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‘They have declared an Alpha-8 level emergency, and are issuing a seize and arrest over the Axudarian System effective immediately.’

Namjoon nearly trips over a protruding root, saved only by Jungkook’s quick reflexes as he helps balance him at once.

‘What?!’ Sk’jin yelps.

Namjoon swipes around his NaviLet to find the appropriate tab to access Jaen’s call. She’s preoccupied, clearly yelling something they can’t hear yet. And almost at once, another call comes through and Jn’young appears on the screen.

‘We’re already seeing strange activity around the space borders,’ the Khol’isa says at once. ’There’s been Universal pressure from the GLA as well as independent federations regarding taking action against Axudar- I’ve been following all coverage regarding this- it’s hard not to, it’s all anyone’s been talking about. Some Beings are already bringing up the demotion of the Yisheng Headquarters too and are linking them together.’

‘It’s not like every other Being and their parent had theories about that,’ Hoseok snorts almost dismissively before adding, ‘So that means they’re following protocol?’

‘Yes they are,’ Jn’young’s expression changes from a sort of hassled excitement to a cool gleeful smirk. It’s honestly chilling how similar Khol’isa’s were. ‘Not only are the GIU coming in full force, with the entirety of their Trifecta, meaning my distant relative K’mara will be there too. Are you excited to see her again Jin?’

Namjoon can practically feel Jungkook bristle at Jn’young’s flippant way of addressing Sk’jin and it makes him smile. They approach a rather ordinary looking house, no different from the ones in Udāvana behind them.

‘K’mara and I have an exceptional relationship pupa,’ Sk’jin replies sweetly, ‘Maybe one day you too will be able to stand among us.’

Jungkook lets out a very smug sound, as though pleased by Sk’jin’s answer. Jn’young looks bemused but doesn’t reply to Sk’jin’s comment. No doubt aggravating the other Khol’isa slightly.

‘We’re getting the GIU, the Yisheng Directory, and the Venture Unit coming in to place arrests, crowd-control, and investigate – respectively speaking.’ Namjoon continues where Jn’young had deviated. ‘Alpha-8 is the highest decree of seize and arrest. It was last used in Kutsoglera.’

Namjoon sees the way Jungkook stares at him.

‘The GIU arrives first to place spatial border barriers- an extension of a form of Atmoshield that prevents you from escaping the zone,’ Namjoon explains, ‘And then the Yisheng enter, to placate the population, if we’re using polite terms. And then the Venture Unit will come in to process the investigation, gather evidence, make appropriate arrests; all of which are public information. To an extent.’

‘Superb,’ Jn’young looks pleased, casually leaning his chin against a perfect hand.

‘How much of a head start will Axudar have?’ Jimin asks.

‘Not a lot,’ Jn’young replies, ‘First of all we’re here to observe before the GIU arrives on their monstrosity of a mothership or until we catch and follow after potentially fleeing vermin. But it won’t be by a lot.’

‘I think we need to work faster,’ Yoongi chimes in unexpectedly. ‘We need to get more charges running. There’s not enough now.’

‘Agreed,’ Hoseok is saying, ‘We don’t know how fast they can get here. If they’re using Yisheng ships, they’re probably faster than Ilya’s network.’

‘We will need to expand the teams, reach more of the charges,’ Namjoon orders, ‘Split into teams of two – if we can at least secure one section, then it can also act as a defense for us if things do not go according to plan.’

‘The last resort, so to speak?’ Sk’jin asks lightly.

‘So to speak,’ Namjoon grimaces but gives Jungkook an encouraging nod as they quickly jog up the slight slope. So far every single charge that Jimin marked out on their maps has been accurate. A few were damaged, either by age and natural corrosion- but some appeared to be purposefully damaged. Some were dangerously damaged, the GI picking up on tiny but still worrying levels of radiation in some of them. Parts were missing inside from the reports sent back by the GI regarding the charges. Jimin had checked all of the reports for intentional sabotage or any recent tampering but couldn’t find any. But so far they had only covered 2 regions in a way that was satisfactory; they would need at least 4 more to make sure they would be able to succeed in their plans.

‘We’ll update you the moment anything happens,’ Jn’young says before his face winks out of the screen.

‘Get the ship up and going for quick evacuation,’ Namjoon orders, ‘We need things to work out, but we won’t be able to do them if we’re all trapped here.’

‘You got it captain,’ Sk’jin drawls. ‘I also call dibs on Amad’la, I don’t want to see any of your ungrateful faces while we work on these ing charges, you hear me?’

‘Yes yes,’ Namjoon sighs out. ‘We’re coming to one now,’ Namjoon quickly reports before looking back around at Jungkook and Taeh’yung behind him. ‘You guys good?’

‘I am pa!’ Taeh’yung tells him cheerily, his hands filled with random twigs and dried leaves.

‘Our time frame,’ Jungkook says instead, ‘Will it start from when we know the Verktaë have left Axudar?’

‘Yes,’ Namjoon replies, ‘So it’s best we finish all of this as quickly as we can.’

He glances over at the Vicitra. He looks tensed. Jungkook normally did; there was always an air of tenseness or nervousness to Jungkook most times. However it’s even more pronounced now- he keeps glancing around, as though on the look out for something, like there was something no one else could really see or point out.

‘Everything okay?’ Namjoon asks Jungkook the question directly.

Instead of being surprised at the question or being flustered, Jungkook just gives him a kind of grimace and a quiet frustrated sigh.

‘I don’t know,’ he replies, eyes darting about, ‘I just can’t explain it. I thought…I thought it was because of the forest. Because of what was inside there. But it’s gone now, and I thought…maybe it would go away too. But it’s still…still just here. I don’t know.’

Namjoon looks around too, unsure what to think or say. After Jimin’s actions in the forest some hours ago, Namjoon had sensed that most of everyone in the crew seemed to feel better. Of course this was most notable in Yoongi and the other GI like him. But Jungkook doesn’t seem like he was afforded that relief.

‘Let me know if you are able to pinpoint what it is,’ Namjoon tells him. This makes Jungkook look at him with some surprise. ‘I trust your judgment, your instincts; you never quite liked Camil didn’t you?’

Jungkook nods slowly, frown forming at the mention of Camil.

‘I want you to always tell us if something feels strange,’ Namjoon tells him firmly but gently, ‘If anyone, any place- tell us. We will listen to you.’

Jungkook nods vigorously, his expression set and determined. Unable to help himself, Namjoon reaches over to ruffle their youngling’s hair. It still made him anxious and guilty thinking about someone like Jungkook in his age being here with them- dragged into all of this mess.

‘There it is!’ Taeh’yung points out excitedly ahead of them.

It’s built into the ground- one of the reasons why it was not so easily spotted. Jimin had projected the designs of the charges onto a holographic print, showing how deep these charges were buried. Each charge extended down into the earth for nearly 15 meters, connecting deep into the distributing pipes that connected each charge to the generator far out into the radioactive sun-blasted region to the east. The top part that lay out over the earth was further shaded by a dome-like structure beneath a layer of natural dirt and foliage. The domes could open, allowing the mouth of the charge to then finally open to supply the energy required for the defense shields. Any damage to the domes meant that the charges would not work as each dome functioned also as a filter to protect anyone that might be supervising from the control booth that lay before the main dome area, down the steep stairs built to enter the whole compact underground facility.

Taeh’yung hurriedly shoves some large rocks away, the movement across the dirt creating some metallic grating sounds. Though the charges lay buried beneath the surface, small chimney like protrusions stuck out almost as markers. They were not immediately noticeable as they were the same colour as the tree bark native to the forests here. But if you were looking for them, then they were easily recognizable.

‘Careful,’ Namjoon warns out of habit and also because it’s Taeh’yung. The need to call for caution was instinctual when it came to the Zhak’gri.

‘It’s okay!’ Taeh’yung affirms him with a brilliant smile, ‘It’s safe!’

Jimin had warned them that though these charges had been built securely, the past how many centuries of time, lack of care or maintenance, and not to mention whatever the Red Evil did by blasting the side of the planet with whatever it was they used to destroy other planets, the safety and security checks within each dome could be compromised. Which was why every GI and themselves, carried with them a radiation scanning device to pick up on spikes or dangerous levels of radiation. The device does not alert them on any radiation in the area so Namjoon also joins in to help remove some of the debris that had fallen around the place over time.

‘I think roots have gone through some places,’ Jungkook remarks, pointing at the trees that stood around them. ‘I saw another dome that was completely covered by roots.’

‘We will assess the situation and see if we need to bring reinforcement,’ Namjoon tells him as they lift half of a fallen dead tree from the area as Taeh’yung easily shoves aside the other half, barely looking at it in the process before squatting down and digging down into the dirt with his hand and tugging up a handle.

The trapdoor opens easily and steep stairs now textured over with tiny roots that have broken through the thick layer of stone and metal after years and years of growth. Namjoon steps in first, unsure why he was being so cautious but Jungkook seemed the same.

‘Will we have to split up after this pa?’ Taeh’yung asks behind him, not at all tense about anything.

‘Yeah, to speed up our pace,’ Namjoon replies, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

It’s not very large but there’s a strange atmosphere inside as the lights automatically illuminate the dome. It’s almost like the sanctuary he had been in previously. The same sort of metal laced over the top of the dome, but no oddly solid holographic projections formed before them. Instead it’s some pretty common dashboard curving around the exterior of the main dome at the center.

The main charge mouth is shut, leaving the dome shields open. Jungkook cautiously approaches the charge, studying the whole structure with some apprehension.

‘Looks like a well,’ Jungkook frowns before adding with a small voice, ‘I don’t like wells.’

‘I will protect you from every well,’ Taeh’yung promises earnestly. ‘I will destroy every well.’

‘There’s no need to go to that extent,’ Namjoon finds himself saying. With Taeh’yung you could never quite be sure. He turns his attention to the dashboard after making sure Taeh’yung wouldn’t immediately attempt to destroy all the wells even though Namjoon has not seen any here. Like Jungkook had guessed, roots had indeed pushed through in some areas though luckily leaving most of the place intact- meaning the main dome area was secure.

‘We’ve got a functional one here,’ Namjoon reports immediately. ‘It’s 49-UD.’

‘Noted,’ Hoseok replies at once. ‘Just added another one as well.’

‘Good,’ Namjoon activates the dashboard and though he can’t read the language that is barely legible anymore on the dashboard from centuries of stillness and dust, ‘Gonna start reversing the setting.’

‘Is it okay to leave Jimin here?’ Jungkook asks, his tone suggesting he’s had this question on his mind for a while but was only voicing it out now.

‘I don’t know Kookie,’ Namjoon sighs out, ‘There are many things to be considered here, and all of them honestly seem to extend past what I can and am allowed to understand.’

Though Namjoon had been with Jimin and was one of the few at first to be privy to this whole plan, Namjoon still feels like he’s in the dark. What they were doing was incredibly unsafe- not just in the sense of their immediate mortality and safety but in the way they were recklessly pushing forward into this whole situation. Maybe it was his background as an Information Analyst, where data and studies and research were thoroughly picked apart and put back together again, and then computed and analyzed over and over again- a process that took time, dedication, and only put forward as fully sourced information: and what they were doing now was the opposite of that.

Namjoon of course understands that he cannot possibly do what he did as an Information Analyst here with a whole team of completely contrasting individuals. Because while he’s trying his best to stay afloat and be ahead of this current, he’s trying not to get swept away by the rush of everything else he’s not being told.

Did he feel like Jimin was doing all he could to prevent them from knowing more than what he thought was necessary? Yes. But did he also believe that it was because Jimin himself didn’t know enough to tell them everything without causing panic, fear, and worst of all for the Fate, blame. Yes.

‘We should stay with him,’ Jungkook says quietly, ‘I don’t like it. I don’t like him being alone.’

‘He’s not alone,’ Namjoon looks up from the dashboard to look at the youngling. ‘He has all of us.’

Jungkook only nods once, letting out a sigh that’s comically deep. Namjoon concentrates for a while looking down at the dashboard.

‘All right, it’s activated-!’ Namjoon curses under his breath when he realizes both Taeh’yung and Jungkook were on either side of him, heads leaning close to his own, expressions of interest on their faces. Jungkook steps back apologetically but Taeh’yung just grins wickedly at him.

Clearing his throat Namjoon gestures at the closed domed area ahead, ‘Right, well, this is all set up and reversed. You both remember how it’s done right?’

Jungkook nods quickly, expression determined and hands twitching as though itching to show Namjoon he could do it. Taeh’yung on the other hand looks away thoughtfully, eyes focused on the domed area.

‘Tae?’

Taeh’yung doesn’t reply, his gaze slightly unfocused. Frowning, Namjoon reaches forward to shake the Zhak’gri when Jungkook catches his hand mid-raise. Jungkook isn’t quite looking at Taeh’yung- rather his eyes are darting around the area that halos Taeh’yung. Namjoon immediately feels uncomfortable. He knows about the others around Taeh’yung- only because of comments regarding it and with how Taeh’yung sometimes had lengthy conversations around himself, presumably to these presences.

‘Wait,’ Jungkook whispers so quietly, eyes still darting around.

Namjoon can’t help but take a step back. This causes Taeh’yung to snap out of it, so to speak. But it’s like nothing has happened.

‘I know how to do it pa!’ he declares, as though nothing out of the unusual had happened.

‘Ah-,’ Namjoon’s not sure if he should be addressing what just happened or if he should move on.

‘I kinda want to see what it feels like though,’ Taeh’yung says, pointing at the domed area. Jungkook seems to become a little less tense so Namjoon steps back into his previous position.

‘Absolutely not,’ Namjoon says firmly, ‘Not only are these charges filled with and blasting raw unfiltered radiation, this is energy and technology from a source we have absolutely no background or data on. I forbid anyone from entering the dome when they’re activated, you hear me?’

Taeh’yung gives him a mighty pout. Namjoon reaches up to pinch his lips together and is only slightly surprised that the Zhak’gri doesn’t (or worse) his finger in response. There’s a strange shift of lighting in the air a little to his side but Namjoon ignores it. He can’t see what any of it was, but he sometimes did catch strange refractions of light, or strange warp of space and mass that rendered Namjoon dimensionless at times.

‘This is beyond dangerous- even for me,’ Namjoon continues, ‘Besides, the system within the domes will detect any life-source within the domes and won’t operate if it senses anything living inside.’

‘Boo.’

Namjoon rolls his eyes and pulls Taeh’yung away by the back of his collar.

‘Come on buggy, step away from the area I don’t trust you here for too long.’

‘But I’ll listen to what daddy says,’ Taeh’yung croons. Jungkook looks incredibly confused but he’s expression a spectacular expression of disgust at Taeh’yung obvious tone. Great, now Sk’jin would blame Namjoon for Jungkook’s inevitable exposure to Taeh’yung’s crassness.

‘Namjoon?’

Namjoon does curse out loud, wondering how in Spaces Sk’jin knew to chime in.

‘Yes.’ He replies a bit too curtly.

‘Well okay then,’ Sk’jin huffs out amused, ‘Did I catch you at the wrong time?’

‘I’ll finish the set up here, you guys go on ahead,’ Namjoon tells the other two before saying, ‘Right now is quite fine.’

‘Well, if you’re sure. Then hello my lovely metallic captain- might I have a private word with you?’ Sk’jin asks in his best customer service voice.

‘Uh huh-,’ Namjoon gestures to Taeh’yung and Jungkook to head on up as he sets up a , ‘-yeah sure, go ahead.’

‘Lovely. So. New things are happening- new adjustments need to be made.’

‘I guess,’ Namjoon smiles at Jungkook and Taeh’yung in a reassuring way as they head up, the Vicitra keeps giving him and Taeh’yung worried and confused looks.

‘We have a Yisheng from our lovely very clearly populated Menigišiti.’ Sk’jin continues. ‘A Yisheng that is very suspicious, rightfully so considering what he said- if any of it is true of course- who is I believe, now the unofficial leader of Menigišiti.’

‘I guess yeah.’ Namjoon starts reversing the settings for the charges. He can hear Jungkook and Taeh’yung having a comically offended argument past the steep staircase.

‘Lim, the Yisheng, he’s shrewd.’ Sk’jin remarks, ‘If what he’s saying is true, while Menigišiti is populated, they’re not quite stable enough yet. Lim isn’t a trained Yisheng, so what he knows and what he can do is unpolished- he’s also quite young considering Yishengs as a whole. He’s probably also thinking of how to best benefit his System.’

‘And Jimin said he would help.’

‘Yes, but before Jimin can do that, he’s going to have to prove himself to Lim otherwise none of them are going to step out.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘I’m saying,’ Sk’jin says lightly, ‘That we are being watched by Menigišiti. And it’s unlikely that we will be getting any help from them when things turn sour.’

‘You sound very sure of yourself.’

‘Which part- about being watched or about things turning sour.’

‘Both,’ Namjoon has studied and imitated the process perfectly so even if he doesn’t understand the lettering on the dashboard, he does it with confidence. Not to mention he’s actually processed all of the lettering in order to find a cohesive translation. He doesn’t tell the others about that part, but Namjoon is just being careful- he’s been fooled quite a few times now and he would rather not have that happen again.

‘Well, that’s because I am sure Namjoonie,’ Sk’jin replies in the same light tone.

‘So, is that all you wanted to say?’ Namjoon asks as he waits for the charge system to switch.

‘Of course not! That was just the introduction,’ Sk’jin replies blithely. ‘I think we need to hurry up.’

‘We already are,’ Namjoon replies with a frown.

‘Yes, I am aware, but I think we could go faster,’ Sk’jin emphasizes. ‘I do not trust anything that’s coming out of Axudar, and the fact that Megibīya has been way too empty is making me nervous.’    

So that was the main issue.

‘You don’t think it’s normal?’

‘I don’t think we should take anything we see here for face value,’ Sk’jin says simply, ‘And we need to be ready for the unexpected- for the worst. We cannot expect anything to go according to any of the outcomes we’ve elaborated on- what’s happening, what’s happened- all of these things happened as a result of events past the creativity of our imagined probabilities. We need to be more careful.’

Namjoon doesn’t answer for a while, carefully thinking before he says, ‘Jungkook feels uneasy.’

‘He does?’ Sk’jin asks sharply.

‘And I think,’ Namjoon glances behind him. He can still hear Taeh’yung and Jungkook some ways outside above. ‘I think there’s something up with Taeh’yung too.’

‘…anything from Hoseok?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Namjoon thinks back hard to the Ngfy’widan’s actions and comments and doesn’t notice or recall anything strange or any signs of his tells. ‘What about Yoongi or Jimin?’

‘Why would you ask me that,’ Sk’jin sighs, ‘But I’m actually going to be honest here and say that Jimin is probably worse off than us- he’s absolutely high strung at the moment.’

Namjoon is surprised. In a way, their positions have almost switched. Sk’jin never bothered hiding his distrust and suspicion of Jimin as a whole. And while he did recently declare he would never trust Jimin, Sk’jin was now unexpectedly trusting in him.  

‘We’ve been living in the present of all of this,’ Sk’jin says quietly, ‘But that’s all we’ve been doing- living in this present. For Jimin, and for Yoongi, they’ve lived the past- the past that has lead up to our present; and this whole time they’ve been forced to live fast enough to catch up to this present, to understand all there is, and to simply accept it as it is. And in Jimin’s case, try and fix the future that has been pushed upon him. I do not think we need to worry about him here- we need to worry about what’s coming for us, as a whole, right now; the accumulation of our present, right here, right now.’

The lights in the dome shift in hue, signaling the completion of his set-up and reversal of the charges.

‘All right,’ Namjoon replies slowly. ‘So what do you think will happen?’

‘When Axudar inevitably come here, our actions are going to determine the direct outcome of the future safety of the eggs,’ Sk’jin tells him, ‘Right now, we need to work on gaining Menigišiti’s trust. Jimin knows this too, and he also knows that this cannot fall onto him- what Lim and the other Beings of Menigišiti know of the Known Universe is betrayal and greed and anger. We all need to show Menigišiti that without a doubt, while we need their help, they need ours too and they can trust in us for that.’

‘How do we do that?’

‘Lim has obviously observed us, has counted our numbers, and is aware of what Jimin can do- probably more than what we know in all honesty, and he’s weighed our chances at being fairly equal.’

‘Well, that’s somewhat comforting I guess?’

‘You could look at it that way,’ Sk’jin snorts, ‘But it also means that for him, if he believes what Jimin has said about the Verktaë, and what he knows from observing them, that the chances of us cancelling each other out is more beneficial to him. For Lim, we are the lesser of two evils- but we are still evil.’

Namjoon had not thought of it in that way before. Of course for Lim they would appear exactly how Sk’jin just described the situation- they were the lesser of two evils before them. 

‘Why do you think Lim actually came out here- sure that whole thing about having heard Jimin. It’s like what they say in Cts.’

Namjoon waits for a few seconds before asking, ‘…what do they say in Catas?’

‘Cts.’ Sk’jin corrects him crisply, ‘They say that just because someone comes knocking on your door doesn’t mean you’re going to open it.’

‘I guess…so why would they come?’

‘Because we have the potential to be useful.’ Sk’jin replies honestly, ‘And we need to hit hard on that point. They saw not just us, not just Jimin- they saw the GI, and later they saw the eggs. Menigišiti is dying, probably not how we might imagine it as some desolate place- but dying in the sense of their population. They’re going to need help in order to survive- one untrained Yisheng is not going to be able to solve anything no matter how long he lives.’

‘I’m sensing some additional comments here.’

‘You would be right,’ Sk’jin replies, sounding pleased, ‘I do not want the GIU, the Venture Unit, or anyone from the GLA to connect with Menigišiti.’

‘I was under the assumption we would be taking K’mara’s aid?’ Namjoon leans over the dashboard for a while as the dome shifts and turns, a ripple over the clear protective glass that now shielded him from the radiation being channeled through the charge. There’s no overwhelming light- but there’s a strange sound, a pulsing heat that ripples the air like heat waves or a mirage.

Namjoon finds that it sounds uncomfortably like a pulse.

‘I’d rather not.’ Sk’jin says bluntly. ‘I think any and all positive future endeavors we will partake in with Menigišiti for the future of the eggs should be strictly contained within Ilya’s network alone.’

That made sense.

‘We would need to speak to Ilya about it.’

The charge is ready and the dome security holding up completely. There is no hint of radiation leaking anywhere.

‘I’m sure Jn’young would have no objections.’ Sk’jin snorts, ‘And I think Jimin might have already discussed this possibility with them already.’

‘Of course he has.’

Sk’jin laughs.

‘And how are you holding up?’

The reversal of the charge was complete and Namjoon takes a step back, eyeing the area one last time before heading for the stairs. Namjoon takes exactly 3 seconds to realize that Sk’jin is asking him about his health. About his wellbeing.

‘I…I’m fine?’ Namjoon pauses at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Out of curiosity, just humor me a bit, but if you hadn’t been roped into this, where do you think you’d be right now?’

Namjoon looks up at the permanent dawn above him. It’s much cooler down here, beneath the dirt- but it’s also louder. Like the pulse of the planet, of the System of Menigišiti, was quietly thrumming through the charges behind him.

He thinks of Lowet, of the small fishing towns, of the river canal transports, of the dark sandy shores, of the smell of wood fire lingering in the air during dusk.

‘Probably still in Dziko,’ Namjoon replies, ‘Hitting my head on the door posts every now and then.’

He climbs up the stairs and out of the earth, the pulse of Menigišiti now faint and subtle behind him. It’s strangely calming to smell the disembodied lingering fragrance of the sea every now and then. Jungkook and Taeh’yung are waiting for him- more like Taeh’yung is interestedly looking down at the fallen foliage, picking random dried twigs and leaves before tossing them aside. Jungkook is on the alert, arms crossed over his chest defensively, posture stiff, eyes narrowed.

‘What about you?’

Sk’jin doesn’t reply for a moment before he says, ‘Have you guys ever been to Asmanan?’

‘…a few times, why?’ Hoseok replies back almost instantly.

‘I think I might have!’ Taeh’yung volunteers eagerly, dropping the small pile of twigs he was collecting to jog over to where Jungkook was. He jumps easily and latches onto the Vicitra’s back. Jungkook barely budges, only adjusting his arms to help Taeh’yung stay on.

‘I haven’t,’ Namjoon replies.

‘I did. For a mission.’ Yoongi supplies.

‘We didn’t need that detail!’ Sk’jin says brightly before continuing, ‘Anyways, it’s a great place!’

‘…isn’t it a part of the Lopholn Constellation, a monarchy that rules 8 solar systems under an authoritarian dictatorship?’

‘It is! Wow, so it’s still like that?’

‘Unfortunately- a massive headache for the GLA,’ Namjoon replies wryly as he leads them out of the area and back towards the ship. ‘We’re gonna need to stock up on some supplies- just for safety reasons, before we split off again into smaller teams all right?’

Jungkook nods tersely, glancing about the forest with a frown.

‘I thought I poisoned 4 generations of their regency,’ Sk’jin remarks casually, ‘Guess some bastard kids took it up. Anyways so like I was saying, Asmanan; terrible place with terrible Beings, but by Spaces, what an excellent collection of dumplings.’    

‘What are dumplings?’ Jungkook asks.

‘Oh Kookie this is exactly what I want to do once all of this is over- I want to take you to all these places, both terrible and great, for their food! These dumplings Kookie, there’s that-‘

‘-that one called the Galaxy Spiral Platter?’ Hoseok unexpectedly chimes in.

‘YES HOBI I KNEW YOU WERE A CULTURED BEING OF TASTE!’ Sk’jin practically shrieks, ‘I want to take you there Kookie- you’ll love it, just trust me on that!’

‘Okay,’ Jungkook sounds excited though no one has explained what a dumpling is to him till now.

‘Of course you peasants can come along too,’ Sk’jin adds, ‘Namjoon you can come and smell the dumplings as you can’t eat them.’

‘That’s very kind of you,’ Namjoon snorts, rolling his eyes. Jimin’s laughter is quiet, clearly just listening.

‘What are dumplings?’ Jungkook asks quietly.

‘Well, it kinda depends which planet- wait no, which…you know what, it’s a broad description, but you’ll like it,’ Namjoon explains, ‘I hear that it’s very popular and well loved.’

‘Kookie, don’t worry, I’ll take you to eat the most amazing dumplings- we can have a competition, see who eats the most.’

‘I wanna join too!’ Taeh’yung exclaims from Jungkook’s back.

‘Hey, you really wanna join in on a competition with Sk’jin and Jungkook involving food?’ Yoongi snorts while Jimin wheezes. ‘Bug, you’re gonna have to reconsider your choices.’

‘Why is it that when he calls me bug it feels more like an insult?’ Taeh’yung pouts.

‘Delicious dumplings aside, can everyone come over to the weapons bay inside the 2^nd hangar,’ Hoseok chimes in, ‘Give me your preferences for what you need or want as well- this includes the GI too aND -!’

There’s wheezing cackles from Sk’jin’s end, clearly reacting to Hoseok’s high-pitched shriek of shock.

‘CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS BEFORE YOU ENTER A ROOM OR SOMETHING-!’ Hoseok gasps out, Sk’jin is still hysterically laughing on one line.

‘Well, the GI are getting armed I guess,’ Namjoon snorts more to himself than anything.

‘Oh they absolutely are,’ Sk’jin replies, voice strained from laughter.

‘You didn’t really answer the question by the way,’ Namjoon doesn’t know why he’s pushing for an answer but he does. Taeh’yung excitedly presses Jungkook forward and the Vicitra hikes the Zhak’gri up higher on his back and starts to jog down the slight slope of the forest as Udāvana becomes more visible through the large trees.

‘Ah well, you know how it is Namjoonie- technically after everything that has happened, the GLA in large part, own me. I was lucky that K’mara took keen and quick interest in having me under the GIU “protection”, so to speak,’ Sk’jin explains, occasionally having to pause to take a breath as he recovered from his laughing fit, ‘I would probably be doing something for K’mara, working under her, drinking tea and getting lost in that monstrosity of a mothership, getting everyone to hate me.’

‘I don’t think that would happen.’

‘The working for K’mara part or the getting lost part because while the latter sounds very plausible, I will not be accountable for possibly accidently walking into K’mara with a knife and taking her position at the GIU.’

‘I meant the hating part,’ Namjoon snorts, he leaves the forest into a clearing that is littered with ages of dried foliage and twigs and branches. The buildings of Udāvana rise up to replace the trees, creating an equally quiet and haunting space as the forest he just left. ‘Though you being the new member of the GIU Trifecta? Well, that would be quite a sight to behold.’

‘Woah, careful there Captain, that sounded quite forward to me,’ Sk’jin cackles, clearly moving about by the sound of his hurried feet and some clattering sounds, ‘Also, Namjoon might I remind you it wasn’t until much recent you just started tolerating me.’

There’s a small sound on his NaviLet alerting him that the GI found another operational charge further inside the forest. He sees Hoseok instantly logging it into their system and updating their charge map.

‘Let us never forget how Yoongi left me for dead in Ynqaba- that too, after punching me,’ Sk’jin sniffs, voice comically offended as something heavy crashes on his end of the line.

‘Well to be fair-‘

‘I should remind you, Captain, you need to remain partial when it comes to the activities and statements surrounding your crewmembers,’ Sk’jin sing-songs before adding, ‘Oh Amad’la my dear, how perfect, could you help me out?’

‘All right fine then,’ Namjoon laughs, walking deeper into the large town of Udāvana. ‘Well, I guess I’m just gonna have to make you see it.’

The line is extremely quiet all of a sudden. No sound of movement, no footsteps, no crashing- almost as though Sk’jin had stopped dead in his tracks.

‘…see what?’ Sk’jin asks, his voice strained but not from laughter.

Namjoon looks ahead, spotting how Jungkook was clearly waiting for him, Taeh’yung now up onto his shoulders instead. They’re almost at the edge of the town and Namjoon can see the wing of their ship jutting out, catching the light of the permanent sunrise.

‘Well, I guess we will have to somehow make you see you.’

*

No one is quite comfortable handing Taeh’yung a weapon, but at the same time, considering he was “unwell” and not quite at the height of his “performance”, they hesitantly hand him a lightweight but sturdy TeorSer. Yoongi sees the way Hoseok’s veins pop out on his neck as Taeh’yung eagerly takes the weapon and promptly drops it, letting out a shot that was luckily only set to stun but one that unluckily hits Namjoon but it’s lucky in a sense that it’s Namjoon as he barely registers any pain and there’s no harm done on him.

‘I’ll just stick with Kookie!’ Taeh’yung declares, roping an arm around the youngling as if choosing him as a weapon of defense. And maybe in a way that was probably the smartest choice.

Yoongi reaches for the Heliord the same time Jimin does.

‘Listen, I know couples like to have couple stuff but isn’t this too much,’ Sk’jin comments dryly, doing a spectacularly terrible job of avoiding Namjoon much to the Kutsoglerin’s confusion. Sk’jin wasn’t displaying his usual irritation or frustration with their Captain which would lead to him expertly avoiding Namjoon- this seemed different and Yoongi isn’t sure what was happening. Hoseok has also noticed and has already given Namjoon a questioning eyebrow raise to which Namjoon replied back with a small shrug and bewildered expression. So Yoongi takes it upon himself to raise his eyebrow at Sk’jin who then chose to point out his and Jimin’s choice in weapons.

Well, all right then. At least they weren’t fighting or something.

‘Hey, isn’t what they say, a couple that fights together, stays together?’ Taeh’yung asks, completely unaware of the tension in the room. Or maybe he was and just didn’t care. And maybe that was something they should all do.

‘That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard?’ Hoseok snorts, handing over a very large TeorSer to GI-Amic.

‘Not fight with each other,’ Taeh’yung clarifies, ‘Fight together.’

‘Buggy-.’

‘Before we start talking in circles,’ Namjoon clears his throat loudly, ‘I think we designate certain areas to each other first. We have approximately 217 charges left to check, but we only need 38 more for a significantly strong shield. And of course,’ he adds quickly before Jimin can say anything, ‘It would be preferable to have more- but at least, when we get to 38, we know we at least have some protection.’

Jimin nods to that, giving Namjoon a wry smile.

‘So there are 23 pairs of us,’ Namjoon continues, ‘By the rate we’ve been going, we could get to 38 more charges within 6 hours. Once we clear each region, the ship follows us with our progress across the crescent. I’ve divided each route between the remaining charges – if we finish up our individual routes, we team up with others closest to us and increase our speed. Seeing as we have that massive canal between where we are now and the next region- I think we wait to clear where are first before moving past the sea.’

‘We’ll be docking near the canal then right?’ Yoongi asks

‘Yes- but only once everyone is done- I don’t think crossing the canal individually on HoverPorts is a good idea considering what Jimin has told us. All right then, take your pick everyone,’ Hoseok gestures to the screen mounted on the wall behind them.

A hand goes flying up first and it’s Nineti. This seems to amuse Jimin because he rolls his eyes. He catches him looking and explains, ‘Nineti always wanted to be first in everything- he’s the youngest in 14 children-.’

‘-fourteen?!’ Hoseok gawks as he passes by.

‘-and he’s always had this going for him,’ Jimin chortles, spinning the Heliord handle absentmindedly with one hand turn by turn. ‘He was the captain of my guard.’

‘Youngest out of 14, sounds rough,’ Yoongi pockets the Heliords and also a slim long-range TeorSer.

‘He could be a bit of a brat,’ Jimin snorts.

‘A bit like you then,’ Yoongi teases.

Jimin makes an affronted sound, eyes widening in genuine shock that Yoongi would say that before he realizes Yoongi’s teasing him. Jimin jabs him with the blunt end of the Heliord, making Yoongi yelp out a laugh as he jumps away.

‘Okay okay, I’m sorry!’ Yoongi laughs, hopping away as Jimin chases after him with the Heliord.

‘YEAH FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!’ Taeh’yung cheers to which Jungkook looks horrified.

‘If this is some weird we don’t need to see it!’ Sk’jin calls, making Hoseok choke on nothing but air. Dehin calmly and belatedly slaps his back for him.

‘Okay let’s get going,’ Namjoon hurriedly calls for order, gesturing for those who were ready to get going. ‘Hoseok will be our base, any and all unusual or strange activities-‘ Sk’jin let’s out a truly unflattering snort, wiggling his eyebrows at their direction, ‘-should be reported directly to him and to Jimin. And of course Jimin will be staying within distance of the ship- which is why I’ve separated this route for you that follows the route of the ship.’

Jimin immediately checks on the route, eyes darting about the screen, his expression momentarily pained before he nods and smiles up at Namjoon.

‘Thank you,’ he says, ‘For making this so clear.’

Namjoon just gives him an easy shrug before turning around and walking towards Dehin who would be his partner for this.

‘What’s wrong,’ Yoongi asks, leaning in to check the screen and study their route.

He doesn’t notice anything particularly strange about it. He notes that there is a marked charge on the side of a mountain area, he would need to make sure they added some form of climbing gear seeing as they shouldn’t be blindly relying on the possibility of a clear path upward.

‘It’s...’ Jimin looks up at him, hesitant, fearful, and most of all sad. ‘This is actually where um, this is that place.’

Jimin doesn’t need to tell him in plain words. Yoongi immediately knows what he’s referring to. It made sense that they were fed so much misinformation before entering what they assumed was Bhumi so long ago. They were given the coordinates for a charge, no doubt by someone from within the Great Council, who knows maybe even Prat’tna at the time, who then told Ndica, who had their unit sent out to Bhumi, testing to see what would happen once they entered the mix. What would happen when his own experiments were brought before the Red Evil – they were lead directly to a calculated and observed slaughter, and then almost immediately, abandoned.

And yet here they all were, returning back to the same place.

Life, after all, was Continuum.

‘We can choose not to go,’ Yoongi tells him quietly, ‘It seems like Namjoon and Dehin will be quite close to this route, we could ask them to go.’

But Jimin shakes his head.

‘I think it will be good,’ Jimin says haltingly, ‘Maybe, there are things we will be able to see from there – or just…-‘

‘-or just face?’

Jimin nods slowly before asking him, ‘Are you…are you not…hesitant?’

Yoongi shakes his head.

‘When we first came here,’ Yoongi explains, ‘It was like…it was like this weight was crushing you- like…like an ocean.’

Jimin’s eyes gleam, warm and bright. Yoongi can feel the breeze on his skin, light filtering through soft curtains slowly swaying, a door opening and a light unlike sunlight seems to wait for him-

‘-Yoongi?’

Jimin’s eyes are troubled and pained and Yoongi hadn’t realized he had even closed his. Hadn’t realized Sk’jin and Hoseok were watching him, looking as though ready to run over to him.

‘Do you need to stay here?’ Hoseok asks at once, ‘I can go with Jimin, you stay on the ship.’

Yoongi shakes his head immediately, horrified at his own slipping.

Breathe. Center.

Yoongi inhales slow and quiet, clearing his throat and rolling his shoulders a little.

‘I’m okay,’ he says, focusing on the present, focusing on now.

‘I’ll watch him,’ Jimin tells the others.

‘Should we keep an eye on the others too,’ Hoseok asks, nodding towards where Amad’la stood. Yoongi sees how Jimin hesitates, glancing towards him quickly before nodding. It wouldn’t be necessary, Yoongi knows that. The others like him would not need watching over quite like he did- hopefully they wouldn’t need it either.

‘Come on Amad’la, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on you,’ Sk’jin smiles at Yoongi’s ex-unit leader.

‘Yoongi?’

Breathe. Center.

He doesn’t know how to explain it.

‘I think,’ Hoseok says slowly, ‘You should maybe drop by the Medical Bay before you leave.’

Jimin presses his lips to a thin hard line but he nods, studying Yoongi carefully. Yoongi isn’t going to say no, he can’t afford to suddenly slip like that. It’s only happened when he’s been asleep- following that white light through the doorway. He doesn’t understand why he does it- doesn’t understand why he leaves the warmth and safety of the sunlight behind him to step through there, a place he has never been to. But somehow he does and Yoongi normally has no recollection of the reasoning behind it either.

Jimin doesn’t say anything as Yoongi finds the medication the GI normally ate. Out of sols of habit, he knows which ones he needs and easily administers the medication to himself in 3 separate compression shots. His mind feels clearer for sure, and the headache he hadn’t even noticed has reduced to a slight weight on the base of his neck instead.

Breathe. Center.

Hoseok sees them off, standing at the Hangar gateway, a worried look on his face as Yoongi starts up the HoverPort and pulls out the extension seat behind him so that Jimin could climb up. Activating the security straps for both of them, Yoongi leaves Udāvana, following the coordinates that gleam faintly on his helmet’s visor.

They enter deep into the forest without any interruptions or pauses. They come across more of the strange nest like constructs the Red Evil left behind. They shoot out through a clearing, the ground barren and dusty and stagnant, dipping into the ground clearly as a result of something possibly exploding there.

Jimin doesn’t say a word, but occasionally he will reach out to lightly touch him, as though to maybe bring him back to some form of alertness within this reality. 

The first charge they stop at is at the edge of a sizeable lake. It’s not the largest one on the Crescent which if Yoongi isn’t mistaken, was the track Sk’jin had chosen. Yoongi stops the HoverPort and waits for Jimin to dismount first before he gets off. Jimin has already removed his helmet and is putting down carefully on his seat.

‘Here,’ Jimin says, leading Yoongi towards a seemingly empty stretch of sandy clay around the lake. ‘The is lower than before- but there’s many layers of sedimentation.’

‘Should I bring a shovel?’ Yoongi asks, walking over to where Jimin has paused.

He just shakes his head, squatting down and placing his palm onto the wet clay and sand. He calmly speaks a singular word and once again, there is no great show of power- no flashy display of strange light or warping. Instead, some feet from them, the sand and clay shift as a trapdoor pushes through.

‘I used to play hide and seek with my guards,’ Jimin looks at the opening doorway leading downwards, ‘No one could find me in these.’

Yoongi smiles at that, ‘Cheating.’

Jimin huffs out a small laugh, shaking his head.

‘I once got trapped in one of these,’ Jimin tells him, ‘I didn’t know how to open it back- I started panicking, I thought no one would find me.’

‘What happened?’ Yoongi asks as they step closer to the opening. It’s unfortunately completely flooded in, the water dark and very old, thick with strange growth and mineral decomposition.

‘Tsirin found me,’ Jimin sniffs the air a little before taking a step back, ‘I don’t think we can use this one- it might still be functional, but it would take too much time to fix.’

Yoongi nods and pulls out the screen tucked into his inner pocket to cross out this charge on the map.

‘I’ll be okay,’ he tells Jimin, ‘Don’t worry about it.’

Jimin opens his mouth to say something but it’s like the words are stuck. He instead squats down again and after a while the trapdoor slowly closes shut. Yoongi pockets the screen, noting that Hoseok confirmed his check-in, and walks over to Jimin. He reaches up to tilt his head up a little, lightly touching Jimin’s chin.

‘We’ll get this done,’ he assures him quietly, ‘And I’ll be here, with you, to make sure of it.’

Jimin nods, taking his gloved hand in his, squeezing it gently.

‘Just think ahead,’ Yoongi tells him, ‘Think of what is coming next. I’m right here- I’ll always be here.’

Breathe. Center.

The next one they find is operational if not slightly overgrown with roots. The next time Yoongi checks his screen, he’s pleased to see that they were making better time with starting up the charges. Just a little behind them, he sees their ship hovering above the tree line, the glimmer of their shields bright and strong.

Geographically they were progressing past the more tame stately looking tall trees and into something thicker and wilder almost, as they approach the craggy mountain sides. They’re getting closer to the largest waterfall here at the Crescent, and it’s also the final location that they would need to check up here before they descend to the grounds past the waterfall.

Jimin becomes noticeably more uncomfortable as they approach the mountains. And maybe Yoongi is just imagining things but it’s almost as though he recognizes where they are. He’s somehow aware that they’ve gone past the location where he first saw Jimin. They had sped past the edges of the natural stone ledges where he had once rested with his team, exhausted for reasons they couldn’t quite specify at the time.

Out of the 6 charges they had to cover in this area, only 2 are operational. The Yisheng ship moves a little ahead, moving to hover above the waterfall right above the gulf. Yoongi isn’t sure why he can hear the roar of the water now when he couldn’t remember ever having heard it when he was here all those centuries ago.

Yoongi looks at the down at the rocky forest floors, remembering how they buried Amic right there before him. The light of the sunrise gently shines through the branches and leaves, casting a rosy gold amidst the blue-grey shadows. He looks around himself, noting how the sun shone warmth and colour despite how detached and how far they actually were- the two looming mountain ridges and the sight of their ship diminishing between such great structures. A strange pain erupts within Yoongi’s chest until he feels a light touch on the small of his back.

Yoongi follows their final coordinates out of the thick wild forest growth and above the tree line to land at the beginnings of the mountainous ascending growth. It’s an intimidating height, made further uncomfortable by the fact that the land was now narrowing quite greatly with two massive mountain facing each other. Though quite high, the sun doesn’t quite hit it unless it was towards the hard ridged peaks.

‘I’m above the waterfall- location check in from everyone please.’ Hoseok calls out.

‘We can skip this,’ Yoongi tells Jimin as the others report their location.

Most of them had moved past the Udāvana region and were past down the waterfall and into Jalvana.

‘No,’ Jimin replies, ‘We should check. The more we get, the better.’

‘Jimin? Yoongi?’

‘No hanky-panky you hear me! Remember to prioritize!’ Sk’jin adds in a warning tone. Jimin let’s out a choked out hysterical giggle, as if he couldn’t quite control himself.

‘We’re at the border between Udāvana and Jalvana,’ Yoongi replies with a slight sigh, ‘It’s a high climb- might take a while to ascend.’

‘All right, I’m right here if you need help.’ Hoseok replies back.

‘Kookie and I are done! Can we come and watch you Jinnie?’

‘I don’t know why that sounded strangely threatening but sure.’ 

Yoongi takes the HoverPort as high up as it can go up the tight slopes of the mountain side but the HoverPorts were not made to scale mountain sides like this. So he stops at a place that isn’t too high or a location that would compromise the HoverPorts descent later.

‘Wow, wonder how we climbed this,’ Yoongi pushes up his visor to stare upwards. It’s so oddly familiar and yet at the same time, not entirely so. ‘We were somehow so close to it, yet we never really understood what any of it mean.’

He retrieves the climbing gear and fixes the attachments for 2 Beings. It’s a simple enough contraption and Yoongi is grateful that the mountain face is quite smooth. He attaches the nodes and camera of the climbing gear onto the floor and after a few seconds it calculates the height and strength needed for the gear to support two Beings. A contained but powerful propulsion echoes through the forest behind them as two thin but strong ropes eject up. The climbing gear beeps out a faint blue light once its ready.

‘That…looks unsafe,’ Jimin says with some trepidation. It makes Yoongi laugh.

‘What!’ Jimin demands, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up and then at the gear defiantly, ‘It really looks unsafe!’

‘It’s not, sunshine,’ Yoongi reassures him. He’s used this gear for many missions before, so he knows how effective it is in not just scaling mountain sides. ‘If you think it’s unsafe then I can-.’

Jimin gives him a withering look that makes Yoongi laugh even more.

‘Hold my hand,’ is all Jimin says as Yoongi sets about securing the straps to attach to the lengthy coil of rope waiting for them.

Hands clasped together, they ascend the mountain side within seconds. At the very top, Jimin seems to falter, eyes wide as he looks at his surroundings.

Strangely for Yoongi, it’s more of a morbid curiosity than anything else. And looking upon it now, it was like looking upon a place he once knew as a child, and age and time eroded his memory of it. It’s not nearly as tall as he remembered, or nowhere near as menacing. Everything is just so different from then.

Breathe. Center.

The skies are a soft rosy hue, and over to the west past the short tower, blue skies stretch over a darkening land of permanent light. Turning around, Yoongi sees an ocean of light past the tips of the mountains opposite them. Looking down, he sees the ship and is able to pinpoint the river snaking through the forest before disappearing in a narrow column of mist that blocks most of his sight past this region.   

He looks around at Jimin who just stares at the tower with a look of resignation, sorrow, and fear.

‘It’s just at the doorway- the same as the houses here,’ Jimin tells him in a quiet voice, arms crossing over around himself. The doorway is open, as though someone had opened it and forgot to close it. And it was probably them who did that, now that Yoongi thinks about it. He starts to walk up to it but Jimin doesn’t step closer, just staying a little to the back, the sun bright behind him. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he makes his way to Yoongi’s side.

‘It’s okay,’ Yoongi whispers. ‘It’s okay.’

Jimin nods, their hands clasping immediately again.

Breathe. Center.

Stepping through, it’s almost like every other empty structure here in Megibīya. There’s that same sense of familiarity and even though Yoongi was now literally looking down at the spot where he died, he can’t quite really find himself reacting the way he thought he would. The way he imagined.

When Sk’jin had returned to the Nightmare planet past Ymir, his reaction had been expressive and understandably so.

It’s the left of where he had laid, Jimin kneeling above him, that the latch on the floor sticks out just a little. He guides Jimin there and lifts it to reveal the trapdoor and stairways heading downwards.

They take the first step down together until they reach the bottom where the lights slowly illuminate the area. They both quietly move to the dashboard and at this point Yoongi doesn’t have to think too much to start the process for reversing the charges.

‘When I was 17 years old, by Earthian standard, I was going through a bit of a rebellious stage,’ Yoongi says. Jimin looks up from the dashboard, surprise in his eyes at the strange topic. ‘I don’t know if you might have had this in Menigišiti, but there used to be these Humans who loved Ancient Earth culture and would try and bring back random trends from the past. I mean I guess it’s better than some of the really dumb trends they tried like attaching horns to their skulls and-‘

Jimin laughs, his tone incredulous and also confused with where Yoongi was headed with this story.

‘-so this one trend they brought back was something they called parkour – and it’s basically a form of sport that involves running, jumping, almost choreographed, over houses and buildings and random structures.’ Yoongi explains, ‘It was fascinating to me- and I was so impressed by what I saw, that I wanted to learn it too. But I didn’t want to join some dumb club, or so I thought, when I was teen. But I thought it’d be so cool to hop over walls and leap past wide gaps and stuff, climb up walls with little to no support. I just thought it was really cool.’

‘I can sense that,’ Jimin smiles, stepping up closer as though to listen closely to Yoongi’s story from his youth.

‘I found a place I could practice at the back alleys – and I actually was doing quite well,’ Yoongi explains, ‘There were techniques to jumping- correct ways of falling, how to distribute body weight, all of that- I was very bruised and was very lucky not to break any bones or twist any joints- but I guess all of that was saving up for the reason why I gave up on parkour.’

Jimin is now his spot, simply listening and watching him. Yoongi also turns, leaning his hip against the dashboard and taking Jimin’s hands in his.

‘I was leaping over a fence- nothing fancy, one of the more simpler moves. And I came up this fence that had spikes on it- and this was no biggy, I’ve scaled full on spiked fences with no problem before. So I step up on the highest rung and I’m about to do a flip because why not and my pant leg gets caught in one of the spikes. But I was mid-flip so my pants literally tear off of my legs and I very strangely, collapse onto the wall and ground,’ Yoongi laughs as Jimin starts wheezing, leaning forward as laughter shakes his body. ‘I still don’t understand how it happened but not only did my pants get pulled off and shredded, my underwear did too.’

Jimin falls into him as he laughs, the dome rotating quietly as it accepts the new changes being made and set up.

‘So not only am I waist down on a chilly evening, I was quite far from home,’ he laughs, ‘At this point I don’t know how to salvage my ruined clothes- I don’t know if I can at this point, and I’m too embarrassed, shocked, in some slight pain from the fall, to think logically so the first thing I do is duck around into what I hoped was an empty alleyway. It was empty luckily and so I take off my sweater- it didn’t have an opening so I couldn’t loop it wide enough around me-,’ Jimin is wheezing, head resting on Yoongi’s shoulder as his body shakes with laughter. ‘So I cover my front and I run as quietly and as quickly as possible back home and my mum catches me. We never spoke of it.’

Jimin nearly collapses on the floor as his laughter switches to gasping wheezes, cheeks blushing.

‘I don’t think she wanted to know what happened and honestly, I don’t think I wanted to tell anyone,’ Yoongi pushes Jimin’s hair back from his face and cups his warm cheek in one hand before leaning in to press a kiss there because he couldn’t help it. ‘And now you’re the only other Being other than me to know about this embarrassing story.’

‘Thank you for trusting me,’ Jimin manages to get out.

When they leave the charge and close the trapdoor behind them, Jimin is still smiling. But at the doorway to the tower he pauses a moment, looking back inside. Then slowly, he shuts the door firmly behind him.

The light of the sun turns his hair a rosy gold and the flush of his cheeks contrast with the warmth of his skin. Yoongi’s not sure what his own expression must have been like because Jimin seems a little flustered as he steps towards him, hand raised up for the climbing gear straps.

Breathe. Center.

‘Hey,’ Yoongi says as he sits down at the ledge, ready to descend downwards.

‘Hm?’ Jimin looks down at him, eyes a little wide.

Yoongi grins, ‘Have I told you that you’re beautiful today?’

Jimin’s face flushes and Yoongi snickers to himself as he lowers down, Jimin coming down just some seconds later. There’s a strange elation, one that Yoongi hopes Jimin can feel too as they leave the mountain side.

Yoongi lands down first, raising his arms to balance Jimin as he follows in a couple of seconds. Jimin falls into his arms the moment he lands and Yoongi wonders if he’s lost balance but his arms wind around his torso and Jimin pulls him close.

‘I love you so much,’ he whispers quietly.

Yoongi holds him back securely, a hand coming up to cradle the back of Jimin’s head.

‘I love you too.’

Breathe. Center.

It’s nearly done.

Just a little longer.

*

Hoseok has too many tabs open.

It’s almost overwhelming to keep an eye on all of the screens and he briefly entertains the idea of maybe shifting into a Mitt’am so that he can physically have 2 additional pairs of eyes so he can look at every single screen and display around him. But he’s not used to having 3 pairs of eyes on his head so he decides to just look around quickly and prioritize what was most important.

‘What you guys are doing is risky,’ Jaen tells him bluntly.

‘Thanks, I didn’t know,’ Hoseok responds dryly as he continues the input for the charges.

Jaen huffs out an exasperated sigh at him, as if he was purposefully being thick.

‘I’m worried,’ she tells him. ‘There’s no sign of activity around Axudar though there really should be some by now. But there’s nothing- we’re getting nothing.’

Hoseok grimaces at that, quickly checking the tab on the updates from Šerdesas.

‘Instead you’re sending out messages,’ Jaen remarks, ‘What’s that about?’

‘Why are you looking at our outputs?’ Hoseok asks though he’s not surprised.

‘Had to test whether or not our trackers and reactors were malfunctioning or not- we could read everything you were doing super clear even inside Bhumi- I mean, Maegibeeya,’ Jaen pronounces slowly, ‘Just so happened I saw your call. Wanna tell me about it?’

‘Maybe later.’

‘You Venture Unit agents are all the same,’ Jaen snorts, sounding a lot like Sk’jin.

‘Then why are you talking to me?’ Hoseok chuckles, eyeing everyone’s health tabs including all of the GI. He keeps an especial eye out on Yoongi, not liking the way he seemed to completely retreat into his own mind in a frightening way.

‘When I’m worried I talk,’ Jaen replies with a small grunt, ‘Also- I might go mad if I don’t talk.’

‘Isn’t E’nid there?’

‘She’s at the other Bridge and we have both come to agree that my talking makes her anxious,’ Jaen explains with a sigh, ‘So I just find someone to talk at.’

‘I’m honoured.’

‘You’re convenient.’

‘Ouch, after I save you multiple times?’

‘I wouldn’t need saving if y’all had your together.’

‘I’m not the one who had Axudarian infiltrators in their whole network.’

‘That was too soon.’ Jaen deadpans but there’s no real bite to her words- rather a resignation that makes Hoseok genuinely feel bad.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says sincerely.

‘Well, you’re not wrong I guess,’ Jaen sighs before saying, ‘Are you seeing this?’

Hoseok quickly scans the reactors reading Axudar and finds nothing, and switches to the tab opened for any and all updates for Šerdesas. But there’s nothing from there either.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Hoseok frowns, going through all of the tabs.

‘Your arrest warrants have been removed from the GLA network- nothing on the database.’ Jaen huffs out, ‘They’ve pulled your warrants.’

Hoseok squints at the report Jaen sends him. All of their arrest warrants, including for Jimin and Taeh’yung which were incomplete and with no database support, were cancelled.

‘Well, I guess that’s one less thing to worry about,’ Hoseok says slowly, looking down at the warrants with narrowed eyes, ‘If you want something to do, can you find out who had these warrants cancelled?’

‘I am already on it. Will update you if I find something.’

‘Thanks,’ Hoseok opens the reports sent and opens yet another tab to scour for their records on the GLA database.

There’s a strange feeling that settles in his gut when he notes that they have all been registered as deceased. Someone from the Special Jury was doing all of this in anticipation of what was going to happen. He’s not sure if any of this meant something good- if it was an omen for something potentially good or for something potentially bad. Ems was open on the other tab- well, Hoseok assumes she’s there because contacting her was a whole other level of security and complex networking.

‘Head Pilot Hoseok, we are now leaving the Udāvana region,’ Yyna reports from the front. 

‘Thank you Yyna,’ Hoseok replies before tapping on the side of his Comm Device with practiced ease, ‘I’m above the waterfall- location check in from everyone please.’

‘I’m heading past Jalvana actually,’ Namjoon replies at once, ‘There’s quite a lot of clogging in this area- most of the charges close to the lake is drowned or clogged up- it’s caused an internal network issue I think.’

‘I’ll make note of that,’ Hoseok replies back, sending out quick alerts to all of the teams. ‘Yoongi and Jimin reported back all of the charges close to the water as being compromised too.’

‘I guess, it’s because it’s water,’ Namjoon ruminates quietly, ‘Menigišiti has this thing about water- their tech, their System as a whole.’

‘Well, Amad’la and I are trekking it through the fjords past the main lake in Palvana, thanks by the way Namjoon, for an exceptionally damp route!’

‘I did not give you that route personally.’

‘I am and will still take this personally!’

‘Thank you Sk’jin,’ Hoseok says loudly and clearly, ‘Jimin? Yoongi?’

‘No hanky-panky you hear me! Remember to prioritize!’

There’s a high-pitched giggle from Jimin at that as Yoongi replies, sounding resigned.

‘We’re at the border between Udāvana and Jalvana. It’s a high climb- might take a while to ascend.’

‘All right, I’m right here if you need help.’ Hoseok scans their route onto a projection. It was the closest route to the ship’s trajectory down the crescent but it did come with some minor difficulties like this specific location. Hoseok hopes it’s at least worth the climb up. He has the ship hover above the waterfall, right at the mouth of the gulf. It’s a stunning view- the sunrise and light shines at a brighter range below where the mountains aren’t as high and semblances of larger cities riddle the landscape sprawling down below in gentle valleys and smaller forests. Far into the distance is the massive lake Jimin had mentioned, edging the borders between the regions of Jalvana and Salŗuvana. The Megibīyan feels less narrow like this- less forgotten and somehow slightly more hopeful too.

‘Kookie and I are done! Can we come and watch you Jinnie?’ Taeh’yung chimes in.

‘I don’t know why that sounded strangely threatening but sure.’ 

‘Done? Done as in, all of it?’ Hoseok frowns as he checks on Taeh’yung’s and Jungkook’s route. Taeh’yung had been quite adamant in choosing this specific route.

‘Yeap! Most of it was dead!’

Hoseok grimaces at the way Taeh’yung describes the malfunctioning charges. He quickly pulls up their coordinates and does find that they’re coming back from the last charge indicated on their map, past Salŗuvana, and into the region past that one too before they hit the ocean. Jungkook had reported a damaged charge close to the shoreline and had detected radiation from it. As part of their precautionary steps, they all agreed if they did come across any form of radiation, they should definitely keep an eye on it. Sk’jin was out furthest too on his route with Amad’la, past the lake which was heavily riddled with the charges. According to Jimin, the lake was a great stabilizer unlike the ocean which was quite tumultuous with sometimes freezing waters, or sometimes boiling water-, the area was riddled with geysers and there were no living establishments towards the regions closer to the shore. Though the strange storm had abated, Hoseok still spies swirling clouds and a great typhoon brewing close to where the massive crater they had seen earlier. 

‘We might be able to even go past the sea and into the other regions if we keep at this pace,’ Namjoon says hopefully, ‘It will make me feel better knowing we have the whole set of protection rather than the minimum.’

‘Anything interesting?’ Sk’jin asks.

‘Jaen’s was just updating me,’ Hoseok replies, ‘Our warrants have been lifted apparently, and we have all been declared deceased.’

‘Well, jokes on them because-.’

‘Already?’ Namjoon sounds troubled, ‘Do you know who issued this?’

‘No- I’ve asked Jaen to check on it,’ Hoseok replies.

‘What news from Axudar?’ Namjoon asks.

‘They’re keeping watch around the border but there’s been no activity so far. They’ve actually even gotten closer now to see if they’re missing anything but they’re not.’

It’s quiet for a while. Hoseok notes how Yoongi and Jimin are done with the final charge in Udāvana and were now making their way down. He slowly sets the ship forward again.

‘Still nothing?’ Sk’jin asks slowly, ‘What if…what if they don’t come?’

‘There’s no way they won’t,’ Namjoon says firmly, ‘They know they have a higher chance at winning by coming here- or at least, to escape. If they remain in Axudar, they will be tried in Court, alongside the others involved in this case. K’mara will be more than delighted, I am sure, to stand for each trial.’

‘There’s no movement?’ Jimin asks evenly.

‘Nothing,’ Hoseok looks down at the feed they were receiving from Ilya’s ships all around Axudar. There was no way they would miss anything.

‘Maybe they’ve developed some form of flight engine, or something like what Jimin has that completely renders them traceless,’ Sk’jin remarks, ‘I mean, who’s to say they haven’t? With how far they’ve been travelling and all that.’

‘That’s a terrifying thought to entertain,’ Hoseok mumbles but he’s also scanning the reports and readings from Ilya’s ships. He’s literally looking at Axudar right now: all three planets there, through multiple angles, with multiple surveillance filters to detect heat, movement, light refraction, and gravity distortion.

‘I think we should set up scanners for every possible traceable agent,’ Yoongi says quietly, ‘Charged ions from engines have a distinct pattern regardless of whether or not-‘

‘Midget has a point, Hoseok could add that in-‘

Hoseok is already adjusting the settings to add, quickly calling in E’nid to ask her to set up the filter.

‘We already have that up,’ she reports to him, sounding worried, ‘We have nothing. We’ve sent out a scouting ship to edge the spatial border- maybe get close enough to hijack a satellite and see what’s going on. They can’t not know what’s happening.’

Hoseok quickly relays what E’nid has told him.

‘What other method could we use to track them, we know next to nothing about them-‘ Namjoon is saying mostly to himself before Sk’jin asks, ‘Would a Yisheng be able to detect their arrival?’

‘If we’re able to contact Lim, then yes, we can definitely track their approach,’ Jimin replies at once.

‘We need 5 more charges to hit what we need for now-‘

‘-we should continue increasing the number of charges,’ Yoongi says at once, ‘Taeh’yung, follow up on Sk’jin’s route and help him.’

‘I don’t need help we’re almost done!’

‘We’re on it!’ Taeh’yung replies cheerily.

‘I think I’m going to come back,’ Namjoon tells him quietly, ‘Is Ems online?’

‘Well, I have her on my tab yeah,’ Hoseok replies, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘If the Axudarians don’t come here, the next closest location they could possibly go to are other places Ndica frequented- that includes Lowet,’ Namjoon replies tersely, ‘How close are the GI?’

Hoseok glances over at the propped screen to his left.

‘They’re 7 hours away,’ Hoseok replies instantly.

‘I’ll be at the landing spot in 10 minutes.’

Hoseok can’t help but glance at the sky repeatedly.

Out of all of the uncertainty of their plans and actions, there was one thing they knew they could rely on: the Axudarians, or at least, the Verktaë, Jimin’s people, would come here to Megibīya if and when compromised. This was what Camil had revealed to them. This was something they knew as a fact.

The GLA Court had acted faster than they expected, though that was a good thing, and that meant Axudar had less time to potentially prepare. They were without a doubt, waiting for them to arrive in Axudar- Prat’tna’s insistence on them doing so only proved it further. 

The ship now moves past from the shadow of the mountains behind them and suddenly Hoseok feels exposed. His hand burns and agitation fills him up. He keeps an eye on Jimin and Yoongi’s progress, safely down the side of the waterfall and headed for their next coordinates. The rest of the GI are also going about their specified routes, and Hoseok is getting the input for their charges. Somehow, he feels like they’re losing time but he can’t pinpoint why and where.

‘Hey.’

‘Jaen,’ Hoseok could exhale in relief, ‘Do you have any information for me?’

‘Yes,’ Jaen sounds tensed as Hoseok attaches her call to the rest of their Comm Device channel, ‘The removal of your warrants and announcement of your deaths was issued by the GIU- under the orders of the Trifecta.’

Hoseok is not too surprised by this. It made sense K’mara would do such a thing. They were guaranteed a full pardon and complete exemption from any records as well as retirement on the completion of their mission. To K’mara, who clearly knew more than she was letting on when this mission was issued, they had completed their mission by exposing Axudar and the depths of Ndica’s deception and vile cruelty.

‘Oh K’mara you absolute ,’ Sk’jin sighs out quietly.

‘Okay,’ Hoseok eyes the skies once more.

‘But it’s the order that worries me,’ Jaen tells him, ‘Your arrest warrants were issued by the Department of Planetary Relationships, Chief Lmiura.’

Hoseok does a double-take at that.

‘What? Lmiura?’

‘Lmiura?’ Sk’jin repeats, sounding as shocked as Hoseok felt. ‘Namjoon- isn’t that your-‘

Lmiura was the one who brought Namjoon into this mission. Had sought him out personally to partake in this mission. She hadn’t stood out all too much for them to really think much about her the way they did Haenoon, K’mara, or Amme.

‘Namjoon had previously requested us to look into this matter and well, we’d been busy and all of that but-,’ Jaen’s expression is worried, a little hesitant as she says, ‘I think…well- her husband died.’

‘…yeah,’ Hoseok nods, remembering how she had been bald, a symbol of being widowed in the Sang’tzi.

‘Her husband died 5 sols ago.’ Hoseok wonders if he was maybe on Earth when this happened. There’s a sharp inhale from Namjoon. ‘He was one of the Heads of the Venture Unit Board of Divisions.’

A chill runs down Hoseok’s spine and his hand ignites. His pulse rockets, filling his ears with a low thumping drumming that pushes into his head, into his very skull.

‘And I uh- well, we looked into it and he’s-‘

‘It was me,’ Hoseok says quietly, his voice a lot more even than he was expecting. ‘He was part of all of this- in league with Ndica. And I killed him.’

‘Yeah- so well, we think,’ Jaen says slowly, ‘We think that she might be too.’

The lines are quiet again, no one speaking just yet.

‘It makes sense then,’ Namjoon says quietly with resign, ‘It really does.’

‘She’s the Head of Planetary Relationships – as an ally to Ndica, she would have been powerful- very well acquainted with everyone within Axudar- and her husband-,’ Sk’jin pauses. ‘This is also personal.’

In many ways, Hoseok was legally deceased. What he did in the Venture Unit resulted in him being in constant danger. He knew that one day it would result in something happening to him- but he just couldn’t see it turning out like this.

Clearing his throat, Hoseok says, ‘As Head of Planetary Relationships, she could have also arranged for places like Lowet and Ynqaba to remain completely under the radar for Ndica to do as he pleased. It was probably her doing to keep Megibīya under complete isolation too. Probably her department that handled the Treaty between the GLA and Menigišiti too.’

‘Well…that’s all I got for you,’ Jaen says reluctantly, ‘I’ll report back in when there’s something.’

‘Thank you Jaen,’ Hoseok tries for a small smile before her call cuts.

‘So…I’m guessing we now know who wanted us to fail in the Special Jury.’

‘Where is Lmiura right now by the way?’ Yoongi asks.

Hoseok quickly does a check as he nods at Yyna to prepare them for landing.

It takes a couple of minutes before he’s able to pull up some recent information on the Head of Planetary Relationships.

‘It says on the GLA Database here she reported into office 2 weeks ago and hasn’t completed logs or reports since,’ Hoseok reads out. ‘No reason has been given.’

‘That’s on track with what happened with us,’ Namjoon ruminates.

‘Spaces, has it only been 2 weeks?’ Sk’jin sighs quietly.

‘Do we know where Amme is?’ Jimin asks unexpectedly.

Hoseok glances at the tab with Ems’s comm, ready and open.

‘No,’ he replies, ‘She’s missing too. I’m at the landing point now.’

‘I see you,’ Namjoon replies, ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’

‘Should we be coming back?’ Jungkook asks.

‘No,’ Jimin replies at once, and at the same time Namjoon says, ‘No- but everyone be at the ready to change course of action.’

‘Understood.’ Is the resounding echoing chorus of a response they get the from the rest of the GI, making Sk’jin giggle nervously.

Hoseok takes over to land the ship, spotting Namjoon on his HoverPort at the edge of the low flat city.

‘Yyna, keep us at green, ready to leave at any moment,’ Hoseok orders, ‘Also continue maintaining shields.’

‘Understood, Head Pilot Hoseok,’ she replies.

Hoseok quickly darts out of the Bridge, mind filled with a constant hum of thoughts, worry, and that impending sense of losing time though he still doesn’t know why.

He meets Namjoon at the lower Hangar. The Kutsoglerin gives him a quick nod.

‘We need to contact Amme-‘

‘I’ve already done it,’ Hoseok quickly cuts in, ‘I’ve already asked Ems to look for Amme.’

‘I don’t think it’s only Lmiura,’ Namjoon tells him, pushing his hair back from his face, ‘I think we have one more-‘

‘Haenoon? Xmi? Sh’now?’ Hoseok frowns, ‘K’mara?!’

Namjoon reaches over for his screen and finding the tab open for Ems’s tab shuts it down completely.

‘W-what-?’

‘I didn’t understand at first,’ Namjoon tells him, fingers flying frantically over the screen. ‘At first it didn’t even occur to me to even guess but-‘

A cold crushing weight falls over Hoseok.

‘Database being compromised, tracking layers installed into our systems, into Lisai- our information and location somehow being accessible and available,’ Namjoon is shaking his head, ‘-this goes back to the start, before we started our mission- with those other Beings- with Chen, Kai- Ems was Kai’s Information Analyst- she lead him to Yoongi in Nuqtai. When we were there with her, meeting with Kai and with Chen, going through database, she lead us to the information regarding Ynqaba; she gave me information against all of you to keep. And I didn’t think it could have been here at all before, of course not- not when-‘ he pauses. ‘-not after what happened to her, her background as a Klia’ban and how they were made. And how she came to be.’

Hoseok’s mind is reeling. Ems had been the one to create their communication channels for them- the latest new ones they were still operating on up until the Užkulisai was compromised.

‘What’s the possibility that all of our plans,’ Hoseok asks suddenly, reaching out to grasp Namjoon’s arm, ‘-what if, everything we’ve been doing is-‘

Namjoon shakes his head. ‘I don’t know.’

‘,’ Hoseok curses, taking a step back, ‘.’

‘We need to contact Amme- what did you want to contact her for in the first place?’ Namjoon asks, looking up briefly.

‘I was thinking about what Jimin had said, about what he saw and heard when he was…in that place with the black water,’ Hoseok explains, ‘And what he said about the Omhlophe- and it made me think-‘

‘The GIU are here.’ Ilya suddenly calls, stopping Hoseok mid-sentence.

‘Oh- okay-,’ Namjoon frowns, his fingers stopping over the screen.

‘No one’s left Axudar?!’ Sk’jin asks incredulously.

‘We saw no one- none of our scans saw a thing I don’t understand. Namjoon I think you need to double back and get out of there at once.’ Ilya tells him urgently.

‘Right- right, absolutely-,’ Namjoon is saying as he shares an urgent silent look with Hoseok before he quickly signals to the GI behind him immediately. ‘Ilya I also need your help contacting the Yisheng Amme if you can-.’

A strange fear fills Hoseok, thrums under his skin in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time- a strange fear, like something was chasing him right at his heels, leaping out at him from the darkness. The hair on the back of his neck stands on end and Hoseok fights the urge to run and hide somewhere. His hands burn, igniting into flames deep within his palms.

‘-we’re going to have to go through with Plan G at this point, Jimin, Yoongi could you two-.’

Namjoon’s next words are drowned when his NaviLet suddenly lets out an alarm and Hoseok barely just notices how Namjoon nearly drops his own screen some feet from him as he gets the same alarm too.

The strange feeling overtakes Hoseok- an unexplained chill permeates through his skin down to his bones and straight into his heart, rendering him nearly paralyzed as a strange fear grips him- his pulse deafeningly loud, pulse worryingly fast but it’s not loud enough to block the blaring sound.

It’s not an ordinary alarm to signal incoming calls or projections. It’s not one for possible unknown Beings approaching them or an error in the System within the ship. Namjoon had customized all of their report and error and alarm notification sounds. A separate sound for the Internal Gravity System, for the water levels, for the air purification, for O2 levels, for security breach, for their health-tabs- for all 7 gleaming health-tabs all assigned a specific colour.

‘Namjoon get everyone out of there right now-!’

Only 6 colours gleam at Hoseok.

*

Jungkook isn’t sure if they’re just fast, or if Namjoon somehow managed to assign him and Taeh’yung a rather easy route despite having had chosen one for himself.

Taeh’yung wasn’t of much help in all honesty as he seemed to have his own singular agenda. He didn’t stop Jungkook from doing what needed to be done, but it wasn’t like he was doing much to help either. Maybe that was why Jungkook finished so quickly.

Jungkook feels like he’s lived a lot in an incredibly short period of time- as though making up for the past. In a span of months he has probably seen more than most in Ynqaba would ever in their lifetimes. In fact, Jungkook could say he’s seen more than most Beings in the Universe would ever see.

Megibīya is unsettling for reasons Jungkook cannot quite put to words. At the beginning, all of his instincts told him to run- to leave this planet that reeked of stagnancy worse than death. But then when Jimin returned, and when whatever was causing that stench deep within the forest, deep within the planet, seemed to wash away, Jungkook is filled with an instinctual defensiveness he cannot let go.

He’s uncomfortably reminded of Yoongi as a Being and he wishes he could shake off the comparison every time he conceptualizes Megibīya as a whole. Would Menigišiti be like this too? Where he lived in a state of anticipation and wariness that was exhausting.

When he was first taken away from his family and kept in that torturous cave, Jungkook could anticipate the approach of the Collectors who experimented on him, who tortured him, who made him fight- starved him, and then threw defenseless weak captives at him for food. He knew when they approached- a shift in the air, a sensation deep in his bones, a realization that simmered under his skin.

And Jungkook can’t shake it off.

He tries to distract himself- no one else, especially the Beings who could immediately tell if something was wrong, did not seem to notice that anything was wrong. It was possible that he was tired. The past hours were strenuous and heavy- Jungkook remembers how Namjoon had told him that physical exertion wasn’t always what caused fatigue- that sometimes the mind fatigued you more than your body ever could.

‘Is that what’s happening to Yoongi?’ he had asked. Namjoon had paused, looking troubled before he shakes his head and says, ‘I think that has more to do with his soul than anything else.’

Jungkook stops his HoverPort right next to where Sk’jin and Amad’la’s HoverPorts were standing by on idle. The Khol’isa waves at them from atop a rocky alcove. They were chipping away at some heavy sediments that had caked around the trapdoor. Apparently this place had been submerged underwater before. 

From here, Jungkook can spot the waterfall. The waterfall was incredible. Jungkook could watch it all day. He can’t quite believe something like that existed. The ocean here was disappointing- it wasn’t beautiful like it was in Odgõti-32. It was instead unnerving. Jungkook hated how the waves, a strangely solid grey colour raged and threw itself high up, dissipating into a shower before it could come crashing down. Lighting forked through the waves, illuminating a strange haunting depth in the waters that made Jungkook want to take a step back. Great blocks of ice were thrown about as well- crashing into hot water that broke the icy boulders with thunderous roars. It didn’t help that geysers sprouted all about at random. The charge there was not only flooded, but they had detected a leak in radiation as well. It wasn’t a lot, but Jungkook had pulled Taeh’yung backwards as quickly as he could even though Taeh’yung had grabbed at the damaged trapdoor already. He quickly reports it to Hoseok who tells him he would send one of the GI to set up a monitor over the area just in case and to leave immediately.

‘We’re almost done here!’ Sk’jin calls down to them, ‘There’s a charge down the valley- could you guys get to it?’

‘Okay!’ Taeh’yung yells back from behind Jungkook.

‘You’re both doing okay?’

Jungkook pushes his helmet visor off and waves both arms up at Sk’jin.

‘We’re good!’ he responds.

Sk’jin smiles at him and gives him an approving nod.

‘Okay, off with you both,’ he gives them a dismissive wave of hand and Jungkook can’t help but grin up at the Khol’isa.

‘I swear, Namjoon gave me the route with the most charges,’ Sk’jin sniffs, turning back to where Amad’la was now prying open a very heavy looking caked over trapdoor.

Still smiling to himself, Jungkook sets the coordinates to the next charge. It’s not far from where they were, which was surprising in a sense because Jungkook doesn’t understand the placement of the charges. There seemed no specific pattern to them. He had asked Hoseok about it a few days ago and the Ngfy’widan had said it was in alignment to Megibīya’s magnetic ley lines, which was why the order and pattern seemed so odd.

Taeh’yung doesn’t even bother trying to help him with this charge and Jungkook doesn’t mind all too much. But he does mind when he comes up, after confirming an operating charge to Hoseok, and Taeh’yung is not where he left him.

‘Taeh’yung?’ Jungkook calls out, reaching to his side for the TeorSer he took with him. He steps towards the HoverPort, his feet making no sound over the dried foliage. He sniffs the air, hoping to catch Taeh’yung’s scent but there’s nothing in the air.

Instead he hears a faint scream- it’s familiar because in some strange way, Jungkook knows this voice. Not because it’s from Jimin, Sk’jin, or the others. Rather it’s because it’s-

Jungkook sprints towards where the scream had echoed and comes to an abrupt halt past the crest of the small valley they were in. Taeh’yung is on the ground, head turned and ear to the ground, palms pressed down onto the foliage.

‘Taeh’yung,’ Jungkook frowns down at the Zhak’gri.

Taeh’yung turns his head around to grin cheekily at Jungkook.

‘Kookie- if you listen closely, you can hear her heart beating.’

‘Who,’ Jungkook frowns.

‘Menigišiti,’ Taeh’yung replies, ‘They don’t like it.’

Jungkook guesses Taeh’yung is referring to the 4 who stand around him in chaotic glitches of warped air and motion. They’re still screaming – and Jungkook is starting to feel unnerved.

‘Is that…is that supposed to happen?’  

‘Hm?’ Taeh’yung sits up and looks around him. ‘Yeah it’s fine, they’re just throwing a fit because they don’t like it here. Are you done?’

‘Yes,’ Jungkook nods.

‘Great! I think Jinnie is on the last one, let’s go see what else we can do!’ Taeh’yung jumps up and quickly makes his way towards Jungkook, turning him around and pushing him towards the HoverPort.

‘Isn’t this exciting Kookie?’ Taeh’yung asks him, his tone surprisingly genuine.

‘Um, yeah,’ Jungkook nods.

They find Sk’jin at his last charge, loudly complaining about sedimentation as he and Amad’la chip away at centuries of layered and solidified gunk.

‘Should we move on to the other routes?’ Jungkook asks.

Sk’jin pauses, eyebrows furrowing in thought before he slowly shakes his head, ‘No- you stay here. Keep watch over us.’

‘Aww, Jinnie, I wanna sight see!’ Taeh’yung complains.

‘No,’ Sk’jin wags a finger at Taeh’yung. ‘You’re staying here, both of you.’

Jungkook nods at once and firmly plants his feet down, not budging even when Taeh’yung tugs at him with his whole body weight.

‘Let’s at least walk around a little!’ Taeh’yung pleads. And Jungkook relents easily enough. Taeh’yung walks about, kicking up the dried foliage, shaking smaller trees and dried bushes, breaking off twigs here and there, even pulling whole chunks of roots off of the ground. He tries not to think too much of how uncomfortable he feels- like he was in a constant state of anticipation.

They occasionally wave at Sk’jin and Amad’la, the former sending Jungkook a questioning eyebrow raise and Jungkook replying with a shrug, pointing at the Zhak’gri ahead of him.

Sk’jin just laughs, eyes sparkling with a light that comforts Jungkook. A light that had turned so dim in the cave that shrunk around him for so many sols. Jungkook sends him a small smile. Sk’jin’s features change to a softer one, giving Jungkook a sweet smile in return.

‘Kookie!’ Taeh’yung throws something at him which he catches out of instinct, ducking down a little at once. When he looks down he finds a ring of leaves, deep brown and red, like the ones near the lake. He looks up to find Taeh’yung perching one on his own head and waving his hands around his head in flourish.

‘It’s pretty!’ he declares and with encouraging motions with his hands adds, ‘Put it on Kookie!’

‘Uh-‘ Jungkook frowns at the ring- a wreath, more than anything, and hesitantly places it on his head. Taeh’yung giggles and steps closer to adjust the wreath around his head.

‘I made it perfectly!’ the Zhak’gri declares. ‘I’m a genius.’

‘Um, okay,’ Jungkook crouches a little to make it easier on Taeh’yung.

‘Are you going to keep growing your hair?’ Taeh’yung asks as he adjust the leaves here and there, brushing his long fingers through his hair. Jungkook automatically closes his eyes, feeling relaxed at the ministrations.

‘Hmm,’ he hums.

He thinks he hears Taeh’yung smile, his fingers turning more purposeful in simply combing through his hair for the sake of it more than anything else.

‘That’s nice, you’ll look very handsome,’ Taeh’yung says, voice quiet and soothing.

Jungkook allows himself to relax a little, shoulders falling from the tensed hunched position, his hands unfurling from fists, his back no longer rigid. He’s tired, he notes absentmindedly. But it’s never what it once was- and he knows it would never be too.

Not here. Not with them.

Here, he would be safe and rested.

‘I knew you’d love me best eventually,’ Taeh’yung sounds pleased.

Jungkook can only snort but it’s more of a chuckle.

‘It’s okay Kookie, to relax a little okay?’

‘Hmm.’

Taeh’yung chuckles again, stepping back a little. Jungkook opens his eyes, and though he is more aware of his tiredness, feels a strange sense of calm within himself.

Around Taeh’yung, reflecting oddly are the four that are always with him. They’re more muted now at least, though sporadic in their motion. Restless.

‘Will you be all right?’ Jungkook asks.

Taeh’yung smiles at him, bright and if Jungkook dare say so himself, with a fondness that seemed reserved only for him.

‘Don’t worry about me Kookie,’ he nods, taking steps back, little sparks of green bursting around his head, contrasting with the reds and browns on his head.

‘They don’t like it here,’ Jungkook insists. Taeh’yung had the tendency of not explaining or answering questions and inquiries. But Jungkook wants to know. He can’t not hear their whispers. He thinks he deserves to understand.

‘No not really,’ Taeh’yung smiles at him. ‘Yino’s children are powerful.’

‘Yino?’ Jungkook looks around towards the east.

‘Yeah,’ Taeh’yung grins, reaching up to poke his nose playfully before stepping back. ‘Very displeased actually.’

‘…is that…isn’t that, not good?’ Jungkook asks carefully, studying Taeh’yung’s features.

‘Not to worry my precious Kookie,’ Taeh’yung gives him a thumb’s up, a small spark of green erupting from his thumb. ‘I have thought everything through.’

‘What do you mean?’

Taeh’yung seems to ponder his question- no. Actually, Taeh’yung seems to ponder him. Studying him, and his questioning.

‘Do you know what happened to Hobi at the Venture Unit?’ he asks instead.

Jungkook is a little taken aback.

‘Um-,’ he hesitates a little, unsure whether or not to divulge in the fact that he did in fact, read up on everyone aboard the ship. Even Yoongi’s history as a Human, the history of the Khol’isa, of Kutsoglera. Of course he read up on Hoseok’s background. Everyone, except for Taeh’yung’s because nearly nothing of him existed in any way or form.

Taeh’yung smiles knowingly.

‘Jaen. Do you have any information for me?’ Hoseok suddenly asks, as if he had heard them talking about him.

‘Yes. The removal of your warrants and announcement of your deaths was issued by the GIU- under the orders of the Trifecta.’ Jungkook understands that this warrant was what had caused so much problems for them in Māho-5. Having it removed was a good thing right? He glances towards Sk’jin who has paused on his way down into the trapdoor towards the charge. His expression is serious.

‘Oh K’mara you absolute ,’ he says quietly.

‘Okay.’

‘But it’s the order that worries me. Your arrest warrants were issued by the Department of Planetary Relationships, Chief Lmiura.’

‘Sometimes in life, you are mislead under the guidance of those who think what they know or understand is the best. Your growth, your thoughts, your heart, is lead almost entirely by the design they set out,’ Taeh’yung explains as he continues to walk around. ‘And I have always wanted to do that. Even though breaking from that design is confusing, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes fatal. But,’ he pauses to lift a hand, palm glowing green, the copper lines on his skin gleaming in shifting patterns. ‘-but sometimes- oh Kookie, sometimes it’s beautiful.’

‘What? Lmiura?’

‘Lmiura?’ ­Sk’jin sounds taken aback. ‘Namjoon- isn’t that your-‘

The triangles Taeh’yung traditionally formed twist in their shape. Behind him, hazy forms and shapes twist and warp, their whispered screams protesting and yelling but it’s all just in Jungkook’s head.

‘Namjoon had previously requested us to look into this matter and well, we’d been busy and all of that but-…I think…well- her husband died.’

The old nearly entirely gone wound on his scalp tingles.

Danger.

The triangles twist to a shape that glitches into a malformed flower of sorts. It’s wild, strange- the lines on his skin suddenly seem to snap, as though the straight angular lines pulled taut were suddenly released and now chaos reigned. The air particles seem to practically boil until the flower abruptly vanishes.

‘…yeah,’

‘Her husband died 5 sols ago. He was one of the Heads of the Venture Unit Board of Divisions.’

Jungkook hadn’t realized he’d been leaning in heavily, drawn to the strange flower without realizing it. He takes a few steps back.

‘And I uh- well, we looked into it and he’s-‘

‘Beautiful isn’t it?’ Taeh’yung asks, closing his palm.

Jungkook doesn’t know what to say.

‘Why Hoseok?’ he asks instead.

Taeh’yung just gives him a wide grin before skipping forward and taking his arm and looping it with his.

‘It was me. He was part of all of this- in league with Ndica. And I killed him.’

‘I think it’s inspiring,’ Taeh’yung tells him before dropping his voice to a whisper, ‘And inspiration, with patience, with the right timing, is the best way to achieve what you want. Remember that Kookie.’

Jungkook wonders if he’s meant to not understand what Taeh’yung means. Most times it seemed like only Jimin, and sometimes Sk’jin, really knew what Taeh’yung was talking about. So he just nods, unsure how to feel with what he was hearing from both sides.

‘Great!’ Taeh’yung points at a haphazard direction, ‘I have a good feeling about going this way!’

‘Uh, we should stay here,’ Jungkook stands his ground and Taeh’yung recoils backwards mid-walk. ‘We need to keep watch.’

‘Yeah- so well, we think. We think that she might be too.’

‘Of course Kookie! But we also need to stick together and that’s why we’re just going around that way!’ Taeh’yung points past the trees to their right. ‘We will still see where Jinnie and Amad’la are. Let yourself relax a little!’

‘It makes sense then. It really does.’

‘She’s the Head of Planetary Relationships – as an ally to Ndica, she would have been powerful- very well acquainted with everyone within Axudar- and her husband-,’ Sk’jin pauses. ‘This is also personal.’

Jungkook frowns but allows himself to be pulled away. He can’t not stick with Taeh’yung and Jungkook knows him well enough to know the Zhak’gri would just proceed forward anyways. And Namjoon said that the buddy rule was important. His mothers said so too.

‘Are you worried Kookie?’ Taeh’yung asks as he marches through the forest with great noise and purpose. Jungkook follows quietly, alert and searching.

‘Of course.’ He can’t really keep up with what the others were saying, so he’s not sure how to feel yet.

‘As Head of Planetary Relationships, she could have also arranged for places like Lowet and Ynqaba to remain completely under the radar for Ndica to do as he pleased. It was probably her doing to keep Megibīya under complete isolation too. Probably her department that handled the Treaty between the GLA and Menigišiti too.’

‘Don’t be,’ Taeh’yung tells him with a confident smile. ‘Sometimes fate is simply made up. Fate is just a belief some Beings have, fate is something you can blame when things go wrong- by just saying, I guess this is my fate. It’s something some Beings choose to hide behind- but for me? No. I make my own fate- and I always will.’

‘…okay.’ Jungkook looks at the Zhak’gri with confusion. ‘I don’t…understand what you mean.’

‘You’ll see soon Kookie,’ Taeh’yung looks up at the sky, exhaling in and out, ‘I can smell it.’

‘Well…that’s all I got for you. I’ll report back in when there’s something.’

‘Thank you Jaen.’

Jungkook decides it’s probably best not to ask more questions or even try to understand so he sniffs the air and nods in agreement. Taeh’yung beams at him.

‘You know Kookie, I once spent time at a terrible terrible place,’ Taeh’yung continues, much to Jungkook’s apprehension and confusion. ‘This place was dark; and it took so much from you. One of the worst places I’ve been to in this Known Universe.’

‘So…I’m guessing we now know who wanted us to fail in the Special Jury.’

‘Where is Lmiura right now by the way?’

‘It says on the GLA Database here she reported into office 2 weeks ago and hasn’t completed logs or reports since. No reason has been given.’

‘Why were you there? What happened?’

‘Oh I just wanted to check something out!’ Taeh’yung tells him casually.

‘Why would you do that voluntarily?’ Jungkook asks, now more frustrated than anything. Why was Taeh’yung talking like this? What was wrong? He seemed the same, yet strangely excited.

‘I found out some things when I was there,’ Taeh’yung explains, ‘I was really able to understand a lot. And well, I guess you could say, just like fate, I was called for, and I was able to see so much.’

Taeh’yung suddenly stops.

‘Beauty, pain, death- creation,’ he breathes out before turning to look at him, ‘It was also when I found out I lacked something.’

‘…what is it?’ Jungkook asks cautiously as Taeh’yung continues to walk.

‘Silence,’ is Taeh’yung’s strange answer. ‘I was missing silence. And I had never really realized…how absolutely beautiful it is.’

Jungkook fervently hopes Taeh’yung won’t continue to speak in riddles anymore and to his relief the Zhak’gri seems satisfied with what he’s said and remains silent as they make circles around the place. It’s frustrating, but Jungkook also does not want to accidently trigger a strange conversation again when he thinks he should be concentrating on what the others were saying too.

‘That’s on track with what happened with us,’ Namjoon is saying.

‘Spaces, has it only been 2 weeks?’ Sk’jin sounds annoyed.

‘Do we know where Amme is?’ Jimin speaks suddenly.

‘No. She’s missing too. I’m at the landing point now.’

‘I see you,’ Namjoon’s words catches Jungkook’s attention. ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’

‘Should we be coming back?’ He asks quickly.

‘No,’ Both Jimin and Namjoon answer him. ‘No- but everyone be at the ready to change course of action.’

‘Understood.’ Is the resounding echoing chorus of a response they get the from the rest of the GI, making Sk’jin giggle nervously.

‘Yyna, keep us at green, ready to leave at any moment,’ Hoseok is ordering, ‘Also continue maintaining shields.’

‘Understood, Head Pilot Hoseok.’

‘Hey Kookie,’ Taeh’yung suddenly calls, ‘You wanna make one of these for Jinnie? I think he’d look quite nice in it right?’

‘Um-,’ Jungkook looks over at where Sk’jin was, now not even attempting to help Amad’la with the trapdoor, just full on focusing on the discussion they were having. ‘Yeah, I guess.’

Jungkook wishes he could understand more, but sometimes he feels as though the others are trying to not let him really understand everything. Jungkook wonders if it’s because of his age, or if maybe they were trying to protect him from knowing too much. Knowing too much was what caused so many of them to be here- from what Jungkook has read, has come to understand, and has pieced together from what he’s been told, he understands that all of them were here because they knew too much. Namjoon, Hoseok, Sk’jin- and Yoongi.

Jungkook still doesn’t quite understand how Yoongi from the past could exist now when this Yoongi wasn’t really entirely him of the past. And yet, from what Jungkook understands, this was what was causing him to be the way he was. Exhausted, worn out, fading- not because of his mind, or his body- but like Megibīya, because-

‘I think this circumference is about right for Jinnie,’ Taeh’yung nods.

‘Taeh’yung?’

‘Hm?’

‘…um, what is a soul?’

Taeh’yung blinks at him with some surprise before he grins.

‘Oh Kookie that- that is the question isn’t it?’ he smiles. ‘So many Beings, so many cultures, religions, studies, science- they all have their own explanation as to what a soul could be, what a soul is- and if it even exists in the first place.’

‘Do…do you think it’s not real?’

‘Oh, I absolutely believe in it,’ Taeh’yung nods fervently, ‘You see Kookie- a soul, at least from what I can see, is just memories.’

‘Memories?’

Taeh’yung nods again.

‘Memories, dreams- nightmares,’ Taeh’yung stretches his arms up. ‘And none of these are permanent- none of these are well, unchangeable- memories change, dreams fade, nightmares relent- nothing really stays- that’s why you can’t study the soul- can’t say what it is- not when it’s always changing, always shifting.’

‘…okay,’ Jungkook sort of regrets asking.

‘Why do you ask?’ Taeh’yung asks him in turn.

‘I-…I was um, thinking,’ Jungkook replies. ‘Does…does a soul make you tired?’

Taeh’yung pauses in his actions.

‘Oh Kookie,’ the Zhak’gri grins, the figures behind him jitter to a strange stop. He starts to walk ahead again and Jungkook quickly follows. ‘You really are asking the best of questions.’

There’s a strange flicker of light- like something exploded far away. And Jungkook isn’t sure if he imagined it or not.

‘Did you see that?’ he asks, stopping in his tracks as he looks to the side.

‘No one’s left Axudar?!’ Sk’jin is asking incredulously.

Taeh’yung seems to have noticed it too, though he doesn’t say anything. The movement around him is suddenly frenzied again- their whispers pitched like screams yet Jungkook can’t quite hear it.

The hair on the back of his neck stands on end and he can feel a tenseness coiling in his muscles, preparing for something he cannot predict.

‘We saw no one- none of our scans saw a thing I don’t understand. Namjoon I think you need to double back and get out of there at once.’ Jungkook hadn’t realized Ilya had joined in on the call.

‘Is something wrong?’ Jungkook asks at once, scanning the place immediately and looking back to where Amad’la and Sk’jin were still visible. They didn’t seem to have noticed anything though Sk’jin is frowning down at his screen.

‘Hey did you guys notice anything weird?’ Taeh’yung calls loudly, waving his arms in wide arcs. The movement around him is chaotic now. But Sk’jin is distracted and he’s not looking over at them.

‘Taeh’yung-.’

‘Right- right, absolutely-…-Ilya I also need your help contacting the Yisheng Amme if you can-.’

‘Taeh’yung I think we should go back down-,’ he tries to say.

‘Maybe it was the sun winking,’ Taeh’yung suggests to Jungkook.

‘Taeh’yung!’ Jungkook gets out in frustration. ‘I think something is wrong! So stop ing around!!’

‘-we’re going to have to go through with Plan G at this point, Jimin, Yoongi could you two-.’

Taeh’yung looks around with an amused look on his face, opening his mouth to laugh when suddenly instead, a dribble of blood bursts out of his mouth, and a small stain appears immediately around a strange protrusion piercing through his chest.

Jungkook cannot move fast enough.

His vision narrows, edges blurred and sharp at the same time, colour fading yet centered on so much red- the red of Taeh’yung’s foliage crown, it’s leaves falling off of it’s hold, the deep red of the blood pouring from the sides of his mouth, red blossoming like some treacherous flower in his chest.

Movement flickers behind Taeh’yung as he slowly slumps down like some hazy mirage but Jungkook does not care for it. The whispered screams he’s been hearing around Taeh’yung shutting down immediately.

Taeh’yung’s eyes meet his and for a moment, for a strangely lucid moment, the Zhak’gri smiles at him before his eyes roll back.

*

Author’s Notes

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US HEATHENS AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

LIKE AN ARROW IN THE BLUE SKY

*holds mic out to you guys*

So, confession time- I’ve had, I noticed, a lapse in my editing with Yoongi’s speech. As you might have noticed, his speech was normally centered and some of it was aligned strictly to the right or to the left whereas everyone else’s speech is aligned justified. This is a purposeful choice in formatting to display the differences that live within Yoongi – when his speech is centered, it shows that he’s completely balanced. And it’s supposed to be balanced for quite a while now but I think there was a mishap in one of my updates from last time and then honestly I just forgot and that is a terrible slip up from me I noticed it as I reread the chapters to write this one, so I apologize for that, and would like to inform you all that I have indeed changed the formatting for all the required chapters! Once again, I am sorry! This does not really affect so much of the storytelling but it does add that layer of character to Yoongi and who he is and his story in a subtle way. You don’t need to reread anything frm the past chapters or anything

Speaking of Yoongi

God I miss him =((((

Also I want to thank all of my readers again who still continue to read and give me comments, it really means so much to me, I can’t explain it. But I’m always so grateful that you still follow these updates though they come quite slow these days, I will try my best to deliver on time and be better with updates!

I hope that you have a good holiday, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, that you have a good day of relief and good news and good vibes as a whole. I’m slowly getting my together and I hope that in the next update, you will hear positive news from my side! Thank you so much for still sticking with ADEGU and still enjoying what I write, thank you so much!!!

Also self promo time please check out these 3D renders I did based on the BE album photo shoots:

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