Ripple: BTS AU Story ✓

Chapter 38

I'm back with another chapter. Wahhh! We really are close to the end. My goal was to finish this story before the end of the year and that still is the goal. I just don't know if it will actually happen. It probably would have, but I took a bit of a break since I hurt my wrist. I am on break though so I have the time to write. We're going to try to finish this up. So, let's get into this chapter.

The boys freeze, staring at the fallen man on the floor. "Did you actually shoot him, hyung?" Taehyung asks Yoongi. The rapper nods, dropping the gun onto the floor. He rubs his hands on his pants, shocked over his actions. He didn't regret it. He had to shoot Theodore, but it was weird. It didn't sit well with him. "Is Theodore down?" Jimin asks, still looking at their enemy.

Yoongi nods, "I would think so." He walks over to Jimin and starts to untie him. When the vocalist is free, he helps Yoongi untie the others. They continue to do this until all of the boys are free from their bonds. "What now?" Jungkook asks, "The time machine is right here. Do we fix things?"

"Duh," Jin states, "We defeated the bad guy. We won. It's time to go home." Smiles appear on all of their faces, relieved that this is the end of their adventure. "We have to figure out how this machine works first," Namjoon says, gesturing to the huge time machine. The boys all gather around the machine, scanning over it in its entirety. "Okay, well, Theodore set it to fit the timeline he wanted. The one where we don't exist at all," Hoseok says, "We have to change that, so it mirrors our actual lives before activating the machine."

"Do you think it's a simple typing command?" Taehyung asks, "Like just backspacing on a word document and then making edits?"

"Maybe..." Namjoon says, "Do you see a keyboard thingie?" The boys search around the machine, looking for something to help them figure this thing out. They can't seem to find a keyboard or touchpad of any sorts. There is though a lot of complex panels with large levers. And a bunch of other things that the boys don't quite understand. "This thing is too complicated. There has to be a manual or something," Jimin says.

"Doubtful," Yoongi huffs, "Theodore built the machine himself. He knows how it works. He wouldn't need instructions on how to operate his own machine." The boys groan as they continue to try to figure out how to work this machine. "Okay...I'm stupid enough as it is. This machine is just making me feel stupider," Jin exclaims. The boys stare at the puzzle before them, still not getting any of it. They've looked at the machine from top to bottom. There were a lot of flips and switches and stuff, but nothing labeled program the timeline to your exact wants and needs. "Theodore was just pressing buttons and levers and crap. Maybe that's how he set it all up," Jungkook suggests.

Hoseok nods, "I was watching him. For every button he pushed, he flipped a switch."

"Chilling. That really gives us an idea on how to operate this hunk of junk," Yoongi states.

"Well, maybe there's just a button somewhere that deletes what Theodore set before and then it will allow us to reprogram things. Kind of like a failsafe switch!" Jimin says.

"So, what, we go trigger happy and click everything?" Yoongi says.

"It sounds like a terrible idea, but it may be our only option," Namjoon says, "I say we chose one button and cross our fingers."

"This is going to end up in a disaster," Jungkook says with a frown, "But, I guess we have no other choice." The guys sigh before looking at the machine again. Their eyes flit over all of the buttons, trying to pick on to press. Hoseok spots a bright yellow one and gestures to it, "It's a happy color. It can't do bad things, right?"

"Click it, Hobi hyung," Taehyung says. The group hold their breaths as Hoseok clicks the button. They stare at the machine, expecting something to happen. They hoped that, maybe, the words possible timeline deleted would appear, but instead a timer popped onto the screen. "Uh...guys..." Jimin says with wide eyes.