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xxv

E P I L O G U E

"DISMISSED," says the girl, Zero. the mutants and Operations alike, of all different forms, presume their murmuring and talking, filling up the dead silence that once presided over the room. 

the building that had once been ICE was still in use, the exterior similar, of course with their own personal touch. the Eight Operations had transformed it into a sanctuary for all mutants. of course, they've removed everything, and replaced them with everything they need. Zero ran most of it, handling it for she was the only one with perhaps the most responsibility. and so over the course of two years she oversaw the changes of ICE, and though it retained its name, it was now hidden from the rest of the world, erasing every trace of existence. 

ICE had no meaning to it, but yet the mutants wore it proudly. no more was it their bane, but their utopia. they were happy, living together in that building, with people so similar and yet, unlike each other. 

the only place preserved was the records library. the information contained there was too precious. no one was allowed to touch it until Zero would. 

today, she was going to see what it  was.

"hey, Zero! having lunch with us?" shouts the voice of Four, who's waving wildly to her. she, still at her seat, looks up at the man. it takes her a moment to process his words, before she stutters a quick reply, "o- oh. um, no. i'll eat later. i've some stuff to do first." Seven tsks, saying, "i can't believe you choose work over food. it's not like there's much to do for ICE."

she groans. "you don't even know half of it," says she, sinking into her seat further, a dramatic display of exhaustion. 

nevertheless, they leave her alone, after much persuasion on her part.

once their figures are out of sight, she gets up from her slumped posture, heading to the library. the wooden door she pushed open wasn't big, however, an irony to the grandeur inside. it was a library, but not with books full of princesses dallying in a field, rather collections of identities and their stories, sorted neatly by alphabet and importance. it was a sight to behold, for since she has never seen such majesty. 

but training is hard, and she remembers anything. no matter the situation, no matter the people around, feelings must be kept to oneself, for risking the showing of feelings means risking showing one's weakness. 

nevertheless, Zero strides over to the "Y" section. she heard her name being mentioned before a few times, but she had never regarded herself as anything higher than "Zero", much less "yoo mi-joo". but curiosity kills the cat, and she propels herself to the top shelf using a table (that she might have broken when she pushed herself off it) and grabs the sole book there. the former Alpha showed her his memories, and he had regarded her highly, though she would never admit to him loving her. that was simply a big, fat joke, a ploy to make her confused, or at least, to her. not that she would care less if he cared about her or not. 

she blows the dust off the book, quick to flip it open and read the insides, or whatever memory of hers that it holds.

NAME: YOO MI-JOO
POSITION: OPERATION
CODE: ZERO
DIVISION: PARAIBA 
TITLE: THE MAGICIAN 
         —h i s t o r y 

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THE END