The girls have struggled with the memory of Amanda’s predicament.

Andrea had been a good distance from the blast, and she had been struggling to free herself, thus sparing herself from seeing it happen. However, she still saw Amanda’s collapse, and took it especially hard considering that she was unable to prevent the disaster, as well as seeing Adele’s resulting sorrow. To help take her mind off of the tragedy, she used her time and effort into practicing what Alexa had planned for her. In addition, out of her growing appreciation for Amanda, she decided to take up meditation based on how she saw her unnie practice it in the days before, believing it could help ease her mind.

Just as she had in the immediate aftermath, Adele frequently spent time sitting next to Amanda, with Andrea paying her visits every now and then to check in on her. The younger girl would often tell the older of the things that they were doing, such as their interactions with Woori and what Alexa had been planning. Even if no response came from the unconscious girl, it served to help Adele overcome her inner sorrow. Adele also took to sharing a couch with Ashley, having witnessed her in tears trying to fall asleep the first night. Additionally, Adele found herself waking up at night to comfort Ashley from her nightmares, something that she did frequently with her brother.

Ashley herself took the incident the hardest, frequently finding herself thinking of her guardian angel, Amanda, and crying at the thought of her predicament and that she was now vulnerable without her. In addition, any mention of her name or anything that she perceived related to her would be a trigger, and the next thing you know, she’s hiding in the bathroom bawling her heart out. The one who most often comforted her aside from Adele was Alexa, as the latter frequently lent a shoulder without saying a word during these moments. At other moments, she would ask Ashley to show the true nature and extent of her abilities, encouraging her that she was truly capable of great things and that she was stronger than she believed herself to be. As the one to see her mission disintigrate right before her eyes and feeling a deep responsibility over the failure, this was also means to devise her next plan of finding the ancient armor. Additionally, this had an auxiliary effect of distract herself from the memory of Amanda’s predicament.

Aisha often felt the need to comfort everyone around her, as seeing the girls who had more or less become her sisters in pain was hard on her. In particular, she tasked herself to look after the young Ariel, who strangely was the only one who seemed to be in bright spirits. The trip to the bathroom had ironically saved the young nine-year old from seeing her eldest unnie getting hurt, and the fact that she could truly help Amanda heal by using her newly found powers was a pleasant memory for her. As the other girls continued to dwell, Ariel tried to cheer them up, but her results often felt in vain, particularly when it came to Ashley.

It’s now been a few days since the encounter. During the evening, the young Ariel decided to give Ashley something to eat. It’s the same bread and strawberry jam that Amanda had given her for their first meal. The Dark Adept pauses momentarily, then her eyes well up with tears. Soon she gets out of her chair and trudges to the bathroom. The others quickly notice the girl’s sobs progressively grow and see Ariel with her “present”, before quickly turning away to distract themselves, except for Aisha, who quickly kneels down in front of Ariel.

“I thought giving Ashley-unnie some bread with strawberry jam would cheer her up. Why did she cry?” Ariel asks.

“I know you want Ashley-unnie to be happy, Ariel, and I know you want to help,” Aisha says, pausing for a moment. “But… she just needs to be left alone sometimes, like the other unnies. You’ll understand when you get older.” I don’t think Ariel realizes that it was really Amanda-unnie who got Ashley-unnie that…

Aisha places her hands on Ariel’s shoulders. “I’m sure Ashley-unnie understands you want her to be happy, Ariel, she says with a smile. “I’m sure she will tell you that when she’s ready.”

Adele comes to their side as well. “Ariel, unnie can look after Ashley-unnie for you. Alexa-unnie will too. You look after yourself and Aisha-unnie, okay?”

Ariel nods her head. “Okay…” She still feels unsure about what went wrong, resolving to say sorry when she next saw her.

That moment comes a few hours later, just as most of the girls are getting ready for bed.

Ariel always took to walking around to say good night to everyone. That night, with Andrea on night duty watching Amanda, Ariel walks off to the hospital ward.

“Good night, Andrea-unnie.”

“Oh! Good night, Ariel! Sweet dreams!”

Ariel then walks up to Amanda. “Good night, Amanda-unnie. Wake up soon, okay?”

Andrea pats Ariel on the back, before kneeling down a bit to give her a hug. Ariel reciprocates quickly.

“You’re a good girl, Ariel. Unnie will be okay.”

“What about you, though? You also seem a bit sad.”

Andrea pauses for a moment. “…I am sad, Ariel. But… I have to be strong, too. For everyone, including you. Just like Amanda-unnie.” She then gives Ariel a quick peck on the forehead. “Have a good night’s rest, Ariel, okay?”

Ariel nods with a smile.

Returning to the couches, Ariel goes to find Alexa. “Where is Alexa-unnie?”

“She’s back at the monitors, Ariel,” Aisha says as she gives a long yawn.

Ariel scrambles to where she finds Alexa scribbling on her papers, looking back and forth from them and maps of the station that Amanda, Andrea, and Adele had given her, each with a series of scribbles.

“Aren’t you going to sleep, unnie?”

“Oh!” Alexa says with a jump. “You scared me there for a second, Ariel. I-I’ll be going to sleep when I finish up here, okay?”

“Promise?” Ariel stretches out her pinky.

Alexa sighs. “I promise, Ariel.” She then stretches her pinky out as well, locking with Ariel.

Ariel then jumps into Alexa, hugging her. “Good night, unnie.”

Alexa nods her head as Ariel lurches back slowly. “Good night, Ariel.”

Back at the couches once more, Ariel finds Aisha. “I found Alexa-unnie. She’ll be coming to sleep soon.”

“Okay, Ariel…” Aisha says with a drawl. “Good night…” she says while yawning, hugging Ariel from her couch at the same time. She pats Ariel on the back a few times. “Sweet dreams, okay?”

“Mmm! Good night, Aisha-unnie.”

Ariel then goes to Adele and Ashley’s couch. Only Ashley is there, as Adele is brushing her teeth.

“Good night, unnie.”

“Good night, Ariel.”

The two girls hug. Then, as Ariel pulls away, Ashley notices the young girl pause. “Is something wrong, Ariel?”

“…I’m sorry, unnie.”

“For what?”

“…the bread,” Ariel’s eyes slouching down.

“Oh!” Ashley gasps. Ashley then hugs Ariel again, patting her several times on the back. She then placed her hands on Ariel’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, Ariel. It just… made me think of Amanda-unnie. I’m okay now. I know you just wanted to make me feel better.”

Ariel begins to smile as Adele returns from the bathroom. Having heard Ashley’s words, she pats Ariel on the head. Kneeling down, she holds Ariel’s cheeks in her hands. “You’re very sweet, Ariel.” She then gives her a soft peck. “Go to sleep now, okay?”

Ariel gives Adele a hug. Of course… Adele thought.

“Good night, unnie.”

“Good night, Ariel!”

Ariel climbs into her couch, takes off her glasses, puts up her blankets, and slowly but surely, she drifts off into dreamland.

-

The following morning, Alexa is up bright and early. She ponders as stares at all of her notes and maps. As she paces about the table where she laid her materials, she nods her head every so often. Additionally, she’s keeping tabs on the monitors nearby, tracking every Scorn member to get an idea of the ever-changing shifts. The ultimate goal is to determine the best way to infiltrate the station for their eventual scourge on Hangar 18 and wipe out Scorn to save the passengers… and their families.

Of the passengers, Alexa and Ariel have tried for what now has been just over a week to find them, hoping to determine what happened to their families. Yet, nothing has been found. Not a single trace. Ariel had hypothesized that they could have been forced onto the trains, where no cameras could be found. Using the few cameras on the platforms, Alexa suspects that the hypothesis is likely to be true, as platform security has increased. Additionally, of the several trains still parked since the fiasco began, all have their windows’ shades pulled down.

As Alexa stares at one of her maps, Andrea comes in from the hospital ward. “Good morning…” she says while yawning.

“Hey…” Alexa says.

“How’s it coming along?” Andrea asks with a drawl.

“Almost done.”

“Huh...? Did I hear that right?”

“Yup. Just filling in the last details… and doing the last work. We should be ready by tomorrow. I’m going to start deciphering everything so I can explain what I’ve come up with. In the meantime, you should get ready with Ashley-unnie and Ariel to start the next food run.”

Andrea snaps awake. “Oh. My. Goodness. This is something. I better tell the others.” She then runs off.

Alexa heads to the monitors. “Copying is 98% complete. 2 hours. All on schedule.”

-

That night, the girls situate themselves near the couches, some sitting in them. The following morning, it would be go-time. A chance to turn things around. But, as they were all under-age, they lacked ice in their veins, aside from one. That one being the girl who is still out of action. Without the girl who brought them together, they’re all unsure. There’s a ading silence as they all stare at the ground. In an ironic way, there’s a cold atmosphere emanating from it all.

Ashley is hunched over, cupping her head in her hands. Adele lets her hands slack as she hunches over with her arms on her legs. Andrea’s standing up with her arms in her pockets. Alexa’s also standing but her arms are crossed. Aisha has her hand to her chin with her other hand at her hip. Ariel has her arms at her side. Nobody dares to speak.

Then, a sigh. Adele finally breaks the ice.

“We’ve got work to do.”

-

6:00 AM.

The station is eerily empty. One could hear a pin drop.

Scorn grunts stand silent. They’re everywhere. But one-by-one, they’re silently dropping like flies. Nobody has any clue why. All of the grunts scramble as one goes missing, trying not to make a scene of things.

Woori remained at her convenience store. Interestingly, she was one of the few who was allowed to continue working at the station after Amanda’s predicament. Nobody ever suspected her. She’s expecting the girls to come in a few hours, as they usually do. They are almost always the first to arrive, with the exceptions being hungry hostages.

Today just seems like a weird day, as the first to pass by her store are Scorn grunts.

“Where is Frag group? Any contact?”

“Negative. The line is dead.”

“Alright. Get half of Oxide group to investigate and cover. We’ve lost around 5% of our manpower since 5:30. We have to get to the bottom of all the disappearances. Any leads?”

“Negative.”

“Shh… ergh.” The grunt clicks his communicator. “Convenience Store. I could use some water to clear my head. Clerk! Water! Now!”

Woori points to the drinks section as she grabs a broom to start her sweeping duties.

“Your supply seems to be running low. Have you been… zzzzzzz…”

A thump on the ground.

“Zzzzzzz…”

Woori turns around to see Ashley and Alexa.

“Why are you here? And what did you two just do?” Woori asks.

“I just put him to sleep. Alexa, put the body somewhere.”

“Got it.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Sorry. Can’t tell you. Or else you’ll be in danger,” Alexa says, dragging the grunt’s body. The grunt is snoring loudly.

“You girls are trying to take these guys out, aren’t you? Also, isn’t it Andrea’s turn today to come over?”

“She’s elsewhere. Can’t tell you what she’s up to either,” Alexa says.

“Little girls playing secrets with me. How cute,” Woori chuckles.

“We’re serious, unnie. We don’t want them to suspect you,” Ashley says. “You’ve been clean this whole time.”

“How would you know that?”

“Can’t tell you that either!” Alexa calls as she leaves the grunt slouched against a trash bin across the hall.

Woori crosses her arms. “I really can’t catch a break, can I?”

-

Elsewhere, Andrea, Adele, and Ashley arrive at the halls leading to the tracks, nearby where the Scorn Leader had caught them a few days ago.

“Team Fire is in position,” Adele says into a walkie-talkie.

“Roger that, Team Fire. Team Smoke is Oscar Mike.” It’s Alexa on the other line. “Base, any updates?”

“No.”

“Gotcha, Ariel. What is your ETA, Team Smoke?”

“Team Smoke is 5 minutes out.”

“Alexa-unnie, are you sure you don’t need Amanda-unnie?” Ariel asks.

“If we need her, we should still be able to stall for time until she awakens,” Alexa responds.

“We have no idea how long that will take!” Adele says.

Then, instantaneously, there are shots heard in the distance.

“Ariel, what was that?” Alexa asks.

“I’m looking right now, unnie.” It takes several seconds before there’s an answer. “Unnie… I think there are passengers trying to escape from the trains… nobody is hurt, though.”

“What?!” Aisha says.

Another shot rings through the halls.

“Ok! It looks like the Scorn people are firing their guns in to the air to scare them off,” Ariel says.

“Passenger rebellion?” Adele asks. “Alexa, how does that change our plan?”

“You mean IF there is a change, what do we do…” Andrea says.

“Uhh… yea. That.”

“At this point, we need to see how this evolves. Stay put right there while we get closer.”

“Roger.”

Adele sighs.

“You’re not going to rush like last time, right?” Andrea asks. She’s greeted with a hit on the shoulder. “Hey! I was just joking, alright?”

“I have to admit, unnie, that was pretty ill-timed…” Aisha quips. “Especially considering what happened last time.”

Adele can only roll her eyes.

“Yea… sorry…” Andrea mutters as she looks down. She’s greeted with a soft bump. Andrea looks up to see Adele slowly giving a pout. She can only sigh.

Aisha lets the two share a moment as she recalls on her memory of what Alexa had tasked each of them to do.

I am responsible for gun control, Andrea-unnie takes care of the grunts, while Adele-unnie watches the passengers. Sounds simple enough. All we need is a spark. That way, with everyone distracted, Ashley-unnie and Alexa-unnie sneak in. But what about the passengers when they leave us? Will the military really be here like Alexa-unnie said they would?

Aisha takes the walkie-talkie. “Alexa-unnie… the military really is coming… right?”

“Ariel. Any updates from that monitor?”

“No.”

“Rats.”

“Wait! I think I see something!” There’s a pause from Ariel’s end. “Okay! Two dots just appeared!”

“What?! What’s the color?!”

“…they’re blue. What does that mean?”

“It’s the army. If it was more of Scorn or their allies, the dots would have been white.”

“Unnie, they appeared but they aren’t moving… at least I don’t think they are.”

“That radar covers a wide range, which is why you see that. Don’t worry! They’re on their way for sure!”

“Okay! I’ll keep watching it, unnie!”

“Ariel… any updates on Amanda-unnie?” Ashley asks.

“No.”

“Okay. We’re three minutes out,” Alexa says. “Base and Team Fire, let us know of any changes!”

“Roger.”

“Okay!”

-

Will the girls succeed in saving the station? Will Amanda wake from her slumber in time? Is the Scorn Leader out to get the girls again? Find out next chapter!

-

A/N: So I designed the beginning of this chapter to flesh out our characters a bit more (aside from Chorong), and to try to get some introspect into their reactions from what has happened considering that I wrote them as children (again, aside from Chorong, who is technically a young adult).
Also, if you were hoping to get a bit more insight into how powerful Naeun is, you'll have to wait just a little bit. Additionally, I figured I'd sprinkle more details about Yookyung's plan as we go through, rather than give an exposition dump, because we all know that Namjoo will inevitably point that out. There's also a bit of irony in that Namjoo gives us our first detail, ain't it?
The action is going to ramp up a bit, and I hope I don't botch my writing so that it comes off clunky.
Also, I've been dropping easter eggs as we go along. How many have you identified? kekeke
Hope y'all are enjoying your reading so far!

Playlist: Dig by Incubus