Generation Y (Chapter 8)
Junsu wanted it to end. His body was beyond sore and tired and had moved on to numb and jelly-like. The girl, whom he learned was named Bong-cha, was relentless in her experiments, making him do all kinds of endurance tests and mind tests. She worked him tirelessly, and he highly suspected it was only because she wanted him to pay for what he did to her.
“I didn’t even do anything,” he muttered, his throat dry and sore. Nonetheless there was no way he was going to give her that satisfaction of watching him trip up or fall. Like he could ever do that in front of her. Not only that, the fact that Yoochun was alive made him keep going. And Yoochun believed that Junsu was really there to help him, and not just a figment of his imagination like he had probably thought. Besides Yunho and the others were coming and they were going to break them out if Junsu couldn’t do it first. So until then he gritted his teeth and worked as hard as they pushed him, and then he just couldn’t do it anymore.
He stumbled and collapsed to the floor, and vomited in front of Bong-cha, and he felt absolutely pissed off at himself. She just sniffed and waited until the vomit was cleaned before crouching down in front of him. She grabbed his chin and jerked it up so his sweaty face was inches from hers.
“Done so soon?” she asked mockingly, “and here I thought you looked so determined.”
“Screw…you…” he panted, his body shaking uncontrollably from the overexertion. “You’re just like all the other Plutotec idiots who think that these experiments are really testing anything. And I thought you were different.” He spat the last part at her, making her blink in surprise and her hand dropped from his chin. She stared at him with her wide-eyed, sweet gaze, and Junsu saw a crack in the façade she put on. He smiled as he was dragged up into the arms of two guards and shook his head.
“You should really consider a new job,” he said hoarsely, “your kind isn’t fit for this kind of work.” She just stared at him in a stunned position, all her fury and revenge drained out of her face. In fact, she was pale and trembling, as if shocked to see what she had done. Junsu felt a pang of pity and looked away. However, with that pity came a little bubble of satisfaction. He had actually gotten a Plutotec scientist to falter in her experiments. There’s a first for everything.
~*~*~
Yunho and co. came up to the Plutotec building two days later and couldn’t help the creeping fear that trickled through their bodies. It was cold and cruel, and they all shivered as oppressed memories washed back into their minds. They had gotten off track and turned around, going back the same way they had came before they realized that it was the wrong direction. That set them back and now they felt more urgent and anxious. They decided to jump right in and do the rescue mission before any more time was lost.
“Alright we know what to do,” Yunho said, “we know the blueprints front to back, and I say we skip the scouting and get straight to it. I have no idea how long any of them are going to last so the sooner we get in and out the better.”
The plan was that all of them go into Plutotec museum and act like tourists sight-seeing. Then Tiffany would create a distraction long enough for Jaejoong to shape shift into fly and get to the other side of the door that led to the basement. Once down there he’d off the security blocking entry and the others would slip in after him, and they’d all go down together. Then it would be a matter of getting past all the guards and getting to the pod prison.
The four of them walked up the steps to Plutotec museum, following the crowd of curious people wanting to know exactly what the building was about. To Yunho, Jaejoong, Changmin and Tiffany, it was hell.
~*~*~
“You don’t have to kill him you know,” Sun sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “I know you’re pissed off and intent on revenge but he has valuable mutant DNA and could really help us get rid of them. I know I gave you permission to take on his experiments but please don’t kill him so soon.”
“Don’t worry I won’t,” Bong-cha muttered, “I don’t even have to be part of his experiments if you s choose. There are so many other mutants in those pods I can-”
“They’re all dead or almost,” Sun interrupted, “those three new additions are really the only viable sources we have. We’ve almost burned out all our supply which is a shame.” She turned to Bong-cha. “Bring me Yoochun and the boy. Maybe there’s still some life in Park Yoochun yet.”
~*~*~
Junsu hit the wall when he was tossed into the pod, and he slid down too weak to do anything. Now that he was away from Bong-cha, all his energy was gone and he couldn’t even keep up an act convincing enough for Yoochun and the other two. Instead he slumped against the wall, wishing sleep would come so he could have some time to be free from everything. Eventually sleep did come, but it was brief and uncomfortable, as all his muscles were tight and sore from the exertion they went through. He smiled at Yoochun and constantly reassured him that he was fine, a lie that Yoochun saw through easily. It seemed as though he had regained his strength and was now the one who was giving courage to Junsu. Ironic, since it was Junsu who was supposed to be the one doing that. There was no concept of time in Plutotec, but Junsu felt like he’s been there for years when only it was probably only a couple days.
Junsu felt sorry for Yoochun, who went through this every day for two years. And he was even more surprised that Yoochun managed to survive for so long. When they were curled close to each other, with only the glass separating them, Yoochun told Junsu the reason.
‘It’s because I knew you would come for me,’ he said in sign language, ‘my love for you kept me going for so long.’
Junsu put his hand up to the glass and smiled shakily as Yoochun did the same. They were so close, so close to feel each other’s touch, and yet the glass in their way made them seem so far away. It was impossible not to feel that yearning emotion to hold that one that you were so dear too when they were sitting right there, just inches away. It even more torturing than the brutal experiments they went through periodically. Taemin and Yoona were in the same position. They wanted to hug and keep each other safe but there was no way they could with that devilish glass stuck in between them.
Suddenly Junsu stood up and glanced around, wondering how he could possibly get out. He had already dismissed the idea of breaking the glass, but maybe he could figure out some other way. The pain of not having Yoochun in his arms by then was enough to drive him wild and he looked up at the ceiling. There was no possible escape route, just the top of his pod, which was welded shut.
“There’s got to be something,” he muttered, “but what…?”
He turned to the wall and paused, staring down. There was a crack that ran up a few inches from the floor. At the base of the crack was a tiny hole. Crouching down, Junsu examined the hole, and pressed his finger against it. Then his lips cracked into a smile and he turned to Yoochun in excitement.
‘There’s air!’ he said happily, ‘I can kick this down and we should be able to get out!’
‘Will it work?’ Yoochun asked, and the doubt was evident on his face. Yoona was watching him too, uncertainly. Junsu decided there was no point in sugar-coating it anymore and he sighed, but kept his face confident.
‘I don’t know,’ he admitted, ‘but I have to see anyway…you never know right?’
And before he could get a response he stood up and his boot came in contact with the crack. Unfortunately it didn’t bring down the wall, but it did make the crack bigger. So he kicked, again and again, going until his foot was numb and Yoochun was waving at him to stop. The crack had become a foot-sized hold, the wall being thicker than he had anticipated. Nonetheless it was a start and Junsu could see a hallway stretching out behind the pods.
Suddenly the guards came again, and they stopped in front of Yoochun’s pod. Junsu kept his back pressed against the wall but he reached out shaking his head.
“No!” he cried out, and suddenly noticed that Taemin was being taken out too. “What are you doing? You usually only take one! Bring them back!”
Yoona was on her feet, pounding on the glass and Junsu-forgetting the hole for a moment-stood up as well and pressed himself as close to the glass as he could. He watched little Taemin, too terrified to fight back, and Yoochun who was actually resisting, being dragged away. The only problem, was that they were being led the opposite way that the labs were.
~*~*~
Tiffany ended up screaming and fainting suddenly, causing enough commotion that Jaejoong slipped behind a display of a person and changed into a fly and flew off towards the door. Changmin was drinking water from the fountain closest to the door and spotted a little black dot slide through the crack of the door before pressing himself against the wall and blending. Then he crept closer to it and waited until he heard a click, and the security was disabled.
Sneakily he slipped back into his normal appearance and gestured to Yunho. Tiffany was still playing it up and the guards were checking her for any vitals. They were so distracted they didn’t see the two young men slip in through the door that led the labs.
Changmin kept close to Yunho, holding him and blending with their surroundings whenever necessary. Jaejoong remained a fly, but he too stuck close in case anything happened. He hovered discreetly next to Yunho’s shoulder, his little fly instincts on high alert.
They were in the storage, which was eerie and dark, and full of old and damaged displays. They moved silently through the rows, noticing how they weren’t meeting as many guards as they had anticipated. That didn’t mean a good thing, so it put them on even higher alert.
Suddenly they came to an elevator pointing downwards. Changmin smirked and rolled his eyes while Yunho tensed. The elevator came to a stop and they snuck in, making sure that Jaejoong was still buzzing close to them. Still they hadn’t met anyone, and it was really starting to eat at Yunho’s nerves. It seemed too easy, almost like they were expected….
The elevator eventually came to a stop, three floors below the storage, and Changmin and Yunho tensed, waiting for someone to attack them. Nothing happened, and they relaxed just a fraction so they would be able to move easily and stealthily. The elevator had opened up to a long, windowless yet fluorescently lit hallway. It was so bright it was blinding, and Changmin blinked several times before he could get adjusted to the lack of colour. It appeared too sterile and plain, and it sent shivers up and down each of their spines.
Jaejoong’s little bug body touched the floor and he began shifting back into a human being, and shook his head, getting used to being so big and intelligent than before. Then he followed after the other two, who were braced and ready for anything. That anything never happened, and when they reached the end of the hall, colour seemed to hit the world in a bleak manner. There was a white door, with a window and through it Yunho, Changmin and Jaejoong saw what they had hoped never to see again. Plutotec labs.
There was one directly in front of them, and thankfully it was unoccupied. However, they knew there was more, and in a facility so big they saw at least ten different labs in total; in a smaller building-like the one Yunho and Jaejoong had been in-there had only been three labs. That’s when they spotted the guards and other scientists. The scientists were bustling about quickly and quietly, while the guards stood on patrol, pacing slowly as if an animal on the hunt. Yunho glanced at Changmin, who nodded and took Jaejoong’s hand. Then he opened the door as quietly as he could and slipped in, instantly blending with his background. Jaejoong instantly disappeared as well, and Yunho waited until the guard had turned his back before slipping out and reaching out with his hand. He felt another cool, invisible hand touch his, and in a matter of seconds he became part of the grim wall behind him.
The guard never noticed a thing, until he turned back and spotted that the door stood ajar. Confused he went over to it and pulled it open, scanned the empty hall, then simply he closed it again and continued on his patrol. Changmin lead the others silently around him and, remembering the blueprints for the lab, he swerved around the empty labs and then stopped dead in his tracks. The other two, obviously unaware of this, ran right into him, knocking him slightly off balance. Forcefully they kept quiet but Yunho was hissing at him to keep moving. But Changmin didn’t budge, but jerked his hand that held Yunho’s in the direction he was looking. If he were visible his face would show complete shock, and Yunho knew something was wrong so he turned and looked. And he couldn’t believe he what he saw.
No, not what, but who. A woman was standing in an office, one hand planted on the desk and the other holding someone’s chin tightly. That person was so familiar, and so unbelievably alive that Yunho had to blink several times to convince himself it was true. Yoochun really was alive, and he was only a few feet away!
Suddenly the woman flung Yoochun aside and motioned for something they couldn’t see. But then Taemin appeared, squirming and kicking as he was plopped down on the desk. The woman grabbed Taemin’s little arm and spun him around so he was facing Yoochun, his older brother struggling against the guards that held him defensively. He looked so wild and furious, that Yunho thought any moment Yoochun was going to tear them all to pieces for having touched his little brother in such a cruel manner. He never did anything of the like and that’s when Yunho remembered the subduing devices Plutotec created. Now that he looked he could see what looked like a black smudge, from that distance, on Taemin’s and Yoochun’s necks. Gently Yunho nudged Changmin in that direction and Changmin composed himself and hurried off towards the office. Wherever Junsu and Yoona were, they would have to wait a little bit longer.
~*~*~
Yoochun struggled in the guards’ grasps, snarling and fighting like an animal in the face of danger. Sun merely looked at him and pursed her lips. She grabbed Taemin’s arm and swung him around so his older brother could see him.
“Are you that much of a poor brother that you’ll just let him die?” she hissed, and got a snarl in response. “Tsk, tsk, Yoochun, I thought better of you. All I need is the location of your mother and the other Generation Y mutants hiding with her and I’ll let the both of you go.”
“Bullshit,” Yoochun snapped, “and what makes you think I know? I wasn’t with them so how would I know where they went? Is your team just that poor in locating mutants these days? That’s a shame, it would be a waste for you to run out of lab rats for your stupid experiments!”
“My, where did all this energy come from?” Sun asked, dropping Taemin’s hand and placing her hand on his head. “Look at this poor boy…don’t you want him to be free from all this? Just tell me where they are and then you’ll get that desire. Or maybe the other two know? But they seemed so ignorant in their memory scans so I think they’re either suppressing it or-”
Suddenly there was a crash and Sun was thrown off her feet, yelping in surprise. Taemin tumbled off the desk and dashed under it, covering his head for safety. Yoochun used this distraction to pull away from the guards and dived under the desk with Taemin, pulling the little boy tightly against him. He glanced around but saw no one, and yet the glass had mysteriously shattered. With Taemin in his arms he slid out from under the desk, and glanced around, searching for something….
There! A smile broke out across Yoochun’s face as he saw Changmin appear on the other side of the desk, followed by Yunho and Jaejoong. They grabbed a guard that was standing on their feet and knocked them back down. Plutotec guards always went down easily. Yoochun couldn’t help but stare at the three before him. They were there, actually there right before his very eyes. It was almost as unbelievable as Junsu…. Junsu.
“Junsu,” he whispered, “Yoona and Junsu are still in the pods!”
“Alright let’s go get them,” Yunho nodded, smiling, “it’s time for you guys to come home.” Yoochun licked his lips and smiled back, the thought of going home impeccably good.
Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed his ankle and he jumped, noticing Sun had stirred and was glaring up at him.
“There’s no way you’re getting away with this,” she snapped, and Yoochun felt a prickling heat spread up his leg. The sensation turned to burning and he kicked her away before she had the chance to do any more damage. But her hand had steel-like grip so his pant leg was singed and he felt a minor burn around his ankle. However, the more surprising thing was how she did it.
Bong-cha staggered into the room, surprise written on her face and gasped when she saw the scene before her. Sun stood up, a look of pure fury written on her face. Her hands were smoking and almost tinged red, and she glared at Yoochun with dangerous daggers.
“You ruined everything,” she hissed, “my chance to find a cure for myself and get rid of all these abominations I had it in my hands and then it just blew out of control! First the mutants were dying at an alarming rate, too soon for me to find a possible cure, and now they’re reproducing and living much longer! I hate what I am and what all of you are, and I will make sure you all pay!”
Bong-cha stood in shock, suddenly remembering what Junsu had said. There had been another mutant at the house with him, one who had talked him into helping her….
Sun raised her hand, aiming at Yoochun and Taemin. It was so red now flames leaked out and Yunho grabbed Yoochun and pulled him down as Bong-cha ran forward, leaping towards Sun furiously. She and Sun stumbled out of the office window and was instantly consumed in a burst of flame, a piercing shriek of pain erupting through the air. The ball of fire landed on the floor beside the electricity, creating a huge explosion that sent the mutants ducking behind the desk for cover. The sprinklers came to life and soon they were drenched and Jaejoong hugged Yoochun into a tight embrace, kissing Taemin lightly on the head.
“Geez if I had known you were alive earlier,” Yunho sighed, but Yoochun shook his head, and patted Yunho on the shoulder.
“It’s alright I understand,” he said, “I’m just glad I got to see you guys again.”
“Um…guys, as much as I would love to partake in the joyous reunion this place is about to blow and we still need to get everyone out,” Changmin interrupted.
“There’s not many survivors,” Yoochun said, “come on I’ll show you were the pods are.”
Cradling Taemin closely he led the other three towards the pods, the walkways now slick with water, making his bare feet chilled from the cold. A couple times Changmin slipped but when they arrived they found the pods were mostly empty. The mutants who were in the pods were all on their feet anxious and scared of the smoke filtering into the room. They pounded on the glass, crying and screaming for someone to help them and Changmin stood stunned by the pitiful sight.
Yoochun pointed up to a little box a few feet above the ground. “That’s the control panel, it’ll open all the doors in this prison.”
“We don’t have time for that,” Yunho said, taking a step forward.
Lifting a hand he closed his eyes and concentrated, breathing in deeply and soothingly. When he opened them again there was a groaning sound coming from all the pods. Trembling Yunho bit his lip and forced the pods to open, and they budged ever so slowly, taking all he had with them. A trail of blood trickled out of his nose and his brow was knitted so tightly it hurt.
Just as he was beginning to think that his idea wouldn’t work, there was one final groan and then the doors were flying off their hinges, hitting the ground below. Jaejoong was there in a flash, catching Yunho as he stumbled back and closed his eyes.
“Yun?” Jaejoong asked softly, caringly.
“I’m alright,” Yunho smiled, “just go get the others.”
Jaejoong nodded and leapt into the air, turning into a beautiful white dove that cooed softly. He soared through the water and the exploding building and then he spotted Junsu, running with Yoona, ducking and jumping away from the falling debris. Every other Generation Y mutant was running for the exit, and Changmin was guiding them, calmly herding them out towards the white hallway. He called for the others and Yunho shoved Yoochun and Taemin towards the door. Yoochun shook his head.
“Go!” Yunho ordered, “we’ll be right behind you!”
There was a tremor and Yoochun tightened his grip around his little brother. “But Junsu….”
“Is fine, now get you and Taemin to safety!” Yunho commanded, grabbing Yoochun’s arm. “I don’t want to lose you for a second time.”
That pushed Yoochun to go, and he followed Changmin through the hallway and into the elevator. It trembled violently, but it held up strong as it climbed the three floors towards the basement. Even up there they could feel the tremors and it would only be a matter of moments before the entire building-underground and over-would collapse.
“Everyone needs to be evacuated,” Changmin said, “the entrance is this way! Stay close to me and when we get out into the museum get all the tourists and employees out!”
Back in the labs, Jaejoong was leading Yoona and Junsu back to Yunho. Yoona flung herself into Yunho’s arms, sobbing heavily, and he pulled away taking her hand.
“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered, nodding towards Junsu. Junsu nodded back and then with Jaejoong’s persistent egging they were all running, heading towards the elevator.
Suddenly a huge explosion erupted, sending the four sprawling to the ground. The white hallway became orange and red with flames, and the elevator dropped and broke, the heavy doors dented from the intense explosion. Yunho, Yoona, Jaejoong and Junsu stared at the door in shock. How were they supposed to get out now?
~*~*~*~*~
One more chapter to go my friends!