"What?"

Ariel's lower lip quivers, tears pooling in her eyes. Yoongi steps back, his mind and heart racing with dizziness as his throat turns hard. She opens her mouth again, saying words Yoongi never thought he'd hear. "Jimin's gone. He sacrificed himself for Y/n and me."

All at once, the waves come crashing down on him. In merely 10 seconds, he goes through all 5 stages of grief. First comes the disbelief. It only lasts 2 seconds, but it's enough to have his hands clammy and his ribs in excruciating pain from the thumping his heart is doing. Next comes the carmine flash of wrath that gnaws on his eyesight, his teeth ripping at his lips. 2 seconds after, Yoongi does a mental prayer to trade himself for Jimin. It doesn't work. And the sadness that comes after grasps his heart and slowly rips out each particle of blood residing there. And lastly comes the realization that his best friend and brother died hating him.

Park Jimin is dead.

Yoongi staggers back until he hits the wall, jagged breaths being stolen from his lungs. His throat narrows, his eyes doing the same. His vision fades in and out while Hoseok attempts to calm him, but Yoongi already knows the panic attack is coming, and it's coming fast.

"Jimin... He's..."

"He's dead," Ariel says in a mumble, glancing down.

His walls stay strong, the tears not falling yet. At least, he thought he was strong. Then Tae falls to his knees and sobs, breaking every minuscular atom of strength Yoongi had left. He falls next to the man, covering his mouth in a desperate yet poor attempt to remain quiet.

Ariel kneels as Yoongi cries, pressing his head against the cool concrete of the ground. Jimin's eye smile is the first image in Yoongi's head. Then he hears Jimin's words jumping around his mind. 'You're the best man I know, and I mean that'. Would Jimin still mean it now? Did he die in fear knowing he had to leave his two girls to Yoongi? Did he-

"Yoongi." His mind shuts up, his eyes creeping up to meet Ariel's. "Before he died... he said you're his brother too."

And all at once, Yoongi breaks.

He doesn't bother covering his mouth to mask his cries, his pleas to bring Jimin back resulting in nothing. Hoseok, who's face is covered in tears, stays on watch out of fear guards would hear and come. Ariel does the same despite her small body trembling.

"Come here," Tae whispers to the girl, and Ariel does, the two embracing again. Yoongi strokes his tears away, observing the way Taehyung holds Ariel close. Yoongi wonders why Tae is so protective over Ariel, then his eyes widen. Ariel is a piece of Jimin. And now, Ariel is the only piece of Jimin Tae has left. That makes Yoongi want to breakdown more, but he doesn't for sake of the mission.

"I won't leave my girlfriend, not when I just lost my brother. I need to try. You guys need to get out of here, and I'll do what needs to be done."

"Are you insane? I have no reason left to live," Taehyung says, still staying by Ariel. "If you're going to get your girl, I'm coming with you."

"And I'm not about to leave my best friend," Hoseok throws in, Ariel agreeing to what they both just said.

"Are you sure? I'm probably not coming back."

Taehyung bitterly chuckles, holding Ariel's hand, her happily accepting that. "Ah, what the hell? Why not? One last run, together."

"Together," Yoongi whispers, Ariel taking the pistol Jimin gave her and handing it to Yoongi. "What's this?" He takes it, but that doesn't mean he isn't reluctant in doing so. "He gave this to you, you should have it."

She shrugs, smiling despite the pain in her eyes. "You're a better shot than me. But don't think I'm just giving it to you, I want it back when we're done."

He comes over and ruffles her hair, checking the rounds she has left inside. "Thanks kiddo, I'll be sure to-" He cuts off when he sees her crying, and that's when he remembers Jimin always called her that. Kiddo. Yoongi sighs, kneeling and holstering the pistol. His hands place themselves on her shoulders, him rubbing over the fabric of her shirt. "How... are you?"

"Terrible," she whispers, biting back a voice crack.

He brushes some hair out of her face, wiping her tears. "I don't know how to make you feel better. I'm not that person, and I probably never will be. But what I can tell you is that he's not gone."

"He's not?"

"No, no of course not." Yoongi takes her bag, staring at her to ask for permission. She grants it. So, Yoongi opens the bag and takes out the familiar plush, him chuckling. "Of course he wanted you to have it, hm?" She smiles, the ache behind her gaze nearly breaking him, but he stays strong. He presses the Dumbo against her chest, the young girl holding it. "As long as you live, you'll have him. Whether he's here physically or just in your mind, he's here. Because he loves you, and he'd never leave you." Yoongi ignores the tears he has falling down his face as he rapidly nods. "Okay?"

She nods back, hugging the plush. "Okay."

Yoongi helps her put her bag back on, him standing and motioning to Hobi that it's time to move. "I don't have much of a plan, but we can't stay here long. It's a miracle we've gotten this far at all. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

"I'm pretty great at talking, and Hoseok's pretty great at punching," Tae says, his head turned towards Yoongi. "You're a good shot, and Ariel's good at everything. Let's use our strengths. We force our way to Madam's office, kill her, and find Y/n. She obviously isn't in the same area we are. We'll have to interrogate Madam to find out where Y/n went. I can handle that, but it'll be tough. I doubt she values her own life more than her pettiness. What do you think, Yoons?"

"Not sure," Yoongi replies, guiding them down the hall. Ariel holds Tae, directing him while Hoseok guards the rear. "We have one weapon and a tank."

"We have a tank?" Ariel asks.

"Yeah, you, duh," Yoongi says, attempting to cheer her up a bit, or at least enough to focus. It doesn't work.

"Oh."

"Let's get to Madam's office and do this. I'm not sure what we'll do after. If we kill Madam, the Underworld will be in chaos, but it'll be even better if we take out what's left of the High Council. That way, the Underworld won't know what to do. It'll be destroyed. It'll have to be rebuilt from the ground up," Tae says, the others agreeing as Yoongi slips through the door and into the next hallway.

The differences between where they just were and where they are now still make him want to vomit, but he bites it back to instead crouch and pitter-patter down the passageway, Taehyung needing extra support, but he manages on his own. Yoongi's a tad bit impressed by Taehyung's ability to see without seeing, and despite how Taehyung is a mess because of losing Jimin and Jungkook, he's hiding it well. Yoongi has to respect that.

They continue their trek, Yoongi remembering the way the guards took him to Madam's office. Taehyung, on the other hand, is shaking, glancing around as if he has vision. "Guys?"

Yoongi holds them up, keeping steady in his crouching position before shifting his gaze to Taehyung. "What is it? We're almost there, it's not much farther."

"It's not that, it's everything else. I know I can't see, so maybe that's it, but where are all the guards?"

Oh. Shit.

Yoongi peeks around, noticing the same thing Taehyung did. "I didn't hear any footsteps," Tae says, continuing his previous point. "Any footsteps other than ours, I mean. Am I wrong, did we see any?"

"I saw none," Hoseok says, Ariel and Yoongi sharing a look before nodding. "What do we do? Is this a trap?"

"Almost certainly, but do we have much choice? No matter where we go, they see us, right?"

"Did they let me free you on purpose?" Ariel asks, glancing between the three older men. "I wouldn't put it past them to offer their guards as bait to test my skills. Do you think they're trying to recruit me since I'm young?"

"Fuck, I hope not kid, but it's possible. I don't like the idea of walking into a trap, especially if Ariel's theory is right, but trying to sneak out will only cause more problems, right?" Yoongi asks.

"Probably," Hoseok says, "but if you think it's worth a try, I'm with you, Yoons."

God, Yoongi's so grateful for Hobi. "Thank you. Let's get moving, okay? Let's go to Madam's office and get our asses handed to us."

All four of them hate the idea of getting captured by Madam, but they have no other option. So, they sprint to the office, not caring if anyone hears them anymore. Yoongi takes out Jimin's pistol when he spots the door with ugly decorations, Ariel grimacing at the sight of them. "What the fuck is up with this place and shitty architect?"

"I don't know, kid," Yoongi says, clicking off the safety before motioning for Hoseok to take point on the other side. He does, nodding to Yoongi when he's in position. Taehyung stays down with Ariel, Yoongi counting down with his fingers. 

3... 2... 1...

Yoongi bursts through the door, holding up his pistol in time to see... no one here. Hoseok goes in first, Yoongi after him. Faint chants are heard in the distance, Yoongi approaching the curtain of her windows and pushing them aside. His jaw drops upon seeing a huge arena behind the palace, bleachers there like at a football stadium. God, there must be over 2,000 people, maybe even over 3,000 all in those stands. Torches of fire are planted throughout the large sphere, a podium that seems more like a stake residing in the middle of the entire area.

"What the hell is that?" Hoseok says, approaching Yoongi's side.

"An execution area. It wasn't a trap. The guards are too busy setting up our execution." Yoongi shuts the curtain, the chants faint but still heard. They're too far to pick up on anything specific. "Either way, Y/n's not here, and neither is Madam. We've reached a dead end."

"Not a dead end, we still have two options," Tae says, stroking his chin.

"What's that?"

Tae peeks up, sucking in a small breath. "You won't like it."

"Tae, I don't like anything that's happened since I was born, just hit me with your plan."

"Option 1 is we risk sneaking out and running away forever. Search for Y/n along the way, but if we can't find her, we run. I'm sorry Yoongi, but that's option 1."

He hides that his heart is breaking and instead motions for Taehyung to continue despite how he can't see it. "And option 2?"

"We do something really fucking stupid." That catches Ariel, Hoseok, and Yoongi's attention, the three coming a bit closer. Tae senses their curiosity and fiddles with his fingers. "How do you feel about giving speeches, Yoongi?"

Yoongi blinks.

"Did... I'm sorry, did you just say a fucking speech?"

~~~

Rounding the palace to get to the execution site was beyond painful. Yoongi's quads are burning from all the maneuvering he had to do. They did see some guards on the way here, and they had to hide, but luckily, they did it well. 

The crowd is still being managed and shuffled inside, so that means the Council most likely doesn't know three prisoners are missing yet. There may be some men inside searching for Ariel, or maybe they think she died with Jimin. Yoongi chooses not to think about it.

The exterior of the palace is so enormous, Yoongi can barely make out who's who in the crowd. They all look like one body, one membrane of flesh bound together by their mob mentality. And Taehyung's plan seems to challenge that mentality. Yoongi only hopes he does it right.

Hoseok, Taehyung, and Ariel are hiding inside, waiting to see what happens and if Yoongi needs backup (which he most certainly will). The introvert inside Yoongi is crawling up his spine, but he forces it down to instead calmly trot across the dirt that seems more like sand.

The wind brushes his hair, his footsteps deep in the surface beneath him. The first plan Tae had meant they would probably leave Y/n behind. This one means it gives her a fighting chance to get out. He's hoping, anyway. He's hoping this plan leads to the destruction of the High Council and everything it's known for. But that can only happen if he does this speech right. Taehyung helped him come up with the words, but they were rushed for time, so they had to sprint while rehearsing. A fucking speech. Yoongi isn't a politician, he hates politicians, but here he is playing one.

As he keeps strolling, he garners the attention of several guards, them standing at attention and confused as all living hell. Yoongi feels the same way. He glances at the palace, noticing there's an enormous balcony on the second floor, the thing surprisingly close to the execution area. Most likely because it's there for the higher ups to view the killings. And Yoongi's right: he spots Madam Avasa there, and more importantly, his girlfriend is there, kneeling next to the throne Madam is sitting on. She has a guard next to her, Y/n's eyes on the ground and defeated. He'd do anything to embrace her, but he has to do this first.

The guards approach him, but he continues to move, the crowd's chanting increasing. They must not know Yoongi came out here on his own accord rather than being escorted by guards. He clears his throat, the men around him eyeing him as they guide him to the stake. As soon as they're about to tie him to it, he halts, them halting with him.

"You'll let a prisoner have last words, right?" When they don't answer, them glancing at each other, Yoongi shifts. The crowd dulls, silence deafening the outdoor paradise Yoongi stands in. He chuckles, raising his tone loud enough that he's practically screaming. "Why are all of you here?"

There's no answer to his question, and he can feel the stares on him. "The High Council consists of scared men and women who think they can control you. They're wrong! A group of ragtag, runaway, malnourished ex-mafias fucked them up. We killed Holden, we killed two other nameless freaks who dared get in our way, and I killed Eladio. Four out of twelve of your precious High Council perished to nobodies. That's who you want protecting you? Leading your world? The saddest part, we didn't even do it together. A blind man killed Holden, I killed Eladio by myself, my subordinates hired a single assassin to kill another, and Park Jimin I assume killed one more mere hours ago. This is what you call ruling by fear? If even two mafias banded together and went after the Council, they would win with ease!"

Yoongi pauses, laughing and shaking his head. No one dares stop him. Mostly because even the guards think he's right. "I'm not saying I would be a good leader, or my girlfriend... or Jimin. I'm not saying any of that. All I'm trying to do is make you think about why I'm here. I'm here because your leaders were weak, and now I have to pay for that. What I did was wrong, I won't deny that, and in the mafia there is no such thing as 'good', but holy fuck, the High Council is more corrupt than anything anyone here has ever done. They allow children to work for them. They allow children to die for them. They bribe each other and kill you if you so much as disrespect a Council member. Is that who you want to work for? None of us have good morals, but does that mean we should sink this low? Is that how you want to be remembered? Are you willing to watch countless more children die for the Council's errors?"

He concludes his speech, him shrinking back inside himself as he feels every eye in the arena on him. It has him shuddering, his hands going behind his back so he can hide that. The crowd stares and stares, Yoongi awaiting a reaction. Or at least a cough. Something. Anything.

But they stay silent.