Beyond The Stars
F!Reader x EXO
Genre: Amnesia AU, EXO Universe/Planet
Warning: Amnesia, Manipulation, Lies, Interdimensional Travel, Betrayal
Words: 4.8K
Chapter Seventeen
(Prev//Next)
Prompt: You’re the most important thing to EXO, you’ve been with them for years, and when you wind up missing, it greatly upsets them. Their journey to find you and bring you home starts a chain of events that leads to facing their own greatest fears, making unlikely allies, traveling to other worlds again and finally gathering the strength to take down their greatest enemy. Along the way you get to see their true colors and fall in love all over again, although you might come to realize you don’t like what you see in the mirror.
@suhappysuho @starillusion13
“Destiny? What do you mean?”
“This is a safe haven.” Suho explained. “I’ll show you, but you all have to be calm.”
“You’re not exactly making me feel any better here.” Taeyong commented.
“Just follow me.”
Others were hesitant to follow, but they did so. Lay took your hand and led you along with the group. You looked around, realizing this was some kind of ship, and that brought up so many more questions. At least now it made sense what Suho had said earlier, the ship’s name was Destiny. You came to some steps, although Suho told everyone to give him a moment and went up.
“Captain!”
From below you heard some happy cheers, followed by running. Soon enough you saw someone with Suho and then they noticed you.
“Wow… that’s a lot of stowaways.”
“It’s a long story, but the new faces won’t be staying. They just needed a safe place to stop, hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. You wouldn’t bring enemies on my ship. Welcome aboard everyone.”
You went up onto the main deck, taking in your surroundings again and being amazed. You weren’t out on the ocean where you would find such a ship, but sailing through the sky. You ran over to the edge to look overboard.
“This is amazing.”
“Careful now, don’t want to lose anyone.”
Xiumin came over and pulled you back, reminding you to behave yourself. You apologized and promised to stay close. You were brought over back to the crowd and over to the gentleman you had seen talking with Suho before.
“We should probably introduce you. Y/n, this is the captain of the ship.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” The gentleman bowed. “I’m Hongjoong, captain of the Ateez crew, and this is our lovely ship Destiny.”
“It’s wonderful.”
You got to meet the rest of the crew as well and struck up a conversation as the leaders stepped away to talk among themselves.
“I’m Taeyong, leader of NCT. Thanks for allowing us to remain on your ship.”
“A friend of Suho’s is a friend of mine.”
“I want to ask though… how did you meet Suho?”
“He helped us long ago to save our world, and thanks to them we now roam free, always ready to help others. Destiny is our safe place, and for you as well. You’re always welcomed on my ship.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. I hope we cross paths again under better circumstances.”
“I’m sure we will.”
“Do you think you and your people are good to travel?” Suho asked. “Or do you need to rest. I’m sure-”
“No, no, we’re alright.” Taeyong assured. “We should return home and fully rest.”
“Okay then.”
You all gathered to see the Neos off, and you hoped to see them again some time in the future. With the third party gone there was a shift in the atmosphere.
“So what really brought you by?” Hongjoong asked. “You are not one to show up unannounced.”
“I’m here to collect on the favor we’ve asked of you.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Wait.” You asked. “What favor?”
You didn’t answer, but a look was exchanged between Hongjoong and Wooyoung. The other boy went off to the captain’s quarters and returned with an hourglass moments later.
“What is that? It looks so cool.”
“It’s called the Cromer.” Wooyoung explained, handing it over to you. “We don’t use it as much anymore, but it serves another purpose now.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
You only pondered on that for a moment before the Cromer floated up into the air and away from you. DO had stepped away from the group, and the Cromer flew over to him. In the blink of an eye the hourglass had shattered, but all the pieces remained in the air. All the glass was separated and you could tell DO was focused on it. One moment there was glass and then it turned to sand. You had no idea what was going on, let alone as Kai stepped forward and allowed the sand to pour down onto his hand.
“What are you doing…” You mumbled.
“Remembering something long forgotten.”
“Why are you going there?” Hongjoong asked.
“We can’t keep running.” Suho stated. “We have to face our enemies head on.”
“What does that mean?” You questioned.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Chen assured. “Promise.”
“Kai?” Suho said.
“I got it.”
You didn’t know what that meant, but you watched as DO put the Cromer back together as if nothing had ever happened. It returned to your hands and you looked it over in awe.
“You could stay a while.” Hongjoong suggested. “Get some rest and prepare.”
“Can’t keep pushing things off.” Lay said. “But thank you.”
“If you guys need any help, you know where to find us.”
It was sad to be saying goodbye to new friends so soon, but you went wherever EXO went without hesitation. You hoped to see them again and get to know them more when the time comes. You gave the Cromer back to Yeosang, and they all wished you well. Sehun and Chanyeol took your hands, and you all said one last goodbye before you closed your eyes, ready for the next adventure. The quiet and calm of the open sky faded into the sounds of nature, and you opened your eyes to find yourself surrounded by trees.
“Woah… where are we…”
“Some place we never thought we’d return to.” Baekhyun mumbled. “Come on, we have some place to go.”
“You guys really need to stop being so cryptic.”
“I know, sorry. We’re still processing everything too.”
You followed the boys through the words, quite intrigued by the fact they knew exactly where they were going. After a while you came to this cabin. It seemed abandoned with nature having taken it back, but it all retreated as Lay waved his hand. You went with the boys inside, seeing all the dust that’s been collecting. Sehun was quick to blow that all away, but a silent stillness remained.
“So… what is this place?”
“An old home.” Xiumin said.
“Are we staying?”
“For the foreseeable future, yes.”
“Then we should start cleaning up.”
Your bright spirit was a bit of a contrast with the rest of the atmosphere, but the others agreed with you. The others helped you clean up, making this place feel more like a home. While cleaning you found an interesting picture. It was a group photo of the boys with a handful of unfamiliar faces. There was something strange about this whole place you couldn’t quite put your finger on, and this picture added to that uneasiness. Before you could dwell on it more you heard Lay calling out to you, and you made your way to the back of the cabin, finding a greenhouse. You stepped into a garden you had never seen before, amazed by its beauty.
“Wow…”
“This is an old garden of mine, and you can see the plants have taken very good care of each other.”
“They must have missed you.”
“I missed them too.”
“What happened here? I saw a picture of you and some other people. Was this home before you met me?”
“For a long time it was, but we had to flee.”
“So why are you back now?”
“Cause we need to fix things.”
“Fix things?” You thought for a moment. “Is RF the reason you left this world?”
“Yes. This place was home, and then we wound up being held captive. When we escaped, we left this world in their hands. We have to correct that mistake.”
“That’s dangerous… facing RF head on… especially if the two of you have history here.”
“I know, but it has to be done. For starters we need to check in with old friends.”
“Old friends?”
“You can meet them later.” Kai said as he entered the garden. “We have to find them first.”
“And how are you gonna do that?”
“A lot of remembering.”
Kai stepped forward, going into the garden and sitting himself down. Some vines crept over, wrapping around his arms and waist. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, making you wonder what he was doing. You had never seen Kai in the garden like this before.
“Are you picking anything up?”
“I can sense them… but it’s faint…”
“It’s been years at this point. Will that be enough or should I look for them?”
“No. This should be enough.”
After a while longer Kai opened his eyes, the vines moving away and releasing him. He gave you a big smile and came over to press a kiss to your cheek.
“Suho, Sehun, and I will be going out for a bit. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“What? Can’t I go?”
“This place is unknown, and it’s best if you stay here where it’s safe.”
“Then why not bring our house here?”
“We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. Besides this place was the blueprint of the home we have now. Stay and be good.”
“Alright… don’t be gone too long.”
“Hopefully we won’t.”
The trio went off, and you focused on making this old place feel new. Kai scouted ahead first to make sure no one would get hurt and that they could lay low. Alleys always worked in their favor.
“Where are we?” Sehun asked.
“No idea.” Kai admitted. “Since the frequency is so faint I can’t get an exact location, but they have to be around here somewhere.”
“So like a needle in a haystack.”
“At least I narrowed down the search, didn’t I?”
“Don’t fight.” Suho reminded. “We have no idea what they’re like anymore after all this time. We might not be welcomed. Just lay low and don’t draw attention.”
The area they were in wasn’t that popular, but there were still plenty of people around going about their day. They seamlessly blended in, walking down the street and looking around. Nothing much had seemed to change about the world, but that wasn’t entirely a good thing. While walking Sehun had gotten a strange feeling, stopping before a building.
“Sehun?”
“There’s something about this place.”
“What place? A dojo?”
“I can’t explain it.”
“Wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”
The three went inside, seeing that the place was empty, except for one gentleman. They were cleaning the weapons rack. They began their welcome speech and turned around, only to cut themselves short.
“Suho… Kai… Sehun… is that really you?”
“Surprised to see us. Shownu?”
“I thought I’d never see you again.”
Shownu ran over to embrace the three in a hug, still processing that they were really there. So much had happened since they last spoke. There was a lot to catch up on, but something else was more important.
“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d return.”
“We have to right our wrongs.” Suho explained. “We’re sorry we took so long.”
“It’s just incredible to see you now.”
“What about the others?” Kai asked. “How are they?”
“I’m not so sure. We don’t keep in touch. It was better if we remained separate. Although for a while I was in contact with Wonho, but he hasn’t been around in months. I’m worried something happened to him but I have no way of finding out.”
“That’s alright. We plan to reunite everyone. If you don’t have any pressing business, we could go now.”
“Absolutely. It’d be so good to see everyone’s face again.”
Once again Kai relied on a faded feeling, going ahead to make sure everything was safe before returning for the others. Shownu did need a moment to recover from the nauseating feeling of teleportation before they could continue. It was another small town, but nothing vastly unfamiliar to Shownu. Neither of them knew where to look so it was back to walking the streets. Although this time around they had someone with a slightly better eye than them.
“Have you been avoiding me?”
“Huh… Shownu!”
Wonho ran over to hug his hyung, embracing them tightly with disbelief clear on his face. This seemed like a dream, more so when he realized his friend was not alone.
“You… is it really you?”
“Long time no see, right?”
“I can’t believe this.” Wonho stated. “What’s going on?”
“We’ll explain later, right now we’re just trying to find everyone.” Suho said. “Did you keep in touch with anyone?”
“No. Only Shownu, but that didn’t last long.”
“How did you find me anyway?”
“It’s a bit complicated… I received a watch in the mail with some instructions and a location… I was hesitant to use it but when I did, I found my way to you.”
“That must be what I sensed.” Sehun said. “The energy from you traveling back and forth. Without it we might not have found Shownu so easily.”
“I’m glad I could help.” Wonho teased. “So who are we looking for next?”
“No idea.” Suho admitted. “We’re just going to the nearest signal.”
“Got it. Ready when you are.”
“You’re very eager.”
“It’s been a long time.”
“I know.”
The five of them made the journey to their next location. Another town, and another needle in a haystack. Still, the more of them they found, the better they all felt. This time around everyone was surprised to find Minhyuk with Changkyun in a cafe. The reunion there was far bigger than the last.
“Have you two been in touch this whole time?” Wonho asked.
“Not consistently.” Minhyuk admitted. “Changkyun would stop by once in a while to check up on me, nothing more.”
“I have incredible timing don’t you think?” Changkyun teased. “I’m so happy to see you all, but also surprised.”
“When we get back to the cabin we can talk.”
“That place is still standing? I would have thought for sure RF would have destroyed it or something.”
“They’d never be able to get close.”
It was great to see each other, but they still had others to find. With the next jump some had gotten used to the nausea, and others not so much.
“Gosh, that always feels weird.” Changkyun commented. “So, who’s here?”
“We don’t know.” Kai said. “Just following a feeling.”
The group walked around for a while. They weren’t sure who to be looking for but once again Sehun had a strange feeling. He led the group inside a building, finding Jooheon behind a glass in the middle of work.
“Jooheon.”
“Hm?” The boy got up. “You… oh my gosh.”
Jooheon rushed out to embrace his brothers, tears stinging his eyes. Suho and the others let them have their reunion, aware they hadn’t seen much of each other in a long time too.
“What’s the reason behind all this?” Jooheon asked. “I thought we’d never see each other again.”
“It’s a long story.” Kai said. “But we’ll get to it. We just need to find the others first.”
“About that…”
“What?”
“I… I wish I could have told you all this sooner… but Kihyun… he was in a car accident… he’s…”
“I’m so sorry.” Suho mentioned.
The news took everyone by surprise, although Sehun had been looking around. Once again he felt something was off, except it was different this time around. He stepped away from the group, and Kai noticed, following him.
“Sehun, what is it?”
“I’m not sure… but I feel like someone else is here…”
“Someone else?”
Kai wasn’t sure what Sehun meant, but he had his own way of figuring things out. He closed his eyes and took a moment, then disappeared. Moments later he returned and threw someone to the ground. This person had a visor covering their eyes like some VR headset, and seemed to be wearing some kind of armor. The others had noticed this as well.
“What the heck?”
“This person’s been spying on us. Any ideas?”
“RF let us go.” Minhyuk said.
“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t keep an eye on you.”
“They weren’t following us.” Sehun added. “So they must have been here keeping an eye on Jooheon.”
“Me?”
That’s when the spy decided to move, making an attempt to run but Kai was quick to follow. The two engaged in some quick combat. This person was skilled, but Kai’s powers gave him an advantage. He managed to land a hard kick to the face, causing the other to slam to the ground. There was the audible crack of the visor and then all movement ceased. Shownu and Suho flipped over the spy, realizing a familiar face was under the mask.
“Kihyun…”
Everyone was confused and shocked. The news they had just been told suddenly became a lie, and this brought up so many questions. They all agreed that they couldn’t stay here for much longer so Suho made the call to go back home, taking everyone with them.
“Clear the table.”
Shownu called out orders as he carried Kihyun inside, Jooheon quickly wiped everything off the nearest table. Everyone gathered around as Kihyun was laid out on the table, helping to get the gear off of him. Others that had heard the commotion came to see what was going on, although there were no time for greetings. Things were taken off Kihyun to make him more comfortable, but the visor wouldn’t come off.
“So…” Minhyuck spoke. “How do we get that off him? Seems attached to his face and I don’t wanna… what if I hurt him?”
“You won’t.”
Another voice caught everyone’s attention. They all looked over at the door, seeing a tall figure hidden under an umbrella walk in. Once the group had gotten to the old house Suho made it rain to cover their tracks and it was pretty bad outside. This person seemed pretty clean, barely a drop of water on their umbrella, and not a speck of mud on them despite the surrounding woods. The umbrella was lowered, Hyungwon revealing his face.
“There’s a button on the left side of the visor. Press it and it will come off without issue.”
No one moved but Minhyuck, feeling around and finding the button. When he got the visor off he tossed it to Chen. Kihyun didn’t react, the other boy starting to shake him.
“Kihyun… Kihyun, wake up.”
“He won’t.” Hyungwon said. “And I suggest you don’t fry the visor.”
“What do you mean he won’t wak-” Shownu said but was cut off.
“It was supposed to be me!”
Jooheon yelled, storming over to Hyungwon. The older boy didn’t move, not at all afraid of the other. It was clear Jooheon wanted to fight, but Wonho was quick to run over and step in front of Hyungwon, holding his arm out. Shownu and Changkyun had moved as well, grabbing Jooheon and pulling him back despite his protests.
“It was supposed to be me!”
“Jooheon, what are you talking about?” Changkyun asked. “You’re not making any sense.”
“I was supposed to be in the accident! Not Kihyun! I saw you there, Hyungwon, I saw you there at the crash site!”
“What?” Shownu’s grip got tighter. “Jooheon, stop this and explain yourself.”
Jooheon kept glaring at Hyungwon, wanting to punch him, but he stopped fighting when Shownu asked. The two holding him waited a moment, making sure he was calm before letting him go. Wonho stayed with Hyungwon, but wasn’t sure what was going on.
“I’ve always felt that something was off about the accident.” Jooheon began. “I’ve had dreams of it, where I’m the one in the driver’s seat, it felt so real, too real, to just be a dream. I remember seeing you there when the ambulance took Kihyun, and then you disappeared. It was supposed to be me right? You changed that somehow. Why? It should be me on that table!”
“I couldn’t let RF get to you, I’m sorry.”
“Wait, you’re saying that Jooheon’s dreams are real?” Minhyuk asked.
“Those aren’t dreams, but memories of another timeline. I’m surprised you retain fragments of the accident.”
“So this…” Changkyun was mumbling. “This was what you needed to change?”
“What?” Shownu questioned. “What are you talking about?”
“Hyungwon came to me once, long before the accident, he asked me for a favor, said it was important. He needed to change something in the timeline, told me when and where Minhyuck would be, asked me to look after him, keep him safe for as long as possible.”
“Wait, you’ve been in contact with Hyungwon this whole time?”
“Yes… yes, I have.”
“So, that’s how you found me? I found that watch, a customer left it. I was just messing with it, I didn’t know it…” Minhyuk trailed off as he came to a realization, looking at Hyungwon. “You left that for me! You wanted me to use it!”
“Yes. It’s why I left one at Wonho’s place too.”
“It was you? You… you set us up?” Wonho seemed hurt. “Why? WHY!?”
“I needed a distraction. You’re all on RF’s radar, if you were found to be time traveling they’d focus on you since you were messing with the timeline.”
“You gave one to Kihyun too!” Jooheon questioned. “Didn’t you! You knew he would feel guilty over what happened and would want to change it! Why didn’t you just stop the accident!”
“You don’t think I tried to stop it, despite knowing better. There are things that are fated to happen, that accident was one of them. It was going to happen, one way or the other, if not at that moment, then later. Every attempt I made to change it ended the same, Jooheon was severely hurt and taken by RF. I couldn’t stop it, but I could change who was taken.”
“Why! WHY!”
“What did you do?” Changkyun growled. “Kihyun didn’t just get into the driver’s seat…”
“I did what I just did here. I showed him the truth, the accident can’t be stopped, and I gave him the opportunity to save Jooheon.”
“No you manipulated him!” Jooheon spat. “I see no reason why it shouldn’t be me on the table.”
“It’s because of me.” Lay spoke up. “Isn’t?”
“Yes.” Hyungwon nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Wait, what? What does Lay have to do with this.”
“Everything.” Xiumin added. “Jooheon, you know more about Lay’s plants than any of your friends. If RF got to you, they would learn that and… well I suppose Hyungwon knows what the outcome of that is.”
“You’re seriously defending him? He’s the one who betrayed us, who turned Baekhyun in, when you asked us to look after him.”
“We did.” Sehun got up. “But not Tao, right Hyungwon?”
“Yes. Tao asked me to bring Baekhyun in, he knew it wouldn’t end well if he was kept from the group any longer. I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Shownu asked.
“Cause he told me not to.”
“So you just betrayed us?” Wonho said. “You picked him over us?”
“That’s not it.”
“That’s exactly what you did!” Minhyuk yelled. “You betrayed us! And stayed with RF when they gave us an out!”
“He made a promise.” Kai added. “Isn’t that right? Tao could see the future if he focused with Luhan at his side. He knew what would happen if Baekhyun stayed away from us. He knew what would happen to him, to the others, and that we’d escape, but he knew we’d be back too. So, he needed someone to look after this world in our absence.”
“Yes.” Hyungwon admitted. “I made a promise, and that meant gaining RF’s trust, even if it meant losing you guys. I’m-”
“Don’t.” Wonho interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it, just wake Kihyun up and go.”
“I… I can’t… he’s comatose.”
“What!”
“The visor… it controls him, he’s lifeless without it.”
“So that’s what my fate was.” Jooheon said. “Comatose.”
“No… no it wasn’t. Messing with the timeline has a price, even when you find a loophole.”
“You… you killed him!” Changkyun shouted. “You killed Kihyun!”
“I’m sorry.”
Changkyun charged at Hyungwon, but he disappeared before he was grabbed. The boy fell to his knees distraught. He felt partially guilty for having helped Hyungwon in his plan, not knowing what the outcome would be. Shownu went over to comfort him, Wonho screaming as well and punching the wall. Minhyuk had fallen to his knees as well, holding Kihyun’s hand, his own silent tears falling.
“Fix this.” Jooheon looked at Lay. “You can heal him.”
“The mind is a far more complex thing to heal.”
“But you can do it.”
“I… I don’t know.”
“No, the answer is yes, you can fix him!”
“Jooheon, I don’t-”
“Don’t give me that crap, you can!”
“I don-”
“Maybe we can.” Baekhyun interrupted. “When Haechan and the others were stuck in the inbetween they were pretty much comatose. You woke them up, so you could-”
“We knew where their minds were, knew where to go and get them out. We have no idea where Kihyun is, he could be brain dead for all we know.”
“Then take him there.” Shownu spoke.
“What?”
“Take Kihyun’s mind to the inbetween, if he’s truly alive then you’ll find him there, right? And you can bring him back.”
“Do it.” Jooheon said. “Whatever that is, do it.”
“We can’t just do that.” Suho said. “The inbetween isn’t our place. We didn’t wake the others up, we helped one of their own go in and get them out. We can’t-”
“Then call your friends! Get them to do this!”
“Jooheon-”
“What do we have to lose?” Minhyuk added. “We didn’t know what had become of Kihyun until now, but this isn’t living.”
“The inbetween becomes a personal hell if you stay there.” DO said. “It’s not-”
“Kihyun put himself in a car accident.” Wonho cut in. “He knew the consequences then, he’d understand them now. So whoever you need to call, call them and try to save him, that’s all we’re asking.”
It got quiet. Suho looked around at everyone, the decision had fallen to him. He took a breath then looked at Lay, nodding his head.
“Lay, DO, with me. Xiumin, you and Chen know what to make, the garden here is like the one back home, so you should have what you need. The rest of you look after y/n.”
You had heard the commotions from before, but Baekhyun had you stay hidden just to be safe. Nothing that was spoken made sense to you, not until the end and talking about the inbetween. You peeked your head around the corner, seeing this person unconscious on the table. Everyone seemed busy with things so you carefully approached them. You looked at them for a while before someone else approached. They looked you over and then pulled you into a hug.
“Y/n!”
You didn't react, confused as to who was hugging you and why. He had such a huge smile on his face, but it faltered when he saw your confusion.
“Y/n, it’s me, Wonho, we grew up together, remember?”
“What?”
“We went to elementary and high school together. You disappeared a few years ago, we thought you were dead.”
“Wait, what? You’re saying we know each other?”
“Yes.” Wonho pulled up a picture of you and him together. “What happened to you?”
You were quiet, staring at the picture, then you looked over at Chanyeol who was in the room. The sad look on their face told you everything you needed to know.
“I’m... I’m from here, this world is my home… why don’t I remember that! Why don’t I remember my past!”
You started to panic, drawing a blank on your childhood, on everything before knowing them. Cahnyeol took a step towards you but you backed away.
“No… what’s going on… why don’t I-”
“A lot happened when we met.” Suho added, having overheard things and coming over. “We met by chance and you helped us but RF caught up to us, we couldn’t just leave you for them to do who knows what so we took you with us. We never planned to come back here and we couldn’t return you either. We didn’t want you to feel home sick… so we made you forget your past…”
“I…”
You had tears in your eyes, the lack of memories making you feel so lost. Your past had always been a fuzzy thing, and when you thought back on it something else always came up to distract you. This wasn’t how you thought you’d get answers. Even if you did know Wonho you felt nothing familiar about him.
“It’s our fault. We got you involved, we never meant to, I swear, but we had to keep you safe.”
“Did you?” You spat, eyes flashing black for a moment. “What you did… was it really for my own good… or for yours.”
You stormed out, not wanting to hear anything anymore, having some new information to deal with. Once you were gone the others looked at each other, then Wonho.
“You knew y/n?” Suho questioned.
“Yes, and I thought I knew you too.”
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