E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT TITAN YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED WELCOME HOME, AGENT

Agent Titan is enhanced and has been assigned to team BLUEJAY

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

a demon has you and your team cornered. your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. you notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. what do you do? be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

“use what is left of my strength to restrain the demon and verbally guide my team to the exit. they all may not make it, and i doubt i would survive in such a situation, but the lives of many is worth more than the life of one. we’re in a war and casualties are inevitable. as much as i value my own life and will fight like hell to survive, it would be best for humanity and for the agency for as many of my members to escape and fight another day than to save only myself.”

the words are spoken confidently, clearly, as if it were the only logical answer that could be given. he understands he is an asset to the agency as well - incredible strength when paired with excellent skills in combat and a deep dedication to the agency are not easy to come by - but the protection of humanity had been ingrained into his psyche since birth. delun could not easily walk away from such a mindset especially when it had been the standard of which his parents’ had lived and scarified their lives by. it would be a slap in the face to disregard their teachings in such a way.

but, after answering based on his instinct, he considers the other option - of abandoning a sinking ship and protecting himself. he thinks, for just a fleeting second, that maybe his first decision could cost not only his own life but also the lives of everyone on his team ; it would be horrendous and would it not be better to ensure at least he lives? it is a question that is only considered for a moment before he accepts his first response as the correct option. to delun, it would be worse to simply give in and allow others to fall for him. maybe he could survive if he sacrificed his team to the demon’s will but it would be an insult to his parents’ legacy to ever do as such. humanity and his team came first, as was his parents’ will.

E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT LUCIFER YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED WELCOME HOME, AGENT

Agent Lucifer is a demon and has been assigned to team BLUEJAY

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

You caught a fellow agent sneaking around areas they shouldn’t be in. This agent is a long time friend of yours and they haven’t done anything suspicious before this. Jinx has always said to report something like this though. what do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

Being a junior agent now, Lucifer has access to areas he didn’t previously have, though that would never stop him from sneaking around places he shouldn’t be in. The demon has no ill will or intention when it comes to Meia, but his mischievous side loves to push boundaries and explore. He hated secrets, which is perhaps a bad thing considering Meia and the world were full of them. Theo knows that there aren’t many who don’t trust him, that they expect him to turn on him at any moment’s notice. Except for [Redacted].

[Redacted] was the only agent who never seemed to look at Theo with unturst, disgust, or hatred. His horns, black limbs, and black ring around his neck, never seemed to deter the agent. They always treated him like he was normal, and offered him a friendship that the younger thought was true. So when Theo is wandering the halls, not in malice or for information, but just because he’s bored, he finds someone else who shouldn’t be there. [Redacted] Shouldn’t be in this area, he shouldn’t be searching through the office, the files. 

 Theo’s stomach drops and he feels like he’s going to be sick. The one true friend he thought he had and they’re up to some shady fucking behavior. The demon knows that there are people who walk among that are nothing but liars, but he never expected [Redacted] to be one of them. Focusing on the files the other was trying to go through, Theo sends them flying all over the office, his anger starting to increase at the betrayal he felt. If [Redacted] was a spy, was turning on him, on the agency, he wasn’t going to make acquiring secrets easy for [Redacted]. 

 Seeing as there were no windows open or explanation to the whirlwind that sent the files flying, Theo had to run. It was a matter of who could get to Jinx first. Was [Redacted] going to find Jinx and lie, which seemed like a first language for them, telling them Theo was the one who turned their back on Meia? Or was Theo going to find Jinx and try to explain what he saw, rat out his best friend, the one person he thought that he could trust? Was Jinx even going to believe him? What if [Redacted] comes after him and is able to convince Jinx that somehow Theo is the bad guy? After all, neither of them were supposed to be where they were.

Fuck. What the fuck did he get himself into?

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT SEBASTIAN YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT. 

Agent Sebastian has been appointed team leader of RAVEN. 

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

A demon has you and your team cornered. Your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. You notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW.

his mind whirs, cycling through all of their mistakes, and all of the ways to move forward. mostly the latter, because in the middle of battle, there’s no room for distractions or letting your mind wander. you need to be present, and attentive, anticipating the next move, preparing for it every second.

but he can’t help but wonder what he did wrong, because this shouldn’t happen. it’s just one demon, and yet it won’t go down. their medic is incapacitated, and the demon looks no worse for wear. have they gotten more powerful? he’ll need to let jinx know about this immediately, and maybe report to maylin directly once this fight is done.

if they make it out. the situation looks grim; the more they fight, the more escape routes they lose, the demon slowly backing them into a corner. seb quickly takes note of the surroundings again, looking for anything to use to their advantage, and--

there’s a crack in the stone fence to their right, part of it destroyed. the kids will be able to make it through the gap. seb knows this. they can escape.

“hey. the tall fence to our right. did you notice that hole in it? go. i think only one of you can fit through at one time but you trained for moments like this. you can be fast. and once you’re through, run back toward meia. don’t wait for me. just go.”

they hesitate. one of them protests. “hey, this is one of the times you need to actually listen to me,” and it almost sounds like a joke. maybe it is. maybe something a little light-hearted in this heavy situation will let his team breathe a little easier-- make room for the inhale they need to sustain them through their escape.

“go. i will be fine. i used to do solo work all the time,” he reminds them. “i’ll distract the demon.”

he doesn’t know if it will work, but doubt doesn’t get anything done, and it certainly doesn’t help the others. he is their leader and he will stand strong.

finally, they listen, and once one of them makes a break for it, the others follow. the demon turns to pursue them.

“come on you ugly fuck,” seb shouts to distract it, shooting the demon in head. why isn’t this killing it? what is going on?

“don’t you know who i am?” seb taunts. “i’m the one you want. maylin loves me. losing me? that would be a big blow to meia and you know it.” does seb really believe that? not quite, but it might be easy enough to sway a demon. he’s sure he’s of some value to them, even if only because they all watched him grow up. they would mourn him, surely.

he doesn’t want to put them through that.

it’s enough to get the demon to focus on him instead, and he still has a little bit left in him. he needs to kill the demon eventually, but for now, he can get away with just stalling it and giving his team the chance to get far away from here. that’s most important.

it lunges at him, and he dodges successfully, but now his positioning is even less ideal. still, he shoots at it. surely enough shots will kill it eventually, right? maybe kaiser’s experiments found a way to build demons with skulls made out of titanium. wouldn’t that be something?

his gun clicks.

click. click. click.

“fuck,” he mutters. he’s out of ammo.  

he tosses the gun to the ground and unsheathes the knife attached to his belt just in time for the demon to charge again.

he should’ve told the kids he was proud of them.

do they know?

he hopes they know.

E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT CLYDE YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED WELCOME HOME, AGENT

Agent Clyde is enhanced and has been appointed leader of FINCH

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

While hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. This would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

zhihei gets quiet when he hears someone coming, pressing his lanky figure into the wall. he’s all but disappeared into the shadows, when a number floats in the corner of his vision - eighty-five percent, flickering faintly red.

he stops breathing, goes still. the number climbs to ninety-two.

he’s not supposed to be in this area - which is exactly why he’d come, so no one would go looking for him here. sun zhihei is a bunch of defense mechanisms cobbled together into the vague shape of a human being. one of them demands for him to be completely alone at times, away from all of the commotion and possibilities, so he can clear his head. instead, he’s treated to info that he’s most certainly not supposed to know, something that makes him inhale a risky breath. his percentage wavers just a bit.

ninety-one percent chance that he won’t get caught, if he doesn’t move.

so he keeps still, and keeps listening, squirreling away the info that is unwittingly revealed to him. they are certainly things that he should let someone more important than him know, but… he thinks he’ll just tell bonnie, which is probably another defense mechanism speaking.

as he waits, the hushed voices fade. the number ticks up to one hundred percent before it fades away, too.

E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT BONNIE YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED  WELCOME HOME, AGENT 

Agent Bonnie is enhanced and has been appointed leader of BLUEJAY

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

a demon has you and your team cornered. your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. you notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. what do you do? be honest 

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

how much is a life worth?

bonnie takes no pleasure in choosing who lives or who dies, nor does she think she has the right to. but the truth is, it is a job like any other. if it was not her making these decisions, it would be someone else. in a way, she is glad it has to be her - she is not quite sure she could trust the judgment of someone other than herself.

people usually get sentimental when facing something such as this, you see. they are either unable to choose, therefore dooming the whole operation, or they sacrifice themselves for what they believe is the greater good. saving your whole team by letting the demons take you sounds quite heroic, does it not? unfortunately, she does not care about any of that. if she did, she would probably be long dead and therefore of no use to anyone.

as a senior agent, she is an important part of meia. she cannot let herself get killed out there. medics are also a top priority, so it would be ideal if she could save them too. when it comes down to the other agents, it all depends on their efficiency and status. are they capable of holding their own? are they severely injured? she would gladly put herself in harm’s way to try and rescue them if she sees a point in it. as cruel as it sounds, she realizes that some routes are more beneficial to take, even if that means someone gets left behind.

perhaps sometime in the future, when the demon threat is no more, there will be no reason to even think about this. at first, she used to feel a sharp sense of regret tingling in the back of her mind every single time she was faced with such a decision. with time, she had to let go of that. it could not be allowed to eat her alive, so she simply accepted it as a necessary evil. at the end of the day, she swore to do what is best for meia - sometimes, the truth of that can be hard to swallow.

but seeing that this is a complicated question with little to no context provided, she is not quite sure what to answer. what a silly scenario. “yes, i would leave my team. maybe try and call for backup or find another escape route for them. if that’s not an option, i’d still do the same. it’s better to have one survivor than no survivors at all.” a short pause. “also, you do realize this question is stupid, right?”

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E … AGENT ERASER YOUR IDENITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Eraser is enhanced and a medic assigned to team CROW & FINCH

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

While hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. This would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

the medic badge at her hip allows her entry into most places of the agency but as a junior she isn’t supposed to take advantage of it. that being said, ash has and always will be a bit of a trouble maker. the years have made her smarter, wiser--but she retained that mischief. 

thus after running an errand for the medic wing she had found herself loitering in the science wing. a place she wants to spend more time in--to be able to help better the serums and hopefully create something to help her friends with their painful enhancements. 

the hall was empty when she started down it so imagine her surprise when she spotted someone round the corner quickly. she didn’t think anything of it at first because it was probably just a tech agent coming back. but the person made eye contact with her and it was easy to see the shock on their face. “what are you doing--hey!” the person turned and ran, and ash was quick to grab the concealed baton on her waist as she took after them. 

something on the ground caught her attention as she passed where they had been standing. stooping, she picked it up and flipped it around in her hands. a computer card? a look up let her know she lost whoever it was. but thats fine, she needs to get this to alistair. 

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E … AGENT LUNA YOUR IDENITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.  WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Luna is enhanced and has been appointed leader of CROW 

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

While hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. This would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

haneul considers the question quietly, her expression thoughtful as she muses over the dilemma in her head. first of all, there are very few places that she does not have the clearance to go. secondly, her enhancement can often be difficult to control, feeding thoughts and snatches into her mind without her permission. there’d been a time when she’d almost gained control over it, although it’s hard to say whether it had really been control when there had been so few people around her to learn to tune out.

ever since she had returned to meia, the thoughts that flood her mind are mostly things that she staunchly tries to ignore, to tune out, to dismiss — but there are so many voices that it’s been incredibly difficult to sort through her own thoughts, let alone all the other thoughts that have been flooding her consciousness. it’s difficult to to pick individual thoughts of the jumble if she isn’t actively focusing on them to begin with.

but if — if she were to hear something that is absolutely vital for her to alert her superiors or at least her peers, there would be no hesitation in her mind. more than anyone else, she understands the dangers that a security breach or vital information could grow to become. this kind of information cannot be left to stew, not when it threatens the safety of everyone at meia. consequences be damned, if she gets in trouble for having been where she was — the safety of everyone is more important than her own personal reputation.

‘i would tell the head agents, no matter the reprimand i’d face for having been in the wrong place,’ her answer should be of no surprise — after all, her reliability at seaside and the loyalty she had demonstrated to meia when founded had been one of the reasons cited for her to be sent out on the retrieval mission to begin with.

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT SHADOW YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Shadow is a demon and has been assigned to team FINCH

ACTION REQUIRED ; Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

while hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. this would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. what do you do? be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW.

while hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. this would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. what do you do? be honest.

he shifts nervously in place. what would he be doing in an area he wasn’t permitted to be in? geon has never been the rebellious type, he’s never been one to shake the boat, and especially not now that he feels like his every moment in these halls is borrowed time. he hasn’t been able to shake the character of his old agency, the fear that one mistake will be his demise.

“i… i would have to tell a head agent,” he feels like holding his breath, hoping he’s given them the right answer, the one that will allow him to keep living here. “that’s the right thing to do, right? i’d… i’d accept any punishment for trespassing. i must have been lost or something. i wouldn’t- i’m just saying, i would never go into an unauthorized area without permission.”

they’ve all been nice here. even the ones who don’t trust him don’t have the same level of cold hostility that he’s accustomed to. but he doesn’t want to risk it. he’s spent far too long alone, if he’d be so lucky to escape with his life again.

“if it was really such vital intel then… then i guess it would be a good thing that i was there, even by mistake, right?”

he looks up for validation, though never quite meeting the eyes of his interviewer. he has no thoughts to be ashamed of right now should they leak into someone else’s mind, but he’s always felt that it was a bit… intrusive.

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT JANUS YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Janus has been appointed team leader of FALCON.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

A demon has you and your team cornered. Your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. You notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW.

partial response taken from here

the third time is in the present time when johan and his team are cornered into one of the ruins of west ward ― it’s the same district from when he first got assigned. it’s been a good five to six years ever since the incident, yet it still felt like it was just yesterday when it happened. there is a sense of irony, with how coming to the west district had given him some flashback of the past. unlike back then, johan has grown taller; built even from the years of training and core exercise. and his agents are now the age he used to be. the only different aside from how old he felt really is that instead of supporting a team as a backup, his team had been assigned for field mission, to scout out the distressed call they had received about half an hour ago. just as they managed to rescue a couple of elderly, a demon came out from nowhere, leaving the team to fight as one of the agent assist with rescuing the elderly. it’s slightly smaller than the first west ward demon that the now senior agent johan had encountered before. it’s even smaller than the ones he had seen out of many throughout his career, yet this demon had a bit more agility and speed to it, supposed it made up for its built instead. the demon had charged on them and while they did put up a decent fight of four agent against one demon, it clearly outnumbered the agents as the ones with him, just like him many years ago, had barely got promoted to the second rank. they did their best in fight, being more equipped than young johan was years ago. the raven haired leader scans the surrounding as he keeps his team behind him should the demon attack while they are being cornered. the team’s medic is down, having taken a hit from the demon while trying to escape alone despite johan’s command to avoid running about. the youngest in the team shoots him a meek look, almost close to tears even as she tends the injured medic. think johan, he tells himself. johan can make for an escape if he charges at the demon and ducks away, but the plan would only work if he was alone and did not need to guard his agents, there’s four of them in the team. if he manages to run with the remaining energy he has, he could call out for backups, or any other team nearby could assist but that would mean he is leaving his team behind. if he manages to command his agents to carry their medic out, there would be possibility of the demon attacking them instead even if johan could hold it down. and what if there are other demons lurking outside the ruins they are stuck in, his agents could be attacked. the raven haired man turns to his team briefly, seemingly to come with a plan. “here is my command. jules, you will take medic out with you.” he calmly tells them and interrupts the youngest’s before she could say anything. “kim will cover you.” johan instructs, taking out his remaining daggers and hands it over to the agent, whom tries to reject the weapon offered. the older man gently presses the dagger handle to the agent’s waving palm, holding their hand in his and giving it a light squeeze of reassurance. “listen to my instruction. no one is allowed to die and if-” he gets interrupted, “if you make it out alive, you will resurrect us and kill us again.” both agent repeats his command. a command he would always tell his team whenever they get assigned for missions; big or small tasks regardless. “okay, good.” johan managed to stifle a smile and points at the direction of the only exit. “go in a count of three- one. two. three-” the leader commanded as he tackles the demon, striking a punch to its already distorted face with his gauntlet. If his agents are lucky, they will make it back to base safely and call on backup, or if his other agent had managed to call while sending the elderly for cover. in worst case scenario, he hopes that they will be alive with him trying to hold off the demon back from chasing them. he gets tossed to the walls, to which he puts his whole energy to quickly get up or launch himself away in just a nick of time as the ruined ceiling come crashing with scattered rubles.  “quite a stubborn demon are you?” johan spits his blood out that pool up to his throat from the rough manhandling. he holds an emptied gun that he quickly picked up from the floor, there are no bullets or any magazine for him to reload as it was all used while he tried protecting their medic from the run earlier. “bring it, bastard!” the agent charges forward as the demon rushes to him. he knocks the grip of his handgun with all his force to the center of the demon’s built while using the leverage of the demon’s reaction to the hit by pushing the demon backwards in hopes the its’s body could damage the wall and would create an opening for johan to  make a run. the demon is unfortunately persistent, now extending its nails to a sharp and overgrown sized claws and it digs into the tired agent’s back. at this point, it’s a complete miracle that the raven haired leader had not passed out yet from all or any energy he had used up and the loss of blood from the demon puncturing. with a last forceful exertion of energy, he manages to push the demon backwards and moans in pain when it releases its claw off johan’s back before tipping backwards from its loss of balance. the injured man falls to the ground when he gets released from the claws.this is the end for him, johan thinks. he does a quick but weak scan if possible, to make sure that there are no other human around. even if he had to die, johan ensures that no one else dies along with him but the demon itself. before he blacks out from the lost of blood, he hears his name being called out to along the demon’s shrieking and crying from pain or death, an ugly noise that kwon johan recognizes. well, if the demon is dead now then johan is thankful he dies along with it.

✝

johan wakes up in the medical ward after two weeks.

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E … AGENT DELTA YOUR IDENITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Delta is enhanced and has been appointed team leader of FINCH.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

While hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. This would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

There’s not many places that newly promoted seoah can’t go, with permission, and there’s plenty of places that she’s already explored right under the seniors’ noses. It’s information gathering, she’s always told herself, self-preservation should another seaside happen again. it’s a sobering thought, one that requires her to refocus as the question is repeated, twice, then another time as she’s pulled from more than one memory of this scenario that’s already happened before. it’s a test, her mind tells her, and there’s really no doubt about it, seeing the circumstances of her own return to maylin’s side.

calm and cool, seoah adjusts in her seat, chin resting on her open palm as she answers with all too easy, body language adjusting to convey openness and honesty when really there’s not a doubt in her mind that the answer is entirely conditional, situational instead of answered with such a black and white method.

“of course i would tell,” she replies with ease, and maybe a little too self-confidently. “i left kaiser, didn’t i?” as if that’s more of a grand testament to her trustworthiness than it really is, because really, seoah doesn’t know if she trusts herself to that extent, in the way that a true-blue meia agent trusts themselves- no. there’s an angle to every situation, multiple possibilities that should be analyzed first before making any decision, reasons for hushed discussions just beyond locked doors to understand.

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT HELIOS YOUR IDENITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Helios has been appointed team leader of SPARROW. 

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent. 

While hanging around in an area you are not authorized to be in, you overhear vital information that a higher up should hear. This would also mean admitting you were in the wrong place. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

It's very rare that Helios , otherwise known as daesu, ever ends up in a restricted access area of the agency. most places are not even open unless you have the right clearance on your ID card -- which being an senior agent he tends to have that for most of the building. the exceptions of course being the places for head agents only. not that he cares all that much.

he would be content to still have the basic access that baby agents have. those lucky little snots being able to still look at the world with a hint of rose in their eyes.

( if he had the chance to make it so they would never lose that sparkle... )

today was a day when the sword specialist needed a break from watchful eyes and prying gazes. the roof was a no go due to the rain and as much as he enjoys how calming it is up there, the tarp can only protect from so much. he thought about sneaking into the medical wing but the medics seemed to be on a war path of their own.

it's how he found himself slipping through a door into the top floor when an agent with clearance walked out. he knows he shouldn't be here but at the end of the day he knows GHOST is watching and if the alarm hasn't been raised yet then he doesn't think he'll get in trouble. There is very little that can slip by Celest's eyes.

an hour later his brooding is interrupted when he spots an unfamiliar person sulking down the hall. His window perch was high enough and just shaded enough that the person doesn't see him, meaning he has the best birds eye view to watch them.

Their pathway takes them to Maylin's office.

daesu has a sinking feeling in his gut and he's learned in the last 28 years that its better to just follow that feeling. Easily he drops from his spot and begins to follow the person. a hand gripping the hilt of a dagger he keeps on him at all times.

Would he get in trouble if Maylin sees him? Maybe. But better him in trouble than her in danger--no matter how strong she is.

E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT ARTEMIS YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED  WELCOME HOME, AGENT

Agent ARTEMIS is enhanced and has been assigned to team CROW

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

a demon has you and your team cornered. your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. you notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. what do you do? be honest.  

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

he scoffs, an almost amused sound, the expression on his face confused and easygoing, as if the question sits as a runner-up for most superfluous inquiry that's ever been presented to him.

"what, do people answer this like 'i'd go - better one of us lives than everybody dies?'," he lets out another comfortable puff of air and leans back in his chair, toying absentmindedly with a well-worn charm bracelet around his wrist, "i'm not leaving them behind, if that's what you're asking. listen, you see a way out, you let everybody know.

"first of all," he continues proudly, with that air of arrogant genius that seems to sit permanently on the cuff of his sleeve, sitting forward and resting his elbows on the table, as if he might challenge his interviewer to a game of go at any moment, "it's one demon. if my team can't take on one demon, then, i dunno, death has been a long time coming. we blow the sucker's head off, carry our medic outta there, and make it home before dessert. simple, easy, not stupid."

E N T E R I N G C O D E N A M E  … AGENT EIRENE YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED  WELCOME HOME, AGENT

Agent EIRENE is enhanced and has been assigned to team SPARROW

ACTION REQUIRED ;  please follow and welcome your fellow agent.

you caught a fellow agent sneaking around areas they shouldn’t be in. this agent is a long time friend of yours and they haven’t done anything suspicious before this. jinx has always said to report something like this though. what do you do? be honest.    

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

"Report it," an impassive tone unfamiliar to most while her gaze doesn't writher from the book in hand. the term "friends" isn't in relation with ahn hyejin. she's not called an "emotionless bitch" for nothing. if you're lucky you may earn the title of "acquaintance." so if that statement was supposedly a threat than the interviewer failed to do their research on her. a disappointing aspect of this conversation as she spent quite a few years here. after an unbearably long silence, she lifts her head. a gaze so dispassionate it has the ability to send a shiver down your spine. a look that would have you question her humanity, or her capability to stay human. "Anymore questions?"

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT ZER0 YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.  WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Zer0 is enhanced and is assigned to team FALCON.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

You caught a fellow agent sneaking around areas they shouldn’t be in. This agent is a long time friend of yours and they haven’t done anything suspicious before this. Jinx has always said to report something like this though. What do you do? Be honest.   

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

Sero narrows his eyes, spotting his supposed friend taking a turn down a hall they shouldn’t. He pauses for a moment. That was…surprising. Sero thought them more loyal than that. He frowns, obvious disappointment on his face.      

They don’t see him, he could follow them. His foot turns. No one else was down the hall, but there were no good places to hide. They’d see him instantly. He heads back towards his original direction and makes a mental note of the place they headed. He goes about his usual business as to not arouse suspicion.       

An hour later, he has not seen if the other agent has left the area, but he’s sure they won’t catch onto his movements as adequate time has passed and they don’t seem to be near the exit Sero has to take. He keeps his face neutral as he travels up the floors, reaching Jinx’s office. Knocking stiffly, he waits for permission to enter before opening and closing the door, sliding in and taking position in front of her desk with his hands behind his back, a serious expression on his face.      

“Ma’am, I have something to report…”

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT PHANTOM YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. . . ERROR . . .  WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Phantom has been assigned to team leader of RAVEN.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

A demon has you and your team cornered. Your medic is down and you’re running out of energy. You notice that there is a way to escape but it would mean leaving your team. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW.

when presented with the scenario, there’s a moment of amusement that thrills through him, no guilt sitting heavily in his gut, and he knows without a doubt what he should do. it’s a no-brainer, really. he’s not here to help meia grow stronger – no, his goal is to find out the weak points of the agency so he can exploit them, reveal them, and bring the agency down from the inside. he’s an ordinary human, more than well aware of the weaknesses that he has, the ones that could be remedied if meia wasn’t in the way.

but he keeps that hidden — and spy or not, hwang juwon is certainly not the easiest character to read. his indecision is easily read in this moment as a loyal agent being presented with a difficult decision, not as a rival spy whose goal is to bring down meia from the inside.

it’s a long, agonizing few moments of silence before juwon says softly, an expression of pain on his face, “i would have to leave them,” he says, and his expression twists as though in hatred of the thought. “if we’re cornered — there’s no way out except for me — it’d be better for me to escape and try to bring back help than for all of us to die, right?” his voice cracks halfway through, as though wrought with emotion at the thought of the painful hypothetical. “i don’t know what else i could do…”

E N T E R I N G  C O D E  N A M E . . . AGENT AETHER YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. WELCOME HOME, AGENT.

Agent Aether is enhanced and has been assigned to team SPARROW.

ACTION REQUIRED ;  Please follow and welcome your fellow agent.  

You caught a fellow agent sneaking around areas they shouldn’t be in. This agent is a long time friend of yours and they haven’t done anything suspicious before this. Jinx has always said to report something like this though. What do you do? Be honest.

RESPONSE RECORDED BELOW

he’s quiet as he speaks through the halls of the MEIA building, quiet as a mouse. he knows he’s probably not supposed to be here, even if he’s technically authorized to do so. it’s late, it’s past any hours that there should be people here and by all means? he should be alone.

so when he hears quiet footsteps from down the hall, he quickly makes himself scarce. it’s not hard when he knows the area like the back of his hand, having looked around whenever he was here on official business to be able to scope it out like this. it came in handy for times like this, though it’s not like he ever planned to get caught or anything. just in case like his mom always said, and he stuck by those words. 

peering out when the footsteps have passed his hiding spot, jinseo peeks out only to see a very familiar face and he frowns, biting on his bottom lip as he contemplates his options.

the proper thing to do would be to report this to jinx directly, considering she came down to mingle with all the agents pretty often, but he also sort of doesn’t want to get his friend in trouble. 

for now, he decides, for now he won’t say anything. he’ll lurk in the shadows for now and if the moment comes when he needs to say something? so be it. but for now, he thinks, for now he would keep the secret.