[Last Reminder that PIZ: Secret Files comes before this]

"Wonnie, you see that window up top? Lift Gaeul-unnie up there to break the lock, so we can enter from there." A short-haired girl with an uncanny resemblance to a puppy directs. She, along with two other girls, were standing outside an abandoned warehouse under the cover of darkness..

"Sure, Yujinnie, no problem." The aforementioned girl says with a nod.

"Wait, Yujin, why can't I just break the door here?" The older girl, Gaeul, asks in confusion. "Also, are you and Wonyoung really going to use your pet names on a mission?"

"The door would be too obvious. Plus, being on higher ground will give us a better view of things." Yujin replies, ignoring the second question. The dim lighting was just able to hide her reddened cheeks.

"But-" Gaeul tries to debate more, but Wonyoung cuts her short by waving her arms and lifting the blonde girl, who was clearly miffed about not getting a say, upwards to the target.

When she's finally hovering in front of the window, Gaeul extends her hand and grips onto the lock. Slowly but surely, the metal starts to degrade and weaken until she's able to rip it off as if it were made of paper. Gaeul gives her two friends on the ground a thumbs up before opening the window and jumping in.

"Alright, your turn, unnie." Wonyoung says with a smile before levitating Yujin to the opening.

"Hmm, no sign of the target..." The puppy says as she surveys the area. The inside of the warehouse contained rows and rows of pallet racks that stacked up to the roof. This made it difficult to see further, prompting Yujin to tap into the comm device in her ear.

"Rei, Liz, are you in? We're on one of the catwalks." She asks while Wonyoung floated herself up to join them.

"Yeah, but there's nothing really visible from our position." Rei replies. The duo's entrance was far more direct than their leader's. Liz simply walked through the side entrance while Rei melded a sheet of metal next to her into a key which opened the door. They were now tiptoeing their way through the ground floor, the thinness of the corridors making them feel a bit claustrophobic.

"How about you, Leeseo? You see anything from above?" Yujin asks the maknae.

"Nope. All clear on the roof, unnie." The younger girl says as she floats above the building. Though Leeseo's control over her flight abilities has greatly improved over the last six months, Yujin was still hesitant on letting her get too close to the action.

"Ugh, that means the target is in one of these boxes..." The leader mumbles to herself before Gaeul taps her on the shoulder.

"We need to move quickly. We don't have much time." She says, showing Yujin a timer that was counting down from 30 minutes.

"Then let's get to it then." Wonyoung interjects, levitating a large wooden box over to them and opening it to reveal... nothing. "Oh, this isn't going to be fun."

The others follow suit and spread out to break open every box only to come up with much of the same. While they were doing so, a thought ran through Liz' head.

"Uh, girls, didn't Eunbi-unnie say to prepare for security? I haven't seen a single guard." She says.

"You're right... Are you sure we're even in the right warehouse?" Gaeul asks after melting another box filled with nothing but packing peanuts.

"Wait, this box looks a bit different." Rei comms when she sees a container with a red outline. "I sense something metal within..."

Those words are what made Yujin finally realize where the security was.

"Yah, Rei, don't open it!" She shouts, but it was too late. The Japanese girl had already lifted the box's lid off to be greeted by a glowing red eye.

"What the-" Before she could react, a robotic arm extends and smacks her right in the face.

"Rei? Rei-ya?" Liz asks through the comm device when a loud static sound is heard. Suddenly, another box from above breaks open on its own to reveal a large metal cube which fell down right in front of her.

"Yujin-unnie... we might have a problem." The blonde-haired girl says as the cube expands into what appears to be a robot with glowing red eyes.

From the catwalk above, Yujin and the others spotted where Liz was. A couple corridors away though, they could also see the silhouette of Rei already in combat with one of the robots.

"Gaeul-unnie, you go help Rei. Wonyoung and I will go to Liz." The two girls nod at the leader's orders and jump into the action.

While this is all unfolding though, Leeseo was still floating in the air with conflicted thoughts. She was told by Yujin to be the lookout, but they were now in the middle of a fight and running out of time to complete the mission.

"Hmm, Yujin-unnie can get mad at me later." The maknae eventually says before diving towards the roof entrance.

~~~~

Liz didn't have much issue avoiding the machine's attacks as she just phased through the pallet racks and boxes. The problem was that she couldn't hit back. The robot's shell was made of a type of strong metal, and she wasn't going to break her hand trying to punch it a second time.

"Yah, you bucket of bolts! Over here!" The voice of Gaeul calls to get the robot's attention. By the time it turns, the short-haired girl's palms were on its leg, aging the joint until it falls off.

Before Gaeul could pat herself on the back though, the leg starts to shudder and pull itself back into the robot's socket. The machine's arm then transforms into a cannon, charging up an energy attack.

"Okay... these things were designed a little too well." Gaeul says before grabbing Liz's arm and running away.

~~~~

Meanwhile, Yujin and Wonyoung just arrived to where Rei was to see her trying to take on her robot foe on her own. She managed to use her powers to pull the thing apart, but every time, it would simply reassemble itself.

"Rei! Try that move again!" Wonyoung says, calling her friend's attention. The Japanese girl nods and this time, before the robot's limbs could magnetize back, the bunny uses her telekinesis to grab one of them. This gave Rei enough time to crumple the metal up and make it unusable. From the sounds the robot was making, it was clearly unhappy to be standing on one leg. The sudden disability didn't make it any less of a threat though as it began firing energy blasts at the girls' direction.

Yujin closes her eyes, feeling for any sign of liquid until she feels a pull in her gut. When the puppy opens her eyes, the sprinkler system from above bursts, all the water flowing right towards the robot and encasing it in a bubble. Eventually, the water overpowers the machine's circuits and it shuts down.

"Okay, because of the locations of the two red boxes. The target must be somewhere in between." Yujin surmises, scanning behind where they came until her eyes land on a black box that was now visible after their fight destroyed all the boxes in the area. Before she could motion everyone to head for it though, another explosion rocks the opposite side of the warehouse.

"It's Gaeul and Liz! We have to help them!" Wonyoung says.

"Wait, we have only a few minutes left though. I think we have to trust them to handle it, and go for the box before it's too late." Yujin replies, suddenly flustered after taking out and looking at the timer in her pocket.

"But I don't think they have the ability to stop that thing. If it took all three of us to beat one robot, they'd be having a much harder time." The bunny argues back. Yujin didn't know what she would've said because at that moment, a blur in the air speeds by them towards their other teammates.

"Leeseo??? Yah, you're supposed to be on lookout duty!" Yujin says through their comm device.

"I am looking out! Looking out for our friends! Now go get to the target!" The youngest replies, not waiting for a response. Yujin sighs and leads Wonyoung and Rei to the black box.

~~~~

Gaeul and Liz had finally been backed into a corner. Neither could get close enough to use their powers, though at that point, they didn't feel like it would matter with how resourceful the machine was.

"I did not think it was all going to end in a mission like this, unnie." Liz whispers as the robot charges up another attack. The younger girl could've easily phased away, but she didn't want to leave Gaeul behind.

"Don't be so afraid, unnie!" A voice says from above. It was Leeseo who dove right towards the robot at high speed and knocked it over. "It's a machine and they always have a weakness. Like an off switch."

"As if this thing's going to have a button we can just push to turn it off. Also, I wasn't scared!" Liz replies, trying to play off her panic from earlier.

"An off switch..." Gaeul thinks, an idea forming in her head. Before the robot could get itself back up, the older girl rushes towards it and places both hands on its back. The metal began to corrode until she was able to tear off the sheet and reveal its core. Gaeul wanted to rip it out herself, but it was being shielded by an energy field.

"Yah, Liz! Aim for the middle! The off switch!" The short-haired girl says before suddenly being picked up and thrown into a stack of pallets.

"Unnie!" Leeseo shrieks. She attempted to fly towards her but was blocked by another energy attack.

"Leeseo, I think I got it! Can you distract it for a second?" Liz asks to which the younger girl nods. Leeseo moves in closer and flies around the robot in circles, nimbly dodging all of its attacks.

"Alright, Liz, you can do this." The blonde-haired girl mumbles to psyche herself up before running straight towards the robot. By the time it turns to notice her, Liz phases and jumps straight through the machine, coming out on the other side with what appeared to be a battery..

"Night, night." She says with a smirk. Now without its powersource, the robot's eyes dim before falling to the ground motionless.

~~~~

Back with the other girls, Yujin was trying her best to break open the box to no avail. Rei tried as well, but it appeared the container was sealed with something that wasn't made of metal.

"Ugh, what do we do now?" The puppy asks in a frustrated tone.

"Calm down, Yujin. Let me have a try." Wonyoung says, putting a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

Yujin moves aside and watches as Wonyoung extends her hands forward, lifting the box up to mentally examine it. Suddenly, it begins to shake as beads of sweat form on the bunny's forehead.

"Okay, Yujin, Rei. On my signal, I'm going to pull really hard and you have to catch whatever falls out." The two girls nod, and after a couple more seconds, Wonyoung increases her exerted force to tear the box in half. From the inside, a black sphere fell out, and the puppy was quick to grab it.

"Nice! We did it!" Yujin says, but when she takes out and looks at her timer, she's shocked to see that it had already reached zero.

The sphere now begins to emit a red glow, and the puppy had a feeling she knew where this was going,

"Take cover!" She shouts as she drops the sphere and jumps behind a pallet rack along with Wonyoung and Rei. They wait anxiously for the big explosion, but it never comes. Instead, when they took a peek back at where the ball had been dropped, they saw a little flag had popped out of it with confetti to match.

"So close, Yujin, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to fail you and IVE on this test." A new voice says from across the room.

"Oh, come on, Eunbi-unnie! It was the first time, and you didn't give us any clear instructions." Yujin whines as the simulation begins to fade around them, leaving an empty white room behind.

~~~~

"How were Sakura's new toys? They were pretty strong, right?" Eunbi asks with a chuckle as the six members of IVE enter the debriefing room. A lot has changed on PD campus in the past few months, and today was the unveiling of a new training activity that Sakura had called "bomb squad". It was a nice change of pace from the endless capture-the-flag events, but Yujin would've appreciated knowing more details beforehand.

"Where'd she even get those? They almost killed us, unnie." The puppy says.

"They actually wouldn't have. Kkura made sure to set these prototypes to stun for their energy attacks." The older girl replies flatly.

"Ugh, maybe tell her to add a 'don't throw us into walls' mode." Gaeul quips, rubbing at her sore shoulder.

"Okay, you got me there. Hongki-sunbae will have you fixed up in a jiffy. Again, this was only a test run for the simulation. I sent you girls because I know you've trained hard recently, and I trusted you to gauge if it would be too difficult or easy for the other trainees. Evidently, I might have to call Kkura up to add in some difficulty settings." Eunbi says, writing it down on a notepad so she doesn't forget. With all the things she's in charge with, having a list has become very important.

"That's about it. You're all free to go to lunch except Yujin. I need to have a word with her." She then says, her tone shifting to a more serious one.

"What about me, unnie?" Wonyoung asks, taking a hold of her girlfriend's hand.

"Not today, Wonyoung. I'm sorry. This is something I need to talk with her about in private." The bunny's facial expression drops at those words before returning an understanding nod.

"Okay, unnie. We'll meet you at the cafeteria, Yujin." Wonyoung says, giving the puppy's hand a reassuring squeeze before leading the group out.

~~~~

"You still have a long way to go, Yujin." Eunbi says when the two are finally alone.

"What do you mean, unnie? We were just a second or two off from completing the mission." Yujin replies, not understanding the older girl's words. Like Eunbi had said, they were basically their best unit on campus with Le Sserafim and other IZ*ONE members offsite. They also usually won the capture-the-flag games and were praised for their elite combat skills. How much more do they need to prove?

"It's not about that. Your skills are fine. It's just from what I saw today, your teamwork is still a bit disjointed. I think you girls got too used to capture-the-flag. I get it's fun to use it as training, but it's still supposed to be taken seriously. I didn't tell you about the robots because I wanted to see how you'd react in a 'life or death' situation, something you wouldn't get from the other training activities since you know your classmates are your comrades."

"You split up without much of a plan. Then, when Gaeul and Liz were in trouble, you didn't send help. I get you're supposed to trust your teammates, but you should've at least sent Rei, Wonyoung, or even yourself to support them. If Leeseo hadn't deviated from your orders, who knows what would've happened. Gaeul had a point- just because the robots are set to stun, doesn't mean they can't do damage."

Eunbi's words were pointed and critical towards Yujin's actions causing the puppy to begin realizing her point. Being in charge of this many people is no easy task, and she should've been more attentive and flexible. The fact that nothing huge outside of campus has happened over the past few months must've made her complacent.

"I'm sorry, unnie. I should've been better." Yujin eventually says with her head hanging low.

"I'm not upset, Yujin. I just know you and the team have a lot of potential." Eunbi replies, pushing the puppy's head back up to face her eyes. "You're still young. You're bound to make mistakes, and what matters is learning from them."

"Okay, unnie. Thank you. I'll try my best!" Yujin says, her wide smile returning which prompts the Eunbi to ruffle her hair.

"You should go and meet the others for lunch now." The older girl says. When Yujin is gone, Eunbi sits on one of the room's chairs and looks through her notes again to send to Sakura.

~~~~

"Yujinnie! How was it? Eunbi-unnie didn't scold you too hard, did she?" Wonyoung asks when her girlfriend arrives at the table with a tray of food. Though the others had already started eating, the bunny had insisted on waiting for Yujin, which is saying something because Wonyoung was usually a heavy eater.

"It was fine. She just gave me a few leadership tips. I know I could've done better back there, girls. It was my bad." Yujin says with an apologetic bow. The others were quick in supporting their leader, but she wasn't hearing it.

"Just because I'm the leader, doesn't mean I'm perfect. If you feel like my judgment is wrong, call me out on it. We're a team, and we should be open to these discussions." The puppy looks at Leeseo at the last part, knowing that the maknae's quick deviation from her orders saved Gaeul and Liz a couple extra bruises.

"I hope that means you'll start treating me like an unnie now." Gaeul jokes, breaking the tension at the table as the members began to laugh. Yujin smiles as she takes a seat, finally being able to dig in.

Unfortunately, she didn't get to enjoy her meal for long as her and Wonyoung's phones began ringing shortly after.

"Hmm? Someone's calling the IZ*ONE group chat." The bunny says in an anxious tone. They usually just used the GC for texting which meant that if someone was calling, it was an emergency. Wonyoung quickly accepts the call, motioning Yujin and the others to come closer. What they see are two familiar faces, Nako and Hitomi. Normally they'd be glad to be contacted by them, but judging by the scratches and soot on their faces, it wasn't a happy occasion.

"Nako-unnie? Tomi-unnie? What happened to you girls?" Wonyoung asks worriedly as some of the other IZ*ONE members joined the call.

"We were attacked by a group of machines like the android we sent to Korea months ago." Nako says before having a coughing fit, prompting Hitomi to take over.

"Jurina-san is in bad shape. We barely kept them at bay." The peach-cheeked girl says tiredly.

"Do you need our support? We can send a group over if you want." Eunbi says, also having joined the call.

"No, we'll be the ones to come to you. Those robots...they had Korean characters on them. We believe they were sent here and need to get to the bottom of it." Hitomi replies.

"Alright, I'll have Seunggi-sunbae get some tickets for you two. We'll see you in a couple days. Stay safe." At this, the two Japanese girls give weak smiles before dropping the call.

"Korean robots sent to Japan? Nako and Hii-chan must've been targeted." Yujin mumbles to herself as thoughts swirl in her head. Meanwhile, Wonyoung stares at the horizon beyond the cafeteria windows, not having the appetite to finish her food anymore.

"Peace couldn't last forever, now could it?"  She thinks.