Author: Ruby

Main character: Winter (AESPA and GoT)

Minor character: Seulgi (Red Velvet, Soloist and GoT)

Location: Earth, South Korea and Kwangya.

Inspirations: Spicy (AESPA) and Step Back (Got the Beat)

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* * *

"Min-jeongah!". Sooyeon called excitedly. "Wait!! Min-jeongah!"

 

"Hi, unnie, what's up?". The pale girl replied serenely.

 

"Calm as usual... I brought this for you.". Sooyeon held out a delicately wrapped package. - Open it.

 

"What is it?". Winter thanked her by carefully unwrapping it.

 

"A gift, for what you've done.". The friend smiled.

 

"I did?". She frowned. Smiled when she saw black boots with pink details. "Thank you, unni! It's beautiful."

 

"I'm glad you liked it and yes, it's a thank you.". They exchanged hugs. "My AE told me what you and your AEs did for us, I was scared to death."

 

"Oh... it was nothing, we just wanted to help.". Winter answered gentle.

 

"No, Jeongah! We have to celebrate your help."

 

Before Winter could even try to respond, she noticed a presence watching from afar. She looked around the confused university environment, even narrowing her eyes, couldn't capture anything concrete... just the feeling.

 

"Thank you, Sooyeon-unnie.". She resumed her thanks. "I hope you and your AE are doing well."

 

"Yes, we are, we are slowly reconnecting.". Once again the smiling Sooyeon replied. "Well, I wanted to give you the present before classes ended, are you going to travel?"

 

"No, Karina and I are staying in town this summer.". She answered softly. "Giselle will go to family's house and Ningning, I'm not sure yet."

 

"If you want, you can come visit me any day, I'll also stay at home with Mino, he has some stuffs to finish.". Friend grimaced at the memory of her brother's work.

 

"Sure."

 

Winter said goodbye to her friend, thanking again for the gift, headed to the room where Karina was having her last class of the semester, arriving seconds after the bell rang. The strange feeling returned, this time closer, she looked around, but the crowd of students soon took over the corridors of the place, making it so that she could only glimpse long black hair and a shiny necklace.

 

"Winter! Ready for the holidays?". Karina emerged making the feeling disappear. "All good?"

 

"Everything, I'm ready to sleep for days and then play my new game.". She smiled. "I bought a new virtual reality game that you're going to love, AE-Winter is looking forward to the holidays as much as I am."

 

"I'm sure AE-Karina will love it.". Karina stopped her speech and frowned.

 

"Okay, unnie?"

 

"Yes...just...nothing.". She smiled after a few seconds. "We can go? I'm starving."

 

"Come on, unnie, free at last.". She smiled calmly.

 

"Free at last, my sweet Winter.". Karina hugged her friend to the side and they started walking.

 

The way to the apartment was completely diverted when the friends stopped at a cake shop, buying more than necessary for a hearty dessert, Winter wanted to skip lunch and go straight to her candy, however, her mother had already guided her about the lack of care, so she was trying to eat better. The friends chatted about trivialities, walking leisurely, the feeling of company returned at specific moments, the two seemed to feel something strange, however, it disappeared so quickly that they couldn't even reason about what happened, they just unconsciously quickened their pace, looking for the safety of the apartment.
The sensation disappeared completely near the building, bringing calm to the two, returning to smiling they walked happily towards their house. Climbing the stairs without worries, they opened the door of the comfortable apartment that the four friends shared.

 

"Who are you?!". Karina asked, startled to see a young woman in the middle of the apartment, looking very interested in the decor. Long black hair, black clothes and a simple choker with a sparkling stone in the center.

"Woah! You! Is a pleasure!". The woman had a friendly and kind expression, smiling to the point that her eyes became two lines. "You must be Karina and you...Spring?". She asked in confusion as Winter came up with a baseball bat, however, the visitor didn't seem to be scared.

 

"Winter". She corrected without emotions. "And you are?"

 

"Winter! Sure! Winter.". She gently tapped her own forehead and smiled again. "Woah! I was very curious to meet the Mamba assassins, I must say that you look a little fragile... but, as humans say, appearances can be deceiving."

 

"Who are you? How do you know about Black Mamba?". Karina tried to hide her nervousness.

 

"I'm Kang Seulgi, but you can just call me Seulgi.". She waved excitedly. "I am a member of the Red Velvet beings, a being of Kwangya."

"Kwangya..." Winter and Karina quickly exchanged glances.

 

"Yes, citizen of Kwangya."

 

"Naevis commented that there were several beings within the Kwangya.". Karina whispered to Winter.

 

"Naevis! Of course, how could I forget? You had help from a Naevis, obviously.". She sat down on the couch, encouraging the girls to sit across from her.

 

"... So... Miss Seulgi... what did you come here to do?... on Earth... ". Karina asked as she sat down, Winter still hadn't dropped her weapon, eyeing the visitor suspiciously.

 

"As I said, I was very curious to meet you guys, it's not every day that humans destroy a dimensional virus, right? But that wasn't the only reason I came, you can imagine.". She laughed. "Well... you became famous in Kwangya, so there's a general wanting to meet you, I came to pick you up."

 

"A general? Pick us up? Sorry, I don't think I understand."

 

"You've shown minimal commitment to your AEs, that and your fight with the Mamba, piqued the interest of one of the Kosmos leaders... So... can we go?"

 

"Why would we go with you?". Winter narrowed her eyes, Seulgi smiled analyzing the two, she seemed to weigh which would be the best answer.

 

"I know you must not understand the importance of things, human lives are... different, but, you have already been to Kwangya and FLAT, uninvited.". She smiled without teeth. "Now you are being summoned, just follow me, I promise to return them safely to Earth."

 

"What do you think?". Karina asked Winter.

 

"It doesn't seem very safe to me, we don't even know who she is.". Winter whispered back.

 

"I already told you that my name is Seulgi and... I can still hear you."

 

"We could wait for the others...". Karina continued after a lackluster apology.

 

"Giselle is traveling with her family and Ningning must be with one of her hacker friends.". She remembered.

 

"So what do you think we should do? You said you met a Kwangya being once."

 

"Yes, but it was unintentional. I was playing and out of nowhere I appeared in a desert, and I didn't find a woman... it was a man in white robes.". Winter informed, staring at Seulgi for a few moments. "I don't think we really have a choice."

 

"We don't have a choice, do we?". Karina looked at Seulgi, who was paying attention to their conversation with serenity, while she fiddled with her choker.

 

"Everyone has a choice... but I should insist if you deny it."

 

"OK, let's go.". The girls spoke together.

 

"Perfect!"

 

Seulgi jumped out of his seat, opening a P.O.S in the middle of the room, with a smile, she pointed the way. As they passed through the portal, they found themselves again at the train station AESPA had glimpsed for the first time months ago, it didn't look so different, still empty, only the three women were there. Seulgi walked to an information station that had previously gone unnoticed by humans, typed something quickly and in a moment a train came floating up to stop on the platform, it only had one car beyond its control cabin, causing confusion in the girls.

"It's a private train, this one will take us straight to the general.". Kang explained. "The Lady relented so that I could take you to safety"

"I've never understood why a train...". Winter commented as she entered. "Aren't you magical beings?"

 

"That would be summing up our nature too much.". Seulgi looked a little bit offended. "Human creations have their value and usefulness and, we can say, that each being has its own kind of magic in Kwangya. This includes the techno magic you guys came into contact with your Naevis' help."

 

"I understood. And what are Red Velvet beings?"

 

"You're curious.". She smiled, pulling her eyes away from the window and looking at Winter. "We are... what you would classify as witches, I guess. We are transcendental beings who can alter reality."

 

"Seem to be very powerful beings.". Karina thought aloud, attracting Seulgi's attention. "Are you the leader?"

 

"There are beings more powerful than us.". She pinched the bridge of her nose and smirked. "No, my leader is called Irene, but I'm not on a mission for my group... so... she doesn't know I'm here."

 

"More powerful...like the general who summoned us?"

 

"Yes, she is certainly the one who has the most contact with the other beings of Kwangya. I don't know what her real power is, she doesn't usually show it, but, you can definitely feel the powerful aura she exudes."

 

"Did you know that there is a cake on Earth with the same name as your group?". Winter asked distractedly.

 

"They were named after us, not the other way around, Winter.". Seulgi laughed at the two of them; She had a harmless, good-natured appearance, almost like a walking teddy bear.

 

"You've been to Earth before, then."

 

"My sisters and I love Earth.". She assumed a mischievous expression. "We love humans, especially couriers."

 

"Why?". Winter narrowed her eyes.

 

"They bring happiness into homes and are always extremely fun people.". She replied smiling.

The trip didn't seem to last more than twenty minutes, Karina tried to ask some more information about the invitation, however, Seulgi reinforced that everything would be clarified by that general; Winter, unlike her friend, kept silent, suspicious of the whole situation even though the woman did not seem to pose any danger, since the loss of contact with Naevis, she felt the guilt of not having helped her AE as she should, therefore, she observed the whole situation with distrust.

 

The train stopped in front of some sort of ancient temple, a large building, almost ceremonial, the outer columns detailed, imposing, but at the same time strange, perhaps worn out, as if its peak had already passed. Seulgi smiled and indicated for them to enter the place, Winter blinked slowly wondering if she should activate one of her weapons, however, when exchanging glances with Karina, she preferred a neutral approach at first, remembering that until that moment nothing had gone wrong during the trip.

 

The three entered the temple, guided by the eldest. It was a large place, without furniture, a straight path to the center, a small unadorned altar, in the background a stained glass window that represented a supernova, the floor was dark and contrasted with details in red that went down the internal columns. A small figure with long gray hair watched the stained glass, with her back to the newcomers, light robes with delicate details in silver.

"Is that the general?". Winter asked Seulgi in a low voice, who quickly shook her head.

 

"Musa Taeyeon, we're here.". Kang spoke with a friendly voice drawing the woman's attention.

"Welcome, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.". The woman was of short stature, jovial appearance and somewhat fragile, almost shy smile. "You can call me Taeyeon."

 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Karina and this is Winter.". She nodded in agreement.

 

"Taeyeon-unnie, where is Lady Kwon?". Seulgi manifested.

 

"I already told you that you don't need to treat me with such formality, Kang Seulgi.". From an adjacent hallway came a good-natured, almost sly voice. A woman with long dark hair, elegant, wearing a red dress, her eye sockets denoted wisdom. "It's a pleasure, girls."

"Nice to meet you, general...". As soon as she stood in front of the three, next to Taeyeon, the woman waved her hands as if rejecting the adjective.

 

"No, you don't have to call me that, my name is BoA.". She shook hands with both of them, repeating a human greeting she had learned. "I'm glad you responded to my invitation."

 

"We would never refuse...". Winter glanced at Seulgi who was laughing in amusement. "Is a pleasure."

 

"You are the famous Black Mamba assassins.". Taeyeon analyzed the two, interested. The girls shifted uncomfortably, the title "murderers" weighed too heavily on their minds, they didn't think of themselves that way, they had just helped their AEs.

 

"They had help from the Naevis who resided in the FLAT.". Seulgi answered. "But yes, it's them, I checked their IDs."

 

"Sit down.". BoA indicated a luxurious round table that Winter could have sworn wasn't there a second earlier. "Would you like something to eat?"

 

"No, ma'am.". Karina smiled. "Thanks."

 

"Latte Americano.". Taeyeon spoke up, prompting a small laugh from the general, who promptly conjured up two coffees and a cake for Seulgi.

 

"I don't mean to be rude, but..."

 

"You want to know why you're here.". BoA laughed after taking a sip of her drink. "Well, it's a bit complicated to summarize, we can start with more formal introductions. I am the young general Kwon BoA; this is the goddess muse Kim Taeyeon, leader of the Girls Generation pantheon, and the girl who brought you guys is Kang Seulgi, member of the transcendental group Red Velvet.". Taeyeon and Seulgi made more formal greetings, being mirrored by the humans. "We called you here because we need to align our goals and, as you have entered the Kwangya more than once, you were the obvious choice."

 

"Our goals?". Karina asked confused. BoA twisted her lips a little, seeming to ponder the right way to proceed, with a wave of her hand, a floating orb that resembled a snow globe appeared in the center of the table.

"As you can imagine, I was born many ages ago, before the universes were a reality, long before the current beings of Kwangya existed.". The sphere came to life with the woman's every word, a visual representation of the story to be told. "I was the last of my brothers to emerge. Everything at that time was in the most perfect harmony, we created worlds trying to make sense of the emptiness of existence, however, at the same time as we were creating, creatures from a specific dimension tore the veil of reality and began to destroy and spread chaos, leaving a trail of death in their wake.". BoA glared at the sphere before continuing, her gaze was distant and her expression a bit tense, she didn't seem to want to dwell on the subject. "As expected, a war soon started. Cause I was young, my brothers didn't want me to fight, so I helped with the protection of the beings that were emerging, our star children. The army of Kosmos was led by the H.O.T and S.E.S forces, my older brothers... there were millennia of bloodthirsty battles, countless losses... TRAX, M.I.L.K and even H.O.T members perished in those dark times.". The woman swallowed hard, holding back tears as she remembered her brothers, she looked away at the stained glass window, trying to recover.

 

"They burned my place of origin.". Seulgi commented grimly, for the first time losing the friendly sparkle in her eyes. "My garden... my sisters were killed before they even had a chance to be born... Red Velvet is the last transcendental union, of an entire race, only five of us are left."

 

"My sister Sunny still gets scared when she hears explosion noises.". Taeyeon commented angrily. "We were practically disoriented children."

 

"The war against Chaos generated traumas and deep wounds.". BoA resumed the word, Winter and Karina remained silent, silent tears stained their faces as they watched the images that appeared in the sphere, they felt a pain pierce their insides; beings they didn't even know fought for their lives against misshapen monsters; frightened children ran everywhere, a younger version of BoA, with light hair, hurriedly guided a group of people, while clumsily and nervously carrying a small cherry blossom, while five men with angelic wings fought intense fights in the skies and three women led troops on the ground. "After millennia, we finally managed to seal off the red dimension and kill the remaining creatures. Finally giving us the opportunity to begin rebuilding the universes, the Kwangya came into being, several systems, including the solar one, were born. My sisters, S.E.S, retired to the resting stars, leaving my older brother, Kangta, and I to tend what was being recreated. We have lived in peace for several ages."

"But that's over, isn't it?". Winter asked quietly, generating a smile shared by the three entities.

 

"Yes, actually, it's close to being finished". Taeyeon replied.

 

"New rips in the veil of reality were detected by our troops, you came into contact with a young and rowdy being, who took the form of a black Mamba, after infecting and corrupting one of our Naevis."

 

"Black Mamba..."

 

"Yes, she presented herself as a virus that severed the connection with the AEs, feeding on human hatred and their insecurities. You girls bravely faced and defeated the being". BoA pursed her lips again. "I won't deny that it was a very inconsequential attitude, mainly because humans are extremely fragile beings, however, I cannot dismiss the courage and effort of your small group."

 

"Our AEs were in danger.". Karina and Winter spoke at the same time. "We couldn't leave them. Naevis explained what happened."

 

"In fact, all humans were in danger". Corrected Seulgi. "But yeah, your AEs too."

 

"The Naevis who helped you had committed a crime and should not have left her post at FLAT". Taeyeon completed. "Nor having come into contact with you."

 

"What happened to Naevis?". Karina asked nervously. "She fainted in front of us and shortly afterwards we were transported back to Earth, what about the Black Mamba?"

 

"Girls, calm down". BoA spoke. "The Black Mamba threat has been contained."

 

"What about Naevis?". Winter insisted.

 

"Naevis was serving her punishment, by leaving FLAT to help you, her fate was decided by the KosmoZen's". The girls wanted to complain and say that it was unfair, the AI had helped them and their friends so much, however, they lowered their faces in contained indignation, so as not to affront the entities.

 

"Can we talk to these KosmoZen's?". Karina tried gently.

 

"The KosmoZen's don't like to come to Kwangya". BoA gently denied it, however, her eyes indicated annoyance, it was obvious she knew more than she was sharing. "You can't dispute your decisions, we can't tell you where you are."

 

"You liked her, it's remarkable, but there are others". Seulgi tried to cheer them up. "The FLAT Naevis knew what she was doing by abandoning her post, she wanted to save you, so remember that sacrifice with appreciation."

 

"We understand that they became fond of her and your AEs". BoA resumed still kindly. "That's why we called you here. War is returning, Black Mamba was one of the beings that managed to escape and soon hordes began to overcome dimensions, we need help."

 

"How could we help?". Winter questioned.

 

"I would never ask you to go into battle again, it's too dangerous, so Taeyeon and I decided to set up a small information task force."

 

"Earth is a weak link in the universe, they are a new race, so you can help us by giving us information about how the situation on the planet is going."

 

"Why us and not government leaders?"

 

"In addition to being young, humans are a very suspicious race". BoA shrugged. "They would mistake us for a threat, causing panic. Your group of friends already have the slightest notion of what Kwangya is and what you faced, so it's easier to establish a conversation; we must also remain cautious, we are ancestral beings, our presence attracts attention and this would awaken even more the interest of the creatures on the planet, with you passing on the information it is safer."

 

"Our group is small, it will not exceed seven members, so as not to attract attention from either side". Taeyeon informed. "Me and my sister Hyo, Seulgi and Wendy, another member of Red Velvet, you two and BoA-unnie."

 

"Like, I can't be present full-time". BoA started the speech. "The official leadership of this group is from Taeyeon, you answered her."

 

"Sometimes you girls will be called to the Kwangya, but initially all the work will be done on Earth". Seulgi smiled. "Those responsible for traveling between dimensions will be me and my sister."

 

"Obviously this is an invitation, you have the option to decline". BoA and Taeyeon said. "We understand that you have your own routines."

 

"We accept". Karina spoke firmly.

 

"Fast". Seulgi commented smiling at the others.

 

"By Naevis's sacrifice, we accept". Winter reiterated.

 

"Excellent! It will be a pleasure". Taeyeon smiled knowingly.

 

"Now we just need a name". Seulgi manifested.

 

"What about... ". Winter thought for a few seconds. "Got The Beat?"