The six men stood within the crater that they have created, dust and soil surrounding them. Their traveling mechanism was in complete disarray. The shared a look of fear as the stared down at the small square that warped them to where they were as it spat electrical sparks and leaked its wires.

“So I’m guessing were stuck,” the youngest of the group sighed.

“Your guess is correct,” the tallest replied as he flopped to the fried soil below.

The shortest one, who was also the one that was holding the mechanism, growled harshly as he slammed the broken device to the ground. He stomped on it for good measure.

“Careful with that,” the tall one said as he scrambled to the broken pieces, “We can’t go home without this.”

“We can’t go home anyway, Chanyeol,” the short one replied, “So what’s the use of salvaging the piece of junk?”

“But,” Chanyeol began.

“He’s right,” their hard-faced leader said with a frustrated sigh, “We’re stuck here and that box won’t be of any help.”

“Where is here anyway,” their silent healer asked as he scratched a dimpled cheek.

“Good question, Yixing,” the tactician replied with a half-hearted smirk, “Good question, indeed.”

“Instead of just sitting here we should find out,” the shortest one replied as he dug his fingers within the hard soil to climb his way out of the hole.

“Hold on, Kyungsoo,” their leader commanded as he pulled the little warrior back down, “We need to be cautious about this. We don’t know what’s out there. Jongdae, you have any ideas?”

The young tactician smiled as he gestured to Kyungsoo, “I have to go with our little hot-head here. If we were going to meet any opposition they would have been here by now. Our landing has been anything but subtle.”

“He’s right,” Chanyeol began as he cradled the broken transporter to his chest, “And we can’t just stay here. We have to see if we can find any equipment to repair this little buddy if we want to make it back home.”

“Repair,” the youngest questioned with a smirk, “I’d say ‘replace’ after what our little war-head did.”

“Keep talking, Sehun and you’ll be next,” Kyungsoo growled.

“Hey,” Sehun said as he rose both hands in surrender, “I’m just saying that if brainy here can’t fix it and were stuck here forever, it’s your fault.”

“Ugh, you little brat,” Kyungsoo growled as he launched toward the raven, fist covered in the rocks that surrounded them.

Their leader grabbed the warrior by his collar, hoisting him away and tossing him back. He spread his deep raven feathered wings on his back afar to separate them, before grabbing them both by the collar and slamming their heads together.

“I don’t need this right now,” he hollered, “I know you’re on edge right now, Kyungsoo, but lashing out at your teammates is not helping, nor is your constant sass, Sehun. Now stop this foolishness. In case you haven’t heard we are stuck on a foreign planet with intergalactic bounty hunters along with our own family and friends gunning for our head! I need you to cooperate. Whatever prejudices you hold toward each other back home don’t apply here! Do I make myself clear?”

“But,” Sehun began.

“Do I make myself clear?”

They both nodded. The chill of their leader voice was cold enough to leave ice down their spines and their arguments in their mouths.

“Crystal, Sir,” Kyungsoo bit out just like the good soldier he was.

“Sehun,” the winged man asked.

“Yes, Kris,” he sighed, “You’re clear.”

“Good, now Kyungsoo get them out of here,” their leader Kris ordered, “Chanyeol come with me and see if we can find any shelter. We might have to be here for a while.”

The men nodded. Kyungsoo placed both of his hands upon the soil below, the pebbles shaking and shifting according to his command, rising and filling the crater they created. Chanyeol spouted a pair of scarlet red feathered wings and matching tail, taking to the sky with his leader in search for somewhere habitable.

“This place ,” Sehun mumbled as he sat on the tattered sofa.

“Shut up, Sehun,” Chanyeol mumbled in return as he worked on the traveler, leaning on the bent kitchen table.

“I don’t know,” Jongdae sighed as he sat beside the tall scientist, “This place does kinda .”

“We slept in worst,” Yixing added as he patched up Kyungsoo scrapped knuckles.

“It’s a roof over our head and food in our stomachs,” the injured warrior answered, “Well, food in our stomachs as long as Kris doesn’t cook it.”

“Look,” Kris snapped, “I’m sorry if I can’t find us “A” rated sleeping quarters ok. Last I checked we’re ing fugitives.”

“I am not a fugitive,” Kyungsoo snapped as he pulled his unfinished hands away from Yixing, “None of us are. We’re all princes, dammit! We shouldn’t have to live like savages. Kris you and I are proud warriors, Chanyeol an award winning scientist, Jongdae world renowned tactician and Yixing an amazing biochemist. Hell, even this little is an ingenious physicist and moderate warrior in his hometown. We should not be treated like this.”

“I don’t know if I should feel insulted or...” Sehun mumbled.

“Consider it a compliment because that the closest you’re ever going to get to one from me airhead,” Kyungsoo said as he rolled his round eyes.

 “Kyungsoo calm,” Yixing said softly as he pulled the other back to his seat and began on his hands again, “I know that this isn’t ideal-“

“Understatement of the century,” Jongdae whispered.

“But it’s all we got,” Kris continued.

“And we are all we have as well,” Yixing finished as he eyed them all directly, “So please try to make the most of it.”

“Plus we have no idea when we are going to be able to leave this planet,” Chanyeol said sorrowfully as he his broken devise, “I would have needed to build this over again from scratch with or without Kyungsoo’s intervention.”

“This is why my people don’t trifle with your ratchet technology,” Kyungsoo sighed as he was finally fixed, “What is it that you need anyway, Chanyeol? If we can find these materials maybe we can help your progress.”

Chanyeol shook his head at the beginning of Kyungsoo’s statement before giving the short man a grim look, “That’s just it. I don’t think this planet has the equipment I need to fix this. We don’t even know where we are.”

“So, wait, we really are stuck here,” Sehun yelled as he jumped from the couch, “I was just ing kidding at first. What are we going to do?”

“I never pegged Areons to be cowards, Sehun,” Kyungsoo humphed.

“Now is not the time for that,” the raven called, “We can rot on this planet, leaving ours no different than when we left. It would make our whole journey moot. We can’t allow that to happen.”

“He’s right,” Kris sighed as he put a heavy hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder, “Yeolie, I need for you to make this thing work.”

“Alright everyone calm down,” Jongdae said with a blasé wave of the hand, “First thing’s first. How about we find out where we are and then concentrate on finding the resources our resident egghead might need to take us back.”

“He’s right,” Yixing said, “We should take in the situation one step at a time.”

“And until then, genius,” Kyungsoo questioned unimpressed.

“Well,” Jongdae shrugged as he looked at their shabby hotel room with disgust, “We should try to find better living quarters first. Then, we try to blend in.”

“Blend in,” Sehun said with an incredulous look on his face, “We don’t even know what this planet’s inhabitants look like.”

“We just have to find out,” Kris said, “Or at the very least pretend that we’re intergalactic tourist.”

“Our fearless leader seems to be on to something,” Jongdae chirped as he placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, “I say we should think of this as a vacation from the crazy and a place to regroup. Last I checked we didn’t have a plan to prevent world war, so how about we use this time to come up with one.”     

“Right,” Kyungsoo sulked, “Come up with a master plan to end world war, just something to put on the ‘To Do’ list.”

“Anyway let’s get some rest,” Kris sighed as he pulled the reluctant Chanyeol away from his broken teleporter, “We’ll discuss this more tomorrow.”

“I have a feeling that we’re going to have many ‘tomorrows’ on this forsaken planet,” Sehun sighed from the floor as Kyungsoo tossed a pillow to the other before flopping down himself.

Kyungsoo sighed from his pillow, “Now that’s something you and I can agree on, Magnae.”