In the end, they had to submit to the terrorist's requests and send Yuu alone. It contradicted all of Shunsuke's natural instincts, but with the shadow of Kumagami's capture hanging over him, constricting every tendril of rational thought, Shunsuke could not think of an alternative method that did not involve sacrificing Furuki's family.

Just fifteen minutes left to go. Shunsuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maedomari, you did contact Takajo Jojiro, right?"

"I did - he'll be here in five minutes."

"Good. Don't let Yuu see him. He will be with us as a precautionary measure in case we have need of quick action."

"Roger that."

Shunsuke turned in the general direction of Medoki. "Please go prep the ambulances we have reserved for emergencies, as many of them as you can get ahold of. Have them follow us without their sirens on - we must strive to avoid detection at all costs."

"Got it," the girl said, darting off to call the operators.

What else? What else was there to plan for? His brain was jumping all over the place, unable to hone in on any coherent strategy. Again and again, all he could think of were Kumagami and Nao, held captive in the hands of terrorists. And when he did manage to tear his thoughts away, Shunsuke was bombarded with a thousand ways this operation could go wrong.

They needed to trust Yuu.

But Shunsuke had heard the fear in Yuu's voice just yesterday, when he barely staved off a tragedy inflicted by Collapse. Yuu had not yet grown accustomed to the allowable bounds of his emotions. Before an organized terrorist group, one that had spent years plotting and had captured both Kumagami and Nao, how would he avoid triggering it? The answer would be to use time-leap, and Shunsuke hated having only one viable option of escape.

"It's almost time," Shichino uttered, standing close by. The blonde had been oddly muted during the entire preparation process, despite the idea having come from him. He of all the members despised the idea of relying on Yuu the most.

Shunsuke gripped onto his sleeve, feeling fine tremors. "It'll be alright, Shichino," he said. "As you pointed out, Yuu does have the time leap ability in case anything does go wrong."

"Sure," the other boy snorted. "I get it. I just have a bad feeling about this."

Didn't they all?

"Let's go," Maedomari called out to them.

With that, they were on their way, hands and heart gripped so tightly that Shunsuke could scarcely breathe.

We're coming...please hang on, Kumagami, Nao, Yuu...

As planned, their car arrived five minutes after Yuu was dropped off by Furuki. Maedomari quickly described the scenery - a long path uphill leading to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse or factory of some sort. No other visible vehicles or people in sight.

At such a time, Kumagami's ability would have been indispensable. Shunsuke shook the thought away.

"Jojiro, go in and see if you can find Kumagami and Nao," Shunsuke instructed. "From my understanding, it looks like an building with various entrances, is that correct?"

"Yes," Maedomari confirmed from his right.

"We must assume that the terrorists are already well aware of all of Yuu's abilities, including Collapse. Surely they would have tried to account for it and protect themselves against it in some way," continued Shunsuke, bringing his hand to his face in thought. "My conjecture is that they are holding their hostages in the basement, and will use them as a threat to prevent Yuu from unleashing Collapse. Your best bet is to get as close as you can, and see if you can make it downstairs without causing too much disturbance. I assume there will be guards placed there; you'll need to be faster than they are and take them out with the taser."

"That does make sense," Medoki said. "They don't want to lose Yuu either."

Shunsuke nodded. "Jojiro, can you do it?"

"I can try, but the accuracy of my landings aren't… ideal, as you know," the teleporter replied. "I've been practicing a lot though; carrying people too. I'll give it my best."

"We're counting on you."

A gust of wind blew past his face. Shunsuke could only surmise that the younger boy - Nao and Yuu's fellow student council member and friend - had made his leap. If Jojiro could time it just right, he could save the hostages without alerting the terrorists Yuu was facing. It was risky though, and he could not help but feel unsettled despite Yuu's possession of Time Leap.

A loud thud.

"I have Nao," Jojiro said. "She's…she's…"

"Alive," Medoki hurriedly added, before Shunsuke could assume the worse. "I've already notified our private ambulances and they are on their way to get her."

He breathed out. "And Kumagami?"

"I saw him too. I'll go bring him out."

"Yes, please -" but before Shunsuke could finish his thought, the ground beneath him shook violently, accompanied by the thundering of falling rocks.

Impossible…Collapse…

"Damn it, what is the little brother thinking? He's going to take down the entire warehouse at this rate," shouted Shichino.

Kumagami. Yuu.

"Take me," Shunsuke said, grabbing at the air until he felt Jojiro. "Now!"

Medoki reacted first. "No, that's too dangerous!"

"Only I can calm Yuu down. Hurry!"

Shunsuke felt himself getting scooped up, and then the stinging wind on his face, an abrasive sensation like sandpaper against the skin. Less than one heartbeat later, they landed hard and his shoulder made contact with concrete. The entire building was quaking now.

"Shunsuke?"

His eyes widened at the proximity of that familiar deep voice. "Kumagami?"

"Fuck, I landed in the wrong place," Jojiro cried. "Yuu's not here!"

But his voice was nearly drowned out by the crashing of rocks that sent tremors through Shunsuke's body. He did not need the ability to see to know that the structure was crumbling above them.

"Jojiro, retreat!"

"What?"

"Go!"

Moments later, and the entire world seemed to fall apart.

Jojiro managed to narrowly miss a falling chunk of the wall on his way out, hurtling himself forward until he finally crash landed in a bush. But the building…

"Fuck, the building!" Shichino was shouting. The structure that had stood before them only before was now a heap of rubble, and beneath it…"Kumagami and Shunsuke. They're both in there."

Beside him, he heard Maedomari release a string of curses. That shock alone braked all of his jumbled, racing thoughts.

"Medoki, you stay with Tomori," the dark haired boy commanded, easily assuming charge. "Takajo, please go ahead but be careful as the structure is still unstable. Shichino and I won't be far behind you. Keep a lookout as well- the terrorists may still be around. Use the sedatives if you must."

He did not need to say anymore. All three teenagers were off, feel pummeling against the ground, each carried by an overwhelming rush of dread, and the drowned-out whispers of their own (woefully inadequate) prayers.

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, or feedback.

All of my current Charlotte stories are intertwined, so if you'd like to read more into specific characters, I have some character study stories :)