Jongdae was the only one out of the twelve mages that were found and summoned in the hundreds of years they were separated. Once by Yuna herself. He hasn't told anyone much about it, but Baekhyun knows that whatever happened the last time Jongdae was summoned by Yuna, something went horribly wrong.

And Baekhyun was dying to find out what.

Chanyeol didn't know what happened, either. No one did. Jongdae was suddenly an unsolvable puzzle and it made Baekhyun's head spin.

He tries to be patient with the mage of lightning, due to his surprising temper tantrums and the way he just seems to shut down when Yuna's name is mentioned, but it gets harder and harder as days pass.

His patience runs thin during their group training session. The mages are groaning and tired and overall just relectant - well, everyone but Jongdae, that is. When the remaining mages arrive to their makeshift training field, Jongdae is already there and stretching. This is so out of character that the remaining mages even inch away.

They all know how dangerous Jongdae can be.

Jongdae notices them eventually and straightens himself out, though the mages can see the signs of exhaustion on his face.

"How long have you been out here, Dae?" Minseok calls, cautious but curious.

"Since dawn." Jongdae answers, his voice almost too calm as a grin sweeps across his face.

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at Jongdae's answer. Since when was the unmotivated Jongdae able to drag his limbs out of bed at the crack of dawn? He wants to make a wise crack, desperately, but the look on Jongdae's face begs him not to.

So he doesn't.

"I'll take Dae today," is all that slips out of his mouth, and the remaining mages just stare between them in alarm.

"The last time you two faught, you blew out the power!" calls Jongin, and rightfully so. Not only is Jongin forced to be their training leader with Yifan's powers out of commission, but other than Chanyeol, none of the mages have powers as strong or as destructive as them. If they get too serious, who could stop them?

The rest of the mages looked to Joonmyeon and Yifan, because surely, one of them could put an end to this stupid idea. Joonmyeon looks warily between the expectant Baekhyun and the silent Jongdae, and though he seems to want to shoot down Baekhyun's request, it's Yifan that answers first,

"Minseok, Yixing, as a precaution, you stay nearby the two of them."

He walks away without another word, though a blubbering Joonmyeon follows after him and the other mages that chase him. Chanyeol glances back at Jongdae, though he's not looking, and then his pleading eyes find Baekhyun,

"Don't let him become like me, Baek."

Chanyeol refers to when he closes himself off and becomes more destructive towards himself, Baekhyun knows. He figures it's simple enough to keep the idiot Jongdae at bay, what with Minseok being around to freeze him if he gets out of control. Yixing doesn't really have a purpose there, but the mage of healing seems to be determined to help.

They're already halfway through their sparring match when Yuna teleports over to them.

Baekhyun turns as soon as he feels them, because Yuna's presence, though tainted with evil, is as distinctive as it's been since he first met her. Every one of the mages freezes, and even Jongdae is rooted in place when his eyes find her.

"Yuna," Joonmyeon calls, his voice stern and his eyes hard,

"Why do you come to where you are not welcomed?"

Some of the other mages are tense as their gazes freeze on Yuna's frame. Minseok is still right next to Jongdae, though he doesn't notice the way Jongdae's hands are sparkling with electric currents.

"I've not seen you twelve in so long, I--" she cuts herself off, and Baekhyun can see the tears that well in her eyes. His heart softens instantly, because he was once in love with this woman, despite everything.

"Since when can you teleport? You were a human born with no powers." Kyungsoo's voice hisses, and he steps forward almost in a menacing way. Chanyeol grasps onto his shoulder so he doesn't get too close.

"Yun Seung," she explains, and Baekhyun feels his blood freeze in horror,

"I currently share her life as well as her powers."

Yuna holds herself with the confidence she had when she found them, but looking at her face, Baekhyun can only think of Yun Seung and how unfair all of this is for her. Yun Seung fought to protect them and now her life was being taken away by the woman the whole ordeal had started with.

"Why did you come here?" Joonmyeon asks to reiterate his first question.

Yuna's eyes scan the mages before falling on Yixing, "I need Yixing's help."

The surprise felt by the mages radiated in waves. Yuna was very powerful, and even though they had a history with her, she was still the one to betray them.

"My help?" Yixing voices out, confusion thick in his voice.

"I need your powers to awaken the beast." Yuna says, her voice much quieter this time.

An audible gasp passes through the mages because the beast was a creature of dark magic that was so strong and dangerous that the twelve of them had to work together to seal away.

"You want to awaken him again?" Jongdae shouts, cutting through the group of mages,

"You woke me up to bring him back to life all those years ago, destroyed half of the globe, and now you're trying again?"

The eleven other mages stare at Jongdae in a mix of bewilderment and horror. That must have been why Jongdae was so upset with Yuna, but why would he have kept it to himself?

"I didn't forsee that the beast would be so strong to pull that planet into our orbit," Yuna says, though her voice is hardening in the slightest.

"What planet?" Yifan asks, though his voice is cold and he's walking towards Yuna like he's about to strike.

"Malthor," Jongdae answers for her, and Yifan is frozen once more as his gaze full of hatred turns to Jongdae,

"She called on me after the twelve of us were separated, and ordered me to undo the seal that held the beast."

By this point, everyone had known about Yifan's planet and the fact that he was dying in a slow, painful way. But to hear that Jongdae had been the one to cause it? To know that Yuna had done this?

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Dae?" Minseok asks, his voice shaking in the anger they were all feeling.

"I thought I'd have enough time to fix it." Jongdae answers, his shoulders drawn in as his frame shakes. There are even tears falling from his eyes and Baekhyun watches as Yifan just walks over and holds him.

Jongdae never asked to be used. He's always just looked for a place to call home.

"Why are you trying to awaken the beast now?" Sehun asks, though half of him is covered by an overprotected Luhan.

"I figured... if I could pull some of the magical properties from the remainder of the planet, I could-" Yuna starts off, now a little nervous.

She was planning to use whatever magic from the destroyed planet of Malthor to save Yifan. Baekhyun hates all of this. He hates that Jongdae has to have been the one to suffer with this for centuries. He hates that the person he loved with all of his heart is the one who's causing so much pain. He hates that he acknowledges that this may be the only way to save Yifan. Overall, he hates that Yun Seung is roped into all of this.

"You will do nothing of the sort!" Yun Seung's clear, calm voice calls out. The mages turn to the other end of the training field, where Yun Seung is walking towards them with her hands clenched at her sides.

"You are the one who caused all of this but you keep finding ways to have someone else pay for it!"

Yuna tenses, and Baekhyun can see the shift in Yuna's aura. Something tells him Yuna isn't too fond of her descendant.

"Unlike you, I do not have magical capabilities of my own, and I need to save my mages."

"We were never your mages!" Zitao shouts in rage, and Baekhyun can't help but share the sentiment,

"You used us since we first met you, and you still have the nerve to demand our aid!"

Yuna's eyes turn to Zitao, and though Zitao flinches like she's going to torture him like she had before, Yun Seun steps before the mage of time to shield him,

"We don't need your help. We've come this far together, we'll-"

"Do you have any other option to save Yifan's life?" Yuna cuts through Yun Seung's sentence as if she's a child, and Baekhyun's had enough of this.

He starts walking towards Yuna. Everyone else stops to stare because he's the only one of them who wants to approach their first master. Yun Seung stares, too, though he knows she's worried he'll betray them.

He did love Yuna once in the past, after all.

"I won't hit you, because I know what it will do to Yun Seung," Baekhyun starts in a calm manner,

"so I'll ask you this once, and nicely, to leave us alone. Though I have not always agreed with Yun Seung, and though part of my heart will always belong to you, Yuna, you are no longer welcomed by us. You have hurt my brothers and I far too many times. We'll find a way to save one of our leaders, and we don't need your help to do it."

Yuna's previous irritation disappears in a matter of seconds, and she starts to sob right where they stand. Baekhyun's heart aches, knowing he's caused her this pain, but he stands by what he says.

"Do you still love me?" Yuna asks, and Baekhyun finds himself staring at the woman he'd fallen in love with centuries before, not his first master.

"Not as much as I love my brothers." Baekhyun responds, and without another word, Yuna teleports away.

He pretends the mages aren't staring at him, still. Yun Seung is still with Zitao, though even she is worried about him. Baekhyun, on the other hand, strolls back over to where Yifan and Jongdae are. The second leader is no longer holding the crestfallen mage of lightning, but standing off on his own and staring at the sky. Jongdae, on the other hand, looks lifeless as his gaze holds Baekhyun's.

"If you want to punch me, just do it," Jongdae sighs,

"you'll be even for the time I punched you for abandoning Chan-"

Baekhyun cuts him off by pulling him into a hug. Jongdae's no mystery. He's exactly who he's always been. One of Baekhyun's brothers.

When they pull apart, it's Luhan that breaks the silence.

"If she's trying to awaken the beast, we don't have long before Yunso and Yunjee try it, too."

They all knew it without it being announced, but the thick silence looms even after the group of mages disperse. The only two that remain are Yun Seung and Baekhyun, though Jongdae looks like he wants to say something to the mage of light.

"Are you okay?" Yun Seung asks him, and Baekhyun can't help but feel amused as he returns his gaze to Yun Seung.

She's stupidly brave and she's got a heart of gold for helping them out for so long. He's sure he'd denied himself the chance to grow fond over anyone who wasn't his brother ever again, but Yun Seung was someone who would protect them even against her own blood.

"I'm going to have to be," he answers with a helpless shrug,

"if we're going to be going against the beast."

I have no excuse as to why I always disappear for months. Sorry, guys. ;; Please enjoy this chapter and don't hate me?