| Fan Fiction |
by Andi
Sadly, it was a hard decision to come to, but this story…will be my last chaptered story. If anything written by Andi ever comes out, it will be a one-shot or a short story. But no more long, chaptered tales of romance and comedy from moi. Those will be ending after this. Team Awesome will continue to write and post updates, since I will have a partner-in-crime with those. Plus, work on a different collaboration with a different author may be in progress. *Sigh* Lots of stuff on my plate…I’ll be graduating soon! Thank God, since the drama seems to be getting worse and worse with each passing day. *Long sigh* Read and comment, por favor!
~~~~
Brian sighed and leaned his head onto the back of the leather couch. His appearance, like most of the other Guardians, had been copied from a magazine. Unfortunately, because he’d taken a liking to Seung Ri from Big Bang, he had completely freaked the guys out once they had rejoined everyone else. “That stupid-ass raven really beat the hell out of me,” he groaned, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. “I’ll have these bruises forever.” His right eye was quickly developing a shadow around it, and his lip was cut. “I look like I stepped out of Fight Club.”
Mariko scooted closer to him on the couch, frowning. “They aren’t that bad.”
“Says you,” he grumbled. “You weren’t in the fight.”
Lynn stretched her arms out, grinning. “Yeah, that freaking bird was, like, this huge! It must’ve had at least a five-foot wing span! I know ravens can’t possibly get that large! It’s impossible. Well, for a real bird, that is. That was an Abandon, and those things can grow to humongous sizes…” She trailed off when she caught Iris’ glare.
“Jane, right?” Iris asked. “Mind me asking why your Abandon started attacking me?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, shaking with nerves. Junsu patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. We understand if you’re as freaked out as we are. I mean, we all thought freaking Seung Ri was duking it out with Evil Big Bird just a few hours ago.” He suddenly lifted his head. “Hey, where did Hani and Yoochun go?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen Yunho or Jae, either,” Lynn muttered.
Changmin sniggered as he ate ramen at the table. “Don’t you remember, Su? They were about to rip each other’s throats out right before the performance. It took Yunho going into Leadershii mode to get them to stop. Ah, that would have been funny as hell to see: Hani slapping the shit out of Yoochun, and Yoochun yelling and shouting like the little girl he is. And I think the old farts had to run some errands, which really translates to them wanting to talk in private without us interrupting.” He laughed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were making out somewhere.”
“That’s enough.” Iris was shaking her head. “We can’t have them fighting with each other. There’s a time and place for bickering. Someone needs to get them, and get Yunho and Jaejoong as well. We need everyone possible working on this. That makes two Abandons that have come after us now.”
Adela had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation, but now she spoke up. “I think I see what you’re getting at, Iris.” She lifted her head to stare across the room at her. “Two Abandons within a few days of each other. It might just be severe paranoia, but someone might be trying to get at us. Or maybe a group of Abandons who feel like going after us…at the same time…coincidentally.” She shuddered. “I’ll round up the gang,” she muttered before changing into a red fox and darting towards the front door.
Mariko scoffed. “It’s a hell of a coincidence.”
Lynn pouted. “Why does everyone want us to die? We’re so fucking adorable.”
“But we stand in the way of Abandons corrupting human souls one by one. The five of us guard some of the purest souls in the world. It’s irresistible to evil beings. They want to take us out of the picture so DBSK can be taken over. It’s in an Abandon’s nature to want our destruction.” Iris perched her chin on her hand. “What gets me is this. We revealed ourselves just the other day. Why now?” She closed her eyes. “Aish, I can sense Hani and Yoochun. They’d best get it out of their systems before they come back here.”
“Get what out of their systems?” Brian asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Hello! Were you here for half the conversation?” Junsu rolled his eyes. “They hate each other! Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, but it’s the best one I can think of. Hani’s getting up in his business for no reason, and he’s really pissed about it.”
Changmin smacked the back of his head. “Don’t you talk like a gangster. You sound retarded.”
Finally, Jane squeaked out, “Maybe she’s jealous? I heard you guys talking about him hitting on some girl before the show. Did you ever stop to think if it hurt her feelings, that he was flirting with other women?” She shrugged. “I know it’s against the Code, but that doesn’t stop a lot of Guardians from getting close to their charges.”
Changmin and Junsu blinked. “Code?” they repeated.
“Oh, about that…” Mariko sat up straighter. Lynn stopped stealing Changmin’s ramen to listen. Brian already knew everything, as he was the one to explain it all to Jane. Iris smiled once. “Like knights and priests and who knows what else, we Guardians have to follow a set of rules, called the Guardian Code. The Code consists of five simple rules.” She held up one finger. “First and foremost, we are simply keepers of the peace in this world between Paradise—or the Spirit Realm—and the Dark World. We are not to meddle with human affairs unless it involves those two worlds.” A second finger. “Two: no matter how demented or twisted they may be, every human in the world is required to have a Guardian.” A third finger. “Three: a Guardian may never harm an innocent. We can’t attack a human.” A fourth finger. “Four: unless a human has been informed of the two Otherworlds, they may never know about our existence.” She hesitated. “And the fifth one, in my opinion, is a little ridiculous, but we have to follow it.”
“What is it?” Junsu and Changmin asked at the same time.
“Five: physical contact between a Charge and Guardian is strictly prohibited.” She sighed in exasperation. “What that means is, we can touch and hug and kiss and…do a few other things, but once a Guardian…penetrates/receives a Charge, it has broken the Code. I don’t understand why it’s in place. Maybe some dark ritual took place way back before any of our times, but the rule still stands. Charges and Guardians can’t have sex. With each other,” she tacked on shyly.
Lynn giggled madly. Mariko was unaffected. “Yeah, it’s stupid, but we gotta follow the rules. Otherwise…” She made an exploding motion with her hands. “If anyone ever breaks the Code, there is no trial for the crime. There’s only one option: destruction. We are destroyed for breaking any of the rules.”
“Harsh,” Changmin whispered, wincing.
“Eh, it’s easy to follow them, though.” Lynn squirmed in her seat. “I’ve protected a few people in my time, and none have been this hard. I mean,” she added at the mischievous look on Changmin’s face, “it’s been really difficult. There are a lot of girls and a few boys out there whose souls have been corrupted, and who wish that you all would just drop dead.” She huffed. “I’d like to see them try and get past us.”
Iris suddenly sprang to her feet. “Oh, yes. Adela better hurry.” She frowned. “I told the Elders we were free after the concert. They’ll be here soon.” She glanced around. “This apartment is still a mess from the first Abandon’s visit. Let’s clean up what we can. Jane and Brian, you take the kitchen area. Lynn and I will take the bedrooms. The rest of you can clean up the living room.”
~
Thankfully, the park wasn’t too crowded; otherwise, they’d have an audience with the glares Jaejoong was sending Yunho’s way. He stood with his fists clenched, his eyes narrowed as he listened carefully. “I don’t want to believe you,” he whispered to Yunho, who was staring at him sadly. “This can’t be…happening. You’ve got to be wrong.” He scoffed. “You said you saw Tablo at the concert? And he was standing near the spot where the so-called battle took place?” He shook his head vigorously. “No, he wouldn’t…he’s not…”
“Remember what they told us about Abandons? How they can infect humans?” He closed his eyes. “Maybe…”
“No, it’s not possible! Tablo is…Tablo, Yunho!”
“But he’s been acting more and more lecherous whenever he and Yoochun go out.”
“He’s just acting like a horny retard! He’s not possessed!”
“Think what you want, Jae, but I’m still set on that. The fans wouldn’t think of harming us, and I talked to security. There were no anti-fans anywhere near the arena. Tablo’s the only one who was acting suspiciously. He’s never gone to one of our concerts before. Why did he choose now, of all times, to pay respect to us? I’ll tell you why. Our stupid Guardians decided to show up out of the blue.” He gripped Jaejoong’s shoulder. “Look, I know he’s our friend, but think about it. He was pissed when SM didn’t want to take on Epik High as a rap group. Even though he’s a friend, he has harbored those bad feelings for a long time now.”
“YUNHO, LISTEN TO YOURSELF!” Jaejoong pushed him away. “You’re accusing a good friend of ours for the attacks!”
“Jae…”
“I don’t care if it looks that way! He wouldn’t go after us! Hell, he probably doesn’t even know about our Guardians! No one does, Yunho! We haven’t had any time to even mention them in passing to someone!” He shook with anger. “You’re too stupid and blind to see what’s in front of you to even get to that conclusion!”
“What the hell did you just say?” Yunho yelled.
“God, Yunho! You really are SO. FUCKING. BLIND!” Without another word, he stepped forward, angrily grabbed the back of Yunho’s head, and forced his leader’s lips onto his own. Yunho’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he froze on the spot, too shocked to completely digest what was happening. The kiss didn’t last too long—merely a few seconds—before Jaejoong stepped back, breathing harshly. “If you could only see,” he began quietly, “what’s been in front of you this whole time, maybe you could come up with a better attacker than our friend.” He clicked his tongue, turned on his heel, and walked away.
“Jae, wait.”
He paused, still too angry to turn around. “What is it now?”
“Shouldn’t we…like, talk about that?”
“Talk about what?”
“Oh, come on!” Yunho whined. “What just happened five seconds ago! That…kiss.”
Jaejoong finally turned around, growling. “Don’t you even pull that crap with me. It was just a kiss. Obviously it meant nothing to you, but~”
Yunho looked extremely sheepish, biting his bottom lip. “I never said it meant nothing to me.” He smiled shyly. “So are we going to talk about it, or are you going to storm off and go home in a bad mood?” He ran to catch up with him, immediately slipping his hand into Jaejoong’s. “Um…let’s talk without killing each other, okay?” He obscured Jaejoong’s beet-red face from view as he leaned in for a second peck.
~
Adela had been watching from the bushes the whole time, biting down on her lip to keep from squealing aloud. It had been über-obvious that Jaejoong had a thing for Yunho, but she never once thought that Yunho might have been feeling the same way all along! ‘Ah, cute and innocent gay guys,’ she thought. ‘They are the most adorable things on this planet.’ Just as she finished thinking it, Yunho and Jaejoong stopped kissing and started walking off. She shot across the sidewalk, faster than the speed of light so the two lovebirds would not catch her watching them. At the exit to the park, Jaejoong let go of Yunho’s hand with a wistful look. ‘Aw, how cute!’ There was a dark side to this happiness, though.
Once the world found out that YunJae was real…what would happen to them?
‘Well, at least they’re not punching the crap out of each other.’ She blinked fiercely. ‘Speaking of punching the crap out of each other, where did those two get to?’
~
If any outsiders happened to glance up at the apartment’s balcony, they would see a young woman and one of Asia’s hottest stars involved in a very heated argument. Perhaps they were fighting about fans and their inability to leave the star’s private home life away from the cameras. Maybe she was a concerned friend who worried about his late-night party habits. The normal onlooker would snap a photo and then leave with questions revolving slowly around the mind. However, the conversation’s subject matter would leave any rational thinker scratching his or her head.
“You are so lucky I am not your mother, because I’d whoop your ass for your behavior!” Hani cried, gripping the railing.
Yoochun scoffed. “Oh, give it a rest, will you? I eat, I drink, I party, I fuck. Repeat.” He smirked. “You should make that into a t-shirt. I guarantee it will sell by the thousands if people found out it came from my mouth.”
“Well, your behavior’s going to end soon, because I’m tired of having my ass put on the damn couch every single damn night! I hate waking up at twelve and hearing a bunch of moans and shit coming from your bedroom! She may be in ecstasy, but my mind is being raped slowly with every damn girl you bring home!” She walked toward him, and he flattened himself against the wall. “You have got to stop thinking with your dick and start thinking with your brain!”
“My personal life has no room for this drama bullshit. Take it or leave it, sister.”
“Do you think I have a say in which person I get to guard? NO! So clean up your goddamn horndog act and start being a mature man! Do you think the others like the fact that you’re constantly at risk of STDs and getting chicks pregnant and alcoholism? I think not! They’re pretty pissed at you for all of it. And quit with the smirking, because I’m trying to be serious here~”
“Ace, Ace…” He gently squeezed her shoulders. “You’re going to get grey hair a lot sooner than you want it. Stop worrying about me. Just, uh, do your job and let me deal with anything that comes of my bad habits. The girls won’t stop coming home with me because I have needs that got to get taken care of, and I’m not about to go gay, so…” He chuckled. “Are we cool or not?”
She threw his hands aside. “No, we are not cool!”
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing, chick.”
There came the sound of a ringing bell in her mind. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” She growled. “Just as I’m getting my point across, we get summoned back to the main apartment. This, if anything, is utter bullshit.” She grabbed hold of his wrist. “We’re not finished,” she mumbled, eliciting a laugh from him.
~
Iris glared at the whole lot of them. “Alright, listen up. The Elders are…quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen or experienced. They’re way before my time, probably before the first humans. I’m just saying that you all need to have respect for them and their customs.” She narrowed her eyes. “Even if said customs are a little…primeval.” She cleared her throat. “They should be on their way, and where the hell are Yoochun and Hani?!”
“Right here!” They popped into existence, Yoochun looking a little dizzy. “Sorry we’re so freakishly late. Chun here just HAD to start shit when we got to his condo.” She grinned wickedly at him. “But now that most everything’s been cleared up, we came here so that everyone can meet the big bosses.”
Adela burst through the front door, panting. “You guys are really tough to find,” she wheezed.
“Yeah, yeah.” Yoochun playfully squeezed Hani’s side; she jerked away from him instantly. “Ace here gets jealous real easily when I bring girls home.” He winked at her. “You probably wish it was you in that bed, don’t you?”
She glared at him. “In your dreams, Mr. Four Inches.”
“On the contrary, I got that shit measured, and it’s a nice seven-and-a-half~”
“ELDERS!” Iris squeaked unusually high, staring wide-eyed over Hani’s shoulder.
Three people crowded the entryway, looking around the apartment with interest. The foremost one tapped her chin gently, observing the state of the living room with a frown. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun, her bangs sweeping across her forehead. Her piercing amber eyes took in small things: the coffee table was brand new, as were a few electric appliances; the sofa had several rips in the back and arms; and one of the window panes looked cleaner than the rest, obviously new. The only man leaned casually against the wall facing the closet, examining the entertainment set. His black hair hung in his dark eyes, but it did not conceal their amusing gaze. It was like he looked at everything and wanted to burst into laughter. The other woman stood closest to the door, arms folded over her chest. She was a whole head shorter than the other female, with light brown hair and soft brown eyes. She was the one that spoke first, in a high mouse-like voice.
“We see the damage that has been done to this place, and it seems that a great battle occurred here.” She pointed to the couch. “Freya, are you seeing what I’m seeing? The rips and tears in the upholstery? The new glass installed in the kitchen? Some things look old, others fairly recent.” She turned her eyes to the one called Freya. “What do you think?”
Freya nodded slowly. “A battle, indeed.” Her voice was more solemn, yet just as young sounding as the other’s. “An Abandon rising, occurring right under our noses, and we had no time to react. It is fortunate that we assigned the five to these men, or else we would have had quite a mess to clean up. I see what you mean, Chiyo. The sparkle of the glass…purchased not too long ago.” She turned to the man. “Zander, are you seeing what we are seeing?”
He grinned. “Yeah, pretty much.” His voice matched his appearance. It was like lazy thunder with a touch of ease and familiarity to it. “With the exception of a few knickknacks, this place took a real beating and a half, huh?” Finally, they all looked at the group of men and Guardians (plus Jane). “You guys did a hell of a job fighting the Abandon off. We’re proud of you.” He looked down at Lynn and Adela, and winked. They giggled madly. Changmin glared at him before pulling Lynn closer to his side. “So, anything else we should know about?”
“Who the hell are you?” Junsu blurted.
Mariko and Jane elbowed him. “Junsu!” Jane cried. “You’re kidding me!”
“No, I’m not,” he whined. “Who are they?”
Freya raised her eyebrows. “I am Freya.”
“Chiyo,” whispered the small woman.
“Zander!” came said person’s warm laugh.
“The Elders,” Mariko muttered to him, shaking her head. “We told you they were coming for a visit. Christ, you need to get your ears checked.” She wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders. “Don’t mind him, masters. He has a slight problem listening to us when he needs to listen. It’s something that can be fixed.”
Chiyo stared up at the others. “Jaejoong, Yunho, Yoochun, and Changmin,” she said slowly, nodding to all four of them. “Yes, we know who you are. We know everyone in this world, and everyone in ours. It is our duty. And yes, we also know you, Jane.” She opened her mouth to speak, but Chiyo cut her off. “We do not read minds. We just know names and can put them to faces.”
“And what faces they are!” Zander tickled Lynn’s side, and she squealed. “I would remember seeing such cutie pies.”
“Oh, we remember you,” Adela giggled, wiggling her eyebrows.
Now Changmin was positively fuming. He took a step in front of Lynn. “Hi. Changmin. I’m her Charge. Isn’t she a little young for the likes of you, old man?” He grinned wickedly. “Besides, she already told me I was hotter than any boy she’s ever met, and I’m also well-trained in the art of taekwondo.” In truth, he hadn’t taken a single class, but he couldn’t let the man flirting with his Lynn know that, could he?
Zander chuckled. “Of course, of course.”
Hani nudged Yoochun forward. “Can I be switched?” she said half-jokingly.
Freya shook her head. “We cannot reassign you unless you do something wrong.”
“Fine. I’ll go tell the whole block what I really am.”
“Yeah, and then get your ass landed in jail. Go right ahead and do that.” Zander inclined his head forward. “There used to be a time when I thought you and I had a thing, and I still think I could have you. If you go and rat out Guardians around the world, you know we’ll have no choice but to destroy you.” The cocky smile came back. “And I’d rather piss off Freya and Chiyo than be forced to do that. You really are a beautiful thing, sweetcheeks. Iris, too,” he added as an afterthought.
“Can we get back to the Abandon subject before I wallop someone?” Iris muttered.
“Right, right.” Chiyo tugged Zander away from the hormonal Guardians. “Come on, heartthrob.”
The Elders took their seats, and the others prepared to hear another opinion on what exactly was going on in the human world.