, as Zelo gave him a kid like grin. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s creepy.” Bang stuttered from how uncomfortable the wide smile on Zelo’s face made him.

“Why? We’re buddies now.” Zelo teased, flashing another purposely cute smile.

“Gross.” Bang breathed.

                Kai came walking back into view then and stood right behind Gunwoo and the Pisces stone.

“What are your plans for the Zodiac Stone, Razzo?” Hyo Shin demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious? The myth says whoever holds all twelve stones will have access to the unseen Paradise.” Gunwoo said. “I want to find Paradise…and drench it in blood.” Razzo and Gunwoo’s voices mixed together.

“You son of a…” Hyo Shin and Edward shouted out. Gunwoo cut them off before they could finish.

“I’ll let you in on a secret…the other three stones are in this city.” Gunwoo said. “And me and my team are prepared to drain the life from every single citizen until we find them.” He chuckled softly to himself.

“We won’t let you.” Himchan yelled.

“Too late.” Gunwoo shrugged and snatched his Pisces stone from the air, pointing it at Bang. A foggy gray beam shot from the stone and wrapped around Bang’s body, slowly starting to drain all vitality from his body. Bang could feel himself slipping further and further into an unconsciousness he knew he wouldn’t wake up from.

“What is he doing?” Zelo freaked out.

“He’s draining the life force from him…to see if the Zodiac Stone will leave his body.” Kai answered.

“So, this guy has one of the stones inside of him?” Youngjae wondered.

“We’ll find out.” Kai once again did the answering.

“What does that even mean?” Daehyun was still confused.

“The only way to tell if he holds one of the Zodiac Stones is to kill him. The Zodiac Stone can’t live in a body that has no life, so it will flee Bang when he’s on the brink of death.” Hyo Shin finally did the talking.

“But if he doesn’t have a stone to begin with…” Zelo growled.

“He’ll die either way.” Himchan understood.

                There was a couple seconds where nobody really knew what to do as Bang continued to be drained of his life. Bang started to feel like he was freefalling, like all everything that made him alive was being stripped from him slowly.

“ARTIC EXPLSOION!” Everyone jerked their heads upward at the sound of Edward’s voice. Edward’s sword shinned a bright light teal color and became a crossbow when the light subsided. “SHOOT!” A frosty looking arrow appeared in the bow and with no hesitation Edward fired the arrow down at Gunwoo and Kai. The arrow actually missed and landed right in between both guys.

“Huh?” Kai said. But just a second after striking the ground, the arrow literally exploded into a giant sharp looking, glacier of ice. Kai, Gunwoo and the Z Stone were all locked in the glacier, unable to move a single muscle. Edward jumped down from Henry’s floating square and landed beside Bang, just as the foggy gray light faded and released him from life . Bang fell backwards, he steadied himself enough so he wouldn’t fall over, but still, Zelo caught him anyway.

“Got ya, buddy.” Zelo said. Edward stared intently at the giant prism of ice he had caught Gunwoo and Kai in.

“Couldn’t you have just done that in the first place?” Daehyun complained, rolling his eyes.

“I know, right?” Youngjae agreed. Edward cut the two of them a sharp look and they fell silent, with fake smiles on their face.

“Bang, are you alright?” Hyo Shin asked, showing some real concern for the boy. Bang couldn’t speak just yet, he was still feeling pretty weak.

“Go for it, Henry.” Edward called up to his nephew. Henry nodded and jumped up and off his floating square.

“PYRAMID!” Henry’s square began to fold itself into a new shape, a three dimension bright yellow pyramid that hung in the air like some type of hot air balloon. “Bombs away.” Henry said, swinging his sword downward. The pyramid came smashing down, headed straight for the large ice prison. Edward, Hyo Shin, Daehyun, Himchan and Youngjae all darted out of the way. Zelo dashed off as well, taking Bang with him again. The large pyramid squashed the ice block that held Kai, Gunwoo and the stone inside. Blocks of icy debris went flying everywhere as the ice broke under the pyramid. Henry landed behind his pyramid, smiling.

“Nice one, Henry. Thanks, Henry.” He complimented himself.

“He’s…such…a…jack….” Bang managed to say in his condition.

“I heard that!” Henry yelled at him.

“I’m…glad…you…did.” Bang replied with a lazy looking smile.

“Watch out!” Hyo Shin shouted at everyone. The pyramid started to crack all over and only seconds later did it blow up. Gunwoo, Kai and the stone stood there, unharmed.

“That’s not freaking possible.” Henry couldn’t believe it.

“A for effort.” Gunwoo clapped once for Edward and Henry’s attempt to crush them.

“They’re back.” Kai jerked his chin to the right as Jay and Sunmi reappeared, holding Insoo and Dasom respectively.

                “I wish I could say they were fun.” Jay sighed, tossing the unconscious Insoo in front of Gunwoo and Kai. Sunmi just sat Dasom down lightly where she stood.

“Please tell me we can go now.” Sunmi looked more than aggravated at this point. Bang jolted up and out of Zelo’s hold when he saw Insoo all beaten up and bruised at Gunwoo’s feet.

“Insoo!” Bang yelled, stumbling as he tried to run over to his friend. Daehyun and Youngjae held the furious Bang back. “Insoo is innocent! So is Gunwoo! Leave them the hell alone, you freaking demon.” Bang shouted, struggling to get Daehyun and Youngjae off him. “Don’t you dare hurt my friends.” Bang went on yelling like a madman. Gunwoo just grinned as he kicked Insoo over on his back.

“Hurt? No, I intend to do much worse.” Gunwoo said. “I’m pretty positive none of you humans here hold a Zodiac Stone…but killing you just to be sure sounds fine to me.” Gunwoo aimed his sword down at Insoo, ready to swing.

“Don’t!” Bang shouted, finding the sudden strength to shove both Daehyun and Youngjae off him. “I’ll kill you.” Bang ran straight for Gunwoo with a flurry of light forming in his palm. Halfway to Gunwoo, Bang stopped in his tracks and watched in amazement as a sword of his own formed in his palm. Not feeling the need to question it too much, Bang lifted the sword so that it pointed straight for Gunwoo’s throat. “I’ll kill you, Razzo.” Bang declared. There was an extremely loud silence as everyone stared at Bang in awe. Gunwoo hardened his expression, looking Bang up and down. Kai could’ve sworn he saw the slightest pinch of worry dart across Gunwoo’s face.

“Fascinating.” Gunwoo said vaguely.

*Well that’s it for chapter three! I hoped you liked it (even though it was a ton of action & fighting in this one) Anyway, the next update will actually be a character bio special where I tell you some about all the characters in the story so far . The whole LOCK/KEY thing gets explaned in chapter 4 btw ~

So, thanks for reading and bye for now :D