“Alright, Miyawaki. Have you finally finished your revisions?” Dr. Han asks as she peers into the room they’d locked Sakura in.

“Yeah, I hope everything will be to your liking.” Sakura replies sarcastically as the scientist approaches.

Okay, Kkura. You have one shot at this. She thinks to herself, eyeing the USB Dr. Han was holding. She hadn’t tried it before, but now was as good a time as any to do so.

“Hands behind your back.” The scientist reminds while making a show of the button she had in her other hand that could electrocuted Sakura at a moment’s notice.

Dr. Han leans down to plug the USB. Once she does, she faces the monitor and begins dragging the files over. Sakura waits a couple seconds, letting her target build a false sense of security before making her move.

The Japanese girl suddenly kicks her leg out, striking the scientist in the ribs and dislodging her control remote, which falls next to the PC. Both women dive for it, but Dr. Han manages to get to it first and press the button. Sakura is quickly stunned and falls to the ground.

“Yah, did you really think it’d be that easy? Weren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Dr. Han says with a sneer on her face. “As if you would’ve gotten that far. You won’t be getting out of here for a long time.”

Sakura lays on the floor, staring as the scientist pulls out the USB from the PC and walks away. What Dr. Han doesn’t notice is the triumphant smirk on the Japanese girl’s face as the door is shut.

Got it… When they both dove on the floor, Sakura’s target hadn’t been the remote. She knew she wouldn’t be able to just get out on her own without being caught. Instead, in the confusion, she’d reached over to the USB and planted a bit of her consciousness in it.

After a couple minutes, a part of her senses the flash drive being plugged into another computer. When she closes her eyes, she’s able to see everything within said computer- files, schematics, you name it.

So I’m located within Chuncheon Robotics. That isn’t that far. Sakura thinks to herself after checking her location. She then begins forming an inconspicuous message to send to Eunbi. Once she sends it though, the computer begins to flash warnings.

Okay, their cybersecurity is pretty strong. I’m going to need to come back later when the others get me out. She thinks. Sakura would need her full consciousness there to be able to bypass everything, not just a fraction of it. At the very least, she managed to get a message out, and now it was up to Eunbi and the others to get her out of here.

~~~~

“Is that so? We’ll send a new transport for you tomorrow then. I’m just glad Yujin’s okay. Keep the others safe, okay Chaeyeon? We’ll get Sakura and the others back safe and sound.” Eunbi says before putting down the phone.

“Are they okay?” Hyewon asks from across the table. The two had been planning their next move to Chuncheon after receiving Sakura’s coded message when their phone had rang, Chaeyeon on the other side.

“Yeah, Yujin’s a bit wounded, but she’ll live. The problem was that the guards of Jirisan park were connected to KYB. They managed to track down the girls’ transport and have it towed away for ‘illegal parking’. We won’t be able to send them a new transport until tomorrow morning, so they’re going to have to hold out in the meantime.” Eunbi reports.

“I guess that means they won’t be back in time to help us at Chuncheon?” The leader glumly shakes her head at her girlfriend’s followup.

“At least Nayoung’s friend will get here tomorrow morning. Hopefully she can help fix Chaewon.” And with that, the two go back to planning the mission.

~~~~

Later that night…

“Yah, I told you I’m not talking. You aren’t getting anything out of me unless you bring me Chaewon!” Michelle yells when she hears the sound of the door at the end of the hall opening. The long-haired girl was sitting in the cell she’d been kept in since last year. Sure, they made sure to feed her and let her out occasionally to see the real world, but she was still incredibly resentful of her circumstances.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m Chaewon then.” A voice speaks up. Standing in front of Michelle now was, in fact, the short-haired girl she hated more than anyone else.

“Damn, you have some nerve actually showing up here after what you did to me.” Michelle says with gritted teeth.

“May I know actually, what I did to you to make you hate me?” Chaewon asks. It was strange. When Minjoo had mentioned an evil clone of herself, it didn’t really hit her until she was face to face with her. Aside from the hair length, they did look exactly the same.

“What? Are you playing dumb?” The long-haired girl asks back, clearly unamused, but Chaewon shakes her head.

“My memory… it was wiped by this girl named Kim Sohye. I only remember up to before I came to this campus.” At this, Michelle’s eyes perk up.

“Sohye? I’ve met her. Crazy person if you ask me.” She says with a huff.

“Wait, you know her?” Chaewon asks, and it’s then that Michelle realizes she’d made a mistake. She quickly shifts her facial expression back to a more neutral one before replying.

“Yes… but that’s neither here nor there. If your memories were actually wiped, maybe I can help you. I do have a lot of them, you know?” Michelle says while tapping a finger to her head.

“I-I think I’m good. Someone’s coming tomorrow to help with that already.” Chaewon replies, trying to stay cautious.

“You do realize that if they bring your memories back like that, then you might lose your current consciousness, right? Do you really want that?” At those words, Chaewon quiets. It’s something that had come across her mind when Chungha was mentioned- would her current self just be replaced?

Of course, she wanted to do right by the first Chaewon, but the thought of herself fading away was a bit scary. Michelle seems to sense the change in the short-haired girl’s disposition and continues to prod.

“If you let me do it, you’ll just have memories tacked onto yours. You must know that things work differently for us clones. We don’t completely share the same psyche, so memories are a bit… difficult to keep track of. If they want to bring the original Chaewon back, that means they just see you as someone like me- a mishap clone.” She says while holding her hand between the cell bars.

After a couple seconds of consideration, Chaewon tentatively extends her hand to meet Michelle’s. Before she could though, an invisible force knocked it away.

“No! Don’t listen to her, Chae!” Minjoo shouts after revealing herself. The brunette was just about to go to sleep when she heard the sound of their front door creaking open. Curious to where Chaewon was going, she decided to follow in silence.

“You… were following me?” Chaewon asks incredulously.

“See? They don’t even trust you to go out on your own. How can you know if they truly have your best interests at heart?” Michelle says with a slight smirk.

“This isn’t what it looks like, Chae. Michelle is different. She tried to kill both of us. Don’t let her words fool you.” Minjoo argues, reaching for her girlfriend only for Chaewon to take a step backwards.

“I… I don’t know.” She says quietly. “I don’t even know the full story…”

“Then, let us remind you. I’m sure we can talk it out with Eunbi-unnie tomorrow morning. I promise things will be okay.” Minjoo tries to close the distance again, and this time manages to succeed. She can see the confusion and fear in Chaewon’s eyes. She looked so lost, and who wouldn’t be after having two years of your life stolen and dumped right back onto you?

“Okay, Minjoo. I’ll hear them out. Just… stay right by me.” The short-haired girl says quietly before turning around and heading back to their dorm. Minjoo was about to follow until Michelle’s laugh brought back her attention.

“C’mon, Min. You couldn’t let me have a little fun?” She asks in a mocking tone. It was always strange looking at Michelle, the person who technically stole her first kiss last year. This woman who shared so many of the features of her girlfriend had the complete opposite personality. It annoyed her even more to be called by the nickname that Chaewon usually used. She hadn’t heard it since her memory had been wiped, so hearing it from Michelle stung.

“Yah, don’t make this harder for her than it already is.” Minjoo says with a shaky voice.

“Harder for her? Or harder for you girls? To an extent, I know what I’m talking about, and you should listen if you don’t want Chaewon losing her way even more.” Michelle responds, clearly enjoying the situation.

“And what exactly would that information be?”

“Oh, it’ll be much more fun for me to answer when you crawl back to me after things go wrong. I’ll wait until then.” Minjoo was beyond frustrated but tried her best not to let Michelle’s words affect her. That’s what the long-haired girl wanted- a reaction. Instead, Minjoo decides to walk away and follow after Chaewon before she gets too far.

~~~~

The next morning…

“They should be here soon. You still want to go through with this?” Eunbi asks Chaewon. She’d heard from Minjoo what had happened the previous night, and wanted to assure Minjoo that this was a safe space. She had a choice.

“Y-yes, unnie. I think I will.” Chaewon had spent all night thinking about what was being asked of her. Michelle’s words had struck her deeply. Doubts began to spring in her mind, but ultimately, she understood there was a lot at stake. They needed the experienced Chaewon right now. Next to her, Minjoo, who had also woken up early for this, gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze.

“Okay, just making sure. We’ll be with you all the way.” Eunbi replies with a small smile before two figures begin to appear on the horizon. One was definitely Nayoung, but the girl next to her was new. She was on the shorter side with a small face and long dark hair cascading down her shoulders. Eunbi may not have been able to see the woman through her blindfold, but she could definitely still feel the aura surrounding her. This person was powerful.

“Good morning, Eunbi-ssi. I apologize for the delays. This is Kim Chunga- a member of I.O.I, and a good friend of mine.” Nayoung greets before gesturing to the woman next to her.

“Yeah, that would be me. Nayoung-unnie didn’t say anything too weird about me, right? It’s really been a long time since I’ve been here.” Chungha says with a laugh as she takes a quick glance of her surroundings. It completely contrasted the serious expression she just had seconds before.

“Nothing too embarrassing if that’s what you're asking. The main thing she mentioned was your abilities that could help out our friend.” Eunbi replies while gesturing at Chaewon who couldn’t help hiding her nervousness.

“That I do. Sohye’s really done a number on you guys, hasn’t she?” She says glumly. It wasn’t easy for any of the I.O.I members to hear what had become of their friend. Though they still wanted to hold onto the hope Sohye would rejoin their side, they also understood that they also had a duty to protect people from being hurt by her.

“You could say that. I don’t know if Nayoung-ssi has briefed you on everything else going on, but there’s a huge battle on the horizon, and we need Chaewon at full strength to fight back.” Eunbi says.

“Mhm, well. I guess we can talk more inside. Let’s fix Chaewon up.” Chungha says before following them into the central office.

~~~~

“Okay, for starters, can you explain what your powers do exactly?” Eunbi asks after the group had gathered in her office.

“Sure, so I’m going to place a hand on your forehead, and what usually happens is I can draw back old memories of yours, even ones you think were forgotten. On the flipside, I can also sense future events in your life, not exact ones, but things you should be preparing for.” Chungha says with an encouraging smile, trying to be as clear as possible.

“You ready, Chae?” Minjoo asks, also beginning to feel a bit jittery for some reason.

“Yes, Minjoo. I’m ready.” Chaewon responds before closing her eyes tightly.

“Just keep your head calm, and don’t make any sudden moves. It’ll be quick.” Chungha says as she places her palm on Chaewon’s head. Once contact is made, Chungha’s eyes go white. Minjoo turns to Nayoung with a worried expression, but the aforementioned girl assures her that this was normal for her friend.

“Just give it a bit.” Nayoung says, and after about half a minute, Chungha’s eyes return to normal.

“That… felt different.” She says in a tired tone.

“That isn’t exactly the first thing that I’d want to hear in this situation.” Minjoo replies, seeing Chaewon still silent.

“No, I meant that there was so much to sift through for just two years. Maybe it was the clones. I saw something that is yet to come.” Chungha says back and at that moment, Chaewon finally begins to stir.

“Chae? Chae? You with us? You okay?” Minjoo asks worriedly.

“Yeah… just a little bit of a headache, Min.” The short-haired girl replies while grabbing at her head.

“Min? I’ve been waiting to hear that name from you for days.” Minjoo says, a smile now creeping up on her face.

“You remember everything?” Eunbi asks next to confirm. “Try thinking of something that’s happened that we haven’t told you yet.”

Chaewon tries to do just that and does seem to remember her past now. Even the memories after Sohye had wiped her mind remained.

“I think so. Minjoo’s birthday was last month, February 5, and we went on a date by the Han River before having dinner at my mom’s place.” At this, Minjoo smiles even wider, reminiscing the memory herself. It was one of her happiest days after all.

“Welcome back, Chae.” The brunette says, hugging her girlfriend tightly before remembering there were other people in the room.

“Thanks, Chungha-unnie. I heard you saying something else though. Something that’s going to happen?” Minjoo says to change the topic, her cheeks still a bit red.

“Yes. It appears Chaewon’s internal battle is not yet complete. To be able to beat the enemy, she needs to be one with herself or I foresee a very difficult battle.” Chungha replies ominously. It had all happened so fast, but she could definitely make out multiple Chaewons running around without direction. She could bring her memories back, but it was still up to Chaewon to put the pieces together.

“I’ll keep that in mind...” Chaewon says with a bow, the others joining in on expressing gratitude. She didn’t feel anything strange right now, but if anything that’s happened over the past two years is an indication, something else is going to pop up.

~~~~

A few hours later…

The group had wasted no time getting ready and heading to Chuncheon Robotics after Chaewon’s recovery. With Nayoung and Chungha electing to stay behind and guard the campus, Eunbi found herself with a team of Hyewon, Minjoo, Chaewon, Yunjin, Kazuha, and Eunchae.

Despite their destination not being on any maps, it was pretty easy to find it with the directions Sakura had given. They’d found themselves on the side of the road at the edge of the city with forest and mountains stretching for what looked like miles. Without much sign of civilization in the surrounding area, the large gray building towering over the trees stuck out like a sore thumb.

From there, the group managed to sneak in with the help of Minjoo and Yunjin causing a distraction. Now, the seven girls were standing at a fork in the hallway.

“Okay, time to split up and find the girls.” Eunbi whispers to the others. “Me, Hyewon, Minjoo, and a Chaewon clone will look for the girls while Le Sserafim look for where they’re keeping the model 5 androids.”

“Do we even know if all three of them are together?” Kazuha asks.

“No. That’s a fair point actually.” Eunbi replies, realizing that nothing in Sakura’s message said anything about Yena and Yuri. They might not even know they’re in the same location. “Just keep your eyes out for them then as well. Kkura might be in the computer rooms instead since she’s being forced to help them.”

Just as they were about to discuss the plan more, a large explosion suddenly rocks the entire complex. The lights begin to flicker on and off as the group ducks for cover.

“That… must be Yena. We have to hurry.” Minjoo says worriedly.

“You get the gist of the plan, Chae?” Eunbi asks.

“Yeahp. We’ll rendezvous with you girls back here then.” Chaewon says with a nod before splitting into two only to be overcome by a migraine that disappears just as fast as it came.

Woah… that was weird. The short-haired girl thinks. She now stares at her clone who was mirroring her movements. Nothing felt too out of the ordinary though, so she tries to brush it off and leave with the other Le Sserafim members.

 

A/N: Hello and welcome back to another chapter! 

Here, we see that Chaewon finally recovers her memories. However, there still appear to be underlying issues. Michelle seems to know something but doesn't want to reveal the info either. Now, they're at Chuncheon Robotics attempting to save yulyen and kkura. We'll see how that goes in the next one.

Thank you once again for all the love and support! It means a lot especially these holidays. Just gonna add that if you wanna say anything on twitter, you can use #ProjectIZONE_AU so i can find it if ever.

Happy Holidays and see y'all in the next one!