The fog hung heavy and the air was oppressive and moist. It was a stock change to the sun that was beating down on them earlier, but Mark felt that this weather was more appropriate. It matched well with the oppressing feeling of death that hung in the air. They were no longer in the plains near Ferin. After following the blood trail, they found themselves close to a mountainside nearby. A deep cave was carved in its base with many giant stone boulders dotting the splotches of grass that still remained beneath the gravel and dried blood. “This must be it,” he said but he was only met with a shushing sound as Jackson harshly pulled him into a squat behind a nearby boulder. The blonde then silently pointed. Mark followed the finger only to pause as he took in what they were really up against.

He’s heard about Behemoths many times over the years, seeing them in books as he studied them as a child, but this was his first time seeing one in person. The only thought he could process was that thing was much bigger in real life. It must have stood the height of three of him, the width of five. He looked along its frame in awe, taking in everything from its massive horn, four clawed paws and spiked covered tail. The size of the barbs that made up the tip of its tail was the length of his bow alone and Mark could imagine that it could do much much more damage. Mark nearly shivered when he felt himself doused in the realization that he’s never faced anything on the magnitude of this before. He absentmindedly let his fingers ghost over the one ether he shoved in his pocket earlier and felt his shoulders tense. Never has he felt so dwarfed and underprepared in his life... and to his chagrin, he liked it!

“Check this out.” Mark blinked from his overwhelming thoughts when he felt, more than heard, Jackson breath into his ear. His voice came out cool and calm, as though he wasn’t moved about taking on a beast multiple their size and when Mark looked over to the other he realized that he wasn’t.  His face was calculating and observant as he took in the beast that made erratic movements just in front of them. He was obviously thinking of strategies and plans of action as he watched the beast with unwavering eyes, even as he spoke to Mark. “He’s favoring his left hind leg,” he continued in a low murmur. He then twisted his body further along the back of the boulder, his hand reaching to Mark to get him to do the same.

Mark followed the hand, noticing that Jackson’s movements came out almost automatically, as though he was used to pushing someone behind him, shielding someone as they hid just out of the reach of an immense danger. As Jackson reached his arm across Mark’s chest, the red wondered just how many times Jackson has done something like this before, especially for it to become so second-natured to him now. “I think we can take advantage of that,” Jackson finished.

Mark nodded at the words, although he barely focused on them. His mind was too busy focusing on his heart that was hammering in his chest as the Behemoth walked just beyond the boulder they hid behind. His ears were on its uneven steps as they rumbled the ground beneath it, its barbed tail dragging and raking up the gravel behind it. He watched it as it stumbled about, checking over its massive shoulders, wary of facing another foe like the one that damaged it before. The beast turned further in their direction and Mark lowered his head below the boulder, Jackson’s guarding hand pressing his back firmly against it. The Behemoth was directly above them now and Mark could just see the spikes on its tail as it flicked anxiously just past Jackson’s shoulder. The arm across his chest moved to wrapped around him and pulled him back into Jackson’s chest as the side of the Behemoth’s snout pressed just next to Mark’s forehead. The beast snorted loudly, blowing Mark’s and Jackson’s hair across their faces as the two sat wide-eyed and still, barely breathing.

Then Mark felt the arm that was holding him close slip slowly from his mid-section and the warmth that was pressing his arrows into his back fade away. He looked over his shoulder franticly to only find Jackson ducking carefully under the swaying barbs of the Behemoth’s tail as he rounded the boulder. Mark almost reached to pull him back but was stopped short when a monstrous wail sounded on other side of him, blowing his hair wildly once more. He snapped to the loud sound only to see two gigantic front paws as they slam their way towards the boulder and towards him.

Jackson grunted as he jammed his sword into the Behemoth’s left hind leg, turning it jaggedly as he ripped into the already raw and ragged flesh of the open wound. He snatched he blade from out of the gash as the beast raised on its hind legs, letting out a painful yell before smashing back down towards the boulder he and Mark were once hiding behind. The blonde panicked for a moment as the rock was crushed into pebbles but sighed in relief when he caught the glimpse of scarlet hair rolling safely from the wreckage. “A little warning next-,” Mark yelled before cutting himself short, “Watch out!”

Jackson took heed, barely rolling away from the beast’s barbed tail as it was swiped madly at him in a blind rage. He didn’t have time to recover, though, before the beast countered with a better aimed over-head swipe. The swordsman was just able to place the sword between him and the powerful blow, the impact of it enough to make the ground crumble and cater under his booted feet. “,” Jackson grumbled as he shoved the tail away from him with his sword, “This damn thing is fast!” The Behemoth used the momentum of his shove to turn to face the disgruntled blonde, swiping his clawed paws at the man. Jackson backed away on the balls of his feet, his boots barely touching the ground as he made quicksteps to outmaneuver them.    

The beast growled in frustration as it continued to miss its target before deciding to suddenly rush Jackson. The sudden movement caught the man off guard and Jackson stumbled back as the monster snapped its jaws viciously at him, trying almost hysterically to shred him apart with its teeth. Jackson frantically jammed his sword along the width of the Behemoth’s open mouth, pressing back against the flailing beast. The blunt end of his sword dug into the palms of his hands and his knees buckled underneath him. “You can help out any time now, Markie,” Jackson shouted from underneath the Behemoth’s snapping jaws, “Any freaking time, Mark!”

“I’m working on it,” Mark called back. He stood on top of one of the boulders, his bow strung taut with the front of his fingers tickling the side of his cheek. He whispered low into the feathers of his arrow, the ancient dialect of the mages flowing from him with ease. With the last word spoken the arrow came alive in an electrical spark, currents running up and down the length of the arrow, going even further to cover the bow itself. He breathed in deep, took aim for the left hind leg that was now facing him and then let go.

The Behemoth let out a bloodcurdling cry as it railed up on its hind legs once more before slamming back down with a jolt. Jackson rolled out of the way as the massive beast landed, rounding it quickly to regroup with Mark before it had the time to cover its flank again. He then moved in to the beast’s uninjured hind leg, hoping to give Mark another target but when he brought his sword down for a blow it bounced off the leathery skin, leaving it completely unmarred. “What in the hell,” Jackson murmured before turning to Mark and yelling, “What in the hell, I can’t damage it!”

“What do you mean you can’t damage it,” Mark returned in disbelief. He hopped from the boulder and ran to the flabbergasted swordsman, eyes steadfast on the beast as it stumbled and forced itself to face them again. He continued to watch as the Behemoth twitched with its steps, deep red running from its open wound with sparks of electricity running alongside the damaged leg where it shouldn’t be anymore. “Wait a minute,” Mark began but they didn’t have the minute to wait. The Behemoth righted itself and charged at the two, its deadly claws aimed for Mark’s chest. Jackson jumped into action, yanking Mark by the front of his shirt with one hand and shoving him out of the line of fire while using the other to block the oncoming attack. The force of both the shove and the swipe sent both boys flying across the clearing, the gravel scratching and digging along their skin as they skidded along the ground. The Behemoth was also thrown off, Jackson’s resistance making it stumble over its large paws.

“It’s not as quick on its feet anymore,” Jackson noted as he pulled himself up, reaching a hand behind him to pull Mark up as well. The red took the hand, the two breathing hard as they watch the Behemoth stumble about to steady itself. “Maybe we can just keep hacking at its injury,” he said as he rolled the shoulder of his sword arm. The appendage was leaking a bit, the jagged rocks slicing it open. He pulled a potion from out of his pocket and drank it, the cut slowly healing. “It’ll go down eventually, right,” he sighed. Jackson went to jump into the fray once more but Mark grabbed a firm hold of him by his bloody sword arm and pulled both the sword and its master to him. He raised the hilt to his lips and whispered lowly. Jackson let out a soft hiss as a painful tingle went up the length of his arm and when he looked to see what the hell Mark was doing he saw multiple currents of electricity dancing around the curves of his sword, setting the blue tinted steel a spark.

“It’s water affiliated,” Mark said simply, “It’s weak to electricity.” Mark could see the look of realization slowly spread across Jackson’s face after he spoke. They both knew what that meant. They had a chance. Mark fitted his arrow to his bow, his fingers in position as he stood behind the now grinning man and for the life of him he couldn’t keep the grin from off his face either. “How about you try again,” Mark teased, “I’m pretty sure you’ll have better results this time.”

The Behemoth across from them finally righted itself before taking off with a huff, the gigantic beast racing towards them. “You’re sure,” Jackson asked as the beast ran towards them, its paws rattling the earth each time they hit the floor. He watched for Mark’s nod before he shoved the red away and dug his boots into the ground and steadied himself. The monster closed in and snapped at Jackson once more, but this time he was ready. He ducked just under the moving jaws, swinging his sword in an upward arc. The blade sliced clean through, splitting the monster’s jaw in half and even cutting as far up as its right eye and ear. The beast stopped in its tracks, even backing from Jackson as it attempted to give a chilling pain-filled cry from its dismantled jaw.

Jackson backed as well, wiping the blood that splattered across his face and front with the back of his hand. He panted as he smiled in relief, just happy that Mark was right but if he was being honest, he didn’t have any doubt that the man would be. He gave deep breath before turning to the other, his hand squeezing on his hilt. It was time to finish this. “Cover me,” he asked over his shoulder.

“Don’t I always?” Mark gave the other a smirked before he climbed another boulder and readied his bow. “Go in, I got you from here.” Jackson nodded, taking another deep breath before he took off. Now it was he his turn to charge.

He quickly closed in on the monster, determined to not give it enough time to recover. He move to slice across the beast’s snout again but the Behemoth still had fight left in it. It turned away from Jackson’s swipe, retaliating with a horizontal one of its own with its barbed tail, but it was too slow. Jackson easily ducked under the sloppy blow, using his speed to slide along the gravel underneath the tail. He sliced as he slid, giving a deep cut upwards along the Behemoth’s right hind leg. The beast gave a howl and slammed its tail downwards with a jolt. The barbs were the first thing Jackson saw as he slid from under the beast. He raised his sword in hopes of shielding the impact but it never came. Instead the tail lit up in sparks as lightning struck it, pausing for the split second it took for Jackson to slide away. Mark was always good at covering for him.

Mark finished his whispering, another ball of lightning striking the beast. He had its attention now. Mark whispered quickly, half of the spell already out of his mouth as he reached behind him and strung his bow. The mighty beast let out a roar from its mangled maw before dashing to Mark as fast as it could on its shattered limbs. Mark let go, the arrow embedding itself into the crevice Jackson made near the monster’s eye before exploding into an array of currents. The beast faltered from the shock but didn’t stop and continued to race towards Mark, just as Mark wanted. The Behemoth raised its clawed paw before raining it down on the boulder that the mage was standing on. However it missed its target, Mark having leaped into the air and landing on the front paw, letting loose more arrows into the Behemoth’s hanging jaw.

Sparks exploded along the wound as Mark fired more shots, whispering almost nonstop as he enhanced more arrows with thunder magic before firing once more. The beast howled before flinging Mark off his paw. The mage used the air to complete a clean back-flip, landing on his feet with ease before breaking into a run alongside the raging Behemoth while pelting it still with thunder arrows. “That’s it,” Mark yelled as he ran in an arc, rounding towards Jackson again, “Follow me!” He then picked up his speed, running in front of it now before plucking his dagger from his back. He whispered a few words to it and the blade lit up in sparks.

Jackson knew exactly what the other was doing. He settled himself into the ground once more as Mark raced towards him, a bleeding enraged Behemoth right on his tail. He briefly thought of the timid, inexperienced rookie he met a few years ago and how he would have never thought he’d see him do something so reckless. He even wondered if he wanted that Mark back. Then he saw Mark dashing to him, cherry red hair wild, coffee eyes crazed and an adrenaline fuel grin on his face and he realized he wouldn’t have his friend any other way. “Hey,” Jackson heard Mark yell before the mage sunk low. The red laid flat underneath the raging beast digging his dagger into its underside as it raced overhead. “Don’t say I never gave you anything!” Jackson laughed loudly as the Behemoth continued its charged, too injured to stop and having too much momentum to changed directions. It was right in front of Jackson before the blonde swung his sword in a heavy horizontal arc. The waved sword cut clean across the Behemoth’s face, eye to eye. The beast howled in agony before dropping where it stood, the gravel rattling and dust flying from where it laid.

The swordsman wiped his face once more before placing his blade back between his shoulder blades. He rolled his neck as he eyed the fallen Behemoth, making his way towards its tail where Mark stood eyeing it as well. He met up with the other behind the beast, the boy’s once white tank-top now covered in a dark maroon. Jackson smiled fondly and playfully swiped the side of his hand across Mark’s blood covered forehead, to which the red gave a sheepish smile, before they both faced the Behemoth with serious faces. “It’s not dead,” Jackson sighed.

“I... know...,” Mark panted. He was tired. They both were tired. He dug into his pocket and took out the lone ether he had and chugged it. Even as he wiped the liquid from his mouth he knew it wasn’t enough to get him back to full MP. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. “We need a third tier Thunder spell to take this thing out, Jacks. My little Thundaras aren’t cutting it.”

“Third tier?” The two boys paused at the added voice, shoulders stiff as they warily turned around. It seemed that their contracts partners weren’t as dead as they would have liked them to be. “I can do that for you.” Both Jackson and Mark readied their weapons at the two new comers, sword drawn and bow taut. The one that spoke simply raised his eyebrow at two before giving them a conniving almost condescending smile. “Now put that away,” he said as he calmly walked up to the pair, “You both know you’ll lose.”

“I don’t think so,” Jackson answered, “All your whispering won’t protect you from a sword to the face.”

“No,” the other one answered, “But I will.” The taller of the two newcomers stood beside the smirking mage, holding his lance out protectively in front of the other. He stood with his head high and shoulder’s straight, eyeing the two in a more neutral manner. They could tell that he didn’t want to fight but will if he had to. They could also tell that he was the more sensible of the two. “Now back down,” he continued, “You did your best, now let us finish this.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Jackson returned sternly. His refusal was evident but his voice was surprisingly formal, speaking as if he was talking to someone he respected instead of an adversary. “I can’t let you take this. We’re completing this quest.”

“And take my gil,” the mage added as he stepped around the other’s lance, “I don’t think so.”

“Forget the gil, Jinyoung,” the dragoon snapped before he stepped angrily to the Behemoth, “This thing has killed people! It needs to be slain, now!”

“I understand that,” Jackson said as quickly moved to cut the advancing solider off, his hand firmly on his chest. “But no,” he said. The action stopped the dragoon but he still eyed the other in warning. The blonde didn’t back down though, moving to further block the dragoon with his body. “No,” Jackson said again, “I’m not letting you run off with our share of the gil.” 

They stared at each other, eyes hard and unwavering, silently arguing with one another until the dragoon had enough. “Stand down,” he ordered and after some hesitation, to Mark’s surprise, Jackson did. “I’ll finish this. We’ll discuss gil later.” With that the dragoon raised his lance as Jinyoung, the mage, began whispering just behind him.

“No we’ll discuss it-,” Mark started to intervene but stopped short. He could see gravel rustling, the tail twitching. “Watch out!” However his warning came too late. The Behemoth leaped up and with the last of its massive strength and impressive speed swiped its tail blindly at the crowd.

The spiked tail swung in a mighty sweep, ghosting the crowd before heading straight for the whispering Jinyoung. Jackson moved without thinking, racing to the frozen mage with only the thought to save him. Unable to demagnetize his sword in time, he shoved the mage harshly with his forearm instead, sending the other flying with the force of it. However he didn’t have enough time to move himself. He simply turned and braced himself for impact.

The Behemoth’s final strike hit the swordsman hard. Its barbs stabbed him deep, knocking Jackson along the graveled floor and detaching his sword from his back. He then finally hit a boulder with a hard thud, smearing its surface with his blood.

“Jackson!” Mark ran to the other, feet barely able to keep him steady as he scrambled to him. He finally reached him, cradling the swordsman’s head on his lap and pushing his bloody bangs from his closed eyes. The other’s entire front was soaking through with warm blood, turning the pieces of his black tank that still remained a sickening midnight color. He ripped the rest of the shirt off the other’s chest, revealing a gaping hole in the middle. “Jackson, hang in there,” Mark rambled as he pressed the ripped shirt onto Jackson’s wound, “Please hang in there.” The blonde grunted in response, blood dripping from his lips as he hacked. Mark just gripped the other tighter, pressing the shirt as hard as he could into the open wound. The one time Jackson really needed him and that was all he could do.

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

Jinyoung knew the tail was coming. He saw it as it rapidly swept pass the others, saw it heading towards him. He also knew that he couldn’t he move fast enough to dodge it and he wasn’t going to get his spell out in time to stop it. He knew that third tier spells took time to cast and if just given a little more time, he’d live. Surprisingly, he got it.

He watched as the one that just threatened him earlier shoved him out the way, watched as he took the blow that was meant for him and he could feel a rage bubble up in his chest for the first time in a long time.  “Jaebum,” he yelled to the stilled dragoon. He knew the other was in shock, knew that he was going to blame himself for this too, but Jinyoung wasn’t going to let him waste their given time moping. “Jump, Jaebum,” the mage yelled once more, “Jump!” The other blinked from out of his shock before he nodded, steeling himself. He leaped into air and above the fog, so high until he was out of sight. Jinyoung watched the other until he couldn’t anymore, whispering all-the-while. As he continued to whisper the clouds around them gathered and darkened, distant thunder rumbled and the wind began to harshly blow the loose gravel around the clearing. With a few more words spoken in ancient dialect, Jinyoung called down lightning from the heavens.

Jaebum broke the clouds, the dark atmosphere making it almost too hard for him to see as he quickly began to descend. He aimed his lance, making sure that if he didn’t see anything else that he will keep the Behemoth in view. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Thunder sounded just above him and he knew that it was Jinyoung’s cue. He raised his double-side lance just as it was struck with lightning from the sky. He landed on the Behemoth lance-first, harshly bringing his electrified lance down and deeply embedding it into the monstrosity’s skull. The beasts entire body was engulfed in currents as it screamed and quaked. The dragoon yanked his lance out as it let out one final roar before falling to the ground dead. The clouds overhead then cleared. The fog returned. It was over.

Jaebum walked over to his partner then, reaching a hand to pull him up but he was ignored. He frowned at the disrespect until he noticed that the mage wasn’t even paying attention, his eyes focused solely on the two across from them. He followed the other’s eyes, watching as the red-head fussed over his dying friend, begging him to live despite all odds being against that outcome. “We have to do something.” The words were Jaebum’s thoughts but they came from Jinyoung’s mouth. He stared at the other, confused. Although he agreed with the mage, he never thought he’d hear something from like that come from him. “You have any potions,” Jinyoung continued as he stared at the despairing two across from them.

“I do,” Jaebum answered, “Along with a few ethers, but it won’t do them any good. I doubt potions would do much for a wound like that.” Jinyoung frowned at the answer, it was true. There wasn’t much that they could do here. It was nearly an insult to him – to hold so much power but not be able heal one person. It was the curse of a black mage.

“Give it to me.” They paused when the red spoke to them, his hand facing in their direction. “Did you not hear me,” the red growled turning to face them, “Everything you got. Give it me.” The two looked at each other, their frowns deepening. They all knew that the potions wouldn’t be enough and they knew that no one here could cast cure magic to heal his friend. They saw the latter half of the fight, saw the boy cast black magic, can even feel the black magic residue in the air. He would need to know white magic...

Jinyoung paused before he jumped up and ran towards the desperate red, pulling the dragoon along with him. “You heard the man,” Jinyoung said as he shoved his ethers to the other, “Give him everything!” Jaebum began to protest but the black mage cut him short with a glare. He dug into the dragoon’s pocket and pulled out the ether he knew the other had there before giving it to the other mage. “Watch,” Jinyoung smiled to Jaebum when the man went to argue again, “Just watch.”

Jaebum didn’t know what Jinyoung wanted him to see and was about to say as much but the soft green glow that emitted from the red-head’s palms stopped him dead. “Cura,” the dragoon questioned, but it was as question that didn’t need to be asked. The dragoon has been healed enough times to know what a cure spell looked like. The signature green light seeped from the red-head’s hands, sinking into the other as it weaved and intertwined, slowly closing the hole the best it could. “He’s using white magic,” Jaebum gasped in awe, “But how?”

“Amazing isn’t it, Jaebum,” Jinyoung smiled as he kneeled down next to the other mage and the injured swordsman. He brushed his hand over injured one’s hair before he ripped the bottom of his shirt and handed it to the mage, giving him a mirthless smile. “Sorry to say it but your Cura isn’t going to be enough,” he said, “Wrap him up with this until we can get him something better.” The red just nodded and held the obviously expensive material, still in shock.

“He’ll make though,” the red-head asked, “I did enough so he’ll make it, right?”

Jinyoung didn’t really know and looked to the more experienced Jaebum to answer. The dragoon kneeled down and looked at the raw pink skin that surrounded a long and deep laceration where the gaping hole once was. “He’ll need stitches, antibiotics, and time,” Jaebum said, “But he’ll live.” Jaebum then took the wrapping from the relieved red and wrapped the unconscious blonde’s chest, allowing the other time to take it all in. “We can take him back to camp,” he continued. He picked the other up and once he was sure he was secure began the long trek back to his and Jinyoung’s base camp. “You do remember where that is, right,” he asked, “You and you’re friend was there earlier.”

“Yeah,” the archer began before pausing and staring at Jaebum incredulously, “How did you know we were there?”

“You guys aren’t good at covering your tracks,” Jaebum answered. He stopped shortly at the Behemoth’s corpse, stomp off its horn and handing it to Jinyoung. “You two take this back to Ferin,” he ordered, “I’ll take care of him.” He then began to walk out of the clearing, stopping only to pick up the fallen blonde’s fallen sword and latch it onto a magnet he had on his back.

“What,” the other began, “No! I’m not leaving him!”

Jinyoung simply just grabbed the red by his elbow and pull him in the opposite direction. “Leave them be,” he said, “Jaebum couldn’t hurt an injured person if he tried. I’m pretty sure he’ll die from the guilt.” The boy frowned but let himself be dragged nonetheless. JInyoung gripped the boy tighter before he leaned in, whispering lowly. “Besides, you and I have a lot to discuss, Red Mage.” 

AN: And everybody meets! Man, that Behemoth fight was not supposed to be that long! Sorry it was so long! Anywho next chapter we'll have more interaction and even a little of Jackson's backstory.