The next morning came too quick. Jungkook paced in front of his bedroom window, glancing out to watch as Seokjin climbed into his car, then coming back a second pass to observe him pulling out of the front gate. The clock on his nightstand read eight-forty, just twenty minutes until he was to go down and see Hoseok. He was so nervous that his palms were sweating and he kept having to wipe them off on his pants.

     Hoseok the light in the lab as he entered. What a mess! He shook his head as he walked over to the table to clear his experiments off, setting stuff on the counter. He needed to pin a sticky note on the door to remind himself to clean up once in a while.

     "Morning," Taehyung walked in taking the last bite of his apple. He tossed the core into the trash receptacle, stopping for a moment to stare down at it, "I used to love apples."

     "Me too. Now they just taste like," Hoseok strained to come up with a comparison, "Like..."

     "Saw dust," Taehyung grimaced, wondering why the hell he even grabbed it from the fruit bowl.

     "Saw dust," Hoseok repeated, agreeing, "Yes."

     Taehyung noticed the collection cups from milking the curmlings were gone, "How's the cream coming along?"

     "I have the balm ready, excreted the final gland last night," Hoseok mentioned, holding up a vial of putrid green liquid he lifted from the counter.

     "If this turns our skin green, I am going to hurt you," Taehyung smirked. He turned to help Hoseok transfer the mess from one surface to the other, wondering what the hell all this was exactly.

     "Well, it wouldn't be the first time I was green." Hoseok wiped down the table with a cloth, rubbing extra hard over a caked-on spot of frog guts.

     "Do I dare ask?" Taehyung asked, flicking a piece of dangling entrails off the side of the table.

     "Same voodoo witch doctor," Hoseok smiled, looking up at the corner of the wall, daydreaming, "She often turned me into a frog if I pissed her off."

     "This woman sounds like a great time," Taehyung rolled his eyes.

     "She was a tyrant, but she taught me a lot," Hoseok spoke fondly, "She reminded me of my mother. Now, that was a scary woman."

      Taehyung shook his head, smiling, "You should write a book."

     The door opened and Namjoon walked in followed by Jungkook. The younger looked on edge, like he was about to turn tail and run.

     "You look worried," Hoseok noted Jungkook's apprehension, he just nodded at Hoseok. "Don't be, I've only ever killed one person doing this."

     Jungkook looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head. "What?"

     "I kid, lay down on the table," Hoseok motioned towards the surface.

     "Wait, are you serious?" Jungkook was alarmed.

    "No, this isn't mentis bellum, you'll be fine, relax."

     "Not funny." Jungkook walked to the table, hesitant. He looked over at Namjoon who just gave him a nod, then he climbed up onto the table and laid down, Hoseok put a pillow under his head and Jungkook adjusted it. The steel was cold beneath his back, even through his hoody. "Would it kill you to get cushions for this thing?"

     "Supernatural creatures and padded foam don't make good friends," Taehyung answered, scooting up on the counter.

     "Just relax, don't fight it," Hoseok put his hand on Jungkook's shoulder and Jungkook nodded, taking a deep breath, "Close your eyes."

     "Be gentle," Jungkook half-smiled, closing his eyes.

     Hoseok rubbed his hand together and cracked his neck, he positioned his hand over Jungkook's eyes and then closed his own. Jungkook squirmed a bit at the sensation that overcame him.

     "Hold still," Hoseok scolded and he stopped moving.

     Jungkook felt like he was traveling through a tunnel, everything black except for one narrow patch of light in the distance. His whole consciousness was being launched forward in fast motion, small pictures of his life zoomed through his mind in quick succession. Such a weird sensation. It made him feel a bit dizzy, but somehow he was able to relax his muscles just enough for the tenseness to subside. Moments later, he drifted off into a light sleep. Hoseok could now penetrate the deepest parts of Jungkook's brain and relive the younger's memories. 

     "I'm in," Hoseok announced, taking a deep breath.

     Traveling through someone's consciousness was like a bunch of small flashbacks popping off all at once, most of them not making much sense to the person doing the reading. Strong memories could be passed down through DNA, memories that had a huge impact on the parents or grandparents, especially deaths and births. Reading someone was considered an elite skill, it took a lot of training to be able to distinguish a true memory from a passed-on memory, plus, you had to know exactly where to go and how far back. The whole process could be dangerous if one wasn't properly trained, the worst case scenario being mind fusion - where two people are stuck in one brain and neither can get out - like a permanent coma. It was not something to casually dabble in.

     Hoseok found himself in a room, it was small and covered with 'dark witchy things' as he called them, totems and spell books laid upon tables, candles were lit all around the room and incantations were written on the walls in a dark red paint (or blood, he couldn't tell). A giant pentagram was drawn on the wall in black acrylic surrounded by names of spells in Latin. There were carcasses of dead animals hanging from the ceiling and a rather large dragon skull surrounded by black roses on a pedestal against the far wall.

     Misae stood in front of a raised circular slab that sat smack dab in the middle of the room. Upon the slab was Nari, wearing a white, flowing nightgown that swayed slightly from some invisible wind Hoseok couldn't feel. Her feet were propped up in stirrups like she was on an examining table at a doctor's office. A fragrant mixture of poppy seeds, apple blossom, and rose petals was emanating from three cast iron smudging bowls situated on a small ledge attached to the pedestal below the slab. Herbs were burned in conjunction with spells, these specific ones were used for fertility. The smell was quite overpowering, the aroma burned his nose hairs making him want to sneeze.

     Misae squirted a blueish gel onto her hand from a rather strange leather sack that looked a lot like a piping bag, she rubbed it on Nari's stomach in a cross shape as she chanted the words, "Quo Tincta".

     "Quo Tincta," Hoseok said aloud and Namjoon and Taehyung exchanged glances.

     "Pregnant?" Namjoon whispered.

     "Impregnate, I think," Taehyung answered in a low voice.

    Hoseok moved around the slab to stand behind Misae, watching as she placed her hand above Nari's pelvis, moving it in a circular motion as she began to chant;

     "Flames of passion, burn bright upon this barren place,

     bring forth a life to carry on,

     this womb lay empty needs embrace,

     the addition of a newborn son."

     "A strong physique to fight for peace,

     to counter the evil master,

     Purest of heart opposing grief,

     to overcome the caster,

     Take upon fraternal power,

     his heart blue with wonder,

     his iron will shall never sour,

     or his mindset go asunder."

     She then sang in a low throaty voice that reminded Hoseok of a monk singing a nighttime prayer... three words that somehow echoed off the walls despite them being in a tiny room with no acoustics... "Tempestas. Pura. Viribus."

     "Weather. Pure. Strength," Hoseok repeated back in English.         

     Misae walked around Nari's body several more times, each pass marking the skin on her arms and legs with tiny crosses using the blue gel, repeating the words, "Tempestas. Pura. Viribus."

     A bright blue light filled the room, pulsating against the walls like a beating heart, bringing a sense of calm to the atmosphere... the sound of a strong wind howled around them as the light fizzled out, taking with it the lit candles that had given off a soft glow throughout the ceremony. All that was left was light from the luminescent ruby eye set in the dragon skull behind them. It looked like the devil's death chamber with its eery blood red color filling up the tiny space. This wasn't a typical fertility spell, everything about this had an essence of dark magic weaved within.

     Misae leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Go home and make love to your intended now."

     She smiled as she helped Nari to sit up.

     Hoseok was brought to an empty motel parking lot, Nari was parked at the far end sitting inside her car, a scarf covered her head as if she was hiding her face from prying eyes. The rain was beating against the window as the wiper blades cleaned it away in a poetic pattern of pitter patters and mechanical whizzing. She turned off the ignition and then exited the car, standing there a few moments to gather confidence. She adjusted the dampened nightgown that clung to her skin, pulling it away from her body underneath, taking a deep breath, she paraded up to the motel door.  

     The number 7 was upside down and shook sideways as she knocked. She glanced up at the blinking motel sign just overhead to her left. A short-circuiting 'Vacancy' flashed on and off, matching the rhythm of her heartbeat.

     The door opened and Namjoon stood before her, clad only in a fuzzy white bathrobe. He opened the door wider for her to walk in and then peered outside to make sure no one was watching, "For what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?" 

     "I wasn't sure you'd meet me this late," Nari turned to him as he closed the door.

     "The urgency in your voice didn't leave me much of a choice," Namjoon made his way over to the mini-fridge and grabbed a glass from atop. He poured himself some gin, slammed back the liquid and poured another.

     She took a deep breath, almost losing her will to speak, "I saw Misae, it's done."

     "Still doesn't explain why you're here," Namjoon leaned against the dresser, swirling the alcohol around in the cup.

     "He's just a human, Namjoon," Nari went to him, she took the glass and set it down on the dresser, then wrapped her arms around his midsection, "You're a demigod, better even."

      It was obvious to Hoseok witnessing this, that the two of them were involved.

     "Nari-"

     "She said it would be a boy," Nari quieted him with a kiss, grabbing the strings of the bathrobe, untying them.

     "We can't do this," Namjoon pushed her away, closing the bathrobe back up.

     "Joonie?" Nari questioned.

     "Go home to your husband." Namjoon walked over to the door and opened it, not looking at her.

     Nari walked over to the door, stopping to look up at him, "If you can't then I will find someone who will."

     "You do what you have to," Namjoon insisted, but Nari could see he was hurt.

     "It didn't have to be this way-"

     "We always have choices," Namjoon said flatly, "I'm just afraid ours have led us to the end of our journey."

     "You're the love of my life-" Nari stopped herself, she wasn't going to beg.

      "I can't be here for you anymore."

      Nari looked down, contemplating a million thoughts at once. She sighed, she knew he was right. Their paths led in different directions, ever since she had told him that she wanted to be a mother, things had been different. "I know."

     "Take care of yourself," Namjoon glanced at her, the agony glimmering in his eyes.

     "Our paths will cross again one day," Nari leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, hoping he'd have a sudden change of heart. "Goodbye, Namjoon."

     The scene quickly changed, and the next place Hoseok was taken was outside of a small cabin in the forest. The silhouette of Nari and a man engaged in a passionate kiss could be seen through the window shade. Nari hadn't gone home...

     The thunder came out of nowhere, the loud clapping overhead made Hoseok jump, he was frightened even though he knew it wasn't real. The flashes of lightning made it unbearable to stand and watch what was going on. He huddled down under the sill, covering his ears to drown out the sound. The world felt like it was spinning, visions were not supposed to have an effect on the reader, he should not be able to feel such sheer terror in his soul.

     "Hoseok?" Namjoon called out, observing how Hoseok's body language had changed, his whole frame became rigid, tensing up like something was causing him great stress. 

      Hoseok wanted to scream for it all to stop. What the hell is happening?!

     "Loud thunder..." Hoseok choked out. Namjoon and Taehyung exchanged glances, "The lightning... is so bright."

      "End the reading-" Taehyung was about to grab Hoseok's wrist and yank him out himself.

      "No..." Hoseok yelled, determined to get through this odd occurrence, "I've got this."

     Hoseok fought against his thoughts, against the feelings of dread, against the wetness on his forehead from sweating, against the sensation of being pelted with raindrops and the jolt of static electricity that made hi