[ Luna ]

To Luna, Onew had seemed like the type of person who could lie very well, but she hadn't expected him to be this good. She had been observing his conversation with the middle-aged innkeeper for the past fifteen minutes; all that had come out of his mouth for those fifteen minutes was pure crap. The lady nodded at something Onew had said, accompanied by his charming smile, and eyed the large group for the umpteenth time.

"I still don't understand why such a large group of young people is traveling so far and staying at places like these. This town isn't exactly in the middle of somewhere, you know," she noted. Onew's smile tightened very slightly. Luna suppressed a groan and could sense the others trying to hold down their sighs as well. How many times had the innkeeper said that already? Luna knew that they were a suspicious bunch, what with their big number and disheveled appearance.

The nineteen Specials had been taking in the whole town, making sure that their faces had not yet been revealed; they were tired. Apparently, rumors were spreading about the escaped Specials, but no official statement had been sent out by the government. For now. The rest of the day had been spent buying new, inconspicious clothing and getting disguises.

Luna ran a hand through her new hair, which had been shortened and dyed so that she was now a blonde. She glanced at Onew's hairstyle, personally appreciating his blond makeover as well. Finally, Onew was able to get the room keys from the innkeeper, who didn't seem so suspicious now that she was counting a large stack of bills in her hands. It was a good thing that the powerful Specials could manage to earn a lot of money with their skills.

"Luna!" Sulli sang, latching onto the shorter girl's arm. Luna admired her cut bangs and brown-colored contacts. It gave the younger girl a fresh look. Krystal came up behind Sulli, playing with the long strands of red that sprouted from her head. "You're rooming with us!" Onew handed out the keys to everyone. When he got to Luna, he placed the keys in her palm and then curled her fingers over it with his own hand.

"Good luck. Minho told me Sulli talks a lot in her sleep," he chuckled before moving on.

Sulli stuck her tongue out at him reproachfully while Krystal gave Luna knowing look. The latter cleared and started walking down the hall to their room, 425. She opened the door to a small yet roomy area with one large bed and a couch. Luna set her very limited amount of things on the couch right away.

"I'll take the couch," she offered. "I like to sleep in smaller areas." The other two rolled their eyes doubtfully. "What? Plus, you've known each other longer. I would probably kick you in my sleep."

"It's okay, Luna! If you kicked me, I would just kick you back," Sulli chirped. Luna couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Anyways"-Sulli jumped on the bed and faced Luna with a smirk -"you and Onew have gotten extra close lately. Wasn't it so heroic how he saved you from the explosion like that?"

"No, I technically saved him, too," Luna replied bluntly. Her roommates blinked at her. "With - with my powers. Didn't I?"

Krystal and Sulli mumbled something under their breaths to each other, and Luna caught something along the lines of her not being very romantic. She raised her chin defensively. Despite that, the two continued to tease the older (albeit smaller) girl.

"What about you and Minho?" Luna burst out involuntarily, her face red from all the teasing. Krystal's cheeks suddenly became pink, although her brows furrowed in her attempt at looking disgusted. Luna slumped down on the couch, relieved that she had found an escape.

"Krystal and my brother? Oh, yeah. I saw it ten years before they even saw it."

"Saw what? What did I see?!" Krystal protested.

The three girls spent the rest of the night bickering about boys until they were exhausted. Luna really felt like a normal girl then, joking with her friends at a sleepover. She felt like a different kind of special.

[ Onew ]

"I saw you holding Luna's hand when you gave her the key," Minho snickered. He was lying on the other end of the bed across from Onew, and Jonghyun had taken the couch since he had insomnia.

"Same!" Jonghyun called into the dark with a short bark of laughter. "Onew hyung, you sneaky little devil. And I'm the skinship king here."

"I wasn't holding her hand," Onew grumbled, kicking Minho in the shin. "Wait - does that count as holding her hand?" The other two answered with evil chuckles. "You guys ."

"We're supporting you, Onew! Fighting!" The blanket shifted; Onew guessed that Minho had just raised his fist in a cheering gesture.

"You're so stupid. What about you and Krystal?"

Silence fell over the room until Jonghyun burst out laughing. His guffaws died away when he and Onew sensed Minho's irritation.

"What about us?" he muttered. "What do you find so funny, Jonghyun?" The other coughed, but he didn't reply.

"Are you sure you're not desperate around her? Whenever I see you, you're like a damn shield made by Bom around her, I swear," Onew noted, glad that he'd found an excuse to turn the topic away from him. There was some shuffling noises, and a click, and the lights were on. Minho was glaring at Onew, his charismatic appearance making the glower more intimidating.

" . . . Am I that obvious?"

Jonghyun started gasping for air again, only stopped when Minho threw a pillow directly at his face.

"So you do like her!" the shorter man shouted. Minho shushed him frantically.

"I never said that! I'm protective, that's all. She's like another Sulli to me - another sister." He turned off the lamp at the bedside table and fell back onto the bed. "And I'm not stupid, hyung, I know that you're just trying to avoid admitting that you like Luna."

"Everyone go to sleep," Onew ordered.

Jonghyun dragged his feet sulkily behind Onew and Minho as they walked down the hall. When the others met up with them outside the inn, Key snorted at his dejected posture. His lower lip jutted out in a dissatisfied pout, and his eyebrows were pulled together to complete his frown.

"Insomnia?" Key asked. Jonghyun shook his head and pointed accussingly at the two men ahead of him.

"No matter how many times Jonghyun tells you we abused him, we did not," Minho said matter-of-factly. Key nodded slowly, accepting his explanation. Jonghyun's pout grew more pitiful.

"I've seen worse," Dara commented with a roll of her eyes. Jonghyun shot her a daring glare, which she returned just as fiercely.

When everyone had finally gathered and were (close to) peaceful, Onew clapped his hands together.

"We need to move out of this town fast if we want to get to Seoul," he announced. "We'll eat a meal and then head off in the same direction as before. Clear?" Everyone murmured in agreement, and soon, they were sitting at a quiet diner about a mile from the inn. Onew didn't glance up once from his chicken tenders until Luna snorted suddenly. He looked up, glanced across the booth table, and tilted his head inquiringly. She held back another snort.

"You look like a little kid eating that."

He smiled cheekily, not flashing his teeth since he didn't want anyone to see his breakfast stuck between them and throw up their own meal, before returning to his food. Everything was going smoothly, and it was nice to eat a peaceful meal outside of the prison.

He was being too positive all too soon. Everyone looked at the TV set up behind the counter, the Specials and other humans in the diner.

"It is confirmed that the MFK, or Mutant Facility of Korea, has been broken open. Not all of the creatures managed to escape, but a large number has. The government has warned all citizens to be on the lookout for suspicious characters, and to be especially aware of the following subjects." Then, one by one, each of their faces appeared on the screen, their names clear and accusing underneath the photos. The Specials sitting in the diner tensed as the images flew by. "These subjects are known to be the most dangerous of the ones that escaped and contain the strongest and most deadly mutant there is known. Please be on the lookout for-"

Luna slowly lowered her head as the humans sitting in the diner turned to stare at the group of Specials. Onew put down his fork calmly and shook his head with a pitiful smile towards no one in particular.

"It's crazy how weak our government has gotten, hm?" he said loud enough for the others to hear. "Can't even contain those crazy bastards in their cages."

"Right?" Victoria responded immediately, catching on. "I figured that they would put up a stronger fight against those mutants."

Luna suppressed a shudder. The terms they used were unsettling and made her feel bitter.

"We should go back and lock up our windows and doors," Luna announced smoothly. One by one, the Specials stood from their booths and made their way outside the diner. The eyes never left their backs. "Run. None of them really bought it; stubborn humans. We need to get everything and get out of here before they call the government!"

"Nobody use their powers! Never. Until the government uses their weapons against us, you stay normal," Onew hissed as they took off for the inn. Everyone split up to their rooms, throwing in all their new purchases into laundry bags or pillow cases. Onew threw on a baseball cap and a large sweater quickly, sprinting out of his room with Jonghyun and Minho behind him.

"Young man!" the innkeeper called from the end of the hall. She started walking towards him too hurriedly for Onew's liking. "Did you hear the news? I suggest you keep your doors shut and-"

"Minho, Jonghyun, run!" Onew shouted, shoving the innkeeper just as she pulled out her gun. The other two hesitated, but Onew glared at them. "No - revealing!" He pushed the innkeeper's arm down when she tried to aim at him again. "What are you doing?!"

"Don't try to trick me!" she growled. She freed her hand, but instead of grabbing her weapon, pressed on something behind her ear. "All subjects confirmed in my area! They're trying to escape!" Her eyes widened suddenly, then shut all together as she passed out on the floor. Onew glanced up to find Luna with her arm outstretched.

"It . . . it doesn't count if they didn't see me, right?" she mumbled guiltily. Onew grinned at her and reached out to grab her hand. He dragged her so that she was running alongside him, both gripping onto their belongings tightly. Thankfully, Onew could see no threatening authorities in sight (besides the knocked out innkeeper, who was long gone to him now), but there were regular residents who screamed in fright when they saw him and the others.

"It's them! The mutants!" one woman shrieked. Her husband even looked frightened as he pulled his wife back and ran. Onew could feel his chest ache when he heard them say things like that and flee from him as if he were an actual monster. But to them, he was.

"Don't slow down!" Luna snapped. She had obviously heard the townspeople's insults, but she was focused on the task at hand. Onew shook himself; he should be concentrating as well. He made an effort to catch up with the others ahead of them, and checked behind him to make sure that the ones in the back could keep up as well. He knew it would be easier for them to use their powers and escape faster, but he was grateful for them listening to his warnings. It would only make them look worse while causing a bigger scene if they showed any powers.

He dodged a random passerby with a brief apology before grabbing Luna's hand again. He didn't want them to get separated at a time like this. Her grip tightened on his when a man began to curse at them with death threats, and he squeezed her hand assuringly.

"We're in the middle off nowhere," she gasped, ducking under a child resting upon her father's shoulders. "Where do we go?!"

Onew concentrated solely on his thoughts, rubbing his thumb over Luna's hand so she knew that he was listening. He narrowed his eyes, physically doing his best to avoid people and objects, and mentally trying to find Key.

Are you up ahead? Onew sighed in relief when he felt the familiar throbbing of Key poking into his brain.

Yep. I've got Taemin and CL up here! So do you have a genius plan, leader?

Let the others know where to go; there's only a bunch of sand here, but I'll meet up with you guys at the largest hill you can find and dig us a hideout. Sorry, Key - you'll get a headache.

Screw that. I'd rather get a headache then get shot through my chest by a Normal.

With that, the connection was cut off, and Onew smiled at Luna again. Follow me, he mouthed, his throat too dry to say much else. She nodded shortly. By the time they made it to the hill, about half of the group was already there. The other half arrived a few minutes later, and soon, they were all hidden inside the sandy mountain and trying to breathe in clean air.

"This isn't going to work, traveling in a big group like this," G-Dragon declared. "As much as I hate to do this, but we should split up now." T.O.P. looked up at his friend in alarm.

"He's right," Taemin swallowed, head falling back as he tried to calm his beating heart. Onew held Luna's hand tighter; he hadn't realized that he had yet to let go, but she wasn't doing it, so he didn't either. "We're too suspicious."

Bom instantly cried out as she hugged her girls, crushed within the group hug. "I don't want to leave you guys, but . . . I have to go, too. I have to."

"We know," Minzy mumbled, and Onew got a feeling that there was a deeper story behind Bom's capture as a Special. And T.O.P. surely wouldn't leave her side, he knew, as the man hugged his own friends goodbye.

"We'll see you," Taeyang promised.

"Where . . . where will you go?" Amber asked. "Without a lot of us, you guys could-"

"We can handle it. You're the ones going to the forbidden city," CL joked with a sad smile. She put her hands on her hips. "Right now, I'm planning for a quiet place in the Big 21 District. We'll know where to go from there. And we'll listen for your success, okay?" She hesitated. "We'll leave first so it attracts less attention. As soon as night falls. Good luck, you guys - and please don't die."

The reality of what was going to happen hit everyone - again - all at once. They took their seats on the ground and stared out into the opening where the sun spilled into the self-made cavern. Onew still hadn't let go of Luna's hand, and he secretly took comfort in the warmth. She glanced up at him uncertainly, and he could see that it wasn't from the small act of skinship. He could see what she was trying to hide.

Her fear.

She was trying to be the strong Special everyone saw, the Level Ten Plus that the others looked up to in order to keep them safe. He could understand her to an extent, being the leader and all. So he did the only thing he knew he could do to keep her happy. He beamed at her. It wasn't forced, since he felt genuinely confident in whatever was to happen.

She smiled back gratefully.

The others were gone the next morning, and it was just the twelve of them now.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

ONEW

ONEWWWWWWW

JINKIIIIII

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TOKKI DUBU ONEW SANGTAE

ONEW CONDITIOOOOOOONNNNNN

LEADAAAHHHHHH-NIM

BIAS NUMERO UNO

FOREVER MY LOVE WITH YO CHUBBY CHEEKS AND PERFECT SMILE

AND ONTHIGHS AND ONTONGUE AND ON-EVERYTHING

YOUR AWKWARDNESS COMPLETES ME

YOU ARE LIFE

Immediate update because it's Onew's birthday and his birthday was the birth of my soul.

P.S. Finals week kills. Good luck to you poor souls out there who have to suffer through it, too.

Goodbye, 2NE1 and Big Bang (minus T.O.P. and Bom)