You couldn't remember when you fell asleep in that little treehouse, but you woke up with a start the next morning. At first, you couldn't recognize where you were. You thought you were still back at the boarding house for a moment.

The Matoki were snuggled near you, all sleeping soundly. You managed to stand up and sneak away without waking them up. It was around dawn, the sky slowly bleeding pink and blue.

"Keke?" You heard someone call out tiredly from outside. "Keke, where are you?"

Your eyes widened. You would know that voice anywhere.

"Keke, throw down the ladder," Daehyun was saying, sounding weary and emotionless. "We couldn't find her. We just wanna sleep, alright?"

"Daehyun!" You yelled, running to the window and sticking your head out. "Daehyun, it's me!"

Daehyun looked up and his jaw dropped. "L-Lina?"

You ducked back in and grabbed the ladder, tossing it down the entrance. Daehyun was up in a flash. You envied his climbing skills.

Before you could say anything, Daehyun suddenly grabbed you and pulled you into a hug.

"D-Daehyun? W-what?" You stammered, turning red.

"I thought ..." Daehyun took a deep, shuddering breath, and clutching you harder to himself. "We couldn't find you ... there was smoke everywhere ... we thought ... I thought ... you were dead."

You softened at the desperation in his voice, and hesitantly hugged him back. "I'm sorry, I was being covered by something. Did you guys look for me all night?"

Daehyun nodded. He seemed reluctant to pull away, but exhaustion overtook him. He collapsed to the floor, waking up the Matoki.

Keke gasped. "Daehyun!" He immediately ran to his partner, patting his cheeks nervously.

Daehyun chuckled. "I'm fine ... Keke ..."

"Where are the others?" Joko demanded, sounding strangely panicky and worried. "Aren't they coming back?"

"That would be them right now!" Dada said, peeking out the window. He raced to the ladder, all shyness forgotten. "JONGUP! LINA IS HERE! YOUR EARTHLING LINA IS HERE!"

There was a sudden burst of noise, and what sounded like a stampede burst into the treehouse. You squeaked when you found yourself buried in hugs.

"YEOBO! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT'S YOU!"

"We couldn't find you!" Youngjae was yelling, and you were shocked by the absolute relief and fear on his face as he grabbed your arm, as if to make sure you were real. "We couldn't find you, y-you weren't there! You pabo!"

Yongguk hesitated, before shoving Himchan aside and giving you a quick, one-armed hug, much to your shock. "You seriously scared the earthling out of us," he grumbled, embarrassed, before moving off to find Shishi and stagger to the floor.

Zelo looked like he was going to cry. "Noona, you're safe. I thought you were dead!" He began to hiccup and whimper over the force of trying to keep his tears in, and the sight promptly made Toto start to wail. Zelo quickly picked him up and patted his back.

Jongup shyly took your hand, lightly it. "We're glad you're safe Lina," he said quietly. You beamed at them, feeling your heart ache over how much you cared about these aliens.

"Come on, lie down and have a rest." You forced them all to go to sleep, not that they needed the push. They were all dead tired. You realized they really DID search for you for an entire night without stopping.

You sat down and watched fondly as the Matoki bustled around excitedly, wide-awake and doing their best to take care of their partners. Tats had even gone to get Himchan a cup of warm milk, although he called it "Jong-Beast Juice".

"Yah, earthling," Shishi demanded. "Come help me get blankets for them."

"Sure!" You quickly stood up and followed him out the treehouse to a bridge connecting to the others. Your stomach twisted a bit when you stepped on the rickety, swinging bridge, but you bravely followed him along.

"Thanks," he muttered gruffly.

"What?"

"For staying alive, despite possessing such a frail, weak little earthling body," Shishi said grumpily. "You ... you made Yongguk really happy."

A smile broke out across your face. "No problem, Shishi."

You found the blankets and helped him bring them over, where you carefully tucked each Matonian in, just like they were back in the boarding house again.

"Noona?" Zelo murmered sleepily. "Will you tell us a story?"

"All right." You smiled and sat back, leaning against the wall. "Let's see ..." She didn't have her book of fairy tales with her anymore, but there was one she loved and had read and reread many times, and this one was fresh in her memory. "'All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this.' ..."

You recited the story from heart, word-for-word, watching as the exhausted and happy aliens nodded off one by one. The Matoki sat and listened quietly to your story, sitting right next to their partners in an almost protective manner.

"... and thus it will go on," you whispered as the story reached its end. "So long as children are gay and innocent and heartless."

Everyone was fast asleep. Even some of the Matoki. You smiled at the sight.

Then Shishi got up and kicked all the sleeping Matoki awake. He turned to you, a grim expression on his alien bunny face.

"I'm sorry to rush you," he said, in a tone that clearly wasn't sorry at all. "But we have some plans to do."

The smile slipped off your face, and you grew grim and serious. "You're right. We do."

You followed them to another treehouse, where they all sat and began to plan.

"Now that we have our companions back," Tats was explaining, scratching at his pink mask as he paced the room. "We have more assets. More, but not much when you think about it. Six Matonians won't be much against a whole army."

"Still better than nothing," Dada argued back, and there was a mutter of agreement. Tats threw a rock at Dada's head and continued as though he wasn't interrupted. "But they can do things we as Matoki cannot. And we also have the edition of my Himchan's yeobo Lina, who I'm sure will impress us with her earthling knowledge."

Shishi snickered at this, and both you and Tats turned to glare at him.

"ANYWAY," Tats continued. "Our main goal is, of course, to overthrow the Company and restore Mato Planet to its original state. But our first priority is to save Governor Hyosung, no matter the cost!"

"Do we have to?" Joko whined, on what seemed to be a lollipop in bright pink. "She's loud. And scary. And keeps pinching my mask."

"Not your fault your nose is huge," Tats retorted. Joko threw the lollipop at him, and it stuck to his face, the colour matching his mask. "Hey! I'm your General!"

"Umm," you weakly spoke up in an effort to distract them. "Do you have a general idea of where Governor Hyosung is being kept?"

"I can help you with that," came a voice out of nowhere.

The Matoki instantly hopped up, guns whipping out of nowhere. You squeaked and jumped backwards as a gust of wind blew through the room, and a pretty girl popped up from the air.

"Guardian Angel Jieun!" You gasped. The Matoki instantly lowered their weapons.

"You scared us, Jieun," Dada complained. "Don't use your strange science-magic-technology-guardian-angel-stuff on us!" Jieun smiled and affectionately patted his head. "I'm sorry." She turned to you, and a twinkle appeared in her eye. "I believe you missed our appointment?"

"Our ... oh!" Your eyes widened. "Oh my god! I was supposed to meet you at the Matoki Factory or Fields or ... or something! Oh god, I'm SO sorry, I forgot! Our ship kind of ... crashed."

Jieun laughed. "It's okay, silly. Did you really think I would expect you to keep your promise after a disaster like this? It's good to see you in person." She looked you up and down. "Yes, you're very pretty. I can see why Sector B.A.P is so taken with you."

You blushed. "It's not like that."

"Is it?" Jieun chuckled and moved on. "I've been doing as much research as I can, and I've discovered Hyosung in the 845th Ward."

"845?" Shishi looked worried. He turned to Kekemato. "You've spied there with Daehyun-ssi, haven't you, Keke?"

Keke nodded silently, then spoke up quietly. "It's a violent place. It would probably be crawling with soldiers. There's no way we can get there undetected."

"What's the 845th Ward?" You asked, trying not to sound too stupid.

"Mato Planet is divided into sections called Wards," Jieun explained quickly to you. "There are different characteristics and attributes in each one. 845 is famous for its ruffians and aggressive soldiers. I shudder to think of what's happening to Hyosung at this moment."

"She's probably crying over breaking a nail," Shishi muttered.

"Shut up and be nice!" Tats hissed back. "This is serious!"

"Now listen," Jieun said. "This will be tough. There's no plan, no strategy we can create, that will guarantee we won't get hurt." She turned to you. "Do you think you can help us, Lina?"

You nodded. "I'll do what I can."

She looked at you for a moment longer, observing you carefully. Then she smiled again, this time a bit sadly. "You've grown since we last talked. You just keep getting stronger and stronger. I put my complete trust in you for this operation, Seo Lina."

"Understood." You clenched your hands into fists and stood up straighter. You weren't going to let anything bring you down.

"You seem like a changed girl," Jieun added.

"I am."

"Like the fact you have a gun in your pocket?"

"I -- oh!" You realized the gun you picked up at the Matoki Factory was still with you. "Yeah, I ... I found it in the wreckage. It's terrifying."

"Well, we're low on weapons these days," Jieun said seriously. "You'll have something to protect yourself."

You felt your confidence falter. "W-wait ... you don't expect me to actually USE this on aliens, do you?"

"Of course. It doesn't need bullets, not our weaponry. I hope you're a good aim."

"Uh, h-hold on a second," you stammered. "I don't think I can kill someone --"

"Did you seriously expect us to win a war against an entire army of brainwashed alien soldiers without KILLING any of them?" Shishi demanded, looking incredulous.

You groaned, embarrassed. "This is gonna , won't it?"

"Be ready for bruises, Lina," Jieun said warningly.

Whew! Summer school is exhausting! Grade 11 Accounting , guys. Read this memo and take note.

So I have a new story called the Miracle Doctor, starring EXO-K, out. I promised to only actually write it once I finish at least one or two of my fics, but whatev.

Please check it out if you want! ^^