"Come on, wake up sleepy head" I hear a low voice say. My eyes flutter open in confusion. I don't see anything, why is it so cold here?
"Who are you?" I whisper, droplets of water falling on my chilled skin and creating shivers all over my body. The voice giggles like a madman all around me, echo that reverberates without end, making my head ache badly.
"You were dumped here" the voice whispers back, as if sharing a secret. Dumped? "What do you mean? What are you talking about? I was sleeping in a bed last night, I was-" "Dumped. You were dumped, put to trash, forgotten". I shut my mouth and try to stand up. My body hurts so much, what happened to me?
"Oh I wouldn't try to move so much, you're badly injured". I am? "Why is it so dark and cold here? Where the heck are we?" I ask, voice louder and tone annoyed. The man chuckles as the sound of water splashes around me.
"We're in the catacombs dear, where every useless mortals end their journey at the hands of death". Now it's my turn to chuckle. "You're speaking nonsense. How do I get out of here?". A long and twisted hum that raises the hair on the back of my neck. "Oh there's a way. One, but you wouldn't like it".
I scoff and try to get up again, this time causing me to scream. Why does my body hurt so much?! "What's the way? Help me up, for goodness' sake!" I scream, but the man goes quiet.
"You screamed at me?". The voice is low, like a groan, nothing like the teasing tone I could hear just a few seconds ago. What the fuck is going on-
A hand grips my face harshly. "Now you little bitch will have to understand one thing. Those who enter here never walk out alive. They never walk again at all. You want to know how to get out of here? You die, that's how". The hand pushes my head backwards and I try to catch my weight, but I realize I can't move my fingers. Huh?
"I- why can't I feel my fingers?". A laugh again, the teasing tone to it back in force. "I ate them. I was hungry and they looked so appetizing, you see, I haven't eaten anything in ages. H-huh?
"What sort of joke is this" I let out, voice shaking as I start to realize this isn't a situation I can get out of easily. I try to bring my hands to my face, but there's nothing. Nothing. No hands. They're gone. That's why it hurts. My hands-
Fear rises straight up and I start screaming. He ate my hands, he fucking ate-
"SHUT THE FUCK UP"
I wake up in sweat, heart beating fast and heart stuck in my throat. Shit... that felt so real. For a moment, I couldn't discern the difference between my memory and my current reality.
"Are you okay?" I hear from my side and turn my head to see Mark gazing at me from above, a hand on my forehead. "I... had a nightmare" I say, watch as his eyes understand quickly, the orange light from the bedside lamp shining on his face. "I managed to pull you out of it, I wasn't sure if it was a memory or simply a dream, you started screaming and for a moment, I thought we were being attacked". I sigh and rub my face, happy to notice that I still have my hands.
"I'm sorry, Mark... I... what hour is it?". He looks at his phone. "It's still early. Only 4 in the morning". I groan. "I can't get back to sleep, the memory will continue. It was only a small part of it, my soul needs to watch it until the end" I mumble, head sinking deep into the pillow.
He takes place comfortably in the bed and takes hold of my hand, the act soothing me slowly. He really is my other half. I see his confused eyes look at me, silent question in them. "Just like how twins need to be together to feel complete... my memories need to start and end so my soul can keep tract of what happens. If I relive only a half to miss the end... my soul will force it to happen and it might end up worse. I can't really afford that" I explain to him, watch as he frowns softly.
"Damn... your soul never remembers the good memories?". I shake my head. "I have many more terrible ones than I have good ones". He hums. "Then... how about we start making our way towards getting you to have more good memories, hm?" he says and I turn my head to meet his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?".
He smiles and brings a finger to my head. "Don't fight it" is all he whispers before I feel him slipping inside my soul. There's no violent reaction to his presence, only warmth as he quickly makes his way around like he owns the place. He goes deeper and deeper until he ends up in front of the walls.
"My goodness, Y/N... what is this, it's going to take ages for me to lock them away..." he whispers, hands starting to shake as he takes notice of what is beyond the walls. "Your ability... you can seal memories?" I murmur, realization hitting me hard. That's what Rain, the doctor, had meant with matching abilities- he meant Mark.
He hums, slowly analyzing the defenses my soul erected to protect me. "I can see a memory slowly waiting in a corner until you sleep again, that's the one we can't touch, right?". I nod slowly. "Okay. I know Rain said to wait, but we might as well start now. I... never really practiced on anyone, but I know how it works. I'll make my way beyond the wall, breath in and keep calm, okay?". "O-okay?".
Easily said, hardly done. I don't know how he does it, but he walks right through the walls and I start growing anxious. My soul's reaction is far from when doctor Bang did it, this time, it's like my soul recognizes his, knows it can't cause harm. Not like doctor Bang would ever, but he is a stranger, compared to Mark who is my twin brother.
"So many... They all scream, terrified and in pain... is this what you've been going through for all those years?" he asks, voice thick with emotions. "It is... I... I wish it would just stop, Mark... I'm tired" I whisper, throat constricting under the weight of my situation. "Oh little sis... we'll get through this, I promise" he says as he runs his free hand on my cheek. I lean into it, wanting to believe his words more than anything right now.
"I'll seal the louder ones... not many, just a few, we don't want to put your soul into a panic, it'll need to adjust to reorganize the space as we go" Mark explains before getting to work.
What happens next is very simple. Just like in the past when my memory of my family's incident, Mark grabs a memory and forces it to become as small as it can possibly be, making it become inactive. Like switching off the light. Unless the switch to on is made, the memory can never become seen, remembered ever again. So when he does that to one, then two, then three memories, although the amount is only a little, the weight liberating my soul is still immense. Huge relief setting over me.
"That'll be enough for now... they were really big, I can already see your soul pull the other memories closer to the back to fill the hole, I'll leave now" he says and I hum, feeling him go through the wall again and getting out of my soul.
I open my eyes and wait for him to do the same before smiling. "Thank-"
My whole body spasms strongly and I bend forward in pain, scream tearing through my throat as I feel like burning from the inside. Every noises gets blocked out from my system, every senses other than touch dimmed and then locked, making me prisoner of myself as I get lost in agony.
It was too much, too many at once, I realize through the hurt. My soul is panicking. My breath hitches in my throat and I try to grab on something, on someone. Something soft but strong grabs my hand before letting me go. Don't leave me alone. Don't-
Jungkook's POV
I wake up to the feeling of being absolutely terrified. Y/N. I sprint out of my room to find the others walking out with panicked eyes, everyone trying to understand what is happening. "What's going on?! What's happening to her?!" I scream, body already shaking as the feeling intensifies.
"I thought we couldn't feel her that well because of the barrier... wait" Namjoon mumbles as his eyes widen. "The barrier... what if it's currently not working? Taehyung, can you find her?" he says and Taehyung gets out of his stupor before closing his eyes, focusing on her like never before.
He forces his way to her, but when he frowns, anger taking over his face, over the bond, I feel my hope dim. "I can't... I can't" he whispers, tears starting to drop on his cheeks and Jin takes hold of him, pulling him in his arms while trying to make us calm down. "I can't contact her either... I can feel her, but she's not responding, she's locked away" Yoongi says, voice confused and near panic from not understanding why.
"They said she would be safe there! Did they lie?" Jimin asks, eyes wide as he starts thinking that maybe we left her in the wolf's den after all. Hoseok hits the wall with force, despair emanating from him in strong wave. I try to make my way to him, but someone suddenly appears in the middle of our group, making us take a step back in reflex, arms going over to protect our soulmates.
Waffle appears all of a sudden, growling madly at the stranger, already in a stance to get rid of the person should he do anything bad. The new arrival, a young man, he must be around Jin's age, stares at us with serious eyes.
"You're allowed to be next to your soulmate for an hour, maybe your presence will help her. Once the hour has passed, you'll be brought back here" he says and without warning, we're not home anymore.
Instead, we find ourselves facing a bed in which we can see Y/N, body curled up as beads of sweat cover her whole body. "Y/N" I whisper before rushing to her side, not caring in the least about the two men by the bed already.
As soon as I touch her softly, she jerks away before suddenly clutching on my hand with so much force I wince in pain. I hold it back and take in her state. She wriggling in place, her eyebrows furrowed so much I can see how painful her head must be right now. I let my ability take action to take her pain away from her, to soothe her, make it bearable. Help her heart beat slower, her breath calm down, become steadier. The hold her hand has on mine weakens, becomes softer.
Waffle jumps on the bed and makes his way to her stomach, knowing there's something soothing about hugging an animal. Her free arm curls around the fluffy beast, pulling him closer into her. Her part of the bond steadies little by little, nowhere as peaceful as it should be, but still a less panicked as earlier.
"I-I'm sorry, I wanted to help her, so I sealed a few memories... Rain told us to wait, I didn't listen, as usual" someone says and I turn to see the man who appeared by her side in the video chat yesterday. "You're Mark, right? Her twin?" Namjoon asks, eyes not leaving Y/N's figure. He nods.
I feel the bed sink and turn to see Yoongi sit besides me, the others taking place around her, worried eyes looking at her as if doing so could take her misery away. Jin and Jimin don't waste time in trying to send her as much good as they can, but eventually, Jin focuses on sending it all to Jimin so the latter can transmit it all straight to Y/N's body, making the emotions stronger and more effective. Taehyung and Hoseok are holding onto each other while stroking soothing forms on her back and leg.
Her panic fades a little as she seems to register our presence, so Jimin and Jin keep going while we try and control the bond as best we can to not make her feel our high anxiety.
"-mare so I wanted to start sealing some away as soon as possible, at first her soul's reaction was positive, but then it suddenly backfired... I went to get Rain as soon as possible, but there's nothing we can do except wait for her soul to get used to the sealed memories..." I hear the end of Mark's story and can't help but notice how terribly tormented his voice sounds.
I see Namjoon pat his shoulder softly. "It was a beginner's mistake, but the motive behind it is an honorable one. Y/N won't get mad at you, as much as it hurts her right now, those are memories that will never make her suffer ever again in the future, you can be proud of that" he tells her brother before climbing on the bed on my other side, his hands taking hold of a wet towel to wipe her face and neck with so much gentleness.
I turn my attention back to Mark as I run a thumb on Y/N's hand. His eyes are shining with tears, but he's putting on a strong face thanks to Namjoon's words. I give him a small smile and focus back on my soulmate.
"Approximately how long does she have to endure this?" Yoongi asks the other man who's wearing a doctor's coat. He steps forward to the bed and slowly brings a hand to her head. He stays like that for many long minutes and I can see him crisp and tense up from whatever is happening right now.
He eventually steps back and stumbles a little before Mark helps him to keep his balance. "Probably a few hours. Her soul is struggling, this is a new experience for it, we should've started with one memory at the time to let it get used to sealing" he says and I snap my head to him.
"A few hours yet we're allowed here only for an hour?!" I shout, not believing how ridiculous this is. How can he expect us to just leave her behind still hurting an hour later?!
The doctor turns to me with a light frown, but empathy in his eyes. "I get where you're coming from, but I'm currently playing with rules without being allowed to do so to try and help her. You guys aren't supposed to be here and I'll certainly pay the price for that later. So yes, one hour only. I know Park Seo-Joon already knows you guys are here so you'll be alright, but I know him enough to say that he won't tolerate more".
Yoongi wraps an arm around my shoulders to make me lean against him as we bring our attention back to our baby soulmate. "She'll be fine, she's strong. We'll give her all the love we can give her so she can pull through" he whispers loud enough for all of us to hear. I nod, putting all my resolve into making sure she can feel my bond pulsing for her.
I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it, making the contact last for as long as I can. "Y/N is the strongest person I know, she'll come back to us" Namjoon whispers, his eyes filled with so much certitude. "She is... she'll come back".
Oopsie... at least it won't be all for nothing, but poor her...