FLAW: FIFTY-SIX

**ALEX POV**

Did I mention Trisha, Wernie, and Calli? Well, I made a mistake because it was Justin who screamed when he found a rat at his feet. Upon the sudden noise, the gigantic snake launched toward us, but it collided with my force field. Its heads clawed at the barrier, but they failed to destroy it. However, we still needed to get out of here. We couldn't just stay inside the barrier forever.

"Go, Alex," Sky ordered, surprising me.

"Go, what? Attack him? Who will protect you?" I asked, concerned.

"I'll protect them," he immediately responded, surprising me even more.

"Have you forgotten that you can't last long? You might weaken in just a minute!" I ranted, squinting my brows at him.

"Then make it count." I was left speechless by his response. It was as if he was challenging me. I hated to admit it, but it was a good plan. Only I could fight, and I was the only one. However, fighting this monster would make these people vulnerable.

"I'll keep him busy. When you can leave, go," I ordered, and he nodded. "Promise me that!"

"I promise. Go!" he urged, and I quickly exited the barrier. Fortunately, the snake noticed me, directing its attention toward me.

"That's right. Look only at me," I whispered, engaging in a stare-down with the colossal snake. I gestured my hand as a signal for them to leave. They slowly walked away, and Sky joined them, hiding again in the spot we used earlier. "Now, it's just you and me," I stated as I grabbed the gigantic spear stuck in the dragon's head. Suddenly, three of the snake's heads lunged toward me.

But before they could get close, I swiftly severed them. The snake winced and wailed in pain after I decapitated three of its heads. To my shock, the decapitated heads started to regenerate.

"You just reminded me of my old nemesis before," I muttered, releasing dozens of psi balls. Smoke enveloped the heads as I detonated them. When it cleared, I was disappointed that it didn't even scratch the snake. Not even a single mark. But at least I made it angrier. "You're a tough one," I commented. I hypothesized that if I cut off its main head, the regeneration of the others would stop. After all, the brain makes the bodywork.

It attacked again, but all its heads were cut off except the main one. Like before, I managed to sever them all, dropping another set of heads on the floor. I took the opportunity to attack while the other heads were busy regenerating. I aimed the spear at the main head and released it. I thought it would hit, but the spear stopped before reaching the head.

I was surprised to see this. But I was even more shocked when a tranquilizer suddenly hit the snake. I looked at where the tranquilizer came from and was amazed to see the face of the one person I thought I would never see again.

"Lola Vemine!" I called to her, but she just stared at me with a blank expression. There was no emotion on her face, and I could sense that she wasn't the Lola Vemine I knew. I furrowed my brows, wondering how she ended up like this.

"We meet again, Alex!" a familiar voice greeted me. A familiar face appeared from outside the hole. He was the one who visited our house. "Aren't you going to greet me?" he teased as he stood beside Lola.

"What did you do to her?" I angrily asked.

"Her? Just a little brainwashing," he casually mentioned, making me even more furious.

"Bring her back to me now!" I commanded, but he just shook his head.

"You know I can't do that, Alex. We would be in big trouble with the director."

"I don't care about your director! I want you to bring her back now!" I yelled, and I could feel my energy escaping.

"You can't scare me with your tricks, Alex," he confidently replied mockingly.

"Really?" I taunted and extended my hand towards him. But something strange happened. I couldn't move my body anymore. It was as if something was preventing me from moving. The man chuckled, patting Lola Vemine's shoulder as if praising her. Does this mean Lola is the one doing this to me?

"Did you forget that she's just like you, Alex?" he asked.

"Lola, stop! You'll die!" I yelled in concern, but she just looked at me with her usual face.

"She's not the Lola you knew, Alex. She's different now. Even better. She can even use her abilities without limit," he informed me, which shocked me.

"What?"

"Surprised? As expected. If you want the truth, come and visit us. We'll tell you everything," he invited, but I was certain it was a trap.

"No thanks," I replied, trying to move.

"If that's what you want, well, I won't force you," he stated, returning his attention to the snake behind me. "We still have things to do," he bid farewell as I approached Sky's hiding spot.

Sky quickly helped me, but he stopped when he saw Lola Vemine. "Don't bother, Sky. She can't even recognize me," I reminded, trying to stand up. We watched the Glias capturing the snake. From the looks of it, they seemed to have a plan, but what?

"What are they doing?" Justin asked in confusion.

"Umm... capturing the snake?" Calli philosophically answered.

"I know, but why? Shouldn't they kill it for good?" Justin pointed out. It seemed like we both had the same thought.

"Whatever they're planning, it's not good," Trevor speculated, and we all agreed.

Soon after, the Glias left, leaving us wondering why they captured the snake that should have been killed. We decided to go home first to rest. We were also quite hungry.

"How about we order something?" Wernie suggested as he entered the house.

"That works," Maica agreed, immediately sitting on the sofa. We all lounged on the sofa due to fatigue.

"Can I ask, Alex?" Trisha called, causing us to look at her. "Who was the old lady earlier?" she asked, reminding me of Lola. I introduced them to everyone and explained about others like us. With Sky's help, they understood it better. Of course, they were surprised to learn that there were 50 of us with such abilities, but their surprise was quickly replaced by sadness and dismay when they learned that Glias held the remaining 46.

"What do they want with your companions?" Trevor asked worriedly.

Knowing that they wield such power, of course, they'll use it," Dao interjected, who had been silent until now. "They're the largest and most well-known criminal organization in our country. They will use that power as their advantage. Through that..."

"They can do whatever they want," Calli added.

"I know that, but I think there's something else. It seems like they have a plan that we don't know and won't like anyone," Trevor pointed out, piquing my curiosity.

"I agree," Maica concurred. "Capturing the snake earlier is the best evidence that they have a plan." The whole house fell silent again as we pondered what Glias might be planning. Each of us brainstormed like students thrown into an impromptu quiz bee contest.

"Can we eat first? I'm hungry," Maica suddenly said, breaking the silence. The others nodded, a sign that they were also hungry.

******

"The only thing we know about them is that they created a machine to restore the sheet," Maica recalled while holding a slice of pizza. We all nodded as we chewed our food.

"But why do they need the snake?" Wernie asked with a furrowed brow.

"They can use that snake as a sample," Dao replied, "but not for restoring the sheet," he added, causing all of us to pause.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious.

"Using the frequency emitted by the snake, they can create a vortex anytime they want," Dao explained, surprising me.

"Are you saying that they plan to go to another dimension?" Justin speculated while slowly chewing his pizza. Dao nodded in response, stunning all of us.

"It makes sense for them to say that they need Alex. We all know that Alex is the reason for the thinning and deterioration of the sheet, no offense. That's why their crossover would be easier," Dao continued. Among all the possible plans I had considered, Dao's made the most sense. All the pieces fit! But the puzzle was not yet complete. We still needed to confirm it and to do that, we needed to spy on them — in their hideout.

"Confirming that conspiracy must be done, but it's too risky," Sky blurted out, and we all agreed. "I once infiltrated their base, but I struggled. It was luck that got me out of there," Sky informed us.

"We don't need to go to their hideout to observe. Have you forgotten that we have Dao with us?" Trevor informed, pointing to Dao, who was listening with closed eyes. His arms and legs were crossed, resembling a businessman listening to a product proposal.

"I tried to hack their server once, but I failed," Sky stated, but Trevor shook his head.

"Not for him. He even hacked the world's most secure online bank in just 2 hours," Trevor boasted.

"Well, let's start then," Trisha suggested.

"I can't do it here," Dao informed.

******

We’re on our way to Dao’s house. He said he could hack the server more effectively with all his equipment complete. It was our first time visiting the house of one of the Enigma Club members, so I felt excitement and nervousness.

After a few minutes of driving, we reached his house in a subdivision. The house wasn't overly large but spacious enough for a family. The design was quite unique compared to the other houses in the area.

Dao invited us inside until we reached the basement of their house. However, I was surprised not to see a single computer or any hacking equipment. Dao walked towards a shelf and moved aside some paint cans. When he saw the wall behind it, we noticed a hidden button. He pressed it, and simultaneously, a door to the left of the button slid open.

It revealed a brightly lit path painted in white. He entered first, and we followed. I had already seen this scene in Sky's and my previous hideout, but I was still surprised, not because of the scene itself but because Dao had it. I wouldn't have thought he had something like this in his basement. Even his companions seemed surprised. It looked like he kept it a secret from them.

"Since I trust you, I'm going to answer your question inside your heads right now," Dao said as we reached a not-so-large room.

"How did you get all of this?" Trevor asked in amazement while surveying the entire room.

"My parents bought it for me, along with this bunker," he replied, surprising us.

"They bought this?" Calli asked, finding it hard to believe. Dao nodded and then looked around the whole room.

"Knowing my computer expertise, they decided to give me these as a gift on my tenth birthday," Dao informed.

"Tenth birthday?!" the girls exclaimed simultaneously.

"So, you started all of this when you were ten?" Justin clarified.

"5, to be exact."

"5?!" Now, all of us were in shock, except for Sky, of course.