By the time Shane had arrived at the airport, it was already morning.

  After getting his ticket and passing security, he went to his terminal to take a seat and wait for his plane.

  “Hello, young man. Why are you visiting Mexico?”

  When Shane looked toward the voice, he saw a woman reading a newspaper. When Shane saw the woman next to him with white hair, he assumed she was an old lady.

  “Well, I guess you could say that I have some business to take care of over there.”

  “You have to take care of some business in Mexico at such a young age. Is it family business that you have to take care of?”

  “There is something important in Mexico, and it relates to my family. I have to go there to learn more about my family, and I know some of the answers lie there.”

  “It seems like you have a lot to take care of. Why don’t you go with any of your friends to help you?”

  “Well, my friends said they wanted to help, but I didn’t want them to be involved with any of this in the beginning because I don’t want them to get hurt for my sake.”

  “What about your family? I’m sure that your parents and siblings are worried about you.”

  “Well, I only have a little sister. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but this is something I don’t want her a part of. I know she will be safe with our adoptive parents.”

  “Why don’t you want her to know more about your family?”

  “There’s a lot about our family that I don’t know about, so I want to find the whole truth before I tell her about everything. I just want to be a good big brother to make sure that she’s safe.”

  “...”

  As Shane looked at the woman sitting next to him with suspicion, he said, “So how long are you going to pretend to be an old lady, Elena?”

  The moment Shane said that, Elena put down the newspaper she was pretending to read.

  “How long have you known it was me?”

  “From the moment you first spoke.”

  “Aw. I thought my acting was pretty good.”

  “So you knew that I was going to leave you all behind.”

  “Well, I knew something was up when you said we were going together. I’ve enjoyed seeing you smile, and when you smiled that day, I could tell you were keeping something from us.”

  “So why didn’t you tell anyone else, and why are you also going to Mexico?” Shane asked as he looked at Elena’s eyes.

  “Well, I know you had your reason for telling us, and I respect that. I decided to follow you to Mexico because someone has to watch over my favorite idiot, and I’m not the only one, isn’t that right, Mr. Ravenscroft?”

  The moment Elena finished speaking, she and Shane looked back and saw someone in a black hoodie.

  “How did you find out that I was here? I thought my disguise was foolproof.”

  “Well, this isn’t a movie, so that disguise is pretty bad. I was able to tell easily when I looked around to see if Shane had already arrived.”

  “So, when did you get here, Arthur?” Shane asked as Arthur pulled down his hood.

  “I arrived about 30 minutes before you.”

  “How did both of you know that I was going to Mexico City? There are multiple entrances to the demon world, so why did you know that I picking the one in Mexico?”

  “Well, we know that the entrances to the demon world are near volcanoes and that the older they are, the less guarded they are. So I knew that you would pick Popocatépetl since it is one of the oldest and it is one of the closest to us.”

  “Yeah, I came to the same conclusion, and I know both of you have a week off next week for Thanksgiving, so I thought you would pick a Friday to leave so that you would have a good amount of time to make your way through the demon world until you have to return to school.”

  “Well, I guess my plan was obvious. I should have known someone would have found out. So, what now? Are you going to stop me from going?”

  “No. I know you're as stubborn as your father, so I’ll go with you to make sure you don’t get yourself killed out there.”

  “And what about you, Elena?”

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  “Well, I always be by your side, so I’ll fight alongside you. Plus, I already told my parents that I was going on a trip with a friend, so I’m good.”

  “Sigh. Well, it seems like I can’t stop any of you from coming with me, so I’ll make sure you two are safe. And Arthur, what about your family and Mona?”

  “Well, I told my wife that I couldn’t let you fight alone and to make sure that she takes care of Alicia and Mona. None of them know where we are going, so Alicia won’t follow us.”

  “That’s good. I just hope they understand why I’m doing this. I hope that Mona will forgive me for leaving her alone. When I come back, I will tell her the truth,” Shane said as he began to look at the windows to watch the planes take off.

  As Shane closed his eyes for a bit, he saw Mona, and it reminded him that he was doing this to protect her. He hadn’t told her that he was leaving, so he knew that she would panic for a while. He knew that no matter what, he had to survive and come back home so that she wouldn’t feel alone.

  As Elena watched Shane, she noticed that Shane was feeling a hint of sorrow, so to comfort him, she held his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Shane, we will make it out of this. You have us to support you, so please don’t be sad.”

  “...”

  Arthur had decided to stay silent because he knew that Shane and Elena really cared for each other, so he didn’t want to ruin their moment. Arthur had also decided he would make sure Shane survived this, no matter what.

  “Thank you, Elena. I hope that we can defeat Ciro together.”

  “We will defeat him so that no one will get hurt,” Arthur said as he went to the seat next to Shane.

  As Arthur finished speaking, they heard the airport speakers announce, “Flight 342 is now boarding.”

  “Well, it looks like our flight is here, so are you ready to make your way to Mexico?” Shane asked as he picked up his backpack.

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  As they all headed to their gate, they saw the sunrise on their first journey.

  ***

  Six hours later, as they arrived at Mexico City, it was already 3:00 pm.

  The moment they had arrived, they decided to eat before renting a car to head to Popocatépetl. By the time they had arrived, it was already 6:00 pm.

  As they stepped out of the car, the cold air hit them, and they noticed that the Sun was beginning to set.

  “So, where is this entrance to the demon world, Shane?” Elena asked, looking at the volcano before them.

  “It's on the right side of Popocatépetl. We are looking for the mark of the first demon king.”

  Arthur was the one to answer, and he was taking out his suitcase.

  “The mark of the first demon king. How does it look?” Shane asked, looking at Arthur.

  “It looks like a royal medieval broadsword with lightning patterns. It will also have demon wings around it. It represents Demon King Akuma's power. So if you find it, that will be the entrance.”

  “Alright then, let’s go before it gets too dark. We have very little time.”

  “Shane, wait!” Arthur shouted as he grabbed onto Shane's arm.

  “It will be easier to find in the dark. When it's dark, the mark begins to glow crimson red.”

  “So we have to wait until it's dark outside.”

  “Yeah, it will be easier. Plus, I brought outfits that offer better protection when we're in the demon world. And Elena here a sword. It’s made of materials only found in the angel world, and Shane will be able to put his power in it for you.”

  As Arthur gave Shane his outfit. He looked Shocked. It wasn’t just any outfit, but it was the same outfit that his fallen angel version wore. It had the same purple jacket with lighting accents, along with a face mask that would cover his mouth and nose. It even had the same purple shirt and purple pants.

  This is the same outfit that I wore in my nightmare. So this is how I got this outfit. Even looking at this outfit haunts me. No matter what, I will make sure that it is not the future we will have. Shane thought to himself as he looked at his outfit.

  “Shane, is something wrong?” Arthur asked, looking at Shane with concern.

  “No. I’m fine.” Shane said, looking at Elena holding her outfit.

  Elena's outfit was almost identical to Shane's. The only difference was that it lacked the lightning pattern and was white.

  Arthur's outfit was also identical to Shane's, the only difference being that it was red and had flame patterns instead of lighting.

  ‘Why does your outfit resemble something that a demon would wear, Mr. Ravenscroft?” Elena asked as she looked confused.

  “Well, I can’t wear my actual outfit for now because it would bring too much attention, so for the beginning, I will wear this to blend in.”

  “Alright, so I think we should change fast so we can find that mark as quickly as possible.”

  After putting on their outfits, they began walking along Popocatépetl, making sure to look at every inch of the volcano so as not to miss the mark.

  After an hour and a half, they saw Demon King Akuma's mark glowing crimson.

  “Hey, is this the mark, Arthur?” Shane asked as he began to approach the mark.

  “Yeah, that's it. I’m surprised we found it as fast as we did.”

  “So, how do we enter the demon world?” Elena asked, fascinated by the mark that was glowing.

  “Well, this is something Shane has to do. I can assume that you feel it calling you to it now, right?”

  “Well, I feel Enyo reacting to it even though it's not out right now. But won’t they know I am here if I wake up Enyo?”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. This gate will hide our presence, so the angels and demons won’t know we're here.”

  “Alright. I trust you, Arthur. If you say it's safe, then I will trust you.” Shane said, looking at Arthur. When he looked back at the mark, he said, “Bare your soul, Enyo.”

  As soon as Shane said that, his dagger began to form in his left hand. When Shane brought Enyo closer to the mark, it began to form lightning at a more rapid rate.

  “Wait, Shane, don’t you have a katana and a dagger. Why did you only wake up the dagger?” Elena asked, looking confused at the fact that Shane only brought his dagger.

  “Well, Enyo seemed to react to it, so I thought it was just right.”

  “Alright, then open up that gate.”

  As Shane began slicing down the mark, he saw a Victorian-style city.

  When Shane fully opened the gate, he felt pure sorrow coming from the city.

  Before they entered the gate, they looked back at the moon, knowing this was the last peaceful day they would have in a while.