quick a/n: Flashbacks are in cursive. Besides, I just found out that aff editor erases things in between "<" and ">". Sadly, this was a big thing, so please go back and read "2-3" since there were a couple of scenes that made more sense if you accounted the sounds I tried to write. I think I'll be rereading my other chapters too to check if something like this happened. Really sorry about it!

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“Hurry up, we don’t have much time before they realize I’m gone”

A gaunt Doyeon followed Heehyun without much enthusiasm. The drug effects probably took a heavier toll on her than they had imagined.

They were now running through the woods, away from the mansion that had previously acted as a safe haven for Heehyun and her friends. She was aiming to reach the camp where her jeep was parked and get out of there before anyone realized that she was gone.

Chaeyeon wouldn’t understand, none of them would, but she had to bring Doyeon back to the main base. Otherwise they’d be in big troubles and all her hard work through the years would have been in vain.

She took the chance and freed Doyeon when Chaeyeon went to check up on Dani like she always did in the afternoon. Both Jenny, Yebin and Eunchae were still in the infirmary and Nayoung, Jieqiong and Eunice were nowhere to be found. After getting Doyeon out of there she just went back and thrashed Eunice computers, she had to make sure they wouldn’t be found once they exited the forest.

And she knew damn well that Eunice had put a tracker on her jeep.

The forest opened up and she found herself entering a clearing, she looked behind to see if Doyeon was following, said girl was dragging her feet painfully along the ground. Her face looked haggard, her hair was messy and she didn’t mutter a single word ever since Heehyun got her out of the mansion.

She looked forward again, there were three vehicles parked on the middle of the clearing under some kind of structure. One of them was her jeep.

“Quick, get to the passenger seat on that jeep, I’ll put our bags behind it and we’ll get out of here”- She ordered Doyeon to get moving but the girl didn’t seem to hear her, instead keeping her gaze unfocused, so Heehyun got behind her to give her a push-“Didn’t you hear me? GET. MOVING”

Doyeon reacted this time and waddled to the car while Heehyun took her bags and went to secure them in the back of it. She is about to finish when a voice breaks her concentration.

“Why are you doing this?”

Heehyun moves back to the front of the jeep and there, standing in front of it with her hands on her hips, was a fierce-looking Dani. Heehyun prepared her voice, trying to sound commanding, but she couldn’t help but soften when speaking to the little girl.

“Dani, what are you doing here? Go back to the mansion, it’s dangerous out here at this hour”- She tries to play it cool and hopes that Dani’s childish innocence would prevent her from seeing the bigger picture.

“Don’t treat me like a child, I know what you are doing”- She couldn’t fool her this time – “You are taking Chaeyeon’s prisoner away”

“Listen, you wouldn’t understand, now go back to the mansion before I lose my patience”- Heehyun was never a patient person to begin with, and her day reserve was already draining quickly.

However, Dani remained unaffected by Heehyun’s threats.

“I’m not stupid, I know you are betraying us! Why are you doing it?!”

Heehyun last patience strand breaks and the guilt she is feeling right now is pushed to the very back of her conscience. She starts walking to Dani and the little girl bravery quickly vanishes as she starts to move back as Cathy starts to get closer.

“I just wished you didn’t have to make me do this.”

She planned on knocking Dani out and leaving for good but a sudden though stopped her from doing it.

Maybe, just maybe, if she took Dani to Yeonjung…

That would let Chaeyeon live a normal life, without having to hide from anything ever again.

It was cruel, but it was worth it to her.

“I’m sorry Dani, but you’ll have to come with me”

Dani eyes widened as she realized confronting Heehyun was a mistake. She turned back to try and run but Heehyun already had a hand on her wrist and the other one lifted in the air, ready to knock her out.

It was game over for her.

Heehyun brought the hand extended down, aiming for the neck, and Dani closed her eyes, waiting for it.

The hit never came.

Instead, a claw shaped hand was the only thing standing in between Heehyun’s hand and Dani’s neck. Protecting the kid from harm as an incredulous Heehyun could only raise her eyes, baffled, to look at the newcomer.

Eunice was there, standing behind Dani like her guardian angel and even the afternoon light seemed to acknowledge it as it made her figure glow, bathed in the last rays of a dying sun.

The pressure on Heehyun’s hand got stronger and blood started flowing out. She tried to take it back but Eunice had a death grip on her. Neither Dani nor Eunice moved when Heehyun started thrashing her arm, trying to get out.

She didn’t manage to free herself, Eunice let her go, but as soon as Heehyun took a step back her boss was already on her, both hands raised aiming to claw at her face. Heehyun was not ready for combat and Eunice was taking clear advantage of that.

Heehyun got tired of it quickly and her temper flared again, there was no room for guilt now.

She spun around, dodging a punch to the face, and tried to get back at Eunice with a quick spinning hook kick. Mostly to get some distance, since she never really trained to use her legs to the fullest, she was more of a mano-a-mano kind of girl.

Her kick worked as Eunice dodged it quickly and effortlessly, going back a few feet and giving Heehyun enough time to get her loyal brass knuckles from her back pocket. She prepared herself for another offensive but Eunice never attacked.

She stood there, crouching down with both her feet together but with her right one lifted in the air at knee height. Her arms were stretched outwardly in a way that resembled an eagle opening her wings to take flight. It was mesmerizing but frightening at the same time.

Eunice, the eagle-style kung-Fu master, the prodigious bodyguard that could kill you before you even had time to blink. She had heard a couple of stories about her when she was training with Chaeyeon before her branch was annihilated.

 “Dani… go back the way you came and find Nayoung and Jieqiong, they are on their way, let me take care of this backstabbing scum”- Her words came out strong and it almost made Cathy flinch, Dani, on the other hand, was already running back to the forest.

“Eunice, please listen, I have to take her back, otherwise…”- She shuddered at the thought- “They’ll come back, but this time it won’t be just a handful of low rank rookie assassins…”

Eunice either wasn’t listening or did not care since she furiously spat in front of Heehyun before talking back.

“You lied to us all, I knew it, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you at all when you crossed those worn down doors acting ever so chummy”- Her voice was exploding with contained anger, and Heehyun doubted she had much time before the countdown for that bomb went down to zero- “I knew it was strange for someone to survive that, and even find us, unscathed.”

Eunice lunged at her without hesitation, aiming her fists at Heehyun’s face.

Heehyun was doubtful at first, she didn’t want to strike back so fiercely. But Eunice kept pushing her to do it.

After all, if she didn’t then everyone would die.

She was sure it would be difficult but it was time for Heehyun to turn the Eunice, the living legend, into a myth.

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“Has everything been sorted out?”- Yeonjung stopped watching the aftermath of the slaughter to pay attention to the approaching assassin leader of the north branch.

Or more like, recently appointed assassin leader.

“We are finished here, I think your people are rounding up the last survivors to execute them”

“Delightful”

“Although there is one problem…”- Yeonjung teared her gaze away from the newcomer and focused again on the destructed building in front of her -“The little girl… she escaped along with the director’s bodyguards and a couple of trainees”

“I knew it was weird for that old bastard to be running around unprotected…”- The other woman muttered, anger clearly showing on her features -“He saw it coming”

“Leader Jihyo! This one is the last, should we move them now?”- They were interrupted by a couple of uniformed soldiers. The brought with them a bloody girl that was almost disfigured who was still trying to fight their hold on her. Once she finally stopped she looked at them and snarled, showing her bloodstained teeth.

“This one looks… interesting, mind if I keep it?”- Yeonjung was the first one to talk.

“What? Did you get tired of your last plaything already?”- Jihyo didn’t look surprised at all, probably since it was a common occurrence for Yeonjung to change her source of amusement from time to time.

“You know me well, besides, this one looks feisty.”

“I don’t mind then…”-Jihyo didn’t wait to answer and turned to address the waiting soldiers- “you two, move the rest of the prisoners to the outskirts and execute them. Make sure you stay away from prying eyes”

“Yes ma’am”- The soldiers dropped the injured girl in the ground unceremoniously and turned around to start marching, Jihyo followed them shortly after.

“I’ll see you around then Yeonjung”- Yeonjung just nodded at Jihyo’s farewell. Once her counterpart was gone, she turned around and motioned for the bloody girl to follow her.

“You, follow me”

She started walking to her car when she noticed that her captive wasn’t following.

“Do you want me to just kill you on the spot? Because I can do that if you want”- This was enough to intimidate the girl into following her for the sake of her survival- “Good girl”

They drive until they reach what looked like a twenty storey building. Yeonjung drove inside the garage and that’s when both of them got down, heading towards an elevator. The place was silent and there were no other cars parked inside, which seemed a little odd to the wounded girl.

The elevator came down and both got into it. Yeonjung pressed the 18th floor button and didn’t say a word until the metal doors opened again. They entered a luxurious suite, adorned with everything, from giant grandfather clocks to gold ornamented curtains.

Yeonjung motions for the girl to stay where she is while she enters a room, coming back shortly after with a change of clothes.

“I’ll give you these, you’ll be free to use this place to bathe, eat and rest for as much as you like”- Her kindness was weird to the girl, but she welcomed it wholeheartedly- “However…”

She knew this was too good to be true.

“I know you, and I know your friend Chaeyeon escaped. I might know where she is and I know who accompanies her. I have no interest in killing your friends right now. I’ll need them in the future, so I need you to act as my informant, they trust you, right?”- The mention of her friends was enough to rile up