CHAPTER 11 : Life

 

A soldier barged into CL’s room panting.  “Leader, we lost all contact with Captain Bom. Report shows that she and her entire troop had been defeated by the Black Pink Crystal wielders!”

 

“...” CL was just sitting on her table with one hand holding onto a book and the other hand tapping onto the table.

 

“Leader, we lost Captain Bom.” The soldier repeated.

 

“...” Once again, CL didn’t react to it at all.

 

“Uhm, leader…”

 

Just then, CL closed her book and slammed it on her table, breaking the entire table in the process and shocking the soldier. “You think I’m deaf?”

 

“I-I’m very sorry. I mean no disrespect, leader.” The soldier apologized.

 

CL stood up from her chair and slowly walked towards the soldier. He flinched a little. He was afraid that CL might kill him right there and then. “…”

 

Instead CL just smiled and dusted his shoulder a little. “That idiot was way ahead of herself. I gave her the most destructive of the 2NE1 Crystals and she still lost… She could die off for all I care.”

 

“But… Weren’t the 2NE1 Crystals created to defeat the BlackPink Crystals?” The soldier asked.

 

Hearing that made CL’s ear twitch. “What’re you trying to imply? That the BlackPink Crystals are still superior? Or that we’re incompetent?”

 

“No, not incompetent of course! Never! I just thought maybe the BlackPink Crystals are a little more superior because they’re powered by emotions and don’t have limits.”

 

CL nodded her head. “So even you think we’re going to lose…”

 

The soldier felt an ominous atmosphere. “L-Leader, I’m just telling the truth… The BlackPink Crystals really do not have a limit.”

 

CL stepped in front of the soldier and whispered into his ear. “You wanna know what else is the truth?”

 

“Wha- UGH!!!” All of a sudden, the soldier started bleeding from his mouth, smearing his chin completely in red. He slowly looked down and saw CL’s index finger stabbing right into his chest like a knife.

 

“That you’re gonna die in exactly 5 seconds.” With that, CL pulled her finger back out and released a kick on his body so powerful that it broke all the bones in his body and crashed through three walls.

 

From the large hole just right outside CL’s room, Minzy and Dara were standing there. It seemed that they were about to enter the room when the soldier came flying out of the wall.

 

CL wiped her bloody finger with a handkerchief and smiled at them. “Ah… You both came in just the right time. Come in.”

 

Minzy and Dara then stepped into CL’s room. “We heard Bom got taken out so we came to clarify it with you.”

 

“I don’t really care about her anymore. She lost because she was weak. And I don’t need weaklings in my team,” CL replied. “Besides, I have more important things now. The super weapon is finally complete.”

 

“It is!?” Dara and Minzy were shocked.

 

“We shall move out in a few days. We shall start with that city Bom failed to destroy.” CL told.

 

“In a few days? Why wait?” Minzy asked. “Why don’t we move out right away?”

 

CL chuckled. “Oh hold your horses, Minzy. I know you’re eager to kill people but we still need some time to prepare and get the super weapon ready.”

 

“But Bom just got taken out…” Dara told. “Shouldn’t we settle down for a longer period of time before we go against them again? Like figure out a plan to take them out? Like you told us before, we shouldn’t underestimate our enemies… ”

 

“We have the super weapon with us this time. Not even the BlackPink Crystals can do anything about it. I have all the rights in the world to underestimate them this time. You got a problem with that, Dara?”

 

“Of course not.” Dara backed off immediately. If she were to continue arguing, it will not end well.

 

“What’s wrong, Dara?” CL asked. “You’ve been quite pessimistic about the World Government’s plans ever since you met up with the four of them…”

 

“I’m not.” Dara told.

 

“Really?” CL moved closer towards Dara. “It’s almost as if you don’t want this to happen.”

 

“I don’t know what made you think of me this way, CL. I’ve never thought that way before.” Dara answered confidently. “You know how much I hate people.”

 

CL stared into Dara’s eyes for a few seconds before breaking eye contact. “Good then… I almost thought that you’re starting to have a change of heart. Don’t forget why I made you into a captain, Dara. You’re the most cold blooded assassin we have.”

 

“I still am. I’ll be training myself for the upcoming battle.” Dara said as she slowly walked away from the room.

 

“...” CL remained silent while staring at Dara’s back as she exited the room.

 

“CL…” Minzy called out and shook her head. “Dara doesn’t seem like she’s supporting this plan for some reason.”

 

“I can tell. Just leave it as that, Minzy. The plan still moves on even if she doesn’t like it.” CL told.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Hey what’s your name?”

 

“Lisa…”

 

“That’s a nice name. I’m Rosé, but you can call me Chaeyoung instead. Nice to meet you.” Rosé extended her hand.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Kya!! Take it away, Lisa! Take it away!!” Rosé kept on screaming at the beetle crawling up her skirt.

 

“What!? Where!? How!?” Lisa was seen fidgeting.

 

“There’s a beetle on my skirt!! Take it away!!!” Rosé screamed again.

 

“Okay!” Lisa extended her hand and grabbed it.

 

*RIP*

 

“Uhm… That sound… Tell me I got rid of the beetle.” Lisa told.

 

“You……did……AND SO DID MY SKIRT!!!” Rosé screamed at her torn skirt.

 

“I’m sorry!! I can’t see!”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Now stay away or I will cut you like a piece of meat next time!!” Lisa warned the bandits who were running away in fear.

 

“You’re so cool, Lisa!” Rosé clenched her fingers together and clapped her hands.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Please come back to me…Lisa…” Rosé pulled Lisa’s motionless body in for a kiss as both their bodies glowed in white. After a few seconds of their lips interlocking, Rosé’s body just fell flat on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off.

 

“Chaeyoung!!!”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Ugh…” Lisa groaned and slowly lifted herself up. She grabbed her head in pain. She felt her entire body was sore to the very core. “Wha-? Was that a dream?”

 

“Oh my god, Lisa’s awake!” Jisoo’s voice could be heard. “It really worked!!”

 

“Welcome back, Lisa.” Jennie walked over.

 

“…” Lisa was still a little fuzzy as she sat up slowly. “W-What?”

 

“I know you’re confused.” Jennie told. “We’re now in a hotel room. The CEO of this hotel allowed us to have some rest here after saving the city.”

 

Lisa felt her own face. Her blindfold was back on her eyes. “Huh? I thought I… But the girl in the light… What?”

 

“Well… I don’t know what girl in the light you were talking about.” Jennie intercepted. “It’s a long story, Lisa but I’m going to cut it short. You actually died.”

 

Jisoo then continued. “Your heart really stopped beating, Lisa. You may have overused your powers beyond what your body could handle.”

 

“Pretty freaky stuff you have in your body, Lisa.” Jennie chuckled a little. “I never knew the Black Rose Crystal was this terrifying.”

 

“Please don’t mention that again… Bad memories…” Lisa explained. “But how did I come back to life?”

 

“Uhm… Chaeyoung saved you…” Jennie answered.

 

“Huh?” Lisa frowned. “How? The White Rose Crystal isn’t capable of healing the dead. Chaeyoung told me that herself.”

 

“Well…” Jisoo and Jennie exchanged glances.

 

“Well what?” Lisa grew a little impatient. “Where’s Chaeyoung now?”

 

“She’s resting on the sofa right now.” Jisoo answered.

 

“Why can’t I sense her aura?” Lisa felt something strange.

 

“She used up all of her remaining energy to save you, Lisa. She’s very weak now. She needs some time to replenish her powers.” Jennie explained.

 

“Bring me to her now.” Lisa hopped off the bed.

 

Jisoo guided her towards the sofa where Rosé was resting. Lisa slowly knelt down beside the sofa and grabbed Rosé’s hands. “Chaeyoung… She’s really weak…”

 

“…” Jennie and Jisoo remained silent.

 

“Just what happened earlier!?” Lisa raised her voice.

 

After taking a deep breath, Jisoo started explaining. “You see… We only knew the White Rose Crystal to have the power of healing and the ability to release a holy light shield. It actually has another power… Chaeyoung never told us about it.”

 

“What is it?” Lisa asked.

 

“Chaeyoung lied about the White Rose Crystal not being able to bring the dead back to life.” Jennie revealed. “She passed some of her life energy to you with her powers.”

 

Lisa’s ear twitched. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. “She did what?”

 

“You see, that’s why it’s hard for us to explain this to you, Lisa. The White Rose Crystal’s third power is the ability to bring someone back to life with the cost of the own user’s lifespan.”

 

“No way… She sacrificed her own lifespan to bring me back?” Lisa was stunned. “With the cost of how many years from her life?”

 

“…” Jennie and Jisoo remained silent. For some reason, they couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

 

At that time, Rosé’s grip on Lisa’s hand increased. “Lisa?”

 

“Chaeyoung!?”

 

“Lisa!!” Rosé immediately shot up and hugged Lisa tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re alive!”

 

“…” Lisa didn’t reply Rosé’s hug. She didn’t seem too happy about it. “How many years did you give away to bring me back, Chaeyoung?”

 

“50…” That simply means that Rosé would die anytime within the next few years. Maximum of 20 more years if she’s very lucky.

 

“50 years!?” Lisa was stunned.

 

“Shh!” Rosé immediately placed her index finger on Lisa’s lips. “I know what you wanna say, Lisa. I don’t regret my decision. I’m willing to do this for you so I don’t need any comments about how I shouldn’t have done that.”

 

“But-”

 

“Do you have any other ideas that can bring yourself back to life?” Rosé asked.

 

“No, but-”

 

“Exactly, you don’t.” Rosé intercepted. “You may not want to come back to life but I want you to. Like I said, it’s my own choice and you’re gonna have to deal with that.”

 

“You don’t-”

 

“Lisa, listen to me… It doesn’t matter how many years I lost. I’m not even supposed to be alive anyway. This life of mine was given to me by a dear friend so that I could protect the people around me. So deal with it, Lisa. That’s it.” Once again, Rosé intercepted.

 

Lisa finally sighed loudly and nodded. “Okay.”

 

“You know how important you are to me, right?” Rosé spoke in a soft tone while placing her palm on Lisa’s face.

 

“I know…”

 

“Aww… How sweet!!” Jisoo clasped her fingers together.

 

“You might be upset about this whole thing, Lisa. We all are, but hey, let’s look at the bright side. You finally got a kiss from Chaeyoung.” Jennie chuckled a little.

 

“SHHH!!!!!!!” Rosé tried to shut Jennie up.

 

“A kiss?” Lisa still seemed confused.

 

“Yeah… Chaeyoung passed the life energy to you through her lips.” Jisoo giggled a little.

 

“What are you doing!?” Rosé went over to cover Jisoo’s mouth.

 

“So it wasn’t a dream…” Lisa said. “I knew something was off when I woke up with my lips so wet.”

 

Rosé’s face turned red immediately. “Shush, Lisa! No more!!”

 

“Of course… It all makes sense now…” Lisa suddenly chuckled all by herself. “How could I have not noticed it? That girl in my light… It was you all along…”

 

“Hmm? What girl in the light?” Rosé frowned.

 

“You brought me back to life, Chaeyoung.” Lisa smiled and grabbed Rosé’s hand tightly. “I don’t know how to repay you, really.”

 

“Just don’t do stupid things like sacrificing your own life anymore, alright? That’s good enough for me. I don’t have that much years to spare to you anymore.”

 

Lisa suddenly kissed Rosé on her right cheek while she was unaware. “There you go. A present for my knight in shining armor.”

 

“...” Rosé was still trying to process what just happened. Once she realized it, her face quickly turned red as she covered her face in embarrassment.

 

“Oh my god!!” Jisoo squealed. “You’re giving me a lot of ideas for my story!!”

 

While Jennie merely let out a fake cough. “…”

 

“Ohohohoho, I know what this will lead to… I’ve read a lot of novels. So I’m gonna go out to get some food.” Jisoo then pointed at Rosé and Lisa. “I’m gonna give you two about an hour to…you know…‘get it done’. Well unless you need more time to ‘explore’ then maybe I can come back in two hours.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about exploring, Jisoo!?” Rosé got extremely embarrassed. “Stop that!”

 

“Okay then, I’ll give you both an hour.” Jisoo said.

 

“NO!” Rosé raised her voice. “We’re not doing any-”

 

“How about two hours?” Lisa intercepted.

 

“OH YAASSSS OF COURSE YOU CAN GET TWO HOURS.” Jisoo’s face turned a little erted.

 

Rosé smacked Lisa’s shoulder. “Lisa! What are you talking about!?”

 

Lisa merely shrugged. “What were you thinking, Chaeyoung? erted stuff?”

 

“Alright, so you two have fun.” Jisoo then poked Jennie’s arm. “Let’s go, Jennie.”

 

“The hell I am.” Jennie hopped onto the bed and laid down. “I’ll be taking a nap.”

 

“Fine, then. I’m still gonna go get some food. And I’m not buying your portion, Jennie.” Jisoo told.

 

“Sure.” Jennie started dozing off.

 

“...” Jisoo was speechless.

 

“She wants to go on a date with you, Jennie. Go with her.” Rosé teased.

 

“What!?” It was Jisoo’s turn to be embarrassed. “With Jennie? Pfft… No I don’t.”

 

“Yea, me neither.” Jennie answered while her eyes remained shut.

 

“…” Once again, Jisoo remained speechless. “Why? What’s wrong with me?”

 

“…” Jennie didn’t reply.

 

“Hey!” Jisoo called out.

 

“…” It seemed like Jennie had fallen asleep.

 

“Tsk… Fine! You get nothing!” Jisoo raised her voice and stormed out of the room.

 

“Aww, Jisoo…” Rosé sighed. “Jennie, why didn’t you want to follow her out? You know she wants to go out with you, right? And don’t pretend to be asleep. I know you’re still very much awake.”

 

“I’m trying to sleep, Chaeyoung. Please don’t disturb me. I get grumpy when I don’t get enough sleep.” Jennie answered.

 

“Well, you obviously like her too Jennie. So why don’t you just admit it?” Lisa went straight to the point.

 

“Oh really? I don’t see you admitting anything to Chaeyoung though?” Jennie retorted.

 

“Stop that, Jennie!” Rosé raised her voice. “Don’t ask these type of questions to L-”

 

“I like Chaeyoung.” Lisa didn’t even waste a second in answering Jennie. “See? It’s not that hard.”

 

Rosé felt her heart skip a beat. She blushed a little. “Y-You do?”

 

“What?” Lisa shrugged. “Did I say something wrong?”

 

“But…how can you be so calm saying something like that?” Rosé asked.

 

“What do you mean? Name me one thing not likable about you.” Lisa asked.

 

“See, Lisa is so cool about it. You’re the one fidgeting about, Chaeyoung.” Jennie said.

 

“Just go to sleep, Jennie!” Rosé voiced out.

 

Jisoo mumbled and cursed Jennie as she walked down the street. “Damn it that Jennie… Can’t she just take a walk with me?”

 

“Hey, it’s the hero that saved us!” One of the citizens pointed at Jisoo. As soon as he said that, everyone around started flocking her with cheers and autographs. “Please sign this for my little sister!”

 

“Oh gosh, I can never get used to this much attention.” Jisoo chuckled and held both her arms up. “Calm down, people. I’m not a celebrity so you don’t have to treat me as one.”

 

“Hero!!!” People still ignored her words and continued cheering.

 

“...” Jisoo sighed loudly. She might as well accept her fate. “Yes, I’m a hero!”

 

“Woooo!!!!!! Hero!!!!!” Jisoo’s statement made everyone in that vicinity go wild once again.

 

Jisoo was pretty much forced to give an autograph to people whom she have never met, as if she was a celebrity. After giving away a few autographs, she calmed the crowd down. “Alright. I really appreciate what you guys are doing but I gotta go get some food. So if you don’t mind, please make way for me so I don’t starve to death.”

 

“Oh, make way for the hero, people!!” The citizen shouted and they moved to the side.

 

“Thank you. And please don’t follow me. Go on with your daily lives.” Jisoo then slowly made her way down the road again. It seemed like the people didn’t understand her. They still followed her like a stalker. She then sighed. “I knew this would happen… Well, guess I have no choice…” Jisoo then lifted herself off the ground and flew away from that area, losing the entire crowd in an instant.

 

After finding a more secluded bakery in the corner of the city, Jisoo landed on the ground and entered the shop. “”

 

“Ah, welcome to Hani Bakery.” The owner answered. “Shall I recommend you Hani’s honey biscuits? It’s our best seller here.”

 

“I think I’ll look around first…” Jisoo smiled politely.

 

“Alright, take your time…” Hani replied with a smile.

 

Then, a milk bread caught Jisoo’s attention. “Ah… Jennie likes to eat this…” Just as she was about to reach for it, she pulled her hand back. “Wait, I almost forgot. I’m mad at her.”

 

“Wait a minute…” Jisoo stopped in her tracks and placed both her hands on her cheeks. “Why am I so upset that she isn’t following me? I mean, I’m just going out to get some food, right? Why would I want her by my side?”

 

Just then, a hooded lady entered the bakery. “…”

 

“Welcome to Hani Bakery.” Once again, Hani greeted. “Shal I recommend you our best seller Hani’s honey biscuits?”

 

“...” The hooded lady ignored Hani and started looking around the shop as well. She then stood beside Jisoo and started conversing with her. “Seems like you gained some fame defeating some infamous bandits and even Captain Bom who tried to destroy the city. People are viewing you as a hero.”

 

“Well, my friends helped me too. I wouldn’t have done it without their help.” Jisoo chuckled while still choosing her bread.

 

“Ah yes of course. Your friends… But how long do you think you can stay alive from the World Government?”

 

“…” Jisoo started frowning. “Wait…”

 

*CLICK*

 

“!!!” Jisoo suddenly started sweating buckets. Her eyes widened in shock. She felt something small and hard touching the back of her head. She didn’t even need to turn around to know that it was a bullet. It was floating right behind her head. Nobody else could see it because her hair was blocking the small bullet completely. Because of this, Jisoo didn’t even dare to move her muscle.

 

“I have a bullet right behind your head. You try anything stupid, this bullet will go right through your head before you can succeed.” The hooded figure slowly tilted up and revealed her face with a smile.

 

Jisoo’s eyes widened in shock. “You… You’re that Captain Dara… What do you want from me? Are you trying to kidnap me again?”

 

“Shh… Let’s keep it down. We don’t want to be attracting unwanted attention now do we?” Dara told. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to kidnap you. I’m here without CL’s knowledge actually.”

 

“Without your leader’s knowledge? Just what are you planning to do without the leader knowing?” Jisoo frowned.

 

Dara hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I suggest you get your other three friends out of this city soon.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jisoo still seemed confused.

 

“Consider this a friendly warning from me. Just listen to me and get them out of this city if you don’t want to die.” Dara warned once again.

 

“Why the hell should I listen to you? How do I know you’re not telling me all these just to trick us? Why don’t you just blast my head off instead? You do have a bullet on my head after all.” Jisoo asked.

 

“…” Dara pulled the bullet back into her hands with her magic powers and kept it inside her pocket. “Done. Now listen to me. CL is about to unleash a super weapon upon this world, and this city will be her first target.”

 

Jisoo was shocked. “Are you serious!?”

 

“I’m not going to force you to believe my words. But let me give you an advice. You better do. CL is going to arrive in a few days with the super weapon. And when that time comes, it will be too late.”

 

“Why are you telling me this!?” Jisoo asked.

 

“Because I have a hunch that you of all four of them might believe me.”

 

“Well then certainly you have thought wrong. You were after my head before this and now you expect me to believe you? Give me a break.” Jisoo told.

 

“Like I said, I’m not going to force you to believe me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when happens later on.”

 

“Well, let’s say what you’re telling me is the truth, why are you still helping her? Shouldn’t you come help us instead?” Jisoo asked.

 

“This is something that you will never understand.” Dara explained. “CL gave me everything when I had nothing. She provided me a home……a family……”

 

“Family?” Jisoo frowned. “Despite her doing all these bad things to innocent people, you still view her as family?”

 

“I came here to warn you about CL’s plans…” Dara then stepped in front of Jisoo with their faces inches away from each other. Dara glared right into Jisoo’s eyes. “Not for you to lecture me on what a family is. You say that another time, I’m not going to hesitate to kill you right here and now.”

 

Jisoo flinched a little while staring back at her. “…” And then she noticed something that she had never noticed before. “I’ve never really noticed…” Jisoo frowned. “Your eyes…”

 

Dara immediately looked away. “Just bring your friends away from this city. I don’t ever want to see you or your friends again. The next time we meet, it’ll be an all-out war between us. And I won’t be this merciful. Mark my words.”

 

“...” Jisoo watched Dara exit the shop silently as she remained standing there stunned at what just happened. She was definitely confused, so she immediately flew back to the hotel room to confront the other three about this.

 

“So… Where’s the food?” Rosé asked.

 

“Uhm… I have a news for the three of you.” Jisoo told.

 

“What news?” Jennie asked.

 

“Uhm… How do I start…” Jisoo said. “Well… I kinda met with Captain Dara earlier.”

 

The three of them stood up from their seats in shock. “What!? What happened then!?”

 

“Don’t worry. She didn’t hurt me.” Jisoo explained.

 

“That’s impossible.” Jennie told. “Dara is an assassin and the four of us are her targets. It’s not possible that she wouldn’t hurt you.”

 

“No, she really didn’t. She literally caught me off guard with a bullet on my head in the first place. If she really thought about killing me off, she would have done so already. She actually gave me information about what the World Government’s plans.”

 

“And you believed her?” Lisa asked.

 

“Well, enlighten us. What did Dara tell you?” Rosé asked.

 

“That CL will be unleashing a super weapon upon the world, and she’s starting with this very city. She literally told me to tell you guys to evacuate from this city as fast as possible.” Jisoo explained.

 

Jennie and Rosé exchanged glances. “You see, Jisoo… Chances are, the entire World Government army is waiting for us outside the city. I don’t trust Dara.”

 

“I don’t know why but I have a feeling that she might be telling the truth.” Jisoo said.

 

“Well she must be playing some mind games with you then. You don’t know her that well, Jisoo.” Jennie replied. “I’ve personally known Dara for years. She’s a cold blooded assassin. You can’t believe her words. She must have something up her sleeves.”

 

“I think Dara’s manipulating you, Jisoo.” Rosé told.

 

“And why would she do something like that?” Jisoo questioned. “Why didn’t she kill me then? She had such a good chance.”

 

“Come on, Jisoo! Can’t you get the idea? She wanted you to lure us along. Don’t forget the World Government does not only want you, but all four of us. If you got killed, then the three of us will raise our defenses. They will not get the chance to lay a finger on us then. That is Dara’s current motive. She wanted you to believe her words and then convince us about it. And when we head out of this city, BAM! They get us all together.” Jennie went straight to the point.

 

“I still think she’s trying to help us.” Jisoo explained.

 

“Gosh! What makes you think she’s trying to help us, Jisoo?” Jennie asked. “Why are you so sure of that? You got into her mind?”

 

“I don’t know actually, Jennie… I can’t read her mind because of her power crystal… But somehow deep within me, I feel the need to believe her. I usually don’t feel things like this, but for some reason, I felt something that I haven’t felt in a very long time… I felt……a bond.” Jisoo explained.

 

“So…in the end it’s just your intuition?” Rosé asked.

 

Lisa continued. “We’re not playing games anymore, Jisoo. I think you should understand that by now. We’re dealing with life threatening situations. You saw what happened with that Captain Bom back then. I would have died if it wasn’t for Chaeyoung. I’m not taking that risk again just because you ‘felt the need to believe her’. As Jennie said, it might be a trap to lure us out of the city.”

 

“But what IF she was telling the truth?” Jisoo insisted. “Then it’ll be too late by the time they reach the city.”

 

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you earlier but Dara can’t be trusted. That’s my final say.” Jennie told.

 

“Come on! We still can stop this from happening! If we head to the World Government headquarters and destroy it, then everyone will be saved!” Jisoo raised her voice.

 

“No, Jisoo! It’s too risky!”

 

“If you’re not going listen to what I say, I will go stop it by myself!” Jisoo then exited the hotel room and slammed the door.

 

“...” Jennie was speechless.

 

“Wow, she seemed mad.” Lisa said.

 

Rosé was contemplating this time. “But…what if she’s telling the truth? Then everybody in this world will be in danger.”

 

CHAPTER 11 : Life

END