lotus_beauty: (jaesuho)
[personal profile] lotus_beauty
Title: Gravity
Author: LotusBeauty
Rating: R to NC-17
Pairings: Min+Su, Min+Kumi
Genre: AU, fantasy, romance/drama/emo (lots of emo)
Summary: Prequel to Feel and Redefine. This arc encompasses Changmin’s past; how he became a vampire and how he and Junsu met.
Notes: You don’t have to read the other two before you read this, but it would probably be a good idea to have some general vampire myths down.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never were.


Previous chapters can be found HERE.


Part 13: Oasis


He killed a man somewhere in the middle of Kame’s session. He might have killed more. He only remembered the one man because it was the first time he’d tried to enthrall Kame with his own powers. Kame had never taught him how to do it, but Kumi had. It was inherent to every vampire to be able to enthrall their victims. She told him the only giveaway was the silver color that seeped into their irises when they invoked the power. Kame had used it on him many a time, but he finally turned that power on Kame.

Once his victim was dying, Changmin felt his lifeforce leaving him. This time, he’d actually pulled on it. Desperate for the power to defeat Kame, he’d taken it into himself and felt his empathic and inherent powers grow as the man died. Once he’d finished, Changmin didn’t even let go of the body. He invoked the power and hit Kame with it as hard as he could. It made Kame stagger backward in surprise as Changmin’s heart leapt in his chest. But his victory was short lived as Kame’s face twisted in anger and he advanced on Changmin to grab his throat and crush Changmin’s mind with his own power, silver covering Kame’s eyes as it thoroughly overwhelmed him. Once Changmin had fallen to the floor, Kame dragged him up to the chains on the wall and tortured him for hours. Sometimes he left Changmin hanging there, other times he waited for Changmin to let his guard down and began again. Twice more between all of the pain, Kame killed him—stopped his heart. And Changmin broke, unable to keep anything inside as he finally screamed and begged for Kame to stop, but nothing slowed him down. Thinking back, Changmin wondered if he’d said Junsu’s name, and how often.

“Idiot.”

Changmin’s eyes opened before he squeezed them shut as Kumi picked at one of the wounds on his back. He gripped the fang Junsu had given him in his hand, the only thing he had of Junsu left.

“You should have gone.”

The disappointment in Kumi’s voice was palpable, even without his power. Changmin swallowed hard and ignored it. “I couldn’t,” he whispered, his voice refusing to get any stronger. “He would have tracked me.”

“You could have been hidden,” she muttered in reply as she wrapped the already healing gash on his arm. “There are ways.”

“But where? How would I know? How would he know? We both know how good Kame is at tracking. There’s no way Namie could possibly have hidden us in the city,” Changmin replied and bit his lip as he realized he may just have given up his only way out. “What do I do now?”

Her eyes caught his when he looked up and she glanced away, pain obvious in her gaze. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t leave me,” Changmin begged when she moved to do so. He breathed a sigh of relief when she turned back to him and took his hand to squeeze it.

“I won’t.”

“Thank you.”


~*~


Kumi sighed silently as she closed the door to Changmin’s room. He’d finally passed out from lack of blood and sleep. She’d seen a lot of things in her time, but Changmin was too selfless for his own damn good. She rubbed her forehead and began to think—how would she get him out? Especially without letting it lead back to her? She had to get him out and away from Kame before he really broke the young vampire for good. She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t let that happen. Especially when Junsu didn’t deserve to have to see his love get broken in half for his sake.

She leaned back against the door and crossed her arms as she thought. Changmin didn’t deserve this life, not with a power like his. She was here for a reason and lived to undermine Kame, but Changmin’s life was taken from him. And the things Kame did to Changmin—she shuddered. She would never understand how he could stand it. While she never acted surprised in Changmin’s presence concerning the things Kame did, some of the things Changmin told her horrified her. Like what Kame had meted out on Changmin for helping Junsu escape. The things Changmin endured weren’t worth living through.

Kumi shook her head and pushed off the door as she tucked her thoughts to the back of her mind. She needed to go smooth things over with Kame and calm him. Though she would have to apologize for her pupil, maybe she could put in a good word and promise that she would be more vigilant to make sure Changmin never again entertain the idea of falling in love. Maybe she could say something about it not being his place. That would make Kame feel like she was on his side, right?

The smell of blood made her nostrils flare as she neared Kame’s private chambers. She slowed to a stop as she watched from the end of the hallway as two servants carried the body of a young boy out of the private room. Kumi glanced away for a moment as she tucked away her disgust and flipped her gaze back up to watch them carry the body past with disinterest. She moved toward the room once they were past and peeked into the room to see Kame pulling a robe on before he turned. He gave her a look of curiosity, his eyebrow raised as he beckoned her with a hand.

“And how is my pet healing?” he asked as he tied the belt.

“He rests, Kamenashi-sama,” she bowed to him. “I must apologize for my student. I knew not of what he was planning.”

“I hardly think you would teach him something as stupid as helping a new toy to escape,” he drawled and reached over to the table to pick up a goblet and take a sip. Kumi knew by the smell just what it was.

“I promise he will never think to fall in love again,” she replied with another bow, a promise she hoped she could keep.

Kame scoffed. “I hardly think he’s ever been in love. Only a silly crush would make him think he could defy me.”

Kumi wished she could tell him Changmin loved more than anyone she knew. “Such an impulsive act won’t happen again.” She hoped he couldn’t feel her lying. Then again, she didn’t care about lying to him, so why would he even notice?

“I should hope so,” he replied before draining the cup and setting it down. “Why are you here to apologize personally?”

Kumi smirked and moved closer. “My master, I wanted to show how horrible I feel about what has happened. Should you need my services to distract you from the mental stress?” she asked and knew he’d understood her implication by the shine in his eyes.

He opened his mouth to respond but was cut short before he could even answer when the door slammed open and two guards pulled a struggling vampire in. The two pushed Junsu to his knees before them and Kumi stared in shock.

No.

Nononono, he wasn’t supposed to come back! Her mind screamed as she stared at him and wished she could yell it at him, but she couldn’t. Junsu glared defiantly up at the both of them from his position, refusing to admit defeat.

Kame stepped forward with a triumphant smile. “I knew you would come back for him. So, I had the guards watching specifically for your return.”

Defiance faded to horror before Junsu glared at Kame in hated. He didn’t say a word but it was clear that if he had the chance, he would kill Kame.

“Leave us,” Kame said as he wave a hand at Kumi.

Frustrated and angry, Kumi slipped from the room and glanced back to see Kame lean down to sink his teeth into Junsu’s neck. She made it around the corner before her hand went to her mouth and she knew what was coming next. It wasn’t half a second later before she sprinted down the hallways at full speed.

She needed Changmin.

~*~

“WAKEUPNOW!”

Changmin jolted upright and hissed at the throb from a few of his still healing injuries before he turned to yell at Kumi. He didn’t get the chance as she slapped a hand over his mouth and hauled him from the bed.

“He caught Junsu,” she explained in a hurry and tugged him toward the door.

Changmin skidded to a full stop in her hands and she turned to frown at him.

“Why are you stopping? We have to get him away from Kame!” she hissed, her emotions fraying before his eyes. He’d never seen her so distraught, a particular shade of yellow swirling around her. She was actually scared, but that wasn’t why he stopped.

“How did he catch Junsu? I got him out!” Changmin snapped.

“He came back and Kame caught him immediately!” Kumi told him as her voice cracked.

WHAT?” Changmin’s control cracked as he moved to leave, but was caught by her hand. “What are you doing?!”

“You need to play along!” She hissed and tugged him over to the wardrobe to dig out the dagger she’d given him and shoved it in her obi before she then dragged him out of the room. “You need to see what your actions have caused, you ungrateful brat!” she snarled once they were in the hallway. Changmin stared at her in complete bewilderment until he felt it—it was an act. It had to sound like his punishment was to watch Kame make Junsu his.

He glared at her as she turned to drag him down the hallway and pretended to not want to go, tugging at her arm to slow her down as a few vampires watched the show. “And just what action am I supposed to be ungrateful for?”

“Letting your damn lover get away before Kame could have a taste,” she replied icily before she whipped around to glare at him. “You’re not supposed to let a crush get in the way of your job. You were supposed to take his payments and report to Kamenashi-sama!” She put her hands on her hips as he played the anguished lover. “I told you to never fall in love. And now you’ll learn from it, because he came back, and now you’ll get to see just what you didn’t want to see happen in the first—”

She didn’t even get a chance to finish. Her words had spurred him on to trick the crowd and save Junsu. He couldn’t let it happen. Changmin grabbed her to slip the dagger from her obi as he threw her against the wall and raced through the crowd to follow the maze of hallways all the way to the red room. Most didn’t bother trying to stop him—they enjoyed hearing about drama that happened and this was probably the best they’d had in years.

Once he got to the door of the red room, he knew it would be locked with a spell, so he did the next best thing—he kicked the damn thing open. He stepped through to see Junsu, motionless, chained to the bed shirtless, Kame over him. Kame’s head turned back with a smirk and something inside of Changmin broke. Rage swept through him as he watched Kame rush him and everything he’d been taught by the guards came to him suddenly, and he used it all to fend off Kame’s attacks. He kept himself out of Kame’s reach, but managed to get in a few hits and cuts with the dagger he carried. It was then he heard footsteps and kicked the door shut, hoping the spell would lock it and keep the guards out. Then again, they might assume Kame closed the door and obey his order not to open it unless summoned.

Kame smirked. “You won’t win.”

Changmin regarded him silently. Jeering was a waste of breath and he had precious little time to waste to begin with. He glanced to Junsu to see him staring up at the ceiling, no doubt filled with Kame’s venom. And that’s when Kame lunged. Changmin sidestepped and weaved his way backwards and caught a glimpse of Kame’s eyes on him, the silver streaking around his irises. Fear pounded through him as he slid backwards, away from Kame’s grip and waited for it to hit.

But it didn’t.

He stared in surprise as Kame growled and lunged again, making Changmin jump back and avoid the grabbing hands. The silver flared and then disappeared as realization hit Changmin—Kame couldn’t use his power unless he was touching his victim. Elation surged through Changmin at the revelation and he brought the dagger up, deciding if something had to touch Kame, that would be the thing to do it.

“Changmin…” he heard the weak voice from the bed and kept his eyes on the vampire before him.

“I’ll get you out in a moment,” he answered as Kame charged again, but this time, Changmin used the dagger without hesitation, slashing Kame here and there before he leapt back and away. Kame’s eyes were wide and wild—livid. He knew what was coming next, he could feel the rage burst as Kame attacked. Changmin did his best to keep Kame from touching him, but he was so fast. He only had one chance, one opening he had to keep an eye out for, and couldn’t act on it, only defending with Kame moving so damn fast.

He knew he would have to let Kame catch him to pull off what he wanted, and decided it would be his safest bet. Without hesitation, Changmin charged and brought the dagger up as Kame’s hands grabbed him. Kame held him close with a triumphant grin as Changmin fought the power and pushed against Kame, driving his dagger even deeper into Kame’s chest. Kame faltered for a moment as he looked down, and Changmin’s eyes watered at the feeling of all the conflicting emotions hitting him as his eyes glanced down to the dagger in Kame’s flesh, buried to the hilt in the left side of his chest, clearly through his heart.

Kame choked, his power’s hold on Changmin fluctuating before he fell to his knees and writhed in pain on the floor. Changmin knew he didn’t have a moment to waste. He went straight to Junsu and undid the chains from his wrists before putting the vampire over his shoulder and moving straight for the door.
He pulled door open, but this time, he stopped in shock to see Jin standing in the middle of the hallway, back to him with guards scattered on the floor around him. Changmin stared, wondering just what he was up to.

“Go,” Jin told him, eyes dark.

Changmin frowned, suspicious. “Why are you helping me?”

“I’m not,” Jin answered as he turned. “I’m helping me.” He glanced at Kame on the floor in the room, eyes glinting with greed. “With you out of the picture, I can have him to myself.”

Changmin didn’t know what to make of this odd betrayal, but he didn’t have time to ask. He just nodded at Jin and took off to rush past the guards in the hallways who stood dumbfounded at his sudden appearance. He used their surprise as he grabbed it with his power and shoved it in front of him. He didn’t know he could do it, but he could at least try. The emotions hit everyone he passed, making them step back in shock as he rushed by and headed up the stairs, Junsu still over his shoulder.

He didn’t know if he could make it past the people upstairs or the guards, so Changmin added to what he had in front of him, hitting the guards with all he had. They fell back and he flashed past them and off of the property. Relief hit him at the sight of the night sky and he kept moving. But he didn’t know where to go.

Eyes darting back and forth, Changmin moved toward an alley and skidded to a stop in the shadows. “What now?” he asked Junsu as he pulled the vampire’s dead weight off his shoulder to reposition him on his back, arms under Junsu’s legs as if he were a child riding his back.

“Head north,” Junsu murmured and Changmin took off.

“Where are we going?” Changmin asked quietly as he carried Junsu through the streets.

“Down to the canal,” Junsu replied and Changmin felt the vampire jerk his head in that direction. Well, at least he had a bit of muscle control left. Changmin turned and made his way to the canal as Junsu directed him to go down in it.

“I’m going to double back first,” he murmured as he heard Junsu mumble an agreement and kept running over the bridge for some time before he made his way back on the same path and stopped at the bridge. “Sure about this?” he asked as he slipped down into the muddy water.

“Hopefully they’ll have a more difficult time tracking us through the water,” Junsu explained softly. “We’re lucky this happened at night and no one will notice us down here.”

“Good idea.” Changmin nodded as he trudged through the water as quietly as possible. He kept his senses on alert for anyone in the area, staying vigilant for any emotions he could feel. It was a temporary relief each time he did a sweep and didn’t sense any threat. He couldn’t let his guard down though. He had to get Junsu somewhere safe until the venom wore off and then they could run.

But… where would they run to? And there was still the question that had been bothering him since the beginning.

“Where did you come from?” he asked softly.

“Such an odd question to ask while we’re on the run. I will tell you once we’re safe. For now, we should stay quiet,” Junsu advised.

Changmin sighed and tucked the question away for the time being. He trusted Junsu to tell him when they were safely hidden. They left the water finally, moving down alleyways as Junsu directed him this way and that, Changmin assumed to confuse their scent. Junsu then told Changmin to move to the back of the building they were next to. Once there, he directed Changmin into the basement through a set of stairs, then into a hallway that was darker than Changmin would have liked. He stopped at a door, opening it when Junsu nodded, and slipped into a dark room. Then they moved on to another long hallway. It happened many more times and was getting tedious as Changmin’s strength began to wane, but Junsu urged him on. Unless they made it to where Junsu wanted him to go, they would get captured, and their escape would all be for nothing. It was one more building before Junsu finally told him to stop in one of the basements.

“We’re on Namie’s compound. Don’t say anything.”

Changmin frowned and opened his mouth, about to speak when the door opened and a group of guards entered. He hid his shock with a frown and waited for the leader to walk in, his eyes looking them up and down as he tried to make sense of the newcomers.

The leader sighed and crossed his arms. “Junsu-san. What did you do?”

Junsu chuckled, unable to move his head up much. “Let’s just say this time, no one followed me.”

The guard rolled his eyes and looked to Changmin. “And him?”

“He’s safe.”

Safe. Changmin sighed in relief as his legs gave out and his knees hit the floor. They were safe. Guards rushed forward to pull Junsu from his shoulders as everything went blurry and he fell forward, catching himself with his hands as it finally hit him.

He was out.

They were safe.

And then he passed out.


~***~



I'm going to totally apologize right now, I haven't had time to edit because I'm getting ready for SakuraCon which is in two weeks and sdkafljdfsjf I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO ;--; *sews* *sob*

Also, the parts I edited to match this part are now updated. They are Redefine chapters Interlude: Living Dolls and Part 20: Price to Play.

Aaaaand I just bought FFXIII and that is taking up my time as well because omfg its so shiny *__* ♥ Sorry! 8D; as always, thank you for reading! :D


Part 14
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