yang jeongin had only seen jungkook look shaken and rattled on one occasion and that was when they were trekking the forest, away from the burning castle.
but now, there was that look again that almost looked foreign on the older's face, it was like a black smudge on a painting- it simply didn't belong there.
he noticed that the grip on jungkook's sword became more tighter and he heard a growl from the knight,
"are you sure? h-how many are there?" jungkook asked, trying to sound calm and collected as possible like he was trying to make the situation seem like it wasn't a big deal but they all knew it was a facade.
no one dared mention it though.
"yes, i heard them in the forest," minho replied as he pointed to his ears, "i'm not sure how many but there's something different about this one," minho took a deep breath, "i think he's here."
jungkook's eyes widened as he felt himself stumbling backwards, "what the fuck."
"y-you mean?" hyunjin asked, not daring to finish it, he turned to jeongin who nodded, the fear on his face mimicking everyone else's in the room, "daddy is here to pick me up."
jungkook shook his head, snapping himself out of his trance, "alright, come with me and take your bags, now."
they followed his command as they walked towards jungkook's basement, "k-koo? why are we in the basement?"
jungkook took a deep breath, "this tunnel will lead you to yellow wood, think of it as a shortcut to emerald city. i use this path to go visit jiminie hyung whenever. now, get going."
jeongin's eyes widened, "b-but what about you?"
jungkook didn't meet his eyes, he looked away as he took a deep breath, "i'm not going."
chan and jeongin gasped, "w-what? why? h-hyung no one gets left behind remember? we're ohala."
"it's ohana, innie. and yes i did say that but someone has to divert their attention, i'm going to cause a distraction. y-you guys go and-"
"no." jeongin snapped as he faced his hyung, "i am not leaving without you."
"jeongin-" jungkook tried to reason but jeongin cut him off with a, "hyung."
jungkook stilled, "i can't let you do this alone. t-this is too risky! what if you get hurt?"
jungkook gave him a pained smile as he caressed his cheek, "love, i have a promise to keep remember? i swore to your mom that i will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. if i have to lay down my life, then so be it."
jungkook kissed jeongin's cheek before he turned to chan. the aussie was silently crying, tears falling onto his cheeks like the dewfall,
"son." jungkook said as he placed his hands on chan's shoulders, "take care of him okay? swear to me that you will do whatever it takes to keep the prince safe."
chan choked on a sob as jungkook addressed him as his own, he had always been under jungkook's wing eversince his family got slaughtered in the war, he remembered jungkook pulling him off of his father's chest as he cried there.
he remembered that jungkook fended off anybody who was in their way that day, when queen jasmine gave him the crystal sword.
"i- i will dad." chan said as he engulfed jungkook into a hug.
they stood there before they pulled away as they heard the loud footsteps and sounds of the men as they drawed closer.
jungkook wiped his tears as he opened the tunnel, "hurry, leave while you can. i can take it from here."
"k-koo.." jeongin tried but jungkook shushed him, he gave him his trademark bunny smile, something that had always cheered him up.
"kookoo will be fine yeah? i'll meet you guys down the road or whatever." jungkook said.
"hold up," minho sighed, "i'm staying also."
"hyung-"
"shut up jeon," minho replied, dismissing him off, "there is no way you'd survive on your own. besides, you going alone will make me look bad in front of my kids."
jungkook chuckled, "alright then."
minho turned to face hyunjin and felix, "don't forget to feed the cat alright?"
hyunjin blinked, "w-we don't have a cat."
"oh, i thought we had three," minho frowned, "but sure, look out for eachother and the prince is your priority. he dies and i will murder the both of you."
the two thieves nodded and minho gave them one last look, "i love you guys."
"i- i love you too." hyunjin replied as he wiped a tear from his face, getting emotional.
"i love you too hyung." felix said softly as minho smiled at them.
"now get outta here, we have fish to fry and a king to deliver to the dead." jungkook said as he ushered them to the tunnel.
"oh, and please tell jimin i love him."
"w-will do." jeongin whimpered as jungkook gave him a thumbs up before the tunnel sealed itself.
the two of them stared at the tunnel longingly before making their way up and to hide.
"where are they now?" jungkook whispered.
minho cursed, "they have this place surrounded."
"what's the plan?" jungkook asked as minho gave him a grin,
"attack and run."
"great plan."
the two went outside and saw dozens of soldiers, jungkook gripped onto his sword as minho bared his claws.
they shared a look with one another as they proceeded to charge.
the two worked perfectly off of one another, with the demon taking jungkook to the sky as they swooped in to attack the soldiers.
it was going well until the demon was struck down to the ground, resulting to the both of them crashing.
"well, look who decided to be heroes." jennie snickered as she stood over them as minho rolled his eyes in annoyance.
jungkook groaned as he kicked jennie in the gut, causing her to stumble as he took the chance to stand up and punch her in the face.
jennie hissed as she felt the pain soaring to her nose, she held out her fan and slashed it across jungkook's face, leaving a scar on his cheek.
"not so pretty now are you?" jennie sneered.
"bitch you can hack at me all you want but we both know that i'll always be prettier than you." jungkook snarked as he paused before smiling at her knowingly,
"i mean, lisa thought so too."
jennie shrieked at the mention of her fallen comrade as she slashed again, this time hitting jungkook's shoulder as the male staggered as he tried to fend off the general.
but jennie was irate, she kept attacking and attacking before minho appeared from out of nowhere as he tackled her and sending her body to a nearby tree, knocking her out.
"we did it!" minho cheered before getting hit with a dark energy blast to the face, knocking him out.
jungkook's eyes widened as he stood up shakily, eyes darting everywhere as he looked for the perpetrator.
"well, you seem to be quite the thorn on my side jeon."
he heard a voice said and from out of nowhere he was sent flying in the air, jungkook landed on the ground hard as he felt something inside him crack.
"ouch," jungkook mumbled, "that was my rib."
jungkoom glared, "fuck you jonghyun."
jonghyun chuckled as he made his presence felt, "i'll only ask once jeon, where is my son?"
jungkook spat out blood as he stared at the dark king right in the eyes, no fear this time.
"we both know how this ends jonghyun," jungkook started as he slowly got up and readied his sword, "let's just end it already."
jonghyun smiled, amused by the bravery of the younger male in front of him, "very well then."
the king then conjured up a dual battle axes as he gave the knight a cheeky wink, "let's play."
-
minho slowly got up from, feeling tired and worn out, he looked to the field where he saw jungkook facing off against jonghyun.
minho limped, trying to join the fray as the urge to help jungkook was strong.
but he felt himself stop as he sank to his knees as he watched jungkook stumble in his feet as jonghyun delivered a strong blow to his side.
"j-jungkook!" minho gasped out as he felt himself, jennie, the king, and jungkook disappear into a dark cloud.
that was his last memory before he blacked out.