A/N:

Hails: Oh, lord, if you guys could see the grin on my face. This is my absolute favorite chapter.

I disregard any claims to the characters, setting, or plot of Blue Exorcist/青の祓魔師, which are a property of the mangaka Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.

"There's a drive in a lost soul—in one that is searching for acceptance, companionship, belonging, whatever you want to call it. The slightest coincidence ignites a spark that one hopes will lead to something meaningful."
― Doug Cooper, Outside In

The dragon's roar was more deafening now than ever.

Yukio wanted to be down there. He wanted to be disobedient and down there, fighting, kicking, screaming. He had watched idly as his own father fought viciously with one of the craziest grins on his face that Yukio had ever seen. Part of Shirō's optimism always set his nerves on edge. He was capable of everything, wonderful things, able to save even the most stubborn of people. Yet, here Yukio was, doing nothing and waiting for the evacuation helicopter to approach.

The choppy thrumming of a helicopter's blades fwipped in the distance, ringing in Yukio's ears. He supposed that was his queue to go but something was securing him in place, invisible ropes that tied him down and each one had a name. Fascination; desperation; temptation; curiosity; rebellion.

Shura was down there too. The angelic legion, all the Arc Knights, every single one of them had been called down in the past couple hours in an attempt to drive the flaming reptile back. All the while, Yukio sat there, observing, analyzing the situation―somehow he doubted that any of them noticed the bright gleam emanating from the base of the dragon's neck. It had long since been exposed, the suspicion he had was that that was the demon's heart.

The helicopter was louder now and he could even see it. It was sailing across the sky, coming in accompanied by a fleet of others. Yukio stood and began to move towards the landing point. It was now or never.

Fight or flight.

Rebel or obey.

Somehow the former option was beginning to sound more and more appealing by the second. And what happened next would only confirm Yukio's decision. There were three evacuation helicopters sent in, only two made it to the landing point. Four exorcists escaped, only three had a parachute. The sight sucker punched Yukio in the gut and the traces of nausea he felt at the beginning of the battle began to return.

The other high-level exorcists seemed disturbed by the dragon attacking the flying machines too.

Doubt seeped into Yukio's mind and he feared if he jumped on that helicopter he might not make it out alive. Rebellion had never come easily to him and if he chose to avoid the helicopter both out of fear and the desire to be in the midst of the heat of battle, then he would have a chance at both death or castigation at the hands of his father.

The two sides tugged at one another and perhaps Shirō shouldn't have told him what he did because it sounded more like a fierce battle cry than something to shout while running away like a coward even though it was the intelligent thing to do. What else was there to do when you feared death from heights more than death by fire?

Yukio grumbled, scrunching up his face in irritation as harsh white light poured past eyelids and seared his retinas. His whole body was numb and the nerves in his system felt shot and dead tired. He didn't want to move but something was buzzing at the back of his mind, something important, telling him to get up off his back and move. It was a frantic, urgent thought yet he couldn't make a muscle so much as twitch.

'Rin!' The thought was finally as clear as a snapping finger. His eyes were now wide open, his teeth gritted in his mouth, faintly sharp like a wolf's warning growl. He tightened the muscles in his abs, stringently coercing himself into a sitting position. Memories flashed in his head, recollections of what had happened of what felt like minutes ago. It was a waterfall of terrifying images and his brother, oh God, his brother had been tortured before his very eyes.

He scanned his surroundings. It was bright, unnerving, unrelenting on his vision. The whole area consisted of nothing but a white, sterile room that looked like it would sting you if you so much as brushed the walls. Rin was in his sights in no time. Despite the intensity of his world spinning or the queasiness of knowing Lucifer had touched him, he shot forward and was down on his knees at his brother's side.

"Rin!" Yukio shook his shoulders, rocking him back and forth. "Rin, wake up! Wake up, dammit!"

He stirred, expression crinkling as he groaned through the dull ache of his body. He blinked blearily, a few seconds passed, then he jolted upright, latching onto his brother as if testing for realness.

"Yukio?"

"It's me, I'm here."

"Oh, God, Yukio." Rin wrapped his arms around Yukio's neck, clinging like a leech from a pond to his brother. He whispered things of fear, quiet and shaking as if everything had suddenly come into place. Lucifer's touch had left him feeling drained and unstable, the ghost of his fingers still lingered over his frame. He could only let Yukio's muted voice hush him as they rocked back and forth, trying to ease all the anxious energy out of the system. "I'm scared."

"I know," Yukio murmured, securing a tighter hold around his brother's back. "I'm scared too."

He wanted to say something more than that, anything at all. Something that might chase his brother's fears away. Fickle, annoying monsters they were.

"You know, you don't have to be scared."

'I'm not interested in anything you have to say.'

"Perhaps you're too averse to it now," Satan said without missing a beat. "Especially since being the one to comfort your brother must be a nice change of pace from the usual damsel in distress trope, wasting away in her tall tower, weeping pathetically."

'Please go away,' Yukio said internally. 'I won't ask again.'

Satan made some semblance of a snort and Yukio imagined an annoyed man rolling his eyes. Somehow it didn't help that the man he pictured was his father.

"Fine, as you wish," He muttered. "But I'd keep your senses attuned, you never know what's creeping around the corner."

A mischievous titter followed Satan's exit. At least, that's what Yukio thought the word for such a noise is. Who knew the King of All Demons could giggle like a school girl?

Yukio sighed, he only felt more exhausted and the racing thoughts going through his head didn't make it much better. When you were captive in the center of all Nazi scum, had the devil roaming around your skull like he owned the place, and needed to comfort your tortured twin brother, well, there was only so much the mind and body could take. Whatever else the Illuminati must have in store for them wasn't much of a comforting idea either.

"Oh, I see you're awake,"

Yukio stiffened, fingers tightening around Rin's shoulders instinctively as he looked up, around, almost as if wondering where the disembodied voice was when simultaneously a rational thought told him it was just a speaker. Rin copied Yukio's actions, eyes jumping from place to place frantically. There was a source for everything and he wanted this destroyed. It was too loud, grated against his ears.

"While normally I'd enjoy a slow Awakening, Lucifer has asked for this to come along as speedily as possible,"

The voice wasn't familiar to either of them. It must have been a different head scientist, one who had replaced the repulsive Gedōin but sounded nearly as monstrous by the baritone of his cool, calculating voice. It sent a wave of riveting shivers down the twins' spines.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt much,"

A noise that sounded eerily like the ringing one had in their ears after the assault of a sharp sound began to reverberate across the surface of the room. A heavy pressure befell them. Each sensation increased slowly with time, lethargically building and building upon them at a snail's pace. It elicited pained grunts. Their hands shielded their ears but it was to no avail. No amount of desperation could muffle the noise or the pressure that wrapped around them like a large viper squeezing the life out of its unfortunate prey.

Yukio's felt like he was made of paper and glass, the sound of shrill piano keys and violin strings rung in his ears―he's heard this noise before only a few times and the stress is enough to make him weak. He could feel his skin breaking apart, cracking to open up thin, minute fissures until his entire body resembled a shattered mirror. A flaming blue substance oozed past the chinks, making Yukio reel.

His skin was made of glass, his eyes made of paper. He heard Rin call out his name despairingly and he was engulfed in flames.

Mei-Lin could hardly believe her eyes. Here she was, in the heart of Paris, France, goggling at everything in sight. From the magnificent Eiffel Tower not far from where she stood to the wide, lovely green-blue river that passed nearby. The stone pathway was an olden fantasy that reminded her of the Western fairy tales she had heard so often in her life, ones about fearless knights in shining armor.

Despite all the gorgeous scenery, Mei-Lin and her accompanying partners' attentions were immediately drawn to an outdoor cafe where a simple table seated a particularly familiar group of students. They were chatting and making a fuss in a language the locals didn't seem to be familiar with. One of them, a dark-haired girl, chucked a balled up piece of serving paper at the head of a more brutish looking student.

Mei-Lin started forward, thinking of a way to start this conversation without accidentally scaring them off.

"Hello," She said softly in Japanese.

They all greeted her back with the same verve.

"Are you the exwires?"

She decidedly left the word 'fugitives' out of her question.

"That's us!" Konekomaru spoke (at least, that's what she thought was his name.) He seemed rather bright and sunshiney in comparison to the grey clouds that were beginning to loom overhead. "So you got our message?"

"I certainly did," Mei-Lin said, easing her way into the conversation. She introduced herself. "I work with a secondary dispatch team that's been working hard to find you. You might be able to see my partners approaching."

Suguro and Kamiki peered above Konekomaru, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the observational stares coming from Jomei and Alessa. Now that Mei-Lin was getting a good look at all of them, she couldn't help but notice the blend of European clothing they donned. From Kamiki's sleeveless, black and white striped tank top, frilly skirt, and the heart-shaped aesthetic sunglasses (which possessed a purple tint to it) to Suguro's ripped jeans and All American leather jacket. All of it gave off a sense of comfort. Even the cotton top and soft beret Miwa wore was quaint.

It was a vague reminder that they were all just children.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Konekomaru said, holding a hand out for a firm squeeze. It was a bit of shock coming from someone so small and cute.

"As to you," Mei-Lin responded. She suppressed a smile, now awfully aware of the situation. The Vatican wasn't happy with this group, regardless of their ages. "Anyway, we need to discuss some important matters. Your assistance of the Sons of Satan for instance."

Each of them frowned, beginning to shy away from the topic at hand. They knew this was coming. Alessa looked like she wanted to speak and ask questions, Jomei was on guard, ready to start a chase if they scattered.

"You kids don't strike me as the troublesome types," Mei-Lin started off. She gestured with slow and lethargic movements to every one of them. "That's why I want to make this short. In exchange for information about the whereabouts of the Okumura brothers, maybe we can convince the Knights to let you off the hook."

There was an eerie silence that followed her statement. The exwires shuffled, looking anywhere except for the detectives and their prompting looks.

Mei-Lin bit her lip, sighing and rolling her head back to look at the sky dejectedly. Interrogations only do not a rhetoric make.

"Okay, obviously that was a bit harsh, so I'll try something else," Mei-Lin said. "I couldn't help but notice Shiemi Moriyama's absence among you. Mind telling me where she is?"

There wasn't a response at first and she suspected she might have to try again when Kamiki finally had the nerve to say something.

"We don't know where the twins are," she said snappishly. Her lips were pressed together as though she were trying to keep from bearing her teeth. Her exquisite white foxes prowled around underneath the table, almost ready to strike should the opportune moment arise. "And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you. Rin and Yukio are our friends, they're like family, so it's only natural we would defend them in light of your threats."

Mei-Lin wanted to protest, so did her partners. They wanted to speak up, tell the exwires that they weren't threatening them. But as far as Mei-Lin knew, that's all the exwires were concerned with. To them, the tones had underlying perils.

"And before you tell me you're not, don't lie. You work for the Vatican. When we did this, we were well aware of the crimes we were committing, we knew getting caught would only merit trouble. We're aware of future punishments and we'll take them with dignity. No one can change them, not you, not the protesters on television, so don't make promises you can't keep."

The detectives reeled slightly at Izumo's words. Alessa spoke, "You know about the protests?"

"Of course, we know about the protests," Suguro said, immediately coming to Izumo's defense. "Word travels fast in the world."

Somehow, the thought of them knowing about the protests made Mei-Lin uneasy.

"THEY'RE JUST CHILDREN!"

"YOU CAN'T EXECUTE A HIGHSCHOOLER!"

"MURDERERS!"

"THIS ISN'T JUSTICE!"

Each sign was painted with a bright phrase about the unjust methods the Knights of the True Cross Order had employed. They were gathered outside academy walls, consultation centers, whatever building was owned by them in every part of the world. They were in small groups, most of them consisted of teachers and parents, those who sympathized with teenagers the most. It was strange, to an extent, a lot more people were angry with the lies employed against them, ones that grated away their patience and empathy for "troubled teens."

To no one's shock, the United States and Great Britain were tough and opinionated powers who were sticking their noses into the problems of other countries. The President and the Prime Minister were both rather disinclined to castigate children who hadn't even completed their compulsory education.

Jones was more than on the side of his great country than ever before, he saw no need to imprison minors. Though he knew the rest of Japan didn't care as much, perhaps the whole notion didn't matter to them. At least, crime rates weren't as bad as they were elsewhere (and then again, they didn't usually give a sixteen-year-old a bazooka.) That didn't mean there weren't protesters, people who thought that those who were so young shouldn't be incarcerated.

Hell, there was a group just outside the police station Jones was managing and using to protect Godaīn and Paku at the moment.

"Ma'am." He tried to ease a woman who was swinging a sign at him wrathfully. "Ma'am, please, I'm trying to sort through it. I need you to remain calm and return home, there are demons roaming about and your anger is only stirring them up."

"Like I care!"

"Ma'am-"

He was forced to duck as she made another attempt to strike him. At any moment he was gonna call for reinforcements and it would not be pretty.

"Jones, we need you inside!" A commanding officer called his attention. He took the opportunity to bolt up the stairs and pat an unfortunate rookie on the shoulder who would now be assigned to crowd control.

"What is it, Sir?" He said, saluting respectfully.

"We need you to identify some possession victims for us, can you manage that?"

"Yes, sir!"

Jones followed his commanding officer past the lobby, passing by a slumbering Godaīn and Paku, who had been rightfully tired out, and vanished behind a corner with his superior.

Paku woke first, stirring quietly and murmuring as she did so. She sat up straight, unknowingly pushing herself off of Godaīn's shoulder and reaching upward to stretch her aching muscles. She looked around groggily at the police station's interior, ignoring the people that buzzed about, scurrying between rooms and the outside where the sounds of angry dissidents floated through the swinging, glass doors.

Just next to her, Godaīn began to wake but Paku found herself ignoring him in favor of the rousing noises. She was on her feet as soon as possible, pressing herself up against the windows to look at the angry people outside. She felt Godaīn approach from behind; she could almost sense his mix of shock and awe. She reached behind her as if to stop her partner from falling too far forward.

"Godaīn, look... we did it."

Shiemi stared at the at odds groups in front of her. One being her own friends and the other being a trio of Order officials. The harsh gaze of the redhead, who was pressing her weight onto the edge of the table, landed on her. Shiemi pursed her lips and smoothed out her flowy, flower-print dress.

"Miss Moriyama," The woman inferred.

"That's me," Shiemi answered. "Can I help you?"

Her voice sounded timid with robotic undertones as years of managing a supply shop with her mother would have brought the words out from her subconscious.

"We need to talk about-" She made wide, broad gestures to the surrounding area and the exwires. "-All this."

Shiemi was always sensitive to social situations, so to say she didn't understand exactly what Mei-Lin was talking about would be a lie.

"I... Of course, it's important to talk-"

A loud rumbling and crashing noise interrupted her words and rain began falling from the sky, covering everyone in a shower of water. Suffice to say, screaming teenagers (except Shiemi) didn't make for a captivating scene as they rushed to a random door and disappeared behind the squeaking hinges.

Within the confines of Vatican property, towels got thrown around until everyone was dried off. Izumo was the most bothered out of everyone, growling about how jeans didn't react well with rainwater or whatever she might have been griping about. Shiemi recovered first, sending thoughtful stares to a grousing maiden and stifling a smile as Konekomaru stood on a chair to try and reach the top of Suguro's head with a white, fluffy towel.

"Okay, now, back to business," Mei-Lin sighed, seemingly unbothered by the events. Really, weather reacted at the most erratic of times and it didn't help that it had driven them all deeper into the jaws of incarceration. She tried for a different tactic, bringing herself eye-level with Shiemi. "I did not mean to sound demanding earlier, I did not mean to threaten you all. However, we are trying to help you. The location of the Okumura twins is imperative to this mission."

Shiemi clamped her mouth shut.

She wasn't about to tell them that Rin and Yuki had been taken by the Illuminati.

"Yukio! Yukio!"

Rin had naught an idea of what to do beyond leaning over his brother, holding him close, and gently shaking him. He felt old instincts from months ago resurface and whatever knowledge he gained from exorcist training had been mentally defenestrated. These instincts made him suppress his tears, made him choke down whatever screams for help he so desperately wanted to release.

Matters were only made worse by the flickering blue flames dancing over Yukio's snowy skin. The colors crashed against each other. Ethereal blue on pale, pale white that reminded Rin of his own appearance to a degree. They looked so similar now. The information registered made Rin queasy, his stomach felt heavy and tight, and swallowing was about as easy as eating hot rocks.

'I didn't want this, not this, not for you...'

Yukio, however, as the beginning of adaptions went, was taking it rather well upon rousing. He stared with large, bright eyes at the tips of his nails, as if expecting the mark of a predator to appear in the form of sharpened nails. A long, slender and tufted tail flicked back forth that curiosity had taken hold of. He brushed his fingers along the tip of his ears, ran his tongue over the sharpened canines in his mouth. The rush of energy that flowed through him was enough to make him shiver. It was so... delightful.

"You..." Rin trailed off, trying to think of something say. Right now, his mind was producing numerous twists and he wanted to express all of them. But the fear he got from it was tying it back. He hated every bit of this... this hiding his emotions. It hurt and he damn well knew it wasn't what he wanted to do.

"I have powers..." Yukio finished. "I'm a demon."

There were joyous undertones in Yukio's voice as he repeated the words as much as possible as if waiting for them to no longer be true. But they were true, they weren't proving themselves otherwise.

And all Rin could do was throw himself over Yukio in a half-hearted hug. It wasn't forceful enough to slam Yukio onto the floor but it did elicit a winded oof from him.

"Yukio, oh, my god, I-" The words 'I'm sorry' caught in Rin's throat. Instead, they became something else. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yukio said, pushing his brother back to look at his dirty face. He supposed the Illuminati wasn't one to bathe their test subjects. "I'm better than I've ever been actually."

Rin nearly protested, nearly told his brother he was being stupid because how could Yukio be so well off? He just got dragged through the mud by a man dressed in Karura's flames then had his flames forcefully awakened. Would it have been better if the whole thing had been natural? But instead, he found himself swallowing them back again.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

There was that eerie silence returning again that seemed to surround them so often these days. It was awfully painful, especially when accompanied by the biting of the chilly air. Normally, Rin wouldn't notice such things, however, this time was different, this time he was hyper-aware of all his surroundings, even the little details. From the lined panels that made up the walls to the black circle in the top corner of the room that must have been the elusive speaker.

"It's cold," Rin said offhandedly.

"Yep." Yukio agreed.

The sharp sibilation of an armored, sliding door entered the room, followed by the heavy footfalls of boots. Rin instinctively tightened his grip on Yukio's shoulders, pulling the two of them closer together. A growl slipped past his lips as the shadows of Illuminati soldiers fell upon them and without much hesitation, Yukio found himself reacting the same way. The soldiers whispered among themselves when a few words slipped out and Tōdō stepped forward.

"Take the older one."

Both twins stiffened as one of the soldiers reached forward. Rin, in a mix of terror and anger, flared up. The ethereal blue surrounded the duo in an angry blaze but to no avail. The soldiers donned something inflammable even to the twins' mixed abilities. Rin thrashed, volatile and out of control as he was yanked away from his brother.

Whatever grip the Illuminati held on them both was too strong for either of them to break. Yukio, still weak and recovering from the pain of his Awakening, could only claw at the violating hands securing him by his shoulders and upper arms. He pulled with his might, trying to exert a new strength he'd only received tastes of here and there before his awakening. Sparks of blue flames popped and crackled around him as he grappled with the metaphorical chains keeping him from freedom.

The halls and the lighting changed, the floor beneath him became different temperatures of cold. His desperation and instincts fought against his desire for control. Doors opened and closed with shrill hisses until he iron bars filled his vision. His body was released to the frigid ground, which he hit with a harsh tumble and a grunt. He lunged forward just as the doors closed, inches away from Saburōta Tōdō's face.

Somewhere, his brother was probably being strapped down to a dissection table or suffering more of Lucifer's subduction techniques.

And Yukio wanted nothing more to tear Tōdō's eyes out of their sockets, burn him to ashes, and go find Rin.

"You should have joined us, Okumura," He said in that infuriatingly sing-song voice of his.

Yukio struck the bars as hard as he could, making them rattle. "You'll pay for this!"

"You'll have to escape first," Tōdō said. "And with bars like these, I doubt you're strong enough to break them yet."

Not a single word more was exchanged by the two as Tōdō left the room.

And Yukio was left alone.

A/N:

Hails: I want to apologize for taking so long to update this. I might have had it finished two weeks ago if I wasn't so ridiculously busy. On another note, HE'S GOT POWERS, HE'S GOT POWERS, HE'S GOT POWERS.

"HELL YESSSSSSS!"

Yukio, no.

Stay savvy, my friends.

~Hails