Swan Lake (ATEEZ JongSang story)

Chapter 18 - Rescuing

A/N: Ranked 10th in SeongJoong, what's happening omg
Also the Ponytail song got stuck in my head lol

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'Well, well, well, let's see what we have here' Rothbart opened the Book of Forest Lore. Beomgyu sat in the corner, tied to a chair, helplessly looking at the evil wizard and his child, who also seemed interested in the book.

'That has nothing inside! It's just a book!' Beomgyu at least tried. Rothbart groaned.

'Will you just shut your mouth, troll?' Beomgyu collapsed back on the chair. Rothbart started swiping through the pages.

'Hmm, it seems like even the magic crystal is defeatable' he said and started walking back and forth. 'If the Chosen One's True Love declares their love for someone else, the crystal will lose its power. Omen! We have a lot to do!'

'Oh no' whispered Beomgyu.

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'Gyu! No! Now what are we going to do?' Wooyoung panicked for the millionth time.

'Please just stay still for a bit Woo, you're making me feel dizzy with your running around' said Seonghwa, who was consoling Yunho who was wailing on the ground.

Yeosang looked up and saw the first ray of sunshine. 'Great' he whispered. In less than a minute all the elves and Yeosang were back to their animal forms.

'We have to save him! He is our friend! Also, he still has the book! God knows what Rothbart's plan is with it!' jumped the hedgehog up and down.

'Let's go to Rothbart's castle. Then we can think about a plan' suggested Mingi.

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The group of animals and Seonghwa walked through the darker part of the forest. It was past noon by then, when they reached the area where Rothbart' base took place.

'What should we know about the castle?' asked Yeosang.

'Rothbart's servants guard it all day and all night' answered Seonghwa floating next to him with Hongjoong on his shoulder. 'It's also seated on top of a cliff. You can't approach it unless you are flying. I believe it has an entrance somewhere near the roof as Rothbart always travels on wings and most of his servants are crows. There it is' he stopped suddenly.

Yeosang looked up. A dark castle towered in front of their eyes. Seonghwa was right, it was built on a cliff above everything. It was protected by a huge gap from every direction.

'I feel something' Seonghwa put his palms to his temple. 'Beomgyu is still alive. But he is weak. He has a curse on him. We have to be careful.'

'I have a plan' said Yeosang. 'And I'm going to need all of you for it.'

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They spent hours perfecting the rescue plan, hiding behind trees and plants from Rothbart's crows, because despite them being in a fairy tale - as Yeosang was sure about that now - they had to talk it through. I mean there are those stories and films where the protagonist just goes and wins and everyone is happy, but I think we can agree that it's pretty much impossible in real life.

Meanwhile Seonghwa was making sure with his ability that Beomgyu was still alright and they agreed beforehand that if he feels that something is wrong, they'll risk it all and attack.

'So everybody knows their part?' asked Yeosang after the discussion. They all nodded.

'We'll do our best to get their attention' said Hongjoong.

'Beomgyu is somewhere in the west wing' added Seonghwa.

'Thanks. Wish me luck' whispered Yeosang and spread his wings. He emerged from the ground towards one of the castle's towers.

'Be careful' he heard Seonghwa's voice from behind.

As soon as Yeosang started flying, he could hear the sounds the crows made. They spotted him already. He saw three big birds flying towards him. They were abnormally huge, almost the size of his swan form. He quickly turned around and tricked a crow to follow him the other way, towards the others' hiding place.

'Hey, you! Yeah, you, you ugly thing! Come at me!' It was Wooyoung's voice. Yeosang sighed as he saw that they managed to get the bird's attention. He decided to fly a little lower. Another crow was following him and the third one was coming from the opposite direction. This was a chance of a lifetime for a movie-like move. As they got closer, Yeosang suddenly emerged high above the forest and trees and everything, making the two crows knock each other out. He almost laughed out loud, it was too perfect.

Yeosang circled around the roof of Rothbart's castle until he finally found the entrance and slowly landed there. Then he made sure they aren't following him and went inside.

'Beomgyu!' he whisper-shouted. 'Beomgyu! It's me, Yeosang!'

'Yeo!' he heard a small voice. He looked around and recognized Beomgyu's small head in between two books on the bookshelf. The troll was originally small enough, but now his head was the size of a pearl. As Yeosang got closer, he gasped. The troll was turned into a worm.

'Oh gosh, what happened to you?!' he almost started crying seeing his friend's vulnerable state.

'Right?? He made a worm out of Beomgyu! And there are crows everywhere! And they are hungry!!'

'Come on, I'll get you out of here' said Yeosang and opened his mouth.

'Don't eat me!!' screeched Beomgyu.

'Shhh, I won't eat you' Yeosang rolled his eyes. 'But those things will if you don't trust me. Please!'

This time Beomgyu let Yeosang take him into his beak and from there he climbed on top of the swan's head.

'Let's get out of here!'

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Meanwile the other part of the small rescue team was fighting Rothbart's crows for life and death. San managed to pierce some of them with his spikes, Yunho shoved some with his small horns, and Wooyoung... well, he was being Wooyoung, the smelly badger.

'Hold your breath if you don't want to die!' he screamed at the others and... farted. Seonghwa facepalmed.

But it seemed effective as the crows all fainted from the badger's smell. San was in awe.

'My Wooyoung is so amazing' he whispered with adoration in his voice.

Hongjoong coughed from the smell which rather sounded like a squeak considering that he was in his baby swan form.

'Your Wooyoung smells like a rotten egg, no offense' Mingi shook his head. Said badger blushed, looks like he took it as a compliment.

'I know right' sighed San dreamily.

'Your standards aren't that high, are they?'

'Quit it guys. Look, Yeosang is coming!' pointed out Yunho.