You all won't believe what happened to me just now. So there was a fire drill in my dorm, and guess who was in the shower. Yeah, that's right. Moi. I was totally rocking the angry bird t-shirt and jammie bottoms with my lime-green towel. It totally sucked.

Anyway, my classes are totally screwed up. The system bugged and, while my biology major was accepted, it was never confirmed and I was registered into my university's system as undeclared. Aka I had no science classes first semester and so my schedule has just been thrown up into the air. Basically, I'm completely stressed and more than a little scared, but I'm going to de-stress by writing this and watching an episode of Attack on Titan. I did my share of homework and studying for the day.

Oh. And I locked myself out of my dorm twice. And I still have to register my bike. And I'm feeling really overwhelmed with all of this. I'm blaming my school. Dang them and their faulty system. Now I have to wade through all of this crap to get to where I need to be.

Oh well. Here's chapter whatever. Enjoy.

...

Yukio POV

...

The lights were out and shadows basked the hallway. Yukio's footsteps echoed on the cold stone floor, and every small sound sent a small tremor shooting up his spine. His hands were cold and clammy, his heart a wild thing in his chest, but his face was stoic. Unemotional. Blank.

He was in control.

Shiemi walked silently behind him, her rounded face pale and scared, her mouth a firm line. On her shoulder the green-man familiar sat, his rich emerald color in the shadows almost as rich as the hue in Shiemi's eyes. Amaimon walked causally behind her and yet, with his erratic gate, his footfalls were silent. It was almost unnerving, and Yukio made sure to keep one eye on the demon and the other on the path he trod on. Shura took up the rear, her slightly flushed face uncharacteristically serious.

Yukio returned his focus to their path. It was simply enough; slip past the guards and slip into the Vatican, and then cautiously make their way to the prison cell where Mephisto was kept.

So simple. So deadly. One wrong move would have all of their heads rolling for treason. In a world built on trust, there was very few things worse than outright betrayal.

After all, look at what happened to Mephisto.

No no no. Don't think about that, Yukio berated himself. His hands clenched into tight fists, straining the material of his gloves. Don't think about it.

And yet he thought. The silence in the hallway only made his thoughts louder, louder until they were screaming in his mind, demanding attention. They screamed of betrayal, betrayal to the Exorcist Institution for going against their laws, betrayal to his father for not protecting Rin, betrayal to himself for not noticing the signs that something was incredibly wrong before this all went down, betrayal to his friends - students - for leaving them behind.

Betrayal.

It was the poison that ran through his veins, burned through him like a fire. Those thoughts haunted him, the poison weakened him, and it was all he could do to hold himself together.

And yet, in this moment as they slowly descended the steps of the Vatican, his pounding heart slowly faded to a drone. His cold hands stilled, his face remained cast in stone. Years of training in this place, beaten into him until he bled, was now the training he used to break the cornerstone of their laws.

Betrayal.

The four of them slowly stepped into an open room. It wasn't well lit; a candle burned on a small wooden table, thrown haphazardly in the corner, and there were a variety of torches mounted on the wall. Shadows danced on the hard stone, dancing to a rhythm only they could hear. In the corner, lounging in their seats, three guards sat snoring on hard wooden chairs. Their faces were flushed, their breath the scent of alcohol. In front of them was a single computer screen, now blank.

"They're great drinkers," Shura murmured. A sly grin quirked at her full lips.

Yukio didn't smile, though he might have considered trying in a different situation. But now, all he wanted was to think. What was the next step, the next door, the next corner they had to pass.

But Shura had other ideas.

"I got the laptop," she whispered, gently picking it up. "It's connected to the security tapes; I looped them, but it would be a great time to overwrite them right now."

"Why bother?" hissed Yukio. The mere sound of his voice made his nerves jump; every echo seemed to bounce on the walls even louder than before.

Shura glanced at him, scarlet from the fire dancing in her violet eyes. "To see Mephisto," she replied.

"Which cell is he in?" Shiemi asked. She seemed nervous.

"Corner cell," Shura and Yukio replied at the same time.

Yukio added, "on the right side."

Shiemi blinked. "Oh."

...

Amaimon POV

...

This was taking too long.

Amaimon bit at his nails, drawing blood when he cut too close to the quick. He liked the taste of it; iron, a little bit salt and a little bit tang, and warm. He liked warmth, like warm things. He liked warm drinks in particular; once, Mephisto had given him a class of apple cider during a holiday called "Christmas". It was sweet, incredibly so, and tasted good.

He liked sweet things.

Amaimon turned back to Rin's brother and Big-Boobs, along with Cute-Timid-Female-Human whose name escapes him. They all seemed incredibly focused on something; Big Boobs was typing on some sort of fancy plastic pizza-box thing with a lot of buttons, and the other two were looking over her shoulder. She was scowling, obviously upset with something, but Amaimon didn't care.

He just wanted Mephisto back, and he was willing to wait as long as it took to get there.

Suddenly the girl made a hissing noise, like the sound a snake makes just before it throws up.

Rin's brother scowled at her. "What?" he demanded, his voice a low whisper. One of the guards snorted in his sleep; it was an ugly sound, and Amaimon wanted to punch him, but that would take too much energy and he was too lazy to bother.

Big Boobs put the fancy small pizza-box back on the table. "Angel is already here."

Amaimon froze.

Angel.

He had known a lot of angels; there had been Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Daniel, and Raziele, though that one had gone missing some time ago. But Amaimon only knew one human named Angel, and that was the Paladin.

What was he doing here?

Yeah, short Amaimon POV, but it had content. Did you catch the content? If you didn't, you better start to friggin reread. DON'T SPOIL IT IN THE REVIEWS! It's really important and I don't want anyone to spoil it!

And to everyone who wished me luck in college, it meant and still means a ton. When I'm feeling down, I reread the reviews and silently thank you guys. Honestly. It's been a rough transition and I'm so thankful that this story has such sweet, amazing readers. :) Thank you so much you guys! I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but hopefully it's soon.

Thanks for being awesome :D I don't think that I have to remind you all to stay that way, cuz you're doing a good job.

-Rand0mSmil3z