insoo felt embarrassed, uncomfortable, itchy. it wasn't like him to seek out others to talk about things bothering him, preferring to be that for others. as much as seoyun was his friend, despite their push and tug dynamic, he wasn't one insoo would go to for this kind of talk.

it'd been four months since cheng disappeared, taking with him a little piece of insoo's stability. cheng had been one of his closest childhood friends before his family stole insoo away in the dark of the night. xiao cheng had evolved into his first crush, first established love, a piece of his past and was quickly becoming a pillar of his future. insoo thought by this point he'd have moved on; there were way too many things now that required his attention and focus.

he wasn't used to letting his emotions affect him. it had been a long time since he'd hardened himself to it. they were still there, he still processed them and acknowledged them, but it was easy to box them up and label as dealt with without letting them affect his day. now he found himself overwhelmed almost once a day with the breadth of his emotions-- over what happened with cheng, his new realizations surrounding juwon, his new responsibilities and everything that was happening in the agency.

seoyun's door was closed but insoo had a feeling he was in there. when seoyun wasn't around working he was usually in his own quarters, insoo just hoped he wasn't dead asleep. his first knock was hesitant, he felt bad even with the potential of bothering someone else with this but it felt like there was a balloon in his chest that had a steady stream of helium being pumped into it-- threatening to pull him off the ground and burst into a million small pieces. if seoyun didn't answer maybe he could go to someone else but he would feel even worse putting any of his worries on the younger agents, wouldn't even entertain the idea, and knew the older agents were too busy for menial things like this.

@epsilonmia

good fortune comes in many shapes and forms. an extra serving of your favourite food, a chance encounter with a good friend, and some might even consider surviving another day in this hell hole to be good luck (he would argue it's more of a neutral occurrence than anything).

and such fortune had graced jiwon in the form of a reunion. not particularly one he expected, let alone enjoyed at all, but he's grown to accept it. he had been excited to see seoyun again, even if he looked like he had gone through several decades in the years they've been apart. jiwon almost reaches out to grasps his hand out of habit, but seoyun's cold stare had stopped him in his tracks. right—they weren't dumb little kids on grand adventures anymore.

after the initial awkwardness faded into indifference, jiwon made several attempts to rekindle the friendship they once had. he was still naive back then, burning from the desire to do the absolute most in every way possible, but as with everything else, he quickly found out that the world will never work in his favor.

and now, in some fucked up twist of fate, he finds himself barely able to contain his panic as a loud, resounding crack had sounded out after his fist met seoyun's chest.

“huh?”

seoyun had instructed him to not hold back, that his enhanced durability would negate whatever strength jiwon had gained after the awakening, and jiwon, the fool, took it to heart. perhaps he had been venting his frustrations out during the sparring match, throwing punches with an intent he hadn’t been able to direct at humans before. it’s a lot, after all, with everything that’s happened, then finding out someone you considered to be one of your closest friends doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore. 

but even with his inexperience, he could tell that that wasn't suppose to happen. his body is heavy with shock and fear, unwilling to move towards seoyun as guilt quickly floods his mind. he drags a foot forward, however, and breaks out of the trance-like state—one after another, and before he knows it, he's beside seoyun on the ground.

"i didn't mean to-" the words escape his mouth faster than his brain could process anything. "i mean- fuck. are you alright?" of course he isn't. what should he do? should he call for help? or should he be helping seoyun up? that's probably not a good idea, right? moving with potentially broken bones? shit.

tw: murderous thoughts

Was it a huge difference, going from human to demon? Well, yes and no. Cheng certainly felt more powerful after the unfortunate incident, though to be fair, he had strength to spare as a human to begin with. His stepdad was a farmer and specialized in potatoes - it was his one true calling. Don’t you dare call his job anything but respectable, because it kept people fed and happy. Cheng, as a teenager, would help him carry all the produce into storage. People actually called him the potato guy before because of how many sacks he could carry at once. And now, as a demon...let’s just say he could carry an obscene amount of potatoes. 

Physical enhancements aside, he still felt reasonably human. Memories intact, still capable of forming bonds and experiencing genuine care for people. Other than sudden bursts of bloodlust and occasional intrusive thoughts, Cheng was fine. 

Okay, maybe we shouldn’t say occasional intrusive thoughts. You see, around one particular individual, occasional might actually be closer to constant. Cheng didn’t know why he wanted (@epsilonmia)’s life so much, and decided it must be due to some sort of grudge held from the past life. While he typically had little trouble reining in his demon nature, Kang Seoyun had to be the exception. 

Did he tell the guy? Oh yeah. Out of concern for the human’s safety, he revealed this information early on. Did Kang Seoyun make the intelligent decision of staying far away then? No, not at all. Agent Epsilon had no sense of self preservation and gave no damns about his own life. 

“Pass the salt?” Yes, they were having dinner together - call it exposure therapy. Cheng held out his hand for the salt, but his mind was drifting somewhere else. He thought about if they leave from the right side of the cafeteria via their usual route and turn down the second hallway instead of the third, they would pass by an empty room. Yes, he knew it would be empty because it always was around this hour. With a turn of the handle the door would swing open, then Cheng just needed to give poor Seoyun one forceful push, followed by a hand over his mouth, then stab, stab, stab and stab. Oh wait, enhanced durability. In that case, stab and stab again. Cheng’s eyes went from Seoyun’s neck down his chest, stopping briefly at each place he would plant his dagger before lifting his gaze back up. 

To be fair, he probably didn’t even need a hand over this guy’s mouth. Seoyun had a death wish, and it was becoming way too obvious. 

Alright, he should distract himself now. That should be enough murderous thoughts for one day. 

“Agent Epsilon,” Cheng started. “As a fellow agent, I can’t help but notice your deplorable diet of plain rice.” He gestured towards his dinner buddy’s sad looking plate. “Maintaining good health is important, and therefore I must offer. Do you want my eggplant?” He pointed down towards a corner of his tray, where untouched eggplant slices sat invitingly. Cheng was the type of guy who ate the items he didn’t like first, and always saved his favorite for last. “Vegetables are-”

DAY ONE : PART TWO 

The screeching siren of an incoming missile has everyone in the cargobob on full alert. Maylin’s voice comes through the coms before any connection to the outside is cut off. 

“Hold on! This is going to be rough!” Sol shouts into the headset as he jerks the control of the cargobob. It doesn’t turn quickly, but he does get it to drop in height. 

Time seems to slow as the missile is seen from the front windows. Sol throws off his headset, and belt keeping him in his seat. The co-pilot copying him. 

They both dive to the back. Sol points to Harlequin and Helios and the senior agent nods. Their shield enhancement would allow them to keep someone else safe. It would be a challenge to get two safe but in moments like this enhancements need to be tested. 

Sol drops next to Epsilon and Khiana. 

The missile hits its target. 

Fire fills the sky as the cargobob and everything it was carrying is destroyed–or so it is assumed. Amidst the chaos and destruction a few figures are shot down into the city. 

GROUP ONE

A crater rests in the center of a parking structure. Makeshift stairs are built along the side of the crater via rocks, boxes, and other debris from the bottom. 

“Careful–the stone on top is wobbly.” Khiana says to Epsilon as the other agent clears the top of the crater. The medic shoots her an annoyed look then pushes himself up. 

“Thanks, I never noticed.” The sarcasm is thick Epsilon's voice which makes Khiana chuckle. 

Sol is the last to push up from the crater. He’s covered in small scraps and cuts and looks a little on the wobbly side but he stands nevertheless. 

“Status?” He questions. Neither agent with him appears to be injured and they both respond confirming that. Of course he knows they might not be telling the truth. Senior agents are bad about hiding injuries especially in the field. 

But for now he would let it slide. No time to scold when they are exposed like this. 

“My coms are down, do either of you have a connection?” Sol continues, guiding them out from the open and into a more closed off space. At least they can’t be spotted from above.

“Negative, mine’s been fried.” Khiana responds, crouching just at the entrance of their new hideout. 

“Epsilon?”

“I have a signal but it’s not very clear.” Epsilon responds. 

“ come in  - - - lips- - -  requ—- nates— - - come i - - “ The faint transmission comes from a familiar voice but none of them are able to pick up what is being said. 

“Let me see, I learned a thing or two from Alistair.” Sol says, and tinkers with Epsilon’s coms device for a moment. The transmission gets a bit more clear and they are able to tell its from agent Helios. 

“uH…” Khiana’s voice draws their attention. She’s looking out the entryway which causes Epsilon to shift over to her side. “We might have a problem.” 

The crash, to no one’s surprise, drew demons from the surrounding area to investigate the noise. The number of demons is far more than the three of them could handle–even with a head agent here. 

“If we don’t act soon our way out is going to be a path to death.” She continues, not taking her eyes off the growing number of demons. It’s only a matter of time before they spot the group. 

“There’s a way back here, I don't know what the other side looks like but it’s our best bet right now.” Sol says, handing back Epsilon’s coms device. 

“Helios?” Epsilon calls into the device as the trio begins to make their way through the crumbling building. “Helios, do you copy?” 

The coms on the other end is crackling with noise but no one has been responding yet. He can tell they are connected but the lack of response is worrisome. There is no telling what is happening where they ended up. 

“Seoyun–” The medic’s attention snaps forward at Khiana’s voice. She’s right in front of him, worry pinching her brows together. “You good? We will find them.” She says quietly. 

“Shut up, I know we will.” He pushes past her, angry, embarrassed and worried at all once. but he can’t show that. His normal expression falls onto his face as he focuses on their current situation. The coms device is still humming in one ear. 

“You never change.” Khiana’s amused voice sounds right behind him but Seoyun doesn’t respond. 

The building they are in seems to be an old pharmacy. A counter with glass around it sits to the right of them, and mostly empty shelves sit to the right. Seoyun pauses to grab some of the still closed gauze and bandages. Sterile and good size. 

Khiana snickers, earning a side eye from Seoyun. 

“Can you take anything seriously?” 

“Can you ever have fun?” She fires back then smirks. 

Sol, who had been watching them, shakes his head and steps ahead. 

“Come on you both, we need to get to the other side and hopefully we can find the other three.” He says, pushing the door to the main area of the pharmacy and making his way through the store. 

Seoyun is quick to follow, not making sure Khiana is behind him. He picks up the sound of footsteps which let him know she is. 

The sound of cracking glass makes the trio pause, eyes flying in the direction of the noise. Seoyun crouches and leans forward to see around the shelf he’s by.

“Oh…” Khiana lets out a surprised breath, but before Seoyun can see what she has seen, the girl is crouching in front of him. 

“Hey.”

“...?” He eyes her as she greets him as if they were passing in the cafeteria. 

Khiana grins. 

“You really need to work on your people skills, hotshot.” 

“You–” 

“Shhhh.” Khiana covers his mouth with her hand, she glances around the shelf once more before looking at him again. “You need to get Sol out of here. Kaiser has a plan and this was part of it.” 

Seoyun’s expression gets angrier which makes Khiana’s smile turn a bit sad. She drops her hand and nods. “I was originally here to complete a mission for him. Not by choice–whatever your head medic did, it broke me from that.” 

“I knew there was something off about you.” 

Khiana laughs under her breath. “So you were suspicious of me.” 

“Explain.” 

“I wish I had the time for that…”

“What do you—” 

The sound of demon growling reaches their ears. Seoyun tenses, going for his gun but Khiana shakes her head. “There’s no point–just go with Sol. Getting out if priority, getting back to your brother.” 

Seoyun grabs her arm. “I’m not leaving you behind, I still need answers.” 

Khiana smiles. “Maybe you’ll find them in Tacetel.” 

The girl leans forward quickly, her lips pressing against Seoyun’s. It’s not a soft kiss, not one of affection. It’s hard, desperate, and full of regret. She feels his hand loosen on her arm in surprise and she takes the chance to push him at Sol who is just as surprised. Even a little confused. 

“Go!” She whispers urgently. Sol sees something in her eyes that makes the head agent nod. He doesn’t hesitate to grab hold of Seoyun and drag the senior out. 

Khiana watches them leave, her eyes on Seoyun. 

“I wonder… if we had met sooner.” 

The sound of demon growls makes her turn around. More than 20 are lumbering into the shop from a back room. The first few finally spot her and a roar echos through the building. 

The sound can be heard outside as Sol and Seoyun run. 

“Fucking idiot.” Seoyun says as he glances back one more time. There is no heat in his voice. 

GROUP TWO

Agent Helios releases his hold on Agent Harlequin as the dust around them settles. He checks the younger agent over for any injuries before turning to the other senior agent with them. The senior appears okay, just exhausted from using his enhancement.

“Do we have eyes on Sol, Epsilon, or Khiana?” He questions, falling into mission mode. 

Harlequin is stiff and it doesn’t take Helios long to find the problem. A sprained ankle and bruised up knee, probably from impact. 

“Try contacting Epsilon or Sol, okay?” Helios says as he kneels beside Harlequin and starts wrapping his ankle. 

The younger agent is quick to respond. He’s obviously shaken but Helios can tell he is trying to keep it together. A good agent. Helios works swiftly in tending to the younger. The coms device is barely getting through, so once he’s sure Harlequin will be alright, he starts calling on his own. 

“Come in Epsilon, Sol, this is agent Helios. Requesting your location. Come in.” He calls into the device. 

“Helios, I got through to Maylin.” Harlequin gets his attention.

“Good work, kid.” He replies, taking hold of Harlequin’s device and attempting to get a similar message through.

“This is agent helios, we are down but unharmed. Unable to contact Sol. Continue forward.” He catches the confused look on the younger agent's face. 

“Shouldn’t they come back for us?” 

“It’s too dangerous for that. The civilians would never make it.” He explains.

“Couldn’t they send a team?”

“An risk leaving the rest of them outnumbered?” 

Harlequin frowns but doesn’t continue questioning.

“Best we can do right now is find the rest of our group and move forward.” 

A voice does manage to get through to them–Helios specifically. 

Daesu please respond. Let me know youre alive.

Agent Luna and her ability to speak into minds reaches out for Helios who lets out a sigh. The newly married couple spend a moment talking to each other in their minds. Helios letting her know their current situation and plan. 

Once they break off he tries once more to contact Sol or Seoyun. Nothing. 

“We need to get higher ground.” 

On that command the three agents begin to slowly make their way through the area. They got lucky with very few demon sightings, and soon enough found their way to the higher level of a building. The wall surrounding the stairs had been broken down and allowed them to climb easily. 

“I’ll look south, Harlequin take west.” Helios says, each of them looking in a different direction for their comrades. 

The time passes slowly, but also quickly. Demons lumbering around, crumbling noises of buildings giving up–it’s a whole other world out here than the agency grounds. Soon enough Harlequin is calling out to the seniors. 

“There, just beyond the billboard.” 

Sure enough two figures can be seen ducking under the fallen billboard. They spot the MEIA symbol on the sleeve of Sol’s arm, bright and clear. Helios holds up an arm and waves them over. The trio began to descend the steps again to meet them halfway. 

“Good to see the three of you are alive.” Sol greets. There is something about his tone that is off, but Epsilon doesn’t react to it so Helios pushes it off as paranoia. 

“Sir, Epsilon, good to see you.” Helios glances around but before he can voice his question someone else speaks. 

“She stayed behind.” Epsilon says, voice tense. Angry, annoyed, frustrated. All things Helios has seen from the other before. He figures out what happened from those emotions alone. He nods, taking a moment to send his thanks to Khiana for protecting Helios. 

Sol once more leads the group to a more protected area. Nothing here is truly safe but less open air means easier to spot attacks. He pulls out his coms device and tells the others to get theirs out. Each device is laid out, and the senior agent reveals he was from the Tech team before leaving. They watch as he fiddles away with the devices. 

A few seconds pass, then they all ding in unison. 

“We’re getting a message.” The senior agent explains, and a holographic message appears. A video opening moments after.

“Hey guys!” A grinning Mist is seen through the screen. “I found you~ You know everyone is freaking out right now.” The five agents let out breaths when they get a proper connection. 

“Our devices were harmed in the fall and–” Sol starts but Mist interrupts him. 

“I know! I hacked in with Remy’s help and we managed to triangulate your devices with a few here. A couple of additions and twists.” She rambles in a tech voice that only one of them keeps up with for a moment. At the blank looks she stops. “Basically you’re running off of Maylin’s device.” 

Sol nods. “Does she have orders for our next action?” 

Mist nods. 

“I’m going to guide you through the city. She said we should reach out first destination in 5 hours and that she will give you two days to make it through the city and meet us there.” As Mist talks, a map appears before them. They see their position and they see the troops' position. A red line begins to form leading them forward. 

“Just follow this.” Mist continues. “There is no telling what the demonic activity is like but this should get you through stable ground.”

“Should?” Helios questions his cousin. 

“Will.” She affirms. “Don’t worry! You got me to guide you.”

Helios and Epsilon trade a look. 

“That’s reassuring.” Harlequin replies, making Mist laugh. 

MORNING. 10 DAYS TO LAUNCH : MISSION SEA 

“There has to be a better option.” Seoyun’s voice echoes through the halls of the once stocked medic wing. Crates are stacked four high in 6 rows just outside the hallway. Lerissa, her lab coat tied around her waist as she finishes packing the last of her supplies from her office, looks up at him. She smiles, kind and warm, and leans on her hands against the desk. 

“If we didn’t believe you could do it, we wouldn’t have asked it of you.” Her response is almost teasing. 

“But–” 

A shattering noise has both agents glancing out the door into the main room. Khiana steps so subtly away from a shattered serum vial, the shimmery blue liquid slowly rolling across the floor. Seoyun just points out her direction, giving Lerissa a look that screams ‘are you serious’. 

“It’s just for now, you know there’s too much going on and she seems to trust you already.” 

“Ugh.” 

Lerissa placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed before shooing him out of her office. 

“So… What now?” Khiana questions hands crossed over her chest. 

Seoyun let's out a sigh as he steps past her. 

AFTERNOON - 9 DAYS TO LAUNCH : MISSION SEA

The civilian grounds are alive with energy as agents and civilians alike work to pack essentials. Every inch of the building and grounds are to be checked for anything of value, and the same will happen with the agency. It’s fast paced, and exhausting work in the rising heat. Not even the breeze from the nearby river does anything to help. 

A pair of senior agents sit uptop a fallen tree just beyond the civilian zone but still far enough from the fence to be considered safe. Khiana slices through an apple and offers a slice to Seoyun who appears lost in thought (brooding). The senior medic accepts the slice without acknowledging her, making Khiana snicker. 

“What?’ Seoyun’s harsh tone cuts through the once quiet atmosphere. 

“Nothing.”

They fall into silence again, Khiana only shifting when her wounds get irritated from a single position for too long. Eventually, she turns to Seoyun.

“I know they want you to find out more of the story.” 

Seoyun glances at her, his expression saying all he needs too. Khiana just nods. 

“You know… well, no you don’t but.” She trails off, leaning back on her hands and gazing up at the cloudy sky. “I was the one who killed Grandsir.” 

Seoyun’s hesitation is obvious when he glances at her. “Why?”

“It was him or the others…” 

“So you just let him be poisoned?” 

“He was with ten level one agents, fresh faces to the agency.” She said, a little defensive. “The building was going up in flames and we were doing everything we could to escape.” 

“Relax, I wasn't there. I'm trying to understand what happened.” 

“Trust me…” Khiana said, sighing. “So am I.” 

1 AM. 7 DAYS TO LAUNCH : MISSION SEA

Haneul steps into Maylins office. 

“Ah, good you made it.” Maylin steps around her desk and approaches the senior agent. “I have a task for you.” 

Haneul nods, prepared for whatever Maylin will ask of her. 

“I’m sure you have heard and seen the stranger roaming around with Seoyun? I need you to interrogate her. Normally, I would leave this to Agent Helios and you but… Agent Helios will be unable to for the time being.” 

Maylin holds up her hand when she hears the questions flutter in her mind from Haneul. 

“I’ll fill you in as we walk, follow me.” 

5 AM. 7 DAYS TO LAUNCH : MISSION SEA

Khiana, her hands cuffed to a table, looks up when the door opens and Seoyun walks in. He holds a water bottle and a snack bar. Both are set in front of the GHA agent. 

“Are you here to release me, or sentence me?” 

Seoyun doesn’t respond. 

“Great, silent treatment again. 

The senior medic takes a seat across from Khiana. 

“There are people alive in that city, good people. They need my help-- and i intend to give it even if I have to go alone." Khiana states, fire in her eyes as she leans towards Seoyun. 

Seoyun scoffs, and speaks for the first time since entering. “We know. More importantly, Maylin knows. She's a good one, you know. She cares about those people too. I don't make those kinds of calls, but I doubt you'll be going back alone."

A new light seems to enter Khiana’s face as she leans back once more. She takes in Seoyun across from her before slowly nodding. 

“Alright. Then… where do we start?” 

The door opens once more, Maylin and Haneul enter. 

“You can start by trusting us.” Maylin says. 

EVENING. 5 DAYS TO LAUNCH : MISSION SEA

“The cars are packed and the road has been cleared to the best of our ability.” Alistair reports. Sol throws a holographic map up for all the head agents and senior agents to see. Khiana sits between Haneul and Seoyun. 

“We’ll go in this formation. Civilians scattered around Agents, each civilian car will have one or two agents stationed in or on it. The front and back will have fully automatic machine guns attached to the trunks.” Alistair points as the plan to move is explained. 

“Khiana can lead us a safe route to Tacetel, then we will part ways. Civilians and some agents will continue to the Sea. The chosen agents will follow us into the City. This is a high risk situation and we need you at your best,” Sol continues, making eye contact with everyone in the room. 

“Jinx and Celest are going with the civilians while the rest of the head agents will be joining you in the city.” At that Lerissa can be seen grinning, making Celest shake her head fondly.

The ghost agent leans over and whispers “Bazooka” for the table to hear. 

A message arrives to Senior Agent Sebastian’s and Senior Agent Epsilon’s coms devices. Maylin request them to arrive to a private room in the medic wing. When they arrived Celest is standing at the closed door. "I need you both to prepare yourselves. You're armed, correct?"

Seoyun nods, looking serious with his hand resting on his pistol to be ready at any moment. Seb is in a similar manner. He nods to Celest who nods in approval, opens the door, and steps aside. 

Lerissa and Maylin stand on either side of a medic bed. Handcuffed to the bed with enhancement dulling cuffs is a young person. The left side of their face has black lines running up to their white eyes. 

"Ah, good. you both made it." Maylin greets you, motioning for them to approach. "I have a task for you both but first I must stress that this is top secret. Do you understand?"

Seoyun is the first to respond, taking in the scene carefully. “understood.” 

Seb appears concerned as he takes in the situation but his loyalty is unquestionable as he replies. “Yes.” 

Lerissa waves Seoyun to her side. "Take a look at this, the markings say demon but the amount of demon poison in her blood is so little..." She seems perplexed. "I need someone else to verify this before I lose my mind." 

While this happens, Maylin turns to Seb. "this is senior agent Valkyrie of GHA. We recovered her at the edge of south gate. We have reason to believe she might have been part of what caused the GHA downfall."

Seoyun looks over the charts with Lerissa. The medics seem to be discussing things under their breath, leading to Seoyun giving a sample of his own blood. The results still end up the same. The girls blood shows like that of an enhanced but not a demon. Seoyun, perplexed and wary. “I have no explanation for this.

Seb observes in silence for a moment with a frown on his features. An unknown and potentially dangerous situation. “Has she lost all control or does she have some humanity left?” He questions, gaze falling on Maylin for orders. “What do you need me to do?” 

Lerissa taps at her holographic charts to flip them around and sighs. "So I wasn't seeing things. This is almost impossible." 

Maylin steps away from the bed to be closer to seb. "She attempted to leave once and we have since sedated her to not take the chance under the assumption she was a demon but the results." 

Both head agents tense a minute before the monitor's alarm goes off. Valkyrie tenses on the bed, attempting to yank her arms up being stopped by the cuffs. Demon miasma begins to form around her left hand and up her arm. 

"She's waking up! The serum has been burnt from her system--" Lerissa taps quickly at her screen. 

Maylin places a hand on her pistol at her hip.

Both of the senior agents are quick to draw their pistols. Aimed at the awakening potential demon on the bed. Lerissa is pulled back slightly by Seoyun and she takes the hint, shifting to be slightly behind the agent as she is not as battle prone (and also still in the stages of healing) as her medic. 

“Back up, don’t shoot! Let’s give her a chance.” Seoyun is for once the voice of reason. Proving to the head agents they made the right decision in promoting him again. 

“I hope you know if she tries to hurt anyone here I won’t hesitate to put her down.” Is seb’s response, gun trained on the demon and his stance steady. 

"give her a fucking chance, seb." Seoyun snaps but his voice is stressed, not mad. 

Celest steps closer. "This is why we called you both. A voice of reason and someone with no hesitation." 

Valkyrie stops moving at the voices, her eyes open slowly and takes on everyone in the room before landing on Maylin. A rough voice in need of water says "you're.. this is meia? you're maylin." 

Maylin nods. "Yes, you're in invicta city and meia hq." 

Valkyrie sits up slightly. "But-- GHA was burning, it was burning I need to go back!" She begins to fight the cuffs more, miasma darkening around her. 

Lerissa steps partly behind Seoyun, trusting him to watch her as she works to administer a calming serum. Seoyun has her pause in the serum, wanting to see if she can calm herself down first. “Agent Valkyrie, calm down.” He speaks to the girl for the first time. “You’re in no condition to help anyone, stay down.” 

Lerissa pauses, eyeing Seoyun before she lowers her monitors and waits to see. 

Valkyrie whips her head to look at Seoyun. She watches him and the Miasma begins to fade before she lumps back into the bed. Clearly exhausted. 

"I'm not a demon." Is the first thing she says. "So you guards can drop the guns."

"I'll drop the gun if you can explain the marks." Seoyun replies. 

“Agent Valkyrie, i've lost too many people for not being prepared to shoot, i hope you can forgive me for not dropping my gun yet." Seb tacks on.

Valkyrie takes one glance at Seb and seems to write him off. Her eyes locked onto Seoyun to see if he would really lower his weapon. Deciding to place even a small bit of trust in him. "I will if you lower the gun. I won't hurt anyone." She almost seems to be pleading with him to believe her. 

The head agents are silent as they watch the interaction but Maylin taps her wrist and then Seb's a small holographic message appears there. (Act as you see fit.)

"Sorry, but you were all miasma-ey for a minute there. I can't trust that yet. you've been cooperating and i appreciate that, but i need some answers before i put this down." Seoyun hasn't taken his eyes off of her once just in case. His eyes glance at Seb to make sure they are all on the same page."We won't shoot unless you give us a reason to."

Seb reads the message, nodding slightly to Maylin before voicing his agreement with is fellow agent. 

Valkyrie let's out an aggressive breath. The markings on her face seems to darken for a second before the fade to almost invisible. "It's my enhancement. GHA was... partnered with this scientist who wanted to make people stronger. Give the unenhanced a chance." 

Maylin whispers "Kaiser." under her breath. Celest steps closer to Lerissa. Lerissa takes in a shocked breath, hand shaking as she shifts completely behind Seoyun.

Everyone in the room is tense. Seoyun is the one to take the lead once again as he questions “Who was the scientist?”

Valkyrie seems scared but she swallows it back and meets Seoyun's eyes. Obviously a trained senior agent by how she handles the pressure. "He didn't give a name but he ..." 

Celest throws a photo of kaiser's profile, blacked out to only see his face, in front of the bed. Valkyrie leans back. 

"That's him. That's the scientist that betrayed us."

-    -    -    -   THE NEXT DAY 

“The tide is rising.” 

Maylin nods. She is seated at her desk, legs crossed and a portfolio resting on her lap. Across from her sits a tense agent. Dark braided hair pulled half up half down with wing clips holding them together in the back. Her eyes locked on the floor, hands folded in her lap. 

“You understand we can’t fully trust you yet, Senior Agent Valkyrie?” Maylin continues. 

The agent, Valkyrie, nods.

Maylin waits. When the agent shows no sign of speaking the head agent sighs and leans forward. “For this to work, I need you to be open with me.” 

“Forgive me, Head Agent Maylin, but I also don’t trust you.” Valkyrie raises her head, the black demon marks run up her neck to her left eye which is pure white. 

“That’s understandable. I’ll be as open with you as I can. If you can do the same.” 

Silence falls through the office. Neither wanting to give the room to one up the other. The door clicking open is what finally breaks through the silence. Celest slipped through and crossed to the desk. She sets a cup down in front of Valkyrie and then drops into the other chair in front of the desk.  

“So glad to see you both are hard at work conversing over important topics.” Celest snarks, her holographic desk popping into existence before her. Cameras of the agency appearing and showing various agents completing various tasks. 

“Valkyrie–”

“It’s Khiana.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“My name, it’s Khiana. I don’t want to be known by my GHA call name.” Kihana continues, her shoulders losing some of her tenseness for the first time since stepping into the office. 

Maylin and Celest trade a look. Celest seems impressed with the girl, nodding her head as Maylin smiles. 

“That’s a good start.” Maylin closes the folder she was reading and sets it on the desk. “Now, tell me everything you know about Kaiser and his part in GHA’s downfall.” 

“He showed up a year ago.” Khiana starts. Her next words make both head agents lean forward in surprise. “He... he came claiming he created the cure for demon poisoning.”

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT EPSILON YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.  WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Epsilon is enhanced and is assigned to team RAVEN & SPARROW.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

A demon has you and your team cornered. Your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. You notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW.

the medic wing with @epsilonmia

time moves slowly when you are confined to a twin sized bed in a room full of other twin sized beds. unable to do anything on you own and reliant on anyone who is around to help. the clocks seem to tick tick tick an annoying rhythm that no matter what he thinks about he can’t tune it out. it leaves to much time for him to fall into his own thoughts. the darkness that lurks in the corners of his eyes and the back of his mind comes to play when he stops focusing on something. 

he knows he pushed it. he always does, but this time is different. he isn’t sure if there will be any coming back from this. the counter that holds his life seems to shrink quicker than it should. but maybe thats for the best. 

daesu is tired. 

he is. a bone deep tired that no amount of sleep can really take care of. he’s survived almost 29 years in this world and he doesn’t really know how. he doesn’t understand how the head agents have managed to survive as long as they have. he’s tired so they must be exhausted. 

his eyes fall onto the other agents in the room. 

jina who has been so diligent in taking care of them. juwon, his baby cousin, who seemed so quiet but daesu knows this isn’t the time or place to try and talk to him. jinseo--reckless jinseo--who was the least injured and from what he heard, a real hero. baby suhwan, his youngest on his team. it brings him a lot of pain to see his team all in here--though he knows there was nothing he could have done for them.

he finds seoyun last, seated in the bed beside his. every grumpy expression on his face, daesu wonders what has caused it now. “seoyunnie, if you keep that up you’re going to have terrible winkles in your forehead.” he teases, the volume of his voice lower than normal. the only thing that gives away his exhaustion.