So first up there's a trigger warning over this whole chapter. A lot of violence and things along those lines. As well as some abuse and death. So if you don't do well with these things then read at your own discretion.
Also sorry this chapter's late. My day yesterday was pretty hectic and I didn't really have time to publish.
Mingi awoke to his father shaking him violently. Just as graceless as always, the pompous man then wandered over to the chair in the corner of Mingi's room, practically falling onto it. Mingi kept an emotionless mask over his features as he stared at his father for a moment.
"What do you need sir?" Mingi's voice was painfully monotone, sounding strange to his own ears. He'd only been there for one night, yet he missed Yunho and Ateez more and with each second that passed. He found that, without Yunho, his sleep was turbulent and plagued with every nightmare his brain could conjure.
It was safe to say he wasn't ready for war that day.
But then again, could a person ever be ready?
"I have something to show you today. Get ready, you have five minutes." Then Mr. Song struggled to his feet and stumbled out the door. Mingi felt his blood chill at the potential nightmares that awaited him that day, yet still tried to remain strong.
Even still he took as long as possible to get ready.
Mingi kept his head down as he opened the door. He forgot how much he hated the stench of sweat and grease that shrouded Mr. Song in a thick fog. It almost suffocated him, clogging his air ways with filth. Those tiny, scrutinising eyes took in Mingi's appearance.
A hard slap cracked across Mingi's face.
"What have I told you about that ugly ability of yours. Go back to a human form you freak." Then the man wandered away, expecting Mingi to follow as always. The ripping appearance of his skin settled when it had changed from tan to paper white, his nails lost their sharpness and eventually the fullness of his features also turned more gaunt. Just as his father wanted.
"Apologies, sir." Mingi followed obediently. Something inside him felt like dying, in that exact moment. A pain that seared over his flesh from his eyes all the way to his chest. While Mingi continued to follow his father the feeling only grew stronger, an agony he couldn't have ever comprehended.
"We've started a new project, Mingi." Mr. Song finally spoke. His tone was laced with cruel delight. "See, Earth is salvageable. And no matter how far humanity travels, it will always be our home. We thought the neighbouring planet held what we needed to fix the damage. But we were wrong..." there was the beeping of buttons on a keypad. The sliding of an automatic door, "it's been here all along."
Mingi felt the bile rise in his throat.
The burn of it disgusted him as he threw up the contents of his stomach beside him, his knees having given out. But nothing could erase the image that plagued his mind. The horror that had seeped into his bones.
When the vomit finally stopped forcing it's way through his throat, he looked up again.
Wires.
Machines.
Bodies.
There were rows upon rows of Atiny. Their skin was pale as death. Their eyes stared at nothing. They were held in the air by wires and cables, hooked up to machines and tubes.
The glow of their skin was completely gone.
All that remained were dark, almost black, veins where it used to flow.
"You see, these creatures are absolutely filled with magic. So by harnessing it, we can heal our planet. The only minor issue is that they don't usually survive the extraction." There was a casualness to Mr. Song's voice that bought even more horror to Mingi's body. He was shaking, crying and on the verge of vomiting again.
Yet he fell into step beside his father.
It felt as though those lifeless eyes followed his every movement. Like they were angry that he didn't save them. So Mingi said a silent apology to all those he passed.
It was all he could do.
Then Mr. Song opened one final door, and that pain returned so violently that Mingi screamed and crumbled to the floor.
"We've only had one survive this long." It was so casual, that statement. But Mingi was shaking so violently he feared it would never stop.
Blinking the cloudiness from his eyes, Mingi tried to see what was going on.
Then his whole world lost focus.
"I was recently informed about this. I promise you'll thank me one day." Mr. Song was smiling. He was smiling.
"This isn't... real..." Mingi dragged himself towards the figure sprawled out over the floor. His skin was waxy and taunt, puncture wounds from various tubes unable to heal over.
But then a weak hand pressed to Mingi's cheek and he couldn't deny it anymore.
"M-Mingi?" Yunho wheezed out. He was only just alive, and Mingi clung to him like his life depended on it. Even Yunho's bright eyes had lost all their shine. The blue had dulled to a dead sort of grey.
Mingi tried so hard to hold it back, yet still a broken wail reverberated off the smooth, pale walls of the laboratory. The sound was terrifying and unnatural, akin to that of a dying animal.
It took Mingi a startlingly long moment to realise the sound's source was himself. Even though he should have realise sooner. But his mind could no longer keep up with his actions.
He'd slumped forward, bent protectively over Yunho's body as he cried. Yunho's eyes fluttered softly, and he looked shocked at Mingi's outburst.
Almost like he didn't realise the gravity of the situation.
Mingi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as best as possible.
"Hey it's ok, I'm here." Mingi found that Yunho was already going cold.
There was absolutely no way that Yunho would make it through this.
The realisation forced a wedge into Mingi's heart.
All he could do now was make sure Yunho left as peacefully as possible, so he wouldn't be in as much pain.
Yunho's eyes darted around the room. "Hey hey, it's ok. Just look at me, ok? Focus on me, nothing else." Mingi gently cupped Yunho's cheek, holding his gaze. The life had almost faded already.
"I love... you. Mingi... don't forget." Yunho knew what was happening too, acceptance clear within his expression. At least he didn't seem to be upset. More peaceful than Mingi expected of someone who was dying. But Mingi couldn't stop sobbing.
"I won't, I promise I'll always love you too." Mingi was stunned as a new flower formed over his skin. Another promise, one he'd never break. It was an orchid, light purple and extending over his forearm. A while ago Wooyoung had told him it meant something along the lines of "I will always love you"... how fitting.
"Oh please Mingi. This whole 'relationship' was just an experiment, you'll be over this in no time." Mr. Song scoffed, Mingi barely able to contain his rage.
His father had taken away the only person Mingi really cares about more than himself.
More than anything.
He'd stolen the brightness from Mingi's life.
And all that could possibly remain is bitterness and anger.
The glare Mingi sent his father was one of the most pure rage. The kind that could melt even the strongest man's resolve into an inescapable terror.
"Mingi. Look at me." Yunho was growing weaker by the second, yet still all he wanted was to comfort Mingi.
The last of Yunho's strength was running out.
"Yunho, don't l-leave! Pl-ease don't l-l-eave me!" Mingi screamed, the words sounding more like the wail of a wounded animal than a person.
"I-it's ok Gi." Yunho raised a hand, running a bloodied fingertip down the other's face lovingly, a deep azure smear left in it's wake. Mingi held his hand, pale fingers also being glazed over by the sticky blue sheen.
The wounds still seeped, still stained the floor as well as Mingi's clothes.
"No, it's NOT ok! I can't lose you. You're too bright to be snuffed out like this, please!" Mingi begged, tears trickling down his cheeks and resting at his chin, threatening to free-fall onto the dying boy's colour-drained face.
"Do you remember the first day we met?" Yunho's voice sounded weak and strained, like it was an incredible effort to so much as form a single syllable. Mingi nodded, small watery smile gracing his lips as the memory came to him. "When I saw you staring at the animals in that lake with more wonder than I've ever seen before, how I saw your kind smile and felt your heart beat in time with mine." Yunho was trying to distract Mingi, even though he was the one who should be comforted.
Mr. Song had finally started to realise the gravity of his choices, as though he didn't understand how much Yunho really meant to Mingi until Yunho neared his last breaths.
"When you pulled me into the water and laughed so beautifully I almost didn't believe you were real." Mingi chuckled weakly, bending to kiss Yunho's forehead as his free hand brushed away loose strands of hair with a kind of gentleness previously unneeded from Mingi. "Then we started dating, after I found out you were my soulmate. But I wasn't careful enough. A-and th-then we wer-e fo-ound out. A-and th-thi-s is a-a-all my fault." Mingi broke down into sobs, body shaking with such intensity he didn't know if he could ever calm. There was so much sorrow, Mingi felt it cutting off his airways.
He couldn't save Yunho, no matter how much he wanted to.
This was all... hopeless.
"I don't regret this, what we have. And neither should you. This," Yunho weakly indicated to Mingi, then himself, "is the best thing that I've ever experienced, and I wouldn't change it for the world." The smile that splintered Yunho face made Mingi's heart shatter, the weight of the situation finally sinking in completely.
"Don't leave me yet. We haven't g-gotten marr-ied, o-or gott-en our o-wn ho-use." Mingi was breaking.
It was like cracks were forming in over his skin, even his bloodline understanding how he felt.
The cracks only worsened with each breath Yunho took, the sound growing more and more weak.
But then the cracks that formed weren't his, and golden magic seeped from the gaps.
Though Mingi didn't really realise past the crushing weight of grief. "I need you Yunho, more than anything!" Mingi screamed his declaration, the glass of his pseudo skin falling away to reveal power beyond anything Mr. Song had ever seen. The man had edged into the corner of the room, frightened of his son's pain.
If he was powerful, Mingi could kill them all.
It was so bright that the walls were shrouded in shining gold, yet Yunho and Mingi didn't seem to notice.
"I love you..." Yunho smiled one last time before his eyes fluttered shut, Mingi letting out a noise so broken and heart-wrenching it couldn't even be called a cry.
Then, everything froze as the noise shifted to a scream, that of someone so fragmented they can't even think anymore.
Energy poured from Mingi, the magic so clearly Atiny that for a moment Mingi felt vaguely shocked.
He'd unlocked something... and he didn't understand how.
Then everything exploded.
~~~
Wooyoung felt the building shake as he tried to force his body upright.
Everything hurt.
His father was... less than impressed about discovering his relationship with San.
Wooyoung's body was covered in cuts and bruises.
The worst was his ribs, which he was pretty sure were broken.
And his arm, which was definitely broken. Considering the bone was mere millimetres from puncturing his skin.
But Mingi had told him to be ready for some sort of signal of attack, and an explosion seems like a pretty big signal.
So Wooyoung dragged himself off the floor, grabbed his weapons from under his pillow and secured the dagger at his hip. The ripping of fabric was all that could be heard as Wooyoung wrapped his broken arm in a make-shift sling. With only a small knife for defence, Wooyoung gently opened the door to his room.
Chaos.
People were running in the direction of the explosion, frantic stress evidencing just how bad it was.
Unable to help Mingi at the moment, Wooyoung could only make his way towards the entrance. He'd received a message from Hongjoong, just before he'd passed out, that said he was to open the door at Mingi's signal.
Wooyoung had a job to do, and he couldn't let himself get distracted.
Yet someone stepped in front of him.
"Wooyoung..." Yoojin had the audacity to look guilty. And Wooyoung could only imagine how terrible he looked.
"I don't need your pity. Get out of my way." Wooyoung continued on his way, though he was growing more faint with each step. He was about to pass out.
Yoojin gently laced an arm around Wooyoung's waist, so his arm rested over her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Wooyoung felt his whole body lock up with mistrust, fearful of a deception from the girl who has only showed him cruelty since she was 15. Since their father had turned them against one another.
"Where are we going?" She ignored him, gently trying to keep him upright and avoid touching his injured arm.
"Entrance." Wooyoung admitted begrudgingly, allowing her to lead the way. "Why are you helping me? Why now?"
"Because you're going to stop our father." She grinned at him. "What? Did you think I was the perfect daughter..."
"Yeah, actually." Wooyoung couldn't keep the bitterness from his tone, yet she just stared at him for a second.
There was this crushing sort of grief and trauma that pooled in her eyes.
And then Wooyoung could see his sister again, the one who gave him an ice pack that first time their father had slapped him. The one who would read him bedtime stories and make him soup when he felt sick.
The sister he thought he'd never see again.
"We're actually the same, Wooyoung. But the problem with you was that you still held onto love, real love. But I let it go." Yoojin stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. "He punished us in different ways Wooyoung. Hurt us in different ways. I'm so sorry I became too afraid to help you, and I promise that I'll never let you down again."
"I-It's ok. Just... let's start again, yeah?" Wooyoung decided to try give Yoojin a second chance. She was still his sister, after all. And judging from the look in her eyes, Wooyoung knew what she had gone through had to be truly awful.
"Ok. I'm ok with that." Yoojin's entire face lit up as they walked through the halls.
"Do you know anything about Mingi? Where he is or what state he's in?" Wooyoung asked. Because from the looks of it they'd have to go get Mingi. His sister quickly checked the comms, eyes widening.
"Apparently the explosion was huge, and both he and Mr.Song haven't been found yet. Almost everyone has gathered in the vehicle bay to await further instructions. But there are some guarding the last door leading to where Mr.Song and Mingi would be. Their orders are kill on sight." She explained. A pit formed in Wooyoung's stomach, and he couldn't keep the stress from his face.
"We've gotta hurry."
As they reached the entrance Yoojin left Wooyoung leaning against the wall, giving him a chance to rest as she typed in the code. The guards had left already, going with everyone else to the source of the blast.
As soon as the door opened his teammates rushed in.
As well as San and Seonghwa, along with Yuii.
"What are you..?" Yeosang seemed to recognise Yoojin, even though they hadn't really met before. But San was immediately on edge.
"Where's Wooyoung?" San spoke with more venom than Wooyoung had ever heard from his soulmate, his eyes scanning over the room until they focussed on Wooyoung. But then all that anger changed into pure fear as he sprinted over and started singing to him. The bruises and cuts healed almost immediately, but the broken bone took a bit longer to heal.
Wooyoung was very glad his boyfriend was such a talented healer.
"Did you hurt him?" San asked Yoojin, voice threatening. Yet Wooyoung just pressed his lips to San's cheek, trying to calm him. Then Wooyoung told them everything he knew. San still Seemed apprehensive of Yoojin, however.
"It's ok Sannie, she helped me get here." Wooyoung held San's hand as he stood up, taking San with him. He then walked up to his sister, staring her in the eyes. "We're going to take down Father and save Mingi. Did you wanna help?"
Yoojin seemed stunned to the offer.
Yet she nodded after the shock had settled in.
~~~
Hongjoong was worried.
Beyond belief.
The halls were mostly empty, save for a few abandoned papers and items. The explosion had taken out part of the power too, so the lights above them flickered. Yeosang and Seonghwa were in the front, their weapons constantly held at the ready. Wooyoung held San's hand as they walked, San clearly growing more and more nervous the further they went. Then it was Hongjoong, Yuii and Yoojin. Wooyoung's sister seemed very different now in comparison to when Hongjoong had last seen her around the compound.
She seemed lost.
Then they saw a figure nearing them in the hall.
They held a very unique type of sword.
From was back to the times where Humans held their wars on the sea, when guns weren't as frequently used. Hongjoong vaguely remembered it being called a rapier.
Then Yeosang put his weapon away.
"Yeosang what..." Seonghwa trailed off when Yeosang started running down the hall.
"Yeonjun!" Relief crashed over Hongjoong's body as the figure, Yeonjun, put his sword away and hugged Yeosang.
"Hey, apparently there are some traitors wandering the halls I gotta kill. You guys know where they are?" Yeonjun glanced at all of them. But then he noticed the three Atiny in their company and the Captain's children and sighed. "It's you, isn't it?"
"Yes, where's Mr.Song?" Yeosang squared his shoulders and stared Yeonjun in the eye, challenging him. Yet Yeonjun only laughed and ruffled Yeosang's hair.
"No need to be like that. I'll take you to him, as long as you tell me what's going on." Yeonjun wrapped an arm around Yeosang's shoulders, much to Seonghwa's clear displeasure, and wandered down the halls. Yeosang gently explained what had happened, all of it.
"But I promise I'm ok." Yeosang smiled slightly as Yeonjun freaked out.
"Ok are you serious?! You got shot!" Yeonjun then lifted Yeosang's shirt to see the remaining scar, eyes watering. "I know who was on that mission. I was offered to go on that mission. And if I had I could have helped you..." Guilt consumed Yeonjun's expression as he hugged Yeosang tightly. And rather than freaking out as usual Yeosang just hugged him back.
"Please don't feel guilty. I promise I'm ok, San healed me. And we have to get moving to get Mingi." Yeosang let Yeonjun go, still holding his hand as they walked. Seonghwa, after realising who Yeonjun was, seemed to be a lot less tense.
They ended up at a locked door.
Yeosang stood back, glancing over the wall until his eyes narrowed.
"Yeonjun, help me up." Yeosang pointed to an air vent, quite high up on the wall. Immediately the other got down on his knees to Yeosang could sit on his shoulders.
"How many?" Yeonjun asked as Yeosang peered through the vent. It was interesting to watch, both of them getting into an old practice that no one else would ever have to understand.
The art of assassination.
"Unclear, but I can see at least 12. It's an office, not a lot of cover. The vent is too small to get in through, but the door console seems to be in tact. If we get the door code I can go in." Yeosang got down from Yeonjun's shoulders, frowning as he thought. "I'll need Bessie."
"Ok, and Patricia?" Yeonjun asked after handing the rapier to Yeosang. The other just shook his head.
"Not in such a small space, the blunderbuss would damage my hearing. Use it here in case someone comes to stop us." Yeosang secured the sheath to his hip. He then moved over to the keypad.
"I know the code." Yoojin admitted, gaining everyone's attention. She stood beside Yeosang, clearly waiting for his signal.
"As soon as I'm in can you close the door?" Yeosang asked. As soon as she nodded Yeosang turned to Ateez. "Don't come in. Don't try see what I'm doing. Only come in when Yeonjun says. And... don't expect me to do anything else after... please." Yeosang seemed more horrified at the end. And Hongjoong could only imagine what he's going through.
"Hey, it's ok. You're all good to stop when... this is over." Hongjoong gave Yeosang a short hug, knowing he'd be uncomfortable if it lasted any longer.
Then Yeosang went to the door, nodded to Yoojin, and went in.
First there was silence.
Then raging gunfire.
Screams of distress.
"Will he be ok?" Wooyoung asked no one in particular. His brows held a deep crease between them, and his lips formed into a frown.
"Physically, yes. I really doubt anyone can actually kill Yeo." Yeonjun replied, a strange sort of reverence held in his gaze. "But emotionally no. Not now, and unlikely never again. The orphanage mother stole his soul, and now he's giving what he had taken back to save your friend."
Everyone then stood in a sort of somber silence.
No one knew what to do anymore.
Mingi was missing, Yeosang was most likely falling apart in that office.
Hongjoong didn't know if he could keep their little family together much longer.
After silence had resumed for a few minutes, Yeonjun sighed. "We can go in now. But we're sending Seonghwa in first." Seonghwa jolted at his name, staring at Yeonjun for a moment before gently asking Yoojin to open the door in rather broken Earthen.
The office was trashed. Papers were strewn about the floor, a section of the desk had been smashed, and of course there were the bodies. Everyone could only stand there in shock except Yeonjun, taking in what Yeosang had done, before they all carefully made their way towards the corner. Yet with every step Hongjoong was close to slipping over the crimson slick that coated the floor.
And there Yeosang was.
His body faced the wall, so all they could see was his back. His thin shoulders were shaking so violently that Hongjoong thought for a moment that he was having a seizure, and his sobs could be clearly heard.
"I'm a monster." Yeosang whispered, and that was all it took. Hongjoong immediately hugged him, enveloping his curled body in the warmest embrace he could muster, channeling all his love for Yeosang into it. He loved every single member of his team with all his heart. They were his family.
"You aren't a monster honey, and none of us blame you for what you've had to do." Hongjoong assured, rocking a broken Yeosang back and forward.
A child who is not embraced in life will burn the world to the ground to feel some semblance of warmth, and Yeosang had gotten burned in his attempt to feel warmth for the first time.
He had never been loved before.
Wooyoung quickly joined Hongjoong.
Yeosang wrapped his arms around the both of them, sobbing into their shirts.
When they'd eventually pulled away, Yeosang gently stood on shaky legs.
"Come back with Mingi, yeah?" Yeosang said before walking over to the nearest body. The man had been completely gutted, his intestines strewn about the floor around him in awful ribbons. Yeosang crouched, just beside his head, and stared into his lifeless eyes.
Then Yeosang took a small bag from his belt, maybe the size of his fist.
Yeosang took out two old looking copper coins. He placed one over each eye, holding the lids closed.
"Mister, I'm very sorry for what I've had to do. Your life was spent, and nothing can ever repay that in full until my own life is spent. So for now I shall give you two coins. I don't know what they're worth, but may they serve you well in the afterlife. I'm truly sorry. Goodbye." Yeosang then kissed the tips of his fingers, pressing them to the man's forehead. "I hope your God serves you well."
Then Yeosang moved to the next body, a man who had his throat slit so harshly that his head was almost cleaved from his shoulders.
"He'll do this for everyone here. You guys go on ahead, I'll stay with him. It's not good for him to be alone." Yeonjun pulled up a chair, wiping his somehow bloodied hands on his shirt. Hongjoong nodded, taking one last look at Yeosang before looking at the keypad.
"I know the code to that one too." Yoojin said, voice only above a whisper. She was clearly horrified by the carnage around her, which was understandable. Hongjoong only hopes that her blame for this doesn't get directed at Yeosang.
"Ok, let's go. We have to get Mingi." Wooyoung stood at the door, a resolute expression on his face. yet Seonghwa stood away from everyone else, expression conflicted.
"I stay him." Seonghwa pointed to Yeosang, who had only apologised to three bodies thus far. So Seonghwa gently walked over to Yeosang, grabbing his hand. "Do you want help?"
"How?" Yeosang looked up at Seonghwa. His eyes were still watery. Yet Seonghwa just wrapped his fingers around Yeosang's hand and led him to the first body. They all watched curiously as Seonghwa took a small bag out of his satchel, pinching some of the powder within and sprinkling it over the body.
There was a bright flash.
Then the body began to glow crimson, changing in shape.
Before long all that remained was a flower plant, the coins also morphing into them to create golden stems. They appeared to be roses. It was only a small bush, and was soon gently placed into the man's helmet.
"It was his favourite flower. He is no longer alive in the usual sense, but now he'll live a different sort of life. Our planet also sometimes makes these flowers to help us understand both others and ourselves. I have one from you, actually." Seonghwa explained, tucking a strand of hair behind Yeosang's ear. "We can take all of them home, and plant them in a garden if you'd like. To Leake amends for what has happened."
"I'd love that, if you wouldn't mind?" Yeosang had led Seonghwa to the next body, a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Of course."
Knowing that Yeosang was likely feeling better, Hongjoong felt comfortable going to get Mingi.
"Can you please open the door now?" Hongjoong asked Yoojin, who quickly put in the pin.
And all that they could see beyond the door was rubble, destruction and death.
The explosion had collapsed most of the building. There were bodies trapped in the rubble, and Hongjoong felt himself gag as he accidentally trod in the caved skull of a guard.
"We have to get moving. If Mingi's trapped in this we have to get him." Wooyoung kept his gaze ahead of him, refusing to look at the floor no matter what he heard or felt. So Hongjoong did his best to copy him, yet each crunch and squelch made his stomach heave. Eventually they hit a wall of rubble, and had no way of getting around it.
"These is magic in there." San said, eyebrows furrowed. "Not any kind I know, but magic all the same."
But Yuii had a look of knowing over her face.
"San. Grief." Was all she said before San's eyes went wide. The Atiny started shaking his head, collapsing to his knees before digging the rubble with his bare hands.
"Love, stop. What's wrong?" Wooyoung knelt beside San, but his boyfriend didn't listen. His hands were getting torn by the broken glass and metal before Wooyoung grabbed them and forced San to look at him. "San look at me. What's happening?"
"Grief magic. My people have not seen it in centuries. It only happens when a person feels the most pure, raw grief. And if Mingi is in there..." Hongjoong froze as realisation sank in. If San was right, this was worse than they could have ever imagined. "Wooyoung, Yunho went missing."
And then it all clicked.
Someone else had died.
"Everyone step back." Yuii pushed Hongjoong away from the rubble wall, everyone else following her command. The air seemed to crackle as a ball of angry red magic formed over Yuii's closed fist.
Then she punched the wall.
Debris flew everywhere, and the wall was all but obliterated.
It wasn't actually a 'wall', more like a dome.
Gold, rippling like the surface of water, was what they found within.
"Mingi?!" Hongjoong yelled, hand tentatively moving towards the barrier. Yet he was met with no resistance, his hand going through the sheen easily.
They all walked inside.
The first thing Hongjoong noticed was actually Mr. Song's body. Mainly because it was impossible not to notice. He was in pieces, all over the space.
But then there was Mingi.
His hair was a startling silver, and he didn't really seem to be moving.
At first Hongjoong thought Yuii and San had made a mistake. There was no obvious body in the room.
But then he saw the silhouette and he knew.
It was Yunho.