Jino making terrorism accusations apparently got the leaders of the future anxious to refute this in any way possible, because everybody from the Attayear was treated to an absolutely sumptuous breakfast the next morning and high ranking officials kept popping in to inform Minseok and Yixing that something or other was in order for them for travelling back.  General Kyujong made an appearance in full combat gear (complete with weaponry that almost had Kyungsoo squealing with excitement) shortly before the end of the meal, his face streaked with grime, with words to the effect of military lockdown being lifted on the base as the rebels had been defeated and transported back to their own time.  With slightly grudging dignity, he also offered to give a tour of the place with an explanation of the history surrounding it to everybody who hadn’t been there when the Attayear had first arrived.

The entire group elected to go on it while the locals, under Tao’s direction, refuelled and stocked the Attayear with the various things that it had had right back when it had first set off for the present.  When they arrived back and Jino left with Sunny and Kris to sort out getting Youngdo and Junho back, Jinsu loitered in the hospital area with the vague idea of helping Kyungsoo pack up his stuff.  Almost immediately, she was hauled away by Amber.

“The General would like to see you,” her bodyguard told her.

Disconcerted, Jinsu followed her back over to General Kyujong’s quarters.

In the short space of time it had taken for Jinsu to get to the hospital and back again, General Kyujong had managed to freshen himself up and change into civilian clothes, and he looked the most relaxed Jinsu had seen him.

“Ah, lovely,” he said, getting up from the couch he’d been lounging in when Amber showed Jinsu in through the door.  “I heard from the president that you’ve been authorised to leave this afternoon.”

Puzzled as to why she was still being treated as the person in charge when the adults were back, Jinsu looked around.  Amber had vanished.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Do you intend to do anything with the Attayear or time machines in general when you get back?” he asked.

Jinsu resisted the urge to look around again.  She wasn’t sure what the right answer to that was, or what answer the general was looking for.  It did help her nerves a little that he wasn’t in uniform, though.

“It depends,” she said in the end.  “After everything we’ve been through and seen, I’m turning more and more against them as something we should have and use.  The situation you currently have of a perpetual World War III is one that needs to be avoided at all costs.”

Kyujong surveyed her for several moments.

“A lot will change just by you going back,” he said.  “The past is to be respected and the future safeguarded.  That is what we fight for.  That is what you will have to fight for when you return.”  He turned away from her to go over to a desk in the corner of the room.  “You can always tell a bad law before it is passed when people throw up objections to it for potential problems in the future and the lawmakers and its proponents say it will never get that bad, because it always does.  Kris briefed me and we have put together as much of our history as we can on one of your. . .”  He looked around at her, turning over a little black device in his hand.  “Memory sticks, I think these used to be called.  If it can get that bad, it will get that bad.  As soon as you set a standard of any kind, in law or anything else, the people who are too lazy to adhere to the standard will always lobby for it to be dropped, and they will always do so on the backs of those incapable of achieving that standard for whatever reason, on the basis that it is kind to them.”  He sighed.  “The standard should be upheld and maintained and an effort made to help those incapable rather than descending into laziness.  The false kindness that laziness breeds leads to selfishness and death.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, he handed the memory stick over.  Jinsu took it, uncertain how to respond, and gave an awkward thank you.  He smiled at her and then took out another one.

“I assume you’ll be seeing your brother again, so it might entertain you both to have a copy of his files,” he said as he pressed it into her hand.  “Unfortunately we can’t allow the paper copies to leave and this is technically illegal, but we can’t offer you any other gifts to take home.”

Surprised, Jinsu closed her fingers around the two memory sticks.  Almost instantly, something gave with a little click and bright light streamed out between her fingers, forming what looked to be part of a holographic screen.  Jinsu jumped in alarm and nearly dropped them both.

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Kyujong said, suddenly sounding much more colloquial and less dignified as music that sounded like a national anthem of some kind blared.  “Just press the button again and it’ll go off.”

After some fumbling, Jinsu managed it, and Kyujong bid her goodbye and called Amber in to her back to her quarters.

Word had got out about the Attayear and so many people from the military base wanted to see it and the first time travellers that they were delayed by several hours and eventually granted permission to launch it from the main square outside the HQ building.  They all had to pose for a couple of photos and various locals and soldiers tried to press small gifts and trinkets into their hands (Jongdae was almost presented with what looked to be a futuristic mini missile launcher before Kris managed to remove the man) before they were finally able to make it onto the cordoned-off red carpet (where they had to deal with a deluge of confetti – Baekhyun made sure to keep to the opposite end of the group from Jinsu when Kyungsoo started making comments about weddings) and up the ramp onto the Attayear, which was resting on a hastily constructed stage of some kind.

The engines were already thrumming, prepared for take off, when they got on, and everything fell into place very quickly from there.  Minseok held Jinsu back in the doorway so that she could take one final photo for the press (Baekhyun loitered just out of sight in the atrium), but jobs and positions seemed to be automatic for everybody else as the engineers split themselves between the main deck and the engine rooms and the boys peeled off to help.  With a final wave at the crowd of spectators, Minseok shut the doors and switched on an intercom system with a button beside the interactive screen on the wall beside them.

“Flight time is four hours, everybody,” he said into it, “so once we’re on our way, you all need to go and pack.  Prepare for Dive.”

Releasing the switch, he stepped back, smiled at Jinsu, and turned to Baekhyun as he gestured in the direction of the main deck.

“Well, Baek, care to do the honours?”

Baekhyun didn’t last ten minutes into the timestream before he was knocking on Jinsu’s door to escape from his roommates.

“No, it’s because I’m helping you pack,” he insisted for the fifth time, a little red around the ears, when Jinsu raised her eyebrows at him.

“And because Kyungsoo and Sehun are being tools,” he grudgingly admitted when her eyebrows didn’t drop.  “Actually, all of them are.  And this is the last four hours I know I can spend time with you.”

He really shouldn’t have tempted fate, because Jongdae chose that moment to make his appearance.

“I’m here to help you pack!” he announced.  “Baekhyun, get out.  This is no time for canoodling.”

Incensed, Baekhyun sat up on Jinsu’s bed and extracted his arm from hers.  “I’m helping pack here.  You leave.”

“Yes, the best way to pack is horizontally on a bed with no bags, I forgot.”  Jongdae sauntered over to the cupboard and flung the doors open.  Baekhyun groaned.

“Jinsu’s uber neat.  It’ll take about five minutes.”

Jinsu’s bedroom door slammed open again.

“I’m here to help pack!” Chanyeol boomed as he made his way in.  “Your fingers might be healing, Jinsu, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”

Jinsu threw her pillow at him, but he batted it in Jongdae’s direction with a goofy grin.

“Why, hello, Baekhyun.  What are you doing in Jinsu’s bed?”

“I’m on her bed—”

The pillow went hurtling back at Chanyeol from Jongdae’s direction with rather a lot of force, and Chanyeol ducked with a squawk just as the door opened a third time.

“My back is still recovering and Sehun is having a pillow fight with Jongin, so I’m here to help you pack,” said Kyungsoo’s voice, followed by a thunk.  Wincing, Jinsu looked around just in time to see Kyungsoo’s hand closing around the pillow and holding it to his face.

“Whoa, okay,” he said, his voice slightly muffled.  “Clearly bedroom antics are getting a little wild in here.  Bye, guys.  Lock the door when this bout’s over, would you?  I’ll stand guard outside until then.”

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun groaned in frustration as Kyungsoo backed out of the room.

The door paused just before it was fully closed.  “Whoa, Baekhyun.  That was not the name I was expecting to hear.”

Peace and quiet was possible once they had managed to get rid of Jongdae and Chanyeol, but that was only when Jino turned up to talked about what had happened on the occasion Youngdo and Minhwan had left Jinsu out in the snow in Siberia.  Baekhyun being Baekhyun had taken photos of the damage done to Jinsu’s head either while she was concussed and out in the cold or while she was asleep when they’d got back, and he’d also kept hold of the handwritten note that had been left with her, despite saying that it needed to be burnt.  Jino was grimfaced as he surveyed the evidence, muttering something about total anarchy.

“This needs to go to court,” he said eventually.  “Kyuhyun’s case can piggyback onto it; he doesn’t have as much evidence because there weren’t many photos taken, but Jisung was adamant he’d give all the witness testimonials he could to bolster that.”

Baekhyun looked satisfied.

“The only trouble is Minhwan’s the one who signed the letter.”  Jino sighed.  “It’s clearly not his handwriting for most of it, but that’s a technicality Youngdo could get away with.”

Baekhyun and Jinsu exchanged glances.

“Could you argue coercion?”  Baekhyun suggested.

Jino narrowed his eyes at him.  “Why would you want to do that?  It’s clear Minhwan was in on the plan because he lured Jinsu to the spot, and there’s recorded evidence that he knew about it beforehand, which you have, Baekhyun.  The argument there was that Youngdo should have waited before knocking Jinsu out, not that the plan ought to have been aborted.  Legally, tha