Project IZ*ONE: Secret Files

ZOZI: Part 2

Nako had spent the past several minutes banging on the cell door, but it just wouldn't budge. Never had she felt this powerless before. She'd heard stories from some of the other members about what these inhibitor rooms were like, and if this was what it felt like to have regular strength, she wanted no part of it.

"Nako-chan!" A familiar voice suddenly calls, and when Nako sees who it was, relief starts to flood her system.

"Hii-chan, thank goodness you're safe. How'd you manage to get out?" The short girl asks as Hitomi unlocks the cell.

"That would be because of me. You're welcome by the way." Jurina interjects, stepping out from Hitomi's shadow.

"Wait, you? Don't tell me you're behind the attack right now!" Nako replies, stepping in front of Hitomi and getting into a fighting stance. The older girl could only pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"I swear, you IZ*ONE members all think the same way. Having Sakura in your brains all day must've permanently made you one." Jurina quips. Nako was just about to pounce on her for that joke until a new explosion rocked the facility.

"Listen, Nako-chan. I hate to admit, but Jurina is here to help. She's after Koyama too." Hitomi says, trying to mediate between the two adversaries.

"You want to know what project zozi is, right? Well, I know what it is, and it isn't a good thing." Jurina says. Nako huffs, but eventually relaxes herself.

"Fine, truce." The short girl reluctantly extends her hand, and Jurina shakes it.

"Okay, now tell us what you know." Hitomi says, but the older girl clicks her tongue in response.

"I think it's better to show you first." And with that, Jurina disappears into the shadows.

"Yah, we can't exactly follow your shadows, Matsui." Nako grumbles.

"Hmm...I don't think it'll be that hard." Hitomi says, pointing down the hall where the lights were flickering. It was the same area where the soldiers were moving earlier.

"Great, out of the frying pan and into the oven." The short girl says as the two begin making their way down the hall, the sound of fighting only getting louder.

~~~~

After following Jurina, the duo eventually reach a locked door which Nako easily breaks through to reveal a sentry tower overseeing the main hall, or whatever was left of it.

"Who is that?" Hitomi asks as they see what appears to be a young dark haired woman in a white bodysuit flying through the air and firing energy blasts at the guards and AKB mutants trying to defend the base.

"That would be project zozi. She was a failsafe that Koyama was developing behind the scenes with the other directors in case the mutants started to rebel. Because it was top secret, they hid the data in different bases. Once Koyama was outed as a traitor though, she went around using her connections to claim that data and finish the project on her own." Jurina explains.

"Wait, so you're saying that person out there is an enhanced mutant?" Nako queries.

"I think the better term would be android." The older girl clarifies. The short girl was about to question how androids could even exist when she remembered she had super strength. The world was truly a crazy place.

"Alright, so let's go and destroy it." Hitomi says, about to go down and join the fight.

"Do you have a death wish? That android was made to eliminate us. We can't just jump in without knowing how to beat it." As if to prove her point, Zozi fires another energy blast towards a platoon of AKB mutants that sends many of them flying.