“KYB really doesn’t want anyone finding out the truth…” Gaeul observes from a distance. The group had been heading to KYB Mechanic Repair, but were eventually stopped by a group of people blocking the road. They appeared to be journalists and news outlets trying to get a scoop. Because of this, they decided to go on foot and sneak around through the forest. What they slowly began to realize though was that the entire perimeter had been blocked with yellow tape saying ‘do not enter’ while guards patrolled next to them. From where they were, the girls could also see several trucks leaving from the scrap yard side.

“Can’t we just fight our way in? They might’ve already taken all the evidence.” Wonyoung says with Nako obviously concurring with the idea..

“No, girls. We have to be smart about this. They’re obviously on to us., so we have to be discreet.” Hitomi replies before waving her hand and causing an apple to drop on one of the sentry’s heads.

“Yah, what was that?” The man groans while rubbing his head only to be struck by another falling fruit. He immediately looks up at the branches above him, and while he is distracted, Hitomi raises a root from the ground to trip him.

“Aish, that’s it, I’m swapping with someone.” He says in a frustrated tone before walking away to find his boss.

“Alright, move in now while no one’s looking.” The peach-cheeked girl says, prompting everyone to hop past the boundary and head into the remains of the warehouse.

“Spread out and look for any clues, whether they’re about Yujin or the androids.” Gaeul says as everyone begins to fan out. When they infiltrated the place two days ago, it had been dark within, but now, because of the explosions, sunlight was now beaming down through the non-existent roof.

“There has to be something here…” Wonyoung mutters to herself as she lifts up and moves scrap metal. The others did the same in their own ways. Gaeul would age debris to see what was under. Liz was phasing through everything to see if anything was too deeply buried. Nako was just using pure strength, lifting up broken cars and moving them like they were made of paper. Hitomi was using the roots in the ground to detect if anything had been buried near them. In the end though, it was Rei who found something first.

“Girls, this is a robot arm, right?” The Japanese girl asks as she magnetizes a chunk of metal that was impaled in one of the steel beams.

“Yeah, even if they’re made to look like humans, underneath is still metal.” Nako replies, pointing out the ‘skin’ that was supposed to cover the arm which had melted away, leaving exposed wires and circuits.

“We need to find a headpiece, so we can compare the serial codes. The rest of that robot must be close.” Hitomi says, referring to the specimens they had received from JYP yesterday afternoon. The ones that attacked them were model 4, which meant they were more advanced than the ones the two Japanese girls had to fend off a week ago.

Rei focuses harder, sensing for a metal of similar composition to the one she’d just picked up until she feels something latch onto her like a fish to a hook. Slowly but sure, the Japanese girl pulls a humanoid head out from some of the rubble. It was an android alright.

“Model 3… that must mean these were versions they discontinued. The ones that attacked JYP were different.” Gaeul says after reading the machine’s label.

“Wait, so you’re telling me we destroyed this place for nothing?” Liz asks, a feeling of sadness welling up in her. They did all that to destroy models that weren’t even being produced anymore.

“No, not nothing. Even if these are weaker than the current models, they’re still pretty strong. Destroying any of these tin cans is one less of them we have to fight in the future.” Nako replies. On the inside though, the short girl knew this meant that they probably had an army of model 4 robots somewhere too. This warehouse was just a place to store the obsolete versions. Just as the group was about to discuss what to do next, a loud clang began to reverberate throughout the ruins.

“Wonyoung, what was that???” Hitomi asks when she sees the bunny holding something in her hands. It was a blue scrunchy, one that Yujin would always keep with her for good luck.

“Yah! I heard something from inside. I told you all not to let the reporters in!” A voice yells from the scrap yard. The girls immediately scramble to look for hiding spots as a middle-aged man in a mechanic uniform enters the area flanked by two armed guards.

“How many times must I repeat the importance of keeping what happened here a secret? If we didn’t already have the model 5s on the way, the boss would kill us! Do another sweep of the area.” The man orders before turning around and walking back to the scrap yard.

“Model 5s…?” Gaeul thinks, carefully trying not to make a sound while she was being floated in the air by Wonyoung who was hiding behind a pile of boxes.

“Heh, once those robots are perfected, we won’t be stuck doing this anymore.” One of the guards says while turning over a piece of metal.

“Yah, that means we’ll be out of the job. Have you forgotten how much they’re paying us?” The man next to him replies, changing directions just before he would’ve run into Rei who had covered herself with metal.

“It’s not like we stand a chance against those mutants anyway. That girl from last night literally blew this whole place up. You think you would’ve been able to stop her?” The first man says back with a chuckle.

“They’re talking about Yujin…” Wonyoung thinks, beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead from the effort of holding both Gaeul and Nako up.

“Okay, you might have a point. I just wish we would’ve been allowed to finish her off once we found her.” At these words, the bunny almost loses focus. She’s alive…?

“They wanted to run some tests on her water abilities. Who knows, maybe they did end up getting rid of her already after getting what they wanted.”

“Ugh, anyway, there’s no one here. It must’ve just been a rodent running around.” The guard grumbles before returning back to their boss.

“Did you girls hear that? Yujin might still be alive!” Wonyoung whispers to the others when they are alone again.

“Yeah, thank goodness. We just have to figure out where she’s being held…” Hitomi says with a relieved sigh.

“Maybe they brought her back to the science and research center?” Liz guesses, but before they could discuss further, the group hears the sounds of trucks pulling up to the warehouse.

“They must be here to finish the cleanup. We have to go now.” Gaeul says before picking up the robot head and running ahead, the others following close behind.

~~~~

“What are you doing here?” The exasperated voice of a police officer says when Chaeyeon, Yunjin, and Kazuha enter his office.

“Hey there, Officer Hwang. We’re here to ask how a couple of prisoners we handed off to you are doing.” Chaeyeon says.

“Last I checked, they were still in their cells. Besides, why should I be telling you vigilantes? That information is on a need-to-know basis.” The middle-aged man replies coldly.

“Well, it just so happens that we do need to know.” Yunjin quips back.

“Don’t get smart with me, miss. Need I remind you that you and your team were let off the hook for breaking into here months ago?”

“Hey, no one got hurt in the end, right?” She replies sarcastically.

“Okay, that’s enough, Yunjin. Officer Hwang, we were just asking because we’ve gotten some… reports that Yoo Eun-kyung and Kim Sohye have escaped.” Chaeyeon intervenes.

“Ah, two mutants. Why am I not surprised?” The officer says with a sigh.

“What is that supposed to mean? Can you check the validity of our claims or not?” Kazuha asks, not wanting to get side tracked.

“Again, I am not at liberty to disclose that information. I’ll have a look into it, but this is a job for professionals. You girls have been quiet the past six months, and now all of a sudden you show up asking this? Don’t tell me you have something to do with the explosion at that mechanic repair building.” He suddenly says.

“Aish, what do you take us for, officer? That wasn’t us!” Yunjin replies which technically wasn’t a lie.That was IVE who blew it up.

“Either way, I’d prefer it if you girls stayed quiet like you’ve been doing recently. Less paperwork is always good. Now please, go back to your campus.” Hwang says with a sigh, pointing at the exit behind them.

~~~~

“Ugh, well that went nowhere…” Kazuha whines when the trio are back in the hallway.

“He’s hiding something. I can feel it.” Yunjin adds.

“Well, we can’t keep wasting time standing around here. We should report back to Eunbi-unnie.” Chaeyeon says, but before they could begin moving, a female voice whispers to them.

“Psst, over here!” She calls. When they turn, they see two female officers motioning for them to head into their office. The first one had black mid-length hair with large eyes while the other had a roundish face and long silver hair with bangs.

“We want to help.” The second woman says. Chaeyeon looks to her two companions for their thoughts, and after a silent exchange, the feather girl nods.

“Sure.”

~~~~

“Sorry for intruding. Let us introduce ourselves first. My name is Lee Saerom, and my partner here is Song Hayoung.” The first officer greets.

“We couldn’t help but overhear your discussion with the chief.” Hayoung says which gets a raised eyebrow from Chaeyeon.

“Chief?”

“Ah, yes. He got promoted recently, but that’s not what we wanted to tell you.” The silver-haired girl says before letting Saerom take over.

“We believe the chief is up to something. He suddenly paid the prison a personal visit the other day and has been pretty secretive in general recently.” The aforementioned girl says.

“Hmm, that’s interesting info, but do you have any concrete evidence?” Yunjin asks.

“Well… not exactly. Call it a strong gut feeling. Also, if you hadn’t noticed, he isn’t really a big fan of mutants doing his job for him. He has a motive.” Saerom replies.

“Still, we can’t go after him without any real proof. Besides, don’t you hold the same sentiment as him?” Chaeyeon says. The police haven’t exactly been their strongest allies over the years. The two officers then give each other a look. Saerom clearly didn’t want to divulge the information, but ultimately relented when Hayoung whispered something to her.

“Fine, go ahead.” She mumbles to the younger girl.

“We’re actually mutants too…” Hayoung whispers, causing Yunjin and Chaeyeon’s eyes to widen, but not Kazuha’s.

“That explains why you managed to know what we were talking about with Hwang. The doors are supposed to be soundproof here.” The Japanese girl says.

“Yes, I have heightened senses, and Saerom here has psychometry.”

“Before we talk more, I must emphasize that you must not reveal that information. We’re just two girls who wanted to work in the force.” Saerom says. Though her and Hayoung’s powers provided an advantage during the police certification tests, they still had to work hard to get where they were today.

“Okay… so what did you see pertaining to Hwang that made you suspect him?” Chaeyeon asks.

“I was picking up a report from his desk when my hand brushed over his badge. It showed him meeting up and exchanging some papers with someone outside the station. I couldn’t recognize who he met though because they were wearing a hood. Fast forward a couple days and I see he goes to the prison and whispers something to the head of security- something about Sohye, the singing mutant, and Hunter Geun.” Saerom explains.

“Hunter Geun too? He might be the one who took Yena and Yuri…” The feather girl mumbles.

“Alright, that’s much stronger evidence. Why don’t we just go get him now?” Yunjin proposes, but Kazuha interjects.

“No, unnie. That still isn’t enough. We can’t just say a mutant read his mind.” The younger girl says.

“Mhm, that’s why we need your help. We can’t investigate his involvement directly without looking suspicious.” Hayoung adds.

“Understood. Are there any other mutants at the station who can help out?” Chaeyeon asks.

“Nope, I’m in charge of the Fromis squad, and as far as I know, only me and Hayoung have powers.” Saerom says.

“Okay, can you two meet us back at our campus later tonight, then?”

“Sure, we’ll try to gather more info on the chief as well.. Just give us the address and we’ll be there by around midnight.” The officer replies with a nod.

“That settles that then. We’ll see you later.” The feather girl says before she and the girls head out.

~~~~

“Hey, Eunbi. I got your message and- wait, what’s with the blindfold?” Nayoung was expecting the IZ*ONE leader, but was caught off guard when she opened the door to see her friend with her eyes covered.

“We’ll explain when we’re inside, unnie.” Hyewon says before leading her girlfriend into the restaurant.

~~~~

“Ookay… that’s a lot to take in.” The normally stone faced woman had clearly been taken aback by the sudden events of the past few days.

“Yeah, I know you still believe in Sohye, but I can’t forgive what she did to Chaewon.” Eunbi says. Just thinking about her dongsaeng made Eunbi clench her fists in frustration.

“I-I’m really sorry. I let this get out of hand. I just wanted to give her a second chance.” Nayoung says apologetically. Sohye was more than a team member. She, like anyone else in I.O.I., was family to her, and she wanted so badly to believe the younger girl could change.

“This isn’t something you should be apologizing for. Her actions were her decisions.” Hyewon replies. “What we need right now is your help. We know you’ve been visiting Sohye over the months. Has she said anything?”

“Yes, maybe a couple weeks ago. She asked me to join her ‘before it was too late’.” The older girl says before continuing. “Of course, I said no, but she never elaborated because of it. I had no idea how big this operation was…”

“Ugh, another dead end.” Eunbi mutters.

“Listen, I may not be able to give you more information on Sohye, but I do believe I can help you with Chaewon. I have a member who can look into the past and future. She’d get mad at me if I called her a shaman, but she basically acts like one. Her name’s Chungha.” Nayoung says with a chuckle.

“How can she find someone’s past when they’ve been wiped?”

“I know we like to use ‘erasing’ when we describe Sohye’s powers, but it’s much closer to burying than that. In the past, Sohye would accidentally use her power on us, and Chungha was usually able to dig those memories out.”

“That’s actually great! Where can we find her?” Eunbi asks, but at the question, Nayoung clicks her tongue.

“She’s actually in the states right now. I’ll contact her for you, but it might take a couple days.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll make due in the meantime. As long as we can get her memories back in the long run, we’re happy.” Eunbi says, smiling for the first time since waking up yesterday.

“How about your spy lens? You gonna be okay with that?” Nayoung asks.

“Yeah, I can hold off until we save Sakura. Besides, I think I have a plan.” Eunbi replies before standing up and waddling towards the exit, bumping a wall in the process.

“Thank you for the help, unnie. Don’t beat yourself up too much over Sohye. I’ve been there too.” Hyewon says, giving Nayoung a pat on the shoulder before following her girlfriend out.

Now that she is alone again, Nayoung takes out her phone and looks at her contact list.

“Maybe it’s time to get the band back together…”

 

A/N: Hi and welcome back to the story! In this chapter, the members get more information from different places, and are introduced to two new characters- Saerom and Hayoung from Fromis_9! They're likely the only two I'll be mentioning though since I don't want character overload. 

Also, just a disclaimer that I'm going to be out from 12/15 to 12/17, but I'll try my best to make chapter outlines while i'm gone. Please be patient with me!

Anyways, I wanted to finish this chapter before then so y'all could have one to read during the weekend as well as give a gift to celebrate the AAA that happened in my country today. We had IZ*ONE interactions! Yay Woolimz!

Thank you all for the support once again! I'll see y'all in the next one!