Hey Stranger// GeminiFourth, FirstKhaotung

*38* It's a trap

It was a trap.

Even though they basically expected it, they didn't know where the threat would come from, they only hoped to escape.  Phuwin and First grabbed Gemini's hands.  He seemed to be the one to be protected the most because he couldn't react early enough due to his hearing loss.  Getting through the portal proved easy, but there was someone waiting for them on the other side.

They came out not in the Hall of Passages at the Institute of the Knights of Light, but in some old mansion that definitely didn't belong to either of them.  Phuwin looked around quickly.  The walls were rough and in various shades of red, in the light of the setting sun reflecting off the broken glass placed in the furniture behind them, it created a rather eerie impression.  Phu heard the creaking of the floorboards in the next room, which indicated that they were definitely not alone.  The building, though long abandoned, was devoid of the usual marks of such places: no dust on the floor or furniture, no cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and the paint was not flaking or flaking off the walls.

First wanted to move forward, but Phu stopped him, grabbing a piece of clothing on his back.

Going through the portal washed away the spells placed on them, and now not only was Off being Off again, but Fourth remembered his first kiss with Gemini, the one that had happened during the memorable game of Truth or Dare.  Gemini also regained this memory.  It turned out that First was too inexperienced  warlock to perform the full process of erasing memories.  Fourth secretly hoped it would help his boyfriend recover his hearing as well, but when he looked at him, his hopes vanished in an instant.

Gemini continued to use gestures to communicate with him.

Damn!

Damn it!  Fourth swore mentally.  He still can't hear!

Because of how worried he was about Gemini's condition, he didn't notice the coming threat in the form of a woman who in his life was a symbol of suffering, betrayal and hatred.  Fourth didn't know anything about her, didn't know who she was before she went astray, didn't know that she'd been one of them before, that she'd been fully trained and that she knew how to surprise them, knew their methods.  And for her own nefarious practices, she used the Imperius Charm she knew.  It was with this help that she guided the real NuNew so that Chawarin hugged Fourth from behind, while covering his mouth with his hand so that he couldn't get away.

NuNew wasn't completely defenseless, however.  With what little willpower he had trained over the years, he kicked a large and ugly brown vase standing nearby, which toppled with a loud bang and rolled across the floor.  This caught everyone's attention.  Off was the first to understand the situation and tried to rush to help, but before he could, the woman yanked NuNew's arm, snapped her fingers, and the three of them disappeared in a puff of gray-blue smoke.

“Bloody hell!”  Off cursed loudly, slapping his hand against his own knee.

“And what now?”  Phuwin asked.

“I don't know!  I don't fucking know, this is what you wanted to hear?!” Off shouted.  “How could you let yourself be approached like that?!  P'Zee will kill us!”

Phuwin didn't understand why Off had only one grudge against him, he wasn't alone here!  He came so close to him that he could perfectly feel the anger bubbling in the veins of the older of them.

“And you?  Why didn't you do anything?”  He bit back, crushing his older colleague with a hostile look.

“Because I was farthest away!”

“It's just an excuse!”

“Stop it right now!”  First stood between the Knights of Light preparing to fight.  He was disappointed with their attitude and behavior.  This was not what he expected from experienced Shadowhunters, and he was most disappointed in Off, whose help he counted on the most.  They had brought him with them for the sake of his rich experience in fighting the forces of evil, and now he stood there as helpless as they were.