In times like these, Taehyung felt like one of the worst people to exist in the face of the universe. He was sitting inside his treehouse, hugging his knees to his chest and watching the twin suns slowly rise, basking Aarde's forests in a veil of orange and yellow. The night was ending and the morning was starting yet the bearer of darkness spent all those hours without sleep, cursing himself for his actions, for making you hate him because of the unbearable lust for you that burned within him, burned like the constant fiery flames in Yoongi's eyes.

Taehyung's cheeks were stained with his own tears, eyes swollen and red. He doesn't remember the last time he cried this much, the last time he released all the frustrations bottled up inside him. When was the last time he loved so sincerely, that his heart was in danger of exploding? He didn't know but he was sure of one thing — he loved you. He loved the one girl whose heart had already been claimed by another. He loved the one girl he had first planned to use for his gain, the one girl who had suddenly made him care, not just for her but for the rest of the wonders as well.

And to Taehyung, this made absolutely no sense at all. Tugging on his hair in frustration, he wondered how all these emotions came to be. How could he care, despite all the pain and anger he went through for years on end? How could he love, despite his belief that it was dead and would only bring pain, How could he fall for you so easily?

Taehyung wanted to scream to the heavens, he wanted his voice to pierce through the kingdom of Hemel and reach the stars in space. He wanted the universe to know that he was stupid to be in love with you, stupid for trying to take advantage of your vulnerable state, stupid for giving in to his own temptation of your soft, sweet lips on his own — but he couldn't. His throat closed and instead, he collapsed to the ground and released broken sobs.

As Taehyung curled his fingers into the ground, the dirt staining his black nails, he suddenly remembered the last time he cried this much, the last time he felt so much sadness that he felt like a fragile doll, one that would break at the simplest touch.

A few days before Taehyung turned six, he had found out the reason why his mother had been bedridden for months and why their father would forbid him and Shay from ever entering her room without his permission. So when his mother passed away the night after his birthday, there were no surprises.

The celebration of a prince's birthday should have been prioritized in Hel but Taehyung was willing to cancel it for his mother's funeral. Even at such an unripe age, he had felt the cold winds of deaths. His mother was lying in the casket with peaceful smile on her face and the mere fact that she looked happy after leaving behind her family made him clench his fists in anger.

Shay was next to Taehyung, gripping her older brother's arm tightly as she sobbed into her palms. Taehyung was crying too but he didn't utter a sound, instead he let his tears fall freely. Their mother had promised to stay by their side for all of eternity. The promise was broken, along with their hearts.

The funeral was held in the heart of the castle, where all the citizens of Hel were free to mourn the death of their queen. Taehyung, Shay and his father — all in sleek black suits — had special seats next to the coffin and neither of their eyes peeled away from the terrifying symbol of death before them. And at this moment, Taehyung realized that the glint in his father's eyes was no longer the one he was so used to seeing, now it was replaced by something... evil.

Taehyung still remembered every little that day, so vivid that he knew how many drops of sweat the castle guard had on his forehead when he announced to his father that the prince of Hemel was outside. He clearly recalled taking twenty footsteps before bursting into the courtyard, seeing Jungkook clad in all black, wings bent downwards sadly, a bouquet of yellow flowers in his hands, winged bodyguards circling around him. Kiana was behind the angel, covering her mouth with the cuffs of her sleeves, eyes red and puffy.

"We're so sorry for your loss, Taehyung," Kiana sniffled and Taehyung started to tear up once more at the sight of his friends mourning with him. "Your mother was a great woman."

"Mother and Father couldn't make it," Jungkook spoke slowly, eyes glassy. "Taehyung, I'm so sorry—"

Jungkook was cut off by Taehyung, who had engulfed both him and Kiana in a big hug, one so strong and so sudden that the three nearly lost their balance. He sobbed into their shoulders, body trembling as he cried out loud. Whenever his best friends were around, he was never afraid to express how he really felt, whether it was anger or sadness, he knew it was alright.

"I miss her," Taehyung cried as both Kiana and Jungkook started patting his back. "I miss her so much."

"We know, Taehyung. We do, too...," Kiana said sadly whilst wiping her tears anyway.

"Taehyung, we're here for you," Jungkook's little voice beamed and there was no doubt that the angel had matured, despite his young age. "Always—"

"What is going on out here?"

Turning around, Taehyung spotted his father slowly stepping down the palace stairs, Shay trailing behind him while clutching the cloth of his jeans. Jungkook tensed at his appearance whilst every other Helian bowed down to their King.

"F-Father," Taehyung sniffed, grinning brightly at the appearance of his remaining family members. "It's Kiana and Jung—"

Taehyung was stunned when his father grabbed his arm and forcibly pulled him to Shay's side. He watched in utter confusion as the Hemelian soldiers armed themselves, creating a barrier in between him and Jungkook. Kiana was standing in between, torn between whose side she should join.

Jungkook reached out for Kiana, who did the same, then the King of Hel tugged her arm and pushed her aside, causing her to fall to the ground. This time, Taehyung couldn't hold himself back from screaming. "Father, what are you doing to my best friends?!"

"Shut up, Taehyung," The King of Hel hissed, making Taehyung flinch and step backwards, Shay squeezing his arm in response. He tried to peer behind the guards and caught Jungkook's solemn expression, the rest of the Helians murmuring at the scene. "Helians are forbidden from interacting with Hemelians."

"Huh?," Taehyung couldn't stop himself from expressing his thoughts out loud. He wriggled away from Shay and tugged on the sleeve of his father's jacket. "F-Father, what are you saying? Jungkook is my best friend, he's—"

"Do you think that fucking matters to me?," His father's voice made Taehyung whimper, thus making Shay step forward to protect her older brother. The sight of his own children cowering made the King of Hel turn towards Jungkook, poor, innocent little Jungkook who had absolutely no idea of the situation at hand. "Leave before I throw you out of Hel myself."

Both Jungkook and Taehyung didn't listen. The angel tried pushing away the Hemelian soldiers, his wings flapping desperately as he reached out his hand. Despite Shay's cries, Taehyung slipped in between the legs of Hel's castle's guard and reached out for his best friend as well but was grabbed by adults before their fingers could touch.

Jungkook screamed. Taehyung cried. Kiana was on her knees. He just lost his mother, he couldn't lose his best friend.

"Jungkook! Jungkook!"

"Taehyung! Taehyung!"

"Taehyung?"

It took a few moments for Taehyung to realize that Jungkook's voice wasn't from his head but actually came from in front of him. The silence of Aarde's forest returned, along with the sunrise, but this time the view was blocked a big pair of white wings, one that belonged to Jungkook, who was flying just a few inches away from the bearer of the gem of darkness, eyebrows scrunched together and eyes dripping with worry.

Taehyung, triggered by the flashback, was instantly alerted by Jungkook's presence. He raised his hand, purple mist appearing around his fingers and forming a forcefield between him and Jungkook. He scooted backwards, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. "What are you doing here? Read my thoughts? Came to scold me?"

"You know very well that I can't read Helian minds, Taehyung," Jungkook sighed, folding his wings and stepping inside the treehouse since there was just enough space for him. Taehyung continued to scoot backwards. "I was passing by, then I heard faint sobs—"

"Tell me the truth," Taehyung hissed, bearing his fangs because it was obvious in Jungkook's expression that he was lying.

It took a moment for Jungkook to reply. Once he sat down comfortably in front of Taehyung's forcefield, he finally spoke. "Fine. I saw you teleporting away last night and was going to ask where you went but then... I saw you crying on the floor. What happened?"

Taehyung raised an eyebrow at Jungkook's words before scoffing out loud, ignoring the fact that he was sniffling as well. "Why should I tell you?"

Again, there was silence. Jungkook was staring at Taehyung with so much intensity that the latter was stunned to see the burning glare in his eyes, one that he hadn't seen from him in a long time. The angel raised a hand, light shining at his fingertips, and softly placed his palm on the forcefield, right where Taehyung's was on the other side. There was no skin contact, the barrier separating them and sparking due to the clash of light and darkness.

"Because I'm your friend," Jungkook spoke in between short breaths, his face inches away from Taehyung, who really wasn't sure about how he was going to deal with his situation. "...And friends care about each other. Please, please let me in. I only want to help."

Taehyung gritted his teeth in anger, eyes turning into a dark shade of purple. The forcefield started crackling with purple energy, a sign of his boiling agitation. "And what? How are you going to help me, huh? Leave me behind, like you did years ago? Tell me, how?! If you think that being here will make up for your absence in the past, then you're wrong, you're fucking wrong!"

It was obvious in Jungkook's expression that he was pained by Taehyung's words. His calm demeanor faltered and he looked away, clicking his tongue and staring at the ground, nails scratching the forcefield and creating more sparks. "...Taehyung, I know that you confessed to Sky last night."

Taehyung's eyes widened at this, breaking into cold sweat as well. "What?"

"I don't need to read your mind to figure out what you're thinking," Jungkook's voice trembled as he sighed heavily. Taehyung wasn't sure if the sparkles on the angel's cheeks were the reflection of light or the illumination of his tears. "Besides, Yoongi's thoughts gave it all away."

"And? Are you some kind of love doctor, now?," Taehyung rolled his eyes before he released a sarcastic laugh, his head thrown back. Jungkook was just staring at him. "You've only loved one girl in your life and she's dead because of—"

"Me."

Jungkook hung head his low, sniffling as tears dripped down the tip of his nose and onto the floor below. Taehyung stared in silence, his lips trembling at the sight, finding himself tearing up as well but he stopped himself. No, he wasn't going to cry again, he couldn't, not in front of Jungkook.

"I know that it's my fault, that if I just stuck around her a little longer then maybe she'd still be here, maybe she'd still be next to me at this moment. Maybe I'd be waking up each morning hearing her sweet voice whisper to my ear, telling me how much she loved me," Jungkook was sobbing loudly now, his cries heart-wrenching, wings bent downwards at its lowest point. He covered his face with his free hand, the fresh hot tears flowing down his forearm. "If only I had been a bit more responsible, a bit more careful, maybe Kiana would still be alive."

Taehyung didn't really know what to say to Jungkook and ended up staring at his crying figure and trembling wings awkwardly. He was slowly having a mental breakdown as he thought of what he was supposed to do. At the same time, he was afraid of the possibilities. Should he break down the barrier and pat Jungkook's head? No, touching was equivalent to hurting. Should he say reassuring? No, he might raise his voice at him. Would it be much better for both of them if he didn't do anything? The answer to that question was vague, a complicated mixture of yes and no.

However, before Taehyung could decide his next actions, there was a blaring alarm from outside, one that sounded like a trumpet, its note deep and strong. Both gem bearers turned towards the view of the forest at the sudden noise, glancing at each other for a split-second before making a silent agreement.

Taehyung got rid of the forcefield, just as Jungkook dove out of the treehouse, spreading his wings and piercing through the air. He levitated himself to the ground, purple mist surrounding his legs. They were greeted by the sight of Aardeian women running across the fields, all armed with individual weapons. Atop one of the tallest trees was a woman with short purple hair, a horn in her mouth as she continued to sound the alarm.

"What's going on?!," Jin screamed in a panic as he entered the scene, Emily right behind him. "We were woken up by the alarm!"

"We don't know, either," Jungkook said after glancing behind him and at Taehyung, who gave him a small nod. "We just woke up, too."

"Where are the others?," Taehyung asked after pulling his hood over his head to hopefully hide his swollen eyes and red cheeks. Jungkook wasn't even trying to hide his puffy face, which confused the older boy.

"...No idea," Emily shook her head, making her brown hair touch her cheeks, arms crossed and both hands on her elbows. "We didn't come across anyone on the way down from the treehouse."

"Wait," Jungkook raised a finger, his smirk turning sinister all of a sudden. Taehyung noticed that both Jin and Emily were blushing. "Does that mean the two of you were in the same—"

"Guys!"

Everyone turned towards the voice to see someone running through the crowd of Aardeian women and Taehyung wouldn't have seen him if it wasn't for his bright orange hair. It took a while for Jimin to pierce through the crowd of tall warriors and when he did, he nearly slipped, clutching onto his knees as he took a deep breaths.

"Thank God, I found you four," Jimin wheezed before he ran a hand through his hair, face contorted with exhaustion. "The others are in the underground base with Mathilde. I think you guys, especially Taehyung, would want to know why the alarm was sounded."

The rest faced Taehyung, just as he let out a frustrated: "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Jimin replied sarcastically and turned on his heel. "Come on, follow me."

During those ten minutes of walking, Taehyung wondered why Jimin had mentioned him out of all people but he slid down the rope, entering the well-concealed underground base of Aarde's rebel group, he completely understood why. The walls had wooden shelves which contained various weapons — bows, arrows, spears, etc. Sticking out from the crowd of women gathering their gear was a telescope in the back, its body curved downwards as a woman sat on a chair and peaked into it. At the center of the room was a table, decorated with small figurines that he couldn't identify yet due to the distance but what he did recognize were the people surrounding it — Mathilde, once again wearing her long lion skin tunic, and Namjoon in the middle with you and the rest of the wonders circling around them.

"I found them," Jimin announced, making every single person around the table face their group. Taehyung shifted his eyes to the ground to avoid making eye contact with you since he could already feel your intense gaze boring into his skull.

"Good," Namjoon nodded, voice dripping with authority, his role as the leader of their group seeping through him, becoming almost intimidating. He gestured at the five of them to move closer and continued to speak as they shuffled to place. "Lookout caught sight of a Helian army heading our way."

"What?," Jin gasped with wide eyes, mouth slightly open. "How did they even find us?"

Taehyung received a look from Jungkook, both of them knowing exactly why Hel had found them. His presence itself was a tracking device, he was sure because his father would do anything to get his hands on him and the gem, no matter how many people he had to kill or how many oceans he had to cross. For that, he felt guilty.

"We have no idea," Mathilde spoke with her soft voice, brushing her fingers against the paper map and pointing at the forest at the bottom, then switching to a more urbanized area far ahead. She then picked up a wooden figurine of a snake and placed it in the space between the city and the forest. "This is where we are positioned and this is Aarde's city, which has been taken over by Hel. According to lookout, the army is located here as of this moment."

Everyone's eyes widened at the small distance between the rebel group's base and the Helian army. Somehow, Taehyung had expected this so he wasn't surprised.

"That's way too near," Hoseok shook his head, pushing up his glasses before clicking his tongue and crossing his arms over his chest. "How much time do we have?"

Mathilde turned around and asked the lookout (woman with the telescope) about the distance in Vredeain before facing the group once more. "Seven minutes."

"Seven mi— How the hell are we going to prepare for an all out attack from Helians in seven minutes?," Yoongi asked with a raised eyebrow and a doubtful tone, lips curled into a scowl. Taehyung couldn't bring himself to look at him as well, not after what he had almost did to you last night.

"It is possible, fire gem bearer. We only need to formulate a proper strategy," Mathilde glanced at Namjoon, who had a hand cupping his own cheek, chin protruded as he stared at the map with furrowed eyebrows. "Right, Namjoon?"

There was a few moments of silence and Namjoon focusing intensely until he broke out into a huge grin, making Taehyung raise an eyebrow questionably, and pointed at the snake figurine. "Yes it is, Mathilde, and I've got the perfect plan. It's called surround and conquer."

It took a good five minutes of Namjoon the strategy until everyone in the group understood it. Now all nine of them were standing outside the base in a straight line, staring at the forest and waiting for Helian soldiers to come into their view. Taehyung was in the middle with Namjoon because of his role in the plan, so he took this opportunity to glance at everyone else. Emily now had a wooden bow, courtesy of Mathilde, who was with the Aardeian soldiers, and was standing in between Jin, Jimin and Hoseok. The other side had Jungkook, you and Yoongi. All eight of them had very intimidating glints in their eyes.

"Okay, so I guess everyone wants a recap of our plan?," Namjoon asked, everyone replying with light yeahs and small nods. He clasped his hands together, just as Aardeian soldiers started gathering behind the group, concealing themselves within the trees to make it look like the nine of them were alone. "Surround and conquer. The Aardeian rebels will conceal themselves and we'll fool the Helian army into thinking that we came to the fight ourselves, without any help. Since there are nine of us and probably a hundred of them, it will make us look weak in their eyes but we all know for a fact that we can wipe them all out with ease."

Taehyung smirked arrogantly, just as the others did. Two minutes, it's what they had left until the army was going to attack them with full force. Due to that info, he positioned himself into an offensive posture, one foot behind him and both fists clenched, facing sideways and baring his fangs. It was a pose he had gotten used to doing after all those years of training.

"They'll let their guard down, they'll underestimate us and that's the plan. Once they grow arrogant enough to treat us like unworthy opponents, I give Mathilde the signal to send in the Aardeians from all around the forest," Namjoon smirked smugly, tapping his cheek with his index finger. Then, he pointed ahead, far away into the distance, nearly out of Taehyung's line of sight. "Taehyung and I will head to the entrance of the underground tunnels at the other side of this fie—"

Namjoon was cut off by the sound of numerous footsteps marching towards them, the noise getting louder by the second. Taehyung looked ahead and squinted his eyes, seeing silhouettes of men in dark purple armor coming closer, dust rising from the ground beneath their feet. He released a scowl, hissing even, the sight infuriating him. "They're here."

Namjoon made a gesture for everyone to prepare but to Taehyung, they all seemed more than ready for what was coming so when the army finally came into view, everyone sprung into action, literally. Yoongi summoned flames around him, running together with Jin, who surfed with a wave of water, and Emily. Jungkook and Hoseok jumped into the air and flew simultaneously, leaving you, Jimin, Taehyung and Namjoon on the ground.

"Stay close, it's my job to you safe, right?," Taehyung cocked his head at Namjoon, who nodded before digging his fingers into the ground and carrying a boulder with one hand.

Right before running off, Taehyung caught sight of your expression as you stared at him and the fact that he had absolutely no idea about what was running in your head terrified him. He looked away, focusing on the mission at hand. Protect Namjoon and bring him to Aarde's city safely.

Taehyung wasn't at all bothered by how he was battling soldiers from his own kingdom so he didn't hesitate to shoot out purple laser beams from his palms towards them. Next to him, Yoongi was shooting out of pillars of flames but they didn't affect the armor, causing to flinch out of shock that his powers weren't that useful. Before he could help, Jimin came into the scene, shooting out bolts of lightning from his fingertips, causing some soldiers to faint.

"Thanks," Jimin nodded at Yoongi's remark before they continued to fight.

As chaos ensued, Taehyung noticed that the arrogant expressions each soldier had as they fought. He turned towards Namjoon, who was his grinning at him victoriously with a dimpled smile. "It's working."

Emily was sprinting next to the trees, trying to find the highest point she could perch at, it was what Taehyung assumed when he saw her running around aimlessly. After finding the tallest tree, she attempted to climb it but was stopped by Jin, who picked her and used a wave of water to reach the extreme height.

"Erm, thanks, Jin," Emily said bashfully, bending down on one knee and preparing her bow, a quiver of arrows slung across her back. Jin smiled brightly but before he could say anything, a short breath was let out when a harpoon pierced through his stomach, the pointed blades clutching onto his skin.

Jin's name was screamed when the soldier pulled the harpoon, bringing him along with it, the pain evident in his features, and making the wave of water disappear. He started continuously heal the wound to lessen the pain as he was dragged across the ground and Taehyung debated if he should help him or not, especially because a majority of the soldiers were coming after Namjoon. Boulders were already flying around, accompanied with purple mist.

So when Jin formed a water slicer around his fist and cut the rope of the harpoon, Taehyung was glad. The water gem bearer stood up slowly, grunting loudly as he pulled the blade out of his stomach, tossing it away before healing himself. He barely dodged the flying arrow, which grazed his cheek and landed in between the eyes of the Helian soldier who owned the harpoon.

"That's what you get for hurting my boyfriend, you little— little neuken!," Emily fumed from the top of her tree, shooting arrows and perfectly hitting the soldiers she targeted with ease. It was obvious that she was a bit uncomfortable because of using a physical bow instead of her electric one but it didn't affect the fact that she had accurate aiming. Jin was smiling again, especially because of the words boyfriend.

Taehyung turned away from the scene scowling, focusing on the soldiers attacking him and Namjoon. Somehow, the sight angered him — how come other people were allowed to be happy but he wasn't? It infuriated him to the point that he had already made a forcefield around a group of soldiers, suffocating them inside with purple mist, their deaths slow and agonizing. He didn't even know what he was doing.

Namjoon just glanced at Taehyung, sparing no words at the sight. Instead, he cocked his head towards the forest up ahead. "C'mon, Taehyung. We need to get to the underground tunnels as fast as we can."

Before Taehyung could reply, he felt gusts of wind slowly fanning him from above. Looking up, he saw Hoseok levitating a few feet over his head, a distraught expression on his face. Jungkook was in the background, shooting light beams towards the soldiers on the ground, making them tumble like dominoes.

Hoseok's hair was disheveled and he was panting heavily, sweat dotting his forehead and glasses crooked. It was obvious that the fight was stressing him out and Taehyung that this wasn't even close to what Hel really had in store for them. "Hey, Namjoon, when will you tell Mathilde to send out her troops?"

"When I see it as necessary," Namjoon flicked his wrist, opening up a wormhole on the ground, swallowing some of the Helian soldiers, before it closed like nothing ever happened. Taehyung raised his eyebrow, turning away as he zapped soldiers with his purple energy. "Why?"

"I don't know, it's just— wait, hold on," Hoseok did a backflip in the air, dodging the arrows of a Helian soldier, before puffing his cheeks and blowing pillars of air, causing the poor soldier to fly out of everyone's sight. The air gem bearer pat his hands in a rhythm, facing both Namjoon and Taehyung as if nothing had happened. "I have this strange feeling in my gut that this isn't all, that Hel prepared something far worse than this. They know that the seven wonders are in Aarde so why would they send a small number of troops?"

Taehyung knew that Hoseok was right but to be honest, he'd rather not get distracted by those thoughts and wanted to concentrate on the mission at hand. "We shouldn't think about that right now, the priority is to get Namjoon to the city."

"...Taehyung's right, Hoseok," Namjoon nodded and cracked his knuckles, giving Taehyung a smile of thanks. "Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll win—"

Something crackled and pierced through the air, something sharp and bright that was so quick, Taehyung nearly didn't see it. A red laser beam, one very familiar to Namjoon, was burning as it sped through the sky. Jungkook had noticed this from far away and he had just the right amount of time to dodge his wings. Hoseok, however, wasn't so lucky, since beam went right through his left shoulder, nearly severing off his arm.

"Hoseok!," Jungkook screeched, hands over his mouth, obviously about the fact that he dodged the laser beam instead of trying to protect Hoseok. Since he had witnessed its wrath first hand, his first instinct was to run.

Namjoon screamed as the said bearer fell on the ground with a thud, a pool of blood forming underneath him. "Seokjin, get to him!"

As Seokjin snapped out of his trance and came to Hoseok's aid, Taehyung tugged on his hair in frustration, recognizing the weapon immediately. It was so clear, the memory fresh like mint — before he had escaped his father's clutches, he heard of a weapon under development, a laser that could penetrate through anything, something that would eventually become powerful enough to destroy planets. Now that it had been turned into guns, the first step of weaponry, this was bad. It was really bad, especially because he knew that another machine was under construction, something that would greatly contribute to Earth's destruction.

"They sent reinforcements?!," You screamed as you ran into the scene, both katana and shield in hand, flinching when you saw Hoseok's bleeding figure. Thankfully, Jin already started healing him. Yoongi was tailing behind you with fiery orange eyes, making Taehyung look away once again, not having the courage to even look at him anymore. "What the hell are those guns?! It cuts through everything!"

"They're specialized weapons from Hel, something meant to destroy. Those things... they're chaotic," Namjoon spoke up with gritted, eyebrows scrunched together in fury. Taehyung faced him, wondering why he was actually aware of this weapon but he knew it wasn't the right time or place to ask. "Mathilde mentioned a token Helians have that gave them the opportunity to invade Aarde and all the other kingdoms. I— I think this is what she was talking about."

"Are you saying that we're going against, what, thousands of soldiers armed with either arrows or laser guns that can destroy anything that comes in its path?," Yoongi tapped his fingers, trying to count all the information he was inserting in his statement before blowing a raspberry out of frustration. "How are we—"

"Watch out!"

Yoongi was cut off by Jimin, who literally dove in and slammed both yours and the fire gem bearer's bodies to the ground. Taehyung was about to question it then he saw something bright red at the corner of his eyes, a laser beam, coming straight towards the Aardeian women's village.

Somehow, Taehyung's stomach flipped and twisted, his gut telling him that he had to protect what was left of Aarde, the innocence spared in a land of evil. So, despite how idiotic the decision seemed, he stood in front of the laser's path, creating a forcefield wide enough to protect everyone.

"Taehyung, what are you doing?!," Jimin screamed from the ground with eyes widened in disbelief. "The laser beam can go through anything—"

"Except my forcefield," Taehyung shifted his purple eyes towards Jimin, who looked stunned at his words. "I'm not sure but I believe so."

With that, everyone was silenced and Taehyung made sure that the forcefield was wide enough to protect every inch of the forest behind him, resulting in blood running down his nose. Just before he could brace himself, the laser beam clashed with his forcefield. Clashed. He smirked at how he was powerful enough to take on the laser beams but at the same time, he could feel himself weaken slowly, especially because more soldiers noticed this and started shooting towards him as well.

"T-Taehyung," Surprised to hear your voice, Taehyung glanced over your shoulder and saw you standing up, shooting a worried glance towards him. He stared at your face for a good few seconds, wondering what you were thinking, if you were worried about him or if you were just trying to be civil in front of everyone else. "I— Don't overwork yourself, please."

It took a few dry swallowing until Taehyung realized that he had to come up with a reply without making himself look stupid. Instead, he put on a frown, gritting his teeth as his feet dug into the soil. "I'll be fine, Sky."

"No, you won't," Jungkook chimed in as he swooped in from above the forcefield, landing gracefully on his two feet and folding his wings behind him. "You'll faint if you overwork yourself and that means the forcefield disappearing and everyone dying."

"Jungkook's right," Hoseok grunted as he tried to sit up but Jin advised him to take it slow and rest his fatigued body. "We need— we need Mathilde and her army—"

Suddenly, something pierced through the air once more but this time, instead of lasers, they were arrows. They were like wooden rain droplets coloring the sky, all skewering the Helian soldiers. Taehyung felt a large amount of relief wash over him when he felt the laser beams disappear one by one.

"I apologize for our late arrival. Thanks to your acquaintance Emily, we have been informed of the situation at hand," Mathilde said as she walked into the scene, now wearing full leather armor and her tunic falling off her shoulders. Emily was behind her and Jin engulfed her in a hug together with a big kiss the moment he saw her. The rebel leader raised a hand and pointed forward, her other hand holding her big bow. "Namjoon, you must reach the underground tunnels with the help of your winged friend. Taehyung must stay to shield us from the laser beams. Do not worry about the Helian soldiers, they shall be taken care of."

-

To Namjoon, the next events were a blur and when he got back to his senses, he was inside the underground tunnels, holding a single lit torch hanging from the walls. Jungkook had carried him, flying across the air whilst dodging laser beams before literally dropping him inside the entrance. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes of catching himself with a rock structure, he was sure that he would have broken a few (or many) bones.

Namjoon swung the torch around, trying to find scriptures or drawings carved on the walls, something that could entertain him whilst he walked through a seemingly endless dark tunnel but there was nothing. Instead, he resorted to his own thoughts. He wondered what was going on up above or if the rest of his teammates were unharmed. Sure, the Aardeian army was there now and Taehyung was strong enough to hold back some lasers but the fact that he couldn't hear anything made him worry. It was dead silent and to be honest, he'd rather hear screams of pain than nothing. At least, he'd actually be aware of what was going on.

Then Namjoon realized that it was silent on purpose, that the underground tunnel's walls were meant to be soundproof. According to the way Mathilde explained it's use to him, he assumed that the tunnels were a hideout in case of a war breakout, at the same time serving as a secret passage to the city. It meant that the rebel always had a path leading straight to the city but never used it until now — it was obvious with all the cobwebs and the amount of dust fluttering about — but why? Were they not confident? Were they afraid?

Whatever the reason was, Namjoon didn't think too deeply about it, instead he wondered what the city of Aarde would be like, if it was going to be as beautiful and bright as Lucht. He imagined it to be a city similar to his province of Ilsan back in Earth, with tall strong trees that danced with the wind, the merry voices of salesman filling every corner of the streets as children ran and played, dogs barking, birds singing. Then again, Aarde was under Hel, the kingdom of darkness. There was no doubt that his expectations won't be met.

Namjoon's shoes made a soft crunching sound when he stopped walking, tilting his head at the metal ladder before him. Metal. It was the sign, the city was right above his head. All fantasies about Aarde's landscape flew out the window when he realized the cruciality of the situation, that he couldn't afford to waste any time standing around like an idiot.

Having no use for it any longer, Namjoon set the torch on the ground, the flame lightly illuminating his path as he climbed up the ladder. However, he did not expect the ladder to be tall, to the point that he was consumed by darkness as he gradually went higher, turning anxious because his only judgement of whether he was safe or not was the squeaking metal bars under his feet. Thankfully, there was light after a while, seeping through the grids of a circular metal object — some kind of manhole?

Namjoon easily pushed the manhole's cover off, even accidentally breaking it due to his extreme strength, and just as he expected, his expectation of Aarde's main city wasn't met at all. Instead of tall, bright buildings he had imagined, there were solid, barren caves, dark and haunting, holes carved into them to function as windows and doors. Chimneys were atop each cave, pillars of smoke rising from it and fading in the sky. He could see no villagers present, instead there were Helian soldiers stationed everywhere, in front of the houses, wandering the streets — it made it difficult for him to sneak around. The castle was made of polished rock, displayed far away. He had to figure out a way to get there unnoticed.

"But how?," Namjoon whispered under his breath, just as a horse carriage came his way. Sinking back into the manhole to conceal himself, he glanced at it, then at a nearby cave that, for some reason, didn't have any guards stationed around it. With this, he had an idea and started mumbling to himself. "Alright, Namjoon, first things first, you have got to get out of this manhole. Reclaiming Aarde... we'll figure that out later."

Thankfully, the horse carriage passed over the manhole, giving Namjoon the perfect opportunity to latch onto its bottom and travel across the streets of Aarde unseen. Once he was near the unguarded cave, he took the right timing and rolled on the ground, perfectly entering the cave right before the carriage's guard turned to his direction.

Namjoon sighed loudly as he sat up, leaning his head on the rock wall and holding the gem on his neck by instinct. As he thought of a plan, of maybe stealing a guard's uniform so he could enter Aarde's castle with ease, he heard a click right in front of him, followed by something cold being pressed on his temple. Before him were dark brown eyes glowing in the darkness, along with light purple hair and a clenched jaw.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

And to think that everything was going smoothly.

-

A/N - Hey guys! I know that I said I'll be updating every weekend but i'm on a summer break so my sched is messed up :( I'll probably be updating randomly until school starts again :( anyways everyone's questions are amazing lol I'll probs answer them in the next chapter also word building is killing me rip

Up next: child soldier vs Namjoon and a cameo from a GOT7 member hmm