Eniola was sick of everything.

The car. The redundant events continued of eating, sleeping, and doing it again. Eniola was sick of it.

Sometimes she hoped the car would accidentally go uncloaked so that she could have a thrill of being chased by human authorities. But it was just the same monotonous ride through Korea.

There wasn't much to see in North Korea. Most of the cities just started advancing since they changed their country all those years ago. So, it was just another trip. The food was dwindling, and they'd likely have to restock, but they technically weren't supposed to be here, so they had to drive and drive for 2 straight days.

Luckily, if everything went well, they'd be in China in 2 hours.

"How will we be able to hide in Beijing?" Eniola asked.

"I've been to Beijing twice to visit my grandparents, and it's super crowded," Zaira informed. "As long as we do things right, we'll fly under the radar."

"You're Chinese?" Jay asked.

"My mom is. My dad is from Somalia," Zaira said slowly.

"Do you think we could hide out with your grandparents?"

"That's a terrible idea," Zaira said instantly. "Staying with them could endanger them, and I'm sure they're going to freak out when I turn out to be alive. We must seek shelter somewhere else."

"When we stop going on the run and you're going to reveal yourself as alive?" Theo asked.

"I had an entire plan and everything," Zaira began. "But I have to actually defeat Paradox and still be alive to do that. If you all die, your families are going to be sad, but if I die for real, no one will do a thing." It sounds sad, but if Zaira is, Eniola can't tell.

"Why don't we play a game?" Iris suddenly suggests. "Something to pass time before we get to Beijing."

Everyone grumbled. That was an exhausted no.

Meanwhile, Eniola wondered who hated her now.

Other than an entire country, and potentially the entire world, she wondered who would truly be affected. Her parents wouldn't hate her, but the moment she returned from this, it would prove their initial point that SCOPE was for criminals because she became one. Olu and May didn't hate her but were probably confused. Stavros and Artemis, and the entire SCOPE community were probably shocked. Eniola didn't need to browse the internet to know that Paradox had completely disgraced them as SCOPE players.

And it was all because of Paradox.

It was her passion. And Keone just took it away from her. Paradox took it away from her. She never used the name interchangeably. Somewhere in her mind, Eniola wanted to separate them, but they were the same person. They were both manipulative. Paradox manipulated the universe, and Keone manipulated her and everyone he had come across. She clenched her teeth in anger. Now he'd manipulated her future. Typical.

For a moment, Eniola wondered what her life might've looked like without Paradox or Keone being power-hungry for vague reasons. She might've won the SCOPE championships 2-years ago if Keone had been normal. And everything would be normal. No Paradox, no ALTSCOPE, no having to save the world. They still would've been together and Eniola would've been devoted to him like she used to be blind.

And she would've never met Jay. For a moment, Eniola looked over at him and saw the memories they had shared. All the moments. All from the past 9 months. She'd never trade that for anything. Her heart swelled in pleasure.

Maybe it was fine that Keone became Paradox.

They just entered Chinese territory and Eniola still felt the same, despite their journey toward freedom. The only thing keeping them afloat was hope and the knowledge that Zaira had the power to change everything.

But she didn't want to become reliant on it. In fear of being just like Paradox.

A road sign ahead began rotating in the city in bright blue colours, saying "Welcome to Beijing!" Eniola didn't feel welcomed. She was being smuggled in.

Eniola leaned over to look at the window and gazed out longingly like she was looking for something. The highway was glowing in the daytime skies with a mix of hovercars and auto-cars on the roads. The roads stretched thin and over one another. They weaved in between the tall sky-rise buildings, with holo-screens that rotated in between them. A huge train swept over to roads from a wide distance in one seamless gliding motion as they drove further into the city.

It was a nice city, but it was hard to enjoy that when there were bounties on your head. She couldn't enjoy it. Because the city wouldn't enjoy all of them.

"Are we supposed to feel something?" Lucia asked, finally. Eniola looked over to everyone who was looking out the window in false excitement.

"No," Zaira replied. "We're supposed to seek shelter, not feel sentimental."

Way to lift spirits.

"Oh look," Iris mentioned, as she pointed to the screens. "Guess who's the talk of the town?"

Mixed within the bright and flashy ads, were wanted posters of none other than the 5 of them, loud and proud for all the millions to see. Eniola could only sigh in fatigue. No use wasting her energy on being nervous or scared.

This was it. Now all they had to do was find whoever Jay's sketchy cousin was and figure so many complicated things out. It made Eniola exhausted just thinking about it. Being a criminal was so tiring.

Jay exited the highway and drove further into the city, where Eniola could see sleek modern designs and huge clusters of people pouring into the crowds, all coming and going from somewhere. For a moment, Eniola found it fascinating how 30 million people could squish into this city.

Jay drove the car as seamlessly as he could to avoid suspicion. His driving had gotten better over the last few days, but it still needed work if they wanted to convince people that this was an auto car.

Eniola looked back onto the roads, as Jay drove away from the population downtown area and into more communal areas. Small tight houses in the distance, were packed together on top of hills and narrow streets like sardines. Jay took another turn, into more of an inner-city area that looked sketchy. Bright red lanterns hung off power lines that sparked in the air, leading down to grimy streets directed with neon signs.

Where were they headed to?

"What are we doing here?" Theo asked. "This looks just like Tokjin."

"I'm sure it's worse," Iris grimaced, looking at the dirty street.

"It's scary, but this is where we need to be," Jay said with a waver in his voice, before pulling into a narrow road and stopping the car on the side.

"Let's all get out," Jay said, before retrieving their temporary disguises of masks. Eniola slipped hers over her face so that it covered her once again. The doors popped open and revealed a fresh glimmer of sunlight.

Eniola slowly stepped out like the streets might catch on fire on contact, but despite how hot it was, it did nothing. Instead, her legs stretched out once again from squishing in the caverns of the car and she sighed in pleasure.

Quickly, she snapped her head around the area to find prying eyes. No one yet. But that didn't calm her nerves.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jay said jokingly. "Say goodbye to solitary confinement on wheels. We have to abandon it. Enough people have already tailed us."

Eniola sighed in relief. "I don't miss it." She didn't. The metallic grey walls and being confined to one space for days distorted reality. It was like she didn't exist in a time or place outside the car. It wasn't a fun road trip, it was practically torture.

"See ya," Lucia said, jokingly waving. "I thought I almost forgot how to walk."

"Me too," Zaira said. "When I have to leave another country, I make it easy and seamless. This was so boring. Good thing I had my screens to keep me comfortable or this would've been torture."

"You can say that again," Theo groaned. "I'm surprised Jay didn't crash the car. I'm surprised we made it in one piece."

Jay sighed and put his arm around him. "Aren't we all?" They broke into laughter for a second, and in that specific moment, she felt like things could maybe be okay and that it wasn't hopeless. They were Rogue, they'd get through it and maybe for a moment, no one was out to get them.

But the thing about moments is that they end. And they end hard.

"We're in a place called Zhouyin," Iris said, making everything serious again. "It's a district."

"Then we're in the right place," Jay confirmed, before looking around everywhere. "This way."

Jay led them through the alleyway street before making a sharp turn towards an even narrower alleyway that ensured they walked in one line like schoolkids. He seemed to know his way around here, like in South Korea, despite never going to any of these places. Maybe there was something he wasn't telling her.

There was such loud silence with no other people there. Euphoria and nerves were all wrapped around Eniola. This place was like a ghost town.

"Here," Jay said, before stopping in front of a metallic door surrounded by a brick wall. It looked like grime had sealed it shut. He began feeling around the place.

"What are you doing?" Eniola asked.

"Feeling around for a panel," he replied.

Eniola raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's there?"

"My cousin tends to be an over-sharer," Jay grumbled before his hands stopped on a brick. "This brick is loose."

"I think you found it," Iris said. Jay pressed down on it. Nothing happened. Then he pulled, and the brick slid off easily, but it was thin like a patch when he took it off, as it revealed a keypad.

"Doesn't this kind of feel too easy?" Lucia cut in before her eyes wandered. "And why haven't we seen people in Zhouyin yet?"

"It'll be fine," Theo cooed. Then, once he saw the keypad, he groaned.

"Don't worry, I know this too," Jay cut in. He crunched in some numbers, and nothing happened. The suspense that rose in Eniola quickly fell back again as she sighed. All this anticipation for nothing.

"Are you serious?" Lucia grumbled. "All this way for-

A sudden rumble came from the door before Eniola jumped back with a gasp. She was not expecting that. Then the door went into a smoky hiss before it cranked open into a dark abyss. Eniola slowly peered forward as she gulped back. She couldn't see anything. A dot of light poked through, and Eniola turned back to see Iris leading the way. Even then, she still couldn't see anything.

"So I'm guessing your cousin lives underground," Eniola said. "Is he like a hermit or something?"

"Where is this cousin of yours?" Theo asked, with a slight edge in her voice. She didn't guess that criminals were the type to stand people up, especially from a cousin.

Suddenly a shrill scream came from the ceiling before, in the shadows, an entity dropped from the ceiling and thudded onto the ground. A scream tore from Eniola's throat as she backed up into Lucia, who was also screaming along with everyone. Someone was going to kill them!

Then the lights flashed on, and Eniola screamed further and felt a violent shudder run down her body as her eyes met the barrel of a gun. Then it fell and revealed a guy smiling maniacally behind it. Eniola's heart slowed, but not enough.

Then he began laughing. High-pitched and loud. Not a crazy evil laugh, but something that was both manic and comedic. Eniola jutted her head out in confusion.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucia screamed as she stepped out. Eniola almost lost her footing until she stood up straight.

A tremendous sigh came from Jay before he walked out with a red face. "You didn't need to scare my friends like that."

"But what's the point of not doing that?" he said in a teasing tone. Whoever this crazy-ass cousin had a bit of an accent.

Now that she felt less threatened, she took him in. His eyes were wide with freaky ambition and curiosity. The cousin had bright blue hair like Iris did before she dyed it again. It was short, yet Eniola could tell he was muscular and wide. He had an array of tattoos that started at his neck before they covered his arms and only revealed some untouched tan skin. He looked vaguely like Jay, but that was probably because they were cousins.

"So this guy is your cousin?" Lucia said loudly, pointing at him.

"Yeah," he sighed in defeat, as his cousin slung an arm around him with a cunning grin while Jay frowned.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Jay sighed. "We just got framed for a crime we didn't do and now we've been on the run for about 3 days. How about you Da-"

His cousin immediately put a finger to his lips, which shushed Jay, who stared at him with wide eyes. "I don't go by that name anymore. Like you, certain people are looking for me, and they're not all noble."

Bee turned his gaze to the rest of them but was curious and confused like he was wondering what could fit them. Eniola stared at him back, as she tried to look tough. She probably didn't. "If you want to refer to me as a name, then do it by Bee. It's my new alias."

"Ok Bee," Jay said, rolling it off his tongue. "I need you. We've been travelling for days now in an undetected stuffy car, and my fingers are cramped because I've been driving all that time. We need to give ourselves new identities for now so we can move around the world."

Bee sat on the table and yawned. Eniola raised an eyebrow. "I could. But I also couldn't. Although I have more pressing issues. I supply a lot for people in the mafia, the yakuza, the pseudo and other brand-name gangs. If I don't meet their needs in time, I might lose this little thing called my life."

Eniola's throat dried, and her eyes widened. She trained her eyes on Bee statically until what he said just registered. No. No. No. They had come this far, and if he were to outright deny him, Eniola thought she'd go crazy.

But something else caught her. What did he say after the yakuza? He just said PSEUDO. Eniola's eyes widened further. She opened her mouth to speak, but then it paused on her. She swallowed before reaching for her pocket. The slip of paper was still there.

Bee knew something, and she wanted to know it too.

"Dae-, I mean Bee, we've come this far. I've kept your secret, so why can't you do this one thing for me?" Jay argued.

Bee sighed and pouted. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't make promises to you guys. I have many pressing things I need to do."

Jay moved in for a hug that contrasted his mood from a couple of minutes ago. "Thank you. I have another question."

"And that is?"

"Is it possible we could stay the night?" Jay asked.

"No," Bee outright said. "But I know a place down the street that you won't get detected at. It's down this alleyway and nestled in a corner. I promise it's not a club or anything. Also, why were you guys framed?"

"Uh," Theo stuttered. "It's a very long story."

"You don't have to lie to me Jay," Bee sighed. "If you did the crime, I won't judge. We can both be disappointments."

"Can we just confirm that you'll at least try something for us?" Jay sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I will," Bee promised. "It's getting late, which doesn't really mean much to me, but you guys probably want to get some rest. If I get anything, I'll come to your hotel and knock one time, then for times, then three times, and then two times, then one time."

That was very elaborate. Eniola couldn't believe it had gotten to where they had coded knocks on the door. Jay spoke up. "One time, four times, three times, two times, and one." He said it repeatedly.

"Let's go, everyone," Theo said, and everyone followed like they always did, as they moved back into the door that hissed on contact. Eniola hoped no one would be there to jump from the sky.

Then Eniola stopped in her tracks before she looked forward to her friends, then back at Bee. Then she felt around in her pocket and sighed. She needed to know about whatever this was. And it's not like they didn't want her to know or anything. They followed her.

Eniola's gaze darted back to the door, which already hissed close. She sucked in a breath before she turned back suddenly.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Bee asked without a gaze in her direction. She swallowed back a gulp.

Eniola stood up straighter. "I have a question that you're going to answer for me."

"No, I'm not recruiting," Bee answered before she could speak before he took a seat in his swivel chair and toggled with screens Eniola didn't have time to analyze. It was probably illegal. "You should catch up with your friends before they go crazy."

Eniola felt around her pocket before she took out the paper she had crumpled. She walked up to Bee and his desk; a bit more confident than she should've been to a guy who regularly communed with gang members.

Then she smacked the paper on the table. Bee jumped as he turned to her.

"What does this mean?" Eniola demanded. "Tell me what it means."

His eyes lowered onto the logo before he jumped away from it as if it might be on fire. Bee's eyes were wide with hidden fear before he suddenly covered her eyes with a rough hand.

"Hey!" she yelled, shoving his hand off.

"Where the hell did you get this?" Bee muttered under his breath, with frantic eyes locked onto hers. Why was he so scared?

"It doesn't matter!" Eniola told him. "What matters is the fact that you're going to tell me what this means. You mentioned the PSEUDO earlier and said that you supplied them with their identities, so don't lie to me."

"You shouldn't have this," Bee stammered. "If anyone knows you know this, you are in huge danger."

His sudden change to a frantic mood bounced to Eniola, as she felt her heart speed up. How bad were they that Bee, the illegal man, was getting all scared?

"Can you at least just tell me what the PSEUDO means? Why is it so dangerous?" Eniola asked, but he shook his head.

"Listen, Emily," Bee muttered, butchering her name. "I'm not someone who runs out secrets and spies on people. I know secrets and things I shouldn't, but I'm under a personal obligation not to tell anything. I just do my job. I give identities out and that's it."

"But you must know something?" Eniola pushed. "Can you please just at least tell me something you know?"

"You're what, 13, 14?" Bee began.

"I'm 17," Eniola grumbled.

How was Eniola 17 and people still didn't believe her? Surely some height would've been added to her by now.

"Same thing, but what matters is that you can do nothing compared to what these gangs can do. If someone knows that you know something, let me repeat it for you. This will not end well for you," Bee shouted. Eniola frowned.

"But why?" Eniola argued. "Why are they so dangerous?"

"You shouldn't know," Bee replied. "Unless you want people, you love to crowdfund your ransom money, I suggest you pretend this conversion never happened."

Eniola bunched her fists together as her fingernails dug into her hands. Then she closed her eyes and released them with a huff before she opened them to glare at Bee.

Of course. Why did she think Bee would give her, Eniola, any information? One 17-year-old girl meant nothing to the people he worked with. But somehow, somewhere, the PSEUDO tried to send her a message. And they were going to do it again.

She needed answers.

Suddenly, Bee took the paper off the desk before he grabbed something else from the table. It was a clear electro-lighter with clear fluid running inside of it. He pressed a button before a flash of flames appeared. He moved it to the tip of the paper before it curled into black ashes.

"It's gone," Bee said, looking her straight in the eye. "And so is this conversation."

Eniola looked at him dead in the eyes, as thoughts swam in her head about how she could somehow get through to this man. Rage bubbled up inside of her like a volcano that just waited to come out. But despite it all, Eniola knew it would never work.

"Bye," Eniola said with a fake smile and she turned around the other way to exit into the night.

Only the door was right in front of her. Eniola stopped abruptly before the door slowly hissed open. She turned her head back to Bee, who was pressing his hand to the button.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Heat seeped into her cheeks as she faced away from him. So much for a dramatic exit.

Eniola finally stepped out once the door opened into the dark Beijing night and into the alleyway that was still a quiet ghost town. She swallowed back a gulp as she walked into the dark alleyway, where anything could catch her in the shadows.

"Crap," Eniola muttered under her breath, as she stood alone in the night.

Suddenly, a dark shadow cascaded from over on the street. Eniola snapped her head over it. It came from the alleyway. She took off in the other direction, then slowed. She didn't want to seem scared. That only made her prey.

"Eni," a small voice mumbled. How did they know who she was? And why?

Then a hand gripped her shoulder. A scream tore out of Eniola's throat and into the dark Beijing night sky. A chill slithered down her spine. The hand swiftly turned her to face them.

"It's me," someone whispered, and through her panic, Eniola saw who it was.

Theo. He was but a silhouette in the moonlight. But he was Theo. A sigh escaped Eniola. No one was sketchy.

"Where the hell did you go?" Theo hissed.

"I forgot something, and I went to look for it," Eniola lied, as she clenched her fists so they'd stopped shaking. Theo sighed once again and knotted his hands in his hair before he took them out. "I didn't mean for you to worry about it. I'm fine."

Theo sighed out in relief. "It's fine. Let's just go back to the hotel."