"We've informed the Savior of Mr. Ray's actions. Her holiness is already in her way to the dungeons to meet with him."

Those words echoed through your mind like a mantra as you desperately replayed them, searching for a way out of the situation. You'd been daydreaming when you were able to eavesdrop on the two disciples just outside the room you were in, more worried about them coming in than you were about the contents of their conversation.

But when they dropped the name Ray, you couldn't help but pull yourself from your thoughts and listen to their words.

And thank god you did.

He's captured. The very thought sent shivers down your spine. You remembered Saeran's determined stride forward when he left the room, and at the time you'd been confident that he would return to you.

But as minutes drew into hours, the seeds of panic in your stomach began to grow. And those disciples' words just reinforced your every fear.

He's captured.

It had taken you less than a minute to disconnect your body from the Elixir-removing machine attached to you, pulling out all the needles and tubes one-by-one until you were free from its grip. It had taken you another minute to search the room for valuables, whereupon you found Saeran's laptop.

But you'd been sitting for the past ten minutes fumbling over the lock screen, debating whether or not to push the Enter button that would determine your fate. If you'd guessed his password right, then all would be well. You could contact Luciel and Vanderwood—the former was certain to help—and use their involvement to save you and Saeran.

But if you were wrong, you were dooming both you and your lover in one fell swoop.

"My password is always the most important person in my life."

Saeran had told you that. He'd winked when he said it, and as soon as those words left his lips you were confident that you were the important person he was speaking of. But so much time had passed since then. So many tears shed. So many promises broken. How unrealistic was it for Saeran's password to switch amidst all those other changes?

One attempt remaining.

Who had wasted the second attempt? Back in Luciel's cabin, you'd attempted MC's name while trying to hack into Saeran's user. As soon as you realized that the password was wrong, you'd moved on, a small part of you knowing that wasting password attempts was the last thing you needed.

So where had the second attempt gone? You knew there were three in total, but who on earth...

Luciel.

You sighed. Of course it was him.

Luciel's attempt to trade you in exchange for his brother only proved his desperation to see Saeran again, however convoluted the process was. No doubt, his actions were messed up. But the lengths he was willing to go to for Saeran's sake only strengthened your confidence that he would be just as willing to break back into the Mint Eye to get the two of you out.

And I can't do shit to contact him unless I get into this laptop.

You let your finger touch the Enter key, applying no pressure with your index until you were thoroughly convinced that there was no other possibility. No other candidate. No other guess.

His password was the most important person in his life.

And it had to be you.

You pressed down, letting your finger jump back as if the laptop would betray you with a Locked-Out screen at any moment.

But then one second passed. And then two. And then three, and then you saw the loading screen of the Mint Eye as the colors slowly filled in from empty white to sickening green, and then you were in.

You were in.

You were in.

A smile broke out on your face, despite the dire situation. Entering your name as Saeran's password had carried more weight than simply granting you access to his device. No, it proved his affection for you, the very affection that had seemed like it was failing these past months.

It proved that, despite everything, he still loved you.

And that maybe, he'd never stopped.

The gardens of the Mint Eye were bare. Not a single flower had been spared, and even the tall green bushes had been stripped bare of their ferns.

Above the two of you, the sun was shining proud and glorious. On a normal day, the light would have bounced off the petals to create a stunning effect, bringing the colors to life as they danced with every slight movement of the head.

But no longer.

"Don't feel sad," You murmured. You slipped your hand into Saeran's larger one and gave him it a comforting squeeze. But his blank expression only darkened, a stark contrast to the sunlit sky above you both.

"The Savior said that the ceremony would only require a few flowers." Saeran's mutter was barely audible, the boy unwilling to say the words any louder for fear of a wandering believer hearing them. It was a subtle protest, an angry fist raised to the magenta. The Savior had asked Saeran's consent in using the garden's flowers for the previous night's celebration, making it seem as if fewer than fifty would be picked.

But she had stripped the garden bare.

You said nothing to the boy next to you. You were committed in heart and soul to the Savior, the Mint Eye, and the magenta—you couldn't agree to his angry complaint with your leader's actions.

But it pained you to see him like this.

"Saeran," You called out softly. When he didn't respond, you moved to stand in front of him so that he was forced to look at you. "We can rebuild this. All of it. Together. We'll be here together forever, right? Even flowers won't take forever to grow."

For the first time that day, a soft smile bloomed on Saeran's lips. You couldn't be sure if it was at the prospect of growing the gardens back or at your mention of spending the rest of your lives together, but you continued on regardless.

"We can grow new flowers, too. Sunflowers in one corner. Daisies over there. We can even grow the blue roses you love so much, and we can have tulips, and lilies, and orchids, and a lilac bush, and—"

Saeran put a finger to your lips, silencing you.

"Shh. Any more and you'll run out of flower names." That much was true enough. It was only after the two of you had spent weeks replanting the gardens that you finally developed an interest in flowers. Up until that point, you hardly knew the difference between a poppy and a peony.

"But...thank you," Saeran finally said after a long silence. "If we can grow this back...I think that would be enough for me to be happy forever. As long as you're with me, of course."

"Of course," You responded, wrapping your other hand around Saeran's so that you were holding both. "I'll never leave you."

You smiled at the memory.

The gardens had grown back, fuller and lusher—and the next time the Savior requested flowers for a ceremony, Saeran picked them out himself to control the numbers.

Those gardens had been witness to so many promises between the two of you: mostly to stay at the Mint Eye together forever. It was a recurring theme in your conversations, as if the two of you knew that one day something might occur to tear you apart.

The fact that the 'something' would be the Savior herself was definitely unexpected. Not the Savior, Rika, you chided yourself while waiting for your connection to process. She saved no one.

You drummed your fingers on your laptop while waiting for the screen to load. Every second that passed furthered your fears. What if Luciel wouldn't pick up? What if he and Vanderwood had already left? What if it turned out to be MC on the other line instead of the men, and she cut the call before you could convey your message?

You bit your lip.

You'd already disrupted the connection between the Mint Eye's alarms and its triggers so that others in the system everything wouldn't be able to see any obvious changes; you'd blocked lower-level believers from having access to the main doors to stir up confusion; you'd released all of Saeran's files on the RFA and other projects. In short, you'd done everything you could possibly think of without doing the single most important thing: contacting Luciel and Vanderwood.

Pick up, damn it.

You glared daggers at the laptop. You'd saved this specific task for last because you knew that if they wouldn't respond, you and Saeran would be left with little chance to escape. They had to pick up. They had to. Surely fate wouldn't be so cruel as to completely desert you of hope?

You stared at the black screen, gazing hopelessly at it as if the object would feel sorry for you and would work faster. You were just about to give up on contacting the agents when the screen flickered.

There was no video connected, but you could hear the quiet buzz of the other side's audio. They picked up.

"Who is this?" A hostile voice shouted.

You sighed in relief.

Luciel.

"It's me," You responded, turning on your video feed so the redhead could see your face. You ignored how horrible you looked, opting to fill him in on the situation. "Listen, I know we didn't part on the best of terms but Saeran and I...need your help."

On the other side, Luciel and Vanderwood turned their screen on so that you could see their concerned faces. "Tell us how we can help," The brunette said, and you swiftly informed him of everything that had happened in the hours since separation.

"Shit," Luciel cursed, clenching his fists. You could see the anger in his eyes from when you told him about Saeran's capture, and even Vanderwood seemed to tense as you explained what the boy was probably being forced to endure.

"No time for that. I've disabled all the Mint Eyes defenses. I did everything I could do, without anyone noticing. But once Rika gets out of that dungeon, you can bet that she's going to get these disciples to triple check everything. We need you here as soon as you can get. Even sooner. There's no telling how long it'll be before..."

"Before?"

You swallowed harshly.

The Elixirs were what first turned Saeran against you, burying the real him deep in the sickly mask of his mint green eyes. And no doubt, the only reason Rika had even bothered to go down to the dungeons herself was so that she could hand-feed him the blue liquid herself.

There was no telling how long he would last.

"Before we lose Saeran." For good.

On the screen, you watched as Luciel banged a fist onto the wooden table. The sound startled you, and you regretted the fact that your volume was so high. In the momentary silence that followed, you strained your ears to check if there were believers outside.

Sure enough, you heard footsteps.

And they were approaching quicker than you'd like.

On the screen, Vanderwood must have noticed your fearful gaze as you watched the door. "(Y/N)? What? What is it?"

You pressed an index finger to your lips, holding your breath while waiting for your door to open.

One second passed. Then another. And then another. And the dread in your stomach seemed to fade. Still, it was far too risky for you to stay on this call. Even the slightest sound would draw attention to you, and that was the last thing you wanted, especially with Saeran already captured.

"I have to go," You whispered.

"Wait!"

You flicked your gaze back onto the laptop screen where you had been about to close it, meeting Luciel's eyes. The boy seemed abashed and hesitant.

Very unlike him.

"Ah, I just..." He seemed to sense the impatience in your eyes. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For...trying to trade you for Saeran. And for getting you back into this hot mess when you'd been escaping it in the first place."

Despite the situation, you couldn't help but smile at the boy. Just like his brother, he was good at heart. How could you blame someone like that? "Don't be sorry," You murmured with a smile. "Get me and Saeran out of here and that'll be all the apology we need."

With those parting words, you closed the laptop, sliding it under the blanket as you tiptoed out of the bed. It was too risky for you to stay in one place.

You opened the door, instantly knowing your location based on the layout of the hall.

But that information would prove to be useless.

Because the moment you stepped out and turned left, you came face to face with a believer.

"I thought I heard someone inside,"He said with a sneer, grabbing your arms before you could make any movement to escape. "Hehe, the rebellious councilgirl (Y/N), is it?"

You flinched as he studied your mint eyes and white hair, your appearance too different for him not to recognize you. In an instant, you understood the true motivation that compelled Rika to change the appearance of everyone in her council. It wasn't just to become the personification of magenta, or to adorn the namesake of Mint Eye. It was to forever bind you to the cult and to her, so that a single glance at you would be all it took to recognize your allegiance. It was to make sure that you had no escape, no way out, no shelter from this bloody hell.

You cursed, only thankful for the fact that you'd managed to contact Luciel and Vanderwood before getting caught.

Right, you thought as you felt yourself being dragged in the direction of the dungeons. Luciel and Vanderwood will save us.

They were probably already on their way, driving chaotically through the woods to get here as you'd instructed them. You'd given them everything you could, exploited every opportunity, opened every hole in the Mint Eye's defenses.

The only question left was whether they would make it in time.

Word count: 2.5k

Notes: I didn't post this last night because I thought I'd be home by like 9 but it's now 5 AM and yeah I'm sorry about that .

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Next Update: 4/06/20

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