┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓘'𝓵𝓵 𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓣𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓸𝔀, 𝓜𝔂 𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 ˚｡➶˚┊

Y/n hated waiting.

Jaime and Jungkook weren't in the vault yet. They had been waiting for five minutes now. Y/n and the rest of the group were staying by a cluster of crates. She couldn't see what was inside them, but she guessed there were firearms and bullets. The entire vault seemed like a storage container, not just a place where they throw their money. While waiting, she tuned into the other conversations happening around her.

"You think the Emperor will ever visit?" one man said, his voice smooth despite his working conditions.

"Does he care?" another asked, his voice deep and rough.

"I know I don't."

"You work here."

"Exactly," the smooth-voiced one said.

Hoseok kept his eyes on Y/n the entire time. They kept waiting while Y/n willed herself not to fiddle with her fingers. Not that she could; the rifle in her grasp prevented her from moving.

Y/n peeked around. She saw some of the guards moving faster than before. The elevators dinged more than usual. New guards shuffled in. Old ones shuffled out. Crates were moved. Guards stayed stoic. Some gripped their rifles tighter and held them closer to their chests.

There were no alarms, but the white lights got darker. They got darker and darker, Y/n glancing up and staring at them. They dimed until they flickered.

The left elevator opened one last time, revealing Jungkook and Jaime. A group of guards rushed to get inside after they were done, and as soon as the door shut, Jungkook covered Jaime with his large, muscular body. Jaime hacked the elevator in mere seconds, causing the lights to flicker more. They rushed to the right elevator and did the same thing. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same luck.

"Identify yourselves," a male guard said as he approached Jungkook and Jaime. A group of three cornered the duo, Jungkook and Jaime facing them down with no fear in their eyes.

"Talking back to superiors? Haven't you noticed we're under attack?" Jungkook asked with a sneer. "An EMP hit the western wall, and you're over here questioning this? We're shutting down the elevators to prevent anyone from getting in or out of the vault. And, if you must know, my code is 713, he's 709."

The guard immediately lowered his weapon. "I-I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't realize you were a seven hundred-"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Jungkook interrupted, bringing up his rifle and shooting the man in the head.

A silence fell over the group. No one moved for a second too long. Or maybe it was hours. Y/n was caught up with herself. Although the rebels were all in good positions, she couldn't believe Jungkook just did that. Strategically, it made sense: Jungkook and Jaime had the high ground while the other four were near the vault. They were in the perfect position to attack from all sides.

The shock wore off a beat later, and gunfire broke out. Jungkook, due to his academy training, did the heavy lifting for Jaime. Y/n, Hoseok, Tana, and Aisha ran back to "protect" the vault. Since they were still in disguise, they hadn't revealed their true alliance yet.

"Flank them!" Captain Jung shouted to the two other men guarding the vault. They agreed. As soon as they moved, Hoseok shot them. That alerted other guards to what was going on. Soon enough, the firefight was split down the middle.

They were behind crates, firing at any guards they could find. There were too many to count, and Y/n didn't have a clear view of Jungkook and Jaime. The fight was too chaotic.

Y/n glanced up and saw the pipes near the walkways where Jungkook and Jaime were. She aimed up, firing a few times and causing steam to shoot out from the pipes. The cloud of steam gave Jungkook and Jaime more cover, allowing them to enter her sight again. They moved, using the new distraction to get closer to the train.

Jungkook laid down suppressing fire while Jaime ran to the train. Jungkook got overrun and had to pull back. As soon as he did, Jaime got shot, stumbling his way into the vehicle. She didn't see where he got shot, but he made it inside. If the injury wasn't fatal, he'd be able to hack the train.

The guards knew they couldn't break off and go after Jaime; if they did, they'd get bullets from the other group, AKA Y/n's group. Tana and Aisha split from them, moving to the crate directly across from Y/n and Hoseok's position.

"Enter the code! I'll cover you!" Hoseok shouted to Tana.

The redhead agreed, the two counting down with their fingers. As soon as Hoseok made a fist, he parted from cover and laid down suppressing fire like Jungkook just did. Tana took off, sprinting to the back where the vault was. A gate prevented them from accessing the currency. As soon as Tana put her hand on the panel, a bullet pierced her head. Blood splattered on the ground as she slumped over, her rifle falling from her grasp.

"Captain!" Aisha yelled, Hoseok taking the hint and pulling back. His eyes showed his heart cracking as he observed the sight of Tana's body. Her lifeless fingers twitched once. Twice. Then, she never moved again.

"Shit," Hoseok murmured. Y/n barely heard it over the gunfire. "We're pinned down, there's too many. Where the hell is Jungkook?"

"Don't know," Y/n replied, her heart jumping around her ribcage. She willed herself to fire back at the enemy. She had no idea how many guards were left. Seeing as more bullets bounced off the sides of the crate, she knew there were at least a dozen left.

"That elevator lock won't hold forever, we need to hurry!" Captain Jung shouted.

Aisha agreed. She reloaded, holding her rifle in one hand and her pistol in the other. "Tell Jaime to take care of himself," she said before launching herself out of cover.

They took the distraction and ran, Y/n peeking back to watch Aisha sacrifice herself. She fired away. Although she already got shot multiple times, she didn't stop until they forced her to by shooting her in the head.

Hoseok and Y/n plugged in the code Park told them: '0709'. The gate opened, Y/n and Hoseok slipping inside and diving behind the piles of gold. They were stacked up in triangle-like shapes, the thickness of them causing bullets to ricochet. Hoseok and Y/n winced, panting and reloading. They didn't bring much ammo, not like there were many places to store it.

"Clear the guards, get the gold to the train," Y/n muttered to herself, shooting at the guards who tried to step inside the vault. They were using the crates as cover, but that left them vulnerable to Jungkook's attacks. That meant they had two options: focus on Jungkook and risk getting shot by Y/n and Hoseok, or focus on Y/n and Hoseok and risk getting shot by Jungkook.

There were only ten guards left. Hoseok shot two. Jungkook got three. Y/n got three. That left two, who surrendered and put down their weapons. Jungkook killed them anyway, just as the train lit up.

"Jaime did it," Y/n whispered, smiling to herself.

Jungkook rushed in, several grazes covering his body. His chestplate was shattered. He took it off and let it clatter on the ground. Without asking, Jungkook started hauling the gold into the train, not waiting for Hoseok and Y/n to join him.

"Hobi, we did it," she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. They lost Tana and Aisha, but they did it. They could mourn later. For now, they had to escort the currency out of the bunker. "Come on, let's help."

"Go ahead, I'll catch up," Hoseok replied in a soft, comforting tone. It was like he was stroking her hair and telling her he was proud of her. Like he was in awe that this worked.

She laughed and got up, helping Jungkook with the gold. It felt wrong to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. The adrenaline masked any pain she felt from the loss of her friends. She'd feel the crash later. For the next few minutes, she helped Jungkook escort the gold.

The train was massive, allowing them to throw countless piles of gold inside. They were rich. And even if they weren't rich, they hurt the Emperor. If nothing else, they proved they could infiltrate one of his highest-guarded places. They proved themselves today. That meant Moros would be more pliable. And beyond that, the City would be, too. As a result, the war would escalate and turn in favor of the rebellion.

They could win.

Y/n helped Jungkook until they loaded enough. Not quite all of it since they didn't have the storage to transport it back to Flerry, but enough to keep them rich and happy. Not to mention it would put a huge dent on the Emperor's guard. It seemed as though some guards were against him or had no opinion on him. Now, without pay, they'd have more of a reason to turn to the rebel's side. If they could get the Emperor's men to turn against him...

"Okay, we're all loaded up. Get the train secured, make sure we have a straight shot out of here, and keep your rifle loaded. We don't have much time," Y/n said, Jungkook agreeing. "I'll go get Hobi. I think he's still in shock that we managed to pull this off."

"I don't think he's ever had his hope restored like this," Jungkook murmured, Y/n tearing up as she agreed. He gave her a quick embrace before leaving to do as he was told.

Y/n went back to the vault, seeing Hoseok was in the same spot as before. He stayed behind one of the piles of gold they couldn't take. She knelt by his side, watching as he tilted his head up.

"We did it," he said, his voice light and delicate. "We can win the war."

"I know. We can celebrate later, but we need to get out of here. You did good, Hobi. He'd be proud."

Hoseok chuckled. "Hopefully I'll find out in a minute."

She knit her brows together. "What do you-" She broke off when she noticed the blood soaking his pants. Right away, her heart ceased its movements, her hands taking control of her body as she ripped the chestplate off him. There was a hole in his stomach, a crimson liquid seeping out. It squirted out more due to the lack of pressure on it.

"It's the price of war, Y/n," he said, gripping his necklace. He took it off, handing it to her. She held it, peering at the wedding ring wrapped around the chain. "There was never a place for me in this rebellion. After my husband, I've been drifting. I'm no leader. It's always been you."

"But... Hobi..."

"Don't cry for me. This is what I want. Lead them. Win the war and give us the freedom my husband dreamed of."

Y/n slumped over, her hand tightening around the ring. She didn't know what to do. Captain Jung was bleeding out right in front of her, but there was nothing she could say. The words refused to fall from her mouth.

"This isn't fair," she finally said, her voice hoarse.

"We're not invincible. This was going to happen eventually-"

"But it's not fair!"

Her shout caught the attention of Jungkook, who trotted over in time for the elevators to snap open. Two squads of guards poured in, firing at Jungkook. He screamed and ran, diving back inside the train as the bullets hit the metal frames of the machine.

"You need to go before they block you off," Hoseok said, Y/n glancing at the hallway. It was too late: she was already blocked off. Without help, she wouldn't get out.

"It's too late," she replied, a bullet whizzing by her ear. "Jungkook! Go! Get the gold to the surface!"

"I'm not fucking leaving you!" he yelled over the madness.

"As your commanding officer, I am giving you an order! Get out of here! Now!"

Despite the weapons lighting up the otherwise dark vault, it was silent. Jungkook didn't reply, but he didn't have to. The train sparked. Soon enough, the tracks shook as the vehicle launched out of the bunker. That left Hoseok and Y/n alone in the vault. The guards closed in on their position, but they were smart. They knew Y/n and Hoseok had the cover advantage. The guards were slow. Cautious. They took their positions outside the vault and aimed their weapons toward the gold Y/n and Hoseok hid behind.

"I'll cover you, get to the back of the vault and give yourself some distance. Look for a backdoor, another emergency exit," Hoseok said, loading his rifle one last time.

"I'm not losing you," she said, her voice teetering on a cry.

"Taehyung was right. You lost me the day my husband died. Go. We don't have time."

"But what about you?" she asked, her tears falling down her face and causing her to taste them.

Hoseok grinned. It was the first one she had seen in years. "I just want to close my eyes for a little while."

Before she could answer, he sat up and pushed her back. He didn't wait for her to be ready. He fired away, laying down the suppressive fire she'd need to escape. Although her emotions were clogging her brain, she managed to get up. She slipped over his blood for a moment, but she recovered and took off, sprinting to the back of the vault.

One step. She heard the Emperor's men barking orders. Two steps. Hoseok killed one. Three steps. The guards moved in with the goal of taking out Hobi. Four steps. Y/n couldn't feel her hands. Five steps. The guards ducked behind cover close to Hoseok's position. Six steps. Y/n got shot in the leg, but the adrenaline helped her keep going. Seven steps. Hoseok's rifle clicked, signaling it was out of ammo. Eight steps. A bullet took off the tip of Y/n's ear. Nine steps. She reached the back of the vault, diving into cover and holding her injured calf.

Her breathing picked up. The lack of noise made her lower lip quiver. She had no idea if Hoseok was still alive. If he was, it wasn't like he had much longer anyway. At this rate, she didn't have much time either. As she scanned over the wall in front of her, she realized there were no weak points. No exits, no cracks, no escape plans. With the guards closing in and her rifle slowly running out of ammo, she knew it.

She was trapped.

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓘'𝓵𝓵 𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓣𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓸𝔀, 𝓜𝔂 𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 ˚｡➶˚┊