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Chapter Text

JiU

"Don't even go there now!" Dami laughed at Gahyeon in a sort of mocking way. "Your jokes are definitely worse."

Gahyeon shoved Dami from her seat in the car. "Are you guys insane? I'm a good joker... right?"

Siyeon and JiU scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Hey, we're almost there," Yoohyeon pointed out. "You guys ready to perform 'Piri' in public for the first time?"

"Yeah!" the other girls chorused.

Yoohyeon closed her eyes as she leaned back in her seat, waiting for the feeling of euphoria that always came over her before a show.

But instead... she felt pain.

A crash echoed around them and then Yoohyeon felt herself falling... flipping... being pushed against the door...

No! What is happening to us? Right before a show... this can't be happening!

As she lay where she was, stunned by it and by the blood coming from her body, she heard a scream from Gahyeon, Dami, and SuA. Then she was staring into lifeless eyes as a body fell down beside her and Yoohyeon screamed too.

She was already dead. JiU was already dead.

"NO, NO, NO!" Yoohyeon wailed, shaking her violently. "JiU, wake up!"

Then she saw the shard of glass stabbing through the leader's chest. It can't be... but it's too late for her.

Yoohyeon could hear the dim sound of a siren in the distance and shut her eyes tightly, sobbing JiU's name. This can't be happening. Any minute, I'm going to wake up at the concert and JiU is going to tell me I collapsed on stage or something.

"JiU unnie... JiU, no... please... please wake up..."

Darkness overcame her and she fell into unconsciousness, still hanging on to JiU's body.

She'll never breathe again, never sing again...

It felt like her heart was being torn apart.

SuA

SuA jerked awake, agony rushing through her as she sat up in her hospital bed. She barely remembered the crash, but she still remembered one thing about it. And she hoped so much that it wasn't true.

"Where are they?" SuA roared as loud as she could. "Where are my friends? I know none of them are dead, so let me see them!"

"Miss Kim, calm down!" a doctor growled as she walked in. "Please... you're still in a lot of pain."

"Where is JiU? I need to see her?"

"You mean... Kim Minji?"

"Yes..."

"Sweetie..." The doctor's face softened. "Minji's gone. The impact of where she'd been hit killed her immediately."

"No..." SuA felt tears pouring down her face. "No, no, no!" She swung her legs over the side of her bed and yanked the tubes in her arm out with one pull.

"Miss, get back in bed right now!"

"NO!" Sucking in a breath, SuA ran out of there, looking into each of the rooms that she passed by. "I need to get to the others! They know the truth! JiU isn't dead!"

"Bora, you're disturbing people!" The doctor rushed out to fetch her, but she had already gone into another room. "Handong!"

"S- SuA unnie?" The Chinese girl lifted her head slightly, her blurry vision focusing on her. "Y- you can't be here!" Her eyes widened. "You're bleeding again..."

For a moment, SuA looked down at herself. Handong was right; her wounds had reopened and were bleeding heavily.

"I... I had to see one of the other members... I had to see you..." SuA cupped Handong's face in her hands, leaving small smears of blood on her cheeks. "I can't leave without seeing one of you, at least..."

"Unnie, get back to your room!" Handong snapped. "You're going to bleed out here!"

"N- not... again..." SuA groaned, sliding down to the floor. Handong flinched as she touched the blood that she had left on her. "SuA!"

"I didn't... think... I'd be leaving so quick..." she breathed. "But I can't stay here anymore... I'll join JiU... we'll be together again..."

"Wait... JiU's dead?!" Handong recoiled.

"Yes..." SuA closed her eyes. "Handong, I love you and all of Dreamcatcher, but JiU... she needs me..."

She didn't move again. Handong screamed her lungs out as she started to cry, clenching the bed sheets tightly in her fists. She couldn't believe it. JiU was dead and SuA had just died right in front of her. Why? Why must the world be so cruel to us?

For a split-second, she couldn't breathe. It hurt to think that the others could end up the same way as them. She couldn't believe it at all.

No one could believe it.

Gahyeon

The remaining five members of Dreamcatcher had been relieved none of the rest of them had died, but a great mourning period had begun for JiU and SuA the second they'd been released, after they'd attended their funerals. Siyeon and Dami had been the most injured, but Handong was also one of the most traumatized, since she had seen SuA die right in front of her. Yoohyeon sympathized with her, as she had been the first to see JiU's body during the crash.

"I can't take this anymore," Handong whispered to Yoohyeon and Gahyeon a few nights later. "I just can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see her. If I had only screamed the second she'd walked in... SuA may still be alive."

"Dongdong, sweetie, calm down," Yoohyeon sighed, rubbing her back. "There's nothing we can do about it now."

"No!" Handong got off the bed, swallowing. "I can't! I can't do it! Not anymore!" She ran out the door.

"Wait! Handong!" Gahyeon shot after her and Yoohyeon quickly followed. Dami and Siyeon poked their heads out of one of the rooms; Dami had a blanket wrapped around her and Siyeon was holding her by the waist.

"What's going on?" Dami muttered.

"It's Handong," Yoohyeon told her as she went past. "She ran and we're going after her."

"Dami, stay here," Siyeon instructed. "You're still really weak. I'm going after them."

"Uh-uh." Dami shook her head. "No." She tossed the blanket away, revealing a tank top and a pair of shorts.

"But you'll freeze outside!"

"I don't care."

The three of them tore after Gahyeon and Handong. By the time they got outside, Handong had already crossed the street and Gahyeon was a quarter of the way across while following her in the night.

Then a blaring horn sounded and Yoohyeon, Dami, and Siyeon turned to see what it was. A truck was speeding around the corner, heading straight for their maknae.

"Gahyeon!" Yoohyeon called.

Handong turned just in time to see and a sickening crunch split the air as the truck slammed into Gahyeon. She let out a cry, which was abruptly cut off as it rumbled over her and she lay motionless on the dark street.

"NO!" Handong screeched, skidding to a stop and running back toward her. "GAHYEON!" She threw herself to her knees beside her, taking the bloodied body into her arms. "No... no, not you too... please, Gahyeon..."

Gahyeon's red hand slowly reached for hers and grasped it tightly as she dragged her out of the road. "H- Handong unnie... c- can't... b- breathe..."

"I... I need to get you back to the hospital; there's no time to lose..."

"Handong." Yoohyeon, who was in tears, laid a hand on her shoulder. "I can already tell... she's gone..."

"No way!" She shook her head. "There has to be something we can do!"Handong's hand stroked over Gahyeon's chest, over her face, her hair. "She can't die like JiU and SuA... our maknae..." She looked down at her. "Gahyeon, this is my fault... I'm so sorry..."

The younger girl smiled weakly. "It's not... I forgive you for it all..." She gave a huge shudder before her eyes glazed over and Gahyeon took her last breath.

"No..." Handong murmured. "Oh no, no, no..."

Dami burst into a fit of sobbing and Siyeon wrapped her arms around her as she buried her face in her shoulder. "Guys, I need to get Dami back inside. She's going to freeze out here," she said quietly.

Yoohyeon waved her off, a hand moving to Gahyeon's bloody neck. But it was no use.

"No... no... no..." Handong held Gahyeon close, not caring about the blood spilling over her.

Yoohyeon awkwardly stood off to the side, not knowing what to do. She didn't know the true grief of seeing someone die right in front of her and this was the second time Handong had been forced to bear it.

I can't imagine feeling that way right now.

It had begun to rain by the time Yoohyeon convinced Handong to return inside.

Handong

It hurt more than anything to Handong that she couldn't be the person who buried Gahyeon. But Yoohyeon had done it instead; she'd claimed that she was too upset to do it. And perhaps she was right. Dami had dropped everything tough she'd been showing before and was seeking comfort from Siyeon. It was only with Siyeon's help that she was even able to go to Gahyeon's funeral.

Handong, however, had begun to act like she was losing touch with reality. She had cared about almost nothing since the maknae's death and Yoohyeon was trying to snap her out of it. Handong was barely eating and barely drinking and had become more thin than ever. Dreamcatcher was falling apart and Yoohyeon felt powerless to keep it from happening.

"Come on, Dongdong, you need to drink this," she exclaimed, holding a cup of water to Handong's lips. "Stay with us, sweetie. Please. We all loved Gahyeon, but she wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself. Neither would SuA or JiU."

"But I killed her," Handong whined. "If I hadn't run out there, Gahyeon would still be alive. I just... I couldn't take what happened to SuA..."

Yoohyeon took a deep breath. Dami has Siyeon for comfort. It's up to me to be that for Handong.

"Drink, please," she pleaded. Seeing the pained expression on her face, Handong gave up and obeyed, gulping down the water. "There you go. It'll all be okay, I promise."

The day after that happened, Yoohyeon woke up and discovered Handong wasn't in bed beside her. She went over to Siyeon and Dami's room and knocked. "Hello?"

Siyeon opened the door. "Yes?"

"Have you seen Handong?"

"No..." Siyeon bit her lip. "Isn't she with you?"

"She was gone when I woke up."

Letting out a sigh, she called out, "Dami, get dressed quickly! We're going out."

Dami was at her side in an instant, fully dressed, and Siyeon blinked in surprise. "That was fast."

"Hey, you've been taking care of me all morning. Might as well do something right."

Siyeon and Dami followed Yoohyeon downstairs and then they saw the note on the kitchen counter.

'Going out to the clearing behind the house. Don't follow me; I need some time to myself.'

"Well, we are following her," Dami growled. "She can't leave even if she tells us to."

They exited out the back door and trudged through the woods to where they knew the clearing was. However, they then heard a loud scream, a scream of Yoohyeon's name.

No! She paled.

"Handong!" she cried.

"Yoohyeon, help me!"

All of them ran farther into the forest and recoiled at what they saw. Someone- a female by their build- had Handong pressed against the ground, one knee on her back.

"No..." Yoohyeon skidded to a stop. "Please don't... don't do anything to her..."

The woman, who was wearing a cat mask, looked over at them. "That crash was supposed to kill you all. Guess there was too many of you."

"Wait, you killed JiU and SuA?" Dami gasped. She stumbled and Siyeon gave her a warning look.

"Damn right I did."

"Who... who are you?"

"Someone who knows that your groups are destroying society. You've never known me and you never will." She held up the knife in her hand. "Don't even think about it. I ran someone over with a truck. I am capable of more than you realize."

"YOU KILLED GAHYEON TOO?!" Handong yelled, right before the individual rolled her onto her back and slammed her foot onto her stomach.

"I think you know everything."

In a quick flash, her knife slashed through Handong's neck and then she was gone.

"Oh my god..." Yoohyeon stood where she was for a moment, petrified as she stared at Handong's lifeless figure. This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real... in a second, I'll wake up and JiU, SuA, Handong, and Gahyeon will all be here, telling me to get out of my own head...

Dami suddenly let out the most bloodcurdling scream any of them had ever heard and collapsed. Siyeon barely managed to catch her before she fell and Yoohyeon slowly walked forward, kneeling beside Handong. Her hand moved on its own and traced the gash in her throat, blood collecting in her palm. And that blood... it made her realize that it was real. Handong had just been murdered in cold blood.

"Dami! Dami, look at me," Siyeon begged as she cradled her tightly. "Dami, she's with the rest of them. She's with JiU, SuA, and Gahyeon now. She'll be alright with them."

"We're going to be next," Dami whimpered. "We're all going to die. There's no use being here anymore."

"Look at me," she snarled, turning Dami's face toward her. "I promise, it'll always be worth it. I won't let either of you go."

Yoohyeon

Yoohyeon had gone silent after Handong's burial. Siyeon was attempting to be there for both her and Dami, but Dami was breaking and Yoohyeon was being left alone too much because of that. Eventually, they all decided to leave the house and take a hike together (Siyeon actually forced them into it).

"Hey, are you doing alright?" Siyeon quietly asked Yoohyeon as they moved along. No answer. "Come on, Yoohyeon, you can't ignore us forever. We need to get back to living our lives."

"What do you want me to say?" Yoohyeon's voice was cracked, as it hadn't been used by her in a week. "'Oh, I'm just going to ignore that four of our friends are gone and just forget about them?' Forget that! I'm not ignoring it."

"But if you tear yourself up about it, that won't do us any good. They wouldn't want us spending the rest of our lives worrying about it."

"How do you know what JiU, SuA, Handong, or Gahyeon would want? They're dead!" Yoohyeon's head jerked up. "Come on, let's just finish this stupid trail."

She started to run and Siyeon and Dami ran after her, only halting when she veered off the path.

"Yoohyeon, stop!" Dami shouted fearfully. "You're going to fall!"

Yoohyeon did stop, but she teetered on the edge of the hill, casting a scared look back at Siyeon. Help me...

Siyeon lunged forward and tried to grab her arm, but just as she did, Yoohyeon slipped, an ear-shattering wail echoing from her throat as she tumbled down the hill. Dami tried to run after her, but Siyeon managed to catch her before she plummeted over the edge too. The two of them covered their mouths to keep from screaming as Yoohyeon fell, her head smashing against a rock, which kept her still. After 10 minutes, the two of them winced in realization.

"She's... she's dead..." Dami hissed through her teeth. "Can... can we get down to her?"

A bead of blood bloomed from the side of Siyeon's mouth as she bit her lip hard. "I... I don't think so... but I'm going to try..."

"No... she didn't deserve to die like that!" Dami turned on Siyeon. "This time, it was your fault! If you hadn't suggested we come here, Yoohyeon would still be alive!"

"We have got to stop placing blame!" Siyeon growled. "That's what killed Gahyeon and that's what sent Handong to her death! Think about it. We are now the last remainders of Dreamcatcher and no matter what, Dami, I will do whatever I can to keep you safe."

Final Deaths: Dami and Siyeon

Dami couldn't sleep after it all. She couldn't even face the funeral because of everything. Siyeon tried to help her, but Dami wouldn't take it, even though she broke down when Siyeon wasn't close to her. She'd confined herself to her room and didn't want to go out.

"Okay, I'm taking you to the doctor," Siyeon eventually sighed. "You look really sick right now."

"No!" Dami turned away from her.

"I'm taking you whether you like it or not." Siyeon took both of her hands. "Please, Yoobin, do this one thing for me."

"Ugh, fine." She stood up, wobbling on her feet a little. "But we need to take a new car."

"The rental's been holding up fine for me, so we're working with that."

She shoved Dami into the passenger seat and got into the driver's. "The doctor's office isn't far away and I'll be driving carefully, so we shouldn't be veering off the road or anything."

Dami nodded and hugged her knees into her chest as Siyeon started to drive. They were almost there, but when they went through a green light, a female voice shouted at them from behind the red light beside them. "Dreams die, bitches! And you are dead!"

Siyeon's eyes widened as the car dashed through the light and then smashed right into them, sending them off the road. Instinctively, she grabbed onto Dami as they crashed into a building and the car burst into flame as the windows shattered into pieces. Dami yelped in pain as shards stabbed her body and she and Siyeon were crushed by the car running into a building.

"DAMI!" Siyeon shrieked as she heard her cry out. The world blurred before her eyes as she held on to her and then she saw the blood coming from her friend's small body, mingling with her own. Her sightless eyes stared into Siyeon's and she felt her heart stop for a split second.

They're all gone now... JiU, SuA, Handong, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon... and sweet Dami... they killed her and now I have nothing left...

In a moment of grief, Siyeon reached for one of the largest glass shards embedded in Dami's skin. Her heart beat faster with the recognition of what she was about to do.

But it's the only way. I can't live without them.

As quick as she could, Siyeon sliced the shard across her own neck until more blood welled up from her, pooling on the ground. She held Dami's body close as she finally closed her eyes and the world disappeared.

Then all seven of them woke up again .

Chapter Text

Siyeon blinked as she awoke into almost pitch black. She saw a flashlight near her and turned it on as she stood up.

I... I'm not dead? But... I died... I killed myself at Dami's side...

With a start, she realized they were all there. The flashlight ran over each of their faces.

JiU, SuA, Handong, Gahyeon, Yoohyeon... and Dami. But they all died... we all died.

SuA was the first to awaken and she looked up at Siyeon. "Wh- what happened? I... I died..."

"So did I." She extended a hand to help her up and SuA took it.

"Wait... what happened after JiU and I?"

Siyeon swallowed. "Gahyeon was killed when she was run over by a truck, some maniac woman stabbed Handong in the neck in our backyard, Yoohyeon fell over a hill when we took her on a hike, and that psycho woman crashed her car into Dami and I."

SuA winced.

"SuA? Siyeon?"

JiU had awoken.

"But... I died in that crash... what's happening to us? Are you all dead too?"

"I thought we died." Siyeon shined the flashlight on all of them and one by one, they began to wake up. First Handong, then Gahyeon, then Yoohyeon and finally Dami.

"What is going on?" Gahyeon gasped. "I remember when I got run over... I died in her arms..."

"Can someone tell me how you even died at all?" JiU growled. "Who was the last?"

Siyeon and Dami raised their hands and Gahyeon looked confused. "You died together?"

"Wait, start from the beginning," JiU told them. "Tell us everything and then we can figure out where we are."

Siyeon sighed. "It was you who died first," she began. "In the crash. I hated that. Handong, you need to say the next part."

"We were all in the hospital after that," Handong reluctantly said. "SuA refuses you believe that you were dead, JiU, and her wounds reopened when she tried to escape to my room. She... died in front of me..."

SuA hugged her tightly. "But it wasn't your fault. I chose to die like that. I knew I wasn't going to make it."

"But the rest of us made it out of the hospital," Siyeon continued. "On one night, Handong was panicking. She ran out the door and crossed the street. Gahyeon followed her, but a truck... it ran her over..."

"And she died in my arms," Handong whispered.

SuA let go of her as Gahyeon wrapped her arms around Handong. "It wasn't your fault and you know it."

"Handong died next." Dami picked up the story. "I wasn't doing well and Siyeon and Yoohyeon kept trying to comfort me... we neglected Handong too much and she went into the backyard forest..." She gulped. "Someone caught her there... slashed her throat before we could do anything to help..."

"It was the stupidest idea I'd ever had to go hiking after that," Siyeon muttered.

JiU furrowed her brow. "Why?"

"Yoohyeon was really upset and she accidentally veered off the trail. She fell down the hill and hit her head on a rock... that's what killed her." Siyeon was chewing on her lip again. "I barely managed to get to her body."

Yoohyeon bowed her head. "Siyeon, that was all my fault."

"So how did you two die?" JiU asked her. "If we even did at all..."

"Dami was getting sick. I was taking her to the doctor and we were crashed into by another car. Dami died on impact... and I killed myself quickly with the shard that had taken her life. But I'm just glad... we all get to be together again."

"So where are we now?" Handong wondered. SuA took the flashlight from Siyeon and looked around. "It looks like a forest."

"Are we... alive again?" Gahyeon murmured.

"Yes."

All of them screamed in surprise as a girl stepped out of the trees and stood in front of them. Her face remained in the shadows. "We have a bunch of your friends. Your job now is to prove we revived you for a good cause."

"But... who are you?" Yoohyeon asked.

"You will never find out. But you are in a special place back in the world. Get used to your surroundings and wait for your first message." The girl disappeared and they all blinked in shock.

"So... we were revived?" SuA wondered uncertainly.

"I guess." Dami shook her head. "But what does she mean by our first message?"

The ground then began to shake under them and Siyeon yelped as she fell. Handong quickly caught her and set her back on her feet, supporting her until they were both forced to the ground. JiU threw her arms around Dami and held her to her chest as wind spat dirt into her face. Gahyeon threw herself onto the ground and covered her head and SuA did the same. Yoohyeon just shut her eyes.

When the wind finally cleared, Dami didn't know at first because her body was being protected and JiU kissed her head gently. "It's okay, it stopped."

"Where did that even come from?" Siyeon inquired. "What does that even mean, what she said?"

"Does it have something to do with that?" SuA jabbed her finger at a spot on the ground near Handong as she got up and the rest of them looked near it. A rolled-up piece of paper lay there, wrapped with a rubber band. Handong tentatively picked it up, unrolled it, and began to read.

"'It is your chance, Dreamcatcher, to prove you can survive. No matter what, you will never know who you can trust. No matter what we do to them, you do not waver. Are you strong? Are you? If you fail your tests, you will die again. If you survive, your world will reset to before any of you died. Be ready for your first test.'"

"What does it mean by tests?" SuA questioned.

"We have no idea what this means!" Gahyeon crossed her arms. "Can we just try to get out of here?"

"Agreed." Handong nodded.

"But no one take off," JiU added. "Please."

SuA hid a questioning glance when she saw that JiU's arm was still around Dami's waist but didn't let on to it. They all turned toward a part of the forest and JiU took up the flashlight. The rest of the girls followed her and they tentatively stepped forward.

"Be careful," Gahyeon warned. "There could be any number of things here that keep us from leaving."

They crept forward carefully until Dami suddenly howled in pain and crumpled to the ground.

"Dami!" JiU knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?"

"My... my leg..." Tears were beginning to run down her face. "Ah..."

JiU's gaze scanned her and then went down to her legs. One of them looked fine, but the other...

Oh, god help her.

Her right leg was caught in a bear trap.

"Oh no..." Siyeon got on her knees. "Guys, come help me!"

She placed her hands on each side of the trap, which had its teeth buried deep in Dami's leg, and tried to pull it apart. Gahyeon attempted to pry it apart as well and Dami clung onto JiU, sobbing into her chest as pain flashed through her. SuA and Yoohyeon started helping Siyeon and Gahyeon with the trap and Handong placed her hands on Dami's back, keeping her down so she wouldn't squirm.

"We can't do this alone," Siyeon finally breathed. "We need to stop trying by ourselves. All together now. Handong, you too."

She, Gahyeon, Yoohyeon, SuA, and Handong all positioned their hands on the trap, 3 on one side, 2 on the other. JiU gripped Dami as tight as she could and nodded. "Now!"

They all pulled as hard as they could and Dami shrieked at the top of her lungs as the trap's teeth slowly came apart. The girls held it for as long as they could for JiU to wrench her leg free and then released it, although it almost took off Gahyeon's fingers in the process. SuA quickly tossed it away. Siyeon snapped out of her daze immediately and leaned down to examine Dami, taking the flashlight in her hand. The teeth of the bear trap had to have been huge because they had gone clean through her leg below the knee, which was now coated with blood.

"How are we going to get out of here in a hurry now?" SuA groaned. "Look at that! She can't even walk now..."

"I'll get her," JiU offered. "Yoohyeon, come assist me with this."

She pulled Dami into her arms and Yoohyeon supported her injured leg as they all stood up.

"Ah... oh, that hurts so much..." Dami whispered. "JiU... please... get it out of me..."

"I can't do anything for that right now," JiU said, stroking a hand through Dami's short hair. "We don't even know where we are. But I promise, I will get you help."

"Be careful!" Gahyeon yelled at Handong as she took a step forward. "Siyeon, flashlight please. We need to stay alert. We can't have a second one of us crippled right now."

Dami whimpered and the maknae's face softened. "I'm sorry, Dami, I didn't mean to refer to you like that. I'm sure you'll still be able to walk when we get help for you." She rolled her eyes and rested her head on JiU's shoulder, closing her eyes slightly.

"Gahyeon, lead the way," JiU instructed. "Dami needs a hospital or we at least need to find something to fix her leg with."

Gahyeon dipped her head and held up the flashlight. They walked forward at a moderate pace, staying aware of where they were. Eventually, they grew extremely tired and were forced to sit and rest.

"Is it going to get any lighter out here?" Yoohyeon exclaimed.

"Um, I think it is light," SuA pointed out, looking up. "There's clouds."

"Great." Handong leaned back against a tree. "No light reaching us. Absolutely perfect."

"Can a couple of you go scout with the flashlight?" JiU suggested. "At least find something that might be able to bandage Dami's leg because this is not looking good." She pressed down on the gashes in her skin and Dami slapped her hard. "Ow! Was that necessary?"

"I'll go," Yoohyeon offered.

"Me too." SuA inclined her head. She and Yoohyeon took each other's hands and stood, taking the flashlight from Gahyeon. "Let's go."

"Sorry..." Dami murmured to JiU as they left. "I didn't mean to hit you."

"Look, I get it, you're in pain. I completely understand. But you'll be okay, I promise." JiU felt around in the dark and guided Dami's bloody leg closer to her. Hearing a whimper, she let go and moved toward her, kissing her neck gently. She didn't know how, but she could feel her smile through the blackness.

"I'm your leader. It's my job to protect you and I will."

After a moment of silence, she added, "Dami, may I ask you a question?"

"Anything to keep me from this pain."

"Oh, then..."

"JiU, it's fine. Just shoot."

"What was it like for you? Dying a first time, I mean? You and I 'died' the same way and we still have no idea what's going on now."

Dami exhaled. "It hurt. I didn't die instantly... but it was painful. When the person rammed into us, she jumped out and ran away... but I got shards stabbed into my body. Siyeon's face... she was the last thing I saw before our car slammed into the building side and I fell into darkness. I woke up here after... what happened to you? Who was the last person you saw before... before the shard hit you and your life... fell away?"

"Gahyeon." JiU's breath hitched. "Her face was so terrified... I could hear her screaming and then everything just cut off. I could feel that I wasn't breathing, but I couldn't do it again, no matter how hard I tried. And that's when I knew I was gone."

Dami curled up on her lap, making sure to keep her right leg out, and blinked up at her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry you had to see them die too."

The younger girl's eyes filled with tears. "I wish it didn't have to be like this." JiU touched her leg and she yelped again. "Unnie!"

"Sorry. I just... I want to keep you breathing."

Siyeon's voice then came out of the darkness. "Dami, I'm glad we were revived and I don't care why it happened. I don't want to lose you all ever again and I hate seeing you in pain like you are."

"It's okay. It's all okay..."

The light returned eventually and soon, Gahyeon and SuA were standing above them.

"Someone left a roll of bandages out in these woods," SuA panted, sounding like she'd been running. "We didn't realize there was a trap near them though and Gahyeon nearly got her face taken off."

"But we still got them," Gahyeon growled, handing the slightly dirty roll to JiU.

"And you still nearly got killed again," SuA retorted.

JiU didn't respond to that and didn't question any of it as she took both the bandages and the flashlight. Dami sucked in a huge breath as the leader laid her on the ground and tugged her injured leg toward her, attempting to wipe away the blood with one hand.

The bandages began to turn red with Dami's blood as JiU began to wrap them around her leg. Moans of pain echoed from her throat and Gahyeon sat down next to her, rubbing her shoulder. "Come on, it'll be okay."

Dami was breathing heavily by the time she was finished and her face had gone pale. She quickly fell asleep on JiU, who kept a hand in her chest to make sure she continued breathing.

Siyeon was about to start chewing her lip again, but Gahyeon turned the flashlight into her eyes and she covered up. "Siyeon, you're going to mangle your lip if you keep doing that."

"When we were revived, our physical injuries were all healed from when we died the first time. Why does it matter?"

"Because you're going to mangle your lip if you keep chewing on it, so stop." She reluctantly obeyed.

"Guys, shush!" JiU hissed. "Go to sleep yourself."

"No one's sleeping, JiU," SuA retorted. "Just let us do what we want."

But they all fell silent after. JiU cradled Dami in her arms and Gahyeon switched off the flashlight to let her sleep in peace. They all stayed that way for a little while until another earsplitting scream rang through the air. All the Dreamcatcher members stared over at Dami, but she was being woken up by it. SuA, Gahyeon and Handong leapt to their feet and Siyeon helped JiU get Dami up.

"Someone else is in trouble!" Yoohyeon gasped. "We have to help them!"

The screams continued and Handong felt a terrible recognization at the voice behind them. She led the way with the flashlight as they followed the sound and soon, as it faded, they then came across the body of another girl lying on the ground. A trail of footsteps led away from her.

A voice boomed from overhead, "Get ready for your first test."

The damaged girl in front of them slowly turned her bruised face toward the group and a memory of her flashed in Handong's mind... and the rest of theirs too.

In unison, they all gasped.

"Kang Seulgi?!"

Chapter Text

"H- how do you know my name?" Seulgi murmured, scrambling away from them. "Who are you?"

Siyeon stepped forward to speak. "You know of Dreamcatcher, correct?"

"Yes, but what does this have to do with anything? I... I got separated from the rest of Red Velvet and I have no idea where I am."

"We're Dreamcatcher. And... we can help you. First off... what happened to make you scream so much...?"

"I... I was being tortured," Seulgi stammered. "I don't know where I am... but they had me in so much pain..."

"Are you injured?"

"I don't know..."

"Where did you even come from?" Gahyeon added.

"I don't know that either. I was with the rest of my group and then some type of wind picked me up. Where it came from, I have no clue. But a voice came out of nowhere and told me I was part of a challenge for someone new... and then the wind took me away and plunged me into literally unimaginable pain. Wendy's voice yelling my name... that was the last thing I heard before ending up here." Her eyes scanned all of them. "Wait... my memory's coming back... now I remember all of you." She winced. "What happened to Dami?"

"Her leg was caught in a bear trap," JiU replied. "It's like all the pain you're feeling right now concentrated into one part of your body, so be careful about asking her questions about it."

The sky gradually grew a little lighter, but they still held the flashlight. Seulgi slowly stood up, but stumbled quickly and would have fallen again if Yoohyeon hadn't rushed forward and caught her.

"So what's this 'test' supposed to be?" Gahyeon scoffed. "Help her get out of here? If so, then we've failed because we can't even get ourselves out."

The wind suddenly picked up again and threw them off their feet. Seulgi kept her face covered when she was thrown to the ground and SuA slung an arm around her as she grabbed onto a root. Dami was wrenched out of JiU's grasp and she shrieked as her wounded leg slammed against a tree and she collapsed into blackness.

"DAMI!" Siyeon grabbed for her arm and pinned her against the tree to keep her from flying away. "Come on, stay with us..."

"Ah, stop it, you're crushing me!" Gahyeon snapped.

"What...?" Siyeon almost let her go. "Where's Dami?"

The wind suddenly settled and they all fell, trying not to crash into each other, although Siyeon didn't manage it. She got to her feet and looked around in a panic, only slightly relieved that it was light enough that they didn't need their flashlight.

"Guys..." She glanced over all of them. "JiU, SuA, Handong, Gahyeon, Yoohyeon, Seulgi... where is Dami? She was just here... I heard her hit the tree and she screamed..."

"Um, will this tell you anything?" Seulgi held up a piece of paper that looked similar to the one they had received their first message on. Siyeon snatched it from her and squinted to read it.

"'You have your new companion. Your task is to find your old one before she disappears and you find her body in another trap. And Seulgi, if they fail this, your friend Wendy will never see the light of day again. Hurry. The clock is ticking on Dami's life.'" She felt herself tremble as she finished.

Seulgi took it back and scanned it. "No... I won't let this happen! She was living so well before I left and I won't let it all be taken from her!" She swallowed. "But Dami..."

JiU looked about ready to faint and Yoohyeon sidled over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look like I'm okay?" She turned on her with a glare.

"You look like you're about to strangle me, so I guess no."

JiU buried her face in her hands. "I can't even believe this. Now we've lost Dami too... and I can't lose her."

Siyeon felt the question rise to her lips, but forced it down. JiU's the leader; of course she cares about Dami. I can't help feel like she thinks of her as something more, but we can worry about that after we find her.

"We don't even know how long we have for this!" Gahyeon burst out, clenching her hands into fists. "And how do we even find her; just keep on walking until we find her torn apart in another bear trap? We're in a freaking forest! And not even that; we're probably in a crazy alternate dimension, knowing our luck."

SuA carefully wrapped her arms around JiU. "Don't you dare; she's just as upset as you are. And alternate dimensions don't exist."

"Neither does being revived, so I'm willing to believe in anything at this point. Well, almost anything."

Stop it, Gahyeon, SuA mouthed at her.

"Are you guys going to start looking or am I just on my own?" Handong called from ahead of them. JiU struggled out of SuA's grasp and ran after her.

"Look out for traps!" Siyeon yelled as she followed. Gahyeon, Yoohyeon, and Seulgi tore after them. JiU went past Handong and dashed through the woods beyond. Handong also set off in a run.

"Dami, please show us you're there!" JiU cried as she eventually slowed to a walk. "Please... show us that you're around!"

"JiU, you know that if she was kidnapped, she's probably unconscious, right?" Handong managed to say as she skidded to a stop in front of her.

"But she wasn't kidnapped!" JiU protested. "She was taken by some weird thing for this stupid game that uses us as the game pieces. I'm really worried about her, especially while she can't walk..."

"Would you be worried about the others like this too though?"

JiU sighed. "If they were in her position, yes. But if they still had use of their legs, probably not because they can still run!"

Handong put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking. "JiU... is it possible that there's something else keeping you like this? Something about Dami herself?"

"No." She tried to walk away, but Handong's grip on her shoulder tightened and she winced. "Ow!"

"Look, unnie, I get that you care about her. And don't think I didn't see Siyeon's face earlier because she wanted to ask you too. JiU, I don't care what you've said before about what type of person you like, but... do you care for Dami more than as just a friend or a fellow Dreamcatcher member?"

"Not now, Handong." JiU forcefully yanked her hand off. "Let's just focus on keeping all of us from getting killed and find Dami so she and Wendy don't die."

"Then tell me something else before the others catch up to us," Handong retorted. "Give me a hint of why you're so upset."

"I just..." JiU groaned as she gave in. "I feel really guilty I wasn't there for her when she needed me. I was the first to die and I just wish I wasn't. I wish none of us had died."

"But you couldn't help that," Handong pointed out. "And up until the point in which mine happened, I saw that Siyeon took care of her." JiU shot her a death gaze.

"Is everything alright over here?" SuA asked as she caught up to them. She looked from one to the other. "JiU, we'll find her and you know it."

"Split up," Seulgi exclaimed as she stopped beside the pair for a second with Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, and Siyeon. "We'll cover more ground. Holler if you find her." She ran off and Yoohyeon rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

"Everyone can go with who they'd like or solo, but I'm going with JiU," Siyeon told them. Handong gave her a side glance, but agreed to it. JiU didn't wait and stormed off in a different direction, Siyeon trailing after her, while SuA, Handong, and Yoohyeon took their own paths.

"Leave me alone," JiU snarled at her follower. "I want to be on my own right now."

"Minji unnie, at the state you're in, you are going to freak if you do find her."

"I will not."

"Look, you need to calm down. Please, JiU, I'm begging you." Siyeon entwined her right hand with JiU's left. "It doesn't matter how you feel about Dami right now; you can sort that out later. What you need to do is keep your head up and keep your wits about you so we can find her. Let nothing get in the way."

JiU took a slow breath and Siyeon acknowledged it with a nod. "That's right, take deep breaths. Breathe with me and then we can go."

"But can I wonder something first?"

"What?"

"Siyeon... what do you think this 'test' is supposed to be for? And answer honestly."

Siyeon was chewing on her lip again as she spoke. "I think... I think they- whoever they are- want us to be strong during it all. That's what I'm trying to get you to do. JiU... I fear that if you don't do that, sooner or later... it's going to kill you again. Now, breathe with me."

Both of them took a few deep breaths before they set off again, moving with careful steps.

"So what exactly are we looking for that will lead us to her?" Siyeon questioned curiously.

"Footprints, blood, stirred dirt, anything like that that can help us figure out where she is." JiU glanced at her. "You up for climbing a tree?"

As she started to climb, she could see the small form of Seulgi down below.

Seulgi herself had gone in a direction of her own, creeping cautiously and praying that their light didn't get blotted out by the clouds again.

All of a sudden, the wind surrounded her and she clutched at a tree trunk as it blew her back. A voice echoed around her and she soon realized it wasn't just the random voice from before.

"Seulgi, why didn't you save me? Why didn't you find her? You were my last hope and you betrayed me!"

"Wendy, no!" Seulgi wailed. "Please, we just need more time! I won't betray you, I promise!"

"Look at the ground, Kang." Now Wendy was talking inside her head. "She could be buried under there for all you know. Please... get back to me."

They just gave me a hint. I'll do it then.

As the wind slowed and Seulgi released the tree, she heard two people calling her name. Looking up slowly, she saw JiU and Siyeon in a high up tree, yelling at her.

"I'm fine!" she yelled back.

"Look behind you!" Siyeon cried.

Seulgi whirled around just as she felt her feet fly out from under her and a sharp pain stabbed through her spine. There was no one there, but as she scrambled up again, she could see a pair of glowing eyes fade into the shadows beyond.

Terrified, she ran. She could hear Siyeon and JiU calling her, but she wouldn't turn around. Ignoring the blind pain in her back, she ran. In the panic, she was hurting so much and everywhere she looked, she was seeing the faces of Red Velvet, the rest of her group.

She saw Irene.

"I'm your leader! Why did you betray us for Dreamcatcher?"

She saw Wendy again.

"We cared for you, Seulgi !  Why didn't you find Dami and save me?"

She saw Joy.

"Seulgi, you're loyal to us, aren't you? But what happened with you?"

And she saw Yeri.

"We miss you, Seulgi! Don't leave us for them!"

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" Seulgi screeched as loud as she could. She could hear footsteps behind her, but she paid no attention to it. "I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS! I NEVER ASKED TO BE PART OF THIS GAME!! I NEVER ASKED TO BE INVOLVED WITH DREAMCATCHER!" Her legs soon gave out and she fell to her knees, sobbing.

"Seulgi, what's happening to you? Seulgi, are you okay?"

She looked up in surprise to see Handong above her.

"H- Handong..."

"Seulgi, it's okay." Handong embraced her warmly, caressing her shoulders. "Calm down and tell me what's happening."

"I saw them," Seulgi whimpered. "I saw the rest of Red Velvet, my group, telling me that I'd failed them, that I'd betrayed them for Dreamcatcher..."

"But that's not true!" Handong answered. "You didn't ask to be part of this."

"I know."

"I promise you, we will find Dami and save hers and Wendy's life."

"Handong... how did Dreamcatcher get mixed up in this?"

The Chinese girl bit her lip. "We died," she finally admitted. "First JiU, then SuA, Gahyeon, me, Yoohyeon, then Siyeon and Dami. But we were revived... only to get thrust back into this."

Seulgi leaned against her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I... I hope Dami's still safe... and that she gets better after we find her."

A cry rang through the woods, the voice of Yoohyeon. "I FOUND HER!! BUT I CAN'T RESCUE HER ALONE!! HELP!!!"

"What the...?" Handong nearly tossed Seulgi into a tree when she got to her feet. "Come on, Seulgi, we have to go! KEEP YELLING, YOOHYEON!!"

Yoohyeon obeyed and Seulgi went after Handong as they tore after her voice. By the time they arrived where she was, SuA, JiU, and Siyeon had already gotten there. And they were all shocked at what they saw. JiU's face went white.

"Are you kidding me?" SuA groaned. "How does this even exist?"

"They did this on purpose to us." Siyeon's eyes darkened. "Anything exists in this part of the world."

Lava. That's what it was. A canyon full of lava. And on a plateau in the center of it, bleeding leg splayed at an awkward angle, was Dami.

"Oh my god..." JiU gulped. "How are we supposed to get down there?"

"Take a leap of faith," Seulgi suggested. "And there's rocks down there."

"But to get her back out of it..."

"I'm going." Seulgi crouched to the ground. "Yoohyeon, move." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "This is for Red Velvet!"

"Seulgi!" Handong tried to grab her arm, but she was too fast. With the fastest speed any of them had ever seen, Seulgi started running, leaping off the edge of the canyon with a giant jump. JiU gasped, but to the astonishment of all the Dreamcatcher members, she made it onto the plateau. Well, mostly.

"Agh!" Seulgi winced as she yanked her ankle back from the lava, one hand shaking as she touched the burn that had been imprinted there. "Oh god... Seulgi, get through this..."

The pain faded in her brain when her eyes flicked over to the girl next to her and she moved closer.

"Dami!" she hissed, knowing she wouldn't answer. Seulgi bit her lip and stretched a shivering arm out to her. "Dami..."

As soon as she touched her, she nearly recoiled at how cold she was. Is she even breathing?

"Oh, Dami, I'm so sorry..."

That leg. Can she even survive with that?

"We need to re-bandage this!" she called up to them. "Someone get down here and help me!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Gahyeon also launched herself off the ledge, but almost overshot, fortunately landing right beside Dami.

"Get on the rocks," she told Seulgi. "Be careful with her; she's badly injured."

"I promise I will."

Gahyeon raised an eyebrow. "For Wendy's sake?"

"For Dami's sake. I don't want her to die." Seulgi gently took Dami's upper body into her arms, laying her head on her shoulder.

She might be bleeding a little there too...

Saying nothing else, Gahyeon lifted her legs and the two of them slowly started moving across the lava-surrounded stepping stones. Siyeon watched from above, fighting not to chew her lip, and JiU sought an embrace in SuA's arms.

They finally made it across and JiU let out a sigh of relief. "I'm coming down to help get her up!"

"No, wait!" Gahyeon shook her head. "We'll get her up. JiU, pull her up at the top. We're using the handholds."

Keeping Dami secured in a powerful grip, the two of them began climbing the side of the canyon. As soon as they reached the top, JiU leaned down and pulled her away from them so Gahyeon and Seulgi could climb up again.

Handong knelt beside Seulgi as JiU pulled Dami into her lap. "You saved her life, Seulgi. Thank you so much."

Seulgi's face reddened slightly.

"Dami, sweetie, wake up..." JiU breathed. "Please... wake up for me, if nothing else..."

Dami's eyes opened a little bit. "JiU... you found me..." Her gaze flicked to Seulgi. "Kang Seulgi... you helped me... thank you, unnie..." Dami weakly reached out and grasped her hand. Seulgi blushed.

"Hold me, please..." she whispered to JiU. "Unnie... was I a part of your first test?"

"Yes, you were. But hey, I'm here for you now."

Handong motioned to the others. "Guys... give them a moment."

"Wait!" Yoohyeon inhaled sharply. "All of you... look at Seulgi."

Seulgi looked down at the space next to her and screamed. A glowing form was showing up next to her, in the shape of another girl. JiU paid no attention to her and her lips gently touched Dami's forehead. The rest, meanwhile, were panicking a little as the glowing finally materialized.

"Oh no..." Seulgi bit her lip so hard she drew blood. "No... they said I would get back to you..." She looked up at the sky. "I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GET TO GO BACK TO HER! WHY DID YOU BRING HER HERE?!"

It was Wendy who had just appeared. She stared up at them in surprise and terror, only softening some when she saw Seulgi. "Th- there you are, Seulgi... but... where are we...?"

"I don't know." Seulgi hugged her tightly. "But at least you and I are together here. If we have to be part of this stupid game, we're in it together."

Wendy moaned and half-buried her face in Seulgi's shoulder. "What's going on...? And why is Dreamcatcher here?"

Seulgi lifted her face and gently pecked her on the lips. "Look at me. I promise you we will be okay."

Wendy's eyes traveled to Dami and they widened. "What happened to her?"

Exhaling slowly, Seulgi turned her around and curled her arms around her torso, keeping her close. "We will get out of here, hopefully during the next challenge."

"Challenge? What challenge?"

She kissed her slowly. "Just stay with us and I promise you... I will explain everything."

Chapter Text

"But I don't even want to be here!" Wendy groaned after Seulgi had explained. "So why did they take us in the first place?"

"Us, I don't know. But them..." Seulgi gestured at Dreamcatcher. "They get a second chance at life. They died... and they get another chance."

"What about her though?" Wendy gestured at Dami, whom JiU was trying to help redo the bandages on her injured leg. "Dami looks like she's going to die... again, if what you're saying is true."

"Would I ever lie to you?" Seulgi inquired, stroking a hand through strands of her hair. "I know she won't die. JiU is taking care of her and I know that she seems to care about her like you and I do with each other."

"Shut up!" JiU snapped hotly, her face turning red. Dami looked up at her with a hurt gaze and the leader's face immediately softened. "I- I'm sorry..."

"Come on, JiU, we all know you do," Siyeon exclaimed. "And it's okay. We don't have anyone who can judge us here." She jabbed her elbow in the direction of Seulgi and Wendy as she leaned over and put her mouth against JiU's ear. "You literally just saw them kiss. No one's around to judge."

JiU shook her head and pulled away from Siyeon, taking Dami with her as tears welled in her eyes. Dami moaned as her leg dragged against the ground and she quickly stopped. "Sorry, Yoobin."

"So what now?" Handong asked. "We just wait for the next message?"

"It can't come fast enough," Wendy growled, her nails digging into Seulgi's thighs. "I want to get the hell out of here."

"So do all of us," Gahyeon retorted. "You're not special like that."

"Hey!" Seulgi glared at her as Wendy laid down in her lap.

"Not cool, Gahyeon. Not cool," Siyeon chided.

The nine of them braced themselves until the wind began to pick up again. Wendy wasn't prepared for it and gasped as she clawed at the ground. Seulgi grasped her by the waist and clambered up onto a tree branch, pinning her against the trunk. "Stay down, baby."

Handong and Siyeon grabbed onto another tree, but the wind still swept them up and they crashed into each other, which knocked Handong half-unconscious. SuA accidentally fell into Seulgi and Wendy, which dislodged Seulgi from the tree. Wendy shrieked as she reached out for her and SuA slammed an arm on her chest. "Stay down like she said!"

"SEULGI!!"

"I'm okay, Wendy!" Seulgi called from the next tree.

Yoohyeon slid along the ground as she tried to grab onto something and almost managed it until Gahyeon crashed into her and was barely conscious after that.

Dami was screaming as JiU held on to her, but the bandages were falling off of her leg and the leader was trying to keep them on while hanging on to her tree. She locked her own legs around a branch and held Dami in almost a death grip.

"Dami, Dami, look at me!" she yelled, wiping a few tears from her face. "Come on, you can get through this! Ignore the pain. Focus on me only."

"I... I can't!" Dami wailed. "I can't... it hurts too much!"

"Look at me." Holding onto the branch by her legs only, she kept one arm around her waist while the other cupped her face. "You can and I know you can. I never want to see you in this much pain."

"Unnie, it's too much..."

JiU moved the hand on her face to the back of her head. "I don't want you to stay in that pain. I'll do anything to keep you out of it."

She opened her mouth to speak again, but then JiU hurriedly moved forward and crushed her lips against Dami's. Dami jolted in surprise, but she had nowhere else to move, so she sank deeper into it. "Mmh... Minji unnie..."

"Don't talk. Let me do it, please."

She wouldn't admit it to the others like that, but the feeling of JiU's lips on hers was blissful, as if she were drawing all the pain from her body and evaporating it into the air. While our lips touch, I feel nothing but love for her. She takes my pain away...

The wind began to die down, but that didn't stop them. JiU, however, had been pushing hard against it and accidentally made them tumble off the branch. Dami gasped and pulled away from her as they fell, but JiU quickly turned them over so that it was her own back that smashed against the forest floor. "Agh!"

"JiU! Dami!" Siyeon exclaimed in horror as she jumped down from her low branch and set Handong on her feet. "Are you okay?"

Gahyeon was busy trying to get Yoohyeon up, so she only looked once. SuA was helping a battered Wendy down from their tree, while Seulgi was dabbing at a bleeding wound on her own head as she clambered down as well.

"JiU, are you alright?" Dami murmured.

"Yeah, I am." JiU ran her fingers through her hair and lifted her head to kiss her again. Dami brought a hand to her chest and rolled her over so she was on the bottom. Though it brought more pain to her leg, she didn't care at the moment.

"JiU..." Dami moaned as the older girl's mouth went to her neck, gently nipping it. "Not now... later..."

"Fine. Just kiss me one more time." JiU slid a hand under her chin as their lips fused together again and then slowly moved herself off and sat her up against the tree.

"Look for another message," Dami whispered. "I'll still be here, I'll be okay."

"You sure?"

"Of course, unnie."

JiU stood up and walked over to the others, meeting them where Wendy was looking over the gash in Seulgi's forehead. "Anyone seen the message around?"

"Yeah, it's over here, leader-nim." Gahyeon held up a scroll of paper in her hand and tossed it to SuA, who was closest to her, without looking up from Yoohyeon. SuA handed it to JiU, who opened it up and started to read.

"'Your first task was completed, but the one you rescued is essential for your next challenge. If you want to send Seulgi and Wendy home, you have to complete the new tree course... every single one of you. Jump to the next until a new message comes for you. None of you must fail or you will die and all of Red Velvet stays here forever.'"

"What the hell does that even mean?" Siyeon growled. "What tree course? And what does this even entail?"

"Teamwork and loyalty," Gahyeon replied without looking up. "It entails teamwork and loyalty this time. And the tree course... look up." Yoohyeon's eyes finally opened and she sighed. "There you go." She stood, helping her up as well."

"But that..." JiU dropped the paper as she eyed the trees above. "What are we supposed to do, jump from one to the next until that wind picks up again?"

"I think so." SuA rolled her eyes.

"How is she supposed to get up there though?" Wendy questioned, motioning to Dami.

"I'm going to help her," JiU announced.

"But why are you even doing these in the first place? This is just some stupid game! Why do you need to survive it?"

"Because we're not getting out of here if we don't!" Gahyeon roared. "Now everyone, there's a low-branch tree right there. Up, all of you."

JiU slung Dami's left arm around her and got her into a standing position so that she could hop forward on her uninjured leg. When they got to the tree, she assisted her in climbing up. Dami winced as she sat in a net of branches to wait for everyone else.

"I'm not waiting for this!" Wendy snarled. "I'm going!" She edged onto a branch and jumped.

"Wendy!" Seulgi reached out for her, but Wendy had already made it into the next tree, so she jumped too. Gahyeon and Yoohyeon followed and Handong, Siyeon, and SuA went as well.

"This is easy!" Handong scoffed. "We can do this."

"Handong, are you crazy?" Gahyeon slapped her arm. "We could easily die of exhaustion if it goes on too long, not to mention we haven't found any food or water since we got here!"

"Come on, you can do this," JiU hissed to Dami in the other tree. "Draw your strength into your left leg and use it to leap. I promise, I won't let you fall."

"Can you go first?" Dami requested.

"Of course." JiU crawled to the edge of the branch and leaped, expertly grabbing onto the next one on the second tree and swinging herself up. "Now come on, Dami! You won't fall, not on my watch."

Dami started to shiver, but squared her shoulders and moved to where she had just been. Forcing herself to not close her eyes, she vaulted from the branch.

JiU gasped as she realized she was falling short and stretched a hand out, grabbing hers before she was able to fall.

"JIU!" she cried. "Help me!!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" JiU was holding onto her wrist for dear life and Dami was frantically kicking at the tree with her good leg to get a foothold.

"Agh, I'm slipping! Unnie!!"

"Swing your other hand up!" JiU instructed.

Dami attempted to do what she said, but it only caused her to slip even more.

"Come on, you can you do it! I can't lose you, Dami!" Tears sprang to JiU's eyes. "Please... just try..."

One last time, she reached for her and JiU grabbed onto both of her hands. With all of her strength, she managed to yank her up into the tree, and Dami collapsed onto her, sobbing.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's going to be okay," JiU purred, placing her into a tangle of vines. "You made it across. Everything is fine."

"No, it's not! I barely made it across that gap! How do you think I can do that again?" Dami half-closed her eyes. "I can't do it..."

"Dami..." Siyeon tried to get to her, but the layout of the tree prevented that.

"No." JiU shook her head furiously. "I won't let you do this." She leaned forward and kissed her sweetly, laying a hand on the small of her back through the vines. "I won't let you give up on yourself. Stay with me, Dami."

"I- I will..." Dami stammered, her arms wrapping around JiU's waist. "I don't want to leave you..."

"Then don't. I will help you through everything."

She sniffed as JiU pulled back from the kiss. "Unnie, my leg... it's bleeding again..."

JiU stiffened as she looked down. "Oh god... guys, we need to hold off for a moment."

Gahyeon narrowed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists. "SuA and Handong already jumped to the next tree. I just held off for your little make-out session and I didn't need to!"

"Hey, lay off!" Yoohyeon and Wendy snapped in unison as Wendy shoved the maknae. "It's not like you won't be doing that with someone sometime in your life."

"Not if we don't get out of here," Gahyeon fired back.

"Go easy on her," Yoohyeon sighed in a softer voice. "We will get out of here. Now jump. I'll make sure they get to the next tree as well."

Gahyeon took off and Yoohyeon made her way over to Dami and JiU.

"I'm sorry for her," she apologized. "She's just stressed. You know how Gahyeon gets when she's stressed."

"Help me with this!" JiU hissed. "The bandages! Now!"

Yoohyeon dived for them and expertly took the ends, rewrapping them around Dami's bleeding leg. Dami winced and held on to JiU's hand. "Aah... that hurts..."

"I know, baby, I know, but just hang on. It's alright."

She finished with the bandages and sat back. "You can go now. Gahyeon, be ready!"

"You did this once already," JiU encouraged. "You can do it again."

Once more, Dami launched herself off a branch and Gahyeon grabbed her arms as she came down, pulling her toward her. JiU went after her and Dami cast her a grateful look as Yoohyeon arrived too.

The same painful process continued for more trees than any of them could count and eventually, Dami couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't... do this... any longer..." she muttered, nearly falling off the branch she was on. "I can't... breathe... I need... water..."

Seulgi glared at the sky. "Come on, crazy challenge world, can we just end this task and get some damn food and water? Don't torture us this way!"

As if in response, the wind picked up once more and Wendy glared at Seulgi. "You had to do that, didn't you? We're in the tree!"

"Which is the best place for us, actually!"

JiU had pulled Dami closer to her again and even SuA and Siyeon were clinging to each other. Gahyeon's hand was curled around Yoohyeon's arm as well while Handong had a strong grip on the trunk. Yoohyeon, however, was losing her grip as a fierce wave of dizziness swept over her.

A scream ripped through the air and everyone turned to see Seulgi tumble from the tree, hurtling towards the ground below. In a panic, Wendy leapt out after her, hands grasping her hips and flipping her over like JiU had done with Dami before.

"Seulgi! Wendy!" Yoohyeon gasped. "Guys, that's going to kill them!"

"Oh god..." Siyeon bit her lip.

Wendy cried out as she hit the ground and a snap echoed through the air as Seulgi landed on top of her. The wind disappeared immediately after that. Her nails dug into Seulgi's sides and she yelped. "Wendy, are you okay?" As she rolled off of her, Wendy curled up into a ball, shivering violently and clutching her stomach.

"W- Wendy?"

Siyeon, SuA, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, JiU, Dami, and Handong began clambering down from their tree, reaching the ground in no time; even Dami made it down quickly. Yoohyeon snapped up a piece of paper as they all ran to them and surrounded Seulgi and Wendy.

"Wendy, what happened to you?" Siyeon murmured. Seulgi forced her to uncurl and drew back in horror. "Her ribs... they broke... through her..."

Wendy looked down at herself and her eyes widened. Her ribs had broken and some fragments and shards were slicing through her skin, jutting out of her. Blood was pooling on the ground under her stomach and Seulgi went white as she touched it.

"Seulgi..." Yoohyeon nudged her. "Read this."

Seulgi glared at her, but took the paper. It only had two sentences on it.

"'Bring her to Red Velvet when you return in order for her to survive. Your task was complete and you are going back.'" A smile passed across her face for a moment. "Wendy... this means we're going home."

As if the words had triggered it, both of their bodies suddenly began to glow, slowly fading.

Wendy weakly lifted her head. "I... I'm glad I got to meet you guys. We'll tell the rest of Red Velvet about you and we'll find you. We'll find where we are. We will spread the word and get you out of here."

"Thank you." SuA took Seulgi's and Wendy's hands in her own. "Wendy, get well soon."

Seulgi bowed her head and turned toward Wendy again. She leaned into her, her arms encircling Wendy's bloody abdomen, and their lips met in a passionate kiss. Their bodies glowed even brighter until none of their features were visible besides the light, then they disappeared completely.

All of Dreamcatcher were silent as JiU tentatively traced a hand through the blood that had been left behind. "I'm so, so sorry to you two for putting you through this."

They remained silent for a few minutes, until, without warning, Yoohyeon and Dami collapsed.

"NO!" Gahyeon and JiU screeched at the exact same time.

JiU ran to Dami, shaking her frantically, while Gahyeon went to Yoohyeon. The leader was astonished when Gahyeon fell to her knees beside her and dragged the older girl into her arms. Yoohyeon's face was pale, almost paler than Dami's, and her breath was hitching in her throat.

"Dami's not the only one who needs water," Gahyeon exclaimed, her voice greatly rising in volume. "Yoohyeon... Yoohyeon, wake up!"

Dami's eyelids fluttered as JiU gently tried to awaken her, but she wasn't up yet. Gahyeon, on the other hand, was really panicking because Yoohyeon's breathing was slowing down and she was sweating slightly. Gahyeon's eyes flicked to the sky and she howled, "PLEASE, DON'T TAKE HER FROM ME!! DON'T TAKE THE PERSON I LOVE THE MOST IN THIS WORLD!!!" She started to cry as she brought Yoohyeon closer to her. "Someone get her some water!"

SuA spotted another note near them and nearly tripped over them as she rushed to grab it. Her head jerked up and she motioned to Handong and Siyeon. "Guys, this way!"

"What is it?" Handong asked confusedly.

"Look at this letter! They say that there's water nearby and I'm willing to take a chance on it."

Siyeon took it from her and read it before handing it back. "She's right. We have to go there! JiU, get Dami and I'll help Gahyeon with Yoohyeon."

Gahyeon couldn't even stand with her, so Siyeon took Yoohyeon into her arms and took off. The maknae followed her and JiU went after them with Dami.

SuA and Handong led the way, swerving through the forest, and Gahyeon brought up the rear, wiping tears from her eyes. It wasn't long before SuA tripped and sprawled into blue, spluttering to the surface in an instant. "Here! Bring Dami and Yoohyeon forward!"

JiU laid Dami down on the ground and thrust a cupped hand into the water, bringing it back to Dami's lips and pouring it into her mouth. After she did that four more times, Dami's eyes opened a little and she coughed. "Unnie..."

Gahyeon, meanwhile, was wildly running to and from the water to give it to Yoohyeon, but she still didn't stir.

"Yoohyeon, please wake up," Gahyeon begged as Siyeon laid her down. She pressed her mouth against Yoohyeon's forehead and the rest of them watched in dismay, except for JiU, who was giving Dami more water, and Siyeon, who was offering it to the still-unconscious girl.

Gahyeon clung on to Yoohyeon's body, ignoring the fact that the wind was beginning to pick up a bit again. Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke again.

"Yoohyeon... please don't leave me. I love you and I can't let you go here..."

Chapter Text

JiU felt her heart tearing apart as she eyed Gahyeon. At least Dami's awake. But poor Yoohyeon... wait, did Gahyeon just say she loves her? All that fierceness... has it just been to look tough in front of her? Could be that as well as Gahyeon being Gahyeon.

Gahyeon was getting hysterical as she slammed her hands onto Yoohyeon's chest and pounded as hard as she could. "Yoohyeon, don't you die on me!!" When it didn't work, she sat up again, the tears in her eyes now falling freely. "Yoohyeon..."

She quickly thrust her head forward and kissed the older girl deeply, hands clenching fistfuls of Yoohyeon's hair. SuA looked like she was about to cry and buried her face in Siyeon's shoulder.

"Yoohyeon, don't die," Handong whispered.

Gahyeon's face was still wet with tears.

The maknae's lips didn't leave her until, all of a sudden, Yoohyeon began to shake. As soon as Gahyeon separated from her, she rolled onto her stomach and retched on the ground.

"Oh god... you're alive!" Gahyeon waited for her to get everything out before embracing her tightly. "Yoohyeon, I never want you to leave me..."

"You're the one who saved me..." Yoohyeon breathed. "I heard your voice though before I nearly slipped away... but you... you really love me...?"

"Yes... I really do. Yoohyeon... do you know what woke you up?"

"Not really..."

"This." Gahyeon fastened her hand on the back of Yoohyeon's head and pulled her in for another kiss. The two of them stayed like that for a little while until Siyeon finally groaned, "What next?"

Almost as if on another cue, the giant wind took them by surprise. But Gahyeon was prepared and shot up one of the trees, taking Yoohyeon with her. Siyeon, Handong, and SuA followed, with JiU and Dami struggling up behind them. They made their way back through another cluster to find better cover too. It didn't take long, however, for it to fade again, and once it did, they sighed in relief.

"That was really..." Dami started to say before another shape suddenly surged forward from another tree, shoving her from her branch and causing her to fall. The rest of Dreamcatcher gasped in shock and JiU cried her name as she began to make her way down with the others after her. SuA also snagged a piece of paper hanging from a leaf on the way down.

It was another girl grappling with Dami, who could barely fight back since her opponent was attacking her injured leg. JiU and Siyeon were the first to spring at her and speared her off, pinning her to the ground.

Then they recoiled.

"Chaeyeon?!" Siyeon exclaimed, identifying the Iz*one member. "What are you doing here?"

"Get off me!" Chaeyeon shouted. "You'll never hurt me or my sisters!"

"Look out!" Handong called from above. "It's not just her!"

Two more female bodies fell over Dami, ripping at her skin, and she struggled to fight them off. Handong jumped down to help and came face to face with Wonyoung.

"What is this?"

"You are our enemies right now!" Chaewon hissed from her other side.

"Is that what they told you?" Handong scoffed. "Chaewon, it's Dreamcatcher! It's us!"

SuA hurriedly yelled to the rest of the group. "Guys, this paper said that our next task is to make them our allies and then wait for another message in order to get on the right track to sending them back!"

"How many in all?" Handong questioned.

"Seven!"

"But that's more than half of Iz*one! And where's...?"

Dami screamed as Hyewon and Sakura leapt on top of her and JiU ran to help her, only to be brought down by Nako and Eunbi.

SuA and Yoohyeon went straight for the girls on Dami, while Handong fought both Chaewon and Wonyoung. JiU and Gahyeon handled Nako and Eunbi, while Siyeon held down a thrashing Chaeyeon.

Handong struck out quickly on both sides, although she was unsure where to hit. Wonyoung is too young! She shouldn't be mixed up in this! In fact, none of them should!

Chaewon tried to rake her nails across Handong's face and the Chinese girl retaliated hard, slamming her elbow into her chest. Knocked out, she fell, and Wonyoung sprang in to take her place. Not wanting to hurt the young teen, she tried to pin her down, but when Wonyoung's hands went for her throat, she panicked and her knee flew up into her chin. Wonyoung collapsed, blood dripping from her mouth, and Handong stood over them, scanning the rest.

Chaeyeon soon broke away from Siyeon and ran towards Dami again. She snarled and sprang, scoring cuts across her shoulders. Siyeon tried to wrestle her off, but Chaeyeon kicked out as hard as she could, landing heavy blows on her chest and stomach, and Siyeon crumpled next to Chaewon. JiU, by this time, had seen what was happening, so she released Nako and fell upon Dami's attacker. Chaeyeon thrashed in her grip and, in a rage, JiU slashed at her face. A scream tore from her as she tried to cover herself and the Dreamcatcher leader's hits rained down in a deluge.

"I don't care who you are, but I will never let you hurt Dami!" she shouted as she struck her again and again.

Nako gasped and lunged at JiU, frantically clawing at her. "LET GO!"

"You're the ones attacking us!" JiU retorted. "We never asked for this!"

"And we need to get out of here!"

She kept a grip on Chaeyeon's neck while also kicking out at Nako. The more Nako tried to get to her fellow member, the tighter JiU held on and the harder she kicked. Chaeyeon gasped for breath, whimpering as tears filled her eyes.

"Get off of her!" Nako cried.

"Not if she tries to hurt my Dami!" JiU rolled over and tossed Chaeyeon against a tree, knocking her unconscious. Distracted, Nako ran to her, whining as she laid her hands on Chaeyeon's bruised neck. JiU spun around, her eyes landing on Gahyeon. Her fight with Eunbi wasn't going so well and the older girl was on top of her, pressing Gahyeon's face into the dirt.

"You don't need to destroy us to get out of here!" Gahyeon groaned. "We're friends, Eunbi!"

Something flickered in Eunbi's eyes.

"Let her go!" Yoohyeon tried to discharge from Sakura, but she wasn't having it and Yoohyeon was forced to pin her down.

"Sakura, please! We can be allies. We can help you get out of here!"

"Why should we believe that?" Sakura retorted. "She told us that if we trusted you, we wouldn't get out of here!"

"Who told you that?"

"The voice that came when we were brought here, when we left Iz*one behind!"

"Well, she was manipulating you!" Yoohyeon snapped. "You were brought here for our task!"

Sakura furrowed her brow. "What task?"

"Our whole group has been challenged. You were brought here for the stupid tasks we're given. Stop this madness and we can help you."

She opened her mouth to speak again and then a screech rang through the air as Wonyoung slowly stood up, a dangerous glare in her eyes as she tackled Handong, forcing her to the ground.

Handong struggled away from the teen, but she was completely set on it. Wonyoung's nails tore through her arm and she winced at the pain of it.

"Wonyoung, stop!" Sakura snarled. "We need to hear them out!"

"Why?" Seeing that Handong was stunned for a moment, she dragged her over to Dami and slammed her hands onto their necks. "We can't trust them!"

"We won't know that unless we stop trying to kill them! Maybe the voice that came to us was wrong!"

"How though?" Tears filled Wonyoung's eyes as she looked over at Nako, who was trying to rouse Chaeyeon. "They've already hurt Chaeyeon!"

"I don't let anyone hurt Dami!" JiU fired back. "That's what Chaeyeon was trying to do and I wouldn't let her! And I won't let you hurt her either!"

Wonyoung's gaze darkened and she released Handong, twisting Dami's neck slightly. "I want to get out of here and I'll do anything to do it."

JiU sucked in a breath. "Please, Wonyoung, don't..."

SuA and Hyewon soon passed by, matching each other blow for blow, but JiU paid no attention. Then Wonyoung twisted harder.

"No! Please!" JiU dropped to her knees. "Wonyoung, I'm begging you, don't..."

Nako let out a scream. "I can't wake Chaeyeon!"

"Look what you've done!" Eunbi roared. "And that's why she can kill her! Dami can die for her girlfriend's actions!"

"You can't!" Sakura growled, raising her voice so all of them could hear. "Eunbi, we can't become killers! And Wonyoung, you're too young to be doing this. Don't become a killer! Don't hurt JiU like that! Snap out of it, all of you!"

"You were literally just trying to kill Yoohyeon!" Eunbi replied.

"This is all madness!" Yoohyeon hollered. "This is our fault, but we don't deserve to die by it! Wonyoung, if you want to go home, do you really think you could live with killing Dami?"

Wonyoung hesitated and Dami's gaze locked with JiU's, a terrified expression in it. Help me!

"Oh god, Wonyoung... please... let her go... she's hurt enough..."

Seeing her like that made her worried. I don't want to kill anyone! I just need to get out of here, but I can't... I can't do this to JiU...

She released Dami and the older girl moaned in pain as she curled up on the ground.

"DAMI!" JiU howled. She threw herself down beside her. "Dami... I love you... I hate you being in this pain..."

Yoohyeon let Sakura go and Sakura rushed to Wonyoung, pulling her away from Dami and JiU. Eunbi looked up as Yoohyeon fell upon her and shoved her away from Gahyeon. Gahyeon scrambled to her feet, spitting dirt. "Thanks, Yoohyeon."

Eunbi glared at them, but her face softened as she looked at the whole scene. JiU, frantically trying to handle Dami's pain. Sakura, crying over Chaeyeon as Nako switched places with her to embrace Wonyoung (whose mouth was still bleeding). Chaewon and Siyeon, unconscious side by side on the ground. Handong, gasping for breath as she tried to stand. Hyewon and SuA had begun to calm down from their battle and were clutching each other for balance as they tried not to collapse. Yoohyeon kissed Gahyeon as she hugged her shivering body and Eunbi nearly screamed. She couldn't believe she had just encouraged Wonyoung to kill Dami for revenge.

"This is what it's come to?!" Sakura sobbed, holding up Chaeyeon's limp body in her arms. "We shouldn't have listened to that stupid voice, no matter how badly we want to get out of here!" She caressed the girl gently. "My baby, Chaeyeon..." Sakura pressed her face into her chest. "She's barely breathing... JiU, I... I can't believe you... why did you do this to her? If you were only trying to keep us from attacking you... why did you hurt her?"

"Sh- she was attacking Dami, my own love..." JiU stammered, biting her lip. "I'm so sorry, Sakura..."

A wail ripped from Sakura's throat and she grazed her lips against Chaeyeon's. "Chaeyeon, baby... I'm so sorry you got mixed up in this..."

JiU inched over to them, carrying Dami with her, and sympathetically wrapped an arm around Sakura. "She's not dead. I promise, there's still hope. And I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Someone get back to the river!" Yoohyeon exclaimed in a panicky voice. "Get some water!"

Eunbi jumped up, but Handong shakily stumbled over to her. "I need... to show you... where it is..."

The Iz*one leader supported her on her shoulder as she limped forward and they made their way back toward the water.

"Wake up, Chaeyeon..." Dami murmured as she rested a hand on her forehead. "I know JiU didn't mean to do this. She was just trying to protect me..."

Sakura kept her hand on Chaeyeon's chest. "Dami... I'm sorry for her. She was just panicking and tried to attack you." She could see the way her eyes glistened with tears, but Dami shook her head.

"She doesn't deserve to die from this though." She sighed. "Chaeyeon... please breathe..."

A little later, Eunbi and Handong returned with a makeshift leaf wrap basket filled to the brim with water. They set it down beside Sakura and she carefully picked it up, pouring some into Chaeyeon's mouth.

"Baby, wake up!"

Siyeon and Chaewon were stirring and SuA and Hyewon helped them up. The four of them, while still leaning on each other, gathered around JiU, Dami, Sakura, and Chaeyeon. Nako dabbed at Wonyoung's split lip as she joined them and Gahyeon and Yoohyeon came over as well, with Handong and Eunbi next to them.

"She's gone..." Wonyoung mumbled, sinking into Nako's arms. "Our sweet Chaeyeon..."

"No... not yet..." Sakura shook her head. "I love you too much, Lee Chaeyeon. I won't let our mistakes kill you!" She poured a little more water into her mouth. "Baby... you can't..."

Chaeyeon coughed up a stream of water into Sakura's face and nestled into her lap.

"Oh god..." Sakura cautiously kissed her, lacing her fingers through Chaeyeon's hair. "My love, I thought you were dead..."

"Sakura, my head hurts..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she soothed. "Chaeyeon, it's all over. We're not their enemies."

Chaeyeon's eyes flicked to Dami. "But Eunbi... she told us to listen to them..."

"It's not worth it." Sakura slowly sat her up. "I nearly lost you. I don't care if we never get out of here, but I don't want to feel like that again."

Her face scrunched up as she turned to Dami. "You're already injured enough... I shouldn't have listened when they said to hurt you..."

Dami hugged her tightly. "It's alright. I forgive you."

JiU gulped. "It won't be okay once that wind whips up again."

"What wind?" Sakura looked puzzled.

She pursed her lips and began the explanation of what had happened to them since they arrived. When she finished, Chaeyeon was white and weakly laid her head on Sakura's shoulder. "We definitely shouldn't have hurt them like that..."

"Sweetie, you're bleeding." Sakura touched her upper back.

"I don't care. Dreamcatcher... I'm so sorry..."

"It's nothing to be sorry for when we got you into this mess," Handong conceded. "And you're going to care soon."

"I just want to rest," Chaeyeon groaned. "I'm beginning to hurt all over."

"You were just unconscious for a while, so no wonder," Sakura answered. "But we need to find food."

"Can I have some... more water... first?"

"Of course."

"Do we really have time for this?" Gahyeon growled. "She's up; now we just have to get up some trees and wait for that wind to pass again."

"Hey, no need to be rude." Sakura retaliated with a defensive glare.

"That's right, Gahyeon," Yoohyeon told her, grasping one of her hands. "Calm down. We've done what we need to do and made them our allies. Not just because of the task but because they're our friends and we need to work with them to get out of here."

"But what about Yuri, Yena, Yujin, Minju, and Hitomi?" Eunbi worried. "We've left them all back there."

"And would you really want them enduring this?" Gahyeon shot back. "Be grateful they're not. We had to defend ourselves against you and why would you want them to end up like this? Like Dami?" JiU grasped her bandaged leg and Dami yelped. "Or what about Chaeyeon? Would you want Yuri or Hitomi being knocked out like that and develop a fear of losing them?"

"Chill the hell out, Gahyeon." Sakura narrowed her eyes as they began to fill with tears again. "Eunbi's right to worry though. She's our leader. And Chaeyeon... I nearly lost her, so can we just... not do that?"

"She's right; come here to me." Yoohyeon opened her arms and Gahyeon reluctantly leaned into them.

"Baby, it'll all turn out all right," Sakura whispered as she turned her attention back to Chaeyeon. "I'll get you out even if I have to give my life toward it."

"I'm hoping it won't come to that," Chaeyeon admitted.

"But if it does, you know I'll do it."

Eunbi forced herself to turn away and her eyes landed on Nako, who was fussing over Wonyoung, stretching up to clean the blood on her lip. The tall maknae winced as Nako's fingers brushed her face, but she didn't move.

"You two okay?" she asked them.

"Yeah, I am." Wonyoung hugged Nako around the waist, pinning her arms to her sides. "It's fine, Nako unnie. I'm fine."

She laughed slightly as her gaze turned to Chayeon, who had turned around on Sakura's lap, kissing her like her life depended on it. "Are you two seriously doing this now?"

Chayeon gave Wonyoung a piercing scowl. "Shut up. Shut up this instant." Sakura got a slight bit of the same in her eyes, glaring at her as she languidly licked across Chayeon's neck.

"Mine," Sakura plainly said as her arms encircled Chaeyeon's waist. "I won't let any of Dreamcatcher or anyone else hurt her again."

"She's lucky to have someone like you to help her," JiU exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Chaeyeon. No matter what happened... I shouldn't have hurt you like that."

On her request, Chaeyeon and Dami switched places for a moment. Dami rested her head on Sakura's shoulder and Chaeyeon nervously made her way onto JiU's lap.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you again," JiU whispered. "I know she loves you and I shouldn't have lost my mind like I did. Are you... are you still in pain?"

Chaeyeon wordlessly nodded, so JiU held her tenderly.

"I'm just glad you're alive," she sighed. "And I will undo everything that's just happened if it meant you didn't get hurt. I don't enjoy feeling like this whenever Dami is injured and I don't want Sakura to feel it too."

"Thanks." After that one word, she embraced her and crawled back to Sakura. Dami returned to JiU and reveled in the warmth of her arms.

They all remained where they were until Handong finally broke the silence. "I'm starving. Anyone else still wondering about where we're going to get some food?"

Chapter Text

Sakura helped Chaeyeon to her feet as Handong's words passed through the group, but she was still too weak to walk, so she swung her into her arms again.

"How's that going to work when you have to get up a tree again, huh?" Gahyeon muttered.

"Gahyeon..." Dami shot her a warning look as she scrambled up as well with JiU's help. "Don't worry about that now. She nearly died. And so did I. Before we met them, Yoohyeon barely made it as well. Be grateful we're all alive. Be grateful Eunbi didn't bury you."

Eunbi's eyes flashed. "Can you not bring that up again?" She sent a threatening glare towards Dami, who dug her nails into JiU's arm.

"Let's just go to the river," Siyeon growled, laying on Chaewon's shoulder. "We can all agree we need it."

Fortunately, Gahyeon agreed to that and they all headed off in that direction, with Handong in the lead. Chaeyeon's eyes watered in pain as she was jostled, but Sakura tried to walk as smooth as possible. Siyeon leaned on Chaewon the whole time, a grateful look in her eyes, and SuA and Hyewon walked side by side, their hands interlocked. Wonyoung sidled over to Hyewon and poked her. "You two going for it yet?"

Hyewon shoved her. "No. Bad maknae. Shut up."

Wonyoung pouted and Nako giggled.

"Why are you two holding hands then?" she asked.

"She's helped me," SuA said simply. "Don't ask."

They soon arrived back at the river. Eunbi still held their basket and while most of them cupped water in their hands and splashed it onto their faces and into their mouths, she filled the basket and brought it to Chaeyeon. Sakura had sat down against a tree with her on her lap, murmuring soothingly to her. JiU went next to her and cooed softly as Chaeyeon weakly reached over to Dami and put an arm around her, resting her head on her arm. Dami smiled, planting a small peck on Chaeyeon's nose, and then she realized the younger was shaking.

"Dami..." she mumbled quietly. "I'm sorry for your pain." A gasp came from her. "Ah... I feel like I'm going to be sick..."

With all the strength she could muster, Dami pulled her over and thrust Chaeyeon's head away from the river as the injured girl spasmed and vomited onto the ground. She started to cry as Dami gently wiped her mouth and wrapped both arms around her torso. "Chaeyeon, it's okay. Take a deep breath."

"I can't... I can't breathe..."

"You have to. Come on, we're both in a lot of pain here and I want to help you."

Chaeyeon groaned, closing her eyes as she laid her head on Dami's chest.

"No... don't close your eyes, please. Keep them open." She obeyed.

Eunbi nudged the basket of water toward them and Dami nodded at her as she took it. "Thanks, Eunbi."

As she scooped some into Chaeyeon's mouth, the Iz*one leader tentatively touched her wounded leg, which was hanging awkwardly off of JiU's lap. Dami hissed and recoiled, accidentally spilling the water. "Ow!" A tear slipped from her eye. "Don't... do that..." She gave her a quick glare. "Do you really already think I've forgotten? You don't have any right to be touching me!"

Nervously, Chaeyeon drew back from her, clinging onto Sakura.

"Hey, is everything okay over there?" Hyewon called to them.

"Not really." JiU shook her head. "We're all still on edge."

SuA and Hyewon sat down next to JiU.

"How's it going, Dami?" SuA cautiously held her hand.

"Not well," Dami sighed. "My leg really hurts and poor Chaeyeon is feeling sick." She cast a sympathetic look at her. "I want to help, but I feel like such a burden..."

"You're not," Hyewon retorted. "You're not. You're just someone who got injured. Speaking of, JiU, do you think you should clean it? The water is pretty clean."

JiU nodded. "Eunbi, would you mind refilling the water again?" Since the liquid had spilled, Eunbi nodded and went to do it.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Dami inquired shakily.

SuA squeezed her hand. "We don't know how long we'll still be here, so yes. And remember, we don't have any medical supplies if your wound gets infected." Eunbi returned soon and handed the basket to JiU, who slowly cupped Dami's face.

"You'll be okay, do you hear me?" she murmured. Dami nodded and sucked in a breath as Hyewon lifted up her leg.

As carefully as she could, JiU began peeling back the bandages. She couldn't hold back a gasp at the damage and Dami held SuA's hand in a death grip as a pained cry tore from her throat. As the sound rang through the air, the faces of Chaewon, Wonyoung, Nako, Handong, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, and Siyeon popped up from beside the river, full of shock.

"What is going on?" Siyeon snapped.

Eunbi whipped around to face her, eyes narrowed. "JiU's cleaning Dami's injury. If anything, you should have some sympathy because she's part of your group!"

"Okay, do not try pinning anything on me."

By now, Dami had closed her own eyes tightly, unwilling to look at the bloody mess that her lower leg had become. The pain was screaming inside her and she wanted to scream too... it was already getting to be way too much for her to bear. SuA was forced to let go before she broke her hand, but then JiU had to stop.

"Alright, someone needs to hold on to her," she admitted. "It's going to hurt a whole lot more when I actually clean it."

Taking a deep breath, Eunbi drew herself up. "I'll do it."

"No way!" Dami growled. "You were the one who encouraged Wonyoung to kill me. I don't want you anywhere near me!"

Ignoring her protests, Eunbi sat beside them and firmly took Dami into her arms. She didn't let her struggle in any way, although she did start trembling violently. Sakura didn't pay any attention; she was trying to comfort Chaeyeon.

JiU took a leaf and pressed it onto the wound to stop some of the blood, but it didn't do anything, so she splashed a little water on it.

The shriek that echoed from her as the water entered the gashes made most of them stagger back as they heard it. Fortunately, though, Eunbi had a powerful grip and didn't let Dami go. Chaeyeon couldn't bear to watch and Nako joined her, grasping her hand.

"Dami, stay still!" Eunbi snarled.

"But it hurts!" Dami wailed, pressing herself into her. "You've never felt this pain before... I can't stand it..."

Her face was wet with tears and Eunbi was beginning to really feel sorry for her. She's been here longer and I can't imagine how hard it's been to live with this. That does look painful.

SuA placed her hands on Dami's back, keeping her steady, while Hyewon maneuvered over to Chaeyeon, quietly touching the blood on her. She couldn't even feel any pain from it because she could hear the older girl's screams and knew she was dealing with worse.

Soon, Dami felt the presence of a worried Wonyoung beside her and winced as Eunbi loosened her grip to allowed the Iz*one maknae access to her. Her screams quieted to heavy sobs as her throat began to burn with the effort of making sound.

"No... NO!" she cried. "JiU, please... stop her! She's going to try to kill me again..."

"She won't, I swear," JiU promised, casting a sideways glance at Wonyoung before returning to her work. One of Wonyoung's hands slid up to Dami's neck, rubbing it gently, and her mouth moved to her ear.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her expression full of genuine shame. "And I know no apologizing can ever amount for how much I hurt you and JiU, but... I hope it's at least a start. I don't... I don't even know what I was thinking..."

"I just know I'm grateful you didn't do it," JiU muttered. "However, if you're not gentle to her, I'll go stick you in a bear trap."

She nodded in response and embraced her. Seeing that it was needed, Eunbi let go of Dami and allowed Wonyoung to take full control. Despite what had gone on between them, the wounded girl tightly clung to the younger as JiU cleaned her leg. Not waiting for permission, Wonyoung quickly kissed her neck, which silenced her for a moment before her sobs returned. Chaewon's eyes widened and she left the river bank to kneel beside her. "Wonyoung, what is wrong with you?"

"She's fine," JiU said through gritted teeth. "But Dami, baby, you absolutely need to stay still for this part. I mean it. I can't mess up rewrapping your leg."

Chaewon cocked her head. "JiU, wait. Should we make a splint?"

"Why? And how?"

"Look how deep those gashes run. I might not have been there when it happened, but if that really was a bear trap, it probably nearly crushed her bone, which may be why it hurts so much. Too much weight on it will break the bone."

"But we don't have much that any of us knows how to make a splint with," SuA pointed out. "We definitely need to keep her off that leg, though."

"I'll carry her for eternity," JiU replied. "But only if she stays still."

Dami swallowed and Wonyoung kept her in a strong embrace as she began to breathe deeply, shivering as JiU replaces the bandages on her. She had had her eyes closed the entire time, but when it was all done, they slowly opened and blinked up at Wonyoung, a twinkle of appreciation in them.

"Th- thank you," she stuttered. "For... for helping me bear this."

"I will always be sorry for how I've hurt you," Wonyoung mumbled back, her hands trembling as Dami pulled away from her and fell back into JiU's grasp. I hate how I can still feel it. How close I was to snapping her neck. I'm still a teen! What darkness nearly made me kill her? I... I've ruined myself... and Dami...

Sakura and Nako, meanwhile, were starting to panic. Chaeyeon's back wasn't bleeding too heavily, but they had no way of stopping it from coming. Then Nako remembered something.

"Siyeon, you took the bandages to hold on the way here, right? The remaining ones? Can we have them? They're all we got."

Siyeon nodded and tossed the roll at her. Sakura gazed into Chaeyeon's eyes as she lifted her chin. "Are you alright if I take it all off?"

Chaeyeon gulped. "I want... Dami here..."

At the sound of her name, Dami pushed SuA away from her and reached over to Chaeyeon. "I'm here, Chae. It's okay. Let her clean you and I'll hold your hand too."

Nako released her and watched silently with the bandages in hand as Sakura removed Chaeyeon's bloodstained shirt and bra. Dami studied her for a moment before intertwining their hands. "If I can survive my cleaning, you can survive yours." She dipped her head in response as the basket was passed to her.

The rest of the group made their way back to them as Sakura started to rub water onto Chaeyeon. She fought hard and barely managed to not say anything as the pain flashed through her like fire. Feeling Dami's hand on her own and knowing that Sakura was the only other one touching her really helped. Surprisingly, it was over quick and the bandages were secured. As she replaced her clothing, Dami smiled at her. "You're really strong, you know that?"

"Alright, leave them be now," JiU said gently as she tugged her back. "We need a small rest period, but then we have to find food; otherwise, we'll all starve."

"You're just now agreeing with me?" Handong snarled at them.

"Would you rather we hadn't stopped here?" JiU shot back. "Would you rather Dami and Chaeyeon die of infection?"

"We're not even supposed to be here!" Chaewon snapped in exasperation. "None of us should even be dying or have a chance of it!" She and Wonyoung stood up.

"We already did though!" Siyeon exclaimed. "Its all sort of lucky."

"I have to admit, I am somewhat grateful for it, besides all the injuries," JiU commented, brushing a hand over Dami's jaw. Chaeyeon had let her go and curled up in Sakura's lap, nodding at her words. "I've gotten a chance to be with my sweetheart Dami and... I'd say we're getting closer with Iz*one."

"Definitely," Hyewon agreed, stumbling to her feet and moving to help SuA stand. Wonyoung cast her a smirk and she glared in return. "Don't even think about it, maknae."

Gahyeon crossed her arms. "Are you serious? Close with them?" She sent a poisonous expression at Sakura. "When they try to kill the ones we love?"

"Look, you know I've forgiven her," Yoohyeon sighed, curling an arm around Gahyeon's waist. "If we don't let it go, or at least try to forgive them, none of us will get comfortable here."

Siyeon raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we keep moving?"

Sakura nudged Chaeyeon. "Are you ready to go?"

"I... I think so..." With that answer, Sakura stood, keeping Chaeyeon safely tucked in her arms. JiU did the same with Dami, but kept part of her wounded leg hanging off.

"Ah..." Dami groaned. "JiU... that hurts."

"Sorry, baby." JiU planted a small kiss on her forehead. "But you'll need to deal with it right now, I'm sorry."

Dami lifted her head to peck JiU's lips before laying down again. "I... will... try..."

"Wait a minute..." Nako held up a hand. "Shouldn't only some of us go? Because if Dami and Chaeyeon need to be taken like this, it could really slow us down."

Eunbi shook her head. "If we split up, we're more vulnerable to whatever challenge they throw at us next."

"But look at them," SuA breathed. "Sooner or later, JiU and Sakura will collapse from exhaustion and Dami can't physically walk. Chaeyeon too... I don't know what could happen with her. We're all so worn out..."

"Eunbi's right, SuA," Hyewon admitted, wrapping an arm around her. "We have to stick together on this."

"We can handle it," JiU and Sakura said in unison.

SuA and Hyewon entwined their hands again as all of them started walking, which Nako looked closely at as she stepped up beside them. Their arms and shoulders were touching as well and SuA's whole body was tensed up, as if she were waiting for something to happen. But what's her deal with Hyewon? What happened between them? Her pace increased until she was able to join Handong, who was silently leading them.

"How are you doing?" Handong lifted her head at the question.

"I just want this to be over," she told her in reply. "I feel bad for putting everyone through this. Wouldn't it have just been better for us to stay dead?"

"Never. You deserve to stay alive and Dreamcatcher deserves much better than this."

"So does Iz*one," Handong concurred. "We've all be so affected by this."

Nako gestured in SuA and Hyewon's direction. "Do you have any idea what's going on with them?"

Handong shrugged, but a slightly dismayed look passed over her face. "When she first died, it was in front of me, because a panic attack took her over and sent her to my room after she ripped all the tubes from her body. She's been acting like she'll have another since she got here and I wonder if Hyewon's had a hand in it." Her voice had dropped to a low tone.

"So when SuA said she'd helped her... does that mean she's keeping those at bay?"

"I guess."

Storing more questions in the back of her mind, Nako fell back between the two injured girls, her eyes flickering between them.

"N- Nako?" She suddenly felt Chaeyeon's hand on her arm.

"Hey." Nako gave her a tiny grin. "You feeling okay?"

"No, definitely not." Chaeyeon winced. "The pain's getting worse..."

"I'm sorry, unnie." Nako hung her head. "We'll get out of here soon."

The wind hastily began to pick up and both JiU and Sakura stared at each other in horror.

"Get Dami and Chaeyeon out of it before the wind gets worse!" Siyeon screeched, dashing to JiU's side. "Come on!" She took hold of Dami's lower body and she and JiU hoisted her up into a tree. Gahyeon jumped up to help them and Eunbi and Wonyoung assisted Sakura with Chaeyeon. They managed to, fortunately, make it up without any accidents. But the others were struggling. Handong and Chaewon scrambled up into their own tree, but the the great breeze spat dirt into their eyes, blinding them momentarily as they clung on. Nako and Yoohyeon were forced to stay on lower branches because one had banged Yoohyeon against the trunk as she'd tried to climb higher. SuA and Hyewon, however, we're having the most trouble and could not even get up one. They were hanging onto the trunk of a far tree and to each other.

"It's getting too strong!" SuA shouted. "Hyewon, we need to get up one or we won't be able to hold on!"

Hyewon gave a quick nod and let go of her as she grabbed handholds and slowly lifted herself up into a smooth range of tangled branches, beckoning SuA up after her. SuA climbed up, gasping as she positioned herself beside Hyewon.

"Are you okay?" Hyewon yelled over the roaring sound at her. SuA didn't respond and buried her face in her shoulder. "SuA, you need to breathe! Don't allow yourself to stop!"

SuA's grip on the branch was slipping fast. "It's too hard to stay on!"

"Look at me." Those three words were so fierce that she did look up. "Calm down now. Hold on to me and everything will be okay." So she did. By the time the wind calmed itself, SuA had a splitting headache and wouldn't move when Hyewon nudged her.

"Are you both alright up there?" Chaewon called as she and Handong leapt to the ground. Yoohyeon and Nako followed behind them and Eunbi and Gahyeon has gotten down as well to help out. JiU slowly started to make her way down with Dami, who used her good leg to the best of her ability to do it herself. When Sakura tried to get Chaeyeon down, she, however, accidentally slipped on part of it, which threw Chaeyeon towards the earth. Gahyeon instinctively moved under her and helped as she fell under her weight. Chaeyeon shuddered, planting a small kiss on her neck. "Th- thank you, G- G- Gahyeon..."

SuA flinched from her tree as they carefully began to walk in that direction once Sakura had secured Chaeyeon again. "Hyewon, I can't do it..."

"You can And you will. Think of Dami, at least. Don't you want to help her?"

"Y- yes."

"Then go." Hyewon lightly shoved her and she got down fast with her right behind.

"Any message around?" Chaewon questioned when they were all together again.

"Yes." Nako held up a small piece of folded paper in one hand. SuA snatched it from her and opened it to read.

"'You can find the supplies to help all of them, but you have to keep looking. Right now, keep the third alive." She glanced up in confusion. "What does that mean? Only two of us are injured..."

An ear-shattering scream sliced through the air like a razor-sharp knife and all of them turned in shock as Siyeon suddenly collapsed on the ground, her back arching in agony.

"Her." Eunbi felt her breath catch in her throat. "It's her we have to keep alive..."

Three arrows were embedded into Siyeon's chest and stomach.

Chapter Text

SuA was the first to cry out Siyeon's name and run to her side. Hyewon stood beside them, still in shock, as Eunbi tried to pry her eyes away.

"Siyeon, no!" Handong wailed, rushing to kneel beside her and placing a hand on the shaft of one of the arrows. "Oh my god, oh my god... someone help me here!"

Chaewon joined her and kept one of her own hands on Siyeon's neck as she touched the arrow too. "Siyeon, breathe, please breathe..."

Together, with as much strength as they could muster, they pulled up, yanking the arrow from Siyeon's chest. Wonyoung dashed forward to them as Siyeon shrieked again, violent sobs wracking her body as blood streamed from her; the maknae tore out the next arrow with one pull, sending out more blood. Yoohyeon and Gahyeon took care of the last, which was wedged in her stomach, and Siyeon was dangerously close to passing out from the pain.

"How does this even happen?" Hyewon choked out, her face going white with fear as her eyes roamed over the gouges in Siyeon's body. "She was hit in the front. How could we not have seen that?"

"I should have been watching out more," Handong spat bitterly, tossing the bloody arrow she was holding away from her. JiU had to dodge to the side to avoid it, which almost dislodged the panicking Dami in her arms. "I could have stopped it. I could have..." All the tears in her eyes poured out fast and didn't stop. She stared at Chaewon's hand, which had moved from Siyeon's neck to her chest. "Siyeon, you can't die. You can't... you can't leave us." Chaewon, don't move. Keep yourself there, so that I will know she doesn't stop breathing. Handong barely felt it when her legs folded underneath her and she fell onto Siyeon, clutching her body with everything she had as her blood began to stain her own body.

Hyewon, Nako, Wonyoung, Eunbi, Gahyeon, and SuA were beginning to group together, eyes narrowed, and Yoohyeon soon joined them.

"We do have to split up," Eunbi growled. "We have to now. And we will find these 'supplies.' But no matter what's happened between us already, I will not let all of us die one by one."

"Eunbi, you know that's not an option," Handong retorted angrily. "If this stuff really exists, who knows how long it'll take to bring it back? No, I'm bringing Siyeon to it and I don't care what you say."

Eunbi opened her mouth to speak against that, but then she saw the desperation in Handong's eyes, the terror and fear in her expression, and decided she had to be right. She's in love with her, even if she won't admit it now. I won't stir up trouble with it.

SuA and Hyewon crossed to each other and SuA crumpled into Hyewon's arms as she reached her.

"I can't do this," she whispered. "I can't watch them die."

"They won't." Hyewon hugged her tightly as her gaze moved from Dami, secured in JiU's arms, to Chaeyeon, almost unconscious in Sakura's grasp, to Siyeon, bleeding out on the rough dirt.

"Um, can we use these for now?" Nako timidly held up the small remaining roll of bandages and Handong reached up from the ground and snatched it from her. "It might not be a lot, but it's all we got."

"Please..." It was barely a whisper of breath, so only Handong and Chaewon heard it. "H- help me..."

"I'm trying!" Handong groaned. "But I need something to soak up the blood. Wait a minute..." She locked eyes with JiU as she ripped her shirt over her head, leaving her in only a sports bra. Unnie, why didn't you think of this for Dami?

Siyeon's sobs quickly quieted as Handong started to bandage her arrow wounds, but the pain still flashed through her and she laid her head on the Chinese girl's arm.

"Siyeon unnie, I'm so sorry," she breathed as she finished. "You didn't deserve this... and I think anyone here- or anyone in Dreamcatcher- would have taken twenty arrows in the heart to keep you from this pain." She leaned down and kissed her cheek. "And by anyone... I mainly mean me."

Eunbi swallowed as she surveyed the members of Dreamcatcher and the present members of Iz*one. She hated it. She didn't want to see it all go down. The leader refused to watch any of them die.

"You feel bad for them too, don't you, unnie?"

Eunbi's head jolted up as Wonyoung sidled over to her; she winced as she eyed the blood on the maknae's hands. "Of course I do."

Wonyoung raised an eyebrow. "But doesn't it scare you?"

She got no response, so she kept talking. "You and I are in this together. I nearly killed Dami and you encouraged it when you had Gahyeon pinned down. And I know I didn't hurt Siyeon... but having her blood on me feels almost the same." The teen still had the red-tipped arrow she had pulled from Siyeon's chest clutched in her hand. "I feel bad for all of them, for Dami, Chaeyeon, and Siyeon... but I also think I have no right doing that when we attacked them the way we did."

"I don't blame you," Hyewon sighed as she made her way over to the pair, her arms still wrapped tightly around SuA. "But I've been trying to make up for my mistakes..."

Wonyoung's eyes narrowed. "You, though, don't have to feel too guilty about it. You didn't come close to making the biggest mistake of your life!"

"And you didn't need JiU begging on her knees to make you stop. You didn't need to listen to Eunbi. We can't let ourselves become killers and you know it! However, you chose to let darkness overcome you."

Tears were threatening to fall as Wonyoung scrunched up her face. "Hyewon, Just please... don't."

SuA shot a pained look at her and the girl's expression softened. "Don't worry, I'm not going to touch her."

"We have to move!" Handong's shout took them all by surprise. "These wounds are really deep; we have to find what can help her!"

"How though?" Gahyeon roared. "We don't know what we're looking for or how to notice it or where to look in this damn forest!"

"Uh... maybe we do..." Yoohyeon spoke up shyly. "There's another message here."

Everyone, even Chaeyeon, turned on her all at once. "Read it then!"

Yoohyeon bit her lip as she opened it up and scanned the paper. "Actually, I think this is for someone else to read." She handed it to Handong, who took a deep breath and began to read it.

"'If you've found this message, then the precious girl you are holding has been hit with the weapons that may take her life. But you now how have that may soon fall and never get up again, soon to be four. Someone from the outside of this world started looking for you and fell into our grasp. Remember your previous two companions? If you don't find the supplies soon, their leader and your three will die. Look for the trail. Handong, this is for you: their blood may soon be on your hands. Lead them now.'" She was frozen for a moment, so JiU took up the voice after she ended the reading.

"Iz*one, we know who she's talking about. Our previous companions... they were Seulgi and Wendy from Red Velvet. What we didn't tell you before was that they had promised to try finding us when they went home. Well, Seulgi did, because Wendy was accidentally crushed and injured by her when they fell from a tree. They must have told the rest of Red Velvet..."

"Their leader..." Dami's eyes widened in realization. "Oh no... it's Irene's life on the line... Bae Joohyun... oh, poor Irene... we've mixed her up in this too..." She shuddered.

Gahyeon let out a growl. "How does that message help us? 'Look for the trail.' What trail? A hiking trail? And what do you think we'll find? Dreamcatcher and Iz*one, look at us! Will we find food? If not, it's pointless because we'll all starve to death! And we're putting others in danger now! We've already nearly killed a lot of Iz*one and now the leader of Red Velvet could die too! How is this worth it? Why don't we just get them home and stop so we don't have to play this game anymore?"

She was panting as she stopped to breathe and Yoohyeon lifted her head as she hugged her. "Baby, calm down, please."

"It's pointless, Yoohyeon. Death here would be more merciful."

"Gahyeon, I won't let you give up like this. You of all of us should be the one trying to get us out of here."

"But don't you see?" She blinked away tears. "We can't. We'll be stuck in this game, doomed to doom all the other groups one by one."

For a minute, Yoohyeon couldn't comprehend what she was saying, but then she realized it. She has a point, she thought. They're all in danger... Dami, Chaeyeon, Siyeon, and Irene, if we're right about that leader clue. But it's not fair to Chaeyeon and Irene at all because they're not even part of Dreamcatcher. She felt a wrench in her heart as her gaze slowly slid over to Handong, who was edging away from the group with Siyeon's body in her arms. As they disappeared behind a thick tree trunk, she tilted her head to the side. "Where are they going?"

"Who, SuA and Hyewon?" Wonyoung inquired. "Because they're gone."

"No, I meant Handong and Siyeon..." Yoohyeon jabbed a finger in their direction. "They're probably still going over her wounds or something. But SuA and Hyewon... they're missing?"

"I think they went back that way." Chaewon pointed down where they had come from. "I'll go fetch them."

"And I'll come too," Gahyeon offered. "I need some time away from the group. Yoohyeon, I'll be back." She pecked Yoohyeon's lips and walked away with Chaewon.

When they were far enough away that they couldn't see anyone else anymore, Gahyeon began to worry. "How could they have gotten so far without us knowing?"

Chaewon shrugged. "We're all so focused right now on the others, but we need to find them before we leave again, which will be soon." Her head moved up and her voice went down to a whisper. "I hear something. Be careful and follow me."

She did and Chaewon quickly pulled her behind a tree. "Look." In front of them, laying together in a clearing in the middle of a cluster of bushes, were SuA and Hyewon. Both Chaewon and Gahyeon studied them as SuA spoke, sounding like she'd paused after saying something else.

"I get that you felt you had to do it, but why me? Don't you care about me?"

"SuA, believe me, I do, but... Eunbi was getting paranoid and she threatened me. She told me she'd destroy you herself if I didn't try to."

"But you didn't fight. Not really."

Hyewon reached over and laid a hand on her chest. "I made it look convincing, which was what I had to do. But I... I could never hurt you. Hell, I've snuck away from my group at concerts so I could find you before we perform. I've put so much at risk for you and I won't let that all go to waste."

"So that's why our hits were so well-matched," SuA exclaimed. "You meant for that. You wanted that to happen."

"I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to," Hyewon admitted. "Bora, I love you and you know that. And I... I'm sorry."

"I love you too." SuA smiled as she rolled on top of her. "And I'm sorry you were brought into this mess."

Hyewon's hand brushed through her hair. "I'm sorry you died in the first place... especially when you were trying to reach your friend. In a way, though... I'm glad I had to come here, because it means I'm reunited with you."

"It also means that you're in danger now. Speaking of, how long before the others notice we're gone?"

"I don't know, but they're all focused on Dami, Chaeyeon, and Siyeon. We also have to be back before they leave to find Irene."

"We should be there for them, but... I needed this with you." SuA sniffed. "I... I need you."

The words had barely left her mouth before Hyewon had flipped them over, partly crushing SuA beneath her as their lips locked together. A tiny moan left SuA's throat as Hyewon forcefully shoved her tongue into her mouth and hooked her hand onto the back of her head, keeping a firm grip on her hair as she took control of her. To SuA, it was like a blanket of bliss was being thrown over her, enfolding her in the warmth and comfort that was Hyewon.

Soon, she pulled away and latched her mouth onto SuA's neck, sucking and nibbling.

"Ah... Hyewon, that feels so good, but... don't leave any marks."

"I won't, don't worry, my unnie baby," Hyewon answered, nuzzling into her.

Slowly, very slowly, Hyewon's hand moved again, traveling down SuA's body and delicately tracing over what bare skin it could get to. SuA felt her breath catch as her senses yearned for more of her touch, more of the gentleness Hyewon was giving. She felt her hand reach her thigh and kissed her again, anticipation building up inside her.

"I want you," SuA murmured. "One last time, if nothing else."

Chaewon and Gahyeon, however, we're still watching from their hiding spot and winced at the idea of seeing what could come next. Gahyeon didn't want to wait and as Hyewon tentatively slid her hand in between SuA's legs, she stepped out from behind the tree trunk. "What are you two doing here?"

Hyewon wrenched her arm away and looked up at the Dreamcatcher maknae in shock. Her face was red as she breathed, "Don't say it."

"Don't say what?" Gahyeon crossed her arms as Chaewon revealed herself as well. "Don't say to the others that you've been sneaking behind all our backs for a while? Don't stay that Chaewon and I caught you about to have sex in the forest when some of our friends are dying?"

"Stop it," SuA wheezed, her eyes filling with tears. "Stop."

"Stop what?" Chaewon snarled, taking a threatening step toward them. SuA looked terrified, but she couldn't back away while Hyewon was still on top of her, so she pushed her off and Hyewon quickly sat up as she heard her start crying.

"Bora, Bora, it's all right," Hyewon soothed, her arms around SuA's waist as she sat her up too. "It's not the end of the world if they know about us."

"Hyewon, it could be the end of our time as we know it. We obviously couldn't do anything in front of the young ones, but Eunbi... Hitomi... they can all try to keep us apart."

While embracing her, Hyewon also sent a death glare up at Chaewon and Gahyeon. You ruined it all, she mouthed. She was panicking before and I wanted to help her again. You ruined that and now it's getting worse.

Chaewon rolled her eyes. "How long anyway?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you two been... intimate together?"

"Remember that period of time where our groups traveled together for a while? It's been since then. We needed comfort and relief from all the stress and... we found it, at the time, with each other. We ... we fell in love." Hyewon met Chaewon's glare with a level gaze of her own. "We've been stealing moments every second we can."

"And you had to sneak behind our backs?" Gahyeon growled. "This should have stopped long ago!"

"Oh, don't even try that!" SuA fired back tearfully. "We all know how you feel about your own girlfriend. If she was in another group, you'd still try to be with her!"

"Girlfriend?" Hyewon tipped her head. "Who?"

"Yoohyeon. They confessed to each other before you came here."

"And she's not in a different group!" Gahyeon roared. "Also, we haven't even gotten close to being intimate with each other. Do you know how dangerous this is? This is more than just 'helping with panic attacks.' This is so much more." She walked into the bushes and leaned down to grab SuA's arm. "Let's go, unnie."

"Get off of me." SuA stared at her defiantly. "I will go, but not with you." She stood up and took Hyewon's hand to help her up as well. They started to walk and Gahyeon made another grab for her as she and Chaewon followed behind. "Off, maknae."

Hyewon leaned in close to SuA as they went on. "It's alright, baby, we'll find a way to stay together. Because when you truly love someone, you don't let them go." She squeezed her hand.

"And I won't let you go," SuA shakily replied, returning the squeeze. "I've given myself you you for so long that I can't stand being with anyone else but you in that way."

"That's right." Hyewon grinned, nudging her. "You won't be with anyone else but me. You are mine."

"Can you quit it?" Chaewon groaned. "I don't want to listen to this."

SuA huffed. "You chose to come here."

"We chose to keep you from making a huge mistake," Gahyeon retorted. "And you have no excuses for what's been done, so both of you can shut up."

Hyewon's eyes flashed as she spun around and smacked Gahyeon's shoulder. "You can't tell me what to do." Before Gahyeon could say anything about it, Hyewon quickly rejoined hands with SuA and strode ahead with her. Soon, they all arrived back where the others were gathered and most of them stared as Chaewon began to recount the story of where they had gone. SuA and Hyewon, their faces hot and tearful, went over to where Siyeon and Handong had reunited, which prompted a sideways glance from Handong.

"What happened to you?" Siyeon whispered from her place in Handong's arms. Neither of them answered.

When Chaewon was finished with her recount, Wonyoung instantly walked over to Hyewon, her face a mask of disappointment as she planted herself in front of her. "So you did go for it... a long time ago, without even telling me."

SuA hurriedly butted in before she could answer. "You are still too young to be involved in this and I don't even know why someone told you what two people could do together, if that's what you're referring to. And it was her business, not yours."

"No." Wonyoung shook her head. "It was just that it was dangerous and you were trying not to get caught. But now... is it over for you?"

"Never." Hyewon sighed. "It will never be over for us."

It was Eunbi, however, who began to scare them as she looked at SuA and Hyewon and pushed Wonyoung aside to take her place.

"My first question is... Hyewon... are you insane?!" The Iz*one leader's expression was murderous.

But the younger girl stood her ground. "No, I am not insane. I've followed my heart and I regret none of it."

"And you shouldn't try to make us regret it," SuA put in.

Eunbi closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't strangle you right now, Kim Bora."

SuA hissed. "Try me. You already wanted Hyewon to do it anyway."

"Which reminds me..." She turned a poisonous gaze back onto them. "I didn't expect you to disobey me so hard earlier."

Hyewon drew herself up. "And now that you know about SuA and I, what exactly do you think you can do about it?"

Narrowed eyes met hers. "About earlier, nothing. But now, I have a good mind to forbid you from ever interacting with her again!"

"You can't do that!" Hyewon yelled, clenching the hand not entwined with SuA's into a fist. "You may be the leader of my group, but that gives you no right to keep me from her!"

"I do if it puts you in danger!" Eunbi shouted back. "What do you think would happen if this got out to our fans, our manager, and especially to Yuri, Yena, Minju, and Yujin? You'd both be destroyed and so would both our groups! And Hitomi... do you really think this won't break her?"

"Oh, quit exaggerating!" Nako snapped at her. "Hitomi is stronger than that. As for the others, we really can't say. And if they haven't been caught before now, then I don't think it will get out unless they want it to."

The older girl looked furious at Nako's defense, but she did nothing about it. SuA quietly swallowed and kissed Hyewon's hand. At that, Eunbi threw up her own hands and went towards Chaewon. When she was away, SuA knelt beside Siyeon and Handong.

"I'm sorry," she told her. "Is she okay?"

"They meant it when they said 'keep the third alive.' It's a hard task. She..." Handong hesitated for a moment. "She's lost a lot of blood and is still very slowly losing it, even under the bandages."

"I'm still alive though," Siyeon murmured weakly. "Even in this pain..."

"And I am so sorry," SuA apologized guiltily. "I... I should have been here for you..."

"But I had Handong with me," she pointed out. "And you two deserved your time together."

"Thanks." SuA gave a small smile. "Most of the others don't think so though."

"I'm sure Sakura and Chaeyeon are fine with it."

"That doesn't mean all of them do. Even Gahyeon, who apparently lives Yoohyeon as much as I love Hyewon... she doesn't care at all. None of them do."

Siyeon had no response to that.

Most of them stayed still for a shot time, waiting for signals from Eunbi and JiU, until the leaders both said in unison, "We need to go find her."

JiU, Handong, and Sakura stood up with Dami, Siyeon, and Chaeyeon, and got ready to leave with them all. But one of the girls was frozen, staring at the ground near where they had not yet gone. Nako's skin had paled immensely as she gestured in that direction. "T- trail?"

"What?" Wonyoung adopted a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone, look."

They obeyed and then saw what Nako was referring to. A thick stain of red was spreading over the dirt, stretching into a bright trail that went into the distance.

"The trail," Wonyoung exclaimed, her face leeched of color. "It's a blood trail. SuA and Hyewon... you've triggered it to appear, I think..."

"Whatever triggered it, the blood trail is still there." Yoohyeon raised her head higher. "Let's go save them all."

Chapter Text

She had been on the way to the hospital when she'd been sucked into the other place. And she recognized it immediately; Wendy had described it exactly.

Wendy. She recalled the terrifying moment when she and Seulgi had returned, a flash of light sending them right in front of her, Yeri, and Joy. Both of their bodies had been drenched in blood and bone shards were jutting out of Wendy's stomach. They'd sent her to the hospital for medical help immediately, barely being able to get the story from Seulgi after. It was great to get them back after Seulgi, then Wendy, had disappeared for so long.

But then something had gone wrong with Wendy's injury. And all that had been on their minds when they raced to the hospital was saving her.

Their leader, however, had make a mistake before leaving, when she'd done all she could to try finding the missing group, diving way too deep into it. And as Irene slowly got to her feet, she realized she could now share their fate.

"Hello? Dreamcatcher?" she called uncertainly into the dim forest. Her voice, though, had no echo in it. No one can hear me.

"They are here."

"What?" Irene snapped her head up as another female voice, deep and loud, rang through the air. "Where is that coming from?"

"Dreamcatcher is here," the voice continued, so distorted that it belonged to no individual that she knew. "And they know they will find you, as well as the 7 members of Iz*one that have temporarily joined them. But you have looked too much. And now you are here. Finish your task and you may go home again."

"Why...?" She broke off as something sharp slashed through her body, biting into her with a vicious blow. It didn't allow her to scream, even as agony flashed through her like wildfire. The strikes kept coming, sliced through her by an invisible force as she collapsed, writhing on the ground. No sound left her; it seemed like her vocal chords had been brutally torn from her body. Irene prayed to fall unconscious, to be released from the pain that consumed her, but it didn't happen. No, this torture... it was meant to keep her awake.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. Right near her, a glorious collection had appeared- medical supplies, a feast, full water bottles... it was all there.

And she couldn't get to it. She tried and tried, but couldn't move toward it. Irene felt blood splashing over her and it would not stop. The pain and blood would not stop.

Then, mercifully, it all did end. Well, the strikes and blows and invisible lashes ended. But not the pain. Not the hurt. Not the blood. Her eyes half-closed, she weakly reached out, and it did nothing. She had no strength left and at last, she fully closed her eyes.

"Irene!"

She knew that voice and the name flared up in her mind. Gahyeon.

"She's still alive!" JiU.

"Sort through those supplies! Maybe we'll find what can help her!" That's Nako. They're here.

Irene felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders, rolling her into their arms, and she opened her eyes to see Yoohyeon's shocked face. "I... I'm so sorry they did this to you."

"It'll be fine..." she croaked in return. Her vision blurry, she glanced around, horrified as she saw the state of the groups. JiU was holding Dami tightly in her arms; her bandaged leg looked even worse than Seulgi had said it was. Sakura was holding Chaeyeon, who she assumed had been injured when she cane just like her. But it was Handong, who had laid Siyeon down by the medical supplies and was shifting through them with Wonyoung, that scared her. The girl's eyes were wild as she opened up boxes and shut them again. What is she looking for? Siyeon's pale face seemed almost lifeless as she lay beside her, motionless, and Irene stretched out to touch her.

"No." Yoohyeon gave a warning shake of her head. "Irene, I'll bring you to her later, but we have to get you cleaned up before you bleed to death." Gahyeon joined them as she brought Irene to the supplies and so did SuA and Hyewon.

Soon, Hyewon uncovered a box that had nothing but a small bottle of blue sparkling liquid inside, not water at all. "What is this?"

A strange instinct gripped Yoohyeon. "Try it. In this world, it could do anything."

"Are you sure?"

Yoohyeon nodded and gestures to Irene. "Look at her! This could be our only chance to save her."

Gahyeon snatched the bottle from Hyewon and unscrewed the cap, wasting no time as she poured some of the liquid onto Irene's chest. She closed her eyes, wincing at the sting of it. The next thing she knew... it was gone. When she saw it again, the wound on her chest was gone.

"How...?"

It went onto the rest of her wounds and they all did the same, closing up and repairing her clothes as if she had never been hurt.

Irene couldn't believe it. How is this possible?

"Where we are, anything's possible," SuA breathed, as if reading her thoughts, "even this."

Handong had been staring at them the entire time. "Give it to me," she growled in a threatening tone. "Now."

"Okay, but you need to calm," Yoohyeon told her. "Please."

The Chinese girl got to her feet. "I am in the mood to fight anyone who tries to keep me from saving Siyeon, so don't get in my way." She walked over to Gahyeon and her nails scratched the maknae's wrist as she took the bottle from her and retreated to kneel beside Siyeon once more. She cried out as Handong ripped the bandages from her body and spilled some of the blue fluid over the gashes on her chest and stomach.

They, too, closed up. But Sakura's eyes widened as she saw that the healing liquid was running out fast. There was only enough left in that bottle for one more big wound, as far as she thought.

"Take it," Chaeyeon murmured. "Take it, Dami. You're going to be here longer than I am, so just take it. Take it and walk again."

"No." Dami narrowed her eyes. "We can both use it."

"But your leg... it won't be at full strength if you don't use as much as it needs."

"I don't care. I'd rather walk weak than see you suffer any longer."

JiU tensed. "Dami, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Use some on her first."

Casting a grateful look at Dami, Sakura took the bottle from Handong and administered some of the magical medicine to her girlfriend, soothing her as she bared out the wound and rubbed the liquid into it. Chaeyeon's breath caught in her throat as she felt it, but she stayed still. When it was over, she gave a sigh of relief and Sakura handed off the container to JiU, who laid Dami on the ground.

"Can you handle it this time?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Yes." Dami nodded. "I'll be okay."

Her face showed a fair amount of pain as JiU poured the remaining medicine onto her leg. Both of them broke into grins as most of the wounds on her began to heal themselves, leaving only jagged scars and a misshapen little of skin. JiU let out a breath. She'll have that weak leg forever... she'll never perform the same way again... but she... right now...

She grasped Dami's hand and helped her up. And when she let go... Dami stood on her own.

"Oh, baby..." JiU embraced her warmly, tears gleaming in her eyes. "You're whole again."

And then the leader was pinning her against a tree, kissing her deeply, one knee between her thighs as she relished the essence of Dami, the taste and feeling of her lips. Around them, the world faded in and out of focus.

"Eat with me," Dami moaned into her mouth. "And if we can... later... we can take our own time together."

Irene was watching them and a smile passed over her face. "I saw that love," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "Before I was taken here, I could see their love..."

"Seulgi and Wendy?" Siyeon inquired as she stood.

"Yes." She never stopped watching them as JiU and Dami broke their kiss and headed toward the food near them. "I was running over to the hospital to see Wendy when I was pulled into this world. Seulgi was already there at her side. They'd told me everything beforehand."

Siyeon started chewing on her lip again. "Is she okay?"

"I certainly hope so, because she has Seulgi to support her. But for now, let's go eat."

All of them regrouped together, although Irene noticed most of them were keeping a distance from SuA and Hyewon as they ate. She sidled over to JiU and whispered, "What's going on with them?"

"Before you came, Chaewon and Gahyeon discovered them in a glen together and found they'd been intimate together for a while," JiU responded with barely a glance at her. The food available was perishable, meaning it wouldn't last, so Irene started eating at their side.

"But isn't that... dangerous?" she asked.

"Yes, it is," Eunbi spat, overhearing them. "And I believe we shouldn't allow them to meet any longer."

"But we can't do that to them!" JiU pointed out as she put down her piece of food. "I mean, I know I'd feel horrible if someone tries to separate me from Dami and I can't do that to SuA. And the ways they've been together... I don't think I should keep them from that."

Wonyoung placed a hand on Eunbi's shoulder, but she barely noticed it. "You and Dami are in the same group and you two haven't even gotten together intimately as they have yet. There's nothing to worry about with you compared to them. But Hyewon is risking everything!"

"Can you not do this while we're with food?" Handong growled. "You can argue about this later."

SuA and Hyewon both finished their meals in a hurry and backed away from the group.

"How long until this blows over?" SuA questioned in a low tone.

"I don't know," Hyewon answered worriedly. "But its Eunbi and she's protective of our group. She's also paranoid and probably has the stupid notion that Wonyoung will go seeking a romance in Itzy or something if this goes on."

"She's not stupid though. She won't provoke her leader on purpose, just as you didn't. She'll follow her heart when she gets older."

"You're right." Hyewon bit her lip and carefully curled her arm around SuA's abdomen. "It'll all be revealed in the future."

"Yes, it will." SuA allowed her to cup her face and their lips met in a beautiful, sweet kiss.

That's when Eunbi lost it. She dropped the container she was holding and scrambled to her feet, lunging at SuA with inhuman speed and slamming into her. Her nails sank into SuA's neck as she pinned her down.

"Eunbi!" Hyewon gasped. "Let her go!"

It seemed like a dark spell had overcome the leader because she would not let go, even as SuA choked and thrashed beneath her, even as JiU and Dami pleaded with her to stop, even as Nako tried to reason with her.

"Please..." SuA groaned. "Eunbi... don't..."

The world began to disappear as she reached for breath. Eunbi's weight pressed down on her, preventing her from moving.

"NO!" Hyewon's eyes burned with bright fire. "I won't let you take her from me!" She threw herself at Eunbi, forcing her off SuA as hard as she could, then pushed her away. "Baby...?"

She felt her body tingle as she knelt at SuA's side, feeling her wrist for her pulse. A faint one greeted her. "Baby... please get up..."

"What has gotten into you?!" JiU roared at Eunbi. "We've already had enough of nearly killing each other and you... I thought you didn't want to watch anyone die..."

Eunbi shook her head fiercely to clear the stun from her and blinked up at JiU in surprise. "What... what happened?"

"Darkness took over you," Nako murmured. "Do you even remember what you've done?" When she said no, Nako nudged her. "Look."

Hyewon crouched at SuA's side, holding her almost-lifeless body delicately.

"Look at me," she breathed. "SuA, just open your eyes and look at me. I know you're alive and god help Eunbi if you're not." Tears ran down her face. "Come on, Bora."

Murderer. The words began to register in Eunbi's mind. No... I did this... is this what I've become? I let my anger cloud my senses and now... oh, please tell me I haven't killed her!

SuA's eyes suddenly popped open again and she took in a shaky breath. "H- Hyewon, she's going to kill me... she just tried..."

"No." Hyewon sent a harsh glare at her leader. "I won't let Eunbi touch you again, Bora."

"Hyewon... I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

SuA's expression brightened as she sat up slowly and kissed Hyewon again. "I'm sorry for how she's treated this."

JiU and Dami, who had been eating beforehand, silently put down their food and stood up, inching away from them.

"How long will this go on for?" Dami sighed. "It's getting out of hand."

"I don't have a clue. But I agree, the way Eunbi is dealing with this is not okay."

"How... how do you feel about this? About SuA and Hyewon together?"

"I honestly don't mind," JiU admitted. "Because I feel the same way about you that they do about each other."

"Really?"

"Yes." She brushed her hands over Dami's hips, touching her skin ever so slightly. "And I don't want them to be torn apart if it'll hurt them like that."

"If we don't want it to happen to us, then we don't let it happen to them."

"That's right." JiU let her lips graze her forehead. "She truly loves her. Just like how I love you too, Yoobin."

Dani grinned shyly when she heard her birth name used. "I'm glad to have you in my life, Minji."

Returning the grin, JiU quietly crossed back to SuA and Hyewon. "Do you guys think the wind will pick up again soon?"

"Nope!" Nako exclaimed cheerfully, holding out a small piece of paper toward her. "We just got this. Read it now."

"Okay." JiU took a deep breath. "'This task was the last of today. For now, you will be given a special night to rest and breathe. But you are not out of danger yet. Do not leave your site and go too far or your next challenge will have more major consequences.'" Her eyes stretched wide. "This means... we have the night to ourselves..."

The news spread quickly and the groups dispersed into parts of he clearing, couples joining together with each other.

But JiU... no, JiU wouldn't just stay there. JiU was determined to make the most of the time they had some freedom for. She stood beside Dami and put and arm around her waist, slightly sliding her hand up the back of her shirt. Dami shivered, pressing herself into her. "If you're thinking I'm having second thoughts... I'm not."

The Dreamcatcher leader studied her. "I was just about to ask that. However, Dami... it's your first time. Are you sure you want me to be your first?"

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life." JiU's hand moved farther up her back and it felt warm, a warmth that surged through her spine, sending tingles through her body. "I want you to take me tonight."

"Everything?" The older girl placed her other hand on Dami's hip, making small circles on it as her voice faded to a husky murmur. "Is that what you're willing to give me?"

"Yes." The word was hardly a whisper as Dami leaned her head back on JiU's shoulder. "I love you and I will give you all of me forever. You can claim me however you want."

JiU surveyed the test of the group as she scooped Dami into her arms. "Do you all mind if we go somewhere more private?"

SuA smirked. "None of us mind at all, but just... be quiet." She and Hyewon got to their feet and walked over to them. Hyewon hurriedly muttered to the pair, "Be gentle. Enjoy the experience. And don't go too far into the woods."

They stepped back as both the Dreamcatcher members left. The two weaved through the trees until they reached another clearing, one lined with brush and tall grass. Almost immediately, JiU swiftly laid Dami down and straddled her, fingers creeping up her skin. Their lips smashed together in a heated, passionate way, and Dami's breath hitched as she heard a whisper of, "I'm going to make you mine tonight." When JiU finally pulled away, she went for her collarbone next, her tongue gliding across her in a relaxed way as she savored the taste of Dami. The quiet moans that came from the younger's throat enticed her, made her want to do more to elicit them.

"You want this a lot, don't you, babygirl?" Her even breathing warmed Dami's face. The tone of her voice, though... she had never heard that tone from JiU and it excited her. "You taste so good, Yoobin."

I don't want to be with anyone else like this, ever.

JiU peeled off both their outer layers of clothing, the look in her eyes speaking back to her. Enjoy it, and no one else will make you feel as good as I do in your lifetime.

"Breathe with me," she cooed. "And trust me to guide you."

Dami closed her eyes and let herself rise into heaven as she gave JiU all of her, every inch in her body.

The line between pain and pleasure blurred as they came together.

And Lee Yoobin and Kim Minji became one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Irene had been watching JiU and Dami as they left, as one had carried the other farther into the wilderness. She remembered seeing the happiness on both their faces, as well as on the faces of the others as Siyeon had gotten up, as Chaeyeon had been healed, as Dami had finally been able to walk again. She enjoyed being happy for them.

Wendy, I hope you are safe and with Seulgi, Yeri, and Joy. I will be back with you soon.

She glanced around the clearing and her eyes rested on each of the pairs gathered there, flitting between them.

Handing and Siyeon, gently kissing each other as they used their bodies for as much warmth as they could.

Yoohyeon and Gahyeon, sitting up against a tree as the younger nestled into the older's arms, head on her chest.

SuA and Hyewon, who were holding each other tightly as they cringed away from the gazed of Chaewon, Nako, Wonyoung, and Eunbi.

And Sakura and Chaeyeon, who had fallen asleep.

It was SuA and Hyewon, however, who held her attention. Do they even care that what they're doing is dangerous? Of course not, because that's what love really is. Irene let herself focus on them as she attempted to straighten out the spinning thoughts in her head. She was still scared as hell about what could happen next, but she wouldn't let the fear overwhelm her.

"Irene, are you okay?" She jolted, not realizing that Eunbi has seated herself behind her, but forced her next words out.

"No, I'm not."

Eunbi's arms wrapped around her, pulling her into her own lap, and Irene quickly spoke without thinking. "What do you have against SuA and Hyewon being together? I know you're supposed to be protective, but what's your real problem?"

Eunbi swallowed. "Irene, that is none of your business."

"You don't have anything to lose, so why not just tell me?"

"You're just going to bug me for it, aren't you?"

Irene nodded. "What is it, really?"

Giving in, Eunbi laid her head on Irene's shoulder. "I loved her."

"What?"

She twisted her around. "During that time when our groups traveled together... I fell in love with Hyewon. But I'd never told her because I wanted to see if she felt anything towards me. Then she started disappearing and now... I know it was because of her. I got to her too late because she... she fell for SuA."

"But why try to kill SuA for that? Don't you want Hyewon to be happy?"

"I do. I... I just..." Eunbi sniffed. "I let it overtake me... I let the anger take control. If they're caught, though... it'll destroy us all..."

"That doesn't make what you did to SuA acceptable," Irene pointed out. "Might I suggest apologizing to her and protecting her so Hyewon stays happy?"

"M- maybe..."

"Come on." Irene scrambled off of her and nudged her in Hyewon's direction. Eunbi sighed and went over to her and SuA, with the Red Velvet leader close behind. SuA's head jerked up. "What do you want?" she spat bitterly. "You want me to leave? To throw myself at you so you can close your hands around my throat again and actually choke the life out of me? Do you want to see the light slowly leave my eyes?"

"No." Eunbi inhaled and exhaled a few times. "I came to say I'm sorry."

Hyewon tilted her head. "Are you serious? Just sorry? You almost murdered her!"

She gently tugged in SuA's arm and before Hyewon could stop her, she'd pulled the girl into her own arms. "Bora, I promise, I'm not going to hurt you again."

SuA trembled violently in Eunbi's grasp. "You... you don't get to call me Bora."

"Alright, alright, SuA." She feels so delicate. "Look, I will do what I can to make it up to you and your group. You... you didn't deserve this. But Hyewon... she deserves to have you. Not... not me."

Hyewon's gaze locked with Eunbi's at the last sentence and she pursed her lips. She knows. Now she knows.

And SuA felt their hearts beating together in that moment, one enclosed with great terror and the other painting over that terror, smothering it with a genuine warmth of its own.

Chapter Text

Dami blinked as she slowly woke up, still nestled into JiU's arms. Her bare body felt majorly sore, but she felt tingles along her as well, muffled by the older girl that lay at her side. When she moved, JiU leaned over and sensually pressed her lips against her neck, breathing in her scent.

"Did you sleep well, baby?" she whispered into her skin.

"As well as I could where we are." The memories of what had happened the night before were returning to her and she briefly recalled the experience of it all, her senses missing the way she touched her. "Oh god... did we really do it?"

JiU smiles as she kissed Dami's nose. "Yes, sweetheart, we did. And you... you were so brave. You really seemed to enjoy it."

"I did. It... it kind of hurts right now, but... I loved it."

"Oh, I'm sorry I hurt you." Sympathy flashed in JiU's eyes for a moment. "Is there anything I can do for it right now?"

She shook her head. "It's okay. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

There was not yet any light to guide their way back, so they lay down again in the dirt. At that moment, Dami felt it appropriate to really voice the truth in front of the girl she loved. "I don't know how much longer I can go on. I- I'm too scared..."

"Yoobin, sweetie, we'll get through this and you know it," JiU replied in a soothing tone. "We've gotten so far already. We'll survive it all."

"JiU, you have no idea how close I've come to shattering this whole time. When my leg was shut in on the trap, I seriously thought I was going to die again... this time a painful, horrifying death, unlike the painless disappearance with Siyeon." Her eyes welled up with tears and JiU wiped one away with a finger. "And I felt so powerless and weak... it was so agonizing. And I had to sit by as you were taken over by rage and Chaeyeon was injured... and Siyeon was shot..." JiU could feel Dami quivering in her grasp and held her closer, speaking very softly in her ear.

"Look, if you want to stop talking, it's okay. There's nothing to be ashamed of for how you've dealt with this."

"Isn't there, though?" Dami sniffed. "No one else has broken down like I have. And while Sakura was cleaning up Chaeyeon, she didn't cry at all. Even Siyeon didn't cry like I did. I'm really ashamed about that."

"You shouldn't be." JiU placed one hand under Dami's chin. "I won't let you feel that way for something that wasn't your fault."

"But I could have stopped myself..."

"No, listen to me. You will not blame yourself." JiU's fingernails dug into her jaw and when Dami whimpered in pain, she pulled them away and covered her chin with kisses. "Sorry."

"Stay with me forever," Dami murmured, burying her face in JiU's chest. "I don't want to go back to the others."

"You have to though," JiU answered, stroking her fingers through her hair. "They all want you back." Her other hand rubbed Dami's left inner thigh. "As much as I want you too."

Dami's breath caught in her throat as the touch registered with her, but JiU gave a warning head shake. "Not now, not now. You just need to relax."

She shut her eyes, inhaling deeply. "Minji... hold me."

JiU obeyed and cradled her carefully, mouth gliding over her skin. The two of them stayed like that until some light began to peek between the trees, then she nudged her twice. "Alright, time to go back."

The younger girl groaned in protest, but reluctantly got to her feet and put on her slightly dirty clothes again. Once JiU had dressed too, they joined hands and headed back toward where the others were.

Only Yoohyeon and Gahyeon were awake when they arrived; the maknae had her girlfriend on the ground, hands and tongue roaming over her with a roughness that surprised JiU greatly. And Yoohyeon's reaction to it... that reminded her of Dami's. Neither of them were undressed- too risky in front of the rest of them, even when the group was asleep- but JiU was astonished at Gahyeon's boldness. She's so vigorous with her... but I know Dami probably wouldn't like that from me. And I like being gentle with her anyway.

Their entrance into the site made Gahyeon look up and she whispered into Yoohyeon's ear before they both sat up.

"How'd your night go?" Yoohyeon asked.

"Fine," JiU answered evenly.

Gahyeon smirked and a blush crept onto Dami's face as her gaze flicked to her legs for a moment. "You two had your first, didn't you?"

"So what if we did?" JiU replied coldly. "Stop staring like that."

She tore her eyes away as the others started to wake up. Chaewon stretched as she awoke and Nako did as well, accidentally kicking SuA in the head. She felt around for a moment, ignoring SuA's glare, and then yelped, a wild, feral sound escaping her. That set off the other girls, who got to their feet in a hurry, as she shouted, "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Nako, calm down!" Siyeon put a hand on her shoulder as she crawled to her. "Where is who? Who's missing?"

"W- Wonyoung..." Nako gulped. "Sh- she was beside me last night... I told her to tell me if she had to go to the bathroom somewhere, but she'd already went before..." Her shoulders started to shake. "She could be caught in a trap somewhere..."

Irene looked around, her eyes going wide when she realized she was right; the tall teen was the only one not there.

"Oh god..." Siyeon had to wrap her arms around Nako to keep her from falling. "Guys, we need to find her. She cannot be out there on her own."

Eunbi had gone white, clenching her fists together, and when Dami nervously poked her, she received a vicious slap that left her staggering.

"Eunbi!" JiU cupped Dami's face, examining the red mark left on her cheek. "That was absolutely not necessary!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Let's just go get Wonyoung."

They had barely gotten a few steps before the dreaded wind hurricane picked up, telling them, per the usual routine, that a message would arrive after. Chaeyeon was the only one completely unprepared and let out a screech as the wind thrust her hard into a tree. Sakura grabbed her arm as Siyeon did the same on her waist, and the three hoisted themselves into a net of branches. Everyone else also, fortunately, made it up safe, and were all prepared for when it stopped again, save for SuA, who ended up tumbling from the tree. Luckily, it wasn't too high up, although she was still groaning in pain as Hyewon jumped down to help her, showering her with kisses.

"Alright, look for the message now," Chaewon growled, a dangerous light in her eyes. "Knowing this game by now- it's not even a test of strength anymore- it'll have something to do with her. And no one puts Wonyoung in danger like this. No one."

Soon, Handong popped up from the ground, a relieved expression on her face. "Found it."

The rest of the group stared at her like hawks as she unfolded the paper, raising the volume of her voice as she began to read it.

"'Your precious little one's fate can only be decided by all of you. However, Wonyoung's life is hanging by a thread and more of her blood is spilled every minute because she tried to escape without you. It's time to go under for her.'"

Nako has gone rigid at the mention of Wonyoung. "No... this isn't happening... she's right beside me... this is just a nightmare..."

"'Go under?' What the hell does that mean?" Gahyeon crossed her arms. "Are they seriously going so low as to put a teenager's life in danger like that?"

Chaewon stomped her foot in frustration. "This is so stupid! I will not let her die like this!" She struck out at a rock and ended up hitting JiU instead apologizing instantly.

"Um, guys?" Yoohyeon murmured as the ground started to shake. "I think..." She didn't even get a chance to finish that sentence before everything seemed to explode, the earth crumbling and disappearing under them. Siyeon cried out, the sound reverberating through the air, as they all fell. Dirt crashed down around them as nothingness greeted them underneath.

"What is happening?" Dami wailed, lashing out in the dark. "JiU!"

"I don't know!" JiU yelled back. "Dami, I'll come back to you!"

It felt like they were falling forever and then the ground slammed into them with a vengeance, stunning all 14 of the group. Eunbi recovered first and unsteadily leapt to her feet. "Wonyoung?"

No answer.

"It's... an underground passage," Sakura breathed in disbelief. "This just keeps getting weirder..."

"Who cares what it is?" Nako snapped. "We have to get to Wonyoung!"

Once they all recovered, Eunbi, Irene, and JiU took the lead as they ventured into the cavern's darkness. It was must and damp and Chaeyeon was sneezing two minutes in. For a while, they trekked through pitch-black air, all hanging onto one another in a line, until Hyewon suddenly let out a cry and SuA felt her weight crushing her feet. On instinct, she reached down to her.

"Hyewon, are you all right?"

There was a gasp of pain as SuA hauled Hyewon to her feet and felt her lover grasp her shoulder. "Something... s- stabbed my stomach..."

"Guys, hold up!" SuA called, hoping at least one of the leaders would hear. A moment later, a voice floated back, belonging to Eunbi. "What's happened? We can't have a holdup."

"We need light! Hyewon fell... she said something's stabbed her..."

"Are you kidding me?" Nako cut in. "We can't hold up. We need to find Wonyoung!"

"Go if you want to!" SuA retorted. "I know we need to save her, but I'm not leaving my girl behind!"

"Carry her until we can get light!" JiU snarled. "I've already done it for mine."

Without any hesitation, she did it, stumbling a little under her weight, until she felt Handong's hand on her back, steadying her. Taking a deep breath, SuA moves forward with the line, whispering, "Handong, help me with it."

Keeping one hand on SuA's back, the Chinese girl reached around her and brushed her other over Hyewon's body, inhaling sharply when it touched a handle of something. The echo of a knife slash filled the tunnel and Hyewon screamed, sobbing into SuA's chest. A knife was what had been pulled from her.

"This had to have come from the wall or it would have hit one of the leaders first!" Handong exclaimed. "Don't touch the wall, all of you. At least try not to."

SuA let a hand go over Hyewon's stomach and felt her squirm as it passed over the gash that the knife had made. Handong kept the weapon clutched in her hand and nudged SuA forward carefully.

Now, the cavern was no longer silent and Hyewon's heavy, labored breathing filled the space, which started to dismay the leaders, even though they were currently unwilling to admit it. SuA was beginning to panic as Hyewon's blood coated her hand where she pressed down. As much as I want to, though, we can't stop now. We must get to Wonyoung.

"B- baby?" Hyewon moaned, more tears dripping onto SuA. "It hurts so much... please... keep me close..."

"I'm trying!" SuA hissed through her teeth. "But we have to keep moving."

"I know..." She lapsed into silence, closing her eyes.

"Wonyoung?" Eunbi's voice was laced with panic as she called the Iz*one maknae's name. "Are you in here?"

"This is pointless!" Irene snarled back. "What if we're just milling about down here while she's fighting for her life aboveground?"

"Then it's because we have no choice!" JiU added in. "Right now, we're stuck here!"

SuA was silent like the others as she listened to it and walked forward with rapid speed, keeping Hyewon secured in her arms. It took a while, but the tunnel soon opened up into a wide, dimly lit chamber, where the passage continued at the other end. When the leaders turned, it was then that they spotted Hyewon.

"Oh my god..." JiU's eyes widened. "I know we have to find Wonyoung, but that looks bad. Really bad. SuA, lay her down."

At that, she seemed skeptical, but one look into JiU's dulled eyes told the message that she would not hurt Hyewon. SuA cautiously knelt and set Hyewon on the ground, which made her whimper in protest. JiU moved over to them, causing her to relax again.

"How are there even traps like that in here, much less this... passageway?" Siyeon swallowed as she leaned in closer to Handong.

"I'm honestly inclined to believe anything here," Dami muttered. "So if course something like this exists."

"Do we have any bandages left over?" JiU asked, twisting her head to glance back at the rest of the group.

"No." Yoohyeon shook her head. "I think we left them back with the other supplies."

"And you didn't think someone else would get hurt?" Handong roared, releasing the knife. "And Wonyoung... if she really is bleeding out, then we'll have no way to help her!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" JiU retorted. She pressed down on Hyewon's wound with her full weight, earning a pained wail from her. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you'll be fine soon." Her eyes went to the others. "Go on ahead, all of you. Find Wonyoung and bring her back here."

"We can't do that!" Eunbi cried. "We all go together."

"Are you... are you staying?" SuA stammered.

"Yes. And you're staying too; don't worry."

Dami narrowed her eyes. "JiU, I'm not leaving you behind!"

"We'll catch up to you, I promise. But Hyewon can't go on much farther and I have to help stop the bleeding. Go! Find Wonyoung!"

Chaeyeon carefully curled an arm around Dami's waist and led her away from JiU and SuA as all of them except the three on the ground began moving forward again. Sakura eyes her girlfriend as she and Dami started to walk, but didn't comment at all.

Reentering into the darkness put them all on edge again, so none of them spoke as they maneuvered in, until Eunbi started up her call once more.

None of them stopped her as Wonyoung's name echoed from her throat over and over.

Keeping her arm around Dami, Chaeyeon quietly whispered in her ear, "Dami, I'm scared for her."

"Me too. And why her for this? She's so young... was she targeted for that?"

Her response was a shrug. "Maybe, though... but whoever did this to her knew how to hurt us well. If they take Wonyoung's life in this, there will be hell to pay."

"Agreed." Dami squared her shoulders. "No one touches that child."

"They did it though." Chaeyeon sniffed, tears pooling in her eyes. "And I don't want to think about what's being done to her there. I've heard of the worst cases... oh god, she could have been beaten, raped, cut up..."

"Don't think about the worst-case scenarios yet. There's still hope for her." Please let there still be hope for her. I've seen how they care for Wonyoung and if any of those things have happened to her... it will destroy them. Dami hugged Chaeyeon gently, stroking a hand through her hair. The light hadn't entirely faded yet, so Sakura saw it and growled in a low voice only Dami could hear. "That's my girl you're touching and I will destroy you if you make her cry."

"She's already crying," Dami hissed. "And she brought that on herself. We're all worried for Wonyoung."

"Alright, out of my way." Sakura shouldered her aside, pushing Dami up ahead, and swept Chaeyeon into her own grasp, peppering her neck with kisses. "Baby, baby, it's okay. We'll find her."

"At what cost?" Chaeyeon whined, now full-on crying. "Remember what that note said? 'More of her blood is spilled every minute.' She... she could be dead now if that's true..."

"That could've been said to scare us," Sakura replied, fighting the growing pain inside her. "They've been toying with us and none of us have died yet."

"That better be true."

"It is, I know it is. She's alive." She has to be.

Dami picked up her pace and caught up to Yoohyeon and Gahyeon, who's been clinging silently to each other ever since they'd left JiU, SuA, and Hyewon behind. "How are you two holding up?"

Gahyeon shot her a glare, an expression she was now used to. "How do you think we're holding up? You are all panicking and putting up on edge for no reason!"

"What did you say?!"

The Dreamcatcher maknae cursed under her breath as Eunbi stalked over to her, a poisonous flare in her eyes as her hands slammed into Gahyeon's chest, pinning her to the cavern wall.

"Whoa, Eunbi, calm down..." Yoohyeon began.

"Shut it." She lashed out, scratching Yoohyeon's face, and before the younger girl could react, Eunbi pinned Gahyeon harder, baring her teeth. "None of this is for nothing! I am trying to save a life here, the life of a teen, not to mention a member of my group! Does that mean nothing to you?"

"I never... said that. I meant... there's no reason... to make us all panic over it..." The weight on her chest was making it hard for her to breathe.

"But that's not what you said."

"Eunbi..." Dami said slowly. "Remember when you attacked SuA? You need to get your anger under control or we could be too late to save Wonyoung."

That stopped her. Without another word, she released Gahyeon, letting her slump into the dirt, and stride on again once more. Even Sakura and Chaeyeon didn't look her way as they followed. Only Yoohyeon stayed, gathering Gahyeon into an embrace as they stood up and took the rear.

Eunbi pressed a palm to her forehead as she went on, a steadily growing headache taking over her. In her mind, she could hear Wonyoung screaming, begging for mercy from an endless torture as she was cut up and maimed beyond repair. This isn't real! She's not dead...

But hearing her scream like that... oh, it hurt so much.

What if... what if she is gone though?

Just before the light faded into darkness again, Chaewon put both hands on Eunbi's shoulders, keeping her upright as the agonizing thoughts plowed through her mind, threatening to bring her under.

"Easy, Eunbi, it's alright, keep walking..."

All of them, however, were starting to lose their wits... and hope. Nako and Siyeon grasped each other's wrists tightly; both were shaking. The tunnel was beginning to slope slightly and Handong stumbled twice because of that, grabbing onto Dami for balance. Eventually... Eunbi started to run.

"What the...?" Chaewon blinked in surprise and dashed after her. "Come on, the rest of you, we have to run!"

Every one of them took off after her. Eunbi ran and ran, tears flowing freely, Wonyoung's name continuously spilling from her lips. She could hardly breathe and sweat coated her skin, but she kept going at full speed. When they at last arrived at another lighted chamber, a huge, musty one, the Iz*one leader collapsed, her body heaving.

"Eunbi, are you okay?" Irene knelt by her worriedly.

"I can't... I can't... b- breathe..."

"Then don't talk." Dami pressed a finger to her lips. "Catch your breath."

"W- where's Nako?"

"I'm here, unnie, I'm here." Nako knelt as well, gliding her thumb over Eunbi's forehead. "It's okay, we'll find her."

"No..." Eunbi shuddered, pulling herself up to her knees. "I've failed her. I've failed Wonyoung, as her friend, as her leader..."

"We still don't know what state she's in. They could have been bluffing with us about her..

"There's no way... she's dead, she's probably dead..."

"But we don't know yet. We haven't seen her body yet. It could still be undetermined..."

"Wait..." Chaeyeon paled as she raised her eyes to the dirty wall. "Look."

Eunbi looked where she said and her breath hitched. There was a ledge... and hanging over the edge of it was a swath of brown hair. Even with the tongue of red in it, she knew that hair, she knew it, she knew it...

"Wonyoung!"

Suddenly revived, she picked herself up and ran at the wall, clawing at it in an attempt to reach the ledge. But it was somewhat like solid rock and dirt, although she didn't give up. Her hands quickly made dents in the dirt and she painstakingly moved upwards. Kicking out with her legs, she grabbed onto a spot near her and managed to haul herself up.

Then she screamed and screamed and screamed.

Back on the ground, all the girls recoiled, gasping in horror. Eunbi hurriedly swept Wonyoung into her arms and jumped down, her legs almost buckling as she landed. Blood had soaked her hands before she even hit the ground.

Chaeyeon's head snapped back as she stumbled into Sakura's arms and Gahyeon seemed about ready to vomit.

Wonyoung had been beaten... beaten and damaged beyond what they ever could have imagined. Cuts and bruises and gashes of every side marred her beautiful body, spilling blood. And a giant slash sliced through her chest, splitting her open so brutally that Eunbi couldn't stand to cast her eyes on it.

"Oh god..." Nako fell to one knee. "This... can't be... she can't really be gone..."

"She's not." Dami slipped two fingers onto Wonyoung's pale neck. "She's alive... but her pulse... it's fading slowly..."

"Wonyoung... oh, I'm so sorry..." Eunbi wept, shakily bringing her lips to Wonyoung's forehead. "I really have failed you.. I've come too late... I promise, I'll do everything I can to keep you alive..."

Her eyes opened a tiny bit, fear and pain sparking in them, and her gaze turned to her leader, tears running nonstop down her cheeks.

"Eunbi unnie..." she whimpered. "I want to go home..."

And with those seven words, Eunbi's heart shattered into pieces.

Chapter Text

For a moment, the world was frozen.

Gahyeon couldn't move, couldn't swallow, couldn't feel her own heartbeat as her eyes fixed upon Wonyoung's bloody body. God, this definitely wasn't nothing. This is what they'd been panicking over. And now... she was nearly destroyed.

"We have to get her home." The words stuck in Nako's throat. "Otherwise... she's going to die."

"N- Nako unnie..." Wonyoung breathed, the name barely a whisper. "Come here... stay with me..."

Dami could not take it. She pulled her hand from the maknae's neck, wincing at the blood on her hand, and sidled over to the passageway where they had come from. After one deep breath, she screamed JiU's name, her voice cracking through it as she called for her. I need you, I need you, I need you!

A few minutes later, JiU burst into the chamber, enfolding Dami in a tight embrace as Hyewon limped in behind her, supported by SuA. Her self-control shattering, Dami sobbed in JiU's arms as she kissed each of her tears.

But Hyewon... she went rigid at the sight of Wonyoung, her mouth dropping open in a soundless cry. SuA gripped her shoulders; however, to her surprise, Hyewon gave a powerful shove, slamming her into the wall, and ran to the young teen's side.

"Unnie..." Wonyoung groaned, reaching out weakly. "Y- you're bleeding..."

"I know, I was stabbed, but I don't care." Hyewon cautiously brushed her hands over her. "Who could be so heartless to torture you like this... to put you in so much pain...?"

"I don't know," she whined in a small voice that broke all their hearts. "I couldn't see them..."

Eunbi cast her gaze to the ceiling, eyes watering. "Please... if anyone's listening... let her go home! We all want to leave... but we need to save her... she deserves to be free from this..."

In answer, a distorted voice ahead came once more. "A portal will open for you soon and anyone may go through it... except for Dreamcatcher. Any Dreamcatcher member who tries to leave will be instantly struck dead. It will not be open for long."

The yellow vortex opened up in front of Irene, who motioned to the rest of them to follow before stepping through. Chaewon went next, dragging Nako with her as she glanced back at Dami for a moment.

Chaeyeon swallowed as she looked at Dami too and JiU gave her a very brief nod. At that signal, Chaeyeon moved fast, wrapping her arms around Dami as JiU released her. Dami tried to struggle away, but Chaeyeon softly pressed her mouth to her ear.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wish none of this bad stuff had happened."

"I'm sorry we dragged you into this," Dami replied. "And... I hope you can save Wonyoung."

"Me too." Admiration flashed in her eyes. "I love you like a best friend and we will do everything we can to find out who's behind this and get you out."

She stopped struggling and kissed Chaeyeon's cheek. "Give my regards to Chaeryeong and Chaemin." Chaeyeon smiled as she cupped her face. The wound on her back was beginning to open up again.

"Chaeyeon... you have to go."

Biting her lip, she blinked at Sakura. "Go. I'll come with you."

"Chae..."

"Go."

Sakura looked at all of them. "Survive, Dreamcatcher. And live."

Then she, too, was gone.

With one hand, Chaeyeon reached over to her back and collected a small amount of blood onto her hand. Immediately knowing what to do, Dami placed her own hand on it and flipped them, the blood filling her own cupped palm.

"We're bonded now," Chaeyeon murmured. She took her gaze to JiU. "Take care of her." To Dami, she said, "She'll be there for you, your girlfriend, your lover, your heart and soul. If you feel you're in trouble again, remember me... and then remember you have her with you. She loves you just as Sakura loves me. And... I'm sorry for everything bad I've done to you."

Dami looked ready to cry again as Chaeyeon left through the portal. SuA has recovered herself and all of Dreamcatcher was crowded around Wonyoung, wishing her good luck and praying for her life.

"Th- thank you for everything," Wonyoung told them, tears shining in her eyes. "And to Dami and Handong... I'm sorry for how I've hurt you."

"It's okay, we forgive you," Handong answered quickly. "Just recover... keep performing..."

"And we'll find you again," Eunbi added. "SuA... I'm sorry for snapping at you when I found out about you and her." She loosed a breath. "And I'm sorry you'll have to be separated again."

Hyewon narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, separated?" She entwined her right hand with SuA's. "I'm sorry, Eunbi, but... I'm staying with her."

"What?!" Eunbi drew herself up, the terror and worry in the leader's expression fading to reveal sheer fury. "You can not possibly mean to do that! We need you!"

"And I want to keep her from ending up like that!" Hyewon fired back, which made Wonyoung start crying again as she gestured to her. "Everyone in Dreamcatcher has a lover within their group, except for SuA. I have to stay with her... because she is mine and I protect what is mine."

"But you... you're bleeding!"

"And it's slowing down." Hyewon placed a hand against the wound, her other still connected to SuA's. "I'll make it. Wonyoung, sweet maknae... you'll live."

Wonyoung sniffed. "Dami... do what Chaeyeon told you. The rest of you... I'm sorry. We'll spread the word of what's happened."

"Just... live."

Staring at Hyewon sadly one last time, Eunbi sighed, "We'll find you again."

As soon as she went through the portal with Wonyoung, it disappeared, the only remnants of what had occurred being the red liquid in Dami's hand and the splashes of Wonyoung's blood on the dusty ground. Dami got rid of the blood like a vampire before she hugged JiU again, her face white. That tasted pretty bad, but she and I are truly bonded now. And I have Minji with me.

SuA laid her hand over Hyewon's injury. "I... I can't believe it. It's almost as if it never happened."

"We won't forget," Yoohyeon exclaimed. "We should remember them, every person who's gotten mixed into this because of us."

"We'll remember them," Gahyeon echoed. She and Yoohyeon said the names in unison. "Seulgi, Wendy, Irene, Eunbi, Chaewon, Sakura, Chaeyeon, Nako, Wonyoung... and Hyewon."

When they said her name, Hyewon nodded, swaying on her feet. She leaned onto SuA to balance herself, nipping her neck. When SuA gave her a questioning look, she grinned. "I still don't submit to you, even when I'm in this state."

"We need to get out of here," Gahyeon growled, her eyes flashing. "I'm not spending the rest of my days in a dirt cavern."

"Definitely," Yoohyeon agreed. "Let's start by going back the way we came and see if that does anything."

All the remaining girls set off in that direction, nervously clinging to their girlfriends. JiU led the way with Dami at her side, an arm firmly attached to her waist.

Despite the circumstances, Siyeon smiled at the leader, feeling the same warmth inside her as she held Handong close. As their light faded again, she was only aware of her presence, running a hand up Handong's spine as she felt her tremble.

"S- Siyeon... stay with me..." she told her. "I- I'm scared..."

"I'm here for you, baby," Siyeon murmured in return, her lips finding Handong's neck. "And when we get out of here, you and I can be together all night... in our special way. In our first."

"Yes." They moved in sync, hearts beating together.

Silence reigned over the whole group until Gahyeon finally spoke up and asked, "Is there a tiny part of anyone that wishes they'd stayed too?"

SuA nodded, then realized they couldn't see her, so she answered aloud, "If they had stayed longer, I could have made their leader understand that I'm not trying to put the person I love in danger."

"I hope she'll figure that out, in her own time," Dami agreed. "And I only wish I could have done more with Chaeyeon than just blood bond with her at the end. She attacked me before out of desperation and if I'm stuck here forever... I'll always regret not doing more for her."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, those words hit home for JiU, who could hear the clear message in them. If I hadn't existed, or if I'd never claimed her, as well as if Sakura had never claimed Chaeyeon... she could easily have chosen her instead.

"Chaeyeon returned because she wanted to escape this and be with Sakura again," she found herself saying. "She loves her like I love you. And that's why Hyewon stayed... she needed SuA with her."

"But I'm glad Wonyoung went back," Handong added. "That poor girl was treated so badly and needed help. God, when I saw the bruises on her... those cuts... whoever made them on her is a sadist. I didn't question the portal opening up because I knew it was a mercy on her for what she had endured."

The rest of them said nothing to that. There was nothing to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing she saw when they returned home was Hitomi's face. All six of them had been laid on the floor in their living room and Wonyoung took a shaky breath as Hitomi adopted a horrified expression.

"What... what happened to you?" she choked out. "Chaeyeon... and baby Wonyoung?"

"We'll explain soon," Chaewon sighed, scrambling to her feet. "But Wonyoung needs serious help and Chaeyeon needs to go to the hospital too."

"Oh my god... look at you," Yujin breathed, kneeling at Wonyoung's side and tentatively pulling the injured body toward her. "Who... who would do this to you... to an innocent maknae?"

Wonyoung opened her mouth to speak and started coughing violently, spitting blood into the floor. "Ah... unnie..."

"We can't wait for an ambulance. Let's go. Now."

"Explanations after she and Chaeyeon are in the hospital," Yena snapped as she helped Eunbi up. "And... oh god, where's Hyewon?"

"That'll be in the explanation," Eunbi responded. "I'll drive."

They practically flew to the car and Yujin and Sakura were careful as they got Wonyoung and Chaeyeon in. All eleven were able to fit in the large vehicle and most of them hovered over the teen as Eunbi sped to get help.

"Come on, Wonyoung, we know you're going to make it," Minju cooed as she ran a hand over the wounds on her limp body. She and Hitomi sat on either side of Yujin.

"I know you are." Hitomi kissed Wonyoung's forehead. "We will never let you die."

"Unnies, it hurts..." Wonyoung croaked before she coughed again.

"And we'll make sure it doesn't," Yujin affirmed.

Their arrival at the hospital was fast and as soon as Yujin and Sakura burst inside with the injured Iz*one members, someone screamed for medics. Both of them were shuddering when the two were taken away. And Nako... she would never forget the agony she saw in Wonyoung's eyes as she left, the pain and hurt.

Minju stumbled as she made for the exit and Sakura supported her with an arm on the small of her back as they went back to the car.

"How... how did this happen?" she moaned quietly as she forced herself into a seat. "Why... what did Wonyoung do to deserve this?"

"She didn't deserve it," Eunbi admitted as she let Sakura take over driving for the ride home and sat next to Minju. "Come here. I'll explain everything."

She kept talking even when they arrived back home, increasing terror growing on the faces of who she was telling. When she finished at last, Minju had gone entirely white and could barely stand as she walked to the couch. Hitomi even had to run to the bathroom for a moment and when she came back, clutching her stomach, Nako embraced her and started whispering to her as she held her close.

"S- so that's how Chaeyeon was originally hurt?" Yujin managed to say.

"Forget that," Yena growled. "Dreamcatcher... all the members are alive? I thought they'd died... JiU, Siyeon, and Dami in those car crashes, SuA in the hospital, Handong from the murderer, Yoohyeon from her fall, and Gahyeon from that accident in the street. It was on the news after you left. Everyone knows that... but someone brought them back to life?"

"Where they are is where Hyewon is," Nako retorted. "Eunbi told you about it all and I guarantee Chaeyeon and Wonyoung would tell you the same story."

"But is SuA... is SuA who Hyewon's been meeting when she disappears?" Yuri questioned, speaking for the first time since their return. "Before the concerts?"

"Yep." Chaewon still looked a little angry about it.

"But why?" Yuri laid her head on Eunbi's shoulder as the leader pulled the younger girl into her lap on the couch. "Doesn't she know it's dangerous to have a romance with someone in a different group?"

"At this point, I don't think she cares," Sakura muttered. "SuA is to her what Chaeyeon is to me and we can't change that now."

"And you just let her stay there... while she's injured?" Hitomi gasped out, her voice hoarse. "You didn't make sure she got through?"

"I couldn't! I didn't have a choice in that matter!" Eunbi snarled, making Yuri flinch. "After she said she was staying, it would have taken too much time to convince her to come back. I had to get Wonyoung through before it closed!"

"So then where's Irene now?" Yena crossed her arms.

"Hopefully back with Red Velvet."

"Red Velvet..." Yujin half-closed her eyes. "We never told you..."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Time must be manipulated in your part of the world if you thought only a couple days had passed. Almost three weeks went by here and after Irene disappeared..."

Eunbi glared at Yujin. "Spit it out already!"

"After Irene disappeared, Wendy had a panic attack at the hospital and ended up getting really sick. Seulgi freaked out because she's not allowed to visit her anymore and because both of our groups had members that had vanished, we found out from Joy that she's shutting everyone out and won't stop crying."

"Wait a minute..." Chaewon winced. "The portal wore off the effects of a magic medicine that we'd found, which was what closed up Chaeyeon's wound before. But we gave the medicine to Irene too... and she came back through it as well... which can only mean..."

As if their brains were synchronized, all nine girls ran back to the car, Eunbi still supporting Yuri and Nako helping Hitomi. Sakura drove them to where they knew Red Velvet currently lived and Yena was knocking at the door before the others were even at her side.

Yeri opened it, her face stained with tears. Yena prepared to speak, but didn't get a chance. "Yena, they must have told you... Irene told us everything... Joy took her to the hospital..."

"Which is where Wonyoung and Chaeyeon are now," Yujin finished as she stepped up beside her.

The Red Velvet maknae moved aside. "All of you, come in."

Both Minju and Eunbi were the last in and closed the door behind them. Yeri led them to the living room, but none of the nine sat on the couch except Hitomi, who seemed close to fainting at any moment.

"Is... is Seulgi home?" Chaewon dared to inquire.

Her eyes watering, Yeri nodded. "But she won't let anyone near. She almost threw me into a wall when I asked about Dreamcatcher again."

"Can we see her?"

She eyed them warily. "Only two of you can come in, but the rest of you can stand outside the door."

"I want to," Nako spoke up. "Eunbi and I."

"Fine." Yeri led them upstairs, stopping at one of the doors. "But be careful. It's your funeral. And if she turns aggressive, get out of there."

Exchanging an understanding glance, they entered slowly. Seulgi lay curled up under a blanket on her bed, no asleep, but facing away from them. "Yeri, I already told you to leave me alone!" she hissed. "I am in the mood to snap someone's neck and I will trust that you don't want it to be yours."

"But I've brought guests." Seulgi turned to see the Iz*one members and her eyes widened, not noticing at all how Yeri placed a hand on her neck. "You... you're back..."

Nako bit her lip. "Seulgi, we know about Dreamcatcher. About all of it. We were sent there too..."

"Stop." Seulgi trembled. "That- that place was terrifying. Irene came back from it cut up... my sweetheart Wendy was sliced open from there... and the Dreamcatcher members... Dami couldn't walk."

"She can now."

Seulgi's head snapped up. "What? But her leg... it was so bloody... so damaged..."

"We found some weird magic medicine while we were there and it... it closed up the wound. It's what kept Irene alive until she came back."

"Dami, though... she was in so much pain... and Wendy, my baby..." She buried her face in her pillow, muffling her sobbing.

"How's she doing?" Eunbi questioned. That only increased Seulgi's sobs. Nako elbowed her in the side, mouthing, Why did you do that?

"Seulgi, look at me." Nako sat on the bed, hugging her. "We're going to find them. We will do everything in our power to avenge what was done to them all... Chaeyeon, injured in a pointless attack... Wonyoung, cut up for the sake of a stupid game... Irene, tortured for no reason... Wendy, hurt by a fall that could have been prevented and ended up sick... and for all of Dreamcatcher too... JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami, and Gahyeon."

Her tears still falling, Seulgi lifted her head. "I will avenge my Wendy."

In unison, she, Nako, Eunbi, and Yeri all chorused, "We will find out who's behind this and destroy them. We will free Dreamcatcher."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My legs hurt," Gahyeon complained as she leaned on her girlfriend. "Anyone know how long until we get out of here?"

Siyeon blindly shoved her. "We have to get back to the original chamber we fell into and then wait for that wind again. That should get us out, but please, no more whining."

"And be careful," SuA added, keeping her arms around Hyewon. "Oh, baby," she murmured to her. "It's getting worse... I can feel your blood and you're growing weaker..."

"I'm not dead yet," Hyewon retorted. "And if I'm not dead, I can walk."

"I know, just take it easy." SuA kissed her cheek in the dark, whispering against her skin, "I don't want to be separated from you again."

"Neither do I."

JiU called for them to keep up, her arm still curled around Dami's waist as she led the group on. Dami herself was near tears, but, like she was told, she remembered the blood bond with Chaeyeon and kept the tears from falling. I already miss her so much... I hope she's recovering... living her life again...

"I'm sure she is," the leader soothed, making her realize she'd said the words out loud. "But you'll find Chaeyeon again, I promise. And for now... I'm here for you."

Dami smiled as she welcomed the passion of the embrace, the tenderness that she held her without she knew she was right; she had someone beside her at that moment that cared for her. Well, there was actually six of them- seven to an extent because of her connection to Hyewon through SuA- but none of them kissed her like JiU did. None of them touched her like JiU did or made her skin tingle with lust and desire. None of them loved her like she did.

"I know," she breathed. "And I could never be more grateful for that."

She was beginning to realize exactly why Hyewon had stayed. She's giving up her life, her career, risking everything for SuA's sake. I wonder... would JiU do that for me if we were in the same situation?

They pressed on through the dark, soon making it back to the place where SuA, JiU, and Hyewon had first been left behind. Shaking, Hyewon collapsed, her body covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Oh no..." SuA whispered as she fell to her knees beside her. "No, no, no..."

In a quick motion, she tore off both their shirts, tossing Hyewon's bloody one aside and pushing her own against the stab wound in her stomach. Hyewon groaned in pain, digging her nails into SuA's arm. "Baby... that hurts."

"I'm trying to keep you alive here," she retorted. "Please... cooperate with me."

"Need any help?" Gahyeon asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. SuA shrugged it off, glaring up at her.

"No, I don't, not from you," SuA growled. "You scorned our love when you found out about us. You hate that we're together and a tiny part of me thinks you'd kill her on purpose just to keep me 'safe.' Do you love someone like I do? Maybe. So go ahead and scurry back to her."

Gahyeon's eyes flashed. "Okay, if you'll be yelling at me for no reason, do not bring Yoohyeon into this."

"Handong, Siyeon, can you take over for a second?" SuA requested. When they obeyed, she stood up and faced the maknae. "You showed me that you believe Hyewon and I should never be together, despite how long we've been intimate with each other without being caught. So no, I don't believe you really want to help."

Because she didn't deny it, SuA took her silence as confirmation. "Do you want to know how it feels to have someone you truly love in danger?"

"N- no..."

Before she could do anything, SuA had Yoohyeon pinned to the wall.

"No, please!" Gahyeon begged, stumbling backward. "She already nearly died before,.. don't do anything to her... she's part of Dreamcatcher, your own group..."

"Unnie..." Yoohyeon gasped. "You care too much about us... you wouldn't... you wouldn't hurt us..."

"Then make your girl see that we deserve happiness as much as the rest of you. We all have to be honest with each other anyway." She struck Yoohyeon hard in the neck and she crumpled into the dirt, struggling for breath, as SuA returned to Hyewon's side.

"Gahyeon," her girlfriend mumbled. "C- come here."

Suppressing a shudder, Gahyeon helped her up, squeezing her hands.

"Look, Gahyeon, I need to know... why are you so afraid of them being together?"

Gahyeon sighed. "Yoohyeon, if they're caught at any time in our life, it's over for both Iz*one and Dreamcatcher. It could destroy all of us."

"Why does that matter right now? You wouldn't help her at all and Hyewon could die if she keeps suffering like this. What if I was in her place?"

She couldn't answer that. Her eyes roved past her over Hyewon, assessing her. Hyewon's gaze locked with hers, her expression saying, I still forgive you. And one day, I hope you'll understand.

Coldness spread over Gahyeon's skin as Yoohyeon released her.

Chapter Text

Wonyoung had made it. And so had Wendy, Irene, and Chaeyeon.

The rest of Red Velvet and Iz*one had been overjoyed at the news, especially when they recalled their conditions before and then. When Eunbi had revealed to Yeri, Joy, and Seulgi what exactly had happened to the teen maknae, they'd been absolutely horrified and relieved she was alive. None of them would be leaving the hospital for a while, but they'd all been pulled back from the brink of death and would eventually live again.

In the meantime, though, the rest of them were on a mission.

Eunbi had been able to remember every detail of the place, every root and tree she had crossed over, but that helped very little, as she didn't even know if Dreamcatcher were still in the same place. But they knew one other who might be able to assist with everything. That was Wonyoung.

Minju, Nako, Yujin, and Sakura planned to visit their sweet fellow member and gently ask her about what had happened specifically when she'd been taken from Nako's side, but Wonyoung still had more major surgeries in the next week and they had to wait for them. At last, the four were given the all-clear and rushed in to see her.

The young girl saw her friends come in and lifted her head slightly as she spotted Minju, her eyes half-closed and dulled. "M- Minju unnie..." She shakily raised a hand to beckon her over. "Come..."

Minju obeyed instantly and suppressed a shiver when she was at her side. "Oh, Wonyoung, you.. you didn't deserve this." She nervously brushed the back of her hand over her pale face. "We love you, Wonyoung, and we're all praying for you to be out of here soon..."

"I don't think think that'll happen..." Wonyoung gulped. "I c- can't walk right now..."

Minju's face drained of all color and she stumbled back into Sakura, who swiftly caught her. "No... will you... be able to again?"

"I... I don't know..." Wonyoung's eyes glistened with tears and Nako sighed. "Could we have asked her everything before we made her cry?"

Yujin glared at her. "Chill out, Nako. Do you even care about that... that she may never walk again?"

"Of course I do! That's why we need to ask her! We need to find out why!"

"Ask... ask me what?"

Sakura gazed at Wonyoung. "We need to know what happened after... after you were taken by them. Taken... from Nako's side. We need every detail."

"Are you sure?" Wonyoung looked downright terrified.

"Maybe we shouldn't..." Minju hesitated. "Not if it'll upset her like this."

"No, we have to." Sakura rubbed Minju's arm. "Wonyoung... please tell us. But stop if it's necessary."

"Okay... I will." The teen took a deep but labored breath. "I woke up in another part of the forest... a part I didn't recognize at all. Someone was there with me, but they were shrouded in black, so I couldn't tell their gender or who they were. And I was on the ground, with them standing over me. Their voice... it was so distorted that I still couldn't determine anything about them. And they... they..." Her voice shook.

"Hey, if you need to stop, you can do it..." Yujin exclaimed.

"They cut me," Wonyoung hissed, sobs wracking her body violently. "They cut me so deep and so much... brought a whip down on me too... it was unbearable! Made me open my eyes and watch as they slashed me open... two others held me down while it happened... wouldn't let me scream... then they dragged me down to that cavern. I don't know how long I was there... but... I did manage to identify the gender of one voice. It... it was from a female. She and the others left me on that ledge... bleeding to death... and then Eunbi came along."

Hearing Wonyoung describe her own torture hit Minju deep and she clung to Sakura.

"I'm so sorry," Yujin breathed, her throat tightening. "You shouldn't have had to endure that."

"But I did," she spat. "I did have to. You could never understand that pain... how it felt to believe I would die suffering... while they whipped me and split me apart... striking my spine..."

"Wonyoung, Wonyoung, calm down!" Nako snapped, grasping her wrist on her other side as she glanced up at her heart monitor. "Calm down, please."

"Wait... who did it sound like?" Sakura quickly questioned. "The female voice you heard while being... t- tortured... who do you think it was?"

Wonyoung shook her head. "I can't tell you! She told me not to tell anyone or it could make things worse."

"What?" Minju tilted her head. "When did this happen?"

"She visited me earlier... well, yesterday... and told me that."

But she wasn't allowed visitors yesterday. All four of her fellow Iz*one members shared the exact same thought.

"Who's 'she?'"

"What do you mean?"

Minju sighed. "Who visited you yesterday?"

Lifting her head higher, Wonyoung spoke in a voice so low they could barely hear. "Park Bom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gahyeon hung back at the rear of her group as they trudged on through the tunnel, silent save for SuA whispering gently to Hyewon. SuA had one arm around her waist and the other pressed her shirt against Hyewon's wound, still slowing the blood flow.

"SuA...?" the maknae murmured. "I promise I can help, if you just let me..."

"We don't need your help," Hyewon fired back. "I'm doing fine."

"Leave them alone," Yoohyeon told her. "This isn't the time."

"You're not doing fine," Gahyeon added in one more time. "You should have gone back with the rest of your group because you could die here!"

Finding her by her voice, Dami shoved Gahyeon as hard as she could. "Leave her alone. She stayed because she wants to be with SuA and we all know you can't handle that."

A thump sounded around them and Dami tilted her head. "Gahyeon?" She dropped to her knees and felt around on the ground until her hand bumped into her body. "Oh my god, Gahyeon! Everyone, hold up! I... I think I knocked her out by accident." Her hands went to her shoulders, shaking her quickly. "Gahyeon!"

"Are you kidding me?" Yoohyeon snarled, going down beside her. "We can't afford a setback right now, especially in the dark!" She slapped Dami's hands away. "Gahyeon I didn't mean to yell at you, but I need you to wake up!"

No answer, so Yoohyeon called to the others, "Go on without me! I'll catch up to you once I wake her up."

"You sure?" Siyeon asked.

"I'm sure."

"Be quick then."

They all moved on, making it back to the original chamber fairly easily. SuA carefully laid Hyewon down again, kissing her carefully.

"It's slowing," she muttered. "The bleeding is slowing. I'm going to tie this shirt around you as a precaution, if that's alright."

"Yeah, it's fine." Hyewon breathed deeply as SuA spread out the shirt, then rolled her onto the stomach and tied it over her back. "Good now, baby?"

"Yup."

Yoohyeon soon arrived, Gahyeon's arm slung over her shoulders as she supported her. And they had barely stepped into the chamber before wind began blowing around them.

But this was not the usual type of wind. This one targeted them separately.

Hyewon was swept up first, the tornado of wind slamming her violently into the wall before it let her rise up. SuA screamed her name as she cried out in pain, her body tossed in the air like she was in a lightning storm. As soon as she was thrown out of the small opening, SuA herself followed, with the rest in succession. SuA crawled to Hyewon once she was set down; the shirt was still wrapped around her injury, but her lover could practically feel the flashes of pain she was experiencing by the way she reached for her.

"Bora, please... get me out of this!"

"I'm here, baby, I'm here," SuA cooed, peppering her face with soft kisses while holding her hands. "Come on, can you sit up? Do it for me."

She smiled faintly and pulled herself, with great effort, up to that position. As the other girls were set beside them, the two wrapped their arms around each other, savoring one last embrace that they could in that moment.

Then all of them realized they were no longer in the forest. Now, they had been placed in some sort of dome, a very large one, that encompassed all their surroundings. Trios of lights were set in random places around it. The floor was cold metal, like the walls, and there was no way out.

A sudden maniacal laugh filled the place and SuA blinked in surprise as the makeshift cover on Hyewon's wound fell off, revealing it completely closed up.

"What the-?" JiU opened her mouth to speak, but then the distorted voice rang through the air.

"It's time for a new test of survival. One up against it. Or maybe two." A strong breeze pushed JiU and Dami into the center of the dome and thrust the others back, keeping them back with a circular barrier around the area. "The Roar awaits!"

On that cue, a ghastly-looking creature emerged from the shadows. It looked like a mix of a leopard and a bear and stood on brightly spotted hind legs, as big as JiU herself. And those gray paws... the claws of it were like swords, razor-sharp and ready to slice and maim in a way that none of them could believe it.

But they did believe it... as soon as the beast sprang toward them and ripped open JiU's belly. Blood sprayed into the air and Dami gasped as she saw her crumple to the ground. "MINJI, NO!"

The creature slunk away, giving an inhuman cackle, and Dami felt the horrible taste of vomit rise up in her throat.

"You do NOT hurt JiU like that!" she roared furiously. "NEVER!" Without another word, she hurled herself at it, leaping onto its back and clawing at it ferociously. SuA felt her heart snap as she studied her leader, who was now convulsing and choking on her own blood as she frantically screeched Dami's name, both birth name and stage. I want to help, but I can't... I can't get past this blocker!

However, the leopard-bear wouldn't give up and threw itself onto the ground, crushing Dami beneath it and stunning her temporarily.

"Leave them alone!" Gahyeon cried as the animal advanced on JiU again, tearing deeper into her. "NO!" Screams rang through the air, cleaving her throat apart. Dami's eyes glowed with a dangerous light as she got up again and she shouted a battle cry as she attempted to wound the creature. Once it started to bleed, it shook her off and she fell beside JiU.

"Minji, Kim Minji, no!" Dami whined, paying no more mind to her opponent as she threw an arm over JiU, her sobs becoming hysterical. "Please, no..." She kissed her slowly, tears dripping onto her face.

"D- Dami... Yoobin... stay w- with me..." JiU rasped, her expression portraying so much shock and pain. I can't leave her!

Her will, though, was slipping away. She couldn't feel anything other than agony and the presence of Dami, couldn't hear anything other than the cries of her group. "Yoobin... we've lost this battle."

"You're right." The voice was everywhere and nowhere. "Dami, choose the next fighters... or JiU will die."

"What?" Dami's eyes widened. "I... I can't!"

"You'd condemn your leader, your lover? Are you sure?"

She gazed over at the others and at that moment, Handong snarled, "Put Siyeon and I in! I won't let JiU die!"

Taking a shivering breath, Dami said it. "I... I choose Siyeon and Handong."

"Good choice." In an instant, both of them were thrown into the center, just as the wind smashed JiU and Dami into the wall where the others were. The barrier sprung up in front of them again as JiU collapsed and Siyeon bit her lip so hard she felt a metallic taste in her mouth.

"My love, stay with me," Dami begged desperately. "Don't go..."

And then a golden light splashed over the Dreamcatcher leader, covering her wound- the devastating injury that would have killed her soon- and sealing it. A strangled gasp burst from Dami and she glared at the ceiling. "This is just a game," she growled under her breath. "You're toying with us. You heal us so you can hurt us worse again." She was still relieved, though, that JiU was alive, and yanked her into her lap for a deep, passionate kiss, wiping away at the dry blood on her shirt as she caressed her pale skin.

All of a sudden, a monstrous roar made them made them all look up again. The leopard-bear, despite having been wounded by Dami, had grown to twice Handong's size and was beginning to swipe at her with its deathly claws. Siyeon tried to leap onto its back the way Dami had, but as soon as her nails sank into its flesh, it reared, doing its best to throw her off. She, however, clung on, her nails making gouges.

"Handong, get behind it and attack!" she shouted.

Nodding, Handong moved with surprising speed... but not fast enough. As she made a leap for a temporary safe position before an attack, the monster grabbed for her. Then an incredibly gruesome slashing sound echoed through the air and the Chinese girl's mouth opened in a soundless cry.

"HANDONG!!!" Siyeon wailed, nearly losing her grip.

The beast had impaled her straight on three of its claws, the obsidian-like blades puncturing completely through her body. It gave a great wrench and Handong went flying into the barrier between her and her group, her slim frame drenched in blood.

"NO!! HANDONG!!!" In a flash, Siyeon's nails tore through the leopard-bear's flesh, creating a deep array of gashes as she slid down its back. It roared in agony and Siyeon thrust it away, leaving it to die as she ran to her dying love.

"Handong, baby, no, no, no..."

JiU's face was pale as she and Dami sat up to see. No... that's so much worse than what mine was... oh, Handong is suffering... I hate seeing her suffer...

"S- Siyeon unnie..." Handong sniffed, her throat filling with her own blood. "P- please... do this for me... come here..."

Siyeon leaned closer to her, hardly daring to breathe. "Handong..."

In answer, Handong reached up and feebly wrapped an arm around Siyeon's neck. "K- kiss me now."

Her heart violently pounding in her chest, Siyeon shakily pressed her lips to Handong's, cupping her face with both hands, kissing her with a bright passion that she'd kept hidden for so long. Tears fell onto Handong's face, but she didn't pull back, not for a while.

My love... she's dying...

She swiftly slid her tongue into her mouth, noticing with a pang that her low amount of resistance was due to the fact that she was growing weaker. Too weak.

Behind them, the beast they'd been fighting gave a great shudder and lay still, its breathing stopping entirely. Handong's head fell back as Siyeon pulled from the kiss. "S- Siyeon... do it. Don't let me suffer anymore..."

The barrier disappeared and Dreamcatcher exploded from the wall toward them, Hyewon trailing behind, as Siyeon murmured back, "What do you mean? What do you want me to do? I can do it for you. I can help you get better..."

All of the group could hear it when Handong breathed the terrifying words. "Kill me. Snap my neck right now and let it all be over. This pain... this anguish... if I'm going to die, don't let me die a slow, painful death..."

God, Siyeon wanted to protest so badly, but she knew she was right. It didn't look like she was going to be healed the way JiU had been and she was bleeding out so badly that Siyeon didn't wish to see her like that in her final moments.

"I... I hate to say it, but I think you should do what she wants," Hyewon admitted. "Yes, I know I have no right to have an input on this, but I just had to say that."

JiU nodded, tears glimmering in her eyes. "I think so too. But Siyeon, it's your choice. It depends on you... and if you're ready to let her go."

"I never got to sleep with her," Siyeon whispered. "I... I never got to claim her as my own..."

Handong grasped her hand and placed it on her own neck. "Siyeon, you may not have physically claimed me, but I will always be yours. I... I love you."

Siyeon gulped as she sat up, cradling Handong in her arms. Both hands now went to her neck as she lifted her head to her level.

"It's okay, love," Handong sighed. "I'm ready."

She'd expected it to be easy, to put her out of her misery so that she would not feel any more pain. But it wasn't. Siyeon's grip tightened on Handong's throat, willing herself to just make that one jerk, snapping her neck and ending her life.

And, in that instant, she knew she couldn't be the one to do it.

"I can't..." she told Handong honestly. "I can't be the one to kill you. It's selfish, I know, but to ask me, the person who could never bear to let you go, the person who loves you the most in the universe, to snap your neck and hear the sound it makes as the life leaves your eyes... it's cruel, Handong. I want you out of this pain... but I don't want to be the person who ends you. I don't want to be the one with the kill."

"Would you want me to do it?" Yoohyeon offered.

"Yes... please..." Handong shut her eyes tightly. "Please, please, please... I'm begging anyone..."

"No." All of them blanched as the voice overhead resounded. "She will not die. She will rise again to play our game."

"Oh, please, no!" Handong sobbed fiercely, pulling her hands over her bloodied face. "No... get me out of this pain!" She was screaming and screaming and Siyeon hurriedly shoved her into Yoohyeon's grasp. But she was too late; Handong's body rose into the air, hovering above them near the ceiling as her blood splashed over her and the ground below. The crying girl writhed in the empty space, her cries echoing through the dome, and Siyeon sank to her knees, hands on her chest. "HANDONG!"

Hyewon dropped down beside her and wrapped her arms around her torso, tugging Siyeon toward herself. "Shh, shh, it'll be okay, you'll have Handong back in a bit..."

"But it's not fair!" Siyeon whimpered. "I should have just done it..."

"Look at it this way, though... you don't have to lose her."

"But she... she's going through so much pain... losing so much blood..."

"And she'll be out of it soon after they heal her."

"I should have killed her when I had the chance," Siyeon told her as Handong's battered form was enclosed in bright light. "I shouldn't have given them a chance to pull her back into this game..."

"It was cruel of her, though, to ask you to be the one to do it in the first place, Siyeon, the person who could never let her go."

Siyeon burst into tears again and buried her face in Hyewon's shoulder. SuA knelt beside them, gently rubbing Siyeon's back. "Siyeon, Siyeon, calm down..."

The gold light brightened to fill the whole dome and Handong's screams abruptly faded.

"Handong, come back to me!" Siyeon cried, lifting her eyes to the blinding glare. Through it, Handong was still calling for her, but no sound came from her as she arched her back in pain.

Dami tore her own eyes away, not wanting to see her friend in the position she was in, and JiU pulled her into her. I'm so sorry, Handong.

"Don't take her, please!" That was Siyeon's last cry before she crumpled in Hyewon's lap, gasping.

"Lee Siyeon, breathe," Gahyeon instructed as she tentatively went over to her. "It'll be okay..."

"Stop telling me everything will be okay!" Siyeon growled in a tone her group had never heard her speak in before. "It won't! Handong is being healed so whoever is pulling the strings can hurt her worse all over again!" She sniffed. "A part of me wishes I'd just snapped her neck when I could..."

"But now..." Gahyeon took a deep breath. "Now you still have a chance- however slight- to stay with her, to make a life with her when we return home... to... to physically claim her as yours. If you'd killed her, it would have ended any chance of that."

Barely glancing in Gahyeon's direction, Siyeon closed her eyes.

And then Handong fell again.

The ground shook as the airborne girl crashed to the floor. In that moment, Siyeon shot upward, her head slamming into Hyewon's chin and causing her to recoil backwards. Siyeon, though, didn't care and ran to Handong's side at lightning speed. The Chinese girl's body was still coated with drying blood... but her wounds were gone.

"Oh, baby..." Siyeon was almost afraid to touch her, for fear that she'd disintegrate into ash as soon as she kissed her, but she did it anyway, hesitating a little bit as their lips locked together. However, the second one body touched the other, Handong was kissing her as if it was the only thing that could ever save her. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces as Siyeon grasped the back of Handong's head and curled her other arm around their waist.

"I... I love you so much," Handong murmured softly. "I don't know why I wanted to leave you..."

"Sweetie, you were in pain and you've lost more blood than I've ever seen a surviving person lose in my lifetime." She was right; the other girl's skin was literally snow-white. "But I will do anything to help you recover."

"I- I'm weak," she moaned, her breathing shaky as the rest of her group gave her a heartbreaking gaze of sympathy. "I can... I can barely move..."

"No, you're not weak at all." Siyeon kissed her neck on one of the bruises her fingers had left.

"I am, I am..." Handong wept into her chest. "Siyeon, I don't deserve you..."

"It's me that doesn't deserve you," she replied, raising Handong's tear-stained face so that their eyes met. "You nearly died and I... I did nothing..."

"That's because I was so selfish... I tried to get you to kill me..."

"Forget it." Siyeon put a finger to her lips. "It doesn't matter now. You are alive and you're with me." She pressed their foreheads together, gingerly tapping her tongue against Handong's bottom lip. "And I will never stop loving you."

Handong broke down again and Siyeon held her close. For a while, she was only aware of her own tears, of her unnie's warm chest, of the blood on her body and Siyeon's love overpowering the agony that still burned through her.

"We will be okay," Siyeon purred, her fingers lacing through the younger's long hair, ignoring the scarlet that highlighted it. "You belong to me, my beloved, and I will never let anything happen to you again. God help me if it does."

They kissed once more, more passionately than ever.

And then the world exploded around them.

Chapter Text

"Why would Bom be making an unauthorized visit to Wonyoung?" Joy wondered, crossing her legs as Nako finished relaying what their injured friend had told them at the hospital. "They don't even know each other and 2NE1 disbanded when Wonyoung hadn't even debuted with Iz*one!"

"That's what confuses me too," Yena added, adjusting Hitomi on her lap on the Red Velvet couch. "There is absolutely no reason for that to happen. And on a day when she can't have visitors? Telling her she can't say who she thought was torturing her? How did she even know about what happened?"

"Do you think she was lying?" Yeri nervously asked. "She could have been going delusional from blood loss..."

"She's not a liar in any state," Hitomi snapped, half-hiding her face in Yena's neck. "But Bom owes us an explanation for this."

"Dang right she does." Minju narrowed her eyes.

"And I don't think we should take you to her house," Eunbi told her, squeezing her waist. "I don't want you throwing yourself at her screaming."

"Fine."

"I'll go." Sakura stood up. "I want to find out why she made our little maknae like that."

"Me too." Seulgi stepped up beside her. "And if anyone tries to stop me, you can go to Wendy yourself and tell her I can't avenge what was done to her."

"We're all going," Yujin growled, curling her hands into fists. "All of us will find out what Bom knows."

"Yujin..." Yuri breathed uneasily. "I don't think you should if you're wound up like that..."

"Really?" Yujin moves like a predator, pinning her to the wall before any of them could blink. "Then I guess you're not either."

Nako groaned in exasperation. "Why is it that when someone gets riled up, they go for another's throat? Eunbi, I'm looking at you."

"Um..." Yeri bit her lip. "Except Yuri's much smaller than her..."

"Hey, let me go!" Yuri struggled and nearly broke away, but then Yujin picked her up by the throat. "U- unnie!"

"Tell me I can't go again. I dare you."

"Yujin, let go, you're hurting her!" Hitomi cried. "P- please..." A tear fell.

Yujin turned, glaring at her, but when she saw how terrified Hitomi looked, she let Yuri go and she gasped as she fell, scrambling to her feet and darting into Nako's arms.

The fourteen of them left immediately after to go to Park Bom's house, keeping Minju, Seulgi, and Yujin in the back as they walked up to her door. However, most of the group had assumed Hitomi was too hysterical to do anything bad in that situation, so she took them by surprise. As soon as Bom opened the door for them, she flew forward and tackled her, smashing the older into the floor.

"What do you know about what happened to Wonyoung?" she roared, her nails relentlessly slicing through Bom's arms. "And to Dreamcatcher? Are you hurting them?"

"Hitomi, get ahold of yourself!" Eunbi screeched, attempting to drag her off. "You won't get any answers by attacking her!" Hitomi shook her head and thrust her leg out, kicking her leader square in the face.

"OW!" She recoiled, her nose bleeding, and Sakura rushed to where she saw the kitchen was to grab a cloth to soak it up. "HITOMI!"

Hitomi paid no attention and started trying to bite until Bom's arm suddenly flashed out and her hand locked around her throat, gripping tightly. She snarled and did her best to break free, but Bom stood up, still holding her, and said coldly, "This is ridiculous and I did not deserve that, no matter what you may think. Understand, Honda Hitomi?"

After a wordless nod, she was released and Yena ran to her, helping her up, then grasping her hips and throwing Hitomi over her shoulder. Though she fought her, Yena cast an apologetic look back at her friends and carried her into the next room.

"I am extremely sorry, Bom," Chaewon sighed, wincing as she saw her collapse on the couch, breathing heavily.

Bom glared at her. "What do you want?" She rubbed her cut arms, smearing blood over her fingers. "And where's Sakura with that cloth?"

"Brought three." Sakura returned, handing one to Eunbi for her nose and the other two to Chaewon, who sat down next to Bom and began massaging her arms where Hitomi had hurt her.

"She already said what we want. Bom..." Chaewon exhaled. "We need to know why you did what you did."

"Before you ask, I have no relation to Dreamcatcher. And you're talking about Wonyoung, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm talking about Wonyoung! Why did you visit her on a day that wasn't allowed? Why did you ask her not to reveal who the voice was? How did you know she was tortured?"

"Slow down, detective," Bom answered, hissing as Chaewon pressed hard on her arm. "The news of her condition was all over TV and can't someone care about another artist? It's obvious she was tortured based on those unnatural wounds, so I wanted to visit her to cheer her up after a traumatic experience. And she told me everything, so I persuaded her not to say anything so you wouldn't think she was crazy."

"We never would." Minju raised an eyebrow. "We'll definitely be looking into that story. But that still doesn't explain how you go in when you weren't allowed."

"Maybe I was allowed and you didn't know it," she scoffed. "I don't really think this was worth my time, honestly."

"You what?" Hitomi poked her head back in the room, Yena's hands still grasping her hips as she tried to hold her back. "Every minute that passes is another minute Wonyoung is suffering in the hospital, so this should be worth anyone's time!"

"And you have no right to say anything like that!" Bom retorted. "You stormed in here and attacked me right in my own home! I've told you what you want to know, so now you need to leave."

Chaewon glanced at her arms. "Uh..."

"I'll be fine. I can bandage it myself."

"Well, if you're sure..." She handed her the cloths and pushed herself off the cushions. "I'm really sorry."

"Just leave me be for now. And you can take the washcloth with you for Eunbi."

"Thanks."

Letting out a huff, Bom turned away and Sakura led the rest of the group out the door. Yena swung Hitomi into her arms again and followed; the girl looked back over her shoulder, glaring daggers at Bom with bloodshot eyes.

"That was not necessary," Yena growled as they left. "Attacking her? You think Wonyoung would have wanted that?"

As soon as the door closed behind them and their footsteps faded, Bom immediately shot towards the kitchen, ignoring the blood running down her skin. Her hand reached for where her phone was and tapped in a number to call.

The phone rang and rang and at last, a voice answered from it. "What's up, Bom? How's it going?"

"CL, we have problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"The members of Iz*one, along with half of Red Velvet, came to my house today and Hitomi attacked me, demanding answers about why I visited Wonyoung. I told that little maknae to keep her mouth shut about me and she didn't listen."

"Why is that such a big problem?" CL inhaled sharply. "Oh..."

"CL, Eunbi is incredibly smart and sooner or later, she or one of the others will connect me to the Dreamcatcher thing and come at me with accusations. I don't want Dreamcatcher to return, but I can't betray the others."

"It's not Eunbi you need to worry about the most though."

"You're right. It's Wonyoung. I told the little girl too much, but if she gets to walk again and makes it out of the hospital, you and I are both going down. But the captors of the Dreamcatcher girls... they can't keep their plans going without us."

"That's true." CL huffed and Bom bared her right palm to the air as she switched her phone to her other hand. Blue mist swirled from the tips of her fingers.

"Do you know what we're going to do about it?"

"Yes." The mist crackled and fizzed.

"Are you playing around again?"

She laughed and the mist coiled around her arms, closing up the cuts and cleaning the blood. After bandaging the scars to make it look authentic, she held her phone to her ear again. "I have to, Chaerin. You know I'm a little reckless." Her tone went serious once more. "But I know what we have to do."

"Are you sneaky enough and willful enough to do it?"

"Of course." Bom straightened up. "I don't have to entirely like it, but when it comes down to it, you and I are in it together. Tomorrow night. To save our secrets... we're going to have to kill Wonyoung."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now all of them were screaming and huddling together as fire surrounded the Dreamcatcher members. Handong flung herself onto Siyeon, pinning her to the floor as Dami did the same to JiU.

"Stay to the ground!" JiU shouted as loud as she could with Dami's weight pressing down on top of her. "And keep your heads down!"

She barely said it before debris was flying everywhere, burying them beneath it, and they could feel it every time a shard of metal struck them. Dami's body spasmed and JiU could feel it hard when she rolled off of her, legs draped over Handong's back.

"Dami?"

The younger girl moaned in pain. "Please..." she begged. "Let us go! Don't let us die out here..."

"D- Dami?" Handong reached over and grabbed her hand. "It's okay, it's okay, it'll be over soon... I promise. One way or another."

However, the dome explosion effects soon knocked them unconscious.

And Dami didn't notice at all as a pair of slender arms closed around her waist and lifted her blistered body from the rubble.

*

All eight girls could no longer feel the fire.

JiU was the first to wake up, wincing as she felt stinging pains all along her skin. Her eyes widened as she saw Dami unconscious beside her and frantically pulled her into her lap, all other senses shutting down at the sight of her how she was. "D- D- Dami?" She kissed her cheek and then her lips. "Yoobin... are you alright?"

"Careful. She was among the most injured of you."

"What?" JiU looked up. "Oh no... J- Jeongyeon?"

The Twice girl smiled faintly. "Yeah, it's me."

"No... is... is your whole group here too?"

Jeongyeon's silence said everything.

"Before you start asking questions about us... what happened?"

"Well, we ended up in this jungle," Jeongyeon sighed, gesturing around them. "And..."

"And we saw the dome while walking through it." Nayeon finished the sentence as she came around JiU. The Dreamcatcher leader looked back and her face went white as she spotted the rest of Twice.

"JiU, calm down." Chaeyoung placed a hand on her shoulder. "We saved all your lives, but you also breathed in a lot of smoke when the walls caught fire and the roof collapsed."

"Who... who got Dami?" JiU croaked as she brushed her hair out of her face.

"I did," Tzuyu replied.

"Thank you so much," she breathed, nestling Dami closer. "Even if you hadn't gotten me out too... thank you for saving her." Beckoning the Twice maknae over, she stretched her head up and pecked her on the cheek.

Tzuyu grinned. "It was really not a big deal."

"What wasn't a big deal?" Hyewon sat up and blearily stared at them. "JiU, are you seeing it too? Is that Tzuyu...?" Her gaze landed on SuA and she inhaled sharply. "Wait, hold that thought." Shivering, she laid her hands on her chest. "B- baby?"

"Yes, it's me," Tzuyu murmured, kneeling beside her.

"Did you... did you save her from the fire?" Hyewon asked.

"Actually, for SuA, it was Chaeyoung that got her out. But... may I ask why it's just you here and none of your group?"

"Long story short: my group was here and I chose to stay when they went back."

"Why?"

"Why? I stayed for her." Hyewon glared for a moment. "And I... I need her to wake up." She shook SuA hard. "Bora, you're still breathing. Bora, this isn't funny. Get up!"

Chaeyoung moved over to them, ready to help, until JiU let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Dami's not breathing!"

Dahyun and Jihyo rushed over to her and Dahyun took Dami into her arms. Jihyo smashed her hands onto Dami's chest and JiU gasped. "Careful! Don't hurt her!"

"You want her to live, don't you?" Dahyun retorted.

JiU bit her lip. "Yes... but be gentle." She covered Dami's mouth with her own, transferring breath into her.

Do I want to let her suffer though? If we go back, her leg will explode open again. And Handong... she could die there... Siyeon too...

She abruptly stopped her rescue breaths.

"JiU? Are you alright?" Jihyo tilted her head to the side, slowing her thrusts.

"I..." Shaking herself quickly, she lifted her face to them. "It's nothing."

"What's going on?" Siyeon and Handong sat up, groaning as the latter leaned on her girlfriend weakly.

"Stay away if you want to help," Momo said gently as she got to one knee beside them. "They're trying to revive Dami. Are you two alright?"

Handong shook her head. "N- no..."

"Oh, Handong, you're so pale... and your eyes... your neck... you're so badly scarred..." Momo rubbed her thumb over her cheek and Handong tensed.

Siyeon pursed her lips and quietly cradled Handong in her arms. "I wouldn't recommend touching her right now."

"I already had to touch her to get her out from that explosion."

"And just before the explosion, I... I..." Handong's eyes filled with tears and she whined, "S- Siyeon, I cant say it, I'm too ashamed..."

"We'll tell you everything later," Siyeon asserted. "For now... I'm just going to say she's been traumatized."

"Poor Dongie," Momo cooed. She reached for her, just as JiU cried out again. "Dami, don't leave me!"

"Dami?" Yoohyeon and Gahyeon chorused as they both got to their feet.

"Stay away!" JiU hissed. "We're trying to help her!"

"B- but it's Dami..." Yoohyeon mewled, swaying unsteadily. "She was so brave before when she hurt her leg... you can't let her heart give out now... her sweet heart..."

Even Gahyeon was tearing up as she walked over to them, keeping a small distance from Jihyo. She couldn't take her eyes off of Dami's lifeless form, of her chest rising and falling only with each breath that JiU put into her. Come on, Dami, don't let your strong heart give up now...

Dami's body convulsed as she slowly opened her eyes. "J- JiU?"

Jihyo pulled her hands away as Dami gazed up at her in fear. "Jihyo? Dahyun? You... you saved m- me?"

Dahyun jerked her head at Tzuyu. "She pulled you out of the fire, but Jihyo and JiU... they saved you when you stopped breathing."

"My... my Minji..." Dami reached for JiU's hand. "Is that... Tzuyu?"

"Yes, And I'm right here," Tzuyu responded, dropping to her knees beside her. "But stay down right now, you need to rest."

"Is H- Handong okay?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, let me hold her," JiU exclaimed, taking Dami from Dahyun. Almost no clothing covered her now, thanks to the fire, and she was desperately trying to cover herself up. "Baby, you're okay, you don't need to do that."

"But I can't... I can't be this vulnerable in front of them..."

"You're fine, sweetheart. We're all girls here and you only need to worry about being 'vulnerable' in front of me." JiU's hand glided over her stomach. "You honestly look beautiful right now."

Dami blushed a little. "Not here, Minji."

"Why?" JiU hissed her, adjusting her mostly naked body in her arms. "You know how much I love you."

"Minjiiiiiiii!"

"Aw, that's cute," Sana giggled.

Mina shoved her. "Dami, are you okay?"

"Well, I just nearly died and JiU's embarrassing me, so... no."

"Come on, you all need to get up," Nayeon groaned. "We can't stay here or something else is going to come after us."

"She's right, love." JiU nudged Dami. "Can you walk?"

"I don't know." She struggled to her feet with JiU's and Dahyun's help, hardly able to stand on her own. "I'll need your assistance though, so I can save what's left of my dignity."

"Of course." Dahyun tapped her nose.

Yoohyeon and Chaeyoung, who had woken up SuA, scrambled to their feet, while Hyewon helped up her girlfriend and led her over to her leader. Gahyeon also converged on her and Dami squealed, burying her face in JiU's shoulder. "G- get away!"

"Yeah, she's not okay," Siyeon murmured as she limped over to them, supporting Handong with every ounce of strength. "I'm sorry, Dami..."

"I don't need pity from you, Siyeon," Dami spat, stretching her arm out to grasp Handong's hand. "Focus on her."

"It- it's okay, Dami..." Handong squirmed away from Siyeon and held onto Dami. "Let's g- go."

The Twice members surrounded Dreamcatcher as all of them finally allowed themselves a look around the jungle. Smoke rose into the air from the distance, letting them know they were far from the exploded dome. Trees grew tall around them, but were closer to each other than in the forest from before. They all closed in around them, partly filtering sunlight, and the leaves emitted a musty, rich scent. A canopy of vines sealed the air twelve feet above their heads, illuminating the dirt path in front of them.

All started moving, although Dami and Handong, who'd been weakened immensely, fell behind, their bare bodies shivering in fear as they clung to each other; the rest of their clothes were withering away into ash, since the two had been closest to the fire itself.

"I can't help feeling bad for them," Momo admitted as she leaned on Gahyeon. "Even if they don't want us to, I just can't help it. What... what happened to them to make them so weirdly paranoid?"

"Are you serious?" Gahyeon quirked an eyebrow at her. "Both of them have nearly died already and look at them right now! Would you want to be stuck in the jungle with no clothes and constantly afraid that your heart will stop?"

"Do you think we're not afraid?" Chaeyoung snapped as JiU and Siyeon fell behind as well. "We were on stage when the light surrounded us and we ended up here! On stage! Do you have any idea how terrifying that was?"

"No, but you have no idea what we've been through! If you were watching the news, you would know that we died before we ended up here!"

"How long are we going to have to walk?" Dami groaned, already on the verge of collapse. "And no message? What's going on with that?"

"Message? Okay, I need an explanation," Jihyo sighed at last. "What really happened to all of you?"

"Riverside first," Yoohyeon responded, gesturing to the rushing water they were approaching.

"Come on!" Jihyo stepped in front of her.

"Out of the way." Siyeon pushed her to the side. "Yoohyeon, it's on you to tell her."

Handong and Dami crouched at the waterside and tentatively slid into the river, submerging up to their necks while the latter kept the weaker girl from being swept away by the current. The rest of their group, as well as Hyewon and Twice, sat down at the bank, nervously watching them.

"So... explanation?" Momo looked at Yoohyeon.

"Fine." Then she was talking and talking and talking, telling them everything. She told them of their relationships, of Red Velvet and Iz*one, of the events of the dome they'd been in, of the previous forest and the messages. By the time she was finished, Sana was hiding behind Nayeon and Chaeyoung was curled up in Jeongyeon's lap, whimpering as Dami and Handong hauled themselves onto the water's edge. Tzuyu shot them a sad gaze as Dami looped an arm around Handong, their bodies half out of the water as she held her against herself, their chests pressing together.

"You two need help?" Mina questioned as she extended a hand to them. Handong ignored it, sliding away from her voice. Dami grabbed her by the waist to stop her and Handong moaned, laying her head right below Dami's breasts.

"I... I think we're good on our own for now."

"Really?" Mina crossed her arms. "From what I've just heard, you've both been physically and mentally destroyed."

"You think we don't know that?"

Mina reached for them anyway and yanked Dami out of the stream.

Then a rumble shook the ground, dislodging Handong, and she slipped back into the river. As it grew more intense, Mina lunged forward and seized her wrist, fighting to keep herself on the ground as the wind picked up around them.

"What is happening?" Sana wailed as she threw her hands over her head.

"This is exactly what we told you about!" Gahyeon roared. "Find shelter now!"

"Someone help me!" Mina screeched as she pushed Dami towards JiU. "I just need one person! She's slipping!"

"Handong!" Both Siyeon and Dahyun thrust themselves forward, but a huge gust of wind forced them to go too fast and they slammed into Mina.

All of Twice, Dreamcatcher, and the remaining Iz*one member stared in dismay and Siyeon barely managed to regain her footing as Dahyun, Mina, and Handong lost their balance and tumbled into the river.

For a moment, the trio all floated, fighting against the current until it reached an inhuman speed and Handong's head disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

Then all three of them were gone.

Chapter Text

That night, Hitomi could not sleep, despite being in the warm embrace of Yena, who lay beside her. She felt disgustingly humiliated and her eyes burned with tears as she buried her face in the blanket.

"I can't believe I did that," she breathed in horror, nightmarish thoughts flowing through her mind. "I... I shouldn't have attacked Bom... it hurts me more than I ever thought it would..."

"Dang right you shouldn't have done it." Yena opened her eyes and kissed Hitomi's nose. "I'm pretty sure Eunbi already yelled at you, from what I heard, but honestly, what were you thinking? You could have seriously hurt Bom in there and if she had threatened to go to the police, you could have been charged with attempted murder!"

"I know... and I feel terrible about it. But she also nearly choked me to death and I am sure she lied about Wonyoung."

"Whoa, baby." Yena lightly grabbed her chin. "Are you sure about that?"

"I could smell the lie about her being allowed in and 'caring about another artist' from halfway around the world! She had a hand in what happened to Dreamcatcher, I know it. And she knows it all."

"But there's no way she could be the main mastermind behind everything," Yena pointed out. "If she had that kind of power to do what's been done to them and transport them through that world, we'd know."

"Do you think anyone else from 2NE1 is in on it?"

"Maybe..." She thought for a moment. "I don't know how much contact Bom's had with Minzy since she left the group, but we should question Dara and CL."

"Can that wait until morning?"

"Just what I was about to say." Yena grazed her lips against Hitomi's. "But for now, just cuddle with me and sleep." She rubbed one hand over her thigh and the other rested on the small of her back as she pulled Hitomi in close and started quietly singing to her. Soon, Hitomi did fall asleep, thanks to the beautiful song.

All the members of Iz*one in the house woke up feeling refreshed that morning, but only after they were woken up. Seeing that Hitomi was still asleep, Yena sneakily got out of bed and went to wake her friends, who had switched rooms a lot lately. Seulgi, Yeri, and Joy had slept over the night before as well, so she went to wake them first. However, she was astonished when she went into, shouting, "Time to get up!" and spotted only Yeri in a bed, sprawled out half-naked on the blanket.

"Yeri, get up!"

The Red Velvet maknae's head jerked up, her face red. "S- sure, just give me a minute."

"What's going on, Yeri?" Yena's eyes stretched wide as she heard a muffled voice from underneath the blanket. Yeri hissed, "Shh!" before nodding at Yena. "Just go."

"Who's under there with you? Is that Joy? It can't be one of our members because Eunbi hates anyone in her group dating, especially if it's from another. Please don't say you tried to seduce Seulgi!"

"I- I didn't!"

"What is going on?" A face popped up beside her and the girl's expression turned terrified as she saw her. "Y- Yena unnie...?"

"Minju?"

"Yena, this isn't what it looks like!" Minju yelled fearfully.

"Really?" Yena growled. "It looks like you crept in here during the night, jumped in bed with her, and then made Joy and Seulgi leave so you two could have sex because you've fallen in love."

Yeri drew herself up, her face now a brighter shade of red. "Well... then it is what it looks like."

"Are you serious?!" Eunbi shoved Yena aside as she stepped into the doorway. Minju recoiled in horror, drawing the blanket up to her chin, and Yeri backed up as the Iz*one leader stalked over to her. She struck the younger girl as hard as she could in the stomach and Yeri gasped as her back slammed against the wall.

"Eunbi, don't!" Minju cried.

"Is my group destined to fall apart like this because all my members leave for their lovers?" Eunbi screeched, kicking out at Yeri's body, then grasping her shoulders and throwing her into the side of the bed. Yeri let out a wail and Minju screamed, "STOP!"

"I'm not letting you take her away! I'm not letting you keep her from our career!" Her expression was full of complete rage and her attacks rained down strongly on Yeri, who frantically covered her head and curled into a ball on the floor.

"YERI!" Tears rolled down Minju's face. "Eunbi, I'm begging you, don't do this!"

"Eunbi!" Nako rushed into the room and hugged her leader around the waist. "You're hurting her! Remember what you did to SuA? You've lost control of your deepest anger and you're getting worse now!"

"No... what are you doing?" Seulgi stood at the doorway, her eyes full of shock. "Y- Yeri..."

In the presence of so many, Eunbi finally stopped and Minju crouched next her. "Yeri unnie, it's alright, it's alright..."

Hitomi had walked up next to Seulgi and Yena and all the girls present stared at Eunbi. A smear of blood marred the back of her hand.

"What is wrong with you?" Seulgi inquired furiously. "Why are you hurting her?"

"Something Irene didn't know was that my member Hyewon stayed back with Dreamcatcher because she wanted to be with her love, SuA. I'm not letting someone in my group betray us again!"

"I'm not betraying you!" Minju spat. "When will you understand about someone following their heart, career or not?"

"No questioning today of the others," Yena exclaimed as she came to usher Eunbi out with Nako. "Come on, all of you, out. Eunbi, you have an appointment with Sakura. As for the couple... Minju, just put on some clothes if you come out."

As everyone except for Seulgi left the room, Yeri scrambled back into the bed and Minju curled her body around her.

"I would have been more secretive if I had known it'd upset her so much," Yeri murmured. "I want to protect you from her..."

"Baby, you've already done so much for me," Minju said in return. "I didn't realize Eunbi would hurt you like that and I should have done something about it..."

"No way." Yeri shook her head. "She would have turned on you in that 'losing control' phase."

"But you're in pain now." Minju nervously pecked her nose.

"It's alright. I have you to help me bear this." Yeri rolled on top of her, but Minju made her stay at her side. "Not on top of me now." She gently kissed her, one hand brushing over the curve of Yeri's breast and the other massaging her neck.

Seulgi sighed. "I'll talk to her later." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Want to sneak into the hospital tonight and visit Wonyoung with me?" Minju asked.

"Of course, my love."

The day was pretty slow, mostly consisting of Iz*one trying to calm down their leader. Joy and Seulgi joined in and except for meals, Minju and Yeri stayed locked in their room.

And that night, they snuck into the hospital. Yeri went forward carefully, hooking her arm around Minju's as they slipped around the receptionist and crept toward Wonyoung's room. The young teen was half-asleep when they entered, but she still lifted her head as she saw them. "M- Minju unnie?"

"Yeah, it's me." Minju massaged her shoulder. "And my sweetheart Yeri's here too."

"S- sweetheart? But... Eunbi..."

"Yeah, Eunbi's mad, but I don't care."

"B- but..."

"Wonyoung..." Both of Minju's hands closed around one of the maknae's. "How are you doing?"

Wonyoung gulped. "Not w- well. Yuri came in today... told me what happened with Bom and... I can tell you she was lying."

"Who, Bom?"

"Yes. When she came to visit... she told me a lot and she was lying about everything she told you and much more. I don't... I don't think she expects me to make it..."

"Tell us. Tell us everything."

"Alright. Bom... she has a major connection with Dreamcatcher's predicament..."

Suddenly, Yeri shrieked and Minju turned to see her crumpled on the floor, two knives buried in her back.

"NO! YERI!"

And when two shadows dashed in through the door, yanking Wonyoung from her bed in a burst of blood, Minju's vision turned red with rage.

She exploded into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mina jolted awake, noticing with a pang that she could no longer see the rest of Dreamcatcher and Twice. Her body had washed up on the bank far downstream, a strong wall of weeds being all that kept her from being swept into the estuary beyond. She could barely see, but as she sat up, her body aching, her blurry eyesight took in the shapes of both Handong and Dahyun splayed out on the dirt beside her, the ground underneath their heads stained with blood.

Her eyes cleared almost immediately and she gasped, a first instinct making her go for Dahyun. Pulling her sodden form into her arms, she winced as she noticed a gash on the back of her head, which was what was leaking blood over her shoulder and dying her light purple hair scarlet.

"Mina...? Unnie, my head hurts..."

"That's because you're bleeding. But it'll be okay because I'm here for you and I'll help you. I'm here."

"What about Handong...?"

"Oh no..." Mina bit her lip, reaching out to Handong's still figure. Handong didn't move as Dahyun grasped her arm and pulled her over to them. Most of the majority of the blood on her was from Dahyun's head wound, but the Chinese girl had been badly battered against rocks and her bare body was covered with tiny cuts and massive bruises.

"Poor Handong," Dahyun whimpered as she moved off of Mina's lap and ran her hands over her, examining every inch of her bruised skin, noting every small wound. Her legs were practically almost black and blue because of the amount of rocks they'd hit against and both of the other girls felt terrible that she'd had to endure what she did, especially when it showed her body had protected theirs.

"This doesn't seem right," Mina confessed. "She's naked and we shouldn't be touching her like this. Did you see how Siyeon cared for her? They are in love and clearly haven't had sex yet, so why are we the ones doing this?"

"We're trying to save her, right? Mina, give me your shirt."

"Why? I need it to stop you from bleeding out."

"I'll use my shirt. We're both wearing bras." Dahyun removed her shirt and wrestled Mina's over her head. She slipped it onto Handong and gave Mina her own to press onto the back of her skull. "At least she can regain some decency now, since she's been so embarrassed by this."

"And you're bleeding and she's unconscious and we have no idea where the others went," Mina pointed out. "She's still breathing, right?"

Dahyun laid a hand on her chest. "Yeah, she is. It's shaky, but she's alive and staying... for now." She jerked her head at Mina. "I'll hold the shirt. Can you splash some water on her face?"

"Yeah." Mina went to the water's edge and Dahyun held the cover on her head while she pulled the shirt farther down over the Dreamcatcher member, hiding her privates and part of her thighs. "Oh, Handong, I'm sorry..."

Handong didn't move the first time water went onto her face, but the second time, she coughed and half-opened her eyes. "P- please... stop..."

"Shh, shh, don't talk," Dahyun breathed, relief coating her voice. "You took a huge beating on the rocks in the river and... you saved us from it."

"Body... hurts..." Handong groaned.

"Just rest right now." All three of them moved farther away from the water and Dahyun secured Handong on her lap, cooing to her as she and Mina massaged her legs. Pain flashed across her expression and she leaned back, her head draped over Dahyun's arm. "But... you're bleeding."

"It's not deep." She quickly tied her shirt around her head and went back to caressing her legs. "You have no idea how hard you were hit, but it's bad enough that you can hardly move."

Tears formed in her eyes. "I... I want Siyeon... where is she?"

"We got washed downstream, a while away from them, but I promise, once you can move comfortably again, we will find Siyeon and the others."

"D- Dreamcatcher... where are they?"

"Didn't I tell you not to talk?" Dahyun put a finger to her lips. "We will find them, I promise you."

"No... have to... get up now..."

Handong grabbed for Mina's hand to pull herself up, but the younger girl tore it away, giving her a warning head shake.

"You need to stay down," she whispered. "I don't think Siyeon wants to see you like this."

"Well, she's going to have to because I'm destroyed!" Handong hissed back tearfully. "This isn't going away any time soon. And it hurts so badly..."

Dahyun dipped her head and nipped her neck sharply.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"To shut you up. You've been weakened and you need your strength." She tugged her closer.

"I knew it, I knew I was weak..."

"That's not what I meant. I meant that you saved us before and you just need to rest."

Handong moaned and closed her eyes.

"Dongie..."

"Shh..." Mina ran her fingers through her hair. "Let her sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Siyeon breathlessly held onto a tree trunk as the earth-shaking and wind died down. "Th- they're gone..."

"Mina! Dahyun! Handong!" Chaeyoung fell to her knees. "They can't have left us..."

"They are not dead," Jeongyeon affirmed as she stood up straight. "Dahyun and Mina are fighters and Handong... she's been through much worse already, so I'm sure she'll make it back."

"But any one of them could have drowned!" Dami wailed, squeezing her eyes shut as JiU picked her up. "Could have hit their head on a rock..."

"They're not dead." Jeongyeon pulled her long shirt over her head and handed it to JiU, who slipped it onto Dami, watching as she smiled. "Th- thanks, Jeongie unnie."

"No problem."

JiU slowly let Dami down and she stood on trembling legs.

Jihyo crossed her arms. "So where's this message we're supposed to find?"

SuA sighed. "I don't know! We haven't gotten a physical one too recently."

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Jihyo's eyes narrowed. "You guys are supposed to know about this!"

"They've been trying to get out of here, not memorize a stupid routine!" Hyewon roared. "They don't need to know everything!"

Sana turned on her. "You had the chance to leave when your group left! You don't need to still be here. You stayed for a doomed romance that shouldn't have existed in the first place!"

"Okay, what?" Hyewon squared up to her. "We have gone so long without being caught by our managers and it is not doomed! Also, this isn't the time to be arguing about that."

"Then someone give us an idea of what we're supposed to do next!" Momo snarled, her anger rising to its peak. "And tell us what we're going to do about our three missing and our weakling!"

Dami gasped and JiU comfortably curled her arms around her waist as she saw her lip quiver. Momo winced, realizing the true effect of what she'd said. "Yoobin, I- I didn't mean that..." She stretched a hand out to her.

"Don't call me Yoobin!" Dami screeched, slapping Momo's hand away as she began to cry into JiU's chest.

"Dami... I'm sorry..."

"I already know I'm weak, but it hurts too much to hear it from any one of you!"

"Look, Dami..."

"Just stop." Dami hid her face and JiU rubbed her back, soothing her with soft kisses. "Baby, Momo didn't mean that, you know it..."

"But she still said it." The tearful words were muffled.

"She's just riled up about Mina and Dahyun," JiU breathed. "You'll regain your strength, but that doesn't mean you're weak right now."

"Minji, this is why I love you," Dami whispered. "You're always ready to believe the best things about me, even when they're not true."

"Listen to me." JiU firmly grabbed Dami's jaw and forced her head up so that their eyes met. "I am getting sick of you belittling yourself like this. You are a strong person, Lee Yoobin, and, in my eyes, the fact that you're still here after all of this makes you the strongest who's ever lived. Surviving what you have... you deserve to go back more than most of us and to get that for you... I'll be with you to the end of time."

As soon as the last word was out of her mouth, she kissed Dami lovingly and Momo instantly broke down, collapsing on the earth as she buried her face in her hands. Tzuyu knelt beside her, nuzzling into her neck. "Momoring, just apologize."

"Tzuyu, do you know see what I've done? I kicked a girl already down and left it upon JiU to bring her up again. Dami deserves an apology, but... I don't know how to give it to her. And JiU... she loves her more than everything and I don't want to make her mad..."

"Hirai Momo, I know you are not the type to say something like that to intentionally be hurtful. Come on, I'll help you."

The Twice maknae yanked Momo to her feet and she leaned on the taller girl as Tzuyu led her over to JiU and Dami, who had broken their kiss and were now embracing each other like it was the last time they would ever touch. "Dami, Momo needs to say something to you."

Dami lifted her head, bloodshot eyes boring into Momo's. The other girl took a deep breath and then hugged her tightly, which made JiU let go.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried quietly. "I didn't mean to hurt you like I did and I never should have said you were a weakling. JiU was right; you are the strongest of us all and I shouldn't have mentioned otherwise."

"Thank y- you, Momo unnie," Dami murmured. "But you were right about one thing... what are we going to do about Mina, Handong, and Dahyun? I mean, Handong is not physically doing well right now as it is and who knows how she and the others ended up?"

"They must be almost as strong as you," JiU soothed. "I promise, they are alive and working to find their way back to us."

"You... you promise?" She sent her a fearful look that nearly broke the leader's heart.

"I promise."

Every single remaining Twice and Dreamcatcher member, as well as Hyewon, all stared at JiU, a silent message flickering between all of their gazes. You must know that it will hurt all of us badly, especially her, if it turns out you're lying.

"They better be alive," Jihyo muttered. "I'm not inclined to let anyone die. Come on, let's go."

"Wait!" Chaeyoung's head popped up. "Is this what you were looking for?" She held up a piece of paper and Siyeon snatched it from her to read.

"'Twice, you better hope the others don't turn on the injured Dreamcatcher girl because she is currently defenseless. Survive a day here with no chance of food... or your missing members may approach their doom. Use the visuals to get you through the night. Picture it...'" Siyeon's voice shook. "'... Dahyun, the peppy one, devoured by our creatures until there's nothing left of her but bones. Mina, the shy one, whipped and stabbed until her flesh is bloody and she dies in agony. And your precious Handong...'" Her breath caught in her throat and SuA nervously took the paper from her to finish. "Oh my god, this is bad. It blatantly says they'll chop Handong into pieces of meat and shove them down Siyeon's throat."

At that, Siyeon shuddered and fainted, her body dropping like a rag doll. Nayeon barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground and nestled the unconscious girl into her arms.

"Oh no, not now," Jihyo groaned.

"Hey, lay off," Nayeon snapped back. "She just saw the news that if we can't make it through the night, they're going to torture her girlfriend and feed her to her. That is completely wrong and you know it. Now let's find somewhere we can sleep. I'll carry Siyeon."

She held her close as she started to walk. JiU went beside her, she and Momo supporting a Dami. The rest of them followed.

"They will not hurt them," Chaeyoung growled from the back. "Not if I can help it. But I don't know how much more of this I can take. And I need sleep."

Eventually, however, they found a dirt clearing by the stream and settled down. Chaeyoung fell asleep in Sana's lap almost immediately and Gahyeon walked over to sit against a tree beside Nayeon, who was gently stroking the hair of Siyeon as she held her.

"I... I hope they'll all be okay," she mumbled, her hand going over to massage Siyeon's neck. "I'm sorry about Mina and Dahyun, Nayeon."

"I'm sorry for what you've all been through," Nayeon replied sadly. "I just... I can't believe that all of you have been forced to endure that."

"I've been lucky," Gahyeon breathed. "Even when Eunbi pinned me against the wall, I was barely hurt. I'm the only one in my group who hasn't had some sort of near-death experience..." She trailed off. "Sorry, I don't mean to ramble."

"No, go on. We have time."

"First, it was Dami with her leg. Then Yoohyeon when she collapsed. Then Siyeon with the arrows and SuA with Eunbi's rage attack, and JiU and Handong at the dome after that. I hate seeing them in the position they're in at the time and the only reason I've been so cynical about everything is that I don't want to show how much I wish to cry."

Nayeon opened her arms. "You can let it out with me if you want to."

Gahyeon started to cry the moment her head touched Nayeon's chest and she threw an arm around Siyeon, quietly praying for her through her tears.

It was getting dark when Siyeon finally woke up; the girl's tearstained face became even more sad when she dimly saw Yoohyeon leading Gahyeon away from all of them.

They're going away for their first intimate time together, she realized, more tears pouring down her face at the thought. God, if we can't survive this, Handong and I will never get that chance, not even in this hell.

Nayeon was the only other person awake at the time and she wrapped her arms around her.

Siyeon silently wept for Handong long into the night.

Chapter Text

Minju could barely comprehend what was happening. She was striking out on all sides, desperately trying to fight off the shadowed people who were attacking Wonyoung. Standing over the teen maknae, she kept her eyes on them, forcing herself not to look at the bloody form of Yeri beside her. However, she was losing strength and only protecting the youngest member of her group kept her going.

"Get away!" One of the individuals slammed a fist into Minju's throat, yelling with a distorted voice, and knocked her off, pinning her to the floor as the other hit Wonyoung viciously.

"NO!" She tried to struggle away to help her as the knife went through Wonyoung again and again. "NO, PLEASE! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!"

"Ngh..." Wonyoung shakily reached out for her. "M- Minju..."

Her eyes narrowed. "You have no right to be doing this!" Feeling bile rising up in her, she thrust her knee upwards, catching the person in the stomach, and scrambled to her feet, diving for Wonyoung. A stinging pain shot through her her shoulder blade as she landed on her, letting her know she'd stopped the weapon from stabbing the maknae one last time. Minju frantically kicked out behind her, a glimmer of satisfaction flashing through her mind as both legs connected with flesh.

Then they disappeared, the pair of attackers speeding away without a sound. Minju rolled off of Wonyoung and stood up, surveying both of the injured girls and wincing as she saw blood spread over the floor.

A nurse burst into the room, prompting her to go to Yeri. Minju yanked out the knife in her own shoulder before pulling out the ones in the older girl's back. But it was ominous, too ominous... for how Yeri didn't move, didn't scream. She placed two fingers on her neck, a breath of relief escaping her when she felt the weak pulse there. Yeri must have fallen unconscious from the pain.

Medics closed in around them and Minju clung tightly to Yeri's limp body, gently kissing her forehead. "My love..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have done this to you..."

"Miss... we need to take her."

She looked up at the medic in front of her. "W- will you be able to s- save them?"

"Sweetie... we honestly don't know. But if you don't let us try, she doesn't have a chance."

After reluctantly releasing Yeri, another nurse helped Minju off the ground, letting her lean on her shoulder as she led her out of the room. Minju carefully opened her phone and clicked on a contact to call, praying that she'd pick up in the middle of the night.

"Minju? Why are you calling me now? What the hell is going on?"

"Eunbi... I'm at the hospital right now."

"You're what?"

"Before you yell at me... you need to hear this."

"What is it?"

"Yeri came with me too... and two others were there. We went to see Wonyoung and those people almost killed her and Yeri!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Y- you heard me. If someone hadn't been coming, I think they would have slit their throats and killed me too. I don't know if either of them will survive those wounds... both were stabbed horribly and I was struck once too. I think it's going to be bandaged."

"Alright, I'll come pick you up." The leader's voice was laced with pity. "I'm... really sorry about Yeri."

"Whatever. Bring Seulgi with you too." Minju hung up and sighed, wincing in pain as the nurse was joined by a doctor and they brought her to an examination room. Doctor Yoon was silent as she sat on the table and he pressed on her shoulder.

"What is your name?" the nurse asked.

"Kim Minjoo."

"And why, Minju, are you here tonight?" Her voice portrayed no emotion.

"I... I was here to visit Wonyoung because she... she's like my family. And it was good that I came because... of that attack..."

"Who is the other girl? The one who was stabbed in the back..."

Minju shivered. "That's m- my girlfriend and lover, Kim Yerim. Yeri, she... she didn't deserve that."

"The police will be alerted about the people who attempted to murder Jang Wonyoung," Doctor Yoon answered in a deep voice. "We hope that they will be caught. And that is for Kim Yerim too."

"Th- thank y- you..." Minju buried her face in one hand while her shoulder was wrapped in bandages and gauze, but her head jolted up when the doctor spoke again. "I recommend that you stay here overnight."

"I... c- can't, I'm sorry. I have to get home."

"Fine, but, young lady, if you ever sneak in here again after visiting hours, you may be suspended from any more visits."

"I promise, it won't happen ever again."

"I'll hold you to that."

After giving her a full checkup, Doctor Yoon stepped back. "You have a friend coming to pick you up, right?"

"Y- yes."

"Okay." He was silent again until he said something that took her by surprise. "You know, you did save Wonyoung's life. That was very lucky. I do hope she'll be healthy soon."

"Thank you."

It wasn't too long before Eunbi and Seulgi arrived at the room. Minju gazed at them with bloodshot eyes as they helped her off the table; she leaned on her leader in a daze. The nurse handed Seulgi some medicine to administer daily to Minju's injury and then they went on her way. Minju curled up in the backseat of the car as Eunbi drove, muttering quietly to herself. "They didn't deserve that... I shouldn't have put my baby in danger..."

Seulgi leaned over to Eunbi and whispered, "Feeling bad about attacking Yeri now, love thief?" She was clearly still peeved about it.

"Yes, I really am," she admitted.

"They're taking us down one by one," Seulgi sighed. "I just hope that Wendy gets better soon and that Irene and Yeri come back to us too."

"Definitely. And Chaeyeon and Wonyoung too..."

"At least you still have most of your group though, besides them and Hyewon. Because we have a small group, our performances were halted the minute Wendy and I went missing together! And then later with Irene and Wendy in the hospital... and now Yeri..."

"Are you kidding me? Do you think we're performing without all of Iz*one? Without just Hyewon, we'd be alright, although we'd still be trying to get her back since she's now counted 'missing' and we still need her. But with the injuries of the others... we won't be performing for a while after they get back or they'll be destroyed."

"What about when you and 6 others were gone?"

"Oh, you think that didn't raise questions? There were 7 out of 12 of a group missing!" Eunbi glared at her and Seulgi snapped, "Eyes on the road!" She glanced at Minju. "You okay back there?"

Minju didn't respond. She was silent all the way back, but then the whole rest of group mobbed her as soon as she entered the house again.

"Oh, Minju, where have you been?" Nako cried.

Yujin touched the bandage on her shoulder. "What happened to you?"

Joy stared at Seulgi in horror. "Where's Yeri?"

Ripping herself away from them, Minju flung herself onto the living room couch, pulling a pillow over her head. "All of you get away from me!"

Eight pairs of eyes turned on Seulgi and Eunbi. "What is going on?"

"Minju was at the hospital... and she said someone nearly killed Wonyoung and Yeri."

"Seriously?" They all looked back at her and she sat up tearfully. "They were aiming mainly for Wonyoung and Yeri was in the way for them. The doctor said I saved her life, but I don't think I did!"

"Is that how you were hurt?" Nako questioned.

"Yeah, they stabbed me. But, Joy... I brought Yeri along with me and now... she's in danger too. She's in the hospital now..."

Tears pooled in Joy's eyes. "No... how could you? Do you really love her if you're going to put her in harm's way like that?"

"She came with me on her own free will!" Minju yelled hysterically. "And I didn't know we were going to be attacked! Would you have preferred Wonyoung dead?"

"Don't you think we should be calming her down?" Yuri exclaimed, sitting at Minju's side and embracing her. "The poor girl just witnessed the maknae of her group and her girlfriend brutally stabbed, almost to death. Give her a break!"

Minju put her head on Yuri's chest and whimpered, "Stop actually saying it!"

"Alright, alright, sorry."

"Could you tell who it was?" Yujin cautiously asked.

"I..." She tried to remember and, with a start, she recognized it. "I think I know who one of them was; I saw their eyes when they pinned me down."

"Who... who was it?"

"I think... it was Lee Chaerin. CL from 2NE1."

"What?" Yuri gasped.

"Before Wonyoung was attacked, all she got to say was that Bom had told her a lot and was lying about everything she'd told us before. She said that Bom did have a major connection to Dreamcatcher."

"We have to tell the police this!" Sakura hissed.

"No! Not yet, not until we bring Dreamcatcher home and we can put all the pieces together with Red Velvet and them so that the whole story can be known."

"And Twice, if they return," Eunbi added.

"Twice?" Yuri blinked at her.

"You didn't hear? They disappeared in the middle of a concert!"

"Oh, god..."

Sakura balled her hands into fists. "Mark my words, we will not let this slide. I don't know where CL lives, but we can get her location from Bom."

"Agreed." Minju sniffed. "When I wake up, we're going there... and I will not be stopping anyone from going free reign on her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dahyun woke in the morning with a painful ache in the back of her head. She and Mina had slept too, as they had been exhausted. Her hands went to her wound and she was relieved to find that it was barely bleeding anymore, although she kept the cover on it. Handong was still on her lap, laid out at an awkward angle, and Dahyun poked her carefully. "Wake up."

"Don't want to." The voice was quiet and still filled with pain.

"Handong, we need to get back to the others, remember? Don't you want to go back to Siyeon?"

"But I'll just hold you back... I'm such a burden..." Handong opened her eyes.

"No, you're not! I'll help you walk, come on."

"We'll both help." Mina surprised them as she crouched beside Dahyun and grasped Handong's wrist. Both Twice girls hauled her to her feet and Handong doubled over as she felt agony flash through her legs. "Ah... nghhhh..."

"It's okay, we've got you." Dahyun curled one arm around her waist. "You can do it."

"Aah... S- Siyeon..."

"We're going to Siyeon. Handong, you need to stand. I know you can if you try."

"But it's hurting me too much..." She leaned on Mina's shoulder, her voice like a tiny child's. "Help me."

"We will. We'll help you with every step. Come on, let's move."

Dahyun and Mina both stepped forward and Handong nervously stepped with them, her grip on their hands slackening as she did it. She was panting quickly, but Dahyun tightened the hold on her waist to steady her and the fast breathing slowed a little.

"Think of Siyeon," Dahyun told her. "Think of reuniting with her and let that guide you. Think of being able to kiss her again, feeling her hands on your body, her touching you like no one else ever will. And I know you two haven't done it yet, so don't you want to? Don't you want to be able to have your first time with her?" Her voice softened. "Don't you want to feel her?"

"Y- y- yes..." Handong's eyes watered. "I... I want it so badly... I want her. I love Siyeon so much and I want her to physically claim me as hers."

"Then walk, even if it hurts," Mina ordered. "If you want it so badly, then stay strong and fight hard through the pain to get back to her."

"I'll... t- try..."

With great effort, the three began to move. Handong took a deep breath, the scents of the strange jungle parts blending into a rich mix as they entered her nose. Her stomach rolled at the overwhelming atmosphere and she swallowed. Breaking away from Mina and Dahyun, she ran back to the river, falling to her knees beside it, and frantically sucked water into her mouth.

"You alright?" Mina rubbed her back. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Yeah..."

"Come here, we still have to get moving."

Handong stood up again and, with more support, walked. She was completely silent this time and Mina felt awkward about that, so she asked the first question that came to her mind. "About SuA... are you proud that she found someone to love like you do?"

She froze and Dahyun blanched.

"I am... but... Eunbi doesn't like it at all."

"I thought Yoohyeon said she agreed to help them be happy."

"I was skeptical of that when she went for Gahyeon and I'm sure that if it happens again where she is, she'll go nuts. That happiness wish for SuA and Hyewon disappeared the moment Hyewon decided to stay with her here, I know it."

"Did she feel like she'd betrayed her?"

"I guess. But... it's just really how they feel about each other that made her stay."

In that moment, Handong's eyes filled with tears again and Dahyun swatted Mina's arm. "Was that necessary?"

"I just didn't want to be awkward."

"We just got her moving again! How's this for awkward?" Dahyun grabbed her wrist and curled the other girl's arm low around Handong's waist so that her fingers brushed her hip gently Mina shot her a glare as her own arm moved up to her shoulders.

"Dahyun!" she hissed as her face reddened. Her only answer was a smirk before they kept going. But Handong now moved hesitantly, keeping one hand on Mina's where it touched her, as if she was unsure whether to push it more up her back or leave it where it was. She could tell Mina hated the contact with her; there was someone else she wanted to touch like that and they were far away.

And Dahyun could tell that Mina felt it too. She had never put her arm around someone like that before and the fact that Handong had a girlfriend seemed to make her a lot more nervous. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that, not when she belongs to... to...

It was almost confirmed when Mina tightened her grip on Handong's waist. Mina wanted someone... but if she couldn't have Handong, she knew who she did want. Her eyes lifted to meet Dahyun's and she mouthed six words to her.

Bring me back to my Chaeyoung.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Siyeon, are you awake?"

"N- Nayeon?" She opened her eyes cautiously.

"Come on, we're getting up. Most of the others are awake already."

Siyeon groaned as she sat up on Nayeon's lap and surveyed the area. Yoohyeon and Gahyeon were returning through the brush and helping Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung to her feet. JiU was rousing Dami by kissing her cheek and rocking her back and forth on her lap, which made her start missing Handong again, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from them as the younger girl refused to wake up. It was only when JiU smiled and sneakily cupped Dami between her legs that her eyes shot open and she scrambled off of JiU, blushing as she motioned around her. Both Nayeon and Siyeon giggled as the latter got to her feet and unsteadily stumbled over to them. Momo and Jihyo also made a beeline for the pair.

"Sleep well, Siyeon?" Momo questioned quietly as she hugged her. "I heard you crying last night for a while..."

"That's nice," Siyeon growled, her smile quickly disappearing.

"You're worried for Handong; I'm not judging you."

"You can't blame me for fearing that she might die out there in her condition!"

"Whoa, Siyeon!" Momo pinched her shoulder. "I said I don't blame you!"

"And we'll be looking for her and the other two once everyone's ready to go," Jihyo added. "But please don't be cynical about it."

"Whatever." Siyeon shouldered Momo off and ignored the hurt expression she sent her after. Jeongyeon lightly entwined her and Momo's fingers together and Momo whispered, "Thanks."

From there, she only paid attention to Dami, hauling her to her feet and fussing over her incessantly. JiU gave her a warning gaze, studying Siyeon as she embraced Dami warmly. It was all she could do not to rip her away. Siyeon needs this while Handong is missing and I might as well let her fuss. But that doesn't stop the small part of my brain from urging me to just take her right here and now.

"Oh, Siyeon..." Dami leaned her head back on her shoulder. "I wish you had Handong back too, but you can't just pretend I'm her right now..."

"I'm not. I'm trying to focus on something other than her right now so I don't panic anymore than I already am!" Siyeon snarled, pressing her mouth to Dami's ear. "Don't be rude. I thought you'd enjoy this attention."

"Hey, I heard that!" JiU retorted. "She is letting you touch her because you don't have your own girlfriend with you at the the moment. However, this isn't like you to be so mean, Siyeon..." She took a threatening step toward her. "Hands off, now." When she didn't move, the Dreamcatcher leader narrowed her eyes into slits and broke into a charge. She meant to aim for Siyeon, but when she hurriedly switched them around, JiU collided with Dami, sending them both to the ground. Dami gasped as her head cracked against the hard earth and stars exploded behind her eyes. "Ugh!"

"Dami!" JiU scrambled to her side. "I'm sorry, baby... I'm so sorry..." She gave Siyeon a poisonous glance. "What is your problem? Why did you do that?"

Siyeon didn't give a response.

"She asked you a question." Sana nudged her. "Answer her."

"I don't have to." Siyeon crossed her arms and Chaeyoung put a hand on her shoulder, but she threw her into Jeongyeon.

"Siyeon, you really need to calm down," SuA pointed out. "If you're this out of control when Handong's not around, you have a serious problem. And it's not love."

"Oh, excuse me for thinking she might be dead or dying!" Siyeon turned on her.

"Hey, back off," Hyewon whispered. "You're going to get hurt."

"I want to find Handong and anyone who stands in my way will be in big trouble."

"But you didn't have to hurt Dami!" JiU roared. "You have Handong and I have Dami and you don't need to injure my love because yours isn't here."

"God, you're like a hormonal teenager, Siyeon," SuA grumbled, dismissing a warning gesture from Hyewon. "Bawling your eyes out one night and lashing out at everyone like a heartless idiot the next day."

"SuA, you little...!" Siyeon lunged at her, but Dami surprisingly surged to her feet, bumping JiU as she ran into her path and rose to meet her. The two of them clashed violently as Siyeon struck her as hard as she could.

"No one should be fighting!" Nayeon shouted. "You two are friends and we need to stop wasting time if we want to find Mina, Dahyun, and Handong!"

Grasping the sleeves of the shirt Dami was wearing, Siyeon yanked them off of her arms and moved the clothing upwards, holding all of it taut as it reached her neck. Dami tried to fight her way out, but she choked her easily with the shirt at her throat and the younger struggled for breath, her naked body shivering rapidly. "S- S- Si- y- yeon...."

Siyeon's eyes were blank as she relentlessly pummeled Dami's chest.

"Lee Siyeon, she's your friend and your fellow Dreamcatcher member!" Jihyo screeched as Dami's head snapped back. "Siyeon, think of what this would do to Handong!" At the sound of the name, color returned to her eyes and she recoiled, hastily releasing Dami, who fell into JiU's arms moaning in pain. JiU replaced the shirt over her, glaring at Siyeon as she collapsed too. Only Nayeon dared to touch her.

"Poor Siyeon," she murmured, caressing her. "Look at what this ordeal is turning you into."

"Why does everyone try to kill me?" Dami wailed. "Even my own group is turning on me now... JiU, I can't anymore... I'm going to lose my mind here before we make it back..."

"No." JiU kissed her hand. "You won't. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you."

"That's what you keep saying!"

"Yoobin..." She propped her up on one knee. "I will protect you every chance I get, but you went to fight Siyeon instead of letting SuA subdue her. That was not my fault."

"True, true..."

JiU sighed and her mouth went to Dami's. She softly touched her face as their lips fused together and Nayeon stiffened from beside them, a growl escaping her. "Siyeon, why did you ever have a problem with this?"

"I just... I just want to know for sure Handong's still alive..."

"Come, walk with us and we'll talk." Jeongyeon took Siyeon's hand and pulled her to a standing position. Momo grasped her other and even Chaeyoung tentatively walked behind them. JiU stood up too, her lips still locked with Dami's own as she set her on her feet.

"Can you walk, love?"

"I... I think so..." The two separated temporarily until Dami had to lean on her again. "I''ll need your help though."

"Of course. But Dami..." Her lover studied her with a concerned stare. "Do you have any sort of grudge against Siyeon for what she's done to you? I need to know."

"No." She shook her head. "I'll forgive her. She does love Handong and she's desperate to protect her from what's out there."

"Then let's go find her. First, though... for good luck." JiU latched her teeth onto the side of her neck, lightly biting her and leaving a small mark on her skin before intertwining their hands and striding forward with her. Dami grinned. "Thanks, Minji. I love you."

"I love you too, Yubin."

Chapter Text

Wendy and Chaeyeon were coming home.

The rest of their groups were overjoyed, especially Seulgi and Sakura, who were far beyond. Seulgi was sobbing into Sakura's shoulder as they stood in the waiting room of the hospital with Eunbi and Joy; she couldn't take the suspense.

When she lifted her head again, Wendy was right in front of her.

"Oh... oh, baby..." Seulgi nervously cupped her face with one hand and moved her shirt up with the other, feeling the long, rough scars that snaked over her belly in four different lines. "Y- you're healed and well again..." Her eyes filled with tears again. "W- Wendy, I have to know if this is real... please... kiss me..."

Taking a deep breath, Wendy stood on her toes and draped her arms over Seulgi's firm shoulders. And when their lips met for the first time in a while, they could only then think about each other. Seulgi pulled her close as she whispered, "I've missed you more than you could ever imagine."

"I've missed you too, my Seulgi sweetheart."

"Where is my sister?!" The two of them looked up as another girl stormed into the waiting room, followed by four others. "Where is she?"

"She's not out yet." Sakura turned to face her.

"Why are you here?" Chaeryeong raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it usually just be Eunbi here to pick her up?"

"She hasn't told you? Well, you'll find out why." Sakura cast her eyes up to the girls behind her. "Hey, Itzy."

"Hey, Sakura." Yeji smiled.

"It's so sweet that you've all come here to support her."

Yuna hugged Chaeryeong affectionately. "Of course we would come. We want to see her sister in good health again. And Yeji's her ride."

"Do you have any idea how she was hurt in the first place?" Ryujin eyed her intently.

Sakura shook her head. "Long story that I can't explain now, but it does have to do with when we went missing. Let's see who she goes for first anyway, Chaeryeong." She faced Eunbi, who inclined her head toward the double doors near them. The doors had opened and two people had entered through, one weakly leaning on the other with her light hair falling in a sheet over her face. The doctor at her side curled the hair behind her ears and she lifted her head, her eyes widening at the nine in front of her. She managed to stand up and stumbled over to them.

"Chaeyeon..." Sakura was the first to say her name as Chaeyeon barreled into her grasp, tears brimming in her eyes as she kissed her deeply.

"Sakura... oh, Sakura..." she moaned. "I've m- missed you..."

"Baby, you have no idea how hard it's been without you lately..." Sakura swept her into her arms and Chaeyeon locked her legs around her waist. "There's so much that's been going on that there's been so many times I want you back in my bed again..."

The younger buried her face in Sakura's neck. "I'm so sorry... I let JiU do this to me..."

"It's not JiU's fault," Sakura said in a low voice. "Not at all. It was ours alone. And hey, there's a few others also waiting to see you again before you come back with us."

Chaeyeon's head jolted up, even though she flinched in pain, and her face went red as she spotted her sister. "Ch- Chaeryeong..."

Chaeryeong waved timidly. "Hey, sis. I didn't... I didn't know she's your girlfriend. I guess it's a recent thing if you didn't tell me."

"Yeah, sure..." Sakura squeezed her butt and she yelped. "Sakura!"

"Uh- huh, really recent." Lia smirked. "Let her down for a moment."

She did and the two sisters embraced warmly.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" Chaeryeong squealed as her hands traced along her sibling's jaw. "Oh my god, you're... you're so pale..."

"It's okay, sister." Chaeyeon grinned. "I'll be okay." She looked at Yeji. "It's so good to see the rest of you too." Breaking away from Chaeryeong, she hugged each of the Itzy members and then stepped over to her leader. "Eunbi, I heard about what happened to Wonyoung when she was attacked and... I'm sorry about her and Yeri."

"I'm the one who needs to be sorry." Eunbi motioned back to Itzy. "Say goodbye to them for now. I'll tell you everything that's happened in the car."

That was what ended up happening... but it almost didn't end well. She finished off her story with CL's impending questioning and what she'd done to Yeri upon finding out about her affair with Minju and Chaeyeon sprang off of Sakura's lap, nearly making Eunbi swerve the car before Seulgi and Joy pulled her down again.

"Chaeyeon, are you crazy?" Seulgi hissed. "You should be sitting next to her with a seat belt."

"There's no room!" Sakura retorted. "You insisted on having Wendy on your lap, so Joy sat where she could be."

"Touché."

"I thought you weren't going to do that anymore!" Chaeyeon howled, hot tears pouring down her face. "You lied! How can we trust you anymore?"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Sakura soothed.

"Calm down? Eunbi literally just said that Minju's currently still at home bawling her eyes out because of Yeri being in the hospital! How much of that is also because she thinks she can't trust her leader anymore?"

Wendy put a finger against Chaeyeon's mouth. "Calm down so Eunbi doesn't get distracted and accidentally run us off the road."

Chaeyeon bit her as hard as she could and she gasped, attempting to yank her hand back. When she was finally let go, Wendy stared at her now-bleeding finger in terror and then at the girl who'd made it that way. "Ch- Chae..."

"Babe, you didn't have to do that," Sakura told her.

"Well, I did." Chaeyeon gave a hard glare to Wendy, who looked like she was about to cry too.

"Apologize," Seulgi ordered, her expression ripe with fury. "That was entirely unnecessary. She was trying to get us all not killed!"

Licking Wendy's blood off her lip, she turned away, laying her head on Sakura's chest. Sakura cast an apologetic glance behind her, but Seulgi paid no attention as she used her shirt to stem the blood coming from her girlfriend's finger. As soon as they reached the Iz*one house, she was the first inside to grab a band-aid for her. Chaeyeon left Sakura behind as she went straight up to Minju's room and pushed open the door.

"Get out," Minju snarled at her with slightly bloodshot eyes. But when she actually got a good look at her, she went quiet.

"I'm back, Minju. And I know everything."

Minju's tone stayed bitter. "Have you come to beat me up like Eunbi did to my Yeri?"

"No! She didn't deserve what happened to her and neither did you."

"You didn't either. You were nearly killed by the leader of another artist group."

"But we attacked them first. And they were scared, not to mention I was going after someone already injured. Even when I was unconscious, I could hear Dami crying. I could especially hear JiU begging for Wonyoung to not murder her before I slipped away completely until Sakura woke me up. I knew how much pain that was causing them and it hurt my heart."

"Chaeyeon... do you think we'll be able to get Dreamcatcher back and free them from their agony?"

"We have to find out who's all behind it first."

"Which is why we're going to Bom's in a little while to figure out how to find CL."

"Is Hitomi coming?"

"Of course she is. We need someone to pin down Bom if it comes to it."

Chaeyeon blinked. "You'd go that extreme?"

"You of all people should know everything's been extreme since JiU, SuA, and the rest of Dreamcatcher threw everything into chaos after they 'died' and were sent to that place you've all described."

"I know." She exhaled. "I know."

The members of Iz*one, who brought Joy, Seulgi, and Wendy along with them, returned to Bom's house a few hours later. They could tell she was home, but they peeked into every bottom floor window and couldn't see her, so the thirteen girls quietly snuck in through the opened front door. Hitomi perked up as she heard voices coming from upstairs and she led them up the long flight silently.

From there, they could all hear them. And when Nako, Chaeyeon, Wendy, Eunbi, and Yena moved to the front of the pack and peered into one of the rooms, they were able to see Bom standing in there, yelling at another individual in front of her. To their astonishment, the other person was CL.

"You're a coward if you're trying to give up now," Bom growled. "We've been careful so far and you can't back out now."

"But they're onto us!" CL shouted back. "It's honestly become so sick doing this. You making me hold down Minju while you stabbed Wonyoung and Yeri... I thought I could kill more, but I just can't do this any longer! I could barely stomach seeing Yeri like that after you threw the knives."

"Let me rephrase what I just said; you're not backing out at all." Bom grabbed the front of CL's shirt and yanked her forward so that their chests were touching. "And I want you to play with Dreamcatcher now. The others just loved it when Dara suggested tormenting Handong to make Siyeon suffer."

"No!" CL wrenched herself away. "I'm done!"

Bom's eyes narrowed and she roughly shoved CL onto her knees. The younger scrambled backwards towards the bed, fear taking over her gaze. "B- Bom..."

"Not another word, Chaerin." She lunged and ripped her blouse from her upper half in one quick movement, snapping her bra clasp as well in the action. Her breath coming in labored gasps, CL threw her arms around herself, covering her breasts. "Bom, don't hurt me..."

"You brought this on yourself. You came to my house tonight for my advice and I'm not letting you leave without major scars." Bom took a knife from the nearby dresser and knelt beside her; despite struggles, she managed to remove the rest of her clothing before palming the weapon in her other hand. "You can think of Dreamcatcher while I disgrace you and carve you up for your betrayal."

"NO!" Eunbi suddenly barged into the room, slamming into her and knocking her away from CL; Bom gave her a grin as she got to her feet. "Protecting your enemy, are you now?"

"I'm keeping you from raping and torturing someone who doesn't deserve it!"

"But didn't Minju tell you about the night at the hospital?"

"Y- yes." Eunbi's eyes widened in realization. "It... it was you who almost killed Wonyoung and Yeri!"

Bom scoffed. "That meddling teen and useless velvet baby deserve to die."

"Not true!" Eunbi's temper began to flare and while she was arguing with Bom, Wendy and Yena slipped into the space as well and helped CL off the floor, bringing her over to the other side so she could get some distance from her attacker.

"Th- thank you..." CL sniffed. "I... how can I repay you?"

"Do you think you can tell us who's behind what's happened to Dreamcatcher and the power and magic behind it all?" Yena rubbed her wrist gently.

"I don't know exactly, but... you can ask Blackpink. We've shared information with them before and they could know... Bom might too... and possibly Dara, but I myself haven't seen her for a while..."

"STOP!" Bom screeched as she overheard them. "REVEAL NOTHING, TRAITOR!" She dashed toward them, her body colliding with CL's as she smashed her through the window. CL screamed as she fell until it was abruptly cut off. Eunbi blanched; the scream had been Wonyoung's name.

"CHAERIN!" Yena called as she and Wendy raced down the steps of the house. Everyone else, even Bom, followed them as they darted to the back door and ran out into the cool sunshine.

CL's body lay motionless a few yards away and Sakura reached her first. "Oh my god, that should have ended her... all of you, she's still alive!"

She got in her knees and slowly pulled her into her arms. They all grimaced; the fall had snapped her neck... but it hadn't killed her yet. Everyone except Bom surrounded her.

"Sakura... tell them... I'm sorry," CL croaked, red dulling the edges of her eyes. "I... I should have gotten to apologize to them in person..."

"Believe me, you'll get to," Sakura encouraged.

"No... I won't." Her breath hitched. "Tell them all I'm sorry for how I've done all this and how I've helped them wield their magic. I'm so sorry... to you, Chaeyeon, Yena, Eunbi, Yuri, Yujin, Hitomi, Nako, Chaewon, Minju... and to Wonyoung and Hyewon, who we put in such horrible danger. And I'm sorry to you too, Joy, Wendy, Seulgi... to Yeri and Irene as well; may they recover soon. Give my apologies to Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Chaeyoung, Mina, Momo, Sana, Tzuyu, and Dahyun... and I pray they will all get back safely. And especially... I am sorry to JiU, SuA, Gahyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Siyeon, and Dami for putting them all in danger. Bom knows who started it all..." Bloodshot eyes dripped a single tear from each. "I'm sorry for everything..."

Then CL's eyes glazed over.

And Lee Chaerin died.

Sakura sat there in silence. Her gaze listlessly roamed over the dead female in her grasp, over the twisted body, the snapped bone, the haunted stare. One by one, each of the girls around her lifted their heads in Bom's direction, twelve vicious glares fixed on her.

"You... you killed her for trying to be a good person again," Yuri choked out. "You did disgrace her too... you made her die in humiliation."

Bom gave a fake yawn, which made all of them recoil in disgust at the dismissive act. "You say that like you think I care, but you know you can't turn me in because..." A spray of blue mist flew from one of her hands and sunk into CL's flesh, disappearing into a chest that would never rise and fall again. "... I have magic and you don't. You now have no physical evidence of my involvement. So if you try to say that I killed her, the only fingerprints found would be Choi Yena's, Son Seungwan's, and Miyawaki Sakura's. That said, I suggest you think carefully about your next move. And before you ask, her clothes will hold no evidence either."

She disappeared inside her house again and Sakura sadly locked eyes with her leader.

"She gave us a clue before she died," Eunbi managed to say. "We're going to Blackpink now. We will avenge everyone affected by them, as well as CL."

Wendy and Sakura carefully brought CL's lifeless form to the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Siyeon now only allowed Momo to touch her for some reason. Jeongyeon fell back behind them as they walked, Nayeon's arms wrapped around her midsection as they leaned on each other in an exhausted way. All of them kept their distance from Siyeon, as she lashed out anyone except Momo that didn't.

"This is getting out of hand," Jihyo hissed to JiU. "You're her leader; can't you help her?"

"I'm not letting her bite my head off," JiU snapped in response, squeezing Dami's hand tightly. "I've never seen her like this in my life."

"And it kind of scares me," Dami added. "She looks about ready to kill to get to Handong and I don't blame her. But I'm not going near her until she calms down."

"And you're putting the whole burden of it on Momo?" Jihyo asked incredulously.

"I'm not putting any burden on her!" JiU retorted. "She just won't let anyone go near her but Momo!"

"But you're her leader!" She wasn't getting the point.

"And I have to let her be calm on her own!" JiU clenched her hands into tight fists and Dami whimpered. "Minji..."

"Shut it," Jihyo growled. "Release JiU so she can go see what's up with Siyeon."

Dami obeyed... but only for a moment as she stomped in front of her and yelled, "You can't tell us what to do!" Once the last word was out of her mouth, her arm flashed out and she struck Jihyo in the side of the head. Her eyes widened as she was unbalanced and her back harshly crashed into the ground.

"I had to." Dami quickly yanked her back to her feet and left her stumbling as she herself returned to JiU's side. Everyone stared at her in shock.

"Yoobin, what have you done?" Siyeon snarled in a low voice.

"Oh, don't even go there!" she roared. "You're ready to rip someone's heart out."

"She's right, Siyeon," Hyewon bravely admitted as she steadied Jihyo with a hand on her arm.

Siyeon gave her a threatening scowl and stepped toward her. SuA and Tzuyu instantly went on their guard as they moved in front of the other pair. "Do not hurt them."

"I can do what I like."

"Siyeon..." Yoohyeon murmured. "Do you really think Handong would still love you the same way if she was here to see all this?"

The jungle went dead silent as Siyeon's face contorted and the girls all tensed, thinking she was going to tackle her. She started to run... but it wasn't aimed for Yoohyeon. Before any of them could react, Siyeon lifted Dami into the air and curled her into her arms. Dami cried out in surprise and fear, but the older kissed the top of her head. "It's okay," she whispered. "I wasn't going to do anything bad to them and I won't do anything bad to you either."

"Handong... would never forgive you..."

"Dami, why did you hit Jihyo?"

"Because I don't want her telling JiU and I what to do."

"Look... Yoohyeon is right. I don't... I don't think Handong will love me if I start being mean because I want to see her again. I'm sorry, I just... I couldn't bear losing her... not when we've barely gotten a chance to show how much we love each other..."

"I... I do get it, I really do and I care about JiU so much that I feel guilty that this ordeal is how we got together."

She sniffed and Siyeon gently set Dami back on her feet. "Why don't you go apologize to Jihyo while we're halted? Then, you and I can talk the whole way."

"I'd like that." Casting a nod at JiU, Dami pecked Siyeon on the cheek and stiffly walked back to Jihyo, who had been caught by Jeongyeon; Nayeon was massaging her scalp slowly, ignoring when she let out a pained groan. "Jihyo?"

Jihyo raised her chin, eyes burning.

"Jihyo, I'm... I'm r- really sorry..."

"You think that just because you say sorry, I'll accept it and move on? Are you kidding me? You must be going insane."

Dami's eyes flashed. "You're right. But us being with each other and with our partners has helped us keep our sanity since we've been here. Even now, we're still sort of losing it. Excuse me for thinking about the fact that we've suffered so much more than you!" She turned on her heels and tearfully ran back to Siyeon.

"She's not going to forgive me, unnie," she whined quietly, holding her hands to her heart as she strained for the comfort of the other girl's embrace. "She doesn't understand what we've been through..."

"That's true." Siyeon sighed, "Momo, step away. I don't need you anymore."

Momo did that, her face scrunching up as she went to Tzuyu and broke down crying in her arms.

"We're both hurting people now." Dami couldn't meet JiU's eyes anymore. "I don't know how much more time will go by before I completely lose myself... if JiU wasn't here, I'd be gone by now..."

"I feel like I've already lost myself," Siyeon muttered. "I don't deserve Handong's love anymore..." She shoved Dami away and limped a few meters away before crumpling in the dirt and throwing up violently. SuA nervously ambled over to her as she saw her push herself up to her knees, but she winced as Siyeon gagged and then was sick again, heavy sobs wracking her body after. She tried to stand, but her legs shook and she sagged back down once more, vomiting over and over until she was only spitting up blood and bile.

"Siyeon!" Yoohyeon fearfully sprinted over to her with Gahyeon at her side; the Dreamcatcher maknae hurriedly scooped handfuls of dirt over the thick puddles of blood-specked vomit while her girlfriend cautiously tugged Siyeon into her lap as she sat down beside her. The Twice members had all gone silent, their eyes and mouths wide open with shock and horror as they stared at her.

"Oh, Siyeon..." Very lightly, Yoohyeon rubbed her stomach and Siyeon squeaked, her face twisting in pain. She gently wiped her mouth and nestled her close as she felt her heave again. But there was next to nothing left inside her and Gahyeon could see that it made her extremely uncomfortable.

"What are you staring at?" JiU snapped at Twice, mainly to Momo and Jihyo. "Just because she's been upset, you think this is amusing to look at?"

"Upset?" Tzuyu swallowed. "She was in full rage."

"Wouldn't you be if you thought someone you love was in great danger, being torn apart or cut into pieces?" She pursed her lips. "We gave you a brief account of what happened to Siyeon and Handong before, but now let me add to that. They... were... suffering. Both of them have been through an amount of mental and physical pain that no individual should have to endure in their lifetime. The one person out of anyone who's come here that has suffered the most is Dami. We have nearly lost our minds here and you don't understand what this dimension has done to our sanity."

The tall girl stoically listened as JiU threw the words at her until she heard Yoohyeon frantically call her leader's name. "JiU unnie, I need help over here! Something's wrong with her!"

Gahyeon glanced at the others as JiU rushed over, expecting them to turn away; however, the extent of panic in Yoohyeon's voice had them all looking in her direction. Dami joined the small group and knelt with her lover, gripping the hand of the girl in the grasp of Yoohyeon and wincing at the sight of her deathly pale skin.

"Y- Yoobin..." Siyeon clutched at her belly with her other arm. "This really hurts... I can... b- barely breathe..." She broke into a hacking cough, scarlet and saliva dripping down her chin, and Yoohyeon patted her back until she stopped.

"Look." Gahyeon swiped a finger over Siyeon's mouth and held it up with red smeared over it. "This cannot be good if she keeps retching and coughing up blood like this. We... we have to get her to Handong now."

"How sick is she?" Nayeon worriedly called. "Is Siyeon alright?"

"No!" Dami barely glanced at her. "She was just puking for ten minutes straight! Of course she's not okay!"

"We're going to have to carry her." JiU raised her voice so all of them could hear. "We must get to Dahyun, Mina, and Handong, and reunite our groups."

"And we have to stop fighting!" Sana yelled sorrowfully. "No matter who does anything to you, know that it's the fault of those people who killed Dreamcatcher the first time and revived them to bring them here!"

"I'll get her," Jeongyeon offered instantly. "I'll help out how I can."

"Are you sure?" Gahyeon eyed her warily as she walked over.

"Of course." Siyeon half-closed her eyes as Jeongyeon stooped beside her and she felt warm arms close around her body, lifting her into a smooth grasp. Her insides burned painfully and even her throat seemed like it wanted to claw itself out of her, but she attempted to focus solely on Jeongyeon, on her warm skin, her comforting grip, the musical beat of her heart. Siyeon shut her eyes entirely as she put her head on her chest. Feeling her air being stifled, she concentrated on the heartbeat, momentarily making it the only thing in her world. She tortuously forced her airway to open and timed her breathing to match the rhythm.

Come on, Siyeon, you can do it. You can breathe, you can survive, she kept telling herself.

It was only Jeongyeon's heartbeat that kept her going as the group started to move again.

Chapter Text

The Blackpink house seemed dark and foreboding to Minju as she and her friends approached. Eunbi had parked a little while away and then made all of them wait until the dead of night so they could sneak in. A cool breeze passed over them and Minju shivered.

I wish Yeri was here... I really want to hold her hand right now.

She risked a glance at Sakura as the dim light shined on them and wanted Yeri there more than ever. CL's body lay in her arms, her head draped over her shoulder; Sakura had closed her eyes when they'd left Bom's house, but it was still terrifying to see her like that, to see the lifeless form of someone who was once a revered artist and who, even after becoming a villain, had tried to help them and given up her own life in the process.

That idiot! Bom's face flashed in her mind, sending anger shooting through her. I am going to destroy her!

"Follow me," Eunbi ordered, easing the gate open and darting over to the house, pressing herself into the side of it. "Check the windows and see where they are."

They all split up to surround the house and every one of them was silent until Chaewon whistled and they all ran to her. Chaeyeon, Joy, and Yuri moved to the front to look in first.

Lisa and Rosé were at one end of their living room while Jennie was at the other and Jisoo was in the center, standing with fists clenched at her sides and eyes closed. Lisa's eyes glowed lavender and then she raised her hands up. Violet bolts of lightning shot from each of her fingertips, hitting Jisoo's body with a vengeance. What astonished the Iz*one and Red Velvet girls was that the oldest Blackpink member barely moved during that time, even as the lightning carved great slashes into her, spilling bright pools of blood onto the wood floor. Wendy grasped Seulgi's and Chaeyeon's hands, wanting to scream, but she couldn't make anything come. She studied Jennie's and Rosé's faces and they were blank, both of them merely watching with no reaction as Jisoo bled and bled from Lisa's continued assault.

Minju took off toward the door and quietly opened it, slipping inside quietly. The rest of them followed, Sakura trailing at the back, as she led them in, peeking around the corner into the room where Blackpink was.

Then Lisa dropped her hands and the lightning disappeared. Jisoo dropped to the floor with a moan and Rosé let out a huff. Jennie's eyes were also closed, which was why they hadn't been spotted yet.

"Come on, Jisoo," Rosé snarled. "Stop acting so pitiful."

Raising a shivering arm, the older girl sent out a few strands of yellow smoke, which curled around her body and closed up each of the wounds that marred her. When the blood had at last stopped coming and was cleaned up, Jisoo slumped against the wood, Rosé kicked her disdainfully. "She can't even handle that measure of what her own power is like and she hasn't grown immune to our power yet. How can we expect her to be able to analyze theirs?"

"Maybe the girls don't have power," Lisa muttered. "But we haven't proven that yet. They can still show it."

Jennie opened her eyes, but she didn't see Minju before walking to Jisoo and forcing her to her feet. "You better master this or we'll ask Lisa to kill you in secret."

"You monsters!" Yena couldn't grab Minju before she walked out into their view, a wild flare to her gaze. "What is wrong with you?"

Her eyes switching back to a lavender color, Lisa glared at her as her group emerged behind her. Lightning crackled on her palm. "What are you all doing here?"

"We're here because of her." Joy beckoned Sakura forward and she stepped to the head of them, holding CL close to her chest. Lisa didn't bother to react to it.

"We were at Park Bom's today." Sakura fought to keep her voice steady. "And we barely managed to get her out. She revealed to us that you might know who's behind what's happened to Dreamcatcher and because of her attempting to switch sides... Bom killed her. And don't even try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I see your magic and I know you're hiding things."

"What makes you think we'd tell you anything?" Lisa fired back. "I believe you've all suffered far too much to want to hurt yourself again." A wicked smile spread across her face and more lightning flared from her hands, wrapping Wendy in a tight grip as she brutally yanked her from the group.

"Hey!" Seulgi tried to grab her arm, but failed. "Release her!"

Lisa ignored her and Rosé even sent out her own magic, in the form of red fire ropes, which solidified their hold.

"This one was just in the hospital, correct?" Jennie walked to stand next to them. Her gaze was dark. "It'd be a shame if something were to happen to her again." She grinned cruelly and gripped Wendy's chin. "I suggest you stand down."

"It's too late for that," Chaeyeon replied.

"For us, it is, but for you, it isn't." Jisoo crossed her arms.

"You're seriously supporting them after what they just did to you?" Eunbi cried.

Jisoo scoffed. "They've been doing that for a while so that I can master the ability to heal and hold out against my own type of power of dealing pain. But that doesn't matter." She tore Jennie's hands away and placed a palm on Wendy's head through the lightning and fire. "Stand down and stay away."

"Wendy..." Seulgi winced. "Please... don't do anything to her..."

"Why? You broke in here, didn't you?" She hissed and then squarely planted her lips on Wendy's, pushing her mouth open so she could shove her tongue inside. Wendy let out a muffled shriek and struggled in her bonds. When she finally pulled away, the tied girl's head fell back, tears shining her eyes. "Seulgi, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, baby, I'll get you out of here, I promise."

"I'd suggest you try the former Sistar girls," Jennie said coldly. "Bora, Soyou, and Dasom have been keeping Hyolyn as their prisoner for a while, so you can bet they're doing things. But more information about how they're tied to Dreamcatcher will cost you."

"What exactly is this cost?" Joy's voice was laced with skepticism.

Smirking, Jisoo laid her hands on the back of Wendy's neck. "It will cost you this one. Leave her with us for a day and you can come get her not this morning, but the next. Don't worry, we're just going to play with her a little."

Seulgi gasped. "No... you can't! How do we know this info is worth it? How do we know you won't just kill her?"

"We won't, Kang. We could have easily killed all of you by now, or at least half, and we didn't. We just want to have some fun with this little one. Make your choice."

Seulgi's eyes watered. "Wendy, you can't do it. I won't let it happen; they're going to gang-rape you!"

"Jisoo, I... I'll do it," Wendy sighed. "Please, just... let me go to my love for one moment. I promise, I won't... I won't run."

"Fine." Lisa and Rosé released her from the bonds and she dove into Seulgi's grasp, hugging her tight.

"S- Seulgi, it'll be okay," she wept into her shoulder. "I'll be okay, I'll be okay."

"No, you won't!" Seulgi snapped back. "Baby, they're going to hurt you so badly... if they all go down on you at once, your body won't be able to handle it..."

"Hey, I'll be thinking of getting back to you. I'll be envisioning you kissing me, making love to me so nicely in our own bed..." She swallowed. "I have to do this for Dreamcatcher, whether I was in the hospital or not. I'm pretty sure they're suffering so much more than I am."

"Okay, but... be careful and come back to me," Seulgi pleaded. "You're willing to do anything for anyone in need and that is the sweetest thing. I love you."

"I love you too." She pecked Seulgi's lips before Lisa's lightning pulled her back toward them and Rosé, Jennie, and Jisoo all lifted their hands. "Out!"

"This info better be worth it!" Joy screeched, fists locked at her waist. "It better be good if we have to let you hurt her like this."

"Oh, it will be," Lisa claimed. "Now, get out! I'm guessing you want to bury your friend anyway."

Jennie splashed out a wall of her own white lightning that forced them all out the door and they collapsed on the pavement.

"This can't be happening!" Yuri groaned. "We all know what she meant by what they want to do with her and when they have her for so long... it's going to scar her so much..."

"She's sacrificing her dignity for us," Eunbi gulped. "But they were right. We... we do have to bury CL."

Seulgi was sobbing pitifully on the ground as she hurled her arms over CL's body and Sakura knelt at her other side. "Come on, unnie, we have to take her home."

She was the only one out of the girls who didn't stand up.

"Seulgi..." Joy gently tugged her away from CL and Sakura took the body back into her arms. Both Yena and Chaewon hauled Seulgi to her feet and Joy whispered to her carefully as they all walked the path back to the car.

Eunbi rushed them home and carved up a piece of stone from their driveway to make a tombstone. All twelve of them were crying nonstop as the Iz*one leader buried CL at the nearby cemetery.

"I... I'll bring her some flowers when we get daylight back," Nako mumbled. "G- goodbye, Chaerin."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, Handong, keep going," Dahyun cooed as the three girls made their way slowly through the jungle. The Dreamcatcher girl was growing weaker and more paranoid that she would never see Siyeon again. Mina was holding her tightly, in what Dahyun noticed was the way she'd told her she wanted to hold the girl she loved, her beloved Chaeyoung. But even Dahyun herself was getting irritated by it and even considered carrying Handong herself during the time it was needed for.

"Siyeon... I'm coming for you..." Handong panted as her knees locked.

"We need to stop for a moment," Mina groaned. "Look at you."

"But I can't be weak!" she growled. "I have to find her..." Her legs folded underneath her and her head dropped onto Mina's shoulder.

"God, Handong..." Mina sank onto her knees.

"Yeah, let's take a rest," Dahyun agreed. The trio slumped down against a tree and Handong ordered herself to force out labored breaths.

"So, I need more detail on this," she exclaimed after the Chinese girl had begun breathing normally again. "What exactly are you so ashamed about here? All Yoohyeon said was that you nearly died and that you suffered a lot before you were healed. But I can tell it runs deeper. What happened to make it so bad?"

Handong's lip quivered as she laid her head on Mina's chest and Mina glared at Dahyun. "You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?"

"I shouldn't have done it..." Handong burst into tears. "I was torn open by that animal... I was bleeding out... shredded to pieces. And I..." She sniffed. "I asked- no, begged- Siyeon to kill me."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Dahyun soothed. "You were probably in a lot of pain..."

"Dahyun, you seriously don't understand this." Mina shook her head. "She and Siyeon love each other like I love Chaeyoung and Handong asking Siyeon to kill her... that had to have hurt their hearts."

"Sh- she had her hands on my neck," Handong continued tearfully, her chest heaving. "She was ready to snap it like I'd requested... but she said she couldn't do it. She lectured me on how cruel it was for me to ask that... and Yoohyeon offered to do it instead... but those people who control it all made me heal..."

"I... I'm so sorry..." Dahyun stammered out. "I had no idea you felt so badly about that... I shouldn't have questioned it so carelessly."

Crying harder, her unnie didn't look at her. "M- Mina... I can't breathe..."

"Shh, sweetie, in and out." Mina kissed her forehead and kept her lips there as she tentatively reached under her shirt and curled her arms around her torso again. "Inhale... and exhale. Please, do it for me."

"N- nghhh..."

"Hey, you've been fighting for so long. Don't give up now." She caressed her soft skin. "Don't let what's happened bring you down."

Handong went rigid under her touch and let out an earsplitting scream.

"H- Handong unnie?" Mina recoiled and yanked her hands back as Handong rolled off of her, body jerking violently.

"Oh no!" Dahyun grabbed her shoulders and pulled her on her side so her back was to Mina, wincing as Handong thrashed in her temporary grip and smacked her face. "Ow..." She rubbed her cheek for only a second. "Unnie, she's having a seizure!"

Mina hurriedly got to her feet, wildly glancing around. "What can we do? There's no way to get her medical help from here!"

"We just need to make sure she doesn't stop breathing." Handong convulsed under Dahyun's hands and she retreated in horror.

"I can't just watch this though!" Mina shouted. "The stress will just keep it going!" She leaned down and slammed her own hands onto Handong's side. Handong flailed brutally and her nails slashed through the younger's ankle. As she drew back in pain, checking to make sure her skin hadn't been broken, the seizure made the affected girl flip onto her stomach, her face pressing into the earth as she clawed at the dirt around her. Despite the scratches on her, Mina dived for her again.

"Mina, stop!" Dahyun called.

"She's going to smother herself if I don't do something!"

"But you're going to hurt yourself. Don't stop her movements!"

She ignored her and moved her back onto her side, releasing her immediately.

"We have to let the others find us." Dahyun day back, hugging her knees as Handong's convulsions began to slow. "We're not going to get anywhere like this."

"Siyeon, where are you?" The wail from her girlfriend echoed through the forest, louder than ever.

All three of them gasped in surprise as another voice rang through the air, far in the distance.

"Mina! Dahyun! Handong! Where are you?"

Dahyun and Mina exchanged wide-eyed stares.

That's Gahyeon. They're coming for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was amazing!" Bora crowed as she watched violet sparks swirl around Dasom's waist. "You're gaining such good control."

"Thank you." Dasom let the sparks fade and exhaled. "Is Soyou done with our little slut yet?"

"I don't think so. Hyolyn's getting bolder and keeps trying to escape our house, so I'm willing to bet Soyou's punishing her for longer."

Soyou suddenly stomped upstairs, clenching her phone in her hand. "Hey, I need you two to watch her. I'm getting a call from Jennie."

"Alright." Both Bora and Dasom rushed up to the most secluded room in their home and shut the door quickly.

"Bora, please, let me out of here!" Bora jerked around at the sound of Hyolyn's voice and her eyes narrowed at the younger girl, who was naked and chained to the room's only bed. Her body was covered in old and new bruises, cuts, and bite marks, and was drenched with drying blood.

"No chance of that." Dasom crossed her arms, walking over to stand at the bedside and grinning at the sight of Hyolyn's tearstained, damaged face. "We've already shown you your purpose here and that won't ever change."

"Please!" Hyolyn pleaded, tears relentlessly pouring down her face as she strained against her chains. "Soyou is horrible... she never gave me a break from it all... and she uses that whip so much..."

"That's because you deserve it, bitch." Bora slapped her stomach and she winced. Dasom fetched the whip from the corner and smashed it down into Hyolyn's neck; she coughed up a few drops of blood and groaned. "And don't you ever call one of my lovers horrible again or you will receive no food tonight."

"Even when she is horrible?" Hyolyn spat. Dasom's eyes flashed and she hit her again, making her scream.

Soyou burst back into the room, panting.

"Hey, you okay?" Bora rubbed her back as she put an arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"Bora, Iz*one's closing in on us. Jennie told me that Bom finally killed CL... good riddance, but the way... and that the ten girls remaining, along with Joy, Seulgi and Wendy came to the Blackpink house with her body, demanding answers about Dreamcatcher. And the damn idiots told them about us and Hyolyn!"

"What?!" Dasom thrust the whip down again, striking Hyolyn's chest. "Are they insane? Do they not know how incredibly risky that is?"

"They're going to give out info in a day on how we're tied to Dreamcatcher." Soyou's eyes flared in the dim light. "And you know what they exchanged that for?"

"What?"

"Wendy," Soyou snarled. "She's supposed to be their pet for a day. But we have to stop them. We can't let them tell too much."

"We can't kill them though," Dasom pointed out. "They have the power that we have and we need them for our missions."

"Oh no, we'll just scare them." Bora smiled and went to stand beside her. "Why don't we practice on this one?"

"No, we can't vent our anger on the Blackpink girls." Soyou shook her head. "I have a better idea."

"And what is that?" Dasom and Bora each raised an eyebrow.

"We show them..." Soyou stepped over to Hyolyn and cupped her breast. "... how we treat a good pet. The way they return Wendy to them should affect the amount of info Iz*one and Red Velvet request and scar them enough to stop sniffing around."

"I like that." Bora looked at Dasom. "You up for it?"

Dasom nodded. "Hyolyn, looks like you're going on a little field trip with us." She unchained her, but as soon as she was no longer bound, Hyolyn surged upward with a sudden burst of strength, slamming her hands onto Dasom's and Soyou's necks as she threw them to the floor. Not bothering to follow up with any injuries, she made a desperate run for the door and her hand was on the doorknob just as Bora tackled her, crushing her under her weight. She struggled violently against her and as Dasom and Soyou hurriedly shot to their feet, Bora roared, "Get the handcuffs, collar, and cage! Hurry!"

Soyou scrambled to do what she said and with Dasom's help, they brought the things to them. Bora snatched both pairs of cuffs from Dasom and latched one side of one onto her victim's left wrist. Seizing her other hand, she put both of them together and latched the other side on, pinning her hands behind her back. Hyolyn wailed mournfully as she kicked her legs out, but Bora cuffed her ankles together too, preventing any escape. She held her hand out and Soyou dropped a red collar into it. Slowly so she could savor the terror in her eyes, Bora snapped it around her neck and tightened it just a bit short of choking her. As if their minds were synchronized, Soyou and Dasom set down the large metal cage they were holding as well, and all three of them forced Hyolyn into it. She cried continuously as Soyou locked it shut and stared up at them pleadingly. "Do you really have to be this cruel?" she sobbed.

The trio's faces showed nothing but anger. "We've told you not to escape us!" Bora yelled at her. She sighed. "Let's see how she behaves with Blackpink and Wendy and then punish her later."

"Alright." Both the other girls agreed and each of them grasped a handle of the cage, carrying it out as Bora opened the door. Hyolyn, however, was not willing to be silent at all and kept screaming for help. Bora was getting fed up and ordered Dasom and Soyou to drop the cage when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Dasom, get a gag and muzzle so we can restrain her completely."

"A muzzle?!" Hyolyn shrieked. "You've already put me in a cage and now you're muzzling me too? I'm not an animal!!"

Soyou snorted at that and as Dasom briefly left, the tied-up girl felt pure disgust at the way she and Bora looked at her, like she was a dirty creature that would always submit to them. But she could also see the minuscule trace of fear in their minds. They know how badly I want to escape and they fear I'll do anything. That's why they keep me held down. But they also know I can't run to the police... not when they have the power that they have.

Hyolyn blanched as Bora soon opened the cage door, shoving a gag into her mouth before Dasom strapped a muzzle over her head. She fought against it, even tried to spit out the gag and bite Dasom's hand, but Soyou quickly choked her and they managed to fit it all the way over. Her head thrashed back and forth, but she couldn't shake it off. The other girls let go of her and locked her in again. Dasom and Soyou took up the handles once more and shoved the cage into the trunk of Bora's car.

Quiet reigned through the air as Bora drove, whispering to Soyou the whole way while Dasom kept an eye on their prisoner from the backseat, leering at her. She could barely move in the small space, so her tearful, pained gaze met the hard, angry one, unspoken insults flowing hotly from her limp form.

After driving for a while, they finally arrived at the Blackpink house. Smiling broadly, Bora turned off her vehicle and stepped up to the front door, knocking a few times. Lisa opened it, breaking into a grin of her own.

"I guess you got Jennie's call. What are you here for?"

She spotted Jisoo behind her and waved. "I heard you got a new pet for a day. I'm here to give you an example of how to treat her."

Lisa's grin grew wider. "I assume you brought Hyolyn with you?"

"Of course we did. Now, let's make sure Iz*one doesn't ask for too much. Dasom, Soyou, bring her in!"

With Lisa's and Jisoo's direction, they brought the cage upstairs. Jisoo stopped before her bedroom and slowly opened the door. Wendy was hunched on the floor in the corner, her right wrist handcuffed to a bed leg, and she refused to look at them. Rosé and Jennie barred the door while Soyou and Dasom set the metal cage down.

"Wendy, we brought you a long-lost friend!" Jisoo cooed. She did look up at that, but could, at first, only see Soyou's back as she unlocked Hyolyn's cuffs and let her out.

"Oh my god... Hyolyn!" Wendy gasped out. "Unnie, unnie, come here..."

Tears pouring down her cheeks, Hyolyn carefully crept over to her and Wendy enfolded her in a powerful embrace, examining her naked body thoroughly.

"Oh, Hyolyn unnie... what have they done to you? You poor thing... how long have you been living like this? You're so malnourished and injured..."

"A... a few months, I think," she whimpered as the Red Velvet member tore the muzzle and gag away. "I've lost track... but it's been a nightmare nonetheless. They've hurt me... beat me and raped me so much that I've almost lost hope..."

Wendy threw the muzzle at Dasom with a growl. "I honestly can't believe you. How could you do this?"

Rosé rolled her eyes. "Can you shut her up before we get to work on her?"

"Gladly." Bora yanked Hyolyn away from Wendy as she kicked the cage aside and though she strained to reach her, her shackle prevented that.

"Please!" Wendy begged from her place on her knees. "I'll take it all for her. Don't let her suffer any more! I'll do anything you want me to!"

"Oh, believe me, you will." Lisa unshackled her and steadily tore off her shirt, pinning her to the floor so she had a view of the rest of the girls in front of her. "And you'll get the added pleasure of watching her too."

"No! Let her go!"

Bora pressed down on top of her prey's abdomen, spreading her legs roughly as Dasom held her by the throat.

Wendy froze, horrified, as Hyolyn screamed in agony.

Chapter Text

"Gahyeon!" Dahyun called the Dreamcatcher maknae's name as loud as she could. "Over here! We need you!"

"Dahyun?" The thunder of footsteps came closer and, after a little while, JiU burst through the brush in front of them. The rest of Twice and Dreamcatcher slipped in behind them and Jeongyeon shoved her way to the head of the groups. "Handong!"

"What the hell happened to Siyeon?" Dahyun roared as she spotted the pale frame in her hold.

"We could ask you the same of Handong!" SuA fired back. "Siyeon's sick and... how did Handong get bruised like that?"

"Well..."

"God, she's having a seizure now?" Tzuyu exclaimed in disbelief. "Jeongyeon unnie, lay Siyeon down!"

"That's not going to do anything for her!"

"It might. Do it!"

Startled by the fierce tone of her voice, Jeongyeon obeyed and Siyeon instantly threw an arm over her girlfriend. "Dongie, it's okay! I'm here now."

"Siyeon, she's having a seizure!" Nayeon hissed. "You're not going to do anything to help until she calms down herself!"

"I am!" She tugged Handong close and kissed her.

"Siyeon, you're sick; are you crazy?"

She ignored her. "Handong, it's me! Please... stay with me..."

"S- Siyeon?"

"Come on, baby, y- you need to come back to me."

Her jerking movements began to slow even more until they stopped entirely and Siyeon gave a small grin. "Good girl..."

"Aw, Siyeon, what happened to you?"

"I should be asking you that. But I... I didn't take your absence well because I thought you were d- dying... I reacted pretty badly..."

"Pretty badly is an understatement," Sana sighed. "You were vomiting buckets back there, not to mention blood as well."

"Really?" Handong murmured.

"Shut up, Sana," Siyeon snapped. "But Dongie, you're so badly bruised and cut up... what in the world did that to you?"

"It was the rocks in the river," Mina cut in. "She saved us from having to bear that."

"Poor sweetheart." Siyeon curled an arm around her head and pressed their lips together again, unwilling to let her go anymore. She locked Handong's legs around her waist and rested one hand on the small of her back, the other going around her neck as she rolled over, Handong on top of her.

"Are you still in pain, my beloved?" she inquired as they broke apart for breath.

"Yes," Handong admitted. "I don't care though, not over the fact that I'm with you again."

"Should we stay?" Jihyo surveyed the others.

"Definitely." Jeongyeon slumped down on the ground by a bush, her head on Nayeon's lap. "We need a break until our next 'task.'"

Handong was sobbing as Siyeon kissed all over her body and for some reason, Mina couldn't take her eyes off of them.

"Hey, eyes up here." Chaeyoung stood over her and leaned down to rub Mina's shoulders. "Are... are you alright?"

"I don't know," Mina admitted. "I hated seeing her like that and if worrying about her was what riled up Siyeon, how did it not happen to you?"

"Minari, we all knew you and Dahyun would fight to get back to us, but in her traumatized condition, I guess Siyeon thought Handong wouldn't be able to fight as hard."

"I... I guess I get that. Come here, love."

Chaeyoung sat in Mina's lap, nuzzling her head into her neck. "You didn't think they were overreacting, do you?"

"Hey, we can hear you!" Siyeon growled, sitting up with Handong draped over her. "Can you just put it behind you now?"

Tzuyu huffed. "You're sick, Siyeon, all because of the fact that you overreacted to her disappearance and lashed out. Because of your craziness, Yoohyeon then mentioned that Handong wouldn't like how you were acting and your mind and body just couldn't handle the idea that she wouldn't love you anymore."

"Siyeon... really?" Handong leveled their gazes. "What... what did you do?"

"I did what she said... lashed out... I fought Dami at one time for no reason other than I was in a bad mood and she was protesting me fussing over her. She's getting agitated too.. she struck Jihyo before... but I feel like that's because of me. I'm the one causing panic within us."

"Siyeon, I don't know what Yoohyeon was thinking about, but I will never stop loving you! I do want to know all the details of what's happened, but I don't believe it will make me not care about you the way I do." She glared fiercely at Yoohyeon. "I don't know where you got that delusion, but it's totally wrong. Do you feel like Gahyeon would do the same if you had been in this situation?"

"M- maybe..." Yoohyeon stammered.

"I want to hear it all." Handong pointed to JiU. "You talk. I have to hear it from you."

Not hiding how scared she was of her tone, the leader quickly relayed everything that had happened on their side since the Chinese girl and the two Twice members had been swept away. Once she finished- with, Handong noticed, her arms firmly wrapped around Dami's waist- she narrowed her eyes. "And what about you?"

Handong gave a recount, emphasizing the portions where she couldn't walk- still barely being able to do so- and locked eyes with Jihyo after.

"Don't you look at me like that!" Jihyo threw her hands in the air. "I did nothing!"

"Did you not forgive Dami for a small incident?" Siyeon spat. "Yes. That was my catalyst."

"You of all people shouldn't be saying that, not after how you've behaved!" Jihyo yelled back angrily.

"I know that, but should Dami be punished for that? I made her aggressive and upset and if you don't want to help me, at least help her. Despite what she did, she deserves to be forgiven."

At hearing that, Dami's eyes pooled with tears and she scrambled away from JiU, rushing toward the stream. Jihyo snarled and stepped in that direction to stop her, but all that did was end with her tripping the younger and send her sprawling into the water. She cried out as she hit a rock and then lay there on it, not moving, her head submerged in the stream itself.

She's just laying there? Shouldn't she have fallen off? JiU's eyes widened and she screeched, "What is wrong with you, Jihyo?" Instinctively, she and SuA both darted forward and splashed into the river. JiU went to the rock and slowly, very slowly, lifted Dami's body off the sharp edge. She was right about something being off; her shirt had flown up in the water and the rock had gashed her unprotected belly. SuA helped carry her back to the bank and Jihyo's hands went to her mouth as she saw Dami cough up water.

Hyewon joined them and tentatively examined the gash.

"It... it's not deep," Dami choked out. "I'll live."

"What the hell, Jihyo?" Momo smacked her shoulder. "This is not a time for revenge!"

"I wasn't trying to... get revenge..." Her voice faltered as JiU looked at her with a desperate gaze. Oh god, Park Jihyo, what have you done?

JiU removed her own shirt, tying it around Dami's abdomen over the wound, and she felt her heart crack as she heard her whine, "Why is it always me? What have I done to deserve this?" She clutched at her stomach as her lover gently pulled the shirt she'd already been wearing over the makeshift bandage and stroked a careful hand through her shoulder-length light hair.

"You don't deserve this." Her eyes met Jihyo's as she said that, sparks of anger in them. "I'm surprised hitting her was all that happened when you snapped, but you were bound to do it sometime or later."

"C- can we stay here too?" Handong asked.

"Of course." Siyeon spoke for them all. "Twice, if you decide to leave here, you're on your own."

None of them moved and both of them, as well as JiU and Dami, lay down where they were. SuA stood up and sidled back over to Hyewon, softly touching her face.

"I hate this," she murmured. "I hate us getting hurt over and over like this. I don't know why you stayed for this."

"I hate it too," Hyewon replied. But I stayed for you, to be with you and help you get through this. Look at me." She tilted her chin up. "I love you, Bora. I wouldn't deserve you if I had been so selfish as to leave when you needed me."

"Hyewon..." A tear dripped from her eye. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you, someone who's suffering just for me."

Hyewon's arms went around her waist warmly and she repeated her words. "I love you."

"I'm still not entirely sure about this," Sana muttered to them. "Hyewon, is your group even allowed to date? And she's five years older than you..."

"Who cares?" Hyewon lightly shoved her. "No one else gets to have an opinion that affects us." To make her point, she grabbed SuA's neck and nipped it. "She's already mine and nothing will change that."

"Same here," JiU and Siyeon chorused.

"It doesn't matter who we are or what our age is," Gahyeon added, baring her teeth. Sana put her hands up, backing away. "Alright, alright, no need to get hostile."

Jihyo sank down against a tree trunk beside Yoohyeon, her eyes fixed on Dami, whom JiU was cradling cautiously in her grip.

"How have you survived this?" she sighed. "How are you not yet... feral?"

"Our love," Yoohyeon responded as Gahyeon laid in her lap. "And our hope... our hope that we will soon leave this place."

The Twice leader nodded, leaning on her shoulder and gazing out at the others, who were beginning to settle down themselves.

Each of the couples lay together.

But then the ground began to shake and the guttural voice echoed through the air, speaking only six words.

"Good night, everyone. Good night, Dami."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"N- no... more... p- p- please..."

Wendy's heart shattered at the sound. Bora, Dasom, and Soyou had spent the past few hours taking turns brutally violating Hyolyn and torturing her with their magic, also giving every other girl in the room a view of what was happening to her. Wendy wished she could take all of her pain and was disgusted at how the Blackpink members relished it, savoring every scream. They had joined in about halfway through with her and Wendy had experienced more pain than she'd ever felt before, but hearing Hyolyn's screams and pleas to stop made her realize her own cries were nothing. She's been dealing with this for so long...

"How are you enjoying this, little lovely slut?" Lisa laughed, thrusting harder into Wendy as she injected the contents of another small needle into her arm. That was how they'd been keeping them awake, with a short-term stimulant.

She didn't respond. Lisa pinned Wendy's arms to her side and went even rougher; she felt the stitches in her stomach flare.

Please let me go! I can't take anymore!

"Bora, stop! She's about to fall unconscious even with the stimulant. I think we're done for now."

Wendy looked up at Dasom's call and was horrified to see how Hyolyn had been damaged in a few hours; blood streamed steadily from in between her legs and she wept quietly as her body heaved and convulsed. She barely noticed when Lisa pulled out of her and slammed her onto the floor, standing beside Rosé, Jennie, and Jisoo; her attention was only fixed on Hyolyn.

Soyou sniffed indifferently. "We'll bring you a little food and water so you don't die yet, but the windows and door will be locked, so don't try to get out. In fact, let's do this to be safe." She strapped a more restraining and muffling muzzle than before over Hyolyn's head and shackled her left ankle to the bed leg. All of them were cackling as they exited the room, locking and leaving nothing that could unlock it.

"H- Hyolyn unnie..." Wendy frantically crawled over, gently pulling her into her arms. "I... I have to get you out of here..."

"There's no escape," Hyolyn whimpered. "They've told me too much about Dreamcatcher... there's no way they'll ever let me go..."

"Then we're going to get out of here ourselves." Wendy took a couple small blankets from the bed and laid one around each of them. "My group and Iz*one traded me, on Blackpink's and my request, to be with them for a day in order to gain them information on Dreamcatcher. But you have so much of it that it won't matter if we break the deal. They don't get to treat us like animals, especially with how long you've been there."

"B- but how?" Her voice was muffled greatly by the muzzle on her head. "There's no way out. And I have this..." She gestured to the chain and cuff on her ankle.

"No." Wendy shook her head furiously. "I vow to get you away from this suffering and keep you safe from them." She threw the blankets away for the time being, closing one around Hyolyn's leg, and the other held onto the cuff.

"Now, unnie, this will hurt."

"G- get it off. Please."

"Here we go." Wendy started to pull on it while pushing down on her leg with all her might, which, after her recent torture, wasn't much. And then she saw the pain on the older's face, the dull eyes of a starved and beaten person, the overwhelmingly thin form of a girl who'd been tortured for so long that she was losing all hope of getting away from that life. That spurred her on and she tore at the chain. Hyolyn moaned and Wendy hissed as the metal cut into her hand. Eventually, she had to stop.

"T- told you."

"Then I'll find another way to free you!" She released her, clenching the hand that was bleeding into a fist. "If I can't get through the metal, I'll lift the bed. We can break the cuff and chain when we get back to the Iz*one house."

"Wendy... I can't w- walk..."

"I'll help you or I'll just carry you. Come on, brace yourself so I can break the window after I do this and then we can escape."

"O- okay..."

Very cautiously, Wendy walked to the bed and tried to lift it. However, it was pretty much impossible, which had likely been intended, so she slid under. The space just barely fit her slim frame and she pushed upward with all the strength she had, bloody hand and all. Each of her limbs propelled against the bottom of the bed, straining hard. An ache spread through her insides, almost destroying her, rivaled only by the pain from before of being raped. Still, she kept shoving and soon managed to lift the leg a little.

"Pull the chain out!" she shouted as loud as she dared.

With a weak tug, Hyolyn yanked the end of it toward herself and Wendy let the bed crash down again, rolling out from under it. Pulling Hyolyn to her feet, she lay her on the bed and wrapped both of the blankets around her bareness.

"How will you... break the window?"

"With my hands."

"You'll hurt yourself though!"

"It'll be worth it to keep you from being hurt again." The Red Velvet girl stepped back and charged, ramming her knuckles into the glass. She didn't stop at that and kept smashing her fists into the window. Both hands bled profusely as the pane started to crack and footsteps sounded from downstairs, gradually growing closer.

"Come on!" Wendy groaned, punching it again and again.

The glass shattered just as Soyou and Rosé burst in.

"NO!" Rosé and Wendy lunged for Hyolyn at the same time and the latter grasped her by the waist, trying to get her out of reach. Soyou grabbed the chain while Rosé caught her unbound ankle. Hyolyn screamed under the muzzle as the pain in her lower legs intensified. "Wendy, help me!"

"I'm trying, sweetie, I'm trying!"

Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie, Bora, and Dasom charged in behind them.

I won't get another chance, Wendy thought desperately. They'll kill us both if I don't get her out now.

With every single atom of energy left in her being, she reached forward a little more and tore the chain and her unnie's leg from the pair's grasp. Before any of them could utter another word, Wendy retreated and jumped out of the window backwards.

Not realizing they had been so high up, she lay stunned on the ground for a moment as the impact hit her back with a sickening thud, but she held on to the injured individual in her arms tightly. As soon as she recovered, she grasped one of the blankets and slung it around herself, then lifted Hyolyn back into her grasp. One of the coverings was bright, so she knew it might not hide them well for long. She hurriedly made sure the chain wasn't dragging at all.

Bora exploded from the back door of the house, the rest of the others fanning out behind her. Their faces were all murderous.

Wendy ran in terror. Jennie shot a blast of white at her, but she narrowly dodged it. Without looking back again, she pressed on, passing through the gate and onto the street.

I know where the Iz*one house is. I just have to lose them and make it back from here.

Unwilling to draw a great amount of attention to them, she crossed the empty road and ducked behind a building. Hyolyn hissed and Wendy kissed her cheek.

"It's okay, you'll be safe soon."

While taking a quick breather, she propped her up on one arm and looked at her hands, slowly removing the shards of glass that had been embedded in them and switching her friend between each arm in the process. The pain inside her was added to, but as her eyes fixed upon the bleeding girl she held, she remembered it all. She's been dealing with so much more. She's been almost mutilated, hurt beyond belief, tortured beyond what anyone could fathom and struck so hard... I can save her, I know I can.

"Come back, bitches!"

Oh no, it's Lisa. They're fast and they're coming after us.

Wendy swept Hyolyn up again and dashed off as Blackpink ran around the corner, where it was a lot darker than anywhere else, but Jisoo's lightning, as well as Jennie's shone like flame as they lashed out with tongues of it. Rosé released a few jets of fire and Hyolyn yelped as one nearly struck her leg.

"Stop it!" Wendy wailed as she stumbled.

"We will never let you go!" Lisa snapped. All four of them then let out a burst of red lightning and it struck Wendy's back, sending her crashing to the ground. Hyolyn tumbled from her arms and lay motionless on the grass.

"No!" A rope of the lightning began to drag Wendy toward Blackpink and she clawed at the earth. "Hyolyn, run! Run!"

Sluggishly, Hyolyn struggled to rise, but Wendy could see Bora, Dasom, and Soyou approaching her from the other side and knew she wasn't going to make it. I have to get her out myself!

Jisoo yanked the rope harder and grabbed her arm. "Nice try, Son. There's no escaping us."

"You are all monsters!" Wendy screeched. "She doesn't deserve this treatment!" In a rage, she kicked out and satisfaction flashed through her as her foot connected with Jisoo's face. The lightning disappeared and Jisoo recoiled, hands covering her now bleeding nose. Jennie sprang forward to grasp Wendy by the waist, but received a battering wave of kicks to the chest and fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath again.

Run! Get Hyolyn to safety! Come on, you idiot, go!

Lisa and Rosé circled Wendy like predators.

"It's a shame we have to do this." Lisa grinned maliciously. And I'm sorry you've now brought so much pain upon your little friend."

"Never!" Wendy wanted to rip their throats out. "Never again!"

"Really?" Rosé motioned to Dasom, who was leading her girls toward Hyolyn, stalking closer and closer with each second. "Well, I apologize for you having to suffer here." Blue fire flickered at the tips of her and Lisa's fingers.

This is my last chance. It's now or never.

She ducked down and ran, slamming into Rosé's legs and sweeping them out from under her. Both Wendy and Dasom lunged for Hyolyn, but Dasom got to her first and grasped Hyolyn's neck, pulling back the blanket and biting her collarbone.

"STOP!" Wendy wailed, jumping on her and attempting to wrestle her off. Dasom growled as she was wrenched away, a bloody piece of Hyolyn's flesh in her teeth. Wendy gagged at the sight and desperately lashed out.

"Give it up, Seungwan!" Dasom roared. "You can't save her!"

"No! I can!" She tore the blanket off of herself and balled it up, snarling. "You're never going to hurt her again."

"YOU ARE DONE! IT IS OVER!"

There we go.

Then she shoved the balled-up blanket into Dasom's throat.

"Dasom!" Bora cried as the younger collapsed, choking on it. Her magic went wild, fire and wind and water and lightning spitting out of her. Wendy leaped out of the way and seized Hyolyn's body, turning to run.

"Get back here!" Lisa shouted.

Soyou glared at her. "No one hurts our baby!"

Bora leaned down and speedily detached the ball from Dasom's mouth; she coughed violently from it.

Like a cheetah, Wendy fled, holding her friend close. A blast of fire caught the blanket covering Hyolyn, so she had to leave it behind. Ignoring her own nakedness, Wendy kept running like mad, her hands still bloody and the body she was holding a dead weight in her grasp.

The Iz*one house. I have to get there, even when it's far away. I know the way. Now I have to run.

Her legs felt like blazing lead sinking into the ground, but that only made her go faster. It felt to her like she was running forever and only the prospect of saving Hyolyn forced her to go on as she tore through the dark, barren streets of South Korea.

Every time Wendy looked down, the images in her mind destroyed her. Each moment her eyes caught the muzzle in the corner of their gaze, memories of Hyolyn brutally tortured stampeded through her head, the most frightful being of Bora thrusting into her entrance while Dasom cheered her on and Soyou swung a whip down onto her skin a hundred times. She was moving faster than she ever had before, endless tears streaming from her eyes.

And suddenly, she was on the doorstep, the sky brightening to a violet color behind her. Strength gone, Wendy crumpled to her knees and wept relentlessly, resting Hyolyn on her lap as she pounded on the door. "Help us! Please! I'm begging anyone, don't let her die! Save her! Save her!"

She buried her face in Hyolyn's chest and the other girl moaned. "Hyolyn, you've survived this whole time... don't let those beautiful eyes close yet..."

"W- Wendy? Hyolyn?!"

Wendy was then gazing up into the horrified faces of Seulgi, Joy... and Irene.

"Irene unnie... you're back..."

"My god, what the hell happened to you?!" Irene exclaimed. "I... I thought my wounds were bad..."

"I... I'll tell you later. Just... take Hyolyn into the house... heal her... don't bring her to the hospital, it's too dangerous..."

"Wendy!" Eunbi pushed her way through. "What... Hyolyn...?"

"Save her... please..."

Eunbi knelt, gathering Hyolyn into her arms, and stood up once more with her bloody body, disappearing into the house with the screams of the Iz*one members greeting her in the kitchen.

"Oh, unnie..." Joy dragged Wendy inside. "How could you ever have deserved this?"

Seulgi's face had gone white and she pulled Wendy close to her, carrying her past where the Iz*one girl's were, watching very briefly as Yena and Chaeyeon forced the muzzle off of Hyolyn's face and threw it in the trash. She moved her girlfriend to the living room and sat down on the couch, pressing her lips to Wendy's as Joy and Irene came in behind them and positioned themselves on either side of the pair.

"My baby... we shouldn't have left you there... what have they done to you?"

"Seulgi, Hyolyn has information on Dreamcatcher... but I had to get her out of there. The rest of Sistar has apparently had her as their slave for at least a few months... they tortured her at the Blackpink house..."

All of what had happened to her and Hyolyn spilled out of her in a deluge, loud enough that Iz*one could hear it too. When Wendy was finally finished, she spasmed, throwing up twice onto Irene and sobbing at the top of her lungs. Acid stung her lungs and tears blurred her vision.

"Wendy... sweetheart..."

"I've failed her!" Wendy howled as Joy ushered Irene to the bathroom to clean herself up and then took the screaming girl's bloodied hands into hers. "I've failed Hyolyn and if she dies, then I've failed Dreamcatcher too!"

"Whoa, jagiya, you saved her," Seulgi murmured. "You took the effort to free her, fight off a bunch of girls with inexplicable power, and then run miles with her in your arms so you could keep her out of danger while you were naked, injured, and while both of you were in agony beyond belief. Now Iz*one is taking care of her. Hyolyn will be alright." I hope she will be, at least.

"How long?" Bloodshot eyes met Seulgi's own. "How long before Dreamcatcher ends up the same way? How long before they're gone forever?"

"Wendy, love, I'm sure we can find everyone who's behind this and get Dreamcatcher out..."

"What if we can't though?" Wendy crossed her legs to hide the blood coming from in between them as Joy looked down; Seulgi didn't even notice. "How long before JiU is cut open and left to die suffering? How long before Dami is brutalized and raped until her sweet heart stops beating? What about before SuA is chopped into pieces and her organs are forced down Handong's throat, choking her to death? Or Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, and Siyeon are torn to pieces by a barrage of claws? We're all just idly sitting on our asses while God-knows-what is happening to them, just like it did to Hyolyn!"

"Breathe, baby, breathe," Seulgi whispered. "We don't even know where they are and you don't know for sure what's going on there anyway."

"Exactly!" Wendy retorted, her tears dripping onto Seulgi's chest. "And it could all be the worst things..."

"Hey, I need you to breathe. Trust me."

"I can't, I can't, I can't..." She winced. "Oh, it hurts... hurts so badly..."

"Seulgi, there's blood on your leg," Joy pointed out. Wendy's eyes widened as Seulgi lifted her off and then gasped.

"Wendy, why didn't you tell me if I didn't notice?" she breathed. "It's bad enough that you were raped, but they made you bleed too?"

"I... it's not as bad as Hyolyn's..."

"My dear Seungwan, that doesn't matter. I need to be able to take care of you."

"S- Save Hyolyn... she deserves to live happily again..."

Wendy's bare body shivered and Irene returned to them just in time to see her pass out on Seulgi's lap.

Chapter Text

Sixteen pairs of eyes landed on Dami as she was lifted into the air by an invisible force. JiU gasped and tried to snatch her back down, but it was too strong. Handong screamed, burying her face in Siyeon's shoulder, and Jeongyeon gagged as Nayeon grasped her as tight as she could.

"Let me go!" Dami roared, flailing in the space. "Let me..."

A shadow dashed through her and she cried out as it ripped into her with rough tendrils. It left no physical wounds on her body, but it did tear off her shirt, leaving her completely bare as the cloth dropped to the ground.

"Dami!" JiU called. "No! Please, don't hurt her!"

"Oh, no one else is going to hurt her." All of the girls whipped around to see another female step out of the shadows, eyes red and hands outstretched. "It'll be me."

"S- Sunmi?" Momo gulped. "What... why?"

The individual laughed. "Oh, Sunmi's... not herself right now. This is Minzy."

"M- Minzy from 2NE1? H- how? Are you the one imprisoning us here?"

"No, I don't have that kind of power. I can only reach out to control her from the real world. But I am a part of all of this."

"Let Sunmi go!" SuA snapped tearfully.

"Oh, I don't think I can do that. First off, I doubt she'd be able to handle ending up as a vessel to us. Second, Dara and Hyuna are with me- in a secure location, of course- and they wouldn't appreciate it one bit. Third... I want to see this girl suffer now."

Sunmi-that-wasn't-Sunmi sprang into the air over their heads and a katana materialized in her hand as she flew towards Dami... and slashed the weapon through her chest.

"DAMI!" JiU's eyes stretched wide. "NO!"

"Ah, this is invigorating!" Minzy sighed. "I always wondered why Sunmi never uses her powers."

Dami's body crashed to the ground and JiU rushed like a maniac toward her, but Sunmi landed in front, her katana splitting into two still-huge blades that she held over a terrified face. "Move any closer and I gouge out her eyes and break her jaw."

She halted, breathing heavily.

"Much better." Sunmi's knives then carved the injured girl's wounds together, slashing deeper and deeper, and JiU crumpled to her knees, weeping. "Minzy, I'm begging you to stop!"

"Why would I when I'm enjoying this?" Sunmi's face shifted into a grin. "I'll let Hyuna take the reins now."

For a moment, the red leeched out of her eyes and she hissed, "Dreamcatcher, Twice, I'm sorry... I don't want to do this... I'm so sorry..."

"Of course she is." Her eyes turned bright red again as Hyuna's voice flowed from the mouth of Sunmi. "But don't you just love this? This is the girl you've been loving. You took her heart, her loyalty, her virginity... don't you want to see us almost take her life?"

"Why?" Gahyeon wailed as she got to her feet. "Why are you all doing this? What did we ever do to you?"

"Why do we need to have a reason?" Hyuna countered. The ground had stopped shaking at last.

"Because there was absolutely no reason for us to be murdered and brought here!"

"Did you not recognize the voice of the person who killed most of you?" She turned to Siyeon. "Did you not hear it when she first murdered the love of your life?"

Siyeon trembled.

"It was Taeyeon." Hyuna seemed delighted in sharing the news. "Taeyeon ran Gahyeon over that night, didn't hesitate to let her die in Handong's arms. She slit Handong's throat and watched the life flicker out of her eyes. She crashed into you in both car accidents, killing JiU and SuA, and then you and Dami. Yoohyeon was the only one who didn't die by her hands. I helped to revive you after and our instructors sent you into the hands of our survival game."

"Taeyeon did this?" Hyewon's skin drained of color as stepped around JiU. "You're telling me that lovable scamp was a catalyst of the scheme that sent my group in danger, nearly killing our maknae, destroyed the lives of Dreamcatcher and Red Velvet, and put the existence at risk of the girl I one day wish to marry?"

All of them went dead silent and even Dami weakly raised her head. "Hyewon... really?"

"Don't ask me about it now!" Hyewon growled, entwining her hand with SuA's. "You're dying!"

"She's right," Hyuna cackled.

"Don't hurt her anymore!" JiU cried.

"Oh, I shouldn't hurt Dami anymore?" Quick as a falcon, Sunmi leaped over her head again and then was back in her place with Gahyeon in a choke-hold. "How about this one then?"

"No, no, no!" Yoohyeon whined as she walked over to stand beside JiU. "Please, please... d- don't..."

"But don't you want it?" Sunmi gestured to SuA and Hyewon. "She's scorned your romance ever since she found out about it. Hyewon, if you want to marry her one day, do you think she'll approve that at all?"

"She's our friend!" SuA yelled hysterically. "We know she'll come around. And even if she doesn't, that can't warrant her death!"

"SuA's right!" Yoohyeon added, her eyes glimmering with tears. "Gahyeon, I promise, I won't let you die!"

"How sweet," Hyuna snickered. "You know, I was the only one watching the night you and her had your first time. How are we getting so lucky to capture the submissive ones? I wonder..." She dissolved the knives and gripped both Dami's and Gahyeon's throats in her hands. "I wonder if they'll submit to me they way they did to you and JiU."

"NO!" That was the last straw for JiU and she dived at Sunmi. A smirk passed over her face and Sunmi tossed Gahyeon up into a tree, which split her head open on a branch in a much worse-looking way than Dahyun's had been. One hand stayed on Dami's neck while the other snaked around her waist and caressed her hip. Dami whimpered, but had no strength to fight as Sunmi leaped back. JiU grimaced; she could barely handle the sight of Dami's blood spilling over her.

"S- Stop."

Every head turned to stare at Mina as she spoke.

Hyuna sniffed. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Stop being a bitch and let her go!" Mina yelled, louder this time.

Sunmi's eyes narrowed and her grip increased on Dami's neck.

"That's right, I said that. Let Sunmi go!"

She pulled back and slammed a fist into Dami's stomach, right near her wound, and left her coughing up spatters of blood in the dirt as she charged at Mina. Chaeyoung sprang to meet her, but Sunmi's greater strength smashed her into the ground as she kept going.

"Chae!" Mina didn't even have time to get to her before Sunmi was pummeling her into the earth. Nayeon gasped, but she was torn between where she wanted to go. Yoohyeon was scrambling up the tree to get Gahyeon and laid her down carefully as she jumped down again. JiU was wailing as she knelt at Dami's side, pleading for her to stay as her girlfriend gagged and choked on her own blood. Jeongyeon didn't try to make a careful decision and rushed toward Mina and Sunmi, motioning Nayeon to JiU. All of Twice split up.

"Get off of my girl!" Chaeyoung snapped as she recovered and attacked Sunmi with Jihyo. Hyuna scoffed and retaliated hard.

"Gahyeon?" Momo ripped off her top and leaned down to her with Dahyun. "Gahyeon, can you hear me?"

"She can't," Yoohyeon gulped. "She's... she's unconscious. Quick, help me stop the bleeding." Momo slid her shirt underneath Gahyeon's head.

"Dami! Dami!" Sana frantically called her name as she pelted over to her with Nayeon hard on her heels. She nearly fainted as the sight of Dami's chest split apart.

Nayeon's face went white. "Oh god, I... I can actually see her ribs..."

"Holy shit..." JiU's breath hitched in her throat. "Yoobin, stay with me, please..."

"You will never get out of this!" Hyuna screeched, Sunmi's fist leaving a dark bruise on the side of Mina's face. "They will never find everyone who's had a hand in this!"

"You're wrong, Hyuna!" Yoohyeon snarled. "You're wrong!" Her tears flowed steadily as Gahyeon's blood soaked through the fabric of Momo's shirt. "Oh, my baby..."

Hyuna gave a haughty huff as she threw Mina into Chaeyoung. JiU paid no attention and kept her hand on Dami's neck.

"What the hell, Hyuna?" Jeongyeon snapped indignantly. "What is your problem with us?"

Sunmi's eye color flickered a few times before returning to solid red and Dara's voice spoke from her. "It's our game. And we like to make the rules."

JiU and Yoohyeon both screamed at the same time.

"Gahyeon, no!"

"Dami, you can't leave me!"

"Why do you need to do this?" Jihyo lamented, tears springing to her eyes.

Dara scoffed. "I thought you hated Dami for what she did to you. Why do you care about what happens to her?"

"Because I do forgive her." Shadowed by SuA and Hyewon, she cautiously knelt next to JiU. "And she... she doesn't deserve to suffer like this."

Dami coughed, stretching an arm out in Gahyeon's direction. "M- maknae..."

"You know..." Sunmi got to her feet. "It's going to happen. It'll be over for them."

The pulse under JiU's fingers abruptly faded and JiU screamed again. "DAMI!"

Gahyeon's eyes closed and her chest stopped rising and falling. As Yoohyeon buried her face in her girlfriend's neck, Dara laughed.

"You know we can bring them back, right? I can do it before their brains stop working."

"Please... please..." JiU moaned. "I know I can protect her... give me one last chance... give Yoohyeon one last chance to prove herself too..."

"There's just one thing I need you to do after if I save them."

"Tell us, Dara."

"If you want Gahyeon and Dami to live... once I leave this body..."

Her smile grew even more.

"... you need to kill Sunmi."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pounding ache was stampeding through her head.

"Run, Hyolyn, run!"

Blood was everywhere.

"Hyolyn!"

Pain ripped through her.

"No... please spare her!"

"Wendy!"

"Get me out of here!"

"Wendy, please wake up!"

She thrashed in the darkness of her mind, wailing.

"Wendy, come back to me! I love you! I can't let you go!"

"Love... love...?"

Wendy's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly, gasping as rivulets of sweat ran down her skin.

"Baby, you're finally awake!" Seulgi tentatively grasped her hand as Wendy twisted to look at herself; her group had dressed her in a pajama onesie and under it, she could feel the material of a strong menstrual pad in between her legs.

"Unnie, where's Hyolyn?"

"She's with Irene resting right now. Don't disturb her."

"But I... I have to see her!" Wendy whined. "I need to see that she's okay."

Joy stepped into the doorway, shaking her head. "Wendy, you don't want to. It- it's bad and you don't want to see it."

"J- Joy... please..."

"Look, she's lost a lot of blood and she nearly died. Irene unnie and Eunbi unnie had to do CPR on her earlier."

"I have to see her!"

"Not right now you don't."

Wendy threw her legs over the side of the bed, wrenching her hand away from Seulgi and hissing as pain flashed through her wrists, which made her notice how heavily bandaged her hands were.

"Wendy!" Seulgi reached out to her, but she pushed herself away.

"Oh my god... AAH!" The agony in her legs was unbearable and she dropped down to one knee.

"Come here." Seulgi leaned down to her. "You don't have to see her right now."

"Y- yes, I do." Wendy stumbled to her feet and Seulgi slid in front of her; her girlfriend's physical weakness prevented her from passing and she collapsed on her side, sobbing.

Seulgi gestured to Joy. Help me.

Joy raised an eyebrow. She's your girlfriend, your lover. What can I do if you can't do anything?

"Sooyoung, let me..." Wendy begged. "She needs me."

Yanking her unnie to the side, Joy spoke in a low voice. "Seulgi, it's not that I can't let her, but seeing Hyolyn like that will destroy her even more."

"Joy, it hurts so much to see them suffering. I... I honestly really want to let her go in... if only for the possibility she may stop crying." She hung her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I shouldn't have let Blackpink take her... what kind of a lover am I?"

"They would have killed her otherwise... and she saved a life. This is the least we can do for her at the moment."

Seulgi's eyes burned into Joy's. "No, it's not. Take us to her. Now."

"But..."

"Now. I'm not saying no to her again."

Sighing in defeat, Joy waited as Seulgi carefully swept Wendy into her arms, then led the pair down the hall to the Iz*one comfort room. The two were astonished at the way it had been set up, like a mini-hospital area without the special equipment. In the center was a newly added mattress and laying on it were Hyolyn and Irene. Both were tucked under a blanket, the badly injured girl a mass of white skin, dried blood, and bandages in the other's grasp. Irene had her arms around Hyolyn's bruised abdomen and Hyolyn was nuzzling into her neck.

"Shh, she's sleeping," Irene murmured as she lifted her head slightly. "I just got her to sleep."

"Hyolyn!" Wendy shrieked, obviously not hearing her. "Hyolyn!"

Irene stiffened. "Hey, she's asleep!"

"Wendy?" Hyolyn's eyes half-opened. "Y- you're here..."

She struggled from Seulgi's arms and knelt beside her. "Oh, Hyolyn, I'm right at your side. I'm right here."

"Seungwan... how could I ever thank you in my life for what you've done for me? You've risked your life, took so many hits, fought so hard... just for me. You're in so much pain for that... but why?"

"Because you're our friend and you never deserved what happened to you." Wendy wrapped an arm around her neck and turned her toward herself, but Hyolyn till clung to Irene. "You never deserved what they did to you..."

"They never stopped..." Hyolyn breathed. "At least never when I needed them to. Bora enjoyed it every time... laughing each time she was the one to make me bleed. That pain... it's never going to go away completely."

"I'm not surprised, you poor thing." Wendy comfortingly rubbed her shoulder. "They tortured you and made you their sex slave for months. I can't change that. But what I can try to change is your shame of it all."

"That's what Irene said," Hyolyn whispered. "And she's trying." She rolled over again and buried her face in Irene's chest. Irene shot her a look that said, Leave her alone if she says so. She wants me right now.

You're welcome to her. I want someone to make her feel safe, but I got her out of that hell and I just want to know she's okay.

Both she and Joy left the room, but Joy broke down as soon as they were outside.

"Hey, Sooyoung, are you okay?"

"I've lost her," Joy groaned. "I've lost her."

"What do you mean?"

"Wendy, you saw the way Hyolyn was acting, turning away from even you to cuddle up to her again. She... she knows she can't have you, so in her efforts to turn away... she's started to fall in love with Irene."

Seulgi tilted her head as she exited behind them and closed the door. "Why does that matter to you?"

Joy glared at her, tears shining in her eyes, and Seulgi bit her lip. "Oh..."

"I don't have a chance now!" she whined. "Irene can't reject Hyolyn if she does grow to love her more, not after what's happened to her."

"That's honestly kind of selfish," Seulgi pointed out. "Don't you want Irene to be happy?"

"Of course I do!" Joy fired back. "But I... I can't help it. I can't help that jealousy... I just can't." She turned and fled downstairs to the living room. Wendy attempted to follow, but stumbled to her knees, crying into her hands. "How could everything have gone wrong so fast?"

"Come here, love." Seulgi knelt by her.

"Seulgi, you saw Hyolyn. Her body is broken. She is broken. Bora Dasom, and Soyou hurt her so badly that she can barely move. I saw the pain in her eyes." She sniffed. "And I'm broken too."

"No, you're not," Seulgi told her, laying her hand on Wendy's forehead for a moment before sliding her arm under the crook of her legs and holding her girlfriend close. "And I will show you you're not. But first, you need something in there." She kissed her belly. "I'll make you some food."

"D- don't want it."

"You need it, though. Don't struggle. Let's just get some oatmeal into you and at least ease your stomach. Are you forgetting that you threw up before?"

Reluctantly, Wendy laid her head down and let herself be carried down to the kitchen, where she was set on a chair. The two looked up as someone sighed, "How are you holding up?"

It was Yena, who stood behind the counter with Hitomi's arms around her waist.

"She's not doing well, Yena. Where's the rest of Iz*one?"

"A few went to visit Wonyoung and the rest went to get pain meds for Wendy and Hyolyn. Except for Minju... she's sticking to where Yeri is."

All of the Iz*one girl returned soon after, just when Seulgi was finishing up making Wendy's oatmeal and was spoon-feeding it to her with little baby bites. Eunbi halted when she saw them and Seulgi set the spoon down. "Hey."

Yujin nervously stepped over to Wendy. "Are you okay?" Seulgi shook her head, warning her to stay away. "Yujin, she's not okay. Don't say anything."

"I'm sorry about what's happened," Yuri dared to add. "It's not fair that this has been done to you."

"Stop saying that!" Wendy bawled, her head snapping back. "Does no one here care about Hyolyn? She put on a brave face when I was in there, but what the other Sistar members have done to her has permanently scarred her! And of course everyone just starts asking about me. What about her?!"

Even Joy returned to the room as Wendy slid down to the floor, hugging her knees. "I can't let her down..."

"You're not letting her down," Joy exclaimed. "Stop thinking that you are. You saved her from the hellhole that likely would have killed her soon."

"It still could kill her! Her body's destroyed... they reached so deep into her that their torture could have damaged her beyond repair..."

"Baby girl, please, I need you to calm down!" Seulgi soothed. Wendy lashed out and she pinned her arms to her side. "Seungwan, it's okay..."

The doorbell rang and all of their eyes looked toward the door.

"I'll get it," Yena offered.

She edged over to the entrance and unlocked and opened it carefully.

"Huh..." She furrowed her brow. "No one's there."

Chaeyeon rolled her eyes. "Could have been a prank or a sneak attack. Sasaengs these days..."

Shrugging, Yena closed it and faced them again. "No one cares in times of crisis. Our friends were practically in a coma for over three days and people have the nerve to come here when they're still trying to recover."

They all turned back to Wendy and Yena took a step forward, unsure of what to do next.

And then a rumble shook the ground, so forceful that Hitomi's knees slammed into the side of the counter and Sakura slipped in a way that knocked her unconscious when her head hit the edge. Chaeyeon's eyes widened. "What's going on?"

In a quick frenzy, the door burst open, splinters of wood flying off of it. Yena whirled around, but then a slicing sound thundered through the air and she froze, her gaze moving down. A huge dagger had been thrust into her stomach, piercing all the way through her frame and protruding from her back in a burst of scarlet.

Dasom grinned, raising her other hand, and stabbed another knife into Yena's right eye. She shrieked as her attacker pulled them out and collapsed.

"YENA!" Hitomi screeched, rushing over to her in tears. Dasom stepped around Yena's convulsing body and strode forward.

Eunbi stood protectively in front of the rest of her group members and the Red Velvet trio. "Dasom, please don't..."

Bora smiled as she and Soyou emerged from behind the former Sistar maknae. "Hello, Wendy. Did you miss us?"

"N- never!" Wendy growled.

Soyou smirked as well. "Where is Hyolyn?"

"We're not letting you get to her again!" Eunbi retorted. "It's over! She's not going to suffer any longer!"

Dasom, Soyou, and Bora snarled in unison.

"It's never going to be over."

Their lightning wrapped around Eunbi's torso and dragged her over to them just as Yena screamed her name in a mixture of agony and fear.

The Iz*one leader was completely immobilized when Bora charged forward and snapped her neck.

Chapter Text

"We can't do that!" JiU exclaimed. "Dara, you can't ask us to do that!"

"I can ask you to do anything." Sunmi kicked Dami's body with a vicious grin. "And it's because you want something from us that can't be ignored." She sniffed disdainfully. "Due to your defiance, I think that you have to do it before Minzy and Hyuna and I bring them back. I give you my word that once she is dead, reviving will happen. Make your choice." Her sword fell as SuA's feet just as Dara left Sunmi's body and she fell to her knees, the red in her eyes disappearing.

"Sunmi?" Jihyo called uncertainly.

Sunmi's eyes met the terrified gaze of the Twice leader and she muttered, "Someone do it."

"What?"

She raised her voice so they all could hear. "Do what they want! It's what I want too! Kill me!"

"We... we can't do that!" Yoohyeon admitted, looking at the katana, which was still stained with Dami's blood.

"Please... I'm too weak to do it myself... you have to hurry before they can't come back!" She looked at JiU, then Yoohyeon. "You love them, I know you do." Sunmi tilted her head back, exposing her neck.

SuA sighed. "Hyewon, we can do it. We can put her out of her misery."

Hyewon picked up the blade and she and SuA each gripped it with both hands. For a short time, SuA was gaining doubts, but then her focus found Gahyeon's still eyelids and Dami's bloody chest and the doubts vanished. She wants this... and we want our friends back.

They hovered the sword over her neck and the rest of Dreamcatcher and Twice stared with bated breath. Sunmi gave a slight nod and closed her eyes as she whispered, "Thank you."

Blood gushed from the open wound as SuA and Hyewon sliced the katana through her throat, nearly decapitating her. Sunmi slumped to the ground, a grateful look on her face. The weapon clattered down beside her and Hyewon was pale as she buried her head in SuA's chest. "Oh no... w- we really just did that... we murdered Sunmi..."

"Baby, baby, it's alright," SuA cooed. "She's in a better place now, far from all the suffering she's been through. And look." She motioned toward JiU.

Sparkling gold lines were sliding over Dami's deep injury, swirling around it as the wound slowly closed up. JiU shakily touches her neck again and her lip quivered. She's alive!

"Oh, Dami, Dami, Dami!" JiU cried, holding her close and kissing her forehead. There was still blood on her, but she had a pulse. "You're alive, you're alive... I'm so sorry, babygirl..."

Dami didn't wake, but her eyelashes fluttered and her scarred chest moved. JiU gestured to Tzuyu to hand her the shirt her lover had been wearing and gently spread it over her body to cover up her breasts and privates. She still felt guilty that she'd ended up that way in the first place, bared deliberately before her group and Twice.

"G- Gahyeon?"

JiU's daze was broken as she heard Yoohyeon's small whimper and she looked at her. Gahyeon still lay on the dirt. Her head was healed, but her chest wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing.

"No! NO!" Yoohyeon sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "She promised you'd both come back! Gahyeon, come back to me! Y- you can't be gone..."

All of the girls adopted a terrified expression as the sheer reality of what was happening ripples through them, that one single thought implanting itself into their heads.

Gahyeon is dead.

Gahyeon is dead.

Gahyeon is dead.

Momo winced and softly wrapped an arm around Yoohyeon, moving her closer. Yoohyeon wept into her shoulder, her body heaving as she cried with all her might.

"My baby, my baby..." she whined. "I remember... during our first time... you told me you were never going to leave me... and they made that a lie! And now you're gone!" She shoved Momo away and embraced Gahyeon's still body, pulling her into her chest and lifting her tear-stained face to the sky.

"PLEASE!" she shrieked, shivering violently. "LET ME HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO BRING HER BACK!"

When no answer came, Yoohyeon sat back on her haunches and pressed her lips to Gahyeon's, tears dripping relentlessly onto her white face.

"Jagiya, I'm not giving up on you," she wheezed. "I will find a way to bring you back, I promise. You will come back to me, you hear?!"

"Yoohyeon unnie." Dahyun carefully knelt behind the older girl and curled her arms around her so that her hands softly rested against Yoohyeon's hips. "They did this on purpose. I don't... I don't think Gahyeon's coming back."

"No! I won't believe it!" Yoohyeon spat, laying Gahyeon's body on the ground and twisting her head to look Dahyun in the eye. "This has been done to us already and they always bring us back, even if it's to torture us again. She's not gone forever! I refuse to believe it!"

"Yoohyeon..." Dahyun swallowed. "We don't know if that'll happen. You... might have to let her go."

"You don't seem to understand that I can't let her go at all!"

"Hey, she's with Sunmi now. She'll be alright."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Yoohyeon folded in on herself, her head dropping to her thighs. "Gahyeon is my life, my soul, my happiness. Without her, my world is dark. She had her whole life ahead of her too... and it's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair!"

Chaeyoung had been helping Mina stand, but both of them recoiled as Yoohyeon burst into a fit of screaming and wailing, grief pouring out of her in waves of sound and movement. She jumped to her feet, dislodging Dahyun's hands from her hips, and dashed over to Sunmi's body, slamming her fists into her lifeless frame.

"Dara, Minzy, Hyuna, you are dead when I get out of here! Come back so I can kill you all and make you pay for what you've done!"

"Yoohyeon, control yourself!" Jihyo roared, roughly grabbing her arms. "You won't get revenge by hurting Sunmi when she's already dead!"

She whirled around and smashed an uppercut into Jihyo's jaw as hard as she could.

"JIHYO!" Tzuyu shouted, running to her leader as she crumpled in the dirt, yelping in pain. "Yoohyeon, why would you do that? She did nothing wrong!"

Yoohyeon scoffed. "That shouldn't have done much."

"What?!"

"She hasn't suffered the way Dami has, the way Gahyeon has! Does she even care that Gahyeon is dead?"

"Wait... what...?"

Yoohyeon's eyes widened. Dami was awake.

"What... what happened?" Based on her angle, she saw Sunmi first and gasped. "You... you killed her?"

"Hyewon and I did." SuA bowed her head.

"What about...?" Dami couldn't even finish her sentence when she saw Jihyo and spotted Yoohyeon's fist spattered with blood. "Yoohyeon, what did you do?"

"She tried to stop her from pummeling Sunmi's body," Momo grumbled. "In revenge for Gahyeon's death."

"Gahyeon?" Dami's eyes flickered to the maknae. "No... oh no..." She retched bile onto the earth.

Tzuyu didn't see it; she was looking at Jihyo. She could tell her jaw was entirely fragmented from the force of Yoohyeon's punch, blood spurting from her mouth as she was helped to her feet.

But Dreamcatcher paid no attention... at least until Jihyo's jaw suddenly healed on its own and the wind whipped up around the girls. SuA tried to grab Sunmi's arm, but her bloody form was torn away from her, flying into the sky and disappearing in a shower of red sparkles.

No matter what, Yoohyeon held her lover as tight as possible, even when she was thrown into a tree over and over and dirt spat into her eyes.

"Let go!" Hyewon screeched to her, desperately holding onto a stump and SuA's hand. "Yoohyeon, you have to let Gahyeon go!"

"NEVER!" she fired back. "I die with her if I need to!" She hid her face in Gahyeon's chest, letting herself be whirled around with her.

"Yoohyeon!" Chaeyoung called hysterically. "Hang on to something!"

"I won't let her go!"

A booming voice reached their ears, one that sounded a little like Minzy.

"She can be saved."

The wind abruptly stopped and Yoohyeon looked up in shock. "Wh- what?"

"Your precious Gahyeon can be saved. We can make her breathe again. But you then have to reach the end of this jungle... the end of the death maze. If you agree to start it, Gahyeon will breathe again... but she will not wake up. And if you make it to the end in time, she will awaken and live. Fail... and she'll be torn apart, never to rise again."

Yoohyeon opened her mouth to respond, but Sana smacked her. "Don't answer yet! Do you really want to embark on a journey through a jungle death maze?"

"Yes! I'd do anything for her!"

"Like hurting me?" Jihyo groaned, tentatively rubbing her jaw. "That was actually really painful."

"We'll do it!"

Twice stared in shock at the girl who'd spoken.

Not Yoohyeon... but JiU.

"JiU, are you serious?" Mina snapped. "What about Dami? She's been weakened so badly; do you really want to put her in danger again? And if they've died here, won't they die if you go back?"

"No." Minzy's voice was now slightly more distorted. "They would retain any healed injuries, which will open again, but no, they would not die there unless the injuries kill them. But that'll only be if they don't really die here."

"We can do this," JiU exclaimed. "Come on, all of you, don't reject this; don't do that to Yoohyeon! She was right... there now is a chance for Gahyeon to breathe and wake up again and we should take that chance. Please..." She held Dami close as she dressed her in the shirt again and clutched her body while she stood up.

"We'll do it!" SuA and Hyewon chorused in unison.

"Yeah!" Siyeon helped Handong up and let her lean into her chest. "We will save her. She's a part of our Dreamcatcher heart and we'll do everything we can for her."

"For Gahyeon!" Dahyun yelled, surprising the rest of her members as she pumped her fist int the air. "We're doing this, Twice!"

"For Gahyeon!" Momo joined in the cry with Dahyun, Yoohyeon, JiU, SuA, Hyewon, Siyeon, and Handong. One by one, each of them, except for Dami (JiU was covering her girlfriend's ears), joined as well, until only Jihyo was not shouting with them. She had a disapproving look on her face as she saw that they were siding with Dreamcatcher.

"Come on, Jihyo!" Tzuyu pleaded. "You can't be so cruel as to not let us go and let Gahyeon die for nothing!" She gave her a puppy-eyed look.

"Ugh..." Jihyo swallowed and smiled. "Fine. When you put it like that... I'll go with you."

Fifteen heads lifted to the sky as Yoohyeon swung Gahyeon back into her arms and her voice mingled with fourteen others as they all hollered, "WE'RE DOING THIS FOR HER! BRING BACK LEE GAHYEON!"

Yoohyeon's heart swelled as she then felt a faint pulse on Gahyeon's neck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No!" Yuri ran to her leader in tears, screaming her name. Eunbi had fallen as soon as Bora had let go and was convulsing slightly. In a panic, she ran her hands over Eunbi and flipped her over. White bone bulged out of the back of her neck, splattering blood over her shoulder blades.

But she was still breathing. And that was all Yuri cared about.

"EUNBI!" Wendy cried.

Bora advanced on her and growled, "Where is she? You better tell us or we will make you suffer even more than ever."

"Never!" Chaewon and Nako stood in front of her instantly. Tears poured from Nako's eyes as she yelled, "We won't let you hurt them again!"

"What's going on?" Irene was rubbing her eyes as she walked in. "What's with all the screaming? Come on, I literally just got Hyolyn to sleep again..."

She took her hands away from her face and gasped as her gaze adjusted, roaming over Yena, who was shrieking in pain as she scrabbled at the bloody mess that had once been her eye, and Eunbi, laying almost lifelessly in Yuri's arms with blood flowing from her neck.

"What the hell?"

Soyou darted forward and grabbed the Red Velvet leader by the throat; she heavily struggled for breath.

"Where is Hyolyn?"

"I... will never... tell you..." She stiffened as Soyou held her waist and cupped her between the legs. "What are you doing...?"

"Hmm... maybe we'll make you ours instead then. You seem like a perfectly delicious girl to make our slut until we get a go at Dreamcatcher." Soyou bit the side of Irene's neck and she winced.

"Let her go!" Joy exclaimed fearfully.

"Soyou, she came from upstairs, I believe," Bora told her. "Hyolyn might be up there."

"Protect Hyolyn!" Irene screeched at the top of her lungs. "Don't let them get to her!"

Yujin, Chaewon, Nako, and Minju rushed upstairs to where Hyolyn was as Joy and Seulgi moved Wendy over to Sakura. "Chaeyeon, go!"

As Dasom and Bora shot up the stairs too, Chaeyeon attempted to follow, only to be smashed into the wall by Soyou's power. She landed next to Hitomi and frantically shouted, "Hitomi, call 911! They're not going to survive otherwise!"

Hitomi whimpered as she pulled out her phone. "Chaeyeon... you need to do it... I can't get myself off of Yena..." She handed the device to the older girl and gently placed her hand over the bloodied hole on Yena's face.

"Oh, of course." Chaeyeon felt her heart melt for Yena as she took the phone and dialed 911.

The four Iz*one members that had left rushed to Hyolyn's recovery area as fast as possible and the Sistar pair burst in behind them. Hyolyn jolted awake and shakily sat up. "W- what...?"

"Yah!" Yujin threw herself over her as hot blue fire blasted from Dasom's hands and struck her back, setting her shirt to flames.

"Yujin!" Nako yanked her away and threw her onto the floor as she stamped it out. "Oh, Yujin..."

"Leave Hyolyn alone!" Chaewon snapped, she and Minju planting themselves in front of her. "She's suffered enough at your hands."

Dasom gave a fake groan. "Why?"

Without thinking, Minju charged, ramming into Dasom's chest. Bora's hands shot forward and violet lightning flowed in a bright wave at her, but she didn't let go, not even as it forced unimaginable pain into Minju, striking deep into her core. Her eyes watered as she kept her grip on Dasom. Bora was so absorbed in her task that she didn't even notice when Joy and Seulgi dashed in and went to Hyolyn, sweeping her into their grasp.

"We're getting her to the Red Velvet house," Seulgi whispered to Chaewon. "Tell Iz*one. We have to get her out, but we can sneak her back when possible."

They hoisted her up and Joy took her full body weight as Seulgi leaped out of the window. She quickly followed with Hyolyn, feeling no pain when she hit the ground. The two of them ran, relieved that their enemies didn't know exactly where they were going.

"Come on!" Nako cried as she helped the singed Yujin to her feet and called to Chaewon. "She's out! We have to get help for Eunbi and Yena!"

"What?!" Bora's lightning stopped and her eyes widened. "Dasom, they've helped Hyolyn escape!"

"Shit!" Dasom cursed as she tossed the exhausted Minju off of her and stood. "We have to get down to Soyou and tell her. Also... I think Irene should take the fall for this."

"Agreed." As they exited, Chaewon leaned down and shook Minju. "Come on, on, Minju, get up; we have to follow them! They're going to rape Irene!"

"Ngh..." Minju got to her feet and all of them ran down to the living room, just as Irene shrieked in fear.

"UNNIE, NO!" Wendy wailed from the kitchen, which ended up waking Sakura. "IRENE, FIGHT! DON'T LET THEM HURT YOU THE WAY THEY HURT ME!"

Nako gulped as she peeked into the room. Bora had a thrashing Irene pinned beneath her on the couch, holding her wrists as Soyou stripped her lower half of all clothing.

"Why are you struggling, baby girl?" Bora cooed. "Don't you want to feel my tongue on that pretty body of yours?"

"NO!" she sobbed. "NO!"

Dasom conjured an orange energy whip and swung it, leaving a mark on Irene's neck; she yelped in pain as the whip disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"I'd suggest you cooperate with us," Soyou growled as Dasom pulled out her knives again and brandished them wildly. Irene gulped as she saw that Yena's blood was still on them. "Dasom's already destroyed the vision of that petty Iz*one girl and may have actually killed her. I trust that you don't want that to happen."

"Please... please... let me go..."

"She's right. Let her go!" Minju shouted as she stepped into their line of vision. Memories of Yeri bleeding out on the hospital floor from Bom's assault raged through her head as she challenged the trio holding Irene. Knowing that most of Sistar was part of the scheming group that had almost killed her lover made her madder and she glared furiously at them. "Let Joohyun go!"

"Aww..." Bora gave a fake pout. "I at least wanted to do something to her first before our fun was spoiled." Her face brightened and she took a knife from Dasom, setting it in between Irene's thighs. "Well, I guess if you didn't want me in you, then maybe..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Soyou raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little extreme, even for us? You could mutilate her far worse than anything and even taking out Yena's eye was less crazy. Even keeping Hyolyn as our sex slave was less sadistic."

"You have a problem with it, Dasom?"

"Nope." Dasom shook her head, grinning like a hungry tiger.

"Oh my god..." Nako's hands went to her mouth as the other girls emerged behind Minju. "Don't do it, Bora, please... you'll destroy her more than killing her would..."

"Why not?" Bora slid the weapon closer and Irene grimaced; she couldn't fight without it hurting her.

"Bora unnie, please..." Irene begged, hot tears streaming from her eyes. "Have some mercy..."

"What will any of you do if, say, I don't do it?" she sneered.

"We'll let you go," Minju replied. "You can go without us turning you in."

Bora smirked. "We know you can't do it anyway, but I think scaring you was enough."

She tossed Irene at Chaewon and the Red Velvet girl crashed into the floor at her feet. But before they left, Dasom walked to Minju and pressed the tip of her remaining knife against her throat.

"I'm wanting to break someone tonight," she murmured. "It'll be our revenge... that the little one gets what she deserves from us."

Then Dasom, Bora, and Soyou were gone.

Chaewon helped Irene put her clothes back on and then they, Nako, Minju, and Yujin shot into the kitchen.

Sirens soon sounded outside.

And all of the girls were crying as Hitomi and Chaeyeon brought the nearly-lifeless forms of Yena and Eunbi outside to the waiting ambulances. As soon as they were taken away, Hitomi burst into tears and sank to her knees. Sakura raced forward to comfort her.

"It's my fault, all my fault," Hitomi moaned. "I shouldn't have let her go to the door when I knew we weren't expecting anyone... I might have killed Yena... and if she survives, she'll never love me again..."

"That is not true," Sakura replied. "She still loves you... and none of this is your fault."

It was a while before she could calm her down.

"Oh no..." Minju's breathing grew faster. "We have another problem."

"What kind of problem?" Make inquired angrily. "We have enough already."

"Dasom... she said it before she left... that the little one will be getting what she deserves from them tonight." Her mouth dropped open. "We could be too late already... no... they're going after Wonyoung!"

"Are you sure?" Yujin asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I'm sure! Come on, Sakura's driving."

Leaving Wendy behind with Hitomi to guard her, the group sped to the hospital in Eunbi's car. Ignoring the receptionist, nurses, and doctors who tried to stop them and insisted that everything was fine, Sakura led her fellow members down to Wonyoung's room. She was praying that they'd find her sleeping peacefully and that Dasom's threat was just a false alarm.

It wasn't.

The room was destroyed, with a wreckage of a bed in the center. In front of it all lay a motionless Wonyoung, her hospital gown in shreds around her and blood all over her naked body.

"No, no, no..." Yujin whined. "No..."

A nurse came in beside them and gasped. "Oh my..."

"We're taking her home," Minju breathed, the words sticking in her throat as she forced them out. "She needs to be with us."

It was evident to all of them what had been done to her and it was much more horrifying than what they'd seen from Hyolyn.

Sakura knelt down next to Wonyoung's limp body and slid a hand under her as she kissed her forehead.

"Jang Wonyoung... I'm so sorry..." she murmured.

But she knew an apology would not stop the blood spilling out of Wonyoung from between her legs.

Chapter Text

None of the Iz*one members could get anything out of Wonyoung. At the time, they'd given up their mission of trying to find Dreamcatcher, but the youngest was always silent. Despite the unimaginable pain she was in, Wonyoung would often roam around the house as if she couldn't feel it. Over a week had passed and still, she had not spoken, not even when her unnies were trying to soothe her scars and wounds. She had refused to eat since being home and barely drank anything. All her friends could tell she was on the edge.

But one night, she completely snapped.

Chaeyeon was sleeping with her that night and at a certain point, when she rolled over, her hand brushed Wonyoung's upper thigh.

A shrill scream split the air and Chaeyeon woke up immediately, her eyes widening at the sight of her bedmate thrashing next to her.

"Wonyoung!" she cried, placing both hands on her chest.

"Go away, go away!" Wonyoung shrieked, her eyes tightly closed as she threw her head back. "No, no, no... it hurts, it hurts! Bora, please, don't do this!"

She's stuck in a nightmare, Chaeyeon realized. It's from back when Bora, Dasom, and Soyou did the unforgivable.

Her pale hands clawed at the air, clawed at something invisible above her, something that was tearing her apart.

"Stop! Stop! Please, I'll do anything!"

She was wailing at the top of her lungs when the rest of her group rushed in.

"Chaeyeon, is she okay?" Sakura questioned rapidly. "She sounds like she's being murdered!"

"I won't let you silence me again! No, stop! Stop hurting me! NO!" Wonyoung convulsed in agony. "No, my first... agh, it hurts so much... it's all gone... I can't live like this again..."

"Oh, poor thing..." Nako crept forward and gently grasped Wonyoung's shuddering hand. "Sweet maknae... you didn't deserve this."

"Don't try to be sweet like this! You're hurting me!"

"Snap her out of it!" Yujin yelled. "Or she's going to be trapped!"

Nako grabbed Wonyoung's shoulders as her movements began to slow, but Chaeyeon, who still had her hands on her chest, felt her breath catch. "Nako, her heartbeat's slowing greatly!"

"No, no, no, what's happening to me?" Wonyoung's eyes shot open. "M- my chest... aah..."

"Oh my god, she's having a heart attack," Sakura breathed. "A mini-one anyway... that's what's forcing her into cardiac arrest... the stress of the memories is to much to handle..."

Her body stilled, eyes closing, but mouth still wide open.

"WONYOUNG!!" Sakura yelled, dashing to her side and shoving Nako and Chaeyeon away. "Don't you dare leave us!" Her hands pounded on the young maknae's chest. "Yujin, help me get her breathing!"

"What? How? I don't know how to do this..."

"Give her rescue breaths! Just kiss her and breathe into her body."

"Sakura... doesn't that make me take her first real kiss?"

"God, Yujin, that doesn't matter! We're trying to save her life! Do it now!"

"Oh, sweet baby," Nako moaned, pushing her face into Yuri's body as she backed away. "This can't really be happening..."

"Does anyone know where the emergency defibrillator is?" Sakura called desperately. "We need to get her heart started up again!"

"I know!" Nako exclaimed through her tears. "But I can't use it well..."

"I can do it." Minju grasped Nako's wrist. "Let's go."

The pair left the room and Sakura pushed her hands down again.

"Careful, you could hurt her!" Chaeyeon scolded. "Stop and let Yujin help."

When she released her, Yujin hooked her arm around Wonyoung's head and locked their lips together. The unmoving girl's chest rose and fell with each breath put into her, but her eyes remained closed.

"Come on, Minju, come on..." Sakura gritted her teeth.

"We're back, we're back!" Nako gasped out as she and Minju returned a minute later. "Minju, do your thing."

Chaeyeon reached forward on the bed and pried Wonyoung's tank top off of her, exposing her bare chest.

"Are you sure you know how to use it?" Sakura studied Minju.

"I can do it with you," Chaeyeon offered. "I... I had to save Chaeryeong's life with one of these once."

"P- please do..." Minju's hands shook as she positioned the defibrillator pads on the lifeless body's chest. "I don't want to kill her..."

After making her take a deep breath, Chaeyeon took the paddles and checked the defibrillator monitor. Swallowing briefly, she laid them on her. "Minju, charge it!"

Once they were charged, although Yuri worried it was too much, Chaeyeon took her own deep breath. Come on, you can do it. You once saved your own sister's life and you can save Wonyoung's.

"Clear!"

Wonyoung's back arched violently with the force of the shock and for a moment, all of the girls thought it really had been too much. But when she fell back down... a tiny gasp came from her. When her member checked the monitor again, her own gasp came out. Her heartbeat's back! She's alive!

"Unnies?"

The whisper was so quiet that even Chaeyeon herself could barely hear it, but it was her. It was her.

"M- maknae?" It was all a little surprising, with that being the first calm word she'd uttered in a while.

"Chaeyeon unnie... I- I can't do this anymore..."

"Shh, don't waste your breath; you just got it back." She took the pads off of her, replaced her top, and tucked her under the blanket.

"But you don't understand!" Wonyoung whined in a small voice. "It hurts and I feel so ashamed of it... how I let them get to me... how- how I let them get into me like they did..."

"Sweetheart, you almost died just now because you were worrying too much about it. Focus on breathing."

"Unnie... you don't get it... Dasom locked the door... the three of them violated me everywhere... I couldn't even scream because it hurt so bad, as well as when they were on top of me..."

Everywhere. The words stuck in all of the minds in the room. Everywhere. They took full advantage of her body and she was forced to endure what no innocent soul ever should.

Nako started to cry and that set Wonyoung off too. The latter drew her knees up and hugged them, burying her face in the gap between. And while Nako soon stopped, she didn't.

"Little one, little one, calm down," Sakura soothed, inching forward and cupping her face. "We won't be able to listen and help if you can't calm yourself."

"Th- they said they were claiming me as theirs forever... that I would never forget... and they were right... my first was ripped from me so brutally my body couldn't handle it... and long before I should have had my first..."

Chaeyeon eventually sent the rest of the group out, with instructions to Sakura to run out and buy a device that would tell her if Wonyoung's heartbeat stopped while she was asleep, and then listened to Wonyoung rant about her pain. And she really listened. Her voice broke off at one point to croak, "Can I have some water? And... can you leave the window open? I need some nature air."

"Of course." The older sympathetically pinched her cheeks, switched on the device her girlfriend had gotten her, and left quickly with the open window letting a cool breeze through.

"That poor girl," she muttered to herself as she took a glass out of the cabinet. Eunbi and Yena had heard about Wonyoung's deathly rape and both agreed that it had been worse than their injuries. "She shouldn't have had to endure all that brutality."

And neither should Dreamcatcher have to.

When she returned to the room, Chaeyeon found Wonyoung kneeling by the window, fresh night air blowing in her face. Her lip was quivering as a tear dripped down her cheek.

"Wonyoung, sweetie, I have your water."

The reply was something she couldn't hear.

"What?"

Wonyoung half-turned her head. "I... I want to jump."

"Oh, little one, no!" Chaeyeon set the glass on the nightstand before leaning down and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Why?"

She felt her tremble. "I just... I can't do it. I can't live with this shame. I can't live... I don't want to live... knowing what I let them do to me..."

"You didn't let them do anything," Chaeyeon snarled. "Bora, Dasom, and Soyou have power beyond what any of us can fathom, not to mention that they are much older than you and have likely had a lot of time to develop it. They shouldn't have gone after you in the first place and that was entirely wrong. Bora is the oldest and she's twice your age!"

Tears glimmered in the girl's eyes, shining in the faint moonlight, and her hands went to the windowsill.

"No!" Chaeyeon grasped her wrists. "We're not letting you go."

"Why?"

"You know why. And we'll do everything to help you get through this."

"But you still don't understand at all!" Wonyoung sobbed, crumpling against Chaeyeon's body. "This pain will never go away... never... I can't ever forget how they so roughly went down on me..." She hid her face in her unnie's neck.

"I don't think she's asking you to forget." Both of them looked up to see Yujin walking in. "She's just requesting that you let all of us help before you decide to kill yourself."

"Y- you heard?"

"Yeah, I did. Chaeyeon left the door open when she brought you water." Yujin swiped the glass off of the nightstand and dropped to one knee beside the pair. Her hand rose and held the the water container to Wonyoung's lips. "Come on, drink."

"No." She weakly batted at it like a cat.

"Drink," Yujin growled in a low voice. "Now."

Frightened by her tone, Wonyoung tipped her head back and let her pour a bit of liquid down her throat. As soon as it entered her mouth, she shivered. With small sips, she finally managed to get it all down.

"Good, good," Yujin cooed, rubbing her shoulder. "Can we try to get some food in you?"

"No!"

"Look, you need to eat. You're so pale and extremely thin. We can't have you getting ill."

"I don't wanna." She pouted. "I don't wanna eat!"

The way Wonyoung spoke in a high-pitched baby wail was breaking Yujin's heart and she clenched her jaw. "Wonyoung, please... do it for me. If not for Chaeyeon and I... then for Yeri, for Yena, and for Hyolyn. For Eunbi as well. Our leader could die, Wonyoung, and she probably feels terrible that you've ended up like this. Can you at least be strong for her right now?"

Wonyoung stared at her with large pupils. "Carry me?"

Yujin scooped her up without a second thought, noticing with worry that her frame was incredibly thin and lightweight. Chaeyeon slipped her tank top farther over her stomach as they brought her down to the kitchen.

"Let's start off with just some chicken noodle soup," Yujin suggested.

"Soup?" Hitomi stumbled into the kitchen, gazing at her through bloodshot eyes. "Who's making soup? Oh..." Her gaze had caught Wonyoung.

"Careful." Chaeyeon whispered in her ear as she went to her. "She's more deeply affected by the rape than we originally thought. Normally, she'd at least try to make her own food, but... I think she was somehow turned into a complete submissive by them."

"Oh, poor Wonyoung..." Hitomi bit her lip. "It's gotten that bad?"

"Yes, that and more. She told me earlier that she wanted to jump out the window because she didn't want to live with the shame anymore."

"God... that's horrible."

"Definitely. Can you help me make the soup?"

"Of course." Hitomi smiled and followed her. Yujin gently sat down at the counter and propped Wonyoung up on her lap.

"There, there, sweetheart," she whispered to the maknae as she kissed her cheek. "We'll get the shape of you back yet..."

"She told me to accept it," Wonyoung mumbled.

"What?"

"When Bora first came in... she pinned me down... and Dasom and Soyou put their l- lips all over me... she told me to accept their kisses... because th- they claimed they were my eommas... they said... to accept them as my mommies..."

Yet again, she burst into tears.

Even a little kiss riles her up. We need to calm her down entirely before we can ever even think of finding Dreamcatcher again. And that means we have to allow her to let it all out.

"That was the worst they could do, I hope," Yujin found herself saying.

"It wasn't, it wasn't!" Wonyoung's head snapped back as she howled the words. "They hurt me more than anyone could ever understand! I can still feel it... oh my god, they went so deep... Bora's magic made a bunch of s- sex toys and they t- tortured me for so long with the door sealed... manipulated everything so they could do it for so long..." She hiccuped.

"This really is my fault," Hitomi whimpered, bowing her head. "It is. I was so upset about Yena and I only now realize that every moment I cried was another moment poor Wonyoung was being hurt."

"W- Wonyoung?" Nako timidly called her name as she came in and stepped over to her. "Hey, I'm here for you..."

"Nako unnie," Wonyoung squeaked, stretching both arms out to her. "Nakooooo..."

"Come here, sweetie," Nako purred, seating herself on another chair. Yujin passed Wonyoung over; though she was so much taller than her, the Iz*one girl felt so small in her grasp. "S- stay with me, Nako... and Yujin..."

"It's okay, we'll always be here," Yujin answered, softly taking her hand and swiping her thumbs over the younger's palms. "We'll never let you go."

Wonyoung softly laid her head back on Nako's shoulder and closed her eyes until Chaeyeon and Hitomi set a warm bowl in front of her and placed a tiny ice cube in it.

"Your soup's ready." Nako nudged the younger and banded her back to Yujin, who took a spoon from Hitomi and scooped up a noodle with some of the thick liquid. "Eat."

Very slowly, Wonyoung leaned forward and tentatively sucked up the soup and noodle. Her eyes widened and her shoulders shook as she swallowed.

"Easy now," Chaeyeon warned. "You've refused to eat for more than a week and your body might not take it well."

"Yeah, because I always feel like I'm going to throw up when you put food near me." She gagged twice and Nako reached over to stroke her throat. "Keep it down, keep it down."

Wonyoung forced herself to do so and shuddered. "I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can." Yujin slipped a piece of chicken in her mouth and had her chew carefully. Due to her constant retching from finally having food in her body after a while, it took Yujin a little more than an hour to feed Wonyoung. When, at last, she had swallowed the last drop of soup, her head sunk down to the crook of Yujin's arm.

"Good girl," Yujin crooned, caressing her belly.

She knew she hadn't said the right thing when Wonyoung began to cry again.

"Yujin, you pabo!" Hitomi snarled. "She's sensitive, so think about what you say! You know the Sistar trio's style; they probably taunted her with being a 'good girl' while they were raping her! She still can't escape it!"

"NO, NO, NO!" Wonyoung bawled, feebly punching Yujin's ribs. "I didn't want them to do it! I didn't want to be a good girl for them! I was fighting!! I didn't want it!"

"Watch your mouth too!" Chaeyeon roared. "You're triggering her to a tantrum!"

"I can't do this anymore!" She moaned mournfully, struggling off of Yujin's lap and collapsing onto her knees. Keeping herself up with her hands, she started cautiously crawling across the wood floor.

Her head suddenly bumped into a leg and Wonyoung looked up in surprise to see Yuri and Minju in front of her. She'd bumped into Minju's leg.

Yuri tilted her own head to the side. "What's happening?"

"Come back here, Wonyoung," Chaeyeon exclaimed, kneeling at her side. "Why don't we get you back to sleep?"

"She's coming with me," Yujin growled, snatching the device on Chaeyeon's wrist. "I'm taking your place."

"Alright, alright."

Yujin hoisted Wonyoung back into her arms and carried her back to where she'd been sleeping before.

"I'm just going to the restroom for a moment to wash my hands," she told her quietly as she swaddled her in the blanket again. "I'll be back to cuddle in a minute."

She hadn't even been gone very long before she heard Nako scream Wonyoung's name.

"Nako!" Yujin shook out her hands and tore down the hall.

"Help me!" Nako screeched from the window, her arms throbbing as she kept a grip on Wonyoung's wrist. "She tried to jump when I came in!"

What the hell? Yujin dashed over to them. Outside the window, Wonyoung was striking out against the side of the house, trying to break away from Nako, who was losing her grip.

"No!" Yujin reached down to try grabbing the maknae's wrist that was swaying.

"Let me go!" Wonyoung cried, tears blurring her vision. "Let me go!"

"Never!" Yujin's eyes flashed. "Wonyoung, we need you!"

"I can't... I can't live like this..."

Her unnie took her slipping wrist and wrenched her up so she could grasp the other arm too; she yanked her back in.

Wonyoung wept tirelessly as she curled into a ball on the floor.

"Oh god... it's bad, it's really bad," Nako managed to gasp. "I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do..."

"Stop panicking!" Yujin snapped. "We need to calm her down." She scooped her up and roughly dropped her on the bed.

"Wh- what are you doing?" Wonyoung croaked.

Sitting beside her, Yujin flipped the younger perfectly onto her lap, curling her arms around her torso.

"Wonyoung, we need to talk."

Wonyoung crossed her arms and sniffed. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Nothing to talk about?!" Her grip tightened on her hips. "Sweetheart, you just tried to kill yourself. That's not nothing!"

"It... it hurts, Yujin," the maknae mewled. "It all hurts so much... I can't take it, I can't take it, I can't take it!!"

"Shh, darling, it's okay," Yujin soothed, rubbing Wonyoung's back when she hid her face. "Hey, talk to me. You're going to be alright, you hear me?"

"I can't stop reliving it... the pain reminds me of it every second..." Wonyoung shuddered. "God... Bora was the fastest of them all. I can still remember the agony of her hips slamming into mine... her brutal cackle when she mocked and destroyed me... when Dasom and Soyou made the room soundproof with their magic and cheered her on while she was doing it... laughing and encouraging her when she took my virginity from me..."

Yujin nodded understandingly. She hated herself for wanting to ask questions that would make her injured member cry, but she knew the only way for her to unravel would be to cry everything out first.

"What did they say?"

"It was terrifying..." Wonyoung groaned, her head nuzzling into Yujin's neck. "When they first stripped me down, I was stunned that they were d- doing what they were doing." Her voice shook. "Dasom kept s- saying that I should feel lucky to be taken by them because n- no one else would ever w- want me. Bora... she kept talking dirty, saying they'd claim me so hard my body would c- crave for her every day. They... they used every sex toy they had and abused me with their bodies too... I was in so much p- pain... naked and bloody and covered in their f- fluids at the end. To clean me of themselves, they l- licked it off... over my whole b- body... oh, they were relentless..." She struggled for breath to keep going on. "They didn't care how much they hurt me... and they'll come for me again..."

"Whoa, breathe," Nako cooed, kneeling in front of them and placing a hand on Wonyoung's arm. "It's okay..."

"No, it's not!" Wonyoung howled. "My body's already been violated and destroyed! It's too late! I want to die because I can't bear to live with that anymore!"

"Wonyoung, you're still so young and I can understand why you feel the way you do. But you have such a good life ahead of you. Don't give it all up just because of this little incident..."

Nako has already realized she was saying the wrong thing when she said it, but she didn't anticipate the full extent of it until Wonyoung let out a pained cry and Yujin slapped Nako's cheek as hard as she could. "Nako, I'm trying to get her to tell me about it and let everything out, not send her off on a tangent! This wasn't just a 'little incident' and you know it. This is serious!" She pointed to the door. "Out."

Sniffling quietly and clutching the red mark left on her face, Nako bowed her head and crawled out of the room.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Yujin breathed, laying back on the bed and cradling Wonyoung carefully. "Look, we're going to help you, I promise."

"You can't, you can't! I... I'm beyond help, Yujin... don't waste your time on me..."

"Please, jagiya, just give me some time."

"I don't know if I can give you long. I'll know when my time is up."

"It won't be up soon, trust me. Now go to sleep." Yujin gave her a sad look. "I don't want you to keep having to bear this. We will heal you above all else before we even think of looking for Dreamcatcher again."

Wonyoung steadily drifted off, her face still twisted in an expression of pure agony. Taking a deep breath, Yujin kissed her forehead. "I will keep you alive," she whispered. "Always and forever. I love you, Jang Wonyoung, and I will make sure you stay safe."

She soon fell asleep too, her and Wonyoung's bodies closely entwined.

But when she woke up again, only stone walls, a cold floor, and the metal bars of a cell door greeted her. And Wonyoung was gone.

"NO!" Yujin surged to her feet and then recognized the screams of all her fellow Iz*one members, save for Hyewon, filling the air, as well as the cries of Irene and Wendy.

The loudest screams were from Wonyoung, Eunbi, and Yena.

Chapter Text

Yoohyeon was still shaking. It hurt to carry Gahyeon like she was, hurt her heart so much and fear that at any moment, it would halt and never rise again. The idea of her lover's life in the hands of a vengeful magic-wielder was a terrifying thing to recognize in itself.

"Easy, Kim Yoohyeon," Dahyun murmured as they walked on. "Be careful."

"I'm trying, Dahyun. I'm trying." She held Gahyeon like a baby, her eyes continuously roaming over her pale face before gently kissing her lips and straightening up.

"Aish, I'm scared," Nayeon admitted, hugging herself and shivering as they passed under a branch where a snake hissed down at them, its eyes glowing. "Jeongie, hold me, please..."

Jeongyeon screamed.

"Jeongie?!" Nayeon spun around with her group. Jeongyeon was on the ground, the snake's body wrapped dangerously around her throat, choking the air out of her.

"Jeongyeon!" Siyeon and Tzuyu both sunk to their knees and tried to pry the animal from her neck.

"Ah... ah..." Jeongyeon thrashed violently as the boa constrictor tightened around her. "Nayeon unnie..."

"This is already killing us!" Dami shrieked, hiding her face in JiU's chest. "No, no... oh no..."

"Help us!" Tzuyu cried. "She's losing all her oxygen fast!"

Jeongyeon's mouth opened in a soundless gasp before her eyes rolled back and closed and her body shuddered to a stop.

"My Jeongie!" Nayeon squealed. "No... baby..." She collapsed on her back before SuA could catch her.

"Unnie!" Adrenaline took over Jihyo's body and she lunged, slicing her nails through the snake. Blood spurted from its insides and from Jeongyeon's neck as well. The creature fell away and Siyeon's eyes widened. "Jihyo... what have you done?" Jeongyeon struggled for breath, every exhale of oxygen sending out a new wave of scarlet as Tzuyu sat her up.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Jihyo softly placed her hand on the slashes, wincing when blood coated her fingers.

"No!" Nayeon rocked back and forth on the ground, her face in her knees. "This can't be happening..."

"Scared you, didn't we?" Dara cackled from above.

In a second, the injury had faded to a dark scar and the color returned to Jeongyeon's face.

"Why do you have to taunt us like this?" Nayeon wailed, crawling to Jeongyeon and laying her head on her chest. "None of us deserve it. Do you have any idea what it's like to actually lose someone like that, or at least nearly lose them?"

"Yes, I do!" Dara roared. "CL was my love before she turned traitor and Bom had to kill her. Iz*one tried to save her, but they didn't succeed. Bom then told me later that she'd wished the reason one of their members was missing was because she'd killed her. She wants to kill you, Hyewon, and we just may let her."

Hyewon's expression remained emotionless, but Jihyo could see a tear in her eye. JiU wanted to shout at their enemy, but she knew that would do no good.

So, with Nayeon supporting Jeongyeon on her shoulder, they all pressed on.

"CL is dead?" Dami whispered in fear. "Turning traitor... so she stayed with them only because she loved Dara?"

"Shut up, Yoobin," Yoohyeon snarled, taking them all by surprise. "With what they've all done to us, death is merciful for her! And judging from the condition you'll be in if you get home, it's probably merciful for you too."

That was it for Dami. She shakily planted her feet on the ground, stumbling over to Yoohyeon with a glare.

"Who's being a bitch now?" she challenged, salty tears streaming from her eyes. "I've had enough of being attacked like this! I..."

Yoohyeon put Gahyeon down and then thrust her foot up and kicked Dami right between the legs.

Dami's face paled and she let out a cry of pain as Yoohyeon hit her mark and she fell, clutching her stomach. JiU's eyes opened wider than they ever had before as she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. But Yoohyeon didn't stop there; she threw her onto her back and slammed the same foot down onto her stomach. JiU heard a crack and blanched. "Yoohyeon, stop! Don't lose your mind here!"

"Yoohyeon, please..." Hyewon bravely stalked over to her. "Keep your cool." She thrust her leg off of Dami.

Growling, Yoohyeon picked up Gahyeon again and strode to the front. Dami hid her face in her hands and curled herself into the fetal position. Yet again, JiU's heart broke for her. Why is Dami always targeted? She can barely breathe before one of us is turning on her or insulting her or her weaknesses are being preyed upon. Can I just take the next hit that's meant for her?

Frantically, she darted over and helped her lover to her feet. Dami trembled violently in her grasp and JiU softly kissed her, arms encircling her waist. She had felt her tense up from the start, but as she sank deeper into the kiss, her body gradually relaxed.

"That's it, that's it, Dami," JiU cooed. "It's okay. You know she feels the same way about Gahyeon that I do about you. Her mind is overwhelmed by that love and the need to have her back. Forgive her and move on."

Dami sniffed. "Minji unnie... she hurt me."

"Oh, babygirl, you will be alright. And besides... I could do a lot worse. Do you really want me to kiss it better and then be tempted to go down on you in the current circumstances?"

"If we weren't in the middle of a death trap, then yes."

"Come along, jagiya." Keeping her arms around Dami, JiU moved forward and the groups resumed moving. But she could tell they wouldn't be able to do that for long. Jeongyeon's eyes nervously flitted around at a quick pace. Dami and Momo were nearly hyperventilating. Hyewon seemed like she was going to vomit at any moment.

"This won't get us anywhere," Jihyo groaned. "We're exhausted. We need to take a little time off."

"NO!" Yoohyeon spun toward her. "They only gave us so much time to save Gahyeon. Do you want to be responsible for the death of our maknae?"

"No, but we won't be able to save her if we all collapse from exhaustion!"

As if that had pushed her down, Hyewon then crumpled into SuA's arms, her eyelids fluttering closed as she gagged. Jihyo gestured to her. "See?"

All of a sudden, the clothing on Hyewon's upper body disappeared and reappeared beside her. SuA accidentally dropped her in surprise.

A terrible scream echoed from her throat and then SuA gasped in horror as she saw her convulse. Blood began to pour out of her back as letters slowly etched themselves onto her skin.

"What the hell?" Tzuyu screeched. "What is happening to her?"

"'This will never be over.'" SuA gulped as she read the words. She knew what it meant. Even if she and her friends managed to save Gahyeon, everything was still an endless cycle of suffering for Dreamcatcher until their outside friends could figure out how to rescue them... if they ever did. And even then... they would never be free of what the extreme ordeal had done to them. It will never be over.

Hyewon whimpered. "SuA... SuA, help me..."

"Oh, baby..." SuA knelt by her and carefully tried to pick her up, but she rolled over onto the injury before that could happen. "Love, let me get you up."

The ground under the Iz*one girl exploded and Hyewon shrieked as she was thrown into the air, blood spraying from her body.

"NO! HYEWON!"

Hyewon's thin frame was suspended in the air, her blood splashing down onto SuA, and Siyeon's vision blurred with tears as a flashback of Handong in the same position rampaged through her head.

Her face covered in scarlet, SuA dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"She's going to die!" she wailed. "My love... Kang Hyewon... she's going to die... because of me!"

"Unnie, you did nothing to her," Handong exclaimed, moving over to her slowly but wincing when one of her scarred legs dragged. "She stayed so you wouldn't suffer alone."

"But she's suffering now! Hearing her scream like that... it's going to tear me apart as she dies in front of me..."

"YAAAAAAAAH!" Tzuyu roared, running towards a nearby tree. She leaped into the branches, clambering her way up as splinters scraped her arms and dug into her flesh. In a few seconds, she was up the tree and sprang off, grabbing Hyewon roughly.

Twice and Dreamcatcher were shocked as both girls crashed to the ground, Tzuyu's body making a snapping sound as she hit the earth with Hyewon on top. "Agh!"

"Tzuyu!" Momo rushed to her in a panic. SuA went to Hyewon and lifted her up as the Twice maknae curled in on herself. As Momo cautiously laid a hand on Tzuyu's stomach, she gave a wince that made Jihyo tilt her head. "What happened to her?"

"C- come feel for yourself."

Jihyo was at Tzuyu's side in an instant and replaced Momo's hand with her own. Under the younger girl's skin, something pushed against her, something sharp, but not yet breaking through. It felt... shattered, in a way. Her mind didn't take long to figure all of it out from there.

"We have to be careful," she breathed. "God... her ribs are broken."

"Ah... oh, hell, this hurts!" Tzuyu whined, grasping Jihyo's hand. "Is... is Hyewon okay?"

She didn't need to speak. SuA's sobbing did it for her.

"Hyewon, it's okay, it's okay... you're going to be alright..."

"No... I won't... SuA, you're going to have to do this without me now... I've failed you... I needed to stay and make sure you didn't suffer without me... I'm so sorry!"

"Dara, Dara, please!" SuA cried. "Don't let me lose her like you lost CL!"

Hyewon's chest split violently and Dara growled so loud it made the ground rumble. "YOU NEED TO KEEP HER NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! YOU NEVER KNEW HER LIKE I DID WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE, SO DON'T BE TALKING AS IF YOU DID!" The sound was overwhelming.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She wept as she grasped one of Hyewon's paling hands. "Hyewon, I never should have let us fall for each other... oh god... it's killing you..."

"S- SuA unnie..." Hyewon coughed up a splash of blood. "It's okay... to... l- let me... g- g- go..."

"No! No! NO!" SuA held her close. "Hyewon, you can't leave me! You and I have been through so much... too much for me to lose you. Please, Hyewon, stay with me... Dara, I'm begging you... don't take her from me..."

Golden lines began to sparkle along Hyewon's body, but as soon as they closed up the wounds on her, SuA saw her eyes flutter closed.

"I love you, Kim Bora."

"HYEWON!" Her hands flew to her chest. "Don't you dare die on me!"

Wait a minute...

Hyewon's heart hadn't yet stopped.

"Baby, please... stay with me. Tzuyu is in a lot of pain right now because she wanted to save you... don't let her efforts be in vain..."

"Oh, so now you care about Tzuyu?" Momo snarled.

"Hey, Hyewon is dying!" SuA shot back. "Excuse me for caring about the person who would have ended up as my future wife!"

"S- SuA..."

"Tzuyu could die from this as well and you know that!"

"SuA..."

"But is she currently dying? No! How would you feel if you put so much at stake for the person you love, only to watch her die right in front of you?"

"SuA unnie..."

SuA looked down at Hyewon... and was instantly pulled into a soft kiss.

"SuA... I am going to stay with you."

"H- Hyewon... really?"

"SuA... I'm alive... and I don't want to leave you."

"Oh, my baby..." She kissed her again with a passion, never wanting to let go of her, of those soft lips that pulled her in, of that warm body that she just desired to hold forever.

Tzuyu's loud squeal of pain made them break the kiss and look up.

Jihyo sighed. "I think her ribs have healed, but she's still in pain."

Yoohyeon glanced at SuA and then Momo. "Looks like Dara took pity on you."

She walked on without another word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness enshrouded the area around her, her own body being the only light.

"Y- Yoohyeon?" she called uncertainly.

"You know, she's losing her mind because of you."

"Wh- what?" Gahyeon spun around to see another glowing person walking toward her in the darkness. "Sunmi?"

Sunmi bowed her head. "Hello, Gahyeon."

"Oh no... what happened to you?"

"I let SuA and Hyewon kill me after Hyuna left my body."

"You WHAT?!"

"Shh, calm down, sweetie." Sunmi laid a hand on Gahyeon's shoulder. "You're... sort of in a coma right now and I don't want strong emotion messing with your body."

"I... am I dead?"

"You almost did die. Yoohyeon went ballistic over it all."

"Can I... can I see her?"

Waving her hand in a graceful flourish, Sunmi stepped over to her side as a wide screen appeared in front of them.

Gahyeon's eyes widened. She could see her own body laying almost lifelessly in Yoohyeon's arms, then could only watch in dismay, frozen, as her girlfriend attacked Dami and then stood by as Hyewon bled and bled and Tzuyu nearly died along with her. Falling to her knees, Gahyeon shut her eyes tightly. "Turn it off, turn it off!"

Sunmi did as she said and then tilted her head. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Sunmi sunbaenim, of course I'm not!" she wailed. "I shouldn't have let Hyuna hurt me like she did! I should be there for Yoohyeon!"

"Gahyeon, there are others who suffer more right now!"

"How? Like who?"

"Hmm... how about your friends from Iz*one? Turns out they found that the Sistar and Blackpink girls are part of the side that's up against you... except for Hyolyn, who's a victim as well. And the other three in her group... they raped Wonyoung."

"WHAT?!" Gahyeon drew back in shock. "They... they did that... for real? Th- there's no way they're that cruel..."

"Look, I saw them from above. They showed no mercy to that poor girl."

"Oh... oh no... not sweet Wonyoung..."

"See? There are others who suffer more." The darkness was suddenly filled with screams and terrifying pictures of Wonyoung that Gahyeon didn't look at. And she could hear Bora, Dasom, and Soyou's voices too, leering at the young teen as she was violated by them, which made Gahyeon retch harshly.

"Oh god... oh god, I'm so sorry, Wonyoung... that you had to suffer like that... and you too... that you suffered for so long before you died..."

Sunmi's face softened as the pictures and sounds faded out and she knelt by her. "Gahyeon?"

"S- Sunmi unnie, I'm scared."

"Why are you scared, Gahyeon-ya?"

"I... I don't want this to keep happening... for our friends to keep getting hurt because of us. God, it hurts so much to think about it. And the way I've been acting this whole time... it's been so wrong! I reacted badly when I found that SuA and Hyewon were together... and what if Hyewon had died? I would have felt bad forever... I should have apologized to them when I could... and it hurts!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay, sweetie." Sunmi hugged her tightly.

"It's not okay! It will never be okay! We're all already damaged beyond repair!"

"There's still time to turn things around," Sunmi consoled. "I promise, this isn't your ending."

"But it was yours," Gahyeon whined. "You shouldn't have died, unnie. You didn't deserve that fate at all."

"Look, I was the prisoner of Minzy and Hyuna for years before I was forced into the Dreamcatcher plan. I was so relieved to have the chance to be out of all my pain at last!"

"And yet... how did you not fight when you saw my group suffering too?"

"Believe me, I was doing everything I could, but I had certain holds on me from Minzy, Hyuna, Dara... and a share of Sistar and Blackpink too. They all had a grip on me and I had no chance of escape. It was a blessing to be free from them at last, to be happy again."

Gahyeon studies her meticulously. "Are you sure you're truly happy now?"

She expected her face to remain neutral as a somewhat cold answer was given, but to her surprise, Sunmi's eyes welled up with tears.

"N- not really..." she stammered. "I... I feel like they still have a hold on me, even in death..."

"Believe me, I feel it too."

Both Gahyeon and Sunmi jolted around to see CL.

"Ah, get away from me!" Gahyeon tried to crab-walk backwards. "You've put my group and my girlfriend in so much pain!"

"Gahyeon, please." CL reached down and grabbed her wrist. "Let me explain."

The Dreamcatcher maknae's eyes were filled with terror.

"Hey, I will not deny what I've done. The last bad thing I ever did was watch Yeri be stabbed and hold down Minju in the hospital while Bom attempted to kill Wonyoung."

"You... what...

"That was the last straw for me. I didn't want to kill someone so young. I couldn't bear it when I was there, watching Bom stab Wonyoung over and over, while I was told to keep down the one person who could potentially save her.

I did love Dara, but losing my own sanity was not worth staying with her. Bom was going to rape me before she killed me... do what not even Dara had done before... but Iz*one managed to save my soul from at least that type of humiliation, even when I died naked. They were so sweet to me... and they buried me in the nearby cemetery."

Leaping to her feet, Gahyeon wrapped her arms around CL's waist. Though she was only an inch shorter, it seemed like CL towered over her, enfolding the younger in a warm grasp.

"I wanna go back to her," Gahyeon sniffled. "I just want to be back in Yoohyeon's arms. I want to feel her touch again... I want her to just be able to kiss me once more and tell me everything will be alright..."

"Well, we're no Kim Yoohyeon, but..."

CL's and Sunmi's eyes suddenly flowed red and both of them grabbed her. Startled, Gahyeon screamed as the as the two girls' jaws closed around her neck, tearing out chunks of her flesh.

"NO! PLEASE, STOP!"

Real darkness closed over her vision and the pain disappeared.

"Oh god... oh god, I need to wake up..."

"You won't." CL was back, fingers brushing her shoulders that she couldn't see while blindfolded by the deep dark. "Not until Dara releases you. And she's not going to until Dreamcatcher and Twice complete their mission."

"How do you know?"

"Gahyeon, I knew Dara inside and out when I was alive. She doesn't take pity on your friends and you, but brings you back from the brink of death just so she can make you suffer even more again. Nearly taking away your loved ones is an example, like with you. But if they don't complete their current mission in the time they're given... you'll never wake up again."

"Y- you're lying."

"Oh, she's not." Dara's voice shot through her head as CL once more dissipated into dust. "Look at what could happen to your friends while you're gone."

Gahyeon shrieks as screens one again appeared around her. Wherever she went, she couldn't escape the images.

Jeongyeon, burnt alive until only her bones remained.

Chaeyoung's heart exploding inside her chest before she dies in Mina's arms.

JiU, struck down by grief as Dami is ripped to shreds.

SuA and Hyewon, screaming in agony as their bodies are mutilated beyond recognition.

Nayeon, thrown over a cliff by a red-eyed Jihyo.

And Yoohyeon as well, shattered into pieces like glass, sightless eyes meeting Gahyeon's one last time as she disappears into nothing...

"No! NO!" She couldn't take anymore. "I can't let Yoohyeon die! Or any of my friends!"

"Lee Gahyeon..." Dara growled. "You will not remember any of the information you've gained if you do wake up. All you will remember is your suffering that you have so far experienced."

"NO!" Gahyeon beat her fists around wildly. "NO!"

Dara cackled. "But it's so much fun watching you suffer!"

Pain swept through Gahyeon once more and the dark world spun endlessly.

Chapter Text

Yujin had never cried out a name louder. She called relentlessly for Wonyoung and smashed her fists against the cell bars as she peered into the dim light beyond. Across from her was another cell and she could just make out the sobbing, hunched form of Chaewon.

"Chaewon!" she hissed, reaching through two of the bars. "Do you know where Wonyoung is?"

Chaewon didn't seem to hear exactly what she said, but she did look up.

"Let us out!" she roared.

"Please!" Yujin joined in the cacophony as loud as she could. "Whoever you are, we didn't deserve this! At least let me get to Wonyoung; the poor girl was raped less than two weeks ago!"

A face appeared in front of her, blocking her view of Chaewon. "What did you say?"

"Haeyoon!" Yujin recognized the oldest Cherry Bullet member in an instant. "Why are you doing this to us?"

Pity flashed across Haeyoon's face for a second. "We had to finish setting up your rooms still, but we still had to get you down here and had nowhere else to keep you."

"Our rooms? Where are we?"

"You're underground, in our special base. Your group and Red Velvet will be living here now will us, CLC, Everglow, and Itzy."

"Please... I'm begging you... just get me to Wonyoung..."

"You said she was raped?"

""Yes, Haeyoon! Bring her to me! And let the rest of us know what's going on before they freak more!"

"We will, but we need to take Eunbi and Yena to the medical quarters. We had to get them here and they're still in a grave condition."

Another disheveled girl rushed around the corner and nearly crashed into Haeyoon. Yujin recognized her too.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Mirae!" Haeyoon placed both hands on the Cherry Bullet leader's shoulders. "Mirae, report."

"W- we were ambushed by Blackpink and the three-quarters of Sistar while we tried to get Hyolyn out. Everyone ended up b- back here somehow."

"Casualties?"

"F- five."

"Who? And how severe?"

"Yeji and Kokoro were both injured, the latter struck with lightning and the first shot in the shoulder. Both made it back on their own, however slow, and Yeji should recover fast. Kokoro... I don't know."

"What about the others?"

Mirae shuddered. "E:U received some bad fire lightning strikes in her head and chest. She has no open wounds, but she hasn't woken up at all since and her breathing has become erratic."

"You and Kokoro should have stayed behind with the rest of Cherry Bullet, you know." Haeyoon was clearly growing impatient. "What about the other two?"

"Th- they're both from Everglow; Dasom got them hard with her guns. Mia was shot 3 times and Onda... she was shot 9, including the one that grazed her neck. They are being treated by CLC in the medical ward, but Onda... I don't know if she'll survive. Sorn is already having trouble keeping her down... I stayed with her until the bleeding temporarily stopped..."

Haeyoon swallowed as she hugged Mirae tightly, opening Yujin's cell with her phone at the same time. Yujin felt a lump in her throat as she quietly stepped out. "What is this mission?"

"It was to help Joy and Seulgi and Hyolyn get here," Mirae replied. "M- mission was completed. They have been set up in their rooms."

"I meant... what is this all for? The underground things, what seems like recruitment... what's it all for?"

Turning her head slowly, Haeyoon sighed. "I think you should know that. We're here to battle the enemy and find them all. And our prime objective to do that for is to rescue Dreamcatcher and destroy everyone who's done this."

Yujin's mind spun as she scanned the lines of cells and found the crying Wonyoung.

"Baby, I'm here, I'm here." She leaned in and grabbed Wonyoung's arm. "Calm down, please. We're among friends."

"Friends?! They're kidnapping us!"

"Look, you need to trust me, alright, love? I promise, I will protect you." She turned a pleading glance at Haeyoon. "Please let them out. We need to show them what you're doing and let them trust you."

"Fine. But we will first transfer Eunbi and Yena to their place. May! Linlin!"

Both came rushing around the corner and bowed. "Yes, Haeyoon?"

"Take Eunbi and Yena to our medical wing. Now!"

The two injured Iz*one girl's were too weak to fight back as Linlin got Yena and May took Eunbi. Yujin didn't want to look at Yena anymore after a quick glance; the sight of her without one of her eyes unsettled her. Their screams had already died away.

Wonyoung began to cry again as soon as they left. "Let me out, let me out!"

Haeyoon opened her cell immediately and Wonyoung collapsed into Yujin's arms, her sobs growing louder.

"Yujin unnie, it hurts so much! Please... just hold me... don't let me go..."

"Never, Wonyoung, never."

Cautiously, Haeyoon went around to each cell, explaining everything that was going on, and then released each girl in turn. It was only Minju who freaked out a little, mainly because she saw that Yeri had also been placed in her own cell. She was the only one who hadn't screamed, her energy long sapped.

"Yeri unnie!" Minju called fearfully.

"M- Minju...?" Yeri's voice cracked.

"Oh my god..." Minju enfolded Yeri in a warm embrace, caressing her where her scars were as she kissed her deeply. "I didn't know when I'd see you again..." Her left hand rested on the small of her back over the hospital gown still on her.

"Baby, I've missed you... I can't believe this is all happening..."

"No one can keep us apart again... not even Eunbi." Minju grinned. "Oh, unnie..."

An alarm suddenly sounded in the compound and Mirae and Haeyoon's heads jerked up. The other girls followed them into the next hallway and were instantly surprised. Computers and high-tech equipment covered the entire wall and a small screen, like one at an airport, hung down from the ceiling. In bright red letters, it flashed the words Jo Serim as the alarms continued to blare.

"Shit!" Haeyoon cursed. "Yujin and Elkie must have lost control of her!"

"What happened?" Chaeyeon asked, gripping Sakura's hand. "Wh- what's going on with Onda?"

"Elkie probably sounded the alarm," Mirae gasped. "We're losing her! Sakura, Joy, Irene, Chaeyeon, Nako, Yuri, and Hitomi... you're with me! Minju and Yeri, stay with Haeyoon. Yujin and Wonyoung, Jiwon is coming around here and she'll take you to your room. Wendy, she will then take you to your room as well. Let's go!"

Terrified, all of them did as they were told. Each of the girls that Mirae had chosen to follow her ran at top speed behind as she weaved in and out of more high-tech and then plain hallways.

Then they all heard shrieking.

"Onda! Onda, please, stay with me!"

Mirae skidded to a stop in front of a door where, they were sure, it had come from. She pulled a keycard from a lanyard on her neck and swiped it across a scanner next to the doorknob; the door sprung open.

Aisha looked up from the spasming Onda's side, true terror shining in her eyes. Elkie and the Yujin from CLC, as well as Sihyeon and Yiren stood in front of her bed too.

"Mirae..." she croaked. "Please... can't you help her? She's dying..."

Nako was the first to see it all and Hitomi had to muffle her when she yelped. The medical quarter looked exactly like a hospital and Onda was hooked up to a bunch of machines, the tubes quivering as she convulsed on her bed.

"Aisha... Aisha, please..." the pink-haired girl sniffled. "S- stay with me..."

"I don't want you to die... I have to make way for Mirae to save you..."

"Aisha!" Onda cried her name as she backed away. "Yiren? Sihyeon? E:U?" Her voice dropped low again. "M- Mia unnie?"

"Seunghee, come here," Mirae ordered. "You need to stabilize her with me." All the Iz*one and Red Velvet members gasped in shock as blue smoke started to pour from her and Seunghee's hands.

"What the hell?" Joy roared, stumbling backwards. "You... you're with Blackpink and Sistar!"

"Joy, we're against them!" Seungyeon retorted. "We are the only group with magic that's currently not on their side! But they've somehow depleted ours to a weak healing factor; Mirae can do it too. Let them do their job."

Onda howled in agony as the smoke sank into her chest and Aisha ran over to Yuri, who was closest. She buried her face in her shoulder, crying hysterically. Even Yuri covering her ears didn't stop her shaking.

"AISHA!"

Yeji buried her face in the pillow, flailing wildly like Onda, and Kokoro and Mia started trying to scramble out of their own beds. Even when Seunghee and Mirae eventually stopped their magic, it was too late to stop the chaos that had ensued. Elkie quickly shut off the alarm.

"Mia!" Yiren ran to her and pushed her back into bed. "Unnie, you were shot and your wounds will open up again!"

"You too, Yeji!" Elkie yelled.

"Kokoro, damn it, stay where you are!" Mirae admonished as well. "All of you need to rest and recover!"

"What is going on?" Yena had been woken up by the commotion after drifting off not long ago and Iz*one winced. That was the first time they had seen her up close like she was, skin stitched together over it for the time being. But the new deformity was unmistakable and Yena seemed to realize it as Hitomi blanched. The world seemed to go quiet around them as she whimpered and Hitomi raced to her.

Seunghee sighed. "I feel bad for them, but I can't worry about it too much right now. We can give her an operation soon, but Onda is our top priority right now. Her heart won't stay stabilized for long without the damage being fixed inside her."

Aisha sniffed. "Will she... will she die?" Her fearful gaze met Onda's similar one.

Elkie swallowed. "We really don't know right now."

"That's... that's not good enough..." she whined. "My Onda... my beautiful Serim... she can't die... not when we've already been through so much together..."

"Onda... is dying?" Mia sat up in her bed, trembling. "No, no... I knew these types of places are evil! I need to get out of here..." Yiren darted to her side as she shivered, grimacing in pain.

"No, no, you need to stay put and heal so we can all carry out our mission."

"And some of us nearly died from our last mission within that!" Aisha snarled. "Look at Hyolyn; she's been shut up in her solo room ever since she got here. For all we know, even if Twice returns, Dreamcatcher could all be dead by the time we get to them!"

Yiren's eyes went dark and she slapped Aisha's cheek. "Shut up, unnie! Just because Onda might die does not mean you can give up everything!"

In the flash of a second, Aisha grabbed Yiren's head and threw her into the ground at Sakura's feet, then stalked over to the bed again and shoved Seunghee and Mirae away.

"Onda, you are my world and believe me, if I had to choose between Dreamcatcher and you in this instant... I choose you."

She sank to her knees and planted her lips over Onda's. Onda weakly curled her arm and rested it on the back of Aisha's neck. "Don't leave..." she murmured into the kiss.

"God..." Sakura helped Yiren off the ground. "I didn't know so many crazy things- including emotions- were happening here."

"It's not new," Yiren groaned, clutching her arm. "Aisha and Onda have been in love since they were trainees and Onda always seems to be the weak one out of the two. She defends herself, yes, but Aisha has always had the greater strength. She's tearing up because she was the one who saw her struck down earlier by Dasom's bullets. She hates that she couldn't save her from it."

"Poor Aisha..."

"Yes. Maybe... maybe we should leave them alone now."

Only Mirae stayed behind with her and CLC. Haeyoon beckoned to the rest of them. "I think the rooms are ready for the pairs of you newcomers. Let me show you to them."

Each girl was silent as they were put into their rooms, usually with their girlfriend if they had one. Hitomi refused to share a room with anyone, insisting that she would wait forever for Yena to come back. Irene got put with Joy and Nako shared with Yuri. An extra bed was there for when Yeri cane back.

Chaeyeon was the last to see her room with Sakura and gulped, stumbling into her lover's arms. There were two decent-sized beds in there and the space was overall comfy, but there was one thing that fazed her. It was something she had glimpsed in other rooms, but she hadn't thought it would be in hers.

The room was covered in Dreamcatcher posters.

"Hey, hey, babe, it's alright," Sakura soothed, tracing her fingers over Chaeyeon's supple hips. "You and I can sleep together here, in one bed. And Haeyoon told us they're soundproof, so..."

"I... I'm scared," Chaeyeon mewled. "We left them to suffer in that place. I know a blood bond isn't a real thing, but ever since I gave Dami my blood... I've had so many nightmares of her in pain... suffering so much over and over. We never should have let Hyewon stay! She could be dead by now and then we... we'll never find her body..."

Sakura led her inside and sat her down on one of the beds, both of their eyes fixing on a small picture out of many of Dami, Gahyeon, and Siyeon.

"The unfortunate thing is I don't think they'll let them die," Sakura admitted. "They won't let them be put out of their misery. All of their captor want them to think they will and then might bring them back to suffer harder."

"That's why Hyewon stayed." Chaeyeon reached out and brushed her hand over a photo of SuA with a microphone in hand. "She's sacrificing so much for her... I guess that's really just what true love is."

Haeyoon closed the door, leaving them alone together. Chaeyeon spaced out, staring at each of the pictures, until Sakura hastily yanked her shorts and panties down her legs.

"Ah, what are you doing?" Chaeyeon questioned, startled by the action.

"Baby, I need to take you." Sakura's eyes were pleading. "I haven't had you in so long."

"Have you locked the door?"

"Who cares?" She nipped Chaeyeon's pale neck and gripped her thighs. "Let me do it. There's no way someone will walk in on us while we're 'resting.'"

Before she could protest, Sakura was ripping every single piece of clothing from both their bodies and rolling Chaeyeon underneath her. In a few minutes, Sakura's hand was in between her legs and three fingers were buried inside the other girl, thrusting deep into her.

"Oh, unnie..." Chaeyeon gasped out. "More... faster..."

Sakura obeyed right away.

"Sakura... Sakura... harder... harder!" She threw her head back, gripping the bed sheets. "I want to take more..."

"Holy shit... Chaeyeon, why the hell are you doing that with the door unlocked?"

Shocked, Sakura yanked her fingers out and looked at the doorway to see Chaeryeong enter the room, closing the door behind her. Both her and Chaeyeon's faces went red.

"Ch- Chaeryeong..."

"Oh god..." Chaeryeong pressed a hand to her forehead. "Did I really need to see my own sister having sex? That lustful look on your face... oh my god..."

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura curled an arm around Chaeyeon's neck. "Your sister is mine."

Chaeyeon shook her off and sat up, awkwardly covering her breasts. "Chaeryeong, I'm just... I'm really scared of what's happening... Sakura and I needed a distraction for a little while."

"I'm sorry you're scared," Chaeryeong sighed, her lip quivering. "I just... I had to see you. I've missed you, unnie... and it's becoming so much crazier..." Tears sprang to her eyes and she sank to her knees.

"Chaeryeong!" Not bothering to put her clothes back on (although Sakura did), Chaeyeon ran to her sister and knelt by her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"N- no..." The younger sister sniffed. "I had to come see you... it's gotten so bad... I can't handle it on my own..."

"What? What's gotten bad?"

"All of them..." Chaeryeong heaved and sobbed into Chaeryeong's chest. "Onda, Yeji, Mia, E:U, Kokoro, Eunbi, Yena... I think they're getting worse. And... it's my fault for one of them ending up like that."

"Sis, I'm sure you didn't mean to let Yeji be hurt..."

"Yeji? No. It... it was my fault... that... that E:U was injured... Seungyeon told me the assault on her could have wrecked her insides badly... she could end up in so much pain..."

"Why do you think it was your fault?"

"Because the fire lightning was c- coming for me. It was the first attack that came to us... and E:U saw it coming. She took the blasts for me... and Soyou was surprised it didn't kill her on the spot..."

"Oh, Chaeryeong, I don't think that was your fault..."

"Unnie, you don't understand. I think she's going to die while unconscious... and I... I never got to tell her..." She burst into tears again. "She had been watching me... she was willing to sacrifice herself... and I never got to tell her I love her!"

Startled, Chaeyeon hugged her tighter. "Oh my god, I am so sorry..."

"What's going on?" Yiren poked her head in and furrowed her brow. "Chaeyeon, why are you naked?"

Sakura got out of bed and huffed. "Chaeryeong walked in on us having sex."

"But why... why is Chaeryeong crying? I heard her saying she never got to tell someone she loves her. What... what does she mean? Who does she love?"

Chaeryeong slowly got to her feet and stalked over to her, looking Yiren straight in the eye. "Your leader."

"What?"

"You heard me, Yiren. You damn well heard me and I think it's my fault that she's dying. You didn't see, but she took those hits for me."

Yiren's eyes widened and she carefully hugged her, laying her hand on Chaeryeong's chest. "I... I'm so sorry..."

Chaeryeong gulped. "What's going on?"

"She's not doing well. While you were making your rounds, Chaeryeong, E:U woke up. And she... she's in so much pain... I think Wonyoung and Onda are the only ones with more..."

The blood drained from Chaeyeon's face. "What's happened to Wonyoung? How did she end up in the medical wing?"

"To give you a hint, we've just had to soundproof the medical wing because of the screaming of the girls in pain. It's really bad, especially for E:U and Wonyoung... poor Yujin is sobbing in her and Wonyoung's room right now..."

In a flash, Chaeryeong shoved Yiren out of the doorway and dashed down the hall. Chaeyeon hastily put her clothes back on and followed with Yiren as she went down to the medical ward. Because the alarm was no longer going off, she didn't need a scanner card to pass through. She yanked the door and disappeared inside.

"Oh, my sweet little sis..." Chaeyeon bit her lip as she held the door for Yiren and closed it behind them. Chaeryeong was already at E:U's side, grasping her hand as the older girl arched her back in pain.

"Hey, Jiwon, Jiwon, I'm here. Baby, it'll be alright."

E:U clutched Chaeryeong's hand with everything she had and her face contorted as the screams poured from her furiously. Chaeyeon spotted Wonyoung in a far bed on the other side of the room, rolled up in a ball and sobbing as well. Yujin, Elkie, and Sorn from CLC were attempting to hold her down, but she wasn't having it.

"Chaeryeong-ah!" E:U screeched, throwing her other arm around her torso. "Please, please... help me! I love you; I don't want to die and leave you!"

"I won't let you, unnie! I won't let you go!" Tears ran down both of their faces.

"Hey, Chaeryeong..." Yeeun slid by her. "I'm sorry, but I have to put her under." She held up a small needle.

"Of course." She released E:U. "Take her out of that pain."

"No! Chaeryeong, don't go!"

Chaeryeong gripped her body again, but E:U realized why too late as the needle sunk into her shoulder. "No! My love... don't go..."

"I don't want to, babygirl..." Chaeryeong kissed E:U's lips softly. "... but I want you to be out of this pain and they have medical skills; they can fix you..."

Sniffling, E:U shot her a pleading look. "Will you... will you come back again?"

"Of course, Jiwon. I love you." She kissed her again as the Everglow leader gradually drifted into a deep sleep. "Good girl, get some rest."

Yeeun hurriedly made her way to the other crying patients to put them to sleep as well and Onda, Wonyoung, and Mia gave great sighs as their pain temporarily melted away.

"We have to examine E:U," she told Sorn. "Can you get the equipment?"

Sorn nodded and returned from the next room fast, setting a monitor next to the bed and holding up a scanner. Very carefully, she pulled back the sheet and ran the scanner over E:U's body.

Fortunately, Chaeyeon was there to catch her sister when she nearly fainted.

"No way... she can't be that damaged..."

"I'm afraid she is." Sorn bit her lip as she scanned her head too. "Her pain tolerance has greatly decreased with this and she will soon not be able to breathe because of those fractures in her lungs. And her insides... they really are wrecked; they're completely inflamed, which is why she's in so much pain. She's going to be really disoriented and dizzy for some time in addition to that, but nothing's wrong with her head, thank god. She'll need an operation soon though or she won't survive."

"Tonight," Chaeryeong hissed. "I want you to do it tonight."

"But by the time we're prepared and are in the middle of it, her anesthetic could wear off..."

"Then do it first thing tomorrow, damn it! I won't let her die! She took those blows for me on the mission... the least I can do is to help her survive... oh my god... please save her..."

"Shh, shh, calm down," Chaeyeon cooed. Chaeryeong twisted around in her arms to glare at her.

"How can you say that? You and your girlfriend were just having sex in your room. Based on her pain tolerance and condition, I may barely be able to kiss my Jiwon for a while!" She struggled away from her sibling and burst out of the room, wailing.

Chaeyeon gulped as she surveyed all the patients in the ward. Onda, Mia, Wonyoung, and E:U had all been put to sleep, but their faces were still twisted in pain, like it was manifesting as nightmares in their mind. Kokoro was squirming a tiny bit, but she looked to be in the best condition, despite how wild her hair looked. Yeji, on the other hand, had sat up in her bed and was rocking back and forth with her head on her knees, long hair flowing over her legs.

My sister's leader. Poor Yeji, she seems hurt that Chaeryeong didn't once glance at her.

She started to make her way over.

"Yeji?"

"Go away, Chaeryeong. You clearly don't even care about your own leader."

"Yeji, it's Chaeyeon. And I will tell you that Chaeryeong does care about you."

Yeji leaned into her chest as she sat down on the bed. "Unnie, she doesn't. She didn't even look in my direction when she came in."

"Well, try to see it from her point of view," Chaeyeon claimed. "You will recover soon, provided that bullet wound doesn't get infected. Now look at E:U." She turned her gaze to her bed. "She's in drastic pain and may possibly die. And to add to that, Chaeryeong's in love with her. You can't help that she was the only one on her mind."

"Chaeyeon, just... just go to her. Go to your sister."

"Should I bring Ryujin or Yuna to you? Or Lia?"

"Can you b- bring Lia here?"

"No need to find me." Yiren jumped as a voice spoke from behind her. "I'm already here."

"Lia." Yeji held her arms out like a toddler. "Lia..."

"I'll leave." Chaeyeon let Lia take her place and then left. As she cautiously moved back to where her room was, every step seemed to weigh her down like lead.

Will any of the members of Dreamcatcher survive when they return? Dami could lose her leg, Siyeon could die of blood loss... and who knows what else could happen to the rest? They really could be dead for all we know... and we've been suffering so much along with them. Poor Chaeryeong... she's suffered too... I hope she's made it back to her room...

A pang shot through her heart as she thought of what had happened to Wonyoung and she bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Maybe I should visit Yujin...

"Chaeyeon, are you alright?"

Jolting up, she saw Itzy's maknae walking her way. "N- not really."

"Aw, do you want someone to cuddle?" Yuna grabbed her hand.

I have Sakura for that, but maybe walking with her wouldn't hurt. "Actually, I'm trying to get to Yujin's room. Would you mind... taking me there? I'm not used to the layout of this place yet."

"Of course!" Yuna chirped, throwing her arm around her and resting her head on the other's shoulder as they went forward. "Let's go, unnie. We need to get signs on the doors though."

Despite what she knew her lover would think if she could hear her thoughts, Chaeyeon had to admit Yuna's skin felt incredibly soft and smooth, like silk spun from gossamer webs. It felt so great against her; she wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that she was not yet an adult. And even though Sakura felt so good to her, she couldn't help but differentiate the subtle differences in their skin texture, also noting how Yuna's hand snaked around her waist, fingers brushing her hips ever so slightly...

Damn it, what am I doing? Bad Chaeyeon, bad! Make Sakura punish you!

Yuna stopped in front of one of the doors and turned toward Chaeyeon with her back to the entrance, gulping quietly. She whispered suddenly, "I know you're not Chaeryeong. And I know what I'm doing."

Before Chaeyeon could stop her or even realize what she was going to do, Yuna's lips were on her own, tongue poking at her mouth. Rage and shock crashed over her in a hot wave and in the next moment, Yuna was bawling on the hard floor, a deep red mark on her cheek and her body curled up to protect the many bruises that had been kicked onto her stomach.

"Ch- Chaeyeon..." she whimpered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"I have a girlfriend already, Yuna! You shouldn't have kissed me! And you're best friends with my sister!"

"None of my members ever told me that... I don't know what came over me, Chaeyeon..."

When Chaeyeon brought her leg back to kick her again, a siren went off in her brain.

Stop! What are you doing? You're acting like you're still in that nightmare world with Dreamcatcher, like... you're with her...

Yuna's face transformed and she was then staring at Dami.

No! I won't hurt anyone like that again!

"It's okay, Dami," she sniffled. "I won't do it again."

"Dami?"

Chaeyeon dripped to Yuna's side and kissed her softly, just a little peck on her lips. Her eyes darkened. "Now leave me alone, Shin Yuna."

The Itzy maknae scrambled to her feet, her face red, and dashed away, while Chaeyeon picked herself up and strode into Yujin's room. Her friend lay facedown on her bed, whining quietly and covering herself with a tear-soaked blanket.

"Yujin-ah?"

"Unless you're Wonyoung, I want you nowhere near me."

"Why is she even in the medical quarters?"

"Chaeyeon, they did something to her, something bad, and it's only coming on now. She's been so pale, screaming for no other reason other than pain, and literally vomiting anytime anyone tries to comfort her."

A terrible thought popped into Chaeyeon's mind. "Because it's possible with their magic... do you think Wonyoung could be pregnant?"

Yujin flipped over and stared at her, aghast. "No way! She's... she's far more sick than that. Unnie... th- they..." She trembled. "They put her in constant pain... apparently even messed up her lungs a little with how deep they drove into her... and she's just so sick. Like... deathly sick. But I don't want her to die... she has so much of her life left to live..."

"She won't." Chaeyeon hugged Yujin gently. "She has you to keep her living. Wonyoung loves you you, Ahn Yujin, and though neither of you are old enough to be intimate with each other, I'm sure she would have rather had you as her first than those savages of Sistar."

Shaking violently, Yujin buried her face in Chaeyeon's chest. "Thank you, unnie..."

"Y- you're welcome."

The stutter made Yujin look up and she winced as she saw her. "Chaeyeon, you don't look so good right now. Maybe you should go rest; it's getting late." She gestured to the clock on the wall, between two photos of JiU and Handong.

"N- no, I'm fine. And I need to stay with you."

"Look, you'll be no help to anyone if you collapse in the middle of tomorrow. Get some rest."

"O- okay..."

She stumbled out of the room, attempting to make her way back where Sakura was. But her head spun and each step brought a new painful memory back into her mind. E:U, the love of my sister's life, screaming in agony. Our sweet maknae, Wonyoung, horribly sick from a rape that never should have happened. Yena, missing an eye just because she was the one to open the door. Eunbi, life hanging by a thread after her neck is snapped. Mia, in tremendous pain from terrible wounds. Onda, heartbeat barely hanging on. Yeji and Kokoro, temporarily incapacitated from their injuries. And Dreamcatcher... oh, Dreamcatcher, you poor things...

It was all so overwhelming.

And combined with her exhaustion, everything was way too much.

I can't do this... agh, the world is spinning too fast...

A small tremor shook the floor as Chaeyeon's body slammed into the tile and blood spurted from her head as she passed out on the cold surface.

Chapter Text

Hyewon stepped over a dead garter snake, feeling extremely paranoid for what lay ahead. Despite the lovely warmth of her older lover's embrace, she still shivered. Dried blood still covered her chest and back under her shirt, making her immensely uncomfortable.

"I should have died," she whimpered. "I shouldn't be walking here now. I should have died when my body was cut... I deserved to..."

"Oh, no, no, no, jagiya!" SuA caressed her cheek. "Never say that. That's exactly what Dara and the others want! They want us to give up on ourselves."

"You're the only one keeping me here. It hurts, Bora."

SuA lowered her mouth to Hyewon's ear. "Now I'm taking charge. Are you needy, babygirl?"

"M-maybe a little, unnie... but we can't do anything now, not while we have to move and Gahyeon is in a coma and could die."

"Look, we're all going to collapse soon if we don't stop at one point. When night falls, I'll take you somewhere private. You'll have to be quieter than you usually are, but I... I can help distract you from all this..."

"R-really?"

"I'd do anything for you. And this is the least I can do right now."

"You are going nowhere." Yoohyeon dropped back beside them. "Not while she's like this."

"Can we not care about our own lovers for once? There's nothing we can do for Gahyeon right now except get her to the edge of this jungle and we can't do it if we don't rest."

"But having sex with each other will take away your energy."

"On the contrary," SuA replied. "We have more stamina than you think and we can still sleep if we're tired."

Yoohyeon growled and SuA nervously edged away from her.

"Girls, I can't take this tension," Dahyun exclaimed, ducking under a branch. "We need to break it before we snap and kill each other."

"Dahyun..." Jihyo nudged her. "Don't say anymore. You'll make her mad. Let her cool down."

"Why? I've had enough of her being a bitch."
Pushing Gahyeon into Jihyo's arms, Yoohyeon lunged and smashed into Dahyun. When they fell, Yoohyeon thrust her knee onto her neck, crushing her windpipe and blocking off her oxygen.

"Yoohyeon, stop!" Momo wailed. "You think Gahyeon would want you to do this?"

But then Yoohyeon looked up and her eyes were red. Chaeyoung screamed and the eyes turned on her; Mina tried to hug her, but Chaeyoung was whisked from her grasp by the controlled girl. Yoohyeon's nails sank into her throat.

"Mina! MINA, HELP ME!" she shouted, trails of blood leaking down her body.

"This one is pitiful," Hyuna scoffed through Yoohyeon's mouth. "Maybe you're better off without her."

"No, don't do anything to her!" Mina pleaded. "Please... not my Chaeyoungie!"

She leapt up a tree with Chaeyoung, climbing higher and higher. On one of the branches was a long vine, snugly attached to the tree, but also hanging down. Yoohyeon reached out to it and grabbed the end, cackling. Slowly, very slowly, she looped it around Chaeyoung's neck. The younger girl thrashed, but with Hyuna in control of her friend, she was trapped in an iron grip.

"Oh no..." Mina's eyes widened. "No..."
Nayeon ran for her, climbing to the level of the pair.

"Hyuna, don't! Don't do it! Let them go!"

"Look at this tiny little strawberry," Hyuna cooed. "Such beautiful skin and such cuteness... too bad it will all be marred by this perfect little thing."

"NO!" Nayeon scrambled toward her and tried to pull the vine away, but then Yoohyeon jumped... with Chaeyoung in her arms.

The vine snapped with both of their weight and the red left Yoohyeon's eyes as they fell. And when Chaeyoung landed, it was on her stomach, which knocked the wind from her lungs for a moment. What was worse was that Yoohyeon fell on her, which made the young Twice member cry out.

"Oh my god, Chaeyoung!" Yoohyeon winced and flipped her over as she got off of her. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry that she took control of me..."

She could barely breathe as she gazed at her and by the way she felt, she herself could hardly do it too. Somehow, Chaeyoung's entire front was bloody, even her face, the scarlet oozing from open wounds on her skin. Her eyes were closed, indicating she'd almost been knocked unconscious, and her chest rose and fell much slower than before.

"No, no, no..." Yoohyeon leaned down to her as she began to weep. "Forgive me, Chaeyoung, please... I've been so selfish about Gahyeon that she saw me as a prime target for her control. Wake up Chaeyoung... I can't let you pay the price for my mistakes..."

"Baby?" Mina was the first to crawl over to them before both groups surrounded the pair as well. "No, no... Chaeyoung!"

Momo wrapped her arms around Mina's waist, pulling her close to her.

"I won't do this again!" Jihyo yelled, giving Gahyeon to Siyeon. "I'm not going to stand by while someone close to me bleeds out! Who will come with me to try to find something to help her? Who's going to actively try to save Son Chaeyoung?"

Grimacing, Handong tentatively edged over to her. "Jihyo, there's no way to do that quickly enough. She... she might be gone."

"No! We can save her!" Jihyo knelt and tore off Chaeyoung's clothes, exposing the skin underneath that was so much more bloody than all of her friends had thought.

"You think we can save that?" Sana gasped, her eyes almost popping out of her head. "Oh my god... I can't take anymore... I'm going to be sick..."

Tzuyu hugged her, cooing.

"JIHYO UNNIE!" Chaeyoung shrieked. "HELP ME!"

Mina's tears fell freely as she collapsed onto her face. "Ch-Chaeyoung... no... I'm sorry..."

Chaeyoung heaved and gripped Yoohyeon's arm. "AHH!"

"Chae, no!" Mina reached forward as Nayeon stroked her hair.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Dahyun roared. "Why do you make us suffer? Are we just going to die anyway? Fine!" She looked at the ground and found a stick that was sharp to a hard point. "Then I'll die now."

"No, no, no..." Jihyo's eyes frantically darted between Chaeyoung and Dahyun.

"It won't happen. You won't die if I can help it." Chaeyoung slowly got to her feet, walking over to Dahyun, and Jeongyeon winced. "H-how?"

"Baby...?" Mina sniffed.

"You won't die if I can help it," she repeated.
All of a sudden, every single speck of blood disappeared from their bodies. And both Dahyun and Chaeyoung dropped to the ground, the latter's arms wrapped around the other girl's waist.

The other seven Twice members cried out and Jeongyeon and Nayeon raced over to them, feeling their wrists. "How...?"

"Wh-what's going on?" Mina inquired.

"I think... I think somehow their life essences were switched." Jeongyeon gulped. "Now Dahyun's the one with a weak heart and a weak pulse."

"Are they completely out of it?" Handong tilted her head.

"Chaeyoung's not and neither is Dahyun, but Dahyun will definitely need to be carried."

"I'll get her," JiU offered. "Jihyo, can you take care of Dami for me?"

Jihyo looked stunned as she straightened up. "Are you s-sure?"

"Yes. Just... be gentle with my sweetheart. Her mind is in a fragile state."

Nayeon, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon helped Dahyun up and JiU gently passed Dami into Jihyo's care before crossing over to them.

"Up, Dahyun," she murmured softly, bending down. "Come on."

Dahyun shakily climbed onto her back (needing Jeongyeon's help in the process) and wrapped her arms and legs around the Dreamcatcher leader's waist, closing her eyes. JiU stood up again, holding onto Dahyun's wrists.

"Comfy, Dubu?" Nayeon asked.

She couldn't even move her head to say yes or no.

Yoohyeon scooped up Gahyeon, cradling her softly and wanting to burst into tears again once more at the sight of her.

God... how much longer will we have to endure this?

"Oh, these poor girls..." Tzuyu stroked a hand through Dahyun's light violet hair. "Dubu unnie, just hang in there..."

A moan was Dahyun's response.

"How did this even happen...?" Chaeyoung breathed. "I feel nothing now. Oh my god, she's taking so much and my pain tolerance is so much higher..."

"She's not moving." JiU worriedly turned her head to kiss Dahyun's cheek. "Dahyun-ah, are you in pain?"

"Yes." Only JiU could ever hear that quiet voice and barely even then.

"On a scale from one to ten, how much?"

"A million."

"I'm sorry." JiU moved her hands down to the crook of Dahyun's knees to hold her up. "I really am, sweetie."

"I don't want Chaeyoung to die. But now... I want to die."

"But I don't want you to. I've grown to care about you like a little sister and I won't stop protecting you."

"N-never?"

"Never, Dahyun."

"Th-thank you, JiU-ssi."

JiU smiled. "It's okay, you can call me unnie."

"Thank you... JiU unnie..."

"Alright, I'm going to move you slowly. If I'm bouncing you, just tell me. And tell me if your pain gets worse."

"I... I will..."

Dahyun felt almost weightless on JiU's back and even Handong couldn't help noticing how her skin was entirely white, so white she could see many red and blue veins peeking out. The group started to move again, but at a much slower speed than before. Handong's stumbling from the pain of her bruises was growing worse and Siyeon herself seemed to be looking sick again. SuA had her arms around Hyewon's waist, urging her forward, and Mina clung onto a quietly crying Chaeyoung. Jihyo walked hand in hand with Dami as well.

"Th-they do seem like siblings in a way. They have the same last name too..." Dami sniffled. "Kim Dahyun and Kim Minji. And I just... I know it seems selfish, but I want my Minji with me. I want m-my JiU. I want to feel her hands on my hips and her soft mouth on mine... I want the world to melt away from me... and I just want to be somewhere else right now with her..."

"I understand, sweetie." Jihyo sighed. "But you're not the only one suffering. Look at Dahyun right now. One moment, she's performing and the next, she's in unimaginable agony and can hardly move. We were in the middle of 'What is Love,' do you know? Right at the rap portion. The word 'eotteoke' had just barely come out of her mouth before we were thrown in this hell of a place."

"Poor Dahyun..."

"Damn right, poor Dahyun. I'm surprised she hasn't lost her sanity yet."

"I... I feel like I've lost mine."

"Oh, don't say that, Dami. You're strong and you haven't lost yourself yet."

"How? I still regret hitting you..."

"Hey, we will get home, you hear me?" Jihyo cupped Dami's face and kissed her forehead. "All of us will. Don't give up yet. Who knows? This essences switch thing could easily mean something... maybe Dahyun has developed some kind of magic that can help us."

"I wouldn't count on that right now," JiU called to them. "She's getting weaker... wait." Her eyes widened and she flipped Dahyun so she was in her arms. "Dahyun...?"

Dahyun's eyes remained closed and as she exhaled, a whisper of breath came from her mouth.

"Oh my god..." Momo bit her lip as she peered at her. "Is she... is she okay?"

JiU placed two fingers onto Dahyun's neck. "The pain... I think it's getting to be too much for her..."

"But is she alright?"

"Momo... she's barely hanging on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sihyeon yelped as the floor slightly shook under her feet and she stumbled into the wall. "Ow! What is that?"

Her face set into a frown, she tentatively walked forward to the center of a collective room, other halls branching out on three sides. And one of them caught her eye.

A red liquid was streaming across the tile. Her frown deepening, Sihyeon went to the edge of it and knelt, swiping her fingers through the scarlet and sniffing it. Suddenly, the smell became overwhelming and seemed to fill the hall.

Blood. Oh my god, look up, look up...

Most of her was hidden in the shadow of a broken light, but Sihyeon could see a body lying on the ground ahead. Wincing, she dragged her into the light.

Lee Chaeyeon!

"SAKURA! CHAERYEONG!" she howled.

She pulled Chaeyeon into her arms and gasped. The blood on the floor was pouring from her head in a red wave, the gash slicing her open. And of course, she was unconscious. "Oh, oh no... she must have passed out... SOMEONE HELP!!"

Some footsteps thundered through the compound as Sihyeon pressed a hand to the back of Chaeyeon's head. "Come on... stay with me..."

So much has been going on... no wonder she passed out, so much shock and stress...

Without thinking, Sihyeon stretched up to the wall and slammed her hand onto the hall emergency button positioned there. The alarm began to wail.

More footsteps. They were running fast now.

"Sihyeon, what the hell?"

"Ryujin, make sure CLC is coming! Now!"

"What happened...?" Ryujin gulped as her sight caught Chaeyeon. "Oh god..."

"GET CLC! GO!!"

Terrified, Ryujin tore down the hall, nearly smashing into Sakura.

"Sihyeon, what's going on? Why call my name specifically?"

"Sakura... I'm so sorry... I just found her passed out over here..."

"Who?"

Pursing her lips, Sihyeon turned and Sakura shrieked, throwing herself down beside her. "NO! Oh, my baby..." She shakily touched her head.

"I don't know why she's bleeding so much. I'm so sorry..."

"Chaeyeon, can you hear me? Babe, I just need you to wake up. Open your eyes, please. Please!"

Barely a minute passed before Ryujin returned, along with most of CLC, as well as Yuna, Lia, Chaeryeong, Remi, May, and Yiren.

"What happened to her?" Chaeryeong screeched when she saw her sister.

"I just found her like this!" Sihyeon wailed. "I don't know how it happened..."

"Elkie, get a cloth under her head!" Sorn ordered. "Try to stop the blood; I don't think we can move her yet."

Elkie knelt to the floor and gently held out a large, white, and wet cloth. Blood soaked the material the minute it touched Chaeyeon's head and Chaeryeong moaned, "Unnie, stay with us! Stay with me!"

"Sihyeon, flip her over," Elkie told her. "I need to be able to apply more pressure. That bleeding is getting worse!"

"Oh, my sister..." Chaeryeong pushed her way through the group to get to Yuna and buried her face in her chest. "First my babygirl and now her...?" She couldn't take her eyes off of the older girl, couldn't look away from all the blood. There's so much...

She didn't look away until Eunbin had taken Chaeyeon out of her sight and even then, she took off running as the alarm was turned off. By using another route and running at her fastest, she beat the CLC girls to the medical ward and burst inside. "E:U!"

"B-baby?" E:U weakly lifted her head.
"Chaeryeong... ngh..."

"Oh, love, I forgot how much pain you were in... I thought the sedative put you to sleep..."

"What's wrong? You seem like you're really p-panicking and the alarm..."

"It's my sister, Chaeyeon... she passed out and now her head's bleeding really badly..."

"Oh god, a head wound? That's really gotta hurt."

"Jiwon, I don't know how I can't lose it anymore. I'm now afraid to sleep without knowing the true fate of you and Chaeyeon..."

"I... I want to get out of here," E:U whimpered."I want to just forget about all this stuff for one time... just one time where you can touch me and make me feel good... and claim me as yours forever..."

"I want that more than anything." Chaeryeong stroked a hand through the Everglow leader's blond hair. "But you have your surgery coming up tonight or tomorrow and I might not be able to do it for a while..."

"C-can you at least kiss me?"

"Of course, love." Chaeryeong pressed her lips to E:U's and all other thoughts in her head instantly faded for a second. Nothing of Dreamcatcher, of her members, of her sister...

"Chaeryeong, get out of here!" Seunghee crossed her arms as she stepped behind her. "We're doing her operation tonight."

"What about my s-sister?" She couldn't even look when Chaeyeon was brought in and laid down on one of the empty beds.

"Your sister will be fine; we can stitch her up pretty quickly. But if you want your sweetheart to be alright... you'll need to leave."

"Chaeryeong-ah... please... don't leave!" E:U sobbed. "I don't care if I get no anesthetic for this because of it... but I need you... I can't do this without you..."

"Babe, I want you out of this pain! And I... I wouldn't be able to bear seeing you cut open. Jiwon, I'll see you after, I promise."

The look on E:U's face that came in reply was heartbreaking and it took Chaeryeong all of her willpower to not start freaking out. But once again, she burst into tears.

"Oh, baby... are you okay?"

"No! I'm not!" Chaeryeong sank to her knees. "I want to get out of here, I want to die if you're going to die..."

"You can't die! We need you... I need you... come on, think about Dreamcatcher, about how they'd probably love to die and not suffer anymore..."

"I don't care about Dreamcatcher right now! I just... I don't want the people I love to die..." She swallowed. "I'm scared for you, unnie..."

"Hey, your babygirl will be back soon," E:U vowed, smiling weakly. "Then we can go back to our mission and you... you can touch me all night long..."

"That better not be an empty promise." Chaeryeong's eyes glistened with fresh tears. "I can't live without you."

"Me neither." E:U swallowed. "I... I love you, Chaeryeong. And if I don't make it... I always want you to know that."

Chaeryeong winced and Seungyeon tapped her shoulder. "I'm sorry... but it's time. That sedative from before may have been the wrong one for her body, but we need to give her a full anesthetic for the surgery."

"I love you, Jiwon!" Chaeryeong let out a sob and fled the ward.

This is why Chaeyeon passed out. It was too much for her. Come on, Lee Chaeryeong, you can keep yourself together. Be strong for Lee Chaeyeon. Be strong for Park Jiwon.

Then Yiren came around the corner and the tears started yet again.

"Oh god, are you okay?" The Everglow maknae ran over to her.

"No... I'm really not..."

"Is it because of your sister?"

"It's not just her... it's E:U too..."

"She's doing badly, isn't she?"

"She's having her operation tonight... and we both know that she might not make it through..."

"Poor E:U..." Yiren held out her arms. "Come here, sweetheart."

"Unnie... I'm so scared..." Chaeryeong collapsed against Yiren, who did her best to hold her up.

"I know. And so am I. We all are. Hey... do you want to go talk with Aisha? I came to speak with Seunghee for a quick moment, but I can take you to her first. She... she really needs a friend right now..."

"Yes, please..."

Fighting back more tears, Chaeryeong clung to her as they walked through the hall. She whimpered when Yiren finally let her go and slowly entered the room she'd been directed to.

"Go away." Aisha muttered, her voice muffled by her pillow; she lay face down on her bed.
"I just wanna talk and cuddle." Chaeryeong pouted, her tears threatening to fall again. "M-my love... she's getting worse... and E:U might not make it out of her operation..."

"E:U too?" Tears were already streaking down Aisha's face as she flipped over; her eyes were bloodshot; indicating she'd been crying for a while. "Is all of my group going to die? How long before Sihyeon and Yiren are cut down as well?"

"Whoa..." Chaeryeong chewed on her lip. "Are you alright?"

"No, Lee, I'm not. You have no idea what it's like to see someone shot eight times- let alone your own girlfriend and lover- and the bullets have done so much damage to her, especially since there were so many! E:U didn't bleed... but Onda did. She bled and bled so much... and I didn't think that it would ever stop. I was so afraid... that she would die in my arms right there. I couldn't leave the other girls behind yet, so I had to stay there. She was screaming and begging me to put her out of her pain, but I couldn't... and it hurt me so much. It terrified me to feel like I could do nothing to help her... like I was going to be the cause of her death..."

"Oh, Aisha..." Chaeryeong took a step closer. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't realize you were that sensitive about this."

"That's because you were one of the first to leave. You didn't see the blood; you were so focused on E:U and Yeji. The only person who really saw my pain was Mia. Mia passed out later, but she was the one who saw Onda shot after she fell. Onda saved Mia from greater wounds."

Growing bolder, Chaeryeong climbed into bed beside Aisha. "Can I... can I help you?"

"Not unless you can heal her. I can't stop replaying it all. And... I don't want her to die. Th-the night before..." Her breath caught in her throat.

"Go on, go on."

"The night before the mission... I made love to her more intimately than I had ever done before... and then I proposed to her."

"You did what? But you both are so young..."

"I know. But we both don't want to live without each other, so I didn't care." Aisha weakly held up her hand and Chaeryeong blinked as she noticed a small sapphire ring on her finger.

"Where did you get that if we're stuck down here?"

"We can go back up to the world when we're not on missions, you know. Cherry Bullet will soon go back to get some things for your sister's group, by the way. But we were all on that mission when she was hurt. I... I'd gone up there a few days ago- with protection, of course- and bought the rings. She... she'd accepted my proposal... we were going to be married eventually... she said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me... and I don't know how long that'll be now..." She drew her knees up and buried her face in them, wailing. "I can't let this happen!"

Chaeryeong enveloped Aisha in a hug, thoughts of all the injured Everglow members flowing through her mind. "Just hold on to me..."

"Don't let me go... please..."

"I won't, Yoorim. I promise I won't..."

She fell asleep with Aisha cradled in her arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're not telling them the truth!" Hyuna growled, slapping Lisa's cheek. "Why give them a chance for hope?"

"But Taeyeon doesn't deserve the blame for this. You know it was Hyoyeon from her group; she was their traitor. She was the one who killed Dreamcatcher!" Jennie yanked Lisa out of range of another slap. "Let Taeyeon go. It's too cruel to torture her any more."

"If I recall, you raped Son Seungwan and our Sistar allies took the virginity of Jang Wonyoung, all while I had Taeyeon here. Are you really one to talk of cruel?"

"Hyuna... that's not what I meant. I meant that her mind is not at its strongest and if we don't let her go, she's going to do something drastic to herself." Jennie sighed. "Taeyeon used to be my friend, so... I don't know, I guess I still have a soft spot for her."

"But why?" Hyuna walked to the far side of their building and Blackpink followed her. "I'm having so much fun with her and Suzy."

"You don't have to let Suzy go, but Taeyeon will lose her mind pretty quick if you keep abusing her, far quicker than anyone else we've tortured. I have no remorse for what we've done to Wonyoung or Wendy... but I just ask for mercy for someone I once cared for."

"Fine. We're so deep in hiding that she can find her way through the forest back to the city or choose to die. That's my decision." She opened the door close to her and stepped into the room.

"H-Hyuna unnie?" Suzy's shaky voice called through the dusty air. "Please let us go... at least release Taeyeon... she's been doing so badly..." She raised a hand, the chain on her wrist banging against the floor, and gestured across the room to her friend. Taeyeon was curled up on the floor, her own chains on her arms and legs scraping her as she lay on top of them.

"Why?" Hyuna grabbed Taeyeon's chin and forced her to look up. "I think she looks just fine where she is."

"P-please... you can do whatever you want to me... just let her go!"

Hyuna scoffed. "That'll happen either way. How much are you willing to beg and cry for her?" Behind her, Jennie grimaced.

"I'll do anything... anything! Just don't put any more blame on her. Tell Dreamcatcher the truth and let Taeyeon go!"

"Are you so willing to make this sacrifice, to make a sacrifice that may never allow you to see the sun again?"

Suzy bowed her head. "Yes, as long as you let her go. You can do anything to me and I'll take all the pain... just free her! Please!" Tears slid down her face.

Growling, Hyuna unlocked Taeyeon's chains. "Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie, take her out so she can go. Rosé, find me Chungha. I'm going to take care of Suzy. Also, Taeyeon..." She bared her teeth as she held the older girl by the throat. "You are not getting this freedom lightly and I want you saying nothing to anyone else. I should honestly cut out your tongue. In fact..." She twirled her other hand in the air and created a knife with her magic. "Maybe I will."

Taeyeon's head shot up and her eyes widened. "No, no, no..."

"Do it to me then!" Suzy pleaded. "If you need to do it to someone, do it to me! Taeyeon deserves freedom from what you've been putting us through!"

Quickly, Hyuna thrust Taeyeon at the Blackpink girls and forced Suzy up to her knees, holding her neck.

"You don't tell me what to do, Suji. Girls, take Taeyeon and cast her out now!"

Hyuna plunged her knife into Suzy's mouth and both Suzy and Taeyeon screamed.

Chapter Text

Dahyun struggled to breathe, but she couldn't move at all. JiU's voice wreathed around her, seeping into her mind slowly as it fluttered her closed eyelashes.

"Come on, Dahyun, stay with us. Your members need you. I need you. Come on, sweetie, please. Momo's here and she's crying for you. Sana is praying for you to be safe. They're all begging for you to stay. Don't give up... never give up..."

Her body felt like it was in water, like she was drowning, unable to come up for air. I need to come back... I must!

The water was dragging her under and the fiery pain inside her enveloped her heart. JiU's hands pounded on her chest, attempting to purge that invisible liquid in her lungs.

Suddenly, it disappeared, and the water was replaced by more fire. Her pain had already been unbearable enough and now, she wanted to die. She wanted nothing more than to die so the pain would go away.

"Please!" she cried. "Let me die!" Let me slip away...

That was Sana's voice. And that was what snapped Dahyun back. Her eyes opened.

"It hurts..." she croaked. "M-make it stop!"

"We can't..." Handong was shuddering and Siyeon comfortingly wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her neck. "Oh, I wish we could make it all stop..."

"Dahyun-ah!" Sana fell to her knees beside her. "Look at me, look at me..."

"S-Sana unnie..." Dahyun raised her eyes to Sana's tear-stained face, wincing as she saw that Hyewon was also breaking down behind her. "We're all s-suffering..."

"Shh, don't talk, don't talk." The last word came out as a sob. "I can't let you die in front of me..."

A sudden urge shot through Dahyun, overpowering even the tremendous pain inside her, and she slung an arm around the older's neck. Using that hold as a handle, she yanked herself up and pushed her mouth against Sana's.

Surprisingly, Sana leaned into the kiss, and when Dahyun's grip was lost, she slid her hand under the wounded girl's back and caught her, retracting her into the passionate movement until Dahyun was falling back for air.

All of them stared at the pair and Sana smiled. "I hope you liked that..."

"I did..." Dahyun's eyes softened and she whispered, "B-be my girlfriend?"

"Oh yes, oh yes..." Sana's eyes glistened. "But you have to promise to stay with me... don't die when I need you the most..."

"I want to, I want to... I love you, Sana, and I have for a long time... please... somewhere here... I need you to take me..."

"Whoa, whoa, don't get hasty. You're in a lot of pain, JiU just saved you from fading away, and I could kill you if I tried to do it now. Later, baby, later."

"I wanna get on your back now... sorry, JiU..."

"It's okay. But we have to move a little more before dark," JiU responded. "And... before Hyewon hurts herself."

"Y-yes..." When Sana picked her up, Dahyun scrambled onto her back, holding on tight. JiU stood and rubbed her shoulder. "Are you alright now?"

"Nghhhh..."

"Hey, we'll rest soon, I promise." JiU lifted her head. "Let's go!"

They all continued on, Dami clinging to Jihyo in the back and JiU leading the group. Finally, they came to the edge of a river, stopping in the clearing next to the bank.

"Alright, it'll be dark now," Siyeon exclaimed. "We can stop her."

Sana swung Dahyun back to her front and sat against a tree with her in her lap. Yoohyeon sat next to her, caressing Gahyeon's body and sniffling. Dami softly pecked Jihyo's cheek and raced over to JiU, who lifted her into the air and kissed her like it was the last time she could do so. Each of the pairs got together and the remaining girls spread out among Dreamcatcher.

SuA and Hyewon stood awkwardly beside the groups.

"Can we... step away for a little while?" SuA quietly questioned.

"Of course, of course," JiU told her. "Just don't put yourselves in danger. And don't be too loud."

"JiU, you can't be saying that!" Siyeon joked. "Before, I could probably hear Dami's moans from the other side of the world!" JiU slapped Siyeon's arm as Dami's face turned pink.

Squeezing her lover's hand reassuringly, SuA slowly led Hyewon away from the other girls, walking with her for a few minutes along the bank until they reached another clearing filled with smooth, soft grass. She noticed Hyewon was shaking and tipped her chin up. "Is everything okay, babygirl?"

"I think so... but I'm scared... scared of what's going to happen to us..."

"Babe, I'm sure it'll be okay eventually. I promise, I won't let any more harm come to you." SuA stripped Hyewon's clothes off. "And you'll look even more beautiful once I get that blood off of you." She brought her to the riverside and told her to get in.

"Come in with me."

"Fine." SuA left their clothes together and held Hyewon's hand again as they slipped into the water. Taking a deep breath, she forced Hyewon to float on her back and washed the blood off her legs. After that, she pulled her close so their chests were almost touching.

"Are you okay, Hyewon?"

"Yes, Bora."

She gave a small smile and washed off her back too. Hyewon jolted when SuA's hand then brushed over her breast.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah... you just startled me. SuA... keep going."

Nodding, SuA did so, gently massaging Hyewon's chest as she cleaned it and the rest of her body up. Once she finished, she she pulled her to the riverbank and curled her right arm around Hyewon's torso, kissing her deeply as the other hand stayed on her breast and cupped it.

"Mmm... Bora, that feels good..."

"I thought you didn't submit to me," SuA chuckled.

"No... I will... please do it, Bora..."

Smirking, SuA leaned down and captured Hyewon's left breast in her mouth, flicking her tongue against it. Hyewon gasped, shivering as SuA's free hand caught her neck. "Ahh..."

"You feel so good, love," she mumbled around her nipple, moving her hand from her breast and licking her thigh.

"Oh... oh, Bora... Bora, m-more..."

"Beg for it, baby. Beg."

"Bora, I need you so badly... I need you inside me. Please, Bora... take me!" SuA smiled at the desperation in her words and withdrew her mouth from Hyewon's breast, circling her hands over her inner thighs. "Ready?"

"R-ready."

Hyewon closed her eyes, anticipating the blissful feeling of SuA's fingers effortlessly slipping into her... but she didn't feel it at all. Instead, she heard SuA shriek and realized her hands had abruptly released her.

Immediately, she opened her eyes and cried out.

"HYEWON!" SuA shouted, blood filling her mouth. "HELP ME!!"

Hyewon's eyes widened. An animal had leapt into the clearing, a huge one, much bigger than the leopard-bear that Dreamcatcher had encountered before, even when it had grown. It was a tiger, a hideously gargantuan one, and it had SuA firmly clasped in its jaws, the two main upper fangs piercing her skin. And she was screaming, louder than most sounds her girlfriend had heard before.

Now Hyewon was absolutely terrified. She had no idea what to do. There was SuA, bleeding and hysterically screaming for help, and she had no idea what to do.

"SuA? SuA unnie, what's going on?" Tzuyu stepped into the space.

"TZUYU UNNIE, HELP!!" Hyewon roared. In a fit of panic, she flung herself at the tiger's front leg and tried to sink her nails into it, but the creature shook her off, spitting SuA onto the ground and baring its teeth at her. Its teeth were stained with blood... SuA's blood.

"BORA!" Hyewon tried to crawl over to her.

"What the hell...?" Jihyo and JiU had arrived, with Dami in between them. The tiger's attention turned to the trio and its head snapped down to them as Dami let out a wail; Jihyo shoved both JiU and Dami to the earth.

Sharp jaws closed around Jihyo's body and she didn't even scream as the teeth impaled far into her flesh. Her mouth opened in a soundless cry, but no sound came out.

"Jihyo, Jihyo unnie!" Tzuyu screeched.

Paying no attention to the animal anymore, Hyewon grabbed SuA's body, crying steadily as she traced her hand over the punctures in her.

"I can't breathe... oh, Hyewon, I'm sorry..."

"Babe, babe, it's alright, just focus on me. Focus on me."

"H-Hyewon-ah... this hurts s-so much..." SuA was hyperventilating, her chest heaving. "You... you need... to save Jihyo..."

More blood spread over the dirt as the tiger shook its head violently and tossed Jihyo near SuA. Her eyes were wide open and she didn't move an inch. Tzuyu raced over to her leader and laid two fingers on her neck.

"Jihyo unnie..." The Twice maknae gasped and then started to bawl. "JIHYO UNNIE, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"What's going on?" Jeongyeon and Nayeon burst through the bushes.

Tzuyu turned toward the two, sobbing wildly and curling in on herself. "She... she... J-Jihyo... Jihyo's dead!"

"What?!" Jeongyeon shot over to her, Nayeon hard on her tail, and knelt at her side, replacing Tzuyu's fingers with her own. "No... oh, Jihyo, Jihyo..." But no pulse greeted them. No breath came out of Jihyo's lips. Her chest didn't move. Jeongyeon sniffed and and reached out, closing Jihyo's eyes. "She... she's gone..."

JiU disappeared into the shrubs again and re-emerged with the rest of Dreamcatcher and Twice. Dahyun whimpered as she saw Jihyo's body and clung tighter to Sana.

"She can't be d-dead..." Momo whispered. "Oh, Jihyo, no..."

"SUA UNNIE!" Hyewon gulped as she felt SuA's breathing grow labored. "No, baby, baby, you can't leave me... we've been through too much together..."

SuA suddenly sat up and whined, "It won't happen. But it hurts!"

And her blood disappeared, the wounds gone. SuA stayed awake... but Jihyo didn't stir. Blood still poured from her limp form.

"Jihyo..." Tears filled Mina's eyes. "This can't be. It can't be! Jihyo can't be dead!"

Jeongyeon gathered Jihyo into her arms, fighting back her own tears as she cradled her softly and stroked a hand through her short hair. "The best ones always die young. She shouldn't have had this fate... I'm so sorry, Jihyo..."

The realization that her leader was gone hit Dahyun like the whole universe was smashing into her. She freaked out completely and the tiger's head darted down to her.

But then something white flew past them, knocking the tiger aside, and hitting it until the wild cat disintegrated into thin air. All the girls' jaws dropped as the white being skidded to a stop and hovered in the air.

An angel.

JiU's jaw dropped. "No way... no way..."

The angel was Sunmi.

"How...?"

Sunmi fixed her gaze on Jihyo and swallowed. "I think you... you know why I'm here."

Siyeon winced. "You... you're here to take her with you."

"That's right..." Sunmi sighed. "But honestly, it's really her choice."

Nayeon furrowed her brow as she held down tears. "What do you mean?"

No response came and instead, a pale mist began to rise from Jihyo's lifeless and bloody figure. Dahyun whined and pressed her face into Sana's chest. Eventually, the mist started to collect together and materialized into a body next to Sunmi.

"Oh my god..." Tzuyu clenched her teeth.

"What... what happened?" Jihyo slurred, stumbling in the air. Then she saw her own body in Jeongyeon's arms and screamed. "Oh no... is that what it did to me? Wait, am I... am I... d-dead?" She twisted around and gasped at the feathery white wings that had sprouted from her back.

"Yes," Sunmi murmured. "I'm so sorry, Jihyo... I got to SuA, but not to you... I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time..."

"But I can't leave!" Jihyo wailed as Sunmi hugged her. "I can't leave them to suffer like this..."

"But you have a choice," the original angel claimed. "You can choose to stay with them. Or you can choose to be free of this and leave your pain behind."

"Jihyo, you... you should go," Momo choked out. "You should be free of that pain. Be... be happy in Heaven." She muttered under her breath, "I was too late. We weren't meant to be together."

"What do you mean by that?" Jihyo looked confused; she'd heard the quiet words.

Momo collapsed, weeping into her hands, and Sunmi whispered in Jihyo's ear, "She loves you, Jihyo-ah. But will you go against her wishes and stay?" The rest of Twice, save for Jeongyeon, surrounded Momo, and even Dahyun dropped out of Sana's grasp to put an arm around her.

"It wouldn't be going against her wishes because I can tell that she doesn't want me to go," Jihyo replied softly. "I know what love looks like. She doesn't want me to suffer anymore."

All of Twice and Dreamcatcher seemed torn about the situation. Jihyo gazed at each of the girls, at Sunmi, and then at her own bloodstained body. "I don't know what I should do... I should be staying to lead them, but I don't know how much more pain I can take..."

"It's okay, Jihyo." Momo hiccuped. "Y-you don't need to stay... I'll be fine here... don't listen to any of us if we tell you to stay... say goodbye to Dreamcatcher and us and g-go up to H-Heaven..."

Taking a deep breath to keep herself from breaking down, Jihyo knelt in front of Momo, cupping her face and lifting her chin.

"I've already made a decision."

So many of the angel's tears fell as she kissed Momo deeply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suzy lowered her head as Chungha stood over her, glaring. Hyuna was beside her, a whip in her hand.

"You know what you did, Suji," Hyuna growled. "You knew that you were trying to escape and now you deserve a punishment."

What punishment now? They've already taken everything from me. Suzy pressed a hand to her chin as pain flashed through her jaw. The attack a few days ago had entirely decimated her tongue and she could no longer speak or sing. That means that if I get out of here, everything is over. They really have taken it all.

Hyuna brought the whip down again and all Suzy could do was curl up into a ball and sob at each hit.

"Oh, you think that's pain? You haven't even felt a taste of what I have in store for you. Chungha, stay with her. I'm getting the dark weapons and increasing their power." She slammed the door behind her as she left and Suzy laid facedown on the cold floor, crying once more. Kill me, kill me...

All of a sudden, she felt the cuff on her left leg break off and jolted up in shock. Chungha was kneeling beside her, a key in her hand. Suzy turned and mouthed, What are you doing?

"I'm get you out of here," Chungha retorted. "I'm getting both of us out." She used her magic and opened a mind channel between them so she and Suzy could talk with their thoughts. Her first words were, "Why are you helping me?"

"Suzy, I'm suffering here too, watching you be tortured like this, and I can't bear it any longer. But my magic is not strong enough yet to defeat her, so we have to get out. I betrayed some very dear friends to infiltrate Hyuna's inner circle and we need to get to them. We'll find Taeyeon and pick her up on the way. We don't have much time though."

The rest of the cuffs and chains were removed and Chungha took Suzy into her arms.

"Chungha... I'm really hurting..."

"I know, sweetie. But my magic gives me more strength, so I can care you for a little while. Let's go."

Very quickly, Chungha stood up with Suzy's bruised body and tore out the door. Suzy closed her eyes as she was jostled and Chungha speedily managed to avoid other faces in the place on the way out... except for one. Lisa instantly screeched and set off the building's alarm as she saw them.

Despite being exposed, Chungha still ran, even with Lisa on her tail. She weaved through the stairwells and hallways almost effortlessly, going as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she could not focus on increasing speed and strength to carry Suzy at the same time, although she still knew the way out. I can make it.

However, when Hyuna burst from one of the rooms in the compound, that was when Chungha got scared. Hyuna's eyes were glowing red and black lightning crackled over her body.

"TRAITOR!!" she roared. "WHEN I GET YOU BACK, SUZY IS DEAD AND YOUR LIFE WILL BECOME WORSE THAN THE HELL HERS WAS!!!"

Thoroughly terrified, Suzy whimpered and his her face in Chungha's neck. Just as they reached the exit, Hyuna and Lisa shot blasts of magic at the pair and Chungha was unable to avoid them completely. The blasts hit some of the exposed skin on her left leg and she hissed in pain as the flesh where it had hit began to burn and blister. Throwing the door open, Chungha fled, ignoring her wound.

"Ngh... ow, ow, ow..."

"We can't slow down. Just hold on, Suji. I promise you, I will not let any of them harm you again. And Suzy... I know everything. I will be of valuable use to them. If you're wondering who they are, you'll find out. I can't tell you right now or Hyuna will hear and destroy them."

An audible moan left Suzy's mouth and Chungha forced herself not to look at her own injury. Suzy needs me more.

Abruptly, she tripped, sprawling to the ground. Scooping Suzy back up, she got to her feet again. Her eyes then caught what she'd fallen over and both her and Suzy grimaced. Taeyeon's body lay in front of them.

Taeyeon only made it this far? She can't be... she can't be...

Chungha leaned down and grasped Taeyeon's wrist, noting how bitingly cold her skin was.

"I can't feel a pulse, Suzy," she cried softly, shivering. "I think... I think Taeyeon's dead..."

Suzy shook her head and Chungha read her mind. Look harder. Find something.

"I... I don't have any time to bring her back if she's gone. If she is still alive though... I may have time to." She cast her senses deeper and found a very faint pulse and heartbeat. "Oh my... she is alive. I think I have a bit of time..."

"CHUNGHA!!"

Too late. Hyuna and Lisa are here.

"Suzy, you have to take her and go." She motioned her to speak through the mind tunnel again.

"Chungha, I can't! I'm too weak!"

"I'll give some energy to you. I need to hold them off so they can't get to you. They'll kill you, Bae Suji. You need to go."

"But they'll hurt you forever. I can't leave you to that fate!"

"It's okay, unnie." Chungha kissed her cheek. "I won't forget you, ever. I love you and that's how I'll get through my pain. I'm sorry... I'm sorry for all I've done to you. It wasn't an excuse of infiltrating Hyuna's circle to betray my friends and hurt you. I love you, Suzy... and I deserve this pain now."

She turned to face Hyuna and Lisa as they approached her and as Hyuna tackled Chungha to the dirt, Lisa blasted her legs with fire. Suzy yelped when she saw it happen, but to her relief, Chungha healed her own wounds and threw Hyuna off.

"Die, slut!" Hyuna snapped, flinging herself at Suzy.

"No!" Chungha darted in front of her as her opponent's magic created a dagger and agony flashed through her body as it sunk into her chest.

An angry screech came from Suzy that sounded a bit like Hyuna's name, but fortunately for Chungha, her magic still managed to push the weapon out and seal the wound into a scar.

"Suzy, run with Taeyeon!" she shouted. "I can hold my own and you'll be no help to be; you'll just get yourself killed!" She sent out a burst of energy and infused it into both injured girls before Lisa was tearing into her. "Run!"

Scrambling toward Taeyeon, Suzy lifted her up, trying her hardest to ignore the pain flaring inside her still. Taeyeon lay motionless in her arms and when Suzy ran into the woods, she heard Chungha cry out behind her and almost turned back. Oh, Chungha... I'm so sorry...

Run. That's all she could do. Suzy ran and ran until she couldn't run anymore and her legs gave out. She crumpled into the earth, holding Taeyeon close to her chest.

Chungha could be dead now... who knows what she's going through?

"S-Suzy...?"

Taeyeon suddenly lifted her head and Suzy smiled faintly, mouthing, Hey, unnie.

"Wait, Suzy... open your m-mouth."

Instantly, she got a head shake in response.

"Why? I just... I want to see how badly you were cut."

Turning toward the ground, Suzy traced her finger in the dirt, spelling out words.

My tongue is gone.

"Oh no..." Taeyeon weakly raised her fingers to Suzy's lips, making her shiver. "Are you... still in pain from it?"

Suzy huffed and nodded, then brushed over her previous words and wrote new ones. You're dying. Why?

"I... I couldn't make it far at all and still can't. My body's been too abused... I honestly should just die here..."

No. Chungha sacrificed herself to get me out. Live for her.

"That was... that was Chungha?"

Another nod.

"No... I-I'm still h-here..."

Both Taeyeon and Suzy turned and gasped as Chungha burst out of the bushes, almost collapsing. Her body was soaked with fresh blood.

"Ch-Chungha?" Taeyeon gulped. "H-how?"

"My healing and regenerative ability... it's slowed and sometimes stopped by the more wounds I have... but we have to go... Hyuna, Lisa, and Rosé... they're going to kill us..."

"You're bleeding so badly though... and where are we even going?"

"I'll show you... f-follow me..."

"Oh, Chungha!" Hyuna called from a little while away. "Are Suzy and Taeyeon reading to see you ripped your shreds by my friends while I return to my place to get the worst weapons to hurt you with?"

"Come on!" Chungha set off and Suzy followed, Taeyeon being carried by Chungha's magic above them. But it was clear she had been incredibly weakened and several times, Taeyeon nearly tumbled out of the air.

Only Lisa and Rosé were in pursuit now, but they were relentless and Chungha's breathing was going faster and faster. At last, when they absolutely could not run any longer, which seemed forever later, Chungha blasted their chasers with magic, temporarily knocking them out, and then fell onto the dirt floor.

"Call... for... Haeyoon..." she rasped before passing out.

She's the oldest Cherry Bullet member. She must be one of her old friends. Eyes wide, Suzy looked at Taeyeon with a desperate expression. Do it! Now! Before Lisa and Rosé wake up!

Taeyeon nodded and threw her head back, shouting Haeyoon's name at the top of her lungs.

Chapter Text

"Alright, Jihyo, let's go." Sunmi extended a hand toward her. "It's time to get you up to Heaven."

Jihyo looked at her, Momo's arms still tightly wrapped around her waist. "What makes you think I'm leaving?"

Tears welled up in Momo's eyes again as the younger girl turned fully towards Sunmi. "I'm staying. My group and my friends need me. And I need them too."

Sana smiled slightly. "Jihyo... are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure."

Sunmi nodded and her hand reached for Jihyo's shoulder. Immediately, the second angel dissolved back into mist, nearly unbalancing Momo as the smoke began to flow back into the body in Jeongyeon's grasp. The bleeding wounds started to close and Mina recoiled from it. Nayeon leaned down and rubbed Jihyo's chest. "Come on, leader-nim, wake up for us."

"M- Momoring..."

Momo jolted and swiveled her gaze. Jihyo's eyes were half-open.

"J-Jihyo..." She sniffed and slowly took her from Jeongyeon. The leader was limp in her arms like a rag doll, but her chest was moving and she was breathing. That was what Momo cared about most. "Oh my god..."

"Unnie, I... I came back to so much pain, but I... I don't care..."

"Baby, you didn't need to stay for me..."

"I couldn't leave you to... to suffer this. Can you... can you kiss me again?"

Their lips met once more.

SuA couldn't take it. She tugged on Hyewon's arm and Hyewon took her away from it all to bring her to the river. But neither of them saw Tzuyu follow and hide in the shrubs near the bank.

Hyewon pulled SuA into the water and held her waist to keep her from whisking away. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry this had to happen..."

"It's okay; it wasn't your fault," SuA sniffed, resting her chin on Hyewon's shoulder. "But I'm scared..."

"Why, babygirl?"

"I just... I saw your face before, so lustful and beautiful as I prepared to take you. And then all of a sudden, I was bleeding out and dying. How can we... how can we ever do this again?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure it out, I promise."

"How do you know we can? We've been stuck here so long that I'm going to start losing it..."

"Bora, look at me." Hyewon tilted up her lover's chin. "If we are going down, we're going down together. And that's not just us. That's all of Dreamcatcher too."

"And Twice," Tzuyu added, stepping out from her hiding spot.

"Yah!" SuA yelped. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Chill, I saw you naked before anyway. But SuA, Twice is behind you and you know that. We will always support you and die for you if necessary."

"Th-thanks." SuA sniffed.

"Come, say goodbye to Sunmi." Tzuyu flicked her hand. "She saved your life and I don't know if she'll be staying much longer."

Hyewon kept her arms around SuA as the two stepped out of the water, although the older girl self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself as she got out. They headed back to their site and hurriedly replaced their clothes on their wet bodies.

Sunmi smiled as SuA nervously walked over to her. "Hey, sweetie..."

Her arms were wrapped around the angel before she could say anything else and Sunmi's eyes widened as she heard her start crying. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay..."

"Why... why did you save me? You're dead... I thought you'd want me dead in revenge... for when Hyewon and I killed you..."

"Oh, honey, never. I wanted to die. But you... you wanted to stay with Hyewon. You needed to, because without her, she'd be alone. She wouldn't be able to bond with the others because you'd be gone. She only stayed here for you. Without you, she's lost. I did this to say thank you and to protect you. I'm only sorry I didn't get to rescue Jihyo before her heart stopped and scared you so badly."

"Thank you..." SuA whimpered. "Thank you so much..."

"I only have so much time until Hyuna blocks me out. But I... I'm glad I could save you and Jihyo."

She sighed and then patted SuA's head before fading.

Silence reigned over the jungle, which was unusual, until Handong suddenly screamed, an animalistic noise echoing from her. "Siyeon's down!"

All of the others spun around and winced; Siyeon's body was draped over the Chinese girl's arms and she was shaking violently, gripping Handong's shirt like a vice as she kept her eyes tightly closed.

"Siyeon, Siyeon, hey, open your eyes. Open your eyes, baby, it's alright."

"Siyeon, can you hear me?" JiU knelt beside them. "Siyeon-ah, it's your leader! Look, I know your mind and body are hurting, but we need you to hold on, okay? We need you to hold on."

Siyeon heaved and Handong stroked her cheek.

"Is she going to throw up again?" Jeongyeon asked worriedly.

"Maybe..." JiU bit her lip and Siyeon retched, spraying scarlet on Handong's face.

"Oh my god..." Dahyun nearly fainted in Sana's arms as an overpowering smell flared up. JiU grimaced at that point when she realized her friend had vomited blood. When it happened again, she held her belly in agony.

"Ngh... ngh..."

"Poor Siyeon..." Dami stumbled. "Oh no..."

"Shit." JiU cursed under her breath. "It's been a while since the last time we got got food and Twice hasn't gotten any since they've been here. God, we're all so malnourished and poor Siyeon could have ulcers or something like that from this stress..."

"She needs water," Handong breathed. "Can someone...?"

"No!" Tzuyu shook her head. "That water isn't safe for us to drink. SuA and Hyewon were in it earlier and I am 99% certain that's how she washed the blood off Hyewon before."

"Damn it!" Handong's eyes glittered with tears. "I can't... I can't let this happen... we can't just be withering away..."

"Dongie... H-Handong..." Siyeon's face twisted and she spasmed.

"She needs a hospital," JiU groaned. "But we have no access to one... God, how bad can this get?"

"It's already bad," Nayeon breathed. "If Sunmi hadn't come, Jihyo and SuA would be dead by now. In fact, everyone in Dreamcatcher could be dead by now."

"Don't do this to us!" Dami suddenly yelled to the sky. "Hurt me! Give me this pain times 1000! Siyeon doesn't deserve this!"

"No, no..." JiU got to her feet and dashed forward as Dami crumpled, her body thumping to the ground. The Dreamcatcher leader hurriedly caught her, tears moving to her own eyes. Dami's losing her mind.

"Is there any way we can get Siyeon and Dami to sleep?" Yoohyeon questioned.

"I doubt it unless they get put in a coma like..." Chaeyoung halted her words when she remembered who she was speaking to and Yoohyeon swallowed. "It... it's okay. You can say it's Gahyeon. But I... I don't know how much time she has left..."

Hyewon gulped as she surveyed the area. Siyeon, Dami, and Gahyeon. Three Dreamcatcher members down and JiU, Handong, and Yoohyeon tearing up over them. Siyeon sick, Jihyo and SuA nearly dead, Dami overwhelmed, Gahyeon on a timer, our constant fear of death... how can we do this? Why are Hyuna and the others so cruel?

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" Siyeon cried. "I shouldn't be doing this to you..."

"Babe, there's no reason to be sorry."

"I'm failing. Why should I be suffering for nothing? I don't want to be a burden on Handong and my group... or on Twice... they shouldn't try to save me..."

"No, we're always going to try to save you. Love... can you even hear me?"

Siyeon's body jolted, as if she'd been snapped out of a daze; she curled up in Handong's lap and whined, "M-mommy Dongie... d-don't abandon me... please... I shouldn't want to die..."

Mommy? Handong glanced around at her friends and could tell that most of them seemed shocked. How...? This... this is what's happened to her?

"Mommy's got you," she murmured as Siyeon started softly sucking on her thumb. "And she's not leaving you. Not ever." She wiped the blood off both their faces. "Come on, sweetheart, let's find a way to get you to sleep." Siyeon babbled incoherently, her voice tainted with pain, as Handong slowly moved toward a tree, trying not to aggravate her anymore.

"How much crazier can this get?" Momo gulped, holding Jihyo protectively. "I can't believe it... poor Siyeon..."

"She's being forced into some kind of age regression, I think," Jihyo mumbled back. "This kind of trauma can do anything to anyone. And if those ulcers, if that's what they are, are hurting her so badly..."

A loud wail split the air. "Mama, I'm scared! My tummy hurts!!"

"Babygirl, it may hurt for a while." Handong winced as Siyeon's weight pressed down on her bruises. "Just hang on. Hang in for mommy, okay?"

"Mommy love baby?" Siyeon looked up at her with large, luminous, pained eyes.

"Mommy will always love baby." It hurt Handong's heart more than ever to hear her sweetheart talking like that at the moment, small and pitiful and like a tiny child.

"Mommy no love baby." Siyeon pouted. "Mommy thinks baby's stupid."

"No! God, no!" Handong cradled her carefully. "Siyeon, sweetie, you're not stupid, you're just hurting. And I will help you in any way I can."

"Mommy, we're never leaving this place, are we? We gonna be here forever?"

"Don't say that, baby. We will get out of here."

"W-will we?" Siyeon gagged and more drops of blood streamed from her mouth.

"Yes, I know we will. Oh, oh, Siyeon..." Handong cupped her face and swiped the blood away. "I'm so sorry, my Siyeon, I'm sorry..."

Dami let out a sob and buried her face in JiU's chest. "M-Minji unnie, I have nothing against regression, but to see S-Siyeon forced into it like th-that... she's hurting so m-much... and it hurts me too..." She quivered. "I would still love her no matter how she acts... but it's so painful seeing what this t-trauma is doing to her..." Both of them studied the pair; Handong was gently playing with Siyeon's fingers and cooing to her while the older girl gave small whines of pain. JiU decided to go over to them and slowly sat beside the pair.

"D-Dami..." Siyeon groaned. "Hold my hand... don't ever abandon me..."

"I don't intend to." Dami weakly reached over and entwined her hand with Siyeon's free one, just seconds before the younger passed out on JiU. Siyeon nervously tightened the grip. "Dami?"

"She's out." JiU sighed. "Poor thing; at least she can get a little rest."

"Dami... no..." Siyeon whined. "W-where's Gahyeon?"

"She's still in a coma, jagiya," Handong admitted. "She... she may not come out of it if we can't save her tomorrow..."

"No! No die! Dami, wake up!" Siyeon tried to haul herself up and shook Dami roughly. "Mommy, wake her up!"

Sighing, Handong laid one hand on Dami's chest, feeling its faint rise and fall. "Siyeon... don't think I can. But she's not dead."

Tears streaked down Siyeon's cheeks and she released Dami's hand. "Is N-Nayeon close by?"

"Yes, baby, Nayeon's close by," Handong soothed. "Go to sleep, Siyeon. It's getting dark."

"Milk?" Siyeon gave her a doe-eyed gaze.

"Milk? I don't have milk..." Her voice trailed off as her mind tried to process the question.

Flashing her an indignant glare, she jabbed at Handong's chest. "I want milk!"

Finally understanding, Handong shook her head. "Baby, I can't do that here."

Siyeon stuck out her bottom lip. "Mommy no love me!"

"Honey, of course I love you."

"I want milk!"

"Siyeon, I might not even have very much because of how our bodies are so malnourished..."

"I don't care!"

"For Heaven's sake, Handong," Jeongyeon grumbled. "Just let her suck on your breast; we're not going to judge you for fulfilling her needs. And with how much pain she's in, it may also be the only way to get her to sleep."

Moving slowly, JiU scooted over to her and Nayeon and whispered, "Can you take Dami for tonight? I'm going to try to help Handong; can I trust you?"

"Definitely. You can always trust us." Jeongyeon laid Dami's head in the crook of her arm as she took her from the Dreamcatcher leader. Satisfied with their position, JiU returned to Handong's side.

"Lean back on the tree," she ordered. "I'll help you out."

Handong nodded and obliged. JiU gripped the edge of her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her entirely naked once again and also rubbed her hand over Siyeon's mouth to remove the last traces of blood. "There you go, Siyeon-ah."

Frightened eyes met the Chinese girl's own and she gave a small smile. "It's okay, Siyeon, I'm not going to push you away. Come here and get your milk."

Sniffling, Siyeon tentatively nuzzled into her chest and latched her mouth onto her nipple. JiU draped the shirt she was holding over Siyeon's back and massaged her arm for a moment before positioning herself beside Handong and laying her head on her shoulder. It didn't take long for her to drift off.

"I promise we'll get out of here, my love," Handong whispered, suppressing a shiver as a cold wind swept over her. "I won't let you keep suffering like this." She gazed at Siyeon's pale face, watching her suck softly. This doesn't seem sexual at all. She just... needs me here. She needs me and I need her. I will love her forever no matter what and I... I never want her to feel shy around me if she needs this again. At last, her girlfriend finally fell asleep, still sucking. It was then that Handong softly took her off of her and replaced her shirt on her body, careful not to jostle JiU too much in the process. A quiet laugh escaped her throat as Siyeon's mouth moved to her other breast and again found her cloth-covered nipple; Handong didn't intend to remove her again and instead pulled the shirt off once more so she could keep at what she was doing. She didn't care what any of the other girls thought anymore.

"Goodnight, babygirl." Handong kissed Siyeon's forehead, cradling her close before turning her head to peck JiU's forehead. "And thank you, unnie."

We must never give up here. I'll never give up on you, Siyeon. Never.

Her eyes closed at last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haeyoon's head was spinning. She could barely process anything.

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, the monitors for their outside guard had been blaring her name. Taeyeon's shrill voice had rang through the compound until Cherry Bullet had gone up to the surface and discovered her with Suzy and an unconscious and bloody Chungha. In fact, all of them had been bloody and all three had been transported down to the medical ward. Both Suzy and Taeyeon had passed out during the transport.

Poor CLC, they're so overwhelmed now.

Yeji and Kokoro, fortunately, had recovered and been released, but the other girls weren't so lucky. Eunbi was getting better, but she wasn't quite out of danger yet, and Yena was the same, although she was still doing badly without the use of her eye. Mia and Onda were, however, growing worse, and Aisha was biting her nails to their nubs each night worrying about them. E:U's operation had gone well, but a fever had then sent her fragile health back down to critical, which forced Chaeryeong into the nail-biting club as well for worrying about her girlfriend. Chungha was on life support and CLC was debating doing the same for Taeyeon and Suzy if the tubes already in them failed to keep their breathing steady, not to mention they were already shocked enough about the absence of Suzy's tongue. Chaeyeon was doing a lot better compared to them and luckily had no brain damage; she was doing the best of anyone in the ward, which eased her sister's emotions a tiny bit. Wonyoung, on the other hand, was doing the worst. She had accidentally caught E:U's fever a couple days ago and by this time, it had aggravated her body so badly that she was essentially also defenseless as her own illness grew worse. Now, she was quarantined in a special ward. Only CLC and anyone with permission from them were allowed to enter her room and Haeyoon's heart had broken when she'd seen her moved in there, sick beyond belief and still in unimaginable pain, fighting to survive as many tubes were attached to her.

So young and yet already dying. Is this really happening? Are we fated to lose someone so young? Is Dreamcatcher doomed? Am I... am I failing? We need to send out another mission soon or we may not be able to end this.

"Haeyoon, are you okay?" The oldest Cherry Bullet member jumped; she hadn't heard Seunghee coming up behind her.

"No, I... I'm not, Seunghee." Haeyoon sighed. "I hate knowing I can do nothing to help them and I'm reluctant to send out any more missions for fear that anyone else will end up like Mia or Onda or..." She growled. "Or Chungha, that traitor who scared me."

"She... is not... a traitor!"

"What the...?" Haeyoon and Seunghee spun around and gasped; Taeyeon had opened the door to the medical ward and was stumbling out, a breathing tube still in her nose.

"She was infiltrating Hyuna's inner circle... you guys have been locked in a battle with Hyuna for so long, I know... so... she had to betray you before..." Taeyeon collapsed and Seunghee managed to catch her just before she fell.

"Help me get her back into bed!" she hissed to Haeyoon. "Oh my god, I can feel her heartbeat shaking..."

Together, the pair hauled Taeyeon back into bed and Seunghee hooked her up again. Just as she finished, a small kitten whine echoed through the air.

"Shit, what is that?" Haeyoon cursed. "That scared me."

Seunghee gestured to a monitor screen in the center of the ward and walked over to it, pressing a few buttons on it before something came up.

Oh my god... it's Wonyoung...

The young girl lay ominously still on her bed, whimpering as she took a shaky breath through the small tube in her nose. She looked immensely uncomfortable and the special tube in her throat seemed to be what was most likely contributing to that. Sorn was messing with the machine settings and as she temporarily freed Wonyoung from her throat restraint, she groaned and started coughing violently. The CLC member placed her hand on her neck and massaged it lightly, cooing. "Hey, hey, it's okay..."

"Sorn unnie..." Wonyoung's voice was scratchy and cracked. "Let me out... so I can die in Yujin's arms..."

"I can't do that, Wonyoung. I won't do it. I won't let you give up."

"Where's Haeyoon? Isn't she or Mirae the higher power? Can she give the order to let me die?"

"She won't, I promise you that. Little one, do you want me to get Yujin for you?"

"Yes..."

"Alright, I'll go get her." Sorn fitted an oxygen mask over her face. "This will supply your air for now." Then she disappeared from the camera's view.

"Wow..." Haeyoon swallowed. "I can't believe she's doing so badly... she could be dying..."

"Her death isn't inevitable yet," Seunghee replied. "We can save her. We will not let those Sistar rapists win!"

"Damn right we won't."

Giving her a nod, Seunghee stepped over to Suzy's bed and adjusted her IV bags. Haeyoon quickly exited the ward and fetched her face mask from her room. As quietly as she could, she found Wonyoung's room, tucked near the back of the compound, and slipped inside.

"Hello...? Yujin...?"

"It's Haeyoon, Wonyoung."

"Haeyoon..." She was muffled by the oxygen mask. "My legs hurt. I hurt."

After so long? Something is definitely wrong. "Hey, Wonyoung... can you tell me what happened there?"

"Wh-what?"

"What did they do to your body that may have caused this sickness?"

"I don't know!" Wonyoung wailed. "Who knows what those magic-made sex weapons infected me with! It doesn't matter to them! They've broken me!"

Her oxygen mask fell off as she clawed at it and she also yanked the tube out of her nose; the heart monitor started beeping erratically as Wonyoung arched her back, rivulets of sweat dripping down her arms.

"Damn, how crazy are they?!" Haeyoon shouted. She had no idea how to replace any of the equipment, so she screamed as loud as she could.

Sorn burst in barely a minute later, Yujin behind her. Yujin shrieked as she saw Wonyoung and raced to her side. "Wonyoung, baby, I'm here!"

"Unnie!" The younger's voice went shrill. "UNNIE!"

"Baby, babygirl, where does it hurt?" Yujin's hand went to Wonyoung's chest.

"Don't touch her!" Sorn grasped the throat tube in her hand.

Wonyoung screamed and bit Yujin's arm. Fortunately, it was covered, but Sorn quickly detached her and started trying to force the tube back into her.

"NO! SORN UNNIE, STOP!!"

"Wonyoung, I need you to be still! Yujin, hold her!"

"Can't you just put her under?" Yujin gasped out.

"Not while she's thrashing like that!"

"NOOO, THAT HURTS ME! DON'T DO IT, SOYOU! DON'T HURT ME LIKE BORA !"

Soyou? Bora?

Yujin abruptly struck out at Sorn, knocking her away, and the Thai girl gaped at her.

"WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CHOKE ME LIKE BORA DID?!"

"Babygirl, she's not, I promise," Yujin murmured. "She's trying to help you breathe."

"SOYOU, NO! DON'T LET HER PUT IT BACK INTO ME! DASOM, PLEASE, HAVE SOME MERCY!"

Sorn, seriously? Did you have to force that? You've plunged her back into the time when she was raped and now she's going into a full-on tantrum! Yujin rubbed her forehead and lunged, wrapping her arms around Wonyoung's flailing body. She waited for a moment, her heart shattering at her screams, but once Wonyoung closed her mouth to swallow, Yujin kissed her.

She froze, the room going completely silent as the older caressed her face. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's me. It's Yujin. Bora, Soyou, and Dasom are far away. I won't let them hurt you again. You hear me? They could follow us forever, but they will never desecrate your body again. Hell, if I could have been the person in this whole situation instead of you, I'd take it a thousand times over. I would have let myself be raped instead of you millions of times to protect you from dealing with that once."

"You... you wouldn't have wanted that," Wonyoung croaked as Yujin pulled away. "You have no idea how seriously cruel they were. I once ended up in a position where my hands were held down... cuffed over my head... where Bora was forcing herself into my mouth and Dasom... Dasom and Soyou were both down there... th-thrusting into me so hard... I couldn't... couldn't breathe, not with Bora on me... and it hurt. It hurt so much! I can't even go to the bathroom without feeling like I'll faint from the agony... I really should just die already..."

"Oh, Wonyoung..." Yujin couldn't stand the pain on the other girl's face.

She gulped. "I'm really sorry, but I can't let you just give up. I can't let you die. I need you. You can't let Sistar win..." She motioned to Sorn. "Would you mind letting her put you under? You'll die if you don't let her hook you up again."

"D- do it," Wonyoung choked out, grasping at her neck. "H-hurry!"

Yujin was out of the room the second the needle slid into Wonyoung's arm. She ran down the hall, ran as fast as she could back to the medical ward, tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed. "My Wonyoung... oh, my precious Wonyoung..."

Her cries quieted when she reached the ward and stepped inside. No CLC members were currently in sight. She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she tried to regain her breath.

Wonyoung, I'm so sorry...

A long, low beep suddenly echoed around her and Yujin's head jolted up.

What the-?

Her own heart nearly stopped as she recognized the sound of a flatline.

Chapter Text

"Seungyeon! Elkie!" Yujin screamed, her eyes glued to the horizontal line stretching over Onda's heart monitor. She ran over to her and ran a hand over the other girl's lips. No breath fluttered over her palm.

Damn it, they could have left to get supplies. She can't wait for them.

Taking a deep breath, Yujin slammed her hands on the alarm and then thrust them onto Onda's chest, pounding hard. "Onda, you can't... they need to get you on stronger oxygen! You and Aisha were going to marry; you can't leave her!"

"What's going on?" Eunbin darted into the room. "Yujin, what's... HOLY SHIT!" She pushed Yujin out of the way. "Get Aisha! I'll get the defibrillator!"

Forcing herself to breathe, Yujin exited the medical quarters and tore down the hall, shouting Aisha's name. Eventually, she found her in her room.

"Aisha, you have to come quick!" she gasped out, panting hard.

"Why? What's happening? What's with the alarm out there?'

"Onda's flatlining!"

"WHAT?!" She leapt to her feet.

"I couldn't find any of the CLC members but Eunbin! Help your damn fiancée or she won't be your fiancée anymore!"

Aisha burst out of her room, wailing incessantly and Yujin followed her as they ran back to the medical ward. By the time they got back, Eunbin had already placed the defibrillator pads onto Onda's chest.

"Yujin, charge it up!" she snapped. "Come on!"

Yujin wasted no time and lunged for them, charging up the pads. "Ready!"

Eunbin sucked in a sharp breath. "Clear!"

Onda's back lifted off the bed and crashed down again; a shriek tore from Aisha's mouth when her lover didn't move.

"No! Onda, you can't leave me!" She shoved Yujin and Eunbin aside and pressed her lips against Onda's, breathing into her body. "Stay with me, baby, please." Her hands went back to her chest and hammered as hard as she could manage. "Onda, please! You and I... we're going to be married! Don't leave me, unnie. You can't leave me!"

"Hah..."

Suddenly, Onda shot upwards, wheezing as she fell against Aisha, and she, Eunbin, and Yujin all sighed in relief.

"My love... oh, my love..." Aisha whimpered. "My poor babygirl..."

"Aisha-ssi..."

"Shh, don't talk." She pecked Onda's lips. "Get her back on the oxygen, Eunbin."

"Aisha... stay..."

"It depends on whether Eunbin wants me to stay..."

"You can stay, Aisha, but don't disturb the other girls, Chungha especially."

A burst of static rang in Aisha's ears and she looked down to see Eunbin pulling a walkie-talkie from her belt. "Come again? Over."

"CLC, report to mission command. Over."

"Haeyoon, it's Eunbin! The rest of CLC is up on the surface with Itzy gathering herbs for medicine for Wonyoung."

"NO! Bring them down now! They shouldn't be up there!"

"I can't! Onda just flatlined and she was barely able to be revived. I need to to stay with her."

"Who helped revive her?"

"Yujin from Iz*one and Aisha."

"Then send them up! Lisa and Rosé are prowling around and our girls could be ambushed at any moment! Get them to the teleport entrance and keep them down here! I really don't want to have to activate their tracking chips. Over."

Sniffing, Aisha looked back at Onda.

"Yes," Onda whispered. "Do it."

"They're going now," Eunbin exclaimed. "Over and out."

Aisha couldn't hold back a tear as she followed Yujin out and they headed up to the world, nervously emerging into the forest.

"Where do you think they are?" Yujin asked.

Her unnie didn't get a chance to respond before a piercing scream rang through the forest.

"Oh shit, they're in trouble!" Yujin cried. She grasped Aisha's wrist and yanked her forward as they took off running towards the sound. It didn't take long to reach it and both of the pair stiffened.

CLC was surrounding Itzy in a semi-circle, horrified expressions on their face. Standing in front of both groups were Lisa and Rosé, one of each of their hands outstretched. Yeji, Yuna, and Chaeryeong were on the ground, weeping, but what scared Aisha and Yujin was that the bloody bodies of Ryujin and Lia lay in their arms.

"WHY?!" Yuna bawled, tears rolling down her face. "Why did you have to do it? She didn't deserve this fate, you monsters!!"

"What did we do?" Lisa feigned surprise.

"Are you insane?" Chaeryeong roared. "YOU'VE CRIPPLED RYUJIN AND YOU'VE KILLED LIA!!"

"What?" Yujin felt the blood drain from her face. "Lia is dead?!"

"You shouldn't have fought us." Rosé crossed her arms, eyes fixed on Yeji. "You can live without Lia and Ryujin can live without the use of her legs."

Without thinking, Aisha surged forward and tackled Rosé to the ground.

"Aisha, no!" Yeeun yelled. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

She scrambled off of Rosé the second they hit the dirt and the older girl scoffed as she stood up again. "I'm going to let that one go, but mark my words... you're wasting your efforts on Dreamcatcher." Laughing, she stalked away with Lisa.

"Oh my god..." Yujin knelt by Yuna; Lia's body lay still and broken in her grasp, eyes wide open and glazed. "She... she's really gone...?"

"She's g-gone..." Yuna choked out. "Oh, unnie..."

"Yeji unnie, I'm hurting!" Ryujin whined from her place next to Lia. "And I can't feel my legs... my waist hurts so badly..."

"Ryujin, that's because your spine snapped. We already know... we already know that you won't be walking again..."

"Nooo... Lia, help me..." She reached out to grab Lia's hand and winced. "You're... you're so cold..."

"Ryujin..." Yeji bit her lip hard. "It was already too late for her. She's dead."

"No! No! NO!" Ryujin's eyes widened. "She can't be... LIA, NO!!"

"We have to get you back down to the base before they come back," Yujin hissed. "We can't leave you here to die."

CLC's Yujin glared at her. "It's too late to save her walking ability!"

"But it's not too late to save her life! Don't let your members die like Lia did! And look at Ryujin, she's bleeding out! Yeji, we can't let her die too."

"Come on!" Sorn beckoned to them. "Let's go. Now."

Each of the girls followed her back down, only to be instantly met with Haeyoon's malicious glare. "What were you thinking?"

"We needed to see if we could make that medicine for Wonyoung. Our magic can't do everything!" Seungyeon growled. "And we've already paid a huge price."

Haeyoon hissed. "What did you do?"

Yuna and Yeji moved in front of CLC.

"No... oh, no, no, no..." Haeyoon shakily laid a hand on Lia's neck. "How...? Oh, Lia..." She gestured to Yeji. "You and CLC to the medical ward, now! Later, we... we can give Lia a proper goodbye."

Yeji took off, tears pouring down her face as she held Ryujin close to her. She barely noticed Chaeryeong and CLC went behind her; her hand softly caressed Ryujin's cheek.

"My love... I'm so sorry..."

"Yeji... I should be sorry... y-you were really looking forward to tonight... you... you wanted to claim me..."

"That doesn't matter, baby. I just need you to stay alive for me. We don't need to be able to have sex for me to love you."

"Yeji... stay with me in there?"

"I'll try, jagiya. I'll try."

Ryujin sniffled and clung to her.

"Yeji?" She heard Seungyeon's voice a split second before her hand touched her shoulder. "I'm really sorry, but we're going to have to take her here. You can stay... for a little while."

Tearfully, she handed her girlfriend's body to the CLC leader, who barked some instructions to the rest of her group before laying Ryujin on a bed next to Yena. Yena groaned and reached out to grab the injured girl's hand.

"No, no, no." Seungyeon shoved her arm away. "No, Yena."

Huffing, Yena closed her eye again.

"When does she get out?" Yeji questioned.

"Soon; she has an operation tomorrow to fully repair the nerves and veins in her eye. Once she recovers from that, Hitomi can help her with doing things with one eye. Even our magic can't fix that. But Ryujin... I don't think she'll ever walk again. Never."

"Oh god..." Yeji's lip quivered. "Poor Ryujin... and poor Yuna..."

"Why Yuna? I mean, I know why, but..."

"Seungyeon, our career is over, or at least how we know it, now that Lia is gone... and that's even if anyone's still alive after all of this..." Yeji swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment. "But even if the rest of us re-debuted, she'd have no one to focus 100% on her. I'll be caring for Ryujin most of the time and Chaeryeong will seek comfort from E:U. But I want Yuna to be safe..."

"Then give her someone that'll focus on her. How about Nako? Am I the only one who's noticed how Yuna's been staring at her since she got here?"

Yeji furrowed her brow. "I've barely seen Nako aside from at dinner, so I didn't know that."

"Ask her. You're her leader, for crying out loud; you should be caring for her." Seunghee joined her at Ryujin's side and nudged the Itzy leader. "Go to her. She needs you right now, especially after... Lia."

Ryujin cried out her name one last time as she left the room and that sent her into a run. Yuna's room was a solo room, so she knew exactly where to find it, assuming that she'd given Lia's body to Haeyoon and fled to there.

But Yuna wasn't alone. Somehow, Nako had beaten her there and the two now lay together in bed.

"Y-Yeji..." Nako's eyes widened. "D-don't hurt me..."

"No intention to." Yeji sighed. "But can I cut in?"

"No!" Yuna snapped firmly. "Nako's done more for me in a few minutes than you ever have. Lia gives me the most attention out of everyone in the group. Wait, no, she gave me the most attention. I always tried to get you to notice me, but noooooo, Ryujin always came first. You'd always say we were like sisters, but you never cared! You were whining about Chaeryeong not noticing you in the medical ward, but did you ever say my name? Did you ever once think about how I felt? No! I was scared you were going to die, Yeji, but why should I have cared when you never did?" She took a deep breath. "I have had feelings for Nako before she even got here and I originally thought nothing good would come out of it, so I kissed Chaeyeon to snap myself out of it. But right now, I'm realizing that she cares about me more than you ever will! So why should you care that Lia's dead? You cared about her as much as you did for me!"

"That isn't true, that isn't true!" Yeji wailed. "I care about all of you!"

"Really?" Yuna crossed her arms, face still stained with tears. "You remember Ryujin's last birthday?"

"Yeah, I remember we celebrated all day and then you fell ill, but Lia took care of you and told Ryujin and I to go on the date we'd planned."

"Do you know why she did that?"

"She was trying to be nice because it was Ryujin's birthday...?"

"No! It was because she knew you wouldn't take care of me! I told her over and over that I wanted you to be the one to stay with me. I wanted my leader there. However, she kept telling me I shouldn't beg for you because you had something more important to do. I didn't care. I went to sleep before you could get back and ended up having a nightmare that night. I woke up, screaming for my leader, but were you there? No! Even Lia couldn't calm me down for a while. And do you know what that nightmare was about? It was about you dying without me seeing you again, getting shot at a nightclub while you and Ryujin were partying the night away. But I'm realizing that I should have worried more about Lia. And now it's too late! She's gone!"

Yuna started to hyperventilate and buried her face in Nako's chest.

"Y-Yuna..." Yeji tentatively stepped forward and brushed her fingers over her forearm.

"Don't touch me! For once, I want something to be about me. Not about Ryujin, not about Dreamcatcher! Nako and Lia were the only ones who ever cared about me!"

"Yuna, baby, calm down," Nako murmured, nuzzling into the taller girl's chest. "She's not worth your attention if you're not worth hers."

"I never said you're not worth it!" Yeji exclaimed. "But excuse me if I'm not rushing to cover you with a blanket right now. Did you not hear that Ryujin is never going to walk again?"

"Have you no shame?" Yuna groaned. "L-Lia is gone..."

"Do you think I don't know that? Do you think I won't go the rest of my life wishing I could have saved her or at least done more for her?" Yeji collapsed on her hands and knees, hanging her head. "I should have done more for you and her..."

"Get out, Yeji. Just get out and come back when you're actually ready to care."

Yeji burst into tears and got up, fleeing the room.

I need to be alone... I deserve to be...

She dashed to the teleporter exit and burst out into the forest above.

I just gotta get up a tree and maybe even fall... maybe I'll join Lia...

Still crying, she ran and ran until her legs gave out. Then, she just lay on the ground, the dirt cooling her cheek.

All of a sudden, her mind snapped out of it.

What am I doing? I really am going to die like Lia if I stay out here!

When Yeji tried to get up, however, she couldn't move. Someone was on top of her.

"AH, SOMEONE HELP ME!!"

Hyuna clapped a hand over her nose and mouth. "I don't think so, sweetheart. You're coming with me."

Her screams were muffled by Hyuna's hand and soon, when she could no longer take air into her body, she blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dasom huffed as she walked down the hall of Hyuna's building, her footsteps nearly silent on the tile floor.

I want to have a pleasure night with Bora and Soyou again, but they're on Dreamcatcher duty so much lately. Why don't Dara and Minzy have to do that much anymore?

A small bang from ahead caught her attention and she groaned quietly. Are you two serious?

"Ah, ah, Dara unnie, harder! Harder... ngh... please..."

"Oh, you're going to get it, babygirl." The bangs grew louder and Dasom rubbed her forehead as Minzy's moans and Dara's growls reached her ears. "That's right, my kitten, take it all. Take it so hard that you'll be in bed all day today and tomorrow because you'll be wrecked from me. God, Minzy, it feels so good to destroy you."

A ringing from Dasom's pocket distracted her. Oh, thank god! She wrenched her phone from her pocket and stepped away from the door. "What's up, Hyuna?"

"You're not on Dreamcatcher duty right now, so what are you doing?"

"Just walking around our base, although I can't believe I can hear Dara fucking Minzy all the way out here."

"Well, when they're finished, you tell Dara to be ready for more. I'll have her wake up our little one."

"You have a new slut for us?"

"Yup. Found her on the ground a while away."

"Who is it?"

"Yeji Hwang."

"The leader of Itzy? No way, that's amazing!"

"I'm almost back and she's still unconscious."

"Why can't Dara and I double up on her? That'd be way more fun to do!"

"Fine, but you better talk to her about it."

"Ugh, alright."

Giving a huff, Dasom sank against the wall, waiting until she heard Minzy's loudest scream and then Dara's cooing as she calmed her down. Even then, she let a few more minutes go by before knocking on the door. As soon as it was unlocked, she burst inside.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Dara arched an eyebrow as she closed the door again.

Dasom cast a quick glance at Minzy, who was curled up under the covers, fast asleep. "You enjoy fucking your little girl?"

"Damn, I just love it. CL never let me fuck her hard like this. Honestly, I really don't think I ever truly loved her and that's not just because of the sex."

"Well, Hyuna has a job for you now. She found Yeji Hwang a little while away and is bringing her back here as our new slut. And she wants you to take her virginity."

"No Dreamcatcher duty today, huh?"

"No. And I was wondering... Hyuna said I had to ask you about it, but... do you want to double up on her?"

Dara smiled. "Hell yeah! I don't think you even needed to ask."

"Ryujin won't be taking her anytime soon, so we'll do it for her." Dasom high-fived her hard. "So how many times did Minzy climax before I came along?"

"Six." A laugh burst from her mouth. "She's so wrecked."

"Wow, nice job!"

"Thanks." Dara let a smirk play over her face. "Now let's go get our sweet little fuck toy."

They arrived at the front entrance just as Hyuna burst through the doors, skidding to a stop. Yeji was nestled into her arms.

"Well, aren't we evil?" Dasom grinned. "Killing one member of Itzy, crippling another, and capturing a third to be our sex slave? They'll soon be so broken we might have to send them along to Dreamcatcher and Twice and let them deal with them."

"True, true. But let's deal with this girl now. My room so we can let Minzy rest?"

"Sure. Chain her though."

The pair carried Yeji back to Dara's room and left Minzy to sleep in her own. Dara swiftly stripped their captive's clothes from her body, laid her on the bed, and chained her arms to the bedposts.

"Shift or toy?" She looked at Dasom questioningly. Shift was an ability in their powers that allowed them to switch their genitals between genders.

"Shift. And I want to be in front, to see the pain on her face as we break her."

"Fine by me. I wanted to be at the back anyway, in what she thought was always so sacred."

"Awesome. And you know what, let's just not chain her. It'll be easier to move her around."

Nodding, Dara shifted and unchained Yeji, climbing onto the bed and positioning herself behind her as she lifted her up. Dasom stripped and shifted as well, joining them.

"Ready?" she whispered.

"Ready."

Yeji's eyes shot open the second Dara and Dasom thrusted into her and she screamed at the top of her lungs. "NO!"

"Oh, yes." Dara bit onto her neck.

"This is just a nightmare, just a nightmare! RYUJIN! YUNA!"

"They can't hear you," Dasom snarled. "And that's because this is real."

Tears flowed down Yeji's face and she howled in pain each time their hips met hers. "STOP, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

"No. And you'll take it like a good slut." Dasom slapped her thigh.

"NOOO! I DON'T WANNA BE GOOD FOR YOU!" She thrashed violently, her screams shredding her throat.

"You're ours now." Dara bit onto a different place on her neck, marking her. "And we're going to stretch you out until you can't breathe."

She was right. Yeji felt like she couldn't breathe; the agonizing penetration in both parts of her lower region was tearing her apart and she was crying out as loud as she could, calling for her friends and girlfriend.

"They're not coming for you," Dasom rumbled. "No one will. You belong to us now."

"NO! I BELONG TO RYUJIN!"

"Who, the little girl Lisa and Rosé crippled? Please. She'll never be able to take you the way we do." Dasom moved Yeji so her head lay back on Dara's shoulder and slowly pulled out of her. Dara kept thrusting, grabbing the young girl's hips and forcing her down on her.

Sneering, Dasom rose up on her knees. Taking the cue, Dara gripped Yeji's long dark hair and made her put her hands on the bed.

"Please..." Yeji begged. "What must I do... to make you stop?"

"Nothing. But if you bite me, this will go on for so much longer. Open your mouth."

Shuddering, Yeji shook her head, mumbling, "No."

"Dara?"

A smirk passing back over her face, Dara gave a particularly hard thrust and Yeji shrieked. As soon as she gained access, Dasom plunged into her mouth, making her gag. Her muffled cries went unheeded by them and she was brutally choking, her mind pleading for mercy. When she was finished with her mouth, leaving her fluids trailing from her lips, she sat back and watched Dara's abuse of her body as she harshly groped Yeji's breasts and pushed herself into her as deep as she could.

"Please... I can't take anymore..."

"She's right," Dasom pointed out. "Look at all that blood. We'll do more when she can take more."

"Fine." Dara retracted herself from Yeji, shifting back as she did so, and watched as she crumpled onto the bed, weeping.

Hyuna suddenly burst into the room and took a grip on Yeji's scalp, yanking her head upwards.

"You listen to us now," she snarled. "You are our bitch now and it's your actions that will determine whether we treat you as our slut or as our babygirl. You will never see your friends again, so get comfortable here. Your previous life is over. You belong to us now."

Yeji cried harder when she left and Dara rubbed her back. "The hardest part is over now. Stop resisting us and you'll live a better life here."

"I don't want to... I want to get back to my friends... my girlfriend... my family... agh, this hurts..."

"It won't hurt anymore once you get used to it. Would you feel better having sex mostly with Dasom since she's closer to your age?"

"I don't want to be near any of you! And the fact that you're so much older than me only makes it worse!"

Very softly, Dara set Yeji in her lap and Yeji whined, "D-Dara, you're hurting me! You just r-raped me!"

"Oh, all of us are always rough when we're taking someone for the first time. And I'm sure Dasom was rougher with Wonyoung."

"How could you? She's too young for this!"

Dasom shrugged. "We do what we like. Age differences don't matter to us, especially when we're wanting to break someone." She leaned close to her ear. "And I relished the moments when we all broke Wonyoung."

She left the room, leaving Yeji almost in hysterics, and Dara kissed her cheek. "There's no escape, sweetie. I have to go torture Dreamcatcher soon, but I will be back. Good night, babygirl." After tucking her under the covers, she left as well.

That night, Yeji sobbed more than she ever had in her lifetime.

Chapter Text

"Hey, unnie baby, wake up!"

Siyeon felt a tap on her cheek and sat up on Handong's lap, blinking in the sunlight.

"Whoa, careful, not so fast. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." A blush crept onto Siyeon's face. "Handong, thank you for dealing with me so well last night."

"No problem, sweetheart. I have to admit... it felt good."

"But I should have told you it could happen."

Handong tilted her head. "What?"

"It started when I was a trainee at Happyface. Whenever I got incredibly stressed... I'd sometimes regress like I did, but this was during my training years. The main reason JiU handled it so well last night was because she was my trainee roommate at the company. She'd cuddle me and baby me and though she obviously didn't let me do what you did, she bought me baby things, like a bottle, so I wouldn't be alone when I regressed. I got stressed a lot during those years before I debuted with Minx and even after that. It stopped when I got a little less stressed and... I was too scared to tell you it's started again..."

"Oh, baby... I'm really sorry. Had you... had it happened to you before we were sent here?"

"Yeah..."

"What? How... how did you deal with it?"

"Remember the morning you found me sleeping in the comfort room?"

"Yes."

"I had gone down there and cried the night before. I'd just cried on my own. I didn't want to tell JiU because I'd already developed feelings for you by then and I was scared you'd hate me for it."

"Look, love... I could never hate you. Never."

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm very sure. I will never leave you, Siyeon, and anytime you're regressing or need to be sated in some way... don't be afraid to come to me."

She blushed again. "May I do it...? Just for a little while."

"Of course, baby. We can't do it in public if we make it back home, obviously, but any time you need it, you can just ask."

Smiling, Siyeon attached her mouth to Handong's nipple and sucked for a little while. When she noticed the Twice members were finally waking up, she stopped.

"Thank you, Dongie. I... I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie."

"Are you ready... to go save Gahyeon?"

"Yes. But if we don't get some food soon, we're toast."

Her arm clutched at her stomach and Handong grimaced. "Do the ulcers hurt?"

"I don't think it's ulcers..."

"But you were throwing up blood! I don't know what else it could be... and I don't want to believe it's something worse..."

"Handong... this isn't the first time."

"What do you mean?"

"It happened to me at home too... at a time when I felt like my life was in danger. At one of our concerts, when we were about to go off stage and I was at the edge of our group... someone shouted to me that I deserved to be m-murdered in my s-sleep... and that they would d-do it... that night... no one heard them but me... and I think... I was throwing up blood for 5 minutes straight in the evening..."

"Oh, you poor thing." Handong kissed Siyeon's cheek. "Unnie, you could have come to any of us. Babygirl, you know I'd help you in any way I could. How recent was it?"

"Remember the 'Piri' concert we were supposed to perform?"

"Yeah..."

"That was at the concert before it."

Handong gasped and Siyeon burst into tears.

"Siyeon, you could really be dying for all I know! Why didn't you tell me? I could have taken you to the hospital!"

"Ngh... it doesn't matter..."

"Yes, it does. I can't lose you. I can't!" Handong held her hand. "Come on, love, you matter to me. If not for anything else, do this for me."

"Girls? What are you doing here?"

All of them were awake by then and Momo was the first to turn. "What the hell? N-Namjoon?"

JiU instantly planted herself in front of Handong while she scrambled to put her shirt back on.

RM's brow furrowed. "Where are we anyway? And what...?" His gaze traveled over the groups and his eyes widened. "What happened here?"

Dami groaned, attempting and failing to sit up in Jeongyeon's lap. "Minjiii..."

"Baby, I got you." After checking that Handong was decent, JiU moved over to Dami and pulled her out of the other girl's arms.

"What...? Is that Dreamcatcher?" Jungkook emerged from behind his leader, the rest of his group beginning to appear as well. "And Twice? With... Hyewon from Iz*one?"

Hyewon swallowed and pressed her face into SuA's shoulder.

"Yah!" Jimin suddenly burst from the bush and accidentally tackled Yoohyeon as she got up. A scream tore from her mouth as she fell and Gahyeon's body tumbled from her grasp, rolling to RM's feet. He slowly knelt and picked her up, nestling her into his arms.

"No!" Yoohyeon frantically forced Jimin off of her and ran to the BTS leader, yanking Gahyeon away from him. "Don't touch my baby!"

RM and V exchanged uneasy glances.

"My love..." Yoohyeon fought back tears as she pecked Gahyeon's lips."I can't take this..."

"Is she...?" J-Hope swallowed. "Is she dead?"

"No, she's in a coma. But I... I fear she may never wake up again..."

"Ouch..." Jimin got up, hanging his head. "Sorry, Yoohyeon."

"Wake up, Gahyeon..." Yoohyeon whimpered, collapsing on her knees. "Please..."

"Do you really want her back?"

"Whoa!" V yelped. "Where is that coming from?"

Yoohyeon lifted her head. "Yes!" she roared. "Dara, I want her back! Please! Why must you be so cruel with her?"

"Because we can. And we've decided now that in order to get her back... you have to fight."

Jungkook's eyes suddenly turned red and he lunged for Yoohyeon; she shoved Gahyeon's body toward SuA just as she slammed her into the earth. SuA passed her to Nayeon.

"Jungkook, stop!" RM shouted.

"He's not in control of himself!" Hyewon retorted. "Dara's making him do this!"

Yoohyeon screamed as Jungkook's weight pinned her down and his hands went for her neck, choking her. She gagged and struck out at him, but his grip only tightened.

"No one can help her or Gahyeon will be struck dead!" Dara snapped as SuA took a step toward the battling pair.

But he's going to kill her!

"S-stop!" Yoohyeon choked out, her voice like a child's. "Jungkook, y-you're not a k-killer!"

"He's not himself at the moment," Dara exclaimed with a more masculine tone to her voice as it came out of his mouth, All of a sudden, Jungkook had a long knife in his hand and before any of the groups could do anything, it was buried in the pinned girl's stomach.

"NO! YOOHYEON!" JiU shrieked, nearly dropping Dami.

Blood gurgled from Yoohyeon's throat, splashing over her front. In desperation, she lashed out,but it did nothing to him. He roughly yanked her to her feet and then stabbed her again, almost in the same place.

"Stop! STOP!" Dahyun wailed. "JUNGKOOK, STOP!"

His red eyes were void of emotion as he kept piercing Yoohyeon's stomach with the knife. However, at one point when the weapon was impaling deep into her, Dara left Jungkook's body; he shook his head violently. "What the-?" He let out a strangled gasp as he realized that he was stabbing someone and an animalistic sound left his throat as he tore the knife away.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

Yoohyeon swayed for a second before her legs gave out and she crashed into the dirt. Jungkook fell to his knees beside her.

"What have you done?!" Dami screeched. "Why... Dara, why did you have to kill her? She just wanted Gahyeon back!"

But Yoohyeon wasn't dead. She thrashed on the ground, attempting to make her way over to Nayeon to get Gahyeon's body, but Jeongyeon raced to her side, keeping her down. When she placed her hands on the younger girl's bloody abdomen, Yoohyeon cried out and bit Jungkook's arm hard.

"Ow!" The BTS maknae was about to pull his arm away, but Jeongyeon gave him a scathing glare. "You did this to her! It might not have been with your mind, but it was with your body! You don't get to complain." She cooed softly. "Yoohyeon, look at me. It's going to be okay."

"Ah... it hurts..." Her mouth released Jungkook.

"I know it hurts. But please, just stay with us.'

"It's so h-hard... I'm trying to hold on..." Yoohyeon closed her eyes.

Gahyeon awoke just as Yoohyeon's heartbeat momentarily stilled under Jeongyeon's hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lee Chaeryeong and Shin Yuna, report to Haeyoon," Seungyeon told the two girls as she intercepted them outside of the medical quarters alongside Nako. "She wants to see you in the watch room."

"Fine." Yuna leaned down and kissed Nako's cheek. "See you later, unnie."

The Itzy pair walked over to where all the security equipment were, where all the outside cameras and main screen kept them safe. Haeyoon greeted them with a grave expression on her face. "Come in."

"What's up?" Chaeryeong asked as they entered the room.

Haeyoon closed the door behind them. "Have either of you spoken to Yeji lately?"

Yuna scoffed. "I haven't spoken to her in over a week. She was supposed to come to me. But she clearly doesn't care."

"Yuna, we can tell when someone is in danger. Yeji has been missing since the day Lia died."

"Say what?"

"I accessed her tracking chip about a half hour ago to see if I could hack any video footage from cameras nearby. And I found a clip; the time stamp is from yesterday. I haven't watched it yet because I thought you two should see it too."

She switched on the wall screen and a video recording came up. Yeji was laying on a bed in a small room, her eyes closed and her body naked.

"Wh-where is she?" Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Ryujin's not going to be happy if she cheated on her."

On the screen, three people suddenly burst into the room, two with whips, and Yuna winced as she recognized Dara and Bom from 2ne1 and Bora from Sistar, all of them naked too. Dara grabbed Yeji by the waist and spun her around, bending her over the bed. Haeyoon winced as she saw her genitals change from female to male and Yeji screamed as Dara thrusted a huge member into her.

"No, no, no!" Yuna wailed, covering her eyes. "Yeji, I'm so sorry!"

The sound of the whips striking echoed through the room and Yeji's cries grew even louder. "Please! Yuna, Chaeryeong, help me!"

Yuna's hands left her eyes; she didn't want to see what was happening, but she also felt terrible that she's fought with her leader right before she'd been plunged into that hell. I deserve to see what I've done.

"Yeji, we'll find you!" Chaeryeong cried. "Haeyoon, can you track exactly where she is?"

"I will try, but it'll take a little while."

"She doesn't have a little while!" Yuna growled, cringing as Bom and Bora whipped Yeji again and again. "Look at her! Judging by their roughness and how long she's been missing, that's not the first time they've raped her!"

"Once I know her location, we're going to mount a rescue mission immediately."

"Haeyoon, look at her! You need to make this your number one priority!"

"I will!"

Dara's thrusting and the pain of the whips soon quieted Yeji's screams as she passed out, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

Bom and Bora stopped as Bora spoke. "Alright, Dara, she's out."

"But I'm so close! Can you please just let me get to climax?"

"At least do it in her ass. I don't want her to get pregnant; we won't be able to use her anymore if that happens. We can give her a baby once she's outlived her prime usefulness as our slut."

"Fine." Dara pulled out and then slammed back in where Bora had commanded. She brutally pounded into Yeji's limp body until she released inside her... and then the footage instantly went black.

"They... they wanted us to see that," Yuna gulped. "They wanted us to see her like that... and the evil groups have been in on it since the beginning. How could they do this to them... how could they hurt her and Wonyoung like that? They didn't deserve to have their innocence so violently taken from them... and..." Her mouth dropped open. "What am I going to tell Ryujin?"

"We have to tell her the truth," Chaeryeong sighed.

"I can't believe... that I was so nasty to her..."

Yuna ran from the room in tears.

"Yuna, are you okay?" Sakura yelled as she passed her.

"NO!" Yuna screeched back, still running. "I'm not okay at all!"

"Yuna!" Sakura chased after her. "What's going on?" She quickly caught up and nearly slipped as she tried to steady the young Itzy maknae.

"Sakura, it's Y-Yeji..."

"Is she okay? I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"S-Sakura, sh-she was c-captured outside of the b-base. Haeyoon got some v-video footage of w-where she's being held from y-yesterday, but..."

"Yuna, what happened? What did you see in the footage?"

"She was with Bora, Bom, and D-Dara... and Dara raped her!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! I saw it! I saw it all! Yeji was in so much p-pain... Bom and Bora were w-whipping her too... she passed out w-with Dara still inside h-her..."

"Oh, oh, Yuna..." Sakura hugged her close. "You shouldn't have had to see that..."

"I feel like it's m-my fault that this happened! I fought with her! I made her run away! Now she's in Hyuna's hands... and she's being forced to be a sex slave..."

"Calm down, calm down," Sakura murmured, kissing Yuna's forehead. "Is Haeyoon planning a rescue mission for her?"

"She n-needs to f-find her location first... and right this s-second... they could be hurting her so much more..."

"Hey, I promise, we will save her. We will save her. Haeyoon and Mirae will make sure of that."

"But we have no time to s-spare... and we have to tell R-Ryujin..."

"Then let's go tell her."

"B-but Ryujin will blame me... she'll blame me for driving Yeji to it..."

"Do you really think she could do anything bad? She's lost the use of her legs; she can't just get out of bed and attack you."

"You're just making me feel worse!"

"I'll come with you."

"Wait, what? But you... you should hate me..."

"For kissing Chaeyeon? Water under the bridge; I know why it happened. And you're with Nako now. I'm coming with you."

Her arms still firmly around Yuna's waist, Sakura led her to the medical ward, entering inside quietly.

Eunbin crossed her arms as she greeted the pair at the door. "Who are you here for?"

"We're here for Ryujin," Sakura replied.

"Are you sure you want to go to her?" The CLC maknae bit her lip. "Ryujin's not doing too well right now and her temper has been flaring up a lot too."

Yuna shivered and Sakura whispered softly, "We have to. We can't hold back." She looked at Eunbin again. "Yuna has something to tell her that can't wait."

"Are you sure it can't wait?"

"It's urgent, Eunbin."

"Fine." She gestured to one of the beds- with, Sakura noticed, a folded wheelchair next to it. Ryujin lay on it, crying, her hospital gown quivering as her shoulders shook from her cries.

"Ryujin?"

Her tearstained gaze met Yuna's and she mumbled, "What?"

"Well, first... how are you feeling?"

"I'm in pain and mad because Yeji hasn't come to see me at all in here."

"Um..." Yuna sighed. "There's a reason for that. H-Hyuna has her."

"Wait, what?!"

"H-Haeyoon got some video footage... said Yeji's been missing since the day Lia died... b-but I saw..." She trailed off.

"Yuna, what did you see?"

"Ryujin, Dara was raping her! Bom and Bora were helping... they whipped Yeji so badly..."

"What?" Ryujin's face went white. "No way... no way, no way, no way..."

"And this... Ryujin, this is my fault. That day... I fought with her. I yelled at her that she only cared for you... that she was never there for me when I needed her... but I didn't mean to drive her to run!"

"HOW COULD YOU, YUNA?!" Ryujin screeched. "WHY?"

"I didn't know she'd be so upset! I thought she'd calm down!"

"I HATE YOU, SHIN YUNA! I ABSOLUTELY HATE YOU!!" Forgetting about her ruined body, she lunged for her, but without a boost from her legs, she fell short and tumbled out of the bed. The tubes connected to her detached themselves and she crumpled against the hard floor, her head slamming against the crisp tile.

"Ryujin!" Sakura and Yuna both screamed.

"What did you do?" Seungyeon pushed them aside. "Are you serious? Eunbin, get over here!"

Ryujin was wailing, scrambling toward Yuna as her head bled profusely and her lifeless legs dragged behind her. Seungyeon, Seunghee, and Eunbin raced to grab her.

Yuna turned and ran out to Nako's solo room. Tears blurred her vision as she moved, shaking violently and stumbling over every other step.

I did this. It's all my fault. And I... I killed Lia too. I suggested going up there. I had no right yelling at Yeji. I killed Lia!

"I can't do this!" Yuna shrieked as she burst in. "I've done too much!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Nako let Yuna leap onto the bed and nuzzle into her chest. "What's going on?"

"I did it." Yuna relayed to her everything that had gone down.

Nako gasped. "Did that really happen...?"

"Nako, I was also the one who suggested Itzy help CLC out on the surface the day Yeji was captured! I got Ryujin crippled! I got Yeji raped! I got Lia killed! I should have died too, Nako! I've hurt everyone! I think... you should just hate me forever..."

"Baby, it's okay! Look at me!" Nako cupped Yuna's face. "I will never hate you."

"You sh-should..." Sobs wracked her body. "I've destroyed my group... and if we... if we don't get Yeji back and she keeps suffering... it's all my fault!"

"Hey, babe, I promise it's not your fault."

"It is, it is! I'm a monster!"

"You're not a monster. You're the sweetest girl I've ever met. You couldn't have known Lisa and Rosé would be out there."

"Why would you... still love me...?" Yuna hiccupped. "I've destroyed them..."

"Because love means supporting you no matter what. I will never stop loving you, Shin Yuna, and I promise that. You didn't kill Lia. You didn't send out the magic strike that stopped her heart. You didn't mangle Ryujin's spine. You didn't capture Yeji and rape her. You did none of this!"

"Y-yes, I did."

"Yuna." Nako climbed onto her lap and planted her hands on her shoulder. "Look at me. I will never feel like this is your fault."

She started sobbing even harder. "I can't believe that Lia's g-gone..."

"She's still in your heart, babygirl. You know that."

"It hurts, Nako. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

Nako silenced her with a soft kiss, her lips meeting Yuna's as if their mouths had always been meant to fit each other. A whimper left the younger girl as she tried to break away, but Nako wouldn't let her and fastened her hand onto the back of her head.

"Stay with me, sweetheart."

"I deserve to d-die..."

"Damn it, Yuna, no, you don't! You sound just like Wonyoung!"

"What?"

"A week after she was raped, she tried to kill herself! She jumped out of the window and I saved her life!"

"But she doesn't deserve to die! I do!" Gasping, Yuna forcefully pulled away from Nako and tore out of the room.

"Yuna, get back here!" Nako dashed after her.

"No! Don't come near me! This is all my fault!"

The chase went on for a while and at last, Nako caught up with her in a dark hallway. But she was shocked at what she saw.

Yuna leaned against the wall, tears pouring from her eyes. She was holding out a knife, which was pointed straight at her chest.

"Shit, Yuna, put the knife down!"

"I can't, Nako. I can't." Her hand shook and the free one balled into a fist. "I don't deserve to stay alive while they're still suffering because of me..."

"It wasn't your fault! It wasn't, I promise!"

"I can't do it, Nako... I can't do it..."

"Yes, you can! We're going to rescue Yeji. We're going to help Ryujin. Please, stay! Don't... please don't take your life..."

"I can't do this anymore, baby... I deserve to suffer in hell..."

She desperately dived for her as Yuna tried to stab herself.

"BABY, NO!"

Nako's blood splashed onto the floor.

Chapter Text

"Y-Yoohyeon?" Gahyeon whimpered, slowly sitting up in Nayeon's arms. "Wh-where are you?"

Momo and Jihyo walked over to her and Momo covered the Dreamcatcher maknae's eyes. "Don't look, sweetie."

"Wh-what? Unnie, where is she?" She forcefully pushed Momo away and screamed. "Yoohyeon!" Clawing at the ground, she forced herself to move over to her. "Yoohyeon!"

Jeongyeon held the bloody body close, her mouth pressed against Yoohyeon's, her hands on the younger's torn stomach.

"Baby!" Gahyeon's breath caught in her throat. "No, no, no..."

When Yoohyeon's chest started to move on its own again, she fell back, her hand grasping Gahyeon's own. "Y-you're okay..."

"Yoohyeon unnie, you can't leave! I love you too much! Babe, ever since I met you, I've loved you. They can't do this to us! I'd rather die than lose you."

Jungkook sighed. "Gahyeon, I'm so sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry..."

"Yes, I do. Dara took control of me. She made me stab her."

"N-no..." Gahyeon gaped at him until Yoohyeon coughed up a spray of blood on Jeongyeon's face.

"Please, Dara, don't break Gahyeon's heart like this!" Tzuyu begged to the sky, falling to her knees. "I can't stand to see this. I'll do this for them! I'll do anything!"

"Tzuyu, no!" Gahyeon shook her head. "Dara, it's me that should take this! I'll give up my body, my soul, just to make her live again!"

"Let me!" Tzuyu jerked her head up. "They deserve to live happily together!"

"God, stop that pitiful whining! She is coming back... but all things come with a price."

Yoohyeon's wounds disappeared and she reached for Gahyeon. "My baby..."

Sana gasped. "D-Dahyun?"

The Twice girl had collapsed onto one knee and was clutching at her chest, whimpering. "S-Sana... p-please..."

"Dahyun, what's wrong?" Sana knelt next to her. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Ngh..." Dahyun fell onto her side and her nose began to bleed.

"Dahyun!"

A person suddenly burst from the undergrowth, lunging toward Dahyun and tearing into her chest.

"No! Dahyun!"

"She is mine."

Sana's eyes widened. No... that's Got7's Mark. What is he doing?

"Let go of her!" Jihyo cried.

Dahyun gagged as trickles of blood dripped from her chest and Mark flipped her onto her stomach, tearing her clothes off.

"Don't even think about helping her," he growled, raising a hand as blue fire flickered along his fingers. "I can burn this little girl to a crisp before you could even take a step." He leaned down and licked Dahyun's cheek; she shuddered in fear.

"Please don't hurt her." Sana stood up slowly. "Whatever you're doing, let me take it."

"Oh, no, no, sweetheart." Mark's gaze swept over all of them. "No."

"Hey, what is going on?" Jimin shouted. "What are you doing to her?"

He didn't respond and instead flipped Dahyun again, slamming into her stomach. All of the Twice girls' faces whitened as they heard bone snap. Dahyun screamed and Sana dashed forward.

Flames shot from the bush nearby and Jackson leaped out, the fire aiming squarely for Dahyun's heart.

"Dahyun!" Sana screeched.

"No!" One of the girls lunged in front and the blue fire struck Tzuyu with a blinding vengeance.

"Tzuyu!" Jihyo wailed. "No!"

Tzuyu screamed in agony as her clothes caught on fire and she flailed around on the ground, desperately trying to put it out. "AHHH!!"

Mark and Jackson both cackled as the fire burnt along her body.

"How could you?!" Momo roared. "Have mercy on our maknae!"

Her skin blistering quickly, Tzuyu blubbered and bawled, lashing out aimlessly. "UNNIES, IT HURTS!!!"

Jackson laughed and slammed his foot onto Tzuyu's breast. The Twice maknae's shrieks grew louder as he slowly stamped out the flames, taking delight with every hit. Dahyun turned her head away in fear, crawling to Sana.

"Tzuyu, no!" Nayeon and SuA rushed to her and shoved Jackson aside. Tzuyu's blood soaked their hands as they tried to get her up, but Jeongyeon raced over and shook her head warningly. "Don't do that. Look at her; those are third and fourth-degree burns."

"Tzuyu, Tzuyu, oh my god..." Momo and Jihyo went over to them. Jihyo examined every inch of the young girl's body and she whimpered, "J-Jihyo unnie... I'm going to d-die, aren't I?"

"No, sweetie, you're not." The words stuck in Jihyo's throat. I'm lying, I know it in my bones. There's no way she'll make it out of this.

"Jihyo..." she sobbed. "T-tell me the truth... how b-bad is it?"

"It's bad, honey," Jihyo sighed. "Really bad."

"Oh, no, no, no..." Tzuyu weakly turned her head toward the rest of her group. "G-get them all here... D-Dreamcatcher and BTS too... I n-need them h-here..."

Jihyo sent SuA and the other few girls at her side to get them and she leaned down to kiss her singed cheek.

"Oh, Tzuyu..." The leader let her tears fall. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay... just bring them here..."

"Tzuyu, Tzuyu, Tzuyu!" Dahyun was losing her mind with her physical and mental pain. "Th-this is my fault... I shouldn't have fought, I should have taken it..."

"It's okay..."

"No! Tzuyu, you can't leave us! You can't! Please!"

"D-Dahyun unnie... it's only s-so long... before I c-can't hang on..."

"Why...?" Chaeyoung tearfully looked up at Jackson. "How could you?"

He scoffed. "Why should I care? She looks so much more beautiful with her guts exposed to the air like that. That beautiful heart of hers shouldn't be hidden by all those layers of nerves and skin."

Nayeon yanked herself away and vomited onto the dirt. She couldn't take the careless comment that disgusted her so badly. Jeongyeon tried to comfort her, but she motioned for her to stop. "G-go to Tzuyu..."

"Nayeon, it's okay, just let it out, let it out..."

"Unnie..." Tzuyu croaked. "It fucking hurts!"

"Look at me, sweetheart," Jihyo caressed Tzuyu's face, unable to pull her gaze from the burned mess of her now-naked body. "Just look at me."

"It's h-hideous, isn't it?" She sniffled. Her leader didn't respond and she cried softly, "I look horrible... J-Jihyo, put me out of it..."

"What?"

"I'm begging you... k-kill me... this hurts so fucking much..."

"I can't, Tzuyu. I can't do it. I can't have you murdered at my hands."

"Just do it... I c-can't take this pain... please... l-let me say goodbye..."

Dami shakily touched her charred hand and whispered, "We will n-never forget you, Tzuyu..."

"No!" Siyeon shook and backed into Handong. "M-mommy, c-can you s-save her?"

"Babygirl, I'm sorry." Handong nestled her into her arms. "I'm powerless to help her."

"J-Jihyo?" Tzuyu whimpered. "P-paint me a picture."

"Paint a picture?"

"Give me a story image... s-something pretty to f-focus on..."

"Of course, of course." Jihyo pulled her body into her arms and Tzuyu moaned. "Close your eyes, little one, and listen."

She nodded and obeyed.

"Imagine you're standing in the middle of a clearing filled with smooth cordgrass. In front of you, flowing from an incredibly tall cliff face, is a waterfall, one that splashes into a violet pool in front of you. You stand before it, letting the cool mist that sprays into the air collect on your face. You have no clothes on, but there is no one around for thousands of miles. The wind whips through your hair in a fluttering breeze, caressing your stomach, your breasts, your face, every inch of your body. The sun shines down on you, making each mist droplet look like a glittering star on your beautiful skin. The scent of roses wreaths around you, bringing a delightful feeling to the air as you stretch your arms out and let the wind flow over every hair on you. For a moment, you feel weightless like a bird as the area fills with calm. You hear real birds tweeting in the sky, making their beautiful music as you lay back on the grass. The sun keeps shimmering over you, a spotlight that warms your every cell. And you... you feel at peace... like no one can ever hurt you again..."

Trembling, Jihyo took a deep breath to continue, but Hyewon placed her hand on Tzuyu's neck and shook her head, choking back tears.

Jihyo's lip quivered.

Tzuyu has passed on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It hurts," Yeji whined, her body shaking as she pressed against Jisoo. "It hurts so much, unnies..."

"You'll get used to it, babygirl," Lisa cooed from next to them. "But I can tell you that you will always taste so delicious."

"I hate you all! You're all monsters!"

"You're not getting out of here," Jennie chimed in, slapping Yeji's thigh. "So I'd suggest you be respectful."

"Right now, there's four of us and one of you," Rosé growled as well. "And unless you want to be fucked sore a fifth time, you'll shut your damn mouth."

"You can't make me do anything," Yeji spat. "You can hit me all you want, but you can't make me do shit."

Jisoo roughly yanked on the collar around Yeji's neck. "Stop talking. Now."

"Why?"

Jennie's hand struck her face hard. "You need to learn respect."

Lisa swiftly snaked over her and bit onto her breast. Yeji shrieked and shoved her away, rearing up to give power to the blow but Rosé was then forcing her down onto her knees. She had expected that, but she was taken aback when Jennie suddenly thrusted into her roughly.

"Jennie, please!" Yeji wailed. "It hurts too much!"

"You need to learn respect, bitch," Rosé snapped. "And you will."

"Aah!" Yeji felt like her legs were on fire. "Please... I'll beg, I'll be your babygirl, but NO MORE RIGHT NOW! PLEASE!!"

Jennie abruptly pulled out and ordered Jisoo to hand her something; their victim's eyes widened as a leash was clipped into her collar.

"Move it, unless you want Jennie inside you again." Rosé pulled on the leash and Yeji slinked down to the floor, hanging her head as she tried to fight the burning agony in her lower half.

"Why...?"

The pressure around her neck tightened and Rosé yanked on the leash, urging her forward. She slowly crawled after her and the rest of Blackpink followed as she was led out the door.

Cold blasted over Yeji's skin and she gasped, making the leash slacken as she stopped.

"Move!" Rosé gave another yank and Yeji crashed to the ground, bumping her chin. She barely got up before she was being pulled along again.

This is so fucking humiliating. Tears poured from her eyes. Even if I want to die, they won't kill me. No, I'm their slave. Lia, I pray that you are watching over Chaeryeong and Yuna, not me. I don't want you to see what I've been reduced to.

Eventually, they arrived at another dark room and Yeji almost choked as she was led in. Hyuna stood in front of her, a disapproving look on her face.

"I had a feeling you'd be acting disrespectful again tonight. So now, I'm taking you here tonight."

"No, no, please!" Yeji whimpered. "They've already made me so sore tonight... I can't... I can't take anymore..."

"That doesn't mean I'll let you go. You're my bitch and my bitch does what I tell her to." Hyuna eyed Yeji's body hungrily and made her go up on her knees only while she squeezed one of her breasts and pinched her cheek.

"H-Hyuna..."

"Shut up. Shut up now, slut." She slapped her cheek.

"I'm not a slut!"

"That's right. You're our slut."

"Why can't you just let me go?"

"I'm not letting this perfect, sweet body slip through my fingers."

"So you're just after my body?" Yeji groaned.

"No. It's you. You're so easy to break, so easy to destroy."

"I am not broken!" Yeji surged to her feet and lunged at Hyuna, yanking the leash from Rosé as she tackled her down. Hyuna roared as she slammed her knee into the younger's stomach, but she retaliated hard, punching her face. Blood streamed from Hyuna's nose, but that only made her angrier and she flipped her onto her back, magic flaring from her hands to wrap around her.

"Ah!" Yeji whimpered. "Please... please..."

"You say you're not broken? Then I will break you so many times over until you wish more than anything that you'd shared Lia's fate." She used her magic to teleport the girl into Jisoo and Rosé's grasp.

"No, no, no, no!"

"Oh, yes." Rosé grinned and nipped Yeji's neck. "This is what happens when you misbehave in front of your mistresses."

"You're not my mistresses!"

She chained Yeji to the wall on her stomach, arms and legs spread as her captors laughed at the terrified look on her face and made the leash disappear. The Itzy leader wanted to cry, but she couldn't do it yet, couldn't yet let them see how badly they'd destroyed her...

But she was again not prepared when Hyuna, Jennie, and Lisa slammed three whips onto her back. Yeji's scream echoed through the room. "AAH!!"

"Yes, Hwang, cry for us!" Lisa cackled. "If only Ryujin could see you now!" The blows smashed against her again. "And Chaeryeong?" Again. "What about Yuna?" And again.

Little Yuna? No! I can't let her see me like this!

"They know, Yeji. I let them see footage of Dara, Bora, and Bom with you and I'm sure she's sobbing her sweet little heart out right now. Maybe we should take her in as our babygirl too." Hyuna grinned.

"No! I'm begging you, don't touch Yuna! She doesn't deserve this!"

"Oh, I don't know about that. Maybe I'll just take back Wonyoung then."

"No! Don't hurt them! Please!"

"You have no control over what happens to them." Jennie struck her once more. "So we can do what we like."

"What have I done to deserve this?" Yeji wept.

"It doesn't matter. You are ours, now and forever."

"Hyuna?" The door opened and Dara stepped in. "What's going on? I've been looking for Yeji."

Lisa unhooked the chains and let Yeji collapse to the floor. Dara sighed. "You won't make her willfully obedient by torturing her. Might I suggest we give her a little bit of warmth for once?"

"She needs to learn respect," Hyuna snarled.

"And maybe she'll learn it better if we're kinder." She placed a hand on her ruined, scarred back. "May I take her?"

"Fine." The girls all stood back as Dara lifted Yeji's body into her arms and carried her out. Yeji exhaustedly clung to her, whimpering as she was taken to the older girl's room. Minzy lay asleep in the bed, dressed in a pink kitten onesie.

"Honey?" Dara nudged Minzy gently and laid Yeji next to her. "Can you take care of this one while I get her a onesie?"

Minzy sleepily nodded and wrapped her arms around the younger. Yeji's brow furrowed. "I thought you were one of the most evil ones here."

"It's not so bad being little," Minzy admonished. "Dara takes care of me and when I'm a good girl, she gives me amazing sex and many other rewards."

"How do you live with that?" Yeji sniffled as she felt the whip burns on her back being rubbed. "I can't do it..."

"You have to or you'll never be happy here. Look what's she's brought for you."

Smiling, Dara held up a kitten onesie that matched Minzy's, except it was blue, and Yeji reached out for it. Her naked body was freezing and she wanted the flannel so badly. Minzy helped her slip it on and nuzzled her close. "Pwettyyy."

She didn't respond and drew the blanket up to her chin.

"Want to watch a movie, little ones?" Dara asked.

"Yesss." Minzy giggled. "Can we watch Frozen?"

"Of course." Dara ruffled her hair and playfully kissed each of their cheeks before opening her laptop that had been on the dresser and setting up the movie. She got in bed next to Yeji and placed the device on her lap.Yeji sighed, resting her head on Minzy's shoulder as the film started.

Why am I doing this? Why am I giving in?

Because I know I would be killed before I could make it 10 feet out of this room.

Now that she was no longer actively being beaten, her body was suddenly flaring with pain and she whined quietly.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Dara breathed.

Her vision blurring, Yeji attempted to focus on the two sisters on the screen, but when Anna screamed, she screamed at well and clung to Minzy, her body roaring.

"Babygirl, are you okay?" Dara's voice was firmer this time. "Tell me if you're not."

"It hurts!" Yeji sobbed. "Minzy unnie, Dara unnie, make it stop!"

"Do you want me to use magic?" Dara questioned. "For some reason, Minzy's power has been so diminished it's nearly lost, so I'd have to do it. I suspect it's Hyuna's doing."

"I don't want you touching me with magic! It just... it hurts... I want Ryujin to hold me..."

"Keep talking like that and Hyuna will kidnap her too," Minzy warned, pausing the movie. "And I heard Lisa and Rosé robbed her of the use of her legs, so she'd have a horrible disadvantage here."

"They killed Lia too!" she spat. "Just one blast and she lay suffering in Yuna's grasp. One more and the life was torn from her body."

"Kitten, there's nothing you can do about it now. Your life is here. You'll come around."

"I'm begging you... just let me go..."

"No." Dara turned on the movie again.

"Dara, please... can I at least have some pain meds?"

"Did we hurt you that badly? We don't usually hurt someone long-term when taking their virginity, except for when the Sistar girls did it to Wonyoung because they wanted to hurt her. May I see?"

"Um..."

"Keep watching the movie." Dara put the computer on Minzy's lap and slowly unzipped Yeji's onesie. The song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" was coming on and when Yeji began to quietly sing along, Dara carefully stripped the clothing completely off her body. She couldn't help looking down at it and her breath hitched.

"Don't look, honey," Dara sighed. "Keep singing."

"You did this to me!" Yeji wailed, her eyes widening at the bruises and inflammation all over her lower region.

"I didn't hurt you this bad! This is from today. Who went down on you today? Was it Sistar?"

"N-no, Blackpink."

"God, I think Lisa and Jisoo may sometimes be even rougher than Bora. I'll be right back to get you some medicine, alright? But if I can't use magic, I can't help beyond that."

Yeji wanted to scream as Dara left the room and Minzy comfortingly patted her head. "Honey, it's okay..."

"How can you say it's okay? It's not okay, it's not..."

Minzy's soft lips met hers, cutting off her words as the older's arms wrapped around her waist. She froze, going rigid, and Minzy smiled, cooing, "Good girl." Her tongue poked at Yeji's mouth and to her surprise, Yeji let her in.

God... she feels somewhat like Ryujin...

Their tongues clashed together until Minzy pulled away and latched her mouth onto her neck, nibbling gently. A gasp broke from Yeji when she felt a kiss on her chest and then shivered as her warm mouth settled over her left breast, sucking at her nipple.

And for some reason, Yeji didn't think she should push her away. Unlike when Blackpink and Hyuna had bitten so hard, hurting her so badly, Minzy was being incredibly gentle.

She was evil, but she's now been turned into a submissive little. I heard that she was one of the voices in Dreamcatcher's world for a short time, but... has she been broken since then?

What has she done to you, Minzy?

"She... she took my virginity too."

"What?" Yeji didn't realize she'd said the last words out loud. "She... she did?"

She nodded. "Back when we first debuted as 2ne1... that's when she did it. I was only 15... but even after she raped me, I began to fall in love with her. Even when CL fell for her and they began dating... I still loved her. And when Bom killed CL, Dara finally started to love me. She turned me into a lovable little and I serve her in any way I can."

"Why?"

"Yeji, I've always had bad blood. And love her. I will do anything for her."

"Can't you see Dara is a monster? She raped you when you were younger than Yuna currently is and she's made you believe you can't live without her."

"That's because I can't!" Minzy whimpered. "I'm her kitten and I don't want to lose that." She strained to reach Yeji's breast again, but Yeji pushed her back onto the bed, accidentally making her hit her head hard against the headboard.

Minzy instantly burst into tears and screamed.

Shit. Yeji gulped, leaning forward. "Minzy, I'm so sorry..."

"MOMMY DARA!!" she bawled at the top of her lungs.

Oh, no, no...

Dara stormed into the room, dropping the bottles in her arms beside the bed. "Kitten, what's wrong?"

"Yeji-ssi accidentally p-pushed me! Mommy, I hurt my head!"

Dara's face adopted a blazing glare and she lunged, yanking Yeji off the bed and pressing her face into the floor.

"You're going to pay for hurting your fellow kitten, Yeji Hwang."

Chapter Text

"NAKO!" Yuna wailed as her girlfriend slumped into her arms. "NO!"

Somehow, Nako has managed to stop the knife from going into the younger girl... by jumping in front of it. She had already been going too fast to stop and due to their height differences, where the dagger would have pierced Yuna's chest... it sank into Nako's throat.

"BABY! BABY, STAY WITH ME!!" Yuna trembled; she knew she couldn't pull the knife out because Nako would only bleed more and die faster. But she already looked so lifeless... No, no, please tell me I haven't killed her!

"What's going on?" Yuri peeked around the corner and her face went white. "Yuna, what happened?"

"There's no time to explain! She's dying!" Nako's head lolled as Yuna sat against the wall. "And I don't know if we should move her! Get CLC now!"

Yuri darted away and a moment later, Minju dashed into the hall.

"Why did Yuri just run past me bawling? HOLY SHIT!!" She nearly fell over as she ran to Yuna's side. "Wh-what happened?"

Yuna burst into tears. "I can't tell you... it's too shameful!"

"Tell me, Yuna, or I will assume you hurt her and rip your throat out."

"I... I did! But I didn't mean to hurt her!" Yuna wept.

"What?!"

"Minju, I was trying to kill myself! I tried to stab my chest... and she got in front of the knife!"

"Oh, Yuna..." Minju's eyes brimmed with tears. "Oh my god..."

"Don't." She pressed her forehead against Nako's. "Baby, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't give up..." Nako croaked.

"Honey, don't talk, don't talk." More blood gushed from the wound.

"Yuna... live..."

"Don't talk, Nako! I'm not going to have any more will to live at all if you die!"

The look of pain on her face broke Yuna and Minju's hearts and both of them were imploring Nako to stay. Her small bleeding body lay in Yuna's arms like a rag doll, blood pooling on Yuna's hands.

"This way, this way!"

Yuri was arriving with CLC. Hyolyn and Wendy both limped around the corner to see what was going on and Seungyeon tore past them, skidding to a stop at Yuna's side.

"I'm sorry!" Yuna sobbed. "It's my fault! I tried to kill myself and this is how she stopped me!"

"Oh my god..." Elkie knelt down and felt Nako's wrist. "Seungyeon, her pulse is fading fast! Go get us some supplies; we can't risk moving her yet!"

Eunbin gently pressed her hands next to the weapon embedded in her throat, Nako's blood coating them as Seungyeon, Seunghee, and Sorn ran back to the medical ward. Hyolyn sniffled as she knelt beside them. "Oh god..."

"Just hold on, Nako!" Yuna pleaded, moving her lips to her forehead. "I'm not going to be able to do this without you! I'll never try to kill myself again, but you need to stay with me!"

Nako tried to speak again but she started to choke before she could, her body convulsing.

"Nako!"

Chaos was beginning to ensue. Wendy was gagging on her knees, unable to withstand the scene, as the CLC girls returned with supplies. Seungyeon pressed a cloth down on Nako's neck, but the blood was flowing hard and would not stop. Seunghee winced as other girls started gathering around. Aisha fainted at the sight of it and Yiren barely managed to catch her, making sure she kept breathing as she laid her head on her lap. The CLC members attempted to work fast, but it was only a lucky break when Elkie thrust out her hands and her limited magic temporarily stopped the blood.

"Pull the knife out!" she snapped. "I can't hold that for long if I'm to seal it as well!"

Sorn wrenched the weapon out and blood gushed from Nako's throat again until Seunghee and Elkie quickly sealed it.

"It's only going to hold for 10 minutes!" Seunghee exclaimed. "Sorn, you have the stitches, so get them in now!"

Their injured friend was long passed out by the time she finished and the magic gave out, meaning the wound now only relied on the stitches holding it together.

"Get her back to the medical ward," Yeeun ordered. "I'm going to make sure Aisha is alright."

As soon as Nako's body was taken from her grasp, Yuna painstakingly tore down down the hall, her eyes wild and her front covered in blood. She accidentally slammed into Kokoro, who grabbed her shoulders in shock. "Yuna, what the hell is happening? Why do you have blood on you?"

"I think I killed Nako!" Yuna tried to push past her. "Kokoro, out of my way!"

Kokoro didn't move and Yuna growled, grabbing her wrist. "Move!"

"No."

She smashed her against the wall and Kokoro collapsed, crying. "YUNA!"

"I'm sorry!" The Itzy maknae kept running and circled around to another hall. Her feet continuously moved until she ran out of breath and she skidded to a stop beside a slightly open door.

"Who... who's there?"

Yuna's head jerked up and she peered into the room. "Wonyoung?"

"Yuna..." Her voice was quiet. "Come here..."

Despite not wanting to get sick in any way, her body moved on its own and made her go into the room. She's one of the only people here who's younger than me...

"Oh, Wonyoung..." Her eyes filled with tears again. "You poor thing..."

"Why do they even bother keeping me alive?" Wonyoung groaned. "Do you know?"

"They want you to live again. We all want you to survive..."

"But I don't wanna! I don't wanna!"

"You h-have to."

"What's the point? Yujin can find someone better!"

She sounds like... me...

"Wonyoung, you need to know something. We all care for you. All of us. Killing yourself isn't the right thing to do. I know because I just tried to do it."

"Wh-what?"

"I tried to stab myself and Nako jumped in front of the knife. Now she's dying..."

"Oh my god..."

"Wonyoung." Yuna closed the door. "Would you feel comfortable talking to me?"

"About what?"

"About what happened to you. About... the rape."

For a moment, she went silent and then spoke again. "Yuna... it was horrible. I was falling asleep peacefully when they suddenly rushed in, slamming the door. Soyou detached the tubes and Dasom gagged me. Before I knew it, they had me on the floor naked and blood gushed from between my legs as they took m-my virginity from me. I was screaming, but no one could hear me thanks to their magic... god, it still hurts so much..."

"Wonyoung... Yeji was raped as well."

"She what?!"

"Haeyoon got some video footage after she went missing a couple weeks ago of... of her being raped by Dara, Bom, and Bora."

Her breath grew fast as Bora's name was mentioned and Yuna grimaced. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"I can't hide it anymore... I can't ask them to do it either..."

"Wonyoung, are you alright?"

"Yuna, they found out when I got here... I'm pregnant. Bora got me pregnant."

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

"Keep your voice down! If this sickness doesn't kill me, trying to deliver a child will! I'm too weak and CLC can't help with an abortion because they don't have the supplies!"

"Oh, sweetie..."

"I can't do this!" she wailed. "If I go up to the surface to get an abortion, Sistar will find out and try to capture me!"

"Sweetie, I'm sure they won't..."

"No!" Wonyoung sat up. "I c-can't live anymore!" She yanked the oxygen tube out of her nose.

"Wonyoung, stop!"

"Go away, Yuna unnie!" She pulled everything in her arms out and swung her legs over the side of the bed, unsteadily getting to her feet.

"Get back in bed right now!" the older roared.

Desperately, Wonyoung made a break for the door, zig-zagging around Yuna when she tried to grab her. As soon as she left the room, Yuna dashed after her. "Wonyoung, stop!"

"Wonyoung?" Linlin stepped into the hall and Wonyoung punched her hard in the stomach. She crumpled to the floor, yelping in pain. Yuna kept going, pumping her arms as she raced after the fleeing girl.

"Help!" she called. "Wonyoung is trying to escape! She's going to get herself killed!"

"Wonyoung, no!" Yujin ran in and tried to get her. "Baby, please, I need you!"

In a panic, she broke away and continued on.

"She's heading for the teleporter exit!" Jiwon shouted as she saw her rush past. "We can't let her get out!"

"And how does she have so much stamina when she's sick?" Yuna grumbled. "Wonyoung, stop!"

It was too late. She exited into the forest above and kept blindly running with Yujin, Yuna, Jiwon, and Sorn following behind.

"Why, hello there, little one."

Wonyoung froze as the voice echoed through the air and she shakily looked up. Crouching on a branch of a tree directly above her head, grinning maliciously, was Sistar's Bora.

"No, no, no..."

"I was hoping I'd find you again. You were so delicious and felt so good that I couldn't resist coming back for more."

"NO!" Nightmarish memories swamped over her and Bora jumped from the branch, tackling her to the ground and ripping off her hospital gown.

"Mmm, so sexy for a girl so young," she laughed, groping Wonyoung's breast and covering her mouth when she attempted to cry out.

And when Bora finally thrusted into her, Wonyoung lost it. She sank her teeth into her hand and screamed as loud as she could. "HELP!!"

"No one will help you," Bora hissed. "And if you bite me again, I'm going to shove a fucking katana up your ass!"

She felt blood spurting out of her as the thrusts grew rougher and she sobbed behind Bora's hand, closing her eyes. I'm having a miscarriage, I know it. Why can't I die like the baby?

"Wonyoung, please come back!" Yujin was yelling for her, but quietly, since she feared whoever could be around. Wonyoung screamed again at the top of her lungs as Bora's hand went down to grip her shoulder and the running footsteps grew closer to them.

"Oh my god..."

"HELP ME!!" she howled.

Yujin and Jiwon charged forward but Bora raised her hand up and a sharp, jagged dagger materialized in it. "Take another step and I cut her head off."

Wonyoung's sobs grew louder. "Yujin unnie!"

"She can't help you," Bora growled.

Her young victim passed out and she giggled, pulling out of her. "Ah, you're a sweet little thing."

"You savage!" Jiwon spat. "You're a savage monster!"

Bora shrugged. "But her ass feels so great."

In a flash, she was gone and Sorn frantically ran to Wonyoung's side. "God, she's not just having a miscarriage, but she plowed into her so deep... there's no telling what internal damage that could have done to her..."

"A miscarriage?" Yujin's eyes stretched wide. "She... she was pregnant?"

"Yes, from the first time she was raped, but she was too scared to say anything to you. CLC only found out from an internal scan. Either way, that baby's gone now."

Yuna bent down and placed a couple fingers onto her neck. "We're losing her. We have to get her back down there!"

"What if we don't make it?" Yujin whimpered.

Yuna's eyes met hers. "If Nako can make it, Wonyoung can too."

Delicately, Yujin picked her up, nearly unable to keep herself from crying as she saw the pain on her sweetheart's face. "My poor baby..." She pressed her hand between Wonyoung's legs to slow the bleeding, but the scarlet liquid coated her hand entirely in a few seconds. "You don't deserve to suffer like this..."

All of the girls set off into a run back in the direction they had come from and Mirae walked up to them as soon as they got back inside the base.

"There's been a major update. But what happened with you?"

"Wonyoung got out... and Bora came after her again. But what's the update?" Sorn asked.

Mirae's gaze passed over Wonyoung, guilt flashing in them. "Put Wonyoung next to her. Chungha has woken up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dahyun lost her mind. As soon as Hyewon shook her head, she burst into tears and clawed at her bleeding chest, bawling at the top of her lungs.

"Dahyun!" Sana shouted, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Calm down!"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!" Dahyun caterwauled. "TZUYU IS DEAD!!"

"Baby, it's okay. She will no longer be in pain. She's in Heaven now with Sunmi."

She buried her face in her chest, sobbing even harder.

Jihyo gulped as she brushed her hand over Tzuyu's face, softly closing her eyes. "I'm so sorry, honey... I've failed you as your leader. I hope... I hope you find better happiness in Heaven..."

"Tzuyu... is dead?" Gahyeon gasped out. "No... we failed her..."

Jeongyeon bowed her head and around them, everyone except Mark and Jackson did the same. Even Dahyun stopped crying for a moment to do it.

"Ha! She's dead? Oh my god, that's hilarious!" Jackson guffawed. "Oh man, Mark, think of the ways we could desecrate her corpse!"

"NO!" Mina got to her feet, a furious look crossing her face. "You will not touch her again! You won't touch any of them! Don't you care how you've made them suffer? Dahyun's ribs are broken and Tzuyu is dead! You will not touch any of them!"

Jackson crossed his arms. "And who's going to stop us?"

Mina boldly walked over and kicked him right between the legs. As he fell, groaning in pain, Mark lunged forward, tackling her to the ground and punching her harder than what was humanly possible. She squealed in pain as he struck her and covered her face with her arms.

"Mina!" Chaeyoung yelled. "No!"

"We will always be more powerful than you and you know it!" Mark roared as he left a dark bruise on Mina's cheek. "So try to stand against us and you will get hurt."

"Let her go!" Chaeyoung spat, stepping toward them as Mina was knocked out with a rough hit to her head.

"Alright."

She yelped as Jackson suddenly got to his feet and grabbed her from behind; her arms lashed out as she struggled, but he growled. "Oh no, I'm liking this cute little body and I want to see how we can defile it. Yugyeom, come!"

Chaeyoung's eyes widened as the maknae of Got7 emerged from the shadows. Despite being the youngest of his group, he was also the tallest and he towered over her, a wicked smile on his face.

"Such a beautiful girl," he cooed, squeezing her left breast. "And so small. Mm, I can't wait to break you."

Jihyo gasped as she realized what he meant. No! They killed Tzuyu, they injured Dahyun... I can't let Yugyeom rape Chaeyoung too!

"Please, no!" Chaeyoung begged as Yugyeom tugged her skirt down her legs. "No, no, no..." Her gaze swept over her group, silently pleading for help from them.

"If any of them take one step toward you to help, I will burn both you and Mina alive like Jackson did to Tzuyu!" Yugyeom snarled. His hand went to Chaeyoung's waist, caressing her hips.

"I... I'll do what you want... just don't hurt Mina..."

Mark made a bandanna appear out of the air and handed it to Jackson, who tied it over her mouth.

Momo started trying to move toward her, but Jihyo held her back. "Don't! We can't risk them killing Mina and Chaeyoung!"

"But they're going to rape her!" Momo cried.

"Baby, Mina's life is what she's doing this for. If you go after them, he will kill them both! Mina is helpless and if we make them mad, neither of them will make it out of this. Look at Chaeyoung; she's barely struggling because she's trying to make sure Mina won't be hurt."

"We have to do something!" Jihyo sighed. "What kind of leader would I be if I let them do the unforgivable?"

"Then we need to make a plan! And fast!" The two of them walked over to BTS.

"What the hell is going on?" RM choked out. "I thought they were good people! Someone needs to explain all this to us!"

"There's no time!" Jihyo barked as Yugyeom slowly removed each piece of Chaeyoung's clothing. "We have to stop them, but we can't risk her and Mina's lives in the process!"

J-Hope blanched as Yugyeom cupped his hand between Chaeyoung's legs, taking off his pants and boxers with the other. "Guys... look."

Jihyo turned absolutely white as she faced them. "Oh my god, he's huge... he's going to destroy Chaeyoung. With how small her body is compared to that... if he somehow manages to fit that inside her, she will be damaged beyond belief..."

The color drained out of Chaeyoung's face and she weakly struggled in Jackson's grip. It was only when Mark held his hand next to Mina's face and made flames flick along his fingertips for a minute that she stopped moving. Snickering, Jackson squeezed Chaeyoung's neck and took the bandanna off her mouth. "Any last words as a virgin?"

"I know I've done nothing to deserve this," she spat, tears in her eyes. "And I hope you get what you deserve."

"Bold little one." Yugyeom took her from Jackson and pinned her beneath him on the earth. "So small, so delicate."

Without thinking, Nayeon leaped forward, but she was too far away... too far to stop him from pushing into the small body.

A collective gasp came from everyone around them as Yugyeom started forcing himself into Chaeyoung. She threw her head back and shrieked at the top of her lungs as he pushed in further. "Stop! It's too big!"

"And you will take it, sweetie."

"NO!" Chaeyoung sobbed as she squirmed under him. "Please, please, please..."

"Shit, he's really going to destroy her!" SuA hissed.

Yugyeom was completely oblivious to the cries and kept propelling into her. Jihyo almost vomited when she saw the pain blooming over the younger's expression. Hot tears poured from the leader's eyes and she wailed, "Yugyeom, stop! It's not going to fit in her! You're going to permanently damage her if you keep trying!"

Chaeyoung's face contorted as he kept shoving himself into her and she felt like her body was going to shatter as his hips met hers. "Please... I'm begging you... p-pull out..." Blood squirted out of her vagina and she turned pale as she felt it. That's it. I'm done. I don't have anything left. I saved my innocence for Mina and now it's all gone. Nothing was in her mind but the pain. It rapidly spread through her whole body and she arched her back through the agony, screaming.

And yet, she knew no help would come. As Yugyeom thrusted roughly, Chaeyoung couldn't even look at her friends; she hated that they had to see her so brutally impaled by someone they had once thought was a friend.

"Please!" she blubbered, squeezing her eyes shut. "God, it hurts!"

"It's supposed to," Jackson scoffed, gripping her throat. "And he's going to break you."

If an explosion had happened at that moment, she wouldn't have cared. If time had evaporated, she wouldn't notice. All she could feel was the penetration. Yugyeom more than filled her, he stretched her so much that she was bleeding everywhere and crying like a child. None of her friends blamed her.

"I can't watch this," Dami whimpered. "We have to stop him... he's a monster, especially when he's trying to fit something that big into a body that small..."

Mina was beginning to stir and she rubbed her eyes. "Ngh..."

Chaeyoung's sobs reached her ears and she was instantly alert. "Ch-Chaeyoung?"

"MINAAAA!!!"

"Oh my god, Chaeyoung!" Mina screeched. "Yugyeom, stop! You're going to destroy her body!"

"What do you think he's trying to do?" Mark smirked.

"You monsters! You are all cruel!" She could tell they were truly breaking Chaeyoung, both mentally and physically.

While he was violating her, Yugyeom seemed extra big. Even though he was already a full 9 inches taller than her, his member almost seemed to grow inside her as well, making her screams reach louder and higher pitches than ever.

Feeling helpless, Mina slumped down to the ground.

It's too late. She's broken. She is destroyed.

It was too hard for any of them to reach her and Chaeyoung's scream nearly broke the sound barrier when Yugyeom finally climaxed inside of her.

"NO!" Jeongyeon roared.

When he at last took himself out of her, he, Mark, and Jackson were gone in an instant, leaving a bloody and shattered Chaeyoung on the dirt. Her legs were awkwardly spread and her body was twisted as she bled and bled.

"CHAEYOUNG!!" Mina wept.

She didn't respond. She was barely alive anymore.

And she never wanted to do anything but cry.

Chapter Text

She never wanted to stop the tears.

Chaeyoung's whole body felt like it was still being torn to pieces, even after Yugyeom had left. All she could feel was the pain, the humiliation, the blood spilling from between her spread legs. She knew she was destroyed and when Mina called her name, she couldn't find the strength to respond.

"Chaeyoung! Chaeyoung! CHAEYOUNG!" In the next moment, Mina's hands were on her shoulders and her eyes closed entirely as she felt herself being pulled closer to her.

"D-don't touch me," she whispered.

"Baby, you're bleeding! You're b-bleeding so badly..."

"Unnie, you're hurting me..."

"Oh, Chaeyoung..." Jihyo was running over to them. "You poor thing..."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Chaeyoung wailed.

"I can't just sit here and watch you bleed to death!" Mina retorted.

"Hey, be careful," Jeongyeon sighed as she joined them. "She was just violated and broken. Go very easy on her. Who knows if she can even walk properly anymore?" She brushed her hair out of her face. "Chaeyoung, honey, can I look at it?"

"N-no!"

"Please? We just want to help!"

"You don't understand this pain! He split me apart... he took all my dignity and innocence... that pain of him moving in me..." She started to whine. "Jeongie unnie, uppie."

"I thought you didn't want me to touch you."

She pouted. "Uppie!"

Her body seemed smaller than ever as Jeongyeon softly picked her up, carrying her back toward the other groups with Mina and Jihyo following behind. Chaeyoung was silent until Jeongyeon's hand slipped on the blood and pressed in between her legs.

The cry that ripped from her throat was so terrible that Jeongyeon nearly dropped her.

"Chaeyoung!" Momo screeched.

"Please!" Chaeyoung whined. "Don't put it back in me! Don't keep hurting me!"

"Chaeyoung, Chaeyoung, he's gone!" Dahyun groaned as she was laid next to her. Her group could see how she held her stomach in pain, but she still leaned toward the younger girl.

"It's t-too late! I'm disgusting!" Chaeyoung sobbed. "Don't touch me anymore! Please! Yugyeom, I'm begging you, stop!"

"Chaeyoung..." Mina's breath hitched. "My baby... this is all my fault."

"How could he do this?" Jin growled. "Can someone please tell us what's going on?"

Almost all the girls looked at JiU and she nodded as she headed over to BTS. Chaeyoung thrashed on the ground, grabbing Dami's wrist. "Unnie!"

Dami nervously spread her legs and as the younger girl shrieked, Mina held her upper body close. Jihyo almost fainted. Chaeyoung looked as if she had been stabbed between her legs; blood poured from her vagina and painted her inner thighs from the wounded gape. Her legs were red and heavily bruised; Jihyo knew that she would be screaming at the top of her lungs if she had the energy to.

"God, I'm so sorry..." Dami chewed on her lip.

"This is so humiliating..." Chaeyoung whimpered before she passed out in Mina's arms.

"Oh, that poor girl..." RM gulped after JiU finished explaining the whole ordeal. "Not just her, but all of you... Iz*one and Twice too... how did you all ever deserve this?"

"We didn't!" Siyeon shouted, reaching for Tzuyu's body. "I don't know why this has happened to us!"

"Honey, honey, calm down." Handong rubbed her back.

"I can't calm down!" she howled. "Tzuyu is dead and Dahyun is badly injured and Chaeyoung just had her innocence taken from her! The whole maknae line of Twice has been destroyed!"

Dami softly laid her hand in between Chaeyoung's thighs and it was covered in blood in an instant. "Oh god... who still has a shirt we can use?"

Nayeon took off her own shirt and handed it to Dami; she did her best to soak up the blood, but Chaeyoung's face grew paler and paler and they could all see she was dying.

"Chaeyoung... please... stay with me!" Mina pleaded. "I'm begging you... don't let this kill you..."

"Mina unnie..." Dahyun murmured. "We... we have no control over this. Our lives are in their hands. I... I don't even know if I can keep going on..."

"You can't give up, Dahyun!" Sana snapped. "We need to stay strong and make it back so we can avenge our friends! We must avenge Sunmi and Tzuyu and all of our sweethearts who have suffered for us!"

"And my group too!" Hyewon wailed. "Chaeyeon... and poor Wonyoung..." Her hands absently crept up to her neck. "I can't do this anymore..."

"Hyewon..." SuA grimaced. "What are you doing?"

"A part of me wants to join them."

"Babe, no!" SuA grabbed Hyewon by the waist. "You heard what Sana said! We have nto avenge them! This is exactly what they want; they want us to go crazy! I need you, Hyewon!"

"No, you don't! I've done nothing but be a burden to you all!" Hyewon burst into tears and sank to her knees, her arms falling to her side. "This is too much..."

"Oh, my babygirl..." SuA knelt and cupped her face. "We can do this, you hear me? We will only die fighting for them if need be."

"How could you do this to us?!" Hyewon screeched to the sky. "We looked up to you! We trusted you!"

"Kang Hyewon, you really will die if you make us mad enough." A flash of light blinded them and all of a sudden, Hyuna was standing in front of the groups.

Mina bared her teeth. "I hate you, Hyuna! You sent Yugyeom after my babygirl! You... you're the reason we're all suffering here! You and Dara and Minzy..."

"Minzy? Ha! Not anymore! She and Yeji are Dara's kittens."

"Wh-what? Wait, Yeji?"

"You have no idea what's been going on, do you? Of course not! Yeji is our slave now. Minzy and Yeji are our beautiful sex slaves, owned by Dara."

"Itzy's Yeji?" Jihyo's eyes widened. "No..."

"And do you know that Lisa and Rosé killed Lia and crippled Ryujin by snapping her spine? Itzy is broken now."

"No... no, this can't be..." Jihyo curled in on herself.

"And Hyewon..." Hyuna walked over to her and gripped her neck in one hand. "Do you want to know what happened to one of your special Iz*one sweeties? Oh, it was delightfully cruel."

"Wh-who?" Hyewon choked out. "And they... they can't be dead..."

"Bora, Dasom, and Soyou of Sistar are part of this too and you know what they did? They took that girl's virginity."

"No, no, no... who was it?" Hyewon's mind raced. Nako, Hitomi, Eunbi, Yena...

Hyuna smirked. "Your precious Wonyoung."

A scream almost as terrible as Chaeyoung's tore from Hyewon's mouth. "NO! NOT WONYOUNG!!"

"And Bora even got her pregnant. She lost the baby by a stress miscarriage when Bora came after her and violated her again, but believe me when I say she is now traumatized for life."

"This can't be..." Hyewon went limp and Hyuna squeezed her throat tighter.

"Oh, but it is."

"Why are you doing this to them?" Suga yelled. "They're innocent girls!"

"This one isn't." Hyuna shook Hyewon hard. "She and SuA have claimed each other."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Let me go!" Hyewon begged.

"But I thought you wanted to die."

"I... I can't leave SuA!"

Hyuna growled and slammed her into the ground. "Your Wonyoung felt so good to Bora."

"Why did you send them after her? She's only fifteen!"

"Haha, very funny. We didn't care." Hyuna surveyed them all. "Chaeyoung's time may be limited. She is destroyed now and I look forward to seeing what it does to her mind."

"You monsters!" Jihyo threw herself at Hyuna, but she temporarily forgot about her magic and when her air was suddenly cut off, she collapsed on the ground, gasping.

"Babe!" Momo ran to her as Hyuna squeezed her fist tighter in the air. "Hyuna, let her go!"

"Why? She attacked first."

"M-Momoring..."

Momo blanched as she heard a snap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wonyoung refused to speak to anyone anymore. Yujin came to visit whenever she could, but her girlfriend remained silent. A few days later, Chaeyeon and Eunbi were released from the medical ward and Eunbi returned to visit the young maknae the next day.

"Honey, it's me," the leader murmured. "I know you won't speak to me, but I'm so sorry this happened to you. You don't deserve this."

"Everyone says that to me!" Wonyoung suddenly screeched. "They can't change the fact that it happened!"

"Believe me, as soon as this is over, we're getting you into therapy."

"Therapy can't fix me! Nothing can! Nothing ever can!"

"Hey, she's trying to help you," Chungha sighed.

"Ch-Chungha? How are you here?"

"I escaped from Hyuna. I've already spoken with Haeyoon and she's forgiven me for temporarily betraying her to get into Hyuna's good graces. What happened to you?"

"I was raped! Four times!"

"Look, we will all try to stop them. I will too, when I am better."

"How can you?"

"I have magic! I'll be as powerful as Hyuna when I'm at full strength."

"That can't undo what's been done to me!" Wonyoung lashed her arm out, smacking Eunbi in the face. When the older girl grabbed her wrists, she let out a shriek and squeezed her eyes shut. "BORA, NO!!"

Bora?

"That's who raped her," Chungha muttered when Eunbi looked at her questioningly. "And Dasom and Soyou too. You were unconscious in the hospital when it happened."

"You can't touch her like that then!" Mia groaned from her other side.

Wonyoung's illness had fortunately receded enough for her to be moved back to the regular medical ward, but she was still incredibly traumatized. She could also barely walk and when she tried, she was in tremendous agony and walked with a limp. It even hurt her to go to the bathroom due to the pain in her genitals, so Sorn had to go with her every time she needed to go in order to hold her hand.

"Mia, just be quiet!" Chungha fired back.

"I agree with Chungha; just stop it!" E:U put in. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"At least you're still innocent and can be taken by the one you actually love!" Wonyoung shrieked.

"Wonyoung, we will move you back to the other room or sedate you if you can't stop screaming," Seunghee said sternly.

"You don't know how this feels..." She buried her face in her hands.

"You're right, we don't. But look around. Yena may be getting released tomorrow, but she is now half-blind. Onda hasn't been able to move for days because one of Dasom's bullets suddenly ceased her motor function. We had to induce a coma for her. Nako has been in a neck brace fighting for her life. But you were pulled back from death. Let them try to recover."

"Let me die," Wonyoung whispered.

"What?"

"Let me die!"

"Honey, no."

"Why not? I'm just a bother to everyone."

"Won, what would you like right now? What can we do to calm you down?"

"Bring me to Yujin."

"We can't take you out of here right now..."

"Bring me to Yujin!"

"Just do it," Seungyeon told the others. "But bring the IV along."

Seunghee set Wonyoung in a wheelchair and Sorn rolled the IV beside her as Seungyeon led them to Yujin's room. Sorn knocked on the door. "Yujin?"

"Who is it?"

"It's Sorn, Seunghee, and Seungyeon. We're with Wonyoung."

"Wonyoung?" The door opened and Yujin covered her mouth as she saw her girlfriend's tearstained face. "Oh, baby..."

"Yujin, it hurts!" Wonyoung wept, reaching her arms out.

"Oh, babygirl Wonnie, come here." Careful of the IV, Yujin pulled Wonyoung into her arms. "God, baby, I wish I could have taken this for you... I wish you didn't have to go through this..."

"S-Sorn, can you guys leave us alone?"

"I will stay nearby, but we'll give you time to yourselves." Sorn pushed the wheelchair and IV in and closed the door. Wonyoung broke down instantly, her shoulders heaving as they sat down on the bed and she sobbed into Yujin's chest.

"I'm so sorry, hun..."

"Why did they think this was right?" Wonyoung whimpered. "What was going through their minds when they took me?"

"Babe, they're just cruel. They're going to hell and one day, when we can do it, we will rescue everyone who is trapped and destroy those evil people."

"Why is this happening?" The pained look on Wonyoung's pale face made Yujin want to rip out the throats of everyone who had hurt her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweetie, you didn't. You didn't deserve this and the fact that they chose to go after you was just because they knew this would hurt you."

"God, Yujin, it hurt so badly... and when Bora raped me out there again, it felt like she could kill me. Do you know how bad it hurts to have someone shoving a huge dick up your ass, especially when it's too big for your body to handle? She literally split me apart!!" Wonyoung's breathing grew faster and Yujin cooed at her. "Shh, calm down."

"I can't calm down..." She shook violently.

"Honey, please, you'll aggravate your body..."

"I don't care! My body is already destroyed!"

Yujin grasped her hand. "Kiss me, sweetie."

To the younger's surprise, when the two girls' lips met, Wonyoung instantly felt safe. She knew Ahn Yujin would risk life and limb for her and that it was a huge blow when she was powerless to help. She just wants to protect me...

"Baby, I love you. You know I do."

"But I barely even love myself..."

"Listen to me, Won." Yujin cupped her face. "If we stay together that long, there is no one else I'd rather spend my life with than you."

"E-even when I'm just a used toy?"

"You're not used toy. You're my beautiful baby Wonyoung."

"M-mark me."

"What?"

"If she comes after me again... if any of them do... I want them to see the marks. I want them to see that you've marked me as yours and that if they try to touch me again, you will fight for me."

"Damn right I will fight for you. But I... I don't know if I should. I don't want to trigger your PTSD again."

Wonyoung sighed. "I understand." She lay back on the bed, brushing her fingers over a picture on the wall.

Biting her lip, Yujin followed her gaze. "You're scared for them, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I hope they're surviving..."

"I'm sure they're staying strong, sweetie."

"But you don't understand! I nearly became a murderer there! I... I nearly killed Dami in cold blood..."

"You were panicking, honey. Your mind was scrambling for something to do. It wasn't entirely your fault."

"But I shouldn't have hurt her at all! I should have been more aware from the start!"

"You were panicking!"

"I'm fifteen, Yujin, which is old enough for me to be responsible for what I do!"

"Not when you're put into an impossible situation! Every brain has a fight-or-flight response to things like that and because you had no idea where you would end up going and didn't want to leave your group behind, your body automatically chose the fight option."

"I nearly killed her, unnie! I saw the way JiU looked at her; she would have been the most devastated if she'd died, especially since she is her leader! She even told her later that she loves her. I would have ended any chance of them having a life together!"

Yujin opened her mouth to respond, but then a scream echoed from outside the room and both girls gasped. She hurriedly scooped Wonyoung into her arms and opened the door. "What's going on, Sorn?"

Sorn was at the end of the hall, kneeling by the stairs, and Yujin headed over there too, wincing as she saw Joy and Minju kneeling as well. In the center of them all was Yeri, sprawled out in an awkward position with her head covered in blood.

"Oh my god... did she fall?" Wonyoung choked out.

"She's not that clumsy!" Minju retaliated. "She was recovering well! Someone had to have pushed her!"

"Yujin, I'll take Wonyoung's wheelchair and get her back to the medical ward!" Joy yelled. "You need to find out who pushed Yeri; you're incredibly fast!"

Without another word, she handed Wonyoung to Joy and dashed up the stairs. She could clearly hear footsteps running away from her, but she didn't know whose they were. Putting on a burst of speed, Yujin tore down the hall, attempting to keep the person (clearly a girl by her build) in sight, but then she heard a crash and skidded to a stop when she spotted May on the floor in front of her.

"May, are you alright?" she asked, crouching beside her.

"Sh-she choked me from behind..." May croaked, holding her stomach. "C-couldn't see who she was..."

"Breathe, May, breathe." Yujin sat her up. "Did she go down the hall?"

"Y-yeah..."

"She pushed Yeri down the stairs too. Can I trust that you can keep breathing until I can come back?"

"You can l-leave me... go get her..."

As gently as she could, she propped May up against the wall and kept running down the hall.

"Show yourself!" she roared.

As she grew closer, the girl pulled her hood tighter over her face and continued on her path. When Yujin was able to draw close enough, she tackled her to the ground.

"Now who are you? And why did you push Yeri and choke May?"

The girl turned her face toward Yujin, revealing a black and silver mask, shaped like one from a masquerade ball, covering her face. As soon as a glimpse of the mask was shown, she reared up and switched their positions, slamming Yujin onto her back. "I didn't mean to do either of those things!" she growled.

"Who are you?"

"Do you not recognize me? Your own ex-girlfriend?" She took off her mask.

"Y-Yeonhee unnie?"

"It wasn't me, Yujin!" Yeonhee's eyes were wild. "H-Hyuna and Bom captured all of my group and I... then they set me free, but they were tracking me... B-Bom is here... she's close... she got into my head and made me hurt Yeri and May..."

"Where is Bom right now?"

Neither of them were able to even move an inch before they heard May scream.

"May!" Yujin pushed Yeonhee off and ran back in the direction she had come. Yeonhee ran ahead of her and peeked around the corner. "Oh god... Yujin, don't look."

"Why?"

"She's choking her again... using her own hands..."

"Then we need to save her!"

"... w-while raping her."

"No, no, no... not May too..."

"Too?"

"M-my girlfriend, Wonyoung... she's only a few months older than May... she was raped twice... and our poor Yeji was captured by Hyuna and raped as well..."

"Oh, Yujin..." Yeonhee shakily hugged her. "I'm so sorry..."

Yujin pulled away and set off the alarm. Mirae, Linlin, and Jiwon were at their side in an instant and Jiwon bit her lip hard. "We need to take Bom out, but we can't hurt May too... we have to kill her..."

"Do you have your harpoon gun?"

"It got jammed while I was practicing in the shooting range room. Haeyoon is fixing the harpoon gun, but I do have my regular gun."

"Then use it!"

Jiwon nervously pulled her gun out and aimed, but her hands were trembling and the bullet she shot hit May in the hip. Bom looked in their direction and grinned maliciously. "Missed, lovebird."

"She is my babygirl!" Jiwon hollered, leaping in front of them. The heartbreaking expression on May's face and the white liquid dripping down the young teen's legs fueled Jiwon's rage and she knew Bom did not expect when she emptied the gun's many bullets at her throat. Bom barely had time to pull out of May before she collapsed next to the younger girl and her last breath left her body.

"MAY!!" Jiwon gasped, running over to her and pulling the bleeding body into her arms. "No..."

Mirae swiftly tackled Yeonhee to the floor.

Chapter Text

"What were you thinking?" Lisa shouted at Dara furiously. "Why did you think Yeonhee would be useful in the plan to punish Yeji by making her watch her friend's rape? May might be destroyed now, but you've given her allies a valuable source of information about us and Bom is dead! Hyuna is going to kill you!"

"Let her try." Dara stepped into one of the rooms and ran her eyes over the five chained girls on the wall. "We just have to trust that Yeonhee will know what's at stake if she blabs to them." She ran her fingers over Yunkyoung's bare stomach.

"What are you afraid of her telling them? The truth about your monstrosities?" Suyun spat.

Dara swiftly lashed the whip in her hand onto Suyun's breast and she screamed.

"Hey, stop hurting my unnies and I!" Dahyun cried.

"Keep fighting back and no one will be able to tell who you are anymore." Her eyes roamed over the whip burns on the Rocket Punch maknae's body. "It would be a shame if your leader even had to see you dead!"

"Why are you doing this to us?" Juri snarled furiously. "What possible reason could you have for treating us like animals and raping Sohee?"

"It hasn't just been Sohee we did it to." Lisa bared her teeth. "Our magic-wielders have taken Wendy, Hyolyn, Wonyoung, our current slaves Minzy and Yeji, Chaeyoung in the other world, and May. Bom may be dead, but I know she definitely left her seed inside that young one."

"Monsters!" Dahyun struggled in her chains and strained to reach Sohee's unconscious and bleeding body. "Unnie, unnie, wake up!"

The whip struck Dahyun again and she yelped.

"Here is another fun part of our beautiful show." Dara stepped aside and beckoned toward the door. Dasom then entered the room, holding a leash in each hand, which were attached to collars on the necks of Yeji and Minzy. Both girls were entirely naked, fitted only with pairs of cat ears and tail plugs. Yeji raised her head and when she saw the five Rocket Punch members, she abruptly stopped crawling.

"Yeji!" Dara crossed her arms. "Dasom did not tell you to stop."

"Let them go."

"What did you just say?"

"Let them go! What has Rocket Punch done to deserve this? At least half of them are underage!"

Dara slapped her cheek hard and Yeji muttered, "Fuck off," but it was so quiet that only Minzy could hear it.

"Yeji, don't," Minzy whined softly. "I don't want to see you hurt again..."

"Shut up, Minzy," Dasom snapped.

"B-but we're both her kittens... we look out for each other..."

Dasom yanked on Minzy's leash and she fell forward onto her chin, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No!" Yunkyoung cried. "Let them go!"

Dara swiftly unlocked her chains and gripped her by the throat. "I'd suggest you shut up before you end up like Sohee. We now have another who can join in."

Yunkyoung's eyes widened until she looked at Yeji again and she squared her shoulders. "All of us are innocent and do not deserve to be treated like this! You are rapists and monsters and have no place in this world!" To make her point, she pulled her hand back and punched Dara hard in the chest.

Growling, Dasom tied Yeji and Minzy to the wall with their leashes. "Change of plans. Why don't we show Yunkyoung her punishment?"

"No! Please don't hurt her!" Juri pleaded.

"And we will punish you too when you see what we do to her." Dasom grabbed Yunkyoung by the waist and she snarled, kicking Dara's stomach.

"Bad girl," Dara hissed as Dasom sat down on the floor, holding Yunkyoung close as Dara spread her legs open.

"No!" Yunkyoung struck Dasom in the face and lunged at Dara, slamming her into the floor. Shaking her head from the blow, Dasom looked up just as Yunkyoung made a break for the door.

"LISA!" Dara bellowed. "EVERYONE!!"

Suddenly emboldened by her temporary triumph, Yunkyoung charged at Lisa as she ran up to her. Streaks of black magic shot from her fingers, but even as pain flashed through the younger's body, she didn't stop and shoved Lisa as hard as she could over the railing.

A crash and a scream shattered the air and Yunkyoung peeked over the edge. Lisa had been unable to stop herself from falling and was lying motionless on the floor below. Jisoo had run to her side and was attempting to revive her with CPR and then magic. Lisa's chest soon started moving again, despite her not waking, and Jisoo glared upwards.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!!" she howled. Faster than anyone could ever imagine, she was suddenly forcing Yunkyoung to the ground and thrusting into her vagina. Tears sprang to her eyes and she desperately lashed out at her. I was so close!

"That's it, Jisoo, take her hard," Dara thundered as she stepped out of the room with the other Rocket Punch members. "Punish her good."

"Get off of me!" Yunkyoung wailed, a black wave of agony rising to envelop her. She clawed at Jisoo's face, but Dara's magic speedily held her down. The penetration hurt so badly and yet they wouldn't even let her flail.

"Why are you such monsters?!" she shouted. "I wouldn't have had to hurt Lisa if you didn't capture us and rape Sohee! Why?!"

"Your body is ours now," Jisoo retorted.

"No, no, no..." The pain overwhelmed Yunkyoung and she passed out. Satisfied, Jisoo thrusted until she came inside her. Dara placed her back in her chains as Dasom unhooked Minzy's leash and dragged her to the center of the room.

"Ready to get filled until you can't breathe? Our sweet boys from Got7 are on the way and they're going to wreck you while Yeji and the Rocket Punch girls watch. "Hm, I wonder if you can take four at one time while also taking two or three in the mouth."

"Wh-what?" Minzy's jaw dropped in fear.

"No way," Yeji gulped. "That would damage her body beyond repair and possibly even kill her."

"If I wanted to kill her, I would make her take all seven in the ass."

"Dasom, that's too much for her," Dara pointed out. "Yeji is right; we'll end up hurting her too much."

Minzy mewled, moving her hips from side to side to make her fluffy tail wag. "P-pwease don't make me do it, mommies."

"Then take them back to your room, Dara," Dasom said coldly. "I'll just beat Dahyun to see a spectacle."

Dara nodded and took both Yeji and Minzy out to her room, unhooking their leashes when she closed the door. Minzy trembled as she climbed onto the bed beside the younger girl and Dara cooed, "What's wrong?"

"Tail... h-hurts..." Minzy sniffled. "P-please, mommy... t-take it out..."

"Alright, alright. Both of you, get on your knees on the bed."

Each of them obeyed and Dara pulled the tails out of them. Minzy instantly started to sob.

"Unnie, it's alright," Yeji breathed. "It's out now."

"I don't even know why she used such a big plug on me this time... Dara always tells her we're working our way up..."

"Shh, come here." She tugged Minzy into her arms and held her close to her body.

Dara smiled. "You two want milk?"

Minzy nodded and Yeji sighed, doing the same. The oldest girl moved to the middle of the bed and removed her shirt and bra. "Come and get it, kittens. You've done alright today."

Whining softly, Minzy pulled herself over to the other side and latched her mouth onto Dara's right breast, sucking gently. Yeji hesitated for a moment.

"Come on, honey, I won't bite. Come get your milk."

Yeji's soft mouth slowly settled over her other breast and Dara stroked her and Minzy's hair. "My beautiful kittens."

"Dara?" Bora peeked into the room. "Can I ask...? Oh, wait..."

"No, what's going on?"

"But aren't you... busy?"

"It's fine, but be quiet; I'm trying to get my babies to sleep."

"I sent Soyou to circle the area where Bom's body was tracked to outside of their base, but it looks like she's too far gone to revive her. Too much time has passed and she's going to retrieve her body so we can absorb Bom's magic and access Yeonhee's tracking chip in order to attack the base. But... it's still a long shot in trying."

"Has Hyuna killed any of the Dreamcatcher members?"

"No, but thanks to Mark and Jackson, Tzuyu is dead and Yugyeom raped Chaeyoung."

Yeji's hearing senses perked up as she continued to drink.

"What happened to Tzuyu?"

"She was burned to death by them. Her burns were so severe that she died pretty quickly. But we might bring her back; I don't know."

A tear threatened to leave Yeji's eye and suddenly, waves of humiliation rolled over her. What am I doing?

She started to fuss, her head falling back, and Bora winced as Dara nudged Yeji back toward her breast. "Come on, little one. You're okay. She won't hurt you."

Minzy reached toward Yeji and held her hand as Yeji reattached her mouth to Dara's nipple and the two girls fell asleep suckling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"JIHYO!!" Momo howled, dropping to her knees with Jihyo in her arms. "No, no, no..." Her eyes widened as she saw that the Twice leader's head had snapped back and part of her ribs were jutting from her torso, splattering blood over her.

"I'd suggest you don't try anything." Hyuna used her magic again and twisted Jihyo's ribs farther out of her body, cackling as she screamed in absolute agony.

"Stop! STOP!! YOU'RE HURTING HER!!!" Momo yelled.

"Alright then. Let's see if I can find a more deserving candidate then." Jihyo's body was quickly healed and repaired, but as soon as her group sighed in relief, Dahyun's flesh split and her own ribs pierced through her.

"I didn't mean to go after her instead!" Momo screeched as both Sana and Dahyun cried out.

"Why can't you let us go?" Sana roared as more bone protruded from Dahyun's flailing body. "Why do you have to do this?"

"Oh, why can't I have some fun?" Hyuna laughed and twisted her hands in the air, literally ripping Dahyun's body apart. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she begged for mercy at the top of her lungs.

Hyuna then pulled her hands apart fast and Dahyun's vocal chords shredded themselves into pieces as her body was torn like she was falling into a wood chipper. Her broken eyes glazed over and Sana shrieked, "NOOOOOOO!!!"

"Holy shit..." Jeongyeon and Dami both fell to their knees and threw up. RM and Jin rushed to their sides.

"You know what the best thing is?" Hyuna's wicked smile grew wider. "I can make you do what I want. Do what I want and you can have both Tzuyu and Dahyun back."

"What do we have to do?" Sana whined.

"She will get a new one later if you succeed." Hyuna walked over to Dahyun's shattered frame. In one swift move, she reached toward her shattered chest and came up with a large red object in her hand, which soaked her skin with the young girl's blood.

Dami threw up again.

She was holding Dahyun's heart.

The wicked smile on her face grew wider than ever. "In order to get them back... each of her fellow members must take a bite."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, hey, careful!" Yujin snapped. "You're hurting her!"

"So? We don't know if we can trust her!" Mirae retorted, pinning Yeonhee's arms to her sides. "We only know that she came with Bom, who, by the way, raped May, the most fragile girl here besides Wonyoung!"

"You still need to calm down!"

"Calm down? Why don't you ask May to calm down when she whines and cries for Jiwon's milk during the day? Why don't you ask her to calm down when she needs to breastfeed? We need every piece of info Yeonhee has!"

"That doesn't mean you need to hurt her!" Yujin pulled Mirae out of the cell and slammed the door. "Control yourself!"

Mirae huffed. "Get off. I'm going to see May."

She ignored Yujin's angry retorts as she stomped down the hall toward Jiwon's room. Jiwon had requested previously that hospital equipment be moved into her room so she could have May close all the time. When Mirae peeked in, she saw Jiwon laying in the hospital bed with May, holding a Disney Princess Storybook in front of them. May was curled up against Jiwon's naked torso, leaning her head up to drink from her breast whenever she turned a page.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," the leader murmured quietly.

Jiwon looked up and May hid her face.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Mirae breathed.

"N-no... you will..."

"Shh, it's okay, babe," Jiwon whispered.

"It's not okay!" May blubbered. "God, she hurt me so badly... I can't even bear to walk with the pain right now..."

"She's dead now, sweetheart," her unnie cooed.

"That doesn't change what was done to me!" May glanced at Jiwon fearfully. "U-unnie, my stuffie fell on the floor... will you please get it for me?"

"Of course, hun.." Jiwon reached down and came up again with a small stuffed leopard, which then tucked into May's arms.

"I am not taking this anymore!" Mirae roared. "I don't know why Haeyoon is holding back, but we must strike soon! Otherwise, we will all be hunted down and traumatized to death! And our fellow groups must be rescued!"

May yelped in fear at Mirae's outburst and hid her face again.

"Unnie, calm down!" Jiwon retorted. "You're scaring May!"

"This is why we have to fight! Look what they've done to her! She is traumatized beyond belief and she's been forced into this! We need to fight them."

"We're not strong enough to do that!"

"We need to try!"

"But we shouldn't be killing ourselves when we aren't strong enough!"

"Jiwon, don't you want to get revenge on all of them for sending Bom to do this to your beloved May?"

"That doesn't mean I'll let all of us be killed over it!"

An alarm sounded outside and Mirae blanched as she turned to see Seungyeon running down the hall toward her. "What's going on?"

"We need you! The other CLC members are doing surgery on Onda and you're the only other person with magic strong enough to help!"

"What exactly is happening?"

"Mia's having a seizure and I can't stabilize her and get her medicine at the same time!"

"How bad is it?"

"Mirae, she could die!" Seungyeon snapped. "Come now!"

Groaning internally, Mirae dashed after her, following to the medical ward. Two of the patients were writhing on their beds, one screaming. She winced. "Is it not only Mia?"

"Wonyoung is just having a mental breakdown, but we need to save Mia's life! I need you to stabilize her while I inject her medicine!"

"I-I'll do it!"

Wonyoung shrieked again as Mirae thrust out her hands and Mia froze, her face twisting in pain as the magic sank into her.

"Keep her there!" Seungyeon rushed toward her with a needle and jammed it into Mia's thigh.

"Oh god... is she okay?" Mirae gasped as she released her and the younger girl went limp.

"I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I think she's developed some form of epilepsy."

"How?"

"I will find out the specifics, but I have to do more scans before Onda gets out of surgery. Can you go take care of Wonyoung for me?"

The frightened teen had stopped screaming by the time Mirae got to her, but she was still shaking. However, the second Mirae took Wonyoung's hand in hers, she whined and looked up at her. "Mama?"

What?

"Mama... paci?"

"P-paci?" She raised an eyebrow at Seungyeon. "What's happening?"

"Um..." Seungyeon bit her lip. "You know how May's been acting like a submissive, beating herself up and breastfeeding from Jiwon? From what I see, Wonyoung's mind has regressed in a similar way, but she also seems to have temporary amnesia."

"So... is she a baby right now? At least... mentally?"

"I think so. But I did manage to gain us some items in case we ever had to deal with little ones, so..." Seungyeon left the main ward for a moment and then returned, popping a small pink pacifier into Wonyoung's mouth. Instantly, she giggled and started to suck on it.

"Well, at least that's taken care of..."

Eunbi breezed in at that moment and Wonyoung went ballistic, sobbing at the top of her lungs. "Mama, who is that? She scawy!"

"What the...?" Eunbi's brow furrowed as she saw the pacifier hanging out of her mouth. The look in her eyes changed to one of understanding as she walked to the maknae. "Hun, I'm one of your best friends," she murmured as she pushed the pacifier back in her mouth all the way. "Don't be afraid."

"Mama, hold me!" Wonyoung cried to Mirae.

"Sweetheart, my name is Mirae unnie and I have to go, but I promise Eunbi unnie will take good care of you."

"Noooo!!" Wonyoung whimpered as Mirae hurriedly left.

"This isn't permanent, is it?" Eunbi asked Seungyeon.

"The amnesia, no, but the regression... I don't know. The poor thing has been so traumatized and I don't know how long it will be before we can wipe out our enemies and get her and May into a mental hospital."

"Wonyoung, I will protect you, no matter what," Eunbi vowed, stroking her hair softly. "You never should have gone through this and I will not fail you again, I promise."

She laid her head on Eunbi's chest, babbling softly and batting at her fingers.

"Oh, honey..." Eunbi bit her lip. "Would you like some food?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'll bring her some mashed peas," Seungyeon offered. "But you need to take responsibility for her for the afternoon while I run these tests on Mia. Onda is coming back from surgery now, I think, so the other members will be able to help out too."

"Of course. In fact, I'll get the peas from the kitchen for her. I'll take care of her completely."

"Alright, but if she seems feverish, bring her straight back here. Oh, also bring her IV with you and keep her in a wheelchair."

"Got it."

"And while you're at it... take Ryujin with you. Since we haven't been able to get more news of Yeji yet, she's been really down and refuses to eat."

"Of course, of course." Eunbi called Sakura to help her out and the two of them set Wonyoung and Ryujin in wheelchairs, rolling them and their IVs to the kitchen in the base.

"Call me if you need me, alright?" Sakura admonished. "I'll be in my room with Chaeyeon."

Eunbi nodded and watched her leave before stepping over to the food cabinet. "Hey, Ryujin, I'm getting mashed peas for Wonyoung, but what do you want?"

"Nothing."

"Ryujin, you need to eat. Yeji would not want you to be starving yourself."

"You don't know what she wants! She could be dead for all we know!" Her voice cracked.

"I'm sure she's not. But she'll also be upset if she comes back to find that you've starved yourself to death."

"Fwiend come pway," Wonyoung whined as she flopped onto the floor and headbutted Ryujin's leg.

"Honey, you both need to eat," Eunbi sighed as she set the teen back in her chair and made sure her IV was alright. "There's no time for play right now."

"Unnie, it hurts." Wonyoung slumped back weakly.

"Where, sweetheart?"

"H-here." She motioned between her legs.

"May I see in a minute?" Eunbi inquired.

She nodded.

Very quickly, Eunbi made a bowl of oatmeal for Ryujin and shoved it into her hands before kneeling in front of Wonyoung's wheelchair. Making sure to be careful, she reached under her gown and spread her legs.

"This can't be right." She winced as her hands brushed over the red skin right above the crook of her knee. "It can't be..." Eunbi reached one hand up and felt Wonyoung's forehead. "Oh god, you're burning up... and that inflammation... oh my god, you have an infection..."

"Unnie, unnie, unnie..." Wonyoung burbled, her voice full of pain.

The Iz*one leader moved to call Sakura, but all of a sudden, a temor shook the base, making both Wonyoung and Ryujin shriek as they collapsed out of the wheelchairs, their IVs disconnecting from their arms.

Haeyoon's voice boomed through the air over the base intercom. "We're under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! Lock down the base and protect the medical ward! All patients must report back there!"

Forgetting about the IVs, Eunbi scooped up Ryujin and Wonyoung with a rush of adrenaline and dashed back toward the medical ward.

"Oh, girlies!" Soyou's voice echoed through the hall near her. "Look who I have!"

All the blood drained from Eunbi's face as she saw Soyou's eyes meet hers... before both of them gazed at the broken, bloody body at her feet.

Oh my god...  Yiren , I'm so sorry...

Chapter Text

"How could you be so cruel?!" Handong shrieked as she stared at the bloody hole in Dahyun's chest. "Eating her heart? What possible reason could we have to do that? What kind of creature are you?"

"One who loves the taste of a good heart." Hyuna smirked as Jeongyeon vomited yet again. "Don't you want Dahyun and Tzuyu to return?"

"Why must you hurt us this much?" Sana wept. "Oh, my Dahyun... my beautiful Dahyun... you sweet angel... you shouldn't have to endure this..."

Hyuna grinned and sank her teeth into the heart as she took a small bite.

Siyeon and Momo went ballistic and leaped for each other, rolling on the ground, bodies entangled as they sobbed and keened. Sana stood with her fists clenched and her face scrunched up; she then forcefully disentangled Momo from Siyeon and pulled her over to Hyuna. "Do you want Tzuyu and Dahyun back or not?" She opened her mouth and took a bite of the heart.

Gahyeon panicked and tried to run from them, but she ended up slamming into a tree and gashing her forehead open. Sana thrust the heart at Momo and forced her mouth open, making her swallow a bite of her own.

When Hyuna's magic lashed out again, the red-eyed BTS members lunged forward at the remaining living Twice members, pinning them down. Jihyo screamed as RM and Suga held her arms down and Chaeyoung begged for mercy as Jungkook and Jin pushed her small body into the dirt. Jeongyeon cried at the top of her lungs as J-Hope's weight pressed on top of her and Nayeon wailed for her as Jimin pinned her into the earth. Sana went to Mina next as V pushed down on her, crushing her chest. In desperation, Mina clamped her mouth shut.

"Open. Now," Sana growled.

Mina gazed in fear at the gory mess of Dahyun's heart and all of a sudden, V jammed his fist between her legs. She yelped and Sana forced a piece of the heart into her.

"No, stop!" Jeongyeon begged as Sana came to her. "Sana, think about what you're doing!" She howled as J-Hope wrenched her mouth open, nearly breaking her jaw, and Sana pushed another heart piece into her mouth. She tried to vomit it up, but J-Hope made her swallow and slammed her into the ground. The movement broke Jeongyeon's ribs and she crumpled in agony.

"Baby!" Nayeon screeched. "No!"

Sana let out a wail and made Nayeon and Jihyo take bites too. But when she began to approach Chaeyoung, Hyuna stopped her. "I have another prize for you before they come back. Chaeyoung does not need to take a bite." Her eyes rested on Dami and she snapped her fingers.

Each of the BTS members instantly released Twice and ran to Dami, tearing every remnant of clothing from her. JiU realized what was happening too late before five of them were pounding into her naked body. Dami screamed her lungs out as RM and Suga pushed into her mouth.

"NO!" JiU wailed as she threw herself on the ground. "DAMI, NO!!"

Dami let out a muffled cry of the leader's name, tears streaming from her eyes.

"HYUNA, STOP!" Yoohyeon hollered. "Let them go! She's bleeding; it's too much for her body! She's a tight girl and even more than one is overwhelming! But five?! You're killing her!"

"Oh no, they won't kill her." Hyuna smirked. "They are merely stretching her out a little."

"A little?! She's already bleeding vaginally and anally from the assault! Take them away and release your control!"

"Why? Don't you love that pain?"

"Dami!" Chaeyoung cried. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"They are your masters!" Hyuna yelled at Dami. "You're nothing but a slut to be used by the world!"

"No! She's my girlfriend!" JiU howled. "She's not a slut!"

White liquid covered Dami's head as Suga and RM exited her mouth and Hyuna walked over to them, lifting her sticky face up so her group could see her eyes. The agony in her expression grew as the five other members kept up their assault and JiU lost her mind.

"She is innocent!" the leader screeched. "Let her go! Do you even care that you may be destroying her body and her life?"

"You'd think I do after seeing your precious Chaeyoung destroyed?"

For over what seemed like an hour, the uninjured girls desperately reached for Dami, who was, by the end of it all, covered and filled with her rapists' fluid and scent. Blood dripped out of her between her legs as the BTS members backed away, the red flickering from their eyes. Pain overwhelming her, Dami babbled and wailed incoherently as JiU ran to her side.

"Baby, baby, shh, it's over now..."

"JiU, be careful," Yoohyeon warned.

"Oh my god..." Jungkook's face went copy-paper white as he came back to the world. "W-what...?" He took a few steps toward Dami and she screamed again.

"Get away!" JiU snarled. "All of you fucking rapists!"

"R-rapists?"

"JiU, it was Hyuna!" SuA cried. "It wasn't their fault!"

"And yet she'll always be afraid of them!" Yoohyeon yelled back. "Look at her!"

"We... We raped her?" Suga choked out. "Oh my god... oh no... that poor thing... God, we should have fought hard..."

"UNNIE!!" Dami blubbered.

"Shh, shh, unnie's got you," JiU cooed.

"M-me hurt!"

JiU rubbed her thigh gently and winced as her legs spread open wider. "Oh god..." She knelt between them. "Hyuna, what have you done...? You... you've mutilated her genitals... she's bleeding and her hips... they're crooked... shit, she may never dance again..."

Hyuna smiled. "Your mission is complete."

She disappeared into thin air and Dami howled once again.

"W-what's going on...?"

Sana whirled around and gasped; Tzuyu's and Dahyun's bodies had been entirely healed and both of them were sitting up shakily. Dahyun's eyes instantly flicked to the remains of the old heart of hers in Sana's hand and she dropped it, dashing over to her.

"Oh, Dahyun, Tzuyu, I'm so sorry..."

As she began to explain what had happened, Dami flailed weakly on the ground. Nayeon, Jihyo, Momo, and Mina gathered around her and JiU rested her head in her lap. "Oh, baby..."

"How could you let her make you do this?" Jihyo snapped furiously at RM. "Did you, even a little bit, enjoy defiling her like that? Did you enjoy pounding into her body, taking what should have only been JiU's?"

"N-no..." Jimin gasped. "God, what have we done...?"

"Stop! Stop!" Dami whimpered.

"Hey, hey, baby, it's me." JiU cupped Dami's face. "It's JiU, babe."

"J-JiU... my body... it's not mine..."

"What do you mean?"

Her terrified gaze traveled to the BTS members and she sniffled. "D-do I belong to them now?"

"No way! You are still your own, my love, as well as mine, and you always will be!"

A howl escaped Dami's throat and she lashed out violently. "Stop, stop, STOP!"

"Monster!" Gahyeon yelled. "You are a monster, Hyuna!"

Each of the BTS members' eyes turned red again and RM growled, "Would you like us to take you too?"

"No!" Yoohyeon retorted.

"Then I'll take the crybaby again." RM smirked as he snatched Dami from JiU and she screamed, the sound echoing through the forest as he yanked at her nipples and slammed into her again.

JiU let out an animalistic cry and lunged at Jungkook, striking him hard until the red flew out of his eyes. However, when Handong tried to do the same with Suga, he smashed her into the dirt, shattering her pelvis, and she lay stunned in agony.

"Suga, stop!" Jungkook shouted. He then noticed Dami and his eyes widened in horror. "Hyung, what are you doing?"

"He's under Hyuna's control again!" Hyewon called. "He's not doing this of his own volition!"

"They're hurting my baby!" JiU wept as V and J-Hope joined in on Dami's assault. Dami sobbed and thrashed in every way she could, but she couldn't break away as they harshly impaled her.

Hyuna cackled through RM's mouth and after a few minutes, she released her control. When JiU realized the three men had no idea what to do, she bolted over to Dami and slowly eased her off of them. Dami was shivering as she collapsed into her arms, her face white.

"Honey, it's over, it's really over," SuA cooed softly. "It's over now."

Shaking her head, Dami curled up into a ball and JiU laid her across her lap. "Shh, shh, it's all over now."

JiU barely had time to shoot BTS a death glare before they disappeared and she wept hard as she spread Dami's legs and pressed her hands between them on the inflamed skin of her thighs. Sana carefully brushed her fingers over Dami's now-crooked hips and shuddered.

"H-how could she...?" Jeongyeon looked like she was about to vomit again. "How c-could she be so cruel...?"

"Dami?" Chaeyoung crawled to her. "Hey, I'm here. It's okay... if I can survive it, you can too."

"Um... I think she may need to go to a mental hospital," Hyewon murmured. "She was just gang-raped more brutally than I've ever seen before."

Dami's eyes closed halfway and she groaned as her breathing became labored.

Siyeon whimpered and crawled to Handong, who shook as her pelvis was healed. "W-where's D-Dami...?"

"She's... here," Siyeon sniffled. "BTS is gone, but she... she's so badly scarred..."

"I want my mommy..." Dami whined.

"What about me?" JiU asked as she held her close. "Your mom may not be here, but you have me."

"Why? I didn't f-fight... I feel like I really am a slut..."

As soon as JiU heard her say that disgusting word, her heart shattered all over again. "Dami, you are not a slut and I don't care how much you say it. I will never believe it."

"But..."

"No buts. However, did they... did they stretch you?"

She nodded.

"Listen, baby, Hyuna, Dara, and all of them are the monsters, not BTS. They wouldn't in all of time do that to you of their own will."

"How do you know...?" Dami's eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out from the pain.

Taking a shaky breath, Gahyeon hauled herself into Yoohyeon's arms, whimpering as her heartbeat thrummed in her chest like a hummingbird.

"What have we come to?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How dare you?" Aisha cried as she skidded to a stop beside Eunbi. "Oh, Yiren... no, no, no..."

"She's not dead." Soyou rolled her eyes. "Not yet anyway."

Bora smiled as she walked to Soyou's side, her eyes on the bundle in Eunbi's arms. "I didn't realize it would be so easy to find you. Hello, little one."

Wonyoung screamed and threw herself onto the floor, crawling in the opposite direction.

"No!" Eunbi tried to grab her again, but a sharp pain shot through her back as Bora threw a knife at her with perfect aim. The Iz*one leader collapsed, groaning in pain, and Aisha scooped up Ryujin, pulling her away.

"Wonyoung... save Wonyoung..." Ryujin whimpered.

Yujin shot around the corner, gasping as she saw Bora's arms close around Wonyoung's waist. "No! Wonyoung!"

"She's ours now." Bora cackled as she tore off Wonyoung's hospital gown, exposing her nakedness to all of them.

"Stop! Stop!!" Yujin wailed. "Let her go!"

"Why should I?" She rubbed her hand over the young girl's vulva, pushing her fingers against her, and Wonyoung shrieked, squirming in her grasp.

"Let her go!" Chaeyeon rushed toward Bora and tried to tackle her from behind. However, she didn't realize Soyou was there and a few bangs echoed through the base as a rifle materialized in her hands and she unleashed bullets at Chaeyeon's back.

"NOOOO!!" Sakura shouted, dashing to her side as Bora once again picked up Wonyoung. "Chaeyeon, no, no, no, no..."

Wonyoung flailed against Bora, screaming at the top of her lungs, and Yujin desperately dropped to her knees. "Let her go... please... I'll do anything..."

Soyou looked thoughtful as she ran her gaze over Yujin. "Maybe we let her do it."

"Or we double-penetrate Wonyoung and make her lose her voice," Bora replied. At those words, Wonyoung went insane, lashing out at Bora and striking her hard. Despite that, Bora was too strong and she snapped a collar around her neck; the young maknae was frozen in midair, the spell only broken when Soyou and Bora both pushed into her in the same place.

Almost instantly, Wonyoung's mouth opened in an ear splitting scream and Yujin caved in on herself, sobbing.

Simultaneously, a rumble suddenly shook the ground and Aisha gasped. "Girls, we forgot about Dasom and whoever else may be here! We need to help protect the patients!"

"And we have two more!" Sakura shouted. "Help me get them and Ryujin back to the medical ward! We can't help Wonyoung right now, Yujin!"

Yujin slowly got to her feet and hefted Eunbi's body into her arms. Aisha grabbed Yiren as well as Ryujin while Sakura took Chaeyeon and they all ran to the medical ward. Wonyoung's screams echoed through the base and when Chaewon and Linlin rushed toward them, Soyou sent out a blast of magic to make both of them fall. Hitomi saw the whole scene and attempted to run to the two until Bora followed up with a crackling black lightning strike and both Chaewon and Linlin went still, their chests slowing down movement and stopping entirely.

"What...?" Hitomi shakily grasped their arms and dragged them around the corner. When she stopped, her hands immediately began roaming over their bodies. "Girls, wake up! Wake up!"

"Hitomi, what happened?" Yuri gasped as she skidded to a stop in front of her. "Oh my god..."

Hitomi grasped their wrists and her heart sank as she looked at her fellow member. "Y-Yuri..." she whispered. "They're d-dead..."

"They can't be!" Yuri dropped to her knees beside Chaewon and started pounding on her chest. She slammed her hands down as hard as she could, but Chaewon didn't wake up.

"Oh god..." Hitomi started to hyperventilate when Wonyoung's screams grew even louder. "They're dead... they're gone and Wonyoung is next..."

A flash of blue suddenly blasted through the hall and Hitomi gasped as Bora's and Soyou's bodies collapsed in front of her, stunned. Chungha raced toward them with Wonyoung in her arms, limp and bloody, and halted in front of Hitomi and Yuri.

"Get to the medical ward!" she gasped out. "And bring Chaewon and Linlin!"

"Unnie, they're dead!" Hitomi screeched. "They're dead!"

"Get them there anyway! I can try to revive them!"

Leaving Hitomi and Yuri to grab the bodies, Chungha fled to the medical ward as fast as she could, Wonyoung's twisted and disfigured body leaking blood over her hands. When she knocked frantically, Seunghee opened the door and she went inside, sweating.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on? Catch your breath," Seungyeon sighed.

"Help me with Wonyoung!" Chungha snapped, laying her on her own previous bed. "God, they were so brutal to her..."

Yuri and Hitomi pounded on the door and shot inside, wailing.

"What the hell?" Sakura looked at the bodies in their arms. "Oh god..."

"I can revive them if you take care of Wonyoung!" Chungha yelled. "She's in agony!"

Yujin rushed over to her, wincing as she saw the injuries in her bones. "Oh god... how could they do this to you?"

Chungha laid her hands on Chaewon's body and Haeyoon gasped. "Shit..."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Jiwon and May... they're defenseless out there. We have to go get them."

"But what if... what if Dasom's gotten to them already?"

"We have to take our chances. We can't leave them out there to die."

Sakura nodded. "I'll come with you."

"So will I," Chaerin chimed in.

Haeyoon swiftly opened the door and led the pair of them out of the ward. Listening carefully, they crept down the smoky halls toward Jiwon's room... and then came face-to-face with Dasom.

"You looking for the little one too?" Dasom sneered. "Well, she's not here. And when I find her before you, she will be in for a world of pain."

Frightened by the threat, Chaerin ran, wondering if she could conceal herself in the nearby bathroom until she could think clearly again. Instead, in one of the open stalls, she saw May, who was sitting on the toilet, weeping with Jiwon standing beside her.

"What's wrong? Is she in a trigger state?" Chaerin questioned.

"No." Jiwon sighed. "We just found out that she's pregnant."

"Pregnant?! Oh god, you poor thing..." Chaerin gently rubbed her shoulder and May whimpered, "It's Bom's child... I can't stay aboveground to get an abortion... I have to keep it..."

"Hey, we're going to help you get through this, alright?" Chaerin cooed. "But we have to get you and Jiwon back to the medical ward. You're defenseless here and Dasom will hurt you if she finds you."

May nodded slightly and Jiwon pulled her into her arms. Very quickly, she and Chaerin dashed back to the medical ward.

"Seungyeon, we have something to tell you..." Chaerin trailed off when she realized everyone in the ward was crying. "W-what's going on?"

"She... she saved Chaewon, but she didn't h-have enough strength f-for her... Chungha couldn't do it and she p-passed out... by the time she wakes, it'll be too late for her..." Mirae sniffled.

"Wait... what?"

"It's Linlin. She's dead. Our Linlin is dead."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimin could barely breathe as he and his fellow BTS members were thrown onto the floor of the living room in the BTS house. All he could think about was what had just happened. He could still see the pain and fear in Dami's eyes as Hyuna forced them all to degrade and desecrate her body. "Oh god... what have we done...?"

Jin looked at him.

"Oh my god, we just raped Dami, likely scarring her for life! How could we have done that?"

"Hyuna is evil," Jin murmured. "We have to stop them."

"How? They have power we can't even dream of!"

"M-maybe I can help."

All seven of them turned, startled, to see a girl with black hair stumble into the room, a gunshot wound spilling blood from her stomach..

"Holy shit, Kokoro, what happened?" Jungkook rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "We have to get you to a hospital!"

"N-no... they're in danger..."

"We know! And we... we were forced onto one of the Dreamcatcher members... Hyuna controlled us and made us rape her..."

"Wait, what?" Kokoro winced. "I was t-talking about m-my friends... b-but... you saw Dreamcatcher...? And you raped one of them? You were forced by m-magic? Who was it?"

"Dami," Jin sighed. "Poor girl... she's broken now..."

"Jin, we have to get Kokoro to a hospital!" Suga growled. "She can't help us if she's dead!"

"Dead..." Kokoro's eyes welled up with tears. "She's dead..."

"Who is?" Jimin inquired.

"L-Linlin..." she whimpered. "She's dead... Soyou and Bora killed her..."

"Are they on Hyuna's side too?"

"Y-yes... Dasom too..." She told them about the base and the medical patients and the attack, all while her face grew paler.

"This is honestly shocking!" J-Hope exclaimed. "But does anyone see how Kokoro looks right now?"

As if in answer, Kokoro collapsed, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Oh, shit!" Jungkook tugged her into his arms. "Kokoro! Katō Kokoro, can you hear me?"

She didn't answer.

"Hospital, now!" RM roared. "She will die otherwise!"

"Should she really not die?" a menacing female voice snarled from beside them.

Their heads snapped up. "Hyoyeon?"

"That's right, you bastards." Hyoyeon smirked as she twirled a pistol in one hand. "Do you remember me?"

"Are you on Hyuna's side too?" Jimin gasped incredulously.

"Damn right. And I'm the one who brought Dreamcatcher into that world. I'm the one who hurt them all the first time. I killed JiU and SuA in that first car crash. I ran over Gahyeon. I slit Handong's throat. I made sure Yoohyeon would panic and fall over the edge. I murdered Dami in that second crash and manipulated Siyeon's mind so she would kill herself after."

"But why?" Suga burst out. "What possible rational reason could you have to force them into all this?"

"The world is changing, boys," Hyoyeon hissed. "The strong will rise above the rest and we can punish all for all. This is our world now. Only ours. And we are strong."

She thrust out her hands, transporting them all to the hospital as she disappeared from their view.

Chapter Text

"I'm getting really worried now," Jungkook sniffled. "We haven't gotten news of Kokoro for hours and I really want to see her."

"I'm sure she's alright," J-Hope soothed. "She'll be okay."

"Hyung, you don't understand. I was in love with her before she disappeared and I still am even now. I should have been there to protect her. And if she dies... it's all my fault."

"No, it's not. It's the fault of whoever shot her," V exclaimed. "And deciding to flee the base with a bullet in her stomach, not to mention how there were already healers there and how long she took to tell us about all of it... that makes her a very brave girl. She'll survive, Jungkook, I can feel it."

A doctor soon entered the hospital waiting room and Jungkook stood up. "What's going on?"

"Miss Kokoro is stable for now and will be allowed visitors, but only one at a time."

RM shook his head. "Jungkook is the only one she needs to see. He can go."

Very quietly, the BTS maknae followed the doctor down the hall, resisting the urge to ask her questions until they reached the room. "Doctor Macy... is she going to live?"

Her bright blue eyes gazed into his with sympathy flashing in them. "Sir... I can't say right now."

Jungkook tentatively entered the room, his breath hitching as he saw Kokoro's pale body under the sheet on her bed, her eyes closed and a breathing tube sticking out of her nose. Other tubes connected different machines to one side of her body to help her body keep going and her usually glossy black hair was ruffled and unkempt.

She barely looked like Kokoro at all.

"Oh, my love..." He couldn't keep the tears back as he moved closer to her. "I should have been there for you. This shouldn't be goodbye. I want to have a life with you, to marry you and have children with you... I can't bear to let you go..."

"M-me neither..."

"Kokoro?" Jungkook jolted up, his eyes widening as he saw her looking blearily toward him. "Oh god, baby..."

"I've m-missed you..."

"Me too, babe, but I'm not letting you go again, understand? I will come back to the base with you when you are better."

"The base... it's safer than here... but nowhere is safe..."

"Honey, how many people were hurt during the attack?"

"I-I don't know... b-but Chaeyeon is on l-life support... and Linlin is d-dead..."

"Come here, sweetheart." Jungkook sat on the side of her bed without machines and Kokoro inched toward him nervously, relaxing when he wrapped his arms around her torso and held her gently.

"I never should have let you go..." she wept, tears dripping onto Jungkook's chest. "I should have stayed..."

"I think you made the right decision." He kissed her nose. "I just want you to be safe."

They stayed close to each other until one of the nurses came in, smiling. "Miss Kokoro, I was wondering if you and your boyfriend would like to participate in a program we're doing today."

"What is it?"

"We're going to bring in patients from the mental hospital's trauma ward, one for each able patient or each somewhat-abled patient and able visitor. You will get the opportunity to bond with one of the patients and I will give you their chart so you can learn their triggers before they arrive. What do you say?"

"Why don't we give it a try, babe?" Jungkook suggested.

"A-alright."

Nodding, the nurse handed Jungkook a clipboard and his eyes widened when he looked over it.

"Who is it?" Kokoro whimpered. "Do we know them?"

"Do you remember the now-disbanded group Pristin?"

"Yeah..."

"It's Eunwoo."

"Eunwoo? W-what happened to her?"

"According to her chart, she went missing for a year and was found with scars and bruises all over her, as well as evidence of her being gang-raped by at least 52 men." He gulped. Dami...

"Damn... she's just like Wonyoung with bad luck..."

"Wonyoung? Is Iz*one at the base too?"

"Yes... and she was gang-raped three times by Sistar..."

"Kokoro... speaking of that... I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"When the rest of my group and I were in that alternate dimension... Hyuna used her magic to force us to gang-rape one of the members of Dreamcatcher... Dami... and I can still see the pain in her eyes..."

"Oh god, oppa..." She sighed. "I'm so sorry that she forced you into that... and I feel so sorry for what they did to Dami..."

"It's okay, but I just wanted you to know. Tell you what, let's interact with Eunwo and then I can go to the base and see how to help Wonyoung."

"I-I like that. It's not like I can go anywhere. So what are her triggers?"

"Well, she's been in the mental hospital for a year and what they've gathered is that first, she will explode if she is yelled at in any way. That makes sense, considering how her captors would have yelled at her. She also hates it if you touch her wrists in any forceful ways. In addition to that, she always needs to have someone with her in the bathroom and..." He relayed the list to her and finished just as a doctor rolled a small wheelchair into the room.

"Hello, Eunwoo." Jungkook smiled. "Would you like to play with us?"

Eunwoo shakily reached out her hands, grasping his shoulders and pulling herself into his lap. Kokoro patted her back and cooed, "You're a good girl, honey."

"M-me good girl." She giggled shyly and leaned her head back on Kokoro's shoulder.

"What would you like to play, unnie?"

"C-can we play charades?"

"Sure, but we have to be careful," Jungkook sighed. "Should I go first?"

Both girls nodded eagerly as he sat Eunwoo on the bed and stood up. After thinking for a moment, he started acting out his role in a crazy way. However, as the guesses stayed wrong and Kokoro grew slightly anxious. Eunwoo was bouncing on the bed as she guessed randomly and the younger girl murmured, "Eunwoo, don't get worked up; it's bad for her heart and it could trigger an..."

Eunwoo's head suddenly snapped back as she gasped and Kokoro grimaced. "An asthma attack."

Jungkook quickly sat her up as her lips became a light shade of blue. Her body shook as she clutched at her throat, struggling for breath.

"It's okay, it's okay, just breathe, okay?" He lightly pressed a hand against her chest before raising his voice. "Help! Help!"

Kokoro drew back, shivering, and a doctor rushed into the room, putting Eunwoo back into her wheelchair and taking her away.

"Find Wonyoung. Now," Kokoro whimpered. "I need to know what's happening to her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go! Go!"

Nodding, Jungkook walked out into the waiting room, jolting as a scream suddenly rang through the air.

He barely had time to see Rosé stabbing a knife into Kyulkyung's stomach before RM shoved him out the door and everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her naked body hurt.

Her bare chest stung with every breath.

Her eyes were turning hollow from malnutrition.

She could feel every one of her ribs pressing against her skin.

Her throat burned with hunger.

Please just make it all stop...

"I-I have to g-go to the bathroom..." she whispered quietly.

The woman in front of her smirked and thrust a small metal bucket toward her. Crawling weakly in the dim light, she shakily squatted over the bucket, aware of being watched while she did her business, then collapsed when she'd finished.

"Drink, baby," the booming voice ordered from above her.

"W-what?"

"Drink." She felt her head being forced back and her eyes watered as the bucket's bitter contents were dumped down her throat. Gagging violently, she backed against the wall, eventually forcing herself to swallow.

"Mm, such a bad girl."

Lia whimpered, hanging her head. "W-water... please..."

"No." Hyuna smiled. "I want to see my babygirl shown off at last. And I want that to happen first."

"D-do I have to?"

A rough slap landed on her hip and she yelped. "P-please..."

Hyuna attached a leash to her collar and yanked on it. "Move, Choi. Now, unless you want another hour with the whip."

She sniffled and started crawling, tears rolling down her face as bright light washed over them. Upon hearing a growl above her, Lia braced herself for impact of any kind, but it never came.

"What is this?" Jennie hissed. "I thought this one was dead!"

"Oh no, this little sneak had magic." Hyuna grinned. "Not as much as us, but enough to create a clone of herself that died in her place. She could have possibly worked against us in secret to try to destroy us, but she was so stupid that I got her and sucked the rest of her magic out of her."

"Clever." Jennie's face broke into a wicked smile. "Such a submissive girl too. I like it. Do you think she can service me?"

"In a minute. I want to show her off to Dara first."

Tugging on the leash, Hyuna forced Lia into Dara's room.

"Hyuna, what do you want?" Dara lifted her head from Yeji's neck and gasped. "What the hell?"

The same story was given to her and Yeji was in shock as she looked over them. Lia is alive! And not only that... she's been treated worse than me...

"I want her now." Jennie took Lia's leash and yanked her closer, purring as she ran her hands over the younger girl's bottom. Lia flinched away and Jennie got angry instantly. She grabbed Lia by the throat and pinned her against the wall. "Hyuna get me some cuffs. I think Yeji needs to see what a bad girl this one is."

"No... please..." Lia begged. "I need food... and water..."

Hyuna rolled her eyes. "She just wants water because I made her drink her own piss. But she's not getting it until she serves you." She fetched what Jennie requested and Lia's hands were handcuffed together. She started to cry as the older pressed against her behind.

In all the time I've been with them, they've never taken me anally... agh, I have to fight...

Desperately, she thrust her leg upwards, catching Jennie in the stomach and making her double over. With astonishing speed, Lisa lunged at her and held her down until Jennie recovered. In a blur of movement, both of them forced themselves into her forbidden region. Pain like never before seared through her body and she screamed her throat out, thrashing on them. Lia pressed her face into the floor and her hands lashed out aimlessly.

"M-mommy, make them stop!" Yeji wailed, gradually unable to withstand the sight any longer. She hid her face in Dara's chest.

"Hyuna... wait." Dara beckoned her over.

"What is it?"

"This one is someone Yeji cares about. Why don't you give her to me and she can be another of my kittens?"

Hyuna crossed her arms. "If you do, I'm taking Minzy in her place."

Minzy squeaked and Dara shook her head. "Making my kitten's friend eat her own urine? Depriving her over food and water so that she's nearly dead? I didn't care how rough you were with Taeyeon and Suzy, but when you're affecting my kitten, I have to step in."

Lisa and Jennie pulled away from Lia as Hyuna signaled to them and growled, "I'll give her food and water, but only enough to keep her alive. You have your kittens, I have my personal slut."

"P-please, unnie... d-don't let me go with her..." Lia whimpered as the handcuffs were taken off and her leash was pulled on. Yeji started sobbing as the door was slammed behind them all. "Why?"

Sniffling, Minzy laid her head on her shoulder. "H-Hyuna is scary."

"I didn't even know she had magic..." Yeji whined. "And she's being hurt so badly... mommy, can you get her out?"

"Sweetheart, if I disobey Hyuna on that matter, she will hurt you and Minzy and might even murder Lia for real. I have to protect my kittens."

"C-can you at least talk to her? T-tell her I'm sorry?"

"I can try, babygirl. Stay with Minzy and don't get in trouble."

Very quietly, Dara left the room and closed the door behind her, following Hyuna as she returned to where she'd been before. Lia weakly crawled behind her and as soon as they were inside, Hyuna tossed Lia against the wall and began to strike her with her whip.

"How dare you try to fight your mistresses!" she roared furiously, ignoring the pain in Lia's voice as she shrieked. "This is your one pass, but next time, you won't be so lucky!"

"This is too much!" Dara pushed the door open wide and snatched the whip from Hyuna as she put herself between her and Lia. "You have to be nice to her or she'll keep fighting and eventually get herself killed! Look at her!"

"Oh, don't try to pretend you're a saint."

"But I'm better than you! After breaking in Yeji and Minzy, I never hurt them this hard. I'm soft to my kittens and therefore, they don't fight me."

"You shouldn't be like that. You've gotta break your sluts all the time." She scoffed and stepped around Dara, smacking Lia's butt.

"No. I am taking her for a little while. You go have your way with Dreamcatcher or something. But I'm taking charge for some time."

Deciding to just go with it, Hyuna left the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Hey, Lia, honey, I'm here." Dara knelt beside her and pulled her into her lap. "I wish I could stop you from being treated like this, but I can't stop it without putting Yeji and Minzy in danger. But Yeji says she is very sorry about how you've been treated."

"W-why did you capture her?" Lia whimpered. "M-my leader... made to be nothing but your slut..."

"She's my kitten, Lia. And I came to bring you food and water, so be grateful for that." Dara used her magic to create some chicken soup and an assortment of veggies and fruits, as well as some water. "Alright, water first."

Trying to be gentle, she carefully tipped Lia's head back and held a cup to her lips, letting her drink (with refills) until her throat was soothed.

"Th-thank you," Lia whispered.

"I'm not done yet." Dara held a spoonful of soup to her mouth, but as soon as she swallowed, her body started shaking and spasming.

"Oh, Hyuna hasn't fed you for a while, has she? You poor thing, let's get some nutrition in you." It took her a while, but in a few hours, Dara managed to make her keep down some of each type of food. Like Yeji, displays of magic had made her afraid of it, so she tried to refrain from using it at all. Eventually, she made the food disappear.

"M-mama?"

Dara's head shot up as she heard Minzy call out and turned to see her sobbing in the doorway. Leaving Lia to sleep on the small bed she'd made for her, she walked over to the younger girl. "What's wrong, kitten?"

"Yeji!" Minzy wailed. "H-Hyuna killed her!"

"What?" Dara scooped up Minzy and dashed back to their room. Hyuna was standing at the foot of their bed and on the bed lay Yeji, her chest and face bloody, her eyes staring into nothing.

"Hyuna, what have you done?" She jumped onto the bed and laid her hands on Yeji's body to heal her wounds and revive her. Hyuna watched with no emotion on her face as Yeji's eyelashes fluttered and she was gone two seconds later.

"Oh, my Yeji baby!" Dara cried as she hugged Yeji and held her close. "Mommy's here, sweetie, and she will never be letting this happen again. She will never let anyone in this base touch you again except her."

"Hyuna hurt me!" Yeji babbled. "We can't leave Lia to her!"

"We have no choice, sweetheart. Do you want Minzy to end up in her place?"

"Of course not!"

"Then we have to leave her. Rocket Punch is suffering too, don't forget."

Rosé suddenly stalked into the room, her eyes flashing triumphantly.

"What is it?" Dara sighed.

"Kyulkyung of Pristin is dead," she declared with a growl. "And Hyuna says that if you don't leave Lia alone, the little Itzy maknae will be next."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Her temperature's at 109°," Seunghee murmured as she took the thermometer out from under Wonyoung's tongue. "No, wait..." She squinted at it. "113° now. Shit, her fever's risen quick and her body will burn itself to death if it continues."

"Her body seems to have been turning on itself since the attack," Sorn observed. "But this is so abnormal that I think it may be incomplete magic."

"Does incomplete magic have a mortal cure?" Iz*one's Yujin asked worriedly.

"Well, it depends on how incomplete it is," Sorn admitted. "We might be able to cure this, but we'll have to see."

"I hope she doesn't die," Haeyoon whispered to Mirae. "I don't want to have to add another body to the morgue. And I still don't know if Kokoro made it to the hospital..."

"Speaking of..." Mirae winced. "We need to check on the morgue again."

"Isn't Joy doing that...?" Haeyoon trailed off as Joy suddenly dashed around the corner, panting. "Come quick, Haeyoon!"

"What's going on, Joy?"

"It's Lia's body. It's gone!"

"What did you say?" Haeyoon instantly dashed toward the morgue, internally panicking. As soon as she reached the room, she yanked open the cabinet with Lia's name on it. Sure enough, her body was gone... and a small piece of paper lay in its place. Haeyoon's hand shook as she picked it up.

"'Please, don't come looking for me,'" she read. "'I never died. I had magic and I managed to make a clone of myself that died instead of me. I made sure my body would eventually disappear. But by now, Hyuna may have me and will likely torture me. I am now scared and alone and I need help, but I can't get it from you. If that means I stay here forever, then so be it. I won't have my friends be hurt again because of me. I'm sorry, but... goodbye. Mourn me like you've been doing and know that I care for you all. Love, Lia.'"

Shortly after, the intercom beeped and Haeyoon's voice rang through the compound, shouting, "All available fighters needed! It is time to rescue Yeji and Lia! Lia is not dead! She is Hyuna's prisoner and we must rescue them and any other prisoners!"

Sakura was the first to reach the secret armory and she gestured to the weapons as the rest of the able-bodied girls in the base, save for CLC, began to collect their defenses. Even though she had been badly hurt before, Chungha insisted on being the leader of the charge, since she was the only one with magic and knew how to get into the enemy base without the entry being detected.

"I don't think you should go," Chaeryeong muttered to Yuna. "You're wound up enough about Nako and May and Ryujin... and to rescue Lia and Yeji, I fear you'll do something stupid, especially now that you know Lia's alive."

"And you don't get to tell me what to do," Yuna fired back. "Remember that EU is still in bad condition. And who put her there?"

"B-Bora, Soyou, Dasom... and Blackpink..."

"And who do they have an alliance with?"

"Hyuna... and part of 2ne1..."

"And who do all of them have?"

"Lia and Yeji..."

"Exactly. So let's rescue them from that hellhole!"

"Wait!" Hyolyn shakily walked into the armory. "I'm coming too!"

"Are you crazy?" Mirae yelped. "Sistar made you their sex slave for months! Don't you think they'll want revenge? You too, Wendy!" She grasped the Red Velvet member's armored wrist. "Neither of you are coming."

"But they want to..." Irene swallowed and slowly wrapped an arm around Hyolyn's waist, whispering, "Baby, I don't think you should go either. I don't want them to abuse you again."

"You're in just as much danger as I am," Hyolyn replied. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do..."

"Then we'll protect each other." Hyolyn kissed Irene's cheek. "Now help me armor up."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Seulgi held Wendy against her chest. "It absolutely destroyed me the last time you were hurt by them..."

"And I have you this time," Wendy breathed back. "We can do this together."

"Is everyone ready?" Haeyoon asked at last.

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, lifting her head. "Let's go save our friends!"

Chapter Text

"That's it, Dami, let it all out," JiU cooed as Dami sobbed violently into her chest. "It's okay, princess. Unnie's got you."

Siyeon had by then regressed into her baby state and Handong was rocking her gently, singing some of their ballad songs to her. Yoohyeon and Gahyeon were hugging each other silently while SuA, in a state of shock, seemed to have regressed a bit as well. She burrowed into Hyewon's body crying and sucking on her thumb.

"I feel like I should do something, but I shouldn't touch Dami," Nayeon whispered to Jeongyeon.

"I'll see if I can help." Jeongyeon stood up and went over to JiU, reaching down to rub Dami's shoulder. "Hey, honey..."

JiU instantly thrust out her fist and landed an uppercut under Jeongyeon's jaw. Jeongyeon cried out, blood spurting out of her mouth as a few of her teeth fell into the dirt and she crumpled to the ground, wailing. When Nayeon rushed over, JiU softly laid Dami on the earth and leapt on top of Jeongyeon, striking her as hard as she could.

"J-JiU... I'm sorry..." Jeongyeon whined as bruises appeared all over her upper half and blood streamed from her nose and mouth. "S-stop..."

"JiU, stop! She wasn't trying to hurt her!" Sana charged toward the Dreamcatcher leader and shoved her off Jeongyeon as Dahyun rushed over. Jeongyeon was gasping and choking on the blood in her throat, but as Sana threw JiU into the dirt, she seemed to snap to her senses and jolted up to her feet. "Oh god... Jeongyeon!"

"Honey, it's alright." Dahyun sat her fellow member up as JiU hurried over.

"Oh, Jeongyeon... I'm so sorry..."

"W-why...?" Jeongyeon whimpered.

"I just... I'm scared for Dami right now and I was nervous of what she'd do if you touched her."

Dami was still crying and she clawed at the dirt. JiU sighed and curled her arms around Jeongyeon's torso, wiping the blood from her face. "When we get home, I'll pay for some new tooth implants, alright? I am so, so sorry."

"J-just go to Dami... I-I want Nayeon right now..."

"Can I cuddle you later?"

"No. Just... g-get me Nayeon..."

Nayeon and JiU moved places and Nayeon tenderly propped Jeongyeon up on her. "I'm so sorry, honey. But we have to stay strong through all of this and..."

"How?" Jeongyeon sniffled. "I can't see a way to get out of here..."

"Don't lose hope, my love. That'll just make things worse."

"But how long... how long before I'm raped and sodomized just like Dami? How long until all of us are?"

"I don't know... hopefully never..."

Jeongyeon shivered and pointed toward Dami. "Can I try to talk to her?"

"You can try."

She scooted over to her as she wiped the blood on her face and whispered, "Dami... I'm sorry..."

Dami jumped and sniffled. "It's n-nothing... to be sorry... about..."

"Dami-ah... you sweetheart..."

The younger girl turned away and threw up.

"Oh..." JiU's face went white as she rubbed Dami's back. "I think... we can tell now..."

"What?" SuA looked confused. "She's..."

"Pregnant. Dami's pregnant, I just know it."

When she finished her vomiting fit, Dami fell back on JiU's chest. "I can't... I can't raise a baby... there's no way I can keep it..."

"Shh, it's alright. With any luck, we'll get home soon and we can get you to an abortion." JiU placed a kiss between her breasts and stroked her hair.

"That's it. I'm not taking this anymore!" Jihyo roared. "Look at us! I'm going to figure out how to leave this place and Momo is coming with me!" She held her hand. "I'm not waiting any longer. You all can stay here."

Without another word, she stalked off, Momo following behind, and Siyeon whined, crawling after the pair. In turn, Handong ran after them as Siyeon hugged Jihyo's leg. "P-please don't go..."

"Get off, you crybaby," Jihyo scoffed. "You're pathetic and need to act your age like I know you can."

Siyeon's eyes widened and her lip quivered.

"Oh, so you're just going to cry again? Yeah, yeah, do that, crybaby. But get off of me." Leaning against Momo, she shook her leg, kicking Siyeon in the face and sending her tumbling to the ground.

Every other girl near them gasped.

Siyeon burst into a fit, flipping onto her stomach and sobbing and wailing as she pounded her fists into the ground.

Jihyo rolled her eyes. "You're such a pitiful child."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Handong hissed, slapping the Twice leader's face. "You're hurting her and she's sensitive!"

"Sensitive, my elbow. She's nothing but a girl trying to get pity. This isn't regression. Siyeon's not in regression."

"Yes, she is!" Handong knelt at Siyeon's side and grabbed her wrist, locking her other arm around her waist as she pulled her close. "You don't know her! And you're scaring her!"

Siyeon was practically hyperventilating at that point and Handong sighed. "Honey, it's okay, just breathe."

"J-Jihyo mean!"

"If I give you milk, will you calm down?"

"Fine..." Siyeon gradually fell quiet and Handong leaned against a tree, taking off her shirt as she sat her on her lap. Jihyo's face slowly softened as Siyeon latched onto Handong's nipple and she blinked. "Oh god... what have I done...?"

"Don't touch her," Handong hissed as she saw her kneel down. "You'e been enough of a bitch during this whole ordeal."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Save it. Attacking Siyeon's regression is the worst thing you could do."

Momo grasped Jihyo's hand and forcefully pulled her up to a standing position before growling, "Let's go back. They'll follow in a bit."

Knowing that it wasn't worth it to argue, Jihyo let Momo lead her back to the other girls. But everything seemed to be crazy there as well. Most of them were on the ground in a circle, all talking at once.

"What's going on?" Jihyo asked.

Tzuyu looked up and shook her head. "Don't come any closer. Dami's having a panic attack and she won't let anyone touch her but JiU."

"But I won't touch her!" Jihyo protested. She pushed her way to the center of the circle and her eyes widened.

No one she knew had ever looked more miserable and traumatized. Dami was curled up in JiU's arms, babbling and squirming, and her face was twisted with agony.

"Oh my god, Dami..." Momo bit her lip.

"I don't want to keep doing this!" Dami wailed. "I can't keep living like this!"

"We'll get out of here," JiU murmured. "I know we will..."

"You don't know that! I- I can't take this!" Dami grabbed at her hair and sobbed as she pulled at it.

"Whoa, whoa, no hair pulling. That won't do any good." JiU held her like a baby. "We're all still alive and that's what matters."

"But what if we all die before we can go home?"

"We won't."

"You don't know that!" Spasming, she burst out of her lover's arms and crawled out of the circle. But as soon as JiU tried to catch her, the ground began to shake. Dami went rigid, shuddering on her hands and knees... and then the earth collapsed underneath her, sucking her into a hole.

"No! Dami!" Gahyeon and JiU started running to her, but the hole was widening and they were forced to retreat; Chaeyoung fell in before she could escape.

"CHAEYOUNG!!" Mina shrieked.

Handong was running over to them, fully clothed, with Siyeon in her arms, but as the hole kept widening and she finally saw it, she threw her girlfriend away from it... right before getting sucked in.

"Mommy!" Siyeon collapsed on the dirt and sobbed. "Noooo!!"

"Get out of range!" SuA and Hyewon rapidly dragged Siyeon backward as she continued to lash at the ground and scream Handong's name.

The rest of Twice and Dreamcatcher were scrambling to get out of the way of the expanding sinkhole, but all of a sudden, JiU halted as she heard Dami call out her leader's name.

"Unnie, run!" Yoohyeon gasped.

"I can't leave her! I can't let my baby die!"

Dami screamed again and then the hole stopped growing and closed up completely over the heads of the three girls inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haeyoon couldn't deny that she was afraid. She knew she was leading her friends into a practical death trap, but there were too many other factors at play as well. Yeonhee had stayed back on the raid, but she was still incredibly scared because she had divulged that Hyuna had captured every member of Rocket Punch as well. Wonyoung had been scarred and injured, as well as May, and Linlin was dead. Taeyeon, Suzy, and Chungha had been tortured with her and Yeji, Lia and a brainwashed Minzy were still trapped. Kokoro was safe in the hospital, but only she was safe.

This is going to be hard.

Chungha nervously led at the front with Hyolyn. The two of them were shaking slightly as they led the other girls to the side of the enemy base, but they then straightened up.

"Once we get in, the alarm will sound," Chungha breathed. "Are we ready?"

"I'm ready to avenge Linlin," Yuju growled.

"Let's get our friends back!" Chaeryeong declared.

Hyolyn took a deep breath and kicked open the door. Instantly, siren alarms started blaring loudly around them and Bora dashed toward the group from the stairs, skidding to a stop at the bottom.

"Hello, Hyolyn," she purred. "Nice to see our slave again. Ready for your punishment?"

"You will not touch her!" Jiwon shouted.

"Oh, really?"

The compound burst into full chaos. Lisa, Dasom, Jisoo, Rosé, and Jennie ran down and sent blasts of magic toward all of them. Several of the girls ducked, but Joy, Sihyeon, Yuju, and Hitomi fell almost immediately, Hitomi and Joy with long cuts in their stomachs. The idols wearing armor rushed to the front lines and Chaeryeong dropped to the floor as a few magic strikes rebounded off the armor and came at her.

"Come with me!" Aisha hissed quietly to her. "I'm taking you and Hitomi to start the real rescue. Hitomi's fine, but we have to get upstairs and get our friends!!"

No one else noticed Aisha lead Chaeryeong and Hitomi up the stairs. Each of them began searching the rooms, but they didn't find anything until Chaeryeong opened one door and spotted Dara laying in a bed. Yeji and Minzy were both snuggling at her side, wearing kitten onesies, and they both squealed as the door opened. Yeji's face drained of all color and she looked down, burying her face in Dara's chest.

"What have you done to them?" Chaeryeong snapped.

"M-mommy, hide me..." Yeji whimpered.

"Mommy?" She looked at Dara. "What's going on?"

"They are my kittens now." Dara stroked her hand through Minzy's hair.

"Yeji, come here." Chaeryeong opened her arms. "You don't seriously want to stay with her, do you? She raped you and hurt you! You too, Minzy!"

"They don't want you," Dara hissed. "Especially Minzy. I'm all she has."

Deciding to go with more extreme measures, Chaeryeong folded her arms again. "Come with me, Dara, and bring Minzy and Yeji."

"Why should I? I have magic; I could kill you right now."

In a flash, she lunged forward and snatched Minzy from Dara's arms in a blur of pink; she squeaked as Chaeryeong dragged her toward the door. Hitomi was there just in time to see her hold a gun to Minzy's head.

Dara's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't... not my kitten..."

"I would. Come with us and bring Yeji too."

"A-alright, I'm c-coming..." Dara swallowed as she picked up Yeji and slowly stepped toward the whimpering Minzy.

"Chaeryeong, what are you doing?" Hitomi shivered.

"Go release everyone else who is trapped," Chaeryeong ordered Dara. "Leave Yeji."

"I-I can't get Lia right now... Hyuna's too powerful and she's with her now..."

Chaeryeong clicked a bullet into place and Dara's face whitened; she instantly dropped Yeji and dashed down the hall.

"Stay still," the Itzy member hissed to Minzy. "I'm not going to hurt you, but we need Yeji and the rest of our friends, as well as you, so don't scream."

As if the word had triggered it, a shriek echoed from the downstairs battle. The giant group broke apart, revealing three bodies in its midst: Jisoo, Rosé, and Yuna, all riddled with knife wounds. Yuna was still breathing, while Jisoo and Rosé had been brutally slaughtered.

"No..." Chaerin nervously got on her knees and crawled toward the unmoving girls. "Oh, Yuna... you poor thing..."

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Jennie roared. "You killed my friends!"

"And you killed Linlin and hurt our friends!!" Remi retorted.

At the same instant, Sakura lunged for Jennie and both of them fell, grappling with each other. The rest of Cherry Bullet lunged with her and Bora, Dasom, and Soyou fired magic everywhere, striking down Hyolyn and Cherry Bullet's Bora. Chaewon, Seulgi, Irene, and Yuri ran upstairs and when they heard of Chaeryeong's plan, they took off after Dara as she forced her way into the Rocket Punch room.

"W-what are you here for?" Dahyun croaked, hanging limply in her chains. "A-are you here to keep hurting us like you always do?"

"No." Dara sighed. "I'm here to help you get out of here."

"What?!" Sohee's eyes widened.

"I-I want to save my kittens and Minzy will be hurt if I don't release you."

Juri flopped onto the floor as Yuri let her out of her chains and Dahyun whined in pain as she collapsed into Dara's arms. Yunkyoung, Sohee, and Suyun weren't faring much better and Seulgi, Irene, and Chaewon released and carried the three carefully.

"What about Lia?" Yuri asked.

"Let's drop these girls with Chaeryeong and you can guard them while I get Chungha and we'll go rescue Lia together."

"Alright, let's go," Chaewon exclaimed.

All of them hurried back to Chaeryeong and she nodded, glancing at Dara. "I'll lower the gun, but you will come with us and not use your magic." She moved the gun down as Dara ran downstairs. Yeji clung to Minzy's leg, whining.

According to her view, Jennie was injured and Bora, Soyou, and Dasom retreated to recuperate with her and Lisa. As soon as Dara came down, the girls gasped and Remi drew her knife.

"Hey, I need Chungha. We need to get Lia and get out of here with all the captured."

"Liar!" Mirae yelled. "You kidnapped and raped Yeji!"

"For one thing, Hyuna kidnapped her. But Yeji and Minzy need me and I love them. I'm only helping you to keep my kittens safe. Come on; we're running out of time!"

Chungha rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll grab Hitomi and Aisha on the way."

As the four of them got together and made their way toward the room where Lia was, Aisha whispered, "Has she captured anyone else?"

"Not that I know of. You have the rest of them."

With a battle cry, Dara threw the door open. Chungha rushed inside and let out a cry of horror as she saw Lia, chained to the wall by the collar on her neck. Her skin was sallow, her eyes were pale with malnutrition, and her body was covered with bruises, cuts, whip burns, dried blood, and magic scars. She was also as thin as a stick, her cheeks hollow. Hyuna was nowhere in sight, but none of them were willing to risk running into her when she came back from getting her deadly sex weapons.

"Lia, we're here to rescue you," Hitomi cooed. "Don't worry, Dara is on our side now as long as we protect Yeji and Minzy. But we have to get you out of here."

"Hyuna... coming... hurry..." Lia rasped. "Keys... in corner..."

Dara darted for the corner and grabbed the keys from the hook, sticking them into the lock of the chains on the leash. Lia didn't move as Dara picked her up and her body hung limply in the older's arms.

"Look what you've helped do," Aisha gulped. "And you've done this to Dreamcatcher too. They're fighting for their survival now."

Dara's face went pale and her legs shook. Her expression changed; she looked as if she was being broken out of a trance.

A trance...

"Dara, she used her magic on you, didn't she?" Hitomi murmured. "She made you want to rape Minzy from the beginning. She made you want to hurt Yeji and Dreamcatcher and Twice."

Aisha grabbed Lia as the girl formerly holding her fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands.

"Good job, bitches." All of them turned in shock to see Hyuna at the door. "I didn't realize it would take so long for you to break free of my influence. Looks like you must be punished."

Dara wasn't prepared at all when Hyuna's tendrils of red, smoky magic closed around her body, lifting her into the air; Chungha's eyes widened as she saw her shriek at the top of her lungs. A pale yellow light started emanating from her body and in a few minutes, she collapsed on the floor, crying as it disappeared. As Chungha lightly set Juri down at her side, she turned Dara over.

"S-she took my magic..." she whimpered. "Except my ability to heal surface and shallow internal wounds... I can't even shift for my kittens anymore... I can't defend myself with it anymore..."

"I'm so sorry, but you do need to atone for yourself," Chungha admitted. "Come back with us and be with your kittens. We will defeat Hyuna, but for now..." Sihyeon knocked Hyuna out with a well-placed punch. "We can't kill her now since her magic heals her immediately when she's knocked out. Let's go!"

Mustering up all of her strength, Dara grabbed Lia and rejoined the girls outside.

"Get Yeji and Minzy," she ordered Chaerin and Remi. "And protect them. I want them to not be hurt by anyone but me." At Remi's surprised look, she sighed. "They like it sometimes. Just trust me for once and protect them."

"Trust her," Chungha agreed.

No questions were asked yet as the injured were rushed out of the compound.

"Go, go, go!" Haeyoon roared as she led them through the forest. "Let's get them back now!"

As soon as they arrived back at the base, chaos reigned once again. CLC struggled to get Lia and the Rocket Punch girls into the medical quarters and Jiwon rushed straight back to May. Yeonhee was released from her cell to check on her members and then was bundled into a room. Dara was the most frantic besides CLC and once she was found a large room, she pushed Yeji and Minzy in and closed the door behind them.

"Oh god... Ryujin..." Yeji was shaking. "Mommy, she's here and she'll hurt me..."

"Chungha can heal her spine once she recovers her energy," Dara replied. "But... what will you tell her about me?"

"I don't know! Hyuna was a monster, but I've grown to love you more than anything! And I still love Ryujin too..."

"I'm sorry, my loves." Dara cupped Yeji and Minzy's faces. "I've been so hurtful to you. But I promise I will make things right again."

She settled them into the queen-sized bed to nap and stepped out of the room, almost instantaneously coming face-to-face with Haeyoon.

"Tomorrow, sit me down with a recording tape," she proclaimed, holding her head a little higher, "I'm going to tell you everything." Her eyes narrowed. "Starting from the beginning."

Chapter Text

A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead as she looked into Haeyoon's eyes. The room was dark and dim, lit only with a faint blue light that illuminated the small recording device on the table. The oldest Cherry Bullet member trained the light on Dara, standing straight. "Let's begin from the origin. When did this all start?"

"Oh, it started long before the Dreamcatcher 'deaths,'" Dara confessed. "I met Hyuna in person when I was first debuting with 2ne1. I don't know why, but she apparently thought of me as a likely candidate to carry her magic and join her side. Back then, CLC was already under her power as well and when Hyuna put me under her influence, they then broke free; she stole all of their magic after that. Because of the trauma, they've buried it deep down. She then gave me magic, but when I refused to be a monster like she is, she pulled me under her influence and forced me to rape Minzy in revenge for her not joining her either. She also made CL fall for me to hurt Minzy more and pulled her in as well."

"Are any of the other girls on Hyuna's side influenced as well?" Haeyoon questioned.

"No. Bom, Blackpink, and Sistar, except for Hyolyn, are loyal due to their own evil. CL was not and when she escaped Hyuna, Bom killed her."

"What about Minzy? Why wasn't she killed?"

"I saw before Hyuna that she was breaking free, so I made her my kitten. Hyuna had already put Chungha under her power by then and captured Suzy and Taeyeon; she'd made Chungha take over most of the torture work."

"So why did she decide to imprison Dreamcatcher? And in an alternate dimension, no less."

"That was just to test her own power. Hyoyeon is on her side too, loyal, so Hyuna had her pretend to kill Dreamcatcher so no one would question their disappearance. For BTS, Iz*one, and Twice to end up in there only temporarily, she's been very reckless. She's also just a sadist, which is one way she's so powerful and tortures Dreamcatcher and the others like she does."

"How did it take so long for her to realize you were breaking away?"

"Her magic can't sense when the influence is going away and I kept it hidden. But when Hyuna asked me to take over torturing Dreamcatcher another time and I absentmindedly refused, she refocused her influence and yanked me back in. That was when she forced me to rape Yeji as a punishment."

"What motivated you to break free again then?" Haeyoon's eyes bore into Dara's.

"By then, I had fallen in love with her as well as Minzy. Hyuna knew that and that is why she took my magic before I could escape."

"Why would she only leave a limited healing power?"

"She wants to challenge us to heal as fast as she and the others can maim us. I told you, she's a sadist. But I will do all I can to undo their pain."

"Alright." Haeyoon became visibly more relaxed in her presence. "If you are truly on our side now, can I ask you about the magic's origin?"

"Of course."

"Wait a minute." She snapped her fingers. "You never mentioned Mirae in your story. How did she come to gain her magic?"

"Elkie gave her some healing power in case of emergencies, as she seems to be a leading officer here."

"Okay..." Haeyoon swallowed, looking unsure how to transition to the conversation that she wanted. "I guess... how did Hyuna get her magic in the first place? I mean... if you know."

"I overheard her talking about it to Dasom, so I stored it in my brain." Dara squared her shoulders. "Deep in Hyuna's compound, in a room so hidden only someone who knows the place inside out, like me, could find it, lies a portal leading to a dimension of Hell. Inside that dimension is a dark crystal, which can give its power to one person. If you already harbored malicious thought, the crystal could also tap into those and make them grow, increasing the evil powers within you. Since Hyuna was already ambitious, she found that once-abandoned compound and searched for so long until she discovered the crystal and harnessed its power."

"What kind of power does it give?" Haeyoon inquired.

"It gives almost all kind of dark powers except for reading minds, making people invisible, and others I can't think of. However, when it kills, the person who killed can set a timer in which anyone with the power can bring them back, like they torture Dreamcatcher now. It also has a strong healing component, which can be easily reduced like the other powers, and an ability to make things materialize. Only the original holder of the magic can transfer some to others or use it themselves and since the creator apparently perished after making the crystal, Hyuna is the official holder. She can give or take the power, but even though she didn't get the chance to take Chungha's before she escaped, Hyuna is much more powerful. Even thought she influenced Chungha, she suspected her loyalty from the beginning."

"Did she instinctively take some of her power?"

"Yes. And I suspect that during the rescue, Rosé and Jisoo made an agreement to let Hyuna drain their magic while fighting, in order to give the impression that they're weak. That's why they died and why some others on their side, like Got7, were missing from the battle. We have to take down Hyuna in order to have a chance of taking down the rest. If the crystal is destroyed, the magic is destroyed. Hyuna could kill half of South Korea if she didn't like to play with us. We have to stop her."

"So the crystal is her whole source of power?"

"Yes. To get a chance, we have to destroy the crystal. Its not huge, but it is guarded by many dangerous and deadly obstacles, put there by the creator and by Hyuna herself. We would also have to distract her in the compound with a battle while some of us go destroy it. Once it is demolished, the remains will release hellish killing radiation after a minute, meaning the idols there will have to get out quick. When it is gone, the magic will be gone as well and Hyuna and her accomplices can be killed like normal humans. Dreamcatcher and Twice, if they are not back yet, will also be instantly returned here, as well as Hyewon. Some of their wounds may reappear, however."

"Is there a special way the crystal must be destroyed?"

Dara nodded. "But it can only be eradicated by its own magic, meaning that Chungha must do it. She must take it out and then all the power will be gone. Hyuna has to be in close proximity to Chungha to take her power, so we need to keep them away from each other."

"We can plan for that, but will this have a debilitating effect on her health?"

"As far as I know, yes. It won't kill her, but it will drain her body of energy for a while and likely send her into a wave of depression. I'd do it in her stead if I could, but... well, I don't have any magic left."

"Before I let you go, I just have a few more... somewhat miscellaneous questions." Haeyoon sighed. "First off, why did she capture Rocket Punch and send Bora to rape Wonyoung? Why did she even rape them and Taeyeon and Suzy too?'

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Dara huffed. "I don't know the answer anyway, except that she's a complete maniac. From what I do know, she wants to take vengeance on South Korea and the world for neglecting her when she wasn't an idol, though it's incredibly irrational. She sought out the crystal from an early age and just became pure evil."

"Yikes." She winced. "Um... I only really have one more main question. Who didn't we see there that we need to watch out for next time?"

"Yeah. Remember how I mentioned Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon before?"

"Uh-huh."

"Hyoyeon, Yuri, and Sooyoung from that group are on that side. Sunny is on the good side. She's with Jessica, who's been hospitalized for stomach cancer, and the rest of the group is completely off the grid. We also have Got7, all of them, and they're cold-hearted and cruel."

"Oh, poor Jessica!" Haeyoon cried. "Can we visit her soon?"

"Yeah. She's in Seoul National."

"That's the same hospital Kokoro's at."

"What happened to Kokoro?"

"When our base was attacked before, Kokoro was shot. She managed to escape though and Jungkook called us later, telling us she had arrived at the BTS house and they'd taken her to the hospital."

"That's lucky. Did anyone else go there?"

"No, we have a medical ward here; Kokoro originally left out of panic."

"Who else is hurt at the moment? Besides Wonyoung, obviously."

"Um, we have Eunbi, who is recovering from a stab injury, Chaeyeon from a shooting injury, Nako from also getting stabbed, and Yena from losing an eye. That's all from Iz*one. We also have Yeri from Red Velvet, who was pushed down the stairs, E:U, who was blasted with magic and is recovering well, Mia and Onda, who were both shot, Yiren, Lia, May, and our crippled Ryujin, who Chungha can heal when she's able. We also have the Rocket Punch girls except Yeonhee."

"Anyone... dead?"

"Just Linlin."

"I'm so sorry..."

"It will be alright..."

"How are Taeyeon and Suzy?"

"Taeyeon is too terrified to speak to anyone but Seunghee and Suzy physically can't; Hyuna cut out her tongue."

"Can Chungha fix that? She should be able to."

"She will eventually."

"Haeyoon... you know that if the crystal is destroyed, any magic wounds have to be repaired manually. If Hyuna brings back Dreamcatcher and Twice before we can destroy it, she could make too many wounds appear for us to heal."

"Yes, I get it."

"Listen, you need to get Chungha to heal Ryujin and Suzy and then get to full strength, okay? Possibly Yena too. Then we can plan to get her destroying the crystal." Dara stood up. "I'm going to check on my girls again."

Before Haeyoon could say anything more, she was out of the room and running down the hall back to her own new sleeping area.

"Yeji? Minzy?" She cautiously poked her head into the dark room.

"Mommy?" Yeji's head shot up from the bed. "Are you done with Haeyoon?"

"Yes. Are you two alright?"

"M-Minzy unnie doesn't feel good."

"Oh, kitten, really?" Dara walked over to one side of the bed and stroked a hand through Minzy's hair. "Where does it hurt, love?"

"My t-tummy," she whined in response.

"You poor thing." The older lay her other hand on her stomach and rubbed it softly. "Did you eat something bad?"

"I-I don't know."

"Want some water? Should I take you to the medical ward?"

"N-need... b-bathroom..." Minzy gagged.

"Yeji, hang here for a minute." Dara scooped Minzy into her arms and rushed back down the hall to the restroom, setting her down in front of the toilet just as she threw up. "Oh, my poor baby."

Minzy shakily looked up at her, her hair plastered to her head. "M-mommy... h-hurts so bad..."

"How bad is it? CLC has their hands full, so I don't want to need to take you to the medical ward unless I have to."

"I d-don't know, mommy..."

"Is your breathing okay?"

"I f-feel like I'm having an allergic r-reaction..."

"What have you eaten since you were rescued? It's only been a day."

"I ate a sesame seed bagel right before my stomach started hurting..."

"Damn it," Dara cursed. "Hyuna must have made your body more sensitive to your allergies and I've never seen you eat that type of bagel before. Sesame seeds... of course..."

Minzy started coughing and collapsed on the floor.

"Baby!" Her unnie quickly caught her. "Love, what is it?"

"C-can't... breathe..." She went still.

"Minzy? Minzy!" Dara lightly shook her. "M-Minzy..." She felt her neck. "Holy shit, Minzy... no, no, no... you need to breathe..."

The bathroom door suddenly creaked open.

"Help!" Dara cried, tears streaming down her face as she started doing steady compressions on Minzy's chest. "Minzy, come on, come on..."

"What's going on?" Eunbin pushed open the stall door. "Oh my god, Dara, what happened?"

"She ate something she didn't know she was severely allergic to and she went into anaphylactic shock and stopped breathing!"

"Alright, I'm going to get an autoinjector from the medical ward, but get her into the hall and continue CPR!"

Dara nodded and hefted Minzy back into her arms, retreating back into the hall and laying her down as Eunbin left.

"Come on, baby, come on..." Dara shook slightly as she kept up the compressions. "Baby, don't leave me!"

Eunbin was back in only a few seconds and she jammed the autoinjector into Minzy's thigh. In a few minutes of the CPR, she was finally breathing normally again.

"Oh, my baby, my baby, my baby..." She held her body close. "D-don't scare me like that again..."

"Hyuna's going to kill me..." Minzy croaked, her eyes fluttering open slightly. "Sh-she'll never stop..." She went quiet again.

"I-I got her," Dara murmured when Eunbin attempted to take Minzy. "I want to settle her with Yeji and then speak to Haeyoon and Mirae about something."

"What?"

"I want to ask if we can do some training to face a hell realm we'll have to go into."

"How do you know they'll have that knowledge?"

"I just... I have a feeling Haeyoon knows more about it. She didn't seem at all fazed or surprised when I told her..." Dara trailed off. "And neither do you..."

"Hell realm? I've legitimately heard worse. But Haeyoon... she might know more than she's letting on. Want me to watch over Minzy once you get her back in bed?"

"No, Yeji can take care of her. Plus, you are already swamped with your patients. You should go back to them."

"Not until Minzy's settled in."

"Fine." Dara gently carried Minzy back into their room.

By the next morning, everyone knew about what she had said and how to stop Hyuna. The halls were buzzing with discussion about it, but Dara shut them out as she headed to the mess hall for breakfast. Looking around, she took a tray and filled it with food, then sat down next to a dejected and exhausted-looking Ahn Yujin, who sat across from Jiwon.

"How are Wonyoung and May?" she asked nervously.

"May's getting better physically, but she's so mentally scarred," Jiwon sighed. "However... she is doing better than Wonyoung. Wonyoung's sickness is getting much worse and it could potentially atrophy her heart and lungs if it persists."

Yujin trembled, holding onto her tray tightly. "She can't die, not after everything she's been through. I want to make Bora, Soyou, and Dasom suffer, as well as Hyuna! They deserve to suffer, not my Wonyoung! Not my precious baby!"

"Easy there, Yujin-ah." Dara bit her lip as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Want me to come with you to see her?"

"P-please." She stood and picked up her tray. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Both of them were silent as they headed down the hall, slowly approaching Wonyoung's room. Seungyeon greeted them at the door as she looked up from writing on her clipboard. "Hello. Are you here to see Wonyoung?"

"Yes."

"Be careful." Seungyeon handed them both masks and stepped aside to let the two of them go in before shutting the door behind her.

Almost immediately, the scent of disease and body waste permeated the air, nearly overwhelming the trio. Wonyoung's bed itself was surrounded by clear plastic- an isolation cage.

"W-what is this?" Yujin gasped. "I didn't see this last night..."

"It's gotten so bad..." Dara winced.

"B-baby?" Yujin slowly pressed her hands against the plastic. "My sweet baby..."

"Poor girl isn't doing well at all," Seungyeon admitted. "Something made her lose control of her bowels during the night and she was so ashamed about it. The cage... it's because of her illness's progression. She needs to be kept contained. I fear if that magic can't be destroyed... she'll die. And even worse, she'll die suffering."

"Is there a diagnosis for her or is it just the evil magic seeping in deep?"

"It's the magic. The most recent time Bora raped her, she may have had a feeling that we'd hide her away after, so she infused her with the most painful and shameful disease symptoms and effects she could think of."

"W-wabaka!" Wonyoung wailed.

"What is she saying?" Dara tilted her head.

"She hasn't always been speaking clearly lately," Seungyeon explained. "Yujin is the only one who's known what to say to soothe her, but... you're not allowed to go in there unless you're wearing a protective suit."

"I want to go in there," Dara proclaimed immediately.

"But it's still dangerous..."

"Bring me a suit in the hall and I will put it on," she snapped. "I was part of this mess and even though I didn't directly hurt her, I was once forced to ally with the people who did. I will be there for her!"

Somewhat intimidated by her words, Seungyeon fetched the suit right away. Once she had slipped into it, she returned to the room. Yujin stood back from the isolation cage and Dara hurriedly stepped in, closing the door behind her.

Inside, the young teen looked absolutely terrible in her eyes. Her face was pale and full of agony, tubes sprouted from her body like tentacles, and an oxygen tube pushed air into her nose. Incapacitated. Shamed.

Dying.

"Oh, Wonyoung..." Dara brushed a gloved hand over her cheek. "I can't help but feel like this is partly my fault. Or possibly all the way."

"D-Dawa twaita?" Wonyoung whined, her eyelids flickering open.

"No, I'm not a traitor. I was mind-controlled; I'm on your side now."

"W-wabaka! Waaaaahhhhhh!!"

"You didn't deserve this." She let her gaze travel over her body under the sheet. "You are an innocent soul and I am ashamed to have let Hyuna control me to her side for so long."

For a heartbeat, Wonyoung's eyes met hers and Dara could see it all in their depths. The pain as Sistar took her virginity. The terror of being sexually assaulted. The shame of letting herself be molested and raped. The plethora of emotions within herself as her body became more diseased.

"W-why huwt?"

"Honey... I can't tell you."

"M-me sicky? W-will I d-die here?"

"Yes, you're sick..." Dara trailed off.

Wonyoung seemed to become even paler at the loss of words. "P-pakokato! T-tell me!"

"Look, Wonnie-ah, think of it this way. If you end up dying, you'll go to heaven and heaven is a beautiful place, filled with flowers and music. Visualize with me. I picture you in a flowing white dress, free of pain, free of sickness. You're running through a lush green field, laughing happily as dandelion puffs float through the air around you. The wind tickles your neck, writhing around you in a beautiful haze as the grass brushes against your bare feet and ankles, a lovely sea of green mixed with the colors of the blossoms. Vibrant blue, yellow, and purple hues stretch across the horizon, eventually leading to a bright, sparkling waterfall."

"Ish it pawadise? Caponaka?"

"Yes, paradise, although I don't know that other word you said in your return to gibberish. Would you like me to continue painting the picture of you in heaven or am I scaring you?"

"G-go on."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and Dara inhaled deeply. "So you've traveled to the waterfall now. The cool water pools around your feet as you step in, the ripples snugly hugging your legs as the dirt beneath you cushions your heels. It is just the right temperature and as you move in deeper, the waterfall's light spray cascades over your head in a shining wave. Drops of the water linger in your hair, sparkling like diamonds. In that place, you're free, unassailable. One day, your friends will be beside you, playing in the water too."

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw that Wonyoung had closed her eyes again.

And she had never looked more peaceful.

Chapter Text

When Handong's eyes opened, all she could see was rock. It stretched upward around her, a circle of stone. Dami and Chaeyoung lay a few feet from her on the dry earth.

Where are we?

She carefully sat up and looked around a little more, but there was nothing. Nothing but the rocky prison stretching miles above their heads.

"H-Handong..." Chaeyoung rolled onto her stomach weakly. "Where are we?"

"I don't know..." Handong moved over to her, helping her up gently. "We're imprisoned underground, I think. Is Dami okay?"

The two of them knelt down beside Dami's bare body and Chaeyoung winced. "I can't believe they thought it was okay to hurt her like this."

"And you too," Handong added.

"No, they didn't hurt me worse than her. Poor Dami was ganged up on by people who thought they were good."

"How could they?" She gently pulled Dami into her arms. "It's so horrible..."

Dami's eyes shot open and she screamed as loud as she could.

"Whoa, Dami, it's okay!" Chaeyoung gasped. "Unnie, unnie, stop!"

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!!"

"What's wrong, unnie?"

She struggled away from them and scurried to the outer edge of the rock prison, sobbing her eyes out.

"We need to get out of here," Handong hissed. "We have to get her back to JiU."

"But JiU's not here right now," Chaeyoung pointed out. "So we have to calm her down."

"I know, but..." She trailed off, looking past the younger.

"What is it?"

Handong wordlessly gestured behind her and that's when she saw it, a tunnel entrance. It was big enough to fit them all, but Chaeyoung halted. "Do you think we should?"

"We have no other choice."

"Don't we?"

"Maybe. Bu we need to figure out how to convince unnie to come with us and be calm..."

Dami's shrieks drowned out their voices as Got7 appeared at the tunnel entrance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No... oh no..." JiU went pale. "Oh my god... my baby's dead..."

"She's not, unnie, I'm sure." Yoohyeon rubbed her shoulder. "Hyuna's just playing with us again."

"How do we know that?" SuA wailed, sinking to her knees. "We could actually lose them this time..."

"Babe, they could be in a cavern just like before when Wonyoung was injured," Hyewon soothed, wrapping her arms around her waist. "We'll be okay and so will they."

SuA froze in place.

Then Lisa was suddenly standing in front of her and all the girls leapt to their feet. Hyewon tried to pull her away, but Lisa was faster; she snatched her away and slammed her into the ground with a loud thump!

"Ow!" she yelped.

"I've missed hitting someone like this since our captives were rescued." Lisa smirked.

"No! Let her go!" Gahyeon squealed. "What has she done to deserve it?"

"Nothing. I just enjoy it." Lisa's smile grew wider. "Why don't we go 'back in time' a bit, huh?" One of her hands flashed through the air and a large metallic device slowly began to materialize beside her. SuA was struggling the whole time, but as soon as she got away, a dog cage appeared around her, trapping her inside.

"SuA!" Hyewon yelped. Desperately, she tried to run to her girlfriend, but a gargantuan silver prison then surfaced out of the air, encapsulating her and the other girls in it. The bars were thick, making them unable to slip through, and Hyewon wailed, "Noooooo!!!"

Ignoring her cry, Lisa focused on the metallic device she was making, which eventually solidified into a tall tower with a sharp-tipped pyramid at the top. Jihyo immediately went pale and tumbled backward; Momo nearly missed catching her.

"What is that?" Mina tilted her head. "Jihyo, do you know?"

"I-I've read up on medieval weapons and torture devices..." the Twice leader whimpered. "T-that's a Judas cradle..."

"And what's that?"

"L-look..."

All of them turned to look at Lisa, who had yanked SuA out of the cage and stripped her bare.

"I-Is she going to rape her like Chaeyoung and Dami?" JiU asked.

"N-no. She's going to..." Jihyo gulped as Lisa tied SuA's hands behind her back with strong rope and let more ropes materialize as well, tying themselves around her legs and crisscrossing over her back to loop around her and lift her by the torso. One rope even held her head up as well and the bindings all moved, hovering SuA above the metal structure.

"She's going to what?" Sana growled.

The words came out of her mouth in a whisper. "She's going to penetrate her on that thing..."

Hyewon's eyes widened in horror. "Lisa, no! You couldn't be this cruel!"

"You want to try me?" Lisa laughed, sneering at SuA's struggling, naked form.

"Please... don't..." SuA whined, her face white. "H-have mercy... I-I'll do anything..."

"Take it then." She smirked again and roughly lowered the older girl down, the point piercing her vagina.

A scream more terrible than any of them had ever heard before tore from SuA's throat and she threw her head back, the pain emanating from her in a great series of shrieks.

"Stop! STOP!!" Hyewon screeched. "BORA!!"

"H-help!" SuA wept. She attempted to strain against the ropes, but that only pushed her down harder. Blood dripped onto the metal from between her legs and the agony in her eyes was enough to break everyone's heart.

"Let her go! Let her go!" Nayeon shouted as loud as possible. "SuA doesn't deserve this, so stop!! You could kill her!"

The point drove in deeper as SuA's legs were drawn taut and her screams grew more turbulent as she tried to get her hands free.

Lisa cackled. "I wish we'd done this for Dami too!"

A terrifying image of her love being impaled on that metal point shot through JiU's head and she let out a cry. "No! Not my baby!"

Hyewon glared at her, tears shining in her eyes. "At least she's not going through it right now!"

Realizing her mistake, JiU lowered her head in embarrassment. "S-sorry."

"Bora, I'm coming!" Turning her attention back to her tortured lover, Hyewon pressed her body against a thin space in the cage bars, trying to squeeze herself through.

"H-Hyewon, it's tearing me apart inside!" SuA bawled, her thighs wet with blood as more sprayed over the pyramid. "It hurts too much! HELP!!"

Growling, Hyewon sucked in her stomach and pushed her way through the bars, ignoring the immense pressure pain on her body as she moved through. She burst out of the cage and made a beeline for Lisa.

Almost instantly, she knew that was a mistake. As soon as she got close, Lisa lifted the ropes, giving SuA a quick reprieve, and then dropped her back down, impaling her even deeper. SuA howled and tried to squirm off of it.

"Why should I let her go?" Lisa simpered. "She's having so much fun!"

"No, she's not! Let my baby go!"

"Hmm... no."

Hyewon frantically looked around for a way to get up the tower, but there didn't seem to be one that would get her down safely. SuA was close to passing out after what seemed like forever, but Lisa kept reviving her her and infusing more blood back into her body.

Before she knew it, the cages were gone and so was Lisa. All that remained was the Judas cradle and SuA on top of it, drenched in blood and squealing.

"Alright, we're going to knock that thing down, alright?" JiU nodded to the others. "Hyewon, get ready to go to her. We can find Dami, Handong, and Chaeyoung after we do this."

Still shuddering as she moved into a good position, Hyewon swallowed as she saw the rest of the girls ramming into the torture device. Clearly, it hadn't been nailed down because it toppled over after a few tries and SuA tumbled off, the ropes on her body already disappearing.

"Oh, baby, baby, baby..." Hyewon gasped.

SuA curled up into a ball, babbling and crying.

"U-unnie?" Siyeon tentatively dropped to her hands and knees and crawled over to her. "Y-you okie?"

SuA let out another wail, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't touch her," Hyewon murmured. "I'll stay with her, but everyone else needs to stay back."

Each step felt heavy as she made her way over to the bloody girl, wincing as her cries rippled through the air. She carefully knelt beside her, rubbing a hand over her shoulder. "Bora?"

"H-Hyewon... up..." SuA wheezed. "Please..."

"My baby..." Hyewon sat on the ground, gently pulling her into her arms. "Shh, shh, I'm here."

"W-why would she d-do that to me?" she sobbed. "I d-don't even know if I'll w-walk n-normally again..."

"They're monsters, babygirl. Is there any way I can help? Do you want me to do what Handong does for Siyeon?"

"I-I just want you to hold me..."

The tears kept falling and SuA wished she and Hyewon were alone.

So much has happened here and I don't know if I can do this anymore...

All of a sudden, Gahyeon let out an earsplitting howl and collapsed on the dirt, wailing.

"Oh no, not now..." Yoohyeon gasped. "Oh, she's having a panic attack..."

Gahyeon started clawing at her neck and without thinking, Nayeon lunged at her, sitting on her stomach and pinning her wrists above her head. However, that just made the maknae go completely ballistic and she shrieked louder.

"Gahyeon, you're okay, you're okay!" Nayeon sighed. "Please calm down..."

"We're all going to suffer!" she cried. "None of us are safe!"

"Baby, that isn't true! We just have to be alert and brave!" Yoohyeon pushed Nayeon aside and scooped Gahyeon up. "It's okay, it's okay."

"I need SuA unnie!"

"Honey, she feels horrible right now!"

"I want SuA unnieeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

She folded too easily and carefully carried Gahyeon over to SuA and Hyewon.

"G-Gahyeon..." SuA moaned weakly.

"I'm so sorry, unnie," the younger girl gulped. "I'm sorry..."

"I w-want out of this nightmare..."

"We all do. But we will get out of it one day."

"I want out now!!"

"But we can't..." Gahyeon trailed off.

"Let's leave them alone for now, alright?" Yoohyeon soothingly pulled her close. "Why don't you go comfort Siyeon since she doesn't have her love with her right now? I can go to JiU."

"O-okay." Gahyeon stumbled over to Siyeon. "U-unnie?"

She sat up with a scared look in her eyes.

"Unnie, I'm here for you. We all are."

"I-I want Dongie..."

"I know you do, but..."

"I WANT DONGIE!!!" she bawled.

Like a scared bear cub, she dashed away into the woods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what have we found to do so far?" Dara asked Mirae as Ryujin shakily walked into the room. Since Chungha had healed her spine, draining herself again in the process as it was such a bad injury, the young Itzy member had wanted to sit in on every strategy meeting.

"I believe we need the help of another group," Mirae exclaimed, glancing at Haeyoon. "I have found intel that there is one known for their strategy and cunning. We must recruit them."

"Which group?" Ryujin inquired, settling herselg into a chair at the oval-shaped table.

"Kard."

"But how will we recruit them?" Sakura piped in.

"I was thinking we'd use magic. Somin has a disease that has caused her great pain for years, hindering their missions, and I think that if CLC works together with their healing powers, they can destroy it and heal her without causing too much damage to their own health."

"How will we know where to find them?"

"We are going to the hospital tomorrow so that we can see Kokoro and Jessica. Then, we hope that the good side of Girls Generation can help us get to them. Jungkook is also dating Kokoro and since he and BTS may want to help us get Dreamcatcher and Twice out after being stuck in there with them, we can ask for their help as well."

Dara's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Shouldn't we be able to find them with our technology?"

"They have some of their own and they've abandoned the Kard houses," Mirae pointed out. "BTS and Girls' Generation may know where they are since they knew them well."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ryujin threw her hands up.

Mirae, Dara, Haeyoon, and Sakura went above-ground the next day, aiming for Seoul National Hospital. Dara and Haeyoon stayed in the waiting room on watch while Sakura and Mirae headed to Kokoro's room first.

Jungkook looked up from the dark-haired girl's bedside when the pair came in. "Mirae. Sakura. I've been expecting you."

"You have?" Sakura tilted her head.

"Yes. Kokoro told me all that's happened with you, so I expected you wanted to find some allies to help you destroy that crystal."

"How do you know about the crystals?"

"Haeyoon made sure the recording of Dara's interrogation reached us yesterday, so BTS will join you in the base once Kokoro is discharged tomorrow."

"Makes sense."

"And we know you're looking for Kard."

"You do?"

"You want strategists. And Sunny knows where they are. When you recruit them, BTS will be there in your effort to help take Hyuna down... at the least so we can avenge Dami's dignity. But... can I continue to be alone with Kokoro for now?"

"Yes, but... how is she holding up?"

"If I'm being honest, very well physically, but not well mentally. Now please leave."

The pleading look on his face sent them both scurrying out to find Jessica's room. But as soon as they arrived, a soft voice echoed out of it and they froze.

"J-Jessica, please... I know the surgery will work. You'll survive this."

"Sunny, the cancer's spread too much. The surgery won't work if Hyuna's magic burrows any deeper."

"This can't be the end for you! I'll do anything to stop Hyuna and save you!"

"So will you tell us where Kard is?" Mirae stepped into the doorway and Sunny's head whipped around. "Mirae..."

Sakura joined her, sympathetically gazing at Jessica's pale face in the hospital bed. "The cancer's magic-based, right? If you can help us destroy Hyuna, then she can't hurt you again. But to do that, we must find Kard."

"They've regrouped secretly at the now-abandoned Blackpink house, I think," Sunny muttered. "But how will you get them to join you?"

"We have healers who, when working together, can magically cure a disease that Somin's had for years."

"D-do you think they can help Jessica too?"

"If the cancer spreads too far, then no. Maybe after her surgery. When is it?"

"Tonight. Oh, Jessica..." Sunny gulped. "Girls, I want to go find Kard with you. I need to."

"But what about Jessica?" Sakura blinked.

"I have to save my girlfriend! I love her too much!"

Jessica's eyes welled up with tears. "What use is there in loving me when I'm going to die?"

"You won't die!" Sunny growled. "Don't say that!"

"It's true! Hyuna wants me dead, so I will die!"

"She wants us dead too, but we're fine," Mirae pointed out.

"That doesn't mean she won't kill you!" Jessica trembled, drawing her knees up to her chin.

"We won't let her."

Sakura swallowed. "Do you mind telling us how this happened?"

"I really don't think-" Sunny began.

"Let her answer, Soonkyu," Mirae snapped, which instantly shut her up.

"I can tell you," Jessica whispered. "I'll do it."

"Take your time," Sakura reassured. "It's alright."

"I-I was hiking with S-Sunny and with Prisyin's Kyulkyung a-and we ran into Hyuna... I shouted at the two of them to run, but instead, Kyulkyung lunged for her... and once Hyuna had thrown her off, she cursed me with the cancer... magic has to help me if I'm to be completely cured..."

"Y-you went with Kyulkyung?" Mirae visibly winced.

"Y-yeah... do you know where she is now?"

"S-she's dead. We got a report that Rosé had killed her."

"No..." She instantly went pale. "Hyuna swore to get revenge on her for attacking her... oh my god, she did it..."

"S-she did that...?"

Jessica burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Kyulkyung! This is all my fault!"

"No, it's not!" Sakura snapped. "It's all Hyuna! She imprisoned Dreamcatcher! She cursed you with the cancer! She killed Kyulkyung by ordering her murder at Rosé's hands! None of it is you!"

"B-but I I could have defended Kyulkyung before Hyuna cursed me!"

"That wouldn't have changed anything!"

"How do you know?"

"I don't... but there's no point dwelling now. She's gone and you have to get through your surgery if you want to be magically healed and be able to avenge her."

"But th-that will take so long!"

"Why does that matter as long as she's eventually avenged?"

She went quiet, the tears still streaming from her face.

"I think you should go," Sunny told Sakura and Mirae. "I don't want to rile her up anymore..."

Mirae's phone rang and she bit her lip. "One second..."

When she answered, the room went silent once again and then Mirae's jaw dropped. "No..."

Sakura blinked. "What is it?"

She remained stationary, her mouth gaping.

"Mirae!" Sakura groaned. "Tell us what's going on!"

"Slap her," Sunny hissed.

Sakura's hand met Mirae's face and she suddenly screeched at the top of her lungs, "Hyuna has Kard!!"

Chapter Text

"Please don't hurt her!" Jiwoo pleaded, straining against her chains. "Somin doesn't deserve this!"

"Let her go!" BM roared, his hands clenched into fists in his own shackles. "Somin!"

Somin's terror-filled eyes met his a split-second before Hyuna's whip struck her breast again and she shrieked.

"Stop!" J.Seph winced.

"No reason to. I like inflicting pain." Hyuna smirked and roughly kicked Somin's side. "Are you thirsty, sweetie?"

"Y-yes..."

"Too bad." Hyuna knelt down and bit into her neck.

"At least give us water!" Jiwoo groaned. "But stop being so brutal!"

"Nope." She looked down at Somin cruelly. "Keep that toy in you until I come back, understand? I will know if you don't."

As soon as she left the room, slamming the door behind her, Somin burst into a fit of tears, curling up into a ball. "What have we done to deserve this? She's evil and we know strategies to destroy her... and then there's my lung disease..." She coughed.

"Somin, just hang on! You know Haeyoon will come for us!" J.Seph yelled.

"No... I can't..." Somin's lip trembled and she collapsed on the floor. "H-hngh... I can't do this..."

"Somin, don't give up now!" Jiwoo cried.

She didn't move and Jiwoo pushed against her chains harder. But as she shoved her weight into them, Hyuna walked back in with a cup full of clear liquid, her smirk still unmistakable.

"I brought something for you both, girls," she cooed, holding the cup to Jiwoo's lips. "Drink."

"No!"

"Drink or Somin will get the full dosage."

"D-dosage of what?"

"Or perhaps I should give it all to you?"

"Don't!" BM growled. "I'll take whatever it is."

"Too late." Using her magic, she forced Jiwoo's jaw open and poured the transparent liquid into her mouth, releasing her from her chains immediately after. She fell on her hands and knees, gagging.

"Wha did you do to her?" J.Seph hissed.

Laughing, Hyuna yanked the toy out of Somin and once more left the room and locked it. The chains disappeared from BM and J.Seph and reappeared right where they'd been when they landed on the floor. Within a few seconds, they were at Jiwoo's side.

"Are you feeling okay?" BM asked.

Jiwoo's body shuddered and she crumpled in hs arms. As soon as she opened her mouth... an ear-shattering scream left her throat and tears poured down her face.

"She's in pain!" J.Seph gasped. "Hyuna must have given her some type of poison!"

"J-Jiwoo!" Somin weakly crawled toward her as she heard the screaming. "Are you alright?"

"Hyuna poisoned her. It won't kill, but the pain..."

Jiwoo spasmed, another cry escaping her, and she clung to BM. "M-make it stop! Make it stop!" Her wails grew more and more unintelligible until there was nothing but a baby's shrieks. She looked at BM with puppy eyes before continuing to bawl her lungs out.

"Oh, sweetheart..." J.Seph bit his lip and stroked her hair. "She's a baby... that's what the poison did..."

"Appa! Appa!!" Jiwoo howled. "Where appa?"

"He's not here..."

"But your new eomma is," Hyuna cooed as the door opened another time. Once she'd locked it behind her, she walked over to Jiwoo. "Eomma's here."

"N-no!" Somin made a grab for the younger girl, but she was too slow to stop Hyuna from picking her up.

"Eomma?" Jiwoo whimpered.

"Yes, eomma's here." She stroked her cheek softly. "Want to go down for a nap in Auntie Soyou's room?"

"Y-yes pwease."

BM stared at her, dumbfounded, as Hyuna left with her and locked the rest of them in. "The poison... I can't believe it turned her into a baby..."

Soyou looked up from her desk as Hyuna walked into her room. "What's up?"

"I think I found us a new babygirl and since she a baby state now thanks to my magic-touched poison..." She smiled. "...she'll be too scared to escape."

"Do you want me to take her?"

"Yeah. Give her a crib and get her comfortable. The rest of Kard won't try to escape while they know we have her."

Jiwoo babbled as Soyou created a large crib with her magic and took her from Hyuna, humming. "Hey, sweetheart. Wanna go night night?"

"Where eomma going?"

"She's not your eomma for real, but you do belong to us, understand? So call me mommy and call her mommy too."

"O-okay... mommy. B-but my oppas... and unnie... who were with me..."

"They belong to us too. Now, go night night." She placed her in the crib. "If baby is good, baby will get a good claiming tomorrow by her mommies in front of her oppas and unnies."

"Okay, mommy."

Soyou slipped a pacifier into Jiwoo's mouth and left the room with Hyuna. The second they were out the door, she smirked and whispered. "I'm not going soft on her. But Jiwoo is ours now and as long as we have her and the rest of Kard, Haeyoon can't touch us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Yugyeom smiled as he stepped into the chamber. "I see you've recovered somewhat, Chaeyoung. But this one..." He gestured to Dami and licked his lips. "Maybe we should give her a fresh breaking."

"No!" Chaeyoung snapped, her eyes narrowing. "She's suffered enough. We all have. Leave us alone!"

"I think not," Jackson replied coldly. "We deserve some fun."

Dami squeaked and tried to shrink away from them, but Mark lunged for her, pinning her arms to the ground.

"No! Let her be!" Handong roared. "Take me!"

"Nah, it's no fun when you volunteer. I like it when she doesn't want it."

"Stop! She's already been raped once!!"

"Who said we were going to rape her?" JB raised an eyebrow.

In one swift motion, Bambam lifted Dami into the air and slammed her against the rocky wall. She let out a shriek of pain, her hands feebly clawing at him.

"Aw, wittle Dami thinks she can fight us!" Youngjae simpered mockingly. "That tiny cutie thinks she's not the pathetic weakling she is!"

"She's not a weakling!" Chaeyoung retorted.

"Oh, she totally is."

"Hey, hyungs, I have to use the bathroom," Yugyeom sighed.

"Good luck with that; there isn't one around here," Handong spat.

"Yes, there is." JB sneered and pointed to Dami.

"You guys are disgusting!" Chaeyoung screeched, while Handong's jaw merely hung open in shock. "Haven't you monsters done enough to her? Do you really have to do this?"

"It's fun though." Bambam forced Dami to her knees, his arms holding her shoulders in an iron grip.

"Leave her alone!" Handong raced toward them, but she and Chaeyoung were instantly smashed back into the wall by a wave of Jackson's magic. Yugyeom pulled his pants down and both girls squeezed their eyes shut.

Dami... I'm so sorry. Please, let us get her back to JiU soon, Handong prayed.

Dami's screams and a series of vulgar noises cut into her thoughts and she gulped.

Poor Dami... oh, poor Dami...

The disgusting torture didn't last very long, but the damage was still done. Dami curled up into a ball the second she was released, whimpering as she attempting to wipe some of the urine off her body. Got7 disappeared, which released Handong and Chaeyoung to the ground, and they looked at each other in shock.

"Why would they do this?" Chaeyoung muttered. "Should one of us hold her now?"

"No... she clearly doesn't want to be touched."

"Then what can we do?"

"I don't know..."

A throbbing sensation shot through all their heads and all of a sudden, they were standing in the forest again, with Dami still curled up on the earth. The cries of Dreamcatcher and Twice echoed through the trees, Siyeon's the loudest, and Handong and Chaeyoung exchanged a panicked look.

Without another word, Handong grabbed Dami and took off toward the screams, Chaeyoung on her heels.

They didn't notice the root until they tripped and Dami rolled to a stop at JiU's feet.

A scream even louder than Siyeon's ripped from the leader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How is Wonyoung now, Seunghee?" Suzy questioned, a heavy lisp coating her voice. Ever since Chungha had regrown her tongue once she could, she seemed to have made it her mission to know all about the others' recovery, her face constantly a mask of worry.

"Her condition has worsened and she often feels ashamed because of the incontinence the disease has caused in her body. Based on how the pain in her chest has increased and the infection in her legs worsening... every day is a gamble. I hate to say this... but she might not make it."

"Hyuna!" E:U crossed her arms. "She had to make them do this to us! Ugh, when is Chaeryeong coming? I need to see her and tell her something!"

"Soon," Seungyeon promised.

"Hyuna is so cruel!" Suzy hissed. "There is nothing that could justify this savagery!"

"No kidding," Chaeryeong scoffed as she came in the medical ward with Joy at her side. Her eyes widened the second she saw E:U and she ran over to her, pulling the Everglow leader into her arms. "Oh, baby, you're alive! Did the surgery work?"

"Y-yes!" E:U's eyes brimmed with tears as she buried her face in Chaeryeong's chest. "B-but your sister... you should go to her..."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine! But I heard Seunghee say that Chaeyeon's been in constant pain, especially since she's had an infection spreading internally through her chest. It's being contained by medication, but her mental state... it's really bad."

"But..." Chaeryeong scanned the beds of the medical ward. "She's not here!"

"She requested to be moved to a private room," Seunghee put in. "I can take you to her."

Chaeryeon glanced back at Joy, moving aside to let her get to Yeri, and waiting until E:U nodded before giving a heavy sigh. "Fine."

She was silent the whole walk until she could hear Sakura's voice coming frantically from inside an open door.

"Chaeyeon, baby, I promise you will survive this. You just have to believe. I can't bear having a funeral for you as well as Linlin tomorrow."

"This is my fault! What happened to Wonyoung happened because I couldn't protect her! I deserve to die for letting her suffer!"

Chaeryeon froze in place and looked at Seunghee, her eyes stretched wide with horror. "Did you know she was becoming suicidal?" she whispered.

"Yes... but it's not just about Wonyoung..."

She didn't wait for her to finish and burst into the room. "Sakura unnie, out now, please. I need to talk to my sister alone."

Sakura obligingly stood up and Chaeyeon whimpered as she left, hiding her face as best as she could.

"Unnie... why?" Chaeryeong's voice cracked as she spoke.

"I can't do this... always living in guilt of what I've done..."

"It isn't your fault! They targeted Wonyoung because they're sick creeps!"

"It is my fault! I should have known!" Chaeyeon burst into a fit of tears and her younger sister gently climbed into the bed and hugged her.

"Shh, shh, unnie, it's okay," she cooed, kissing Chaeyeon's cheek as her body was wracked with heavy sobs. "She will heal."

"How is she supposed to recover from this?"

"She will. I know she will. She is a very strong girl. But that can't be the only reason you want to kill yourself."

"It's not..."

"Tell me, unnie. I'm your sister. You can trust me."

Chaeyeon only cried harder and Chaeryeong sympathetically patted her back. "Breathe, please breathe."

"C-Chaeryeong-ah... this s-started w-when I p-participated in P-Produce 48..."

"And what happened during that time?"

"One o-of the producers w-wanted to m-molest me... to mark my body... h-he went even farther as to a-anally r-rape me... a-almost everyday..."

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"I-I was too scared... b-but even when Iz*one was put together... he c-came after me... I tried to k-kill myself so many times before the music calmed me down... a-and when this happened to Wonyoung... it all came flooding back after I'd blocked out the trauma..."

"Why... why didn't you tell me?"

"He threatened to come after you too..." Chaeyeon trembled.

"Unnie, you can't kill yourself!" Chaeryeong exclaimed. "I need you! Sakura needs you! Iz*one needs you! We all need you!"

"N-no one needs me! Y-you have Chaemin and Sakura can just find another girlfriend, and Iz*one can easily replace me with a new member!"

"You're not just replaceable like that! And you really think no one needs you? You're a role model for Chaemin, for all your members, for your fans, for me!"

"This is the first time you've mentioned fans in forever, so just stop! I'm already depressed enough..."

Chaeryeong's face softened. "I'm so sorry... b-but I don't want you to leave me! Y-you're my sister... one of my closest friends..."

"Y-you don't know what this is like..." Chaeyeon wept, curling up in her sibling's arms. "I d-don't even know if I-I earned my p-place in Iz*one... o-or if one of the producer doctored the r-results because I was t-too scared to struggle w-when he raped m-me..."

"Chaeyeon, no! You got here because of your hard work and talent! You've earned this!!"

"He took everything from me!" she wailed, so loudly that Seulgi and Remi both poked their heads in in shock. "H-he even shoved a dildo into my ass and made me keep it there during a performance!"

"Oh, you poor thing!" Seulgi cooed as she stepped into the room. "Why would he do that to you?"

"He was a producer of Produce 48! I don't know why he did it!" Chaeyeon panicked and threw herself off the bed, dislodging the IV in her arm.

"Unnie, you were just shot!" Chaeryeong cried, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Come back here!"

She, Remi, Seunghee, and Seulgi advanced at the same time and Chaeyeon crawled into the corner, her expression stricken with fear. "No, no, no... p-please don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!!!"

Sakura let out a roar as she entered the room. "Stop, all of you! Ganging up on her won't help! I've been listening and she'll get flashbacks if you do that!"

"She's right; Chaeyeon was raped and if she's scared of reliving it, we should pull back!" Chaeryeong called.

"Please... n-no more..." Chaeyeon begged, tears sleeping into her hospital gown as she pulled her knees up to her chin. "No more, no more, no more..."

"We're not going to hurt you," Sakura breathed. "I promise."

"Give her some room." Chaeryeong spread her arms out and they all slowly backed away.

"She's straining the bullet wounds." Seunghee flinched slightly. "She's going to hurt herself more if she doesn't move slowly."

"You've been listening, haven't you?!" Chaeryeong shouted. "That's what she wants! She wants to fucking kill herself and hurting herself is on the way!! She needs to stay on suicide watch. I will not let my sister go and I will destroy Hyuna so she has nothing to fear from going to therapy aboveground!!"

"Stop yelling!" Sakura retorted. As soon as she realized she herself was yelling that, she lowered her voice and murmured, "You all are scaring her and she'll only freak out more if we keep exploding at her or in front of her..."

Chaeyeon let out a shriek and crawled between her sister's legs, bolting for the door. "Oh my god, baby, no!!" Sakura took off after her, Chaeryeong, Seulgi, Seunghee, and Remi on her heels.

The terrified girl didn't get far before she lost her coordination and stumbled, squealing. "C-can't go on..." She slammed into the wall and crumpled to the floor.

"Baby!" Sakura knelt at her side, holding her close like a wounded hummingbird. "Baby, please calm down..."

"L-let me go!!" Chaeyeon howled.

"We won't let you die," Chaeryeong gulped. "Please..."

"It's too late for me! I can't be helped anymore!!!"

"At least come with me," she sighed. "Then we'll get you back into bed, okay?"

"F-fine..."

With Sakura carrying Chaeyeon, Chaeryeong led the pair back down the hall, Seunghee following, toward the medical ward. As soon as she burst in, she turned back to hr sister. "Look at them."

"D-don't wanna."

"Please, unnie."

Chaeyeon slowly lifted her head.

"Onda never asked to be shot." Chaeryeong brushed her fingers through her long pink hair. "Just like you. And unlike you, if she's taken off her IV, she could potentially die."

"B-but she wants to be cared for! I don't!"

"S-she doesn't?" Onda croaked.

"Rest, honey," Seunghee told her. "Don't talk."

Chaeryeong continued down the ward. "What about Chungha? She's been draining herself for us for a while, will regrow Yena's eye when she can, and then will destroy Hyuna's crystal. She's fighting for us."

"What's the point in fighting?" Chaeyeon whined.

"For all of us."

"S-still..."

"Alright, then look at Nako." She pointed to the motionless girl on the bed, her body tinier than ever under the pale sheet. The neck brace on her looked huge on her small body and her face was deathly pale.

"I-I don't want to..."

"Please. I'm trying to show you it's worth it to live."

"It's not if I have to see them suffering like this!" Chaeyeon hurriedly covered her eyes. "J-just take me back to my room..."

"Not until you agree to calm down and try for us." Chaeryeong rubbed her thumb over her sister's cheek.

"It's too late for me to try! It's all coming back and I can't live with it anymore!"

"Should we take her to the occupational therapy room?" Seunghee wondered.

"You have one of those?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah, but us in CLC aren't therapists, just doctors, so I don't know how we'd use it. I don't even know why it was built in this base. It isn't exactly occupational therapy anyway, just more of a safe place."

"Then let's take her there now!" Chaeryeong insisted. "Lead the way."

A;right." Seunghee led them out of the medical ward and down an incredibly dark hall to a set of stairs that led down.

"I didn't even know there was a lower level here," Sakura admitted. "I thought it was just this level and the one above us,"

"This one just houses the occupational therapy room and some old bomb bunkers. Chaeyeon needs to be away from most people. The walls are also padded and there's nothing sharp in there. If she tries to hurt herself another way, we'll be there."

Chaeryeong nodded as she followed Seunghee down the stairs with Sakura to a large room. Inside was a ball pit, some hammocks and mats, a soft swing, and a large nightlight that painted glowing yellow starts on the wall as the CLC girl turned it on.

"Where do you want to be first?" Sakura cooed to Chaeyeon, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "This is a safe space and I hope you can open up more easily in here."

Chaeyeon shakily pointed to the ball pit.

"Promise you won't try to smother herself in there? Chaeryeong and I just want you to have a more comfortable place to talk."

Chaeryeong knelt beside the pit. "So, unnie... why do you believe the producer came after you?"

She shrugged, whimpering. "I-I don't know, o-okay? D-don't make me talk about that b-because I d-don't know and it s-scares me!!"

"Alright, alright, stay calm," Sakura admonished. "Why don't you tell us what happened after you joined Iz*one? How did you heal back then?"

Chaeyeon's face whitened and Chaeryeong gently grasped her hand. "It's okay, it's okay. Safe space, remember?"

Chaeyeon's bottom lip trembled. "A-after I joined Iz*one... my mind was soon occupied with our d-dance moves... after I'd tried to kill myself already. My trauma stayed... which is why I can never face anal sex with Sakura... and after Wonyoung got attacked... it just all rammed into my body again like he had! Dance moves can't save me anymore; it's too much now!'

"And you think killing yourself will save you?"

"Y-yes..."

"And do you think that will end your suffering?"

She gave another small nod.

"But what about us? What about our suffering?" Sakura put in. "Even if I did find another girlfriend, which I never want to do, Chaeryeong can't replace you as a sister. And what about Chaemin? Do you really want to see her traumatized by having to go to her older sister's funeral because she took the easy way out?"

"At least I know I'm a coward!!" Chaeyeon bawled, slipping lower beneath the mult-colored balls until only her head was visible.

"We never said that," Chaeryeong sighed. "Sakura, put her in a hammock."

She curled up into a ball as soon as she was placed in it, whining. "I don't deserve anything like this... I'm so weak..."

"No, babygirl. You've just been through a lot." Sakura stroked her hairline. "And I know the strong Chaeyeon is still in there."

"B-but she's not... she's gone..."

"She can't be." Chaeryeong massaged her sister's shoulder worriedly. "Please tell me that's not true!"

No answer came back and Chaeyeon once again dissolved into tears.

"Sakura, you might want to go," Chaeryeong murmured. "Check in with Haeyoon and Mirae to see how things are going in the plan to rescue Kard."

"Fine..." She planted a kiss on Chaeyeon's nose. "Take care of your sister well."

Sakura's heart still pounded in her chest as she returned to the level they had previously been on. She went straight to Haeyoon's meeting place and yelled, "Haeyoon? Mirae? Are you here?"

"Just me," Mirae replied, looking up from the table. "What's up?"

"Any progress on trying to retrieve Kard yet?"

"We managed to hack into one of their less defended cameras and they seem to have Karrd trapped in one of their rooms, locked in. Well... except for Jiwoo."

"What? What did they do to her?"

"From what I could gather before we were blocked out again, Hyuna used some type of magic-based poison to mess with her mind and essentially mentally make her a baby."

"Is there any way to make her herself again until...?"

"Not until we destroy Hyuna's magic. But Sakura..." Her tone grew solemn. "I heard about what happened to Chaeyeon and... I think she should come to Linlin's funeral."

"No..." Sakura's eyes stretched wide. "She's already traumatized enough."

"And Seungyeon overheard from Seunghee that she wanted to kill herself, so I want to dissuade her as much as possible. Unfortunately... she'll have to grieve with us at the funeral to do that."

"Alright..." She bowed her head.

"And Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Go help May in her bottle therapy with Jiwon in an hour."

Then she was gone.

Sakura cried for an hour.

Chapter Text

"My baby!" JiU fell to her knees, slipping her arms under Dami's body and holding her to her chest. "Oh, what have they done to you?"

Dami let out a wail that made Siyeon freeze and turn around. "D-Dami?"

"Baby!" Handong ran over to Siyeon and scooped her up. "Little one, I'm here."

"Mommy!" Siyeon squealed. "You're back!"

"Yes, my love, and I'm alright."

"Dami isn't! She scawed!" She buried her face in Handong's chest. "She sticky and cwying!"

"What is this anyway?" JiU swiped some of the liquid off Dami's forehead and sniffed it, gagging. "Shit, what happened to make her pee end up all over herself?"

"It's not hers," Chaeyoung sighed. "We ran into Got7 where we ended up... and Yugyeom did this."

"Monsters!" JiU cried, stroking her hand through her girlfriend's hair. "My poor baby, she'll never recover from this!"

"You think mine will recover?" Hyewon roared. "My SuA was impaled on a fucking Judas Cradle!" SuA shrieked and buried her face in Hyewon's chest.

Handong winced. "That's cruel."

"That is it!!" Yoohyeon jumped to her feet. "Hyuna, let us out! We have suffered enough and none of us deserve this!"

Hyuna's magic flashed glowing light in their eyes as she appeared in front of them. "Would you really like to go up against Hyoyeon and I?"

"Yes!!"

Hyoyeon materialized beside her, smirking, and Dami wept, "I want out! Let me out!!"

"Little one, why do you think you deserve to get out of here?" Hyoyeon questioned mockingly.

"How is that even a question?!" Jihyo yelled. "You have been nothing but cruel to her!"

"Why would we hurt this cutie?" Hyuna crossed over to Dami and pulled her away from JiU, laughing as she swung her into her arms. "She's so adorable."

"Give me back my baby!!" JiU leapt up and made a grab for her, but Hyuna easily sidestepped her and threw Dami into the air with all of her power.

"What the hell?!" Handong gaped up at the sky as Dami disappeared into the blue. "You used your super strength? The fall will kill her!!"

"So what? I can bring her back."

"You'll put her in more permanent mental pain!!"

"That's what I'm aiming for. So unless you want to be crushed, get out of the way."

The rumble that shook the ground when Dami landed knocked almost all of them off their feet, every bone in her body seeming to shatter at once. She didn't even have enough time to scream before she died.

"DAMI!!" JiU had never cried her name louder.

"Oh, shut up, fearless leader, she'll be fine." Hyuna sent a blast of magic at Dami and her chest started moving again as her wounds turned into scars.

"I wanna go home!" Dami sobbed, rolling onto her side. "T-too much... too much to handle..."

"What happened to your heart?" Nayeon glared at Hyuna. "How could you do this?"

"Why not?"

"Why not?! She's suffering! Look at her!!"

"I already did."

"Look again."

Dami let out a heartbreaking cry and JiU frantically ran to pick her up. "Baby, it's okay, it's okay."

"Mommy, take me away!" she howled.

Handong grimaced. "No... she's in that state now... poor Dami..."

"I knew she was a weakling!" Hyoyeon sneered "We should break her some more."

"Don't!" Mina limped forward and planted herself in front of JiU, growling.

"Even if we are outnumbered, you can't beat us," Hyuna retorted. "We came to bring you food so you're not surviving on tree bark anymore, but now..." She looked wickedly at JiU. "Maybe your little one can starve."

"Please, don't do that!" Yoohyeon exclaimed. "Just give us the food, please!"

Hyoyeon used her magic to put the food in each of their hands, but when she looked at each of them, she grinned and snatched it from Dami.

"Hey!" Dami crawled in front of Mina, panting. "Gimme food!"

"Beg for it, weakling," Hyuna spat.

"No... Dami, don't beg... stand strong..." JiU whispered. "Don't let your mind fall to them..."

"Unnie, if she doesn't beg, she won't get the food." Tzuyu poked her shoulder. "Don't you want her to eat?"

"They've destroyed her... I don't want her to beg to be broken more..."

"Why do I have to beg?" Dami whimpered. "Y-you've broken me enough... I know I'm n-nothing but a slut... a worthless baby..."

JiU's jaw dropped.

"Finally, you're admitting it!" Hyoyeon cackled. "You'd be forgotten by JiU if you died because you are worth nothing. Go crawl into a hole like the disgusting whore you are."

"My baby is not a whore!" JiU shouted, her hands balling up into fists. "How could you say that?"

"She admitted to it," Hyuna pointed out.

"Dami, baby, you're not a whore." She slowly beckoned to her. "Come here and I'll share my food."

"Except if you share it, it will poison her." Hyoyeon smiled. "Everyone else eat right now."

"No! P-please give me the food... I-I'll do anything..." Dami sank to the ground and JiU's face whitened even more as she ate, feeling very guilty. She used to be so tough and adorable at the same time... so courageous... but they have broken her. They broke my Dami. Hyuna waited for her and everyone else to eat before she looked at Dami again.

The Dreamcatcher leader felt like her heart was being stabbed, each fresh blow to Dami's mind or body a new wound to her own being. Hyuna tilted Dami's chin upward and JiU's heartbeat nearly stopped when she heard her say, "If you want the food, you are going to have to service us first."

As soon as they realized what she meant, all of Dreamcatcher and Twice gave a collective gasp.

"You can't do that to her!" Tzuyu snapped. "You've already shattered her. Don't dump a gallon of salt into her wounds too!"

"Well, if she's as much of a worthless slut as she says she is, she'll have no trouble with it. In fact..." Hyuna waved a hand toward JiU.

In the next instant, JiU felt like her spirit was shrinking, falling into a small chamber. She crashed onto the floor of it, groaning as she stood up in the smoke that layered over it.

"W-where am I?" She wildly looked around and then saw a moving image on the wall of the cavern. It was Dami and Hyuna and SuA and Tzuyu and Hyoyeon... all of them.

Oh my god... she's mind controlling me!

JiU ran to the edge of the control chamber as Hyuna made her real body walk toward Dami, an evil grin spreading over her face as she squatted and pinched the younger's neck.

"Let me go!" she shouted in her mind control cave, slamming her hands against the dark, thorn wall that encompassed her. "I won't hurt my Dami!"

Her cries went unheard and JiU flipped Dami onto her stomach, Hyuna's power rushing through her.

"Let's see who you can trust now," she rumbled in a guttural voice that wasn't her own. Her fingers skimmed over Dami's bare bottom and the other girl whimpered, her body freezing up.

"No!" Mind-controlled JiU suddenly clutched at her head. "I can't hurt my baby!!"

"So, you know how to resist the control?" Hyuna hissed as JiU broke through the wall of control, fighting through the pain to throw her out. "Well, then, I will take her myself." She shoved JiU to the side and pushed her body onto Dami's, pinning her wrists to the dirt.

"We can't let her do this!" Jeongyeon looked around at her friends. "Come on, we have to stop her!"

"Unnie, she'll murder Dami and won't bring her back if we do that!" Mina protested. "We don't stand a chance against them."

"So we're just supposed to watch her get raped again?" Dahyun wailed, crossing her arms. "She doesn't deserve this!"

"Please don't do it!" JiU pleaded. "I'll do anything!"

Hyoyeon stared her dead in the eye. "Then choose something else to take it. And it can't be yourself."

"What? Why not?"

"Because you can't. Now choose before Hyuna starts plowing into that tiny body of Dami's... or you can let her suck it up and take it."

JiU whimpered, her eyes darting over the rest of the girls, who all looked terrified. They don't want to and I don't blame them. But... my poor Dami...

Then she noticed Momo, who was jabbing a finger at her chest, mouthing something unintelligible before pointing at Dami.

Is... is she volunteering?

Before she could question it further, JiU shouted, "I choose Momo to do it!"

Hyuna smirked and stood up.

"Wait... what?" Momo swallowed. " I-I was trying to tell you to strike Hyuna's chest to distract her so we could get Dami away!"

"You mean... you weren't volunteering?"

"Why would I-" She screamed as Hyuna tackled her to the earth and Jihyo gasped. "L-let go of her!"

"JiU made her choice, Jihyo," Hyuna growled back, stripping Momo and herself bare.

"J-JiU..." Jihyo's eyes met hers, tears forming in them, and JiU's breath hitched in her throat. No... I've forced her on Momo now...

"I-I'm sorry... I thought she'd volunteered... I wasn't thinking straight..."

"S-she's a virgin!" the Twice leader thundered. "Now Hyuna's going to destroy her!"

"J-Jihyo, help!" Momo squeaked, tears rolling down her face as Hyuna's genitals shifted from female to male. "P-please... no..."

"Don't, please!" Jihyo pressed her hands to her heart. "Oh, please..."

Hyuna just laughed and began pushing herself between Momo's legs.

"S-stop!" Momo yelped, squeezing her eyes shut. "I-it's not going to fit!"

"Then I will make it fit."

The scream that echoed from her as the massive organ breached her body was so terrible that even Dami recoiled, burrowing into JiU's arms.

"N-no!" Jihyo covered her mouth. "Hyuna, you're hurting her!"

"Do you really think I care?" Hyuna sneered as blood pooled beneath Momo's thighs. "Mmm, you are so tight. That's it, Hirai, take it! Oh, I'm so glad JiU chose you!"

"It's not her fault!" Chaeyoung yelled. "You're the one who wanted to rape one of us in the first place and JiU was panicking! Now Dami's pregnant and you're going to make Momo bleed out!"

"H-hngh..." Momo was fighting not to scream anymore, but she couldn't do it. She broke down completely as Hyuna kept pushing into her, bawling her lungs out as she bled.

"My god, that looks worse than when Dami was raped by BTS..." Tzuyu gulped. "W-with something that huge... M-Momo unnie can't take it..."

"It's too much!" Momo screeched, clawing at the bloody dirt. "Stop! STOP!!"

"She's not even halfway in," Hyoyeon purred, gripping Momo's chin. "So stop being a baby so Hyuna can fuck you and I can take that tight ass of yours."

"Nooooooooo!!!" Her legs kicked weakly, but neither of them were fazed.

"Don't do this to her!" Jihyo took a step towards them. "She'll be permanently scarred and crippled!"

Hyuna ignored her and Momo's shrieks reached even higher levels, ripping through the jungle and echoing through their heads. More agony flared through the raven-haired girl as Hyuna reached the halfway point and then thrust her hips with some of her super strength, sheathing herself inside of her.

Momo's upper body collapsed on the ground and Hyuna let out a bark.

"Too much p-pain... m-make it stop..." Her eyes closed halfway.

"Oh no, you're not passing out." Hyoyeon shook her shoulder. "You need to feel it. Hyuna, put her on her side." When Hyuna obeyed, she grinned.

"No..." Hyoyeon jammed herself into Momo on the other side and her screams dissolved into nothing, her vocal chords straining to keep weeping.

"Oh, my baby..." Jihyo burst into tears and hugged Tzuyu, who was closest to her. "They're m-mutilating her and I can't do anything about it!"

"All you can do is be there for her when it's over," the maknae said soothingly. "We can't stop them or they'll kill her."

Momo's voice had quieted to pitiful mewls, her chest moving fast. All of a sudden, she went quiet and fainted.

"Thank God..." Jihyo whispered.

"Oh no, you are not doing this." Hyoyeon sent a small blast of magic at her victim and she jolted awake, her face crumpling back into an expression of terrible pain.

"What?" Horror sprang into Jihyo's eyes. "Y-you won't even let her be unconscious? If you have to do this, she has the right to pass out!" Her hands balled up into fists.

"I don't care!" Hyoyeon pounded into Momo's rear harder and she whined feebly, "J-Jihyo... d-don't look at me... th-the shame... ngh..."

""And they're humiliating my baby! Momo, I still love you!" Jihyo knelt and reached for Momo's flailing hand, grasping it hard. "Babe, we're going to get through this, I promise!"

"J-just kill me already..." Momo groaned.

"Why should we when it's so much more fun making you suffer?" Hyoyeon pulled out of her and walked over to her other side, pushing Jihyo away. "Suck it, Hirai."

Momo whimpered. "N-no... it's too big... I can't do it..."

"Now!" She grabbed a fistful of her black hair and slapped her face with her long appendage. "And if you bite, I will tear your breasts apart just as I did with your ass. Now open your mouth."

Defeated, Momo gave in, and Jihyo blanched as she saw her girlfriend's throat expand immensely around the organ, her eyes watering as she was choked. She gagged, desperately trying to pull back, but Hyoyeon wouldn't let her and she had an iron grip on her hair. Hyuna kept pummeling Momo viciously her nails lacerating her back.

"I can't watch this anymore!" Mina hissed in a low voice. "If we can't stop them, we need to draw them away from her before Hyuna gets her pregnant!"

"But we can't let another one of us be raped!" Hyewon spat. "They've already hurt my love and she and Momo and Dami are going to end up in a mental hospital! And for all we know, they could kill themselves there!"

Jihyo screamed. "No! Not my Momoring!"

Momo looked as if she wouldn't be able to breathe anymore and Hyoyeon finally allowed her to pull back as she coughed violently.

"You can have a very short break," she hissed as Hyuna eased Momo off of her. "But we will come back for you."

Sobbing, Momo crumpled to the ground.

"Babe!" As soon as Hyuna and Hyoyeon backed away, Jihyo hurried over, her heart hammering inside her chest as she approached her love."Oh god... oh my god..."

The older Twice girl squeezed her legs together. "D-don't come near me... y-you don't want to see h-how bad they hurt me..."

"Sweetheart, you're bleeding really badly."

"I-I don't care..." Momo trembled fiercely.

"Love, come here." Jihyo opened her arms. "I won't judge you, no matter what."

"N-no... no, no, no..." Her eyes were wide and glassy as she curled in on herself. "The p-pain... too much..."

"Please let me see," the leader cooed.

"Noooooo!!" She jerked away.

"Why not, love?"

"H-hurts too much..."

"I can try to make the pain stop, but you have to be still. Please trust me, Momoring. I've never led you astray before."

Momo stuck her thumb in her mouth, babbling as Jihyo carefully parted her legs.

"Holy shit..." Dahyun gagged and Sana turned her away from the group as she threw up. Dami wailed even louder and Jihyo forced herself to stay calm. Between Momo's legs were the most horrible wounds she had ever seen. The appendages had torn her apart, ripping into her vagina, cervix, and rectum so badly that she was leaking blood everywhere. Her skin was paling fast and she was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Why in the world would you destroy her like this...?" Yoohyeon whispered. "You're more than monsters... you're Satan's spawn..."

"Kill me, kill me, kill me..." Momo burbled, shutting her legs once more. "Don't let me feel more of this pain..."

"Unnie, no!" Chaeyoung gasped. "I-I was raped too and I'm trying to get through it... you can too..."

"Th-they've torn me to pieces... I can't do it..." She closed her eyes, her breathing growing slower.

"Momo, no!!" Jihyo pulled her close. "Momo, you can't leave me! I wanted to come back for you and you should do the same now. Come on, Momo, wake up!"

"Momo..." Jeongyeon stepped over, shuddering. "D-don't leave us... Hyuna, don't do this to us..."

"Jeongyeon, honey, come here." Nayeon gently led her away. "It was hard enough for Jihyo to be able to touch her and she'll need her space if she wakes up."

"Why...?" she whined. "Why did they do this?"

"We're all asking that..."

"Alright, time's up." Hyoyeon smiled. "Come here, Momo."

"Hyoyeon, she can't move and she's unconscious and dying!" Jihyo roared.

With a flick of Hyuna's hand, Momo's eyes opened and the bleeding stopped, although her hips and spine remained disfigured. "Now she can come."

"No... don't make me..." Momo begged, covering her breasts with her bruised hands. "I-I can't take anymore... please..."

"Bullshit. You know your place, so come now."

"M-my place?"

"Your place as our conquest."

"No..." Her face paled even more. "I'm not..."

Hyuna grinned wickedly "Don't even try. Now uncover your body, you worthless baby."

Momo's hands moved to her sides as she knelt on the dirt.

Hyoyeon gazed at all of them. "Let me take her whenever I wish and maybe... just maybe... some of you can go back."

"B-back?" Chaeyoung blinked. "But we can't let you rape Momo more..."

"Too bad. It's not like you have a choice."

In a flash, all of the Twice members except for Momo and Jihyo disappeared.

Chapter Text

"Haeyoon, come quick!" Mirae gasped, her eyes glued to the screen in front of her.

"What is it?" Haeyoon sipped at a cup of coffee as she strolled over to her.

"I'm picking up the signals of Twice! 7 of the members are back and they're running, closing fast on the base!"

"I'll send Yuri, Yuju, Remi, Seulgi, Joy, Minju and Yuna up to them and I'll go with!"

Calling all the girls she'd requested, Haeyoon teleported up to the surface with the special exit, waiting for her friends before exclaiming, "Get ready to catch them. They're likely panicking if they're running and they just returned home."

Tzuyu emerged from the trees, her eyes streaked with tears, and Joy lunged for her, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"W-what's going on?" the maknae squealed. "J-Joy?"

"Calm down, we're here. We'll explain everything and then let you tell your story as soon as the rest of your group comes."

"B-but Momo... she and Jihyo are still there..."

"We'll get them out, I promise."

"H-Hyuna... she and Hyoyeon raped Momo..."

"We'll rescue them!" Joy sighed as Jeongyeon and Dahyun burst through the trees and were almost immediately enveloped by the arms of Yuna and Seulgi. "But you need to come with us to be safe!"

"Come on!" Haeyoon secured Chaeyoung very carefully. "I'm going to get Chaeyoung to the medical ward for an examination because she's clearly been raped too. Seulgi, bring Jeongyeon along as well because she looks like she's in pain."

Once they had every member, they teleported them back down.

"Come, I'll explain everything." Mirae beckoned to them and Nayeon sniffed as she watched Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon be taken to the medical ward. "W-Will we be able to rescue Momo and Jihyo?"

"Yes, but-"

A shriek suddenly echoed through the halls. "Help! Chaeyeon's stabbing herself!!"

"Chaeyeon? Iz*one is here too?" Mina cried.

"Yes, except for Hyewon, but come with me so I can explain everything. Chaeyeon will be tended to!"

Chaeryeong fell to her knees on the floor of her sister's room as Chaeyeon drove the knife into her own stomach again. "Unnie, stop! I need you!"

Tears shined in Chaeyeon's eyes and her hand shook. "I-I can't live any longer... p-please let me go..."

"No, Chaeyeon!" she yelled as Seunghee and Yeeun appeared at the door. "Please drop it!"

Fast as lightning, Seunghee darted forward and snatched the weapon from her hand, pivoting away with it as Chaeyeon collapsed on the floor.

"Sis!" Chaeryeong lunged forward and held her close. "No..."

Sakura bolted into the room and paled. "Chaeyeon!"

"Alright, everyone out!!" Seunghee roared. "We need to get her stitched up!"

"What's going on?" Yuri pushed her away and gasped. "No way..."

"Just go help Twice!" she hissed. "Most of them are here now and you can't do anything to help Chaeyeon!"

Terrified, she ran away again.

"W-what are they doing to her?" Mia croaked in the medical ward.

Aisha looked up from her place at Onda's side. "Mia unnie, couldn't you hear Chaeryeong? Chaeyeon was hurting herself."

Mia paled and started shaking and E:U reached over to grasp her hand. "Hey, calm down. You know panicking is bad for your healing."

She sat up, whimpering. "Why do I have to stay here? My heart isn't that bad..."

"It sort of is and this won't do you any good."

"Nothing's doing any of us any good! Onda's barely healing and poor Wonyoung..."

"Hey, leave Wonyoung alone," Dara snapped crossly as she walked into the ward. "The sweet girl's fighting day and night for every breath."

"She didn't say anything bad about her!" E:U retorted.

"Sorry, I'm just worried. Most of the Twice members have arrived at the base and they might want to see her."

No one slept well that night, but the next morning, Mina hurried from her bed to Wonyoung's room, panting as she skidded to a stop in front of the person stationed next to the door. Yeeun appeared exhausted and was swaying on her feet, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Y-you need... protective... suit," she groaned, "before... you c-can go in..."

Mina's brow furrowed. "Yeeun, are you hungover or something?"

"No... was up... all night... Wonyoung... is g-getting sicker..."

"I heard you are one of the doctors here, but apparently, you aren't normally this tired. And no offense, but you look like a stick."

"H-haven't eaten or s-slept... for f-four days... the disease... hasn't g-gotten to me until n-now..."

"Get someone else to keep and eye on Wonyoung. You need rest and food and if you are sick, we need to know what it is."

"N-no... I'm fine..."

"Have you even been drinking water?"

"Not m-much..."

"Yeeun, you look like you're about to collapse. Sit down for a second so I can go get one of the other CLC members."

"Don't n-need..." Yeeun fell backwards and passed out.

"Yeeun!" Mina knelt and shook her. "Yeeun! Seunghee, Yujin, Elkie, help!!"

Elkie was the first to appear and she gulped, "What happened to Yeeun?"

"She apparently hasn't been eating or sleeping for a while and she just fainted!" Mina wailed. "She's been so busy taking care of Wonyoung that I don't think she's been taking care of herself!"

She crouched on the floor, gently tapping Yeeun's cheek. "Unnie, wake up! We need to get you back into your room." She pressed a hand to her forehead and winced. "And you have a fever... oh, Yeeun..."

"Want me to help carry her?" Mina asked.

"No, one of us needs to watch Wonyoung. And since I'm assuming you came to visit her, you can do it. But grab a protective suit if you want to go near her. I'll send Eunbin over when Yeeun is in bed."

"Wonyoung's illness is that serious? What did Bora curse her with?"

"Many painful things. Go get the suit; I can manage Yeeun."

Mina's heart was threatening to burst out of her chest as she suited up, hooked an oxygen tank to her suit, and entered the dark room.

In her plastic prison, Wonyoung was sobbing quietly and mumbling to herself. The older girl crept closer, grimacing, but for at least 5 minutes, she couldn't hear anything. Then she suddenly could.

"B-Bowa will never wet me go to heaben," she whined, picking at her sallow skin. "She wan me to huwt fowever."

It took Mina a second to decipher the teen's baby talk, but as soon as she did, her jaw dropped. My god... is that really her life now?

"Honey, you won't die at all."

"Y-you don't know that! And if I do, she'll make me go to hell!"

"No, you won't." Eunbin emerged into the room outside of the cage with her own protective suit on.

"She's right," Mina responded. "By the way... is Yeeun okay?"

She bit her lip. "No..."

"Is her fever getting worse?"

"No... it's much worse. She confessed why she hasn't been sleeping or eating. She... she has rectal cancer."

"What?" Mina's jaw dropped. "My god, that's horrible!"

"Even worse, it seems she's had it for a while. Poor Yeeun was embarrassed about it and tried to keep it at bay with some of her magic, but it's caught up to her. She hasn't been able to keep the pain away while asleep for the past few days. She's in a lot of pain and Elkie had to put her in a soundproof room. She also really has to go to the bathroom, but she's too scared it will hurt."

"Doesn't it take 20 seconds though? Surely she can handle the pain for that long."

"No... because she has to go number two. She's already backed up a lot and she's too scared to go on her own anymore."

"Oh, the poor thing! I should go see her..."

"I have to do an exam on Wonyoung right now anyway, so when you get outside, you can take off the suit and go support Yeeun." She told her the location of the room.

"Th-thank you." Mina exhaled, stroking Wonyoung's hair. "I'll be back, little one."

When she finally got her protective suit off outside, she didn't waste any time before she ran to Yeeun's room, her arms pumping as she ran through the door. Yeeun was lying naked and face-down on her bed, which had clearly been remodeled to resemble a hospital bed, and she was wailing as Elkie talked softly to her.

"Unnie, we have to get this over with or you'll get even more backed up than you are now. Sorn is trying to make it as comfortable as possible for you in there, but you have to do it."

"B-but it's going to hurt!" Yeeun blubbered. "And I can't make the pain go away anymore!"

"And once you get it over with, it won't hurt as much anymore." Mina strode to her side and patted her head.

"M-Mina..." she sniffled. "It's going to hurt too much to go away..."

"Hey, I'll come too," the Twice girl soothed. "I'll be here and I will not judge you one bit. Let's go."

Elkie pulled Yeeun into her arms and she wept loudly as she was brought into the bathroom with Mina following behind. Sorn sat on a small bench near the toilet in front of a small stool.

"I don't wanna do this!" she squealed as Elkie set her on the toilet. "I can't!"

"Yes you can." Sorn squeezed her hand. "Push or I won't let you off the toilet."

"But it's embarrassing..."

"You've got this. Just try."

Yeeun shakily took a deep breath and tensed, but when her body pushed, a terrible scream tore from her throat. "It hurts, it hurts!!"

"You're doing great, love, you're doing great." Sorn kissed her cheek. "I'll snuggle with you after, alright?"

She howled in agony as she kept pushing and when she was done, she crumpled forward into Sorn's arms, bawling loudly. Elkie carefully wiped her and she released another wail, but Sorn gently cradled her in her arms, pecking her lips. "Elkie and Mina, go. I'll take care of her."

"Unnie, it's too much..." Yeeun whimpered when they'd left.

"It's okay, love. You've been taking care of all our patients and neglecting your own health, so let me take care of you now. But... do you know what stage you're in?"

"Um... two?"

"Yeeun, baby..." Sorn cupped her face. "You're getting into stage four. And Chungha's magic can't navigate the complexity of that kind of cancer. If you're not operated on somewhat soon, you will die."

Yeeun's lip quivered and she dissolved into tears.

"Oh, my love..." She swallowed. "You may feel ashamed, but there is nothing to feel ashamed about. There are many others just like you."

"H-how am I not supposed to feel ashamed? I can't even go to the bathroom alone anymore!"

"Honey, I'll be here for you every step of the way, okay?" Sorn flushed the toilet with one hand. "You just have to be strong."

"I-I'll try..." Yeeun snuggled into her chest. "Can we cuddle in bed?"

She had Yeeun wash her hands and smiled. "Of course we can cuddle..."

Sorn broke off as Seungyeon dashed into the restroom, panting. "Sorn, it's all hands on deck! Both Wonyoung and Mia are going into cardiac arrest!"

"I'm coming!"

Yeeun started to cry again as the older girl set her in bed and raced out of the room, Seungyeon on her heels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Momo, Momo, it's okay, sweetheart. I'm here," Jihyo cooed softly.

Handong glared at Hyuna. "We're never letting you take one of us to be your whore! Leave us alone!"

"Well, it's not like you have a choice in the matter." Hyoyeon smirked at Siyeon, licking her lip, and she drew back fearfully.

"That's enough!" JiU hissed, holding Dami protectively. "We can't take this any longer!!"

Hyuna gave a fake pout. "But what if I don't wanna listen to your petty whining about it?"

"J-just leave us alone! And let us go home!"

"Not a chance. Go wallow in your misery on your own." Both Hyuna and Hyoyeon disappeared and Dami shuddered. "W-why are they so m-mean...?"

"I don't know, hun." Jihyo cautiously brought Momo over to her and both Dami and Momo buried their faces in their girlfriends' chests.

"Hey, why don't you cuddle with Dami?" Jihyo murmured. "Momoring, she's been through what you have and maybe even worse."

Momo cast a glance at Dami, who was babbling something unintelligible, and crawled over to her, laying her head on her shoulder. Dami instantly let go of JiU and clung to the other girl, her body shaking violently. "M-Momo unnie..."

Hyewon carried SuA over as well, but SuA wouldn't let go of her and she sighed. "Can this get any worse?"

"Why do they hate us so much?" Siyeon squealed.

Handong chewed on her lip before unintentionally raising her voice. "They hate everyone. But because we're idols too... they have much more fun when they try to break us... and when they succeed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shtop!" Jiwoo yelped as Soyou crushed her to the floor under her weight, pushing in and out of her roughly. "Chu awe huwting me!"

"Let Jiwoo go and quit raping her!" BM roared. "You've made her suffer enough!"

"No." Bora glared at him. "We can take who we want. And I'm going back for Wonyoung eventually." She and Soyou both stood and swept out of the room, leaving Jiwoo laying limply on the floor.

J.Seph ran to her side. "They've been treating her so horribly!" he cried. "They wanted her to be a submissive little, but they're still so mean to her!"

"They'll be going after Wonyoung eventually too!" Somin snapped. "I know Bora's already gone after her twice, but I think she might kidnap her too!"

"She's only a teenager!" Jiwoo wailed as she pushed away her littlespace temporarily. "We have to help her!"

"But how do we get out?" BM blinked. "If we try to escape, we could either be tortured by their magic or fall to our deaths."

"It's a chance we need to take," J.Seph said.

"No plan or nothing?"

"We have to risk it. For Wonyoung and Jiwoo and everyone else who's been hurt by them."

In answer, Somin stuck her nail into the lock and twisted it until the door popped open. But surprisingly, no one was there.

"Run!" she whisper-yelled.

Each of them grew more and more scared as the wove through the compound and no one rose up to stop them. And then they got to the door. The second it was opened, Somin's body flew toward the wall on their right, pinned to it by two spears. One protruded from her stomach and the other pierced awkwardly through her neck.

"SOMIN, NO!!!" Jiwoo shrieked, whirling around. Coming down the stairs was Jennie and Lisa, their hands raised.

BM dashed over to Somin and pulled her off the wall, but left the spears in her for fear of hurting her more when pulling them out.

"Leave... me..." she groaned weakly, blood spurting out of her throat.

"Never!" Jiwoo cried. "We won't..." She suddenly went still, her words becoming babyish mumbles.

"Oh no, she's slipping back into littlespace! I know we got rid of the brainwashing, but this isn't the time, Jiwoo-ah!" J.Seph scooped her up. "Come on before Somin bleeds out!"

Somin choked on a river of blood as the girls were carried out of the building, her body twitching. Jennie and Lisa both fired blasts of white-hot magic at them, but they missed by a hair.

"Somin, stay with us!" BM yelled as he sped up his pace. "Guys, we have to put her down eventually!"

"Soon!" J.Seph called back. "We need to get out of their range first!"

It felt like they were running forever and when BM finally set Somin down, her eyes were becoming glassy and her hands were loosely wrapped around the spear in her neck.

"It clearly didn't hit a major vein since she's still alive, but she doesn't have much time left!" J.Seph gasped as he propped Jiwoo up against a tree. "Should we take the spears out?"

"No!" BM fired back. "Don't! It'll hurt her more and she'll bleed out faster!"

"Somiiiiiiiin!!" Jiwoo shrieked, crawling over to her. "Don't weave us! Pwease!!"

J.Seph applied pressure to the wound on Somin's stomach, but her skin grew paler and paler and her hands fell off of her torso, laying still at her side.

"No... oh, Somin, no..." Jiwoo blanched as she held her hand over Somin's mouth. "Oppas, she's not bweathing!"

"No!" BM looked down. "Oh my god... Somin..."

"She's in a better place now." J.Seph sniffed.

"She's not gone yet." All of them looked up as Seunghee emerged from the trees behind them. "Come with me now and we can save her."

Chapter Text

Seungyeon huffed as she slowly leaned against the wall. Her head was buzzing slightly, but she wouldn't let it keep her down. Though Wonyoung and Mia had been stabilized, all the patients were still badly scarred and hurt and now Somin and Jiwoo had been added to the mix, as well as Yeeun.

"You okay?" Mirae patted her shoulder as she walked up to her.

"Yeah. Honestly, I've been thinking about just talking to all of them."

"The patients?"

"Yeah. I want to hear what they have to say about all of this... well, except for Somin and Jiwoo. I don't want them talking right now, but for the rest of them, I want to gather a better understanding of what they're going through."

"You think they'll really talk?"

"I know they will. They just need the right comforting atmosphere."

Grabbing a pen and a clipboard, Seungyeon headed off to the medical ward. The first patient she came upon was Onda, with Aisha beside her, her diamond engagement ring quivering on her finger as she shook.

"Hey, sweetheart, how's it going?" She carefully sat on her other side.

"It's been so long!" Aisha hissed. "Why is she still here?"

"I was talking to Onda." Seungyeon looked at the pink-haired girl. "And I was wondering... could you tell me what it felt like when you were hurt?"

Onda trembled and ducked her head down.

"Baby, it's okay." Aisha kissed her nose. "Tell unnie what happened to you."

"I-I just remember the terror. W-we were ambushed and D-Dasom created guns w-with her magic. S-she opened fire... Mia was in front of me and she dove to the ground... sustained some wounds first... I couldn't duck in time..."

"We'll get her story too," Seungyeon said. "But go on."

"It h-hurt so much!" Onda wailed, her head snapping back. "Do you know what it feels like to be shot so many times? My body was on fire!! I couldn't move and every breath felt like I was taking a bite out of the sun!"

"Baby, baby, stay calm." Aisha grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stay calm, please."

"It was too much!" she screeched, tears streaming down her face. "I felt paralyzed and I was afraid Aisha would watch me die!"

"Okay, do you have enough from her?" Aisha narrowed her eyes at her. "She's freaking out and I need to calm her now."

"Alright, alright!" Seungyeon scribbled on her clipboard and moved over to the bed across from Onda's. Mia's bed.

"H-hey..." Mia sniffled.

"Hey, honey." Seungyeon smiled. "May I ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"I heard a side from Onda, but I want to know what happened when you were hurt."

Mia's eyes watered. "You mean... when I nearly killed Onda?"

"What?"

"I nearly murdered her!"

"Mia, why do you think that? Dasom shot the two of you."

"She was aiming for me!" she cried. "If I hadn't ducked, Onda wouldn't be dying! I'd be dead and she wouldn't be suffering! I should be in more pain than I am!"

"Look, this is all the fault of Hyuna and her allies. None of it is yours." Seungyeon wiped a bead of sweat off of Mia's forehead. "Please don't think like that. Everyone's forgiven you but yourself."

Mia went quiet and her breath hitched. Shaking her head, Seungyeon stepped over to Eunbi. "Hey."

"H-hey."

"I'm trying to get stories from everyone comfortable with it... about what happened to them from their point of view and how they feel about it."

Eunbi sniffed. "I tried to help Wonyoung and when the knife was thrown at me... nothing else was there but the pain."

"It was my fault she was hurt again!" Yiren piped in from next to her. "I was the one who first saw Bora, but instead of raising the alarm, I tried to fight her! And look at us now!" She whimpered. "I can't even see my arms with all the scars..."

"Girls, this isn't your fault!" Seungyeon sighed in an exasperated tone. "This is all Hyuna and her friends! Can't you see that?"

"That doesn't mean I couldn't have prevented Wonyoung from being raped again!" Yiren screamed, weakly pulling at her IV. "Instead, I let myself get beaten into the floor!"

"Hey, don't pull at that!" Eunbi yelled.

"Don't worry, she's too incapacitated to rip it out," Seungyeon replied. "But Yiren, hun, is your pain easing off?"

"A-a little, but no one wants to come see me... I wanna see Sihyeon..."

"I'll send her in later, okay? You and Eunbi just rest."

Taeyeon was the next patient she came across, but her eyes were closed, so Seungyeon got ready to move on.

"S-Seungyeon?"

"You're awake?" She blinked down at her.

"Yeah... I close my eyes, but I can't sleep... I see Hyuna everywhere..."

"I actually wanted to ask you about what it was like being trapped by her..."

Taeyeon burst into tears.

"Oh, oh, unnie, I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to talk."

"Until she left me in the woods to die, I was abused every day! Suzy, until her tongue was cut out, always seemed to be treated better in my presence just to spite me! When Hyuna and the others raped us together, they'd be gentler to her and I barely ever got a break! Chungha never hurt me, but she didn't even break away until later! I still remember the horrible feeling... H-Hyuna pounding deep into me... Jennie whipping me until I was bloody... Lisa biting my neck... my god, it hurt so bad..." She started chewing on her lip. "There were so many times I stopped breathing, but she made me be alive again just so I'd suffer... I was just another sex slave to them to maim and humiliate! I was saving myself for someone special and I just got everything taken from me!" Taeyeon covered her face and sobbed. "M-maybe I should have died..."

"No, honey, no!" Seungyeon rubbed her shoulder. "You deserve to have a good life and to recover from all the pain Hyuna caused you."

She sniffled. "I belong to them, so what's the point? It's too late for me and I can't bear it! Too much, too much..." In that instant, Seungyeon realized, Taeyeon looked like a fragile porcelain doll, one that would break over and over from her painful memories. Her eyes were filled with such a childlike innocence and she seemed so small there under that white sheet.

"Oh, you poor thing..." Haeyoon murmured as she went to Taeyeon's side. "Honey, we'll get you into therapy when we can, okay?"

"Therapy can't help me! Hyuna shattered my body and my life!" Her heart monitor began to go haywire and she threw her head back, wailing. Seungyeon shoved her clipboard into Haeyoon's hands and grabbed Taeyeon's wrist, rubbing it softly. "Shh, shh, love, do you want me to hold you?"

"Y-yes please."

Cooing, she gently sat on the side of her bed and pulled Taeyeon's body onto her lap, kissing her forehead. "Hey, I'm here, I'm here. Is there anything I can do to calm you?"

Taeyeon shook her head before burying her face in Seungyeon's chest.

"Would you like a nap?"

"C-can't sleep..."

"Should I give you a shot?" She held up a needle filled with sleep medicine.

"P-please..."

Very carefully, Seungyeon stuck the needle into Taeyeon's shoulder and injected the medicine into her. Within a few minutes, she was asleep and calm. The CLC leader extracted herself from the older girl's limp grip and stood up, fetching her clipboard back.

"Poor girl," Haeyoon sighed. "So many raped and abused."

"We have to destroy the crystal as soon as we have enough fighters or they'll all be hurt worse."

"Hey, I'm doing my best to recuperate my magic to the max so I can heal most of them!" Chungha hissed from her own bed. "And right now, I can't just leave my baby to die after I worked so hard to save her!"

"Say what?" Seungyeon's brow furrowed.

She reached out to grasp Suzy's hand beside her "It hurt me so badly to have to hurt her because I've loved her for so damn long, but I had to maintain my cover until the right time or Hyuna would have murdered her and made it so no one could bring her back!"

"H-Hyuna raped me so much..." Suzy whimpered. "So much torture... so much pain... not just Hyuna, but her friends too..."

"And I had to watch it," Chungha groaned. "I had to laugh, to point, to whip her, to pretend I liked what they were doing to her and pretend I liked it too. Until that time I could get her out, they rarely left her alone for more than ten seconds and they didn't need sleep with their magic, so I couldn't even comfort her! They captured Suzy to test my loyalties and unlike what they thought before, my loyalty is always to her. I know I'm needed to heal our others and destroy the crystal, but I also will not let my Suji be hurt again!"

"The best way for you to make sure she's not hurt again is to destroy the crystal," Seungyeon told her firmly. "Once all the magic is gone, including our, Hyuna will just be another human, as will her friends, and we could easily overpower them. But we have to have enough fighters and that requires you to heal everyone who can fight, while excluding Wonyoung, May, Nako... everyone who has much too severe injuries to wait. And Wonyoung can only be physically healed by the crystal's destruction."

"B-but what happens if one of the creatures or someone they set to guard the crystal stops me from destroying it?" Chungha worried. "If I'm killed, I'll doom everyone and I only want to die if destroying it kills me."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," Haeyoon assured. "Now rest up, sweet girls."

Yena was right next to Suzy, an eyepatch over her regrown eye, but she was quiet when Seungyeon stepped over to her. "Hey, are you okay? You're getting released soon, right?"

"I want out," she grumbled crossly. "When's Seunghee coming to let me out? She's my 'designated release doctor.'"

"I'll send Seunghee out right now if you give me a detailed run-down of what happened to your eye."

She snorted. "There's nothing to say. I was stabbed in the eye and I remember nothing but the pain."

"Do you remember who did it?"

"No! But I just know it was someone in Sistar. Now can you let Seunghee in so I can go snuggle with Yuri?"

"I'll get her," Haeyoon offered before rushing off. Deciding to leave the angry Iz*one member alone, she moved on to Chaeyoung nearby.

"S-Seungyeon unnie..." she whined shakily. "I-I h-had an accident..."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I wet the bed..."

"Oh, honey..." Seungyeon bit her lip and set her clipboard down on the edge of the bed before cautiously lifting her off the bed. Sure enough, a yellow stain spread beneath her, matching the one between her legs on her hospital gown. "You poor thing." She made straight for one of the ward's bathrooms and placed Chaeyoung on the sink counter.

"I-I'm sorry..." Chaeyoung pouted. "I h-haven't really had much control of my bladder lately..."

"Because of the rape?"

She nodded. "Y-Yugyeom was the one who hurt me... he w-was so big... a-and I was too small for him..."

Seungyeon carefully took off her gown and underwear. "Tell me more, sweetie. You're safe now."

"I-I couldn't stop him... and I just felt... disgusting," she admitted as the older took some wet wipes and began cleaning her vagina. "H-has it happened to anyone else here too? I know some were captured, but were they raped?"

"Definitely. Taeyeon, Suzy, Lia, Sohee, Yunkyoung, Dahyun of Rocket Punch, Suyun, Juri, Somin, Jiwoo, Wonyoung, May..."

"Wait... May and Wonyoung?" Chaeyoung's eyes stretched wide in horror. "Th-they're just children! That's so cruel! Did... did any of them get pregnant?"

"Wonyoung lost her baby in a miscarriage, but May... Bom put a spell on her before she was killed to make sure that never happened to her, so... she now has Bom's child inside her. If we tried to get her an abortion aboveground, Hyuna would come after her and make her keep it."

"Oh, poor May!"

"Yeah... but I think Wonyoung is worse off. When she was raped by Sistar, their magic inflicted some horrible disease on her body. She can't keep down solid food, she has a chest infection and a very bad fever, she's lost control of her bowels, and she can't breathe without help. She's in an isolation cage and anyone who's planning to enter it has to wear a protective suit."

Chaeyoung went white and Seungyeon softly stroked her cheek with one thumb. "Please don't freak out."

"C-can I see Wonyoung?"

"You need rest. Also... would you want a pull-up or a diaper in case you pee again, hun?"

"U-um... I-I'd like a diaper, please..."

Seungyeon reached into a nearby cabinet and slipped a teddy-bear-patterned diaper onto her. She then left the room for a moment and returned with a fresh gown, which she lightly placed on Chaeyoung's shivering form.

"Everything feel okay?" she asked when she was finished.

"Y-yes." She sniffed. "C-can you get Mina?"

"No need, love." Mina opened the door. "I'm here."

Forcing herself to do so, she moved out of the bathroom after giving Chaeyoung to Mina. Jeongyeon was next, but she only had an accident, so Seungyeon prepared to keep going. But as she passed by, she noticed Jeongyeon's body was shaking violently. At first, it didn't seem too serious, but she soon realized... Jeongyeon was crying.

"Jeongie?" Seungyeon reclaimed her clipboard and tentatively approached her. "Are you alright?"

"N-no..." she whimpered. "S-Sana was mad at me for slowing us d-down after w-we came back... I-I was freaking out and I accidentally ran into a tree. That was w-what made me fall and twist my ankle..."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sure she was just frustrated in the circumstances and overreacted."

"B-but when Nayeon came to visit me, she said Sana still seemed mad!"

"I'll get her in here to see reason later, alright? Is your ankle any better?"

"It still hurts and it's still swollen..."

"That's normal when you hurt your ankle like that. I'll check on it later tonight, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Rest now, love."

Seungyeon's mouth went dry as she saw who was in the next bed. It was sweet, tiny Nako, neck brace huge against her small body and eyes glazed with pain. Yuna was by her side; she rarely left except to use the restroom. At night, she slept at her side. Yuna's own eyes were half-closed as she grasped Nako's pale hand.

"N-Nako?"

Yuna looked up, tears in her eyes. "Seungyeon unnie, is she dying?"

"I don't know. She hasn't been under my care lately and I saw what happened, but I wasn't listening to how..."

"I hurt her!" Yuna snapped.

"Wait, what?"

"I hurt her! I tried to stab my own chest in a suicidal wave of panic, but she stopped me by jumping in front of the knife! Because of me, my sweet baby could die!"

"But she's alive and I'll check her exam chart so I can get a full account of how her body is faring."

"P-pain..." Nako whispered weakly, her anime-like, glassy eyes filling with light tears. "Yuna... it hurts..."

"The girl's been in this neck brace for so long and can barely move! Look at her!" Yuna stood up and for a split second, Seungyeon could have sworn that the Itzy maknae was five years older than she really was and Nako was a tiny hurting child, defenseless and weeping for help. "Stop with the vague doctor talk and just tell me if she's going to die!"

"She won't if we can help it," Seungyeon retorted hotly. "We'll do everything we can."

"You better." Yuna sniffled. "I just... oh, I can't lose her!"

"I understand. But don't give up hope. She's a strong girl and I know she'll make it through."

Seungyeon felt a lump form in her throat as she walked past them. I hope I'm right about that...

Yeri didn't look up when she was approached; she was scribbling furiously at a piece of paper, drawing random squiggles. But as she moved the pencil to one side of the paper, it tumbled to the other side and fell onto the floor. She lay back with a huff, the oxygen tube under her nose wavering with the movement.

"Are you alright, Yeri?"

She grunted. "No. My body hurts and Minju had to leave for a bit."

"Where is the pain exactly?"

"Mostly my upper half. It felt like my neck was nearly snapped when I fell."

"Did you know at the time that it was Yeonhee under Bom's mind control that pushed you?"

"Not at the time. I just remember walking towards the stairs and all of a sudden, I was falling and pain flared up everywhere. It h-hurt..." Her resolve to seem tough shattered and she buried her face in her hands, crying.

"Shit, I'm sorry..." Seungyeon chewed on her lip again and patted the Red Velvet maknae's head. "I'm just trying to get a sense of your attack from your perspective, but if it makes you upset, you can stop. I'm not a therapist, so you don't need to talk."

"I-I wish Minju would be back soon..."

"I'm sure she will. Would you like me to leave you alone?"

Yeri nodded wordlessly and Seungyeon sucked in a breath.

"Don't feel bad," E:U murmured, sitting up in her bed. "I felt guilty myself when I was blasted with magic, but it didn't help me or anyone else to feel bad about 'letting it happen.'"

"But do you still feel bad about it?"

"In a way... no." E:U grinned sheepishly. "Mainly because it brought my soulmate and I together."

"You and Chaeryeong make a perfect pair, don't you?" She laughed.

"We really do."

"Ready to leave soon?"

"Yeah. Elkie said once she and Chaeryeong return, they'll give me a final checkup and release me. Do you need anything else from me?"

"Not right now. I've gotten some of your story, so-"

Seungyeon was cut off when the bed next to E:U's began to jolt fiercely, its occupant shrieking in what appeared to be total agony.

"Sohee! Sohee, what's wrong?" She dashed to her side. "Sohee, are you okay?"

The younger girl convulsed and lashed out aimlessly, nearly smashing into Seungyeon's face. "Stop it! Stop it, please!"

"Sohee!" She grasped her shoulders.

"It's the nightmares again..." Dahyun breathed hoarsely from next to her. "We just started having them recently..."

"I want my mommy!" Sohee shuddered.

"Why did this have to happen?" Yunkyoung cried, throwing her head back. "Why did she have to hurt us?"

"Hyuna raped you really hard, didn't she?" Seungyeon swallowed.

"They raped us all hard!" Dahyun shrieked, clutching her hands to her chest. "When Yunkyoung unnie tried to escape, Hyuna made them take her so hard she bled for so long! I was bleeding too and they abused us every day!"

"Oh, girls..." She sighed. "I truly am sorry..."

"Unnie... I feel... sick..." Juri croaked, reaching into thin air. "T-tummy... owwie..." She gagged.

"She's going to throw up." Seungyeon ran to get the wastebasket and returned just in time, rubbing Juri's back cautiously as she knelt on the side of the bed and threw up, her body heaving. "That's it, let it out."

"J-Juri unnie's been sick for a while," Suyun admitted. "I think she has a fever in addition to all the abuse on her body. Out of all of us, I think she and Sohee had it the worst."

"Owww!!" Juri tumbled backward and Seungyeon gently pulled her close. "Shh, shh, shh, sweet Juri. Why don't you go to sleep?"

"C-can't..."

"E-Elkie unnie says she has some ulcers in her stomach," Dahyun sniffed. "It s-seems bad."

"Ahhhhhhh!!" Juri pushed her face against Seungyeon, sobbing as much as her lungs would allow.

"Shh, you're safe now," she cooed, cupping the other girl's face. "We won't let Hyuna and the others hurt you ever again."

"It hurts... down there," Sohee blubbered quietly. "U-unnie..."

"Want me to come check?"

"N-no! No touch there! No touch there ever!"

"Sweetie, you've already been touched there during examinations when you were sedated."

"W-what? No..." Sohee's lip quivered and Seungyeon winced. "Oh no..." She lay Juri down so she could walk over, but it was already too late. Sohee went ballistic, thrashing in her bed and squealing as loud as possible. Her body spasmed turbulently and her head jerked from side to side.

"Oh god, Sohee, it's okay!" Seungyeon shouted. "Calm down!"

"You touched me there!" she screamed, flailing feebly. "I can't handle it, I can't!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"

"Aisha, get me a pacifier!" she called over to her. The younger obeyed and Seungyeon attempted to stick it in Sohee's mouth, but she turned away, still sobbing her heart out. "No paci! No!"

She looked at Suyun "Do you know if there's anyone she loves that can calm her down?"

"I don't know, but try Yeonhee. Our leader seems to have an unusually great amount of affection for her."

"Aisha, can you get Yeonhee please?" Seungyeon called again.

"No need," she replied. "She's standing right outside the door. Yeonhee's been waiting to come in for a while."

As if saying her name that time summoned her, Yeonhee burst into the room, running straight to Sohee. She was carrying a bouquet of lilacs and when she saw Sohee writhing, she shoved the flowers into a nearby vase and threw herself over her. "Sohee! Sohee, it's me! Please, just look at me! I'm so sorry!" Cupping her cheek, the Rocket Punch leader planted kisses all over her forehead.

"U-unnie?" Sohee's eyes met hers and she clung to her fearfully. "Hurts, hurts!"

"May I see?" Yeonhee asked.

"Th-they touched me there when I was asleep!" she cried.

"They only did it to examine you. Don't you trust me, love?"

Sohee squealed quietly as Yeonhee spread her legs and gulped as she saw the condition of her nether region. "Oh, baby... I should have fought harder to keep you from getting like this... oh my god, I knew you were raped more than the other girls, but I never thought they'd make you suffer this much..."

"Owwie, owwie, owwie!!" she shrieked. "Yeonhee, it hurts too much!"

"Isn't there a way they can stop it?"

"N-no! Too much..."

Yeonhee pecked her lips and stroked her hair. "Sohee, look at me, look at me, okay?"

"Unnie..."

As soon as their eyes met, holding her body close. Sohee kissed back for about two seconds, but then she pulled away, shaking.

"Shh, shh, my love, it's all good. I may not have been hurt as much as you, but I know you'll need time to heal. And I'll be with you every step of the way. Sohee... you know I love you."

She began to cry again and curled up against Yeonhee, looking like a child seeking desperate warmth in winter. "I-I love you too! B-but it hurts so much! It feels worse than death! I-is it possible... for me to...?"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Seungyeon crossed her arms. "Death is never the answer. It only hurts the people you love and who love you the most."

Sohee looked terrified. "B-but I don't wanna hurt Yeonhee unnie!"

"Then live for her. We'll get you into therapy, okay?"

"I-I wanna be alone with her."

"We'll see if we can make that happen later, alright? But I'll leave you alone now."

Pushing herself to leave the ward and casting a sympathetic glance toward Somin and Jiwoo's near-lifeless bodies as she exited, Seungyeon jotted down as many notes as she could on her clipboard, her heart pounding with each one. Those poor girls... and I still have more to go...

The rest of the patients weren't in the medical ward and when Seungyeon moved over to one of the rooms, she swallowed back tears again, fighting to walk over to little May. The young teen was curled up in her bed, pressed against Jiwon's side while sucking on a bottle. Her belly was already starting to grow a little bit and she was sobbing hard.

Jiwon peered up at her, sighing. "Hey. Come for May?"

"Yeah. No change?"

"Bom hurt her way too much. Her hips are permanently crooked now and she has so much trouble going number 2 that I worry she's going to end up pushing her intestine out or even the baby."

"Oh, the poor thing! We'll definitely have to take a look at that." Seungyeon sat on the side of the bed and rubbed May's lower back. "May-May, wanna come to unnie?"

"S-scawed..." she whimpered.

"I promise I won't hurt you. Pinkie promise." She raised her pinkie up.

Very slowly, May linked their pinkies together and inched into her lap.

"Honey, would you please tell me what happened? I want to know from your point of view."

May shook and before anyone could stop her, she bawled at the top of her lungs, "Bom hurt me! I had so many plans for life and now I'm knocked up by a sadist! I should have fought more!"

"Sweetie, Bom had magic and probably used some of it to make herself seem heavier so she could crush you. She had the power, but you were paralyzed by fear. You didn't let her do anything to you. None of it is your fault."

"B-but I feel like it is..." She laid a hand on her slightly bulging stomach and shivered. "T-to feel her driving into me... while I could do nothing but cry... that hurt s-so much... I thought I'd die right there and then... alone..."

"You poor little one." Seungyeon kissed her cheek.

"Why are you asking?" Jiwon tilted her head.

"I'm asking all the patients about their experiences."

"Good luck getting Wonyoung or Lia to talk much. And Yeji... the poor girl's pretty much dependent on Dara even thought she still loves Ryujin."

"I'll talk to them all. And they don't have to talk if they don't want to."

"M-milk? Milk?" May made puppy eyes toward Jiwon.

"Go get your milk," Seungyeon cooed, slipping her back into her girlfriend's arms. "I'll leave you two alone."

She closed the door behind her when she left and peered into the next room. The bed was empty, so she looked at the sign on the door. "This is Lia's room... so where is she?" She opened the door and almost instantly heard wailing. Turning her head, she saw Lia cowering in the corner. The injured girl's eyes stretched wide and she covered her face, squealing.

"My god... you haven't let anyone take care of you, have you?" She grimaced. Lia still had the same malnourished and badly battered body she'd had when she was rescued and the food bowls by her bed were untouched. "Lia, Hyuna may have starved you, but must eat now. You're getting even thinner now and that's not healthy."

"I-I don't care..." Lia rasped, her voice like sandpaper.

"Why not, sweetheart?" Seungyeon moved closer to her and knelt. "You look incredibly underweight and you could really suffer if you keep this up."

"I've s-suffered a lot already... it should k-keep happening..." Lia collapsed on her side, slightly choking on her own saliva. "It's b-burning... ah..."

"Lia, come here." She sat down on the floor and pulled her into her arms. "You have to let us come for you."

"But you'll be touching me there!"

"We can put you under during the examinations."

"No! I don't want you to touch me at all!" Pure terror shined in her eyes.

"Can I at least see?"

Shaking, Lia scrambled back into the corner and squeezed her eyes shut as she opened her legs and the light was turned on.

"Oh, hun..." Seungyeon swallowed back the shocked comments rising in her throat. "You have an infection and it's spreading. You must let me treat it. If you don't, you could die."

"Why does it matter? No one here cares about me anyway."

"I care," a serious voice exclaimed from the doorway. Both Seungyeon and Lia glanced up to see Joy standing there, her hands on her hips.

"See? You have friends who care for you," Seungyeon said. "And I know she's been your friend since you both came to the base."

"No. Not that way. Not just a friend." Joy crouched beside her and took Lia's hands in her own. "Sweetie, I have loved you for so long, but I didn't think I could ever tell you. Lia, I need you. I want... I want to be with you."

Lia gulped. "But then you'll just leave me and..."

Joy pressed a finger to her lips to quiet her. "I have something I want to give you." Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a white, velvet, tiny square box.

"Oh my god..." Seungyeon's jaw dropped. "You... you want..."

"Yes." Joy gazed directly into Lia's eyes as she opened the box, revealing a sparkling sapphire ring. "Lia, will you heal and then marry me? You don't have to say yes... but at least agree to heal."

"J-Joy... oh, Joy..." Lia instantly threw herself into her arms, sobbing.

"Hey, hey, sweet girl, what's wrong?" she cooed. "I'm completely serious. I want you to heal, even if you don't want to marry me. I love you."

"F-fine... I'll try to heal..." She buried her face into her shoulder. "And I'll m-marry you, Joy..."

Seungyeon smiled. "I have to go check on some other patients too, but I'm going to Yeeun next and I'll send Sorn in, okay?"

Joy nodded.

She couldn't stop herself smiling as she left, her heart beating quickly in her chest. Another marriage! That's going to be so sweet. But her smile slowly disappeared when she walked into Yeeun's new room. Oh no...

"Baby, it's okay, it's okay," Sorn murmured gently as she held Yeeun like a small, helpless infant. "You'll be okay. We are very good at this and once it's all over, you'll be cancer-free."

"B-but you said it's dangerous!"

"It is dangerous, but we have no other choice. If we don't do this, you will die."

"Is surgery what you're talking about?" Seungyeon broke in.

Sorn bit her lip. "Yes. I've figured out what she needs. It's an incredibly risky operation that involves essentially removing her anus and rectum, as well as the lower part of her colon. Not only that, but we'll have to open her belly up and remove the other spreading cancer cells. We also have to open a stoma in her body so we can do a colostomy. That's not even all; the cancer has likely damaged other organs that we can't get to when we open her up the first time without her bleeding out, so we'll have to repair those too in another surgery. This will definitely require several surgeries and will be all-hands-on-deck for CLC, so we'll have to get others to be ready for emergency situations with the patients, especially Wonyoung."

"Um, Sorn..." Seungyeon tentatively gestured to Yeeun, who had gone very pale. "Maybe you should have withheld the details until we were out of earshot of this little one. Poor thing..."

"Wait..." Yeeun blinked. "How will I go potty?"

"Sorn will talk to you about it later."

"U-unnies..." Her eyes were wide. "W-will I even survive?"

Sorn hesitated and Yeeun dissolved into a barrage of tears.

"Honey, honey, shhh," Seungyeon purred, sitting on her other side and rubbing her shoulder, "We'll do everything possible to make sure you keep living."

"I-I'm sorry... for hiding it..." she sniffled. "I-I was just scared and embarrassed about it... it's s-so painful down there..."

"Why have you hidden it for so long though?" Seungyeon questioned. "You could have gotten secret treatment so you didn't have to hold it back with magic."

"No... you'd find out eventually," Yeeun whimpered.

"Baby." Sorn cupped her jaw. "You know I will do everything possible to make sure you and I live happily together. So please believe in us. We will not fail this."

"How s-soon can we do this?"

"Starting tomorrow, love, if you want. But we don't have much time to start before it will be too late. The surgeries will happen over a few days and after that, we'll help you learn how to deal with the colostomy bag. You'll have a long time to recover and the colostomy bag will be life, but I'll be there for you every step of the way."

Seungyeon patted Yeeun's head. "We can talk to you some more later. Sorn, Lia's finally ready for treatment, so maybe you should start her off for now. Are you gonna be okay, Yeeun?"

She gave a tiny nod.

"Alright, who's next?" She looked at the names list on the back of her clipboard. "I have Yeji and Minzy, Chaeyeon, and Wonyoung. I guess..." Scanning the hall, her eyes settled on one room. "Chaeyeon's closest, so I'll go to her."

As she expected, she walked into a room of crying. But what made Seungyeon wince was that Chaeyeon no longer had a hospital gown on like she had before. She was naked now and that bared the scars on her chest and stomach from where she'd stabbed herself. Sakura held her delicately, whispering in her ear.

"Is she asleep?" Seungyeon inquired quietly.

"No, but she's barely moved on her own in the past few days. She's gone from actively trying to kill herself to just being depressed in her own mind."

"Poor Chaeyeon. Hey, sweetie?" She tapped Chaeyeon lightly. "Can I ask why you're so depressed? Is it because of when you were shot?"

"Not just that," the younger replied hoarsely, slowly opening her eyes. "I haven't been able to handle this for a while. A few weeks before we came to the base, before some of us were sent to the forest with Dreamcatcher, Iz*one was walking backstage... and some people tried to assault us. They'd paid a group of bodyguards to hold the other members back and then they sexually assaulted me. They didn't get much further than taking my clothes off before they switched targets, but... the guards beat the rest of us hard. Nako and Yuri still have scars of their backs and little Hitomi was almost decapitated. Oh my god, they assaulted Hitomi too! All of them were forcing my members to hurt each other... a-and..." She gulped. "I... I was forced to do it..."

"Forced to do what?"

Chaeyeon hid her face and Sakura shook her head. "They literally forced Chaeyeon to rape Hitomi. One of them pushed Hitomi's legs apart and shoved Chae's hand into her vagina while three of them forced their dicks into her anus."

"Oh no!" Seungyeon gasped. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know. She refused to go to the hospital and will break down if anyone mentions it. But from what I hear, it could be bad. She has makeup on to hide all the bruises."

"I'll definitely talk to her later after I'm done with the patients. But Chaeyeon, is the guilt of that why you're trying to kill yourself?"

"Y-yes..." she whined.

"But it's not your fault. Did they physically hold you and push your hand in even when you struggled?"

"Yes, but then..." She started shaking. "Another held a gun to her head and said if I kept struggling, he'd shoot her... so I had to stop..."

"I'm sorry..."

"When I attacked Dami in the forest, it made me flash back to it. Now... I just wanna die..."

"I need you though, my baby," Sakura sniffed, kissing her cheek. "Don't you want to be with me?"

"You saw what I did to her!"

"And I also knew that it wasn't your fault? Why don't you go to her?"

"I agree," Seungyeon exclaimed. "Talk to Hitomi."

"No! Nooooo!!"

Sakura ignored her cries and went to find Hitomi. Fighting back tears of her own, Seungyeon turned the other way, ambling nervously to the next room.

"Damn it, Yeji, you can't love us all! Come back with me!"

"What the hell is happening here?" Seungyeon roared as she pushed open the door.

Ryujin glared at her from where she was sitting on the bed. Dara was at the other side, holding Minzy and Yeji close as they shivered in their kitten onesies.

"Dara's brainwashed my babygirl!" Ryujin hissed. "She can't be mine and Minzy and Dara's girlfriend! Dara fucking raped her!"

"She was under Hyuna's control and when she broke away from some of it, she saved me!" Yeji wailed. "She and Minzy were there for me and I wanna love you all!"

"Hey, you're scaring her!" Seungyeon growled. "If you're trying to get her to come back to you, you shouldn't tell! Hyuna's traumatized her and Minzy!"

"M-mommy, hold me!" Yeji squealed, burrowing into Dara's chest.

Ryujin's face softened as she saw the terror in her girlfriend's eyes. "Oh, honey..."

"Hey, you girls want milk?" Dara offered. "It may calm you down."

"I can go get them milk from the kitchen," Ryujin suggested.

"No." Seungyeon shook her head. "It's a different kind of milk. Watch."

Dara lay down on the bed and removed shirt and bra. Yeji babbled as she crawled to her side and nuzzled against her, latching her mouth onto the older's right nipple.

"Oh..." Ryujin recoiled. "I don't want to stay if I have to watch them having sex..."

"It's not sex," Dara told her. "Not at all. It's a therapeutic way for them to bond with me and calm down." She stroked Minzy's back as she latched onto her other breast.

Whimpering, Yeji extended her hand toward Ryujin, beckoning her over. Reluctantly, she took it.

"Baby, don't you still love me?" she asked.

Still suckling, Yeji nodded.

"Look, they were very much hurt by Hyuna," Dara sighed. "But I am very willing to let her go if it makes her happy. I care about making my kittens happy more than anything."

Seungyeon tilted her head. "Are either of them badly injured?"

"Yeji bled a bit when Hyuna assaulted her, but her body isn't permanently damaged. Neither is Minzy's."

"Hyuna was mean to me!" Minzy screamed suddenly, jolting upwards. "She tore into me! She shoved two dildos in my ass and made me keep them there for a night! It took two weeks for me to heal from that!"

"And she killed me five times!" Yeji shrieked.

"Oh, you sweeties..." Ryujin gulped. "Dara... I'm sorry. We can share her and I... I'll stop being jealous. Thank you for saving her."

"Of course." Dara grinned. "I'll do anything to help them. Hyuna and the others raped them so often that they were traumatized and I just want them to feel better."

"I know." Ryujin swallowed. "Seungyeon, do you mind? We'll tell you more later."

Silently, Seungyeon exited with clipboard in hand, shutting the door behind her.

"Alright, who's next?" She looked back at her list. "Oh... only one more before I go speak to Hitomi. It's... it's little Wonyoung."

When she got near the room, there wasn't a guard at the door, but Seunghee had installed an extra monitor in there the day before so they could watch her in shifts, as well as the other patients, at night. Slipping on a protective suit, she carefully entered the room, immediately closing the door.

"Who... is... it...?" Wonyoung's body lay unnaturally still in her bed, but her voice was just discernible over the hum of the machines attached to her.

"It's Seungyeon, little Wonnie," she whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"L-like death is better..." she whined. "Th-they killed me... Sistar... they killed my body, my mind..." Her breath hitched in her throat. "It huwts, unnie, it huwts!"

"I know it hurts, little one," Seungyeon sighed as she walked into the isolation cage. "But at this rate, it's not going to stop until we destroy the magic or Sistar themselves. We can help soothe your illness, but, honey..." She trailed off.

Wonyoung began to tremble, tears rolling down her face. "Why can't I be unpwugged?!"

"Unplugged? Dear lord, no!" Seungyeon's jaw dropped. "Sweetheart, you have so much more of your life left to live!"

"What life? Bowa and Sowou and Dasom wuined it!"

"Do you really want to let them win?" Her gloved hand gently brushed over the young girl's bare belly; so many tubes were in her body that she couldn't wear a hospital gown any longer.

"I'm awweady woosing the fight," Wonyoung whimpered. "And I wiw wose fowever... I wiw die..."

"Don't say that! You're too young! It's not your time yet!"

"H-how do you know?"

"I just do."

She sniffled. "W-what is wrong with them? G-growing male parts... it's unnatural for them to be able to shift... a-and Sistar..." Her shoulders shook.Th-they made me suck... a-and... th-they forced make t-to take all three of them i-in my tushy..." Wonyoung burst into a full-on tantrum, throwing her head back and bawling. Her cries weren't very loud due to her throat being hoarse, but she was practically trying to scream her vocal chords out. "Make it stop, make it stop!"

"The only way to make it stop temporarily at the moment is to put you to sleep and you hate seeing needles," Seungyeon admitted.

"N-needle scawy!" she wailed.

"I know it's scary, but don't you want the pain to stop?"

"I want Yujin unnie! I want Yujin unnie!"

"You need to stop crying, little one. It's not good for your recovery."

"B-but I'll never recover!"

"Yes you will. Tell you what..." Seungyeon tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let me put you to sleep and I'll send her to stay with you."

"F-fine..."

She let out a tiny squeak as her arm was pierced with the needle, but the medicine worked fast and Wonyoung fell asleep.

"Good girl. Now to send Yujin here and talk to Hitomi." Seungyeon closed the isolation cage up and left the room, stripping off her protective suit. However, just when she was about to go look for Iz*one's Yujin, she came dashing around the corner, her expression filled with terror.

"Yujin, what's wrong? Wonyoung wants you to be with her while she sleeps and I need to talk to Hitomi..."

"Unnie, Hitomi's destroying her body!" Yujin shouted. "She stole sex toys from Sakura and is just shoving them all into herself! She's going to permanently disable herself; stop her!"

"Oh no, Hitomi..." Seungyeon took a deep breath and bolted for Hitomi's room, throwing the door open in a panic. "Stop!"

Blood streaming from her privates, Hitomi made eye contact with her, her gaze glassy and fearful. She croaked out, "I-I'm sorry..." before collapsing on the floor in a pool of red.

Chapter Text

"What in the actual hell?" Jihyo gasped. "They're not even going to send Momo home? They are monsters!"

Momo groaned. "Jihyo, w-why is this happening? It h-hurts!"

"I know, sweetie. But I don't know what we can do."

"That's it!" JiU held Dami close as she got to her feet. "Hyuna, tell us what we can do to get out of here!"

"Here's the thing, hot stuff." Hyuna crossed her arms. "I don't need to make deals with you all. I can destroy you in any way I wish."

"Fine. I just want to request one tiny thing."

"Yes?"

"Hold Dami. Hold her and look into her eyes. Use your magic to see into her emotions. If nothing we do matters, then do this, please."

"Pfft, Hyoyeon can do it. I'm out of here." Hyuna disappeared and JiU glanced at Hyoyeon expectantly.

"Ugh, fine." She rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Hyewon hissed. "Putting Dami right in her hands? You'll be murdering her!"

"I won't... for a little while," Hyoyeon sighed. "Tell me again what you want me to do with her."

"Feel her emotions."

"Fine." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took the young Dreamcatcher girl into her arms. Dami started to cry, but she looked too afraid to fight back.

All of a sudden, by accident, the emotions surged through Hyoyeon's body, overwhelming her entirely. Rape, murder, torture... oh my god, why have I been so evil as to do this? I'm a monster! Hyoyeon's face fell and she dissolved into tears, pressing Dami against her chest.

"I knew it." JiU grinned. "Hyoyeon was the one who wasn't rock-solid. This might not have worked on Hyuna, but this one's on our side now."

"Oh, the little ones!" She dashed over to Momo and laud Dami next to her, stroking both girls' hair. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I never should have followed Hyuna! How could I ever think this was right! I wish I could get you all out of here, but only Hyuna has that power!"

"Don't touch her," Jihyo hissed, her eyes narrowing. "I don't trust you, not after you destroyed my little girl's tushy."

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!" Momo cried. "Hurts, hurts!"

"Okay, okay, I got it." Hyoyeon threw her hands up and gulped. "Do you think I could try to heal them? The pain can't completely go away, but..."

"Why should I let you touch my babygirl?" Hyewon snapped, rubbing SuA's shoulder. "She's badly traumatized and you could shatter her into bits."

"I swear I won't. Please, someone volunteer." Her eyes were pleading.

"Please, please..." Momo groaned. "I'll do anything to make the pain go away..."

"Come on, Jihyo," Hyoyeon begged.

"Fine, but if you so much as look at her the wrong way... I will end you," Jihyo rumbled.

"Of course."

Momo's body trembled as the older's hands touched her chest and she grunted. JiU made Dami look away as the Japanese girl shrieked, the magic attempting to wipe away as much pain as it could.

"Momo unnie! Momo unnie!" Dami wailed.

"Shh, shh, sweetheart, don't look," the leader cooed.

"Unnie, I'm scared!"

JiU stroked her hair.

At last, Hyoyeon looked up. "Done. Who's next?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, BM, J.Seph, can I speak with you both?"

They looked up from Somin and Jiwoo's sides at the sound of Haeyoon's voice.

"Sure." BM tilted his head. "What's up?"

"I need to know what you two found out about Hyuna and her allies. Can we speak outside the ward?"

"No way!" BM crossed his arms and stood in between Jiwoo's and Somin's beds. "We're not leaving them."

Somin coughed, reaching for J.Seph's hand, and he gently took it.

"Fine, but we need to-" Haeyoon broke off as Jiwoo jolted up and tried to throw herself out of the bed.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there," BM cooed as he caught her, sitting on the bed and rocking her in his arms. "Just stay calm..."

"Oppa, why?!" she wept, her body shivering.

"Shh, you're okay." He rubbed her back. "Now that you can talk, would you like to tell her what happened?"

Jiwoo shook her head and BM sighed as he looked at Haeyoon. "Jiwoo was raped constantly. When she wasn't being beaten, she was being raped and barely ever got a break since Hyuna never sleeps. Because Somin didn't cry out as much as her, they hurt our little maknae more and I worry that she may be unable to walk now."

"Did any of them ever show any remorse for it?" Haeyoon questioned.

"Nope. I don't think we have any more allies." Jiwoo let out a shriek and he swallowed. "Can we get her a bottle?"

"I have some milk heated up in the other room if you or J.Seph would like to get it."

BM hurried for the milk and when he returned, Jiwoo seemed very grateful as she once more curled up in his arms and began gulping it down.

"Now, BM, did you ever study the compound?"

"I tried as best as I could, but if you're looking for anything other than our strength and cunning, I'm afraid we didn't learn anything too useful."

"Other than they like destroying Jiwoo's genitals," J.Seph muttered.

Jiwoo kicked her legs indignantly as she pouted, finishing off the bottle quick. Almost instantly, she began to cry as well, her baby state continuing to push forward in full force.

"Geez, can someone shut her up?" Aisha groaned. "They're all trying to rest and you'll set my Onda off too."

"Maybe she needs to be burped," Haeyoon suggested. "Since she's a baby, she needs help with it."

"Oh, come here, little one." BM gently pulled Jiwoo over his shoulder, patting her back. She continued to wail, but as the pats became slightly harder, the maknae finally burped, her cries ceasing.

"Good girl!" Haeyoon smiled. "Feel better now?"

Jiwoo nodded shakily. "Owwie is better."

"Little one..." The oldest Cherry Bullet member gazed into her eyes. "Is there anything you can tell us about Hyuna that might help us catch her and punish her for what happened to you?"

Mutely, Jiwoo shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Her shoulders trembled. "No... Hyuna..."

"Haeyoon, bad idea." Somin grimaced. "She'll start crying again..."

But she did more than start crying. Jiwoo flew into a full-on tantrum, her legs spasming as she screamed as loud as possible and clawed aimlessly at the air, tears rolling down her face. "No, please! Please don't do it, Lisa! I'll be a good girl, I promise! Hyuna, Dasom, please! I'm begging you all, stop! No, not the whip, not the whip! Please, I'll be a good girl!"

"My god..." Eunbi weakly sat up in her bed. "What the hell did they do to that poor girl?"

"They traumatized her." BM cupped her face as he bit his lip. "Baby, it's okay! You're safe now and they can't hurt you."

"No more, no more!" Jiwoo screeched at the top of her lungs. "Just kill me already! I can't take it! D-Dasom, I'm already so sore and my tushy hurts! Y-you and Hyuna took me so hard... PLEASE, NO MORE!!" Her body heaved. "Agh, Hyuna, it hurts! N-no more! No more... OWWIEEE!" Abruptly, Jiwoo's back arched. "Too deep, too deep! Stop, stop, stop!!"

"Oh no..." Somin whimpered. "Poor Jiwoo... I had no idea that they did this to her when she was separated from us..."

"My love, please calm down!" BM held her close. "Jiwoo, come back to me! It's only me here!"

Jiwoo buried her face in his chest. "Oppa, help meeeeeee!!"

He kissed her forehead. "Shh, shh, you're okay."

"No!!" She kicked weakly. "I can't... I can't do this..."

"Can you please put her to sleep?" Yuna exclaimed. "I think Nako's going to have an aneurysm if Jiwoo keeps panicking."

Seunghee swiftly pushed a needle into the Kard maknae's shoulder and she slumped down in her bed. BM shook his head as he made his way over to Yuna. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine," she huffed.

"Mama!" Nako squeaked, sucking on her thumb.

"I see she's out of the neck brace," BM commented. "And she seems to be doing well. So why is she still here?"

"Well..." Yuna absentmindedly played with her fingers as she spoke. "After she could move again, she remembered what happened to bring her here and it seems that she may have the suicidal urges I had before. She tried to hurt herself yesterday and she's been regressing very much lately."

"That reminds me..." Seunghee winced. "I have to go see Hitomi."

"How bad is it?"

"Really bad. She did considerable damage to herself and lost a ton of blood."

"Are her genitals still functional?"

"We don't know yet, but I'll go find out."

But when Seunghee arrived at the room... Hitomi was gone, the tube from her blood bag disconnected.

"No... Hitomi!"

"What's going on?" Remi tilted her head as she passed by.

"Hitomi's gone and I know she's going to try to kill herself again! We need to find her!"

"I'll alert everyone available."

"No, don't. I don't want a panic."

Seunghee's head was buzzing as she raced through the halls, peering into each room. Chaeyeon was snuggling with Sakura, May was throwing up in a bucket, Yeeun was squirming in her sleep, Lia had fainted on her bed, Wonyoung was shrieking as Hitomi ravaged herself in the corner...

No!

She dashed inside, appalled by the sight in front of her. Blood was everywhere and Hitomi was slashing at her body with a scalpel, slicing everywhere he could reach in her panicked state.

"Hitomi, no! Bad girl!" she roared as she yanked the weapon away from her. "Bad Hitomi!"

"I know... I was a bad girl for them and y-you think I'm bad too..." Hitomi collapsed in a pool of blood.

"Oh my god..." Seunghee ran to her side and picked her up, which made Wonyoung scream louder. Hands drenched in the scarlet liquid, she ran back to the medical ward. Praying that Chungha had the strength to help, Seungyeon entered to help clean the blood, but then a fateful sound reached her ears.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

"Oh no... Wonyoung!" Grabbing a defibrillator, she tore into the isolation cage. Wonyoung's eyes were wide open, her face frozen in an expression of terror, and she was entirely motionless, no longer screaming. Seungyeon shakily charged the paddles and placed them on the young girl's chest, barely remembering to yell "Clear!" as she shocked her.

Her heartbeat was back, but she knew it wouldn't last long. Seungyeon was about to hook her up to another machine, but then she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

"Unnie..." Yujin sighed as she spoke to her fellow groupmate. "Maybe it's kinder to let her go."

"No... we can't!" she gasped out. "Have you asked her girlfriend about it?" She whirled around to face her.

"I-I don't wanna die!" Wonyoung squealed.

"But isn't it kinder to release her from the pain she's in?"

"Maybe..." Seungyeon bit her lip.

"No... no! Lemme out!" In a fit of panic, Wonyoung began weakly tugging at the tubes in her arm.

"Deary, no, that's your morphine..."

"Lemme out of here!" The little maknae shrieked as she threw herself out of bed, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

"Oh my god..." Seungyeon attempted to catch her but surprisingly, she slipped through her grasp and crawled out of the room. "No, not again!"

"Mommy, lemme out!" Wonyoung wailed.

"Honey, honey, come here." Haeyoon held out her arms and smiled. "Come here, little one."

"No... c-can't..." She whimpered and instantly threw up on the floor.

"Oh, baby..." Iz*one's Yujin emerged from one of the halls. "Baby, come on back to your room..."

"I'll die here!" Wonyoung instantly bolted on her hands and knees, surprisingly fast for someone in her condition, and lashed out at anyone who could get close to her. The teleporter to the outside seemed to come by so fast and she disappeared up to the surface.

"No!" Yujin paled and yelled behind her, "All hands on deck! We need to stop her!"

By the time she got there, Wonyoung was in the grasp of Bora, screeching as the older drove her fists into her body. Bora was laughing as she beat Wonyoung into the ground, fresh bruises and cuts continuing to form on her skin.

"Please, let her go!" Yujin begged, falling to her knees. "She's too young! Take me instead!"

"You're barely older than her. Besides, I like this girl. I'm taking her with me."

"No..." Yujin's eyes stretched wide. "You can't..."

A primal scream tore from her throat as Bora vanished and her whole world came crashing down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hyuna, Hyuna!" Lisa ran over to her quickly, almost out of breath as she skidded to a stop. "Guess what?"

"This had better be good." Hyuna skeptically raised an eyebrow.

"It is." She grinned. "Wonyoung finally snapped and escaped again. Now Bora has her."

"Seriously?" Hyuna's face broke into a smile. "Are you kidding? She's the most vulnerable out of all of them and we can break her forever."

"Bora's coming with her now. She should be at the door soon."

Everyone in the base was there as Bora sauntered in, a weakened Wonyoung struggling slightly in her arms. Soyou was the first at her side, smirking as she palmed her small breast. "Ooh, I can't wait to have some fun with her."

"Why wait?" Dasom slapped her belly and she squealed. "Owwie!"

Hyuna laughed. "Bring her to a room and grab some supplies, but tie her up in any way you please."

Yugyeom and JB flanked her on either side as she swaggered down the hall and both were smiling.

"The girl deserves a good whipping, don't you think?" JB smirked, rubbing his hands together. "Let's put a gag in her mouth and whip her cute vagina long past when she bleeds."

"Yeah and I can destroy her ass past the breaking point," Yugyeom rumbled as he went into the room ahead of Hyuna and grabbed a collar from a hook on the wall. "We'll keep bringing that girl to her knees."

All three of them were cackling as they entered where Wonyoung was, placing their load of sex toys next to her. Bora had strung her arms up with chains hanging from the ceiling, resting her lower half on a metal table with her legs pushed open. Dasom stuffed a ball gag in her mouth and she shook as the collar was snapped around her neck.

"Look at you, all pathetic and crying," Hyuna scoffed as she traced a finger over her collarbone. "So pitiful."

"Please... no more, Bora..." she croaked in a muffled voice.

"If you're thinking we'll aggravate your illness, we've stripped it away so we can keep hurting you and make you sick again."

"No..." Her eyes were filled with tears. "Don't..."

Soyou shoved two fingers inside her and she shrieked in pain, her legs kicking frantically. "No, please! Nooooooooo!!"

"Really? You can't even take that?" She scoffed. "Hyuna, just fuck the damn girl. She'll scream no matter what."

Wonyoung's body went limp as Hyuna took her, wails of agony tearing from her. "Please, please!" Blood was already beginning to pour out of her and the young girl vomited some onto her chest as she managed to spit the ball gag out.

"Ugh, you should be choking on one of us instead." Bora grinned and stepped over to her and she abruptly shut her mouth. "Open up right now."

"Mm-mm!"

"Now!"

"Mm-mm."

"Fine. You asked for this." Bora gestured to Dasom and Wonyoung shivered in fear as she felt her come up behind her. But what she definitely didn't expect was for Dasom to slam a long metal pole into her anus. A hurricane of pain swept over her and she screamed as loud as she could. As soon as she screamed, Bora forced herself into her mouth and she whined.

Barely able to breathe, Wonyoung wanted so badly to pass out, but it seemed that Soyou was using magic to make her unable to do so. Yugyeom and Jackson sneered as they watched the horrible scene, even going so far as to lean in and lick the tears off the girl's pale face.

"We should send a video of this to them," Dasom giggled as she twisted the pole harder. "By them, I mean everyone in the base should see what's being done to her, especially that traitor Dara."

"No... no..." Wonyoung coughed as Bora gave her mouth a temporary reprieve. "No more... I'll do anything..."

"Anything?" Bora grinned. "Dasom, Hyuna, pull out. Let's see what she'll do."

No... She quickly realized she might as well have sealed her own torture and death warrant because the looks on all their faces as they stood in front of her were pure evil. JB had unlocked her chains, but she felt too weak to move, too weak to breathe, and for a moment, she wished she'd just die instead of having to suffer any longer.

"Crawl down from there, slut," Hyuna snarled, venom lacing her voice. "Or your friends will all see what a whore you are."

Wonyoung's entire body felt like it was being crushed by the sun as she slunk down to the floor, blood caking her legs and face. She kept her head low, grimacing as Dasom attached a leash to her collar.

"Crawl, bitch," Bora growled. "Yugyeom has a whip and you'll get much more of it if you don't crawl."

"Hurts..." Moving each hand and knee slowly, Wonyoung inched across the floor, body shaking violently as Dasom led her out of the room. Jennie and Lisa were waiting for them, mouths stretched into wicked smiles.

"So this is the pathetic weakling we've been waiting for." Jennie kicked her harshly in the side. "What can she do?"

"She will do anything because we own her now." Dasom glared at her. "Why don't you have your way with her?"

"Perfect. You know, Lisa's been needing to use the bathroom and I believe she can now."

Wonyoung recoiled in horror as she realized what they meant. "No, no! Don't make me! You wouldn't!"

Dasom snorted. "I shoved a fucking pole up your ass. Don't think you won't be our toilet too." She yanked on the leash, but Wonyoung remained rooted in place, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Now!" Lisa slapped her cheek and she fell onto her side, whimpering. "Well, might as well take care of it here."

Wonyoung closed her eyes. "Don't make me..."

"Too late, Jang Wonyoung. You. Are. Ours."

Chapter Text

JiU was in complete shock. After Hyoyeon had physically healed each of the girls the best she could, she had revealed everything that was going on outside the dimension, including the alliances in the base. But even she wasn't the worst. When Hyewon had heard of Wonyoung's terrible capture, she had burst into tears and started to scratch at her skin, screaming and wailing. Siyeon tried to crawl over to comfort her but she wasn't thinking at all and lashed out, kicking her away.

"Mommy, mommy!" SuA whined. "Mommy, stop!"

"This is all my fault!" Hyewon screeched. "I should have left with Iz*one and saved her! Now they could be doing who-knows-what to her and she will never recover!"

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is!"

"We need to get out of here!" Jihyo roared. "Hyoyeon, how do we do this?"

"I know of an exit..." Hyoyeon bit her lip. "But I don't know exactly where it is. I may be able to use my magic to bring it somewhere we can find it, but even with outside wounds healed... I don't know if some of you will make it."

Dami looked down at herself, at the body that had been so abused and battered, and knew she was talking about her. "M-mommy... leave me."

"What? Why?" JiU swiveled her head, eyes wide. "I love you! Why would I leave you behind?"

"I'm weak... I shouldn't be going with you. I-I don't deserve it... not at all..." Trembling, she nibbled on one of her fingernails.

"No." Hyoyeon shook her head. "You deserve to live. I'm the monster that killed all of you and created this mess."

"Did you rape Wonyoung too?" Hyoyeon growled.

"Dear God, no! I never touched her! She's so precious and sweet... I could never bring myself to desecrate her like that. Bora, Dasom, and Soyou were the ones who took her virginity and opened the door to her becoming a slave."

"Please, make it stop!" Dami sobbed. "It hurts!"

"Is it your tushy, love?"

She nodded, sniffing. "She couldn't take all the pain..."

"Hey, love, I've got you, alright? We'll hopefully be out of here soon."

"JiU unnie..." Dami swallowed. "Wouldn't it be better if I just died?"

JiU's jaw dropped and for a few seconds, all of them were dead silent.

"Oh, Dami unnie..." Gahyeon winced. "No... out of all of us, I wouldn't think they'd break us that much..." She dropped to one knee beside her. "We all love you so much and to see you leave us would shatter our already fragile hearts into dust."

"Oh, I could never imagine this." Yoohyeon shook her head. "Dami, suicidal? She used to be so strong... but Hyuna put the plan in motion that broke her..."

Gahyeon crossed her arms and stared toward Hyoyeon. "We have to try. It may be our only chance to survive and get back home."

"Why wouldn't we be let out like Twice was?"

"Wait... Twice was just let out?" Hyoyeon's eyes widened. "Oh no... they really are going to do it."

"What?" JiU blinked.

"Look, I wasn't going to say this, but before Iz*one, Wonyoung was in a relationship with one of Twice's members."

"Who?"

"Don't say anything, but it was Nayeon."

"What?!" Handong gasped in astonishment. "Nayeon is so much older than her!'

"It didn't last long anyway and I'm sure they've both either forgotten it or not worried about it. Now, Wonyoung's like a little sister to her and that's something they plan to use against her."

"Um... how?"

"Hyuna's aim is to capture Jeongyeon when she goes up to the surface to get fresh air. Then, she's going to make Nayeon watch them both be raped and tortured. After that, she'll make her choose one. The one she doesn't choose... she's going to be tortured to death."

"No..."

"I've heard her discussing this with Bora. If Nayeon refuses to choose, both of them will be torn to pieces."

"Wouldn't that be a bit of a mercy?" Gahyeon murmured. "If she chose Jeongyeon, they could still have a life together. But little Wonyoung... she may be irreparably broken."

"How could you say that?" Hyewon roared, standing up with SuA nestled into her arms. "Would you say that my baby deserves to die because of what psycho Lisa did to her?"

The second Gahyeon glanced at SuA, she saw the most heartbreaking expression in her eyes, which were filled with tears as she clung to Hyewon. "No... of course not."

"Then don't say Wonyoung should."

"Poor little Wonnie..." Jihyo sighed. "But how can we warn Jeongyeon not to go out? There's no way to reach them and they'll kill Jeongyeon, Wonyoung, and Nayeon if we don't do something or they don't realize it in time. They've already killed Sunmi... made her want to die..."

"Actually..." Hyoyeon took a deep breath. "Sunmi's alive. It wasn't her that was killed."

"Wait, what do you mean it wasn't Sunmi?!" Hyewon squealed. "But SuA and I held the sword! We killed her, I know we did!"

"It was a decoy, all of it. It wasn't Sunmi you killed... it was Yoona."

"WHAT?!" She drew back. "She was your friend! Why?"

"Yoona had been depressed for a while and I knew that she wouldn't ever be happy again in life. When Hyuna suggested the plot to have Sunmi controlled and killed, I saw a chance to switch their places before she went into their dimension. It only appeared to be Sunmi, but it was Yoona."

"So where is she now?"

"Sunny's been taking care of her. She's in the forest near the base, hidden in a secret cave. But now that I'm trapped here, I can't get back to her to help. She was tortured before their places were switched and she's in so much pain! Sunmi may not survive if we can't get her to the base."

"Was the ghost of Sunmi a decoy too?" Jihyo choked out.

"Yes. The appearance was altered; that was Yoona too."

Dami's face had gone white as she listened and whimpered, "D-did they rape her too?"

"Oh, honey..." Hyoyeon patted her head gently. "Yes, they did rape her. Sunmi desperately needs a caregiver now and I fear for her life. She's just like you now, little one."

"S-Sunmi is... alone?" Dami squeaked. "No one is there for her?"

"She's making sure she's fed, but she's in the hospital with Jessica most of the time."

"Sunmi alone... I don't want her to be alone..."

"Sweetie, calm down."

Dami threw her head back and wailed. "I don't want her to be alone!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mama?" Sunmi whispered for the millionth time as she lay shivering on the freezing cave floor. "M-mama, it hurts!" The pain was returning, burning in her lungs, and she wanted out. "M-Mama!"

"Shh, little one, I'm here," Sunny cooed as she scooped her up. "I just went to be with Jessica. I can't take care of you forever, you know."

"Mama, I'm hungry."

"Want some berries!"

"No! Berries aren't good! But I'm scared of Hyuna and I don't wanna go anywhere!"

"Oh, sweetie... speaking of, how are those wounds on your thighs?"

"Th-they huwt..."

"May I take a look?" Sunny tilted her head sympathetically.

Sunmi shakily opened her legs in response, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Oh no..." Sunny winced.

"W-what?"

"Sweetie, those are all infected. You need to go to the hospital, but we can't risk Hyuna looking for you there. We're lucky she doesn't know how to track you via magic."

She trembled in fear. "W-will it feel better?"

"If we can't take you to the hospital, then..." Sunny trailed off. Would it be worse to bring her right to her death... or to leave her in the woods alone? Should I... should I just put her out of her misery?

"Then what?"

"Sunmi, I'm going to go somewhere." Sunny slowly stood up. "Come, love."

Shivering, Sunmi waddled after her as she led her through the forest until they reached a small clearing.

"W-what should I do now?" she asked.

"Lay down on your stomach," Sunny ordered. "I'm going to give you a special massage."

She nervously obeyed.

Taking a deep breath, the older picked up a heavy rock from the ground, walking toward her. Just do it. Knock her unconscious and snap her neck. It will be quick and painless.

"A-are you going to do it?"

"Yes, I'm just preparing my hands."

"A-are you going to hurt me like them?" She whimpered and her body quivered in fear. "Y-you're going to shift and huwt my tushy..."

"No, no..."

Sunmi flipped onto her back and Sunny grimaced. "No, don't..."

"You..." Her eyes stretched wide in horror. "Y-you're going to kill me?!"

"No!" She tossed away the rock.

"You're going to kill me!" Sunmi howled, tears streaming down her face as she scrambled backward. "I-I thought you cared about me!"

"I do, but Sunmi... I just want you to die peacefully..."

"Why do I need to die by your hand? If I do, I wanna die by my own!"

"Oh, Sunmi..." Sunny knelt and held out her arms. "Come here, coe here."

Sobbing, she scurried to her and pressed her face into her chest. "I'm scawed!"

"I know, love I know." She stroked the girl's sleek black hair. "But I want you to be happy and I don't know if you can be in life. But in death..." Yoona. I can't. I can't let her die. I already let Yoona die and I can't do it again.

Sunmi let out a screech and kicked her legs, beginning to hyperventilate slightly. "I wanna die now! Kill me, kill me please!"

"Honey... I hesitated because I can't. I can't. Look..." She swallowed. "I heard that there is a base in these woods underground where many idols are working to take down Hyuna. They also have a medical ward and can get you to professional therapy once she and her friends are defeated."

"I-I either want to die or stay with you. I don't want them!"

"Sweetheart..."

"No!" Sunmi launched herself toward a tree and banged her head into the tough trunk.

"Honey, honey, no! Bad girl! Bad Sunmi!" Sunny growled as she grasped her wrist and yanked her away. A small gash now marred her forehead, dripping blood into her eyes. "Sunmi, we're getting you to the base."

"No! Don't make me!" Sunmi wrenched herself from her grasp, terror in her eyes as she fell on her butt and let out a squeal.

"Oh, oh, Sunmi, your wounds!" She ran to her side as the younger girl cried out in agony, her body seemingly collapsing in on itself as she curled up.

"Little one, stay with me and let me see!" Her jaw dropped as she turned her friend over, examining her. "Oh god, Sunmi! Where the hell did these come from?"

All over Sunmi's back and rear were huge bubbling blisters that had sprouted all over her skin. She was screaming at the top of her lungs as the blisters scorched her body.

"Please, stop this!" Sunny shouted as she gazed around wildly. "Sunmi's suffered enough! Leave her alone, Hyuna!"

"You really think you can escape us and have Hyoyeon trick us into a switcheroo?" Jennie spat as she stepped out into the clearing. "We can find you wherever you are. And Sunmi is ours now. Hand her over."

The blisters disappeared and Sunmi whimpered as she saw her. "No... no, no, no..."

"Are you ready to take me, love? You become ours now, as well as how Jeongyeon will when we offer to trade her for you. And you can watch when Nayeon chooses either her or Wonyoung to survive while the other is ripped apart."

"Wonyoung?!" Sunny gasped. "How dare you! She's a little girl! And Jeongyeon's been innocent her whole life! If you break her, you'll murder any chance of her having a life with Nayeon... of her being her strong little self..."

"You'll tear us all apart!" Sunmi yelled, struggling to her feet. "Just kill me already! Do it!"

"Oh no, you will all suffer." Jennie grinned.

In a rage, Sunny flung herself at her, tackling the evil Blackpink girl to the ground. "Sunmi, run! Go to the base! Run!"

"Bitch, you're a disgrace!" Jennie drove her fist into Sunny's stomach as Sunmi took off in a panic. "You're willing to give your life for that slut! All you had to do was let me take her!" Sunny coughed as her throat was squeezed, struggling to get air into her lungs.

"S-she doesn't deserve to be h-hurt like she's been... a-ah!!" She spit up a spray of blood as Jennie stabbed a dagger into her stomach, her magic intensifying the pain. "Stop, stop!"

"If I can't take Sunmi..." Jennie licked her lips. "Maybe I can take you instead. In fact, let's take a little trip to the hospital, shall we?"

"W-what for?"

"Oh, just so I can rape you to death in front of your precious Jessica." The smile on her face grew wider. "And you will have sacrificed your life for nothing, as I will have Sunmi eventually."

"No, no, please..." Sunny reached for any drop of oxygen she could get. "Don't do it... y-you'll traumatize my Jessica for life and she'll never recover..."

"She won't recover anyway. Jessica's too weak to fight that damn cancer and she'll die without you."

"Please..." She gagged and for a moment, the world spun as Jennie teleported them both right into one of the hospital rooms.

"S-Sunny!" Jessica whimpered. "Jennie, what are you doing with her?"

"Your precious girl let my slave get away, so now I'm going to punish her."

"Y-you stabbed her... no..."

"Oh, I'll be doing more than that." Jennie sealed the wound and almost instantly made Sunny's clothes dissolve, removing her own pants at the same time.