There were moments of panic as Jihoon fled out into the garden, screaming for his hybrid: the panic in his veins was chased away by an angry, sickening ice running through his blood as a chopper hit the air close-by and rose to the sky.

Jihoon could only stare, heart crashing in his chest as the love of his life was carried away.

Inside the house, there was upset screaming: Jeonghan was beside himself, screaming his sobs away into Minghao’s shoulder as Jun held them both closely, with Joshua’s dead, gold-fettered body lying on the floor.

Seungkwan, Vernon, Wonwoo, Seokmin and Soonyoung simply sat around, unsure of what to do.

Eventually Seokmin darted out of the house to stand by Jihoon. “…hey. We’ll get him back.”

It was a dull echo at first, for Jihoon: it became stronger and louder each time Seokmin said it until he finally understood.

“We’ll get him back.”

It felt as if the fires of hell had just been poured into the man’s veins. Lava seemed to flow instead of blood: the world became super-heated with him as king of hell. Jihoon’s face was made of smouldering brimstone as he turned back into the house. Seokmin followed him naturally. “Jihoon?”

The man moved for the front door.

“Jihoon! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to find my ing boyfriend,” Jihoon snarled, pulling a handgun out of the inside of his coat. He opened it and began to load it with bullets from another pocket.

“…why do you have a gun?”

“Jun.” Jihoon stomped back into the living room for a moment. “Take Joshua to the lab and see why he died.”

“I-”

“There is no possible way it’s a coincidence Joshua died at the exact moment my hybrid was taken away by helicopter, just a few weeks after he was rescued from a lab. Find out why he died. Bet you a month’s wages they put technology in his brain.”

“Jihoon, I…”

Jihoon finished loading his gun, replacing it back into the inside pocket of his coat. “Call me the moment you have the results.”

“Jihoon!” Seokmin quickly darted for the man. “I’ll come along.”

Jihoon paused for only one second. “I need Soonyoung. Wonwoo stays with Jun.”

“Give me three minutes?”

“Seungcheol doesn’t have three minutes.”

“Jihoon.”

“I need to go pick up some stuff.” Jihoon pocketed his keys, opening the front door. “I’ll drive past back again this way when I’ve got them. Make sure you’re ready by then.”

Seungkwan patted his friend on the arm. “Don’t worry. We don’t have anything to do with all of this. He’ll be safe.”

Seokmin stared at Wonwoo.

The boy shook his head once – a quick burst, ruffling out the thick fur on his large, rounded ears. “I’ll be okay,” he reassured.

“Wonwoo.” Seokmin pulled the tall, quiet hybrid in for a tight hug. “…you stay out of trouble. Play nice with Vernon. Make sure to stay safe. I won’t forgive you if you get hurt.”

“Yes, sir.” Wonwoo smiled, hugging his owner. “Love you. You too. Don’t get hurt.”

Seungkwan took off with Vernon, Wonwoo and Minghao under his wing. Jun would have forced his long-haired lover to go too, but the hybrid wouldn’t be separated from Joshua. He simply sat by the boy, weeping silently, hissing at anybody who came too close to the body.

Seokmin turned to Soonyoung.

He was himself – all of him, from beginning to end, trapped in the body of an eight-year-old tiger hybrid. He looked up with so much wisdom and pain in his eyes, it was almost unbearable. Seokmin picked him up and put him on his lap. “…Soonie.”

“It’s okay.” Soonyoung’s tiny palm pressed against Seokmin’s cheek. “I’m not scared.”

“I am.” The man pressed his forehead to Soonyoung’s. “I’m scared, Soonie.”

“It’s okay.” Soonyoung took a deep breath. “I’m going to be okay. I can see the future. What could possibly go wrong?”

“So much.” His voice break, creaking. “So much could go wrong, baby.”

“Minnie, it’s okay.” Soonyoung smiled gently. “I want to do this. I need to do this. Jihoon… he’s special. He might be the only one who can… he can save us all, Minnie. I want to help him however I can.”

“…if you get hurt-”

“I won’t. Even so, you’re there to protect me, right?” Soonyoung looked up, tiger’s ears twitching. “Jihoon is on to something big. I can see it.”

“What?”

“…well, to be honest, it’s a bit murky. But he’s going to do something big, Seokmin, and we have a duty to help him if we can.”

Seokmin nodded once, leaning in to kiss Soonyoung’s forehead. “I’ll protect you. You won’t be hurt again.”

Soonyoung smiled peacefully. “I know.”

Everything was starting to hurt. His extremities felt like he was going through another growth spurt – not that that was possible. His head was pounding and his insides were aching and twirling in their spots. Jihoon put it all down to stress as he packed his bag into the trunk of his car, entirely outfitted in black.

It felt as if his body was being ripped apart by tidal forces. Like he was pulling 20 Gs in a flight bomber crashing into the ocean. It was becoming hard to breathe, lungs working hard, bulging.

Seokmin and Soonyoung were waiting on the doorstep, hurrying into Jihoon’s car the moment he rolled up. He didn’t wait too long for everybody to fasten their seatbelts.

“Where are we going?” Seokmin asked immediately. “Do you know where they-”

“No.”

“So where?”

Jihoon’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he sped through the black of the night. “We’re going back to the lab I found Soonyoung in.”

“No.”

“Have to.”

“Why?”

“Shut up and let me drive.”

Soonyoung put a hand on his owner’s shoulder before Seokmin could really lose his temper. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Let Jihoon work.”

The gates of the pound, where all the hybrids were kept, were a sad sight, iron off its hinges, swinging wide open, and they were simply a sample of what lay beyond.

After the great stampede that Jihoon had led out of the facility, the building had obviously been abandoned. Weeds were already starting to grow in the deserted parking lot, the front door swung open. Jihoon spared it no second look, instead moving to open the boot of his car.

He handed his handgun to Seokmin, who took the item with surprise and hesitance: he outfitted both the hybrid and his owner with earpieces and bullet-proof vests before filling some of his pockets with small metal items and gripping a machine gun in his hands. “Let’s go.”

“I’m sure I don’t want to know why you have all these guns.”

“I’m a spy. I work for the government. I kill people.”

“…you said you were a journalist.”

“Well, yeah. That’s my day job.” Jihoon led the two up towards the building.

The front room was pathetic: papers and debris were scattered all over the floor as entire chunks of the walls had been torn away in the wake of the hybrid’s departure. The electricity was obviously no longer working, so Jihoon’s flashli