heheheh you guys are awesome. You have no idea how happy it made me to find out that there are people who dislike Angel just as much as I do. It's almost like permission to just traumatize the poor guy. Anyway, SuperiorDimwit (did I ever mention that I love your name? Because I do) is just about the most awesome person in the world and is really helping me out. He let me know that not all Paladin can be possessed by Satan (according to the manga/anime, it was believed that Shiro was the only one who could survive it) and that demons possess people who are most like themselves. Anyway, we agreed to just plow ahead for the sake of this fanfic and ignore that silly rule x)

These are my excuses: Angel is an crazy [bleep]hole, Satan is a crazy [bleep]hole, and since they're similar they might be compatible (though I can imagine Angel violently denying this, but we'll ignore him . . .) Also . . . I can't think of anything for the Paladin rule. Let's just say that Angel's will to live and his hatred for demons kept him going through the possession. Pride is his number one thing, and being killed by (I hate to admit it) Rin's biological father would suck.

There. Now it's suddenly logical :D and I'll continue writing without regrets.

Welcome to chapter three, where [bleep] hits the fan.

(Yeah, I don't like cussing. You won't find it in this story. Only [bleeps]. You can fill in the blanks.)

Stay Awesome,

Rand0mSmil3z

PS- I just realized that the spaces between the perspectives when it changes haven't shown up. I don't know why but I think I know how to fix it. We'll see.

PPS - don't hate me for this chapter

The Vatican was in a state of complete chaos.

The sounds on the streets was a mixture of guttural growls, screams, and the sound of things being blown to heaven above. Yukio ran through it all with Bon, Konekomaru, and Izumo on his heels. Izumo's familiars weren't too happy about the entire situation, but cooperated. Yukio knew that they tended to ignore Izumo at times; he hoped that this was not one of those times.

"Yukio!"

Shura shouted at him, her demon sword in hand. She wielded it like an elegant blade of mass destruction, cutting through any and all demons that got within a 3 meter radius of her.

"What's going on?" he demanded, immediately regretting his decision to bring the exwires here. There were too many demons, it was too dangerous, why didn't he think things through?

But it was too late. Too late. He pulled out his guns and began to fire, each bullet biting their target. Demons evaporated like mist burning away in the hot sun. Bon positioned himself between Shura and Yukio and began chanting one incantation while Konekomaru, standing beside him, chanted another. Izumo doused the battle field in purified rice-water, forcing the demons into the air. Four more shots fired. Four more killed.

Shura spun through the air, biting her thumb and running the blood alongside of the blade. In a flash she cut through the air and demons appeared out of the slash, devouring all the demons in its way. It was a lethal attack, one that Yukio was fortunate enough not to be on the wrong end of.

"I'm not sure!" she shouted back. "There was a sudden earthquake and then these demons began pouring out of the Vatican!"

"Why?!"

"Like I said," Shura nearly growled, "I'm not sure."

Yukio shut his mouth. The first and only person who ticked off Shura ended up in the hospital for months. He wasn't planning on being the second.

"I have to go and look," he said. Unease was swirling in his gut again and he wondered, for a second, if Rin had anything to do with this. But he squelched the thought immediately; not even Rin, who was infamous for getting into trouble, could cause this sort of mess. Wait, he realized. Where's . . .?

"Do you know where Mephisto is?" Yukio asked. Three more shots echoed through the air when a pair of demons got to close. He was running out of bullets; he needed more, but he always kept more on his person. He would be fine, for now. But if this keeps up . . .

Shura shook her head, her pink hair with its yellow fringe flying in her face. "No," she stated, gritting her teeth. There was a pause when Bon and Konekomaru finished their mentra in unison. At least thirty demons popped like balloons and disintegrated in the air. Shura glanced at Yukio, and their eyes locked for a moment. Unspoken communication passed between them.

This sucks.

Suddenly Shura turned to the nearest exorcist to her - a man that Yukio didn't know - and shouted, "Has anyone entered the Vatican yet?"

"O - Only the Paladin," the man replied, clearly shaken. Yukio could only imagine what went through his mind when Shura grabbed his collar. "No one else - "

"Thanks," Shura said, cutting him off. She turned to Yukio, still obviously ticked off. Yukio had no idea why though. He couldn't understand the minds of idiots, and Shura was ranked high on that list. No, not idiot, he corrected himself. Shura was actually quite smart, though she lacked any sort of common sense. Just annoying.

"Let's go, four eyes," Shura stated, crossing her arms over her shoulder. She suddenly spun and cut through a demon. It seemed just as shocked as Yukio was. "I have a bad feeling about this," she continued as if nothing had happened.

Yukio swallowed hard. He had a bad feeling about this, too. "All right," he said, steeling himself. He turned to the other exwires, who seemed to sense what was going on. "We're going to the heart of the Vatican."

Something told him that he would regret this as well, but with he and Shura there, what could go wrong?

Bon scowled. "Fine," he said. "We'll go."

"Hey," Izumo exclaimed. "Don't go decided things for me. I didn't say anything."

Bon shot her a look. "You know you want to go too."

She flushed and didn't say anything else. Konekomaru looked as if he was going to throw up, but nodded bravely. With that, the five of them started to run into the Vatican, leaving the messy streets behind.

Mephisto got to his feet with some degree of difficulty. Shortly after Satan left and Rin vanished beyond the gate - and any hope of salvation - the gates black pit seemed to explode. Even know a heavy stream of demons poured out, right out of the ceiling and towards the streets. At this rate, Assaih would be taken over, and he couldn't have that. It was still a fledgling gate, however, that had gone out of control.

But if I closed it . . .

Mephisto squeezed his eyes shut. . . . Rin would be trapped in there forever.

Rin? Or Assaih?

He took a deep breath. No. He couldn't let sentimentally get in the way. This should be an easy choice; after all, it was the world versus one boy. Yet why was this so difficult? Logically, he should have no difficulty making the decision. Logically, he should have made this decision right when the gate went out of control. Logically, he would never have made the gate in the first place. All of those exorcists missing in action, all of those years of planning, those years of waiting for this one moment were now sixteen years of bitter memories and regret.

Mephisto felt a headache beginning to brew. Satan wouldn't kill Rin, though it couldn't be guaranteed. However, Mephisto was pretty certain this was the case; the King of Gehenna wouldn't kill the Prince; perhaps, since Rin could also use the flames, Satan would use him as a weapon against Assaih.

At least, Mephisto thought, he won't be killed outright.

That decided the matter. Stifling a groan of pain, Mephisto began to head towards the gate. It would be simple. As Samael, the King of Time, he would only have to take the Gehenna gate's time and reverse it to the time where it didn't exist. Or, as also the King of Space - he was the one who created all of those keys, after all - he might be able to seal this gate in a different dimension, like what he did with Amaimon.

He grit his teeth. Neither option was practical in any way. The only way to guarantee the gate's destruction was the blue flames, but that . . . wasn't an option now.

Suddenly a thought came to him. The Gehenna gate was technically a demonic gate; therefore, had the same properties as a demon. Holy water would weaken it; perhaps an incantation or two would be able to pinpoint its weakness and weaken it further. Next would be the actual black tar itself; the childlike bodies constantly writhed in the mess, their sightless black eyes wide and their mouths stretched to the mouth where they were ripping off of the head. They were like the substance of the gate, the barrier between the dimensions; destroy them, and it should collapse on itself. That, while he himself rewound the gate's time.

Mephisto's lips curled in a thin grin. It might actually work, he realized. It might just . . .

The sounds of footsteps echoed behind him. Mephisto turned, surprised; he had thought that all of the exorcists would be fighting above ground.

Then he saw who it was, and the surprise withered away inside of him and was replaced with unease. However, he also crushed that feeling; he was a demon, not an emotionally unhinged human.

But even he could feel regret.

Yukio's eyes widened as his blood ran cold in his veins. Impossible, he told himself. Impossible. Beside him, he heard Shura's quick intake of breath. The exwires were silent, most likely in shock.

The first thing Yukio saw was Mephisto, standing with his back to them, though he was looking over his shoulder. His clothes were torn, his sleeves and white jacket-cape [I'm sorry. I have no idea what that thing he wears is] was burned and bloodied. His hat had been blown off; half of it had been ripped off. There was more blood on the floor and there was a dent in a column.

Behind Mephisto was Angel. He looked like he had crawled down into hell face-first and lived to tell about it. Blood freely ran out of his eyes, ears, and nose. His clothes were singed. Burnt flesh lingered in the dank air. Behind Angel was a mass of what looked like black, bubbling tar. But not bubbles, Yukio realized in horror. Hands.

Behind the pit of putrid black rot and tar were bodies. Dozens upon dozens of bodies, pushed up against the wall, their throats cut so that their lifeblood could soak through. Puddles of the scarlet liquid ran on the ground, though had dried in places. Blank eyes seemed to stare at him in accusation.

Why haven't you come sooner?

One of the exwires behind him threw up. Yukio didn't turn around to see who.

"Mephisto," Yukio whispered. His hands were shaking. He needed to be strong now but the shaking wouldn't stop, wouldn't stop, wouldn't stop . . .

Shura suddenly stepped in front of him. Hey eyes were narrowed to slits and, for a second, she looked part demon. If she actually was, Yukio probably wouldn't have been surprised.

"Mephisto, what is this?" she demanded, her voice high and loud.

Suddenly Yukio realized something. That wasn't a pit of bubbling tar; that was a Gehenna gate. Why hadn't he realized that sooner? The second thing Yukio noticed that Rin, who had gone with Yukio just moments earlier, wasn't here. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach and shot in the face all in one.

"Mephisto," Yukio whispered, his guns limp at his side. Panic was taking over; he could feel it, but he didn't care. Nothing cared, not right now. "Mephisto," he whispered again, looking the demon in the eye, "where's my brother?"

And the [bleep] hits the fan.

:3

I have nothing else to say. Stay Awesome,

Rand0mSmil3z