It came to him in a dream, the man with fire in his hands, fire beneath his skin. Dark eyes with overly large ears. He watched him burn, with flames flickering in his fingertips, dancing in the dark.

 

He felt the heat even in the dream, when he slipped, the flames an angry beast.

 

The beast devoured everything in its path, a great and terrible beast, bright red and orange and white and angry.

 

He felt his pain when he saw what he had done, the charred remains of a house, strewn across the sidewalk, He saw the smears of ash across the fire man’s face, the terror growing in his eyes.

 

He watched whole cities burn beneath his fingertips, only a dream, a nightmare in the man’s eyes.

 

White bone glittered like diamonds as he searched through the ashes, tears dampening the earth. He heard the sirens and screamed for him to run.

 

But he did not hear him.

 

He let himself be taken, with shackles on his wrists and a dampener around his throat.

 

They snuffed out his flames, his smile and his brilliance, leaving only terror and fear behind.

 

They let him call himself a monster for the flames that leapt unbidden from his hands, from the fire that boiled in his veins.

 

He called for him sometimes, his name.

 

Written in stark black letters on a white placard, an entire being reduced to a name.

 

Chanyeol. Chanyeol, can you hear me?

 

But he could not.

 

For he was only a dream.

 

Until he was not.

 

The sirens were blaring, loud and piercing in his ears.

 

Through the windows, he could see that everything had gone dark. Every light, every camera, completely shut off.

 

They did not have much time.

 

The guards were already pouring out, searching for the intruder who had managed to cut their lines so well that the back up generator did not kick in.

 

“Let’s go,” Minseok was so close, pressed up beside him as they slipped through the narrow door.

 

The room they were in was dark but Yixing could feel him, feel their soul bond tugging as he ran down the hallways.

 

A cold hand wrapped around his wrist, yanking him behind a corner just as a red light appeared on the far end of the corridor.

 

His heart was pounding in his chest as Minseok clapped a hand over his mouth, their breathing seemingly amplified in the silence.

 

The lights flickered violently and a clap of thunder sounded overhead, deafening in its volume and the guard bolted through another open door.

 

The temperature of the room dropped lower and lower as they crept out from their hiding place, frost climbing along white walls until every door was sealed shut with a cracking sound.

 

“Be ready,” Minseok murmured as Yixing reached for that fiery soul bond flaring bright within his chest. It was a firebrand, a lighthouse in the dark as they raced down the hallways, the silencers Jongdae installed on their sneakers a godsend on concrete floors.

 

He could hear whispers and words as they turned another corner, the frost racing with them to seal over doors but something rattled and they froze.

 

A door that they had just passed was shuddering on its hinges and Yixing could hear loud cursing from where he stood.

 

Something hard rammed into the door and slivers of ice cracked off, sliding onto the frozen floor.

 

“Can you reach him from here?” Minseok asked as Yixing held out his hand. He hated doing this but it was necessary.

 

He could sense the life force behind the door, a man, in his thirties. Healthy. His blood pumped strongly through his veins.

 

He was the only one.

 

“Yixing,” Minseok’s tone was warning as Yixing faltered.

 

“Alright, alright,” he gritted his teeth and released the dam within him that held his powers suppressed.

 

The man screamed once and Yixing could feel it, the cells like putty in his hands as he commanded them to die.

 

There was a heavy thud and they turned away, Minseok resealing the door over.

 

The soul bond warmed, growing warmer and hotter in his chest and Yixing could hear the words clearly now as they drew closer.

 

Monster. Monster. Monster.

 

His heart clenched with sympathy. There was always a point in every mutant’s life where they had felt like that, lost and alone, a complete freak of nature.

 

But it was amplified here at the Collective. They cared very little for the mutants they collected, only that they were dangerous and must be contained.

 

The mutants were told that they were dangerous, that they were monsters, freaks that deserved to die and that the Collective was merciful.

 

The window to the door was frosted over with ice when they arrived, but Yixing could see the placard on the white door, black inked words sending rage burning through him.

 

A human soul reduced to a white placard, to black ink.

 

He gritted his teeth, closing his fingers around the keypad on the wall. It was cold, covered with ice, frozen to the wall.

 

“He’s in there,” he said and Minseok nodded. He could feel the pulse of the person behind the door, beating too fast.

 

There was broken skin, blood dripping down on the floor.

 

With a sickening crack, the door fell apart, shattering like ice.

 

The man behind the door held fire in his hands, weak flickering flames nothing like the inferno Yixing knew he was capable of.

 

He stared at them, his eyes unseeing and Yixing’s heart cracked.

 

He stumbled forward, barely able to keep the emotion out of his voice.

 

“Chanyeol, Chanyeol can you hear me?”

 

Chanyeol barely stirred, even when Minseok touched his shoulders, lips pressed into a thin line.

 

“Chanyeol, answer me please?” Yixing cupped his cheeks, relief trickling through him when Chanyeol’s eyes focused, the glazed over look dissipating.

 

“Chanyeol?” The man seemed to be lost, and his voice was croaky and deep when he spoke.

 

“How- do you know my name?” It seemed like a struggle for him to get the words out but Yixing could understand him, a relieved laugh leaping out of his throat before he could stop himself.

 

“You came to me in a dream,” he rubbed his thumb gently over Chanyeol’s cheekbone, watching as Chanyeol’s brows furrowed.

 

Chanyeol squirmed, as if he wanted to get free. His nose was smudged with ash and his fingers were covered in blood and scratches as if he had been hurting himself.

 

All Yixing wanted to do was to drag him out of there and patch him up, his heart was aching so much just watching him try to comprehend what was happening.

 

He was surprised and hurt when Chanyeol jerked away, yanking his hands away.

 

“Chanyeol?” He asked gently, unable to keep the hurt from climbing over his face.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Chanyeol seemed agitated as he shifted away from him, trying to scoot himself away until Minseok stopped him, pinning him in place.

 

“You- You’ll burn. They always burn,” he gasped, looking up at Minseok in fear that made Yixing’s heart tremble.

 

“Oh sweetheart,” the endearment spilled out as he thumbed over the dark circles that ringed Chanyeol’s eyes, “you could never hurt me.”

 

There was so much relief, relief that Chanyeol was at least, a little, mentally sound, that he was not afraid of him. That he was whole.

 

Chanyeol sniffled and Yixing’s heart filled when the man leaned towards his touch, a six feet tall man nuzzling into his palm like an overgrown puppy.

 

“That’s good, that’s alright,” he murmured as he rested a hand around the back of Chanyeol’s neck, eyes scanning down his body for any injuries.

 

“Just relax, okay? Let me look you over,” he yelped a little when Minseok released the man and Chanyeol tumbled half into his lap, curling up in his arms.

 

He glowered up at Minseok who was surveying the room with a grimace.

 

“You should have warned him. He could have broken his nose.”

 

Not expecting a reply, he turned his attention back to Chanyeol, who had folded himself as small as he would go like a puppy in his lap.

 

“Yixing, we have to leave,” Minseok’s eyes flashed blue and Yixing looked up from his examination to see his friend standing by the door, his lips pulled into a grim expression.

 

“Now.”

 

He glanced out of the door again and Yixing could feel the tension rolling off him in waves as he straightened.

 

“There will be more of them coming and we’ve been here for too long. Jongdae can only keep the security cameras shut down for so long.”

 

As if echoing his sentiment, the building rumbled and shook.

 

“Jongdae must have called in reinforcements,” Yixing murmured as he gathered Chanyeol up, rising to his feet.

 

He held on when the man flailed wildly for a moment, smiling when he steadied himself, turning to look at him with wide eyes.

 

“Relax, sweetheart. I won’t drop you.”

 

His heart was finally at peace when they cracked through the building’s doors, Sehun already there with his wind to sweep them away back home.

 

“Kyungsoo’s going to level this place,” he said in greeting when Yixing grabbed his arm, looping Chanyeol’s arm around his neck.

 

“Good, they deserve it,” he said in answer. There was no care in his voice as they rose up into the air, Chanyeol clutched close to his chest.

 

His soul bond was going to be fine, the world could burn down around him right now and he would not have a care in the world.