fic: A&D - Zhou Mi
Title: Of Angels and Demons - Zhou Mi
Series: Of Angels and Demons
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: pg-13 for content
Genre: au, fantasy
Pairing/Characters: DBSK, Super Junior, 1TYM, Lexy, Yoseob
Warnings: RPS
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: This is officially the longest part of this entire universe. Of course, considering all that happens, that's no real surprise.
Please refer to the Cast List (which has been updated with pretty much everyone you've seen up to this point) for help with who's who.
Previous: Changmin | Hangeng | Kangin | Yesung | Heechul | Eunhyuk | Taebin | Lexy
Summary: Being human isn't easy...
~*~*~
Zhou Mi was a nice guy. His friends liked to tease him about it sometimes, how nice and sweet and tolerant and easy going he was. He kept an upbeat attitude about most things and he walked through life with a smile no matter what happened.
It was almost a matter of pride, sometimes, how nothing could get him down because life had certainly tried more than once. Fights with his father, running away from home, more fights with his father once he was found, struggling to make it on his own out of the shadow of his former life.... None of it had ever really threatened to change that one core fact about his personality, that Mi was a nice, friendly guy.
But then, he'd never been plucked from his life and set down in the middle of some kind of surreal fantasy world of angels and demons and bugs before, either.
“Aww... Come on. It's just a little more protein. You could use some extra meat on your bones, you know.”
He was not feeling very nice or friendly as he glared at the demon who was trying to convince him that a few bugs in his stew was good for him. He skittered backwards as Shindong tried to hand the bowl back to him. “I'm not eating that.”
Laughing, Shindong shrugged and started eating it himself - bug and all - under Mi's horrified eye. “Suit yourself. More for me.”
“Hey, Mimi!” Arms wrapped around his waist and Donghae's head popped around his shoulder. “Oh! Is it dinner time?”
Before Donghae could actually grab the bowl Shindong was offering, Mi drug him away. “Trust me, Fish, you don't want to eat that.”
He shuddered. And even if you do, I don't want to know about it.
Donghae gave him a strange look, but just shrugged it off. “Heechul says we're supposed to keep an eye on Hankyung while he goes out scouting.”
Mi sighed. “His name is Geng. Not Hankyung.”
“But I like Hankyung better. Besides, everybody else is calling him Hankyung, we shouldn't confuse them.” It made an odd, Donghae sort of sense, but Mi just shook his head. He didn't imagine Geng was going to like finding out that his name had gotten changed while he was tottering around the demon camp senseless.
“Has there been any change?”
The subdued look told him more than the shake of Donghae's head.
It had been almost two weeks since they'd come unwillingly to this strange place. Two weeks since his best friend had tried to help a dying angel and had gotten his brains scrambled for his trouble.
Two weeks with no change for either Geng or the comatose angel.
He'd heard grumbling around the camp and knew that most of the demons didn't think that there ever would be a change. More than one had argued in favor of dumping the humans back where they came from - or eating them, in a couple of cases that Mi really, really wished he could forget - and leave the angels to fend for themselves.
Their leader, the one called Kangin, had put a stop to the overt dissension fairly quickly and had made sure everyone knew that harming the humans would cost them their lives but that didn't stop the grumbling and dirty looks when he wasn't around.
Mi wanted to go home. He'd missed two weeks worth of class already and he'd probably get home to a notice that he'd lost his job. But as he followed Donghae over to where Geng was sprawled out under a tree, staring dreamily up at the clouds, he knew he would stay with the demons for however long it took.
“Geng?” he crouched down next to his friend's knee and sighed when all the response he got was an absent wiggle of fingers. “Sure wish you'd come back to reality, ge.”
“He'll be okay,” Donghae said, settling himself up near Geng's shoulder and letting his fingers drift over Geng's hair. Mi wished he felt as confident as Donghae sounded.
He was pulled from his depressing thoughts as a commotion caught his attention on the opposite side of camp. Heechul had returned and was striding purposely towards the small building that housed the demon leader. That wasn't the cause of the flurry of activity and whispered gawking, though.
Heechul wasn't alone.
Behind him strode a woman with a confidence and air of danger that seemed incongruous with the beaming little figure that was perched on her head, waving cheerfully at the crowding demons. Behind her was another pair of angels, both of whom looked distinctly miserable and very much out of place with their gleaming wings and shimmering clothes. They edged closer to the woman, trying to be casual about it and looking all the more obvious for the attempt.
“Come on,” he hissed at Donghae, getting an arm under Geng and pulling them closer. He wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, but he was a naturally curious person.
Kangin stepped outside, sighing noisily. He looked over the group of newcomers with resignation, moving out of the doorway to reveal the angel standing behind him.
“Henry.”
Mi hadn't seen the angels much in the two weeks that they'd been there. Donghae - who'd managed to even get a few of the demons under the spell of his charm - had discovered that the one who'd needed Geng's help, Ryeowook, had barely left the injured angel's bedside and that this one, this Yesung, had remained near him.
He didn't look any different than he had before, immaculately clean and held apart from his surroundings both by his being and his manner.
The newcomers looked quite relieved to see him “We found you.”
“And led the others straight to them.” Mi gawked as another cluster of angels dropped down from the sky, landing smoothly beside the others. At least, he assumed they were angels from the wings. They certainly didn't look like the ones he'd seen so far in any other respect.
“Wait, what the hell is going on?” Kangin pushed closer, glowering at everyone. “When the hell did my camp become a fucking angel meet and greet center? And you!” He pushed at Heechul's shoulder. “You brought a demon hunter right into camp?”
Heechul just rolled his eyes. “She didn't exactly need my help. She was heading straight here anyways.”
“There isn't time for this,” Yesung raised a hand and stared hard at the one who'd spoken before. “How long do we have?”
“They would have lost the trail when Henry and Eunhyuk got within your radius, but that in itself would have told them they were close. I doubt it will take them very long to pinpoint this location.”
The entire exchange was confusing and out of context, but Mi understood enough to realize that something bad was coming. Quickly.
Yesung nodded before turning to Kangin. “I suggest you start evacuating immediately.”
He turned and strode swiftly towards the building he'd come from, where Mi knew the other two angels and the demon Changmin remained.
For a long moment, Kangin pressed his hands against his eyes, mumbling about complications and fucking angels just audibly enough for Mi to half make out.
“We didn't mean to.... “ The angel called Henry looked stricken.
The other slumped against his shoulder. “I knew it was too easy. They just let us walk out.”
“Well, there's really no point bitching and moaning about it now,” the woman said, rolling her eyes. Geng flopped against Mi's shoulder and reached out to poke at the tiny imp, drawing the woman's attention to them. She scowled slightly. “You have norms here? What kind of idiots are you guys? They'll get slaughtered.”
Throwing up his hands, Kangin glared. “As if I have any control over who strolls in and makes themselves at home!”
“Guys!” Ryeowook rushed by with a bag. “Less talking, more moving!”
That sounded like the best idea Mi had ever heard. He turned to Geng, hoping he could get the insentient man moving as quickly as the looming threat demanded, but found his friend staring at him with clear intensity. “Ge...”
“It's too late for that. They're already here.” There was something eerie about his tone, something not quite Geng, but before he could even process the difference, Ryeowook went skidding backwards with a yelp.
Mi whirled around and couldn't help his own startled noise.
There were dozens.
One stood center, all the others fanned out on either side of him. Mi shivered as the angel's dark gaze brushed over him. It was just wrong for an angel to feel so sinister and menacing. There was something so integrally threatening about him and Mi knew suddenly with a bone deep certainty that this was the man who had ripped the wings off of the other angel.
“Siwon....” Heechul took a step forward but was dismissed with barely a glance.
“All of our dissidents and the demons who corrupted them all in one place?” He smirked. “How... convenient.”
Everything seemed to happen at once after that.
The angels surged forward as one, flaming swords in most hands though several seemed just as dangerous without any visible weapon.
Some demons went scrambling out of their path while others stood their ground.
Geng grabbed both his and Donghae's arms and pulled them out of the way.
“This is not where we want to be,” he muttered, sounding less alien than before but still not quite like himself. “Where's Yoochun? We can't-”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off abruptly as an angel dropped in front of them, sending them each falling in a different direction. “Going somewhere?”
Mi had never reacted well to having his life threatened, a fact which had driven his father absolutely insane on occasion. Wave a gun - or in this case, a flaming sword - in his face and he turned into a gibbering, incoherent mess of tangled languages and desperation.
“Oh hi there, you look like a perfectly reasonable angel, I'm sure and an all around nice guy I'm Zhou Mi but you can call me Mi I guess, you uhh wow that's a really big sword I mean, I guess that sounds like a come on but it totally isn't So what's your name you really don't want to do this, right I mean I'm just a human not a demon or an an angel or anything seriously where's the honor or sport in killing a simple human, right that's just kind of silly really-”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Geng groan and rolls his eyes, but Mi couldn't help it. Besides which the sword had lowered slightly under his verbal barrage and there was a faintly confused look on the angel's face, a flicker of amusement perhaps and all Mi cared about was that however mortifying this would all be later the threat was being diffused right then.
If he could talk the thing into submission, well, sometimes you had to make your weaknesses work for you.
It might have worked. Mi was sure that the angel was listening to him, head cocked to the side, interest and life seeping into his expression.
It might have worked except for the fireball that chose that moment to hurtle over Mi's shoulder.
All expression vanished like it had never been, leaving only the cold cruelty once more as the angel knocked the flame away with a flick of one wing.
Mi whirled around, protest on his lips, to see the demon that had so unsettled him at the meeting with flames licking up both arms, new fireballs forming in both hands. “Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?”
The angel smirked. “Like you?”
Hands grabbed at Mi's waist and began tugging him backwards, out of the line of fire and he whirled again, dizzy, to find Yoochun trying to look calm and mostly failing. “Come on. We need to run.”
“What about-”
Yoochun looked grim and strained as he shook his head. “Jaejoong can't hold an angel off for long.”
He's sacrificing himself to save us. The thought made Mi swallow back bile. Even with the sword in his face before, the reality of what was happening hadn't quite dawned on him the way it did with the realization that a demon who had only weeks ago wanted to eat them, was now willingly standing between them and death.
Time seemed to slow and he couldn't hear anything over the rushing in his ears.
He stood straight, arms loose at his side as he took in the chaos around him.
Nearby the demon hunter was locked closely with a man with bright blonde hair that resembled the small imp far too much to be anyone else despite the disparity in size. Their hands were linked above their heads, the air there shimmering as a frustrated angel slammed his sword against the invisible wall they were creating.
Kangin and Eeteuk fought together, their moves flowing with the easy coordination of familiarity and trust. All the demons he'd been slowly, unwillingly, coming to know were fighting tooth and nail with every trick and dirty tactic they knew.
They were losing.
Mi didn't know much about the details of fighting, but this, this he knew, when the tides of a battle was so horrifically lopsided and one side was hopelessly doomed.
Only the angels were holding their own. Yesung fought flaming sword to flaming sword with one angel while Ryeowook crouched behind him, eyes glowing faintly. All of the newcomers were equally engaged.
It wasn't going to be enough.
Time sped up again as three pairs of hands shook him hard. “What the hell? This is not the time to be daydreaming, Zhou Mi!”
He'd barely even managed to focus on the worried faces of his friends before a silent pause seemed to sweep over the battlefield and they all turned to see what had caught everyone's attention.
Though the pure white wings were now shot through with random feathers of blood red and hung awkwardly behind him, there was no mistaking the angel that stood beside Changmin.
“So you did live,” Siwon remarked as he flew a few steps closer, twirling his swords as he landed lightly. “You always were stubborn like that.”
“This isn't you, Siwon.” Yunho was more soft spoken than Mi might have imagined if he'd spent any time thinking about it. “You've always protected us, guided us. That's who you are. Not this.”
The look on Siwon's face was ugly and fierce as he spat back with self-righteous venom. “I am who I was meant to be. A guardian of Heaven against those who would lay down with whores and demons and those who would side with such unclean blights. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.”
“Oh like you have any room to talk, Mr. Holier Than Thou!” Heechul shoved his way to the front. Crusting blood covered one side of his face and one arm was held stiffly against his chest, but he still looked intimidating in his rage. “I doubt Yunho's 'laid down' with demons nearly as thoroughly as you have. Changmin isn't very creative.”
“I was given a chance to redeem myself.” Mi was very glad the scorching look was not directed at him, but it made him shiver anyways and he stepped back instinctively. Heechul just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I took it. With the proper gratitude and humility. You-” He turned back to Yunho, sword raised in accusation. “You laughed it off and embraced the filth.”
“I can't believe that our father would deny us the right to love, regardless of where we found it or with whom.”
“Demons don't love! They defile. Abuse. Take and abandon! They aren't capable of love!” He flew at Yunho, sword raised.
“Ryeowook, now!”
Mi had to throw up his arm and cover his eyes as pure white light and jagged lightning exploded around him. On and on it went until he was sure he was going to be blind for the rest of his life and he'd never see anything but white ever again.
But just as abruptly as it'd started, it faded.
He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to readjust. When he could see again, the attacking angels were gone.
Crouched in the center of everything, Ryeowook's eyes were still glowing and tiny tendrils of lightning sparked over his body.
For a long moment there was silence, then Kangin whooped loudly and hauled Ryeowook up for a bruising hug. He yelped and dropped the small angel as the lightening shocked him, but it did nothing to dim his grin. “You are now my favorite angel. You're welcome in my camp any time.”
“Er... Thanks?” Ryeowook shook his head and the lightening fell away until only the quiet unassuming angel remained.
Yunho looked amused as he shook his head, but his tone was serious as he faced Kangin. “They're gone for now, but they'll be back. And they know where this place is. Next time they'll come in greater numbers.”
Apparently seeing one tiny angel single handedly push back all the others had improved Kangin's mood greatly. He shrugged off the need to abandon the camp that the demons had clearly been calling home for quite a while. “Eh. No big deal. I know another place. It has natural protections and camouflage, too, so with a little luck, we won't have to rely so much on your anti-angel over there.
Yesung was scowling, but said nothing.
The atmosphere was almost jovial as the demons set about breaking down their camp and preparing to move. There was much good natured ribbing and admiring jokes directed both at each other and the angels in their midst. Eeteuk cornered the demon hunter and was demanding to know about shields. The imp - small again - had curled up in the hood of her jacket and was sound asleep despite the noise levels.
It was chaos, but an organized sort of chaos, and through it all, Mi and the other humans stood silently and watched.
Until Mi remembered-
He whirled around and wrapped Geng in a tight hug. “You're okay. You're really, really okay!”
Geng laughed softly and returned the embrace. “Yeah, Mimi. I'm okay.”
“Two weeks, man....” Yoochun shook his head and sighed, patting Geng's shoulder. “We really thought your brain was fried.”
Donghae latched onto Geng from behind and didn't look like he was going to be letting go any time soon. That was okay, though. Mi knew exactly how he felt. “I knew you were okay!”
“I was just... processing, I think.” Geng tilted his head, his eyes going hazy for a moment.
“Processing what?”
“His mind needed time to accommodate the changes and bonds formed.”
All but Geng startled at the soft words. They turned to stare at Yunho where he stood watching Geng, eyes gentle with compassion, understanding, and gratitude.
Mi was almost afraid to ask, but Geng was his best friend. The one who'd taken him in and helped him when no one else in all of China had dared. “What changes?”
Yunho hesitated before shrugging. “Right now we need to get as well away from this place as we possibly can. When we reach the new camp, though.... There are things that everyone needs to know. This might be one of them.”
“Yes.” Geng nodded and nudged Mi. “It can wait, Mimi.”
The camp wasn't huge by any means, but the mass exodus of demons interspersed with angels still looked impressive and Mi paused to take it in.
No one had asked the humans if they wanted to stay or offered to return them to their lives. Geng had fallen in with Yunho and they were talking quietly together as they walked, the angel's wings having been rendered useless for flight. Donghae had started out walking by their side but had apparently decided they were too boring. He was trotting around from group to group, being easily accepted by all.
Yoochun's arm was linked with Jaejoong's and Mi had a sudden epiphany as to why the demon had been so willing to save them from harm before. He couldn't help but smile a little at it.
Something white caught his eye and Mi picked up, curiously. The white feather was singed slightly on the edges and he glanced around, startled to realize that this was where he'd tried to talk down his angel. Dark eyes, amused and confused, filled his mind.
He hesitated for a moment, then tucked the feather into the inside pocket of his jacket, right over his heart.
~*~*~
Series: Of Angels and Demons
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: pg-13 for content
Genre: au, fantasy
Pairing/Characters: DBSK, Super Junior, 1TYM, Lexy, Yoseob
Warnings: RPS
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: This is officially the longest part of this entire universe. Of course, considering all that happens, that's no real surprise.
Please refer to the Cast List (which has been updated with pretty much everyone you've seen up to this point) for help with who's who.
Previous: Changmin | Hangeng | Kangin | Yesung | Heechul | Eunhyuk | Taebin | Lexy
Summary: Being human isn't easy...
~*~*~
Zhou Mi was a nice guy. His friends liked to tease him about it sometimes, how nice and sweet and tolerant and easy going he was. He kept an upbeat attitude about most things and he walked through life with a smile no matter what happened.
It was almost a matter of pride, sometimes, how nothing could get him down because life had certainly tried more than once. Fights with his father, running away from home, more fights with his father once he was found, struggling to make it on his own out of the shadow of his former life.... None of it had ever really threatened to change that one core fact about his personality, that Mi was a nice, friendly guy.
But then, he'd never been plucked from his life and set down in the middle of some kind of surreal fantasy world of angels and demons and bugs before, either.
“Aww... Come on. It's just a little more protein. You could use some extra meat on your bones, you know.”
He was not feeling very nice or friendly as he glared at the demon who was trying to convince him that a few bugs in his stew was good for him. He skittered backwards as Shindong tried to hand the bowl back to him. “I'm not eating that.”
Laughing, Shindong shrugged and started eating it himself - bug and all - under Mi's horrified eye. “Suit yourself. More for me.”
“Hey, Mimi!” Arms wrapped around his waist and Donghae's head popped around his shoulder. “Oh! Is it dinner time?”
Before Donghae could actually grab the bowl Shindong was offering, Mi drug him away. “Trust me, Fish, you don't want to eat that.”
He shuddered. And even if you do, I don't want to know about it.
Donghae gave him a strange look, but just shrugged it off. “Heechul says we're supposed to keep an eye on Hankyung while he goes out scouting.”
Mi sighed. “His name is Geng. Not Hankyung.”
“But I like Hankyung better. Besides, everybody else is calling him Hankyung, we shouldn't confuse them.” It made an odd, Donghae sort of sense, but Mi just shook his head. He didn't imagine Geng was going to like finding out that his name had gotten changed while he was tottering around the demon camp senseless.
“Has there been any change?”
The subdued look told him more than the shake of Donghae's head.
It had been almost two weeks since they'd come unwillingly to this strange place. Two weeks since his best friend had tried to help a dying angel and had gotten his brains scrambled for his trouble.
Two weeks with no change for either Geng or the comatose angel.
He'd heard grumbling around the camp and knew that most of the demons didn't think that there ever would be a change. More than one had argued in favor of dumping the humans back where they came from - or eating them, in a couple of cases that Mi really, really wished he could forget - and leave the angels to fend for themselves.
Their leader, the one called Kangin, had put a stop to the overt dissension fairly quickly and had made sure everyone knew that harming the humans would cost them their lives but that didn't stop the grumbling and dirty looks when he wasn't around.
Mi wanted to go home. He'd missed two weeks worth of class already and he'd probably get home to a notice that he'd lost his job. But as he followed Donghae over to where Geng was sprawled out under a tree, staring dreamily up at the clouds, he knew he would stay with the demons for however long it took.
“Geng?” he crouched down next to his friend's knee and sighed when all the response he got was an absent wiggle of fingers. “Sure wish you'd come back to reality, ge.”
“He'll be okay,” Donghae said, settling himself up near Geng's shoulder and letting his fingers drift over Geng's hair. Mi wished he felt as confident as Donghae sounded.
He was pulled from his depressing thoughts as a commotion caught his attention on the opposite side of camp. Heechul had returned and was striding purposely towards the small building that housed the demon leader. That wasn't the cause of the flurry of activity and whispered gawking, though.
Heechul wasn't alone.
Behind him strode a woman with a confidence and air of danger that seemed incongruous with the beaming little figure that was perched on her head, waving cheerfully at the crowding demons. Behind her was another pair of angels, both of whom looked distinctly miserable and very much out of place with their gleaming wings and shimmering clothes. They edged closer to the woman, trying to be casual about it and looking all the more obvious for the attempt.
“Come on,” he hissed at Donghae, getting an arm under Geng and pulling them closer. He wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, but he was a naturally curious person.
Kangin stepped outside, sighing noisily. He looked over the group of newcomers with resignation, moving out of the doorway to reveal the angel standing behind him.
“Henry.”
Mi hadn't seen the angels much in the two weeks that they'd been there. Donghae - who'd managed to even get a few of the demons under the spell of his charm - had discovered that the one who'd needed Geng's help, Ryeowook, had barely left the injured angel's bedside and that this one, this Yesung, had remained near him.
He didn't look any different than he had before, immaculately clean and held apart from his surroundings both by his being and his manner.
The newcomers looked quite relieved to see him “We found you.”
“And led the others straight to them.” Mi gawked as another cluster of angels dropped down from the sky, landing smoothly beside the others. At least, he assumed they were angels from the wings. They certainly didn't look like the ones he'd seen so far in any other respect.
“Wait, what the hell is going on?” Kangin pushed closer, glowering at everyone. “When the hell did my camp become a fucking angel meet and greet center? And you!” He pushed at Heechul's shoulder. “You brought a demon hunter right into camp?”
Heechul just rolled his eyes. “She didn't exactly need my help. She was heading straight here anyways.”
“There isn't time for this,” Yesung raised a hand and stared hard at the one who'd spoken before. “How long do we have?”
“They would have lost the trail when Henry and Eunhyuk got within your radius, but that in itself would have told them they were close. I doubt it will take them very long to pinpoint this location.”
The entire exchange was confusing and out of context, but Mi understood enough to realize that something bad was coming. Quickly.
Yesung nodded before turning to Kangin. “I suggest you start evacuating immediately.”
He turned and strode swiftly towards the building he'd come from, where Mi knew the other two angels and the demon Changmin remained.
For a long moment, Kangin pressed his hands against his eyes, mumbling about complications and fucking angels just audibly enough for Mi to half make out.
“We didn't mean to.... “ The angel called Henry looked stricken.
The other slumped against his shoulder. “I knew it was too easy. They just let us walk out.”
“Well, there's really no point bitching and moaning about it now,” the woman said, rolling her eyes. Geng flopped against Mi's shoulder and reached out to poke at the tiny imp, drawing the woman's attention to them. She scowled slightly. “You have norms here? What kind of idiots are you guys? They'll get slaughtered.”
Throwing up his hands, Kangin glared. “As if I have any control over who strolls in and makes themselves at home!”
“Guys!” Ryeowook rushed by with a bag. “Less talking, more moving!”
That sounded like the best idea Mi had ever heard. He turned to Geng, hoping he could get the insentient man moving as quickly as the looming threat demanded, but found his friend staring at him with clear intensity. “Ge...”
“It's too late for that. They're already here.” There was something eerie about his tone, something not quite Geng, but before he could even process the difference, Ryeowook went skidding backwards with a yelp.
Mi whirled around and couldn't help his own startled noise.
There were dozens.
One stood center, all the others fanned out on either side of him. Mi shivered as the angel's dark gaze brushed over him. It was just wrong for an angel to feel so sinister and menacing. There was something so integrally threatening about him and Mi knew suddenly with a bone deep certainty that this was the man who had ripped the wings off of the other angel.
“Siwon....” Heechul took a step forward but was dismissed with barely a glance.
“All of our dissidents and the demons who corrupted them all in one place?” He smirked. “How... convenient.”
Everything seemed to happen at once after that.
The angels surged forward as one, flaming swords in most hands though several seemed just as dangerous without any visible weapon.
Some demons went scrambling out of their path while others stood their ground.
Geng grabbed both his and Donghae's arms and pulled them out of the way.
“This is not where we want to be,” he muttered, sounding less alien than before but still not quite like himself. “Where's Yoochun? We can't-”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off abruptly as an angel dropped in front of them, sending them each falling in a different direction. “Going somewhere?”
Mi had never reacted well to having his life threatened, a fact which had driven his father absolutely insane on occasion. Wave a gun - or in this case, a flaming sword - in his face and he turned into a gibbering, incoherent mess of tangled languages and desperation.
“Oh hi there, you look like a perfectly reasonable angel, I'm sure and an all around nice guy I'm Zhou Mi but you can call me Mi I guess, you uhh wow that's a really big sword I mean, I guess that sounds like a come on but it totally isn't So what's your name you really don't want to do this, right I mean I'm just a human not a demon or an an angel or anything seriously where's the honor or sport in killing a simple human, right that's just kind of silly really-”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Geng groan and rolls his eyes, but Mi couldn't help it. Besides which the sword had lowered slightly under his verbal barrage and there was a faintly confused look on the angel's face, a flicker of amusement perhaps and all Mi cared about was that however mortifying this would all be later the threat was being diffused right then.
If he could talk the thing into submission, well, sometimes you had to make your weaknesses work for you.
It might have worked. Mi was sure that the angel was listening to him, head cocked to the side, interest and life seeping into his expression.
It might have worked except for the fireball that chose that moment to hurtle over Mi's shoulder.
All expression vanished like it had never been, leaving only the cold cruelty once more as the angel knocked the flame away with a flick of one wing.
Mi whirled around, protest on his lips, to see the demon that had so unsettled him at the meeting with flames licking up both arms, new fireballs forming in both hands. “Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?”
The angel smirked. “Like you?”
Hands grabbed at Mi's waist and began tugging him backwards, out of the line of fire and he whirled again, dizzy, to find Yoochun trying to look calm and mostly failing. “Come on. We need to run.”
“What about-”
Yoochun looked grim and strained as he shook his head. “Jaejoong can't hold an angel off for long.”
He's sacrificing himself to save us. The thought made Mi swallow back bile. Even with the sword in his face before, the reality of what was happening hadn't quite dawned on him the way it did with the realization that a demon who had only weeks ago wanted to eat them, was now willingly standing between them and death.
Time seemed to slow and he couldn't hear anything over the rushing in his ears.
He stood straight, arms loose at his side as he took in the chaos around him.
Nearby the demon hunter was locked closely with a man with bright blonde hair that resembled the small imp far too much to be anyone else despite the disparity in size. Their hands were linked above their heads, the air there shimmering as a frustrated angel slammed his sword against the invisible wall they were creating.
Kangin and Eeteuk fought together, their moves flowing with the easy coordination of familiarity and trust. All the demons he'd been slowly, unwillingly, coming to know were fighting tooth and nail with every trick and dirty tactic they knew.
They were losing.
Mi didn't know much about the details of fighting, but this, this he knew, when the tides of a battle was so horrifically lopsided and one side was hopelessly doomed.
Only the angels were holding their own. Yesung fought flaming sword to flaming sword with one angel while Ryeowook crouched behind him, eyes glowing faintly. All of the newcomers were equally engaged.
It wasn't going to be enough.
Time sped up again as three pairs of hands shook him hard. “What the hell? This is not the time to be daydreaming, Zhou Mi!”
He'd barely even managed to focus on the worried faces of his friends before a silent pause seemed to sweep over the battlefield and they all turned to see what had caught everyone's attention.
Though the pure white wings were now shot through with random feathers of blood red and hung awkwardly behind him, there was no mistaking the angel that stood beside Changmin.
“So you did live,” Siwon remarked as he flew a few steps closer, twirling his swords as he landed lightly. “You always were stubborn like that.”
“This isn't you, Siwon.” Yunho was more soft spoken than Mi might have imagined if he'd spent any time thinking about it. “You've always protected us, guided us. That's who you are. Not this.”
The look on Siwon's face was ugly and fierce as he spat back with self-righteous venom. “I am who I was meant to be. A guardian of Heaven against those who would lay down with whores and demons and those who would side with such unclean blights. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.”
“Oh like you have any room to talk, Mr. Holier Than Thou!” Heechul shoved his way to the front. Crusting blood covered one side of his face and one arm was held stiffly against his chest, but he still looked intimidating in his rage. “I doubt Yunho's 'laid down' with demons nearly as thoroughly as you have. Changmin isn't very creative.”
“I was given a chance to redeem myself.” Mi was very glad the scorching look was not directed at him, but it made him shiver anyways and he stepped back instinctively. Heechul just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I took it. With the proper gratitude and humility. You-” He turned back to Yunho, sword raised in accusation. “You laughed it off and embraced the filth.”
“I can't believe that our father would deny us the right to love, regardless of where we found it or with whom.”
“Demons don't love! They defile. Abuse. Take and abandon! They aren't capable of love!” He flew at Yunho, sword raised.
“Ryeowook, now!”
Mi had to throw up his arm and cover his eyes as pure white light and jagged lightning exploded around him. On and on it went until he was sure he was going to be blind for the rest of his life and he'd never see anything but white ever again.
But just as abruptly as it'd started, it faded.
He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to readjust. When he could see again, the attacking angels were gone.
Crouched in the center of everything, Ryeowook's eyes were still glowing and tiny tendrils of lightning sparked over his body.
For a long moment there was silence, then Kangin whooped loudly and hauled Ryeowook up for a bruising hug. He yelped and dropped the small angel as the lightening shocked him, but it did nothing to dim his grin. “You are now my favorite angel. You're welcome in my camp any time.”
“Er... Thanks?” Ryeowook shook his head and the lightening fell away until only the quiet unassuming angel remained.
Yunho looked amused as he shook his head, but his tone was serious as he faced Kangin. “They're gone for now, but they'll be back. And they know where this place is. Next time they'll come in greater numbers.”
Apparently seeing one tiny angel single handedly push back all the others had improved Kangin's mood greatly. He shrugged off the need to abandon the camp that the demons had clearly been calling home for quite a while. “Eh. No big deal. I know another place. It has natural protections and camouflage, too, so with a little luck, we won't have to rely so much on your anti-angel over there.
Yesung was scowling, but said nothing.
The atmosphere was almost jovial as the demons set about breaking down their camp and preparing to move. There was much good natured ribbing and admiring jokes directed both at each other and the angels in their midst. Eeteuk cornered the demon hunter and was demanding to know about shields. The imp - small again - had curled up in the hood of her jacket and was sound asleep despite the noise levels.
It was chaos, but an organized sort of chaos, and through it all, Mi and the other humans stood silently and watched.
Until Mi remembered-
He whirled around and wrapped Geng in a tight hug. “You're okay. You're really, really okay!”
Geng laughed softly and returned the embrace. “Yeah, Mimi. I'm okay.”
“Two weeks, man....” Yoochun shook his head and sighed, patting Geng's shoulder. “We really thought your brain was fried.”
Donghae latched onto Geng from behind and didn't look like he was going to be letting go any time soon. That was okay, though. Mi knew exactly how he felt. “I knew you were okay!”
“I was just... processing, I think.” Geng tilted his head, his eyes going hazy for a moment.
“Processing what?”
“His mind needed time to accommodate the changes and bonds formed.”
All but Geng startled at the soft words. They turned to stare at Yunho where he stood watching Geng, eyes gentle with compassion, understanding, and gratitude.
Mi was almost afraid to ask, but Geng was his best friend. The one who'd taken him in and helped him when no one else in all of China had dared. “What changes?”
Yunho hesitated before shrugging. “Right now we need to get as well away from this place as we possibly can. When we reach the new camp, though.... There are things that everyone needs to know. This might be one of them.”
“Yes.” Geng nodded and nudged Mi. “It can wait, Mimi.”
The camp wasn't huge by any means, but the mass exodus of demons interspersed with angels still looked impressive and Mi paused to take it in.
No one had asked the humans if they wanted to stay or offered to return them to their lives. Geng had fallen in with Yunho and they were talking quietly together as they walked, the angel's wings having been rendered useless for flight. Donghae had started out walking by their side but had apparently decided they were too boring. He was trotting around from group to group, being easily accepted by all.
Yoochun's arm was linked with Jaejoong's and Mi had a sudden epiphany as to why the demon had been so willing to save them from harm before. He couldn't help but smile a little at it.
Something white caught his eye and Mi picked up, curiously. The white feather was singed slightly on the edges and he glanced around, startled to realize that this was where he'd tried to talk down his angel. Dark eyes, amused and confused, filled his mind.
He hesitated for a moment, then tucked the feather into the inside pocket of his jacket, right over his heart.
~*~*~