Flying buses and other transportation hovered around the school, as everyone franitcally waited for further instructions from their guide leaders. Today was the first of The Hunting. The Hunting was an assignment that happened every semester to train the students to work well with one another. During the assignment, students were broken off into groups -all chosen at random- and given missions to complete at random locations across the three different kingdoms; however, all the missions vary. To be fair, a rule was created to have at least one Aluxian, Antheian, and Leluyian in each team so that teams wouldn't have so much of an advantage. During the missions there are also multiple tests that judges teamwork and individual skills.

 

There are three main teams during The Hunting: Team A, Team B, and Team C. Team A were assigned to go to Antheia, the kingdom in the forest, to help the fairies tend their gardens and gather herbs for potions. There students would learn the art of healing and nature. Any sort of technology was prohibited there, to many of the student's discontent. Team B, however, were sent to Leluya, to help sort out books from the Leluyian library and help mermaids and water nyphms with their daily tasks. The mission was meant to improve the student's logical skills as well as teach them how to solve their problems without the use of their powers. While, Team C were sent to Alux, to build weapons and train for the battle game. 

 

"What do you think you're doing?" 

 

"What does it look like? I'm taking a seat." Jongin replies, placing his belongings on the overhead container. Grinning, Jongin then sits down. "Do you mind if we switch seats? I really love the window seat, can you-"

 

" off, Kim. I'm saving this seat for Tao." 

 

"Geez, someone's in a bad mood." Jongin scoffs, slumping down in his seat. "Considering the fact that we're on the same team, I think we should learn to get along. I want to win-"

 

"We don't have get along to win." Kyungsoo reponds, looking out the window, in which he sees the last couple of students entering the bus. Honestly, Kyungsoo didn't like being on Team C and instead wanted to go to Antheia with Team A. It's not like he didn't like going to Alux... but Kyungsoo wasn't an Aluxian. He didn't like to fight nor was he competitive enough. 

 

"Hi hyung!" Jongin say, waving his hands when he sees Suho approaching with his luggage in his hands. Upon hearing this, Kyungsoo quickly turns his head towards Suho's direction.

 

"Hi, Jongin!" Suho smiles, stopping to give Jongin a quick pat on the head. He then turns and flashes a warm smile at Kyungsoo. "Hi, Kyungsoo!"

 

"H...Hi." Kyungsoo replies, waving goodbye as he watches Suho walk away to the back of the bus. 

 

"Look's like someone has a crush." Jongin says, closing his eyes, as he leans back against the neck rest of the seat, in comfort. "Word of advice, you're not his type-"

 

"I don't like him." Kyungsoo replies, turning his attention away from Jongin and looks out side of the window. 

 

"Whatever."

 

"We'll be taking off in a couple of minutes." Mr. Song, their guideleader says. Mr. Song was an Aluxian and was one of the teachers for Weaponary class and also a couch for speedball. According to Jongin, Mr. Song was strong and had a competive nature in him so whenever the team lost in a game, Mr. Song would hold a long lecture and complain about the team's mistakes. "Make sure you put on your seatbelts."

 

-

 

Location: Leluya

"This is stupid." Baekhyun groans, as he gets up from the water an makes his way to shore. "Why can't we use our powers? It's not like we're going to use them for harm-"

 

Rolling his eyes, Xuimin watches as Baekhyun puts on his flip flops, before he responds. "We've been here for only a couple of hours and you're already complaining? Get back in here, Baek. We're lucky we weren't the ones that were chosen to help out at the library. Now, come on. We have a mission to finish-"

 

"Let me at least take a quick break." Baekhyun sighs, resting on a rock. "We've been searching for hours now-"

 

"Alright." Xuimin replies, not wanting Baekhyun to overwork himself. "You can rest in the room... Don't get lost. We're pretty far away from the kingdom's center after all."

 

"Relax. I'm a Leluyian. I know every nook and cranny to this place by heart." Baekhyun boasts, before turning his back to walk towards the direction of the lake. Although the kingdom was located underwater, Leluya ruled many small islands surrounding the water for people, who peferred to live on land rather than by sea. 

 

As Baekhyun passes through a large tree, he sees Chanyeol approaching him. Chanyeol was probably not expecting him, as he too had a suprised expression on his face. Chanyeol's expression, however, rapidly changed into a stern look. "Baekhyun."

 

Baekhyun knew that Chanyeol was still upset, by the way Chanyeol had called Baekhyun by his real name. Crossing his arms, Baekhyun clears his throat. "Chanyeol."

 

"Fancy seeing you here. I didn't know you were in my team-"

 

"Oh my god, Chanyeol. If you're here just to argue with me, then I'm leaving." Baekhyun groans, pushing past Chanyeol. 

 

"Well, we wouldn't be arguing right now, if you didn't think that I was such a jerk. After being freinds since... since birth really, I thought you would be able to understand me by now. But nooo!" Chanyeol replies, following Baekhyun's footsteps. By now, the only think that Baekhyun should be hearing is Chanyeol's complaining, but instead he hears a snap sound, as the two enter a cove.

 

"You think that I'm some manwhore that-"

 

Baekhyun stops, hearing another vibration through his ears. Being a Leluyian, Baekhyun had very sensitive senses and could hear anything from a mile away. "Do you hear that?"

 

"No. Don't try to-"

 

"Chanyeol, shut up." Baekhyun snaps, before going down on the floor and place his ears towards the ground to hear the vibrations. "It sounds like there's someone here-"

 

"More like something!" Chanyeol shouts, when he sees a large creature approaching them. From the looks of it, the creature had scale-like skin and bloodshot eyes. Even though, Chanyeol kept his distance, he knew that the creature was probably 5 times larger than his size. Gulping, Chanyeol keeps quiet for the first time. 

 

"It's a sea serpent." Baekhyun announces, as he tries to get up as gracefully as possible. If he made any sudden movement now, he would be dead. "Chanyeol, don't move... It can detect vibrations and fear-

 

Chanyeol's eyes pop out when he sees the creature being to attack Baekhyun with one of the creature's fins. 

 

"Baek, watch out!" 

 

Suddenly, Baekhyun raises his arms and forms a protective water layer around himself to avoid being injured when being hit by the serpent. With it's tail, the serpent lashes out and hits Baekhyun's water layer.

 

Hard.  

 

Causing water particles to explode throughout the cave.

 

Before the serpent has another chance to attack Baekhyun, Chanyeol rushes out to protect the latter and hurridly, whips out his sword (a weapon that every student was equipted with) before multiplying himself into 4's. Being able to multiply was another skill only descents for Priapus were able to do. "Attack it on the right! I'll attack at the back-"

 

"Chanyeol, no. We're not supposed to use our powers..." Baekhyun pants, holding the real Chanyeol's arm.

 

"What the ? If we don't we could die!" 

 

"Chanyeol."  Baekhyun sighs, knowing Chanyeol was about to attack the beast. "Don't kill it."

 

"We're not going to kill it..." Chanyeol states, before breaking away from Baekhyun's grip. Chanyeol feels his grip on the sword tighten, before he lunges out towards the direction of the serpent. "We're going to put it to sleep!"

 

Shaking his head, Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol number 1 swings his sword towards the creature's neck. Chanyeol number 2 and number 3 work together to attack the stomach. Stabbing and jutting with their swords, which causes the creature to grow in pain. While, Chanyeol number 4 attacked the tail. Although there were now 4 Chanyeols, Baekhyun could tell the real one from the fakes by the way they move in combat. Baekhyun figured it was sign that they were both spending way too much time together.

 

Baekhyun bit the bottom of his lips.  "I'm not going to do it... I'm not going to hurt it... I can't-" 

 

"Baek! Don't just stand there!"

 

"I can't, Chanyeol-"

 

However, when Baekhyun sees the real Chanyeol (the one on attacking the tail) barely holding on to the wagging tail of the sea serpent, after getting the creature mad with all of the stabbing. Baekhyun curses himself for ever being friends with such an idiot. "God damn it."

 

"Woah." Chanyeol shouts, as the serpent uses his tail to grab on to his waist and flip him upside down. During this time, Chanyeol notices a broken sign, one that probably had fallen off, that read "Eel Cove." Raising an eyebrow, Chanyeol snaps his fingers after careful thought. 

 

"Baek, this is Eel Cove!" Chanyeol shouts, noticing how Baekhyun was attacking the creature in a swift, rapid motion.

 

"This isn't the time to be an idiot-"

 

"I repeat, EEL cove!" Chanyeol replies, emphasizing the word "eel" so that Baekhyun would hopefully begin to understand what Chanyeol was saying. "It means that-"

 

"-the cove is home to eels. And eels have electricity in them!" Baekhyun realizes, snapping his fingers. "You're a genius! I can use the electricty from the eels to create a large spark that could put it to sleep. I need you to come down, I have a plan!"

 

"I'd love to, but I'm stuck here." Chanyeol says, feeling a little dizzy with being upside down. 

 

"Well get down here then!"

 

Groaning, Chanyeol uses his sword and swings it towards the tail, leaving a cut large enough to cause the creature to snarl and release him. After carefully reaching the ground, Chanyeol's duplicates begin disappear as he reunites with Baekhyun. Chanyeol raises an eyebrow when Baekhyun holds his hands up towards him. "What?"

 

"I want you to hug me." Baekhyun announces, noticing how the serpent was almost recovered after his cut. "Hurry, we don't have much time."

 

"What? Baek-"

 

Getting unpacient, Baekhyun grabs a hold of Chanyeol instead, pulling him close. "Don't let go."

 

Baekhyun then extends out a hand towards the beast, before tightening his grip on Chanyeol. A couple of seconds later, Baekhyun casts a water force field around their bodies, before his hands begin to shoot out electric sparks. Baekhyun knew that his powers weren't strong enough to handle the beast by himself, so with the electricty from the eels, Baekhyun was able to create a loud, sharp bolt that could potentionally put the creature to sleep. With the formation of the bolt, Baekhyun diverts it to the creature and watches as the serpent shrivels back to it's original size and falls dead on the ground. Due to the friction becoming to large, the bolt was also able to destroy the force field Baekhyun had put up to protect Chanyeol and he. 

 

"It worked." Baekhyun pants, putting his arms down. 

 

Opening his eyes, Chanyeol takes a sigh of relief before he embraces Baekhyun tighter. "Thank god it worked..."

 

-

 

Location: Antheia

The atmosphere in Antheia was peaceful and very tropical. As the students exit the bus, they begin to examine the view of large fruit-bearing trees and rows of flowers and herbs planted on the soil. A couple of fairies then past through the group of students, holding a large water pale that requires more than 6 fairies to lift it up. The student's watch as Elves roam the land and to plants as a way to help them grow while Centaurs (half human/half horse) harvest. Faries, Elves, and Centaurs, however, aren't the only species living in Antheia. Antheia is also a home to various animals, such as the Adarna (a large colorful bird with an ability to heal), Peryton (a deer with wings and horns used for combat), and the Harpy (another large bird used for transportation).

 

"Welcome to Antheia, the kingdom in the forest." Mrs. Lee says, as she passes out a basket to the students. "During this trip, no means of technology will be allowed."

 

The students groan in unison.

 

"The purpose of consficating your phones is to show the beauty of nature! The fantastic aura it has... and most of all the beauty of it all! And without our phones for this trip, you'll be able to experience that." Mrs. Lee swoons, as she claps her hands. Mrs. Lee, was an Antheian and also a teacher for Herbology class. 

 

"What is that?" Luhan asks staring at the Peryton in awe, as he follows the group to their camp area. "I've never seen anything like it before."

 

"It's a Peryton." Sehun explains. "It's a deer with wings that gives it the ability to fly. It's horns also help in combat during a battle."

 

"Are they always that big?"

 

"Well no, most are. But there are some baby Perytons that only grow as big as a small dog. They call them dwarf Perytons. They're pretty much useless but pretty darn adorable. Come on, let's go."

 

"Yeah." Luhan replies, following Sehun into the cabin. 

 

"Since today, is a free day, feel free to roam around or just rest." Mrs. Lee explains, pinning up a sheet of paper on the board. "This is the list of roomates so gather your belongings and place them in your rooms. If  you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone. Everyone in Antheia is very friendly."

 

"It looks like we're roomates." Sehun smiles, helping Luhan with his luggages. "You look tired, I'll help you with your luggages."

 

"Thanks."

 

-

Location: Leluya

"How do you think it got so big?" Chanyeol questions, holding up the serpent in his hands. It was impossible to believe that such a small creature could have potentially killed them. "Looking at it now, it looks harmless..."

 

"Yeah, well don't get to excited because we'll never know." Baekhyun replies, feeling somewhat wary. "In the meantime, let's hide this before anyone else sees. I want to take it home and see if Lay could run some tests for me when we get back. I feel wierd... I feel like this-"

 

"Relax, it's dead." Chanyeol assures, patting Baekhyun's back as the latter carefully wraps the serpant with a pice of clothing he had found laying on the ground. "Listen, about what happened before-"

 

"I'm sorry." Baekhyun says. "I shouldn't have said any of those things to you. I was just upset and cranky with the thought of you ditching me. I didn't mean to call you a player or assume that you sleep with everyone..."

 

"I'm sorry too." Chanyeol replies, taking a sigh of relief. "I shouldn't have made you thought that I was only friends with you because you do my projects for me... If you want, I'll even tell Mr. Yoon that I-"

 

"You don't have too."

 

"But-"

 

"Really. It's okay now. Besides, if you do, you're probably going to get kicked out of the team." Baekhyun smiles, but his smile shortly falls when he notices the cut on Chanyeol's arm. Gently, Baekhyun reaches out and presses slightly on it, causing Chanyeol to whince. "Does it hurt?"

 

"A little, but I'm fine."

 

"Come on, we should go back to camp. You need a water nyphm to come and look at it. " 

 

-

 

Location: Alux

"Hi roomie!" Jongin grins, sheepily as he watches Kyungsoo groan into his pillow. Satisfied with himself, Jongin places his luggages on the other side of his bed, before laying down on top of it. "This is great! We can study together. Gossip together. Sleep together-"

 

"Hell no." 

 

Bark.

 

Kyungsoo looks up. "What was that?"

 

Kyungsoo face palms his forehead, when he sees Jongin lifting up his baby direwolf from his bag. Kyungsoo watches as Jongin craddles it into his arms, rocking it slightly to comfort it, before Kyungsoo speaks. "Jongin... You didn't-"

 

"I couldn't leave it in the Petatrium (the University's animal shelter)! Monggu just came back from the vet and I didn't want it to feel abandoned again... I couldn't do that to my child. " Jongin replies, softly rubbing the direwolf's fur, causing the direwolf to yawn cutely. "Come on, don't you have animals?"

 

"I have plants."

 

"Really? You don't own a pet?" Jongin questions, a little suprised. "But your a descendent of Artio..."

 

"It's just not my thing. Besides its too much responsibility. Anyways, you're not keeping it here right?" Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. "You'll get caught, you know-"

 

"That's why, I need your help-"

 

"No."

 

"Kyungsoo!" Jongin pouts, laying the sleeping direwolf on the bed. "I just need you to control it sometimes. Come on you're good at that. It's one of your powers-"

 

"It's your wolf! Do it yourself!"

 

"Sometimes Monggu doesn't listen to me though..." Jongin explains. "I know I'm the owner but everytime it grows, it becomes more independent and doesn't listen, even though I train him too. Do you think he hates me?"

 

"No." Kyungsoo sighs, raising up from his bed to stare at the direwolf closely. Kyungsoo touches it's fur before he speaks. "She's hungry... Do you have any billberries? Or even some-"

 

"She?"

 

"You're wolf is a girl."

 

"What?!"

 

"You really are an idiot." Kyungsoo scoffs, shaking his head. "How could you not know your wolf was a girl? So you've been treating her like a guy recently? Oh my god... that's why it's not listening to you!"

 

"I'm so sorry." Jongin cries out, as he caresses the direwolf in his hands. "I won't mistake you for a guy again..."

 

Before Kyungsoo has a chance to reply, Kyungsoo hears his phone ringing. Reaching into his backpack, Kyungsoo retrieves the phone before he answers the call. "Hello?"

 

"Kyungsoo?" Baekhyun says, over the phone, making sure he was talking to the right person before he explains what had just happened. 

 

"What is it, Baekhyun?"

 

"There's something I have to tell you." Baekhyun replies, calming his breath with the sudden rush of emotions. "Something happened today... Me and Chanyeol were attacked by a sea serpent and we-"

 

"Are you two alright?"

 

"I'm fine, but Chanyeol has a cut on his arm. We went straight to get it healed though... so he's fine now. He's resting in our room." 

 

"But sea serpent?" Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Those things haven't been seen around since-"

 

"I know, that's what I thought at first too but it was!" Baekhyun explains, gripping on to the phone. "Don't tell anyone this but right after it got killed, the sea serpent turned back into it's normal state... It was a jellyfish, Kyungsoo."

 

"Is this a joke?" 

 

"No, it's not a joke." Baekhyun replies. "I think somethings up and I need your help. I have a theory about it but I need you and Lay to help me out on it-"

 

"What do you think it is?"

 

"Black magic."

 

"Baekhyun, no." Kyungsoo replies, shaking his head. "It's not black magic. It can't-"

 

"Then what else could it be?" Baekhyun questions. "Did it eat some bad seaweed or something and then turn into some enormous monster that tried to kill us?"

 

"I don't know, but-"

 

"Listen, I'm not sure about it either... but let's just discuss this when we get back." Baekhyun sighs. "Lay wasn't picking up his phone so I'll have him take some tests and bring it to the lab. I have it wrapped in my suitcase so no one sees it. But for now, I wanted to ask you if you would go to the Aluxian library and look up anything related to black magic and the sea serpent."

 

"All right, Baek."

---

A/N: I don't know why but I'm so into action fics nowadays... If you're confused about the teams it's:

Team A (Antheia): Sehun, Luhan, Kris, Lay, and others.

Team B (Leluya): Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Xuimin, and others.

Team C (Alux): Kyungsoo, Jongin, Suho, Tao, and others.