I AM BAAAAACCCKKKK!!!
I'M BARELY ALIVE BUT I'M BAAAAACCCKKK!!
I FREAKIN HATE CELL BIO CUZ IT TOOK OVER MY LIFE! I BARELY HAD TIME TO WRITE!
BUT I'M BACK TO GIVE YOU GUYS LOVE AND ANOTHER GREAT CHAPTER!!
While I was away, my story kept growing and I was like shook. Thank you so much for being patient and staying by this story. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I LOVE YOU ALL!! PLEASE ENJOY, THIS IS THE THIRD TO LAST CHAPTER OF ARC 1!!
******
Snow.
The way each snowflake fluttered in the air before landing softly onto the ground, accumulating to create a white fluffy blanket over the earth's surface.
Most would enjoy it only for the view then quickly find a warm shelter after having enough of the cold.
But snow was everything for Jennie.
It was the surroundings that she grew up in.
It was how she discovered her animal half.
It was how she connected with one of the most people in her life.
Every happy and sad moment happened when snow was around her.
Right now, she wished she could share this beautiful moment of the season's first snowfall with him.
But the reality did not allow for this wish. Jennie was tied to a wooden post on some ledge on a mountain trail. She's been stuck here for a few minutes, hours? She didnt know...Just waiting in a stiff position against the frigid wind with nothing but her tattered clothes that left her torture wounds exposed to the merciless weather.
The cold should have been comforting. The fluttering snow that landed on her should have made her spirit more at peace to allow some healing processes for her battered body.
But actually, each snowflake froze the silent tears rolled down her face, leaving her face dry with uncomfortable frosted skin. The cold had numbed her pain but didn't heal them. For once, Jennie didn't like this cold. She didn't like how every passing second she was standing in the cold in such a vulnerable state, waiting for him to find her.
Jennie could do nothing to escape this imprisonment. Gaho had hauled her out of her cell like a sack of potatoes and tossed her into the back of his truck. At this point, after the multiple, merciless beatings, her body had gone numb and heavily exhausted. It had taken every last fragile mental strength she had left not to cry and scream in pain as he whipped her, cut her, broke her, right in front of the camera.
She was stubborn in not wanting to give Gaho the satisfaction, nor feel the guilt of hurting Taehyung more, nor accept the vulnerability of her own state.
It was so numb to the point where sometimes, when Jennie was teetering on the line of consciousness and sleep, she couldn't feel Glacia's soul within her. The fear of that emptiness always jolted her awake. She knew she would not be able to handle anything if she was completely alone. Although Glacia's soul body was also damaged, she was still present in the dark caves of the spiritual world.
Jennie didn't actually know how bad of a situation could be if a soul animal left its human's body, if such a thing was even possible. But she didn't let that dreadful thought linger for long. She was already so close to giving up, she didn't need that kind of question in her mind. Instead, she held onto the faint comforting feeling in her heart that Glacia was waiting for rescue like she was, that they were weak but still together.
"Lover boy should be on his way right now," the menacing voice that belonged to her captor mocked from behind her. He came to stand in front of her and smirked, admiring his work that was pinned uselessly on a pole. "Only a matter of time before this ends, little one."
Jennie slowly lifted her head for her void, icy eyes to meet with his sinister, gleeful eyes. "The only way this will end is you falling off this cliff to hell, and that'll be the greatest way for you to die after all that you've done." If her legs were tied up together either, she'd gladly do the honors of pushing up off this cliff herself. "But honestly, that death is the least likely for you. Too merciful."
She could tell that Gaho was bothered by her deadly calm demeanor, but he masked it quickly. His snorted, "Hmph, maybe I should've cut off your tongue. Cut your smartass words, girl, you're not going to be so tough when he arrives and I kill him and the rest of your friends, then you can join them after."
The Snow Leopard Shifter really didn't know how to take a warning with an enemy, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be just a simple slaughter.
Her eyes caught movement behind Gaho, a tiny moving dot in the sky. But even without seeing it clearly, she had a gut feeling she knew what it was. "You have your ending, I have my ending. Let's see which one comes true, shall we?"
Gaho glared down at her suspiciously and instantly looked behind him... but he saw nothing but snowy clouds. He stormed past her and instructed his soldiers that were already stationed all around the perimeter, hidden for ambush. He spoke in the in-ear communication. "Stay on high alert. Remember to not injure the tiger, shoot the rest down first... Oh, and... get my syringes ready."
Jennie's head suddenly pounded as the word "syringes" sounded in her ears. She suddenly felt nauseous. She didn't remember anything besides the beatings... Oh my Ariel... what else did he do to me?
Jennie felt herself crippling back into her vulnerable state once Gaho was gone. She was back to desperately hoping everything would turn out okay. She hoped her ending was the one that happened. Looking back at the sky, the dot she saw was gone.
~~~
Snow.
The way each snowflake fluttered in the air before disappearing when it landed on soft, white, spotted fur.
Snow was everything in this place.
It was the everlasting landscape from birth to death.
It was the way of living, to adapt to its harsh conditions.
It was about accepting the cold, a concept which most shiver away from.
Snow can be the cause of loneliness, you live in this place where not many would prefer. But the solitude is peaceful, and the ones who bother to learn the ways of the snow are the significant ones in your snowy life. Becoming part of the snow is a true strength.
In this area of the snowy mountains, there were two rulers. Both as white as snow, one with the splattering of spots while the other with rough black stripes. Snow was their home, their power.
But when the balance is disturbed, snow becomes the rival.
She shivered for the first time since arriving in the Soul World. The first time was when her soul reawakened in the Heavens of the animals. The snow here wasn't like Earth's- it was just as cold but held a different aura... of an ethereal kind. The shiver she felt then was because of change... a good change as she found out when she converged with a human soul.
But this shiver now... it was as if the snow pricked her as it landed on her mangled fur, taunting that her world was breaking with each falling snowflake.
Spirit animals share the Soul World, they are free to see each other when their humans aren't visiting in their Abyss State. But each spirit animal has their own personally created territory. That territory is only as real to them as the strength of the life force of their human counterpart.
She had spiritually felt every physical and mental attack that was bared down on her master. Her master was great at acting, but the animal soul's condition was the truth of her state... on the verge of failing.
The sky above was an ugly mix of gray shades, dense and heavy with the promise of a blizzard. It wasn't the type of blizzard she was used to, and the fact that she was nowhere near the shelter of her cave caused her to curl in on herself frightfully.
It felt strange to not know where you are in your own territory. It was like the landscape had changed, everything felt different and absolutely wrong. She was in the middle of the barren, snow-covered forest. She couldn't even pick up a scent.
She meowed in distress, pawing harshly at the crunchy snow, frustrated that her senses and instincts were in a haze.
The snow was falling in hardened icy flakes.
It's colder than usual.
The thin air made it hard to breathe.
Her fur is even condensing into mini icicles.
She's not supposed to feel like her own world was against her.
Everything was wrong.
A horrible blizzard was brewing.
Her Soul World was created with snow.
It will end with snow.
Because it's losing light.
"Jennie..."
Her human master was dying.
And Glacia couldn't do anything about it.
Her feline roar wailed into the open air, a shrill sound full of despair. A cry for help. A cry for hope. A cry that used the last of her energy that hopefully was heard...
"Soonshim..."
~~~
"JENNIE!!"
There was a shift in the atmosphere. The girl may be close to death, eyes closed and body frosted over, but she was not immune to the unexplained effect of his presence. It managed to pull her away from the edge of death ever so slightly.
"J... Je.... Jen...!"
Am I underwater? I can't hear anything, the disoriented girl thought. Who's calling me?... I want to sleep... I want to see Glacy.
So the fading girl submitted to that thought. But just as she allowed more darkness to engulf her, there was one last speck of light.
Icy blue light from a single snowflake.
"We'll be okay, Jennie."
"...Glacy?"
Jennie gasped awake in a violent jolt. The deafening silence has released its pressure from her ears, allowing the real-world noises to enter. The black void that invaded her eyes retreated, allowing her to see the chaos that had abruptly ascended around her.
What's going on?
"J... Jen... Jennie! Jennie!"
The voices finally registered in her mind. Her friends were here. She somewhat expected a larger number of people in the rescue team, but seeing how injured they already were, she guessed that BTS must've encountered a major obstacle that set them back on numbers. This hunch caused her heart to ache again.
The brown speckle in the sky she saw before was indeed what she thought it was: Eagle Jungkook with Mink Lisa on his back. They were flying towards her while the rest were attacking.
The soldiers that were stationed around Jennie's perimeter thought they had the upper hand with an ambush plan. But no amount of raining bullets could stop the pure force of power from the Masters.
Grizzly Bear Jin bulldozed his way up the mountain. Hoseok blazed his way through with Wendy on his back with her whip. Jimin's fox tricks were on full force, creating illusions so that the humans would hit each other.
And then there's the White Tiger. His presence alone was enough to deter the soldiers from even trying to attack him. They frosted over within a two meter radius of him.
"Taehyung..." Saying his name already made her feel safe as she watched him make his way towards her. Cold tears fell from her eyes. "Taehyung..." Her hands struggled to against her chains but all she could do was wait until he reached her.
... Wait... no... he can't... he shouldn't!
Now the tears of joy and relief turned to panic. "Taehyung, wait, no!" But her voice was too weak. A shadow fell over her and recognized the golden brown eagle. The white flash of Lisa's shift landed in front of her while the eagle hovered above to protect them.
"Jennie!" Lisa engulfed her friend in a big hug and at the same time tried to untie the ropes on her hands. "Don't worry, girl, we're here. Everything's going to be fine."
"W-Why is there so few of you?"
"Fell into a trap," Lisa reported bitterly. "A giant monster they created, I don't know. We defeated it but it took all of Dark Swarm."
At the mention of a monster, Jennie's breathing got more frantic. "M-Monster... no, no."
Lisa thought it was just because she was anxious to get out of her bonds. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Jen," she rubbed her arms in an attempt to calm her while she worked the chains. "I'll get you out in just a minute, but you have to stay still." Lisa now acknowledged the battered state of her body. "You still have open wounds." She tried to ignore the painful sight as she continued her task.
But Jennie shook her head, "Lisa, you all need to get out of here... like right now."
"We are. Once you're free, Jungkook and I will get you out of this place."
"No, I meant all of you! You're in danger! He's going to kill you! He's going to kill my tiger!" Jennie now had one hand free and she grabbed Lisa in a craze.
"Jennie! Calm down, sweetie, no one is going to kill anyone!" Lisa allowed Jennie to bury her face in her neck to cry. "Jeon, cut the chains for me!"
The eagle took a short pause in his attacks to shoot a perfect feather arrow down to slice the metal chains, then resumed his attacks in the sky. I should've asked sooner, Lisa thought.
It was now her top priority to get Jennie out of this place first to tend to her injuries. V can catch up when he could. "Jeon, come here!" Hearing the blonde's call, the eagle flew down and transformed back. Without being told what to do, he immediately carried Jennie and Lisa led them down the mountain side.
The younger man tried not to falter in his steps when he saw closely the damage done on his friend. He regretted that night he yelled so harshly at her when she really did nothing wrong. Jungkook was too busy protecting his hyung that he hurt a new friend. "Stay alive, Jen-noona," he muttered under his heavy breaths from running, "he's waiting for you, he'll tell you the whole story."
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!!
The rain of bullets rained down on the escaping trio. On instinct, Jungkook partially shifted just one arm to create a shield with his metal feathers, dropping his hold on Jennie's legs. Lisa had shifted into a tiny target and made her way under Jungkook's wing. He let out a shrill eagle call while trying to move the three of them to better shelter. His call reached to his team members' ears and they came to back him up.
But another trouble fell upon them.
An explosion followed by a hissing sound of smoke spreading. Jungkook automatically held his breath as he covered Jennie's mouth so she wouldn't breathe in the unknown gas. Irritated by the obstacle, he rested Jennie on the ground while he transformed both arms into his wings and gave one strong flap of his wings downward to clear the smoke.
Everything was hidden for only a few seconds, but that was enough time for the enemy to do what they wanted. Jungkook half wished he didn't clear the visual obstruction, because then he wouldn't have to see the heart-stopping scene in front of him.
Someone's dirty, heavy foot was on top of Lisa's pretty blonde head.
"Hand over the cat girl," the human soldier threatened, "or I'll pulverize the blondie's skull to a bloody mess." He added a little bit of weight to show he wasn't bluffing.
Jungkook jerked forward when he heard Lisa whimper, but held himself when he remembered about Jennie. He gritted his teeth in distraught, Dammit! On the other hand, he knew Lisa could protect herself, but why hasn't she shifted to escape her capture yet?
As if reading his mind, the human snickered, "One breath of the gas and she can't think straight enough to transform for two minutes. But neither of you have two minutes. So," he pressed his foot harder, "hand over," harder, "the cat."
Something in Jungkook snapped, and in a blink of an eye, his right hand was raised, armed with five transformed arrow-like feathers and he shot all five at the enemy. "Then it's a good thing I didn't breathe in the gas."
The human fell backwards with one feather in his forehead, two in his neck, and two in his chest. Jungkook rushed forward to the released girl. "You okay?" He gingerly held her head to check for injuries.
Lisa groggily answered, "Ughh Is there... a footprint... on my head?"
"You have dirt on your hair either way because you fell," Jungkook rolled his eyes but flicked off the bigger chunks of dirt.
"Then," she slumped into his shoulder, "I'm not okay."
Jungkook ruffled her hair while she pouted. He was honestly relieved she was okay if she was being a brat like this.
From a few meters away, Jennie smiled softly at the younger pair. But she couldn't help but joke, "Heyyy, not to break your moment, but like, I'm kind of injured over here." It made herself feel a lot better and stronger that she was able to joke about her battered state, hiding her pain under a light-hearted joke.
But that light moment was short-lived.
"JENNIE LOOK OUT-"
The arrow hit its target.
"NOOOOO!!"
But it hit the wrong target.
"TAEHYUNG!!!"
Jennie had been shoved away from her danger zone, and in her place was her white tiger. Ignoring her own biting injuries, she desperately crawled over to him. "Taehyung, Taehyung!" She placed her hands on either side of the tiger's pained face. She showed a quivering smile through her tears, "Hey, hey, I'm here. Don't close your eyes, please. Just look at me." Her human brown eyes stared deep into his blue tiger eyes. "You saved me. We'll be okay now."
~~~
In a blink of an eye, there was nothing but white. Jennie was stranded in a blizzard, but oddly, she didn't fear it. She just... stood there, still. She didn't know what or why, but she was patient.
And then he came.
Coming through the storming snowflakes, Taehyung walked slowly towards her with a tearful expression and closed the distance between them.
Jennie happily jumped into his arms and let out her own tears. "Taehyung," she said his name. Now that she was closer, she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. "... You Soul Jumped... You don't have enough energy for that."
"I had to see you while I still had some sanity left in me," Taehyung explained with a regretful smile.
"W-What are you talking about? You saved me." Images of Taehyung jumping in front of her to catch an arrow flashed in her mind. Why couldn't the reality be that both their physical bodies were unharmed like in the Soul World? "Can't it just be over now? I just want to go home with you."
His cold hands came up to gently hold her face, "And we will, Jennie... I just can't promise that the way of getting past our enemies to home will be... preferably."
Finally, Jennie knew what he meant by "the last of his sanity". "No, no, you're stronger than that. You're going to hurt yourself and I don't want to lose you like that again! Not again, please!!"
"Whatever happens, Jennie, I am not losing you again. That, I can promise you."