[Thunder]

((This is yet another crossover RP between several of my characters. It's partially meant for training and partially just for the heck of it.))

At this point, Adey was no stranger to bizarre mission assignments from Azrael. Really, she had no idea why she was going on this trip to this dark, creepy cathedral. She and Souseiou were supposed to be hunting down demons...but why did she have to tag along? She wasn't an Exorcist. Why not get Adriel to do the job instead? But Adriel, she supposed, was busy all the time with his captain duties.

"Any sign of this demon?" Adey grumbled. She was clutching her golden Reaper's scythe tightly, as if the demon might spring out of the shadows at any moment.

"No," Souseiou snapped. "We haven't been looking very long. Finding a demon can take time." Adey scowled at his words. "Don't look at me like that. I'm as frustrated as you are. But you haven't heard me complaining."

This angel's attitude. That was what Adey hated the most about working with him.

[Thunder]

They had already gone through several rooms in the cathedral, and each was just as nerve wrecking as the last. There was hardly any light here. The only illumination came from what little moonlight streamed in through the mostly broken windows, and it cast eerie shadows on the ground. It was cold too, really, really cold. Adey's Reaper cloak and Souseiou's Exorcist uniform were fairly warm, but the cathedral was still not a pleasant place to be in during the winter.

Right now the two were in what seemed to be a former altar room. There were quite a few statues of the Holy Triumvirate in the room, though most of them were smashed or otherwise desecrated. "This must have been a really pretty place in the past," Adey murmured. "Kinda sucks to see it like this."

"Well, that's what happens when religions die out," Souseiou said, with nonchalance in his voice. "They forget their old gods and just stop caring."

"I really hope that doesn't happen in the Parallel World."

"Tch. They'd be stupid not to think of the Maker all the time."

[Thunder]

At the front of the room, hanging on the wall, were the remains of a large tapestry. It was so torn up and worn that Adey really couldn't tell what it used to depict, though surely it had to do with Evelon's gods. The colors were faded now, but she was certain that they were once much more vivid. With a sigh, she turned away from the fabric and resumed looking for the demon.

Every so often, something would scuttle across the floor and elicit a shriek from Adey. In the darkness, it was hard to tell what it could be, but it was probably some kind of rodent. The thought of being in the same room as a rat was disgusting and unnerving- or at least just to her, as Souseiou seemed completely unperturbed- but they had to get this job done.

"I doubt there's anything here," Souseiou remarked after a while. "Let's keep moving."

[Thunder]

They exited the altar room and proceeded down a long, dim hallway. The smell of ancient things mixed with the scent of dampness. It was almost like Craiss Caverns, that dreaded place Adey had to go to in order to find some treasure that actually didn't exist. In fact, this whole mission was reminded her of Craiss right now. It would be funny, she thought, if they started running into random people like she did in those caves.

The hallway led to an enormous room with a high ceiling. It was a lot darker than the other rooms since there was a distinct lack of large windows; only a few small ones lined the walls. It was hard to tell what this room was once used for. Storage? There was a seemingly random assortment of objects here, like candle holders, lamps, and more statues. It seemed like a good place to hide, though, so perhaps the demon was here.

[Thunder]

"I'll look over here," Souseiou said, gesturing to the nearest corner. "And Adey, you can go there." He pointed at the other end of the room.

"All right," Adey grumbled, "as long as I don't trip on anything questionable..."

She slowly made her way to the destination, careful not to fall over anything. There was a huge pile of god-knows-what in the spot she was supposed to search. She thought she could make out a wooden piano, several piles of books, and...were those swords? Better be cautious when picking through all the crap, then.

Adey flung aside a carpet that was on top of everything else, coughing lightly as it kicked up some dust. Yuck. There were a few pots and pans in the mix, and she pushed everything to the side, wondering if a demon might be hiding within all this junk. On the other side of the room, Souseiou was inspecting some chairs and a stone bust of some male figure. They didn't know how large or small this demon was, though judging by the fact that they hadn't seen or heard anything yet, it was probably a tiny one. Plus, some demons had special powers they could use to conceal themselves. Thus, it was necessary to search everything thoroughly.

[Thunder]

Adey was making quite a bit of noise. It wouldn't help if the demon heard it and ran away, or even attacked them, but there wasn't really a way she could keep it down while she was digging through the pile of objects. Her hands were really dusty now, and she felt an intense need to wash them. After several minutes of searching the pile, she had nearly come its core and still found nothing.

"Doesn't seem to be anything here," she called to Souseiou. When the angel didn't respond, she stood up and turned around, trying to see if he was still there.

She nearly had a heart attack.

Souseiou was there, all right, but something else was too. The angel was standing near the center of the room in a battle stance, and he had taken out his pistol, pointing it at a tall, humanoid figure with what seemed to be bat wings. It was shrouded in the shadows, so it was difficult to make out any of its features. But one thing did stand out. It had intense, orange, lizard-like eyes that glowed fearsomely in the dark.

[Thunder]

BANG!

Adey jumped a foot into the air as Souseiou's pistol went off. He hadn't even questioned if this was their target or not, but its terrifying appearance certainly suggested that it might be. But whatever it was, it was deceptively fast. It was able to dodge the bullet even in this darkness, and it lunged at Souseiou, tackling the angel to the floor.

"Damnit!" Souseiou roared.

"Souseiou!" Adey cried. She swiftly picked up her scythe and ran over, ready to swing it at the figure. If this creature was going to attack them back, then it didn't matter if it was the demon or not. It now had Souseiou pinned to the ground, and the Exorcist was trying to wrestle it off, but he was clearly not strong enough to do so.

But as Adey ran forth, the light shifted in the room. A beam of moonlight hit the figure's wings, and it reflected a blindingly bright silver. The top of the figure's head had a swath of snow white hair. The hands that held down Souseiou's wrists had terrifyingly long and sharp nails.

Adey stopped in her tracks, gawking.

This wasn't like Craiss Caverns.

This was Craiss Caverns.

Fate was pulling some strings again.

[Thunder]

"WHAT are you doing?" Souseiou snarled. "HELP me!"

"N-no!" Adey stammered. "Stop, guys!"

"Guys?" Souseiou spat, looking utterly bewildered.

The figure raised its head and stared straight at Adey with those luminous eyes. It gazed at her long and hard but didn't release Souseiou, who continued to struggle and was cursing under his breath. Adey stared back, hoping he'd remember who she was. And finally, after what seemed like some of the longest seconds in her life, the mysterious person stepped back and let Souseiou stand up.

"What is the meaning of this?" the half-fallen angel growled, glaring at Adey and then at his assailant. He still had his gun cocked.

"He...he's an acquaintance!"

"A what?" Souseiou's tone grew more incredulous by the minute.

The light shifted yet again. Now it illuminated the entire figure.

[Thunder]

"You..." Adey gasped. "I've met you before, haven't I? In the caverns..."

Ryuu blinked at her. Yes, he remembered this girl. She had gotten lost while looking for the false treasure, if his memory was correct. "...I know you," he replied, in his typically low, gritty voice.

"Adey, explain all this!" Souseiou demanded.

"Um, this is, er...sorry, I can't see to remember your name."

"Ryuu."

"Ah, uh, yeah. This is Ryuu. Remember when Azrael sent me to Craiss Caverns on a stupid treasure hunt? Well, this is the guy who helped me get out. He's...not dangerous, from what I know..."

"Not dangerous?" Souseiou sputtered. "He just pinned me down!"

"Er, I meant to say, he's not a bad guy. He packs a punch, but..." Adey let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "Just put down the gun, Souseiou. He's not going to hurt you if you don't hurt him."

[Thunder]

Souseiou's scowl showed that he really didn't buy Adey's explanation, but regardless, he lowered his weapon. Adey walked past her partner and approached the dragon-winged man. To be fair to Souseiou, Ryuu did look pretty demonic, especially with those eyes. But he had helped Adey out in the past, so she placed some trust in him.

"Sorry about that, Ryuu," she sighed. "We're trying to hunt a demon here. That's why we're all so jumpy. Uh...I hope you don't happen to be a demon, though. That would be awkward."

"...I am not," came the terse reply.

"All right, that's good... Uh, so why are you here anyways? It's strange how we've run into each other again."

"I'm hiding."

"Again? Wasn't that what you were doing last time, in the caverns?"

"...the people who pursue me are very determined."