Author's note: EXO really are aliens from another planet in this story. They are still the idol boy-band but they are so much more. They do have powers. This is a science-fiction story based on their concept. I love superheroes and stories of people with superhuman abilities, so for a boy-band such as EXO to exist (I know they don't actually have powers) is a dream come true for me. For this story, I've used their stage names (those that have them) because they are actually the aliens from Exoplanet. I do love Chen and hence he will be the hero of the story, but at the heart of this story is their brotherhood. I'm sure, logistically, it is impossible to do what they did and not have their managers know about it but this is science fiction and my fantasy so anything and everything goes. I just wanted to write this story because these guys are my heroes! Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own EXO.
Warnings: not beta-ed. Apologies for grammar and spelling errors.
They woke up in a cold place. Each member in a cell isolating them from each other. The bars were nothing they've seen on Earth before, made of cold, white lasers. They could see each other but could not hear or touch. Upon waking up, their first thoughts were of each other. Were the others okay? Are they hurt? Each member made a visual diagnosis of the others. Chanyeol…D.O…Baekhyun…Kai…Sehun… Xiumin…Lay…and their leader Suho…Someone was missing. Suho's blood drained from his face. Where's Chen? He saw the other's expressions and knew they were thinking the same thing. The last thing they remembered was Chen using his powers to take down the enemy.
24 hours ago...
They were drugged. It was in their drinks. They were walking to their cars after celebrating Suho's birthday. Chen hadn't drunk any alcohol because he wanted to ensure the others didn't over- do it. They had a busy schedule the next day. Chen knew something was wrong when their steps became unsteady. He hadn't allowed anyone to drink enough to get drunk. Then the masked men appeared. Chen fought them off as best he could but when his friends went down one by one, there was nothing he could do, especially when guns were held to their heads.
Chen woke up in a room, strapped to a metal chair. Restraints held down his wrists, upper arms, thighs and ankles. They had dressed him in a white, long-sleeved, loose shirt and light, trousers. His feet were bare. The room was cold but he wasn't cold. The masked people walking on the other side of the window had injected him with a toxin, which took away his control of his power. Electricity shot through his body randomly, sending him into seizures. It hurt but he didn't scream. He was angry. He wouldn't give these people the satisfaction of him crying out. They were cowards. Chen did fight back at first as they tried to strap him to the chair but then they put up live footage of his friends on the eight TVs on the wall. The men didn't say anything but he knew what it meant. Keep fighting and they will hurt his friends. They used his friends to make him submit. His friends were still unconscious but men walked in and out of the room. One man went as far as chaining up Xiumin. It was then that Chen gave in completely. He couldn't allow anyone to torture his best friend. He watched them lower Xiumin back to the ground and drag him back to his cell.
He'd been awake for almost a day now but his friends had only just woken up. He knew they wanted his power but he wasn't sure why. He did notice that his chair was connected to a lot of wires in the room. Are they harnessing my power? He'd been mentally calculating how long it took for the drugs to wear off. Each time the effects started weakening, he took control of his powers and tested what he could do. He sent a spurt of electricity through each of the wires. In the 24 hours he'd been here, he worked out where each wire connected to. Somehow, this chair was connected to almost every room. He closed his eyes and mentally mapped out the wiring of his room. He found the one he wanted. Opening his eyes, he watched the monitor holding D.O. He knew the cells, each member was in, restricted their powers. D.O had supernatural strength. If he could free D.O then D.O could do the rest. Hopefully, they'd be able to get out. Chen concentrated on D.O's cell, smiling when the bars flickered a little.
Everyone was looking around for a way out. They needed to get out and find their missing brother. D.O paused, frowning when the bars flickered. He looked around, waving his arms frantically at the others to get their attention. Chanyeol, whose cell was next to D.O narrowed his eyes at where D.O was pointing. His eyes widened when he saw what D.O saw. Chen. He mouthed. D.O nodded.
Chen was exhausted from focusing his powers into that one wire. He saw D.O's reaction and knew he had to act quick. Soon, the men outside would be coming in to give him another dose of the drug, making it impossible for him to concentrate. He closed his eyes and sent all of the little power he had through the wire which powered D.O's cell. His eyelids grew heavy as he watched the screen. He kept his eyes open until he saw the bars holding D.O dissipate. Then everything went dark.
D.O smiled when the lasers disappeared, but his joy didn't last long because he was the only one free. He looked around, trying to find the controls to the other cells but found nothing. It was all controlled from another room. It was too dangerous for him to leave the room on his own, but he didn't need to. He could already feel his powers returning. He walked to the middle of the room and faced his friends. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his right leg and slammed it hard to the ground. Cracks formed, crawling towards the cells. He slammed the floor another time and this time the crack shot out at the cells. They each looked at the bars as they flickered and died. "Yes!" Chanyeol cheered, jumping out of his cell. "Good job." He and D.O gripped hands. "Let's go find, Chen."
"I'm pretty sure he was behind my cell shorting out." D.O nodded. He turned to Suho. "How should we do this?"
"This place should be swarming with those men soon. We'll split up. Sehun with me. Chanyeol and Baekhyun, Kai and Xiumin, Lay and D.O." He made sure each pair had a member with physical powers. "Once you find Chen, find a way to notify the others." They all nodded. "Let's go!"
They were met with soldiers wearing black masks and full body armour but they were no match for the motivated and angry EXO boys. The place was like a maze. They ran into each other a few times. Suho and Sehun ran towards what they believed was the centre of the maze when they saw Lay and D.O come around a corner. Exasperated they were about to turn around but an agonizing screamed ripped through the hallways. Their faces paled as they looked at each other in horror. "CHEN!" All four of them ran towards their friend's cry, running past the bodies they had taken out until they reached the room.
Chen was inside a glass room with wires attached to the chair he was strapped to. He seized as his powers shot electricity all around him. Around the glass room in front of Chen were TV screens. The masked people in the room didn't stand a chance. Sehun created a blast of wind sending them all into the walls, knocking them unconscious. Suho ran to the controls, looking frantically for something to open the doors to the glass room. "Don't bother! I'll break the glass." D.O walked up to it, ready to send a punch when Lay grabbed his wrist.
"Wait." He pointed to Chen who was arching off the chair in pain. "He's not in control of his powers." He put his hand on the glass. "This is the only thing protecting us from getting electrocuted." It was ironic. The room imprisoning his friend was keeping them safe.
"We have to get him out of there!" Sehun stepped up to the glass. "He can't take much more." As if to prove he was right, Chen cried out again.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"CHEN!"
Through the pain, Chen heard his friends call out to him. "CHEN!" Chen opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but he could see the outlines of his friends. He could recognise them anywhere. He frowned. Why were they just standing there? "…can't…near…you…" He heard. What? "…electricity…where…" Chen screamed when lightning shot through him again but after the pain became bearable he realised what his friends were trying to tell him. They couldn't get close to him because of the lightning. He needed to regain control his powers.
Lay, Suho, D.O and Sehun watched as Chen clenched his fist and concentrated. They watched as the lightning flickered around. "Come on, Chen. You can do it." It looked as though the lightning was receding when Chen screamed again and the lightning came back at full force. "We have to do something!" Suho slammed his fist against the glass. Lay looked around the room and saw the table with syringes and vials. He picked up each vial, reading the labels. They all seemed to be sensitising drugs. Angrily, he threw each one to the ground, smashing them. He was about to throw the last one when he realised it was an anesthetic. He quickly filled a syringe and ran back over.
"If Chen can reduce the lightning enough, I can get in there and give him this." Lay held up the syringe. "It'll knock him out."
Suho grabbed the syringe. "I'll do it." Lay was about to protest when Suho stopped him. "You can heal me if I get struck." Lay couldn't argue with that. "D.O, punch out the glass when Chen tries again." Suho turned to the others. "Get somewhere safe."
Lay grabbed their youngest and pulled him over to the table, which had the vials. He flipped it over and knelt behind it, pulling Sehun with him.
Xiumin looked around at the frozen, masked men. They had searched everywhere and still couldn't find Chen. He and Kai had run into Chanyeol and Baekhyun a few times. They were having just as much luck. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were running towards them now. "Anything?" Xiumin asked, puffed out. Chanyeol shook his head, "But I found the exit. It's all ice out there."
"The exit is useless if we can't find Chen." They would leave this place together or not at all.
Baekhyun came up with another plan. "If we can't find Chen, maybe we can find the main control centre of this place. It should be near the centre."
Xiumin nodded, "Let's go!"
Suho waited for as long as he dared to. He wanted the lightning to reduce more but Chen was sweating profusely due to the strain. If he waited any longer, Chen could lose control. He couldn't let him go through that again. He may not survive. "Punch it!"
D.O slammed his fist into the glass, shattering it in one go. Suho shoved him to the floor before rushing towards his friend without hesitation. Lightning shot into his shoulder, sending him to his knees. The pain was excruciating but his only thought was that Chen had gone through that pain tenfold. He pushed himself up again, ignoring anymore shocks. He lunged forward and stabbed Chen with the syringe, deploying the plunger. Suho grabbed Chen by the shoulders. Electricity shot through him, but he didn't let go. "Hold on, Chen." Slowly, the lightning turned to static and then it was gone. Chen's tense body went lax. Suho smiled tiredly before he passed out, dropping to the floor.
"Suho!" D.O rushed forward as soon as the lightning died. "Lay!"
Lay stumbled out from behind the table, running to his friend. "Suho!" He laid both hands on Suho's chest and focused his energy.
Sehun knew his leader was in good hands and hence focused on Chen. He undid the straps holding Chen down. His hands were shaking. He'd never seen his friend so pale. "Please be okay." He begged. Chen's skin was so hot. "He's got a fever."
"Suho!" D.O smiled as his leader came back to consciousness. "You scared us!"
Lay helped Suho to sit up. "How are you feeling?"
Suho rubbed his head, nodding. "Thanks. How's Chen?"
Lay got up to check on Chen, while D.O helped Suho to his feet. Lay laid his hands against Chen's chest, frowning when Chen's energy pushed against his. "Something's wrong." He laid a hand against Chen's brow. "What did they do to you?"
Chanyeol, Kai, Baekhyun and Xiumin were at the control centre of the building. It looked like they managed to take out everyone in the building. Chanyeol sat at the panel. He was good with computers. A few taps brought up a map of the building. He moved through the map and brought up surveillance footage. "There!" Baekhyun pointed at the screen where they could see the other four and Chen. "They found Chen."
"Where are they?!" Kai studied the map and then closed his eyes. He pictured the layout of the building in his mind. "I can get to them." He looked at the exit to the building. "Head to the exit. I'll teleport them there."
"One at a time, Kai." Xiumin cautioned. "Don't overtax your powers." Kai nodded before disappearing.
D.O grabbed Chen's arm, pulling it across his shoulder. Chen's head lolled against his shoulder. "Let's get out of here first." He was about to throw Chen over his shoulder when Kai appeared out of mid-air in front of the chair.
"Kai!"
Kai froze when he saw the condition Chen was in. His friend was so pale. "Is he okay?"
"We don't know. Get us out of here." Suho ordered.
Kai broke out of his shock. He tore his eyes from Chen, "Okay." He placed a hand on Sehun and disappeared. He reappeared again and grabbed Lay, then Chen, followed by D.O and Suho.
Chanyeol, Xiumin and Baekhyun arrived just as Kai appeared with Suho. "Chen!" Xiumin knelt in front of his friend who was lying against Lay. "Why haven't you healed him?" It wasn't an accusation, just concerned.
"Whatever they gave him, it's fighting my powers." Lay rubbed Chen's arms. "He's shaking."
"It's freezing out there." Chanyeol told them. "But don't worry." He created bubble of heat around all of them. "We'll be fine."
"Once we are out, if we are still on Earth, I can teleport us back home." Kai told them.
"Let's go. I don't want Chen here any longer." Lay could still feel Chen trembling, despite Chanyeol's heat.
Suho ordered Kai to teleport Lay, Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chen back first. Once they were gone, Suho turned to the others, his eyes turned deadly. "I want this place gone." They nodded. Suho kept Chanyeol, Sehun and D.O here because of their powers. He didn't want anything left of this place. Chanyeol sent the place up in flames while Sehun created a whirlwind around the building, strengthening the flames and containing it within the area. Once the place was destroyed, D.O shattered the ground beneath the building, causing it all to collapse into the Earth. When the ice and smoke settled, there was no trace of the building left.
Seoul…
An old man smiled as he watched the satellite feed of his secret base in the Artic, get demolished by the young soldiers. They were more powerful than he expected. Rendering them his slave could be a challenge but it was a challenge he was glad to undertake. If these soldiers were so easy to capture and brainwashed, then they weren't worthy of his attention. He will make these men apart of his army and they will help him conquer this world.
EXO's apartment building (owned by the members, not SM)...
Chen laid in the bed in his room. They've been home for three days now and still, Chen has not returned to consciousness. In fact, he seemed to be getting worse. His fevers brought nightmares. The nightmares caused his powers to go haywire. His friends could only watch from a distance, careful of getting shocked. They could hear Chen call out to them, piecing together what Chen had gone through before they had woken up. Those masked men used them to get Chen to submit. They still didn't know who they were or why they were after them.
Chen was in a maze. There were screens everywhere showing his friends being tortured by masked men. He kept running but there were only dead-ends. He needed to find them. He ran around numerous corners. He ran until his legs gave out but he didn't give up. He got up and kept running. His friends were counting on him. "D.O!" He yelled out to them. "Chanyeol! Baekhyun!" He called breathlessly. "Suho, Lay! Sehun! Kai!" He kept running until something appeared on the ground. Chen stopped. Something was on the path in front of him. Someone. Slowly, he approached the body. "Xiumin!"
Xiumin sat up at the call of his name. He slowly got off the floor but remained crouching. "Be careful." He nodded to their leader.
"Chen." Xiumin called quietly.
Chen dropped to the floor next to Xiumin. He shook him. "Xiumin, wake up." There was no response. "Xiumin!" He looked at his friend's chest. It wasn't moving. Fearfully, he put a finger under his nose. He didn't feel a thing. "No…" Then all around him, the bodies of the other members appeared. "No…" He dropped back, shuffling away from the bodies. "NO!"
"NO!" Chen called out in denial. His voice was filled with so much anguish, it made their hearts ache.
"Chen!" They called out to him, frustrated they couldn't get close. The lightning in the room was getting worse, forcing them further away. Xiumin was the closest and he already got struck once. "Chen!"
Chen cried out in agony as he realised he was all alone. His friends were gone. "WHY?" Shadows started appearing. He looked around at the men surrounding him. These were the men who killed his friends. They will pay. He slowly stood, rage filled his entire body. Nobody would leave here alive. Lightning ran through his entire body.
EXO watch in horror as Chen got out of the bed. He stood, eyes open, filled with rage. His hands were at his sides, palm facing them. Lightning formed between his fingers. "CHEN!" Xiumin called out to his best friend. He winced at the shot of lightning that was only just short of hitting him.
The men slowly moved towards him.
Each member slowly moved around, surrounding him. They didn't know what was going on in his head but they needed to get through to him no matter the danger to themselves.
"You murdered my brothers!" Chen let the power in his hands build. "What did they do to you?" The men remained silent. "What did we do to you?! Answer me!"
They looked at each. Chen thinks their dead. "What nightmare are you trapped in?" Baekhyun whispered. "Chen…" He gasped as the pain in his chest grew. His friend was hurting so much. "Chen, wake up." He pleaded.
"Why are you just standing there? Why don't you kill me too?!" Chen didn't know if he was daring the men or begging them. He didn't want to live in this world alone. They were already on an alien planet; his friends were his only connection to their home world. "Kill me now or this will be your burial ground!"
Tears ran down their faces as their sick friend pleaded for them to kill him. "Chen, we're here." Xiumin cried. "We're not dead." The lightning stopped building.
Chen frowned. One of the shadows said something. The voice was Xiumin's.
"What did you say?"
Xiumin felt a slight glow of hope. "I know you're scared. Whatever you're dreaming about, it's not real." Suho could see that Xiumin was breaking through to Chen. If Xiumin's voice was getting through, maybe all of theirs could.
"Chen, it's Suho. Listen to our voices. Come back to us." Suho's calm voice contradicted his racing heart.
Chen pulled back his power when he heard another voice. Suho. He squinted at the shadows. Was one of them Suho? "Suho."
Each member felt the hope now. They looked around, encouraging each other to say something to their friends. "Chen, can you hear me? Chanyeol and I are driving the others crazy. They need you to wake up to reign us in." Baekhyun was saying things only they knew about. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chen were pranksters but Chen always knew when to draw the line and he made sure Chanyeol and Baekhyun didn't cross it. Chen's glazed eyes turned to him.
"Baekhyun…" Chen wished he could see their faces.
"Yeah, Baekhyun keeps playing with the lights. We can't sleep properly." Chanyeol added. "He only listens to you." Chen had a way about him. He was approachable and yet still gave a sense of authority.
"Look at me, Chen." Lay ordered, "You always listened to me back home. You said you always need my advice but the truth is; I need yours as well."
"Chanyeol…Lay…" Chen looked around, lost. Why could he hear their voices but not see them? Was his mind playing tricks on him? He wanted his friends back that badly, he was going insane. Or his enemies were trying to trick him. That seemed more likely. Fire returned to his eyes. These men were playing with his mind. He let the electricity build again. "You think you can trick me?"
"CHEN!" The two youngest called out from behind him. Chen spun around. "Chen! You don't want to hurt us." Kai tried to pull Sehun behind him, but Sehun didn't need to be protected from Chen. Chen could never hurt them.
"You won't hurt us." Sehun cried. "You take care of us."
"When we arrived at the academy, we were scared. We didn't know anyone, but you sat with us at lunch. You didn't sit with your own friends so they came and sat with us as well." Kai remembered their first days. The others took them under their wings as well but Chen made sure they were never alone. "You followed us around because you wanted to keep us safe. You're our guardian."
Chen gasped at the word. That was what Kai and Sehun called him. EXO's guardian. Why won't they come closer? "Kai, Sehun…"
"You always know what to say." D.O spoke. "And you always know what I need. If I don't want to talk, you would sit with me. You don't say a word because you know I just need to know someone is with me."
"D.O…" The lightning was no longer threatening. Maybe this wasn't real. It didn't matter. He felt comfort in hearing their voices. If this was a trap then he would happily fall into it. He closed his eyes and just listened.
Xiumin smiled as the lightning receded. "I'm here, Chen." Xiumin call out. "Just listen to my voice. I promise you, you're safe. We're all here. We're all safe. You don't need to protect us anymore." He reached his friend and slowly placed his hands upon Chen's shoulders. "Let us take care of you."
Chen felt the hands on his shoulders. He gasped. It felt so real. He was scared to open his eyes. He was afraid if he did, he would only find the masked men. He wasn't sure he could handle that. "Open your eyes, Chen. I'll be here."
Chen slowly opened his eyes, waking from his nightmare. Xiumin stood in front of him. Suho was behind him on one side and Lay was on the other. He turned his head and one by one, each family member appeared. "Am I dreaming?" If this was a dream, he prayed he will never wake up.
"This is real." Xiumin assured him. Chen let the tears drop. The despair he felt when he thought he'd lost them almost killed him. Xiumin wiped away the tears. "We're all here." Chen's vision started to darken. The nightmare sapped all his energy. "Chen?" Xiumin gripped his arms when Chen's eyes rolled back. All hands came out, catching him and gently laying him back on the bed. "Chen." He brushed his friend's hair back, affectionately, feeling for a fever at the same time.
Lay moved around to the other side of the bed and laid his hands over Chen's chest. He had a feeling Chen's body was going to allow him to heal it this time. He looked at Xiumin, who nodded. He concentrated his energy and sent it into Chen, smiling when he felt no resistance. He felt his energy spread through Chen's body. "I think it's working."
They all held their breaths as they waited. Lay's healing powers were immediate. If it worked, Chen should be waking up. The seconds that passed felt like hours. Chen gasped as if he had just taken his first breath of life. "Chen!" Xiumin felt his forehead, it was damp and cool. "His fever's broken." He brushed back Chen's wet hair. "Come on, Chen. Open your eyes."
Chen heard his brother's request but his eyelids felt like they were made of lead. It took too much effort to open them. "Chen!" This time it was Lay's voice. He heard the concern. He didn't like it when he was the cause of the group's worries so he tried again to open his eyes.
His friends were grinning when Chen's eyes fluttered open. "Hey." Xiumin grinned at him. "How are you feeling?" Chen opened his mouth to answer but he couldn't force any words through his dry, sore throat.
"Here." Suho grabbed an empty cup and filled it up using his powers.
Lay slipped his arm under Chen's shoulders and lifted him up. Chen groaned at the movement. His muscles were so stiff. Xiumin pressed the glass to his lips. "Slowly." Chen only managed three sips before the cup was taken away. "Have some more later."
Chen looked around at everyone around his bed. "You're all here." Tear filled his eyes. "I thought…" He couldn't get the words out. He could still feel the pain of the nightmare, of believing his brothers were dead. Xiumin pulled his best friend into his arms, letting him cry into his shoulder. Chen was never one to get very emotional. He was always quick to provide comfort, to be strong for the others, but he was rarely the one to receive it. Or more precisely, he only needed to be in his friends' presence to feel warm and comfortable.
"I'm sorry." Xiumin whispered. "I wish I could've protected you." Chen hugged him tighter.
Suho sat on the bed, next to Xiumin. He gripped Chen's leg. "We destroyed that place. There's nothing left of it." Chen heard the rage in his leader's voice. He lifted his head from Xiumin's shoulder. "They will never get their hands on you again." Chen was worried again. This wasn't the soft-hearted leader he knew.
"I know." Chen said simply but there was so much trust in those two words, that it made Suho's heart ache. "What's wrong?"
Suho shook his head, smiling in disbelief. "I'm the leader, Chen. Let me do the worrying."
"I'm okay now." Chen wiped away his tears.
"Chanyeol downloaded the data from their computers. We're going to find out everything about these people and make sure they can't do this to us again. They have technology that can supress our powers and resist Lay's healing powers."
"Actually, I don't think that was all their technology." Everyone looked at Lay, wondering what he knew that they didn't. "Maybe at first but that toxin should've worn off hours after we got Chen out of there."
"Then why couldn't you heal him?" Baekhyun was confused.
Lay looked at Chen who looked down at his hands, as if he were ashamed. Lay laid a hand on Chen's shoulder. "It's nothing to be ashamed about. Any one of us would've felt the same way if we thought the others were gone." They saw the tears dropping onto the quilt.
It was D.O who realised it first. "It was Chen who was resisting Lay's powers." He gasped as he looked around at the rest of them and then sadly at Chen, who still hadn't lifted his head. "Chen thought we were dead. He didn't want to live."
Chanyeol's hand came up to his mouth, only now seeing the extent of Chen's despair. "Aw…Chen…" They fell silent. Chen pulled his legs to his chest, burying his head in his knees.
Suho knew he needed to say something. They were all shocked at how close they had come to losing Chen. "We're aliens on this world. Our home is gone. All we have are each other. None of us can say that we wouldn't have felt the same way if we were in your place, Chen. Since we arrived on this planet, we've always said, 'We are One'. You've always been our rock but we don't expect you to always be strong." Suho put a hand on the back of Chen's head. "We all saw the fight in you. You would've annihilated our enemy. They didn't stand a chance."
"Yeah, almost felt sorry for those monsters in your dreams." Chanyeol chuckled.
"And then among all that rage and hatred, you heard us." Chen's head lifted at that. He looked at his leader and saw the proud smile on his face. They all had the same smiles on their faces. "You will always see the good among the worst and that's why within all that despair you still heard our voices."
Chen could see how scared they were despite the smiles. They were trying to show him their strong side. The least he could do, was the same. "No, I just thought I was losing my mind." A loud laugh burst out of Chanyeol before it was stopped with his two hands. Chen was smiling at him and as always, Chen's smile was infectious. Soon they were all laughing and smiling.
Xiumin watched over Chen as he slept that night, swapping rooms with Lay until Chen recovered. Even though Lay healed him, he was still too warm for Xiumin's liking. He laid a cool cloth across Chen's brow, smiling at the soft mumble of relief from his friend. He had Lay's reassurance that Chen would recover but the truth was, he wasn't ready to leave his side. For the past three days, they all had to stay at a distance because of Chen's erratic control over his powers. He needed to stay close because he knew Chen's nightmares would return. Chen may have been smiling and laughing with them but the fear of losing everyone would always be with him. The feeling was too real for him to just forget. He was right. Chen started tossing in his bed but the nightmare wasn't given the chance to get its claws into Chen's mind. "You're at home, Chen. You're safe with your brothers. No one can hurt you." He smiled when Chen's breathing evened out at his voice.
Xiumin stood from the bed, wincing at the cracking of his bones. He and the others had been sitting in the room for days and now that Chen was on the mend, his body was protesting at its treatment. He let out a breath as he looked down at Chen. There was no way he was leaving Chen's side, but his body couldn't take much more abuse. His face lit up when he came up with a plan. Gently, he rolled Chen onto his side and slipped under the covers. He laid down and sighed. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.
Chen woke up when the sun's rays shone through the window. He squinted, his arm coming up to cover his eyes and go back to sleep but he was never one to be able to go back to sleep after waking up. He groaned and was about to push himself up when he noticed his 'pillow' wasn't his usual one. He followed the red jumper up until he saw Xiumin's bright and cheerful face. "Good morning!"
Xiumin had been awake for about 15 minutes now but he didn't want to wake Chen, knowing he needed his rest. Not to mention, Chen looked so comfortable he didn't have the heart to wake him. He smiled when Chen groaned irritably as he was woken up by the sun. Chen was usually a morning person, which only proved how unwell Chen he was. He stayed still, hoping Chen would fall back asleep and sighed when he didn't.
"Good morning." Chen scratched his head, confused. "Why didn't you sleep in Lay's bed?" He asked, sleepily.
Xiumin shrugged, "I couldn't be bothered." He answered, being vague.
Chen looked at him worried. "Did I have a nightmare again?" Xiumin sighed and nodded. It wasn't easy to keep anything from his friend. Chen sat up, getting off Xiumin. "You shouldn't do this again. I could hurt you."
Xiumin pushed himself up and leaned his head on Chen's shoulder, despite him being older. "I trust you."
Chen got off the bed, abruptly, worried about Xiumin getting so close. "You can't be sure. I don't have control of my powers. Especially when I'm asleep."
"Chen…"
"Please, Xiumin. I…" Chen tried to find the words to get Xiumin to understand. He loved that Xiumin stayed with him to protect him from his nightmares, but one bad nightmare could be enough for him to hurt his friend or worse. He couldn't risk it. "I know… I just…" He scratched his head in frustration when he couldn't formulate a sentence.
Xiumin stood from the bed. "It's okay, Chen." He didn't get too close, knowing Chen didn't trust himself right now. "You know that I trust you. I know you do, but you can't trust yourself right now. I understand that." Chen closed his eyes in relief when Xiumin didn't push him. "Why don't you go wash up and then head downstairs for breakfast?"
"Okay." Chen said softly, "Thanks, hyung." It was strange to hear Chen use honorifics when they were alone. They only used it during interviews because it was the Korean way. Chen must be feeling insecure to use it. It was the feeling of protection that came with the word, 'big brother'.
Xiumin nodded, smiling. As soon as Chen left the room, he sighed and dropped back onto the bed. He wished he could do more for Chen but he didn't go through the trauma Chen did, so he didn't know how to handle the situation except to let Chen be for now. He quickly got changed and went to Suho's room, hoping his leader would have an answer.
"Hey, Xiumin." Suho looked up when he heard a knock at his door. "How's Chen this morning?" He frowned, concerned when Xiumin looked hesitant in his answer. "What happened?" He asked, gesturing for Xiumin to sit.
"Chen's scared of losing control of his powers again." Xiumin said as he took a seat at the table. "Scared enough to not dare touch me."
Suho sighed. He was worried this would happen. "He can't avoid using his powers."
"We shouldn't force him either." Xiumin countered.
Suho nodded, "I know. I'm not saying we should force him but we shouldn't let this go on for too long. His powers are a part of him, he can't be afraid of using it."
Xiumin frowned. It wasn't like Suho to be so stubborn about something. Especially when it came to their well-being. "What's wrong, Suho?"
"I'm worried that the place we were held isn't the only place of its kind. If there are others, then we may have a battle ahead of us. We need all our powers to fight it." Suho let out a tired breath.
"Did Chanyeol find something?" Xiumin guessed.
Suho nodded, "There were calls going in and out of that place while we were there. They were reporting to someone."
Xiumin closed his eyes at the news, angry. Was this ever going to end? "Can Chanyeol find out where the calls originated?"
Suho shook his head, "Not yet. He's still trying to work it out. If I hadn't destroyed the place…"
"Don't do that, Suho. You did what Chen and the others needed you to do." Xiumin got up and sat next to Suho on his bed. "We'll take this a step at a time but for now, we can't let Chen know they are still out there." Suho nodded, agreeing. Chen's fear would never go away if he found out the people who tortured him were still alive.
Chen sat on the rooftop of their building. One of the first things they did when they bought this small apartment building was to turn the rooftop into a relaxing area with tables, chairs and outdoor lounges. They spent a lot of nights up here during their first year because they missed their home planet and looking at the stars made them a little less homesick. Today, Chen came up here, hoping to get away from his brothers' worried gazes. He was feeling much better but a headache lingered. He didn't tell the others about it, thinking it was just the residual effect after the drugs the masked men had pumped into him. Lay's healing powers were effective but there was only so much he could do, especially when the pain wasn't physical.
There was another reason why Chen came up here. He wanted to test his powers away from anyone he could hurt. He looked at his hands as he sat in the lounge. Sparks of electricity jumped out of his fingers. He winced at it as if he could still feel the pain it caused him. Chen tried to slowly build up the electricity but he started shaking as the electricity grew to the point where he could feel himself losing control. He clenched his hands, shutting it down before he could do any damage. Sweat ran down the back of his neck. It frustrated him when he thought about how effortlessly he used his powers in the past. Now, a small spark made him flinch and breathless.
Chen slowed his breathing, ready to head back downstairs before his brothers started to worry. He was too late though, because Chanyeol and Baekhyun walked through the door, just as he was about to stand up. "Chen! What are you doing up here?" Baekhyun asked. He was only a few months older than Chen and most of the time Chen was the mature one but the events of the past week have made him more of a big brother to Chen. "You should be resting." He said as he sat down, wrapping his arm around Chen's shoulders.
Chen smiled at him. "Just wanted some fresh air."
Chanyeol frowned at the sweat beading across Chen's brow. "Are you okay?" He sat down on the other side of Chen and felt his forehead. It seemed everyone was treating him like he was their youngest. "You're a little warm."
"I'm okay." Chen told him. "Just a little tired."
Baekhyun rubbed his shoulder, "Let's go back downstairs."
Chen shook his head and leaned back into the lounge. Now that he was up here with his two brothers, he wanted to stay. "Can we stay for a little a while?"
Baekhyun smiled sadly at how unsure and quiet Chen sounded. He wasn't used to Chen like this. Chen was usually the fearless one. This was a little unnerving but he wasn't going to let that stop him doing what needed to be done. He leaned back, sitting with his shoulder side by side with Chen's. Chanyeol did the same thing. "You can stay for as long as you want." Baekhyun told him.
Chen curled up and tucked himself against Baekhyun's side, leaning his head on his shoulder. "Thank you." Chanyeol took off his jacket and laid it over Chen's shoulders. He smiled when Chen gave a contented sigh. He looked over at Baekhyun who looked down at Chen with concern. Chanyeol reached over and tapped him lightly on the head, being careful not to disturb Chen. Baekhyun looked up at him. He'll be okay, Chanyeol mouthed. Baekhyun nodded. He wished he could truly believe it but they both knew Chen was far from okay.
Chen could feel himself falling into a comfortable sleep when he realised what he was doing. "No!" Chen gasped, shocking his friends as he shot off the couch, almost stumbling over as he tried to create some distance between himself and Chanyeol and Baekhyun.
"Chen!" They got up and took a step towards their friend when Chen held his hands out.
"Don't! Please." Chen was breathing heavily. The thought of losing control of his powers and hurting his friends was plaguing his mind again. "Don't come over."
"Chen, what's wrong?" Baekhyun begged his brother to talk to him.
Chen looked down at his hands. His hands were tingling with static. "I can't control it anymore." A tear dropped into his palm.
Chanyeol's tears dropped for his friend's state. "This won't be forever, Chen. You'll get stronger."
"We're all here to help you." Baekhyun agreed. "You just have to let us."
Chen wanted so badly to let go and let his brothers take care of him but he was too scared. He didn't care if he hurt himself with his own powers but he couldn't bear the thought of hurting his friends. "I can't use my powers."
"Then don't." Chanyeol spun around at the voice behind him.
Xiumin had returned home after he and Suho spoke to their manager, regarding Chen's absence from the group. It was just after their concerts, so a few weeks break was allowed, but the managers and the company were starting to grow concern and so the oldest members of the group went to reassure them that all was fine. Suho stayed at the company for a little longer to organise the group's schedule while Xiumin returned home. The house was empty. Lay and D.O took the younger members out to destressed. Baekhyun and Chanyeol remained at home to watch over Chen. He started worrying when he checked every room in the house and couldn't find anyone. The rooftop was the last place he checked.
Xiumin sighed when he heard Chen's broken voice. "I can't use my powers." He hated the fear he heard. It wasn't just fear of using his powers but fear of letting down his friends as well. Ever since arriving on Earth, Chen has always been there for all of them. Now, he didn't even dare to touch them. He knew their leader wanted Chen to start using his powers again but that wasn't important anymore. Xiumin only wanted Chen to feel safe and if not using his powers made him feel safe, then he never had to use his powers again.
"Then don't." Xiumin called out, surprising his friends. "If you don't want to use your powers, then don't." He repeated as he joined Baekhyun and Chanyeol. "You don't need your powers. We'll protect you." He looked at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, waiting for their confirmation. Baekhyun nodded. Chanyeol created a fireball in his hand, making Xiumin smile, proudly. He was proving to Chen that he would do everything in his powers to protect him. Xiumin walked up to Chen, leaving a trail of ice behind him. "No one will lay a hand on you again. I'll make sure of it." His tone was icy.
Chanyeol threw up a wall of fire around them. "No one will even get near you."
Chen felt the warmth of the fire. It was a warm blanket, protecting him from the rest of the world. "You don't have to be scared anymore. No matter how dark it gets," Baekhyun created a ball of light and sent it over to Chen, "I'll always light the way." The ball of light burst in his hands like a small firework displayed and disappeared.
Xiumin put his hands upon Chen's shoulders. "Trust us."
Chen looked deep into each of his friends' eyes and saw the confidence there. They weren't disappointed in him. All he saw was their fierce determination to protect and take care of him. Chen nodded. Xiumin smiled, pulling Chen into his arms. "Thank you." Chen looked into Baekhyun's eyes. Baekhyun nodded, ruffling Chen's hair and kissing the side of his head, fiercely. Chanyeol wrapped his long arms around them all.
Chen wasn't afraid of any physical contact after that emotional talk on the rooftop with his brothers. Slowly, over the next couple of weeks, things started going back to normal. Chen fulfilled his commitments to the company and the fans but he was also given more days off than the other members as he still tired easily and the managers could see he wasn't well enough to keep up with their usual schedule.
One night, Chanyeol waited for everyone to go to sleep before grabbing his laptop and dragging Suho to the rooftop. Without saying a word, he showed Suho the screen. It was a world map. It didn't take a genius to work out what Chanyeol was showing him. The calls from the base they were held originated from Seoul, Korea. "Those people are right here."
Chanyeol nodded and turned the laptop, typing away furiously. "It's coming from this building." He'd done all the background checks he could before bringing the information to Suho. "It belongs to a corporation called Divergent. It's a security company that provides state of the art security, including bodyguards to government officials and multimillion dollar companies in Korea."
Suho's stomach started twisting into knots. This was a powerful company. He could see Chanyeol had more information and it wasn't good. "What else?"
Chanyeol sighed, "There a conspiracy around this company. The story is; a reporter went undercover in this company and stayed for years, moving up the ranks. The nine founding members of this company secretly control the Blue House."
Suho let out a long breath. "How much credit do you give this story?" He knew Chanyeol believed it otherwise he would not have brought it to his leader's attention.
"The reporter's body was found in the river and the story was buried. He was made to look like a mad man with psychiatric reports and a family history of mental problems and drug abuse. The story was released but discredited straight away." Chanyeol reported.
"You believe these men are behind our capture." Suho was angry. "Do you have their faces?"
Chanyeol shook his head. "They hold secret meetings in their building but no one has ever seen them go in or out."
"They must have a secret passage way through the basement." Suho deduced.
Chanyeol nodded, "I haven't found it yet but I'll keep searching."
Suho leaned back on the lounge, rubbing his tired eyes. "We have a fight ahead of us. A company this powerful will not give up on us. I'm sure they want to harness our powers. Maybe even find a way of transferring it to a human."
"What can we do?"
Suho shook his head. "Not much until Chen's fully recovered and using his powers."
Chanyeol paused at that. They made Chen a promise on the roof and it's that promise that had allowed Chen to recover from his ordeal. Asking him to use his powers could reverse the progress he's made. "We can't force him."
Suho clenched his fist. "You, Baekhyun and Xiumin have been protecting him to the point where he can't even take care of himself. The power is who he is. You can't separate him from it."
"We're not trying to. He'll come around on his own."
"When? Next week…next month?" Chanyeol didn't answer him. "Next year or is it next decade?"
Chanyeol slammed his computer shut, angrily. "I'm just as angry as you, but you didn't see Chen when he was afraid to even touch us! Xiumin promised Chen that he didn't have to use his powers. I promised him that I would protect him. Baekhyun promised him there will always be light no matter where he was. Chen's performing on stage with us because he trusts us. We're not breaking our promise. If those men come for us, then I will protect Chen with my life but I believe in him as much as he believes in us. If we're in danger, he will use his powers."
Suho stood. "I hope you're right because you're betting a lot of lives on that." He moved to leave when Chanyeol called out to him.
"Maybe what Chen needs, is for his leader to believe in him again."
Suho spun around in disbelief at the words. "I believe in every one of you!"
"Then why the hell won't you talk to him?!" Chanyeol yelled at him. "You act like everything is normal. You talk to all of us about our schedule and our practises but you don't talk to him! And trust me, if I can see something is wrong, Chen can definitely feel it."
Suho turned away from Chanyeol's accusing eyes. "I know what I'm doing."
"I hope so."
Two weeks later…
They were sitting in their living room watching a movie, which took them half an hour to agree on. It was their down time and they wanted a relaxing night. Chen, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were being beagles again, making so much noise the others were throwing pillows at them. Lay sat back. Usually he enjoyed peace and quiet. However, seeing Chen laughing with his friends was much more enjoyable.
Suho wasn't enjoying the night. He had formulated a plan without consulting the others. He needed to see how deep Chen's fear of his powers went. He looked at Kai who nodded. Kai teleported to the power board and turned it off there before teleporting back without anyone knowing. He didn't know why Suho wanted him to do that. He thought it may be a part of a prank. Baekhyun turned the lights back on with a click of his fingers. "Your turn, Chen." Sehun said simply, not thinking anything of the request. Baekhyun and Chen used their powers for these kinds of things all the time but Chen paled at the request. Sehun frowned. "Come on, Chen. The movie just got to the best part."
Baekhyun got up quickly when he saw how pale Chen went at the request. He broke into a cold sweat. "I'll go check the main switch."
Xiumin, who was next to Chen, turned in his seat, feeling his friend trembling. "Chen, it's okay."
Chen was transported back to the day the masked men strapped him to the chair and injected him with the toxin. He could still feel the pain of the electricity coursing through his body. He never felt the pain of his own powers before. "Chen." Chen shot out of his seat at the touch on his shoulder, stumbling the ground. He shuffled backwards until he hit the entertainment unit, shaking as he huddled there, scared to death of his friends. "Chen." Xiumin gasped. He knew Chen was afraid of using his powers but he didn't know such a small trigger could cause this reaction.
"Don't make me. Don't make me. Don't make me. Don't make me…" Chen chanted to himself. His eyes focused on nothing.
"What's wrong with him?" Kai asked, looking to his older brothers to do something. He didn't know the small act of turning off the power would cause this much distress. "Why is he scared of us?" He looked at Suho, expecting him to answer but Suho only looked angry.
Chanyeol shook his head, "He's not scared of us. He's scared of what we're asking him to do." He revealed. What happened on the roof that day was kept between them. Chen didn't want the others to worry about him. "He doesn't want to use his powers."
"Why?" Sehun asked as the TV turned back on. He picked up the remote and switched it off.
"Because those monsters made him lose control and he almost died from the pain." Suho clenched his fist, angry at himself for putting Chen through this but knowing it had to be done. He knew Chen was scared but not to the point of cowering from them. When was this nightmare going to end for them? What did they do to deserve this? Chen was the kindest of all of them. What did he do to deserve this torture?
Lay put a hand on Suho's shoulder, calming him down. It was rare to see their leader lose control. This situation had them all on edge. He gestured for him to let him handle it. Suho sighed and nodded, sitting back on the couch. Cautiously, Lay moved closer to his friend. He reached over but paused when Chen flinched at the approach of his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. You know what my powers are. I can only help."
Chen looked at him in fear. "But I might hurt you." He whispered shakily.
Lay opened his mouth in surprise. "Aigoo…" This wasn't only about the pain. He should've known. Chen wouldn't be so scared if he was only afraid of the pain. He was afraid he could inflict that pain onto his friends. "You could never hurt me."
"I didn't know how much pain my powers caused." Chen cried, "I'm sorry. I really didn't know." He was like a child begging for his parents' forgiveness.
Baekhyun returned from switching the power back on. He was already angry at finding out that someone had deliberately switched off the main power, but hearing Chen's words made him even angrier. He glared at Suho, knowing his leader was behind it. Suho looked away from him.
Lay looked at Xiumin. They have only ever used their powers in self-defence and on this planet, they rarely had to use it. Up until that day, they've only ever used it for trivial matters like when there was a blackout. "You were forced, Chen. You would never deliberately hurt someone with your powers."
Chen shook his head, fearfully, huddling further into himself. "Don't make me, please!"
Xiumin could no longer stand to see the fear in his friend. "We won't make you. You don't have to use your powers if you don't want to." He walked over and gathered his best friend into his arms. "No one can make you." He promised. Chen latched onto him like he was lifeline. "No one will make you." He looked at the others, determinedly. No one would make Chen use his powers.
Suho, who could no longer hold back his anger, grabbed a glass and threw it across the room. Xiumin felt Chen jolt in his arm. "Suho!" He admonished his leader.
Suho glared at him. "How can you be so calm? These people did this to him. This is Chen! He couldn't even hurt a fly! Now, he's shaking because he's scared of hurting us; his family! That thought wouldn't even cross his mind before they kidnapped us and tortured him!"
Chen was trembling in Xiumin's arms. His leader was angry. He'd never heard him so angry before. "Calm down, Suho. You're scaring him even more."
Suho looked at the man shaking in his friend's arms. Tears ran down his cheeks. He could barely recognise him. That man wasn't Chen. He walked over and knelt in front of him. "Don't let them win, Chen. You can't let them do this to you. You've never used your powers to hurt people. No one can make you do that."
Chen shook his head, frantically. "They can…they gave me something…they can…"
"I told you. We destroyed that place and everything in it!" Suho growled. "No one can hurt you again. We won't let that happen!" It was a lie. Those men were still out there.
Xiumin held Chen tighter as Suho's rising voice sent jolts through his friend. "Suho!" He whispered harshly. "Leave it for now."
"You can't keep protecting him! The powers are a part of him. He can't fear it!" Suho stood and pulled Chen from Xiumin.
"Suho!"
Chen tugged at his arm, trying to get away. "Don't make me!" He begged. "Please!"
"Are you never going to use your powers again?!" Suho yelled angrily. "What happens if someone attacks?!" Chen stopped struggling, freezing in fear of what Suho was saying.
"Suho!" Chanyeol called, shocked at what Suho was revealing.
"We can't keep this from them any longer!" Suho growled at him. "They have to know what they're up against!" Everyone looked between Chanyeol and Suho, stunned at the news. If reassurance wasn't working then Suho had to provoke Chen's protective nature. "Those masked men are back. They have Sehun." Suho continued his efforts in forcing Chen to use his powers. Chen's eyes shot to Sehun, who stood there in horror at what their leader was saying.
"Suho!" Sehun called angrily at the leader he respected.
Suho ignored him, "They're going to kill him and then Kai's next."
Kai's eye widened when Chen looked at him in fear. He'd never seen Chen so afraid. He watched Chen struggle against his leader's grip and was tempted to grab Chen and teleport him away from here. "Let him go, Suho!" Kai said in a desperate whisper.
"No!" Chen shut his eyes tight, his free hand coming up to head, trying to protect himself from the images of his friends dying. "Why are you doing this?"
"Suho, this is too much too soon!" Lay warned. "Give him time."
"He needs to face his fears now! We're at war. We destroyed that place but they're still out there!" Suho yelled.
Chen pushed at Suho's chest, trying to get away from the leader. He was desperate to get away. "You said they were gone. You promised you wouldn't let them hurt me!"
Suho gripped Chen's other arm and gave him a harsh shake. "Wake up, Chen! We can't always be here!"
"You lied! YOU LIED!" Before Chen could even stop it, electricity shot up his arms, sending Suho flying back into the couch.
"SUHO!"
Suho shook his head, dazed from the shock. Chen was horrified. He lost control again. "I'm sorry." He gasped, stumbling backwards. "I'm sorry."
Xiumin saw that Chen was ready to run. "Chen." He sidestepped to block his way to the exit. "It wasn't your fault." Chen turned to him, fear evident in his eyes. "You didn't mean it." Xiumin reached for his friend. He wasn't ready for Chen's sudden rush at him.
Chen shoved his friend into the wall. He needed to get away. He couldn't stay where he could hurt his friends. "CHEN!" Chen ran up the steps to the rooftop. He could hear his friends calling him but he ignored them. He couldn't let them near him. Chen reached the rooftop and slammed shut the door. Looking around, he grabbed a chair and jammed it under the handle.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun were the first to go after Chen. Kai helped Xiumin up before they both ran after their friends. Suho was about to follow but Sehun and Lay stopped him. D.O stood in front of him with his arms folded, clearly unimpressed. "You should stay here and rest. Xiumin will take care of Chen." He told him. "You shouldn't have pushed and you should've told us everything."
Suho rubbed his head, still a little dizzy from the shock. Lay didn't use his powers to help him. "You want to help me get rid of this headache?" He knew what response he was going to get.
"You asked for it so you can deal with the consequences." Lay got up. "I'm going to check on Chen."
"I wanted to force him to use his powers." Lay stopped at Suho's explanation. "He can't live in fear of something that's a part of him."
"Who said anything about living with the fear? It hasn't been that long!" Lay glared at him.
"The longer we leave it, the longer we protect him, the worse it'll get. Chen's as independent as any of us. He's the one who takes care of us, if we let this continue, the Chen we know won't exist anymore!" Suho tried to make them understand. "I'm the leader. I must make the hard choices. Do you think I wanted to do that? He's scared of me!"
Sehun winced, sorry that he'd misjudged his leader but still not happy with Suho's methods. "This better work otherwise he'll never trust you again."
Suho sighed, "I know." He could still hear the words; you promised! You lied!
Chanyeol slammed his fist against the door. "Chen! Open the door!"
"Chen! Let us help you!" Baekhyun called.
Kai stood back. "Should I teleport you out there?" He asked Xiumin, knowing he was the best person to talk with Chen.
Xiumin shook his head. "He has to let us in."
Kai nodded, understanding but he still needed to do something. "I'm going out there." Xiumin was about to protest. "I won't let him know I'm there. I just want to keep an eye on him." He pulled out his phone. "I'll have the camera on." Xiumin nodded, thanking him.
"I'll go out with you." Baekhyun took Kai's arm. He couldn't just stay behind a door when his friend was suffering on the other side.
Chanyeol pulled at his hair in frustration. He didn't understand how a simple movie night could become a nightmare. "What can we do?" He asked Xiumin, desperate to help Chen.
"All we can do is talk to him." Xiumin sighed, stepping up to the door.
Kai and Baekhyun appeared behind the building's water tank. Baekhyun quietly moved around the tank. His heart broke at the sight of his friend huddled against the rooftop ledge. He could see lightning sparking through his body. "He's losing control." He said to himself. Kai pulled out his phone and started the video conference call. He included Sehun as well so that the members downstairs could also see what was happening.
Chanyeol pulled out his phone when it buzzed. Tears dropped at what he was seeing. How was he supposed to help his friend who was so lost? He handed his phone to Xiumin and turned to the door. "Chen! Please open the door. Let us help you!" He begged.
"Stay away!" Xiumin watched his friend's desperate plea for them to leave him alone. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"You didn't mean it, Chen. Suho shouldn't have pushed you!" Xiumin called to him. "He's angry but he's not angry at you. It wasn't your fault."
Sehun pulled out his phone, frowning at the caller I.D. He was shocked at the live footage he was seeing on the roof. "Suho." He sat down next to his leader. The others gathered around the phone, watching as their friend suffered.
Chen cover his ears with his hands, not listening to them. "They're still out there." He mumbled to himself. "Those men are going to come back for me. They're going to kill Sehun and then Kai." The images of his friends dying flooded his mind as Suho's words repeated itself. "He said the place was gone. He said they couldn't hurt me again." Chen started rocking back and forth as he tried to make sense of it all. "Suho never breaks a promise. Why did he lie?"
Suho covered his face at what he was seeing. He pushed Chen too hard. And it wasn't just today. Chanyeol was right. He should've spoken with Chen from the start. Lay sighed, squeezing his leader's shoulder. He disagreed with what Suho did but he knew why he did it. It hurt Suho as much as it hurt Chen.
Baekhyun watched, feeling helpless. His friend was talking to himself like a psychiatric patient. He clenched his fist at what Suho did. Chen wasn't ready for it. "He's angry at me. He thinks I'm useless." He kept mumbling to himself. Baekhyun's heart clenched at his friend blaming himself. "I'm useless if I can't use my powers. I'm useless. I can't help them." Chen looked at his hands. They shook as he tried to generate the lightning but he immediately closed his fists, shutting it down. "No! I can't. I can't. I'll hurt someone…but Suho…I can't…"
Suho couldn't take anymore of Chen's self-blaming. "I'm not angry at you." He got up and rushed up the steps with the others on his heels. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He was worried Chen wouldn't trust him again after what he did but he didn't expect Chen to blame himself.
Chanyeol leaned his forehead against the door. His friend was close to losing his mind and he was stuck on this side of the door. "If I break down this door right now, what would he do?"
Xiumin wanted to do the same thing but he knew Chen had to be ready. "He's already doubting his trust in Suho. We can't let him think that he can't rely on us either. He has to come to us."
Chanyeol turned around, facing the stairwell and saw Suho's face as he arrived. He had heard what Xiumin said. Seeing Chanyeol's reaction, Xiumin turned to find Suho looking devastated. He felt bad about what he said, but it was true and Suho had to face the consequences of what he did. "I'm not sure you should be here." He told his leader bluntly.
"He needs to know I'm not angry at him."
"You have a funny way of showing it." Xiumin growled at him. "I told you he wasn't ready. I told you, you were scaring him but you kept pushing." He shoved the phone at Suho. "Now look at him. I barely recognise him!"
Suho's tears dropped onto the screen as he watched his friend argue with himself about using his powers. "I'm sorry, Chen." He stepped towards the door but Xiumin stopped him.
"He's likely to jump off that roof if he hears your voice. Let us handle it." Xiumin didn't pull any punches. He could only deal with one problem at a time and Chen needed him more than Suho.
Suho nodded, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the old Chen back with us."
Suho's words suddenly gave Chanyeol an idea. If they couldn't reassure him of the future then at least he could remind him of the past. At least he could remind him of who he used to be. "Chen, do you remember what you told me when we first arrived here?" Chanyeol asked through the door. Chen shook his head. Nothing was going through his mind except the images of the masked men. He couldn't think of anything else. He needed to protect his friends from them. "CHEN!" Chanyeol slammed the door with his fist, getting his attention. It worked. Chen's head shot up. Chanyeol knew he responded in fear but at least he was listening now. "Do you remember what you said to me when we first arrived?" He asked again. Chen frowned. The memory was there but he couldn't get his mind to focus on it. "I was so scared. You were too but you sat with me and told me we can be scared together. We can share the fear."
Chen gasped when the memory returned like a shooting star. "We are one." He whispered.
"We are one, Chen!" Chanyeol called out. "That's what Suho told us. Whatever happens, we face it together."
They all smiled. They could see Chanyeol getting through to their friend. "Keep talking." Xiumin encouraged, not wanting the effects of his words to stop.
Chanyeol nodded, "I know you're scared but I'm right here, being scared with you. We all are." He remembered something else from that night. "Give me your phone!" Xiumin handed Chanyeol his phone, curious at what he was planning. Chanyeol texted Baekhyun. Remember our first night here.
Baekhyun read his text and smiled. He turned and showed Kai the text. Kai smiled, nodding.
Chanyeol showed everyone his text before talking again. "Remembered what we did. The humans called it a natural phenomenon."
Chen frowned. He did remember, but he didn't believe he could recreate it.
"Chen, I'm scared right now. Can you help me?" Chanyeol revealed the most vulnerable side of him. He wiped away the tears. "I need you."
Baekhyun took that as his queue. He and Kai stepped out from behind the tank. Light, like glow bugs, floated around him.
Chen looked up at seeing the beautiful glow. He turned and saw Baekhyun and Kai smiling. Kai walked over to the door and removed the chair, letting his friends in. Chanyeol walked through the door, creating fireballs and sending them to Sehun who used his power of wind to send them dancing in the air. Suho created droplets of water in mid-air, reflecting Baekhyun's light all around. Xiumin smiled as the snow fell.
Chen looked up at the sky. He slowly stood at the beautiful scene his friends had created. "Just one last element." Chanyeol took Chen's forearms, bringing his hands up. "Time for you to light up the sky." Chen looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure he could do it. "I was as scared that day as you are today but we found out how strong we are together. We found out life is beautiful as long as we stayed together."
"I don't…" The ground suddenly shook, making Chen stumble a little.
D.O appeared with Kai, who had teleport him to a safe place to create a small earthquake. Chanyeol looked at him, deadpanned. "Was that necessary?"
D.O shrugged, "I felt left out." He was trying to lighten the mood a little to help Chen relax but he could see it didn't work. "Lay called us natural disasters that day. We're still missing one element, Chen." Chen looked around, still worried about what his powers would do.
"You can do it, Chen." Suho spoke up, wincing at Chen's jolt at his voice. Chanyeol turned, tossing whether to let his leader close to Chen or not. He decided Suho needed this and Chen needed to trust Suho again. He stepped aside for Suho. "You're stronger than you think." He, tentatively, took a step towards the frightened Chen, pausing when Chen took a step back. "I'm not going to hurt you." He begged his friend to believe him. "I wasn't lying. That place is a pile of ashes under tonnes of thick ice." Chen forced himself to stay still as his leader stepped up to him. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at myself." Chen frowned, confused. "I'm supposed to be taking care of all of you but we've been here for so long now and you learned to take care of yourself and the others." Chen wasn't sure where Suho was going with this. "I've gradually let you take some of my responsibilities to the point where I've become slack." Chen shook his head. Suho was the best leader any of them could have. "That night, I saw you take them all on and I couldn't help."
Chen saw how much guilt his leader was carrying from that day. "You were drugged."
"I wouldn't have been drugged if I didn't drink."
"It was your birthday!" Chen cried in disbelief. "You were supposed to enjoy the night!"
"They tortured you!" Suho denied any excuses.
"It wasn't your fault!" Chen's veins in his neck bulged as he cried out at the injustice of it all. "Those men did it all. It wasn't anyone's fault. They did this to me! They did this to us!" He screamed at the sky. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Lightning lit up the night sky.
They all looked to the sky as Chen called forth the lightning. It was beautiful and frightening at the same time. Tomorrow's morning news will be reporting another phenomenon equalling the spectacular night show two years ago.
Chen put all his energy into lighting up the sky. He dropped to knees as the lightning receded, hanging his head. His breathing was heavy from the effort, sweat dripped down his neck, even on this cold night. Suho knelt in front of him. "Are you okay?" When Chen didn't answer, he gently lifted his head. "Chen?"
Chen looked exhausted but he had a smile on his face. He'd been holding back the lightning for so long, it was a relief to release it into the sky. Suho was right. His powers were a part of him. "I needed that…" Suho would've been relieved had Chen's eyes not rolled back. He started falling back, losing consciousness. Suho grabbed his arm while Xiumin and Chanyeol caught him from behind.
"Chen." Xiumin called as he rested him against his chest.
"Chen." Chanyeol tapped his cheeks. "Lay." He looked up at their healer.
Lay knelt next to Suho and felt for Chen's energy signature. It was faint but it was there. He then felt for a pulse at his neck. It was steady, maybe a little fast. "He's okay. I think that burst of lightning used up too much energy, especially considering he wasn't in the best condition in the first place."
Suho nodded, "Let's get him back to his room and let him sleep it off."
Eight of them sat in the lounge room surrounding Chanyeol's computer. He told them everything he told Suho. There were no longer any secrets between them, just as it should've been all along. "How can we stop them?" Xiumin asked.
"For now, we can only wait. Chanyeol is still trying to find out how the founders get in and out of the building." Suho told them. "Anyway, we can't do anything until Chen's recovered."
"You took a big risk, doing what you did." Xiumin admonished him. "It could've gone very wrong."
"I know. I'm sorry." Suho was still shaking at Chen's words. He had pushed him too far. "I was desperate. Divergent is out there and we don't stand a chance against them without Chen's powers."
"We all handled this badly." Xiumin admitted. "I wanted to protect Chen so badly I made a promise I shouldn't have." He squeezed Suho's shoulder. "You were right. He needed to use his powers."
"We should just tell Chen to light that building up." Baekhyun smiled at the light show Chen put on. He could still see the lightning outside the window.
"Or I could burn it to the ground." Chanyeol suggested.
"I could create an earthquake underneath it." D.O joined in.
"Why don't we just create a natural disaster under the building and let that be it." Sehun grinned.
"Wouldn't that be easy?" Suho let out a tired breath.
Lay smiled at their leader, "We know we need to be smart about this. You're angry that you destroyed the base without finding out more." He sighed and got up. "Relax a little, Suho and let us help you. You didn't let Chen take more responsibility. He took it upon himself to relieve the pressure from you. He's right. You're a great leader but there's only so much you can do on your own. We're all here to help." He nudged his head towards the stairs. "I'm going to check on Chen and then get some sleep. You should all do that as well."
Chen woke up 24 hours later feeling like his entire body was jelly. He frowned when he saw Lay with his palms hovering above his chest. Lay didn't notice Chen was awake. He had his eyes closed, concentrating his energy on Chen. Chen lifted his hand, which felt like he had weight chained to it and tugged at Lay's shirt.
Lay opened his eyes at the small tug. He looked down at his shirt hem and then followed the hand up to Chen's eyes. "Chen!" Chen smiled at him, dropping his hand back onto the bed. "It's about time you woke. I was starting to think you did permanent damage after that light show you put on for the humans." Chen closed his eyes, still too weak to formulate any reply. He felt as if his mind was filled with cotton. "Hey, can you stay awake a little longer? I know you're exhausted. D.O made some beef broth for you. It should give you energy." Chen let out a long, tired breath. He didn't want to stay awake but he knew Lay was right. He opened his eyes and nodded. "I'll help you sit up." Lay worried. The fact that Chen allowed him to do all the work proved how sick Chen was. "I'm going to call Suho and Xiumin. I promised to wake them when you woke up." Chen wanted to tell Lay to let them sleep but he still couldn't muster the energy to talk. Lay chuckled, "My life will be endangered if I don't wake them." He patted Chen on the leg. "We'll be back."
Chen closed his eyes and let the images of floating flames, reflecting light and snow, fill his mind. It sent warmth through his body. When they first used their powers that way, Suho said that he took a picture of that night in his mind, so that he would always remember how strong they were when they're together. It reminded him that his powers did not have to be used to hurt people.
"Chen?"
Chen opened his eyes at his leader's voice. "Sorry, did I wake you?" Suho sat on the bed. Chen shook his head.
Xiumin walked through the door with a bowl of broth. "Here, this should help." He moved to the other side and sat down. From what Lay told him, he knew Chen wouldn't be able to feed himself. "I'll feed you."
Chen felt like a baby being fed but Xiumin did it like it was something he did every day. He blew at the hot broth before spooning it to Chen's lips. Chen felt his energy returning after drinking most of the soup. "Can you thank D.O for me?" He managed to whisper.
Xiumin grinned. "I will. It's good to see you awake again. Lay said you'd feel weak after you wake up."
"Sorry I worried you." Chen looked at Suho. "I'm sorry I accused you of lying."
Suho shook his head as he gripped Chen's hand. "It's me who's sorry. I should've told you the truth."
Chen tried to return the grip. "I know why you didn't. I wouldn't have taken the news well. You're a good leader. I'll follow you till the end." And just like that, all the tension between them vanished.
"We will find out who's behind it all and stop them. That's a promise." Suho said, determined to stop these men from hurting his brothers again.
Chen nodded before closing his eyes. Ever since his ordeal, a headache lingered. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. He rubbed his temple, hoping to rub it away. His fatigue seemed to have caused his headache to go up a notch. "Chen, are you okay?" Xiumin asked when Chen went silent.
Chen opened his eyes to two very worried expressions. "I'm o…" He frowned at the answer he was about to give. He wasn't okay and he didn't want to lie, as much as he wanted to wipe away his friends' concerns. "I've had a headache since you got me out of there." Chen admitted, wincing at the looks his leader and best friend were giving him. It was a mixture of anger, shock and concern.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Xiumin sighed, knowing what the answer was going to be.
Chen shrugged, "It's not bad, just annoying. I didn't want to worry you any more than you already were."
"A headache that has lasted almost a month and you're telling us now." Suho shook his head, frustrated and stood.
Chen looked up at him, worried he was angry. He grabbed Suho's wrist when he looked like he was about to leave. "I'm sorry."
Suho sighed at Chen's concern and fear. He wished for the old Chen; the one who was confident and secure within himself. He gave Chen a comforting smile and patted his hand. "I'm just going to get Lay. Maybe he can help with the headache."
Chen smiled in relief. "Okay." He said, although he knew Lay couldn't do much.
Xiumin watched the exchanged and waited for Suho to leave before he spoke to Chen. He didn't like the way Chen was so insecure. He reached over and ruffled Chen's hair, drawing a shy smile from Chen. "You know, you remind me of the day we first met." Chen's brow furrowed. "Shy, quiet, unsure."
"That's because you were all so cool and intimidating. I was just..."
"The kindest person I've ever met." Xiumin finished for him. "I remember you always hanging around Kai and Sehun when they arrived at the academy. You didn't say much to them because you were so shy with people you didn't know but you stayed to watch over them."
Chen shrugged, "The bullies didn't like them. They called them 'pretty boys'. I was worried."
Xiumin laughed, "You know they thought you were a weirdo, right?"
Chen chuckled, "Yeah, they told me."
Xiumin's smile faded as he reached over and gripped Chen's shoulder. "You were like another person when you got to know everyone. You were confident, funny, articulate, stubborn…fearless. I miss that Chen."
"I'm trying to be that person again, hyung." Chen wiped angrily at the tears that came. "I don't like being scared."
Xiumin pulled Chen into his arms. "The Chen I knew also freely expressed himself, whether he was angry, happy or sad. You don't have to hide how you feel and you don't need to fear disappointing us because it's not possible."
"I know…but I can't help…"
"Suho's angry. We all are but the anger is never directed at you. We're angry for you!" Xiumin pulled back. "We're going to take these guys down and everything is going to go back to the way it was."
"Thanks, Xiumin." Chen smiled, "You always make me feel safe."
Xiumin ruffled his hair again. "You're my little brother."
Lay and Suho stood at the door. They were standing there for a while but didn't want to interrupt the conversation. Xiumin had a way with their younger brothers. He was the eldest, however, he didn't look it. It made talking to him easy. He was also soft-hearted, loyal and fiercely protective.
Lay knocked on the door when the conversation ended. "How's your headache?" He asked, his voice gentle and warm.
Chen gave him a tired smile. Lay was always so gentle. "Lingering." Chen told him.
Lay looked at him sympathetically. "Let's see if I can help." He patted the bottom half of the bed. Chen pushed himself forward with Xiumin's help. Lay grabbed Chen's pillow and placed it against his chest before resting Chen back. He placed two fingers against each of Chen's temples and started massaging, sending healing energy through them.
Chen closed his eyes as he relaxed back against Lay. Suho smiled at Chen's content expression. He knew Lay couldn't get rid of Chen's headache. For Lay to heal someone he had to either see the injury or know what the problem was. He didn't have either and therefore could only make Chen comfortable. Lay was sending him into, what he called, a healing trance. It allowed his mind and body to rest.
"Hmmm…" Chen pulled his blanket up to his shoulders. "Thank you, Ge Ge."
Lay smiled at his nickname. Only Chen called him that. It was a Chinese word he had learned when they promoted over there. It was an affectionate way of saying big brother. Little kids always added it after the names of their elder friends or brothers. Chen took it up as soon as he heard a little boy calling out to his big brother, crying because he thought he had lost him. He said it reminded him of a time on their home planet. Chen was only ten when he met Lay, who was a few years older than him. He was separated from his parents and was crying in a small alley when Lay found him. Lay didn't say anything to him. He just sat down next to him and gave him some candy. Chen didn't know why at the time but he felt safe with him. It wasn't until years later that they met again and he learned of Lay's powers. He had used his powers that day to make him feel safe. "Go to sleep, Chen Chen."
Xiumin helped Lay settle Chen onto the bed once he fell into a deep sleep. They tucked the blanket around his shoulders and turned out the lights.
It was almost morning when Chen's sleep was interrupted by an image in his mind. It was an old man looking down at him but his face was blurry. Chen blinked his eyes hard to clear his vision. Suddenly the man appeared right in front of him, causing him to jolt. Chen shot up from his bed, breathing heavily and sweating like he'd just run a marathon.
Xiumin had woken up to Chen's heavy breathing. When he looked over, he saw his friend tensely gripping his blanket. He rushed over, gently taking Chen's hand as he called, "Chen." He had to jump back quickly to avoid getting headbutted by Chen when he suddenly shot up from his bed. "Chen." He called again, gently brushing aside his wet bangs. "Another nightmare?"
Chen's eyes finally focused on his friend. He shook his head, trembling. "Xiumin." He gasped. "I think I saw the man behind all this." Xiumin's eyes widened in shock. "I think…he was there." Chen closed his eyes, rubbing the heels of his palms against his temples. "I can see him." The blurry image wasn't a dream, it was a memory, but it was supressed by his fear and his drugged state at the facility.
Xiumin rubbed his hands up and down Chen's arms, unsure of how to proceed. If Chen really did see the man then they needed to know what else Chen may remember but at the same time he didn't want Chen to relive the nightmare. They finally got Chen on the mend, this could reverse everything. "I think we better talk to the others." He said, knowing he couldn't keep this from them. "Go wash up and I'll get everyone together." He sighed at the pinch he could see in the corner of Chen's eyes. "How bad is your headache?"
"It's okay." Chen answered although the tone of his voice told Xiumin it was less than okay.
Xiumin nodded, "Wash up and get dressed. We'll be in the living room." Chen nodded.
Chen could tell that Xiumin had filled the other in on what he knew. He could see their concern as he walked down the stairs. Chen put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie when he noticed Baekhyun looking at them. They were shaking. Lay was standing behind the couch, gesturing for him to sit down. Chen smiled at him. He knew Lay wanted to use his powers to ease his headache.
"Are you going to send me to sleep again?" Chen asked as he sat down between Xiumin and Baekhyun.
Lay started massaging his shoulders. "You're very tense. Relaxing will help your headache."
Chen noticed a drawing pad on the table. He knew what it was for. "Do you want me to describe the man I saw?"
"Don't rush, Chen." Suho warned him. "Take it a little time and let Lay help you first."
Chen closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "I think he's one of us." He kept his eyes closed even as gasps of shock sounded around him. He tried to recall the first day he was in that room. "They gave me something. It made me feel like I was underwater. I could barely control my breathing."
Xiumin already wanted to stop him from talking. Even though Chen sounded calm, he could see the sweat across his brow. He looked up at Lay who was now massaging Chen's temples. He gave Xiumin a reassuring smile. Lay could feel Chen's energy. As Chen spoke, Lay helped him regulate his breathing and heartbeat, keeping him as calm as possible.
"He stood over me. I was so weak I couldn't focus. He put his hand against my forehead. It was cold, almost like ice." Chen's brow furrowed and Lay could feel him start to tremble. He moved his warm hand around to his forehead, gently pulling him back, contradicting the icy hand in his mind. "I could feel him in my mind. It was like a worm wriggling through my memories."
Suho's eyes widened as he remembered the type of power Chen was talking about. On their home planet, the military were divided into five levels. Level five were non-powered beings. Level four were highly intelligent but non-powered beings. Level three were ones with powers but non-elemental like Baekhyun and Lay's. Level two were elementals such as Chen and Sehun. And then there was Level One. These men and women had psychic abilities. They could read or control minds. There were also astral projectionists, illusionists and clairvoyants. These were considered the most dangerous and powerful of all powered beings and were usually the highest-ranking members within the military. Suho was doubtful when Xiumin told him Chen believed their captor was one of them but now he knew Chen was right. Not only was he from their planet but he was one of the most powerful of them all. This situation just got worse.
"What was he trying to get from you?"
Chen shook his head. "I don't know. I tried to fight him but I couldn't. Every time I resisted, someone gave me another injection."
Chanyeol clenched his fist. "If he's from our home then why is he doing this to us?"
"Do you think all nine of the heads of Divergent are like us?" D.O asked.
Chen shook his head again. "I could feel him when he was in my mind. It felt…cold…alone."
"Describe him to us." Suho requested, softly. "Try to remember as much detail as you can."
The face in his mind grew clearer. The man's dark expressionless eyes made him shiver.
Baekhyun could feel Chen trembling again. "Maybe we should stop and let him rest first."
"No!" Chen's eyes flew open. "Let me do this. I don't want to lose his image. I can see him."
Lay gently closed his hand over Chen's eyes. "Relax." He ordered. "Take a deep breath before you start." Chen did as he was asked.
Kai picked up the pencil and drawing pad. He hoped the could draw what Chen described. He'd never done this before. D.O gave his leg a pat. "Just do your best." Kai nodded.
"Start with his eyes, Chen." Kai requested.
"Narrow. One eye-fold. Small. The eyelid droops down slightly on each side." Chen spoke methodically, not wanting to miss out on any detail. "His irises are dark. Cold."
"How about his nose?"
"Wide. Meaty around the nostrils. Almost looks like those masks you wear with the glasses and big nose." Chen smiled when he heard his friends snickering. "Oh, he wears glasses. Round. Semi-frameless."
"Mouth?"
"Thin. Small. Upper lip is thicker. Corners come down. His cleft is deep. Narrow but taller than usual." Chen started drooping. He was getting tired and his headache was growing again.
Lay could feel Chen struggling now. He was using all his concentration on keeping the image of the man in his mind. "Relax. You're doing well." He massaged the knots forming at the base of Chen's neck. He gestured for Kai to stop for a moment. "Stop forcing yourself."
Xiumin slipped his hand into Chen's, gripping it. "You can clearly see the man. You're not going to forget his face now. Listen to Lay. Relax."
Chen let out a long breath, trying to release the tenseness in his body. Lay smiled and nodded for Kai to continue.
"What else can you tell me?"
"His eyebrows are thick but only at the ends. His hair is dark with grey along the front hair line. He has sideburns."
"How about the shape of his face?" Kai asked. He was glad it was almost over.
"Round. He's about sixty years old. He looks tired. Bags under his eyes."
Chen slowly opened his eyes, breathing heavily but not too fast. Baekhyun squeezed the back of his neck. "Well done."
Chen smiled at him, tiredly before turning to Kai. "Can I see it?"
Kai added a few details before nervously showing Chen the portrait. Chen gasped. "That's him." He grinned at Kai. "I knew you were good but this is amazing."
Kai smiled proudly. "You gave me a lot of details."
"Thank you." Chen snuggled down lower, tucking himself against Baekhyun. He could truly relax now that the image of the man was no longer only in his mind.
Lay laid the throwover, hanging on the back of the couch, over Chen, tucking it around his shoulders. "He only just woke up." Baekhyun worried at how exhausted Chen was.
Lay dropped into the other couch. "You have no idea how much energy he was using to keep that image in his head."
Suho frowned at him. "You look ready to fall asleep yourself."
Lay smiled at him, amused. "You have no idea how much energy it took me to keep him from hyperventilating."
Suho nodded, "Good job." He took the portrait off Kai. "Both of you." He looked at the man in the picture. "Now, what do I do with you?"
"At least we have a face now." Chanyeol looked at the picture. "We know who we're dealing with."
"We know where he is." Xiumin added.
"We need to know how he gets in and out of that building." Suho let out a frustrated sigh.
"We should get the blueprint of that building." Sehun suggested. "The original ones. It should tell us if there are any tunnels built…" He started clicking his fingers. "Or the history books! In the old days, palaces and rich merchants built tunnels under their homes. Some of those tunnels could still exist."
"Good thinking. So, you actually did learn something at those night classes you insisted to take after we arrived here." Chanyeol grinned cheekily. He shut his eyes when a gust of wind blew straight into his face.
Sehun laughed and pulled Chanyeol to his feet. "Come on. You can take me to the library."
"Why me? I'm a computer person not a book person." Chanyeol whined as he was pulled by their youngest
D.O shook his head at Chanyeol. He was like a big kid. He looked at Chen who was sleeping so soundly against Baekhyun. "We need to bring down that company or at least chop off its head."
Xiumin chuckled, "You're making too many movies, D.O. That was a little dramatic." Then he stopped. "But true. We can't let them come after us again."
"It's not just that." Lay told them. "Chen's headache is linked to that man and even though he doesn't complain, I can tell it's getting worse." He frowned thoughtfully.
"What is it?" D.O asked. Everyone sat forward. They've seen that look before. It usually came when inspiration for a song came along.
"I think the man left a psychic link between himself and Chen."
A cold air descended in the room. They suddenly felt like something was watching them. "Do you think…" Kai started looking around, nervously.
"No…I don't think he can…" Lay frowned, trying to find the right words. "Establish a link?" He looked around, making sure they were following him. "But I think he's trying and failing."
"That's why Chen's headache won't go away." Suho shook his head, angry. "The man keeps trying."
Baekhyun's hand, unconsciously came up to Chen's head, protecting him from any psychic attacks. "What can we do?"
"As soon as we figure out how to get into that building we're going there to put a stop to this." Suho was determined. He couldn't let this go on any longer. Chen was counting on them.
Six hours later…
Chen grew concerned as he watched his friends fawn over the blueprints and history books. They were getting close to figuring out where the tunnels were. By comparing the blueprints to diagrams in the books, they were getting a good picture of the tunnels. Chen worried because he knew as soon as they were sure they would head over there. The thought alone made him break out in sweat. "Guys…" He called out, shakily as he started having trouble breathing. "Guys…" He called again, pulling at his shirt. "Guys!" Chen could feel the sweat running down his neck.
"Chen!" Xiumin got onto the couch, taking in his pale friend. "What's wrong?" He asked as he turned Chen to face him.
"You can't go. They have weapons they can use against us." Chen tried to tell him between breaths.
Lay put a hand on Chen's arm. "Calm down and breathe, Chen."
Chen turned to him, shaking his head, desperately. "You can't go!"
Suho sighed. He should've known this would happen. There was no way Chen could be okay with them facing the man who tortured him. He got up on his knees and spoke as confidently as he ever had. "Chen, we're military trained. We were the best of the best on our base. It's been a while but it was drilled into us."
"We were trained as a unit. We've had each other's backs since we were thirteen. That man may be a Psy but he's only one person." Baekhyun was so confident in their ability, Chen had no choice but believe in them. "We're a team."
Chen took a deep breath, calming himself. "Then I'm coming with you."
"NO!" Everyone protested, jumping to their feet.
"Are you expecting me to stay here while you all risk your lives?" Chen asked in disbelief.
Suho got off the floor and sat on the table, facing Chen. "You're in no condition to come with us. You almost hyperventilated after just talking about going there. What's going to happen if you do go?"
"We will watch each other's back, hyung. Don't worry." Sehun assured his brother.
"How can I not worry? You're walking into a place we know nothing about." Chen shook his head. "We know what they're capable of. If you go in there you might not…" Chen drifted off, too scared to finish the sentence. "What am I supposed to do then?"
"We will come…"
"Don't make a promise you can't keep." Chen growled at Suho. "I'm not five."
"We have to stop these people, Chen." Xiumin begged him to understand. "Or at least cut that mental link he has to you."
Chen sighed, sitting back. "I'd rather live with this headache."
"Chen…"
"No." Chen got off the lounge. "Do whatever you want but I'll never agree to it. I'll never forgive you if you don't come back." He left the room, leaving them in silence.
Lay sighed at Chen's retreating form. He knew Chen was right. If the roles were reversed there was no way any one of them would stay behind. They needed to think this through. "Anyone have any ideas?" He asked once he heard Chen's door slam shut.
"One of us can stay with him?" Even as Kai said it he knew it wasn't going to work. For one, they all wanted to bring the SOB down. Secondly, whoever stayed behind would be feeling exactly the way Chen was feeling right now. Nobody wanted to be the one left behind, scared and unsure.
"Besides, like we said; we were trained as a unit. Our abilities complement each other. In battle, we read each other's minds. It's why even Psy's find us a challenge." D.O spoke up. In situations like these he was the most logical minded. They relied on him to evaluate their problems. "It's how we're trained. Anyway, there's one more reason why the old man is finding it hard to make a connection with Chen."
Suho frowned, remembering something from their training days. "Our mental instructor spent a lot of time with Chen."
D.O nodded, "There were days he would come back from a one-on-one training with him, drained to the point where he'd collapse into his bed."
"That's right. He slept for hours." Sehun remembered staying by Chen's bed each time it happened.
"He was trained to fight psychic attacks. Chen's ability allows him to create a static field around us, disrupting psychic attacks." D.O reminded them.
"That explains why the old man chose Chen. Breaking Chen meant easier control over all of us." Suho finally understood and then he sighed. "Which means we can't do this without him."
"He's not ready." Xiumin answered straight away. "We can't…"
"I know." Suho interrupted him, knowing how protective Xiumin was of Chen. "Besides, he only just started using his powers again. He'll have to retrain himself to create the static field."
Chanyeol looked around as everyone worried over the dilemma. "For now, we should continue doing our homework on this building. We're still not sure about the tunnels. So, until we can be sure, we can't do anything anyway."
Lay nodded, "Chanyeol's right. We can use this time to plan our defence and attack. We can scout the building as well."
D.O agreed, "We've done this plenty of times for missions. It's been a while but…" He gave a devious smile, "I kind of miss it."
Baekhyun rubbed his hands together and then rolled his shoulders, "I'm a little rusty. I think it's time we trained again."
Suho smiled at his team. It was like the old days. "I have faith in all of us."
Chen sat up in his bed, listening to music. He had his noise-cancelling earphones in and turned up. He wanted something to drown out any bad thoughts and his headache. The headache was more than just annoying now. It was like someone was pounding on the door in his head. Chen turned up the volume until it was at its maximum and closed his eyes, trying to calm his heart. Blood pounded in his ears in time with his heart. The music wasn't helping. The headache made him lose his concentration and thoughts of his friends running into danger started flooding his mind. "No." He squeezed his eyes tight and covered his ears. "Stop." Chen started rocking in the bed. "Stop." He gasped.
Xiumin and Kai knocked on the door. They wanted to tell Chen the good news. He'd be happy to hear they wouldn't be running into any danger without a plan or without him. Xiumin knocked again when he got no answer. "Chen?" He frowned at Kai before trying the handle. It wasn't locked. He pushed the door open. "Chen?"
"Stop."
Xiumin's eyes widened in horror at Chen's state. "Chen!" He bolted to his side, wrapping his around him, holding him tight.
Chen was shocked at the sudden embrace and panicked. "NO!" He pushed against Xiumin, trapped deep in his thoughts of his friends in enemy hands. "No!"
Kai ran to the other side of the bed, "Chen." He gripped Chen's shoulder as he struggled against Xiumin. "Chen! It's just Xiumin!" He frowned when he realised Chen had earphones off. He pulled one out and squeezed between Chen and Xiumin to pull out the other. "Chen." He called again.
Chen froze when the noise was pulled from him. He heard someone calling his name. "Chen, you're okay." Xiumin reassured him when he felt Chen freeze. "Sssshhh…" He comforted as he combed his fingers through Chen's hair.
Kai gingerly put the earphones to his ears and winced at the blasting music. "I'm amazed he's not deaf." He told Xiumin. Xiumin only hugged his friend closer. He sighed, not knowing what he could do to help his friend. Every time he thinks Chen's recovering, something else sends him back again.
"I can feel him, hyung." Chen's voice shook against Xiumin's chest. "He won't stop."
Xiumin clenched his jaw. He tried his hardest to keep his temper in check. He wanted to tell Chen he would kill the man for him. He wanted to assure him that he would never touch Chen again but they were all empty words that would do nothing for his brother.
Kai was about to teleport to get Lay when he remembered D.O's words about Chen's abilities. Chen may not be strong enough to create a static field around all of them but he could create one within himself. "Hyung, help him build a shield around his mind." Xiumin frowned at him. "Remember what D.O said. Chen was trained to block psychic attacks."
Xiumin nodded. Seeing Chen in such a mess made him forget about what they were talking about earlier. He loosened his hold on Chen but kept his arms around him. "Chen, listen to me." Chen had told him about the process of building a psychic wall. He was fascinated with what Chen had told him after he perfected the skill. "Do you remember back home, there was a forest we liked to camp out in?" He rubbed his hand up and down Chen's arms, hypnotically. "The middle of the forest was the greenest. The trees were so tall and dense that it only let in small specks of light. It was like stars in the day time." Chen's breathing started evening out as Xiumin voice drew out the beautiful memory. "You're sitting on the forest floor. The trees are shielding you from the outside world but it's not strong enough to keep everything out. You need to make it stronger. If you throw a net of electricity through the tree, then everything inside will be protected."
Kai could see the sweat beading across Chen's forehead. He pulled down his sleeves and dabbed at the sweat around his head and neck. It may sound like a relaxing process but the concentration required of Chen was immense, especially when he was already too weak. This was only a field around himself and it was taking everything he had. "You can do it, Chen." It was soft but was said with confidence.
"Can you see the electricity sparkling through the trees, Chen? That's you. That's your powers. It will protect you and your friends when you need it the most." Those were the words Chen's instructor had said to him. It was those words that made Chen realise how important his powers were. They weren't powers of destruction, like he had always thought. They could protect as well.
The pounding in Chen's head subsided. It was barely a light tapping now. The shield was successfully erected around his mind. Chen opened his eyes. That small action was hard. Xiumin smiled at him. "You did it." Chen gave a tired smile before letting himself drift off into an exhausted sleep. Xiumin lowered him on the pillow and Kai pulled up the covers.
"You did a good job, hyung." Kai told his oldest brother.
"You thought of it." Xiumin smiled proudly at him. "The easiest solution was to call Lay but you came up with the long-term solution and Chen's proven to himself that he still has control of his powers. Thank you, Kai."
Kai shook his head, amused. "Sometimes you forget that Chen isn't only your responsibility. We're all just as protective of him."
Xiumin nodded, "You're right. We take care of each other."
Kai sighed at how tired Chen looked even in his sleep, "He needs this to be over. We all need this to be over."
"We're one step closer. When Chen wakes up, he's going to remember what he can do and he's going to become our guardian again…" Xiumin smiled at the man in the bed, "Because it's in his nature to take care of the people he loves."
Divergent…
The old man slammed his hand against the table when he completely lost connection with the Elemental. Looks like he may have underestimated this group. They were powerful. He had to bring them under control or take them out. With them out there, they were a threat to his reign.
12 hours later…
Chen walked around the house. His friends weren't in the living room or in their rooms. His concern started growing when he felt the apartment tremble a little. D.O? Chen started towards the roof of the apartment. His eyes widened at the sight of his friends using their powers to battle each other or sparring. "What are you all doing?!" He ran over to the ledge and looked over. "Our neighbours are going to call the Men In Black!" He turned back to them and found eight grinning faces. "What are you smiling about? Chanyeol, you can't just throw fireballs all over the place!"
Chanyeol laughed, "Don't worry, Chen."
"Don't worry! We're not supposed to be advertising our superpowers! Remember, it's just a concept to our fans." Chen couldn't understand why they were being so carefree.
"Chen, look around the ledge carefully." Suho ordered him to calm down and use his eyes.
Chen frowned, annoyed but did as he was asked. He ran his eyes along to the ledge until he saw one. It was a small piece of tech from their home planet. They had a storage unit where they put all their technology from home. "What is that?"
Chanyeol walked over to him and swung his arm over his shoulders. "There are five of them around our building. It's creating a mirror dome around this roof. It's reflecting the outside, making what we're doing invisible."
Chen let out a sigh of relief, "I thought you'd gone crazy." Then he realised what they were doing. He looked at them, worried again. "You're practicing to take on Divergent and the Old Man."
Suho nodded, "We are."
"You're going to go no matter what?"
"We don't have a choice, Chen. We can't let them control this country." Xiumin told him. "This place is our home now. We have to protect it."
"How's your headache?" Lay asked, changing the subject for the moment.
Chen nodded, but still worried about his friends putting themselves in danger. "It's gone."
Xiumin grinned, "That's great!"
"Yeah! We need your lightning to fight this guy." Baekhyun smiled cheekily at Chen.
Chen frowned at him and then narrowed his eyes, "You better not be joking."
Sehun laughed, "It's hard to tell with Baekhyun."
"He's not joking, hyung. We do need you." Kai confirmed.
D.O wanted to laugh at Chen's expression. He wasn't sure what to believe. Kai was another cheeky member who tended to tease a lot. "We need your powers to fight the Psy."
Chen's eyes widened when he realised why his headache was gone. He turned to Xiumin. "You talked me through building my mental defence."
Xiumin smiled, "You told me about your training back home. I just repeated what you described."
"I forgot about that." Chen looked around at everyone. "I need to build a static field around everyone." They all smiled at him confidently. He looked at his hand as he created a ball of electricity. It felt so natural. A devious smile formed as he turned his attention onto Baekhyun.
Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as he back away, cautiously. "Cheeeennn…" He warned.
"I used to do this to keep you on your toes…think fast!" Chen shot out a bolt of lightning at him. Baekhyun backflipped to avoid it. Chen grinned, "I thought you'd be rusty."
Baekhyun shook his head at Chen but he was smiling. It was so good to have their Chen back again. "This means war." Each member took their positions. Defensive versus offensive. It was like the old days and they were still the best.
Two weeks later…
The team were waiting at their designated places around the building. It was past midnight and the building was left with a skeleton crew. It was the best time to attack. Their scouting told them that the Old Man never left the building. The other eight moved in and out of the tunnels but they never saw the Old Man. He lived in this building. For the past week, Chanyeol hacked into the electricity company, controlling the grid around the building. At random times, he would cause a surge in the grid, temporarily short circuiting it. At first the building went into a lockdown but after a couple more days and calls made to the electricity company, the security relaxed. Chanyeol was ready to turn their electricity off one more time for the team to enter the building and then set the security cameras onto a loop.
The security guards didn't even flinch when the electricity went out. They were used to it now. It would come back on in a few minutes. The team entered from different sides of the building, hiding in the stairwell. Chanyeol used his tablet to guide the team to the basement. The few guards they did run into were easily taken out by the elementals of the group. They got to the lifts and went straight down. 18 levels below ground. It was amazing how far down the tunnels were. They could only imagine how many died to build them for the Kings and Queens.
"Kai, there are guards at the lift doors." Chanyeol told him.
Kai smirked, "Not for long." He disappeared and then reappeared ten seconds later, grimacing and shaking his hands. "That hurt. They have hard heads." He pouted and held out his hand to Lay.
Lay rolled his eyes and smacked his hand away. "I have better use of my powers than to fix a boo-boo." He looked over at Chen, worried.
D.O followed his gaze and saw why Lay was worried. A sheen of sweat covered Chen's forehead and neck. The concentration of keeping up the static field around all of them was taking a toll on him. "Chen, how are you holding up?"
Chen smiled at him, "I can do this for days." He boasted.
D.O shook his head at his bravado, "Show off." Chen grinned, hoping it would ease his friends' worries.
"Ssshh..." Chanyeol hushed, "We're here." The air turned serious.
"Stay in formation and keep Chen in the centre." Suho order, leading the group with Chanyeol and Sehun beside him. Xiumin, D.O and Kai brought up the rear. Baekhyun and Lay stayed beside Chen. They walked ten metres and encountered nobody. "Something's wrong. This is too easy."
"The room we want to get to is right ahead." Chanyeol told them.
Suddenly, masked men appeared from behind and in front of them. Xiumin sighed, "What did you say about this being easy?" Gas started coming out of vents from above them.
Sehun looked up and shook his head. He blew the gas towards the masked men with a wave of his hand. "They have to do better than that."
Xiumin threw up an ice wall once the gas passed them. "Now we don't have to worry about them."
Sehun and Chanyeol worked together to take out the men in front of them. EXO were ready for them today. They were the best on their planet, taking out humans was nothing compared with the battles they fought on their home planet. "Now what?" Sehun asked.
Suho shrugged as they reached the door at the end of the corridor. "Now we go through."
Chen winced at the invisible force in his head. "He's in there." He grunted, pushing the heels of his hands against his temples. "He's strong." Lay placed a hand against his back and sent his energy into Chen, giving him a boost. Chen sighed at the small relief, nodding his thanks.
"Let's get in there." Baekhyun clenched his fists, ready for the fight.
The room was enormous and spacious with only a board table in the middle. At the head of that table was the old man. He smiled at them. Chen and his eyes met. "Aaahhh!" A blinding pain sent Chen to his knees. It was meant to break down his shield but Chen managed to keep it up.
"Chen!" Lay helped him back onto his feet. Chen huffed as he got the pain under control.
"I'm okay." Chen told his friends. "He just took me by surprise." He glared at the Old Man who was smiling at him, impressed. Then with a wave of his hand, doors from around the room opened, letting over twenty masked men surround them.
Baekhyun smirked, "Is that all the men you have?" He winced when another twenty or so men came through the doors.
"You had to asked, didn't you?" Chanyeol growled at him.
"We can still handle them." Baekhyun said, a little unsure.
They stood at defence. Suho looked around and smiled, confidently. The men had guns. He held up his hands and concentrated, "Let's make this a little fairer."
The team started chuckling when men held waterlogged guns. "Ah Suho! It was fair before! Now it's like taking candy from a baby." Chanyeol heated the guns until the men could no longer hold them. "Looks like you boys will have to get your hands dirty." With that, the battle began.
Chen didn't join in the fighting. He needed to keep up the shield to protect his team from psychic attacks. It took a lot of energy and he could feel his concentrating slipping.
"You won't be able to keep it up for long." The Old Man said to him, smiling. "You are strong. Stronger than any elemental I have ever met but you still have a lot to learn, boy."
"What's that?" Chen gasped. He tried to not show how much effort he was using to keep the shield up.
"You can't protect them forever." He sneered. "You will lose your hold on your shield and one by one, your friends will fall."
Chen took a step closer to the Old Man. "Why are you doing this?" He confidently stood in the middle of the battle because he knew his friends wouldn't let anyone touch him. "You're one of us. Why would you do this?"
The old man shook his head, snickering. "How can you not see it? On our world, we were soldiers but on this world…" He stood from his seat, "We are gods!"
Chen shook his head at the egomaniac, "It's people like you who destroyed our world!"
"This world will be a better one under my ruling!"
"That will never happen." Chen promised. "This world is our home now. We won't let what happened to our world happen to this one."
The Old Man increased his powers, "You will submit and join me!" Chen gasped at the pressure in his head, bring his hand to his head. "You can't beat me!"
The team took down the men, two or three at a time until no one was left standing. These men didn't stand a chance. They turned to the Old Man and stood behind their friend who looked ready to collapse. "Chen." Baekhyun put a hand on his shoulder.
Chen was losing the mental battle. "AAAHHHH!" He spun at the sound of Baekhyun's cry who was on the floor, cradling his head in his hands. The shock of his scream caused his concentration to slip further. One by one his friends fell to the ground, clutching their heads.
"No." Chen gasped. He looked up at the man, who was smiling triumphantly. "Stop! Please." He dropped to his knees when Sehun cried out to him. Chen turned to his youngest brother, who writhed in pain, but Sehun's cry wasn't to beg him to help him. His eyes spoke volumes. Don't give in.
"You can stop their pain, Chen. All you need to do, is let me in." The Old Man laughed.
"Leave them alone!" Chen begged, gasping when someone grabbed his hand. It was his leader. "Suho…I'm sorry." His tears fell. Suho smiled at him through the pain, telling him he was proud of him. He looked at each of his friends. They were all in pain but their eyes told him they still had faith in him. He couldn't fail them.
Chen took a deep breath and rose to his feet. "You want me to let you in?" His eyes sparked yellow as he glared at the man who had tortured him and was now torturing his brothers. He nodded slowly. "I'll let you in." The Old Man grinned, believing he had won. Chen dropped the static field and opened his mind to the psychic link. He gasped at the invasion. Fingers clawed through his head as the man rummaged through his mind. The Old Man was greedy. He wanted to know everything. He was so immersed in Chen's memories of his training that he let his hold on the others go.
Baekhyun gasped in relief when the pain in his head subsided. He looked up and saw Chen in an almost catatonic state. "Chen!" Slowly, the others rose to their feet, calling their friend's name, but a lightning field surrounded him and they were forced to stay back. "Chen!"
Chen wasn't in the control of the Old Man. He was once taught by his instructor that his powers could be used mentally to fight a psychic attack but it was usually used as a last resort because both he and his attacker could die. Once a link was established, an electric surge could be sent through the link and take out the enemy but because of the psychic link, anyone connected would feel the blast. Chen had to wait for the man to release his friends before he could attack. He smiled when he heard his brothers' voices. They were free. "You're strong." Chen spoke.
The team went silent at his voice. It was quiet and confident but it was also cold. It scared them. "Chen, what are you doing?" Xiumin asked, afraid of what was about to happen.
"You made one mistake." Chen told the Old Man and felt his presence in his mind pause. He smirked, "My friends are my strength. When I trained to fight psychic attacks, I was told my greatest strength would come from my need to protect my brothers. They are the reason I exist. They are my reason for living." Tears ran down their faces as Chen spoke of his love for them. They felt proud and scared at the same time because they knew what Chen was about to do. Chen had told them of his ability and they had promised themselves that they would do everything in their power to make sure Chen never had to do what he was taught. It was why they were such a great team. They were motivated. "It doesn't matter where I am, whether it is here on Earth or on Planet EXO. I am home as long as I am with my brothers. Anyone who tries to take them away from me will not survive." Chen's eyes sparked and for the first time the Old Man felt fear, but it was too late. He didn't realise Chen had a hold of him.
"Chen, don't do this." Chanyeol begged him, crying.
"Chen…" Tears ran down their faces.
Chen closed his eyes, letting a tear drop. "Gomawo, brothers. Saranghae."
"Chen!" They called out.
"You will NEVER touch them again!" Chen screamed out as he sent the full force of his power through the psychic link. "Goodbye, brothers." He whispered before his psychic blast sent both he and the Old Man flying back.
"CHEN!"
Chen hit the wall hard before sliding to the ground, his head hanging lifeless as he sagged against the wall. "Chen!" Baekhyun reached him first. "Chen!" He lifted his friend's head and felt for a pulse. "Please don't do this." He begged.
Chen's brothers stood around him as they waited in silence for Baekhyun to tell them if their brother was alive. They were shaking. "Please…" Sehun prayed, linking his fingers so tight that his knuckles were white.
Baekhyun let a gasp when he felt it. It was so light, he almost missed it. "Lay!" He reached up and pulled the healer to knees. "Help him. He's alive." Those words were like a burst of fresh air. Baekhyun dropped back, his legs turning to jelly.
Lay frantically laid his hands over Chen's chest and sent his energy into him.
As their leader, Suho knew he needed to do something other than watch. He turned to D.O and gestured for him to follow. Chen may have taken out the Old Man but they needed to make sure he was gone from their lives for good. He knelt by the body of their enemy and shook his head. He will never understand the need to conquer a world. Why couldn't people be satisfied with what they had? Suho felt for a pulse. If Chen survived then he could too. He sighed. The man was dead. Suho didn't take any satisfaction in his death because it was a life after all. He was also one of them. "He's dead."
D.O nodded. "What do you want us to do?"
Suho shook his head, knowing D.O thought he wanted him and the others to demolish this place but he wanted to do it right this time. He will follow Earth's laws for most parts. "We need to destroy any evidence of our existence and then we're going to send all of their files to the police and let them deal with the CEOs of this company." They walked back over to their friends. "How is he?"
Chanyeol caught Lay as he dropped back, exhausted from using his powers. "I've done all I can. I've healed his physical injuries but I can't do anything for his mind."
"What does that mean?" Kai asked, fearing the answer.
"It means, he's in a coma." Xiumin answered. "He gave himself a massive psychic blast to take down the Old Man. There's only so much his mind could take, especially after the mental battle he had with him."
"Will he wake up?" Sehun asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to.
Lay shook his head, "I don't know."
Suho knew his team wanted a better answer but Lay couldn't give it and there was no point drilling him for one. "Kai, take Lay and Chen home." Kai nodded. He gathered Chen into his arms and reached over, clasping Lay's hand. In a blink of an eye Kai disappeared.
"Chanyeol, go through their main computer and…" Suho sighed. It was an impossible job that could take days…even weeks. He wanted to do this right but he couldn't risk the humans finding out about them. They were already in the public eye. He couldn't risk their identities being unmasked. "Wipe out their mainframe and then we're going to destroy this place. D.O, weaken the main structure holding up this building. I want it to look like the tunnels caused the collapse of the building." D.O frowned, not understanding the change in the plan. "It'll take too long for Chanyeol to find every piece of evidence of our existence. We need this place gone." D.O nodded. "Chanyeol, set off the fire alarm and evacuate the building once you've deleted everything from their servers."
"No problem."
"It'll take a while for Chanyeol to do that. Let's use this time to find any proof of their illegal activities and send it to the police. I want the CEOs of this company arrested if possible." Suho wanted to take down everyone but if they couldn't find evidence he would have to settle for the destruction of the building. "Let's go!"
Lay laid in his bed, watching over his brother. He wondered what excuse Suho was going to come up with to explain Chen being in a coma to their managers. They didn't even know if Chen would wake up. For the next week, they were off the hook because they had down time before the start of the second half of their tour but after that, it would be hard to explain.
Lay smiled as he thought about Chen's words before he sacrificed himself for his brothers. He was home as long as he was with his brothers. They were a family. He sighed, "Was there not another way to take down the Old Man?" He asked his comatosed brother. "You've always been stubborn. You would protect us no matter what the cost. You knew…didn't you?" Tears ran down onto the pillow. "You knew all along there was only one way to defeat that man." Lay wiped away his tears. "Well I can be as stubborn as you. I don't care if it's a long shot. I'm going to use every ounce of my power to wake you up. That's a promise."
Three days later…
Xiumin watched Lay use his powers again to wake Chen up. It was no use. They all knew it but Lay wouldn't stop and they could see it was draining his energy. He was deathly pale. Xiumin would let him continue if he knew it would wake Chen up but he couldn't and he couldn't lose another member of his family. Xiumin knew Lay would hate him for this. He grabbed the man and pulled him away from Chen. "Get out of here!" Xiumin yelled at him.
Lay was shocked at being dragged away from his friend. "What are you doing? I need to help Chen."
"You can't help him if you kill yourself!" Xiumin shoved him out the door and slammed it shut, freezing the frame so that no one could enter. He leaned his back against the door, shutting his ears to Lay's banging and begging.
"Hyung!" Lay slammed his hands against the door. "Let me in! Chen needs me!" He kicked and banged the door until he exhausted himself. "Xiumin! Let me in." He cried as he slid down the door. "Let me help him." His head hung as he sobbed into his arms. Feet appeared in front of him. He looked up and saw Chanyeol. "Chanyeol!" He grasped the man's hands and pulled himself up.
Chanyeol helped his friend to his feet. He heard Lay's cries but he didn't answer because he knew why Xiumin had locked him out.
"Chanyeol, melt the ice. Xiumin won't let me in." Lay begged him, desperately.
Chanyeol shook his head, sadly, "You're going to collapse if you keep trying to heal Chen." Lay looked at him in disbelief. He didn't understand why they weren't helping him. This was Chen. "Chen won't want you to. He didn't sacrifice himself for you to drain your energy."
"I can help him." Lay tried to convince him. He wasn't even convincing himself.
Chanyeol shook his head again, "We all know how your power works. You can't heal someone when you don't know what the problem is." Chanyeol pulled his friend into his arms when he saw the hope fade from his eyes. "It doesn't mean you're giving up on him." Lay sobbed in his arms. "It means you have faith in our brother to wake up on his own." Chanyeol hugged him, comforted him until he exhausted himself out. "Come on. It's time for you to rest." He led his brother back to his room for a much-needed sleep.
Xiumin was sitting on the floor against the door. He sighed in relief when he heard Chanyeol lead Lay away. "Thank you, Chanyeol." He knew his friends would back his decision but he didn't give them any warning. He just couldn't let Lay continue. Chanyeol was right. Chen wouldn't want him to exhaust himself. Xiumin pushed himself up and walked over to Chen. Three days. How long did they have to wait? He pushed Chen's hair back with one hand while gripping his hand with the other. "I know you did what you thought was right but this isn't a good ending. Sacrificing yourself isn't romantic or heroic. You're leaving us on this planet without you." Chen was his best friend. They've had each other's backs since they were kids. The day they met, they've been inseparable. Something about Chen always triggered his protective side. He wasn't sure if it was because he was always so shy in new situations or if it was because Chen had a protective side himself. Chen always took care of the others and so Xiumin took care of him. Xiumin loved all his brothers but he always had a soft spot for Chen. Chen could play pranks of him all day, every day and Xiumin wouldn't get angry. To him, he was always Chennie Chennie. He laughed when he remembered Chen telling someone that he knew Xiumin was not in a good mood when he didn't call him 'Chennie Chennie.' "You need to wake up, Chen. I can't do any of this without you." His voice hitched as he spoke, "You're our Chennie. I rely on you to stay positive in any situation. When we're tired, I rely on you to tell me to keep fighting. I need to see your infectious grin because on days that seem to go on forever, your smile keeps us going. I need to hear your whiney voice because it drives Suho nuts and makes me laugh. We need you to keep Chanyeol and Baekhyun in line. I don't know why, but they listen to you. D.O is going to kill Chanyeol if you don't wake up. Suho still needs to make you laugh. It's one of his goals in life. Kai and Sehun just need you. They're so used to you watching over them that they don't feel safe without you." Xiumin brought Chen's hands up to his cheek and leaned into it, closing his eyes. "There's a void in our hearts and no one can fill it but you. Please wake up." He clasped Chen's hands in both of his and prayed. "I will do anything you want me to if you'll just wake up. Please!" Xiumin begged his friend. "Open your eyes."
Chen felt like he was floating. His body was so light he could barely feel it. People talked around him. He could hear them but it was like hearing them through ear muffs. The words weren't clear but he knew who they were. His brothers were calling to him. He could recognise them out of a crowd of thousands. Their voices were imprinted in his mind. He could hear the emotion in their voices. They were crying. They were angry. They were scared. He could hear Xiumin; his best friend. His best friend needed him. He needed his best friend. He needed his family. Chen focused with the little energy he had left.
"Chen?" Xiumin saw the movement under Chen's eyelids. "Chen." He put a hand against his cheek. "Come on, you can do it." He frowned when the movement seemed to stop. Xiumin got up. Chen needed more motivation. He went to the door and put his hand on it, pulling the ice back until the door could open. "Chanyeol! Baekhyun!" Xiumin yelled as he ran down the hallway, banging on the room doors. "D.O! Kai!" He barged into his room and pulled Lay out of his sleep. "Let's go!" Lay groaned as he was dragged from the sleep he was forced into. "Chen needs you." Xiumin told him. The words woke Lay and he pushed past Xiumin to get to Chen's room.
"Xiumin, what's wrong?" Suho asked as he came out of his room with Sehun.
"Chen needs us." Xiumin answered simply.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun were already on the bed with Lay on his knees, holding Chen's hand. "Chen." Chanyeol knelt next to the bed when the others arrived, making room for everyone. "Hey, everyone's here." He brushed Chen's hair back and laid a hand against his brow. "We're here."
Baekhyun held his other hand in his. "I think you've slept enough."
"Hyung…" Kai stood at the end of the bed. "I need you." Sehun moved to stand next to Kai.
"I wish I could give you my strength, Chen." D.O told him, standing behind Lay, squeezing his shoulder.
"I know you can do it, Chen. Open your eyes." Suho ordered.
Xiumin smiled when Chen's eyes fluttered open. All Chen needed was a little motivation to wake up. He needed his brothers. "I knew you could do it!" Xiumin wrapped his arms around Suho, jumping up and down in celebration. Suho grinned.
Chen's tired eyes followed each of his brothers who surrounded him. They were smiling as their eyes shimmered. His gaze stopped when he saw Lay. He lifted his hand. It was so heavy. He smiled when Lay helped him, lifting it until it was against his cheek. "Gomapseumnida, Ge Ge." It was barely a whisper but Lay heard it. He nodded, unable to speak for fear of losing control.
Baekhyun pulled him up and into their arms. They all piled on the bed in a group hug. They cried at the return of their guardian. "Please don't do that to us again." Baekhyun whispered in his ear. "We can't lose you."
Chen closed his eyes and basked in the love of his brothers. He wanted to tell them he felt the same way but a small thank you already took too much energy. He could feel himself falling asleep again. Lay smiled when he pulled back and saw Chen asleep against Baekhyun's shoulder. The elemental must be tired to fall asleep like that. "Guys…" He whispered so to not disturb Chen. "He's asleep." He supported Chen's head as several hands laid him back onto his bed.
"Is he going to be alright?" Chanyeol asked as he pulled the quilt up to Chen's shoulders.
Lay nodded, giving a tired smile. "He'll be fine. It'll just take a few days before he recovers his strength. Fighting the Old Man drained him."
"And healing Chen drained you." Xiumin admonished him. "Go back to my room and sleep before I make you."
"Again!" Lay accused. "You made me once already."
Suho grinned at Lay's childish whining. "You're tired, Lay. Go and rest. We'll take care of Chen."
Lay groaned but got up. He knew he didn't have a choice once Suho and Xiumin agreed. "Fine!" Kai laughed as he walked the healer out of the room. Sometimes his older brothers were more childish than he was.
Chen slept soundly as his brothers watch over him. They took turns sitting by his side. There was not an hour of the day or night where Chen was left alone. At first, he was only able to stay up for half an hour at a time. It worried them to no end that he could barely stay awake but they were vigilante, making sure to get food and water into him during the short time he was awake.
A few days later Chen could stay awake longer and it was thought their hard work had paid off but Chen still didn't seem like himself. He sat in his bed under two blankets. Xiumin was feeding him a bowl of broth D.O had made for him. The strange thing was, the room's thermostat was turned up to 28 degrees celsius, but Chen was still shaking. Xiumin put down the empty bowl and sighed, rubbing his hands up and down Chen's arms, trying to warm him up. He didn't know what to do to help his friend. "What's going on, Chen?"
Chen shook his head, shivering, "I'll be okay."
"You're not okay!" Xiumin sat closer and pulled Chen into his arms. "Why are you shivering? It's hot in here."
"I th…think…I'm just…sssttill…re…recovering." Chen stuttered, his teeth chattering.
"This isn't normal." He got up and called out the door, "Chanyeol! I need your help."
Chanyeol was playing a game with Baekhyun on his desktop when he heard the call. They exchanged worried looks before rushing out the door. He stopped at the heat in Xiumin and Chen's room. "He's really cold." Xiumin had his arms wrapped around Chen, who was shivering.
"He's what?" Baekhyun pulled up his sleeves. "It's hot in here."
"I know." Xiumin looked to Chanyeol. "Can you help him? He can't rest like this."
Chanyeol nodded, "Lay him down."
Chen curled up into a ball as soon as Xiumin and Baekhyun laid him onto the bed and moved away. "Hyu…hyung…I'm…cc..cccold…"
Chanyeol sat next to him, "Let's see if I can help you." He picked up Chen's cold hands. Just like Chen, the others could use their abilities in a mental capacity as well. Creating warmth from the inside was a power of Chanyeol's. He concentrated his energy, sending it, through his palm, into Chen. Chen felt the warmth enter his body when the feeling of death took over it. Chanyeol's eyes widened at the sudden cold blade. He gasped, falling back.
"Chanyeol!" Baekhyun and Xiumin helped him up. "What happened?"
Chanyeol's hand came up to his chest, his eyes meeting Chen's. "Chen." He gasped, "What was that?"
Chen pulled his arms around himself, "I'm sorry."
Xiumin rushed over and sat him up, wrapping his arms around him. "What's wrong, Chen?" Chen leaned into him but didn't answer. Xiumin held him tighter.
Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, "What did you feel?"
Chanyeol shivered at what he felt inside Chen, "Death." He whispered. The room went silent. They all looked at Chen but his trembling grew more violent.
"Chen, talk to me." Xiumin begged, knowing this was a psychological problem rather than a physical one. "Tell me what's wrong?"
"I felt him…die." Chen finally confessed.
Baekhyun frowned, not understanding who he was talking about until it hit him. "The Old Man!" He gasped, looking at the others and seeing their shock as well. Chen nodded against Xiumin's chest. "Why didn't you tell us?" Baekhyun sat down on the bed gripping Chen's hand.
"I didn't…want you…to worry."
"Chen!" Chanyeol knelt in front of him. "You can't keep something like this to yourself."
"Chanyeol's right. Talk to us." Baekhyun urged.
Chen closed his eyes tight, shaking his head. He didn't want his friends to know. Xiumin sighed and pushed Chen up, turning him to face him. "Look at me." Chen opened his eyes. Xiumin placed his warm hands against Chen's cold cheeks, "Ever since we met, we've told each other everything. Has that changed?" Chen shook his head, tears forming. Xiumin smiled, "Then talk to me."
Chen pulled his knees to his chest. Baekhyun wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. "I killed him and I was in his mind when I did it." Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chanyeol waited patiently for Chen to continue. "He was scared. He was going to beg me to let him live but I didn't give him a chance. He had to die. I killed him."
"Stop saying that." Baekhyun said sharply. "He didn't give us a choice."
"His mind was so cold." Chen kept talking as if Baekhyun hadn't spoken. He was talking like he was in a trance. "He was alone. There was no love or kindness or any kind of emotion. He was cold-blooded." Xiumin wrapped his arms around his friend, pulling him close to keep warm. "How can someone live like that? When I thought all of you had died, I felt like dying. How can he live so alone?" Tears rolled down Chen's cheeks. "I don't want to remember that feeling."
Xiumin hugged him tight, "Don't think about it. You can never be alone because we'll never let that happen. We do everything together. You'll never feel that coldness." He hated knowing Chen was feeling this way since he woke up. Chen was warm and kind. Feeling cold and alone was alien to him…to all of them.
"His heart was empty." Chen pulled himself against Xiumin. "Everything was dark and cold."
Baekhyun thought about those words…dark and cold. He turned to Chanyeol and smiled, "Dark and cold. I think we can fix that." Chanyeol nodded and picked up Chen's hand to try again.
Baekhyun took his other hand. "I told you once that I will always bring light to your darkness." He closed his eyes and placed a hand on Chen's chest. Baekhyun sent his light energy into his friend, while Chanyeol sent warmth. Chen gasped at the bright, warm light in his mind. It pushed away the darkness and cold until all he could feel was the warmth of his friends. He opened his eyes, as if for the first time in his life and took in a breath.
Baekhyun grinned when Chen turned his eyes to him. "Thank you." Chen pushed himself up with Xiumin's help, and pulled Baekhyun into his arms. "Thank you for pulling me out." He grabbed Chanyeol's hand, "Thank you for making me warm again."
"I will never leave you in the dark." Baekhyun promised.
"And I will never leave you in the cold." Chanyeol added.
Xiumin sighed in relief. Finally, his brother was healing properly. Chanyeol was less subtle in celebrating. He wrapped his arms around all three of them pushed them over onto the bed. "Chanyeol!" Baekhyun complained, but grinned when he heard Chen's laugh. It's been too long since they've heard it.
Somehow a pillow fight started. Most probably started by Chanyeol. Chen laughed as he swung his pillow in all directions, hitting as hard as his body would allow him. The pillows missed Chen most of the time. It was more of a fight between the other three rather and he knew it was because they were going easy on him. Pillow fights usually got out of hand when they were all at full strength. He got very confused when more than four pillows were getting thrown around.
Suho and the others returned from their radio interview with Naver. They were surprised when they heard laughter from Chen and Lay's room. It was even more of a surprise when they got to the door and found fluff flying all over the room. "Aigoo…this is going to be a pain to clean up!"
Kai and Sehun's eyes widened in excitement before they ran to their rooms to grab their pillows and join in! Suho laughed and then shrugged at Lay and D.O. He walked off as if he wasn't going to join in when he returned with his arms full of pillows. Lay and D.O grabbed it and entered the pillow fight. It was chaotic to say the least.
The nine members lounged all over the small room, out of breath and grinning. The fluff finally settled and Chen was lying on the bed with his head in Xiumin's lap. Xiumin leaned back on his elbows, swinging his legs happily over the side of the bed. "When did you come in?" Chen chuckled, sleepily. "My room's a mess now."
"Now!?" Lay looked at him incredulously, "And it's our room!"
"This place was a mess before we joined in!" Suho complained, "You four better clean this up." Kai and Sehun nodded, agreeing and glad they would be left out of the cleaning.
Chen frowned and snuggled into Xiumin, curling up. "I'm tired, hyung!"
"You weren't too tired to start a pillow fight." Suho pointed out.
"I didn't!" Chen pouted like a little five-year-old.
"Chanyeol!" Lay pointed at the usual suspect.
"Baekhyun!" Chanyeol blamed his best friend. It was every man for himself now.
"Hyung!" Baekhyun called.
"Don't be silly! I'm the eldest and the most mature." Xiumin refuted. "Chen started it." They all looked at him as if he had grown a second head. Only Chen chuckled cheekily.
"Did you?" Sehun asked, surprised, considering he looked like he could barely lift a feather right now.
Chen was grinning now. "Chanyeol was squashing me. So, I grabbed my teddy and smacked him. Technically I didn't start the pillow fight."
They all turned to Chanyeol. Chanyeol's eyes widened, "What?! I didn't hit back!"
"Baekhyun!" The guessing game started again.
Baekhyun scratched his head, very confused, "Did I?"
"You did." Xiumin nodded.
"You better clean up this room." Lay ordered.
Baekhyun's eyes scanned the mess around the room, "No way. Chen started it!" He looked down at Chen who was asleep on Xiumin.
"I don't think he can help you, brother." Xiumin smiled affectionately at Chen. They all watched him contently.
"It's been too long since I've seen him sleep so relaxed." Lay got up and crawled over to his friend. He placed a hand over Chen's head and closed his eyes. "There's no more darkness." He sat back and looked at Xiumin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun curiously. "What happened? Before we left this morning, he was…cold. That's why I turned up the heat."
Xiumin sighed and nodded. He told them what Chen had said. The room's atmosphere changed as they listened. D.O, who rarely showed emotion, stood and walked over to Chen. He knelt by the bed. "I know you think keeping the bad things to yourself is helping us but it's not. We're connected. You can't hide from us. We can feel when something is wrong and when you don't talk, we worry even more because we know you so well. If you're keeping something from us, it means it's bad." Chen, who felt his brother's words, opened his eyes. "Never keep anything like that from us again."
Chen almost winced at the intensity of D.O's eyes. "I'm sorry."
D.O. shook his head, "You never need to apologise to us. Just trust us to take care of you like you take care of us."
Chen nodded, "Always."
D.O smiled, "Are you hungry? I'll cook."
Chen shook his head, closing his eyes. "You're all tired. You've been doing interviews all day."
Lay shook his head, "Still looking after us." He yawned and stretched, "But he's not wrong. I'm exhausted. How about we order take out?"
Suho nodded, "Let's go outside and decide what we want. Let Chen sleep." They all stood. Xiumin carefully got out from under Chen and tucked him under his quilt. He was about to sleep when Chen reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.
Xiumin waited for the others to leave before he sat back down on the bed. "What's wrong?"
Chen shook his head, "Nothing. I wanted you to know that I heard you when I was in the coma." Xiumin's eyes widened, "I heard everything you said. You all say I take care of everyone but I learned all of it from you." Xiumin gave him a teary smile. "You took care of me when I joined the academy. I was scared and you could see it. You didn't say anything to me. You just stayed by my side. You did that for me and that's why I did that for Kai and Sehun. I can do anything I want because I know I always have your support." Chen wiped at his eyes, "You're my rock. I came back because I heard you. Thank you."
Xiumin nodded and pulled Chen into his arms. "Saranghae, Chen."
"Saranghae, hyung."
One week later…
Chen was watching TV after an exhausting day at the studio. He still wasn't back at full strength but had enough in him to last the practice session. Xiumin handed him a bowl of jjangjangmyeon. They were all home, watching the late-night news. The program was interrupted by the news – breaking news. Chen frowned at the image behind the anchor woman. "Isn't that…"
Baekhyun sat forward in his seat, "The Divergent building or what's left of it after we brought it down."
"Sshhh…" Suho ordered as he turned up the volume.
"Breaking news, all CEOs of the security company giant, Divergent, were arrested today after the National Police Agency received an anonymous package three days after the building collapsed. The five terabyte USB contained communication records, financial records and contracts with government officials. Aside from the CEOs, five top ranking government officials were also arrested. However, their names will remain anonymous until after the case is closed." A video of the CEOs being walked out of their respective homes were shown.
Lay frowned, "I thought we didn't have time to go through their records to find evidence."
Suho shook his head, just as confused. "We didn't have time."
They were all confused except Chanyeol, who looked smug. "I had time."
Suho wasn't sure if he should be angry or impressed. "I told you to delete everything."
Chanyeol nodded, "And if you thought about it, you would have realised it took a heck of a long time for me to delete everything."
"You copied everything first." Baekhyun guessed, "Smart but why didn't you tell us?"
Chanyeol shrugged, "I had a lot to go through and I had to make sure nothing I sent to the police could lead them to us."
"And you're sure it won't." Suho asked carefully.
"One hundred percent."
"So, they're gone." D.O looked at Chen who looked like he wasn't sure he dared to believe it.
"All of them." Chen whispered. They watched as Chen sat up taller, as if a weight was lifted of his shoulders. He smiled at Chanyeol, "You did this."
Chanyeol nodded, "They may not have known about what the Old Man did to you, but they're far from innocent. I couldn't let them get away."
Chen relaxed back into the couch. "Thank you!" He leaned his head back and rubbed his face. "Aaaaah…it's all over!"
Lay gave his leg a pat. "It's all over, Chen."
Baekhyun locked Chanyeol's head in his arm and affectionately ruffled his hair. "Well done, Reaction King!"
"Let's celebrate this weekend." Xiumin suggested, "It's time to have some fun and wash ourselves of all of this."
Suho nodded, "Let's do it! Chen, where do you want to go?"
Chen grinned, "Wherever Chanyeol wants to go!"
"Woo!" Chanyeol jumped up, "Laser skirmish!"
"Huh?!"
"We just had a real-life laser skirmish!" Kai complained.
Chanyeol furrowed his brow as he thought hard about what they could do. "Road trip!"
Every started grinning, "Where?"
"Mountains!"
"Sea!"
"Where do you want to go, Chen?" Baekhyun asked him.
Chen smiled, "Anywhere. As long as we are all together, I can go anywhere."
They all sat back and stopped coming up with ideas because they knew, on Saturday morning they would get into their vans and drive without a destination. It didn't matter where they were going as long as they were going there together.
The End.