Rubicon
rubicon (n.) ~ a limit or boundary, when crossing it there is no way back
Pairing: Jung Yunho (Ateez) x GN!Reader; Genre: Apoclyptic AU, Dystopia AU, Fantasy, Angst, childhood friends; Rating: sfw, PG-13; Warnings: slum raids, bad government, people getting abducted, a punch to the face, lots of cursing and calling names, torture in the form of experiments, oh yeah, sandstorms, mention of an attack, mentions of bombs and other weaponry, burning skin with a hot knife and I think that's it; Wordcount: 8.661
Collab: Adrenaline Anthology hosted by @lapydiaries; other stories include: Crossroads by @daemour, No more running by @potatomountain, Guardians oath pt.1 by @anyamaris, Floating Silver by @sanjoongie, tbd by @defwoodz, tbd by @pars-ley and tbd by @an-annyeoing-writer
Summary: Years after you lost your best friend, a soldier during one of the many regular slum raids felt eerily familiar. Discovering him to be your lost best friend, you make the decision to get him out of the clutches the government has on him. No matter the consequences.
A/N: Did I have time since Adrenaline came out? Yes. Did I write any of the story in all that time? No. Did I cram the last two days to write this? Yes. Also first time in a long time writing something big again!
You pushed your foot against the dirt on the ground, gritting your teeth as more and more people living around your area got forced onto the open market field.
Your eyes darted around, seeing dozens of robotic soldiers lining up at the edge of the market. Each and everyone of them had heavy looking guns ready at arms.
A few human soldiers forced the people to line up properly. Others walked with a face scanner through the lines, holding the device up in front of every face and waiting for a green light.
You knew most of the faces from this part of the city. It was one of the lower neighbourhoods where most families struggled to survive and some even used the streets to beg for food.
Those on the streets usually hid through these official assemblies. Though not everyone was successful. When they got caught and their faces got scanned it always lit up red.
Then two robotic soldiers would make their moves, grabbing the person and dragging them to a large vehicle. Guards would make sure nobody tried to escape whenever the doors of the vehicle opened.
These assemblies started when you were somewhere around ten years old. Before that people would simply vanish from one day to another. First you hadn’t thought much of it, being a child and all but there had been one day to change it all.
~
“See you tomorrow Yu”, you called out over your shoulder, grinning brightly as you ran towards your home. You waved your hand far over your head one more time, wanting to make sure Yunho saw your farewell.
He shook his head, looking at the ground as his cheeks and ears slowly turned into a light shade of pink. Still, only a few heartbeats later he waved back at you, wishing you a safe trip home.
You had to giggle again. Your home was only down this narrow street, a faded green door of the second last house to your right. There truly wasn’t anything dangerous that could make the two minutes any less safe.
At least that was what you thought.
Robotic soldiers had stepped out from the alleys leading to your street and blocked your way. They lined up in front of you, carrying weapons in their arms.
While they didn’t move anymore, you didn’t dare walk past them. Nor did you dare turn around and run away. You simply stood frozen right in front of them.
One of the robots made a step towards you, their hand reaching out for your arm.
Your eyes widened. Yet you couldn’t move.
Before the robot actually touched you, you got pulled back. Yunho stood in front of you, making himself look bigger than he actually was. Not that he wasn’t big, you thought, but he was still just a few years older than you and very much underage.
“When I tell you to run, run home. Don’t look back, don’t stop. Just run.” Yunho grunted as he glared towards the robots in front.
Only then did you notice the metal bar in his hand, which slightly shook. You weren’t sure whether it was from anger or fear.
“Run!”
Yunho jumped forward, slamming the metal bar into the side of the robots. While they didn’t stumble nor flinch, all their focus shifted towards him. He thrashed around, the loud clanking sound of metal hitting metal ringing in the air.
Once you saw an opening on the narrow street, you followed his command. You ran like you’ve never run before. You didn’t look back. You didn’t stop. Just like he said. You simply ran until you reached that old faded green door.
The next day Yunho was gone.
~
The sound of a wailing mother pulled you out of your memories, the dark shadows of the past still clinging to your features.
A soldier tried ripping a newborn child out of the mothers’ arms.
Her desperate cries filled the market place, combined with the screams of the newborn. “Please don’t take him! Please! I wasn’t able to register him! He’s only a few days old!”
“Red is red.”
A chill ran down your spine. Not only from the situation itself. A heartless system with no chance of exceptions. No, that voice of the soldier made the hairs on your neck spike up.
“Please, you can’t! Please!”
The soldier tried yanking at the mothers’ arms once more, nearly making her drop the baby.
Before you even registered your own thoughts and the decision you made, you already stormed towards the quarrel. You barely heard the other human soldiers yell at you, nor did you hear the calls from the people around - which you pushed away. You only focused on the crying mother and the soldier beating her.
You punched him in the face, watching him stagger backwards. He grabbed his jaw and rubbed over the sore spot. His eyes narrowed as if he just registered what had happened. Then his focus turned to you.
Your shoulders rose and fell from your heavy breathing. You clenched your jaw, every muscle in your body tense. “It’s a fucking infant”, you spat, still glaring at the soldier.
He pulled his shoulders back and stood in front of you to his full height. You had to tilt your neck so you could still look him in the eyes.
Eyes that seemed so familiar and yet so distant.
“It is not registered in the system.”
You rolled your eyes. “Use your fucking brain, dickhead. How can it be registered when it’s only a few days old? Ever heard of maternity bed? You assholes literally dragged all of us out of our homes today!”
He glared at you, his eyes flickering only momentarily towards the mother clutching her baby close to her chest. “Fine”, he grunted, “consider this a warning, woman. Register it immediately after this is over.”
You heard the woman cry behind you, repeating her thanks towards you and the soldier, telling everyone how grateful she was.
Still, more soldiers came closer with their guns ready. You knew they came for you.
“Soldier Jeong”, one of the robots said in their static voice, “there’s still work to do.”
Rubbing once more over his jaw, the soldier in front of you let out a deep sigh - as if all of this was a terrible inconvenience. Without a word he raised the scanning device to your face.
A line of green lasers wandered over your features.
You scrunched your eyebrows, confusion washing through your thoughts. You watched him stare at his screen, waiting for something you couldn’t name.
Suddenly he mumbled your name, still staring at the screen of his device. For just a second a sliver of recognition flashed in his eyes as they ever so slowly wandered back to your face. He repeated your name, looking straight at you.
You blinked a few times, trying to make sense of this situation.
Another soldier stepped to his side, shaking his shoulder roughly. “Snap out of it, Yunho. The bots are waiting.”
At first nothing changed. It felt like minutes later before your mind registered the name the other soldier had said.
Your mind told you the name over and over again, though every time it was said it felt as if someone spoke underwater or through cotton.
The next second you could have sworn hearing glass shatter, followed by a loud ringing inside of your ears. Your heartbeat suddenly increased and cold sweat built on your skin. It was as if your body made itself ready for something you weren’t aware of just yet.
“Yunho?”
You stared straight into his eyes, seeing your own face mirroring in them - void of any emotion. Still, you had whispered his name just now, as more and more memories of your old friend flooded your brain. Each of them being compared to the Jung Yunho standing in front of you.
Your logical side admitted he would fit to be the same Yunho, considering the age. Also he was still taller than you.
A sudden wave of pain twisted his features and he staggered backwards. Confusion filled his eyes as he continued to look at you. Yunho pressed his hand against his forehead, feeling even more stings hitting him.
“Take this person to the van!” The soldier next to Yunho shouted, waving for the robotic soldiers to deal with you. He turned to Yunho, who still trembled from the pain coursing through his body. “Get to the truck”, he mumbled, “we’ll deal with the rest.”
Yunho nodded shortly, before he started moving towards one of the many trucks parking at the side of the market place. Yet, he never stopped keeping an eye on you.
Two robots stopped in front of you, telling you in their static voices what they wanted to do.
“Don’t”, you hissed, momentarily glaring at the two robots before staring back towards Yunho, “don’t touch me. I can walk by myself.”
Normally people screamed and thrashed around, trying everything so they wouldn’t get into the back of these vans.
You wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. With your head held high, you walked towards the van where all the other citizens had been thrown into. Right as you were about to climb into one of them, Yunho stepped in front of you.
“Not this one.”
You saw him nod towards another van. While you didn’t want to show them any emotions, you knew you couldn’t hide your confusion.
There was still enough space in the van right in front of you and so far no other person was brought to the second van.
You swallowed your slowly building nervousness and walked over to the second van. While the robots moved back to the crowd, you heard how Yunho followed you.
“I won’t run, if that’s what you’re worried about”, you told him with a sarcastic lilt to your voice.
“No”, he hesitated, a sudden memory flashing before his eyes, “you were always good at following orders.”
You chuckled dryly and climbed into the van. There were only two benches on each side of the truck, following the whole wall until the end where safety bars were installed to secure the driver from whoever sat back here.
Yunho stood at the open back of the van, watching how you moved further back and sat down.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this”, you spat, crossing your arms in front of your chest.
“What do you mean?”
You heard something snap in your neck from the speed of turning your head towards him. You stared at him in disbelief, opening and closing your mouth over and over again. For a second you assumed he was only joking with you but seeing his face you noticed there was no hidden mirth like when you two were kids.
“You’re seriously asking me that?” You scoffed and rolled your eyes, not knowing what to say.
Yunho simply looked at you. His face showed you nothing, as if he was only an empty shell, waiting for some sort of input.
“Isn’t this what happened to you all those years ago?” You glanced once more at him, before turning your head back and staring at the dull wall opposite from you. You leaned back, somewhat resting your head as you continued talking. “One day you were there playing games with me and the next you’re gone. Nowhere to be found. All I remember were those robots in the alley. They took you, didn’t they? Just like they are now with all these people. Ripping families apart. Destroying friendships. Letting the remaining citizens believe the lost ones are gone forever. Most likely dead.”
For a moment it became silent between you two. Only the shouting from the raid in the distance interrupting the silence here and there.
Then Yunho hummed. Not in understanding. It sounded more like he hummed, thinking about what you said.
“What happened back then?”
With every minute of Yunho keeping quiet, your frustrations grew. All these years you thought he was gone forever. Maybe he was as this Yunho was a far cry from what you remembered.
You sat up straighter again, turning your whole body towards Yunho now. “What have they done to you?”, you asked, your voice getting slightly louder while also trembling.
Still, Yunho remained silent. He didn’t even look at you anymore. Instead he stared at the bottom of the van, seemingly lost in his thoughts.
“Tell me”, you pressed. You scooted slightly closer towards him, urging him to speak with you.
Nothing.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” Now you screamed at him, your voice breaking from your desperation. While you didn’t want it to happen, the first tears rolled down your cheeks. You finally stood up and took the few steps back towards him. While your whole body trembled you stared down at him, wanting him to say something.
A few more heartbeats nothing happened, then Yunho looked back up straight into your eyes. “It’s my job”, he stated plainly.
Your shoulders dropped, followed by a mirthless chuckle. “I fucking hate you, Jung Yunho.” You shook your head, exhaling loudly, avoiding eye contact with him now. You tilted your head back, momentarily closing your eyes to prevent more tears from spilling. After several deep breaths you opened your eyes again, looking far into the sky.
In some distance you saw the skyline of the inner city. Even during the day it flashed in neon colours from various holographic and other signs. Above the skyscrapers multiple airships floated through the sky like big whales swimming through the open sea.
Not that you’ve ever been there or seen one, you simply knew they existed from reading old books. You couldn’t even say if they still existed after the big catastrophe.
Your parents told you it was due to some power hungry politics that the whole world started fighting each other until they bombed nearly everything to ashes.
An old man who used to sit at a corner of the street once told you a secret government invention had gone wrong, bringing chaos to the world. Meanwhile a woman on the market always said mother nature took back what belonged to her long ago. The woman also explained nature would still send sandstorms and earthquakes since humanity hasn’t learned from the big catastrophe.
You couldn’t say which of all these origins was the right one and probably nobody else could as well.
A blaring alarm pulled you out of your thoughts and your eyes immediately traveled back to Yunho.
“Sandstorm”, he gritted through his teeth. Yunho turned around to the market place shouting for the others to pack it up.
It wasn’t like one of the storms actually hit the outskirts or the city itself. Mostly the storms only pushed lots of dust and sand towards it, making the air hard to breathe and turning everything into an orange tone.
You watched how the soldiers moved back to the trucks and vans, starting the vehicles and driving off one by one within a few minutes.
The second the soldiers left the market square the people rushed into the streets and alleys, seeking shelter in their homes.
“Sit down and hold tight”, Yunho ordered, shutting the doors of the van and rushing to the driver's seat in front.
Through the open bars in the back you already saw the airships slowly descending and a tall orange dust wall rolling towards the city from the horizon.
The door in the front slammed shut and the engine came to life. Yunho stepped on the gas pedal and the van jolted forward.
You stumbled and fell against the back door before getting your footing again and staggering forward to the bars dividing you from Yunho.
“I told you to sit down”, he shouted over his shoulder, focusing on the street and the decreasing visibility.
“What do you think I’m trying to do?” You snarkily answered and sat down, using one hand to hold onto a bar behind Yunho. “Where are we going now?”
“Back to headquarters.”
You silently waited for him to tell you more. When he didn’t continue you just observed his side profile through the metal bars. His jaw was tense and his eyes narrowed on the road ahead.
Even though he wasn’t the same Yunho from your childhood, his comments so far indicated he remembered at least a little from your shared past. You didn’t care what happened to him, you only wanted your best friend back - no matter what you would have to do.
As you continued to look at him, mapping every detail of him into your mind, you made a silent promise to yourself.
Yunho saved you back then and now it was time to do the same for him. You would do anything in your power to free him and get him out of the clutches from the government.
The orange tint outside of the van slowly ebbed down, revealing blaring neon signs in various colours advertising all kinds of things and places. By now the buildings were high enough that they covered most of the sky.
You looked ahead, noticing the road leading directly towards the highest building within the city - the headquarters. It appeared intimidating, looming over everything and casting a long, dark shadow over the town and its people.
Minutes later your vehicle reached headquarters and large doors opened up in front of you. Once Yunho parked the van, he stepped out without saying another word to you. He moved around the car and opened the back doors.
You didn’t need him to tell you and simply walked over to him, getting out of the van too. You silently turned your head, taking everything you saw - which wasn’t much. Everything seemed to be made out of concrete. The grey only got highlighted by the unnatural white neon lights in the ceiling. Groups of robotic soldiers walked through the hall, their metallic steps the only sound inside.
A shiver ran down your spine once you realised Yunho and yourself were the only humans around. You turned back to look at him, waiting for him to say something.
Instead he only nodded his head for you to follow and started moving towards a closed door at the very far end of the hall.
You hurried after him, getting close to his side while he guided you through the labyrinth of grey hallways. With every step you took, the place became more and more depressing. “Where are you taking me?”, you whispered, looking back at Yunho. Your voice eerily echoed through the empty hallway, appearing way louder than it initially was.
Once again he didn’t answer you, no matter how hard you stared at him. While doing that you at least notice some sort of mark or tattoo on his neck - half covered by his uniform. All you could make of were some sort of wings peaking out.
After a while Yunho led you through another door, opening a large, oval concrete hall with dozens of doors lined up on each side. He walked over to a door in the middle and opened it through a holographic touchpad.
Even after the door stood wide open you stayed rooted in your place, looking at Yunho for some sort of explanation.
He once again only nodded for you to go inside. When you shook your head no, he sighed in annoyance, grabbed you by your arm and shoved you inside.
You were about to protest loudly and curse him out again, when you saw him follow right behind you and pull the door close behind his back.
“This will be your room for the time being”, he slowly started to explain to you, “I will bring you food and water. Follow every order given to you - no matter who gives them. Trust no one and stay out of trouble, do you copy?”
You stared at him for a long moment. Instead of answering him you asked: “What happens here?”
Yunho once again didn’t answer and pressed for your understanding. He stepped closer to you, grabbing you by your upper arms and leaning slightly down to be on eye level with you. “Do you copy?”
“I get it”, you groaned and rolled your eyes, shaking his hands off and stepping away from him again, “but why can’t you answer any of my questions? I want to help you! Don’t you understand? This isn’t you!”
He straightened again and raised one eyebrow as he looked at you. “I’m going now.” With that he turned around and slipped through the door before you could even react.
“Wait! Don’t go!” You launched forward only to slam against the already closed door. Through a tiny window with small metal bars you looked at Yunho, who stayed in front of your cell. Dozens of questions whirled through your head but you decided only on one, hoping for him to answer at least that one. “When will you be back?”
“For your next meal.” He leaned closer to the small opening and dropped his voice: “Remember what I told you.” After his final warning he left you standing there.
You heard the other door close again, leaving you in complete silence. With a deep sigh you turned around and leaned back against your door. You finally scanned the tiny room in front of you. There was only a bed and behind it a partition on one side and a table with a chair and a washing basin on the other side. “It’s a prison cell”, you mumbled and slightly deflated.
With nothing but grey concrete walls around you it became incredibly hard to tell the time passing inside your cell. It could have been an hour or half a day when you heard voices outside in the hall.
Out of nowhere your door opened. You sat up straight on the mattress, staring at the open door. You immediately saw the doors on the opposite side being open as well. Others walked out of their cells and lined up inside the hall.
Ever so slowly you stood up and moved towards the door. You noticed how all the others wore white clothes. You glanced down your own body, wincing when you saw your regular outfit - a stark contrast to the pristine white.
For a moment you considered just staying inside your cell, hiding behind the partition until Yunho came back. That thought was thrown over the second a robotic soldier appeared in front of you. “Line up”, it told you with their static voice, holding something that looked like a stun gun.
You quietly pushed past the robot and stepped into line with the others. All of them stared ahead to the door you initially came through when Yunho brought you here. None of them even moved a muscle as if they became statues.
“A new one?”
Your head snapped to the front as well, noticing a person in a white lab coat with a clipboard in their hands. Two robotic soldiers flanked their side. Your eyes met, still you glanced around once more, making sure it was actually you they talked about.
“Tell me your number.”
You frowned. “Seventy-two?”
They chuckled softly and shook their head. Then they tapped a few times on their clipboard before walking towards you.
You noticed they had a similar scanning device in their hand on top of the clipboard like Yunho used during the raid.
The scientist held it up to your face and the same green lasers moved over your features. They looked down at their tablet, waiting for the information to pop up. “Hm”, they hummed lowly, “you’re not registered. Why are you here?”
“I punched a soldier?”
Their eyes flashed up with interest, before they schooled their face into a neutral expression again. “Follow me”, they told you and turned around, “everyone else back to your rooms!”
You watched how all the others silently moved back into their respective cells without saying a word or looking around.
The robotic soldiers now walked to your side, flanking you to make sure you wouldn’t try to escape.
Once everyone was back in their rooms, the scientist tapped on their screen again and all the doors closed once more. They then walked towards the initial entry and led you back into the maze of hallways.
This time you entered an elevator, which brought you to one of the higher levels. The second the doors opened you noticed the heavy contrast to the concrete halls on the base floors. Grey walls were replaced with an almost blinding white. On every corner you saw several monitors and doors were mostly made of thick security glass.
The scientist walked into an empty room and towards a desk in the corner of it. The soldiers now stepped next to the door that closed with a whooshing sound behind you.
“Starting research 22152984”, they said into a little microphone on their desk, right next to a big computer screen showing all kinds of data.
“What is this here?” You looked around, seeing more tables with different tools scattered across it, a chair close to the tables with securing straps on the arm and leg rests as well as a large capsule entirely made out of glass.
“This floor and others above it are entirely designated for research”, the scientist answered shortly.
“What kind of research?”
They hummed in thought before answering vaguely: “Various things, the citizens, the environment, you name it.” They turned around and walked over to the chair. “Please, take a seat.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
The scientist didn’t even need to answer. The second you finished your question you heard some sort of clicking behind you, followed by an electric buzzing sound.
“Got it”, you mumbled and moved over to the chair. “What are you researching especially?”
“Effects of the environment on the human body.”
“Is that why the government continues with the raids through the outskirts?” You continued questioning them as you sat down, needing all the information you could get. “What happens to the people they take? Are they still here? Doesn’t it change the results when they stay in a prison cell for a long time?”
The scientist chuckled again, shaking their head softly. “You ask a lot of questions.”
“And barely get any answers”, you immediately retorted.
Again you noticed the flash of interest in their eyes. “I’ll need a blood sample from you now.”
You closely watched them prepare a syringe and step next to you. They tapped on your arm a few times until finding the right spot to draw some blood.
“What are you hoping to find?”
“I don’t know yet”, they answered you without looking up. Once they filled a vial, they moved back towards one of the many tables. A few drops they immediately placed on a glass slate, placing it under the microscope. Half of the blood got transferred into a second vial and placed into some sort of machine. The rest got placed into a cooler.
The scientist looked through the microscope, adjusting a few things here and there before deflating with a sigh. “No signs of it”, they mumbled.
“Signs of what?”
They jolted and quickly changed the subject. “Please go into the capsule for more testing.”
You narrowed your eyes but still got up from the chair, slowly walking over to the glass. Once you stepped into the capsule the glass frame sealed behind you. As you turned around you saw how the scientist rapidly pressed different keys on their keyboard.
The second they pressed the enter key, the air around you shifted.
Before you even knew what was happening, your heartbeat already increased and your breaths became more shallow. You wanted to ask what was happening but your body refused to waste your breath. You stumbled against the glass wall, leaning against it while your vision turned blurry. You weakly raised your hand, knocking against the glass as you gasped for air. Your other hand moved to your throat. Fingernails dug into your skin, leaving red marks as you clawed at your throat. You dropped to your knees, feeling weaker with every passing second.
Only after you completely dropped to the floor and your vision blacked out, the scientist pressed another key.
The door of the capsule opened again, new air streaming inside, making you gasp loudly with eyes opened wide.
The scientist came over and took another vial of your blood. They closed the door immediately after getting enough blood, doing the same tests from before.
You sat up, still feeling somewhat dizzy from before. You immediately noticed how they deflated again and stomped over to their computer. “What are you searching for?”, you croaked out and stood back up again, using one hand against the glass wall to steady yourself.
This time they didn’t answer you and only pressed the enter key on their keyboard again. As they turned back around to you, you heard small fans below your feet and above your head whirring.
Suddenly sand whirled into the capsule.
You quickly covered your mouth and nose by pulling your shirt over them. You squinted your eyes and even shielded them with your other hand. Yet, the tiny grains of sand pricked into your bare skin, hurting you the faster the wind whirled them around. You dropped back to the ground, curling up as far as you could, trying to protect yourself as much as possible.
Tears formed at the corners of your eyes. You couldn’t say whether they came as a protective measure, were due to the pain or a deep sadness thinking Yunho must have gone through all of this himself.
It felt like hours before the tiny sandstorm within the capsule stopped again. Once more the scientist drew your blood and made the same tests on it.
You didn’t even need to look at them to know they still didn’t get the results they wanted. Their increasing annoyance was already palpable. You heard the rapid tapping of keys again and felt another shift in the air around you.
The hairs on your arms stood up, feeling the tingling before anything else. The first few lightning shocks were tolerable but with increasing intensity the pain became more and more apparent as well.
You groaned loudly, your body already spasming with each electric current. As the onslaught continued you couldn’t hold back anymore, you screamed from the pain, silently begging for the tests to stop, for anyone to save you.
You didn’t even react anymore when the door to the capsule opened once more and the scientist drew even more blood. This time they didn’t even care about attending the wound after drawing blood.
They cursed loudly after a while. More key smashing filled the air and you felt the static increase inside the capsule again.
This time the tiny fans began whirring as well and the sand whirled around too. You curled yourself up, covering your head with your arms as much as you could. But every time a lightning shot through the capsule, hitting you, you involuntarily uncurled again.
While you were stuck in the capsule and tested on, Yunho came into the room. “Professor”, he shortly greeted the scientist and then stayed rooted in the middle of the room, his arms crossed behind his back.
“You can make yourself useful and carry that specimen over to the chair.”
Yunho walked over to the capsule and picked you up from the bottom, carrying you bridal style towards the chair. Even though seeing you like this made his heart sting, he knew better than to defy orders. He silently watched the scientist do his work, but still stayed close to you instead of stepping away.
“Still no sign of it!” The scientist grabbed their hair and groaned loudly in frustration. “Even after putting the body through immense stress situations there is no build up in adrenaline! It seemed so promising.”
They turned towards you and Yunho, tapping their chin in thought. “If I remember correctly it was the same case with you, Soldier Jeong. You’re from the same district aren’t you?”
“If you say so, professor.”
Your head lulled to the side as you tried to look at Yunho through barely open eyes. You hadn’t realised that he came and a wave of reassurance spread through your body.
“You can bring them back to their quarters or dispose of them. I don’t think the government needs another soldier like you.” The scientist turned away again, noting on their computer that research 22152984 failed.
Once again Yunho picked you up and carried you through the hallway towards the elevator.
The second the elevator doors closed behind you, you asked him to let you down. Despite being somewhat reluctant, you stood back on your two feet and staggered towards the button panel. You pressed the emergency button and the elevator stopped moving, turning the white lights into low red ones.
“I’m so sorry”, you whispered, still keeping your back towards him. Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes again as guilt consumed you.
You didn’t want to imagine what Yunho had gone through all these years while you lived somewhat peacefully instead of fighting to find him. “I should have looked for you.” Your voice broke as a sob tore through your throat.
Suddenly strong arms wrapped around your torso from behind, pulling you against Yunho’s broad chest. “You were a child.”
“Not anymore.”
“You didn’t know. It’s too bad you got roped in with that scientist. There are a lot of others, who still test you but are - let's say - nicer about it.”
You quietly continued to sob in his arms. At some point he gently turned you around so you could hide your face into his chest. It took some time before you calmed down again. Your shaky breaths slowly but surely became steadier once more.
“We need to leave”, you mumbled into his chest, staring at the floor below you. “No, we need to do something! We can’t let others suffer the same as you did.”
Yunho chuckled softly. “What will one person change against a whole system?”
“I’m sure there are others too. Also we could persuade the other prisoners! We could start a rebellion with them”, you argued back, finally tilting your head and looking up at Yunho.
A deep sadness was rooted in his eyes as he slowly shook his head no. “They are all brainwashed. Just like me. There is no persuading.”
“But you aren’t anymore, are you?” Your hands grabbed onto the fabric of his uniform, desperation filling your mind.
Yunho mulled over your words before answering with hesitation: “Not entirely, no. Not when I’m with you.”
“Then it should work with the others as well!”
His face morphed into a grimace of doubt. “I’m not saying it is impossible but I fear it needs more than talking to them.”
You frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I think it needs an emotional bond between you and the brainwashed person.” He sighed deeply and quickly shifted into an amused smirk. “Or a good punch to the jaw.”
For a moment you simply stared at him, dumbfounded he could joke around right now. Then you rolled your eyes, trying to hide the small smile forming on your lips. “Idiot.”
Yunho grinned brightly, almost proud of himself before he turned serious again. “We will find a way. I’ll bring you back to your cell for now. When I have the chance of getting some information for an escape plan, I will get you again.”
You nodded shortly. As you inhaled deeply and squared your shoulders again, you stepped away from Yunho and pressed the emergency button again. The elevator turned back to normal and resumed its way down.
Several days passed and Yunho regularly ordered you to follow him. Sometimes it was to empty labs, where the both of you looked through dozens of files. Other times he brought you to an office with dozens of screens, showcasing strange data. One time he brought you to a workshop. It had looked chaotic but each working desk had different holographic plans - some of them even showing floor plans of the building.
“I heard some soldiers talking about the increase of rebel activity”, Yunho informed you, “There are seemingly more and more attacks in the wastelands and the government struggles to get it under control.”
“Then that is where we should be going.”
Yunho looked at you for a long moment. “Getting from one dangerous place to the next? How would we even get there? The city boundaries are heavily guarded.”
You grinned at him knowingly. “I heard rumours about a bar.”
“Great timing to get drunk.”
You swatted at his upper arm and rolled your eyes, but before you were able to explain what you heard, something else came to your mind. “Why does the government search for adrenaline in humans?”
Yunho shrugged with his shoulders. “Beats me.”
“Haven’t you heard anything about it in all these years?” You pressed, staring straight into his eyes.
“Lots of different things. Some told me it was a source of power, which is needed for the advanced technology they use. Others said people with adrenaline in their body possess inhumane abilities and the government is scared that they will work against them.”
“So they either recruit them or eliminate them.”
Yunho nodded shortly. “Maybe it is both, I truly can’t say what is the truth and what isn’t. There are simply too many versions about it.”
You thought about it for a while. Even though you weren’t satisfied with such vague rumours, you had to settle on that. “Fine, back to the bar. What I heard is that it helps you to escape the city. Since we do not know what to do after getting out of here, that would be a good option to try out. After that we can go anywhere we want. Maybe there’s a place outside of this city that’s - I don’t know - better suited for us.”
“We still need a way to get out of here in the first place.” Yunho wiped through the holographic image, making it spin in circles. “I can’t just take you and drive you out of here.”
“What about-”
Your sentence died in your throat as the walls suddenly shook violently after you two heard a loud bang in the distance. Seconds later an obnoxious alarm blared through the speakers in each room.
You looked at Yunho with wide eyes, silently asking him what was happening.
“The headquarters is under attack”, he stated through gritted teeth. He tensed up and closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose.
You already knew he had this internal fight whenever specific sounds came through the speaker since they were some sort of commands. You placed your hand on his, gently pressing on it.
“We leave now.” Yunho grabbed you by your upper arm and pulled you out into the hallway. After a short stop at his sleeping quarters to grab a pre-packed duffelbag, he continued to guide you through the building.
Soldiers ran around the halls, shouting different commands. Robots moved towards one direction, all of their lights turned red from the alarm. Scientists hurriedly rushed to their labs, trying to save their data before the power went out or rebels stormed into the rooms, destroying everything they worked on.
None of them paid any attention to you two. You turned your head and looked over your shoulder, seeing Yunho’s fierce expression - making him somewhat intimidating.
Soon enough the both of you reached the garage. Yunho immediately rushed over to a sleek black car. He opened the door to the passenger seat and let you get in before he closed the door and ran around the car, jumping into the driver seat. He threw the duffelbag over his shoulder to the backseats and started the engine.
With squealing tires Yunho turned the car and drove towards the exit. He pressed a button on the console and the doors to the city slowly slid open.
“You’re too fast”, you noticed with baited breath, grabbing onto your seat and watching how the doors inched further apart.
“There’s no time!” Yunho didn’t reduce his speed and stared straight ahead towards the opening. “We need to get away before the system overrides my command.”
Before the car reached the doors you closed your eyes in fear, only hearing how the metal on each side of the car scraped against the thick stone doors.
“What’s the name of the bar?” Yunho asked. He still seemed tense, the knuckles of his hand turning white around the steering wheel.
“I think it was ‘Floating Silver’”, you told him, shaken from what just happened. You heard more bombs going off and saw several dark smoke clouds rising from different buildings. “It’s not just headquarters they’re attacking!”
Yunho only groaned, pulling your attention back to him.
“What’s wrong?”
He blinked several times, tilting his head over and over as if he tried shaking something off. “There’s something inside of me. I can feel it grow and have no control over it.” Yunho grabbed onto his neck, a sudden pain spreading from there. He groaned again, swerving the car.
“Stop the car! Stop it before we crash!” You yelled at him, seeing how he lost more and more control over his body and the car.
While Yunho did get slower, it wasn’t fast enough as another wave of excruciating pain soared through his veins.
The car slammed into a wall, both you and Yunho smashing against the front of the car from the force before immediately dropping back into your seats.
White smoke rose from the engine of the car and a sudden fear the car would catch fire, you scrambled out of it. You turned around, your fear increasing when Yunho didn’t get out right after you.
“Yunho!” You called for him, running around the crashed car and opening the door to the driver’s seat.
Yunho dropped out to the ground, writhing in pain. He didn’t react to any of your calls, grabbing the side of his neck over and over again.
You dropped to your knees next to him. You had to fight him quite a bit, pulling his hands away from his neck.
By now he had scratched his skin around the tattooed mark until it started bleeding. “Burn it”, he rasped through his pain, knowing the mark was the reason his body acted up like this.
You looked around, trying to figure out where you’d find a tool for such a task.
“Bag, knife, lighter.”
You grabbed the duffelbag from the backseats and quickly returned to his side again. While you heated the knife with the lighter you both found inside the bag like Yunho told you, you apologised to him every few seconds. Not just for the fact you were about to hurt him but also for taking so long and not helping him faster.
“Hurry!” Yunho fought against the urge to claw at his neck again, instead grabbing the fabric of his shirt and pressing it into his stomach.
After a few more seconds you leaned over Yunho and pressed the heated side of the knife into the tattoo on his neck.
Yunho closed his eyes from the burning sensation. The hissing sound from his skin slowly faded as the knife grew colder again.
You saw how his skin turned red first and then black, the tattoo fading as his skin burnt. Without even thinking about it, you threw the knife to the side and pressed your palm on the wound. The remaining heat seeped into your hand and as it slowly cooled down, you noticed how the tension left his body as well.
Yunho opened his eyes again and for a second you saw a flash of purple running through them before they turned back to normal.
“What happened?”
Yunho inhaled deeply. “Honestly? I can only guess. Each human soldier isn’t just brainwashed but also drugged with something. That and the mark on their body is used to control them, to make sure they show no human emotion.”
“So you’d basically become like those robots?”
“Yes.”
You mulled over his explanation until you realised something. “That means you’ve been in pain for quite some time, haven’t you? You showed emotions whenever you were with me.”
“Nothing like this though”, he confirmed your thoughts. “I defied orders today, this was to remind me where my place was.”
“It could have killed you!” You protested loudly.
Yunho chuckled and sat up again. “Normally nobody is so stupid and ignores the first few waves of pain.”
You pressed your lips into a thin line. “Is it at least better now?”
“Don’t worry, Shortwing”, he said while patting your head, “we should rather continue to get out of here.”
A small smile played over your lips, hearing him use the nickname he chose for you. “Fine! But we can’t use the car anymore - for some reason I cannot name”, you teased him as you got back up to your feet. You checked him out once more, noticing another scratch right on the bridge of his nose. Despite that he at least appeared to be fine.
Yunho grabbed the duffelbag again, pulling two light blue capes out of it. “Put this on. We need to appear like law-abiding citizens.”
“We don’t wear stuff like that on the outskirts”, you mumbled but put the cape on anyway.
“Different districts, different rules.” With that he grabbed your hand and pulled you through the streets and alleys.
It took you two a while to navigate through the city and find the bar called “Floating Silver”. Both of you stopped in front of the entrance, looking at the exterior of it.
“Looks like a normal bar to me”, Yunho mentioned with a raised eyebrow. “You sure we get help here?”
You grimaced, unable to give him a good answer.
“Okay, here’s the plan. You try to get some information, while I change out of my uniform.”
“Sounds good”, you agreed and stepped through the entrance.
Your gaze immediately was drawn to the bar and the shelves lined up with alcohol behind it. Above it the name “Floating Silver” glowed in neon lights. There were several stools in front of the bar and a few booths on the other side.
Yunho quickly excused himself to the restrooms while you slowly moved to one of the booths. You sat down quietly and observed your surroundings.
There were a few other patrons and the bartender having some sort of argument with a silver haired woman.
You silently watched them, unable to understand what they were talking about since their voices were rather hushed.
When the woman stormed off through a door, which showed a staircase leading up, you noticed a limp right before the door closed behind her and a sign with the word “private” caught your eye instead.
Ever so slowly you turned your attention back to the bartender, who now wiped down a few glasses.
He made eye contact with you and shortly nodded for you to sit down at the bar instead. “Rough day?” He asked in a deep voice once you sat down.
You nodded dumbly, somewhat distracted by his statue-esque beauty. If it weren’t for the red birthmark on his cheek right underneath the corner of his left eye, you probably would have thought he was one.
“What can I do for you?”
You contemplated what to say, unsure how you could ask for a way out of the city without knowing whether he worked for the government or not.
“Let’s start with a drink”, Yunho suggested and slid on the seat next to you, “maybe you have some sort of special?”
You turned your head to look at him, noticing how he wore a washed out green jacket. The collar of it was large enough to cover his whole neck and even the lower parts of his face.
“Sure, let me show you the options”, the bartender said and put down the glass in his hand. He motioned for the both of you to follow him, walking straight to a door with the label storage.
Yunho stepped into the storage once the bartender had opened the door, you on the other hand hesitated. You looked towards the other patrons.
“It’s alright”, the bartender assured you with a mysterious smile, “they know of the special.”
You nodded softly and then followed Yunho into the storage room.
The bartender followed you, closed the door behind him and introduced himself as Yeosang. “From the looks of it you’re in need of escaping this city.”
While Yunho agreed, you patted down your clothes and hair, suddenly conscious about your own appearance.
Yeosang nodded shortly. “I’ll open the tunnel to the wastelands for you. Just follow it until the end and you’ll get to an old bunker. From there on you can get out into the wasteland. The bunker is close to a car graveyard, though none of them should work anymore. Beware of the sandstorms they possibly radiate nuclear power.”
You turned to Yunho wide eyed. “Did I get nuclear radiation sandstormed by that scientist?!”, you gasped, offended by the possibility.
Yunho pulled you into a hug, amused by your tone and choice of words. “No, otherwise the scientist would have needed more protection.” He then turned his attention back to Yeosang, nodding to him that you two were ready now.
You turned in Yunho’s hold, seeing how Yeosang’s eyes flashed blue while he concentrated on a large keg, which slowly began to float. Your own eyes widened in surprise and realisation. The flashing blue indicated the use of adrenaline, something the scientist had looked for in your blood.
At the same time you had to think of the slight purple flash in Yunho’s eyes, wondering whether he was also able to use adrenaline. Until you remembered the snarky words of the scientist, telling Yunho he was just as useless a specimen as you were.
Your attention drifted to the floating keg and then the hole beneath it. A ladder led down into the tunnel.
Yunho let go of you, thanked Yeosang and quickly started climbing down. Once he reached the bottom, he called out for you.
“Thank you”, you whispered with a slight bow before following Yunho down into the hole.
To your surprise the tunnel wasn’t as dark as you initially thought. A string of cables with several lamps in regular spacing hung on each side of the walls.
“Let’s go.” Yunho smiled softly, offering his hand for you to take. The second you placed your hand in his, his smile widened. “Still following orders so well.”
You pursed your lips, about to rip your hand away again. But Yunho seemed to read your mind and tightened his grip on your hand.
“I’m joking.”
“Great”, you scoffed and rolled your eyes. Not wanting to dwell on this awkward feeling rising inside your chest, you moved forward and followed the path of the tunnel.
Yunho snickered and quickly caught up to you, walking right beside you. He pulled the collar of his jacket up with his free hand, hiding his smile from you.
“How do you feel by the way?” You asked after a while, wondering whether he felt any sort of side effect.
“Hmm”, he hummed, “maybe energised?”
“In a good way?”
Yunho squeezed your hand. “Definitely. I’m alive, free and with the only person I care about.” He pulled on the collar of his jacket once more.
Still, you were able to see how his cheeks turned slightly pink and how his ears changed into a deep red. You smiled, ignoring how your heartbeat increased slightly. “I care about you too”, you whispered softly.
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