THUNDEROUS - an SKZ AU

The Strongest Bolt

The boys stayed silent for a while. The only sound was the continuous flickering of the torches. Finally Felix spoke up. "But that's way beyond our level. We're still struggling with the basics." "That's a good point, but this is the only cure," Seungmin said reasonably. Chan smiled ruefully. "It's okay guys, I can wait. I'll lay low till we can finally meet sunbaenim," he said. "Yeah. We should get outta here," Hyunjin quipped.

The boys stayed silent for a while, thinking on how to escape. "Wait, doesn't every element have a, you know, mental power associated with it? Like telepathy and stuff?" Jisung asked. "Yeah, that's it! We were taught teleportation. I completely forgot," Jeongin answered, clapping a hand to his forehead. "Lemme try," Hyunjin said, and screwed his face in concentration. "Hyunjin, cut it out. I don't want you ending up in the ocean like last time," Minho warned. Hyunjin pouted as he opened his eyes and relaxed his face. Just then, the cell lock clicked open. A guard dressed in all black entered the cell. His face was hidden by a visor. He said, "Here's your meal," and left, leaving a small bowl of rice, barely enough for one person. Jisung sighed. He pushed it to Chan, Hyunjin and Felix. "Here you go. We're done with lunch already," he groaned. Hyunjin picked it up with one trembling hand and began to pile a third of it into his mouth before handing it to Chan. "What now?" he asked. Jeongin thought for a while. "I think," he finally answered, "we should use some combat."

That night, one of the guards slumped asleep next to the cell in which the boys were in. A couple of keys hung from a pocket as he snored. The boys seized their chance correctly. Chan was able to reach through the bars and grab the set of keys. Carefully while celebrating quietly, he pulled his arm back in. Minho got the keys and passed them to Changbin. "Which key is it?" he asked quietly. Changbin quietly retorted, "I don't know, I can't even solve √8!" Minho face-palmed himself and threw them to Jisung, who caught them. Jisung randomly chose a silver one, crawled to the door and began unlocking it. To their surprise, the door opened. Jisung stood in awe as Hyunjin slowly opened the cell door and the boys jacked out as silently as possible. Seungmin peeked in and whispered, "Jisung-ah, c'mon." Jisung, still in awe at his own smartness, followed Seungmin out.

They quietly crept through the dark walls, occasionally squeezing into dark secret passageways to avoid guards or that Supreme guy walking around the corridors. Soon, they found an underground exit that was heavily guarded. "How do we get past them?" Felix whispered. "Should we try teleporting again?" Hyunjin asked. "Absolutely not, Hwang Hyunjin," Chan said in a stern and quiet voice.

Jisung, meanwhile, had an idea. "Why don't we distract them? One of us can run out of the tunnel into the main halls and get out through the main exit while the others go through the secret one," he suggested. Jeongin turned to him, eyebrows raised. "Who is gonna do that?" he asked. "I'll do it if I have to," Jisung replied bravely. "No you aren't," Minho whispered angrily, "I'll do it." Without another word, Minho left the secret tunnel and went to the other end of the corridor. His friends watched worriedly. "Please don't die hyung," Jisung muttered. Minho produced some blue flames out of thin air and fired them at the guards, who chased him down the tunnel. Mihno abruptly turned tail and ran, giving time to the others to leave. Jisung , however, was hesitant. "What about Minho hyung?" he asked. "We'll stay at Minho hyung's studio and wait for daybreak," Seungmin answered, "If he doesn't make it, we'll come back here." Jisung agreed, only reluctantly, and left through the tunnel with the others into the dark night.

Down the dark hills and into Minho's studio, the boys lit up the dish with the blue flames again and didn't talk much as they awaited Minho's return. Jisung, in particular, was very worried. He was scared to lose one of his new friends to a race he very much feared. Chan, who seemed to have read his thoughts, told him reassuringly, "It's alright Jisung. Minho's a tough one. We'll go back if he...well, doesn't come before dawn." Jisung, scared at the last sentence, nodded and lay down on his lap and drifted off, tears threatening to leak out of his eyes. Chan, who was gently wiping them, threw a worried glance to Hyunjin, who was nervously pacing around the room. Seungmin sat, cross-legged, on the floor close to the mirror, eyes sunken in worry. Changbin gulped in anxiety, not daring to sleep (despite his brain wanting to). Felix sat on the only chair, his head resting in his arms, his eyes filled with a numbness never seen before. Jeongin wrapped his hands around his knees and sat quietly. None of them talked as they anticipated Minho's return. Although the result seemed clear, as night seemed to come to an end, the boys were scared of revealing it, as if Hades himself would arrive and pull them off to the Underworld if they did.