We quickly ran through the door and encountered Jaemin and Jisung, alarmed at the sight of them.

They both had red eyes, accompanied by a powerful red aura around them. They both had on burgundy suits, and the jewelry that was controlling them was visible.

Jisung had an angered and determined look on his face, while Jaemin had a sort of confused and saddened look on his face, as if he was trying to beg us to help him.

"I'm not gonna lie, those are some nice suits"

Chenle complemented.

"S u r r e n d e r, a n d  V e x x  w i l l
g i v e  y o u  o n e"

Jisung stated.

"Not a chance Jisung. We're taking the three of you back with us"

I declared.

It was obvious that they weren't going to surrender that easily.

Jisung pulled out the grip of a sword from behind his back, and a blade of water emerged from its guard, creating a Water Scimitar.

And Jaemin summoned a keyblade, but it was completely different from his usual one!

"What the?! Is that new?!"

Chenle questioned.

"No... I think it's the same one. It probably just changed forms because he's being controlled"

I informed.

Jaemin cocked his head to the side a little, having the same confused and sorrowful look on his face.

Earlier, I combined my two Swords of Recompense, and formed a Blade of Restoration. So that's the weapon of choice that I'll use.

Chenle summoned his harp, and Taeyong summoned his Sky Shatterer Sword.

Enzo rested himself on my shoulder so he could be close to me, just in case he needed to generate a shield or fire a beam from my location.

Eunji hid behind a pillar so she wouldn't get in the way.

Even though she can't help at all in this battle, Taeyong thought it would be best to bring her, just in case she remembers who she is and reawakens her power.

Taeyong stayed close to me, and Hiss stayed closed to Chenle.

After what seemed like forever, Jisung finally charged at me, but Taeyong blocked his attack.

Jaemin went for Chenle, but Hiss blocked his attacks. Jaemin wasn't moving and just stayed silent in that position, but before he could think to do anything, Hiss used his tail to swat him back.

"P u l l  y o u r s e l f  t o g e t h e r, o r
X a n d e r  w i l l  h a v e  b o t h  o f
o u r  h e a d s !"

Jisung stated, going to attack Chenle himself.

Hiss tried protecting Chenle by attacking Jisung, but he dodged him and flung him over to Jaemin. Hiss ended up landing on top of Jaemin, making him yell out in pain from how heavy he is.

Taeyong and I ran over to them, and saw how much Jaemin was struggling trying to push Hiss off. When he looked up at us, he looked really confused and scared, the complete opposite of Jisung.

"Hyung, what's wrong with him??"

"I have no idea..."

"He's not fighting like Jisung is. He doesn't look like he wants to do this. I think he's trying to fight off Xander's power"

Enzo informed.

When Hiss heard that, he quickly slithered off of Jaemin and we helped him up.

". . . . . . ?"

He just looked at me and didn't say anything.

"Jaemin..."

Taeyong gently fixed his hair, but he still didn't do anything.

"S t o p  d o d g i n g  m e  a n d
f i g h t  b a c k !"

We heard Jisung yell, making us all look back at him and Chenle.

Chenle skillfully played his harp and sharp music notes flew to Jisung, but he sliced every single one of them.

Chenle made a wrong move, and almost fell over after he tripped. Trying to regain his balance gave Jisung enough time to attack him.

But surprisingly, even though he had an extremely clear and easy shot to attack him, his blade swerved and he missed him.

They both looked confused, questioning what just happened.

Jisung tried attacking him again since Chenle was too dazed to move, but he missed again.

Jisung looked even more confused, but Chenle saw this as an opportunity.

He quickly turned invisible so that Jisung couldn't find him. He looked around trying to find Chenle, but soon got impatient and refocused his attention on us.

"Y o u  s t i l l  h a v e n 't  f i n i s h e d
t h e m  y e t ?! W i t h  y o u r
c u r r e n t  p o w e r  y o u
c o u l d 'v e  t a k e n  t h e m  o u t
e a s i l y !"

Jisung yelled at Jaemin.

Jaemin still looked confused, and slightly hid behind me. But Jisung's attention was taken off of us when he heard footsteps around him.

"Hey hyung? Can you try using Jungwoo to change Jaemin back? Jisung probably won't notice for the moment"

Taeyong nodded and pointed his ring at Jaemin.

He looked at Taeyong, still not saying or doing anything. The ring lit up, but something unexpected happened.

The moment the light hit him, the darkness controlling him started to leave his body, and he yelled out in pain again.

But this time, it was as if his intentions changed completely, and he attacked Taeyong. The force of his attack sent him flying into a pillar.

It's almost as if his power increased drastically after that. This must be what Jisung meant.

I let my guard down and Jaemin apprehended me, roughly holding my arms behind my back.

Jisung saw this as an opportunity, and came to attack me. But then, Chenle reappeared in front of me with the paws of a bear, and unleashed an attack on him.

"Swipes of Outrage!"

His attack consists of him spinning at rapid speeds, while continuously swiping his target with his claws.

It ended up being so effective that it knocked Jisung back. Not only that he came so close to destroying one of his earrings.

"S-S h i t . . ."

Jisung ran away, holding both of his earlobes to ensure neither earring would get destroyed.

"He's getting away!"

Chenle was about to go after him, but Hiss stopped him.

"Lele, we're originally supposed to be fighting Jaemin. We should leave Jisung to the others, hiss hiss"

"But..., Jisung..."

Taeyong suddenly shot a spike from Lucas in my direction.

It got caught in Jaemin's suit, the force of it pulling him off of me and pinning him to the wall.

"The four of us will take care of Jisung. We're counting on you and Hiss to help Jaemin"

Taeyong stated, smiling at Chenle.

"Fine... I won't let you all down..."

He looked at me when he said that.

I gently pet his head, and the four of us ran after Jisung, leaving Chenle and Hiss behind.

-

When he made sure the others were gone, Jaemin used his hardening to break the spike that held him against the wall.

He then used his keyblade to create a barrier that took up the whole room, so no one could get in or out.

"Hyung, I don't wanna fight you"

"D o n 't  c a r e"

"You don't know what happens when I get too emotional hyung. I don't want to hurt you by accident"

"S o m e o n e  a s  w e a k  a s  y o u
w o n 't  b e  a b l e  t o  h u r t  m e
a n y w a y. S o  a g a i n, I  d o n 't
c a r e"

He came charging at me after saying that.

I played a special note on my harp, and turned it into a Flower Sword.

I unsheathed it quick enough to block his attack, and clash his keyblade with my sword.

"S o, y o u 'r e  n o t  a s  n a ï v e  a s  I
t h o u g h t. Y o u  a c t u a l l y
l e a r n e d  h o w  t o  u s e  t h a t
h a r p  a f t e r  a l l"

"You shouldn't have underestimated me hyung"

I crystallized my hand and tried to attack him, but I stopped midway because I didn't want to hurt him.

"A r e  y o u  s u r e  a b o u t  t h a t ?"

He smirked, hardening his own hand to hit me.

Hiss acted quickly and knocked him away with his tail. He didn't get knocked back too far, since he stabbed his keyblade into the ground to stop himself from going too far.

"Chenle, you've got to forget about your feelings for once. If you don't, they're going to get you killed sooner or later, hiss hiss"

Hiss ordered before going to fight Jaemin.

How...?

How am I supposed to just forget about my feelings towards Jaemin...?

He's always been one of the goofiest out of my brothers. He's always treated me like I was his own child, and he's like another mom to me.

How am I supposed to just fight him like this when I don't want to hurt him...?

Hiss is able to fight against him so well, and he's getting so many good hits in. But how...?

He's really close with all of us, yet he's able to fight Jaemin like he's the enemy...

His scales are obviously hurting him, and their leaving scratches despite how hard Jaemin's power makes his skin, yet Hiss is still giving him everything he's got...

"Chenle! Why are you just standing there?! You've got to do this, hiss hiss!"

Hiss yelled at me, dropping his guard.

Jaemin took that opportunity to use his keyblade to freeze him. I quickly got up when he started walking towards me.

I could see my sword trembling along with my hands, but regardless I tried to think of a way to attack him.

I turned invisible again and snuck around to find a spot to attack him. His guard was the weakest behind him, so I reappeared to attack him, but he dodged me easily.

Despite my shock, I still tried to attack him at a quicker pace, swinging and jabbing my sword at him consistently.

But regardless of my efforts, he managed to grab my blade anyway to stop my attacks.

"S-Seriously....?!"

"B a d  k i t t e n s  l i k e  y o u
d e s e r v e  a  t i m e  o u t"

He smirked, hardening his hand all the way down to his forearm.

I quickly crystallized my abdomen, and just as I suspected, that's where he landed his blow on me. But the force of his punch was so hard, it shattered the crystals and hit me anyway.

That sent me flying back into a pillar, and I laid there in pain.

I could see Hiss still trying to defrost himself with the heated venom patches on his scales, but he might not free himself in time...

Jaemin threw my sword to the side and came closer to me. I sat myself up against the pillar to at least try and defend myself a little bit when he attacks me.

He stopped in front of me and raised his keyblade to attack me, but he suddenly stopped when he locked eyes with me.

The barrier suddenly cracked a little bit too.

We never broke eye contact with each other, and no matter how hard he tried to swing his keyblade, he just couldn't.

"I-I . . . I  c-c a n 't  d o  t-t h i s
a-a n y m o r e . . ."

He suddenly dropped his keyblade, and started backing up and hitting himself in the head.

He repeatedly hits his head on a pillar, trying to break away from Xander's control.

I got up despite my pain, to try and comfort him, but when I got closer to him, he quickly backed away.

He just kept telling himself that he can't hurt me over and over, bringing tears to my eyes from how much he was suffering.

All in a sudden, he accidentally backed up into Hiss, and held onto him to keep himself from falling. But, he accidentally touched one of his venom patches.

His movements started slowing down, and he could barely stand up straight anymore, making me cry harder and feel angrier.

"Chenle, I'm giving you a chance to finish this. Release the power that you're trying to suppress. I know you're keeping it in because you don't want to hurt him, but we'll never get him back unless you do hurt him, hiss hiss"

"Hiss. Hide behind something until this is over. I don't want to hurt you by accident"

His eyes shimmered a little when he nodded, and he quickly slithered to a safe spot.

I felt the power I've been hiding rising up and taking over me. My entire body began to crystallize harder and harder, but despite it being my choice, I don't have complete control over all of this power.

But..., I'm determined to save Jaemin, even if it kills me.

-

We've been watching Chenle's and Hiss' fight against Jaemin this entire time, thanks to the drone Renjun secretly placed in the room.

Johnny wanted to stop the fight and end it himself after seeing the pain Chenle was in earlier, but we kept reminding him that the barrier wouldn't let any of us in.

But now, he's even more worried, especially Kun.

In the time that Kun trained Chenle, he informed us of this same power that he was trying to suppress.

Kun brought it out of Chenle once with enough encouragement, but he ended up going berserk and couldn't control all of that power.

He told us that he also transformed into a celestial beast, but he had to quickly knock him unconscious to stop him from destroying the training facility they were in, even more than he already had.

"He's already in the first faze where he crystallizes his entire body. Even his eyes become crystals too. The moment I saw this form, I named it Crystal Conundrum"

Kun informed.

We looked on the monitors, and he had already crystallized his body, revealing that form with a dark aura around him.

Crystals even protruded from his clothes, and despite how normal his hair looked, it was completely crystallized too!

"The next thing that happened was him expelling multiple crystal shards off his body in all directions"

The moment Kun said that, Chenle let out a piercing yell, and countless shards began to shoot out from his body in all directions as the ground shook.

Jaemin tried hardening himself to lessen the power of the impact, but the crystals broke his hardening and hit him really hard.

After the agonizingly long seconds of these continued attacks, they finally stopped as well as the tremors.

"He's gonna do it. He's gonna change into that same beast I saw..."

Kun informed again.

Chenle immediately shapeshifted into an entirely new being we'd never seen before.

"T-That's a Winged Crystal Caracal Tiger!"

Xiaojun stuttered.

"You know what it is?!"

We all shrieked.

"It's a very pure and holy celestial being, and it's exceedingly rare to see! It can purify anything it's claws touches!"

Chenle's claws began to glow with a pure glowing white, and he projected huge glowing slash marks in Jaemin's direction.

It hit Jaemin directly.

"The hairpin got hit! He completely shattered it!"

Doyoung exclaimed.

We saw all of the darkness that Xander put in him come out of him.

"Of course! The Holy Claws expels all of the darkness from anyone and anything!"

Xiaojun exclaimed excitedly.

Chenle made sure that Jaemin stayed down by roughly pouncing on him, the force and impact of his front paws creating a huge crater in the ground around them.

Jaemin was now immobilized, planted into the ground and powerless against Chenle. The barrier around the area shattered too.

Chenle, however, burned himself out and shapeshifted back to normal, collapsing on top of Jaemin.

"Hyung, we have to go help them!"

"Right!"

We both jumped out of the ship without hesitation and quickly ran to them.

Hiss joined us to help in any way he could.

When we got to them, we saw that Jaemin had protectively wrapped his arms around the unconscious Chenle.

"Lele...... T-Thank you..."

He weakly thanked him and smiled, before passing out as well.

Johnny and I crouched down to them to see just how bad they were hurt.

Chenle was practically covered in blood, because the number of shards that penetrated through his skin were too much for his body to supply all at once. On top of that, they were way too sharp for him to handle.

Jaemin on the other hand, had multiple deep cracks on numerous parts of his body. Chenle's shards had broken through Jaemin's hardening so bad, that it caused his skin to literally crack under the pressure.

"We need to hurry and get them back to the ship hyung..."

I stated.

He nodded and gently picked up Chenle while I carried Jaemin.

Before we walked off, we heard a thud and the sound of someone in pain nearby. We turned around to see Vexx, bleeding out on the ground.

One of Chenle's shards had pierced right through him!

Johnny just huffed and began walking away again.

"Hyung! We can't just leave him here!"

"He deserves to die after all he's done"

Johnny growled.

"P-Please..."

We heard him speak.

We turned around again to see that not only his mask cracking, but his skin was cracking too, with darkness spilling out of the cracks!

That much damage couldn't be from just that shard. He must've gotten hit from one of the slashes too!

"T-The m-mask...... P-Please break the m-mask....b-before it r-regenerates..."

Johnny didn't look like he wanted to, but he quickly shot a small lightning bolt at the mask, shattering it.

Vexx's body shattered as well, and to our surprise, there a totally different person under the once cracking body!

We were both completely confused and shocked about what just happened.

Johnny began to interrogate him about what was going on, but all he only responded with a, "Thank you", before passing out.

"Johnny-hyung, we need to bring him back to the ship..."

"What?!"

He exclaimed.

"Hear me out. Chenle expelled all of the darkness out of him, and you destroyed the remaining evil after you destroyed the mask. Xander probably did something to him, and probably to Seifer too. Maybe they weren't always evil! Vexx could be the key to helping us find out what's going on! He could make it easier for us to finish this fight against Xander! Please hyung! We have to help him!"

I pleaded and pleaded, and soon, he finally gave in with a sigh.

"Hiss, could you carry Vexx for us?"

"Anything to help, hiss hiss"

Johnny smiled and gently sat Chenle down.

He picked up Vexx and gently sat him on the saddle on Hiss' back. He made sure he was stable on his back, before picking up Chenle again.

We carried them back to the ship before something else decided to happen.

I hope the others are doing alright...