Taehyung hugged himself, tugging on the sleeves of his dark hoodie, shivering because of the cold interior of Cairo International Airport. Still, he made himself look like he wasn't feeling as cold as he was, especially because most of the people in their group — minus you and Emily, who had arms flung around each other's shoulders, prancing about, kicking a leg in the air in a rhythm while singing to Dora's theme song, earning looks of disgust and they must have lost their minds from the people passing by — were currently—

"—Everybody, let's go! Come on, let's get to it, I know that we can do it—"

Tuning out the childish chanting, Taehyung resumed his thoughts. Everyone else who wasn't being embarrassing were clinging onto Yoongi, who was frowning at his lack of personal space.

Yoongi snarled, his eyes flashing orange whilst he tried to push away Jimin, who was hugging his arm like a koala. Since he was carrying your bag, added with the weight of six people, he felt like his legs were going to give out at any moment. "I swear to God, if you guys don't get off me—"

"But you're so warm," Jungkook groaned against Yoongi's shoulder, his breath hitting the irritated fire gem bearer's neck. "Like... like a walking furnace. Yeah, that's it, you're a walking furnace, Yoongi."

"It's like I'm in between two soft warmers," Jia hummed, squeezed in between Yoongi's torso and Hoseok's arms.

"Come on Yoongi, bear with it until we make it to the exit," Jin wasn't hugging Yoongi but he was standing close, still benefiting from the heat radiating from the younger boy. "It's close— ouch!"

Jin flinched backwards, revealing Yoongi smirking, a small flame lit at the tip of his finger. They then started to bicker — Jin complaining about being burned even when he wasn't being clingy, Jimin wrapping his legs around Yoongi's waist, Namjoon's grip tightening a bit too much and Yoongi threatening to breathe flames — making Taehyung turn around and roll his eyes at the sight.

Taehyung observed the people around them, spotting a family, the tall father dragging around a tiny child, her ponytails bouncing on her head. This made him think of his father back at Vrede and for the first time in his stay in Earth, he wondered how the old man was doing, if he was okay, if he was eating enough, if he was happy. After all, even though the man was the epitome of evil himself, he was still Taehyung's father.

"Your father worries about you, Taehyung. You may not see it but he does," Appearing next to darkness gem bearer, K whispered, her voice soft like feathers. She crossed her arms, exposing her purple skin, and watched silently as a guard came to scold you and Emily for the noise.

Taehyung stared, his eye twitching at the sight of you flinching at the guard's incoherent lecture. The others, who were flocking around Yoongi, didn't notice this. Before Emily could spit back, Taehyung raised a hand, purple mist wrapping around the guard. The poor guard was levitated in the air, thrown across the room, crashing on a pile of unclaimed luggage bags.

People were dumbfounded at the sight and only Jungkook giggled at the scene. Taehyung was snickering, his smile faltering only when you turned around, facing him with a smile and a thumbs up.

And Taehyung found himself smiling back, which faded away in an instant when he realized that K had her eyes locked on him. After you turned he away, he sighed, running a hand through his brown hair. "How do you know that? You're dead and you're not me. All my father cared about was himself and he didn't even glance at me, his own son, when I needed him the most—"

A painful flashback cut off Taehyung's words.

Six year old Taehyung bounced on his little feet, slipping, landing on the ground harshly. Scraping his knee, he hissed at the pain, wiping the blood flowing down the corner of his mouth, dried mud caking his brown hair.

His martial arts trainer stared at him, making Taehyung glance at himself through the mirror. His legs were stick thin, painted with purple bruises, wearing them like a prize — no, a lesson. His arms were grazed, covered with leaves and dried blood, shirt torn and tattered.

Taehyung felt a presence next to him and saw his sister in the same condition, his teeth gritting. Her green orbs bored into his and they were dull, a purple ring forming around her left eye. He felt bad for her, how he couldn't protect her despite being the older brother.

"Taehyung...," Her voice cracked, lip split open, blood flowing down her chin.

A step forward. The moment the martial arts teacher moved, Taehyung shuffled, making a protective stance in front of his sister. Taehyung always thought of the teacher as a scary person, with his tall frame, purple skin and tattoos snaking around his arms, long earrings hanging from his earlobes.

And just as Taehyung braced himself for a kick, a punch, or anything else, the teacher spoke instead: "That's enough for today. They need rest."

"No," Taehyung heard a voice as he spat out some blood.

Taehyung's father sat on a wooden chair, shaded under the roof of their home's terrace whilst his children suffered the heat of the scorching sun. His legs were crossed, lips curled into an arrogant smirk, black hair matted over his head.

"Keep going," Taehyung's father continued as he took an apple from the bowl of fruits next to him and bit into it. "They need to learn how to fight, how to handle themselves. I will not have my son and daughter grow up as weaklings."

"But they're just childr—"

"Do you dare disobey me?"

And as the martial arts teacher continued to argue with his father, Taehyung heard his sister whimper, her grip on his arm tightening. Anger towards his father and pity towards his sister — an unhealthy mixture of what started to bloom in the little boy's heart.

"Taehyung! Taehyung, get a hold of yourself!"

Taehyung could hear K screaming at him but everything else was a blur. All the colors around him had faded away and all he could was glowing silhouettes and grey backgrounds. He was taking deep breaths, palpating, sweat dripping down his chin and onto the tiled floor.

At this moment, he took a moment to glance at the gem of darkness — it wasn't purple, it was black.

"Taehyung, calm down! The gem takes advantage of your anger and hatred, remember?! Don't—"

K's voice tuned out and Taehyung was slowly starting to lose himself — the gem was corrupting him, using his anger to take over him. He was resisting, years of taming the gem had taught him how to, but there were moments (like now) when it was all too much and he just had the urge to give in. He clutched his head, screaming in pain.

Taehyung heard the shuffling of feet, the worrisome cries and the murmurs of voices, wondering if the hand on his shoulder was yours or Jungkook's. He wanted to hold it, no, shoo away the owner because he knew, he knew that it was dangerous to be around him right now.

Suddenly — something inside Taehyung snapped.

Taehyung stood up, feeling free, powerful even. He glanced at his hands, watching carefully as his nails turned into claws, tilting his head at how his skin was starting to look purple.

"Taehyung."

Upon hearing his name, Taehyung looked up, realizing that he was inside a very familiar place, one that brought painful memories to him. The wooden walls of the home were polished, painted in a black color, the room empty yet clean, not even a speck of dust present. Floorboards creaked under his feet, threatening to crumble under him.

It was Taehyung's house — his old home.

"Taehyung, look at me, you worthless scum."

Turning around, Taehyung froze, his feet rooting to the ground when he saw his father standing just inches away from him. His father, black hair reaching his shoulders, beard covering the entirety of his lower face, deep green eyes staring into his soul.

Somehow, the mere sight of this man, this man who had made him and his sister suffer throughout their childhood, had triggered Taehyung and in a blink of an eye, he was across the room, strangling his father.

A sick smirk spread across Taehyung's face as his clawed hand dug into his father's neck, the old man struggling for air and desperately tugging his sleeves. Death was at his fingertips, yet he welcomed it, his pointed teeth exposed as he started to laugh sadistically.

But just as Taehyung was about to summon an energy ball to deal a final blow, he felt a sharp pain on his face and he hit the ground, his cheek stinging. He clenched his fist, purple mist starting to appear, then he paused, realizing that he was back in Cairo Airport, surrounded by the gang.

What caught Taehyung's attention was Jungkook, who was on the floor, clutching at his bleeding neck with wide eyes. Namjoon was standing next to him with a raised fist.

Taehyung had to process everything that he was seeing. Jin was panicking, using his water to heal Jungkook despite the onlookers. Jimin and Hoseok were trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to why one of their companions was strangled out of the blue. Yoongi was restraining Namjoon, who was screaming about punching Taehyung for the second time.

The girls were huddled together and Taehyung saw your expression, how you were staring at him with eyes full of fear and disbelief. And Taehyung cursed his fate, cursed the gem of darkness, cursed the evil blooming within him.

And ran.

-

Jimin didn't know what to think of the chaos he just witnessed. One minute the majority of them were cuddling Yoongi in attempt to get warm but the next thing he knew, Taehyung was screaming. Everyone ran towards him, Jungkook reaching the darkness gem bearer first since he was the most concerned.

Somehow, the tables turned, and suddenly Jungkook was on the ground and Taehyung was strangling him, a mixture of black and purple mist in the air. There was so much blood, screams, cries. Namjoon swooped in with a fist and Jin immediately pulled the angel to safety.

And those eyes — Jimin would never forget the darkness in Taehyung's eyes, how his pupils were black, how they were dripping with evil and blood thirst.

Hoseok had tugged Jimin's arm in that moment of confusion, saying something about explaining what happened to the people surrounding them. Thankfully, Jia stepped in after a few minutes, translating their pathetic excuse of Taehyung having anger management issues into the Egyptian language.

"Tae—," Jungkook wheezed, his throat closing due to the trauma. Jin placed a finger on his own lips, shushing the light bearer whilst healing his neck.

"Let go of me, Yoongi!," Jimin faced Namjoon, who was thrashing in Yoongi's grip, eyes rock brown and pointed teeth gritted in anger. If the situation wasn't so serious, the sight of small Yoongi restraining a tall Namjoon would have been hilarious. "I'm going to kill that bastard, I told you we can't trust Taehyung—"

"Calm your non-existent tits, you grape!," Yoongi hissed, burning Namjoon's arms with his palms, finally calming the earth bearer down. "Taehyung wasn't himself, he wouldn't do that to Jungkook."

Jimin was surprised to hear Yoongi's words, knowing that the fire gem bearer wasn't exactly fond of Taehyung, who was mysterious and arrogant, even he admitted. Trailing behind Hoseok and Jia, he watched as you came into view with slow steps, Emily glancing at you with worry.

"Yoongi's right," You said carefully, rubbing your arm and chewing your lip. Placing a hand on Namjoon's shoulder, you coughed, palming your forehead in both shock and worry towards Taehyung, who had ran out of the airport. "It was the gem — we all know Taehyung wouldn't hurt us. Until now, did he try?"

"Are you saying that Taehyung tried to kill Jungkook by accident?," Namjoon scoffed, shaking your hand off his shoulder, earning a piercing glare from Yoongi. "There's already one murderer in this team, Sky, and we can't have another—"

There was a long pause, Namjoon's eyes widening after he realized what he just said. The tall boy took a step backwards, his eyes welling up with tears before one slowly rolled down his cheek. The sight of Namjoon crying stunned everyone (the gang, the onlookers had dispersed) and nobody really knew what they were going to do or say, the air thick with tension.

It was Jimin who stepped forward, knowing exactly what was going through Namjoon's mind, even without Jungkook's mind reading abilities. Having a flashback of their conversation on the beach, the thunder gem bearer realized that Namjoon was wearing a mask; one that he used to make himself look tough, which was evident whenever he would give out orders, his natural leading skills coming out — still, he lacked confidence in himself and relied on others for offense — physically strong yet emotionally weak.

"Namjoon," Jimin squeezed the taller's arm, silent as the latter continued to sob quietly. Although tears were streaming down his face, his eyes were wide with... realization? "Namjoon, hey—"

"He's just like me," Namjoon whispered, running a hand through his purple hair. "Taehyung is just like me! God, I'm such an idiot for treating him like that—"

Jimin suddenly snapped, slapping both of Namjoon's cheeks. "Namjoon, what are you talking about—"

"The way he treats Taehyung... it was the way people treated Namjoon while he was still in jail," Jungkook wheezed out despite Jin's protests, silencing everyone in a snap of a finger. He stood up, rubbing his neck, which was now fully healed. "Sorry to be blunt about it but we have to find Taehyung, there's no time to waste. We can't afford to lose him in Egypt, not when we're so close to Vrede's gate."

"You aren't mad? At all?," Hoseok questioned Jungkook with arms crossed over his chest, wearing a new set of specs, courtesy of Jin. Jia was behind him, a bit exhausted by all the shouting she had done. "I mean... he did try to kill you."

There was a silence and everyone stared at Jungkook, who was chewing on his bottom lip anxiously, anticipating his reply greatly. Jimin took this opportunity to glance at Namjoon, who was no longer crying, his fists clenched and eyebrows creased into a determined expression. Jimin smiled a bit, realizing the motive behind Namjoon's actions towards Taehyung, realized what the earth bearer had concluded — Taehyung had his own issues, his own struggles, and nobody had the right to accuse him of anything.

"No," Jungkook shrugged, rubbing his shoulder as if he wasn't nearly killed in public. "Taehyung's my close friend and I know for a fact that he wouldn't ever think of hurting me, no matter what situation comes. Yoongi was right, he wasn't himself. The gem of darkness is known to have the ability to corrupt its bearer due to its overwhelming power. Taehyung, he... it got to him, he was vulnerable. He was thinking about his past, you see."

"Corrupt? What do you mean corrupt?," Jia questioned, voicing out everyone's confused thoughts.

"It can take over Taehyung, you know, possess him. Use as him as a vessel for evil. It's... sadly, one of the consequences of bearing the gem of darkness, one personally crafted by the King of Hel," Everyone faced Emily in shock, your expression looking the most distraught and surprised. Emily raised her hands in the air with a surrendering motion, her eyes wide because of the stares she received. "What? I may not speak Vredeian but I'm from there too, so I know my stuff."

Another silence and Jimin was getting tired of how each conversation anybody in the group had with one another would always lead to awkward tension. He scanned everyone's expressions — you and Jungkook were obviously worried about Taehyung, Jin was staring at Emily with a hint of fondness (Jimin chuckled at this but he was unsure if it was really fondness, maybe doubt, still he thought otherwise after seeing them kiss in the airplane's washroom), Hoseok and Jia were conversing through whispers, Yoongi was standing close in case Namjoon would snap again—

Just as Jimin faced Namjoon to study his facial expression, the latter spoke. "We'll deal with each other's opinions later. First, we have to find Taehyung. The longer we stall, the smaller the chance we have of finding him."

Namjoon's stance was firm, his back straight, and an intimidating vibe tipped over him like he was a pot of boiling water. Jimin knew — this man, despite you being the guardian and Jin being the eldest — he was the group's leader.

"Namjoon's right," You stepped forward with a hand over your chest, Yoongi waddling towards you like a duck in an instant. "We have to find Taehyung, asap."

There were mutters of yeah, let's go and sure then the next thing Jimin knew, they were outside the airport, the extreme heat nearly blistering the skin under his jacket. Everyone immediately shuffled away from Yoongi, who looked as if he was going to erupt lava out of his nostrils.

"Wow, the difference between the temperature indoors and outdoors is—," Hoseok paused, scrunching his nose and distorting his face into some kind of meme that Jia burst out in laughter next to him. Then, after a few seconds, he sneezed loudly. Jin, Jungkook and Namjoon, the three people standing in front of Hoseok, flew across the street and rolled on the ground, the intensity of the sneeze literally sweeping them away. "Oops."

Jimin laughed under his breath, walking towards your laughing figure. As Jungkook complained about his aching wings in the background, he tapped your shoulder, making you turn. "Where do you think would Taehyung run off to?"

You glanced around, Jimin following your gaze. Outside the airport's entrance, just past the concrete road, low houses stood, their roofs curve shaped with a tip, reminding the thunder gem bearer of his favorite chocolate — Hershey's Kisses. All the buildings seemed to have a golden color like the airport's interior, all glittering under the hot sunlight. The further ahead he looked, the more the buildings became taller, roofs becoming flatter, paint becoming whiter. And beyond the houses, between the streets were vendors, long white drapes flowing to the ground despite the heat. People walked back and forth, trying to sales talk the tourists and rich citizens, the goods varying from fruits, furniture to even pets.

And somehow, Jimin already knew the answer to his own question. So, when he spoke, it overlapped with your voice.

"The street markets," You and Jimin spoke in unison.

"The street markets?," Jin repeated, walking into the scene with deep breaths, hands on his knees. He then processed his surroundings, his eyes lighting up like a lightbulb. "Of course... narrow streets plus a big crowd, it's a perfect escape route."

"Let's get going then," Emily mused while holding onto Jin, who smirked upon the contact, lacing their fingers together. Your expression shifted into a devious smile. "Everyone stick together, grab a partner or just be close to someone. We might lose each other in the crowd."

Everyone stuck to each other like glue, Emily hissing when he realized that everyone was trying to at least touch Jin.

"Uh," Jin struggled in the middle of the group. "A bit too tight?"

"You're cold," Jungkook mumbled, chin resting on the water bearer's shoulder. "Sorry."

"Can't we just move?," Emily groaned.

Thus the group moved as one, earning strange looks from people due to how they resembled a colony of ants. Jimin, who was in front of the line, had wide eyes as he glanced at the paintings on the walls, which looked priceless and original, despite his doubt of why someone would be selling first class paintings on the streets. Suddenly there was a buzzing noise, the mixture of salesmen's speech and rejections from tourists filling his ears.

"Oh, what's that?," Hoseok craned his neck from the group when he saw a salesman holding a toy, one shaped like a mouse with a bulkier body shape, colored plain white with black stripes across its face. "I wonder how much it costs—"

"Don't break away from the group," Namjoon snapped, making Hoseok stiffen back into his position next to Jia.

Jimin squinted his eyes, ignoring Hoseok complaining behind him, and had to do a double take when he saw a figure in a black hood just a few inches away from him, standing in front of a stall of farming tools. He was about to announce this to the group when suddenly, there was a commotion.

Everything was a blur then Jimin saw you free yourself from Yoongi's hold, running towards the deeper area of the crowd.

"Babe! Dammit, get back here!," Yoongi hissed, slipping away from Jungkook to chase you as well. Namjoon screamed at him to return but the fire bearer had disappeared in an instant.

With a heavy sigh, Emily palmed his forehead, wiping bullets of sweat that were forming on her cheeks. "Great, now we've lost two more. My best friend could be an idiot sometimes."

"What happened?," Jia questioned, her arms wrapped tightly around Hoseok's waist.

"Sky said something about seeing Taehyung then she ran off. I have no idea what she's talking about, I mean, I can hear his thoughts and he's too far away to listen to," Jungkook shrugged, standing next to Namjoon, their heights nearly equal.

"But," Everyone faced Jimin, who was pointing ahead of him in confusion, eyes scrunched together and lips slightly pouted. "Taehyung is over there—"

Jimin turned around, finding the hooded man staring back at him, face hidden under a dark mask and eyes piercing white, purple skin peaking through the opening of his mask. Oh, this was definitely not Taehyung.

A gust of wind and something was swung in the air. Jimin caught sight of something metal and sharp shine before he was pulled backwards by Namjoon.

The sickle's blade barely dodged the tip of Jimin's nose.

"Shit, run!"

And there was chaos.

-

Yoongi panted, pausing, leaning on the wall for support as he took deep breaths to regain himself. He didn't know how far he ran but it was a definite fact that he was far away from the others. Although, he didn't care and only wanted to make sure that you were safe. Still, the reality of you running to Taehyung hurt him and he wondered if you would do the same for him. "Well damn, I didn't know that Sky could run that quickly."

Looking around, Yoongi found himself in the town square, which was empty compared to the street markets. People walked calmly, some accompanied by pets or riding camels, a beautiful porcelain fountain resting in the middle, the water glowing under the sunlight.

And that's when Yoongi noticed your crouching figure, face stricken with worry, Taehyung kneeling down on the floor while clutching his head.

Yoongi clicked his tongue, instantly running towards the two. You shrieked when he held your shoulder, nearly throwing a punch. "Whoa, babe, it's just me."

"Oh, thank God you're here, Yoongi," You sighed in relief, engulfing Yoongi in big hug before pulling away and glancing at Taehyung, who was whimpering to himself. "Sorry for running like that but he moment I saw Taehyung, I couldn't help myself and—"

"It's okay. It's okay, I understand," Yoongi held your cheeks, smiling at you reassuringly. He was sorry for lying to you but truthfully, he didn't understand.

Taehyung suddenly stood up, wobbling in his place and struggling to keep his balance. Yoongi had a flashback of how much Jungkook was injured, following his instincts and hugging you protectively. He spoke, slowly, and Yoongi was afraid that he would see his terrifying black eyes again, but this time they were the regular color — brown and full of life, filled with fear and anger. "Stay away from me."

"Taehyung—"

"I hurt Jungkook, what makes you think that I won't hurt you two as well?!," Taehyung snapped and suddenly he was crying, fresh tears streaming down his face, lips trembling. He covered one of his eyes with his hand, which was still coated with Jungkook's blood, and laughed sarcastically. "I... I don't want to hurt anyone anymore but that's out of my control, isn't it? I'm just going to end up... hurting everyone I care about again, right?"

Everyone I care about. Yoongi was absolutely baffled at how Taehyung was revealing his vulnerable side and you looked equally as surprised, both of your hands covering your mouth as you gasped softly. Taehyung was strong, he tries to be, but even the most impenetrable metal can turn brittle over time. He was exposing himself, slowly peaking out of the crack's of his own shell.

And contrary to what everyone thought, Taehyung cared about all of them.

"Taehyung," Yoongi whispered, his grip on your shoulder tightening. "Hey, you won't be hurting us now because we trust you."

"You...," Taehyung looked, his eyes red and swollen. "...trust me?"

"Of course, Taehyung, we all do."

As the air thickened with tension, Taehyung opened his mouth to speak, his mouth curling into a smile. Before he could, however, there was a ball of dark energy in the air, heading towards you and Yoongi.

Taehyung reacted right on time, creating a forcefield above the two of you, making the ball of energy bounce back into the air. His expression shifted drastically when he looked up. "Shay."

"Taehyung," Shay greeted, Yoongi looking up as well to see the familiar woman. As she softly landed on the ground, you laced your fingers with Yoongi's trembling a bit out of anxiousness. The enchantress swung her staff, her bright eyes boring into Taehyung's. "Sorry but I couldn't take any more drama. Let's add a little bit of action, shall we?"