"NOVICE DETECTED. NOVICE DETECTED," Chen's voice booms urgently and repeatedly over the intercom. It's the next day and we're all asleep. Well, except me. I rush out of the room.

"What's happening?" I ask, lookout around. Everyone is out of their bedrooms already.

"Kris! I think it's your novice!" Chen announces excitedly over the intercom.

"Finally!" Kris gasps, literally flying down the stairs.

"I don't understand," I say confusedly.

"Chen's detected an unharnessed power!" Jade informs me. "It was like this last time when he found you too!"

"Ah, good, a newbie for me to bully!" Xiumin jokes, chuckling.

"Hey, leave some for me too!" I add.

"Lay, Luhan and Tao, rooftop immediately," Kris' voice says curtly over the speakers. They jump to action instantly, Tao stopping time so they have enough time to get ready. Everyone except Lay, Luhan, Tao and me are frozen in time and I stand there like an idiot among the frenzy. Tao tries to catch my eye but I avoid his gaze and I hurry into Lay and Luhan's room. Sehun's image is frozen on the screen and I muffle a yelp and turn off the monitor hurriedly, lest someone sees him.

"We're off!" Lay yells while Tao unstops time. I bound out of the room.

"Bye!" I wave. Jade is awkwardly trying to say goodbye. In the end they part with a hug and the three of them run up the stairs.

Elise strolls out of her bedroom leisurely just as Chen returns from his lair downstairs.

"What's happened?" Elise asks Xiumin, who's still standing there.

"Chen found the last novice!" he tells her excitedly. Elise looks stunned.

"The last novice? Really?" she says interestedly.

"Yeah! Finally!"

"That's so awesome," she smiles sweetly. It's so fake but Xiumin believes it. I roll my eyes and go back into Lay and Luhan's room, locking the door behind me.

"They'll be gone for at least a few hours," Jade sighs, stretching on Lay's bed. I raise an eyebrow.

"Did you spend the night with Lay?"

"What? No, no I didn't," she blushes. I nod and turn on Luhan's monitor. Sehun's gone off the video call and logged off already. I almost turn off his monitor again when his IM notification's flashing catches my attention. It's from Sehun. Curious, I click it to see a bunch of messages. I'm reading them before I can stop myself and I find myself growing cold at his messages.

Lulu where you this urgent

novice chen detected is k prisoner I helped her escape

they found out she gone but shouldnt have so early

therefore theres traitor in exo m be careful

only trust lay jade adrienne wufan no one else

they coming to attack both base and retrieve team

secret weapon mamanium absorb powers

DO NOT LET THEM MAKE YOU BLEED OR YOU WILL LOSE POWERS FOREVER

TELL WUFAN

theyre coming now

He's logged off.

'only trust lay jade adrienne wufan'. I feel so honoured he trusts me even though we've just been reunited, sort of, a few days ago. And I trust him too. And as Lay's gone... the only person I can trust is Jade. But Wufan...

"Jade..." I choke. "Come see this..." she crawls over curiously and reads Sehun's messages over my shoulder.

"..." she breathes. "We're in huge trouble."

"If they're attacking both the retrieve team and the base... we need to warn them," I realise in alarm.

"But we can't trust anyone here but ourselves... but Lay and the rest of them are walking right into a trap!" Jade cries.

"They can take care of themselves... but they don't know about EXO-K's secret weapon! What's it called again--- mamanium?"

"If they lose their powers---" she falters. We stare at each other. The results would be disastrous to say the least but neither of us dare to voice that out.

"How about... how about we worry about here first... I mean, only Xiumin and Chen are here and the rest of us are just novices... not to mention there's at least one traitor among us!"

"Oh how I wish I know who it is...!" Jade mutters in despair. "And who the hell is Wufan!"

"I know who he is... but why did Sehun mention him?" I mutter, half to myself.

"Who's Wufan?"

"Sehun's half-brother. My cousin."

"Another one? How many cousins with powers do you have?"

"I don't even know if Wufan has powers. Why did Sehun mention him," I groan. "Nobody's seen him in years."

"Why?"

"Long story short, Wufan's mother found out that their father was having an affair with Sehun's mother--- at that time Sehun was just born--- so she took Wufan and ran away. No one's heard of them since. So Sehun's actually not that related to me, at least by blood."

"But now that Sehun's telling us to trust Wufan..."

"Which means that they know each other," I finish. "Exactly."

"And there's a huge possibility that Wufan's one of us," Jade adds.

"But we don't know who," I sigh. "A chance to reunite with my long-lost cousin who's right under my nose but I don't know who he is..." I just hope he's not Tao, I add silently.

"Is there some sort of communication system between their plane and the base here?"I ask suddenly.

"Yes, I think so... in Chen's lair..." we look at each other. We don't need words to know what the other's thinking.

"No," she shakes her head. "Too risky. What if Chen's the traitor?"

"What if he isn't?" I argue. "What if he's really on our side? We need his help."

"But just suppose he is the traitor and we ask him. He'll kill us or something, then what?"

"Whoever said anything about asking him?" I deadpan. She stares at me.

"You're insane. How will you even---"

"Which is why I need two people to make this work. I can't do this alone, Jade," I say grimly.

"No. No, we can't---"

"It's either that or wait for them to kill us,"I interrupt. "I don't know about you but I'm sure as hell not gonna be a sitting duck."

"Neither am I, but---"

"Or I've got a third idea: corner him, ask him and if he's really the traitor, knock him unconscious and stuff him into a hole."

"That's the worst idea ever."

"You got a better idea?" I don't mean to challenge her and we're running out of time. "The worst part is I can't stop time because I'll affect the retrieve team and I haven't mastered the time bubble yet."

"Time bubble?"

"It basically means the little area that your time manipulation affects," I explain. "Or it affects the whole world all at once."

"We gotta move then," Jade says, determined all of a sudden. "We have to warn Lay." Trust her to worry only about Lay.

"Alright. So here's the plan."

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woohooo~~ some action again!!! :DDD Wufan is related to Adrienne. But she doesn't know who he is. Yet. Need I say more? ;D

I'VE BEEN FEELING MEAN RECENTLY. so be prepared. muahahahahhahahaaaaaa

and after last chapter I am never ever writing ever again ._.