Chaos. It was the only true word that matched how Jaejoong was feeling. He’d spent hours screaming fruitlessly for an ending that seemed to never come, and even more dangling silently from the chains, his mind blank with numbness and fog. The smell of Yunho’s blood lingered, though the strength of it diminished as it dried on his face, leaving Jaejoong with a memory of what could’ve been but never was. He let out a groan, the sound coming out like a high pitched whine.

To distract himself, he tried to seek out the future, only finding everything clouded by fog and longing. Yunho had effectively shut down his power with a few drops of blood. On top of that, with Tao gone, Jaejoong had nothing to use as a weapon to fight against it. The fog would linger until the moment his addiction came to a shuddering end, leaving him faint and breathless.

But Yunho wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.

Just as Jaejoong began to writhe and scream once more, Yunho was there, pushing himself into the room. He smiled, his ruby eyes gleaming as he took in the sight of Jaejoong’s struggling form.

“Hyung,” Jaejoong pleaded, his voice raspy and broken from all the shouting. “Hyung, please...”

“Do you deserve mercy, Jaejoong?” Yunho murmured, approaching calmly. He reached out and gently brushed his fingers along his prisoner’s jawline. “I gave you my blood, my home...and you me, now didn’t you?” His fingernails scratched down Jaejoong’s throat, deliberately nicking the skin and drawing trickles of blood.

“Hyung...” Jaejoong whimpered.

Yunho’s fingernails began to claw at his shirt, almost immediately tearing the stitches. Jaejoong closed his eyes at the ripping sound, trying to ignore the feeling of the cold air drafting across his now bare chest.

“Answer me,” Yunho murmured, his hands raking over the defined muscles of his torso. “Do you deserve mercy?”

Jaejoong’s fog clouded mind got the better of him. He needed to flatter and love Yunho to get what he needed. He needed blood, and he needed it now. “No, hyung, I don’t deserve it,” Jaejoong gasped. “I’m sorry,”

“Do you want mercy?” Yunho’s fingernails began to dig, making his prisoner whimper pathetically.

“Yes...” Jaejoong squirmed a little, trying to escape the pain of the sharp fingernails in his flesh.

“Should I give it to you?”

“Please, hyung, please,” Jaejoong begged, terrified he wouldn’t get it.

Yunho’s breath tickled his ear. “Tell me how much you want it,” he murmured.

“So much...” Jaejoong rasped. “Please...I need it...”

“More, my Jaejoong,”

“Please—please—Yunho-hyung, please—“

Jaejoong felt Yunho’s lips curl into a smile against his ear.

“I-I’ll love you forever—just please, please hyung!”

“Hmm,” Yunho pulled back, cupping Jaejoong’s chin with his fingers. “It’s not your love I want. It’s your loyalty. Can you promise me that, Jaejoong?”

“Yes! Yes, anything! I’ll do whatever you say!”

“Even kill that Tao boy you helped protect?”

Tao, his mind whispered. Oh god...

Yunho’s face split into a cruel grin. “I thought so,” he said calmly, his fingernails digging into Jaejoong’s collarbone. “You haven’t learned your lesson. A few more hours will do you good,”

“No! HYUNG—“ Jaejoong choked as Yunho’s nails scratched slowly and roughly down his chest, the scent of blood washing around them like a violent flood. Though his blood would never be satisfying to himself, Jaejoong felt even thirstier than before as it dripped wetly down his chest, soaking into the waistband of his pants.

“Ah, you smell lovely, Jaejoong. Shame I will never want a taste,” Yunho smiled coldly, slicing his thumb with his own fang. The scent of the elder vampire’s blood mingled with Jaejoong’s, pulling a groan from the prisoner’s throat. It was a sinful cocktail, and it overwhelmed him almost immediately, the fog flooding into his mind, leaving him unable to think about anything except the mingling scents of blood.

He screamed as Yunho’s blood was smeared all over his face once more, and he was left to writhe, shouting his pleas to an empty room.

...

Tao awoke mere hours after dawn with little warning. The scent of adrenaline in his blood told Taekwoon he’d been awoken by a nightmare, and the fact that he didn’t even try to get back to sleep afterwards only reinforced that fact. The sword wielding slayer looked around the room for guidance, as though waiting for his orders.

Gikwang laid a hand on his shoulder and said something in Mandarin. Tao merely nodded and fell back against the couch with a sigh, running his fingers up and down the hilt of his sword, his dark eyes alert, yet lost in thought.

Taekwoon had retreated into the kitchen alone, trying to gather his thoughts. He was soon joined by Jaehwan and Wonshik, the both of them sitting in silence as they thought about what was to come. Hongbin was with the slayers, talking to Sanghyuk. Taekwoon admired the strength the newborn had to be so close to a human so soon. Maybe self-control was his power.

It couldn’t be, Taekwoon thought silently. Wonshik told me he drank two bottles. It’s because he’s not thirsty at all,

“Can we leave at noon?” Wonshik questioned, breaking the silence suddenly enough to make Jaehwan jump.

“Why would you want to?” Taekwoon couldn’t help but ask.

“I have a good feeling about noon. We should leave when the sun is still high,”

“But we’ll burn up,” Jaehwan protested, grimacing slightly. “I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to end up like Changmin,”

“The forest is really thick out here,” Wonshik promised. “I was able to find people with my hood down. Barely any light gets through. It’s perfect for a vampire hideout,”

“How good is this feeling?” Taekwoon asked.

Wonshik twiddled his thumbs for a moment and nodded, coming to a conclusion. “Honestly? It feels perfect. I’ve never been so sure in my life,”

Taekwoon nodded, allowing himself to relax a little bit at Wonshik’s words. Though the violet eyed vampire didn’t have the specific ability to see the future like Jaejoong did, his instinct still came in handy. Taekwoon felt bad he’d shoved Wonshik to the side in favour of Jaejoong’s precognition. Though the ability to see the outcome of a crucial decision was dead useful, intuition like Wonshik’s was without a doubt equally as beneficial.

“Got any instincts on Yunho?” Jaehwan asked, tilting his head curiously.

“I’m not Jaejoong,” Wonshik said, rolling his eyes with a light-hearted smile. “I don’t have specifics. But I’m assuming with a feeling like this, we’ll get Jaejoong back and maybe put Yunho in hell where he belongs. Honestly, I’m really hoping for that,”

You and me both, Taekwoon thought numbly.

An all too familiar spicy scent washed around them at that moment. Taekwoon grimaced for the briefest of moments, turning to face Hakyeon as he stepped timidly towards the group of vampires.

“Need something...?” Jaehwan asked casually.

“I just wanted to talk to Taekwoon,” Hakyeon said, his voice calm.

Wonshik nodded, merely turning and leaving Taekwoon alone, but Jaehwan stayed, biting his lip nervously as he looked at the elder vampire.

“It’ll be okay, Jaehwan,” Taekwoon promised.

Though he didn’t look convinced, Jaehwan nodded, following Wonshik. He glanced back worriedly, but Taekwoon gestured for him to continue onwards. Jaehwan hesitated for the briefest of moments before disappearing around the corner, looking as though he didn’t like the situation one bit. It was no wonder. Last time the two of them were alone, Taekwoon had almost bitten Hakyeon. This time, however, the elder vampire was confident he wouldn’t let that happen again.

Turning back to Hakyeon, Taekwoon allowed himself to smile briefly before wiping it away, replacing it with his standard poker face. “What did you need?”

“I just wanted to ask you something,” Hakyeon confessed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He glanced up at the vampire, as though waiting for approval to go ahead and ask. Taekwoon didn’t protest, prompting him to go on with his statement. “Why did you stop?”

“Stop...?” Taekwoon frowned slightly, the expression minute enough that Hakyeon probably didn’t notice.

“You were going to bite me. No, you wanted to bite me. So why didn’t you...?”

“Because...” Taekwoon found the words catching in his throat.

Please—Please no—Stop!

Taekwoon felt his head spin. He tried to shake it off, planting a hand against the wall beside him to anchor himself.

Don’t! Please!

It was his voice; his mortal voice. The one Taekwoon had used to beg and plead for his life just before it was yanked away from him.

“Taekwoon?”

Hakyeon’s voice yanked him out of his memories. Blinking, Taekwoon took his hand off the wall and stood up straight again, shivering lightly.

“Because it happened to me too,” Taekwoon confessed. “I trusted a vampire, and he betrayed me,”

Hakyeon blinked, but he didn’t need to be told the rest of the events to understand. The evidence was in front of him. Taekwoon was a vampire. He’d been turned by one he called his friend.

“When you begged me to stop, it reminded me of myself, and how I wasn’t spared. And I couldn’t do that to you,”

Hakyeon bowed his head, pondering what he’d just heard. After a few seconds, he looked up, his lips curling into a smile.

“Thank you,” he said.

Taekwoon blinked, somehow startled from being thanked.

“I know it seems kind of silly to thank a vampire for not biting me, but thank you, for not biting me,”

“You’re...welcome?”

Hakyeon let out a soft laugh. “Do I smell that good?”

“Don’t start...”

He laughed a little harder. “Seriously? What do I smell like?”

“Spicy,” Taekwoon said without thinking.

“Ooh, I like that,” Hakyeon grinned.

Honestly, Taekwoon did too. The spicy scents were always the ones he was drawn to the most. Some days, he craved spicy blood so much, he deliberately went looking for someone with it. Though he’d fed from many humans with that scent, he knew he could never feed from Hakyeon, though his body longed to with every heartbeat.

“Go start getting ready to travel,” Taekwoon pushed the craving away for the umpteenth time, turning his back on the slayer. “We leave at noon,”

...

Hongbin knew it was foolish, but he simply couldn’t leave Sanghyuk’s side. They’d been close while he was still human, and they were close even now, with Hongbin as an immortal. The younger barely flinched away from him when he’d sat beside him, wanting nothing more than to just...talk. Now, they were walking side by side, Hongbin draped in a cloak, Sanghyuk smiling brightly.

Wonshik had taken the lead with Tao beside Taekwoon. Hongbin could faintly hear his deep baritone talking quietly to the golden eyed vampire. The newborn had known even as a human that Taekwoon wielded power, but now that he was a vampire, he could sense it. Taekwoon smelled of age and power, a testament to the many years he’d spent as an immortal. He commanded respect, and Hongbin couldn’t help but follow. Though he felt Wonshik was his true leader, it didn’t change the respect and fear Hongbin felt where Taekwoon was concerned.

Hyung indeed, he thought faintly.

Hyunseung slipped up beside Hongbin, his silver rod clutched tightly in his hand as he glanced over at him from the corner of his eye. Unsure of what to say, Hongbin remained silent, keeping his eyes on the back of Wonshik’s cloak, automatically knowing it was him purely by instinct.

“Hongbin,” Hyunseung called his name quietly, making him turn.

“What is it?” He asked.

“I just...” Hyunseung glanced away, biting his lip for a moment. “How are you?”

“Can’t complain,” Hongbin shrugged slightly, knowing what Hyunseung was asking. “It’s not so bad,”

“I’m sorry this happened to you,”

“Don’t be,” Hongbin offered him a small smile. “It’s okay. Really, it is. I told you, it’s not so bad. It’s better than being in pain all the time, and even though I’m dead, I feel...alive,”

“Are you really okay with it?” Hyunseung was frowning. “With being a...vampire?”

Hongbin had no doubt he almost said ‘monster’. “I’m okay with it,” he said honestly. “All that time I was in pain, I thought about it, and I thought...maybe this is what destiny wanted for me,” he shrugged once more, lightly kicking a pebble up the dirt path in front of them. “And I decided I didn’t want to live through more days of pain. So I asked Wonshik to bite me again, and he did. I’m glad he did. I honestly wouldn’t have wanted to turn on Yunho’s terms,”

“But we could’ve saved you,” Hyunseung ran his hand over the side of his neck, the newly formed scar obscured by a soft, dark blue scarf. “The legend was real,”

“I know,” Hongbin replied. “Do I regret it? I might later. Right now though I think...It’s okay. I really am okay with this,”

Hyunseung frowned, looking as though he didn’t understand a single word that came out of Hongbin’s mouth. He grimaced, running a hand down his face and trotted forward a few paces, taking the next moments in as much solitude as he could get. Doojoon seemed to notice his distress and slid up to his side, slinging an arm around his waist. Hyunseung didn’t protest the gesture, merely continuing to walk without acknowledging the comfort.

“Hyunseung took it the hardest when you changed,” Sanghyuk said softly, scooting up right beside the newborn. “When he woke up from being unconscious he cried for hours. He always felt it should’ve been him and not you bitten,”

“It’s better it was me,” Hongbin replied tonelessly. “I have a feeling Hyunseung would’ve killed himself before he allowed himself to transform,”

Tao’s voice suddenly penetrated the near silence, calling something out in rapid Mandarin.

“We’re getting close,” Gikwang translated. “Be ready,”

Sanghyuk quickly yanked a stake out from the inside of his jacket, swallowing heavily as he clutched it close. Hongbin still had his own stakes, but somehow, he felt he no longer needed them. He would throw them to Sanghyuk if his friend needed more.

The scents washed over him just before the old, beat up shack came into view. A faint smell of an unidentifiable flower, maybe hibiscus or tulips; he couldn’t tell, and the smell of blood and vampires. Hongbin felt his mouth run dry. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of that urge to bite. He focused instead on the wintry scent trailing from Wonshik, feeling himself relax just enough so he could think properly.

“I smell him,” Jaehwan said quietly. “Jaejoong’s here,”

But is Yunho? Hongbin wondered. He was sure he wasn’t the only one thinking that.

“Let’s go,” Wonshik said, immediately taking the lead and heading for the shack. Taekwoon barely hesitated to follow. Tao paused in his steps briefly before trotting forward as well, prompting everyone else to follow. Though every instinct told him to turn around and go back, Hongbin followed as well, his hands curling into fists.

Taekwoon yanked the door off the front of the shack, sliding inside. It was small and decrepit, but a second door inside it led to a set of stairs that descended deep into the ground. The smell of blood and vampires rushed upwards with the draft, making Hongbin tremble.

“Let’s go,” someone said softly. Hongbin was too busy staring at the staircase leading into what must’ve been a dark pit of hell.

Taekwoon stepped down first, tailed by Wonshik and Tao. One by one, the vampires and slayers stepped down the creaky wooden stairs, the darkness almost entirely complete. Hongbin had no trouble seeing, but he heard the sounds of his slayer allies cursing and swearing under their breath as they felt their way down.

“Oh god what’s on the wall—“

“SHHH!”

“It was squishy! I hope it wasn’t a piece of someone...”

“Knowing this place, it probably was. Why are you so squeamish all of a sudden?”

“Do us all a favour and shut the up, both of you,”

The voices fell silent just as another door opened in front of them, admitting them into a hallway lit with sputtering lanterns. The light was faint, but it was strong enough that the slayers could see. They blinked in irritation at the dim lighting, grimacing as they looked around. No wonder, too. The stone hallways were coated in questionable things, from funguses to red stains that could only be one thing. The smell of dirt and rot met Hongbin’s nose and he found himself groaning, pinching it tightly to block it out.

“Ugh,” Wonshik groaned, his nose wrinkled. “I can’t smell anything over this...Please tell me you can, Taekwoon,”

Though he looked as though he wasn’t enjoying the smell either, Taekwoon nodded and headed to the right, stepping down the hallway as quietly as he could. As they walked, Hongbin allowed himself to breathe, trying to get used to the foul smells around him. Fresh blood was one of the first he began to smell as they headed deeper into Yunho’s lair. He recognized it as a vampire scent, but it didn’t smell like flowers. Something inside Hongbin told him that the flower scent was Yunho, though he wasn’t sure how he knew it.

“This one,” Taekwoon said, stopping in front of a door. He tried the doorknob, but it didn’t open. Frowning, the vampire tried to force his way through, shoving against the stiff wood. It didn’t budge in the slightest, but no sooner than the sound of Taekwoon’s body hitting the door faded away, the sound of a distressed wail met their ears. Hongbin shuddered, his eyes widening.

“JAEJOONG!” Taekwoon shouted, throwing himself against the door with more force this time.

“Let me try,” Wonshik pushed Taekwoon aside, throwing his shoulder against the door. The crashing sound echoed loudly, but the door still wouldn’t budge.

“Together,” Taekwoon prompted.

With a count of three, the two vampires threw themselves against the door. When it still didn’t budge, Taekwoon let out a groan, running a hand through his hair.

“Let me try,” Hongbin said, not sure of where his confidence came from. “I feel like I can do it,”

Wonshik hesitated for a moment, then nodded, pushing Taekwoon out of the way.

Stepping up to the door, Hongbin took a breath then slammed himself against the door with all the force he could muster. There was an ear-splitting crack as the hinges shattered along with the lock. The door crashed to the floor, the sound echoing through the halls.

.

.

.

A/N: Once again, I ran out of words. I try to average my chapters around 3000 words each. The moment I reach the big 3000, it’s my cue to wrap the chapter up. I would’ve loved to continue with this, but if I take my time, which is what I want to do, I would’ve probably reached 4000, and I’m OCD with even chapters HAHA sorry~

~starlitskies