What is this stuff?
Jimin tugs on the black in the air. There is no other way to describe it, just darkness, velvet-like, the kind of thing you'd find only in the darkest forbidden corners of evil.
He thinks of J-Hope. Which would make sense, but...
It's him, and yet it isn't, as though someone had taken a quick sketch that had his features but nothing was quite right. Jimin let the airy substance slip through his fingers and it seemed to sigh in intense despair in his hands. He sympathizes with it. He understands the pain, the disbelief, the repressed memories, hiding who he really was just to survive...
This was the emotion that once weakened him. And now he must use it to escape.
Hesitantly he draws it in. The imitation power within him wakes up and the shadow slides over his hand like a glove. He nods to himself, satisfied, and with renewed urgency he finds the feeble strength within him to stand up. His muscles ache and he has to lean against the wall, take deep breaths in, out...
"-****ing stupid! Where's Jerome when you need him?"
"Why do we need Jerome?
"He's a light elementalist, you idiot!"
Everything is pitch black, like a solid fog had settled amongst them. The guards are freaking out at this foreign power, the Commander is fuming with rage somewhere on ground level, the principal just slammed his hand against the dark oak table in his office miles way, and yet somewhere in the quiet corner of a cell Jimin is befriending it, imitating the strength it carries.
"I heard my name?"
"JEROME! You always take forever. Get over here and give us some light."
A beam of it turns on, assumingly powered by Jerome. Jimin finds it blinding.
"Finally. Now we just need to tell the Commander what's happening."
"Jerome, get that light over here."
The beam of light sweeps across the walls and cell doors of the place as they walk. It illuminates the unkempt inmates, the hopeless forms of all the students who once rebelled and failed...
"Why's that cell empty?"
"I don't know."
They stop right in front of Jimin's cell. Jimin stands incredibly still as the guard who asked the question - Jerome, probably - stares straight at him. The other guard scans the cell top to bottom. Left to right. Nothing. Then he goes to check the monitor system.
Jimin is just as confused as them.
He looks down at himself and, to his wonder, he realizes that the shadow has slipped over him, rendering him invisible. It's protecting him by hiding him. It seemed to have found comfort in their mutual despair so it decided to hold on, which was sad in a beautiful way.
But there's hope now.
"Jerome, do you sense anything?" The guard is back from the monitor. "Anybody imitating you?"
"Uh, no? What do you mean if I sense anything, like what am I, like Sherlock Holmes or something like-?"
"What- no! I mean do you sense anyone else who's also using the light elemental?"
Jimin creeps closer to the cell door so he's standing nearly right in front of them. All they have to do is unlock it and Jimin can slip away without them noticing.
"Why would anyone else be using the light elemental?"
"Jerome, you IDIOT!" Jimin watches the guard facepalm and then pinch his nose in frustration. "The guy who's supposed to be in this cell is Jimin. Remember? The guy with the imitation powers?"
"Oh, yeah!" Jerome's face lights up. "The cool one!"
"No, not the cool one, the difficult one! Anyways. Since you're using light, Jimin could also be using light to disguise himself. So if you sense something, then he's still in the cell, and if you don't sense something, then he's escaped."
"Of course he'd escape, he's the cool one-"
"The difficult one!"
"The cool-"
"DO YOU ****ING SENSE HIM OR NOT, JEROME?!"
Jerome flinches. He scratches his head sheepishly, then pokes around the cell with his light elemental. Jimin's imitation power picks up on it, strangely enough, as a separate elemental, and not the same one as the shadow stuff he's using to hide himself right now.
"Uh... I don't- I don't -"
"Do you sense anything?"
"... no..." Jerome frowns and slowly turns his head to the guard beside him. "I really don't! I'm not lying!"
"Check again!"
Jerome pokes around the cell with his light elemental again. Jimin still stands by the side, covered in shadow, patiently waiting.
"I really don't sense it."
"You've gotta be kidding me." The guard puts his hand on the cell door, which makes a clicking sound at his touch. Did that mean it's unlocked? Jimin prepares to run. "You know what's gonna happen if the Commander finds out, Jerome. We're toast."
"Oh... should we check to make sure then?"
"That's what I'm doing right now."
The guard yanks open the door and walks inside. Jimin manages the step out of the way just in time, letting him and Jerome pass by, before slipping out the door. He did it almost smoothly. Almost.
Excitement got the best of him so Jimin's timing was a little early. His arm hit Jerome by accident, sending Jerome whirling around with a "HE TOUCHED ME!", and the shot of adrenaline that Jimin got from that sent him jumping and scurrying away from the cell door. The other guard and Jerome begin yelling at each other before realizing Jimin must've gotten away right then and there. Their next plan was to each run off in a different direction for the greatest chance of running into Jimin. But then they realized that only Jerome's element was light, so by the time they decided which direction to run off in together so both of them could see where they were going, Jimin was already booking it down the next corridor and hoping that he'd run out in time before they called a lockdown.
As he takes quick, light footsteps down the hallways, Jimin peers at all the students in the other cells and wishes that he knew how the locks on these things worked. It pains him that he can't help them escape too. He feels like he's leaving all of them behind.
I'll come back one day, Jimin thinks as he rounds the corner. I'll help you all escape and you'll have hopes and dreams and futures again. I promise.
Jimin runs up a few flights of stairs, heart pounding, presence virtually untraceable with the guards' panicked voices masking his footsteps. The imitation power guides him closer to the source of whoever's casting the shadows; there are so many pathways here that it would've been nearly impossible to know which way to go without assistance.
As he makes his way further down more gloomy corridors, Jimin reflects on his abilities to blend in, be it through persuasion or imitation. He begins to realize that his imitation power, though different from the norm, is not a defect - it's a powerful advantage that should never have been punished in education.
Jimin nods his head in gratitude toward the shadows just in case it understands. He emerges on ground level and finds himself facing a bolted iron double-door. On the other side: freedom.
He maneuvers the shadows around him so he can see better. He has to tug on it almost - it's much harder to work with than light. After the adjustment he regards the door with more focus. There's a handle on the inside. Jimin pulls on it. It doesn't budge. He pushes instead.
There's a hushed startled voice on the other side. Jimin panics and tugs on the shadows around him to hide himself but he feels the other person doing the same thing, too, and he looks up-
"Hyung?"
"JIMIN-"
Jimin and J-Hope nearly break down into happy giggles but Jimin puts a finger up to his lips in a "shh" gesture to quiet themselves down. He's surprised that J-Hope got all the way over here, but celebrating now is dangerous. Jimin moves the door back to its original closed position while J-Hope takes the cue to start leading the way back.
They maintain their professionalism. Jimin trusts J-Hope so neither of them has to say a word as they run past the trees nearby, leaving Freedom Academy and entering the freedom beyond.