“Chief Hwang, may we come in?” A voice asks after knocking on the chief’s office door.

“Sure, Saerom. Just make it quick.” Hwang replies quickly.

“So, what is it, you two?” The chief questions when Saerom and Hayoung enter.

“We heard the news about what happened at KYB last night. We apologize for our oversight.” Saerom lies, seeing if she can get any information from him.

“Yes, I don’t know how you let them get by. Your team is usually sharper than that.” Hwang chides. “If that’s it, then you can leave. I’m very busy today.”

“Actually, sir. We wanted to make it up to you by keeping watch over the mutants. They were arrested, but they weren’t dropped off here at the station.” Hayoung says.

“That’s because this place isn’t built to hold mutants. I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but they’ve already broken out of here before. They’ve also broken in here on more than one occasion.” Hwang replies before leaning in closer to whisper something else. “Between me and you two, there’s a new location they were sent to out in the North Chungcheong area.”

“Do you have a specific area? Maybe we can get assigned there for the time being to redeem ourselves.” Saerom suggests, but the chief shakes his head.

“Yah, you two work hard enough. Besides, that area’s already out of our jurisdiction. Just focus on the problems in Seoul.”

“But sir! This was our fault. Can’t you give us a chance?” Hayoung pesters, which only seemed to irritate Hwang.

“It would take too much paperwork to get even one of you assigned there, and I don’t know why I should be doing more work when your team made the mistakes.” He says, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance before a phone call grabs his attention.

“I don’t want to hear any more from you two for the rest of the day.” Hwang orders, sending the girls out while he takes the call. Once the two exit though, Saerom gives Hayoung a signal. The younger girl nods and closes her eyes to focus her hearing.

“So, what do you hear?” Saerom asks once they entered their office which was opposite of Hwang’s.

“He’s talking to Kim Yong-bum.” Hayoung replies. “I think he’s being told that IZ*ONE have arrived at the new facility.”

“Has he dropped the location?”

“Kind of. He asked KYB why the place was so far and in the middle of a forest. KYB seems to be scolding him though by the way he’s apologizing for being out of line again.”

“A forest, huh? I mean, I wouldn’t be hiding a mutant containment facility in broad daylight either.” North Chungcheong was over an hour away and a pretty large province, so those details didn’t really narrow it down.

“The call just ended.” Hayoung announces. “We’re kind of short on time. Maybe we should discuss this with the others.”

Saerom nods and sends a message to their group chat to convene at their office after their shifts.

~~~~

Later that evening…

“So, you want four of us to head over to PD Campus and help some of the trainees escape while you and Hayoung lead a group ahead to Chungcheong to search for the secret base?” Seoyeon summarizes.

“Pretty much. You girls said you wanted to help out, right?” Saerom replies.

“Well, yeah. Those androids you described yesterday sound pretty strong and dangerous though…” Nagyung mumbles nervously.

“We’re not going to force you to do it if you don’t want to. We’d just really appreciate the help. Those IZ*ONE girls are one of the few hopes in stopping whatever KYB is planning.” Hayoung says. “I know those plans won’t really affect you girls, but Saerom and I have to try and protect other mutants.”

“Unnie is right.” Jiheon speaks up, similarly to how she did the night before. “We need to stop this plot. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I agree. Just because we’re not affected, doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye. Saerom-unnie and Hayoung-unnie might get arrested too if KYB wins the upcoming battle. I’m not going to stand around and let them do this alone.” Jiwon adds, lifting the tension that had been building in the room. When the others eventually come around, Saerom begins laying out the specifics of the plan.

~~~~

“Okay, no way Hwang is doing with just our division’s resources.” Chaeyoung says as their van comes up to where they’d entered PD campus before. There was barbed wire lining the road for what seemed like miles with guards patrolling the perimeter. What surprised the group the most though was that the camouflage shield was down which makes the campus buildings’ lights visible from a distance.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Jiwon replies confidently before pulling the vehicle over to the side of the road which attracts the attention of some of the guards.

“Yah, state your purpose. This is a restricted area.” A man says while knocking on their van’s window and shining a flashlight inside. Jiwon rolls it down and glares at him.

“Don’t you see the logo? We’re with the Seoul Police Department.” Jiwon says flatly while showing her badge.

“Oh, apologies, ma’am! It’s a little dark, and we weren’t expecting anyone!” The man says, immediately saluting to them.

“Call it a surprise inspection. No one’s managed to get out so far, right?” Jiwon asks.

“No, ma’am. I apologize again!” He reports.

“Good. Just to be sure though, take your unit and do another sweep. My team and I will watch this area in the meantime.” The guard nods quickly and motions for his squad to move.

“Okay, that was cool, unnie.” Seoyeon comments as she and the others step out of their van.

“I’m very charismatic, remember?” The older girl jokes while flipping her hair, causing the girls to laugh.

“Alright, alright, enough delaying. Let’s head in there already.” Jisun says after composing herself.

“Yeah, I’ll stay here with Chaeyoung. You and Seoyeon go get them quickly.” Jiwon replies, and with that, Jisun and Seoyeon rush to the campus.

~~~~

“Ugh, this is taking too long. Let’s just go girls, the others can catch up.” Rei suggests as she mentally crushes the soda can she was drinking from. The group had gathered again to discuss plans, but it hadn’t really been going anywhere.

“But Gaeul-unnie and Yunjin-unnie said to be patient. We don’t know when Fromis will show up.” Leeseo replies.

“That’s exactly why we should go though. We don’t even know if those police officers will show up or if they’ll keep their promise of helping.” Kazuha interjects.

“I’m starting to agree too. We only have around two and a half days to find out where they’re being held, free them, and send them to Ulleung Island.” Liz says. Eunchae and Leeseo look at each other, conflicted on the right choice to make.

Rei was just about to stand and head out when Gaeul and Yunjin entered the room. What surprises them though were the two girls who were trailing them.

“Girls, this is Seoyeon and Jisun. They’re from the Fromis team and they have an idea where the girls are.” Yunjin says.

“We have to hurry; we don’t know when the guards will come back!” Jisun says, not wasting time for a greeting. The group nodded and immediately began running towards the exit.

~~~~

“Ma’am! Perimeter re-secured!” The head guard announces after arriving back to Jiwon and Chaeyoung.

“Oh… that’s great!” Jiwon replies with forced enthusiasm. Seoyeon and the others were still nowhere in sight.

“Wait, I forgot to ask. Why did you bring such a big transport when there are just the two of you?” The man queries before asking another question. “Actually, I remember there being four of you. Where’d the other officers go?”

At that moment, Chaeyoung finally sees a group of figures running down the path and waves at Jiwon to get her attention.

“Uhh… Uhh, the prisoners are escaping over there!” Jiwon shouts and when the guard turns around, she takes out her taser and shocks him.

“Yah, what took you girls so long!” Chaeyoung asks.

“No time! Get in and book it!” Seoyeon says, opening the door for everyone to squeeze in.

“There’s no room!” Gaeul shouts as other guards begin inching closer due to the commotion.

“It’s fine, unnie! I’ll just fly after you girls. I can also take one person with me.” Leeseo says.

“I can! Let’s just get out of here already!” Eunchae replies as Yunjin sets up an illusion to confuse the approaching enemies.

“You sure? Not afraid of heights?” The younger girl asks, not expecting her fellow maknae to be the one accepting the sudden flight.

“Girls, please hurry, I don't know how much longer I can keep it up!” Yunjin says.

“Doesn’t matter, let’s just go!” Eunchae says before grabbing Leeseo’s hand. Leeseo then takes a deep breath and takes off with her.

Jiwon takes this as the signal to rev the engines and begin driving just as the guards arrive at the scene.

“So, you do know where they are, right?” Kazuha asks as the van makes its way down the mountain.

“Like I said, we have an idea of the location. It’s somewhere in the North Chungcheong province.” Seoyeon replies.

“Somewhere there? That doesn’t sound as promising as I thought it’d be.” Yunjin comments.

“I’ll give the captain a call. She and the others went ahead to search for it while we went to get you girls.” Chaeyoung says in an attempt to quell their new companions’ worries.

“Alright, let’s stop when we get near the main road though. Leeseo will need a better look at this vehicle, so she doesn’t get lost while following us.” Gaeul replies.

~~~~

“Excuse me, may I know if some military vehicles came through this area today?” Nagyung asks a street vendor. Her group had just gotten to North Chungcheong through the main highway and stopped at a motel to look for clues.

“Not that I remember. Not everyone stops by here, you know.” The old woman replies before going back to what she was doing.

“You didn’t find anything either?” Jiheon queries when she sees Nagyung exit the shop with a frown.

“Nope, how about the others?”

“Ah, they’re over there.” Jiheon points to the road where Saerom and Hayoung were doing their own little investigation.

“So this is why they’re always a little weird on missions.” Nagyung says as she sees Saerom pick up a rock to stare at. Since the duo usually did find all the clues and answers, the rest of the Fromis girls never really questioned their methods, but it was interesting watching them now knowing they were using their powers.

“I can’t lie, it’s really cool. They’ve solved a lot of cases because of them” Jiheon replies just as Saerom drops the rock back on the ground and cheers.

“I found something!” She declares, causing the girls to rush towards her.

“There were three armored vans that passed by this road some time ago. Let’s keep going.” Saerom says, heading back towards their vehicle.

From there, they drive a bit slower, eyes peeled for anything to the sides of the road. With how dark it was though; it was pretty difficult for Jiheon and Nagyung to spot anything. Luckily for them, the light levels didn’t affect Hayoung who called for Saerom to stop the car after about twenty minutes.

“I see tracks in the dirt!” She announces, getting out and examining the path.

“Are you sure they’re from the same vehicles though?” Jiheon asks curiously, only barely managing to register what Hayoung was looking at until she shines her flashlight to the ground.

“The depth indicates they were pretty heavy…” Hayoung then places her hand on the tracks and feels them. “And these tires are very similar to the ones our department uses for the armored vans.”

“You can tell just by touching the ground?” Nagyung says incredulously.

“Mhm, heightened senses mean heightened touch.” Hayoung confirms before following the tracks on foot.

The group treks for another half hour until Hayoung spots a large building in the distance. There was no sign of civilization around it, and large pine trees were covering it from above. It looked way too out of place to not be suspicious. Despite the dimness, Hayoung could just make out the wording on one of its walls.

“Mutant lockdown facility.” She reads out loud.

“Seems like we’ve got our place. Let’s scout around and meet the others back at the rest stop. We need to plan our next moves.” Saerom says, the rest of the girls nodding in agreement.

~~~~

“There they are!”” Chaeyoung points to a pair of familiar girls next to a motel waving at their police van. Jiwon immediately pulls over, the girls who were squeezed in the back quickly filing out to stretch their legs. Meanwhile, Leeseo carefully landed on the ground, Eunchae still gripping onto her tightly.

“Unnie, I thought you said you weren’t afraid of heights.” The younger girl teases, remembering how Eunchae had screamed as they flew through the air.

“I didn’t know you’d be flying that quickly though. You didn’t have to add in that spin either.” Eunchae complains, playfully smacking Leeseo on the shoulder.

“It’s called a barrel roll. I know you secretly enjoyed it though.” And at those words, Eunchae smiles. It wasn’t often she could hang around with a mutant that was in her age group and talking about random topics while in the sky with Leeseo had been rather therapeutic.

“So, you found the base, right?” Gaeul asks, cutting right to the chase.

“Yeah, it’s a twenty-minute drive from here before a thirty-minute hike off road. Place is heavily secured, so I advise attacking from multiple angles.” Saerom replies, already having walked around the facility earlier.

“That’s good. What’re we waiting for? Let’s go.” Rei says only for Hayoung to shake her head.

“I don’t think we’re in shape to go over there now. It’s been a long day, and we should at least rest a bit.” She says.

“But the darkness is the perfect time to strike. It would be a wasted opportunity.” Kazuha interjects.

“Be that as it may, your friends just got there. I’m sure they’ll be expecting a quick strike. There were a lot of guards patrolling the perimeter when we were there earlier.” Saerom says.

“But-”

“I agree with them.” Yunjin says before Rei and Kazuha can complain more. “We don’t even have a sound plan yet. It wouldn’t be wise to run in there without one.”

“Mhm, and besides. I can bet you’re all hungry from the trip.” Gaeul adds, pointing to the eatery next to the motel that was still open. The two Japanese girls were about to say that they were fine, but their stomachs betrayed them, making audible growling sounds.

“That settles that then. We’ll order for you girls. Just freshen up in the rooms we reserved. Jiheon and Nagyung are already there.” Hayoung says with a smile before heading off.

~~~~

Though it was late, the store owner allowed the group to eat since there were a lot of them. It also probably helped that Saerom made sure to throw in a big tip.

“So, Saerom and Hayoung are the only ones who are mutants among the team, right?” Gaeul asks after they all settle at their table.

“Yeah, I assure you though that the others are completely capable of pulling their own weight if that’s what you’re worried about.” Saerom replies.

“It’s just that we don’t know what’s waiting on the inside. I’m thankful for you girls for getting us out, but are you sure you want to head in there with us?” Yunjin says. Hayoung was about to answer for them, but Seoyeon beat her to it.

“We’re police. It’s our job to put ourselves in harm’s way. Your friends are from Seoul, and therefore, are our responsibility. We’re professionals.” The short-haired girl says confidently.

“One of your friends, the leader. She doesn’t have powers either, right? And you still trust her. We can work together.” Jiheon added, remembering her meeting with Eunbi the night before. She was surrounded by mutants every day, individuals who were likely way more powerful than her, and yet, she commanded respect. She really admired that.

“Alright, just wanted to give you an out in case you weren’t all in. You’re all getting into a lot of trouble if your station finds out.” Yunjin says in a concerned tone.

“You can’t scare us off that easily. We’re the Fromis team. No one at the station is more capable than us.” Jiwon replies with a sly smile.

“Well, the more help, the better, right?” Liz says just as the food arrives.

While everyone was scarfing down their late dinners, Gaeul meets Saerom’s eyes, a silent understanding passing between them.

IZ*ONE was counting on them, and they all had to step up to save them.

 

A/N: Hello, everyone and welcome back to PIZ! Had to take my time writing this chapter because I've gotten so used to writing about the iz*girls, and this was the first chapter every without them. That's the beauty of a large cast though, you get to see a lot of perspectives.

Here, Fromis went looking for the new jail while also breaking IveSsera out of campus. It was nice to mix them together honestly. It's also very fitting to release a Fromis chapter today given it's their 6th anniversary! They're a really great group and if you love Le IveOne, you'll love them too! For the next chapter, we'll have the infiltration and the return of the iz*girls, so please look forward to that! 

Thank you once again for all the love and support! Don't be shy to leave comments and questions either. There's also my CC and the twt tag, #ProjectIZONE_AU if you wanna leave thoughts somewhere else.

Have a great day, everyone, and I'll see y'all in the next one!