Bestowed upon the five of you is the power to protect time and to keep it's flow ever moving, ever constant. There can be no harm that comes to the timeline for if that were to happen, the future would change. For better or for worse, nobody knows. For if the timeline were to be altered, lives would be at stake. Even yours.

 

In their hands laid a bow, one that allowed them to travel between the passages of time. The blue arrow and the red arrow indicated the direction of time flow that would be altered. Blue being the future and red being the past. The purple being the present. Time after time, the 5 of them fought against entities that would destroy the time flow, enemies of all shapes and sizes. Some even human. But that didn't stop them from protecting what was important to them.

 

Time after time, they would keep everything the way it should be without changes.

 

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

 

13 : 05

 

"On your left!" the leader of them, Jonghyun, commanded. The oldest of the five, Aron, turned to his left and snipped the creature with his bow. The arrow struck the animal-like creature right in its guts. It had the face of a sabertooth tiger but body of a round boar with a tail like a horse. 

 

"How many are there this time?" he grunted, knowing that they would gradually run out of stamina first with the horde of creatures attacking.

 

"Too many to count," the youngest, Mingi hissed while clicking this tongue as he shot down another. 

 

"How are things looking from up there?" Jonghyun asked into his earpiece. 

 

"Another 20 more has emerged from the right street. The three of you might want to steer clear now," their eyes in the sky, Minhyun replied. 

 

"He still hasn't found the main body yet?" Mingi huffed and Minhyun let out a soft chuckle that went unheard. 

 

"Give him some time. There's too many large spikes this time. It's as if they're masking their leader's position," Minhyun replied calmly as he helped to snipe whatever he could from his vantage point. 

 

"I can hear you guys, you know," their front man, Dongho scoffed as he alone wandered the sewer areas where the energy spikes were the strongest. 

 

"No luck yet?" 

 

"Nope. Got rid of some smaller ones but none of them are the main body," Dongho sighed, feeling annoyed by now. He had been searching for an hour straight without rest while the rest had been fighting the hordes of creatures, trying to keep the damage to a minimum. 

 

"Need any help?" Jonghyun asked and he heard a snort in response.

 

"You guys just keep holding them back up there. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything."

 

13 : 55

 

A second became a minute. A minute collected time after time to almost an hour before Dongho's next call came in.

 

"Found it~" he chirped.

 

"Great! Then get rid of it because I'm about to lose all feelings in my arms now," Mingi said in an annoyed tone.

 

"About that. I've been trying to but I need you guys here."

 

"What's the matter?" Jonghyun asked to assess the situation. The horde size had decreased but they were still relentlessly attacking, making the four of them including Minhyun really tired by now.

 

"He has 5 hearts. The moment I shoot the next one down, he recovers the previous one so I need at least 2 backups here," Dongho clarified and Jonghyun pursed his lips, trying to think of a solution.

 

"We are quite pinned down here too. Minhyun, go and help Dongho."

 

"Urk... Into the sewers?"

 

"Haha. You send the cleanest guy to the stinkiest place?" Dongho chuckled but behind his laughter, they could also hear his tired pants.

 

"Fine. I'm coming. Don't you dare die on me before I make it there," Minhyun scoffed and took off from his position.

 

"I won't."

 

"I'll send Aron or Mingi once we have lesser creatures to deal with here." 

 

14 : 09

 

Minhyun managed to make his way down to the sewers while avoiding as many of the creatures as he could. Reason being, he wasn't the best at close combat and knowing he had to maneuver through a sewer was already enough to make him want to hurl. He followed the tracker on Dongho's device and gradually came face-to-face with the main body. Large fangs stuck out its protruded snout. Its fur shimmering from the water stuck to its boar like body and its hooves strike the ground, mercilessly kicking up whatever gunk and dirt up. Dongho dodged it's charge and shot again at one of its many hearts pumping like warts around his body.

 

"Dongho," Minhyun whistled his name and regretted his decision as the foul stench filled his lungs. It made him want to cough but he covered his mouth instead.

 

"You're here. Now you see my problem," Dongho said while shooting a couple more times. Every time he hit another heart, the last one would heal up. "I can't hit both sides at one time so I'll need you to aim at the ones over there."

 

Minhyun disliked engaging in combat in tight confined spaces like this since it made aiming difficult too but he didn't have a choice as the creature had took notice of him and changed his target. He dashed out of the way as it came charging, Dongho running up to his side.

 

"You're paying for my laundry," Minhyun whined and Dongho laughed aloud.

 

"Sure, sure. Let's hunt that thing down first!"

 

"Here."

 

Dongho looked at what Minhyun placed in his hands and squealed in delight. "I really can use this?"

 

"As long as we lure it above ground first. If we are lucky, we can kill it before the others make it."

 

Dongho loved the sound of that since he loved a good challenge.

 

14 : 44

 

"How are things going there? We are coming over now," Jonghyun said worriedly since there hadn't been a word from the two since Minhyun mentioned that he had arrived to help Dongho. There was more static and that worried Jonghyun. "Let's pick up our pace."

 

"But there's no more new ones. Do you think they beat it?" Mingi asked and Aron shrugged.

 

"Most likely."

 

The sight that greeted them surprised them as Minhyun and Dongho were both resting on the dead body of the main body much to Minhyun's chagrin but the other wanted to look good for the win.

 

"You guys really beat it!" Mingi gasped in excitement and Dongho grinned widely.

 

"Of course. We are undefeated together," Dongho huffed proudly and Minhyun rolled his eyes.

 

"Last I check, we don't work well together."

 

"You do," Aron piped since they always win faster whenever the two paired up despite their tiny bickers. "Well, now that this is all fixed. Shall we go back to the present?"

 

"Alright. Huddle up, guys," Jonghyun said as he prepared an arrow. Baekho held his hand out to Minhyun who scoffed and took it before hopping down the carcass. As if that has triggered an earthquake, the ground started to shake mercilessly, throwing the five of them onto the ground.

 

"What's going on?!" Mingi cried out and Jonghyun's arrows scattered everywhere.

 

"Keep your head down!" Dongho yelled out to Minhyun, pouncing over him as well. Minhyun was shocked as rubble started to fall over them as the building beside them started to collapse.

 

"Dongho! Minhyun!" Aron screamed while snatching up one of Jonghyun's fallen arrows and shot without checking the color.

 

"Hyung, no!" Jonghyun gasped as he saw the color of the arrow zipping past him. The arrow landed and a blast of light surrounded them.

 

14 : 50

 

Minhyun grunted and shifted, feeling Dongho's weight on him. He gasped when he felt something wet and sticky on him.

 

"Dongho?" he croaked and whimpered as he saw the blood streaking down Dongho's face and body. "No, no... Hey, don't joke around like this. Wake up."

 

He looked up and noticed the other 3 standing in front of them. Their faces were stricken with different emotions. Fear, shock, pain. Minhyun moved Dongho to the side carefully as he sat up, wondering what they were staring at to the point that the two of them were left abandoned. When his eyes saw what they saw, he understood why they had gone still. Aron was the first to turn his head and look at the both of them. His face pale and his body trembling.

 

"Guys...," Minhyun whispered while pulling out his healing potion to give Dongho. "Don't look at it..."

 

"But this... This is our future," Mingi spoke up, voice cracking as he looked at the 5 dead bodies. Minhyun sighed and held Dongho close.

 

"That is our future regardless. Humans aren't made to live forever," Minhyun said softly. "This is why we were warned to never look into our own futures."

 

"But all of us dying together? And we don't even look that much older than we do now," Jonghyun was the one who spoke this time, his voice laced with a sharp tone as if he didn't want to believe what he saw. "I... Don't want to accept this..."

 

Minhyun looked around them. Death everywhere. The deserted streets, the rundown buildings. He looked at the 5 bodies and then his 3 friends who seemed far away. Then back at Dongho. If there was anyone who could reassure them, it would be Dongho right now but he had passed out.

 

"We should head back," Minhyun sighed after some thought. "To the present. Enough of the future."

 

"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful with the arrow... I'll send us back now," Aron strutted a little as he pulled out the purple arrow. He shot at the ground and it burst as if a mirror had broke, sending them back to the present.

 

23 : 10

 

Nobody said a word after that. Everyone just went back to their own routine. Checking their arrows and bows. Minhyun put Dongho to rest and did his own stuff too. He helped Dongho clean up as well, sighing as he knew how much the future always affected anyone who saw it. That's why there will always be people or creatures who messed with it. Still, what could they do? They weren't allowed to mess with the timeline. If that's what their actions lead them to, then they would just have to accept it. 

 

Minhyun felt frustrated because he couldn't help the others feel better. How could he comfort them when they just saw their near future? Dead. That's all they would be. Minhyun laid down on his shared bed with Dongho and sighed, knowing that thinking wouldn't get him anywhere. He might as well rest while he could. 

 

00 : 00

 

Dongho's eyes opened widely when he heard a sharp crack. The same as whenever they opened a time portal but it was too close for comfort. He saw the space tore in front of him, a figure standing with their bow in their hand. He couldn't tell who it was but he felt uneasy, so much that he saw Minhyun beside him and rolled over to protect him despite the pain that seared through his back. There was a split scream and Minhyun woke up in confusion as time warped right next them. He gasped and clung onto the bed to stop himself from getting dragged in. He managed to grab hold of a purple arrow and threw it into the tear, closing it up before they both got dragged in. 

 

The wind died down and Dongho collapsed onto Minhyun, breathing deeply as he tried to wrap his head around what just happened. Their friends' shared bed were ripped to shreds from the tear of time along with the edge of their own bed. The walls and ground were filled with what seemed like cracks that resembled those of a broken mirror. Minhyun laid him down properly and frowned.

 

"Someone opened the time portal with the intent to harm us...?" Minhyun muttered softly. "Dongho, are you okay?"

 

"Yeah... My back hurts like crazy though. What happened?"

 

"I don't know either but I think... One of us has betrayed everyone else."

 

"Huh?" Dongho couldn't understand after all. He looked at Minhyun with confused eyes. "But why? We were all fine..." 

 

Minhyun felt bad and shook his head. How should he even tell the other about what had just happened?

 

"Minhyun, be honest with me... I can see the conflict in your face," Dongho whispered.

 

"We went into the near future...," he started slowly, still hesitant to tell Dongho but the look in Dongho's eyes made him feel guilty if he hid it. He was the only one who hadn't witnessed it after all. "And we were all dead."

 

"But...humans die regardless..." 

 

"Yes, but we hadn't grown old or anything. We looked the way we do now. Which is probably what set one of them off. They seemed to have taken it pretty harshly." 

 

"Are you sure we weren't attacked by someone else?" Dongho asked carefully and Minhyun pursed his lips.

 

"I don't think so..."

 

"Why?"

 

"Just a feeling... It's too coincidental for it to be someone else."

 

Dongho sighed and nodded. "So someone triggered a time warp to change the future... How will we find out who and fix this?"

 

"We will have to bring them back before they do any significant changes to the timeline."

 

"Hey, Minhyun..."

 

"Yes?"

 

"Did we... Die together?"

 

Minhyun blinked in confusion, together as in all five of them or together as in the both of them. Dongho noticed the confusion in Minhyun's face and shook his head. 

 

"Ah, nevermind. Just ignore my question."

 

"Huh? Okay."

 

8 : 00

 

"Okay. Ready," Minhyun said as he and Dongho had prepared themselves to time warp in search of their three friends.

 

"Whatever happens, we are coming back to the present, right?" Dongho asked, never really imagining that one day he would have to go after his own friends to stop them from changing the timelines. Minhyun nodded and held Dongho's hand for some comfort.

 

"I don't want to die early too but... We swore to protect the timelines... So even we can't break it," he whispered and Dongho gave his hand a tiny squeeze.

 

"Me too... Let's do our best."

 

Minhyun nodded and let go of his hand to pull the string of his bow. The blue crystal at the tip of it gleamed before he released his hold, opening a time warp as it tore open the fabrics of time itself. They set out into the time warp carefully, stepping onto the luminous glass bridge that shone in different colors. They looked at the red strings zipping across, checking the timeline for any abnormalities.

 

"Do you think they stepped out of the time warp?" Dongho asked as they stuck close to each other.

 

"Hard to say. Even if they chose to hide here, there's not really much place to hide in a straight path."

 

"Not unless they break it and jump down," Dongho said and stopped walking, holding a hand out to make Minhyun stop in his steps too. The bridge stopped in front of them, something that had never happened before. It looked like it had broke off rather cleanly too. 

 

"This has never happened before," Minhyun gasped, uncertain what this meant for them. 

 

"Maybe they jumped down after all... Or... The past stops here," Dongho said in a dreadful tone that made Minhyun gulp nervously. 

 

"How can it..." 

 

"To stop us from going further back. Which means... They can't be too far off. Whoever it was that betrayed us obviously wouldn't have just taken two of them and not come back for us." 

 

"So you're saying... This is a trap?" 

 

As if Minhyun's words triggered an event, one of the red lines snapped and they both flinched from the sound. That was never a good sound as if the life cord on a bungee jump snapped. 

 

"That can't be good," Minhyun said while looking at the timeline. "We should go and check. I don't think that's them." 

 

Dongho nodded and aimed at the broken timeline, releasing his arrow to open the time warp for them to leave. Just as they both dove in, they heard a familiar voice call out to them in the midst of the jump. 

 

"Dongho! Minhyun! Help me!!" 

 

"Mingi?!" Dongho gasped in surprise and looked around the bright lights surrounding him and Minhyun but couldn't find their youngest even as he frantically searched for him. 

 

"Dongho, hold on," he heard Minhyun said and just as they exited the time warp, Dongho saw Mingi trying to catch up to them before a dark shadow pulled him back into the light. 

 

"MINGI!!" 

 

Minhyun landed on his feet while Dongho stumbled and rolled, hissing as his back touched the ground before hurrying up and gaped at the shutting time warp.

 

"Did you hear that? It was Mingi! We have to save him."

 

Minhyun frowned and looked at the worried Dongho for a moment before checking his surroundings.

 

"Maybe but what if that was a trap? What if Mingi is the one who betrayed us?" Minhyun asked as his tone changed for something more alert. There had to be something here either way since the timeline broke.

 

"You really think he would?! Mingi would be the last person who would betray us..."

 

"And you think Aron and Jonghyun would?!" Minhyun snapped back at him. Dongho gritted his teeth, not wanting to think about the possibilities of any of them betraying each other. He pulled himself up and scoffed.

 

"Fine... Let's just figure out the problem here and go back to the present first."

 

"Good. No point in us arguing here and getting split up either," Minhyun sighed, glad that Dongho dropped it as they started to look around for the anomaly.

 

10 : 40

 

After defeating the anomaly with a bit more difficulty than usual, the two made it back to the present. Minhyun stood at the space where the shared bed was before and wondered why did they take the entire bed with them? For what purpose? Dongho went back to sulking and cleaned himself off of any gunk that was on him.

 

"I'm starving, Minhyun. I'm going to cook something for us," Dongho said and left the room. Minhyun nodded absent mindedly before realising that they probably shouldn't split up right now. They could come back at any time and try to take them both too. Why? Minhyun wasn't sure but he was determined to stop them first. He went after Dongho but stopped briefly when he heard the sound of a crystal dropping onto the floor. Turning around, he saw a red crystal shimmering on the floor and frowned.

 

"It's a trap," he told himself and hurried off to find Dongho instead. He wasn't much of a cook but he did make sure the kitchen area was clean while the other cooked. They ate almost too silently before Dongho decided to break the silence.

 

"So... How do you think they plan on changing the past to change the future? Its not like the creatures where they just try to ensure their survival by wiping out their competitions or the humans who want to selfishly change their future."

 

"I don't know. Without knowing who the traitor is, it's hard to tell what their next move is. Knowing Mingi, he wouldn't really have much of a plan but rather just go with his gut feeling. Jonghyun would have a perfect impeccable plan and Aron would be somewhat in the middle."

 

"So we have to come up with a counter plan for all 3..."

 

Minhyun nodded reluctantly and sighed. It didn't feel good to plot against his own friends for sure.

 

"Why don't we just join them?" Dongho blurted out and Minhyun frowned.

 

"How can we do that? We swore to protect the timeline. You want us to break that swear just to save our own skins?" Minhyun hissed and Dongho whined.

 

"No. But I don't want to fight them."

 

"Neither do I. Let's....just find them and try to talk them out of it first," Minhyun said and pouted. He would join them in a heartbeat if he could but the promise they made never to use their abilities for themselves held strong in his heart, not that he was sure if the others even remember it at this point to have done something like this.

 

12 : 23

 

"Let's go," Dongho said after they had changed and prepared again. Minhyun wasn't sure if going back without a proper plan would be wise but right now, there was no way for them to plan anything anyway. Their enemies were friends and anything can happen in the passage of time.

 

"Okay. Let's go," he said after giving himself an inner encouragement. Stepping into the time bridge again made Minhyun feel uncomfortable. Mostly because there had always been 5 of them looking after each other's back but now there was only him and Dongho. Another reason being, they weren't sure where to look for the others. 

 

"Still nothing on the tracker?" Dongho asked as Minhyun lifted up his tracker just to be sure before shaking his head. 

 

"We take them off before sleeping so... They probably removed them." 

 

"Great. Should we split up and check some of the timelines?" 

 

"Not a good idea but it would cover more ground," Minhyun muttered to no one in particular. 

 

"Well, let's just hurry up before they actually break something that can't be fixed," Dongho sighed, wondering why this had to happen. He went slightly ahead of Minhyun who fiddled with his tracker to try to get some energy signs instead. Maybe something would show up. 

 

Just as he looked up to find for Dongho, an arrow landed right in front of him. He gasped and moved back as he recognised the type of arrow it was. 

 

"Dongho!" Minhyun yelled a little too late as the arrow's tip exploded, breaking the bridge even further. Dongho turned back and gasped, trying to run back to Minhyun but he had gone too far ahead and the bridge was already falling. Minhyun reached his hand out but the other dropped further and further away from his grasp. He looked up with a glare as he saw Aron lowering his bow while he hung onto the red timeline. "Hyung! What do you think you're doing?!" 

 

"I'm sorry, Minhyun. I had to," Aron replied with a guilt filled tone as he entered the time warp. 

 

"You're not getting away!" he hissed and shot his arrow towards the same timeline, chasing after Aron. He was confused as he entered the timeline. It was where they had all first met. What were they doing here? The 5 pods surrounding him reminded him of when he first stepped out, just reawaken as a timekeeper with not much memories to hold onto but only a memory they all shared. Aron was there ahead of him and Minhyun gave chase. "Stop, hyung! Don't make me shoot you! Why are you doing this to us? What do you plan to do?"

 

Aron stopped running and slowed down, panting a little before he spun around. Minhyun noticed that he was still as pale as he was after seeing the future.

 

"I don't want us to die," he started softly and pursed his lips.

 

"I don't want that either but we can't do anything to harm the timeline either. That's not why we are here. We can't be selfish about this," Minhyun said, wondering how he could talk then out of it. Or at least, talk Aron out of it if he is the traitor. For now, he seemed to be in Minhyun's eyes.

 

"B-but... We were given this power. Can't we? Be selfish for ourselves? To protect the ones we love most?"

 

"No, hyung... It doesn't work this way. We promised each other that we wouldn't..."

 

Aron gritted his teeth and shook his head as tears formed in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Minhyun. I am... But I don't want you or Mingi or... Anyone to die. So I have to do this."

 

"What... What is it that you're doing?" Minhyun tried to rack his brains to figure out where this was all leading. The timelines. The pods. "Why did you have to break the bridge?"

 

Aron didn't say a word. He stood there quietly and kept his gaze lowered. It made Minhyun utterly confused since he wasn't being attacked or anything. He didn't know what to do either. Think, Minhyun, think. What was Aron planning?

 

"Where is Mingi?" he decided to ask instead. Aron twitched and his grip on his bow tightened.

 

"He's asleep."

 

"Where?"

 

"I can't tell you."

 

"And Jonghyun?"

 

"I can't tell you either."

 

Minhyun glanced back. Something was wrong. This felt wrong. Like something was just prowling around waiting for something to happen.

 

Then it clicked.

 

"You're stalling," he said and Aron twitched again as if he was caught red handed. "Dongho. What did you do?"

 

"I'm sorry. We had to. He's the only one who can make you listen."

 

"We? You're all in on this?!" Minhyun hissed and turned back but an arrow landed beside his foot, making him jump to the side before glaring at Aron.

 

"I can't let you leave until he gets Dongho subdued. I'm sorry, Minhyun. We are just trying to save us."

 

"Dammit, hyung!"

 

12 : 25

 

Dongho was falling. He didn't know for how long but he gradually stopped falling, suspended in the air. He peeked his eyes open and sat up in a hurry. He didn't feel dizzy or anything despite the fall and the fallen pieces of the bridge had all disappeared. He stood up, surprised that it felt like land on his feet. What was going on? It was the first time he had fell down so he wasn't certain what to expect in the stretching darkness. It was scary to be alone but then he saw a red light approach him before he met a familiar face.

 

"Jonghyun!" he squeaked. "You're safe!"

 

"Dongho, I am safe. Did you fall down here too?" Jonghyun asked him and he nodded, relieved that it wasn't some creature he had to fight.

 

"Yeah. Someone shot the bridge and it broke and I fell. What happened to you guys?"

 

"I fell down here with Mingi when the time warp opened suddenly," Jonghyun said and Dongho blinked.

 

"So... Aron did this to us?" he asked and Jonghyun lowered his gaze.

 

"I suspect so. I haven't been able to find a way out yet. I'm not even sure what he's planning," Jonghyun sighed and rubbed his temples.

 

"Wait. So where's Mingi now?" Dongho asked and Jonghyun motioned his hand in a direction.

 

"That way. He's asleep. Want to go to him?" Jonghyun asked and Dongho nodded, feeling more comfort if he could meet up with all of them. Jonghyun led the way and Dongho jogged up to his side.

 

"So you guys have just been stuck down here the entire time?" Dongho asked and Jonghyun nodded.

 

"Aron seems to have found a way to travel between down here and up there but I don't know how he does it and I haven't been able to catch him either."

 

"Tsk... Do you agree with what he's trying to do?"

 

"What do you mean?" Jonghyun asked while slowing down a little.

 

"Well, Minhyun told me what you guys saw in the future. Something about us dying? And he deduced that one of you guys were going to change the past so that future doesn't happen."

 

"And you guys don't agree to it?"

 

"It's not that we don't agree but... We did promise not to mess with the timeline even if its for our own sake."

 

At that point, Jonghyun had stopped walking and Dongho slowed down to a stop as well.

 

"Jonghyun?"

 

"Would you have said the same if you saw Minhyun dead?" he asked in a soft yet harsh tone. "Would you have said the same if you saw all of us dead...?"

 

"Hey... What's the problem?"

 

"The problem... Is that... We have this power and yet we can't utilise it."

 

Dongho started to get nervous. He usually only felt this jittery when he was facing a boss for the first time. That feeling of a predator staring right at him. That was the feeling Jonghyun gave him right now and he seemed to realise why.

 

"Aron didn't plan this. You did, didn't you?" Dongho chuckled nervously and Jonghyun looked at him with a pained expression.

 

"Sorry. We had to separate you from Minhyun. You two work too well together," Jonghyun said and threw the red light down. Dongho readied his bow but Jonghyun backed off into the darkness.

 

"Stop screwing around, Jonghyun. You don't know what will actually happen if you change the timeline."

 

"I know. I'll save all of us."

 

"No! You might very well be the one killing us all right now!" Dongho snapped. He couldn't just simple fire into the darkness, in fear that he might hit Jonghyun. He spun around, thinking he heard footsteps but then something struck beside him instead. It hit something and Dongho was about to make a smart remark but smoke started to fill the air, causing him to lower his bow. "You coward!"

 

"Sorry, just go to sleep for me. You know we can't fight you head on."

 

"I won't...." Dongho fought against the sleeping powder, trying to walk out of it but Jonghyun just released more until he dropped to his knees, eyes dropping as he struggled. He tried to lift his arms but couldn't find the energy in him to do so. With one last groan, he fell asleep.

 

12 : 40

 

Minhyun breathed in sharply as he and Aron had exchanged shots at each other for the past 20 or so minutes, doing their best to avoid each other while still stalling for time.

 

"Enough, hyung."

 

"You know you can't win against me in terms of stamina, Minhyun. You've always been our eyes in the air and you don't have Dongho with you. You also don't want to shoot me."

 

Minhyun cursed softly under his breath since Aron was right.

 

"Just give up and make things easier for yourself."

 

"Never. I'm not breaking our promise..."

 

"Promises mean nothing if the situation has changed and it has!"

 

"Regardless if it has or not, it's not our duty to change the timeline but to maintain it!" Minhyun snapped.

 

"Then, I have nothing left to say to you."

 

"You've done enough, Aron."

 

Minhyun spun around and gasped as Jonghyun walked towards them with Dongho in tow.

 

"Dongho!"

 

"Don't worry. He's just asleep."

 

"How could the two of you do this?! We look up to the both of you!" Minhyun hissed in pain. "We trusted you."

 

"Then trust me this time too, Minhyun," Jonghyun said and Minhyun shook his head.

 

"No... We have to accept it... Whatever it is...."

 

"Why must we be punished for keeping the timeline safe? We have done all we could and we only get death in the near future? I won't accept it," Jonghyun said and Minhyun cried out, unable to even aim at Jonghyun since it was Jonghyun and he also had Dongho.

 

"It's not up to you... Or any of us. Why can't we just... Live happily in the present that we have?"

 

"Because that will all disappear..."

 

"We don't know that."

 

"We do! We are the ones keeping the timeline in check after all."

 

It was hopeless. Minhyun knew it. He couldn't talk sense into them because to them, this was the sensible route to keep them all alive.

 

"So... What do you plan on doing?"

 

"Putting us all to sleep until the future passes. That way, there's no way for that future to happen," Jonghyun said. "Aron."

 

Aron flinched and nodded. He lifted his bow and aimed at Minhyun who stepped back.

 

"Get inside the pod, Minhyun... Please..."

 

"I can't... This will change things..."

 

Aron's expression twisted to one filled with anguish and pain. He didn't want to do this to his friend but he was doing it for everyone he cared about too. Jonghyun lifted Dongho into a pod and shut it.

 

"Move, Minhyun. Or I'll shoot Dongho instead," Jonghyun threatened him and that made his foot move involuntarily. 

 

"Why... Why are you making us do this...?" Minhyun asked as climbed into the pod. He slid his hand into his pocket and pursed his lips as Jonghyun shut the pod.

 

"I already told you. To protect us. I will do anything. Even if it's to break our promise."

 

Minhyun sighed and looked over Dongho. A promise.

 

"This... Won't work," Minhyun whispered. Jonghyun left and brought Mingi back, sliding him into his pod as well.

 

"Sorry, Minhyun," Aron apologised before climbing into his own. Minhyun watched as Jonghyun entered the final one before the sleep procedure activated. He closed his eyes and prayed.

 

?? : ??

 

Time passed and faded away. Minutes to hours to months and eventually years. No one knew what time it was anymore. What date. Or day. Every thing, every life devastated. Life grew and eventually died. After all, there was an end to everything. And at the end of it all, there was nothing.

 

That's all there was to it.

 

The end.