“Happy birthday to you!” Eniola watched as her friends all belted out the last note, loud and proud, as she sat on Theo’s couch with a wide smile on her face.

This was it. Eniola was officially 17 now. She wasn’t sure if she felt any different from yesterday when she was 16. Still, everyone acted like it, so she just went with it.

“Guys,” Eniola gushed. “Thank you!”

“I think that if we weren’t playing SCOPE, we’d make a mean choir,” Theo said. “Theo and the Rogue Singing Ensemble.” Lucia snorted with laughter.

“Yeah, right,” Lucia exclaimed, taking a seat next to Eniola. “Happy birthday! What’s your wish?”

“It’s standing right here,” Jay mumbled, before winking at her. Eniola gave him a playful roll of her eyes.

Eniola squinted. “Really? I can’t see anything. It must be Paradox again.”

Jay frowned, but only for a second. “Hilarious.” He then went down and pecked her on the cheek.

A whirring rolled into the room, and Theo’s android held an empty box that smelled like Heaven. It stopped, then opened it and Eniola looked over. Her eyes went wide at the prettiest cinnamon buns she’d ever seen in her entire life.

“You didn’t have to,” Eniola began, drawing herself closer.

“We actually did,” Lucia corrected and cut in.

“And it’s a shame to waste so much food,” Iris sighed before they all took a seat around her with prying eyes.

“I can’t refuse,” Eniola eventually said, before taking one and sinking her teeth into the bun. It wasn’t good. It was heavenly.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to relax like this,” Iris said. “Between all the SCOPE games, it’s just been so fast-paced.”

“I agree,” Jay said, before “yawning” and conveniently sliding his arm around Eniola. He smiled at her and she leaned into his touch. “I was always destined to be famous, but even the gifted need a break.”

“Sure,” Eniola teased, then added more seriously. “I wouldn’t trade SCOPE for anything, but I also wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

“Maybe after we win, Seoul, we can go on a vacation. No SCOPE, no prying eyes, just Rogue. Like in the good old days.”

“The good old days. You mean 10 months ago?” Iris asked incredulously, and they all broke out into laughter.

“Oh my gosh, we should do presents now!” Lucia exclaimed.

“I like those too,” Eniola said.

Lucia reached into her side and pulled out a gift bag. “This is for you, Eni.”

“Thank you!” Eniola said, pulling it towards herself.

She tore the bag open and inside was a simple piece of glass. It shook for a moment, and soon a moving photo took its place. It was one of a much younger Eniola and Lucia, back when Lucia still had her braces and Eniola had fleeting dreams of reaching 5 feet. They were both making silly faces at the camera.

“Thank you!” Eniola exclaimed, reaching out for a hug, which Lucia graciously returned.

“It was nothing,” she said.

“It was everything,” Eniola replied.

Iris was next and Eniola had gotten a black shifting container that could turn into a water bottle, a cup, and a bowl. Eniola marvelled at it. It was, of course, a staple Iris gift, but it was still wonderful. She wrapped Iris into a hug.

“Just something reusable,” Iris said. “Just because we tackled pollution doesn’t mean it’s worth the risk.”

“And finally, me,” Jay said, handing over a small box nonchalantly. It was smooth and golden, adorned with a silky black bowtie. Eniola carefully opened it before the mere sight left her mouth agape. Inside was a glittery rose gold bracelet that bordered a round blue pearl in a spiral helix. Beautiful was an understatement. It was gorgeous.

“This is stunning,” Eniola said before she looked at Jay, who was trying so hard to hide a smile. “This looks expensive. You didn’t have to.”

“Good thing SCOPE doesn’t pay us minimum wage,” Jay joked.

“If you don’t want it, my wrists are bare.” Lucia stepped in, but Iris held her hand.

“I’ll put it on,” Jay said, before unclasping the bracelet and putting it over her wrist delicately. His wrist was soft, but tingled along her wrist. For a moment, it was just them. It felt oddly symbolic. “There it is.”

“Does this bind us together for life?” Eniola joked, cutting through their tension. A laugh escaped him, eventually.

“No, it doesn’t,” Jay said. “It reminded me of you because it’s exquisite.” Her heart immediately swelled in her chest. He could still make her feel that way: warm and soft. Everyone cooed at it, even Iris.

“I love it,” Eniola began, before taking his face into her hands and joining their lips together. She pushed against him softly before he kissed her back and then pulled away and smiled at him while everyone hooted at them. Eniola would never tire of this.

Fun and laughter filled the rest of the night, with everyone telling their own stories about Eniola and being reminded of the very fabric that made up their tight-knit friend group. Eniola forgot to count the number of times she had to wipe joyful tears away from her eyes, and the number of times she and Jay kissed again. It was a wonderful direction from unspoken things.

They settled themselves down, and Eniola settled herself into Jay’s arm as he pulled her close, as a huge holo-screen glowed to life showing an anime movie streaming. Eniola kind of got it, but simply absentmindedly watched it after playing mental gymnastics with it.

Suddenly the holo-screen paused mid-way and didn’t come back on instantly, freezing in between the animated movie. Eniola raised an eyebrow, and Theo moved forward to look at it. Then simply the screen went dark.

“Is this another part of the movie?” Iris asked.

“It’s not,” Theo said. “I don’t know why we’re having technical issues. This always works just fine. I’m confused-”

The screen fizzed again like it might’ve been glitching, exploding in a burst of colours before it dissolved out again into a screen of white with black letters overlaying the screen.

Eniola, Theo, Jay, Lucia, and Iris. If you’re ready, come and find me. We can take down Paradox once and for all.

Eniola read the message repeatedly until she could recite it automatically, feeling her throat dry up like a desert. Everyone else’s eyes were glued to the screen like hers was analyzing the message. Eniola’s heart began pounding on her ribcage.

Someone who knew what they knew about Paradox was sending them a message.

The screen glitched again and with what looked like an address this time. Someone was there.

“Huang Dim Sum. It closed a decade ago. Why do they want to meet us there?” Theo said immediately, already gathering information.

“Why does Paradox want to meet us there?” Jay corrected. “This could easily be a lure. Paradox isn’t gone. They just call him Matrix Man.”

Silence filled the room after that. But Paradox wasn’t just as obvious as that. Eniola could still feel the fear tingle at the pit of her stomach, seeing the flashbacks of all the mind games Paradox had played with them, poking and prodding in their heads for every manipulative memory he could use.

“And I thought we moved past that,” Lucia reminded. “We’re going to Seoul to play SCOPE, not fight Paradox again. I’m over all of it.”

It’s Kain, Eniola thought suddenly. He hacked her at the airport. This is Kain’s doing. But this felt off. Kain didn’t know about Paradox. Right? Something about this drew her in closer, as it forbade her. And her curiosity was eating her as much as it was telling her to go away.

“And it’s Eniola’s birthday,” Iris recalled. “I think we should just stay here. We should pass this onto someone else.”

“But what if it isn’t Paradox?” Eniola suggested while everyone gave her unbelieving looks. “Hypothetically. Who other than us and Paradox could take him down?”

“The government?” Theo suggested. “Jesus?”

Iris stood up before walking to the screen and placing her cyborg hand on it.

“She’s going to get hacked,” Jay mumbled. Iris closed her eyes for a second before her cybernetic arm started glowing blue.

This type of hacking was illegal for cyborgs and punishable by prison. However, it never stopped Iris. Without it, Paradox wouldn’t have been delayed in his return.

“I’ve compared signals to Paradox and this one,” Iris admitted before taking out her phone and extending a holo-screen from it, showing some complex string of code. “If it was Paradox, many things could’ve happened to me right now, which wouldn’t be pretty. This signal is unique. It’s not from Paradox. I changed my mind. Maybe we should go.”

“But who says we have to do it?” Jay grumbled. “Are we destined to save the world?”

“I want to do it,” Eniola spoke up. “If it’s nothing, we leave and come back for my birthday, which we’ve mostly celebrated.”

“I’ll do it,” Theo said

“Me too,” Lucia and Iris both said at the same time. Eniola turns her body to look at Jay, who looked away.

“We can’t do this without you,” Lucia prodded.

“She’s right,” Eniola said, laying a hand on his arm. “Please?”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Let’s purposely endanger ourselves.”

◣

Huang’s Dim Sum was definitely a modern wasteland. It was made of old gray brick, was squashed, and somehow abandoned in an industrial district at the edges of San Francisco. The windows that weren’t cracked or outright broken were boarded up with old plywood, and someone had sketched the sides in a myriad of graffiti.

Eniola guessed it hadn’t survived the Automation Era like many other businesses, and closed down. It surprised Eniola that someone hadn’t torn it down yet to make room for something else.

“I didn’t know Paradox was humble,” Jay mumbled. “This is a step-down from the blind restaurant. At least it was open.”

“Don’t mention it,” Eniola groaned. “And plus, it’s not Paradox.”

Lucia began. “Then who is-”

Ripples that cut through the air shut her up. It wasn’t a glitch, as there was a lack of jumbled, flashing lights. It still disfigured the landscape. Eniola looked up in fascinated wonder before it stopped into silence.

“Another glitch?” she whispered.

“Look!” Theo replied, before pointing back at the restaurant. Eniola followed his gaze with curious eyes before they widened. An opening sat at the edge of the restaurant that wasn’t there before. It was a hole of black that rippled out onto its edges, luring them closer into a black abyss.

Lucia was already walking to it by the time she saw it, and everyone else followed behind instantly.

“This screams Paradox,” Jay muttered under his breath.

Eniola observed and saw the faint outline of a staircase spiralling down into the dark.

“We’re here because we’re risky, so I want to go,” Lucia said, staring wide-eyed at the opening. She took the first step and everyone followed.

They all darted down the steps quickly as the sound of Eniola’s thudding heart became more apparent in the dark catacombs. The only light came from occasional light bulbs propped onto the wall that didn’t even give them much to look at. If this was dangerous, this might be Eniola’s last birthday.

Eniola kept walking until the steps stopped, and silence fell over them. It was all dark still, but they weren’t closed in by the walls on the stairs, but Eniola felt more loosened in the wide landscape.

Suddenly, the lights turned on and Eniola found herself blinded by the intense light that came from the lab. It was a huge white lab with a chillingly familiar logo propped up onto the wall. There were rows of cluttered tables with odd devices and holo-screen bases on the ground. A sickly, sterile smell wafted through the room of monotonous white.

“I’ve seen this before,” Iris spoke first. “Vanessa from Inferno showed us that memory. This was the lab where the synthetic atoms were created.”

“By that girl,” Eniola said, continuing. “Zara, Zaira? Who would want us here now?”

“Maybe we should look around,” Theo suggested. “Get a scope of the area and see what we can find. Someone wanted us here.”

“What if it was Zaira?” Jay wondered.

“She’s dead,” Lucia reminded him. “Car accident.”

Eniola walked through the lab, over-analyzing every piece of leftover equipment that could help. She reached out to touch them, but then pulled back just in case any other device wanted to come up and shock her. Everything glanced at someone, left it here and abandoned it. There must’ve been some leftover information, someone that wasn’t just useless junk. Everything looked ordinary. Maybe that was the point. Find the abnormal within the normal.

Eniola looked at the bases that would then activate the holo-screens. This equipment looked sleek, like scientists would use. Eniola remembered Zaira was running a whole lab here with stolen university funds and under-the-counter black-market schemes. That was until the car crash happened. Until someone murdered her.

Eniola quickly dismissed the thought and frowned. It was only a theory she had conjured up in her head.

Eniola walked away when something caught her eye. She sauntered backwards. If she was in a hurry, she would’ve missed it, but it was shiny and peeking at her.

Eniola peered forward. Between the black monitor chips, a sleek piece of silver was in the mix of them. It looked slightly bigger and more oblong, almost like an oval. She reached forward and grabbed it. It was about the size of her nail when she held it in between her two fingers. She squinted her eyes in an analysis. It looked odd.

“Hey, guys!” Eniola called out, not taking her eyes off. Soon they were crowding around her. Iris took it from her hand.

“This is a communication chip for an old computer,” Iris explained. “They don’t use these anymore, because we have communication through electro-signals. It’s analog. I wonder why it’s in this hi-tech lab.”

“It’s a clue,” Theo said ominously. “Or at least something different.”

“How do we use it?” Lucia asked. “I’m sure they stopped using this a long time ago.”

Iris took it from Eniola’s hand with her human hand before she twisted open one of her cyborg’s fingers, revealing a chip holder. In one swift moment, she inserted it perfectly into her finger and it glowed to life.

“What’s happening?” Eniola asked.

“The file type is a video,” Iris explained before something pinged on her phone. She took it out. “And we are going to watch it.”

“Are you sure that will not infect you?” Jay asked.

“I’m fine,” Iris said, before taking out her phone. “I just linked it up. Let’s watch it.”

A holo-screen sprung up from the phone, Iris spread it out until they could see it from where they all stood.

Zaira was at the forefront. Her eyes were staring at the camera huge and rimmed in red and creased with purple underneath in thick eye bags. She was looking around frantically, like she was being watched. She tied her curly hair into a haphazard bun that hung lopsidedly off her head. They all let out a collective gasp.

This must’ve been about 2 years ago, the last time she was alive. Why was she acting this way? Because someone was about to kill her. Eniola called the thought away.

She looked down at the camera. “Hello. If you are seeing this message, this means that you’ve subdued or weakened Paradox. I designed this message to activate once the computer was destroyed. Listen carefully, because this message will play only once.” A veil of silence descended onto the room. Eniola sucked in a breath and peered forward.

“I created the dark matter computer synthetic because I wanted to help and change the world and everything around it for the better. I created this secret lab with trusted people to help, but then a guy named Keone found me and harassed me until he forced me to work with him.” Sounds like Keone. Eniola already knew this, but hearing it in Zaira’s shaky voice made Eniola almost quiver.

“However, I created two devices to be merged into one special purpose. Keone Palea has one of them and is wreaking havoc with them in merging SCOPE into the existing reality which could trigger the end of the world.”

End of the world? That wasn’t supposed to happen for a while. Keone had the power to end it?

“But you guys stopped it. I don’t know how, but you did and I want you to help me further. This next part is really important.” In the video, a sudden faint yelling echoes from a distance away and bulky footsteps grow louder as Zaira shook heavily.”

She began talking faster. “In Seoul, South Korea, there is named Azira Park who knows a lot about the device and how to stop it from being activated.”

She stopped mid-way and looked to her side. It sounded like a door was being forced open and a booming voice filled the air. Zaira’s eyes widened before she looked back at the camera frantically.

“Azira Park!” She repeated louder and faster. “Find her and she will tell you what to do! And one more thing-”

The video went dark, cutting her off, enveloping them in shock.

Eniola stood there, stunned and unable to move after witnessing the last video of Zaira. Before they killed her.

“She was murdered,” Jay said. “The car crash was a distraction. Someone killed Zaira because she tried to stop them.”

“Paradox,” Eniola and Iris hissed at the same time. Eniola continued, feeling the words burn out. “Keone killed Zaira.”

“How could he?” Lucia whispered. “I knew he was an overall bad person, but killing someone?”

“I don’t know,” Theo replied, putting a comforting arm around her. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. If Keone easily killed Zaira, imagine how easily he could make our deaths look like accidents. And I don’t want Eniola to have a bad birthday.” Eniola smiled at his consideration, even though it was bittersweet.

“How did she know we were going to Seoul?” Jay asked finally.

“She didn’t,” Eniola corrected. “It’s a coincidence. Zaira specified that the only person who could stop Keone along with us was Azira Park. She must live in Seoul.”

“Should we try to find her?” Lucia asked. “Maybe she could actually help. And she is in Seoul, which is convenient.”

“It’s risky,” Theo said again. “And I don’t want us to get tangled with Paradox again. It was bad the first time.”

“Things are different now,” Jay said. “Maybe it is worth it.”

“He truly isn’t a wuss. A miracle!” Lucia joked and Jay glared at her before slightly smiling.

“Maybe we should just visit Azira,” Iris suggested. “If it’s sketchy, then we can back out. But if it’s not, then we decide whether to get involved.”

“Okay,” Theo said. “Then it’s settled. We’re going to find Azira.”

“Where’s the exit?” Jay asked, looking at the door they came through, through the steps. But it was gone. The glitch opening was gone.

“That’s weird,” Eniola said. “Where did the door go?”

Then at once, the lights all turned off.

“What’s going on?” Lucia yelled from somewhere in the dark. “Is everyone okay?”

Something heavy falling echoed from behind Eniola. She jumped out of the way just in time. In the dark, she saw a huge silver door bolt cover the exit.

“Oh, my gosh!” Jay cursed as they found themselves with one another. A huge thud hit the ground.

“What was that?” Eniola panicked.

“I fell,” Theo groaned. “I don’t know why. I was leaning on the wall and then I just dropped.”

Lucia reached forward to him and he got up.

Eniola looked at the wall that now felt closer than it did before, and then it was pushing against her. She stumbled away and tripped over her feet before stabilizing.

“The walls are moving!” Eniola screamed.

“What?” Lucia asked loudly.

“The walls are moving!” Eniola screamed once again. This couldn’t be. It would not sandwich them to death.

“What do we do?” Iris yelled.

“Go into the middle,” Theo instructed. “Try to push back the walls as much as you can.”

Eniola ran with Iris and Lucia to the other side before hitting the wall abruptly, feeling pain echoing through her. She tried to push it back, but her feet kept skidding and slipping onto the floor.

“I can’t do anything!” Eniola yelled. “It’s not working! I can’t.” Eniola slipped abruptly before colliding into the wall again.

“Eni!” Lucia screamed at her side. But her gaze went away from Eniola for a moment and onto a panel on the wall. She saw Zaira use it to switch rooms in the simulation from last year.

“There, Iris!” Lucia shouted, and Iris turned to the button and smacked it. Eniola regained strength for a second. The walls stopped closing in on them, but now the motion had gone down as the walls and the lab started getting taller.

“What’s happening?” Jay said.

“It might save us,” Lucia yelled. “Stop pushing on the walls for a second!”

Everyone migrated to the middle as the walls closed in fast and the floors descend even faster. That doesn’t mean it didn’t scare Eniola.

It just made her less scared.

The floor lowered to the ground as the walls on top closed in and they were still being lowered. Eniola’s chest heaved and shallow breaths escaped her throat. She was about to die.

“If the lab members went down here, there might be an exit,” Theo stuttered. “Let’s just try to look.” Eniola stepped off nervously, just in case another trap game for them, but as her feet touched the ground, nothing happened. The room was cased off with grey chrome walls, but no doors or windows or anything that could get them out.

“Do you guys smell that?” Iris asked randomly.

Eniola prepared herself to say no until she realized what Iris meant. A bitter and tangy smell had soon wafted into the air. Her eyes moved around the room until she found little holes at the bottom of the walls spewing out streams of air.

Lucia stepped in closer. “What is that?”

Eniola’s eyelids felt like they were weights as they slowly began falling, blinking in and out of black. The stench became more pungent as it stopped tickling her nose and attacked. The world began blurring and spinning in a dizzying myriad. Her limbs felt like they were mushing into jelly, and before Eniola knew it, her head lolled to one side.

◣

Eniola’s head was a tremendous she registered as her eyes fluttered open. Her limbs were squished against each other and she registered she was sitting down. She looked down to see huge thick ropes bundling him, pressing her and her friends together. Fear ran through her as her breaths turned heavy like her head. She turned her head to see her half-awake friends tied to her. Shuffling came from behind her. Her friends were awake too.

The last thing Eniola could remember was some weird smoke coming from the walls after they had gone into and then she passed out.

They’d been gassed.

Footsteps echoed from somewhere, and Eniola searched with delirious eyes until she spotted who those footsteps belonged. Eniola looked up to see deep brown eyes looking at them. A girl with honey-toned skin and a round face circled in a dark blue hijab stared down at all of them. She looked familiar, but Eniola couldn’t pinpoint it yet.

Then it happened. In the video Vanessa showed them, there was another lab mate talking to Zaira.

“Fatima,” Eniola said out loud. “Your name is Fatima.”

“How do you know me?” she asked. “And what are you doing in this lab? You shouldn’t even know this place exists.”

“We have a connection to Zaira,” Theo explained from behind Eniola. “She invited us to this lab. We triggered her message.”

Fatima’s eyes went wide as her face paled. “That also triggered the security system which brought you to the state you are in now,” Fatima explained. “And what message did Zaira give you?”

“Untie us and we’ll tell you,” Lucia bargained. Fatima sighed and reached down somewhere and released the rope. Eniola’s limbs unsquashed themselves and everyone slowly rose, stretching their sore limbs.

“Paradox killed Zaira,” Fatima muttered. “How did you weaken him? No offence, but you don’t seem like it.”

“None was taken,” Iris said.

“Speak for yourself,” Lucia muttered.

Theo began into detail about the last round of the SCOPE championships, explaining every buried memory in vivid detail to Fatima, who wears a blank expression on her face.

“You’re telling me the truth?” she asked.

“We can,” Lucia replied. Fatima analyzed them with those curious eyes before reaching behind them and loosening the ropes. It fell loosely next to all of them, and Eniola staggered up.

“Thank you!” Iris immediately gasped in thanks, but Fatima simply looked her up and down.

“I want to see the message Zaira sent,” she demanded.

“It only played one time,” Eniola explained. “I’m sorry. But she told us the only person who could help was some girl named Azira Park, who lives in Seoul.”

“We could use help,” Jay suggested.

“I’m done with this,” Fatima mumbled. “I got involved because I wanted to change the world for the better, but it backfired. I just want to move on from this part of my life.”

“Sorry,” Iris apologized. “You must’ve really cared for her.”

“I did,” Fatima said, staring at the ground. “She was more than just a lab mate to me.”

Eniola remembered the way they had looked at each other in the video Vanessa showed them. Eniola felt for Fatima, losing someone she loved.

“You know Keone or Paradox or Matrix Man or whatever people call him, wasn’t the only person who didn’t work for Zaira that knew about the devices,” Fatima suddenly admitted. “Some other people wanted access to it and were hell-bent on doing anything to get to them.”

“Like who?” Eniola asked, curiosity itching at her.

Fatima was silent for a long while, before turning around and before she tapped the wall three times. The chrome gray landscape receded easily before it revealed the night outside.

“Maybe you guys should just go,” Fatima said, ignoring Eniola. “It’s late anyway and I should get back to the mosque.”

“Can you tell us anything?” Theo asked desperately. “Anything information you might know? Is there anyone we can talk to? It doesn’t even have to be big.”

“I’ve already told you enough,” Fatima muttered. “Guys, I really need to go.”

They made the most awkward eye contact with one another before Eniola and her friends filed out into the night.

“Oh, and guys,” Fatima called to them from inside. “Be careful out there. You have no idea what you’re getting into.”