The drive back to Jin's vacation house was long and silent, the awkwardness crawling underneath your skin. You tried multiple times to break the tension in the air by turning on the radio but luck was definitely not at your side, since all the stations only had static.

Taehyung leaving to accomplish his own goals wasn't much of a surprise but even the others had varying reactions towards it.

Jin and Emily had no violent reactions, only saying that it wasn't necessary for him to leave in a calmly manner. Jimin was silent, as if he was weighing the current situation he was in, after all he had just officially left behind his life and started a new one with complete strangers. Jungkook was staring out the window with a hand cupping his chin, his free hand tapping the glass and creating a rhythm that he was humming to. Whether he was happy or saddened by Taehyung's disappearance, you were unsure of, but you knew that there was something fishy about him not being able to stop Taehyung. Still, you didn't want to doubt Jungkook. He was a wonder, after all.

The only one who actually seemed glad was Yoongi, who was wearing a ridiculous smile on his face with eyes twinkling like that star in the children's song. It was strange, especially with his cold premise, and you wondered why his mood had shifted so drastically.

As for you? Well, you didn't know what to think. You thought of Taehyung as the moon, someone who was bright in the darkness and would disappear behind the clouds unexpectedly. Many questions popped up in your mind. Where was Taehyung going all alone? Why did he leave? Did he want to leave?

"You seem to be very curious about Taehyung, Sky," K mused, shattering the clutter of thoughts in your mind. It would have broken the silence in the car but sadly, you were the only one who could her voice. "This is extremely dangerous. It does not matter if they are the wonders, it is still a risk to fully hand over your trust to them."

You rolled your eyes, thinking that K was overthinking the situation. Not wanting to sound like a crazy woman speaking to herself, you nodded at K's remark, glancing at the road, which was barely illuminated by the sedan's headlights and you worried about Jin, thinking that he had very little view of the upcoming road ahead. You wanted to help but... how?

Suddenly, a bright ball of light formed outside, just above the sedan's bumper, fully illuminating the road and allowing both you and Jin to see the leaves of the trees around. You glanced over your shoulder to see Jungkook with his legs crossed, one of his palms open and glowing white.

"Thanks Jungkook," Jin whispered while staring at Jungkook through the rearview mirror, the latter nodding with a small smile. You knew that Jungkook had done this after reading your thoughts, so you smiled at him as an expression of gratitude. "Say... do you guys want to hear a good joke?"

Something was definitely needed to get rid of the quiet atmosphere so everyone agreed in an instant, with the exception of Yoongi, who was begging Jin to break the silence with another way that wasn't related to cracking corny jokes.

Still, Jin pushed through and he was already starting to laugh at the thought of his joke. "How do cows laugh?"

There was a long silence until Emily clapped her hands loudly, laughing in awe after she seemingly got the joke. "I think I get it! It's moohahahaha!"

Jin burst into laughter for the first time since you met him, his strange laugh sounding like the squeak glass made when you were wiping it with a cloth. He was literally slapping his thigh and was leaning on the steering wheel, everyone staring at him with the most unamused expression ever. You were face-palming, since you knew that the joke just made the tension in the air even thicker.

Emily was also laughing while clutching her stomach but she stopped as soon as she received Yoongi's literally burning glare.

Jimin, on the other hand, was staring at the still laughing Jin with dead eyes and it was obvious that he was internally considering murder. Your theory was proven right when his eyes flashed golden yellow, his palm opening, a sparkling ball of electricity forming above it. "I'm going to electrocute him."

"Not until I burn him to death first," You caught Yoongi's orange eyes through the rearview mirror and saw a fireball floating in midair, right above his lap.

This made Jin halt in his laughter and you could see the life flash before his eyes when he realized that Yoongi and Jimin were dead serious. You didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this scenario. "Uhm..."

"Nobody is burning or electrocuting anybody!," Jungkook interfered and placed a hand on Jimin's chest, making Jin sigh in relief until he heard his next words. "Jin is the only person here who can drive. We're going to need him."

"Hey! Sto—"

"I think we're here?," Emily commented when Jin's vacation house came to view. Well, you guessed that Jin's murder was going to be saved for another day.

-

"Do you really want me to explain?"

You were sitting on the couch, lazily flipping through the channels with both of your knees bent, hair untied and flowing down one of the armrests. You had changed out of your sadly stained purple dress and was wearing a blue blouse and pants which belonged to Jin's mother, who would secretly visit him without his father's knowledge.

Emily was behind the couch, standing there and watching you with your arms crossed. Since she wasn't a fan of tight clothes and dresses, Jin lent her one of his shirts, which looked huge on her petite body.

"Of course I do," You finally switched off the television and faced Emily, who was staring back at you with a blank expression. "We've been separated for, what, nearly a month? I at least want to know what happened to you and how you found me. Why do you know all this, why do you have a weapon and what about the family that adopted you?"

"Slow down there, Sky," Emily chuckled and sat next to you, pulling down the hem of her shirt to slightly conceal her legs. "I'll answer all those questions, don't worry. First of all, the family that adopted me... weren't a real family. They were Vredeian soldiers sent by the King of Vrede, disguised as humans so they could, well, adopt me and bring me somewhere far away."

Emily's statement confused you greatly, so you sat down properly to pay close attention to her words. She was just staring at you, not at all surprised by her reaction. Vredians... based on general knowledge, you assumed that they were citizens of Vrede. You didn't know what saddened you more, the fact that Emily was taken away from you on purpose or that she never had a family. "So... w-what happened to them, if you don't mind me asking—"

"I killed them," Emily said it so simply, as if killing someone was a normal everyday objective for her. This made you scoot backwards in fear. "It was no sweat, really, and it was out of self-defense. Don't worry, I was trained to kill and it's not like I was traumatized or something."

Trained to kill. Those three words alone made a shiver run down your spine. Was Emily — your bestest friend who you have known since forever — actually a trained assassin? You swallowed dryly. It couldn't be, right? After what you've seen, anything was possible.

"I know what you're thinking, Sky. You think I'm a killer. You think I'm a villain. Well, I'm not, I'm your guardian, destined to be your protector since birth. Remember all those times I ran away from the orphanage? It was necessary for training. All those scars I had? They weren't self-inflicted—"

Seeing the tears streaming down Emily's face, you instantly engulfed her in a big bear hug, your eyes glossy as well. All this time, you were so ignorant, so clueless. Emily had been suffering this whole time, hiding the pain behind her smile and playful premise. You were there with her, yet you knew nothing, and failed to help her. You were guilty. You were guilty of being happy while Emily wasn't.

"I don't think of you that way Emily... and I never will."

-

"Do you trust the others?"

Jimin, who was brushing his teeth and was passing by Yoongi's bedroom, paused and peeked through the slightly ajar door. Pulling down the hem of his black tee, he stared at Yoongi, who was lying on the bed, wrapped in the sheets like a cocoon, twirling a finger and creating an infinity symbol with a small flame in the air.

Truthfully, Jimin wondered why Yoongi had decided to ask him, after all there were two more people to talk to — Jin, who was in the kitchen, volunteering to cook breakfast for the seven of you, and Jungkook, who Jimin had absolutely no idea where he could be found at this very moment.

"Why are you asking me?," Jimin voiced out his thoughts and wiped the bubbly toothpaste flowing down his chin.

The flames in the air disappeared right away and Yoongi turned to the side, giving Jimin the deadliest glare that the former singer had ever seen. "Because I just woke up and you are the first person I've seen this morning."

"Oh," Jimin said simply and even though he knew that there was something more to Yoongi's words, he didn't push it, since he had a slight fear of fire. Rubbing the back of his nape and wiping his lips clean with his other hand, he quietly stepped into the room and shut the door, knowing that Yoongi didn't want anyone else to hear their conversation. "I trust them... at the same time, I don't trust them either."

Yoongi stared at Jimin for a while before kicking the sheets off him, revealing his red hoodie and blue shorts. Jimin wondered if he didn't feel hot under the thick duvet, then he remembered that Yoongi was bearing the fire gem. "I don't trust them, too."

This confused Jimin, especially because he was sure that Yoongi was even more whipped than cream for you. Saying that he didn't trust you... seemed a little, no, very farfetched. So, he leaned on the wall and crossed his arms, not minding how the toothpaste was dripping onto the carpeted floor. "Sky? You don't trust Sky? Excuse my language but that's bullshit. Even the most idiotic man in the world can figure out that you like her."

Yoongi was silenced by this and it took him a few minutes to reply: "Fine. I trust Sky and Jin. Just them. I don't trust Jungkook, definitely not Taehyung and... not even you."

"We're even then," Jimin shrugged and ran a hand through his orange hair. "Because I don't trust you as well."

The air was overtaken by silence, the tension thickening into a layer that not even a sword can pierce through it. Yoongi's eyes were burning and Jimin's was sparking. Even though the two bad just met, there was already terrible aura that formed in between them. Was it because of the trust issues that Yoongi had with everyone or Jimin's logical reasoning of the other being a complete stranger? Nobody knew, really.

Jimin thought about it for a while. Seven strangers with super powers would be brought together by another complete stranger, as said by a prophecy that you mentioned, in order to save the world from incoming doom... It didn't make any sense, even if he had already discovered his own powers. At the same time, he wasn't sure how it was going to work out. Yes, they may not to be complete yet, but so far, they weren't a team. They were a bad chemical reaction. Even though you were one of the only reasonable people to be around... he still had his doubts.

"If you really don't trust me," Jimin piped up after a long silence, Yoongi's fists clenching, making the other put up his guard. "Why did you tell me that you didn't? You should have told Sky, I mean, she's the one you trust the most, right? Or maybe... you actually don't. I mean, she's just like the rest of us, a complete stranger who just recently discovered their powers. How are you sure that the kind facade she has is her true self?"

Yoongi gritted his teeth, his eyes turning to a bright orange and flames engulfing his hands up to his forearms. Jimin, who had expected this but hadn't at the same time, let electricity surge in his palms. Had Yoongi been triggered by how Jimin indirectly mocked you out of anger? Maybe or maybe not. Still, Jimin braced himself for a fight.

"Don't you ever speak of Sky that way again," Yoongi's teeth were sharp, piercing his lips and making them bleed. Scales started to appear on his cheeks and hands, which were starting to grow claws.

Yep, Jimin concluded, he was pissed.

Yoongi took a step forward. Two steps. Three steps. Each step left a charred footprint on the carpet, which sizzled and crackled like the inside of a volcano. Now he was an inch away from Jimin's face, hot breath constantly slapping on the other's skin.

Despite being horrified by the fire in Yoongi's orange eyes, Jimin stood up straight and raised his chin. He wouldn't let himself lose in a battle of wits, nor any battle in particular. He wasn't afraid, he didn't want to be.

Yoongi raised a fist, flames crackling in the cold air. Jimin raised his hands to shield himself from the upcoming hit. Was it necessary to fight? Jimin didn't think so but here he was, ready to exchange throws with someone who could control fire.

A hand caught Yoongi's fist once he threw it. A hand that didn't belong to Jimin.

Slowly, Jimin turned around to look at the owner of the hand. Jungkook was standing in the middle of the doorway, back facing Jimin, tall muscular figure wrapped in a long white bathrobe. His blonde hair was doused and flattened, giving it a darker shade than its original color. The angel was towering over the thunder bearer and he had to tiptoe a bit to peak at Yoongi's scowling face.

Yoongi's flames were so hot that the moist skin of Jungkook's hand was starting to blister. But, Jungkook didn't even look like he was in pain. In fact, he looked angry.

"What in Vrede's name are you two doing?!," Jungkook's voice was filled with venom as he pushed Yoongi back by a few steps, pissing him off even more and making the floor under his feet smoke. Jimin kept transferring his gaze from Jungkook to Yoongi, not really knowing what he was supposed to say. "Your planet is in danger of annihilation and here you both are, fighting over trust issues and clashing opinions?!"

At first, Jimin expected Yoongi to say something childish or even pass the blame to him but instead, his lips curled into a smirk. "Stay out of this, Jungkook."

"It isn't about trusting one another, at this point," Jungkook crossed his arms, wincing a bit because of his burned hand, and stepped in between Yoongi and Jimin. "It's about believing in each other now. Sure you don't trust each other and to be honest, I don't trust you guys either. I didn't even give my full trust to Taehyung, who I've known for so long that I don't even remember when we first met. We all have our differences but there is one thing we have in common — we all believe in Sky and her ability to bring all seven of us together. We all believe that working together as a team can help us save Earth. If you think I'm lying, I'm not, because I can read every single mind in this room, apart from... Anyway, what's the use if you doubt Sky? Or yourself? Or anyone else? This is our destiny. We are part of the seven wonders. Don't forget that."

Both Yoongi and Jimin were silenced by Jungkook's speech. Jimin silently made the electricity surging through his arms fade, eyes half-mast as he thought of himself for being such a fool. He had almost done the exact thing he despised the most — solving problems through violence. What had gotten into him? Was it the spur of the moment or his anger getting the best of him? He didn't know but he was glad that Jungkook was able to knock some sense into him.

"Sorry, Jimin," Jimin and Jungkook faced Yoongi, whose eyes were back to their chocolate brown color and arms clear of any flames. Once of his cheeks was puffed with air and he was facing away with both arms crossed. "For lashing out at you like that."

"You should be grateful," Jungkook spoke after a few minutes of Jimin being stunned. "It's the first time Yoongi apologized to someone ever since—"

"Shut up," Yoongi hissed through gritted teeth, his cheeks tinted with a light pink color. The sight of the blushing man made Jungkook and Jimin burst into laughter. The tension in the air had long been gone.

"It's okay, Yoongi, really," Jimin waved a hand and chuckled, still clutching his stomach due to his laughter. "I shouldn't have mocked Sky like that, especially since I know that you have a huge crush on her."

"Touché," Jungkook snickered and gave Jimin a fist bump with his good hand.

Yoongi's eye twitched. "You—"

"Guys, Sky— Wait, Jungkook, what happened to your hand?!"

Jimin turned around just in time to see Jin, who was wearing a three-fourth long sleeved brown polo, enter the room and quickly grab Jungkook's blistered hand. Water crawled up the angel's hand, the blisters fading in an instant. Jungkook stared, obviously amazed by Jin's healing abilities.

Based on the way Jin was staring at Yoongi and how he glanced at the burned carpet, Jimin could tell that he was putting two and two together. Yoongi was staring back, expecting a scolding, a beating, any violent reaction from Jin.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, however, Jin only sighed. "I don't know what happened while I was gone but I am quite sure that it has been resolved. Sky wants us to gather in the living room. Oh, and Yoongi, please don't burn any more of my carpets. They are priceless, just so you know."

-

The first thing Jungkook saw when he entered the living room was your sitting figure on the sofa, your silver hair tied into a bun and a pink laptop resting on your lap. Your fingers were typing away on the keyboard, eyes scrunched in concentration. He couldn't see what was on the screen since the laptop was facing away from him. But, judging your expression plus Emily's wide eyes, he could tell that it was something important.

"Rose gold. Nice color of choice," Emily commented, purposely saying it when Jin passed by behind her.

This made Jin pause and turn around, giving Emily a small yet sly smirk. He positioned himself behind the sofa, in between you and Emily, and leaned his arms on the headrest. "Well, pink is my favorite color.

Emily's eyes widened in amazement and a small gasp left her lips, leaving Jin in a state of confusion. "Really? Pink is my favorite color too—"

"Bingo!," You cheered once you found what you were looking for, unintentionally cutting off Emily and Jin's conversation. Jungkook, upon hearing their similar thoughts of your wrong timing when shouting out a victory scream, had to bite his lower lip to stifle in his laughter.

Having earned the gift of mind reading at the mere age of six, Jungkook was already used to the unruly and noisy voices of everyone's thoughts mixed together. Sure, it was noisy, but he learned which minds to tune out and which ones to listen to thoroughly through the years. Still, he avoided large crowds, since they were too much for him.

However, something wasn't right. There were six people in the room, excluding himself, but he could only hear five different voices. Why couldn't Jungkook read that person's thoughts?

Realizing that Jimin and Yoongi were already gathered around you, Jungkook shuffled towards you and stood next to Yoongi, who was screaming in his head because of their height difference. Again, Jungkook held in his laughter.

Now Jungkook could see what was on the laptop's screen. It was a news article, a photo of a man pinned at the top of the page. The man's face was small, hair dyed to a purple grape color, and his eyes were lifeless... dead. As if the owner of the body had died long ago and what was left of him was an empty shell of what he used to be. What caught his attention the most, however, was the choker around Namjoon's neck, which had a familiar grey gem attached to it.

"Who is that?," Jimin asked with squinted eyes, thick lips pouted slightly, having difficulty to read even though he was wearing glasses.

"He's Kim Namjoon," You read out while scrolling down the article and quickly scanning through it. Jungkook, having difficulty in keeping up with your pace, only caught a few words. Accident. Surrendered. Murder. Jail? "One of the wonders."

"But... he's a convict?," Jin questioned as a photo of Namjoon behind thick rusty bars, not even bothering to cover his face as if he felt no shams, flashed across the screen. "So I guess we'll be having another criminal in the gang, huh? No offense, Yoongi."

"None taken," Thankfully, Yoongi was too busy reading the article so he wasn't really paying that much attention to Jin's words. Since he was too far away from the screen, he leaned a bit, unintentionally placing his face a bit too close to yours. Of course, almost everyone noticed how Yoongi's cheeks slowly turned red. Almost everyone because you were too focused on the article to see. Jungkook was amused by the chaotic thoughts running wild inside his head. "I-It says here that Namjoon has been in jail for three years. How are we going to make him come with us?"

"We bail him out?," You suggested, unsure of your words. Since the article ended, you clicked on the search bar and proceeded to google another name: Jung Hoseok.

"We can't bail out someone who was accused of murder," Everyone faced Jimin, who was cupping his cheek with his hand and had a bored expression on, with curious and semi-suspicious faces. "What? I know because I took on a role as a police officer in a movie before."

"Then we break him out, come up with a master plan that could make Namjoon escape without any—," Emily cut off her own seemingly empowering speech when she noticed that you had opened another tab, outside of Namjoon's article. "Uh, Sky, I don't think this is the right time to open your Facebook account."

"I'm looking through Hoseok's account, Emily," You glared at Emily, who just replied with a peace sign and a silly grin. Jungkook watched as you scrolled through Hoseok's wall, which was mostly consisted of pictures of him together with a tall woman with brown hair and feline eyes. He had to admit, she was pretty. In one photo, the couple was wearing matching charm bracelets, Hoseok's having a familiar gem as one of its charms. "He's the last wonder. Thank goodness, he isn't of high status or a criminal. He's a regular citizen of Gwangju and, if you guys observed from his posts, he lives with his girlfriend named... Jill Anne? Oh, this post says her nickname is Jia."

"But Gwangju is too far away," Jungkook deadpanned, as if it already wasn't basic knowledge for a korean man and woman. Well, for him it wasn't.

"Exactly," You shut off the computer, since you had finished what you had intented to do, and returned it to Jin while thanking him. "Which is why we take Namjoon first."

"But he's in jail. We can't just barge in and demand them to release Namjoon, or destroy everything in the process of breaking him out," Jin placed his laptop on the coffee table. "We need a coherent plan, something well-planned out and logical."

Jungkook sighed out loud and ran a hand through his hair. If only Taehyung was with them, it would be so much easier to break out Namjoon and find Hoseok at the same time. For a moment, he forgot why Taehyung had left, and when he did remember, Jungkook realized it was for the best.

"I have one?," Once again, everyone faced Jimin, who was now in a pose that made him look like he was actually interested in the conversation. Jimin scratched his cheek, not minding how everyone's eyes were on him since he was used to it. "It's based on one of the movies I starred in before. I just adjusted it a bit because of the we all have control over the elements thing."

Just to give himself a heads up, Jungkook went through Jimin's thoughts and looked for the plan— Oh. Oh. It was... perfect. No, it was pure genius. It was a logical plan that they could definitely pull off if explained carefully. Just what they needed. "I... I'm impressed by your plan, Jimin. Fire away."

-

"Master, the wonders are slowly coming together."

"Do you think I am not aware of that?! The King is furious! Not to mention that he pins the blame on me."

"I-I apologize. Must I gather my men and give them a full attack? As long as they are not yet complete, they will be easy to defeat."

"You say that, yet the soldiers you have sent have all failed to bring back at least one gem! Ugh... Go ahead. Gather your strongest and give them an attack that's equal to how we shall invade their planet. If you fail again, I will decapitate you myself."

"I... I understand, Master. Are there any... special circumstances that I must follow?"

"You are talking about him, I assume. No. Don't spare anyone. Have no mercy. Even towards the guardian, her protector... and the King's son."

"Yes, Master."

-

A/N - 4.5k words oops also King's son who art thou am I talking about the King of Hemel or not hmm 🌚 also to my hoe Jia, just like I promised you have become Hobi's girlfriend 🌚