The soft buzzing of Minsoo's alarm clock was the only sound in the room. Nobody spoke or moved. Minsoo lay in his bed, eyes closed, chest steadily rising and falling with his slow breaths. Niel sat in a chair next to him, both of his delicate, long- hands cupping one of Minsoo's. Byunghun and Chunji stood side by side on the opposite edge of the bed, their hands clasped in solemn solidarity. Ricky and Changjo sat in the back corner, Ricky's head resting on Changjo's shoulder as he drifted in and out of sleep. A large teddy bear sat at the foot of the bed, a gift from Sungjong. The early morning sunshine streamed in the window, casting long shadows across the room. The swelling had gone down in Minsoo's face and the bandages that covered his neck and chest only showed the slightest hint of red. Finally, Minsoo stirred. 

Everyone in their breath at once as he groaned and tilted his head to the side. Niel's grip on Minsoo's hand tightened unintentionally.

"Try not to squeeze it off," Minsoo croaked, cracking an eye open and looking around the room, "is this a wake or something? Who died?"

"We thought you might have!" Niel said indignantly, loosening his clasp slightly, "you're insane!"

"Just now getting that one?" Changjo laughed, pulling Ricky up off the floor and coming to stand by the bed. Minsoo broke out into a lopsided grin as he took in the faces of his friends around him.

"Thanks you guys, really. I'm sorry to have put you through all this trouble. I promise you it won't happen again," he murmured, guilt flashing accross his face.

"Damn right it won't. Next time you're about to get the crap beaten out of you, I'm stepping in, no matter what you say," Byunghun replied, moving to punch Minsoo on the shoulder but deciding to go with a light pat at the last second.  

"I love you guys," Minsoo said blearily, reaching out to touch Chunji's arm with his free hand.

"Yep. You definitely suffered some serious brain damage," Ricky giggled, tossing the overgrown teddy bear onto Minsoo, "or maybe you switched bodies with this thing!"

"And where exactly did this thing come from?" Minsoo asked, letting go of Niel and Chunji to hold it above him at arms length, scrutinizing it critically.

"From us," said a voice as the bedroom door opened. Sungjong stepped inside sheepishly, followed by a concerned-looking Hoya and grinning Dongwoo. Myungsoo strolled in nonchalantly behind them with Woohyun and Sungyeol on his heels.

"We're really glad to see you're okay," Dongwoo said, smiling a smile so large and bright it rivaled the sunlight shining on his face.

"You are alright, aren't you?" asked Hoya, his forehead creased with worry. Minsoo nodded and tried to sit up. Niel and Chunji quickly assisted him, each propping up his pillows and guiding him into place by the elbow.

"Good," Woohyun replied, his smile fading as his face took on a serious expression, "we have come here on behalf of Sunggyu and ourselves to apologize formally to you and your friends." The six of them took steps either forward or back until they were in a straight line. With complete synchronization, they bowed low.

"We are truly sorry," they said with one voice. The others couldn't help but be a little impressed as they all rose at the same time.

"We hope that we can become allies. After hearing what you had to say," Sungyeol explained, nodding at Changjo, "we have decided that we want to change our ways and fight against the Project." Changjo couldn't help flush a little at that. He felt proud to have had such an impact on them, especially considering his own past.

"Of course," Minsoo answered, nodding, "we'd really enjoy and appreciate that." 

"Now, we'll let you all get some rest. Thank you. We'll be in touch," Myungsoo said, bowing slightly. 

"I call that bear Sunggyu. Feel free to let any of your lingering frustration out on him," said Sungjong with a grin as he turned to leave. Minsoo chuckled.

"Thank you, but please let the real Sunggyu know that he and I are even," he replied, patting the bear on the head. Sungjong nodded and, with a few final waves, they were gone.

xxx

A week later, Minsoo had fully recovered. The others still fretted over him and were sure to be extra cautious about roughhousing near him, but he didn't really mind the extra attention. It was nice to be looked after for once after spending so much time taking care of five others. The apartment settled into a calm, steady routine over the next few days, the tension of the past month gone. Changjo's nightmares decreased exponentially, and Niel finally began sleeping in his own bed again. There was a peaceful atmosphere in the air that hadn't been there since Christmas. The Systems from Sunggyu's compound visited often, including Sunggyu himself on occassion. It took Byunghun the longest to stop giving him the cold shoulder, but eventually even he warmed up to Sunggyu's soft-spoken manner and easy smiles. All thirteen of them were gathered in the living room one Saturday morning, everyone in brightly colored pajamas and crammed together on the couches and chairs (except for Sungyeol, who was deemed too tall to fit anywhere and bannished to sprawl out on the floor) and watching cartoons when there came a hurried, loud series of knocks on the front door.

"Who on Earth could that be?" Niel asked, craning his neck around to look at the door, as if expecting to see through it and who was on the other side.

"I don't know, but since you asked first, you have to go see," Minsoo replied smugly. Niel rolled his eyes and lifted Woohyun's legs off of his lap.

"Ow! Watch where, you're stepping," yelped Sungyeol as he rubbed his hand gingerly.

"Sorry!" Niel said as he stumbled, sock-footed, towards the door. He yanked it open and was surprised to see a frazzled looking Onew standing there. 

"Oh! Hey, Onew," he said, gesturing for him to come inside, "what brings you here this fine morning?" Onew stepped inside, setting a small brown briefcase down on the counter and shrugging off his black peacoat.

"I have news for you guys about the Rebellion--oh, you have guests," he said, eyes wide. He cleared his throat nervously and adjusted his spectacles.

"It's alright. I was actually hoping to introduce you to them at some point. They want to be part of the Rebellion," Minsoo said, wriggling his way up from his place on the couch between Chunji and Myungsoo. Some of the panic on Onew's face faded and he attempted a weak smile.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but it'll have to wait for a while. I have some pressing matters that I need to discuss with you and the others," Onew replied, nodding respectfully to the other Systems before fixing his attention back on Minsoo.

"Uh...well, we could go into my room I suppose. Would that be alright with you guys?" Minsoo asked, shooting a quizical gaze at Sunggyu. Sunggyu nodded and smiled, his already small eyes shrinking even more.

"Not a problem. I'm sure Sungyeol wouldn't mind getting a chance to sit on the couch. We'll turn the volume up until you're done."

"Thanks. Alright you guys, come on," Minsoo said, gesturing for the others to follow him. Onew picked his briefcase back up and followed them down the hall to Minsoo's room. Once the door was shut behind him, Onew took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Things have taken a turn for the worse," he said quietly, shaking his head, "the Project has revealed the secret assignment they've been working on. They've made a Virus bomb." For a moment, nobody said anything. 

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Bunghun asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"They've found out that the Virus hasn't worked quite as they planned, that Systems are feeding from humans but not killing them. As a 'solution', they've designed a second form of the Virus. It will only affect Systems, but it will serve as a sort of stimulant. It will completely override the nervous systems of those who are infected and send the Virus into full-control mode. Essentially, it removes the free will of the Systems and turns them into the killing machines the Project intended," Onew explained gravely, running a shaking hand through his hair, "it's in an gaseous form. The plan is to set off a bomb in the center of the city and release the fumes throughout all of Seoul. They're going to be doing this in every city where the Virus is present." The muffled sound of the television in the living room filled the silence that hung in the air. 

"Is there anything we can do?" Minsoo asked finally, his voice flat. Onew paused a moment before answering.

"Perhaps...we have an agent inside the Hive, the Project's main headquarters in the United States. She's the developer of the Cure. She says she is close to completing a form of it that could be used in the same way as Phase 2, the new Virus, but we don't know when the Project will strike. By the time it's finished, it could already be to late. There's also no way that she could transport the Cure to us unless we sent someone to retrieve it."

"And you want...us to do it, correct?" Minsoo asked, folding his arms over his chest. Onew slid his glasses back onto his face and nodded.

"That's the idea, yes. Look, you six are the best hope that we have. You are the only Systems who have the Gifts."

"You mean our special powers? Like my running?" Ricky piped up, his excitement shining through despite the grim expression on his face.

"So you figured out your Gift," Onew said, smiling wryly at him. The others, except for Chunji, fixed Ricky with stares of awe. 

"What do you mean, your running?" Changjo asked.

"Well, that day that we had the snowball fight, Chunji and I sort of found out that I can run. Fast. Really, really fast," Ricky explained, blushing slightly.

"And I can read people's minds and alter their memories when I bite them," Minsoo said quietly, his gaze fixed on the ground. Once again, everyone, minus Changjo, turned and gaped at Minsoo. 

"And mine is my strength, isn't it?" asked Byunghun. Nobody, however, was surprised by his statement. Onew nodded.

"Yes. Ricky has an unlimited supply of energy that can be converted into super speed. Minsoo has the ability to enter a person's concience and subconcience when he bites them. Byunghun's muscles and bones developed far beyond the norm, giving him extraordinary strength as well as making him practically invincible. I would reckon that you could get hit by a train and you'd do more damage to it than it'd to to you."

"But what about me? And Changjo?" Niel demanded, his voice tinged with obvious jealousy.

"Perhaps yours is the most intruiging, Niel," Onew said with a patient smile, "for even I do not completely understand it. You have the ability to be invisible...yet, you don't actually turn invisible."

"Wait...what?" asked Niel, shaking his head, bemused.

"Exactly! It's quite an intruiging thing, actually. It works best in the dark," Onew explained, walking over to the window and drawing the curtains closed. While they didn't block out the light completely, the room was plunged into shadow. "Now, go out into the hallway. Wait a little while. Then, I want you to sneak back in, trying your hardest not to be seen."

"Oookay," Niel said skeptically, but he did as he was told, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Minsoo kept his eyes fixed on that spot, determined to see Niel's mysterious ability.

"Now, as for you," Onew said, turning to Changjo, "tell me, what color is my shirt?" He pulled a pen out of his back pants pocket and tapped it lightly against his palm. 

"It's dark grey, duh," Chunji answered before Changjo could reply.

"It looks grey, but the individual threads are alternating black, white, and...purple," Changjo said slowly, squinting at Onew. 

"Good. Now, what's that on the wall over there?" As soon as Changjo turned his head to the right, Onew threw his pen at him with incredible speed. Without even looking, Changjo's left hand shot up and caught it in middair.

"Woah," he breathed, looking at the pen he held in his hand, "how did I do that?" Onew made a sweeping gesture in Changjo's direction.

"You have reflexes and senses like Byunghun has strength. I have a feeling you'd make an excellent fighter, if you tried."

"Me too!" cried Niel, who suddenly sprang up behind Minsoo.

"WHAT THE HELL," shouted Minsoo, who started so violently that he toppled sideways onto his bed. "When did you get in here? I've been watching the door this entire time! It didn't even ope--" He stopped when he saw that the door was, in fact, hanging ajar.

"Oh, by the way, you might want to pull up your pants, Chunji," Niel added, putting his hands on his hips with an air of self-satisfaction.

"Jokes aside," Onew said, turning respectfully away from Chunji as he yanked his pajama bottoms up from his ankles, "this will be an extremely dangerous task. Your lives will be in danger from this point on. As of right now we have no further plans, but assuredly I'll be here as soon as we do. Now, I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your day. Goodbye."

"He always leaves on such a cheery note," Byunghun noted sarcastically as soon as they heard the front door close. 

"Alright, Sungyeol, get off the couch!" Dongwoo said, his voice drifting through the open bedroom door. A moment later they heard a loud thump followed by a groan.

"Yeah, okay, I'll do that," grumbled the de-throned and dignity-less Sungyeol.