Song Playlist: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July

Setting fire to the sky

He-here comes this rising tide

So come on

Chapter 22

Collision

/kəˈlɪʒ(ə)n/

1. an event in which two or more bodies or particles come together with a resulting change of direction and, normally, energy

2. the conflict of opposed ideas, wishes, attitudes

A wind was on the rise, like a beast awakening from a deceitfully calm slumber. With the changing currents tousling his hair, Mika didn't care for the bumps in the nearly collapsed truck roof he was sitting on. The sky was bluer than he had ever remembered; the uplifting wind fresher than the stagnant suffocation of Sanguinem could ever offer.

It would have been almost enjoyable, if Mika were deplorable enough to treat this as an idle trip and not a rescue mission on the battlefield in Shinjuku.

There was also the problem of the sickeningly deplorable company.

"You know Mika, you don't have to keep pretending your pet followers aren't hiding nearby. I know they've been stalking us ever since you snuck away from Krul, like the little doggies they are," Ferid chuckled from beside Mika. Unlike Mika, he stood proud and tall uncaring for how big a target it made him.

Mika rolled his shoulders against the itch in his back, one then the other, and didn't bother looking at Ferid.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said monotonely. In a torn off car mirror caught between two pieces of rubble, Mika's face flickered into one not his own. Whiter, inhumanely whiter, and as subtly amused as Michael could get.

It was surprisingly hard not to let his own lips quirk upwards.

"What are you looking at with that kind of expression, hm?" Ferid's voice now lilted into his ear as he bent down to follow Mika's gaze. Fuck. Ferid's arm was light from muscle or fat, yet now it was pressing down heavily onto his shoulder. Luckily, when Mika let his eyes catch again on the mirror, Michael had vanished.

"Nothing," Mika replied, just as flat as before. He jumped down to the ground to break free of Ferid's arm and his white cloak flared up like wings. "Who did you say before was watching us?"

"Seems a new group of enemies are going to attack soon, led by that Lieutenant guy. Ah, what was his name again? Itchy nose?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose, leader of the Moon Demon Company," Mika recited before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

"Oho, I didn't know you knew the Imperial Army so…intimately, Mika dear."

"Shut up. I pay attention in military class."

A bold faced lie. Mika couldn't give two shits about whatever messed up system the humans had spun for themselves, hierarchies within hierarchies within hierarchies. But when it came to Yuu, it was impossible to share dreams for four years and not know about his Guren, from all the times Yuu would sulk about Guren missing their shared dinners together to the starry eyed gushing about how amazing his sword work was.

Ferid was talking, but Mika was only half listening. How long would Yuu sulk for if his Guren got killed….in fact, would he even stop sulking at all?

"I'll take care of him," Mika cut into whatever Ferid had been saying. "If my companions can kill one of the elite bounty headed humans, you can't whine about them following me. If they were here, hypothetically."

Mika walked away to the haunting sound of Ferid's mirthful laughter, as well as his parting call, "Sure thing, Mika darling."

It was like turning his back to an uncaged white leopard, biding the perfect time to pounce and sink its claws into him. Yet as he passed the broken car mirror, Michael was gliding along side him on the other side with his hair billowing and not a single strand out of place.

Prepared to fight, yet confident in victory yielding at his feet.

And as five uniformed figures flitted from the nearby shadows to Mika's side, Michael's cool reassurance seeped into him like a second skin and he allowed himself the fleeting luxury of a small smile.

"Capture the leader, not kill," Mika murmured without moving his lips once the distance away from Ferid was far enough. "And don't call me Your Highness in front of others."

Not another word was needed.

In one fluid movement, the vampires slid into Lusina's devised pentagon formation with Petra and Fearce in front, Elemary at the back and Teuta and Lusina protecting Mika's left and right. In the centre stood Mika, like the white king on a blood soaked chessboard.

They drew their weapons in unison and their faces smoothed from all expression, save for the glint in their eyes that made them glow with an unholy light.

A far off explosion sent shock waves of tremors and a building in the distance collapsed in itself like a stack of toothpicks falling, announcing the arrival of Guren and his company. As the billow of smoke began to die down, it parted like a curtain revealing the stage and all its tangled puppets.

Sayuri, choking on a gasp as Petra's sword cleaved straight through her shoulder from in front.

Goshi, with Fearce pressed against his back and several daggers digging into his neck like a hand of cards.

Shigure, on her back and staring in shock at her the chunk of flesh in front of her that used to be her right achilles tendon, even as Lusina's blade sank into her left one.

Mito, her cheek sinking under the weight of Teuta's clawed fist.

Elemary, standing on the edge of his magic circle as it lit up beneath everyone else's feet, trapping them inside like sheep in a slaughter pen.

Then there was Mika, who had his sword nicking into Guren's bare throat hard enough to draw a trickle of blood; a promise of death. In a single breath span, the enemy was frozen in sheer shock before the clash of retaliating blades filled the air like the gears of time screeching forward.

The screams of agony of the humans were nothing but a distant white noise for Mika. He had garnered enough from Yuu's ramblings to guess how slippery his opponent could be.

"Elemary, binding spell!" were the first words to leave his lips as soon as his sword had touched Guren's neck. A wave of black magic pulsed from where Elemary stood and wrapped itself around Guren once, twice, ten times, until Mika was certain even death throes wouldn't let him move an inch. He was completely bound, from his toes to top of his mouth.

Mika raised his hands and making sure his eyes didn't close out of habit of concentration, incanted, "Anypsono."

This time his Light magic seemed even more eager than before to leap at his command, a feat Mika would have previously thought impossible, as if it was held back only by a weakening barrier. Just as it lifted his human cocoon in the air, Mika's back pulsed in pain and Guren nearly slipped from his levitation.

"Y—sir! Are you okay?" Petra cried out, the closest to Mika in that moment. She couldn't look away for long as even while heavily injured, Shigure managed to strike at her in her distraction.

"I'm fine, don't lose attention," Mika ordered, straightening himself up with sheer willpower. Petra nodded and leapt back into her battle, her usually timid demeanour now more closely resembling a fierce lion with each sword clash ringing loud. Ignoring the now throbbing pain, Mika strengthened his spell with more chains of Light magic and carried his captive outside the circle with a nod to Elemary.

With nimble leaps, Mika ascended up a towering building just as deserted as the rest in the city. Having deemed it a safe distance from the fight and its distractions, he tossed Guren to the dust like a bag of trash and dragged him by a fistful of hair to the edge of the roof.

He stood there face to face with the human who, even though Yuu would probably punch himself in the face repeatedly before admitting it, was like a father to Yuu.

Mika was suddenly, inexplicably, furious.

"How dare you," he hissed, pushing Guren further back so the only thing keeping him from plummeting to his death was Mika's white knuckled grip. "How dare you pretend to attack Yuu when he was grieving over our family? How dare you miss his dinners when he spent hours sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for you to come? How dare you be such a jerk to him, make fun of him…tease him all the time…."

Mika's vision swam blurrily and he shook Guren forcefully, just to shake away that pathetically weak feeling.

"How dare you be there for him when I couldn't, be there by his side all these years and not appreciate him…?"

He half lifted his arm to scrub his eyes hard before looking at Guren in the face again. With his mouth still bound shut, Guren's gaze was a raging fire of emotions so intense Mika could barely make out one consuming flame from the other.

Superiority.

Self-hatred.

Recognition.

Guilt.

"Why do you look guilty?" Mika asked, his mind steadying back into logical analysis. It was like everything was a jigsaw puzzle, with all the scattered pieces finally in front of him— if only he could work out how to put them together. "You know what's wrong with Yuu, don't you?"

The guilt, previously a flimsy tendril, now flashed strong in Guren's eyes before he quickly masked his face with confident apathy.

Mika shoved Guren back even further until Guren was half dangling off the edge. He used his Light magic to push the binds down from Guren's mouth and growled, "Tell me where Yuu is, what you've done to him and who else is involved, now."

Then the human had the nerve to tighten his lips and slowly shake his head before lifting his shoulders in a lazy shrug, all while deliberately holding Mika's savage gaze.

"You fucking—"

"Hey! Get away from Guren, you filthy bloodsucker!"

Mika's world stopped.

His cheeks flushed, his heart juddered against his ribcage and his lips parted loosely as if sweet surrender had seized his soul still.

"Yuu," Mika breathed.

Like a chain reaction, several domino events toppled each other in a fast blur.

Down below like tiny figurines, Yuu and his team of allies had arrived on the battlefield. One of them struck at Elemary's undefended back with a swing of her scythe, splitting open a festering wound that sent him collapsing on his knees. The magic circle faltered, allowing the new arrivals to leap inside to their fallen comrades' aid. At the same time, Elemary's bindings on Guren weakened enough for him to break free, pulling at Mika's arm to thrust himself forward and Mika teetering dangerously in an abrupt reversal of their previous positions.

Guren slapped a spell tag on Mika's back and pushed him over the edge.

For the second time in his life, Mika felt utterly terrified for himself.

His vision tilted, the rise and fall of wrecked rooftops becoming a narrow tunnel of outer walls parallel to his plummeting body. The wind, previously a soothing breeze, was now stripping mercilessly at his flesh and muscle until his very bones were whistling like hollow wind chimes. Prying his eyelids apart was painful with the dust and icy air searing into his eyeballs, yet even as his eyes watered Mika caught Yuu's gaze like a falling star marking its grave.

As he was halfway to the ground, Mika saw the exact moment Yuu's eyes stretched impossibly wide in disbelieving realisation.

"Mika!?"

Mikaela!

"Shit, shit, shit," Mika cursed. He couldn't die like this, not when he was so achingly close to meeting Yuu again.

The tag spell on his back began to smoke warningly, milliseconds away from destructing. Mika's chilled fingers fumbled on the clasp of his cloak before he tossed it as far above him as he could, spell tag and all. He had just brushed the hem away when it exploded into tattered smoking rags, charred beyond recognition.

Then Yuu was pushing determinedly off the ground, using the few intact window ledges on the first and second floor as footholds to jump upwards. He stretched his arms out to Mika and it was stupid, if Yuu caught him the weight would only send both of them falling back down injured or worse, but Mika couldn't stop his hand from reaching down yearningly.

It was like the agonising gap between contact in The Creation Of Adam, the painting in one of Mika's school books back from the orphanage.

It was like Mika's last dream with Yuu where Yuu had slipped between his fingers. Now Mika felt jarringly detached as if his dreams and reality where merging and he was seeing double vision.

Their fingertips brushed together and everything snapped into focus.

The wind slowed down to keep them afloat mid air, winding around their legs and arms in their own private invisible sphere. Clouds parted above and heavenly sunlight shone down on the both of them, tingling their skin and land marking their reunion to anyone who hadn't already stopped to stare. The world was brighter, more colourful, more vivid now that Yuu was with him in flesh and blood.

In all his dreams, nothing could compare to feeling the touch of his hands in person. Mika laughed aloud in sheer delight and clasped their fingers together, the heated touch between them sending literal white and black sparks flying.

"M-Mika? Is that really you?" Yuu whispered, stunned shock written all over his face.

"Yuu, I'm so happy to see you," Mika smiled with tearful eyes. His magic was ramming inside him, begging to be let loose, and now Mika finally understood. It felt natural to follow his instincts and let the magic erupt from his back, soothing the pain that had been harassing his shoulder blades for days now. Two wings burst loose and Mika gathered Yuu in his arms, gliding to the ground in a rainfall of white feathers that were luminous in the bright sunlight.

His body was a beacon of Light magic, glowing from his fingernails to eyelashes.

As soon as he touched ground, Mika staggered back a few steps as Yuu threw himself at Mika like a lifeline. His body was being squeezed harder than a plush toy as if Yuu was trying to shatter Mika's ribs.

"Yuu are you okay?" he asked frantically, feeling Yuu for any injuries or blood and finding none. "Where were you when you disappeared from our dreams? Were you kidnapped? Tortured?"

Yuu shook his head, his head still buried into Mika's chest and arms tight around him.

"Are you hurt?"

Another shake of his head but to Mika's alarm, Yuu had started to tremble violently.

"Yuu, talk to me, please."

"I thought you were dead," Yuu mumbled brokenly, his voice almost too quiet for Mika to pick up. Mika stiffened and when Yuu peered up at him, his cheeks were freshly wet. "Mika, I can't believe it…you…you're not a ghost, are you? All these years, and I…and you…you have a body and maybe you're an angel now, but you're real. You're alive. I just…just can't believe—"

Yuu broke off into a sob and Mika wanted to drive a stake into his own heart again and again for putting those tears on Yuu's face. He sank to his knees, hugging Yuu's waist and begging, "I'm sorry Yuu, I'm so sorry for lying to you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Yuu circled his arms again around Mika's neck and pressed his still damp face into Mika's hair. "It doesn't matter Mika. I don't care why or how. I'm just...so, so glad you're alive. Thank you for being alive."

"Sir?" someone interrupted, making both of them jump. Mika sprang to his feet, not letting go of Yuu, and drew his wings in protectively. He glared at the intruder who shuffled uneasily in turn.

"Mika, I can't see anything," Yuu's muffled voice exclaimed and Mika hushed him.

"Fearce?" Mika asked, recognising his battered and bruised follower swaying on his feet. He scanned behind him quickly; he was alone. "Update the situation to me. Is everyone else alive?"

"The enemy were taken by surprise by your magic display and we took advantage of that weakness to subdue the first company that we attacked, including the leader. Elemary is the only one seriously injured and the others are tending to his wounds."

"You said the first company. What about Yuu's allies, the second team who arrived?"

"My allies? That's my squad, right? Are they okay? Mika come on, let me out of here," Yuu complained and shoved Mika's wing away. He tensed at the sight of another vampire, peering suspiciously between Fearce and Mika.

Fearce shifted on his feet before jerking his head to the side, out of Mika's line of sight. Mika turned to find the other four members of Yuu's team on the sidelines gathered on a cluster of rubble. Some were more bloodied up than others yet they were all watching him and Yuu with avid interest, while the tied up soldiers in the distance glared at them poisonously.

Yuu brightened up and waved enthusiastically at his allies. They returned his gesture with exasperated yet fond smiles, clearly prepared to wait until Yuu was ready to join them.

"When they saw you and your, uh, companion, they held off attacks aimed at you from the other humans. We deemed them harmless enough the leave alone and await further orders," Fearce explained while fiddling with the knives strapped to his thighs.

"You did well. Go help with Elemary until I join you," Mika assured. Fearce heaved a sigh of relief and saluted, sauntering away.

Mika looked again at Yuu's allies and felt goose bumps from the Ferid like grin the girl with the scythe was flashing at him. A name floated to mind from his dreams— this must be the one called Shinoa.

"Mika, what's going on? Why are you working with the vampires and having Guren's squad tied up?" Yuu asked, rubbing at his back. He grimaced and rubbed again harder, unbuttoning his collar to reach bare skin.

"Oh," Mika said, realising what was happening. "Yuu, listen to me. I'll explain later every last detail, I promise, but right now your magical maturation is trying to happen. It must have been triggered by both us meeting, but for now you need to reach inside and—"

"My magical what now?"

"Yuu, just listen. If you don't let it loose, it's going to get more and more painful until it drives you insane. I need you to believe in what I say and trust me, please."

Yuu's face was rapidly paling and had grown clammy in pain. He nodded shakily. "You know I always trust you Mika, I— ugh!"

"Yuu!" Mika cried out as Yuu doubled over, shaking and shivering like a rag doll. Low groans of pain needled out of his mouth like a helpless animal being tortured and Mika grabbed his shoulders frantically.

Shinoa raced up to them, the rest of his team at her heels. She knelt next to Mika, helping him hold a now writhing Yuu down, and fearfully urged, "What's wrong with Yuu?"

"This is all wrong, it's not supposed to go like this. Michael?" Mika asked desperately, blind to how nonsensical he might sound to his listeners.

Mika had never felt Michael's emotions so turbulent before, thrumming inside him like crashing waves in a storm.

Whatever is corrupting his side of the soul bond, is also corrupting his magical maturation— Mikaela, get away from him!

Michael surged to the forefront of Mika's consciousness, pushing Mika to the backseat of control with an aggressiveness terrifyingly out of character. Mika watched, rather than acted, as his wings flared up twice their size and his hand lifted to wordlessly enclose his allies and followers in a magic shield. Even from his fuzzy dim view of the world, horror flooded Mika as Yuu screamed himself hoarse like that nightmarish night in the orphanage. The dislocated cracks of bones filled the air and a pair of black wings forced their way out of Yuu's back like a sick parasite. The oozing black tar from Mika's dream was now horrifyingly real, layered and dripping over Yuu's wings and mixed with chunks of bloody flesh.

Yuu's allies screamed and Mika didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse he couldn't do the same.

Yuu turned to face Mika, as if sensing he was the one holding the barrier, and raised his sword to the sky. His eyes were crimson and stripped of all recognition. He raised his sword to the sky, a mass of Black magic gathering at the blade tip like an eclipsed sun. Michael's hands were shaking as he strengthened the barrier, flashes of memories swimming through Mika's mind—

—Michael in a sea of grass dyed red, the blood seeping into his clothes and staining his fists, fallen on the floor as a man levelled his sword at his neck—

—crimson eyes identical to his own, yet heart breakingly cruel in their indifference, as if the they weren't even—

—I hated how you looked at me like a stranger, the man confessing as they met for the first time in bodies not their own, a fate also cruel in itself—

Just as Yuu leaned his weight forward to swing his sword, several misty tigers shot forth from afar and pounced on Yuu ruthlessly. They exploded on contact into silvery whites and blues like a mockery of a fireworks display, obscuring Mika's vision with a heavy fog.

Yuu fell limp, his body lifeless and the red faded out of Mika's eyes. He rushed forward and when Shinoa grabbed him by the arm, he nearly snarled until the lines of human enforcements came into view, standing in perfect order like toy tin soldiers.

"I have to rescue Yuu before they capture him," Mika was arguing, shaking off Shinoa, but then magic chains were flying out of nowhere, capturing his limbs and dragging him through the dirt and debris. Mika gave a cry of alarm, struggling and twisting to no avail. His hands and feet were immobile, trussed up like ropes as if he were an animal sacrifice.

Mika could barely lift his head to see Yuu being chained up like him by several human magic users. Yuu's team were being apprehended as well, albeit with spell bound handcuffs instead.

A final tug sent Mika flying to the ground hard enough to make his resilient vampire skin bruise like rotten fruit. When he hissed in pain, a sharp heel dug into his stomach and his head was lifted by the hair by a furious Krul. A sizeable force of white uniformed soldiers stood in battle lines before her, geared up against the human army opposite them.

Krul's face was darker than thunder, her fangs in full sight in a macabre display of rage.

Kureto's silhouette stood at the head of the human soldiers, the once sparkling sunlight now a sinister bleak grey. His words to his awaiting servants were the exact same as Krul's to hers.

"Have him locked up."

Author's note: This update's chapter is nearly twice as long as usual to make up for the twice as long wait. Since it's long, any comments on typos etc are appreciated! This is officially where this fic will break off completely from the canon so gear yourselves up for the final few chapters.

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