Disclaimer: I do not own or receive profit by writing this story based on the YYH characters.

A/N: This is a huge AU.

Word had spread among the troops that the Praecantrix had recruited a Phoenix. A real, live Phoenix working for the enemy. The implications, while staggering, were not wholly worrisome. After all, Hiei mused, it was only a rumor. A Phoenix working for its murderers did not sound probable. Hiei opened his eyes slowly, casting a look across the battlefield. Elementals were not common, but they were far more powerful than the Prae's mix of witches and humans. He had just taken out a whole troop single handedly. He, of course, was not a regular Elemental. He was the son of an Elemental and a Witch, a forbidden joining of unimaginable magnitude. The Forbidden Child they called him, and while he was an invaluable fighter, he would never make it past the third rank because of it.

A whisper touched the edge of his mind, the faint feel of fabric rustling across its edges. Question, curiosity, concern. Question. Ah, Yukina, his other half. His twin, who was thankfully accepted into society. Healing is a universal power, and could not be attributed to her Wiccan blood. Hiei responded to her gentle inquires with normalcy, boredom, and exasperation. He could feel her laughter in his heart. Yes, Hiei thought stepping over a blue clad body; the mighty Phoenix would not work for such pitiful beings as the Prae if a half blood like him could so easily cut them down.

They were just rumors.

Second Arma Urameshi by the Fourteenth Unit of the Praecantrix Liberal Army was mad. Furious, even, if his expression was any hint. His left flank just fell and he knew exactly why. Shenkin had disobeyed him, again. Now he was dead, but Yuusuke's grim satisfaction was short lived. Even in death the man made him mad, Shenkin had taken two hundred good men down with him. The rest were soon to follow if he didn't do something soon, the left flank played a large role in his original strategy and now that it had been decimated the other Unit's were open to attack from behind. Thinking quickly Yuusuke picked up a handheld radio.

"-bzt- Captain Baker, this is Arma Urameshi, do you copy, over?-bzt-"

"-bzt- Arma, this is Baker, I copy-bzt-"

"-bzt- The third rung has broken, I repeat, the third rung has broken. Proceed with Charlie-Seven-Niner emergency back up procedure." It was one of his own. He wrote half the field manual anyway.

"-bzt- Command, please confirm Charlie-Seven-Niner EBU procedure.-bzt-" There was a tremble in Baker's voice. Yuusuke didn't blame him. That called for the suicide of half the man's men. But he's be damned if he lets this city fall, or any other's defense to be compromised for his insolent officer's mistake.

"-bzt- Confirmed. You have a go, Captain. Urameshi out.-bzt-" God save his soul.

God, it seems, did not want to save his soul. Rather, his attitude looked more inclined to kill him. The sooner to hell, probably. Yuusuke Urameshi staggered behind a wall, clutching his specialized gun. The ornately inlayed metal was a gift from his late Master, Genkai. He used rounds that were hollow and filled them with his Wiccan manifestation, an explosive blue energy that incinerates upon impact. All the other guns he had used would fall apart every two or three months, but this one had lasted him a year and a half. Genkai had always known what she was doing.

An explosion sounded behind him, followed by the screams of Prae soldiers. Stupid, stupid! What was he thinking doing Charlie-Seven-Niner? He had assumed the other fronts were holding their own, hadn't even radioed to check if their forces had been thinned enough for the procedure to cause worry. He had also counted on the figures he'd been given, his Unit only facing four Elementals, three fire and a solar User. Pretty strait forward. That was, until an earth user had suddenly shown up and caused havoc among the trenched soldiers. He had most definitely not counted on fire and earth working together.

Leaning out of his cover Yuusuke shot at the incoming Initiumi soldiers, lower class Mages that had nothing on the power of an Elemental. Makoto's Unit had collapsed under the strain his maneuver had put it, and in under three hours the city had become overrun. Hitting everyone he could in the chest area with his Spirit Gun helped hold back the forces, but he only had three… two… ah, and now he's out. Pulling back behind his cover Yuusuke ejected his clip and slammed in a new one with ease. He was out of Spirit Bullets, but regular ones were just as deadly with the right aim.

That, of course, was not always the case, mused Yuusuke as he returned to firing. Most Initiumi solders had a tendency to be impervious to regular bullets. Like the one charging his position right now, who had taken eight bullets in the chest and one to the neck and was still going hard. Three feet from him, however, the Mage ran head first into a glowing orange barrier. Yuusuke laughed with relief. Saved! He may be an Arma, but that sure as hell didn't mean he was overly powerful. In fact, compared to some of his companions he was down right weak. One of said companions being Major Sareade Kazuma Kuwabara whose barrier was erected before him. Hope shined through a bit. Kuwabara was from Makoto's Unit, which meant there might be other survivors.

I would really like feedback for this; the second chapter is half done already.

TS