The darkness came and went, came and went.

It went away very briefly the first time.

“Professor Kim, we need immediate help! Hoseok, he’s- please, just get here quickly, Namjoon.”

You looked up, vaguely aware that Jimin was carrying you in his arms. Next to him, Hoseok limped along, paling by the second and clutching the gash on his neck. The three of you were walking away from your house slowly as it burned, flames the windows.

You attempted to call his name, only managing to begin coughing. Hoseok looked over, smiling weakly. His mouth moved to say something, but the darkness came and took over before he could get a word out of his mouth.

You appeared back in your kitchen, lying on the floor. There was no fire, no demon, no Hoseok or Jimin. Fresh food cooked on the stove, sizzling rhythmically.

“My daughter…”

You looked up to see Mrs. Lee looking down at you. “Mrs. Lee?”

She smiled kindly, offering you a hand. You promptly took it, dusting off your clothes as you stood up. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you for long enough. But you’ll be okay now, I’m sure.”

“Mrs. Lee, y- you’re dead.”

She nodded slowly. “I know. But don’t think this is just a dream, okay?”

“Mrs. Lee, why are you here? The house, it- it should have burned in the fire. And you… Interitus…”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, but I can’t explain any of that. They just told me to protect you from them.”

“Who is they? And why would I need protection?”

She smiled, wrapping you in a hug. “Don’t worry about it, they’ll explain. Hoseok, he’s a good Warrior. So is Jimin. You’re in good hands.”

“B- But… How do you know them? Hoseok’s never come over- I barely just met Jimin- Mrs. Lee, none of what you’re saying makes sense!”

“Give it time, okay honey? They’ll explain. Now, go. You need to wake up now.”

“What?”

“Oh, and one more thing. Calling me mom will be just fine, remember.”

Before you had the chance to say anything, the darkness went again.

What perfect timing…

You were in different surroundings this time, asleep in the backseat of a car. The windows were tainted, giving you no clues as to where you were. Hoseok sat next to you, coughing. His neck was bandaged now, but the cloth had already been soaked through with blood.

He looked over at you and smiled weakly. “You’re awake?”

You looked at him, nodding. A wave of dizziness came over you again, but he held onto your wrist, keeping the darkness from taking over again.

“I’m sorry, I- I wanted to be there with you. When Jimin explained everything, when you started to get better with your powers… But-“ He coughed, tightening his grip on your wrist. “I don’t think I will.”

You didn’t have the energy to say anything. You didn’t have the energy to do anything. You could only watch as your best friend slowly bled out.

Using the last of your energy, you leaned over and put your head on his chest, the most you could do. He laughed, then doubled over coughing, holding your head closer to his chest. “Okay, I won’t go yet.” He rested his head on top of yours, placing a loving kiss on top of it. “Not yet.”

The darkness came again.

Interitus laughed, looking down at you. You were bleeding out on the floor, looking up at him with your eyes wide. No matter how much you tried to move, you couldn’t.

“Finally! You’re such a bother. Her Majesty will be happy to see you again, if you’ll just cooperate.”

You tried to scream, only air escaping your lips. He laughed, smoky wisps coming towards you and filling your nose with the scent of burning again. You coughed silently, shaking as Interitus laughed.

Blood was running under you, although you didn’t feel any pain. You looked around the darkness of the dream.

Lying next to you, one hand desperately covering a blow to his stomach, Jimin pointed his sword at Interitus. “You’re not going to take her. Your Queen can die and leave nobody behind, but she belongs to us!”

You looked at Jimin, confused. He looked over at you, worried. “Y- You are on our side, right?”

Interitus laughed. “You know nothing of her! She belongs in the shadows.”

You screamed, still unable to make a sound.

Jimin’s yelling and the demon’s laughing faded into the background as you became aware of a rasping breath.

“We’re almost there, Hoseok. Seokjin will know what to do.” Jimin looked over at Hoseok and you from the passenger seat in the car.

He coughed, wrapping his arms around you tightly. “I- The blood- There’s too much, Jimin. Just give it up, please.”

He shook his head. “No. Stop. You’re going to make it to the Hold, okay? You’re going to be okay, you’ll be okay. Your family was famous for being able to replenish quickly, you’re still alive, you can make it, you- you-“

“Jimin, stop rambling. It’s hope-“ He began coughing again. “-less.”

You moved your hand, alerting Hoseok to your presence. He looked down at you. “No, go back to sleep… Y- You need rest.” Hoseok coughed again, smiling. “Don’t worry about me, I’m nobody, okay?”

A new voice, low and rich, spoke up from the driver’s seat in the front. “Hoseok, can you shut up? Stop wasting breath. Just focus on staying alive and let the Heiress recover.”

Hoseok smiled. “Sure.” He looked down at you, tightening his embrace. You could hear his ragged breathing, steady but shallow.

You smiled up at him weakly, opening your mouth to say something.

Instead, the darkness came back.

This time, there was no dream. No confusion. Only the sound of Hoseok’s breathing to reassure you that you were still alive in the darkness.

And then it stopped.

You woke up with a jolt, eyes widening immediately. Hoseok’s arms were still around you, a smile lingering on his face. You shook his shoulders hopelessly, watching as the last bit of liveliness left his eyes.

“Hoseok!” You heard Jimin yell.

You shook him again as Jimin continued to yell his name.

“Hoseok, we were so close! You were- we were almost there…”

Your eyes filled with tears, looking at Jimin.

He looked at you, his face devoid of any emotion but pure heartbreak. “He was almost safe…”

You turned away, wrapping your arms around his body.

He remained motionless as you sobbed, the tears falling from your eyes onto his shirt, stained red with his blood.

You willed the darkness to come, to take you again. This had to be another one of the dreams, this couldn’t be real. Please, let it come. Let it take me. Hoseok’s all I had left, and now he’s gone too. Why can’t I go?

The car came to a stop, both the driver Namjoon and Jimin exiting immediately.

You didn’t move.

You stayed there, hugging Hoseok’s body and sobbing until Jimin opened one of the doors to let you out.

“Miss Heiress, you need to come out.”

You didn’t reply.

“I’m not joking around, please come out. You used a lot of energy back at the house, and you need to rest.”

Nothing.

“I know you and Hoseok were best friends. I know how hard it was- is. But he’s gone, okay? There’s nothing left of him except the corpse.”

You refused to answer. Hoseok was gone anyways, what was the point? You curled up into a ball, hiding your head in your hands.

“Stop being such a jerk, okay!” Jimin snapped. “He’s dead. You act like that hasn’t happened before! People die, okay?! It hurts me, too. But crying doesn’t help anyone. So stop being so damn annoying and just get out of the car!”

You looked up, shooting a hostile glare at Jimin. He returned the look fiercely. “Go away.”

He shook his head. “Can’t do that. Get out.”

“I don’t care what you can or can’t do, I’m not moving.”

“Why? So you can sit in there and rot with a corpse? He’s not going to magically come back to life so he can talk to you again, this isn’t one of those fairy tales humans care so much for.”

You nodded, thinking it over. He did have a point. Hoseok was gone. Looking over at the smile on his face, you stepped out of the car quickly, looking at Jimin.

He nodded solemnly. “Finally. Took you long enough.”

You two stood in what looked like a normal garage, except where light fixtures would normally be, crystals shone down. Three cars all stood next to one another; two black, and the one you had just stepped out of a gleaming purple, the same color as space, and just as glistening.

He took your hand, pulling you towards the door. “Come on, the others are waiting for you.”

You hesitated. “Others?”

He nodded. “Yeah. You already saw Namjoon. Then there’s Jin, Jungkook, Taehyung, Yoongi, and Ho- I mean that’s all of them.”

You looked down at the almost-mention of Hoseok’s name. “So he was a part of… whatever this is?”

Jimin nodded again. “Yeah, of course he was! He came from one of the most powerful family bloodlines, but now…” He looked down for a moment, then back up with a forced smile.

“Let’s go quickly to see the others! I’m sure they’ve been waiting.”

He led you to the door, opening it by waving his hand in front of it.

As it slid away, it revealed the rest of the place you were in.

You stared in awe, taking in everything around you. “Wh- What is this place?”

Jimin grinned over to you smugly. “Welcome to the Hold, Miss Heiress.”