Yunho was still frozen when the last of the vision from the future faded away. Without hesitating, Jaejoong leapt off Yunho’s lap and grabbed him by the throat, hurling him onto the bed. He quickly threw the chair on top of the elder vampire just before he was able to get up, shattering one of the four posts on the bed. Jaejoong quickly destroyed a second one, bringing the entire top of the four poster crashing down on top of the one he had called hyung. He heard Yunho’s furious shout just as he threw himself out the doors, yanking them shut behind him and jamming the doorknobs with one of the torches hanging from a bracket nearby. Without stopping to wait to see whether Yunho would reach him, he raced down the hallway, heading straight for the arena.

Hearing the faint sound of Yunho’s angry shouting, Jaejoong whipped down the hallway leading to the arena, slamming into the heavy doors at the end, shoving his way inside with an almighty crash.

“TAO!” Jaejoong shouted, rushing for Yunho’s chair and the buttons that would unlock the cage. He heard the faint sound of a sword unsheathing just as he reached the viewing seats. He yanked the cover off the buttons so forcefully, it broke off, clattering loudly to the floor. He slammed his hand on the button that would open Tao’s cage, hearing it grinding open almost immediately. He leapt down into the arena, rushing for the slayer who stood behind the opening bars, his eyes wide.

“What’s going on?” Tao asked, gripping his gleaming sword tightly.

“We’re getting you out of here. Right now,” Jaejoong said, skidding to a stop in front of him. “Get on, I’ll carry you,”

Tao hesitated only for the briefest of moments before leaping nimbly onto Jaejoong’s back. He gripped the vampire’s sides with his powerful legs, barely needing the support of the arms that quickly folded beneath him. Tao’s hand gripped his shoulder just as Jaejoong began to run, leaping up and over the railing, heading for the arena door and racing into the dark hallways. He heard Tao let out a startled gasp as he picked up his speed, holding on for dear life, his sword still clenched tight in his fist.

Jaejoong silently hoped Yunho was still buried beneath the top of his four poster as he rushed for the stairs leading to the world above. He felt Tao grip him even tighter as he whipped up them, crashing through the door effortlessly. As the fresh air rushed into their face, Tao let out a small laugh, somewhere between fear and joy, more than likely happy to be free at last, but terrified they would be caught.

“Tao,” Jaejoong said, dashing through the trees at breakneck speeds, not even winded from the running. “I need you to listen to me,”

“O-Okay,” Tao stammered, the hand gripping his sword trembling slightly.

“I’m not going to get to freedom with you, but if you do as I say, you will be able to save me, and potentially kill Yunho as well,”

Tao swallowed. “Jaejoong...what’s going to happen to you?”

“I won’t be able to go any further when we reach the river up ahead. I need you to run as fast as you can, up the river. Follow it until you reach a lake with a small waterfall. Turn left, and run up the trail until you reach a cottage. The people there are my friends. Say my name, and they will help you,”

“Jaejoong, don’t,” Tao gripped him tighter.

“Please, Tao, you need to do this, or nothing will work out. Please,”

“I...”

Just as he expected, the moment the river came into sight, the fog exploded through his mind once again. He collapsed to his hands and knees, throwing Tao off his back and sending the slayer sprawling along the ground with a startled cry. Jaejoong felt Yunho’s anger, and it made him horribly afraid. He was frozen, unable to fight it and flee. He let out a choked sound, casting Tao a desperate glance.

“Please, go...” Jaejoong gasped.

Tao grabbed his sword which had fallen on the ground beside him and sheathed it quickly. “I will be back for you,” he promised, immediately turning on his heel and dashing into the forest, following the river just as Jaejoong had told him to.

Now alone, the vampire whimpered, unable to find any joy in his loneliness. He didn’t know how long he lied face down in the dirt for, shaking with fear. He only knew the moment Yunho arrived, his lavender scent flooding around him. He gripped Jaejoong by the hair and yanked him off the ground before pinning him sharply against a nearby tree.

“My Jaejoong, you had me fooled,” Yunho hissed, his hand closing around the younger vampire’s throat. “And all this time I thought you were just some simple, pretty face. Who knew you would be the first vampire in thousands of years to have an ability such as yours?”

Jaejoong clawed at the hand gripping his throat, squirming as he tried to free himself.

“You will be mine now, Jaejoong. Every part of you will be mine for all of eternity. We will be bound by blood; mates, if you will,” he released Jaejoong’s throat, beginning to drag him back through the forest.

“No,” Jaejoong rasped, staggering behind him. “I will never be your mate,” he already knew what it meant. He’d only been a vampire for five years, but he’d learned mate bonds were only formed when a feeling of love and attachment was mutual. Jaejoong felt no love for Yunho. It was false, filled with lavender mist and a thick haze of nothing.

“Oh you’ll love me in time,” Yunho promised, glaring at him sharply. “Even if I can never truly bind you to me, I can have you beg for me every second of the day. That cute little power of yours will never be used against me again,”

Jaejoong was dragged so forcefully back into those underground tunnels he thought he would never see the light of the moon again. He let out a shout when he was thrown into a room, a cold chill rushing through him when icy manacles bit into his wrists. Before he had a chance to fight back, Yunho had yanked him off the floor by his wrists, just as he had when he’d first been captured.

“Feel familiar, Jaejoong?” Yunho asked coldly, approaching him like a lithe jungle cat stalking his prey. “It’s just like when you first woke up, isn’t it?”

Jaejoong shuddered at the thought, squeezing his eyes shut as Yunho’s hand reached out to caress his cheek.

“I assure you, you won’t be escaping this time,”

Jaejoong turned his face away from Yunho’s hand, squeezing his lips shut tightly when he felt the thumb press against his lips again. A firm hand grabbed him by the chin, yanking his face back towards him.

“You’re going to beg for me, Jaejoong. And I’m going to enjoy every second you plead for mercy,” Yunho whispered, roughly shoving his thumb into the vampire’s mouth. He barely hesitated to slice his flesh against the waiting fang. Jaejoong moaned at the taste of the blood, unable to help but swallow, immediately feeling that terrible longing rushing through him once again.

“Hyung...” Jaejoong gasped.

“Not even close, my Jaejoong,” Yunho murmured, pulling his thumb from his mouth. “I’m going to watch you suffer,” and with a cruel swipe of his still bleeding thumb, Yunho smeared his blood across Jaejoong’s waiting lips, watching him it off before smearing more on his cheeks, across the bridge of his nose, and on his chin. The scent would taunt and tantalize him, even when Yunho wasn’t near.

Jaejoong let out a whine, squirming frantically, his green eyes wild at the scent of the blood all over him.

“I’ll be back soon,” Yunho murmured, swiping his finger one final time, coming close, but not close enough to Jaejoong’s lips.

“Hyung...” Jaejoong gasped. “Hyung, please...please...”

But Yunho only smiled, turning his back on him, stepping out the door and leaving him alone, screaming and pleading for relief only the elder vampire could provide.

...

Yoochun sat silently in the armchair he’d pushed to the living room window just as the sun had begun to set that night. The light had faded, and the stars had emerged long ago, leaving him to stare numbly at the dark forest outside the chalet, watching the evergreens sway in the wind he couldn’t feel. He held Jaejoong’s journal in his lap, running his thumb over the cover absentmindedly, unable to even remember why he’d chosen to sit down in the first place. His original excuse had been to watch the sunset. Now, he didn’t think he had one. He was just content, silently sitting and pondering over everything that had happened, trying to hold on to what little hope he had left.

Changmin was dead. Though Yoochun hated to admit it, he’d been relying on the vampire to take them to Jaejoong. Without him, how could they possibly get him back? Though he would follow the vampires to Yunho’s lair easily to get Jaejoong back, he wasn’t sure about the other slayers. Now that Hongbin had begun his transformation into an immortal, most of them had lost their reason for even helping in the first place. They’d tagged along to save Hongbin. Now, they couldn’t even do that.

And Changmin was dead.

Yoochun felt a lump forming in his throat. He fought back the tears, trying desperately not to cry. At the very least, he should’ve been happy that Hyunseung woke up. The slayer was devastated when he found out Hongbin had passed, retreating into the corner of the living room, his knees pulled up to his chest while he leaned on Doojoon’s shoulder and received comforting pats on the back from Junhyung. In a similar state of grief, Sanghyuk had fallen silent, cuddled tightly to Hakyeon’s chest. Though the older slayer looked lost in his own thoughts, he was still lightly Sanghyuk’s hair, offering as much comfort as he could. Yoochun truly felt like he was the only one left to his grief. After all, with no hope of finding Jaejoong, it was as though he’d essentially died as well. The one he loved was disappearing into the shadows, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Hey, Yoseob...?” Jaehwan’s voice suddenly cut through the silence in an almost awkward manner. Yoochun turned his head, allowing the impending conversation to distract him temporarily. By the sound of rustling that echoed all around him, everyone else was doing the same.

“Yeah...?” Yoseob’s reply was timid, glancing warily towards the vampire who was leaning up against the wall near the doorway to the kitchen.

“What you did with the cellphone,” Jaehwan smiled. “Honestly, that was brilliant. I can’t believe you thought of that,”

Yoseob’s face flushed for a moment as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I just...I don’t know it came to me and...I’m just really glad it worked,”

There were a few murmurs of assent around the room, agreeing with Yoseob’s words, though nobody wanted to say it out loud. After all, Yoseob’s actions had saved Hyunseung, but they’d also crippled their rescue force. They were going nowhere now.

Yoochun turned back to the window, prepared to lose himself in his thoughts once more when a loud bang echoed through the chalet, as though something had slammed into the side of the house. It was almost immediately followed by muffled shouting, the words unintelligible, but Gikwang immediately sprung to his feet, his eyes wide.

“What the hell—” Dongwoon frowned, getting to his feet, clutching his stake tightly.

“It came from outside,” Hakyeon said, having come out of his thoughts at the crashing noise. Sanghyuk had lifted his head as well, though his glazed eyes told Yoochun whatever was going on didn’t concern him.

Immediately, a small party stood up to see what the commotion was. Unable to help his curiosity, Yoochun stood and followed Gikwang and Jaehwan towards the sound. For a moment, Yoochun thought the words muffled by the glass door were familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them. Gikwang on the other hand, was clutching his stake so tightly, his knuckles were white.

Without thinking about it, Yoochun peeked around the corner into the kitchen towards the sliding door. Immediately, he saw the silhouette of a lithe male figure standing behind the glass, glancing over his shoulder as he pounded on the door. He began to shout again as he turned around, but almost immediately, he made eye contact with Yoochun, freezing mid knock, his eyes going wide. For a moment, Yoochun felt his heart stop. It was impossible, of course. But he couldn’t deny the horrifying familiarity of the man on the other side of the glass.

“Tao?!” He shouted, rushing forward, immediately unlocking and yanking the glass door open.

The young man staggered through the door, collapsing to the tiles with a wavering cry, breathing heavily as though he’d just run for miles. Yoochun grabbed him, rolling him over and holding him up, trying to help him breathe.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Yoochun said to him, though unless things had changed in the last few years, he knew his words were mostly futile. This man simply never spoke Korean. Yoochun wasn’t even sure he could understand it.

Gikwang rushed to Yoochun and Tao’s side, producing a bottle of water which he pressed against the gasping man’s lips. Tao drank heavily, only pausing to take a few more breaths before collapsing back into Yoochun’s arms, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

“What’s going on?” Jaehwan asked.

Tao’s eyes fluttered open, and a moment later, he’d made eye contact with Jaehwan. In a flash, he’d jumped to his feet with a cry, his long katana sliding from its sheathe with a soft ring of metal. Jaehwan flinched backwards, holding his hands up in defence.

“Whoa, whoa, hey I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, backing away.

“Tao,” Yoochun put his hand over the one holding the brilliant silver sword, gently pushing it downwards. “They’re friends. They’re helping us,”

Tao stared at him for a few seconds, blinking, confusion marring his features. Yoochun didn’t blame him. With another push from Yoochun’s hand, he lowered his sword, but didn’t sheathe it.

“Jaejoong,” Tao said, his voice raspy.

Yoochun froze. “J-Jaejoong?”

Tao nodded. “Jaejoong,”

“You know where he is?”                  

Tao’s brow creased as he bit his lip, his eyes darting from side to side, trying to think of how to reply.

“Okay,” Yoochun sighed softly, looking towards the small group that had gathered in the kitchen doorway. “This might be a bit of a crapshoot, but...can anyone here speak Mandarin?”

“I can,” Gikwang said, barely hesitating.

Doojoon stared at him, confusion and shock replacing the worry that had been there moments before. “You can? Since when?”

“Since always,”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“You never asked,” Gikwang grinned, then turned to Tao. He relayed Yoochun’s question about Jaejoong, the slayer relaxing significantly more at the sound of his mother tongue. He quickly answered every question, only pausing to take another drink of water or chew a granola bar Junsu offered to him to help him regain his strength. By the time Gikwang had gotten as much information out of him as he could, Tao looked to be mere seconds from passing out.

“What did he say, Gikwang?” Yoochun asked.

“He knows where Jaejoong is,” Gikwang replied, swallowing nervously. “He was held prisoner by Yunho and Jaejoong helped him escape. He doesn’t know what happened to him, but he thinks Jaejoong’s in trouble,”

“I’ll get Taekwoon,” Jaehwan said, immediately slipping from the room, heading straight for his coven leader.

Yoochun slid an arm around Tao’s waist and began to guide him towards the living room. The swordsman leaned on his shoulder, grateful for the support. Yoochun set him down on the couch beside Hakyeon, letting him fall back onto the cushions, closing his eyes as he recovered from his escape. Gikwang sat beside him, more than likely being the only one who could effectively communicate with Tao.

“What happened?” Taekwoon demanded the moment he stepped into the room.

Tao became stiff at the sight of the new vampire, but Gikwang immediately put a hand on his shoulder, saying something to him in Mandarin. The confusion on the slayer’s face was obvious for all to see. Yoochun knew why. A bunch of slayers allied with vampires? Such things were unheard of. Gikwang’s words however, seemed to be getting through to Tao, helping him understand patiently, probably telling an abridged version of the story so far.

“Taekwoon,” Yoochun decided to introduce their new addition himself. “This is Tao. He doesn’t speak Korean very well,”

“What does he speak?” Taekwoon asked.

“Mandarin. He’s Chinese. The slayer group he’s a part of is based in China, though they often make trips all around Asia,”

“Where’s the rest of it then?” A frown creased the vampire’s brow as he turned his golden gaze towards Tao. A pale hand gripped the hilt of his word tighter at the eye contact, but Gikwang’s hand on his shoulder kept him from drawing it.

“Gikwang,” Yoochun turned towards them. “Ask Tao where his clan is,”

Gikwang nodded, immediately relaying the question. Immediately, Yoochun wished he hadn’t even asked. The caution and worry vanished from his face before Gikwang had finished his sentence, replaced with a heartbreak so complete, Yoochun felt himself grow numb.

“Jongin...?” Yoochun whispered the name of one of the members of Tao’s clan he’d managed to take the time to get to know.

Tao shook his head, closing his eyes as he buried his face in his knees. Out of the corner of his eye, Yoochun watched Junhyung and Doojoon grip Hyunseung tighter, their heads falling as well. Hakyeon’s hands clutched tighter around Sanghyuk while the young slayer buried his face in his chest. He felt Junsu’s hand fall onto his shoulder and squeeze lightly, because at that moment, he knew, just like the other slayers in the room. He knew what it was like to lose clan mates. He knew what it was like to lose an entire family. And for the other slayers, the mere thought of it sent a fear so complete rushing through them, they couldn’t help but clutch each other a little tighter, trying not to let go.

God knows what would happen if they did.

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A/N: And it’s not a cliff hanger this time~!

Thank you guys for reading~! ^^

~starlitskies