Ariel crawls into the vent, panting as her nails scratch against the metal of it. The texture has her brain howling in disapproval, but she forces the thoughts away to instead hoist herself forward. She shuts the entrance behind her, placing her pistol in the back of her pants before moving forward. Time to find the others and set them free. If they're still alive, that is. Ariel only hopes she can focus long enough to save them.

After Y/n got captured, it was difficult to get inside the palace. Ariel had to wait for the remaining guards to turn away, and on top of that, she had to be fast and quiet. She practically crashed into one of the side vents. That led her inside, then she ran around a big hallway until she found this current vent. She feels better being inside somewhere she knows (most likely) doesn't have cameras. There were no cameras in that hallway to her knowledge, but she could be wrong. Now isn't the time to be wrong though. Now is the time to save her friends.

It's pretty obvious what's on her mind as she traverses the vent as silently as possible. Her father. Her real one, not her fake one. Jimin. The one she loved more than anything, and the one she doubts she'll ever forget. Although she's young, and they truthfully didn't know each other longer than a few months, she can't deny the impact he had on her. He was the first person that made her feel like she could be more than she really is: garbage.

Raised in a mafia home with neglectful, abusive parents. She has no place in this story. That's the most honest she's been with herself in ages. Maybe the most honest she's ever been. It hurts that he's gone. More than anything in this world. And a tiny, immature part of Ariel still thinks he'll come back. That she'll be struggling to do this mission, and he'll show up and hold her hand, guiding her the rest of the way. She'd do anything to see him for one more minute. One last time.

It's a stupid fantasy, but it's like she can't stop herself from falling into it. She can see Jimin in front of her, peeking back every ten seconds to make sure she's okay. Alright, knowing Jimin, it's more like every five seconds. And that makes her smile. A smile of joy because she thinks she's with him. But she's not.

Despite it being half a day since he's passed, it still doesn't feel real. It feels like she's floating, and that Jimin somehow made it out of that place. She knows it's impossible that he survived, but she doesn't push the thought away. That one thought is the only thing that keeps her crawling through.

The next part of this journey is the hardest: finding her friends. How is she supposed to find them, unlock their doors, and sneak out without anyone noticing? And knowing Yoongi, his dumbass will go fight an entire army just to find his girlfriend. Although Ariel can't blame him. She'd do the same for Jimin.

Ariel continues her trek, sneaking around and being careful not to make too much noise in fear of alerting guards. The metal creaks every once in a while, and she knows deep down that as soon as they saw Y/n, they knew Ariel was lurking around somewhere. So time isn't on her side. She needs to go quicker.

Two minutes pass, and after peeking her head down some halls outside the vents, she concludes that this is going to be a lot harder than she thought. Voices are heard, but they're so faint she can't make them out. She returns to the vents and keeps going, peeking out of the openings whenever she can. What are the odds they have the prisons labeled?

More time flies by, most likely eight to ten minutes. That's when she starts to hyperventilate. Both at the realization that Jimin's gone and the pressure on her to save lives. If she fails, they die. And that makes her curl up in a ball with her bag clinking around the sides of the vent, her pants and sobs muffled but prominent. She shuts her eyes and claws at the surface, her body shaking.

But this isn't the moment for a breakdown. She can have one after she's done with her mission. Save friends now, cry later. Ariel gets on her knees to move, but she can't. The idea of continuing has her shuddering with terror. So she does the last thing she can think of. The very last thing that may help her.

She thinks of Jimin.

~Flashback~

He hums while setting everything up, Ariel watching him with her wide eyes. "What are you gonna make? We have like beans and canned soup, that's it."

"We Park's improvise, it's what we're known for," Jimin says, setting his Dumbo plush aside on the counter. She leans back, raising both her brows as the shirtless man arranges all the cooking supplies they have. "So, I have a question for you."

"Oh boy, here we go. What is it?"

"I may or may not have overheard what you, Hoseok, and Yoongi were talking about, and I have to know. Do Yoongi and Y/n really make horse noises during sex? She never made those noises with me. Should I be offended?"

Ariel laughs, shaking her head. "No, goat noises. I said goat noises."

"Ah, must be too sleepy to hear properly."

"I call bullshit, you just find joy in ignoring me."

Jimin glares when she curses, her holding her hands up in defeat. "I do find joy in it, yes. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, kiddo."

Ariel huffs and stays seated at the table, waiting for Jimin to make breakfast for them. He ends up finding some canned sausage and some nuts, offering her the nuts while he cooks the sausage. Ariel accepts and grimaces at the taste the nuts have. "Yuck, these taste as dead as I want to be."

"Don't make jokes like that. Your life is precious."

"I'm a kid, don't all kids deep down want to die?" Ariel asks, hoping her tone is sincere.

Jimin pauses at the stove, moving the pan away from the burner to instead turn. He comes over and sits next to her, running a hand through his hair before eyeing her. "Tell me you know your life is precious. Just... please tell me you do."

"I'm not sure, Jimin. I don't want to lie to you."

The older man stiffens, then nods, glancing at his feet. "You have a future. I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but we're fighting for you to get a chance at life. A chance you were robbed from the second you were born. It's not fair to you, and I'll do everything in my power to protect you. Do you trust me?"

"I do, but that doesn't change how I feel."

Jimin moves his stare to the stove, where the pan is sitting away from the heat. The silence has Ariel wishing she could shrivel inside herself like a turtle inside their shells. But to her surprise, Jimin doesn't give up on her. And he's the first person she could ever say that about.

"When I... when I lost Aria, I felt like it wasn't real. Like any moment she'd wake up, and we'd be together again. I'd be able to hug her and tell her I was there to protect her. That daddy would always be there for her." He stops himself, Ariel fighting back tears at his confession. "I'd give anything to have one more second with her. Just one more. One second is all I need to tell her daddy loves her. That's..." He brushes a tear away, taking in a breath. "I've never been religious, but every night I pray that one day I'll be able to tell her I love her again. And every day for five years, even today, I've thought about taking a knife and killing myself."

"Jimin-"

"But I don't each time. I never have." He takes her hand and meets her eyes, his tears almost breaking her. "Because life is precious. Even for a piece of shit like me. So please, baby. Fight. If not for yourself, then for me."

Ariel practically jumps onto him, the pair hugging as tightly as they can. He strokes her hair, almost nuzzling her shoulder with his face. She accepts every ounce of warmth she can get, feeling fully safe in his arms. And it feels like the first time she's ever felt safe with anyone.

"How old was she?" she asks in a whisper, fearing what he'll say next.

Jimin pulls away, wiping his tears and standing. He doesn't answer, he only goes back to cooking and pretending she never asked to begin with. Ariel can't blame him for that. But there's one takeaway from what he said. More than just his history with Aria. More than his secret desire to die and his perseverance through that. She's discovering a lot of first's with Jimin. He's the first person to make her feel safe, he's the first person she's ever trusted, he's the first person she's ever truly loved...

And he's also the first person that makes her want to live.

~Present~

Ariel didn't realize she was moving through the vent while living out her flashback until she peeks her head out and sees a hallway not like the others. Her flashback with Jimin gave her the inspiration she needed to keep going, and now, it seems like she finally found something promising.

The walls of this area are different from anything else. More than the obvious change in color and material, this hall is also slimmer and only has two guards. The others either had none or a whole patrol of them. Why are there only two guards in here in front of a door? And more importantly: will they recognize Ariel's face?

Alright, time to act.

She gets out of the vent quietly, sneaking over to the corner and ducking behind it. The guards are standing perpendicular to her, Ariel being sure that she keeps her gun holstered. Shooting them down? Yeah, that would be the dumbest idea on the planet. They're highly trained and she isn't emotionally stable enough to so much as hold a gun, let alone shoot it. So, she has a much different plan.

Ariel slips and falls over, grunting so the guards will notice. They do, her panting and pretending to cry. "H-Help, she beat me. Please, please help!"

They come rushing over, one standing and glancing around for any signs of other people while the second one kneels. "What happened? Where are you hurt?"

"Y-Y/n L/n, she made me sneak through the vents. I don't know what her plan was, but she said to meet her somewhere. Something about a spot outside, I don't know what happened, all I know is that I refused and she hit me until I a-agreed."

"Jesus Christ," the one in front of her whispers, inspecting her. Because she was crawling for so long, she actually does have bruises on her. Not to mention she's been through hell these past few weeks, so her body looks like a warzone. "We'll get you help, don't worry."

"They took me from my dad," she says in a cry, real tears strolling down her face. She isn't saying that Y/n and her team took her from her father. She's saying the High Council took Jimin from her. That's what's making her sob. It hurts, but it pays off. They believe her.

"Come on, can you stand?"

She does, and as soon as she's on her feet, she grabs her pocket knife and stabs him in the dick. He screams and falls over, the other guard jumping from the sight. Ariel takes his distraction as an advantage and pulls the same move on him, sliding down on her knees and slipping across the floor, her blade sinking into the same spot. He falls like his friend, the two shrieking as they cry.

Ariel rushes to the door they were standing in front of and bangs on it, panting. "Yoongi! Taehyung! Hoseok! Any of you in there?"

"Holy shit - Ariel? Kid, are you okay?!" Tae asks.

"I'm fine, but we need to move." She notices there's an opening for food like Y/n said there might be, and she slides the tray open, placing a bobby pin and her bloody knife inside. "Are you alone?"

"No, Hoseok and I are here," Yoongi says, peeping through the opening to wave. She returns the gesture, Yoongi accepting the tools and handing them to Tae, guiding him to the lock.

"We don't have time, hurry up. Y/n's here, she turned herself in so I could get inside."

"What?!" Yoongi shouts, Ariel shushing him.

"No time to explain. Tae, get the door open."

"On it." He does only two minutes later, the guards still crying from getting stabbed in such a sensitive area. Yoongi goes over and delivers the final blows, eliminating the pair with Ariel's pocket knife he stole off Tae. He comes back over and plops it in her hand, Ariel biting back a grimace.

"What do we do now?" Hoseok asks.

Taehyung hugs Ariel after patting the air to find her, Ariel squeezing him back. "We need to leave. We're free now, Y/n will find a way out."

Yoongi shakes his head, sucking in his breath and swallowing. "I don't trust that. You barely got here in one piece, are you kidding? She turned herself in, she could be anywhere."

"Exactly why we need to go. They know I'm here, they have to. They're not dumb, they'll know I'm alive and looking for you guys since Y/n's here."

She pulls away from Tae only to meet Yoongi's stare. That's when he goes still, his mouth falling open to form words. 

"Ariel..." Oh no, here it comes. "Where is he?" Saying the words seems impossible. They rest in the back of her throat, but she can't say them. "Where the hell is Jimin?!" Yoongi asks in a shout.

As soon as she hears his name, her posture cracks, her body trembling while a tear strolls down her face. Yoongi freezes, Taehyung and Hoseok sharing the reaction.

"I'm sorry, Yoongi... he's gone."