A young girl walks down the halls of their HQs as her ponytail sways from side to side. It’s time for her to go home, hopefully without DC seeing her. DC is the nickname for the new recruit that just joined their ranks, short for drill captain. Her ruthless approach to her enemies earned her the title of captain just three months after joining. Currently she’s training the recruits, or at least her version of training. Passing by the training room, she frowns at the silence and presses her ear against the door, concentrating on any sound at all.

Katydid frowns deeper, pressing her ear closer to the door. “Don’t tell me they died inside.” Concern getting the better of her, she puts her hand on the knob, turns and pushes the door open. She sighs at the scene before her. Sitting on the mat with her hands and feet bounded together and gagged is Alice, a girl too innocent and sweet to join their brutal ranks. “Are you okay, Alice? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Katy! I don’t want to do this anymore!” Alice cries, hugging the girl’s legs as soon as she’s free. “She’s horrible!” Her brown hair has gotten darker since she saw Katydid in the morning, wet from sweat and water. She turns her brown eyes up towards Katydid, begging for help.

“You did sign up for this. You can’t blame anyone else.” Katydid replies as she looks down at the tired girl with warm hazel eyes.

“I signed up for the job, but not to get beaten up, bound and gagged! It’s torture!” Alice whines. “She’s going to end up killing me with her intense training.”

“Well…she is the queen of torture, that’s DC. No one can escape her clutches when she starts training. Just be happy you’re not one of her enemies.” Katydid comforts. “Just go along with her and do your best. Remember, never question her or talk back. She’ll do worse if you do.”

“I don’t wanna die!”

The door opens with a loud bang, an irritated DC standing at the door looking like she’s on PMS or…

“Who stole my…” She growls angrily, looking up at Alice and Katydid, her eyes practically glowing red with rage. “WHO STOLE MY SOAP SCULPTURE OF JOON?! I’LL FIND YOU AND WHEN I DO, I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND DUMP YOU IN HOT, SCORCHING, BOILING OIL AND FRY YOU TO DEATH!”

“What soap sculpture?” Alice asks, frowning and hiding behind Katydid. “I DID NOTHING!”A thought enters her mind. “You have a sculpture made of soap?”

“Are you okay DC?” Katydid asks. She knows how the other treasures the little soap sculpture. “Are you sure you didn’t put it somewhere and forgot about it?”

“Of course not! I remember putting it in my room. I put it in a box and hid it in a safe place. It can’t be lost!”

“Perhaps you put it someplace so safe that you forgot what it is.” Katydid pats DC’s back. “Don’t worry. It’ll show up soon.” Katydid smiles in comfort and walks out. “Night! Bye!”

“Are you going to be okay?” Alice asks. She gulps nervously at the intense glare throw towards her. She tackles the girl’s leg and hugs it tight. “I really didn’t take it, honest! I don’t even know where your room or where the room you put the sculpture is.”

“True…” DC turns the thought in her head. “Okay then.” She replies with a smile. “Let’s go eat dinner.” She grabs Alice by the arm and pulls her out the training room as if she didn’t try to kill Alice hours ago or tied her up in a really painful position for three hours. “I’m Ding MyHanh.” She frowns at the confused look on Alice’s face.

“Can I call you Hannah instead?”

“Why?”

“That’s better than calling you Dingle right?”

“I have a name you know.”

“But it’s hard to remember.” Alice whines, pouting. “Can I call you something else?”

“F…fine… Call me Hannah then…” DC frowns and turns away. It’s either the training broke her brain or Alice is using her discomfort as revenge. ‘Maybe I’ll become less evil if I hang out with them…’ A thought enters her head. ‘Maybe not…Katydid sort of like me too.’ She pulls away from Alice’s tight hug and pulls her towards the kitchen. ‘She has a strong grip.’ A smile appears on her face. ‘This is good to know…’

“Are we the only ones?” Alice asks, sipping her soup. “How are we going to do this?”

“I don’t know.” Hannah munches on her sandwich, tearing it apart with her teeth, something she wants to do to the one who took her Joon soap, except it’s with her bare hands and not with her teeth cause that would be yucky. “I think there are at least five of us.” She shrugs indifferently. “I wasn’t told how many of us there are.”

“Are they trained? Or will they train with us?” Alice asks absentmindedly.

“With you.”

“Hm?”

“Train with you.” Hannah repeats. “I’m trained enough. Besides, I can’t get training without a partner. I need someone to spar with and you need to get to where I am first.”

“I don’t think I can get to where you are.” Alice mumbles. ‘It’s like your life goal is to torture and torment.’ She glances at the girl, thinking back to the brutal training. ‘But…seeing you like this makes me think you have two different sides of you.’

“You will. You just need practice.”

“Um…excuse me.” A girl calls out shyly, walking over with a tray of food. “Can I sit here?” Her raven black hair is tied into a ponytail except for the two strands on the either side of her face. Her eyes make the two girls think of Frosty’s, they were dark, like an abyss.

“Yeah, sure.”

“That’s fine with us.” Alice moves over for the girl.

The kitchen and the dining area resemble a miniature cafeteria, with five tables and six chairs each. The open kitchen is separated by a waist height wall and a glass panel on the top half, reaching to the ceiling. It’s large enough for three people to move around freely.

“I’m Alice Morgan, this is Hannah Ding. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kai Ishimura.”

“Are you Japanese?” Hannah asks with a confused look.

“Do I look Japanese?” Kai asks. “No one ever said that to be before.” She leans back when Hannah leans dangerously close to her face.

“Hm…you look a little bit Asian.” Hannah pulls back. “You’re just really tanned.”

“I do?” Kai smiles happily. “Really?”

“I won’t go easy on you then.”

“Hannah here is our trainer.” Alice explains. “I feel like she’s trying to kill me though.”

“What? Why?” Kai asks, a little nervous.

“She left me bound and gagged for three hours.”

“I told you, you were supposed to get out of those binds yourself.” Hannah reasons. “How are you going to be able to protect yourself if you can’t get out of those ropes?”

“How was I supposed to free myself?” Alice screams. “The ropes were too tight!”

“You could have cut yourself free.”

“Well I would have except you took away everything!”

“Um…you could hide pins in your hair or razors in the sole of your boots.” Kai suggests.

“Really?” Alice eyes lights up.

“Hm…I didn’t think of that.” Hannah says, taking in the new information. “I’ll remember that for the next time when I tie you up.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Kai challenges with a smile.

Hanna smirks at the challenge. “Why don’t we start after the meal?”

“Anytime you’re ready, I’ll be there.”

Alice frowns at the look on Hannah’s face, not liking it at all. It’s the same look when the other told her to sit on the floor before she tied her up. Quickly finishing her meal, Alice tries to sneak away, failing when Hannah grabs her wrists.

“Where are you going? I hope you’re not planning to escape.”

“I’m just going to…”

“If you escape, it’s going AWOL. You’ll have to face punishment.” Hannah warns, her eyes never leaving Kai’s smiling face. “Let’s go, shall we?”

“Let’s.” Kai finishes her drink and drops the dirty plate into the garbage, putting the plastic tray on top. “Just so you know…there’s more than meets the eye.”

Walking towards the training room, Hannah grins evilly at the ideas in her head. She’ll make this girl, Kai, beg her for forgiveness and beg her for mercy. Entering the room, the three girls spots Katydid waiting for them.

“Hey, I need Alice for a bit.” Katydid says, standing up and straighten her pants. “I’ll return her as soon as possible.”

“What for?”

“There is a mix up at the office. She needs special training.” Katydid smiles at the drill instructor standing in front of her. “After she’s up to date with her training, I’ll return her to you.”

“Fine.” Hannah releases Alice’s wrist. “Take her, but I’m in charge of torture. Don’t take my job from me or else…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t dream of it.” Katydid leads Alice out of the room and down the hall. “You okay?”

“I thought my hand will fall off.” Alice rubs her slightly purple hand with a frown. “Are you sure she’s our trainer? Did you find her in some mental institute or something?”

“She’s really dedicated to her work. Her private life and professional life are separated by her personality.  She’s serious and almost sadistic when on duty. When she’s off, she’s a real fun person to be around. You’ve just met, just give her a chance.”

“She was friendly during our meal.” Alice frowns. “Until Kai showed up.”

“Kai’s nice. She’s in charge of explosives so you’ll be spend some time with her. She’s experienced so you will be about to learn a lot from her.”

“Is that why it seemed like Hannah sees her as a threat or something? Kai even challenged her to training.” Alice frowns at the silence. “Where exactly are we going?”

“I’m taking you up to your room.” Katydid says. “It’s on the ninth floor. The building has twenty floors and the only the ninth is made for bedrooms.”

“It is? Why?”

“You’ll see.” Katydid pulls out a necklace with a heart shaped pendant. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Alice opens the locket and finds two photos, hers and Seungho’s. “Kyaaaaa!” She screams, causing Katydid to back away. “This is…”

“That’s your key, don’t lose it.”

“What?” Alice blinks confusedly at the girl’s words.

“Every agent has a locket as the key to her room and the facilities around here. The locket serves as the pass and will allow you to enter the training rooms. They all have a code programmed into them and will only allow you into rooms that is deems safe for your level of skills.”

Alice rubs her thumb over the back of the locket where the words “Seungho and Alice 4ever” are engraved into it. “I love it. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Katydid stops at the door. “Here’s your room.” She opens the door for Alice. “Remember to program the room code into your locket here.” She pulls out a key and puts it into the outside knob’s keyhole. The inside knob clicks and opens up, splitting up in the center. “Put your locket in here and you’ll register the room as yours.”

Alice puts the locket it, frowning at the soft click and the locket being pushed out. “Is it working? The locket got pushed out.”

“It only takes a second.”

“Alice Morgan, welcome to your room.” A voice says.

“Seungho?” Alice turns to see Yang Seungho standing in the middle of her room, wearing absolutely nothing.

Katydid backs up, closes her eyes, covers her ears and gets ready, expecting Alice to scream again. She frowns at the silence. “Alice?” She reaches her hand towards the girl. “Alice?” She flinches when the other begins to fall forward and catches her in time.

“Is she alright?” Seungho asks, tilting his head innocently. “Is she sick?”

“No, she’s not.” Katydid helps the girl into her bed. “She’ll be in your care from this moment on. Please treat her as you would treat me. She’s a big fan.”

“Of course. I will treat her with the utmost respect. She’ll be my little princess.”

“Yeah, well…don’t do anything stupid or scandalous.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Dinner is at eight. Tell her that when she wakes up. If she’s not up by then, wake her up.” Katydid frowns at the unconscious girl. “And try not to scare her again.”

“Am I scary?”

“I think it’s because you’re not wearing anything.”

“I don’t like wearing clothes. It’s too restricting.”

“Stop it and put something on.” Katydid pulls out a USB stick. “All her information is in here. If you need anything else, just ask her.”

“I’ll look over it as soon as possible.” Katydid walks over to the computer, pressing a few keys and making clothes appear for the other, a shirt and a pair of pants. “Here.”

“I don’t like wearing those.” He replies with a frown.

“You’ll give her a heart attack if you don’t.”

“Fine.” He grabs the sweat pants with a pout and pulls them on.

“Boxers first.” Katydid scolds with a frown.

He pulls the pants on and spreads his arms out. “There, you happy?” He frowns at the tightness of the sweat pants.

“I’m going.” She walks to the door and puts her hand on the door, ready to leave. “Why are you so upset? Normal people wear clothes.”

“But I’m not normal.” He reasons.

“Don’t say that. You’re better than anyone else. To others, you are nothing, but to me, you are everything.” She comforts. “And to Alice, you’ll be the best partner she can ever ask for.” She closest the door and walks down the hall, disappearing through a hidden passageway only she knows about.