A/N: I put my whole Raveussy into this one. It's a big chapter. Good luck, please don't kill me (I'd be into it anyway lmao). It's not a long chapter but it's certainly a rough one.

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓕𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓓𝓸𝔀𝓷 ˚｡➶˚┊

Five minutes.

The bombs had already gone off, and the battle cries were ringing around the scenery. Jungkook, Y/n, and Jimin were all approaching the front gates, where the courtyard was. Inside the right side of the castle, they would find Jihyun. Or, at least, that was the hope. They had to wait five more minutes before they could enter. It was to give the rest of the rebellion time to cause a proper distraction, not to mention it would give the Emperor's men the time needed to react to the situation.

"Jimin, remember our job isn't to kill the guards unless we have to. We're getting Jihyun and getting him to safety, okay?" Y/n said.

Jimin nodded but didn't open his mouth to reply. Jungkook followed Y/n as she led their mini attack. The courtyard was behind the castle gate. It was shut, but Jimin knew how to open it. There were no guards out front waiting to shoot them.

Jungkook could hear shouts in the distance. He knew they were coming from the rebellion and the Emperor's men. There was smoke in the air from the bombs. It smelled of ash and fire, and Jungkook winced from how intense it was.

His good hand held his sword's handle. It was sheathed on his belt, but he never knew what to expect. Despite how the rebellion had cleared out the castle, there could always be danger lurking around the corner. Even Jimin seemed on edge. He was fiddling with his fingers and gnawing on his lower lip. If Commander Park was nervous, Jungkook didn't know what to do.

"Okay, I think it's been about five minutes," Y/n said. She pointed to Jimin. "You're up. Open the gates."

They left the bushes they were using as cover and approached the massive gates. It felt as though it had been ages since they went to that monthly address. That one address changed everything. Jimin tracked Y/n after she made the bold but dumb decision to raise her hand and disagree with the Emperor. Jungkook wondered if any of this would have happened if she had just kept her hand down.

Y/n and Jungkook waited for Jimin to enter the passcode and swing the giant gates open. Jungkook had to help and he almost got a splinter because of it. Jungkook grunted and wiped his poor hand off. The last thing he needed was more hand injuries. After all the time he had to recover, Jungkook still didn't know what to do with his stump. He didn't know what to feel.

"In and out," Y/n whispered.

Jungkook agreed and led the charge inside. They entered and saw the courtyard that was all too familiar. Except this time, it had been redecorated. There were flags flapping in the wind as thunder cracked overhead. The fountain in the middle had no water spilling out of it. The grass had seen better days, too. It had a tint of a mucky hickory color, almost like Jimin's eyes.

"What the hell happened?" Y/n asked, but Jungkook couldn't answer.

They continued their approach and slowed their pace. Jungkook heard the fighting in the distance. Swords clanged off of each other, battle cries filled the air, and Jungkook could faintly smell the copper aroma of blood behind the thick smog. He could taste it, too.

"I don't want to be here longer than we have to," Y/n said. She moved closer to the fountain and prepared to go to the other side, where the entrance to the interior of the castle was. That was the wing they'd find Jihyun in. The wing that wasn't fighting. "Let's just get in-"

But Y/n didn't get to finish her sentence.

As thunder struck, one of the entrances on the north end kicked open. Rain dribbled down and coated Jungkook in a sheet of moisture that had him trembling. His lower lip quivered as his hair fell flat on his face. What were once his curls straightened out and curtained his eyes. Through the mass of darkness on his head, he saw one figure approaching.

A cloak fell behind the man as his glistening eyes outshined the rain. The thunder and wind picked up, more cracks lingering in the air as rain stampeded its way down to their bodies.

The Emperor rose from the smoke and fog, halting just as lightning struck the clouds. He stayed by the fountain and stared at the group. No words were exchanged. Jungkook, Y/n, and Jimin drew their swords with Y/n getting in front of her lover and Jungkook remaining on the flank. He had a bird's eye view of the upcoming battle.

Much to Jungkook's amazement, the Emperor didn't have a weapon. The silence between them overpowered the screaming men dying not too far from them. It overpowered the crying clouds and tumultuous thunder. All Jungkook could hear was his rushed breathing and thumping heart.

Jungkook didn't want to move. No one knew what the Emperor had up his sleeve. He could have a pistol hiding in those enormous robes of his. He could have a knife tucked in his boot, or a bow trapped on his back.

"Circle?" Jungkook muttered to Y/n.

"No, he wants us to do that. He's offering himself to us. Why the hell isn't he talking?"

The Emperor came closer until he was in earshot. If Jungkook ran forward, he could cut off the man's head. He didn't. It was too easy. It was a trap. But what was the trap?

No words came from the man after all that time. Jungkook gripped his sword tighter. Sweat dripped down his hands and hit the ground like the rain. He became a transparent figure watching the scene, wondering if these moments were his last. Archers could be hiding on the tops of the castle. Swordsmen could be waiting behind the door to Jihyun. Jungkook could slit the Emperor's throat and worry about the trap later. There were no solutions.

The Emperor scanned over the three of them. Jungkook stepped back and stood even with Jimin, who was behind Y/n. He had his eyes on the Emperor, and the Emperor had his eyes on him. Jungkook flickered his gaze between the two of them. And then, the Emperor nodded. It was subtle; it was as if Jungkook wasn't meant to see.

The silence carried on for a moment. One beat. Two. Three. Jungkook peered at the Emperor and monitored his movements, but he was interrupted by a scream. A female scream. Blood filled the sky and clogged his nostrils. His eyes burned and his tongue tasted madness as he whipped his head around. Y/n was on the ground, her sword next to her but out of reach. Jimin stood above her with his weapon covered in a dark scarlet liquid that oozed off the tip of his blade thanks to the rain.

Jimin just cut off Y/n's hand.

"Jimin!" Jungkook shouted, lunging forward and getting in front of Y/n in time to block Jimin's next strike. When their eyes locked, Jungkook let out a breath that stabbed his lungs as it left him. He wasn't looking at Jimin. He was looking at Commander Park.

Jungkook staggered back and almost tripped over the sobbing Y/n. Jimin backed off and joined the Emperor's side with his sword in front of him. There was no emotion on his face. No jokes left his lips. No love radiated from the irises that had once adored Y/n and Jungkook. There was nothing. Park Jimin was gone, and Commander Park was all that remained.

"The rebels won this fight, we need to go and regroup. Get me out of here, Commander," the Emperor said to the man by his side.

Commander Park sheathed his sword before grabbing the Emperor by the shoulder and agreeing. Park guided the Emperor out of the castle, and Jungkook didn't bother chasing. He wasn't strong enough to fight Park let alone Park and the Emperor.

"Y/n," Jungkook said. He dropped his sword and brought her into his lap, inspecting the wound. Her hand got separated from her body. It rested next to the sword, the fingers twitching one more time as if fighting for life. It didn't work. They went limp, turning a grotesque shade of brown due to the mud surrounding it.

"W-What just... what just happened?" Y/n asked. She made a noise that sounded like a mixture between a gasp and a cry.

"I don't know, but we need to get you out of here and patch you up."

"But Jin isn't here, who's going to- ah!"

She yelped and gripped her stump that had blood squirting out of it. Sobs spewed from her lips. She hit the concrete with her head and whimpered. Jungkook didn't know what to do. On instinct, he took off his belt and prepared to make a tourniquet. However, he was interrupted. Over the boom of the thunder and the roaring wails of Y/n, Jungkook made out a single male voice.

"I'll help."

Jungkook whipped around and saw a pale man approach. He wasn't rebellion; he wore the Emperor's colors. Jungkook grabbed his sword and held it in front of him with a shuddering arm. Tears slid on his cheeks until he tasted the salty moisture.

"I'm a friend of Jimin's," the man said.

"Yoongi," Y/n replied with a grunt.

"A friend of Jimin's?! Jimin just cut her fucking hand off and saved the Emperor's life!"

Yoongi frowned. Wrinkles creased on his forehead because of the small act. "I don't know why he'd do that. He made a plan with me that if things ever went downhill, we'd escape together. He's been against the Emperor from the beginning, even Emperor Donovan knows that."

"Who fucking cares?! My best friend is bleeding out!"

Yoongi jumped at Jungkook's snappy tone, but he rushed forward and knelt. He took the belt from Jungkook and created a tourniquet for Y/n's hand. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than anything Jungkook could do considering he had six fingers.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Jungkook asked.

Yoongi met Jungkook's stare with a sad smile. "Jimin."

Y/n whined and clawed at the pavement with her left hand. Jungkook picked her up and backed away from Yoongi. He didn't know if he should kill Yoongi or thank him. Distrust brewed inside Jungkook's stomach, rising to his throat and preparing to launch out words he wasn't sure he meant.

"I know you don't trust me," Yoongi said before Jungkook could say something he regretted. "I'm loyal to myself, not the Emperor. You're winning. I'm not stupid enough to keep fighting for a losing side. If you need any help, I'll help."

"Go rescue Jihyun while I take her back to camp for treatment," Jungkook fired out. Leaving such a daunting task to a stranger didn't appeal to Jungkook, but he didn't have any other option.

"Okay, I'll take him and meet the rebels outside."

Jungkook ignored him and left. He sprinted outside the castle and ran to the ship the rebels had used to flank the castle. There would be no rebels on it, but there were medical supplies Jungkook could use to save her.

The wooden ship came into Jungkook's view. He sprinted onboard and went inside the captain's cabin, placing her on the bed and investigating the wound she endured.

Jungkook was right: there were no rebels around. They were all sieging the castle and burning through the Emperor's men. Jungkook didn't know if they would succeed. He didn't want to know.

"I need to stop the bleeding and patch you up," Jungkook said, but Y/n seemed as though she was drifting in and out of consciousness already. Jungkook ravaged his way through the various cabinets in the room. There were few medical supplies, but there was wood and matches. If he had to, he could light a fire and cauterize the wound.

He mentally begged Y/n to stay with him a little longer. Through it all, Jungkook hadn't had time to process Jimin's betrayal. He hadn't had time to process what he had witnessed. Jimin cut off Y/n's hand and almost killed her if it weren't for Jungkook's intervention. The Emperor got Jimin back. As Jungkook prepared to operate to save his best friend, one question stuck to his mind. It lingered there and haunted him. It was a one-worded question, yet it had no answer.

Why?

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓕𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓓𝓸𝔀𝓷 ˚｡➶˚┊

A/N: Sorry lol

Any theories as to why Jimin did what he did?

Future Raven here: can you please stop shipping Y/n with Yoongi, Kook, Namjoon, etc. the second something bad happens to Jimin?

Jokes are one thing, but there are so many people who seriously think Y/n is going to end up with Yoongi, Kook, Namjoon, whoever, but especially Yoongi. They have breathed the same air maybe twice in this entire story and never once shared a romantic scene. It took half an entire story to build Jimin and Y/n's relationship because they were enemies. Having Y/n get with Yoongi or Namjoon would make zero sense. There was no foreshadowing that Y/n would end up with Yoongi, Namjoon, or Jungkook.

There are ten chapters left in the story. Why would I introduce a new ship now? If you're commenting things like that, it makes me think you only care about shipping the characters and not the other things happening in the story. I have never, ever been an author who prioritizes ships over stories. I will do what is necessary for the narrative regardless of ships.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but do you know how disheartening it is to spend hundreds of hours crafting this complex narrative with so much going on only for people to care about shipping the characters more than anything else going on? All that time I spent building New Theon to feel real, or creating OCs like Kastor and Ash and Shawman, or building up Jungkook's leadership arc, etc. feels like a waste when people focus solely on shipping. It makes no sense, either; I never advertised this book as a ship book. It is a dark, toxic story featuring war, death, famine, and pestilence. Sadness is literally in the tags of the story.

From now on, any comments shipping Y/n with other characters are just going to be deleted.

Again, I'm sorry if I sound harsh or entitled, but I left ao3 because the excessive shipping made me uncomfortable, and now it's following me here too. I once let excessive shippers change my mind about how I told my story back when I was influential, but now I am hard on my stance: if you are only reading this story for Jimin x Y/n and you don't care about anything else (including Jimin and Y/n as individual characters), then you should click off this story. I mean it. I won't be offended.

If you only read stories for ships, that's fine, you do you. But you shouldn't be reading this story if that's all you care about because this story was never a shipping book. It's okay if you aren't in my target audience. It's not a flaw on me or you. It just means this book isn't for you.

There is one ship in this story. There will be no love triangles. Y/n is not going to run into Yoongi/Namjoon/Jungkook's arms. Jimin is not going to run into some other random woman's arms. It is a narrative focused on the freedom of New Theon and its themes of morality, moving on from the past, and self-discovery. Jimin and Y/n are physical manifestations of the theme of moving on and self-discovery.

I'm sorry of any of that sounds harsh, but I hope you understand why it comes off as disheartening from an author's perspective. I'm a person, too. I have my own thoughts and feelings and opinions. So if you're only interested in Jimin x Y/n, I'd suggest either clicking off the story or keeping it to yourself. 

I spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours crafting this narrative, I think it's only fair that my one request is that you keep thoughts about shipping to yourself.