'Can't sleep?' Mina asked as she sat down on the grass beside Sana, dipping her feet into the cold water of the lake. The girl shook her head. They were staying the night at Suwon in a little cabin by a lake that boasts a beautiful view of the sunset. The girls would be heading for Daejeon tomorrow morning. 

'I didn't wake you did I?' 

'No you didn't. It's just one of those times where you randomly wake up for no reason. You weren't in bed so I thought I'd check on you.' the pyrokinetic shrugged.

'You should sleep.' 

'Same for you.' Mina playfully smiled. 'Tell me about your parents. I never heard much about them except the time when you told me about your dad giving you those swords for self-protection.' 

'Ah.. My dad is a businessman. Or should I say CEO of Spirit Corp.' 

'Spirit Corp? Like The Spirit Corp? The largest electronics company in Japan?' Mina's eyes widened.

'Yea.. I prefer to keep a low profile so you probably wouldn't have made the link till I told you. I'm sorry I kept this from you.' Sana looked down at her submerged feet and wriggled her toes. 

'No no, it's okay. I can understand why you'd like to keep your identity a secret. You'll be on the hot seat if you didn't.' 

'Yea. Which is also why my dad sent me to this academy so that I would be hidden from the press.'

'Why didn't I think of it.. Minatozaki. Should have seen it coming really.' Mina rubbed the back of her neck. 

'So yea, him being a businessman taught me many things like critical thinking, statistical analysis, management skills blablabla.. he also taught me how to play chess and checkers really well. Don't get the wrong idea though; he isn't the kinda dad with a iron grip. I wasn't brought up too strict but I had principals, even as a kid.' Sana smiled fondly. 'He was a kind man who would try to spend time with his family so I'm actually grateful for all he has done. My mum would stay at home to take care of me since I was the only child.' 

'Your dad seems like a really nice person. Your mom too.' Mina hummed. 

'What about you? What was your parents like?' Sana asked, looking up at the stars. 

'Well.. If anything, my family is probably the complete opposite of yours. My dad was a lecturer at Osaka University. He didn't give me and my brother too little freedom but he didn't give us too much either. He always said, as long as we didn't get in trouble with the law or get hurt, it's fine.' Mina chuckled at the memory. 'As for my mom, she was much like your mom, stayed home to look after us two hyperactive kids.' 

'I'll imagine you two gave your mom a lot of trouble?' Sana asked silvery. 

'Not at all. We never caused unnecessary trouble.' Mina snorted. 'Well.. Maybe we do get up to some mischief sometimes but we kept ourselves in check. Dad taught us much about medicine and the human body since that's his forte. He's also part of the reason why my brother is majoring in medicine.' 

'In your father's footsteps.' Sana said in understanding.

'Mmhm. Medicine isn't really my thing even though I was interested for a short period of time. Too many things to remember. Some drugs sound the same, some look the same, some even have the same effect but has different uses.. I'd like if my head remained as it is, a normal size and not swelled like a balloon with all those stuff.' Mina chortled. 

There was a short silence before Mina asked, 'What about Momo? How did you meet her?' 

'Well I could say it was by chance. Just so happened we had bumped into each other at the train station and well, typical drama scene where the papers go flying. We gathered them up but it went flying again when one of those rebel mutants saw us. No idea how he knew who we were because I sure as heck didn't know who he was until Momo shoved her stuff into her bag and grabbed me, telling me to trust her and just run.' 

'Action movie plot right there.' Mina laughed, kicking the water, causing ripples to spread across the once still surface, distorting the reflection of the moon. 

'We just ran and took cover and she gave me a heart attack exactly five minutes after we met by tossing me up to the roof of a building, from the ground floor mind you, and telling me to run across the rooftops like some hunter. I didn't have a choice but to do as she said but yea, we managed to get away. We became friends and got into the academy and yea, the rest is history.' Sana pulled her legs out of the water and rested them on the small rocks below. 

'So.. It's.. Oh wow it's already 4 am.' Mina's eyes widened at the time on her phone.

'Should we get back and try to get what few hours of sleep we have left?' Sana stood up and reached a hand out to Mina who smiled and took it, pulling herself up.

Just when they turned around they saw a cloud of dust and a deafening bang from the front of the cabin. 

'What the heck?' Mina mumbled as she took a defensive stance. Sana mirrored her actions.

Jeongyeon burst out from the back door, and relief washed over her face when she caught sight of the two girls.

'There you guys are! Come on, we don't have time! The rest are trying to hold them off. We gotta move! Now!' Jeongyeon yelled as she waved her arms vigorously, beckoning at them to hurry over.

'Woah wait, who is them?' Sana asked as she dodged a ice spike that came out of nowhere. 

'And what the hell was that?' Sana yelped, jerking a hand to the spike which was now impaled in the wall. 'I didn't do that.' 

'It's not you frostie! It's them.' Jeongyeon scowled at the group of rebels being held back by the rest of the girls. 

'Jeong! Make a wall for me. Block them off. On my signal drop it.' Mina commanded. 

Jeongyeon clenched her fists and pointed it at the ground. Digging her heels into the ground, she bent her arms and brought her fists up in front of her in a defensive position. Crack lines spidered across the ground and a chunk of earth rose, creating a temporary wall. 

'Move out of the way!' Mina yelled and they parted to the sides. The pyrokinetic propelled off the ground. Jeongyeon unclenched her fists and the chunk of earth dropped back to its place as Mina did a roundhouse kick, sending a arc of flame towards the rebels who stumbled back in surprise. 

'Move move!' Mina called over her shoulder as she rained a barrage of jabs and heel rakes to keep the rebels at safety distance. Momo and Jeongyeon helped Mina while the rest loaded their stuff into the cars. 

Mina had just knocked one of them down with a palm to the chest which sent him flying back when Momo touched her shoulder. 

'Wha? What are you doing?' Mina asked as she teeped another rebel that was too close for comfort. 

'I know you haven't done this before but try. I'll guide you.' Momo said. 'I'll tap into your powers and we will make a fire tornado to keep them distracted. 'Jeong!' 

'On it!' Jeongyeon stomped her foot into the ground, lifting three huge boulders and delivered three consecutive punches, hurling the boulders at the rebels who scrambled for cover. 

'Just relax.' Momo said, taking Mina's hand and placing it on her shoulder before she did the same to the younger girl. 'Grip tight.' 

Mina gulped and clenched Momo's shirt. She felt a surge of power through her veins all of a sudden and the wind around them began to pick up. 

'Fire! Fire!' Momo yelled and Mina threw a punch, blue flames shooting from her fists. Concurrently, Momo twisted her left hand and jabbed it towards the flame. 

The sight was certainly something Mina thought would only happen at a magic show. The small tornado did not extinguish the flames like the latter thought it would but instead, it merged with the flames to form a small blue tornado. 

'Fuel the fire.' Momo said and like clockwork, they both reached out and a blast of flame and air twirled around the existing tornado which grew in size. Momo released her grip on mina and pushed her palm forwards, moving the tornado towards the boulder where the rebels were hiding. 

'Let's go!' Jeongyeon said and they raced towards the car which was already driving off. They used the elements to their advantage and pushed themselves off the ground and towards their friends who were hanging out of the side doors, waiting to catch them.

Tzuyu caught Momo and Jeongyeon with a tentacle of water and pulled them safely into the car while Dahyun took Mina -who was flying beside the car using flames to propel herself- by the hand and pulled her inside before shutting the door. 

They wheezed, trying to catch their breath.

'Looks like our little road trip will have to wait.' Jihyo said, checking on Momo and Jeongyeon through the rear view mirror. 

'Well that's one way to wake us up.' Tzuyu grumbled. Her hair was dishevelled and her clothes were a mess. 

'Nabongs, do you read?' Jihyo spoke into the built in radio. 

'Yes, copy.' 

'We're heading back to the mansion.' 

'Ok.' Nayeon said and released the button on the steering wheel. 

'Are you alright?' Sana asked, lightly touching her partner's arm.

'I'm fine. Who were those guys?' Mina asked.

'Must be the rebels. I don't know how they found us but we must have let our guard down.' Jihyo frowned, tightening her grip on the wheel. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

They pulled up at the gate where they were met with a large boulder right smack in the middle of the road. 

'The hell?' Jihyo slammed her foot on the brakes causing both her car and Nayeon's car to screech to a stop. 

'Jihyo look. There's a message engraved on the rock.' Dahyun pointed at the rock.

'We know who you are. Think you are an almighty hero? Wrong. You will bow to the great leader or face his wrath. You can't run.' Jihyo read. 

'What almighty hero? What leader? Nothing makes sense.' Mina threw her hands up exasperatedly. 

'I'll explain later. Let's head inside first.' Jihyo swiped her hand to the right, making the rock roll to the side. 

The gates opened and they proceeded inside. 

'I can trace the ones who left this message at our door, but what then?' Jihyo said as she paced around the meeting room.

'We can spy on them.' Dahyun suggested.

'No. That's too dangerous. What if you get caught? They'll capture you and use you as leverage to get to us. No way.' Jihyo shook her head firmly.

'Well, do you have another idea?' Dahyun deadpanned.

'Let me think will you?' The telekinetic scowled.

'Alright. I hate to interrupt but what exactly are we dealing with? Am I the only one that doesn't know what's going on?' Mina asked frustration evident in her voice.

'There are a group of hounds and rebels that are opposing us. They supposedly want to shape the world in their image.' Jihyo finger quoted the last few words. 

'Then we should be spying on them. To know what they're truly up to!' Mina slammed her palm on the table.

'Mina unnie.' Tzuyu placed a hand on the agitated girl's arm but was shrugged off. 'We can't just sit here and keep playing our defensive cards. They managed to track us down and take us by surprise! We were almost done for back there and we barely made it out! For how long are we going to keep running? I was chased here by some ugly, drooling mutt that was ready to rip my throat out. I'm not going to just wait for another one of.. of that thing come to get us.' Mina breathed heavily, stern eyes boring straight into Jihyo's large brown orbs. Pin drop silence engulfed the room and the tension in the air was so taut even Mina herself found it hard to breathe. Seven pairs of eyes darted between their leader and the Japanese girl nervously.

'Look.' Mina sighed and ran a hand through her brown locks. 'I just don't want to sit around here and watch helplessly while they threaten us and have some upperhand .' the girl dropped down to her chair and covered her eyes with a hand. Sana shot a worried glance towards Mina.

'I know what you mean. We will spy, but not now. Just take a few days to ready yourself.' Jihyo finally said and the atmosphere became a little lighter. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The meeting was dismissed and the girls headed back to their rooms to wash up and get a change of clothes. 

'Momo wait.' Mina jogged up to Momo who had just placed a foot on the first step of the stairs. 

'What's up?' Momo turned to face Mina.

'I.. Two things. First is well.. Thanks for helping me back there. Of course Jeongyeon too.. Which brings me to my second thing.. What exactly did you do?' 

'I tapped into your power spiritually.' Momo said nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Seeing that the girl still had a confused expression on her face, she pursed her lips. 'How about we freshen up and I'll meet you at the practice hall. I'll explain more there.' 

Mina's eyebrows furrowed slightly but she eventually gave in, nodding her head. 

'So I said I tapped into your spiritual energy right?' Momo asked and Mina nodded, leaning forward expectantly. 

'It's actually a skill that we all possessed. Jihyo was the one that taught it to us. The basic level of energy tapping requires two mutants to be in physical contact. Then, focus on the energy within each other and form a connection. When you tap into it, you will basically be empowering each other. I'm sure you felt this sudden rush of power within you right?' 

Mina nodded.

'That's the sign that the connection has been established. It works on any two people with any power, as long as you know how to combine and use it properly.' 

Mina nodded thoughtfully.

'Jihyo hasn't taught you that?' Momo asked, raising a eyebrow.

'I am now.' Jihyo's voice echoed around the hall as she closed the door behind her. 

'I guess you are ready now. I thought I'd leave this till you have full control over blue flames and it seems that you have nearly mastered.' Jihyo sat down with the two girls. 'This isn't particularly hard but the first few times you need focus. It will get easier with practice.' 

'So that's the basic. What's the advanced version of it?' Mina tilted her head to the side in question.

'You can tap into it with just your mind.' Jihyo said and raised her index finger. A tiny flame danced around the tip of her finger before dying off. Mina's jaw almost dropped onto her lap. 

'But yes. Basically that's it. Now, how about you try it on me. Try to establish a connection.' Jihyo said, scooting in front of Mina.

Jihyo extended her palms and gave a small encouraging nod. Mina placed her hands onto Jihyo's wrist and they tightened their grip. 

'Focus on my energy. Try to sense near the heart. Energy pulses through like blood but there is a distinct difference. Locate it.' Jihyo instructed and slowed her breathing. 

Mina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pictured the image of Jihyo sitting infront of her behind her eyelids and zoomed in on her heart. There was indeed a dull throb. Momo watched in silence as Mina frowned, tilting her head to each side as if looking for something. 

'Almost there.' Jihyo said. 

Mina could feel it now. Much stronger. And there was two pulses. One was at a rate which matched what she felt on Jihyo's wrist and the other was at a more relaxed pace. Just a beat slower than the girl's pulse. 

In her mind, it was like walking up to a door. Reaching out to push the door open, there was a bright golden light that shined through the doors and Mina opened her eyes. She felt the familiar feeling of a power surge through her veins and she knew she had done it.

'Now don't let go just yet. Keep the thought in mind and take my phone out of my pocket.' Jihyo said. 

Mina focused on Jihyo's pocket. She realized she could actually see the phone beneath the cloth of the latter's jacket. Slowly but surely, Jihyo felt the weight in her pocket lighten up as the phone nudged its way out of the cloth. It slid out with one last tug and moved between the two girls. 

'You did it!' Momo cheered, slapping her knees in excitement. 

The energy faded away as their grip on each other loosened. 

'Well done. You have just initiated your first energy tapping.' Jihyo smiled mellowly.

'Thank you. I'm sorry I blew my top at you.' Mina said, eyes filled with guilt. 

'It's alright. I understand where you were coming from. Now come, I will kick start phase three.' Jihyo stood up.

'Phase three?' Mina asked as she unfolded her legs from beneath her.

'How do you feel about lightning?' Jihyo asked, patting Mina's shoulder.

'Lightning?' 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

'Look out!' Mina yelped as a bolt of lightning shot up at the ceiling, leaving a small patch of darkened, smoking metal in it's wake.

'Sorry.' the pyrokinetic grinned sheepishly.

'S'okay. It's your first try anyway.' Jihyo waved the girl off.

'Mina unnie, try to relax. Your body is the medium. Lightning is like water. Even if they are a deadly combination.' Tzuyu said over the speakers. 'Don't control it but instead try to guide it. Now just breathe and try again.' 

Mina huffed and spread her feet apart. 

'Alright you can do this. Just let it flow. Easy right? Flow..' Mina bounced on her feet and shook her arms, releasing the tension in her muscles. 

Positioning her hands in front of her stomach, she separated the yin and yang once again. Thin blue streaks of electricity began to flicker at her fingertips. She went through the motions, bringing the crackling blue bolts downwards through her relaxed form and in a circular motion before dispelling it harmlessly into the metal pole that was set up specially for her.

'There we go. Nice job. I got to say, you pick up things pretty quickly.' Jihyo nodded like a proud parent. 

'That was so cool unnie! I'll be looking forward to our sparring match!' Tzuyu chirped as Mina entered the observation room. 

'Thanks for the guidance you two. And about that sparring match..' Mina's lips curved into a grin.