DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters.

Please R&R^^

Another late update… This school period, I have to go on an internship for 7 weeks, 4 days per week. And because I asked to be an intern at a goat farm, I work there until 7 pm. Which usually means that I won't leave until 7:30, and be home at 8 in the evening. And I usually write in the evening… But 2 weeks have already passed, so in 5 weeks I'll have time to write more often. I hope…

Anyhow, here's a new chapter ^-^

It was like the shadows had all morphed into one being, creating a strange form in the center of the path. Disturbingly enough, though, it actually seemed solid. No longer a shadow without a shape, but more like a shadow that had become a shape itself. And it was large enough to block the entire path. For a moment, the angels just stared at it, waiting for the demon to make the first move. Rei felt the tension in the air getting worse with every second that passed without anything happening. It wasn't until he averted his eyes from the demon for a moment, before looking at it again, that he realized something was in fact happening.

"It's spreading itself," the purple-haired angel mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. Of course, Ruka did hear him and sent him a questioning glance. "Look," Rei just said, not trusting his own voice not to sound too terrified.

"We've got to break through it," Shin said. "It's a shadow, right? Then we should be able to run through it." It would've made Rei feel a lot better if his friend's voice wouldn't have trembled slightly at that last line.

"It might work if we scare away the shadows," Ruka responded. "Light, like our energy orbs, should be able to force it away momentarily."

Yuda only nodded, and at that everyone ran forward, shooting energy beams and then keeping energy orbs close by as they reached the demon. Judecca produced some unearthly sound, a shriek that couldn't even be called a noise, as the six angels entered the shadowy form. Rei felt his throat tightening, like they were running to smoke instead of shadows. It didn't smell like it, it didn't smell like anything, but the air seemed too thick to be merely under a shadow.

Suddenly, images seemed to flash by. Zeus' castle, the fight. Letting out a gasp, Rei stopped running. What was this? The demon, he realized. The smoky shadows were formed by their own bad memories. Behind him, someone carefully pushed him forward. "Keep running!" he heard Ruka yell. Not bothering to reply, the purple-haired angel did just that. The memories didn't allow themselves to be that easily ignored, though. The further the angels ran, the more clear they appeared to be. Solid, almost.

Part of him wanted to touch the ghostly figures and shapes, but somehow Rei knew he shouldn't. There was something undoubtedly disturbing about physically touching your own memories. Besides that, they had no idea how far Judecca's powers went. So far, they ran though their memories. If they wouldn't be careful, could they end up trapped inside those memories? The thought alone sent a shiver down Rei's spine, and he sped up a bit more. Whether it was possibly or not, he had absolutely no intention of trying it. His friends evidently had the same opinion, as they all ran as fast as they could.

Wait… For a moment, Rei froze when he realized that. He could actually see his friends. Through the shadows, that shouldn't even be possible. It couldn't be possible. Then why could he see them? Looking around, he realized not a single piece of shadow was left. All that was around them, was that horrible fight between the six of them and Zeus. Even the air was filled with smoke and the dust from collapsed buildings and rocks. Moreover, when Rei ran though a pile of stone, he actually almost tripped over one of them.

"Be careful, it's not only showing us memories anymore!" Yuda warned, a bit too late. The landscape of the worst memory they all shared, had somehow taken a solid shape. Which meant, Rei realized, that it could very well physically harm them. It only became clear how right he was, when sudden explosions made the piles of stone launch themselves into the air. Just like they had, when their and Zeus' attacks had hit them. Barely avoiding a rather large rock, Rei dared to look behind.

Nothing but darkness, but one so deep it felt like it would suffocate him if he wouldn't manage to keep ahead of it. Suddenly feeling his feet getting caught by a rock, that option felt very close by. Before he'd even had the chance to scream, though, Ruka caught his hand and dragged him back onto his feet, barely slowing down. Instinctively, Rei kept holding his angel's hand. It made him feel slightly safer, and at least safe enough to be able to concentrate on where to put his feet.

"There's a wall!" Someone ahead of them yelled. Indeed, above the exploding piles of stone, a gigantic wall rose up from the ground. But Rei didn't remember any wall of that sort. "It's not a memory, it's the end of the circle!" Someone else yelled, it sounded like Shin. Apparently, the blue-haired angel also said the spell, because slowly a door began to open.

As if Judecca felt its preys escaping, the explosions multiplied, and the stones were now actually aimed for them. Barely avoiding a piece of stone, Rei had to let go of Ruka's hand. Goh and Ruka reached the exit before the others, and used their energy beams to protect their friends from the stones. Looking behind, this time without tripping, Rei saw he wasn't the last in line. Somehow, Yuda had gotten behind the rest, and to judge by the look of pain on his face, his shoulder had something to do with that. Shin obviously noticed that too, as he quickly slowed down to wait for the red-haired angel.

More stones came flying towards them, and the exit was already closing. "Hurry!" Gai screamed at the last three that were still running. The next explosion was barely a few feet away from them, and Rei heard Shin's gasp of pain. Quickly glancing behind, he saw his friend falling but Yuda picked him off the ground almost without losing any speed. A short moment, Rei trembled at the thought what that must do to the red-haired angel's shoulder, but there wasn't any time to offer help. Only moments before the door closed, the three angels ran through.

On the other side, a small stream of lava lighted up the passage, and trying to slow down he turned around to see Yuda. Before he got a clear vision, though, he managed to trip over his own feet and landed roughly in Ruka's arms. "Rei? Did you get hurt?" The purple-haired angel could only shake his head, as he finally saw what had made Shin fall.

Shin barely paid any attention to his leg, though, as Yuda carefully put him on the ground. Even though the red-haired angel was trying to hide it, Shin hadn't failed to see the tears of pain in his eyes. The fact that his face had literally lost all color wasn't easy to miss either. "Yuda…"

"Sit still," his angel hissed almost inaudibly. The feeling of guilt hurting almost more than the piece of rock piercing his leg, Shin did as he was told. Quickly but carefully, Yuda pulled out the rock and healed the injury. Then, finally, he looked up at Shin, and the blue-haired angel almost felt his heart stop for a moment when he saw the pain in his beloved one's eyes. "Shin? Was that the only injury?"

"Y-yes… I'm sorry!" Not daring to take the chance of hugging his angel and accidentally aggravating the injured shoulder, he only grabbed Yuda's hand. It was trembling so badly, Shin couldn't help but to wonder for a moment on how he'd even been able to get that piece of rock out. But he didn't even care about that right now, all he cared about was his own stupidity of getting injured. "I'm so sorry you had to carry me," he choked out, fighting back tears. "I should've been more careful."

"It wasn't you fault," Yuda replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "And… I couldn't exactly drag you along, right?"

"Next time do drag me along! That couldn't possibly hurt me more than it hurts you to carry me with that shoulder!" He hadn't meant to yell like that, but he saw Yuda flinching slightly. "Yuda…" Unable to find words that came even close to what he meant to say, Shin took the risk and wrapped his arms around the taller angel. Either he'd been careful enough, or Yuda's shoulder already hurt too badly to possibly hurt more, because the red-haired angel barely responded to it. "I'm sorry!" Shin sobbed, burying his face against Yuda's uninjured shoulder.

"Shin, it wasn't your fault. It was my own choice to carry you, nothing forced me to." Gently, Yuda embraced the smaller angel. "Please, stop blaming yourself. I really don't have the energy for such a discussion right now." Worriedly, Shin lifted his head to look at his beloved one again. Yuda didn't look back at him, his eyes somewhat vacant. His face didn't even seem to have regained any color, besides slightly darkened circles underneath his eyes. Indeed, he looked exhausted, and Shin knew it wouldn't make his beloved one feel any better if he'd keep feeling guilty.

"Yuda…" Tenderly, Shin laid his hand on Yuda's cheek and forced him to return his gaze. A bit unsurely Yuda looked at him, but closed his eyes when Shin kissed him. He tasted a bit sweaty, and Shin could tell his angel still had a fever, but the kiss itself was perfect as usual. Soft and full of love. "Mmh…" Sighing, he pulled away after a few moments. "I love you."

"I love you too," Yuda mumbled, opening his eyes. They were a lot clearer now, almost like usual. It wasn't until Yuda smiled amusedly at him, that Shin realized how long he'd been staring at his angel. Feeling his cheeks heating up a bit, the blue-haired angel smiled back at him.

"Eh… Dinner is ready," Rei suddenly announced, shyly interrupting the two. "Well… 'dinner' it can't be called."

"It's better than nothing," Goh commented.

"Actually, air tastes better," Gai responded to that.

Shin couldn't help but to notice that Yuda barely ate anything. At least he did eat a little bit, though it wasn't nearly enough to prevent Shin from worrying about it. "Yuda? Shouldn't you eat a bit more?" he asked softly, hoping not to draw too much attention.

"Sorry, I don't think I'd be able to keep it in," the red haired angel mumbled, refusing to look back at him. He almost seemed to feel embarrassed by it, to Shin's annoyance. Geez, why couldn't he just stop feeling like he should always be strong and perfect? Or was it that the rest of them always expected him to? But right now, no one would think any less of him because of any acts of vulnerability. Taking a sigh, Shin decided to just ignore those thoughts right now. This obviously wasn't the time for arguing, especially not about personal matters.

The night seemed to pass by slower than ever, and not just because it was the last one before they'd have to face the deepest point of Hell.

I'll update as soon as possible ^-^