TRIGGER WARNING; hints of suicide. (one character suggesting another character unalive himself.)

     They finally arrived at the caves after what seemed like hours of quiet, awkward walking. Jungkook was growing more anxious the further they went, his unease seeped out of him like an invisible energy, tainting the whole atmosphere. Seokjin could feel it like it was a bug crawling on his skin.

     "Relax Jungkook," Seokjin rested his hand on the younger's shoulder and squeezed. Jungkook nodded, glad that Seokjin put aside their issues for a second to comfort him, it calmed his nerves a bit.

     "I have a bad feeling," Jungkook admitted.

     Seokjin wondered if he should say something to the younger, but decided against it, he really wasn't good at making people feel better. He just wanted to get through these caves and concentrate on finding the dagger, he had no clue how long it would take or how hard the task would be. But, he also felt terrible looking at Jungkook, he knew he messed up, partially. He was not about to shoulder the entire blame, Jungkook was at fault too.

     "Seokjin?" Taehyung brought him out of his daydream.

     "Huh?" Seokjin looked over at Taehyung, his demeanor went instantly 'back to business' as he cleared his throat,  "I'm sure you have some idea of where to look in there?" 

     "I have my theories." Taehyung held out his phone, "I downloaded the map to my phone to make it easier to navigate."

     Seokjin looked at Jungkook, who was staring at him, "Are you okay?"

     Jungkook just nodded and looked away.

     "Good, I need you to be alert," Seokjin started, "I don't know what kind of we'll encounter, I don't want to have to worry about you getting hurt-"

     "I can handle myself," Jungkook snapped. He snatched the phone from Taehyung and stomped inside.

     "You could ease up on him a bit," Taehyung pointed out, then turned to follow Jungkook inside.

     Seokjin took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Just find the damn dagger and get out. That's all you have to do... Also, do not murder Taehyung!

     The caves were dark and damp and plagued with the smell of mold. The walls were saturated with some sort of weird slime that dripped down off a browning moss that clung to the stone and seemed to be growing down from the ceiling. Taehyung wanted to take a clipping of it to study, but he hadn't thought to bring his sample bags to store them in.

     All the stimuli were amplified by their super senses, it was near unbearable to be down here. Jungkook had almost wished he listened to Seokjin and stayed home...almost, despite the circumstances, this was the most excitement he'd had in a long while.

     They walked a good fifteen minutes down corridors that looked identical to the twenty before them, Jungkook couldn't distinguish one chamber from another and swore they had circled back to the same spot no less than two times. One thing was for sure, if it wasn't for the map they would be lost.

     "Why would they put it in a cave where anyone could find it?" Jungkook questioned, breaking the silence.

     "Yeah Jungkook, because it's just sitting in the middle of the floor for anyone to see," Seokjin chuckled.

     "You don't have to make fun of me," Jungkook yelled, annoyed once again. "You're such an ."

     "Thanks," Seokjin commented, pushing past the two of them, he spotted a small light ahead.

     They entered a massive cavern, it was almost like it was carved out of the rocks by a craftsman, the walls were mismatched but a little too weirdly shaped to be natural, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Large stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping a bluish liquid into pools beneath their feet, making it slippery to walk on. At least the air in here felt less toxic, Jungkook inhaled, feeling like he could finally breathe. He glanced over at Seokjin as the elder felt around against the walls, working his way out to the center of the cavern, his arms outstretched like he was guarding himself against bumping into an invisible wall. He stopped all of a sudden, listening intently... was that a ping? 

     Jungkook felt an odd tingling in his stomach and thought he might need to fart, but it seemed like Taehyung and Seokjin felt it too, the looks on their faces meant something was amiss.

     "Do you feel that?" Taehyung asked, sporting a knowing grin. Seokjin looked at him.

     "This room has magic,"  Seokjin smiled. He began to move around in small circles, his hands back in the air, searching.

     "Magic?" Jungkook asked.

     "You feel a tingly spot in your stomach?" Taehyung asked and patted the younger's tummy.

     "I thought it was gas," Jungkook smirked.

     "There's a hidden room here," Taehyung lit up, like a scientist about to make the breakthrough of a lifetime, "Witches use spells to cloak rooms, for hiding things... like daggers."

     "Here," Seokjin stood over a spot on the floor and peered down. He slipped off his backpack and quickly pulled out a rope. He spun around searching for a good spot to tie it off to, settling on the giant stalagmite across from him. He tied the rope around the formation in a nice figure-8 knot and then tested it to make sure it was sturdy, pulling with a good deal of strength.

     "What is he doing?" Jungkook whispered to Taehyung.

     "Let's just say that witches have a tendency to pull the rug out from under ya," Taehyung responded, content with his little pun, "Security measures."

     "How do we get in?" Jungkook was interrupted by Seokjin yelling out a strange word, he turned to watch Seokjin kneel and place his right hand flat on the ground, while firmly grasping the rope in his left. He chanted a few more words and the cavern shook, Jungkook clutched onto the side of the wall to steady himself.

     "Revelare!" Seokjin chanted his last word and prepared himself for something to happen.

      Nothing.

      "Revelare!" He yelled louder.

     Suddenly the floor gave out below Jungkook, the younger fell several feet before grabbing onto a rock that was protruding from the side, he looked down to see a big gaping hole opening up below his feet, he screamed out.

     "Holy !" Taehyung gasped, bending down to try to grab Jungkook's arm, "Hold on-"

     "Clever." Seokjin grabbed the rope and threw it into the hole and stood over Taehyung, watching him struggle.

     "A little help?" Jungkook looked up at him, perturbed.

     "Move," Seokjin motioned to Taehyung, then kicked him. Taehyung stood and moved back, a huge grimace on his face. Seokjin knelt down, gripped Jungkook's arm, and pulled him up.

     "You might want to try the rope next time," Seokjin joked and Jungkook gave him a look that suggested a murder was in his future.

     "No, I much rather fall to my death," Jungkook replied, dripping with sarcasm, "I'm sure that would make you happy."

     Seokjin gazed at him, "That's not true."

     "Isn't it?" Jungkook looked away.

     "Why would you think that?" Seokjin's expression was glum, he didn't want the younger to feel like he stopped caring. 

     "Can we just find this ing dagger already?" Jungkook peered down into the hole, determined not to cave in to his feelings.

     "When we get back to civilization, we're having a long talk," Seokjin informed him and then turned his attention downward.

     "Great." Jungkook's mouth twisted into a sardonic smirk. Can't wait to hear how much you think I .

     "Do you sense anything?" Taehyung quickly changed the subject.

     "Something magical..." Seokjin took a deep breath and then grabbed the rope, his mind was a bit scattered, all he could concentrate on was Jungkook, "Or a civilization of frog people." 

     "Only one way to find out," Taehyung tied off another rope next to Seokjin's and tossed the end over the side.

     At the bottom was a puny room - a claustrophobic's worst nightmare. The ceiling hung so low they could barely stand up, Seokjin's head was an inch from scraping the top. Jungkook felt like he was stuffed into an elevator-sized coffin, the room was closing in on him. He had to remind himself to breathe in and out.

     "We need more light," Taehyung straightened out the sconce that was hanging sideways off the wall, the candlelight reflected in his eyes making them glow menacingly. He passed his finger through the flame, it was cold to the touch. "This is some weird magic."

     Seokjin pulled out a large glow stick and shook it, then threw it down on the ground and backed up, bumping into Jungkook.

     "Sorry," Seokjin took a step forward.

     The glow stick illuminated the area just enough to make out what was in the room - which was... not a damned thing.

     "It's empty," Jungkook announced.

     Taehyung picked up the glow stick and shined it against the walls, "Not empty." 

     The surface was covered floor to ceiling with werewolf hieroglyphics. Taehyung was in awe, he ran his hand along the carvings as he scanned up and down the wall, they had to be hundreds of years old.

     "Woh," Jungkook exclaimed turning around in a circle to admire it all. It was oddly beautiful.

     Taehyung took out his phone and snapped a few pictures, then returned it to his pocket with a reminder to himself to send to his brother once he had a signal, "Jimin is missing out."

     Jungkook noticed a section of the wall on the far left had a crown carved into the stone, it was painted gold with encrusted gems of many colors making a three-dimensional pattern along the edges, it swirled inward to showcase the large hand-sized emerald that was embedded into the middle.

     "A giant Emerald," Seokjin ran his finger along the surface, static encased his fingertip, glowing a brilliant green against his skin. 

     "Hoseok's handiwork," Taehyung smiled. The infamous treasure hunter, Hoseok Jung, whom Taehyung had heard many stories about throughout his childhood.

     "Which means wherever this thing is hidden is going to be very fun to find," Seokjin sighed. "Why did it have to be Hoseok?"

     "Hoseok?" Jungkook asked Taehyung.

     "One of the first werewolf-witch hybrids was a particularly crafty one named Hoseok Jung," Taehyung explained as he joined Seokjin, goggling at the size of the green jewel and its mesmerizing brilliance. "He hid his treasure behind difficult puzzles to keep pesky plunderers from pillaging his prizes."

     "Like pirate treasure?" Jungkook was feeling like a dolt at the moment.

     "He was a skilled thief," Seokjin threw in.

     "There's a rumor that he has a giant stash of goodies buried on some remote salt island in the Dead Sea," Taehyung stated, "He's responsible for a lot of missing jewels and artifacts from different places all over the world."

     "So, Hoseok is dead?" Jungkook looked to both of them.

     "Not exactly," Seokjin exchanged glances with Taehyung.

     "What's the secret?" Jungkook stood there in disbelief, he felt like they were messing with him.

     "He's undead," Taehyung spat out, but his face suggested he was fibbing.

     "Bull," Jungkook smacked his arm. Taehyung shrugged and turned back to the crown.

     "May we not be crushed by a falling boulder," Seokjin took in a deep breath as he rested his hand on the middle of the crown, covering the entirety of the emerald. A green outline circled his hand and the surface of the rock raised up a few inches. Seokjin turned the rock in a semicircle and pressed in, then stepped back. It echoed through the room like a freight train was passing by as the rock face opened up into a small chamber, a wave of dust poofed out of the opening, hitting them with a blast of dirty wind.

     "I hate that part," Taehyung coughed, swatting the air.

     Jungkook chuckled, "How many chambers of treasure have you entered exactly?"

     "Four, give or take." Taehyung stopped short, as the dust cleared, he could make out a shape inside.

     "Stay alert," Seokjin warned, stepping inside.

     A large, black and white checkered throne sat smack dab in the middle of the circular stone room, decorated with neon pink and blue streamers that attached to the ceiling where there was no visible light source that would make the glowing fluorescent green and yellow possible. Bubbling, rainbow shapes floated up and down the surface of the wall, like a lava lamp come to life. It was trippy and a bit insane.

     "What the ?" Taehyung stopped short.

     "Did we miss the party?" Seokjin felt like they walked into the aftermath of a rave or the test site for a lava lamp factory.

     Jungkook gasped as the throne did a 180 turn and sitting there was a young man, dressed in all white clothing; a pair of white leather trousers, a long flowy white gauze shirt, and laced-up white combat boots. His jet-black hair was lifted off his forehead by a garish golden crown adorned with glimmering emeralds. Covering his eyes were a pair of dark red round spectacles, which he slid down the bridge of his nose so he could ogle them over the rims.

     "I was wondering how long it would be before more of you came searching for this place," Hoseok rose from the throne, straightening his shirt.

     "I guess if you're going to hide from the world, encasing yourself in a gaudy magic tomb is the best way," Seokjin smirked, almost impressed.

     Hoseok looked Seokjin up and down, "I haven't seen an onyx werewolf in a very long time." He smiled and then looked at Jungkook, "Let alone two."

     "How do you know that?" Jungkook couldn't control his curiosity, Hoseok strolled over to him.

     "It's in the smell," Hoseok poked Jungkook's face and Jungkook backed up, annoyed, "Squishy, ripe flesh."

     "So you know why we're here then?" Seokjin stepped in front of him, blocking Jungkook from Hoseok being too close.

     "Oh, usually the young ones don't bond this early," He smiled as he looked around Seokjin to Jungkook, "Very protective."

      Jungkook rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall, "Yeah, sure."  

     Hoseok walked over to Taehyung. "I know you," He scrunched up his face in thought.

     "I don't think so," Taehyung answered, confused.

     "You're the son of the archive writer," He thought for a moment, "Minwoo."

     "You know my Father?" Taehyung sputtered in disbelief.

     "Everyone knows your Father, how wouldn't they?" Hoseok laughed. "As far as I'm concerned, he is one of the most important men in werewolf history. You should ask him about Winnipeg one day." He winked and then turned to Seokjin.

     "We're here for a dagger-" Seokjin started.

     "Meant to kill the demon wolf no doubt." Hoseok went and plunked back down on his throne, "If you can figure out the puzzles, it's all yours."

     Seokjin was agitated, he was hoping to bypass all the games and just get the dagger and be on his way, "Puzzles?"

     Hoseok waved his hand at the wall and phosphorescent silver letters began to etch themself into the stone, each letter fizzling out into a dim glowing calligraphy-like handwriting seconds later - 'One to test for physical finesse, the weakest of strength may never progress. Two, a test for power of brain, meant to outwit to weed out the lame. Three, the one proving most grim, the test to test the character within.' 

     Hoseok propped his feet up on the arm of the throne, admiring his handiwork. "You pass, you get the dagger."

     "Give me one reason I shouldn't just kill you for real this time," Seokjin growled, his teeth visible.

     "Yes, Onyx temper," Hoseok smiled, unfazed, "All the same really." He looked to Jungkook, "Except him, he confuses me."

     "Just give us the puzzles?" Taehyung asked, trying to convey the time sensitivity.

     "Well, first you need to decide which of you will be doing each puzzle," Hoseok chattered, "Three puzzles, three people. Rules are simple."

     "I think you would know the answer to that already," Seokjin stood in front of Hoseok, "So give me my test."

     "Ah yes, the one who possesses the dexterity and strength," Hoseok stood up. He waved his hand over the wall behind him and it crumbled into a magical floating, golden dust. A hole dissolved into an opening to reveal a large room below. A golden orb floated about six feet off the ground in the middle, glistening in the spotlight of a single beam shining down upon it. "Get me the orb."

     "That's it?" Seokjin didn't blink. 

     "Looks can be deceiving," Hoseok plopped back down and leered at Jungkook, "Tread carefully."

     Seokjin took off his pack and set it on the ground. He cracked his neck and rotated his shoulders several times before walking over to the opening. The dust hardened into a set of steps that lead down to the room. He glanced at Jungkook, who met his eyes. Seokjin gave him a nod and then climbed up into the opening, proceeding cautiously down the steps.

     Jungkook and Taehyung walked over to the side and peered in.

     At the bottom, the floor swayed slightly as if it were made of gelatin, Seokjin wobbled a bit as he tried to gain his footing, but his feet felt heavier the longer he stood there. He observed what was laid out before him, trying to concoct a plan - what would be the fastest way to the middle with the least amount of blood and pain? 

     "Be careful, Seokjin," Jungkook yelled down and Seokjin stopped for a second, taking in a deep breath.

     Ahead of him were several obstacles, they didn't look like they would be much of a problem, but Hoseok was a trickster, so he was sure there were some surprises in store. Now or never! He took another deep breath, gathering up his nerve.

     Dinner in 3, 2, 1... Hoseok smiled to himself.

    Seokjin took two steps forward, an uneasy feeling took his stomach hostage, the hairs on his arm standing on end - something was about to happen. Not so unexpectedly, the second he took the third step, a giant pendulum swung down from out of nowhere, cutting the air in front of him with a swift swoosh. He jumped to the side to avoid being cut in half and lost his balance.

      "Holy !" Jungkook gasped.

     "Woh!" Seokjin skillfully rolled to land back on his feet, dodging the pendulum as it swung back a second time.

     "Damn," Hoseok stepped to the window, "Got the last guy within 5 seconds."

     "Last guy?" Jungkook asked.

     "Not twenty minutes before you arrived," Hoseok grinned bitterly, "He didn't taste very good though, the pendulum took the best part... the brains."

     Jungkook was grossed out, "You ate him?"

     "One cannot remain hidden if everyone knows the hiding place," Hoseok sniffed the air, smiling like a starved man about to eat a feast. "I hope I get the chance to taste what this one is made of."

     Jungkook grabbed Hoseok by the shirt and pinned him against the wall, "You're not touching him," Jungkook's eyes flashed yellow.

     "You should worry about your own test, young hybrid," Hoseok sneered as he maneuvered his shirt from Jungkook's grip and backed up. He adjusted his gaze back onto Seokjin below.

     Seokjin dodged several more swinging pendulums, swerving left then right until he was clear. The moment he stumbled onto the platform at the end of the path, the moving stopped and they disappeared. 

     "This is madness," Seokjin muttered to himself.

     "This should be a walk in the park for someone of your stature," Hoseok yelled.

     Seokjin gaped up at an extensive barbed wooden wall that scaled up to the ceiling, it had to be over fifty feet tall. There was no way he would be scaling that, so his only option was to manipulate himself under it through the tiny gap at the bottom. Hoseok must really be bored in this place. He sighed as he kneeled down and laid on his stomach, commando-crawling under the barrier. He inched along for about a hundred feet before he was able to clear the monstrosity and stand back up.

     "Aghhh," Seokjin let out a scream... SPIDERS!  All over him. He swatted them off, spinning around in a circle, slightly panicked as they crawled up and down his body, itchy little legs tickling his skin.

     Hoseok let out a titter, "I think they like you, Seokjin."

     Seokjin grimaced as he flung the last of the arachnids from his person, "I think you might have a screw loose."

    "Oh, are we not having fun yet?" Hoseok cackled, turning to Jungkook and Taehyung and announcing in a low voice, "I hate spiders."

     Seokjin glared at the next obstacle; a series of planks, in varying thicknesses, hovering atop a thick tar-like substance. Seokjin picked up a small pebble and chucked it into the ooze, it burnt up in a matter of seconds, emitting a horrid, burning flesh smell. He covered his nose. Really, really bored. 

     He tested the first one, pushing on it lightly with his foot, the second his boot touched it, it sunk below the surface and steam began to rise, toxic black smoke ghosting around him like it wanted to end his life. He coughed as he covered his nose once again, glaring up at Hoseok smiling from the entryway. The second and third planks disappea