Hi guys, long time no see! Forget about me yet? I know it's been months, and I apologize. This story has been on my mind a lot, and I've started this chapter so many times (and discarded them every single time, because it just didn't sound right), but then I listened to Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin, and I thought to myself, "Today's the day!" I'm working on this before my afternoon shift, which I am not too excited for hahah. Working in a lab is so boring!

Anyway, hope that everyone has been well! Thanks for all of the reviews while I've been MIA – I may not reply, but as always, I read, love, appreciate every single one, and wish nothing but the best for all of you!

But you didn't click on this chapter's link to read author's notes. Oh no. You came to read about how/if Rin will beat the mother-loving shit out of the King of Gehenna himself. So let's get onto that, all right?

Rin tilted his head back and laughed. Blood stained his sharp teeth and ran freely down his chin, into the fabric underneath his armor and dried there due to the heat. He didn't mind. He had always looked good in red.

"You've gotten old," Rin called to his biological father. "And slow."

Satan's lips curved into a sharp, unkind smile. "Have you already forgotten?" he shouted across the sapphire sky. Blue flames licked his polished shoes. "No demon can kill me. Especially not a runt like you!" His eyes flashed. "Your brother would have been a better choice."

Like I haven't heard that one before.

Rin's fingers spasmed on the sword he was holding. The small, logical side of his mind reminded him that Satan was baiting him, trying to make him do something stupid, and he knew that in this game of war, mistakes were met with a quick and painful death. But the other side of his mind, the larger, spontaneous side, argued that he could make it, that he could dart forward and stab that bastard in his fucking heart before he could even blink.

His bloodless lips twitched at the thought. That sounded good, and he crouched low and threw himself across the flaming sky like an arrow shot from a hunter's bow. Sweat stuck his hair to his forehead, effectively keeping it out of his eyes, and he twisted his body midair. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Satan's eyes widen slightly…

Rin smiled, satisfied. Good. He drew his arm back, keeping his clawed hand extended and taunt. Surprised is good. Satan swung; he managed to duck underneath the blow, but as he lifted his head and aimed for Satan's heart, a sudden knee collided with his ribs. Armor groaned, cracked, then shattered like glass from the weight. Bits of metal drove into his gut as he doubled over, choking out blood.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. He lifted his head, simultaneously struggling to throw himself backward, but a hand grabbed his hair. A breathless gasp bubbled out of his throat as he was lifted, lifted until he was staring at Satan in the eyes.

"Are you stupid?" the King of Gehenna asked.

Rin chuckled. He couldn't help it. "I got it from your side of the family," he said.

Satan threw his head back and laughed. The noise was brittle and boomed across their portion of the sky. "So sassy!" he laughed. "So damn sassy!" he said again; but then the smile fell from his face, and he suddenly gripped Rin's neck with his other hand. Black spots danced in his vision as he felt heat trickle from his lips, and as the fingers tightened around his throat, Satan leaned in close and murmured, "I hate sassy."

Rin's eyes widened as he desperately, hopelessly struggled to draw in breath. His fingers scrambled for purchase on his father's tight fingers, but his arms felt like lead, and his head hurt, and nothing seemed to be working. Nothing seemed to be working. Panic blossomed in his gut. He opened his mouth wider; this time, a pitiful gurgle bubbled from the blood he choked out. Stars danced in his eyes. His body began to tremble as it began to die.

He knew that this might happen. He was fighting against Satan, after all; Satan, who had once been an angel beside God; Satan, who had looked God in the eye as He stripped his grace and cast him down to this place; Satan, who had not so much as fallen from grace than saunter vaguely downward. That Satan.

"Sing for me, little bird," Satan murmured. Rin could feel his breath tickle his ear when the hand around his throat suddenly squeeze, drawing out a ragged, gurgling cry out of his throat. Satan's smile widened. "A bit off tune," he said, "but we can work with that."

Dark shapes drifted in and out of his vision. Fuck that.

He could his power build inside his chest. Building, burning, the blue flame blossomed in his chest and grew there; but with no outlet, the pressure built until his muscles were screaming and sweat pricked his skin. He was an ember to its inferno; a moth, powerless and weak, drawn to the fire only to burst into flame. His wings were burning...

Rin's eyes snapped open and he screamed. Flames burst into the air, an all-consuming blue flame that demanded blood, and he could feel Satan's grip lax on his throat. Rin kicked his foot out; it connected with a chest, and he felt the small bones in his foot snap as the hand let go. Fingertips brushed against his bruised, crushed throat.

And he fell backward. It was a hopeless spiral of the damned. Rin blindly reached his hand out but felt nothing but the wind between his fingers, and he numbly realized that there was nothing to hold on to but open air.

Rin unconsciously barred his teeth as he struggled to catch himself. Blood trailed behind him like red rain; and he slowly, slowly felt himself begin to slow as the flames that consumed him grew brighter and brighter.

After several long, agonizing moments, he slowed to a painful stop. His eyelashes fluttered open and, without warning, his lungs suddenly expanded against the twisted armor. He inhaled, caught off guard, only to choke on the blood in his mouth. He spit. Coughed again. Greedily inhaled. Threw up more blood from his broken throat.

He resisted the urge to close his eyes and curl in on himself.

Ugh.

Blood freely dripped from his lips and nose. Stars danced in his vision, but with each second that passed was a second his ribs popped back into place. The foot itched where the tendons and marrow stitched back together, and he gingerly began undoing the clasps of his armor to allow his chest to heal. Each clasp was undone with a satisfying pop, and he carelessly let the broken metal husk fall to the ground below.

Suddenly the wind changed. Rin jerked his head up, wide-eyed, and slowly turned around.

Already? he thought, paling. Satan slowly descended before him, his lips twisted into a cruel smile and his eyes bright with insanity.

"That was a nice little trick, son," the King of Gehenna began, "to store your flames inside yourself until they burst out. Honestly, it's something that I would think of, if I ever had the need."

Rin stumbled to his feet. He tried to wipe the blood off of his face, but his thin sleeve came back so red that he knew that it was hopeless; and so, blood continued to freely drain from his broken nose and the cut underneath his right eyes. He knew he looked like hell. The irony of it nearly made him laugh.

"I'm sure yo'r proud," Rin bit back. His voice sounded strange, but he couldn't decide if it was from his broken nose, shock at the fact that Satan looked uninjured, or a little bit of both. But, thinking about it wouldn't fix the problem. Rin's fists clenched into fists. He had to win. He had to. If he failed, he would lose so much more than this war.

With that in mind, he buried his fear, sharply inhaled, and darted forward again. He could feel his bones pop and realign, slide out of their sockets; his muscles tore, tendons snapped, and his ears rang as if bells toiled within them…

He snapped his arm forward. Satan easily blocked it by lifting his arm. Rin spun, kicking out his leg, but Satan lifted his knee at the last moment. Pain lanced through his ankle, but Rin continued; a jab left, followed by an elbow; he ducked underneath Satan's arm and followed through with a kick. Blue flames danced around him, but were consumed by the original sapphire inferno. Rin grit his teeth and quickened his pace, his motions a blur, but Satan blocked and guarded from every one…

"My Prince," Satan suddenly asked, "why are you crying?"

Rin blinked. Crying? Me? He jumped backward, chest heaving, and lifted a hand to his face. His fingertips came back red, yes, but also clear and wet. The world blurred at the edges; he blinked, and as the world suddenly cleared something cool suddenly coursed down his cheek. He stared at his fingers, dumbfounded. He hadn't cried since…

Ever.

He blinked. He hadn't cried since Shiro died. No… there had been once more, when Shiemi had come save him from that damned exorcist prison. Was that all? Was that it?

Rin lifted his gaze. Satan staring back at him with a stormy eyes and an amused grin.

"Have you finally realized that you cannot win?" Satan asked. "Have you finally realized that you will die here… you, and all the others?"

"No." Rin took a breath, and his heart seemed to still in his chest. He needed to get a grip on the situation. He had to remain in control. He had to win. "No – I won't die here," Rin continued. "And neither will they."

"It's not up to you."

"It can be. If I win."

Satan laughed. Flames danced between them.

"If."

Yukio's eyes widened when he saw a streak of blue fall from the sky.

Rin.

Every fiber in him wanted desperately to sprint towards his twin, to find him, to protect him from Satan. But he knew that he could not. This was Rin's fight; there was nothing he, as a pure-blooded human, could do.

Except, of course, listen to Rin's recent order: Find Raziele.

Yukio clenched his jaw and continued to run across the scorched terrain. Bodies littered the landscape. The fighting had dwindled to pathetic levels, but there was one place where the battle was the thickest. Every once in a while, a flash of gold would break the monotony of the copper landscape, and Yukio felt drawn to it. The light was warm, welcoming, and seemed almost friendly.

Inexplicably, Yukio somehow knew that that's where the pink-haired demon would be. So that's where he went.

"Are you sure that it's this way?" Bon asked. The natural brunette's hair struck to his forehead, and what hadn't been plastered to his skin by dust and sweat had curled into thick ringlets. If Yukio wasn't so concerned for his life, and the lives of those he knew, he might have even laughed.

But now he hardly spared it a glance. "Yes," he replied in the curt way of his. With practiced hands he loaded his gun and fired off into the distance. Two flashed of light. Two demons went down. He didn't even know if they were on his side or not; as far as he was concerned, everyone on this god-forsaken plateau was an enemy.

He had been hunting down his enemies since he was a child. It hadn't been much of a life, but looking back, it had been a good one, and he would willing trade the world to have it back.

Konekomaru whistled. "Nice shot, Yukio," he said. Yukio wasn't sure when the smaller student had dropped the honorifics, but he didn't care. It was a welcome change, the informality.

"Thanks." Yukio fired again; at his side, Bon began muttering passages from the book of John. Konekomaru began reciting a chapter out of Matthew. It was a good combination.

Yukio fired again; this time, a few of the demons noticed. Many looked frightened, which made him uneasy, but he reminded himself that he didn't care. An enemy of the demons was his friend, as far as he was concerned, and so he shot once more.

Rin, he thought, you better be okay.

Shiemi watched the blue-painted sky, her green eyes wide and concerned. Rin was fighting up there, somewhere in that blue. He was fighting for them. But, she knew that he was also fighting for himself, and not just for his life. He was fighting for his right to live, to be his own person and not just as Satan's son.

She bowed her head. Her eyes burned, but she would not cry. Crying wouldn't help anything. She had to think; she might not be as smart as Yukio or as strong as Rin, but she could fight in her own way.

That's right.

She lifted her head. Her emerald eyes were bright and hard.

I can do something.

"Shura!" she shouted, turning towards the exorcist. The redhead turned to her, her violet eyes surprised. Shiemi hardly ever shouted.

"Shura," Sheimi said again, "I don't think Rin is fighting with his sword. Where's Kurikara?"

"With me," Shura said. "Can't believe I found it… but yeah, I have it."

Shiemi nodded excitedly. "Do you think we can get it to Rin?" she asked. "He fights better with his swor-"

Without warning, something wet splashed against her cheek. Shiemi blinked and dabbed at it; to her shock, her fingertips were speckled with red.

Blood?

Shura snapped her head to the sky. "Shit," she murmured, and turned back to Shiemi. "Yer right. We need to find a way to get it to 'im. Soon."

And with that, the earth suddenly began to tremble as something collided with it. Shima blocked Izumo from the blast while Shura leapt to Shiemi, who had braced herself against the wind by instinct. Dust choked the air.

"Damn you!" Shiemi coughed and, as the air cleared, slowly opened her eyes. Was that Shura yelling? "Give me one good reason not to poke yer eyes out!"

Shiemi looked around Shura and gasped. Mephisto smiled back at her, though he could not do much thanks to the violet katana pointed at his throat.

"Please, Shura," he said, delicately as ever. "I heard your conversation with your student. Perhaps I can help."

"I don't trust you," Shura spat.

"Ummm…" Shima hesitantly spoke up. "Um, guys? Why can't Mephisto just take the Kurikara to Rin? And why are we still standing around in the open?"

Izumo shot Shima a dark look. "Shut up," she said, but Shura seemed to have calmed.

"Shima's right," she said, begrudgingly. "We need to move… and you," she added, glaring to Mephisto, "we have a lot to talk about." Mephisto nodded, seemingly amused.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sorry guys, it's really tough to get back into the swing of things after taking such a long hiatus from this story, so I skipped Raziele and Sophiel's perspective. Please don't hate me. Also, it's really tough to write Satan's dialogue. I need to review crazy-talk.

Also, not going to lie, I have no freaking clue where Kurikara ended up. Like honestly, that thing disappeared off the face of the planet, so, I stuck it with Shura. Hopefully that works. If not… well, at least I updated? Sorry guys. :(

PS: thank you again for all of the lovely reviews for previous chapters! And also for being so patient. Hahaha. Ha. (((Sorry again.)))