For starters! Today marks the one-year-anniversary of the publish date! Oh my goodness, guys, this story is exactly a year old! I thank my supporters and followers for the [little] progress I've made! I love you all!

Just a warning: This chapter is ridiculously long(If I'm correct, it was like 25-30 pages long in Word. My previous longest was like 13 pages.). With that being said, maybe that'll make you all happy! Regardless, inside are two plot twists and a certain crying fest. I CAN FEEL THE CRIES FROM MY FANS NOW. Oh, god, but no, I cried when typing it, mostly because I was tortured into reading that part of the series again... But you get the point. Anyhow, enjoy! I hope each plot twist was entirely unexpected!

(This is a startling 9,532 words long! My previous longest chapter for anything, EVER was 5,677! Whew. Talk about exhausting!)


In walked Jake, Mary, and the infected. "What? You're still here?" I groaned in annoyance at the sound of Jake's voice. "Must be nice, not having anything to do."

"I'd prefer you don't say it like that. We've also just come back from seeing Dr. Crombel." M-21 'politely' requested of Jake.

"Ho~ You've gone and seen him?"

"What about you guys, what happened with what you went to do?" M-21 deliberately changed the subject.

The group discussed for a while longer, and while it did hold important text, I'll shorten it for the sake of my own sanity.

Jake and Mary searched Shinwoo's house to find nothing of value, and the place vacant. So, in turn, Jake demanded M-21 and M-24 take him to the place where they kidnapped one of the children before.

Then, M-21 received a call on his phone, which he apparently was not supposed to have. Evidently, this organization of his does not permit personal luxuries, unless approved. M-21 urged the two to overlook this fault. In the end, the two decided they didn't care, and Jake answered the phone. M-21 and M-24 seemed especially nervous.

The call, however, much like before, turned out to be an AD called. In the end, Jake responded to the poor caller with a threat. And that ended there.

Now, that was so much better than the intense dialogue, which personally bored me.

Of course, in the end, M-21, M-24, and I were dragged above ground, forced to play along in Jake's and Mary's pity attempt to kidnap those children.

"Fuck. This is an annoying country. Getting weird alls all the time…" With a pause, Jake continued. "It's here?"

"Yeah, this is where we kidnapped one of them before." M-21 responded.

"To have to wait here for someone that I don't even know when they're going to appear… This is such a waste of time."

"Jake's right, it'll take longer if we're all here together, so we'll go wait at another place." M-21 and M-24 turned to leave, and before I could make a move to follow, were stopped.

"Wait. I'm against you guys going together."

Glaring back at Jake, M-21 spoke. "What?"

"One of you are going with me."

"Why do we have to do that?"

"Nothing big, it's just I can't trust you two."

"I also agree with Jake." Mary piped in.

"Mary?" Jake questioned.

"We don't know the target. And we can't be sure of the infected who supposedly should be able to confirm the target." With a toss, Mary threw an item at each individual, excluding myself. "Everyone, put this on your ear." Without looking, I was aware of what Mary gave everyone; communication devices. "It doesn't reach out of 3km radius, so be careful not to go too far out of the distance." She turned, placing the device in her ear. "M-21, you're coming with me."

"Alright." With a glance over his shoulder, M-21 gestured at me, beckoning me to follow. I nodded and stepped forward, beside M-21.

"No, the human stays with me." Jake stated, earning initially a glare, but them my confusion. Why did he want me to come along?

Both M-21 and M-24 now stared at me, most likely curious as to my reaction. "And if I say no?" I glared over at Jake, chancing my response.

"It's simple. I'll kill you."

Very tempted to make a few choice words, I bit my tongue and sighed heavily. "Fine, but if you so much as lay a hand on me…" I trailed off, feeling it unnecessary to continue.

"You'll what, hit me?"

"Something like that." I stifled a yawn and walked over to M-24, preferring to side by him than Jake any day.

M-21 and Mary departed, leaving for a different section of the city. I stared after M-21, wishing I could have gone with him, but this would suffice. I at least had one of the two I trusted with me.

"I'm getting bored already." Jake spoke suddenly. "It'll be nice if they'll just show up today and not waste time…"

"Really? We've been here for barely ten minutes, Jake. Calm down." I spoke, even as I stared down at the streets. With a stifled gasp, I nudged at M-24's side, urging him to look at the streets.

His eyes widened. His grit his teeth, and thought quickly. "Hey, Jake. I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why do you hate us so much?" I leaned forward, looking at Jake on the other side of M-24.

"This is ridiculous. Are you sick somewhere? Asking a thing like that." Jake grinned as though he'd won something.

I noticed it easily, when the infected noticed the children. For starters, his entire frame shook momentarily. Then he started making noises.

"Hm? What's up with you? Where are you looking?"

M-24 groaned, clearly not having provided enough of a distraction.

"I see what's up. Found them." One again, Jake showed that grin that could only be described as insane.

I could only imagine how M-21 looked right now. Even if he wouldn't openly admit it, I felt that he wanted to aid in those children's safety.

With a blink, Mary returned, followed shortly after by M-21, of which M-24 and I moved over to.

Within moments, Jake and Mary developed a plan to hide in an ally and await the children. That we did; we moved down to an ally, with Jake, Mary, and the infected in the line of the children's path, while M-21, M-24, and I hid in the shadows until we would become necessary.

Before long, the children came waltzing into the ally, talking amongst themselves. They stopped when they noticed Jake and Mary, the infected too hard to see in the shadows behind.

"What? Who are those people?" Shinwoo questioned.

"It's definitely these guys?" Jake questioned the infected, who only responded with a groan. The infected stepped forward.

"That person is…!" Ikhan started, while Yuna gasped. Shinwoo remained silent and determined.

"What? Why did you show up in front of us again? And who are those guys?" Shinwoo questioned, a look of disdain on his face.

"Look at him talk… Judging by his reaction, I guess there's no need to check." Jake lit a cigarette, once again earning my own look of disdain.

Shinwoo glanced to his side, at a trembling Yuna, then back in front of him. "Ikhan. I'll block them, so take Yuna."

"Y-yeah… Alright. Be careful." Ikhan nodded.

"Ohh~ Looks like the kids are trying to escape." Jake teased.

"Ah… Yeah, we are." Shinwoo rubbed at his nose lightly, feigning embarrassment. "Now!" With a shout from Shinwoo, and an advancement from Ikhan and Yuna, M-21 and M-24 were made to advance themselves, blocking their path.

"Ah… You… You are…!" No matter how I looked at it, M-21 and M-24 looked regretful to have to block their path. "Shi… Shinwoo."

Now standing beside M-21, I glanced over at Shinwoo to see him glancing behind him at us. "Shit. I was wondering why they weren't showing up." Shinwoo turned back to Jake.

"What? You aren't going to run away?"

"Why on Earth are you doing this to us?" Ikhan questioned M-21 and M-24, and quite possibly me, though that was pretty unlikely. Rather than one of us responding, Jake did.

"Why? No reason, really. It's just you guys were unlucky."

Ikhan turned to Jake. "What kind of reason is that…?"

Stomping on his cigarette, Jake smirked. "Shall we deal with them?"

Faster than I could comprehend, M-21 lunged forward, hitting Shinwoo on the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out.

"Shinwoo!" Before Ikhan could mover over to Shinwoo, M-24 repeated the same gesture with him and Yuna, knocking them out as well.

With a grimace, Jake questioned the two. "What are you doing?"

"We can't kill the kids here."

"What does the location matter now?"

"You realize the situation you made with that stupid guy behind you? And if the kids' corpses are found here, it could only be thought that you, Jake, are making a commotion on purpose. It could also be seen as that you are revolting against the organization." M-21 spoke, his words calm and slow, within reason.

"M-21. Are you threatening me with those words?"

"It's not something like that. And there is another one besides these kids."

"What?"

"We have to use these kids to call the other one out as well." M-21 must have been talking about Raizel. I recall Raizel being with the kids on multiple occasions. But, calling someone like him out here would only result in… I trailed off. Turning my head to the side so no one could see me, I smirked. They were planning to use Raizel's strength to defeat Jake and Mary, or to at least stall them.

Of course, not even I was aware of what strength was held behind Raizel's indefinitely calm and structured composure.

"Then we just have to leave one of them alive. We'll call the other one out or find out where they live from one of these." Jake made gestures with his hands. It was obvious he wanted nothing more than to kill these children here and now.

"Do you really think that they'll be able to think normally if everyone else is killed and they are left alone? Even if we make them call out the remaining one, you think they'll be ale to do that naturally? It's obvious that the other one will get suspicious since their voice and state will be odd." M-21 continued to try and buy time for the children. I wish there was something I could do to aid in his attempt…

"So, are you saying that we have to keep dragging on the time with something like this?" Jake snickered.

"Wait. Jake." Mary started, then paused in thinking. "Jake. We're doing as M-21 says."

Of course, Jake was in disagreement, but with Mary having said one thing, so it would be.

M-21 turned back to M-24 and I. "Let's hurry and move these kids."

"Yeah." M-24 nodded, followed my a nod of my own.

While M-21 carried Shinwoo, and M-24 carried Ikhan, I carried Yuna. Because it was strenuous for me, considering my many faults in body size and strength, M-24 carried her as well, each over a shoulder.

As usual, we returned to what I considered my new home, in that abandoned building.

M-21 and M-24 placed each of the children on the ground, side-by-side. It didn't take too long for one of them to finally wake, and of course, it was Shinwoo to wake first.

He moaned lightly, most likely feeling some sort of pain in his neck.

"You finally opened your eyes." With the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Shinwoo flew into a sitting position, and grabbed at his head. "I don't see why we have to go about it this way."

With a sudden movement, Shinwoo maneuvered onto his knees and attempted to wake Ikhan and Yuna by shouting and shaking them. It didn't take but two words to wake them up. Before long, the two were sitting up and growing aware of their situation. Shinwoo was clearly relieved to see each was still alive.

"Wh-where is this place!?" Ikhan stammered.

"Since you're all awake now, one of you call him right now." When the children didn't respond, Jake glowered at them. "What are you staring stupidly at? Call the remaining one who's not here."

Shinwoo spoke up. "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"There was another one beside you three when we first met." Realization rang clear amongst the three when M-21 spoke. "Call him out."

"Why do we have to listen to you guys?" Shinwoo questioned.

"You have no choice." M-21 restrained himself, though it was obvious-at least to me-that he was desperate to get the message across that only Raizel could help them. And where Raizel went, so did Principal Lee.

"But I still don't want to." Shinwoo stared defiantly up at M-21, who glared down at him.

"This is why I hate this kind of stuff. What the hell is this… Just making noise with each other." Jake, once again with a cigarette in his mouth, stated. M-21 glanced to the side at Jake.

"It'll be better for you if one of you call him." M-21 continued.

"Humph. I said I don't want to." M-21 kicked Shinwoo blatantly in the face, to which I nearly protested, but with the realization that he put hardly any force behind the kick reassured me.

"Shinwoo!" Yuna cried out, immediately working to comfort him in some way.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want with us?" Ikhan, on the other hand, couldn't seem to keep a calm composure.

"Call him." M-21 urged.

"No!" Next was Ikhan's turn to take a blow, and he did. At which, Yuna cried out and moved over to him, now crouching between Shinwoo and Ikhan. She turned and stood, throwing her arms beside her.

"Stop it! What did we do wrong to deserve this?" Desperate to somehow save the two, Yuna stepped between her attackers and her friends. I had to give her some credit, as stepping between them would just be foolish and incredibly dangerous. Lucky for her, M-21 had no intentions of harming them, unlike Jake.

"Move." M-21 demanded.

"No!" She cried.

"Then you call him." He paused. "Or your friends will get hurt."

Behind Yuna, Shinwoo recovered and now stepped before her. "Yuna, get behind me."

Jake was starting to grow impatient. "Isn't it done yet? This is why I hate kids. Didn't you guys wonder why you're not tied up, even though you're kidnapped? If you're curious, go try and do as you want. If you want to make a scene, you can. If you want to shout, you can do that as well…" His face held nothing but annoyance as he turned to the children. "Just keep on behaving like that. It's all the better for me if you do that. This kind of method isn't to my liking anyway. If we do it my way, people start talking, even about what wasn't asked and they do things on their own even if I don't make them." He paused. "And in the end, they beg for their lives or even beg to kill them."

Realizing how serious the situation was getting-finally- Shinwoo attempted to keep calm.

"M-21, let's make things easier by killing one in front of them. They'll start doing as we say if their friends get killed one-by-one." Jake grinned wickedly at his idea.

"Jake, stop it. If you do that, the point of having them kidnapped in the first place will be lost." M-21 ushered.

"Then how long are you planning on wasting time on those brats?"

M-21 leaned down to Shinwoo. "Call him quickly. Or else not only you, but your friends will get hurt as well."

"But…" Shinwoo trailed off.

M-21 straightened and stared down at Shinwoo, most likely attempting to look gentle. "There's no other way. The only way for you guys to get away from here safely is for you to contact him."

Shinwoo looked as though he was starting to believe what M-21 had to say. If Shinwoo had any brain-which was incredibly unlikely- he would realize M-21 was only trying to help him.

At last, Shinwoo made the call. After the call was made, each of their phones were taken and destroyed by the infected-his foot, to be exact.

"Good job. I was going to kill you on the spot if you had called weirdly. You're better at acting than I thought."

Shinwoo glowered over at Jake and Mary, most likely debating on what to do next. Shinwoo's attention was suddenly drawn by something, and when I looked, I noticed the infected was leaning down and speaking to Jake.

"Interesting." Jake started. "Hey, you." He looked over to Shinwoo. "You have something that you have to resolve with this guy?"

As expected, M-21 intervened. "Jake. Let's not make things noisy until the other one comes."

"Why? It's getting boring. It'll be amusing. We've already got them to call their friend. I don't think it'll matter now if we kill them all. Isn't this alright?" No one responded to Jake's questions.

The infected beckoned Shinwoo over. He grimace, but moved forward. "Because of Mister, things have been going wrong for us." Shinwoo grabbed at his wrist, likely the one that had been broken before by the infected. But the look on his face showed that he had his own quarrel with the infected that he wished to settle. "Shall we begin?"

Not a moment later, the infected lunged forward, swiping at Shinwoo's head. Shinwoo dodged easily. And that's all he did for several minutes. As the infected attacked lazily, Shinwoo dodged expertly. At last, Shinwoo made a move. Based on his movements, he worked to avoid the infected's attacks and struck only when there was an opening. This continued for some time.

The infected staggered suddenly. When I examined him, I noticed blood dripping from his mouth, and was immediately repulsed. Shinwoo observed the infected as well, likely making observations as to what and where he hit and the obvious effects it should have had on him.

"You're good." Jake suddenly spoke before standing. "Your movements are better than our organization's professionally trained agents. Are you really a normal student? Shall we have a go with me?"

M-21 and M-24 reacted with silent protest, while Shinwoo remained calm and exhaled slowly. I, on the other hand, was growing impatient. Not because I wanted to see this battle, heavens no. I was impatient for Raizel and Principal Lee to show and get these kids away from here. To help them. What was taking them so long?

The conversation was normal, but I knew for certain that Raizel didn't have a phone, which meant they were likely to have called Principal Lee and addressed him as Raizel as though it were natural. Surely Principal Lee's smart enough to realize something is wrong.

Please hurry up. I don't want anyone to die…

Jake stepped forward, challenging Shinwoo. "I want to see for myself. I guess if I want to check out your skills, I should first…" With a flick of his hand, Jake threw the infected against the wall, knocking him unconscious almost immediately. "Get rid of the trash." Shinwoo glanced at the infected, clearly realizing how different this opponent would be. "Hey, kid. You have good movements. It looks like you've trained quite a bit."

"That's what I thought, too, but looking at Mister, it doesn't look like I did." Shinwoo acknowledged the compliment, but also rejected it.

"Kukuku. Look at you talking back… You're quite a character." Jake grinned then extended his arms beside him in a dramatic gesture. "I'll give you a chance. Attack me at your leisure."

"Why do I have to do as you say?" Shinwoo questioned. I wanted to shout at him, to tell him not to even attempt to fight with him, for he would never stand a chance. He would only be aiding in death's hand.

But distracting Shinwoo would only make matters worse. This is part of the reason I haven't spoken in this situation. The last thing I want to do is provide any form of aid in someone's death. After all, I was only human, and even as a human, I wasn't anywhere near as skilled as Shinwoo's level of humanity.

"Then don't. If you don't want to, you don't have to. Then I can just kill you and your friends. You're not even going to entertain me, so I'll just have to spend time doing that. I'll kill you one by one. And you must already know that I won't be killing you just simply, right?"

With an unexpected lunge, Shinwoo threw himself forward and landed a-what I believed was a roundhouse kick- at Jake's stomach. He smirked before apologizing. "Sorry, Mister. You said to attack at my leisure."

Jake chucked darkly. "Good. That's how you should do it. The attack timing was good, but the actual attack itself wasn't… Here. Do it again." Once again, Jake extended his arms beside him. Shinwoo took the bait and landed several blows in various forms against Jake's midsection.

While Jake didn't have even a single scrape, Shinwoo was clearly worn and his fists were bleeding.

"Surely you're not done yet? If this is all you got, it's quite disappointing… What? This is all? How boring." Jake repeated the gesture on Shinwoo that he did on the infected only minutes earlier.

Three voices shouted out his name. Yuna, Ikhan, and myself.

Shinwoo was sent flying past Ikhan and Yuna. Before they could even react, Shinwoo hit the wall behind them, leaving a massive set of cracks in the wall. Beyond it all, blood seeped from his mouth, gaining my immediate attention, and an involuntary reaction.

I shifted quickly from my crouching position beside M-21 and M-24 into a sprint toward Shinwoo. While he and I had never been close, I certainly didn't want to watch while he died. Before Shinwoo could hit the floor, I managed to at least catch him. I grabbed at his arm and, though awkwardly, held him up before lowering him slowly to the floor.

Beside me were Ikhan and Yuna. They glanced cautiously between Shinwoo and me. "I mean no harm, I assure you." I paused. "He…" Uncertain of what to say, I trailed off.

We each maneuvered ourselves around Shinwoo, Ikhan using his legs to keep his back off of the ground, Yuna on the other side, and my own legs being used to keep his head in a somewhat comfortable position.

Yuna and Ikhan continued to call out to him, attempting to wake him.

"What's this…? That's all? It's no fun at all. Hey' kid. Since you've disappointed me like this, I'll have to kill the other two one by one like I just said before."

M-21 stepped forward. "Jake. Stop it now."

"Why are you stopping me again?"

"Until the other one comes…" He was interrupted.

"That again? Quit it with that kind of talk. We've already go them to call the other one out, so is there any need to keep these ones alive?"

"What will you do if he doesn't come? Are you planning on doing this kind of troublesome things again? I think I'll pass." M-21 hit a spot, using Jake's short-tempered entertainment against him.

"M-21 is right. You just need to be a little bit more patient. And M-21, you're coming with me to wait outside for the other one to arrive." Mary demanded.

Tempted to follow M-21, I knew I was needed here to help Shinwoo, Yuna, and Ikhan, so I stayed. At the least, I had M-24 here.

Jake continued forward toward us.

"Jake, what are you doing? Are you going against Mary' orders?" M-24's voice caught my attention, and I glanced to him, then back to Jake.

"Who said I'm going to kill them? Oi, Mary, it's alright as long as I don't kill them, right?" Jake remained silent, listening to something I couldn't hear. "Please understand me. There never was anyone who annoyed me as much as this. I promised myself ever since we started doing this troublesome act of looking for you guys that I will never kill you guys easily."

When Shinwoo's head lifted from my lap, I looked down to see him sitting up. "Shinwoo, don't-" I started, and he looked back at me, blinking. "He isn't-"

He turned forward and panted. "Damn… Looks like I can't even get a rest…"

"Shinwoo… Are you alright?" Yuna and Ikhan both questioned.

"Ho~ You're better than I thought. Even that guy still hasn't waken up."

"Mister. Before you start bullying my friends…" Shinwoo stood, using the back of his hand to wipe away the blood from his mouth. "I'm still here."

"Shinwoo, please-!" I was once again cut off.

"I see." With speedy movement, Jake was upon us and threw Shinwoo against a wall once again. "Done now?"

"Shinwoo!" I called out, working my way over to him. That is, until Jake did something I hadn't expected. Much like he did to Shinwoo, Jake repeated the gesture against me, slamming my weak frame against the wall. Unlike Shinwoo, I was thin and my bones were no doubt frail due to neglect. My frame slid against the wall and onto the floor.

"Mirai!" No doubt that was Yuna. It was likely she was the only one here, besides M-24, who knew my name. And M-24 couldn't intervene, lest his life be put at risk as well. I didn't hold it personal.

"That was," I coughed, feeling a sharp pain in my back, "a cheap shot, Jake. I never took you for a coward." I coughed again. "For you to attack a helpless girl…" I trailed off, unable to continue talking as the pain grew worse.

Ignoring me, Jake turned to Yuna and Ikhan. "Now, shall we continue?"

"I-it's not over yet…" Shinwoo, some feet away from me, stood, only to be knocked down near immediately.

"Stop it…" I muttered, unable to watch much more of this one-sided fight. If this continued, Shinwoo would just die, followed shortly by his friends.

"I must've made a mistake in controlling my power because of the fact that I can't kill him." Shinwoo, laying on the floor, grabbed Jake's pant leg, stalling his movement. "What the. Why do you keep standing up and attempt at something that's not even possible." He kicked away Shinwoo's hands. "Just stay sprawled there." Jake placed his foot on Shinwoo's wrist before stepping down. Shinwoo reacted with a shout, before he ignored the pain and once again attempted to stall Jake by using his good arm to wrap around his ankle.

"You'll… never… lay a hand on… my friends." Shinwoo swore with a determined look on his bloodied face.

Yuna and Ikhan both started crying before shouting, "Shinwoo, you can stop now. We're fine. You're getting hurt because of us…"

"Both of you be quiet… I'm… Only good at… This kind of thing." Shinwoo glanced over his shoulder at the two and smiled lightly.

"Do they think I'm only doing this because I can't kill them? I don't need you anymore. I'll just kill the lot of you." Jake grabbed a fist-full of Shinwoo's hair and threw a fist at him. Before he could make impact, a loud bang filled the room and suddenly, Jake was buried beneath a large pile of rocks. Hovering over the rubble was M-24. He looked furious as he glared down at where Jake was.

"Everyone… move." M-24 spoke. He grabbed at the headpiece in his ear and turned it off with a soft pip. "Run away quickly."

"Sorry?" Yuna and Ikhan spoke.

"What are you standing around for?!" He turned over his shoulder and shouted at the two. Yuna and Ikhan grabbed Shinwoo, placing an arm over each shoulder, and made a break for it.

"M-24…" I started, but broke off coughing.

"Be quiet, Mirai. Come on." I groaned when M-24 grabbed my hand and pulled me up. If it weren't for him holding my hand, I would have fallen right back down. "Why would you…"

"I know. But I couldn't-" I cut off when M-24 gently placed me over his shoulder. I groaned again. "I couldn't just watch him die. I wanted to try to help him. I didn't realize I would… have instigated Jake."

M-24 exhaled, likely in understanding. After all, he intervened, too. "Now is not the time for discussion. We have to go."

"Then go, M-24. Rescue those children." I allowed my aching form to relax, as I practically huddled on M-24's shoulder. I fought to keep my balance with the support of M-24. I knew he wouldn't let me fall, but it still worried me.

It took us no time to catch up with the children, to which M-24 grabbed Shinwoo and carried him on his other shoulder, him and I resembling the same basic position over M-24's shoulders. I wondered as I stared over at Shinwoo when he would wake.

Ikhan broke the silence. "Where on Earth is this place? It looks to be underground…"

M-24 responded. "This was a place that the organization was running until a few years ago. But they're not using it now…" This sent chills down my already aching spine.

"Um… You're helping us, right? Why are you helping us?" Ikhan questioned.

"If you have time to ask stupid questions, just keep moving faster." And that he did. M-24, Yuna, and Ikhan each sped up, running as quickly as the humans could. M-24, on the other hand, was running slower than he could so he wouldn't leave the children behind.

M-24 glanced behind us when he heard the sounds of, no doubt, Jake stirring and starting pursuit. M-24 stopped and set Shinwoo down, followed by me. I stood on my own with difficulty and trembling legs, while Yuna and Ikhan held Shinwoo up. After all, he was the one who took a serious beating, not me.

"You guys go on ahead like this. An elevator that takes you outside will appear if you keep on going this way. The guy from before will be coming. He'll catch up soon if we keep this kind of pace. I'll stop him until you guys get away from here." M-24 turned from us and started off toward where Jake would be coming from.

"Judging from the fact that you came with us and didn't settle it back there when there was a chance, isn't it that you also can't deal with him?" Ikhan concluded.

"Hey, Mister. Are you going to be okay? You guys were on the same side…" Shinwoo's barely conscious self questioned.

M-24 glanced at each of us, saving me for last. I wouldn't leave M-24 here alone. Even though I'd be able to provide no aid in rescuing anyone, I wouldn't leave M-24 alone to fight against Jake.

M-24 released a breathy chuckle before turning. "Who's worrying about who now?"

"M-24, please. Don't. You'll…" I started forward, but stumbled lightly, fighting to regain my balance successfully.

"I know, Mirai. It's alright." I grimaced at M-24.

"But, M-24, what about M-21? What about me? What about this goal you two have? Are you just going to throw it away? Please, M-24, reconsider. Escape. Run away from here with M-21. Run to where you'll be safe." M-24 chuckled at me.

"There is nowhere that could be safe for us now." He hardly finished his sentence before I started yelling.

"That is not true! Anywhere but here would be safe, even if only for a little while! You can just keep running! That's fine!" Maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was the desperation, but I no longer felt any pain. I only felt the deep urge to keep M-24 alive and well. If not only for myself, but for M-21 as well.

"Mirai, get behind me." M-24's voice changed from the gentle tone he used with me to determined. I understood what that meant.

"Kukukuku… Is this all you could run away to?" Jake's form came bolting for M-24, to which I jumped to the side to avoid being hit as well. "M-24!" Jake jumped and lunged for M-24.

"JAKE!" M-24 shouted, throwing his fist forward. Jake ducked down, avoiding M-24's fist. Jake lunged forward and grabbed at M-24's face before slamming his head into the ground.

"Kukuku. A piece of trash like you dares…" Jake broke of laughing maniacally.

M-24 stood easily and faced Jake, who responded with another attack. Jake hit M-24 in the jaw, who reacted with a punch of his own, but missed.

"Kuhahaha. Good. To think you can still show this kind of strength… Were you hiding your power from the organization until now?"

M-24 attacked, relying entirely on his strength, which made him fairly clumsy. No matter how one looked at it, M-24 just wasn't as fast as Jake.

"It looks quite powerful, but it's all useless if it doesn't hit." Jake maneuvered behind M-24 and landed a powerful kick on his back, which thus forced M-24 against the wall.

M-24 looked beyond pissed as he turned and attempted to throw another punch at Jake. "Ha. You haven't changed at all. You guys didn't even die easily, even though you're trash." Jake dodged the fist, to no surprise. "The way you guys lived as though all it mattered was to keep alive in whatever way possible always got on my nerves." Jake's arm suddenly shifted into a darker hue of purple, with pink-ish blades sticking from several points on his arm. "As I thought, you won't die just from that.

I yelled out, gaining Jake's momentary attention, when Jake suddenly pierced M-24's chest with his newly formed hand. M-24 coughed blood before he grabbed Jake's wrist. He murmured Jake's name with difficulty, before raising his fist.

"M-24. I'm sick of you now." With a sinister grin, Jake pulled his hand from M-24's chest, blooding following suit. "Now die." Jake didn't move for a moment. "This is the price for a trash like you getting smart with me."

"M-24!" I screamed as I pushed my body to move forward, reaching out for M-24's falling frame. Before I could reach his body, I'd changed my target to Jake.

I don't know how to explain what happened next, I can only describe it.

In one instant, I was moving slowly, at a human pace, but in the next, with a shift in seemingly my entire being, I suddenly seemed to move at an equal speed as that of Jake. I started with a punch at his jugular, followed by a quick maneuver behind him, and a kick at the back of his neck.

Before I could make a move to attack him elsewhere, Jake disappeared and reappeared a few feet away from me. He stared for a moment, or rather, glared.

"So you weren't human. I wondered why those two kept you around." Jake growled.

I released a growl of my own, but mine sounded far from human. I could only describe mine as that of a beast. I wondered, then, for him to make such a comment, did that mean I looked different, much like the others could change their body?

I took a moment to glance down at my hands and arms to find no difference. Nothing about me looked different besides one thing; my hair. When I looked down, I could see stray hairs reaching over my shoulder and from behind me, blown before my by a draft.

I think I was more surprised than anyone else that my hair now reached below my lower back, when just moments before my hair barely reached my shoulders. With that thought, I wondered if something else was different that I couldn't see. But right now, it didn't matter. The point was, I needed to protect M-24 and ensure his survival.

I balled my hands into fists and placed them before me, preparing to fight. Where did this sudden knowledge of fighting come from? Most likely, I gained it from watching where Shinwoo aimed.

"Jake!" I shouted as I launched myself forward, aiming for his throat once more. I didn't make much of an impact before, but if I hit just right, and attempted to tear at it, surely I could do some damage. Possibly, hopefully, though very unlikely, he may bleed out before healing back up.

Before I could even get close to Jake, he disappeared from my sight. Expecting an attack from behind, I skidded to a stop and immediately launched myself to the side. But I was still too slow for Jake, as his fist knocked right into my temple and sent me flying into the nearest wall with tremendous force.

I remained still on the ground, an occasional spasm rocking my frame. The pain was immense, I could tell this even through my adrenaline, but I also felt something else, something I couldn't describe. It felt like a shift in my bones, in my entire self, but only in the areas that hurt.

"Tch. You aren't even on the level of M-21 or M-24. Though your speed is good." The only part of Jake I could see were his feet, which turned from me and started down the hall. "Kukuku. Now, I'll get to hunting down the brats."

I groaned in an attempt to stand and start after him, but fell back down immediately. A shift to my side startled me, until I realized it was M-24 standing, shakily, but standing nonetheless.

"M-24!" I called, but broke off coughing. A section of my newly long hair fell beside me, into my view. My hair was the same color, at the least, that strange ashen-blonde hair of mine.

"M-Mirai?" M-24 stuttered, whether in pain or shock, I couldn't tell.

"Yeah. It's me. Somehow…" I looked down at my hands, which still looked the same. They weren't some strange shade of a color, nor where my nails longer, like M-21 could do. "I don't know what this is, though, M-24…"

I shook my head fiercely and stood. The pain my body had endured was starting to fade. "But I'm not important. Hurry, Jake went after the kids!"

M-24 understood and we both took off toward the group. M-24 glanced over at me, and I glanced back. He was clearly surprised I was keeping up just fine with his pace, so he pushed faster, and I followed suit. We were both surprised I could perform such a feat.

We arrived just in time to catch Jake off guard. M-24 took the opportunity to engulf Jake in his arms and attempt to crush him.

"M-24. You didn't die?"

"I can't… Die yet…" Using his strength, M-24 slammed Jake into the nearest wall, head first. He then grabbed him by his goat and ran him against the wall, using his force to destroy the wall in the process. "Die!"

Jake grabbed onto the wall using his own strength and used his other arm, changing it once more into that strange form, pierced M-24's chest once again, only this time, on his heart.

"You piece of trash… I stabbed right on the heart this time so…" Jake trailed off in surprise.

"No, M-24!" Using my newly found speed, I raced over to him, only for M-24 to grab at Jake's arm and slam him harder than ever into another wall. I stared, too shocked to move when the broken wall began to deteriorate and collapse upon the two. I stood, staring at the rubbish, searching for any sign of movement, when Shinwoo, Yuna, and Ikhan walked up behind me.

I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, staring wide-eyed at them before returning my gaze to the rubbish.

"M-Mirai?" Yuna stammered, clearly confused by my new appearance.

"It's me…" I whispered, both because I couldn't find the will to draw my attention away, and as well as to show I meant no harm to them.

"How-" Yuna started before I cut her off.

"I don't know, Yuna. Not right now, please. I need to find… to find M-24." I searched with my eyes desperately through the rubble, hoping to find signs of M-24, and not Jake.

"Wh-what's this?" Ikhan spoke up. "Does… this make sense? How can a person…"

"Are they both dead?" Shinwoo questioned, and I flinched.

"That's what they'll normally be, but…" Ikhan trailed off.

"No. They're not dead…" I narrowed my eyes. I knew for a fact that Jake wouldn't die from that, but I wasn't so sure about M-24. Since I'd met them, I'd been so certain that they were strong, that they were invincible from everything, but upon meeting Jake, that image cracked. And since this fight, that image shattered entirely. I knew both M-21 and M-24 could die now. And that fact scared me.

Suddenly, a portion of the rubble was thrown away from a figure. "M-24?" I stepped forward, a smile on my face, only to be replaced immediately by a look of disgust and hatred. It wasn't M-24. It was Jake. He groaned.

He glowered down at his bloodied fist. "Fuck that M-24. To think that he was hiding this much power…" The kids behind me stepped back, startled to see Jake once again. Jake turned and grinned at them. "My apologies. I keep making you wait." Shinwoo stepped forward, challenging Jake once again. "So it's you stepping forward again? Do you think that something will change if it's you who steps forward?" With incredible speed, Jake was upon Shinwoo in a split second, holding him in the air by his throat. "What can you do?"

"Let him go!" I screeched. My voice was hardly familiar as it held a threatening growl beneath it. I attempted to slam into Jake using my shoulder, but of course, it was as he said. In strength, I wasn't even as powerful as M-21 or M-24. I only excelled where speed was important.

"What can the likes of you do?!" Unsure as to if he was threatening me or Shinwoo, I attempted again anyhow. And again. And again.

When I least expected it, with his free hand, Jake took me by the throat and lifted me off the ground. I groaned as his grip tightened and attempted to claw at his arm somehow. But without claws, that would be impossible. The sound of what I recall to be an elevator sounded behind me. Surely someone of use would be coming through.

"Huh? What's that?" Jake questioned as he stared past Shinwoo and me. I fought for breath as his grip seemed only to tighten.

The question of who arrived was answered only moments later when Ikhan and Yuna shouted Raizel's name. I didn't notice until then that the two were attempting to get Shinwoo out of Jake's grasp.

"What? You know each other? Aha~ So the remaining one was that guy?" Jake grinned.

The sound of something hitting metal sounded behind me. I wriggled in Jake's grasp, feeling unconsciousness starting to grip me.

In the next instant, I could breath and the black spots starting to cover my vision began to vanish. In the process, I was thrown aside and onto the ground roughly. Unsure of what caused Jake to release me, I glanced up, a hand clutching at my throat.

"What?!" I heard just in time to see M-21 swiping his claws at Jake, and hitting. On the other side of Jake lay a dazed Shinwoo and Ikhan and Yuna beside him. With a scowl, Jake faced M-21. "M-21."

"Jake. Where's M-24?"

When M-21 asked this, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. I looked away from him, though he wasn't looking at me, and frowned. If M-24 still hadn't recovered himself, it was likely that he…

"That guy's under there. It's a fitting grave for a guy so big, isn't it?" Jake tossed a gesture with his hand over his shoulder, pointing at the rubble behind him.

"What?" M-21 sounded exasperated. This angered me.

"He's not dead!" Once again using that speed of mine, I leapt at Jake, missing once again as he dodged, but tried again, kicking off of the wall. "Don't you talk about him like that!" My voice was almost entirely unfamiliar now, and I wondered exactly what was so different about me. What exactly happened to me?

With a fling of his arm, Jake managed a swing right in my gut, which sent me tumbling right to the ground.

"M-Mirai?" M-21 stared down at me, wide-eyed. I couldn't respond as I tried to catch my breath. I watched him, though, and made eye contact, hopeful he would recognize me.

"You don't understand? It means there's no need for you to help him." I looked over at Jake and glared fiercely.

With a shout of his name, M-21 attacked Jake, hitting once again.

"Physical transformation? So you were also hiding your power. What were you both planning to do by hiding your powers until now?" M-21 took advantage of Jake's distracted self and launched another attack, which stuck on his cheek.

With a shift of his arms, Jake sent M-21 flying. Upon closer inspection, I noticed they transformed again.

"Th-that person's arms… He's not human?" Ikhan questioned, looking as surprised as I'd ever seen him.

"Kukuku. Did you think you could do something to me if you were hiding your power?" Jake threatened M-21.

"Rai. What about the police?" Shinwoo looked over to Raizel. And I did in turn look from M-21 to Raizel, who stood beside him.

"Yeah. Where are the policemen?" Ikhan echoed. When Raizel didn't answer, they knew what that meant. "Th-then what's going to happen to us? No, forget us, what about Rai?" A look of pure guilt spread across each of their faces. "S-sorry, Rai… Sor-" The three broke off, starting to cry. I leaned up, surprised to see their reactions.

So they didn't know Raizel wasn't normal. I suppose that doesn't matter now.

"Rai. You, at the least, should run away! We'll… We'll hold onto him! Run away, Rai!" What startled me more was that they did just as they said they would. Each of the three grasped onto Jake's legs in an attempt to hold him in place to allow Raizel a chance to escape.

"These little…"

"Hurry! What are you doing?!" The three continued to risk their lives for the sake of someone who didn't need it. Behind Raizel stood a surprised M-21.

"Have they gone crazy or something?" With a kick of his legs, he shoved each of them away violently. This only seemed to anger Raizel further, and I noticed that. "Annoying little brats. These brats and that trash, they're all doing things that are just plain annoying…"

Raizel appeared to be distracted momentarily by something. His lips moved ever so slightly as though he were talking to someone. As I watched him, he blinked slowly before returning his attention to Jake. His gaze was fierce.

It was at that moment that I was thankful I was on his side, and not the opponent's.

"Oi, can't you hear me? What are you muttering about? Kids these days don't do as they are told. Will I have to educate him as well…?" Jake paused as he drew closer to Raizel and M-21. I took this time to stand, grasping lightly at my stomach. "Especially your face and expression; I don't like them at all. However I look at you, you're a pretty-boy who's an enemy to all men." I couldn't help but snicker at this. He was jealous of Raizel's beautiful face. "I think I'll have to get rid of you for all the men out there even if not for this case… Are you afraid? That you can't even look me in the eye? I can understand."

"It's high. The eye-level…" Raizel spoke in a light, yet forceful tone.

"What? What the hell have you been talking about since before?"

"Kneel." With a shout, Jake collapsed to his knees before Raizel. I stared, appalled that he could so easily bring a monster down. I mean, I knew he was strong, but I didn't think he'd be able to render him helpless so easily. Behind Raizel, M-21 looked just as shocked. And far behind Jake, the three kids looked even more shocked.

"Why… did my body… on its own…"

"This… is the difference between yours and my eye level." Raizel glowered down at Jake.

Oh, I get it now. He has a superiority complex… Within reason. When you're that strong, it's within reason to believe yourself superior. Of course, he didn't use it like Jake did. Raizel uses it within reason.

"Just now… What happened?" Shinwoo stared at Raizel.

"I-I don't know either." Ikhan confirmed.

"You.. .What did you do? I don't know what kind of sham you used, but… I'll make you pay for doing this to me." When Jake attempted to stand, he found he couldn't, and was forced back onto his knees. At last, Jake had an expression I wanted to see; fear. Just as he placed so heartlessly upon those he's tormented, at long last, it was his turn to feel it.

"Th-that's?!" Shinwoo, Yuna, and Ikhan each called with surprise. Of course they had never seen anything like this. I have not, either.

Jake's new form released a laugh and suddenly the area seemed filled with some sort of power. I grimaced, but fought through it. This is nothing, I told myself.

Jake forced his fist through the nearest wall, clearly testing his new strength. "You're better than I expected, what with making me surprised, but this is the end of your insolence. In return, I'll use my newly acquired power on you first. Of course, I'll throw in breaking that annoying face of yours as well. I don't know what you did before, but it doesn't work on me anymore. Not on me, who has gone through evolvement. Kukuku. I've accomplished the evolvement that no one else could. Think of it as an honor to have been present at this historical place." At last, Raizel interrupted Jake.

"You talk too much." Raizel muttered.

"This bastard… It looks like you still haven't grasped the situation yet. Die!" Raizel didn't react, even when Jake lunged at him with his, now massive, hand.

"Kneel." Once again, Jake was on his knees.

"Wh-what is this… I've definitely evolved even more…"

"So… What about it?" Raizel questioned heartlessly. Jake attempted to stand, and like before, couldn't. This time, he attempted so badly, that he harmed himself somehow.

"R-Rai…" Ikhan called to Rai, who raised his hand and moved it to the side. Instantly, the kids fell over, unconscious. Knowing Raizel, even to this small degree, I knew full well that he did not hurt them, just forced them to sleep.

Jake too advantage of Raizel's distraction with the children and stood, clearly about to take a swipe at him. But the moment Raizel made eye contact with a glare, Jake froze. Raizel lifted a hand and ever-so-gently, using only a finger, wiped a portion of Jake's blood onto his finger.

"Your sin…" At these words, a red aura seemed to emit from the blood on Raizel's finger. No, it was more blood. And that blood circled around Jake, Raizel, and M-21 in small orbs before gathering together to form a massive pool of blood that spun around the three.

I could barely hear Jake as I was on the other side of the blood. "W-what the hell is this?"

"…Shall be buried by your blood."

While I had no idea what was happening on the inside, I waited. I waited impatiently at enough of a distance to avoid touching the strange happening. I was impatient to know M-21 and Raizel would be unharmed after this.

Not a moment later, I was able to see the two as well as Jake being engulfed in a massive tunnel of his own blood. "S-save me!" As if we would ever spare a though over your life.

Just like that, the tunnel was gone, and so was Jake. Behind M-21 and Raizel walked Principal Lee. "Master, I have carried out your command.

Just then, M-21 moved suddenly before shouting a name I worried I would never hear again. "M-24?! Are you okay? Answer me!"

Just barely, I could hear M-24's voice. Was this a symptom of my newly-found abilities? Enhanced hearing?

"I can hear you fine. So stop yelling." I smiled ever so slightly at this.

"O-ok."

"I woke up from someone screaming."

"That was Jake."

"What? Kukuku. That's good to hear. So they beat him?"

"Yes, and Mary as well."

"As expected… M-21. Listen to me carefully. You should stick with them from now on." Oh, no. That talk only meant one thing…

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I don't have much time left to talk." This confirmed my suspicions. M-24 wouldn't survive.

"M-24?" M-21's voice grew louder.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I will be able to go with you." The look I saw on M-21's face would likely stick with me for a long time.

"Save your breath! I'll get you out of there!"

"It's too late for me." I frowned. One of my darkest fears was becoming a reality. I was losing yet another person I grew to care about.

M-21 threw himself forward, digging quickly into the rubble. I stepped forward, uncertain as to how I would have to console him. M-21 was going to lose his best friend in just a few. I knew how hard that was, I knew what he would feel. "Don't talk like that. If we go to the organization, then your regenerative abilities will…"

"It's no use. My heart's been punctured by Jake. Not once, but twice…" A shudder rocked through my frame. We were losing M-24 and there was nothing we could do. M-21 collapsed to his knees.

"It's ok!" M-21 shouted.

"My body has started to break down as well."

"What? You didn't take your medicine? There still should be some left…"

"You're free now." A final shudder rocked my frame before I started to tear up, just like I knew I would. I brought a hand to my mouth, the other around my stomach and silenced myself. I shouldn't be the one crying; M-21 should.

"Don't tell me you…"

"Now you won't be tied down to the organization because of me…"

"Who… who said I wanted to be free without you?"

"The result would have been the same regardless… The medicine wouldn't have been enough to fix my heart. I had to bring out everything to the limit in such a condition. That seemed to have pushed it over the edge. I don't have much time so listen up. Thankfully, I was able to save the children. Try to use that to help get those two to help you."

"I will not go anywhere without you."

"You're too nice for your own good." M-24 seemed to stop, then continued. "I'm sorry. Looks like you're going to have to find a name for me as well."

"Don't talk like that! It's still not too late!" Once again, M-21 continued to move the rubble.

"I'm sorry for making you carry such a heavy burden alone."

"Shut up. Didn't I tell you… to save your breath?"

"I'm sorry for leaving you by yourself…"

"Stop saying such needless things…"

"I'm… sorry…"

"If you're sorry, then wait… I will…"

"Sor…ry…"

"M-24? M-24?! Say something… Wake up right now! Are you going to break your promise with our comrades?! Did you survive until now just to die like this?! You suffered through those experiments for this?! Answer me!" M-21 hunched over. "Like this…" I could tell that by them M-21 was crying, because his body shook just like mine did.

"M-21…" I moved up beside him and crouched down to his level. I placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to face him. I was right; we were both crying. "M-21." I used my free hand and placed it on top of his. "You're not alone. I will always-" A sudden pain in my head cut me off. Still crying, M-21 looked over at me. The despair in those eyes was something I would never forget.

"No- stop- what are you-" I could feel my memories being pulled from me. Bit by bit, I began to forget about my parents' death, about my encounters with M-21 and M-24, with Principal Lee and Raizel, everything. I began to forget about everything within the past few weeks. "Please… Don't take them…" When the last of my memories of M-21 disappeared, the one I only just created, I lost conscious.

When I would wake, I would be almost entirely different.


So. Did anyone expect Mirai to be... more than human? I won't spoil what she is for a few chapters, though. You only have to wait, at most, four chapters for that to be revealed! And don't worry, this IS a romance with M-21, that hasn't been forgotten! Hell, did anyone expect Mirai to have her memory repressed? Heh... It was for fun, really, and it worked as an aid in what I have planned later. Well, what were your thoughts in this especially LONG chapter?