200405 Sunday

A/N: To the early birds who already read the next part, I apologise for posting that first without this chapter. Clearly my brain is a bit fried. I was supposed to edit this chapter but became busy, then thought I was supposed to post the next one instead. I am terribly sorry once again to those who have gotten spoilers for the next chapter. I hope you are still able to enjoy the plot even with this silly mistake!

He wakes up, feeling as if he just blacked out for one moment and then came back to consciousness. His arms hurt but then that's because two taller and bulkier men are carrying him by the arms. It doesn't matter if they're bulky, because Baekhyun's sure he would be able to throw them off anyway, but for some reason now he can't move at all.

"Baekhyun-ah." A soft voice calls him, but right now he can only open his eyes. He wouldn't have seen Dara's pretty eyes until she comes into his vision. "This is what I'm sorry for."

What happened? Baekhyun thinks to himself, wondering how he had blacked out in the first place.

"When I took you up to the top floor, I genuinely wanted you to be killed." She says and she disappears from his vision again until he can only stare at the floor absentmindedly. "Not because I hated you ... you were just getting in my way of coming in the top 2, with your flawless scores and all. I have nothing against you, really."

"But then, you survived, and I thought ... you were too much of a sweetie for me to kill. I could always find someone else. I really liked you."

Even though Baekhyun doesn't want to believe it, everything adds up – why that man who always came second after him was suddenly eliminated. How he ended up at the top floor but Dara didn't.

I don't want to be sad again. He thinks to himself, but even so, his heart feels that familiar pang of hurt. Should he be happy that he's not even surprised anymore, at this point?

"But then after I got through, I decided I needed to do more to be noticed, to rise higher. To do that, I need to step on someone, rather than be stepped on, but no one else here was easy to step on ... except you.

"I thought it was strange, how you felt warmth with Park Chanyeol. That's when I made up a story – I told them you were also a Monster, so they could catch you and pull me up. So they could trust me more, and give me a higher status and treat me better. It was an educated guess, but I was surprised I was right nonetheless. It was risky but it was worth it.

"If I didn't do that ... who knows, maybe you'd still be by my side ...

"But then, I wouldn't be in the position that I am today." Now, the medicine seems to finally get to his eyelids and they slide to a close. Good, anyway, because he doesn't want to see anything.

"But even though everything was done for my own benefit, you're still my best friend, Baekhyun-ah."

My very first best friend was you.

Is this what a best friend is?

It sucks because even though it's his physical body that had shut down, Baekhyun wishes it was his mental state at this moment in time. So many times, he had wanted to give up, and this is one of them.

Baekhyun, how are things?

At this time, Luhan's voice comes in, invading the privacy that is his mind, but Baekhyun wants to be left alone.

He can't, though.

Fine. Baekhyun responds, and remembers now that he's being held by two men somewhere, where he doesn't know what will happen. Honestly, there really is no other way ...

... They'll probably bring him in and kill him. With the way that Dara is talking, spilling all her secrets of betrayal to Baekhyun, what other end is there?

He's going to die, and he's willing to meet that fate.

And if that's true, there's no point letting the others know, because if they decide to save him, it'll already be too late.

But I don't want to go back. Baekhyun says to Luhan. They said I could choose between them or you, and peace can be achieved as long as you'll never go anywhere near here again. I choose them, because that's where I'm from, and that's where I wanna be.

What are you saying?

All you guys did was exclude me, alienate me, hate me, hurt me. There's nothing for me there.

What about Leader? Yixing?

Life was too difficult with them ... Please, help me thank them for getting me through everything. I wish them a good life.

Then he's dumped onto something soft, but firm – is that an Experiment bed?

Then those hands are tying him down, securing him down onto what he assumes is an Experiment bed.

"Open your eyes." His best friend says, and Baekhyun does, even though he knows he might get hurt more. He realises that he can move his head too, and he turns to scan the surroundings. This place is just like an experiment room, except it's bright.

"Are you going to kill me, noona?" He asks softly, watching her kind eyes gaze back at him.

"No, I couldn't bear to." She replies with a smile, except this time the smile looks different. In her hand, there is the metal blade glinting even in the brightness.

"But for the sake of rising higher, I'm going to need you once again."

"Ah, shit." Luhan mutters, opening his eyes as he snatches the cloth from Jongin to wipe his own face. "We're fucked."

"Why?"

"Byun Baekhyun decided he wants to stay there. And now I don't know how to fucking tell Leader."

"Wait, but –"

"If Chanyeol was awake when he left, maybe we wouldn't be in such deep shit." Luhan curses again, pacing around even though he's sweating. "Fuuuuck. I shouldn't have let him go. I didn't know he would bail like this."

"I can go back and bring him back."

"I don't want you to risk it."

"Baekhyun went back?" A new voice comes in, and Luhan and Jongin turn to find the doctor standing on the other side.

"Hyung, we can explain –" Jongin starts.

"You let him go back there?" Yixing stomps right up until Jongin flinches and cowers. Those hands slam down on the table and Jongin really does flinch – he's never seen Yixing so angry before. "That place, that killed his parents and tortured him?"

"He wanted to." Even at this moment, Jongin wonders how Luhan can stare him down without an inch of fear in his eyes. "And now they want him back. He decided to stay there." Yixing breaks away from the staring competition to stare at Jongin.

"Get him back here."

"Don't be rash." Luhan snarls. "You'll put Jongin in danger."

"If you think Jongin is in danger, why don't you think Baekhyun's in danger?"

"Because Jongin's a Monster."

"Baekhyun's also a Monster." Jongin sees now, those blue eyes are so sharp it's cutting him, so instead he moves backwards and lets them decide his fate, whatever it is.

Luhan doesn't relent at all, even though the tension is sky high, those peach-coloured eyes are flashing.

"Well, he decided it was too hard." He whispers dangerously. "Even though he had you and Leader."

Yixing almost glares back at him and Jongin's so sure he'll either beat someone up or smash the table, but in the end the man moves away.

In the meantime, Luhan deflates where he is, heaving a silent sigh.

"Maybe they'll treat him humanely, who knows." Yixing says softly, as if he's trying to believe it himself. "But I can't assume that until I know he's okay."

"I know he meant something to you, Yixing-ah." Luhan's voice is also devoid of fury now, sounding almost reassuring. "But I'll talk to him, and see if he's all right."

The doctor doesn't reply this time.

"You don't trust me?" Luhan chuckles, and Yixing huffs.

"Let me know what he says." The older mutters. Just as Luhan smiles at him though, sighing in relief, the door opens once more and another figure barges in.

"Did Baekhyun go?" Chanyeol asks, and Luhan groans.

It had taken much, much more efforts to convince Chanyeol to stay put and not act recklessly, and by the end of it, Luhan's sure that he'll die of exhaustion.

Aish, why do these normally intelligent and rational men would become so brainless when it comes to one kid?

He had told Chanyeol that he would still be able to talk to Baekhyun, and be able to hear from Baekhyun's state of mind whether he's all right or not, and then Chanyeol had settled down after thinking it through.

"He said he would come back." Chanyeol continues stubbornly.

"I'll see what's going on, okay?" Luhan replies tiredly. "Just give me a good rest so I can connect with him better tomorrow."

Jongin immediately excuses himself and leaves, trying to pull Yixing and Chanyeol along. In the end, they let him and Luhan heaves out a huge sigh.

Chanyeol leaves the room, pulling away from Jongin's hand that is clutching onto his. The younger shoots him a puppy look but then continues pulling Yixing away, who is letting him.

Standing by himself, Chanyeol unclenches his fists and in his right fist is the crumpled paper.

'I've decided to go early. But I'll be back before you know it =^.^='

He clenches his fist again, heart thumping uncomfortably in his chest.

Baekhyun won't lie about something like this ... Baekhyun wouldn't leave him like this, if he wrote this message to Chanyeol.

Even though Chanyeol wants to believe, like Baekhyun, that SQUAOII will be able to take care of the younger, there is still a growing unsettling feeling in his stomach, bubbling and boiling and no matter how much he pushes it down, it won't go away.

No, it won't do to be rash at a time like this. Chanyeol will wait and listen to Luhan's advice, so that all that they have done for the past two decades will not go to waste.

Baekhyun. A voice invades his mind, waking him up. Baekhyun.

Baekhyun shifts, and when he opens his eyes, darkness meets him – the type of darkness that renders everything invisible and covered, a darkness that Baekhyun has only ever seen when he closes his eyes or makes himself blind.

Luhan ... ssi? He calls out hesitantly, walking around in the darkness, free of chains and strong hands and drugs.

Come back.

No. Baekhyun replies eventually, when he realises that silence might only confuse and worry them – at least, his hyung and his professor. Leave me alone.

Why?

Let them know that I'm okay. It was just ... so hard, living with them. Baekhyun says truthfully. Because they gave me so much, and I gave them nothing.

I really am fine here. Please ... it's hard, when you keep talking to me about it.

I don't know what to say to them.

Please tell them that this is the peace I wanted. To stay at the place where I belong, with no fights, even if I'm apart from them.

Thank you for taking care of me. I won't answer you again. Goodbye.

The older doesn't seek him out again, and Baekhyun walks around this dark space, wondering why there seems to be no light and only endless darkness. Maybe back then he used to be afraid of this sort of thing, of being completely blind, but after everything he went through, he's not afraid anymore.

The him now, knows that maybe seeing is scarier than being blind. Suddenly feeling tired, Baekhyun curls up onto the spot on the ground and closes his eyes.

Not that it makes a difference anyway.

He opens his eyes though, blinking because he feels as if he had just been transferred into another world. Strange, how a moment ago, he couldn't see anything, but now there is that constant brightness blinding him even though his eyelids are protecting him.

Strange, because he's standing up. When he looks down, his hands are stained with red.

He yells, stumbling backwards. He realises now that it's not just his hands, but also his clothes. Panting, he looks around, realising that he doesn't recognise this place at all.

"Where am I?" He asks himself, voice croaky. There is blood all over him and random cuts on his forearms ... is this his blood?

Please, let it be his.

Something invades his mind, except this time it's not Luhan. It's a different force, like a giant barrier enclosing on him, pushing him and crushing his brain. He clutches his head and sinks down onto the floor, panicking. What's happening to his body?

Mostly, his neck hurts, something at the back of his neck, as if stabbing him from the inside.

The force is too strong even though Baekhyun is fighting back, and it leaves him suffocating, suffocating, suffocating ...

... Until everything blacks out again.

"There. I tried again." Luhan says. "He's not coming back."

"Y –" Chanyeol and Yixing start.

"And why ..." Luhan interrupts calmly. "...Would I lie?"

"Look ... why don't you just understand him a little?" The oldest sighs. "You guys treated him like a baby, and he felt humiliated. Okay, maybe not, but point is, it was an unbalanced relationship and he hated being the one that received everything."

"Why don't you tell him –"

"That if he gets his ass back here – "

"He'll be able to repay us –"

"Whatever he owes us?"

"..." Luhan blinks back at the two of them, and then he narrows his eyes. "Is this a family affair ..." He mutters to himself. "I'm not your telegraph, stop treating me like some object."

"I don't believe this." Chanyeol mutters softly. "He won't leave like that."

"Baekhyun won't do this." Yixing stares hard onto the ground. "This isn't his final goal."

"Stop being in denial." Luhan mutters.

"I'm getting him." The both of them say as they stand up hastily, turning to Jongin, who suddenly looks terrified.

"Look, we did treat him a bit harshly at the start." Minseok starts. "Just ... let him be, I reckon."

"Minseok's right." Kris pipes up. "Why would you even think he's in danger anyway? Why would he lie to you like that?"

"Okay, let's just play pretend here." Luhan cuts in, and all of them turn to him. "Let's pretend that we go to SQUAOII to check up on Baekhyun, to see if he's okay."

They all nod.

"And he's okay. Then we'll come back here all safe and sound and live our separate lives together." They all nod again. "Wrong. Our condition of peace is if we lived our separate lives. If we invaded into their privacy, that'll be a breach, and then we'll all be in deep shit again.

"Isn't that what both of you wanted? Peace?" Luhan asks, staring at everyone as if searching for an answer he knows they won't be able to give. "Why would you violate a peace that all of us have worked hard for, for two and a half decades ... just because of your insecurities?'

"Byun Baekhyun is fine. Whatever happens, I'll be the one checking on him. Done deal? We're not doing any rash things based on our insecurities. We're not going to send anyone off to potential danger because we're in denial. I'm here. I have telepathy for a reason."

"Okay." Yixing nods. "Makes sense, if we pretend Baekhyun's safe and sound over there. But what if he's not?"

Silence.

"I can check on him..."

"He lies so he can burden people less." Yixing shoots back, not backing down at all. "If he's lying, then something happened."

"But we don't know that." Luhan lifts himself up in the air. "Why are you so keen on believing that he's lying?"

"Because his dream isn't to just live there forever. He wanted to live on land."

"The land is in ruins." Luhan replies, softly. "That's what Freqse told him."

This time there really is a sort of silence that seems undefeatable, as if everyone had held their breath, the air tense.

"That's not true." Kyungsoo mutters. "It was fine when we left –"

"We left before they all did." Minseok mutters. "Maybe they did something to it."

"No ..."

The despair is there now, even evident in Luhan who had known this for days.

"That's why ... we can't afford to lose this." Luhan says softly. "This is the last thing we have – let's not lose this peace too."

Baekhyun wakes up in the darkness once again, except this time he's afraid of it.

This has been happening more and more often. Baekhyun would be stuck in the darkness, with nothing surrounding him except the endless black, a place that he can't escape from.

Then he would wake up in random places, with random wounds on his body, sweat all over his skin, blood on his fingers and clothes ...

He's scared.

"Help!" He shouts this time as he runs, trying to escape from this darkness. "Help me!"

No one answers - it's as if he's the only person who's alive.

"Why is this happening to me?!" Why is he running, but there's nothing and no one stopping him? Why is there no end to this darkness? "Help me ..."

He's afraid, because while he's here, what's he doing in that bright world elsewhere?

When he opens his eyes, this time it's to the light.

This time, his hands are closed around something warm and smooth, and his eyes widen in horror and he lets go immediately. The body topples to the ground, those dark brown eyes wide in shock as they stare back up at him.

The man is dead.

Baekhyun just killed a man.

He's shaking so hard now that he can't physically hold anything. His legs are weak but for some reason he's still standing upright.

That same force inside his brain pushes in again, as if trying to kick him out, and he clutches his head, torn between sobs and moans. The back of his neck is throbbing, and the force is so strong and Baekhyun wants to just give up right then – to just give it what it wants and disappear from this world until he doesn't need to face the horrible reality of killing someone.

But he can't, because he's sure this force is what's making him kill ... or is that an excuse?

I'd never kill anyone! He thinks to himself even though his hands prove otherwise, as they wound itself around that delicate neck. I won't.

Why did I kill him ...? How ... Why ...

"Stop ... get out ..." Baekhyun groans between pants and gasps, rolling around the floor without realising. "Please ..."

In the midst of the battle, Baekhyun opens his eyes and finds a dagger across the floor. Desperately his hands leave his hair and land towards the ground as he crawls towards that weapon, hands reaching out and closing around the wood.

He'll kill himself and then it'll be all over.

Clenching the dagger tightly in his fist, he pulls it towards him, swinging the dagger up ...

... The force stops.

Suddenly weakened, the dagger flies out of his hands, landing right next to his face, so close to hurting him. He doesn't care anyway, and instead lies panting on the ground, trying to blink away what had just happened.

Still, what's done is done, and Baekhyun can't avoid it no matter how much he wants to, or tries to.

Slowly, he pushes himself off the ground, eyes searching around the place, but he can only see himself staring back at him. He sees now, his clothes are torn, he's dirty, and there is dried blood all over the cloth and on his fingertips and even his face. All the walls that are supposed to be walls, are mirrors instead, as if a cruel joke to show him what he truly is.

He did not just kill one person.

Not even trying to calm his internal rage and frustration at himself, Baekhyun stands, dragging himself to the mirror. Is this what hell is?

No, even if Baekhyun committed all wrongs, he won't admit it. Especially when he wasn't there to do it!

This must be an illusion. That's it. He'll just break away and wake up from this hell.

This is not his doing. This is not him.

Panting, Baekhyun bunches his hand into a fist and then attacks the mirror. It cracks under the force, but it doesn't shatter. Baekhyun removes his hand, and tries again, but just as he's about to punch the wall again, the same force returns and blocks him.

He clutches his head again, curling up into a ball to try and fight this new force that seems to be taking over his body. No, he can't let this force control him just to kill others. He won't succumb to this.

With every mental and physical strength he can muster, Baekhyun pushes himself up again with great difficulty, trying to fight through every artificial urge in him that's trying to force him to turn away, but Baekhyun is pushing through. He didn't go through so much in the last few months just to lose.

Stop it. He thinks, shutting his eyes as he pushes with all his might, and then he hears the sound of a punch, the sound of glass, and the sound of glass falling to the floor. He opens his eyes, feeling the force fading away as if he had pushed the force away by himself. Through the brokenness, he sees figures on the other side.

A double-sided mirror?

Baekhyun inches closer, uncurling his fist even though it hurts, and presses his palms against the glass. When he peers closer, he can see that there are people on the other side.

"Let me out!" He shouts, hitting the wall with his palms. None of them move, as if they're not keen on saving him. Why would they, he realises later, because after all, they were the ones who had probably put him in here.

"Please ..." He whispers, the energy leaving him. "Let me go ..." Meeting their cold, unmoving figures, Baekhyun slowly sinks onto the floor, letting both his arms fall to his side, panting softly.

After going through so much, he knows it's no use begging. If anything, they might be waiting for him to run out of energy, just to use him again, however they did it all the other times.

I need to preserve my energy so I don't let That take over me again. He thinks to himself, still trying to catch his breath. Blood is dripping from his knuckles but the pain seems so detached from his brain now, just like the throbbing at the back of his neck.

He stays just like that for a long time, staring at the outside world, but none of them move either, as if keen on staring at him for as long as he will stare at them. He stays until his hand has stopped dripping the blood, stays until his knees hurt from the hard floor, stays until he stops panting, stays until he wants to close his eyes and sleep ... but he knows if he closes his eyes now, he might never wake again.

But it seems that he can't physically take this, because his eyes start to close against his wishes.

No ... He tells himself, and blinks open his eyes again, and when he blinks back up and through the mirror, he finds that one of the men is instructing another, and the other disappears.

Somewhere in the distance, he hears a sound, and finds one of the men entering with a syringe in his hand. Baekhyun tries as fast as he can to lift himself off the floor, standing just in time to block the attacking syringe with a swipe of his hand. The man visibly looks terrified as the syringe falls out of his hand – after all, he is a thin, lanky man and he can't possibly be able to fight against Baekhyun, even though he's only a weakened Monster.

"Don't." Baekhyun whispers out, too weak to form a proper voice. He stumbles forward, trying to push the man away to escape this place, but then the force returns suddenly, such that he is taken aback and unable to resist.

Suddenly he's pulled into the darkness, where the tiredness and fatigue that was physically there is now gone. Baekhyun shouts in this terrifying darkness, desperate to control his body again as he shuts his eyes and fights against the force.

"Sir! What are you ...? I'm still here!" He hears an unfamiliar voice in the distance, and he pulls himself towards it, not wanting to lose the last bit of consciousness left. When he next opens his eyes, he's back into the bright world.

But his hands are closed around a slender neck. The man is still alive, choking ... dying.

With every strength he can muster, Baekhyun fights back against the force that is slowly weakening just like him. Finally, he lets go of the man and he topples to the floor, clutching his own neck and trying to catch his breath. The force fades away until there is dead calm in Baekhyun's brain.

Feeling more alert now, even though still exhausted, Baekhyun bends down towards the man, trying to hold him and check if he's okay. The man flinches and moves away from him, still coughing.

"I'm sorry." He says softly, his own voice hoarse. Not wanting to waste any more time here, Baekhyun stands and turns to the exit where the man had left the door open, and Baekhyun breaks into a run.

Leaving that bubble room, Baekhyun looks around into his clear surroundings, trying to figure out a way to escape ... yet, all of the routes look the same.

Instead of stopping, though, Baekhyun runs and continues to run, turning blindly and without purpose. No matter how much and how long he runs, no one chases him. Will they let him go, just like that?

Is it because he'll die anyway?

Even though the doubts are slowly piling up in his heart, Baekhyun runs for his life. If he can do anything to get away from this murderous spirit inside his heart, he'll do it no questions asked. Anything to get away ...

"Keep running." Someone calls at him, and for a minute Baekhyun thinks it's that internal monster that's laughing at him. "But you can't escape."

Ignoring the voice, Baekhyun keeps running.

"You won't be able to get away, Byun Baekhyun: you're inside a bubble."

Baekhyun stops, panting as he looks around in an attempt to search for the owner of that voice – he finds it, belonging to a man who had been outside that little room that had suffocated him before.

"This is SQUAOII, the bubble city. Do you think you'll be able to hide forever?"

"Leave me be." Baekhyun shouts with the strength he has left. "We already agreed on peace. It's useless to experiment now."

"Peace?" The man chuckles. "What a joke. How about I tell you what's really going on?"

Taking a deep breath, the man starts: "Do you know what we inserted in you? We –" When he opens his eyes, he finds that the boy is gone.

"Doesn't even want to hear me out." He mutters, before taking out a hand-sized device.

"Close all doors. And block all open exits. Make sure he doesn't leave this building."

As he runs, Baekhyun begins to see now that there are people who are trying to stop him, but he's nearly there. The moment he leaves this building, he'll find a way to escape this bubble island.

Even so, the number of people trying to stop him outweighs his one and only self, and in the end, he has no choice but to be cornered by them

"If you don't move, you'll regret it." Baekhyun declares, panting as he stops at the main entrance out of EX'ACT. None of them budge.

"I'm sorry." He mutters, before switching off all the lights in EX'ACT, and SQUAOII. In case they can still see in the dark, Baekhyun blinds all of them individually, holding onto that command as he quickly slides through the chaos and out the door.

But somehow he can't hold onto this power at all, because pain explodes from inside him the moment he steps outside. Unable to control his body, he collapses on the ground, and the hold he has on everyone's sight disappears.

Even though the lights have not been restored, the men who were blocking his way have their own torchlights, with which they switch on and use to find him. In his world of pain, he doesn't notice as they pick him up from the ground and drag him back, but he does realise that this had all happened because his body had not been in balance.

"I asked you to listen to me." A voice sounds above the world of pain that's slowly fading, and Baekhyun opens his eyes, meeting the face of that man again that he had quickly abandoned without a thought. "You're not curious at all what happened?"

Baekhyun is too weak to speak now, even though he's mentally scolding himself for being so reckless.

"Now that you can't run away, let's all sit here and talk slowly." The man says, and Baekhyun registers, with what's left of his consciousness, men placing him down on a chair, hands still on his arms as if to hold him upright. The man sits across him.

"I'm Yang Hyunsuk. Call me YG." He says, crossing his legs. "Let's start from the start."

"Thousands of years ago, the two distinct human species coexisted together and lived in harmony. However, not really knowing why, 30 years ago, the war between Monsters and Lucky Ones broke out – It was called the MAMA War.

"Many people died ... Families broken ... Relationships torn apart ... I'll get to the point." The man adds after realising that Baekhyun's eyes are drooping slowly. "Point is, we all thought it was Monsters who started the war against us, with their powerful strength and strange abilities. We were so traumatised ... that we forgot everything about them, except, of course, that they murdered our loved ones and ruined our peace.

"But that was just a lie." YG pulls up a twisted smile, looking almost hysterical. "These people in SQUAOII right now ... they didn't forget out of PTSD – they were given a potion that forcefully took away their memories. The potion that everyone took as a condition to enter SQUAOII? It was not to suppress all potential diseases or viruses. The only true purpose for that was to erase all unnecessary memories of Monsters, and to feed hate onto Lucky Ones to believe that they were the only victims.

"It was never the Monsters that started the war. It was this." YG pulls out a little plastic tube, so small that it is a fingernail long, and inside it, little gold flakes sparkle. "Gold. It had a strange effect on Monsters – Monsters can die from coming in contact with it, yet when they inhale it ... they go crazy and out of their mind.

"It was gold that made them lose control and made them kill off everyone – not just Lucky Ones, but also their own kind. How cruel is it to snap out of that drug just to find your loved one dead in your arms, killed by your very own hands? How narcissistic for Lucky Ones to believe it was just them that Monsters were killing!

"I see you asking, why this happened?" That grin is unbearably wide. Baekhyun is too tired to ask anything – he can barely take this in. "Simple – world domination."

"It was all part of the plan to control Monsters. Creating a story to make both races turn against each other ... breaking trust is too easy, even though we lived together for hundreds of years. The moment Monsters started going crazy, Lucky Ones immediately turned their backs against Monsters and fought back. Too easy to break the trust.

"Then, using Lucky Ones' hate and intelligence to build a laboratory that would find all the weaknesses of Monsters – not to create peace, nor to destroy, but to control. How do we control them? With this." He shakes the little tube in his hand. "Finally, there is a way for Monsters to be controlled, after years and years of research. With a little of our brains and technology, and a lot of gold, we can finally control all the Monsters ... It's a pity that you're only half. It's not worth it to use it with you – you break out of it too easily." The man looks a little sad at that.

"Once Monsters and their idiotic brains can be controlled, they can be used to oppress Lucky Ones, and then world domination will have succeeded."

For the first time since this entire conversation, Baekhyun's heart skips a beat, because he's afraid of this manipulation. If this greed for power could cause such a tragic war, then what else is it capable of?

"You'll never ... get them." Baekhyun says softly.

"Oh, but I will." YG continues, with a laugh. "If you can't be our Experiment, you can be our hostage." Baekhyun would scoff at that, if he had the energy.

"They'll ... never come." He pushes out. "No one ... wants to save ... a half-blood."

I wonder how you're all doing? I hope you're all living peacefully with the thought that everyone will be okay. They can't reach you, only because you think it's all over.

As long as you stay away, nothing will happen.

If Baekhyun had ever hesitated about lying to Luhan, all hesitation is now destroyed, and his heart almost skips at the thought at how good his decision had been.

Besides, even if Luhan knew, Baekhyun's sure he wouldn't say anything, because it's true: No one will come and save the half-blood. Even though in his heart he has hopes that Chanyeol and Yixing will come, everyone else will stop them ... if they came.

"We caught you through a telegram – we'll do it again."

"No." Baekhyun whispers, the biggest thing he can do right now. "I know ... I know who can stop you."

"Who?" YG asks, eyes wide with excitement staring at him. "Your biggest idol, Freqse-ssi?"

Even if he doesn't know where I am, he'll save me for sure. He has everyone's trust and respect. There is no way you will win over him.

"Enough." A new voice interrupts, but Baekhyun can't even see anything now as he closes his eyes and tilts his head down to rest. Even so, that voice is too familiar ...

Please, no ...

"Sorry, sir. Just thought it was a bit funny."

"Don't make fun of my number one fan." A familiar, rough hand brushes against his jaw and tilts up his chin. Even if Baekhyun's heart had been broken a thousand times, it still breaks now, just as badly as before. "Look at you, Baekhyun, you look like you're dying."

His body seems to want to distract him from the grief, and he coughs instead as a response. A small chuckle escapes him, and Baekhyun feels a breath brush across his neck, very close to his ear.

"For being my biggest fan, how about you take your very first order from me?" That gentle voice asks him, but before Baekhyun can answer, something sharp digs into the back of his neck. Too tired to cry out in pain, Baekhyun's body can only react by falling forward from the force, but the man's shoulder supports him upright. Warm blood pools out and Baekhyun can feel something cold digging into his skin, as if to take something out, and then placing something even colder inside – almost as if he's replacing the little plastic tube that YG had been talking about, as if that little tube of gold is a new battery to control Baekhyun. "Do my dirty work for me."

Baekhyun wants him to stop, but everything inside him is exhausted, and he thinks that maybe if his body is like this, he won't be able to do anything. The back of his neck is throbbing with pain and energy and the force inside his brain returns and this time he's too weak to stop it. He still tries, though, pushing it away as hard as he can.

"I want you to kill YG." That gentle voice is the last thing he hears before his consciousness spirals out of his body.

Even though Luhan had reassured him over and over again that Baekhyun is fine and that he's just in another place, living peacefully without all of them, Chanyeol had never felt at peace since Baekhyun left him.

He can respect if Baekhyun doesn't want to stay – after all, Baekhyun didn't have the best time here, and he's always respected Baekhyun's wishes, even though it had caused problems before. He can respect that Baekhyun doesn't want to return, even if that means Chanyeol will forever lose his first love. Still, his heart can't rest because Baekhyun had lied so many times before just so he won't become a burden ... and if that's true, then that means Baekhyun isn't in good hands.

Heart unable to take it anymore, Chanyeol moves to the meeting room, body looming over the laptop. He sits down, and immediately switches it on.

Laptop -> Preferences -> Communication -> Signals -> Receive Signals

One by one he clicks on each button, until he comes to the three options: From anyone; From contacts; From no one.

The pointer hovers over 'From anyone', but he hesitates.

Last time they had received the telegram out of an accidental click, which ended up in Baekhyun leaving him for what may be forever ... Does he dare risk this sort of thing again?

What if they'll be able to track their whereabouts because of his reckless action?

Nothing to lose. He thinks to himself before he clicks on it.

Chanyeol waits for the laptop to load, but even after it's loaded, there is nothing.

Maybe he's really okay over there. Chanyeol forces himself to believe, and he sits there for a long time, wanting to let that reality sink in.

The door opens and Chanyeol looks up immediately, alert.

"Leader." Blue eyes blink in surprise in the darkness, and Chanyeol visibly relaxes, even though there's nothing to be alert about.

They stare at each other for a few moments.

"You're here to check too." Chanyeol says, as a statement. The older doesn't reply, but only walks over to stand next to Chanyeol, staring down at the screen.

"There is something." Yixing says softly, leaning closer to peer at the screen.

"No, there's –" Chanyeol stops, then jerks to stare at the screen. Indeed, there is one new and unread file waiting to be opened, one Chanyeol swears that wasn't there before. Chanyeol hovers the pointer over the telegram and then clicks on it.

The empty space in the room in front of them sizzles into a hologram, and it's the same man from the previous hologram – the man that Baekhyun admires.

"Hello, fellow Monsters." Freqse greets calmly, and Yixing and Chanyeol are so focused that they don't notice new people entering the room. "You may recognise me from my previous telegram that you received. In return, I will give you an update of what happened."

"Thank you for bringing a representative over to talk to us. I heard from a little bird that even though you sent a representative, you would not have sent anyone that was wholly and truly your kind. Now, if we're going to play this distrust game, then let me in on it." The camera moves and then Baekhyun comes into view. He's unconscious on a luxurious looking chair, dried blood caked down his neck, clothes dirty and torn and also tainted with blood, his cheek red as if healing from a scab, and cuts and wounds down his arms, including knife cuts, teeth marks, and even more dried blood.

"Byun Baekhyun is in my hands, my fellow Monsters. If you want him alive and well, you have to come here and get him." That gentle expression suddenly turns sadistic, wide dark eyes staring right in the camera, as if unafraid. "Something else to note: we're prepared for another war."

Then the telegram ends.

Silence engulfs the entire room until something flies across the room. Yixing and Chanyeol snap their heads to the ruckus, finding peach eyes glowing at them.

"Calm down." Luhan says, holding the laptop in his hand. Chanyeol blinks, taking a breath before letting his fires simmer.

"Jongin." Yixing calls, blue eyes flashing in such a way that the younger moves behind Luhan, as if to fend for himself.

"Don't be idiotic." Luhan growls, holding onto Jongin's arm. "I thought we all learned to use our heads."

"You're right." Chanyeol says quietly. "No point diving our heads in the water when we haven't learned how to swim."

"Right." Luhan replies softly. "Let's think this through carefully."

"Better hurry up then." Yixing scowls.

"Seems like a war that we had ... um, sort of been planning." Jongin pipes up. "So maybe it's time to gather everyone and ... get ready."

And that's how all of the Monsters, who had spent the past few months training, end up in the Meeting Room once again, the one that had been burned and rebuilt.

"I thought we didn't need to do anything to do with them anymore." Someone shouts. "You said it was over."

Luhan shuts everyone up and then explain what happens.

"Go there? To save the halfie?" The crowd mutters in disapproval, and then when one of them shouts out their refusal to participate, the others join in.

Luhan sighs.

"Up to you whether you want to come or not." He announces. "But he's one of us, and we don't abandon our kind. Whoever is with me, meet me back here tomorrow."

The crowd continues protesting.

"Risk so many lives to save one?"

"This is so reckless!"

"They can have him!"

"I'm out."

"I'm not forcing you." A new voice continues. Everyone stops talking and turns to find their Leader walking in. "But however little of us there are to face the war, we are still going."

This time, silence ensues over the crowd.

"Maybe you're right, and this is just a mission to save Byun Baekhyun ..." Chanyeol declares. "... But it's also the last battle. We'll settle everything, and end this tragedy between us – whether it's with peace, or with another tragedy." When he ends his speech, he walks straight out of the room, leaving the room whispering.