"Are the rest of you guys alright?" was the first thing Changbin heard the second he stepped foot on a hard, rocky surface. He wordlessly nodded at the speaker, who happened to be Chan, who held a flashlight, and found himself placing a palm on the stony wall opposite him.

Before him were stairs that led up into some place that Changbin didn't know about, and the area would've been completely submerged in darkness if not for the flashlights that Woojin and Chan held in hand.

"I wouldn't advice you touching those walls," Minho said, addressing Changbin, "many spooky insects and small animals are in these kind of caves."

Changbin immediately leaned back, and glared at Felix when the Australian laughed at his reaction.

"Shut up, Minho," Jeongin countered. "He likes to trick everyone with this."

Minho scowled, and his frown deepened when Seungmin agreed with Jeongin.

Chan smiled at all of them, before clearing his throat to alert them of what he was about to say. "Okay, we have to get going now. Jungkook provided me with a map, and since we're kind of in the wilderness and not around a lot of civilization, the chances of us getting spotted by the fairies is very slim. The journey to the tribal mountain take about like, two days."

"Two days?" Felix voiced out with obvious surprise.

"The time around here is very different from human time," Woojin clarified, "Seungmin and I have visited here before, afterall. But, nonetheless we have to hurry."

They all started walking up the steps, and with every sound their shoes made on top them, the more Changbin thought something or someone was going to come for them. His fear was irrational though, because he could defend himself, and the people he surrounded himself with knew how to do so too.

When they got out of the end of the cave, Changbin was surprised by how bright everything was in comparison to where he'd just been. True, they were inside a forest, but Changbin could see every detail of the soil and trees that circled around him.

"It must be daytime," Chan spoke up, looking through what looked to be the map. "Okay, we were in one of the caves that are on the edges of Faey, and the map says we have to go...north, for the time being."

Jeongin let out a low groan a few minuted after they continued walking. "Gosh, this is too tiring. Can't Minho just...zap us inside the tribal mountain or something?"

Minho placed an offended hand on his chest and gasped lightly. "Excuse you, I am not your slave. Also, Magic can't grant what we can easily do by ourselves, so stop being a lazy brat."

Woojin stifled a laugh, and Jeongin huffed, kicking a rock away rather agressively.

Despite Jeongin's sour mood, the atmosphere was light and childlike, which made Changbin forget about his problems for a short while. The forest scenery looked refreshing, Chan and Woojin joked around a lot, and Changbin got to hold Felix's hand a lot, which was always nice.

"What's the time now on Earth?" Woojin asked, and Seungmin chose to answer.

"It's 3:18 AM."

Changbin was surprised at hearing that it was still early in the morning on Earth, which meant that they were probably going to get to the tribal mountain on time, that is, if they didn't encounter any troubles.

Changbin thought too soon.

There were sounds coming from the far distance off to the right, and the males stopped in their tracks, not knowing what was making those sounds. It sounded like a stampede, and Changbin wondered if they were going to come across an army of fairies. He hoped not.

"What are you doing here?"

A couple of beings stood a few feet from them, and their short stature did nothing to lessen how intimidating they looked with their spears and bow and arrows.

Felix subconciously drew Changbin closer to him, and muttered, "Who are they?"

"Gnomes, I guess," Changbin replied. He'd never came across them before, but he knew that they were generally nice to others. Generally.

"We have something to do," Chan replied, mostly to the gnome that appeared to be the leader; a stocky young male with long red hair.

"What is that thing?" The leader asked, and Changbin could see Jeongin rolling his eyes next to him. Changbin agreed with the Werewolf's reaction, because the more they spent being idle, the more time they'd be wasting.

"We're heading to the tribal mountain," Woojin smiled, though it looked a little bit strained, "and we have a very limited time to do so."

"You're not supposed to be here. Fairies don't like visitors," one of the gnomes stated.

"You aren't supposed to be here either," Seungmin argued, "so we won't let anyone else know if you guys keep your mouths shut."

The leader frowned, before pointing a spear at Felix, to Changbin's and everyone else's dismay. "Give us the human, and then you're free to go."

"No way," Changbin answered. He could see how tense everyone looked, because of the weapons the gnomes carried. They weren't as dangerous as Vampires, but they were capable hurting people badly when angered.

"We can't give you any human," Chan said.

"Then we will fight," the leader of the gnomes retorted.

Minho stepped forward, bringing one of his spellbooks out. "We can't give him to you, but I'm a Witch. Name anything you want, apart from him, and I'll give it to you guys."

"Why can't I just destroy them instead?" muttered Jeongin under his breath. Woojin just patted his back and fixed him with an expression that told him to 'shut it'.

The gnomes conversed with each other in the closely knit circle that they formed, and then the leader turned back to Minho. "Okay. We want gold. Lots of it."

"Bring out your bags," Minho ordered, and the creatures did as he asked.

Even though Jeongin looked dissatisfied with this outcome, that didn't stop him, and everyone else for that matter, from peering over each other's shoulders to see what Minho was going to do.

"All of Nature and the wonder it holds, bless these men right here with gold," Minho chanted, before quickly adding other words that sounded like latin. Instantly, everything gold filled the bags of the gnomes to the brim, and the short creatures looked pleasantly surprised.

"Very well, you may go," the leader informed them, his eyes not leaving the gold for one second.

"Let's go now," Woojin told them, and everyone nodded, happy to be free from the gnomes and their numerous weapons.

"See?" Minho clasped his hands, looking very pleased with himself. "They just wanted gold, like everyone else in this world."

"You can give them gold, but you can't just bring us to the tribal mountain?" Jeongin breathed out in disbelief.

"Just be glad that they didn't fight us or take Felix away," Seungmin reasoned, glancing at where Changbin and Felix were behind him.

"They looked so small though," said Felix while hooking his arm with Changbin, "I don't know why they wanted me."

"Gnomes around here usually sacrifice humans," Chan simply stated, and if Felix was drinking water he would've spit it out.

"What?"

Changbin hoped they wouldn't come across any other gnomes for the rest of the time they spent at Faey, because there was no way he was going to let Felix go to them after hearing what Chan said.

_______

"What time is it on Earth?" Minho asked, his tone indicating how tired he was. They had all been walking for quite some time now, and although they were definitely closer to where the tribal mountain was located, they still had a long way to go.

The bright pastel blue skies had dimmed into this dark orange colour, and the once bright forest now started to have shadows lurking at every corner. The view looked breathtaking, and despite everyone's tired disposition, they had to appreciate that.

"Almost 12 PM," Seungmin replied, his tone flat. "Let's take a rest after a few minutes, guys. It's almost nighttime anyway, and I'm tired."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Seungmin's words. They kept on walking until they came across a couple of trees that parted ways to showcase a widely spaced river. It looked deep, and the colour was an indigo shade. The white circular moon reflected on the smooth surface appeared giant, and there were no stars next to it.

"Let's gather here for tonight," Chan instructed. "Minho?"

Minho groaned, before a campfire suddenly appeared. "You guys are sooo lazy."

"We're all tired," replied Woojin, taking a seat on a log and going through the stuff inside his bag. "Seungmin and I have some snacks, because we aren't lazy, like Minho had kindly stated."

Seungmin pulled out a blanket and placed it on the ground, seating on it soon after. Chan quickly joined him.

"You guys just wait. I'm gonna get the real food," Jeongin said, before taking off his shirt and jumping into the river.

"This kid's crazy," Minho uttered.

Felix laughed out loud, pulling Changbin closer to him at where they were seated. "How are you?"

Changbin watched as Jeongin, now a large grey haired wolf, swam through the water, clearly enjoying himself. "I'm okay." He listened to his heartbeat. It was slow paced, as usual, and he didn't have difficulties breathing, so that was good.

"I'm glad," Felix answered with a smile, and when Changbin made eye contact with him, his smile grew into a full grin.

"Why are you grinning?" asked Changbin.

Felix shrugged, before smiling once again. "'Cause I'm with you. It's as simple as that."

Changbin felt his whole face grow warm, and those familiar active butterflies came back again. They'd never leave the half demon, as long as Felix was there. "Will you still be with me if I give you to the gnomes for sacrifice?"

Felix's lovestruck expression morphed into one of horror, and Changbin burst into laughter. The Australian nudged Changbin's ribs with his elbow. "Hey. Don't joke about that please."

Changbin laughed even more, because he knew Felix would probably never look at Gnomes the same way again after today. Seungmin looked his way, raising his eyebrows in obvious confusion as to what was happening.

"I got fish!" Jeongin shouted, now in his human form. He looked like a drenched puppy, and in his hands were fish that squirmed and wriggled around. "I mean, we can fry it and stuff. I'm hungry."

Chan grimaced.

"Or...I can just chant a spell that'll give us any food we want," Minho suggested, and Jeongin frowned, looking totally done with Minho.

"I did this, because I didn't want to be called lazy by you, because Magic can't grant stuff that you can do by yourself and blah blah blah. So," Jeongin growled, "we're all eating fish today. Any objections?"

Minho stopped talking.

"Okay fine, whatever. I don't care what I eat anyway," Woojin spoke, looking over the map.

Felix locked eyes with Changbin.

"Crazy?" Changbin whispered. Felix nodded and gave out a carefree, happy laugh that made Changbin's heart swell and have more life in it than it ever had before. He laughed along with Felix, happy that for once in his life, he was free to be who he was with someone that he loved.

_______

No one slept for long, but it was enough to give them energy to continue their journey without feeling tired.

Day quickly came, and they were still walking, some of them munching on the snacks that Seungmin and Woojin had brought along.

"We are walking. Just walking. One, two, three, walking~" Minho silently sang and hummed, making a song out of something mundane as walking.

No one minded Minho at first, because his voice was oddly soothing, but it was when he started to do fake guitar riffs that Chan had to ask him to stop.

Minho complied, but soon enough, he started again.

Changbin didn't mind him. Minho's voice was pleasing to the ears, and his song kept everyone from feeling bored. The song got especially entertaining when Woojin joined Minho in his singing. They made a joke out of their voices on purpose, and that brightened up the dull atmosphere.

They continued their hilarious singing well into the afternoon, and when everyone stopped walking to catch their breaths.

"What time is it?" Jeongin asked Seungmin.

"In human time or Faey's time?"

"You know what I mean."

"4:45 PM," Seungmin replied.

"God, we have to hurry up then," remarked Woojin, getting up on his feet from the tree roots he'd been seating on. "Before we know it, it'll be night time."

"How far are we from the tribal mountain?" Felix asked Chan.

"We still have to pass a couple of caves and rivers, then we'll get to the base of it. Jungkook said it'll be easy to get to the top of the mountain, since it has stairs to walk on."

Approximately two minutes later, the group started walking again, following the map's direction as they did so.

There were defintely some things to see on their way to the mountain. There were a group of colourful snakes that were living under a large rock that scared the living daylights out of Seungmin when he almost stepped on one of them, and they all spotted many bats when they passed through the caves. There were also many mythical animals and a wide array of flowers to look at that everyone almost got distracted by them anytime they saw them.

"Human time?" Jeongin asked Seungmin, looking at the wild animal that was walking beside him. During the course of their journey, they'd also came across this small animal that looked like a cross between a puppy and a rabbit, and it followed them, especially Jeongin, ever since.

"7:01 PM."

"Okay." Jeongin smiled at the animal next to him. "I shall name you Dorito."

"Now is not the time to be naming animals, Jeongin," Woojin let out, sounding frustrated for some reason. The fact was that he was starting to notice the dwindling energy coming off from Changbin, and although the half demon looked fine on the outside, Woojin knew that something was terribly wrong. "We need to get going."

Chan shot him a worried glance, and Seungmin tried to not stare at Felix and Changbin too much.

Minho and Jeongin started walking too, Dorito happily skipping along in between them.

In a few more minutes, they finally came across the base of the tribal mountain. That was good news. The bad news was that there were currently two fairies talking to each other, and they stopped as soon as they saw them.

Changbin felt anxiety build up in his system at the sight of them, and he worried that they'd be a problem in getting inside that mountain.

"Who are you?" One of the fairies, a tall and lean female, asked them. "And what are you doing here?"

"We came from Earth," Chan replied. "We're all otherworldy creatures, except for Felix, who's human. We just need to use the mountain to help heal Changbin, and we'll be on our way."

"You can't use it," the lean girl said.

The other one, a shorter male, smacked the female's arm. "Tzuyu, stop it." He looked at everyone else. "I'm Jinho. You're only using it for healing, right?"

"Yes," said Jeongin.

Woojin stared at Felix and Changbin again, and knitted his eyebrows at how Changbin seemed to depend more on the Australian to hold him up now.

Jinho smiled. "Good. Too many people use it for their selfish needs. Just hurry up, but there can't be too many people inside there. Other fairies may not be so welcoming if they find you here."

"Minho and I are going," Woojin stated, and met Chan's eyes. "Chan should help Changbin up."

"I'm coming too," Felix told them, before staring down at Changbin. "Binnie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Changbin slowly nodded. "I am. Let's get up there."

Woojin stared at Felix warily, before finally nodding. "Okay. Felix, you can come too. Seungmin and Jeongin will keep watch. And thank you, Jinho."

"You're welcome," Jinho answered, and Minho and Woojin started making their way up the stairs, along with Chan, Changbin and Felix.

There weren't many stairs, which was good. Inside the mountain looked more refined and well-built than the outside. The walls were a golden brown colour, and even the ground shone.

"The temple area is right there," Chan said, pointing to an opening on the right. "Only the person getting healed and the people performing the healing are allowed inside."

Minho nodded in understanding, and in a few seconds, Changbin let Felix go, albeit a little reluctantly, and entered the temple with Minho and Woojin by his side.

It was obvious how nervous Felix felt, and he fisted his hands at his sides to stop them from shaking. Chan patted his shoulder and gave him some encouraging words, but they only relieved the Australian a little bit.

He stared inside the temple, seeing Minho and Woojin taking their positions at the corners, and Changbin was lying in the middle, his palms placed on his chest as he stared up at the ceiling.

Changbin felt terrified. His heart raced against his ribcage, and he clasped his hands tightly to stop them from shaking. He quickly shut his eyes, and hoped that all this would be over quickly.

He could hear Woojin's and Minho's voices, but his mind was too occupied to listen to what they were saying. He could feel the flat ground digging into his back, and noticed how the room's temperature started lowering.

And that was when he felt it. That sudden, excruiating pain that made his heart stop.

Alarm bells rang through Felix's head when he heard Changbin's scream. He watched in fear and astounding heartache as Changbin writhed around in blatant discomfort as he clutched the left side of his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Oh--oh my god, Chan," Felix stuttered, looking at the older male with wide eyes, "why is Changbin being l-like this? Is it supposed to--to hurt?"

"It's...it's probably due to the changes taking place in his body," Chan replied, but he looked troubled.

"But he's crying so much. I don't want him to cry."

"Just--don't watch him, alright? It's always hard when this happens. I really wished you would've stayed downstairs with Jeongin and Seungmin."

And Felix tried to, but he failed, every single time. And why were Woojin and Minho taking so long anyway? Felix couldn't stand seeing Changbin suffer any longer.

The temple's light started dimming, grabbing Chan's and Felix's attention immediately. Its previous golden colour turned a dark grey shade, and the only bright spot was where Changbin lay, looking pale and lifeless.

Felix's cheeks were wet, but he didn't notice this. His only concern was Changbin, and it scared him how dead he looked at that moment. Changbin wasn't moving at all.

Did he really lose Changbin? No, he couldn't. He wouldn't--

Felix started walking inside the temple.

"Felix, you can't go inside!" Chan called out, but the Australian wasn't listening to him. He wasn't listening to anyone at all.

Felix ran straight into the circle that Changbin was lying within, just as a beam of light was starting to surround the half demon. He held up Changbin using one arm, and used his free hand to hold Changbin's limp one.

"W-Wake up Changbin. Please, please wake up," Felix begged, but Changbin wasn't responding. Felix didn't care about the fact that the circle was brightening up in a pale blue light, one that ran over the surface of both Changbin's and Felix's arms. All he wanted was for Changbin to open his eyes, and be alive and well. Because that was all he hoped for.

God, why wasn't Changbin waking up?

Felix's heart felt like a million glass shards were pressed into it, over and over again. Everything hurt. He felt so empty, yet so overwhelmed at the same time.

"Changbin, why aren't you waking up? You promised that you'll be fine, that you'll be okay, remember? I love you..."

Felix stared at his surroundings then, and noticed how dark everything looked around him and Changbin. He and Changbin were the only ones who had light on them. Felix couldn't even see Minho or Woojin.

Changbin didn't wake up, and that reality hurt so much that it was too hard to bear.

The fact with power and magic is that, for you to get something, you have to give something away.

Felix wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop forming under his eyes, and he broke down even more since that was what Changbin always did whenever Felix cried; he wiped his tears away.

He softly cupped Changbin's face in his hands, and leaned in to kiss his lips. It was the kind of kiss that screamed hesitance and unwillingness, because Felix was unwilling to let go of Changbin. He didn't want to let go of him.

But

then

he

did.