Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Rocks scrape against Hongjoong’s back as he digs his fingers between the bandit’s. It’s for naught. The bandit’s grip is firm and completely unwavering. He drags the captain by the back of his jacket toward the open mouth of the mine. Joong can hear grunts of struggle and protest from the crew around him. He wants to think of a solution, but his brain’s laggard, still lacking oxygen.

Suddenly, Hongjoong’s body is thrown. He skids across jagged rock and discarded metal pieces into the cave. A pained gasp leaves his mouth at the agony of rocks and rust scraping against his skin. Joong hears others drop in his approximate vicinity. A few even fly further, one or two unfortunates hitting the jagged wall at the very back of the top level. 

Hongjoong squints at those around him, trying to discern who is who. His eyes adjust to the dimness gradually, but it’s not enough time to think of anything meaningful. 

Yet again, they stand in a neat row. Black, broad silhouettes barricade ATEEZ’s crew, barring them from their only exit. Footsteps approach, their sound that of heavy boots. They step slowly, ever so slowly - almost relaxedly, savoringly - toward the captain.

Hongjoong tries to get up. He winces, gritting his teeth to endure the hurt stinging him inside and out.

“You don’t have to do this,” Hongjoong says, his voice more hoarse than he’d like. He manages to prop himself up on his elbows, squeezing back the tears welling up in his eyes. “Think about what you’re doing here. If you want money, why not just rob the big guy?”

The footsteps halt.

For a moment, the cave falls silent. There’s naught but the distant drips of water and wind blowing beyond. Vision gradually improving, Hongjoong makes out the figure bearing down on him. They’re very much the same as everyone else. Black jacket, black hat, black mask, chains. Sunlight trickles in from behind the bandit.  The one detail that distinguishes this one from all the rest is his hair. It’s long, grazing the bandit’s shoulder.

“Money?” A voice cuts through the silence.

Goosebumps needle Hongjoong’s skin. It sounds familiar, that voice.

The bandit’s shoulders shake as he lets out a soft chuckle, “You think we’re doing this for the money…?” He bends over and leafs gloved fingers through the captain’s hair. Hongjoong freezes with panic. He’s terrified the bandit is going to pull, but he doesn’t. Instead, what he does is so, so much worse.

Though the bandit’s hands aren’t particularly large, they fan out the fingers across the captain’s skull and squeeze. Air departs the captain’s lungs as he’s lifted into the air by his head alone. His mouth drops, throat squeezing around stillborn wails of agony at the mounting pressure on his head. Yet again he feels lightheaded, wide-eyed and terrified. His heels dig in uselessly, quickly losing traction as his body’s held in the air. Though the man in black is no bigger than the captain himself, he lifts Hongjoong with the ease one would a ragdoll.

“You know nothing of our motivations,” The bandit’s tone is almost lilting. Amused, perhaps.

“It… It-it-” Hongjoong coughs loudly, blinking tears back as he attempts to speak. “It can’t be… B-be worth… It-” He huffs out.

The bandit moves, carrying Hongjoong over to the inky black dropoff of the lift. Joong’s heart drops. Sickness roils in the captain’s stomach as he realizes what’s about to happen.

“Craaack!” A loud noise echoes out from across the cave. Joong attempts to get a look. Unable to turn his head, he just barely catches sight of one of the bandits by a cave wall. His eyes go wide, and he questions what he sees. A black-clad bandit had, somehow, managed to dig his arm halfway into a wall. Splinters and cracks radiate from the point of impact.

“Bbbrrbbrbrbrbbrbr…” A low rumble kicks up from the mouth of the lift.

They’re deliberately upsetting the structure of the leaky, decrepit mine. It makes sense to Hongjoong, now. The bandits plan to throw them down and trap them. Tears flood the captain’s eyes anew, but he stubbornly holds them back. He urges himself to think. Think, think, just think. It’s all he can do. However, in the present even that proves difficult. He can feel the grip on his head tighten. Joong can’t hold back the lingering fear that his skull will get crushed before he can do anything else. Pain pulsates from the points of contact, overpowering logical thought more and more with each passing second.

Without warning, the bandit lets go.

Hongjoong can’t relish in the relief because the instant the other’s hand opens, his body begins to fall. His shocked yelp gets caught in his throat, and he squeezes his eyes shut on instinct. There’s a decent chance that the fall won’t kill him. Somehow, the prospect is even more horrific to Hongjoong. He and his crew will be left to rot, bones broken and bleeding out as they’re tossed into the mine shaft like garbage down a chute. He doesn’t want to endure that misery. He doesn’t want his crew to, either.

No.

Hongjoong refuses to.

Desperately, he reaches out toward his aggressor. In that instant that stretches on to feel like a lifetime, he stretches his body as far as it will go, searching. If he’s going down, he’s going to take at least one of thse fuckers with him. Cool metal grazes Hongjoong’s fingertips, and he closes his hand around it without a second thought.

Hongjoong holds onto that bandit’s chain for his life.

Though the bandit showed insane strength, the surprise element ultimately compromises his balance. The tension in the chain goes slack as the man in black stumbles after Hongjoong. The captain’s mind reels. Acting more on preservative instinct than conscious thought, he tugs the other close and shoves him down. Joong figures if the fucker’s going to throw him down, at least he ought to give him the courtesy of a soft landing.

A lot of noise and commotion follows. There are shouts and grunts, the sound of collisions - fists against flesh and grappling. Though it feels like forever, Hongjoong’s trip to the bottom takes seconds. Luckily, as he hoped, he lands on top of the man in black. In spite of the cushion, the landing still hurts. The impact swiftly knocks the air out of Hongjoong’s lungs. 

Chest burning, Hongjoong rolls off of the other. He wheezes to catch his breath yet again, but his lungs adamantly oppose cooperation. The captain casts a sideways glance at the bandit who’d landed with him. The smear of black remains completely and utterly still. Hongjoong gulps nervously, wondering if the man had hit the back of his head. Guilt begins mixing with the swill of pain and anxiety swimming in Hongjoong’s guts. Did he just sentence that man to death? Sure, the guy was a bastard. But he was still just a sellsword. The man was doing a job. Obviously, it was a survival situation - but did he deserve to die? Hongjoong sniffles. He tries to shake away the thoughts zipping around in his head, to focus on getting the hell out.

That’s when the bandit sits up.

The movement is so smooth and sudden, Hongjoong actually freezes. Though he can barely see in the darkness, Hongjoong can feel the other’s gaze boring into him. That man is very much alive. Alive and probably pissed. Joong immediately turns and fights to get back onto his feet.

“Craash!” “Craash-!”

Hongjoong yelps as two more shapes drop onto the ground right next to him. Joong covers his mouth to stop himself from letting out a wail. His chest heaves as panic spikes, shooting through his veins like injected poison. His eyes begin to adjust to the darkness more and more. He notices a wide-brimmed hat and a tail. 

A tail?

“Y-Yunho-” “Craaaaash!” “Thud!!” “-ahh!” Joong shrinks back into a nearby wall as more drop. Are they all just jumping down? Or are they being thrown? In the dark, it’s so hard to tell friend from foe.

“Brbrbrbrbrb…” Hongjoong’s body shakes, though surprisingly not due to his own nerves. The mines shift and shudder around him. “Brbrbrbrb-”

“Captain!” A voice calls out.

“Hongjoong?” Comes another.

“Sllliiip-” “Aaaah-!” “Thud- thud!” More drop to the lower level.

“Who- Who’s there?!” Hongjoong asks pleadingly. He winces when a blue-hued beam of light shines across the cavern. Too panicked to think straight, Hongjoong can doesn’t have much time to figure out what’s happening. He sees the crags, rocks, and jagged metal of the old mine. He sees cracks stretching across the walls like veins. He manages to make out a few familiar faces, much to his relief, “Y-Yeosang?”

The cyborg, eyelights on, scans the cavern,“Captain- Fff-!” A bandit rushes toward him, tackling him to the ground. Hongjoong lunges toward the two, but he collides with something else before reaching the other.

“Splaaaash!” “Squeaaak-”

Wetness pours down Hongjoong’s back, making him and whoever he’d crashed into freeze momentarily. The captain’s head whips around in search of the source. In the low light of the cavern he squints to see a leak sprung from a crack above.

“Oh fuck-”

“Brbbrbrbrbbr…”

“Where is everyone?!” Hongjoong calls out. A force tugs him by the collar. The pressure on his windpipe makes him cough and sputter.

“I-I’m here-” “We’re right here.” “I…” “Captain they’re-”

“Brbrbbrbrbr…”

“Splaaaash!”

“Fuck- It’s the mine-”

Hongjoong calls out hopeless, confused, wet, and in pain. Everyone is moving too fast. Everything is a collection of blurs and shadows, barely discernible in the darkness.

“BBbrbrbrbbrbbrbbrbr…” The rumbling grows louder, and Hongjoong’s knees shake. He feels as if his very bones are rattling. The tremors run up from the soles of his feet to the base of his spine. 

“Splaash!” “Drip- drip- drip-”

“Shit-!” “Up the lift!” Desperate calls echo across the cavern. They bounce around, distorting into haunting, hollow noises, like the cries of ghosts. Who knows. Maybe soon they will be ghosts. Joong throws the haunting thought out of his head.

“Fuck-” “It’s slippery-” “Ow!” “What even are you people?!” “Ff-” “It’s over there-”

“BRBRBRBBRBRBRBR-” “Splaaaaaaash!”

The leaky crack above Hongjoong bursts. It baffles the captain that a place so dry could have so much water undrground. A massive stream waterfalls down from above. The force slams Hongjoong back onto the ground, and the captain cries out. His screams are drowned, washed away with the violent current of water flooding the cavern. Hongjoong can feel the force of gravity coax the water elsewhere - and his body along with it.

The captain tries to warn, “The water, it’s-”

“CRAAASH!” “SPLAAAAAAASH!”

Another rupture happens elsewhere, doubling the pace of the flooding. The sudden influx is enough to submerge the captain, and for a moment, things go quiet.

Roaring waters drag the captain under. Beneath the surface, sounds dull, and the pressure of gravity relinqueshes. Hongjoong’s tears feel hot in comparison to the chilling stream carrying him. Under the surface, he allows himself that. He lets his heart break and cries. He cries because he is in pain, because he was once again deceived and betrayed, because he is on the precipice of losing everything - of causing those he cherishes to lose everything. 

But most of all, he cries because he knows that nobody will hear him.

The spell is brief yet cathartic, and when he’s had his moment of self pity, he feels oddly refreshed. The physical pain is still there, a reminder that he’s alive, and the emotional toil remains ever present, static electricity swimming under his skin, thorns just ever so gently prodding his heart. The captain determinedly flails his limbs. For a brief second, he surfaces, and upon doing so he takes the biggest breath he can. He wades in the opposite direction of the current, toward where he assumes he’d come from.

His fingers find something in the dark - a rock or metal post, he doesn’t know. The captain closes one hand around the thing, then another. He clings for dear life as water rushes further down into the depths of the dessicated mine.

San grits his teeth as he drags Wooyoung out of the raging stream. The hume is shockingly heavy. The siren loops his arms under the hume’s shoulders, digging his heels into the soaked rock beneath his feet. The main chamber flooded, resulting in everyone getting washed away. Everyone dispersed too quickly, getting dragged down into every nook and cranny. Though the siren considers himself unmatched under water, even he couldn’t follow everyone. He had to make a choice.

Wooyoung coughs, grimacing as consciousness gradually returns, “San…?” He murmurs weakly.

“I’ve almost gotten you out,” San intones softly. “It looks like something caught on your ankle.” Gnarled metal wraps around the human’s ankle, binding him to the depths. San’s brows knit with exertion as he tugs Wooyoung out the rest of the way.

The siren’s expression transitions into one of shock as another body gets dragged up. Dangling from the tangle of metal is a man. Initially, San bristles. He clutches Wooyoung closer, ready to defend him from an oncoming attack. However, San quickly realizes that the man who’d gotten tangled with Woo is certainly no bandit.

Hands hang limply from the cuffs attached to the chain. Light flickers on and off behind the familiar blue eyes. Typically gleaming, perfect hair sticks to the man’s face and his black clothes cling to him, revealing a gauntness San hadn’t noticed before. How far the mighty fall. The petty officer looks completely unlike himself. Now barely conscious, San wonders how he ever allowed himself to feel aggressed by someone so pitiful. 

San contemplates leaving the officer as is. He could simply disentangle the chain from Wooyoung and toss the man back into the water. While the brief idea of it is entertaining, San knows himself. He could never go through with it.

The voice of his chief echoes in his head; “You’re soft,” it chides. San ignores it. The will and ways of his old life have no place in his new one. Reluctantly, the siren reaches forward and takes hold of the chain. He unwraps it from Wooyoung’s ankle and drags the petty officer out onto the rubble beside the other.

The blond is surprisingly hardy, and he murmurs,“Th...Thank y-” His words devolve into a coughing fit.

San heaves a sigh, ignoring the other to assess their situation. The siren slicks his toussled locks back as he surveys the area around them. They’d gotten flushed somewhere further in the depths of the mine. Water continues to wash down the tunnel from which they’d come. San follows the stream as it traces the ground before waterfalling down a slope. The noise of it is near deafening, ricocheting ceaselessly from wall to wall.

Cautiously, San walks over to follow the stream’s steps. The strip of rock they’d landed on trembles ever so slightly beneath his feet. The siren mutters a curse when he sees where the stream of water ends. The rock slopes slightly before cutting off abruptly into a steep drop off. San hears the sound of water crashing down below, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t for the life of him see the bottom. That worries him.

The ground is slippery, and from what he observes there is only one way back - the way from whence they came. Though the ferocity with which the water flows down has diminished, San still isn’t certain that guarantees an easy journey. Not to mention - if they continuously disturb the mines, how much longer can they rely on its structural stability?

“San!” Wooyoung shouts strainedly. “Watch out-!”

The siren turns, and a fist immediately smashes into his face. San staggers back, shifting rubble beneath his feet threatening to send him downward. He grits his teeth and bears the pain. The next hand that shoots toward him gets deflected by the siren. 

San brings a knee up and plants a swift kick in the gut of his pursuer - a figure clad in black. Perhaps the dark clothing cloaks him from normal humans, but San is no normal human. Used to low light conditions from years in the depths, he uses his other senses to compensate for what he lacks.

Footfalls nearby inform him that his pursuer is not alone. San ducks down, narrowly avoiding another arm. He dashes away from the drop off to face them on more solid ground. 

“Behind you!” Wooyoung calls out more assuredly. San pivots with wide eyes. As Woo said, another one of them is leering at him just an arm’s length away. The siren hears the crumbling of rock in the distance.

Wooyoung scrambles onto his feet, rushing to the siren’s side. He shoves one off only to get grabbed. The two struggle beside San as the first one comes for the siren. The siren gasps, nearly usurped in his distracted state. Thankfully, he notices before it’s too late.

San moves fluidly, trying to anticipate his opponent’s movements. Initially, the siren fights with confidence. He lands a few good kicks. Though it’s dim, San swears he nails the other’s head a few times. Surely that ought to hinder an opponent. Commotion echoes throughout the cavern as Wooyoung engages in his own struggle. In his peripherals, San makes out another pair duking it out.

The siren’s brows raise with surprise. Is that the petty officer? His photon chain has dimmed significantly, but his hands remain bound even if barely. The blond struggles as a bandit lifts him by the collar of his shirt. His photon chain flickers, illuminating the passage in disorienting flashes. The fiend doesn’t appear to bat an eyelash. Holding a man up with a single hand doesn’t seem to strain the fiend in the slightest.

“Craack-!” San grimaces as a fist comes in contact with his temple. He feels utterly foolish for letting the struggle of someone else - a prisoner, no less - distract him. San’s vision swims momentarily, the few shapes he can discern blurring. San glares at his shadowy pursuer and redoubles his effort more aggressively.

With practiced grace, the siren jumps up stretching his leg out in a targeted kick. His foot strikes his target square on the windpipe. 

“Thud.”

A dull noise sounds out just meters away. San’s head shoots in the direction of the noise. Consternation spears his chest. The human’s familiar silhouette lays on the ground, limp and vulnerible.

“Wooyoung!” San shouts. He leaps toward the hume.

With inhuman speed, the masked bandit San had been fighting slides in front of him. San ends up slamming straight into the mysterious person. The siren grimaces as he’s sent to the ground. He feels as if he’d run straight into a wall. How could a mere human be so immovable?

A few other strained grunts echo through the cavern. San tries to bound past his rival, but the faceless adversary sticks an arm out, gripping the siren tight. The person’s grip is blistering. Fingertips dig into the siren’s side mercilessly, eliciting a searing pain. San fights the person’s grip. He squeezes their arm and thrashes about, but it’s to no avail.

The dark figure by Wooyoung takes a fistful of the hume’s clothing and begins carrying him elsewhere. He walks away, toward the slick slope leading to the drop off. San’s stomach squelches, pained by panic as he writhes. Apparently bothered by the siren’s resistence, his aggressor throws him down abruptly.

San’s body bounces off the rocky ground, and the siren cries out. Rock collides with his spine, and the pain runs through the entirety of his body. He sniffs loudly as he labors to remain lucid. Physical pain he can endure. It’s Wooyoung that he’s more worried about.

The shadow tracking San stands over him menacingly. Though San can’t properly see the person’s gaze, he can tell the other is staring - perhaps plotting, perhaps taunting.

Weakly, San tries to steel himself with a breath. The air scrapes his lungs as it passes through, but he adamantly tolerates it. The siren takes another breath and begins to focus. With great effort he manages to calm himself to such a state that he can properly think.

San begins with a low hum to attune himself to his surroundings. The sound reverberates through the rock, bouncing across the open chamber above. A hand reaches toward him as he sings weakly:

“Please don’t let me go…” His voice is loud and resonant across the tunnel. “It’s been decided, my only way-”

The bandit dwelling above him simply bends down and grabs him by the throat, apparently unaffected. Tears well in the siren’s eyes, but he continues.

“I believe in me…” The sound is weak, but the frequency is proper. San is sure of that. For all his flaws and shortcomings, he’s confident and practiced in his vocal abilities. Yet still, the hand around his throat tightens, “The moment you say m-my n-” He wheezes futilely, no longer able to vocalize.

San’s body is lifted up until he’s face to face with the faceless man. The rogue holds him close and speaks. His voice is monotone yet malignant.

“Your efforts are fruitless. I am no mere man,” They inform the siren.

Dizziness sets the world into a spin. The siren can’t even muster an answer let alone retaliate as his airflow is restricted. His gills throb from the bruising grip with which the other handles him. Guilt and inadequacy join the pike of fear driving into his gut. He laments his shortcomings. After being raised up as a warrior, trained to seduce and manipulate with his voice, he had accomplished neither. How? How can one be so incompetent?

In spite of the shadows smearing in San’s tunneled vision, he looks for Wooyoung. A figure dangles the hume over the dropoff toward the edge. Pebbles roll off of the incline, falling into nothingness - a foretelling of the fate to become them. The petty officer is pulled along, likely set to suffer a similar fate.

San’s body is tossed yet again. The siren rolls across wet rock, sliding dangerously close to the dropoff. He grimaces at the fresh wave of pain that rolls over him, new aches and scrapes joining his other recent afflictions. The siren begins by propping himself up. Giving up simply is not something he abides by. He will fight to the death.

However, his death does not seem nearly as impending as the other’s, which worries him. 

“Screeeeeeeeeeeeee-!”

San winces, pulsating pain striking his temples as bright light fills the cavern. For the first time since getting thrown down, the men in black appear phased. They pause, cowering from the burst of photons.

“Shit-” The petty officer mutters. His arms are parted - something new. The blond, chest heaving, bruised with hair matted down, looks at his hands. San infers that the man’s cuffs finally gave out, but he hardly has the time or care to consider the matter further.

Unfortunately, the distraction doesn’t last long.

Out of the corner of his eye, San sees the bandit who’d been holding Wooyoung drop the hume. The siren screams, starting after him. It’s all too sudden, too soon. Life moves too slowly for San. He wishes he could turn it back - even if only for seconds. If he’d just spent an instant less contemplating the bastard blond and paid attention… If he’d just been competent and managed to properly sing or properly fight. Regrets pour over the despaired siren. His struggle to combat the bandit threat doesn’t compare to the internal fight he engages in to keep himself together. 

With no preamble or warning, in a second, Wooyoung is dropping. San jolts - another futile effort that ends in nothing more than pain. A blur of black bounds toward the edge.

San’s first instinct is to shove the offender off the edge, to sentence him to the same fate he damned his dearest friend to. He feels fingers wrapping around his arm but manages to wriggle out. San scrambles off of the ground, sending more rocks and pebbles sliding over the edge - where Wooyoung is now. His shoes slip and slide against the uneven surface, threatening to upend him. He clamors toward the black mass draped over the edge, ready to fight to the last breath.

But that breath is wrested from him by shock.

San blinks rapidly, shocked and confused.

“M-Maybe help me,” The black figure says through gritted teeth.

The siren hadn’t even noticed. He saw black clothing and assumed. He thought that Wooyoung had been thrown over the edge and that had been it. He didn’t know why one of the bandits would have decided to watch so dangerously close to the edge. He thought it to be hubris, perhaps. In truth he didn’t dwell on it at all.

“H-He’s slipping,” The blond man’s body lurches forward.

San tosses out conscious thought and shoves his shock aside. His body moves without prompting and suddenly he’s bent over the edge, stretching so he can reach Wooyoung. The hume is unconscious and uncooperative, so San has to settle for his collar. 

“You got him?” The blond asks.

San’s brows furrow, “Wh-” Without warning, the Wooyoung’s weight triples. San gasps, scrambling to get a better grip. The petty officer let go. Myriad colorful curses course through the siren’s head, but given his preoccupation he neglects to put them out to air. He grits his teeth, focusing on hoisting the other up.

The vast cavern amplifies the sounds of struggle. San feels it around him - the hastened steps reverberating through the ground, fast movement cutting air. The siren hoists Wooyoung back up as chaos ensues around him. He casts a few glances around, and his heart drops. The blond hadn’t thoughtlessly let Wooyoung go. He’d done so to redirect the focus of their pursuers.

The petty officer fights valiantly. Though he’s clearly outmatched, he continuously stands up, dodges, feints - does everything he can. San pulls Wooyoung up far; far away from the fight by the edge. He finds a dilapidated hunk of metal. Perhaps it had served as scaffolding or material at some point. Now, it serves as cover for Wooyoung. San whispers an invigorating reassurance in the other’s ear, stroking his cheek soothingly. 

The flow of water has died down, and San feels confident that he could manage the swim upstream - even with Wooyoung in tow.

However, his gaze is drawn not to easy escape, but to the fighting down below. Regardless of personal feelings, the rotten blond is aligned with San. Not to mention he risked himself to save Wooyoung. San has to know why. Even without his curiousity, he knows it dishonorable to leave an ally in combat. It’s an act of cowardice, and Choi San is no coward.

“I’ll be back,” San whispers to Wooyoung. He hesitates for a second before pressing his forehead against the other’s.

The siren bounds toward the cluster of black, charging toward the nearest one. Though brief, the distraction gives the blond time to get onto his feet. Three on two is far from easy, especially given their adversaries. These are no common thugs, San’s concluded. They’re quick to learn, anticipating the siren’s high kicks with increasing ease. Their strength isn’t that of a typical human. Hell, not even sirens have such might.

San keeps two occupied while a third tangles with the petty officer. Grunts and the sound of shuffling boots echo through the chamber. The siren contemplates their current situation. They’re getting nowhere as is. One of these people is too much for San alone, let alone two. He wonders how the odds would be in the reverse situation, though. 

The siren feints right before pivoting on his foot and jumping left. He joins the blond’s side. Two on one could count in their favor. The blond pauses for an instant, likely confused and unsure of who’d joined his side.

“Don’t just stand there,” San says gruffly.

The petty officer understands that, and the two team up on the single adversary. The other pair rush to join their comrade unsurprisingly. San just hopes at least the focus on a single one could work in their favor.

“Brbbrbrbrbbrbr…”

The cavern quakes as the five go at it, San and Seonghwa exchanging blows with one while deflecting the others.

“Brbrbrbbrr…”

San huffs, fatigue starting to kick in. He can tell his interim ally is beginning to tire as well. Their enemies endure, relentless. Do they not tire?

“Brbrbrbbrr…”

The siren eyes their way out. He’s relieved the bandits are occupied iwth them and not Wooyoung, but he fears that their only way out may be down after all.

“Brbrbrbrbbrr…”

A bandit’s fist flies toward San, but he ducks quickly. Unfortunately, the petty officer takes the hit. He staggers back for a second but springs back impressively. The man brings a knee to the other’s gut swiftly. It must have taken the hardy criminal off guard, because the bandit actually halts.

“Brbrbrbbrrrbrbrbr…”

Their attacker stumbles back, their boot sliding against rubble underfoot.

“Brbrbrbbrbr- craaack-crack-crack!”

The ground beneath the bandit rapidly erodes. Though it’s dark, San can see the white of the bandit’s eyes as he clamors toward safety. In response, all on solid ground cower away from the receding edge of the dropoff. The most unfortunate of them all rushes to get onto solid ground, but it’s too late. The rocks beneath him crumble, falling into the chasm below. 

San gasps. Yet again, there’s movement next to him. Quickly, a body throws themself toward the fallen. And once more, the aforementioned body belongs to none other than the petty officer. Petty Officer Park’s face contorts with agony as he grips the bandit’s wrist tightly.

“Are you insane?!” San balks.

The blond ignores him, pulling him up, “Help… Me…”

“Is this a fix?! Wh-Why are you consorting with the enemy?!” San stumbles back, surprised. He bumps into a bandit and panic strikes him. He jumps, startled. He expects a blistering grip to close around his arm. However, the bandits are preoccupied, equally as shocked as he, apparently. San can see the other two present stand motionless. Though masked, their wide eyes betray their expression.

“I’m n-not,” The petty officer grunts strainedly. His body lurches down, and by impulse San rushes over to grab the man’s ankles. San has no idea what possesses him to do so, but he joins in the effort to rescue the bandit.

“Do you always save your enemies?” San asks, winded. One of the two bastards in his grasp are heavy.

“They need to be… Put to just...ice… Not killed,” Seonghwa grimaces, and San can feel the tension in the man’s body.

Suddenly, San’s body flies into the air.

No, it doesn’t fly, actually. He realizes it merely feels that way because someone is lifting him. Nerves lodge into San’s throat as a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He knows them not to be Wooyoung’s, and dread seizes his heart as he’s carried up and away. The siren keeps his grip on the blond’s ankles steadfast, and the petty officer’s own vice remains unwavering.

With ease, the bandit holding San walks all three of them back up to solid ground before unceremoniously dropping the siren. San winces and coughs when he hits the ground. The petty officer lets out another pained whine.

“Congratulations,” San growls at the hume. “You’ve given us a death sentence. You really are a piece of work, throwing yourself into danger- for what? To save the enemy?”

“I- I told you-” The blond wheezes, limbs splayed out on the ground. “I told you already, I- I…” He coughs loudly, and his body folds on itself.

One of the black forms steps over to the petty officer’s side. In spite of everything, San musters himself yet again. Pain resonates through his body with the loudness that sound echoes through the cavern. It bounces back and forth ceaselessly across his body, into his bones and bubbling up to his skin. 

Regardless, no amount of pain deems it acceptable to give up.

The siren crawls over to the other, ready to shield the blond with his body while he thinks of a plan. The bandit in black bends over, leaning in close to the blond’s face. A familiar yet hollow sounding voice speaks to the hume.

“Why did you save me?” It asks. The question is delivered with no emotion or indication as to its purpose. Is the person toying with their victim? San wonders.

Seonghwa laboriously props himself up on his elbows to better regard the fellow. Voice dire and serious, he answers.

“Like I said to him, you don’t deserve to die for your actions. You deserve justice. A sentence fitting your crime. Not death. Death won’t teach anyone a lesson.”

The bandit cocks their head to the side, the expression coming off almost animated, exaggerated, “And your system, your ‘justice’ - that is how you intend to teach? Will a so-called ‘sentence’ genuinely ‘teach’ the lesson you wish to instill?”

Seonghwa lets out a wry laugh as if in disbelief. San doesn’t blame the man. He, too, is utterly confused. He begins questioning whether or not he’s conscious or if he’s started hallucinating.

The blond answers, “Does a child not learn when they are spanked or rewarded?”

The bandit backs off, standing up straight yet again. A prolonged silence ensues. San waits. He waits for some sort of lashing or to be snatched up again. The sound of rushing water fills the chamber, seemingly louder than ever.

“Interesting…” The inquisitive bandit hums after his quiet spell. The bandit backs up, and the others join their side. 

The three walk away. They walk and walk and walk until they disappear into the darkness completely. San’s heart stops. Where have they gone?

“Very, very interesting…” The words whisper through the darkness, echoing until they recede into nothingness.

San and Seonghwa search frantically, heads whipping in every which direction.

Minutes pass with no sign of their pursuers. In their wake, the sound of water loudens to thunderous. San hesitantly stands up. His entire body aches, and bones crack upon doing so. The siren stumbles over toward the precipice cautiously, senses on high alert for any sign of their enemies.

They don’t appear.

The siren peers over the edge dubiously, squinting in search of them. He finds no one. Not a soul. However, the observation isn’t for naught. He does discover a useful bit of information.

“The water level is rising,” San observes, his voice carrying across the cave. “If it continues at this rate, it’ll eventually fill this place. There’s a chance we could float upon the surface and swim up with it… However, I can’t ensure everyone’s safety in those conditions - even with my abilities. We should probably start our ascent now.”

He checks on the petty officer over his shoulder. In the darkness he makes out an affirmitive nod from the other. So many questions race to the tip of the siren’s tongue as he trudges back up the slope. He doesn’t ask them, though. They can wait. Perhaps he will never know the answers. That, he is fine with, he thinks. So long as he and Wooyoung get out okay. Then he can focus on the rest of the crew.

In the moment, San focuses on the task at hand. He fetches Wooyoung, slinging one of the man’s arms over his shoulder. He offers a free hand to the officer.

“Hold on,” San instructs as they approach the now steady waterfall. He has no idea how long their trip up will be. Though dusty and even slightly brackish, the water refreshes the siren. Thoughts stir restlessly in his head as he carries the two humans up.

Yunho shudders.

Everything is wet. His clothing, his hair, his skin - everything. It’s unpleasant, slippery, and unbelievably cold. The canis shivers, goosebumps pricking his skin. He dazedly tries to recall what happened.

One second, the lot of them are in the mineshaft, frantic. The next, everything floods. Yunho’s body got swept away by the current. After that, it’s black. The aching in his temples hints that he got knocked out somewhere along the way.

“H-Hello?” Yunho coughs out weakly. His senses are shot. All he can smell is must and water, and all he can hear is drips and water running in the distance. “A-Anyone?”

The canis tries to get a better sense of his bearings. He starts by standing up. That, however, is quickly stunted. The canis gets on all fours and begins to push himself up only for his back to hit the ceiling. 

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” The humecanis hisses. He runs his hands along the floor and up the walls to the ceiling to confirm that he is, in fact, in a tiny tunnel. “Fuck.”

Yunho makes an attempt to scramble in the directions he assumes is out. In truth he has no genuine bearings. He trusts his gut, though. It doesn’t usually steer him wrong. The canis stretches out awkwardly, getting into a crawling position to shimmy up the hole.

He stretches a hand out and yelps when it hits something smooth and soft. Yunho holds back a wail, imagining all of the icky things he could’ve possibly just touched. Timidly, he reaches his hand out again, to further investigate. The smooth, soft thing he’d pawed actually feels familiar.

Yunho’s brows knit with concentration as he gingerly feels around the thing. It’s… Pointed. Fairly pointed. Not hard like rock but somewhat rigid. Yunho tries to recall the word for it, and when it comes to him, realization ignites. 

Cartilage.

That’s the fancy word for it!

He runs his fingers down the sloped cartilage and comes in contact with soft, pillowy peaks. Lips. They’re lips! Yunho grazes his hand down a chin and along a carved jawline, finally resting it on a cheek. 

Not just any cheek, either. Yunho would know this cheek (and the face belonging to it) anywhere. He’d stared, caressed, and kissed it so many times already. He could never mistake Mingi.

“Oof-” Mingi lets out a soft whine, wincing.

“M-Mingi?” Yunho says softly. The tunnel is cramped, but he does his best to shimmy up so he’s face to face with him. The canis is no stranger to straddling the Venusian, anyway. Given the circumstances, he’s sure the other won’t take offense.

“Mmnn…” Mingi hums and turns on his side as if he’d been woken from a nap.

“Mingi, it’s me, Yunho,” The canis says. 

“Yu… nho…” Mingi mumbles.

“Yes, it’s me, Yunh- oh- okay, Mingi- b-babe-” Yunho chuckles sheepishly as long arms wrap around him. Yunho tries to pull away gently, but he’s yanked down. Mingi holds him tight, wrapping around him like one would a beloved stuffed animal.

“Warm…” Mingi mutters.

“Mingi, are you okay?” Yunho asks. He cards a hand through the other’s wet hair, feeling for scrapes or bumps. Surprisingly, there’s nothing of note. No warm spots indicating blood or massive bumps. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” Yunho says.

He gets nothing.

“Mingi, does anything hurt?”

Still nothing.

“Mingi?”

Again, nothing.

“Mingi are you asleep?” Yunho asks incredulously.

“Warm,” Mingi hums, nuzzling Yunho’s neck.

Yunho suppresses the mirthy warmth swimming in his gut. Seriously? He chastises himself. Now is not the time. Maybe another day he can cross “freaky cave sex” off of his bucket list, but today is definitely not that day.

Wetness laps up at Yunho’s feet, and he frowns.

“Yunho is warm,” Mingi hums. He clings to the canis, wrapping his legs around the other’s waist, too. “So warm…”

Mingi, in contrast to the canis, is cold as hell. Yunho shivers as the heat is sapped from his body by the one underneath him.

“M-Mingi, I think the water level under us is rising,” Yunho says concernedly, looking down. The water’s already pooling at his ankles. They need to start climbing up the tunnel fast.

“It’s… Okay,” Mingi replies softly. “We’ve got time. Les’ take a nap.”

Yunho softens in spite of his better judgment. The Venusian is so damn cute. Especially when he’s like this. He’s extra cuddly when he’s sleepy, and it’s absolutely fatal to Yunho’s already smitten self. Yunho slackens slightly, rationing that maybe one or five more minutes couldn’t do too much harm. He nestles closer to the other, resting his chin atop the other’s head and planting a kiss. It’s nice to cuddle with the other, especially after the whirlwind of shit they’ve been through.

At least it should be.

But something is the matter.

Something’s off about Mingi. Terribly, terribly off. No matter how much body heat the other saps from Yunho, he doesn’t feel any warmer. Yunho cups the other’s face in a hand and winces. The skin feels clammy and almost slimy beneath his fingertips. Is this what happens to Venusians when they’re wet for too long?

Water splashes up to Yunho’s thighs. Already?

“Mingi, we need to go,” Yunho urges the other more insistently.

“Just a little longer, Yunho,” Mingi whines.

Yunho never thought he’d think such a thing in his life (let alone so early in their relationship) but he has to face it: he is not enjoying this cuddle session. The canis squirms, but the Venusion’s hold is stubborn and strong. Yunho’s entire lower half is already submerged. The higher the water gets, the more panicked Yunho feels.

“Mingi,” Yunho doesn’t like to play hardball. He’s not the authoritative type by any means. However, this is quite literally a  life or death situation. “Mingi we need to move.”

The other doesn’t stir.

“Mingi-” The panic starts creeping into the canis’s voice. “Mingi I’m serious, the water’s getting higher on us!” The water level continues to rise fast, reaching Yunho’s navel.

“Mm-mm,” The other mumbles a response, tightening his hold.

“Mingi- Mingi- Mingimingimingi-!” Yunho whimpers, wriggling and writhing in the other’s arms. “Mingi- we need to go- we need to go!”

“Yunho,” Mingi whines. 

“Mingi we are going to drown-”

“Yunho stop… Moving…”

“I need you to let go,” Yunho tries to sound as calm as possible. Internally, he’s freaking out, and though he adores the other, he’s very, very close to punching him.

“No.”

“Let go, Mingi.”

“Never,” The pout is apparent in the Venusian’s tone, making his current state even more insufferable.

“Mingi- Mingi-mingi-m-mi-mingi- it’s up t-to our chests!” Yunho stutters, panicked. Mingi is a lot stronger than he thought, and no amount of flailing around does anything to dislodge the canis. Yunho resorts to begging. “Mingi- Mingi please- please, please, please- I know you wanna cuddle, but let go. Let go- please- let go-” Anxiety runs through his veins, needles pricking him from the inside out. 

“Mingi let go!” Yunho barks, desperate and at wit’s end.

“Mmn…” Mingi groans. “This… Is not comfortable…”

With that, the Venusian’s grasp finally relinqueshes. Yunho, unprepared for the sudden release, flops awkwardly on top of the other. He mutters a quick apology before shimmying up.

“C-C’mon, Mingi,” Yunho urges the other. “C’mon let’s go.”

“Tired,” Mingi mutters as he stirs.

Yunho focuses his gaze up as he starts his climb. The canis tries to find footholds and handholds, but everything disintegrates under his grasp. Rocks crumble and rusty metal turns to dust, leaving Yunho’s hands sore and dirty. All too soon, the canis feels water at his ankles again.

“M-Mingi, are you okay?” Yunho checks over his shoulder. He squeaks, terrified when he doesn’t notice anything. He stretches his foot down and around, but nothing makes contact. The canis yelps and turns tail, reaching into the water. He finds the other’s collar and drags him up. Somehow, he’d fallen asleep underwater . No doubt he’d have drowned if left for much longer.

“Mingi!” Yunho shouts. 

“Mm?”

“Mingi wake up!” Yunho demands. Now is not the time for naps, cuddles, or horseplay. His nerves are shot, and he’s starting to hear sounds from up above. They need to get out fast .

The other finally obliges. Without a word, he squeezes Yunho and scales the tunnel. 

“Wh-Whoa, wait up!” Yunho calls after the other. He scrambles to get a grip, but it’s not nearly as easy as the other makes it look. Yunho slips and slides as he tries to make his way up.

“U-Um, Mingi?” Yunho’s voice echoes loudly. All too soon, the water’s around his ankles again. Its rise is fast and silent, a slow, inevitable predator.

Mingi doesn’t answer, nor does Yunho see him. He doesn’t even hear the other.

“Mingi?” Yunho digs his fingers into tunnel above, but everything just turns to rubble under his grip. He’s yet again submerged from the waist down, and nerves begin tainting his mental fortitude.

“Mingi?!” Yunho shouts.

The only response he gets is the echo of his own voice bouncing back to him. It almost taunts him, the way it repeats his desperate call back in a higher pitch.

“M-Mingi?!”

Yunho no longer can find a foothold. He reaches his long arms out above him, but he doesn’t find anything to pull himself up by. He doesn’t know if floating up is safe or not, and he’s not eager to find out firsthand. 

“Mingi?” Yunho cries. Cold water splashes up to his collarbone. It chills him from the inside out, making him feel like he’ll never be warm again. The canis whimpers as he shivers hopelessly.

“Mingi! Mingi, please!” A sudden wave kicks up, and Yunho’s dragged under the surface. Nerves seizes him, squeezing his lungs and robbing him of sense. He flails panickedly, fighting to surface. However, the muscle exertion combined with the stress exhausts Yunho much more quickly than he’d thought. Thoughtlessly, the canis calls out desperately for his Mingi yet again. It comes out as nothing but bubbles.

Suddenly, the sensation becomes all too familiar. Yunho feels cold and resigned. His lungs squeeze, and he blacks out.

Hongjoong and Yeosang fight side by side. 

The captain huffs tiredly. These fuckers are brutal. Absolutely ruthless with almost inhuman strength. Joong looks to Yeosang inquisitively. The cyborg, equally as winded, simply shrugs.

Fuck.

If Yeosang can’t come up with any strategies, they’re in way deeper shit than Hongjoong thought. Joong can’t dignify the other’s stupefication with anything, because his apparent Designated Asshole charges at him. Hongjoong gasps, air snatched from his lungs by the impact.

He grimaces as he’s pinned against the wall of the lower level. He, Yeo, Mingi and apparently Jongho had managed to find good enough holds to keep them from washing away like bugs flushed down the drain. How Hongjoong wishes he could say the same for the rest of crew. A few yells and sounds have echoed up the tunnels, making the captain believe that there’s hope.

But first, he needs to shake the fuckers currently antagonizing them. Hongjoong strains against the other’s hold, but the bandit’s grip is strong. He presses his hands into the captain’s shoulders, driving the jagged rocks of the wall into his back. Hongjoong grits his teeth, face squashing into a gnarly leer.

“What the fuck do you want?” Hongjoong snarls. “If it’s not money, then what?!”

A hand moves from Hongjoong’s shoulder to his neck. The man in black wraps his hand around the captain’s throat, pressure gradually increasing. Hongjoong grabs at the gloved hand, digging his fingers between the other’s desperately.

“I excel in everything I do,” Is the non-answer Hongjoong recieves. The bandit’s voice is low and menacing, yet… Undeniably similar to one the captain knows all too well.

The captain strains against the other’s hold, but his efforts are pitiful. Even though the other is almost identical in size, his strength seems to be tenfold. Hongjoong’s head starts spinning with the restriction of airflow. In spite of it, he adamantly clings to lucidity. The captain raises a leg and kicks the bandit with everything he’s got. He kicks the other’s gut, groin - anything he can reach. 

It does nothing. Not a thing.

All it does is further spur the bandit’s efforts. He leans in, invading the captain’s space. Hongjoong’s skin crawls at the other’s proximity, and though it exhausts him, he kicks and writhes ceaselessly. Beside him he hears the struggle of Yeosang and Jongho. Yeosang’s a surprisingly good fighter. It’s unfortunate his drones can’t be of help. Luckily, his wits allow him to anticipate his opponents moves. Though he can’t equal his match in force, he exceeds him in intellect. Mingi is the least fortunate, passed out on the ground. He’s watched over by a tall bandit, and Hongjoong doesn’t know what the man plans to do with him.

Jongho is the one among them with a clear advantage. Hongjoong almost pities the poor fucker that’s been tasked with taking him down. He commends the bandit for continuously getting up. He sure as hell wouldn’t.

If only the captain had such an advantage.

Instead, he’s barely able to breathe. Hongjoong struggles against the other hopelessly. He knows damn well that force isn’t going to be his way out. The captain wracks his drowsy, deprived brain for something, anything. But what? What?

“If you’re such tough shit,” The captain’s voice is airy, strained by the hand closing around his neck. “Then why do you have to hide behind a mask!?” Swiftly, Hongjoong’s hand shoots up, and he tears off the black leather mask. He was hoping for an opening - a distraction or maybe even a show of vulnerability, nostrils he could plug, a tongue he could grab.

All he gets is a punch to the gut.

Not a literal one. A metaphorical one. Whatever breath he had was gone, promptly sucked out of his lungs by shock and consternation. It’s dim, Yeosang’s implants the only light source. Up to this point, Hongjoong would’ve called the other’s eyelights adequate. Now, he has to wonder. It has to be the trick of the light, or maybe an illusion. Because he’s not looking at some faceless bandit.

He’s looking in a goddamn mirror.

Hongjoong has heard of bandits that steal money, machinery, ships, hell even pets - but faces? That’s a new one.

Dazed, the captain reaches out and prods the features to see if they’re a projection or hologram. They feel real. He tugs and pulls at the skin - there’s the sloped nose and the distinct lips. It’s not all the same. The guy’s skin is smooth, alarmingly so. He’s cool to the touch, and his eyes are so damn smoked out. What’s most alarming isn’t just the face he’s got but the expression he’s wearing. His lips upturn into a smirk that is undeniably cocky. It’s like he’s thriving off of the shock. 

“What the fuck?” Hongjoong breathes out just barely. His body starts to shiver uncontrollably.

“Does it not set your heart alight?” The bandit asks, smile stretching wide as he leans in further.

Joong’s mouth opens with the impulse to answer. He can’t, though. He can hardly breathe, and he grasps at fleeting ideas as to how to free himself. From himself. No, he reminds himself. That’s not him. He’s hallucinating, that’s it. The captain chokes on stilted breath as color begins to splotch his vision. His head spins, and more and more he feels temptation to succumb to the dizziness.

Though his vision is almost entirely obscured by splotches of light, Joong makes out a body in the corner of his eye. It moves rapidly, and in an instant, Hongjoong’s body goes from held against the wall to falling onto the ground.

Hongjoong’s chest heaves with a gasp. He coughs, head spinning as he tries to understand what happened. The colors gradually fade from view, and in the low light of Yeosang's ocular implants, Hongjoong sees his rescue in the form of Jongho.

The youngest whales on the captain’s mysterious double. Joong wonders if he sees it, too. Maybe he sees himself - what if the bandits are using some strange tech so people see their own faces? Perhaps it disorients them and makes burgling easier? That, of course, still doesn’t begin to explain the enigmatic organization. Weird nerves still squirm under the captain’s skin when he thinks of the man’s face. He can’t stand to even glance in the bandit’s direction for too long. 

Heavy steps echo up from one of the many pathways jutting out from the lower level. Joong’s head whips in their direction, and he gasps.

Mingi lumbers up a tunnel, dragging Yunho along.

Hongjoong blinks confusedly and does a double take.

The one dragging Yunho certainly looks like Mingi. He’s a perfect mirror image of the Venusian - cut jaw, high cheekbones, narrow eyes and a sharp nose. But Mingi’s passed out a few meters away. Hongjoong’s gaze darts between the two confusedly. More commotion echoes up from another passage, disorienting the captain more.

Soon, the cavern is nothing more than a jumble of cacophonic noise and flitting shadows. The captain feels on the brink of fainting when more arrive. Mingi - or, Not Mingi - tosses Yunho beside the passed out, real Mingi. Yeosang struggles beneath the bandit that Hongjoong suspects is a double of him. 

God, that thought fucks with him.

The captain starts to feel nausea, too, on top of everything. It’s like the entire mine is spinning, and the steady rumbling around him isn’t helping. Chaos erupts at the arrival of more people. There are voices, some familiar - actually all familiar. Why are they all familiar?

A figure approaches Hongjoong - no, two figures. This one’s clad in black, too. A double? Their voice is muffled, features familiar. He’s pretty. Concerned. No mask or hat. Probably not a bandit. Hongjoong doesn’t know. Where is he again?

Hongjoong stares dumbly at the person bent over him. Another joins the black figure’s side. Someone large.

No.

They are not large. They’re carrying someone. A person hangs off of their shoulder. They’re wet. Everyone is so wet. Hongjoong remembers that he is also wet.

What’s happening over by Jongho?

He’s gotten off the ringleader. Where is Yeosang?

Voices. There are voices. Echoes and doubles overlap making it hard to hear anything. Words come at Hongjoong. He can hear but is unable to listen. Even so, he nods, hoping to give off the impression of wellness. 

“Bbrbrbrbrbrbrbr…”

Hongjoong feels the quaking run up his spine. His entire body jostles, and he feels himself get lifted up. There’s a splash, a loud deafening splash, and water fills the captain’s mouth, his nostrils, his throat. Someone maintains a steady grip on him, his one tie to the corpereal world.

In spite of that effort, everything starts to fade into black, wet, cold nothing.

==============================

“Wake up,” A voice cuts through Hongjoong’s daze.

The captain jolts with a start. He gasps, coughing up water. It’s dark, wet, and echoey, meaning he’s still in the mines. Hongjoong tries to calm his rapidly beating heart so he can better evaluate the situation. There are people everywhere. It’s dim, but with the light from Yeo’s oculars, Hongjoong can see them.

Joong takes his time, counting them one by one. There is Jongho and San. Wooyoung is on the ground, leaned up against a wall with Mingi and Yunho. Yeosang stands to the side, as does Seonghwa. The water level has risen impressively, reaching up to the captain’s waist. Hongjoong looks down and notices that he’d also been propped up against a wall. The water level has risen impressively, reaching up to the captain’s waist. He can hear the steady gurgling of water spitting up from god knows where below.

They’re not alone, though.

Straight ahead, Hongjoong sees him.

He sees himself.

The captain’s heart seizes with panic, and he reflexively cowers into the wall behind. Eyes wide and questioning, he searches the faces of his crew for answers.

What the hell happened?

“It’s time to go,” The man with his face declares.

“Wha-?” Hongjoong utters.

He’s given no further elaboration. The man with his face turns on his heel. He and his comrades walk away. Joong watches their flank blankly. He doesn’t know what to expect.

“Scree-”

The sudden scraping of metal makes Hongjoong’s heart stop momentarily. A wide bar of light pierces the darkness. Joong follows the source to where it ends on the wall above him. He slowly comes to understand that they’ve somehow gotten up to the top level of the mine, the entrance.

Their escape.

“Blur-! Blur-gurgle!”

As if in response to the distribution of the structure, more water rushes into the entry chamber. 

“Come on, Captain,” Yeosang says.

“We gotta go,” Jongho remarks.

Hongjoong’s powers of comprehension are heavily impeded due to how severly fucked up his head is. Clinging to the wall behind him, he slowly rises to his feet. Jongho and Yeosang run to grab the knocked out lovers.

“Gurgle!”

“Shit- This is rising fast,” Jongho mutters.

“Brbrbrbbrbbr…”

Hongjoong slowly stumbles toward his crew. The rising waters throw his balance off, nearly causing him to faceplant.

“I think this entire entryway’s about to go under,” Yeosang says worriedly.

“Brbrbrbbrbbrbrbr…”

“Hey did you guys see a clone?” Hongjoong asks dumbly. He knows it’s probably not the best thing to ask at the moment, but the question is pressing and he’s too tired to filter it.

“Brbbrbrbrbrbr…”

“Gurgle-gurgle!” “Splish!”

“Shit- We need to hurry up,” Jongho curses, wading through the waist-high water with more urgency. 

“Gurgle- splaaash!” “Craaaack-” “Brbbrbrbr…”

The water ripples from the tremoring of their surroundings. Suddenly, a massive well of water bursts up from the wall behind. 

“SPLAAASH!”

“Shit-” “Hold your breath!” “Carefu-”

The ripping waters drag Hongjoong under, dragging them wherever their whims will. He thrashes awkwardly in a poor attempt to get a sense of direction. His eyes sting when he attempts to get an impression of where he’s being sent. All he notices is light.

The force of the water shoves Hongjoong toward the light. He gets pushed aggressively until it’s blinding. As if purging a virus, the waters of the mine spit him out the open door. 

Hongjoong coughs and sputters as the water thins out and seeps into the thirsty land. The others disperse around him like driftwood thrown onto the beach by high tide. Hongjoong never thought he’d be grateful for the relentless shining of Tass’s sun but, god, is he relieved. Sunlight begins thawing the hunk of ice that he’d become in the chilly depths of the mine.

Everything is sore.

So unbelievably, unequivocally sore. He’s sure that he’s sporting all manner of new bruises and scrapes. His head, throat and chest hurt in particulcar, probably bearing the brunt of the strain in his conflicts. The captain scans the surroundings for another head count.

San ended up fairly far, washed up by one of the trees nearby. He tends to Wooyoung, fussing over the knocked out human. Mingi and Yunho appear to be splayed out to the right of the entrance. They’re both covered head to toe in dirt, absolutely filthy. Yunho sits up, blinking in the sun while Mingi remains out cold. Jongho and Yeosang tend to one another right in front of the entrance. Neither appears too fucked up, all things considered.

The captain pauses.

Someone’s missing.

He searches the area, motivating himself to sit up for better vantage. Joong narrows his eyes, squinting as he searches the trees, the ground, the mine entrance. His heart drops. There’s to possibilities for where the man could be. One being that he ran off immediately, and the other being that he never made it out.

Hongjoong doesn’t want to consider either of them.

As if sensing his captain’s consternation, Yeosang finds Hongjoong’s gaze. The captain presses his lips together anxiously, and the cyborg nods his chin in the captain’s direction. Joong’s brows furrow in puzzlement, but Yeo just repeats the gesture. After a few seconds of contemplation, Hongjoong gets it.

The captain glances over his shoulder, and behind him, not a meter away, the platinum blond lays splayed out, unconscious. Relieved, the captain lets out the breath that’d gotten stopped up in his chest. Something moving in his peripheral vision cuts his relief short.

Joong jumps at the sudden arrival of the men in black. Had they always been standing in the center of the clearing, lined up neatly? He swears that all he did was blink and suddenly they’re there. While the abruptness of their arrival is startling, Hongjoong worries more about the purpose.

What more could they possibly want?

And why the hell did they leave in the first place?

Is this a ploy to toy with the poor, run down crew?

Hongjoong winces as he picks himself up off the ground. Foe or, well, slightly less awful foe (Hongjoong would never consider the bandits friends) Joong figures he ought to face them with as much dignity as he can muster. The captain schools his face into a cool, confident expression as he approaches them. He tries not to let on how much pain he’s in when he stops a few meters away from the man with his own face.

He opens his mouth to address the group, but then something else catches his attention. The captain holds a hand over his eyes, leering in the direction of town. A strange silhoutte trots toward them. A man on horseback dressed in all white.

Mayor Jonessen.

Fury boils Hongjoong’s guts. If he had the strength, he’d run up to the guy and throw him off the damn horse. Instead, he watches with his arms crossed, angry and anxious. He’s not ready to get thrown into the mine again. Of course, given the circumstances, he’s not certain he could be. The place is flooded to hell. It’s probably more of a pool than a mineshaft anymore.

Jonessen slows his horse, white, toothy smile gleaming even from a dozen meters away. The smile falls into a frown when he spots ATEEZ’s crew spread out across the mine grounds. The man’s expression darkens, and he turns to scold his hired hands. 

Before even the slightest noise can leave his mouth, one of the bandits in black, snatches him by the arm. The mayor is thrown off the horse violently. He’s knocked out cold by the force of the impact.

Hongjoong gasps. While he can’t say he feels bad for the mayor, he certainly didn’t expect to witness his retribution.

The leader smirks, satisfied, “I think you were onto something when you said it’s not worth petty cash. Now, there’s a new sheriff in town.”

Without further remark, the leader turns on his heel. The enforcer among them quickly falls into line, and the men in black walk away in unison, almost like a choreographed march.

“Wh-” Hongjoong starts after them. “Wh- Wait!” He calls after them. The more lucid of his crew follow their captain, no doubt equally as curious.

Hongjoong’s throat aches as he calls out, “Wait- Hold on! What gives!? Wh- Hello? Hello!?”

They ignore him.

“Wh-What the hell is your deal?!” Hongjoong demands.

“Go back to your ship, Captain Kim Hongjoong,” Their leader tells the captain.

“Why did you let us go?! You’re- You’re not gonna go and terrorize that town are you?”

Their leader chuckles.

Hongjoong glares at the other, not sure what the hell is so amusing about his dumbfoundedness, “Who are you? Seriously- Who are you? What are you?! How the hell are you so strong- are you androids? Where did you come from- and why did you get in with that mayor?!”

The ringleader heaves a heavy sigh and shakes his head. He turns on his heel, and the rest of his men do in unison. The man with Hongjoong’s face shakes his head as if disappointed.

“How curious humans are,” The ringleader says, shadowy eyes piercing Hongjoong pointedly. “How entitled they are to their curiosities being indulged.”

“Wha-” Hongjoong’s lips flap open and closed with uncertainty. He has no idea who he’s talking to - or what he’s talking to. “Are you not human, then?” He asks. “If you’re not human, what are you? Who are you?”

The ringleader tilts his head and answers, looking Hongjoong right in the eye:

“I am that I am.”

“You’re- you what?” Hongjoong’s face scrunches with confusion.

“I am that I am.”

“Wha…” Joong’s question trails off as the others reach up to their faces. Once again they move with complete synchronization. Those who’d been wearing masks remove them, clutching the leather in their fists by their side. 

Hongjoong reels upon coming face to face with not only himself, but his entire damn crew. As he suspected, every single one of them is a double. Near flawless at that. The captain’s mouth goes dry at the haunting visages, familiar yet different, near identical but just slightly off. Yunho’s double is the most obvious dupe, lacking in a tail. Yeosang’s has dark eyes, and San’s lacks gills. With a little discernment, anyone could tell these copies - if that’s even what they are - from the real thing. But at a glance they’re more than convincing.

“Wh… Why?” Hongjoong mutters. “Why are you… What are y-”

“Is this your purpose?” The ringleader - the phony captain - cuts Joong off, almost clipped. Whatever patience he has appears to be running thin. “Is this your journey, Kim Hongjoong? To find out who I am? What I am?”

“Wh- B- Well- I- N-No, but-”

“I encourage you to focus on your path. We will focus on ours.”

“Your… path?” Hongjoong murmurs.

“Perhaps our paths will cross again,” The ringleader says. “Perhaps not.” He nods his head, tipping his wide-brimmed hat. “Until we may meet again, Kim Hongjoong.”

He turns on his heel again, a move mirrored by all but one of the doubles. The Mingi doppelganger lingers, staring off into space. Joong follows the tall bandit’s gaze and realizes that it’s landed on a snoozing Yunho.

“Acedia, come!” The ringleader barks. Pulled out of his daze, the double scrambles to join his brethren.

Hongjoong watches, jaw dropped in awe as they disappear into the horizon. Eventaully, the black silhouettes blur in the distance, the image of them distorted by the heat. That black smear soon fades into the horizon, leaving nothing more than the faint impression of a mirage.

“Yeosang,” Joong turns to the cyborg who’d joined him. “Do you have any idea what-”

“The ship,” The cyborg squawks. “We- We need to focus on getting back to the ship. Before the Coalition gets here.”

“Uh, r-right,” Hongjoong snaps out of his daze. He feels like he’d just woken up from a disorienting nap. “Right,” He says again more assuredly.

The captain walks back over to his crew. Yunho appears fairly awake, which is a relief, and Mingi’s even sitting up. 

“What’re they gonna do?” San asks from his perch under the tree. His arm is still around Wooyoung’s shoulders, rubbing soothing circles. 

“Wh- Who?” Hongjoong asks.

“The people of the village,” San frowns. “After they’d been so kind, to know that they’d been used like that…”

“I- I don’t know, San,” Hongjoong answers dismayedly. In truth, he does still worry for the people.

But the bandit’s words ring in his head:

“I encourage you to focus on your path.”

The captain asserts, “That’s their problem not ours. We’ve got our own journey, just like they do theirs. Right now, we need to focus on getting the hell out. Given that we all got the piss beat out of us-”

“I’m fine,” Jongho interjects.

“-except Jongho,” Hongjoong laughs, “That walk is probably gonna suck. We better get our asses in gear.”

“Mmm- Hey,” Mingi yawns. “Is that a horse?”

Joong follows the Venusian’s squinty gaze and gasps. Yes, that is a horse. And a knocked out mayor, too. Hongjoong has a feeling the mayor will be out for awhile. The horse is fairly docile, though, surprisingly composed for having a man thrown off it.

“Uh, yeah,” Hongjoong says. 

“I love horses,” Mingi murmurs.

“Wait, can you drive a horse?” Yunho asks.

“You don’t drive horses, Yunho,” Jongho sasses.

“I’m just saying,” Mingi responds, “I know how to ride. Maybe I can help Wooyoung along so we don’t have to carry him.”

“Oh- That’s a good idea,” Hongjoong says. “If- If you think the thing will listen to you and not throw anyone off, that’d be great.”

Hongjoong feels relieved to see Mingi up and aware, but Wooyoung is still knocked out. As is someone else. The captain mutters something offhandedly about “making sure the fucker’s not dead” before going to check on the petty officer. Hongjoong knows the guy well enough to know that if he was conscious he’d have already made a break for it.

Joong kneels over the blond with a frown.

“Wake up,” Hongjoong demands loudly. 

He gets no response.

Joong rolls his eyes. Typical. Unconscious and he’s still difficult.

“Hey, wake up!” Hongjoong tries again.

Nothing.

Joong groans, looking over at his crew desperately seeking assistance. Unfortunately, they’re all occupied. San is glue to Wooyoung’s hip while Yeo and Jongho tend to Yunho and help Mingi saddle up. The captain huffs annoyedly.

“Hey,” Hongjoong tries again, lightly smacking the petty officer’s face. “Hey- hey! Wake up already!”

Now he’s getting irritated. It’s as if the fucker is taunting him, looking like a goddamn storybook character all peacefully asleep. 

“Wake up!” Joong smacks his face harder. How’s that for your fairytale kiss?

Not adequate, apparently.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” The captain throws his hands up in exasperation. “Wh-” Joong reluctantly jabs a finger on the guy’s neck. He doesn’t precisely know if he got the pulse point right, but he’s not reading, well, anything. Joong is fairly certain that “nothing” is generally a bad sign.

“Fuck,” Hongjoong hisses under his breath. “U-Uh-” He turns to his crew again. “Uh- Guys what do I do if I think someone has drowned?!” He tries not to let the nervousness seep into his tone. A few flash him baffled looks.

“Try chest compressions!” Jongho - blessed, helpful, lovely Jongho - responds from his spot under the tree.

“O-Okay!” Hongjoong nods. “Right,” He mutters to himself. “Chest compressions, I- I think I’ve seen that before…” He poises his hands above the petty officer’s chest, nervousness thrumming beneath his skin.

“Wait!” San shouts.

Hongjoong stumbles, practically flopping on top of the other.

“Wait-” The siren shouts, “-Jongho got it wrong. You need to do mouth to mouth resuscitation!”

“I need to do what ?!” Hongjoong snaps.

“Pinch his nose and breath into him,” San says. “Four times! Then repeat if you need to!”

“Y-Y-You want me to- to wha-?!” Joong’s jaw drops, scandalized. “C-Can somebody else do it?!”

“I’m on Wooyoung duty,” The siren says, patting the passed out human’s shoulder.

Hongjoong turns to Jongho and Yeosang, both of whom suddenly appear incredibly occupied with Mingi and Yunho.

The captain wonders what hell universe he’d ended up in. He wonders if he’d travelled into an alternate dimension through the mines, or if he’d done something wrong and this is his punishment. Hongjoong contemplates the merits of leaving the petty officer to die. He ultimately opts not to, given that it’d be way less satisfying knowing he didn’t do the deed himself. Homicide he can deal with, but not mere manslaughter. The asshole at least deserves better than that.

The captain takes a deep breath.

Then another.

“Wake up,” He tries one more time.

But the man doesn’t stir. He’s eerily still. Though he would never admit it to anyone, Hongjoong doesn’t like seeing him like this. It’s weird and wrong. He’s a young guy, and, sure, his desk job is useless and, yeah, his family’s probably well off with his compensated pension. But does that mean he deserves to die? There’s so much life that the guy’s never gotten to live. He’ll never be able to dislodge the stick from his ass if he’s not alive. Hell, the fucker probably hasn’t even made his own actual arrest.

“ Motherfucker ,” Joong curses. He whispers, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die a virgin.” When he realizes how it sounded, he stops snickering, “Wait- I didn’t mean it like that-”

Hongjoong ditches his lame attempt at lightening the mood and goes over the steps San told him in his head. The captain pinches the blond’s nose. With his other hand, he gingerly parts his lips. Hongjoong’s heart leaps into his throat as he lowers himself toward the other. His gaze focuses on the other’s lips. They look soft. It’s obscene, really. How are they always so perfect looking? How is he always so perfect looking? Even now, on the brink of expiration, the man is insufferably plastic.

Joong doesn’t know how he’s supposed to breathe into the other when he can barely breathe on his own. Regardless of his reservation, he determinedly leans closer. He shuts his eyes. Then he opens them because having them shut feels weird. He squeezes them shut again because looking at the guy feels weirder. 

Hongjoong can feel his breath bounce off of the other’s skin, and it sets his insides alight with tension. It takes every ounce of restraint in his body not to succumb to his fight or flight response. He wants to jump onto his feet and run as far away as possible. But he’d committed to this, and he promises to see it through. Joong just barely feel his nose bump the other’s, and he parts his lips.

That’s when the precarious moment comes crashing down.

A choking noise sounds out from the man below him, and suddenly he’s violently coughing, spitting up a fountain of water directly onto Hongjoong’s face. The captain reels back, unsure if he’s more devastated at what he was about to do or what actually happened. An overwhelming part of him is relieved he didn’t have to go through with it. However, he’s also incredibly disgusted.

PO Park rolls onto his side and continues hacking up water, body writhing with each spasm of his diaphragm. Hongjoong huffs, wiping his sleeve across his face. Across the clearing, he hears something that sounds suspiciously like laughter. The captain narrows his eyes menacingly at the others. The fuckers don’t even try to conceal their humor, shoulders shaking and eyes squinting with mirth. 

When he’s finally done purging the mine water from his system, the blond sits up dazedly. His eyes trace the horizon, stupefication written clear as day across the azure orbs.

“What happened?” The PO asks dazedly. Hongjoong can tell the guy’s still out of it. He seemed fine before, but he must’ve smacked his head or something during the last flood.

Hongjoong heaves a sigh, “Got out of the mine. Time to go.” He stands up, “You can walk?”

The blond takes a minute to work himself up to standing. Yeosang joins their side, and Hongjoong is content to let the cyborg take it from there. Yeo extends a hand to help the PO up.

“Let’s cling to the mountain peak,” The captain instructs his crew. “Keep out of sight. We don’t know who’s in on this shit.”

The crew nods in agreement, ambling tiredly in the direction of town. Hongjoong wrings a hand over his face.

It’s been such a long day. The sun that’d been high in the sky when they started their ordeal begins to dip. Joong prays whatever Coalition patrol the mayor had called is far, far away.

ATEEZ’s crew drags their feet across the muddied ground. There isn’t much conversation. A few mutter back and forth, but nobody’s equipped with the brain power to talk about what they just saw. 

All Hongjoong can think about home - the ship, the captain’s quarters, a shower, his bed. That’s what he wants for himself. 

It’s what he wants for all of them.

By the grace of whatever deity watches over them, the crew’s activities doesn’t rouse any attention. Hongjoong remembers mention of “the day of sabbath”. He’s vaguely familiar with the idea of a religiously mandated rest day. The captain hopes everyone opts to stay inside today. He doesn’t think he can handle more collateral damage. Knowing the village has been terrorized by their own mayor is bad enough.

ATEEZ’s crew left the man there, face buried in the sand. Hongjoong didn’t bother checking for a pulse or anything like that. He figures if it’s Jonessen’s fate to feed the buzzards, then the fucker will have gotten what’s coming to him. He went on about doing it for his people, but Hongjoong’s pretty sure the guy just wanted to pocket it for himself.

“Ship sweet ship,” Mingi sighs happily. The Venusian prompts his obedient steed to halt and carefully dismounts.

“Technology!” Of all crew members to break their composure, Hongjoong least expects it to be Yeosang. However, the cyborg’s triumphant shout echoes through the clearing. He sticks his arms out and bounces happily toward the hunk of glorious, reinforced metal they call home. 

“About time we get the hell off of this fucked up, country ass planet,” Wooyoung mutters, cautiously sliding off of the saddle. 

Yeosang’s already reached the loading ramp, and he whispers sweet nothings into ATEEZ’s hull as the ramp lowers. A second wind blows over the crew, and they all clamor to the ramp, ecastatic chatter erupting among them.

“I want a shower so bad!” “What do we do about the horse?” “Just leave it there.” “I’m so hungry.” “Get me off of this hell planet-” “We really should go…” “Can we make extra food for dinner?” “I can smell the mine stench- eugh-”

Hongjoong grins, eager to shower and eat - god it’s been so fucking long since they ate . He takes a final breath of the dusty air, basking in the last few rays of sunlight he’s going to get.

“Let’s go- let’s go- let’s go-” “You think they have any beef in the rations?” “I could eat an entire cow.” “You think they’d notice if we stole an entire cow? Like, in theory-” “What’s a cow?” “Wh- Are you serious?” “I can’t think about food until I shower.”

Hongjoong feels light when his boot makes contact with the base of the loading ramp. It’s like arriving on the doorstep on his home.

No, it’s not “like” it.

He is arriving on the doorstep of his home. His family chats happily, skipping, embracing, helping one another up. But there’s one thing marring the perfect ending of the offbeat idyllic picture his life briefly turned into. A shadow looms behind the captain glumly.

Hongjoong stops.

He turns away from his crew to face the man on the dirt. Anxiety knots and unknots his stomach.

Hongjoong had been thinking about this day for a long time. He’d imagined countless scenarios in which he threw the other out, tossed him out the airlock, thrown him out the still moving ship as they took off. He pictured himself dumping the other off in the middle of nowhere, cackling as the man’s left destitute with nothing but sand for company.

“That’s enough,” The captain says to the other.

The petty officer halts, blue eyes wide with confusion. His gaze searches the captain’s for elaboration. Never has the phrase “how the mighty have fallen” stricken such a chord with Hongjoong so much. It amazes him that he ever looked at the man and saw him as a threat. The man standing in front of him is practically a different person. There’s traces of him, sure. It’s not as if he’s gone completely soft or started acting nice.

But something has changed.

Hongjoong doesn’t know what, and thinking too much about it makes him uneasy.

“You’re two for zero on saving lives now,” The captain tells the other. He crosses his arms and stuffs down the excrutiating discomfort bubbling up in his stomach.

“Hm?” Seonghwa’s brows raise confusedly.

“Heard what you did for my first mate, Wooyoung,” God, it’s agonizing. Discomfort simmers in his gut.

“Oh.”

“That Coalition the mayor called is probably near town. Might be landing soon.”

If Seonghwa’s getting it, it doesn’t show on his face. The guy’s not a complete dipshit, and it irritates Hongjoong that now of all times is when he chooses not to be a smartass.

Hongjoong finally lets it out, “This is your last stop, Officer Park.” A few hushed gasps and whispers echo from the crew behind him. “End of the line.”

“Wait- What?” The blond responds.

“This is it. I told you I didn’t intend to keep you forever. You can get on with your life and fuck back off to whatever space station you came from,” He laughs wryly. “Hell, you can try and chase us across the universe for all I care. You’re not my prisoner anymore. You’re free... I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Seonghwa’s jaw drops, and his deep blue eyes twinkle with tears.

He doesn’t say anything, though.

Not like there’s anything to say, really. Hongjoong doesn’t expect a thank you. Letting him go was the right thing to do - not something he expects a gold star or pat on the ass for. The captain starts back up the ramp. He doesn’t want to see the other’s face anymore.

Though his crew is clearly surprised, none of them dares to question their captain. They converse among one another nonverbally with exchanged gazes and astonished expressions.

Hongjoong wonders if he’d made the right call. He wonders what the other’s going to do with himself after all this. Will he make good on all those threats and chase him across the stars? Will he be allowed to? Or will he get chained to a desk again, tailing some superior officer and picking up crumbs of legitimate duty here and there?

Is that the life that’s going to make him happy?

Joong concedes it beats rotting in a cell.

Something heavy weighs down Hongjoong’s heart as he ascends the ramp. There’s a heft to realizing that he’s likely never going to see the petty officer again. Even if the other tries to pursue him, odds are the case will be put in someone else’s hands. It’s a strange, gut-wrenching feeling - one Hongjoong can’t begin to explain. He never anticipated throwing the other out would be so… So…

So sad .

He can’t think of any other way to describe how he’s feeling, though. He posits to himself that it’s melancholy at the transitional point in his life. It’s the turning of a page to a new chapter, saying goodbye to something and starting almost fresh and new. One less mouth to feed, one less thing to worry about. That’s all it is. Or, at least, he keeps trying to tell himself that. After all this time carrying a weight on his shoulders, he thought leaving the other would rid him of the pressure. Except, all it’s done is redistribute it. Now instead of pressing down on his shoulders it tugs on his chest.

The captain wrings a hand through his hair roughly.

No.

Hongjoong refuses to entertain the train of thought any longer.

Food. Shower. Fresh clothes. He forcibly pushes those thoughts to the forefront of his mind, playing them in loop stubbornly.

“What are you going to do next time you come across GC tech you can’t get into?!” A shout bellows at Hongjoong’s back.

The captain, at the top of the loading ramp, halts again. The voice immediately wrests his forced thoughts out of the limelight. Before he can even tell himself not to, Hongjoong turns to look over his shoulder. In his peripherals, he can make out the baffled expressions of his crew. They’re all paralyzed, stunned in place by utter shock.

Seonghwa continues, “And how do you expect to get past Coalition protocols when you don’t even know them?”

Hongjoong watches the other, wide-eyed. His mouth is sewn shut, and even if he could part his lips he’s fairly certain nothing intelligible would come out. So, he listens.

“I’m useful,” Seonghwa says, puffing his chest up slightly. “I- I’m clever and bright. Top five in my class. I’m a fast learner and good at fighting- way better than the captain, for certain.”

“Wha…?” The mumble drops from Hongjoong’s lips dumbly. As he predicted, no actual words can properly take shape in his mouth. 

“I like to cook and clean,” The blond tells. “I’m a- a team player…” He presses his lips together, his gaze questioning. A wave of something indescribable washes over the captain, and he starts to feel faint. Filling in the blank left by silence, Seonghwa finally says what he wanted to:

“Take me with you…?”

Joong is certain the man intended the statement to come out assured. However, the man’s words come out as more of a pitifully squeaked out question. It’s nervous and shaky and almost desperate. Begging.

“Wha- B- But why?” Hongjoong asks. He could ask dozens of questions, but in that moment only the most pressing and succinct can be managed.

“Maybe… Maybe I want to find the Treasure, too. Maybe I’m starting to realize that there’s more honor in the long journey than the static destination and that I… That I don’t want to go back to where I was.” His eyes are wet and pleading. The show of vulneribility shoots Hongjoong straight in the chest like a carefully aimed arrow. He entertains the idea of it being fakery. It could be a ruse, one last ditch effort to screw them over.

But Seonghwa isn’t dumb. At least not that dumb. He’s been given an out and had plenty of time to take it. Plus, he’s prideful, and he certainly wouldn’t make such a show of vulnerability inauthentically. Hongjoong heard how the bastard mayor talked about Seonghwa. He was present when the Coalition damn near killed Seonghwa, too. The petty officer has seen and experienced things  that could, theoretically, change a man.

But did that change him ?

Hongjoong’s mouth opens, but he can’t speak. When he tries again, nothing comes out. He chokes on air for a minute before finally holding up a finger.

“O-One second,” Hongjoong mutters before pivoting around to face his crew.

Six astounded stares look back at him as he waves his crew over. Though reluctant (and no doubt eager to shower and eat), his crew abides. The other six huddle around the captain closely until they form a tight knit circle of bodies. 

Hongjoong grimaces. As if his stomach hadn’t ached enough before, now it toils with anxiousness and uncertainty. He wrestles back and forth with his logical, rational mind and what his gut’s telling him. 

“Well?” He asks hopelessly.

“Well what?” Mingi responds. “Did he seriously ask to join our crew? After all the mean stuff he’s said to us?!”

“The petty officer’s demeanor is incredibly repugnant,” San replies. “However…” The siren presses his lips together as he contemplates his words. “He does abide by a code of honor. He is a just and honorable warrior who puts his life on the line to save others. I don’t think he’s irredeemably evil... But I still don’t like him.”

“He’s kind of an asshole, but he did save my ass,” Wooyoung mentions. “Plus we can keep tabs on him if he’s close.”

“He can also steer our ship straight into the nearest Coalition stronghold if he’s close,” Mingi says.

“Not if we set up security measures for our navigation and piloting consoles,” Yeosang adds coolly. “He’s not that bad, really. And as he said, he can be useful.”

Hongjoong bites down on his lip nervously, “Yunho, what do you think?”

“Wh- Me?” Yunho coughs. “W-Well, I- I dunno, what I think.”

“What do you mean you don’t know what you think!?”

“I mean, w-well, I’m on the fence.”

“On the fence?!” Mingi balks. “He calls you a pet and an animal. He’s a jerk.”

“I know,” Yunho answers. “I know, I know, I know, but…”

“What’s your gut say?” Hongjoong presses.

The canis shrugs, “Logically I… I feel like this is a terrible idea, but I- I just don’t get a bad sense about him, you know? I don’t feel that he’s dangerous.”

“Listen,” Jongho butts in. “I’ve read plenty of comic books in my day, and let me tell you: I’ve seen this shit before. This is a fork in the road, a formative time for the petty officer down there. We have two options. Either we let him in or reject him. This can either be a redemption arc or a villain origin story, and honestly? I do not want to be on the wrong side of it by radicalizing the ostracized potential maniac!”

“Thank you, Jongho,” Hongjoong coughs out. “Anyone else have input that isn’t based on supervillain origin stories?”

The crew exchanges a few glances, ultimately responding with a collective shrug and a few muttered no’s.

“It’s your decision,” Yunho tells the captain. “You’re the leader, and we’ll support you no matter what. Whether it means throwing this guy onto the streets of Tass or, uh, welcoming the crankiest crewmate yet. We trust you, Hongjoong.”

Seonghwa’s nerve deteriorates with each minute of deliberation. He can just barely hear the cluster of crew whisper among themselves. What are they saying? Probably nothing good.

Why would they, after all? 

Seonghwa’s done little more than harass and endanger them. The second the question left his mouth, he regretted it. In spite of that, he didn’t have it in him to take it back. 

It’s childish, really.

Once upon a time, a young boy believed in magic and fairytales. But the boy grew up, and he left those things behind. Life felt so long to Seonghwa when he was a child. Years stretched on to feel like lifetimes, and every new summer made the summer past feel like an entirely different world. He thought he would have forever to luxuriate in the depths of his indulgent imagination.

But imagination doesn’t guarantee acceptance into your choice school. Imagination doesn’t ace tests and it doesn’t get a person through interviews. Wonder and adventure have no place in the classroom, and wanderlust gets overwritten by meticulously plotted routes when one decides to go pre-naval before secondary school.

Everything that Captain Kim Hongjoong stands for is precisely everything that Park Seonghwa had spent almost an entire life unlearning. Misinformed impulse, favoring instinct over reason, bleeding heart mercies, eccentric self expression and the dissolution of mind to mouth filters. They are complete opposites - water and oil, never meant to mix.

But, once upon a time, a young boy had all of those things. He dreamed of captaining a ship and exploring the galaxy. He dreamed of living life on the fringe, evading villains and besting rivals.

Seonghwa gasps as the crew finally disperses. Most of them disappear up the ramp.

The captain remains still. He strokes his chin almost animatedly, deep in thought, the lone person left on that ramp.

Then, he leaves. Wordlessly, he ascends the ramp.

Seonghwa remains rooted in place as he watches the other enter the ship. His ship. With his crew. Where they’re embarking on his adventure.

Despair balls up in Seonghwa’s stomach, thick, and swells into his throat. Heat rushes to his face, stinging his eyes as they well up. Seonghwa holds the tears back with adamance. He has been handed a fair sentence and he recieve it with dignity. He supposes that, ultimately, the fate had been more merciful than he could have hoped for, all things considered. He should be happy to be free, relieved.

Yet, all he can think about is the life he has waiting for him. The lonely apartment in the highrise of Southern KQ. The tall wardrobe of perfectly pressed uniforms hanging neatly. He can go back to having a reliable supply of clean underwear - that’s a happy thought. He can get back to work and hopefully sort out whatever compensation mess his MIA status has caused. He can resume his diligence at the naval police, filing reports, making calls, taking notes for his superiors, sorting data. There’s a cubicle he shares with a girl who’s name he can never quite remember. She does the same thing, as does the adjacent cubicle, and the one next to that. They all do it, grinding to prove their worth. Reliable work that Seonghwa can go back to and probably do with his eyes closed.

Another file. Another transcripted interview. Another message chain. Another number. Disposable. A cog hoping to move up, praying he’s curried enough good favor that nepotism grants him chance at promotion.

“You coming or not?” A voice cuts through Seonghwa’s downward spiral.

He blinks his tears away and tilts his head inquisitively at the captain.

“Well?” Hongjoong quirks a brow, his face unreadable. “Will you join us?”

Without hesitation, Seonghwa clamors up the ramp. It promptly lifts, and he practically rolls into the loading bay as it closes. Not a second sooner, the ship jostles with movement. They’re going up.

Seonghwa stumbles back onto his feet, dusting off his knees. By reflex, he turns toward the door of the brig.

“Nuh-uh,” The captain grunts. Hwa’s face scrunches, puzzled. The captain nods toward the stairs, “Follow me.”

Mutedly, Seonghwa obliges. His eyes dart to the doorway to the jail one last time before he’s guided up the stairs. 

Hwa tries to ignore the penetrating gazes boring into him left and right as he walks through the common room toward the living areas. It’s surreal to think that just a day before he’d been dragged through there. He follows the captain up a set of steps to the kitchen, then up again to cabins. They take a right, and the captain guides him all the way down the hall. He presses a keycode into a door on the right, and it slides open.

With a wave, the captain beckons, “Your room.”

“O-Oh,” Seonghwa gasps. He almost can’t believe the turn of events as he timidly steps into the space. It’s nice. Nicer than normal bunk setups he’s familiar with. There’s a full sized bed built in on one side and a little desk on the other. Through the window, Seonghwa can see the landscape of the planet they’d been on receding. The blond immediately crosses over to the pane, gazing at it in wonder.

This is the first time he’s seen ATEEZ lift off. From above, the large continent they’d been on appears rather unfortunate. It’s dark and dry. Jagged mountain ranges rip through it like scar tissue, and greenery is beyond scarce.

“Hey,” The captain speaks sternly, pulling Seonghwa’s attention away from the window. “There are a couple of rules you need to abide if you’re gonna be on this ship for real.”

Seonghwa nods without a word.

“First of all, if you have rude shit to say to my crew, I suggest you keep it to yourself. You’re not exactly liked around here. I’m not gonna be held responsible for you getting your ass beat because you decided to say something stupid.”

“Of course,” Hwa answers softly.

“Second, I’m your captain. You do what I say.”

“I understand.”

“You know the big room at the end of this hall?”

“Um- You mean the door right by mine?”

“Yeah. Those are the captain’s quarters,” The captain crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe.

“Wait- Would that mean-?”

“I’ve got my eye on you is what that means,” Hongjoong says sternly. For someone who can be so utterly foolish, he certainly commands respect when needed. His expression darkens as he continues, “Navigational and piloting controls are secured so only a privileged few can handle them. We killed the intersteller network routers, too. So don’t get any cute ideas of driving us into a trap.”

“I had no intention of doing so.”

“Let’s hope you mean that. To my crew you might just be the smug, pompous jerk , but I know better than that. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your little stunt on the Anaconda. You’ve been given ample opportunity to be free on your own fucking terms. You’ve even had plenty of chances to hurt us, too. So if you decide to wait until later to do it, so help me… If you so much as breathe in a way that threatens the lives of the people on this ship, I’ll throw you out the airlock. ”

“I- I understand where I am and the choice that I’ve made,” Seonghwa answers coolly. “And you’re right. If I really wanted to hurt you, I’d have done it by now.”

“Good. Also, I hope you understand that this probationary acceptance of you as a member of my crew doesn’t mean I like you.”

“I didn’t think that at all. I apologize if I ever gave off the impression that I had some personal bias or care for you beyond the bare minimum values of respect.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you didn’t. I just wanted to make sure you understand that this is strictly professional. You’re not obligated to put on airs. As a matter of fact, I discourage it. Please do not try to be my friend.”

“Trust that my interest in this ship’s mission is entirely in spite of my feelings about you as a person. I’d more readily befriend a cactus than you.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Silence falls between the two, and the captain narrows his eyes, scrutinizing the man before him. Seonghwa shivers slightly beneath the heft of the other’s gaze. His life is truly in the captain’s hands. His discernment is, quite literally, the difference between life and death. Upon reaching whatever conclusion he’d come to, Hongjoong’s face relaxes.

He heaves a sigh and shrugs, “I… Can’t say I completely get why you’ve done what you’ve done, but-” He throws his hands up. “Welcome aboard, prettyboy.”

Seonghwa nods in response.

“I guess I’ll, um, leave you to it. Cell’s open in case you wanna go down there and collect your affairs,” The captain steps out of the room. “Hell, you can sleep down there if you’re feeling nostalgic!” His voice echoes down the hall.

With the other’s presence no longer arresting his attention, Seonghwa’s left at the mercy of his own thoughts. Titillation thrums beneath his skin, threatening to burst out. He shuts the door to the room - his room, his very own room. Unable to hold himself up, he plops onto his bed and clutches the sheets tightly. His eyes drift out the window, and he watches the dusty planet shrink in the distance.

“Oh my god,” The words drop from his lips, a whisper. “Oh my god .”

Seonghwa clamps a hand over his mouth as his body quakes. It trembles violently as tears held back for too long finally fall.

“What have I done?” A shaky laugh jumps out of his throat. “What have I done ?!” He snorts, and that’s all it takes for the dam to break. Seonghwa laughs the hardest he’s laughed in years. The laughter takes over his body, shaking him from the inside out violently. He laughs until his abs throb, until his lungs squeeze painfully in protest and he feels like he’s going to throw up. The fit makes him dizzy, turning the quaint room and the starscape beyond into a kaleidoscope image, twisting and turning, dancing.   

Park Seonghwa, a man who planned his life meticulously, had surrendered to impulse and desire for the first time in what feels like centuries. It’s probably closer to a decade, in truth - but, shit, everything’s exaggerated to him in that moment. He laughs and sobs all at the same time, his body wailing in protest after enduring so much pain. He doesn’t know if he’s happy, sad, excited, terrified, remorseful, thrilled… Maybe it’s all of them combined. Every emotion assails him at once. All of the things he’d held back from petty joy to miserable pain pours out.

If anyone walked in, they’d think he was insane.

Maybe he is insane.

Because what sane man would give up a reliable income and job security for Treasure?

What sane man steps onto a ship full of people who hate him for a shot at achieving some childhood fantasy from a storybook?

Who in their right mind would do something so incredibly selfish as to go on living when all of their kin think they’re MIA?

Park Seonghwa, that’s who.

He’s not sure where life will take him. Perhaps there really is something to the legend, and he’ll be destined to find Treasure. Or maybe he’ll die in two days because of a freak accident. So what if what he’d done was selfish? So what if it was crazy? 

He doesn’t know what the future holds, but something about that lends him more comfort than another day at his desk ever did.

Hongjoong wakes up in pain. It’s dull, at least, a faint ghost of what he’d felt prior to going to bed. He sits up slowly, assessing the situation, reminding himself that he’s safe once again. It’s hard to reorient himself. It feels like every time he gets back from one of his missions, he finds it more and more difficult to believe that he’s truly okay. He squints as dim light enters his vision. He tried to sleep with the lights off at first, but the darkness bothered him too much. He kept seeing things in the shadows, tall, broad-shouldered silhouettes with wide-brimmed hats.

“I am that I am.”

The words haunt him along with the visage that bestowed upon him the strange message. His gut turns with unease. They had to be androids, he thinks. Androids can be incredibly sophisticated nowadays. Though Hongjoong has no idea how the hell the crooked mayor would’ve gotten his hands on them. Even if he’d been stealing from his people, no way could he afford even one of them. 

Then there’s what he told them; something along the lines of “they came by looking for trouble”. So, what? They approached him? It doesn’t make any sense.

The captain groans, rubbing his eyes roughly. 

He’s not getting back to sleep any time soon.

Resignedly, Hongjoong hops out of bed, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders like a cape. He figures a cup of tea can at least quell his boredom for the interim. Plus, something warm in his belly would be nice.

The captain shivers as he pads across the metal floor. He hugs his blanket closer upon entering the drafty corridor. For a second, he stops, casting a cursory glance at the petty officer’s door. It’s quiet - not that he’d expected noise or anything. He swears he heard something earlier, but god knows it could be a myriad ship-related things.

His chest aches with uncertainty regarding his decision.

“We trust you, Hongjoong.”

The captain hopes that trust isn’t misplaced.The truth is, he wanted to leave the blond on the dirt. He walked away, ready to start his journey anew, unmarred by the blemish of the other’s presence. But he couldn’t do it. In the end, he couldn’t fucking do it. He couldn’t leave him there.

The captain wishes more than anything that he could’ve said something stopped him. He wishes that he could cite a precise reason for his decision, something he could explain and back up reasonably. But it doesn’t exist. It just doesn’t fucking exist. It doesn’t. Like many of his major life decisions - for better or for worse - what guided the pivotal decision was impulse and passion. Something in the very core of his being disallowed him from abandoning the petty officer. Even though it would’ve been a fine thing to do, even if it would’ve assured a relatively peaceful, easy journey moving forward. He just couldn’t .

But was it the right choice?

Only time can tell.

Few things frustrate Hongjoong more than not knowing. He doesn’t know why he chose to bring Seonghwa on, he doesn’t know how or why the Compass works. 

He has no idea who the fellas in black are, what their motives are, where they came from. Will they ever cross paths again? Or are the men in black destined to fade into the depths of Hongjoong’s memory, a faraway mirage?

Hongjoong sighs. His head hurts. His body hurts. The captain squeezes his mug when the tea’s ready. Warmth trickles in through the pads of his fingers and his palm. Though there’s nothing inherently special about tea, the comfort it lends is unmatched. 

There are some things that one will never know. The universe is vast place full of mystery. Though humankind can chip away at it, little by little, they will never know all. That’s their truth, a ceaselessly expanding, evolving reality in which countless wonders and countless horrors reside. While some lay dormant, others may be encountered. But will their true nature ever truly be known?

Perhaps, it’s not meant to be so.

And that’s okay.

That’s not Hongjoong’s journey. He yearns to uncover one of the universe’s mysteries. Just one. The Treasure. Instead of agonizing over answers he’ll never be given, the captain decides to be okay with what he has.

Feeling better, Hongjoong waddles up to the bridge, mug in one hand and blanket-slash-cape held tightly in the other. Gazing at the stars and pondering the Compass is one of his favorite ways to pass time on a sleepless night. The captain smiles as his beloved fascination comes into view, but he freezes when he notices something else.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Hongjoong barks at the platinum blond sitting in one of the pilot’s chairs. “What did I tell you about trying to-”

“I-I’m not doing anything!” Seonghwa protests with eyes wide. He throws his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not doing anything, I swear!”

“Oh really?” Hongjoong growls. “You just happened to mosey on up here for a sit while everyone else is asleep?!”

“You even told me that I can’t pilot the ship if I tried! Wh- Look- The nav won’t activate no matter what buttons I touch-”

“Stop touching it!”

“Shit- I’m stopping!” Seonghwa presses his lips together and he puts his hands up again. “I was just- I just wanted to look at it!”

“Look at what?!”

“The Compass!”

“Wh-” Hongjoong’s expression falls into one of surprise. “Wait- You were-” He briefly does an assessment of the situation. The blond is sitting in a pilot’s chair that’s turn to face the center nav console where the Compass lives. He’s barefoot in sleeping clothes. His face is sleep swollen and his hair is mussed. The sight is a far, far departure from his mental image of the sinister Petty Officer. He certainly doesn’t look like he’d been up to anything. A sheepish flush tints his cheeks and ears, like he’d been caught doing something embarrassing. Joong supposes if he’d really been making an escape attempt he’d have probably crossed the bridge and tried to knock the other out by now.

The captain’s shoulders slacken, and lets out a breath.

“Right,” Hongjoong mutters.

Now, this is awkward.

Uncomfortable pressure balloons in Hongjoong’s stomach as the two share space in utter silence. Part of almost feels inclined to say something - but what? He doesn’t genuinely want to converse. However the quiet is beginning to thicken into a noxious smog, and he’s terrified he’ll suffocate if someone doesn’t say something.

“I guess I should-” “It’s late, I-”

The two talk over one another.

“Wha-” “What did you say?”

They do it again.

Hongjoong’s face burns with embarrassment, and he coughs loudly. He gestures at the other, inviting him to speak.

“I-I’m going to excuse myself,” The blond chokes out, quickly crossing the bridge. The two squeeze past each other awkwardly at the narrow point in which Hongjoong stands. The captain catches the other’s gaze for a second as they sidle past one another, and he briefly contemplates dying on the spot. Recalling the unfortunate truth that he can’t simply die on will, he bins the idea.

“Good night,” Hongjoong says without even thinking. He presses his lips shut tight and turns around to hide the horror on his face. Good night? Good night? Did he just wish the other a good night? What’s next? Sweet dreams?

“Um- G-Good night,” He hears the other stutter out. Joong can’t bear to look. “Oh, and… Thank you.”

The captain’s tension drops, and in spite of himself he turns to regard the other. There’s no trace of witticism or satire in the man’s tone, nor is his face twisted into some smug expression of sarcasm.

“For what?” Hongjoong asks softly.

“For allowing me to come aboard,” Seonghwa answers sincerely. Something flickers in his eyes. Hongjoong doesn’t know what it is, but the other is already walking down the stairs before he can try to figure out what.

The captain tries to shake the strange image out of his head. He shifts his focus to the Compass, stepping into the bridge to study it as he always does. It sits calmly on the navcon, sound asleep. Its newly collected piece awaits installation in the zipped pocket of Jongho’s jacket. The crew opted to wait on installation given the events of their day. Hongjoong is eager to find out what new information they’ll glean from the addition of the piece. 

Peaceful silence falls over the bridge as Joong ruminates over the strange device. There are countless mysteries across the universe.

But, for now, Hongjoong is happy to contemplate just this one.