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1 Week Later

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"All of you stay here. The rest of us will take the ship to locate Tristin"

"Leave it to us"

Namjoon took over the role as leader, and worked together with all of the other recruited groups.

They each split up into groups and ventured off to various areas on Ethora, via the HQ's warp pad. Tristin had launched another attack that affected nearly the entire surface area of the planet. The Fighting Dreamers, Gang Stars, Force 127, and Paramounts travelled together in their ship in order to find Tristin, who was last spotted on a neighboring world.

They had been having a hard time keeping him on their radar, but now they finally pinpointed a legit location to confront him once again.

"What do you think father has planned this time hyung?"

Tayden asked Taeyong, starting a conversation after seeing how nervous he was.

"I'm not really sure to be perfectly honest with you Tayden. Your father is very slippery and unpredictable. For all we know, this could be a trap"

"Do you think he might be out to get one of us, like me?"

"If he is after one of us, I don't think he'd be after you since he doesn't have a clue that you're his son yet. But if he's after anyone, I'm thinking it would either be me or Renjun. Remember that he's after me because he wants me dead, despite the fact that he can't kill me like we can't kill him. But when it comes to Renjun, he might want him dead too. Or maybe...he has something else planned for him"

"I see.. His plan was running smoothly while hyung was under his control before. Do you think he's trying get control of him again?"

"That could be a possibility. Renjun is practically the strongest being in our universe. If he managed to find a better way to control him, we could have a serious problem on our hands. There's no telling what he'd make Renjun do if that happens. He might just be unstoppable at that point. Not even I would be able to do anything, even with my god status"

Taeyong explained, expressing his concern for the potential issue at hand.

"I understand.. But I wouldn't worry too much hyung. We know that Renjun-hyung is insanely strong all around. I'm sure that if that does happen, he'll be able to get out of it somehow. He has a knack for getting out of bizarre situations, as you already know. And if all else fails, my Sentient Releasing power might just be powerful enough to break him out of any control that father would put him under~"

Tayden reasurred the older, wanting to give him at least some hope in their difficult times.

"You have a heart of gold Tayden. I appreciate everything that you're doing for us on this team. I promise that we'll help you get your father back"

"I really appreciate that hyung, thank you"

-

Planet Eterna

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"We should avoid splitting up into small groups while were here. There's forty of us, so let's split up into four groups of ten. One group will stay here, and the other three will go off to look for clues of Tristin's presence"

Right after Kun dished out those orders, everyone got into their groups and split up to investigate the surrounding area.

The Paramounts went off together, seeing as they were already a group of ten, and explored to the east.

-

"Tristin is pretty good at keeping himself hidden. We traced him to this planet, yet there's still no sign of him anywhere"

"We will find him hyung. We just have to be patient. Losing our cool might just end up being our demise"

Junsung reassured Jeongho, being very vigilant of his surroundings.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

Xuefen pointed to an opening in one of the mountains to the side of them.

The opening was fairly big in terms of scale, and the inside resembled a deserted cave. The farther in the cave went, the darker it became inside.

"That must be a cave that was dug out a long time ago. It looks big enough for someone to hide in it. Maybe Tristin is in there"

Sungmin predicted.

Xuefen was the first to walk towards it, despite knowing that he had to stay close to his group. He stopped right in front of the entrance, and looked as far as he could see into the cave. The boy felt an attraction to the cave that he couldn't understand, but he felt as if his teammates felt the same thing.

"Do you think he's in there?"

Nitro asked the cat boy, whose eyes never budged from looking deep within the darkness.

"Only one way to find out"

He hesitated a bit, but slowly took his first step halfway through the entrance.

Xinrei had been scouting the area while the others were more focused on the cave, but he suddenly spotted a cat-like figure atop the opposing mountain. Once he locked eyes with it and it walked away out of his view, he immediately knew that Tristin was nearby and that the cave was all a part of his trap for them.

Right after, his Danger Sense kicked in and he realized that Tristin had used one of his powers to lure them to the cave, while also dulling their senses. He also felt an imminent danger coming from within the cave that Xuefen had just casually stepped into.

"Xuefen! Get out of the cave!"

Xinrei rushed over to the mesmerized boy, and grabbed him by the back of his jacket before pulling him out of the cave.

Once the boy was safe behind him, Xinrei materialized one of his Keyblades to defend himself and his team. However, he ended up being a split second too late. Before it materialized in his hands completely, Tristin was suddenly in front of him and had impaled him right through his chest with one of his Ethereal Blades that protruded from his wrist.

"Surprise surprise"

Tristin smiled menacingly as blood soaked the boy's uniform.

"H-Hyung..? You..."

"Don't worry Xuefen, I'm fine"

To their surprise, Xinrei wasn't acting as if he had just been stabbed at all.

"I hate to admit it, but you actually got me a little bit. I expected you to utilize King Crimson's power in this scenario, but I acted a bit too late. My Keyblade was only a decoy for me to activate my Permeation ability after I got Xuefen out of the way. I had no intention of trying to block your attack, since I wasn't sure of what weapon you would use. Instead, I prepared for your attempt to kill me right off the bat"

"You're dangerous boy...and a threat to my plans"

Tristin frowned.

"And you're utterly predictable"

Xinrei then grabbed his wrist and transported them both to another dimension, leaving the rest of his team by the cave.

"Rei is probably trying to get him back to our rendezvous point! We have to meet him back there and inform the others on the way!"

Suyun ordered, running back to the first group with her team, while Xinya relayed the message to the other groups.

-

Xiaojun was the first in the group to notice the kids running back to them, while Sungchan was reading Xinya's message to them.

Jungwoo also saw the other two groups running back to their location, having received the same message. Immediately after everyone made it back to the rendezvous point, they all noticed that Xinrei was still missing. They waited anxiously, but patiently, for him to return with Tristin. But when they finally did return, it was completely unexpected.

From the other dimension, the two had clashed and sent each other flying in opposite directions, also causing Xinrei to return them back to their dimension unwillingly. Both of them tumbled as they hit the ground, alarming everyone as they suddenly appeared without warning. Even though they were all worried about Xinrei, only a few of them rushed to his aid after he insisted that they focus on Tristin and not him, not wanting the older male to get away.

"Rei! Are you alright??!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. He's just..a lot tougher than I thought... And he's just so full of rage.. I can feel it in the way he fights.."

Xinrei explained, watching as the man pulled himself together.

"You may be strong Xinrei.. But it's like I said before. You'll never be on my level. You'll never have any chance of besting me"

"We'll just see about that Boss..."

"Xinrei, don't move. At least allow me to heal you first before you make any sudden moves"

Renjun ordered the boy while everyone else fought back against Tristin.

"Right.. So, what's the plan..?"

"Our main objective is to do our best to keep him from retreating. If he does, he'll go off the radar again. If we can find a way to weaken him, and bring him back to the HQ, there just might be a chance to save him"

"And help him realize that he's my father"

"Exactly Tayden. So, let's all do what we can to take him down, but keep him alive and don't act recklessly. If you falter even for a second, he just might use that chance to kill you"

"Right on. Let's do this"

Xinrei was the first to walk off, his team immediately following behind him.

Together, they fought for the sake of their enemy. They would fight to bring Tristin back to the light, even if it might cost them their lives.