Howling screams and heartbroken pain echoed up the metal walls. Musky rotten flesh mixed with diseased frying clothes, and coughs broke out constantly. A steady hiccupping cry slipped in and out of thought and continued in the back of the mind when it was a fact that someone was having a panic attack. Soft shot out, and wretched begging made tears fly. One had to bite his tongue not to go insane and join in this unity of melancholy hollering. But there was always laughter.

Always.

One man was always able to find pleasure in the sadness seeping from the building. Whichever building he was in, whichever prison he chose to visit, he found the place. He was never in danger of having to suffer the same fates. They deserved it. All the trouble they have caused would never be repaid with the simple measures that were taken. He needed vengeance for a feeling he didn’t understand. A rage filled him for illogical reasons; he just hated those whom were wrong.

He hated these people from his birth, and the thought of them made him sick. They were mistaken; they were bad, evil, and corrupt. His people, his kind, himself, they were the better person. He was always right.

The man laughed again. A pitiful creature lay in front of him, panting like he hadn’t breathed in years. He shivered nonstop, barely staying out of hypothermia. Once more he wanted to gag, on reflex and from the poisons being injected into him. They wanted to punish him, break his dying soul. There shouldn’t be any will to fight back.

Inside, this crying man wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up. Whenever a question was asked, he answered with a faint, “I don’t know!” Nobody took his answer. More tests were thrown on him, and he felt that the regular sessions of body defying pain would easily destroy him. He was never allowed to heal, and the burns from a sad explosion were still fresh and readily split open to ooze yellow pus and stain his skin.

He didn’t remember ever hurting these guards. When had he ever met them before? Never, that is for sure. He had never seen them before he was picked from the ground and tossed into a rusty cell. It was all Jaejoong’s fault. He was the cause for his people to be burned, to suffocate and die, it was all Jaejoong’s doing. Somehow, that outlaw had ruined them.

He had been betrayed. No matter how disobedient a governor a governor is, they should never backstab a fellow leader. Together, they could have brought great wealth to the Almighty Lord’s 7,453rd and 7,454th sectors. Having an ally is certainly better for the people and the leader because it builds a foundation of security among strengthens the income of certain people as a benefit of this friendship. Both sectors remained poor, and Yoochun’s sector will continue that way because of his stupid actions. The duo of Yoochun and Yunho was a bad one, he just knew it.

“I hate you.”

“Based on what?”

“It is a feeling that I was born with. I can’t deny it. This is who I am.”

“And who are you, ing bastard.”

“I am the man that found you, recognized you for what you are, dirty, and feel the need to torture all my anger away. I don’t need a reason to hate you, I just do. At least I didn’t kill you, because my fingers are tingling to sauté you blood cells and make them burst. I am the person who tells them when to stop shocking your mind, to stop dumping water on your face, to feed you, to clean you, to let you speak. I am the one that people adore, that people honor and respect. I am the person that people choose; I don’t force myself with this power. I am the leader Jonghyun.”

Groans left Junsu again when Jonghyun rubbed gently along his infected cuts. It was a simple irritation that caused Junsu to thrash violently against his restraints, causing deeper slashes to form where the skinned burned off against the electric forces binding him. Just another way to drive him insane!

Junsu didn’t argue with power of Jonghyun. “Bling Bling, your people are waiting for the parade preparations.” As if that man was someone to worship. He couldn’t compare by a smidge to Key! It was the almighty or no one at all!

There was no defying these laws.

************************

Jaejoong his soft hair while turning his head around to focus on the overhead light. He had been spacing out over the fact that he suddenly had soft hair after a refreshing bath. His hair was changing colors; the sun was bringing the natural highlights out. A repressed pout was dancing on Jaejoong’s lips. “Mr. Grumpy Face, no matter what expression you make, I will not take you to Jiyong to help with the parade music, not with this shower going on.”

“I understand how rain can be annoying. You get wet and sick. I still don’t understand why it is annoying. What makes rain that bad? Is it really uncomfortable?” Jaejoong continued to pester Changmin, wanting desperately to find out what a downpour actually felt like. It was alien to him; he wasn’t even familiar with the spray of water from his earlier bathing. It wasn’t fair that Changmin was keeping the freshness of the world away from him.

Changmin’s lips quivered as he held back witty remarks he knew would stump the curious man. He instead rubbed his temple and hoped Jaejoong would soon shut up. It was hard enough concentrate without the constant clogging of his senses. Visitors to the colonies always changed the layout of the area before he got used to the added people. At this moment he was battling a migraine that kept hammering into his head. He didn’t want to be near loud noise, and the weather wasn’t really helping much. Changmin took a deep breath, hoping to concentrate better. Jaejoong’s voice only grew louder.

While still petting his hair, Jaejoong stared at Changmin and observed the strange tensing of his muscles and the flicker his eyes made between him and the wall, like he was trying to find his pale skin among the cream colored paint, like he was able to see that Jaejoong was frighteningly pale. Changmin’s leg bounced lightly, and Jaejoong wondered if he was trying to feel the vibrations bounce back. He would take his chances.

With a light step, Jaejoong slid his legs off his couch and started to shuffle closer to his door.

Tension finally snapped as Changmin grabbed his arms and pulled it back, locking him in the position. He the window open and shoved half of Jaejoong’s body out of it. Instantly, the heavy shower drenched his drying hair. Droplets drenched his face and seeped into the exposed nightshirt. “Should you have been running away? Do you think that was the best choice to make?” Suddenly all the hospitality that he had been showed vanished; all that was left was a strict man holding him hostage.

Jaejoong couldn’t escape this cycle of capture and following. He couldn’t do anything that would decide his fate; life was set up for him. What he wanted was not the right thing, what he wanted was fatal. For this second, he hated being Jaejoong.

“I just want to make music! Why do you deny me from this?”

Changmin smirked behind Jaejoong’s drowning head. “Aw, Jaejoongie, that is so cute, but you can’t do anything until you regain your health. I don’t think you are nearly fit enough to enjoy your time that freely.” One of Changmin’s hands crept up to Jaejoong’s scalp and ran through. “How does rain feel Jaejoongie?”

Jaejoong coughed a few times, water was seeping through his hair and draining into his mouth. The freezing beads streaming over his face and bringing his temperature lower and lower. His eyes strained to stay open against the torrent against his flesh. It was exhausting to be introduced to the element so suddenly. The pressure of the rain was overpowering and clouding all his senses.

“It feels like marbles are rolling down my body, and they are all freezing cold. As they hit me they shatter and pierce my skin.”

Changmin laughed lightly. “That’s good. Is there anything else about the rain you notice? Maybe if you stare long enough it will change color.”

Against the water that wished to make prunes of his eyes, Jaejoong stared out into the gray afternoon sky. The clouded overcast grabbed his attention and hypnotized him. All he could see was the dull gray thundering along with the luminescent flares of icy blue lightning.

The scenery captured Jaejoong’s eyes and held them in a long battle against blinking. He didn’t see the rain any longer; the landscape was the only thing in sight. He tried to spot each flash and trace the pattern they inflicted upon the clouds. Jaejoong’s eyes darted back and forth between every stretch of light in the sky. The task of drafting the tendrils was mystifying, and Jaejoong immersed himself in the task with unquestionable desire.

Jaejoong was silent, not saying a word, causing Changmin to worry. There was no protest; Jaejoong was actually trying to find something unusual about the weather. Changmin his lips in anticipation, waiting for what Jaejoong would discover.

Soft booming finally reached Jaejoong’s eardrums. After countless strikes to the heavens he could hear the sounds that had been causing Changmin a great pain. The pulsating of the lightning along with beat of the thunder sent Jaejoong into a pseudo high.

He could see every little static line from each string of lightning. The sounds echoed for elongated minutes until there was a drastic crashing coming down on him. The light streams rested in their place and lit the sky up like the sun was hurtling towards them.

It was the raindrops that made Jaejoong speak up. He had never expected such a thing to happen. The stationary pearls glimmered with the glinting background and twinkled when the cracking waves danced in deformed lines. “The rain has stopped.”

Arrogantly, Changmin let out a confident snort. “The storm hasn’t stopped because I can hear the rain’s pitter patter. I can feel the shapes of the lightning and the thunder. The ground smells soggy; the trees are swaying with a ferocious wind. It has not stopped raining Jaejoong, stop lying.”

Using Changmin as a crutch, Jaejoong wrestled his soaked head back through the window. His head dripped onto the tile floor and he gingerly stepped across to get a towel without slipped. Changmin closed the window and sat back down, waiting for Jaejoong’s enlightening lies to continue.

“My mind must be playing tricks on me since I slowed everything down so it stopped.”

Changmin’s eyebrows twitched with sudden interest. He spoke in great excitement, “Are you sure? Absolutely positive?” Jaejoong’s nodding was not missed and Changmin’s tone got even happier. “You’re mutating faster than I thought you would!”

“Wait, what? I am mutating? Am I going to sprout wings? I don’t get it.” The towel in Jaejoong’s hands started to feel too damp to use anymore. He threw it to the bathroom and it landed roughly by the sink.

“What’s not to get? You had never been in sun, and now you are. Suddenly your body is mutating thanks to the radiation around. Now your mind has formed the ability to receive information at an accelerated rate, making things seem stationary or extremely slow. Is this for all things, like sound as well? Are you able to decipher what is what between my talking and the sound of the rain? Or is everything just a cluster of slow sound waves?”

“Umm, everything is normal now, it was only with the rain.” Jaejoong shook out the last bits of water in his hair before styling it comfortably.

Changmin bit his lip slightly and allowed his thoughts to form correctly. “I’m sure it will develop some more. Ask Yuri to explain it to you better. I don’t know chemistry or biology or anatomy or whatever the hell she does.”

Jaejoong laughed, “I don’t exactly know either.” He knew that Changmin was disappointed in him for being so uncaring but also proud that he had found some simple way to rebel even more. He chose not to take interest in his wife and didn’t play by the rules set for him, at least those would be Changmin’s views on it.

“She could be an expert in animals for all we know!”

Jaejoong was in the process of removing his soaked nightshirt and stopped. Animals? They still existed? Weren’t they all extinct? How could there be any animals left? If there were any, he wanted to see them.

He continued changing his clothes as he asked Changmin a completely serious question. “Is it possible for you to take me to a location where the chances of me observing these animal things are high? Like, really high?”

Changmin was left speechless for a second. “You mean, take you to a zoo? Yeah, sure, it’d probably give you some inspiration for you music. For all we know, it could spark some fancy slow motion trigger and you make the most badass song ever! Sounds fun! I’ll have someone send you there tomorrow.”

“Hold on. Why aren’t you taking me?”

The blind man sighed inwardly, “My job is actually to find the lost survivors, not teach them all about our world. I just chose to stay with you out of boredom. Yesung and the others can scavenge while I am helping around here.”

“Really, that is a little irresponsible. Won’t Bling Bling get mad?”

Bling Blind would never get mad because Changmin was doing his second job as well. He successfully recruited Jaejoong into their growing army. He has been pushing Jaejoong to become healthy and hate Key. He has been giving Jaejoong the knowledge to become a great soldier, and even better, informing him of the skills he can and will get. Changmin has completed his job, he just needs Jaejoong to go through what he was always supposed to do.

He became a pawn when he was born.

From the time he was exiled he became theirs.

There was no way he could escape it.

It was as certain as anything else logical.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I need feedback on this fic more than ever. Am I being too wordy, am I not making things clear enough, is it too boring. Are things understandable? I need feedback because I want to improve this for the readers. I already know what is going to happen in my mind, but I need help conveying my message to you.

Do you get that Jaejoong has adapted to slow things down with his mind? It is his new superpower, do you like it? It gets cooler, just wait. Nothing is confusing? It probably is, so please ask questions.

I seriously need motivation. I'm writing this for me, but posting it for you.

Comments are motivation~♥