Training was a nightmare. Usually, they didn't need to train, since their powers gave them an advantage against any enemy, but with the surprise attacks from the sorceresses and Yifan's new state as a human, training was a necessity. 

Jongin was in charge of training the other mages, as he was the only one with actual fighting experience. Zitao had been selected to assist him, as the mage of time knew martial arts, but Zitao remained in the background where he could watch.

In the training sessions they've had in the past, Yifan was the one who overlooked the entire session and his powers had the others watch on in awe. This session, however, Yifan remained in the back of the group in silence. He'd been like that ever since he went and turned himself into a human.

The other mages, in order to lighten the second leader's burden, had pretended not to know a thing when Yifan rejoined them days later with a forced smile on his lips and his fingers trembling at his sides. His quiet presence was a constant reminder of the change, however. There was no joy in his eyes and he kept to himself even though the others had tried to get him to speak to them.

Joonmyun hadn't given up on him, however. Joonmyun followed Yifan even if he were going to the bathroom and waited outside until Yifan was done. Yifan had been annoyed about this at first, fixing him with glares that had him flinch, but eventually, Yifan had let it go as if he accepted his fate.

"Yifan." Jongin called, and Yifan looked up at him with his eyes blank.

"You'll spar with me today."

"I don't want to." 

The remaining mages were taken aback. Yifan would easily accept a challenge if it were brought to him, but now... now it wasn't even like it was really Yifan. Jongin stared at him, but Yifan had dropped his head as if he lost complete interest in the conversation.

"I can take him." Zitao offerred, and though Yifan had lifted his head slightly to hear the offer, his head dropped again as if he was done even contemplating the offer and lost interest in it as well.

"Yifan..." Joonmyun's voice was soft and worried as he watched the second leader. To anyone, he could lose disinterested and angry, but to them, he was vulnerable. Vulnerable and afraid.

"You have no choice," Jongin's voice called out, and everyone turned back to him with wide eyes, knowing what would come next.

"Now that you only have the power of flight to rely on."

The others cringed at the intense glare Yifan shot to Jongin. They figured he'd get upset and storm off, but that would be underestimating Yifan's pride. He might have wondered why they knew about him becoming a human, but he said nothing. Instead, he walked forward to Jongin and crouched into his fighting position.

"Jongin, be careful." Minseok warned, and Jongin barely nodded his head.

Then, the two of them were fighting. Although Yifan's had once been the strongest of the group and could have easily defeated Jongin in as little as three movements had he kept his powers, he was knocked to the ground after Jongin hit him once.

"Yifan, are you okay?" Luhan called in perplexity, and the mage of telekinesis watched Yifan climb back onto his feet.

"You don't have to do this, Yifan." Chanyeol's calm voice said to him from behind. Yifan was irritated that they thought he was a child now that he didn't have his powers to rely on. 

"I am not a child." His voice roared, and all eleven of the mages stepped away from him as his anger flared. Even Jongin decided his anger was dangerous and began to step back, but Yifan turned his glare back to the younger mage and had him rooted where he stood.

"Again. Let's go."

Jongin didn't need another command, so he attacked. The mages watched with bated breaths as the two brawled, but other than getting a couple of kicks to the sides, Yifan was now able to block all of the younger mage's attacks.

"You're doing well against basic attacks, hyung, but what about this?" After asking, Jongin's lips curved into a smirk and with a flurry of movements, Yifan was back onto the ground.

"That's enough." Sehun had walked forward and pulled Jongin away from the elder, though the two watched as Yifan hit the ground with his fist.

Jongin walked away after seeing that. It wasn't like he hated the elder or anything, but seeing the strongest of the twelve suddenly become the weakest was hard for him to handle. He joined Jongdae and the other two trouble makers in the background, though their arms had been crossed and their expressions had grown into disappointment.

"He shouldn't have changed." Baekhyun muttered, and the other three of them turned their heads to him to see what he would have to say.

"He's too weak as he is now. We have no use for him-"

"He's still our leader, Baek." Jongdae snapped, and Jongin glanced at the mage of lightning in worry. To some of the mages, Yifan was more of a leader than Joonmyun himself. It was just how things were, and though they all respected Joonmyun, there were mages that would not allow Yifan to be hurt by another mage's words.

"He has a point, though." None of them had realized Yixing was behind them until he spoke, and Jongin turned his head to Yixing. He was one of the members that looked up to Yifan, but though his eyes were watching Yifan on the ground, he made no move to aid him.

"Even Yifan knows." Kyungsoo added, from where he stood meters away from the trouble makers. He usually kept his distance from them, and Jongin understood why completely. 

Silently, Jongin and the others turned to where Yifan was once more. He was still on the ground, breathing heavily. Minseok and Joonmyun were just meters away with Luhan, and the trio was discussing something the younger members couldn't hear.

Sehun and Zitao had started to spar off in the distance, though Jongin didn't know why either of them needed to spar. It wasn't as if they were weak like-. He sighed as he figured it out, knowing that the two of them looked up to Yifan. They were going to do whatever they could to protect Yifan from anyone who was stronger than him by making themselves stronger.

"That's enough for today." Joonmyun suddenly called, and everyone had cleared from the training spot other than Yifan himself. What was he still doing there? He had already been defeated and had no need to stay there while the rest of them left the space.

"How long do you think he'll be there?" Baekhyun asked as they headed back to their campsite, looking over his shoulder at Yifan.

"He'll get over it eventually." Minseok answered him, but there was a forced calmness in his voice as if he didn't believe it would happen that way at all.

"Listen, all of you." Luhan said quietly, and the mages stilled so they could hear the elder speak. He was one of the closest to Yifan, so they would listen to him if it were something about Yifan.

"Yifan... he's scared, you all know this. Until he pulls himself together, please... please take care of him. Don't forget that he's a man that has been trapped in a place for centuries with no way home and had to sacrifice a lot just to remain here."

Quiet murmurs of agreement filled the camp, but Jongin kept to himself. Didn't they hear Yifan earlier? He didn't want to be treated as a child and that was what the others were doing to him. Yifan might be scared but he didn't want anyone treating him differently just because of his fear.

Yifan came back during dinner. Jongin watched carefully as Yifan stalked past the lot of them to the tent he shared with Zitao. What had he been doing for the past four hours that he only joined them while they were eating their dinner? The others pretended not to notice, though their eyes followed his fading back. Jongin understood that no one knew what to do for the elder, but Yifan shutting them out wasn't going to help anything.

"Excuse me. I'm done eating." Jongin didn't wait for the permission and quickly strode after Yifan. He might not have been the closest to Yifan, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave him to brood on his own.

Yifan was standing in the middle of the room in a cool pose and his fingers pressed to his eyes. Jongin could tell he was crying, too, by the way his frame shook. He was torn between hugging the elder and leaving, because he knew Yifan wouldn't want anyone to see him cry like this.

Instead of doing either, Jongin waited. It felt like hours, but Yifan stopped crying and turned back to Jongin in surprise. Jongin wanted to say his face was ugly, or anything to make the atmosphere less tense, but nothing escaped his lips. Finally, after moments of staring at each other, Jongin lunged forward, wrapped his fingers around the elder's wrist and closed his eyes.

When his eyes opened, he and Yifan were far from the others. It didn't matter where they were, because there were at a place where Yifan could have some time to calm down and Jongin could remind him of who he was.

"What are we doing here, Jongin?" Yifan's voice was hoarse and exhausted, but Jongin didn't answer him, so Yifan turned to him and saw that he had gotten into a fighting position.

"I'm going to teach you how to fight as a human." Jongin explained to him, and though his eyebrows furrowed themselves, the elder copied his stance.

The two of them spent about a day together there. Neither of them tired out easily, and Jongin was only glad that Yifan was getting out some steam. Although it had only been a few hours, Yifan was a fast learner and was getting stronger with each blow he had landed or received.

"Why did you take me out here, Jongin?" He asked, a question similar to the one he had asked the day before. Jongin looked at him, taking in the slight smile on Yifan's face, although his chest was heaving in exhaustion and sweat covered him. It was kind of disgusting, but he knew he was the same way.

"I figured you wouldn't want the others to watch."

Yifan's eyes softened at this and he ducked his head, letting out a soft chuckle. Jongin liked this side of Yifan, the soft smile and the reassurance of a big brother. Yifan was a great leader, but an even greater brother. Jongin was more than happy to help out the one person that lost everything to help them.

"When I started flying back home, I saw something." Yifan muttered, and Jongin widened his eyes in surprise. Yifan hadn't said anything about his trip home and Jongin wasn't expecting himself to be the one Yifan explained it to.

"This planet has been absorbing magic at a speed which isn't healthy for any planet. What should have taken a few million years to occur happened in the few centuries I've been here. It means the planet has been absorbing whatever magic found around the universe; which means my planet has been lost long ago. I didn't think it was possible, but as I circled the globe a couple of times, I could see concentrations of magic that only a planet like my own could possess."

Jongin wanted to cry for the elder, he really did. Not only had Yifan been stuck here against his will, but when he tried going home to save himself, he found out his home had been destroyed. What kind of horror story did Yifan live in?

"Do me a favor and don't tell the others." Yifan's eyes looked back at him pleadingly, and Jongin found himself nodding even though he knew he shouldn't have.

They didn't need another reason to treat Yifan like a child.

Hey guys! This is Dal with today's author's note because our chicken is too lazy to leave notes after writing a whole chapter. She did a great job, don't you think? I feel like crying for Yifan, honestly. He's in so much pain but I can't do anything for my hubby ;;

As usual, I hope you guys enjoy the update and leave comments. Please don't be rude because your words can easily upset the author and make her lose the motivation to write. Ah, I- we have news for you guys! We decided to try collaborating on a story and within a few hours, a measly idea became a solid plan! But we're not posting it here on RawChicken's profile but instead on mine, so you can find the story here. We hope that you'd enjoy this story too and give it as much love and support as you did for TRB and The Number Twelve. 

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

-Dal