#a family member possibly sitting on the cold ocean floor slowly dying should not stop you from ROCKING OUT 🤘

[prideprejudce]

sometimes I’m truly convinced we are all stuck in some parks and recreation alternate reality

[kimjongdaely]

The Labyrinth [Chapter 4]

All members; EXO

Genre: Mystery, horror, choose your own adventure

Warnings: Violence, blood, language, character death

Summary: You are now on The Labyrinth. Are you ready to play?

Prologue (1) (2)│Overview│Chapter 1│Chapter 2│Chapter 3│Chapter 4 │Chapter 5│Chapter 6│Epilogue│Bonus

You have decided Do Kyungsoo is not dead.

There’s a moment of silence as the two words leave your lip, everyone leaning in a little closer to catch a glimpse of Kyungsoo’s necklace, as if it wasn’t true unless they saw it with their own eyes.

Adrenaline pumps through your veins as your heart rate triples. You hastily yell on the top of your lungs, “Run!”

You jump up and grab onto Kam’s hand, running as fast as your legs could carry you to the other end of the ship, and you were vaguely aware that the others were following you.

When you finally felt like it was safe, you let go of Kam’s hand, panting hard.

“What…” Chanyeol tries to catch his breath. “What was that? Why did you run?”

“I-I’m sorry.” You apologize sheepishly. “I just got spooked out and felt like I had to get as far away as possible.”

“You think…” Minseok starts, staring at you. “That Kyungsoo is alive.”

You nod at this, your face looking dead serious.

“This is giving me chills.” Sehun shivers, wrapping his arms around himself. “Why would he fake his death like that?”

“I don’t know.” You shake your head, sinking your teeth into your bottom lip. “But it doesn’t matter. We need to figure something out to keep us all safe.”

“Agreed.” Yixing nods, his face dark from the situation at hand.

“Okay, so if Kyungsoo is alive,” Baekhyun starts, trying to think. “Then he might target Chanyeol first. I think we need to protect him most.”

“Wait, why?” Jongdae asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “So Kyungsoo was the one who did all those things to Chanyeol?”

“We’re not sure.” You answer. “But Kyungsoo doesn’t like Chanyeol very much, so I agree we should protect him.”

“Kyungsoo wouldn’t actually…” Chanyeol gulps, all color draining from his face. “He wouldn’t actually want to kill me, would he?”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Kam says, her face solemn. “Someone needs to be with him at all times. It would be better if two people are with him.”

“I’ll be with him.” Baekhyun pipes up.

“I can stay with him too.” Junmyeon offers as well.

“Okay.” You breathe out, feeling the adrenaline start to fade. “Let’s all go to the waiting room and stay together.”

The others nod at this, heading towards the waiting room cautiously.

There’s not much to do. There's no signal in the middle of the ocean so it’s impossible to make any phone calls. There’s a thick silence hanging over the air as you sit with the others, not sure what to do.

You try to think of a plan, but it’s difficult with just ten people and one person trying to kill you.

Chanyeol is pacing the room nervously—and you can’t blame him since it’s very possible he might be the next victim. You bite your lip, just letting time tick by, hoping to get by the days one at a time until the ship takes you home.

Chanyeol suddenly stops, his nervous voice breaking the silence, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Are you serious?” Baekhyun asks in disbelief. “When there’s someone trying to kill you?”

“I’m nervous, okay?” Chanyeol argues, a pout on his lips. “I need to go.”

Baekhyun groans and rolls his eyes, but stands up nonetheless to go with Chanyeol as his bodyguard. Junmyeon follows as well, a small chuckle escaping his lips at their friendly quarrel.

For a moment, the mood seems to lighten a bit. The three of them leave the room to go to the bathroom.

“I need to go too.” Jongin then speaks up, standing up as well.

“But it’s dangerous to go alone.” Sehun says, but Jongin forces a smile at him.

“I’ll be okay.” Jongin seems uneasy at his own words though. “Besides, the others are in the bathroom too.”

Sehun hesitates before finally nodding and no one stops Jongin from following the others to the bathroom.

“So.” Jongdae speaks up after Jongin leaves, clearing his throat. “I wanted to ask this for a long time.” He bites his lip as he thinks of a way to start.

“Is this about The Labyrinth?” Minseok asks his brother who nods in response. Your eyes widen, all attention focused on the Kim brothers.

“All of you are survivors of The Labyrinth, aren’t you?” Jongdae asks, the others nodding their heads. “This can’t be a coincidence.”

“The culprit brought us together on purpose.” Sehun mutters, sinking his teeth into his lip so hard you’re scared he might bleed.

“I heard the game caused a lot of panic attacks.” Yixing mumbles quietly, which Minseok nods at.

“I saw the news.” Minseok says. “Almost all of the people who lost the game had to go to mental therapy.”

“We were lucky.” Sehun shivers at the memory. “We had it better than them.”

“It was really traumatic.” Yixing shakes his head, wishing he could erase the images. You agree wholeheartedly—playing that game was the worst decision you made. You still have nightmares about it even though it happened a year ago.

Just then, Baekhyun, Junmyeon and Jongin run back into the room, panting with pale faces.

“Where’s Chanyeol?” Kam asks, eyes wide with terror as she waits for their answer.

“He’s…he’s…” Baekhyun starts sobbing, Junmyeon patting his back to soothe him.

“We…” Junmyeon starts, choking. “We already took turns guarding the door and the stalls but…but he still…” He couldn’t continue, his voice breaking.

“I…I don’t know what happened.” Jongin admits, frozen rigid. “I just wanted to go to the bathroom. How…?”

“What exactly happened?” Minseok demands as he stands, pushing past the three to see for himself.

The others follow Minseok to the bathroom, pushing open the door and then gasping at the sight.

Chanyeol sits in his bathroom stall, a long cloth wrapped around his neck, seemingly what strangled him to death.

“Wait.” Yixing speaks up, the first to approach Chanyeol’s body. He sees a small piece of paper poke out from his clenched fist, and pries his fingers open to retrieve the paper.

Yixing face goes even paler if possible, giving the piece of paper to you first.

You look down onto the small paper, and read the scribbled words out loud. “Two have lost already. Win, or die.”

“Oh my gosh.” Jongin mumbles, stumbling backwards and almost tripping over himself. “We’re all going to die! We’re going to die.” He starts sobbing, along with Baekhyun who just lost his best friend.

“I…I don’t understand.” Junmyeon looks at Chanyeol sadly, his head shaking. “How? We were right here with him.”

“Kyungsoo isn’t dead.” Baekhyun repeats over and over again like a mantra. “He’s not dead and he killed Chanyeol!”

“Baekhyun, you need to calm down—” You start, but he’s practically pulling his hair out in panic. Before you could stop him, he bolts out of the room, everyone racing after him.

He runs back to his own room, closing the door shut. You bang on his door, trying to get him to come back out. “Baekhyun! Open the door, please. We need to stay together!”

“Together?” His muffled voice sounds, strained and broken. “We stayed together but Chanyeol still died!”

The lock clicks and he swings the door open, and then there’s something cold pressed against your forehead.

Your heart is beating so hard it bruises against your ribcage, your blood running cold as you are forced to step back slowly as he steps out.

He has a gun.

“B-Baekhyun,” Jongin cautiously asks, “Where did you get that?”

“It was in my room, hidden in the drawer.” Baekhyun answers without looking away, his eyes wild as he presses it firmly against your forehead.

“Baekhyun, stop.” Kam begs, afraid to agitate him. “Please don’t hurt anyone.”

“I’m not going to die.” Baekhyun hisses, pressing it harder against your head making you yelp in fear. “I’m not going to die—so that means all of you have to die! The culprit wants a winner and I’m going to win!”

His finger moves to the trigger, and you squeeze your eyes tight, ready for what’s to come. You hear Kam scream, begging for him to put down the gun. You mentally picture your friends and family back home, your life flashing before your eyes like a movie.

This is it.

This is the end.

You suck in your last breath.

And the loud bang echoes.

You wait for a moment, but feel no pain. There’s a loud thump, gasps from around you, and you finally open your eyes.

Baekhyun lies dead on the floor, crimson blood pooling around his head and staining the floorboards.

You breathe heavily as the adrenaline still hasn’t left your system from fear. You’re still trying to figure out what happened, but your eyes finally trail over to Minseok, who also has a gun in his hands.

“H-Hyung?” Jongdae whispers, taking a step back from his brother who looks frozen, like he can’t believe what he just did.

“I-I…I found this hidden in the ropes.” He points to a wound rope that is used for the lifeboats. He hastily drops the gun, letting it clang against the floor, his hands shaking. “I saw it and I thought I had to do something so I just—” He stops, swallowing hard. “I killed him.”

There’s a long silence as you stare at Baekhyun’s lifeless body, his blood continue to expand from around his head, his hair soaked red.

Finally, you manage, “Thank you.”

Minseok looks taken aback, but you turn to him properly this time and bow at him, repeating, “Thank you. Without you, I would’ve died.”

“I agree.” Sehun nods at this. “Baekhyun was beyond saving. He went mad.”

You nod sadly at this, your heart breaking as you take one last glance at Baekhyun.

“Guys!” Junmyeon yells for everyone’s attention, and everyone turns to look at him. He had taken several steps backwards, his hand shaking as he points at a note that was taped onto the mast.

Kam takes a step forward, but not too close to the note as she reads, “Three down. Who will win?”

“No, no, no.” Jongin shakes his head frantically, too overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Two people dying on the same day is too much.

“Wait,” Kam speaks up, “It says three people down. So does that mean Kyungsoo is dead after all?”

“Not if the culprit is Kyungsoo.” Sehun speaks up. “He’s trying to mislead us. Why else would he play dead? It’s so he can easily kill us off since we think he’s dead.”

“We need to go.” You say frantically, starting to turn away. “Let’s break into the steering room and contact another boat or something. We can’t wait anymore.”

“But no one knows how to do that!” Jongdae furrows his brows, but you shake your head.

“Then we’ll figure it out!” You yell as you start to run. “Come on!”

You run through the hallways of the boat, trying to get back to the front of the boat where the steering wheel is. The ship is very large, so it’ll take a while to get back to the front.

Just then, the lights in the hallways go out, leaving it pitch black. “What the—”

You suddenly hear Kam scream, before it’s muffled and fades away. You hear Jongdae call for Minseok and the others, before his voice fades as well.

“Guys?” You yell frantically, trying to feel around. “Where are you?”

“Run!” You hear Jongin’s voice holler. “Run!” He seems to go farther down the hallway, a door slamming shut.

“What?” You continue to feel around, searching for the others. “Where? Where did you go?”

Suddenly, you feel someone grab onto your wrist and you scream on the top of your lungs, trying to flail the person off and run, but then you hear him say, “Calm down! It’s me, Yixing. We’re separated from the others; we need to get the lights back on.”

You seem to calm down slightly, but not entirely as you’re not sure if you can trust him. “Okay, where’s the light switch?”

“I have no idea.” Yixing admits. “I’m pretty sure it’s one of these rooms though; I remember accidentally walking into it before.”

“Okay,” you start, sounding slightly unsure. “Then let’s go…”

This choice is tricky! Be careful of which one you choose because one option will lead you to a clue to who the culprit is!!!

Go Left or Right?

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[gusenitsaa]

Captain Jones

So remember that horrible ask that some horrible person sent to @asktheoriginalliam​.  About what would have happened if Killian had died instead of Liam in Neverland.  And that heart-ripping response that Liam made on the same subject to Killian.  

Yeah... So I did a thing.  And I tried to get @ask-milahthepiratequeen​  @asktheoriginalliam​ and @queen-mabs-revenge​ to stop me from doing the thing.  And not one of them did. So ... blame them?  And when they start cursing at me, you will know, fine readers, that they did this to themselves.  (Very heavy on Jones Brothers feelings and a dash of MiLiam for seasoning. Stick with me to the end before you yell at me, okay? )

Read on FF

“What do you know of any of this?”  Killian’s tone was the familiar petulance of a child, stubborn and skeptical and Liam bit his lip to hide the smile.  Years of naval training and a crisp new uniform but sometimes Killian was still so very much the stubborn child Liam had always known.  But Liam had faith in his king and his orders, and he meant to show Killian that both could be trusted.  

“I'm your brother and your captain. You will listen to me.”

It was only a moment. A moment of rashness that truly was more Killian’s style than his own.  But when Liam moved the thorny branch towards his skin Killian was faster.  He snatched the branch from his brother’s hand, tossing it aside before it could draw Liam’s blood.  

“That’s insubordination, brother,” Liam commented with a hint of a smile on his face.  Killian’s face fell and he raised his hand, a point of blood welling up on his palm where the thorn had grazed him.  

“You see? Perfectly fine,” Liam said,  pulling out a handkerchief to wrap the cut gently.  “Your intentions are noble, Killian, but as I told you, our King would never lie to us.”  He tied a quick knot in the makeshift bandage and gave his brother’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “Now, let's collect our specimens and get off this...”

His words trailed off when he glanced up at Killian’s face.  There was naked fear in his brother’s eyes,  like he’d not seen since he was very young and the lamp had flickered out in the dead of night.   Then he wavered.   Liam moved forward instantly to catch him as Killian’s legs crumpled beneath him.  

“Killian?”  That’s when he noticed the dark stains creeping their way from beneath the bandage up his arm.  “No- No. Let's get you back to the ship. Come on,  up you get-”

“Can’t-” Killian whispered breathlessly,  “ ‘m sorry.”

“Shh, don’t be sorry. I should have listened to you, Killian.  I’m-  I’m so sorry-  I’m going to-  I’m going to fix this. Have to fix this-”  The black tendrils had spread up past Killian’s forearm now and Liam took out a dagger, splitting his brother’s shirt from wrist to shoulder.  The inky tendrils were well up his arm now reaching towards his shoulder, and his heart.  Killian’s face was tight with pain and with a growing horror Liam realized there was nothing that he could do.

“I tried to warn you,” a cold voice spoke and Liam raised his head slightly,  the boy, from before.  “He'll die as soon as the poison reaches his heart.”

“Please. He's my little brother. He's all I have.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn't have goaded him into it.”

“He's so stubborn. I didn't mean to. You knew the nature of the plant,  can you help me to fix this?”

“Well, it might not feel like it, but today's your lucky day. This spring... these waters are rich with the power of Neverland. It's what keeps this land and all on it so... young. If one was to drink directly from it, its power could cure any ill. But... I must warn you. All magic comes with a price, and that spring is no exception. Don't leave the island unless you're willing to pay it.”

“Of course. Whatever you want, it's yours.”

Getting Killian to drink from the stream was far from easy,   but finally he choked and coughed and it was all Liam could do to let him get a few free breaths in before smothering him with an embrace.  

“Liam-”

“That’s captain to you, sailor.  And I did not give you leave to die, you hear me?”

“Aye, captain,” Killian replied hoarsely.  

“Now let's pay the boy and get off this damned island.  Boy?”

Liam felt himself floating near as high as the Jewel throughout their return voyage, never letting Killian out of his sight for so much as a moment.

“How are you feeling,” he asked again.  

“As fit as the last three dozen times you’ve asked, Captain,” Killian retorted with an exasperated smile.  “What now?”

“We reveal our King's cowardice.”

“Well, let's hope the realm sides with us.”

“Oh, they will. To fight battles using unholy weapons is, as you say, bad form.”

The pitch of the ship shifted as they began to descend and a voice from above called the warning to brace for impact.  When the familiar sights and sounds of the sea resumed, Liam couldn’t help but smile broadly.   “Killian,  what would you say if I asked you to come with me when I report to the admiralty-”  

There was the sound of a thud from behind him and Liam turned, his bright smile turning to terror as Killian stumbled back against the table in the middle of the room.  He was at his brother’s side in an instant, sinking to the floor with Killian in his arms.

“Help!” he cried desperately, “bring the doctor!”  He turned back to Killian and  reached for his brother’s hand, turning it over and seeing that the dreamshade’s dark vines traced Killian’s skin once more.  “I should-  I should get help.  The doctor-”

Killian stiffened in his arms,  “Don’t leave me, please?” he whispered.

Tears slipped down Liam’s face and dampened Killian’s skin, causing him to open his eyes again.

“Liam, please don’t l-”  

“I’m right here, little brother” he whispered,  holding Killian tighter in his arms.  “I’m not going anywhere, alright?”

Killian nodded, the tension slowly leaving his body until finally he went limp.  

“Killian?” There was no reply and Liam felt his heart stutter in his chest as though the poison had reached his heart with his brother’s.  “Killian? No-” His head dropped heavily onto Killian’s shoulder, his sobs making them both shake violently.  

When the doctor came into the room moments later Liam spat at him to get out and no one dared enter the cabin for hours.  When someone finally worked up the nerve to enter again they found Killian had been laid carefully on the cot and  Liam was sitting calmly on the edge of the table in the middle of the room facing him, eyes distant.  

“Captain?  ‘m sorry, captain.”

“We have work to do.”

Liam Jones never reported to the admiralty.  

Instead he took to the open sea again, using the time to carefully stitch his little brother into a fresh sail in the privacy of his cabin, which no one dared enter anymore.   When Killian Jones slipped below the surface of the waves Liam’s heart went with him.  And so did three members of the crew.  

First, the man who dared to interrupt proceedings with the question of when they’d be getting new orders.   

Second, the ship’s doctor,  who had not been fast enough.  

And third, a young sailor who had once blackened Killian’s eye in a dispute over rations.  

It took Liam two months to find the squid ink and when he did he set a course second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning.  

Pan greeted him when he arrived, a taunting smile on his face prepared for another round of their game. What he wasn’t expecting was for Liam Jones to not hesitate a moment.  No taunts, threats or accusations.  He simply threw squid ink at the demon and smiled as he dragged Pan by the collar of his shirt onto his ship.  He watched the horror in the boy’s eyes as he drew a cutlass with a curious black sheen.  The demon of Neverland knew dreamshade when he saw it.  Liam laid the tip at the base of his throat pressing ever so gently until a single drop of blood rolled down the edge of the blade.  By the time the squid ink wore off they were too far from the power of Neverland for the boy to do more than beg for his life,  which he did, in the end.    

“You knew what would happen when we left Neverland.”  It wasn’t a question and before Pan could speak Liam continued.  “You know what will happen now,  when I order the landing.”

“You’ve made your point, captain,  but surely we can come to some kind of arrangement.”

“What could you possibly offer me?”

“Youth,”

“I do not want it.’

“Magic, power-”

“I do not need it.”

“Riches, whatever you desire, I can get it-”

Liam smiled and for a moment Pan felt relief.  Then the captain turned,  and called to the crew,  “prepare for landing.”  He stood watching as the ship crashed into the water and the fear in Pan’s eyes grew.  Then he gasped,  choked and collapsed, the magic of Neverland fading.  He died on the floor of Liam’s cabin, an old withered husk. What was left was tossed overboard with the kitchen refuse.  

No one was quite certain how it happened.  

The King himself grew ill first.  Weakening and dying over the course of only a few days from an illness that no healer could identify.  His heir soon followed,  then the rest of the royal family.  One by one, the illness systematically moved through the lines of succession until there was no one left.

Civil war broke out; old families fought over the throne,   took power and then fell in turn from the same mystery illness.

The throne was cursed, they said.  

It might as well have been.  

Ships began to vanish,  lost with all hands.  Passengers and cargo alike went to the depths.  The waterways were not safe.  

The rumors started small.  A rogue captain.  A pirate. But what kind of pirate left gold and gemstones on the ocean floor along with his victims?

When they came across a vessel the crew attacked ruthlessly,  mercy would be met with the captain’s strict judgement.  No one survived once he’d decided they were not worthy.  His crew lived in fear.  Some tried to run.  Those that escaped never lasted long.

Today it was slavers.  

Liam Jones had a particular distaste for slavers. They didn’t even get a hearing.  His crew knew to dispatch them without need for judgement.   But today something was different.  

“Captain,  there’s a woman-”

“A slaver is a slaver.”  he retorted,  “do your duty.”

“Aye, captain,  of course captain. Only... I don’t think she’s a sailor, or a slaver.”

“A slave?”

“Don’t know, captain.”

“Bring her to me.”

The woman had wild dark hair and ratty dress but a spark in her eyes nonetheless.  

“Were you taken against your will?”

“No-” the woman retorted, a flicker of pride in her eyes.

“Then why do you sail with such as them?”

“I had to get away.”

“From whom-”

The woman hesitated-  and Liam raised his eyebrows.  “What’s your name?”

“Milah.”  

He nodded, “I asked you a question, Milah, and you will answer it.” There was a crash from the nearby ship and Milah’s eyes flickered towards it as it began to take on water and list.  Men screamed in the distance and she closed her eyes as the vessel began to sink.  

“From my husband,” she admitted.

“Did he harm you?”

“Not exactly ... We... harm each other.”  He watched her carefully, not speaking.  Waiting for her to continue.  “Please, captain, I have a son.  I hope to go back to him someday and-”  Her words died out.  What had begun as a plea for mercy had the opposite effect on Captain Jones.

“You have a son?”

“Yes... his name is Baelfire.”

“And you abandoned him?”

“He was too young for the trip, too young for-”

In an instant there was a flash of metal and the woman fell, her hands clutching desperately at the wound he’d dealt.  Her blood stained the deck of the ship where so many others had fallen and he turned his back on her.  

“Clean it up-” he called to the crew-

Liam woke with a start, tears streaming down his face freely in the chilly red toned room above the bar.  He slipped out of the bed and threw a t-shirt on against the chill before moving down the stairs, his hands still shaking from the aftershocks of his dreams.  

They were more vivid here, the nightmares.  They all got them, though some were worse than others... these games Hades used to play with his captives and they’d yet to discover how to make them stop.

He’d give anything to make them stop.  

He poured himself a glass of water that he didn’t drink,  just clinging to the glass like a lifeline.   There was the sound of a key turning in the lock and Milah slipped into the bar, carrying an armful of papers that she’d brought home.  She locked the door behind her and turned,  starting a little when she saw him.  

“Liam... I told you I’d be late. I thought you’d be aslee-”  she stopped speaking as she got closer and saw the way he clutched at the glass.  She dropped the papers on the bar and went to him, his arms opening unthinkingly to receive her.  

“Was it Killian again?” she asked quietly.  

“And you,  this time.”  

“I’m sorry, love.  We’ll find a way to stop them.  Hades is gone now, there has to be a way to stop them-”  

“We could just leave.” Liam said quietly.  “Killian’s safe topside again,  Hades is vanquished.  We could just move on.”

“We could-” Milah said carefully, “Is that what you want?”

Liam shrugged and kissed the top of her hair.  “We’ve done so much here,   helped so many.  I feel a coward to even suggest yielding before the battle’s won.”

“You’re not a coward, Liam.”  She was quiet for a moment and then she looked up. “I have a surprise for you.”  

“Do you?” he asked.

“No one else knows yet, so for tonight it can just be our secret.”  

Liam’s eyebrows went up and she took his hand, pulling him towards the door.  “Milah, sweetheart, in this state of undress?”

“Consider it a public service,” she teased, not yielding her grip.  They walked down the street hand in hand, Liam looked slightly abashed and Milah poked him in the side, “Liam, you’re wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt.  You’re hardly going to scandalize anyone.”  

His discomfort abated, she led him down the main street.  He froze when they turned a corner and the telephone booth was back on the street corner, shiny as new. She led him to it and his eyes widened.  

“Milah- does it work?”

She nodded, “but... as a public service... I think we should test it.”  

She pushed open the door and handed him the receiver. He took it as she made the connection.  

“Hello, little brother-”

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