Eniola hated being here.

Zaira had said they would never have to come back to Tokjin, but apparently, Paradox loomed here. Eniola told herself it was just one and done for now, but she couldn't help but feel afraid again because of the seedy night scene and Paradox.

They split off into smaller groups so that they wouldn't be a walking target. Lucia and Eniola walked past gangs and homeless people through glowing vendors selling many things that wouldn't be able to be sold in real markets. Faint police sirens wailed through the air, looming a little too close for comfort. Eniola moved into Lucia, averting her gaze from anything too seedy.

A cracking sound suddenly filled the air, and the first place Eniola looked was above her, where a glitch of waves rippled through the air. A shudder encased Eniola. They were close.

"It's like the lab," Lucia whispered against her. They met up with the group, walking close in front of them, but this time, they weren't packed together like sardines. Too many watchful eyes.

Theo's GPS stopped, but it wasn't in front of the almost-garage they saw the other day. This time, a street vendor nestled at the end of the illegal market with a gigantic neon sign covering the booth. Eniola squinted her eyes at its obnoxious brightness.

Identities? Need one? Come here?

A curtain on the booth opened to reveal an old man, with patchy gray hair on his forehead and steely beady eyes that could analyze your soul and your organs. His enormous belly poked out of his white shirt with splotches. An annoyed glare coloured his eyes as he stepped out.

Eniola slowly backed away until she was colliding with Theo. She turned around as they made shared eye contact full of fear.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a raspy voice, eyeing them like he was onto something.

"Nothing," Theo stuttered. "Just looking around to see whether I should spend my crime money."

Everyone turned to him at once. Theo went red.

"Y'all," Eniola breathed. Someone was going to catch them now.

"I sell identities, just in case you need to run away from the law," he announced like that neon sign wasn't so blinding. "If you need a name, I have it. You will be Sori Kim and turn into Azira Park."

Eniola froze in place until sighs escaped the group. The old man glitched before his exterior rippled to reveal a smiling Zaira.

"Hey guys," she whispered excitedly. "It's me Zaira."

"Phew," Eniola sighed.

"I knew it was fake," Jay said, his voice a little high in nervousness. "People who sell identities don't market like they're legal."

"How would you know?" Lucia asked.

"It's common knowledge, duh," Jay said after a long pause.

"No, it's not," Lucia refuted, but Jay ignored her.

Eniola raised an eyebrow before making eye contact with Lucia, who also mimicked her gesture.

"Anyway, I found Paradox's location," Zaira said. "You brought your SCOPE lenses, right?"

They all dug them out of their pocket simultaneously. Zaira took off her phone before typing. Something pinged at Eniola's lenses.

"Download it," Zaira instructed. "It will protect us."

Eniola did, and a wave of cloaking rippled over her. For a moment, she expected the figure to flash in front of her just a moment, but nothing happened. She raised an eyebrow.

"What are we going as?" Eniola asked, turning around, trying to see herself. She looked over at everyone else, who looked just as confused.

"We're invisible. No one can see us," Zaira told them. This seemed like something straight out of science fiction. You couldn't just turn invisible.

Right?

"You just changed us," Jay said, looking at his arms, marvelling at the shimmer over his skin.

"This is some freaky shit," Lucia whispered down to Eniola.

"The program you downloaded can detect Paradox's signals. When you find him, then get everyone and try to find the device. You guys can fight, right?" Zaira asked, cracking a curious smile.

"We know some stuff from playing SCOPE," Jay said.

Would that help them? Eniola swallowed back a gulp. How would fighting someone not virtually work? Chances are, they'd be twice her size and, with a swish of air, she'd be on the ground, fighting for breath.

"What will you do with this after?" Eniola asked.

"I'm going to destroy both of them," Zaira admitted. "It's better this way if no one has access to them. Even me." Eniola nodded at her.

Zaira spoke up again, "Anyway, come with me."

Zaira led them down an alleyway, spotting vendors and advertisements too ungodly to even describe, as Eniola shielded her vision away with a shudder. They dipped down a neon alleyway, where a screen rotated with a faint sound of pulsing music. It drew the 6 of them in closer.

"Go inside and trust your instincts. This simulation found Paradox," Zaira explained, facing away from them. "I'm going to stay outside because I already know this place is going to be a sensory nightmare. I'll stay outside and monitor and tell you what to do. Just listen to the sound of my voice."

Everyone listened to Zaira, as Eniola and Iris walked in front of the door before it slid open for them, revealing a neon-strobed room with blasting music. Eniola took a slow step in, observing a mix of dancing bodies and JIWONs serving platters of exotic-looking drinks to high-profile people. Holographic screens were everywhere with illicit images and words. Eniola choked back a gag.

"Since you're in there, look around and try to SCOPE out the area. Paradox is here. I know it," Zaira said, through their internal microphone.

Eniola tip-toed into the club but then turned to a regular gait. Who was going to see her? She was invisible. This club was seedy, with high-profile-looking men who were likely gangsters, surrounded by a slew of women. She turned her gaze away. Why would Keone be here, in a seedy nightclub? They were probably from the black market. Judging by the looks of things, this didn't seem like a place to lay out all of your evil plans.

Find Keone. Find Paradox. Eniola sighed, before opening her eyes wide against the illicit liveliness. Maybe out of the corner of her eye Paradox glitched into her vision and shock her. Her body ran with chills at the thought.

"I see nothing," Iris said. "How do we know where Keone is?"

"Hold on," Zaira replied. "Come and follow us. I think we're close." Eniola made a lap around before turning back to them. Nobody.

"Eniola," Iris whispered. Eniola turned back to see Iris with bulging eyes pointing at something. She turned to see a couch with a lone guy, making brooding eye contact in the air. Infrared colours swirled into Eniola's vision before they cleared out. Her SCOPElenses focused on the random stranger before a panel of the information shown. Only when Eniola looked, did nothing show up. It was blank.

"Guys," Eniola whispered to the group through her mic. "I think we've found him. Meet me in the back."

Eniola focused back. How could no one notice him? He might as well have tattooed 'ominous' across his forehead because that's all his vibes gave him.

Theo, Lucia, and Jay came behind her, and they all watched him continue to stare. He then took a sip of his drink before setting it down.

"Let's go flip his ass over," Lucia muttered. "Why are we acting like we're in a stakeout?"

"Hold on," Jay said. "Look at his wrist."

Eniola lowered her eyes down. It was all black and clasped around his wrist. It looked like the same material as Zaira's necklace.

"We need to surround him," Theo said. "If we get onto his sides, we can corner him. Someone should go guide the exit so that we can make a run for it."

Lucia and Jay both ran for the exit before Iris and Theo came in front of her and surrounded Keone.

"Hold on," Theo said before he crouched down at the table. Suddenly, he grabbed a glass from the table before dropping it. It shattered into thousands of tiny glass shards. The lone figure jumped before his gaze narrowed in on the glass.

"Now he's going to think he's in some paranormal shit," Eniola grumbled.

"It's a distraction!" Theo corrected. "Take the computer!"

"Iris," Zaira called. "Reach down onto his wrist and take it."

Iris sucked in a breath before crouching down and reaching for his wrist. Her cyborg hand latched onto it before it started glowing blue. Eniola moved in closer, feeling the thick thump of her heart beating against her chest.

Her hand reached for his wrist and latched onto his wrist. It came apart at her touch. Iris handed it to Eniola who quickly stuffed it into her pocket. A breath of relief came from her chest. Now they just had to-

A fast silence breezed over the room. Eniola hurried her gaze around the room. The liveliness had stopped. Everyone froze like they were a video and someone had pressed pause. It was like Eniola, Iris, and Theo had become dynamic in stillness. A chill ran over Eniola's body.

"I'm afraid you've all just made a huge mistake," a chillingly familiar voice filled the air and slithered down her spine.

A chill ran across the room, and Eniola caught her breath in her throat. The music stopped. The people stopped. Frozen silence filled everything.

Then they pixelated.

One by one, every Jiwon, every shady-looking person exploded into bursts of pixels before they receded into nothingness. Eniola stepped back before colliding with Theo.

Paradox was left. Then the world exploded.

A sudden force blew Eniola back before she hit the floor, and a scream tore from her throat. She tried to claw her way back until a green cackle of hot electricity burst in front of her and ripped down the middle.

Then the landscape shattered like glass.

An invisible force smacked Eniola back down on the ground, her throat closing up.

Soon they weren't in the sketchy red-light district club, but a curvy vortex ceiling with silver tiles took up her vision.

Eniola soon sprung up and stood firm in defence while her heart was beating impossibly loud. Where was she?

It looked like they were in a tiny office place. There were holo-screens with everywhere in multiple rows above chairs and tables. Another huge holo-screen ran across the room and was flashing red with exclamation points.

"Breach!" It kept on yelling.

Paradox transported them here. Eniola immediately whipped her head around to see her delirious friends also in defence.

"What the hell?" Eniola yelled, focusing on Iris, who was crowded around by Theo and Zaira. Instead of the computer, Zaira made, instead a sleek black cube took place into her hands.

"What is that?" Lucia asked with curious eyes. "What's going on?"

"This isn't the computer," Zaira stuttered as she swallowed. "It's a quantum vortex computer."

"What's that?" Jay asked. "Some of us are not at high intelligence."

"Countries' intelligence agencies use it to store confidential data and national security," Zaira explained. "If they found us with it, it's possible we could get arrested on the spot and sent to jail for decades."

Eniola's eyes widened, and so did everyone's. How did they get here? She knotted her hands into her coiled hair and swallowed back. Did Paradox trick them? Was this just another simulation? Or was the other one a simulation?

Was anything even real anymore?

"Drop it!" Zaira yelled at Iris before Iris released it and dropped it onto the ground. Its black exterior cracked, revealing glowing tubes and wires. The alarms blared louder.

"Crap," she mumbled. "You actually weren't supposed to do that. I was fumbling."

"I know how to get this back," Zaira began, fumbling. "But I still need you guys to help me. There's going to be security here soon."

"Tell us everything," Lucia demanded.

A collective sound of whirrs and beeps soon filled the room. Eniola spun back. A wave of lifelike security androids, all in the same uniform, swarmed the room from the exit.

"The other exit is open!" Theo said.

Eniola sprinted over there before stopping in her tracks. More security-droids. Eniola stepped back.

"Run!" Iris screamed.

The android closed in more and Eniola felt like her throat was going dry with the suffocation they were giving. The exits were blocked.

"We have no choice," Theo began. "Fight!"

Eniola froze like a deer in headlights, her eyes wandering to all the intense parts of the room.

It was time to fight her way out.

Eniola ducked before the androids, knowing they didn't have a downward view like they should've, before crawling on all 4 years until she was crouched under a desk. She made eye contact with the chair legs beneath her. Eniola grabbed her sweaty hands onto them before standing up and launching them into the air.

It didn't go far. About 5 androids were hit, but they sprung up. Her eyes widened in horror before she booked it down the other way.

Lucia ran forward and took out an android as Theo did. Unlike Eniola, Lucia's chair actually made a dent, colliding with androids and crashing them onto the ground. Before its head popped open, revealing smoky wires. She quickly jumped over a table before pushing it onto the ground, trapping some androids.

"Heads!" a voice screamed at hers. Jay. Eniola ducked down, feeling the imminent android crowd moving for her. A chair flew over her head and at the said crowd before they all crashed down in a wave with sparking wires. Eniola crashed out from the battle, chest rising and falling erratically.

For a moment, it was fun. Like SCOPE. Until the battle sounds of real androids and screams filled her eyes again and a chill trickled down her spine. They were doomed.

Eniola spotted Zaira through the chaos, casually sitting on the floor, and typing into the synthetic computer.

"Zaira!" Eniola screamed before getting pushed down by an android. She tried forcing herself away, but it pried her down. Eniola let out a warm scream.

"What are you doing, Zaira?" Lucia screamed to Zaira, who looked bothered. She was hunched over the computer.

"I'm saving us," she stuttered before the room jolted in a glitch. Eniola froze in the digital landscape, as she became one with the multicolour ripples. Then it stopped and fizzed into reality again.

Eniola's arms flapped to the side as they caught up to the speed of reality. But it all stopped. The whirring of the androids, the clunky footsteps on the ground. They all stood still like they were nothing but toys amid the loud silence. Then, in waves, they fell like rag dolls.

Eniola blinked to make sure her vision hadn't gone berserk. They were falling. They clattered to the ground like useless pieces of metal and plastic.

Then Zaira rose from behind the robot massacre, computer clutched in hand and wandering eyes. Everyone's eyes narrowed on her.

"What did you do?" Eniola asked first.

"Saved you all," she corrected. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like they were all humans."

"Are you the one causing the glitches?" Iris asked what was all on their minds.

"No," she huffed. "It's an aftereffect of the other computer being broken. I just manipulated on to save your asses."

"Fair enough," Lucia said.

"Let's go!" Zaira suddenly screamed, which made Eniola jump. She stood u on command like Zaira was above her. Like in the military or something. Zaira started running, so they started running just in case another imminent danger was in them.

"We still need to get out of here," Iris told Zaira, who'd gone back to toggling with the computer as they entered a narrow hallway.

She paused in her tracks like a pool of lava was beneath her. Wait, was it? Eniola looked forward. None yet.

Then a glitch-but-not-a-glitch happened. A ripple of waves travelled through the air quietly again. Eniola looked up away before her eyes darted back to in front of Zaira. A gasp escaped her as she stepped back. Not a pool of lava. But close enough.

A vast expanse of black space had replaced the grey marble floors. Just black. Nothing mystical or mysterious. Just black.

"What?" Theo muttered.

"Jump inside. It will get us out," Zaira told them.

Eniola's eye widened. Zaira must've had a thrill of danger. Jump into black space on the floor and pray everything goes okay. What if it thwarted Eniola across the galaxy or something?

"Hold on," Iris stepped in. "You want us to jump?"

"Yes!" Zaira stressed. "Trust me, it's going to get us out. And if you don't want to go in, then you can find another way out."

Jay looks at it, jaw hanging open. "You can just teleport?"

"I can change reality," Zaira corrected. "Now jump or else we're all going to get jumped."