Jimin wheezed, unintentionally leaning all his weight on Namjoon. The tension in the air was so thick that not even his claws could cut it, and he could see this in everyone's expressions — every single person in line looked determined to go against Shay, despite their injuries and the civilians watching them from afar. He still felt weak, he admitted, even after Jin had healed him but he was still willing to fight alongside you, Emily and the rest of the wonders.
In the silence, Jimin took the opportunity to think. As soon as he regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the glint in Namjoon's eyes, the earth bearer's jeans had been soaked with someone else's blood. At first Jimin assumed it was his, then he saw a disfigured, dark hooded man lying down a few feet away from them, limbs bent in awkward angles.
Jimin swore that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him — he saw purple aura surround Namjoon's brown gem before it disappeared into thin air.
And this didn't bother Jimin as much as it should have, right now the main focus was Shay, who was starting to make a few gestures with her fingers, the tip of her staff glowing.
"We split into two teams, offensive and defensive," Namjoon started, catching everybody's (except Shay's) attention. The glint in his eyes was familiar to Jimin now, filled with both authority and power — indeed, this man really was their leader. "Yoongi, you lead the offense group with Jin, Emily and Hoseok. I'll be in charge of defense with Sky, Jungkook and Jimin. Taehyung, since you are the strongest among us, you'll switch from offense to defense whenever needed."
Taehyung snapped a finger, purple mist flying around him, a sly smile slowly spreading across his face. Jimin could feel the arrogance seeping from him. "Of course, you can count on me."
"Jimin," Namjoon's whisper made Jimin turn upon hearing his name. He was still clinging onto the taller male, his legs feeling a bit numb. "Can you fight?"
Jimin puffed out some air, gently pushing himself off Namjoon and landing on the ground with his two feet. He wobbled a bit but quickly regained his balance, balls of electricity sparking over his palms, eyes golden yellow. "I'm not leaving myself out of this action, Namjoon."
Namjoon smiled, showing his dimples, nodding at Jimin gratefully. The light atmosphere was shattered when Shay slammed her staff on the ground, the majority of them flinching at the sound.
"What? Are we going to keep wasting time?," Shay gritted, slowly rising from the ground, the blood on her legs now dry and caking her skin. The staff in her hands started to glow, a purple tornado forming around her, making the civilians scream and run away. "No matter, I'll destroy you all in no time."
Thus Shay pointed her staff at the nine, shooting out a purple laser beam from her staff. Everyone ducked as Namjoon and Taehyung reacted instantly to the situation, creating forcefields with rock and purple energy. The beam bounced off the shield, shooting through the buildings around them, pushing Taehyung back by only a few inches this time.
Yoongi saw this as an opportunity and screamed at the other members of the offense team, dashing away from Taehyung and Namjoon while Shay was still distracted, Emily and Jin tailing behind him, Hoseok floating low to prevent himself from being seen. Jimin glanced at you and Jungkook, who were standing awkwardly behind the shield.
"You guys can do something instead of standing there?!," Taehyung hissed, blood trickling down the corner of his lip.
"We're thinking!," You hissed back, fingers tugging your hair in frustration. Jimin glanced around for a while, observing. He saw Yoongi huddling the others, lending out instructions to each person. The thunder bearer could tell that Yoongi also had leader qualities, he just wasn't the type to express himself. After a while, Hoseok picked up Emily and floated higher, Jin glancing back in worry. He only snapped back into reality when he heard your voice. "I got it! Jungkook, could you distract Shay for a bit to free Namjoon and Taehyung?"
"Got it, boss," Jungkook sprung upwards, the bright color of his wings catching Shay's attention instantly. He shot out a beam of light, dodging her attack and blinding the enchantress for a moment, freeing Taehyung and Namjoon.
Taehyung wiped the blood off his chin, wobbling a bit when he stepped forward, Namjoon closely behind him. "What do we do now?"
Jimin followed Taehyung's gaze and found that he was looking right at you, his eyes soft compared to how they usually were. He raised an eyebrow as you stroked your chin. "Well, based on my observations, Shay's powers come from her staff. So... if we separate her from it, we win."
With this information, Jimin looked up, realizing that you were right. Shay only made gestures with her fingers for some spells but all the magic's source was her tall staff. He watched in silence as Jungkook tossed rings of light in the air, Shay cancelling them out with her own dark energy attacks. Hoseok and Emily were high up, the latter preparing to shoot a bow.
"Sky's right, good job," Namjoon praised, making you blush a bit at the compliment. Jimin caught Taehyung staring with furrowed eyebrows. "Jimin, Sky and I will continue our role as defense. Taehyung, could you get the staff?"
Taehyung's arrogant expression faltered, something Jimin did not expect to see. He bit his lower lip, eyes flicking back and forth from Namjoon's face to the ground. He then stood up straight with a sigh, running a hand through his brown hair, eyes piercing purple. "Fine, I'll do it."
It was a fact that Taehyung's tone was laced with doubt and a bit of annoyance, which confused Jimin greatly. The darkness gem bearer definitely hesitated for a moment... but why? Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Jimin looked up and saw an arrow fly through the air but Shay dodged it. She turned, about to attack Hoseok, but was shot by another beam of light in the face.
Taehyung shifted in his place.
"Whoa, watch out!," Namjoon screamed, pushing away the people nearest him when Shay accidentally shot another ray of energy towards them. Jimin gasped when he realized that you were still left there. "Sky!"
Instead of budging, you just stood there, determination on your face as you grabbed the nearest object on the ground — a trash can lid. Jimin somehow expected everyone to face palm simultaneously at the action. "Sky, what are you doing—"
Suddenly, there was a bright light, blinding Jimin for a few seconds. At first, the thunder bearer thought it was Jungkook's doing but when the light faded away, he discovered that the angel was shielding his own eyes as well. He glanced around, trying to find the source (notably, Shay looked confused, so it definitely wasn't her) until he found you kneeling down, a shiny purple shield covering you.
Jimin didn't know which was stranger — the trash can lid turning into a shield or the weird symbol on it, something that resembled a reptilian creature with yellow eyes. "How did—"
"It... comes with me being the guardian," You tapped your shield, a bit amazed by the heavy yet strong object. "I transform anything I touch into some sort of weapon."
"Can you turn me into—"
"Jimin, no."
"Imbeciles!," Shay suddenly screamed, twirling the staff in her hand and making the purple tornado stronger. This forced Jungkook and Hoseok to land, the wind too strong for both of them to resist. Jimin covered his face with his hand, squinting his eyes at the sight before him. "None of you are even serious in battle! Let me teach you all a lesson!"
Thunder rumbled above and somehow this triggered Jimin. Looking up, he saw the clouds swirl above Shay, creating a hold in the middle, just enough space from some lightning to strike. And just like the incoming storm, an idea struck him.
"Cover me," Jimin merely said before he ran towards Shay at full speed. Everyone screamed but he ignored them, fully trusting the others to protect him. The wind made him slower but he saw Hoseok rise into the air, making gestures with his hands, then the wind weakened.
Shay raised an eyebrow upon seeing Jimin charging towards her alone. With a flick of a wrist, debris — mostly vehicles and supplies from street stalls — started flinging towards Jimin. He dodged a microwave, flinching when a fake King Arthur sword barely missed his ear. Then a rock was flung from behind him, shattering the incoming debris into bits.
Turning slightly behind him, Jimin saw Namjoon flinging boulders around, assisted by Taehyung, who helped direct the huge rocks. Yoongi and Jin were teaming up, using fire and water to defend themselves against Shay — who was currently distracted by the two, not paying much attention to Jimin.
However, Shay's staff started to glow and shadow creatures started to rise from the ground. The things were horrifying, their smiles bright, skin of their cheeks torn, two white beads as eyes. Their bodies were transparent and Jimin could see through them — literally. At this point, most of the civilians ran out of fear.
Jimin halted, multiple shadow men blocking his way towards Shay. He clicked his tongue, the storm above him was strengthening, and he knew that Shay was trying to gather some kind of power through the lightning.
And Jimin also knew — he was going to interfere.
"Jimin, watch out!," A scream from Jin made Jimin duck, just as one shadow man pounced towards him. A wave of water washed over them, submerging the shadow men, and Jin smiled when they were out of sight.
Of course, Jin's smile instantly faded when the shadow men re-appeared, forming back into their bodies as if nothing happened. He continued to splash water on them, getting the same result.
Jimin turned around, seeing Yoongi screeching in frustration at how his flames didn't affect the shadow men either. Namjoon was still flinging boulders but they went just went through them as if it was nothing. Hoseok was in the air, screaming as the shadow figures reached for his feet. It was Jungkook's turn to distract Shay by blinding her with light beams.
Taehyung was out of Jimin's line of sight.
"Physical attacks don't affect them?!," You exclaimed whilst your sword pierced through one of the shadow men, just to have them regenerate.
"I'm on it!," Emily slapped her wristband, electricity crackling as her bow started to form. However, one of the shadow creatures suddenly lunged at her and she screamed when its teeth bit into her wristband, making her weapon disappear.
Jin immediately turned around upon hearing Emily's scream, releasing a battle cry as he pounced at the creature, which tumbled upon contact. Emily stared at her ruined wristband, suddenly feeling useless because her only weapon was destroyed.
"Are you oka—," Jin was cut off by his own cry when the shadow creature bit his arm so he swatted at it, grunting when the creature refused to let go. Then a dark energy beam shot through the creature's head, making it disappear instantly.
Jimin faced the sky and saw Taehyung floating just above him, purple mist coating his hands and his pointed teeth gritted, forming a scowl. As he continuously shot the shadow creatures with his beams, something suddenly clicked in the thunder bearer's head.
"Jungkook!," Jimin called as he dodged a shadow man, catching the angel's attention in an instant. "Help Taehyung out! These shadow things — I think only you and Taehyung can get rid of them!"
Jungkook was a silent for a moment, observing, then his eyes widened when he saw one of his light rays penetrate through a shadow man, killing it in an instant. His wings twitched a bit out of joy. "Good call, Jimin! But Shay—"
"I'll handle her," Jimin replied in a low voice, his fingers crackling with electricity. Jungkook stared at him for a while, then he smiled, revealing his bunny teeth.
"Go and kick her ass."
Jungkook zipped through the air, his back hitting Taehyung's as they slowly got rid of the shadow creatures. The scene was epic — the darkness and light gem bearers had their backs on each other's, shooting out beams from their palms. Jimin nodded to himself and turned around, eyebrows knitting together when he caught Shay staring back.
Jimin raised his hand, remembering the plan: Help Taehyung take the staff from Shay. Since Taehyung was obviously busy at the moment, he was going to do most of the work. He also recalled Namjoon's words before, about how he could control the weather if desired. He pointed up at the storm, the grey clouds gathering around him.
And this caught Shay's attention, realizing that Jimin was starting to control the storm under her control. "Oh no, you don't."
Shay pointed her staff at Jimin but before any of the debris could hit him, a huge boulder crashed into it once more. Namjoon came in sight, the sleeeves of his shirt torn, making a salute motion with two figures.
"You told us to cover you!," Namjoon continued to fling more rocks, even aiming some at Shay to distract her. "Go!"
Jimin nodded to himself and continued to control the storm, his eyes golden yellow as he heard thunder rumble. Almost there, he thought. Similar to what he had done in the party, he braced himself when he saw light gather in between the clouds.
"Stupid boy," Shay cackled, still floating in the eye of the storm. "Striking yourself with lightning? You're signing your own death contract!"
"I am Park Jimin, the bearer of the thunder gem," Crackle. Jimin looked up as thunder roared the second time, his eyes catching sight of the incoming lightning. "A simple bolt of electricity is nothing."
"Jimin, what the hell are you doing?!," You attempted to run towards Jimin to save him from his own actions, but Yoongi swooped in and held you back, caging you in his arms. "Let go of me!"
"Sky, trust Jimin!," Yoongi spoke with a low voice, dodging a beam of light which Jungkook accidentally aimed at hand, eliminating a shadow man close by. "He knows what he's doing."
Jimin closed his eyes, the voices of the rest of his friends turning into mumbles and echoes. A gasp left his lips when he felt a jolt of electricity throughout his body, and the sensation was too much that he couldn't even scream. Everything around him was bright, a little too bright.
In those moments, Jimin wondered if what he was going through was similar to dying. That aside, he recalled that one night he had spent with Namjoon and Jungkook, the other members of the Single Men Club, drinking Jin's (stolen) wine — credits to Yoongi, who was just willing to steal something for the sake of it — whilst everyone else was asleep. He remembered Jungkook's semi-tipsy state, complaining about his hatred towards Vrede — how it was unnecessary for the war to be brought all the way to Earth, how all of us didn't need to be involved in all of this neuken, quoted directly from the angel.
And somehow, as the dust settled and the electricity coursed through Jimin's body, he understood. It was exactly what he felt after the death of his family — Why? What did they do to deserve such cruel deaths? Why were they taken away from him?
Jimin was suddenly overtaken by anger, trails of dark yellow fur appearing under his eyes, lining down his cheeks, reaching his jaw. Similar fur covered his hands as his nails turned into talons. He went down an all fours, electricity sparking in the air around him, releasing a loud animalistic roar whilst baring his pointed teeth.
It was obvious — everyone, including Shay, was stunned by the drastic change Jimin took. Every single person stopped what they were doing, even the shadow men had to pause, confusion hitting them as well.
"Jimin—," Jungkook's breath hitched in his throat, his wings trembling a bit out of fear. Fear — because the man he was looking at was extremely different from the one who had comforted him during their drinking night.
The next few minutes were nothing but a blur to Jimin and he merely noticed bits of details as everything happened so quickly. He saw Shay snap back into the situation, throwing more debris, and he was bouncing on them, coming towards her as if it was nothing. He heard your muffled screams mixed with Taehyung's as his fist collided with Shay's face, the storm subsiding.
Soon Shay was on the ground and Jimin was throwing a lot of punches — to the point that she was coughing out blood. Electricity crackled as he raised a clawed hand, intent on slitting her throat, his golden yellow eyes catching sight of the thunder gem. It was purple.
"Jimin, stop it!," Tilting his head at the voice, Jimin turned around just as Hoseok pounced at him, dragging him away from Shay. "The plan was to disarm her, not kill her—"
Hoseok screamed when Jimin bit into his arm, at the same shocking him with his fingers. Jungkook stepped in, all his fear washing away at the sight, and pulled Jimin towards him as the air gem bearer collapsed to the ground, Jin coming to his aid in an instant.
Jimin thrashed around and continuously shocked Jungkook, who yelped at the pain but still had his arms around the thunder bearer's waist. Bolts of electricity shot around, the other wonders dodging them and stepping away. "Get a hold of yourself! Don't— Jimin, don't let your anger get to you!"
Somehow, Jungkook's words caused a flood of memories to flow into Jimin's mind, calming him down, his looks turning a bit more human. Confused, he glanced at his now yellow gem, remembering how he saw Namjoon's gem turn purple for a split second
What?
"I— What did I do?," Jimin stared at his hands, which was coated in blood, trembling a bit at what had just occurred.
"That isn't important right now," Jimin wheezed, palms pressed to the ground, his shirt torn and burned, smoke still freshly rising from his wounds. "Your gem... your gem was purple, which means—"
"Taehyung, the staff!"
Jimin snapped his head towards the voice, seeing you holding Shay's staff, raising it high in the air as if it was a prize. Taehyung rose upwards at this, Shay still trying to collect herself in the background, wheezing for air and crawling on the ground.
Everything went in slow motion as the staff was thrown across the area, everyone's eyes on it. As soon as Taehyung grabbed it, a bright purple light blinded Jimin — and everyone else.
-
Emily covered her face with her hand, trying to shield her eyes from the sudden bright light. She knelt down on one knee, next to Jin, who grabbed her hand in a tight squeeze, and a barely conscious Hoseok. She didn't know what was happening but was ultimately confused — from her only weapon breaking to Jimin's wild phase.
As the thoughts ran through Emily's head there was a sonic boom and suddenly she was lying on her stomach, Jin shielding her with his own body. There was a strong gush of wind, then a loud crash, and suddenly it was silent.
Emily was the only who had the guts to stand and look at the silhouette not so far away, covered by dark mist. During this, she thought about Vrede, her home planet, and wondered how bad shape it was in. She realized — Shay and Taehyung... those names were familiar to her, somehow branded into her young mind before she was brought to Earth, but she couldn't remember why.
Taehyung. As Jin helped Hoseok up and placed a hand on Emily's waist, her view suddenly became clearer once the mist was gone. He was on the ground now, knelt down on one knee, the staff in his hand jet black — contrary to the silver shade it had when it was with Shay. Its head was no longer pointed but curved, resembling a cobra's head ready to attack. Its body now resembled snake skin, a coil wrapping around Taehyung's wrist — the ultimate proof that it was his staff now.
But that silver snake skin design... it was eerily similar to the crest on your shield. Emily noticed this almost immediately and even though she was from Vrede, she had no idea what the symbol was or if it meant something important... but the mere fact that it was produced by both you and Taehyung was strange in itself.
As Taehyung slowly stood up, purple mist wrapped around his body, eyes piercing, glowing even more than before, Shay did as well, screaming with wide eyes, clutching the huge gash on her forearm. "I-Impossible! That staff was designed for me and me alone, it recognizes my DNA to work! Why — it should have killed you!"
"We both know the answer to that, don't we, Shay?," Taehyung's voice was an octave lower, purple mist trailing behind him as he continued to walk, his grip on the staff so tight that his knuckles turned white. Emily could feel how powerful Taehyung and it scared her, fully knowing that this wasn't even the limit of his abilities.
The gem of darkness was stronger than all the other six gems combined — that was a definite fact.
Everyone watched with a mixture of silence and awe as Taehyung rose from the ground, pointing his staff at Shay, who looked greatly intimidated by the whole scene.
"Do it, Taehyung!," Namjoon screamed from below, his eyes as brown as the soil below him. "Now!"
Taehyung actually hesitated, his serious premise faltering a bit at Shay's expression — which was one filled with absolute fear. She was kneeling on the ground, just staring at the bearer of the gem of darkness, begging to be spared. To Emily, it was pathetic, but why was Taehyung actually considering?
"Taehyung! Do it!," It was Jungkook's voice that snapped Taehyung back to reality. He swung the staff, shooting out a laser beam, mouthing soundless words as it was aimed right at Shay.
For a moment there was only a bright light once it was gone, Taehyung was on the ground, staring down at the crater he had left behind — Shay nowhere to be seen.
"Did you kill her?," Jin asked the moment the rest of them gathered around Taehyung, who was silent, eyes void of any emotion, ironically compared to his fury just a few moments ago. "Did you—"
"I did, shut up, would you?," Taehyung snapped, making Jin flinch and Emily glare at him. He spun the staff in his hand for a few seconds until he let it rest on his shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he glanced around at everyone, staring the longest at Jimin, who was looking at the ground, chewing his lip and fiddling with his hands, obviously feeling bad for what he did — even though he had no idea. "Jimin, stop. It wasn't your fault."
It was a fact that Taehyung had shocked everyone, although he gave a cold tone which didn't match his comforting words and he puffed his cheeks, looking away. Emily turned and saw you smiling next to Yoongi, who had no reaction whatsoever.
"Just grab the staff, idiots," Taehyung's attitude took a complete turn as he tongued the inside of his cheek. Everyone stared, confused, making him roll his eyes once more. "I'm teleporting you all out of here. Based on all the chaos we did, the police will come, I can sense it."
Emily took this moment to scan the area — a place that used to be Cairo's beautiful town square. Other than the huge crater they were surrounding, nearby buildings were destroyed, thick smoke rising from the remains. Stall goods were scattered across the cracked concrete ground, something that used to be a Kumamon plushie resting next to her foot. Taehyung was right — they had definitely wrecked havoc.
"Taehyung's right," Namjoon spoke up, grabbing the staff first, flinching at the weird texture it had. "We have to go. With Shay out of the way, it will be much easier for us to travel to Vrede."
You held the staff next with a nod, gripping it tightly, your hand in between Taehyung's big one and Yoongi's — who followed you shortly after — pale and small one. To Emily, that really said something about the current situation the three were in. "Yeah, what Namjoon said. We're all in this together, right?"
Emily hesitated for a moment before she held the staff, shivering a bit because of how cold and rough the metal body was against her palm. Jin followed but placed his hand over hers instead, grinning a bit at her stunned reaction. Jungkook rolled his eyes at the sight, holding the staff with Hoseok.
"Hey, Jimin," Jin called, Jimin was still staring at the ground with a guilty expression. "Come on."
Jimin stared at the rest for a moment, trying to decide what to say. In the end, the reassuring looks he received from the rest told him that what he did was out of his control — and they still trusted him. Hoseok and Jungkook were both smiling, unfazed at the pain he had brought them.
So Jimin held the staff. "Let's go."
Emily glanced over her shoulder, staring at the bright blue sky above their heads. They were one step closer to traveling to Vrede, her home planet, and she wasn't really sure if she was excited or not. She had poor memory of it, making her wonder — did she leave behind a family there? These thoughts continued to run through her mind as purple mist wrapped around all nine of them.
And in a blink of an eye, they were gone.
-
"Your highness!," A tall, bulky man with a semi-bald cut pushed through the doors of the castle, bursting into the throne room, beads of sweat running down his cheeks. He jogged to the center, nearly slipping, kneeling down at the King, who had his back towards him, facing the portrait hanging on the wall. "Shay has returned."
The King of Hel was silent for a moment, staring at the painting with hands clasped over his back. His purple cape flowed down his back, fading to a darker shade as it landed on the floor. Resting on his brown hair was a golden crown with seven stones — representing each kingdom in Vrede, the crown stolen from the former King Macht's memorial — although the white stone, meant to symbolize the kingdom of Hemel, was black, due to his failure to conquer it. He turned around, revealing his tan skin and piercing green feline eyes before stepping down.
With crossed arms, the King stared at the general before him with a raised eyebrow, his voice gruff. "Her status?"
"She is gravely injured, I—," The general paused, clicking his tongue, head bent low and eyes fixated to the ground. "Your highness, I cannot fathom why you had sent Shay alone, she was outnumbered, it was merely her against nine—"
"Get up," The King's harsh tone made the general flinch yet he slowly stood up, standing straight, his purple armor glistening even in the darkness of the throne room. He walked around the general, observing his expression. "I am fully aware of the seven wonders and their abilities, also at how sending Shay alone was close to a suicide mission on her part... but she came back alive, did she not?"
"It was only because—," The general's eyes twitched, the though of Shay being a material of an experiment making his blood boil. "Y-Your highness, you do not understand how much pain Shay is in—"
Suddenly there was purple mist wrapped around the general's throat and he was in the air, gasping for air. The King smirked as his eyes turned purple, his hand in the air. "How many times do I have to tell you, general? Do not let your personal relationship with Shay affect her and the missions assigned to her."
The general wheezed as he was dropped to the ground, his neck painted with horrid dark bruises. He stared up at the King, who merely turned and stared at the portrait once more — a happy couple with toothy smiles, a small girl on he father's lap and a boy wearing a big grin in the mother's arms.
"The seven wonders, the guardian and her protector, we cannot stop them from entering Vrede," The King started, sighing as he sat back on his throne, his elbows on his thighs, hands clasped as his chin rested on them. "Gather all your men, send an army to each kingdom, we must prepare. They will surely try their best to come to me but we must stop them — delay them. The machine is nearly done, in a month or two, we'll be able to travel to Earth — finally."
"But— Your highness, what about Taehyung?," The general stood up, wobbling a bit, trying to keep his composure despite how his neck was stinging. "He alone has the capability to wipe us all out and—"
The King raised a fist, instantly silencing the trembling general. "I've told you before, haven't I? I don't care what you do to them, all I need are their gems. Have no mercy on any of the wonders... not even towards my son Taehyung."
-
A/N - a 5k monster whoops lol anyways I'm still a mess due to my pcd Tae is gorgeous like is he even real i'm
anyways there are a lot more things in store and more bombs to drop get ready ;)