CHARM | original story

Time For War

"Something very bad is going to happen soon. When that time comes, be prepared to betray the league."

You had known that BOSS had some sort of weird thing where if she had a nightmare, it would mean that something bad was going to happen soon, but sometimes it didn't happen and sometimes it did. You didn't know whether to take her words to heart or not; playing with the dice in your mind. You rested your hands over the blanket as you sighed heavily. 

"Are you thinking about what BOSS said?" asked Same from her bed. 

"No shit. Things were just starting to get a little better and then this shit happens. Sometimes, I feel like it's too much," you replied, covering your eyes with the back of your hand.

"Everything is too much, Mary. Life was hard for all of us before coming here...thinking about it, it's sad to leave this place."

"Even though I hate this place with my soul, I have to admit, this is the place where I met all of you."

The deafening silence seemed to take hold within the vicinity of the room as the two of you thought about it. It was good that you had the day off tomorrow, or else this commotion would've been quite a burden but eventually your thoughts were interrupted again.

"Mary, we'll always be together...right?"

You gulped, not sure what to say to the young girl who had lost someone close to her at a tender age. And so you decided, to be honest. You couldn't feign giving her false hope; it would be cruel to. 

"I don't know, Same. I pray that somehow, we'll all get through hard times and be free of these shackles that tie us down, but I can't promise you anything."

A long period of silence passed before she talked again. 

"I understand. Thanks for being honest Mary. This is why I trust you the most," Same replied solemnly. The night was spent in thought and sleep, but even in your dreams, you couldn't escape the anxiety of current events. 

The next morning was hell, as usual. Looking over at your alarm clock, it read 10 AM. You then sat up and rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand, letting your messy hair caress your face. You then looked to your other side, noticing that Same was still fast asleep. Grabbing a change of clothes, you headed into the bathroom. 

After you had washed, you came out wearing a comfortable light gray oversized sweater with white shorts. As you crept out of the room and down the stairs, you saw Necromancer in his signature pink apron, setting a breakfast plate out for you. 

"Same outfit as always?" you commented, slightly chuckling.

He looked up and gave a slightly irritated glare at your comment before letting you pull out a chair to sit down. 

"Jimin's joining us for breakfast today. Apparently, BOSS wants to know where his trust and alliance lies, so don't eat yet. Is Same still sleeping?"

You nodded irritably. You were hungry after a restless night and all you wanted was some warm food in your stomach. But you held it in until you heard the doorbell ring. Opening the door, you were met with a casual looking Jimin who stood in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Noticeably, his hair was on fleek as always. Sighing, you gestured for him to come in, in which he smiled and walked in. 

Once all the members except for Puppet Master and Same were seated at the table, the conversion between BOSS and Jimin began. You just quietly listened as you sipped at your coffee. You were unsure of whether Jimin would decide to join your side or not, but after the long talk, the conversation ended with the both of them shaking hands in an alliance. Knowing on which side he stood, you couldn't help but feel the edges of your lips curl up into a soft smile as you looked upon the boy with awe. He, noticing your glances, looked towards you and gave a hefty thumbs-up, a huge grin drawn upon his face. 

You quickly looked away, embarrassed that he caught you in a vulnerable moment. You could feel his soft gaze as you knew he was probably grinning obnoxiously from ear to ear at the moment. Rolling your eyes, you covered your face with your arm, hiding the small smile that continuously crept upon your face. 

Months passed without anything happening, and you started to believe that what BOSS dreamt about simply wasn't true. But still, you felt as if a monster was crawling on your back all the time and this feeling got worse with each passing day. Even the members noticed the dark aura that surrounded the league every day. And so, all of HD sect clung onto that feeling of darkness; waiting patiently for the time to take action. 

~

Unknown POV

"Finally! The formula has been formed and created! With this, my sons will dominate this world and have it to themselves!" said the man maliciously as he opened the briefcase that held the serums. 

"S-Sir, the formula has only been tested on animals. We're unsure if it'll work the same way with humans."

"Nonsense! If it has been successful in animals, it surely must be successful in humans! After all, humans are animals!"

"But Sir! The biological components of humans are way more complicated than —"

"QUIET! GO! Your work is done! Leave!"

"S-Sir!"

"I SAID LEAVE! Or do you want to get hurt?!"

"N-No! I'll take my leave now. Please be cautious sir."

"Hmph, what a fool. He actually believed that I would give this kind of power to my sons? They don't deserve this, I do. I built this league from the ashes, I am prioritized over my sons to this formula," said the man with great evil as he took the needle that contained the formula and injected it into his arm. 

He could feel the power of artificial Charm coursing through his veins and his body. He laughed a horrifying and terrifying laugh that seemed to echo throughout the whole room. But what he didn't know was that from beyond the door stood his three young sons, who shook in terror. Their father had become a monster, and they didn't know what that strange fluid was doing to his body. But they knew they must do something before it was too late.

"Shizuku! Mark! What do we do?!" Akira said to the two others as they sat quietly in their own private room.

"We need to tell Brother Suzuku and Brother Edward, they'll know what to do!" claimed Shizuku. 

"No, that won't work. I saw the papers for the formula they were working on; they're super complex—involving circumferences of the cell and such. That thing he just injected is way too powerful, there's no way Brother will be able to defeat father," said Mark quietly as he cupped his cheek, sighing at the problematic task at hand. 

"There's one other person we can go to," said Akira as he caught on to his younger brother's hint. Shizuku eventually caught on, his expression deadly serious. 

"Sister Taejun. What father calls 'The Bloody Mary," said Shizuku, ending Akira's thought as Mark closed his eyes once again, exhaling loudly. 

"We need to be quiet about this. Thankfully, the only place in this building with no cameras is in this room and HD sect. We'll have to devise a code that even those stupid scientists won't be able to solve," said Mark coldly, already conjuring up a complex variety of codes. 

"What if Sister doesn't want to help us?" asked Shizuku.

"That'll be her choice. She can either watch the world fall apart at the hands of father, or she can help save the world from father," replied Mark, lost in the daze of memories with the whole family together. 

Those happy times were now over, it was time for war.