An endless tunnel, moist and dripping with cold water. Its walls were rugged and rough, its floor unstable and weak. No light shone in this place. Only the constant echoes of water droplets gave the smallest indication of the world around them. They walked slowly, their feet testing the floor before moving on, their ears straining for echoes that might help them.

Shima led the group, using heavy taps of his monk staff to test the floor in front of them. Two glowing balls of flame approached from in front of them, floating round the group, before being sent on again by Mephisto.

The two Will 'O Wisps had been conjured by Mephisto, great balls of wreathing blue flame. They were there to scout ahead, and to allow for sight when they felt it was needed. In the brief period of their approach, Shima had seen a collapsed floor and wall to their right,

"Step carefully here, guys" He called, "On the left!"

They moved slowly, blind and afraid. With grasping hands, they clutched at the slimy cave wall, ignoring the furry moss and gooey water. Shiemi clutched onto Yukio's arm, trying to be a rock of support and strength.

But she too was afraid. She was afraid of what lay beyond the end of the tunnel, she was afraid of what was going to happen to all of them, afraid of things that were beyond her control. She was afraid that she was Yukio's only strength, and was frightened that she'd let him down.

She was afraid of finding Rin.

She was scared that he'd blame her, even when in her heart of hearts she knew that he wouldn't. Her body shook so much with fear, that she found each step a struggle. Every step took her closer to toppling, closer to failing.

Yukio could feel the shivers that ran through her body. But he did nothing. Because the shivers ran down his spine also, it seemed hypocritical to comfort her fear, when he too was so afraid he could barely move on.

So the two walked slowly on, preyed upon by their respective demons.

But the thing was, they didn't give up. Their courage was their ability to keep taking tiny steps through the depths of terror.

Yukio frowned, to him the tunnel was more than just dark. It lacked any detail. Through his ruined sight, he saw nothing; no moss on the walls, no shapes beyond him, no reflections in the water that ran down them. It was emptiness.


The sound of birds woke him. Followed by a moaning wind, how long had it been since he'd heard such sounds? The birds chatted incessantly, their voices repetitive and squeaky. The wind was odd. No movement followed its dull roar; no wind was in the sound.

Rin fought to open his eyes, the sounds of the birds becoming less charming and more foreboding by the minute. They were too repetitive, too perfect. With sudden clarity, Rin realised.

The sounds were of machinery. The birds were the squeaking of wheels upon metal. The moans of the wind were the powerful motors that kept the thing running. Rin opened his eyes and saw that he was attached to the contraption. His arms were held in place by cuffs positioned on cogs. His feet were also held in cuffs; the machine was pulling them down. His body practically creaked with the strain and pain of being held in such a position. Just when he thought he could stand it no longer, the movement of the machine stopped with a shuddering clunk. The deafening roar continued however, a far away machine fulfilling some form of job.

"That'll do there," Ordered the leader from across the room. "How do you like it, Spawn of Satan?" He chuckled "This machine is quite marvellous, don't you think?"

The leader stood, illuminated by a hazy orange light. His crimson cloak was pulled over his face, but Rin could just see a slight scarring on one side of his face.

"Why… am I here?" Rin croaked, his throat dry. His lung hurt – clearly it hadn't been given the chance to heal – especially not with a certain evil demon currently restraining his flames.

The leader said nothing, just walked towards Rin with a small sneer on his face. It was a face that made Rin shiver, despite the warmth of the room.

"Did I not say, Akuma-chan?" The hooded man asked jokily, "You're here to assist with the death of a certain father of yours,"

"I don't have a father," Rin whispered, screwing his eyes shut with sudden anger and a deep sadness. Silence met his words, even the machine seemed to pause for a moment.

"I really wish that were true," The leader sneered, walking up to Rin and grabbing his hair, pulling it up. Rin's head strained against the machine, trying to relieve itself of this new pain stemming from his scalp.

"But it's not, is it," The leader scorned, anger suddenly fresh in his voice. Rin's frantic blue eyes met the leader's shadowed eyes. Now that Rin was so close to the mystery leader, he could see the face of the enemy clearly.

One eye, his right one, was obliterated, burned so badly that the lid was shut from the scarring. The burn extended down the man's face, one side of his lip was gone, revealing a few teeth – no wonder he always seemed to be sneering. The left eye was bright blue in colour – as bright as Rin's. The man's face was framed by wild black hair.

Rin saw, with demonic eyes, the shadow of something demonic within this man. He was barely even human now – something had twisted him until he was beyond the point of return. This man would never be human again.

The left eye narrowed in anger, and the grip on Rin's hair tightened, causing him to strain against it. He gasped, his lung protesting at any wriggling that Rin produced. The leader looked down at Rin's tail, which was curling in on itself, straining against the pain it felt. The villain gripped the tail with his other hand and pulled.

Rin choked out a cry as his most vulnerable tail was pulled, his back arched as much as the restraint allowed.

Suddenly the pressure was gone, he felt his tail being clipped into place somewhere below him, but couldn't look for the restraining machine. The man looked at Rin in the eye, no sign of the sneer on his face – just pure anger.

"I wish you and the rest of Gehenna weren't around, but we can't be that fortunate, can we?" He sighed, "We'll just make do with killing you and your father."

The machine reeked of oil, the rusting compartments and wheels creaked even in stillness. It was ugly, disgusting. The tangy smell of iron itched at Rin's nose; it smelt too much of blood.

With a jolt, Rin wondered – perhaps it was blood. Who knew what this radical branch of the church was capable of?


Their footsteps echoed harshly throughout the tunnel, each step meant one step closer to Rin. But there was fear within the party, they trembled as they walked, the soft tap of their feet was unsteady. Mephisto showed no sign of emotion, but he too did not like the corridor.

There was something in the air here, a nameless evil that didn't come from the Devil or Gehenna. It was unsettling, he kept seeing visions of spectres in the gloom. Mephisto looked at the rest of them – unlike the humans, he could see fine. If they had seen him, they would have seen plotting within Mephisto's eyes. As it was, they followed him blindly – trusting the demon because they had no choice.

Bon frowned as he noticed a change in the echoing footsteps. Suddenly they were no longer just taps, the return echoes had changed; they almost sounded like… laughter…

Mephisto stopped, as did the others.

But the sound of footsteps didn't.

Clack. Clack. Clack…

The sound reverberated around them, boring into their ears, whispering fear into their brains. Yukio pulled Shiemi closer; and the rest of the group followed suit, bunching up together.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

"We can't stay here forever," Hissed Bon quietly, slowly edging forwards. Shima gripped his arm, holding him back,

"We can't do that, Bon," he whispered, "We don't know what it is!"

Bon gritted his teeth, forcing his shaking legs into action, "We have to, we can't leave Rin alone!"

We have to…

We have to…

We have to…

The words echoed around them, as though many mouths were whispering them again and again. Each time, the echo was changed slightly; altered from the sound of Bon's determination, to a quivering, terrified voice.

The echoes caused Bon to step back a step, re-joining the group.

Clack. Clack. Clack…

The thing was back to walking again, drawing ever closer. Bon gulped, frowning as a blue haze emerged from the tunnel.

Mephisto laughed, "Ah! It seems that I am not allowed to come any further!" he giggled, but he stayed where he was.

"What do you mean?" Moaned Bon, his voice quivering in fear – if the principle left now, what would become of their group?

"Aya, Bon-kun, seems you're a little scared," Giggled Mephisto, removing his hat with a flourish and proceeding to pat the dust from it. "Still," He muttered, his voice growing fearsome and strong,

"I cannot go any further forward." He said, pushing his foot forward. As his foot came down, some unseen force pushed it back, and Mephisto was forced back a step. He chuckled, turning his back on the group. He began to walk away, back down the tunnel, a Will-O-Wisp tailing behind him. He gave a wave over his head as he left, humming to himself.

The group watched him go, their mouths open in shock. They huddled together once more, practically shaking with fear. Mephisto, their guide, their teacher was leaving – what were they going to do?!

Bon gritted his teeth; clenched his hands, clenched his toes. He wasn't going to lose to such a meaningless thing as fear! His whole body shook as he took a shuddering step forward.

"Come on," He muttered at the rest, not glancing behind him as he walked. If he had looked back, Bon knew that he surely would have fled. So he steeled himself and walked stiffly, forcing his legs into action.

Yukio watched the blurry figure of Bon for a moment, before he too began to move. Shiemi walked as well – she was Yukio's guide after all. Shima and Konekomaru shared a frightened glance before they too stepped into the fray.

The tunnel was dark before them, and there was nothing they could do to lighten it. Turning back was unwise, but going forward was full of darkness. And all the while, their steps echoed; the sound forming a quiet chuckling sound that reverberated around them.

They were not alone, it seemed.


Author's Musings: So I have finished my exams - I am FREE! I actually have a whole year until my next form of education, ooh exciting! Sorry this is quite short - I am having writer's block, I'm afraid...

nicky - Me too! I shouldn't have left it this long!

SkYeLiMiT - Yep, I see it as my right to pick on main characters - sorry Rin! What makes you think that they're named after demons? I'm sorry if I've mislead you in any way, they're actually not named after demons, the names in italics are different names for evil deities - I thought it fitting to use that as their chant, but they aren't calling out to each other. I'm hoping the plot isn't getting lost by me - I keep adding things in that I didn't plan on doing! (Damn you imagination!)

fluffsterzz - Aaah, please unflip that table of mine - all my pens and papers are on the floor now :'(. I'll try my best to resolve this as satisfyingly as possible! :D

DreamxToxLivexToxDream - Sorry it's so late

Hartanna - You can certainly say that. Wait 'till you read what I'm planning for Rin next ;)

HipsterL - I think the proper thing to say is that I update randomly ;). Glad you enjoyed!

Maybe review? You'll feature at the bottom of the next chapter :D