Wretches & Kings

The roar of Australia's fighter planes was deafening as they streaked across the sky. The ground exploded in clouds of dust as bombs were dropped. The people's screams and shouts were consumed by the loud, disarming blasts. A majority of the slaves had done just what Hyun Ae and Seugrni had planned—they fought against their captors, even in the pandemonium. They came at the Dakeu in packs, or separately, driving them through with whatever object they could find or beating them to death.

The Dakeu were pitifully taken off guard, not only by the monstrous invasion from the outside, but by the mutiny of their own slaves as well. It took them far too long to gather and fight back. They were too confident in their skills, thought themselves indestructible. The Dakeu Jeon-won was losing. Their enemies knew it and fought harder, more fierce. They were determined to win.
It was complete and utter chaos.

“Let me look at—”

Hyun Ae swatted her brother away, gripping her bleeding side as she stared at the war zone that was unfolding in front of them. The buildings were toppling, the shrieks of falling missiles followed by the ground-shaking boom.

Hoon Si watched his sister silently with dilated pupils. His heart was thundering. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. The effects of the Kkaeuda were far from wearing off. He was still in bewilderment, his sister he had not seen in six years. She had been dragged away from them. The hatred they all felt as they watched their oldest sibling, their second mother, taken from them. Hoon Si had always thought she had died, but there she was standing before him.

At the tender age of fifteen, it was an overwhelming sight for him. Despite the tragedy, the terror and the situation happening around them, Hoon Si took his sister in an embrace that was long overdue. Hyun Ae lurched at the sudden movement, but when she saw her brother's teeth clenched to keep from crying, she wrapped her free arm around him.

“We're going to be okay,” she said as another missile shook the ground. “Come on, we need to move and get to the rendezvous.”

–

A group of Dakeu Jeon-Won was marching down the long hallway, Taeyang and T.O.P amongst them. They all seemed tense, but T.O.P who simply continued bringing up the rear, eyes flickering to Taeyang multiple times; his posture was at great ease. The shorter man could feel it and he swallowed.

It was over before any of them could hardly react. T.O.P pulled his gun from the holster, finger quick on the trigger as it let loose a couple automatic rounds into his supposed comrades. Blood splattered across the walls as their dying cries were cut short. Ten of them dead in an instant.

It was Taeyang's turn, his own gun pointed at the infamous assassin only a few feet from him. “I knew you were lying,” he said, cocking his gun. “I knew you'd never betray G-Dragon.”

“At one time, I thought you never would either,” T.O.P. replied. “But you proved us all wrong.” Taeyang's hand clenched around his gun. “What did they promise you, hm? Fortune, freedom? A good piece of meat in your meals from now on?”

“They were going to give me my family back,” Taeyang answered quietly.

“But they haven't done that yet, have they?” inquired T.O.P. Taeyang's silence was the only answer he needed. “I never thought of you as stupid, Taeyang. I guess I was wrong.”

“You're going to kill me. Just stop playing around and do it.” There was a hitch in the younger man's voice.

T.O.P. smirked, only to lift his gun away. “You ruined us, the ones who were actually trying to do some good in this world. BigBang was the only place we ever belonged, it was our home. I could kill you, but that would be to easy. I'll leave you to deal with the consequences.” Taeyang dropped his arm and remained silent. “I have more important things to attend to.” T.O.P. turned, stepping over one of the corpses nonchalantly before disappearing down the dark corridor, leaving Taeyang alone.

–

“We have to find the motherfucker,” McCoy, one of Australia's soldiers, growled in broken Korean.

“My sister's coming,” Hyun Ae said, one arm around Hoon Si. The poor boy was shaking; his rage had been replaced with utter fear as the drug was finally wearing down. “She knows this place inside and out.” Another explosion, making debris fall from the ceiling. “She'll be able to help us locate him.”

Colonel Wright nodded, sporting a huge gash on the side of his head. “We capture Doh-Chang—we win this.”

“What if we...accidentally kill him?”

Everyone turned to the new voice. Hyun Ae breathed in relief as Seungri entered further into the room, his question still hanging in the air. His face was flecked with bloody cuts and scratches, the left cheek bone turning an angry color of purple.

Wright smirked. “If we kill him, we kill him. As long as we take him down—”

Another explosion, far closer and louder sent them all nearly off their feet. A mixture of profanities were caught as they tried to right themselves.

“We better get this done quick because they're planning on blowing this shit hole to pieces,” said McCoy, voice hurried.

“When Hyun Ae's sister arrives, we will go on our search,” the colonel said. “Right now we wait.”

But they were left with no time to wait. The next missile hit too close to their shelter, sending the place up in pieces. Seungri grabbed Hyun Ae, she reached for her brother, and the three of them were thrown to the floor. Hyun Ae curled into herself, shielding Hoon Si as the room seemed to come down on top of them.

When it stilled, Hyun Ae looked around, finding there was little to see. Her ears rang and a sense of panic was rising as she tried to stifle it. “Seungri?” her call was followed by a cough.

“I'm here,” came Seungri's reply. He grabbed her arm and she turned her head to him. Her heart dropped. She couldn't make out his face.

“No...” she hissed. “Seungri, I can't see...”

A list of profanities left his lips. “Don't worry. You can fare without your sight; you've done it for months.”

“Not like this...”

“Just trust me.”

She turned away. "Hoon Si, are you okay?"

"Yeah," came a blunt reply as he dusted off his shaved head.

“Everyone else okay?” It was the colonel's shout and the two on the floor answered. “Looks like we have to do some digging.”

“We're supposed to find Doh-Chang!” McCoy rumbled.

“Can we contact anyone on the outside?” Seungri asked as he and Hyun Ae got to their feet.

The colonel made an attempt—and failed. “Its dead. The percussion probably took it out.”

“My lenses are gone,” Hyun Ae added.

“Can you still fight?” Colonel Wright asked.

“Yes,” Seungri answered before she could. “She can still fight. She doesn't need to see.” Hyun Ae attempted a glare, but gave it up quickly when she couldn't see Seungri's expression.

“We need to dig ourselves out. Otherwise, we're up a shit crick.”

Seungri and Hyun Ae arched eyebrows at the colonel's choice of words, but made no remark. “We can at least get Hyun Ae out,” Seungri said. “She's the smallest. We get her out at least and then work for the rest of us.”

“That is if we can get out at all,” McCoy put in.

“If we don't, we all die,” Hyun Ae said, crossing her arms. “And I refuse to die like this. Not until Doh-Chang's deserved fate is delivered.”

Colonel Wright smiled and nodded. “Spoken like a true soldier.”