Chapter 2 (1/1)

Yuri's POV We were watching what was happening outside on a screen inside. So far, it seemed the rest could handle the Novas, especially with our allies here. Seohyun had confirmed they were just regular Novas, so we could relax a bit."We'll have a patrol in pairs, rotating every two hours. Better to be safe than sorry" I said."Ruining my beauty sleep here, Yuri" Sica said.I smiled and sent Hyoyeon to make sure things were controlled outside before heading to the spa that we had. I sighed in relief as I soaked in the hotness of the water. After the luxury of an hour or so, I got up and wrapped myself in a fluffy robe. I received an e-mail alert on my tablet from Seohyun, saying that the Novas had all been exterminated for now. My room was empty for once when I entered it. I then noticed something on my bed and froze. It was a picture of me and her...a year seemed like a lifetime ago. I wanted to throw it away because I was angry for being betrayed, yet my heart tugged. Where had it come from? My window was open and I ran to look outside, but no one was to be seen. I messaged Fany and Hyo, who were the first to patrol."Sorry, Yuri. We didn't see anyone. Is something wrong?""No. Never mind"I shook my head of the thoughts that she was here. I heard a knock on my door and it was Sica. She looked...different. She was holding something and I realized it was a picture as well. Of her and Taeyeon. When she gazed at the picture in my hand, we both looked at each other. This can't be a coincidence. I got dressed before we both went down to the lab where Seohyun was at."You two should be resting" Sooyoung said, a pocky stick in her mouth."Seohyun, have you detected anything strange?" I asked."Strange?" She furrowed her eyebrows.After THEY had left, those two had been deactivated from our system, so they would have popped up onto our radars as enemies."Just scan please, Seohyun" Sica said.Seohyun looked confused, but nontheless typed something onto her keyboard and we looked hard at the screen."Nothing, unnie. Are you two okay?" Seohyun asked.Sica and I exhaled before leaving without saying anything. Taeyeon's POV "That was a risk, Tae" Yoong yawned.We were both just outside the zone where the radar could pick us up. But we were both masters at skillfully hiding our presence, so we weren't concerned about them finding them about us. "Don't act like you didn't want to see her" I poked her."You okay with leaving that picture? It was the only picture you had of you and her""She won't ever forgive me for running away, no matter what. Maybe it's best this way" I sulkily said."Let's just exchange these and head back home" Yoong said, patting my back.We had been nearby when we heard the familiar sirens alerting that there were Novas present. We had watched nearby as we saw Blazers going to encounter them. What was surprising was that we saw Blazers from our counterparts in the world. We had taken the Novas' cores after making sure the Blazers had left. There was a place where we could drop them off anonymously and get money. We didn't need it right now, but better to be safe. We both flew into the cool night air and looking back one last time, I pushed my feelings aside. I made the drop and we got cash before disappearing back to our place. I dropped myself onto the couch."Tae"I turned onto my back and saw her sitting on the ground facing me."You could have talked to her" She gently said."She would arrest me in a minute. Gah, I'm stupid for being hung up on her, aren't I, Yoong. She probably has other girls anyways" I sniffled, trying to hold my tears back.She brought me close and wrapped her arms around me."You're not stupid, Taeyeon. It's what love is" She murmured."I don't even know why I'm getting emotional now. It's been a year and yet..." I sniffled, burying my face into her shoulder."Alright, I'll cook you for tonight. A rare occasion so you better eat lots!" Yoong said, standing up.I chuckled and watched her go cook. I wondered how she could contain her feelings about Yuri. It had been a well known fact that Yuri and Sica were players at Raxore. It was no wonder why. The two were extremely gorgeous and sexy. Just words could bring girls to their knees. I went up to her, smelling something great."Ahh, meat! And my favorite, fried rice!" I grinned and she smiled.She poked me and told me to go sit down, to which I pouted but obeyed. Soon, she set plates down in front of me and we dug in."I should be sulky more so you cook for me more often" I said and she rolled her eyes."Don't even think about it, Kim Taeyeon" She said and I grinned.We knew how to cheer each other up. Just simple gestures like these could make the difference for us.  Weeks passed by and I continued to listen to the radio for news. Another team had encountered those strange Novas and had died. Everyone was on high alert. They were all gathering at Raxore, since it was closest. Yoong and I couldn't interfere to protect those Blazers, or we would risk everything. Well, I guess it didn't really matter much...We had moved to another location, another low-key apartment. We continued to hunt for Nova cores to get money. Better us than enemies who were out there. Nova cores were extremely good for getting quick cash. Each core cost about 3 grand each and they were mainly used for experimental purposes. We always diversified our drop off locations so as not to cast too much suspicion on us. After all, technically...selling them for profit was illegal. Yoong was busy in her room, doing something. "Yoong?" I knocked on her door and went in with food for her."What are you up to in here?" I asked, setting the tray down on the bed.She was sitting cross legged on the ground, typing something on her laptopm her back against the bed."Hmm...just tinkering around. Bored" She vaguely answered.There were a few notebooks and I picked one up, flipping through some pages. I couldn't understand the full technical details, but got the gist."Yoong...are you trying to experiment on what could kill those Novas?"I smiled a bit, knowing she did still care even if she acted like she didn't. "Don't be silly. I'm just bored, that's all" She denied and I chuckled, peering over her shoulder.There were some diagrams of some stuff. Simulations would be my guess, but technical things weren't really my forte. Yoona probably downplayed at how smart she was. She never had any motivation so she never really bothered to try to show her best.  And still being the top and best just showed you how good she was. But I knew there were mysteries inside of her and this seemed to be one of them. She could probably rival Seohyun if she wanted to in terms of tech. "Dark matter?" I frowned, recognizing one of the elements.She just hummed, tapping some keys and I saw a simulation. My eyes went wide when I saw she broke the barrier surrounding the Novas."Y-You did it! Wait...what's that?"She tsked and shut it down, sighing."If my theory is correct, then dark matter can penetrate the barrier, but that barrier is regenerating too fast and the heat from it is so powerful that it's sending heat waves, killing the Blazers" She said and I frowned."If what you're saying is correct...then we have a problem" I looked at her.She got on the bed and ate before lying down, facing the wall. There were very few who could manipulate dark matter. It was dangerous and weilding that kind of power was hard unless you controlled it very well. By very few, I mean only two people. And those two people were currently fugitives in hiding. Yoong had taught me how to control it once she had learned that I had the ability to manipulate dark matter. I had gotten better, but if I wasn't careful, it would take control and hurt me extremely badly."Yoong, this is still huge news" I poked at her until she turned around."We can help them fight this...okay, we are fugitives, but what if we told them we would fight these Novas for them in exchange for full freedom?" I asked."Tae, manipulating dark matter by itself is dangerous in itself. But keeping that barrier continuously open long enough for us to attack the core inside to defeat the Novas is...almost an impossible task. It requires for long-distance light magic wielders to keep throw huge bursts of energy to keep it wide open, I imagine. Then there's a very narrow window in which to attack because doing that will require lots of energy and it will exhaust the person entirely. Unless we can kill the Nova in that narrow window frame, you'll get engulfed by it, essentially making it grow more stronger because it will absorb that person's powers as well"There weren't that many light magic wielders as well and we both knew who two of them were. Yuri and Sica. Yoong could wield it as well. Like I said, she had been blessed and cursed by having the ability to wield all kinds. You could say she was universal, able to master anything and bring what was required in battle when needed to. "So dark matter has to break the barrier and once that barrier is broken, light magic has to keep it open""That's probably the basic, but I don't know if I'm right, Tae""Then train me more in dark matter, Yoong""Taeyeon""No matter our thoughts on the government, you feel something for those Blazers dying and I do too. If we can help...then we have to try to save them" I insisted.She looked unconvinced."I want to get better, Yoong. I don't want to drag you down""Don't say that. You've never dragged me down and you never will" She sharply said."If I can help penetrate that barrier, then you can concentrate on other things. Two is better than one, right?"I gave her my puppy eyes and she sighed. I smiled, knowing I won."You're going to do exactly as I say and no more, got it? No arguing or insisting that you can do more. When I say stop, you stop" She said and I nodded my head.Since we could essentially blow up this whole apartment and building, along with us in it, we had to keep it small."Concentrate your whole mind. If you stray your thoughts even momentarily, it could backfire. Manipulate it to bend to your will" She instructed.For the first time in a long time, I summoned part of my powers. I created a small around ball made of dark matter and it was electrifying. She continued to instruct me until she made me stop. I didn't realize that just doing that for only ten minutes made my body suddenly feel like it's been dropped on by tons of huge rocks. "Feel tired?"I just nodded, dropping my head onto her shoulder. She chuckled a bit."Endurance and willpower is key. We'll eventually work with combining it with your sword, but that's still a ways yet"My dark matter mainly materialized in the form of a sword when fighting. Combining to add an extra boost would certainly make it stronger. Days passed by and her training was hell, but I knew it was worth it. But I was getting better. I could survive longer each day without exhausting myself. Yoona pushed me, but not so I would kill myself. One day, we were taking a break when I heard some news about them."NightHawks, an elite group from Raxore Academy, has been deployed to the site where the S-class Novas have been said to appear"I glanced at Yoong."We have to go help them, Yoong. They don't know what they're up against" I said."They'll attack us before we have a chance to say a word. I'm sure Seohyun has already figured some of this out as well""But they don't have anyone that can manipulate dark matter to break that barrier. They'll die! I don't care if I get arrested Yoong. As long as...s-she's safe..." Yoong wrapped her arms around me and I buried my face into her shoulder."You're an idiot sometimes, Taeng" She mumbled and I pulled away, smiling slightly at her.We didn't have a lot of time. That site was far from us and they already had a head start. Luckily, we didn't need anything to carry or go except maybe a pack filled with some food and water bottles. The site was a desert.