The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was the dark and empty sky of Hel. You blinked and took a moment to remember exactly what happened. Clutching your throbbing head, you slowly stood up and glanced around the area.

You saw thick rows of trees lined up a few feet behind, their leaves swaying even with the absence of wind. When the air continued to whistle a melody that played at the back of your mind, you remembered what happened within the engagement of the forest.

Jimin had succumbed to the trees' music first. And then Namjoon was gone. At that moment, you knew that everyone's hopes of escaping had been crushed. After all, the earth gem bearer was their leader, the foundation that kept them all standing. Seeing him give in was the breaking point — the trees had taken everyone soon-after.

Your hand clutched something soft underneath. For a moment, you were filled with panic due to the thought of another rotting corpse but relaxed when you saw a rolled up jacket instead. It must have been your pillow.

Picking up the jacket, you looked ahead and saw Yoongi crouching in front of a pile of wood. He was releasing pillars of flames from his palms. Holly was next to him and was also helping light the bonfire.

Logs were placed around the fire in a squared formation. Jin was sitting on the log across you and was healing Hoseok, who had painful looking cuts on his arms and cheeks. Sitting next to him was Jimin, who was silently petting Yeontan on his lap.

"Evening, sunshine," You turned around and saw Emily standing behind you with a bunch of twigs in her hands. "Don't worry, we got these from the outermost layer of the trees. No lullabies there."

You stared at Emily for a few seconds before your head throbbed again. "How long was I out?"

"Strangely enough, both you and Taehyung fell unconscious the moment we teleported," Emily shrugged and rolled a shoulder to adjust the position of the quiver strapped to her back. "He woke up right before we left."

Blinking, you glanced behind you once more. About a foot away from the bonfire stood Taehyung. He was standing next to Sangdol and was feeding his horse with more green apples. Where he kept those things was a mystery.

You squinted your eyes when you noticed something else about Taehyung. He wasn't wearing his jacket, instead he wore a plain black top with long sleeves that cut to his wrists.

Looking down at the jacket on your lap, you flipped it over and stared at the embroidery of Hel's logo. You stared back up at Taehyung's broad back and swore that he had been staring at you for a split second before looking away.

Emily stared at Taehyung's jacket in a moment of silence. "Rest up, Sky. Namjoon says we're leaving first thing tomorrow."

You watched as Emily walked passed you and tossed the twigs into Yoongi's bonfire. Soon-after, Namjoon's deep voice rumbled from behind you.

"You okay?," Namjoon was holding small squirrel like and very dead creatures by its tails. There were wooden arrows skewered through their tiny bodies.

"Yeah," You peeled your eyes away from the creatures. "Have a headache but I'm fine."

Another silence fell. You continued to stare at Taehyung's back and watched Sangdol neigh, its snout rubbing into the darkness gem bearer's palm. Namjoon stepped forward from behind, his heavy footsteps crunching against the rough soil.

"You know," Namjoon started and swung the creatures over his shoulder, some of its blood splattered across his hand. "I'm grateful for Taehyung."

You turned towards Namjoon with scrunched eyebrows, expression contorting into a mixture of shock and confusion.

"For the record, I still don't trust him," Namjoon smiled, his deep dimples showing. It was the first time the earth gem bearer actually looked happy since that day. "But... he did try and help me save Jimin, one way or another. We wouldn't have been able to escape the forest without him either so... It doesn't matter if he was doing it for show. I'm still grateful."

You stared at Namjoon for a few solid seconds and wondered what illusion the tree had given him, since it obviously brought him out of his quiet and depressed state. The thought of your own illusion entered your mind and a shiver ran down your spine.

"You should talk to him," Namjoon glanced at Taehyung. You didn't follow his gaze this time. "It will good for you both."

Namjoon stepped over one of the logs and walked over to Emily, who was sharpening some sticks with the pointed edge of her arrow. Yoongi was creating some kind of barbecue rack with more wood. You looked away right before you heard a skewering sound.

You rolled the jacket in your hands and slowly walked towards Taehyung. As you got closer and closer, you felt you throat run dry as you swallowed loudly. You didn't know why you felt so nervous.

Taehyung didn't look at you even when you stood right next to him but you knew that he was aware of your presence. Glancing at the darkness gem bearer through the corner of your eyes, you gathered your thoughts.

"Sangdol," You whispered and felt the heat of Sangdol's flaming mane brush against your face. "What kind of horse is he?"

Taehyung turned towards you, his single dark eye boring right into your soul. He just stared in a moment of silence and you wondered what exactly was going on his head. You put on a stern expression, not wanting the darkness gem bearer think that you were okay with all of this.

"There's a folklore about Hel's horses," Taehyung finally replied. He took out another green apple and fed it to Sangdol. You noticed that sack hanging from one of his belt loops. "It is said that the Flame Horses are ancient creatures that existed in my kingdom during the dawn of time."

My kingdom. You couldn't help but grit your teeth as you recalled the sight of Taehyung being crowned as prince during the ball. At the same time, his expressions during the royal dance were branded into your mind.

You exhaled loudly through your nose at the frustration. Somehow, Taehyung took this as a sign to continue. "Legend says that some of Vlam's flames fell into Hel while Macht was creating Vrede. It formed two kinds of fire; hot red and cool blue."

Taehyung stroked Sangdol's head, a small smile growing on his face. Your eyes widened when he passed a hand through the horse's flaming mane. His lack of reaction made you assume that he wasn't burned by it.

"Born from the twin flames were the two breeds of Flame Horses, one white-skinned with bright red manes and one charcoal-shaded with soft blue manes," Taehyung released a breath and scratched his head. Seeing him in the long-sleeved top, you remembered the jacket in your hands. "Sangdol is the last of his kind. I took it upon myself to take care of him."

You stared at Sangdol, who neighed happily at Taehyung. It made you wonder how the darkness gem bearer was through the horse's eyes. How was he really like? You wondered how this animal understood him. You wondered how he was really like deep down. You wondered if the Taehyung you knew was Taehyung at all.

Shaking the thoughts away, you looked down at the jacket in your hands and inhaled sharply. Ignoring the jitters in your stomach, you clenched the clothing tightly and raised a hand.

"Hey," You called out and Taehyung faced with a blank expression. Slowly, you gestured at the jacket. "Thanks for helping us out and... yeah."

A short silence passed as Taehyung studied your face. You honestly thought that the amount of staring exchanged between you two was strange. He gently took the jacket, his long fingers brushing against your hand.

"After all that's happened," Taehyung swallowed before speaking, his voice becoming a bit deeper. "It's the least I can do."

You watched as Taehyung stretched his arms to put on his jacket, only the sound of him zipping it up filling the silence. Sangdol neighed again, as if it was calling you. Hesitantly, you raised a hand in an attempt to pet the horse. Instead, you paused.

Taehyung suddenly reached out and gripped your hand before you could lower it. Stunned, you turned towards the darkness gem bearer, who had his one eye looking away.

"It'll be fine," Taehyung spat, although you could tell by his expression that he didn't mean to sound so harsh. He then sighed loudly. "Sangdol won't bite."

Taehyung gently pressed your hand on Sangdol's neck. You swallowed a bit as he ran your palm down the horse's smooth skin slowly before he released his grip. It made you realize how huge his hand was compared to yours.

Sangdol was relaxed under your touch. The blue flamed horse sniffed at your direction before releasing a short neigh. It's blue flames burned brighter, the heat licking the tips of your fingers.

"See?," Taehyung mumbled quietly, his gaze now directly at your face. "He likes you."

For some reason, those words seemed odd to you.

You slowly retracted your hand and faced Taehyung with scrunched eyebrows. Honestly, you had no idea what you were feeling at the moment. You knew you were both angry and disappointed at the darkness gem bearer but now that you were in front of him with the chance to give him a piece of your mind... you couldn't.

Jungkook had the guts to actually tell Taehyung his thoughts, both through his words and a fist to the face. You admired him for that since in a way, he had expressed what the whole team felt.

But you wanted Taehyung to know what you personally felt too.

"You know, Taehyung," You hugged your own waist, fingers digging into the cloth of your shirt. "If you had planned on leaving, you could have at least told us."

Taehyung kept staring at you and you wondered if you'd melt if he kept this up. He shoved both of his hands in his pockets. "Would you have let me if I did?"

"That's not the point," You spoke through gritted teeth and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm yourself. One of your hands trembled as it balled into a fist. "Both you and I know that you would have gone through with your plan otherwise. If we knew beforehand..."

You trailed off and remembered the battle in Hemel. The evil glint Taehyung had his eyes was so real, so genuine that it almost looked he was possessed by the devil himself. It made you wonder — was he a good actor or did you get taste of the real him?

"Then we'd be able to help you somehow," You whispered and heard the crackling of the bonfire from behind, wondering if anyone else was listening. "And you wouldn't have needed to go through with it at the expense of everyone's feelings."

Taehyung licked his bottom lip, his eye flicking from your face then to the ground in a pattern. He spoke after a while, his tone stern. "I didn't want anyone— I didn't want you to get hurt."

You sucked in a breath and felt your chest tighten as your breath's pace quickened. Taehyung's words hit you more than expected.

"If you or anyone else in the team knew," Taehyung paused, seemingly to arrange his train of thought. "It would lead to more pain and... I don't want that. I don't want that at all."

Taehyung stepped closer and you instilled inched backwards slightly. He still stood right in front of you and left mere inches between you both. You stared at his leather eyepatch and at the stitches of purple lined in it.

"I already failed Shay," Taehyung's breath staggered as he spoke. You stared at him with a piercing glare. "I didn't want to fail you either."

You felt extremely torn about the current situation you were in. A part of you wanted to believe that Taehyung was being sincere, that he really was willing to risk it all for the team. Another part of you wanted to play safe and didn't want to take yet another risk of having your trust issues being stomped on.

Taehyung tilted his head a bit, as if expecting some sort of elaborate reply. You squinted your eyes at him.

"We were supposed to be a team, Taehyung. You went straight ahead without looking back. You shut us out," You enunciated each word with a clenched jaw, making sure that you gave Taehyung sharp glares. "That still hurt."

Sighing loudly, you ran a hand down your face in frustration and slightly leaned towards Sangdol's body. The horse didn't react to this. Taehyung followed you with his gaze.

"It doesn't matter what your intentions were," You spoke softly, not wanting to raise your voice and spend unneeded energy. "You don't just hurt someone to save them. That's not how it works."

Taehyung opened his mouth to say something but ended up smacking his lips together. You waited for his response and wondered what exactly was going through his mind at this moment. Scanning his face, you noticed the bruise forming on his cheek and the droplets of blood dotting the corner of his mouth.

"There was no other way," Taehyung finally spoke with a tone that sounded final, as if he wasn't going to take anyone's word against his statement.

You clenched your fist once more and felt the anger boil in you. Taehyung glanced down at your hand, his eyes widening. "That's not true and you know it."

Taehyung was rendered speechless, his eyes still glued to your hand. Confused, you looked down and gasped a bit when you saw faint purple mist circling around your wrist. Once it disappeared, you stared up at the darkness gem bearer, who returned an equally blank look in silence.

"Uh, guys?"

You turned towards the voice and saw Hoseok standing there whilst rubbing the arm Jin had healed moments ago. The air gem bearer had his goggles on top of his head, resulting in strands of his brown hair sticking out all over the place.

Hoseok's wide eyed expression made you realize what kind of position he was seeing. You and Taehyung were standing right front of each other with mere inches serving as the space between your bodies. Not to mention that the two of you had been staring right at each other when he appeared.

"Sorry, guess I interrupted something important," Hoseok shrugged and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, a crooked smile spreading across his face. "Dinner is ready by the way."

"Dinner?," You asked in shock and glanced at the sky, gasping when you noticed the absence of light from above. Why didn't you notice that it had actually been evening?

"Apparently we were stuck in the forest the whole day," Hoseok shrugged like it was nothing. Your eyes widened at the precious time that had been wasted in the forest. "Come on, before the food gets cold."

You glanced at Taehyung before tailing behind Hoseok. The bonfire was burning brightly, the flames tall and hot due to the wood being stacked in a triangular shape. Logs were placed around the fire in a square formation to form chairs.

Spotting the empty spot next to Emily, you immediately sat next to her. You smiled as your best friend passed you today's dinner but couldn't but grimace as you stared at the food. The creature Namjoon was carrying had been skewered with a sharpened stick, its now hairless skin cooked and charred.

"Uhm," Hoseok stared at the food, his lips forming an upside down heart. He poked the creature's small foot. "Can someone tell me what kind of animal this is?"

"This creature is similar to what you earthlings know as a meerkat, if I am not mistaken," Jungkook's mouth was full and there was a huge chunk of meat missing from the creature's body. "Try it. Tastes just like chicken."

"I think mine is raw," Jimin commented with a squeak. His skewered meerkat seemed redder than yours.

Yoongi glanced at Jimin, who was next to him, through the corner of his eye as he silently ate. He quietly raised a finger and shot a small pillar of flame at the thunder gem bearer's food.

Jimin yelped a bit due to the shock. Once the fire was out, he smiled at the now charred food in his hands. "Thanks, Yoongi!"

You turned away just as Jimin started to eat happily. Hesitantly, you took a small bite out of the meerkat and chewed slowly. As the taste exploded in your mouth, you hummed and realized why this was a Vredeian delicacy.

An awkward silence rang as everyone started to eat. You scanned the area and observed the rest of the team. Jungkook looked like he was enjoying his meal the most since all six of his wings were folded behind his back, a big bunny smile on his face as he chewed.

The bonfire continued to crackle. You glanced around some more. Although Emily had helped Namjoon catch the meerkats, he looked hesitant about the meal. Her face was contorted into an expression of disgust as he chewed painfully slow. But whenever Jungkook would turn to her to ask about the taste, she'd instantly put on a smile.

You then spotted Taehyung, who was standing next to Sangdol whilst silently eating. A part of you felt bad seeing the darkness gem bearer so isolated but before you could act on impulse, you heard Namjoon's deep voice call out.

"Taehyung," Everyone turned towards Namjoon when he spoke. The earth gem bearer smiled and lightly pat the vacant spot on the log next to him. "You can sit here."

Taehyung stared at Namjoon for a bit as everyone glanced at the darkness gem bearer. Sighing at all the eyes on him, he slowly sat next to the earth gem bearer and continued to eat in silence. Yeontan barked excitedly and jumped off Jimin's lap before running towards him.

You honestly weren't sure what Namjoon was thinking. Was he acting as a leader and still considered Taehyung as part of the team? Or was he acting out of gratitude since he had tried to help free Jimin from the trees? Whatever the case, the action seemingly reduced the already thick tension in the air.

"Okay," Yoongi spoke in between his chewing, some crumbs of the meat falling out of his mouth. He swallowed. "I'm not much of a talker but I feel like my head us going to explode in this silence."

"What exactly do you want to talk about, Yoongi?," Jin asked. He had his legs crossed and was somehow pulling off an elegant posture while eating a charred stick of barbecued meerkat.

"I don't know," Yoongi shrugged. He peeled off the meerkat's leg and bit into it. "My head still hurts from the trees' illusions. It's like I was high for a few minutes."

Hoseok raised an eyebrow. "How do you know what it's like to be hi—"

"Dreams," Jimin said suddenly and Yoongi looked relieved. The thunder gem bearer was sucking on a leg bone like it was a lollipop. "Maybe we should talk about dreams?"

"No offense, Jimin, but I don't think anyone wants to relive whatever the trees made us see, yeah?," Jungkook licked his lips. His stick was empty and a pile of little bones were stacked next to his feet.

"Jungkook, I don't think that's what Jimin meant," You said thoughtfully and thanked Emily when she passed you a napkin. After dabbing your lips clean, you continued. "By dreams... I think he's talking about our ambitions."

"I am, actually," Jimin grinned but his smile soon faded as he put on a thoughtful look. "That is... if you guys don't mind."

You glanced at Namjoon, who seemed to be in deep thought. The earth gem bearer was stroking his protruded chin whilst both of his eyebrows scrunched together. Taehyung was busy eating, although you could see him glance at the team leader from time to time.

"Unfortunately, we've spent the whole day in the forest due to the trees," Namjoon nodded and everyone else groaned in frustration at his words. "But we're all exhausted due to the illusions too. We can't risk anyone falling ill or collapsing out of fatigue."

"I agree with both Namjoon and Jimin," Jin nodded. He had also finished his meal. "We should rest up here. At the same time, we should try to know a bit more about each other, don't you guys think?"

"We should!," Hoseok cheered and pointed his stick at the sky. The literal one. "After all, we are a family."

A family. Your throat ran dry as you glanced at Taehyung, who refused to make contact with anyone. He was quietly feeding Yeontan some of the meerkat's meat. Jungkook also spared a glance at the darkness gem beater but the look in his eyes as one of fury.

"I'll start," Yoongi volunteered suddenly and raised his hand, face void of any sort of expression. Holly was curled over his lap and was fast asleep.

"Uh," Namjoon paused for a bit. "Go ahead."

Yoongi cleared his throat and burned the stick in his hand, leaving a pile of ash that was soon blown away by the wind. He gently pet the still sleeping Holly as everyone stared at him in anticipation. The bonfire crackled loudly.

"I never really considered it as my dream at first," Yoongi scoffed to himself as Holly purred slightly under his touch. "But after I ran away from my house and loitering around the streets... I decided that if oppression was a person, I'd fight it with my bare fists even until my last breath."

A short silence came. Yoongi bit his bottom lip and sucked in a shaky breath. Jimin, who had been chewing noisily, had a piece of meerkat meat hanging in between his lips.

"But after meeting you guys and going through all that crap to reclaim Vlam, I realized one thing," Yoongi smiled and showed off his pearly white teeth and pink gums. "What I really wanted was happiness, not just for me but for everyone else I care about."

Nobody said anything for a moment. You opened your mouth in an attempt to say something but felt that you didn't have the right to say anything about Yoongi's happiness. The bonfire strengthened. You wondered if the fire gem's emotions could unconsciously power flames as well.

"Damn," Hoseok broke the silence. He clicked his tongue and crossed his arms over his chest, a heart-shaped smile spreading across his face. "And I was about to say that I missed doing splits."

Hoseok broke into loud laughter and Jimin followed suit. You couldn't help but laugh as well and soon, everyone else was doing the same. Even Taehyung, who had cupped his hand over his face, was struggling to stifle his laughs.

"On a serious note," Hoseok cleared his throat. A reminiscent smile appeared on his face as he released a loud sigh. "I've been dancing ever since I could walk and my dream... was to use dance to show the world how passionate I could be. You could just imagine how crushed I was when big sis and I got into that accident, right?"

Hoseok sighed again. He looked up at Hel's dark and absent sky. You followed his gaze and stared at the rock ceiling coated with dark mist above.

"But, hey, that doesn't matter now, does it?," Hoseok grinned and wrapped an arm around Namjoon's shoulder. "After all, I've got the best girlfriend and the best friends anyone could ever ask for!"

"You're so cheesy," Yoongi rolled his eyes, although he was smiling as well.

"What?," Hoseok grimaced. "It's true!"

"Hey, Em," Jin gently held Emily's arm and faced her with a smile. The protector hummed as a reply as she stared at the meerkat's skeleton. "What's your dream?"

You stared at Emily and watched her face Jin with a thoughtful expression. Remembering the dream your best friend had told you back in the orphanage, you smiled as her cheeks slowly reddened.

"Uh," Emily laughed awkwardly. Jin raised an eyebrow and was obviously confused by her reaction. "It's a little embarrassing."

"I'm pretty sure it isn't as embarrassing as wanting to travel the word by sailing the seas in a boat made out of stitched together underwear," Jin laughed at his own words and shook his head. He placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Come on, I promise I won't laugh."

Emily swallowed dryly and glanced at you for help. You grinned and gave the protector a thumbs up, which resulted in a hesitant nod from her. She inhaled deeply and held Jin's hand.

In one breath, Emily spoke. "My childhood dream was to be a mother married to a handsome husband and we'd live together in a beautiful mansion and maybe even have our own little dog."

You couldn't help but laugh at Emily's flustered expression. It was funny to think that she had no problem telling you her dream every chance she got but when saying it in front of Jin made her feel the maximum level of embarrassment.

Emily straightened her mouth into a thin line and put on a stern expression despite the redness of her cheeks. "What? Are you going to say anything?"

Jin stared at Emily in silence, his face void of any sort of emotion. Slowly, a warm smile grew on his face as he reached out to ruffle the girl's hair. "You're so cute."

Emily's expression shifted. Now she was wearing a big smile. You didn't know whether to gag or rejoice at the soft aura surrounding the couple next to you. "What about you? What's your dream?"

"My dream?," Jin tapped his chin with the empty barbecue stick and gently wrapped an arm around Emily's shoulder. "I think my dream is pretty simple. I just want to be myself. I don't want to pretend to be someone else for the sake of others and... I'm really glad that I can be me around you guys."

"That's no problem," Namjoon smiled and showed off his dimples. Taehyung was silent next to him with both arms crossed over his chest. "You don't have to worry about it."

"Thanks," Jin nodded then a curious expression crossed his face. "What about you, Namjoon? What's your dream?"

Everyone faced Namjoon with a mixture of anticipation and curiosity on their faces. Contrary to what you expected, the earth gem bearer wasn't in deep thought, instead he was just smiling while gazing into empty space.

"For so long, I didn't really have a dream," Namjoon paused for a bit, the bonfire crackling in the short silence. "I was so caught up in the past that I completely forgot about everything else... including myself."

Namjoon sighed loudly. You glanced at Jimin, who was the only not looking directly at the earth gem bearer. Instead, he stared down at his fingers and fiddled with them.

"But now I've learned to leave that all behind for the better," Namjoon leaned backwards a bit and scraped the soil with the tip of his shoe to form a dome shape. He then glanced at Jimin, who was still looking away. "And now I have a dream — and that's to be able to watch over the people I care about now."

You sighed because Jimin refused to look back at Namjoon, who didn't seem bothered by this at all. Again, you wondered what kind of illusion the earth gem bearer had since it was enough to completely change the way he interacted with the thunder gem bearer.

"Chim," Namjoon cupped his chin with his hand, a fond smile on his face as he continued to stare at Jimin. "You have a dream too, don't you?"

Jimin finally looked back at Namjoon, a crooked smile forming on his face. He swallowed at all the eyes fixated at him before speaking with a shaky breath. "O-Of course I do! I have a dream too."

You glanced at Namjoon, whose stare was definitely making Jimin feel extremely uncomfortable. Hoseok sighed loudly from his place next to the earth gem bearer.

"At first, I thought my dream was to be a worldwide famous celebrity because it was what my parents wanted for me," Jimin sucked in a breath, his eyes fluttering closed. "But then, after all that happened... I realized that it wasn't my dream."

"What is your dream then?," Jungkook asked with sparkling eyes.

Jimin stared at Jungkook, seemingly wondering why the angel wouldn't just read his mind anyway. Still, he looked thankful. "My dream is to be free. I don't want to be trapped under anyone's expectations anymore. I just want... to do what I've always wanted — live."

You smiled at that, especially since Jimin had definitely fulfilled part of the freedom he desired. Then you remembered your dream and the illusion given to you by the trees. Feeling your head throb at the memories, you gently rubbed circles on your temples.

"Jungkookie!," Jimin suddenly exclaimed and Hoseok jumped a bit in his place. The thunder gem bearer enthusiastically pointed at the angel with a grin. "What's your dream."

All six of Jungkook's wings flapped once behind him as he blinked. He slowly crossed his legs and squinted his eyes as he fell into deep thought. After tonguing the inside of his cheek, he started.

"Well—"

The loud ringing of an unknown device cut off Jungkook's words. You looked around to find the source of the sound and instinctively held the handle of your katana. Then your eyes landed on Taehyung, who had a hand shoved in his pants' pocket.

Taehyung pulled out the device from his pocket just as everyone faced him. In the darkness gem bearer's hand was a gadget similar to Jungkook's, its shape round and flat with an lcd screen in the middle.

It took you a moment to realize what Taehyung was holding — it was a cellphone.

"So?," Jungkook scoffed and raised an eyebrow at Taehyung. The phone continued to ring. "Are you going to answer it or not?"

Taehyung stared at Jungkook blankly for a solid five seconds of silence. You wondered if Hel's Crowned Prince was going to answer the call or not. A heavy tension filled the air.

Your question was soon answered when Taehyung swiped a finger on the phone's screen, which stopped the ringing. He then pressed another button before speaking. "Bogum?"

"Bogum?," Both you and Jungkook exclaimed out of shock.

"Bogum?," Jimin asked loudly and blinked innocently, his lips unconsciously forming a pout. "Who's that?"

"Bogum?," Taehyung spoke into the phone once again with furrowed eyebrows. There was a strange static noise coming from the other side of the call. "Are you there?"

"Yes, I am," Bogum's familiar voice came along with more static. You were surprised that it was on loud speaker. "I apologize for the weak signal, Crowned Prince. Have you found the wonders yet?"

Taehyung glanced around at everyone silently. Your eyes widened at Bogum's words and you glanced at Jungkook, who was trying to put on a blank expression despite being stunned as well.

"You're on loud speaker," Taehyung raised the phone so that you and everyone else could see the screen. The name Bogum was flashing in bright and bold letters. "They're listening to you right now."

"Oh, I—," Bogum paused. There was a dead silence from the other end of the line but Taehyung waited patiently. "G-Greetings, wonders, guardian and protecter. I would like to thank you all for, uh, existing? I mean not all the legends of Vrede are true. Like the Fart Boar of Aarde. I mean, what kind of pig kills people with its fart? Thank Macht it isn't re—"

"Bogum!," Taehyung hissed loudly and bared his pointed teeth. Namjoon scrunched his face at the mention of the Fart Boar. "Father's plan?"

"Right, right," Bogum cleared his throat and there was, once again, shuffling from the other line. "Unfortunately, I carry nothing but bad news."

Everyone glanced at each other in both worry and frustration. Taehyung released an exasperated sigh. "And?"

"We speculated that the portal would activate when the moons align, yes Crowned Prince?," Bogum spoke slowly and Taehyung nodded. You raised an eyebrow. Portal? "He ordered double time. The portal will be activated in five days."

"What?!," Taehyung screamed loudly at the phone, his eyes flashing purple. You gasped lightly. "But the portal needs moonshine to activate!"

"What's moonshine?," Jimin whispered, his head slightly titled to the side, orange fringe swaying as he did so.

"I think it's literal moon shine?," Hoseok's statement sounded more like a question because of his tone. He tapped the lens of his goggles once. "Like the actual glow of the moon. Maybe the Helians are using it as some form of energy?"

"That is correct, air gem bearer," Although Bogum wasn't here, you could visualize him nodding to Hoseok's words. "Unfortunately, the engineers have found another source of power that is much more powerful than moonshine."

Taehyung waited for Bogum to speak and growled when he didn't. "Which is?"

There was loud shuffling from Bogum's side of the call, which nearly made you jump out of shock. Even Taehyung flinched a bit. A feeling of dread started to pool at the pits of your stomach.

"I do not have much time, Crowned Prince," Bogum's breath became shaky. The shuffling continued. "You must find a way to destroy the portal before the King activates it. It is located in the laboratory back here in the palace."

"We will come as soon as we can Bogum," Taehyung glanced ahead. You followed his gaze and spotted the communication tower, which was a lot farther than you initially anticipated.

Bogum fell silent, which gave you a bigger feeling of dread. "Be careful in the tower, Crowned Prince. There are many traps surrounding the area."

"I'll remember that," Taehyung nodded. "Thank you, Bogum."

Bogum replied with a small thank you before a beep rang, signaling the end of the call. Taehyung sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket. For a moment, a silence fell among the group.

"Five days," Yoongi grumbled under his breath. Holly was still asleep on his lap. The bonfire strengthened as the fire gem bearer clenched his teeth. "From eleven to five. How reassuring."

"Wait a minute," Hoseok waved both of his hands in the air. "Can anyone explain who this Bogum is?"

"He's a Helian general," Taehyung replied with a flat voice, his arms now crossed over his chest. "And an ally of mine."

"Bogum helped Jungkook and I hide from some Helian soldiers too," You glanced at Jungkook, who nodded at the memory. The angel kept a straight face and refused to look directly at Taehyung. "During... the ball."

At that moment, you realized a lot of things. Bogum had stated that he was helping you and Jungkook because of orders. After hearing the phone call, there was only possibility of who the orders were from.

Which meant one thing — Taehyung told Bogum to assist you and Jungkook. Taehyung helped the team.

You glanced at Taehyung, who wasn't looking right at anyone. Instead, his one dark eye was staring into empty space. You wondered what exactly was going on in the darkness gem bearer's head.

"I know we're all thinking of heading straight to the tower now," Namjoon's deep voice rumbled. "But we need to rest. We leave first thing in the morning."

You weren't sure if Namjoon believed Taehyung or not but everyone knew that it was risk to ignore the five day warning. But, a small part of you was happy — maybe Taehyung was still part of the team after all.

-

"See?," Bogum, no, Animo smiled as the call ended. He tossed the phone across the room, a loud crash echoing inside as it crumbled against the concrete wall. "Easy as pie. Now we can confirm it — the Crowned Prince is headed to the communication tower of District Drie with the wonders."

"Oh, Animo," Belladonna giggled and stroked the Venus Flytrap on her lap, legs crossed as she sat on a chair. "If I didn't care about my plants so much, I would love to have your abilities."

"Please, Belladonna," Medusa flicked her snake tongue and twirled her white hair around her fingers. "We all know that you'd possess Animo just so you could become the tallest and eldest amongst us."

"That is!," Belladonna sucked in a breath and smiled. "Very true."

"Enough chitchat," Shay snapped and bared her teeth. She switched her piercing gaze at Bogum, whose body was still being used by Animo. "Animo, get out. I need to speak to the real Bogum."

Animo sighed and glanced at Massimo, who was standing next to his real body slumped on the chair next to Belladonna. Sighing, he clasped his hands together and was engulfed by dark mist.

Bogum gasped in a breath just as Animo entered his own body. The Helian soldier crumpled to the ground and wheezed for air. "Crowned Princess— this isn't—"

"Silence!," Shay hissed and stomped towards Bogum. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up before growling at his face. "You have no right to speak. After all, you are an ally of my brother, yes?"

"The Crowned Prince," Bogum was struggling to breath. Despite that, he still managed to speak with a stern tone. "He is only doing what is right."

"What's right?," Shay's eye twitched.

The princess released a dry and sarcastic laugh before she slammed Bogum's body against the floor, her hand still gripping his collar. Some of the guards flinched but none of the Great Six members reacted at all.

Only Massimo released a heavy sigh and narrowed his eyes at Shay and Bogum. "Princess, you must calm down."

"Was it right for Taehyung to return just so he could stab us all in the back?!," Shay's eyes turned glassy as he continued to scream at Bogum. Her eyes turned bright purple as Massimo sighed for being ignored. "Was it right for him to leave me again without a word?!"

"Without a word?," Bogum asked out of shock. Animo let out a small smile. "Princess, the Crowned Prince left a lett—"

"Liar!," Shay screamed and hit Bogum across the face with the edge of her staff. "You disgust me."

Shay paused when something dripped on Bogum's clothes. Realizing that a single hot tear had streamed down her face, the princess growled and stood up before harshly wiping the tears away with her palm.

As Shay turned around and walked towards the door with clenched teeth, she heard one of the Helian soldiers speak. "Crowned Princess, what shall we do with him?"

"Whatever you please," Shay replied as she exited the room, leaving the members of the Great Six and some Helian soldiers behind.

"So," Massimo crossed his arms and smirked as he faced a stoic-faced Animo. "What's my reward for being right, old man?"

"You know," Medusa tapped her lips with the pointed edge of her nail in a rhythm. "Even though the Crowned Prince was faking it... I still think he's pretty hot."

"Massimo, you get bragging rights," Animo stepped passed Medusa, who was still daydreaming. He stared at Bogum, both of his arms held tightly by soldiers. "What a shame, Bogum. The King would be disappointed to find out that one of his best generals was working against him."

Bogum didn't say anything. Instead, he shifted his piercing gaze towards Animo and clenched his teeth.

Animo sighed. Then, he grabbed Bogum's neck tightly with both of his hands. The general immediately started clawing at his large hands. "Bogum, by choosing to side with Crowned Prince Taehyung, you have committed treason against the King and the kingdom of Hel. I'm sure you know what the consequence of your action is. Any last words?"

Despite being almost out of breath literally and now having a pale face, Bogum smirked. "I have no regrets."

Animo finished it off in one swift movement. A sickening crack echoed in the room as Bogum's limp body fell to the ground. Everyone stared at the general's body in silence.

"Take his body away and gather an army," Animo's still stoic voice broke the silence. He cracked his knuckles. "Massimo, go get Shay. We're heading to District Drie."

-

A/N — plot twist!! did anyone see that coming lol

ANYWAYS that was 6.8k unedited words!! looks like there's gon be a wonders team vs great six battle soon uwu

thanks so much for being patient with me!! please anticipate the next chapter, along with the rest of this arc!!! watch out for more revelations regarding sky's past + tae's true power!!!! i'm so excited tf

see y'alls in chap 79!!!