Chapter Text
Taejoong held the hilt tightly as he lifted his foot and kicked the soldier away, retrieving his sword. He had lost his helmet some time ago during the fight, and his face was covered in dirt, sweat and blood. The fight had been going for hours, but dusk would soon come and the enemies would fall back to cover themselves from the cold that enveloped the Sierra desert, the biggest in the Bazara exoplanet.
The Elgen had done an excellent job at choosing the site of attack, and Taejoong had to congratulate them for their strategy. Their thick, scaly skin provided them protection against the harsh weather, they could easily withstand the sandstorms and fight throughout the day. Their only disadvantage was the cold of the night. However, without a satellite to provide natural light in the darkness and the time they needed for recovery, the humans had been unable to perform a surprise attack at night, when the Elgen were at their weakest point.
Bazara was considerably small for a planet, and mostly consisted of deserts, but under its surface it was bustling with coveted resources. The planet was under the rulership of the Kim Empire, the biggest human made empire in that galaxy and the neighboring ones, which certainly made it the target of other empires and species. This invasion had already been going on for two weeks, but it was not slowing down.
Another soldier lunged forward and Taejoong retreated, earning himself time to activate his shield. He deflected the opponent’s sword by pushing it away and brought his long sword forward, piercing the arm of the Elgen soldier. Taejoong pressed a button on the hilt and electrocuted the enemy, who fell to the ground unconscious. He kept up his guard as he approached the soldier and leaned down to check on his vital signs; he was unconscious but alive, which meant they could take him back to camp and try to obtain information from him.
Taejoong wasn’t fond of taking prisoners, but he was less fond of stabbing someone unconscious or leaving them there to die. As he took a look around, he noticed that the rest of Elgen had already retreated, and all that was left was to gather those who were still standing and take the wounded back to camp. His sword shrunk into a dagger and his shield became once again just a gauntlet. When he crouched to pick up the fallen Elgen, he noticed a familiar coat of arms and smiled.
“Right in time!” Taejoong exclaimed, sitting up the Elgen and passing their arm over his shoulders. “Tell the others to start gathering our injured and dead, we need to send them back to their home planets and reward them for their service. Night is falling soon so we need to be quick before the sandstorms start and make it impossible to see anything.”
With great effort, he stood up and brought the unconscious soldier with him. Taejoong continued voicing his orders as he turned around and started his way back to camp; maybe if they were fast enough they could change their location to cover the terrain they had just recovered from the Elgen. As he walked away, he felt pain through his back and chest, which spread quickly to the rest of his body. He fell to his knees, and when he looked down, he managed to catch the sword piercing his chest as it pulled back.
“We were too careless!” Yunho screamed as his sword locked with another and he pushed forward to deflect it, retreating once he had succeeded.
“What are you talking about! Don’t you like surprises?” Hongjoong mocked, way too excited for his own good.
He stabbed an Elgen soldier clearly in the stomach before kicking them back. He pivoted on his right leg as his sword became a throwing dagger, attached to his arm firmly by a chain, and threw it towards an enemy that was running to them. The dagger sank onto the Elgen’s shoulder and Hongjoong pressed the button to electrocute them, quickly sending them to the ground. He felt Yunho’s back press against his and he smiled, of course he could count on his right hand to keep him safe.
“You’re so boring, dear Lieutenant general, relax a little.” Hongjoong smiled as he retrieved his dagger, turning it into a short-sword.
Yunho huffed. It was so easy for Hongjoong to say that because he wasn’t the one taking care of his own back. Yunho couldn’t complain though, Hongjoong was vicious in battle, second only to his older brother, almost invincible. And that little part of him that was vulnerable to defeat was what Yunho protected. He wouldn’t be able to let Hongjoong get out of his sight if he tried, anyway, so might as well protect him.
The Elgen were tall but thin, and because of their reforced skin the Empire had fortified their weapons in order to make them more effective. Soon enough, Hongjoong’s troop had finished off the battle, and won. They had been inspecting some caves for a new base when the Elgen attacked them. The attack had been unexpected, an ambush, but they had been able to defend themselves and emerge victorious.
“Round up and count the injured!” The lieutenant in charge of the troop ordered and he was answered by a chorus of ‘yes sir!’. “Sir,” Lieutenant Hwang saluted Hongjoong and then Yunho, who saluted back.
“Lieutenant,” Hongjoong acknowledged him with a nod. “Do you think there will be enough men to guard this spot so the Elgen can’t claim it again?”
“It is still difficult to say sir, I’ll inform you once the headcount is done.” The lieutenant explained. “The battle was quite brutal however, and we need to get the injured back to the main camp. We might need to call for reinforcements.”
“Alright, keep me informed.” Hongjoong nodded, but before the man walked away, he stopped him. “Good job on leading your troop through the ambush Lieutenant Hwang, I expected no less.”
The lieutenant saluted before going back to check on his soldiers, and Hongjoong allowed himself to relax for a second. Yunho chuckled next to him, wiping off sweat from his forehead. Hongjoong pushed him softly and shook his head; he looked around to make sure no one was close enough to them before he began talking. Yunho looked at him with a soft smile on his face and listened.
“I know you already know, because he’s your prince-”
“Not more than you are.” Yunho interrupted briefly, causing Hongjoong to blush profusely.
“Not the point!” The General said through gritted teeth. “My brother’s birthday is next week and I am so excited for it! I insisted aunt Mira until she taught me how to cook his favorite dishes.” Hongjoong explained, obviously too excited.
Everyone knew that Hongjoong looked up to his brother. Taejoong was his role model and Hongjoong’s favorite person besides Yunho; he had been planning his brother’s birthday celebration for almost a month, and he talked so much about it it was almost certain his brother knew already. It was difficult to dissuade him of talking about it, though, since it brightened his expression so much.
“You? Cooking? It should be considered treason, you’ll probably poison your brother.” Yunho chuckled, earning himself a punch and a death glare from Hongjoong. Yunho was not deterred by this though, as he grabbed Hongjoong’s arm and pulled him closer, pecking him slightly on the lips.
“Don’t do that! We’re in public.” Hongjoong almost yelled, pushing Yunho away. “And my cooking is not that awful.” He crossed his arms. “Is it?”
“Of course not!” Yunho smiled, looking apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel insecure.” Hongjoong shook his head.
“Do you think he’ll like his gift?” Hongjoong bit his lip, eyes trained on the floor.
“I’m sure he’ll love it.”
Taejoong held his hands to his chest, pressuring the wound, dropping the Elgen soldier as he tried to keep the blood from pouring out, but it was impossible. He fell on his side, and looked up when a dirty boot pushed him so he was lying on his back. Pain flooded his body as he felt sand and dirt press into his back injury, and groaned and winced in pain.
His sight became blurry from the mix of tears and agony, and when he looked up, he couldn’t quite make the face of the person that stood before him. He knew just by the colors that it was one of his own though. The soldier stabbed the fallen Elgen multiple times before looking back at Taejoong, who had begun to shake uncontrollably.
“Who… are you?” He managed to sputter out, coughing blood. The man laughed but didn’t reply. “Who sent you… why?”
How was no one seeing him bleed out? Surely, someone must have noticed when he had stopped given orders, when he had stopped guiding them. And yet he couldn’t hear anyone coming to help him. Taejoong was going to die by the hands of his own soldier, and he couldn’t find a reason why.
“Hongjoong…” He whispered, because even then he could only think of his youngest brother, fighting his own battles somewhere in that deserted planet. What if he was in danger too? “I’m s-sorry…” His breathing stopped.
“Help! General Kim has been attacked! Somebody help!”
“I promise you he will like your gift!” Yunho insisted, trying to hide his smile. “You’re literally his favorite person in the Empire, no- in the universe.”
“I’d say Livia is pretty high up there too.” Hongjoong mumbled, making Yunho laugh.
“Princess Livia is Prince Taejoong’s wife though.” Yunho said with a smile. “It’ll be fine.”
As Hongjoong was about to retort, a slider parked outside of the cave they were in and a hurried soldier ran towards them. Her face was livid as she made her way up to Hongjoong, but there was no hesitation in her voice when she gave them the news.
“Sir,” she saluted. Her shoulders were strained with tension. “General Kim Taejoong has passed away in combat.”
Hongjoong’s face became pale, and a second later he was running towards the slider. Yunho followed him in a hurry and stopped him right before he mounted, holding him in place. Hongjoong battled in his arms and threw a punch at his face, which Yunho barely avoided. He held him down nonetheless and boarded the slider first.
“I’ll drive, before you kill yourself on the way.” Yunho explained.
Hongjoong boarded behind him and held tight. Sliders like this one were made for messengers, one person who needed to deliver a message quickly, and it really wasn’t supposed to hold both Yunho and Hongjoong on it. However, Hongjoong wasn’t about to be left behind, and Yunho wasn’t going to let him drive it, so he would hold on for dear life until they had made it with his brother.
Yunho started up the engine and they bolted out of there. Through their communication network, he asked for the coordinates and in just a few minutes they had already arrived. When Hongjoong let go of him, Yunho felt the sting of the cuts that his nails had left behind from holding so tightly. Hongjoong didn’t wait for him to turn off the engine and jumped off the slider, running towards the mass of people.
“Let me through!” He yelled, and the soldiers in front of him parted, letting him see.
The army nurses had already loaded the body on a stretcher and were taking it to the medical slider. No one saw it coming when Hongjoong threw himself at them, trying to stop them from taking his brother away. Yunho ran towards him and pulled him away, shielding him with his body, but it was too late, Hongjoong had already seen it all.
He became violent, hitting Yunho and demanding him to move. But Yunho didn’t budge. Instead, he took Hongjoong away from the masses so they wouldn’t see him in that state. When they were finally alone, away from the prying eyes, Hongjoong broke down in his arms. He cursed Yunho out, demanding to return his brother, to let him go see him. And through it all, Yunho just held him.
Hongjoong stood next to his middle brother Yijoong and his father, the Emperor, on the front row at the palace's ballroom. The space had been adapted to hold the funeral, and as far as Hongjoong remembered, this was the second time he got to see it like this. His memories of the first time weren't too clear. He had been too young when the Empress, his mother, had passed away as a victim of illness. And now he stood there, waiting for his older brother to be brought to the front.
His eyes were fixed on the thrones as the soldiers carried the coffin on their shoulders. Hongjoong couldn't really hear anything besides the noise in his head. He was vaguely conscious of a few people crying, but the royal family was somewhat small and most of their family friends were in the military. Everyone expected them to just remain serious and wait.
Yunho had embraced him all throughout the previous day while the preparations for the ceremony were carried, but it wasn't enough and Hongjoong wished he could be there by his side. As it was, though, Yunho was probably standing a few rows behind him. The only good thing was that, at least, he had cried enough in the previous 24 hours that he didn't have a tear left to cry in the ceremony. Yijoong and his father were stoic as well, and Hongjoong couldn't help but think they certainly made an exemplary family of soldiers.
The emperor was the first to give his farewell speech. Hongjoong couldn't help but look away when the words died in his father's throat, as he looked over at the coffin for a long minute, just contemplating it. His father had lost his wife and a son. Yijoong and him had lost their mother and now a brother, how could they not break apart even just a moment? And still, the speech ended with no tears.
As Yijoong went to the front to speak about their eldest brother, Hongjoong put his hand inside his coat and pulled out a compass. It was a round black box the size of his palm, engraved with his initials. Taejoong had given it to him as a birthday gift when he had completed his studies in navigation, as it was one of Hongjoong's passions. The outside was simple, but the inside was beautifully designed and the golden needle never failed to show him the way. He wished it would also show him the way to bring his brother back.
When Yijoong was done speaking, it was Hongjoong's turn to stand up and walk to the front. As he stood up behind the stand, he looked at Yunho, whose eyes were fixed on him with intensity, body tense. Hongjoong guessed that the younger wanted to run out of his place and hug him, to protect him from the pain of loss. Yunho was silly like that, ready to throw away everything for him. Hongjoong nodded, and after Yunho nodded back, he fixed his eyes on the coffin and began talking.
"Everyone knows this already, but my brother was the most amazing person in my eyes, in my life." Hongjoong's voice was firm as he spoke. "He encouraged me and guided me to become the person I am today, and I would never be here without him.
"He was loved by everyone who got to meet him personally, and admired by many more who never got a chance to speak to him." As he felt his voice falter, he stopped for a moment and breathed deeply. "He was the strongest swordsman and soldier in the Empire, yet he had the kindest heart and always strove for peace and negotiation, only raising his weapon when it was to defend his people, and still never aiming to kill.
"Everyone will remember him as an amazing leader and General, but that is not everything about him." Hongjoong smiled slightly. "My brother was the kindest person I have ever known, always discussing new ways of improving the empire. But he was also an amazing brother, taking care of me and Yijoong, looking for his family and friends.
"He made all of our lives better, and he would have been an amazing emperor." This time, Hongjoong looked at the front, looking for comfort in Yunho's expression. "He lived with kindness and died being kind, as the enemy whose life he had chosen to spare, as he often did, stabbed him in the back." Hongjoong sighed. "And still, I'm sure he wouldn't have hesitated to do it again even knowing the outcome.
"I'll miss him, but I hope that wherever he is, he'll continue to guide us through the legacy he left to us." Hongjoong spared one last glance at his brother before getting off of the stand and walking back to his family.
The rest of the ceremony went by but Hongjoong paid almost no attention to it. If his brother was anywhere, it was not in that expensive ceremony to honor him. So Hongjoong held the compass tight to his heart and mourned in silence, hoping that wherever he was, his brother was still looking at him.