Saving MAMA 03
[EXO/OT12]

“Have you finally gone bonkers?”

 

D.O questioned incredulously, his voice echoing in the cold suffocating air of the dorm.
 

“No.” Sehun deadpanned, examining the faces of the other four hyungs.
 

Sehun had insisted for all of the six Exons to gather, so there they were, eight in the morning, sitting around piles of stones and an old book.

All the classes had been cancelled. Siwon had visited the two dorms just an hour ago, notifying them that something urgent had come up amidst the institution of Exodus and that all the professors and scientists would be at an important meeting. No one noticed anything different about Siwon’s straight face and rigid manners, but Sehun could tell over his composed expression that something was troubling him very, very much.

And he knew, it was all because of him. Sehun had just spilled everything he had seen and heard last night and was waiting for the others to react. D.O was obviously going to need some more explaining, Kris was quiet, Lay-now wide awake from sleep-had his mouth hanging open, Suho looked like he was choking on his own saliva, and Luhan seemed emotionless. Until he opened his mouth.

“So we were being used.”

Luhan spoke up, his knuckles turning white from clenching too tightly.

“There never was any Final Assessment, there never were any grades that mattered, and there never was a ‘school’ to begin with.”

Luhan’s voice started to rise.
 

“The sites at the Exodome were never fake, they were always real. We were always dealing with the real world and real lives. Lives that we couldn’t always save. Lives that mattered, life that was someone’s family, someone’s lover. It was all a lie.”

Luhan angrily banged his small fist on the floor. Lay gently held Luhan’s fist, opening it to brush away the red crescents caused by nails digging into his palms. Luhan suddenly sprang up, determined to barge into Exodus’ meeting and confront this Heechul who shattered everything Luhan’s believed in. He was just going to open the door when he was stopped by someone forcefully grabbing his wrist.
 

“Nothing is going to help us if they find out that we know.”

Kris said firmly when Luhan turned his head.
 

“Nothing is going to help if we don’t do anything about it.”

Luhan retorted, trying to shake off Kris’ hands. Kris hardened his grip and Luhan shot him a fierce glare, knowing he could never beat Kris’ strength.

“Exodus is an institution of iniquity.” Luhan barked.

“This man has been destroying Earth and taking away innocent lives just so that he could have some stupid rocks leading him to a stupid tree! And we were helping him. We were his puppets at command under his bloody wicked hands. Don’t you get it? Our powers never belonged to us, it belonged to Exodus!”

He shouted, voice now trembling, unable to control his overflowing rage.

The others were taken aback by Luhan’s hostility. Luhan was cynical, yes, but slow to wrath.

“It’s not just a tree. It’s the Tree of Life… the reason of our existence.”

Suho broke the tension between Kris and Luhan. Everyone turned to look at him, who had opened the cover of the antique object. Suho read the worn pages thoroughly, absorbing every word. He read aloud,

When the skies and the grounds were one legends through there twelve forces nurtured the tree of life. An eye of red forces created the evil which covered the heart of the Tree of Life and the heart slowly grew dry. To intent an embrace for heart of Tree of Life, the legends hereby divide the Tree in half and hide each side hence time is overturned and space turns askew. The twelve forces divide into two and create two suns that look alike, into two worlds that seem alike. The legends travel apart. The legends shall now see the same sky but shall stand on different grounds, shall stand on the same ground but shall see different skies. The day the grounds beget a single fault before one sky in two worlds that seem alike, the legends will greet each other. The day the red forces purify and twelve forces reunite into one perfect root - a new world shall open up.

“We’re the legends. The Guardians of Tree of Life.” Sehun whispered, as if he was afraid of being heard.

“But there are only six of us; it’s written here, twelve legends. Where are the other six?”

 

D.O commented questioningly, rereading the cryptic paragraph.

“We’ll have to find them. They’re probably out there somewhere living in a different world than us, oblivious to everything; Exodus, the Xems, this Tree of Life, just everything.”

Suho answered, flipping through more pages.

“Heechul said that only twelve of these Xems guide to the Tree of Life, you say?”

Suho looked up at Sehun briefly to show that he was referring to the youngest before lowering his head back to the book. Sehun nodded.

“Yeah, and he has no idea how to tell apart between the real and the others.”

He smirked, until D.O reminded him,

“We don’t either, Sehun.”

“The twelve Xems are probably connected with the twelve legends. There are so many ‘Xems’ here with so many different symbols, it’s no wonder he has no clue.” Lay observed, deep in thought. “It’s most likely that each of us match with a symbol, representing us and our power.”

Kris let go of Luhan’ wrist, marked red from his tight grip. He gently grabbed Luhan’s hand instead and led him towards the group, towering over Suho to take a look at the book. Suho was turning the pages frantically, searching for more answers. To his dismay the pages were filled with Arabic numerals and figures that seemed like ciphers, much more complicated and impossible to interpret.

“So how do we find ‘them’, the other Exons and our symbols?”

D.O sighed, resting his head on the wall. Kris opened his mouth.

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