“Feels odd, doesn’t it?”

Sowon commented as she came up from behind, joining Eunha to stand in front of a gravestone. Eunha straightened, leaving the flowers at the memorial.

It was indeed. They were at the largest war cemetery that held the bodies of those who had died in the last Korean War, fifty years ago. The headstone before them was tucked away in an almost forgotten corner, but there had been a lot of dead. Some were bound to be left to the fringes.

“It’s weird, I mean, I was her for a while.” Eunha admitted, reaching out to dust off a few faded leaves from the headstone. Here lies Jung Eunbi,along with an old faded photograph, weathered over decades and barely visible anymore.

“Tell me about it.” Sowon grunted. “I found my grave on the other side, and I know for sure the bloody thing is empty. Creeps me out, I’m telling you.”

Eunha chuckled at that. They had taken the day off to come visit this place, after Bo-geun had told them of it. Just the two of them, since it wouldn’t matter to the rest.

“I see they put Yuna next to you though.” Sowon glanced over at the neighbouring headstone. Eunha had clearly tended to it first, the weeds around the grave burnt cleanly away. Fresh flowers were also placed, and Sowon spotted a familiar looking badge nestled among them.

“You’re not holding on to that?”

Eunha smiled wanly, reaching out to clean the inscriptions on the headstone of her past self. It was oddly therapeutic, putting things in perspective like this. She hadn’t known how much she needed it until now.

“No, Jung Eunbi is dead. And Yuna was always so proud of that badge. It’s time I returned it to her.”

Sowon nodded. It was good that Eunha was finally letting go of the past. The death of the imugi had closed their last link to the past, and they were finally free to live their lives.

“You done as well?” Eunha turned to look up at Sowon, noting the lack of the bag she had been carrying earlier. It wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed their leader taking a noticeably longer time by Hwang Eunbi’s grave. Sowon shrugged.

“Gave the annoying little her last beer. She always had bad taste in alcohol.”

Despite her words, Sowon was smiling almost nostalgically. Eunha laughed lightly.

“SinB prefers beer too, you know.”

Sowon sniffed haughtily. “Clearly the bad taste survived reincarnation.”

“It’s still the same soul. Some things apparently don’t change.” Eunha grinned, nudging Sowon almost playfully. She had noticed Sowon and SinB spending more time together over the past few weeks. Well, if spending time involved getting into a lot of pointless squabbles, since the two of them were still not allowed to actually spar with each other. Eunha approved though. At least they were getting along, in their own odd little way.

“She’s such a child. ” Sowon grumbled as they made their way to the next set of graves. Yewon’s grave was already well tended and had a more elaborate headstone, but that came as little surprise to either of them. Bo-geun had every right to be biased over his little sister, after all.

“And you’re old, grandma.” Eunha idly called up her flames to clear the weeds around Yerin’s grave. It was odd, seeing the same name and that familiar face on the weathered photograph. After spending all that time with the current Yerin recently, Eunha could say for sure that despite the identical name and looks, the past and present versions were almost completely different. Well, except for the part where they were both confidently gay and utterly shameless.

Eunha still remembered when Yerin had hit on both her and Yuna when they had first joined the squad. And when she found out that Eunbi and Yuna were already a couple, Yerin had almost instantly suggested trying a right after. Both Yuna and Yerin had ended up in the med bay after that particular conversation, since Yuna hadn’t taken kindly to the suggestion. Eunha grinned at that memory. She was rather fond of it.

Sowon huffed. “She needs to respect her elders then.”

Eunha raised an eyebrow. “You know, that didn’t work fifty years ago and it definitely isn’t going to work now. I thought you would have figured that out by now.”

Sowon folded her arms crossly. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“You’re almost eighty, Sowon. Pretty sure you don’t count as a girl anymo---hey oww stop!”

Sowon shook Eunha firmly while holding her up by the scruff of her neck, before dropping the protesting mage after a few moments. It was nice being able to do that. Enhanced strength had its uses. Eunha grumbled under her breath, but she was still smiling.

“Just relax and go with the flow, Sowon. You gotta give yourself a chance too.”

Sowon sighed. “Look, I just don’t think it’s going to work. Like you said, I’m almost eighty.” The ex-soldier shook her head. “I’m too old for this.”

Eunha scoffed at that. “No one’s too old for love.” The fire mage looked squarely at her. “Plus, I know you like spending time with SinB. I have eyes too you know.”

“Funny you had time to notice with all the time you spend hovering around Yuju.” Sowon snarked back, and the pair grew quiet at the mention of the shaman.

“How is she doing lately? Umji says she’s only responding to text messages, but won’t leave her room still.”

Eunha sighed. “She’s sensitive to others right now. You know how she can pick up how we feel, and well…” Eunha glanced at Sowon, who had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Yeah, well, she made all of us nervous with you know what.”

Sowon gestured vaguely, not wanting to mention the taboo words out in the open where someone could possibly hear them. Unlikely, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.

Eunha nodded pensively. “She’s getting better, sort of. She’s still tired all the time, but I think it’s just the burnout. She linked with me yesterday, for a short while. It was nice feeling her that way again.” The mage beamed at the memory.

Sowon nodded. “Good to hear.” The ex-soldier looked at Eunha awkwardly, as if unsure how to say what she wanted, and the mage raised an eyebrow expectantly. Sowon exhaled slowly.

“I know Yerin’s been spending nights with her, you’re...okay with that?”

Eunha’s smile dimmed a little. “Yeah, Yuju needs someone she trusts by her.” The mage looked down at her hands. “I’m...not that person right now. I have yet to earn it in this lifetime.”

Sowon reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I still love her, and it’s not just because of Yuna, you know. They aren’t the same person, not entirely.”  Eunha put on a brave smile.

“I want to get to know her all over again. She’s been hurt, and I want to help her heal.”

Sowon nodded. “As long as you know what you’re getting into. I just want you to be happy too, Eunha.”

“You too, Sowon.”

The two old souls shared a knowing look, glad that at least, there was someone else who understood. If nothing else, they cared for each other. In the end, that was all that mattered, was it not?

Static ran like white noise over shaky live footage, angles spinning wildly as the hand behind it struggled to focus on something. A gloved hand reached towards the lens, covering it and twisting, and then the last of the video fizzled into nothingness.

“Replay that.” A chill voice, almost bored, and languid like a coiled snake at rest.

The video was rewound. It was less than a minute long of salvaged footage from an abruptly terminated live broadcast. Fire in the sky, explosions, then a dark figure swinging in like an avenging angel, shrouded in shadow.

“Pause. Slow that down. Frame by frame.”

It was no more than a fuzzy outline, the assailant careful to keep from being filmed head on even as she, and it was definitely a female silhouette, overpowered the crew and stopped the broadcast in a matter of seconds.

But no one was perfect, and the camera had been running the entire time on a wide angle shot. It was a good camera, meant for field work, and the crew hadn’t been on a budget for that particular item. The camera did its job. It captured everything perfectly, even if it were only a split second of detail.

“There.”

Freeze frame, a side profile in clear detail, or as clear as it could be from the interference. It was enough though. A single, pale finger traced the outline of the jaw and nose, almost fondly.

“I see we’ve found our lost birdie.”

“Ma’am.”

“Time to bring our girl back where she belongs, don’t you think?”

A single document lay open next to the frozen video clip. A personnel profile, one of many that laid on the desk. The rest had Xs inked in red over them, verified killed in action. The one on top had been the only one in grey, marked missing in action. Well, missing no longer.

“What a naughty girl you’ve been, and naughty children need to be punished.”

The operative standing before the table saluted smartly, acknowledging orders. The mystery woman smiled, though her hooded eyes remained cold.

“Time to come home, Jung Yerin. ”