6 years later…

'I'm not even a football fan…' Mei grumbled under her breath as she was pushed once again in the crowd. Her friend Tiffany, several steps her ahead, giggled.

'You will be one by the end of the match – you've gotta see it to know what you're missing out on… out of the way, people, coming through! Coming through!'

They pushed their way to the front seats, secured courtesy of Tiffany's connections. 'And here we are!' Tiffany plopped into her seat, patting the one next to her. 'Great view, huh?'

It was, Mei supposed. She could see everything going on in the field. She handed the popcorns and drinks to Tiffany and relaxed in her seat. It was nice to take a break from studies, whether she enjoyed football or not.

'Oh, there he is!' Tiffany screamed shrilly. 'Luhan!!! I LOVE YOU!!!'

Sadly, she wasn't the only one doing that – a large majority of the female fans were going off into fits of ecstasy. Curious about their reaction, Mei concentrated on the striker who was smiling abashedly as the other members .

He was quite handsome, she supposed, almost beautiful… no scratch almost, he was beautiful. Not too tall but well-built and his face was something else. Yes, she could see his charm.

And then he started playing and she discovered the other side of his charm. Even though she wasn't that into football, her brothers were crazy about it. And she'd seen plenty of good players. Luhan was good – very, very good. The way he ran around with seemingly endless stamina, the way he tackled and passed so flawlessly, it was excellent. She took out her cellphone to make a video – her brothers would love it.

He is worth the hype, she admitted, leaning forward in excitement as he again snatched the ball from the mid-fielder and started sprinting towards the goal. There was tense silence as the crowd watched in anticipation. A defender swooped in from the right, trying to tackle the ball away. Another ran out from the front, sliding. Luhan jumped and skipped over their legs, keeping firm control over the ball and at the last moment, lobbed it to his teammate who shot it straight into the goal. As the crowd burst into loud cheers, she found herself joining in. It was fascinating to watch him play and the thing that fascinated her the most was his model's face – so absolutely out of place on this footballer.

At the end of the match, Tiffany remembered she'd brought Mei along. 'Oh my God, did you see that?? What did I tell you? Weren't they awesome???' she was literally jumping in her chair.

'Yes, they are really good. I guess being in the HEC League isn't a joke.' Mei nodded her agreement.

'So what about it? Want an autograph?'

'I'm not that impressed.' Mei shook her head. 'But you go ahead, fangirl away. I'll see you in the dorm.'

'Fine…' Tiffany pouted. 'Don't wait for dinner, okay? A couple of friends are throwing a party, so I'll be there.'

'Sure, bye.'

'I'll get an autograph for you!!!' Tiffany screamed after her.  

Smiling, Mei waved over her shoulder and left her in the bleachers as she made her way out of the stadium.   

As she was passing through the parking, she glanced at the teams, waiting for their buses – laughing, backslapping, high fiving. Luhan wasn't among them; he stood at a distance, his face serious as he spoke into his cell phone. His team captain called to him.

 'Oi Luhan, come along! We're gonna party! All night Looong!' The guys cheered excitedly but Luhan shook his head, smiling wistfully.

'Sorry guys but I've gotta help out with my family again. Maybe next time.'

Some of the players booed but the captain nodded his understanding and moved away.

''Kay, see you later then.'

Luhan watched them board the bus and drive away, then took out his cell phone to text someone, his face more grave than before.

Mei observed him for a couple more seconds before moving on. What was going on with him was really none of her concern – even if she hoped everything was okay. Yup, not her concern at all.

Still, she turned to glance at him one last time. Luhan looked up at the exact same time and their eyes met – his eyes were red, flashing… she blinked in surprise… or maybe it was just her imagination because when she looked closely, his eyes were normal. She shook her head and turned away. It was only the excitement of one match and she was already seeing things.

Shaking her head at her stupidity, she went back to the dorm.

……………………

Luhan watched the girl turn away, shaking her head and sighed in relief. He'd been on the verge of exploding and it must've shown in his eyes. It was surprising as he had better control over himself most of the time. Still, he supposed, the news was enough to make anyone explode.

They thought they'd left the Red forces behind, still trapped in the Abyss where they had been pushed back by the Legends. That's why they had been going on with their lives so easily, relaxed now that there was no immediate threat to the Tree's revival. All of the Legends had settled firmly into the human life, because after all that time spent guarding, they could finally focus on themselves and move as they wished. 

But the mysterious killings that had started a month ago in their neighboring country had them pricking their ears. So, they'd sent out members to gather information. Now, they were coming back and if they'd hinted at anything, it was that things were worse than they'd thought.

He had been looking forward to the season's first match but the taste of victory wasn't enough to wipe out the bitterness of worry. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration – and at the start of the semester too.

Past semesters, he'd kept impeccable grades to match his sports scholarship – he was aspiring to go to national level. But if he had to do guard duty along with all his other activities, it'd get difficult.

Well, there were things beyond his control – as Lay often reminded him – and whatever the future held would be revealed in time. Bad news wasn't bad news if it allowed you to prepare – another piece of Lay's philosophical wisdom.

Apparently Lay said some good stuff when he wasn't lost in his own world. And he, Luhan, apparently put a lot of stock in whatever that crazy guy said.

He shook his head, smiling and headed home.

………………

Kai paced around restlessly. Luhan must be worried. It felt like the beast, that wild spirit that resided in all of them, was getting restive. He wondered what could've triggered it.

Suho knocked on his door. 'Kai, family meeting. Lounge, two minutes.'

Sighing, Kai put on his shirt, then stepped out. He'd been practicing his dance when he'd felt that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, indicating his Shadow was troubled.

He guessed he'd find the reason for it in the family meeting. The others had arrived last night and both Kris and Suho had been up all night, going over the details. Some seriously messed up stuff had been going on recently – like that crazed mass murderer who thought he possessed godly powers and visited death on those he judged criminal – went by the name Killer – which was stupid if wanted to be perceived as god but who was he to judge people? Maybe everyone saw him as a psychopath as well…

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see where he was going and bumped into someone.

'Ya! Watch where you're going!' D.O. barked angrily, turning around. Then seeing Kai, his face relaxed. 'Oh, it's you. What're you thinking about?' Among his brothers, Kai was the closest to D.O., who understood him well.

'Just… stuff. Things are gonna change around here, aren't they?'

They'd settled into their human existence with relish – cherishing each and every blessing they'd been denied for over a century. But if the Red forces or the Evil were returning, they'd have to go back to their warrior life.

'I certainly hope not…' D.O. muttered, his large eyes thoughtful.

'Hurry up, you two!' Suho called again. Kai and D.O. hurried to the lounge, where everyone was present.

'Alright then…' Suho cleared his throat. 'Kris… if you will please tell us.'

Kris, who'd been moodily lounging on the sofa, straightened a bit and looked at all of them coldly. 'Analysis of the news over the past six years indicates that the Evil has followed us to this planet. It's hard to determine where he first landed or how he survived. The first of his human victims, far as we can determine, are the researchers of the exploration team sent to the Arctic by the U.S. government. They were attacked by a crazed polar bear. One of the survivors from that team was later arrested for brutal murders. From there, it is easy to trace his movements – ' Kris indicated at the huge map they'd placed on the table. Red markers were placed along with various newspaper cuttings showing the Evil's movement. 'As you can see, he's making his way here…' Kris tapped on the map, the green marker showing the city they were in. 'And he's not bothering to hide himself anymore.'

That much was certainly true – other than the attack on the research team, the rest of the attacks were pretty small scale – in fact, if they hadn't been looking specifically, given recent events, they wouldn't have connected the dots. All the disappearances were on such a small level that it was quite easy to skip them. However, each disappearance was closer to their home… and now, like Kris said, he wasn't bothering to hide anymore.

The massive killings by Killer took place on a small island of a country. But they were so brutal and so obviously influenced by the Evil that they'd have to blind to ignore them.

'So… what do we do?' Baekhyun asked, looking nervous.

'We fight, of course.' Kris replied coolly.

 Suho spoke again. 'We came here to reunite the Tree of Life, to keep it safe from the Red Forces and the Evil. However, it was also a chance for all of us to enjoy our lives – mingle with people, do stuff we hadn't been able to… this is our new home. Are we agreed on this?'

'Yes!' Everyone spoke as one.

'And if there is even the slightest threat to it, we will defend it with our lives on the line.'

 'Yes!' This time it rose as a war cry.

'Good. First things first, we'll be starting guard duty again, starting tonight. I've drawn up a schedule but if it conflicts with anything, you can tell me. Second, we've marked the territory that must be protected from the Evil, in all circumstances. No matter the cost.' He looked at them gravely. 'Only one root has actively taken hold of Earth, other eleven have yet to find their way here. Until the Tree is completely embedded into Earth, we cannot let even the gist of Evil anywhere near it… we all know what happens otherwise.'

They nodded in agreement.  Their entire planet had suffered the consequences – and their race had been far more resilient and long lived than these fragile humans.

 'Well, I don't think we need anything more. Be prepared, don't skip on your training, keep your powers at the max – no waste in frivolous activities, okay?' Suho glared pointedly at Sehun and Tao who were prone to use their powers in mundane activities – like stopping time to sneak into Gucci sales and causing fast breezes on the street so girls' skirts would blow up. They both nodded, looking well reprimanded. Suho continued. 'We'll probably need to send someone to the front so that we can do some recon on him – in the meantime, be careful. It's better if you travel in groups and well… just use your common sense.' He finished, then stood up.

'Alright, meeting dismissed. Sehun, you haven't completed your assignment yet! Kai already handed in his.' Sehun glared at Kai before sulkily heading towards the room he shared with Tao.

'I'll do it, stop buggering me…' he whined all the way. 'I'm soo tired… you work me too much… and I'm still hungry!!'

Suho shook his head and snapped. 'This cub is too much… Tao, will you stop whining? We're not going shopping tonight!' Tao smiled charmingly. 'Just one last visit??? Please, please! Pretty…pretty please!' He pouted and stamped his feet.

Kai shook his head at their antics. He was the same age as Sehun and Tao but maybe because he shared the Shadow with one of the oldest Legends, he was much more serious and mature. He stood up. 'I'll be in my room.'

Suho ignored him, trying to get away from Tao and reprimand Sehun again for not studying. Kai went to his room. Luhan was taking off his shirt. 'I'm gonna shower first… cool?'

Kai shrugged noncommittally, taking off his own. 'Go ahead… just don't take too long.' Nodding, Luhan went in and Kai busied himself again in practice. He had a test to prepare.

Another cringe inducing chapter... I'll give some quick updates so we can get these parts out of the way and get to the good stuff :3 Thanks for reading