elevate | stray kids (feat. day6)

chapter five: when it falls

The cafe was fairly quiet, and the six of them got a table and ordered coffee. The tension in the air was undeniable, and everyone's nerves were on edge.

"They spelt my name wrong again." Jeongin mumbled to break the silence, not liking how depressed everyone was acting. They were all clearly thinking the same thing, but stewing in anxiety wasn't going to do anything to help.

"Curse those baristas." Changbin replied. "Okay, I don't like the fact that our two main idiots aren't here."

"That's why we need to bring them back." Chan said. "Seungmin, you finished with your two coffees?"

"Not yet but I'm starting to feel the caffeine buzz and the consequences of my actions. But anyway, let's get started. Hyunjin went through a portal at the station." Seungmin had pulled up a map on his computer. He took a sip of coffee, pointing at the screen. "The magnetic energy is unstable around there again."

"And do you think he went to where Jisung is?" Felix asked.

"I reckon he did, purely because of where he went first. The station, and the portal that exists there. Where they are... it has to be one of the mirror variations. Annoyingly, Hyunjin proved that by going through the Inbetween."

"What the fuck does any of that mean?" Changbin asked.

"In simple terms, a mirror variation is a world linked to ours through certain similarities - those worlds are accessed through the Inbetween, which is just an... intermediary dimension. It's where Hyunjin and Jisung went before, that purple field they talked about. A mirror variation is not a direct parallel, nor an opposite. It's a variation, which means some things are crazy different and others are scarily the same. It narrows down our target from infinity to... less infinity."

"Brilliant." Minho said dryly.

"How can there be less infinity?" Felix questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.

Seungmin shook his head. "I'm not explaining that right now, your tiny brain won't be able to handle it. Anyway, if I can figure out how Hyunjin actually managed to pinpoint Jisung's location amongst that, then we can do that too and drag their asses back home."

"What about the shadows?" Jeongin fiddled with his cup. "There was one here, I saw it."

"By going through portals, Hyunjin and Jisung have weakened the divide between our world and others. That shadow was able to slip through, and others may continue to do so."

"I don't have my powers anymore." Chan said. "How will we get rid of them?"

Seungmin gazed out the window, his face pensive. "I could be wrong about this... but if the shadows are coming from the same universe Hyunjin and Jisung are currently in... We could follow a shadow, and if it gets pulled back, we might find out where they are."

"But what if they attack us?" Changbin asked.

"Did it?" Seungmin turned to Jeongin. "Attack you? The one you saw."

Jeongin shook his head. "No. It was just floating there. I think it knew that I had been a host before, and was going to try to take control of me again. But I fought back, and then Minho got rid of it. Whilst it tried to possess me, it didn't actually try to hurt me."

"And they're weaker without a host." Chan tapped a finger on the table. "If it comes down to it, we should be fine."

"So we're going to follow one, then?" Changbin said. "That's our plan?"

"Not all of it. Considering how shit I am at my job already, breaking the rules one more time is not exactly all that unappealing right now." Seungmin bit his lip. "I think we should go to the station, and figure out how Hyunjin opened a portal there. Maybe we can open one as well..."