Luciel considered himself to be a fairly level-headed person. Even back when he called himself Saeyoung, he'd been able to make tough decisions, able to weigh the pros against the cons without bias.
He didn't know what quite came over him when V told him the truth.
"Luciel, we've found your brother," V said, eyes gazing softly into Luciel's.
The redhead stood still for, not really understanding the weight of the words. But that only lasted a moment; after a couple of seconds had passed, Luciel's lips were moving like a rapper, his mouth barely able to keep up with his mind.
"How do you know? Who is he with? Is he safe? Where is he? Who gave you this information? How could Saera-"
V put a hand up, halting Luciel's questions. "It seems that..." V trailed off, hesitating as usual. "It seems that Rika is alive."
Luciel felt something inside him churn at the words. When V had first come to the RFA, pronouncing Rika dead by suicide, Luciel hadn't bothered asking what had become of Saeran. A part of him didn't want to know. Because if there was even a remote chance that Saeran had survived up until that point, he would have died without Rika to care forhim.
But if Rika had never died...
"Is Saeran with Rika?"
V nodded his head, and Luciel felt relief flood his body. At that moment, he could have cried. He loved Saeran so much. So fucking much. When he thought that his other half had died, he felt incomplete. Withdrawn. Like a part of him was dead inside.
But now, that was no longer the case.
"How can I go see him?" It had been so long since the twins had been reunited. Too long.
It was time for Luciel to come home.
No.
It was time for Saeyoung to come home.
"You can't." V 's words were blunt, not shaped with the care he usually put into everything he did.
Luciel felt his breath catch. "Why not?"
"It seems that....your brother is currently....well, the situation is complex...." V's words were empty, the blue-haired man stalling to confess a truth that Luciel suspected he did not want to hear. Luciel felt his expression turn hard, and he met V's eyes. The older man sighed and took his sunglasses off, wiping them and setting them on the table. He looked into Luciel's eyes. "Saeran is in the Mint Eye. And that Savior (Y/N) and MC keep talking about? That's..."
"Rika." Luciel murmured, finishing the horrible sentence V had started.
Luciel didn't need to be told anything further, that information alone was enough. The Mint Eye was a cult for the deranged, a gathering of unstable minds. If Rika was the Savior, there was no doubt that she had Saeran doing ungodly work for the Mint Eye.
Luciel closed his eyes, suppressing tears that were bubbling up.
Saeran was leading the very life Luciel had left to protect him from.
That information alone was enough for Luciel. It was so much to process; most of the knowledge had already set his mind in a daze. V, however, didn't stop talking. "You know that Ray person (Y/N) keeps mentioning?"
Luciel nodded, remembering the terrifying encounter they had when Ray hacked into (Y/N)'s laptop and threatened them. That man was genuinely psychotic. A freak. The way he spoke...that guy wasn't just mental, he was mentally deprived — the mark of a truly insane person.
"That's Saeran."
Luciel felt his heart stop.
"(Y/N) has been calling him by a different name because he-"
Luciel tuned out the rest of his words, numb before the truth.
Everything after was hazy, a product of the confusion and anger and unfairness Luciel saw in the world. He glanced at the empty spot where (Y/N) sat not two minutes ago as she worked, remembering her hesitant fingers and cautious breathing.
He almost laughed.
The girl feared him.
Not that he cared. If she had just been honest and called him Saeran from the start, Luciel would have received a lot more information a lot quicker than how he had been forced to do it.
Luciel sighed, pulling his laptop off his lap. He took a glance at the door, and, quickly walked over to the bed. Was she hiding information again? What had made her walk out of the room so quickly?
Luciel turned the laptop on the bed so that it was facing him and sighed.
That idiot. He saw the sign-in interface, the user Saeran. Did she try to get in by guessing his password? So much for her skills as a hacker.
Luciel rolled his eyes, almost walking away, before something pulled him back to the laptop. Saeran...still remembered him, right? Luciel thought about his own password for his mobile phone: saeran. All lowercase, no spaces, no special characters.
Would his brother be the same way?
The redhead typed his name out, a strange feeling as he hadn't done it in years. His fingers almost prompted him to type in 'Luciel' rather than 'Saeyoung,' but the boy caught himself before he made such a stupid mistake.
Luciel paused, finger hovering over the 'Enter' key. This is ridiculous, he thought to himself. He didn't hope. He didn't allow himself to. That was what made life easier. If you never hoped, you were never disappointed.
But when the error message popped up, he still felt his heart sink a little.
Error: Incorrect password.
1 attempt remaining.
***
Luciel found it easy to ignore the white-haired girl.
Unlike MC, she knew when to keep quiet, her voice pleasantly unpresent as he discussed plans with Vanderwood and V. The five cabin-members had gathered in the kitchen, Vanderwood refilling his cup of coffee every ten minutes.
"We have to return to the Mint Eye. It's just a matter of when," Luciel said, groaning for the umpteenth time.
"I don't have time for you to play 'hero' just so you can feel better, Luciel. You have work," Vanderwood scowled, yet again threatening to taser Luciel.
"Vanderwood, please try to understand," V interrupted. "Luciel will become a much better agent when he can stop focusing on this. It's closure he needs."
Amidst all of this, (Y/N) had kept quiet whilst MC taunted her in a whisper.
The brown-haired girl thought no one could hear her, but the truth was that neither Vanderwood nor Luciel cared what MC said to (Y/N). And V was too busy trying to sort out the ridiculous rescue mission Luciel was planning to worry about either of the girls.
"So, what made Luciel act like that toward you?" MC whispered, dangerously close to (Y/N)'s face. Luciel watched through the corner of his eye, rolling his eyes at MC's petty nature and at (Y/N)'s utter inability to defend herself.
"MC, shut up," He found himself saying before he had registered the words. "Unless you have something to add to this conversation, I suggest you keep your mouth shut like her." Luciel gestured vaguely toward (Y/N), still too irate with her to even say her name.
"Oh, now you want my opinion?" MC asked, crossing her arms. "I think the whole idea of going to the Mint Eye is stupid. You literally helped me escape less than twelve hours ago, and now you want to go back? One of us is getting captured if we do that, and the Mint Eye won't hold back this time."
Luciel bit his lip. MC was stupid, loud, and obnoxious, but he couldn't deny that she had a point.
"We're not debating this. We're infiltrating the Mint Eye to retrieve someone. The only question is how. If you have any ideas relating to that, then speak." Luciel scowled. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he also knew that he would do this mission solo, if needed.
Just then, V's phone rang. Luciel raised an eyebrow. "Is it Jumin?"
V shook his head. "An unknown number. I'll take this in the other room."
Luciel watched with narrowed eyes as V left, settling his gaze back on Vanderwood. "The window may still be accessible. It's risky, since they'll increase the perimeter security, but with your taser, the guards shouldn't be much of an issue." Luciel glanced down toward his shoes, where he hid a dagger at all times. "And I'm ready to kill anyone who stands in the way."
For the first time, (Y/N) spoke up. Luciel glared at her as she began, but his expression softened when he noted that she had something relevant to say. "No! I mean...no. The Mint Eye has more than enough cameras. They'll have reviewed the footage. They definitely know we escaped through the window. If it's still open, it's a trap."
Luciel stayed quiet for a moment. "And the Mint Eye is completely sealed, except for the front door."
He scowled. Rika, or The Savior as she liked to call herself now, had done an impressive job of making sure everything at the Mint Eye was securely handled. The window itself was only open because it was under Renovation. The door that led to the window, however, was locked tight. Luciel assumed that the only reason (Y/N) was able to get past it was because of her hacking; he, only the other hand, had come to the Mint Eye with explosives, ready to force entry if there was none.
"We can't blow anything up, this time. The Mint Eye will be expecting it. After what we just pulled, they're going to hear any blasts and will alert that Savior woman long before we're able to do what we need." Vanderwood's words were blunt, further emphasizing the fact that infiltrating the Mint Eye a second time was going to be difficult.
"Luciel," V called from another room, gesturing the redhead in. "Come here."
Luciel glanced around the kitchen. (Y/N) was biting her lip, MC sitting with a bored expression, and Vanderwood was drinking coffee. "This meeting is over." Luciel scowled, frowning at how unproductive the other people in his cabin were.
He walked over to V's room, shutting the door behind him.
"What?" Luciel's tone was sharp, the boy's frustration heightened from the previous events.
"I think I have a way to get Saeran back without us having to infiltrate the Mint Eye," V whispered. "But I'm not sure if we..."
"Give me the phone," Luciel said, holding his hand out. No doubt, this had something to do with the call V had received earlier.
"The call went to voicemail," V murmured.
Luciel fiddled with the phone for a moment, taking a moment to familiarize himself with the buttons before replaying the message that had been left on V's phone.
"Hello, V." Luciel's eyes widened. This was...Rika!
"I'm sure you've discovered the truth by now, where Saeran really is. I regret not being more careful with (Y/N) but...well, I'll punish her for that later. Anyway, since you're so noble, I have no doubt that you've told our dear Saeyoung about where his brother is and...let me guess. You're trying to break into the Mint Eye to get the precious boy back."
Rika laughed, but it wasn't the merry chime that Luciel was used to hearing from their childhood. It was deranged laughter: sick and twisted and cold.
"No need. Meet me a mile in front of the Mint Eye, right by the Ritual Grounds. You should remember the place well, shouldn't you?" Another cruel laugh followed, before Rika continued.
"Bring Saeyoung. I haven't seen him in so long...and in exchange, I'll bring Saeran! The two brothers will get to see each other once more! I'll even give Saeran to you, forever, let them be reunited. They can have their happily-ever-after. There's only one thing I want in return."
Rika paused, her voice cold once more and now devoid of the fake mirth she put into her words.
"(Y/N). Hostage for a hostage. I'll see you in six hours."
The phone beeped, signalling the end of the message.
Luciel leaned back against the wall, still a little shocked by Rika's voice. Then, he burst out into laughter. "This is perfect!" He said, grinning wildly. "All we need to do is give her that freeloader, and we have Saeran back! You know where the location is, right? The Ritual Grounds?"
V turned away. "Yes...it was where Rika and I first..." The man coughed, uncomfortable.
Luciel didn't notice. Instead, he chuckled, almost amused with how smoothly things had worked out. "Perfect. Truly perfect!"
V, on the other hand, didn't seem so elated. "Are you sure about this, Luciel? If we give (Y/N) to the Mint Eye...even MC knows what would happen to her."
"Who cares?" Luciel said, smiling. "It's the perfect trade. I want Saeran. Rika wants (Y/N). Why should we both be deprived of what we want when we can simply trade?"
Luciel grinned once more. For the first time, the stars had aligned so that he didn't need to struggle. "I'll make sure (Y/N) is ready. I think Vanderwood gave her new clothes...I'll have her put on her old dress." Luciel ignored V's stutters of protest, blinded by his happiness.
He closed the door without another word and grinned at the ceiling.
"Saeran, I'm coming for you."
Word count: 2.2k
Notes: I tried to update early today because I have an extremely hectic schedule for these next few days (going to a competitive conference!). Somehow, everything clears up by my next update so I'll let you know how it goes :) Wish me luck!
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Next Update: 02/17/20
I do not own the rights to Mystic Messenger or any of the characters within it.