The Counterist stepped out of his car, glaring up at the roof of the castle, studying it like it was about to come to life. He wore a simple black button-down shirt and black jeans and had his dark brown hair styled back off his face, showcasing a multitude of piercings in his ears. Seokjin didn't think he looked like anything special, then again, he didn't really expect him to look any certain way - maybe clad more in threadbare robes and dangling medallioned symbols representing battles of will or carved with deep scars of a toiled past. One thing was for certain, he didn't look old enough to be an expert.

     Namjoon greeted him with a bow and they walked into the castle discussing the procedure and what he would need to perform it. Seokjin got an uneasy feeling about this. Yoongi hurried ahead, slipping through the opening before the door closed, leaving Seokjin alone. A crow cawed overhead and he peered up, watching as it landed on a branch staring back at him, the sound sent shivers through his body. Was this a foreshadowing of impending doom? This counterist better be able to bring Hoseok out of this nightmare.

     Yoongi stopped mid-foyer, as Namjoon and Yuta turned to see who had come through the door.

     "Ah, Yoongi," Namjoon turned to Yuta, "This is..."

     "Yuta, Yuta Nakamoto." He held out his hand to Yoongi who shook it, "I knew your father."

     "That's not how you get on my good side," Yoongi started, but Yuta just smiled.

     "Hated the guy," Yuta clarified.

     "You'll have to enlighten me someday," Yoongi decided he already liked him, not another word needed to be uttered.

     "Definitely," Yuta turned to stare at the front door as it opened. Seokjin entered and closed the door behind himself, turning to them.

     "Shall we get down to the lab then?" Namjoon asked, noticing that Yuta had not taken his eyes off of Seokjin as he stopped next to Yoongi.

     "Seokjin," Yuta held out his hand and Seokjin looked down hesitant, studying it, "I'm eager to speak to you after the ceremony."

     Seokjin shook his hand, grasping it firmly. Yuta was not intimidated, in fact, his mood seemed joyful, like he was expecting Seokjin to be a hard and was surely not disappointed.

     "Why?" Seokjin inquired, brows raised.

     "I'd thought it would be obvious," Yuta smoothed his shirt, "You're going to want answers regarding Yoosun as quickly as possible."

     "I can't deny that," Seokjin nodded, "I'm sure Hoseok would be able to tell you more-"

     "Hoseok will be in no position to talk about the things he saw, this spell causes severe hallucinations in the subject for days after the counterspell negates the effect," Yuta explained, cutting him off.

     "But, aren't you afraid the same thing will happen to you?"

     "What kind of expert would I be if I couldn't counter a simple relictus spell?" Yuta smirked.

     Namjoon sensed a bit of tension from Seokjin and thought it best to move Yuta from the room and get the proceedings started, "Shall we go see Hoseok then?"

     "Yes, of course," He bowed his head slightly to Seokjin and turned back to Namjoon, following him out of the room.

     Yoongi glared at Seokjin, "What's this feeling I'm sensing?"

     "He's supposed to be old..."

     "Old?" Yoongi questioned.

     "He's way too young to be an expert."

     "You're basing his expertise on the criteria of what age he looks?" Yoongi shook his head, amused.

     "He should be wrinkly, not... not like some pretty boy," Seokjin scoffed, "Don't give me that look."

     "He comes highly recommended, chill," Yoongi put his hand on Seokjin's shoulder and squeezed, "And you of all people shouldn't question the possibility of someone simultaneously being attractive and competent."

     "Did you just call me pretty?" Seokjin smirked. Yoongi slapped him on the arm, wondering how he put up with his best friend.

     Taehyung strolled into the room, his head buried in his book, unaware that he was about to collide with the stone statue in the entryway. Seokjin grabbed his shirt in time and pulled him back, jarring him from his daydream.

     "Woh, that was close," Taehyung was centimeters from the statue's pointy sword.

     "Explain to me what elixir this guy is juicing on for him to look like a fetus-" Seokjin pulled the book from Taehyung's grasp and shut it.

     "The counterist?" Taehyung queried and Seokjin nodded, "Obvious, he's an incubus." Taehyung nabbed his book back and turned to Yoongi, "Can I borrow you?"

     Yoongi smirked, "Borrow away."  

      The two of them began to walk towards the library, leaving behind Seokjin, who was seconds away from protesting.

     "What do you mean an Incubus?" Seokjin ranted, following them through the library doors, stopping to give Taehyung an incredulous stare, suggesting he was insane.

     "You're still operating under the assumption that all Incubus are -crazed dream snatchers?" Taehyung giggled, "That's prejudice, Seokjin."

     Seokjin threw his hands up, questioning what the hell Taehyung meant, "Well, aren't they?"

     "Troglodyte," Taehyung grimaced, "You're like a walking anachronism."

      "My Archaic fists are about to mangle your face-"

     "Now that we've exhausted the thesaurus," Yoongi tittered. 

     Taehyung shook his head, "An incubus isn't just a -thirsty demon invading the dreams of young al women, many of them use their powers to harness energy for youth."

     "How the hell?" Seokjin was doubtful.

     "The counterspells he performs are turned into a sort of fountain of juvenescence," Taehyung explained, "Spells hold a great amount of energy."

     "Are you serious?" Yoongi questioned, thoughts of Taehyung messing with Seokjin right now would just end in a bloody mess concerning Tae's face.

     "A rare amount of incubus are  A-ual," Taehyung informed them, glad he chose the path of a bookworm for once, "Some even have a penchant towards staying young."

     Seokjin huffed, "Shouldn't we be down there?"

     "I'm pretty sure Namjoon is capable of handling a counterist gone rogue if need be," Taehyung took a deep breath, "Stop suspecting everyone is the devil."

      "You should be happy we got the incubus with an eternal youth addiction," Yoongi razzed him.

     Seokjin rolled his eyes, "I'm taking a walk, text me if anything happens."

      Seokjin's walk ended up with him on some backroad that he wasn't aware existed until this very moment, the rustling leaves rolling down the street like tumbleweed did nothing to ease his mind of the odd solitude he was feeling inside. The wind carried around a distant aroma of burning logs that filled his nostrils. He loved this time of year, but even the atmosphere was not enough to uncloud his thoughts. Yoosun had invaded his brain, implanted spells inside of him... made him into a walking death trap. Worse of it was, he had no way of knowing if something else was lurking in there. He took a deep breath of the chilly autumn air. No. He couldn't worry about that or he'd go batty. Right now, he just needed to get back to the castle to find out if Hoseok had returned to the world of reality. 

      Where the hell am I? He took out his phone and punched up the GPS app. He was miles from the castle, it was nearly 2 PM, which meant he had been walking for a few hours. The phone vibrating in his hand made him jump. Jungkook. He answered.

      "Seokjin?" The younger's voice was like a melody, he smiled, "You there?"

     "I'm kind of lost," Seokjin chuckled, "Grab the motorcycle and come get me?"

     He shared his location with Jungkook.

     "Yeah sure, stay put," Jungkook paused, unsure whether he should tell Seokjin what was happening, "Um, there's some bad news, but I don't want to tell you on the phone."

     Seokjin switched ears, an unease in his stomach fluttering about, something was wrong, "You're scaring me, tell me now."

     "Hoseok started bleeding-" He stopped, static sounded over the line, "So Yoongi went to get blood... he was... ambushed."

     A chill went straight up Seokjin's spine, that feeling in the pit of his stomach doubling into tiny pricks, stabbing at him, "Is he o-okay?"

     "It's pretty bad, he's lost a lot of blood-" Jungkook hesitated, taking a deep breath, "Seokjin, I don't know if he's going to make it."

     Seokjin dropped his phone, panicked. How the hell could this happen in the short time he was gone? He covered his mouth, he should have been with Yoongi, this would not have happened if he wasn't out walking in the middle of nowhere.

     "Just stay there, I'm on my way," Jungkook's voice came through the receiver.

     Seokjin nodded, reaching for his phone and bringing it slowly up to his ear, "Who did this?"

     "If I tell you, you're going to get yourself killed-"

     "WHO DID THIS?" Seokjin yelled, anger replacing the worry too quickly.

     Jungkook could only sigh.

      "Jungkook-" He was not mad at the younger, he couldn't take this out on him, "Please."

     "He managed to kill two of Jihoon's men in the scuffle-"

     "Hurry," Seokjin hung up, pocketing his phone, his breath labored, "Oh god Yoongi, don't you ing die on me."

     The second Jungkook and Seokjin got back to the castle, Seokjin was off again, wasting no time zooming down the road straight to Jihoon's house. He didn't bother to go see Yoongi first, if he did, he knew he wouldn't leave his bedside and he had to take care of.

      Seokjin busted through Jihoon's office door, taking out several guards in his path. Jihoon did not falter, he stood there behind two of his biggest men, staring at Seokjin as if he were late. Seokjin realized as he stared back at the pint-sized weasel, that this was a setup, Jihoon planned this little display to get him there. Who is your real weakness, Seokjin?

    "Now that I have your attention, I have a quest for you," Jihoon's gaze was wicked, he knew he had Seokjin at an impasse, and the only way out of this was to do what he beckoned.

      "Why would I do anything for you?" Seokjin snarled.

     "If you don't, he dies," Jihoon sat back down at his desk, waving for his goons to leave them alone, "This little favor will save Yoongi's life."

     "What did you do to him?"

     "The counterist will try his hardest, but it's a new spell, one like he's never seen before," Jihoon was proud of himself, "If he somehow is genius enough to figure out a counterspell, it will take longer than Yoongi has."

      "Bull."

     "Call Namjoon, ask him what is wrong with Yoongi, the best you'll get is 'some sort of spell, we don't know'," Jihoon's smirk was making Seokjin's face turn red, he was seconds away from ripping the scoundrel's heart from his chest.

     "What do you... want?" Seokjin's sneer was comical to Jihoon, he was getting too much enjoyment out of Seokjin's turmoil.

     "You have my laptop, you know what's coming," Jihoon steepled his fingers in front of his mouth, "Yoosun has his own rules in play, if you will. I need to protect myself."

     "Did you expect him to cater to your whims?"

     "I expected he wouldn't dare to ask so much of my patience, he's a liability, but that's not what I need your help with," Jihoon stood, he walked to Seokjin, looking up at the ornery hybrid, "I need you to get me something from Namjoon's office."

     "You want me to betray my pack's trust?"

     "You want me to let Yoongi die?" Jihoon taunted, goading him, "It's your choice."

     "Why not just have me ask Namjoon for it-"

     "Seokjin, I need not remind you that Namjoon is a private sort of person?" Jihoon sighed, "He would not willingly give you what I seek."

     "Then obviously Yoongi would rather die than see you with it," Seokjin had enough of Jihoon's , he grabbed him up by the collar and drew back his hand-

     "You kill me and you lose your best friend-" Jihoon's tone turned serious, "I know the bond you share with my cousin is very.. special."

     Seokjin clenched his jaws, whatever item Jihoon needed him to retrieve from Namjoon's possession had to be catastrophic if it were to end up in this bottom-feeder's hands, "How can I trust you'll keep your end of the bargain?"

     "Yoongi still plays an important part in my plans, while his demise could be worked around, it's better for me if he's alive... for now," Jihoon removed his shirt from Seokjin's grasp and backed away a few steps, adjusting his tie, "Do we have a deal?"

     "What do you need?" Seokjin knew he'd regret this, but he had no other choice, not when the alternative was that Yoongi would die.

     "He keeps it in his safe, it's a small black box, what's in it is not your concern, so don't bother to try to swap it out with a fake," Jihoon sat on the corner of his desk, looking at his watch, "I'd say you have about 23 hours left before Yoongi succumbs to the spell."

     Seokjin paced the floor in Jungkook's room, he was never this nervous, even before a fight he remained calm and just did what he needed to do... but this, this was big, this was stealing from their leader, this was betraying his pack.

     "You can't do this," Jungkook practically begged, staring at Seokjin with a crestfallen expression that ate at his conscience, intensifying his guilt.

     "I can't let Yoongi die-"

     "How do you know he's not bluffing?" Jungkook took Seokjin by the shoulders, squeezing his fingers down in his flesh, hoping to talk some sense into him, "Did you talk to Yuta?"

     "If I talk to Yuta, my chances of getting this thing from Namjoon's safe become zero," Seokjin took a deep breath, "I need you to keep a lookout for me-"

     "No way," Jungkook let go of Seokjin, his mouth curled up in utter disapproval, "I can't be a part of this-"

     "I won't sit there and watch him suffer," Seokjin shook his head, "I need your help... please."

     Jungkook couldn't bear the desperation on Seokjin's face, "What if we explain to Namjoon-"

     "No, you're not getting this," Seokjin cut him off, "If Namjoon knows, Yoongi dies."

     Seokjin quietly opened the door to Namjoon's office and peeked inside, it was empty. The room was dimly lit, only a small amount of light shone in from the window, but it was enough to be able to see around without taking out his flashlight and alerting a passerby. Namjoon had been in the lab for most of the day, preoccupied with Hoseok's situation, so this should be cake. He opened it further and turned to Jungkook, feeling the urge to apologize for asking this of him, "I'm sorry."

     Jungkook shrugged, "Just hurry."

     Seokjin leaned in and kissed his lips, the younger was a little more rigid than usual, Seokjin wasn't sure if Jungkook was mad at him or if he was just nervous, maybe both at this point, "Don't worry."

     "Yeah, sure," Jungkook turned his back to the elder and Seokjin just sighed, he hated that Jungkook would think less of him... but it was just something he'd have to live with.

      Seokjin slipped inside, wiping away the absurd amount of sweat that started to run down his forehead. Chill Seokjin, just get the damn box and get out. He hurried over to behind the desk and moved the painting that was attached to the front of the wall safe. He knew the first two digits in the combination, but the last one would be tricky, Namjoon probably wouldn't pick too obvious a number, so it could be anything. He thought of some significant numbers within the pack, 23 members. It didn't work. 12, the day of his birth. No go. Nari's birthday, The number of Dagma's children, the last two digits of his phone number, the number of hamburgers he could eat in one sitting, all were dead ends. "," At this rate, he would end up trying every number on the damn dial.

     Jungkook traipsed up and down the hallway, stopping every few seconds to listen for footsteps or voices. No one was coming, he was alone. The odds of Namjoon coming down this hallway in the time it took for Seokjin to steal the object were probably very slim. What is taking so long? He listened against Namjoon's door, hoping maybe he could tell when Seokjin was done, but it was quiet, the only sound was his own heartbeat thumping so hard that it was about to burst from his chest cavity. I can't believe I'm doing this. He swore that somehow he'd make this up to Namjoon and the pack, even if they never f