Taemin~

Taemin had a bad feeling about this. It wasn’t just seeing Naeun whipping out her intense skills in violence yesterday; he felt anxious about the whole day. He hadn’t had another dream with the Light ruler, but he was sure she would sense the seventeen magical beings heading into the forest.

“Will they all know we’re here?”

“How will they know to move the portals?”

“We don’t have to move ‘em, right?”

“Will Naeun run into us here?”

“Why does Naeun noona own a cooler knife than me?”

“What are we going to do when they come to take us?”

“Will it be really awkward?”

“Will you all shut up?” Key finally burst out. Taemin sighed in relief. They passed by the pond, and Taemin noticed that the tulip he had left their hadn’t been taken. He paused, then shook his head and continued on farther into the forest. The angels had decided it was best not to stick too close to where Naeun could easily find them. When they arrived at a relatively open area, Taemin automatically hiked his leg up on a tree branch and pushed himself up.

“What are you doing?” Kai questioned as Taemin climbed higher.

“They have wings; I don’t. I don’t want them swooping in and nabbing me.” Taemin really just wanted to stall his departure. Taemin held his breath as a sudden breeze pushed through the forest, warm yet eerie. There was a burst of light, and he expected a small army of Light angels to spill out. Instead, only one person did.

“L-Light Queen?” Onew gasped, going down to his knees in a humble bow. The rest on the ground followed, while Taemin continued to hug his tree trunk in shock. Why was she here, personally, and alone? His thoughts were interrupted when a cold chill passed over, and a shadow erupted from the side. Taemin noticed his ruler close her eyes softly, a small twitch in her expression, as the Dark Lord stepped out. Everyone automatically turned to address him as well.

“Bo Ah,” the Dark Lord greeted. (A/N: In case you don’t know, it’s BoA.)

“Daniel,” she returned in a rather clipped tone. (A/N: I don’t know, I used Daniel Choi because they were in that drama together. >~<) Everyone exchanged wide-eyed glances. The two enemy rulers referred to each other by first names? Without formality? Bo Ah looked up at the tree Taemin was clinging to and raised an eyebrow. “Lee Taemin.”

“Uh . . . ne?” Taemin replied with an awkward smile.

“Get down.”

“Can I get my wings back first?” Bo Ah raised both her eyebrows and crossed her arms. Taemin could’ve sworn that Daniel smirked. “Fine. No angels should jump me, okay?” Bo Ah pointedly ignored the question, waiting for him to get down. Taemin sighed and leapt off the tree.

“Is her memory gone?” the Light ruler inquired. Taemin set his mouth in a thin line and nodded curtly. Hopefully, he thought to himself. Probably not. “You’re absolutely sure that you won’t pull another attempt at getting to her?” This one, Taemin answered with a confident nod. He wasn’t going to make anything harder for Naeun, even if he wanted to firmly shake his head and sprint back to Naeun.  “Alright. Then, Daniel, you can take your Dark -”

“Not so fast,” Daniel interrupted with a chuckle. Bo Ah closed and gave him a piercing glare. The Light Ruler was not usually cut off. “I’d like to see this Naeun girl.”

“No,” Taemin said automatically while the others shifted uncomfortably.

“Why? I mean, it would be fine for her to just see your face if she doesn’t know you right? Just a peek,” Daniel drawled, tilting his head. Taemin realized something; she still had sketches of his face in her notebook. If the Dark Lord knew that, he wouldn’t make her see Taemin. That would have been an odd encounter, seeing a person from your sketchbook, right? He wouldn’t say it of course. The Dark Lord would call him irresponsible, or something along those lines.

“I don’t want you even looking at her. Let’s just go.”

“Sir . . . I think it’s best we leave,” Kai said quietly. Daniel didn’t look happy that all these people were trying to tell him, the ruler of the Dark angels, what to do.

“I’d like to see the girl for myself, then. Just out of curiosity,” Daniel growled, stepping forward.

“NO!” Taemin roared, jumping in front of the Dark ruler. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, and Taemin was immediately thrown up in the air. His back hit the thick branches of the trees before he shot back down to the hard dirt floor. He heard footsteps, and soon Onew, Key, Kai, and Suho were surrounding him.

“Are you all right?” they demanded. Taemin ignored them and sat up, flexing his muscles to let the pain heal. He saw the rest of the angels trying to form a border around him and calming Daniel. It wasn’t working.

“You defend the Light angels in front of me?” he seethed to his Dark angels. “Are you asking to be punished? Banished? I’ll show you what real Dark angels act like!” His hand raised, fingers curling as another black portal opened up.

“Daniel, we made an agreement not to bring in forces!” Bo Ah protested, darting forward and grabbing his hand. “It will make too much of a mess in this human world. Too much suspicion.” He glared directly at her, eyes piercing as if he were staring deep into her soul.

“I don’t remember agreeing to let your damn Light angels taint my own,” he rebutted, throwing his arm out so that the Light Queen flew back in the dirt. Minho and Jonghyun ran forward to check on her, but she waved them off and flicked her hand. A pool of light spilled over the trees. All at once, two medium-sized armies of Light and Dark entered the area. EXO, their eagerly violent personalities taking over, raced forward and began to battle - against their own people.

“What the -?!” Daniel roared. Taemin’s eyes darted over the scene, relieved that the others were merely knocking out the angels and not killing them. He picked himself up and raced to the angels coming from the Light, and his hyungs formed a wall with him, backing up into the Dark angel brawl behind them.

“Please,” Onew said softly, but he wasn’t really begging. His eyes sparked with authority. However, after a moment’s hesitation, the Light angels lunged forward. Taemin immediately blocked one blow with his forearm. Then he twisted that angel over as he whipped out his leg to trip another. In the midst of it all, he was suddenly pulled out of the mini war and shoved to the ground. The Dark Lord leered at him, but the man’s flaring nostrils and enraged glower weren’t what made his heart stop. It was the small gasp behind him. A female’s gasp.

Naeun’s gasp.

Naeun~

She wasn’t going to kill the angel armies. Of course she wouldn’t be able to do that. They were angels. She would probably just go and wave her gun around, maybe hit Taemin over the head with the bat. Yeah, that seemed like a good plan.

She realized partway through her walk into the forest that she couldn’t really do anything to the angels, but most likely get herself killed and Taemin in trouble. Naeun stared at her feet and dropped her sack to the ground, letting out a shaky breath. She had her heel to go home and stare dramatically out a window when she heard a familiar voice.

“NO!” Taemin. Naeun grabbed a bat and raced through the forest, trying desperately to find out where they were. After a few minutes, she heard the sounds of grunting and pain. Oh, my gosh, Naeun thought in horror, but she still continued to search frantically. They’re battling. I’m going to die. Where’s Taemin? Yup, I’m going to die. Taemin!!!

Naeun raced towards where she though she heard his shout and screeched to a stop when she was met with a small, open area in the forest, a bit farther from the pond than she’d expected. Taemin’s back was to her, him being on the ground, and he was facing a tall, leering man. Behind that man were the other angels, as well as a woman that radiated light and beauty. They were engaged with a war with other Light and Dark angels. She knew by their wings, similar to the ones she saw on Kai and Jonghyun. She gasped and stumbled back.

The stranger in front of Taemin looked at her, and everyone else did as well. The man had black wings similar to the ones she saw on Kai, but these ones were larger and much more intense. The woman had larger wings than the Light angels as well, but they weren’t white. They were almost translucent, and a silver mist hugged the feathers.

“Is this her?” the stranger asked with a wide, ominous grin. Taemin turned slowly and stared at Naeun with large eyes. He searched her and let out a little breath.

“Thank the Light. At least she didn’t bring the whole bag . . .,” he mumbled to himself. Naeun blinked, looking down at the bat in her hands. Kai raced forward and pulled Naeun behind the other angels, all of them automatically shielding her.

“Interesting,” the man said, trying to see past the others. Naeun guessed that he was who they called the Dark Lord, and the woman was that of the Light. “Move.”

“Daniel,” the woman breathed. Naeun jerked her head over, trembling. The Light Queen was staring straight into her eyes, searching her irises.

“It’s fine,” Onew murmured to Naeun. “Just stay behind us, okay?” But Naeun was too busy staring at the two rulers, emitting immense power. Why did they look so familiar? Why was she so scared of them, but she wanted to walk up to them? Why was her feeling a mixture of hate and adoration when she just met them?

“It’s her,” the woman stressed, looking at the Dark Lord. His dark eyes, full of threat, were now filled with disbelief. The word ‘her’ used to refer to the human who had meddled with the angels’ existence. Now, it held a different meaning. The Dark Lord turned to Naeun again, but his expression was unfathomable.

“Her? She’s already been reborn?”

A/N:

Hello, readers!

Yes, I didn't update yesterday.

I came home suuuuuper late at night, early in the morning.

Same thing.

So what do you think is up with Naeun and the rulers?!

Put your guesses in the comments <3

I'd love to see your theories.

So I know the battle wasn't as intense as expected

I almost forgot to write about the whole battle thing

But then I remembered that some of you were looking forward to the battle day

So I was like "Let's add some action"

And I just imagine that SHINee actually getting into action would probably be just like

But mostly the aegyo part.

I think this fic will be ending soon.

WHICH is another reason I want to update my next fics less frequently

It all ends too fast.

I barely have ideas for my next story. *sobs*

Anywaaaays, thanks for reading! Goodbye, dear readers ^~^