We are Stray Kids - A Stray Kids Fan-Fiction

Chapter 80: The safety of a lie

Not proofread and a long chapter with 7.000+ words

Changbin's gaze kept flickering over to his friends instead of focusing on the magical portal right in front of him. The vampires chest began to ache just thinking about not being by their side when they maybe need him the most. He knew he had responsibilities as the heir to the vampire throne and he knew the reason why he was among other vampires for this mission, but it felt somehow strong to not stand beside his friends and a certain redhead.

Seungmin's hair was the most visible to Changbin among the crowd of creatures, which filled the trainings hall just waiting for the signal to walk through the portal, that would lead them to their first save point. Objectively, Changbin knew he should look ahead, check the magical cloak he had gotten for this mission and converse with his fellow group members, but some kind of instinct seemed to keep telling him to search for the familiar mob of red hair over and over again just to be sure Seungmin was there and fine.

The vampire regretted not having said a proper goodbye to Seungmin and his friends. After all, it could be the last time he saw them. Unlike most creatures in the hall, Changbin had remained completely unaffected by Taeyong's speech. Sure, he wanted the hunters to pay for what they did, but he knew all too well how much of a threat they were, especially with Zendala at their side. He wasn't excited or had the feeling they could complete the mission without casualties. No. If Changbin had learned one thing from his training as the successor of his parents, it was that there were always casualties no matter how good the plan was.

This way of thinking was the whole reason why Changbin had entrusted Hyunjin with keeping the book of vampires safe. To most people it may sound like a foolish decision to entrust an old artifact of the vampires to a siren, but Changbin trusted Hyunjin to take care of it should he not return from the mission.

Just thinking about the siren let a restricting feeling settle in the pit of the vampire's stomach. He had said his goodbyes to Hyunjin in some way, but never really verbally. After Seungmin had went home the previous evening, Changbin had stayed with Hyunjin in that meeting room for a while longer ultimately giving the book of vampires to the siren.

"Binnie?", the worried voice of Baekhyun lets Changbin almost flinch away from the older vampire. His heart was pounding in his chest like he had just been caught cheating on a test. Baekhyun looked at him with only sympathy in his blue eyes and laid his hand onto the short male's shoulder.

Baekhyun was dressed in the same manner as Changbin with the enchanted outfit basically everyone wore and the also enchanted cloak. Changbin guessed the enchantments on the cloths were something all of the older magical creatures from all the different groups had worked on. If not then Nakamoto Yuta, Dong Sicheng and all the other magical creatures of NCT were truly an underestimated force.

"Keep yourself a bit more focused, alright?", Baekhyun advised, once again directing Changbin's attention towards the present event. The older vampire wasn't looking at Changbin anymore and instead focused on the big portal. Changbin followed the older male's gaze and saw Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung and Jungwoo in front of the portal. All of them wore cloaks just like the vampires surrounding Changbin. Doyoung was the one, who turned towards the main crowd, looking more serious than Changbin was anticipating.

"We're heading to the first safe point now, so get your guards up", Doyoung said, his voice echoing loudly and clearly through the almost silent hall. After this announcement Doyoung turned around again and walked through the portal with Taeyong, Johnny and Jungwoo while Yuta stayed behind, probably to keep the portal in check.

The next crowd began to slowly move. The other NCT members quickly followed their leader and hyungs, and shortly after that Baekhyun nudged Changbin forward. With one last glance over his shoulder towards his friends, Changbin walked through the portal with his vampire hyungs and Wonpil close behind him.