The Interview Part 2

A Tangled Web

Shura emerged from the other side of the portal and found Mephisto waiting.  She brushed past him and quickly made her way up the hall. 

"Shura?" He called after her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She answered over her shoulder. "I'm fine. I need a cold shower. It was very hot out there in that desert."

"Hmmm."

Mephisto was bemused at her discomfort; Lilith must have made an appearance. How unfortunate, this would add an extra layer of distrust between him and the Grigori.

With a flash of light, Lewin, Shima, and a shirtless Yukio materialized in front of him. 

"What is this?" Mephisto smirked at Yukio. "It's not like you to be devoid of uniform. Look at you, posing with your bare chest glistening like Khal Drogo."

"We need to talk." Yukio glowered at the demon. "In private."

"Do we now?" The demon's eyes darkened. "It's bold of you to order me."

The sound of crashing doors alerted them to the Palladin. Angel hurried up the hall to greet them with a hero's welcome.

"Comrades, you were victorious against that horrid wretch! Bravo!"

"Oh, look." Mephisto drawled sarcastically. "The Witcher has arrived."

Angel cast Mephisto an annoyed glance before tossing his arm around Lightning's shoulders.

"Gee, I dunno, old friend." Lightning mocked. "She didn't seem that wretched."

"Admittedly so." Angel agreed without a hint of worry. "Lilith was almost as beautiful as I am!"

Mephisto began to cough, hiding his burgeoning laughter behind his hand.

"Ah, Angel."  He snickered. "Ever the vainglorious Paladin."

"Sir Pheles, we will have a debriefing in an hour," Lewin remarked as he snatched the escaping Shima by the collar. "Your attendance is mandatory, as I believe you are an expert on our upcoming threat."

"Oh? And how do you know that?" Mephisto crossed his arms with growing ire.

The King of Spirits said nothing in response and instead glowered at Mephisto knowingly. 

"Is that supposed to scare me?" The demon's eyes narrowed with menace.

"That depends." He queried. "Did you know we'd have a Lilith problem?"

"I had no idea she'd turn up."

"She was asking about you," Shima interjected. "She called you the weak link. Lilith said you'd help her back into Assiah."

Mephisto frowned and rolled his eyes. "What a rotten thing to say; she obviously still has issues with our nasty breakup."

"Your link isn't weak, is it?" Shima inquired cheekily. "Is that why she dumped you?"

"My link lasts a lot longer than four minutes." Mephisto countered. "Or else, she wouldn't bother linking up with me at all, hence why you were not attacked."

"Hahaha!" Angel boisterously cuffed Shima, almost knocking him over. "That was a tremendous burn!!! I hate Mephisto with a passion, but he's got you there!! "

"Still, Sir Pheles. Throughout history, you have proven to be a rotten mate," Lewin added dismissively. "I've seen the way you've treated Eve and Shura. You are not a trustworthy creature; you may very well be the weak link."

Mephisto gritted his teeth as he watched Lewin stalk away.

"That bastard." He hissed. "I hate that he can read my auras."