Jimin was absolutely, undeniably terrified.

The black smoke swirled around him as the creature’s long limbs hovered over his warm, sweaty head. He swallowed heavily - truly looking into the eye of the storm; yet strangely safe as he felt Jin’s presence wrapped around him.

“Jimin! Are you okay?”

It was Namjoon’s voice again, and Jimin almost forgot to press the button on the handheld radio as he gave his reply.

“I’m fine.”

Jimin’s voice was hardly more than a high-pitched squeak, and he wasn’t at all convinced that he really was alright. The Nightmare hadn’t consumed him as it had the nameless scientist, but Jimin was overwhelmed by the waves of power that were coming off of the being, seeping through the young man’s skin as he fought to remain alert.

“Jimin, remember,” Jungkook chimed in, “you’ve got to believe that this thing doesn’t exist. It’s not there; it’s nothing.”

Jimin took a ragged gulp of stuffy, suffocating air as he gazed up at the creature’s long body, which was so close he could almost reach out and touch it.

You’re not real.

It was hard to convince himself of something like that when he was staring directly up and at the damn thing, so Jimin closed his eyes as he repeated his mantra.

You’re not real.

He could hear the winds swirling around him, so Jimin blocked his ears as he screamed the words in his head, trying to hear them over the terror that surrounded him, caving in on all sides.

You’re not real. You don’t exist!

Jimin took another step closer, and he felt his connection to Jin slipping. The older man had mentioned that he was only able to transfer his energy for a short period of time, and now Jimin found himself wondering just how long that period could be when put to the test. The radio crackled in his ear, and Jimin repositioned the speaker so he could hear what Namjoon had to say.

“Jimin, it’s not working,” warned the older man. “You’ve gotta get out of there.”

“You’re not REAL!” Jimin shouted out into the abyss, refusing to move backwards or open his shut eyes.

Jimin could hear people yelling back and forth over the feedback of the radio, though he was completely unable to make out who was talking or what they were saying. Only Namjoon’s voice pierced through, painfully loud in Jimin’s ear even as The Nightmare screeched and howled around him.

“Jimin, are you okay?!”

Jimin wasn’t, and he felt his energy fading rapidly. All he wanted to do was fall asleep, and at this point he was so tired that he almost didn’t care if he ever woke up. The young man stumbled, and felt his palms hit the cold stone floor as the radio dropped, gliding away until it was unreachable across the concrete. Jimin was blind, deaf, and all he could feel was the pressure of the horrors surrounding him. He pushed himself up before faltering again.

✧✧✧

“JIMIN!”

The young man’s eyes burst open as he felt something crash into his back, sending him spilling the rest of the way onto the floor and tumbling out of the cloud produced by The Nightmare. He coughed as he pushed himself up, head still spinning from trying to keep track of everything that was going on.

“Taehyung?”

“You didn’t think I was gonna let you have all the evil-monster hunting fun to yourself, did you?” joked Taehyung. The younger man was smiling broadly again, and his voice was back to its cheerful, hyper tone as he smiled down at Jimin’s grateful face. “Besides, I wanted to say I’m sorry - sorry that I said you weren’t strong enough, I mean. Because the truth is: you are. We are, and I’m not about to let you go down without me right there next to you.”

Taehyung was kneeling with his back to The Nightmare, while Jimin was on his elbows as he stared up at the younger man. The latter propped himself up a bit farther, and was about to respond when a terrible scream came from just behind Taehyung. The younger man dove onto the floor next to Jimin, who looked up to see The Nightmare bearing down on them rapidly.

And… vanishing.

Almost as soon as Taehyung had rolled over on the concrete ground, The Nightmare transformed into a horrifying face, screamed once, and then disappeared without a speck of smoke or a hint of gray - leaving the hallway empty save for cold, swirling air. Jimin couldn’t move as he sat frozen from the shock, but Taehyung tackled him to envelop the older man in a giant hug.

✧✧✧

“Are… are we safe?” stuttered Jimin. “It-it’s really gone?”

“Looks like,” marveled Namjoon.

Jimin looked up to see that the other five men had gathered in a loose semi-circle around him and Taehyung, who was still rolling around on the ground with happiness on his face and Jimin in his arms. Namjoon glanced at another panel on the wall as he smiled widely.

“I’m not picking up any problems across the entire interface. Everywhere looks safe.”

“It’s gone?!” gasped Taehyung. “Darn! I didn’t even get to see it.”

He’s back to his old self alright.

“What do you mean you didn’t see it?” scoffed Yoongi. “You ran right the into it.”

Jimin and Taehyung lifted themselves off the floor as Yoongi raised an eyebrow at them, obviously questioning the younger man’s sanity as if he hadn’t spent the last several hours doing exactly that.

“I didn’t see anything,” Taehyung whined. “I just wanted to help Jimin and tell him I’m sorry.” He looked at the shorter man with wide eyes as he continued. “Because I am. For everything.”

Jimin was touched by the apology, but he was baffled as to how in the world Taehyung had managed to miss the terrifying, three-meter-high monster right in front of them when he’d come crashing into the older man.

“Looks like Kookie was right,” chuckled a still-smiling Namjoon. “You can’t force yourself to disbelieve, but Tae was so focused on getting to Jimin that he didn’t even notice The Nightmare. He didn’t think it existed, so it simply didn’t exist.”

“Wow,” marveled Hoseok. “I never thought Tae’s inability to pay attention would actually end up saving his life.”

“WHAT?! Arg! This is so lame!” whined Taehyung. “I thought we were gonna get to kick some super-awesome Level Seven monster . This is the worst day ever!”

Jimin laughed as he threw an arm around the younger man, who continued to pout over the fact that he hadn’t just been killed by the most horrifying creature ever created.

“You saved me, Tae,” appreciated Jimin. “Again. So… thank you. And I’m sorry, too, for getting upset when you said The Nightmare was better than me. Because the truth is that it was. I needed you to in with another one of your half-thought-out, crazy- schemes to really be able to not see the monster right in front of my face.”

“You really have to stop getting yourself into these kinds of situations, you know,” teased Taehyung. “I dunno how many more episodes of heroics I’ve got left in me.”

“Oh, I think you might have a few more,” hinted Hoseok, a smile betraying him as he glanced over at Taehyung.

✧✧✧

Jimin felt something like pride swell deep within him as he watched Taehyung dance, shoving Hoseok’s own comment in the latter’s face as the young man practically sang with happiness. He suddenly realized that what Yoongi had said about friends wasn’t exactly right. Friends hurt each other sometimes; they let bad things happen and made mistakes constantly - but the true test of their friendship was whether or not they could recover together. These experiences were how two people learned to relate and grow - even in the face of powers that threatened to tear them apart.

Taehyung had hurt him - and used him, and lied to him. But Jimin felt confident that the other man also understood his own mistakes, and was willing to make an effort to show Jimin his devotion and appreciation. After all, one doesn’t fail to see a swirling, black nightmare creature due to casual ambivalence toward the friend they’re trying to save.

✧✧✧

“So Jin was right,” concluded Jungkook. “These creatures really do need human belief to survive.”

“It would appear that at least some do,” agreed Jin. “Especially the ones that are fabricated by human imagination.”

Jimin remembered that Jin and Yoongi had hurt him, too, by not telling him the truth about his own identity or Jin’s secret role as his Guardian. He couldn’t blame them for doing so, though, as he truly believed that the other two men had acted with only everyone’s best interest in mind.

“Wouldn’t that kind of be all of them, though, in a way?” questioned Taehyung. “People encounter these creatures in the world, but they interpret their experiences in a way that convinces them that it was a particular type of monster. The stories get told, and the creatures get stronger as people start to really believe in them.”

“Whoa; look at you getting all philosophical and ,” joked Hoseok, and Taehyung punched him playfully in the arm.

“You know how I love my theories, Hobi,” replied Taehyung. “Guess maybe I’ve got a new one to test.”

“Do you honestly think that’s a good idea?” pressed Yoongi.

His arms were crossed as he looked at Taehyung apprehensively, but Jimin thought he saw a small spark of something else behind the older man’s eyes.

“I don’t see why not,” the younger man defended. “People have always and are always going to believe in monsters, so it’s better to learn what we can about them rather than try to pretend that they don’t exist. Don’t you think so?”

Although this was in line with what Taehyung had said earlier, Jimin could hear the doubt creeping into the younger man’s voice. Before he could offer comfort from Yoongi’s ominous tone, however, Namjoon stepped forward to ask Jimin a question.

“So what about your and Kookie’s families?” he wondered. “What happened to all the other Ultimate Sensors?”

Jimin stopped to consider this for a moment, glancing at Jungkook as he thought about their curiously absent bloodlines.

“Guess I’ll try to find some of them,” Jimin ventured, smiling at the thought of being reunited with family he hadn’t known he had. “See if they have anything more to teach me.”

“Well, send me a postcard when you get there,” mumbled Taehyung dejectedly. “I’ll be living under a rock while I regret my life decisions.”

“What; you’re not coming with me?” teased Jimin, nudging the younger man in the ribs as he smiled at his friend.

“You mean it?” hollered Taehyung. “I thought that you’d hate me forever after all the I’ve put everyone through.”

“Nah. I’d say I feel occasional mild contempt for you at worst,” giggled Jimin. “Besides, didn’t you hear me? I told you I needed you to be strong enough to face all those monsters out there. What do you say, Tae? Partners?”

Taehyung smiled widely as he glanced over at Jimin, the thrill of mystery and the passion of adventure in his shining, expressive eyes.

“I’d say that’s a level of contempt I can work with!” the young man exclaimed, his excitement bubbling.

Taehyung strode swiftly across the floor, rubbed his hands together, and pulled Jimin into a hug as the latter continued laughing, happy to be safe and in the company of friends.

“Partners forever,” the younger man vowed.

✧✧✧

“Guess you can’t stop true love,” bantered Yoongi, smirking.

“Yah!” objected Jimin - but Taehyung didn’t let go of him, and instead tightened his squeeze.

“You could come, too, you know, ya big jerk,” offered the younger man, the smile on his face softening the blow of his taunting words. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so afraid if you understood these things better.”

Yoongi was about to object, but stopped himself as he nodded his head. He smiled sheepishly at Jimin, who returned the grin as he pulled the older man into the hug.

Jin, too, walked over and happily embraced Jimin, who reached up to grab the taller man’s shoulder.

“Thanks for your help, Jin,” Jimin beamed. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re welcome, Jimin,” smiled Jin. “I’ll always be here for you; I want you to know that.”

Jimin nodded enthusiastically, and Jin added one last thing, pulling the young man closer as he looked over at Taehyung.

“You couldn’t have done it without Taehyung either,” admitted Jin. “Perhaps it is better at times to study the things that frighten us rather than try to keep them shoved in the dark.”

Jin smiled at Taehyung, and the younger man returned the grin at full strength.

“And maybe a little ignorance can be helpful at times, too,” Taehyung added.

“Aw! You guys are learning to accept each other’s conflicting points of view!” badgered Jungkook as he threw himself into the hug.

Namjoon, too, tossed an arm into the fray, and then it was only Hoseok who was left out, standing to the side as he regarded the tangle of men in front of him with uncertainty and apprehension.

“Come on, Hoseok,” roused Namjoon, beckoning for the older man as the latter uncrossed his arms.

“You know you love us, Hobi,” tittered Taehyung as he bounced slightly, upsetting the pile of tightly knit arms.

“I have to admit: you continue to surprise me, Kim Taehyung.” Hoseok laughed as he rustled the other man’s orange hair.

“I take it back; this is the best day ever!” shouted Taehyung as he was surrounded by the warm embrace of Jimin and the other five men. “Jiminnie loves me again, Hobi has always loved me, Joonie and Jungkookie are still alive. Plus, we have two new super-awesome friends who I have yet to come up with nicknames for.”

“Yeah, yeah,” relented Yoongi. “I guess you’re not so bad, you punk.”

“Careful, Yoongi; you’re well on your way to being ‘Grumpy,’” warned Taehyung, earning an airy laugh from Jimin. “I think we’ve all learned a lot today, but I have one more thing left to say.”

“What’s that?” questioned Jimin, gazing up at the eccentric young man’s eyes as the hug tightened, almost suffocating him in the best possible way.

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” declared Taehyung cheekily.

Jimin had to agree.

CAN YOU FEEL THE GREASINESS?! I feel like this ending was so cheesy, but I also feel like Vmin themselves are super cheesy, so it works, in a way…

I’d like to take a moment to remember that this fic was originally supposed to be a ten-page-or-less one shot, but I’ve honestly fallen in love with this AU. I love supernatural stuff, and it’s so fun to think about how all of it fits in with this world of Sensors and Guardians and whatnot.

I do have an idea for a third installment of this fic that would follow Jimin and the gang as they try to discover what happened to his family and the rest of the Ultimate Sensors, so let me know if you guys are interested in that! I also have ideas for sort of, like, a series of one-shots about backstory/alternate perspective type stuff. For example, the story of what happened between Tae and Hoseok to make them so opposed to working with each other, or the story of how Taehyung and Jungkook got Yoongi into the back of the van. That kinda stuff. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in, too!

Thank you to everyone who has read; I hope you enjoyed this as much as the first one. Please feel free to leave any comments, criticisms, or questions you’d like, as I’m happy to read all of them, and hopefully they'll help me continue to improve my writing.

Thanks again, and sweet dreams ; )