Everything seemed so far away, he remembered a time when he fell into a pool. He couldn’t swim then, they stood there as panic crushed his lungs. The sunlight faded as he thrashed against the darkness devouring him. Red hair in the shape of horns, an unconcerned gaze mirrored the unforgiving sea around him. Sink or Swim; it’s simple, isn’t it? Are they not supposed to be the perfected clones? Are they not the final product? A new wave of panic shot through him, another flaw. Sehůn gasped as he was pulled from the dark abyss, he coughed and wretched out the water that tried to fill his lungs.
“You need to be better, Sehůn. There’s no time for these flaws, the last thing we need is to train another version of you. There’s no time for these ridiculous imperfections,” Judgmental eyes as dark as a wave caught in a storm softened only for a split second, even Kāi would have missed it.
“I’ll do better,” Sehůn their creators have no problem with disposing him. They’ve done it so many times already.
Subject 99 is their current addition, 99 different Xiůmin’s walked in the same shoes. They’ve finally perfected Xiůmin with the 99th subject. The 1st couldn’t speak, the 10th couldn’t use its abilities, the 90th was burned to a crisp in an argument with Chanyeøl… there have been so many different Xiůmin’s, it’s always difficult to trust the second in command. Until now, the 99th subject is the best creation since the 1st Suhø. The Red Force studied Suho inside and out for many years. He made them promise to leave the other Exo members alone as long as he could stay conscious. A foolish mistake if you asked Sehůn.
If the creators were allowed to study the others like they did Suho, they all could have been perfect originally. The war would have ended so quickly if they were all as perfect as Subject 01. How many more needed to be created and destroyed before they are all as perfect as Subject 01 and Subject 99? Sehůn hid his fear quite well from the others, an emotion he shouldn’t have in the first place. He’s flawed beyond repair, it’s only a matter of time before the creators understand how flawed he truly is. Sehůn is Subject 93, and he is flawed. He’s not ready to die, he’s not ready to be destroyed. As long as he can continue to hide his flaws, he could live.
“Sehůn, we need to get going to the next test area,” Subject 04 startled him from his thoughts. Another clone lucky enough to have been perfected early on.
They were given the emotions to “care” for each other, just in a different way. Caring too much is a flaw but using that ability to drive rage is a current test. Sehůn can’t imagine how hard it must have been for those who were perfected early on, especially for Suhø. Suhø met all 99 Xiůmins. He met 4 Baëkhyuns and 9 Lāys, it must have been so lonely for him… Sehůn followed closely behind their emotionless leader, they all strived to be as perfect as the first. He looked around to his brothers and counted quietly, making a small list in his mind.
1 Suhø, 4 Baëkhyuns, 99 Xiůmins, 61 Chanyeøls, how many different versions of the others did they still need to go through? Only four of them were perfected, five of them still needed a lot of work. Sehůn remembers hearing from one of the creators that their search for a perfect formula based around Subjects 87 and 9 is almost over. Having a perfect version of Kāi and Lāy would give the Red Forces an edge against the Originals. Giving them time to perfect the rest of the clones, Subject 93 knows he doesn’t have long with his brothers.
The Creators never allow a clone with flaws to live long. Should he try to fight against the Creators like the last D.Ø did? That was the first time he ever saw the great Suhø fight for one of them. It was really hard watching them take Subject 11 away from Suhø. It was the first time Sehůn ever saw the truth. Subject 01 has a dangerous flaw, one he hides from the Creators with his quick processing and adapting abilities. Subject 01 cares for each and every one of the experiments in his own way, caring too much is one of the most dangerous flaws an experiment can have. Yet, he’s gotten away with it. He’s the only clone of the great Suho to ever pass all the tests given to him, Sehůn wonders if Baëkhyun and Chanyeøl can see the flaw in great Suhø too.
As they arrived at the next training area, Chën and him were pulled aside. Sehůn now understood why Baëkhyun seemed so angry today, why Suhø refused to meet his gaze in warmth. Two of them were being pulled to go back into phase one. Their “family” isn’t losing one brother today, they’re losing two. Chën follows without a fight, knowing there’s nothing he can do.
Sehůn frantically looks for Suhø warm gaze, only to meet an icy glare instead. Sehůn ripped his arm from the nurse trying to sedate him, he’s not ready to die yet! Footsteps approached him slowly. When did he start feeling dizzy? Sehůn turned to see Suhø next to him instead of the nurse, shaking his head slowly he begged for his life through his gaze. Why couldn’t his mouth move? He pled with his gaze; he wants to stay for one more day. He wants another chance to prove he can change and improve his flaws.
“Sehůn it’s time to rest,” Suhø spoke to him softly as the other bodies in the room began to disappear.
“I’m not ready, please convince them to let me stay! I can grow stronger-” Sehůn could only see Suhø now, he felt Subject 01 “help” him onto a soft surface.
“Fight for me like you fought for him,” Sehůn whispered softly, when did it become so difficult for him to breathe?
“You’re flawed,” Suhø stated simply without an ounce of sorrow in his tone. Sehůn thought he saw tears forming in Suhø’s eyes, but maybe it was a trick of the light from Baëkhyun.
