~ Shifting Universe ~

~ Marked ~

The members were all standing in the studio, waiting patiently for Chan to speak. Shay was snuggled between Seungmin and Hyunjin, her head nestled on Seungmin's shoulder. She tried to stifle a yawn, earning a chagrined grin from their leader.

"I'm sorry for waking you guys up, but Changbin just discovered something big."

The members perked up as they looked towards their curly-haired hyung. Changbin smiled sheepishly as he turned to pull up the soundwaves from the computer to put up on the screen for them to see. They studied it and noticed one distinct wavelength that stood out from the rest.

"What is the difference between that one and the rest?" Seungmin asked quietly as he slid away and stepped closer to the screen.

Changbin grinned.

"It's a song from the latest idols that were kidnapped before Hyunjin."

Minho frowned.

"What's so special about it?"

Changbin sighed as he leaned back, pausing before answering.

"Well...for one, it's from an idol that was pure, and two, love. The only thing that they haven't tested is multiplying it times eight."

"And nanites." Jisung added.

"And nanites." Changbin echoed as he pointed his finger poignantly toward Jisung.

Hyunjin frowned.

"So all we have to do is come up with a song? That's it?"

Minho scoffed.

"There's no way it's going to be that easy..."

Changbin glanced sideways at Minho.

"I think that you're right. It's probably more complex, but it's a start."

Shay was quiet as she stared at the wavelength, Omni's words swirling around in her mind. The other members watched her, and she knew that they were all seeing her thoughts. Jeongin's soft voice filtered through the swirling mass of voices.

"Dr. Yang said that we weren't quite advanced enough yet...and there's the newly assigned roles that we're just starting to figure out."

Shay kept staring, her dark green eyes following the wavelength, almost hypnotized into a trance by the waviness of it. Jisung laid a hand on her back, bringing her back to reality. She smiled gently at him as she met his thoughtful brown eyes.

"What if...our solution is beyond our normal capabilities?"

Changbin frowned.

"What do you mean?"

She walked towards the screen, tracing the wavelength.

"What if we need the voices of the universe...the sounds of nature. In order to do that, we have to see it through a different lens. We have to weave all the heart and soul into it. That's what is going to make Omni ascend past her mortal boundary..."

Shay turned to see all of them staring at her, their eyes wide with admiration and apprehension. Chan tilted his head slightly, speaking softly.

"If that's true, then we have quite the journey ahead of us. I can't imagine what we will experience in order to gain all that knowledge that we would need to complete the task successfully."

Minho's jaw tightened.

"Of course I had to open my mouth..."

He sighed as he dropped his head down, his hand kneading the twinge of headache starting to form.