Chanbaek's Exox

CHAPTER 2

Location: Exox, Exo Planet

Captain Baekhyun rushed to the palace with a pounding heart. He could not believe that the day was here. Now, he would finally get the chance to do what he was destined to undertake. But as he stepped into the palace grounds, he could not help but feel anxious. In order to fetch the prince, he would have to travel to Earth. And Baekhyun had never stepped a foot outside his planet.

Thinking about his impending journey, he turned into a ball of nerves. So, when he reached the court room of the palace and stood before the king, he nearly forgot to bow in respect. Quickly getting hold of himself, he greeted the King, "Your Majesty."

King Park Junmyeon was a handsome ruler. Even though he was 46 years old, he did not look a day over 30. The normal life expectancy for the Exol was about 200 years. Therefore, the aging process of the Exol starts to decelerate after their 25th birthday. That being the case, both the king and the queen looked very youthful. King Junmyeon had black hair and sparkling blue eyes. His eyes resembled his power. The King was hydrokinetic, meaning he could create and manipulate water or anything that has the component of water in it. His only weakness was fire.

King Junmyeon acknowledged Baekhyun and then promptly dismissed everyone from the courtroom, including his bodyguards. When Junmyeon was insured that all the unwanted listening ears had left the room, he spoke.

"Captain, I'm sure you know why I summoned you here today."

At this Baekhyun nodded and replied, "Yes, your majesty."

Then, the king continued, "As you know the Lycans have again commenced their search for my son. Only this time, they are more vehement about their search then they have ever been. And I am afraid, sooner or later they will look for him on Earth. So, I want you to bring my son home before the Lycans even set their foot on Earth. However, there is no other way to reach Earth except teleport. And since all the witches are busy defending the kingdom, I will give you permission to take your brother, Lieutenant Byun Jongin, with you on this journey. I believe he has the power to teleport?"

"Yes, your majesty. However, ...", Baekhyun hesitated.

The King noticing the Captain's hesitance, said, "Baekhyun, after all these years of serving the country, I expect you to know that I am not a king who does not allow his people to freely speak their mind. You need not hesitate."

Hearing this, Baekhyun took a breath and continued.

"Your majesty, although Jongin has the ability to teleport, he also has the duty of protecting His Royal Highness, prince Kyungsoo. If he were to join me in this quest, he would have to abandon his duty. I cannot let my brother do that. My conscience will not allow me to burden my brother with my duties while he is pledged to be prince Kyungsoo's Protector."

King Junmyeon smiled.

"Captain, do you believe I wouldn't have thought about Kyungsoo's safety before allowing the Lieutenant to join you? No one is worried for the princes' safety more than me and my husband. Afterall, we are their parents."

Baekhyun was embarrassed. He abashedly said, "I apologize, your majesty. I did not mean to offend-"

"There is no need to fret. I did not realize you were this big of a fusspot, Captain.", interrupted the king playfully.

At this, Baekhyun smiled sheepishly and the king went on.

"As for your concern, taking Lieutenant Jongin with you on this mission will not keep him from fulfilling his duty of protecting the young prince."

Now, the Captain was confused. How could his brother protect the prince while he is supposed to be in a completely different planet at the same time? Then, it clicked.

"Your m-majesty! Are you suggesting... B-bu-but...", stuttered Baekhyun.

"Yes, I am. I want you to also take Kyungsoo along.", King Junmyeon confirmed.

His Royal Highness, Park Kyungsoo, was special. He saw good in everything. He was the purest of the pure. If it were possible for the Exol to have an aura, Baekhyun was certain that Prince Kyungsoo's would have been as white as snow and would glow like the heaven. Despite his black hair and brown eyes, he looked like a person that belonged in the heaven. He had an innocent soul with a heart of gold.

Therefore, hearing the confirmation, Baekhyun could not believe his ears. King Junmyeon, who always kept his fragile little son, Kyungsoo, hidden away from the evils of the world, wanted Baekhyun to take that same son to some far away planet. This was insanity!

So, when the king saw the Captain's bewildered look, he added, "I am aware that the queen and I have coddled Kyungsoo throughout his life. After realizing that he is special, we have been overprotective of him to such extent that he has not been able to experience the real world as of yet. But now, I want to change that. And you and Lieutenant Jongin being my sons' Protectors, have my undoubted trust. I have confidence that you two will not let any harm come to either of my sons. Moreover, you know that Kyungsoo is stronger that he looks, don't you? He might be vulnerable on the inside, but no physical harm could ever come to him. He is a Khazy with terrakinetic ability after all."

A terrakinetic person had the ability to control geologic materials such as minerals, dirt and rocks. As Kyungsoo's power was terrakinesis, he could move or lift these materials at any speed whether in/on a surface, air or water. He could crush rocks with palm of his hands. The one and only shortcoming of this ability is that Kyungsoo had to stay in contact with land to use his power at its full capacity. If not, his power would become weak.

Captain Baekhyun was well aware of this. He knew that Prince Kyungsoo's physical power was unrivalled. So, the young prince getting physically harmed was the least of his worries. Baekhyun was concerned about the prince's fragile heart. His younger brother, Jongin being Prince Kyungsoo's Protector had naturally made Baekhyun a close companion of the Prince. And being a friend, he did not want to see Kyungsoo harmed in anyway, whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally.

However, considering it was the king's wish, he did not object. He would take his brother and the prince along in his quest.

Later, after coming to this agreement, King Junmyeon and Baekhyun went over the details of the mission.

Baekhyun's best friend and one of the captains of the Exol Army, Oh Sehun, had visited Planet Earth before for a mission. Hence, a few days prior to their departure, Captain Oh Sehun was to brief them about Earth, its inhabitants and their culture. They were also to collect a bag of herbs from a witch before their journey, which will help them eradicate the language barrier. Thenceforth, when they reach Earth, they were to look for the Crown Prince in a huge island, Ayerhs, located in the so-called Pacific Ocean. Since Exol's physical features resembled their power, King Junmyeon asked them to commence their search by looking for a person with red hair.

Even though the king disclosed that Prince Chanyeol had red hair, no one knew what power the lost prince possessed. Not even King Junmyeon. An Exol generally discovered their power after their 5th birthday. But in Chanyeol's case, since the kingdom lost him when he was just 3 years old, everyone was clueless about his power.

So, after dotting the i's and crossing the t's in the plan, Baekhyun took his leave from the king's courtroom and began his preparation to bring the lost prince home.

Author's note: Actually, I first made Lay the king and Suho the queen. But later, after I thought about their powers, I realized that Lay has more of a "Queen-like" power than Suho. So, I exchanged their roles. I hope I did the right thing.
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#Photo: King Park Junmyeon