It was easier going on the ground than it had been up on the ridge. The enemy telekinetic continued to launch his projectiles, but they all went flying overhead, and the bullets fired from close range by the soldiers they encountered were easily blocked by Tayeon's shield, and removed from the land of the living by Jimin.
"I'm actually happy that telekinetic is still chucking stuff at them," said Namjoon. "Makes it easier for us to tell where he is."
"True," nodded Yoongi.
"It's exhausting blocking the boulders with a shield though," said Tayeon. "Every time one hits it makes you dizzy for a second or two."
Yoongi and Jimin both glanced at her worriedly, but she waved their concern away.
"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'll tell you if I'm struggling."
Jimin slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it tightly.
"Let's get there and stop the telekinetic as quickly as we can then," said Namjoon, just as another group of soldiers leapt out in front of them.
Tayeon dealt with four of them at once, picking them up with her telekinesis and flinging them as far as she could, whilst Namjoon and Yoongi removed the remaining soldiers, Yoongi rooting them to the spot with fear, and Namjoon using his enhanced strength and speed to his advantage.
"Huh, we make a great team," commented Namjoon.
"Who would have thought?" Taehyung rolled his eyes at them in vague amusement. "You two should have tried trusting each other years ago."
"Ha. Not funny, Taehyung-ah," Yoongi retorted, as the two girls and Jimin glanced at one another in amusement.
They continued on through the forest for what felt like an age, but in reality was only about twenty minutes, until Namjoon halted them all suddenly, holding up his hand, and laying a finger to his lips. Jimin frowned, concentrating, but then his eyes widened, and he nodded to Namjoon.
"I can hear voices," he mouthed to them silently.
They waited, as Namjoon and Jimin continued to listen in on whatever was going on up ahead with their enhanced hearing. After a minute or two, they withdrew a few paces so they could whisper without risking detection.
"There's a clearing up ahead," Namjoon explained. "They've got a few trucks in there - I can't tell how many, but it seems as though they've set them up like some kind of defensive wall, and the leaders are all inside of it."
"It's incredible to me that you can sense that much with your hearing," said Tayeon, in wonder.
"Which leaders are there?" Wondered Aeri. "All of them?"
"Quite a few of them at least," Namjoon nodded. "Dae-Seong and Seul-Ki from Dauntless, and the Erudite leader is there as well, and I'm pretty sure Abnegation. No Candor or Amity, though. At least, from what I could tell."
"What about the telekinetic guy?" Asked Taehyung.
"Not sure," Namjoon responded. "And have you noticed? He's stopped launching his boulders."
"Alright," said Yoongi. "Then we need to get in there and..."
He did not finish his sentence, as at that moment, a group of soldiers burst through the trees, managing to sneak up on them whilst they were distracted. Tayeon had her shield up, thankfully, but within a few seconds they were totally surrounded. Their cover was completely blown, as shots were fired, and cries of pain and anger shattered the quiet of the forest. Tayeon tried to take out as many of them as she could with her telekinesis, and saw Jimin running through them, slipping in and out of the edges of her shield. She tried to focus it on him, allowing it to bend and follow his movements, but then two more soldiers were coming for her, and she had to deal with them hastily.
Protecting six people, including herself, made it difficult to concentrate as shots continued to be fired. Having Yoongi with them was likely the only reason they were able to deal with so many soldiers at once, as he spread fear and dread through them all, effectively slowing down their actions. But these were hardened soldiers, evidently the cream of the army, and much better trained than any of the others. This point was proven to Tayeon when she suddenly realised that Subin and Taejin, the heads of the Dauntless army, had joined them.
"Yoongi!" She yelled, inclining her head towards them, and he nodded grimly.
"I know."
The two commanders went straight for Yoongi, and Tayeon instantly reached out, trying to throw them away. They appeared to be waiting for this, however, and both of them dodged the reach of Tayeon's telekinesis, causing her to let out a startled squeak, just as Subin raised his gun to shoot at her. Jimin was there suddenly, knocking the gun from his hand, and kicking Taejin off Yoongi. Taejin had apparently already lost his gun earlier in the fight, but as he fell, he rolled towards where Subin's gun had fallen, moving to pick it up again.
"Oh no you don't," said Tayeon, reaching for him. However as she did so, Subin took advantage of her momentary distraction, and leapt upon her, trying to pin her arms behind her back. He brought his elbow crashing against her temples, making her dizzy. Her shield instantly collapsed, as she tried to reorientate herself.
"Tayeon, no!" Cried Jimin, sensing her shield die down, and instantly turning to see what was going on.
The blonde was desperately trying to clear her head, but it was hard when the entire world was spinning.
Suddenly, all the fighting halted, and confused, the Divegents looked around, until they came face to face with Dae-Seong and Seul-Ki, the two Dauntless leaders. Yoongi could suddenly feel Namjoon's emotions boiling over with rage. He was about to leap at them in blind anger, but Yoongi laid a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
"Seems like your... ahem, "friends" are in a sticky situation," said Dae-Seong, raising an eyebrow at Yoongi pointedly, and Yoongi glanced around quickly to see that Jimin was also being held back by two soldiers, whilst Subin held Tayeon, who still looked a little disoriented after that blow to her head.
"Why are you doing this?" Asked Namjoon, glaring at the leaders.
"Isn't it already clear? We've sworn to protect our people," said Dae-Seong. "Especially from something as unstable and volatile as a Divergent population. The world will not be safe until every single one of you is dead."
"You don't understand the first thing about us," hissed Yoongi. "Maybe if you tried, you'd see how we can actually be of value to society. We want to build our own faction, and we're going to do that, with or without your consent."
"It's ironic that you say that," said Dae-Seong. "It may surprise you to know that we have one of your own working for us."
"We already know that," Taehyung rolled his eyes at him.
"Ah, I don't think you do. Sehyun?"
Suddenly, every pair of eyes was fixated on the figure coming through the trees, moving to stand beside Dae-Seong and Seul-Ki.
"Sehyun!" Exclaimed Namjoon, his eyes widening. "What..."
"Sorry," he shrugged, with a smirk. "I wanted to be on the winning side."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yelled Aeri, in anger. "Mi-Reu was so worried about you, and you've just turned your back on your best friend? On all of us?!"
"Sehyun's been of a great help," said Seul-Ki. "His mind reading abilities are especially useful."
The Divergents stared at him, and Yoongi felt the green tones of complete betrayal running through each of their auras, but added to it, an undercurrent of confusion. Yoongi himself was confused, because he knew for a fact that Sehyun was not a mind reader.
"It doesn't matter what you throw at us," he stated, determinedly. "We're going to achieve what we set out to do."
"I fail to see how you're going to achieve that after you're dead," said Seul-Ki. "Perhaps we'll demonstrate with your friends first, though. Bring them here."
He nodded towards Subin, and the soldiers that held Jimin, and Yoongi watched in growing horror. If he went for Jimin, then Tayeon would be dead before anyone could say anything more. However, Tayeon suddenly looked up, and met his gaze. Her arms were still pinned by Subin, but she gently turned her left wrist around, displaying her fire tattoo. Her eyes flicked to Namjoon, before returning to Yoongi once again, willing them both to understand.
All at once, there was complete and utter chaos.
Namjoon and Yoongi both went for Jimin, managing to rip the soldiers off him, and pull him away. Several shots rang out, Yoongi wasn't sure what exactly they hit. And Tayeon set herself on fire, causing Subin to leap away in sudden alarm, before he began to bat the flames that soon enveloped him as well. Taehyung and Aeri made a run for Dae-Seong and Seul-Ki, but the two quickly saw that the tables had been turned on them, and they took off through the trees.
"They're getting away!" Yelled Tayeon, after putting herself out, and shaking away the singed ends of her blonde hair.
"Namjoon, go!" Yelled Aeri.
Namjoon grabbed Yoongi's arm, giving him no time to react, and pulled him through the trees, trying to catch up with the two fleeing Dauntless leaders.
"A little warning would be nice," Yoongi grumbled, and Namjoon rolled his eyes at him, but kept going at full Enhancer speed.
All around them, the trees were bursting into flames, which was no doubt Tayeon's attempt at halting Dae-Seong and Seul-Ki's progress. They soon reached the clearing, and Namjoon finally slowed, pushing aside the trucks with little trouble, and walking right into their safety zone. Yoongi followed him in, and they immediately saw the escapees climbing into one of the trucks, preparing to flee. The rest of the clearing was entirely empty.
"You take the other side!" Yelled Yoongi, as he ran towards the truck. Namjoon followed him, leaping over the hood, and ripping the door off the other side. He yanked Seul-Ki's gun from him before he could fire it, tossing it away. He then ripped him out of the truck itself, before tossing him into the flames that now surrounded them.
Yoongi had managed to deflect Dae-Seong's shot away as the leader fired his gun at him, the bullet shattering the front window, and going straight into the engine.
"The truck's gonna blow in a minute!" Yoongi warned Namjoon, as he took Dae-Seong by the arm, and attempted to haul him out of the car, simultaneously directing all the fear he could muster towards his aura.
As soon as they were both clear of the vehicle, Namjoon picked up the truck, and threw it after Seul-Ki. Moments later, there was an almighty explosion, knocking all three of them off their feet. They sat for a second, all of them a little dazed by the noise. Dae-Seong was the first to react, immediately jumping to his feet, and running towards another truck. However, he seemed to hit an invisible wall which knocked him backwards, making him cry out in alarm.
Yoongi and Namjoon looked up in surprise to see that Tayeon, Jimin, Taehyung and Aeri had now joined them. Tayeon was using her shield to prevent Dae-Seong from escaping. Sehyun was also there, and Yoongi wasn't sure wether to be surprised or not.
Dae-Seong was now trying to find a way out of Tayeon's shield, a task which, if he'd known anything about a shield at all, he ought to have known was impossible. It was further proof that the ringleader of this entire operation did not really understand the people he was trying to kill. When he turned back towards Yoongi and Namjoon, he let out a scream upon seeing Jimin immediately before him, the blonde having moved swiftly and silently towards the Dauntless leader. It wasn't the soft and sweet Jimin, but the kind of Jimin that wore confidence like a cape, and smirked like a demon. He was a deadly kind of beautiful, and if Yoongi had the time, he might have been thankful that whenever he was on the receiving end of Park Jimin's smirk, it was not given with the intent to scare him half to death.
Dae-Seong was, perhaps understandably, terrified.
"You still haven't seen the last of it!" Dae-Seong yelled at them all, voice trembling almost imperceptibly. "You can kill me, but that doesn't mean you'll be safe. Someone else will take my place, and they'll all be coming for you. The people of this city know how much of a threat you are, and they'll never trust you!"
Namjoon advanced on him, not bothering to move quickly, as he knew there was nowhere he could run. He grabbed both of his arms, turning around to look at Yoongi, before raising an eyebrow.
The question in his eyes was clear. Yoongi breathed out heavily, conscious of the eyes of the other Divergents on them.
"You're responsible for the death of hundreds of people," he stated, looking Dae-Seong in the eye. "You've systematically hunted down a race that you believe to be dangerous, but have never truly bothered to understand. You've killed my friends, and you've killed my family."
Dae-Seong stared back at Yoongi steadfastly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I've found a way to live with the blood on my hands," he stated. "But can you?"
Yoongi stared at him for a second more, before his eyes returned to Namjoon's, and he nodded. Namjoon twisted his arm, swiftly breaking Dae-Seong's neck, before tossing him into the fire after Seul-Ki.
There was silence for a few minutes, everyone seeming to need time to process what had just happened. Namjoon was the first to speak.
"Sehyun?"
"I got captured," he said, with a sigh. "They were gonna kill me, I had to make something up."
"I knew you weren't a mind reader," said Yoongi, with a shake of his head. "Are you okay?"
"Mostly," said Sehyun. "Seen a lot of things I never wanted to see, but I'll be fine."
"I'm so sorry, Sehyun," said Aeri, her eyes filled with concern for what he'd been through. "If we'd had known you were there... but we just assumed you were in the valley with the others."
"So...what now?" Wondered Yoongi.
Two small hands slipped into each of Yoongi's, and two pairs of wide eyes looked up at him. He swallowed, squeezing their hands gently. They were so brave, even when they were so scared, and Yoongi didn't want to think about what could have happened. At least they were both safe now.
"The telekinetic we were after has stopped throwing things," said Tayeon quietly. "He's obviously not here, and we no longer have a way to track him down. I think we should get back to the valley."
"Okay," Yoongi nodded, looking at her for a minute, before turning to meet Jimin's chocolate gaze. The boy reached for the tips of Tayeon's hair, noting that some of the burnt parts were still flaking away. He met her eyes, and they smiled at one another.
"Let's go home," said Jimin.
As they headed back towards where they'd left their friends, it became more and more noticeable that the soldiers were becoming few and far between. It had taken many hours, but it seemed as though they'd finally seen the worst of it pass. They didn't speak much as they walked, but once they neared the edge of the forest, more gunfire, and the cries of a battle could be heard. They entered the clearing before the gate ready for a fight, but to everyone's amazement, their own army seemed to have grown in size.
"Looks like they've taken the battle to the ground," said Yoongi. "But who are all these people?"
"It must be the divergents from the other factions," said Taehyung, his eyes growing wider in amazement. "They're fighting with us!"
"Yoongi! Namjoon!"
"Sehyun!"
All eyes turned to look towards where Jungkook, Ae-cha, Nu-ri and Mi-Reu were rushing towards them. Sehyun was immediately enveloped in a bone crushing hug by Mi-Reu and Nu-ri, and he beamed happily, patting their backs with affection.
"I missed you guys," he muttered.
"Looks like you've got everything under control," said Namjoon.
"We're almost there," said Jungkook. "I think the soldiers have realised they're fighting a losing battle, and they're retreating now. The Divergents from Amity, Candor, Abnegation and Erudite have all joined us now, and it was the most incredible thing you've ever seen."
"Where's the others?" Wondered Aeri.
"Hobi and Jin are still up on the ridge," said Ae-cha. "We figured it was best to keep someone up there, and they were doing such a good job of it before. Jisoo and Ji-Hu are somewhere around here."
"I'm impressed Jungkook, Ae-Cha," Namjoon nodded to them.
"You two have done a fantastic job of leading the battle up here," Yoongi agreed immediately.
"They really have," said Nu-Ri, as Jungkook glowed at the praise, and Ae-Cha smiled bashfully.
"Thank you," she spoke softly.
"We do have one problem though," said Jungkook. "The fire's spread inside the valley. We didn't try to contain it once it had got that far, just figured we'd hope that you'd come back in time to stop it, Tayeon."
"On it," Tayeon nodded, immediately turning to head towards the valley. As she went, she reached out with her power, feeling all the raw energy that was the vast fire she'd created, attempting to dismiss it. It was like trying to lift something extremely heavy - she strained under the weight of it, but persevered, and then suddenly, the flames began to die down, the calm expanding out in a circle around her, passing like a wave over the forest, and into the valley. Silence fell, and across the entire arena of battle, everything seemed to slow down.
"Wow," said Yoongi.
Tayeon turned, to see he was standing there beside Jimin, and they stared at each other for a moment, before Tayeon flew to hug them, holding onto the two of them as if she would never let go.
"We did it," she breathed.
All around them, people begun celebrating, turning to hug each other, and Tayeon felt tears spring to her eyes, overcome with emotion. Yoongi tilted his head down to press his lips to Jimin's, smiling as the enhancer kissed him back with fervour. Tayeon smiled too, albeit tiredly, as her boyfriends pulled away from one another to breathe. She felt exhausted, but concentrated one last time to open up her shield, wanting to share what she was feeling with Yoongi. Their eyes met, and then Yoongi was kissing her too, soft and sweet.
"Both of you are incredible," he murmured, drawing back to stare at them with awe. "My little angels."
Jimin laughed softly, and Tayeon shook her head, although she was smiling.
"So are you. We love you, Yoongi."
"I love you too."
A/N: fun fact, I'd decided I was naming this chapter "Louder Than Bombs" before I'd named the first chapter.