"TELL US!"

donghyuck flinched as his body was thrown to the floor, making him dizzy.

the descendants of the titans had been torturing donghyuck day and night for long hours.

donghyuck didn't even remember how he got there, locked inside the catacombs, surrounded by demi titans as he was beaten mercilessly.

they kept asking for the same question over and over again.

what makes you so special?

and donghyuck had never answered this question, which was the reason he kept getting beaten.

the truth is, he didn't know the answer to that question. but the titans didn't seem to believe him at all.

"SPEAK!" one of the boys yelled, punching donghyuck straight in the jaw, making him fall back on the ground as he coughed blood.

he was pretty sure he was completely disfigured now, and his body had to be littered with cuts and bruises.

"stop! you're hurting him!"

despite his lack of strength, donghyuck lifted his head from the ground, looking at mark's blurry figure.

donghyuck felt the urge to cry again. he couldn't believe mark had done all of this. he didn't want to believe it.

he loved mark so much, and he thought mark loved him too.

in fact, he was a fool.

all the others had warned him about hades' descendants. he should have listened to them.

"you have no word to say mark." a girl declared.

"i agreed to bring him to you if you didn't hurt him." mark spoke, his voice resonating in donghyuck's dizzy head.

"that was not what we agreed for at the very beginning..." another demi titan replied.

"i didn't care for him at the very beginning." mark said.

"well... the simple fact you brought him here shows that you don't care for him."

at that point, donghyuck wished he could faint.

he didn't want to hear this conversation.

he didn't want to hear mark explaining his motivations to betray them.

he didn't want to hear about mark's feelings.

he didn't want to hear what the titans planned to do with him.

but sadly, he was still conscious.

he could hear everything that was being said clearly.

and it was hurting him even more than his physical wounds.

"wait..." hyojin spoke, walking away from donghyuck to head towards mark. "maybe you could help us..."

mark gulped, looking at the demi titan. "how?"

"do you know what makes him special?" hyojin asked.

"w-what?" mark raised a brow.

"if you proposed to send donghyuck to us, this means that you knew he had something particular in him. what is that thing?"

mark's eyes wandered towards donghyuck's bloody figure lying on the floor.

he regretted everything about it.

how could he betray people that had become his friends?

how could he betray the boy he had fallen for?

how could he let people he didn't know torture him?

how could he be so stupid and so selfish?

"i-i don't know..." mark stuttered, his heart racing inside his chest.

"you don't know...?" a demi titaness asked, tilting her head to the side.

"he's just donghyuck, that's what makes him special." mark continued.

"but he has to have something more. a special power... something like that..." hyojin said, looking at donghyuck who was still on the floor.

"i don't know what that is..." mark stated.

there was a long silence. donghyuck wondered if they had left the room.

"bring him back to his cell." hyojin's voice resonated though the room. "mark and i need to have a little talk."

and so, one of the demi titans lifted donghyuck and threw him back into his cell, where donghyuck fainted of exhaustion.

Ω

"mark told us that they were in the catacombs." hendery started. "if we want a chance to defeat them, we should circle them."

"we are 8, in case you didn't notice." jeno spoke. "how do you expect us to surround 11 demi titans plus mark?"

"we're 9. mark is with us." yangyang informed.

"i don't see him anywhere around. in fact, he's with the enemy at the moment." jaemin crossed his arms over his chest.

"he called to tell us everything. he betrayed the titans by doing so." hendery defended his half-brother.

"but he betrayed us first." jisung noted.

"and how are you so sure that this isn't a trick? that the titans didn't ask him to do such things?"chenle questioned.

"because mark was fucking crying. and hades' sons don't fucking cry!" hendery yelled, his dark aura creating a black smoke around him, similarly to mark.

the room fell silent for a few seconds, all the boys thinking deeply.

"so. surrounding them." hendery started again. "we all need to block the entries the catacombs and then penetrate inside."

"excuse me, but i feel like i'm missing something." jisung interrupted. "what the hell are the catacombs?"

"they are a giant underground cemetery, divided into lots of galleries and labyrinths." yangyang explained.

"and where is it?" jisung continued.

"right under our feet." xiaojun told. "they are the undergrounds of paris."

"and where can we enter them?" jeno asked.

"there are a few entries, look."

hendery pulled out of nowhere a large parchment paper, placing it on the table next to them as he invited all the other boys to surround the piece of paper.

"i obtained a map of the catacombs. this is the part open to visits for tourists." he explained, his finger tracing along the lines on a small part of the map. "i'm guessing they are not there, then, because it would be too risky for them. now, the exits. they're represented on the map by black circles. they lead to places in paris, but people don't know about them being entrances to the catacombs."

"how is that possible?" chenle raised a brow.

"because they are simple manholes covers, or just seem like pipelines." yangyang told.

"so, what we need to do right now, is block every single one of them." hendery told. "then, we'll enter by the tourist entrance. and after that, let's fight."

"i suggest some of you enter before you block the exits, so that we can have the whole perimeter covered." jeno stated, looking at the map. "and maybe, we'll find donghyuck quicker."

"good idea." hendery nodded. "any other suggestions?"

"i have a question..." renjun – who hadn't spoken a word since the beginning – told. "what's our back up plan?"

"well..."

hendery rubbed the back of his neck as he bit the inside of his cheek.

renjun wasn't stupid. he knew that this meant that it was their only plan.

either they won, either they died.

and if they locked all the possible exits so that the demi titans wouldn't run away, this meant that they wouldn't be able to exit the place either.

"are you sure we'll manage, all 8 of us- "

"9." yangyang interrupted.

"all 9 of us... against 11 demi titans?" renjun finished his question.

"we'll be in a place full of dead people... mark and i will be able to do something with that." hendery nodded. "anything else?"

he looked around the room as the boys shook their heads.

he could still tell that none of them were trusting him 100%.

but it was their only chance at the moment.

and hendery was determined to show them that they were doing something good by trusting him.

"okay, so let's go." he clapped his hands. "war is declared.

Ω

"donghyuck!"

the beautiful boy's eyes fluttered open as he painfully remembered his current situation.

he was inside a cell, resting on the dirty hard floor after being beaten up badly.

"donghyuck!"

the so-called boy lifted his head, seeing mark standing in front of his cell.

"i don't want to see you..." donghyuck breathed out, the simple action of speaking hurting him.

"donghyuck, you are hurt, let me help you." mark spoke, his voice holding so much emotion. donghyuck didn't even know his voice could sound so pained.

"go away..." donghyuck said simply, trying to avoid looking at mark.

"please, let me treat your bruises." mark pleaded.

"i don't need your help..." donghyuck tried holding his tears in. "i don't need you..."

mark sighed, hearing those words.

why had he done this?

why had he fucked his perfect relationship up?

why had he been so selfish?

spending those days on the run with people that had become his friends had taught him so much. it had transformed his selfish self into someone more caring, and better.

but, why hadn't he told them everything?

they could have attacked the titans all together and get rid of them for ever.

but he had stayed silent. and now, he had to pay the price of his acts.

"aghh..." donghyuck whined as moving slightly hurt his body like hell.

"donghyuck, i know you hate me, but please. i need to treat your bruises. i don't want you to hurt."mark repeated.

"you should have thought a bit more before acting then..." donghyuck would have snorted, but his body was aching too much for him to do so.

"donghyuck, i- "

"i gave you my heart, mark. i gave you my heart, my love, my everything... and you... you just crushed it, as if it was nothing... you made me hope things, and you stabbed me in the back right after..."donghyuck said, tears now running down his bruised cheeks.

mark stared at the beautiful boy inside the cell without doing anything.

he was conscious of the huge mistake he had done.

but it felt like he couldn't do anything to make it better.

he was painfully aware that honesty wouldn't please donghyuck.

"i love you, donghyuck." mark stated.

"stop lying to me..." donghyuck sobbed. "i was wondering why i couldn't read your feelings like i do with others, but now i know... you have no heart..."

"donghyuck you need to trust me, i do love you." mark repeated.

"how can i trust you after all you did?!" donghyuck raised his voice. "we had sealed a promise mark. and you broke it."

mark reached inside his pocket for the padlock that him and donghyuck had locked on the pont des arts a few days before. he pulled his out, allowing his finger to trace the carved omega on it.

"i didn't break the padlock to take it out. i used the key to open it. i couldn't break this promise we had sealed, donghyuck." mark explained.

"and yet you did..." donghyuck sighed, whining when he moved a bit too much.

"please, let me treat your wounds."

donghyuck didn't want mark to treat his wounds.

he didn't want to have anything to do with mark anymore.

but in fact, he couldn't bear the pain anymore.

and mark was offering to help.

donghyuck didn't have much choice but to accept in order to relieve his pain.

"aghh..." donghyuck whined as he painfully tried to get his body closer to the grill separating him and mark.

once he was close enough, mark helped him getting closer, and sitting in front of him.

mark pulled out of his pocket a little bottle, containing a golden liquid.

he opened it and placed a small amount on his finger.

"w-what is this...?" donghyuck asked.

"it's nectar. it makes gods immortal, and it heals us." mark explained as his fingers traced over the bruises on donghyuck's arm, the blue bruises disappearing a few seconds after the golden liquid entered in contact with the tanned skin.

mark gently brushed his finger across the bruises littering the beautiful boy's skin.

donghyuck stayed silent as he let mark care for him. he didn't have the strength to fight against him anyway.

"open your mouth."

donghyuck lifted his head to look at mark.

"why?" he asked.

"i need to treat your lips. they're bruised." mark replied.

donghyuck slowly parted his lips as mark's finger caressed his lips slowly.

the tanned male couldn't help but admire mark's handsome face as he was concentrated on treating donghyuck's wound.

their faces were so close. donghyuck was sure they had never been so close – except for the time they had kissed of course.

and seeing mark up-close like this made donghyuck's mind go crazy.

it was as if everything mark had done meant nothing to him anymore.

as if he didn't care about the betrayal or mark breaking him.

at that point, the only things donghyuck wanted was mark.

mark, hades' son, with all his qualities and flaws.

donghyuck had fallen for him, and not only the good part. he had fallen for all of him.

he could feel something radiating from mark. something he had never felt before.

donghyuck wasn't sure if it was one of his powers, or mark's doing, but he could feel something.

it was as if the room they were in had suddenly been immerged in love. that's the only thing donghyuck could feel. love.

and more particularly, mark's love, for him.

and so, donghyuck did what felt the right thing to do.

he leaned forwards, making his and mark's lips meet for the second time ever.

mark was shocked at the sudden action, making him stay still as donghyuck pulled away after pecking his lips.

"i love you too..." donghyuck spoke.

"b-but..."

"i know i shouldn't after everything you have done to me, but i love you." donghyuck added.

mark smiled at the golden boy; a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders.

donghyuck smiled back, his own body getting flooded with a wave of positive emotions. there were not only his emotions, but he could also feel mark's, as well as hearing his heart beating fast.

and now that he looked more carefully at hades' son, he realised he could read his own name floating in bright pink letters above his head.

"can we seal another promise?" mark asked, showing the padlock.

"i guess we can." donghyuck nodded. "but i'll keep the key."

mark nodded as he pulled they key out of the padlock and handed it to donghyuck.

hades' son then placed the padlock around one of the bars of the cell donghyuck was in.

"i promise i'll get you out of here, donghyuck. and after that, i'll love you and take care of you forever."mark spoke, his eyes never leaving donghyuck's.

donghyuck's small hands reached over mark's, and once they were there, he closed them, making a click echo in the room, signalling that the promise had been sealed.

and this time, none of them planned on reopening this padlock.