"Passport and visa please," the android attendant asked Eniola. They were now in the Sydney airport. It wasn't as crowded anymore because they banned non-essential travel. But the PSEUDO worked their way around it.

Of course, they had.

Kain's words wouldn't leave her mind. He'd accused Eniola of not wanting to supposedly get Paradox because she still loved him. If he was going to accuse her of something, it should've been what she was actually doing.

About to escape from them.

After she went away from Kain and back into the main area, it was still too crowded for Eniola to tell them without possibly getting jumped by everyone in the vicinity. It was like every waking moment someone was there with them.

Eniola had gotten them into the situation. She suggested they meet up with the PSEUDO. So she had to get them out. If only she could contact them. They had all filed out into separate lines with the PSEUDO. Josanne was only behind her.

"Passport and visa please," the android repeated, which snapped Eniola out of her trance. With a shaky hand, she handed off both fake documents to the androids. It scanned them immediately with its green light hazing over them. It handed them back to her. Eniola finally released the breath she'd held for so long. Bee did his job right. Of course. If not, they'd be done for.

And they weren't supposed to be the ones done for. That was all for Paradox.

Then something hit Eniola. She had her SCOPElenses on, which were still attached to the microphone.

"Hello?" Eniola asked.

"Eniola," Lucia replied. Instantly, Eniola sighed in relief.

"Lucia," Eniola warned, as she crouched. "The PSEUDO. I think that something bad is going to happen. Can anyone else hear me?"

Then a grip fastened on her shoulder. Eniola turned with a yelp to face Joanne. Her heart dropped.

Josanne signed. "Move forward. And connect to Kain."

Eniola sighed in relief but didn't show it. Instead, she nodded and swallowed back a gulp before she faced forward and moved. Eniola reached up to fiddle with her lenses before she connected to Kain.

"Have you gotten through Eniola?" Kain asked through the microphone like he was waiting for her. He sounded aloof.

"Yeah," Eniola said, as she walked amid PSEUDO members. No one was there. She couldn't find her friends. Panic swept through her.

"Good," Kain replied. "We're on our way straight to Paradox's location. There's no safe house because we don't need it. If all goes well and everyone sticks to the plan, then we can move out and get Paradox to justice, and then we separate from Rogue and Zaira."

The way he says it makes it sound easy, but Eniola knew it wouldn't be. Something was going to happen. It felt weird that they were going to catch Paradox now. Eniola knew something had to go wrong. Paradox wasn't just an easy target.

"You won't believe this," Iris began, with a sarcastic hint in her tone. "But he's under the Sydney SCOPE arena."

"You mean in?" Jay asked.

"Yeah?" Eniola said as she raised an eyebrow.

"No, he's literally under it," Iris said. "See your geo-comms. He's under it right now. Like under the actual arena. Like beneath the surface. If I were us, I'd be there soon."

They had walked through the airport easily, while Eniola hurriedly looked for her friends, who she couldn't see yet. She swallowed back a gulp as the pit in her stomach grew wider. Josanne and other PSEUDO members practically closed in on her with a crowd that she couldn't see above.

Eniola eventually left the confines of the airport and into the hot sticky air of Sydney, and its busy streets. Sydney didn't have as many holo-screens or auto-cars. It still maintained a vintage charm, probably because it digitalized later than all the other cities.

A bunch of the PSEUDO members spilled out into the streets and at once walked away into the streets like regular citizens. Josanne tapped her shoulder again and Eniola faced her as Josanne gestured to an auto-car Eniola hadn't noticed.

It slid open for them and Josanne practically gripped her should and pushed her inside. Eniola slid over onto the side and pushed herself onto the window before Josanne and Hyejin sat in the front and Eniola sat beside some other people.

"Take us under the SCOPE arena," Hyejin instructed.

◣

"Listen to me," Kain said through the earpiece, as Eniola walked among the PSEUDO members and turned her head up high so that she could see the arena. Unlike most arenas, this one wasn't underground. Instead, it's above ground and wove in between the vintage buildings. It's a huge glassy dome with curved glass tiles that stretched over the land.

"Yes?" Eniola said.

"There are going to be 4 main squadrons that ambush from all sides of the arena," Kain explained. "You're on the west wing. We're going to enter through the sewers and we're going to create an ambush so that he can't leave."

"Is that it?" Eniola asked.

"No," Kain replied. "I want you to protect the entrance, and provide a clear escape for the fighters if we have to leave. You'll be doing that with Lucia."

"Lucia?" Eniola said, excitedly.

"Yes," Kain replied. "I don't think you'd have a problem with that? Right?"

"No," Eniola replied, like the pit in her stomach slightly shrunk.

Immediately, Eniola dove through the crowd, eyes peeled out for Lucia. It's probably been days since they had a normal long conversation. And the anticipation ate her. Quickly, Eniola switched the link to private mode.

"Tell me where you are, Lucia," Eniola whispered.

"Here!" Lucia called, but it was louder than normal. Eniola instantly turned back and met Lucia's curious eyes.

Immediately, Eniola squeezed her into an enormous hug and sighed in relief against her. Lucia was here. She could warn her.

"It's been a while," Lucia breathed. "I've guessed we've been on our toes for the PSEUDO. Wait, what's wrong?"

"The PSEUDO," Eniola whispered.

"Of course," Lucia said. "But we're going to separate from them soon."

"We have to do it now," Eniola hissed. "We have to leave, Lucia. It's not safe here anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Lucia asked with cautious eyes. "You're freaking me out."

Eniola sucked in a breath and pulled Lucia in lower. "This isn't the first time the PSEUDO had heard of the computers. They've known about Zaira for years. Do you remember how Fatima said that other people wanted Zaira? Those people were the PSEUDO. Kain."

Lucia's eyes widened. "But what about Paradox?"

"I think it's a cover-up," Eniola hissed. "I think it's just so that they can take the computers. They don't care about him because he's bad or anything. They just care about him so that they can take the computers."

Lucia sighed before she threaded her hands through her hair. "How do we know this?"

"I've looked through their database," Eniola said. "We have to find the others and escape. We have to take the computers from them all and we have to leave. It's not safe for us here."

"Okay," Lucia agreed and nodded at her. At once, they stopped talking, and they looked forward. But not until Lucia grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard inside of her own. Eniola sighed in relief.

"Everyone!" Kain said. "It's time for you to go in. We're moving in on Paradox now. He's in range. Enter the sewers now and take your posts."

Lucia once again turned to Eniola and sighed. They knew what they had to do.

Eniola turned back to the huge sewer entrance on the streets as her heart accelerated, and one-by-one everyone dropped into them effortlessly. It came to Eniola's turn and for a hesitant moment; she stood there and gulped.

"It's time to go!" Hyejin said behind her.

Eniola responded to the prick of her words and at once she jumped in as she prepared for the huge fall. Only it didn't happen. It was like 3 feet under at best. And now she landed right under the hole.

A stench so pungent attacked her nostrils, and she pulled her mask up immediately before she could vomit everything she'd eaten into the sewer water then ran into a canal beside her.

Slowly, Eniola walked on the metallic floors that clunked with every footstep before she stopped close in front of it. More and more people came down, and either stayed back like Lucia or ran forward closer to the face of danger.

Eniola was on her post, but she wouldn't do any protecting. Instead, she was going to get her friends, and they were going to take back the computers.

"Everyone," Kain spoke again. "Once you get to your posts, be on guard. Anything can happen, but since we have the power of the second computer, we can defeat them."

Eniola blended with them as they slowly shuffled to go around the corner. She didn't know what to do with the heaviness at her waist because of the gun they threw into her hands and told her to use. It was way more comforting knowing Lucia was behind her.

"Guys," Eniola whispered as she changed the link again.

"Yeah," Iris replied through the other end.

Eniola stepped back from the crowd and hissed into the microphone. Eniola gave the same explanation she gave to Lucia hastily.

"Oh my gosh," Theo mumbled. "Are you serious?"

"No, I'm joking because it's the perfect time for some comedy," Eniola muttered. "Yes, I'm being serious!"

"Guys," someone hissed from the front.

"I have to go!" Eniola said. "Just meet me in the West Wing. I have a plan."

"Guys," the person said again. Eniola refocused her gaze and got off the sewer walls. "I can see Paradox from where I am. He's not too close."

Eniola's heart dropped. She almost forgot to fear Paradox. She was too scared of Kain that she didn't realize the Paradox was still a threat.

At once, Eniola called up the SCOPElenses feature she had, and immediately a ripple fell over her body. She was invisible again. Then something occurred to her. This was Zaira's program and not the PSEUDO's. Technically, she was invisible to them.

A smirk curled onto her lips.

Quickly, Eniola ran through the crowds of the fighters like she was nothing but a phantom, and turned the corner down to the grimy sewer walls to get to wherever her friends might've been placed. If there were 4 corners, then she'd have to find some of them. She couldn't help but wonder how the rest of them were doing. Kain put them in separate groups so that Eniola couldn't warn them about it. She swallowed back a gulp.

Then, at once, a thick stream of green light pierced through the air.

Eniola immediately ducked down onto the ground as the stream of light crackled and burst open the wall behind them. Bricks came raining down onto the ground. Eniola crouched further.

Paradox had spotted them. But that wasn't the point.

Eniola moved on to all fours before she crawled around the floor like a weak cat. Then it happened again. Eniola dropped and flattened onto the ground as another stream of lightning struck above her.

"Eniola!" a voice in her head screamed. Well, not an actual voice, but more like Kain's.

"What?"

"Guard the exit!" Kain yelled. And had it not been for her full-body fear paralyzation, she would've rolled her eyes. It was ironic how he wanted her as a hacker, but had no problem throwing her out to fight.

Eniola stood up again on her two feet and wobbled as she held her gun, probably the wrong way, inside of her hands. Then another fiery stream cackled from behind and immediately Eniola whipped her head around her to see it as it fired straight for her. Where was Paradox?

For a moment, the world paused. And then it played again.

Eniola's eyes flitted to a close as she collapsed onto the ground like a ragdoll. Her head hit the grimy ground and her hand immediately flew to the side of her head, which screamed in electric pain on contact. It was like her body went loose. She couldn't feel.

Then a figure materialized in front of her hazy vision. Eniola could only guess that it was Lucia.

"Eniola!" Lucia screamed as she tried to shake her. "Wake up!"

But Eniola didn't.