[ Onew ]

Lost in the adrenaline, Onew clung tightly to Luna as he shielded her, arms wrapped around her shoulders while his were hunched. His eyes stayed shut as he pressed his face against the side of her head, tense. He felt a sharp jolt against the small of his back and a strangled gasp escaped him. In the next seconds, however, he felt like he was being compressed inward and then stretched out. His muscles flexed as he clenched his jaw, shocked - emotionally, not literally, which surprised him.

"L-Luna?" he whispered nervously when his mind began to clear. He was aware of people screaming and running around them, but he was even more aware of the fact that the smaller girl was trembling violently in his arms. He shook her slightly, horrified at her eyes which had gone glassy white. Slowly turning his head, he glanced back at the Normals who had them at gunpoint mere seconds ago. They lay on the ground, convulsing in pain, and a few citizens that had stood too close were passed out around them as well. The guns were a few feet away from the officers, spontaneously spazzing with electricity. "Luna!" He turned back and shook her once more.

Every time she blinked, Luna's irises faded back one shade to its normal color. Onew watched worriedly as her eyes welled up with unshed tears. "I didn't mean to." Onew sighed in relief; she was back.

"I know, I know," he whispered, grabbing her hand and tugging her forward.

"I just tried to push the energy away, I didn't know, I didn't mean to turn it against all of them," she continued, pain lacing her tone.

"I know, Luna, but we have to go before more officers arrive here and people start . . . a-and more people getting hurt, okay?" Onew gripped her hand tightly and squeezed it, trying to see if she was stable enough to run. He noticed the weary sway of her body as she stumbled forward. "Here, get on my back." She must have been exhausted and aware of the dangers, because she climbed on without a complaint. As soon as Onew stood and began running, her head lolled to the side, and he could see that she had passed out. "Déjà vu," he muttered to himself.

He ducked into another alleyway, not wanting to risk any of the humans tracking their moves and revealing their hideout. Some of the citizens had the nerve to try to follow him, but he whirled around with glowing green eyes and scared them off. He managed to weave through the streets and downhill towards the market, but he couldn't see the others there. Squinting, he wished that Luna was awake to lead him to their energy sources.

Onew closed his eyes, mentally focusing his thoughts to summon Key. Instead, he felt a warm breeze brush his cheek. That was odd. The wind wasn't constant, instead sharp jabs toward the general direction of the market. Taemin, he figured, following the breaths of the air. He pulled Luna's hood lower over her blond hair and pushed his cap to cover most of his face when he had to step out. He followed the wind as it turned slightly away from the market and led him to the edge of the docks, where most people had fleed to hide in their homes. His eyebrows furrowed. Surely they weren't . . .

The water shot out from the peaceful waves, engulfing Onew and Luna and dragging them in. He held back his scream and turned Luna around so that she was facing him. He clamped a hand over her nose and mouth and prayed Sulli would create some sort of bubble for them. He was met with her relieved face, and she appeared to be breathing fine underwater. She pressed her fingertips to the bridge of their noses and throats, and Onew let out his breath.

It was odd and sluggish to breathe underwater, and he certainly wasn't taking in any air; he wasn't drowning, though, which was all that mattered.

"It won't last long, but it will be long enough" Sulli admitted. Onew saw Taemin swim up behind her, grinning at the older cheekily. Both Sulli and Taemin glanced at Luna's unconscious figure questioningly, and Onew shook his head. When he opened his mouth to speak, an odd gurgling noise escaped him. Sulli grinned mischeviously. "It's a water manipulator thing. Maybe one day you can learn."

Shaking his head, Onew mouthed, Later, jerking his head towards Luna. The others?

"Follow us," Sulli said as Taemin pointed away from them. They explained as they swam, Onew holding Luna gently against his side. "We were waiting out by the supermarket when we heard a sudden commotion." She glanced at Luna. "I'm assuming it had something to do with you two . . ." Onew shook his head almost imperceptibly, wanting to explain when everyone was there. "Well, we had to find another hideout, so Taemin and I are just waiting out here for the others. I think the only ones left are . . . T.O.P. and Bom?"

Nodding his head, Onew slowed when he realized Sulli had slowed. They broke the surface of the water, Taemin and Onew in large amounts of air. He noticed that Luna inhaled noticably as well.

"Stay low," Taemin muttered. They sank down so that everything below their noses was submerged, waiting until the sound of rushed footsteps faded away. "Here." Taemin clung to the higher cement that separated the land and water, pulling himself up onto the lower ledge. They were still low, hidden from the rest of the people on the roads and walkways as they walked along the edge. Onew struggled to keep his hold on Luna, piggy-backing her as he slid his front along the wall. "There's a cave just a little ways down there. Sulli and I are going to go wait for the other two now."

Onew made a grunt of acknowledgement as he pushed himself off the wall and onto a rock. He could see that if he followed a certain path of large rocks coming out of the water, there was a small, barely noticeable cave at the end. "Hold on," he ordered Luna, even though she was unconscious. He held tightly onto her legs as he stumbled across the rocks. "What the hell - I'm an earth manipulator and I can't walk straight on rocks."

He breathed out a sigh of relief when he made it to the cave, sprinting through the entrance to avoid being spotted.

"!" he shouted as a burst of light blinded him. One hand flew away from Luna as he bent over to cover his eyes.

"Sorry!" Jonghyun yelped. "Sorry . . ." Behind the glow of Jonghyun's hands, Onew could see Minho and Chanyeol struggling to hold in their laughter.

"Augh." Onew groaned in pain as he slid Luna down to the ground, resting her against the wall. Amber immediately knelt beside her and began checking for any serious damage.

"She works fast. Her body's already healing itself," she commented, although it seemed like she was talking to herself.

"Sorry," Jonghyun repeated, "I thought you were an intruder. I was supposed to catch them off guard and have Key wipe out their memory and-"

"Blind them for life?!" Onew snapped, slapping the shorter male in the thigh. Jonghyun snickered, his apologetic facade slipping as he pummeled Onew's arm with harmless punches. "Whatever, you're an ." He said it with a smile, however, so Jonghyun knew he was safe. Onew glanced away from his cupped hands to eye Luna. "How is she?"

Amber shrugged. "Just tired. Like she's wasted or something. What did she do?"

"Knocked out a considerable amount of people because we were almost shot in the head with one of those tasers," Onew answered nonchalantly. He didn't expect to get tackled by Minho. "Ow! Are you guys out to murder me?!"

"You're okay!" Minho shouted.

"Yes, I noticed, now get off me."

"Naturally. Our Luna is a badass," Victoria praised as she smoothed down Luna's bangs. Krystal leaned against Amber, watching with fascination as she healed what she could to speed up the process. Hina sat beside her sister with a grim but slightly proud expression, staring outside the entrance of the cave as she waited for the last of them to join.

Onew glanced up and noticed Taeyeon speaking intensely with Chanyeol a little further into the cave. They caught his eye and cleared their throats, to which he raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Taeyeon and Chanyeol glanced at each other and continued to argue a bit longer. Finally, Taeyeon sighed and stepped towards the others.

"Guys, I was talking to a dolphin and-"

"Pfft." Everyone turned to glance back at Taemin. "Sorry. Sorry, I forgot you could talk to animals." He giggled to himself some more. "Dolphin."

"I'll have you know that they're one of the most intelligent animals out there." Taeyeon frowned absently. "And maybe a little bit evil." No one knew what to say. "Anyways, the cruise ship is leaving soon because of the sudden 'Special outbreak.' They're preparing to leave soon."

"We have to get T.O.P. and Bom and find a way back on the ship before they do," Onew guessed, to which Taeyeon nodded grimly.

"Security's going to be bumped up several notches, too, unsurprisingly."

An uncomfortable chill tickled at Onew's cervical. His gaze slid over to Luna as he thought about where he'd last seen T.O.P. and Bom. He hoped they were okay.

"I know where they should be, so . . . I should go while Luna's still resting," he offered.

"Not alone! I'm coming with you," Minho insisted.

"This boy has been so eager to help out lately," Taemin drawled. "He feels guilty because he jinxed us at the restaurant." He kicked the tall male lightly in the shin. Minho scowled, expression softening when Krystal subtly brushed the dirt off his pants. Onew agreed, kneeling down next to Luna before they left. Her eyebrows twitched into a short frown before her face smoothened again.

That uncertain feeling crawled over Onew's skin once again. As if some ominous omen was hanging overhead. Nonetheless, he couldn't just leave T.O.P. and Bom on their own, and as a leader, he didn't want to send the others out.

"Key, there's no way for you to reach them telepathically?" Onew questioned. Key shook his head.

"Too far. I would ask Luna to send me some energy, but . . ."

"I understand. Minho, let's go." The two crept out of the small cave, checking to see if there was anyone by the pier. It was mostly vacant since everyone had evacuated. He could see plenty of Normals roaming the area, though; they were probably set up everywhere.

"Crap."

"Crap, indeed," Onew hummed. "T.O.P. and Bom split up from us a few alleyways . . . west of the restaurant. Bom seemed a little fatigued, so they couldn't have gotten far. Hopefully, they got far enough."

By the time Onew and Minho managed to get onto land, even more Normals had joined the patrollers, roaming the houses and checking the areas they could have hidden in. The Specials crouched beside a large boat sitting idle in the water. Onew glanced at Minho and noticed the spark in his eyes; that couldn't be good. Sparks meant fire.

"If I light one of the boats on fire, do you think we can sprint away fast enough before they can get to us?

Onew sighed. The boy was crazy, but they had no choice. Of course, Minho chose one of the most expensive looking boats to light up, because "they must have enough money to repair it if they bought it in the first place." It was cringe-worthy, watching the crackling flames take the curtains of the luxury boat, then spread further.

"We have no time! Let's move," hissed Minho. With another weary exhale, Onew followed Minho through a secluded path into the main city, doing his best to ignore the cries of shock at the fire. "Ah, fire! Destruction! Isn't it beautiful to see the red burn to black?"

"This is why they think we're crazy, Minho. It's people like you that will get Specials killed."

"Nonsense. I'm just being human."

It was unsettling how true that statement was. Further into the shack-like buildings along the coast, the market stood, deserted by its customers and employees. They did a quick search for the missing couple, unsuccessfully. The ruckus must have rendered them unable to go any further, especially with Bom's lack of efficient mobility. Without a second thought, Onew made his way to the tallest tree he could find and began to make his way up its branches.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm one with nature."

"I know that, you hippie, but why are you acting like you're in a vampire film?" Minho snorted. Onew closed his eyes for a few seconds. He stays in a motel for a day, and suddenly he knows all about these Normal shows.

"It's not that hard. Here, I'll help you up - whatever you do, don't burn down my tree," Onew warned, holding out a hand to pull the taller male up. Minho rolled his eyes. "We're obviously not going to find them by searching the grounds; we'll probably get caught before we get anywhere close to their location. So let's look for them from up here. It's all Normals in white suits anyways, right?" As he spoke, they climbed higher and higher.

"Don't you think they would stay in hiding, so the cameras and Normals from above can't detect them?"

Onew had considered that, but how else could they utilize their powers to find them? He should have had Key accompany him, so perhaps he could use his mental radar. Or maybe Taemin - he didn't nag as much as Key and Minho. He was jerked out of his miserable thoughts by suspicious movement coming from the corner of his eye.

"Minho, look!" T.O.P. and Bom were running down an empty street, or rather T.O.P. was doing his best to keep from dragging Bom's fatigued body along with him. Behind them was a group of Normals, all with their own weapons but all moving at an incredibly slow pace. T.O.P. must have been drained of energy, too, because once in a while his time manipulation would falter, letting the Normals advance on them for a few seconds, before he could slow their time again. Onew and Minho rushed down the tree frantically. Minho's foot caught on one of the branches, and Onew caught him by his ankle. He manuevered the branch to bring Minho to the ground slowly, followed by himself. "Let's go!"

His heartbeat pounded painfully in his chest and to his ears, but it was worth it when he saw the look of relief on both T.O.P. and Bom's faces. Minho smoothly shifted Bom onto his back, allowing T.O.P. to focus on slowing down the Normals more. Onew opened up his palms to wrap roots around the Normals feet, braiding and weaving them between their ever-so-sluggish feet.

"Everyone should be waiting on the cruise ship. Go! I need to stall them a bit more."

"Onew-!" Minho broke off, knowing that they had to take advantage of what little time they had left. There was no time for stalling or hesitating. He turned around and motioned T.O.P. to follow him. "Make sure you help hold off any Normals that could get in our way. Onew included." Onew made sure the roots were tightly wrapped around the Normals before they got too far, and as T.O.P.'s powers faded away, the Normals were furious. They thrashed against the natural binds Onew had put on them.

"Sorry! Just . . . stay still!" You have no choice anyways, ers! Onew raced after the other three. Unfortunately, T.O.P. could only slow down the Normals for so long, and Minho couldn't exactly burn them. He progressed through the officers at a much more lagging pace, sometimes unable to dodge their shots and getting hit with powerful blows that thankfully weren't as charged as earlier. They had all types of weapons, and Onew's heart ached for the Specials that had been used for these technologies.

He saw the cruise ship, and he saw that the amount of Normals had actually doubled. He hoped that everyone had gotten there smoothly. A burst of smoke - Victoria - covered the deck suddenly. It was a distraction so they could sneak onboard, he realized, through the haze. Seeing that the Normals could possibly catch up to Minho, T.O.P., and Bom, he forced a tree to fall behind their path. Perspiration dripped down his face, and his ribs were beginning to ache as he struggled to breathe.

They're getting on the boat - they made it! I can see them running on.

"NO!"

Why are you turning around? Minho, you useless torch!

"ONEW, FASTER! WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT-" Minho was dragged into the smoke by someone Onew couldn't identify.

"Due to possible intruders, the cruise ship has prepared and is leaving immediately . . . All mutants will be discarded of by our one hundred plus Normal officers! Please enjoy your trip . . . Please enjoy your trip . . . Due to possible intruders . . ."

Before he could get all the way over the tree he had brought down himself, agonizing pain shot up Onew's leg, and then it was numb all at once. Bastards. Onew gasped for air. Poison darts?! His knee buckled, and he collapsed onto the ground. He thought he could hear Key screaming at him - maybe he was doing it telepathically. He saw the cruise ship leaving, and he wondered how long they had been preparing to leave before the talking dolphins could tell Taeyeon.

Talking dolphins, Onew thought dreamily.

The numbing pain of the poison seaped through his body, tickling his insides unpleasantly. A Normal stepped over him, raised his elbow, and knocked him out in a single blow.

Maybe one day I can take Luna to see talking dolphins.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

OH MY GOD I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE JUNE

I AM A SIN

To anyone still sticking to Special, thank you so much! I couldn't even update on Tae's birthday
(all Tae gifs to make up for it)

/sobbing/

AP classes are killer

I bow down to all these authors who can still udpate so frequently

Why is it so easy to read these fanfics but so hard to write?

Thank you for reading, my dears <3 you're all very SPECIAL to me!

SHOUTOUT TO THE ONES READING THIS CHAPTER/STORY THAT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN MONTHS

Excuse me if this chapter isn't quALITY