Tzuyu wasn't scared. She was annoyed. Why did they have to be stranded in a sketchy forest that supposedly makes you hallucinate as if they were on psychedelics when they had more important matters at hand. They had to practice, get rest, monitor the happenings in the city and make sure they snuff out any threats to prevent the image of mutants from being tarnished.

She scowled at her surroundings. There was no way she could find her way out of this place. Or maybe.. 

Tzuyu knelt on the floor and placed her palm on the ground. She could feel the ground water flowing beneath the layer of soil and dirt. If she follows the direction of flow, she should arrive at a stream then she could follow the stream out of this place. She stood up and brushed her knees and hands with a smug smile on her face.

Tzuyu ah, you're such a genius, the girl nodded in satisfaction and gave herself a mental pat on the back as she began walking. 

The hydrokinetic had expected to get some weird images but there was nothing. 

'Is this even legit. Maybe Jihyo unnie got the wrong forest.' She scoffed. 

True enough, she reached a small creek without any incident. The sound of the flowing water was soothing to her mind and Tzuyu actually felt relaxed which was almost impossible due to the happenings in the past few weeks.

She walked with the flow of water, letting her worries temporarily leave her mind and focused on the chirping of birds instead. It was surprising that the water hadn't frozen yet but it was a good thing or she probably wouldn't be able to find her way. 

Tzuyu must have covered at least 600 feet when things started to go wrong. 

There was a figure that was standing in the middle of the creek, staring down at the water and unmoving. The sight screamed at Tzuyu to nope her way out of there before that thing noticed her presence because if there was anything she learnt from playing all those horror games, it was to never go near a unknown figure that isn't moving and appeared out of nowhere. 

Before she could tiptoe away silently, the figure turned to look at her and Tzuyu swore her heart almost stopped beating. The figure seemed to move like the flash, moving to stand in front of Tzuyu in the blink of an eye, causing the girl to back pedal in shock.

'Why are you here on my property?' The figure asked in a scratchy voice that seemed to grate against Tzuyu's eardrums. How unpleasant.

'I'm just lost. Sorry, didn't mean to trespass.' Tzuyu raised her hands with open palms in surrender to show she didn't mean any harm. 

'Why are you here in this country's land? You don't hail from this place.' It spat. The figure was hazy up close and seemed distorted, like it couldn't stay in the same state. There was no clear indication of its gender either so the girl decided to be careful. Pronouns are important. 

'I'm here on an exchange program and my car crashed so I landed up in here. I just want to follow this stream of water down and out of this place so I can go home and not bother you. Don't mind if I do.' Tzuyu said and tried to sidestep away but the thing blocked her. 

'Who do you think you are to come and go as you wish?' 

'I said I'm lost and I'm sorry.' Tzuyu reasoned and tried to side step again only to be blocked. 

'What kind of attitude are you showing?'

'I'm not giving any attitude.' Tzuyu groaned. 

'Your tone is making me annoyed.' 

'You are making me annoyed. Blocking my way and when I'm trying to be nice and get out of your sight as fast as I can.' Tzuyu breathed. She was reaching the end of her tether. Her annoyance was bubbling at how incomprehensible the thing was acting, picking a problem with tiny things. 

'How dare you trespass this property and talk back to me when you are a foreigner!' It hissed.

'Who are you anyway to be talking as if you are some kinda leader? I said I'm leaving so why are you getting so sensitive and upset over such a trivial matter?' Tzuyu cocked an eyebrow with sass. It was times like this where she really appreciated her savageness.

'You imbecile!' It screeched and Tzuyu's eardrums almost shattered from the uncomfortably high pitch as it exploded into black dust.

'What the ?' She exclaimed, bewildered by what just happened. That must be a hallucination. No way someone could get so angry that they explode and there was absolutely no way anyone could even exist in some kind of misty, ghostly form without any face. 

She resumed walking down the creek but increased her pace lest the thing reappeared to get her. She stepped into the water, shoes squishing in the muddy ground and raised a small tide of water that was flowing and surfed down the stream. 

Just when she thought she saw the edge of the woods, a large force collided with her left and she was knocked off her wave, sending the water splashing all over. Gripping her left arm which was in pain, she sat up and looked around to see what had hit her and let out a groan when her eyes landed upon a shadowy figure. The same annoying phantom from before. 

Something shifted in her peripherals and she turned towards the motion to find out that the thing returned with friends. Great.

'What do you want now? I'm almost out of this place!' Tzuyu scowled.

'We want you to know your place. Learn some manners you brat!' The figure spat.

'Who are you anyway? How am I supposed to respect you if I don't even know you?' Tzuyu asked and got up, taking a defensive stance. She used her right arm to wrap a ring of water from the creek around her for protection.

'We are water spirits, since you can manipulate water, you should be respecting us! Without us, there wouldn't be you!' One of the forms screeched. 

Ew, why do they all sound the same? Tzuyu thought.

'You intruder! You're not welcomed on our land!' 

'Hey! I'm just studying here! What's the problem with that?' Tzuyu retaliated and blocked a shot from the water spirits by spreading her ring into a shield.

'Go back to your country!'

'How racist of you! I don't remember water spirits originating in Korea!' Tzuyu huffed in indignation.

The spirits were silent. She must have hit a nerve.

'Speechless? I'm right aren't I?' Tzuyu said smugly. 'So you are a foreigner as well, who are you to berate me?' 

'We are the reason you have your powers. We can take it away if we deem you unfit to possess them.' one of them growled and shot a blast of water at Tzuyu who blocked it but stumbled back from the sudden attack. 

'You are unfit! Look at those sloppy moves. Hydrokinetics should be graceful with their movements and flow like water. You are manipulating water like its earth!' The spirit screeched.

'No respect for the original arts!' 

They each blasted a jet of water at Tzuyu who raised her own wall to shield herself but the force was too strong and she could feel herself being pushed backwards. The pressure of the water increased as they intertwined the jets. Tzuyu could feel the area where the water was drilling into her blockage grow weaker. 

Her left arm was still in pain but she raised both arms with clenched teeth and pushed with all her strength before rolling out of the way, jet of water shredding through her shield and piercing the bark of a tree.

'Die!' It hissed and lunged at her but she smacked it aside with a blast of water. Why can't they leave her alone? The thing that hurts the most was not her arm but rather their words. Did she really not belong here? Was she really unwelcomed here? Are her skills of water manipulation really that bad? That couldn't be, she'd been training for years. She should at least be pretty decent with it. 

Before they could home another jet stream at her, a new figure clad in white sleeveless robes appeared out of nowhere and with the wave of her hand, the shadowy figures vaporized.

'What the hell happened to them?' Tzuyu rubbed her arm and rolled her shoulders.

'That is nothing you should worry about.'

'Well then who are you? Another mighty being I should be bowing down to?' Tzuyu frowned.

'I'm Lyn, the first hyrdokinetic.' The lady said, amusement evident in her voice. Tzuyu blanched and gulped.

'Gosh I'm sorry. It's just that they got on my nerves so I thought-'

'It's alright. It's understandable.' The lady waved her off kindly. Her white sleeveless robes had light blue ts at the edge of her hood which was pulled over her head as well as the hem of the arm holes. Beneath the sleeveless robe was another white dress that reached all the way down to her ankles and was slightly touching the ground. There was a navy blue waistband around the white silky material along with blue patterns that ran down the sides of the dress. Her chestnut brown hair hung loosely over her left shoulder.

'Are you some kinda goddess?' Tzuyu asked, marvelling at the elegant and grand appearance.

'I'm far from being any all mighty being. I'm just another hydrokinetic like you, just that I'm the first. Don't worry; I'm merely here to guide you. Those shadows were images of your fear.' Lyn explained.

'So you're saying I'm scared of shadows?' The younger girl asked, puzzled.

'No, you are afraid of their words. Admit it, it stings doesn't it?' 

Tzuyu was hesitant but nodded slowly. 

'You are not the only one. You have other friends that share this similar fear. It's only normal to feel scared of judgement. No one likes to have their flaws pointed out in front of a large crowd. No one likes to be whispered about behind their backs. No one likes to feel small and vulnerable but it is only human that we do.' Lyn rested a comforting hand on Tzuyu's shoulder. Tzuyu was actually taller than the lady so she had to look up which made the Chinese girl feel compelled to bend down slightly. 

'Other friends? How can I not let it affect me?' Tzuyu asked, confused. She never knew that other members could be afraid too. They always seemed so easy going and carefree, like nothing could ever faze them. Seems like some things get can't be seen from the outside. Tzuyu herself was the more stoic of all the members, seldom reacting in huge ways that would draw attraction to herself. Her blunt personality was what made her funny and charming according to Jihyo. She could unknowing give savage remarks without knowing that would cause huge laughter even if she never planned for it to be humorous. 

'You and your friends are a close knit group but I can understand why you didn't know about this. They wouldn't want to be seen as someone who is weak and sensitive. Perhaps you should all sit down and have a talk. A real talk. Pour out your fears, doubts, insecurities, everything. When you understand the people you are in constant contact with, you would be surprised at how far that can take you. Even a simple glance could send a message.' Lyn spread her hands. 

'Is there a reason for this fear of mine?'

'It could have something to do with events that have happened. Obviously. Something that put you under the spotlight maybe?' Lyn suggested.

Spotlight. She had come under fire a few years back for not helping firefighters to fight a raging fire that reduced an office building to ashes. Nineteen lives were lost that day. The glances of disappointment and hushed whispers haunted her for weeks. It wasn't even her fault. She was only eight at that time. With such limited skill and control, how could she ever put out such a huge fire? She was certainly no super mutant. 

From then, she had always been cautious of her actions, making sure she would never make the same mistake again. Tzuyu was sure she had gotten over it. It had been years but it seems time doesn’t heal all wounds. A scar would always remain as a reminder. 

'I'll assume you found the root of the problem from your downcast expression.' Lyn pursed her lips. 'It's okay to fear. Being scared doesn't make a person weak, it makes them human. There's no such thing as a fearless being. Even daredevils have fears.'

'But I'm not human! I'm a mutant! Shouldn't I be braver? Stronger?' Tzuyu frowned.

'You are a human! All mutants are humans just that we have powers! There isn't such a thing as a pure mutant.' Lyn took Tzuyu's hands into her own. 'It's these qualities that make you human. Without them you would be like a monster. Doesn't sound too nice does it?' 

The girl shook her head.

'Learn to accept yourself. Accept your flaws along with your strengths. When you have confidence in yourself, you will find it easier to just brush comments off rather than play them close to heart.'

Lyn was right. Tzuyu had never actually thought about herself. She always brushed herself aside and didn't think much about herself. Maybe it was time for her to properly care for herself. 

'You are not alone. Remember that. No matter what hardships you go through, your members will be there to support you. One for all and all for one. That's what friends do; push you to your limits and make you become the best you can ever become.' 

'Thank you. I won't forget your words of wisdom.' Tzuyu bowed down to the shorter lady.

'Let me heal your arm before you go.' Lyn offered.

'Dual power mutant?' Tzuyu gasped.

'No, have you heard of hydro-regeneration?'

'No.'

Lyn drew a small sphere of water from the ground and raised it to eye level. 

'As a hydrokinetic, you can use water to heal yourself or heal others. It's easier to heal yourself since you would need to learn the proper technique for the healing to actually work on others. Do note that not everyone has this ability. Some hydrokinetics do while others don't so it is subjective. It's like your water aura but instead of empowering you it heals you.' The guardian moved the sphere and spread it over Tzuyu's left shoulder.

'Is this serious?' Tzuyu inquired.

'No, just a bad bruise but it will disappear shortly.' 

The water began to glow in a white light and Tzuyu felt a tingly sensation on her shoulder joint, similar as to when Chaeyoung heals her injuries. 

'All done.' 

The water was released back into the creek and Tzuyu's arm felt normal. No pain at all. 

'This is incredible.' Tzuyu moved her once sore arm in fascination.

'You can test it out later to see if you are one of the special ones but now, I think it's time to go.' 

'Which way should I go?' Tzuyu looked around.

'This creek stretches for another 600 meters. Follow it as you were doing and you will go back to where you started.' 

Tzuyu nodded and bowed once again before picking up the tide and speeding off into the winding woods.