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thesafecafe · 8 months ago

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An old favorite

єxτrατєrrєsτriαℓ (ραrк sєσทgнωα) rατє∂

ραiriทg: αℓiєท! ραrк sєσทgнωα (ατєєʑ)× нυмαท! rєα∂єr (ƒємαℓє)

gєทrє: αทgsτ, ƒℓυƒƒ, sмυτ, ∂ysτσρiαท/ sci-ƒi/ ƒαทταsy αυ

sυммαry: ωнєท τнєy cαмє αท∂ iทvα∂є∂ τнєir ρℓαทєτ, нυмαทiτy ∂єscєท∂є∂ iทτσ cнασs αท∂ iทsαทiτy, нυทτiทg τнєм ∂σωท αท∂ vσωiทg τσ rєταкє τнєir нσмє. нσωєvєr, y/ท ∂σєsท'τ вєℓiєvє τнєy αrє ∂αทgєrσυs, ทστ αƒτєr sєєiทg σทє υρ cℓσsє αท∂ ρєrsσทαℓ.

ωσr∂ cσυทτ: 5к+

ωαrทiทgs: ∂ysτσρiαท sσciєτy, viσℓєทcє, αℓℓυsiσทs τσ ∂єατн, мαss ∂єsτrυcτiσท, єxτrατєrrєsτriαℓ вєiทgs, sℓigнτ нyρทστisм, кiทєτic ρσωєrs, sυρєrทατυrαℓ scєทєs, sєxυαℓ scєทєs iทcℓυ∂iทg вriєƒ вrєαsτ ρℓαy, ƒiทgєriทg, αท∂ υทρrστєcτє∂ sσƒτ, vαทiℓℓα iทτєrcσυrsє (αℓωαys υsє ρrστєcτiσท єvєท iƒ yσυ'rє ƒυcкiทg αท є.τ).

iทsρirατiσท: є.τ вy кατy ρєrry

ταgℓisτ: @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers @yunhoiseyecandy @galaxteez @brie02 @a-soft-hornytiny @deja-vux @rvse-miingi @daniblogs164 @couchpotatoaniki

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The world forever remembered the day when the sun suddenly went dark when it wasn't even close to being evening yet. The darkness that shrouded the city made them anxious, which then turned to fear when shining beams of light suddenly passed through the sky and fell onto various parts of the earth. At first they thought they were shooting stars or even asteroids that were there to destroy the planet. But alas, masses of rock from space don't have a perfectly oval shape and neither do they have blinking lights covering most of the base. And they certainly don't have strange beings coming out of them. When humanity saw the otherworldly creatures, they immediately went into panic, running for their lives, not wanting to find out or not if they were intelligent, friendly or were cold blooded killers. They simply shut themselves away, causing chaos amongst their land and hurting each other more than anything else.

Y/N definitely remembered that day but for different reasons. At the time, she was in the outskirts of the city, perched on top of a tree as she usually did to escape the bustling city life she was used to. Half daydreaming and half asleep, her leg swung idly as the warmth of the sun casted down on her face. She was jolted fully awake when something like thunder resonated from the heavens, her eyes immediately finding her surroundings to be pitch black. She squinted her eyes, trying to adjust her sight. A colossal spaceship landed near where she was, causing the earth to shake and she let out a piercing scream when she tumbled down from the tree, her knee getting scraped in the fall.

She let out a pained groan as she tried to get back up, but her legs gave out from how badly she was hurting. Looking up, her eyes went wide when a door opened from the ship, cold smoke blasting out and some of it reaching where she was, making her cough softly. She held her breath when several figures started pouring out of the ship, all of them scattering towards different directions. They all donned the same white uniform, their faces covered by a gaiter styled face covering in the same color. When one of them started nearing where she was, her feet scrambled to get up and hide. Only managing to take two steps before she tripped once more, the extraterrestrial turned his head in the direction of the sound and proceeded to go investigate.

Realizing that she had been caught, Y/N gripped onto the trunk of the tree, nails scraping so harshly that she felt blood trickling down. Finally able to stand upright, she turned once more to run but was stopped when two hands slammed against the tree, trapping her in place. The poor girl trembled in fear as two cold eyes looked straight at her. Scanning her body, the being's eyes took in her damaged knee, blood pouring out as some of the skin and tissue was badly torn off. Getting down on one knee, the being took off one its gloves that covered its hand before reaching out to press against her wound. Y/N flinched when they made contact with her scrape and nearly kicked them away but when a purple light emanated from their hand she stood still to see what would happen. When the otherworldly creature pulled its hand away, she was in shock when she saw that her knee was completely healed, not a scratch as if nothing had happened, as if she didn't suffer a nasty fall.

"How...how did you..?" She whipped her head towards the person or non-person in front of her, had gotten up and was slowly creeping their body closer to hers.

The being murmured out some words in a language she did not recognize, and she knew it wasn't just caused by the covering around their face. She gasped sharply when they suddenly pressed her back onto the tree, hands firmly keeping her in place. Once establishing that she would not run away anytime soon, the extraterrestrial lifted one hand up and pulled its covering off. Y/N was speechless as she gazed up into the most beautiful and perfect face she had ever seen. The being's face seemed to be perfectly sculpted to perfection by gods themselves. Blade straight nose, chiseled jawline and sharp angled eyes perfectly complimented each other and distinguished them as someone not from her world.

Before she could even comprehend what they were doing, she felt their hands cup her cheeks as they pressed their pink and soft lips against her own. When she tried to pull away, the creature only clung her tighter to them, their kiss becoming more forceful, tongue dipping inside her mouth which had her moaning. It seemed the extraterrestrial noticed the effect they were having on her since she could feel them smirking against her lips, and indeed they were still smirking when they pulled away and looked back at her. They curiously studied her face, as if they were trying to figure out something.

"Y/N? Is it?"

She was startled when she heard them say something she understood and even more so that they knew her name.

"You actually....speak my language?" She asked them.

The extraterrestrial chuckled softly.

"I do now."

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8 months had passed ever since the aliens first invaded the world, and things only went from bad to worse. The government fell in the hands of civilians who decided to take control after they failed in not only giving them answers but in failing to drive the intruders away. Without a proper leader to govern them, the people just ran rampant through the streets, criminal activity and violence escalating each day that passed. The only real form of leadership or organization that still was existed was the Resistance force, a group of individuals who had gathered together to fight off all the aliens, which always resulted in unnecessary attacks and bloodshed. And unfortunately for Y/N, her own father was one of the ones leading that force.

She shook her head everytime she watched him and all the other people march off in search of extraterrestrials, hoping to demolish them once and for all. Every time they went out, very few returned, but that wasn't the part that worried her.

What worried her was imagining if her friend was one of the few extraterrestrials that had been taken down, because as she'd learn, they were definitely capable of being killed. She let out a sigh and closed the blinds of the kitchen window to continue her task of washing dishes. It seemed that was her life from now on, attending to the house while her dad was away fighting off beings who were actually harmless as she soon learned. But of course, she could never say anything about it, one because no one would believe her given how brainwashed and unreceptive they were and two, which was the most important one, she had promised her otherworldly friend not to spill anything about the mission they were currently carrying out and she intended to keep that promise.

"Aliens! They're here!"

Hearing the frantic commotion outside that was followed by a loud blaring of sirens and shotguns being fired, Y/N ducked and stayed away from any windows or any glass. She slowly crawled her way out the door and went outside, as stupid as it was but whenever there was an attack such as these ones, she always went out to ensure no child was wandering the streets and accidentally got caught in the action. She didn't care that she was risking her own life in doing so.

She carefully ran through alleys, taking cover behind walls or dropping to the ground when she heard shots being fired. It had become a lot easier for her now than it was in the beginning. Peeking her head out, she was relieved to see that most of the civilians had already cleared themselves out. But her relieve was short lived when she saw a white uniformed figure fall in the middle of the street, their hand clutching their left side which was stained blue, clear indication they were seriously wounded. Even with their face covered, she recognized their eyes right away.

"Seonghwa." She whispered softly, panic rising in her when she heard more shots being fired in his direction.

Looking at the other side, her face paled when she saw that it was none other than her own dad who was pursuing him, gun in his hand as he reloaded bullets in them. She looked back towards Seonghwa, who was trying to desperately heal himself faster, but was running out of time. With her dad getting closer and aiming his gun right at him, Y/N didn't even think and bolted out of her hiding place, heading straight towards her father.

"Dad don't!" She exclaimed as she tipped over his gun, causing him to shoot instead towards the opposite direction. Both of them hit the pavement with the strength she used to make sure he didn't hurt her friend.

"Y/N! Get off me!" Her father grunted as he shoved her off his body. Grabbing a hold of his gun once more, he made way to aim once more at his enemy but unfortunately he was too late. When he looked back, he was surrounded by two other extraterrestrials, one of them holding a small device that he threw onto the ground which helped them teleport out of there instantly, leaving behind nothing but a faint cloud of smoke.

Livid at having his prey taken away from his hands, he turned his attention back to his daughter who was barely standing up. When she lifted her head up, she was instantly struck back to the floor as the brute force of her father's fist against her face knocked her down.

"You stupid bitch! You let them get away!"

Each kick laid against her stomach was felt not only by her but by the extraterrestrial being that had connected his mind with hers. From miles away, inside one of the space crafts, he cried out in pain and clutched his abdomen as he felt each and every one of the violent acts laid on her body. With raging and glowing eyes, he pulled off all the wires and needles connected to his body and stormed out of the room, ignoring the protests coming out of the medical team that was tending to his wounds.

"Seonghwa! Stop! You're not healed yet!" One of his comrades tried to stop him.

"I don't care Hongjoong! Y/N is in trouble and I need to save her!" He tried to pry off the other male's fingers off him.

"You can't go! It's too risky. You'll get caught." He tried to reason with Seonghwa.

"If I don't go she could die! She saved me and now I must go save her!"

Having left with no other choice, Hongjoong used his supernatural strength to pin his friend to the wall, keeping him locked in there with no way to escape.

"Yes you must, but now is not the time! You're hurt, if you go now you'll only get yourself killed and then what will happen to her?"

Seonghwa's lip quivered in rage and hurt. He was unable to speak let alone move. He looked down at the floor and wept softly, his mind filled with images of her bruised and bloodied body in agony and pain after the beating she just endured. He knew in such a state, he couldn't even contact her telepathically.

"There's only a few more days until we have to leave back to the home planet. Our mission will be completed and if you still want..... you can take her back with you."

Seonghwa whipped his head up at Hongjoong's words, but before he could get his hopes up, Hongjoong raised a hand.

"Only if she wants to. You can't force, hypnotize nor abduct her. Am I clear?"

Seonghwa immediately nodded.

"Yes Hongjoong."

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Y/N laid in her bed, body still sore even though 2 days had already passed since that awful day. Her sides would ache if she put too much strain on them, but at least she was finally able to walk again. What she really wanted to know was how Seonghwa was doing. Was he all right? Was he too injured? Did he make it? Or did he..?

She pulled her blanket over her face to keep herself from thinking such things. She only wished he'd talk to her like he usually did at night. It was funny considering the first time she heard his voice in her head she was beyond freaked out, but now she had grown accustomed to it, sometimes even scolding him for bugging her so much.

"Are you awake?"

She couldn't keep the smile of her face as she finally heard his voice after so long. But wanting to play it cool, she forced a huff out of her mouth.

"I am now no thanks to you weirdo." She responded, her voice sounding grumpy and making Seonghwa chuckle.

"You know I'm not that knowledgeable with your language yet, so I'm not sure what that word means, but I'm deducing it's not a compliment." He asserted.

"How can you still not know what some words mean? Didn't you suck the language out of me when you slipped your tongue inside my mouth months ago? Wasn't that enough?" She chastised him, yet her cheeks flushed pink as she recalled the first time they met and he greeted her with a kiss, which she ended up finding out was a method his kind employed to be able to understand and talk to beings that spoke differently from them.

"We only grasp the basics, our abilities only stretch so far." He calmly explained.

Y/N sat up and tugged at different ends of her blanket.

"Does that mean you've gone around on other planets kissing other people?" She questioned him, her voice tinted with a hint of jealousy at the thought of Seonghwa kissing someone else.

"I may have kissed other kinds, but I can assure you that you're the only one I've used tongue with." He smirked to himself as he read her thoughts.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" She felt bitter knowing he had indeed gone around kissing other people.

"Well no... but that little action helped create the mind link with you. Lip to lip contact with another creature helps us communicate with them, adding tongue is a way to communicate and connect telepathically with the individual. Hence why I have been talking to you and vice versa without having to utter a single word. That and I can see what's going on in that tiny head of yours." He finished with a suspicious snort that unsettled her.

"Does that mean... you've been reading my thoughts all these months?" She fidgeted nervously.

"Some, not all. Although I've accidentally stumbled upon some that are rather..... interesting if you ask me."

Y/N whined as she slumped her face into her pillow and let out a high pitched scream. She felt so embarrased knowing he probably knew some of the explicit thoughts she's had at times that involved him.

"Do me a favor and take one of your laser guns and just vaporize me out of this world." She begged him.

"I'm afraid protocol doesn't allow me to vaporize any individuals without proper cause. So you're stuck with knowing that I know that you want me to-"

"Ok stop! Please don't finish that sentence and pretend like what you saw in my head wasn't real." She sighed.

"As you wish."

Seonghwa stayed quiet for a while, biting his lower lip as he pondered about how to approach his next subject. He knew it was now or never.

"Hey Y/N?" He asked softly.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"Can you..... do you think you could meet me in the place we first met?"

Y/N looked out her window and saw that it was past the curfew established by the Resistance, no doubt most of them standing guard at every street and corner, making sure everyone stayed indoors while keeping watch.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to get out without being caught."

"I thought just as much."

Before she knew it, Seonghwa appeared right in front of her bed, making her shriek as she pulled her blanket to cover body up. She was about to ask him what was going on, but he was faster as he took hold of her wrist before transporting them both in the outskirts of the city in the blink of an eye. Y/N cowered and shivered when she felt the night breeze blow, her arms wrapping around herself since she had gone to bed wearing nothing but black panties and a flimsy white tank top that left little to the imagination for anyone who saw her chest. And seeing the extraterrestrial looking intently at her, she knew he was taking in her state of near undress.

"Please tell me you don't have laser vision that let's you see under my clothes." She squinted at him.

"Some of my kind do posses that ability, but I'm not one of them....." Stepping closer to her, he tilted her chin up and grinned smugly.

"Unfortunately."

"Why you little perv-" She was cut off mid sentence when Seonghwa inexplicably wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace.

"You're cold, let me warm you up."

She indeed started to feel heat being produced from his body which started to flow into her own. It felt so nice, not only having him act as a personal heater but to just have him hold her after having to go through endless shit day after day. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder, slowly drifting off to sleep right then and there. One of Seonghwa's hands was busying itself by softly brushing her hair, being careful not to accidentally pull any out. He stayed like that for a few minutes before finally blurting out:

"The mission is finished. We'll be leaving at dawn tomorrow."

Y/N felt her heart sink when she heard him say that.

"So....bringing me here was so you could say goodbye?" She lifted her head off his shoulders and stared at the ground with a blank expression.

"Well it depends..."

Y/N raised an eyebrow when he paused.

"Depends on what?" She urged him to finish.

"If you wanna leave this place and come with me." He offered, his eyes growing rounder as he hoped she'd say yes.

Y/N looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you being serious right now or is this some kind of alien joke?"

Seonghwa nodded in earnest.

"Deadly serious. I want you to come to my home with me. I know.... I hope you'll like it. It's not that different from your planet, although you know the technology is more advanced and flying cars and what not..."

When he saw that she wasn't budging, Seonghwa gulped nervously.

"But the location I live in is a more... tropical one. The water is sparkling blue, the glittering sand is warm to the touch, and the weather is always cool and refreshing. Wouldn't you like to live in a place like that with me?" He spoke those last two words out softly but he knew she definitely heard them.

He could hear and see her thoughts, debating whether or not it would be wise to leave with him or not. She looked behind her towards the city she lived in, almost in complete ruin with possibly no hope of redemption.

"There's nothing left for me here, is there?" She asked to herself rather than to him.

When she looked back at him, there was still a hint of doubt in her mind. Clasping his hands on her head, Seonghwa's thumbs rubbed circles on her temples as his orbs started turning a light yellow color.

"Please come with me. Stay with me and live with me." He spoke out softly, his voice having a light melodic tune to it.

Y/N felt herself getting immensely drawn to him, her thoughts beginning to fill up with images of staying by his side. It was as if she was getting pulled to him against her will.

"Wait..... Are you using hypnosis on me?!" She exclaimed in anger, pushing him away when she realized what was going on.

"It was worth a try." He admitted in defeat, head hung low in shame.

"Since you failed miserably..... I'll spare you the humiliation and accept to go with you."

Seonghwa widened his eyes when he heard her.

"Wait, for real?"

Y/N responded by placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't make me regret my decision though or I'll steal your laser gun and vaporize you." She warned him.

Lacing his fingers with hers, Seonghwa nudged her to follow him.

"I promise you won't."

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Y/N shifted uncomfortably on the bed she was currently in, alternating between wrapping herself with the blanket and kicking it off a second later. She was still in the middle of her fight with the covers that she failed to notice the door opened and her current roommate walk into their small compartment. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her struggle with an amusing smirk.

"Having fun there?" He broke her out of her trance.

"I can't sleep, I feel like I'm developing claustrophobia from mostly staying inside these 4 walls, and I'm still suffering from motion sickness." She grumbled, 1 week and she had still not adjusted to being inside an intergalactic spacecraft with no one but extraterrestrial beings to keep her company.

"Anything else you'd like to add?" Seonghwa raised an eyebrow.

Y/N pouted her lips and stared up at him with puppy dog eyes.

"I'm lonely and want company?"

Unable to resist, Seonghwa faked an exhausted sigh as he began taking off his jacket.

"I'm off my piloting duties anyway, might as well get some rest before my next shift."

Finally happy at having someone by her side, Y/N made some space on the bed for Seonghwa to fit in, although she wondered if it would be big enough for the both of them since it was a rather compacted area. When she looked back at Seonghwa, she nearly wheezed when she saw him sliding right next to her completely bare. Catching her staring, Seonghwa continued on as if it was the most normal thing in the universe.

"What? Don't you humans go to sleep the same way we do?"

Y/N covered her red cheeks and turned her face away from him.

"N-no....we wear clothes when sleeping." She explained, body heating up from embarrassment. Seonghwa replied with a slight gruff.

"Seems impractical."

Wrapping one arm around her body, Seonghwa pulled Y/N down on the bed and held her close to him, his breath fanning against the nape of her neck.

"Try to rest." He suggested.

Y/N wondered how on earth was she supposed to rest knowing the extraterrestrial being was pressing his bare chest against her back? She tried hard not to move in fear of accidentally brushing along his cock.

"Wait, do aliens have dicks? I didn't really get a good look between his legs. I just saw abs and looked away."

Her thoughts began spiraling deeper and deeper into not so pure territory. She began wondering about Seonghwa's anatomy. Do his kind even have reproductive organs? Do they even have sex? What if he could produce tentacles out of his body that would suction onto parts of her body like some of the kinky hentai she watched a long time ago? That thought aroused her more than it should. How would it feel to have Seonghwa's tentacles latch onto her nipples and suckle them as another one slithered inside her core and probe around until it made a mess of her? She clenched her thighs inadvertently as her mind started to produce more and more dangerous scenes.

She was startled when she heard the alien behind her laugh softly.

"I hate to interrupt your sexual fantasy foolish human girl, but my kind do not possess the ability to produce the slimy limbs that you are imagining."

She had completely forgotten that their minds were still linked and if he wanted to, he could still read her mind. She buried her face deeper in the pillow, wanting to cry out in shame.

"I do apologize for that inconvenience, I'm afraid the closest you can get is my hands around you."

Y/N half gasped half moaned when she felt one of Seonghwa's large hands snake inside her sweater and cup her breast. His thumb tweaked at her nipple, giving it experimental tugs and pinches until finally settling for simply rubbing them since it seemed to produce more effects on her body. He listened intently to the way her breath hitched with every brush of his thumb and squeeze of her soft skin, feeling her body start to get warmer just for him.

"Isn't this what you wanted? I remember you often fantasized about having my hands all over you." He recalled all those times where he refused to go to sleep because he was too busy prying into her erotic thoughts that included him.

"Y-yes..." She breathed out.

"Did you only want them here?"

Y/N whined and shook her head.

"No.... want them- want them..." She felt embarrased to say it out loud even if she did have Seonghwa groping her chest, so she hoped he'd read her mind and give her what she wanted. Obviously he got the hint since he moved his hand and slipped it inside her shorts. Pushing her panties aside, Y/N groaned when he dipped two fingers past her slick folds. She was so unbelievably wet that even with the slow movements he was making, they could still faintly hear the squealching sounds that were being produced.

"Right here? This where you want them?" Adding a third finger inside, he drove them deeper inside her body as their pace intensified, the slopping noises becoming louder.

Y/N bit down on the sleeve of her sweater to muffle the moans that were spilling out, afraid of anyone hearing what was going on.

"Don't worry about anyone else, just focus on the way my fingers are invading your most intimate places. Tell me does it feel good? Do you like it?" He asked as his lips kissed across the side of her neck.

"Feels so good- I love it." She sighed blissfully as his fingers continued to swirl around her hole, tips curling so they could graze at her g-spot.

"Want to feel something even better?"

Y/N hummed in affirmation and allowed Seonghwa to move her onto her back. He surprised her when all he needed to do was tap twice against her clothes and they immediately vanished from her body, leaving her completely naked under him.

"How long have you been waiting to do that?" She eyed him suspiciously when his lips curled upwards in a cheeky grin.

"Far too long."

Cupping her cheeks, Seonghwa kissed her, almost like the first time when he came to her home, but this time the kiss was more passionate and full of raw emotions. He took his time and didn't slip his tongue inside her mouth, instead he wanted to savor how soft and plump her lips felt against his own, pulling away every few minutes only to catch his breath before diving back in to mold his mouth over hers. They were so lost in their heated kissing and tangled bodies, that they forgot they were both in their most intimate state until Seonghwa's member brushed along her slippery folds.

"Oh god-." Y/N stammered as her hips grinded up to feel more of Seonghwa, who had a proud smirk on his face.

"Are you going to be ok with an extraterrestrial being breeding you with his cock?"

Y/N grimaced slightly at his choice of words.

"Is that what you guys call it?"

"Well what do you guys call it?" He questioned.

"We like to call it fucking." She giggled.

Seonghwa furrowed his eyebrows as his hands lifted her legs up to wrap them around his waist.

"I don't like it, sounds too impersonal and distant."

The cry coming out of Y/N's throat cracked and only half sounded when Seonghwa stuffed her full of his cock, his size stretching her out in a delicious sting.

"I prefer to get as close as possible."

Taking hold of her hands, he placed them on top of his shoulders before proceeding to rock his hips against hers. Y/N clung onto him as if her life depended on it. She closed her eyes and let her body succumb to his. Every touch from him was magnetizing, and she completely melted when his lips sought hers once more, a cosmic sensation pouring into her. Her nails dug onto the flesh of his back whilst her legs tangled themselves tighter around his waist, wanting to keep him near her as she started to feel a knot unraveling at the pit of her stomach, similar to the ones she'd feel all those nights she daydreamed about having him close to her. Only this time the feeling was more electrifying and intense, almost as if it was magic. Her eyes shut even tighter as the knot came loose and her lips began spilling out chants of Seonghwa's name as her juices flowed out of her body and coated his member that was still sliding deep inside her, not stopping so it could further heightened the sensation she was going through.

Feeling her release herself all over him, it was only a few moments later that Seonghwa himself vibrated against her body and filled her core with his own cum. His body started to faintly glow due to the rush he just felt at being so intimately connected with another person, the pulse in his heart beating so rapidly he thought it would burst any minute. Stroking her hair in a gentle manner, he pressed his forehead against hers, panting softly as he layed his body on top of hers, careful not to put too much of his weight on her.

"Never in my life did I ever believe that on one of our scouting missions would I meet someone like you."

Pulling back so he could look at her beautiful face, Seonghwa smiled with adoration and fondness at his loving partner

"Yet here I am, going back home with the brightest star in the universe."

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sanjoongie · 16 days ago

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SCI-FI MEDLEY MINI MASTERLIST

The Cast~

Yeosang, Jongho- Predators

Yunho, San, Mingi- Furyans

Hongjoong, Wooyoung- Xenomorphs (Hunter status)

Seonghwa- Xenomorph (Queen status)

ღPairing: Ot8 x captain/pilot! Reader

ღGenre: sci fi au, aliens au, predator au, riddick au, established relationship trope, poly trope

ღWord Count so far: 10,476

ღRated: 18+ MDNI, smut with no plot

ღSynopsis: three Aliens (Alien, Ridley Scott), three Furyans (Pitch Black, David Twohy), and two Predators (Predator, John Mctiernan) live on the ship that you captain and pilot.

ღWarnings so far: breeding kink, oviposition (egg laying), crossing species mating, spit kink, nipple play, penetrative sex without barrier, cum shot, m and f orgasms, mxm, oral (m receiving), biting, seonghwa is egg crazy? like pussy drunk, all members are humanoid with slight traits of their species, cnc(consensual non-consent), predator/prey play (no pun intended ><), double penetration (two cocks one puss), fingering (f receiving), marking (blood, claws digging into flesh), fear kink, sub! Reader, doms! Jongho and Yeosang, aftercare (for both the sex and the wounds), creampie, kissing, slight bdsm with Seonghwa’s tail, aphrodisiac, overstim, oviposition (alien eggs are in the reader), oral (f), fingering (f), (for plot reasons, I made up some Furyan culture facts), size kink, oviposition kink, pregnancy kink, dirty talk, hand job

Stories in chronical order

(in which they happened, not in which they were posted)

Dual Courtship: Heart in your throat - JongSang focused (storied post)

Mistletoe- Seonghwa focused (stand alone)

A Manic Queen- Seonghwa focused (storied post)

Aphrodisiac- Hongjoong focused (stand alone)

Size Kink- Mingi focused (stand alone)

#topaz's masterlists #topaz's work #ღatz #sci-fi medley #ateez smut #park seonghwa smut #kim hongjoong smut #jeong yunho smut #kang yeosang smut #choi san smut #song mingi smut #jung wooyoung smut #choi jongho smut

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atinytokki · 1 year ago

Text

Orbit

Chapter 1: SS Aurora

07:21 Open Space Calibrated Time

They were stranded, stranded in the astral sea.

The spaceship’s auto navigational system spoke into the darkness with a request. “Would you like to set a course?”

“No.”

For now, they would remain adrift.

Untethered. Directionless.

A frail wisp of steam curled upwards from the cup Seonghwa was holding. A calming tea made of rare leaves from his home planet. One that should’ve relaxed him.

It should’ve been a day like any other in between jobs, floating along in their spaceship through the open space that connected distant planets just outside the Aten-Odae Asteroid Belt. A leisurely morning when the residents of SS Aurora took their time rising from their bunks and wandering to the central area.

But this time no one had gotten more than three hours of sleep, and instead of enjoying breakfast together, they were huddled around the table under the lowlight, waiting in an anxious silence.

Because today they were only seven, with their missing leader in the clutches of the Intergalactic Trade Guild, an empire with control over the farthest reaches of the galaxy that waged war on the surrounding systems.

He was gone and for three days now they had heard nothing.

“He’s dead,” Mingi whispered, terrified of his own words as he said them, while Yunho calibrated the holoscreen to tap into the Guild’s most popular news network. “They’ve killed him already, they’d be insane not to.”

“We don’t know that,” Wooyoung scolded, ever the optimist. “Even the Guild has to follow their own rules. He’ll be on trial.”

Seonghwa met his eyes with a wavering smile that quickly died out. He had no encouragement to give when his own breathing was laboured with the stress of the situation. He was a moment away from passing out if he forgot to breathe properly.

Inhale. Exhale.

Relax.

“But do you really think there’s any point in a court proceeding?” Yeosang questioned softly, picking at the food on his plate. “After what he did?”

He was referring, of course, to their Captain’s surrender. Hongjoong had insisted on being captured to allow the rest of the crew to escape the ambush three days ago with their loot and not even Yunho knew why. The credits they had been stealing at the time were not worth Hongjoong’s life.

And, loathe as Seonghwa was to admit it, Yeosang made a good point. They had more than enough evidence against him already, so why not put him to death and be done with it? It didn’t make sense for the Guild to make a judicial spectacle when the price on Hongjoong’s head had been astronomical.

Seonghwa should know, because that price had once been of great interest to him.

The sour taste of bile rose in his throat and he forced it down, focusing on the broadcast when San shushed the discussion and pointed everyone’s attention to it.

“A new case of great interest has taken over the intergalactic networks today due to the figure in custody,” the announcer was saying, his eyes practically devoid of life even as he spoke with an animated voice. “Notorious pirate Kim Hongjoong, whose full identity was revealed upon his arrest, has supposedly been a known public enemy to the Guild for fifteen years, about whom authorities have provided very little information from their investigation.”

A collective outburst of relief swept the room as it sunk in that Hongjoong was indeed alive. “See?” Wooyoung whispered encouragingly, squeezing Seonghwa’s hand from across the table.

Jongho, their mechanic, was shaking with rage. “Fifteen years— are they even hearing themselves?” He barked a mirthless laugh and scanned the room for approval. “That would mean he was branded a traitor when he was just a kid!”

Seonghwa trained his eyes on Yunho, technically their second in command, who had been quiet and singularly focused since setting up the holoscreen. “Did you know about this?” He asked him quietly, unable to keep a hint of betrayal out of his voice in his efforts to restrain the panic overwhelming him. That Hongjoong’s identity had apparently put him at risk since childhood was an unexpected blow on this morning of continuous punches to the gut.

“No,” Yunho responded solemnly, still not looking away from the screen. “But I can’t deny I had my suspicions.”

Seonghwa didn’t have time to dwell on that fact as the broadcast tuned back in.

“The proceedings today will be significant in uncovering potential rebel activities, terrorist acts, and connections to other anti-Guild factions,” the second news presenter continued with growing interest even as she read her lines from the prompting screen behind the camera. She glanced at her partner for a moment before returning to her mark. “And we’ll have all the coverage for you right here when we come back from the break.”

Frozen to his seat, Seonghwa tried and failed to wrap his head around what was going on. The botched heist and Hongjoong’s capture three days ago had already sent him reeling, and now their captain was about to be tried in possibly the most biased courtroom in the universe for all the galaxies to see. How could this be real?

How could he have let this happen?

Suddenly needing to busy his hands while the nauseatingly bright advertisements began to play, Seonghwa stood to collect plates. None were empty, most barely picked at, but he couldn’t blame anyone for their lack of appetite when he wasn’t able stomach anything at the moment either.

Alone in the galley, he wasn’t sure now which was worse; waiting to discover Hongjoong’s fate, or watching it be handed to him live.

Light hovered over him while he scrubbed with limp and useless hands. A stain of food still stuck to one of the plates despite his efforts.

When the obnoxious sounds died down, he hurried back from the galley to see the Guild’s high courtroom on the holoscreen.

It was too soon, much too soon.

“What did I miss?” He nearly choked out.

San’s hands were in his hair, tugging at unruly strands while he explained, “They’re expediting the trial process. His entire case is happening today, now.”

Seonghwa forced himself into a chair to quell his shaking legs. It was all so fast, with no chance for anyone to scheme a way out of the situation.

How would Hongjoong even formulate a defence for himself?

“This whole thing is a sham,” Mingi gritted out, getting up to pace the room angrily. “Just a media circus. They won’t even give him a chance.”

“He’ll find a way…” said Yeosang around an audible gulp, glancing at Yunho for confirmation. “Right?”

The second in command and aristocrat-turned-thief merely shook his head and sighed, jaw locked immediately after. He had known Hongjoong the longest by some slim margin, but evidently it wasn’t enough to be privy to some sort of secret emergency measures for this kind of situation.

There had never been a need to appoint an official second in command, a provisional captain of sorts. Not outside of targeted missions.

Seonghwa folded his arms across his chest to mask the way he shuddered and watched on the screen as their captain was led into the courtroom, an amphitheatre-type space with harsh lighting. The judiciary council remained shrouded by their dark robes and headpieces, a stark contrast to the spotless room and the white-clothed prisoner.

The moment he saw him, his eyes blurred with tears.

It was easy to assume Hongjoong had been locked in a holding cell for three days from his dark, unruly hair or the dull pallor of his skin but what really stood out were his eyes. They found the camera immediately and stayed there for just a second too long to be comfortable, betraying nothing about the feelings inside.

Was he afraid?

Was he angry?

“No visible injuries… that’s a good sign…” Wooyoung was muttering his observations in an effort to convince himself of his own words. As the team’s trained medic, he naturally scrutinised their leader’s physical condition first.

“Injuries we can see, anyway,” San pointed out and, despite having the same thought already himself, Seonghwa felt that much more uneasy hearing it voiced aloud. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and kept his eyes fastened on the display.

Hongjoong was ushered into the seat of the accused and the opening remarks were in full swing without any more introduction. He seemed to be listening with a disdainful expression on his face until the head speaker addressed him directly.

“Kim Hongjoong, you stand before this council accused of piracy. How do you plead?”

Guards on either side of the defendant’s seat dragged him to his feet and it boiled Seonghwa’s blood to see his captain manhandled this way.

He shook them off in annoyance and stated his answer clearly for even the drone cameras to hear.

“Guilty.”

Seonghwa’s jaw dropped.

“No!” Yunho burst out, bringing a shaking hand to his mouth in shock. Surely they had all misheard. “Pleading guilty?”

“What else can he do?” Jongho cried with a helpless laugh that quickly became tears and trembling lips. “They’ve already decided his punishment. If they set this up to make a fool of him, he has no reason to play along.”

Wooyoung’s breath hitched in an attempt to protest, “But—”

“Yes, I took those credits,” Hongjoong was continuing to speak, and silence fell in the Aurora while he commanded the stage. “But they never belonged to the Guild in the first place. Those served by cause I donated my share to are the rightful owners. So which one of us is the real thief?”

One flickering moment of silence resounded before shouts broke out from an unseen audience on the broadcast and the holoscreen’s display quickly switched back to the newsroom where the first presenter smoothly formulated an excuse.

“Our apologies for the disruption, but it appears there have been technical difficulties—”

“Censorship,” Yunho muttered, collapsing back into his chair with a shaky sigh. “They’re afraid of what he might say.”

Though he had likely sealed his own fate, he would speak without being silenced. Glancing between Yunho and the screen, San shook his head and added, “If they think they can control him… well, then they’ve lost their minds.”

Individual access to public channels via holoscreen had been a luxury in Seonghwa’s childhood, but even having become acquainted with the intergalactic network in recent years, he had never seen anything quite like this.

There was no question what the Guild was trying to do.

This was a performance. A taunt. A message— to Hongjoong’s friends and supporters, yes, but also to anyone who might even consider questioning the total authority of their government. It was a promise they would be silenced in turn.

It was a threat.

And Seonghwa couldn’t help but feel the guilt coursing through him, because he knew deep down, no matter what the others said, that this was his fault.

___

3 days ago

“Seonghwa, can I talk to you for a second?”

Hearing the captain’s voice behind him, the former bounty hunter glanced up from his weapons store. “Alright,” he agreed, joining Hongjoong in the hall and signalling the armoury door to slide shut behind him. “Something I can help with?”

Hongjoong opened his mouth to respond and suddenly thought better of it, dropping his head and allowing himself another moment to think.

Seonghwa could sense an unusual level of anxiety about the upcoming job and made an attempt to relieve it. “If this is about the plan—”

“It’s not the plan,” Hongjoong cut him off tiredly and finally looked up so Seonghwa could meet his eyes. They were as warm and trusting as ever, but with that calculating shine that hinted at a sharper edge inside. “How sure are you that Yang’s word is good?”

The source of the tip that had led to this job, the crime boss known only as Yang, had multiple systems under his control and the Intergalactic Trade Guild themselves struggling to operate on Venop 4, the planet he and Seonghwa himself hailed from.

He had sent route information about a Guild cargo ship, including the name of the planet where it would be refuelling, and proposed a generous split of the payload it would be carrying should the Aurora crew succeed in robbing it; 5 million credits.

Seonghwa hadn’t intended to have any business with the notorious gangster, but a life of poverty growing up on that world left few options. As a bounty hunter, he had taken what commissions he was given and without complaint. The strength of a client’s word was rarely part of his considerations.

And so Hongjoong’s doubts, while not entirely out of place, weren’t particularly relevant.

“Does it matter?”

“He wants me dead, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong reminded him, quietly but intensely. “Enough to make multiple attempts. I mean, do you really trust him?”

“Not completely,” Seonghwa admitted, because he knew the fact was hard to ignore. He had personally been extremely fortunate that Hongjoong had overlooked this earlier. “But Yang loves money more than anything else and he knows we’re the best crew to get it for him. I don’t think he’d pass up his share of the payload just for the chance to take us out.”

Hongjoong crossed his arms and glanced out the nearest hall window, withdrawn. There was just open space all around, a dark void for them to hide in, dotted with distant star systems. He was still thinking of an excuse. “It might mean more credits for him in the long run if he does, you know.”

This was more nervous behaviour than usual from Hongjoong. If he let his guard down around anyone, it was usually Seonghwa, but after the communal planning stage, the captain typically kept any further worries to himself.

“I realise that,” Seonghwa replied with a lighthearted shrug. “I’m just hoping he hasn’t.”

There was no more time to debate the future, and Yunho was already poking his head around the corner to interrupt them, “Hyungs? Time to space jump.”

“Alright.” With a final cursory glance at Seonghwa, Hongjoong moved past him and headed towards the cockpit. “Fire up the Infinity Drive.”

Cracking a smile, Seonghwa eagerly followed after a brief stop in the armoury to collect the weapons they’d need. He took the arming of his fellow pirates very seriously.

His position on this particular job was to remain onboard the Aurora keeping watch for enemies, providing a quick getaway, and managing communications between the members and, more distantly, with Yang. This was not a task to be taken lightly, and although Seonghwa’s skills usually lay on the battlefield, his personal relationship with the gangster was of greater value today.

“How did the crossbow work for you in practice?” He asked a stoic Yeosang in the seat next to him as the pair strapped in for the space jump.

“It’s excellent,” the mercenary responded, patting the compact weapon where it hung from his belt. “But is there a way to remove the stun feature? It makes that buzzing sound and I’d like it to be quieter.”

“Yes, there’s a switch to activate silent mode,” Seonghwa described and gestured with his hands. “You’ll just have to make sure your aim is perfect because a near-hit won’t take anyone down with the energy field turned off.”

“Not a problem,” Yeosang chuckled. He hadn’t missed a shot any time in recent memory, and both of them knew it. Life as a soldier for hire on a dying planet required a great deal of precision.

“Hyung,” Mingi suddenly gasped, turning around in his seat to face Seonghwa, clearly having just remembered something. “If you use the drones for intelligence, don’t forget to turn on the stealth feature! We do not want a repeat of QD81.”

From the way Yeosang shuddered next to him, Seonghwa could tell bad things had taken place at the aforementioned incident, but it must have been a time from their history together before he knew either of them.

Mingi and Yeosang both hailed from Diistro, a world so badly scorched by its expanding sun that the atmosphere was nearly sucked away by now, the planet itself turned oblong and misshapen from the pull of gravity. They had been born in different countries, but the arbitrary lines of territory became irrelevant in the worsening climate, leaving a wild and lawless place. The pair were not the simple refugees they appeared to be in the years that followed. They did what they must to survive.

“Right, I’ll take care of it,” Seonghwa assured Mingi, patting him on the shoulder and urging him to buckle up properly. The space jump was always a jolting experience.

“Engaging Infinity Drive,” Yunho called out after the final seatbelt clicked, and everyone braced for the coming plunge through bended space-time. “Prepare for a Level 10.”

Hit with all the G-force of hurtling past systems at indescribable speeds, Seonghwa gritted his teeth until the Aurora slowed to a normal pace on arrival and his tension melted away. The entire process lasted only a few seconds.

Travelling so unnaturally fast put a great deal of pressure on the body, making the highest setting—Level 10– only for emergencies. Going a fair bit slower was much more sustainable for the Infinity Drive as well, but today it couldn’t be helped.

“Approaching Eogawa,” Hongjoong announced as he again took manual control of the spacecraft, banking slightly to the left to bring the planet in view. “Prepare for atmospheric entry.”

Being a gas giant, Eogawa was essentially nothing but atmosphere.

Tinted a soft pink hue in the light of its distant sun, the planet’s peaceful appearance was riddled with hidden dangers. Aside from the storms that raged among surface gases, Eogawa was ringed with massive, thick bands of dust and ice. A lesser pilot might run afoul of such a hazardous minefield, but Hongjoong was careful to avoid the rings and zeroed in on the area Aurora’s radar was pointing him to.

“The refuelling station,” San called out, spotting it first through wispy clouds that flew past once they entered the atmosphere and splattered rain droplets on the windows. “It’s huge.”

Seonghwa shared his astonishment when he leaned forward to catch sight of the station and noticed its size. Not merely a lone rig floating in the sky. Much bigger than expected.

Taking in the sight, Hongjoong directed the ship downwards to the lower platform that appeared to be a service entrance. “First team ready?”

Jongho, Yeosang, and San rose from their seats and filed out, weapons in tow, to their starting position for the heist. Their next task would be to steal themselves some uniforms from the locker room to disguise as robot workers.

Yunho rose to follow them out, assigned to lead their team, but Hongjoong stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a nod to the right where their next objective lay. He would turn the Aurora eastward in search of a different station.

“When is the train coming next?” Hongjoong asked, sounding somewhat distracted while he scanned the layers upon layers of swirling clouds.

Yunho merely had to check the time to provide an answer. “Thirty seven minutes.”

Thanks to his extensive research, the pirates knew Eogawa’s fuel transportation system was fully automated and operated a levitating train which passed through the station every hour. For a ship as big as the Guild freighter they were after, it would take at least thirty minutes to refuel, likely having maintenance performed by the robotic service workers in the meantime.

This system provided both a way in and a way out with the credits.

“We’ll be on it and ready for transport,” the captain encouraged. “Be careful, the Guild ship should be docking any minute.”

“Understood,” Yunho replied with a smile, and he turned to disembark, sharing a glance with Seonghwa who patted him on the back with a measure of nervous excitement.

It was always a bit nerve wracking splitting up to do their various jobs during a heist or a boarding. Seonghwa knew the risk they were taking every time someone was sent off into hostile territory. If a member was caught, it was expected that they disavow any knowledge of the rest of the group and claim to be acting independently.

They may be pirates, but they all served a higher cause. Something a bit more substantial than mere interference in Guild activities.

“Comms operational?” Jongho’s voice crackled through the radio as soon as the Aurora had set off for the levitating train station.

“Loud and clear,” Hongjoong answered to the mechanic’s satisfaction, and soon the train station came into view. It wasn’t intended for humans, so aside from the cleaning droid bustling around, the platform was empty.

Hongjoong, Mingi, and Wooyoung would board the train to clear out a container and pick up the credits and their disguised members, much more discreet there than in the Aurora.

As he handed control of the ship over to Seonghwa, he gave the dashboard a loving pat. “Take care of things while I’m gone,” he instructed, a redundant request for the meticulous bounty hunter.

“She’s safe in my hands,” Seonghwa assured him anyway, saying his farewells and watching the door slide shut behind them.

Suddenly it was very quiet onboard, and put off by the silence, Seonghwa powered up the engines again and directed the Aurora to the waiting point, behind both stations in the direction the train was sure to come when the heist was finished.

Staying with the getaway vehicle made for a bit of a boring job, so for the next half hour there was nothing much to do but fiddle with his weapons and watch the sun set from gold into soft violet.

He listened in on the comms chatter as the teams informed each other of their progress; Yunho’s team securing disguises and Hongjoong’s team successfully entering a train compartment.

And then, fifteen minutes before the train would arrive, the moment he was least looking forward to arrived in the form of a call from Yang.

Schooling his expression into something vaguely neutral and unbothered, he accepted it and watched the hologram materialise on the dashboard.

The crime lord was evidently seated in his sunroom, snacking on a homemade flatbread that made Seonghwa’s stomach grumble just by looking at it. As glad as he was to be offworld, he had missed the tastes of home.

“Mr. Park, do you have a status update for me?” Yang asked him with a monotone voice, brushing crumbs from his shirt in boredom.

“Everything is proceeding on schedule,” Seonghwa answered, slightly reserved, knowing Hongjoong would prefer he keep the details private. “I’ll let you know when we have a count of the credits and—”

“We found the credits,” San’s voice interrupted through the comms, unaware of Seonghwa’s ongoing conversation. “Five million, it’s all here. We’ve been unloading one case at a time, there’s just two left.”

“Ah,” Yang chuckled, overhearing him. “How efficient, just as expected.”

Seonghwa resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the crime lord’s empty flattery. “Before I go, I thought I’d ask,” he regained control of the conversation while subtly muting the comm radio in the middle of Hongjoong’s response to San. “Where do you suggest we rendezvous?”

Yang glanced to the side, probably out his highland window at the marshes below. It was the time of year when Venop 4 enjoyed a brief reprieve from the rainy season and Seonghwa could practically smell it through the holoscreen.

“Surely it isn’t too much trouble for you to bring the money here?” The crime lord posed the question innocently, but his hard gaze was a clear indication of his thoughts on the matter.

“If I recall correctly, we agreed on a rendezvous, not a delivery,” Seonghwa answered him politely but with enough insistence of his own to carry the point across. “Perhaps with one of your currently deployed ships?”

Yang stared back for a moment, but his little blue hologram didn’t intimidate Seonghwa in the slightest. The boss had much less power in this form than he had last time Seonghwa had seen him, at his compound. Even if he was standing there now, there was something about the freedom of becoming a pirate that made him feel indestructible, like everyone else would simply bounce off his invisible shield.

“Halfway then,” Yang relented, flashing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “My ship Nexus is in the orbit of Sarkei. You can dock there and split the payload.”

“I’ll inform you when we’ve left Eogawa,” Seonghwa promised, satisfied with the answer, and moved to end the call. “Until then—”

“And Seonghwa?” Yang interrupted him, and it gave him pause to hear his given name spoken so easily by the criminal overlord. While it didn’t come as a surprise, it put him on edge knowing Yang had much more information than he was comfortable with. He chuckled like he knew something Seonghwa didn’t, “I look forward to working with you again.”

The bounty hunter didn’t plan to. He could get his intelligence on Guild operations elsewhere.

He was lost in thought for a while after ending the call with no further response, until something in the distance caught his eye. It was the levitating train, moving toward the Aurora quickly. A hatch was open in the top of one of the compartments, and Mingi halfway out of it, yelling something into the wind that Seonghwa couldn’t hear.

Jolting upright, he positioned the ship above the train and lowered the ramp from the undercarriage. He had completely forgotten to unmute the comms.

“Load up and go back!” Mingi was saying, bringing a couple of cases of money with him as he climbed up into the suspended Aurora and ran to the cockpit. “We have to go back, hyung!”

“Why?” Seonghwa watched with growing dread as the others quickly began loading the ship. “What’s going on?”

Yunho dropped a case in the cargo area and joined him at the controls while Mingi ran back to fetch another. He was visibly angry, face red and breath heavy, though at what Seonghwa couldn’t be sure until he opened his mouth.

“He stayed— the idiot!— he got out of the compartment and went back into the refuelling station just as the train took off,” Yunho panted with the effort of the words, clearly in disbelief himself.

“Who?” Seonghwa breathed the question out, strangled by it.

Yunho finally looked him in the eyes.

“Hongjoong.”

Cursing softly, Seonghwa set the Aurora to autopilot, precariously hovering above the moving train, and joined the others in moving the last few cases to their cargo hold.

The next train station was on the horizon when Seonghwa reached down for another case to pass along and was met with San emerging from inside the compartment instead. His instructions were curt, “We’re loaded, turn around.”

Seonghwa helped him into the ship and retracted the ramp, hurrying to the cockpit before being stopped by Yeosang. “Wait!” The mercenary insisted on it and wrapped a hand around Seonghwa’s arm. “The drone. Send in the drone first.”

He was right to be cautious, Seonghwa came to realise when he piloted the drone into the refuelling station from the safety of the cockpit a few minutes later. Guild officials had emerged from the freighter they just robbed and someone was watching them from the secrecy of a connecting hall.

Seonghwa could tell who it was the moment he saw the back of his head.

Lips pursed with worry, he navigated the drone closer. “Let me turn on comms and ask what he’s doing—”

“He already switched off his channel,” Wooyoung broke in before Seonghwa wasted time trying.

“But you can try to patch through to the drone,” Mingi reminded them both, reaching over to turn off the stealth feature he had insisted upon earlier. “There, now the speakers.”

“Hongjoong?” Seonghwa called immediately when it was clear the audio was stable. “Hongjoong, answer me.”

The captain turning his head toward the screen was confirmation he had heard him. “You all need to get out of here,” he said under his breath, returning his gaze to the platform. Clearly he knew something they didn’t. “This is an ambush, Yang must have tipped them off.”

Seonghwa’s stomach dropped.

He should’ve known. Yang would never let such a good chance pass him by, even if he had to work with the Guild for compensation. Even if it meant fewer credits. All his teasing had been meant to distract, and it had succeeded easily.

Hongjoong was hurriedly giving out last minute instructions, “Cut off contact and don’t bring him anything, just get the money to Aten-Odae. The Manager will know what to do. I’m counting on you.”

“Why can’t you come with us?” San protested, unable to keep his voice quiet in his distress. “What are you doing in the station? We could be picking you up right now. There’s still time!”

Hongjoong’s eyes fluttered shut with a sigh. “Check your radar,” he murmured, regret in his voice. “There are ten Guild dreadnoughts with hwacha missiles trained on the Aurora right now. We are out of time. You need to leave while I call them off.”

And when Yeosang pulled up the screen, Seonghwa had to catch his breath. Hongjoong was right. Exactly ten of the Guild’s most heavily weaponised spacecraft were advancing on their position silently and undetected until now. It was horrifying.

Wooyoung’s voice stuck in his throat wetly as he fought back tears, begging him, “Please don’t do this, hyung, we can figure out another way, there has to be something—”

“There isn’t another way, Woo.” From the way Hongjoong spoke, it sounded like it was breaking his heart, too. “I wish there was but… I know I have to do this. Don’t come back here, understand? I won’t let them take you.”

And Seonghwa knew he was right, even as he sat frozen in shock and let Jongho and Mingi argue with the increasingly unresponsive captain while he advanced through the hallway toward the Guild officers.

They’d been tricked and there was nothing else but to retreat.

Seonghwa didn’t realise there were tears streaming down his cheeks until he had already said in a haze, “Don’t go. Don’t.”

It was selfish and he should follow orders and be strong for the others but he couldn’t do it. If Hongjoong stayed behind, there was no way out for him. “I won’t forgive you,” he sobbed.

Hongjoong couldn’t see him but he knew.

“Hey, don’t cry. It’ll be alright,” he comforted softly, taking slow steps backwards away from the drone until a doorway separated them.

His hand hovered over the sensor. “I’m sorry.”

And then he hit the switch and the door slid shut, cutting him off from view.

The feed was blank without a subject in view and Yunho took the controls and directed the drone back out of the station, bringing it aboard the Aurora then suddenly tossing it to the floor in a burst of anger and dropping into his seat wordlessly.

For a moment it was still and silent, and then Wooyoung began to sniffle. Seonghwa reached out to comfort him, but it felt like he was underwater.

The world was moving in slow motion and he was drowning in his own despair. A distant beeping surfaced and he noticed the display, bright red with warning symbols and a repeating alert message.

Enemy ships approaching.

Spurred into action, he sent the Aurora upwards, up through waning sunbeams to the higher layer of clouds and then the next layer and then the next.

“You can’t be serious,” Mingi laughed emptily, glancing in disbelief between Seonghwa and the rest of the team. “We’re leaving him?”

Yeosang’s head was in his hands. “They’ve locked targets on us. There’s no choice.”

“Why didn’t he just call it off before we loaded the ship?” San was bargaining with hypotheticals. “We could’ve used that time. We all could’ve escaped together.”

And of course there was no point now in wondering. They might never know.

Rosy pink rays faded to dusk and seven pirates strapped into their seats and shot up past the highest layer of clouds only to be immediately faced with the enemy dreadnoughts.

Silent and hulking, they simply watched the Aurora fly past them, making no move to shoot the smaller ship down.

Wooyoung dried his eyes and craned his neck to look up at the menacing dreadnoughts through the front window. “They’re just… letting us go.”

“Hongjoong hyung. He turned himself in,” Jongho said mournfully and then braced himself for the space jump as soon as they were clear.

Seonghwa’s tears soaked into his collar.

The stars raced by like a stain on the black canvas and they left their captain behind.

___

18:47 Open Space Calibrated Time

Seonghwa’s light dozing was interrupted by the holoscreen broadcast. After a back and forth of testimonies and cross-examinations by the most incompetent legal representatives the Guild had to offer, a verdict had been reached.

San and Yeosang were called back in to the living area to watch from their various restless activities around the ship.

The head speaker removed her headdress and spoke, unveiled at last, to the accused.

“The council has deliberated at great length to determine an appropriate finding and will vote next on a punishment suitable for the nature of these crimes.” Her beady eyes looked up from the floating wall of text behind the camera she was no doubt reading from and in the direction of the seat of the accused, remorseless. “However, regarding today’s business, it is the decision of this council that on all counts of piracy, assault, corruption, illegal possession of firearms, possession of stolen property, fraudulent or unauthorised access to Intergalactic Trade Guild networks, conspiracy, theft of an Intergalactic Trade Guild spacecraft, and false personation, Kim Hongjoong is found guilty and sentenced to death.”

It was like his throat closed and then was forcefully reopened again as Seonghwa vomited and then blacked out. When he came to, San was rubbing his back. Every eye on him was ringed with red.

He had been expecting it, but the verdict stung like acid in his face.

The broadcast was off now and he hadn’t even been able to see Hongjoong’s face again.

Was he afraid now?

Mingi looked around and finally asked, voice hollow, “What do we do?”

“The Manager told us to split up and lay low,” Yunho scoffed. He was scary like this, stern and sarcastic and so far away from himself.

Hongjoong was their glue. Without him there to hold them together, surely they’d drift off, each going his own way with a heart full of regret and a useless supply of credits in his pocket.

But they hadn’t done so. No one had wandered off yet, ejecting themselves from the Aurora and wishing the rest good luck and goodbye. Even now they huddled together, waiting for something. A sign.

Seonghwa trembled in the cold of realisation washing over him. There was nowhere else to turn. The floor underneath him began to feel firm and he grounded himself in it. He clutched the blanket around his shoulders closer.

More than ever before he pined for Hongjoong’s help, for his guidance.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Seonghwa finally said, shaking his head with some sort of resolution.

He raised his head to see all the others looking at him.

They knew what needed to be done, but no one was ready to speak the words aloud. No one except Seonghwa.

“We break him out. We have to do it ourselves.”

He watched them realise, one by one, that it was up to them now. That they could not go on as a team without their captain. He had brought them together only to abandon them, but he would not be allowed to give his life for theirs so easily.

Jongho nodded and got to his feet, ready to contribute however he could. “All we can hope for now is that his execution is scheduled far in advance.”

Seonghwa did not care what it took. They had to get to Hongjoong first, even if they burned up on entry.

They could not escape the pull of his gravity.

___

A/N: Welcome to my submission for 8 Makes 1 Family Fest Round 2, 2024 version (shh it's not technically revealed yet there so don't tell lol), based on a lovely prompt that grabbed me immediately and is responsible for probably a good chunk of this story's appeal! It will be multi-chaptered and I'll do my best to portray the slice-of-life (the theme of this round) and not go too heavy on the plot but uhh no promises lol. Also if you happen to be a fan of Andor, the randomly insanely good Disney+ Star Wars show (if not, watch it) I think you will also like this! I took some inspiration from it so, while I did make this AU myself, there are things in common.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought!! <3

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minkiverse · 5 months ago

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CHOI SAN FIC RECS

Poly!Ateez Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Kim Hongjoong - Park Seonghwa - Jeong Yunho - Kang Yeosang - Song Mingi - Jung Wooyoung - Choi Jongho

Here it is the behemoth 😭😭 i knew this one was going to take some time but it had multiple delays due to irl stuf but IT IS HERE NOW!!!! except i could not fit it all in one post so a part 2 will come out eventually (after poly!ateez pt 2 most likely) n e ways Shout out this man who harassed my tiktok feed until i became double biased i lov him sosososososooooo much🥹🥹

DISCLAIMER none of these works are mine and majority are MATURE 18+, please read all warnings before reading!!!

Key:

✨ - My Favs

🔥 - Smut (MINORS DNI)

⛈️ - Angst

💗 - Fluff

🍑 - Humor

SERIES

ceilings pt 2 pt 3 - @yoongiseesawmp3 ✨🔥⛈️💗 Single Mom AU ✧ PE Teacher!San

i dont want to spoil anything but there is a good chance you can figure out this trope, which i know is not for everyone BUT I EAT THAT SHIT UP EVERYTIME!!!! this is just the cutest fluffiest lil series i ever read like I LOVE THEM!!!!

The Art of Climbing the Corporate Ladder pt 2 - @ennysbookstore ✨🔥⛈️💗 Office AU

i am still so mad at how long it took me to get around to reading this because man. I LOVE THIS FIC!!!!! i literally was telling my irls about it because the plot twist at the end of pt1 got me so fucking good 😭😭 i am truly in love with this san like i have no other words than please read this two shot it is incredible (also read every other work by this author pls)

ONE SHOTS/DRABBLES

what lies beneath us - @hongism 🔥⛈️💗 College AU

destiny - @tainsan ⛈️💗Time Travel AU ✧ Idol AU

Drowsy - @sxcret-garden 🔥

Am I your favorite? - @deja-yu 💗

Unholy Night - @kitten4sannie 🔥 Priest AU

Untitled - @yourfatherlucifer 🔥

Eggnog Confession - @stayteezdreams 💗

Mr. Jealousy - @sanhwaism 💗🍑

Convince Me - @littleocean-rose 🔥

Untitled - @k-hotchoisan 🔥

Sunrise - @sorryimananti-romantic 🔥💗⛈️ Soldier AU

Untitled - @sxcret-garden 🔥

incubus: coming of age - @byuntrash101 🔥Incubus!San

in the quiet spaces - @honeyhotteoks 🔥💗

Stay Focused - @beginningofwonderland ✨🔥 Office AU ✧ Tutor AU

god the tension between these two 😩😩😩 their banter is so flirty like even when san is helping the mc out with uni stuff its just sooooooooooooo 🤌🤌🤌🤌 it gives off a bit of romcom vibes WHICH I LOVE!~

Dry Humping with San - @littleocean-rose 🔥

chocolate - @mingigoo 🔥 Brother's Best Friend AU

obsession - @cheollipop 🔥 Mafia AU

Untitled - @sxcret-garden 🔥

[7:30 am] - @destiny-fics 🔥

Untitled - @k-hotchoisan 🔥

Tired - @thr34t2sanity 🔥

Untitled - @sxcret-garden 🔥

pool side - @beatteez 🔥

Depths of the Ocean - @joong-of-gold 💗 Office AU ✧ Single Dad!San

Untitled - @jeon-ify 🔥

superstar - @bro-atz 🔥

A Little Secret - @choism 🔥

Untitled - @cheollipop 🔥

Untitled - @orgverse 🔥

choi san boyfriend texts - @koizekomi 🍑

Wander though my body - @armpirate 🔥

misunderstandings w/ san - @beenbaanbuun ⛈️💗

Interlude | Opening Sequence - @luvt0kki 🔥⛈️ Sci-Fi AU

Untitled - @eightmakesonebraincell 💗 Friends to Lovers AU

prelude in e minor - @bro-atz 🔥⛈️ Professor AU ✧ Infidelity

motive - @yunhoszn 🔥 Gym Partner AU

u got it bad - @yoongiseesawmp3 ✨🔥💗 Baseball AU

I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH!!!!! how this author writes banter is just so real and funny and you just can't help but be charmed by san and mc!!! as a former sports anime fan, i love a sports au ok it will hit EVERYTIME!! and this is one the bests truly!

Love Death + Robots - @kitten4sannie 🔥⛈️ Cyberpunk AU ✧ Stripper!San

kiss me more - @miirohs 💗

Tall Trees - @sluttywoozi 🔥.⛈️💗 Personal Trainer AU

take a picture - @jeon-ify 🔥

y'know what they say about guitarists - @lomlhwa 🔥 Band AU

stretch marks w/ san - @beenbaanbuun 💗

[8:50pm] - @moamidzyism 🔥Neighbors AU

imagine being in a secret relationship - @byeolbeloved 🔥💗Badyboy!San

cockwarming w/ san - @beenbaanbuun 🔥💗

Boyfriend San - @cheeseceli 💗

roadtrip - @lomlhwa 🔥

leave the window open - @sungbeam 💗 Neighbor AU

crimson - @hwaslayer ✨🔥⛈️ Nightclub AU ✧ Stripper!MC

how these two just fall in love is so beautifully written 😭😭 its such an interesting dynamic but san so forthcoming with his feelings i could melt 🫠🫠 AND THE SMUT IS FUCKING INSANE 😩😩

backstage backshots with san - @kitten4sannie 🔥

the scentist - @k-hotchoisan 🔥Neighbor AU ✧ Scentist!San

steamed milk - @yunhoszn 🔥💗 Barista AU

Last Christmas - @kitten4sannie 🔥⛈️💗 Exes to Lovers AU

It's You - @minisugakoobies 💗 Roommate AU ✧ Best Friend's Brother AU

Stern, but sweet - @bvidzsoo 💗 Teacher AU

Trip Shenanigans - @hee0soo 💗 Dad!San

pretty kitty - @k-hotchoisan 🔥 Hybrid AU

periods w/ choi san - @beenbaanbuun 💗

untitled - @brainddeadd 🔥

Day 8 - @multifandomfantasies ✨🔥

as a large sub!ateez enthusiast this should not be shocking 🫠🫠 i just love a needy desperate san so much and this fic 😩😩 boy does it deliver

gold rush - @kitten4sannie 🔥 Cowboy AU

to taint you soul - @seonghwaddict ✨🔥⛈️ Incubus!San

when i went into reading this i just thought it would be pure demon smut, but like i fell in love with the mc and san so easily 😭😭 like the plot is devastating and how san like just takes care of the mc is soooo 🥺🥺🥺🥺 THE SMUT IS ALSOSDFJSFJOGSJRSGJGJ yeah its good highly recommend 👍👍

untitled - @teeskzagain 🔥

tied up - @beenbaanbuun 🔥

celebrate for you - @cheollipop 🔥💗

untitled - @sluttywonwoo 🔥

too sweet - @yoongiseesawmp3 💗 Model AU

Give in to Me - @hwallazia 🔥

Filthy Lips, Loving Touch - @ja3hwa 🔥💗

Ateez San as your BF - @kisshwa 🍑

boyfriend texts - @beenbaanbuun 🍑

realistic sex with san - @byuntrash101 🔥💗

Underwater - @bvidzsoo 🔥⛈️💗 Greek Mythology AU ✧ Ares!San

kitten fever - @kitten4sannie 🔥 Hybrid AU

head to head - @bro-atz 🔥

middle of the night - @kitten4sannie 🔥

untitled - @choism 🔥

rollin' - @bro-atz 🔥

handy - @hausofwoo 🔥💗

san x chubby!reader - @sluttywoozi 💗

Treat You Better - @starskq 🔥⛈️💗 Friends to Lovers AU

untitled - @thetypingpup 🔥 Stripper!San

knots - @bro-atz ✨🔥💗 Masseuse AU

i didnt think i had a thing for this au but i love it everytime! when mc just gets a really good fucking massage and then a real good fucking too aaadfsgsgfgdf but this is honestly so intimate and warm feeling and just san man 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

#ateez #ateez fic recs #ateez x reader #ateez smut #ateez fluff #ateez angst #choi san #san x reader #san smut #i usually queue these lists but bcs this is probably a heavily anticipated list its going up tomorrow #also bcs its been a while since i posted a list......#merengue makes lists

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sanjoongie · 1 month ago

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𝒟𝒶𝓎 𝒩𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓃~ 𝒮𝒾𝓏𝑒 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝓀

The Menu

🩵Pairing: Furyan! Song Mingi x Human space pilot! Reader (f)

🩵Au: sci fi au, alien au, Furyan au, inspired by chronicles of riddick, from my Sci-fi Medly series

🩵Trope: established relationship (lovers)

🩵Genre: smut

🩵Rating: 18+, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

🩵Warnings: (for plot reasons, I made up some Furyan culture facts) size kink, oviposition kink, pregnancy kink, dirty talk, hand job, unprotected sex, nipple play (f),

🩵Word Count: 1,467

🩵Summary: Mingi uses his Furyan night vision to steal you from Wooyoung's bed, just to fuck you in a hammock in the cargo bay. And perhaps to win a bet. Or to sing to your eggs in Furyan. Or all of the above

🩵Author's note: timeline wise, this takes place after Seonghwa laid his eggs inside of the captain and after Hongjoong accidentally used his venom from his tail on the captain.

🩵Day Eighteen: WooSang| Masterlist | Day Twenty: HwaJjong🩶💜

You were woken from your slumber because you were utterly confused as to why you were feeling like you were swaying. It was your night to sleep with Wooyoung, the only night Seonghwa didn’t complain about on account that they shared a room together.

As you opened your eyes, you realized you were no longer in Wooyoung’s bed but in Mingi’s arms. “Min…Mingi?” You said with a sleep voice.

Mingi hiked you in his arms, sending a precious smile down at you. “Even with the eggs growing inside of you, you’re still so tiny.”

Your brain slowly catches up to the situation, and you shift in Mingi’s arms. “You did not just steal me from the Alien’s bedroom. Song Mingi! They’ll kill you!” You hissed.

Mingi chuckled. “They can try.”

You clucked your tongue. “You did it to test yourself, didn’t you? Damn Furyan pride.”

Mingi shrugged, moving you in his arms. “Wooyoung tried to say I couldn't. And besides,” Mingi stole a glance at you in his arms. “You know how I feel about your body right now.”

“Where are we going?” You wondered.

One would think Mingi would simply take you back to his room if he just wanted a quick fuck. Actually, you were surprised he didn’t do it right in Wooyoung’s bed, just to make a point.

“I’ve hung a hammock in the cargo bay. It was our people’s habit to keep our pregnant women in hammocks. We believe if the baby is used to the swaying motion of a hammock, they will stay quiet when they are born. It’s essential for babies to remain quiet if they are to survive,’ Mingi informed you.

“Mingi.” You said his name sadly, reaching up to cup his face fondly.

Mingi beamed down at you, not sad but happy, actually. “This is why I have stolen you from Wooyoung’s bed. I will continue our race with those eggs.”

“You will what?” You said loudly.

Mingi frowned at your loud tone. “Be quiet, or someone might fight us quicker than I’d prefer.”

“Explain yourself, Furyan,” you demanded.

“The Alien’s eggs can be inseminated. Jongho said as much during cards a few nights ago. If we all take our time with you, those eggs can be a combination of all of our races,” Mingi informed you.

“Who else knows?”

“Wooyoung and Yeosang. We always play cards together. Are the eggs making you dumb, Heart?” Mingi teased.

“I’ll show you dumb,” you threatened under your breath.

At last, you both arrived in the cargo bay. And just as Mingi had said, in the corner was a hammock set up. Like it was nothing, Mingi managed to balance the hammock so he could sit in it, your pregnant body straddling his. Then, just as nimbly, he laid back, and the hammock began to sway.

Mingi placed a reverent hand on your belly. “You are so beautiful in this state,” Mingi said, his eyes big and wet and not unlike puppy-dog eyes.

You put a hand over Mingi’s. “You make me feel that way every day, Mingi. Otherwise, I’d think I was a fat cow,” you joked at your self- deprecating joke.

Mingi’s face became a storm. “It is an honor to carry the next generation. You glow from the eggs inside of you. According to the Predators and the Aliens, you smell delicious.”

Mingi took your hand in his own and squeezed it reassuringly. You only then noticed how tiny your hands were compared to his. “Even at this size, I’m still so tiny compared to you, hmm?” You echoed his words from earlier.

“Heart, I’m still surprised my cock fits inside your tight little hole,” Mingi smirked.

“Mingi!” You slapped his chest in shock.

“I bet that I can use you like one of those toys they sell on Veridian Six,” Mingi’s grin further split his face. “Hold you in place while I fuck you full of my cum.”

You felt your face heat up at Mingi’s words. Your nipples tightened, indicating you very much liked what he was saying. “Wooyoung went down on me earlier to help me sleep, but I don’t think Hongjoong’s venom is out of my system yet,” you admitted.

Mingi’s eyes blew at the thought. “Are you dripping wet even now?”

You knew you were, so you gave him a tight, quick nod in response. Mingi’s moan of approval echoed through the cargo bay, and you had to slap a hand over his mouth. “You’re going to lead the Aliens straight to us. If the Predators don’t find us first, you silly Furyan man.”

“Wrap your tiny hands around my big cock and help me catch up, Heart,” Mingi pleaded.

With Mingi’s hands holding you aloft, you managed to untie Mingi’s pants and yank them just past his balls to free his cock. You wrapped two hands around his cock. Mingi wasn’t wrong. Your tiny hands around his girth and length made him look like a giant.

You wore a simple night dress, which Mingi tore down the middle to reveal your pregnant belly and heavy tits. While you rubbed your very wet lower lips against Mingi’s length, Mingi sucked on your nipples.

When you could finally take Mingi inside of you, Mingi became mindless instantly. Here he was, the one saying the pregnancy was making you dumb, when he was the quickest alien on this ship to get pussy-drunk. “So tight and so wet, Heart, Heart! So good for me, your tiny little cunt. I’ll fuck you full of my cum and make future Furyans in you.”

As Mingi had said, he had no difficulty lifting your body up and down so that he could use your body like a toy. All you could do was clutch your fists tightly against Mingi’s shirt and take his cock inside of you. The Furyan fucked you gently of course, careful of your swollen sex, but still finding pleasure in it’s wet depths.

“Mingi,” You whimpered.

It felt so good to be filled this way, to be still viewed as sexually attractive while you were full of Seonghwa’s eggs. Seonghwa would snarl at you if he ever heard you talk of your state as if it was less than attractive, but that was Seonghwa. He was in full protection, even if it was against yourself.

Mingi ran a very large hand from the top of your head and down your face. “You’re so beautiful like this, Heart. Bouncing on my cock, full of eggs, breasts heavy with milk. Will you… will you let me suckle the milk from your tits? Hongjoong says you weren’t opposed to the idea when he sucked your breasts when he scratched you. Will you let me have a taste? I have such a fascination with this new body of yours. You’re so tiny and yet so full of life right now.”

You groaned as Mingi continued to babble on about his attraction for you. You felt tiny as he fucked his large cock inside of your tiny cunt, moving you so easily as if you weighted nothing. “Mingi, Mingi, I’m gonna---hnnhhhh feels so good, I’m gonna--!”

You were slightly embarrassed at how little it took you to come. Jongho had tried to reassure you that it was because of the eggs inside of you. Jongho had sent you a knowing look as he informed you that your body was enticing, so juicy and ready for climax. Damn cheeky Predator.

You came as quietly as you could, and Mingi wasn’t far behind you. He grunted as he filled you with his seed, clasping your face and exchanging a sloppy kiss with you.

“You are perfect, Heart,” Mingi murmured, his sweaty forehead pressed to yours.

You collapsed on top of Mingi, turning slightly for your extended belly. Still, your pregnant form barely covered Mingi’s. “I feel so tiny with you, Mingi.”

“Is it a comfort?” Mingi wondered.

You nodded sleepily. “I always feel safe with you.”

“Then sleep, Heart. Sleep and I will watch over you and the eggs,” Mingi assured you.

You fell asleep to Mingi’s large hand upon your belly, a Furyan song gently leaving his lips. You couldn't catch all the words, but you knew that Mingi was familiarizing the eggs with his voice. Which you thought was silly, because who could ever mistake the deep cave voice for anyone other than the roguish Furyan.

***

A roar traveled through the ship, but you didn’t stir on top of Mingi. He smirked as he recognized Wooyoung’s tone. San owed him money that he couldn't possibly steal you from the Alien’s room. Then Mingi heard a louder, sharper roar, and that chilled his blood. He hadn't actually thought about pissing off the Queen. Perhaps he should find a better place to hide…

🩵Day Eighteen: WooSang| Masterlist | Day Twenty: HwaJjong🩶💜

#pirateeznet #lapydiariesnet #ateez smut #song mingi smut #topaz's work #ღatz #recent #fff25 #sci-fi medley

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atinytokki · 2 years ago

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H O R I Z O N: S U N R I S E

Chapter 3: Source Unknown

It’s a hot afternoon in July 2110 according to the date and time listed on the corner of the screen, and a clip from the CCTV camera of the KQ-196 class rocket awaiting launch transitions into another shot of the control room. The feed has been carefully curated by the owner of the file– presumably Jongho’s grandmother.

Mingi and Youngseok have replayed the video three times now to catch every detail being given to them.

First it shows a good minute or so of the viewing room on the 215th floor, allowing them to get as detailed a look as possible at the people conferencing there. Board members, presumably.

Then, the interior of the shuttle, as Kim Woomin and his team march out and take up their stations, save for the one empty seat seen in the middle of the screen from the camera’s point of view. For thirty seconds afterwards, the missing crew member is shown performing final checks on the engine before she takes her seat in the cockpit with the rest. The main hatch, one which leads to the hallway separating the cockpit and the rest of the shuttle, remains open.

Again, the clip switches to show the camera in the viewing room. A man with glasses and a striped tie catches everyone’s attention and announces something before leaving the room. There’s no audio over the clip, but by now Mingi and Youngseok know what he’s saying. The man has informed the others that he’s getting the champagne.

The video follows him into the elevator, where he stands stock-still after swiping his wristband and sending the elevator down a single floor. A man with a leather jacket gets on.

In what could likely be the most important image of the upload, the two have a conversation. It’s silent, thanks to the CCTV settings, but nevertheless the video lingers on it. While the men discuss business, the elevator travels to the ground floor and opens into the lobby, where both exit. The man with glasses re-enters a moment later with a bottle of champagne.

By the time the man returns to the viewing room to start the festivities, it is much fuller than when he left. Families are standing by the window and admiring the rocket. Mingi even thinks he recognises a young Hongjoong.

The video switches over to the shuttle’s feed again, where the man in the leather jacket swipes his wristband to pass through the surrounding security enclosure, enters the ship through the open hatch and disappears into the engine room. For two and a half minutes, the clip of the cockpit’s view plays out. There is no camera in the engine room, so the scene is left to the imagination.

When it switches again, the mysterious man is exiting the shuttle and it’s the last time he’s seen. Inside the ship, procedures continue as normal and eventually the hatch is closed.

For the final moments of the video— likely out of respect for the dead— the only camera angle shown is that of the official broadcast, one both Mingi and Youngseok had seen before many times. The ship takes flight, explodes, and crashes to earth.

The screen goes black.

“So these two men conspired to assassinate Kim Woomin,” Youngseok states the obvious. “And his flight crew took the blame for it, essentially being scapegoated by the media because they perished in the crash and had no one to speak to their innocence. I still think we should call Hongjoong hyung.”

“That appears to be the case,” Mingi sighs. “The system should have a record of every wristband swipe, I’m positive they would’ve checked that during the investigations.” He doesn’t answer the final statement, it’s not his choice to make.

Youngseok hums before turning to face him, concerned. “So the glasses man who sent him must be high ranking, in order to wipe it from the record?”

Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, Mingi can only nod and begin to consider the far-reaching implications of this.

“Switch back to that document uploaded,” he requests. “Maybe there’s some explanation there.”

Youngseok supplies, even while he shakes his head, already knowing the result. “There’s nothing on it. A few names and— what are these, drugs?”

Mingi groans and drags his hands down his face, coming up empty on what any of it could mean. “That tells us basically nothing.”

And then there is also the problem of what to tell the other members.

The video footage needs to be shared and dealt with, that much is certain. But they’ll inevitably ask questions about where it came from, and it’s up to Jongho whether that information should be shared, not Mingi or Youngseok.

Youngseok even finding out at all was not a planned situation, and though there’s no reversing it, Mingi is already nervous about what Jongho will think.

It doesn’t take long for the dreaded confrontation to take place, with Jongho entering the room and sliding the door shut the moment he arrives.

“Where are the others?” Youngseok asks, just as Jongho’s opening his mouth to ask a question of them.

“Debriefing the Lexiwi,” Jongho reports succinctly. “I slipped away. What did you find?”

Knowing he would cut straight to the point, Mingi pulls up the file and slides his chair back to give the gunner access.

A sharp but quiet intake of breath follows soon after.

“I recognise this file name. Utopia–”

“The Utopia Project?” Mingi perks up, peeking over Jongho’s shoulder even as he tries to swat him away. He hadn’t noticed the file name himself, but remembers the significance of the phrase.

“No,” Jongho corrects with a note of panic in his voice. “The Utopia Scheme.”

“That’s what your grandmother renamed it?” Mingi whispers, knowing it’s pointless when Youngseok is sitting there listening but lowering his voice nonetheless.

“This must be it,” Jongho agrees, excited. “This was what she was working on after she went missing.”

Not bothering with anyone else, he skims through the information listed on the document and watches the video through twice before sitting back.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he sighs before pulling up the holographic timeline he created on his wristband. “She disappeared before this incident ever happened, why is she giving us evidence about it? How did she even know about it?”

“If nothing else, it’s proof she could be alive, right? I mean, it did happen years ago but if she managed to compile footage of it…” Mingi tries to encourage him, and Jongho hums gratefully but continues to stare at the screen, brow furrowed. He’s still convinced all they’ve unearthed is bad news.

“Maybe it’s connected to the reason she went missing somehow,” Youngseok suggests quietly, faltering. “Clearly she wanted you— or whoever found it— to know, given the fact that the password was found in your gift.”

Jongho stares at the younger boy for a moment before nodding. He already knows now, there’s no going back. At least Jongho is fairly sure he has his allegiance. “That’s true. I’ll have to find out the history of this conspiracy. If she uncovered it before she went missing…” He shudders at the thought. “Well, it could’ve given the IPF incentive to make her disappear.”

Mingi purses his lips but nods in agreement, fear growing in the pit of his stomach that the ideal he’s clung to for his entire life is threatening to dissipate as soon as he’s gained it.

“You’re right, though,” Jongho clears his throat and gets to his feet, eyes on the door that he sealed shut. “The others need to know. I think the cat is out of the bag.”

___

Until he can soak his hands in a bioregeneration tank, Yunho can think of nothing else.

The pain is somewhat lessened with the cooling effects of the ointment Yeosang applied, but still the phantom of the burning sensation pulsates through his fingers and up his arms, and his wrists are locked in place from the tension in them.

He looks on miserably at the celebrations on board the DES-1024 from his little cot in the medical area.

Hongjoong dodges a sloppy cheek kiss from Wooyoung and nearly throws the ship off course during the landing. San and Yeosang are arm in arm and chattering together until the time comes to help Yunho up from the bed. Junyoung sits in San’s lap, messing around on his wristband while his hair is played with. Jongho gives Seonghwa a resounding hi-five before running off down the hall, presumably to find Mingi and Youngseok.

And Yunho can’t even think about hi-fiving any of them without the pain spiking again, fist almost clenching in frustration until he forces himself to relax.

Yunho knew someone would be injured eventually— it’s why they have a medic, after all. He didn’t think he would be the first.

Yeosang helps him off the ship despite his protests and the two of them make their way into the hallways, leaving Wooyoung and San to unload the weapons with the help of the mechanical android brought on in the caves.

A bioregeneration tank is already waiting for him in the medical facilities, and when Yeosang unwraps his bandages and instructs him to call as soon as he’s finished, Yunho takes the opportunity to shed his clothes and have a full body soak— even though only his hands are injured.

He’s hoping the debriefing will last long enough to give him privacy while he mulls things over in the tank. The breathing apparatus he uses lets out small bubbles when he exhales, and they drift leisurely to the top of the tank while he watches them. Sighing out more bubbles, he lets himself sink to the bottom of the tank.

Alone with his thoughts, he tries to find the positives. There’s a multitude once he slows down and considers it. They landed a tracker, confiscated weapons, found a new helper android, killed a leader, and hacked the wristband transactions. The only real downside is that he had gotten injured, so it makes sense that everyone’s celebrating.

Perhaps his annoyance is over the fact that he was the one injured. Even as he watches the skin knit itself back together on his hands, aided by the chemicals in the tank water, he begrudges his own stupidity for attacking the junker atop a moving spaceship. He’d felt brave, even heroic, in the moment, but it all faded away to be replaced with the smell of burning flesh and pain shooting through his fingers.

Hongjoong had been forced to risk his own life to rescue Yunho, and when he leans forward to glance at the door, wondering if the pilot is also in need of some medical assistance, the reminder hits him that at least Hongjoong had the foresight to wear gloves.

There’s no real reason to be jealous of that fact. After all, it was Yunho who first adapted the metal siding into an acid rain-proof umbrella on the spot, but he knows the underlying reason already.

He just doesn’t like appearing vulnerable.

A few moments later when Yeosang and Hongjoong appear to ask if he’s ready to come out, he sighs out a stream of bubbles but nods anyway.

Wrapped up in a soft robe while the medic re-bandages his hands, he finally focuses his attention on the future. “How soon can I be in combat again?”

“That’ll depend on how regularly and consistently you do the exercises,” Yeosang responds cryptically as he fastens the last bandage and pulls up a guide on his wristband. “The tank only patches up the injuries you sustained on the outside. To regain full muscle control, you’ll need a bit of physical therapy.”

He sends the file to Yunho for his own reference and pulls Hongjoong’s jacket off, leaving him in a thin undershirt, to apply some ointment to his back.

“So… within the next few months, if I’m diligent?” he asks the medic, an unspoken plea behind his words. Yeosang turns and smiles sheepishly, unable to resist the pouting and puppylike charm.

“Yes, you should be able to fire your blaster properly by then, assuming no long-term damage emerges.”

A wristband notification from Jongho interrupts Yunho’s impassioned thanksgiving and prompts him to throw some clothes on before checking it. “Hey guys?” he calls back when he’s read the message. “Jongho has something to show us in the surveillance room.” Secretly, he’s hoping it isn’t anything that would prompt action so soon after his injury. It’s inevitable, but he won’t enjoy being benched.

“All of us?” Hongjoong asks for confirmation when Yunho returns to the medical area from the changing stalls.

“Can it wait?” Yeosang huffs, still meticulously cleaning the faint scratches on Hongjoong’s back. “I’m still a little busy at the moment. Plus, I’m pretty sure the others are still unloading weapons.”

“Yeosang, it’s fine,” Hongjoong protests, sitting back and reaching for his jacket. “It doesn’t even hurt.”

“You want to take your chances on an alien planet with who knows what diseases?” Yeosang scoffs, mildly perturbed despite packing up his supplies obediently. “You’ll be thanking me for keeping it clean later. In fact, everyone who was outside should be reporting for a checkup— I’m supposed to monitor all of our health.”

“And you will, after we see what this is about,” their leader assures them, heading for the door as soon as he knows they’re following. “It’s Jongho, after all, he wouldn’t call a meeting over a false alarm.”

And he’s right.

The moment the three of them join the others in the somewhat cramped surveillance room, made for a small number of short-statured Lexiwi and not humans, the atmosphere is already tense. Mingi shoots Yunho a pained smile, as if in preemptive apology.

“As you may or may not know,” Jongho begins when he has their attention. “My grandmother was Choi Jieun, a famous member of the Horizon Project years ago. For all my life, I’d been told she went missing, but her disappearance was never treated with any concern by the IPF. I joined the Horizon Project to find out more and, if possible, to track her down. Thanks to Mingi and Youngseok here, we managed to find a trace of her, despite her being practically erased from the logs.”

He turns on the screen behind him, a sparse file already pulled up with a short document listing names and some long Latin words Yunho doesn’t recognise, plus a single video file.

“She must have landed here at some point on a space highway trip to Biso. The only clue we have is this folder she left on the supercomputer, uploaded externally from her own device and password protected so that only I could get in. I believe she’s trying to tell us something, something she couldn’t say when she was a Project member for fear of retaliation from the Citadel. It may even be part of the reason she went missing.”

Yunho’s eyebrows rise higher the more he explains. Now things are getting interesting.

“The video she made is…” he trails off with a sigh, unsure how to proceed. “It doesn’t explain much. But I think all of you ought to watch it. It may change some things for us.”

Mild amusement and curiosity becomes horror as Yunho watches. It’s a historical event he’s seen dozens of times, but a few new camera angles of what went on behind the scenes make all the difference. In just a few minutes, he’s learned something irreversible; that CEO Kim Woomin was deliberately killed. Worse, that it appears to have been plotted by his own board member.

When the footage switches to the news broadcast, Yunho glances around to see everyone just as shocked as he is, excluding the three who have seen it before. His eyes land on Hongjoong, standing behind Mingi and clutching the back of his chair with a death grip. The more he watches, the angrier he gets, jaw clenched and a neck vein gradually popping out.

“Turn it off,” he suddenly snaps, making Mingi jump in his seat at the sternness in his voice. He continues, a little more desperately, “I don’t need to see this part again.”

Jongho quickly complies and pauses the video, tapping back so that it rewinds from the beginning. There is dread in his eyes.

“I’ve been playing it back to see if I can catch any details,” Jongho recounts after clearing his throat uncomfortably. “If you want, Youngseok said he can slow it down and—”

“No,” Hongjoong bursts out with that distinct shakiness in his voice that means he’s going to cry. Yunho is one of only a few who can recognise it. “Please, don’t. I’m sor— I just can’t. I can’t.”

He flees the room and if not for the door being left open behind him, it would feel suffocatingly hot.

Jongho bites his lip and sighs softly, but Seonghwa comes to his rescue without a word needing to be said.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Let’s get to the bottom of this so Hongjoong doesn’t have to,” Yeosang suggests in his gentle but firm tone.

Though silent up until this point, Wooyoung already has a question to pose.

“Does anyone know who is actually on the Board?”

Yunho’s lips are moving before he even realises it. “Seonghwa was there the night before we left, he would recognise them.” The look of surprise on Seonghwa’s face doesn’t register until Wooyoung has already targeted his interrogation to him.

“Are either of these men in the IPF’s current leadership?”

Seonghwa doesn’t even glance at the screen, where Jongho has paused it on an image of the two conversing.

“N-No, I don’t know them.”

“Are you sure?” Mingi presses earnestly, and Seonghwa takes a long hard look at the video before nodding.

“There has to be some way we can track them down,” Junyoung mutters, fingers flying as he freezes the frame and zooms in on the striped tie man.

“What would we even do if we could?” The groan comes from San, who rubs his hands down his face and collapses back into Wooyoung’s lap. “Hunt them down and exact revenge?”

“Hey, don’t joke,” Wooyoung tuts at him, finger flicking his forehead, but San dodges and argues back, “I’m not! It’s a serious question. We have hardly any standing in the IPF, we’d have to be crazy to bring a case against them!”

Yunho lets them argue back and forth and excuses himself to seek out Hongjoong.

He probably shouldn’t be alone right now.

The pilot is by himself in an adjacent hallway, pacing and tugging on his hair as he attempts to get his breathing under control. Upon seeing Yunho, he drops onto a bench built into the earthy wall, too exhausted to keep his composure any longer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, scrubbing at his face and hiding from Yunho’s concerned gaze.

Yunho comes back with a response immediately. “Don’t be.”

Hongjoong shakes his head and a beat of silence passes. “Watching that video again is just—” he cuts himself off with a frustrated groan and tries to explain. “Every time I see it, I’m back there. I remember it all like it’s happening right in front of me again. The way the windows shook. The dust cloud that went up.”

He struggles through the words, teeth clenched against impending tears, breath coming in with quick gasps. The claylike hall echoes with restrained half-cries.

Hesitantly, Yunho reaches out and rubs his back, letting him continue on his own time. He’s slow and careful so as not to further injure his bandaged hands, but pushes through the discomfort.

“I imagine what it might’ve been like in that cockpit sometimes; a sudden, consuming fire, that feeling of weightlessness before falling back to earth. Before I switched schools, my classmates looked into the report and debated it in front of me. Some of them thought everyone died in the initial explosion, others claimed they must’ve been alive until the impact with the launch pad, probably in pain and completely aware they were in their last moments.”

As terrible as the event already was in Yunho’s imagination, hearing it from Hongjoong’s perspective invites new horror into a moment he’d become desensitised to, and he finds his eyes watering even as Hongjoong finally lets go and allows tears to roll down his own cheeks.

“Their sick fascination with those deaths— my father’s death— just infuriated me. And they thought they were ‘doing me a favour’ reading about autopsies so I didn’t have to. I never even saw his body, Yunho,” his voice breaks and he crumples into the taller boy. “We used to make fun of him for being old fashioned and wanting to be buried on the Citadel, in those meadows they planted of real grass. He never got the chance. They sent home an urn and that was it.”

Yunho’s blood boils for Hongjoong’s sake, even as he works through his betrayal aloud, struggling to keep his emotions under control when the hurt bleeds into anger.

“And now… now I find out this was intentional? Someone turned him into a casualty and then he was blamed for it? I don’t care what I have to do, I’m bringing him justice. Him and Jongho’s grandmother both, whose only crime was knowing too much.”

Letting out a cynical laugh, he wipes the tears away, resolved to move on.

“If it means anything to you,” Yunho speaks up quietly. “I think everyone agrees. We all need time to process the implications of this, but we’ll back you up. At least… I will.”

Yunho can’t speak for everyone, and the questions about the future still sit uncomfortably in his stomach, but he knows where he stands.

Hongjoong is about to answer when an alert sounds from their wristbands in unison.

“The tracker!” He gasps, shooting to his feet and beelining for the surveillance room, explaining hurriedly. “We just lost the signal.”

Inside, the room is still in full chaos with all eight of the members arguing about how to proceed, given their new information.

“Maybe we go back to the Citadel and ask, then,” Jongho is insisting when the pair enters. “If Soojin doesn’t know, then move up the chain of command until—”

“Let’s table this for now,” Hongjoong interrupts, any trace of panic replaced with cool, collected leadership. “We’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”

Called to attention, everyone checks their wristband to see what Hongjoong is going on about.

“The tracker has been deactivated,” he explains. “Youngseok, do you have their latest position? If we leave now, we may catch them.”

The tech expert has already pulled up the coordinates by the time Hongjoong is finished speaking.

“Alright, if we’re raiding their main base, I need all hands on deck,” the captain continues. “Except for you, Yunho, sorry.”

Disappointed despite expecting it, Yunho drops into the chair Mingi has just vacated and slides up to the supercomputer. At least he can keep an eye on things from here.

Wanting to be sure he’s leaving him safely, Yeosang comes over and inspects his patient’s hands again.

“It’s not going to be the cakewalk we had this morning,” their pilot warns them, sighing and fixing his hair. It was still mussed from earlier. “The junkers knew we were coming, they were waiting for a chance to steal our metal; that fact alone still makes me nervous. And if they found the tracker, they’ll be expecting us.”

“We’ll be ready for them,” San hypes everyone up confidently, leaving no room for doubt. “We have their weapons now, too. We just have to be careful and use our brains.”

Hongjoong shoots him a weak smile and glances around the room. “Any objections?”

“None from me,” Yeosang pipes up. “I checked Yunho’s hands again and they should heal fine. He’ll be alright here on his own while we’re gone.”

And it’s true, as much as Yunho wishes it wasn’t, so that he didn’t have to sit by himself and watch his friends charge into an alien battle.

“Good luck,” he tells them, yearningly, when they file out to prepare.

He knows they’re going to need it.

___

After years of directing his anger into his studies, it’s not difficult for Hongjoong to hyperfocus on the mission ahead. He avoids his teammates’ concerned eyes, dodges Jongho’s apologies, and manages to squirm out of a hug being sandwiched between Wooyoung and San, claiming he needs to ready the ship.

Nothing they say or do can make this right.

Ultimately, nothing he does can make it right either.

Walking out to the hangar as soon as he’s dressed and ready, he spies the setting suns. Despite one being farther away, the heat still lands on his skin. It’s calming in a way, despite twice as many shadows following him, to be blazed into with the light of a pair of dying sunsets.

He enters the cockpit alone and allows himself a moment to feel the hum of the ship waking underneath him, breathing in the hint of fuel disguised by the scent of a minty air freshener Seonghwa had sprayed earlier.

“Hey,” a voice interrupts his thoughts softly, and Hongjoong startles and turns in his seat to see Seonghwa himself standing there, clad in all white gear as Hongjoong had directed. He shuffles his feet awkwardly but glances up at his captain with innocence and regret shining in his eyes. “Um… I just wanted to say that I-I’m here.”

He sinks into his chair suddenly, still clutching his backpack in front of him. It’s no surprise— usually he’s ready to take off first, unless Jongho beats him to the cockpit— but Hongjoong knows that’s not what he means.

“Right,” he responds finally, clearing his throat and casting his eyes away. “I…” he wants to say he’s fine, he doesn’t want to talk about it now, he’ll deal with everything later. “I’d rather focus on the mission right now,” he settles on, not looking to see Seonghwa’s reaction.

A hand lands on his thigh and he jumps in surprise. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” Seonghwa says firmly before shifting in his chair and turning on the navigation system, conversation ended.

He seems to have found his footing, so Hongjoong sets aside his emotions and joins him in looking at the satellite footage, now displayed on the front console. As thankful as he is for Yunho’s presence earlier, an embarrassing breakdown right before a mission can only harm how the others perceive his leadership.

“At first I was sceptical about wearing white,” Seonghwa admits, zooming in on the area they’re headed for. “If the suns set while we’re out there, the colour will make us stand out. But the cliffs surrounding the caves are also completely white. I suppose it’s a solid inference that the inside will be white as well.”

“Mingi pointed the topography out to me earlier,” Hongjoong explains, leaning forward to get a better view of the terrain. “The wardrobe was my idea, though, so you can blame me if it goes wrong.”

Seonghwa is chuckling and shaking his head, and goes quiet with no further comment, inputting the best route to reach the coordinates quickly. Jongho enters the ship and takes his seat silently, lost in his own head as he considers the mission looming over them. One by one the others trickle in, as prepared as they can be, and buckle up for what they can only hope will be a smooth operation.

Hongjoong doesn’t have much time to plan either, setting the DES-1024 to hover mode when it’s time to lift out of the hangars and letting autopilot take over while he gathers the rest of the team.

“Satellite imaging doesn’t show anyone down there, but there are heat signatures,” Seonghwa informs them. “And I mean a lot of heat signatures.”

Looking at all the tiny red blips on the holoscreen makes Hongjoong nauseous so he turns to his team for ideas. “I don’t like going in there blind,” he admits, and upon hearing this, Yeosang sits up suddenly and runs to his seat to fetch something stored inside it.

“Would this help?” He asks shyly, dropping his newly made drone model on the table in front of them.

Hongjoong’s eyes blow wide and he glances up at the medic in wonder. “You made this yourself? And it’s operational?”

“Started back when we were first accepted into the project,” Yeosang recounts with a shrug, falling back into his seat. “Wooyoung and San helped me from time to time. It doesn’t maintain a good connection over very wide of a range but it’s fast moving and silent.”

The captain nods as a plan begins to formulate. “Alright, if you send it in when we arrive, we’ll have an idea who to gun for. It would be much more efficient and much less dangerous if we could identify their leaders and negotiate a surrender.”

“I’ve analysed the information you downloaded from the junker Yunho killed,” Mingi reports, pulling up his screen and letting everyone take a good look. “These colour patterns seem to designate clan leaders.”

“If we’re going for a mass arrest, it would be best to set our blasters to the stun setting,” Jongho adds, reminding them how to adjust the strength of their weapon blasts.

“Mass arrest?” San asks for clarification carefully, pulling up the transcription of the IPF’s debrief again before reading it aloud. “‘Bring those responsible to justice by any means necessary’ is what it says. Are we sure keeping them alive will suffice to complete our mission?”

“I interpreted ‘justice’ as the Lexiwi’s judicial system,” Youngseok contributes. “And they have trials just like we do. IPF may be involved in the protection of the planet but I don’t think the courts are under our jurisdiction.”

“I agree,” Hongjoong says simply, giving the young technician a nod. “I don’t feel comfortable being the IPF’s executioners. At least not without the say of the locals.”

“While we’re on the topic of weapons…” Jongho clears his throat and gets to his feet, opening the door to the cargo hold and taking a silvery set of turbines in hand. “When we unloaded the weapons we confiscated, the Lexiwi Police told us they have no use for a jetpack and said we could keep it. It’s a bit small due to their size but… it could come in handy tonight. None of you would happen to know how to use one, would you?”

Hongjoong thinks back to distant summers at his cousin’s house by the sea, playing with their jetpacks in the backyard. Father catching him when he messed up the landing so he wouldn’t skin his knee again.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” he smiles, taking the pack in his hands and trying it on.

“It fits?” Wooyoung asks, pressing his hands to his mouth to hold in a squeaking laugh when Hongjoong admits, a bit embarrassed, that it does.

“Their torsos are human sized!” He protests weakly in his own defence. The others are laughing along and he doesn’t truly mind if it’s at his expense. “It's just their legs that are so short.”

Hongjoong allows them a moment to chuckle at his height— regardless of the fact that Wooyoung is barely any taller— before giving Yeosang the go ahead to operate his drone.

It’s an opportune stroke of genius that he’s brought it along with him, because it only takes two minutes after the small device has entered the jungle of white clay-like rock formations for it to find an exhaust vent and enter it.

Just as Yeosang had warned, it doesn’t take long for the feed to grow staticky and unstable the farther underground it travels, but before the camera fails entirely, Hongjoong sees what he needs to; a single central area burrowed down all the way to the bedrock, with metal bridges crisscrossing the span of open space one on top of another in various floors, and outlying tunnels converging from every direction around it.

“I hate to leave the ship, but I think this is going to take all of us,” Hongjoong admits quietly when they’ve all been staring at a black screen for a few moments.

He’s got a clearer plan now, one that will need to adapt regardless, but he’s ready to divulge. Pulling his favourite goggles from his Dome days out of his pocket, he slaps them on and adjusts them to rest above his eyes.

“We’ll drive them out like insects.”

Ten minutes later he’s in the air, hovering behind a tall hoodoo and checking in with the others via wristband radio.

“San, Wooyoung, and Jongho, you should enter your vent first,” Yeosang informs them all, already inside and crawling through the tunnel he entered behind his drone as soon as the coast was clear.

The medic inches forward, pushing the headband higher up on his forehead to move the hair out of his eyes. There’s a streak of white dirt from the tunnel on his cheek, but it looks more like chalk due to its colour and consistency.

He’s streaming the feed of his drone’s camera to the others via holoscreen, and can only hope the light reflecting on his face doesn’t give him away, should any junkers happen to glance up into the tunnel. Youngseok follows down the tunnel on his belly, several feet behind, and turns to cover Yeosang’s six. He’s ready to stun any junker that turns the corner the moment they’re seen. If their medic is injured, they’re all in deep trouble.

Seonghwa crouches inside an opposite tunnel, watching the central activity with an eye on Yeosang’s hiding place, defending him at long range. It’s his job to check in with both Hongjoong and Yunho back at the Lexiwi base via wristband radio the moment anything goes awry.

“Entering now,” Wooyoung’s voice crackles over the connection as his three-person team moves quickly through the rear air vents in the direction of the junker’s hangar.

Hongjoong can see three blips inching inwards as he watches their sensors on the screen. “Give us a count as soon as you’re in,” he reminds them. It’s vital that they know how many junkers are in the hangar vicinity before proceeding with phase 2.

“You got it, Captain,” San quips and Hongjoong finds himself rolling his eyes despite the fact that none of them can see him where he hovers behind the hoodoo.

Two large shadows stretch out ahead of it, casting the exit doors in preliminary darkness.

“We are in position,” Jongho reports a moment later. “There are six— no, five— targets in the hangar area. Repeat; there are five targets present.”

Hongjoong digests the information before making a call. Jongho, San, and Wooyoung are outnumbered but could likely take the targets down with the element of surprise on their side.

“Yeosang, I need visual on the hangar,” the leader finally sighs, hoping he can be more helpful with a fuller picture of the surroundings.

There’s a tense moment after Yeosang confirms the order before the footage begins to change, the drone silently swooping down another tunnel and navigating through the darkness. When nothing appears on screen for a few seconds too long, Hongjoong opens his mouth to ask what’s happening.

“It got stuck on something,” Yeosang grunts out before anyone can question it. He sounds as if he’s on his stomach still, fiddling with the joystick of his controls. None of the members can see his face anymore now that the drone’s camera is directed elsewhere. “I think it’s a light fixture hanging from the tunnel wall. If I can just… wiggle it out… and pull back.”

His concentration is audible through the radio feed, and Hongjoong bites his lip in worry. The entire mission will be caught off track if a junker happens upon the stuck drone.

“Got it!” Yeosang breathes out a sigh of relief and, seconds later, a cluster of light grows into a shape; the hangar doors. The drone easily bypasses them by shooting through a vent and out the other end in no time, and soon Hongjoong can see Jongho, Wooyoung, and San on camera.

“San and Wooyoung, find a chance to sneak underneath and pop open the nearest aircraft’s control panel. Jongho, you should change position to the adjoining area between the tunnel and the aircraft to keep watch,” he decides after surveying the room for a moment. It’s his first time seeing the junkers’ own aircraft but it’s not difficult to surmise that the loading point is through the bottom hatch and that the engine control panel is just ahead of it from a first glance. “Go slow, make sure you aren’t seen.”

“If the drone isn’t needed here anymore, I should find the communication hub,” Yeosang breaks in, and with confirmation, he directs the drone out of the area. The camera approaches a small room in the uppermost level and hovers for a moment so Mingi can read the writing on the door.

“That’s it,” he confirms quickly. “Junyoung and I are just above, in the ventilation shafts.”

“Yeosang, is that thing armed?” Seonghwa suddenly asks.

“No,” the medic answers, realising it’s the drone that he’s referring to. “Only with a hi-res camera and a geotracker. It can do infrared scans, x-Ray, sonar, and night vision, too—”

“But it doesn’t have a laser or a stunning function, right?” Seonghwa interrupts as the list of drone features goes on.

“No,” Yeosang sighs over the comm link, clearly wishing he had installed such a device. “That’s kind of illegal as an IPF trainee.”

“Then maybe Mingi and Junyoung should drop in first and take out the security guards before the drone goes in,” Seonghwa suggests.

“But we don’t know what we’re up against yet!” Mingi protests. “There could be ten guys in that room!”

“Seonghwa’s right,” Hongjoong pitches in. The navigator had taken the words right out of his mouth. “In all likelihood, there’s only one, and we can’t afford to lose the drone.”

“You can afford to lose us ?” Mingi whispers into the comm link, panicked, before Hongjoong quickly reassures him.

“No, Mingi, but you have a stun blaster and you know how to use it. The drone can’t defend itself. You and Junyoung can do this, I know you can.”

There’s distant whispering for a moment before Mingi’s voice returns in a sighed, “Okay. Standby.”

“Be careful,” another voice crackles through the system from a much longer distance— Yunho’s— and it’s the encouragement the team needs to get the job done.

Just three minutes later, the door of the security hub slides open and Mingi’s face appears on screen, beckoning the drone inside where the camera settles on the pair of junkers knocked out on the floor.

“For your information, you were off by one,” Mingi snorts, clearly in Hongjoong’s direction, while Junyoung chuckles in the corner and makes his way to the security cameras.

Hongjoong elects not to answer the quip, and watches closely as Junyoung hacks his way into the mainframe and loops the security camera footage just to be safe.

“This is amazing!” Wooyoung’s voice comes online with an awed gasp, and the entire group is confused until realising he’s simply chattering aloud while he works on the enemy ships as usual. “San, are you seeing this? Look at the heat shield material! And yet they don’t have anything for the acid rain, isn’t that unbelievable?”

“Let’s focus, please.” Seonghwa does the scolding so Hongjoong doesn’t have to, and the pair of engineers audibly blow raspberries at him but comply nonetheless.

It’s their way of lightening the mood of such a tense mission, and while it can be distracting, Hongjoong is at least thankful it provided him an unintended update on their progress.

“Alright, Mingi, we’re ready for you to work your magic,” Junyoung proclaims, visibly handing Mingi a microphone on camera, though he keeps it disconnected from the PA system for now while the xenologist does a few practice runs of his speech.

It’s an evacuation message in the Lexiwi language, with the lower class junker dialects taken into account, and as the linchpin of the entire operation, is vital to send out at the correct time.

“Just waiting on you now, San and Wooyoung,” Yeosang points out. “How many ships are left?”

“Can’t talk, please hold,” San hisses into the comm link before he, Wooyoung, and Jongho all go on mute.

Sweat rolls down Hongjoong’s neck at the prospect that they might’ve been seen. Ten seconds go by, then twenty, then thirty, and with his eyes glued to the motion sensor display, Hongjoong counts forty-eight seconds before Jongho unmutes himself and explains what’s happening.

“There was a junker adjusting the loading ramp of the ship next to the one San was working on,” he whispers, barely a tremble in his voice despite the close call. “I didn’t stun him because I didn't want to alert the others, and he moved on without seeing any of us.”

“There are four left, to answer your question,” San jumps in, breath sounding laboured. Hongjoong imagines he must be hanging upside down from the undercarriage to access the control panel without being seen, but doesn’t trouble Yeosang to get the drone in there to see for himself again. Not after such a narrow escape.

“Captain, we’ve recorded the evacuation message,” Mingi reports, voice just as quiet as the hangar team’s voices despite being in a much more secure location. “It’s ready to be broadcast as soon as you say the word.”

“Hangar team, time remaining?” Hongjoong sighs, trying to be patient. If even one of those ships is able to take off in the final stages of the mission, it could come back to haunt them.

“Give us five,” Wooyoung estimates. “And then another three to take up defensive positions just inside the doorway.”

“10-4,” Mingi shoots back, evidently antsy to complete his part of the operation.

Hongjoong takes six of the eight minutes to land on the hoodoo and save some fuel, cleaning his goggles but keeping his eyes peeled on the hangar exit doors.

“Potential problem in the communication hub,” Junyoung informs them, as calm and collected as ever, waving to the drone camera to attract the entire team’s attention to the screen. “According to the schedule posted in this room, the guard change will occur in five minutes. It’s going to raise suspicion when these two security room junkers don’t report to their new station, and we’ll have some company in here. At least two more.”

It’s another problem to solve, and it has a fast-approaching deadline.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice earlier,” Junyoung tacks on professionally.

“Don’t be,” Seonghwa reassures him quickly before attempting to solve the problem. “Yeosang, is there any way you can get up there with your med kit?”

“Not through the central walking area,” Yeosang answers quickly, and Youngseok speaks up from a few feet behind him, his voice catching in the background of Yeosang’s own call, “If we move fast, we can go out through the back and in the way Mingi and Junyoung did. The coast is clear at the moment.” Yeosang hums in agreement to the idea and the sounds of shifting follow before he asks of Seonghwa in another grunt, “Why do you ask, hyung?”

“You have the anaesthetic reversal agent with you,” the navigator explains with growing momentum. “You can wake the junkers before the guard change and before the stun blast naturally wears off, you’ll just need a large dose since it’s the entire body rather than a single limb.”

“Are you suggesting we let them go?” Hongjoong asks with a quirked eyebrow, regardless of the fact that none of them can see him. “They’ll just alert the rest of the station, even more quickly than the guard change would.”

“Let them go, yes,” Seonghwa confirms, quickly adding on, “But not without a dose of MMM.”

“MMM?” Junyoung repeats, confused. “What’s that? Molar mass... something?”

“Memory modifying material,” Yeosang answers him grimly. “In small doses, it essentially erases or replaces the past few minutes to hours of a subject’s memory. Technically, I do have it, but it’s very clearly labelled for dire emergencies only. There are some ethical debates in the medical community about usage–”

“It’s either hide the bodies and take our chances getting Mingi and Junyoung to fit into a pair of junker security guard outfits in the next three minutes or inject the enemy with a tiny bit of triple M and send them on their way,” Seonghwa points out with a scoff. “I think this qualifies as an emergency and IPF wouldn’t have given it to you if you weren’t cleared to use it.”

Yeosang only hums in answer, and while it’s clear he doesn’t like the idea of going through with it, he and Youngseok are already approaching the communication hub and they can’t afford a wasted trip.

“Nearly out of time,” Hongjoong reminds the entire group, glancing at the setting suns for a moment and subjecting himself to the light’s blinding reflection off the white cliffs. “Status update, all teams?”

“We’ve completed our first objective and are taking ground positions,” Wooyoung explains first. It’s a relief that the alien ships have been successfully sabotaged.

“Position unchanged,” Seonghwa follows next, likely watching the junkers move around below him with a close eye and a steady gun.

“Approaching the hub,” Youngseok reports last, and the camera footage shows him and Yeosang dropping into the room from the ceiling vent, quickly administering the drugs while they confer with Mingi and Junyoung.

“Get them outside before they fully come to and they’ll think they’re simply on the way to their next station,” Seonghwa suggests, and the four of them comply immediately, two to a body, after checking that the coast is clear. The drone continues to hover there with no one at the joystick.

“Alright, send out the evacuation message and get out of there,” Hongjoong eagerly instructs next, ready for all the planning and manoeuvring to come to a head. “Seonghwa, cover them.”

Yeosang’s hands find the joystick to his drone again and it follows the progress of the four of them up and out into the air vent labyrinth once again, zooming on ahead to make sure the coast is clear. They meet up with Jongho, San and Wooyoung’s group, staggering themselves down the hallway, and wait for the inevitable.

“Ready?” Junyoung breathes, a hint of nerves in his voice as his hand hesitates above the button on his wristband.

“Let’s do this,” Mingi nods him on encouragingly, and a moment later his announcement echoes through the entire station.

Hongjoong can hear it over their comm link, but only picks up a word or two from Mingi’s incredibly detailed pronunciation and intonation. After a few seconds of confusion on the part of the junkers, they begin pouring in numbers from their various activities in the station to the hangar as instructed.

Mingi is Team ATZ’s best kept secret. Because whether the enemy was waiting for them or not, they never expected one to perfectly replicate their dialect.

“Well done,” Hongjoong whispers to him through the comm link, careful not to disrupt anyone’s focus, and he can see Mingi’s small smile on the drone cam footage. It’s enough.

“Hold positions,” Jongho takes charge, unwavering where he kneels with his weapon drawn. “We need as many of them in the ships as possible before we enter combat to lessen their numbers.”

Yet again, it’s about patience, and Hongjoong’s is wearing thin but he alternates gazing between the screen and the surrounding area to make sure not a single junker escapes his notice.

“There are a few outlying heat signatures but the pilot junkers will start to become suspicious over why their engines aren’t working right about now,” Yeosang informs them, and Hongjoong bites his lip in worry. “I say we give it twenty more seconds and close up each ship’s loading dock.”

“We’re ready,” San assures them all confidently, focused intently on the enemy as they swarm their aircraft like bees to a hive. “Just give us the word.”

“Are all the clan leaders accounted for?” Hongjoong asks before offering his judgement, dropping his shoulders in relief when Seonghwa responds with an affirmative, “Yes, I counted all twenty-three from the evacuation route vantage point.”

“It’s up to you, then, Yeosang,” Hongjoong puts the decision in his hands as the most informed thanks to the drone sensors, and the medic counts down in a whisper before signalling to the pair of engineers.

“Go.”

They run in perfect sync through the blind spots of each alien ship, closing the back hatches with a simple touch and barring them from the outside. All five team members in the room with them watch their backs, firing off the occasional stun blast when a junker is quick enough to try to escape.

The wide hangar doors begin opening, probably via remote command from one of the ships, and Hongjoong can see it from where he stands atop the hoodoo, fingers hovering above the on switch for his jetpack. “What’s happening down there?” he asks into the comm link. The drone’s camera is still directed at Mingi and Jongho’s respective pairs, safely sequestered behind some storage containers as they pick off stragglers one by one.

“The targets are panicking,” Mingi reports to the camera as he recharges his blaster briefly, wiping wispy hairs out of his face. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Hangar team, you’ve got junkers incoming from the station,” Seonghwa reports over the link, although the sound of bodies hitting the dirt floor in the hallway he presides over reassures Hongjoong that it’s nothing the navigator can’t handle. “I’m catching as many as I can by the entrance but you’ll still have one or two on your six.”

Clearly, his warning is meant for the team fighting inside the hangar, but Hongjoong makes sure his blaster is charged and ready anyway in case any of them make it past the open hangar doors.

Suddenly the sound of engine turbines gearing up takes over the link audio, followed by a soft curse from Wooyoung.

“Hyung— I mean, Captain— there’s an aircraft headed your way,” Junyoung reports. “I’ll close the doors remotely in case any others were missed.”

Hongjoong tightens his jaw and takes flight in preparation. It’s why he’s out there, after all.

It was bound to happen that Wooyoung and San would miss one. The drone couldn’t scan everything in so short a time.

The ship that makes it, however narrowly, out of the closing hangar doors is a rather small one, and may have simply escaped the engineers’ notice. It’s likely manned by only one pilot, and Hongjoong locks his blaster on the cockpit and fires as soon as he’s clear. To his disappointment, the stun ray bounces clean off the heat-proofed windshield and Hongjoong is left with one option.

Boarding.

As safely as he can with two miniature jet turbines strapped to his back, Hongjoong positions his goggles, flies directly at the oncoming ship, and slows down right before it passes under him, pivoting to catch the edge of the extended right wing and clinging on for dear life. The shocked pilot turns to look at him through the side window, almost crashing directly into the nearest hoodoo, and the ship veers left, causing Hongjoong to slide towards the body of the plane. It’s a stroke of good luck for him that the craft is the type of alien ship with the engines built under the wings rather than above.

Making signals with one hand and clutching the wing edge in a vicelike grip with the other, Hongjoong quickly realises the pilot doesn’t have the slightest intention of listening to him as he slows down abruptly in the hopes of shaking the human off.

Pulling his body weight forward and getting to his feet in that perfect window of time, Hongjoong stays low and crosses to the top of the ship, digging his fingers into the gap between the smooth surface of the jet and the emergency ejection hatch at the top. He breathes out evenly through his nose in an attempt to quell his nerves and then pulls hard.

The door doesn’t budge.

Groaning as another sharp upward yaw causes him to faceplant into the emergency hatch, Hongjoong fumbles for his blaster and switches the setting to laser beam.

“Hey, I’m looking at the live satellite footage right now,” Yunho’s distant voice crackles through the comm link. “Am I seeing things? Is that you on top of the junker ship, Captain?”

Several other statements of confusion from the team members in the middle of their respective tasks are voiced through their shared call, and Hongjoong mumbles back through gritted teeth, “That’s correct, now if you don’t mind, I’m a little busy here!”

The laser is halfway through successfully burning an opening in the top of the aircraft when it again yaws upwards sharply, this time to avoid colliding with another hoodoo.

The manoeuvre is unsuccessful on the part of the junker pilot, and the landing gear which he still has not retracted since takeoff is promptly ripped off the belly of the aircraft as it brushes with the top of the rock face and stutters on, wounded. “Easy there!” Hongjoong scoffs, finishing with the laser and kicking the hatch in. He quickly places the blaster against the side of the junker’s masked head. “Hands off the controls.”

Appearing to get the point regardless of the fact that he doesn’t understand the language, the pilot shakily lets go of the joystick. Hongjoong quickly recovers it and nudges the alien out of his seat, still directing the blaster at him but splitting his attention now to avoid a head-on crash and turn them back towards the base.

“Okay, I’m calling in for advice,” he says through the comm link, ready now for his teammates’ voices in his ear. “I can’t land this thing, the wheels are gone.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to crash it,” San informs him grimly. Not what Hongjoong wanted to hear.

As far as he knows, there’s no parachute built into his jetpack.

“Thank you for your contribution, San,” he sighs with a wry smile. “I guess I’ll figure it out.”

Even as the words leave his lips, an idea hits him with the G-force of a DES class interplanetary vessel.

The hoodoo from before is ahead of them again now, having turned the ship around in the direction they came from, and while it’s no landing pad, it has space enough for him and his alien captive if the jetpack can get them there. He sat on it for a good fifteen minutes at least earlier in the mission.

“Hold on,” he mimes to the clueless junker, who nods slowly and hugs his waist a bit too tightly for comfort. Knowing he has a total of five seconds maximum to pull it off, Hongjoong wastes no time in setting the ship’s trajectory downward, lighting his jetpack engines again, and soaring up through the hole he burned into the roof earlier with the alien pilot clutching him the entire time. Below them, the ship crashes to the ground with a minor explosion.

The extra weight of the junker combats the strength of the turbines, only meant for a single person, and it isn’t quite enough to get them up to the flat top of the hoodoo, resulting in Hongjoong’s second faceplant of the day– directly into the side of the rock.

This one hurts enough that he sees stars for a moment before reeling back and peeling off the side of the hoodoo like the spaceship stickers he used to slap onto his bedroom window, alien pilot in tow.

It’s a good forty five feet at least to the bottom, and it’s as if Hongjoong’s brain is operating at double the speed to find a solution to break their fall. His first instinct is to throw out his arms and legs to slow his momentum, but he accidentally succeeds in grabbing hold of a very fortunate cranny in the side of the rock as he does so, stopping their fall and positioning the junker directly beneath him.

“Hey, team?” He grunts into the comm link, strained from the extra weight hanging on him while trying to keep his gloved hands anchored on the rock. “I’m a bit stuck and could use help.”

The drone zooms out of the hangar and hovers in front of the pair for a moment, filming their predicament.

“Be right there,” Yeosang answers promptly, and Hongjoong turns his head shakily to see him and Youngseok sprinting out from the alien base. “Don’t do anything stupid. I can put you back together but only if you stay alive.”

“Okay,” Hongjoong whispers, just barely audible, too focused on hanging on. He can feel blood in his mouth, but ignores it and looks down at the junker still swinging below him, clutching his waist with an impressive grip. “You ought to climb down!”

The pilot looks up at him through those beady eyes on the mask and says nothing, evidently confused, so Hongjoong repeats. “Go on! Let go and climb down so I can follow!”

After staring at him a moment longer, the junker seems to figure it out and reaches out one of his hands to test the wall. Deeming it feasible to climb on, he finally releases Hongjoong and begins working his way down, testing each landing with his foot before putting pressure on it, and conveniently marking out a good path for Hongjoong to follow.

The hoodoo is strangely shaped, probably due to wind erosion, and so the climb down is less like the elementary rock walls with their flat surfaces in school and more like the unnatural ones the Horizon team practised with in their training. In that respect, at least, the feeling is familiar, although Hongjoong aches by the time he nears the bottom and sees Youngseok restraining the junker pilot before he thinks to run into the desert.

Yeosang stands with a hand out to help Hongjoong off the hoodoo and shakes his head at him with a smile. “All that for one guy?”

“It was an important guy,” Seonghwa’s voice quips back in both their ears as he inspects the crest the pilot dons via drone camera footage. “And all the leaders are now officially accounted for. Is it safe to say we’ve completed our objective?”

“Yes,” Hongjoong sighs, ripping the goggles off his face and accepting the oxygen mask the medic pushes at him. It’s been long enough outside in Mu Ryool’s atmosphere to justify using it. “Let’s call Hybin here and let his men handle the arrests.”

Team ATZ has essentially offered up the entire population of the base, alive, on a platter, trapped in their very own aircraft and stunned into frozen shock at the humans’ cleverness.

On his way inside, Hongjoong’s thoughts are already turning towards the decision they’ll have to make about what to do next when they reach the Lexiwi base, but Wooyoung appearing in front of him with a black eye successfully pulls his attention away.

“You mean to tell me I had to watch you clip wires for fifteen minutes and the moment you get punched in the face by an alien who is smaller than you, I’m busy doing something else and miss it?” He pouts in mock disappointment.

“Hey!” Wooyoung screeches in return. “The idiot snuck up on me!”

“We were a bit busy by the front door,” Jongho shrugs, offering explanation but taking no sides as usual. “And San was talking to you so he didn’t notice either.”

Electing to be merciful on account of his distracting San, Hongjoong taps his own face and draws Wooyoung’s attention to his cheek, which is forming a bruise itself as a result of being pancaked into a rock formation. “Well, at least we’ll match, huh?”

The engineer beams at him and returns to the DES-1024 with the others, buckling himself up in the seat across from Yeosang so he can have the first pick of cute bandages for the scratch across his nose.

“Would you like the jetpack back?” Hongjoong asks Jongho, dangling it between his fingers. “Sorry, it’s probably low on fuel.”

“Keep it,” the gunner snorts, shaking his head in amusement. “It doesn’t fit anyone else.”

Smiling at the proven efficiency of such a childish device, Hongjoong turns to walk inside the ship, making eye contact with San when he pokes his head out to see who’s coming, and finally allowing the calm of success to wash over him.

Suddenly, San’s face changes, crescent-shaped mirthful eyes widening and growing dark. His smile falls and he opens his mouth to scream, “Behind you!”

Everything happens in slow motion. Hongjoong is turning around to see a flash of light, the discharge of a weapon in the hands of a rogue assassin junker, one who was able to sneak up on them from behind. But it’s not aimed at him.

It’s pointed at Jongho.

He’s opening his mouth to yell at the younger boy, “Get down!” knowing he won’t reach the assassin fast enough.

But San does.

Sprinting full speed and tackling the junker around the midsection, he forces the shot up so that it misses Jongho entirely, though Hongjoong is by his side in an instant to check that he’s unharmed.

“Jongho, are you hurt–”

“Fine, I’m fine,” Jongho answers quickly, practically pushing his captain off in order to look past him and see his attacker.

San has the junker restrained after a brief struggle, the ballistic blaster he used laying uselessly on the floor, so Hongjoong picks it up and inspects it. “Shrapnel,” he gasps after checking the ammunition. “Made from our stolen metal, no doubt.”

It’s a particularly dangerous weapon, and he shudders to think what it might’ve done had a projectile from it pierced Jongho as intended.

“Who hired you?” He growls at the kneeling assassin, helmeted head hung so that the spikes surrounding the bug-eyed goggles he wears are firmly pointed down. “Well? Out with it, why are you targeting this man?”

Hongjoong points to Jongho, seated on the loading ramp now as the other members flock around him anxiously.

The junker doesn’t answer. Running his hands through his hair in frustration, Hongjoong turns back to the crowd. “Mingi, I need Mingi. Where is he?”

“Here!” The xenologist steps forward from the huddle and obligingly translates the angrily posed questions, hopefully into something with equally strong wording in the Lexiwi language.

“Search him,” Hongjoong sighs while Mingi tries and fails to get the assassin to talk. No more than a huff escapes the screen-like grating over the alien’s mouth. San roughly pulls off the worn cape thrown over the junker’s shoulder, half covering the rusty ridged armour he wears, and is careful of the spiky disc-like details on his right arm. It’s clear just from looking at him that he’s no average soldier. This is a highly trained and specifically selected junker assassin.

“Hybin is touching down in the next forty-five seconds,” Junyoung offers helpfully from behind and Hongjoong nods, exhaling sharply through his nose in frustration at how useless he is to do anything at all about the incredibly close call they just suffered.

And right when he thought everything had finally worked out.

“The moment he does, we’re loading up and heading back,” Hongjoong decides firmly. “I’m giving no one else the chance to take a shot at one of us.”

All around are silent nods and grave faces. They file back into the ship one by one, more than a few pairs of hands patting Jongho, squeezing his shoulder, or petting his hair to offer their sympathy. He shrugs them all off.

San releases the assassin with a kick to the face and lets one of Hybin’s officers drag him away for proper interrogation. On his way up the ramp, Hongjoong stops him and pulls him close with an arm around his neck.

“Never do that again,” he warns in a low voice right by the engineer’s ear, and San nearly pulls away in confusion.

“I saved his life–”

“You could’ve been killed,” Hongjoong overrules immediately. “I appreciate the result, but it was brash and thoughtless. I won’t have one member of this team sacrifice himself for another, not like that.”

“You and I both know there was no negotiating with that assassin,” San snorts, still fiery despite both of them knowing he’ll ultimately accept the captain’s word. “Sometimes you have to act without thinking, let instinct take over.”

“Trust me, I know, I’m the pilot,” Hongjoong reminds him. “But you’re the engineer. I need you taking apart alien ships, not tackling assassins and putting yourself in harm’s way. We handle things as a team, and maybe today you were lucky, but that might not be the case when you tackle another alien tomorrow.”

“Understood,” San sighs like a reprimanded child before buckling himself up. Hongjoong watches very closely to see if he did, in fact, hurt himself.

They all know he wouldn’t tell them if he had.

Even after taking off, turning toward home base, and switching on auto-pilot, his heart rate hasn’t returned to normal.

“We need to discuss some things,” Hongjoong breaks the exhausted silence which has settled over the crew. “We won’t hear it out of his own lips, but that junker had orders from someone else to shoot Jongho. I’m sure of it.”

“But…” Seonghwa’s brow furrows as he shifts in his chair to glance at Hongjoong. “Surely he was aiming at you? I mean, you’re clearly the leader, you have an armband with a symbol on it and everything, and junkers understand symbols– their own clan leaders wear them, too.”

“My back was to that assassin, he could’ve easily killed me,” Hongjoong explains, swallowing dryly as his own words sink in. “But he didn’t. He was targeting Jongho. And I think I’m starting to realise why.”

“Why?” Wooyoung repeats, lips parted as he glances back and forth between the members to be sure he doesn’t miss anything important.

“Because he has access to the secret files,” Mingi states grimly when it dawns on him as well, turning and nodding at Jongho as he explains further, “Your grandmother left the information to you, anyone following the trail would naturally go after the recipient of the file. You know something you shouldn’t know, and that junker was hired to make sure it doesn’t get out.”

“That’s absurd,” San splutters. “Who would contract an assassin to keep things quiet; IPF? They’re the ones who sent us here to fight the junkers to begin with, surely they’re not allied with one?”

Hongjoong is busy landing the ship, but the arguments bounce back and forth and reverberate in his head. There’s too much about IPF that isn’t adding up, and he’s reached his breaking point.

Only when they’re reunited with a relieved Yunho and locked away in the surveillance room from any curious Lexiwi who might happen upon them does he open the discussion in earnest.

“I know we said we’d table it for now but I think it’s time to discuss this again,” Hongjoong finally says, glancing around to get an idea of each member’s position on the matter. “I think we need to go back to the Citadel.”

“Absolutely not,” Seonghwa responds immediately, so quick in his delivery that half of them startle and turn to look at him. “I-I think that’s a bad idea. Not to mention, against the law.”

“Against the law?” Mingi scoffs. “I think we’ll have to do more than break the law if we mean to confront the Board about this.”

“But leaving Mu Ryool after we’ve only just landed here?” Seonghwa fires back, more confident now in his opposition. “It’ll just increase their ammunition against us.”

“We did the job we were sent out here to do. Why should we stay here when we have important questions that need answering?” Yunho asks him, confused.

Hongjoong is confused, too. None of Seonghwa’s weak excuses have any precedent, and despite being at each others’ throats before, he had expected support from the navigator who had supported him more than a few times since then.

“Aren’t you at all concerned about the greater implications of this?” He asks quietly, giving Seonghwa a chance before he’s outvoted.

The navigator can only shake his head.

After all the time they spent repairing their relationship, Hongjoong can’t believe what he’s seeing.

Again, Seonghwa has an objection, and this time it’s not even supported with evidence.

He sounds more like he’s pleading with Hongjoong than arguing with him.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.”

Seonghwa has always been a closed book about his personal life and past experiences. But still Hongjoong fails to understand how the navigator can be so cold, so unfeeling in the wake of unfolding disaster and compounding trauma.

There is not a shred of guilt in his eyes as he insists, “You’re not thinking straight. We ought to revisit this later—”

Hongjoong can’t sit quiet anymore.

“It’s not your grandmother who was erased from the records!” He shoots back, getting to his feet. “It’s not your father who was slandered after dying a hero’s death.”

The navigator presses his lips together to keep from saying something insensitive rashly, but it’s ultimately Jongho speaking up that prevents him from uttering it.

“Hyung, I know we all worked hard to get here and it’s frustrating to discover all this might put our careers in jeopardy, but this is a lot bigger than us,” he says gently.

The murmurs of agreement sweeping the room reassure Hongjoong that he’s not alone in his disillusionment.

They need to act now, and Seonghwa has been outvoted.

Still, Hongjoong takes it upon himself to invite the older boy to his room that night, not to be reprimanded, but to give him an opportunity to share whatever he thinks needs to be kept private.

He has a feeling Seonghwa is hiding something.

___

Everything is falling apart again and Seonghwa’s options are fewer and fewer by the second.

After everything, after all the sacrifices he made, here he stands outside of Hongjoong’s door knowing the clock is ticking and his entire story is slowly unwinding while it does.

When he ended his correspondence with Source Unknown, he knew there was a possibility of being discovered as a fraud, he had just hoped and prayed the discovery wouldn’t come from within. That his team members would be spared the embarrassment and the utter betrayal guaranteed to take place when the moment comes.

But alas, it turns out he’s not the only person with incriminating evidence. Jongho’s grandmother has files of her own that she didn’t delete after being blackmailed like Seonghwa did. She’s stronger than he was, no question about it.

And yet the image of his family is still burned into his head every time he closes his eyes. He never received credible confirmation that they would be protected, and he knows that if he were to lose this battle and discover they were every bit in danger as they had been when he first cut his dangerous deal, all this lying and manipulating would be for naught.

And then he could never forgive himself.

There’s a soft “come in” when he knocks, and he enters with his head bowed, already working his angle.

“My apologies if I–”

“No, please don’t. You’re not in trouble or anything. I wouldn’t,” Hongjoong chuckles and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t punish you for having a different opinion. Or for any reason really. I just want to understand.”

He’s sitting back from the desk the Lexiwi provided for him, combing through some type of digital files on his own. Seonghwa doesn’t get a good look before they’re minimised out of view and Hongjoong hops on his bed, patting the place next to him.

Seonghwa resists the urge to sigh. It’s going to be that kind of conversation, then.

“These junkers knew we were coming,” Hongjoong says quietly after they’ve sat down comfortably. “They already had a deal in place with an unknown source. Jongho was exactly where they wanted him and almost got killed. I don’t know what that looks like to you but it seems awfully apparent to me; we were set up.”

Seonghwa protests quickly, despite knowing his words are false. “Now you’re just seeing conspiracies where there are none!”

He’s practically exhausted this particular argument and knows he needs to try something else to throw the rest of his team off the scent, but denial is his default, and discomfort swirls in his stomach when it’s met with a scoff and shake of the head.

“You can’t actually believe that, Seonghwa. I know you can’t. You’ve seen all the evidence that I have.” There is concern in Hongjoong’s eyes, despite the heaviness of his words. “The Board of the most powerful organisation in the known universe is corrupt. Isn’t that the least bit concerning?”

He breaks out into a sweat. Hongjoong can see through him too well. Trying to convince him he’s imagining things isn’t going to work anymore.

“Don’t you understand? I’m trying to protect this team. Of course it’s concerning! There, I said it, alright? That doesn’t mean charging in there with accusations we can’t prove will accomplish anything at all!” Seonghwa pleads again, hands fisting in the thin blanket atop the bed they’re sitting on, and it’s real panic that bleeds through his words. “I’m telling you, I know it’s hard and it hurts now but you’ll regret it in the end if you don’t let this go.”

He realises a moment too late that he sounds like he’s speaking from experience.

Hongjoong’s frown deepens and he stares a moment, just like he did back on the Citadel when he caught Seonghwa struggling his way out of the web of his own anxiety.

“Is everything okay?” He asks gently, carefully, and tilts his head with the intent to listen. “You know you can talk to me— or anyone— and we’ll do what we can to help.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Seonghwa answers quickly, sighing through his nose and glancing away. “I just don’t think we should turn our backs on IPF so hastily.”

He tries what he tried on the Citadel– fishing for pity– knowing it’ll work on Hongjoong without question, and feels just as sick to his stomach as he had that day.

“My family… is depending on me. This is my chance to make sure they’re safe, for good. There’s only one way to ensure that, and you and I both know what that is,” he interrupts himself with a helpless sigh. It’s the truth again, just bent slightly to suit the situation. “You said so yourself, it’s the most powerful organisation in the known universe.”

Hongjoong chews on his lip, a shadow falling on his face.

“I understand the pressure. Really, I feel the same way. But this… I can’t let this go,” his voice drops to a wrathful whisper. “There’s a murderer somewhere on the Citadel and a Board member ordered him to do it.”

“We don’t know that,” Seonghwa reminds him softly. He does know– or at least, he’s quickly finding out. “The men in that video may have been accused and removed from IPF standing privately.” He’s grasping at straws in the hopes that Hongjoong will accept one of them, and abandon this revenge quest. As justified as he may be, he’s not ready for what he’ll find, and Seonghwa can think of no other way to protect him from it than to keep him from looking.

Hongjoong’s eyes are wet, and he fiddles with his hands as he responds with trembling words, “As much as I hope we find out that’s the case when we confront them, that’s not good enough. Not… not just because of my father, but think what else he might’ve done. What other lives he’s taken, families he’s ripped apart.”

His voice breaks and Seonghwa pulls him in for a hug, every thought in his brain screaming at him to get the situation under control by whatever means necessary.

“Shh, it’s alright,” he consoles, his mind wandering back to that day at the Citadel again, where roles were reversed. “It’ll be alright.”

“I-I know I can’t bring him back, but I will bring him justice.”

Despite his sadness, Hongjoong still sounds more angry than anything, and it dashes Seonghwa’s hopes that he might be cycling through the stages of grief quickly enough to reconsider the return journey.

“And I wish you could by doing this but, Hongjoong, the rules of our contracts are binding. A single misstep can land us in the same trouble Jongho’s grandmother landed in.”

Again, it’s the truth, and Seonghwa delivers it sweetly with a hand rubbing up and down his captain’s spine, but the real consequences are so far beyond what Hongjoong can imagine and Seonghwa still can’t tell him the full implications of that reality without sacrificing everything he’s done to get here and the safety of his family back on Earth.

Hongjoong senses that something is off about his mellow response, and pulls away to look at him again, lips pressed together tightly.

“That’s no reason to keep quiet about it. Sometimes the rules need to be broken. If this isn’t worth that to you, then… I don’t know what to say.” He scans his face and the red beneath his eyes seems to intensify. “I can’t help but think you know more than you’re telling me.”

Seonghwa’s heart pounds loudly in his ears, and he shifts his body to face forward in an attempt to hide his panic.

He does know more than he’s saying; much more. And the problem is that he can’t tell anyone yet. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever, if they go through with this.

“I’m just as shocked and upset as anyone, I promise you,” he retorts without making eye contact, jaw tightening. Perhaps it sounds a little shallow and insincere, but he can’t risk losing his edge over this conversation. He goes for pity again. “I just… I can’t break down and lose my resolve at a time like this, it’s too important.”

Hongjoong is quiet for a moment, and Seonghwa thinks perhaps he’s turned the tide.

“You said back there that I wasn’t thinking straight,” he finally repeats, voice empty and tired. He isn’t looking at Seonghwa anymore now either. “Am I… Am I a burden on this team? Is my leadership putting us in a dangerous situation— one that isn’t worth the risk? It’s not me trying to put my needs first, it’s the far-reaching implications if this does turn out to be a conspiracy and I—”

That was not the intended effect of Seonghwa’s words, and he rushes to repair the damage.

“Hongjoong, no, please don’t think that. It’s true, I hope you’ll reconsider returning to the Citadel but everyone makes mistakes and if you go through with this one, it’s my hope they’ll let you off easily for it.”

Seonghwa leans forward to catch Hongjoong’s gaze and succeeds. There’s still self-doubt in his captain’s eyes, but the perfect combination of his tone and word choice have assuaged the worst of it. Seonghwa is relieved that revealing his true thoughts has turned the discussion around favourably, though there’s still a ball in his throat.

Hongjoong smiles weakly and shifts to fully face his guest again. “If it makes you feel any better about breaching the contract, I do think the Board will listen to us if we make a good case. At the very least, I’m sure Soojin will.”

That’s wishful thinking, almost laughably naïve, although given the information Hongjoong currently has, Seonghwa can’t blame him. He was the one who put the thought of mercy in his head after all.

But he also can’t set him straight. His enemies’ hold over him is too strong, even casting a shadow over the two of them in a private room on a distant alien planet.

Hongjoong is fiddling with his hands again, and Seonghwa realises he’s been quiet for too long and sparked concern.

“Are we going to be alright?” Hongjoong asks, not for the first time. “I can’t help if you won’t talk to me.”

Seonghwa’s eyes well up involuntarily.

If only. If only it was that simple.

“I hope one day we will be.”

Clearly, his answer is somewhat mystifying, and Hongjoong can only shake his head with a sigh and beg quietly, “Come with us, please.”

Seonghwa clenches his teeth in irritation and tries not to let it show. “Is that an order?”

He’s the only one not on board with this crazy plan, and if neither of them budge from their side of this fight, the hierarchy will determine the result. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked for the title to pass from him after all.

Hongjoong drops his head into his hands, more frustrated at this perhaps than any of Seonghwa’s earlier objections.

“Don’t make me do that. I need you on my side.”

“I am on your side. It just doesn’t always look like it to you,” Seonghwa insists, delivering the half-truth with all the sincerity he can muster before muttering mostly to himself, “I’ve broken more rules than you know.”

That’s what got him into this mess. That’s what turned him into such an orderly rule-follower even though he knows this road can lead him to only two places, neither of them good.

With tired eyes, Hongjoong stands and motions to the door. It looks like their conversation is at an end. He finishes it drained of all emotion, “Then I’ll see you in the hangar at 0800.”

Seonghwa has lost this battle. And now he needs to call in the cavalry, or he may just find himself losing the war.

“Yessir.”

---

Taglist: (Let me know if you would like to be added) @mooneylooney1 @1998psh @delphinium3000 @kpop-choco

Recommended listening: Mixed Up by Enhypen

A/N: Hiiii! I know it’s been forever but I was really busy last summer teaching abroad and then GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE YAY as well lol. I hope the wait was worth it and that this 13.8k chapter is acceptable reparations! Let me know what you thought and what you think is on the horizon~

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luvt0kki · 1 year ago

Text

𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

ot8!Ateez x f!reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧ 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ୨୧⋆ ˚｡⋆ (luvt0kki full masterlist)

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧ taglist ୨୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

sci-fi/futuristic space AU

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

- ship design | members rooms

synopsis : Former Noble turned space pirate, Wooyoung was now part of one of the most revered and hunted group of pirates of the galaxy. Sure he’s only known them for six months but there’s only so much you could do in a ship when you travel from one planet to the next. The ship was their home, his home…and the members of this crew were friends that he felt he was fated to meet.

But he hasn’t met one person of the crew…and he didn’t know that.

cw: n$fw, smut, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT eventual smut, slow burn, lots of teasing, mentions of assassination, thievery, space pirate stuff?, violence, alcohol, clubbing, parties, fembodied reader, polyamory, some fluff, relationships , intergalactic stuff? Spaceship things yes yes, traveling the galaxy, dark pasts, Former Prince! Yeosang , Former Noble!Wooyoung, Assassin!San and yuh space pirate roles better to read to get a grip on each characters roles || REMINDER : my works do not represent the irl members in any way, this is purely a work of FICTION.

001 | not everyone gets that privilege

002 | earned it

003 | on this ship

004 | burning desire 005 | the morning after

INTERLUDE | opening sequence

006 |

007 |

008 |

????

Epilogue

DO NOT REPOST, TRANSLATE, PLAGIARISE OR OTHERWISE REPURPOSE ANY OF MY WORK HERE. I DO NOT NOR WILL ALLOW IT.

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justbelievinginmagic · 2 months ago

Text

MIRAGE - part 1: paradigm shift.

pairing(s): ot8 ateez x reader, focus on hongjoong x reader & wooyoung x reader series summary: Your life aboard the airship, the Illusion, with the Ateez Crew wasn't any fantasy. As rebels against the Android Guardians, as no-good pirates to society, life was full of running, lying, and fighting. It wasn't the dream life you had imagined when you had met the charming young Kim Hongjoong in the port of Aurora years ago. When an enemy unexplainably caught up to the airship, you made a choice that shattered the universe, sending you hurtling back to a time before the Android Guardians, before the Illusion, and even before Ateez. warnings/tags: for mature audiences!, inspired by Illusion MV, inspired by Ateez's lore, inspired by the Treasure Albums, Pirate AU, Sci-Fi / Technopunk vibes, Dystopian AU, Time Travel AU, 3rd person POV, fem!reader, use of YN, polyteez, too much sci fi universe lore, violence, gore, mature topics, angst, fluff, weaponry (they're pirates), death, blood, canon divergent Cromer, canon divergent Android Guardians, distant love, strained love, obsession, magic, very lightly edited lol, let me know if there are more tags needed. word count: 8.6 k -> next chapter series masterlist

Somewhere high above the smog-covered, tech-invested cities, a floating ship soared through the clouds. Pastel-blue and soft-purple skies encompassed it as it sailed under, around, and above cotton-candy clouds. Wind rustled the large white sails, tickling over YN’s arms as she walked across the deck of the ship. A shadow cast over the main deck, shielding them from the bright star of a sun. A damp chill clung as the cloud dispersed lightly through the sails.

It felt like a perfect day. It had been a long time since they sailed throughout the clouds rather than above them. Too often than not, Hongjoong ordered them to sail above the clouds, away from sight. But when they sailed through soft cotton-candy clouds like this, it threw her back to the beginning of it all.

Memories of the mischievous then-sailor Hongjoong, a younger and more naïve man with his soft-feathered brown mullet, flickered to the surface. The way he had met her on the stacked upon stacked docks of Aurora. Aurora was once a beautiful port with its sherbert pebbled shores. But even when he and her met, those shores had become faded with pollution. The skies were still pastel soft despite the layer of smog that grew from the air-ships and few remaining water-ships that found their home there. But that day… his face could’ve rivaled the sparkling sun; it was so bright. He smiled so sweetly as he introduced himself boldly, stepping into her way on the busy docks.

“I’m Kim Hongjoong.”

And she had been so wary, despite his good looks, despite his near-glowing smile. She hadnt shaken the hand outstretched to her, instead glanced at it and back at his coy smile. Her arms crossed. His smile grew.

“No need to be careful. I can tell we are going to be good friends.” He proclaimed, hand dropping. “Will you be my friend?” he added, stepping forward, as if he knew the answer.

It was an arrogant statement, and it had her pushing past him to fall into the crowds once more.

She had seen him day after day. Each day he’d chime out a different nickname.

“Hello, Star.”

“Hi again, my Horizon.”

“How’s your day going, Starlight?”

“Have a moment, twilight?”

It was funny that each nickname only made her brow raise until finally she turned on her heel and faced the young man perched on a barrel. He leaned his cheek against his curled knee as he smiled his charming grin her way.

“What does ‘twilight’ even mean as a nickname?” she half-laughed incredulously.

He bit his lower lip as he shifted his head to look at her straight on.

“Have you ever seen twilight from an air-ship?” Hongjoong prompted; he leaned back on the barrel casual.

YN shook her head. She didn’t specialize in ships – despite coming from the port of Aurora. She’d come and go to the traveler ships – the last few oceanliners and the more common air-cruises that docked. And she’d draw for them. Little caricatures or pictures of the shores of Aurora in its prime. Tourist things they could pay a few spare credits for with the hover of their phones and cards. Yet she had never flown in an air-ship and it had been a long time since she sailed on a water-freight.

He smiled. “It’s the most magical time.” He admitted. “There is an energy at twilight. Purple, blue, orange, and pink. That’s how I feel about you. Twilight.”

She laughed a bit.

“Poetic,” she commented.

“Maybe,” his stare hadn’t shifted from her as he smiled, tilting his head. Hongjoong pushed off the barrel to stand in front of her. “But it caught you, didn’t it?”

The smile that came to her lips was like a wild-fire, uncontrollable and bright. His grin grew at its spark.

“I’m Hongjoong,” he reminded, hand outstretched.

“YN.” She finally introduced.

“YN,” he breathed out like he was starstruck. Her hand in his felt electric.

Only a week later, he had taken her by the hand, that same spark going through her bones, as he tugged her along.

“Hold my hand,” he encouraged, excited. “I got to show you something.”

Running between the crowd felt freeing, winding through the multi-leveled docks, they climbed higher and higher until they were at the base of an air-ship. The thing looked new, shiny, and pristine. Its carved name, the Illusion, was freshly shaped on its rear. It reeked of new wood and new linens and new everything.

“An air-ship,” she stated. Her brow raised as she looked up at him.

“Mine,” he insisted. “Ours.”

She had learned in this short time that Hongjoong had dreams of grandeur that accompanied his arrogance. If he wasn’t so charming, it’d be a negative trait. But instead, it filled her with hope.

“Ours?” she repeated, doubtful.

He turned to her with stars in his eyes.

“It will be,” he chimed. “Once you step foot aboard my ship, you’ll never want to leave me.”

“Leave you?” she noted with a raised brow, a chuckle in her voice.

“I said what I said,” he replied coyly. “Let me ask you… will you join me?”

And something in her said to take the leap, to see if he was right. The way the sparkling sunlight up here haloed him made him seem magical, something special. Was she just going to stay here forever in the slums of a slowly polluting city?

She could live with him. Explore the world.

“Aye, captain,” it had been a joke as she took the first step up the gangplank, but it had led to where she was now.

And he was right. She hadn’t wanted to ever leave Hongjoong or the Illusion or the seven other men that had slowly joined them and made a home in her heart… at least not ‘til recently. Her gaze flickered from across the skies to the very man she was remembering. But, in front of her stood a very different Hongjoong. No longer was he a sailor, what stood before her was a pirate king.

Instead of a mullet of natural fluffy brown hair, he had taken to dying it and keeping it short. Between ink black to navy blue to vibrant blondes, he’s tried everything in effort to remain hidden. He sported a ruby-red color now – the shade had been fading like a sunset over the past few weeks until it was a soft honey-pink. His face was obscured by a dark mask, chains interlacing over its front as he leaned across the banister in front of the helm. He looked off onto the horizon, eyes piercing. His fingers, chipped in black paint, tapped out a beat as he stared off. His eyes were tired. When was the last time he slept? She couldn’t remember – and she shared a living quarters with him.

They were hiding once more. It had been weeks since they evaded their attackers, but still he insisted on wearing the mask. He had once ordered them all to do so, but pirates didn’t do well with commands. One by one, they tossed the mask aside in their cabins. He frowned, at least she thought he did (it was hidden by his mask) as he looked over his most-trusted members of his crew. Disappointed.

It wasn’t as if they were in the heavily-monitored cities again. Their ship was thousands of miles up in the sky away from the Android Guardians, away from the Initiative. But he was growing paranoid, she knew it. He was worried about something.

His gaze shifted from the open skies to her, looking her over with his cutlass-sharp brown eyes. Before they flashed away. Almost like if he stared too long, he’d fall into thoughts he didn’t want to think.

He was avoiding her. It was plain and simple. She used to think this was the ultimate freedom. She wasn’t sure what it was anymore. Did he even love her? Did he tire of her? He held a distant sense of responsibility, but he was their captain wasn’t that his role. Is that all he felt for her? He made sure she was safe, made sure she slept, but when was the last time there was affection? YN couldn’t remember.

When it had been just them in this large ship, he had said to her, “Just be my companion, and that’ll be enough.” It didn’t feel that way anymore. Countless nights she had tried to tell him. But he shrugged her off, turning his shoulder as he looked over a pirate map. You have the others, YN. I need to figure this out. Even if the puzzle pieces of her heart were made up of eight, missing one piece still distorted the puzzle’s picture.

Shifting in her chair, one of the many mismatched kitchen chairs that Yeosang or San had hauled up from the galley and placed around a large crate, she let out a sigh. Things had been so different on the ship as of late. Reality was a sour taste to the few years of honeyed fantasy together. Her woe came out in her art. A sketch-book rested on the make-shift table; her own drawings decorated the page. It used to be full of her loves – side profiles of Seonghwa while he cooked, full body sketches of San while he tightened the riggings, shirtless, in the mornings, doodles of Wooyoung posing for her dramatically as they laid in bed. Happy smiles on their faces. It had become more and more full of restless scribbles instead.

Her heart ached. Alone despite the bustling crew around her. Men and women that they had picked up in order to outrun their hunters. It used to be different. It used to be a group decision around a shared dinner as they discussed how they felt about adding a new crew member. The Illusion used to just need the nine members of Ateez.

“You alright, my baby?” The voice that interrupted her thoughts was a gentle one, deep but kind.

The dark-haired man’s plump lips were in a deep pout as he looked down at her. And while he had sharp features, sharp jaw, sharp brows, even a sharp swoop of hair, he was so soft. Mingi had always been a gentle creature – though he was the sharpest long-range shooter that ever flew the skies. Even better than Seonghwa.

With one hand, he pushed his bulky headphones off his ears, so that they rested slung around his neck. Something funky with a lo-fi beat hummed heavily through them. It just fit Mingi so much. He smiled down at her soothingly, a calloused hand raising to caress over her cheek.

This was what made her heart so sad. Because despite her melancholy, her depression Jongho had told her once while they laid alone in his hammock, she did love them. Even now.

She loved the ones she called the true crew of Ateez.

Mingi, her gentle sharpshooter who was shy around the ones he loved and yet confident and deadly around those who threatened them.

Jongho, their brilliant Quartermaster who worked to make sure all parts of the ship were ready for attack, but also taught the crew all he knew so that they would be safe if he wasn’t there to protect them.

Yunho, their hardworking navigator who wouldn’t rest until they were set on a proper course and wouldn’t sleep until all of eight of the Ateez upper-crew were asleep and safe.

Yeosang, her sweet Bosun who oversaw the crew by his spot in the crow’s nest ensuring their freedom was never compromised but also would keep their spirits high with his gentle jokes.

Wooyoung, her rebellious wild Gunner who found a game in anything and loved to tease and sweet-talk each of his lovers until they flushed and fluttered.

Seonghwa, their mother-hen of a First Mate, loyal to a fault but would rather die than see his freedom or his loves stolen from him.

San, their strong Helmsman who could easily control the wheel no matter the weather but would cry if she ever mentioned how she was feeling – ever a sweetheart.

And, of course, Hongjoong, her Captain. Their Captain. Who found them, took them in, and loved them she knew. But he loved one thing even more – treasure.

Mingi’s ringed thumb brushed over her cheek once more, pulling her from her thoughts. “You are day-dreamy, baby,” he rumbled, frowning.

She flashed an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, princess,” she hummed out, nuzzling into his palm.

He pulled away with an embarrassed flush, glancing around. As if the opinions of the faceless crew meant more than her affections. It hadnt been like that before.

“Baby,” he whined lowly.

He used to love being called all sorts of nicknames before they hired their first non-Ateez member. Because that’s what this was – Ateez and crew. Not just the crew, Ateez. She laughed softly, going to grab his hand once more to bring it back to her cheek. His bracelets clanked, and his rings felt cool against her skin. Mingi had always been one to love the reaping of their conquests. A main reason why he’d never fight out against Hongjoong’s crusades. His outfit was modern, sleek on his form; his headphones the newest brand stolen from a billionaire’s mansion they looted.

“Can Yunho only call you that?” she teased. “Princess?”

“You—how – How do you know that?” he whispered close.

“I hear all, babe,” she replied with a chuckle. That was her skill after all. Seeing things from a different perspective; she was often the one to figure out a way of attack. Her plans and observations weren’t what the others thought of in discussions. Observe, analyze, interpret. “I know everything about my loves,” she teased once again, squeezing his hand.

A yawn broke through her – making her shudder. He frowned, the humor of their conversation leaving when it came to their well-being. Mingi loved knowing things, too – or more so, loved eavesdropping. Sometimes she assumed his headphones played no music, and it was just so he could listen into other people’s conversations without them thinking he was paying attention.

“Are you not sleeping well?” he asked.

She offered a sleepy look his way. “Hongjoong’s been up-and-down most nights. He’s paranoid,” she admitted, glancing towards the red head.

Last night, he kept reading a notebook she had never seen, pacing this way and that as his eyes flickered to his Treasure. Not her, of course. He’d bite his lip and go back to his research. A chalkboard behind him – that one held their next destination mapping – now held scribbles of notes she couldn’t decipher. A fanatic’s raving about the Treasure.

Mingi’s brows raised curiously, following her gaze. His Captain showed no emotion; with his steely eyes locked on the horizon and the rest of his face blocked by the dark mask.

“He’s convinced something will happen,” she mumbled, her head shifting to rest against Mingi’s toned stomach. His hand automatically rose to stroke over her head. “With his Treasure.”

Mingi scoffed. Treasure. He didn’t know what was so special about a stupid hourglass. Wooyoung and Yeosang agreed with him, and he bet others did too but… they all knew how Hongjoong acted when it came to the Treasure.

It had taken priority over the last year.

“Go sleep in my cabin; you’re always welcome there,” he told her, scratching her head softly.

“I can nap out here,” she insisted.

They used to do that often, falling asleep on the deck while staring up at the clouds. When was the last time they did just that? She couldn’t remember.

“Seonghwa would hate if you got stepped on,” he commented.

“And you wouldn’t?” she joked.

Mingi shrugged teasingly. She jabbed his stomach. He dodged. Her head lulled to the side as she lost her makeshift standing pillow.

“Go on, pirate princess,” he insisted, gesturing towards the latch towards the lower decks. “I’ll let Captain and Seonghwa know where you are if they ask.”

She nodded slowly. Sleepiness ate at her. Maybe it was just the lack of something in her life. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was depression like Jongho thought. Maybe it was just her. She wasn’t sure – all she knew was she had felt wrong for days, weeks, months. Restless, exhausted, unenthusiastic. Unignited.

Maybe sleep was all she needed. So, when she curled up next to Yunho in Mingi’s small cabin covered in any and all music memorabilia he could find, it felt right. He wrapped her up in his long limbs and, while she didn’t feel better, she felt safe. Wasn’t that enough?

The ship rocked violently; the sounds of gunfire and ricochet thundering into the cabin. Jolting from sleep, she sat up in a panic. There was another explosion shuddering the wood of the Illusion. Without much thought, she hoisted herself out of Yunho’s bed; he was gone, bedsheets rumpled. There were records and music tapes scattered on the ground from the rocking and rolling of the fast-sailing ship.

Running throughout the lower decks, all she saw was destruction and chaos. Crew running this way and that. Yelling. Running. Smoke. Climbing higher and higher, she pushed open the main deck’s latch to be hit with pandemonium.

Explosions rang out all about her. Half-awake in her pajamas, the world she knew and loved looked less like a daydream and more like a waking nightmare. Yells cried out; screams of pain pierced the air. Small fires licked at the well-loved, graffitied hull, burning away drawings and memories etched into the yellow-heart and blue mahoe wood. Riggings were hanging limply from the masts; ropes decorated the floor like guts. A few lower crew members laid unresponsive, bloodied. Large chunks of the ship laid scattered about, making the large deck look more like an obstacle course than her home.

Her eyes darted from every unresponsive man she could spot. Not him. Not him. Where were they? Were they okay? Wood shards were flung into the air as she ran across the deck of the air-ship. Ducking behind a large wooden box, one they used often as a makeshift table but now she used as protection against the crash of chaos. Glancing around, she searched for a weapon, something in case the attack came onboard. But there was little weaponry lying about. They’d been alone for two weeks – the threat had been gone. Gunfire rang out, and cannons flashed. Her eyes shut tight as the bright bang blinded her for a moment.

The threat was here.

It could only be one entity.

Coughing through smoke, she tried to spot the highest members of the crew. She finally spotted one among the pandemonium. Ash blond hair was plastered back from his forehead, mussed and sweatied, as he pushed ahead. A cannon ram looked more like a scepter with how he wielded it. Commanding the gunners on how to reload and aim at their enemy. Rushing past the long-line of gunners, Jongho was a vision of strength; fury etched into his brow as he strode past, staring down the enemy ship.

“Fire! Now!” Jongho’s voice cried out. “Fire starboard!”

She stood then, aiming to run to his side before the piercing sound of their cannons went off. Senses burnt like a live-wire; her ears rang and her eyes felt blurred before there was a thud of sneakers beside her, a muscular arm going to press her down against the ground as something whittled through the air above their heads and slammed into the mast beside them. Wood debris rained down over them. YN huffed and puffed, trying to catch the breath that had gotten knocked from her lungs. His arm kept them pressed into the floor.

“YN. There you are – fuck, watch out.”

His breath was hot against her neck, sweat and cinders dripped down his face. Familiar orange blossom and light green apple wafted over her, giving a momentary comfort in the gun-smoke and destruction. Yunho’s hands shifted her against him, tugging her half-underneath him. Protecting her with his form as another cannon-ball whistled overhead. Their gazes met. Panic crossed over his face, ash coating his blue hair and colorful clothes making them look ghastly.

“Who’s attacking?” she asked, trying to shift from her lover’s protective embrace to peer over the hull at the other air-ship. Yunho yanked her back down as another crash of cannon fire rang out. The nearby cannon a fellow crew member utilized throttled back heavily on its wheels as it fired out its deadly weapon. His hand covered her head, over her ears and curling her into his chest. Cursing beneath his breath, he held her closer, wishing he could keep her safe in between his ribs. Beside his hummingbird heart.

“It’s the Guardians!” he told her closely, his voice as breathless as she felt. “Same frigate from Paradise.”

They could hear Seonghwa’s war cry from somewhere across the ship and the always-familiar bang of his rifle. Far from their ship, there was a scream.

“We can’t outfight them,” she told Yunho.

She knew better than anyone – except perhaps Jongho – about their stocks. They were low on ammunition; they hadn’t stopped long enough to restock.

“We need to get out of here. Before they hit the mainsail.”

Glancing upwards, she took in their large white-sailed masts. Three of them stood tall and proud, billowing with air as they guided them in their sail through the skies. Squinting, she could see Yeosang in his sunny-yellow sweater that he loved, high in the crow’s nest. There was a splatter of red across his face as he pulled binoculars away, pointing and yelling down to the crew below.

“Land! Portside!”

“He’s okay,” Yunho reassured. He had just come from climbing between the sails like a spider monkey.

Wreckage showered down over them as a cannon ball struck the mainsail mast with a shattering of wood, but it remained steady. Thankfully, it was a thick sturdy pole. But, before relief could flush through her and Yunho, the ship heaved to the side with a lurch. Yunho scrambled to keep them down against the floorboards. A cry tumbled out of the remaining crew as their shoes slid and their canons followed suit heavily rolling against them. Some sickening crunches were heard. Yunho dug his sneakers into the wood as his hand rose to cup the back of her head, ducking them down to take the brute of the slide – in case anything hit them. His back pushed into the side of the hull while she was cradled into his arms and lanky legs. Their head snapped at the sound of their Captain’s yelling.

“San!” Hongjoong’s sharp voice bit out from somewhere.

“Working on it, Captain,” San grunted out.

She could see between fire and smoke San at the helm; his muscles rippling as he tried to control their ship. He pulled at the wheel, trying to take control of their ship. His teeth gritted as he finally righted their ship and snarled something beneath his breath as he looked back at the attacking air-ship.

Yunho stood quickly, hoisting her forward. His hands lifted her onto her feet easily.

“Get to Hongjoong’s quarters,” he breathed to her, hand on her cheek as he urged her to understand his intent. “Hide!”

As if that’d be any safer, she thought. But Yunho’s rough hands were already onto their next goal – moving from her face to encouraged her to go, go, go, pushing her towards the Captain’s Quarters. There was no room for discussion right now.

“Run,” Yunho said as he reached for a discarded sword, the metal shlinging as it was unsheathed. “Now, YN.”

So, she did. Running around figures and broken riggings, past Jongho who’s gaze flickered to her fearfully until he saw her path ahead. She was going towards the others; she’d be safe there. Stomping up the stairs, she finally caught sight of the large airship attacking them. The frigate overpowered their smaller ship, but it gave her some relief to see flames billowing out of its keel. There was hope that they could outrun them. They were smaller.

Racing up the last few steps up to the quarterdeck, she felt an explosion burst beside her, sending her stumbling. Her ears rung as she was flung into the thick railings of the deck painfully. Her waist ached and she felt like she’s was going to lose her dinner. Dazed, she felt faint for a moment. The ringing and blurred smoke of the ship all she could process. Canon fire rung out again. She blindly crouched, her hand wrapping around the banister of the railing to keep herself steady.

“YN!” she heard San cry out distantly.

Everything felt far away. She tried to shake her head, tried to steady herself. Her face stung and burned uncomfortably, but all she had on her mind was to get to Hongjoong’s quarters. Someone hoisted her back to standing. Large hands held onto her shoulders as they peered into her face. He called her name again, a hand going to cup her face. A grimace graced his face as he came into a non-double vision view.

Wooyoung’s face was covered in smears of soot, hands a dark color from the gun powder he had helped a crew member load into a cannon moments ago. His squid-ink black hair looked grey with ash. Fingers went to the side of her face, prying bits of wood away from her new wound. A large collection of splinters dug into her cheek to her temple in a long gash.

“Are you ok?” he asked fast. His eyes were wide and fearful. “Baby!”

She nodded slowly, dazed, before shaking away her bewilderment. In her adrenaline rush, she truly didn’t feel much pain. It was all so fleeting – hard to distinguish amongst the chaos. Like when you can’t tell if something is burning cold or freezing hot to the touch. Her own hand went to feel the damage, coming away red. Wooyoung flinched at the sight.

“I’ll live; I’m fine. Go,” she encouraged, moving to push him with her hand.

Wooyoung was their best gunner with his accuracy. Her palm had left a bloody hand print on his colorful red-white-blue-yellow graphic tee as she curled her fingers into his fabric near pleading. He hadnt shifted an inch, his face drenched in agony at the sight of her pain.

“Woo, aim for their rudder; slow them down. So, we all can make it out alive.”

His face was stoney, a type of seriousness Wooyoung rarely got. He nodded firmly as he turned to observe their attacker. His hands firmly kept her in place – keeping her grounded. The Guardian’s grand white-painted frigate towered above them, not overtaking them yet. It seemed it wanted to cause more damage than board them as of now. They’d take that blessing.

“Captain,” Wooyoung crowed out instead. “Any orders?”

Their Captain stood on the platform above his quarters. With his honey-red hair, he was easy to spot – even more so with his attire. He wore a vibrant red fur coat that barely stayed on his shoulders as he paced in battle, a white graphic tee, skinny jeans, and black Doc Martins. He wasn’t a picture of a sea-salted, wobbly old pirate. But his face surely held the power of one. His glare could strike someone down as he growled out.

“Prevent them from boarding!” Hongjoong bit out, reaching for his pistol on his hip. He raised it into the air, shooting at the opposing ship’s crew. “Protect the Treasure at all costs.”

The treasure, the treasure, the treasure. That was all he cared for now it felt. Even in the heat of battle, he was one-track minded. Wooyoung hissed through his teeth as he turned back. Wooyoung had been someone she had shared this feeling with before. Hongjoong and his obsession for his treasure. It was like a parasite sucking at his soul. But Wooyoung’s concern only grew as he surveyed the deck. Her head turned to look back at the ship soaring so close by. It was bad.

“Of course, he’d say that,” Wooyoung muttered before he moved away from her.

His hands leaving her arms left her wobbly, and he quickly tried to make up for his failure. He steadied her with both hands.

“You aren’t okay,” he muttered out, pressing her into her spot firmly. His hands went to her jaw, cupping it and directing her gaze.

“We don’t have time to not be okay; we are in a battle!” she replied.

Her head turned to glanced back at Hongjoong, at San. Yeosang was swinging down from the crow’s nest, a dangerous attempt, as Mingi cried up at him to watch out for this and that. They all were not okay – they all were in danger.

And all Hongjoong could think about was treasure.

“Go hide,” Wooyoung warned. “Somewhere, anywhere. Stay alive – this will all be over soon.”

She nodded firmly; Wooyoung returning it. He squeezed her shoulder, risking a kiss to her forehead, before running off. He’d hit their rudder; he had to. He was their best shot.

“Be safe,” she yelled to him, to them, as she continued her journey towards the Captain’s Quarters.

Flinging the stain-glassed French doors open, she ran inside Hongjoong’s room. Turning, she quickly locked them behind her with a flick of a golden lock. The familiar sight of Hongjoong’s sanctuary would be reassuring if there weren’t shattered glass from the exterior windows blown out across the cabin. The drapery around his space used to give it a soft look, now with torn fabrics and destruction, it looked like a mummy of itself. A cannon ball was embedded on the map-covered desk, a large splintering gash through the wooden desk.

Their safe space was half-destroyed; the ship was in ruins; and it sent a wave of fear crippling through her. That this was the end. But no, she couldn’t think of that now. She looked around. Could she hide in the wardrobe? Or the chest by the door? What if something hit it? No, she needed a weapon first.

She rushed further into the space, going towards his king-sized bed alcoved into the wall of the hull. It sheets were still rumpled from last night. Tossing Hongjoong’s pillow aside, she grabbed the pistol he kept hidden there and checked to make sure it was loaded.

Feeling better with the heavy weapon in her palm, she turned back to survey the room only for something to blind her. A light flare flashed over her face, making her flinch back. Her hand rose to cover her eyes.

Follow me. It pulled.

Shining from within Hongjoong’ desk, something caught her eye like a lit-flame, like a burning guiding star. Through a crack in the wood, the thing glimmered and shimmered and she swore it called to her.

Into the light. Into that light. Beyond the light.

The temptation dragged her towards it. Her brows pursed as she felt something burn in her chest. Like a live-wire. Rounding the desk, she crouched down, pulling each drawer open. Some tumbled off of their tracks and onto the messy floor, others hung open lazily. Pearls, music CDs, credit cards. Empty snack bags, glass bottles, wires for computers and gadgets. A laptop covered in stickers, love letters, condoms, keys to the brig. No. No. No.

Find me.

Where was it? Where did he put it?

There was a loud lurch of the ship like a dog yanking on its leach and a horrible tearing sound. Like splintering wood and broken metal. The entire ship trembled and sagged at an angle. Glass, knick-knacks, and maps clattered and rolled towards the door. The desk was screwed into the planks (at the request of Seonghwa, she remembered) and didn’t move an inch. Her hands gripped the desk top. A commotion exploded outside and slowly but surely the ship righted. They weren’t leaning anymore, but they weren’t sailing. But YN couldn’t focus on that.

All she could focus on was that light. Where was it?

Find me.

The light gleamed from within the desk but after tearing out the drawers’ there was nothing within. Her fingers slide over the wood of the desk, carefully searching for a divot, a secret compartment, something. Hongjoong trusted them, obvious by the lack of locks on his drawers. But maybe he had thought ahead. Her Captain often did.

Her nails stuck into a fine line, a thin crevice finally found, on the wall of the desk. With effort, she pulled and tugged at the plank until it popped open to reveal the sparkling artefact. It was almost holy; the way the light sighed at her and hummed. Almost like it was saying hello.

Now, this wasn’t the first time she had seen the Cromer. They all had seen it before, but never before had it shimmered and gleamed like it held glowing stardust. Like something magical was happening.

It wasn’t large, no, it was just large enough to be the size of a small water-bottle. The Cromer was intricate and yet simple in its design. Gold-wrought wire framing held a delicate glass-blown hourglass. Sand forever trickled, not downwards but upwards, as if gravity didn’t exist in its plane. Something magical. Something precious. Something they had still yet to understand beyond it was a treasure that they needed to protect from falling into the wrong hands. That’s what Hongjoong had always said and she never understood why… til now.

There was a clash of blades from the deck, making her jump and look up. A shadow had covered the desk… The sunlight that had poured into the quarters from the blasted windows was gone. No, no… they were being boarded. That was the only reason there would be blades crossed.

She pried the Cromer out of its velveteen holding space. Even touching it felt strange. Like there was an electric hum running up through her veins where it touched her skin. She shoved the hidden compartment closed with a thud, pushing at the drawers to shut as many as could. Already shifting from her crouched position, YN glanced around the room.

She had to hide.

Running towards the large oaken closet, she swung open the doors and shoved herself inside. Pushing jackets and fur coats aside, she nestled herself as far as she could wiggled herself into the closet, cradling the Cromer in her lap and reaching to slam the closet doors shut. One hand wrapped around the glass of the hourglass and the other around Hongjoong’s pistol.

YN shut her eyes, listening closely. Heavy footsteps, clash of swords, gunfire. She heard it all, and it made her stomach curdle.

How did the Android Guardians take them by storm? Everything had been calm waters recently. Itd been weeks since their last port. Yeosang kept careful watch. They were careful of their trails. How did they find them?

There was a loud thud on the doors to the Captain’s Quarters.

“Again!” there was a command muddled by an electronic-processor.

It was the Guardians. Her breath caught in her throat as she twisted further into the closet. From the smallest crack in between the closet doors, she peered into the room, waiting and praying that the doors held up as another BANG made her flinch.

Please, please, please, she repeated silently.

Don’t let them in; keep them safe. Don’t let this happen.

Please, please, please.

Bang, bang, bang.

There was a shatter of glass. A scatter of sea-foam and sunset-pink glass tumbled across the quarter’s floor. The carefully-cared-for colored glass was now nothing but shards of dust.

“Finally,” a voice barked; a strange mixture of robotic and animalistic tones made up his shout.

A clatter of locks chilled her. The clanking of doors shoved open.

She held her breath.

“Get in there,” the sound of flesh hitting flesh made her shut her eyes tightly.

The grunt was one she had heard before. Her eyes flashed open; fear flooded her body. Wooyoung huffed out; there was a jingle. Was he locked up? From her small crack, she couldn’t see much. YN didn’t move a muscle.

“Where is it? Hm?” The nearly inhuman voice croaked.

“Go fuck yourself,” Wooyoung exclaimed out.

A loud thud and low groan made her heart lurch. Wooyoung’s laugh was wet as he heaved and groaned from the floor. He spat blood and saliva out onto the leader’s shoes, the remaining of the spittle staining into the floorboards. He let out a low laugh and, despite him not being in her line of sight, she knew he’d been smiling cruelly. His laugh wasn’t a smidge humorous. He was heaved back onto his knees by the Android Guardian’s followers.

The doors to the Captain’s Quarters were shoved shut with a loud clatter, keeping all noise from the deck out and all noise in the room inside.

“Your emotions don’t suit you,” the invader commented. “Don’t worry that will all be solved soon.”

“I don’t know why you expected me of all people to be obedient,” Wooyoung bit back; his voice sounded strange, gurgled. There was a cracking sound, familiar to her only because Wooyoung loved to crack his neck.

Why did the Guardians drag him to the Quarters and not all of them – or at the very least the Captain or First Mate? Where was Hongjoong? Where was Seonghwa? Was Wooyoung being used as a bargaining chip? They had been caught – that much was clear, but was everyone okay?

Her own injured face stung against one of Seonghwa’s fur jackets; the hairs sticking into her flesh painfully as her wound dried in the air. She’d have to apologize to Seonghwa for ruining one of his favorites. Later. Because there had to be a later… there had to be. She stayed silent, trying to catch a glimpse of Wooyoung without moving. Was he okay?

She instead gained a glance of the Android Guardian leading this attack. He was unnaturally tall, covered in an all-white leathered ensemble. Its overlapping belts and straps felt like they kept his posture too straight. Ever frightening with its entirely covered face, a muzzle-like chainwork wounded over around its mouth. The slight give and take of the fabric indicated his breathing, but she wasn’t sure how he could breathe, let alone see through the thick fabric. No face, no humanity. No emotion. That was the way of the Initiative.

That’s what they wanted from the remains of the world. Why couldn’t they just leave them alone? She missed yesterday so suddenly.

“These games are juvenile, Jung Wooyoung,” the leader spoke once more. “Tell me the location of the device or else the bargain is off.”

There was a deal happening. Hongjoong struck a deal. He always had a plan – even if they couldn’t see all the moving piece of it. She shifted her arms around the Cromer, almost as if it was a comfort object – a long-lost teddy bear to soothe her as she was forced to witness Wooyoung and the Guardians.

Wooyoung snorted. “Order your men to let me go and I’ll gladly help,” he said with vigor. There was a rattling of chains after his words.

The Guardian looked down at him – or she assumed he did as he tilted his head slowly. The all-white figure glanced aside before giving a solid nod. Wooyoung’s body slammed to the floor once more.

“Godda—gently,” he scolded, muffled. There was a grunt in his words as he must’ve pushed himself up and stood. She could see the outline of his form now, standing tall. He spat to the side again; blood splattered.

“Better,” Wooyoung replied, raising a brow at the Android Guardian. “It’s in here.”

He smiled a bloody smile at their attacker before walking around him, towards the closet. She could see him in his full glory. Blood stained his shirt, not just his from his rubied mouth but her own blood remained in a handprint across the joyful red-white-blue-and-yellow of his shirt. It didn’t look like it fit in in this scenario. Too joyful and colorful for the destruction and smoke that tumbled in from the creaking fires rattling the ship.

His hair was mussed and sweatied strewn across his forehead like ink spilt across a piece of parchment. She pushed herself closer to the crack, hoping that he’d see her while blocking her from view. In the perfect world, like an old movie scene, he’d see her and smile his boyish smile that made her feel safe. But all that greeted her was furrowed dark brows as he kicked aside rubble.

He hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t! Her stomach turned in worry. Her fingers brushed over the Cromer, fidgeting restlessly. The smooth glass was cold to the touch and clanked just lightly from her fingers. She froze.

The Android Leader twitched. She held her breath, held every cell in her body, held every atom at bay as she waited.

“Fuck, you destroyed this room,” Wooyoung whistled out.

She heard the cannon ball that had been embedded into the desk get pushed off with a heavy thud. YN watched it roll slowly towards the closet; the air-ship was tilting just slightly. It thudded against the closet, rattling the wooden doors. Trapping her inside.

“You gave us no other logical choice,” the Guardian informed.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes. He shifted through the drawers she had half destroyed in her own search. Haphazardly, Wooyoung tossed aside thoughtful gifts that they had given Hongjoong, half-eaten snack bags, Hongjoong’s vape that he had placed deep in his desk after swearing he’d give it up.

“What if you had hit our rudder? Or mainsail? Or what if we had struck your weak spot and you had crushed us?” Wooyoung argued back, pausing to stare at the leader with a condescending tilt of his head. “You wouldn’t have been able to raid us if we had crashed.”

“Good thing that didn’t happen,” the Guardian replied, almost like a parent replying to a child’s outlandish comments. Estranged and detached. “These illogical scenarios are fanciful. No wonder you had a delusion of grandeur.”

Wooyoung’s face twitched and he glared at the figure once more.

“Keep searching.” The Guardian commanded, head nodding to the desk.

Wooyoung obeyed. He tossed aside a polaroid camera with a clank; some stray polaroids were strewn across the deck. There were coins that were pocketed by Wooyoung. He was methodical, taking his time to explore the drawers inside and out, more than she had done.

Was he stalling? She tried to listen to anything happening on the main deck, but it was loudly quiet. The only sounds she heard was the deep breaths in and out the Guardians made to breathe through their thick face-masks, the occasional bellowing of the ship’s wood as it heaved against something, and the very quiet sound of the Cromer’s sand reversing through its hourglass.

Finally, after digging through all of the drawers, slow and methodical, he began to do what she did. Fingers pressed into the wood to find a compartment of sorts.

“This is taking too long,” the Guardian growled out.

Maybe that was the point, she hoped. The more time Wooyoung bought, the more time her loves would fight and hopefully find them.

“Relax, bud,” Wooyoung crowed out, too casual for the situation – but of course he always liked the upper-hand. Loved teasing. Some would say he was arrogant but YN believed him to just be bold.

That boldness grew when there was a clicking sound, the Cromer’s compartment ticking open with a satisfying pop. His grin, bloodied and gruesome, looked like a wolf after a kill. Before he opened the door.

“It’s gone,” Wooyoung breathed, his eyes blinking in disbelief. He licked over his reddened lips and swallowed.

The Cromer warmed close to her chest, and she saw its glow grow. No, no, stop. YN worried the glow would be seen through the cracks in the wardrobe. She hugged it closer, tucking it into her chest.

“Enough of these games,” the leader bit out; there was a flick of his hand and one of the Guardian hooligans rushed forwards seizing Wooyoung by the arms. Hoisting him up with a struggle as a loud shling of his blade made YN’s blood turn cold.

She could see Wooyoung’s head raise just in time for the blade to rest under his chin, sharp and unforgivingly.

“Tell me where the Cromer is now,” the Guardian commanded from aside. She could see red drip from the blade and a grunt leave Wooyoung’s lips.

“Go to hell.” There was a low hum as the Guardian leader’s hand flick once more, signaling something to his captor. A signal he didn’t get to follow through with.

“Don’t hurt him!” she exclaimed out, unable to watch as the blade sliced into Wooyoung’s throat more. She pushed herself out of the closet, firing the pistol at the Guardian that had him. The villain plunked to the floor, freeing Wooyoung who stared at her with wide eyes and a bloodied throat.

“Seize her,” the Android Guardian’s leader commanded. The remaining Guardians rushed forward, their strong hands gripping and groping at her until she was caught beneath their strong hold. She held on tight to the Cromer, refusing to let them pry it from her hand. It hummed and buzzed erratically as if upset. She continued to squabble with her captors, her pistol falling from her hand as she grasped the artefact tightly.

Over their struggle, she could hear Wooyoung crying out, trying to get her to stop or for the Guardians to stop. It wasn’t until the leader unempathetically stated.

“That’s enough.”

Her two captors held her by her arms, simply but strongly. She still struggled, writhing this way and that as she glared up at the Guardian who slowly approached her. He towered over her, leaning down with the blank mask of a face.

“We have another defector aboard. I knew we hadnt collected all of the crew,” the robotic-man commented. His large latex-gloved hand reached out to grasp her chin.

There was a strange noise from his masked face almost like an electronic chirp.

“YN LN.” he hummed. “Yes. We know all about you.”

“Don’t touch her,” Wooyoung snarled out.

He nearly jumped over the desk; his hand grasped the Android Guardian’s bicep firmly. Tugging him away from YN, she had never seen Wooyoung’s face look so dark. His brows shadowed his dark brown eyes, a snarl void of humor or temptation crossing his mouth.

“She’s not part of the bargain. Let her go.”

There was a laugh, too robotic, too unemotional, to feel genuine from the all-white Guardian. The figures, holding her arms, didn’t even shift a smidge, didn’t look at one another for clarity. Just stared ahead – pawns to the Grand Guardian’s command.

“We let you keep the helmsman, the look-out,” the Guardian recalled. “And now her?”

It sounded condescending. Her eyes flashed from the emotionless face to Wooyoung. His eyes flickered from her to the Grand Guardian. There was uncertainty there. He licked his lips.

“This is the problem with you defectors.” The Guardian’s voice rasped out with a metallic edge. “You think you’re always in control. Even when you aren’t.”

In a flash, the leader thrusted his arm into Wooyoung’s torso sending him tumbling to his knees, his hands going to his punched stomach. Wheezing, Wooyoung bared his teeth and watched as the Android Guardian tugged his arm away. The frightening figure approached her, too quick and mechanical to feel unthreatening.

“Give us the Cromer,” he demanded. His fingers curled and uncurled, outstretched.

Protect the Treasure at all costs. Hongjoong’s voice echoed in her head. He had drilled it into her mind, all of their minds. But, at the cost of Wooyoung’s life? At hers?

She glared at their enemy. Her fingers curled around the metal wire around the hourglass of the Cromer.

I know you're afraid. Follow your gut.

The way the metal buzzed and silently hummed in her ear was strange. Familiar and yet foreign as it spoke to only her. The burst of warmth in its metal was reassuring, like holding onto someone’s hand. Reassuring her that this was the right thing to do. The sand trickling inside the Cromer was the only sound in the Captain’s Quarters. Somehow something so gentle and soothing could be loud – even after the chaos that enraptured them moments ago.

“No.” she bit out.

The ship creaked ominously. She grasped the artefact closer to her chest.

Follow your gut.

Hongjoong had told her once long ago that the Cromer was what brought them together; that he had let it guide him to them. The look in his eyes felt distant as he stared at the hourglass. His index finger would stroke the glass like it was their cheek. His friends. His family.

It brought them together and he had to keep it safe to keep them safe. A paranoid take she always thought. He believed if the Cromer was taken away from them – well, it’d be like the sea with no moon. Chaotic, untethered, unnatural. YN had always believed they found one another, not some hourglass.

“How did you use it?” She had asked him one night, wrapped in his arms as he continued to stare off. With his head lost in the clouds, he was loose-lipped. A sigh of fruity-smelling, blue smoke left his lips as he tugged his vape away from his mouth before he replied: “You’re the only one besides me that will know if I tell you. Not even Seonghwa knows… Alright, precious?”

She held it horizontally like had shown her, shifting it so the sand couldn’t flow up or down – freezing the hourglass’s sand. Her eyes shut as she murmured the words he hadn’t dare recite aloud and instead wrote down on an old receipt they had found in his jeans. She didn’t see as recognition flashed over Wooyoung’s bloodied face, eyes widening and his heart dropping.

“YN, don’t—” Wooyoung was barely able to get out as he lunged forward.

“Stop, child!” the Guardian growled out. “Grab it!”

Treasure.

But it was too late. With the spell cast, the artefact had begun to whirl, the metal loops surrounding the hourglass undulating. The glow grew and grew.

It can complete us…

They pushed and shoved and tried to take it from her still, fingers all digging into her skin until… she hoisted the Cromer up into the air and sent it shattering to the ground.

…Or it can destroy us.

There was no Treasure to steal. No artefact to worship. She dove to try to grab the pistol once more, to fire at the Guardians so they could escape, but she was unable to move. Like gravity refused to let her. The shattered remains of the Cromer glinted in a non-existent light; sending a flare out over the figures, blinding them. A wild hurricane wind burst forth around them, blooming from the pile of sand. A tornado of golden sand growing and growing until it consumed her, the Guardians, and Wooyoung.

She couldn’t even yell out for him. Her mouth was full of sand. Her nose, her eyes. It was sharp and burning and hot.

There was a woosh around her, her hair tumbling into the air, her clothes rustling in the hot-blast.

The sound of wind blowing from the horizon.

The warmth of the sun.

The sand vibrating against her skin.

Open your eyes.

The Cromer whispered in her ear, warm and in a voice that nearly sounded like Hongjoong’s.

No, she didn’t want to. It hurt. It burned.

Open your eyes.

When she flickered her eyes open tentative and slow, her breath was stolen. She was no longer in her Captain’s quarters. No longer on the Illusion. No longer was she with her Ateez.

YN was in the shadows of the stacked-upon-stacked docks of Aurora.

We're at the starting point of this long journey.

Will you join us?

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