Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z anime.

The storyline and any OCs are my ONLY property.

This merely serves as entertainment for the viewers!

(Warning: This story is rated T; it contains violence, vulgar language, and minor suggestive adult themes. Read at your own risk.)

Narrative/Third Person's P.O.V.

The rather warm and humid air began to envelop Tokyo today; the season of summer coming closer as the days go by. It was the time for vacation for everyone, mainly young kids and teenagers. A perfect time for anyone to have a moment of relaxation.

That is, if you aren't a superpowered human being.

Our heroines have remained inactive for a total of three days, barely leaving their rooms for that span of time. And although their equally powerful counterparts were also busy with their own businesses in their own rooms, they all remained alone.

During their most recent mission, they were all left sore and tired. Little did they all know, the task that they had in hand seemed to be too much as their tactic was proven to exhaust them. And although they were able to fool everyone who was not in on their secret objective, they were no exception to sickness as they were all left feeling fatigued as soon as they had arrived at their headquarters.

But fortunately for them, their mission was proven to be a success for both the organization and for their main leader, the Professor. As for the citizens involved in this incident, it was later known that several people have been injured and many buildings had major damages. But on the bright side, nobody had died nor was anyone in any critical condition due to this. The mayor and the girls, as always, had funded for the repair of the buildings affected.

All was well for the people of Tokyo as they all had witnessed their superhero trio back in action once again. However, it made their task more difficult due to the fact that they now had to prepare for any more sudden attacks on the city. If they weren't there to save the day, who else would?

And because they were now fully aware of the consequences of switching back and forth from being a villain and a hero, they had to be more careful of their actions from now on.

However, their mission is still going, and the days are slowly going by.

"Ugh," Butterfly groaned. "Please tell me you guys have already gotten better." Butterfly said through her earpiece.

"Yeah, not really," Bloom replied through the device. "I appreciate the fact that they have healers here but the medicine that their nurse left isn't really helping."

"Tell me about it."

"I seem a bit better," Bright said. "I'm still getting a bit of a headache but I can practically walk more easily now."

"Since you don't really get sick often, I'm not surprised." Butterfly replied. "Me and Momoko, on the other hand, are always getting sick."

"Yeah," Bloom said, giving a soft chuckle on the other hand. "But for me, I'm the one who always gets sick. However for you, Kaoru, you're very healthy and always in shape."

"I'm fully aware."

"But you're always getting injured, that's why you're getting more prone to different kinds of illnesses."

"I know, and it sucks." Butterfly replied, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Giggling on the other end, Bright slowly sat up, leaning against the head of the bed. "Well, can we somehow get our mission to progress? I mean, it's just that I think that as time goes by, more and more agents are coming to this place, and it might be a major threat. We need to at least do something."

"We should be doing anything right now to get more information on this place, but we can't." Butterfly replied. "We can't exactly move in the condition we are in."

"Well, not exactly." Bloom said. "There is still a way."

"I don't like the way that you said that." Butterfly replied, a bit uneasy.

"Why not?"

"You're using that tone which means you have something going on in that big brain of yours."

"That's because I have a plan."

"Remember the last plan you had?" Butterfly asked. "It made us practically bed-ridden."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that this would happen?" Bloom defended. "At least we didn't get caught in the act. And if we did, our whole mission will be ruined."

"That's true, but we have to be more careful. We might end up in a hospital in the end."

"I know," Bloom replied, biting her lip in nervousness. "It's my fault, I'm sorry."

Bright smiled, "Nobody knew that this would happen, don't be so hard on yourself, Momoko." She said in a comforting tone. "And besides, your plan worked. It might not have ended well for us, but it's okay. We both trust you, right, Kaoru?"

"Yeah," Butterfly replied. "Just make sure that your plan isn't crazy again."

Chuckling, Bloom smiled on the other end. "Trust me, it'll just be simple."

"Then what do you have in mind?" Bright asked.

"Well, it'll mostly be you doing the work, Miyako." Bloom said. "I won't force you to do it if you don't want to. We could just do it together once we're all better."

"What do you mean?" Bright asked.

"It means that you'll be doing this mission on your own."

Hearing about this, Bright's heart began to beat faster. She wasn't new to solo missions, but it was something that she chose to avoid altogether. She gets nervous whenever she has to do something alone and this time was no exception.

Ever since the incident four years ago, she had become more nervous with her surroundings. But if she knew that there was someone there with her that she can trust, she would feel a bit calmer. At first it was hard for her, but she had slowly begun to improve.

However, that doesn't mean that that nervousness was completely gone.

"Miyako? Are you still there?" Bloom called out, making Bright snap out of her thoughts as she had seemingly dozed off all of a sudden.

"Uhm, yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Butterfly asked. "You've suddenly gone quiet for a while."

"Oh, sorry about that." Bright apologized. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."

"What were you thinking about?" Bloom asked.

A bit taken aback by her sudden question, Bright began to clear her throat; her nervousness seemingly getting worse by the minute. "O-oh, it's n-nothing important, really. Just something completely random."

"Uhm, okay?" Bloom said, a bit confused as to why her friend was stuttering. Certain that her friend was actually telling the truth, she decided to just shrug it off. "Anyway, are you okay with that?"

"Okay with what?"

"With doing the mission alone?"

"O-oh, that… Right…. Uhm..."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Bloom asked, getting more concerned for her friend. "It seems like there's something off."

"No! I-I'm fine, really."

"You don't really seem fine." Butterfly said. "Not from this end at least."

"I'm completely fine," Bright replied, a bit more composed. "I promise."

Though Bloom was still suspicious about Bright's behavior, she had decided to just let it slide once more. "Well, if you're perfectly fine, are you willing to do the mission?"

There was a long pause just as Bloom asked that, but after hearing Bright seemingly clearing her throat, she replied, "Yeah, I'll do it."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm ready for anything."

"That's the Miyako we know." Butterfly commented. "Who knew that our little baby would grow up so fast?"

Hearing her teasing remark, Bright couldn't help but pout. "I'm not a baby anymore, you know."

"I know, I'm just messing with you." Butterfly replied, laughing. "But all joking aside, what is she supposed to do anyway, Momoko?"

"It's pretty easy, actually." Bloom said, sitting up on her own bed. "Miyako will just have to get some books from the library."

Both Bright and Butterfly became silent for a while as they heard what she said. "From the what now?" Butterfly asked, breaking out of her daze. "Did you say library?"

"They have a library here?" Bright asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure there is. Unless Brick gets his books from the dozens of Public Libraries down the streets of Tokyo." Bloom replied, a bit sarcastically. "I mean, where else would he get the hundreds of books that he reads every single day?"

"Is there anything that this place does not have?"

"I'm honestly not that surprised, considering there are a lot of unsolved cases of robberies and other crimes ever since the R.I.D. started." Bright commented. "If they are behind some of them and with them having a lot of Gifted people here, then it just makes sense."

"That was meant to be a rhetorical question…"

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand," Bloom interrupted. "I might have found something interesting. It may be useful, but we just have to find out to make sure."

"What did you find?" Bright asked.

"Or more importantly, how did you find this thing you're talking about?" Butterfly added. "You might have just dug through Brick's stash of porn magazines under his bed."

"Kaoru!" Bloom exclaimed. "Why would I even bother looking through his stash?"

"So he does have one?"

"How the hell should I know?!"

"Well, one of those three idiots apparently doesn't have the decency to keep his well-hidden!"

Raising her eyebrow at Butterfly's statement, Bloom noticed something off with what she had said. "Did you two get into an argument again?"

As a loud groan was heard from the other line, Bright let out a soft giggle. "He's already driving you crazy, huh?"

"Clearly!" Butterfly replied. "He has a roommate now, could he at least make sure that I don't accidentally find his very personal belongings in his room when I'm searching for that damn medicine?!"

"Your room is a mess back at home too, you know."

"Still!"

"It looks like someone needs some much-needed rest." Bright said, giggling at her friend's rant. "Who knew that two weeks with him could do this much to you?"

"How much more if it was two months?" Bloom asked jokingly.

"I'd be dead, that is what's going to happen." Butterfly replied, groaning. "Can we just get this over with? So that I can just sleep this headache off?"

"You're right, all three of us need some sleep." Bloom said. "But for you, Miyako, I'm sure that this won't take long."

"What do I have to do?"

"You see, I've been having trouble trying to sneak into Brick's room and kind of find something useful for us. But for the past few days, he hasn't been going out of his room to do missions or stuff like that. He was practically just staying here, checking up on me every once in a while, and doing God knows what."

"You're not the only one." Bright replied. "I don't think any of them have gone out, that's why I'm trying to be as quiet as possible just in case Boomer happens to hear us. Has Butch done some missions yet?"

"Not that I know of." Butterfly answered. "I don't think he has left the room, but I don't think he hears us either."

"That's what I was concerned about at first." Bloom said. "I was getting the feeling that they're waiting for us to make a move; they're getting suspicious. But fortunately, Brick told me that he was going on a mission this morning. As soon as he left the room, I immediately started looking through his stuff."

"Which leads us to the previous question: What did you find?" Butterfly asked.

"I found this little note in one of his books." Bloom said, the sound of her fishing out a piece of parchment from her pocket could be heard from the other end. "It was a pain in the ass trying to get it since it was very well hidden. By the looks of what's written on it, I thought it was just a bunch of letters and numbers that he uses as a reference to any important part of a book or something. But as soon as the word reference came to mind, it was then that I finally concluded what it was. It's a call number!"

"So it corresponds to a certain kind of book?"

"Exactly!" Bloom exclaimed. "If we can somehow get our hands on those books, then maybe we'll have something to investigate."

"But what if it's just some useless junk? I mean, it might just be his next reading list or something." Butterfly asked.

"I guess we'll just have to find out. And if it is anything interesting, I'll immediately contact the Professor about it." Bloom said. "So, Miyako, are you up for it?"

"It seems harmless so I guess it's okay." Bright replied. "And we don't have a plan on how to eliminate the agents as of now. We can't just stand here even if we're in this state so I think it's worth a shot."

"Now we're talking." Butterfly said. "Be sure to update us on what you're doing. We still want to make sure that you'll be alright down there."

"She's right. So if something happens, we'll be right there." Bloom added. "Be careful, okay, Miyako?"

Giggling, Bright began to fix her gloves, giving it a light tug before saying, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Bright's P.O.V.

After taking down the last three sets of numbers that Momoko gave, I was finally ready to start the mission. After she gave me the plan, I began to fix everything, including my clothes and all of the gadgets that I needed.

And as I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but let out a big sigh.

To be honest, I am still a bit nervous. This job might be simple but as I began to think about this even further, hundreds of bad scenarios began to flash in my mind.

Like, what if I get caught? What if the girls weren't able to save me in time? Would I die from the punishment if I was caught in the act? Will the mission fail if I mess up? Will I be able to do this?

There's just so many things that could go wrong!

I looked at myself in the mirror once more, letting out another sigh. But as soon as I did, I started to grip the ends of my vest as I tried to relax my body. I took in deep breaths and began to straighten my back as I stretched both of my arms.

As I did, someone's words began to echo in my head.

You little bitch

You're such a coward.

So weak.

I firmly planted both of my hands on top of my vanity. "You can do this," I told myself, staring intensely at my own pair of dark blue orbs. "You're a grown, strong woman now. You're not weak and helpless anymore, so prove them wrong."

Breathing in deeply, I was finally able to feel calm and collected. And as I began to regain my composure, I let out a tiny smile to reassure myself once more that I'm fine.

As I walked towards my door, I slowly turned the knob, opening it wide enough for me to get a glance of Boomer's room. Looking around, it seemed like nobody was there. Nothing seemed to be out of place as I was able to check everything.

That's a bit odd.

As I fully opened the door, I carefully stepped into his room. And as I was completely able to look at his room, I was able to confirm that he really wasn't there.

I wonder where he is?

It wasn't like him to just go out without telling me, nor did I even hear him go out. He'd often knock and he'd almost immediately say what he was going to do even if I wouldn't respond. For him to suddenly disappear is just weird.

But I guess it's really not much of a surprise by this point.

Momoko did say that they were getting suspicious, and I guess that this is enough proof. And what else would I expect? After I fought with him three days ago, I saw for myself that he hasn't changed, that he was the same as before.

My assumptions were wrong all along.

And frankly speaking, It's not up to me to change him anyway.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I instantly started to head towards the door. If he was gone, then I bet it was for a mission. And if I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to get back before he even notices.

As I exited the room, I immediately saw Sedusa standing in front of her room. She leaned against the door as she placed her hand on her hip. With her free hand, she had her phone up to her ear, talking softly, but audible enough for me to hear.

"Since we don't really know where the library is, you're going to have to ask other agents about it."

Recalling Momoko's exact words made me tense a bit, but as soon as Sedusa placed her phone back in her pocket, I could feel a sense of relief as I made my way towards her.

"Hey, Sedusa," I called out, making her look towards my direction. "Do you have a minute?"

She was a bit startled by my sudden words. However, it didn't take that long for her to compose herself and give me a somewhat concerned and interested look on her face. "Sure, I've got time. What do you need?"

"I just need to know where the library is." I replied casually, smiling softly. "Do you know where I can find it?"

"May I ask why?" Sedusa asked, a bit baffled by my question. "It's a very odd question to ask, quite frankly. It's not every day that I hear about an agent wanting to go there."

"Oh, it's nothing important, actually. My sister just kind of forced me to find some books for her to read since she's not really feeling well."

"I see," She said. "All three of you were with the boys on that one mission with the Powerpuff Girls, am I right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, I don't blame you for being in that condition. Those brats can give you a hard time when they're serious in fighting. But three days seems pretty serious, don't you think?"

"Kind of, it has been a very rough week for us." I replied. "They'll get better in no time. I'm just lucky enough to finally be on my feet right now."

"You are lucky indeed," She said. "Not only because you've recovered early, but because you've got to fight against those three pests. Not all of us get to do that, even for S-ranked agents."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just rare for any agent to get a mission that requires them to face the Powerpuff Girls. It's not that easy to land a mission like that. And if anyone gets that task, it's like giving us an honorary title."

"Because it proves that you're important to the organization, right?"

"Precisely!" She exclaimed. "Be grateful for that. First two weeks and you've already got to see them. That's something extraordinary right there."

"I guess so." I replied. "Have you fought them ever since this place started?" I asked. The memory of fighting Sedusa seemed a bit fuzzy to me, so I had no idea if we had encountered her for the last five years.

"No, I haven't." She answered. "I don't really mind. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. And besides, once it is finished, then it'll be worth the wait."

"Once what is finished?"

Her eyes suddenly went wide, seemingly taken aback by what she had just said. "Uhm... T-The... Uh..."

Hearing her stutter made me raise my eyebrow at her. "The what?"

"The, uhm... The n-new weapon kit I've been working on, o-of course!" She said, nervously. "Nothing special, just that!"

I looked at her with doubt as sweat began to run down her face. I could interrogate her about this, but there was something else that I needed to do.

Letting this conversation slide, I brought back the previous topic. "Okay then, good luck with that. But, the library, remember?"

"Oh right, I forgot about that." She replied, seemingly relieved by the change of subject. "It's on the ground floor. Once you're at the Training Room, take a left. Once you're there, take the fourth door on your right."

"Got it," I said. "Thanks."

"Anytime," She replied, smiling. "Come to me whenever you've got some questions. Especially when you need directions; we all know how your roommate can be a little unreliable when it comes to directions."

Giggling, I just nodded in response. "I'll keep that in mind."

Narrative / Third Person's P.O.V.

After both ladies said their goodbyes to each other, Bright immediately made her way towards the elevator. As she pressed the number one button, it took her a few seconds before reaching her destination. As soon as the elevator stopped, she carefully stepped out and began to recall Sedusa's words.

'First, the training room.' She thought to herself, pacing quickly as she was met with the door marked as T.R. 'Now a left, and the fourth door on the right.'

Following the given directions, Bright was finally able to get to the library. Looking at the dark maroon colored door, the word 'welcome' was inscribed in the very middle of it. While on the bottom, the words 'No need to knock' were written in fine print.

"This is it." She said, placing her hand on the doorknob. As she twisted it, she was left speechless as her eyes seemed to be as wide as saucers.

The library was humongous; hundreds of shelves containing thousands of books stood at about twelve feet tall. On the ceiling, a small piece of wood was hung above each aisle, labeling each one according to their type. And in a few aisles, there was at least one agent that was fixing the books.

Near the entrance, multiple tables with wooden chairs were arranged neatly, having a small group of about four people sitting on one of the tables. And on the ceiling was a large chandelier giving out a bright yellow light, illuminating the whole library.

It seemed so old-fashioned compared to the other parts of the building, but it was still beautiful in its own way.

Bright was left standing there, seemingly glued to the floor as she looked around. To her, it is as though her eyes were deceiving her. She was never really a fan of libraries or books for that matter, but the aesthetic of this place has left her in awe. It was almost like there were no flaws in its structure; the same as a perfectly drawn painting.

If this is the reason why her friend Momoko is an avid reader, she's not surprised.

Though Bright seemed to be in a trance for a minute, she was suddenly brought back to reality when a voice was heard from the hidden device in her ear.

"Miyako, are you there?" Bloom asked, making Bright jump a little.

Regaining her composure, she turned on the mic on her device. "Yeah, I'm here. I've just arrived at the library." She replied in a soft voice.

"Good, are there any agents there? Or even security cameras?" She asked, making Bright scan the room, counting each and every person in the room.

"There are four agents here reading, while there are about three staff members here that I can see from where I'm standing. As for security cameras, I don't think there are any, but I'll keep looking around." She replied.

Bright then began to walk around, trying to act as naturally as possible as she kept whispering. "This place is huge, Momoko. How am I supposed to find the books when there are literally thousands of them? I'm not really sure what to look for with the list you gave me."

"Don't worry, there's a trick in finding the books." Bloom said. "Are the books arranged by genre?"

"Yeah, I think they are." Bright confirmed as she walked through the many shelves. She made sure to take a good look at her surroundings every once in a while just to make sure no one was watching her.

"What is the first genre on the far left?" Looking over her shoulder, she began inspecting one of the shelves.

"It says General Works."

"Okay, good, since that's the first genre, it means that they started labeling them there. What are the first two letters of the first code?"

"They are the letters Q and B."

"Then that means that the book is located somewhere in the science section." Bloom said. "Or more specifically, the study of astronomy."

"So, like the stars and the solar system?"

"Exactly."

"What does that have to do with our mission though?" Bright asked. "I mean, how is it related to anything in this place?"

"I don't really know, but I do think it's a bit odd for Brick to be interested in knowing about the galaxy and things like that." Bloom replied. "Unless I just don't know what kind of stuff he's into."

"Well, we'll just have to find out." Bright said. "Do you have any more advice? I don't really go to libraries as much as you do."

"True, but don't worry, locating books is actually pretty easy." Bloom started. "The call number that I gave you has basically three lines. But I think that the way you listed it is different, right?"

"Yeah, but I separated each set with a space. It isn't really lined up but I could still distinguish it since it's in little groups."

"Okay, that's good to hear." Bloom said. "So, just to give a brief explanation, let me just explain the different sets of numbers and letters."

"So, the first line is basically either a single letter or two letters; this indicates the genre of the book. The second line, which consists of numbers, usually just indicates the specific topic of a book. The third line is normally a combination of letters and numbers with the addition of a decimal; the letter is usually the first letter of the author's last name. And finally, the last one is the year of publication."

"That's a good tip but I think It will still take a long time for me to find them, considering that you gave me five different call numbers." Bright replied. "I just snuck out since Boomer wasn't there. He might get suspicious once he finds out that I'm not there."

"Don't worry, I'll help you." She said, "How many subjects can you see?"

Looking around once more, she stood on her tiptoes as she tried to see the labels hanging from the ceiling. "About fifteen or more, I can't really see that far back."

"I see, well, the sets of numbers aren't really that high so maybe they'll be near. If you need any help you can just call me on your ICED."

Sighing, Bright began to dig into her pocket, taking out the piece of paper from before. Looking at it, she couldn't help but sweatdrop.

'This seems a bit more complicated than I thought...' She thought to herself. 'Since this place is so huge, how many books do I need to go through just to find these five?'

"Uhm, Momoko?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't there like someone in the library that can search any book with the call number using the computer?"

"Yeah, usually there is." She replied. "But the thing is, if those books are confidential, they might get suspicious too."

"You've got a point." Bright said. "But how am I going to leave with those books without anyone noticing?"

"Well, that's where your compact comes in handy." Bloom started. "I don't need you to bring the books, I just need you to send me the title of the book and the author. With that, I can give it to the Professor so that he can download a copy of it and then send it back to me."

Feeling a sense of relief, Bright began to relax. 'I guess this wasn't that difficult after all.'

"I better get started then," Bright said, looking through the numbers on the paper.

"Wait, Miyako."

"Why?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Bright let out a soft giggle. "You don't have to worry about me, Momoko." She said. "I'll get you the books in no time, so just relax and feel better, okay?"

"Okay, just don't forget to update me on your progress, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll keep in touch."

"Okay then, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, see you, Momoko." Bright said.

"Yeah, good luck." And with that, a soft beep was heard from her end, meaning that Bloom had already turned off her device. As Bright turned off hers, she began to look over the piece of parchment in her hand.

"Off to the science section, it is."

After a total of twenty minutes of trying to find the five certain books that she needed, Bright was able to locate four of them. She stood in the Technology aisle, taking out a thick brown book from the shelf. As she took a picture of the fourth book, she looked at her watch in worry.

'It's already 3:00 pm.' She thought. 'What if Boomer is already there? There's no doubt he's going to be suspicious once he finds out that I'm not there.'

As she sent the picture to Bloom, Bright took out the paper once last time, looking at the piece of paper she held in her hand. "XF 1904 .J23 20XX" She read, softly enumerating each line. "I wonder what that means."

Pressing a button on her ear piece, a sudden female voice came through the device. "Hey Miyako," Bloom started. "I've just received the message you sent me. I'm guessing that you need help with the final book, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Bright replied, giggling. "It's funny to think that I don't need to explain something since you already know it, it's pretty impressive."

"I wouldn't be a very good leader if I didn't know my teammates well now would I?"

"I guess so." She replied, smiling.

"Well, anyway, I think there's something wrong with the code that I gave you."

Bright was suddenly confused at her friend's words. As she plastered a more serious expression on her face, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Here's the thing," Bloom started. "That final code's first line doesn't correspond to anything in the database."

"Are you saying that it's not on any of these shelves?"

"Not exactly," Bloom said. "It doesn't correspond to any known genres in the LC classification. I've tried everything just to find out something about it but I found nothing. However, since the first letter is X, that makes it easier to find."

"How so?"

"It technically means that it might be in the very last sections in the library, right between the V and Z shelves. Those genres are Naval Science and Library Science respectively." She explained. "It's just a guess, but seeing that it doesn't correspond to any known classification, I'm pretty sure that this book might be something that they, themselves, have created."

"What do you mean?" Bright asked. "Are you saying it's one of their own works?"

"That's right," Bloom confirmed. "It might be one of their supposed researches that wasn't in the files room, which means that it might be vital to our own investigation."

Though it could not be seen by the red-headed leader, Bright nodded in response, taking in Bloom's advice. "Alright then, I'm on it." She said, "I'll contact you later."

"Okay, good luck."

Turning off her device, Bright began to pace fast as she tried to find the right shelf that held the book that they needed. Though she stood in a spot that was near her target, Bright still looked through every aisle, double-checking everything so that she didn't miss one single detail. But after confirming that it wasn't in the aisles at the very front, she began to go in deeper, the light from the chandelier beginning to dim as she walked further into the tall wooden shelves.

Looking to her left, she saw the aisle where she came from, seemingly about four columns farther from her. 'That means I'm getting close.'

As she sped through the aisles, Bright was suddenly caught in between two aisles. She stood between the section that was labeled Miscellaneous, while the two surrounding aisles were the last two genres as Bloom had said before.

"...right between the V and Z aisles."

Before going any further, seeing as though this place was more hidden than the others, just to make sure, Bright pressed a tiny button on her belt. Small EMPs were sent from it, disabling any camera that might be around that she couldn't see. Fortunately, because the library's primary light source was a bit far from where she stood, it didn't flicker or go off.

Looking around, though dim, it was bright enough for her to look over the books that were just in front of her. And just at the end of the shelves was a dark wooden wall, meaning that she had reached the very end of the library.

"Here goes nothing."

Taking out the small piece of paper, Bright began to look through the hundreds of books on the shelves, constantly checking the code whenever she got confused. As she was finally able to find the right book, knowing that this wasn't on any online database that the Professor could look into, she grabbed her compact and began scanning the book.

Finishing up with her mission, something else caught her eye. From the shelf that it stood on, there was a book that seemed out of place. It was located at the very bottom of the shelf, surprisingly clean and seemingly untouched.

It was thick, its pages having a dark brown color, probably due to the rather old condition of the book. Its cover was a dark shade of maroon, the call number pasted onto it seemed to be written and not printed like all the other books. However, the one thing that made Bright interested in the book is that it didn't have a title. Instead, there were two bold letters that were on the very front of it.

"K.J.?" Bright read, raising her eyebrow at the book. "What does that mean?"

Reaching for the book, she yanked it out of the shelf, causing all of the dust from the other books to stick to her clothes. "Oh God."

As she held the book in her hand, Bright desperately tried to clean her clothes with her other hand. With her distracted, she didn't notice a secret passage quietly opening behind her. She was only made aware of this after she had dusted her clothes.

"What is that?" Bright asked herself in a soft voice, her eyes inspecting the entrance that opened before her. She looked behind her, trying to see if anyone had noticed. To her relief, there were none.

Looking down at the book, she began to feel nervous. She was afraid to go in, but she knows that this might help them in their investigation. Breathing in deeply, she decided to be cautious about this as Bright began to turn the pages of the book. But as she looked over every page, she became confused as there were no words in the book.

"What is this?" She asked, desperately trying to find even a single word in the book. As she seemingly wanted to give up searching, Bright finally found a passage that was in the last few pages of it.

Beware the consequences of meddling

For we hurt without moving

We may harm people without even touching

We bear both the truth and the lies

However, thou shall not judge us by our size

When the ethereal form's gleam is new, we cannot be seen at all

But its shine steadily grows with each night fall

And as it looms over the wall

Bask in the sound of the wolf's lone call

Reading the text over and over again made Bright even more confused. "What does this mean?" She wondered, but wasting no time, she immediately grabbed her phone and quickly took a picture of the mind-puzzling message.

Turning around, she was met with the dark hallway that didn't seem to end. As Bright held the book closer to her chest, her breathing began to come out unevenly. Her heartbeat quickened with every passing second, it was as if she was experiencing a heart attack.

As she debated with herself, Bright slowly began to feel herself being pulled in, seemingly being attracted like a magnet. She took small steps closer towards the door, trembling in fear as she breathed in faster. And as soon as she stepped foot in the dark corridor, a rather eerie feeling overcame her.

"What is this place?" Bright wondered, wandering further despite the fact that she can barely see anything.

The doors behind her closed, making her surroundings pitch black. Thinking smartly, she took out the compact from her belt, using a backup flashlight installed in it. Though it was small, it was enough for her to see where she was going. "That's better."

Looking around, she noticed two corridors: one in front of her and one to her right. Seeing as the one in front of her was a dead end, she turned to walk towards the other corridor. There, she seemingly found another dead end, until she saw a small button. Pressing it, the walls revealed another secret passage just like before. Stepping in again, the doors behind her closed almost immediately.

She turned around to inspect the wall. It seems as though she couldn't go back as there was no more button to be found. Pressing her hand against the wall in hopes of triggering it to open, it did nothing to help her. It merely looked like a normal wall now.

Seemingly having no other choice, Bright walked in deeper.

'How come whenever I pull out a book from somewhere, seemingly bad things like this happen?' Bright thought, sighing. 'I might be cursed or something.'

As she walked down, her surroundings seemingly began to look clearer than before. She wasn't able to see far, but she was able to make out that the hallway had a door on each side.

She slowed down for a bit, the clicking sound of her heels dissipated. Shining the light over towards the door to her right, Bright firmly grasped its knob. Turning it slowly and quietly, the knob suddenly hit a barrier, causing her hand to stop. She tried again, but there was something in her way that prevented her from opening it.

'Locked,' She concluded. 'What about this one?'

As she inspected the other door, she was dismayed that it too was locked. Walking down the seemingly never-ending corridor, hoping to find something useful, Bright didn't notice a pair of eyes following her every move. She tried to open the many doors that lay within the dusty corridors.

After walking for a bit, she then spotted a door once again.

However, as she reached out her hand to try and open it, a voice came through.

While all these events began to occur, a raven-haired girl remained sound asleep in her room, lightly snoring. Her hair flowed in all directions, covering most of the pillow with it. The blanket that covered her began to slowly unwind as Butterfly shifted in her sleep.

But as time went by, she began to constantly move around, groaning in her sleep. And with every move she made, it just began to worsen as she was struggling to feel comfortable.

After a few minutes of wriggling around in the covers, she grumpily sat up on her bed. A frown was plastered on her face as she scratched the back of her head.

As she blinked a few times to adjust herself to the bright lights, Butterfly glanced over at her clock.

It was almost time for her to take her meds again. With that, she decided to get her medicine from Butch. Which was, again, something she dreaded doing.

Getting the sheets off her, she slowly placed her feet on the ground, trying to find her pair of slippers. Yawning, she realized that her body didn't seem to hurt anymore. At least, not as bad as before.

'Well, that means that I wouldn't be yelling for that idiot to get my medicine.' Butterfly thought. 'Better just get it from there then.'

Standing up on her own two feet, Butterfly slowly walked towards the door. She stumbled a bit, still feeling a little tired and dizzy. But in the end, she was still able to open the door as she went inside her roommate's room.

Scanning the room, her eyes landed on a figure sitting in front of the computer. His fingers typed quickly, not taking his eyes off of it even for a second. He didn't even seem to notice the green-eyed girl looking at him with her eyebrow raised.

"Hey, Butch," Butterfly called out, but he didn't respond. Not even a single sound was heard from him. Though she didn't seem to mind, she continued, "You have my medicine, right?"

He merely replied with a nod, not even bothering to look at her. Seeing his response, Butterfly looked at him weirdly. "Okay, can I have them?"

Not taking his eyes off of the screen, Butch used his left hand to point towards his night stand, showing the small casing that contained several white pills. Following his directions, Butterfly made her way towards his bed, taking the little orange container.

She also felt relieved that she didn't see anything she didn't need to see this time.

"Thanks," She said. "You're being awfully quiet, what the hell is wrong with you lately?"

Looking at him intently, Butch merely replied with a shrug, making Butterfly frown. "You know, as much as I like you being quiet and not saying anything perverted, I think I'd be more comfortable to see you actually talk."

Sighing, he stopped typing for a moment. He stared at the screen with a serious look before replying, "I'm not really in the mood to talk to you right now."

"Why not?"

"First of all, I'm busy. Second, you've been in your room for the past three days so we haven't been able to talk. And third, I'm not in the mood to get berated by a sick person, especially you." He said, putting up three fingers as he enumerated each reason. "I think that explains everything now. Any more questions?"

Looking at him in doubt, Butterfly crossed her arms over her chest. "In short, you're avoiding me." She said, sitting down on his couch. "Although I'm not sure why, I have to admit, it's making me curious."

Butterfly really couldn't wrap her head around why he was doing this, but she needed his trust. The whole point of her flirting with him is to have him hook, line, and sinker for her. If he isn't within her grasp and he becomes suspicious of her, it would be a big problem.

Sighing once more, he turned his chair, finally facing the raven-haired girl. He furrowed his eyebrows at her, a hint of irritation evident in his face. "I list perfectly good reasons as to why I haven't been talking to you that much lately and you think I'm avoiding you?"

"I don't think, I know." Butterfly replied. "Care to tell me why?"

Butch raised his eyebrow at her, not sure if he wanted to answer honestly. "Let's just say that I hate unreliable people when it comes to missions."

"Unreliable?" Butterfly asked, a bit offended by what he just said. "And can you tell me exactly how I am unreliable?"

"You were stupid to run off on your own with one of those puffs. And look at what it got you? Almost beaten up while tied to a building."

"My sisters and I saved your asses in the end now didn't we?"

"It was reckless."

"The whole mission was reckless!"

"What if you got hurt? What if any of you got hurt?"

"I appreciate the concern but I can take care of myself."

"If you or any one of your sisters got hurt badly in that fight we would have been the ones answering for it to the boss." Butch said in a serious tone, now glaring at her. "I don't know about you but I'm tired of getting blamed when others fuck up."

Butterfly stood up, her face in utter disbelief. "So let me get this straight, the reason why you're being a total asshole right now is because we almost got caught and have gotten sick in this mission? You're not even the least bit concerned about us, you just don't want your ass to be on the chopping block, is that right?!

"I get that you hate being blamed but don't go around blaming and putting all of your anger on me. For fuck's sake you're not the one who's sick and in bed all day!"

Butch looked at her intently before closing his eyes as he still has a serious expression on his face. "You don't understand just how fucking frustrating it is going through dangerous missions like this knowing that there are risks." He started. "We can't even making a fucking move without risking someone else's life. We've been losing agents like crazy and it might not even be long before they get to you and kill you too."

Butterfly was shocked at his statement. Still, she kept her composure. "Don't you think I know that? " She said, turning her back on him. "You're not the only one who's lost somebody, Butch. Everyday, I know that there's a target on my back. I know what it's like to live in danger, uncertain whether you're even going to live another day."

She then looked back at him. "You don't know what I've been through, who I've lost, and what I've done to make sure that I'm still surviving this hell. I don't need you looking after me. And I am not afraid of anything you're going to throw at me.

"If you want me to face the consequences of almost screwing up the mission, fine. But don't think that letting out your anger on someone who didn't even do anything to you would actually do anything. I am not going to be your scapegoat."

She walked towards her door. Before entering she said one final thing. "Don't bother talking to me if you still haven't got your head out of your ass. Because just so you know, I hate people who are so oblivious that they think about nobody else but themselves, and I sure as hell don't want to waste my time on them."

Slamming the door behind her, Butterfly angrily put down the pill bottle on her vanity. Grabbing the bottled water nearby, She popped one of the pills in her mouth, quickly swallowing it as she drank her water.

Wiping her mouth, she took a minute to compose herself. Hearing him just insult her when she wasn't even saying anything bad to him just struck a nerve with her. She knew he was self-absorbed and she already knew that it wasn't out of character for him to say those things. What really pissed her off was that he reminded her of herself.

She had been through rough times, and it made her hate everything in life. She was so angry that she only thought of herself, completely insensitive to others. It made her so angry because she understood where he was coming from.

Butterfly knew the whole story of that mission, and she would have been fine with him being angry for her supposedly screwing up. However, just having him call her names and not even having a shred of sympathy for her was enough to set her off.

He was completely unapologetic of the fact that he didn't even genuinely care about her well-being.

As she was deep in her thoughts, she was suddenly caught by surprise as her compact began to blink. "What the?"

Taking out her compact, her eyes went wide as she read the words displayed on the screen. Putting it back in its compartment, she quickly fixed herself and took some stuff from her vanity. And almost instantly, she teleported out of her room.

"Excuse me, miss, but it seems that you're lost."

Bright jumped at the sudden voice, turning around and hiding the book she had as she infused it with her invisibility powers. With her flashlight, she could see the face of a young man with brightly dyed teal hair and dark brown eyes. Seeing as though it was just another agent, Bright regained her composure.

"Might I ask who you are?"

"Pardon me, where are my manners?" He replied, smiling. "Call me Souta. I have come here on a mission, you see. Is it the same for you?"

Bright hesitated for a bit answering. "No, I have not." She replied, knowing that if she lied about having a mission she would have to prove it with her M.D.P. to him. "I got lost. I'm not that good at directions so I have no clue as to where I came from."

He nodded, "Is that so?" He then extended his hand to her. "Would you like me to accompany you out of here?"

"That is very kind of you, but I would have to refuse." She answered, sensing something wasn't right. She secretly pressed a button on her belt as she backed away from him. "I think I can manage on my own."

"Oh come on now, you don't have to be afraid. I don't bite." He said, his lips now curling into a smirk.

As Bright tried to step back, her eyes went wide as she stayed where she stood. She lost all feeling in her limbs. No matter how much she struggled to move even a finger, she was frozen in place.

'H-he's… a Gifted?'

She dropped her compact, the small light emitting from it partially illuminating him. She couldn't even speak. As he neared her, she could feel her heart beating louder, faster.

"You shouldn't be like that." He said in a gentle tone. "Rejecting someone's kindness is very unbecoming of a lady such as yourself."

His hand then held hers, and tense internally. As she could feel him nearing her, she tried to scream, or even just run away. But as the feeling of his hot breath touched her skin, all she could do was plead in her head.

'Help me... Kaoru, Momoko, please!'

"That's enough, Fujita." A stern voice came from behind Souta.

The binding feeling she felt vanished, and Bright immediately grabbed her compact and stepped back. Flashing the light towards the figures in front of her, she was both relieved and shocked to see the familiar pair of cobalt blue eyes glaring at the man who had just touched her.

"M-Mr. Jojo?" He asked, evidently shocked and frightened of his presence.

His eyes then looked at her. Bright was still a bit shaken up, seeing as she wasn't even able to say anything to him. Ignoring Souta, Boomer made his way towards Bright.

He held her shoulders, looking at her with his gentle eyes. "Are you okay?"

Bright didn't respond, merely nodding her head at him.

He then turned to look back at the man. "What were your orders in coming here?"

"I-I have been tasked by S-Sir Lumpkins to assist him in his p-project, sir."

"If that's so then you should've gone straight to him." Boomer reprimanded. "Isn't his room just a few doors away from here? You just passed it."

"Y-Yes sir…" Souta replied, hanging his head low.

He then held Bright's arm gently. "If so, then go. I don't want to see you loitering and terrorizing other agents again, am I clear?"

Souta bowed. "Y-Yes sir! I will leave at once!" And just like that, Souta immediately ran away from them.

Without him in sight anymore, Boomer turned his attention to Bright. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

As he said that, he gestured to Bright to follow him. Once again, she didn't say anything. After a few twists and turns, they were led to the end of the long corridor. Boomer began fumbling with something in the corner. Upon getting a closer look, it looked like another one of those hand scanners. After a few seconds, the wall in front of them opened, revealing a flight of stairs that led back to the ground floor.

Getting out of that horrid place, Bright glanced over her should as she saw that they both came out of a normal door, nothing like the secret passageway from before. That and it had a visible hand scanner beside it.

Boomer turned to look at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked once again, but Bright just turned her face to avoid looking at him.

"Why were you there?" Bright asked him, putting her compact back in her belt.

The thought of him saving her was overpowered by the memory of his affront behavior towards her. Seeing him just coming to her rescue just solidified the fact that he was just putting up a front. That he was the person as he was before.

Though she wasn't one to talk, she just couldn't help but feel frustrated that she felt sympathy for someone who was just pretending to be someone else.

Boomer was confused at her cold reply. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" He asked. "You're supposed to be resting. How did you end up down there?"

"I got lost." She said firmly, still not facing him. "I was trying to get something, I lost my way, and I guess curiosity killed the cat, huh?"

Boomer looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face. The way she acted around him seemed a lot different than before. It became more withdrawn, indifferent. He wasn't exactly sure why.

Ever since she got sick, he did his best to tend to her care. But it seems as though the more he tried to be hospitable towards her, she became more distant. Did he do something that sparked a change in her? Or was it because of something else?

Something that his brother has been trying to convince him on?

Before Boomer could ask another question, a sudden voice came through yet again.

"Bright!" A high-pitched voice exclaimed, making both of them face towards the direction of the voice. There, running towards them were Butterfly and Bloom.

"Where have you been?!" Bloom exclaimed, masking her concern with anger. "You were taking forever!"

"Sorry," Bright replied, sneaking a glance at Boomer. "I just got caught up with something."

"No shit," Butterfly said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's he doing here?"

Hearing Butterfly's remark, Boomer raised an eyebrow at both of them. "I think the right question is, what are you doing here?"

"What do you think we're doing? We're obviously getting our sister." Butterfly retorted.

"And how did you guys know where she was?"

"We've been looking around for a while now." She replied. "Eventually, we asked some guys if they had seen you and sure enough they told us where to go. We followed that and here you are."

Bloom then looked at Bright with her eyebrow raised, feeling that something wasn't right. But seeing as though they were already causing too much suspicion by running through the hallways a while ago, she decided to just ask her about it once they got back to their rooms. "Well then, did you get what I was asking for?"

"Get what, exactly?" Boomer asked.

"Uh, I asked her to get a book for me." She replied. "Apparently, according to Brick, there's a library here. I was bored and lazy to go get it myself and since Bright was free I asked her to do it. But seeing you two here, I think it's safe to assume that you lost your way, again." Bloom said, referring to her blonde-haired friend.

Bright looked at her with shock, still a bit shaky from what happened a moment ago. However, she took this opportunity again to deceive him, trying to make sure that he didn't notice that she was secretly holding something. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Bloom sighed. "I'll just get it on my own. I could have been sleeping soundly right now, you know." She then grabbed Bright's hand while also glancing at Boomer. "We'll be going now. We'll just leave you to do whatever it was you were doing, Boomer. Sorry if my sister caused you any trouble."

Nodding at the red-headed girl, Boomer briefly looked at Bright. And as her eyes met his, there was something in his eyes that Bright couldn't fully understand. Before she could say something, Boomer turned around and began walking away.

Looking at each other, Butterfly instantly grabbed both of her friends' arms, trying to concentrate as they teleported back to Bright's room. As their feet landed on the ground, Bloom was the first one to speak up. "What happened?"

"That book..." Bright said, pointing at the thing that Bloom held in her hands. "Is something that you need to look at."

Looking down at the book, there was only one thing that Bloom wondered about, ever since Bright sent that picture earlier.

Who was this K.J.?

And why did it lead to something that they never expected?

Author's Note: Oooh we're finally getting to the juicy mysteries of the R.I.D. now. I hope you guys stay on this rollercoaster ride because it's going to be bumpy. Is there more sinister going on in this organization? Stay tuned to find out!

Thank you so much for reading and please don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!

See you guys in the next chapter!

~Disastress