The cool autumn wind accompanied Sehun as he followed Luhan. The two walked silently towards the ascending trail along the side of the mountain.

“Closed,” read a sign that marked the entrance to the route. Interlinking yellow chains blocked the way. Although there were several tourists at the 6th station, none had dared to walk past the sign.

Luhan went first, carefully stepping over the barrier. Upon reaching the other side, he held out a hand. Sehun took it and easily cleared the chains. Interlocking their fingers, the two looked up towards the distant peak.

Soon after commencing the trek up the unevenly spaced steps, Luhan paused to catch his breath. His backpack felt heavier than usual on his slight shoulders, partly due to the high altitude.

“Maybe we should take a break,” he suggested as he took a seat on the rough pavement.

Sehun sat down beside him. “I can carry that for you, hyung.”

“You can’t carry two backpacks, Sehun-ah.”

“How about we trade? Yours seems heavier than mine. I think you brought more stuff than I did.”

Luhan pulled his backpack off and placed it between his legs. “I can probably take some of this stuff out. I doubt I’ll need most of these things anymore.”

Sehun stared as his hyung rummaged through his belongings. “You’re just gonna leave all that here? I doubt any of it will still be here on our way down. It’s already getting so windy.”

Luhan avoided his maknae’s eyes. “It’s okay,” he said softly, unable to think of anything else.

Sehun picked up the objects that Luhan was discarding, one by one. “Why did you bring all this, hyung?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” replied Luhan sadly.

“Didn’t Jongin give you this?” asked Sehun as he held up a small glass paperweight, shaped like a soccer ball. It was surprisingly heavy.

Luhan stared at the orb for a few seconds before turning his eyes back down to his backpack. “Yeah, he did.”

Realization hit Sehun like a blow to the stomach. He began to stuff each of the discarded items into his own backpack.

Luhan looked up in time to see the strained expression on his best friend’s face. “Sehun-ah,” he said gently as he reached out a comforting hand.

Tears filled Sehun’s eyes as he felt the grip on his shoulder. He refused to acknowledge them as he continued to collect Luhan’s belongings.

“You don’t have to carry those for me, Sehun-ah,” insisted Luhan, desperate to make him understand.

“You’ll want them back someday,” replied the younger boy as he brushed his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m just safeguarding them for you.”

Luhan’s heart couldn’t take any more. “There won’t be a someday, Sehun-ah. This is it for me.”

Sehun looked up angrily, inadvertently making the tears in his eyes fall past the threshold of his eyelashes. “So this is why you brought me here? Just to tell me that you’re leaving us all behind? You’re just gonna abandon me here, on the side of this mountain, by myself?”

The tears burst from Luhan’s eyes all at once. He buried his face in his hands.

Despite his own heartbreak, Sehun could not bear to see his hyung in such a state. He pulled Luhan into his chest.

“I have to go, Sehun-ah. I have to find my home.”

“I’m coming with you, and I’m bringing all this with me.”

Luhan fought to pull himself away, but Sehun only tightened his grip.

“No, Sehun-ah! You have to let go.”

Sehun felt an invisible force against his arms, pushing his body outward. Soon, Luhan had freed himself.

“Stop it!” yelled the younger boy as he desperately fought against the unseen shield.

“No, Sehun-ah. You have to go back to your family. They need you. The members need you.”

“And what about you? You don’t need me? Then why did you bring me here?” Sehun was beginning to lose control of himself.

“I couldn’t have made it this far without you. You’re the one person I needed the most. I asked Jongin to come, but not just for myself. I thought it would make it easier for you. I wanted you to have someone with you when I left, for the journey back. Someone who would make you realize why you have to stay. Of course I wish that all the members could be here. But I knew that would be impossible. So I asked the two of you. You have to understand, Sehun-ah. I couldn’t do this alone.”

“Go then! Leave us! But don’t think that I’ll ever be happy again! How can you abandon all of us like this? Do you even know how much they love you? Do you realize how devastated Jongin will be when he finds out that he didn’t get to see you for the last time? He’ll never forgive himself. Is that what you want?”

“You have the rest of your life to live, Sehun! Don’t waste it on me. I don’t belong here. I never have. I can’t continue to burden all of you like this. Don’t you understand? The longer I wait, the harder it becomes. This isn’t any easier for me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it much longer. Please, Sehun-ah. If I love you any more than this, I’ll never be able to let go.”

Sehun could feel something building inside of him, something he had occasionally felt in the past when he was overwhelmed.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew Luhan off his feet. He lost his balance, stumbling backwards, falling hard on his back against the upward slope of the trail. The wind continued, blowing the bangs off his forehead, making his eyes water. He was pinned to the ground, paralyzed by the force of the gust.

Sehun stared down at his body, powerful emotions swirling through his heart, like a tornado. Caught up in the whirlwind, he didn't even realize that he was the one causing it.

“Sehun-ah! Please! I can’t breathe!” It took all of Luhan’s strength to raise a hand in the air. As the two force fields collided, Sehun was thrown backwards off his feet, off the mountain. The wind stopped immediately.

Luhan jumped to his feet, horrified at what he had just done. He focused the entirety of his being on his best friend, holding out both of his hands. Sehun’s body, in the midst of freefall, froze at once. Luhan pulled him back, with all the yearning he could muster. As Sehun floated closer and closer, Luhan pulled him in. Soon he was at arm’s length. The two embraced hopelessly on the side of the mountain, tears falling into each other’s shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, hyung. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Luhan couldn't believe it. Ever since he had discovered his own powers, he had felt unbearably different, like an outcast. Ever since that broken lamp, he had feared that his powers would inadvertently hurt the ones that he loved the most, s. But now, the one he loved the most was closer to him than he could’ve ever imagined. He was not alone.

“I’m with you,” whispered Sehun, as if he had read his hyung’s mind. “I’ll always be with you. Please don’t push me away. We’re in this together.”

Luhan could feel the gravity of his own power as he pulled Sehun closer into himself. “I didn’t know, Sehun-ah.”

“I didn’t either, hyung. I’ve never done this before. I don’t even know what I did. But there’s something more to us. You must know it by now. We’re meant to be together.”

-----------------------------------------------

“I’m coming with you!” demanded Kyungsoo, struggling to get out of the hospital bed.

“No, hyung! You can’t! You’re injured!” Kai ran back to his bedside, sitting on the edge and placing a hand on the small boy’s shoulder to keep him from getting up.

Kyungsoo used the opportunity to wrap his arms around Kai’s neck, using the leverage to pull his torso up without straining his abdomen.

“Hyung, no!” pleaded Kai. “You’ll hurt yourself! Your stitches aren’t healed!”

“I’m coming with you, Jongin. Nothing you say will change my mind.”

Kai lay his cheek on Kyungsoo’s soft hair, allowing the sensation to bring him some much needed comfort.

“Take me with you, Jongin-ah.”

“I can barely even transport myself! I’ve only managed to do it twice, and I never had anyone with me! What if something goes wrong? What if you get even more hurt? It’s not worth the risk!”

“I can’t let you go there by yourself, Jongin-ah. Who knows what they might do to you if you get caught. Besides, you’re gonna have to learn to transport people if you plan on helping them escape.”

Kai was running out of arguments. His plan had too many holes. He didn’t even know if he’d be able to teleport back to the building where Suho, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol were still being held. What he was going to do when he got there was a secondary issue.

Kyungsoo refused to let go, arms still wrapped tightly around his roommate’s neck. “Just do it, Jongin-ah! Concentrate. We’ll figure the rest out afterwards. I’m not letting go. Hopefully, I’ll just be taken with you.”

Kai wrapped his arms tightly around Kyungsoo, bringing them up around his back. He dug his face into his hyung’s shoulders, closing his eyes and focusing, his mind set on their intended destination.

Several seconds passed and nothing happened.

“I can’t do it, hyung,” said Kai sadly. “I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

“I believe in you, Jongin-ah,” replied Kyungsoo softly, lifting his cheek up off his best friend’s shoulder. “I love you.”

As Kyungsoo’s lips brushed beneath Kai’s prominent cheekbone, he felt an odd sensation spreading through him. Every nerve in his body fired as his cells were pulled in multiple directions. He could feel himself disappearing, evaporating into a black hole.

Before he had even opened his eyes, D.O. felt the difference. He was still sitting on a bed, but it was far less comfortable. He could still feel the warmth of Kai’s body against him. As soon as his eyes flashed open, he was blinded by the harshly lit room. Then he saw it, directly in front of him, a heavy metal door, locked shut.

“Jongin-ah!” he gasped.

Kai pulled his face from his hyung’s shoulder. His eyes widened as he took in the familiar sight. They had made it to his cell.

“Hyung,” he whispered urgently, looking into D.O.’s face, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Jongin-ah! You did it! It didn’t hurt at all!”

Jongin smiled, relieved he hadn’t hurt his best friend. “We’re trapped, hyung. I’m sorry. This was the only place I could think of. I don’t even know what the other cell looks like, so I couldn’t transport us there. What do we do now?”

Kyungsoo used his thumbs to wipe the tears out of Kai’s eyes. “Now, it’s my turn,” he said with a grin. “Help me onto the floor, near that wall.”

Kai looked at him incredulously. “What?”

“Trust me, Jongin. I can get us out of here. I just need help getting out of bed. I don’t want to rip open my stitches again.”

The younger boy picked his hyung up from under his arms, gently lifting him off the bed. D.O. fought hard to hide the pain. As his feet touched the ground, he felt the coldness of the hard floor, even through his socks. Kai led him to the adjacent wall.

“I have to get closer to the ground,” said Kyungsoo.

Kai wrapped an arm around D.O.’s slight shoulders and held up most of the weight as the smaller boy got down one knee.

Kyungsoo reached down and touched the floor with his right hand. “Hold on tight,” he said softly, turning to look up at his best friend.

----------------------------------------------------

The three sat huddled together on Suho’s bed, staring at the charred remains of the mattress in front of them. They had run out of ideas. The thick brick walls of the prison were impermeable to fire, water, and light. They had tried every thinkable combination of forces, draining their powers. Nothing had worked.

“We should come up with a plan,” began Suho, demoralized, “for when the police return. They’ll probably be much more prepared next time.”

“Are we gonna fight them or something?” asked Baekhyun incredulously. “I don’t think beams of light can stop bullets.”

“You really think they’d shoot at us?” asked Chanyeol to nobody in particular.

“I don’t really know what they might do,” replied Suho. “You heard what manager hyung said. He thought you were possessed by the devil.”

“If it keeps them away, then I’ll gladly go along with it.” Chanyeol looked down at the palm of his hands. “Or maybe I am.”

“No!” yelled Baekhyun. “Don’t say that! You’re not evil!”

Chanyeol wrapped an arm around his best friend’s shoulder. “I was just joking, Baekhyun-ah. Besides, if I’m the devil, then what does that make you? The angel of light? I guess we cancel each other out. And Joonmyun hyung can be neutral, just like water.”

Baekhyun looked down at his own fingers. “How can you joke at a time like this?”

Chanyeol took his hand. “No matter what, we have to stick together. I’ll die before I let them separate the three of us.”

“I hope Kai is okay,” said Suho softly, burying his face in his hands. In the heat of the moment, he had completely forgotten that last he knew, his dongsaeng was still locked alone in a nearby cell. “I hope they don’t think he knows anything.” He looked down at his hands. “About this.”

“I wonder what his power is,” replied Chanyeol.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, all three of us have one. We can’t be the only ones, right? Don’t you find it odd that the three of us all have these powers and we just happen to be members of the same group? It can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“None of this makes sense!” replied Suho rather angrily. “We can’t try to find logic in something so illogical! Who knows why this is happening!”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as an idea dawned upon him. “Do you think that’s why Luhan hyung asked Sehun and Jongin to go to Tokyo? Do you think he found his power too?”

“Chanyeol!” cried Baekhyun, clearly upset. “Stop it! None of this makes any sense!”

Chanyeol was not convinced. “This isn’t random! It has to be related! Don’t you remember what we talked about earlier? It’s so unlike Luhan hyung to ask Sehun and Jongin to do something so difficult. You yourself said it had to be something important. Something he couldn’t tell us. Maybe this was that something!”

“In either case,” interjected Suho, “it doesn’t do us any good if we’re still stuck in here. And Jongin swore to me that he knew nothing else. Who knows what he must be going through right now. We have to find him!”

As if on cue, the ground beneath them began to shake for a third time that day. This time, the vibrations were stronger.

“What the heck is going on!” yelled Chanyeol as he wrapped his long arms tightly around the other two.

Suddenly the floor beneath them began to crack. The bed was straddling the fissure. The three jumped off at once, pulling each other onto one side of the growing line. The floor was being ripped in two directions, as were the walls of the prison. The lights went out.

“Secure the prisoners!” yelled a deep voice in the distance.

Before the three could react, a dark figure jumped through the now gaping hole in the wall.

“JONGIN-AH!” yelled Suho, as he ran towards the boy.

Baekhyun raised an arm towards the ceiling, holding up a beam of light, like a torch. Kai stared at him, awestruck.

“We’ll explain later!” yelled Chanyeol. “We have to get out of here!”

Suddenly, the heavy metal prison door burst open.

“FREEZE!” yelled a police officer, brandishing a rather large gun. He aimed at each of the four in succession, unsure of who was most dangerous. Eventually, he decided on Baekhyun, who was still holding a beam of light in the palm of his hand. “DON’T MOVE! OR I’LL SHOOT!”

Before Baekhyun could react, giant fiery wings burst from behind Chanyeol. Fear filled the police officer’s widened eyes as he shifted his aim towards the source of the orange flames. “STAY BACK!” he yelled in a shaking voice as he reached for the trigger.

“NO!” yelled Baekhyun as he reflexively aimed a beam of light directly into the policeman’s eyes. A deafening shot rang out as a powerful wave of water collided with the side of the gun.

Chanyeol let out an agonizing cry as the flames behind him began to diminish. As he stumbled backwards in pain, he aimed a flamethrower directly at the police officer, burning the weapon out of his hand.

Suho leapt forward and picked up the gun from the floor. As he did so, the police officer lunged at him. Just before they collided, Suho held out his palm and shot a jet of water directly at the officer’s chest. The force lifted the man off his feet, slamming him hard against the opposite wall. He crumbled to the ground, unconscious.

“We have to get out of here!” yelled Kai, struggling to breathe as he stood beside the hole in the wall. “Kyungsoo hyung is waiting for us on the other side of this wall! Hurry!”

“He’s hurt!” yelled Baekhyun, who was one the floor, leaning over Chanyeol’s body.

Kai ran to the two of them and grabbed onto Baekhyun’s forearms. “Listen to me, hyung! You have to let go of him. I can take him to the hospital. You need to go with Suho hyung and find Kyungsoo. I’ll come back for the three of you.”

Baekhyun refused to let go of Chanyeol, who had out.

“Hyung, please!” begged Kai. “It’s the only way! You have to believe me. I can help him!”

Suho ran over and pulled Baekhyun off of Chanyeol’s body.

Baekhyun struggled hard with all his strength. “LET GO OF ME!” he screamed.

Kai wrapped his arms tightly around Chanyeol’s neck. Suddenly, there was a whip-like snap, and the two had disappeared, leaving behind fading strands of blackness.

Suho and Baekhyun stared at the empty spot in shock. Then they heard a familiar voice calling out their names.

Suho pulled Baekhyun up off the ground and dragged him through the fissure in the wall. On the other side was a small boy, kneeling on the floor, gripping his abdomen.

“KYUNGSOO!” yelled Suho, as he ran to him. The leader crouched down and embraced his dongsaeng. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

“I’ll explain later,” gasped Kyungsoo, struggling to breathe. “Where’s Jongin?”

“He disappeared!” replied Baekhyun, making his way to D.O.’s side. “He took Chanyeol with him! He’s hurt, Kyungsoo! Chanyeol’s hurt!”

Suddenly, there was a snap from behind them. Kai had reappeared. He collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, beads of sweat covering his forehead. Kyungsoo tried to lunge towards him, but let out a devastating cry before he got very far.

“No!” yelled Kai, crawling towards the three of them. “Your stitches, hyung. You have to stop moving so much.”

“Jongin-ah,” said Suho, as he pulled the boy into his chest. “What’s wrong. Where did you take Chanyeol?”

“I teleported him to the hospital. I’ll explain later hyung. But we have to get out of here first. I have to take all of you this time.”

“Jongin-ah! You can’t!” pleaded Kyungsoo, still gripping his own abdomen. “You don’t have any strength left. We have to find another way!”

“There is no other way,” cried Jongin, trying to catch his breath. “We don’t have much time!”

“What do we have to do?” asked Suho with a fiery determination.

“Grab onto me and each other, all of you, as tightly as possible. Bring Kyungsoo hyung to the middle.”

Suho and Baekhyun helped transfer D.O. towards Kai. The small boy buried his face into Kai’s chest as the other three formed a tight circle around him. Kai wrapped his arms around all of them and laid his cheek onto Kyungsoo’s hair. He closed his eyes tightly, concentrating with all his might.

Suddenly, the room’s metal gate burst open and a team of heavily armored police officers burst through, pointing their weapons directly at the clustered members.

Just as Kai released the rush of emotions running through his veins, there was a loud snap. As the world faded to darkness, shots rang out around the room.

---

Kyungsoo could feel the tightness around him relax. He kept his eyes shut, fearing the worst. The pain in his abdomen had returned. He could feel the change in the cold hard floor against his knees. They