After the longest and most uncomfortable ride of their lives, Hansol and Byungjoo were roughly pulled from the back of the van.  Black bags were placed over their heads and Hansol could feel a rifle poking him in his back, pushing him forward.  He tried to keep his nerves under control, but his hands were still sweaty and shaking despite his best efforts.  Soon he heard the sound of a door closing and then the bag was finally removed from his head, revealing a small, windowless room.  The room had a foul smell; Hansol couldn’t identify its source, and he was almost sure that he didn’t want to.  He was alone, except for the guard who refused to lower his rifle.  He had no idea what they had done with Byungjoo… he could only hope for the best.

Minutes passed before a man in a white lab coat rushed into the room… a man Hansol thought he’d never see again.  Taeil… the scientist from Blockbuster.

“Y-you, what are you doing here!? How are you out of prison!?” Hansol demanded.  The solitary light in the room began to flicker from Hansol’s emotional outburst, causing the guard to shove the rifle in his face.

“Calm down freak!”

“Now, now, that won’t be necessary.  I’m sure Mr. Kim will cooperate and won’t cause any trouble,” Taeil said softly.  The guard reluctantly backed away, but he kept his aim.

“Answer my question… now,” Hansol ordered again, this time his tone was much darker.

“I was given a full pardon by our wonderful new President!  Now I’m in charge of the Sacramento Separation Community.  Oh and I was given the distinct honor of presenting you with this,” Taeil replied, revealing a metallic collar.  Hansol’s heart dropped; that was just like the neutralizer collar Hyeontae invented, although it had some noticeable changes.  Taeil secured the collar around Hansol’s neck and pressed a button on the remote in his other hand.  Hansol screamed as an intense electrical shock coursed through his body.  He felt his energy draining away and the snowy white color of his hair faded into a dark black.

“W-what have you done?” Hansol muttered.  He had seen the collar in action before, but it didn’t seem to affect Sohee in the same way it was affecting him.

“These modified collars dampen supernatural traits at the cellular level. Rather than just blocking them, it practically removes them entirely!” Taeil excitedly said.  The guard finally lowered his weapon, and his face twisted into a sick grin.  Hansol felt weaker than he ever had before; was that how Hojoon felt when he briefly lost his powers?

Taeil and the guard escorted Hansol out of the small room and into a larger space that resembled a garage.  He was somewhat relieved to see the other members of the order there, but his relief faded when he noticed that all of them were wearing collars too.

Xero ran over to him and pulled him into a hug.  Hansol had never seen him with black hair before, and the sight was somewhat shocking.

“Are you okay? Where’s Byungjoo? They didn’t hurt you did they? I swear of those sons of es even touched you I’ll…”

“Xero relax, I’m fine… well mostly,” Hansol replied, poking at the collar.  He noticed that Yano was uncharacteristically silent, and that he had a bandage covering his right eye.  Before Hansol could question him, two more guards pushed Byungjoo into the room.  Hansol braced himself as Byungjoo collapsed into his arms with tears steaming down his face.

“They took my magic away!  It’s gone hyung… I feel so empty so, so…”

“Powerless,” Hojoon said softly.  Taeil cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Now that you’re all here, I’d like to officially welcome you to the Sacramento Separation Community.  You all are the first new residents!  Beyond that door is a section of the city that was old, run down and just plain unappealing.  Now it’s been surrounded by a giant electrical fence and heavy duty military weaponry.  Welcome to your new home children,”

“There’s no way the public will stand for this!” Sehyuk shouted.

“The public will be none the wiser. No one can see past the fence and helicopters in this airspace have been strictly prohibited by Presidential authority.  Any attempts to escape will be met with deadly force.  Food will be supplied once every 48 hours and water every 16, understood?” Taeil said, motioning for one of the guards to open the door.  The wall slid open, revealing sixteen blocks of Sacramento, surrounded by the biggest fence Hansol had ever seen.

“He wasn’t kidding… this is insane,” Kidoh mumbled as they were forced out into the street.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” One of the guards said as he stepped back inside and the wall closed behind him.

“Is this really happening right now!?” Gohn shouted.  Seogoong tired to comfort him but it didn’t work.

“So… we’re coming up with some kind of plan right?  There’s no way we’re gonna just take this,” Jiwon wondered aloud.

“For once, I actually agree with him,” Jenissi said.

“How are we supposed to escape!? He have no powers!  We’re sitting ducks!” Byungjoo shrieked, his voice cracking.  Yano sat down on the sidewalk in front of what used to be a hair salon.

“I don’t even want to escape,” he said quietly.  Hansol crouched down next to him.

“What happened Yano?”

Yano tensed up a bit before letting out a sigh.

“My sister… She was a lioness and didn’t know it.  The stress from the guys busting into our house triggered her transformation and they… they… they killed her Hansol.  She’s gone,” tears immediately began to flow from his uncovered eye as he spoke.   Hansol couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yano I…”

“I managed to take out two of them before one shot me in the face… I didn’t even have to transform to snap them in half,”

“You killed them!? But Yano, we don’t kill!  It’s our rule!”

“It’s YOUR rule Hansol!  And it’s a bull rule!  THEY KILLED MY SISTER.  They deserved to die!”  Yano screamed.  Hansol and the other members of the Order just stared in stunned silence.  Jenissi hugged Yano tightly as he started to sob hysterically.  It was at that moment that a grim realization settled in Hansol’s mind… This was a war, and if they wanted to emerge victorious, then they’d have to step outside of their comfort zones and fight harder than ever before…