"Mingi!!" Yunho shouted before running forward, desperation written all over his face. "Mingi!!"

San swore under his breath. The care was right there, mere steps away, and the ticket to getting out of here. Yet... He found himself yelling, "Get him in the car and start it."

"No, don't San!" Yeosang tried to reach for him, but he had to readjust to accommodate Wooyoung's extra weight when San let go.

"San!" Jongho cried out, trying to get him to stop as well, but San was already well out of reach.

He wouldn't abandon the mermen. He couldn't. Not when he knew how much they meant to Wooyoung. Not when they had sacrificed so much to help.

Pushing his body as fast as he could, San followed Yunho back through the hole in the wall. The taller was already halfway back to the door, his long legs hurdling him through the thick smoke billowing from the building.

The fire was getting worse.

Great flames of orange, red, and yellow flickered and snapped and roared. And it was so extremely hot.

"Yunho! Wait!" San called. He lifted the collar of his shirt up to cover his nose in hopes of not breathing in as much smoke. Though his throat was already scratchy. "Yunho! C-Cover your nose!"

The merman stopped and spun around, anger radiating from him that quickly faded when he noticed what San was doing. A flicker of trust passed over his eyes and he immigrated the human by covering his nose.

They ran the rest of the way together. But time was running out. The fire was spreading to the gardens... If they took to long, it was possible their exit would be blocked.

Yunho seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he paused at the first fountain they came to and started lifting his hands up. The pendant he wore started to glow at the same time water rose from the basin. He worked quickly to douse the flames around them, soaking the ground, plants, and path with as much water as he could.

It worked, mostly, leaving behind clouds of hissing steam. Hopefully it would prevent the flames from spreading there again.

But there was no time to think about that. San and Yunho started running again. When the door appeared, Yunho flung his arms out to the sides, using his magic to rip it from its hinges and send it flying.

Just in time for two bodies to stumble out and fall to their hands and knees, coughing violently.

"Mingi!" Yunho dropped to his knees as well and started rubbing Mingi's back. "Are you ok? What happened?"

The prince lifted one hand, taking deep, ragged breaths, but all it led to was more coughing.

San knelt next to the other man, the one who had poured the white liquid on Wooyoung, and shook his head. "We need to get out of here, then we can talk."

He moved to help lift Mingi up, ducking under his left arm while Yunho took the right, and started to move away from the building.

"Wa... Wait." Mingi croaked, shaking his head and coughing. "Hi... Him too..."

"We don't have time!" San said with a grunt as Mingi shifted his weight.

"Him... too..." The prince ordered.

San ground is teeth together, really hating everything happening right now. He had to force himself to turn around, but once he said the pleading look on the man's face, San knew he couldn't leave him to die.

He crouched down and held his arms out. "Get on. Hurry!"

With several pain coughs, the man, San thought he remembered his name as Hongjoong, crawled onto his back.

Once San was able to wrap his arms around the man's legs, he started to run forward as fast as he could. A single nod from Yunho told him to keep going.

The path was still relatively clear, so the water had worked, but the rest of the area was slowly succumbing to the raging fire.

When he reached the wall, he set Hongjoong down and helped him climb through. "The car is that way." He pointed to the side, then turned back to help Mingi get through.

It was getting hotter. The roar from the fire and the smoke took over every sense. San's eyes stung, his lungs burned, his ears ached.

Mingi looked like he was barely conscious. All of his weight fell against San when Yunho passed him through the hole.

"Hang in there, big guy." San hissed, shuffling backward and dragging the merman with him.

Angry blasts from the car horn told him the others were ready and waiting, urging them to hurry.

Yunho and San started to drag Mingi along, pushing against the strain, when the first explosion happened.

They were sent flying forward, slamming into the ground a couple of times before rolling the rest of the way.

San could feel that his body was now cut and bruised. His world spun and started to turn black. He forced his eyes closed, hoping that would help stabilize himself because he knew he couldn't afford to stop.

He tried to roll onto his side, reaching for where Mingi had landed next to him. His name echoed in his ears. The crunching of gravel and snapping of twigs came next, right before he felt hands gripping his arms.

It burned, almost as much as the heat from the fire. It made him scream, wanting nothing more than for the pain to stop.

He was being lifted up, muddled words sounding next to him.

Suddenly he was flying forward again from another blast.

Time was up...

"Y-Yeo..." He slurred, his head flopping to one side. Yeosang... he wanted Yeosang... and Wooyoung...

The hands were back. Lifting him from the burning forest floor.

Another horn sounded, deeper and angrier than the car they'd driven here.

The voices around him grew louder and more frantic. So did the hands. They jostled him back and forth, then he was laying on something hard and cold.

Oh it felt so good against his hot skin.

San groaned and tried to melt into the floor, trying to cool himself off as much as possible. It helped enough that his vision started to return.

He blinked several times, each one clearing the fog from his eyes, revealing he was in the back of a large truck. The roof curved over him and there were seats along the walls.

But next to him was the most important thing.

"Woo!" San rolled over and propped himself up so he could gaze down at the merman.

Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not Yunho helping Mingi up and the couple taking a seat in the corner, not Jongho leaning through a rectangular hole in the front wall and yelling for someone to drive, not the truck lurching forward.

Some of the color had returned to Wooyoung's skin, although his tail was still a sickly gray. It flopped uselessly against the truck bed whenever they hit a large bump or dip in the road.

"Wooyoung, my love, please wake up." He whispered, leaning over the merman and pressing their foreheads together. "I'm here now. You're safe..."

"Wait, wait! Hang on!" Yunho gasped. It was panicked enough that San lifted his head and watched as the octopus started pushing repeatedly against the bubble holding her.

With one perfect poke of her arm, she burst the bubble and landed with a splat, then quickly pulled herself across the truck bed and up onto Wooyoung's chest.

San was too stunned to try and stop her, only able to watch as she pulled one arm out from under her. It was wrapped around a glowing white pearl. She pressed it into his chest, rolling it back and forth repeatedly while her over arms curled around Wooyoung stomach and arms.

"What..." San glanced up at Yunho.

"I don't-" Yunho shook his head.

Next to him, Mingi's eyelids fluttered. "It's... his..." His voice was raspy, weak from inhaling too much smoke.

San didn't understand what the merman was trying to stay. His eyes dropped down again when the pearl started to glow. It was gentle at first, soft and warm. Then, it started to glow brighter, so bright everyone had to shield their eyes or look away.

After a few minutes, the light started to fade, much like a setting sun.

Spreading his fingers apart just slightly, San chanced looking at it again.

He gasped, is heart rate increasing immediately.

The pearl was being absorbed into Wooyoung's chest, which was also starting to glow faintly. The light pulsed evenly in time with his heartbeat, which San discovered when he took Wooyoung's hand and felt his pulse.

"What's... happening?" He breathed.

No one answered him. Mingi and Yunho might have known, but everyone was too shocked to speak. Even Yeosang had twisted around in the front seat to stick his head through the opening.

They all waited, held their breaths, didn't dare to move, as the light in Wooyoung's chest grew and started to pulse down to the tip of his tail.

And with each pulse, the color returned just a little bit more.

The fairies landed on his tail and started running their hands around the holes where scales had been taken from them. Their light chitters were soft and focused and so much more serious than San had ever seen the little creatures be.

His mouth slowly opened as he watched some of the scales start to grow back.

They were healing him.

Tears pricked the corners of San's eyes at the sight. He looked back at Wooyoung's face, leaning forward so their noses grazed, then he pressed their cheeks together to whisper in his ear. "Please, open you eyes. I'm here. You're safe now. Please, Woo. Please, open your eyes."

"Come on." Jongho sank down to kneel at Wooyoung's head. "Come on."

From the front of the truck, San heard Hongjoong swear under his breath right as he yanked on the wheel. The truck jerked to the side for a second, jostling everyone in the back.

"What's wrong?" Yeosang asked, pulling his head back into the cab.

"I think he's following us."

"What?!" San looked at the truck doors out of instinct, as if he could see through them. He couldn't, of course, but he had a sinking feeling that Hongjoong was right.

"I never saw what happened to him after I caused the explosion."

"That was you?" San's head whipped back around, making his vision swim for a second. Why would he do that? Why was he helping them?

Hongjoong's eyes flicked to meet his in the rear view mirror. "Yes. I... I had to stop him. I couldn't take it anymore. For what it's worth... I'm sorry for what they did to Wooyoung."

"You can apologize when you actually get us to safety." Yeosang's eyes narrowed. "Where are you taking us?"

"Where else?" Hongjoong laughed nervously. "I'm taking you straight to the ocean. I'm hoping we can get there on one tank of gas, but if not we need to be ready for anything. And really, we should be now. If that really is him behind us, then expect him to stay on us the entire time and call in whatever help he can."

San glanced down at Wooyoung, happy to see his color was still steadily returning, then back at the truck cab. "And who is he?"

"Park Seonghwa."

Mingi sat up straighter, a puzzled expression crossing his face. "Park... Park..." He muttered repeatedly.

"What is it, Min?" The other merman cupped the back of his prince's head and leaned forward to study his face.

Hongjoong started speaking again before he got a reply. "His family is ancient. Long ago, a specific line of Parks ruled over the human race in this area. They knew all about using magic, how to harness it, where to find it, and how to siphon magic out of both plants and animals. When humanity started to rebel against magic, destroying everything they could out of fear, the Parks barricaded themselves in their fortress and hoarded all the information they could. The line nearly died out and ended up forgetting about the power they used to hold... until Seonghwa came across the hidden library."

"And where do you come into this?" Jongho asked, though he was still watching Wooyoung.

It took several seconds for Hongjoong to continue and his voice was considerably softer when he did, making everyone in the truck bed lean closer to him. "He lured me in with the promise of power. I... I was orphaned at a young age. I went from orphanages, to foster homes, to living on the streets, never knowing when or where I'd get my next meal..." He started tapping rapidly on the steering wheel. "Seonghwa found me and filled my head with stories of magic and riches and power, everything I'd always dreamed of. He said it could all be mine if I pledged to be his assistant and do whatever he said... whatever h-he... he wanted..."

The pain and regret made Hongjoong's voice grow thick. Yeosang reached over to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry he did that to you."

"I don't deserve your sympathy. I learned pretty quickly what I was a part of. And... I did it all willingly once I learned what his ultimate goal was." Hongjoong sucked in a long breath. "I- I- wanted it. M-More than anything. It blinded me, ruled over all my decisions... I won't blame you if you hate me and never trust me. But... I'm only human. A weak, pathetic, lonely human..."

"Hongjoong, what are you talking about?" Yeosang asked. "What did he promise you?"

The color drained from the man's face and he started to tremble. "I n-never thought he'd actually do it. I never thought h-he'd actually succeed..."

"What did he do?" San and Mingi asked at the same time, both close to yelling.

They watched as Hongjoong opened his mouth to answer, a couple of times, but it was like the words caught in his throat.

But he wasn't the one to speak next.

The voice that broke the silence came from the floor of the truck, drawing everyone's focus in an instant.

Such a sweet, tiny, broken sound coming from Wooyoung even though his lips barely even moved. "He found a way to become immortal."