After Mina and Sana's departure

'How do we know for sure that this would work?' Jihyo asked Joohyun as they walked to the lab. 

'I have brewed a small vial worth of power inducing potion just to test.'

'Does someone have to ingest it?' 

'Not at all. I have a rat as a test subject.' 

Jihyo visibly let out a breath of relief. 

'Don't worry.' Nayeon ran a hand down Jihyo's back and beamed.

Joohyun pressed a button and the doors slid open. It wasn't what Jihyo was expecting to see at all.

'Wow. I thought it would be like a cave with dozens of vials of potions on racks and old books around.'

'Alchemist are not really like the wizards they depict in movies and cartoons. Alchemy has advanced with the world and technology. Modern medicine relies heavily on certain herbs that are used in potions.' Joohyun explained as they walked into a smaller room. 

'Please, put one on.' She passed Nayeon a stack of surgical masks. 'There could be certain particles released that might pose as a harm so it's better to take precautions.' 

They took one and passed it around till everyone has one.

'Let's begin then. This rat has already ingested the power enhancing potion.' Joohyun removed a black cloth covering a transparent glass box. 

Everyone moved a little closer to the box to catch a glimpse of the rat, curious about what it could possibly do. The rat didn't appear to look any different from the common household pest. 

'Watch.' Joohyun poured a glass of water in. The water drenched the confused rat but before it could shake it out of its fur, the water had already gathered into multiple droplets around it. Then all of a sudden, a dark mist began to surround it.

'Darkness and water?' 

'Yes. Now, we administer the counter potion.' Joohyun said and pulled a small device from under the table. Pressing the lone button on the small black box, the sound of a gas being released could be heard. 

The dark mist began to fade away and the water too collected into a puddle on the base of the box.

'Test successful.' The alchemist smiled.

'It must be in a gas form?' Nayeon asked and took off the surgical mask. 

'It could be in either gas or liquid. A gas is of course, easier since the liquid would have to be injected but the gas might affect more than one so it is still better to stick to the injection even if it might be harder to get it into Zafir's bloodstream.'

'I don't think we can get it in on the first try..' Soonkyu pursed her lips.

'Don't worry. I'll make duplicates. A syringe for each of us.' 

'Our chanced will definitely increase.' Tzuyu nodded.

'We'll go with that then.'

'Strawberry tea?' 

'Sure. Thanks.' Jihyo smiled at Nayeon who placed a warm cup into her open hands.

'Whatever happens in the future, I'm sure it will turn out good. The good guys always win.' Nayeon said in an attempt to reassure the troubled girl. 

'I don't know.. Now that we met Zafir, I feel like the end is near. The people are shifting because of the museum threat and one wrong move might cause them to wage another war between humans and mutants. Why can't the two kinds live in peace?' The frustrated girl tousled her hair.

Nayeon was silent and waited for Jihyo to continue. 

'Mina told me about her dream that she had and I think it was a foreshadowing for our current situation. That crazy is a dual power manipulator just like in Mina's dreams and he controls water and earth, the two main things on this planet. If Mina's dream is accurate, we will all die and so will she. The world will become a disaster!' Jihyo almost yelled and she began to hyperventilate. 

'Woah there, calm down.' Nayeon took the tea cup that was shaking so badly in her girlfriend's hand that the content almost spilled out and scalded the younger.

'Hey hey, listen to me.' Nayeon began gently and cupped Jihyo's face with her hand, making the girl look into her eyes.

'You taught me that we can create our own destiny. The future lies in our hands. We can destroy it or make the best out of it so it's not the end of the world. It's a dream and it hasn't even happened yet. The war hasn't started which means we can prevent it. We can prevent all of it.' Nayeon said and Jihyo began to regain her normal composure. 'We can make a difference. Change it to our favour. Right?' 

'Right. That's right.' Jihyo nodded and swallowed the lump in . 

'We'll make our own destiny. All of us.' 

'Thank you Nayeon.' 

'No, thank you for teaching us all of these. We wouldn't be here without you. I think we owe this all to you. Our trainings, our skills.. Without you, none of this would be possible. Don't sell yourself short Jihyo. You play one of the biggest roles in our group.' The older girl smiled. 

Jihyo's eyes began to well up with tears and she began to cry. 

'I know it's hard sometimes. Everyone expects you to have a solution to everything but you aren't any different than us. Still a mutant, not some all-knowing god. It's good to let out your stress sometimes. I know you've been bottling up a lot for our sake.' 

Jihyo was full out sobbing now and Nayeon decided to leave it at that. She pulled the girl into her embrace and her back. The leader's shoulders were slowly reduced to slight shaking and small sniffles could be heard. 

'Feel better?' Nayeon gave Jihyo a tissue. 

'Yes.' She croaked, voice slightly hoarse. Her huge eyes were slightly red a puffy. 

'That's good. Relax a little yeah? We're all here to help if you need us.' The teleporter poked Jihyo's cheek and the girl broke into a little grin.

'What would I do without you guys..' 

'Oh, well.. maybe have a mental breakdown.' Nayeon joked and earned herself a shove on the shoulder. 

'Stupid.' The leader grinned. 

'Stupid for you.'

'I feel like I'm visiting my grandmother's house.' Nayeon suddenly said.

'That's.. really weird considering how they are only a few years older than us.' Jihyo shot the girl a weird look in the midst of browsing through the library books.

'I don't know. Maybe it's because we haven't been here in years so it's kinda like that.. that one relative that you only see every few years?' Nayeon scratched her head. 

'Nice analogy, I get what you mean.' Jihyo laughed and handed Nayeon a book. 

'What are you looking for though?' 

'Energy manipulation books as well as something for Mina and Sana.'

'Mina and Sana?' 

'Fire is a rare affinity and there has never been a case of energy tapping for fire users.'

'But Momo..'

'They were the first. That could literally go down in history books as the first of shared powers. But fire and ice seems harder to combine so I'm looking to see if there's any way to do so.' 

'Ah I see..' The girl nodded and looked around. The library was huge. Bigger than their own with shelves and shelves of books that never seem to end. 

'Do you think they will be okay?'

'I'm sure of it. They have a certain connection though I can't pinpoint what exactly.' 

'Soulmate?'

'Perhaps.' 

Nayeon saw a book at the bottom of the shelf where she was sitting and pulled it out.

'Hey Thomas.' Nayeon said as she flipped through the book.

'What?' Jihyo chuckled slightly at the nickname.

'I think I found what you were looking for.' 

Jihyo turned around and knelt on the floor to check.

'Oh my gosh, you're a genius!' She planted a kiss on Nayeon's cheek.

'Thanks?' The girl giggled, bunny teeth on display.

'C'mon, let's go to the reading room.' Jihyo closed the book and waved her hand, making the pile of books levitate off the ground and follow behind them as they walked to reading room.