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Chapter Text

[10.01.2020, 1657; South Korea]

A plane was flying through the air, travelling calmly. Then, two fighter jets appeared, the pilots casually chatting, flying side by side behind the first plane. “Hey Gyu, why the fuck is he here again?” “How would I know?” ‘Gyu’ moved forward and maneuvered beside the plane. “You are entering South Korean airspace, please indicate your nationality, identification and purpose of flight.”

“Well damn! Has he been learning English? His shit definitely improved.” “He probably found a teacher.” The two pilots in the first aircraft started laughing, ignoring the announcement. “I should learn Korean too then, right?”

“This bitch. Jun, let’s play with him.” “Okay, Kim.” Jun flew his jet under the plane, while Kim hovered above it. “You are entering South Korean airspace, please change course immediately.” “Shit, we have to go.” The plane left.

“Mission complete. Let’s head back now, Junnie, great job baby.” “Don’t call me baby over the intercom idiot.” “Oops.” The fighter jets were heading back to base when they received a warning alert. “Two unknown aircraft heading from 2 o’clock direction. I repeat, two unknown aircraft closing in from 2 o’clock.”

“Who are they?” “Enemies, stay alert.” 2 bandits were tailing after them. Suddenly, a warning siren sounded. “We’ve been locked on. Release the chaff flares!” A string of dummies countered the missiles from the enemies. Jun and Kim sped away. “They asked for it. Jun.” “Got it.” The fighter jets went into the clouds, one above the other.

“Shit, radar signal lost for 1 plane.” Then, the plane above geared up and away from the clouds, the other continued straight ahead. “Only 1 fighter spotted, I repeat, only 1 fighter spotted.” Both enemy planes chased after Kim. Jun turned back and headed behind the enemy jets, and locked on them.

“Fuck you.” “6 o’clock!” Both enemy jets dodged the missiles and released flares. “Shit’s getting real. Let’s get out of here!” The enemies fled out of range as quickly as they could.

“Well damn they ran real quick.” “Yes let’s go back finally!” The fighters headed back to base with no more incidents.

Meanwhile, the profiles of Kim Mingyu and Wen Junhui were displayed and observed by a man hidden in the shadows.

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[27.12.2019, 1719; Siberia]

A lone building stood out among the snow-covered mountains. A guard stood at the ledge, looking out into the open. As the guard turned, another similarly clad man clambered up and over the ledge, fixing the uniform. He casually sneaked into the interior of the building, a drone flying beside him.

“Wonho, you need to get past this door, turn 2 rights and walk 10m to get to the console, while I’ll get in by the window hehe.” “Just shut up and unlock this for me, I.M.” The man gave a disgruntled look to the drone as its owner camped under the ice in a makeshift igloo out in the mountains.

Once the door opened, Wonho snuck into the room, heading for the console. Opening the console, he inserted a device into the laptop inside, waiting as the device extracted all the information he needed. “Are you done?” “Don’t rush me.” “No as in someone’s coming ass.” “Stall him.”

“Dude I’m a fucking drone, how am I supposed to stop him? Oh shit.” The drone quickly stuck onto the wall and changed into a no-smoking signboard, the guard looking weirdly at the sign before entering the room Wonho was in. “Fuck it’s too late. Don’t die thanks if not Chae and Min are gonna murder me in my sleep.”

The guard stepped into the room and found a body lying on the floor, unconscious. Flipping the body around, he asked anxiously. “Hey buddy, are you okay?” “Haha, sorry dude.” Wonho headbutted the poor guard and unplugged the device from the console. Sirens sounded. “Damn you better run.” “Shut down the bloody siren dude and get me out.” I.M emerged from under the snow and started running.

“Go by the South exit, there’s no one there.” Guards started running into the building just as Wonho exited the side door, and faced a guard dog staring at him. He slowly pointed at his uniform, grimacing. 

“Fuck did your brain get screwed, you told me there was no one!” “Well a dog isn’t a person!” Wonho sprinted across the snow plains, grabbed a backpack lying on the ground, strapped it to his front and sprinted to the edge of a cliff, with the dog at his heels, barking.

Both leapt off the cliff.

With large, magnificent black wings sprouting from his back, Wonho flew to his destination, the dog in his arms, too scared to attack him. “Dude our mission was to get the enemy’s information, not bring back a pet!” “Well I can’t let it fall to its death either!”

The profiles of Lee Hoseok and Im Changkyun were displayed to the man. 

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[20.01.2020, 2320; Mountains of Southern China]

A rescue helicopter sped through the darkness in the storm.

“The last rescue mission didn’t get everyone out of the building, some are probably still trapped inside. Another landslide is going to take down the building anytime; it is highly unstable.”

The helicopter continued racing towards the building in the turbulent weather, the strong wind threatening to destabilize the aircraft. Lightning flashed. Warning bells sounded.

“The wind is too strong, I don’t think the helicopter can take it.” A hand pressed some buttons on the control panel. “Sit tight.”

The aircraft sped up in the air and into the valley. A sharp turn. “Watch out!” The pilot calmly sped on, narrowly missing a rock wall at the side. Finally reaching the building, the spotlight shining at the windows, the two pilots heard a cry for help. “ 救命 啊 ！有人在 这 里！ ” (Help! Help! There’s someone here!) “Found them.”

“Command centre , how long do we have until the landslide hits?” “The rain is getting heavier, so you have about 5 minutes left.” “The8, the stairs have collapsed, we cannot land!” The8 looked at his teammate, and back at the casualties in the back of the helicopter.

“We don’t have time left. Hover here, I’ll go down. Prepare for rescue.” “Hao-” “Angel, Han, I’ll be fine. Now stop nagging and get ready. Joshua should have come as a medic so that he can calm you down.” The8 leapt off the plane, holding on to the safety rope, landing on the ledge of the building’s now exposed top level.

“ 你们在哪里？！听到就回答！ ” (Where are you?! Answer if you hear me!) Dust was raining from the ceiling; the hallways were flooded. “ 这里！我们在这里！ ” (Here! We are here!) He pushed off the cupboard obstructing the door. “ 门卡住了，我不能打开！ 怎么办？ ” (I can’t open it! The door is stuck! What do I do?)

Spotting a fire extinguisher at the opposite wall, he smashed the casing and took it. “ 别怕，我在这里！退后！保护好孩子！ ” (Don’t be scared, I’m here to get you out. Stand back and protect the kid!)

Smash ! Bang! Smash!

“The8 are you okay? The landslide is coming down soon!” “Pass me the child first, be careful! Hold on-” “Shit the landslide is coming, the building is collapsing!” “Lower the helicopter!”

Angel was then hit by a vision, a scene playing in front of his mind. He screamed. “HAO! GET OUT NOW I GOT A VISION THE PILLAR IS COLLAPSING GET TO THE HARNESS!” The8 grabbed the lady, child, and sprinted out of the building and finished strapping the child into the harness with inhuman speed just as the pillar right beside them collapsed. Keeping a tight hold on the lady and rope, he tugged hard.

“GO!” The rope pulled them up into the air just as what was left of the building collapsed into the darkness.

The profiles of Xu Minghao and Yoon Jeonghan were now on the screen of the computer of the mysterious man. All four previous profiles together with fourteen other profiles were displayed together on the screen.

The man smirked. “Seems like it would be a group of special people. Powers, huh.”

Chapter Text

3 months later…

[01.04.2020, 1315; South Korean Army Pilots Academy]

The soldiers had geared up for their graduation and the farewell of their mentor. Their mentor that was now in their late forties, standing on the stage, preparing to give his speech.

“I’ve flown for many years. I used to be like you, sitting below the podium, looking up to the heroes bidding their farewell from the sky, but I’ve never thought of the day that would happen for me.”

“There are always new fighters ready to be launched into the sky, new people getting trained to become better pilots. It is time to pass on the duty to the new generation. However, I wish to never to part with the skies, as I have already written my entire life in them. Every fight, every victory or loss, is a testament to our mission to protect the skies of our country.”

“You must always remember, you have the blood of your generation beating in your hearts, the courage, determination, and the strength to protect these skies with all your life. However, because you are more perfect, and are so used to succeeding, you must remember that, not only should you celebrate your victories, but also embrace your failures! This is the greatness of a soldier! You must respect the skies, and in this way, then are you able to shoulder the responsibility of protecting your country!”

“You should put your heart and soul into what you do, which I believe you do, because this is your homeland, your family.”

“Which reminds me, my dear wife. Thank you for supporting me all these years. To me, you will always be my blue sky, even if death due us part.” The mentor saluted to his wife and the pilots, wishing the recruits all the best. As they sat back down, Mingyu turned back to look at Minghao, who was gazing at their mentor, full of respect.

“1,2,3, CHEESE!” Everybody are now taking photos with their beloved mentor. Two planes appeared, touring the skies, doing a crossover. They released banners, ‘One day teacher, lifelong father; the invincible pillars of power’. Their mentor laughed. “The two boys are up to their tricks again huh? I guess Junhui and Mingyu will never change.”

“Hao looks better from up here don’t you think? He looked great in his graduation clothes.” Junhui was teasing Mingyu from his plane, hovering in the sky. “Send me, Junnie~” “Why don’t you just ask it from him, since it’s his picture?” “I’m being serious here, baby, you know how it is between us anyway.” Mingyu sighed.

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[01.04.2020, 2035; Amphitheater]

“Yeah I check in, Seoul city (Seoul city) Yeah I check in, Singapore city (Melbourne, Sidney)…” Mingyu, Seungcheol, Wonwoo and Hansol were performing a mixtape of their own on stage, with the farewell party now in full swing. Junhui headed over to their gang, consisting of Minghao, Soonyoung, Chan, Jeonghan, Jisoo, Seungkwan, Seokmin, Jihoon and those on stage; the SEVENTEEN Unit.

The Defense Unit had just finished their performance of a ballad, 20, while the remaining four were anticipating the impromptu dance battle later, as they were really good at dancing, especially Minghao, who could b-boy like a champion.

Jeonghan and Jisoo were whispering and kissing each other while giggling in the corner, both sporting their newly dyed pink hair. Seokmin and Chan were cuddling, Chan sleeping on the former’s shoulder while he looked at his phone. Jihoon was smacking Soonyoung for drinking more than he should, both dressing up in matching sweaters; Seungkwan and Minghao sat comfortably in their chairs, listening to the performance.

“Hey Hao.” He pecked him on the cheek. “Hey Junnie.” Minghao smiled and hugged his boyfriend tightly. “You look good with silver.” Minghao blushed lightly as he ran his hair through his bleached hair, looking at Junhui’s hair. “You’re looking not so bad either, I like how lavender looks on you. Wonwoo and Mingyu are going to bust a nut.” He laughed.

“Gyu and Won look great, don’t they?” “Yeah, they look really good in leather, and their hair damn.” Junhui cuddled closer to Minghao. Mingyu was sporting blue-grey hair and Wonwoo’s a light brown. “Haohao, you know, you should take your chance with Gyu, and talk to him…” Minghao tensed. “…Junnie, you know how it is.” “You should try though, you all haven’t been able to talk this out properly.” “I’ll try, let’s continue cuddling first and I want a kiss.” Minghao pouted and turned to Junhui. “Haven’t I kissed you already? You baby~” “Junnie~”

The performance finished and the guys headed over to the group. Seungcheol was immediately welcomed with kisses by the pink haired duo, while Hansol ended in the embrace of Seungkwan. Wonwoo kissed Minghao and Junhui while Mingyu pecked Junhui on the lips. Minghao and Mingyu stared awkwardly at each other, before Mingyu started trying pickup lines on Minghao and got his face smashed with a piece of cake.

“Mingyu ah, I’ve taught you everything that I know, but you still haven’t learnt how to not offend Minghao.” “Hwang seonsaengnim!” SEVENTEEN stood up to greet their mentor, Minghao running to hug the man’s wife, who followed behind him.

“Just call me Minhyun hyung. You guys have graduated. Anyways, Junhui ah, remember the overseas job that you applied for, it’s been approved by the higher ups. The pay is good, don’t spend it all. Remember to stop by at my house before you leave, my wife wants to send you off properly.” “Don’t worry, I will, hyung.”

The rest of SEVENTEEN glanced confusedly at Junhui, wondering what Minhyun was talking about, especially the soulmates. They brushed it off for the time being, knowing that they will get an explanation later.

“Hyung, what are you going to do now that you are not flying anymore?” Minghao asked.

“I’ll probably fly drones or unmanned aircraft, there are still many ways to fly. Mingyu ah, you sure you don’t wanna wipe that off?” Everybody roared when Mingyu finally moved to get some tissues to wipe the cake off his face.

Just then, the dance battle started and the DJ started to play some tracks. Minghao went up to the floor to start the round and dropped one of his b-boying routines, his silver hair flying. Everyone’s jaw dropped, even Minhyun and his wife looked at him in awe.

Wonwoo would have laughed at their faces if he wasn’t stunned himself, no matter how many times he had seen Minghao dance like the wind, he would forever be astounded the same way he was the first time he saw the man perform.

Minghao quickly finished with a flip and was awarded a round of applause, followed by hoots and screams. Soonyoung was next, doing freestyle, his moves and gaze powerful and sharp. He was soon joined by Chan, who pulled out his favourite moves and style. The screams got even louder.

Meanwhile, Junhui was another story, his moves more graceful and fluid, as he danced sensually to the music. Jihoon joining in was a surprise, however, as no one thought that the 1.65m guy, who glared at anyone with daggers in his eyes at any time of the day, could dance, much less freestyle so well. He blushed lightly when he saw everybody’s reaction and jaws dropped even further, as Lee Jihoon never blushed. NEVER.

Things took a funny turn as the Kungfu Panda soundtrack blasted out from the speakers and Soonyoung started doing funny things, everyone bursting into laughter at his antics, Jihoon smacking his head again.

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[01.04.2020, 2124; Open space]

“Since when did you decide to go overseas?” “I wasn’t really sure at that time whether I’ll be approved or not, so I didn’t tell you Gyu. I didn’t mean to purposely hide things from you. I’m sorry.” Mingyu and Junhui stood at a ledge overlooking the party, the dance battle having ended just awhile ago.

“Since you’re going overseas, what about the rest of us? SEVENTEEN?” Mingyu threw the question into the void. “You guys will be fine, it’ll only be for a few months, at most half a year. I’ll be back soon, and we can still video call each other. We’ll always be together, together with Won and Hao from when we met at flight school, and this won’t change that.”

Junhui turned to see Mingyu, whose face was full of betrayal. “I thought we were a family? SEVENTEEN? Why are you leaving us?” Junhui breathed deeply, wishing to erase that expression away.

“Not long ago, I realised I wanted to change my lifestyle, or try a different kind of life for a while. Things were getting too repetitive and I needed to break out of it. I wanted to take a break from flying, just for a short while. I’m not leaving SVT. This is temporary.”

“You’ll still have SVT, and Won and Hao as your partner. Take this time to fix things with Hao too, you know, both of you are too prideful. That’s why, even up till now, you guys still haven’t gotten together.” “It’s not the same thing Junnie…”

“You know it is Gyu, you know what I mean. We are soulmates for fucks sake, it’s taking a toll on Wonwoo, you know how much he wants you guys to fix it.”

Silence descended, Mingyu unable to retort that statement, knowing very well that he was hurting Wonwoo and Junhui, even if Junhui himself doesn’t say it. And Minghao.

“I’ll respect your decision Junnie, but you better call us every night, we are going to miss you a lot.” Junhui turned and smirked, choosing to ignore how Mingyu avoided the subject again. He turned to Mingyu, wrapping his arms around him, tilting his head to tuck it under the man’s chin, snuggling comfortably. Mingyu let out a pleased sigh.

“Remember to fill in the rest of them for me, will you? And stop avoiding the subject, you know it.” “Yeah, I know.”

Just then, Wonwoo and Minghao appeared, holding hands. “Yah, are you both done? We’re leaving!” “Coming! Don’t leave us behind!”

All of them headed back to the party.

Junhui silently departed the next day.

Chapter Text

[15.04.2020, 0700; South Korean Army Pilots Academy]

“The Sky Wolf is a secret unit of our country, trained to make soldiers ready to take on any situation possible. We represent the elite of the army. Once you enter the Sky Wolf, you are required to give up your current positions and all benefits that come along with it. You will be out of your comfort zone, taking on the most dangerous missions and challenges. You will also face the possibility of death, and you will only have each other to depend on.”

“If you are hesitating, you can still change your mind, just turn around and leave.” The man reached the table in the middle of the room, his hands on the table, scanning the 20 people present. No one moved.

“I’ve handpicked all of you, and brought you here, so that you can undergo my own selection process. I personally am a fan of you guys here, seeing all of you full of confidence and being full of yourself. Now, I look forward to seeing your abilities, which is probably the only pleasure I can find in this wilderness. Greetings, I am Commander Yurame Shin, Head of Sky Wolf Special Unit.”

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Jeeps sped through the desert, heading towards the Sky Wolf Headquarters, situated in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of South Korea. The members got out of their vehicles, staring in wonder at their surroundings, awed. “Shit, it’s made to withstand a world war! I wish Junhui was here to see this man.”

A soldier at the side spoke up, “You are 2 km away from entering the valley. You are now entering a top-secret military facility, if you are not up to the challenge, remain here and go no further! Remember, this place does not exist!” The men walked past him without stopping to even think about what he said.

The members were now handing over their belongings for checking. “Sorry, can I have that photo back?” “Sure.” The soldier looked at the photo and gave it back to Mingyu. It was of the four soulmates, Wonwoo, Junhui, Minghao and him, taken a few years ago, his favourite photo. 

“You know, you don’t need that anymore, you can just give it to them.” “This was given to me by my troops.” Hyunwoo rolled his eyes at Seungcheol, walking off. “Which troops are you from?” Seungcheol was ignored. “Cheol did u just disturb someone again? That was what the field troops give for emergency use, it can store water and is sand-proof, u dummy.” Jeonghan hissed. “Yeah I know Han.”

“Electronic books are like normal books, a path to enlightenment!” “Not allowed!” The soldier snatched the device away from Changkyun and glared at him. “What is this?” The soldier took out another box from Changkyun’s bag. “Cold medicine!” “You sure?” The soldier opened the box and took out a tape. Changkyun sighed. Jooheon came and dragged Changkyun away, smiling at the soldier to appease him.

“Do you want to keep this photo too?” The same soldier found the same photo with Minghao and Wonwoo respectively. Wonwoo nodded. Minghao gazed at Mingyu. Smiling slightly, he took the photo back as well. Just like that, all of them entered the facility. 

“This is the command centre, which is in the North Wing. The training facilities are in the West Wing, while your dorms are in the East Wing. The South Wing is underground, right beneath the North Wing.” The soldier directed them around the HQ.

“Settle down in your rooms, and gather in the West Wing by 1400. You are dismissed.”

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[15.04.2020, 1400; Sky Wolf HQ]

They were gathered in front of Commander Yurame.

“May I ask, when are we going to get on a plane? Because I feel that every moment I spend on the ground doing nothing is a waste of my time.” “I agree with him.”

“Seungcheol!” “Mingyu!” Their respective soulmates nudged them hard. “Well, right now.”

“Okay, I’ve got this, we’ve got this.” Seungcheol and Mingyu glanced nervously at the soldier in front of them, hands in front of them, trying to get the soldier to back off. Strapped with a parachute, they were slowly backed to the opening of the plane. As they turned around to jump off, they were pushed out by a strong shove to their backs. “YURAME SHIN! FUCK!” Both of them cursed.

Wonwoo giggled, the rest of SEVENTEEN struggling to keep in their laughter. Wonwoo had created a shared mindlink for SEVENTEEN a long time ago, so when Seungcheol and Mingyu were screaming their heads off, everyone heard everything.

Meanwhile, Minghao, Hyunwoo and Minhyuk, were sent to find them as part of their mission as a rescue team and as part of the enemy team respectively, the rest would stay behind to observe the mission.

“This is a mission on survival. Your plane has been shot down by enemies and you have to go to the assigned rendezvous point. There will be a rescue squad waiting for you. Turn on your navigation system when needed, where only your rescue team will be able to see your location. In the meantime, you better make sure you are not captured by the enemy. You are not allowed to use your powers either.”

Seungcheol and Mingyu quickly kept their parachutes. They ran to the top of one of the hills nearby. Turning on their walkie talkies, they looked around their surroundings. “Rescue team, rescue team, do you copy.” “Yes, loud and clear.” “Our position is S1H45.”

“After reaching the ground, the pilot must maintain radio silence until the set time or location given to avoid the enemies. This is a perfect example to fail.” The screen showed the footage of Seungcheol and Mingyu.

“Hey, it seems like this guy can disappear.” “Well one of them can, but they are not allowed to use their powers.” Two guards were standing around a spot, muttering. “But it shows that the location is here??” Hyunwoo dug around the spot.

“Shit!” A mouse flew out. “Well this is what you have been tracking.” He showed Minhyuk the walkie talkies that were previously on Mingyu and Seungcheol.

The duo was now sprinting across the top of the hills, searching for their rescue team helicopter. Minghao looked around, searching for the sight of those two. As they were crossing another rough patch, Seungcheol spotted a robot on the ground below, and pulled Mingyu down behind a rock wall. Minhyuk and Hyunwoo followed behind the machine.

“Damn, they are sneaky.” Seungcheol cursed. “They could still find us even after I buried the walkie talkies to trick them.” Mingyu muttered, pressing another device in his hands.

Suddenly, the screen in front of the members showed Seungcheol running about aimlessly while Mingyu remained on the lookout for the guards. The soldiers were confused.

“Won’t they be screwed by now if they were in a real war??” Hyungwon joked. All except SEVENTEEN laughed. The SVT members smirked, Jeonghan and Jisoo hiding their smiles. “He’s up to something.” Commander Yurame looked on in interest.

Seungcheol was now joyfully finishing his running. He sent something to the rescue team as he pressed on a device in his hand and went back to get Mingyu, heading to a place.

Minghao stared at the screen which had started beeping. It displayed “South of Namsan (South of the Southern Hill)”, drawn using Seungcheol’s navigator. He laughed, redirected and went to the new destination.

“Show me Seungcheol’s signal trajectory.” “Yes sir!” The picture of Seungcheol’s drawing was enlarged and displayed on the screen. The others were shocked while SVT laughed, highly amused at their reaction. “You guys knew all along, didn’t you?” Commander Yurame looked at the SEVENTEEN members, mildly impressed.

Seungcheol and Mingyu crashed at a spot. “We’re here.” “God, hyung, if there weren’t restrictions on the use of our abilities I would have just teleported us here.” Mingyu grumbled, following behind Seungcheol. They opened some energy bars and headed to the destination point.

However, at the same time, the enemy team was closing on them, having received the information from the commander. Seungcheol and Mingyu were having the time of their lives though, releasing their coloured smoke bombs to get the attention of the rescue team. Suddenly, a voice called out to them. “Hey buddy, how did you run so fast?” Hyunwoo, Minhyuk and a few other soldiers walked up to them.

Seungcheol and Mingyu stared at them, shocked. “You guys made three mistakes. First, you threw away all your communication devices. Secondly, you left a trail of your own footprints. Thirdly, your navigation picture. Heol, you even thought of that, good job.” Hyunwoo showed him the photo sent to them by the HQ. “You guys are cheating!”

“Well, you need eyes at the back of your heads. Welcome to The Sky Wolf.” Commander Yurame greeted Seungcheol and Mingyu through Hyunwoo’s device. “Surrender then.” Minhyuk pointed his gun at them. Suddenly, the smoke bombs on the helmets of Minhyuk and Hyunwoo were set off, and a helicopter appeared from above. Minghao chuckled.

Mingyu and Seungcheol cackled at their faces. Commander Yurame nodded, acknowledging the duo’s success. The helicopter landed. Mingyu and Seungcheol went to greet Minghao and his assistant pilot.

“Great job, Minghao!” Minghao smiled, grabbing Mingyu’s outstretched hand, and instantly manhandled him into a kneeling position. Seungcheol was treated the same way by the other pilot.

“According to the emergency rescue code, until your identity has been confirmed, you will be treated as hostile.” Minghao leaned over Mingyu and smirked. The group then headed up to the helicopter.

The soldiers on the enemy team shuddered. Minhyuk laughed at Hyunwoo. “Hyung, do you want to get taken away too?”

Chapter Text

[18.04.2020, 1503; Yuryung Base, Hanryeo]

“You know, the air here is perfect, the weather is great, this job is turning out to be heaven for me baby.” Junhui smiled at his phone screen, which was displaying Mingyu shirtless in his bunk room. Wonwoo and Minghao were showering, and the rest of the SEVENTEEN members had already dropped by. Mingyu stared at him. Junhui was at a small airport in Yuryung Base.

Junhui giggled after seeing Mingyu’s expression. “Don’t look at me like that, you puppy. I’ll still be coming back Gyu, and probably join Sky Wolf together with you guys, provided the commander accepts me. But you should really visit here you know, it’s a good place. You and Hao should take the time to fix yourselves and have something happen if not I’m gonna snatch him away when I come back.”

“Ya-” “Anyways, don’t be too envious of me, and don’t miss me too much.”

Junhui was suddenly pelted by toy bullets. A boy, about 6 years old, was pointing a toy gun at him. Junhui waved him off. “And also, you just need to focus on you and Hao and better make sure you guys get your shit together before I come back Gyu, and-” He was hit on the head by another bullet.

“Hold on for a moment baby.” Mingyu saw Junhui take out another toy gun, a huge one, laughing when he heard him yell “It’s on!” before hearing some giggling and screaming in the background.

Suddenly, the screen showed a young girl, probably 8 years old. “Shit!” He quickly threw on a shirt. “Hello, are you one of the soulmates that Uncle Junhui has? He talks about you a lot!”

Unbeknownst to Junhui, Mingyu and the children, a man was behind a window, standing in the shadows, watching them through his binoculars.

Junhui went back to retrieve his phone. Giving Mingyu a flying kiss, he ended the call and continued to chase after the kids.

“Chaeunnie! Hyungjunnie! Are you disturbing Uncle Junhui again?”

“Yes, and now I’m coming to catch you! Muahahaha!” “Oh no! Quick, run, I’ll protect you!” “Appa!” The children shrieked as their father joined in on the fun, Junhui chasing after them.

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[18.04.2020, 1503; Sky Wolf HQ]

That night, Commander Yurame was going through the results for entrance of the soldiers into the unit. He approved Monsta X and SEVENTEEN’s entrance slips. Glancing at Seungcheol and Mingyu’s slips, he remembered their performance the day before. He was definitely impressed, especially Seungcheol. SEVENTEEN and Monsta X have the ability to do anything if they wanted, especially with their abilities that he hadn’t even touched on yet.

Damn, he was going to have a field day with this group.

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[05.05.2020, 1500; Sky Wolf HQ]

Over the next two months, SEVENTEEN and Monsta X trained hard. They ran laps in the valley in the early dawn, they did hand-to-hand combat in the afternoon for hours without the use of their powers. At their first practice, Hyunwoo had to face off the soldier who had greeted them on their first day of arrival. Taking off his outer jacket, he charged.

He was lying flat on the ground 10s later. Seungcheol chuckled. “By brute force, huh. You must use your brains.” Seungkwan side-eyed him, cursing at him through the mindlink to shut up and not be so arrogant, and he screamed back at him to call him hyung, scaring Hansol in the process. Not long after, he was on the ground too. Seungkwan howled with glee.

They sat out on the benches at the side of the arena. Hyunwoo glanced at Seungcheol and gave him his icepack. Seungcheol snatched it over. One sported a blackeye, the other sported a bruised nose. They looked and each other, one silently thanking the other, both reaching a truce, having found a common opponent. Jisoo had to come over after his session to heal the both of them, Jooheon taking tips from him on how to improve his healing speed and effects.

On the other hand, Minghao was just going through all the soldiers assigned to him, making full use of his wushu background, as well as Soonyoung, but with Taekwondo and his agility, the rest watching them go at it with awe. Both had a sharp and focused gaze, having only one objective in mind.

“That’s my soulmate! Go Minghao!” Wonwoo cheered. Mingyu stared at Minghao, mouth gaping. Wonwoo slapped his jaw shut and giggled, teasing him mercilessly. Mingyu whined, kissing him to shut him up.

“Go Soonyoung!” Jihoon yelled, face blushing as red as a tomato afterwards when everyone stared at him. “아이구, 우리 지훈이~” (Aww, our Jihoonie~) The members cooed and laughed, Jihoon threatening to hit them if they didn’t shut up. Soonyoung smirked, motivation to beat everyone increasing, knowing his beloved was watching.

At meal times, SEVENTEEN and Monsta X would eat together. Jihoon and Kihyun found out they were childhood friends and spent most of their time catching up, having lost contact many years ago when one of them moved houses – they used to be neighbours – and it’s safe to say that Soonyoung may be getting jealous. Jihoon gave him many kisses after that.

Wonwoo created another mindlink with SEVENTEEN and Monsta X. He had to reassure the new boys that no, we can't hear all your thoughts, only if you want us to know, and no I can't and don't need that to control you. Junhui was also highly confused when he felt seven unknown people in a new mindlink, and the new group had to be introduced to him before he freaked out, thinking that aliens had invaded his mind.

The Hyungwonho trio and Hyunwoo were bonding with Jihancheol, while Wonwoo, Mingyu and Minghao were trying to hold up a decent conversation before it turned awkward between the other two. Jooheon was just smacking Changkyun’s head when he does stupid things, the latter rubbing his head in pain and pouting at Jooheon, while Seungkwan and Hansol were feeding each other, talking between themselves and the members could sometimes hear Seungkwan’s diva personality surfacing, him sassing Hansol who would still look at him like a lovesick puppy.

Seokmin and Chan were sleeping on each other, and the members cooed at them, wishing they had their phones to take pictures of them. After training ended, all of them would crowd around Mingyu’s laptop screen and meet Junhui through video call and well, he definitely got bombarded every night by 19 other people. When he felt like it, he would astral travel to their dorm and say good night, virtually hugging all of them before sleeping.

The group is also in a tug of war with the soldiers stationed at the base. There was the Seungcheol-and-Hyunwoo combat incident, and then there was the soldiers trying to show-off to them.

Once, one of the soldiers were showing off how he could fly a drone with a blindfold on through an obstacle course and purposefully flew it into Jeonghan’s face, and if there’s one thing that the soldiers learnt, is to never ever provoke Jeonghan. He sent his own drone with the skin of a lizard hanging off it at the group. He cackled evilly when they flinched.

Even the members shivered slightly, though they got a good laugh at the soldiers’ reactions. Well, who knew that the Angel was truly a devil.

As for Seungcheol and Hyunwoo, at the next combat session, after the soldier tried to show off to them, thinking he would win once again, was proven dead wrong when they finished him off. The guy lay flat on the training mat, unconscious. The duo did a fist bump at their victory. The poor guy was sent to the sick bay, Jisoo having to do damage control once again.  

During one of their runs through the valley, they had to make it up to the top of a rocky hill further out. Mingyu was running up quickly. His stamina had improved a lot since his first day there. He saw Minghao reaching the top. He ran faster to catch up to him.

When Minghao reached the top, he whooped with joy, looking out to the scene in front of him. “Minghao!” He turned and saw Mingyu panting heavily, footsteps slightly unsteady. He giggled and pointed at him playfully. “Why?”

“Can’t believe that catching you…is so hard.” Mingyu tried to steady his breath, smiling at Minghao. “But in the end aren’t you here to catch me now?” Minghao replied with mirth. A sudden silence descended. Minghao looked at his shoes as Mingyu slowly climbed up to where he was. They looked out to the horizon. They glanced at each other again, smiling.

“Why did you join Sky Wolf?” “Because, I wanted to become a better pilot and soldier.” “And…?” “…” Minghao observed Mingyu, then looked back down at his shoes. He smiled slightly. “It’s fine.” He walked off, Mingyu sighed, frustrated, hating that he had ruined their moment. ‘Why can’t I just say it?’

A sudden sound of engine alerted them of a plane. A war plane flew by, their commander gazing down at them. By then, everyone had reached the peak. They jumped and waved excitedly at Commander Yurame, who looked at them boredly, shutting his visor and flying off into the clouds. “Aish, these kids.” 

Chapter Text

[26.06.2020, 1400; Yuryung Base]

“Flying, flying, whoosh! This is called the cotton candy tactic, coined by my partner.” Using two model planes, Junhui showed the tactic he and Mingyu had used on the bandits all those months ago. His job is to teach Hanryeo soldiers piloting. “Remember, I must not forget about my partner. He is my best friend and buddy, and he should know me as well as my soulmate, well then again he is my soulmate as well.” The students laughed at his joke.

A man walked into the small classroom. The man with the binoculars.

“He is your wingman, and to be a great fighter pilot, you must have an equally good relationship with him. Class is over!” The students started leaving. The man gazed at him with interest. Junhui looked at him. He was dressed in military uniform, with a red beret and a beard.

“Your class is very exciting. You are a skilled pilot and a good teacher.” The man addressed him as he walked with Junhui, who was heading to his room. “I’ve had a lot of flying experience, so I naturally know a lot.” Junhui replied.

“However, I don’t understand, the students said you were a great pilot, but you do not know of such a simple tactic; the one which I had just taught them today.”

“I just don’t understand, when the enemy seized you at 6 o’clock position, why would they allow you to hide in the clouds? It is unrealistic. Your country hasn’t been in a war for decades now, what if a war starts tomorrow? Are you guys ready?”

Junhui stopped, staring at him incredulously, wondering what the man was trying to say. “What do you mean?”

The man stopped and turned towards him, patting his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I just assumed a situation. I didn’t mean any trouble. See you tomorrow.” The man left. Junhui stood there, deep in thought.

As sunset arrived, Junhui was back in his room on his bed, researching on his laptop. He typed in ‘Ismare’ into the Yuryung Air Base website. The profile and details of Ismare Sal appeared on the computer screen. A line stood out to him. ‘Ismare Sal has more than 3500 hours of flight record and has carried out 450 combat missions on his own.’

At the same time, jeeps and trucks carrying masked men were heading towards the air base, with loaded guns, and a flag with an insignia of a white cobra was attached to the vehicles.

Junhui continued reading Ismare’s profile when the Wi-fi connection was lost. He tapped his keyboard, closed his computer, going to find out the reason for the disconnection when suddenly, a loud BOOM rang out. His windows shattered, debris flying in as he was flung into the wall.

When he recovered, his ears were ringing as he groaned, stumbling out of the bed and out of the door. As he staggered out of his room, another explosion near him rocked the ground, causing him to stumble and cover his ears as he crouched behind a car. The jeeps stopped in front of the building and gunshots were heard in rapid fire.

Looking behind, he saw the gunmen enter the building. Taking his chances, Junhui ran to the vehicle in front of him. Yanking open the door of the petrol car, he got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Someone banged on the window, yelling. “Let me in! Let me in!”

“Get in the car!” The man crumpled to the ground, shot dead. Bloody handprints were left on the window. Junhui recovered from the shock and drove to the exit, ducking as shooters shot through the backseat windows. He glanced at the rear-view mirror, eyes widening in horror when he saw his students crouching on the ground with their hands above their heads, the terrorists pointing their guns at them. “You move and I’ll kill you!”

Another man was dragging the father of Chaeun and Hyungjun, who was shielding the children. Suddenly, Chaeun dashed off. Her father ran after her, knocking away a gun that was pointing at her. “Chaeun! Chaeun!” The same gun now aimed at the father and shot his leg, twice. “Chaeun!”

“Appa! Appa!” Chaeun ran back to her father, who was now on the ground, crying hysterically. Hyungjun was also crying, held back by another man. A bulky man stalked slowly to the father and daughter on the ground. “Please, don’t kill my daughter!” The father pleaded. The man took out a knife.

A car came crashing into crowd, knocking into a few of the men, except the man with the knife, narrowly avoiding the vehicle. Junhui jumped out of the driver’s seat, jumped up and gave a roundhouse kick to the man’s face. He then kneed the man again in the face. The man groaned in pain. Reaching down for the man’s gun, he caught the man in a headlock and pointed the gun at the man’s head.

“DON’T MOVE, OR I’LL SHOOT YOU!” Junhui screamed, livid. The other ruffians started to surround the two and close in on them, with their guns levelled at Junhui. “LET THEM GO! I SAID LET THEM GO!” Shouting erupted all over the place. “Shoot him! I said shoot him!” The man in the headlock ordered his comrades.

A man walked casually into the chaos, holding his pistol. He stood beside the duo. Junhui looked at him. He raised his pistol and shot a student. Ismare Sal then addressed him, “If you want to save more lives, you better drop your gun.” His smouldering gaze met Junhui’s livid ones. He then pointed his pistol at Chaeun and her father, who hugged his daughter tighter.

“It has nothing to do with you.” Junhui looked at Hyungjun, who was now full on screaming for his father. He stilled. The gangster was dropped. Another ruffian snuck up behind him, hitting him hard with the blunt end of his rifle, and then he was crumbling to the ground, out like a light.

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[25.06.2020, 1535; Sky Wolf HQ]

They were in an isolated training room. The members were finally going to start training their powers. As the magical society and individuals with special abilities remained concealed from the main society, only the higher ups held the knowledge that the men had powers.

Commander Yurame told them to show their powers individually. The SEVENTEEN members went first. Seungcheol channelled all his strength into his fists and punched the ground, forming a crater, at the same time forming rock statues. Jeonghan showed his angel wings, that had a white to black gradient from the shoulder blades to the feather tips.

Jisoo cut himself, and then healed it with a glow forming around his hands. Soonyoung produced a small spark, which escalated into a blaze and the fire surrounding his entire body, while Wonwoo commanded the entire team to do embarrassing things. Jihoon sang a tune that immediately made the members sleepy and then opened his mouth in a silent scream, which attracted all sorts of animals from the desert into the facility (Jihoon doubled to the ground, laughing hysterically when they found the guard soldiers freaking out).

Seokmin produced a glow, which became increasingly blinding, and created a lightsaber, while Mingyu linked hands with everybody, teleported them into midair somewhere outside the base and back into the training arena before everybody fell to their deaths. Minghao did multiple things at once, finishing off a wushu and b-boy routine in less than 10s. Seungkwan made walls of water and ice form all around them, creating an impenetrable fortress, while Hansol pulled out his collection of arrows, manipulating their shadows to move them with frightening speed and deadly accuracy, each giving off a different effect. Chan became invisible and swiped many belongings of the members and made all of them invisible when he linked hands with them.

When it came to Monsta X members’ turn, they had to head outside so that Hyunwoo could use his power without damaging the facility. He created hurricanes, snow, rain, sunshine, hail, lightning for a short period of time, before it messed with the weather too much. Hoseok showed his huge black wings, that reflected a bright sheen, and when his wings moved, the members were nearly thrown off balance by the sheer strength of it. Minhyuk displayed small gusts of wind and touched some members, displaying the same power after he touched them, the last was Jisoo’s healing power which would stay with him for a long while until he switched or ran out of energy.

Kihyun created force fields, the largest being able to cover the entire facility and another 100m outside of it, and opened portals that allowed them to choose their destination once they were in it. Hyungwon travelled through time into the past and exposed all of Chan’s embarrassing stories and calculated a long complex equation, giving the answer immediately. Jooheon grew a gigantic beanstalk that reached into the clouds and produced a herb that was extinct since the last century while Changkyun produced large gusts of electricity that caused a temporary power outage in the facility, which was restored almost immediately by the man himself.

After the display of abilities, Commander Yurame ordered them to spar against each other. He chuckled at Mingyu’s antics, talking to the man beside him. “You see? Still a show-off.” The man, Lieutenant Haekyun, just laughed.

Chapter Text

[25.06.2020, 1600; Ministry of Defence, Hanryeo]

The place was in an uproar. The terrorist group White Cobra had claimed responsibility hours after the attack and have taken over Yuryung Base, taking hostages. Profiles of the hostages were being printed out, men rushing around to do their duties. The colonel was speaking to his assistant. “What’s the status of the Korean staff at the airport?” “They are still missing, probably taken as hostages.”

“Probably, probably…how will I explain to the General? God damn, your military career could also probably be over you know that?!” The colonel stopped in front of a door and turned to look at his assistant. “You better come up with a good answer for the General.” He straightened his uniform and knocked on the doors, before entering.

“General-!” He was halted by the General, who was listening to the news. “-a helicopter heading towards Yuryung Base has been shot down, casualties unknown. The government admitted that the airstrike against the terrorists in the airbase was a major failure. The Government-” The General turned off the TV. The two men fidgeted. “I’ve heard enough tragedy today. I hope you are telling me something good.” The colonel and his assistant glanced uneasily at each other.

“General, some Korean staff at the airport were among the kidnapped, their whereabouts unknown.”

The telephone on the table started ringing.

“I have to warn you General. This is our last warning. You have another 36 hours to release our leader, if not you can face the consequences.”

“I have to warn you too, this is not a joke. Even if you have taken over the missile silo, you do not have the capability to operate it.”

Eerie laughter came from the terrorist. “You know General, my grandmother once said, when the Goddess of Mount Syriana is angered, it is time for our people to perish.” Just as the General looked out of his window at Mount Syriana in the background, the top of the mountain exploded.

The colonel flinched. The General sighed. “Contact the South Korean Government, immediately!”

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[25.06.2020, 1610; Yuryung Base, Hanryeo]

A camera started recording. A gun was pointed to a man’s head as they manhandled him into a kneeling position. “I am Ismare Sal, head pilot in charge of Yuryung Base. I thereby confirm that the missile silo has been taken over, and they have the launch authorisation and the encryption key for the firing of a long-range ballistic missile, which would reach an area within a 1500km radius. Do not approach! The hostages are kept near the silo!”

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[25.06.2020, 1630; Sky Wolf HQ]

“In this attack, 20 people have been confirmed missing, of which are 10 Koreans, 10 Hanryeo citizens and soldiers. Out of the Koreans, there are 2 children, aged 6 and 8 respectively. Intelligence confirms that there are multiple Hanryeo casualties and at least one injured Korean hostage. The Republic of Hanryeo has sent an emergency request for help in subduing the terrorists. They have lost control of the military weapons and aircraft in Yuryung Base. The man that the terrorists have ordered to be released is the leader of the terrorist group White Cobra, who was the mastermind of many large-scaled terrorist attacks across the world, and was arrested by Hanryeo authorities a few months ago. He’s currently locked up in Hanryeo Prison Guard, their prison of the highest security.”

Commander Yurame paced around the meeting room. “2 Korean fighter jets would be dispatched to take back control of the air while assisting the ground troops in a collaborative effort to seize back control of Yuryung Base and the missile silo.” Lieutenant Haekyun finished his report.

“The government has clearly stated this would be a joint anti-terror operation.” Commander Yurame nodded grimly. “Who is my wingman for this mission?”

“According to statistics, Mingyu is your best choice. He is ahead of the other pilots in terms of performance. However, he may not be a wise choice as his soulmate, Junhui, one of the piloting teachers, is currently one of the hostages. He may be unstable. Our mission is also to assist Hanryeo’s forces, and not save the hostages.”

Yurame stared at Haekyun. “Wait, just how many soulmates does this guy have?” “Well he has 3, 2 of which are in the team.” muttered Haekyun. “Who is the pilot on duty now?” Opening the doors to the changing room, the entire SEVENTEEN and Monsta X stood at attention.

“Commander, we wish to take part in the mission!” Yurame was dumbfounded. “…who are the fighter pilots?” Seungcheol, Mingyu, Wonwoo, Chan and Hyungwon raised their hands. “…who are the soulmates of Junhui?” Mingyu, Wonwoo and Minghao raised their hands. ‘…fuck.’ Yurame was speechless.

Just then, Mingyu spoke up. “Commander, I wish to be on the mission. As a soldier, I have been trained to not let my emotions affect my job.” The other members nodded in agreement.

Yurame sighed. ‘Someone kill me please I’m too old for this.’

[25.06.2020, 1700; Sky Wolf HQ]

“Wolf ready for take-off.” “Kim ready for take-off. “You may take off.” The fighter jets left the runway and flew into the air. “Wolf, Kim, keep your battle formation.” “Understood.”

The rest of the members looked on with worry as the both of them left the base, Wonwoo still trying to contact Junhui through the mindlink. The control centre was buzzing with activity, the main screen showing the progress and coordinates of the two planes. The members stayed, wishing they could be of help, watching the progress.

Meanwhile, on the planes, Commander Yurame was trying to strike a conversation with Mingyu. “When did you meet Junhui?” Silence. “I’m asking you a question.” “We met each other in flight school, and we’ve been together until now.”

“He was always your wingman, right?” “Yeah, since the start, before I joined Sky Wolf.”

“I’ve read about your mission a few months ago, he’s pretty witty and smart, he’ll be fine.” Commander Yurame assured him awkwardly. Mingyu was thankful for his efforts, but was still worried about Junhui, gnawing his lips, especially since Junhui wasn’t replying to any of them in the mindlink. He resolutely put up his mental block that Wonwoo taught him so as to focus and continued flying ahead.

“Wolf, the route you have chosen is according to plan.” A soldier reported. Lieutenant Haekyun had a headpiece on, looking at a tablet. A UAV (drone) was flying above the two planes. “Wolf, this is the UAV reporting. There is an air defence radar searching right in front of you. Please be alert. Lower your altitude and pay close attention to it.”

“Understood. Kim, look out for the radar, position at 225 degrees. It is not in the report and the power-on time is strange.” “Understood. What do you think is wrong?”

“The Hanryeo military system has always been on the brink of breaking down, why is the radar suddenly activated now?”

[25.06.2020, 1730; Mount Syriana]

“Ismare, I’ve gotten the SAM missiles already. With this, they’ll release my brother at once.” A man put a walkie talkie to his ear, heavy military equipment in the background, deep in the valley. “You did well, now it’s time to show them what we are made of.”

“Sir, sir! The radar just detected 2 South Korean fighter jets, approaching in fast!” Ismare weighed his choices. He lifted the walkie talkie to his mouth once more. “Take them down.” “Oh yes…”

“Use all the machines! Go go go! Move!” The ruffians got into the machines and tanks. A warning signal sounded in the planes. “Commander, the guidance radar on the ground in initiated!” Mingyu alerted. Missiles turned to face the incoming planes. A man pushed a red button in the vehicle. A missile was fired. And another.

“Shit, 2 SAM missiles were fired!” “Scatter and dodge! Lower altitude and increase speed! Chaff flares!” Yurame led his missile to a mountain. Manoeuvring sharply, the missile crashed into the mountain and exploded just as Yurame veered upwards. He turned back to find Mingyu.

“Shit, it’s too close I can’t get rid of it!” “Do the crossover, the shit you did at the farewell ceremony!” “Understood!” “I’m flying to the left, veer up!” The two planes crossed and continued speeding up into the sky.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” “Shut up and follow instructions!” The missile now tailed behind Commander Yurame’s plane. “THE MISSILE IS BEHIND YOU!” Just as Commander Yurame ducked into the mountains, the missile exploded.

“WOLF!”

At ground level, the guy smirked, walking off with his henchmen.

“WOLF!” Mingyu’s scream reverberated over the intercom. Some soldiers stared at Lieutenant Haekyun, who stared at the screen, the plane representing Yurame turning red. Everyone in the control centre paused.  

Suddenly, Mingyu saw Yurame’s plane fly out from the thick black smoke in the mountains and dashed down to meet him. Worry filled his chest, his heart leaping.

Just then, Jeonghan got a vision. He saw Commander Yurame’s injuries, and him slowly losing consciousness, Mingyu shouting in the background.

“Shit! Guys! Commander is alive but won’t be conscious for long, get moving! Wonwoo, get through to Mingyu, Jisoo, prepare whatever you need, Hyungwon, if need be, get ready to be on standby.”

“Seungkwan, go and form a water bubble, to prepare for safe landing of the planes. Minhyuk, take my strength. Hoseok, take Minhyuk out to the runway, get into the air to take hold of the planes. Hansol, go help Seungkwan, you know what to do. Minghao and Jooheon, go to Jisoo, he’s going to need all the energy he can get. Han, go find Jisoo as well, he probably needs some of your blood. The rest stay here and keep us updated on their progress. Open all mindlinks.” Seungcheol ordered. The other soldiers were shocked, seeing SEVENTEEN and Monsta X take over seamlessly and efficiently.

Meanwhile, Mingyu is flying beside Commander Yurame. The glass casing of the plane was cracked, and blood was streaked all over the commander’s face, his eyes barely open. Mingyu pulled off his mask and looked over at him worriedly. “Kim, mission cancelled. Return to base immediately. Evaluate damage.”

“Wolf,” Haekyun steeled himself. “are you still able to operate the plane?” “My eyes hurt, Haekyun ah, I can’t see clearly, I can’t see anything anymore.” Yurame responded, slurring.

“Wolf,” Mingyu flew around Yurame’s plane to assess the damage. “it seems that the glass casing, the left and right elevators and the left side of the rudder are damaged.” “I understand.” “Wolf, if you cannot fly back, you can jump off the plane and parachute.” Yurame yanked off his mask, his lips pale. Haekyun blinked back tears, the fear of Yurame not returning stuck in his throat.

Yurame caught his breath. “Flying for so many years, have you ever seen me jump? And not to mention…I’m out of Korean territory and away from you…I understand the damage; I am able to return.” Mingyu looked on anxiously.

“Kim, remember, now you are my eyes. Tell me what to do, and lead me back…” “I understand.” Mingyu gulped.

“There’s a mountain in front. Push the lever to the left.” “Push to the left…” The plane wobbled. “Level!” “Level…” “Hold steady.” “Hold steady…” The commander’s head started drooping, slowly losing consciousness. “Shit, he’s losing it!”

‘Mingyu!’ Wonwoo shouted in the mindlink, finally breaking through his mental barrier. ‘Mingyu, you have to teleport him back, Jeonghan got a vision, he’s not going to last for much longer. Level beside him, close enough for you to reach out and touch his plane wing, and open your glass casing when you are ready.’ ‘Hyung-’

‘Do it now! Mingyu, stay calm, think of us, of the base, of everyone here. We are here ready for the both of you. Teleport back here, back to us.’

“Wolf, hold on steady, I’m coming.” Mingyu levelled beside the other plane, put on his mask, opened the casing, reaching out, he heard one sentence from Wonwoo. ‘Come back…come back home. We can’t lose you guys too.’

Both planes disappeared into thin air.

Chapter Text

[25.06.2020, 1800; Sky Wolf HQ]

Haekyun looked out of the glass window, binoculars in his hand. Suddenly, two planes appeared in the horizon. Hoseok and Minhyuk went forward and got hold of Yurame’s plane as Wonwoo rushed out and used his telekinesis to pull out the landing wheels so that they could land it properly. Mingyu landed his plane, albeit shakily as Hoseok and Minhyuk manoeuvred the other plane into the water bubble that Seungkwan created, slowly morphing into a water cushion that disappeared as the plane neared the ground.

Haekyun ignored the soldiers that were gaping in shock at the display of powers.

Wonwoo held Mingyu up as he exited the plane and crashed onto the ground, legs unable to support him, shocked by the turn of events. Seungcheol, Jooheon and Changkyun quickly rushed Yurame into the medical unit while Hoseok and Minhyuk helped Wonwoo, who was too drained from breaking Mingyu’s mental barrier to use his powers, to bring Mingyu to their dorm after calming him and putting him to sleep, seeing how shaken he was. They stayed with Mingyu as the rest gathered at the medical unit.

Haekyun somehow got to his senses and stumbled to the medical unit, with the help of Hyungwon and Kihyun. Hyunwoo stayed in the control unit to maintain order temporarily. Haekyun burst into the medical unit, searching for Yurame. His heart was torn apart and he finally let himself break as he saw the extent of Yurame’s injuries. When he neared his bed, both he and Yurame started glowing a soft blue, shocking the members.

“Lieutenant Haekyun, are you his soulmate?” He nodded, affirming Jisoo’s question. “Give me your hand and hold his.” Jisoo instructed. All three of them glowed a soft white as Jisoo used the soul bond to combine with his healing powers, repairing the commander’s injuries. Jeonghan and Seungcheol both kept a hand on Jisoo’s back to provide him with some of their energy.

The members sucked in a breath. Then, Jisoo slumped forward as the glow faded, with his soulmates holding him up, moving him to an adjacent bed.

“His internal injuries have mostly been repaired, thanks to the help of the soul bond and Jisoo. Jisoo also gave him some of my blood, which would speed up his recovery and help with his concussion.” Jeonghan updated the rest.

“How’s…how’s Mingyu?” Minghao asked.

Hyungwon sighed. “He’s sleeping now, Wonwoo had to put him to sleep, he was too shaken. My soulmates are with them now, back in the dorms.”

“Let’s get food for all of us, get Hyunwoo, and we bring Jisoo and return to the dorm.” Kihyun said.

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[25.06.2020, 1815; General’s Office, Hanryeo]

The telephone rang. “You have disgraced the President with your incompetence! No matter what you do, you had better guarantee the safety of the Korean hostages! The South Korean government will take action!” The line hung up abruptly. The general sighed.

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[25.06.2020, 1900; Yuryung Base]

Junhui tied a piece of cloth on the father’s leg. Touching the man’s forehead, he looked at the man worriedly. The man was surrounded by his children, his head in another man’s lap. Speaking weakly, he asked, “Do you think…we’ll get out alive?” Junhui removed his hand from the man’s forehead. “Don’t worry,” he vowed, “I’ll make sure you get out of here alive.”

“Shut up!” A ruffian sneered. Junhui fumed. “He. Needs. A. Doctor!” The same bulky man barged into the room with a few henchmen, sporting a black eye, glaring at Junhui.

He was manhandled into a chair in front of the table in the room. “You better eat something; you have a long way to run. You need to send a message to your government for us.” Ismare spoke.

“Honestly, you really impressed me.” The plate in front of Junhui was untouched. “If you have something to say, tell me.” Junhui glared at Ismare.

“Well, how did you feel when you faced death the first time? Especially when you killed someone, isn’t it exhilarating?” Junhui looked at him with disgust.

“No. It is disgusting, horrifying. It makes me realise that soldiers are not meant to just kill people without reason, they are supposed to guard the peace of their country!” “Well, it seems like you are as good a soldier as I am.”

“How dare you talk about being a great soldier when you betrayed your country and your people!”

“Your country has never been to a war, peaceful and powerful. It is not me that betrayed the government. It’s my government that betrayed me!”

Ismare took in a breath.

“It’s time for you to go.”

Two men held Junhui by the arms. “Your government made a huge mistake, so as a South Korean soldier, you should take all the responsibility!” Junhui heard Chaeun and Hyungjun screaming for him in the background, the other hostages shouting as they dragged him out of the room, the other henchmen hitting them, telling them to shut up.

They forced him to kneel down, car headlights shining brightly at him, camera on. The bulky man wore a black mask and stood behind him, pulling his hair and brandishing a wicked knife, putting it at his throat. Junhui started shaking, he didn’t want to go before saying goodbye to his friends, his soulmates; not like this.

“This is a warning to the South Korean government, if you ever interfere with our plans again, this will be the outcome of all your hostages!” Finishing, the ruffian lifted his hand to swing it down into his neck and-

“Wait.” Ismare put down a walkie talkie at his ear. He smiled sinisterly. “We made it.” Sudden silence. Then, whoops, shouts and gunshots rang through the air, the ruffians celebrating their victory.

Junhui collapsed, sitting on his heels, breathing heavily. Ismare walked up to him and sniggered in his face.

“You are one lucky guy.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2000; -]

A jet landed at a runway, in the darkness of the night. Police cars lined up in front of the runway, a police van at the side. Policemen gathered around the runway, with rifles and guns in their arms. The plane came to a stop. The assistant of the colonel exited a car. Stairs leading to the interior of the plane lowered to the ground. A man, chained at the hands and legs, slowly walked down the stairs. The two men stopped in the middle.

“Well well well. And here we meet again.” The man smirked. The assistant looked at him with disdain. He lifted his hands up. The assistant sighed. He nodded at the guard beside the prisoner. The guard unlocked the chains.

“You’d better keep your promise.” The prisoner stopped. Sniffing the man, he sighed. “I smell freedom.” He stalked off to the van waiting for him.

“Hey prisoner!” He turned back. “You killed my pregnant wife, my children and my entire family.” He picked at his nails with disinterest. “You deserve this, you fucking bastard.” Gunshots rang out in the night. Shouts erupted. The criminal lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood, dead. 

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2005; Minister of Emergency Affairs, Hanryeo]

At the office, a telephone rang.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2045; -]

A helicopter flew through the night.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2100; Dormitory]

Mingyu had woken up, while Wonwoo was resting. After eating with the members, he went to his room. Minghao looked at where he had gone, the other members worried. Mingyu went into the shower and turned on the tap. Water rained down. His mind replaying what Commander Yurame had instructed him to do during the mission, over and over again.

His computer replayed the last video call he had with Junhui, the girl appearing on the screen. “Anneonghaseyo, are you one of the soulmates that uncle Junhui has? He talks about you a lot! There is nothing here, no toys, no cartoons, and the food tastes weird! Don’t ever come here!” Mingyu slammed his fist against the wall. Gathering himself, he shut the tap.

He went out of his room, brought a map, and laid it in front of the members, who quickly gathered around him without question. He drew some diagrams on the map and drew a straight path through a valley. Seeing their confusion, he explained.

“When I was avoiding the missiles during the mission, I realised that although the radar reacts quickly, there is a weak spot behind the antennae. With our latest technology, we can disarm the radar just as the radar is locked onto me when I pull up, so that the SAM missiles can be destroyed, and…”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2200, Sky Wolf HQ]

The helicopter landed. The Air Defence Artillery Officer had just arrived at the command centre. Lieutenant Haekyun updated him on the situation.

“4 hours ago, both of our fighter jets deployed on a joint mission with Hanryeo military had come under attack, leaving one of our officers injured. At the moment, our intelligence reports have shown that the government of Hanryeo has clearly lost control of the situation. We are currently approaching the deadline set by the terrorists for the release of the leader.”

“However, we have just been notified that the leader has been killed during his release 1 hour ago and as such the terrorists will definitely fire the long-range ballistic missile and kill all hostages. Any area within 1500km range would be vulnerable, including Asia and the southern part of South Korea. Thus, we must attempt our own rescue mission immediately.”

“The mission must be sudden and effective, so that we are able to rescue the hostages without alerting the terrorists.” The officer pointed out, piercing eyes on Lieutenant Haekyun, before scanning the map.

“Yes. However, one problem we are facing are the air defence radars situated near Mount Syriana, which blocks off almost all flight paths. Also, the guidance radar for the SAM missiles that attacked our planes has been hidden.” “We have the newest and most powerful artillery system. The key is just how to deal with the guidance radar, so that our planes can enter the area without detection.”

“The enemies do not have a blind spot radar in the valley, so there is a 10s window between the 2 radars. During this time, our fighters need to fly through a narrow 20m wide valley, no higher than 30m off the ground. Since the valley is broken up by many ridges, the pilots also need to fly over 2 mountaintops to avoid detection, going through the small mountains to Mount Syriana.”

“This is a high-risk low-altitude flight, any error and we may lose both pilot and plane, especially since it is a night flight, and the whole mission would fail.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

“…in this way, I can bomb the missile silo and render it useless. I’ll fly out at day break.” SEVENTEEN and Monsta X were silent. Minghao said, “However, Hanryeo screwed up the release of the White Cobra’s leader. He’s dead.” “What?” “We don’t have any more time to wait for daybreak.” “Then I’ll fly at night.”

Suddenly, all of them felt a growing force of panic and fear in the back of their minds. They looked at each other when they realised it wasn’t any of them in the room.

‘Jun! JUN!” The feeling suddenly disappeared as the said person finally replied. ‘Wonwoo…’ Junhui responded weakly. ‘Are you okay??’ Minghao asked, anxiously. ‘They nearly killed me…I nearly couldn’t see you guys again…they were going to kill me to send a warning to you since you tried to interfere with their plans…but then didn’t as they had received some good news, like their objective was fulfilled…’

‘Junnie, calm down, deep breaths.’ Jisoo fumed. ‘Junhui, their objective was the release of their leader, the leader of the White Cobra terrorist group. However, the leader has been shot to death in Hanryeo an hour ago. We are coming to save you, and all the hostages. We will save you.’ Wonwoo said.

‘Okay. I’ll do whatever I can here. I need to go. Love you.’

‘Love you too.’

“We need to go.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[25.06.2020, 2300, Control Centre]

“The ground team will be separated into 2 teams, Ground 1 will be commanded by Jihoon, his team will be Wonwoo, Chan, Changkyun and Hoseok; Ground 2 is under Hyunwoo, with Minhyuk, Soonyoung, Kihyun and Hansol on the team. The medic team will be in two helicopters, Medic 1 is Jooheon, Hyungwon and Seokmin; Medic 2 is Minghao, Jisoo, Jeonghan, Seungkwan.”

“Medic 1 and Ground 1 will head to the missile silo first. Ground 2 and Medic 2 will wait for further instructions, stationed outside the radius of the air defence radars.”

“Seungcheol is the wingman for the mission. As for the leading pilot…Mingyu.”

“Why did you hesitate? Is there something wrong?”

Lieutenant Haekyun sighed. “I am worried that he may not have recovered from his previous mission, and also the fact that his soulmate is one of the hostages.”

The officer turned, scanning the team lined up in front of him, eyes landing on Mingyu at the end. “A man will wear his scars with honour. A mission takes priority over everything else, especially since it is implicated with the life of his soulmate. He will not have a problem.” The officer’s gaze did not waver.

Mingyu steeled himself for what he was going to say.

“I know. I am not the best pilot here. However, I am the only one who can do this task, because I’ve been there, and therefore I know the terrain better than anyone else here. My knowledge would be most useful to our mission.”

“I will not make empty promises. I will do whatever I can, to bring these people home. That is my mission, to fight and save the lives of our people.”

The officer nodded, deeming Mingyu fit for the job. He put on his cap and walked out to address the special unit.

“Today,” he sucked in a deep breath. “I have the honour of seeing all the soldiers of Sky Wolf base and the Sky Wolf Special Unit themselves. All of you belong to the elite of your different divisions; paratroopers, medics, pilots, ground troops; but most importantly, you are spirited soldiers. You are courageous, outstanding, amazing and you have the guts. You are South Korean soldiers.”

“Although you have not experienced the baptism of a war’s fire, I can see the determination to win this fight in your very eyes. You are now going to rescue your countrymen. This is the duty and honour of a soldier! The honour of our country!”

“Go, and triumph over them. Let them know, that provoking us, was their worst move. My comrades, my children, please take care of your battle mates. I pray that all of you will return home safely.”

Chapter Text

[25.06.2020, 2350; Sky Wolf HQ]

Heavy footsteps echoed everywhere. Everyone was getting ready for the oncoming battle. Troops were loading their guns; helicopters were getting checked and filled with artillery and basic medical supplies. Fighter jets were loaded with missiles.

SEVENTEEN and Monsta X changed into combat attire and retrieved their weapons. The strategists, Hyungwon, Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seungcheol and Jeonghan explained the plan to them, before dismissing them to get ready.

Minghao was sitting on the roof of a truck, near the runway. He looked at his shoes. “Minghao!” He looked up and saw Mingyu not far away. “We are heading out soon, in 10 minutes.” He rubbed his face.

“Hey.” He jumped off the vehicle, stopping beside the older. “You know, the weather forecast said that the wind is going to be strong tonight, so when you are in the valley, be careful…” “I know.” “The guidance radar will lock on you very quickly, so be prepared…” “I know.”

“Well since you flew there before, of course you know everything, huh?” Minghao pouted petulantly. Mingyu smiled, caressing Minghao’s head lightly.

“Don’t worry, I will definitely come back…”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

Back in the medical unit, Commander Yurame slowly regained consciousness. Hearing the commotion going on outside from the preparation, he laughed weakly. “Rascal, good luck, it’s all up to you now…”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0000; Sky Wolf HQ]

The mission starts now.

“Ground 1 on Air Bus 1, ready for take-off!”

“In this mission, you must be swift and quiet. Hanryeo’s sovereignty must also be respected. Minimise as much collateral damage possible. Unless we come under direct attack, we cannot destroy Hanryeo’s facilities nor harm the citizens of Hanryeo. Other than your bullets, all personnel must return back to South Korea, dead or alive.” “Yes sir!”

“S.Coups ready for take-off.” “Kim ready for take-off.” The fighter jets were given the all clear and they left the runway, into the night sky.

“Ground 2 on Air Bus 2, on standby!” “Medic 1 and Medic 2, ready for take-off!”

[26.06.2020, 0105; Border of Hanryeo]

“Reaching destination, ETA 0105.” “It’s the real guns now, are you scared?” “Are you?” Hoseok glanced at Changkyun.

“30s left.” The lights in the cabin turned red and the team put on their goggles.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you guys back safe and sound!”

The doors of the air bus opened and the signal turned green. They jumped. “Good luck brothers, we await your return. Mission accomplished, heading back to base now.”

Ground 1 landed safe and sound at the border of Hanryeo. They discarded their parachutes and quickly headed off to the missile silo.

Back at the control centre, a familiar man was responsible for controlling a UAV. Hwang Minhyun sat at a control desk, analysing the terrain of an area of Hanryeo that the UAV was showing him. He had a headset and his hair was slicked back neatly.

Ground 1 drove towards the missile silo.

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[26.06.2020, 0115; -]

The hostages were resting or sleeping in their corner of the room, still recovering from the shock of Junhui getting dragged out by the terrorists. Chaeun was snuggling with her father while Hyungjun was lying in Junhui’s arms.

The boy woke up, sitting up to look at Junhui. He took off his plaster, pasting it over a cut on Junhui’s hand. The boy went back to lie down on his chest. Junhui hugging him. The man shifted into a more comfortable position. He is going to astral travel.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0200; Missile Silo, Yuryung Base]

Ground 1 surrounded the missile silo camp. Lying in the grass meters from the camp, they positioned their guns. Chan prepared his knives, Wonwoo clearing his mind, building up his defences. Jihoon looked through his night vision lenses.

“A group of three at 11 o’clock. A group of eight on the tower at 2 o’clock. All armed with guns. Dino, start infiltrating the camp. Take Jeon with you. Make a clear path towards the hostage room. We’ll follow right behind you. I’ll direct you when I get closer to find their location. Start with the three first.” “Understood.” Chan stuck his knives into his boots, keeping a few in his hand. He grabbed Wonwoo’s hand and made their way out. 

“Wonho, I.M, look out for approaching vehicle heading towards you at 12 o’clock.” The duo hid behind a cupboard just as the headlights of the vehicle shone past. Their ground troops held their ground outside the camp as Jihoon followed behind Chan and Wonwoo, using his power to keep track of those two, entering the camp through a side path.

Chan and Wonwoo headed into a room in front of them. Bodies collapsed. ‘Woozi.’ He followed behind into the room, where two men were knocked out on the ground, another dead. They set up the signal disrupter before continuing on.

Hoseok and Changkyun entered by an entrance into an underground room. A man sat there, smoking. Changkyun sent a wave of electricity as he grabbed him by the neck, twisting. The guy fell, dead.

“Ground 1, infiltration successful.” Jihoon reported back to the control centre.

[26.06.2020, 0240; -]

Up in the air, the fighter jets connected their fuel tanks to a petrol plane “Kim, S.Coups, final pre-mission refuel complete.” “Start phase two of mission.”

The two airplanes were now nearing the location of Mount Syriana. “Kim, S.Coups, prepare to enter the valley of Mount Syriana.” “Understood.” The planes veered sharply and entered the valley. Mingyu sped through the valley, getting closer and closer to the surface.

“Prepare to track the radar signal from enemy radar.” The screen showed Mingyu entering the range of the radar. Doing a flip manoeuvre, he skimmed past a rock wall as he dropped down back into the valley. “Kim undetected by first radar, entrance successful! Entering discontinuous segment of valley in 20s.”

Mingyu kept his hand on the lever tight, not losing his focus. “Kim undetected by second radar, infiltration successful.” Suddenly, the valley narrowed abruptly. Mingyu’s eyes widened. He pulled a second lever sharply as the plane flipped to its side and barely squeezed through the gap, shooting out and into the sky.

[26.06.2020, 0255; Missile Silo, Yuryung Base]

Jihoon used his soundwaves and managed to locate Hoseok and Changkyun, all five of them meeting underground. Wonwoo and Jihoon held onto Chan, while Changkyun and Hoseok held onto the other two, staying invisible. Daggers flew out of Chan’s hand with deadly accuracy, lodging themselves in the men’s throats. The hallway was cleared of danger in seconds. Chan went to take his knives back.

Turning around the corner, Wonwoo crept behind a group of men and commanded them. ‘Die.’ The men crumbled in a heap, still. Changkyun and Jihoon swiped their guns. 

Hoseok looked around the corner as Jihoon released soundwaves. He found an occupied room a few doors down, with more than 10 people inside. He led them down the corridor, stopping right outside the room. The members released their grip on Chan. Wonwoo scanned with his mind and found 13 others, in the room.

“The hostages are inside, hyung.” He nodded at Hoseok. Changkyun prepared his gun. Hoseok got ready.

BANG!

The door burst open and Changkyun shot two ruffians dead, sending a bolt of electricity at a third, while Hoseok manhandled the last one and knocked him out. As the members of Ground 1 looked around the room, on high alert, with Changkyun’s hands still bristling with electricity, they came to a horrifying realisation.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0315; Medic 2]

‘Hey Hao.’ ‘Junhui! Are you okay? Did you astral travel? How long have you been here?’ Minghao asked, seeing his soulmate’s apparition behind him through the reflection. ‘I just found your helicopter.’

‘Don’t worry, hyung, all of us are coming to save you. Ground 1, well Jihoon’s team, has successfully infiltrated the missile silo camp!’ Seungkwan added, excited to see his hyung again. Junhui turned to look at him, confusion etched on his beautiful features.

‘Kwannie ya…what are you talking about? We were never held at the missile silo.’

Chapter Text

“Where are the Korean hostages? Where are they?!” Wonwoo.

‘…Junnie, you’re not at the missile silo…? Oh fuck.’ Minghao.

“Fucking hell, the Hanryeo intelligence was wrong, the Korean hostages are not held at the missile silo, but the Hanryeo hostages.” “Use the UAV to scan the area again.”

“Control centre, control centre. This is The8 reporting from Medic 2, my soulmate Junhui, informed my team that he was not at the missile silo, but at the airport. The other Korean hostages are with him.”

“Lieutenant Haekyun, Ground 1 just reported that they’ve found the Hanryeo hostages, but not ours.” “Sir, the UAV found a large number of vehicles at an airport 60km away, with lots of communication signals coming from their tower. We also need another UAV; our current air surveillance has just left the area.”

“That must be the airport the hostage mentioned. Dispatch Ground 2 and Medic 2.” “They are already on their way, sir!”

“UAV 12 surveying the area.” Minhyun moved the joystick and the UAV inched closer to Hanryeo.

[26.06.2020, 0325]

‘Guys, Junhui’s not at the missile silo, he’s at the airport, I’m sure you guys already heard. He astral travelled into my helicopter.’ ‘What? Did we mess up?’ Mingyu was trying to not freak out.

‘No, the Hanryeo hostages are still at the silo, just not the Korean ones. Either way, we still need to rescue people. Mingyu, we are going there now, focus.’

‘Ground 2 is already heading over, Medic 1 is reaching target location soon, in another 3 minutes. Ground 1 is currently getting the hostages out.’ Hyungwon updated in the mindlink.

‘Junhui, I’m flying us to the airport now.’ ‘Okay.’ Junhui started flickering. ‘Junnie, before you go, promise me you’ll stay alive.’ ‘I promise Hao, I love you.’ Before Minghao could respond, Junhui disappeared from the helicopter and was yanked back into his sleeping body.

[26.06.2020, 0327; Missile Silo, Yuryung Base]

Changkyun took lead with Chan and Jihoon while Hoseok and Wonwoo took the back. Jihoon slowly opened a door leading outside from underground. “Jeon, the hostages are safe, inform Kim.” “Kim, safety of hostages confirmed, continue with mission.” “Understood, beginning aerial attack.” Mingyu sped up into the sky, nearing the missile silo camp.

“Wonho, Jeon, protect the hostages. Dino, I.M, let’s go!” “Wait!” Before they exited, Wonwoo scanned and entered another mind. ‘Die.’ A man dropped right in front of the door, dead. Jihoon, Chan and Changkyun exited.

Changkyun created an electric field that extended to a wide radius, killing anyone who neared them. Jihoon opened his mouth and screamed at such a high frequency that it either damaged the ruffians’ ears or rebounded their bullets, killing them.

Chan slipped around with his invisibility on, striding right into the crowd of men and finished them off before they even knew what was coming. Changkyun continued firing bolts of electricity at those in the towers. Men crumbled to the ground.

Shouts erupted everywhere, chaos descending. Men started firing at them and Mingyu, the fighter jet circling the camp. “He’s up there! Keep shooting!” Jihoon, Chan and Changkyun continued clearing a path for the hostages to move out from the tunnel. “Move!” Wonwoo finished off men that had slipped past the trio, throwing them off with his telekinesis. Hoseok used his wings to shield the children and injured.

Men quickly entered the tanks and got moving. “How did the plane get in?” “I don’t know! He just appeared on the radar like a ghost!” The tanks rushed to the camp, SAM missiles and all. “Hurry up!”

Backup ground troops arrived at the camp. The soldiers started shooting at the ruffians, the camp in a state of chaos. In an underground control room, a man rushed around trying to do something. Suddenly the door opened, and a man came stumbling in, blood flowing from a wound in his stomach. “We’re freaking screwed!” 

The tanks came out of hiding, the guidance radar turned on. “Lock on target.” “SAM radar locked on Kim.” “Understood, proceeding with attack.” Seungcheol, who was hiding in the clouds as Mingyu started his attack on the camp, flew out to find the tanks. He entered the valley and found them. He lowered his plane. Finding that weak spot behind the antennae, he locked on. “Fire.”

Two missiles fired from the plane. An explosion lit up the night sky. “Target destroyed. S.Coups, mission complete. SAM missile threat eliminated. Backing up Kim.” “Medic 1, head to target location and prepare for rescue.” “Understood.” Jooheon flew over to the missile silo.

‘Changkyun, light up the border of the missile silo, as a guide for me.’ ‘Got it.’ Changkyun sent a bolt of electricity running around the border of the missile silo, creating a huge, orange glowing ring. As Ground 1 and the hostages ran past the silo and towards the exit of the camp, the ground started shaking as the silo opened up. Smoke puffed out from the ground. Chan’s eyes widened in horror. “Run!”

Wonwoo levitated the children and sent them out of the camp to the helicopter that had landed; Jooheon, Hyungwon and Seokmin rushing out. Seokmin sent a light beam to the missile silo to direct Mingyu when he heard the plane nearing. Jihoon, Chan and Changkyun grabbed some of the hostages and ran for the helicopter, bringing them along. Hoseok carried two injured and supported another two, rushing behind the rest.

“Hail the White Cobra!” The men in the control room pressed on a red button.

“Mingyu wait! The hostages are not far away enough from the silo yet! Hold your fire!” Seokmin screamed into his headpiece. “Understood.” Mingyu held onto a button, the missile halting in the compartment. “40 meters more!”

“30m!”

“20m!” The missile silo opened as the missile prepared to fire.

“Shit NO!”

The missile flew out of the fighter jet compartment, the gears unable to hold it back. Jooheon quickly fenced up the missile silo with thick trunks. But it was not enough. Fear seized his heart as Hoseok crouched down, opened his wings and shielded the remaining hostages with his wings as the missile landed and the missile silo together with the almost-ejected missile blew up, Joheon’s plants blasting into pieces. Thick black clouds billowed into the air.

The rest of Ground 1 were blown to the ground. Hyungwon could not move. It was too late for him to stop or tamper with time; the mission would fail, other consequences far worse than what he had just witnessed if he tried to save Hoseok’s life. As the smoke billowed, he finally screamed, running towards the blast, but was held back by Jihoon and Jooheon. “HOSEOK!”

Seungcheol hovered above the crash site, processing the scene in front of him.

Mingyu froze, hearing the scream through the mindlink, painful and heart ripping.

‘Fuck Kim Mingyu don’t you dare freak out now! Hoseok is alive, I can sense his consciousness. Hyungwon, get to your senses! Kim Mingyu get your ass moving, Seungcheol can take over here, get to the airport!’ Wonwoo snapped. Mingyu got together and sped to the airport.

Back on the ground, the members recovered quickly. Chan and Jooheon tended to the hostages that managed to get out first while Jihoon, Wonwoo, Seokmin and Hyungwon went back into the blast area to get Hoseok and the remaining hostages with him, Changkyun dealing with the terrorists nearing them.

‘I’ll save you Hoseok ah, just wait for me baby.’

‘ 아랐어 … 나 … 기다려해 …’ (I know, I’ll wait for you…)

Chapter Text

[26.06.2020, 0343; Airport, Yuryung Base]

Ismare went to pick up the glass of beer on the table. The table shook. He paused.

The telephone started ringing.

“Our leader has been killed! We’ve been fooled!”

Ismare slowly put the receiver down.

He slammed the telephone again and again. His men stared at him, shocked. He swiped the table and violently pushed a shelf down. Crash! “ARGHHH!”

“What’s wrong? What happened?” The bulky man barged into the room after hearing the ruckus.

“We’re fucked! They lied to us! We shouldn’t have made deal with useless people!” “Our leader, he’s not coming back anymore, right?” “Kill them.”

“The White Cobra always keep their promises.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

Heavy boots were heard marching on the ground towards the room. The door slammed. Ruffians rushed in and dragged the hostages out, Junhui awaking abruptly. He shook his head to clear his mind as he held Hyungjun tightly. The men shoved them to the ground harshly, forcing them on their knees. Chaeun and Hyungjun started crying. They lined them up, facing the men. Junhui started planning quickly.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0400; Control Centre]

“UAV 12 has found the hostages.” Minhyun zoomed in on the scene shown in front of him, starting his report. The Air Defence Officer looked at the screen with rapt attention.

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[26.06.2020, 0345; Missile Silo, Yuryung Base]

Debris were strewn everywhere. Seungcheol hovered his plane over the site as he kept his eyes on Ground 1, lifting off nearby debris and searching for Hoseok. Jihoon started humming a tune. He traced the rebounds of the soundwaves and followed the trail.

Wonwoo helped Seungcheol in removing the large chunks of debris to one side, clearing the path for them. Seokmin provided a ball of light so that they could see where they were going. 

“There! Hoseok!” Hyungwon rushed up to the pile in front of them. He stopped a few feet away from him. Hoseok was curled around the injured hostages, his wings battered and charred at some edges. Bruises and cuts littered his entire back, and he had a nasty gash on his forehead.

The hostages were fine, terrified from the explosion if anything. Jihoon went up and slowly lifted Hoseok’s wings. A whimper was heard. Hyungwon ran up close to the man, kneeling on the ground.

“Hoseok! Can you hear me?” Another groan was heard.

“Don’t touch him, I’ll lift him up slowly.” Wonwoo concentrated and slowly levitated Hoseok’s battered body into the air, gently shifting him into a lying down position. Streaks of blood were left on the ground. Seokmin and Jihoon carried 2 injured hostages, while Hyungwon supported another 2 that were able to walk slowly. The ground shifted as Seungcheol manipulated the earth beneath them, bringing them closer and moving them faster towards the helicopter.

When the duo at the helicopter saw them, their eyes widened. Chan and Hyungwon quickly brought the hostages up the helicopter while Jihoon got out a stretcher, Seokmin running to help Changkyun deal with the remaining ruffians.

Wonwoo turned Hoseok around and laid him on his stomach. As he released his hold, Wonwoo collapsed into Jihoon’s waiting arms, drained as Jooheon heaved the stretcher into the helicopter with some remaining ground soldiers; the rest having returned to base. Seungcheol rested as he waited for them to get ready.

“Jihoon, can you fly? I need to start the healing process for Hoseok, it cannot be delayed anymore!” Jooheon requested urgently. Jihoon slipped into the pilot’s seat just as the rest entered the helicopter. Hyungwon sat beside Hoseok, holding his hand as Jooheon quickly produced some herbs, grinding them into paste and put them on Hoseok’s wounds, stopping the major blood flow first.

Hoseok sighed in relief, his eyes opening by a fraction. “너 여기있어…(You’re here)” “Yes, you’re going to be okay…” Hoseok drifted back into unconsciousness.

Chan was bandaging the injuries of the hostages. Wonwoo lay at his side, spent. Seokmin and Changkyun bounded up the helicopter, still firing bullets at the incoming ruffians, shouting GO GO GO!, Seungcheol firing from his plane at the incoming vehicles.

Changkyun sat beside Jihoon up at the front of the helicopter, with Seokmin comforting the young hostages as the helicopter left the ground.

“Medic 1, Ground 1, S.Coups, heading back to base.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0415; Airport, Yuryung Base]

The members of Ground 2 were at the entrance of the airport, anxiety riding high in their systems. Hansol had wrapped them in the shadows and Kihyun opened a portal to bring them straight to the borders of the airport. They were petrified for Junhui, and for the hostages, knowing that there were children about to witness the carnage.

Minhyuk was immensely worried about Hoseok, as Hyungwon had updated them about the mission at the missile silo. There was also Minhyun’s report. Things were not looking good at all.

“Hyung, what do we do now?” “We wait. I know Mingyu is coming.”

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

[26.06.2020, 0430; Airport, Yuryung Base]

A henchman set up the camera, facing them, finally finishing the job after countless arguments among themselves about their plan, even having scuffles. Junhui grimaced, trying to think up something, praying that his friends were reaching soon.

Just then, the ruffians abruptly snatched the children, who had returned to their father’s grasp a few minutes ago, away from him. “Chaeun! Hyungjun!” The children were kicking and screaming as they were cruelly taken from their father, his hands reaching out.

“We, are going to stream this to the world. Kill them all, except the kids!” The men aimed their guns at the hostages. Junhui closed his eyes.

He heard a plane engine approaching in the distance. He looked up. Everyone stared at the approaching plane. The bulky man ignored it. “Men, don’t be scared. We have the Korean hostages! Be prepared!”

‘Wen Junhui you better know what I’m going to do.’ Mingyu circled around the airport, in a pattern of an infinity sign.

Junhui saw what Mingyu saw doing. It clicked, He looked behind and found a gap between 2 huge containers. “All of you, listen to me. Later, when I give you a signal, just remember one thing. Cover your ears and open your mouth wide. Children, listen to me. Remember to cover your ears and open your mouth.” The bulky man saw him talking.

“Shut up!” Junhui continued repeating his words. “I said shut up!” Another man was moving towards him and pointed his rifle at him. The bulky man walked up and put his pistol on Junhui’s head. Junhui was shaking and full on screaming now, both physically and mentally.

“COVER YOUR EARS AND OPEN YOUR MOUTH. YOU MUST DO AS I SAY, THIS IS OUR ONLY CHANCE TO GET OUT ALIVE!” Mingyu dived down. “LIE DOWN!”

“Fuck.”

The fighter jet was at full speed, the engine roaring, right above the ruffians. The windows shattered. A deafening, ringing sound reverberated through the air, leaving a mess of groaning and screaming ruffians rolling on the ground, ears damaged. Mingyu veered back up into the air.

Junhui recovered quickly, grabbing the gun that fell from the man’s hands, now lying on the ground beside him, still in pain. “Go and die.” He pointed the gun at the bulky man and shot him in the heart. He marched on into the crowd and finished off the men, getting to the children.

“Chaeun ah, Hyungjun ah. Cover your eyes until I say you can open them again, okay?” The children nodded innocently, doing what he said. He sighed.

He cradled Hyungjun in his arms, Chaeun on his back, before resuming his rampage on the terrorists, blood staining the ground, moans and groans in the air.

Suddenly, gunshots came from the side. He curled into a ball to protect Hyungjun, front facing the direction of the sounds. A man in the distance fell to the ground, dead. Junhui turned and looked at one of the hostages, holding a rifle. He nodded his thanks.

“Hide behind the containers now!” Junhui passed the children to the other hostages, killing another terrorist at the same time, the other men helping to keep a lookout as they ran for cover.

“Now!” Ground 2 marched into the camp, guns blazing. Minhyuk made use of his speed (He touched Minghao earlier) and broke through a crowd of ruffians. Soonyoung started hurling fireballs and produced a fire whip, which sliced through anything that got in its way. Hyunwoo produced thunder clouds and aimed lightning at the people on higher ground, efficiently clearing the towers. Hansol apparated on a tower and fired his arrows. Kihyun created force fields for each member and looked around for any sight of the hostages as he continued firing his gun at the assholes.

Bullets flew from above. A helicopter fired relentlessly at the men below, aiming for a tank, blowing up the vehicle. Minghao continued firing until he could see no more men in visible sight. Water vapour in the air froze into shards and were sent flying towards the ruffians, the work of Seungkwan. Jeonghan flew down from the helicopter and joined Ground 2, firing shots.

“RPG!” Minhyuk shouted and fired at a guy just as a grenade was shot at the helicopter. Minghao veered sharply to the side, narrowly missing the explosive. The guy tried to reach out for the fallen RPG. Hansol fired. The man stilled.

“Kihyun! You and Jeonghan go find the hostages. Meet you in the helicopter!” Jeonghan entered Kihyun’s safety force field, rushing off.

‘Junhui, where are you?’ ‘At the containers!’ The duo flew quickly to said location, Jeonghan carrying Kihyun while he maintained the force field. They quickly found him, firing shots and on the lookout. “Junhui, where are they?” “Here.” Junhui led them behind the containers. They saw scared faces looking back at them.

Kihyun extended his force field, surrounding the hostages; a protective layer. “Jeonghan! Hold that guy up, he’s shot! I’m opening the portal, straight to the helicopter. Minghao cannot land, it’s too dangerous.” A light blue bolt exited as a stream from Kihyun’s fingers, forming a swirling blackhole. The hostages stared at it with fascination and fear. “Jun, are you coming with us?” “No, I’m staying here to help.”

“Okay, take care, return soon.” Jeonghan smiled. “Take us back to the helicopter.” Kihyun commanded. As soon as the hostages stepped into the portal, it closed and they disappeared. “Minghao, move out a safe distance away! All hostages are here, Junhui is joining the fight. Let’s go!”

Junhui hid at the side of the tank. Turning around the corner, he saw Ground 2 heading towards him, rounding the side of another building. He caught a glimpse of ruffians hiding within. He started shooting. The members threw a grenade into the building, effectively getting rid of the men.

The team walked up to him. “Junhui, are you okay?” “Yep.” Just then, a portal opened beside them and Seungkwan stepped out. “Ready to fight?”

The members took cover just as bullets hit the side of the container. Hansol jumped onto the roof of the container with Hyunwoo. He shot the arrows and manipulated the shadows of the men, eliminating them quickly. Hyunwoo brought a mini hurricane and swept through the ranks. Soonyoung hid behind a nearby vehicle and started shooting fire bullets. Junhui continued emptying rifles and any gun he could find, hitting down the frontline men. Minhyuk raced round the crowd and attacked the men from behind. Seungkwan shot ice shards into a wide area, hitting any target.

Suddenly, Hyunwoo saw a flicker of movement in the enemy ranks. “Throw a grenade!” A grenade came flying and rolled to a stop beside Soonyoung’s feet.

“HOSHI! GRENADE!” Time froze for a moment. Soonyoung reacted quickly, throwing the grenade back the other direction and jumped as far away as he could from the vehicle as the grenade exploded. He recovered immediately, fistfighting a ruffian the next second.

More vehicles carrying the terrorists came entering the airport. The members hid behind the container tanks. Hyunwoo provided Seungkwan a rain cloud. The team collected themselves before heading out.

Junhui and Hansol ran forward, nearer to the vehicles as they took cover behind a barrier. They got up and started shooting at the men. Hyunwoo provided more clouds for Seungkwan as he produced a mini hurricane and sent them at the men nearing Minhyuk and Soonyoung, Minhyuk currently relying on his gun as the speed ability wore off and Soonyoung made fire shards.

Suddenly, a stray bullet hit Hansol and he crumbled to the ground. “Sol!” Junhui quickly dragged Hansol behind the barrier as the men continued shooting, cradling his head in his lap. “Shh, you gonna be okay. Stay with me Sol, don’t fall asleep!” Blood was flowing out of the wound at his side. Junhui ripped the bottom of his shirt and pressed it against the wound, Hansol breaths becoming laboured.

A man got to the machine gun at the top of one of the vehicles and started firing relentlessly at Junhui and Hansol. Dust flew as Junhui shielded the both of them as the barrier took the most damage. Sparks flew.

At that moment, Mingyu returned, diving towards the vehicles, shooting at the men. He continued shooting until the vehicles exploded, the men eliminated. Junhui looked up, seeing that the coast was clear, quickly carried Hansol to where Seungkwan was waiting. The man quickly put a healing bubble over the gunshot wound, hugging Hansol tightly.

Junhui quickly contacted Minghao. ‘Hao! You need to land somewhere, Hansol is injured, he needs to get up the helicopter soon!’ ‘Understood, get Seungkwan to bring him immediately.’ The helicopter landed behind the camp as Junhui covered the soulmates and brought them over to Jisoo’s waiting arms. Junhui smiled at Minghao and ran off with Kihyun, going to find Soonyoung, who was dealing with the rest of the terrorists.

[26.06.2020, 0455; Airport, Yuryung Base]

Minhyuk and Hyunwoo were at the other side of the camp. Guns held in front of their faces, they slowly inched towards another building that they have not checked before. As they neared an archway, a man appeared in their line of vision, his hands in the air.

“Freeze! Do not move!” “Don’t shoot me, I’m a hostage!” “Get on your knees, get on your knees!” The man finally kneeled on the ground. “My name is Ismare Sal, Hanryeo Air Force.” Hyunwoo took out a device to check the man’s identity. He nodded at Minhyuk.

“Follow me, sir.” Minhyuk pulled the man up with a tight grip on his arm. The man stumbled forward. Hyunwoo continued to head through the archway towards the building when the man attacked. He reached down and snatched a pistol strapped to Minhyuk’s thigh and shot him. Hyunwoo turned at the commotion and faced them just as the man turned and shot him, twice.

Hyunwoo and Minhyuk fell to the ground. The man escaped towards a hangar. He looked at the fighter jet. He glanced up at the sky and glared at Mingyu with contempt.

Minhyuk recovered from the man’s attack and slowly sat up. He pulled the bullet lodged in his vest. The vest had protected him. He quickly looked around for Hyunwoo. He spotted him lying on the ground a few feet away from him. Minhyuk hurriedly got up and ran to his leader. “Hyung! Hyung!”

Hyunwoo was unconscious, blood flowing from a wound on the right side of his chest and another on his shoulder. Minhyuk quickly heaved him onto his back, screaming a battle cry. “Hyung! Hang on!”

Minhyuk ran across the camp towards the helicopter, with Soonyoung, Kihyun and Junhui rushing towards them. Another vehicle of terrorists entered the camp. “Attack!” The terrorists started shooting.

Junhui and Soonyoung covered for them, Soonyoung now having blue fire in his hands, rage coursing through him, as Kihyun helped Minhyuk up into the helicopter. They started shooting back and using their guns as Kihyun opened up a force field, worried for Hyunwoo.

“I’ll give you guys a big one.” Mingyu pressed on a button. The vehicle exploded. Junhui and Soonyoung rushed up the helicopter. They heard a noise and looked back at the runway. A plane was taking off.

“Shit!” The duo quickly got on the helicopter and shut the door. Hyunwoo was taken to Jisoo and Jeonghan as Kihyun built a forcefield around the helicopter, eyes not leaving Hyunwoo. Soonyoung sat beside Chaeun and Hyungjun, slowly calming them down and playing with them, his 10:10 eyes showing, though his body is still very much alert to his surroundings. Minhyuk went around to check on the hostages, updating everyone on what had happened while Seungkwan and Hansol sat in a corner, the latter sound asleep in the former’s lap.

Junhui ran up to Minghao, sitting beside him. “The8! Kim is on the fighter jet, right?” “Yes!” “Tell him, now, that another plane, a Mirage, just took off. The pilot is Ismare, an ace, and he was the mastermind behind this attack!”

“Kim, did you hear Jun?” “Understood. Medic 2, head back to base, now.” “Understood.” Minghao took off.

As Minghao started taking off, bullets hit the forcefield around the aircraft. The Mirage was following behind them. It locked onto them.

“Jun, release the flares!” The bomb hit one of the decoys and exploded close behind the helicopter; the aircraft rocked violently, Minghao swerving. “Woah!” “Sit tight!” Another missile came and Junhui released the chaff flares, the missile hitting the decoy again. The helicopter rattled, the hostages shrieking in fright.

The Mirage continued firing at the helicopter, hitting Kihyun’s forcefield, hard. Kihyun yelped, Jeonghan looking at him worriedly, the forcefield cracking as he tried to strengthen it, hands glowing. Ismare continued firing, hitting the forcefield a second time. It shattered for good as Kihyun shuddered, eyes rolling to the back of his head, collapsing. The hostages caught him before he hit the floor, the helicopter shaking violently as Minghao swerved again. “Kihyun!”

At that moment, Mingyu caught up and started firing at the Mirage from behind and chased it off Minghao’s trail, upwards into the sky. They went over the mountaintops, evading each other and trying to get an advantage over another. Mingyu fired at the Mirage. Ismare led the missile to a mountain and skilfully destroyed the bomb. As one plane veered up, the other suddenly dropped. They used multiple manoeuvres, proving their skills as pilots.

The dawn was arriving. The Mirage was now behind Mingyu. They raced on in the clouds. Ismare locked onto Mingyu and fired twice. Mingyu twisted his plane, narrowly avoiding the 2 bombs which flew past his plane, releasing his chaff flares. He sped up into the sky and then released his gears, freefalling down, onto the Mirage. He activated his gears and fired another missile at the jet, which barely bypassed the Mirage.

They raced around the mountain behind the helicopter, coming in opposite directions. Minghao looked on anxiously as he raced forward. The members listened intently to the chaos outside. Both pilots were determined to fight to death. They fired. They held onto their buttons, emptying bullets at each other, scoring shallow indents on their fighter jets.

It was a countdown to 0. Sounds of metal against metal rang out in the valley.

The planes neared. As both finally ran out of bullets, Mingyu teleported before the planes collided, missing by a meter. Smoke tailed their planes. They circled around until Mingyu levelled beside the Mirage. He stared alarmingly at his screen, which showed his stats for his artillery. 0. Ismare leered.

“You have nothing left to fight against me now, boy. Give up! Who do you think you are huh? You’ve destroyed all my plans! You lose. As a soldier, you protect no one. You are not a great pilot at all.” Mingyu glared at the man on his right.

“You have no right to say anything! You are just a terrorist. You are not qualified to be a soldier! You think you are better than me? You only have 1 missile left. Come and shoot me down!” Mingyu sneered.

The man laughed darkly. “Oh, no, you fool. I am going to shoot that helicopter down, and all you can do is watch them die.” He cackled with glee. Mingyu’s eyes widened. ‘Fuck, no.’

“You see that beautiful sunrise? That light, that glory; it always belonged to the White Cobra!” The man dragged his finger over his throat, mocking Mingyu. Mingyu stiffened. Ismare dived down towards the helicopter. Mingyu raced after him, resolve unbreakable.

The Mirage chased after Minghao in hot pursuit. Minghao swerved and jerked, delaying Ismare from locking onto him. Glancing at his screen, he yelled. “Everybody listen up! All of our decoys have been used up, so hold on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” Minghao announced over the intercom, getting ready to avoid the missile once Ismare locked onto them.

Just as he finished his announcement, he jerked, the passengers sliding to one side. Mingyu raced after the Mirage, a plan already in mind. The personnel in the control room were gripped with fear and anxiety as they watched the scene on the screen.

“Bye bye.” Ismare finally locked onto Minghao, ready to fire. The firing compartment loaded. The members on the helicopter braced themselves as the warning alert sounded. Minghao whispered, ‘Mingyu ah. 안녕. (Goodbye)’

Mingyu was thrown back into time, when the both of them were still in flight school. It was lunch time. Minghao was calling him. “Mingyu ah.” Mingyu looked at him. “Why are you stoning in the middle of the cafeteria? Come and sit down.” Minghao smiled. Mingyu slowly sat down, placing his tray in front of him.

“Where are you going after graduation?” “He’ll follow you wherever you go Hao.” Mingyu now focused on Junhui, who had been standing behind him, grinning brightly. Just then, Junhui called Wonwoo to look up from his food as he took a photo of the four of them on that bright, sunny afternoon, capturing that moment of happiness.

Mingyu returned to his senses. Screaming, he charged down at the Mirage, who had long forgotten about him. Ismare turned back to find Mingyu, hand faltering over the button.

“Evil people like you will never see the light!”

Mingyu collided straight into the underside of the Mirage. The Mirage started its descent to the ground, one of its wings broken off from the impact.

Medic 2 continued safely.

“Kim, do you hear me? Answer me!” Haekyun shouted anxiously into the intercom, the plane representing Mingyu on the screen blinking red. Minhyun listened intently, praying for a response.

The glass casing had a large gaping hole, lines appearing over the remaining glass, reminiscent of Yurame just hours ago. Mingyu looked down at his stomach, where his clothes were stained red, a sizable piece of glass lodged into his abdomen.

“Your plane is highly unstable! Parachute now!” Mingyu yanked off his oxygen mask, slowly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a picture. “Are you able to return back to base?!”

He stared at the picture fondly, the plane speeding through the clouds. Mingyu smiled, looking at the faces of his soulmates. He grimaced as blood continued to flow, the warning alert ringing in the background.

“We’ve cleared the runway for you. You can land as planned.” The plane travelled towards the rising sun as black smoke billowed from behind the plane. The aircraft started wobbling.

The plane on the screen in the control room stopped, blinking red. The soldiers looked down. Minhyun removed his headpiece and silently cried for the loss of his student. Haekyun was still hanging on to the hope that Mingyu had made it out alive, not processing what had happened.

The helicopter continued travelling back to base. Minghao steeled himself even as his hands shook, Junhui slowly freaking out, Wonwoo’s pain felt through their mindlink, the man breaking down. Pain ripped through their soulmate bond. Soonyoung distracted himself by talking to the children, while tears streamed down Jisoo’s face. The rest were still in immense shock, unable to process what they just heard over the intercom. Minghao held back his tears.

They reached the base. The hostages were quickly helped out of the aircraft and into the ambulances to be sent to their medical unit for checkups. Hyunwoo and Hansol were shifted to another ambulance so that Jisoo was able to get medical supplies to fix them up, Hansol awake now and Hyunwoo still getting treated by Jisoo, albeit groggy.

Seungkwan was with Kihyun and Jeonghan, hooking the unconscious wielder to an IV. Minhyuk ran to the medical unit in search of Hoseok, Hyungwon and Jooheon. The other members rushed out onto the runway, meeting Junhui and Minghao. Wonwoo ran to the both of them, tears running down his face. 

The three of them embraced, collapsing onto the ground. Minghao finally let the tears spill over as he looked at the fully risen sun. The members surrounded them with a hug as they tried to accept what had just happened. Wonwoo, Junhui and Minghao were sobbing as pain of their loss ripped through their souls. Haekyun and Minhyun rushed out onto the runway, seeing the group in a pile on the floor.

Minghao was thrown back to the conversation he had with Mingyu right before the mission.

“You know, the weather forecast said that the wind is going to be strong tonight, so when you are in the valley, be careful…” “I know.” “The guidance radar will lock on you very quickly, so be prepared…” “I know.” “Well since you flew there before, of course you know everything, huh?” Minghao pouted petulantly. Mingyu smiled. “Don’t worry…I will definitely come back.”

“I’m sorry, Minghao. All these years, I’ve been fucking up every single time…what have I been doing? Only until the moment when I cannot get rid of a missile chasing after me and getting Commander Yurame injured then I know how to be regretful.”

“I should have apologised when I realised I messed up at the start. I should have forgone my pride for once and did the right thing, but I didn't. I just didn't want to admit that I made a mistake and nearly got another soldier killed because I thought I knew it all, and every word you said hit all the right places. I let it drive us apart, and hurt you, Wonwoo and Junhui hyung.”

“There’s something I should have said to you a long time ago, Minghao. Until death do us part, I will never leave you. I want to be with you, forever.” Minghao looked up at him in shock. He sniffled, laughing quietly.

“Who are you to say this?” Mingyu looked at him in confusion. “Who am I? I am Kim Mingyu.” Minghao laughed, happy tears welling up in his eyes. Mingyu walked up to him. Wiping the tears that stained his face, he pulled Minghao in for a hug. If they clung onto each other tightly, and returned to the others with unnoticeable tear stains on their clothes, they would not mention it.

Minghao was full on crying. He wanted Mingyu at his side, he wanted Mingyu back, he wanted him to hug him again, he wanted him to come back. Suddenly, they heard cheers. The members all looked up. Soldiers were rushing in their direction, cheering at something, swinging their caps in the air.

As the members looked back out at the runway, they saw a fighter jet materialising in the horizon, black smoke billowing. Junhui smiled; all present members slowly getting up, cheering loudly, even Hansol and Hyunwoo, Jisoo rushing after them, Minhyun and Haekyun joining in, the three soulmates smiling. Minghao gazed at the returning plane, happiness in his eyes.

Thank you for returning, Gyu.

I never break my promises, ever, Hao. 

The End

The Sky Wolf : The Dusk Hails

Completed