“What are you talking about?!” Kai snatched me by the waist and teleported us to the roof. The second wave hit and the boat rocked more violently than the first time. “Your ability is invaluable at times like this. Don’t tell me you’re backing out at the very last moment?”

I couldn’t really tell him that my ability, despite being extremely powerful, had a certain limitation. I wasn’t omnipotent like they wanted me to be. “Suho’s order,” I replied nonchalantly and held back laughter when Kai’s face turned green from anger. “Well, how ‘bout this. I will make an exception if a life-threatening situation occurs. Teleport us somewhere, Kai. And make sure that we do it in an open area so everyone could see. Civilians excluded, of course.”

“Heh,” He scoffed and sneezed right after. I guess the cold was getting to him. And maybe I was, too. He turned around, releasing his grasp on me and pushed me to the back as dozens of armoured soldiers with their guns and bombs climbed onto the yacht. A small boat that could only fit thirty to fifty at most was now filled by a hundred at least. I had never seen a more one-sided number than this before. “You sure act like a damsel in distress right now – and it’s a really bad timing, too.”

These people were not ones from the Rebel. They were elite assassins from CIA, classified S-rank soldiers who moved specifically for death-sentenced criminals that didn’t deserve pardon, or for people who ought to disappear without a trace. In this case, we were categorised as both. The Union had ties with CIA, but alliances for the sake of benefits could always be severed. The organisation had chosen the wrong side this time. Perhaps after this, there would be another cold war for decades to come.

“You’ll be surprised of how much of a damsel in distress I can be,” I grinned and pushed myself further to the background. Kai didn’t need my help. He dodged the bullet with extreme agility and appeared behind the soldiers and snapped their neck with such monstrous strength that five of them lied motionlessly on the ground in mere seconds. I silently cheered on Kai from the back and yelped when he seized me all of a sudden and teleported us back to the bar. He was considering doing some serious damage to this yacht to release his anger.

I ducked under the table and took a deep breath. This was just a small sacrifice that meant nothing. On the day before, Suho requested me to withdraw completely from the battle until everything was decided. At the very least, I had to concentrate my mind on finding the perpetrator behind the act. There must be someone – a Transcendental or a high-ranked soldier who led them. But that was only a small part of it. There was something else I must do. I clenched my fists and heaved a sigh. Let’s just hope that Kai would be able to hold them off and buy me a bit of time.

Creating a mind link was not hard. Blocking it off completely was. To establish a connection, I only needed to open my mind completely and reach out. Breathe in, then let go. All at once. His voice, still the same low-pitched, teasing one rang in my head, Why, my dear. Isn’t this a good surprise. I bit my lips hard and kept very quiet. It would be a lie to say that I didn’t think about this day at all – when we could talk once again. I wanted to be angry, but instead, it was tears that choked me and forced me to forgo all common sense.

I closed my eyes, and pictured a face with his purple-hair and dark blue eyes. It seemed only yesterday that I held him in my arms and kissed him goodbye. He, who held the sky and the stars in his eyes, with pretty words and charming smile. He, always a little too broken at times, and I thought I could fix a heart like his and nurse it to life. In the end, all I held was my own heart, now torn to pieces and shattered to dusts. Lies, all he fed me were lies and empty words.

Are you still angry at me for what happened that night? He asked, now sounding more gentle and sincere. He was always weak when women cried – but even when they did, he would not relent. That was the kind of man he was. Do you really hate me that much?

It was hard to talk when your heart was being squashed to nothing. All love brought to me was endless pain. If this was how love should be, I would rather be void of feelings and romance for the rest of eternity. I scoffed and answered him, You were always the one telling me that I could leave you whenever I want. That if I desire to, we would cut it off completely. But why do you come back after I decided to leave? Why must you haunt me in my mind after I bid you goodbye? Then like a flood of questions, the bitterness was replaced by raw anger that transformed directly into words, each more hurtful than before.

Did you remember what happened that night? I was almost by your best friend and your lieutenant! That girl whom you trust so much? Whom you were romancing on the night I left? She was the one who planned everything. You know the truth, but you refuse to believe. You chose them over me, and I chose my life over you. Had I continued to stay, what would become of me? Even in my mind, I was screaming hysterically as I continued to spit them out. The misery, agony, irony that I felt so deeply that it hurt. The depression I fell into and the pit that I could not get up from. He was the source of my pain. I waited six months for him to turn back. When he never did, I decided to leave the Rebel forever. The only reason I ever stayed was for him, anyway.

There are things that you don’t know of, Sera, His voice spoke of anguish and incomparable loneliness, and had it been my first time, I would have believed him unhesitatingly. But this man was also the man whose action and emotion were fabricated to create an illusion of a hurt, broken person with little hope to redemption, and it was every girl’s dream to help him change. Secrets that I can’t tell you just yet. You and your little group of friends could pretend that you’re saving the world all the while, but really, what you are doing right now will be an act of suicide when the time comes.

But he was always like this: going on about doing good for the world and sacrificing one for the other. At first, this act was admirable and I wanted very much to be a part of it. But now that I thought upon it, I would rather not have anything to do with saving the world and the likes, especially since I became a pawn of sacrifice in order to achieve the end goal. I wasn’t a Samaritan who willingly gave in to the request, nor was I enough of a masochist to continue this endless self-torture.

I am not playing this mind game with you anymore, I gritted my teeth. I just need you to tell me whether you are involved in today’s mission. I know there is a Transcendental outside leading all these soldiers. But are you involved?

Then came the chuckle – the sound that reminded me everything was perfectly alright before. His voice was always so deep despite of his youthful face. Maybe in one year, I would forget the sound of this voice that used to lull me to sleep. Or in another ten years or never. It was strange how one so gentle could be so cruel. Perhaps in that tenderness was a knife – an underlying weapon waiting to ambush when the heart became fragile. I sent you a gift today, Sera. Hopefully you’ll like it.

And just like that, our communication was severed. I was drawn back to reality when Kai shook me awake, teleporting once in a while as he rang curses every time a soldier lied dead on the ground. It was raining blood and full of noises, but we were unharmed. A little sweaty and breathless, but still unwounded, largely due to Kai’s convenient ability. “Have you finished daydreaming yet?” He raged and we both ducked at the same time. When he finally saw the ugly tears on my face, he frowned deeply and was so distracted that he almost took a bullet to his head. “. Are you scared?”

I snickered. What did I have to be afraid of now? Just as I was about to step up and fight, there was a loud voice that sounded like a cry of war, which instantly stopped the soldiers from firing more bullets and separated them to two. I widened my eyes. Our plan was discovered. We were trapped! Upon realisation that this was the gift that I was supposed to receive, it was my turn to push Kai to the back and shield him away as I faced the man who was walking casually to the front. I heard Kai whispered, “Who is he?” with a slightly raspy voice.

“A core member of the Rebel,” I fought back the urge to charge forward and wipe off that grin from his face. When we were a meter away from each other, he stopped, wearing a goofy smile on his fair face. His hair was still platinum blonde like two years ago. Nothing much had changed except for that amount of ridicule in his eyes. The man with grey eyes and full lips stretched out his arms as an open gesture, and then called out to me with a familiar, almost affectionate tone as he would to a dear old friend, “Captain.”

Kai tensed up. He didn’t like the sound of it very much.

“Namjoon,” I breathed out his name with much difficulty. “I am no longer your leader.”

Kim Namjoon, a Korean raised in South Africa with the code name RM, used to be one of the more neutral faction in the Rebel, alongside Daniel. He was close with the leader, but chose not to support anyone when my fight with that man divided the core members of the organisation to two. He watched as I went away and left the Rebel and never said a word. I’d like to think that he at least did that in consideration to all the pain they had inflicted upon me. Although Namjoon gave off the precarious stereotype at first, he was not a bad guy at all. At least, he knew to be considerate and his own limitation.

“That’s not what the Leader told us. He’s still pining for you, you know?” Namjoon replied with painful honesty. “Leader asked me to relay this message to you: when you need him one day, he will be there for you. And you will certainly do. As of now,” He smirked and checked his watch pretentiously. He spoke slowly, emphasising each word with extra caution so I would be able to hear him clearly, “You should worry more for your other friends on the train, shouldn’t you?”

I felt my heartbeat quickened in an instant. Namjoon was here to convey the threat from the Rebel – an open declaration of public war. They had known long beforehand of our plan. The worst that could ever happen was if the two leaders of China and Mexico were killed, and not because the Rebel had anything against them, but sorely because they had raged a longstanding war against us. I paled and turned to Kai, “We need to go. How far can you teleport? We need to go to Suho immediately!”

Kai had guesses on the situation that unfolded right in front of him. In a mutual understanding, he grabbed my hand and teleported us a distance away. I heard a loud boom and realised from where we were standing that the sound came from the yacht we were in just seconds ago. Kai was far too distracted by the severity that could have hit Suho and the others very soon and chose to put all his attention into his ability. He turned to me and asked, “What exactly did Suho tell you to do? Where is he right now?”

I grew agitated and loosened his hold on my wrist, “Southwest of New Mexico, on the border.”

“I have my own limitations. I can’t teleport that far,” Kai gritted his teeth. Sometimes he hated how weak he seemed to be when he compared himself to the likes of Sehun and Suho who possessed natural elements and controlled it to their whims. He only knew how to teleport. And even that had its flaw. “The most I can do is a few hundred kilometres. Right now, we need to teleport at least a few times before we can get there. It’s even more inconvenient because I have to bring you with me, which decreases the efficiency by half.”

I recalled what my former partner used to do and stepped even closer to Kai until we were inches apart, eyes staring at each other with such intensity. He nearly stumbled when I raised my hand to touch his cheek, having mistaken my gesture as an invitation, given how inappropriate it was at this moment. Let him think, and I would still get the job done anyway. Words were my allies, my weapons, and my lifeline. I took a deep breath and reached into his core, speaking convincingly, “You can do more. Feel the power in your mind, and channel it to your body.”

Kai felt something burning inside his stomach, but he couldn’t let it out no matter what. It started as a spark, but the fire quickly spread and soon, the energy threatened to burst out from its host. He clutched onto his chest and bent down halfway, coughing non-stop. Maybe I had done it too suddenly that his body needed more time to adjust. But time was merciless. If I didn’t push him more, Suho might be in danger. As much as I hated to admit, I could not leave the four of them in the train to hell.

Maybe it was the alliance that prompted me to be so cooperative this time. I didn’t believe I could do it out of good will and a kind heart – I had gone far too long without these. “Do it now,” I whispered once again, and Kai screamed as he reached out to me and teleported us to the train, thousands of kilometres away from where we were. I smiled in satisfaction as the spinning stopped and we landed inside a compartment. When I released him of the compulsion, Kai almost vomited but instead, he stumbled and supported himself on the wall. He looked positively pale. “See? You have underestimated your ability, Kai.”

Kai was full of curses, but I turned around before he had the chance to say more. “Don’t you think that it’s weird?” I looked everywhere and started spotting things I found out of place. Kai glared at me but he, too, stared at the front with knitted eyebrows after the series of continuous coughing and unsuccessful vomiting. “It’s so quiet here, I get that it’s sound-proofed and supposedly safe, but why can’t I hear anyone’s thoughts at all? Aren’t they supposed to fill the other compartments with soldiers of both countries? Why is it empty? It’s almost like…”

Kai looked at me in alarm. “It’s a trap! You’re damn right, it’s a…”

I paled and squeezed his arms forcefully, “Teleport!”

He wanted to protest again, something he wanted to say about me trying to control him while he was saving my , but now was not the right moment. There would be time for small arguments and petty debates later. We were dealing with human lives that actually mattered here, not some trivial ones I could not be bothered with. Cruel, yes, but I knew how to prioritise. This train that was supposed to be filled with soldiers was empty, and I supposed that Suho didn’t bother checking if they had slowly, secretively unloaded themselves in all the previous stations. If what I thought of was right, this train was heading for doom. It was a suicidal transportation. Who knew what or who else was waiting out there?

Kai shut his mouth and grabbed my hand again, teleporting us into the other compartment. It was evident that we had arrived in the last compartment, because as we skimmed through the others one by one, it took a bit of time before we found the right one. Kai tried, but we both bounced back by the invisible wall created in the next compartment. Like someone was protecting it, shielding it, and I knew very well who it was. There was only one man capable of creating such force field that it threw us off violently like we were nothing but sacks. I gritted my teeth and spat out a mouthful of blood, “Daniel.”

So the Rebel did play dirty by involving themselves directly in this matter. Maybe the States found this political arrangement too much of a risk that they decided to interfere with the help of the Rebel. I sighed mentally and made a note in mind. Another potential country to be blacklisted by the Union, and trust me, despite being in a complete opposition once, I knew how terrible it was to go against the Union. Not even the most advanced technology could bring down a skilful Transcendental who was fully in charge of their abilities. “So what do we do now?” I asked Kai, “Looks like teleportation is not possible anymore.”

“No , Sherlock,” He finally let out a string of curses he held back for so long. But this man – in spite his impulsiveness and blabber mouth – was actually pretty decisive when he needed to be. At least, this was a trait I found particularly admirable about him. “We don’t have much choice. We have to be physical.” He started calculating all the preparations he needed while I looked at him as if he was insane. Maybe both of us were. “Don’t give me that look, Sera. How much time do you think we have left? It’s been almost three hours since the negotiation talk started and there are only five to six stations left. We have to be quick.”

“You are well-aware that I’m… rather weak in the physical area, right?” I didn’t run in circles and got to the main point, instead. “I would like to help, as you very well know, but… climbing and moving from one compartment to another without the help of anything? That’s not really… something I would like to do.” I still valued my life, after all. Sure, I imagined dying countless of times before, but not like this. Not by this fast-moving, electric train that could potentially stomped and chewed me to minced meat in no time.

Kai couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed my shirt forcefully, “You asked us to trust you. We did. I saved your while you played damsel in distress. I tolerated your non-sense and your rude invasion to my mind. I did all those because I thought you would at least save them. And now you are backing off because you are scared of death? Don’t joke with me! This is your ex-organisation we are dealing with, and if there’s anyone we have to sacrifice to get out safely, it’s you, so you better get moving before I drag you out myself!”

That was harsh. After all, I still liked playing damsel in distress because it saved me countless of times. I meant… Why bother playing the lonely wolf who did everything by myself when it was so much easier to have other people did it in my stead? But Kai left me no choice. He was right. I couldn’t be selfish because I had been dragging this off for too long when I could have done something more. As he broke the window’s glass open, I stared wide-eyed and let the reality sank in before me.