"First things first," Yongguk announced, "what we do from here."
 
Yongguk was met with silence.
 
Youngjae stared down at his bowl of bland oatmeal, stirring it sometimes with his spoon. Daehyun's thumb rubbed small circles on Youngjae's knee.
 
What Youngjae wanted to do, though, was curl up into a ball and shut the entire world out––but, he also wanted to make Madame Hyosung pay for everything that she's done.
 
"Despite the report this morning about...her," Zico paused, and glanced at Youngjae for an uneasy moment, "the general public took it as a sign. They're angrier than ever. Ji–– She was the catalyst we needed to get this thing moving."
 
Youngjae stopped stirring his food. So the media's attempt at stamping out the uprising failed. It was far too late for that now, wasn't it?
 
"That's perfect," Yongguk said with a smug grin. "We act tomorrow then."
 
//
 
Youngjae closed his eyes, and he saw Jieun. He took a deep breath, but all he could think about was Jieun––and how it was his fault she was dead.
 
"Hyung?" Youngjae opened his eyes, and found Junhong crouched at Youngjae's eye-level. "Are you okay?"
 
Youngjae swallowed a thick lump in his throat, and he wanted to say he was fine, that he had everything together, but he didn't, so he shook his head.
 
Junhong rocked on his heels for a moment before sitting down next to Youngjae. It was weird how Junhong was so calm about it; he knew Jieun as well––perhaps not as well as Youngjae had, but well enough. It was as if Junhong had accepted it already, but Youngjae wasn't sure if he was ready to do that––not yet.
 
"I'm sorry, hyung," Junhong whispered, wrapping an arm around Youngjae's shoulders. They weren't like Daehyun's––far too thin and bony––and a hint of metal clung to his clothes, but Youngjae welcomed the comfort.
 
"You know," Junhong said, but it was obvious he wasn't expecting an answer because he continued right after, "death is only a temporary state of being until we're reawakened."
 
Youngjae raised an eyebrow, but he didn't question Junhong. If he wanted to get philosophical, Youngjae wasn't going to stop him.
 
"We'll see Jieun again, whether it's in an afterlife or in another form. We'll never know for sure, but I am sure we'll see her again. We just have be patient," Junhong said, leaning his head on Youngjae's own. His tone was hopeful, and Youngjae began feeling that sort of hope seep into his clouded mind. "Jieun won't like it if you're just moping here, hyung. She'll want you to pick yourself up."
 
So that was how Junhong coped with Jieun's death. It was the hope of seeing her again.
 
Youngjae smiled, just a simple tug of the lips, but Junhong caught it, and laughed triumphantly. "See, hyung? Jieun would rather you move on. She'll say it wasn't your fault because she still helped us, even though she knew what we are, and I think that's more admirable than anything we'll ever accomplish."
 
Youngjae took a deep breath. Jieun was still heavy on his mind, but Junhong had lessened that feeling, and he began feeling a little more human again.
 
//
 
It was ten in the morning.
 
New Seoul was bustling with people already.
 
Youngjae peeked out the windshield. These were the people they would be leading against the Republic, and he couldn't help feeling adrenaline spike his blood.
 
"We all know the plan, right?" Yongguk asked, twisting in his seat to face the rest.
 
There was a solemn collective nod among them, but a nod nonetheless. Yongguk took a deep breath, and there was a moment of of hesitation and nervousness in his face, but it was gone in an instant, and he turned around to exit the van.
 
Everybody followed, and they strode with purposeful steps down the sidewalk. It wasn't long before there was a silent crowd following them, but Youngjae knew this was only the beginning. He was a little more than surprised, but he knew he shouldn't be because they'd become known faces to the citizens; Guernica had become the nation's symbol of freedom, their pathway to independence.
 
Yongguk stopped, climbed atop a car, and surveyed the growing crowd and curious onlookers. There were whispers and murmurs, but Yongguk smiled.
 
"Let's get this er started," Yongguk said. Louder, he shouted, "Down with the Republic! the system!"
 
Yongguk pumped a fist into the air, and the crowd did the same, roaring in response.
 
Only a matter of time.
 
The second part of their plan involved Youngjae and Jongup. They looked at each other, and Jongup nodded. Before they parted from the crowd, Youngjae searched for Daehyun, but he was far too occupied in Yongguk's spiel to notice.
 
Without a thought, Youngjae spun Daehyun around, and planted a kiss on his lips. Youngjae sensed the surprise from Daehyun, but when they pulled away, they were both smiling.
 
"I'll see you later," Daehyun said, pressing his forehead to Youngjae's.
 
Youngjae grabbed Daehyun's hand, squeezing, before letting go. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. He didn't want to ruin whatever they were having, in that deafening crowd that was growing louder by the second. Only a matter of time before they started moving, and Youngjae and Jongup needed to get out of there before they were swept with the tide.
 
"See you later," Youngjae muttered before he felt Jongup grab onto his shoulder and pull him away.
 
Youngjae wished he could spend a little more time with Daehyun, but it was fleeting because he needed to get moving.
 
//
 
Youngjae gripped onto Jongup's waist as he sped down the highways to District 1. Several Auxiliary Police vehicles went in the opposite direction of them, and Youngjae knew they were headed to New Seoul; Youngjae hoped the others would be alright. As time passed and more road separated them from New Seoul, Legion trucks rolled past, engines growling.
 
With the way Jongup maneuvered the motorcycle so fluidly in between cars and the way he kept a constant––deathly––speed, it took a little less than an hour to reach the palace. Jongup pulled the motorcycle to a stop. A cobblestone road stretched beyond them and the palace stood at the end, regal and intimidating.
 
"It's beautiful," Youngjae uttered as Jongup began driving down the road.
 
"It is," Jongup agreed. "I came here once before while I was traveling the country."
 
Youngjae couldn't help smiling. That must have been nice.
 
"So, I'll drop you off somewhere in the back of the palace. You got your phone, right?" Jongup asked.
 
Youngjae uttered a response. Yongguk had given him a small phone yesterday with all their contacts and a map of the palace. Once Jongup left, Youngjae would have to navigate through the palace to find the Empress. Afterwards, Youngjae would hide and wait for someone from Block B to pick him up.
 
But that was Yongguk's plan. Youngjae's plan was a little different.
 
Youngjae took a deep breath as Jongup drove on.
 
//
 
Jongup didn't say anything as Youngjae got off the motorcycle. The engine was still running, and Youngjae knew he needed to move before they were noticed.
 
Youngjae turned around to face Jongup, and nodded. Jongup nodded back and smiled, reassuring, and drove off.
 
Youngjae turned around, facing the palace, and began walking. He pulled out his ray gun from behind his back. It wasn't long until he came across a pair of Legion soldiers. Once they saw Youngjae, they grabbed their ray guns, but Youngjae held his hands up. They stared at him with questioning eyes, but they didn't lower their guns.
 
"My name is Yoo Youngjae. I just want to speak to the Empress," Youngjae said. He dropped his ray gun to the floor, the metal making a sharp clink as it hit the ground. He hated feeling so vulnerable, but this was the only way. "Please take me to her."
 
Youngjae stopped walking. He heard his heartbeat pounding in his ears. The soldiers were silent for a long moment, and Youngjae feared they would shoot him, but they didn't; they returned their guns back into their holsters, and grabbed Youngjae, handcuffing him.
 
Youngjae closed his eyes as he was led into the palace.
 
The national seal loomed above Youngjae's head as he walked past an entrance arch, but he didn't miss the Latin phrase, engraved in his mind after years of memorization in school.
 
"Si vis pacem, para bellum," Youngjae muttered to himself, the fluid pronunciation flowing off his tongue. "If you want peace, prepare for war."
 
One of the soldiers behind Youngjae scoffed. "I'm surprised you know that, ing extremist."
 
Youngjae frowned. He was looked down upon just because he was a rebel in their eyes? He was seen as uneducated? Youngjae opened his mouth to reply with something sharp, but he realized he had the exact same attitude before he joined Guernica; he felt a hot rush of blood flood his cheeks, both from anger and shame. That was terrible.
 
//
 
Youngjae tried not to struggle against the soldiers that held his arms in vice-like grips, tried not trip as he kept pace with them. They emerged into a room with a high ceiling, light flooding in from tall windows at all sides, not a single corner engulfed in shadow. Youngjae gawked in awe, until he saw the Empress standing at the end of the room. The national seal, huge and overbearing, could be seen on the wall behind her.
 
"Youngjae," Madame Hyosung said, a smile on her lips. "I never thought you'd come back so willingly."
 
"I'm not here to give myself up," Youngjae replied. The guards stopped a couple feet from her. He tried to shake himself free, but they didn't let up. "I have some questions for you."
 
Madame Hyosung nodded. "Of course."
 
Youngjae took a deep breath. "What is my true purpose for you?"
 
Madame Hyosung was quiet, almost hesitant, before replying. "You're a clone, Youngjae."
 
Youngjae's mouth fell open. A clone? "What?"
 
"You, along with eight others, are part of an on-going experiment documenting the behavioral responses of clones in the field," Madame Hyosung said. "We placed each one of you in a different district, to different households, different families. We tried to make the factors as diverse as possible, but you turned out vastly different than the rest."
 
"How?" Youngjae asked.
 
"You were assigned to a decent middle-class family, grew up to be smarter than any of your other clones, yet you turned against us."
 
Youngjae had to sit down. It was too much to take in. He was a clone. He'd been monitored by the Republic since he was a child. His parents weren't his actual parents. He was a clone.
 
"Is that how I'm able to heal so quickly?" Youngjae questioned. Maybe he had a genetic mutation.
 
Madame Hyosung shook her head. "Once you'd been admitted into the hospital, we injected several thousand nanorobots inside you. By now, the number should have easily reached a million."
 
Youngjae looked up at Madame Hyosung. He didn't know what he looked like at the moment, but he was sure he looked pathetic. "There are robots inside of me right now?"
 
"We wanted to test the effectiveness of nanorobots inside the human body," Madame Hyosung replied. "It'll be the pathway to immortality."
 
"Is that part of the reason why you've kept me alive this long?"
 
"If you were any of the other clones, I'd have disposed of you long ago." Youngjae felt a shiver run down his back. "What we value is your brain, Youngjae. We haven't found a method yet to duplicate your brain exactly as it is like we have with your body, but we're getting there. Once we have, we'll become the leading nation in the world. For now, you're just wasting your intelligence away by parading around with those other extremists, Youngjae. Stay with us, and you'll have a world of luxury right at your fingertips."
 
"At the price of constant experimentation," Youngjae spat out. "I'd rather not, thanks."
 
"Alright," Madame Hyosung said.
 
Youngjae blinked. Alright? How was it simply alright?
 
"Bring me Zelo," Madame Hyosung ordered to one of the soldiers holding Youngjae.
 
Who was Zelo? What was Zelo?
 
A few silent minutes passed as the other soldier went to fetch Zelo––whoever or whatever it was. Youngjae waited in anticipation, felt his stomach churn. What did this Zelo person––thing?––have to do with the situation?
 
The sound of footsteps, two pairs, echoed throughout the room, and Youngjae strained to look, but the soldier held him fast, preventing much movement.
 
When Youngjae saw a familiar head of hair, those gangly arms and long legs, he felt his stomach drop.
 
"Junhong?" Youngjae called out. No, that was impossible. Junhong was supposed to be in New Seoul with everybody else.
 
Yet... There he was.
 
Junhong walked right past Youngjae, completely ignoring the older. He went to stand beside Madame Hyosung, practically dwarfing her. Junhong was Zelo. Had he been working under Madame Hyosung the entire time? Youngjae stared helplessly from Madame Hyosung to Junhong.
 
"Junhong?" Youngjae asked, his voice low and scared and small. "Why?"
 
A look of guilt flashed across Junhong's face, betraying his cold facade, but he blinked, and the guilt was gone.
 
Madame Hyosung glanced at Junhong in the corner of her eye, never turning her head away from Youngjae. "'Junhong'? Zelo, you let them rename you?"
 
"No, ma'am," Junhong replied, his voice small. "I took an alias so they wouldn't suspect."
 
Madame Hyosung smiled. "Good job."
 
"Junhong?!" Youngjae exclaimed, fighting against the soldier in vain. "Junhong, what are you doing?"
 
"Why don't you tell him, Zelo?" Madame Hyosung said, gesturing to Youngjae with a single hand. "Explain to him what you are."
 
Junhong opened his mouth, paused as if trying to formulate the words, but when he spoke, his voice came out awkward and formal. "Hello. I am Zelo, a fifth generation RX-600 autonomous android tailored to meet your every need."
 
Youngjae gaped. An android. Junhong was an autonomous android. He didn't need any program to tell him what to do. He was practically human.
 
Then, Youngjae realized something.
 
"I don't remember seeing an...android like Junhong on the market," Youngjae said. He hesitated as he uttered android; he couldn't consider Junhong anything like that.
 
Madame Hyosung smiled smugly. "That's because he wasn't. He was a private model made specifically for me."
 
That part... Youngjae wasn't surprised. Of course she'd have an android made for her.
 
"Zelo is derived from Zelus," Madame Hyosung continued. "The ancient Greek personification of zeal, dedication, passion. Isn't that right, Zelo?"
 
"Yes, ma'am," Junhong replied, stiff beside Madame Hyosung.
 
Madame Hyosung clapped her hands once, the sound bouncing off the high walls. "Go get a ray gun, Zelo."
 
Junhong obeyed, walking up to a soldier and taking the ray gun from its holster. He turned back to Madame Hyosung and offered it to her, but she shook her head.
 
"Shoot Youngjae," Madame Hyosung ordered instead. "Prove your loyalty to me once again, Zelo."
 
A deathly silence befell the room as Junhong turned around, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the ray gun. He strode towards Youngjae with slow, calculated steps, and Youngjae stared at Junhong, eyes wide and pleas running through his mind.
 
Why would Madame Hyosung do that, though? She just said she needed Youngjae. What was she doing? What was she thinking?
 
"Junhong, don't. Please," Youngjae whimpered as Junhong grew closer. "Junhong..."
 
Junhong didn't seem to be listening. He pressed the ray gun to Youngjae's forehead, the cold barrel sending shivers down Youngjae's spine. He took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable; never did he think he'd die like this, by Junhong's hand.
 
Junhong closed his eyes, letting out a breath. When he opened his eyes, Youngjae almost couldn't believe the sadness in them. If Junhong could have, Youngjae believed he'd be crying.
 
"Close your eyes, hyung," Junhong whispered.
 
Youngjae refused. He stared defiantly into Junhong's eyes, as if daring him to pull the trigger.
 
Junhong's finger inched toward the trigger, and Youngjae braced himself.
 
In an instant, Junhong shot the guard holding Youngjae, and spun around to shoot a laser through the other soldier's head. As both soldiers fell to the ground, Junhong grabbed a key from one of the Legion soldiers, and unlocked the handcuffs around Youngjae's wrists. He took Youngjae's arm, tugging him out of the room, and Youngjae tried to figure just what exactly was happening.
 
Before they headed out of the room, Youngjae glanced behind him to see Madame Hyosung, but nobody was there.
 
"What about Madame Hyosung?" Youngjae asked. Junhong had the perfect opportunity to kill her, but he didn't. "Why didn't you shoot her?"
 
"That was a hologram. She wasn't actually in there," Junhong replied. He was fast, and Youngjae, despite his training, struggled to keep up with the pace. "We gotta get out of here, hyung."
 
Youngjae let Junhong guide him through the palace. A squad of soldiers rounded the corner, and Junhong raised the ray gun in his hand, not an ounce of hesitation when he shot soldier after soldier to the ground.
 
"Damned rebels," a soldier said as he shot at Junhong.
 
A laser flew straight past Junhong, grazing his arm, but he continued shooting. Youngjae picked up a stray ray gun from the ground, and began shooting from behind Junhong.
 
Soon, they were running again.

A/N: Hey I got busy with school but it ends next week so I can focus on this without feeling guilty.

Man this looks dumb, but this is what the national seal kinda looks like, based off the military seal of Ancient Rome because the Republic itself is based off the Ancient Roman Empire (e.g: Republic, Legion, Auxiliary, Empress, an autocratic government). Also, those ray guns are My Chemical Romance's Danger Days/Killjoys ray gun and all that fancy stuff.

Nerd alert coming up. Okay, so I feel like the following should be explained in the story rather than in here, but I don't think I'll be able to get to it again unless a miracle happens and I find the perfect opportunity to squeeze it in. Anyway, "Si vis pacem, para bellum" ("If you want peace, prepare for war") means enemies will be less likely to attack you if you look ready and strong, or citizens will be less likely to want to overthrow their government.

If you're having trouble grasping it, don't worry, I got you. I didn't get it at first either. It works something like this: imagine you're a thief looking to rob a house. You find two houses, both have a ton of things you could steal, but there's a difference. House 1 has a body-building couple that will beat you to a pulp if they catch you, but House 2 has an elderly couple that you can easily outrun or kill. You'd pick House 2, wouldn't you? Again, those with strength will be less likely to be attacked, or in this example, robbed. The whole concept of the Republic is for it to appear strong to both any outside threats and its citizens, and that's why that phrase is on the seal.

Ugh sorry for the awkwardness of this. It might as well be an essay.

Quote credit:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum" ("If you want peace, prepare for war") -Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De Re Militari (Concerning Military Matters)

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