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A/N: it's a double update so if you haven't read 'creator' click back to read it first! [5/9/2017]

"Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall.
While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, 
or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted.
By that point he loses steam; in result, 
he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner."
― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

The man grinned, turning off the presentation software and got up from his chair. His team of scientists, who were seated around the meeting table, waited for him to speak.

“The reports from the testing team have come in. It has been proven successful on the cancer models with our lab rats,” the man stated, handing out the folders to each person sitting around the table.

“But we’ve only tested it on animals, how will we be certain it will show the same results for humans?” asked one of the women. He turned to her and smiled.

“That’s a great question. We actually have many willing volunteers who have expressed their interest in giving up their bodies for a greater cause.”

“What person in their right mind would allow their body to be tested on?” asked a man.

“The ones who are on the losing end of their battle with cancer. These people don’t have much longer to live and all they want is to be able to have a second chance at life,” he explained.

“Yes, I understand that, Soohyuk, but who are these people? You do know if anything goes wrong, our company will be in the eye of the public under negative light.”

Soohyuk sat back down and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m fully aware of that. That’s why we’re going to keep the experiments on low profile. We will publish the results once they are in our favour.”

The people listening to him, stared at him with wide eyes.

“What do you mean? We’re just going to sweep it under the rug if anything goes wrong?”

“That goes against the ethical code for experimentation.”

“We could go to prison for doing something like this!”

Soohyuk raised a hand, and the room immediately quieted down. “Do you know how many multi-billionaire companies want a hold of our research? We could all become the richest people in the world, along with the most fame and recognition we could ever want." 

The people at the table stayed quiet, not knowing what they could say without angering or offending their boss. 

Soohyuk tilted his head and scanned their faces. "We are here to help the people. Without our research, do you think the research for cancer could have gotten this far in such a short span of time?" 

When nobody else said anything, he spoke up again, "If we have the slightest chance of making this work, why wouldn’t we grasp it?”

“Since we did our research work towards the profits and not the outcome?”

Soohyuk laughed, staring at the man who had asked the question.

“When was it not?”

Taehyung stumbled back after hearing what she had told him.

“You mean, the Forerunner was the one who turned the world to ?”

She nodded. “Essentially, yes.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Wait, but how come nobody in the Cover knows of this?”

“He killed off anyone who did. You know how this happened decades ago?” she asked. He nodded.

“He’s managed to create more serums in the meantime, and one of them includes a drug that slows down the aging process of humans.”

“So did he-”

She cut him off, knowing what he wanted to say. “Yes, he used it for himself. Why do you think he doesn’t look a day over the age of 30?”

Taehyung looked around, running his hand through his hair. He had no idea what to make of all this. He stopped suddenly, turning his head to her.

“Wait, that still doesn’t answer my question. Why do you know all this, then?”

She looked at his lost eyes and she bit her lip, not knowing whether to tell him the truth or not.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to look at me the same if I tell you,” she said softly. He frowned. “That’s bull. We’ve known each other for years, minus the ones where we got separated, but I think our bond is strong enough.”

“I played a part in helping develop the drug.”

His eyes rounded. “Were you one of the scientists? Wait, wouldn't you have been dead by now if you were one of the people involved at the time?”

She shook her head. “I was one of the first recipients of the serum. When I said that I was experimented on, I mean that they used my body to test the drug.”

“They what?” he asked, gaping at her.

“They injected me, over and over again. It did something to me when it entered my bloodstream.”

He stared at her. “And you let them do that with no protests?”

She felt a wave of emotions run through her, and without her knowing, she had begun to cry.

“What was I supposed to do, Tae? I was going to die either way.”

Shocked by her tears, he reached out to wipe them off her face while she continued to speak.

“I had stage four brain cancer. I wasn’t going to live long and when I was given the chance to help the world with the research done to me, how could I turn down the offer?”

His expression darkened, and anger coursed through his body at her words. “So, you signed up for something but you weren’t given the full details of what they were going to do to you? That bastard.”

“I guess,” she said quietly. He stared at her. “Wait, then what exactly are you? I thought that after ingesting the drug, and if you had cancerous cells, they would bond? Wouldn’t that make you an Erratic?”

She looked so broken as she replied that he felt his chest tighten at the sight. “I don’t even know what I am anymore. I’m living, but I don’t feel like a human being. He messed with my memories so I only recently remembered all that happened.”

“So he brainwashed you too, didn’t he?”

“He made me into a soldier, made me fight for him without knowing who he truly was for years. It wasn’t until that day that I was separated with you all that my memories came rushing at me.”

“Why would he do something like that to you?”

“He needed a soldier, and why not use one so readily at hand? He pumped my body with the drug each week, making sure I had an abundance of it in my bloodstream. He mixed in the anti-aging drug with it too.”

He sighed, inching closer so that he could wrap his arms around her shoulder. He pulled her into his arms and he rubbed her back in comforting circles.

“I think I’ve asked enough questions for today. I’m sorry for making you go through all this again,” he apologized.

“There’s one more thing I haven’t told you.”

“You can tell me after you’ve rested, Nari.”

She shook her head and pulled back. “No, I have to tell you now and get it off my chest.” He sighed, seeing the resolve in her eyes.

“What is it?”

Nari wiped at her nose and looked down at her feet to avoid his eyes.

“Soohyuk is my brother.”

“Do you think Taehyung is alright? Why haven’t we heard from him?” Jimin asked, looking up from his tray of food. He let out a soft sigh, pushing the tray away. His appetite had left him ever since a few days ago.

Namjoon set his spoon down. “We’ve lost communication with him and his tracking device has stopped broadcasting.”

Hoseok raised an eyebrow. “How can that be? Aren’t our location devices implanted into our bodies?”

Yoongi, who sat beside him, nodded. “They are. There’s also never been a case where a tracking device has stopped working.”

“Unless it had been tampered with,” Namjoon pointed out, returning back to his food.

Jin looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it, how else would a device like that stop working?” Namjoon said. Jungkook frowned. “I’m sure something must’ve damaged it when he got lost in that storm.”

Namjoon shook his head, standing up with his plate. “We’ve been through worse and ours still work fine.Don’t you think he would have tried getting in contact with us by now?”

Jimin stared up at him, his eyes narrowed. “Are you saying Taehyung did this deliberately?”

The leader shrugged. “I’m not saying anything. I’m only stating the facts. I’ve finished eating. I’ll see you all in the practice room at noon.” With that, he his heels and walked away from the table.

Jin sighed, watching his friend leave. “I’m sure he’s just been off his Bliss for too long and he’s feeling cranky because we failed the mission.” He excused himself to go after him, leaving the other four at the table in an uncomfortable silence.

“I don’t think Taehyung would do something like that,” Jungkook spoke up. Hoseok nodded. “There must be something else going on.”

“I don’t get why he’s saying things like that,” Jimin whispered, referring to Namjoon. “He’s been acting weird ever since we got back.”

“Don’t take it too personally. He got a harsh scolding because we failed the mission,” Yoongi reminded.

Hoseok looked up. “We have to return to where we last saw Taehyung and look around.”

“The Forerunner said he’s expending all resources to help us locate him right now,” Jimin said. Jungkook shook his head. “I want to help. I feel like all we’re doing is sitting around waiting for a miracle to happen.”

“I want to be able to find our member ourselves too,” Hoseok commented. Jimin furrowed his brows, remembering something.

“We’re off duty for the next two days. We aren’t permitted to leave the Cover. What are we going to do?”

Yoongi looked between them. “If there’s a will, there’s got to be a way. I feel uneasy leaving behind one of our team members up on the Surface all alone.”

“Absolutely not. That is out of the question.”

The four of them had joined up with Jin and Namjoon, who were sparring in the training room.

“We have to get out there ourselves. It’s our member that we lost. Don’t you feel responsible?” Jimin asked. Namjoon stared at him, placing the boxing gloves onto the ground.

“We haven’t been given orders to do anything. How would you find him, anyway? His location device stopped working.”

Jimin glared at him. “We can at least try! Why does it feel as though you’re not worried about this at all?” Hoseok pulled him back, stepping forward instead.

“We’re all just worried about the safety of Taehyung. It doesn’t feel right to be leaving him up there all alone.”

“The Forerunner already said that he’s doing everything he can to help us find him. What more do you want?” Namjoon questioned.

“I want to be able to do something, god damn it!” Jimin shouted. Namjoon narrowed his eyes. “I think you’ve been off your Bliss for too long. When was the last time you took a pill?”

Jimin ignored him, throwing Hoseok’s arm off him and left the room instead. Jungkook ran after him while Namjoon shook his head at his behaviour.

“If the Forerunner were to see us right now, what would he say? Why are we fighting internally?” Namjoon asked. Yoongi looked at him. “We’re all just rattled from the incident. We’ll get back on our Bliss promptly.”

Namjoon smiled. “Good.”

Jimin leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes to rest for a few seconds when he heard the door to the room open and he looked up.

“Are you not going to sleep?” Jungkook asked. His eyes landed to the papers and files scattered over Jimin’s desk and he tilted his head.

“You’re still trying to figure out how the location device could have stopped working?”

Jimin nodded, straightening up. “I have to do something, Jungkook. I don’t want to sit here, waiting idly for someone else to find him for us.”

Jungkook nodded, walking forward. He placed a folder onto the table and Jimin took it, curious. He looked through the maps with markings and his eyes rounded.

“This-”

“It’s all the places Taehyung would have possibly made it to within these past two days. I’ve laid out the locations he would have been able to reach by foot, and those he would have been able to reach by vehicle.”

Jimin tilted his head. “There’s something off about this whole situation. Don’t you think getting in contact with us would be the first thing he’d do?”

Jungkook pulled a chair over. “Now that you mention it, you’re right. With his skills, he would have been able to fix up his communication device by now.”

“This doesn’t seem right,” Jimin said, looking through his files. “He, realistically, should have made it close enough to the Cover for our border patrols to see him by now.”

“But there haven’t been any sightings,” Jungkook pointed out.

“What if he didn’t make his way back to the Cover?” Jimin looked up. Jungkook looked at him. “Maybe this has something to do with the two traitors we were going after. Do you think they would have taken Taehyung in as a hostage?”

Jimin frowned. “That’s a possibility. The other possibility is that he got injured either during the fight with the Erratics or because of the storm and that’s hindering his ability to make it back within two days.”

“Then what do you suggest? Wait it out until we hear from him?” Jungkook asked.

Jimin shook his head. “No. I suggest that we go out and look for him. I don’t care what Namjoon has to say.”

“I’ll go with you.” Jungkook shot him a smile, and Jimin returned it gratefully.

“But haven’t you noticed something?” Jimin asked. Jungkook hummed in response, his fingers flipping through the pages in the folders.

“A lot of weird incidents have been occurring lately. For one, when has there ever been a traitor to the Cover? We were sent on a mission to find a lost soldier who we were then given orders to kill on sight.”

Jungkook looked up. “And everytime I come back from the missions, there’s been this tugging feeling, almost like a headache but as weird as it sound, it feels like I’m forgetting something.”

Jimin nodded, slamming his folder onto the table. “That’s exactly what I’ve been feeling recently too. Something doesn’t feel right.”
 

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