Chapter Text
When the jeep turned the corner Hoseok pressed down on the gas and took off. Some officers pursued on foot, but a few others got into jeeps and started down the road. They all had to be careful to avoid the broken and burnt object littering the street. When the officers in jeeps started gaining on them, Hyunwoo tossed their hostage off the jeep, sending him rolling and temporarily distracting the officers following them.
“We have a problem,” Hoseok called out from the driver’s seat. In front of them was a tall pile of broken down planks from burnt houses.
“There’s no way this jeep is making it past that.” He was already slowing down to avoid a crash, and the other three were readying themselves to hop out and make a break for it.
When the reached the planks Hoseok turned the jeep sideways to block the other vehicles and they all leaped out of the jeep. Changkyun and Kihyun took off to reach the second point on time and Hoseok was close behind, but Hyunwoo stayed to give them some cover. He shot high, just to confuse and scare off the pursuing officers. Using the jeep as cover, he shot at the tires of the other vehicles before hightailing it out of there to join the rest.
They reached the old store that used to belong to Hyunwoo’s father with the officers a safe distance behind them. Their job was to distract them and disarm as many as they could. If Hyungwon was able to subdue the commander, they were fine. If he couldn’t, they might have to fight their way out.
Changkyun stumbled as they entered the abandoned store, clutching his head and falling to his knees. Kihyun rushed to his side and held him while Hoseok and Hyunwoo were busy keeping watch.
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
“I can hear voices in my head…I feel like I can hear everyone.” Changkyun grabbed at his ears, trying to block out everything that was coming at him, but it was no use. The sounds weren’t coming from outside, they were in his head. There were images too, fluttering around even as he tried to blink them away.
“Okay, just breath. What are the voices saying?” Kihyun was at a total loss but he wasn’t about to let his friend suffer. Changkyun took in two deep breaths, closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on just one of the voices, just one of the images.
“I can see. I can see Hyungwon.” All three of them perked up at that. What was this thing suddenly afflicting Changkyun? The youngest of them continued.
“He’s fighting…It looks like he’s fighting me? I don’t know, I can’t..”
“He can see from someone else’s point of view. Or he can read minds or something.” Hyunwoo suggested.
“You mean..” Kihyun held Changkyun through it, but he was struggling to figure out what was real and what wasn’t.
“He must be seeing if from the commander’s eyes.”
Before they could let that sink in they heard shouts from outside. The officers were approaching. Hyunwoo cursed and raised his gun, readying himself for a fight.
“Kihyun, get Changkyun out of here, go out the back and take him somewhere safe.”
“They’re watching the back door, we’re surrounded.” Changkyun whispered, still trying to ground himself once more.
“Hide in the storage closet, we’ll take care of them.” Hyunwoo looked back at them one more time, then at Hoseok. The blonde stared right back, and they nodded at each other. Hoseok grabbed the door, fist clenched tight on the handle. Hyunwoo took a deep breath and as he did Hoseok ripped the door open. Hyunwoo started shooting, and the officers shot back.
Kihyun grabbed Changkyun and they both crawled to the storage closet and hid inside. Kihyun stacked up boxes by the door while Changkyun held himself in the corner.
“Hyungwon is… He’s got the gun on his father’s stomach. The commander’s angry, god he’s so angry.” Changkyun jumps and yells, holding his stomach for a second. “He shot him. He shot the commander.”
Kihyun took the younger boy in his arms, holding him tight and trying with all his might to feel what Changkyun was feeling. Was this the price the boy would have to pay? To watch his one of his best friends kill someone?
“It’s okay, I’m here. You’re right here, you’re with me.”
“We’re running out of ammo!” Hoseok yelled over the pounding gunfire, reloading his weapon. “We’ve got to get them away from here.”
“I’ll make you a path.” Hyunwoo was beginning to think they should just take out whoever was watching the back and get the hell out of there.
“We don’t have time for that.” When the officer paused their gunfire, Hoseok took off out the door and to the corner of the building. If he could just get around the corner they’d have to go after him.
“Hoseok, no!” Hyunwoo took off right after him without thinking. If even one officer shot with some accuracy, it might all be over.
Shots started ringing out once more. Hyunwoo’s eyes were only on Hoseok as they ran. He saw the bullet tear through his shoulder, watching him get turned around from the force and fall. Hyunwoo screamed and threw his hands out as he ran.
Power came from his movements like an angry ocean wave. The force ripped through the air and as it hit the officers it sent them flying backward. Hyunwoo didn’t even stop to question it, letting another wave of energy go before landing beside Hoseok. He was already clenching his wounded shoulder, staring in awe at the wave that Hyunwoo had sent out.
“Are you alright? Can you get up?”
“Did you do that?”
“What? I don’t know- I think?” Hyunwoo made to help Hoseok stand when an officer shouted at them. He raised his gun and shot before they couldn’t even think of moving. Hyunwoo shut his eyes, not wanting to see the bullet that ended his life.
It never came.
“Hyunwoo… Look.”
He opened his eyes and saw a translucent blue shield around them both. The bullets were bouncing off of it like rain hits the window.
“I think… I think I did that.” Hoseok whispered. The pain in his shoulder was barely bearable but he was holding on thanks to adrenaline and will.
“Can you hold it while we move? Just a little bit longer?”
“I can try.”
The officers were so stunned that they just watched the two struggle back inside the shop. The shock went away as soon as they were out of sight though and the firing started again. Hyunwoo was ready this time, using his newfound powers to push them back once more and this time they retreated.
A scream came out of the storage area and his heart drops. Had someone gotten in and taken advantage of their distraction? Did they get to Changkyun and Kihyun? Hyungwon ran to them, tripping on himself in surprise. Hoseok, who was still pressing down on his wound, followed him.
On the floor, an officer squirmed around while vines wrapped around his entire body. Kihyun was crouched on the ground with Changkyun safely behind him.
“He came from the back door with a knife. I reached my hand out and the vines came right out of the floor.”
Hyunwoo and Hoseok looked at each other, then at the scene in front of him.
“I think I’m telekinetic,” Hyunwoo confessed.
“I can make forcefields,” Hoseok added.
Kihyun couldn’t help but smile, only for a moment. He turned back to Changkyun, who was still sniffling. He had been full out weeping a moment ago but it had died down to quiet sobs. Kihyun rubbed his back and gently whispered to him to tell the other two what had happened. Changkyun looked up at both of them with red, scared eyes.
“Hyungwon killed the commander.”
The plan was to meet up at the greenhouse after they shook the officers. All four of them walked over, eyes peeled but morale low. Hoseok was still losing blood and could barely hold himself up, so Hyunwoo was practically carrying him. None of them were surprised when they found it in ruins.
The glass looked like it had been used for target practice. All the table had been flipped over and broken in half, and any leftover plants had been ripped to shreds. Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Jooheon were coming from the other direction, breaking out into a run when they saw the state of the other group.
“We need a doctor, a nurse, something!” Hyunwoo let Hoseok down gently on the ground, swiping away the fallen glass. Minhyuk knelt down beside him quickly, and they both helped Hoseok take off his top to get a better look.
The wound wasn’t huge, a through and through shot on his shoulder. Minhyuk pressed his hands on the wound and concentrated. A soft blue glow came from his palms and Hyunwoo practically stumbled backward. It took a little bit longer than Hyungwon’s wound, but it healed all the same.
“So, we’ve all got powers now?” Hoseok chuckled, still recovering from the pain.
They told everyone what they’re powers were, and they all seemed more and more out of this world. Hoseok and Hyunwoo demonstrated their powers, and Kihyun made a small vine grow from the ground. Minhyuk continued to heal small cuts and bruises.
Hyungwon sat with Changkyun after the younger told him about what he had heard and seen. He explained it with such accuracy, right down to the last thing he said to his father before killing him.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that you had to see that.”
“It’s not your fault. You… You had to, right?” Hyungwon nodded, still feeling ashamed that he had inadvertently made Changkyun a witness.
“This doesn’t feel like power. It feels like I’ve been cursed.” Even now, Changkyun felt like there were voices and visions running through his head. He couldn’t tell what thoughts were his own.
“Once we find The Heart, it will be okay.”
The rest of the group scooted themselves into the conversation.
“How will we find The Heart? We have no clues.” They all looked up a Jooheon, who shook his head.
“I can’t lead you to it. I don’t know where it is either.” He looked over at Hyungwon, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it.
“It’s always been Hyungwon. He’s the key to finding the heart.”
But Hyungwon had no idea where The Heart really was. In truth, he barely knew what The Heart really was. Some kind of god? A collective of magic users? A myth?
“Don’t worry. It will come to you. When the time is right.”
They set up camp back on the hill, hiding away and bundling up close to each other. Hyungwon slept on his back with Minhyuk curled up at his side. Sleep was evading him, even though almost everyone around him was already sleeping. He kept seeing his father every time he closed his eyes. His anger whenever he beat him, spewing cold and harsh words. He saw his father’s body growing cold as they left him on the side of a building. He had killed his father. There was no coming back from that.
“You did what he had to.” Minhyuk could sense that Hyungwon was awake and that his mind was racing. Without even opening his eyes he held him tight and gently rubbed his arm with a hand.
“It’s doesn’t feel like the right thing. It feels like I’m a murderer.”
“You’re a fighter. You went in there to get him to surrender. It was him or you.”
Hyungwon wanted to believe that his father wouldn’t have killed him. That all those threats were empty words from an angry man. Maybe it was because he wanted his father to still be human somehow. But he knew the truth.
“Him or me.” He whispered to himself. Minhyuk kissed his cheek and quickly fell back asleep. Healing was apparently a very tiring business. Hyungwon followed suit, the last thing he saw before falling asleep was a shooting star dash across the sky.
The first thing he sees is his mother. She’s beautiful, even in her gardening clothes and covered in soil and grass. She is kneeling in front of their garden and singing a song. He can’t remember the words, but he loves that song, he’s always loved that song. She motions for him to come closer and he kneels beside her.
“You are so special, my dear child.” She whispers it, so his father won’t hear from inside their country home. “You hold a key inside of you, a map to a wonderful place.”
“How can I find this place if the map is inside me?” His voice is soft, childlike for the first time in a very long time. He feels like himself, but a version that he lost along the way. A version that was beaten out of him once she died.
“You must follow your heart and you must follow the stars.” She pats out the soil in front of her until it’s flat. Then she draws a curved like with her finger, marking an X at the end. That simple line started to morph, to change and create detail. Eventually, it became a map. At first, he didn’t recognize it all. Then he realized that it was so, so close after all.
“The Heart is waiting for you all, Hyungwon. Show your friends the way. They are your family now, and you all belong in The Heart’s guiding light.”
Hyungwon woke up with a gasp, sitting up quick to catch his breath. The movement woke up Minhyuk and freaked him out just a bit. He rubbed his eyes and sat up too, but he was still too sleepy to realize what was happening. Hyungwon stood up and ran to everyone, waking them up one by one.
“What, what, what?” Hoseok shouted, startled when he woke up.
“I know where it is, I know where it is!”
“You know where what is?” Kihyun was still curled up but awake enough to yell.
“The Heart! I know where The Heart is!”
They left their camp later in the day, packing everything up and taking the essentials. It was an unspoken fact that they weren’t coming back after this. The path that Hyungwon saw went straight through the town, but he didn’t worry about being caught by anyone. With no leader and no orders, the officers had moved on, leaving the town with a cold, eerie silence. Still, they traveled with their guns ready and their eyes peeled. Hyungwon led the pack and Minhyuk stayed close by his side. Hyunwoo and Hoseok took the back, Jooheon right in front of them. Changkyun and Kihyun walked in the middle, the youngest one still struggling to walk.
“These voices won’t stop coming. They’re getting louder.” While everyone else kept their guard up for hidden officers, Kihyun had his arms around Changkyun and was supporting most of his weight as they walked. He tried to whisper words of comfort but wasn’t sure if any of it was getting through.
Hyungwon led them straight through what was left of their town. He didn’t hesitate when they walked right past his father’s home, the decaying body still slumped over by the wall. That wasn’t his mission anymore. Now, he had something to find.
The other side of the town was mostly overgrown fields and rocky paths. Once they were through the town they relaxed. It was obvious that no one else was around, not anymore at least.
“We still have a long way to go, should be there by nightfall.” Hyungwon had them all stop and take a breather. Changkyun laid his head in Kihyun’s lap. The others took a moment to ‘play’ with their powers.
When Hyunwoo concentrated, he could use his power to push rocks around and send small sticks flying. Hoseok’s force field was easy to contain when it was small, but it was hard to make it bigger than just one or two people. Minhyuk’s healing touch took away their fatigue, but it could do nothing to help Changkyun.
They began walking again, staying close together as Hyungwon led on. Minhyuk helped Kihyun with Changkyun while the others kept watch.
It was a tough trek but they all knew that it would be worth it in the end. When the sun went down Hyungwon started to pick up the pace.
“We’re close, just beyond the trees.”
When they reached the tree line they could hear it. A calm, consistent heartbeat underneath a calm whisper. Changkyun’s mind seemed to clear with the sound and all of them broke out into a run through the trees.
It was a feeling that they thought had been long gone. Something they remembered from their childhood but had lost through tragedy. It was like finding an old toy or seeing an old friend after many many years. For once, running through those trees with smiles on their faces, they were boys again.
Hyungwon reached the clearing beyond the trees and stopped right in his tracks. There, floating just a few feet in front of him was The Heart. It was a strange mixture of a heart and a blue flower, soft petals beating in a calm rhythm. The glow coming from the Heart entranced him and he barely noticed the others stopping behind him.
They started walking together until they were right in front of it. None of them spoke, just stared with childlike excitement. It was real!
The Heart started to whisper, filling the cool night air with a strange kind of warmth.
“My children, you have made it. Through your pain, your struggle and your heartbreak, you have all persevered. I am so sorry for your struggles, and I am so proud of what you have all done. You were all chosen by me, and you have all proved yourselves.”
They all looked back and forth at each other, exchanging smiles and high fives. Those few words of validation somehow made the whole thing worth it. It wasn’t for nothing, it never was.
“But we know that the fight is not finished. The path will only get harder from now on. So, X-clan, will you continue?”
“We will,” Hyungwon spoke for them all with confidence, the other standing strong behind him. They made this oath, there was no turning back now.
“Good. Now, you must rest. We will start in the morning.”
In a flash of blue light, the Heart was gone. But, in its wake, it left a campsite with food, a campfire, and beds for them all. It was silent for just a moment before they erupted in cheers and laughter and hugs.
Dinner was nice, the first peaceful one they had in a while. It was finished quickly, but they stayed around the fire for a while.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it. I really thought that my father was going to kill me.” Hyungwon confessed, wrapped around in Minhyuk’s arms. “But I made it, thanks to all of you. Thank you for being my family.”
“You always talk about how we saved you. But really, you’re the one that saved us.” Hoseok spoke, and the rest agreed. “You brought us all together Hyungwon. You made us a family.”
Hyungwon couldn’t help but laugh. They could go around and around with that for hours. This was all he ever wanted, to have a family that loved him.
Now that he had it, he’d go through hell to make sure it was safe.
This was his family, and this was the home they made for themselves.
This was just the beginning of their story.