I'm back! (Please don't hurt me...) First of all, I'm so, so sorry I've been gone for so long, I hope all of you who have been waiting and encouraging me (thank you so much, it's all thanks to you!) can forgive me. At first, I had no time, then no inspiration, and you know how it gets, the longer you don't write, the harder it gets to come back to it... But now I have some time because my uni is temporarily closed, so here you go! I hope you'll like it. As always, please forgive me for all the mistakes, I'm still learning English. And I'm sorry if the story isn't exactly cannon, I didn't really have the energy to check all that, it all went to writing. And now... Enjoy!

The corridors seemed to have no end. All the emotions swirling in Rin's head – hope, confusion, doubt, and oh so much fear – they all stretched the dark halls and staircases to never-ending surfaces of hushed steps and nervous glances around. They weren't sure where Shima was leading them. Or at least Rin wasn't sure – he suspected Bon and Koneko had all the blueprints memorized and were perfectly orientated. All he remembered was his way on the other side of the fortress, which was useless now.

His thoughts kept drifting towards his little brother. Was it really as bad as Shima said? What if he wouldn't wake up? Or worse, what if he woke up, but not as himself? He realized he had no idea what he would do. All they were told seemed so unreal and grim... He half-expected to turn around the corner to find Yukio just standing there with one of his soft smiles on his lips and for Shima to start laughing they got them. What he would give for all this to be just a prank... But Yukio was never one to pull pranks. No, it was Rin's field – his brother was always the responsible and mature one. Ever since the stopped being kids ("you still are kids", his mind reminded him) and he didn't have to save him from school bullies anymore, it was Yukio who behaved more like an older sibling. Rin had trouble remembering the last time when Yukio needed him. He always seemed so confident and independent and smart... Maybe not so much these last days, but he still seemed okay. Now Rin kept thinking how he could have done more, should have noticed this strange behaviour and should have helped like a proper big brother would have done... Yet he failed. And then Shima told him that Yukio had been searching for him when he had changed his mind, that he needed his older brother to be there for him – and he hadn't been there. Yeah, sure, it was Yukio who went way, but I didn't mean he wasn't without fault. He felt like it was the other way around – maybe Yukio left because of how he wasn't a good enough brother...

'How are you holding up?', someone asked from behind him, pulling him out of self-despising thoughts. He looked up, thankful for the distraction, and found himself staring at Bon. The shock must have been obvious on his face because Bon laughed quietly. "I know, I'm not the best person for these kinds of questions. But you look like you need someone to talk to.'

'I guess... I definitely needed someone to stop me from thinking.'

'Too inexperienced in that area, huh?', joked Bon and even though it sounded a bit strained, it did work.

'Hey, I'm not that stupid!', he exclaimed mockingly offended and heard Shiemi chuckle not far away from him. Even though it was almost nothing, he felt a little bit lighter and less lost.

'Are you sure? Do you still remember that time when we were supposed to make a healing potion and yours turned green and mouldy?', Konekomaru laughed and Rin felt himself blush a little bit, but grin nonetheless.

'Who knows, maybe I created an ultimate healing super-potion. It's just that everyone was too scared to try it. Cowards, all of you. With no faith in me.'

'But at least with some common sense. And surviving instinct', he heard Kamiki's quiet and not-just-joking reply. He opened his mouth for a retort, but Shima stopped him.

'Shh. We're almost there.'

With his words, the tension came back and Rin felt his heartbeat quicken. All of them slowed down and tried to keep their footsteps as light as possible. Soon they reached the turn of the corridor and Shima halted to a stop.

'Okay, listen up", he whispered so quietly that they felt like they weren't really hearing him, but more like lip-reading in dim light. 'There's a door to the lab about five meters from us. The light will turn on as soon as someone gets close to the door and there's a guard just behind it. It used to be two guards, but we are short-staffed lately... Anyways, you'd be recognized immediately. You have to let me go there and take care of him. They still think I'm loyal to them, they won't suspect a thing. Hopefully..." Shima's eyes glazed for a second. He was probably imagining what they would do to him if they discovered his double-agent identity. And judging by his face he didn't like the vision.

'And then what?'. Kamiki wasn't going to give him time for self-pity and imagination. It wasn't the best mix.

'I knock him unconscious or something and disable the cameras. That room is the only one watched constantly. It will be suspicious, but it'll buy us some time. Then I open the door for you and pray you're all not crazy.

'It doesn't sound like the most detailed plan', Koneko raised an eyebrow.

'That's the best you'll get, Mr. Strategist', scoffed Bon.

'I'm not complaining! It's just... It's kind of... Okay, maybe I'm complaining a little bit', Koneko grinned.

Rin felt a small hand slip into his own. He opened his eyes – when did he clench them shut? - and looked to his right at Shiemi whose own bright and determined eyes bore into his. She didn't say anything, she didn't even smile, but just nodded without breaking the eye contact. We can do this, all her posture said. It'll be alright.

And he believed her.

He shifted his gaze to Shima who stood still, waiting for his answer like for a command. He didn't know when and why he became the leader but he wasn't going to let his friends down. And he certainly wasn't going to let his little brother down. He straightened his back.

'Let's do this.'

The next couple of minutes defied the laws of physics – they seemed to both stretch endlessly and end in just mere seconds. Either way, they didn't feel like minutes at all. They all stood nervously, trying to hear something from the other side of the thick door, but not a sound came through. Shiemi was fidgeting, Bon tried to restrain himself from pacing, Koneko murmured something almost inaudibly and Izumo appeared to breathe especially regularly and deeply to calm herself. Rin wasn't sure if he breathed at all.

And finally, after this never-ending, flash-quick minutes, the door opened and they saw a familiar head poking out.

'Come on!', Shima whispered, waving at them furiously.

They ran the last couple of meters and tumbled through the narrow entrance. Only after the door closed behind them and they were safely stuck inside did they dare to look around.

The room was spacious and bright. White walls were empty with the exception of a couple of shelves with strange equipment. On the other side of the room there was an enormous container filled with liquid and full of... were these bodies?! Rin heard his friends gasp behind him, but his own eyes drifted towards a big simple bed in the middle of the room. And towards the person lying there.

'Yukio!', he cried and ran to his little brother. He stopped by the bed and looked at the familiar face. Yukio appeared to be simply asleep, his chest rose and fell in steady breaths. His skin was even more pale than usual and one of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch. His hair was longer than Rin remembered and more tangled than usual, but it was the same Yukio Rin had grown up with. The same kid he had been saving from being beaten up. His little brother.

His friends' voices tore through his fogged mind.

'And you're sure he won't wake up?', he heard Bon ask someone. They were apparently talking about the knocked-down guard. Oops, Rin completely forgot about that part. It was such a relief he had some down-to-earth friends; we would have been long dead on his own.

'Yes, I'm sure, I told you. He should be out for a couple of hours. But someone will come to check on the cameras soon, so you better hurry.' Shima sounded tense.

'Hey, what's all that?'

Rin turned his head and saw Kamiki point at the container. He was so preoccupied with his twin that he paid little mind to the strange liquid and the bodies. Now that he looked closer, he was shocked as well.

'They... they all look identical', whispered Shiemi, standing close to her friend who leaned bravely forward to stare at one of the humanoid forms. 'Are these... clones? I thought this stuff existed just in science fiction', Izumo commented. 'Apparently not...'

They had no choice but to agree with what their eyes saw. It seemed Illuminati managed to clone people for some purpose. The clones seemed human, with blond hair and slim naked bodies. They all seemed asleep, drifting in the strange liquid.

'They were meant to be bodies for Satan and Lucifer.' They all spun around to look at Shima who stayed behind. Now that they thought about it, it seemed obvious he would know something – he had lived here for months. 'But Satan was too powerful and the bodies died instantly. Lucifer is able to stay in a body for a couple of days, sometimes weeks, but it's still far from perfect. That's why there's so many of them.'

'So that's why they needed someone with Satan's blood. Why they wanted Yukio. His body would last longer.'

'He did last longer. Hell, he still does. It's just that his mind is too... unwilling to cooperate.' Rin smirked proudly at Shima's words. Unwilling to cooperate, huh? Atta boy! 'And like I said, then the story was short: going kinda crazy, coma, non-responsive. End of story.'

'And you think there's no way to bring him back?', Shiemi asked hesitantly.

'I think he might wake up if he wants to. But I'm not sure if, you know... it'll be him that wakes up.'

Rin sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know what to do. Sure, he wanted his brother back, but what if by doing so he would put his friends in danger? It was like Shima said: they couldn't be sure if it would be Yukio who woke up in his body. He was too young to be making that kind of decision! He closed his eyes and let out a huff of frustration.

'What am I supposed to do, Yukio?', he asked out loud.

And then he heard surprised gasps of his friends.

He spun around and looked at the bed. He felt his heart skip a beat.

Yukio's eyes were open.

Thank you so much for reading! I promise you won't have to wait that long for another upload. Let me know what you think and see you all soon!
Doing My Best