Static crackles in his ear and he jumps. Muted voices whisper over the comm. The others. XO. His team.

He’s not alone.

Jongin clicks the button on his watch to countdown five minutes. He slides an arm under Kyungsoo’s legs and picks him up. “Tao, can you hear me?”

“Kai, where are you? The captain isn’t responding.”

“We’re on a street. I don’t know—” Jongin pants as he runs towards the collapsed stairs and the hole in the ceiling.

“We’re up top where you left us,” Tao says.

“Stay where you are.” He visualizes the destroyed plaza. “I’m coming to you.”

Jongin teleports twice before he gets to where the squad is. Tao, Lay, and Suho wait by the edge of the chasm, and they all turn when his boots scuff the floor. Their faces are grim as they take in the scene.

“He’s dead,” he says without preamble. “I need you to reset time so I can save him.”

Tao and Suho exchange a glance, before the later approaches. “Kai…”

Jongin steps back. Why is no one moving? Why is no one reacting? “I can do it! I can save him, I know I can! Just reset the ing time!”

Tao shakes his head and backs away. “I’m sorry. Captain’s orders. He told us to keep the timeline intact if he ever…even if he wasn’t with us.”

“Orders? His orders?” Jongin strides forward and grips Tao’s vest. He can’t ing believe this. “The captain isn’t here you ! He’s dead! He’s dead and the only way to bring him back is if you reset!”

Suho and Lay grab his arms and shove him off. The rest of the squad has made their way to them and they watch with somber eyes from the sidelines. They’re not disagreeing either.

Jongin breathes hard. “How can you all just stand there and do nothing? You have the power to save him and you won't?”

“It’s not that simple,” Chen says. “Altering the timeline could cause all kinds of mistakes. The mimics could get to you before you set off the bomb. The bomb could malfunction and not explode. The omega could kill you instead of him.”

“Then let him kill me!” The seconds tick by and no one moves. Jongin slumps to the floor once again. “Please. Let me save him. Let me try. Please, I beg you….”

The watch’s beep for time up echoes across the grounds. Jongin’s anguished howl crackles through the night as he pours his everything into it. He kneels beside Kyungsoo and drags his body into his lap. He sobs into the elder’s bloody shirt, wishing that his ability would be more useful. That he could actually teleport not only across space, but across time.

Because he doesn’t want to be here.

He doesn’t want to live in this world.

In a world without Kyungsoo.

He doesn’t—

“Kai, don’t!”

The words echo into the distance and stretch across time.

Jongin blinks slowly. His body feels weightless for a second and then he’s back in the cave.