“This is odd.”

Umji cocked her head in confusion, her eyes distant as she tried to track the signal from her linked datachip. They were at the docks, and at this time of the day, activity was not as bustling as it was earlier in the afternoon, but there were still workers and drones moving cargo around.

Daylight in winter was short, and all around them the lamps were in lieu of the sun setting early. In between the shadows, Sowon waited with Umji, paying cautious attention to their surroundings. 

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Sowon questioned, looking back at Umji, who was frowning. The young hacker nodded firmly.

“The signal’s much stronger now, we should literally be right above it...oh!” A light clicked on in her eyes. “What if it’s below us?”

Sowon got her point immediately. “You mean there’s an underground facility somewhere here?”

Umji nodded decisively, eyeing the ground beneath her feet as she focused, trying to figure out how to get there. “I’m not sure how it’s still broadcasting a signal if it’s underground though, I can’t feel anything beneath my feet so it’s probably shielded and…” The hacker suddenly paused, freezing in place. Sowon caught her by the wrist worriedly, shaking her.

“Umji? What’s wrong?”

“I think...I’m getting Hayoung’s response code buried in my signal? But how could that be?” Umji stuttered uncertainly, shaking her head from side to side. She had become familiar with the other hacker’s signature in the weeks she spent cracking her code, and it was unmistakable to her by now. On its own, the location signal of her datachip could never have made it through shielded walls without a boost. Something was helping it, and Umji would never have believed it if she wasn’t sensing it right now.

“I thought she was dead?” Sowon communicated her confusion as well, but then paused, remembering that the only confirmation they had of Hayoung’s apparent death was only via Yerin’s word. Not that she thought Yerin would lie about her good friend dying, but Sowon wouldn’t put it past Tristar to have lied to Yerin about it. 

But to what purpose? Sowon shuddered. Tristar had already proven itself capable of human experimentation. She did not look well upon Hayoung’s prospects if the woman still lived. 

“Maybe an embedded program?” Umji mused aloud, trying to decode the message as she went. “I think these are...coordinates?” Numbers appeared to flash in her eyes. “They’re close, I think...maybe that’s the entrance?”

“Wouldn’t hurt to check,” Sowon replied brusquely, and Umji nodded, projecting the location onto the watch Sowon wore for her reference. Sowon pulled up the map and matched it to their position. Umji was right, it wasn’t all that far linearly speaking, but there were buildings in the way and if memory served, there was a private compound with warehouses in that area. Tristar-owned, obviously. But then again, half the docks was Tristar-affiliated and more. It was no surprise any entrance to a secret facility would be located on their territory.

Umji was her eyes in the sky, and thin yellow lines traced possible routes while blinking red dots signified security drones in the area. It was not unlike having a minimap open on her wrist. Sowon had to hold the hacker’s hand to guide her while they ducked patrols and the ever-present eyes of the electronic sentinels. 

As much as Sowon hated to admit it, Umji was immensely useful in the field. There was a lot she could do remotely, but there were still practical limits. When she was actually here with her, the hacker could detect anything remotely electrical with a microchip, and she could disable or redirect them with a thought if she so chose. 

This made their progress almost disgustingly easy as a result. Sowon only had to keep an eye out for human patrols, but everything was automated these days to cut costs. That made Umji king of the hill here, and they essentially waltzed through with little to no incident.

Electronic locks were no obstacle either, and they only had to avoid any human accompanied cargo movements, a simple enough task with Sowon’s experience. They slipped into the compound quickly, and Sowon was almost unnerved by how smoothly everything had gone. The old soldier briefly reconsidered her life choices: maybe bringing Umji out more often wasn’t a bad idea?

The coordinates were at a specific warehouse, and getting in was a bit more challenging than before, but good old fashioned violence still had its place. Sowon calmly crushed the handle of a bolted back door and tore it loose, allowing her to stick a gloved hand through and undo the bolt from the inside. Kicking it down had also been an option, but that would have been a lot louder, and for the time being, staying off the radar was clearly the smarter choice when it was just the two of them.

Umji hacked the nearby cameras to loop their footage, creating the illusion of there being no one around to anyone monitoring the feed. This bought them time to scour the area, but it was frustratingly difficult to try and figure out where this supposed entrance was. The only clue they had was ‘down’, but all five basement levels seemed innocuous enough at a glance. 

“There has to be a hidden entrance somewhere,” Sowon muttered. Umji was trying her best, but there were limits to her electronic wizardry when she wasn’t even sure where or what to start looking for. 

“Nn?” Umji made a small, confused sound as she looked up to where the elevator was. They were at the lowest basement, and at a loss for how to penetrate deeper to enter this supposed secret facility. 

“What’s wrong?” Sowon wandered over, alert to her surroundings. She adjusted the night vision goggles she had on, something she had to get back used to now that she no longer had a cyber eye to switch vision modes with. Umji was also similarly geared, though it took her more time to get used to the kinetic vest Sowon had insisted she put on. It would protect her from small caliber rounds and any slashing or stabbing wounds, but it was still a little bulky and heavy on the girl. For Sowon’s peace of mind though, Umji made do. She knew it was for her own safety.

“Someone’s taking the cargo lift down.” Umji cocked her head, and Sowon did the same, hearing the synchronized pound of aligned steps far more clearly than Umji ever could. Enhanced hearing had its uses. 

“Troops. Might be CorpSec.” Sowon grunted, pulling Umji with her behind the cover of some shelves. “You sure they don’t know we’re here?”

“No alarms, and I’m sure we didn’t trip anything else either. I cut off the alert protocol the moment we found that terminal on the first floor.” Umji assured her. 

“Might be here for something else then,” Sowon concluded, eyeing the flashing indicators of the cargo lift making its way down. “Maybe if we follow them…?”

The level indicator stopped at the lowest level, where they were at, but the lift doors remained closed. There was a vague rumble, so minute that Sowon almost missed it, but then the sound of gears moving and shifting came to the fore, a great grinding sound that rattled her teeth.

Of course. The elevator was rigged. Sowon slipped closer to the lift, Umji tagging along behind her, and the young hacker watched with amazement as Sowon jammed the vibroblade she brought along ‘just in case’ into the elevator doors, forcing open a wedge that she then widened almost casually with a steel-crunching yank.

The elevator shaft looked relatively normal, but for the very bottom, which looked suspiciously like a sealed portal. Obviously, it was currently closed with the descent of the lift earlier, but they had found one possible way in for now.

Sowon turned around, and for a moment Umji thought she was going to be ordered to stay behind again, but she was pleasantly surprised when Sowon extended a hand to her.

“Get on my back and stay close, we’re climbing down.”

Umji didn’t hesitate, doing as she was told immediately. Sowon grunted as she carefully made her way down, making sure not to jostle the girl on her back. It wasn’t a long way down, and her landing on the sealed portal had a slightly hollow ring to it. Breaking through shouldn’t be a problem, but then her ears picked up a low rumbling from below. The lift was coming back up.

Acting quickly, Sowon slid Umji off her back and immediately picked up the baffled hacker, ducking into a workman’s alcove she had noticed earlier. It was a tight fit for the two of them, but they were skinny, and Sowon kept Umji protected in her arms as the sealed floor creaked open again to allow the elevator passage back up into the acknowledged floors. 

“Hold on and don’t let go,” Sowon whispered to Umji, who nodded and clung tightly onto her mother figure’s neck as the elevator ascended past them, so close that Sowon felt like the metal brushed the back of her coat. 

That was just an illusion born of paranoia, of course. The alcove had enough space for a very stocky person to comfortably avoid any incidents in the shaft. Sowon crouched down as the bottom of the elevator cleared her shoulder height, sliding quickly towards the closing portal and jamming her drawn blade into the mechanism to keep it open.

The grinding sound increased in tempo and fury as it tried to fulfill its function, but the way was open. It was dark below, but Sowon had no fear.

“Close your eyes if you’re scared,” she did worry about her baby. Umji shook her head, face buried into Sowon’s neck. 

“Safe as long as you’re here.”

That coaxed a smile out of Sowon, but it faded quickly as she considered the way down. The mechanism for the elevator was one way she could slide down with, but it was going to hurt. 

“Hang tight,” she told Umji, shifting the hacker onto her back. Umji peeked curiously as Sowon grabbed onto the pulley mechanism in the middle of the shaft, then had to hold back a yelp when Sowon leapt down, gripping firmly with both her gloved hands.

Neither of them knew what lay below, but even if the jaws of hell awaited, there was no turning back. Sowon set her jaw. She was done losing people in her life. One of her own was trapped behind enemy lines, and it was her duty to bring her back. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late.

They descended into the dark. No matter what horrors may come, they would face them together. That was what it meant to be a team. Sowon never forgot that, even if the others did. Whatever she did, she did for all of them. And if she were to make a mistake, she would do her best to correct it as well. It was the least she could do as both a friend and leader.

She were here in part to redeem herself. She owed this to Yuju, and also to Yerin, for having doubted her before. It was time for their prodigal assassin to come home where she belonged. 

All of them were going to make it, Sowon promised herself. She would make sure they did.

She was being watched.

Yerin wasn’t sure what prompted that thought, but the moment she finished tampering with the generators and returned to the main hallways of the facility, the assassin had not been able to shake that feeling. 

So soon? She had set the overload to happen an hour from now. The data download would be done in maybe fifteen minutes. She could get out and start running. The location tracking they had on her was an obnoxious difficulty, but if she could get Umji to untag her fast enough and go to ground afterwards, there was a chance. 

If, of course, she was allowed the opportunity to run. Surely she wouldn’t be so unlucky to have someone guess her movements here? Yerin didn’t count on things like luck. Her actions were always based on good strategy and innumerable backup plans for when things inevitably went wrong, as it always did in the field. 

But she was also angry about everything right now, and she knew that she was not doing the most optimal thing for her current situation. The old her would have retreated and come back another day, even with the risk of having her access locked out by the time of the next visit. Patience and planning led to mission success, not reckless operations with no backup and barely any resources to accomplish what she came to do. 

But Yerin was still human, and under a lot of stress in the past few weeks, a condition only made worse by Yuju going out of touch through their Bond. The fire boiling in her had exploded after discovering what had happened to Yuju, once upon a time. She wanted blood, and was determined to have it, regardless of the cost.

And then there was the secret, doubting voice deep within her: maybe Yuju has abandoned you. Maybe she doesn’t want you anymore, after seeing the darkest parts of you. That’s why she’s no longer here. She’s left you behind, just as you once left her behind.

It didn’t help that Yerin felt like she deserved it. She was never really all that good a person. She had managed to forget about little Yuju, and her promise to the girl back then. Had left her behind, to suffer the inhumane treatment of the scientists. It felt like a betrayal, even if a lot of it had to do with her extended reprogramming during her training. 

Even though Yuju had accepted those memories of her past during their bonding, Yerin still felt a hint of shame at them. Yuju felt too good for her, somehow. Too clean, too pure to be tainted by someone like her, who had been dragged through the mud and wallowed in the blood of innocents. 

She wasn’t selfless enough to let go though, despite that. Yerin kept a tight grip on what she wanted, and Yuju was hers. Even more so now that she remembered their childhood promise. I have a claim first, and I might be late, but at least I found you again.

Yerin had a little time to clear her mind while tampering with the generators. The damage those fuses would do would be quite considerable, might even shut down the facility for a couple of weeks to repair the damage done, but the place was well constructed and she wasn’t going to blow it up without proper explosives. She should retreat first, make a better plan of action, and come back in properly prepared. 

It was the smart thing to do. It was the logical thing to do. It was what she should have done earlier, before it was too late to run.

“Going somewhere, Ms Jung?” 

They caught her in the data center, preparing to wipe the database after the chip was done downloading. The Director’s eyes were cold, though his voice still sounded mildly genial. 

“You never were content to be a mere puppet, were you?” 

Yerin knew she was cornered. If she had SinB’s speed, she could at least attempt to make a break for it, but she did not, and in any case there were too many raised guns pointed at her and she wasn’t as bulletproof as Sowon. She slid the chip from her hand to up her sleeve, concealing it before holding both arms up in surrender. 

They could catch her, but she was going to leave them a surprise anyway. 

“Take her to the labs,” the Director ordered calmly, his eyes glittering with venom. 

“Let’s crack her open to see who she’s really working for,” his lips twisted into a cruel smirk as Yerin paled briefly at the threat, her jaw tightening as heavily armed troops surrounded her. 

“Did you really think we wouldn’t keep an eye on you? I was always just waiting to see where your loyalties lay.” He sneered, contemptuous. “Once a street rat, always a street rat. My daughter was right, only absolute obedience counts in the end.”

Yerin glowered at him defiantly, even as she was forced to the ground by her captors. She did put up a struggle, but there were too many, and a sudden shock from her collar left her too weak to resist as they overpowered her.

“When we’re done, there won’t be anything left of you. ” A pause. “Be grateful, at least you’ll still be useful. You’re too well trained to simply be thrown away. A good dog needs to be broken to heel, you know?”

“Gag her and make sure she doesn’t try to kill herself. The next stage of the control program should be ready for testing. Let’s see if she survives that. She should, I hope. She’s always been a survivor.” There was a tinge of cruel amusement in his voice.

Yerin struggled futilely as she was hauled away, eyes filled with terror for what was to come. When the Director turned away to speak with the lab staff, a glint of determination flashed through Yerin’s eyes, and she quietly flicked the hidden datachip into a nearby potted plant even as she was being dragged away. 

Even if she didn’t make it, she wanted to believe that someone would continue her work. Umji would be able to find the chip, she knew. The blast she had scheduled would give them the opening they needed. It didn’t look like the bastards knew about what she did there at least. 

I did my best. Yerin closed her eyes, her jaw tightening. She was a survivor, as the Director said, but this time, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to survive what was to come.

They won’t break me, I won’t let them. She encouraged herself, all the way until she was delivered to the operating table, and the torture began.

How much of her would be left after everything was done? She couldn’t know. 

For now, there was only pain. And it was only pain.

The real nightmare had only just begun.

It was perhaps a thing of beauty, to be able to shape and mold malleable minds to expectations. Humans were so messy otherwise. A regrettable symptom of the human condition.

"Where is she?"

An aggravated voice cut in through the contemplative thoughts, punctuated by booted feet crunching in perfect step as that voice fell.

"It seems there has been a hole in your security protocols, daughter."

Director Han's voice was chilly, always impersonal when it came to work. He was a doting father as far as when it did not interfere with his goals, and growing up in his not inconsiderable shadow, Seo Hee knew this well. She could get away with murder and more, but if any of her pursuits threatened his work, there would be consequences.

"I do not understand, father." Her voice was a little more subdued in the face of his subtle chastisement. Behind her, the squadron of Epsilon troops, plus the remaining ones commanded by Yerin that she had picked up by the cargo entrance earlier, stood stoically at attention.

"Was there no update to the security clearances of this facility? Our little rogue managed to find her way in, with all her old clearances intact. This is a serious breach of protocol, Seo Hee. I cannot accept this."

Seo Hee's eyes widened in incomprehension. "Impossible, routine access clearance updates are performed manually once every three months." Her eyes hardened. "I will get to the bottom of this, father. It will not happen again."

"It had better not. I am disappointed, Seo Hee. I expected better." The tint of disapproval was more cutting than any scolding. The young woman hung her head, chastised. The director hmphed under his breath.

"It is fortunate I arrived before any real damage was done. That little plaything of yours is an opportunist, bar none. And a tough nut to crack to boot. Such a pity that we'll have to break her in order to use her at all."

A sudden, wild hope rose in Seo Hee's eyes. "Will you give her to me then?"

The older man chuckled. "Impatient, aren't you? Worry not, daughter. Once we're done with her, you can have what's left." He snorted. "If there's anything left that's worth your attention, that is."

"She's still a pretty face, father." Seo Hee grinned impudently, drawing an indulgent chuckle from the director.

"As you wish then. Try not to break this one, daughter. We could still reprogram her for other purposes." He sighed. "Pity we've never been able to replicate her gift in any of the other test subjects. It'd be a waste to lose her this way."

"She is rather unique," Seo Hee agreed. Her eyes shifted to a different monitor, trying to figure out where Yerin had been sent to, but her father only shook his head.

"Not now, daughter. Don't you have more important things to worry about?" He said pointedly. Seo Hee lowered her eyes.

"Yes Father…"

They were interrupted by a different alarm, a charm glowing on a bracelet hidden under the coat sleeve of the director's jacket. The man raised his arm, scowling.

"It seems we have some more rats in the building. You really do need to update security protocols in here, daughter. I do not have time for this."

"But there are no other alarms…?" Seo Hee started uncertainly, glancing at a different screen. The director sighed.

"Surely you do not think I would only rely on technology to guard our secrets? All magical alarms are keyed to me personally." He grunted, scanning the empty hallways projected on the security cameras with a tight frown on his face.

"They have a talented hacker at least. Sweep the halls with your soldiers, daughter. They cannot have gotten far from the cargo entrance. Find them, and terminate them. We cannot have our rivals stealing our secrets."

Seo Hee nodded grimly.

"As you wish, Father. It will be done."

"This place is creeping me out."

Umji muttered, sticking close to Sowon's elbow as her eyes darted about nervously. 

Sowon took in the featureless hallways with a wary look, the decor oddly reminiscent of the underground facility Bogeun had kept her in once upon a time. Their entry through the cargo lift shaft had gone unimpeded, and Umji had made short work of the first door access to gain them entry, as well as disabling the alarm protocols at the first security terminal they encountered.

The cargo entrance had been largely empty, which was a blessing. Sowon didn't feel like alerting security this early into their adventure, and without proper backup, getting Yerin out was going to be a challenge. Granted, Umji's presence was making things a lot easier as of the current moment, but if it came down to a fight, the girl was going to be a liability depending on the type of security being sent after them. Sowon didn't think a place like this would rely solely on automated security as did the outer docks though, which meant they were going to have problems the moment security got alerted.

"The place in general, or something in particular?" Sowon enquired distractedly, carefully looking around a corner before taking them down a path in the general direction Umji had indicated earlier. The young hacker looked troubled.

"Something about this place feels... unnatural. The networks are...haunted somehow. I can't explain it, it's just... uncomfortable."

"Let me know if anything at all comes up. We move fast, I don't like this place either." Sowon's voice was gruff, her trigger finger itchy. Her magical senses had long since been deadened by all the implants she had grafted on, but her instincts were still blaring warning signals at her. Umji was right about it feeling unnatural somehow. Something was deeply wrong in this place, and Sowon did not like it one bit.

"We're close," Umji reported, still trying to track the signal from her datachip. "It's not plugged into whatever was boosting the signal earlier, but we're close enough for me to feel it."

"We grab the chip first, and if we can find Yerin quickly, all the better. If not, we'll have to retreat first and get the others." Sowon decided quickly. Alone, she could hold her own against a small group of mercenaries, but with Umji in tow, she didn't dare to risk it. Their odds would be much better improved with SinB and Eunha in tow, and while Sowon wasn't sure if Eunha would forgive her long enough to make this run, she was tentatively confident that if SinB were to join in, Eunha would lay their differences aside long enough to protect her best friend.

The leader did not factor Yuju into this equation. Granted, the shaman would be the most interested in Yerin's safety out of all of them, but Sowon could not know if Yuju would be sufficiently recovered to actually participate. Not to mention if Yuju would be in her right mind in the first place. Eunha's proposed solution had its risks, and there was no guarantee it would succeed in the first place. They could just as easily lose the both of them if something went wrong.

The featureless hallways soon gave way to more personable surroundings, though still pristine and vaguely reminiscent of an office space pretending to be a home away from home. There was some attempt to give life to the area with the occasional potted plant or shrub, but it didn't detract too far from the remote feeling of cold steel and glass.  

There were more people here, visible in their own work spaces off the main walkways. With how late it was in the day, it was perhaps surprising that they were still at work, but then again, who knew day from night this deep underground? There was some evidence that people lived in addition to working here, and Sowon wouldn't be surprised if the staff here were at least semi confined to this facility with little recourse to the outside world for security purposes.

Their intrusion could not have gone unnoticed forever, and the first wave of patrols were only very narrowly dodged by them ducking into a supply closet. Sowon didn't think they had been discovered at first, because there had been no alarms set off -- Umji had seen to that earlier. However, she was quickly disabused of that notion when the patrols started converging on their zone, locking down the area with deadly efficiency. They were going to have to fight their way out at some point.

"I got it," Umji crept back, ducking back into the small meeting room Sowon had found off to one side. "In a row of shrubs, if you'll believe it." The hacker shook her head. "Yerin-unnie must have been in trouble if she ditched it there."

Sowon was breathing hard. She had managed to off a small patrol earlier to buy Umji the time she needed to sneak into that area to grab the chip, but if the enemy knew what they were doing, the failure of the patrol to report in would signal exactly where they were to the rest.

"We need to go now." As much as Sowon hated to leave Yerin behind, she needed to Umji out with the prize Yerin had won at such cost. The assassin would not have called out to them for help if it were not important. Sowon clenched her fists. She would be back to extract their lost rogue, but that time would not be now.

“Going somewhere, little rats?”

Umji hid behind Sowon carefully, casting her senses out to check just how surrounded they were. Very much, as it turned out. The weapons they held were of the kind that Umji could jam with a little effort, but there were still a few that the hacker couldn’t quite make sense of. Not something electronic that she could tamper with remotely, but she would even the odds for Sowon as much as possible. The little hacker clenched her fist around the datachip they had come to retrieve. She wouldn’t be a liability. Not again.

Sowon backed up warily, shielding Umji behind her as she readied her rifle. There were so many, but Umji had given her a signal saying she could disable their weapons. That gave them a fighting chance, and Umji could still tap into the automated defenses in this place. They didn’t have to win the fight, just break through quickly enough to make a run for it. 

“Why, if it isn’t the famed Immortal. Come for your friend, have you?”

A smaller woman emerged from behind the helmeted troops, her red dress a vivid splash of colour amidst the black and grey of the surroundings. She eyed Sowon with interest, a smirk quirking her lips.

“I can see why Yerin would have stayed so long in your company. She always did like pretty ladies.” Her eyes flicked to the eyepatch. “Even with your...disability.”

Sowon scowled at the sneer in her words, shifting slightly as she sized up her opponents, looking for the best way to break through. The easiest way would be to seize the woman in the red dress as a hostage, since she was obviously important, but Sowon also noticed that the guards surrounding her were armed a little differently from the rest. Umji might be able to disable the smart guns held by the others, but Sowon didn’t quite recognize the make and model of the weapons those guards held. There was an ominous glow to the energy cartridges, and Sowon didn’t want to test their potency under such circumstances.

“Where is she?” They might as well find out what happened to Yerin, but Sowon didn’t have high hopes. The woman smirked at the question, eyeing Sowon with even more interest after the soldier had spoken.

“Oh she’s perfectly fine… I can’t wait to play with her again, once father teaches her some manners.” There was a predatory grin playing on her lips, and Umji shuddered from behind Sowon, ducking even lower to avoid being seen. It felt too much like a violation with how she seemed to strip them with that hungry gaze. 

Sowon’s face darkened as she tightened her grip on her weapon. Accordingly, the troops around her raised theirs in response, and Umji tensed, ready to make her move as well. It would be a challenge to make everything backfire at the same time, but Umji knew the benefit of leaving the sabotage to the last minute. It would give them the element of surprise they sorely needed, outnumbered as they were. She squeezed Sowon’s arm in warning, trusting that her mom would understand her plans.

Sowon did. On the other side, Seo Hee looked confident, trusting that not even someone as legendary as the Immortal could escape a death trap surrounded by this many troops. She was about to be taught a very decisive lesson in exactly how Sowon had earned her reputation.

By the time the smoke settled, Sowon had cut a bloody trail through the hapless soldiers, who were all taken aback by their suddenly misfiring weapons. Only the ones guarding Seo Hee were unaffected, but Sowon had taken the effort to avoid their direct line of fire, forcing her way through the thinnest line of defense with Umji in tow. She couldn’t avoid a few shots as a result, and her skin bubbled up painfully where she took glancing hits from the energy weapons. 

Gritting her teeth, Sowon shoved Umji through a door, sliding underneath the rapidly descending barrier to ditch their baffled pursuers. Umji looked a little rattled, but none the worse for wear. Sowon had made sure of that, though her armored coat was practically cut to ribbons from the strange weapons the soldiers held.

“Are you okay?” Umji tried to tend to Sowon’s wounds, but the mercenary waved her off, straightening up with a pale face. Beads of sweat slicked down the side of her temples, but at the very least, they had hit nothing vital. Pain was something she could deal with, until they were out of danger.

“Those were not lasers.” Sowon forced out through gritted teeth, already striding forward rapidly as they navigated the labyrinth hallways, dispatching errant soldiers casually as they went. The armored plating of her coat could deal with lasers. No, this was something else.

“Do you need to stop?” Umji looked worried. She was busy navigating and putting up barriers in between them and their pursuers, having taken full control of their automated access systems. They would need to force a hard reset and shutdown to boot her out of the system at this rate, and it was amazing no one had done so yet. It was as if something was helping her along by this point, and whatever it was, Umji was grateful.

“No I’m good, we’re almost there.” At least she wasn’t bleeding. That was a relief. She didn’t have time to stop to deal with lingering wounds. Sowon felt a little dizzy and ill from the blasts, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t deal with. They would have time enough to deal with injuries after they had gotten out. Sowon smiled grimly. Whatever goodwill truce they had with Tristar would be torn to shreds after this. She didn’t even know if it was worth it, but here they were anyway. There was no room for regret at this point.

The way out was in sight. Sowon forced back the wave of nausea rising within her, squaring her shoulders as she forged ahead, shooting a few more hapless troops foolish enough to get in her way. The burning on her skin felt unnatural, and she felt a strong need to scrub herself clean of whatever residue lay on it. 

Soon, she promised herself. Black spots winked into her vision, and she blinked rapidly to clear her sight. The empty hollow of her left eye felt like a mockery, and her brows knitted together in a frown when a black shadow suddenly cut in from her blind side, drawing blood from her neck even as she whipped backwards on sheer instinct. Any slower, and she would have lost more than just a little blood. Sowon kicked out on reflex, and the shadow rolled with the action, landing adroitly in a crouch, the fringes of her long black hair falling on either side to frame her face. 

Behind them, Umji gasped. Even with the visor goggles on, there was no mistaking who their latest assailant was. 

Pale as death, with fresh stitches raw on her face and neck, Yerin straightened, knife in hand as she blocked their only way out, her face an impassive mask. A visor was securely wrapped around her head, hiding her eyes from view. There was something eerily robotic about her, and there had been no hesitation when she had gone for Sowon earlier. 

The mercenary touched a hand to her neck, and it came away bloody. If not for the dermal plating and her own reflexes, the assassin would have severed her artery in one move. 

“Yerin?” Sowon tried tentatively, but her only reply was yet another lethal assault, again on her blind side. The leader cursed creatively, trying to fend her off without actually killing her. It was difficult. Yerin was actually very good at this, and fought dirty to boot. All too soon, fresh cuts were appearing on Sowon’s skin, nothing lethal or incapacitating, but it was annoying, and she still bled like a human being. Yerin would wear her out through a thousand cuts, even if she could avoid a killing blow. 

Sowon growled, ditching her rifle to fully focus on the melee. She couldn’t actually shoot Yerin, not like this, not after knowing that she was likely being manipulated by Tristar as an unwilling weapon. It wasn’t her fault, and she was just as much of a victim as anyone else.

But Yerin was actively trying to kill her right now. This wasn’t a friendly bout in a sparring ring. They were on enemy ground, and the assassin was clearly brainwashed and crazy at this point. Sowon fought back her lingering weakness, tasting metal on her lips as she tried to grapple with the slippery rogue. Surely Yuju would forgive some bruises on her girlfriend?

If, of course, she could actually beat the woman in a fair fight. Problem was, it was never fair to begin with, when one side fought to kill, and one only to disable. And Sowon was already wounded. It didn’t last long.

The tip of the knife grazed the leader’s throat, ready to force its way in when a different voice rang out.

“That’s enough. We wouldn’t want to harm our latest specimen too much, would we?”

Sowon was on her knees, panting in exhaustion as her vision swam. She had lost too much blood, and the burns sustained before were sapping her strength. Yerin halted her killing blow on command, but she still kept the downed mercenary in a submission hold to prevent her from breaking out. 

A clapping sound rang through the hallway as Director Han entered through a service passage.

“Excellent work. The field test appears to be preliminarily successful, doctor.”

“We’ll have to run more trials to be certain, director.” A deferent voice commented diffidently. “I would have preferred to have more time to work on the subject…”

“Nonsense, you’ve done well regardless. But yes, we do need to run more tests. Stability, repeatability, all this is good science.” The director’s gaze swept over the subdued Sowon and the trembling Umji in a corner. 

“Fresh meat for your table, doctor. I’ll leave them in your capable hands…”

And suddenly, a distant blast rocked the facility, the lights around them winking out in an instant as the ground shook, dropping the unprepared on their asses. Furious, the Director looked around, groping blindly in the dark as emergency lights popped on, barely lighting the hallway.

“What is going on?!”

A normal drive, taking into account peak traffic conditions, would take thirty minutes to reach the docks from the inner city.

Without traffic, perhaps half that.

SinB managed to get them there in a little over five minutes. Eunha didn't throw up or anything, but there was a very noticeable ring of bruises around Yuju's upper arm by the end of it. The shaman, to her credit, looked completely fine. You would be too, if you could use magic to adjust for vertigo. It was also why she hadn't healed through the death grip Eunha had on her arm throughout the ride though. It would take more focus than she actually had to do both.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it?"

SinB hopped off the van with a smug expression, completely heedless of the deathly pale complexions of her passengers. 

"Never. Again."

Eunha forced out through gritted teeth. Next to her, Yuju nodded somberly, rubbing gingerly on her bruised arm. Being flung around at high speeds even with a seatbelt on was nerve-wracking. She would sooner run to her destination than allow SinB to drive her again. It would be less hazardous to both her physical and mental health.

“Wimps.” SinB scoffed, looking at the watch where Umji had last broadcasted the entry coordinates. “Gotta figure out how to find them though…”

The ground shook beneath them, and Yuju looked at a certain direction simultaneously. SinB grinned viciously, thumbing off the safety of her guns.

“Guess someone’s been busy.”

Eunha nodded, tugging at Yuju’s arm to get her attention. The shaman didn’t look at her, her entire focus seeming to slice into the ground somewhere in the distance.

“They’re close. Down. ” A bead of sweat ran down Yuju’s cheek, blown away by the stiff winter wind before it got even halfway. Eunha cupped the side of her face soothingly.

“Don’t push yourself, you’re not at your best yet.”

A dark shadow crept into Yuju’s eyes, a low growl rumbling in . Eunha shuddered, feeling the air pressure drop all around them. Ahead, SinB turned around to hurry them on.

“Come on, there’s people ahead, we gotta take another way in....wait, Yuju, what are you doing…” Her voice died in the wind as the shaman shoved past her aggressively, a resigned Eunha trailing behind her. 

“No time.” Yuju’s voice was a hiss in the dark. The people SinB had been so wary of dropped like flies the moment they were within direct line of sight of the angry shaman, and next to the stunned gunslinger, Eunha straightened imperceptibly, reaching forward to link her fingers with the unleashed blood mage before them. Energy sparked between them, and the fire mage breathed out slowly as colour returned to her face, though it was not obvious in the growing darkness.

“Okay…” SinB lowered her guns, feeling vaguely useless for about a minute or two, then felt much better when she found a combat drone to shoot around the corner. At least Yuju couldn’t drain that.

Anything else that lived and breathed though, was fair game. SinB tiptoed very carefully behind the two magic users, dispatching security cameras and other automated defenses, while trying very hard to pretend she didn’t exist otherwise. Yuju wasn’t even trying to hide her capabilities right now, and Eunha seemed to be encouraging it. It would be scary if they weren’t on her side. 

Scratch that, it was still ing terrifying, but would SinB ever admit that out loud? Not now, she wouldn’t. At least Yuju seemed to grow more powerful with every collapsed body, and that had to be an asset for later. If anything, Eunha seemed to have things under control. SinB had to cling onto that belief, because she had literally no defense if Yuju ever decided she was a fair target.

The warehouse was a dark place, and their destination was down. Fire bloomed in Eunha’s hands as she lit the way, having abandoned stealth from the moment they stepped into the compound. Stealth wasn’t necessary when resistance was futile. Yuju was a natural disaster in the making, and SinB a wrecking ball out of necessity to silence any cameras. They couldn’t leave that kind of evidence behind. 

SinB understood what it meant to have a power like Yuju’s. If this ever got out, it would be open season on her. As much as the shaman terrified her, Yuju was still a friend, and friends had each other’s backs. Besides, SinB also liked shooting things. It wasn’t like Yuju was giving her any other targets to work with at this point.

The elevator shaft yawned open beneath them, and not even Eunha’s fire could light all the way down. The trio paused at the edge, and SinB kicked an errant object down the shaft to test the depth. 

The tinny echoes of the small metal part bounced against the walls for many seconds. SinB counted to eleven before she gave up, then looked at the grim faces of the mages next to her.

“We climb down?”

Yuju’s face was set in a tense scowl. Her skin seemed to be radiating with a dark energy, distorting the air around her if one were to look closely enough. Eunha seemed unperturbed though, glancing at her for confirmation. Yuju ground her teeth together.

“We jump.”

“What?”  

That was all the time SinB had to squeak out a single word before Yuju grabbed her by the wrist with her free hand, her other hand occupied in Eunha’s, and then stepping into the darkness without hesitation. Her voice was cold as she called out a name.

CHARLOTTE!

A rush of force as space warped all around them, and for a second SinB felt her stomach drop hard after the rapid downward momentum of their descent was abruptly halted. Suppressing the rollercoaster action of her acid reflex, SinB looked up almost instinctively, trying to figure out what had stopped them from dropping to their deaths.

Vast red wings arched out from Yuju’s back to hover like a giant parachute above them, slowing their descent as they floated almost gently down the shaft, still lit by the steady wisps of flame bobbing around Eunha like so many tiny lanterns. It didn’t make any sense, but then again, magic never did. 

They landed in a puff of dust, and Yuju snapped her fingers, the ethereal wings seeming to slither back into her with a sibilant hiss. This close to the shaman, SinB thought she could hear voices in that eerie red glow. As you wish, my Master, they said. Your will be done.

So that was certifiably creepy, but Eunha looked calm, so SinB managed to not freak out as well. Creepy speaking wings aside, the experience was actually quite cool, and SinB said as much out loud.

“We’ve got to do that again sometime!”

That earned her a quizzical glance from shaman and mage alike, with Yuju more puzzled and Eunha more amused in turns. Comical interlude aside, the cargo entrance was already damaged thanks to Sowon’s prior entry, and they had little trouble getting through.

And of course, no trouble at all seeing the standoff before them, even in the dim emergency lights from the backup power. SinB’s eyes flared, her pupils widening in the dark as she took in Sowon’s crumpled form, dark streaks that could only be blood painting the ground around her.

Standing above her, the sleekly lethal form of a familiar back standing vigil, knife to the leader’s throat. Eunha gasped quietly, and Yuju let go of her hand, taking one step forward as her gaze locked onto the figure that haunted her dreams.

“Yerin…”