Contains swear words 

There was an awkward silence in the room after ten minutes of pure sarcasm and arguments, which eventually Proxy Lore silenced when Proxy Enmity was given the order to shut anyone who was opposing direct orders of listening to Lore. Of course that only made me want to mess around more, it was as if Proxy Lore said ‘not to touch the big red button’, which in return only made me want to do it more. After all, it was also a perfect opportunity to annoy Enmity more. However before I could even open my mouth and throw one of my sarcastic remarks Proxy Lore flashed me an angry gaze, it was as if he could read my mind. The glare was so intense that for a moment the words that were rolling off my tongue got in. His usual brown eyes flashed purple for a short second, as a warning. I had to be honest, that did get my past self slightly worried. 

“If nobody has any other questions, the meeting is done. Be ready tomorrow morning at nine am. I expect you all promptly in the fly-ship layby, anyone who is late will be sanctioned.” Proxy Lore sharply yet surprisingly calmly stated, in return earning murmurs of ‘yes’. 

“I still do not understand why does the special mission include all of the Alpha Arcadia going, and most importantly me?” I quickly interrupted, Proxy Lore, stopping mid-way in his chair in an awkward position of half sitting and half standing. 

“You’ll know more tomorrow morning, but to get you all prepared Commander Heinous had received tips of a few rebellion squads planning another surprise attack. However this time, we are expected to deal with them before it reaches to the extent that it did.” 

I felt an unattractive chuckle escape my lips, my eyes falling onto Enmity who appeared more relaxed now. His back rested against the chair, while he had his arms crossed over his chest. His eyesight returned to mine, the corner of my lips lifting as I formed the most sarcastic smile I could muster. “Oh don’t tell me that Enmity failed yet another mission? You know darling you are forming a very bad habit. I thought surely you would have dealt with all the rebels.” 

Enmities eyes flashed dark red as my words sounded, however to my disappointment there were no big fireworks or another fight. Enmity simply rested his forearms onto the tabletop, leaning forwards, only making both Mark and Proxy Euphoria shift in their chairs in slight discomfort, everyone’s sharp eyes falling onto both of us, with the expectation of a big showdown. 

“Let me make it up to you, how about a pretty bullet in your pretty head?” Enmity hummed in a low manner, my body shamelessly reacting pleasingly to his voice by forming goosebumps, my lips parting slightly as my tongue nervously padded my bottom lip. I was not nervous because of his threat, in fact, I was nervous about the effect my body had because of him. Perhaps I was a sadist?

“Could you even hit the target Yoongi? I fear you might miss.” I replied in a hiss, my heart pounding against my chest as anger began to seep through. I hated feeling, not in control, I hated knowing that he had some sort of effect on me. He still managed to control me.

“Don’t worry Jinmi, I will make sure that I will not miss you. Let it be a repay of your somewhat decent services.” There was a bigger hidden meaning in his words, and it appeared that everyone understood it. It was meant to embarrass me, anger me, however, I needed to be the bigger person so instead of lashing out at him. I simply laughed at him, it sounded surprisingly almost like my usual laugh, apart from that uncooperative shake right near the end, making it enough for Enmity to lean back and smile in victory. That . He knew that he just won the battle. I had to bite onto my lip, trying to keep my anger in check. I needed to slow down, I needed to re-think but it was so difficult when he continued to have that annoying fake smile. 

“I never knew you could be such a generous person,” I mumbled sarcastically, not expecting Enmity to pick my words up but he did. 

“Guess our heart-wrenching symphony might have been a little more real than we thought.” Enmities words rang in my ears, the conversation was cut off short when Proxy Lore left the room, followed by others. Not without them all throwing pitiful looks at both of us. I hated feeling so weak, their pity only made me more insane. Were Enmities words supposed to be some sort of revelation, it was not clear. However, one clear thing, Enmity screwed the finishing touch to the words war that we had, and it was in my defeat. 

I was left seated in my chair even after Enmity left the room. My mind fired off all contradicting impulses, did I want to run? Did I want to fight? I knew I wanted to wrap myself with warm blankets and bury in my self-thoughts throughout the night. I hated feeling like this, I hated being the weak version of myself. I needed to calm my mind down, so I did that by throwing myself into an ice-cubed bath and freezing my human emotions until I felt myself go back to my revenge persona. Only then did I allow myself to feel the warmth.

X

“Well, Good Morning Ire you’re looking as happy and smiley, as per usual.” Proxy Exultant stated, having the confidence in throwing his arm around my shoulder at the early hours of the morning. But he did not stop there, he had the nerves to stoop down to my height and pat my head in an almost childish and intimidating manner, and I had to force myself to try hard and prevent my fist from meeting his face.

 
It was all going so well until Mark decided to follow his Captain’s lead and mess up my hair which was tied up in a ponytail. It was the final straw, as before Mark could even comprehend what was happening I had my fist rammed into his stomach, Mark spluttering his saliva due to his coughing fit as I simply patted his back in not so gentle manner. 

“Oh dear Mark, are you alright? I think I heard a rib breaking?” I faked concerns, lightly gasping in a very fake dramatic manner when I noticed Mark turning pale. 

“Ire leave the poor guy alone, it's eight-thirty in the morning and I already have to patch a recruit up.” Proxy Euphoria scolded, turning to examine Mark after I step away. Proxy Exultant flashed me a shady grin before he disappeared into AA8. Some Captain he was. 

I sighed under my breath as I continued to wait for our team leader. My eyes examined my black combat boots, they appeared shiny but the reality was clear. I have used them throughout a lot of my past missions and never had they failed me when I needed to fight. The biggest surprise was finding them in my old room. I found all my clothes there, it was as if nobody dared to get rid of the stuff. Still, it brought an uneasy feeling in my stomach, I had a feeling that it had something to do with Enmity. Motivates truly unclear. 

“Good morning Jinmi.” I snapped my head up, smiling slightly out of politeness when I notice the proximity of Proxy Siren. They all appeared to forget what personal space was, perhaps because they knew how much it annoyed me.

“Jimin before you tell me how beautiful I look in my old combat boots, and my basil pants I will stop you right here.” I waved my palm at him in a disinterested manner, hearing Proxy Siren laugh. 

“I was actually about to say that you look great in your simple white crop top, but you know your ex is staring at us so let’s leave it at that.” I turned my attention onto Proxy Enmity who was just as Proxy Siren said staring straight in our direction. Staring was a weak descriptive, Enmity was boring holes at our frames and if looks could cause damage, I am sure both I and Siren would be in grave danger. Proxy Siren had the guts to flash me a wink before he was skipping past Enmity to go to the fly-ship. 

The atmosphere turned cold and awkward as it was only I and Enmity left to stand around. As usual, Enmity was wearing his black combat leather jacket, however for some reason instead of his usual dark get up he was wearing a white t-shirt, and Siren’s last words seemed to flash by in my mind. That flirt surely knew what he was doing. Now not only was I stuck in an awkward situation, both I and Enmity appeared to match. 

I had to mentally stop myself from releasing a relieved sigh when my eyes not so shamelessly examined Enmity dark skinny jeans. Oh the horror of him also wearing basil coloured jeans would have made me panic. So it was only a simple white-matching t-shirt with the logo of Yoongi’s favourite band ‘House Of Cards, which surely was not such a big deal? It wasn’t until the reality of us buying those t-shirts together smacked in the face. It was obvious that we both had a certain intention to be wearing that. 

So when Proxy Ornate physically stopped walking in his track to glance at our shirts, I knew that it was a messed-up game. “Ugh House Of Cards you guys, why don’t you listen to some Ink or something? That would fit your rap emo phase and sound good.” Proxy Ornate had the decency to whine in front of us. 

“Ornate your music taste is just too sugary sweet for anyone’s taste.” I quickly intercepted, it almost made me seem slightly offended and I had to stop my mind from glancing back at Enmity who was smirking. 

“Honestly I do not care what you two listen to, but please reconsider your life choices and stop with House Of Cards.” 

“How about you go and mind your own damn business before I will shove the vintage mixtape of House Of Cards up your ?” Enmity concluded, bringing attention back to him once more. Proxy Ornate mumbled out another whine of not understanding any of us before he knew better and ran off. 

I pulled my cropped leather jacket closer to my body, feeling slightly uncomfortable with another wave of silence. Enmity continued to stare at me, his eyes taking in my appearance in such a powerful and dominating manner, it was as if he was scanning me, staring straight at my soul. I felt powerless, almost under his dark and dangerous spell. It was like the past was staring straight at me, mocking me. He was so close, yet so far away. Our last mission started identically however it ended tragically. 

I had to break away from our stare contest, only making myself appear submissive. I hated it all, but the longer I stared at his dark eyes, the more I remembered the past. The love, and the loss. If only he picked a different side, perhaps we both would have been in a very different situation? However moments of weakness were useless, so I forced myself to focus on the flyby base to occupy my mind. 

Unbus was the biggest airport around in modern virtual reality. It was divided into two parts, the civilian section, which ranged from supersonic planes and virtual transportation systems. It was a floating airport sited right in the middle of the east side of C21, overlaying on top of the folk river. 

On the other hand, the proxy dedicated flyby Unbus was completely different. With the overgrowing C21, D-93 was forced to develop an elevated airport on top of titanium and glass fibers at the west side, following the classic pyramid-like structures. It completely got rid of the unnecessary long runways for the combat-ready and noncombat fly-ships, as the flyby base was able to pick up high wind speeds from the 500-meter height of the structure. It was completely covered by an invisible barrier, keeping the prying eyes of the civilians away. Just looking through the glass structure should make everyone feel powerful, however as my eyes watched the small like ant humans mind their own business, I was yet again thrown into my deep thoughts. We all were becoming far too advanced, far too God-like. 

“Go to the fly-ship, you have no reason to wait for Leader Lore.” Enmity concluded after approximately five minutes of intense staring which I was still conscious of. (I did silently count in my mind to stop myself from slowly falling apart). It was back to business, the coldness in his tone, and authority was clear. Proxy Enmity was Leader Lore’s right-hand man, second in charge. A mare member had no reason to wait for the leader. However I was no longer a mare member, so I simply brushed a few loose strands of my scarlet hair away from my eyes, flashing Enmity a teasing smile before I continued to stay rooted.

“Jinmi I won’t repeat myself.” Enmity susurrated.

“What a shame Yoongi. Maybe if you repeat yourself enough times you might realize that I do not care.” 

“You think it’s funny?” Enmity questioned, my senses picking up on the fact that he was approaching me. Yet I continued to stay rooted, purposely ignoring his eyesight. 

“Oh, I find it hilarious.” I teasingly concluded, stepping onto the balls of my feet, a small pout forming on my lips as I barely glanced at AA8. It was ironic that Proxy Lore stated we all needed to be ready by nine am yet he was currently not there. My thoughts got interrupted when I felt warm fingers brush against my bare skin, Enmity's arms wrapping themselves around my waist, my lips parting slightly due to the surprise, my pupils dilating as I gawked at Enmity. Proxy Enmity pulled me closer to him, my feet almost tripping over themselves before Enmity had me pressed against his body. 

“W-What are you doing?” I managed to whisper out, my tongue refusing to corporate with me as my heart was pounding against my chest. My ears buzzing, as my mind was trying to fire off a variety of impulses. Just what game was Enmity playing? My limbs felt numb as I quickly tugged onto Enmities jacket, physically pushing him away from me with as much force as I could muster. 

“Your reaction is more hilarious Ire. Play with me a little more, doll.” Enmity purred in delight, expecting my reaction. He was dangerous, it was only when my heart managed to calm down did I realize that he just managed to flip my game around. 

“Good Morning Ire and Enmity. Report the status of the recruits.” Proxy Lore interrupted my thought process, the smirk that was present on Enmity's lips was long gone, being replaced by nothing. 

“Leader Lore, all the recruits are inside the AA8, except Proxy Ire. I suggest you allow me to deal with her bad behaviour.” Proxy Enmity lowly stated, making a chuckling sound from my lips at the sudden formalities that they both were displaying. The game was old. They both are so stupid. 

“Good I expect nothing less from you Co-leader Enmity.” Lore formally replied, taking a moment to pause when he was scanning through his virtual oracle glasses. 

“Proxy Ire I expect you – ”

“This game is so old and boring, later losers.” I waved both of them off before I made my way over to the AA8. I had so many better things to do than play their game. 

X

“Excuse me, sir, I think I misheard you. Did you just say that I am going with both Proxy Enmity and Proxy Clout?” Mark desperately asked for the fourth time that morning. His question was getting on everyone’s nerves, so when he again fidget with his seatbelt next to my chair I found my arms on his shoulders, shaking him with a lot of force. 

“Mark! Focus. Oh my God, it is so not that hard. Just follow your sub-units leader.” I hissed dreadfully, his presence alone was grading my nerves and making me go insane. There were so many questions I could handle before my mind was plotting a disturbing plan of how to get rid of Mark. The door was so damn close too. 

“But why are you with the recitation team? Shouldn’t you be with the combat team?” Mark whispered, his eyes darting into his captain who was sighing. 

“Forte please just focus. Follow Enmity and Clout.” Proxy Exultant dictated to the clueless Mark, which was slowly becoming more anxious. It was his first special mission, together with Alpha Arcadia so I could feel some pity, however, there was a fine line.  

“But – ”

“Jesus! Proxy Enmity please get rid of him from our team. I cannot and will not babysit Mark during the possibility of combat with the rebels.” Proxy Clout hissed, his feet pulling him up as he was waving his arms in frustration. Enmity simply staring through the window. 

“Hah, you guys are so going to fail. Should have gotten together with my team.” Proxy Siren interrupted, his arm casually snaking around my shoulders, as he was trying to make a point. 

“As if you can talk Jimin, your would be kicked within milliseconds if you did not have Jinmi on your sub-team.” Proxy Clout jeered, earning a smack on his head by Proxy Euphoria who was mumbling about authority and rudeness. 

“So wait, why is Proxy Ire on the recitation team?” Mark interrupted again, this time earning a chorus of groans coming from a few of the members. 

“Because Proxy Siren cannot go and sneak around on his own, as he would get his kicked,” I concluded, earning a whine coming from Proxy Siren who was dissatisfied with my choice of words. However, it was the truth. I would usually be placed in with the combat team, yet due to nobody’s surprise, I was placed away from Enmity and his leadership. 

“Ire remember to stay away from any combat, if any trouble arises to inform the combat team immediately. Otherwise, wait for the instructions coming from the pioneer team.” Proxy Lore said as he was operating the fly-ship. Statistics and coordinators of the possible rebels are visible through the virtual screens. I had one job, and that was to assist Proxy Siren in manipulation, mind reading, and persuasion. It was a mystery as to why Proxy Exultant was not placed to work with our team. He would have been a perfect member. 

I sighted at my instructions, sitting back down. I hated being in the shadows. I would always choose to lead or be on the front-line in combat, yet here I was placed to be a babysitter of Sirens. 

“You know it is not as if the combat team will come and assist us, Enmity will probably point his finger at me to the enemies anyways.” I established, resting my head against the window screen. I felt tired all of a sudden if only I could close my eyes and take a nice long yet refreshing nap, but with two annoying people on the fly-ship, I was asking for too much.

“Don’t worry I will come and assist you Ire!” Mark happily said, earning a clear-directed scoff coming from Enmities lips. 

“I fear that I might need to be protecting both yours and Siren’s asses, so I would prefer you my ‘hero’ to just stay with your combat team.” 

“Such lies, you know I would be protecting you and Proxy Siren.” 

“I can sit here and pretend not to listen, but I will not pretend that I did not hear you Mark says you would be protecting me.” Proxy Siren pouted childishly at Mark. 

“You guys should be protecting Mark, the way Enmity goes about his missions rebels will be alerted about a massive attack to their front lines in seconds.” Proxy Ornate chipped at the last minute, making Mark stop in his track. His face became pale with the mention of Enmities notorious style.

“W-What?”

“Good luck Mark, may the grim reaper spare your soul.” Proxy Clout whistled, sending a small prayer that Proxy Ornate gracefully accepted with a slight bow. 

“You’re on my team!”

“Sit your down Mark, we’re landing in our target spot.” Proxy Enmity growled, throwing Mark virtual oracle glasses with the pre-programmed information that he just finished. Mark nervously swallowed his saliva as he quickly buckled up his seatbelt. My frame froze when I notice Enmity’s jet black eyes glowering at me, it felt different. There were no words exchanged between us, even when the combat team got off the fly-ship yet his body language said all, his usually soulless eyes, stated millions of things for some reason. ‘Don’t get yourself killed just yet Jinmi,’

I kept my eyes on his retreating back even when the fly-ship was lifting off. My words finally left my lips in an audible mumble; ‘don’t get yourself killed just yet too Yoongi’.