Treasure

TW: blood, PTSD

If you find any of these themes triggering, please don't read

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Hong Joong blames himself, honestly. If he hadn't botched the mission, they'd still be free. The Guardians wouldn't have caught ATEEZ, he wouldn't be stuck here, a mechanism attached to his arm, forcing the screen up to eye level, and most of all, he would know where the others were.

Alone. Missing. Mother. Afraid.

He just- no, they'd all just wanted to save the boy's brother. Was that so bad? Seong Hwa had convinced him that it was a conceivable plan, that they could, that they had to. No one had expected the two children with the innocent doe eyes to betray ATEEZ and the Black Pirates in exchange for protection from the system of World Z.

Missing. Afraid. Alone. Mother.

Maybe if he clicks on one of the words, they'll stop flashing by, dizzying him. It's driving him mad, desperation welling up in him. If the Guardians gave him a screen, why can't they find it in their emotionless hearts to let him see the others, if only through the screen?

Oh.

Right.

Android Guardians don't necessarily have hearts.

Mother. Alone. Missing. Afraid.

Mother. Mother. Mother.

A hysterical laugh bubbles up in his chest.

Mother.

The others joke that Seong Hwa, the other half of MATZ, the caretaker of their close knit gang, is Mother. The way he takes care of them, scolding them, patching up their injuries, even neglecting his own health so the others have an easier time of it here in this harsh, unforgiving world...

He wants to see Seong Hwa, to know the other is alright.

Maybe one of the others is with Seong Hwa. If they are, everything will be alright. Hoong Joong is certain of that.

Maybe if he taps the screen enough, he'll be able to see the elder.

Probably not. But maybe.

He's most likely going crazy, the effects of being trapped in isolation beginning to show in his psyche.

But he could be right.

He could be, and that's the thought that stops him from losing completely, from breaking down in hysterical laughter, from shoving his arm in the sink, from dealing with the damage that would ensue, running water and electrical currents.

He hits the screen, and it flashes black.

Then, one by one, he sees the others- Jong Ho, trapped on a bed, forced to watch people and animals run free, taste the wind and adrenaline, his worst nightmare. Woo Young, being forced to perform in front of Guardians, singing brokenly, tears pouring down his face, gun to his head. Min Gi, hands shaking, swaying on his feet, rapping at a feverish pace. Yun Ho, searching high and low for his brother, a ghostly outline that can never be reached. San, running and running and running, only succeeding in being caught by the Guardians and thrown down over and over. And Seong Hwa and Yeo Sang...