"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yeah. They said head straight from the camp exit back there."

"The forest seems untouched. I'm questioning if they were right."

"I don't believe we are on their territory yet."

"Still..."

The five new organization assasins were currently attempting to locate the base they had been given the direction to. However, they didn't think they were on the right track.

"They said it's on a mountain."

"Do you see any fucking mountains?"

"Language."

"Sorry... I'm just getting stressed out."

"I think we all are."

"Maybe if we climb a tree we could possibly see it from here?"

"I guess it's worth a shot."

"So... who wants to climb?"

That question was met with silence. Not having wings made balancing a bit harder for them all. It was always risky climbing things. But, someone probably needed to take that risk so they could confirm if they were going the right direction.

"I'll do it. I've had a lot of training on how to be nimble without wings." Mashiro eventually spoke up. With her training as a spy, she knew how to work without her wings better than the others.

"Be careful."

"I will." Mashiro carefully started making her way up a tree.

She had done this a few times before. She sort of knew what she was doing at this point. It still made her terrified, though. Every time a branch she grabbed bent a little too much, her heart pounded.

Thankfully, she made it to the top. She balanced herself on the trunk and looked around. She spotted the mountains that they had been told about. That meant they were going the right way.

Now, the harder part, getting back down. Her feet would apply way more pressure to the branches than her hands did. This was even more nervewracking. But, she made it back down without falling.

"I saw the mountains. We're on the right track. We should get there within a day I think." Mashiro reported her findings.

"Then let's keep moving. We don't want them to think we're taking too long."

They still didn't know too many details about the bombs in them. Did they come with a tracker? How far was the range?

It kept them on their toes. If they were too slow, they feared the organization might take it as betrayal and make them go off. They were terrified of the consequences of not being fast enough at their jobs now.

So, they quickly continued onward. They couldn't risk anything as it was.

"Do you think... they could help us?" Nanami asked, "I mean... yeah, the bombs are hard to extract, but... maybe they could do it?"

"I don't know that they'd take the risk." Tsukushi commented.

"You don't think they'd want us?"

"They have Pastel*Palettes already. Why would they need us?"

"True..."

The next day they came up to the house. They nervously scanned the area.

"That girl is the leader. Well, they think."

"That girl? Red streak?"

"Yeah. They said she seems most likely to be the leader."

"I don't know... she doesn't seem to be taking charge here."

"Well, it was only a guess on their part."

"Guys... they're here."

Pastel*Palettes was with Afterglow permanently. As such, they were now helping out around the place.

"This is gonna be tough."

"Alright. The order was to burn the place. We can kill or take hostages. Probably we can let them go too since they aren't the main group."

"Who should do what?"

"Mashiro, you have the most experience with this."

"Let me see..." Mashiro looked around and took in the house, "Weak point would be entrances. Burn as many as you can to leave few escapes."

"There's only the front door and one window."

"Two people do it. The rest will attack those running out."

"Alright."

None of them really wanted to do this. They didn't want to hurt them. Ruin the one chance they had at possibly being free. But, they had no choice. They would die if they didn't.

And so, Rui and Touko went and lit the fire. Mashiro, Nanami, and Tsukushi stood back and waited for them to run out. And that they did. But the five girl pounced on them and started fighting them.

"Who are you?!" Chisato demanded as she met head-on with Touko.

"The new group. We're called Morfonica. And we're here to eliminate you." Touko stated.

"They made a new group already, huh?" Chisato growled, "Then bring it on."

"Guys! There's smoke coming from the direction of Afterglow's base!"

"Smoke? We should investigate."

Roselia and RAS were concerned as they saw the smoke rising into the sky. They quickly gathered themselves and went to see what was going on.

They were very shocked by what they saw. They battle was fierce and bloody. The fire raging beside them was not comforting at all.

"Attack."

They joined in the fight. That made the girls unnerved. This was too many. Too many for their first mission.

"Let this be a warning. We know where you are. We will be back with reinforcements." Rui threatened.

They retreated, however, Mashiro got stopped by Rei. She gulped as she was quickly surrounded.

"U-um..." Mashiro didn't know how to talk her way out of this, "I..."

"We'll take her prisoner. I guess we're all regrouping at our base again."

"N-no! T-that's a bad idea! I assure you you would rather let me go than take me hostage!" Mashiro pleaded. She didn't know if they could control the bomb from here. They would find out soon enough she was taken. What if they blew her up? What then?

"Yeah, like we'll listen to that."

Mashiro gulped as she was drug back to Roselia's base. She was tied up and locked away in a room. She was scared.

"Guys... wait."

The other four stopped running.

"Mashiro didn't follow. I... think they have her."

"We have to go back for her!"

"Are you stupid? They'll kill us if we do! We... we have to think this through."

"But... what if they kill her?"

"Unfortunately it's a risk we just have to accept."

"B-but..."

"So, you're going to tell me what I want to know."

Yukina had come in to start questioning her.

"I... I need to tell you something!" Mashiro said frantically, "I... I have a bomb implanted in me! If they find out I'm here, they may set it off. Please... please just let me go... I don't want to die..."

Mashiro had started crying. She feared for her life.

"A... bomb?" Yukina knelt beside her, "Where?"

"I don't know... he wouldn't say where it was..."

"I'll be right back." Yukina left the room.

She returned moments later with Chu2 and Maya.

"You said she had a bomb in her?"

"That's what she told me."

"They've done it before." Chu2 stated, "It was how my parents got workers to behave. One too many writeups and you got a bomb in you."

"Any idea where it is? She doesn't know."

"The right collarbone is normally the place they go."

"Can we check it somehow without having to cut her open?"

"Shouldn't there be a scar?"

"True. Is there no scar?"

Mashiro shrugged, "I haven't noticed one."

Chu2 approached and pulled down her shirt to look. She felt the area.

"I feel an unusual lump. I think it's here."

"B-but... if you mess up disarming it it'll go off. Please... I don't want to take that risk." Mashiro returned to begging.

"Maya knows how to disarm it. You'll be fine." Yukina stated.

Maya came over to her, "I know I can't see, but I've worked with these bombs even after losing my eyes. I know what to do. Do you trust me?"

Mashiro nodded.

"Then I'm going to do that. Obviously it'll hurt a lot, so I'm going to have to knock you out for it."

"How?"

"This pill." Chu2 held out her hand.

Mashiro took a deep breath, "Okay."

She was untied and given the pill. As soon as she was asleep, Chu2 started opening her up. Once she had done that, she guided Maya's hands to the bomb and stepped back. Maya did the rest, disarming it and removing it from her body.

Chu2 sealed her up again.

"Her scar will be very noticeable." Chu2 stated.

"How did they hide it so well?" Yukina questioned.

"They have access to the best doctors and medicine. They probably have something that can do that." Maya paused, "Maybe Eve knows? She was training as a doctor for a while."

"Let's ask her. Chu2, I ask that you watch her. You know more about this stuff."

"I will." Chu2 agreed.

A few minutes later, Eve came in with a messy bowl of something. She sat down next to Mashiro.

"This is the mixture that should remove the scar." Eve explained to Chu2.

"Go ahead. Let's see if it works."

Eve carefully applied it onto the wound. In minutes, it looked as if nothing had happened.

"Wow... that worked really fast."

"Yeah. I didn't think it would be that fast."

"So, what now? Are we sending her back or are we keeping her?" Chu2 asked, "Have we decided yet?"

"I think we're keeping her for now. The bomb's signal was cut when we disarmed it. That means they'll think it went off and she's dead."

"Right. Guess we have another member now."

"From what I heard, I think she'll cooperate. She was just terrified for her life early." Eve said.

"I hope she will. I'd hate for us to have to abandon her alone. Because if she gets spotted now, something tells me she'll be executed on the spot."

"Why? Wouldn't it be good she is still alive?"

"How can they know if she betrayed them?"

"Oh... right..."

"What about her friends? Do you think we should try to contact them and let them know she's safe?" Eve asked.

"I don't know. It depends on how loyal they are."

"Do you think they're loyal?"

Chu2 shrugged, "I can't say."

"I guess for now all we can do is wait."

The four girls made it back to the camp they were told to go to. They were scared. What would they think if they knew Mashiro was captured?

The demons there seemed to be waiting for them.

"Kurata is dead?" One of them questioned, "Her signal from the tracking is gone."

That confirmed to everyone that the bombs had trackers in them. That made everything even more terrifying. They would know exactly where they were at all times. The range seemed very good.

"She was captured as we fled. We were overwhelmed and did not have a proper plan to continue that fight. We don't know what they did to her." Tsukushi answered.

"Did you hear an explosion at any point?"

"Yes. We can't confirm it was her, but we did hear one." Rui stated.

They hadn't heard anything. But, that might mean Mashiro was alive. And that she was safe. That the bomb was gone. They couldn't compromise her safety.

Even if they had all pretty much just met, they were all already close. They had to protect each other.

"Then we will confirm her death to the boss. Are you in need if treatment? We were told to patch you up if you were hurt."

"We all just have some cuts and bruises. Nothing severe."

"Then rest. You can return to the base later."

"Okay."