┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓘𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓞𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 ˚｡➶˚┊

"Miss L/n."

Y/n hated the way the name sounded coming from him. The Emperor sat across from her, his hands folded on the table while his scarlet cloak draped down his muscular build. The man had a mask covering his face, only his eyes visible to her. They stared, not an ounce of hostility hiding behind his irises. In fact, they were rather soft. Namjoon's were the opposite.

"Jimin told me a lot about you."

"You son of a bitch," Y/n said, but Shawman grabbed her shoulder and forced her to stay seated. "Where is he? And where's his brother?"

"That," Emperor Donovan said, leaning back and taking his time before answering. "Is classified information. He committed treason, which is punishable by death." Right when Y/n went to get up, the Emperor clicked his tongue. "I know you may not believe me, but I haven't harmed him. There's no point. If physical pain didn't keep him in my ranks before, there's no point in trying it again now. He doesn't care about physical pain. But he does care about Jihyun..."

"If you hurt Jihyun I swear-"

"Now now, no need to get upset. Enough about the Park brothers. Let's discuss why we're really here: peace. You've taken control of Flerry, the outskirts, the Rocklands... must I go on? What do you want from me? Why bother rebelling against a force you cannot beat?"

"You've kept us in poverty for decades. We're hungry. We're broke."

"Are you, or are you just expecting handouts because that's the simple way out?" Emperor Donovan asked, tapping his fingers against the wood. "I know you've built farms in the outskirts. I could've burned them down like you did to mine. I could've burned Flerry for being full of traitors. I've always known of the rebellion's presence there."

"You let us grow. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Emperor Donovan leaned forward, the jewels on his body clanging together as he moved. "You are free. You're fighting for something you already have. You want handouts from me, not equality. Not freedom. If you built farms in the outer districts, what's stopping you from building them in Flerry? Flerry has fertile grounds, perfect for farms. Thermus Boulevard was the same way. What's stopping you, Miss L/n? Surely it isn't me. Unlike you, I haven't burned any of your farms. I didn't know I needed to babysit grown adults. I'm here to make laws and protect the citizens, not dictate what type of jobs you have. You have all the resources at your disposal. You don't need my permission to build."

"It doesn't change our poverty. It doesn't change how you never lifted a finger to help anyone but yourself."

"I am one man. I focus on keeping my castle, farm, and City safe. The outskirts have made it clear they want nothing to do with me, so I let them go. After Thermus Boulevard, I realized there was no stopping people from doing what they want. For over a year, you've done whatever you wanted. You made farms, built ships, disgraced my name. Tell me, Miss L/n: if you aren't free, would you have been able to do any of that?"

"Freedom isn't just one thing. You could come in at any time and destroy us. You raided Flerry."

"To capture a known traitor?" Emperor Donovan asked with wide eyes. "Miss L/n, I don't think you realize we let you and your friend go. We only wanted Commander Park. We only raided your ship for Commander Park. He's a traitor who left our ranks, murdered fellow guards, and conspired with rebels. You're lucky I didn't assign you the same fate, but I was hoping you'd grow up and see the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

"You're free."

"And that's why we're broke? Sleeping in the same rooms we shit in? Starving every season of the year, not just winter? You've abandoned us. You never gave us opportunities to help ourselves. All you've done is sit in your fancy castle and rule. You don't care about the people."

"Of course not," Emperor Donovan said. "Why would I care about people who don't care about themselves? And you speak of opportunities like you know what that word means. There are no barriers stopping you from pursuing whatever life you want. You could go to the City and perform in the streets for cash. You could go to the Islands and start a new life. You could move to Mount Moros and be rid of me forever. It begs the question: what opportunities do you not have? You've fought so hard for 'opportunities' you don't have that you never stopped to think about the ones you do."

"You say that like it's easy. Like you don't execute protestors and allow drugs in your City's streets. People are killing each other. You tortured Jimin. Does that sound free?" Y/n asked, her hands trembling under the table.

"They have the freedom to do drugs, yes. Murder is illegal, Miss L/n. If you would like to report a crime, please do so now."

"You killed Jimin's parents. You stole his life from him."

"Do you want to know why I killed Commander Park's parents?" Emperor Donovan asked, Y/n staying quiet. "They were rebels, like you. Only worse. They attacked the castle and blew a hole in the walls. They killed my father. They killed my wife and our unborn child. I executed them for treason and took in their boys."

"You let out your anger on them," Y/n said in horror. "You think your loss gives you the right to torture two innocent children? You're a monster."

"Yes, I am," Emperor Donovan said as he chuckled. "And that, Miss L/n, is exactly why I have always won, and you have always lost."

"I don't care. We're going to take you down-"

"I'll give you Jimin."

Y/n stopped, Emperor Donovan keeping his eyes on her the entire time. Her throat clogged up. Tears burned her eyes. The very mention of Jimin had her freezing, unable to move in such a pivotal moment.

"What?" was all she managed to whisper.

"If you stand down, move your troops out of Moros, and sign a peace treaty with me, I will hand over Jimin unharmed."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you don't," he said, shrugging. "My plans for Jimin won't change either way. I want him to be my next in line. He'd make a wonderful leader, don't you think?"

"He would, but something tells me you want him to continue your rule. You don't want him to be himself, he'd fix too many of the problems you and your father caused."

"I wouldn't want him to have his terrible attitude, but I wouldn't care about the direction he chooses to take New Theon. I had my reign."

"If you want him to lead, then why bother with all this?" she asked. "Why bother with the theatrics? Why not just come out and say that?"

"I've been conditioning him for his role. Being a leader comes at a cost, and Jimin is close to knowing what that is. Physically, he's a perfect fit. The issue is his social skills. They could use some work."

"That's your fault," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You're the one who taught him how to speak to people, not his parents."

"I'm the only parent he's ever had."

"That's not true." Kastor was the name resting on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't want to drag the poor old man into this. "You took him from people who care. You took him from people who loved him."

"You among them?" Emperor Donovan asked. She could hear the smile on his face.

"Why does that matter?"

"He seems to care for you. Any mention of you and he gets all... pale. Defensive, almost. I hope you don't mind, I told him we have you in custody-"

"You fucking monster!" Y/n shouted as she shot up. "Leave him alone! If you want to hurt someone, hurt me instead! Just leave Jimin alone!"

The Emperor stayed calm for a moment. Then, he tilted his head toward Namjoon. Namjoon put his hands on the table, and she saw a portable hologram in his hands. She saw the soundwaves and recognized what just happened.

She got tricked.

"Thank you," Emperor Donovan said, snapping and motioning for his guards to take the hologram. "I have no interest in peace with rebel scum like you. I hope you get back safely, Miss L/n."

The Emperor got up and left with his guards pointing their bows at them. Her guards pointed right back, but it didn't matter. Neither side wanted to shoot. They didn't want a bloodbath while the Emperor was in firing range. Y/n got ushered behind the men protecting her, and Shawman took her away.

Her breaths were heaves as they returned to the ship. The forty minute walk felt like two hours. Her thoughts were plagued with nightmares, her eyes battling tears no rain could mask. She did what the Emperor wanted. He never cared about peace. This meeting was a ploy. A sham. It was a front to record Y/n's voice; more specifically, her panicking voice. The Emperor hadn't told Jimin they had Y/n in custody. But now, they had evidence she was. They had evidence, which meant they were desperate. Jimin hadn't budged. He hadn't told the Emperor anything about the rebellion. Y/n was the Emperor's last shot at getting information out of him.

"He's going to use me to get information," Y/n said, her lungs refusing to accept the air around her. "He's going to use that recording to convince Jimin they have me. He'll tell them everything-"

"Y/n," Shawman said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It doesn't change what we have to do. We need to invade the Flagship and get closer to the castle. We don't have a choice, we only have so many places we can attack."

"But it might be a trap."

"Everything we do is a trap. It doesn't change what we need to do."

Y/n slumped her shoulders and went to sit in the corner of the ship. She watched the waves and got reminded of Jimin's tattoo. She missed him, but she knew Shawman was right. As much as she wanted to storm the castle and get him back, she had to be a leader. She could mourn and whine and complain in private, but around the others, she had to stay strong.

When she got back to Moros, that was what she did. Jungkook, Jin, Kastor, and Tae were waiting for the news. Y/n kept her posture straight as she stared into their eyes. There were no lies she could say, so she spewed the truth. Kastor's face deflated, as did Jin's. Kastor stormed away before he could hear the rest of it. Taehyung rushed after him.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook said.

"Don't be. We need to focus on the Emperor's Flagship. If we don't, Jimin's sacrifice was for nothing. Can you trust me?"

"I always do. Can you trust me?"

"I want to think I can," she replied, Jungkook softly smiling at that.

"Then what do we do?"

The question was simple. She should've had an answer the second he said it, but she let the words linger in her mind. They bounced around the cage making up her body and clung to her bleeding heart. There were no answers she could give that would be satisfactory. Not to her and not to Jungkook. However, there was no harm in trying. There was no harm in forcing the willpower to enter her veins. Her lips parted as if to speak. She hesitated, but not for longer than a second.

"We survive."

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚𝓘𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓞𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 ˚｡➶˚┊