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Namjoon lives a pretty average life. Well, he does in universe R20. This Namjoon’s life is more essential, more imperative for way our world works. His typical day usually starts with him in whatever Universe needed or needs him. Today, he wakes up in universe S25. Now, it’s not like Namjoon picks favorites with his universes or anything, it’s just if someone pointed a gun to his head and asked him to pick one it definitely wouldn’t be S25.S25 isn’t horrible. Just horribly inconvenient. This universe consists of Kim Namjoon: K-Pop Idol! Which makes it rather hard for this Namjoon to get from point A to point B without being attacked by fans. He sits up in bed and looks to his phone, immediately checking in with his generals. His generals are stationed in different universes, monitoring for strange activity and making sure nothing goes to shit.“Sir, General Yejun reporting from universe T52! Everything seems to be in order, however, I did detect some low levels of supernatural activity. It was so low I almost didn’t catch it,” Yejun laughed, “I believe it was just some minor spill over from R56.”“Sounds good Yejun, if it gets worse let me know and I’ll be over to check it out,” Namjoon replied while filling up a mug of coffee. The rest of the reports were the basic “All is well!” and “Business as usual” by the time he had gotten all of the reports, either through text, email, or calling, Namjoon found himself with half of pot of coffee in his system. With a sigh he finally starts to get ready for his mission. Getting dressed and pulling a black baseball hat on his head, he is diligent to make sure he doesn’t forget his coffee. As he places the remaining coffee in a travel mug he swipes sunglasses off the counter and heads to the door. After shutting the door behind him, he quickly pulls his hood over the hat. Today’s mission was risky, he was in South Korea at the same time Namjoon S25 was. If he ran into him somehow he’d have to play if off that they are doppelgangers or he loves Namjoon so much he got a ton of plastic surgery. Okay, probably the first one.He walked swiftly down the busy streets of Seoul, South Korea nearly chugging the coffee as he narrowly avoided colliding with people not paying attention. He really hated these busy streets, especially when people would think he was an idol. He would much rather be in universe T12 right now…His mission today was to take down terrorist that would not only demolish the biggest train network in Seoul, but also the entire South Korean economy. General Joonwoo met him at the train station. “Good job catching this, Joonwoo. This could’ve put a damper on things,” Namjoon complimented.“I was just doing my job, sir.”“That’s true, but some might not have looked twice at a terrorist attack that seemed pretty typical. Good looking further into it.”The walked to the main terminal, where the terrorist was going to execute his disgusting deed. “You’ll have to point him out for me when you see him. I don’t know exactly what he looks like.”“Yes, sir.” They sat on a nearby bench and Namjoon opened his travel mug to see how much coffee he had left. Half, should do the trick he thought.“Oh, uh, that’s him, sir!” Namjoon looked to where Joonwoo was subtly pointing. He pointed to an average looking man with round glasses, he looked like nothing more than a salary worker. As strange as it was, Namjoon knew better than to doubt his general. They knew the people and the futures of these universes better than he did most times. He got up and delicately walked towards the man, leaving Joonwoo to complete the other phase of the plan.“Excuse me, do you know where I can find a police officer?” Namjoon asked.“W-what?” The man studered out. “Why?”“I believe my wallet was stolen and I can’t find an officer anywhere! It had my ticket in it and everything..” Namjoon said looking towards the ground.“Um, there’s a station down the block from here,” The man said, trying to get away from Namjoon.“Oh that’s great! But, which way? Should I go out the main doors or…?” Namjoon blocked the man from escaping him.“Out the main doors and to the left.” He said eyes glued to the floor ahead of him.“God, I’m so bad at directions. Where is the front door?” Namjoon was making the man as nervous as he could before moving to the next stage.“That way,” The man pointed in some direction, and Namjoon didn’t even follow his finger, just stared him dead in the eye when he finally looked up.“Are you doing okay, sir? You don’t seem like you’re doing alright. Maybe you should sit down.” Namjoon wasn’t lying when he said the many didn’t look alright, he was sweating profusely, eyes shifting left and right.“I really should be going!”“Oh no, sir. You’ve been so nice, I don’t want you to fall over after all that you’ve done for me!”Getting the hint that Namjoon wasn’t going to let it go, the man finally nodded his head and allowed Namjoon to guide him to a bench. With the man finally sitting Namjoon moved onto the next step.“Here, you can have some of my coffee, maybe it’ll make you feel better!” Namjoon started to unscrew the cap of his mug, but the mug slipped out of his hands and his remaining coffee landed on the man. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I’m so clumsy…”Frantically grabbing napkins from his pocket he started feverishly patting the man trying to clean his mess. Suddenly the man jumped up from the bench.“What do you think your doing?” He asked with a glare.“I don’t know what you mean? I’m trying to help!” Namjoon asked somewhat offended.“You’re little charade is over. Who put you up to this? Was it the boss?” The man wasn’t nervous anymore, he was furious. Speaking just loud enough for only Namjoon to hear. “Trying to see if I’ll get distracted? Well I won’t!” All of a sudden a knife was pulled out so hidden that even Namjoon didn’t see it at first. The only indicator was the fact that there was cold metal on Namjoon's arm.“Sir, what are you doing?” Namjoon asked lowly.“Enough,” He growled, “It’s almost time anyways.” The man went to stab Namjoon in the stomach and buried the knife in his abdomen. Namjoon groaned and took a step away from him, hunched over. Fuck he thought That didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to. Namjoon then stood back up to his full height and ripped the knife out of his abdomen. The man looked in horror as he realised no blood was protruding from the wound. “What? I thought for sure you weren’t wearing any protection.” The man said baffled.Namjoon let out a soft chuckle. “I was trying to avoid this so that we wouldn’t have a scene, but I guess we are doing this the hard way.” Namjoon grabbed the man and dragged him to an empty bathroom. He threw him to the floor and locked the door after making sure no one was in there. “Now, you had a very bad plan for today, right?”“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” He exclaimed desperately.“You tried to stab me!”He looked to the ground searching for an answer to give. “You’re too late anyways, they should be going off any moment now!” He looked at his watch.Namjoon looked at the man with pity, “Oh, if only that were true.” Namjoon then lifted the man’s shirt up, allowing for the bomb strapped to his chest to be on display. He used the knife the man stabbed him with to cut the bomb off the man’s body and made quick work to deactivate it.“Ha! You think that’s it! My other ones will be going off in,” The man looked to his watch once again, “3, 2, 1!”Silence.The man kept checking and rechecking his watch. Then looked up to Namjoon in horror. “H-how?”“I don’t work alone that often,” Namjoon said with a smirk. “Now, I guess I’ll let you go this one time, but if you or your ‘boss’ try to do this again I’ll rip you to shreds. Each limb will be ripped from your body and I’ll cut off your tiny dick.” Namjoon looked into the man’s eyes. “And I wasn’t wearing protection,” Namjoon lifted his shirt so that the man could see his intact abdomen.“How is this…?” The man trailed off.“Possible? In my world, or well worlds, anything is.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Namjoon’s job was simple enough, make sure the universes don’t destroy themselves, but don't get too involved. Sometimes he acted as fate and aligned the stars delicately to allow for two lovers to meet or threw in a miracle here or there. His job was made even easier by the fact that he didn't have to protect every universe, just the 5th section. The amount of universes was so large that if one person tried to do it, disaster would be inevitable.His work was finished in S25, and it was time to move on. Now that he thinks about it, he has no idea what day, month, or even year it is where he currently is. Hell, how long has it been since his last break? He needed a break every 10 years or so in order to replenish his power, tearing between time and space was no easy job. Which Universe should I spend my break in this time? Namjoon thought. Last time he spent it in T12, and well, let’s just say it was the best break he’s had in a long time. However it would be dangerous to spend time in T12. That universe ran on a slower clock than most of the other ones. It would only have been about 3 years on their clock and it was likely he would be recognized by his acquaintances. People ask too many questions and Namjoon is for the most part a terrible liar. T31? No, that’s too dangerous. T52, is too crazy for him to keep up with. U09 is too annoying.After his head debated with itself he finally determined R43 would by the best bet for him. He was unlikely to run into the Namjoon of that universe, he knew exactly which places to avoid. It was a quiet, simple universe, perfect for his break. He would only be there for 2 weeks or so, letting his defenses down and allowing his body to make the recovery it was begging for. Getting to a secluded alleyway, Namjoon did his little magic trick: tearing through time and space until he landed on universe R43. As he stepped through the tear he took in his surroundings. Woah, things have certainly changed… Namjoon thought. A new nightclub sat where his favorite diner used to be. Namjoon frowned. He was really going to miss that place.As he walked down the street to the apartment he owned, he slowly let his defenses down. Stripping his power slowly, before he was nothing but an ordinary human being once again. He still had his mask on from S25 and he figured it would be best to keep it on until he was in the safety of a bed. The street had changed dramatically. The once rundown area had been renovated to a new and improved city street. Namjoon looked at the date on his cellphone, well it had been 6 years since he last been here.Namjoon was surprised to see his apartment building was still standing. He entered the building, see a new security guard standing in the lobby.“Excuse me sir, do you live here?” The man asked.“Yeah, in-uh” Namjoon thought about the number, God it’s been awhile “208.”The security gave him a look, he did not trust a strange face, especially when he couldn’t see half of it.“I have my key right here,” Namjoon said, displaying his key on his open palm.The security guard stare didn’t waver. Namjoon sighed, “Would you like to follow me and watch my door open?”“I’m sorry, sir. It’s just… I’ve never seen you before and I’ve seen just about everyone who has come through that door.”“No it’s fine, I appreciate that you are doing your job.” Namjoon was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but he nodded his head at the guard motioning for him to follow. They walked in awkward silence, went up the elevator in awkward silence, and approached Namjoon’s door in awkward silence. Namjoon placed the key in the knob and unlocked the door for the man to see.“Uh, thanks… have a goodnight, sir.” The guard turned to walk away.Namjoon finally pushed the door open more and heard a high pitch scream come from the apartment. Well, that’s not good. The guard whipped his head around and nearly ran back towards Namjoon. It wasn’t like this man was particularly threatening, the guard was shorter than Namjoon and looked like a 12 year-old, but the it was the look on his face that really made him nervous. Namjoon finally looked to where the noise came from. He almost rolled his eyes when he saw who let out the high-pitched squeal. Before Namjoon could say anything the guard had him held against the wall. OKAY! Great, great, love this and everything but please no. “Ma’am, do you know this man?” The guard said not taking his eyes off Namjoon. Namjoon almost started laughing right then.“Ma’am?!”The guard finally tore his gaze away from Namjoon and noticed the squeal definitely didn’t come from a ‘ma’am’“Uh, sir… I’m sorry…” This time Namjoon did let out a laugh.“Hello Miss. Jackson,” Namjoon said to his favorite general.“Fuck you,” Jackson spat out, then let a smile take over his face. “Joonie! I didn’t know you were coming!”The guard finally let go of Namjoon and brushed off his shirt. “I’m sorry- I just was- its- fuck.”“Dude, your fine. Not the first man to hold him against a wall,” Jackson said with a wink.“I literally hate you.”“Uh-well. Have a great night,” The guard nearly ran down the hallway, frantically hitting the elevator button before he gave up and ran down the stairs.Namjoon and Jackson watched the tragic scene. Letting out a laugh Jackson finally pulled Namjoon into a hug. “It’s good to see you man!”Namjoon hugged him back and laughed. They both entered the apartment and Namjoon fell onto the couch ripping off the mask he had on.“How’re you? What’s going on? Are you here for your break?”“I’m alright, exhausted, but alright. I figured this would be the best spot for break.”“I thought you would go to T12 after what you told me happened last time,” Jackson said wiggling his eyebrows.Namjoon felt his face get a little red, curse this human body . “Yeah, well, I figured I’d come visit you.”“It was too soon to go back, wasn’t it?”“... Yeah”“Well! You’re stuck with me then. Hungry? Tired? Thirsty? What can I do for you, boss?”“Not hungry or thirsty just yet. My body hasn’t caught up just yet. I will however pass out if I don’t get to a bed soon.”“I still have your room all set up! I’ve been changing the sheets every couple of months and everything!”“See Jackson, this is why you’re my favorite!” With a small laugh Namjoon got up from the couch and made his way to his bedroom. Collapsing onto the bed, barely getting his shoes off before falling asleep.  When Namjoon woke up, it was to his stomach growling so loud he thought it was thunder. With a groan he (literally) rolled out of bed, crashing to the floor before getting to his feet. Rubbing his hands all over his face, he made his way out of the room and towards the kitchen. Jackson had displayed a line of takeout food on the counter with a note. 
Hey fucker,

I knew you’d be hungry.

Wasn’t sure what you’d like.

Off on a mission.

Eat up Bitch.
Namjoon shook his head, leave it to Jackson to insult his boss twice in one note. He grabbed the Chinese take out option and stuffed the fried rice in his mouth. He doesn’t eat often, only when his body is trying to recover and he was starving. Namjoon ate half of the takeout options that were left behind, downed a gallon of water, and passed out on the couch once again. The first day was always the hardest.Namjoon was technically a celestial being, but his body was human. His body could only handle so much power at a time. Most protectors took on a human body and had the same cycle he did. However, some stayed as a celestial being. They had their generals do the dirty work, simply guiding them. Namjoon didn’t like those protectors. They were too uninvolved and lazy in his opinion.His day continued as it started, binge eating, drinking, sleeping, and repeat. By the next day, he finally felt like he was caught up slightly. He entertained himself by catching up on the current events, getting reports of the other universes, and reading a book.It was the third day that Jackson finally returned from his mission. Namjoon sat on the couch, drinking a cup of coffee while reading about the current political climate between the U.S. and Russia.“Honey! I’m home!” Jackson exclaimed.“Hi,” Namjoon replied, not looking up.“Hey! Didn’t you miss me? No thanks for the take out?”“It’s literally your job to take care of me during this time,” Namjoon said finally putting down the laptop and looking at Jackson.Jackson looked at the ground “A thank you would still be nice…” he mumbled.“Okay, thank you, Jackson. I appreciate you.”A smile lit up his face, “Anything for you, boss!”Namjoon shook his head and finished his coffee. “How’d your mission go?”“Good! Stopped the future prime minister from getting killed by a stray shot!”“What is he ten now?”“Yep, but he is critical for the future of the country.”“Oh trust me, Jackson. I know.”“That’s cause you know everything, Joon. You and that big ass head of yours.” Jackson laughed. “How are you feeling?”“Much better! I think my body is finally decently caught up."“Good, cause we’re going out tonight!”“Jack, you know that’s dangerous… What if we run into Namjoon R43?”“We convince him that you’re a doppelganger or something. Come on, Joon! I want to have fun for once! We haven’t gone out and had fun in like 40 years!”“37 actually.”“Close enough! I bet the last time you got laid was 10 years ago!”“What does that have to do with anything?” Namjoon asked flustered.“Joon, you’re in recovery. You know what that means? Sex will feel amazing. ”“If you want to go out and have fun with me, how does that involve sex?” Namjoon asked.“Well, I’m going to get you laid of course!”“Nope. That’s inappropriate. Technically, I’m your boss.”“Oh my God! We don’t work in an office! I’m taking you out. You’re going to have a good time. You’re going to have killer sex. Then eat another ton of takeout and sleep for the next week.” Jackson stated. He had a strange look in his eye and it made Namjoon shut his mouth for once. “Plus, Namjoon R43 will be at a different club tonight. He’s been rapping at some underground club that’s in the next city over. We’ll be fine bitch.”Namjoon let out a sigh. He knew he wasn’t getting out of this one. Boss or not, Jackson is a powerful force and Namjoon knew he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.“Okay, okay… When are we leaving?”A smile creeped onto Jackson’s face “I’m glad you made the right choice.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Namjoon was a lightweight. There was no denying that after a shot Namjoon was getting pretty tipsy. Fuck, everything around him was loud and annoying. The girls sitting next to him at the bar were too obnoxious. Jackson had ditched him to grind on some random people on the dance floor while Namjoon sat staring at his tight pants Jackson had forced him, Jackson had even forced eyeliner onto his lids. The choker that decorated his neck, however, was Namjoon’s idea. Namjoon knew he looked like a cliche, but Jackson defended himself saying “cliches are cliche for a reason.”

Namjoon put his head in his hands. He wasn't typically like this. He was put together, fighting bad guys, travelling from universe to universe, yet when he was around Jackson he let him do anything. Jackson was his first general, his second in command, and his best friend. He trusted Jackson with his life, even if he was a fucking asshole.

“Hyung?” Namjoon was surprised to find the voice came from the security guard he met the other night. If he remembered correctly from the other universes his name was Jungkook.

“Uh, no?” Namjoon awkwardly replied. Namjoon wasn’t sure how he was going to get himself out of this.

“Oh, you look exactly like my friend…”

“Yeah, sorry, I have no idea who you are.”

“Ah, I’m Jungkook,” He held out his hand for Namjoon to shake. Namjoon had an internal meltdown of how he should introduce himself, when Jackson decided to rejoin him.

“Joonie! You have to come dance with me!” Jackson said trying to grab his hand, “Oh look! It’s the guard that held you against a wall!”

Jungkook’s eyes got wide. Namjoon’s face had been covered with a mask in their first meeting, so this was a little less than ideal. “I’m so sorry about that!”

“No, it’s fine,” Namjoon said trying to comfort Jungkook’s petrified state.

“Yeah dude, that was the most action Joon has gotten in a while! It’s

fine.

” Jackson said with a smirk. With that Namjoon waved the bartender down and got two more shots. “Oh! For me? You shouldn’t have, Joonie!”

“No. For me.” Namjoon then downed both the shots consecutively while Jackson looked on in horror.

“We’re no longer friends,” Jackson stated as he walked back to the dance floor.

“I swear you look

exactly

like my friend, I even call him Joon-hyung.” Jungkook examined Namjoon. The thing was, in this universe Namjoon was a hard rapper and didn’t let anyone fuck with him and this Namjoon was with makeup and white shirt that showed off his collarbones.

“What a funny coincidence!” Namjoon said with an obviously forced laugh.

“Right, I thought so too,” Jungkook said skeptically. Namjoon avoided eye contact with the younger and started playing with the choker around his neck. It seemed like Jungkook had taken pity on the awkward man and decided to move on. “So, how about I get you a drink for you know… pinning you against a wall and such?”

“Sure,” Namjoon said with a smile. He wasn’t about to say no to a free drink. Jungkook waved down the bartender once again and allowed for Namjoon to order some random beer.

“So, do you pin people against walls often?” Namjoon asked, trying to make conversation.

“Actually, no,” Jungkook said with a laugh, “I started a couple weeks ago, so there haven’t been too many instances.” They both let out a chuckle and soon enough found themselves talking about how security guards are underappreciated, which somehow lead to how police brutality is currently swarming the United States. That’s when Namjoon knew he was drunk. He always got philosophical and deep when he was drunk and here he was, talking to this random man about the abuse of power in a different country.

“I’m just saying, if you trust someone with a gun you gotta trust them not to shoot to kill,” Namjoon slurred out.

“I agree with you, dude!” Jungkook said, “Are you drunk?”

“Probably,” Namjoon said with a sigh.

“Alright, let’s get you home,” Jungkook said as he started to get his things together.

“Wait! Jackson!” Namjoon exclaimed.

“Right here, Joonie!” Jackson said, appearing behind him.

Jungkook had walked them home and made sure that they were safe in their apartment before he made his way to his house. Namjoon hugged his pillow and thought about how sweet he was as he drifted to sleep.

When Namjoon awoke he had quite the headache. He chugged water and stuffed some painkillers down his throat. Namjoon sat down on the couch and started his check-ins. He nearly fell asleep as the same reports came in, business as usual and his generals were doing their part to make sure his break was as stress-free as possible.

It wasn’t until Jackson woke up a good 3 hours later that Namjoon noticed the texts on his phone.

‘Hey, this is Jungkook!’

‘I got your number from Jackson, I just realised I don’t know your name… only Joonie’

Namjoon quickly replied back,
‘That’s Joonie-Hyung to you’

Namjoon was surprised when a text came in almost immediately afterwards

‘lol’

‘Do you want to maybe get late lunch with me today?’

Namjoon looked at the clock and realized it was already 1 and he had just been snacking all day - not good for his recovering body.

‘Sure’

‘Where do you have in mind?’

‘There’s this really good diner by your place, I’ll send you the address.’

When Namjoon received the address and they decided to meet in half an hour. Namjoon quickly made himself presentable and headed out. It was a nice walk and it felt good to feel the sun on his face. As Namjoon got closer he realised it was the diner that he loved so much, just in a new location.

“Hey!” Jungkook said to Namjoon as he got closer, “Oh my God, I’m so hungry!”

“Me too, I haven’t really had a meal yet,” Namjoon smiled at Jungkook. They made their way inside the diner and found themselves in a nice booth in the corner.

“I love this place so much,” said Namjoon.

“Me too! It’s my favorite place!”

“It moved since the last time I visited Jackson.”

“Where are you from, Joonie-hyung?”

“Eh, kind of close to here,” Namjoon said with a shrug, “I’ve been traveling for as long as I’ve been alive, it’s kind of hard to remember just where I’m from.”

“Woah, why is that? Did your parents travel a lot for work?”

“I guess you could say that, I like traveling seeing new places and meeting new people.”

“That’s awesome! I’ve always wanted to travel,” Jungkook said with a big smile.

“There’s plenty of time of that Jungkook,” Namjoon smiled fondly at him taking a sip of his water.

That’s when Namjoon saw it. There was another Namjoon exiting the bathroom. A Namjoon with a tailored designer suit and hair done to perfection. He looked a little lost and immediately ducked his head down. This wasn’t the Namjoon of this universe. This was Namjoon S25.

This

Namjoon spit out his water and his eyes bulged out of his head. This isn’t supposed to happen. Seemingly all at one time Namjoon S25 made eye contact with

this

Namjoon, Namjoon’s phone went off, and Jackson came bursting through the diner doors.
 
Fuck.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Haha… Funny story, boss,” Jackson said wearily. Namjoon still has his eyes locked with Namjoon S25. Jungkook looked from Jackson to Namjoon to Namjoon S25, back to Namjoon, back to S25.“Okay… what the fuck?” Jungkook said.“Jungkook?” S25 said, “What’s going on?” he was looking at this Namjoon with a confused expression. Namjoon was so lost in what was going on that it was the blaring from his phone that finally snapped him back to the present. Namjoon quickly picked it up and answered it.“Sir, slight issue… Kim Namjoon T52 is gone, I have some guys from- actually I have no idea which universe,” Yejun said quietly, “All I know is that they are demanding to know where they are and they are fucking magical or some shit.”“They’re probably from R56 or T31, or fuck even U72.” Namjoon ran a hand over his face and looked up to see Jungkook and Namjoon S25 talking to one another while Jackson was also on the phone, most likely also getting reports. “Look, I really need to go. Tell them the truth, all of them. The T52 boys and these magical shits, tell them about universes. Considering what both of them are witnessing, they should believe you.” Namjoon hung up, only for his phone to ring immediately after that.“Sir, I’m reporting Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jungkook, and Park Jimin of S61 missing. They aren’t here. I can’t even detect their energies in the entire universe.”“I’m working on it. Is there anyone from different universes there?”“Not that I know of currently.”“If that changes call me or Jackson.”“Yes, sir.”Namjoon noticed S25 starting to make his way to the exit of the building and he yanked the phone away from his ear. “Nope! You want to go home?” S25 nodded, “Then sit your ass down.”Namjoon was answering calls one after another, S25 sat next to Jungkook and Jackson took a seat next to Namjoon. Finally, the calls were slowing down… however, between Jackson and himself every single universe had called to report an issue. Namjoon started scribbling down the reports they had and trying to connect the dots. In all the chaos, Namjoon didn’t notice the boys had decided to order food. Jungkook was stuffing his face with pancakes and Namjoon S25 was munching on some fries.“Uh, we ordered you some food, hyung,” Jungkook said gesturing to the waffles in front of him.“You just overheard me talking about different universes and see another version of me right next to you and yo-you just order food?” Namjoon said in disbelief.“Honestly, I don’t think this has all processed for me. I am very confused, but I’m also a growing boy.” Namjoon S25 just nodded in agreement.Namjoon sighed, looked at Jackson, and decided the next best moves was to slam his head onto the table causing the plates and silverware to clatter.“Jesus, hyung!”“Ah, Namjoon, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”Namjoon groaned.“Okay so, might be the wrong time, but I also have detected that Jung Hoseok, Kim Namjoon, and Kim Taehyung of this universe are not here.” Jackson said.“Wait, my hyungs aren’t here? Where are they?”“I don’t know,” Namjoon replied, finally lifting up his head. “I’m working on connecting the dots, but as of right now I don’t know.” Jungkook deflated and pulled out his phone and started typing frantically. Namjoon took a fork, stuffed a huge bite of waffles in his mouth and started working on a flow chart of just how fucked each universe was.“Fuck,” Jackson said as he looked at the mess in front of him. “There’s no rhyme or reason, people are in completely different universes- Hell! No one knows which universe they belong to!”“I’m going to have to go to each universe and determine who belongs where…”“Joon, you’re not completely recovered. You won’t have enough energy to make it to each universe.”“Well, I can’t wait 2 weeks! T76 will literally fall apart, U68’s future will be forever changed for the worse, the boys from T31 will destroy whatever comes in their path, even S25 will be up in arms when they find the biggest idol group has members that are missing!” Namjoon said gesturing to the other.“I, for one, am enjoying the ability to eat at a public place without a shit ton of things on to hide my identity.” Namjoon S25 said. Everyone stared at him for a brief second.“Okay, okay, then how are we going to do this? Have generals send pictures of them and then you try to determine which universe they are from or something?” Jackson said, completely ignoring S25.“No, I need to be able to sense their energy. Some universes have such close similarities that it’s hard to tell based on how they look or even if they described where they were from. If I send them to the wrong universe that could be the end of it all.”“Fuck, okay. So we need to get you in the same space with them…” Jackson said putting his hand on his chin.“What if you get everyone in one universe, one room, and divide them then instead of going from universe to universe?” Namjoon S25 suggested. “I don’t really know any of this, so it’s just what came to mind.”That might work… but Namjoon’s energy would still be required to get everyone in one room. He’s never done that before and that still requires a lot of energy. Where would even be the safest place?
S25: Super famous K-Pop Idols and fans ready to attack

U68: Zombies hungry for flesh

T52: Gangsters waiting to kill Namjoon at any point of weakness

S16: Heroes and
Wait. S16. That universe is filled heros and villians, there is some of the most secure buildings there. Time there moves fast compared to all of the other universes. If Namjoon can get everyone there then he can recover for a couple of days, get organized, and it won’t actually be a couple of days elsewhere.“That might actually work… Jackson, get in contact with S16. See what the most secure building we can get in. I have to start making a few calls.” “You boys are so cute, you guys must be twins right?” their older waitress said gesturing to Namjoon who was on the phone and Namjoon S25 who had just shoved a handful of fries in his mouth. Namjoon S25’s eyes widened and he let out a small grunt.“Yes, yes they are!” Jungkook said quickly.“Aw sweet boys, you guys have the same face! How did your mother distinguish between the two of you?”Finally swallowing his fries, Namjoon S25 was able to reply, “Ah, well I’m the smarter, better looking one.”Jungkook let out a laugh, “Yeah right, Joonie-hyung is so smart. Even when he was drunk last night he was so thoughtful.”“I’m thoughtful!”The waitress shook her head and laughed, “You boys. Is there anything else I can do for you today?”“No thank you ma’am!” Jungkook said with a smile.“God, it’s so weird being able to sit here and have a decent conversation with someone without a fan interrupting. Don’t get me wrong, I love my fans, but for years I’ve had to hide if I wanted to go out. Now I’m sitting here freely and it so crazy.”“So. Like, you're from a universe where we are idols?” Asked Jungkook looking at Namjoon S25 with amazement.“Yeah! It's kind of crazy, but we are making it work,” Namjoon said with pride.“That's so funny, I don't think I'd ever catch hyung dead as an idol! Right now he's just making it by with rapping, he’s doing really well right now! Him and Yoongi-hyung have been getting popular underground.”“I didn’t think I would ever become an idol either, and look at me now. In one of the biggest idol groups in the world. It’s kind of overwhelming, not gonna lie.”“Well at least your rich,” Jungkook laughed, “Currently I have 6 roommates and I trying to fit in a two bedroom, one bath apartment, it’s not going well.”“Damn, that’s rough,” Namjoon said, shaking his head.“Eh, we all came to Seoul with the intention of living a better life, we are just working on it now.” Jungkook R43 and Namjoon S25 continued to talk about their separate universes and just how different they were. “Aw, what a cute bonding time!” Jackson said putting his hands to his cheeks, “However, you might not want to get too close to one another. We are gonna have to take Namjoon with us when we go to S16.”“Can I come too?” Asked Jungkook, “My hyungs are out there and I’m worried about them. We’ve been with each other through thick and thin, I need to be sure that they are alright!”“Jungkook, that would require more energy from that Namjoon” Jackson said gesturing to Namjoon who was now on his seventh phone call.“I know, it’s just,” Jungkook sighed, “I really care about them and I want to know that they’re okay…”Jackson look at Jungkook, eyebrows furrowed together, “I’ll see what I can do, kid.”“I’m not a kid.”“To me, you are. Hell even this guy is a kid compared to me,” Jackson said gesturing to Namjoon S25.“That just means you’re old.”“Aish, disrespectful.” “Jackson,” Namjoon cut in, “Are we able to land a secure building?”“Yeah, General Mingyu was able to get us into a government building where they train heroes in S16.”“Perfect, we are going to have to coordinate this carefully, I started talking to the people are furthest away from that universe, it’s going to be difficult, but they need to be the quickest so I can close the gates quickly,” Namjoon explained, “So far it seems like most people were able to calm everyone down.”“Okay, should I spread the word about times and locations?”“Yeah, let’s meet at 1600 universal time and have the general give me exact coordinates so that I can get the gates opened there at those times.”“Hyung?” Namjoon looked towards Jungkook, “Do you think I could come with you?” Curse that fucking face Namjoon thought. Jungkook was giving him the puppy dog eyes and it was going to be the death of him.“Fuck. Fine, but you’ll have to be quick and ready to go as soon as I say so, got it?”“Yes! Thank you so much Hyung!” Jungkook smiled brightly and jumped up and down.“Yeah, yeah.”Namjoon and Jackson once again started making calls and spreading information as fast as they could. If they were going to do this, they had to do it quickly before certain universes started to go absolutely shit.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“I really fucking hope this works,” Namjoon said with a cringe.“You and me both, Boss,” Jackson said. Namjoon stood facing a brick wall in the very alleyway he entered this universe in. Everything had been perfectly orchestrated, as long as nothing went wrong they should be able to get through this. Everyone’s role was known, which mainly involved people ready to run through a small gate, all that was left was to execute. Jackson took a look at his watch, “Two minutes, Namjoon.”Namjoon looked towards Namjoon S25 and Jungkook and they nodded to him. Slowly Namjoon started putting his defenses back up, his power becoming strong and strong. He has never tried to do this so soon after letting them down. Before Namjoon could even think to hold back, he let out a groan. His body wasn’t ready, he felt it protesting, but failure wasn’t an option. He clenched his fists and fought against the ache.“Thirty seconds.”With one last grunt, Namjoon’s power was back and his defenses were up. Namjoon felt like he was going to fall over. “Hyu-?”“Ten. Nine. Eight,” Jackson had cut Jungkook off with the beginning of the count down.“Seven.” Namjoon could feel the hairs on his neck stand up.“Six.” The beginning of the gate in front of them appeared.“Five.” Energy. Focus… The coordinates. “Four.” Namjoon could feel the other gates opening.“Three.” This hurts. “Two.” Namjoon could feel the power radiating off of him. Could feel it on his fingertips, could feel it down to his toes.“One.” With one last push, Namjoon opened all of the gates. He felt like he was being ripped open, but he kept pushing.“Now!” Jackson said desperately, as he pushed them all through the gate. With a thud, Namjoon landed on the ground in Universe S16. He slowly raised his head and saw so many of the other Namjoons followed by his generals. He closed the gates one by one, until the last one had made it through. With a smile, Namjoon let down his defenses once again and promptly threw up.“Joonie, I’m so proud of you. You did so well,” Jackson said rubbing Namjoon’s back.Namjoon let out a breathy laugh, “I’m going down now,” Namjoon slurred out as darkness consumed him. “Okay. I can certainly say that when I changed my major from business to music, I never thought that would lead to me going through a gate to a different universe.” Namjoon R20 said with a nervous laugh.“Well, technically, it wasn’t your choices that lead you to this moment,” General Mark said to him.“Yeah, but if I just did as my mom wanted then I would have never have met Yoongi-hyung, and then I wouldn’t have met you,” Namjoon R20 said with wild hand gestures and wide eyes, “And then when you came to tell me that my friends, whom I have all met through Yoongi-hyung, were in another universe I would have laughed and called you crazy, and then I would be crying into a calculus textbook right now.”Mark just looked at the ground and nodded. “What kind of magic is that?!” Seokjin R56 said with amazement, “I’ve studied a lot of magic in my years, it kind of looks like dark magic, but the gate also seemed too bright to be.”“It’s obviously not dark magic, maybe it came from an angel?” Taehyung pondered. It was then when a Namjoon, power radiating off of him, slumped on the ground caught his eye, “Yep, definitely an angel.” “I’m thinking about naming this YouTube video ‘I Traveled To Another Universe (Not Clickbait ((SERIOUSLY)))’ and then I try my hardest to convince people that I ended up in a universe where people were trying to kill me,” Jungkook U09 said as he held a camera as tightly as he could.“Not my fault I know my Jungkookie and knew you weren’t him.” Jimin T52 said.“So you thought pointing a gun at me was a valid solution?!” Jungkook said throwing his open hand in the air.“Hey. I trust no one.” “Please, please, will you drop the guns now?” General Jisoo asked with an eye roll.“My bad! When some random lady comes out of the nowhere and claims we are in the wrong universe, I tend to get a little skeptical,” Yoongi U68 sneared.“Hyung, calm down…” Hoseok U68 said, “Look around.”Yoongi did just that. He was impressed to find a building so large, so… protected. However, what really caught his attention was the people. So many people. With his face. Some looked exhausted, others flabbergasted, but the man throwing up in the center of the room was the only thing he cared about. “H-Hoseok, is that Namjoon?”Hoseok froze and looked to where Yoongi was pointing. His eyes went wide and a whimper was ripped from his throat. He watched as the Namjoon fell over and without a second thought Hoseok went running towards the center, Yoongi following closely behind. “Namjoon!” Hoseok shouted.Jackson looked towards where the commotion was coming from, “Woah, calm down boys!”“Joon-ah, Joon. God fucking damnit.” Hoseok was on the brink of tears.Jackson looked at them with pity, this wasn’t going to be easy. “Guys, I’m sorry. This isn’t your Namjoon.”“No. That’s him. I know Namjoon,” Yoongi said glaring at Jackson.“No it isn’t. I don’t know where your Namjoon is, but I can promise you this isn’t him.”“Hyung?” Jungkook U68 asked timidly.“Kook!” Hoseok exclaimed as he pulled him into a hug, “We thought-” Hoseok swallowed, “We thought we lost you… the hoard, t-the gunshots.” Hoseok was slowly losing his composure, breaking down one step at a time.“It’s okay Hyung, I’m alright,” Jungkook said hugging him tighter, “But you know that isn’t our Namjoon, right?”“W-what? No, look at him. He looks exactly like him!” Hoseok fought.“Hyung, he’s gone. You know that.”To everyone’s surprise, Yoongi fell to his knees and sobbed. “I know,” Yoongi said through tears, “He’s gone. I know that. But I don’t know. I just- I miss him.” Jungkook and Hoseok fell to comfort Yoongi on the ground.Jackson and Jungkook R43 looked on with concern. It was when the two Jungkooks made eye contact did it feel like they were intruding on a very private moment. “Let’s get him to a place where he can rest,” Jungkook suggested.“Yeah,” Jackson picked up Namjoon bridal style. “Hey Jackson,” Mingyu greeted, “This is one of the most secure buildings in the entire area, but it is a school and this is one of their training centers.”“A school? How the hell are we going to get away with this?”“They’re on break currently, I’m friends with the director and was able to block this place off for the time being.”“What did you tell them?”“Just that I needed a meeting place for a bunch of alternate realities to come together or else all timelines would be fucked.” Mingyu explained with a straight face, “To which he replied with a laugh and said ‘Nevermind, I don’t wanna know’”“Jesus Christ, Mingyu.”“Anyways, the nurse’s office is just down the hall,” Mingyu said pointing towards the room.“Thank you,” Jackson said with sincerity and looked towards Jungkook, “You know it’s okay, right? You can go find your friends. I got him.”Jungkook made one last worried look at Namjoon, “Are you sure you got him?”“Yes, Kid. You don’t gotta worry.”Jungkook nodded, caressed Namjoon’s forehead, and walked towards what might be his friends.“Aish, Joon. You got all the boys, don’t you?” Jackson said with a laugh. Mingyu lead Jackson to the nurse’s office where they set Namjoon down to recover. “I’m assuming there’s a cafeteria around? Namjoon is going to be very hungry when he wakes up.”“Yeah, I’ll get someone to get something prepared.”“Good. We also need to keep our eye on those guys in there,” Jackson gestured to the training facility that was currently holding a shit ton of confused (mainly) men. “These guys are confused, disoriented, and some of them are very dangerous.”“I’ll work on getting people to keep the peace until the boss wakes up and recovers a bit more.”“Alright, how many generals do we have here again?” Jackson asked.“I think it was around, maybe 8, not including ourselves. The rest all had shit shows of a universe to deal with.”“Fair enough. The people who left mine weren’t too crucial at this point, so I’m thankful mine will be running smooth enough without me.” Mingyu nodded his head in agreement and the two parted ways to give Namjoon as much time off as he needed. The mass of individuals were slowly starting to form into groups, each universe slowly finding one another. The once mess was becoming organized chaos with generals stepping up to keep individuals from fighting one another. Steering clear from the crowd was the T52 boys.“My head hurts.” Namjoon T52 said, head in his hands.“This is a lot to wrap your head around, hell I don’t think I’ve fully come to terms with what’s happening.” Seokjin said laughing half heartedly.“Hyungie, do you have a plan?” Jimin asked.“Aish, the man just said his head hurt!” Yoongi proclaimed, “Don’t make him think right now.”“At least we aren’t on the run from the mafia,” Taehyung said with a shrug.“Always looking on the bright side, Taetae,” Jimin elbowed him in the ribs.“More like the mafia is lucky they didn’t come across me!” Jungkook said narrowing his eyes.“Ah, yes, Kookie.” Hoseok said, patting him on the head.“Well we were winning that standoff,” Seokjin pointed out.“Whatever, as fucked as this is, let’s take this as some time off and hope that the entirety of eastern asia’s underground doesn’t go up in flames without us.” Namjoon said, “They are uncivilized and it will be a fight to see who is on top if they realise we are gone.”“Aw, our Namjoon, the crime lord with morals,” Seokjin said dreamily.“That’s my boss!” Taehyung said with enthusiasm.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

This Namjoon woke up with a pounding head and a foggy recollection of how he ended up on the plastic bed. He let out a groan as he sat up, taking in his surroundings. An eye chart hung on the wall across from him, a desk to his right, and a row of similar blue plastic-y beds were to his left. Namjoon let his legs touch the ground and slowly stood up. His entire being felt like jello as he walked toward the door by the eye chart and various other health posters. He opened the door to reveal a brightly lit hallway. Namjoon looked left, then right, then with a shrug went right. He was thirsty, hungry, and stressed. His body was not happy with the current situation, but Namjoon had to figure out how all of this went to shit. He walked down the hallway leaning on the wall for support.“Boss!”Namjoon looked toward the voice and saw Mingyu approaching him.“Hello.”“You sound be in bed!” Mingyu said taking Namjoon’s arm and placing it over his shoulder.“Yeah. I should, but I got work to do,” Namjoon said.Mingyu narrowed his eyes, “You won't be able to get anything done if you can't even hold yourself up!”“I can get plenty done!”“Nope, back to bed,” Mingyu ordered.“I'm your boss! Disrespect!”“Come on then, Boss,” Mingyu said dragging Namjoon away from the wall and down the hall.“Wait!” Namjoon said desperately, “I'm hungry…” Mingyu looked at him suspiciously. “You can't deny me food in a time like this!”“Fine! Let's go.” Mingyu said with a grunt as he dragged Namjoon toward the cafeteria. Mingyu figured Namjoon just didn't want to be forced in bed, but he was right. Mingyu couldn't deny him of basic needs. Once they finally got to the cafeteria’s kitchen they were greeted by Jackson, ladle in hand and a frilly apron on.“Joon! You’re alive!” Jackson exclaimed as Mingyu dropped Namjoon onto a chair.“Yes, yes I am. And you are making food.”“Yep! Aren’t you so proud of me?”“Sure,” Namjoon said with an eye roll, “How long have I been out?”“Um, about,” Jackson squinted at the clock, “5 hours so far.”“Jesus, you guys should’ve woken me up sooner. We don’t have time to waste.”“With all do respect,” Mingyu started, “You would’ve been useless.”Namjoon sighed. He knew he should rest, but with everything going to shit he had to figure it out. He couldn’t rest knowing all of his universes got fucked without so much of a warning. How did this happen? This doesn’t just happen . He had to question everyone and figure out what went wrong. Was it an energy problem? Did something go wrong when he let down his defenses? Did someone fuck up a timeline?“Namjoon,” Jackson barked, snapping Namjoon out of his head, “I can practically see the gears turning in your head. You need to calm down, we have everything handled. Now eat,” Jackson slammed a bowl of soup down.Namjoon looked at Jackson with wide eyes, opened his mouth to say something and then immediately snapped it shut. Instead, he opted to grabbing the spoon full of soup and stuffing it in his mouth.“Good boy,” Jackson said breaking from his glare and melting into a smile.“Wait!” Namjoon said slamming his hands on the table as he realization hit him, “We have to feed the others!”Jackson’s smile dropped and so did his ladle. “I only have enough soup to feed a family of 4!”“Wait! I have an idea!” Mingyu said before he ran out of the room. Namjoon and Jackson looked at one another, petrified.“At least this school feeds their students decently…”“Right. This school seems fancy,” Namjoon said looking at the top notch ovens and shiny sinks.“Well they do train people to become heros in this school so I’m sure it kind of has to be.”“You’d think that they would be able to update their nurse’s office.”Suddenly the door was pushed open a wild Seokjin appeared. He stepped in and looked at everything with a critical eye. “Alright. This should do.” The room soon became filled with multiple other Seokjins and even a couple of Hoseoks and Taehyungs.“Hello!” Taehyung R20 said with a smile, “I’m here to help!”“I’m on dicing!” Seokjin U09 said.“I’ll get on the base!” Seokjin R20 said, “Taehyung! Get on dish duty! I don’t tolerate a messy kitchen!”“Hoseok, do you wanna get some more vegetables out while I start cutting them?” Seokjin T52 asked. Hoseok T52 nodded.“Wait, let me help!” Namjoon said as he started getting up.“No.” The entire room, including Jackson and Mingyu, said at once. Namjoon froze before slumping back into his chair.
Some way, somehow they pulled it off. The Seokjins came together to make a meal for all of the displaced people and generals. While everyone gathered in the cafeteria to eat, Namjoon realized just how difficult it was going to be getting them all back to where they needed to be. There had to be at least 50 people in this room. He was trying to place each person to their universe, but in a room with so many people and so many different energy signatures it wasn’t as easy as it usually was.“Okay,” Namjoon said turning towards Jackson opening a notebook, “We know we have at least 15 universes here. I’m going to need your help in order pinpoint who belongs where and questioning each of them.”Jackson nodded watching Namjoon scribble on the page. R43 - Jackson’s Universe, underground rappers, Missing: KN, JH, KS, KT, JJ T52 - Yejun’s Universe, Criminals & Gangsters, Missing: KN, JH, KS, KT, PJ, JJ, MY DANGEROUS S25 - Joonwoo’s Universe, BTS (Idols), Missing: KN, PJ, JH S61 - Yoonah’s Universe, Soulmates exist (indicated by marks), Missing: KS, PJ, MY, JJ R20 - Mark’s Universe, Mainly College students, Missing: KN, MY, KT, KS, JH R56 - Jinyoung’s Universe, Magical shits, Missing: KS, KT, MY DANGEROUS U09 - Jennie’s Universe, Mainly social media influencers, Missing: KS, JJ, PJ U68 - Jisoo’s Universe, Zombie Apocalypse, Missing: MY, JH, JJ “I think you should add dangerous to that one,” Jackson said.“What? Why?” Namjoon asked.“They wouldn’t put down their guns when they got here and they are a tad bit emotional…”“That doesn’t make them dangerous. They are cautious and they have been through a lot, of course they are emotional.They aren’t dangerous. Not like the others.” Namjoon explains, “When I put dangerous on here I mean it. You have to be careful with these people, as both a physical threat and a mental threat. They could take you down in the blink of an eye, but they could also manipulate you into doing their bidding.”“I’d like to see them try!” Jackson said confidently.“No you wouldn’t,” Namjoon dead panned and continued writing.  T31 - BamBam’s Universe, Vampires, Missing: KT, KN, MY DANGEROUS T71 - Felix’s Universe, HIGH PRIORITY , Missing: KN, PJ T12 - Woojin’s Universe, Missing: KN, JH, KT DANGEROUS  “That’s all I have for now.” Namjoon said, “These are all of the energy signatures I can pick up right now.”“Hyung!” Jungkook R43 called out, “You’re okay! I was so worried about you.” Jungkook took a seat next to Namjoon and had a couple of other boys following behind him.“I’m alive!” Namjoon said with a smile.“So you’re the man with the power?” Taehyung R43 said with a smirk.“I guess that’s one way to put it,” Namjoon mumbled.“It was pretty impressive how you can just rip through space and time!” Hoseok exclaimed.“It’s just part of the job,” Namjoon laughed, “I do actually have a couple of questions for you guys.”“Shoot,” Seokjin replied.“How did you get there? Do you remember what happened?”“Uh, Well, I don’t really know what happened,” Namjoon R43 confessed, “I just remember being with Jin-hyung, Tae, and Hobi when there was a light and suddenly we were in a forest.”“You didn’t step through any kind of gate or anything?” Jackson inquired“No, we were just suddenly there,” Namjoon R43 specified.“Where were you guys?” Namjoon asked.“Just at our apartment,” Seokjin answered.Namjoon put a hand to his chin as he tried to wrap his head around this new information. This could very well be an energy abnormality, but it doesn’t make sense. If it were to be an energy abnormality then there would have been more indicators. The coordinates were all over the place, but specific people were targeted. People who play huge roles in shaping their universes, in the present or in the future, were targeted. This was just getting more and more confusing. Namjoon placed his head in his hands.“Joon, you should go and rest. You are straining yourself,” Jackson cautioned.“None of this makes sense, Jackson. None of it.” Namjoon groaned.“I know, but you sitting here stressing over it isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Jackson asserted, “You need to rest so that we can get T71 back in working order. Felix just called to inform us that the government has realized that their president is gone.”“Shit…”“Do you think a day’s rest will be enough? A day here is only a couple hours for them. Hopefully they can keep their shit together for a couple hours.”“Yeah, I guess I really should go rest. My body can’t even imagine working at this point.” Namjoon finished his soup, chugged some water, and made his way back to the nurse’s office to rest.“Jackson, what’s going on?” Jungkook R43 asked, “I know you said that there were multiple universes and apparently that all went to shit, but why? How? Why is Hyung so weak?”“Well we are trying to figure out why this is all happening. We don’t know. Namjoon is your protector and he takes his job very seriously.” Jackson began, “He protects every universe in the 5th section.”“How many sections are there?” Taehyung interrupted.“A lot.”“How many is a lot?” Seokjin pushed.“I don’t know. Whenever I have asked Namjoon he has just said ‘a lot’.”“You guys seem very close, I haven’t seen him like this with anyone else so far.” Jungkook said.“Yeah, I’m his second in command. He bounces ideas off of me and I am kept informed on the state of the other universes. If he were to ever parish, his power would be passed down to me.”“He can die?!” Jungkook spluttered.“Yeah, it would be very difficult for him to die, but yeah.”“How old is he?” Hoseok questioned.“I think about 200 years old? However, his physical body is only 24. He’s an old man.”“We know that the earth is a lot older than 200 years old, was there another protector before him?” Namjoon asked, seemingly unbothered by the new information.“Yes.”“Who?”“I don’t know. When I was brought into this world Namjoon was the new commander. I was the first general he appointed.”“So did you just wake up one day and you knew who you were and what your mission was?”“No, I had a life before this. A family and lived life as a normal person. However, when I passed I was reborn into this life.”“Dang…”“It’s the same with every general. We lived our lives and when our time came Namjoon gave us life again. We serve under him not because he’s our ‘boss’, but also because we are here because of him. He gave us a purpose. We give him an army.”“He really is amazing,” Jungkook said with hearts in his eyes.Jackson let out a little laugh, “He’s still a clumsy dumbass who pushes himself, but he’s pretty amazing I guess.”“So if he’s so powerful that he can travel from universe to universe, why is he so weak?” Yoongi T12 butted in.“Where did you come from?” Taehyung jumped.“Over there,” Yoongi vaguely gestured behind them, “You didn’t answer my question.”“He was supposed to be on break so that his body didn’t combust, but that didn’t last long.”“That’s awfully convenient, don’t you think?” Yoongi said with a raised eyebrow.“What do you mean?” Seokjin asked.“The only guy who has the power to fix this is on his break when everything goes to shit. I mean how often does he take a break?” Yoongi looked toward Jackson.“Every 10 years.”“So it just so happened that everything went wrong at the most inconvenient time?”Jackson thought about what Yoongi had said. It did seem pretty suspicious. They either had really bad luck or this was planned. Who would do that? Who could do that? 
What’s going on?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trying to open the gate after a day's rest was proving to be a rather difficult task. Namjoon's limbs burned and his confidence was wavering. His defenses would

not

go back up. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy task by any means, but the pain was much more intense than he thought. Namjoon's eyebrows were strung together as he tried to calm his shaking hands.

“Joon?” Jackson called, breaking Namjoon from his focus, “Relax. You can do this, but you're too tense.”

Namjoon let his arms fall, his eyes close, and shoulders relax. As much as Namjoon tried to be a carefree, go-with-the-flow guy, but he wasn't. When things didn't go according to plan, Namjoon tended to get nervous and uptight. Jackson was a good reminder to not let his emotions get the best of him. Namjoon took a deep breath, relaxed his body, and tried again. The pain didn't seem as intense. Namjoon opened his eyes and revealed…

nothing.

No gate, not even the start of one. Namjoon let out a frustrated grunt.

“Again,” Jackson grumbled

So Namjoon tried again, and failed. Jackson repeated “Again,” like a mantra.

“Jackson. Would you just shut up?!” Namjoon snapped. Everything was getting to him. Jackson's repetitions, Namjoon T72's eyes on him as he tried to open a gate to his universe, his aching body, and pounding head. It was all too much.

“This obviously isn't working and repeating ‘again’ won't help. This is too much. My body feels like it'll combust,” Namjoon was close to crying at this point, “I can't do this.”

“Joonie…” Jackson's face twisted with concern.

Namjoon could feel the tears about to break free from his eyes and decided crying in front of the people he was supposed to be saving wasn't a great idea. So, he left. He quietly left the classroom and walked down the hallway. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't really have a destination in mind. He just walked and allowed the tears to fall. Neither Jackson nor the others followed him and he was very grateful. After turning down different hallways and was thoroughly lost he dropped to the floor.

Namjoon let out a sigh as he sprawled out on the floor. Namjoon wasn’t used to this kind of challenge, it was physically taxing and his limbs were protesting. He was used to problem solving and using his brain to determine the best results.

“Are you an angel?” a voice tore Namjoon from his thoughts. Lifting his head, he looked towards the voice and found Kim Seokjin, Kim Taehyung, and Min Yoongi of R56 peering at him.

“I guess you could say that,” Namjoon mumbled and dropped his head back down. R56 was full of witches, sorcerers, fairies, and who knows what else. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy to deal with them.

“You

look

like an angel,” Taehyung smiled at him.

“Thanks,” Namjoon said, redness spreading across his cheeks.

“So, what’re you doing laying on the floor?” Seokjin asked.

“Hoping the ground will swallow me whole,” Namjoon groaned as he let the side of his face feel the cool tile.

“Really?” Taehyung said with bewilderment, “I thought this universe didn’t have anything magical like that.”

“Just because I’m hoping doesn’t mean it’ll actually happen.”

“Oh,” Taehyung frowned, “Why are you hoping for something that’ll never happen?”

“Because that’s all I can do right now.”

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Yoongi rolled his eyes, “There’s always something you can do.”

“In my situation, it’s getting hard to tell what I can and can’t do,” Namjoon said as he moved his face to be fully planted in the ground.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Seokjin offered. Namjoon sighed. These witches were dangerous, he knew this. They could be secretive and take advantage of situations. However, in R56 it was mainly fairies and demons you had to be careful of. Might as well use this as a chance to bounce ideas off someone who wasn’t Jackson.

“I need to open a gate, however, my energy and power isn’t at a strong enough state for me to do that. The more I push myself the harder it gets and I

need

this gate open,” Namjoon explained.

“How do you gain your power back? Is there a spell you can do?” Seokjin suggested.

“Unfortunately, the only way I know is to sleep and rest. I don’t have the time for that.”

Yoongi placed a hand on his chin, Seokjin’s eyebrows came together, and Taehyung closed his eyes. Each trying to process what Namjoon had said.

“Well, if you can’t use a spell, there has to be another way you can gain energy. Fairies often have certain fruits they can eat,” Seokjin started.

“And Vampires gain energy from the moonlight,” Yoongi added.

Finally, Taehyung opened his eyes, “Some species get energy off of other living things. Sun fairies feed off of the energy from the sun and plants, some sorcerers have mastered the art of stealing energy off of other people.”

This suggestion got Namjoon thinking. Namjoon

was a celestial being

at his peak he could do almost anything. From deflecting a bullet to being able to control which way the wind flows as to get the optimal outcome of an event. But Namjoon wasn’t at his peak. Namjoon was the furthest down he’s ever been. However, could it be possible to have his generals lend him some energy. He’s never done it before, has never had to, but he’s getting desperate. Maybe with a little power he can extract energy somehow. Even if Namjoon could pull this off, what are the consequences? Could he kill someone? His generals weren’t fragile by any means, but he was still nervous.

“I’m guessing you have an idea?” Yoongi said, breaking Namjoon out of his head.

“Yeah,” Namjoon laughed as he realised he was now staring at the ceiling rather than the ground.

“What are you waiting for? Go test it out!” Taehyung encouraged. Namjoon jumped up from the floor and begun his path back to the classroom. Namjoon wasn’t the best at directions and he found this massive school was a maze. Eventually, Namjoon found came across the familiar door.

“Jackson!” Namjoon yelled as he opened the door. Sure enough, Jackson sat on top of a desk with a notebook in hand. Jackson’s eyes were wide as Namjoon made his loud entrance.

“Ah, Joonie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Jackson frowned.

“No, it’s okay. I think I have an idea, but I need your input.” Namjoon and Jimin of T72 looked on with curiosity, not daring to say a word.

“Okay?” Jackson said hesitantly a little nervous as to what Namjoon’s brain had concocted.

“So, in R56, there are some species that feed off of energy from living things. I was thinking, maybe, just

maybe

there’s a way I can borrow your energy.”

Jackson was bewildered by this sudden suggestion, “Joon, you can’t just borrow energy. You can’t give back energy that you have used.”

“I know that, but what if I didn’t use all of it? What if I used the little bit that I need to push me over the edge and open the gate?”

“We don’t know the ramifications of this!” Jackson argued, he was nervous about this idea. Jackson remembered the word ‘DANGEROUS’ that Namjoon scribbled next to R56.

“Jackson, I’m reaching my max. I can feel it. My body is falling apart and I don’t know how much longer I can hold on,” Namjoon shuddered.

Jackson had no idea Namjoon was struggling this much. He knew it couldn’t be easy and could see the pain etched in Namjoon’s face, but Namjoon had always prevailed. It scared him that Namjoon could feel his max approaching. Jackson knew Namjoon wouldn’t suggest such a risky plan unless he was desperate. “Fuck,” Jackson breathed, “Yeah, okay, let’s fucking do this.”

“Wait!” Jimin T72 said, “You’re his second in command right?”

“Yeah…” Jackson responded.

“So, shouldn’t you get someone else to be a guinea pig in case this goes wrong?” Jimin pointed out.

“I don’t-” Namjoon started.

“You don’t want to ask anyone to be your guinea pig,” Namjoon T72 finished. Namjoon nodded. “From one leader to another, you know Jimin is right. You need your second to be at his peak.”

Namjoon T72 was the president back in his universe and that was obvious by the way he spoke. He spoke with such authority and passion even for the smallest things. Namjoon knew he was right, but how could he ask?

“Come on, Joon. Mingyu should be a good subject,” Jackson sighed. Mingyu. He was the safest bet. This was his home universe and this one was in relatively good condition at the moment. If something were to…

happen

then it wouldn’t be too destructive. Namjoon sighed as well and allowed Jackson to lead him to Mingyu.

“You’re sure about this?”

“For the last fucking time, Namjoon. Yes!” Mingyu reassured Namjoon who stood only two feet in front of him. Namjoon took a deep breath as he grabbed Mingyu’s hands and grasped his wrists. Namjoon gave Mingyu one last questioning look. “Namjoon I’m going to deck you in the face. Just do it.”

With a soft laugh, Namjoon slowly raised his defenses once again. Namjoon focused on Mingyu’s pulse he felt on his wrist and the power that was rising in him. Namjoon focused on the energy he felt flow through his body to his fingertips. He focused. He pictured the energy flowing into him and soon he felt it too. Namjoon felt his defenses get stronger and his body slowly relieved of the ache.

“Namjoon,” A voice, which sounded far away, interjected.

Namjoon felt far away…

“Namjoon!” The voice seemed louder now, how odd.

Suddenly a hand gripped Namjoon’s shoulder and ripped him away from Mingyu. Namjoon suddenly was crashing back down to earth. He blinked quickly before registering an unconscious Mingyu on the ground.

“Is he okay?” Namjoon trembled.

“Yeah,” Jackson gasped, “Yeah I think so. Seems like he just passed out, probably from exhaustion.”

“Thank God,” Namjoon groaned.

“How do

you

feel, Joon?”

Namjoon took a second to assess himself. How did he feel? He didn’t feel nearly as tired as he was earlier. The constant ache that tormented his head seemed to settle down and he wasn’t nearly as weak as he has been.

Namjoon smiled, “Good, I feel good.” Namjoon clenched his fists, feeling better than he has in days.

Jackson smiled back, “Let’s get these bitches home then!”

Namjoon once again stood towards the empty center of the classroom. Closed his eyes, and allowed his power to come back up. His defenses came up and he felt himself tearing through time and space. While it was still uncomfortable, it wasn’t nearly as painful. Namjoon open his eyes and… there it was. The gate in all of its glory.

“Alright folks, Felix is waiting on the other end. Time to go back to running your country.”

Not wanting to push the man further than his limit, Namjoon T72 gave this other Namjoon a smile as he and Jimin pushed themselves through the gate.

Namjoon let out a sigh of relief as he closed the gate without any other problems. While Namjoon felt weaker again, he didn’t feel like his body was going to combust like he had earlier.

“Felix is wiping their memories right?” Jackson asked.

“Oh yeah. If the president knew there was other realities, that could lead to there somehow being interreality wars. I cannot handle that.”

Jackson let out a giggle and proceeded to pick Mingyu off of the floor. Namjoon helped Jackson out and soon enough they were caring a passed out Mingyu by his arms to the nurse’s office.

“You should probably learn to not drain someone till they can’t stand.”

“Yeah that’s for sure. I feel horrible about this,” Namjoon whined.

“Hey, at least T72 won’t go to complete shit now!” Jackson replied.

“My only saving grace,” Namjoon smiled at Jackson.

“So, what universe is next?” Jackson wondered.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

With Namjoon’s new system in place, things were working better than ever. Generals were quick to volunteer to help the cause and Namjoon got better and better at being conservative with the amount of energy he took. After Mingyu had slept for almost twenty-four hours, Namjoon knew he couldn’t possibly go that far ever again. They had only been able to get four universes back into place, however those universes had been the most important to get back. Things were starting to become routine, the Seokjins and Hoseoks worked together to create brilliant food for their meals and after breakfast Namjoon worked to determine which universe should be next to get back and then acted on it.

The effective, yet strange routine had given some sort of normalcy to the situation. Namjoon could tell the displaced were grateful to have this sense of normalcy in a completely abnormal situation.

“You know, you really look like him?” Yoongi U68 asked hesitantly, sitting next to Namjoon in the cafeteria.U68 was probably one of the hardest universes that Namjoon took care of. A zombie ridden area where too many people suffered for no good reason. However, it wasn’t Namjoon’s right to change how the universes worked, only to protect them. This is how ‘God’, ‘Allah’, ‘The Flying Spaghetti Monster’, ‘fate’, whatever you want to call it, worked.

“Yeah, I do know. I’m sorry I’m not him,” Namjoon replied. Namjoon didn’t need to ask to know that ‘Him’ was the late Namjoon of U68.

“You must be a divine being of some kind, yes?” Yoongi asked, looking straight at the ground.

“I’m the closest thing to a divine being that has been manifested,” Namjoon answered carefully. Their voices were hushed, as if speaking any louder would break whatever spell that allowed Yoongi to approach Namjoon.

“Do you know where he is now? What happens after death? Is he resting peacefully?” Yoongi’s eyes were wet, threatening to spill soon.

“Energy gets rotated through the universes. His energy, his soul, has moved onto the next universe. He may have no idea what happened in his previous life, but know that you will meet again in another lifetime. Your energy is made of the same energy that helps each one of these other Yoongi’s go on,” Namjoon tried to explain. Universes were tricky, but he was trying desperately to explain to Yoongi that he will meet Namjoon again.

“What universe is he in?” Yoongi finally looked Namjoon in the eyes.

“A very basic universe, one where he can live a comfortable life without the same fear he used to have.”

Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

“Of course, Yoongi. Keep fighting. You live a very important life.”

“How so?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow.

Namjoon smirked at him, “I can’t answer that. Something tells me you already suspected that though.”

“I figured the ‘Boss’ couldn’t go spilling secrets,” Yoongi smiled slightly.

Their conversation was quick to stop after that. Yoongi chose to reunite with his group and most likely share his relief with them. Namjoon knew it wasn’t the smartest move to tell Yoongi all of that, but he couldn’t help it. He always had a soft spot in his heart when it came to Yoongi. Hell, all of these boys had grown on him over his hundreds of years as a protector. He had seen them grow up countless times in countless situations.

Their conversation did get Namjoon thinking though. Thinking about all of the universes and how they worked in harmony together. The circular rotation of energy flow. Species were constantly dying and being born, there was a specific flow to how the energy worked. Maybe he could use that to his advantage somehow.

Namjoon stared at the whiteboard in front of him. There were various lines in various colors connecting various universes.

“So,” Jackson huffed, “What am I looking at?”

“This is a layout of all the universes in the order of circular rotation,” Namjoon said matter-of-factly.

“Well yeah,” Jackson snorted, “I mean, why? Why are all of these lines here?” Jackson gestured frantically at the whiteboard.

“That’s because each line indicates where different people were relocated,” Namjoon said, turning his attention to the board. “Look,” Namjoon began, “They were relocated to the universes almost directly across from them in the circular rotation.”

Jackson looked closer at the diagram, sure enough Jackson was seeing it too. “How is that possible? Why didn’t we see it sooner?”

“We weren’t looking for it. We were looking for patterns in people and energy patterns, not how the universes thrive,” Namjoon reassured, “There aren’t many ways this could happen. Either an energy error occurred at this exact pattern at the same time coincidentally or…”

“Or someone’s behind this,” Jackson finished.

Namjoon nodded his head. A shiver went down his spine as he thought about the possibility. There weren’t many people who had the power to do this and those people definitely weren’t enemies of Namjoon’s. They were other protectors that had their own sectors to care about. They lived peacefully together, rarely visiting one another.

“Who would do such a thing? Is this some kind of practical prank?!” Jackson was getting angrier by the second.

“Jackson,” Namjoon commanded, “Calm down. Keep a level head, we can’t scare anyone. No one must know about this.”

Jackson nodded. “So, what do we do now?”

“We continue our job. Get everyone to where they belong. Someone wouldn’t do this unless there was a specific plan in place. For now we wait and play along.”

“Joon! How can we just go along with this?!”

“We don’t have anything else we can do right now!” Namjoon slammed a hand on the desk in front of him, “I don’t like it either, but if we don’t get these people back, their universe will be the ones to suffer.

Jackson let out a sigh. They really didn’t have many options. He was just hoping that whoever had done this was as tired as Namjoon was.

Namjoon got a little overwhelmed whenever he went to eat in the cafeteria. By now everyone knew who Namjoon was. Whispers were quick to start and they all knew about their protector. Not only were they annoying Namjoon with questions, but they also started to annoy everyone else. While some kept a rather stoich, uninterested demeanor, others weren’t shy by being fascinated by their look-alikes. He found that the Jimins and Hoseoks were especially guilty of pestering others.

As Namjoon collected whatever pasta dish that was compiled today, he watched the others interact with one another. In his time, he had noticed that the idols were probably the most normal of the bunch, and that’s saying something. Namjoon walked past the first table and noticed a Jungkook screaming into a camera. Every time Namjoon saw Jungkook U09 he had his camera out, recording

everything.

Namjoon knew YouTubers were dedicated to their work, but it was getting a little ridiculous. Sure enough he was harassing a poor Hoseok with his obnoxious YouTuber persona.

Namjoon kept walking and noticed Jimin T52 lean into a Yoongi and touched his shoulder suggestively. Namjoon picked up on the fact that Jimin T52 was the most adventurous of the bunch from T52. They came from a life of crime and were always lead to be initially skeptical of others, but their isolation was going beyond skeptical and getting towards cult-like. While the other T52 boys kept a straight face and whispered to each other, Jimin often ventured out. Most of which included shameless flirting with shy Jungkooks or outgoing Taehyungs. It was a little amusing to see the reactions to Jimin’s confidence and bluntness.

Namjoon sighed as he finally took a seat at his normal spot, a circular table tucked in the corner away from the others. Namjoon took a deep breath, enjoying one of his rare moments alone.

“Hyung!” A voice called. With a sigh Namjoon looked and saw Jungkook R43 taking a seat next to him. Jungkook from R43 had grown comfortable with Namjoon and seemed to enjoy pestering him. Namjoon was actually very glad to have him as a distraction from his hectic life. R43 was one of the few universes that wasn’t crumbling or whose history was rapidly being changed simply by the lack of the relocated.

“Hi, Kooks, how’re you doing?” Namjoon smiled fondly at Jungkook.

“I’m good! Oh! I’m making friends!” Jungkook said, excitedly, “Jungkook from U09 and Jiminie-hyung from S61. We bonded over the fact that our Namjoons was horribly clumsy.”

Namjoon let out a little laugh at Jungkook’s statement.

Ever since Jungkook started pestering and hanging out with Namjoon more, he had started to pick up on the universes. He was becoming very good detecting who was from where. The similar faces didn’t stop him from being able to see the different characteristics and personalities.

“That’s great, Jungkook,” Namjoon started hesitantly, “However, you do know that I have to take S61 back tomorrow, right?”

Jungkook looked away from Namjoon and nodded ever so slightly, “I know, Hyung. Everyone’s just so great, I’ll miss them.”

They stayed quiet, allowing each other to think.

“Excuse me,” Namjoon R20 said softly. Namjoon quickly reminded himself of R20. Namjoon R20 wore glasses, a cozy sweater, and was currently in University studying music.

“Yes?” Namjoon asked.

“I just wanted to um,” R20 swallowed, “ask you a question or two?”

“Okay,” Namjoon smiled, trying his best to reassure R20 and help him relax.

“So, how does being our protector work?” R20 quickly rushed out.

“Oh, well…” Namjoon started, he took a deep breath preparing his answer when he noticed multiple Namjoons with eyes on him. Namjoon stared back, a little afraid to see his own face looking at him so intensely.

“God damnit, just come here,” Namjoon said motioning at the Namjoons to join him at the table. Some were quick to get up and claim a spot, others were a little hesitant. Jungkook watched in awe as he suddenly became surrounded with Namjoons.

The spots soon filled up and a couple Namjoons were left standing.

“Well, there are multiple protectors each in charge of their own section. I happen to be in charge of the fifth sector. I make sure, with the help of my generals, that you guys don’t fuck anything up.”

Namjoon T52 snorted at that.

“How do you know we’ll fuck something up?” Namjoon S25 asked.

“Both my generals and I have the ability to tell when energy signals are off. When the energy is off then we look into it. We look into what’s throwing things off balance and come up with all possibilities. A little help from fate, we are able to narrow what’s going to fuck things up and we stop it.”

“So why are you known as the protector then when your ‘generals’ are also doing the protecting.”

“I have a special set of abilities that my generals don’t,” Namjoon smirked, “I lead my people and can look further if they cannot figure out what’s going on. While my generals do amazing work and I’m forever grateful for them, I am required to do more if need be.”

“So where do I get a job application?” Namjoon R43 laughed, Jungkook slapping his arm looking offended on Namjoon’s behalf.

“I didn’t apply for this job,” Namjoon laughed, “I was chosen.”

“Interesting…” Namjoon R20 pondered. They sat and talked for a little longer. They exchanged stories and shared what projects they were working on back at their home universes. Even though it started out slow and hesitant, soon enough they began joking and laughing with one another.

“If you guys want to hear a funny story, strap in, folks,” Namjoon began.

“This little fucker,” Namjoon wrapped his arm around Jungkook, “held me against a wall because he thought I was breaking into my own apartment.”

Jungkook’s face started to heat up as a roar of laughter over took the group.

“You’re telling me that my sweet Jungkookie was aggressive?” Namjoon R43 mocked an offended face, “Kookie, how could you?!” R43 clung onto Jungkook faking a rather dramatic scene.

“That doesn’t compare to the time I was searching for crabs and Jungkook

dropped one

,” Namjoon S25 cried leaving the rest of the Namjoons to gasp.

“No fucking way…” S16 gasped.

“How dare he!”

R20 just sadly shook his head, “The poor magnificent creature.”

Jungkook watched the Namjoons interact with amusement. The interaction was going just as you might think it would; half of the group spoke about their love for crabs, a fourth adoring their friends, and a fourth getting into a philosophical discussion about who knows what.

Even though Jungkook knew that he would eventually have to go back to his daily life of waiting tables and watching his hyungs perform on stages underground, Jungkook couldn’t help but wish the moment never ended. Seeing the Namjoons speak to one another with such understanding was actually kind of beautiful.

Eventually the moment would end.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Are you boys ready?” Jackson asked the idols that stood in front of him.

“I’ll be honest, I’m going to miss being able to talk to people without worrying if they are just trying to kiss my ass,” Namjoon S25 said with a sigh.

“Me too, but I’m ready to get back to my beautiful,” Hoseok huffed.

“Your beautiful?” Jimin asked, confusion bringing his face together.

“My beauty… You know,” Hoseok gestured towards Jimin, “Yoongi.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re fucked,” Jimin laughed, elbowing Hoseok.

Namjoon laughed at how the boys interacted, “I’m going to open the gate now.”

“Bye Hyungs! Keep us successful!” Jungkook R43 said with a smile.

Namjoon began opening the gate. With his routine nearly perfected, opening the gate was relatively easy. “Alright, you guys are all set!”

“Thank you guys for everything!” With one last wave from Namjoon S25, they began crossing the threshold.

Suddenly, Namjoon didn’t feel right. Something was off.

The energy.

This energy was different.

Oh shit.

“Stop!” Namjoon commanded. Jimin, Hoseok, and Namjoon were just about to cross the threshold when they stopped due to the yell. “Jackson, grab them!”

Without any hesitation, Jackson grabbed Jimin and Namjoon and yanked them back before doing the same with Hoseok. Namjoon quickly shut the gate behind them.

“What’s going on, Joon?” Jackson asked taking a step away from the S25 boys.

“Come with me.” Namjoon grabbed onto Jackson’s wrist and dragged him out of the classroom and into the hallway.

“What the fuck is happening, Namjoon?” Jackson demanded.

“That wasn’t S25 that I opened,” Namjoon rushed out, “I opened the gate to the correct coordinates, but as they were about to pass the threshold the energy changed. It changed so subtly I almost didn’t catch it.”

“What? How?” Jackson’s eyebrows were strung together in pure confusion.

“I have no idea. I think it changed to U68,” Namjoon shuttered at the thought of the world’s biggest band being sucked into a universe where they could literally be eaten by zombies as soon as they crossed the threshold.

“Whoever mixed these shits up is fucking with us in a whole new way now,” Jackson’s fist clenched at the very thought of what could have happened in Namjoon didn’t catch it. If they fucked things up so much for them.

“Who the fuck could do this?” Namjoon put his head in his hands.

“I don’t know, but I do know that I’m going to fucking kill them for taking me out of my universe for so long,” Jackson was getting angrier by the second and Namjoon could tell he was like a ticking time bomb.

“Jack, calm down.”

Namjoon’s voice was soft, but Jackson still felt the order behind it. Namjoon was ordering his general, not comforting a friend. Jackson quickly let his fists unclench and shoulders slump.

“Whoever is behind this most likely has been keeping tabs on us since they were able to change the location at just the right time. Now is

not

the time to let your emotions get the best of you. From now on I want no one left unsupervised. We have no idea what this person is capable of and the last thing I need is for someone to go missing.”

“Yes, sir,” Jackson responded, looking to the ground.

“Thank you,” Namjoon said putting his hand on Jackson’s shoulder, “You are incredibly strong, I need you. Please try to keep up the great work.”

“I will,” Jackson said finally looking Namjoon in the eye.

Namjoon left Jackson to take care of the S25 boys and Jungkook and went to spread the word of the new policy. As time went by the cafeteria had become the main hub for them. People spent their time either socializing in the cafeteria or sleeping in one of the dedicated classrooms. Sleeping arrangements weren’t the best by any means, but they were able to scrape up some blankets and pillows from the nurse’s office and a couple of other classrooms.

Namjoon quickly announced the new policy and retreated to his makeshift office. His schedule was going to be thrown off due to this delay. His plan of getting everyone back in the next week was gone and he was going to have to deal with whoever was fucking with them before he could do anything else. Who had Namjoon made enemies with?

There was that one bus driver that he didn’t thank while getting off.

Or there was that time he accidentally spilled a drink on that businessman.

Was another protector bored or something? Was this some kind of sick prank?

Another protector…

There are others. Maybe Namjoon could contact them and see if they are having similar problems. Maybe they will have more insight. Namjoon was relatively new to the scene. There had only been two other protectors to start since he officially got his position.

And so, Namjoon went to work.
 
“Jackson, what’s going on?” Jungkook asked as Jackson entered the classroom again.

"Um," Jackson quickly came up with a lie, "There was a problem with Namjoon's energy levels and he wanted to be safe rather than sorry."

Jungkook looked at him with a critical eye, however, if he didn't believe Jackson's lie, he didn't say anything about it.

"Anyways, there's a new protocol being put in place boys," Jackson started, "don't go anywhere without me or one of the other generals by your side."

"Does this have anything to do with what just happened?" Namjoon S25 asked.

"This situation just got us thinking is all," Jackson brushed off. It was a weak excuse, but it was all he could come up within the thirty seconds since Namjoon told him the news.

This was all a little much for Jackson. Everything was fucked from the beginning, but now the people who caused this chaos are causing even

more

. Jackson was a little frightened just thinking about it, there’s no way he’s going to put that burden on 3 idols and the sweet Jungkook that has been like a little brother to him.

“Listen, there’s really no reason to worry. Namjoon and I are already sorting it out,” Jackson reassured. This took Jungkook’s skeptical gaze off of Jackson and was replaced with a more sympathetic one.

Jackson was horrified, but he wasn’t about to pass his feelings onto everyone else.
 
Namjoon stared at the diagram of the energy map, hoping an answer would appear within the red lines etched in. Namjoon made his calls, wrote his emails, and did whatever else he could to get a hold of the other protectors. Now, he waits. The clock in the corner gets louder with each passing ‘tic’.

He was getting behind schedule, he didn’t know what he was doing, he wasn’t meant for this job, he wasn’t meant for this life. Why? Why did he become a protector? Why him of all people? He has no right playing as fate. No right to be the one that protects billions and billions of people. He wasn’t-

The sound of his phone ringing brings him out of his downward spiral.

“Y-yes! Kim Namjoon."

“Ah! Namjoon! You called?”

Namjoon was relieved to hear Michael’s voice through the receptor.

“Yes! I’m having a

little

bit of an issue,” Namjoon sighed, “Someone is fucking with me.”

“Well, that was blunt.”

“Someone has opened up gates throughout my sector. Has anything like that happened in yours?”

“No, Jesus Christ, that sounds messy,” Namjoon could hear the shock in Michael’s voice.

“It is! Somehow, people ended up in the wrong universe. Important people. At first, I thought it was an energy error, so I just fixed things as fast as possible. I put the important people back as soon as I could, but I was in recovery.”

“That sounds like some

pretty

bad luck,” Michael said, already sounding skeptical.

“Not only that but also my coordinates were somehow changed in an already open gate,” Namjoon concludes his brief explanation.

“Namjoon. There’s no way any of that can be a coincidence. All of those events lining up, all the timelines that have been fucked up, there’s something more going on,” Michael said, concern peaking through his otherwise monotone voice.

“I know, there’s someone fucking with me and I have no idea who or why.”

“Really? You have

no

idea, Namjoon?” Michael said sarcastically.

“No?” Namjoon was confused, did Michael know something he didn’t?

“It has to be someone with

extensive

knowledge of universes and how they work, someone who has the ability to tear through time and space, someone with power. Any of that ring a bell?”

“Well I thought it was another protector, but I have no idea who would do such a thing? Alexandra and I get along just fine! Franklin is doing his best, but he’s still new. Youssef an-”

“I get it, Namjoon. You don’t have any problems with the

current

protectors. However, there are still other ones out there,” Michael said cutting off his ramblings.

“What do you mean?” Namjoon grew uneasy.

“Mateo is still around, Namjoon.”

Namjoon froze. Mateo. Mateo was the man he succeeded. Mateo was a cruel, neglectful protector. He refused to recruit any generals and ruled over the universes with an iron fist. Instead of staying out of the spotlight and allowing free will to the people, he put himself into positions of power. He started wars, ended lives, and even started a couple of religions.

“How?” Namjoon’s voice was quiet and tight. He refused to convey any emotion.

“He can’t just disappear. He is still a powerful being. My guess is that over time he was somehow able to cultivate enough energy to do this move. Normally if protectors are replaced it’s because they’re dead. Mateo was

removed

from his position.”

Namjoon knew this. Namjoon knew

everything

about this. He was created from the Stardust and remains of Mateo’s celestial being. His energy was in the right spot of the circular flow at just the right time.

“Huh,” Namjoon said in a monotone voice.

“Listen, Namjoon. I really,” Michael sighed, “I really wish I could help you. I hate that guy, but I’m currently on a very important mission. I can’t just leave my sector, it would destroy them.”

“I know, Michael. Thank you for your insight. I better get going,” Namjoon quickly hung up the phone so that he could collapse into his chair. Fuck.

Fuck.

Namjoon felt the hairs on his neck stand up.

Namjoon allowed his head to hit the desk with a thud. One call and his entire energy was drained. This wasn't going to be pretty. Mateo was challenging him. He was trying to throw off Namjoon, that was certain. Was he trying to start a war? Cause chaos? Get revenge? What was Mateo's ultimate goal?

Mateo may have been a power hungry asshole, but he was still clever and cunning.

"Joonie?" Jackson's voice called hesitantly as he entered the classroom.

Namjoon let out a groan in response, his forehead still pressed again the wood of the desk.

"Oh, Joon. What's wrong?"

"Mateo."

"Mateo?"

Namjoon never told anyone about Mateo or what things were like before he became the protector of sector 5. However, Namjoon knew he had to be real with Jackson now that Mateo had become a real, active threat.

"Mateo. He was the protector before me. An evil, disgusting man that was removed from his position after ending universe T60 with his own hands. Apparently he's back for blood," Namjoon spoke carefully, not allowing his fear or worry consume his tone or expression. He stayed perfectly calm as to not alarm Jackson.

"What? Namjoon. What the fuck. That's terrifying," Jackson gasped, "Why have you never told me about this before?"

"I thought he was gone. I didn't think he would ever be a problem again."

"That's still a huge thing to hold onto. Why couldn't you tell me as a friend?"

"I love you, but there was no reason to tell you."

"Well apparently there was!" Jackson's voice rose, "things are going to shit because of this guy! A very

dangerous

guy. If I was aware of him maybe I could've kept an eye out, maybe we could've prevented this whole thing!" Jackson spread his arms, gesturing to the world around him.

"I thought he was gone for good, Jackson. I didn't think it was even a possibility that he was still out there!" Namjoon's voice was now also rising.

"Still, Namjoon! This is something you tell your general, your second in command. Your fucking best friend."

"There was no reason!" Namjoon continued with his defense.

"You know

everything

about me! My past, my present, hell you probably know my future too! You have

watched

me grow and become like this. Is it so wrong I would have wanted to know this

crucial

piece of information about your past?"

Namjoon didn't realize they had been full on yelling until the silence had become deafening. Looking at Jackson's reddening face, flared nostrils, and wide eyes, Namjoon could see the pain in Jackson. Jackson was genuinely upset that he was kept in the dark about this.

Namjoon didn't want this. Didn't want to make Jackson so upset. He just wanted to forget about everything. Forget about the devastation and destruction.

"Jackson," Namjoon said quietly, breaking the silence, "It was a time I wanted to forget about. By the time we got so close I did genuinely forget about it. I'm sorry."

Jackson's cold exterior broke, and a sad frown was replaced, "It's okay, Joonie. I just want to be there for you. You have a lot going on and I want to help in any way possible."

"I'll tell you everything, Jack.

Everything

. However, right now we need to focus on fixing this mess."

Jackson nodded, a small smile appearing in his cheeks.

"Alright. So how are we gonna stop him?"

Jungkook knew something strange was going on. He could tell by the new policy that was put in place and the fact that he hadn't seen Namjoon for a couple days. Usually Namjoon would join him for meals or even just to say hi quickly. However Jungkook hadn't even seen Namjoon leave his office and that made him nervous. He knew he was still eating due to Jackson always entering the make-shift office with two meals in hand, however it still made him nervous. Something had caused Namjoon to hibernate and that made Jungkook a little nervous.

"What's up, Kookie?" Jackson asked as he passed Jungkook with two plates in his hand.

"Oh nothing much," Jungkook shrugged, "I haven't seen Joon-hyung in forever… is he okay?"

"Oh," Jackson paused, "Well, you know him. He's got a big brain and is trying to get through shit right now. Don't worry though."

"Well he hasn't opened a gate since that day. Is everything going okay?"

"Yes, don't worry about it, Kook," Jackson sounded more desperate to reassure Jungkook than Jungkook sounded wanting to know more information.

"

Alright,

" Jungkook said giving Jackson a questioning look.

Something was going on. Something big apparently...

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Things were never as easy as they seemed. This is a lesson that has haunted Namjoon ever since he failed a mission for the first time. Namjoon can still remember it;
 
The harsh wind bit at Namjoon’s exposed nose and cheeks, dusting his face with a touch of pink as he guided himself through the crowded town square quickly. The uneven cobblestone streets lead Namjoon to stumble at his rushed pace, however, he somehow made it through without a scratch.

Namjoon finally escaped the crowd of stumbling servants, aggressive merchants, and begging peasants and came to a stop in front of a rather small home.

This was the home of the man who would change everything. The man who would put an end to the war that the kind insisted on fighting and the plague that tormented the people, he was a crucial piece of the puzzle to keep the peace.

Slowly Namjoon made his way to the door with light steps, gently knocking. He quickly brushed himself off to look a tad more presentable with the winter wind distorting his clothing.

The door opened to reveal a short woman looking rather dirty and in disarray. “Aye, you must be the doctor,” She said, her voice low and sounded more like a grumble.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Namjoon said eloquently, “You seem rather fine, may you direct me to the patient?”

The woman opened the door more, stepping aside to allow Namjoon in. Namjoon stepped into the house and sensed warmth coming from the nearby fire. The home wasn’t warm perse, but still significantly warmer than the chill from outside. Next to the fire lied a man, not just

a

man, but

the

man. He wasn’t looking good as he looked to be shivering under the pile of blankets and sweat dripping down his forehead.

Namjoon kneeled next to the man, dropping his bag as he did so. “Hello, sir.”

The man nodded at him, aware of his presence, but too weak to speak.

Namjoon should have come earlier.

“How long has he been like this,” He asked the man’s wife.

“I’d say a few days er so,” She shrugged.

“You should have contacted me sooner,” Namjoon shook his head. He quickly got his materials out of his bag. Different mixtures and herbs lay on the floor around him as he quickly examines the man. He examines his chest and lungs, finding he had a blockage. This man most likely didn’t have the plague as everyone feared, but rather the flu that hadn’t been dealt with. Quickly, Namjoon gave him his best remedy and told the woman to look out for him over the next few days.

The whole ordeal ended up being a lot easier than Namjoon thought and soon enough he was standing up to leave the household. “Make sure to give him the medicine and look after him carefully. If his condition worsens, let me know immediately.”

The woman nodded quickly, taking the bottle from Namjoon, “Thank you so much, Doctor.”

“Of course,” Just before Namjoon left the household he turned back to the woman, “I heard your husband is the leader of the rebellion.”

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

Namjoon nodded, “Make sure he gets better, we need him.”
 
Two days later Namjoon was back at the household to find the man dead. It wasn’t severe flu. It had been an infection, an infection Namjoon could have stopped if he just looked closer. The rebellion died quickly after that, leaving the kingdom to eventually plummet from the war and the rest to perish with the plague. Namjoon made a mistake. He ruined everything.
 
All because he was careless.

Things were never as easy as they seemed, so when Namjoon found out Mateo had been hiding in Universe T52, everything had seemed too easy. Too… perfect. He figured out that T52 had been the first universe to get fucked and even one of his generals had spotted him around the place where the T52 boys were last seen.

It seemed too easy and that scared Namjoon. It scared him because he didn’t know what to do now. Should he say fuck it and play to whatever Mateo’s plan was? Should he wait it out and fuck up the rest of the timelines? Should he try to figure out Mateo’s plan?

Trying to figure out Mateo’s plan seemed like the obvious thing he should do, however, Namjoon had no idea of how to go about that. The most obvious answer was that Mateo wanted revenge. However, Mateo was never an idiot. He was cunning and too courageous for his own good, but he has never been an idiot. He has something up his sleeve.

Was it in his plan to have Namjoon sit here and wait? Was it in his plan to have Namjoon follow him to T52?

There were too many questions and Namjoon had to be careful with his next steps. He was on thin ice, yet he was desperately trying to figure all of this out.

Namjoon couldn’t take this anymore. He couldn’t take the questions and the lack of answers. He couldn’t stand the four walls that he has trapped himself in for days. That fucking map with various circles and lines was taunting him at this point.

Namjoon quickly stood up and practically sprinted out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Namjoon left in such haste he nearly ran Jackson over who was carrying food, presumably for Namjoon and him.

“Woah, Namjoon are you okay?” Jackson called after him.

Namjoon ignored him in favor of rushing down the hallways. He passed the cafeteria and heard Jungkook R43 and various other generals try to get his attention.

He couldn’t do this right now. He couldn’t put up a facade and pretend he knew what he was doing. He couldn’t face the people he trusted. Namjoon kept walking, eventually breaking into a run and he didn’t stop. He didn’t stop for any shout, any call for him. He didn’t stop until he came across a set of steel doors with tiny windows cut away. He carefully glanced out the window, Namjoon was met with the sight of green grass, shining sun, and even spotted a couple of birds in his tiny window to the outdoors. Namjoon didn’t hesitate to push against the weight of the heavy door. He slowly opened his gate to the outdoors, feeling a little blinded by the bright light of the sun that reflected off of the fountain that was outside. Once Namjoon made it past the threshold of the door, he took cautious steps toward the fountain. As Namjoon grew closer, he realized he couldn’t remember the last time he had the warmth of the sun on him. The sun engulfed him in heat and comfort, feeling almost instantly better.

Namjoon let out a sigh as he sat on the edge of the fountain, allowing his hand to drift into the water. Namjoon was taking in his surroundings, watching the birds fly, seeing the bright blue sky with puffy, Disney-esk clouds, and feeling the cool water against his skin in contrast to the scorch of the sun.

Namjoon has always liked the outdoors, Jackson has known this fact for as long as he’s known Namjoon. Jackson met him in a forest where he was rather open about his love for the different types of trees and what the different shades of green meant.

With this knowledge, it wasn’t hard to find Namjoon escaping his problems outdoors.

Fuck. Jackson hadn’t even taken the time to think about how Namjoon must be feeling being couped up in 4 walls with the occasional venture to the cafeteria or bathroom.

Jackson carefully walked to where Namjoon sat, afraid to break the calm.

“Namjoon,” Jackson said quietly.

Namjoon continued to look forward, Jackson would have thought that he didn’t hear him if it wasn’t for his finger twitching slightly.

“Namjoon, it’s okay,” He said, reassuringly, “I know things have been tough for you, but we’ll get through this okay?”

“I forgot how much I love the sun,” Namjoon whispered, “Look, there’s a butterfly.”

A soft smile found it’s way on Namjoon’s lips and Jackson was a little taken aback by it.

“It’s beautiful out here, hyung,” Jackson jumped at the sudden appearance of a new voice.

Jungkook had also found his way outside, following Jackson’s hurried state.

“I like the breeze,” Namjoon said.

Jungkook slowly made his way to sit next to Namjoon by the fountain. Namjoon has been under so much stress, it’s no wonder he’s gone into shutdown mode. Jackson thought he shouldn’t have been so careless. He should have known, he knows Joonie better than anyone. However, he was blinded by deadlines and timelines and he completely forgot about Namjoon’s wellbeing. Jackson left the two to talk about the different types of birds, silently beating himself up.
 
Namjoon felt refreshed after being in the sunlight. He felt like he could function as a protector now. Jungkook and Namjoon retreated to the building they had been living in for weeks and reluctantly parted ways. Namjoon made his way back to his make-shift office and Jungkook left to look for one of the Taehyungs.

Once Namjoon caught sight of the door to his office, he noticed Jackson sulking in front of it.

“Joonie!” Jackson jerked up as he noticed Namjoon walking towards him, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better now,” Namjoon smiled at him.
 
“Thank God, I was so worried.”

“No reason to be worried,” Namjoon shook his head, “I have some ideas, let me run them by you.”

The two men entered the office taking their usual seats.

“So. Mateo has made his location known, relatively easily too.”

“Really?” Jackson asked, shocked, “Why don’t we go kick his ass then?”

“Because it was too easy. I think he’s setting us up. I think he’s trying to lure us there, but now the question is why?”

“I mean so far, it looks like he’s just trying to cause chaos for us. He’s fucking with things, but there hasn’t been like, a threat on your life just yet,” Jackson pointed out, “He might be just trying to get you to run all around the sector?”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t sound like him,” Namjoon put a hand to his chin, “He is more cynical than just ‘lemme fuck some shit up because it’ll be funny’ kind of guy.”

“You know him better than I do, Joon. What do you think he’s trying to do?”

“I have no idea… There’s something I’m missing.”

“Well, let’s go over what we know,” Jackson suggested with a shrug.

“We know that he’s most likely responsible for transporting everyone all over the fucking place and that he didn’t use gates to do so,” Namjoon started.

“We know that he chose the same 7 people to teleport; Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook. We know that they are all important at one point or another in their universes. However, if he wanted to cause chaos, why didn’t he just choose all crucial people right now?”

“Oh fuck,” Namjoon swore. He might have an idea of why Mateo picked them.

“What?” Jackson asked.

“I think he might be trying to say a big ‘fuck you’ to me,” Namjoon shook his head, “Jackson, I’m going to have to tell you a little bit about myself.”

Jackson raised his eyebrows, leaning in towards Namjoon a bit more.

“I was created, I wasn’t a general before I was a protector nor a second in command like you. I was just another piece in the machine. My energy was passing through, on it’s way to the next universe when fate decided that there needed to be a new protector. I was in the right place at the right time essentially.”

“Woah, really?” Jackson asked, astonished, “You were suddenly given all of this power without so much of a warning?”

“Yeah. I suddenly had woken up to fate telling me what I needed to do and it felt right. I’m made from the stars and whatever energy was left from Mateo’s ‘firing process’.”

“So he’s fucking with all of the others that share your energy,” Jackson concluded.

“Yeah. Maybe he’s trying to make me made at fate for taking me away from my friends, for yanking me out of the circular flow. I don’t know. Maybe he’s just trying to torment me with what I could’ve been,

who

I could’ve been,” Namjoon shrugged.

“Is it working?”

“No. If anything it’s making me want to protect my universes even more,” Namjoon joked.

“So what do we do about him then? Why is he luring you to T52?”

That, Namjoon had no idea. What else do they know about Mateo?

He’s fucking terrifying
He is knowledgable about Namjoon’s sector
He has somehow conserved enough energy to pull this off

Was he stealing energy from somewhere?

He can apparently change Namjoon’s coordinates when opening a gate?
 
He can change his coordinates… Does that mean he knows where Namjoon is?

“He’s luring me away so that he can get here and reck things,” Namjoon stuttered out, “I think he didn’t expect us to be able to fix things as fast as we did or how we did it. I think he expected us to be more of a mess, but thankfully we acted quickly.”

“So maybe he was recovering while we were getting people back,” Jackson added.

“Now he’s desperately trying to stop us, maybe he’s trying to get me out so that he can come here and continue with whatever he’s planning,” Namjoon nodded.

“None of this explains why he has so much control and energy. He’s no longer the protector, he shouldn’t be able to do things that you, yourself, can’t do! How is he changing coordinates after the gate is already open?”

“Well, that is something I can do, however, it is not fun and I have no reason to.”

“Okay, so how can he change

your

gates?” Jackson clarified.

“Because we’re made of the same energy,” Namjoon said dumbstruck. Of course. He and Mateo were still connected, fate had been able to take away most of Mateo’s power and give it to Namjoon, but there must be a sliver connecting them. Hell, once Jackson became his second in command, they had also become connected so that the power could be passed to him if needed.

“I was made from his energy, so there must’ve been some that hadn’t completely severed itself from Mateo. He’s monitoring my energy and how I’m using it. Fuck. The tiny connection is enough when talking about the energy needed to tear through time and space.”

“How the

fuck

do we go about his?” Jackson asked, brain hurting from trying to wrap his head around the new information.

“I think I might have a plan.”