[ Luna ]

Luna dove to the side, rolling in a forward tuck before she managed to regain her balance standing up. The tree hit the ground with a loud, earth-shattering boom. After she caught her breath, Luna pointed to Lizzy accusingly.

"Level Fours can push down twenty-foot trees?!" she yelled. Lizzy pointed to the bottom of the trunk.

"I didn't move the tree! I moved the roots!" she shouted back.

"Oh . . . that makes sense," Luna mumbled to herself. Then she took off in a sprint, weaving through the trees, bushes, and plants. She wanted badly to whirl around and show Lizzy just exactly what a Special of her level could do, but she caught herself. She didn't want to lose control again. She didn't want to kill again. She didn't want to murder again.

Luna gasped as a jungle vine shot towards her and made a knot around her wrists.

"Ugh!" Luna exclaimed as she was dragged upwards. She saw Lizzy on the ground, obviously putting as much strength as she could into lifting Luna up with a single vine. Luna gripped the natural rope and tugged on it with all her might. Lizzy flinched violently, letting out a short yelp of pain and lost concentration. Luna collapsed on the ground again, cheek hitting the dirt ground roughly. She groaned before jumping up, lunging towards the other girl.

Luna tackled Lizzy to the ground, doing her best to keep her wrists pinned down.

So many choices. Should I knee her in the gut? Punch her across the face? It would feel really good to punch her across the face, Luna considered. Then again, I can just do both. Before Luna could do anything, several clods of dirt shot up from the ground. She struggled with Lizzy for a bit until the pieces of soil hit her right between the eyes. Luna fell backwards and growled in annoyance.

"Um, ouch?!" Luna barked. Lizzy raised an eyebrow at her in confusion when Luna glared at her expectantly. "That hurt!"

"Okay?"

"Apologize!"

"What? No!" Lizzy protested.

"You hit me with muck! Apologize!" Luna demanded.

"Over my dead body!" Lizzy harrumphed.

"Oh, I'll show you a dead body!" Luna bellowed, kicking her leg out. Lizzy screeched, scrambling backwards. She put a hand to the ground and gripped the soil tightly. A line of dirt slid up in a wave, scooping Luna up and hurling her towards a tree trunk. She grunted as her foot made contact with the wood, and she kicked herself off easily.

Her eyes darted up to the timer on the wall. Damn it! Twenty-five minutes left on the clock. Why did it feel like forever since the fight had started? Luna couldn't even move a centimeter before Lizzy dragged over one of those colossal leaves that were the size of an average human. It slapped Luna from the front, and then another from the back. Luna immediately caught on and let out an agitated noise from ; Lizzy was trying to make her into a human cocoon.

Luna ducked when another leaf came towards her face, struggling against the leaf. She noticed that beads of sweat were dripping down Lizzy's forehead. Of course she was only a Level Four, so all these tricks were probably doing a great deal on her energy.

Energy.

Luna's mind throbbed at the thought, and her hands twitched as they ached for energy. She shuddered violently, falling to her knees and squeezing her eyes shut. Contain yourself, Luna. Please, she begged herself. The blood flowing through her veins throbbed in a frantic rhythm as it sensed her losing control. Her senses heightened, and Luna's body jerked sharply in an effort to shake off the feeling of every single wave of power around her.

She managed to pry one eye open, and she could see Lizzy looking incredibly disturbed at how much she was shaking. The girl looked genuinely scared. Luna's eye twitched when she saw the faint lines of green tracing Lizzy's retreating figure. They grew more bold and defined, and she knew that those streaks were Lizzy's energy. They were weak, but they became more pronounced the longer Lizzy rested.

"Get this crap off me," Luna hissed, tearing the leaves off her body. She trembled forcibly, throwing herself at a curtain of vines and grabbing onto one tensely. She struggled to stand up, legs shaking as she stood. She bit her lip harshly, drawing blood. Her head whipped around so that she could glare at Lizzy, who looked utterly terrified. "You really want to see what a Level Ten can do, don't you?"

Lizzy's mouth fell open, caught in a silent gasp of horror when Luna's eyes flashed electric blue, just like her hair, then solid white. They flickered back to their normal color as she regained her composure, grabbing her wrist and holding it down. Anger was always her weakness. Whenever she became heated up, her power would just spark . . .

I shouldn't have agreed to this, Luna wanted to sob. If she let her abilities show, if she let it all out . . . Luna gasped in pain as her hand flicked to the side, the familiar white aura coming from her palm again. She didn't like Lizzy, but she didn't want to kill her. She had finally come to this place full of other people with powers, like her. Specials.

She didn't want to become someone different again. She didn't want to be taken away again, away from her new . . . friends . . . like she had been from her parents.

"Stay away from me!" Lizzy screeched, and a large branch knocked Luna in the head. Luna stumbled backwards, gripping her face. When she looked up, slowly, her eyes were completely white again.

"You've just made the hugest mistake you will ever make," Luna whispered as she felt her power grow deep in the pit of her stomach. She could feel the eyes of all the people outside the room, watching her in horror or curiosity or disgust or everything.

Then she let it all break loose.

Energy manipulation.

[ Onew ]

"Energy manipulation? What's energy manipulation?!" Onew roared, shaking Minzy. Dara stepped between them, glaring.

"Get your hands off her!"

"Move it!" Onew hissed, and G-Dragon stepped in immediately.

"Calm down, Onew," he said sharply, pushing the male's hands away.

"How can I be a calm?! Luna has her whole body shaking like she's in the middle of a damn seizure, she warns Lizzy about making a mistake, and the whole room is engulfed in the brightest light I have ever seen!" Onew shouted. He made the mistake of looking towards the window again and winced, turning away. Everyone had their eyes sheilded with their arms and faced away from the window, whispering and gossiping about Luna's power. Their ears were perked, listening to the higher Specials' conversation. "You whispered it as soon as that white light appeared; what is it, Minzy?"

Minzy was quiet as she stared at her hand.

"Well . . . when I was little, I studied these things. Before I knew that I was . . . what I am. An energy manipulator - we've never seen one before. Luna is the only existing one I'm aware of. Maybe she's the only one the government's aware of, too," Minzy breathed.

"Is that why she's a Level Ten? Because she's rare?" Krystal inquired, looking a bit pale.

"I don't know. It might be because she doesn't have control over it, so that might be why. Then again, if she had control over the power, that would make her even more powerful, wouldn't it?" Minzy muttered.

"Luna doesn't seem like the type who doesn't have control over herself," Minho said thoughtfully. Jonghyun squinted at the window before snapping his head away, groaning in frustration.

"Man, I'm a light manipulator, but I still can't look into that for more than a minute. It burns," he complained, rubbing his eyes. Onew stared at the back wall blankly, trying to make sense of all this. An energy manipulator? So that meant that she could take and use the energy . . . from everything? And every living thing had energy. All of the Specials had energy. Their powers were full of energy.

So Luna could manipulate all of that, too?

Onew swallowed with difficulty, his lips which he didn't realize were dry. He was jerked back to reality when the light started to dim. He gradually turned back to the window, and the whole room collectively gasped. Onew's eyes were trembling, if that made sense, as he took in the sight. What had once been the jungle forest, the one that Lizzy was supposed to have an advantage in, was completely destroyed. The trees were gone, all the plants were withered, and everything looked black.

Dead.

Insignificant.

Even the timer on the wall was fried, the bright red digital numbers gone. The only things left standing were the two in the center of the colossal room. Onew didn't have to squint to locate who was who. Lizzy was shivering, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. Onew wondered if what she had just witnessed was any better. Lizzy fell to her knees, staring hollowly into space, and then around at all the damage. opened in what appeared to be a scream.

Luna's powers must have damaged the microphones inside as well.

Lizzy crawled frantically towards the exit, trying to stand up but falling too many times to walk right. Everyone ignored her though, eyes trained on Luna. The petite girl wasn't moving from her spot, standing rigid. Her hair looked as if it had been blown back, and her hands were clenched in tight fists at her sides. She looked as if she was in shock.

But by what? Had she not expected for her power to be so effective? Or had she not expected Lizzy to survive?

Onew shook the thought away when Luna finally began walking. When she came close to Lizzy, the other girl shrieked again and covered her head. Luna faltered, her face suddenly crashing into an expression of guilt and regret. And then the same empty gaze replaced it as Luna continued on. When she came out from the door, everyone in the room immediately shifted away from her out of fear.

They were cautious. Onew couldn't blame them for that, but he didn't follow them. For some reason, he stepped forward. As soon as he saw the anguish flicker in Luna's expression, he quickened his pace, stopping in front of her.

"Luna?" he said softly. Up close, he realized that her irises were now glacier white, almost as if she had none at all. For a few seconds, the words (that he hadn't actually planned to say) were stuck in his throat. In fact, what could he say? Luna blinked once, looking up at him, and her eyes faded back into their normal color, a deep black. "Luna?" Onew repeated.

Luna took in a shaky breath, and it seemed as if all the eyes around them had disappeared. Onew couldn't feel their overwhelming stares on him and Luna anymore, because her gaze was much more intense. It held so many emotions ranging from pain to confusion to desperation. His eyes traveled to her cheek, where the branch had hit her before. Blood was flowing from the wound, but Luna didn't seem to notice.

Luna's eyes shut quickly as she fainted, her whole weight falling onto Onew. As if Onew sensed it, his arms shot out to catch her. He could tell that her legs would give up any minute, and it was a good thing he could. He struggled to keep her up.

"Here," Jonghyun offered, taking Luna from Onew. "Turn around. I'll put her on your back." Onew knelt down smoothly, making sure Luna was secure on his back as he stood up. He was silent as Lizzy was led out of the room by two Normals. She visibly flinched when she got near Luna and rushed out.

"She's going to be checked for some mental trauma. They don't know what she saw, but she's a little freaked," Victoria said as she joined Onew.

"I could tell; she didn't even look at me for once. I would be freaked, too," Onew sighed, shifting Luna on his back. "Stay back with the others, will you? I'm going to take her to the nurse. She must've used a lot of energy . . . manipulation." Onew shook his head in confusion.

"Have Amber go with you. No offense, Onew, but I don't want Luna to be alone with you. You like her, right? Boys," Victoria sighed.

"What are you talking about? Who said I liked her?! And so what if I'm a boy?! I'm mature!" Onew denied. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Besides, I want Amber to be there in case the nurse can't heal whatever Luna has. Something internal. Something that has to deal with her abilities," Victoria said under her breath, eyes darting over to the other people in the bleachers and ground. Not one of them had moved, still trying to take in as much information as possible.

Onew gestured for Amber to follow him as he walked out, allowing Victoria to order everyone else back to their dorms.

"So, shortie here is an energy manipulator," Amber stated the obvious, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She pulled her cap lower over her head and put a hand to Luna's forehead. "Mm, she's definitely worn out. Probably nothing serious, just fatigue. I can't do much except lessen her headache for when she wakes up. There's also some bruises and cuts. There's the obvious one on her cheek."

"That's nice," Onew said offhandedly, not really listening. Amber eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was just wondering about the extent of Luna's power. What if there's no extent?" Onew coughed, flicking his hair out of his eyes. He readjusted Luna on his back, and she hissed in pain. Amber put a hand on Luna's leg.

"Oh, careful. She sprained her ankle, I think," Amber informed him.

"Thank you for the heads up," Onew remarked sarcastically. Amber nodded, accepting the thanks. Onew laid Luna down on one of the beds as soon as they got to the medical center. A nurse walked in to check on the patient but squeaked as soon as she saw who it was. Onew sighed. News got around fast here.

"She only needs to sleep for a bit. You don't have to be here," Amber drawled, picking a lollipop out of a jar on the bedside table. She pulled off the wrapper and popped the bright red candy into . The nurse immediately took the chance to scurry away.

Amber sighed with a shake of her head and pressed her fingers to Luna's wrist. Onew watched as the bruises along her arm shifted back to her usual milky skin. The cuts closed up smoothly, all except for the one on her face. It was shut, but there was still a small, raised line that was slightly lighter than the rest of her skin.

"This one will take a bit longer to go away. That hit was pretty deep." Amber rubbed her palms together before pressing them to Luna's temples, pushing lightly. Luna whimpered slightly, twitching and scrunching her features up in pain. Then she relaxed, an almost blissful expression settling over her face. "Eh, I think I'm done here. She should be up soon, so I'll head back to the dorms. You?" Onew continued to watch Luna silently, oblivious to Amber's question. "Nevermind. Of course you're staying. I'm out."

Onew only realized that Amber was leaving when the curtains swooshed. He grunted to acknowledge it before turning back to Luna. He noticed how creepy it was that he was watching Luna sleep until he recognized the rhythm of her breathing. Onew shuddered and did his best to keep his eyes off her. A few seconds later, Krystal's head popped into the small area. The blonde smiled sheepishly before ducking in, sitting across from Onew on the other side of the bed.

"How is she doing?" she asked. Onew shrugged.

"Okay. Nothing big," he answered.

"Ah. I wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt. Luna hasn't talked to me much, but she's really nice when she does. I think she fits very well into our group," Krystal commented. Onew allowed himself to smile. She did. "Oh, Amber healed her cut? That's good." Krystal leaned in and observed the light scar with wide eyes.

"Why didn't Amber heal yours?" Onew pondered.

"Huh?"

Onew gestured to the bruise on Krystal's cheek. It was now a light purple and would probably disappear soon. Krystal gave him a timid smile.

"Minho and I got into another argument," she sighed. "I went on a little rebellion and refused any healing powers. He's just so overprotective. I'm not a little girl anymore. He always acts like I'm his little sister, maybe even his daughter." Krystal rolled her eyes just as the curtain flew to the side, causing her to jump.

"There you are!" Minho exhaled in relief, looking as if he'd just run ten miles. Onew guessed that he sprinted all the way over here. "I went to . . . check on Sulli and I noticed you weren't in your room." Onew suppressed a scoff. These two were so blind. "What are you doing over here? Didn't you see what Luna can do!"

Krystal gasped when Minho pulled her up, starting to take her away.

"What do you mean?! Luna's our friend! She wouldn't hurt us on purpose," Krystal protested, shaking Minho off angrily.

"I . . . I know she's our friend, but you saw how she lost control, Krys. It's . . . she's dangerous," Minho growled under his breath, trying to keep the conversation from Onew. He heard, and he was getting irritated.

"Luna isn't going to hurt any of us. She didn't lose control, Minho. She was . . . it was self-defense," Onew argued, weakly, he had to admit.

"She told us that she would try to avoid using her abilties, but she ended up letting them go anyways," Minho snapped, grabbing Krystal's wrist again. Her eye twitched. Minho turned to stare at the girl directly and sighed heavily. "I know you like Luna, but I don't want you hanging near her, Krys. Just . . ."

"You can't stop me from hanging around Luna, Minho," Krystal retorted.

"I don't want her blowing you up one day and-"

Onew shoved Minho then, fuming.

"It's rude enough to gossip about someone behind their back, but it's even worse when you're doing it in front of them while they're passed out. If you have nothing nice to say, get the hell out," Onew threatened. Minho stared at his leader in shock until Krystal ripped her hand away, storming off.

"Krystal - wait - damn it!" Minho groaned, hands tearing through his hair as he stalked after her.

Onew took a shaky breath, unsure of why exactly he was so furious at Minho. It offended him to know that his friend was judgemental of . . . his other friend. Shaking his head, Onew turned back to the bed and nearly fell to the floor. Luna's eyes were wide open, blinking groggily. She moaned slightly and put a hand to her head.

"You're awake," Onew mumbled as he walked over. Way to state the obvious.

"I don't have a headache this time. I usually do. When I use my powers too much," Luna said simply.

"Amber," Onew said shortly, but Luna understood, nodding.

"Everyone is probably terrified of me now, huh?" Luna grumbled, her voice a bit quieter . . . more vulnerable. Onew immediately denied it.

"I'm not."

"I was conscious when Minho was talking, around the point where you got into a little hustle. I didn't know you had a temper," Luna noted, amusement evident in her tone. Onew brought his shoulders up and down briefly, looking a bit flustered.

"I usually don't. I told you already, right? You don't want to get me mad." They fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes before Luna groaned loudly, messing up her hair.

"Aren't you going to ask now?" she pressed. Onew raised his eyebrows.

"About what?"

"Well . . . about what I can do. About what happened to me in the past. About . . . before this place," Luna said, gesturing around. Onew was taken aback. He hadn't realized that what Luna had experienced before could have affected how her powers were now. And he was also very curious as to the story of how Luna got here. He knew about Taemin coming from the orphanage and Key being discovered by his teacher, and he knew (vaguely) about Minho, Sulli, and Krystal's history together. He knew everyone's story. But not yet Luna's.

"Energy manipulation, sure," Onew encouraged, leaning forward curiously. "So . . . what about everything else?"

Luna took a deep breath.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi-hi, readers!

*me laughing at your reaction to my cliffhanger* vs. *your reaction*

ANYWAYS, happy birthday to the lovely Luna!

SURPRISE!!!

Thanks to asarielsims for reminding me hohoho

You are another year older, you beauty.

I updated quickly for this!

Plus you guys kept telling me to, so surprise to you readers!

Even when I just started school

Ha-ha, just kidding. You guys are awesome.

Story time!

I was supposed to get a ni~ce, long sleep for the first day

But I woke up at like 5am and sprinted to the bathroom because

I gots me a bloody nose (no, not the anime type when they see a hot person and spurt blood against the laws of gravity. That always confused me. But I never question Japan.)

When the blood finally died down I was just like

THANK THE HOLY THAT IS HOLINESS THAT IS HOLES THAT IS WHAT

But guess what?

It is now late at night, and as I am typing this chapter

I HAVE A TISSUE STICKING OUT OF MY NOSE BECAUSE WOW, MORE BLOOD YAY

STILL TYPING BECAUSE I LOVE YOU GUYS THOUGH

Sorry if this gave you guys a bad image. School was boring so

That was my only story.

I think my next update will be Minstal-focused because I am evil

And want you guys to wait longer for Luna's backstory

Plus I like Minstal's relationship for some reason

Anyways, I'm tired, guys. I'm off. I must go. My people bed needs me