February 6, 2021

Sonyeondan

Jimin is forced out of the dungeon cell he has been kept in by Obsidian Shade. They are rushing through the dark, stone hallways with a purpose. The ruthless tyrant had barged in, scaring Jimin senseless. He unchained him, but bound his wrists behind his back with a rough rope that is now scratching into his skin.

"How's that one song go?" Obsidian snarls as they round a corner and march across a dimly lit hallway that leads from one of the towers to the main section of the evil castle. Through the thick stone pillars, Jimin can see the wicked barren land that surrounds the villainous structure.

Jimin throws him a hard glare, unamused by the taunting from the wicked man. "I'd rather eat spinach before I sing for the likes of you."

They enter the main section, which has a similar pillar-lined hallway that runs around the parameter of a plaza.

"Oh, you'll sing when I bring your friends into my humble abode," Obsidian snarls and gestures with his staff-holding hand toward a center plaza in his castle. "Ah! Right on time! I knew they'd come for you! Friends always do."

Jimin follows his gesture. Horror floods through him as his eyes land on JT, Suga, Astro and Kookie in the clutches of the villain's evil henchmen. Each of them are in bird-like cages and Suga's arms are bound with a similar rope that is around Jimin's wrists. He looks pissed off and furious, but that's just a frustrated Min Soojin.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Kookie screams, grabbing two metal bars in his hands. "I'm Jeon Seok-guk, the Talented Maknae of J'TASK!"

Obsidian half-drags Jimin toward his friends. He stumbles along, unable to disguise the hurt and fear on his face.

His bandmates see him, including Kookie.

"Jiminie!!" Kookie cries out.

"What is this?! You can't do this!" Suga snarls, kicking at the metal bars of his cage.

"Shut your trap, Ryu Min-Ki!" Obsidian growls at him.

Suga wrinkles his nose up in disgust and furrows his brow in bewilderment. "Ryu Min-Ki?"

"Where's the other two members, Ari?" Obsidian demands of the shapeshifting female.

"I think I saw them dart off into the woods, but it took all of us just to capture these four..." Ari snarls, sending spittle as she glares at Astro. "Doesn't matter though, two of them should be nothing and they'll for sure come for the others."

Obsidian nods with a sly smirk on his face.

"There's only five of us!" Jimin snaps. "If you'd even care to pay--" He is cut off by Obsidian, who slaps a hand over his mouth.

"We'll draw them here quickly by our little high note singer here," Obsidian sneers, keeping his hand over Jimin's mouth, but squeezing him closer to his armored chest. "They'll be able to hear him."

"What about the others?" Ari asks, glancing at Astro and then at Suga, who continues to work the ropes binding his wrists and kick at the bars.

Astro looks at Suga, worriedly. "Suga, stop that. Your foot will never win the battle against metal bars!"

Suga ignores him though.

"Do whatever you wish," Obsidian hisses. He lifts his staff up and uses it to push away strands of stray hair from her face. "You're not my dastardly female doppleganger or the leader of the Idles for nothing, darling."

Ari smirks. "I understand."

Obsidian drags Jimin away from his friends and to a wooden platform, which blends into the ground. If not for the ominous chains attached to metal loops, one wouldn't realize it was even there.

The villain shoves Jimin down to the ground. "I told you, you're going to sing for me!"

Jimin glares at the villain. "I will NOT!"

Obsidian attaches the chains to his ankles and then flicks his cloak with a devious flourish, turning toward his minions and the captive boy band members. "Let's see here...Ari, take your dagger and put it to..." His eyes land on Kookie and a devilish smirk creases across his lips. "Kyong Byung-Kook's neck."

Kookie gasps in his cage and backs against the far side. He screams Japanese in panic.

JT grabs the metal bars and angrily shouts out, "You will NOT touch a hair on Kookie!!"

"Kang Jae-Hyun," Obsidian thunders. "SILENCE!"

JT watches in a silent fury as Arianna whips out the jagged dagger and jumps Kookie, holding him around the neck and up against the metal bar. She jabs the dagger's tip into Kookie's cheek.

"Okay! Okay!" Jimin screams out. "Don't hurt him, I'll sing..."

Obsidian stares at him, wearing a smug grin on his face. "I knew you'd see my way, Seong."

Jimin licks his bottom lip, trying to calm his racing heart. "W-what-uh-what do you want me to s-s-sing?"

"Anything, just get the attention of your brave little friends who escaped once," Obsidian says and slams his staff into the ground.

Jimin looks from him to his friends in their cages. They gaze back at him; Astro is looking from him to Kookie. This madman will not drop the bizarre names...so, he closes his eyes and launches into a beautiful acapella falsetto.

Eviana's Diary

Jaydrian and I close in on the castle. Our magical creature army at our sides, our backs and a few inches from our heads. We easily tackle the thorns and the steam clouds and make it to the drawbridge.

Part of me would like to say that this is almost too easy. We are about to sneak inside through the narrow gap between a drawbridge and the wall, but then we all hear the unforgettable and signature falsetto.

Instinctively, a blush trickles into my cheeks.

"My blood, sweat and tears,

Failures that turn into success

Hard work put into a

Willingness to strive for something you really want

Overcoming obstacles and facing fears

I throw my blood, sweat and tears into it all."

"Jimin's falsetto," I whisper to Jaydrian.

"Good, it means we got time and surprise on our side," Jaydrian hisses and slips into the villain castle. "Come on."

I follow him and find that we are in a torch-lit hallway that looks out at a plaza. The shadows barely conceal us, but we can see the cages, the shapeshifter chick with her dagger pressed to Kookie's face and Jimin, helplessly singing in chains by a very dark and evil figure I recall crafting as the villain of my story.

Obsidian Shade.

Without wasting any longer for our surprise element to diminish, I yell out, "ATTACK!!"

It draws the attention of the minions and the villain, as well as all of the J'TASK singers (including cutting off that beautiful Jimin falsetto). But a dragon sails and takes out the cyclops henchman, while a wolf tackles the witch and bites her on the neck with a fierce snarl. A unicorn stabs the wizard in the chest, impaling him grotesquely.

Jaydrian and I rush to unlock the cages and set the members of J'TASK free.

"Thanks, Eviana, we owe you one," Astro gasps as Jaydrian helps to untie the ropes around Suga's wrists.

"It's no problem at all," I say, looking toward Obsidian Shade, who commands his staff to transform into a long and jagged sword.

"How convenient. You came just in the nick of time," Obsidian snarls, throwing the sword to Jimin's neck.

Instinctively my hand flies out before me. The wand is still grasped tightly in my hold. "You're going to let Jimin Bakjin go, now!"

"Jimin Bakjin? Oh, no, this is Seong Ji-Min, the one the infamous prophecy speaks about! My mortal enemy!" Obsidian snaps and pulls the blade closer to Jimin's neck. "He must be destroyed, just like his little brat friends!"

Suga steps forward at my side, his fists clenched and up at ready, like a boxer. "You've got your K-Pop groups mixed up, dude!"

"Do I, Ryu Min-Ki?"

To the side, the fairy minion is engulfed by flames in a ceaseless battle with one of the dragons and the shapeshifter chick, Arianna is left alone. She flocks to Obsidian's side, her brow knit darkly in the center of her forehead.

"That's Min Soojin to you," Suga snarls as she stands loyally by the wicked villain's side.

Kookie joins Suga, lifting his fists up at ready. Astro follows next. JT and Jaydrian follow suit and finish off our powerful hero line.

All around us, are the grotesque scenes of the battle, the creatures on my side winning with ease. In fact, they seem to sense that we have the upper hand in the battle (and aren't needed) and begin to trickle off. They head out of the castle and back to their native lands or wherever they came from, flying or galloping or trudging along.

"Where's your army going, Sweetheart?" Arianna, the shapeshifter right-hand sneers, wearing a smug smirk on her face.

I flick the wand in the air, in the villains' direction. A stream of purple-white light jets from the starry tip and strikes the sword from Obsidian's grasp.

Arianna morphs into a strange hybrid creature. The body is of a lion, the tail is like a serpent's, with a cobra's head and the head is of a goat with two jagged horns. A pair of feathery wings protrude from her back. She flashes two sharp fangs and a snake-like tongue flicks out of her mouth.

"The wand!" she hisses and beats her wings in the air.

A powerful gust of wind is generated and almost knocks us all off of our feet, but we hold true to our spot.

Obsidian dives from his sword, which, free from his hand, changes back into his staff. He seizes it as I let another jet of magic from the wand at them. Arianna jumps into the air and soars for Obsidian, grabbing him by the arms and lifting him up into the sky. They vanish into a black hole-like portal in the dark, rumbling sky.

I lower the wand and look down, my eyes locking with the shocked and terrified light-contact eyes of Jimin. Suga and JT drop their stance first and run forward to Jimin. Kookie and Astro are close behind and then Jaydrian and I.

JT gets the rope off of Jimin's wrists, while Suga looks over the chains.

"He didn't hurt you any did he?" JT asks, panicking.

Jimin shakes his head. "Just a little cut on my throat, but that'll heal."

"Being the hostage of a fairy tale villain, that won't come with post-traumatic stress disorder will it?" Suga questions, looking at me.

I chuckle and tap the wand against my cheek. "I don't think so. Here, let me help out with those chains. I seem to remember that all you have to do is flick and think with this thing, so there's no hassle or worry about them not coming off."

I point the wand at the chains around his ankles and flick it. Sparkles of white magic strike the target and blow the chains open, releasing Jimin.

Jimin scrambles up to his feet with Suga and JT. He eyes the wand in my hands and then me. "Uh, thanks..."

"It's no problem, Jimin Bakjin," I say with a fangirlish giggle. "I'd do anything for my bias."

Jimin chuckles and bows, humbly. "Well, I owe one of my fans, then."

"First we need to find a way to get back to Denver, before you thank me," I remark. "Also, I should probably tell you that this was my fault...you're in my novel, actually-it's a long story."

Astro whispers something to Jimin, who nods.

"I see," Jimin says. "Well, it's not all her fault. I can't say that I blame her for wanting to craft a fictional tale centering around a band like us. Also, explains the strange names coming out of that dude's mouth."

I look to Jaydrian, who is deep in conversation with JT. From their hand gestures, they're talking about hair.

"What if you try using the magic wand?" Suga suggests, nodding at the wand in my hands.

"How so?" I question him.

"Well, how'd you get here? Maybe just try to replicate that?" Kookie suggests, playing off of Suga's idea.

I tap my chin and think about that. There was a storm brewing outside. I look up at the lightning-flashing clouds overhead (thankfully that's all they do, is light up and rumble, no dangerous bolts shooting out). I thought of the place, Sonyeondan. Maybe if I think about Denver and shout it out..?

It is worth a try.

I step back and hold the wand out. I take a deep breath as the clouds light up above my head and the rumble echoes around the tops of the evil castle's plaza. "DENVER!" I flick the wand in the air.

It glows brightly, catching me by surprise. It worked! The glow brightens and engulfs everyone, including Jaydrian.