Getting back into base was always a trial.

First there were the mundane locks. State of the art, requiring keys both physical and digital, the whole nine yards with an added bonus of what was most likely Umji’s handiwork, if not the genius hacker herself behind the unseen cameras verifying their identity. Even the best programmed automated systems couldn’t really defeat an active human hand, as Umji often said, usually right before Sowon physically removed her from her comfort zone to eat actual meals that weren’t instant ramen or worse.

The magical wards were a lot trickier, and far more subtle than any of them gave credit for. Sowon only had a dim idea of just what she had lucked into, discovering the wandering Yuju (who came with a bonus Yerin) while out on a supply run. Eunha was a competent combat mage, but she was still street-raised and mostly self taught, so her grasp of magic was mostly instinctive and often reactive to a situation rather than a matter of forethought.

Yuju, on the other hand, came equipped with a formidable library of theoretical knowledge regarding wards, ritual magic, and astral perception. Odd for a shaman, who was more likely to be an instinctive practitioner, but Sowon wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The dog shaman was eccentric but effective, designing interlinked magical wards with multiple failsafes and essentially turning their headquarters into a shielded bunker that couldn’t be penetrated by astral eavesdropping.

Umji liked Yuju though, which was probably the main reason why Sowon decided to extend the invitation to join the team permanently instead of it just being a one off job. The two kids could often be seen muttering over elaborate diagrams that Sowon couldn’t understand, but according to a very grossly simplified explanation from Umji, it was an attempt to link the magical ward system to the security grid the genius hacker had cobbled together. Only an attempt though, because despite their best efforts, trying to integrate the two had had some very interesting results, if the sudden explosions and blackouts whenever they decided to fiddle with something was any indication.

That didn’t deter the pair at all, despite SinB’s complaints that they had blown up her room. Again. According to Umji though, SinB honestly shouldn’t have chosen the room closest to the auxiliary exit, because that was where some of the magical circuitry ran over the electronic ones. SinB wouldn’t be moved though, she liked having an easy way out.

“Then you just have to live with the consequences.”

The resulting squabble had only led to the experimenting pair to grudgingly agree to limit their tinkering to times where SinB wasn’t in her room. Which, honestly, was quite a lot considering how often the restless young woman slipped out through the emergency exit. Still, Sowon did have to put her foot down regarding safety practices. It took a while, but eventually things blew up less and on a much smaller scale. Sowon still didn’t know how much of their project they had managed to accomplish since, but it was nice to see Umji not buried inside the Matrix 24/7 now that she had a new playmate.

“We’re home.”

Sowon called out, more out of habit than anything else. Of course Umji knew she was back, she had all the entry points under constant surveillance. Sowon couldn’t fault the girl. Umji had some severe anxiety and abandonment issues ever since she had rescued the younger from the lab. Her ‘gift’ of technomancy had manifested not long after that, and it became sort of a security blanket to constantly be aware of everything. Sowon had even consented to being chipped by an insecure Umji, who had thought that the older woman was going to leave just like everyone else. It was an act of trust, giving her geolocation away to someone else, but Sowon felt a strange kinship with the young girl Umji had been. Something about the girl brought her motherly instincts out; ironic, since she was as much machine as she was human now.

“Welcome back!”

A tiny flying drone swerved out of Umji’s den, doing a looping barrel roll around Sowon’s head like a mechanical puppy eager for attention. Sowon chuckled and booped the droid on its metaphorical nose. It was good to be home, such as it was.

“Is Yuju in there with you?” Yerin wandered over to the nerve center of humming machinery where Umji was currently tinkering with a mess of exposed circuitry. Wisely, the young woman stayed a safe distance away. She didn’t want to accidentally set off anything she shouldn’t. She had learned that the hard way the last time, though it did lead into a somewhat pleasant memory of Yuju panicking while trying to revive her. On hindsight, it was a pity that she couldn’t have faked needing CPR.

“Oh she left about a half hour ago for a walk.” Umji didn’t even look up. Yerin paled.

“And you let her?”

“Thirty three minutes ago to be exact, she said she needed some space to think.” Umji carefully closed the casing of the terminal she had been rewiring. With a free hand, she retrieved the leatherbound journal that Sowon had gifted for her 16^th birthday (and one thereafter ever since), carefully penciling in some notes. Quaint, for a technological genius, but Umji found the physical act of writing calming, and Sowon would indulge her for anything.

“I’m going after her.” Yerin announced perfunctorily, already striding out before anyone else could react. Umji looked up, meeting an amused Sowon’s gaze.

“Should I have told her that I’ve hacked this zone’s cameras and know exactly where Yuju-unnie is up to about ten minutes ago, possibly less?”

Sowon snorted. “Yes, but she’s already gone so maybe try saying it right at the beginning next time.”

An impish grin. “But it’s so much easier to let Yerin-unnie fetch Yuju-unnie anyway.”

Sowon could not deny this. For someone so accomplished in the arcane arts, one would have expected Yuju to be able to somehow magic her way back to base. But no, apparently she could get lost crossing a street. Yerin’s worries were not exactly unfounded. According to her, she had found Yuju wandering in the wastelands accompanied by a pack of wild dogs several years ago, with nothing more than the clothes on her back. Somehow the young woman hadn’t starved, but then again she was practically untouchable out in the wild.

Whilst mundanes had to worry about any number of magically beefed up nasties, the shaman could call upon nature spirits to guard her at will, and in the same vein, serve her basic needs. It was just an inkling of how powerful the young woman could be, but Sowon could never tell for sure, since Yuju had never cast a combat spell in the year she had been with them. Sure, she could accelerate their reflexes and beef up their strength, even grant farsight on occasion, but she wasn’t the type to be throwing fire or even manabolts around. It made her seem almost like a peaceful hippie compared to the jacked up pyromaniac Eunha could end up turning into during a fight.

And speaking of Eunha, the combat mage of the team was currently shuffling out in her bunny pajamas while yawning widely.

“Morning.”

“It’s 4pm.” Sowon eyed the tiny mage critically. Where had she gotten those fluffy slippers?

“So, morning.” Eunha rubbed at her eyes groggily. “SinB’s out…and Yuju too?”

Sowon knew it was just the mage’s astral senses probing out to sense all of them, but she had never really gotten used to the mystic arts. She had a healthy respect for their abilities, but being so connected to another plane unnerved her. It felt too much like being out of control.

“Yerin-unnie just left too.” Umji added helpfully. Eunha nodded absently, her eyes still half closed as she reached out to cuddle something, anything, snagging Sowon’s arm as a result. The cyber samurai twitched, jerking abruptly as her coat was tugged loose by a still sleepy Eunha, who was left hugging the coat in confusion as her eyes finally opened properly.

The faded glimmer of blackened silver caught the mage’s eye, though in truth it was barely noticeable against the form fitting dark bodysuit Sowon was wearing. Eunha hadn’t turned off her astral perception yet, so it was a strange overlay of astral plane on top of her physical vision.

Off to one side, Umji registered like an electric flashpoint, sparks racing through her astral figure like blinking neural synapses, though more sedate now that she wasn’t actually actively working on her pet projects. There were still traces of Yuju’s aural signature near her, a testament to how much time the two spent together on whatever it was they were working on.

Sowon, on the other hand, was an interesting mishmash of vibrant kaleidoscopic frankensteined with dead grey patches representing the cyberware she had installed on her body. The brightest spot on her was an irregular patch over her heart, but Eunha had once whispered to Yuju that their dear leader probably had repressed magical gifts that would likely never manifest again thanks to all the hardware she was packing. Yuju simply shrugged, saying that everyone had their secrets.

It was the first time Eunha had seen the faded dog tags on the chain Sowon wore. Astral perception was limited by line of sight for her, though she knew Yuju could bypass it by sending her spirit watchers out to extend her range, something she never really had the focus to manage. Objects normally didn’t carry any astral signature, appearing “lifeless’ in her magical sight, unless they were imbued with power, or carried enough sentiment over a sufficiently long period of time to gain a passive aura -- or so Yuju had told her, in one of her many theory lessons to fill in the gaps of Eunha’s knowledge.

The dog tags were mostly dull with a touch of ambient life energy, which was normal for any personal item worn on a regular basis, but it was the corroded metal piece looped on the chain next to them that had caught the mage’s attention. It felt like a black hole in her astral sight, a sense of loss and grief that radiated almost palpably. Her hands drooped, and Sowon moved quickly to rescue her coat from hitting the ground.

Eunha was snapped out of her reverie when the chain and its ornaments were hidden out of sight again. The mage shook her head, trying to shake the haunting reminder of pain from that reading. How could anyone walk around wearing something like that? Even a mundane could be negatively affected by the aura on such an object.

“What is…that?” Eunha finally managed to get out, pointing at the now-hidden chain.

Sowon placed a hand over the tags, feeling the cold metal underneath her coat. She had always been wearing them, for as long as she had memory, which was a lot less than she liked. Ever since waking up, she had been plagued by a sense of loss and confusion, even as she navigated what felt like an entirely foreign world. The tags and the metal piece she had been clutching in her hand were her only links to an unremembered past.

It was just too personal to share. Sowon turned away.

“It’s none of your business.”

Umji and Eunha didn’t so much as squeak until Sowon left the room. The two younger ones turned to look at each other.

“I think I made her mad.”

“I think you’re right.”

Pause.

“Do you think she hates me now?”

“I don’t think she’s ever liked you all that much, really.”

“Yah!”

“Hey hey, no fire in the common areas, Sowon-unnie said so!”

It could be night down here, or morning, but who knew?

Sneakers slid down the service shaft with practiced ease, puffs of dust billowing unseen as they landed soundlessly in an old alcove. The tunnels yawned a step forward, a perfect darkness broken only intermittently by aged emergency lights that were still somehow functional after decades of disrepair. Most were cracked and worn, with a faded glow more ominous than reassuring, but the rats were hardly going to complain.

Neither was SinB, who skulked like a wraith through the darkness, internally mapping the old subway system as she went.

The silence was loud down here, the sound of her shallow breaths and measured beats of her heart echoing like an intrusion in her own ears. A asive smell of mildew dogged her, like a distantly bad memory.

Her dark grey hoodie and sweatpants blended well into the shadows, the only bright spot being the faded off-white sneakers Eunha had given her as a gift. Hands shoved deep into pockets, SinB followed the curve of the tunnel as she counted her steps.

It was habit to explore her surroundings. That lesson had been drilled into her young, what with her parents being mercenaries themselves. She still carried the first pistol they gave her as a present for her 10^th birthday, now heavily customized and more than a little worn down, but had saved her life more than once.

The mildew bothered her. SinB paused, raising her head to sniff cautiously as she approached a fork in the tunnels. This was as far as she had gotten the last time. She mentally flipped a coin, and went left.

No one really understood why she always needed to get out all the time. Maybe Eunha did, a little. They had grown up together, after all. Lost their family, gotten into bad company, done horrible things, all together in their time.

Fists clenched tightly in her pockets. The past never felt very far away, and alone in the darkness, SinB felt like she could think, unjudged and unbothered.

She couldn’t talk to Eunha about this. They had been in it together, and logically her best friend should be the one she could talk to about this, but SinB didn’t want to bring it up. Those memories were still too close, too personal for both of them.

They could joke about it occasionally, now, three years after the fact, but it was hard to erase some scars. SinB knew Eunha still couldn’t sleep at night, and would wake up with her hands on fire at times. It was better now, with the team all around them. People they could trust.

As for SinB herself? Well, she couldn’t sleep at all. Not without outside help, but drugs only went so far. She was loath to use them, and often chose to wear herself out by picking fights with Sowon instead. Sparring with someone so much stronger was a good experience, since SinB was more of a fragile speedster herself.

The darkness was a calming blanket for her. It sharpened all her other senses, forcing her to focus. It brought the world into clarity, and allowed her to confront her demons in peace.

The years after her parents died on a run had been…bad. There was no way around it. Without their protection, SinB found herself on the streets with Eunha, herself also orphaned by the crackdown. It was perhaps fortunate that Eunha hadn’t manifested any of the more defining traits of her metahuman mother, appearing more ordinary than anything else.

It wasn’t fair, but that was life in the South. The Purge killed anyone who exhibited differences, and forced the rest of the Awakened underground. In the decades following the resurgence of magic in the world, people…changed. Babies were born that were just a little odd, either slender with long tipped ears like elves, or short and squat like stereotypical dwarves. Magic came to people both regular and evolved, and not everyone took to it well.

The result was chaos. Magic was one thing, easy to hide from mundanes as long as you didn’t do anything obviously unnatural, but how did one born looking other cope? Badly, as it turned out.

Lynch mobs, witch hunts, the ugly side of human nature rearing its primitive head. Religious wingnuts preaching the ‘purity’ of the human race, sanctioning the killings of ‘mutants’. SinB didn’t know how it was like elsewhere in the world, but here in Korea, being born other was a death sentence.

There were whispers that enclaves of metahumans existed somewhere to the North, in the irradiated wastelands where radioactive beasts and magical wraiths roamed. But that was a distant dream to young SinB and Eunha, who were hungry, alone, and afraid.

When the fire first came to Eunha, it had terrified both of them. Eunha because she didn’t know how to control it, and SinB because she was afraid the inquisitors would find them. They lived like scurrying rats; always running, always hiding, never knowing when their next meal was, or whether they could wake up to see the sun.

So when someone promised them safety and a place they could belong, it hadn’t taken much to convince them, especially when they didn’t judge Eunha for the flames she bore. SinB herself too had felt a quickening as she had grown, getting faster and stronger once she had regular food and exercise. She never told anyone but Eunha, who was still trying to master her gift at the time. The two children trusted only each other, even in their new place.

They were valued in their new refuge, Eunha for her power, and SinB for her rapid mastery of hand-to-hand combat on top of marksmanship. The gang always needed new blood, and people to run ‘errands’, and both of them were good at what they did.

It was shockingly easy to normalize casual violence when it was ever present. Raiding for supplies, smuggling arms and drugs, peddling those to the downtrodden…SinB had blood on her hands, and she knew Eunha had gone even deeper down that particular rabbit hole at times. More than once she had embraced the older girl after Eunha had come back with a dead look in her eyes, smoke still hanging heavy around her. No matter what happened, they had each other. It was enough.

Everything had changed when Sowon came into their lives. In the light of day, like some kind of unstoppable avenging angel, the stoic street samurai had come in alone with nothing but heavy weaponry and a lot of guts. The gang had been celebrating the night before following a successful raid on a corp shipment, and the guards had been slacking. None of the automated sentries had sounded an alarm either, a feat that SinB later learned was attributed to Umji, after they had joined the team.

It had been a slaughter. Closing her eyes now, SinB could still hear the ratt-tat-tat of methodical gunfire, choked screams, and the smell of blood thick in her nostrils. She still didn’t understand why Sowon had spared them that day. Everyone else had died. They should have died too. It wasn’t like they were innocents either.

But Sowon had taken one look at them, and didn’t end them immediately. SinB smiled briefly. She had been ready to fight. Eunha had been magically drained and knocked out from the raid the night before, and she would never leave her best friend behind.

Whatever the reason, Sowon had held out a hand to her. It wasn’t hard to choose. Life was always better than death. When she grasped it, it felt right, like the universe agreeing on her action. SinB wasn’t attuned to the mystical arts the way Eunha was, but she trusted her instincts. Trusted Sowon, a complete stranger that had, just minutes ago, slaughtered an entire gang that had sheltered her for the better part of four years. It was completely ridiculous, and also turned out to have been the right decision so far.

SinB’s footsteps slowed as the source of the mildew made itself apparent to her. The distant trickle of water rushing past a cracked wall, perhaps part of an old sewer or drainage system. The tunnel widened into what seemed like an old train depot, the outlines of rusting metal hulks looming in neat rows. Emergency lights dotted a couple of the exits, lending a dim green glow to the area.

A breath, no more than ten paces away from her. Reflexively, SinB drew her gun and aimed, her eyes taking on an ethereal glow perhaps she herself didn’t notice. When she noticed what, or rather who it was, she lowered her weapon with a puzzled frown.

Yuju sat with her feet dangling in the air, atop one of the rusty train cars. Clad all in black, she was near invisible in the dark. The dog shaman seemed to be spacing out as she stared into the distance, not even acknowledging SinB’s presence for the moment.

SinB coughed loudly to get her attention. It took about two seconds, but Yuju finally reacted, cocking her head as she looked down.

“Oh. You.”

SinB rolled her eyes. Magic users were always off in the own world, and Eunha was no exception, but Yuju was in a class of her own.

“I could have shot you just now.” SinB noted critically, hopping up the same train car with a couple of deft moves. Yuju shifted over so that the gunslinger could sit next to her, and SinB took the invitation without further ado.

“You wouldn’t have.” Yuju replied serenely. SinB raised an eyebrow.

“I felt a friend coming.” Pause. “And it was you, so there was no threat.”

SinB snorted. “I wish I had your confidence. What are you doing down here anyway?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“You got lost again, didn’t you?” SinB folded her arms smugly. Yuju shifted her gaze away.

“This was a good place to think. You’re here as well.”

SinB couldn’t deny that. It was a nice place to be alone with your thoughts.

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, sitting side by side. Yuju never probed, and her presence was calming somehow. SinB might trust Eunha the most, but she had learned to grudgingly include others into her approved list. Yuju was one of them.

They didn’t talk much, generally speaking. But SinB could see how happy Eunha was when spending time with another magic user like herself. There were times when she felt a little left out, but Eunha always remembered to look back and include her, and Yuju was just genuinely a nice person. It felt almost impossible for anyone to be that nice, especially people like them who lived in the shadows, but the dog shaman just had a peace about her that was soothing.

Plus, she could be unexpectedly fun. SinB smirked at the memory of them pulling off the craziest stunt on a run once, nearly giving Sowon an aneurysm in the process, but it was oh so worth it. Ten out of ten, would totally jump off a skyscraper with no parachute again. Yerin had never quite forgiven her for that particular incident.

“Your nursemaid not here for you yet?” SinB looked over at Yuju, who seemed to be spacing out again. The shaman blinked slowly.

“Who?”

SinB sighed. “Yerin. Who else.”

“Oh.” Yuju stared at her hands. “I guess.”

SinB stared at her critically. Eventually Yuju looked up, their eyes meeting in the gloom.

“What?”

“Are you two like, dating.” SinB paused. “She seems to be awfully interested in you.”

Yuju cocked her head thoughtfully.

“She’s like that to everyone.”

SinB scratched at her chin. Yuju was not exactly wrong. Yerin flirted with girls all the time. But even dim as she was, SinB thought that Yerin’s behavior around Yuju was just a little different. As Eunha’s best friend, SinB felt obliged to suss out the circumstances. It was fairly obvious that her best friend had a crush on the taller mage, and SinB needed to know if she should crush Eunha’s hopes before it went too far.

“What about you, then? Do you like her?” SinB pressed unsubtly. Subtle was for other people.

Yuju hummed quietly under her breath, considering.

“Of course I do.” Pause. “I like everyone.”

That was too vague. SinB wondered if Yuju was doing this on purpose. Then again, this was Yuju. She talked to spirits and played with stray dogs that would have bitten the heads off anyone else. Even on missions, she only disabled the enemy, never drawing blood. All her magic seemed more defensive in nature, and SinB honestly hadn’t seen a more pure soul, except for maybe Umji. Maybe that was why those two got along so well, even with their crackpot schemes to blend magic with technology.

Time to drop the big guns. Eunha was going to kill her, if she ever found out, but SinB was never the patient type to probe for answers. Not that she was ever going to admit to Eunha this conversation happened of course.

“Eunha likes you. In a dating sort of way.” SinB had long since figured out that subtlety didn’t work on Yuju, and decided to just dive straight in.

“?”

SinB could practically sense the blinking question hanging over the shaman’s head. She sighed.

“She doesn’t know I’m asking, please don’t tell her, and I just want to know if you’re interested too, or I’ll just get her to give up.”

SinB explained as concisely as she could. Yuju blinked, doe-like, at her. It was almost like dunking a puppy in the river. SinB felt like she should feel bad, but she didn’t. Eunha was more important than any new friend.

Another long silence. This time, SinB didn’t interrupt, allowing the older girl to think it through.

“I…don’t know.” Yuju said finally. Her hands were wringing together in an unstated confusion. “Why would she like me?”

SinB sighed deeply. This was more difficult than she expected. Eunha had better appreciate her for this.

“You’re cute, funny, and good with magic. Why wouldn’t she like you?” SinB glowered at the dog shaman. “Plus she won’t shut up about how hot you are, which is annoying and I really want her to stop.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

“But Eunha’s cuter.”

“So you do think she’s cute.” That was promising.

Yuju clammed up. Her face felt hot. This wasn’t like when Yerin flirted with her. Yerin flirted with everyone, and once Yuju accepted that fact, it was more just dealing with the daily affectionate gestures as a matter of course. This was the first time anyone had directly expressed interest in her, even though this was by proxy.

Eunha was also affectionate, which Yuju had experienced firsthand, but was never overly pushy about it, which was a relief. It was also fun exploring magic with someone else, something she hadn’t really gotten to do before. It was easy being with Eunha, but did she like her that way? Yuju needed time to think about it.

“Look, I didn’t want to push you about this.” SinB said gruffly. “But I don’t want Eunha to get too invested if you’re already unavailable or not interested. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“You’re a good friend.” Yuju murmured. SinB flushed, glad that the dark hid the colour on her cheeks.

“She’s my best friend.”

“Eunha is lucky to have you.” Yuju said sincerely, patting the young gunslinger on the shoulder. The shaman then lay back, staring at the distant ceiling of the depot. SinB shrugged, then did the same. Shoulder to shoulder, they didn’t speak for a good long while.

Finally, Yuju broke the silence.

“I don’t know if I like anyone that way yet, I’ve never really thought about it before?” She paused, thoughtfully.

“But I do think Eunha’s cute.” A slightly more embarrassed pause. “I never imagined she would like me that way.”

“So are you going to give her a chance?” SinB probed. Yuju breathed in deeply.

“I don’t know how it’ll turn out… I guess we just see where things go?”

SinB nodded to herself. That was better than a straight no, at least.

“You do know that if you hurt her in any way, I will murder you in your sleep.”

“That’s fair.”

“Good, I’m glad we have an understanding.”

They shook on it. All in all, that went pretty well, SinB thought. Eunha deserved a little happiness in her life, and if Yuju could make her smile, that was the best gift she could think of.

What else were best friends for?