"You guys familiar with air pressure?"

Hoseok grinned as the gears of his mind ran, flashbacks of his days in the school's top science class flashing in his head. Jin and Emily gave him a skeptical look, bafflement evident in their squinted eyes and crooked smiles.

"I will be quite honest with you Hoseok... I do not remember anything from my science classes," Jin awkwardly rubbed his nape. Hearing his formal tone, Hoseok remembered that the water gem bearer was the son of a senator. "So air pressure... what did you mean by that?"

"Air is composed of many different gasses, Seokjin. We have nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and much more," Hoseok tapped his glasses and raised a finger. Jin blinked at the mention of his full name. "But when the force of gravity acts on the weight of the wind, it produces air pressure!"

Emily opened her mouth to say something but ended up clapping her lips shut instead. After a moment of thinking, she spoke. "And what exactly is your plan?"

Hoseok turned towards Massimo, who was scraping his metal claws against the ground. Staring at the Helian's metal body, the air gem bearer smirked. "Once there's enough air pressure, even metal can be crushed. However, this will be easier if we put Massimo in an enclosed space."

"I think I can help with that," Jin suggested, a big grin now on his face. Hoseok noticed how round his cheeks were. "Will trapping him in ice be enough?"

Hoseok nodded. "More than enough. Just make it tight to prevent Massimo from moving but leave space for me to whip up some air inside."

Jin nodded, his blonde fringe falling over his eyes as he did so. He then smirked and formed an ice blade around his wrist. "You sure that will be enough to force Massimo to his wooden form?"

"I'm positive," Hoseok winked playfully from behind his goggles and cracked his knuckles. "Upon observation, I've concluded that he switches between those two forms often. He'll probably morph to wood out of instinct... if he doesn't want his bones shattered, at least."

Hands on his knees, Hoseok grunted as he stood up. Massimo was just staring at the trio, as if waiting for them to finish their conversation. He was awfully polite for someone who belonged to a villainous group. The air gem bearer could literally see the confidence oozing from the Helian too.

"Besides, if there's one thing in the universe that's constant, it's science," Hoseok turned towards Emily, who was already standing up. She gripped her bow tightly. "Oh and Emily? Aim for the heart."

Emily nodded and the trio instantly scattered. Hoseok jumped high in the sky as air exploded from the area he once stood. From his view above, he saw Jin surf away with a wave of water, both wrists coated with ice blades. The protector ran out of view, hands occupied by her bow and arrows.

"You guys took a while to try and figure out how to beat me," Massimo chuckled and released a hearty laugh. He wriggled his fingers, the metal blades of his nails scraping against each other. "Sorry to burst your bubble but you're just wasting your time!"

Hoseok rolled his eyes at the overconfidence that was basically dripping from Massimo. Cupping his hands next to his mouth, he screamed from high up. "That confidence is going to get you killed one day!"

Massimo looked up and raised an eyebrow at Hoseok, who could see Jin surf behind the Helian. The water gem bearer cracked his knuckles. "Not if I kill you first."

Hoseok flipped in the air as Massimo jumped and elongated a metal spike towards him. His eyes glowed a powerful green as he breathed in deeply. He huffed and he puffed but will the house of metal go down?

A powerful pillar of wind pierced across the sky as Hoseok continued to breathe out. Massimo tumbled and crashed to the ground. The Helian was nearly thrown across the area but he stabbed his metal spike into the ground to keep himself steady.

Hoseok knew that he was going to run out of breath in a matter of seconds. Massimo was still struggling to keep upright below. Emily then ran into the scene and somehow was able to keep herself steady in the midst of the powerful gusts of wind.

Emily attempted to stab Massimo with her knife but was stunned when the Helian grabbed her wrist instead. Using his free hand, he tossed the protector upwards, which resulted in her being thrown across the field instead.

Hoseok stopped and took in a proper breath. He immediately chased after Emily and looked down at an extremely worried Jin. "I'll go get her! Take care of Massimo!"

Despite his uneasiness, Jin nodded and surfed towards Massimo with his ice blades. Hoseok shot out air from behind him to increase his speed. He caught Emily just before she could crash, his feet scraping against the soil as he skid into a stop.

"Thanks, Hoseok," Emily breathed as she was set down to the ground. She picked up some of her arrows that fallen to the ground and glanced at Jin, who was still brawling with Massimo. "Give me a boost."

Hoseok blinked at the billions of scenarios that entered his mind. "What?"

"Throw me towards them," Emily pointed ahead and tightly gripped the knife in her hands. Following her glance, Hoseok spotted Jin, whose ice was literally shattering under Massimo's metal claws. "I'll do a flip over you. Use wind to push me to there."

Hoseok glanced back and forth between Emily and Jin. The air gem bearer scrunched his nose as he mentally computed the distance and velocity output in his mind. Eyes widening, he realized that the situation was dangerous... but possible.

"You sure about this?," Hoseok stepped backwards and cracked his knuckles. Wind started to circle around his feet.

"Yeah," Emily turned, her back facing Hoseok. She gritted her teeth at the sight of Jin and Massimo in battle. "It'll be just like a walk in the park."

As Emily prepared to flip, the lens of Hoseok's goggles zoomed into the fight. Jin was wounded, crumpled on the ground with puddles of water surrounding him. Massimo was looming overhead, one of his metal spikes dangerously close to the water gem bearer's face.

Hoseok gulped and strengthened the wind around him before nodding. Emily did a backflip then her feet landed in the air gem bearer's hands. Eyes glowing a powerful green, he screamed before tossing the protector upwards. Accompanied by the strong gust, she flew towards Jin and Massimo.

Just before Jin could be stabbed in the face by Massimo's metal spike, the Helian was tackled to the ground. Seeing the long brown hair, the water gem bearer's jaw dropped.

Emily pushed Massimo down and rolled on the ground until she landed on her feet. Jin was scrambling to his feet. Taking an arrow from her quiver, she swiftly shot it towards him.

Massimo merely caught the arrow in his hands. He was about to smirk at Emily but bafflement confused him when the protector gave her the smug expression instead.

The arrow beeped for a split second before it exploded right next to Massimo's face, which caused his ears to ring for a moment. Jin did a flying kick and hit Massimo in the chest before he could stand.

"Emily!," Jin's eyes glowed a bright blue as he raised a hand. Following his gaze, Emily saw water morphing upwards into the shape of a spear next to her before freezing into ice.

Breaking the ice spear off the ground, Emily ran towards Massimo. She pinned his neck with the spear's body, only to have it shattered by a tight metal grip. Before the Helian could stab her with the weapon, it dissolved into water in his hands. He stared at it for a moment.

Emily took that moment of distraction to her advantage and punched Massimo on the face. She soon regretted it because her knuckles were red and throbbing. Before the Helian could retaliate, Jin kicked the back of his leg, which caused him to kneel down.

Jin and Emily took turns in dodging metal spikes and punching Massimo, the poor man bleeding through his mouth. Then the water gem bearer summoned a wave under the metal man.

"Hoseok!"

A pillar of water rose from the ground, the force pushing Massimo upwards. Hoseok, who had been watching nearby, grabbed the Helian by the collar. Below, Jin was starting to form what seemed to be an ice age.

"Hey there!," Hoseok gave Massimo and innocent heart-shaped smile. Then, he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Was nice meeting you!"

With the power of wind accompanying him, Hoseok threw Massimo downwards. The Helian landed on a cold surface, which made him look around in confusion. His eyes widened when he realized that he was standing on a thick slab of ice. Water was freezing around him as well.

Jin came into Massimo's view with a big smile on his face. The water gem bearer calmly waved a hand as the Helian was trapped in the ice. "Like what I made for you? Consider it an early funeral present."

Massimo's reply was muffled from within the ice. He punched the surface with his metal hands but the ice was so thick that it wasn't cracking at all.

"Ice coffin, huh?," Emily stared at Massimo, who was screaming inside the vertically positioned ice coffin. She turned towards Jin with a smirk. "Didn't know you were an artist."

Jin just shrugged, his eyes turning back to their regular color. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and smiled. From Hoseok's view above, he looked like a ball of cheese. "I have my moments."

Hoseok hovered over the ice coffin for a bit and was amazed at how intricately it had been designed. His feet made a thud as he softly landed on the ground. He could feel the radiating cold from the ice.

"This is truly amazing," Hoseok's eyes glimmered as he knocked on the thick ice and completely ignored Massimo's angry expression inside. "Changing the temperature of water to instantly freeze it, no matter the air's current humidity... How do you do it, Seokjin?"

Jin blinked at the mention of his full name. He shrugged again, nose scrunching to form a flabbergasted expression. "Honestly? No clue. I just do it."

If Hoseok was back on Earth and was asking the same thing to some junior engineer, he would have been snarky with his reply because science always had an explanation— but now it was different. Especially because he knew exactly what Jin meant.

After being thrown into a world of magic and aliens, Hoseok figured that maybe there were some things that couldn't be explained— like him having the ability to control air and fly, the existence of evil crafted into a whole kingdom like Hel and why Namjoon and Jimin couldn't just confess their undying love to one another.

Wait. Hoseok felt strange about his choice of words. Undying love? For some reason, the air gem bearer felt sorrow, despair even. It was almost like he could hear someone's loud sobs in his mind. Before he could think more of it, there was a thump from ahead.

Massimo was still punching the ice in a fruitless attempt to escape. Hoseok could the Helian's lips tremble, breaths fogging inside as he continued to scream. For a while, he felt a little bad for him.

"Hoseok," Emily spoke with a stern expression. She had a hand on her hips, the other still tightly clutching her bow. "Air pressure."

"...Right," Hoseok released an awkward and rubbed his hands together. Eyes glowing green, he pressed his palms on the cold ice. "Hey, Massimo?"

Massimo looked directly at Hoseok, as if he could actually hear him. The air gem bearer was unsure if he really could. Still, he put on a playful smirk.

"Ready for a science lesson?"

Hoseok couldn't help but scream in joy — Hell yeah! — as wind started to circle the area. He increased the pressure of air inside the ice coffin by strengthening the flow of air. Honestly, he felt like he was pushing the ice but he could see the cold air brewing around Massimo.

A few seconds passed and Massimo suddenly screamed in pain. Hoseok raised an eyebrow and tapped the side of his goggles, the lens zooming in with a short whir. He could see the Helian's arm start to distort, the metal caving in with a sickening pop. Strangely, he saw no blood.

"Any moment now," Hoseok whispered to himself. He intensified the air even more and watched as Massimo's shoulders started to crack.

Massimo seemed like he was aware of the plan because despite all the pain he was obviously going through, he resisted. Hoseok wondered if he really did know since his metal body was so close to shattering in the ice.

Just before Hoseok could literally knock on the ice and tell Massimo that he was going to die if this kept up, he noticed a change. The Helian's metal body was quickly morphing to wood, the brown color spreading throughout his body.

"It's working!," Hoseok screamed towards the two behind him. Noticing a pattern in the shift, the air gem bearer immediately calculated the timing in his head. "Jin, dissolve the ice on my mark!"

"Huh?," Jin blinked and squinted his eyes at Massimo's figure within the ice coffin. "If he comes out while still in metal form—"

"Trust me!," Hoseok's sharp tone shocked Jin, so much so that his already doe eyes widened. Gulping, the water gem bearer nodded. "On three! One—"

Jin raised both of his hands as his eyes glowed blue. Emily had her bow and arrow ready. Hoseok stared intently at Massimo's figure, whose arms, legs and shoulders were now wood— Chest last. Smart.

"Two!"

Hoseok noticed that Massimo was giving him a burning glare, the confidence he had not so long ago now wavering. The air gem bearer had the strongest urge to shout I told you so! at the Helian but he knew that there were more important things to focus on. Besides, he didn't want to put his precious voice to waste.

When only a small portion of Massimo's chest was left as metal, Hoseok screamed with bared teeth. "Three!"

Hoseok jumped in the air, just as Jin made the ice coffin dissolve into water. Massimp was stunned at how he was suddenly drenched and was standing in the middle of a large puddle.

"Emily, now!"

"Got it!," Emily held the arrow in between her fingers and pulled back the string of her bow. With one eye closed, she inhaled deeply before letting go.

Hoseok watched as the arrow zipped under his feet. Thanks to the zoom-in of his lens, he saw that the arrowhead was shimmering... almost as if it was coated in sharp ice. Smirking, the air gem bearer released a gust of wind that sped up the arrow.

Massimo's wooden skin was soggy due to all the water that had doused him. Impressively spotting the arrow, he swiped his hand in an attempt to catch it. His eyes widened when the icy arrow simply passed through his palm— and his chest.

This time, Hoseok saw the blood drip down Massimo's mouth. It was a strange color, something that seemed like a mixture of fresh blood and tree sap. The air gem bearer watched as the Helian's eyes glazed over, the life draining right out of him.

Hoseok, despite knowing that Massimo was one of the villainous forces they had to get rid off, actually felt bad. He knew that most of the Helians they had gone against were either forced or were just unlucky enough to be their opponents.

Maybe Massimo was the same. Despite having stellar instincts, Hoseok was a blank slate when it came to him and he wondered why. Still, the air gem bearer prayed for the Helian's soul as his lifeless body fell to the ground.

Hoseok looked behind him and saw both Emily and Jin staring at Massimo's corpse as well. He could tell that they felt the same, it was all in their eyes— doubt, guilt... sorrow. He knew that if there was an option not to kill, they'd take it.

"We have to find the others," Emily broke the silence, her voice stern and expression hard as stone. Jin nodded meekly. "Jimin and Namjoon are just around here."

Hoseok remembered that Emily had been trained to protect and kill at a young age. Although it was obvious that she still had her own set of morals, case in point her initial refusal to attack Belladonna, he wondered what it was like to—

A sudden jolt struck Hoseok's chest, as if someone had stabbed in right in the heart. Falling to his knees, he felt extreme sorrow rush through his veins and felt his eyes glass over with tears. His fingers dug into the soil as one name looped in his mind like a broken record— Jungkook.

"Hoseok?," Jin's voice trembled a bit as he kneeled down to Hoseok's level and squeezed his shoulder softly. Emily looked concerned. "Hey... Are you okay?"

No matter how much Hoseok wanted to say he was fine to avoid worrying his friends, he couldn't hide the intense emotions his instincts were making him feel. The air gem bearer slowly shook his head, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes in any second.

"Jungkook," Hoseok breathed. Just saying the angel's name made him feel sick in the stomach. "He's dying."

Both Jin and Emily's expressions shifted from ones of confusion to uttermost shock and dread. Hoseok could actually feel something else— not just Jungkook's desperation to live but another soul mourning.

"He's— what?," Emily's eyes were wide, a hand hovering over her mouth. "Hoseok, please tell me you're joking."

Hoseok figured that his horrified expression had answered that question since Emily ended up running a hand through her hair in frustration. He turned towards Jin, who was just staring at the ground blankly, obviously trying to comprehend how their angel friend was suddenly hanging by the thread.

"Jin," Hoseok's soft tone made Jin flick his sorrowful eyes towards him. "Jungkook isn't dead yet. You can still save him."

Jin's eyes lit up for a moment, a glimmer of hope appearing in that seemingly hopeless situation. He stood up and helped Hoseok to his feet. "Where is he?"

Hoseok glanced at the tower and craned his neck upwards. The building's upper half was still covered by the thick mist in the air but he knew exactly where to look at. Both Jin and Emily followed his gaze. Raising a hand, he pointed high up.

"Top floor," Hoseok used a stern tone because he was a thousand percent sure of his deduction. He then turned towards Jin, who was squinting his eyes. "Jin, are you afraid of heights?"

Jin looked at Hoseok with a baffled expression. It took him a few seconds of thinking before he could reply. "No? Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to have to fly you to the top," Hoseok levitated and quickly flew until he was behind Jin, who looked a bit pale. He glanced at Emily. "Em, you alright down here?"

Emily nodded and masked her worried expression with a serious one. "I'll be fine. Go and save Jungkook."

Hoseok nodded and hooked his arms under Jin's armpits after nodded exchanged a few words of being careful. With the feelings of dread and sorrow still lingering in his mind, the air gem bearer jumped high in the sky. The two disappeared within the mist.

-

There were a lot of things Jimin felt at the moment— fear, sorrow, anger. For one, he wanted to just lie on the floor and cry next to Namjoon for the rest of his life but knew that the earth gem bearer himself wouldn't want that.

Jimin honestly wished that he wasn't such an idiot. He wished that he had realized how in love he was with Namjoon sooner, then he would have done what he always wanted to do— shower him cuddles, kisses and love.

But now Jimin couldn't. That alone made him want to jump off a cliff and destroy everything in his path at the same time. However, one emotion overpowered the other.

Jimin felt the lust of vangeance flowing through his veins, the only emotion that overcame the rest. His eyes were glowing a powerful yellow, electricity crackling around his body as he ran. The lightning bolts were hot against his palms. Due to all the anger and grief, his thunder gem was tinted in a dark purple color.

Vision like a hawk's, Jimin could see nothing but two figures before him. It was as if the background was just a dark backdrop that led to the closer one of the two, a girl with bright pink hair. Belladonna.

Jimin honestly didn't care who he'd come after first. A big and toothy grin spread across the thunder gem bearer's face as he ran, his super speed causing him to merely become a blur in the Helians' eyes.

"Belladonna, get out of the way!," Medusa screamed from somewhere— Jimin didn't really care enough to look.

"Nonsense, Medusa," Belladonna raised her little fists next to her head. Despite the brave look she was putting on, Jimin could still see the fear in her eyes. "I'm fighting him head on!"

Jimin smirked, the tips of his pointed fangs poking his bottom lip. Thunder rumbled from above as he tossed both of his lightning bolts towards Belladonna. Eyes widened and confident expression instantly disappearing, the Helian immediately grew vines from the ground around her until they formed a dome.

The lightning bolts stabbed into the thick vines and failed to pierce through, instead they dissolved into crackling electricity. Medusa sighed loudly from the side, her short white hair disheveled.

Jimin's eyes twitched at the sight. Growling, he jumped into the air and landed on Belladonna's dome. The thunder gem bearer elongated his claws and tore the vines, all while smirking with wide and crazy eyes.

Shredded vines fell to the ground as Jimin tore through the dome in a frenzy. High on the idea of vengeance , he practically started tearing the vines with his teeth. Then he noticed something and tilted his head in confusion— Belladonna wasn't inside.

Before Jimin could fully process the situation, he felt a vine coil around his neck. Belladonna laughed from behind him. "You are way too predictable, Park Jimin!"

Belladonna pulled the vines coiled around her arms, which caused Jimin to fall the ground. He slid on the soil for a few seconds before summoning a lightning bolt in his hand and stabbed it to the ground, halting him.

Jimin coughed a bit because Belladonna continued to pull the vines. His eyes snapped open when he recalled the memory of Namjoon begging to be killed whilst choking him.

Kill me. Please. Before I kill you!

Jimin's anger had been refueled, the electricity around him crackling even more. Reaching for the vines around his neck, the thunder gem bearer tore them off with his claws. He then turned around, his gaze landing on a stunned Belladonna, before a mischievous smirk spread across his face.

Heaving, Jimin used all his strength to pull at the vines. Despite the Helian's efforts to stay on the ground, she was still thrown across the field. The little grunted in pain as she fell to the ground with a thud.

Belladonna groaned and tried to stand but winced when one of her legs started to throb. Glancing behind, the Helian was horrified to see her ankle swelling along with bleeding cuts that covered her foot.

Thunder rumbled high up in the sky once again. A bolt of lightning struck the ground right before Belladonna, which caused her to yelp loudly. In that moment of sudden brightness, Jimin suddenly came to view. He was running towards her with elongated claws and a sick grin.

Belladonna released a scream of frustration and grew poison daggers in between her fingers before throwing them. They merely burned to ashes after being struck by Jimin's electricity.

For the first time, Belladonna was taken over by fear. Eyes wide in horror, she desperately tried to crawl away, even using vines to pull her away faster. The Helian whimpered at the sight of Jimin smiling at her maliciously.

Belladonna knew that she couldn't beat Jimin's super speed. The poor little girl cried and faced the ground, both her hands covering her ears. She could hear the electricity crackling closely behind her.

But nothing came. Belladonna turned around slowly, the dread building up in her gut. Once she finally mustered up the courage to look, she was horrified.

Medusa was standing before Belladonna, Jimin's lightning bolt sticking out of her abdomen. Despite the blood dripping down the snake enchantress' chin, she chuckled.

"Didn't see that coming... did you, Bell?"

Belladonna's lips trembled as Medusa wobbled before she fell to her side, a pool of blood forming under her. Jimin blinked at the sight, pausing once he noticed tears flowing down the young Helian's face.

Jimin felt like he was looking at a mirror. As Belladonna cried loudly over Medusa's body, he realized that he was staring at a reflection of the sorrow and pain he felt with Namjoon. Truthfully, a part of him felt bad for her but deep down— he wanted to smile.

"First you took Illusia... now Medusa," Belladonna spoke slowly, each word enunciated in a stern tone. She turned towards Jimin with burning eyes and a tear-stained face. "Who else are you going to take away from me?!"

Belladonna grew poison daggers in between her fingers and charged at Jimin with a battle cry. Electricity crackled around the thunder gem bearer as he ran to dodge it. He heard the Helian crash to the ground with a thud.

Jimin slid across the floor to a stop, confused at how Belladonna wasn't attacking him. His yellow eyes turned back to their original color. Turning around, he spotted the Helian child on the ground and his eyes widened.

Due to Jimin dodging, Belladonna had fallen on top of her poison daggers and had stabbed herself by accident. The poor little girl was twitching on the ground with foam bubbling at the corners of her mouth.

Jimin stayed frozen for a bit before he slowly walked towards Belladonna and kneeled next to her. A sickly purple color was spreading through her veins, skin turning a deathly grey. Her eyes were turning glassy, life draining from her with each second that passed.

Somehow, Belladonna was able to break out a small smile. She slowly reached out a hand and grabbed Jimin's sleeve. "You—"

Belladonna took her last breath before she could finish her sentence, her hand slipping off to the ground. Jimin stared blankly, the realization that he was staring at yet another dead Helian child hitting him like a brick in the face.

Jimin knew that Belladonna was one of the victims of Hel's war. Whether she really wanted to be part of the Great Six or not, the thunder gem bearer was sure that one of the reasons she did so was to survive. He slowly brushed her eyelids closed and prayed silently to himself.

Then Jimin realized how fruitless his feat was. Sure, Belladonna and Medusa were gone but not even that could change the fact that Namjoon was too. Sniffling, the thunder gem bearer's fingers dug into his the cloths as he cried. It doesn't change anything at all.

Jimin halted his sobs when he heard a groan from behind him. Thinking it was a possibly still alive Medusa, he turned around with bared teeth. Instead, he was met with another sight.

"God—," Namjoon was sitting up, both hands rubbing his temples as he groaned. His purple hair was disheveled, skin back to its normal hue. "My head hurts. What—"

For a while, Jimin's mind buffered like a hanging computer. Was he really staring at a living Namjoon or had he finally lost his mind? He watched as the earth gem bearer looked around, obvious confusion written all over his face.

"What the hell happened?," Namjoon whispered to himself and paused when his eyes landed on Jimin's crying figure. He squinted his eyes in worry. "Chim? Are you okay?"

Jimin couldn't help but choke on his tears when he realized that he really was staring at Namjoon, who kept giving him that worrisome expression. Overcome with emotion, he ran towards the earth gem bearer and tackled him in a hug.

"Joonie," Jimin sobbed loudly into Namjoon's shoulder and tightened the hug. "I thought you were dead."

A few moment of silence passed by before Namjoon returned the hug. He stroked Jimin's orange hair gently and released a sigh of relief. "I thought so too."

Jimin would have stayed in that hug for hours on end if Namjoon hadn't pulled away. For a while, he just stared at the earth gem bearer, who smiled a bit and showed off his dimples. He felt his heart swell— Thank God he was okay.

Then Jimin's eyes flicked down to Namjoon's lips. He wondered if they were always that thick and plump.

"Hey, uh," Namjoon looked around once again, his hands tightly gripping Jimin's shoulders. He glanced at the corpses of Belladonna and Medusa. "I don't remember much of what happened but—"

Jimin cut off Namjoon by leaning in and planting a soft and gentle kiss on his thick lips. It felt like lightning was surging through his whole body but different— this one was sweeter, chilling even. It made him realize how much he had longed for this very moment.

After Jimin pulled away and noticed Namjoon's stunned expression, his cheeks flushed red. He awkwardly rubbed his nape and stuttered. "S-Sorry, I've kinda... always wanted to do that."

Namjoon didn't reply, instead he continued to stare at Jimin with wide eyes and equally red cheeks. Before the thunder gem bearer could say anything else, however, he was pulled into a deeper kiss.

Jimin felt like he was laying on the clouds in heaven. His fingers were curled in Namjoon's purple hair as their lips moved in sync. The earth gem bearer's large hands were on his waist, the touch sending chills up his spine. He wondered why he had held back for so long— he could have had this and so much more if he didn't.

And Jimin also realized that he almost lost the chance to ever have Namjoon hold him like this.

Namjoon pulled away from the kiss first, his thick lips swollen and brown eyes twinkling. He gently caressed Jimin's cheek with his thumb. "Hey, Chim?"

"Yeah?," Jimin replied softly and was a little out of breath.

"I love you."

Jimin's eyes widened and he gasped softly under his breath. Hearing those three words made him feel like the happiest man in the world and almost gave him the urge to scream his love for Namjoon to the universe. Instead, he smiled widely and shed a few tears.

Namjoon looked concerned. He cupped Jimin's cheek with his hand and whispered softly. "Jimin, it's okay."

"No it isn't, Namjoon," Jimin shook his head, the tears still flowing down his cheeks. "I just— I love you so much and I almost lost you—"

"Hey," Namjoon's tone made Jimin face him. He was smiling, the dimples of his cheeks prominent. "I'm alright now. Look, there's no trace of Medusa's venom left on—"

Jimin raised an eyebrow when Namjoon paused after looking down. Following his gaze, his eyes widened when he noticed that the earth gem bearer's other hand was still a sickly purple hue, the color crawling up to his forearm. His nails were still sharp and long, fingers coated in that inky black color.

A short silence came. Jimin slowly grabbed Namjoon's hand and squeezed it tight, not at all minding how the tips of his sharp nails were grazing the skin of his wrist. "You're alright now."

Namjoon's sorrowful expression shifted to one of a smile. He returned the tight grip on Jimin's hand. "And I always will be."

Jimin smiled at Namjoon, his eyes turning into crescents. He had the strongest urge to kiss the daylights out of Namjoon again— but then he felt something. A sudden dread pooled at the pit of his stomach, so much so that it made him want to cry again. It was almost like... he was being forced to mourn.

It felt like Jimin's chest about to explode due to all the sorrow he was feeling. He looked down to see that a purple mist was swirling within his crackling thunder gem.

"You felt it too, huh?," Namjoon spoke with gritted teeth, which made Jimin notice that her had permanently pointed fangs. "The dread... the pain."

Jimin nodded slowly. The feeling was intense, almost as strong as the emotions he felt towards a possibly dead Namjoon. Glancing at the earth gem, he noticed that it was purple too. It was strange, like he was going through someone else's pain.

Before the duo could say anything else, thunder rumbled from above. Jimin looked up just in time to see a lightning bolt strike down a few away from where they stood. Electricity was crackling uncontrollably around his body.

"I— I'm not doing this!," Jimin screamed in a panic. His thunder gem was flickering between yellow and purple in a rapid pattern.

"I figured," Namjoon grabbed Jimin's arm and pulled him closer until their bodies were pressed together. "Something is making our gems malfu—"

Namjoon was cut off by another bolt of lighting that struck the ground inches away from their feet. This caused both of them fall to the ground. Jimin groaned due to him falling on his arm and tried to stand. However, the floor started to tremble violently.

Jimin turned towards Namjoon, whose earth was rapidly flickering between brown and purple. The ground beneath them started to crack. "N-Namjoon!"

"Jimin!," Namjoon struggled to stand as well but was determined to reach Jimin. Each step he took was so heavy that it slightly shattered the soil. Once he was near enough, he encaged the thunder gem bearer in his arms. "Our gems are malfunctioning. Something is causing our powers to go haywire."

Jimin thought about it for a moment to distract himself from the raging chaos. He remembered Emily's words back in Cairo, when she mentioned that the darkness gem was so powerful that it could corrupt its bearer. He glanced at his gem's purple hue. Did this have something to do with—

"It's Taehyung!"

Hearing the foreign voice, Jimin snapped his eyes open. In the midst of the thunderstorm and earthquake was Emily, who was atop a slightly wobbling Sangdol. Her long brown hair was flowing in the wind. Despite the chaps, Yeontan was sitting silently between her legs.

"Jungkook is dying!," Emily screamed through the strong wind that started to gust. Jimin and Namjoon gasped. "And I think Taehyung is too!"

-

Back in the second floor, soft thumping could be heard from within the pile of rubble. After a few seconds of smashing your shield against the rocks, you finally found an opening, the sudden brightness making you shut your eyes for a bit.

You climbed out of the pile and coughed loudly before patting the dust off your jeans. Holly flew out of the hole and landed next to your feet just as you heard Yoongi groan loudly from underneath.

After kneeling down, you reached your hand out for Yoongi to grab and pulled him out with a loud grunt. Holly grabbed the fire gem bearer's jacket sleeve with is claws and flapped its wings.

"How in the world," Yoongi had a coughing fit for a while and Holly groaned in worry. You rubbed his back until he was better. "How in the world are we still alive?"

You looked around and at the large boulders littered around the area. Seeing how huge the rocks were, you were sure that the two of you would have been crushed by them but somehow, it didn't happen. Glancing down at your shield, you noticed the scratch marks on its surface.

"I'm not sure," You whispered slowly, voice barely audible for Yoongi to hear. The wounds of your leg and shoulder were still throbbing. "At least we didn't break any bones, right?"

After a few seconds of silence, you spotted your katana resting on the ground next to the doorway. There was no sign of Shay apart from her blood that stained your weapon's blade.

"Shay's gone," You announced loudly, despite knowing that Yoongi could have figured this out as well. Wobbling, you carefully stepped down the rubble. "Looks like she ran off aga—"

"Sky, be careful!," Yoongi lunged forward and grabbed your arm just before you could slip. The two of you sighed in relief. "We have to get your wounds patched up. Jin is outside, we have to get to him."

"No time," You groaned and practically dragged your injured leg down the pile of rubble. Limping to your katana, you spun it before placing it back in its scabbard. "We have to help Taehyung and Jungkook. Who knows who they're going against up there."

Yoongi didn't say anything as Holly perched on his shoulder and tilted its head. Instead, he jumped down the boulders and placed your arm around his shoulder.

"You know what, Cloud? You should really think about yourself sometimes," Yoongi smiled and showed off his pink gums, his feline eyes turning into thin lines. Holly cheered on his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you out."

You smiled at Yoongi as the three of you made your way out of the rubble-filled room. Eyeing the long flight of stairs that greeted your way, you sighed. At times like these you wished you had the ability to fly or teleport.

Despite the situation, you found every floor of the tower interesting. Each one had a unique and equally terrifying puzzle that needed to be solved in order to gain access to the next set of stairs. What you remembered the most was the sixth floor, which had puddles of water all over the floor and walls. You shivered at the thought of being submerged in a room of water.

Yoongi offered the idea of giving you a piggyback ride multiple times throughout the trip. Not wanting to give the fire gem bearer another reason to be fatigue himself, you declined.

During the moments of silence in between Yoongi's constant questioning of worry, you thought about the top floor. Every fiber in your being told you that your strongest opponent yet was waiting there but you couldn't help but wonder— Who was it? A member of the Great Six? Someone even more powerful than Shay? The whole thing just baffled you.

"Hey, Cloud," Yoongi's deep voice echoed in the dark room. You gritted your teeth at how your foot continued to throb. "What do you think of Taehyung?"

The sudden question made you raise an eyebrow at Yoongi, who kept his gaze straight ahead. "What do you mean?"

Yoongi pursed his lips into a thin line before he continued. "Well, he's kind of a huge pain in the ass but... I feel that he's a good guy with really weird ways of expressing himself. You get me?"

You couldn't help but laugh at Yoongi's choice of words. It seemed like Holly was cackling too or maybe it was just snapping its teeth together. Nodding, you put on a small smile.

"I get you," Sighing, your laughter was put into a halt when pain shot up your shoulder and leg. Still, the thought of Taehyung made you smile. "He's... the good kind of weird."

"You mean unique, right?"

"Yeah Einstein, that's what I meant."

The two of you laughed loudly and this time you were that Holly was doing the same. Yoongi's laughs hilariously sounded like choked gasping and you realized that you had never heard this before.

"After crawling through the narrowest ventilation I've seen, which is pretty big for someone who does that a lot," You decided not to question Yoongi's words as he started to babble. "We better be close to the—"

Yoongi suddenly paused, both in words and movement, as his eyes widened like two ceramic plates. Worried, you turned towards him and was stunned to see that tears were streaming down his face. Holly groaned in worry.

"Y-Yoongi?," You stuttered out, not really sure what to make of the situation.

"I-It feels weird," Yoongi's knees were wobbling badly and you did all you could to keep you both upright. He was staring at his hand as tears pooled on his palm. "It's like I—"

"Yoongi!," You screamed once Yoongi fell to the ground and nearly dragged you with him. "Y-You're going to be fine. Let me just—"

Bright blue flames suddenly erupted all around Yoongi's body. You screamed in pain at your slightly burned hand and jumped backwards. Even Holly, despite wanting to stay close to its owner, flew towards you in a panic due to the sudden heat.

You stared down at the fire gem as Holly cried in your arms and noticed that it was flickering between orange and purple like a flashing bulb. What in the world is going on?

Yoongi kept taking rapid yet deep breaths on the ground, unfocused eyes wide and tears still flowing down his face. As much as you wanted to help him, just being in close vicinity with the blue flames already gave you the risk of a third degree burn.

There was no need for Yoongi to voice it out himself. You knew that his gem was somehow malfunctioning because he would never hurt you or Holly under any circumstances. Glancing at the purple flicker, you wondered if this was connected to Taehyung.

"It feels like someone is injecting their emotions to me," Yoongi's voice was hoarse due to his cries. You hugged Holly close to your chest. "I— It's like I just saw someone die."

Your eyes widened at this. Glancing behind you and at the not so far away entrance to the top floor, you could only theorize that something horrible had happened to Taehyung and Jungkook.

"Yoongi," You reached for Yoongi and winced a bit at the heat. "We have to get going. The entrance is right over there."

"I'm trying— gods," Yoongi used the cuff of his sleeve to wipe his tears, which instantly evaporated. He wobbled to his feet and backed away from you. "Don't get too close. You'll get burned."

You eyed Yoongi and glanced down at his hand, which was still burning with those blue flames. After sucking in a breath, you reached out for the fire gem bearer's hand and grabbed it. You gritted your teeth at the heat.

"Cloud!," Yoongi exclaimed as smoke rose from your intertwined hands.

"It's bearable," You said with a small smile and did your best to hide that it hurt. A lot. Thankfully, Yoongi's hand wasn't as hot as it was a few moments ago. "Let's go."

Yoongi fell silent as the two of you walked towards the entrance to the top floor, you limping and him still wiping his tears away. Holly was snapping its jaws, obviously worried about the state you both were in.

With every second that the doorway came closer, the more nervous you became. Yoongi was too— you could tell by his trembling hand. You felt like whatever was in the top floor was something you weren't ready for, something you would never have seen.

You were right. The first thing you saw after your eyes recovered from the sudden brightness was Taehyung, who was kneeling down with purple flames burning all around him.

Yoongi gulped loudly from behind you. In an instant, his blue fire was gone and his gem stopped flickering. His next words came in a whisper. "Cloud, I don't think we should get too close to—"

Crunch. You glanced at Yoongi, who was looking down on the ground. Following his gaze, you were horrified to see a cockroach like insect flailing its little legs under his shoe. It wasn't a Kern, instead it was just some random bug.

Yoongi released a mixture of a yelp and groan before he literally spat on the insect with a fireball. Holly did the same. The bug caught on fire and screamed as it ran around. Wanting to end the poor insect's misery, you stabbed it with your katana.

Dark mist rose from the insect's carcass and formed the shape of a screaming man's face before it faded into nothingness. You and Yoongi glanced at each other in confusion. Somehow, you felt like something important just happened but you didn't know what.

"As I was saying," Yoongi scraped his shoe on the ground. You were disgusted by the green sludge stuck to his sole. "Something's not right here. Taehyung is—"

"Mourning," You spoke slowly in a whisper and gestured towards the body in front of Taehyung. "I think you felt his emotions."

Yoongi squinted his eyes towards what you gestured at, which honestly reminded you of one of the old nuns from the orphanage. Once he spotted Jungkook's bleeding and limp body sprawled before Taehyung, he released a string of curse words.

"Damn it," Yoongi pulled at his grey hair in frustration. He had glassy eyes. "We have to get him to Jin. He can help him, right?"

"He can't."

Upon hearing Taehyung's voice, both you and Yoongi turned towards his direction. The darkness gem bearer was standing now, purple flames still burning all over his body. Your grip on the katana's handle tightened.

"Jungkook is dead," Taehyung spoke slowly, his back facing the two. You couldn't help but feel like something was off. "If Hel's forbidden healing spell won't work, then even the water gem bearer's healing abilities will do no good."

Water gem bearer? In all the time the team had spent with Taehyung, he never addressed Jin as his gem. Now your nerves were skyrocketing— something was definitely wrong. Yoongi balled his hands to fists behind you.

Despite that, you still hoped for the best. Gesturing at Yoongi to keep his guard up, he nodded as you turned back towards Taehyung. "That's not true. There's still hope from him."

"No," Taehyung paused for a bit and glanced over his shoulder and at you. "There isn't."

Taehyung finally turned around, the sight making both you and Yoongi gasp. The purple orbs you expected to see were gone, instead they were replaced by a pitch black color that took up even the whites of his eyes. He had pointed ears, along with two small purple horns sticking out of his dark hair.

"Jungkook is dead," Taehyung's expression was a mixture of a grin and a frown, which was very disturbing to you. "Because of me."

You were so stunned by it all that you nearly dropped your katana. Emily's words back in Cairo echoed in your mind and Jungkook had mentioned this as well— the darkness gem has the ability to corrupt its bearer.

Anything could have happened, especially because you didn't see it all unfold before you, but one thing was for sure; Taehyung would never hurt Jungkook. Surely, something had forced or manipulated him to hurt the angel.

"Taehyung?," You spoke slowly as Yoongi squeezed your arm, both in warning and fear. "This isn't your fault."

"Not my fault?," Taehyung's voice cracked as his words came in a small whisper. His eyes were wide with tears flowing down his face. "I'm the only one to blame for this, Sky. You want to know what I did? Huh?"

Once Taehyung stepped aside, you unfortunately now had a full view of Jungkook. Blood was seeping through the open wound in the Hemelian's stomach, the red liquid pooling on the floor beneath him. The sight made you want to barf and cry at the same time.

"I did this," Taehyung's voice trembled. This time he released a loud laugh, one that sounded more painful than amusing. "I stabbed him. I stabbed Jungkook!"

"Taehyung, listen to me," Yoongi's voice was stern and you were impressed by how well he had hidden his fear. "I'm sure it was all an accident."

"Shut up!," Taehyung's sudden scream caught you off-guard and made you flinch. Your reaction seemed to have affected the darkness gem bearer because his next words were back in his soft tone. "The gem was right about me. All I've ever been was weak, weak, weak. So damn weak!"

You glanced at Yoongi in worry. It was obvious that the fire gem bearer had no idea what to do in this situation as well. Not knowing any other way to cope with this, you decided to keep listening to Taehyung.

"Because of that, I failed to protect my mother, my sister and Jungkook," Taehyung paused and sucked in a breath. He tugged on his hair and you caught sight of his black gem. "And without power, I'll be unable to protect everyone else I care about."

"So you gave in to the gem? And let it consume you?," Yoongi spat loudly, smoke literally flying out of his mouth. His eyes were burning a bright orange. "How the hell is that going to make you stronger? That thing will kill you!"

"Then so be it," Taehyung merely tilted his head at Yoongi, a malicious smile slowly spreading across his face. "If my destruction can lead to any beginning, then I'll gladly take it."

"Taehyung, listen to yourself!," You screamed in fury. The sight of Taehyung falling into the gem's control hurt you in every way. "This isn't you! It's the gem talking!"

A short silence came before Taehyung laughed once again, this time it was a horribly genuine chortle. He used the back of his hand to wipe the blood dripping down his nose. Oh no.

"Heh," Taehyung's smile grew wider. It almost looked like the skin of his cheeks would tear in any second. "More like his voice of reason."

"Damn it, Taehyung!," Yoongi spoke first since you were too stunned to reply. "Get a hold of yourse—"

Taehyung swung a hand and suddenly Yoongi's fire gem was glowing purple. Bright blue flames erupted all over his body once again and he fell to the ground in pain.

"Yoongi!," You knelt down next to Yoongi and screamed when the flames burnt your fingers. Holly was flying overhead, its fangs bared as it growled at Taehyung.

"I believe that it's you who should get a hold of yourself," Taehyung rubbed his hands together. The purple flames behind him were starting to form a wing-shaped pattern. "Now that he's fully accepted our power, there's no turning back."

Although the evidence was right there, you didn't want to believe that. Yoongi cursed loudly. Taehyung had fallen way too deep into the rabbit hole. Now you were staring at the darkness gem's puppet, just a shell of who he really was.

And at that moment, you made a promise to yourself— you were going to save Taehyung, no matter what.

"Cloud," Yoongi suddenly whispered despite his current state. Based on Taehyung's absence of reaction, he didn't hear the fire gem bearer. "Up ahead."

You did your best to glance around the area without making it too obvious to Taehyung. Through the large hole on the tower's right side was none other than Hoseok, who was strangely struggling to keep afloat. Jin was desperately clinging onto the air gem bearer's arms.

Taehyung noticed both you and Yoongi's gaze and glanced behind him. Thankfully, Hoseok managed to hide before they could be spotted. For a moment you wondered why they were here, after all Jin can't—

Wait. That was it. Jin was here to heal Jungkook because he wasn't dead yet. It all made sense and you barely hid the small smile growing on your face. Only one thing was left to do— Get Jin to Jungkook.

"Hey, darkness gem," You didn't know where your sudden confidence came from, maybe it was the fact that reviving Jungkook could possibly bring Taehyung back. "You know what I think?"

Taehyung tilted his head at you with a smug smile. You swallowed dryly at the endless pools of darkness that were his eyes. Glancing at Yoongi, you gave him a nod of reassurance and inhaled deeply.

"You should get your head out of your ass," Your choice of words made both Yoongi and Taehyung's eyes widen. Standing, you tightly gripped the handle of your katana. "All you keep spouting out is hopelessness this, weaknesses that. Well I'm sick of it!"

From the corner of your eye, you saw Hoseok and Jin peeking from outside. Taehyung had his full attention on you, which was both relieving and terrifying at the same time.

"Trust me when I say that I know those two pretty well because that's what I've been for most of my life," You paused a bit and shut your eyes for a while to prevent the tears from falling. "And you're right. Maybe we don't have a say in it."

Hoseok and Jin silently flew in and hid behind a large boulder behind Taehyung. Yoongi released a sigh of relief that you could barely hear. Holly was still growling.

"But God damn it, if I just let you take over like this," Each word you spoke was enunciated with a stern tone. Your jaw trembled in fury. "Then I'll never forgive myself."

A few seconds of silence came. Yoongi's bright blue flames were suddenly put out and he inhaled deeply. You immediately turned to help the fire gem bearer stand as Holly snapped its jaws in concern.

Taehyung laughed again. He shook his head and was seemingly amused by your heartfelt speech. "You fool. You know nothing of what needs to be done."

"Oh, I do," You spun the katana in your hands and pointed the blade forward. "And its making sure that I get Taehyung and this world back from you!"

Taehyung raised an eyebrow at you, face void of any sort of emotion. For a moment, you tried to search for the Helian within his dark eyes but was saddened because you found no trace of him at all. Hoseok and Jin were still peeking behind.

You squinted your eyes when Taehyung started to cackle. He clutched his stomach and bent over slightly as he continued to laugh evilly. This was something you never expected— never wanted to hear from him.

"Humans like you can be so brave yet so stupid," Taehyung licked his lips hungrily, his sharp nails growing longer. He raised his hand as the snakehead staff flew across the air and landed into his palm. "If it's death you seek."

You watched in horror as the purple flames behind Taehyung faded. It revealed a pair of large featherless black wings that spanned even wider than Jungkook's. The horns on his head grew longer and curled. His grin was wider, more mischievous, fangs poking the surface of his lips.

"Then you should have just said it yourself, guardian."

-

A/N - rip Great Six (except Shay)

HUGE credits to hotricebowl for the dialogue between taesky!!!! (I cant believe i forgot to say this wtf)

hello am back with 9,273 unedited words!!! I'm sure y'all saw this coming but Namjoon and Jungkook are alive!! I ain't killing them off nu-uh

sooooo good news is minjoon is official! bad news is tae is way out of it huhu the gem has full control over him

ye nothing much to say this chapter is a monster in terms of words + events but please anticipate chap 85!! it will be tae vs sky!! the ultimate battle oho

thank u to @/Talenaberg on twt for this amazing fanart and thank u minjoon for my life