Hello, my lovely readers. I am finally back with another chapter. I am back in school, so that is the reason updates are slower. Still, I will be able to get chapters out to you, so please continue to show support for this book. Also, thank you all so much, we have reached 2K reads for Ripple. I wouldn't have been able to get here without all of your constant support, so thank you all so very much. I promise to continue to work hard on this story, so that it is enjoyable for all of you. With that in mind, let's get into the chapter.

The boys sigh as they wait in the cell room. They've been there for, who knows how long. It was probably only an hour, but to them it felt like longer. Could you blame them? They were sitting in a cell with nothing to do. Jungkook groans, "Can we do something? I'm so bored..."

"We can't do much," Yoongi says in an annoyed tone.

Jungkook sighs, "I don't know. Someone tell a story or something. It's better than just sitting in silence..."

"Hyung," Taehyung says, nudging Namjoon's foot, "Tell us how you met Jinyoung-ssi and Jaebum-ssi in this timeline."

Namjoon nods his head, "Alright, you guys okay with that?" The others nod and all turn their attention to Namjoon. Even if his story sucked, they could care less. It's something to do. Something else to listen to rather than complete silence. "I met them in college. They were in my English class. They've been friends since middle school and basically got lucky when being accepted into the same college. They have other friends, but it was always basically the two of them against the entire world. I could tell how close they were when I first saw them in class. I didn't expect them to want to be friends with me, but they did. We bonded over our love for music. We stayed close throughout most of college and after that as well. I haven't spoken to them recently though. I've been busy with the company. It's clear those two were in the same boat, becoming cops and all. I'm kind of surprised that they chose this as their career. I always assumed the two would go into something with music together. They were really big on being performers. They used to have a SoundCloud and produced music under the duo name JJProject...." Namjoon says, starting to trail off at the end as he realizes what that name means. The others look to him with raised eyebrows, recognizing the name as well. Namjoon sighs, "I guess that's why that name always sounded so familiar..."

"Another two to add to the list of Theodore's game pieces," Yoongi mutters.

"I guess no one's lives ended up the way they were supposed to. It's interesting though that Jaebum and Jinyoung are still side by side. I know they were always close in the actual timeline, it seems like that hasn't really changed much in this timeline," Namjoon says, "I'm kind of glad that they have each other. At least, Theodore didn't mess with their friendship while trying to change our lives. Things haven't changed much for Jinyoung and Jaebum...they're just as I remember them..."

"I wish I could say the same for you. I never thought that a day would come where kind-hearted, 'I want everyone to be happy in the world' Kim Namjoon, would be in a jail cell," Jinyoung says as he walks back into the room. Jaebum follows behind him with a packet of papers in his hand. He makes sure the door is closed behind him and turns his attention on the seven in the jail cell. "Well, I'd like that statement not to be true, getting out of here sounds really nice," Namjoon says, "Tell me you have good news."

"You're not getting out of here for a while," Jinyoung says bluntly. The boys all shoot to the front of the cell, grabbing the bars and sticking their heads in between the gaps. "What do you mean by that?" Jin exclaims, "Are we going to go to prison?!"

"Did Mr. Song not believe our testimony? Is he actually pressing charges!?" Hoseok exclaims.

"Not exactly," Jaebum cuts in.

Jimin looks at him with wide eyes, "What do you mean not exactly? What's going on? Why do we need to stay locked up?"

"You see..." Jinyoung starts. The boys' glances don't waver from Jinyoung, anticipating what he has to say. They wait for him to speak, which takes a lot longer than they expect. "What the heck!? We're not looking for a dramatic pause. We aren't on some kdrama or some variety show that's seconds away from announcing the winner. Why won't he just tell us!? This is about our actual lives!" Yoongi whispers angrily.

"Shhhhh," Taehyung says, nudging Yoongi's shoulder. Yoongi huffs and crosses his arms. They wait a second longer, before Jinyoung decides to answer. "Mr. Song has decided to drop the charges. He believes your testimonies."

"That's great," Jungkook states, "But, still doesn't explain why we're stuck in here still."

"It's more than great. It's really lucky. Mr. Song does not appear to be the type of man to relent. I mentioned the money and it definitely helped to convince him," Jaebum says while glancing at Namjoon, "As per to the reason you're all going to remain locked up, is because of the police rules. The captain still believes what you did was considered a crime. He wishes to have a court trial to determine your future, so until further notice you're stuck here."

"What!?" They all exclaim at the same time.

"That isn't fair," Hoseok exclaims.

Jin shakes his head, "How long are we supposed to stay here!? Am I ever getting another meal ever!?"

"Never mind, food. Are we going to be locked up for the rest of our lives!?" Taehyung calls out, "We could all be sent to prison!"

"This has to be some mistake," Namjoon says urgently, "We're no longer being accused of breaking into Mr. Song's home. This should all be over. We should be let out."

"You can't just do this!" Yoongi exclaims, "Mr. Song dropped his accusations. There's no need to keep us here any longer. Hell, you can't keep us here against our will."

"They can because we're seen as criminals. People, who committed a crime," Jimin says with a shake of his head. They all turn to look at Jimin with shocked expressions. "You're not helping our situation, hyung," Jungkook whispers.

Jimin sighs, "The only reason that the police were able to arrest us is because the chance of us breaking and entering is very probable. The police have recognized us as possible criminals and for that reason, we have to stay here. We have to stand on trial. We don't have a choice."

"Jimin, cmon, this is ridiculous. Where did you hear that crap?!" Yoongi says.

Jimin looks Yoongi in the eye, "I'm a cop too, remember. I know the way this works. We're not getting out of here. At least, not right now." The boys' expressions all drop. They had hoped that this would all be fixed, but it seems that it's more complicated than that. Way more complicated. How did things turn so bad so fast? How did they get so deep into this game that they don't even know where to move next? When did the game get so out of hand that they couldn't even move to the next space? What are they supposed to do now? "I'm sorry. Really," Jinyoung says, "I know that this isn't the best situation, but hopefully the case will get to the courts quickly and they'll have the hearing in a day or two."

"A day or two?!" Taehyung shouts, "We can have it now. We'll prove that we're not criminals, that we're innocent. Then, you can let us go!"

"The courts have more pressing matters to deal with than just this case," Jaebum says in a calming tone, "You shouldn't worry."

"We shouldn't worry!" Namjoon exclaims, "Jaebum...we can't just stay here for two or more days. We have lives. Things to do and people to see..."

"I'm sorry, Namjoon, but you can't until your court hearing," Jinyoung says, "That or you could call someone to possibly bail you out. It's going to cost a fee though..." The others all look at one another before giving the cops annoyed looks. After all, that information would've been useful a couple of minutes ago. "I don't give a crap about the money, I'm not staying here any longer," Yoongi states, "Where's the damn phone?"

—————————

A couple of hours later, the boys have been bailed out by their respective family members. Jin called his mother and she was less than happy to hear the whereabouts of her son. Hoseok contacted his older sister and she was giving him an earful about how stupid he is. Taehyung's grandparents had made the long travel to Incheon to bail their grandson, they're disappointed looks haven't faltered since Taehyung has been released. Jimin's parents haven't let their son out of their sights since he was taken out of the cell. Jungkook's parents had sent his aunt, living in Incehon, to bail their son and let him know how upset they really were. Yoongi's older brother hasn't stopped yelling since he's arrived at the station. And Wonho looks more stressed than ever as he relays the mess he's been trying to cover, in order to hide the fact that Kim Namjoon has been arrested. "I'm supposed to be your freaking bodyguard, Namjoon. I feel like you're PR manager or your assistant. The company is losing it and it seems like everyone is incapable of doing their job without someone to yell at them. In other words, me. This is one big mess. The only thing that has seemed to be in our favor is, that thankfully, no one saw you being arrested," Wonho states, "I can't believe I just said that. How could you get yourself arrested!?"

"I'm really thankful, Wonho. I owe you so much. And, I've already told you that it was a misunderstanding," Namjoon says, "As for the fact no one noticed me, I have Jinyoung to thank for that. What are the press saying?"

"There are rumors that you've went to another country, but no one saw you at the airport so that idea was trashed fairly quickly," Wonho says.

Namjoon sighs and massages his temples, "No one's guessed I've been arrested, have they?"

"Not yet, but you need to make another public appearance soon," Wonho says, "People are going to become more suspicious as to your whereabouts."

"I know," Namjoon says, "I'll go meet up with one of my business partners for lunch or something."

Wonho nods, "Anyone in particular?"

"I could use a friendly face at the moment," Namjoon says, "And, do you think you could get someone to deal with this whole court case issue? For all seven of us."

Wonho nods, "I'll see what I can do, for both things. Also, Namjoon, let me give you some advice." Namjoon looks to Wonho with a tired face and nods. "I know that those guys are your friends and whatever you're doing is important," Wonho says, "But, maybe give it a break."

"What are you saying?" Namjoon asks.

"Spend some time apart from each other," Wonho says, "Go back to living your lives. Whatever you're all doing, isn't that important. I don't know if you've noticed, but nothing goes well when the seven of you are together."

"But, hyung..." Namjoon protests, "We have things to do..."

"Those things can wait," Wonho holds up his hand to stop him from talking, "I'm not saying that you should never speak to each other again. I'm just saying that maybe you should put a pause on your plans. Rethink things. Cause, from the looks of it, it's not going so well." Namjoon sighs and looks to the floor, understanding Wonho's words and seeing that he had a point. "Just think about it, okay," Wonho says, putting his hand on Namjoon's shoulder. Namjoon nods and looks to the side, seeing the boys gathering around and talking. "Go," Wonho says, noticing his gaze, "I'll talk to you later." Namjoon gives Wonho a thankful look before making his way over to the group. "Namjoon hyung!" Jungkook cries out as he spots Namjoon, "My parents are really bothered by the whole situation."

"Same with mine," Jimin says, "They can't get over the fact that I'm this bad of a cop. After all, what type of cop gets arrested..."

"I'm sorry," Namjoon says, "If it's any relief, I'm going to try to get rid of the whole case issue, so none of you will have to worry about possibly becoming criminals." The group all let out a breath, relaxing a little with that issue out of the way. "That's great, but what do we do now?" Jin asks.

"My grandparents want me to stay away from the seven of you," Taehyung mutters, his eyes cast to the floor. The others tense, but murmur similar sentiments. The group fall silent, avoiding each other's gazes. Hoseok clears his throat, "So, what do we do? Do we stay away?"

"We can't. If we do, our memories could be lost," Yoongi says, "We're not splitting up again."

"If we do stick together, what are we going to be doing?" Jungkook asks, "We have no leads on Theodore. We have nothing to help us get back to our real lives."

"We'll just do some more digging or something," Jimin suggests.

Namjoon shakes his head, "And then what? We get tricked again? It's already been bad enough as it is. If we go about this the same way we did before, we could end up in an even worse place."

"What could be worse than in comas or in jail?" Hoseok asks.

Jin sighs, "Don't jinx us..."

"That still doesn't solve our problem," Yoongi says, "Even if our family and friends want us far away from each other, we can't just walk away like nothing happened. We have a timeline to change and memories that could disappear in an instant."

"Well, we can't have our families getting suspicious either," Taehyung says, "They'll think we're nuts if they find out what we're trying to do. Even if they believed us, which is a zero percent chance, I don't think the timeline could take more people knowing."

"You know this all sounds like you want to just say bye and go our separate ways," Yoongi says, "Is that what we plan on doing? Cause if it is, it was nice knowing you all. If we split up, that basically means that we've given up. Theodore's won and we'll just forget everything about our real lives."

"That's not true," Jin states, "Think of it as a hiatus..."

"A hiatus?" Hoseok says, "Really? We can't afford to just take a break...can we?"

"Maybe, a break is a good idea," Jimin says.

Jungkook shakes his head, "I'm not so sure, hyung. I don't want to risk forgetting."

"We won't forget, we could just use the notebooks from before when some of us were still in comas. We'll read them every day, so we won't forget." Namjoon speaks up.

Yoongi huffs, "You too, Namjoon. I thought you would be against us splitting up. Especially, after how serious this has become."

"That's exactly why we need to take a break. This has gotten to be too much. We're in over our heads," Namjoon says, thinking to what Wonho told him earlier.

"Are you saying what I think you are, Joon hyung?" Taehyung asks.

Namjoon nods, "We need to split up. Go back to living our lives, even though we know they aren't real in this timeline. This doesn't mean we're over. This doesn't mean we're surrendering. It's just a hiatus. A temporary solution. We need to take a break from Theodore and the mess he made. We need to take a timeout from the game and rethink our strategy."

"Rethink our strategy?" Jin questions.

Namjoon looks them in the eyes, "What we're doing, isn't working. We're not making any progress. Maybe, sometime apart will do us some good. It could help us see things from a new perspective. We'll meet back up after a week or so. This break could help us find exactly what we need to put this to a stop. It'll do us good, guys. So, let's listen to our family and friends. Let's just take a hiatus." The others don't say anything, looking to one another. They have a silent conversation for a couple minutes before coming to a consensus. "This isn't the end, though, right?" Jungkook asks.

Namjoon shakes his head, "No, it isn't the end. We've just reached the climax. There's still more to this story..."

Voila! That's the end of this chapter. I shortened this one as well. This was supposed to include what they did when they went back to their lives, but I thought it would seem a bit too long. Plus, this allows me to write an entire chapter on the boys in their fake/alternate lives. It gives you a chance to see BTS as non-idols too. So, that's what will happen next chapter, please look forward to it and anticipate it. Also, one last question, Namjoon is going to go meet up with a business partner that happens to be a friend of his, who do you think it is or who do you want it to be? Tell me in the comments below. Also, please vote, follow me, add this story to your library, and check out my other BTS AU Night of Sin. Bye, ARMY!