Damned Legend, Evil thought as he struggled to find the traces of that link which would lead him to the rest. As had been the case ever since he’d possessed this body, he could find no sign or sight of any link and it was making him angrier by the second.

He hadn’t dared to venture out of the Abyss because once he stepped out, the body would start decomposing at a rapid rate. And until he was sure he could locate either the Legends or the Tree, he was not taking that risk.

The short trip outside to get Killer moving had already damaged this new vessel a lot and he was now saving up his energy for the rest. Good thing he had a little more healing ability, thanks to his archenemy but that wasn’t too helpful in the long run. He could slow down the decay now but Legends were a whole new level of delicious, flesh-wise, and Evil had to resist his appetites quite a bit so he wouldn’t consume his new body.

The link – there had been a link, he was sure, because no way in hell could the Legend suddenly move on his own and no way had he packed that much brute strength. Evil had made sure he couldn’t break out of the bonds but the other one who’d shown up, the one with the beastly strength, had just torn them off and attacked him. Him, Evil, the ruler of this realm.

Since the body hadn’t left Abyss, it followed that only the soul had. And the other soul which had taken residence had channeled his energy. That implied there was a connection between the Legends.

He wasn’t too aware about the specifics of power distribution but the term Shadows had come up often during those early days when he’d been wreaking havoc on Exo-planet and the Elders of the Sacred Tree had been scrambling around for a solution.

There were six basic forms of energy – even Evil knew that much – but there were twelve legends, ergo each energy divided into half to… let it flow with balance? That sounded like the mumbo jumbo those old croaks spouted. So, why in the damn hell couldn’t he locate the Shadow? Where was the ing link?

Damn Legend, he thought again, he’d been way too happy when I threw him out. Guess he must’ve figured out what he planned to do and shut the link himself. Which meant that his body was now useless and he’d been lounging around in here for no ing reason.

Angered, he let out a frustrated yell that sounded to the very edges of the Abyss. Creatures of the darkness, his minions, cowered in their holes in fear as he threw a temper tantrum.

After a while, he calmed down enough to think of a new recourse. He couldn’t locate the Legends as he’d planned to but Killer’s activity was sure to draw them. He could venture out and attack the unsuspecting ones… after all, that’s how he’d abducted this pretty boy.

A smile graced his deformed features. He wasn’t going near the one who’d damaged him last time – the one who healed – but there was another one just as weak. And the shock of seeing their brother’s face would give him an edge over them…

………………….

Baekhyun wasn’t particularly comfortable being around D.O in such a crazed state.

Not that he didn’t completely support his madness but the guy was seriously scary and it was beginning to give him a case of heebie jeebies. He winced a little when D.O kicked ruthlessly at the sidewalk, causing it to crack.

As if walking in the dark with a crazy wasn’t creepy enough by itself, lightening flashed thunderously across the sky and with the mixed reminder of D.O’s new power and Chen’s murder, Baekhyun was ready to call it a day.

Or night, if he was being picky.

Damn! Baekhyun grimaced at the howl that tore out of D.O’s throat. It was his and Lay’s turn to accompany him in his daily prowls as he looked for a portal to enter the Abyss and he was beginning to be really grateful for his power. Had it been completely dark, the entire scene would’ve turned into a horror movie and they were going through one as it was. They didn’t need any more drama.

Sadly, he was made to be a horror movie heroine because D.O wasn’t stopping for a second to take a breather and Lay was either too dazed or too sleepy to keep up with either of them and before he knew it, he’d lost sight of both of them.

Lifting his hands higher, he turned the brightness to full – making him look like a strange, walking street lamp – and started creeping along the streets, pausing every now and then to peek over his shoulder for any sign of Lay and glance around for D.O.

Only silence surrounded him, crickets occasionally chirruping and sounding even creepier than usual when there was a strange zipping sound up ahead.

He wondered if Kai had suddenly shown up when someone stepped out of the shadows from the alley right beside him.

‘Miss me, brother?’

The familiar voice made him whirl around in shock. Joy and disbelief fought for dominance in his brain as he took in the sight of Chen. He was disheveled, terribly disheveled and so weak, his skin was like a sheer cloth over the bones. There were horrid bruises all over his body, his mouth crusted with dried blood and the circles around his eyes were so deep, it felt like his sockets had sank to the back of his head. And his eyes…

‘You’re not Chen.’ Baekhyun stated calmly, even though his heart was thudding at the speed of light and his legs were on the verge of giving out. This wasn’t his ing brother. ‘You can’t fool me.’

The dead eyes didn’t light up as the all too familiar smile twisted his lips upwards. ‘You’re quicker than I thought.’

‘You bastard!’ Anger suddenly took place of shock and fear and he ran straight towards him, intent on strangling the bastard who’d killed Chen. ‘You ing , I’ll tear you with my bare hands.’

Chen – no, Evil stood there with a smirk on his face and it wasn’t until he saw the portal that had opened up right behind him that Baekhyun realized his mistake. He skidded to a halt but it was too late and Evil’s fingers reached out, nails digging into his skin – crap, went Baekhyun’s head and he struggled to get free. Sadly, Baekhyun wasn’t the strongest of them all and Evil had a portion of D.O’s strength in him as well.

He kicked out with his legs and tried to pry off the knife he kept strapped to his ankles but either Evil was aware of his habits or he just didn’t like him moving around and there was a bombardment of pinpricks over his body. He stared in horror as his arm began to turn blue, the blood freezing in his veins. Smirking, Evil was reaching towards him again, possibly to throw him into the open portal and Baekhyun found his voice, yelling at the top of his lungs.

There was a whoosh and he felt himself suddenly robbed of all air and before he could gather another breath, a strong grasp around his neck choked him. ‘Now, be a good boy and come with me!’ Chen – no, Evil hissed and lifted him up heftily. Baekhyun could hear the bones cracking and it dawned on him that Evil was consuming Chen's, his brother’s, body even as he used it.

He kicked out, his foot connecting with Evil’s jaw and fell to the ground. He stood up, charging up his hands to the fullest – he might have the least offensive ability but he’d be damned if he didn’t blind this .

There were running footsteps behind him and D.O’s signature growl filtered through his ears as the other attacked Evil. Evil darted out of the way and the portal closed with another zipping sound. D.O attacked him without stopping and for some time, all Evil could do was dance around to avoid him. But at one point, Chen – no, dammit, Evil skipped away far enough. He smirked at them, his face hideously clear in Baekhyun’s light and before they could blink, there was a ripping sound.

They stared in horror as Chen’s face tore down the front, like a piece of paper being torn into bits and then, even as they stood watching, new limbs and torso grew and then…

Baekhyun blinked, unsure what he was seeing.

Two Chens – no, it, Evils stared back at him.

Well, that was creepy – now he could understand why his brothers objected to him creating self-illusions. Good thing they couldn’t do anything except…

Both Evil’s started attacking, one going towards D.O and the other rushing over towards him. Baekhyun yelped, nearly tripping over his feet as he hurriedly backed away and instinctively blocked the blows Evil 1 one was trying to land on him.

‘Ya, ya, ya, what the hell is this?’ He yelled as he fell and rolled to a sitting position.

Evil 2 was managing to evade D.O’s attacks but then, D.O tripped him and was on him like a leech. He pulled his punch back and would’ve landed it, splattering his brain all over the road but the dull, lifelessness vanished from his eyes, instantly replaced by Chen’s visage. ‘Brother…’ he spoke weakly.

D.O hesitated and Evil 1, ignoring the fallen Baekhyun, lunged on D.O’s back, hitting his head with enough force to momentarily disorient him. Evil 2 wrapped his arms around his neck and gave it a mighty twist, possibly to break his neck.

D.O wasn’t that far gone though and managed to duck away and get himself free but he’d either injected him some sort of venom or was using the same breath robbing technique he’d used on Baekhyun because D.O was panting and holding his neck.

Another set of running footsteps sounded and Lay appeared out of the Shadows, his eyes glowing a vibrant red as he attacked Evil 1 without hesitation, not even wincing as his double knives slashed across his throat and a fountain of blood sprayed over his face.

Looking creepier than D.O in that moment, Lay whirled to attack Evil 2 but he was already running away. Not bothering with the body that was now twitching on the road as dark blood oozed sluggishly beside it, Lay took off after him.

Baekhyun followed, jumping over D.O’s coughing form as his hands lit up the road in front of him and he found Lay tackling Evil 2 on the ground. Lay glared at him, his teeth bared and a growl – a real, from the depths of his throat growl – slipping between his teeth. He clawed his fingers and them into his chest.

Blood spurted and Evil let out a shriek of fear. He started bucking wildly but Lay held firm. Baekhyun had no idea what Lay was doing but it was obvious it was scaring Evil less and…

The push on his back sent him crashing face first into the sidewalk and before he could gather what had happened, he saw Lay being thrown off Evil 2 by a nearly headless and  profusely bleeding Evil 1; there was a zipping sound as a portal appeared right beside them and they jumped inside it.

D.O’s wail was louder than any he’d let out before as the portal closed up again.

……………….