Chapter 1 (1/1)

The group of girls were sitting around their table in their dorm. Since they were the top Blazers, they had some privileges and were part of an exclusive unit called NightHawks."A new type? We haven't seen a new type for awhile" Sunny said, a bit worried."I've done some digging, but I haven't found anything that names this new class" Seohyun bit her lip, obviously annoyed."Seohyun-ah, did you find out what happened to the Blazers that encountered this?" Yuri asked."Yes, unnie. I have the footage as well" She said and she put it up on a large HD TV.They watched what had happened and were stunned when the Blazers barely stood a chance against the new type."The team of five from America were on their way back from a scouting mission off the West Coast. They weren't the top ranked, but they were pretty strong. I'd say maybe top twenty in their academy. But as you can see, they didn't even make a scratch. Their bodies were recovered and brought back to their academy" Seohyun explained."How can we fight something like that?" Hyoyeon was clearly worried."I don't know. I will try to research more about this new type, but without an actual one to study, I can't say anything more" Seohyun said.They sighed. Taeyeon's POV I was washing the glasses, listening to the radio of a special station. It contained news of Blazers and anything surrounding them."Hey Yoong, you listening to this? A team from America just died in battle encountering a Nova" I said, turning to her."Mmm...why do you still care anyways? They don't concern us anymore" She was sprawled lazily out on the couch. Yoong and I were close friends. We had been involved in the same program since forever and although we had made new friends, we still shared more with each other than others. "Still...don't you think it's odd? I heard they were pretty strong" I said."Everyone has a chance to die in battle, Taeng. We're not guaranteed to live another day. I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?" She asked and I just sighed."I'll make something"She put a hand up lazily in response. As I cooked, I thought about the life we had left behind. We had both been one of the best. In fact, Yoong had been ranked #1 and the leader of Nighthawks, the special unit that contained the strongest Blazers. I had been ranked #3. Now, I believe that Yuri was the new leader since she had been ranked #2. We knew of the bounty that was put out on us. But we felt that the government had betrayed us. We had been on a mission with a team from France. It was to be a simple mission but then we had been suddenly ambushed by a group of Novas. Things had gotten chaotic. But Yoong and I received orders to not help them. We had questioned why but were simply told that we were to just do as we were told. But how could we standby? So we fought and helped them, and the team from France had been saved. Once we returned, we were reprimanded."You disobeyed orders!""How can we leave them?! They're our allies! Fellow Blazers!" m style="line-height:20.8px;">Yoong was outraged and I had been as well. But the government dismissed us. The higher-ups told our headmistress to expel me and Yoong. We thought they were crazy, expelling two of their best? But everyone was told that we had betrayed them and even our friends believed them! But we knew the government could spin anything.So we had ran, leaving the people we loved behind. We stayed low-key and it's been a year since then. A bounty had been placed on us a week after we had ran. Capture or kill."Taeng?"Yoong's arms wrapped around me from behind and I relished in the comfort. "S-Sorry, I spaced out" And she chuckled.We felt that we had been the ones betrayed and I agreed with Yoong. I kept up with the news about Blazers, but Yoong had turned not to care anymore. We didn't even summon our weapons since then. "If you're not feeling well, you don't have to cook. I'm not that hungry anymore"I smiled at her, knowing she was trying to cheer me up. She was always hungry. "It's okay. I was just thinking" I said."You didn't have to go with me, you know. You could have stayed" She said, knowing exactly what was on my mind."And leave you all alone? I think not. Besides, knowing that our government had told us to leave our allies behind? That's not something I could live with, Yoong. We fight to protect people. Not everyone becomes Blazers" I sighed.Being part of the Nighthawks gave us easier access to making money. We were paid better, especially Yoong, since she was the leader. So we had no worries about money...for now. I finished cooking and we set down at the table to eat."Hey Yoong...do you really not care about Blazers anymore?""I left that life behind when I left. I know it's not their fault but having attached feelings will only depress us. We've got to move on, Taeng. But even our friends believed the government. I no longer have a care" She said.And we ended the talk with that. The place we were staying at was small, but enough comfort for the two of us. We didn't stay in one place for too long and barely interacted with others. You could say we moved like ghosts, which wasn't that hard really. We were skilled at moving in the shadows from the training we had."You could still go back. Say that you were keeping track of me to relay information" She said."I could never do that! I'm not leaving you behind" I firmly said."I don't have the purpose of being a Blazer anymore. I know you still care. Even Yuri believed what they had said..."So that's what had been bothering her. I wrapped my arms tightly around her."I'm never going to abandon you. I miss everyone, but I believe we were right in leaving""You miss her. You miss Sica. You listen for news in case there's news about her"I sighed. She wasn't entirely wrong. I did miss Sica. We hadn't exactly been a couple, but we flirted with each other. Acted like a couple. I wanted to make us official, but she...she said she didn't want a relationship. The same had been with Yuri for Yoong."I'll be in my room" She said and I watched her go in.I knew she had the most burden of all, being the leader. We all had talents and skills, but Yoona had been blessed with natural talents and it seemed the greatest affinity to become a Blazer. Or a curse, depending on how you looked at it. She was considered to be legendary. Nobody even knew her true potential powers. Not even me. And I had known her the longest. But one of her rare abilities was that she was able to fight both long distance and close combat. Blazers were often either one of the two and to have both types was rare. Well, let's just say she was the only one. I was a close combat type. Sooyoung's POV "Take a break, Seo" I said, looking at our tech whiz being frustrated."But unnie, we need to have information on this new Nova. Or more people could die" She insisted."No use breaking down either. We just need to wait until we get more data...one way or another" I said, munching on a bag of chips.The doors slid open and in walked Yuri."Any news for us?""Nope"I studied her carefully. After she had taken over the NightHawks after being promoted to #1, she had changed a bit. She was more serious. But maybe that was because of a certain person...I decided it was best not to mention it. "No more have appeared since then?" Yuri asked."Nope"She began pacing back and forth and I just leaned back against my chair, saying nothing."If more Blazers die...we can't allow that to happen, Sooyoung""And we'll try not to let it to happen. We'll keep researching here, but truth is, unless we get an actual specimen of one of those to study..." I shrugged."To get an actual one...we'll need to defeat it""Yes""Well, how are we supposed to do that without knowing anything?!" She groaned."Leave our work to us and you do your own. Lighten up, Yuri"She huffed before exiting the room."Unnie...go easy on Yuri unnie. She's feeling pressure, I bet. It's not easy being the top. But she's right. How are we supposed to fight one without knowing anything?""She just needs to lighten up, Seo. She's not being herself and that's affecting her performance. Once she realized what she needs to do, everything will fall into place" I yawned. Yuri's POV Lighten up? How can I lighten up when Blazers' lives were in danger with this new type? I went to my room and found my friends there as usual."Some people are still revering Yoona and Taeyeon" Sunny said, playing video games."Well, that's not surprising. They were one of the best, especially Yoona" Fany shrugged.I got more annoyed for some reason. But I willed myself to calm down."Oh, you're back. They find anything new?" Hyoyeon asked."Nope. Otherwise Yuri wouldn't have such a sour look on her face" Sica said and I huffed.I laid down on my bed, sighing. Okay, maybe Sooyoung was right. Maybe I had gotten a bit more...whatever. But I had more responsibility now. Suddenly my TV screen was filled with Seohyun's face and we all sat up. Her face had a grim look."I just got notified of another team that ran into the same class as the American team from before. I don't know if it was the same Nova, but the Blazers all died as well. This time, it was a team of four from the Germany Academy. I have the footage"She put it up and once again, we were in shock of how easily they went down."The team consisted of Rank 10, 12, 14 and 18 of their academy" Seohyun explained."This is getting insane" I mumbled."There will be an official partnership announced, but I'm telling you first that all the Academies are now going to try to work together to gather information and devise a plan to bring this type down. No more casualites are allowed" Seohyun said and signed off.Just minutes later, the headmistress contacted us."I'm sure Seohyun has filled you in on the the latest...development. The Academies have agreed to work together and we'll be establishing a base here. Teams from America, France, Germany, UK and Japan will be arriving here by the end of the week. We will find a way to beat this" She fiercely said and signed off.We had worked with some of the teams before, but we weren't exactly friendly either. Just platonic. Things would get chaotic soon."We're here for you. You don't have to worry by yourself" Fany gave me her eyesmile.I smiled a bit. She was right. I wasn't alone. I had friends by my side. I vowed to defeat this new type. Yoona's POV I woke up the next morning to find Taeyeon in my bed. She always was there in the morning. I suspected it was so she could keep an eye on me in case I did something stupid, like hurting myself or running away. I smiled a bit at her concern, but suicide hadn't really been in my thoughts. Okay, maybe I did think about it once or twice...or running away too, but Taeyeon had left with me, even if she didn't have to. I knew she insisted that it was because I was right, but still, she had given up everything, including her chance to be with Sica. Well, if Sica had wanted her to be. But Taeyeon, I knew, would never give up and would keep that small hope. But now, by becoming a fugitive with me, she had lost that small chance. So how could I leave her behind?"You're thinking too much again" Taeyeon had woken up without me realizing it, yawning."Not much to think about anymore" I shrugged.I hadn't summoned my powers ever since then and neither did Taeyeon. Action was in our blood, yet we had resisted from the others finding us. Part of me wanted them to find us and end this all, but part of me also told me to survive."A team of four Blazers had perished in battle, this time a team from Germany. This is the second team of Blazers and the unusual amount of Blazers dying recently has gotten people concerned" We heard on the radio.Taeyeon must have brought it with her."People are going to panic soon if this isn't solved" Taeyeon murmured.I put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it would appease her. She had always worried the most out of all of us, taking care of us, even me. I should have been the one to do that because I was the leader, but she had insisted to let her do it."You already worry about a lot of things, I know. So let me do this" Is what she had told me a long time ago.I truly was grateful for having a friend like her. I promised to myself if it came down to it, I would save her from being killed no matter what."Anything special you want for breakfast?" Taeyeon hopped out of bed."Anything you make is fine" I lazily said.She flashed me a grin before disappearing into the kitchen and I smelled a delicious aroma soon. Without her, I'd probably have starved by now... ~~~~~Seohyun's POV Blazers from around the world began arriving and we had set up rooms for them to stay. No country was taking a chance anymore as they sent their best Blazers here, it seemed."We'll show you the way to where you'll be staying" Yuri said.They followed us to one of the dorms."You guys must have been having a tough time ever since two of your best Blazers left"Great...this might start a war. Yuri unnie was trying to keep her emotions in check. So was everyone else. I had read their files. The person who just said that was Aine Kaede from the Japan Academy. She was ranked 4th there."Aine, we're all on the same side here. Let's try to be civil at least"She was Elizabeth Taylor from the UK. Well, at least she seemed to be trying to make nice with us. She was ranked #2 at her Academy."This is where you'll be staying. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask" Yuri unnie stiffly said before leaving.The other unnies glanced at them before leaving."The leader of the NightHawks seem to be having trouble with her emotions. I hope she can fare better during battle" Aine said.This girl would surely be trouble. Elizabeth just merely sighed as Aine entered her room. She followed me to where the group was."I apologize for Aine's behavior. She's just been acting defensive because of what happened with Yoona and Taeyeon" Elizabeth said."She knew them, Elizabeth unnie?" I blurted out."Just call me Liz" She smiled before confirming."Yes, I did as well. We went on a couple of missions together and Aine deeply respected them, especially Yoona. It was a short time yet nothing bonds you together like going through battle together. Aine refused to believe that the two simply left and could betrayed us" Liz said."And what do you think happened?" I asked, curious to know.Everyone else was quiet, yet they were listening as well."Despite only knowing them a short while, I believe they wouldn't betray us like what we were told. They fought to protect us even when we didn't know them, even if we were fellow Blazers. But these are just merely my own opinions" She said.She excused herself to go rest. Or was about to when we heard an alarm going off. We were startled and I ran to go to my station."This is a red alert. All Blazers are to enter battle mode. Nighthawks are to be on standby. We have confirmed sightings of an Entrance, where five Novas have appeared" The headmistress announced over the PA system.I saw everyone hurriedly going to prepare for battle. What timing.*******How was the first chapter?