Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Oh, for FUCK’s sake!" you slam a fist on your desk when you once again watch the Yamato pierce through Dante on your screen, bringing your health down to 0.

"This fuckass lil’ bitch…" you mutter, sitting back in your chair and letting out a sigh, accepting you once again couldn’t win the boss fight against Vergil.

You’ve been playing hours of Devil May Cry 5 the past few days and you finally got to fighting Vergil today, but it’s been humbling. You went from stupidly giggling during his cutscenes to pouting at the screen for not being able to beat the infuriatingly beautiful man. Maybe because you’re too stubborn and want to defeat him in one go, and not use a gold orb to revive yourself.

Weird white and yellow little shapes start forming in your sight as you rub your eyes, before slowly opening them and check the time.

3.36am.

You groan. Humans are so poorly designed, whyyy do we need sleep? You blink with one eye in sort of a twitch. One more attempt and then I’ll go to bed.

One more.

"Listen, I still love you but this is getting personal. I will beat your ass..." You tiredly, but determinedly mumble as if speaking to Vergil himself, before restarting the mission again.

After a few clicks the cutscene starts again, the bright light of your screen being the only source of light in your otherwise dark room. At this point you’ve seen this cutscene so many times that you can speak the dialogue with them word for word, so you skip it even though you kinda feel bad about it. With concentrated eyes burning into your screen, you start your last attempt for the night.

---

With a blank expression you stare at the screen asking you if you want to revive or give up. You smack your lips and press them into a thin line, honestly not even surprised.

Looks like you really are living up to the stereotype of women being bad at gaming.

After closing the game and turning off your pc, you check your phone for a minute and then slide it into your pocket as you stand up.

When turning towards your door, you suddenly feel a strange heat rise from your chest to your head. You furrow your brows in annoyance at it, but when you take a step the sound around you starts dulling out and make place for a flat beep.

Worry rises in you, and you want to hurry to the bathroom for some water, but your next step results in dropping down to the floor.

Your vision and mind go blank the moment your head hits the ground.

---

The stench of rot fills your nose. It’s the first thing you perceive besides that still ongoing ringing in your ears.

And some muffled voices.

You feel a hand on your jaw, and your head is tilted slightly as you finally blink your eyes open, looking up at a pair of blue eyes examining you with furrowed brows. They look… oddly familiar.

"Ah, alive! Would ya look at that!" you hear a woman’s voice from the side, somewhat muffled but you can make out the words as the beep in your ears ebbs away.

"Will you shut up?" the blue eyes above you are torn away from you as the man shoots a look in the direction the other voice came from.

You blink a few times at his short white hair, still not fully conscious.

You hear the woman respond with something, but the words don’t fully register.

"Hey, are you okay?" the man examining you asks, now he’s returned his attention to you.

With every second you become more aware of what your senses are taking in, and the view in front of you finally clicks.

Nero. You’re Nero. Why am I looking at Nero?

You suddenly shoot up in a seated position, causing a violent headache you try to ignore and Nero stumbling backwards and falling over. You study him sitting there.

He looks worried.

You’re just confused as fuck.

Your eyes shoot up to the woman standing a few meters over.

Nico.

She raises her hand to greet you, as if you guys are in the most normal situation ever.

Your gaze darts back to Nero. Your expression must betray your confusion, because he starts explaining what’s going on.

"I think you got caught in the little demon situation we had here…" You look around your surroundings, the rot still reeking around you. Buildings are damaged and there’s a weird blackish, purple goo scattered around with rubble on the street.

Ah. That’s what’s causing that stench...

"I think you hurt your head, you were unconscious for quite a bit-" Your eyes shoot back at Nero. "But other than that you seem fine." He sighs, sounding relieved. He looks at you with anticipation, and you realize you haven’t said a word so far.

At all.

"Ehh." You clear your throat, and then nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you."

You still have no clue of why the fuck you’re here or what’s going on.

Maybe you’re hallucinating? Lucid dreaming?

"And she’s talkin’! Alright let’s get ’cha to the van, I’ll grab ya a beer." Nico says before she lights the cigarette she just put in her mouth.

Nero stands up and offers you a hand. He pulls you up after you take his offer to help.

"She doesn’t need alcohol, Nico. She probably has a concussion." He bites back at Nico and then follows her, you right behind him.

"Yeah, I’m gonna have to agree, alcohol doesn’t sound like it’ll help much with this headache." You chuckle lightly, studying the blade of Red Queen on his back, eyes narrowing.

You figure you should just… go with whatever happens. Pretend to have lost your memory from anything before this moment. It’s all way too confusing. It feels too real, nothing like a dream or anything of the sorts.

"Nah, then especially ya need a drink." Nico presses on and it pulls a light chuckle from you. You look down, and then realize you’re of course still in your pajamas.

Well… Interesting outfit. How the fuck am I gonna change into something more fitting?

You reach in your pocket and to your relief your phone is in there, where you put it back at your apartment.

Nico opens the van door once the three of you get there, and you follow them inside. It’s just like you know it to be. The leather seats, the red table. The mess.

"Cozy," you comment lightly as you take it all in.

"I’m Nero, by the way. And that’s Nico," Nero then introduces them and throws a thumb over his shoulder in Nico’s direction, who in her turn throws a beer can towards you, past Nero.

You catch it mid-air, raise a brow and then shake your head lightly with a smile tugging at your lips.

"Thanks…" You say and put it down on the little red table, and then you introduce yourself by giving them your name.

Nico sits down across from you, folding a leg up with her foot over her knee and sitting there like she owns the place.

Which, honestly, in a sense she does.

Nero leans against the van door, arms crossed. "How’d you end up in that mess? Most civilians were gone around this part way before we got there."

You lean back against the table. "I don’t really remember." You furrow your brows, having decided this will be the story you go with so letting it come out as believable as possible. "All I know is an irritating beep ringing in my ears, and you guys finding me."

It’s not even a full lie. Because from here, whatever this place or universe is, it is in fact the only thing you do remember. Only the other half of the truth is that there was nothing before that to remember.

With the little bit of what’s left of her cigarette between her fingers, Nico whistles through her teeth and smacks her lips. "Rough start to your day, huh?"

You scoff. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well, we did figure you somehow got caught up in it. Just turns out you can’t remember how..." Nero says. "But yeah, demon outbreak hit kinda fast this time. Big one, too. Took out half a block before we got there."

Your eyes narrow slightly as your brain starts to think. "Demon outbreak..?" You somewhat mutter, trying to maybe piece together if you’re somewhere in the timeline of the 5th game.

"Yeah." Nero nods toward Nico. "We’re demon hunters. We take care of... that kind of thing. Demons, possessions, cursed artifacts, all the weird shit nobody else wants to touch."

"And this," Nico adds with a grin, waving her cigarette vaguely at the van, “is Devil May Cry. Technically Dante’s gig, but we run it while he’s off doin’ whatever it is he does. Me? I’m the brains n’ the wheels. Nero’s the muscle."

Your eyes light up a bit at the mention of Dante. You clear your throat and nod slowly, keeping up the act of un-knowing.

"Right… Demon hunters. Devil May Cry." You sum up Nico’s explanation in words like you’re processing it for yourself. If you’re somewhere on the timeline of the 5th game...

No, that’s not possible... Then Redgrave would be ruined by the Qliphoth. But if I’m here at a point after DMC5, that means...

"Hey, Nero? What date is it?" you then ask. He doesn’t look surprised by your question, given he believes you’ve lost your complete memory apart from your name. Meanwhile Nico gets up and walks to the front to get behind the wheel.

"July 14th." Nero answers you.

Your heart skips a beat.

Vergil.

Chapter Text

The events of DMC5 are on June 15^th, so we’re well past that. That means Vergil is… around? At least alive. You feel yourself tense up a bit. The idea of being in Vergil’s presence is as exciting as it is with Dante, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t scared. Not necessarily of him, but of being disliked… or disapproved.

You cross your arms in front of your chest and pout, annoyed at your own worrying. You then catch Nero staring at you and you glance over at him, then shift your stance in an attempt to get rid of the tension. You clear your throat.

"So, ehh. Where are we going now?" you ask, hearing Nico start the van. "The Devil May Cry agency! We gotta report back." She responds and you let out a soft hum in acknowledgement. Then you wonder where the fuck you’re supposed to stay. You don’t have a home here.

"Hey, ehm, this might be rude to ask, but…" You shift your attention to Nero. "Can I maybe stay with you guys? Or, I dunno-" You shrug. "I don’t really have anywhere to go, at least-" you and Nero nearly fall over when Nico presses the gas pedal. You collect yourself and decide to sit down on a bench at the table. ‘’at least I don’t remember a place to go to.’’ You finish your sentence, Nero plopping down on the couch on opposite side of the van.

You hear a chuckle coming from Nico from behind the wheel. "Hell, with any more people crashin’ at the agency, Dante’s oughta start charg’n rent." You wonder what exactly she means by that. Nero looks at you and narrows his eyes slightly as he thinks. "I’m sure Dante is fine with you staying for a bit… You can stay in the spare room that’s usually mine whenever I’m in town."He sighs, visibly a little annoyed suddenly. "Not like I really want to be here much now."

You slightly tilt your head, but decide not to ask about it. You have a feeling as to what the reason is…

"If Dante really is okay with it, it’d be great to stay there, thanks. Though… It’d feel wrong to take your room, I’m fine with a couch, too, really." You chuckle softly.

---

The building feels exactly like you thought it would. You walk behind Nero and Nico, looking up at the red neon sign on the old office building. You follow them up the steps to the door, noticing the cigarette butts on the tiles.

"Home sweet hellhole," Nero grumbles as he opens the double doors and you follow him and Nico inside. The air is warm and feels strangely welcoming. There’s papers scattered everywhere and there’s not a corner you can look where it’s tidy. A grin tugs at your lips when you see the pile of pizza boxes. Of course. The stairs with beautiful metal detailing on the left then catches your attention. Probably goes to bedrooms ‘n such.

"Hey, look who made it back in one piece!’’ you then hear Dante’s familiar voice coming from the other side of the space by the pool table. You’re somewhat hidden behind Nero and Nico, so Dante doesn’t immediately see you.

"Yeah. Hey, Dante, ehh-" Nero begins but is cut off by Dante seeing you when Nico moves aside.

"Nice pajamas."

You look down at your outfit, press your lips into a thin line and then look back up at Dante, letting out a scoff that sounds more like a chuckle. "Thanks." You give him a short nod, holding back a laugh.

Nero informs Dante of your name and why you’re with them. “I told her she could crash in my room since I’m not-‘’

"Yeah, yeah, ‘’ Dante waves a hand. “You know where the clean sheets are. I’m not your maid.”

Well, he easily agreed. You raise your eyebrows. "Well, yeah, and I really appreciate that offer, but- I’m just fine on the couch." You repeat what you told Nero in the van.

Nico walks past you and Nero with a stretch and a yawn. "Alright, I’m off to pass out for twelve hours. Y’all sort out where she’s sleepin’."

Dante watches her walk out through the doors and then shrugs. "Suit yourself, babe," turning back to you. "Then, ehh, welcome to your new bedroom, Pajamas!" He gestures around the space. You laugh softly at the stupid nickname. "You’ll… get used to the mess," Nero side-eyes the pile of pizza boxes. Dante’s made his way over to the fridge, looking for a beer. "Unless she’s like your old man," he says with a grunt, turning around and popping the cap of the bottle he found. You glance up at the mention of Vergil.

Dante must’ve caught it and taken it as a silent question as to who he’s talking about. "Vergil. My dumbass brother and his dad," he nods at Nero.

So he does stay here.

You shift in your place, suddenly aware of the fact he might actually be here right now. But just upstairs. You let out a silent "ooh" in acknowledgement like you don’t already know who Vergil is. "He’s ehh, staying here for a bit." Dante continues to inform you before raising the bottle to his lips again.

"Not like he talks much," Nero sighs with raised brows and you try your best to hold back a smile at the comment. There’s something about his quiet awkwardness you’ve always loved. It clashes with his cold, stoic exterior in a way that’s funny and… kind of adorable. "So he probably won’t be much of a bother to you," Nero adds. It’s meant to be comforting, but you actually hope for the opposite. So you’d be pretty disappointed if you truly won’t see Vergil much.

You nod once. "Alright, well, that’s… good to know." You give a soft smile. "Though, I don’t think he’d be a bother either way. And otherwise it’s not a problem- I’m just thankful you’re letting me stay here for a bit."

Dante waves it aside and pushes himself off the fridge he was leaning against. "Yeah, yeah- Well, while we’re at it. Let’s fix that outfit of yours," he says, gesturing in your direction as he walks over to the desk where Nero is leaning against. You catch Nero’s brows furrow for a moment. "Yeah, we can’t exactly leave you having to walk around in your pajamas." He then does a confused double take at Dante who reaches for the phone after he eyed you up and down real quick, seemingly thinking about something. You let out an amused chuckle. "Yeah, I gotta agree that that doesn’t seem very practical. But, really, I can take care of that myse-"

"Trish! Heeyyy, I got a mission for you. Can you get over here? And bring a spare outfit," Dante’s voice interrupts you, the phone held to the side of his head. "Alright, perfect!" he says and hangs up while you could clearly still hear Trish talking on the other side of the line.

---

Before you knew it, you were in a clothing store with Trish and Lady. A cute little place tucked between a pawn shop and a record place, but seemingly with more than enough good pieces of clothing.

Not long after Dante had called, Trish arrived with that spare outfit. And Lady. The situation (you) was briefly explained to the two, and Lady had insisted you three went shopping for your own clothes instead of having to wear something of Trish’s. Now you did briefly change into the leather pants and corset top, just so you wouldn’t have to go out in your pajamas.

And now you’re here, with multiple pieces of clothing hung over your arm to try on.

"Here, try this one, too," Trish says before adding another piece to the pile in your arms. "Oh, wait, I saw something that goes well with that," you hear Lady from behind you before she walks off to another rack.

"Guys, if we add anything more I’ll be trying clothes on ‘till tomorrow," you chuckle, your arm straining underneath the weight of the clothes.

Lady walks past you towards the fitting room with the top in hand, waving your comment away. ‘’That’s fine, besides, Dante will get the cheque,’’ she shoots you a grin over your shoulder. ‘’Keep whatever you want!’’

"And he’ll pay with what money?" you joke, and then realize your mistake the second the words left your mouth. You’re not supposed to know Dante owes others more money than that he’s ever had for his own. Luckily neither Lady or Trish seem to catch on to your little slip-up.

"Not our problem," Trish shrugs casually as she leans against a wall close to the fitting room Lady just hung that top in for you to try. "Come on, let’s see what we’re working with," she nudges her head towards the curtains, urging you on to try all the items.

You get in there and close the curtains behind you, and finally relieve your arm of the weight of the clothes.

You try on multiple outfits, and show Lady and Trish every time, even when you’re unsure. It took a while, but at some point you picked some things out. They’re probably your favorite clothes you’ve ever bought, and on top of that they’re functional as well.

You kept a new outfit on right away, so Trish can take her own clothes with her again. You’re leaning on the check-out counter and take a look at the receipt with furrowed brows. You kinda feel bad for leaving this to Dante to pay. You let the thought marinate in your head for a few more moments. Well, he is used to it… He probably won’t be mad about it, but still. I just got here as some random person. I’ll pay him back at some point. You tap your fingers on the counter a few times, still in thought, and then push off from it to follow Lady and Trish out the store.

When you walk out the door, a rumbling sound fills the now dark-colored sky above the buildings a few blocks over. You look up at the grey clouds, threatening to break into rain any moment.

"That doesn’t look very promising," you comment with sarcastic optimism. "Yeah, let’s go back, before that storm gets any closer," Trish agrees and throws the car keys to Lady. You follow them back to the car.

---

It took a short ride back to the agency. You get along really well with Trish and Lady, so you’re kinda disappointed when it ends. Still with a smile on your face you get out of the car and head inside, those dark clouds getting increasingly closer and casting a dark hue in the streets, warm light from the lamp posts softly illuminating the area.

Once inside, you stop and look around for a moment. The heavy doors falling closed behind you interrupt the lingering silence, apart from the silent buzzing of the fridge. The lights are still on.

"Dante?"

Silence.

You exhale through your nose, a smile tugging at your lips. Probably out eating pizza or something. It looks like Nero has gone back home to Fortuna as well, judging from the lack of any response.

Closing the distance with a few steps, you walk over to the couch and put down the two paper bags containing the rest of the clothes you got. You plop down next to them, the brown leather creaking faintly beneath you, and you retrieve your phone from your pocket.

You unlock it and open Instagram out of habit- but you’re logged out.

Right. Of course, idiot. You’re in an entirely different universe or whatever the fuck. Why’d you expect any social media apps to work how they did at home? You realize that besides that, your data doesn’t work here either and you don’t have the Wi-Fi password.

Rain has started to tick softly against the windows, making the space feel even more cozy. You let out a sigh and tap your phone on your leg, which is tucked under the other. You absentmindedly stare at the floor, when a soft hum cuts through the comfortable silence. Simultaneously, you feel a pressure around your chest- not suffocating, but like a lingering presence. A second hum follows, and you look up.

A blue light tears through the space, soft humming still radiating from it and the soft hue illuminating the edges of the furniture, reflecting in your eyes. Eyes that are staring.

Staring at how two booted feet step into the room, and the rift of blue light closes as quickly as it appeared. So now it’s Vergil’s back you’re staring at.

The Yamato clicks back into its sheath, before he turns around with a deliberate step.

His cold gaze burns into you, assessing. The silence stretches on a bit too long for comfort.

You feel nerves creeping up into your chest. God, this man really does have a presence, Jesus Christ. It’s obvious he wasn’t here before… You’d have noticed it if he was anywhere within close proximity. You clear your throat at the same time he speaks up.

"You are not Dante," he states, ice blue eyes flicking down and up, burning into you.

"No- No, I’m not,’’ you respond, unable to hide the soft chuckle underneath, despite your nerves. "He, ehh- He’s letting me stay here for a bit." You shift in your place, trying to stay composed. "Long story short, I got caught up in a job of Nero’s, and he brought me here. I kinda… lost all memory from before that. Sooo… Yeah." You nod slowly once you briefly explained, pressing your lips into a thin line. God do you have to be so awkward?

A moment of silence lingers. He doesn’t look surprised. Just… unconvinced? Uninterested? Hard to tell with his range of facial expressions.

"And he thought it was wise to leave you here unattended?" It sounds more like an observation rather than accusation.

"Well, I only just got back here. I was with Lady and Trish, so technically he didn’t leave me unattended."

"Hm."

He seems to be assessing you once more. You hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance, outside.

"Do as you please."

And just like that the brief interaction was over. Vergil leaves to the upstairs, and you never even gave him your name. Neither did he give his- though of course technically that’s not needed.

---

That next morning, Nero came in as you were having leftover pizza for breakfast. Not the greatest… But you’re not really in a position to get your own food, and, well, looks like Dante’s diet will have to do for now. You’ll figure something out.

You greet Nero with a wave from the couch, where you’re lounging with a piece of pizza in your mouth. You’ve already gotten quite a bit more comfortable around here. Dante is sitting on his chair, feet propped up on the desk. Reading.

Well. Not actually reading, you know that much.

Nero raises a brow at the sight of you eating pizza at this time of day, the corner of his mouth twitching into a half-smile. "You’re a great host, I see," he sarcastically remarks at Dante, getting a genuine chuckle out of you.

"It’s alright, I’ll figure out a way to get money and my own food somehow, later," you say after swallowing the last cold piece of pizza. You then get up from the couch and walk around it, leaning against the armrest, arms crossed, facing Dante and Nero’s direction. You watch Dante flip his magazine closed and throw it on the desk, and he lowers his feet to the floor.

"You’re early today," he says with a grunt, brows furrowed. Nero’s eyes flick to the clock on the wall. "It’s past 11am," he states, clearly disagreeing with it being "early".

"Oh, well," Dante shrugs, "you heading out right away?"

“Yeah,” Nero says, stretching his neck until it pops. “Nothing crazy. Some demons out at the edge of the city that got lost. Shouldn’t take long.”

Dante hums, then his eyes flick to you.

"Why don’t you tag along, Pajamas?" he nudges his chin at you, your eyebrows raising in response. You wait a second. Dante doesn’t elaborate and Nero looks a little hesitant.

"Yeah, sure," you joke, "so I can be in the way and slow him down?" You laugh softly, genuinely thinking it’s a stupid idea but deep down really wanting to go. Another moment lingers before Nero speaks.

"No, you wouldn’t." He looks at you. "If you wanna come along, you can come along." His eyes then briefly flick to Dante. "You won’t be dead weight." There’s some petty bitterness in his tone, and you know exactly why. It’s not a funny moment but God, to you it is. You manage to hold back your smile, though.

"Alright, then." You breathe out and watch how Nero’s already out the door. You look over at Dante. "If I die… Don’t blame Nero," you joke lightly, pushing yourself off the armrest, "it’ll have been my own fault, or Nico’s driving skills."

"How about you just come back in one piece?" Dante chuckles. You grin at him and then follow Nero out, the lingering humid air from last night’s storm cooling your skin.

The van was filled with the stench of cigarettes when you followed Nero inside. Nico was waiting behind the wheel, with said cigarette in hand. You were told the ride wouldn’t be long.

"This job should be as quick as last one’s from around here, even without ’cha dad," Nico says from the front seat while driving, earning her a glare from Nero. "Old man with a demon infestation in his wine cellar. Thought he could just salt the doorframes and pray it away," Nico laughs. "Vergil didn’t say a word the whole time. Just walked in, sliced up the place, ‘n left. Didn’t even stick around for payment," she continues to inform you about their last mission in the area and how quickly it was taken care of.

You chuckle softly and fold a leg over your knee, leaning back in the couch. "Doesn’t sound surprising." You pause a moment. "Judging from… What I’ve seen of him," you add and let your eyes shift over to Nero.

"So, he works with you guys?" you carefully try to start a conversation with him about his dad.

"Sometimes," Nero responds, shifting in his seat.

A pause.

"He’s not exactly… team material. But it seems like he tries."

Your lips twitch into a smile of acknowledgement for a brief moment.

“Guy gives me the creeps. Not even ‘cause he’s scary- ‘cause he’s so damn quiet. Like a cat that’s judging you," you hear from behind the driver’s seat and you let out a genuine laugh. Even Nero lets out an amused scoff.

"A cat, huh?" You snort and pause a moment, thinking about your brief interaction with him last night, when meeting him. And about how you’ve made that comparison to him as well before. Numerous times. "Yeah, I can see that," you note, your voice just shy of carrying too much tenderness.

“I once offered him a beer and he said, "I do not partake in poison." Like alright, damn, my bad.”

"He really is- sounds… very different from Dante," you comment with a smile creeping around your lips. "Yeah, you could say so," Nero agrees with a somewhat amused huff.

The ride really was short, because it didn’t take long after that until Nico once again showed off her wonderful, life-threatening parking skills.

---

Nero’s gone off to the nearby place where the demons are supposedly located. He’d pressed a gun into your hand before he left, and told you to shoot up twice in the air if any demons somehow circled back and came towards the van.

Solid task.

Safe, easy. Still effective.

Though you doubted something would actually happen.

So now you’re standing outside the van, biting the inside of your cheek while your eyes keep scanning the street that splits off in multiple directions. There’s some screeching in the distance. That’s been happening every now and then.

You’re starting to think it’s taking longer than Nero had anticipated… Or maybe you’re just impatient. But something feels off.

It’s right that moment when something dark moves in the corner of your eye, just when you tore your gaze off that street. You double back and watch some oversized, rotting, mantis-looking demon clicking its jaws as it turns the corner.

You immediately point the gun up at the sky, and fire twice. Not a second later you wonder if Nero will even be there in time, and your heartrate picks up a bit. There’s just merely a street between you and the threat.

"We got company?" you hear Nico from out the window of the van at the sound of the fired shots, followed by an "oh shit-", when she spots the demon. Which is now rapidly getting closer.

"Get inside."

You don’t think you’ve heard a tone as serious as this coming from Nico before, and a tightness pulls in your chest.

Though instead of listening you aim the gun at the demon. And shoot.

It hits, surprisingly perfectly, but seems ineffective.

Another hit.

Another.

It just keeps gaining on you.

You’re stubborn and you aim again.

This time just a click- no loud bang.

You look down at the gun with furrowed brows- And when you look back up the demon is too close to even consider trying to get inside again.

Your body moves before your mind can comprehend what’s happening, You meet the thing head-on. The empty gun cracks hard against its jaw. You don't remember swinging- your arm just moved. The thing screeches in pain, and before you can register it, your foot slams into its side. It drops to the floor. It doesn’t stay there for long, but a moment enough for you to recollect yourself.

All you’re aware of is adrenaline racing through your body and the sight of your arms swinging. Effectively- and covered in whatever passed for blood- but not enough to bring an end to the demon.

Your heart is threatening to beat out of your ribcage. You don’t know where your hands go next. They just move.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

That’s what does it.

You tumble backwards as the demon suddenly drops to the ground again, but this time dead.

You look past it, chest heaving. Nero is running down the street towards the van, Blue Rose in hand. When he gets closer you see his dumbfounded expression.

“…I thought I was supposed to be the one doing the fighting,” he says, tone unreadable.

"You let one escape," you jokingly remark, still trying to process what just happened.

Nero opens his mouth, then shuts it.

"Hey- we gonna need an explanation for that, ‘cause what the fuck?" Nico laughs.

You don’t have one.

I can’t fight. How did I just fight that thing? Why did I just fight that thing?

Chapter Text

On the way back you were silent. Confused.

Nico informed Nero of exactly how the scene played out- a little over exaggerated but you couldn’t bother commenting on it.

When you guys got back at the agency, Dante immediately got filled in as well. Though a bit more subtly, and by Nero instead of Nico. You absentmindedly notice how Dante’s eyebrow quirks up as he glances over at you, after Nero is done talking. You’ve just been sat there, listening and trying to still process it or figure out where these skills had come from.

"Hey Pajamas, how’d you feel about a job?" Dante then asks.

"A job?" It’s the first time you’ve spoken. Your eyes go back and forth between Dante and Nero. "As in- here at the Devil May Cry agency?"

Nero looks at Dante, then shrugs and tilts his head at you. "You’d be a welcome extra hand."

"And," Dante props his elbows onto his knees, leaning forward from his chair and a finger pointed at you, "you’d said you want to look for a job."

You had said that…

You still don’t have a clue as to how you got into the Devil May Cry universe, but as it’s looking right now, you’re not leaving anytime soon. You have no idea how to- Not that you’d really want to, even if you did know how. You’re treating your… stay here as realistically as you would your own life at home.

You press your lips into a thin line as you think about it for a moment, brows furrowing.

"I’ll think about it," you then decide on. "It’s not that I don’t want to- But- Whatever these fighting skills are, they were as much of a surprise to me as they were to you. It just doesn’t really feel like I can rely on it much," you continue to explain.

Nero nods slowly, then looks back at Dante. "That’s a good point, actually."

"Well, you can start by tagging along missions like you did today," Dante suggests, leaning back in his chair again. "Then you’ll figure it out soon enough. And when you feel like you’re ready, you can go on ones you’ll actually play a part in."

It honestly sounds like a solid plan. You nod slowly. "You know what? Sure." A smile tugs at the corner of your lips- the idea of going on more missions is already exciting.

---

Later that day you decided to go on a walk for a bit. One reason being that you wanted some time to really think about how it all happened- how your moves came as instinct and you didn’t put any thought into it. It makes you unsure of how to replicate it again- But honestly, you agree with Dante that if you were forced into situations again where you have to fight, you might figure it out a bit.

Other reason being you just wanted to explore. Walk around the streets for a while, get familiar. It’s strange how it feels so much like home. Or more specifically, coming home to a place you’ve never been before. Because obviously, this is the first time your feet have walked through these streets.

By the time you get back, dusk had somewhat started to set in. When you approach the building with the red neon sign, you feel that lingering pressure around your chest again. Like you had the night before, when that portal had opened right in front of you.

Ah, look who’s home.

When the heavy doors fall shut behind you, you notice Dante lounging on the couch, his feet dangling over the armrest. There’s an empty pizza box on the table next to him. You look around the rest of the space. Vergil isn’t anywhere to be seen.

"The usual for dinner?" you say, more as statement rather than a question. You then realize you haven’t eaten yet-

Dante sits up straight with a soft grunt when you approach into his field of vision. "Can’t ever go wrong with pizza."

You hum softly. "I’d have to disagree, at some point it does get a little much," you say with a lighthearted joking tone, "but I commend the devotion."

You look around the room again, and glance to the upstairs for a brief moment. You tap your fingers on your thigh a few times, a little hesitant about asking what you wanna ask.

You do it anyway.

"Hey, ehh, any idea where Vergil is?" you start. "I still gotta eat and was thinking of getting- well, something proper," you eye the empty pizza box, "and maybe he’d wanna come with?"You explain your reason for asking about Vergil. "I can’t really imagine him sharing the same diet as you," you then quickly joke, to explain your explanation.

Dante opens his mouth to respond, but before a sound comes out both you and him are distracted by a door opening upstairs. Vergil appears from what you assume is his room. He quietly comes down the staircase, wearing a navy button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows- casual, by his standards. His eyes flick over the room, then to you. Just before you tore your own eyes off his exposed forearms.

"I heard the mention of a proper meal." You swear you could see some sort of intrigue, or even amusement in his eyes.

Or maybe it was just the reflection of the lights.

You blink. "Yeah, I was planning on heading out to get something," you say, managing to keep your gaze on his.

For a just solid moment.

"If you haven’t eaten yet, I figured I’d ask if you wanna come with?"

"So I had gathered."

You stare at him a moment. You then give a short nod with a faint smile, unsure what else to respond to that. "Dante?" You turn towards the man’s brother, "you want anything?"

"Yeah, for you to keep an eye on him," he jokes and you laugh softly.

Vergil looks down at him, seemingly unimpressed. Or unbothered.

"I do not require supervision."

He then turns to you, his head tilting slightly in an invitation.

"Shall we, then?"

You nod once, your pulse picking up just slightly as you make your way to the door. Vergil follows behind you after taking his coat. You glance over your shoulder back at Dante, who’s watching you two leave with raised brows.

Neither of you speak as you walk out onto the street. But there's no awkwardness creeping at the edge of your mind or tingling in your fingertips. It's a comfortable silence, without a need to fill it with meaningless chatter. It's actually really nice.

You've never been a fan of small talk. It stresses you out. It's boring and sucks all the energy from you within minutes. Around Vergil there's no feeling of a pressure to disturb the quiet hanging in the air. It's okay to just listen to the sound of gravel and dirt under your shoes with each step, or the exhaust of a car driving somewhere a block over. It doesn't mean you're not a bit nervous... but there's no discomfort.

When you two reach a corner, you finally look up at him and say something.

"Do you have something specific you wanna get? Or a go to a specific place?" You look both ways of the street, "I don't really know my way around here yet."

Vergil doesn't answer right away. He follows your gaze down the street off to the right. He lifts his hand and deliberately points that direction.

"If I am not mistaken, there is a decent place down this street. With... proper food. What exactly we are getting matters not," he informs you.

He really isn't one to indulge, huh? As long as the food is nutritious it doesn't really matter. A soft smile tugs at your lips, also being a little surprised he knows a specific place. "Alright, then that way we go."

You both start walking alongside each other again on the sidewalk, turning the corner. You open your mouth to say something, but it takes a second before the words come out.

"I don't think I've introduced myself yet, right?" you sideways glance up at him, "properly, at least.''

A car drives past.

Vergil looks down at you for a moment, then ahead again. ''No. You have not." He pauses briefly. "But I have already been informed by my brother, after our first encounter."

You let out a soft hum in acknowledgement, and then introduce yourself properly anyway.

The faintest hint of a smile creeps around the corner of Vergil's lips, and his eyes briefly glance down at you again.

"Vergil."

Knowing you already knew his name by now as well, he, too, shortly introduces himself.

After that a silence falls between you two again. And you let it.

You pass by people, and sometimes there's some chatter from across the street. The buildings remind you a lot of London. You've been before, and did not really want to leave because you liked some of the architecture so much there. Now you're walking down this street in Redgrave, you almost trip while dissecting the detailing on one of the window frames with your eyes. More cars drive by and it's not much longer before you get to the spot Vergil was referring to.

He nods at the door. "This is the place."

It's a narrow building, compared to most others. It looks clean and inviting, and you walk up the two little steps to the front door. When you open it, a cheerful little bell jingles to announce your arrival. Vergil follows right behind you, into what seems to be both a convenience store and fresh foods takeout. It's cute. Practical. And there's no other customers besides the two of you.

You look down an aisle, your brows furrowing slightly.

"The kitchen," you start, before you turn to look up at Vergil who's taken place next to you, "Dante doesn't seem to use it- but does it work? The stove 'n all?"

"If it does, I wouldn't know." He pauses, then glances down at you. "Why is it you ask?"

"Well, if we buy groceries, I can just cook from time to time." You shrug. "Saves money."

You never put much effort into your own meals at home- if it was edible and satiating it was good enough, you couldn't be bothered to waste more time on it. However, that didn't mean you lacked the skill. There have been times you cooked for others and it was really not that bad. So, you trusted you could make something here and not embarrass yourself- your weren't planning on playing housewife and you severely doubt Dante will give up his pizza, but even just to feed yourself it's much more convenient to make your own meals.

"Cook?"

"Yeah."

You then simply walk into the aisle, and look through what they have. It takes a few seconds but then Vergil follows behind you. He silently watches while you get things you think you could need, keeping in mind the budget you have from your share of the payment from the mission you went on with Nero and Nico. And that you still need to leave some to get food right now. Vergil simply stays with you as you do your thing, quietly observing.

You notice, and the corner of your mouth twitches into a half-smile, but you try to suppress it.

You pay for the groceries and you both get your food, and now you're walking out the little store, with a white plastic bag in one hand. The little bell jingles again as the door falls shut behind you.

You and Vergil walk back down the same way you came from, that comfortable silence lingering. Though, this time your eye catches something in the window of one of the stores that you hadn't noticed before. You abruptly stop when your eyes fall on the leatherbound notebooks and pens 'n such. You lift your gaze to look inside- seems to be some sort of bookstore. Your eyes fall back down on the notebooks.

Vergil takes another two steps before noticing you'd stopped, and he's turned around towards you. There's faintly a question visible on his face but he doesn't speak.

"Hey, do you mind if I go inside here for a second?" You then ask.

His gaze shifts to the display behind the window, and then inside the store. There's a slight tilt of his head. ''No, that's alright. Go ahead."

You push open the heavy, wooden door and another one of those chimes sounds, just like in the other store. The air inside here is much different. It's warm and it smells a bit like old leather.

You walk over to the little section with notebooks right next to the counter, and you greet the cashier with a soft smile before you fix your attention on the different unique little books.

You wanted to get one to write. Write about everything here. You've gotten more comfortable but if you really think about it... the concept is so surreal. How you've- what? Traveled across universes? Realms? If you write it down, maybe you'll process it better?

Your eyes fall on a notebook with a dark, reddish-brown leather binding. It has really pretty patterns branded on it, and a tarnished bronze clip securing the folded leather. It's beautiful.

Movement in the corner of your eye makes you look up, and that's when you notice Vergil had followed you inside, and now he has his nose stuck up in the shelves, eyes scanning along the spines of the books. You fail to suppress the snort coming out of you, amused at seeing him like that. There's that smile tugging on the corners of your lips again as you watch Vergil, very gently, take one of the books off the shelf.

You then quickly try to get your expression to appear neutral again at the sudden realisation he might notice you staring.

With your notebook in hand, you walk over to him.

"Find something interesting?" you ask, keeping your voice a bit down to respect your surroundings and the atmosphere. The faint hint of amusement doesn't go unnoticed, though.

Vergil doesn't look up, but you catch the slight lift of his eyebrow when he reads over a page.

"Perhaps."

You glance up at the sign at the top of this section. And your lips twitch into a faint smirk again.

Poetry. Of course.

Vergil's eyes than glance down at the leatherbound notebook in your hand, shutting the one in his own palm closed. ''You intend to write in that?"

"Eehhh-" Your own gaze shifts down to your left hand. "Something like a journal, yeah-"

"Why?"

There is no accusatory tone in his voice. It sounds like... a genuine question?

Which might be odder.

You stare at him for a good few seconds. "It just... helps with processing... things. Emotions?" you then tell him honestly, looking down at the book again, brows furrowing. "Or maybe trying to identify them is a better way to put it," you add, a bit more quietly.

You won't go as far as telling him the bizarreness of what you're trying to process- but there's no lies in your words. You look up at him, and those cold blue eyes meet you directly. He's quietly scanning your face, and you fail to read any expression on his.

He then lets out a quiet hum.

He places the book he had in his hand back on the shelf.

"I'll go pay for this real quick," you say. Vergil nods once, and then you turn around to the front of the shop again.

He follows behind you.

You could've sworn he was right next to you when you paid with the last bit of money you had left, but when you look up again he's gone.

You furrow your brows in confusion just before he appears around the corner again at the back of the shop, walking back down your way.

With a book in his hands.

He seems to try and avoid your gaze, and when he hands the book to the cashier there's a slight twitch of his jaw.

You couldn't quite catch the title of the book, because you turned away to hide your grin. You make your way to the door and already step outside. The air has gotten a bit more chilly, especially in comparison to inside that bookstore it feels a lot more crisp. It's nice, letting the colder air breathe in through your nose.

Not much later Vergil also walks out of the door. You don't discuss either of your purchases any further. The rest of the walk home is quiet.

The walk home.

Home.

Such an odd thing to think about. What it is you get to call home.

---

When you got back, Vergil had wished you a pleasant rest of your evening before going back upstairs again to eat in peace. He wasn't planning to stay around and socialise with you and Dante, who's lounging around on the couch in front of the TV.

"You're back," he says, looking up as you walk across the room, to the sorry excuse for a kitchen in the back, his eyes flicking to the bag and notebook in your hand. "Took your time." There's a hint of amusement.

"Yeah. Took a little longer than expected."

"Hm."

It's quiet again, apart from the low murmur coming from the TV. You can feel Dante's eyes on you as you retrieve the groceries from the plastic bag to put them away. You unlocked a new facial expression when you open the fridge. Your eyes were met with the sight of bottles and cans of beer, stains and something once edible now sprinkled with mold. You turn around to comment on it, mouth already opened, but it dies down before a word has even left your lips. Your expression softens.

It softens with concern. And you're suddenly hesitant to say something.

Instead your eyes wander around the room for a moment, taking in the messy state. Straight up dirty, in some spots. But you're not judging.

Realisation now really settles in. It never got much better for him, even after Vergil returned. If anything... he might have more to worry about?

"You really just... Live like this, huh?" you state softly, the air suddenly seems to shift.

Dante had his attention back on the TV, but now looks your way with a questioning expression, brows raised. The corners of his mouth twitch up, but the smile never quite settles once he sees your expression. He then glances over at the open fridge.

His jaw tenses, and he smacks his lips before he sighs.

"Yeah, well-" he leans forward to grab his half-empty beer bottle off the table. But he doesn't drink from it. He just leans back again, holding it.

"Suppose it's a lifestyle choice at this point," he grunts, a sarcastic undertone in his voice. He simultaniously raises the bottle in sort of a toast.

Your expression doesn't quite change. You aren't going to press any further. You force a faint smile on your face, but your eyes still look at him with subtle worry, and a sense of understanding.

Dante then nods at what's still lying on the kitchen counter.

"That for an attempt at getting your memory back? Paper and pen?" he changes the subject, referring to your notebook.

You freeze for a split second.

Right, memory loss. I suffer from memory loss.

Your brows furrow a moment, and you look over your shoulder at the notebook lying on the counter. "Yeah... Something like that," you just say for now, "writing helps process things so, sure, maybe it'll jog my memory a bit."

A short moment of silence falls, and you look back over at Dante.

"Made any progress so far? Anything come back to you?" there is genuine curiosity and care in his voice, and your lips twitch into an appreciating smile. You look at the floor a moment, then back up. "No. No, nothing yet."

He hums, and the murmuring of the TV- and the buzzing of the open fridge next to you, fill the quiet space again.

You then move to close the fridge door. You grab the food you got with Vergil off the counter and walk over to the couch. "I'll clean that for you tomorrow," you state, referring to the disgusting fridge. It's not even an offer he can refuse to accept. You're just telling him you're doing it. "What are we watching?" You ask before he gets the chance to oppose, and you plop down next to him, folding a foot under your leg.

Chapter Text

A few uneventful days pass.

You had cleaned the fridge like you told Dante you would. There were some cleaning supplies somewhere in a closet, of which you're pretty sure Patty must've been the last to have touched them. Years ago. While you were at it you'd cleaned the rest of the kitchen. There was an attempt at cleaning a burned pan- and luckily you got it to be somewhat usable again.

There weren't any missions, apart from one for Dante to handle. It was too dangerous to bring you along, given how unreliable your combat skills still are, so you've not been up to much. Luckily you did manage to sort out the situation with your phone, and now you have the others in your contactlist. And you got Wi-Fi.

So now, these few days later, you suddenly get a few messages at once. Your phone vibrates on the table next to the couch where you're taking a nap, and not a second later you hear a loud rev-bomb outside the agency.

"The fuck..?" you lazily get yourself to sit upright, and you check your phone.

Lady: hey

Lady: you alive?

Lady: get outside

Lady: you're learning something new today

Oh, good God. That doesn't sound very promising, considering the second rev-bomb that follows outside.

You: do i want to?

Lady: yes

Lady: just trust me

Lady: now get your ass outside

You let out a long sigh, brows raised in doubt. Despite that, you get up and make your way to the front door.

When you walk out, you're met with Lady sitting on a motorcycle, helmet under her arm and a grin on her face.

"Ever been on one of these?"

You stare at her, deadpan.

"I just woke up from a nap- what?" you then say after a few seconds. 

Lady tosses the helmet to you- thank God you catch it- "You're not gonna die- come on, I'll teach you how to ride." She nudges her chin to the seat behind her. You stand there a moment longer, but then shake your head with a low chuckle and walk over to her. "To answer your question; yes. I have been on a bike before- but on the back and it for sure wasn't a missile of a sportsbike like this." You raise your brows at the Kawasaki branding on the tank. You then look up at Lady again. "And I absolutely can't ride one myself."

"That's what I'm about to teach you." You catch the glint in her eye- somewhere between excited and slightly unhinged- and it probably means you should be a little worried, but the little tingle of excitement in your chest suggests otherwise. Suddenly you feel much more awake.

You glance down at the bike again.

"You sure I'm not gonna die, though?"

The pause that follows is... a little too long for comfort.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry."

You raise an eyebrow at her, and point at the monstrosity she's sitting on. "That thing looks closer to a rocket than a vehicle."

Lady just laughs, and then she nudges her head again. "Just put the helmet on."

You're the only one with a helmet on, but Lady doesn't really seem to care. Or she has enough trust in her riding skills- probably both. The ride she proceeded to take you on- to "get used to the bike a bit"- released levels of adrenaline you're not sure you've experienced before, scared the shit out of you on multiple turns, made you fear for your life a handful of times and your soul left your body at least once, before she stopped hitting the 150mph and she started respecting the speedlimit a bit.

It was when you reached a pretty much empty parkinglot by a gassation, when she took the exit and finally came to a stop.

"I... didn't know near-death experiences could be this fun," you then say after calming down a bit. Lady turns in her seat and flips your visor up.

"What?" she asks with a chuckle, not able to hear you before.

"I said it was fun," you repeat with a grin, admitting the adrenaline rush felt addicting, before you get off the bike.

"Well, lucky for you," Lady starts, then swings her leg off the bike as well, "now you're up."

"Oh, wait, you're serious? With how fast that thing can go?"

Lady shrugs. "That wasn't even the top speed," she then looks at you, one corner of her mouth curled into a smile, "but I tweaked the throttle response a bit- you won't launch yourself into orbit unless you try." She pats the seat. "Come on, you'll be fine."

When you still look a little hesitant, Lady's expression turns a little softer. "You've got decent balance. And you don't exactly flinch under pressure- If I didn't think you'd be okay on this thing I wouldn't let you ride it," she reassures you.

You bite the inside of your cheek, but after a moment you nod once and then swing your leg over the bike and sit down.

"Alright," Lady starts and steps next to you, "your left foot will do the gear switching. You're in neutral now, one down is into first." You look down at your left foot, then nod, hoping you in fact understood what she just told you. "Then this hand," Lady continues, patting your right hand on the handle, "you will give throttle with." She nods at it. "Try it- Like I said, you're in neutral so you won't go anywhere," she adds with a grin and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

You proceed to do what she says- but not just a careful rev, no, full-throttle- and it's like a mechanical scream erupts from behind you. And Lady bursts into laughing at the sight of your wide eyes.

"What the fuck?" you chuckle breathlessly, looking at her.

"Okay- So that's the throttle," Lady continues, still laughing. "The clutch is on this side," she then proceeds to explain again, tapping on the lever- which you at first thought was a brake- on the left side. "Hold it and kick the gear down into first- then slowly release. Slowly."

She pauses a moment and you nod, processing what she's telling you. Clutch, gear, slowly release. Sure, that makes sense. Same as driving a car. "And give throttle when it starts rolling?"

Lady nods and clicks her tongue. "Feel that friction point- Once you're off, you can fully release the clutch. Again, slowly," she once more puts emphasis on having to gently release the clutch. "Oh, and the brakes are on your right side. Hand is front, foot is back."

"Alright..." you sigh, and then concentrate.

Clutch in. Kick into first.

You ease the clutch out, and...

The bike jerks forward. Then stalls.

You smack your lips. "Okay... fair."

Lady chuckles. "Better than flipping into a wheelie. Try again."

The second attempt goes smoother. You start moving- slowly, cautiously- looping the perimeter of the parking lot, wobbling on your first turn but staying upright. Your heart is beating against your chest as you concentrate on keeping control of the bike. It almost feels like it has a will of its own with the way it seems to be urging to go faster- but you're surprising yourself with how well it's going.

After a few laps you return back to Lady. "You seem to be a natural," she comments with a grin when you circle back to her. You then jerk into a halt, releasing the throttle too quickly.

"Right-" you say sarcastically once you awkwardly get it to a full stop.

"I'm serious," Lady chuckles, "you've surprised me."

"Yeah, I've honestly surprised myself," you comment flatly with raised brows, but then look up at her, a grin creeping around the corners of your mouth. "It's growing on me."

"Good," Lady gives you an amused look. Maybe even a little proud.

You then proceed to drive around some more in the parking lot. Some time passes with you practicing and getting used to riding. You're far from good enough to actually, properly ride it by the time you switch with Lady again, but expecting that would be a little too ambitious.

You hold on for dear life again when Lady rides back onto the highway, but admittedly, you've gotten a bit more comfortable on this monster of a machine. Colors flash by and the sound of the exhaust fills your ears on the ride back- or at least what you thought was the ride back.

Until you reach a bridge- a fucking long one at that. 

You zoom over it with probably up to 175mph, the further out to sea you go, the thicker the fog gets- not so much it's dangerous, but just enough to make the world feel distant.

Until it clears.

You watch how the Castle Town of Fortuna comes into view, and a bit further on the horizon the outlines of Fortuna Castle take shape. Faintly, but unmistakable. You watch in awe as you keep speeding over the bridge, until Lady slows down a bit upon reaching the end of it, and the road takes a turn into the town itself.

And it feels like you're riding straight into the Renaissance time period- God, it's even more beautiful than in-game.

After weaving past some cars and turning a few corners, Lady brings the bike to a halt on the driveway of a two-story building, the garage with the door fully rolled open and music coming out of it.

You dismount the bike and take the helmet off, you're oblivious to the absolute mess of a state your hair is in. Inside the garage, you see Nico's van. So this is Nero and Kyrie's place, huh?

The smell of oil and tire rubber enters your nostrils, and you take a few steps towards the garage.

A sharp clang rings from behind the van, not a second later followed by more clamoring.

"Goddamn- Fuckin'- Ow-"

It's muffled under the music, but it's unmistakbly Nico's voice. You chuckle, and Lady walks past you into the garage. You follow her with your gaze, before it rests on a spot on the floor. Faint, uneven splatters dried into the concrete, stained a murky rust-brown.

Old blood that's never gotten fully scrubbed off.

It's not like it really catches your eye easily, but if you know it's there...

You stare at the splatters- Until Nico's voice pulls you out of thought.

"Yo! Hey, you there?"

You look up at her, then quickly at Lady over to the left who's looking for the right tools in some crates, then back at Nico again.

"Yeah, sorry, lost in thought a moment. Hi," you greet her, realizing you were probably completely zoned out when Nico showed up from behind the van and said hi.

"You survivin' rides on that thing, huh?" Nico leans against the work bench and nudges her chin at the bike out on the driveway.

"Of course she is. Like I'd let anything go wrong," Lady replies- apparently having found what she was looking for, because she's walking out back to the bike.

"I've seen ya ride- Like a goddamn maniac with a death wish," Nico calls out to her and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. You hear Lady laugh and you snort at the comment. "Says the one who drives a van like that."

Nico lights the cigarette she just put in her mouth and shrugs at you like an "okay, fair enough".

You watch Lady get to work for a few seconds before you speak again, walking up to and leaning against the same table as Nico.

"She actually taught me how to ride- or, well, somewhat. I still got a long way to go," you then say, a hint of honest pride in your voice. Nico raises a brow. "No shiiiit? On that? Damn, alright," she lets out an amused chuckle, exhaling smoke through her nose.

"Thought it might become useful to her," Lady says as she turns towards you guys for a moment. "Dante's offered her a job at Devil May Cry," she nudges her chin at you.

This time both Nico's brows shoot up. She laughs and gives your shoulder a sharp tap with the back of her hand. "After that shit ya pulled last time? With the hooks 'n the kickin'?" she says excitedly, "and those clean shots!"

You laugh, "yeah, pretty much. Nero told him when you were waiting in the van, and he offered the job on the spot." 

"And? What'd ya say? Yes, of course, right?"

You press your lips into a thin line.

"You said no?" Nico asks, her face contorting in genuine confusion.

"Well, not exactly that- I just said I'd think about it. My skills are just unreliable, I don't know what I'm doing," you start, but Nico waves it away.

"Nah, bullshit. Ya just gotta get used to it a bit, no worries. Just take the damn job."

You chuckle. "Alright, alright. Sure, I'll probably be fine," you respond, figuring there's no point in arguing as to why you should be cautious about it.

"Damn right, ya will," Nico then says with half her mouth curled into a grin, "'Specially with some sick-ass gear." You shoot her a sideways look, one brow raised.

"Gear?"

"Hey, rookie, time to go!" Lady then calls out for you before Nico can even elaborate- not that it was gonna happen either way. You could practically see the gears in her head working, and she walks off to the van. You look over at Lady and push yourself off the work bench you were leaning against.

"Well, we're heading out again, apparently..." you say, glancing back at Nico, wondering if she even catches it.

"Yeah, yeah, see ya!" she still says before disappearing behind the van. You raise both brows, but then just let it go and walk back to Lady who's already on the bike, helmet in hand for you to take.

You put it on and the bike growls with some baby revs. You take your seat behind Lady, when Nico comes running back out.

"Oi, wait! Hold on a sec-" she comes to a halt, pointing a finger at you. "Knives or gun?"

You scrunch your brows in confusing under the helmet. "Wha- knives..?"

"Huh?"

You hear lady snort and she turns to flip your visor up again.

"Knives?" you repeat hesitantly, but louder this time.

"Alright, sick, thanks!"

And just like that Nico hurries back to the van. You look at Lady, confusion written all over your face.

"Don't question it," she chuckles. "Alright, hold on tight."

You flip your visor down again and wrap your arms around Lady before she puts the bike into motion and you roll off the driveway, back onto the road.

---

The way back was pretty chill, or what can be considered chill with riding on the back of a missile with wheels. Lady quickly dropped you off at the agency before speeding off again.

Walking up to the double doors, you pull out your phone from your pocket. Your brows furrow. Missed call from Dante? 

And it's from just a minute ago.

You hurry up the steps to the double doors, and push one side open, phone still in hand.

When you look up, your sight is met with both Sparda brothers's heads turned your way. Your eyes flick between the two of them, and you raise the hand with your phone in it.

"You... called?"

Chapter Text

"She is not coming," Vergil turns his head back to Dante, his tone flat. Your head turns to Vergil.

"Yes, she is," Dante responds, not giving Vergil another glance and he turns towards you, your gaze now shifting back over to him. You seemed to have interrupted their bickering by walking in, with the way they're standing opposite each other in front of Dante's desk.

"Coming where?" your brows furrow in confusion, but your interest's piqued. The heavy door falls closed behind you when you let go and walk up to the twins. Dante throws you something as you do so.

The thing you catch seems a little rusty. There's beautiful detailing on it, though. You flip it around in your hands, and it turns out to be a compass. But it's not pointing North. Dante lets you inspect it for a moment before he speaks up again.

"Wasn't planning on taking you with me on this job, at first. But Vergil here just said he wanted to join me," he begins to inform you, crossing his arms and leaning back against the desk. Your gaze unwillingly shoots up at Vergil. He's joining Dante on a mission? ...Willingly?

"So since you'll now be with the two of us... it's safe enough," Dante continues, "that's why I called." Your eyes flick over to him and you open your mouth to respond, but Vergil is quicker.

"Her guaranteed safety does not mean it is wise to be bringing her," he gives Dante a stern look.

"The whole reason for bringing her is so she can figure out her combat... issues- as long as she's safe, the rest doesn't matter."

"You do not know what it is we're walking into."

"Yes, but we're both there. Come on, how wrong could it actually go?"

"Hold on a second-" your eyes had been flicking back and forth between the two, before you decided to interrupt them. Again. "What even is the mission?"

Vergil gives Dante another unamused glare before shifting his attention to you a moment, crossing his arms. "The problem is, we do not know. And if you recall, that was your very reason for initially deciding against involving her." He bites at Dante again.

Your brows furrow. "Wait, nothing?" Your gaze flicks back down at the compass in your hand. The one that doesn't even work. You inspect it once more before you look back up at the brothers. "You got nothing except this?"

Dante uncrosses his arms. "Pretty much," he says with a sigh.

You let out a low hum, and think a moment.

"And what if I said I want to come?" your question is more directed at Vergil than Dante, and his cold eyes narrow. Though you can't quite pin-point a specific expression.

"It would be rather foolish," Vergil then tells you after a moment, after which another pause lingers. "Foolish, or brave. You may decide which of the two it is, for yourself."

"So, you're letting her join us, then?" Dante raises his brows at Vergil, his patience seemingly running out as if he already knew from the start Vergil would come around and he's just glad he finally did.

His tone earns him another glare from his older brother.

"Fine."

A little grin tugs at the corner of your lips at his response.

"Alright, time to hit the road, then," Dante says and pushes himself off the desk with a grunt. Your gaze shoots up at him, expression suddenly surprised. "Wait- right now?"

Dante raises a brow. "Yeah," he responds like it speaks for itself.

You quickly mentally gather yourself, your actions seeming to glitch as you first glance over at the Yamato you just noticed standing up against the couch's armchair- but you then realise that because none of you know the exact location, you can't exactly use that to travel. Thank God, because you're not sure if you're prepared for an experience like teleporting- you then turn towards Dante who just walked past you, out to the front door. Before you follow after him you look over your shoulder at Vergil. He gives you a quiet look, and then moves to grab the Yamato and follows you and Dante out.

The three of you walk down the street on the sidewalk- And you have no clue where exactly it is you're going.

"So... this compass. You know it's broken, right?" You ask Dante, the rusted artefact still in your hand. "So that means we have to go directly the way it's pointing?"

"That's what I'm hoping for, yeah," he responds before a busted-up, old, red Mustang beeps just a few more cars over, down the street. You hear a tight sigh behind you. Looks like someone isn't too excited for the ride.

And honestly, rightfully so. Once you got in the backseat, you noticed it's a little... cramped. The scent of the leather is very present, and the material is torn in some places on the seats. A little to your surprise it's actually quite clean, though.

Dante seemed more than comfortable behind the wheel, but your knees are poking into the back of his seat. The Yamato is in the back next to you, limiting the space you have as well. And Vergil, next to Dante, got in with disdain, his long legs now cramped in the tight space he has. Dante just informed him that the chair is broken and can't be moved either back or forward. You had to admit it was pretty funny to watch how Vergil's head slowly turned towards his brother when he gave him that delightful news.

"Let's ehh... hope it's not too long of a travel distance," you try to ease the tension, pressing your lips into a thin line.

"Well, only one way to find out," Dante says with a grunt before he starts the car. To your surprise, it came to life in one attempt, but the noise and instability of the car promised more discomfort for the ride to come. "Pajamas, you're on direction duty."

---

"That's- Dante, that's left," you question his decision to turn left, even though you told him to go right. You've been on the road for a solid 20 minutes, and it's been going great with you keeping an eye on the compass and if it's still pointing the same direction, and meanwhile telling Dante what turns to take.

"Yeah, but look, there's a Burger King over there," Dante points and your eyes follow the direction he's pointing in.

"Are you a child?" It's the first time Vergil has opened his mouth to say something. You don't know if you should laugh or be disappointed. So you just bury your face in your hands to conceal any hint of either expression.

Fact still remains that neither you or Vergil have control over the wheel, so it looks like you're gonna be making a pit-stop at Burger King.

It's just a few minutes later that you're waiting in the drive-thru, still uncomfortably with your knees cramped in the small space, while Dante's ordering.

"...and a strawberry sundae," he finishes his order and then turns around to face you and Vergil. "You guys want anything?"

"Ehh..." you think a moment, before you decide, "I'll just have a chocolate sundae."

Vergil stares him dead in the eye, and after a moment of him not saying anything Dante smacks his lips and turns to the open window again. "And a chocolate sundae."

You hear the lady ask if that'll be all, through the speaker.

"Ye-"

"I'll have one, too."

Both your and Dante's heads turn to Vergil, Dante's brows raised in surprise, but he doesn't comment. Instead he just pokes his head out the window again. "Make that two chocolate sundaes- then, ehh, that'll be all."

The car rolls into motion away from the speaker, and the three of you sit in silence. You can't see Dante's face, but Vergil is side-eyeing him.

"What?" he bites at him, tone dry.

"I didn't say anything!"

You feel your lips curl into a smile, watching it happen from the backseat.

It takes a while before you can take your food and drive back onto the road again, continuing your ride. Of which you still don't know how long it'll be.

The journey continues with the smell of fries filling the car, but luckily you've never had struggles with motion sickness. If anything, it kind of adds a fun atmosphere to the ride, and it distracts from the fact you're on your way to a potentially life-endangering mission. Do you trust Dante driving one-handed with a burger in the other? Yes... but also, no. You're stressing a bit- But again, not much you can do.

Vergil seems to have a bigger problem with it, judging from the glares and unamused looks. But what he failed to hide is that he was enjoying that sundae- it's not like it was written across his face, but you've been quietly observing him from the backseat and there is no regret to be seen.

"Alright," Dante then suddenly says, the last bite of his burger still in his mouth as he reaches for the radio. "Road trip rules- whoever’s driving picks the music."

You raise a brow. "I don't remember agreeing to that rule."

"Well," Dante grunts, "either way, I'm best suited for this role." And simultaneously Bodies by Drowning Pool starts playing. Not even 10 seconds in, and the tiny little bit of joy that was visible on Vergil's face is gone. He blinks once, slow.

"Change it," he says.

You snort quietly, almost choking on your sundae.

"Make me," Dante retorts at Vergil around a mouthful of fries, the guitar riff continuing to blast from the speakers.

All Vergil does is shoot him another glare, but he keeps his mouth shut. The song keeps playing and you're honestly enjoying yourself- and so is Dante, judging from the way too smug grin on his face.

"So this is where you learned to count," Vergil then comments flatly after another few moments of the song continuing, and the lyrics blasting in your eardrums. That grin is wiped from Dante's face and makes place for a mock-offended look. You catch the amused little glint in Vergil's eyes and you snicker at the comment he made. "Well, I sure hope he can count 'till more than 4."

"Hey, you too?" Dante disappointedly jokes at you. "Such lack of faith in me. What the hell, man."

You chuckle, and Vergil remains quiet.

The ride goes on. You keep giving Dante directions, but there’s not much to say, since you're on the highway and the compass hasn't changed its direction whatsoever. Meaning you're not close yet. Some more songs play. The Fight Song, Rollin', White Wedding-

Until suddenly Vergil decides it's been enough and he turns the music off. At first Dante looks up, but he doesn't comment or turn it back on.

---

Time drags by, and the sun is long gone by now, the energy in the car having dulled down with it. All the food is gone, and nearly is the lingering smell as well. The road ahead is quiet, with only a few taillights in view. The compass needle still hasn't moved.

You let your head lean back, eyes heavy despite the amount of noise the car makes. If anything, it's somewhat soothing now that you're used to it.

"Don’t fall asleep on me, Pajamas," Dante says, his tone soft, paired with a glance at you through the rearview. You hum softly.

"I'm not," you mumble. Which is a lie. You're really starting to struggle to keep your eyes open. You've had a long day...

Vergil deliberately glances at you over his shoulder, his eyes flicking over you, then to Dante.

"We stop for the night."

You blink at the words, lifting your head slightly.

"We?'' Dante does a double take at Vergil. "You-? Vergil- is sleepy?"

"I am just fine," Vergil responds flatly, "she, however, will not be if she enters a potential battle half-asleep. We have already established we do not know what it is we'll be met with. She will be useless if she cannot stand up straight. We stop."

Dante hums, letting his brother's words marinate in his thoughts for a moment. "I'll keep an eye out for something."

You neither agree nor disagree- You didn't want to be a bother, but admittedly, Vergil is right. It might only cause more trouble if you don't take a moment to rest.

So, not much later, Dante takes an exit right.

He found a hostel, and he parks the wreck of a car and kills the engine. You step out into the chilly night air, finally able to stretch your legs. The three of you walk up to the building. It's dimly lit, with warm tones. And it's small, probably family-run.

A flickering neon "ROOMS" sign buzzes faintly overhead as Dante pushes open the glass door and walks inside.

You and Vergil follow. The lobby smells faintly of old carpet and coffee. There’s a guy behind the counter who looks half-asleep, flipping through a magazine.

"We need a room," Dante says, already digging into his coat pocket for cash.

The guy barely glances up. "Only got one left. Couch-bed. A bathroom. You want it or not?"

You glance at Dante. Dante glances at Vergil.

Vergil doesn't flinch. "We will take it."

The man slides a keycard across the desk and motions toward a dim hallway. "End of the hall. Room 9."

The three of you follow down the hallway, Dante in front of you, Vergil at the back. Once at the door, Dante opens it and you follow him inside. The room’s dimly lit and functional. One pull-out couch sits opposite two large armchairs that look old but not uncomfortable. There's a door to a small bathroom tucked in the corner, a small desk next to it. It’s cramped, but at least it’s better than the car.

Dante plops down into one of the chairs immediately with a sigh.

"Pajamas, you take the bed. Out of the three of us you need a good night's sleep the most."

You glance between the couch and the remaining chair, but Vergil gets there before you can say anything to protest. He doesn’t say a word, just settles into the armchair, clearly agreeing with Dante.

"Alright, then..." You pull out the couch into a bed. The mattress is thin, but it’ll do. You sit on the edge and take your shoes off slowly, the fatigue starting to properly settle in now that you're not moving.

There’s a pause between the three of you. Not uncomfortable, just quiet.

Dante leans his head back, one leg over the other. You shift to lie down properly, pulling the rough blanket over yourself, your eyes already half-closed. Across the room, Vergil sits perfectly still, arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes shut but far from relaxed.

No one says goodnight.

Eventually, the quiet takes over completely.

And for a while, there’s only the hum of the building’s old heating system. The occasional creak of floorboards.

Despite your exhaustion... You fail to fall asleep. More time passes and all you do is twist and turn in the sheets. You don't know why... it's not even like your mind is bothering you with an overload of thoughts.

In the quiet you notice Vergil flinch every now and then.

Until suddenly, he shoots upright with a sharp inhale.

You sit up almost just as fast, eyes scanning him with concern.

And your stomach drops.

Because it’s the most expressive you’ve ever seen Vergil's face.

But what you see... is fear.

Chapter Text

"Vergil?"

Your tone comes out softer than expected- careful, as if you're scared to hurt him.

He doesn't respond.

He’s not even looking at you. Just sitting there, stiff, eyes wide and unfocused. Like he’s still half-trapped in whatever dream yanked him upright.

The lamp in the corner casts long shadows across the sharp lines of his face. His hands are braced on the armrests now, white-knuckled. You don’t think he’s aware of how tightly he’s gripping them.

You hesitate only a moment before swinging your legs over the side of the pull-out bed.

You walk over slowly- quiet, deliberate steps. "Vergil," you try again, now crouching slightly in front of him.

This time, his eyes flicker. They meet yours for just a second.

And he flinches again. Barely. But it's there.

You lift your hand, reaching for his- but you hesitate. It lingers there, like it's scared. Scared of rejection.

So you pull it back. He doesn't respond to it in any way.

"You're okay..." your voice is gentle. You're not asking him, but reassuring. Reassuring that he's awake. You shift slightly, your lips parting as you hesitate a moment to speak again.

"Nightmare?" you then ask, as careful as if you're stepping on a floorboard that's known to creak but you're trying to keep it quiet.

His eyes meet yours again for a moment. He doesn't say anything, but just lets go of the armrests. You catch how his hands are still trembling, even though his expression returned to being unreadable.

But that lack of an answer is an answer in itself. You feel your chest tighten, and the feeling creeping up to your throat.

Weren't those nightmares supposed to be gone?

You try to swallow that tight knot away- it feels weird. Unfamiliar. You don't want it there.

"You're okay now," you softly reassure Vergil again, noticing he's still sitting stiffly in that chair, his jaw tightening. "none of that is here anymore."

His eyes flicker to yours again. They look at you, really look at you. Like he's searching for something.

Pity? Disappointment?

But all there is is concern, and the soft hint of affection you wish wouldn't betray you like that.

"You should go back to sleep," he then tells you.

"I will," you respond after a beat, "just not right now."

Vergil doesn't argue, and you stay quiet as well for a moment.

His breathing has steadied a bit, but his posture hasn't softened much. Your eyes scan over him once more before you decide to sit down on the floor, your back against the chair's armrest. Still, neither of you speak. You just sit there with him.

You weren't gonna pry about the nightmare itself. If he'd even choose to speak about it, it would not be with you right now. Besides, you don't need to ask to know what this nightmare was about. Asking about it wouldn't do any good. And there's no point.

You listen to the humming of the heating system, and let the silence linger. Though it's not an empty silence. It feels heavy... but like the comfort of a weighted blanket.

Staring at the ceiling with your head resting against the armchair, you carefully speak up again. "Do you want me to go?"

Vergil once again doesn't give you a verbal answer. You just hear him shift in the chair.

You take the silence for what it is- no invitation, no dismissal either.

Your lips twitch into a faint smile. It fades again, and your heavy eyelids fall closed.

This time, it's not long after that you drift off into sleep.

---

Warm morning light filters through the thin curtains. When you wake up, the first thing you notice is the quiet. Absence. The chair next to you is empty, but Dante isn't in the room anymore either. You look around a moment, blinking the sleep out of your eyes and wondering where Vergil and Dante have gone.

Then keys jingle in the hallway. "You coming or do I have to carry you?" Dante calls for you, his tone light.

"Ehh- Yeah, comin','' you scramble onto your feet and put your shoes on, then follow Dante out. He gives back the keys to the guy at the front desk before you two walk outside through the glass door.

There, in the parking lot, Vergil’s already standing by the car. He’s turned slightly away, face unreadable, gaze fixed on the compass in his hand.

When you and Dante approach, he looks up. He then opens the car door and tosses the compass into the backseat without a word, before getting into the passenger side.

You exchange a look with Dante before you two get in as well.

There's a silence lingering in the air, between the three of you. An uneasy kind.

"You two sleep okay?" Dante then asks casually after starting the car and rolling off the property, filling that silence for a moment. But it stings again with the beat of a pause that follows.

"Yeah," you then answer him, but your eyes are on Vergil. He looks... guarded. Eyes straight ahead, jaw tight. Obviosuly not in the mood for a chat. "Yeah, sure, I slept fine," you then add, a little absentmindedly. Your thoughts are still with the events of last night.

Dante looks at you through the rearview, just observing you a moment.

He speeds up and shifts gears, driving back onto the highway. "Alright, well, you're back on direction duty," he then says, a bit more of a cheerful tone to it to try and lighten the mood.

Your lips twitch into a faint smile, and you look down at the compass. "Right," you say with a light chuckle.

Silence falls and fills the air for maybe a minute of driving on the highway.

And then-

The needle spins. Suddenly, completely changing direction.

"Dante-" your heartrate picks up, "Dante, it turned."

It hadn't drastically moved and changed direction at all yesterday- But now it suddenly jerked into the complete opposite direction.

You drove past it.

You'd stopped for the night basically right next to it, it seems.

"Take an exit. First one you see," you say, eyes on the compass needle.

In the front seat, Vergil has turned- just slightly- to look back at you. And the compass.

You look to your right, out the window. All you see is trees. And more trees.

It's a forest, where the compass claims your destination is.

Dante takes an exit and it's not long before you're between the trees. The road becoming significantly worse... if you can even call it a proper road at some point. The needle keeps turning and twitching, until-

"Wait- I see a building," you point through the two front seats, but Dante was already stopping the car.

Could that be it..? It's completely overgrown. What the hell could be there?

You get out the car, and you look down at the compass in your hands once more.

"Yeah, well, I mean... it is pointing there," you nod at the house.

"Then it looks like we got our destination," Dante grunts as he gets out of the car. The door on the other side falls shut as well and Vergil silently joins you two.

The crunch of gravel and leaves beneath your shoes is the only sound for a while.

When you step off the road and approach the house, the overgrowth parts just enough to reveal more. Broken fences, cracked stone walls, a rusted streetlamp threatening to fall over-

"There's more?" you silently question, and your pace quickens for a few steps.

The outlines of old rooftops, a clocktower in the far distance. Cars, for God knows how long in the same place, are half-covered by moss and earth. 

"Well, shit. It's an entire town," you hear Dante sigh as he steps next to you. He takes a few more steps and peers down what maybe once was the main street.

But it's eerily quiet... For a destination for a demon-related mission, there's a severe lack of oddity or danger. Just the wind through the trees. And the quiet creeking of old hinges somewhere in the distance.

Dante looks back at Vergil, brows raised and unspoken words being exchanged. Ones you couldn't figure out.

The three of you continue to approach the town.

And suddenly something hits.

The second you set foot on the crumbled pavement, there's this pull behind your ribs. And heaviness pressing on your skull.

Just a moment it's too present... and then it ebbs away to just an echo lingering on your body.

You exchange looks with both Vergil and Dante. It wasn't just you who suddenly felt that.

"Don't do anything unwise. Or reckless," Vergil simply tells you and then continues walking down the street, guard up.

You swallow hard. There still is no sense of immediate danger... which only makes it all the more nerve-wrecking.

You follow after him, steps cautious. You take another look at the compass in your hand- but the needle is just going crazy. Not pointing in any direction. No specific point. Your brows furrow.

That seems to be useless from now on.

You turn to Dante and hand it to him. "It's freaking out- Without it pointing anywhere there's no use for it."

He lets out hum in acknowledgement and hands you a silver gun for it in return, a faint grin on his face. "Yeah, you'd better have this instead."

You look down at it. "Ebony & Ivory" is written on its left side in cursive. Your eyes flick to the portrait of Ivory on the wooden grip. One corner of your mouth curls into a faint smile. "Yeah, probably."

"Alright," Dante then begins, his eyes momentarily on Vergil, who's still walking off, before meeting yours again, "don't stray too far away from us- stay within sight- but let's split up for now. Just to see what there is to find." He looks in Vergil's direction again. He sighs. "And, yeah, don't do anything stupid."

You snicker softly. "I won't, don't worry."

Dante's eyes flick over your face a moment, before giving you a short nod and walking off to look around for himself.

You decide to follow the same direction Vergil had gone- you actually can't spot him anywhere anymore... but he's gotta be close. So it's fine. You walk off the road, leaves crunching under your feet until you reach the porch of a house. You carefully open the front door, its hinges creaking with the movement.

You enter a hallway. An opening to what seems to be the living room is straight to your left. You walk in, grip tight on Ivory in your right hand, the gun ready in case of any surprises. There's a puddle of water in the middle of the space. Rainwater, probably, leaking in from outside.

You look down at it, at your own reflection- but it feels disoriënting with the way your face warps as it looks back at you, and you quickly step over it, continuing to search the house. You make a turn to the right through another doorway, back into the hallway. There's a draft pulling through, the kitchen with a back door on your left.

And right in front of you a mirror hung up on the wall.

Dirty and dusty- but the reflection is still visible.

Reshaping, twisting and warping the way it did in the puddle- it wasnt the rippling of water that caused it.

You stare at yourself for a solid moment. The way the surface seems to breathe. Curling in unnatural shapes and proportions.

And it reminds you of one thing only.

The frustration of getting camera angles right, while trying to run through the hallways of the castle on Mallet Island. Laughing at the, at times, horrible voice acting. A reflection of Dante emerging from a mirror, turning into Nelo Angelo.

It's the very first DMC game that this warped reflection of yourself reminds you of-

The Mirror Dimension, specifically.

The moment that the gravity of that realisation hits, behind you another shape bleeds into the mirror, walking up behind you-

Vergil.

He stands there. Perfectly still, frozen. His eyes locked on the dirty surface of the mirror, staring. But not at you. Seemingly not even at himself... But digging into the memories of his own mind. And you see his jaw tighten.

That same, choking, unpleasant feeling from last night creeps back into your throat and you turn around, your heart pounding.

Your eyes flick back and forth between his.

He recognizes the same thing... However, for him the memories tied to it were much more real than just a game.

And far worse than what you'd even wish upon your worst enemy.

Your brow twitches as you suddenly think of something. Could this... have been the reason for his nightmare? The close proximity to it?

You want to say something. Anything.

But there's no version of a response where your words won't betray you.

You're not supposed to know anything... Not about the Mirror Dimension. Not about Mallet Island. Mundus.

Nelo Angelo.

You're not supposed to understand what this here might potentially mean.

All you can do is stand there, tongue clenched behind your teeth.

Trying not to choke on the words you want to say.

Vergil's eyes then shift. At first to your reflection in the mirror, then to you.

"Let's return to Dante," he then simply says. He gives the mirror another glance before turning around to the backdoor in the kitchen, where you assume he came from.

You open your mouth to respond, but no words come out. You, too, once more look at the mirror before following after Vergil.

Raindrops have started falling from the sky- the sound of it softly ticking on the leaves of the trees. You look up at the sky, a singular drop falling right on your nose. You flinch, wipe it off, and jog a few steps to catch up with Vergil.

Asking if he's okay seems like such a stupid question. But not saying anything feels just as bad.

"You knew what that was, didn't you?" you decide to settle on, once you're walking next to him. A factual question, avoiding any emotional ties to it. Still, your voice is gentle, knowing the weight of what just happened.

Vergil gives you a sideways glance before looking up again, eyes searching for a red coat. "Yes," he bluntly states.

You nod in response, acknowledging it. The confirmation, however, doesn't explain anything. The Mirror Dimension was something strictly on Mallet Island... Which is gone. So- why are there open portals here?

It doesn't take long to find Dante. He's one street over, around the corner, crouched next to a large dumpster. You slightly raise a brow, wondering what the hell he's doing.

At the sound of your approaching footsteps, he looks up, rises to his feet and turns towards you two.

"You guys found anything?"

"An open portal," Vergil responds before you even have the chance to speak up- but you have something to add.

"Ehh, actually, make that plural. Portals. Multiple."

Vergil looks down at you, brows slightly furrowed and you turn your head to meet his gaze. "There was a puddle. Its reflection did the same."

Dante hums in acknowledgment and both you guys' attention turn to him. He gestures towards the dumpster with Ebony in his left hand, the gun pointed at its matted surface- You squint your eyes at it. It's dull, but still reflective.

And warping said reflection.

"Got a third one here," Dante then says as both you and Vergil slowly walk over, joining him to stand in front of it. Neither of the Sparda brothers care to elaborate on what kinda portals they exactly are. You know that they know, but you don't blame them for not filling you in here on the spot.

Not that it's needed... But you just note they choose not to speak on it.

Rain has started coming down a bit quicker, but you're ignoring the fact that you're slowly getting soaked while you're looking at the patterns and waves flowing on the side of the metal dumpster. It's hard to make out much detail.

"What do we d-" you start a sentence, but then notice a more sudden ripple in the distortions. You tighten your grip on Ivory in your hand, and rain's dripping down your face.

Another ripple, and you turn your head to the right, watching Dante. He's simply watching the distortions happen, brows raised.

"We got company?" it's not much of an actual question, he just notes that something is coming through, crawling through the dizzying swirls- out of the surface. You hear Dante hum next to you- a little too cheerfully for your liking. "Perfect for you, this one, Pajamas."

Two clawed paws splat into the mud with a squelch, followed by another pair. A four-legged abomination of a creature emerges from the portal. It's human-sized... but crawling on its four legs, parts of its body showing its raw flesh and muscle.

Its head looks like an empty skull, and the hollow eye sockets suddenly latch onto you, its head twitching in a tilt.

You adjust your grip on the gun, but don't move. Rain continues to trail down your face, hair sticking to your skin.

"Huh?" 

Chapter Text

The thing lunges at you- and you stay frozen just a second too long.

It's faster than your instincts, which kick in right the same moment the demon's weight crushes down on you and your back splashes into the mud, ribs aching from the impact, a short gasp pulled from you. The thing's claws dig into the earth beside your head, but you don't even notice how close it is to your ear because you already have the barrel aimed at the demon's head.

Bang!

Teeth snap an inch from your face.

You hit it, demon blood spraying across your face, but one bullet wasn't enough to take it out.

You're a little too busy to notice it, but Vergil raises a brow at Dante, who's watching with his arms crossed like it's a comedy show.

Still under the demon, you snap your head up, slamming your forehead into its skull- The screech it lets out is cut short by Ivory's wooden grip slamming into the side of its head with a swing of your arm.

It loses its balance- You roll over.

Having gained the upper hand, the gun is aimed at its head again.

Bang!

A screech-

Bang! Bang!

The screeching turns to gorgling- And then its head explodes on its own, spraying your face with the disgusting, warm liquid again.

You blink it out of your eyes, the rain helping somewhat with washing it away.

Another mushy, bubbling sound comes from underneath you.

Another wet plop, growing louder.

Your brows furrow, and then-

The creature's full body explodes, your hands and knees now digging into a mush of demon insides and mud, still bubbling and warm.

And you're completely covered in the reeking substance.

You spit something out of your mouth- absolutely not wanting to know what it is- and rise to your feet, a bit slippery in the goo.

With rain dripping down your face, but it barely washing anything off, you turn to Dante.

Unamused.

Something slides down your collar, but you don't even check what it is.

Dante gives you a thumbs-up. "See? Nailed it!"

"Really?" You then hear coming from Vergil, and you look over at him-

Only to just now notice his hair is completely soaked, and hanging down. And he's looking at Dante like he's the biggest idiot ever.

Despite the disgusting, uncomfortable state you're in, your lips curl into an amused smirk.

Your eyes go back and forth between Vergil and Dante.

Huh. They really do actually look like twins.

You try to wipe the grin off your face as quickly as it appeared- Attempting to be annoyed with Dante again, turning your attention back to him.

"That was so unnecessary," you say with a flat tone, your state looking pretty comical from Dante's perspective.

To be fair, all three of you look like drowned cats, but your entire fore-front being painted dark red adds to it.

"Agree to disagree," he grins at you, and you smack your lips before sighing.

"Right, experience 'n all. Loving it so far," you remark sarcastically, finally taking your hands up to wipe the goo out of your face.

You then exchange looks with both brothers again.

"Anyway, though-" you sigh, "what do we do with... this?" you gesture towards the dumpster with Ivory in your hand, the portal still curving in distortions. "These portals are obviously open, and things can get through."

"We will leave it, for now," Vergil responds, then exchanging looks with Dante. He nods.

"Like you just experienced first-hand, these are just low-level demons. If more get through, I doubt they'll even make it out of this town. They belong in there," he nudges his head at the portal.

You nod slowly. "Alright..."

It doesn't ease your worry, though. This is the Mirror Dimension we're dealing with... And you really don't have a good feeling about it. None of it makes sense.

You eye Vergil a moment, then look at the ground.

God, it's starting to piss you off you can't say a word about this. You're gonna need to get them to tell you everything, sometime soon, so you can stop pretending you don't know shit.

"So..? What now? Do we go back?" you ask, looking up at the brothers again.

Vergil answers, and your head turns to him. "For now, yes. These portals will remain contained where they are. As long as it doesn't spread or shift location, it's low priority."

Dante nods in agreement.

You glance back at the still-warping distortion.

"So it just remains here... unattended?"

Vergil’s tone sharpens, not in impatience- just clarity. "We are not done. We are regrouping."

You hold his gaze, then give a short nod. Fair enough.

And just as the silence settles-

Your phone buzzes. Loud, obnoxious. It feels weirdly out of place after all that.

You try to wipe some more demon insides off your hands before reaching into your pocket, your phone continuing to buzz in your hand.

It's Nico, calling.

For some reason you feel like you need permission to pick up, so you look up at Dante and Vergil. Dante just looks at you with anticipation, his brows raised.

So you pick up.

"He-"

"Yo! Hey, darlin', can ya swing by Nero's for a sec? I got a surprise for ya. You'll love it, trust me."

You stay quiet a moment, a bit perplexed. Your eyes flick between Vergil and Dante.

"Ehh, hey," you start, then clear your throat and look around the street of the abandoned town you're standing in. "Well- I mean, I'd love to, but I'm kinda, like, at least a full day's drive from Fortuna-"

No immediate response.

"You're what?" She then repeats, flat.

"I-"

"Tell her you'll be there shortly," Vergil then speaks up, and you look at him with confusion written over your face. A little hesitant, with one brow still raised and your eyes remaining on Vergil, you respond to Nico again.

"Ehm, nevermind that- I'll be there shortly," you say, pausing a beat, "...apparently."

You have no clue how you're even gonna manage to do tha- Oohhh...

Your eyes are glued to Vergil unsheathing the Yamato, and some nerves creep up in your stomach.

"Yeah? Alright, sick! See ya in a minute, sweetheart," Nico hangs up before you can even say bye.

"Great. Guess I'm driving back solo," you hear Dante sigh with mock betrayal, while you're now staring down at your phone. "You are coming back for me, right? Join me for the way back?"

Vergil doesn't even glance at him, and instead slices open a portal with the Yamato, the vibrations of it softly humming through the sound of the rain.

"No."

Dante snorts. "Cool. Can't wait to talk to myself for eight hours."

You chuckle, but then Vergil turns around to face you, like he's waiting. And your stomach twists with nerves again.

The rift behind him is shimmering with a blue light.

"I, ehh- How does this work?" you ask, walking over to Dante, absentmindedly and with your eyes on the portal you hand back Ivory. "I'm, you know, a little new to portal-traveling."

"Just follow right after me," Vergil's voice sounds surprisingly gentle and considerate. But then he just turns around and disappears through the rift.

And expecting you to follow.

"I'd hurry, if I were you," Dante says next to you with a grin. "Before he closes it."

Your nerves grow- You have no clue what to expect.

Then Dante lays his hand on your shoulder. "Well, goodluck. Hope you don't barf!" He jokes before walking off to the direction you guys had come from, back to the car.

"Thanks- that's... very reassuring," you mutter sarcastically and take a few steps towards the portal, stopping in front of it. Dante still heard you and you hear him chuckle, before you take a deep breath.

And then you step through, eyes on the ground.

At first it feels like you're hitting cold water, stepping through a liquid wall. But then, your foot lands-

...in Nero's garage?

That was it..? "Hope you don't barf", haha, real fu-

"What demon did you dive into headfirst? Holy shit," you look up from the concrete floor at Nico, sitting across Nero at the table with a beer. Her face is in utter disbelief, but a hint of a grin plays around her lips.

The portal closes with a buzz behind you, and you wipe rain and still some left-over blood mixed with it out of your eyes.

"Long story..." you sigh.

"Well, you're dripping all over my floor- Both of ya-," her eyes flick between you and Vergil standing next to you, "But whatever's covering you is straight up disgusting."

"Your floor?" Nero glares at her with a raised brow, but then he grabs two pieces of cloth off the table and walks over to you. "Nico's right, though. You better wipe off... all this."

He hands you a cloth. "Right, yeah- Thanks."

After giving you something to dry yourself off with, he turns to Vergil.

A little awkwardly, he hands him the other cloth to dry off most of the rainwater.

That awkward tension doesn't leave, especially not with Vergil waiting a tad too long with responding.

"Thank you."

Nero gives him a short nod, lips awkwardly pressed into a thin line, and then turns to you again.

"I'll, ehh, ask Kyrie if we have something you can wear- That stuff doesn't look like it'll be wiped off easily."

You just dried most of your hair and wiped down your face. You nod at Nero. "That would be great, thanks."

"Alright, just follow me," Nero says after glancing at Vergil one last time.

You first try to dry yourself off some more to the point you're at least not dripping anymore, before you place the now disgusting cloth back on the table.

"That was a hard watch," Nico says quietly when you approach, glancing over at Vergil, who's hair is back the way it always is, apart from just a few loose pieces refusing to stay up.

You chuckle, look at the door Nero just went through, then at Vergil, then back at Nico. "You know he can hear you, right?"

"Yeah, well, no lies were told."

You shake your head in slight disbelief and a faint smile on your face, then turn around to Vergil again.

He has his arms in front of him, and you catch his thumb tapping against his other arms' wrist. He's looking at Nico's van, which has the hood open.

He doesn't look like he's planning on leaving without you.

He could. But he knows you don't have a way back to the agency.

"I won't take long," you tell him, and his head turns to you. He just nods, and you finally follow after Nero, inside the house.

Though it's not him you run into first, but Kyrie.

"Oh- Hello,” Kyrie smiles as she rounds the corner. She’s holding a mug, probably tea, and her posture straightens a little when she sees you. "You must be the one Nero mentioned."

You nod, offering a faint smile. "Yeah- Hi. Sorry for, uh... this," you gesture vaguely to your appearance.

She shakes her head, still smiling, but with sympathy now. "Don’t worry. Nero’s already upstairs getting you something to change into."

Her eyes scan over you once more, and her expression shifts slightly, concern softening the smile. "I’ll have him grab you a towel too so you can clean up a little."

She turns her head toward the stairs. "Nero? Grab a towel as well, please!"

You hear a muffled "Got it!" from somewhere upstairs.

Kyrie looks back at you. “Bathroom’s just down the hall upstairs, to the right. Take your time.”

You nod again, thankful. "Thanks… really."

She lets out a small laugh. "I've seen worse."

A grin tugs at the corner of your lips, thinking about what states Nero must've been in with coming home from previous missions.

You then go upstairs, to the bathroom. Like Kyrie said, down the hall to the right. You don't run into Nero- Neither do you hear him.

The little pile of clothes and a towel is on the floor next to the bathroom door, and you take it with you inside. You lock the door behind you before changing out of your clothes, the material sticking to your skin. You curse under your breath as you peel the soaked fabric from your skin, and you start washing the parts of your body that still have blood on it. It's dried up a bit in your hair, but eventually you manage to get everything out.

You change into the clean clothes. The T-shirt and pants are a little big on you, but it fits. It's a comfortable oversized fit.

You decide to leave your dirty clothes here for now, to prevent covering anything else in blood.

You take the towel with you and walk back out into the hallway- And the door sideways opposite of the bathroom is slightly opened. You see Nero sitting on the bedside, his back towards you, so you knock on the door before opening it a little more.

Nero flinches slightly and looks up, turning his head to you in the doorway- and you only just now notice the open book in his hands.

"Oh- Sorry, am I interrupting?," you start, "I was just wondering where I should leave the towel..."

"No- No, it's fine. You weren't interrupting," Nero says and stands up, closing the book in his hands and throwing it onto the bed behind him, "and you can give it to me, I'll put it with the laundry."

He walks over to you and gives you a smile, holding out his hand for you to give him the towel. But your eyes are on the cover of the book.

It's V's.

"Didn't think you were the poetry type," you joke softly, your gaze still locked on the book, but you hand Nero the towel.

Nero huffs. "Yeah, well, I didn't think he was."

You now look back at him- And he must've taken it as a silent question, because he begins to explain.

"Vergil."

He looks over his shoulder, back at the book. And he then turns to walk back into the room. "He gave it to me." A pause. "Pretty much the only thing he ever gave me," he mutters.

Nero sits down on the bed again, grabbing V's book, and you quietly follow after him. You don't say anything, because judging form Nero's face he's looking for words.

"I just... kept it. I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Or with knowing I have a family."

He flips the book in his hands, and you think to choose your words carefully.

"It's... a lot." You pause. "Suddenly finding out who your father is... And that he's alive."

Your eyes drop down to his right forearm, once gone now perfectly fine again. And that that man is the same one who cut off your arm for more power.

Nero's eyes narrow slightly, brows furrowing. "It's just... I know he didn't know about me. I can't blame him for not being around, but..." he trails off, his thumb brushing the spine of the book.

You again take a moment to consider your words- a "damn, that's crazy" won't cut it with this.

You open your mouth again, hesitating only just a moment. "He does care, you know?" Your voice is gentle, "that's what I believe, at least." It's what you know, but of course you can't say that.

You pause just a moment before more words follow. "But you don't have to figure it out all at once- how you feel about it. It's just..."

Nero looks up at you before you continue. "From what I know of him... I think he might struggle to show that he cares."

You're careful not to just "defend" Vergil, but also consider Nero's view of things.

He doesn’t respond right away. Just sits there, eyes on the book again, jaw tight.

"I know," he then responds, voice low, "it's just hard not to be angry, you know?"

You nod slowly, and sit down next to him on the bed, pulling one leg under you and facing him. "And you have every right to be. The reasons for things happening don't change the fact they happened... and the hurt they've caused."

Nero's quiet again for a second, like he's weighing your words against something heavier inside him. Then he huffs out a breath and rubs his nose.

"I'm not expecting some big father-son bonding experience," he mutters, almost like he’s trying to convince himself, then looking at you again. There's a faint smile tugging at his lips. "He’s not exactly the campfire and s’mores type."

You let out a soft laugh. "You don't think so?" you joke. "You never know, though. He willingly joined Dante on this mission we just came back from- So, hey, at least some brother-bonding?"

Nero's brows furrow. "So that's why you showed up covered in blood."

You huff a chuckle. "Yeah- Nico suddenly called and we came here straight away, so..."

Nero then raises a brow. "But then where's Dante?"

"We left him." The pause that follows made that sound bad. "Left him to drive the car back, to specify. Not just for no reason," you tell him. Nero lets out a laugh and shakes his head. "Alright- well, we should go back to the garage- before Nico's impatience gets the best of her." His brows furrow and he sets V's book aside. The two of you then make your way back to the garage- tossing the towel in with the laundry on the way- and your curiosity is growing, wanting to see what it is that Nico said she has for you.

You're also a little scared, though.

"There you are! Took ya long enough," Nico excitedly exclaims once she notices you coming through the doorway. She immediately jumps out of her chair and disappears into the van.

You're surprised to see Vergil sitting down on another chair at the table. However, by the look on Nico's face before she'd noticed you, he hasn't been the greatest company. He's quietly flipping through some sort of manual- you doubt he was actually reading it, though, instead of just using it to not be bothered. His eyes flick up to you and Nero once you're within his field of vision.

For a moment his gaze lingers on you. Just briefly.

Then he looks back down at the manual.

You try not to read into it.

He looks bored to death and it's honestly pretty funny. He could leave and come back for you later, though? Only you don't have his number- heck you don't even know if he has a phone. Maybe that's why he's staying... He wouldn't know when to come get you again.

"You okay over there?" you ask with a slightly joking undertone.

"Perfectly," he responds flatly, flipping a page and not reading a word.

You fail to suppress a snort, and you notice even a faint grin on Nero's face.

Then there's a loud clang from behind the van.

Oh, God...

And a few seconds later, Nico appears. With a massive blade swung over her shoulder.

You furrow your brows and your mouth falls open.

"Look what I got'cha!" There's a proud grin plastered across Nico's face.

"That's for me?" You raise your hand, weakly pointing at the oversized guillotine-looking blade on a stick.

"Hell yeah, it is!"

Chapter Text

You stare at Nico in a few more seconds of silence, that grin on her face never faltering.

"A-are you kidding? Nico- That thing is the same size as Red Queen," you stammer, and Nero raises a brow at you when saying his sword's name. But you don't notice. And Nico waves your worries aside.

"Nah it's lighter than it looks, trust me," she says before swinging it off her shoulder, and it lands on the table in front of Vergil with a loud thunk. "Right... Lighter than it looks..." you comment sarcastically after the way the weight of the thing dropped onto the table.

"Meet Severance," Nico introduces the blade's name, still grinning from ear to ear.

It's not even much of a sword, more just a slab of iron- Though it being the same size as Red Queen was an exaggeration... it's a little shorter. The blade is thick and wide, shaped like a cleaver. Matte steel gleams along the harsh, angular tipped edge and down closer to the hilt, there are holes.

You walk a little closer to have a better look.

The guard is as wide as the blade, and it looks like a rough, textured material. Apart from the double-handed grip, which is smoother.

"I haven't even made up my mind about the job offer," you say while still inspecting the weapon. You have to admit... it looks insanely cool.

Nero walks up next to you to take a better look, too. "Well- I mean, you can't really practice without having a weapon to practice with," he says- and you can hear a hint of excitement in his tone. Your head turns to him. "You think it's smart to try 'n let me handle this monstrosity?"

Nero shrugs, a grin growing on his face.

"There's no way you two are on the same page," you say, genuinely a little baffled and looking back and forth between Nero and Nico. Then you turn to Vergil, who's just been observing in silence.

"Please tell me that you can give a sensible answer?"

He looks up at you, finally tosses the manual onto the table and then he leans back into his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It seems to me," Vergil begins, voice steady, "that you’ve already decided the weapon is beyond you- not because it is, but because you believe it is."

A beat of silence. Your eyes stay locked on each other.

"Prove yourself wrong."

Another beat of silence.

For fuck's sake, that actually is a sensible answer. 

A flicker of heat crawls up your neck- both embarrassment and adrenaline.

Great. Now you're blushing over a lecture.

Both Nero and Nico look at you with anticipation.

You squint your eyes, realizing how right Vergil is about this. At least, about you believing you won't be able to wield it. Whether you actually can, or not, though...

"Fine. I'll give it a shot," you then say, and reach for the sword's grip.

"Woah, woah! Hold on a sec-" Nico immediately interferes and holds her hands in front of the hilt, so you can't grab it. "I wasn't done demonstrating yet- She's got more to her than just looks, ya know."

You pull your hand back and look at her in confusion.

Nico smirks and reaches for the handle. "Right, so- looks all big and mean, sure, but watch this."

She lifts the blade off the table with two hands, then taps somewhere near the guard with her thumb. In one smooth motion, she twists the blade sideways, and the sword splits down the middle with a loud clang- one end nearly beheading you if you didn't step aside- two identical halves clicking into place on either side of a central handle. A double-ended weapon now gleams in her hands, sharp edges catching the light.

"Boom!, " Nico laughs, "didn't see that comin', huh?"

You blink once. "That's... actually fucking sick."

"Damn right it is," Nico says with pride beaming off of her.

Nero lets out a short laugh, brows raised. "Okay, now I'm kinda jealous."

You snicker at the comment, and Nico swings the blade back into one before, once again, it slams down on the table. "Now you can touch her!"

Vergil hasn't said a word- his eyes are on Severance like he's picking it apart with his gaze, trying to figure out how it works. You catch it in the corner of your eye, and a faint smile tugs at the corner of your lips while you reach for the blade's handle.

"Be careful with her, alright?" Nico comments as you lift the blade off the table, two hands on the hilt.

And it's surprisingly easy.

Sure, it's not light, but- you take a step back, and give it a swing- it's definitely not as heavy as you thought it'd be.

It's like gravity guides your movements. You swing it around a little more, moving around in the empty spot of the garage, keeping balance with your footwork.

A grin grows on your face as your confidence grows. Mid-motion, you let it sever in two. It clicks in place, and the switch to wielding it more like a staff comes as naturally as breathing.

You stop, facing towards the others again. Your breath comes quicker, heart thudding against your ribs.

You look up, your excitement evident on your face with that grin.

Nero is staring at you with raised brows.

Nico claps in her hands and laughs. "I knew you'd love her."

And Vergil... is that a smile? no, a smirk? The faintest hint of amusement.

The image lingers in your mind far longer than it lasts on his face.

"I wish I could say I'm surprised- but I'm not," Nero then says, a short pause following, "But I still kinda am?"

You chuckle and fling Severance back into a singular blade with ease, walking up to them again. It clicks before you- gently- place it back on the table. "Well that makes two of us- I did not expe-"

"Wat'cha think about fightin' Vergil next?" Nico cuts in, barely able to contain her excitement, "Like, a quick spa-"

"No."

"Absolutely not."

Nico can't even finish her sentence before both you and him respond. Perfectly in sync, heads jerking towards her with blank faces.

A beat of silence follows.

"No, absolutely not," you repeat yourself. "Sorry, but I value my internal organs," you add with a low chuckle, getting war flashbacks from slamming angry, frustrated fists on your desk when trying to beat Vergil in-game. No matter which game. Or as who.

"Okay, yeah. Well- I mean..." Nico then clears her throat, deciding not to further verbalize what she was thinking. "Alright, ya might have a point-"

"And, actually, we weren't done yet, anyway. I still got these sweet babies!" she adds before hurrying back into the van.

There's more???

You exchange a look with Nero. "Don't look at me. I have no clue what she's been up to." He defensively raises his hands.

Before you know it, Nico comes rushing back out- a knife in either hand.

Throwing knives. A bit more like daggers.

And then you recall that moment yesterday, when you were about to leave with Lady. Ah, right. Knives.

Nico walks up to you and shoves the two smaller blades in both your hands. 

"Now, these are real fun," Nico starts. "So, these are Scorchers- blue core, pretty as hell- explode on impact!" she adds, pointing at the dagger in your right hand, a soft blue glow humming gently in the design.

"Uh-huh."

"'N these-" she points at the one in your left hand, its center glowing a warm orange, "are Whistlers. They come right back at ya after throwin' em. Kinda make a spooky whistlin' noise on return."

"Blue explodes. Orange comes back," you mutter to register it in your brain, eyeing both daggers. Then a smirk tugs at the corner of your lips, and you look back up at Nico. She grins back at you, clearly pleased.

"Can't wait to try them," you say, genuinely excited to use these.

"Just not here, please," Nero mutters next to you.

You let out a snort, and then turn around when you hear the door opening.

"Oh, you guys are still here," Kyrie shows up in the doorway with a warm smile, and the others' heads turns as well, Nico just leaning to the side to look past you.

"Hi! Yeah, it's a whole demonstration 'n everything," you chuckle after greeting Kyrie.

She lets out a soft laugh, and then glances between you and Vergil. "Would you two maybe like to stay for lunch?" She asks after a beat.

Next to you, Nero hesitantly opens his mouth, but he closes it before a word comes out.

"Ehhh," you start, then glance over at Vergil. He's already looking at you, mouth open without words coming out as well. He quietly smacks his lips- awkwardly seeming to look for words, before glancing at Nero for a split second.

He's stayed here the whole time already- And after that mission. And a horrible night's sleep. Yes, he should probably spend more time with Nero... But staying right now won't do any good. It's just not the time.

You notice his fingers tapping against each other, his hands a little restless. Your expression softens a little.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you, really," you start, taking your eyes off Vergil and meeting Kyrie's gaze. "But we've had quite a long day- I think it's probably best if we go back after we're done with... ehh, this." You motion towards Severance on the table with the Scorcher in your hand. You're answering for both you and Vergil, just to take that little burden off him.

"Oh, of course! Maybe next time, then," Kyrie smiles at you. "Have a safe trip home."

She moves to turn back around, but stops and turns back to you. "Oh, and I've washed your clothes for you. When you're here next time, you can take them with you- Or Nero can bring them when going to you guys."

"Really-? You didn't have to, they were so disgusting," you say with mild surprise, and a chuckle underlying in your voice. "But- thank you, Kyrie," you add with gratitude, returning that same warm smile.

"Of course, don't worry about it," Kyrie says before this time for real leaving the garage, closing the door behind her.

A beat of silence follows among the four of you.

"You're one really lucky guy," you then say to Nero, and you can hear the smirk on your face in your tone.

"Huh?" Nero turns to you- then looks at the doorway, one corner of his mouth curling up. "Oh. Yeah, sure am."

"Alright, alright, anyway!" Nico demands attention again while you still chuckle at Nero's response. "Should've mentioned- Got a whole stash of 'em in the van. They ain't immune to gettin' lost, and, well, ya know- Scorchers are a one-time-use kinda thing."

"R-right, yeah, no, of course," you return your attention to Nico, who's already ran off to inside the van again.

You wait in silence, and glance over at Vergil. He seems to mentally already be halfway out the door.

Yep. Time to go.

It doesn't take long before Nico comes back with a crate, and what seems to be a belt hanging over her arm.

She drops the crate onto the table, ever so gracefully, before handing you the belt. "And I also got this to carry 'em proper- unless you were planning on shoving 'em up your ass or somethin'."

You hear Nero sigh next to you. "Thanks," you chuckle, taking the belt from her.

She then turns to put the two daggers in the crate on the table, and slaps the top of it with the palm of her hand. "Lemme know if ya need a restock on these. Will have 'em comin' right up when ya need 'em."

You nod once. "Okay. Perfect."

That's probably all- You came here for the weapons and you got them now, sooo...

You look over at Vergil again, his fingers tapping softly against the hilt of the Yamato.

"Vergil?"

He looks up at you.

"Pretty sure we're done here- you ready to go back?"

He briefly looks at Nero and Nico as well, before giving you a nod. He rises to his feet with that usual, deliberate grace. The Yamato is already unsheathed when he comes to a stop just past you, where there's space to open a portal.

Two clean, straight lines are sliced through the air- but in this calm setting all you can focus on is Vergil's movements. The precision with which he moves- How that katana is like an extension of himself. The absolute perfection in how it's wielded- even how the blade is shea-

A snap of fingers in front of your face. "Yo!"

"Huh?"

"D'ya need help with gettin' this through?"

You look down at the table. Severance and that crate with daggers... yeah two hands aren't enough for a single trip through a portal.

"Ehh- Actually, yeah. I do- could you..?"

"'Course," Nico already answers and picks up the crate, and walking towards the open portal.

"So, ehh... am I gonna get ripped apart in this thing, or nah..?" Nico asks Vergil, who's still standing next to the opened portal, waiting for you.

You chuckle. "Just step through, you barely feel a thing," you assure her as you swing Severance over your shoulder, the belt hung over your other arm.

"Alright, then-" Nico says before stepping through. You halt right in front of the portal instead of following right after her.

"Make sure she has returned before following after me," Vergil says, looking at the softly humming portal instead of you, and then he turns around to his son.

"Bye, Nero," he says with a short nod, and then he turns back and follows after Nico through the portal.

Your eyes remain on the spot he just disappeared for a moment, before you turn to Nero as well.

He gives you a faint smile, which you return, your gaze softening.

"Ehh- Let me know how those daggers work out for you," Nero then says, Nico coming back through at the same time. "And try not to... blow anything up. Unintentionally."

You chuckle. "I'll try my best. And sure, I'll let you know."

Nico shivers after coming through the portal again. "Ah, fuck, that's cold-" She then turns to you, "I put 'em on the pooltable for ya."

One corner of your mouth curls into a smile. "Thanks," you tell her, then glance back at Nero. "See ya, guys!"

They both raise their hand in a wave as you step through the portal- hitting that ice cold surface again, before you're met with that cozy warmth of the agency just a split second later.

With Severance still slung over your shoulder, you step out into the room. It's quiet, apart from the faint buzzing of the portal behind you- which zapps away just a moment later as well.

You glance over at the pool table and spot the crate exactly where Nico said she left it. You walk over, set the belt down on top, and place Severance down leaning against the pool table with the hilt.

Vergil’s already a few steps ahead, headed toward the stairs again- probably returning to whatever book he abandoned the day before. You wouldn't really know what else he does during the day. But before he disappears entirely, you call after him.

"Hey."

Your soft voice sounds awfully loud in the quiet space.

Vergil stops at the base of the stairs and turns slightly, glancing back over his shoulder.

"That lunch idea... it's not completely off the table. Y'know- for another time," you start, trying to help a little with the Nero-situation.

His gaze lingers on you for a beat.

"It does sound like a more reasonable plan," he replies, calm as ever. "Certainly more appealing than... a campfire. And s’mores."

You blink. Then narrow your eyes.

"Wait- You heard that?"

He turns back to face you fully this time, arms loosely crossed. "We have heightened senses. Part-demon physiology."

A beat of silence.

"And it's that much better? We were- what, like on the other side of the house?" you respond, a little baffled. You had suspected some sort of better hearing- but that much? "You heard all of that?"

"Enough," he answers, and there’s the faintest twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth.

You stare up at him for the following few seconds. The silence stretches out, until you decide to speak again.

"Y'know what- Good, actually." You nod once, looking at the floor. But after another moment, you look back up at him. "I meant what I said."

He looks at you. But there's not much of a point in trying to read into his expression.

"Was I wrong?"

His eyes stay on you, before they flick away and he turns back around.

Again, with him, a lack of response is answer enough. A soft smile tugs at your lips.

You then look over at the couch, looking much more comfortable and inviting than it ever has.

"Anyway- I'm gonna pass out for about three hours... a little afternoon nap," you say as you walk over, Vergil already having ascended the stairs.

"Very well," he says before reaching his door, placing his hand on the knob. "I'll leave you to it."

He goes inside and you drop down onto the couch, faceplanted and lying on your stomach.

The door upstairs falls shut with a click, and you roll over onto your back, your eyes on Vergil's door.

You stare at it for just a few moments, then kick your shoes off and get comfortable on the couch.

For a while you listen to the quiet noises that are present.

A car driving by, outside. The humming of the fridge. A lightbulb flickering once.

"You know..." you then say quietly. "You could talk about Blake's poetry with him?"

You pause.

"He seemed interested enough," you add, your voice still soft and probably inaudible to any normal person further than a foot away from you.

But you know he heard you.

Chapter Text

You roll over, waking up from the sound of the front door falling shut.

You blink against the warm light, and prop yourself up onto your elbows to see who came in, still a little dazed.

"Nice toothpick," Dante nudges his head towards the pooltable, where Severance is still leaning against it.

Your brows furrow a moment, your brain not registering what he means- and then it clicks. You chuckle softly. "Oh, yeah, that's what Nico had for me."

Dante hums and tosses the car keys onto his desk, the jingling cutting off when they hit the wooden surface. But it's not there where you're looking- It's outside.

And it's dark. Your eyes flick over to the clock. "You're back late- like- really late," you say when you read its around 10.05pm. And, God, that means you've been out for way longer than anticipated.

"Yeah," Dante mutters, dragging a hand through his hair, "I made a stop on the way back."

You squint at him. "What- like, drive-through and a nap in the car?"

He lets out a short laugh. "Tempting, but no. Trish."

"Oh-" That wakes you up a bit more, and push yourself upright. "What for..?"

You ask the question, but you can already make a guess.

"Just wanted to fill her in on the portal stuff," Dante informs you as he takes off his coat, hanging it over his chair before dropping into it, facing you.

"And? What did she say?" You're genuinely very curious about this. Trish was there on Mallet Island as well, of course. The whole reason she even exists is Mundus.

He exhales, head tipping back against the chair. "Didn’t like it. Said it reminded her of something she hoped we’d never have to deal with again."

That stings.

Not because it's surprising, but because it's yet another confirmation that none of this means any good.

"What kind of something?" you ask, deciding this is probably a good way to "get to know more", so you can stop pretending to be completely unknowing.

He looks at you for a moment, then leans forward, elbows on his knees.

"You ever heard of Mundus?"

You shake your head. "No."

"Demon King. Big bad. Ruled the Demon World before Sparda- Vergil and I’s dad- sealed it away. He’s the one who planned on sending a horde of demons through to take out humanity back in the day." A beat. "Also created Trish."

You blink at him. It's no new information, but you didn't expect him to drop all this in one sentence right away.

"Yeah-" Dante continues. "She looks like my mom. Creepy, I know. He made her to lure me in. Tried to kill me on Mallet Island."

You don't ask anything. Just look it him- let him talk.

"Obviously she turned on him," Dante adds. "Helped me take the bastard down. Place collapsed, Mundus went with it. Or so we thought."

Your voice comes out quiet. "You think he’s back?"

You unwillingly glance to the door upstairs again. Vergil's door.

Dante doesn’t answer right away. He just runs a hand over his mouth and shrugs lightly. "I don’t know. I’m not saying it's him. Just that I’ve seen portals like this before- and last time, he was behind them. And it's not like we ever got confirmation he's dead."

Your gaze flicks back to him. You notice he's leaving Nelo Angelo out of this completely. Sure, maybe it's not exactly relevant for explaining the portals... But maybe it's on purpose.

You think about asking.

"Was Vergil there, too?"

But the words never leave your mouth. You won't start that conversation. Not here. Not with him upstairs, probably listening. Or at least able to hear. Unless he's sleeping, but you can't be sure.

Instead you just nod. Slowly.

You get up from the couch in thought. "But the plan is still the same?" you ask as you walk to the fridge, "Leave the portals be for now?"

You open the fridge and grab something you made earlier, to reheat. A moment passes while you clatter the pan onto the stove and flick the heat on.

"Yeah," Dante then finally replies, "Plan's still the same. For now. We can let those portals be but we gotta figure out why they're there."

You toss the food into the pan and it sizzles softly. You watch it for a moment before responding.

"Portals gotta be made or opened, right? I assume- Or can they just... appear on their own?"

You turn around to face Dante.

"Appear? Yeah, sure. But opening on their own?" He clicks his tongue and leans back in his chair, one leg over the other. "Not very likely."

"So..." you start, mind trailing off. "Someone here is trying to open a gate to the Underworld?"

Dante's eyes narrow a split second, head tilting ever so slightly.

"A key to a portal is in that dimension, yeah. Philosopher’s Stone. Used it to access the portal on the island." A beat of silence. Then his brows raise. "So, maybe. Maybe someone knows the story and wants to pull the same trick."

You'd turned around to stir your food, listening intently. But your hand stops moving upon hearing Dante's answer.

"But they’ll hit a dead end, right? That portal was on Mallet Island. You just said it collapsed."

Another moment passes, your nearly done food still sizzling in the pan.

"Yeah. They’d be outta luck if they’re following the same blueprint."

You turn the heat off and don't bother plating your tepid food. Instead you start eating straight from the pan with a fork, leaning on the counter with your other arm.

"So in the bigger picture there's no world-ending disaster we have to worry about?" you ask with a mouth full and you turn to Dante again.

"No disaster- yet. And nah, there probably won't be one at all. But you never know with this shit," Dante sighs, brows raising.

"Always starts small?" you mutter, chewing on another bite.

Dante smacks his lips and leans back again. "Yup."

A longer silence falls. Maybe Dante is thinking- At least you are, while eating your food.

"By the way- Will you get paid for that mission? We technically didn't do anything," you then ask as you're scraping the last few bites from the pan.

"Funny you ask," Dante says," 'cause yes, our anonymous customer did pay us. Just checkin' it out was enough apparently."

Your brows furrow in confusion, and you toss your fork into the empty pan before turning around to Dante.

"'Did?' What do you mean 'did'. You just came back- When could they have given you payment?" you ask, crossing your arms in front of your chest as you lean against the counter- And then Dante raises his hand, with an envelope in it.

Which wasn't on his desk when you and Vergil returned- At least you think? Maybe you just hadn't noticed.

"Oh-"

Dante opens the envelope and pulls out a few bills. "Here's your part."

You shake your head. "Nah, keep it. I still owe you from those clothes Lady and Trish put on your name. And a chocolate sundae," you say, a smile tugging on the corner of your lips. 

Dante looks at you for a second, then shrugs and puts it back into the envelope. You're making your way over to the stairs- you'll clean that pan tomorrow morning.

"I'mma go take a shower," you tell Dante with a tired sigh, and make your way upstairs.

---

The shower helped a little- Warm water washing off the tension that had settled into your shoulders. The calming noise of running water dulled out some of the rambling thoughts in your mind.

Even after that absurdly long nap, your body still moved like it hadn’t fully rested, limbs heavy. So once you were back downstairs, dressed in your pajamas and towel-drying your hair, you didn’t even try to fight it. You dropped down onto the couch and drifted off again almost immediately.

It's the light that wakes you the next morning.

Soft and cool, casting faint shadows of the window framing on the wall.

You blink against it, hair a mess. One arm dangles off the side of the couch, fingertips grazing the floor and you stare at the TV for a few moments. Or minutes, you don't know.

But eventually you give up on the idea of falling asleep again.

You get up and shuffle to the kitchen, rubbing your eyes.

If you clean that pan now, at least you got it over with.

It takes just a minute or two before you decide it's clean enough and you put it back where you found it last night.

You wipe your damp hands on a kitchen towel and glance out the window, watching the breeze in the leaves of a tree outside.

Then you remember your journal. The one you bought with Vergil.

You go and grab it off the bookshelf behind the stairs, and toss it onto Dante's desk before sitting down in his chair.

You flip it open, staring at the first page. Of course still blank.

You grab a pen, but for a while, you don’t write anything. You just sit, pen resting loosely in your hand, eyes a little unfocused.

Then, you start. At first with a little trouble to find the words, but as you go, it comes easier.

Starting all the way from your grocery trip with Vergil- how it was sort of your first real interaction with him. Then the mission with Nero and Nico. How you can suddenly fight like it's programmed into your body-

Lady and her motorcycle.

Vergil's nightmare.

The portals.

Everything.

Your writing turns messier the longer you go, lines trailing off as you let your hand just move. The pages start filling with scattered thoughts and questions.

A few fragments of memory from the mission. Something about the compass, and you sketch a little doodle of it in the corner.

You flip the page and start doodling again- just messy lines eventually taking shape into Vergil. How you saw that tiny hint of a smile from the backseat of the car, when he was eating that sundae. Your own lips start curling into a smile as you're adding more details and lines.

You're so in your own head that you don't even hear someone coming downstairs- only when the man you're drawing enters your field of vision, you notice you're not alone downstairs anymore.

Your pen almost flies out of your hand when you flip your journal closed and look up, heart beating against your ribs like you're about to have a heartattack.

But Vergil just walks past, a book in hand and heading straight to the kitchen.

You watch his back, waiting. Did he see?

Nothing.

Your pulse slowly eases. Maybe not.

You finally dare to open your mouth without fearing for sounding like you're held at gunpoint.

"Morning."

Vergil turns around, and looks at you a moment.

"Goodmorning," he greets you back before getting back to... getting breakfast, maybe?

He moves without another word, methodical in his morning routine.

You stay quiet, eyes staying on him as he opens a cabinet, grabs a mug, and starts prepping something. Tea, probably. Of course it’s tea.

He doesn’t glance your way, doesn’t say anything else.

And you don’t either.

You just… watch. Trying not to- but failing.

There’s something strangely calming about the way he moves. It's sharp but unhurried. Precise- Like everything he does is intentional, even when it’s just pouring hot water into a mug.

His book is tucked under one arm the whole time.

You wonder what he’s reading. You wonder if he always comes down this early. If he saw the sketch. If he cared if he did-

He turns back around.

You drop your gaze in an instant, flipping your journal back open and pretending to reread what you wrote, like you weren’t watching him just now.

Vergil says nothing.

He walks past again, not really giving you a glance, mug and book in hand. Then he disappears back upstairs.

And you’re left in the morning silence again, journal open in front of you.

You look down at the unfinished sketch, and tap on the empty page next to it with the back of the pen, biting the inside of your cheek.

You decide to leave it be in its unfinished state, and flip your notebook closed for now.

---

Later that week temperatures started rising, and because of the heat you slept horribly.

Those following mornings started falling into a rhythm. You woke up early, pulled your notebook from between the couch cushions- you decided to not just leave it in the bookcase anymore, since there's words in there now- and wrote until your mind felt more at ease.

You had a training session with Nero, to get used to Severance in actual combat but without immediate life-threatening situations. Lady took you for another practice session on her bike. There weren't any more missions. So, some mornings there wasn't much to write at all.

Vergil always comes down around the same time. Grabs his tea. Says nothing unless you do and disappears back upstairs. Now that you're up earlier these days, you're awake to notice it.

And outside of those early mornings you haven't seen him much.

From Dante you hadn't heard anything else about the status of the Mirror Dimension portals, or anything to do with it.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Now, Severance’s thick blade blocks a swing from Red Queen, your body bracing upon impact. It's another one of those hot days, clothes clinging to you from sweat.

You're at a clearing in the forest just outside town- Nico and Nero came over to Redgrave, and now Nico has parked her van at the edge of a forest clearing, speakers playing music while she snacks in the shade, watching you and Nero spar for fun. The hangout wasn’t planned as a training session, but one thing led to another and now you and Nero are circling each other through beams of golden sunlight filtering through the trees.

This is only your second time sparring with Severance, but your movements feel so certain- instinctive. The way it did the first time you held it, but even when actually fighting... You move like that. Every time Nero shifts his weight, you already know where he’s going. You move to intercept before he’s even fully committed, blade clashing against Red Queen with a ringing clang.

There are still moments where it's evident your speed isn't quite on par with Nero, and despite knowing what he'll do you're just a hair away from being too late with blocking or dodging.

"You're gettin' good fast," Nero mutters between breaths, taking a step back and eyeing you with a corner of his mouth curled into a grin.

You shrug, adjusting your grip. "Lucky guesses."

But it's not luck. It's like... muscle memory you shouldn't have. You've watched him fight. Controlled him. Dozens of times, from your own chair in your room. You recognize the little things- the way his shoulder drops before a lunge or what swing follows after a pattern in his footwork. You used to be him. Sort of.

Your body remembers what your mind technically never lived. It's not even that your eyes catch it all.

"'Lucky guesses' my ass! Take a trip to the casino next?" you hear Nico from the sideline.

"Alright, so maybe I'm just a fast learner?" you call back at Nico, eyes never leaving Nero as you begin to circle again.

He chuckles. "Fast learner for sure- But you still don't move faster than me."

You grin, pushing off into motion.

This time, he goes low. You pivot to meet him, Severance scraping along Red Queen’s edge with sparks flying off, the sound ringing through the clearing. He pushes, and you manage to stand your ground, arms trembling under the pressure.

You shift to parry, feet sliding back across the dry grass.

But Nero's already moving into the next strike before your feet have fully adjusted.

You try to pivot- cut across, block the follow-up. But you’re a half-second too slow. Nero's sword dips low and then comes up at an angle, hitting your side with the flat of the blade before you can bring Severance back around.

You stumble back a step, off balance, and gravity takes it from there.

Flat on your back, you blink up at the canopy, the green flickering against sunlight.

A beat of silence.

You let out a long breath, not bothering to get up right away. "That... was not a lucky guess."

Nero chuckles as he steps into your field of vision, offering a hand. "Nah. But you almost had me for a sec."

You take it, letting him pull you up. "Almost doesn’t cut it in a real fight."

He shrugs. "True. But still- second time using that thing and you're already reading me like a book. That’s freaky."

You wipe your arm across your forehead, sweat stinging your eyes. "Yeah, well... knowing what you’re gonna do and actually being fast enough to stop it? Whole different story."

You drag your feet through the grass over to Nico, and drop onto the patch of shade beside her van, grass sticking to the sweat on your arms, chest rising and falling. Nico tosses you a cold water bottle without even looking. You catch it mid-air, opening it in one smooth motion.

"Man, ya almost had him," she says around a mouthful of chips. "Woulda paid good money to see 'im get knocked on his ass."

Nero walks up behind her, scoffing. "Yeah, sure you would've. But I won."

"Barely," Nico shoots back. "Ya looked nervous for a sec."

"You’re imagining things."

You smirk over the rim of your bottle. "Would’ve gotten you if I was a little faster."

He drops onto the grass next to you with a grunt, arms resting loosely on his knees. "I don't doubt it. You’re getting sharper every time."

Nico raises an eyebrow. "Weird as hell, how fast ya pickin' up on his moves."

You shrug, not answering that directly. The breeze rustles the trees, sunlight flickering through the leaves above. There’s music still playing low from the van speakers, something with a heavy bassline and chill guitar riff.

After a moment, Nero speaks up again. "Hey, speaking of weird shit... You’ll never guess who dropped by the other day."

Nico squints at him. "Wait, nah- him?"

Nero grins faintly. "Yeah- just. Showed up."

You sit up a little. "Vergil?"

He nods. “Asked about the book he gave me-"

"V's," he adds quickly, looking at Nico, before continuing. "Said something about ‘shared interest fostering understanding’ or whatever the hell."

Nico nearly chokes on her drink. "Nooo way. Did he actually read it with you?"

"Yeah," Nero says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not like... the whole book. But he actually sat down and we talked through a couple poems. It was... weird. Not bad weird. Just... unexpected."

You try to suppress the little smirk curling at one corner of your lips, and look down at the dry grass.

Took him a few days... but he did go. He actually listened to you. You weren't too sure what to expect when giving him that suggestion, but looks like he found it competent enough to consider it. And actually go through with it.

"Honestly... it was kinda cool. I mean, sure there's still a lotta untouched shit from the past, but it's not like we can change it. And he showed up. Which is... new," Nero continues, leaning back with his arms braced behind him.

You nod, content. "New’s good."

"Yeah." Nero glances sideways at you a moment, then at the grass with furrowed brows. "And I think he sort of... apologized? For my arm."

You turn to look at him, curious. About the apology, but not that Nero knows that.

"He kinda... ripped it off," he starts explaining, lifting his right hand. "With reasons, sure- But still, that's my right arm, y'know. Luckily it just... grew back."

"Uh-huh," you nod, honestly just a little surprised Vergil didn't only go, but also apologized.

"Alright, but- did he apologize or nah- Ya ain't sure? Like- just yes or no?" Nico then asks. "A 'Hey, sorry i mutilated you'?"

Nero snorts. "No. I mean- he didn’t say that. Obviously. It was more like..."

He pauses, squinting at the grass like he’s trying to replay the moment in his head.

"We were on one of the poems, can't quite remember which one- But he was quiet for a bit, then said something like: 'Some damage is irreversible. That doesn’t mean it was just.'" Nero shifts slightly. "Then he looked at my arm for a second, and just... turned the page."

You blink. Nico stares.

"That’s it?" she asks.

"I mean... yeah. But it felt like something. Y’know?"

Your expression softens, a faint smile on your lips.

Cuz yeah, you do know.

You know that that was something.

Chapter Text

The sunlight filters through the canopy above you, the faintest hint of a breeze present every now and then.

Nico lets out a slow breath. "Well damn, who woulda thought. At this rate next Christmas gonna promise a happy family dinner with yo dad," she jokes.

Nero snorts. "Alright, don't push it-"

"Nah, I ain't pushin' anythin', just some optimism," Nico says as she pulls out a packet of cigarettes from her pocket. "Ya gotta be around to witness that miracle," she nudges her chin at you, then lights the cigarette she just put between her lips.

You chuckle, leaning back a little with your arms supporting you. "Y'know what, I actually might be," you then say, and take a sip of water. "I've finally made up my mind about the job offer. I'm staying. Told Dante yesterday."

"Uh-huh, right- Ya ain't foolin' anyone. You've known ya wanted it this whole time already," Nico grins at you. "Took ya long enough to give in."

Okay there might be some truth in that- But instead of admitting that you roll your eyes at her. "For safety reasons- But now I know I can rely on my combat skills."

"Waiting was a good call," Nero says, "and you were basically a part of us already, but it's nice to officially know you won't be leaving me to deal with Nico alone."

"Alright, asshole," Nico jokes back as she gets up, hitting Nero on the back of his head before heading into the van, a trail of smoke curling behind her.

You fail to suppress a laugh with Nero letting out a quiet, offended "ouch", rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Then the phone at the front seats of the van rings. Both your and Nero's heads turn.

A beat passes. There's some rummaging from inside the back of the van.

It rings again.

"Yo! Someone get that!" You hear Nico call out.

"Alright, alright-" Nero pushes himself up with a groan, brushing dry grass off of his pants. "Apparently you're too busy with God knows what," he mutters before hopping in the passenger seat, leaving the door open.

You turn fully his way to listen.

"Devil May Cry."

A pause follows, then his brows furrow.

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, we can check that out. Where exactly?"

He listens, nods slowly. Nico appears again, leaning against the passanger seat with only her head visible to you.

"Got it. You said near the trailhead? Right. No, you did good calling this in."

Nico blows out some smoke, right in Nero's face. His expression immediately turns to disgust. "Right. Yeah, okay. Thank you," he tells the person on the other line, trying not to choke and pushing Nico's face away with his free hand.

You push yourself off the ground as Nero hangs up, brushing grass from your hands before joining them by the van door.

Nero glances at both you and Nico, who's still grinning. "Hikers. Said they saw something weird in the woods."

"Weird as in 'demon-like' weird?" you ask.

"That's what they think, yeah." Nero looks at you. "Something at a chapel near the trail. It's been out of use and abandoned for a long time, so maybe it's just some wild animal. But checking it out doesn't hurt."

"Better safe than sorry- Right, get yo ass in here. Lesgo," Nico nudges her chin at you before climbing in the driver's seat.

You turn to grab both Severance and Red Queen before getting in, the water bottle held in your mouth by the cap since you're lacking a free hand.

You set both swords down on the couch, and before you can even sit, the sudden jolt of Nico pressing the gas pedal nearly knocks you over.

"Fucking hell, please, for once wait before people have sat down," you mutter after recollecting your balance, and taking a spot on a seat at the table with some cans and snacks on it.

"Huh?" You hear Nico from the front seat, glancing over her shoulder at you.

"Eyes on the road- Nico, that's a tree- Nico!" Nero lunges for the wheel, jerking the van back onto the unpaved road as dust kicks up in the rearview.

"Jeez, relaaax," Nico responds, attention in front of her again.

Yeah, you're not sure if you're ever gonna get used to this. It feels like you're genuinely more likely to die in this van than in a fight- But at the same time, rides have never actually gone wrong. They're just... very anxiety inducing.

Nero lets out a long sigh, shaking his head slowly.

"Oh, wait-" you suddenly look up, "we should go back to the agency first. I don't have my daggers with me."

---

You jog towards the front door.

Nico came drifting through the corner, with screeching tires somehow perfectly stopping in a parking spot.

Her and Nero are waiting in the van while you go get your daggers.

You open one of the heavy doors, and-

Vergil is standing in front of the couch, wearing a black button-up shirt and with a book just closed in his hand. He looks toward you as you enter, the faintest lift in his brows.

He's like- the last person you'd expect to see downstairs. Although... he seems to be the only one.

"Hey," you say, stepping in and letting the door close behind you.

"Good afternoon," he replies, his tone calm. He doesn’t move immediately, but there's a tension in the air- like he was just about to.

You glance at the book. Then back at him.

"Didn’t think anyone was home."

"Apart from me, no." He gives a small nod. "I assumed the noise outside meant that was about to change."

"Right." You pause, eyeing the stairs. "Heading back up?"

A beat of silence.

"I was," he admits.

You let out a quiet laugh through your nose. "You don’t have to vanish just because I came in."

He doesn't answer that.

"I’m not actually staying," you add, heading toward the weapons rack along the wall behind Dante's desk. “Just came to get my daggers. We’re heading out on a job. Something small, probably.”

Vergil watches you for a moment. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t turn away.

You grab your belt, and four daggers for each side. Then, after a moment of hesitating, you turn your head to Vergil. "You could come with us, if you want."

He stares at you a moment.

"You are inviting me."

"I am," you say, before putting on the belt. "It was just a call from some hikers, something suspicious at an old chapel. So not really a big deal, but... I dunno, could be fun?"

Another pause. You hear the faint creak of leather as he adjusts his grip on the book.

"...Very well."

You glance at him- and he’s still watching you, unreadable.

"Let me just put this away," he adds, and disappears up the stairs.

You secure the last Scorcher on your right side, and then walk back to the front door, waiting for Vergil to come back down.

You wonder what he was reading- He's almost always walking around with a book... no way it's all poetry.

Maybe some philosophical stuff? Or history?

You also wonder what he does whenever he's not reading. It's not like he ever used to have, ehh, much time for hobbies, but now..?

There's plenty of time.

Your trail of thought gets interrupted by Vergil coming back down the stairs, with the Yamato and changed into his usual outfit with the cut-off sleeves. But he doesn't grab his coat before joining you by the door-

Right, the weather.

"Okay, let's go." You nod and turn away to open the door- and to avoid letting your eyes linger on his arms for an embarrassingly long amount of time.

The sun’s still high as you step out, the front door falling shut behind you.

You walk down the steps and back to where the van is parked, with Vergil beside you, both walking in silence.

When you open the van door and step inside, you can see Nico already halfway turned in her seat to say something- until she spots Vergil and visibly pauses.

Nero’s in the back, on the seat by the table where you were sitting before. He doesn’t say anything right away either.

You walk over to the couch to move Severance and Red Queen. "Hey. Sorry, took a sec."

Nico blinks, then gives you a slow, cheeky grin. "...Don’t worry, sugar. We ain't in a rush."

You snort softly, tossing a glance back.

Vergil’s followed behind you, and took the other seat at the table, opposite of Nero. You can feel Nero's eyes shift from you to him.

There’s a quiet, polite nod exchanged between them.

"Hey," Nero offers, casual. Trying to be, at least.

"Hello," Vergil replies, tone cool but not unkind.

You sit down on the couch and fold one foot underneath you.

"I asked him to come."

That's mostly directed at Nero.

He glances your way and nods once. "Yeah, no problem."

There’s an awkward beat. Nico turns the music back up like it’ll help, and switches the engine on.

You glance back just once before Nico throws the van into first gear- just in time to catch the look on Nero’s face. It's somewhere between mild discomfort and cautious curiosity.

And beneath that, maybe just a hint of something else.

No one really says anything for a bit while Nico drives through the block, back out towards the woods.

The van bumps gently along the road as she turns out of the city. The sun is still bright, golden beams cutting across the seats and floor through the windows.

Still, no one’s talking much, but Nico’s humming along to the music, eyes fixed on the road.

Opposite of you, Nero shifts in his seat. He glances at the packaging of a chocolate bar on the table between him and Vergil, then casually reaches for it.

You watch as he takes the last piece of chocolate.

There’s a faint rustle of foil.

And in the corner of your eye you catch it- Vergil’s gaze flicks downward. A subtle glance. His eyes track the movement of Nero’s hand, just for a moment.

Then they lift again, staring at some random spot in the van. Completely silent.

But the faintest hint of a pout in that look said everything.

You brush a hand over your mouth to keep from smiling.

Nero doesn’t notice at first. He pops the chocolate into his mouth, chewing absentmindedly.

Then he glances up, and meets Vergil’s gaze.

That’s when it hits him.

"...You wanted some?" he asks.

Vergil doesn’t even blink. "No."

Nero narrows his eyes. "...You sure?"

"I said no."

Nero stares at him for another moment, then shrugs like an "alright, not my problem, then".

It's now even harder for you not to laugh, especially with Vergil eyeing Nero again once he looks away.

The van takes a turn, off the main road onto the unpaved ones layed out between the trees. And then Nico approaches a bump in the road with a little too much speed-

"Sorry!" she says over her shoulder, but sounding way too cheerful to seem like she's actually sorry.

You let out a long sigh, and catch Vergil glancing her way before shifting in his seat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Manspreading like crazy.

His gaze flicks sideways.

Not directly at Nero, not at you- just vaguely in your direction. He opens his mouth for words to come out, like he’s thinking of saying something.

But the silence stretches.

He just stares back at the floor, fingers tapping against each other.

You look at him a moment longer, then lift your gaze and decide you will start a conversation instead.

But before a syllable can even leave your mouth, the van comes to an abrupt stop.

You jolt sideways slightly, catching yourself on the edge of the seat.

Nico leans back into view between the front seats, one arm draped over the headrest. "Alright, y'all. This is where the road ends."

You furrow your brows and look past Nico, out the front window. The road clearly continues.

But then you see it- the hiker's trail crossing it, two openings on either side of the road.

Ah. Nico just can't continue from here on out.

Nero lets out a soft grunt as he stands. "So we’re hiking from this point?"

Nico grins. "You’ll live."

Nero grabs Red Queen from where you set it and slings it over his shoulder. You push yourself off the couch, stretch briefly before grabbing Severance. As you move to follow, Vergil stands, the Yamato already in hand. He doesn’t speak, but his eyes scan the trees outside, gaze sharp. Something about the quiet beyond the van holds his attention for a beat longer than expected.

He then steps out of the van, and you follow.

The air hits immediately- still warm and humid. Specks of sunlight cast on you, filtering through the trees.

Nico walks around the front of the van to join the three of you.

"Dunno how long the trail is 'till ya reach that chapel, but you'll probably just find it at some point," she says, leaning against the van with her arms crossed. Nero turns towards her. "I'll right be here, call if ya need anythin'."

"We will," Nero gives her a short nod, then glances at Vergil and you.

Vergil's eyes slightly narrow, looking in the direction of the trail. "I doubt it will be a long walk."

You look up at him. "Only a good thing, right? Saves energy," you say, before Nero turns to follow the dirt trail. "Let's go."

You fall in beside him, Vergil just behind.

After a few seconds of quiet footsteps and sand dusting up, you glance back once over your shoulder, waving at Nico before you turn a corner with the trees closing in more, and the road disappears from your sight.

You walk in silence for a few minutes, the crunch of dirt and leaves beneath your shoes the only sound.

* The forest isn't dense, but the further you go, the more it seems to keep out the light. The sun still filters through the canopy- but dimmer now. Weaker, somehow.

Then Nero slows, head tilting slightly. "There," he mutters.

Through a thinning in the trees, you see it.

An old chapel with weathered stone, shattered windows covered in dust from years of neglect, some boarded up with pale, wooden planks. There's ivy clinging to its walls like veins, and the roof is mostly intact, though warped in places, threatening to cave in with the slightest of pressure. The clocktower still stands tall, visible rust on the bell even from where you're standing.

It’s not falling apart, but it feels abandoned. Not quite ruined, just... forgotten.

Vergil comes to a halt beside you, eyes fixed on the old building.

Something in your gut tightens- no sound, no movement, but the silence here is different. Almost like it'll swallow you if you dare disturb it.

You inhale, and slowly exhale through your nose.

The air's thicker here. Still humid and hot... but there's a new edge to it, weighing heavy on your chest.

You glance at Nero, who frowns and adjusts his grip on Red Queen.

Vergil says nothing, but his posture changes. It's subtle, but there. Shoulders squaring and focus sharpening.

None of you speak, but the message is the same.

This place is not as empty as it looks.

And then it's actually Vergil who moves first, stepping away from your side into the thin vegitation, straying off the path towards the chapel.

He moves ahead without a word, stepping over roots and dry grass.

You and Nero exchange a glance, but he just exhales through his nose and follows. You follow behind, the twigs and leaves brushing against your legs as the three of you move off the path.

When you get closer, something acrid clings to the back of your throat. Like copper.

Rot.

You catch yourself swallowing against the urge to gag.

Vergil doesn’t flinch.

Your eyes are on him as he walks straight up to the heavy wooden doors, pausing only briefly. His hand brushes the handle, then he pushes them open with a slow creak.

Nero halts a few steps behind him, nose wrinkling. "Jesus..."

You come to a stop beside him, that smell being so much worse now the doors are opened.

The inside is dark. Far from pitch black, but dim enough that your eyes take a moment to adjust.

The pews are gone, replaced with rotting bales of hay and rusted tools left to decay. It's like it got repurposed as a barn, but now turned to nothing. The stained glass windows- or more what’s left of them- filter pale light in strips across the warped floorboards. A faded silhouette of a cross is visible at the back of the chapel. But someone had taken it down long ago.

Under the hellish scent of decay, there's still a faint hint of damp wood mixed with it.

You follow inside after Vergil, the wooden floorboards creaking under your steps.

He seems to be walking around with intention... like he's already looking for something specific.

You walk over to a few tools scattered around on the floor to the right, and crouch.

But then you pause.

Your brows furrow as you look down. The floor... it’s not solid all the way through.

There’s space beneath it.

Your fingers briefly brush the edge of a rotted plank. Then you glance up at the others.

"There’s something under here. A whole room, maybe- Check for a trapdoor or something."

"I already am," Vergil replies from across the room without looking up, crouched near the far side by the altar. Or what remains of it.

You stand again and glance around, then slowly head back outside. The air is almost a relief.

Almost.

You search around the side of the chapel, eyes scanning along the stone base for a window or some sort of hatch, anything that might lead below. A few steps later, you find it- a wooden trapdoor, half-covered in creeping vines and dirt. Mostly hidden from view unless you were looking for it.

You cover your mouth with your hand and open it- It isn't locked.

The stench coming up from it makes your stomach turn.

You look down the steep staircase it revealed, and then descend slowly, one hand braced against the wall and the other wrapped around Severance's hilt.

You're trying not to trip, and eventually make your way down. It's a little cooler, but in no way more pleasant than outside.

You can barely see anything as you round the corner at the base of the stairs, looking into the room that's only lit by whatever filters through the floorboards from that already dim space upstairs.

Before you can even make out what's down here-

DONG...

"The fuck..?" You hear Nero through the gaps of the wooden floor, as the church bell overhead rings once.

Loud... Hollow.

You look up. "Vergil-? Nero? Was that you gu-"

The sudden, unmistable sharp sound of the Yamato being drawn cuts you off.

Chapter Text

You hear the blade cut through something thick and wet, a screech and gurgling sound following.

Your heart is racing against your chest.

"You okay? Hey! What's ha-" Your eyes then finally adjust to the lack of light, and any sound suddenly becomes muffled. Your voice turns soft. Absent. "...happening up there..?"

In the corner of your eye you can make out shapes, and your eyes widen in horror at the sight in front of you.

The room you’ve stepped into is no basement. Not storage. Not a cellar.

It’s a crypt.

But not one anyone cared to build properly. Just... a hollowed-out space, dirt walls, wooden beams struggling to hold the weight of the chapel above.

And in the center, sprawled out across the room like some shrine, is a pile.

Of bodies.

Dozens of them. Mangled and twisted.

It's more like a sea of limbs and guts, some bodies seeming to melt into each other and faces halfway sunken into the wall.

Legs and arms twisted in ways they shouldn't naturally be able to.

On some, you can still make out their clothes between the rotten flesh-

A suit. Somewhere even a badge stuck to a black shirt.

Your eyes drift over the scene.

And then you stare at a face. Frozen.

It stares back. It's expression stuck on a grin, eyes wide from the lack of lids to cover them.

Then it twitches- 

An eyeball jerks in its socket. Once. Twice. From left to right- Up.

Then it pops out with a squelch.

And something begins to crawl out of the empty hole.

Thick, slimy and disgusting. Slow.

A deep, reddish-purple mass. It keeps crawling out from the eye socket... then from the mouth.

It doesn’t stop.

The other eye bursts. More of that thing pushing its way out.

Your ears pop.

And sound comes crashing back in.

Raised voices- Nero. You can’t hear words, just the heat behind them. Then Vergil’s voice, low and sharp, cutting through.

But you're not focused on that.

Because the thing is moving, joining as one from the other holes.

The mass keeps pulling itself from the skull, only growing more and more.

You raise Severance. Defensive stance. Knuckles white around the hilt.

"Are you... back.. for us..?"

A shiver runs down your spine.

Chittery. Desperate- Sounding far from human, but that's a voice.

A mouth has taken shape in the mass, holes for eyes above it.

And it's speaking.

With its empty eyes on you, it approuches you, crawling over the disfigured corpses.

Something drips on your shoulder from the ceiling, but you don't look up. Your gaze stays locked on the thing- it suddenly surges forward.

Blade ready, you step back- but you slip in whatever dripped onto the floor from the wooden planks above you.

Your back hits the ground, and the mass moves. Faster than before.

"He... promised!"

Its mouth opens- wider and wider, big enough to engulf you enti-

Slash!

Severances thick blade slices off a chunk. The disgusting substance drops down on you, liquifying for a moment.

With disgust written over your face, you move to crawl back on your feet, a gutteral cry coming from the thing- but then the goo on you solidifies again. You can feel your heart beat in your temple as the slimy substance crawls over you, down to your legs-

Knife. Knife, you need a knife.

Cut yourself free.

You reach for a Whistler on your hip, leaving Severance on the floor next to you- 

Its grip on you tightens. Your knees. Ankles.

But it doesn't stop crawling.

You jam the blade down into the goo- but it starts dragging you over the dirt floor, towards the bigger mass you cut it off from.

Rejoining.

You reach back, but miss Severances hilt by an inch. A frustrated hiss escapes from you as you're being dragged over the disgusting floor.

Panting, you turn back for the mass wrapped around your legs, trying to cut through it.

But there's no point. It seperates, then becomes whole again.

"Fuck-!"

"He promised..." the thing cries again. "He promised!"

Slam!

Your lungs beg for air as you get slung against the flooring above you.

You hear your name. Is it Nero's voice? You can't tell.

You have to get free.

The base- Go for the base. The corpse it crawled out of.

The quickest thing you can think of is throwing the orange glowing blade right into its skull, where the goo is still only partly attached to it.

"Will he come ba-"

BOOM!

A blinding flash. An explosion of heat and force.

The flooring above you splinters.

You’re launched backward, with wood and bits of monster-goo flying around you.

Your back once again slams into a surface- the wall of the chapel above, before you drop onto whats left of the wooden flooring, gasping for air.

You felt the heat of the explosion- but you're not dead.

The creature took the blow.

Someone shouts your name again.

With ringing ears you look up. Nero is crouched next to you. You can see his lips moving, but the words sound too far away to hear what he's saying.

With aching ribs you push yourself up, sitting straight.

A second later, Vergil appears behind Nero.

He crouches down next to him, saying something.

Nero argues back, but Vergil cuts him off.

Visibly annoyed, Nero gets up and turns around to the gaping hole in the floor you just created.

Vergil tilts your head to look at him. You watch his lips move. But nothing is registering.

"Huh..?"

"...still. If you move, you might lose consciousness."

The beep in your ears slowly ebbs away.

"Uh-huh." You nod slowly, moving your hand to push yourself up against the wall to at least stand.

"I said do not move," Vergil doesn't look you in the eye. He scans you over to see if the explosion hit you anywhere, but then concludes you're okay.

You listen, and stay put where you are. Vergil stands up to join Nero.

You glance over at them. Nero's just been... standing there. Looking down in the room below, but nothing is happening.

Did you end it with that explosion?

One that wasn't even supposed to happen. You were sure you had a Whistler in hand.

Your head feels less foggy, and you turn to look at your left side.

One blade is missing. Yes, you grabbed a Whistler.

Unless...

Goddammit, Nico...

You sigh.

Turns out orange blows up, blue comes back, huh? Not the other way around.

Luckily that turned out positive in the end.

You stumble back onto your feet, using the wall for balance, feeling a bit better.

Looking around the space, you walk over to the edge of the hole as well. There's purple goo everywhere. Dripping through the floorboards, splattered on the walls and hay bales.

"Did you have one up here as well?" You ask, joining next to Vergil.

He glances down at you.

"Yes." He looks back at the crypt. "No matter how many cuts, it would rejoin as one. That was until that explosion."

You frown. Fighting these things has no point... 

"I think it's the bodies," you say. "The thing in the basement with me- it crawled out of one of the corpses."

You look up at Vergil and Nero. They meet your gaze.

"And you're saying that when the explosion hit, suddenly the mass up here 'died', too?" you add.

Looking back down at the crypt, you point at the scorched bodies and whatever is left of the ones that blew up. "It must've come out of one of these that got hit."

"Seems like a reasonable theory," Vergil agrees, while your eyes drift over to your sword that's still down there.

Well, that's a problem.

"I need to get back down first," you say, eyes locked on Severance- But then there's a crack.

Not wood. Not stone.

Bone.

In the corner of your eye, you catch it- a limb, twisting.

Your gaze flicks that way.

It's chest pulses. The mouth opens- Like it's breathing.

But it's not.

It's birthing something.

And this one growing much faster.

"Shit-" you hiss, and decide to just go for it, before it's grown to its full size.

"Wait-!" Nero is too late with stopping you from jumping down.

Your ankle lands right between jaws of a skull, cracking upon impact, but you ignore it, focused on crawling your way back to Severance.

Behind you, you can hear the slicing of the mass being cut into a million pieces- having no clue how far in size its grown.

"Go for the body!" You repeat, shouting over your shoulder as you crawl through the dirt, finally reaching for your sword's hilt, your grip tight.

A sudden tug on your ankle. You shriek.

Bang!

Your leg is free and you scramble to your feet.

A hand appears in front of you.

You look up. It's Nero offering help to get back up, Blue Rose in the other hand.

"Come on!"

You take his free one reaching for you, and he pulls you back up. You climb over the edge, careful not to get stuck in any splinters, and with a racing heart you then look back at what's happening.

All you see is cuts and slices mid-air, the slimey mass splitting and reforming- But mostly gathering at its base.

It isn't detaching like the other two... Like it's protecting itself from the Yamato's blade.

Any blade isn't going to work with this.

You pull the last three Scorchers from your belt and get back on your feet again.

"Nero, back up- Vergil! Get out of there!"

The moment you stop seeing the goo being sliced to oblivion, and a hint of blue is in the corner of your eye- you throw them.

All three at the same time. Scattered over the surface of the pile.

You turn to run- but suddenly you're not standing on solid ground.

Vergil grabs your arm with one hand, Nero’s jacket with the other. And in the blink of an eye-

You’re outside.

Boom- BOOM! CRACK!

The entire roof of the chapel blows to smithereens as a ball of heat bursts out from beneath the floorboards, taking hay, dust, and goo with it.

You land on your butt in the dry grass, coughing.

Nero hits the ground next to you. "You could’ve said you were planning on blowing the place to hell."

"I did." You cough. "Kind of."

Vergil stares at the smoking chapel for a moment, then looks down at you and Nero.

"...Are you alright?"

You nod, still catching your breath. "Yeah... hurt a rib or two but- I'm okay."

Nero dusts ash from his sleeves, not looking at either of you. "Oh, now you ask," he mutters, clearly annoyed.

Vergil’s eyes narrow slightly. "You seem unharmed."

Nero throws his hands up. "That’s not the point, man! You just start slicing through half the building like I'm not even there- some heads-up would’ve been great."

"I was eliminating the threat."

"Yeah, no shit. But maybe next time, try saying something before you go at it like this in a cramped-ass church!"

You glance between them. Oh shit.

Vergil doesn’t respond immediately- just gives Nero a flat look. "If you failed to keep up, that is not my concern."

"Oh, I kept up just fine," Nero shoots back, getting back up. "It’s the teamwork part you suck at."

He walks off, swinging Red Queen onto his back and without waiting for you and Vergil.

You stand up again as well, Severance over your shoulder, while Vergil just watches Nero walk off. He then glances at you a moment, and follows after his son back to the path.

"We are done here. No entity is left."

You fall in next to him, glancing over your shoulder one more time.

The air does feel lighter- the smell isn't any better but none of the strange blobs have a corpse left to grow from.

You focus ahead again, following back down the trail you came from.

Your eyes stay on Nero for a bit, as he's walking ahead of the two of you.

"Hey, ehm..." You then start, glancing sideways up at Vergil. "That thing you and Nero fought upstairs at the start. Did it... speak?"

Vergil looks down to meet your gaze, the faintest twitch in his brows, then looks ahead again. "Yes. It spoke of betrayal."

You hum in acknowledgement. "Yeah... Mine did, too. Sort of." You pause a moment. "It was more about a broken promise. But... same thing, right?"

"Interesting," Vergil responds after a brief moment.

It's not that you really feel bad... Those souls are long gone. But still, it was almost like a part of them was still alive. Stuck to their former body, unable to move on and rest.

And it seems they were all there for the same reason- by the same hands.

What could that promise be?

And... who made it to them?

You reach the end of the trail, Nico is waiting for you by the side of the door, smoking. Nero is already climbing inside without a word.

"Well damn," Nico whistles as you approach. "Ya look horrible. And that building’s missin’ more than a roof now. Could even see it from here- What the hell did y’all do in there?"

You shoot her a look and pull a dagger from your belt, Whistlers being the only ones that are left.

"Well, it weren't these ones, that's for sure," you say before throwing it her direction, the knife landing about a foot away from her head in the side of the van.

"Hey- Yo! What the hell?!" she flinches, but then squints her eyes at the Whistler.

"It's the orange ones that blow up. Not these." The Whistler wiggles itself free and then returns to your hand, the faint whistle cutting off once its back in your palm.

"Ah, shit- My bad. I mean- Y'all're still in one piece, so coulda gone worse."

You exhale a soft laugh through your nose. "Right," you say as you put the dagger back on your belt, and you hear faint buzzing behind you.

When you turn around, Vergil is standing next to the portal he just opened, the Yamato already sheathed again.

His gaze is fixed on you.

Waiting.

You meet his eyes- You'd actually forgotten this was an option for the way back.

It's a lot quicker, but kinda feels like ditching Nero and Nico... You were with them already when you got the call.

You think a moment.

"Someone’s gotta make sure Nico doesn’t drive us into a ditch- I'll see you there?"

Vergil doesn’t argue. He just gives the faintest nod, understanding. "Very well."

He turns and steps into the portal. It vanishes behind him with a soft hum.

Your gaze lingers a moment longer where the portal just disappeared, before turning back to the van. Nico's already walking around it to get in the driver's seat.

You climb inside, setting Severance aside and taking a seat on the couch, as Nico starts the engine.

Nero’s already in the seat opposite if you, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. He doesn’t say anything- and he doesn’t look at you either.

The van starts moving in reverse, until there's a spot Nico can turn.

It’s quiet.

Not the peaceful kind- more like the kind that fills the space after something went wrong but no one wants to be the first to say it.

You glance at Nero briefly. He’s staring out the window, jaw tight, one foot bouncing slightly.

He’s pissed. Not at you, though. He just needs space to sit with it.

So you let him.

Chapter Text

The rest of the way back was... fine. A bit quiet.

Your ribs still hurt a little, and with each bump in the road it stung a little more. It's probably just that when sitting still, you're more aware of the pain.

Nico dropped you back off at the agency, and then her and Nero drove back to Fortuna.

Inside, you're met with Dante and Vergil discussing something- it's what it sounds like, at least.

"...could at least go back. They aren't going anywhere, but I don't like just sittin' on it," you hear Dante say. He's sitting on the couch, one leg over the other.

Vergil, standing opposite of him, crosses his arms.

"Just going and observing alone will yield little. We have gone before. We require a means of discerning their function for whoever opened them."

The portals. Been a while since that's been brought up. After putting Severance aside against the pooltable, you walk up to them to see what's up.

"Yeah, so we should go and try lookin’ again. Standing around here, hoping for divine insight isn’t gonna get us anywhere," Dante says before turning his head to you, and you lean against the couch's armrest. "Why don't we go inside?" You suggest, Vergil's gaze now falling onto you as well. "We walked around that town last time, but we left those portals be. If we go through, we might find more answers."

Dante shrugs. "Sounds like a plan to me," he agrees and looks up at his brother again. Vergil remains quiet for a moment, eyes flicking between you and Dante.

"Fine."

You nod once, and turn back to get Severance again. "Alright. Let's go then."

"No."

Stopping in your tracks, you turn to Vergil again with confusion furrowing your brows. "No?" Your eyes flick between Vergil and Dante- who'd already gotten up to leave as well. "But last time we left immediately..?"

"You are injured."

"As long as I don't sit still, I don't feel anything."

"We are not going right now."

"But I'm fine- I can still fight, I doubt I'll even really need to."

"We have only just returned. These portals have been left alone for a number of days now- I doubt a moment of rest will make a significant difference."

Dante's just watching the two of you go back and forth with raised brows, staying out of it- And you realise Vergil has a point. So this time you don't have anything to say back.

"We leave tomorrow." Without leaving room for any more discussion, Vergil walks off- But not to go upstairs. Your gaze follows him, until he's disappeared behind the front door, fallen shut with a low thud.

A light flickers briefly, and that's when you turn back to Dante. His gaze is already fixed on you, but he doesn't say a word.

"I swear I'm fine, I just hurt my ribs a little," you still attempt to prove your point- even though Vergil is gone- and walk back to the couch, plopping down into the cushions. Immediately, you disprove yourself by wincing at the sting in your ribs when you land.

Dante hums, seemingly amused. "Sure you are- Hey, I hate to admit it, but maybe he's got a point. Rest just this night, it'll probably make a world of a difference."

You fold your feet under yourself and watch Dante sit back down as well, with a slight pout on your face. You don't even really know why you're so annoyed by it- it's not even that you really mind waiting until tomorrow... It's just that you're curious to see if you'll find anything. And going through the portals is kinda exciting-

"What do you think we're gonna find in there?" you ask Dante after a moment.

He hums. "Not too sure, to be honest-" He then squints his eyes at you. "Do you get nauseous easily?"

"Eh- I don't think so, no?" You answer as you reach for the TV remote.

"Okay, no worries then."

You chuckle softly to yourself, knowing that the mirror dimension is the most disorienting, confusing place you'll find yourself in. You then flick the TV on-

At least you meant to, by pressing the "on" button, but instead all lights suddenly snap out- the "Devil May Cry" sign flicks off with a ping- and the buzzing of the fridge and fans die down.

You stare at the blank TV screen, not knowing if you should laugh or feel bad.

"So, ehhh. How's the electricity bill..?" Your question then disturbs the absolute silence after a moment, your head slowly turning to Dante.

He groans. "Don't ask..."

---

"So we just... gonna walk through?" You're standing between the twins, right in front of that same portal the demon crawled out of last time. Not the most pleasant thing you were reminded of, the moment you stepped out through the Yamato's portal just now.

Instead of getting soaked by rain, this time there isn't even a little breeze to fight the heat, and the sun feels burning on your skin. You squint your eyes against the reflection of it in the portal. God, you couldn't wait for this heatwave to blow over.

"Yup." Dante says to your right, and he's the first one to step forward. Dried, dusty sand kicks up as he walks toward the swirling, shiny surface, eyeing it up and down once more before stepping through. The portal swallows his form, only leaving ripples behind.

You glance up sideways to Vergil a moment, and he looks down to meet your gaze.

After a beat, he nudges his chin at the swirling, twisting reflections, indicating it's your turn next. "I will follow right behind."

You take a few steps forward, eyes scanning over the portal and its seemingly liquid, rippling surface. When standing closer, you suddenly realise the reflection isn't quite... accurate. You turn back around, looking at the decaying building behind you, and the overgrown, sandy road.

You give Vergil one last glance before looking back into the reflection. It's... the same, but perfectly intact.

With your curiosity piqued, you step forward to enter the portal, eyes closed.

It's not the same as with the Yamato's portal- It's again like walking into cold water, breaking through its delicate surface- but the pressure you feel is as if it's trying to drown you, holding you in the portal.

When a slight hint of panic starts rising within you, it washes off again, and your feet step out onto a paved road. After a moment of letting your heart calm down, you lift your gaze. And you were right- in front of you is the exact same building, except perfectly intact as if there's still people living there. Except there's not a sign of people anywhere. And it's... mirrored. Parts seem to melt, before you avert your gaze elsewhere and then the next thing starts to deform.

Your eyes fall on Dante, before looking up into the sky. Your eyes narrow slightly when you see a red glow creeping from behind the canopy, painting the clouds. A few parts of houses and structures float around, high up in the air with debris around it like how smaller fish cling to a shark.

Next to you, Vergil emerges from the portal. You look up at him.

"Watch your step." He warns you- but his lips move before the words reach you, like it's delayed- and you wonder what he means as he walks off to Dante.

That is until you take a step to follow him- You swear your foot is supposed to hit the road, but it feels like you're stepping into a void- before it finally lands on solid ground. You manage to keep your balance, but you're careful with your next step.

After a few more, you realise it's not as bad if you don't pay any attention to it. But still, God, this feels weird.

"Okay... So now what?" You ask when you join the twins again, and you look around to see if there's any of those four-legged little creeps nearby. But you can't spot any.

Both Vergil and Dante turn their attention to you- the two of them are the only things in this dimension that aren't warping in unnatural ways. "Let's not split up this time." Again, Dante's lips move to speak before you pick up on his voice. "We'll just look around- And keep an eye out for those low-level shits, ones like you fought last time."

You nod, and Dante takes the lead down the street- which is disorienting as fuck at first, because what was to your right is now left- since the entirety of this dimension is flipped. Quite literally as if someone took the real world, and pressed it against a mirror. The ground under you still doesn't feel solid, but luckily it's a matter of getting used to.

The buildings look normal. Maybe homely, even, if it wasn't for the marbling mixing of lines bleeding into another whenever you kept your eyes in the same place for too long. Shadows stretch long across the street, with the light almost feeling like sundown... but more as if doomsday is looming around the corner. Anything it touches flares in a warm glow- not golden, but a deep, burning red, like sunlight passing through blood. The air smells faintly of metal, and you can't tell where there's something actually moving or if it's just the warping of solid structures.

It's not long before it turns out something actually moved- You caught it in the corner of your eye. The jittering of feet like a running spider.

When you turn- and nearly fall from disorientation- Vergil's already there, the ringing sound of the Yamato's blade still echoing in your ear when the four-legged creature is sliced to bits in a split second.

Your eyes remain glued to the gurggling substance that is the remains of the demon, bubbles popping and sizzling out, while Vergil walks out ahead of you again. A moment later, you follow.

Your eyes take in more of your surroundings as the three of you continue down the street, going around a corner-

And you suddenly bump into something- no, someone.

Dante's stopped.

You look past him.

He's just... looking at trees.

Wait- forest?

"In the real world, there's houses right here." Dante explains his sudden halt as you look around again. It makes no sense for the street to suddenly stop here.

"I mean, clearly this town is in a different period of time than the real world. We figured that much already- Maybe they hadn't built anything here yet at that point?" you respond, but try to think of some sort of other explanation anyway. Before you can open your mouth again to voice more theories, Vergil hums in thought.

"I doubt they would cut off a street directly by the edge of the forest. At least a path of some sort would have made sense. Not this," he points out.

A moment of silence lingers, a faint rumbling echoing somewhere in the far distance.

Dante takes a few steps closer to the tree line, frowning. "Alright... so, let’s try the next street over. See if that's all forest, too, or just here."

You follow him, with Vergil to your left, slightly behind you.

The three of you cut across a side street- and it’s like walking through a jump cut in a movie. One moment you’re looking at bare trunks and dark undergrowth, the next you’re staring at a row of buildings that look... older. Not abandoned like in the real world- just old. The wood is weathered, the paint sun-bleached, the windows glassy and imperfect.

"...Okay, so that’s new," you murmur.

"Not new. Old," Dante corrects. "Really old."

Vergil’s gaze sweeps the street. "These structures predate the other ones by decades." His tone is flat, but calculating. Like he’s already piecing something together.

You glance over your shoulder, to the clean, newer buildings warping like liquid in your vision. Right where you just came from.

"Alright... so different streets, different years," you say slowly.

Vergil hums. "Not necessarily every street. It seems to be random blocks."

Your gaze follows his, and your eyes fall onto a house way down the street. It' s half overgrown- almost exactly as how it's on the other side of the portal- with those houses next to it, from that point on, overgrown and abandoned as well. Yet the other side of the building is in the same state as these ones surrounding you right now.

Dante gestures further down the block. "C’mon. Let’s see what else there is to find."

More rumbling is faintly audible in the far distance, but other than that, you three continue in silence.

You glance back once more to the street you came from- when something clicks in your head.

You stop dead in your tracks.

"Hold on..." Both men turn to face you, and you lift your gaze to meet theirs. "If parts of the town are... stuck in different years," you start, hands gesturing vaguely between the other street and these buildings, "then could that mean..." You trail off for a moment, the idea solidifying in your head.

"What if that's the case for the entirety of this dimension?" You then finish.

Dante looks at you like he's expecting an elaboration, not quite picking up on what you mean.

"You're saying..?"

"You want to go to Mallet Island," Vergil then answers for you, when he'd immediately put the pieces together.

So he was listening back when me and Dante were talking about Mallet Island and everything that's happened there before... I guess that does mean he's filled in on everything concerning our theory?

"I mean... More like checking if it's there, but-"

"If everything is in different fractions of time, there's a chance Mallet Island is still intact," Dante then cuts you off as he now understands what you're trying to say as well.

You raise a shoulder in a weak shrug. "That's what I was thinking, yeah. Because if you were right about someone opening these portals with the intention of opening the portal to the Underworld- They'd need Mallet Island."

As the words leave your mouth, you slowly realise the gravity of this possibility. You and Dante concluded there wouldn't be a need to worry about any world-ending scenarios, because the island collapsed. So there wouldn't be a portal to open, and no Philosopher's Stone to find.

Worry starts creeping onto your face, and that agonizing ache slowly forms a grip inside your chest again.

Dante and Vergil exchange glances.

"We should not jump to conclusions. Before we have seen the state of its location, there is no point in theorizing any further," Vergil then comments- and it's true, but still, the possibility of a gate to the Underworld being opened is... Ehh, not good, to put it lightly.

A short moment of silence falls.

You don't really want them to have to potentially go back to Mallet Island- Neither Vergil or Dante. Finding the Mirror Dimension portals last time already brought back memories, let alone stepping foot in that castle again. But not checking if it's there would be incredibly stupid. Worst case scenario, all of humanity is doomed.

You nod slowly, eyes on the ground- But when everything starts spinning too much you lift your gaze again.

"Okay... So, we just use a portal with the Yamato to get there? Being in a different dimension shouldn't be a problem, right?" You then say.

Vergil's eyes flick to you, and he shifts his stance before speaking.

"No. That is no problem."

You're waiting for him to unsheathe the blade and cut open a rift- but Vergil doesn't move.

You exchange a questioning look with Dante, before he then raises his hand with a sigh. He gives a small flick of his fingers, like a "gimme that" motion.

"Come on, Vergil. Give it to me."

Your lips twitch as you try to hold back a laugh when Vergil protectively pulls the Yamato closer to his body, stubbornly staring his brother down.

Another few seconds linger as Dante gives Vergil another chance to hand over the katana, but he doesn't give in.

"You don't remember where it is. I do," Dante then says sternly, and that seems to have some effect.

Vergil's eyes narrow and he still doesn't comply for a few beats- but then eventually he hands over the Yamato.

"Fine. But you'll be giving it back immediately after."

Dante takes the sword from Vergil's hands with a grin on his face. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Maybe."

You catch the side-eye Vergil gives his brother as he turns around and unsheathes the Yamato. Still with a small smile on your lips, you watch how Dante wields the blade differently from how he usually does. In fact, it's very similar to how Vergil wields the Yamato.

* You note the respect that's evident in his motions as he slices through space, the sharp edges of the rift looking warped and jagged in the Mirror Dimension's distortion.

The portal opens up, and you take a small step to stand next to Vergil. You're not even completely aware of the action, as all three of you look into the dark blue abyss, the soft humming from the portal filling the silence. The air suddenly feels much heavier, weighing down on you with anticipation.

"Well, I hope you can swim," Dante sighs after a beat, "you know, in case there is no island to set foot on."

Oh, fuck. You hadn't even thought about that. If Mallet Island is gone in here as well... you'll be dropping right into the sea.

You hum softly, the thought marinating in your head. "I have a bad feeling we won't have to worry about that," you then murmur quietly. Since best case scenario, the island won't be there. But something is telling you that you shouldn't get your hopes up.

This time, it's Vergil who steps forward first, and your heartrate picks up with anxiety. Even if it's the worst option in the bigger picture... God, a part of you hopes it's not just endless dark waves of sea on the other end of the portal.

Dante hands the Yamato back without the two of them looking at each other, and then without a word, Vergil steps through.

All you can do is hope that everything is fine on the other side.

"I'll go next," you determinedly state as you take a step forward as well.

Dante gives you a short nod. "I'll see you there."

You take a deep breath, and then let the cold surface engulf around you, swallowing your form. You'd accepted your potential fate when stepping through- but your foot lands on solid ground.

Solid, but not steady.

You step out on something hard, slick. Not floor, not even stone tiling- just jagged cliff rock, uneven and crumbling under the weight of your foot. The air is heavy with sea spray, rain spattering your cheeks the instant you emerge.

Gusts of wind blow pieces of hair up in your face as you feel yourself lose balance that moment you step out.

Your heart drops.

Breath hitches-

And your eyes catch a distorted glimpse of the waves crashing into rocks, way below you- Before an arm presses firmly against your chest. The impact halts you, your palms instinctively grabbing at the arm braced in front of you.

Vergil.

His grip tightens around your shoulder as he draws you in, away from the drop, steadying you against his body.

The proximity is startling- your skin brushing his clothes, and the closeness grounding you more than the slick stone under your feet. His eyes flick down once to ensure you’re steady before shifting past you.

"Thank you," you manage to get out over howling wind and sound of crashing waves, while your pulse refuses to calm down. Though, you're unsure whether it's because of the ledge being just a foot away, or because of Vergil's arm wrapped around you.

"He has managed to open that portal to the least safe spot imaginable... Truly remarkable," Vergil mutters dryly. Not a second later, Dante steps through, boots hitting the cliffside with a thud. Vergil’s hand lingers a moment longer before he pulls you just slightly closer to him, repositioning you out of the way so his brother doesn’t barrel into you.

The ledge is narrow, almost too narrow for the three of you. The wind is howling hard enough to sting your ears some moments, and due to the rain, your hair is clinging to your face again.

Dante manages to keep his balance, but needs a moment to fully steady himself as well. As the portal closes, he looks up at you and Vergil. He seems completely unbothered by the wind sweeping his hair into his face as he eyes you two up and down- And then he just averts his gaze to the ledge above you. Which is not that much higher, but too high to easily climb onto.

At least for you.

"Alright, let's not keep hangin' around here all day," Dante says as he eyes the climbing distance- before he makes his way up with ease. Vergil's arm lowers to his side again, so you move to grab onto a more rugged piece of rock sticking out. You watch how he joins Dante in two swift motions, pulling himself up to the higher ledge above you.

And now it's your turn.

It's not that far up... But death is looming right beneath you. Spikes of rocks, painted red in the light filtering through the dark spiral of clouds, amplified whenever lightning strikes.

Okay. Just... just don't let go. Easy.

You grit your teeth and haul yourself upward, fingers digging into rough edges of stone. Rain makes everything slick- your shoe slides once, your stomach lurching at the drop right under you.

Before panic can set in, a strong grip clamps around your wrist. You jolt, looking up- Vergil’s hand, steady and firm, pulling you the rest of the way. The movement is efficient, almost too fast for your feet to even catch up, but it drags you up until you stumble against him again.

God, being good at fighting clearly didn't mean general athleticism.

"Thanks- Again," you mutter as he releases the grip on your wrist, your breath sharp and fast from adrenaline. Heat crawls up your neck- not from the climb, but from slight embarrassment. From the fact that he’s had to pull you back from falling twice now.

His eyes linger a moment too long, seemingly searching, scanning over your face, and you have no idea what he’s looking for- By the time you fear the heat in your cheeks becomes noticable, he averts his gaze with a short nod. "You're welcome."

You blink once, and then try and get your attention back to your surroundings.

The ledge you climbed onto flattens into what remains of a courtyard... or just a regular garden?

Your gaze shifts past Vergil. The first thing your eyes catch is a green, flickering flame ahead, beneath an overhang supported by crumbling pillars. They wiggle in a funny way from the dimension's warping, and rain streaks down their eroded surfaces, leaving pools at their bases. To the left, the wall ends abruptly in ruins, stone simply... gone. Taken by time.

You hurry toward the cover of the overhang. The wind feels a little less viscious- the sound less obnoxious- and at least the rain can't reach you here. Dante and Vergil fall into step beside you, both dripping, hair plastered against sharp cheekbones. 

Your gaze drifts back out across what remains of the garden. A patch of grass curves in the shape of a circle that no longer exists, the line of the cliff cutting right through.

"Where exactly were you trying to locate us?" you then ask Dante, while you're still trying to picture the entirety of the place.

"Where the Philosopher's Stone would be found," he answers, "but, ehh, looks like that's gone."

And that's when your brain fully puts the pieces together; envisioning the cracked altar, circled by the rings of stone floor detailing and grass. The outer castle wall on the other side of the garden-

All gone.

You allow yourself to feel the bit of relief. "That's good, then, right?" you ask as you turn to look up to Dante and Vergil again, "If there's no stone, there's no way to open the gate to the Underworld."

Vergil remains quiet.

Dante shrugs. "I mean, technically speaking... Yes."

"But we should still check for the gate's location," you add. "We can't just skip out on anything."

"Yeah, agreed-" Dante sighs, "now let's just hope I somewhat remember my way around this stinkin' hole."

Though, that's probably not something to worry about. Because in case he doesn't...

You do.

Chapter Text

"Right, well, let's first just get inside," you sigh. Dante and Vergil watch you back up from underneath the cover, out into the rain again, as you eye up the level above.

One double door, on the right side. Right above where you took cover.

The master bedroom.

You nod in it's direction and both brothers step out to join you, following your gaze.

"Looks like that's our only way in," you state as a gust of wind blows hair in your face.

The door looms above, too high to reach from here, and the crumbling wall offers nothing but rain-slick stone. There are no stairs- not that they ever did exist in the first place. 

"Well, unless you wanna try climbing up those pillars-" Dante tilts his head toward the right, "I think that's gonna be our way up."

You follow his line of sight. Vines snake up along the castle wall, thick and dark, swaying faintly in the wind. They don't directly lead to the balcony; you'd still need to jump- But at least it's a way to get up there.

You exhale through your nose.

Great. More climbing. Was to be expected...

"Alright, let's get this over with..." you mutter to yourself as you step away from beside Vergil, over to the base of the vines, with eyes already searching for anchor points to hold onto in the distorting, warping view above you.

Fingers curl around the nearest vine, slick and rough under your skin, and you pull yourself upward. Focus, steady breaths, one hand over the other. The rain patters harder against your back, seeping into your clothes.

From below, you feel two pairs of eyes burning into you as you make your way up.

The vines end just shy of the balcony, leaving a stretch of open air between you and the railing. Your shoes press against a knot of vines on the wall, your body leaning into the sway of the wind.

It’s not far. Just far enough to feel sketchy.

You grit your teeth, and push off. Fingers scrape stone before they catch, the cold surface meeting your palms and wrists straining as you drag yourself up onto the ledge. For a split second your foot slips against the slick surface- heart dropping, and a sting in your ribs reminding you of yoru injury- but your other leg hooks the railing and you haul yourself over.

You pull yourself upright. Wet hair clings to your face, palms burning, but you’re standing on the balcony.

You take a moment to catch your breath, and seconds later, Dante climbs over the railing, landing to your side.

He immediately continues to the door. "Come on- were you planning just to wait outside again now we're up here?" he jokes and reaches for the door knob.

Vergil's boots thud against stone as he lands next to you.

You glance up at him while Dante has already gone through the door, leaving it wide open.

Vergil's gaze is glued onto the entrance. Not leaving for a second.

And he doesn't say a word.

He hasn't done that for quite a while now.

Raindrops trail down his arm, and drip from the edge of his jaw and tips of his hair, but he doesn’t move to follow. He stands rooted there, silent, the storm pressing in behind. The wind still howling.

You wonder what exactly it is, that's going through his head. If it’s grief, rage, or something else entirely. You hope he’s okay-

"Come on," you then say quietly- your voice coming out softer than intended- "Let's go."

You step toward the door, and only then does he follow.

The red glow from outside casts shadows of you and Vergil into the room when you step inside.

A kingsized bed is to your left, the dark wood of the pillars on each corner carved with intricate detailing. With sheets of a deep red color, the bed is made like it's still waiting for someone to return. You walk down a few steps of stairs, onto a beautiful, red carpet.

In the right corner, in the back, is a giant mirror. 

You walk out in front of it- And behind your warping reflection is nothing. Just clear sky, like a void.

Dante steps in beside you, dripping rain onto the floor, looking into the mirror.

Your eyes flick to his face's reflection- For the briefest moment, his expression hardens. A flicker across his face so quick you almost doubt it- until he turns away like nothing happened.

He smacks his lips, his back to the mirror again. "Yeah, best not to go through that. Unless you wanna go for a swim, cuz this time you will for sure end up in the ocean."

You huff a short laugh through your nose, unable to really be amused. This is where he met Nelo Angelo for the first time. Stepping out right through this mirror- except on the other side, in the real world- and it's only now he knows that it was Vergil, in that armor.

It looks like being here isn't getting to him at all- but that slight change in expression just now proves otherwise.

You look back at Vergil. He hasn’t moved from the doorway, his eyes locked on the mirror- Until Dante opens the next door and his gaze wanders over to him.

Yeah. Neither of them are having a good time.

Dante steps through to the next space, the soft creaking of the hinges cut short.

You follow, and you feel the air shifts again- damp, heavy, echoing.

The doors opened up into a stairwell: a square tower, its walls lined with a staircase. Stone slick with moss, water trailing along the smooth, stone brick lining. The steps run both up and down along the edges, a hollow space in the center stretched all the way to the lowest floor.

It’s just as you remember- except it feels slightly off... It's the mirroring. This area was never accessed in the in-game Mirror Dimension. What should be left is right, what should be right is left.

Dante doesn’t pause. "Don't trip on your way down," he mutters lightly, and he starts his descent.

You fall in behind, one hand on the railing for balance as rainwater drips steadily from somewhere above. The sound echoes, hollow, and each footstep swallowed before the next lands.

Vergil follows last, still remaining quiet. You don’t have to look back to know his eyes are on the dark below.

The three of you descend down the stairs, until there's no going further.

While the pit in the middle still reaches deeper down, the stairs stop.

Right before a door. A metal one, with a lion's head on its front.

Dante pushes it open and a gust of wind immediately blows inside.

The courtyard.

"Alright, this might get tricky... Bit too many directions to choose from," Dante sighs as he steps through the door, immediately cutting left to use the crumbling remains of stairs to get down from the little balcony the door opened up to.

There's only two doors, to be exact. You only know because you remember- only one is visible right now. Directly opposite on the other side, underneath an overhang of a balcony just like the one you took cover under, curving around both sides along the walls containing the courtyard. It's supported by those same carved stone collumns.

Except the number of doors is not the problem- it's being at a centerpoint from which you can go anywhere- and there's two floors.

"You mean you don't remember where to go from here?" you ask with wet hair in your mouth, wiping it away as you lower yourself to climb down.

The courtyard is illuminated in red, warping sharp lines of shadows cutting across the ground. The layers of the circular fountain in the middle are overflowing, only because of the rain. The sound of the spilling water is constant in your ears, every now and then interrupted by thunder.

"Been a while," Dante mutters, you and Vergil following him to, once again, take cover under the balcony and not get drenched to the bone.

You hum, and glance over at the opposite side, to the upper level of the balcony. The other door is right there, leading back into the building you came from- If you remember correctly... eventually you'd end up in the library. It is a way to get to the cathedral, but it's such a roundabout way.

And an absolute pain.

The other door will lead to the corridor directly ending up at an entrance to the cathedral.

"Let's just take this door," you take the lead and start walking again. The twins follow behind, until you reach that door, in the middle directly opposite of where you entered. "Staying on the ground level makes the most sense," you add, fingers curling around the handle.

"Not a fan of taking scenic routes, huh?" Dante jokes, and you pause.

"Less running around, less chance of dying," you shrug casually, glancing up at him, and you tug at the door to pull it open-

Except it's resisting.

Wind whistles through the gap that's opened up, a strong draft pulling at the heavy wood.

The fuck..?

You pull harder on it, the door opening... and revealing another leap down into the ocean.

"Another chunk is missing," Vergil states, tone even. 

It's like a bite is taken out of the corridor, opening a massive gap with crumbling edges in the ceiling and walls, the floor breaking off into a steep cliff.

Except this is not at the edge of the island- land continues on the other side.

Huh. It's like a chunk error glitch in Minecraft... Except not square-shaped, and with angry, deathly waves below instead of endless void of nothingness.

"Oh," Dante says as he holds an arm up against the door, taking the weight from you. "Well, that's great," he remarks sarcastically, before taking a step forward and peeking into the corridor on both sides, the strong draft blowing his hair back.

"Yeaaah- That side is fucked," he informs you and Vergil, head tilted to the left side where nearly the entire flooring is missing in a wide gap. "Luckily we gotta go that way," he says, nodding to the right side-

A beat passes, and his brows furrow. "I think..."

Luckily, you think so, too. You know so.

"Alright, perfect," you say, ignoring his doubt and just going with it. You duck under his arm to enter the hallway, staying close to the wall. As far away from the drop as possible.

The corridor curves around the shape of the courtyard, engraved pillars on either side reaching into arches along the walls. It's twisting and warping in an almost hypnotizing way, drawing you in. There's not a window in sight-

But something else catches your eye.

Moving. Chittering.

Ah, fuck, no- I forgot about those little shits...

One of those four-legged demons- Wait, no- three- five.

Gathered there where the smooth, tiled floor turns to steps of stairs, their feet crawling over the velvet red, carpet flooring. They haven't seem to notice you three yet.

"Oh, great. A welcoming party." Dante cracks his knuckles.

Your hand moves to your belt, tugging two Whistlers free.

One for either hand.

"They’re hardly worth the effort, really," Vergil mutters, drawing the Yamato to get rid of this little problem that's sparring your way.

"Yeah, let's not-" One of the demon's heads jerks up, hollow sockets for eyes directly on you.

A beat passes.

And it screeches.

Oh, shit.

The demon lunges, claws scraping the wall as it pushes off. You jolt forward in attack, barely twisting out of the way and slashing one Whistler across its side-

The knife sinks into its flesh, but the thing keeps coming.

Meanwhile, Vergil’s blade flashes once, and another demon is already falling in pieces. Dante’s laughing as he plants a boot in one’s face, sending it straight into the wall before dropping to the floor and his Devil Sword cleaves it down the middle.

You don’t have time to look twice- yours is on you again. Its weight crashes into your shoulder, and the two of you slam against a pillar hard enough to rattle dust from the cracks above.

You wince at the sting in your ribs again- you really gotta pay attention to your own opponent.

The demon lunges again, screech rattling through your ears, but this time you’re ready. Your grip tightens, Whistlers crossing once in a sharp parry that throws its head back.

Before it can recover, you pivot low, sliding under the thing, through its legs. You drive both blades into its chest, slicing down the stomach, and ripping them free in one swift motion. The thing shrieks, guts spilling to the floor- then collapses in a twitching mush behind you.

Bubbling and popping, its remains dissolve into goo- While your eyes are on Dante slicing the last one's head clean off.

You exhale hard, and get back on your feet. You steady your stance, blood spattered across your arm.

The corridor falls quiet again, save for the wet hiss of dissolving carcasses and the howling wind from the direction you came, thunder rumbling. You wipe your arm off on your clothes, breath steadying, eyes drawn to the top of the stairs, where the hallway ends. Turning the corner.

"Alright, alright, let's not stop now we're almost there." Dante moves past you, continuing up the last few steps. "Now we shouldddd have..."

He turns to the left.

"Jackpot."

You hear him mutter it from around the corner- followed immediately by Vergil’s sigh of disapproval as he strides past you after his brother.

You hold back a laugh, a smile tugging at your lips, before following in last.

What's in front of you is... not a door.

Not in the slightest.

The only door here, is to your right. But that's the library.

No, what's in front of you is a carving.

A carving of the Judge of Death.

Sitting, with its legs crossed. Four pairs of arms, and the hollow sockets of its skull staring straight into the wall across.

It's embedded into the wall, a detailed, stone arch framing it.

One pair of its arms is held out in front, hands cupped around air like it's supposed to be holding something.

You only can't remember what. All you know is that the key to opening this thing up is what's supposed to be there.

"We're missing the key," you mutter, eyes on the Judge's empty hands.

Dante's gaze flicks down to you. "Well, yeah-"

"The artifact must still reside within the castle," Vergil says flatly, standing to your right. "If it was not consumed by the fractures."

"Ah, you wanna poke around like headless chickens and maybe get lucky with finding it?" Dante suggests sarcastically.

You glance between the brothers. Looks like Dante doesn't know either which artifact specifically opened up this entrance- God, if only you remembered... Or even just the location.

Another beat of silence, and then Vergil exhales through his nose, grip tightening on the Yamato’s hilt. "Hm. Pointless."

Dante raises an eyebrow. "Don’t tell me you’re about to-"

The air ripples. Vergil draws the Yamato in a single motion, the blade gleaming for a split second in your sight, and with one decisive stroke, he cleaves the carving.

The slit lingers like a scar, cut clean right through the skull down the middle. The stone parts with the sound of tearing fabric rather than breaking rock. Dust doesn’t fall. Instead, a sharp gust blasts outward, stinging your eyes and blowing your hair back. The fracture glows faint, lingering, like reality itself has been carved.

You squint against the wind, a shiver crawling up your spine.

Dante just lets out a laugh. "Guess that’s one way to pick a lock."

Vergil sheathes the Yamato again, motions calm and precise. "Why waste time," he murmurs, and one half of the split-down arch falls forward, allowing you entry into the cathedral.

You step forward before either of them can. The edges of the Yamato's cut shiver like disturbed water when you walk past- Curiosity gets the best of you; you need to know if that gate is still there.

The moment your foot crosses the threshold, your body loses touch with gravity.

Your stomach lurches up into your throat, and blood surges to your head so fast you think you’ll faint. For a split second the world twists sideways- then it completely flips.

You don’t stumble forward.

You fall.

You let out a startled yelp, echoing through the cathedral. Air tears past your ears, hair whipping forward- then cold stone hits your back.

You’re staring up at the cathedral’s floor.

The detailing of an archway, now flipped upside down, cages you off like a fence from the dip of the vaulted church ceiling.

You scramble to your feet, and turn toward the entrance you walked through-

And your soul almost leaves your body when Dante's face is suddenly right there.

"Jesus-!" you flinch back, jumpscared.

He’s hanging upside down. No- you are the who's upside down.

"Ah, right. Forgot about that," Dante hums, before he reaches up, and with a jump he grabs onto the gateway's arch, pulling himself up.

You take a step back as he tucks his knees in, and the flipped gravity takes it from there. He lands on his knees with a soft thud, immediately standing up in a swift motion.

Like he's done it a million times before.

"You okay?" he asks, turning to you, his eyes scanning your face.

You nod. The little drop didn't actually hurt. It just sparked an ache in your ribs again, but only briefly. "Yeah, all good."

He gives you a nod as well in return, and then turns to the open space of the cathedral.

"This whole place is flipped upside down." Dante states the obvious.

You follow to stand next to him, eyeing over the bizarre scene.

"Hm, no kidding," you mutter dryly while Vergil comes through last. He handles the gravity flip with just as much ease as his brother, and moves to join you and Dante right at the edge of the pit of the ceiling.

The entire cathedral... is intact.

To your left, the great wooden double doors remain fixed in the wall. The rest of the space stretches to the right, rows of pillars reaching from ceiling to floor, their lines bending unnaturally, like the warping that's everywhere else here.

Above you, a long red carpet runs from the main entrance all the way to the back. To an altar with a once-present statue, now gone.

But what dominates everything is the circle gaping at the center of the ceiling.

Cyan and orange light churn together in a whirl, held shut only by something that looks like a fragile layer of warped glass.

The sight prickles down your spine. There’s no mistaking it.

The Gate to the Underworld.

You, Dante, and Vergil linger in silence for a moment, all three of you staring down at the sealed gate.

Its light pulses faintly, cyan bleeding into orange like breath fogging glass.

"…Well. There it is," Dante finally mutters, hands resting on his hips.

"Intact," Vergil adds, voice low.

The word settles on your shoulders heavier than stone.

Intact.

"But without the Philosopher's Stone... You said there's no way to open it, right?" you ask carefully, glancing up at Dante.

"As far as I know, yeah," he confirms, and you look back down at the gate, eyes narrowing.

But the Mirror Dimension portals remain open- If this is a dead end... Then why..?

"That doesn't make any sense..." You mutter the last thought out loud, mostly to yourself.

You climb over the detailing of the upside down arch, lower yourself down-

And let go, sliding down the smooth curve of the vaulted ceiling, dust sticking to your soaked clothes and the grazing sound echoing through the cathedral.

You slow down to a halt, and get back on your feet in one smooth motion, eyes locked on the gate like a hawk.

"Oookay, guess we're having a closer look. Thanks for heads-up," you hear Dante's voice echo from above, and both him and Vergil drop down after you.

You approach the portal, walking past a chandelier that's standing upright. The rythmic humming becomes increasingly louder.

You circle around it.

And halt on the other side.

Right where the empty slot for the Philosopher's Stone is.

The brothers' footsteps approach while your eyes linger on the engraved slot, glowing in orange and purple hues.

When their steps fall silent, across from you on the other side, you lift your gaze.

"Those portals at the abandoned town- If our theory so far is correct, whoever opened them did it for the reason of opening this gate here," you start, finally voicing the thing that's bugging you.

"Go on..." Vergil urges you to continue, eyes narrowing with intrigue.

You drop your gaze, weighing your words. "There is no Philosopher's Stone. So they have no way of opening this gate... Yet they haven't closed off the town's portals."

You pause a moment, eyes flicking between Dante and Vergil. "There has to be a reason for that- Their business here is still unfinished."

Dante crosses his arms in front of his chest, squinting at the gate like it might give him the answer if he stares hard enough.

"Could be they’re just keeping them open- just in case. Y’know, waiting for someone else to come with a bright idea that'll open the gate, so they can swoop in and make use of it."

"Unlikely," Vergil counters immediately. "If passivity were their strategy, they would not have risked exposure by leaving the town's portals unchecked. Such negligence invites interference."

"Alright, so not freeloaders," Dante mutters. "What then? Science fair project? Study the thing, poke at the edges, see if it does a trick and opens up?"

Silence follows, all three of you turning back toward the gate’s pulse. Cyan and orange flare against the stone like a heartbeat, illuminating the three of you from underneath.

It could be that they're trying to figure out a different way to open it... Maybe they think there's a risk of not being able to re-open the Mirror Dimension's portals? That that's why they keep them there...

We don't even know how they appeared, and opened, in the first place... Maybe it's quite complicated?

Your gaze flicks down to the slot carved into the gate's ring, light flickering within it. You crouch down, fingers trailing along the lines of the carving.

The thought curls in your chest before you can stop it.

"...Unless..." Your throat feels tight as the words form. "Unless they’re trying to make another Stone."

Both brothers’ heads lift at that.

Vergil’s expression hardens, the possibility of it sinking in. "To manufacture what was lost... A dangerous proposition. But perhaps not impossible."

Dante lets out a low hum, grim now instead of amused. "Hell of a science project, if that’s what they’re up to."

You feel your chest tighten, it slowly creeping up to your throat. "You genuinely think it's a possibility?" You ask, tone low with concern. You rise to stand up straight again.

A part of you hoped that your theory was stupid- You wish they had waved your idea aside, saying there is no way of recreating an artifact such as the Philosopher's Stone.

But neither brother answers immediately. The silence stretches, filled only by the low, rhythmic hum of the gate. The pulsing of it makes the blue and orange illumination dance over your features, like a flame.

"I don't know," Dante then sighs, "It doesn't sound like an easy task, if it were possible- But to say impossible..?"

Vergil remains quiet. Eyes on the purple, glassy lock at your feet.

Dante's gaze stays fixed on you.

"I wouldn't rule it out."

Chapter Text

You quickly found out that the internet is not the place to look when it comes to ancient artifacts.

Unfortunately, you can't find a recipe for a Philosopher's Stone as easily as for brownies.

So, the following days were spent around dusty shelves, the rustling of paper and flipping pages becoming a normality every other day.

Outside, the temperatures finally started dropping, while you, Vergil and Dante spent your time researching in the musty air of Redgrave's old library.

The next objective is to figure out if there's a way to craft a new Philosopher's Stone.

The library is actually really big- And that may be a good thing..? The more books; the more chance at finding something... But it sure is overwhelming.

It's cozy, though. There aren't lamps everywhere, so in darker spaces there's candles on corners of desks. Whenever you had an older book in front of you, it was sometimes hard to read with faded ink and the flickering of the flame, but it's a nice environment to work in.

You're pretty sure Vergil burned through an entire candle while reciting lines from a thick, ancient book- Only for him to at one point randomly snap it closed, as it all turned out to be irrelevant.

One trip felt more productive than the other- but looking back, you're still not a hair closer to finding out anything new.

Completely contrasting to the stuffy aisles of books, you now find yourself under the bright lighting of a grocery store. The smell of leather and paper replaced by fresh fruit and crisp air of the cooling.

You're judging bananas on how ripe they are, while Nero follows behind you with a cart, lazily leaning his elbows on the handles.

You pick a few, and put them in the cart.

"Why're we buying green bananas?" Nero asks, looking genuinely confused.

You look up at him. "Cuz... otherwise they're brown after only a day or two," you explain like it speaks for itself.

Nero still doesn't seem convinced on your logic, but you change the subject and continue walking, music playing faintly in the background. "Do you and Kyrie still need something?"

"Ehh-" It stays quiet a moment behind you, as Nero's scanning over the contains of your shopping cart. "Yeah, I was supposed to grab some milk."

"Alright... Milk," you mutter, mostly to yourself, as you're looking for it on the signs above the aisles.

"They never put it in the same damn place," Nero grumbles, just following after you, dragging himself along behind the cart. "It feels like a maze in here."

"That's what the signs are for," you chuckle as you bend around the corner into a cooling aisle.

"Yeah, but it's still- Here you got, like, whole, skim, goat- and whatever the hell else there is," Nero continues to complain, and you're starting to wonder why he's in such a grumpy mood. "And then somewhere over on the other side of the store is coffee milk, oat milk, chocolate milk- Make ìt make sense." 

"Mhm, yeah," you respond, a little amused.

You reach the back of the aisle, where milk is neatly placed behind the glass doors of the cooling.

Your eyes scan along the rows until they fall on the type you need- But there's a shoppingcart right in front of the door, without a person nearby.

No big deal, you just move it asi-

"And people leaving their cart in the middle of an aisle and walking off? Like- Come on, you're not the only one shopping, pal."

You can't hold back a snort this time. "You sound like a grumpy old man," you snicker, nudging the cart aside.

"Well, at least a grumpy old man who would consider other people," Nero mumbles-

Ah.

There's no way he's still mad about that, right..?

You turn back to him, and place the milk in the cart.

"Alright. Spit it out. This isn't about the damn cart," you start.

Nero stares at you a moment, deadpan.

Then he steers the cart away and continues walking, you following around the corner. "Yes, it is. People just-"

"Have you tried talking to him?" you cut him off, so he can stop beating around the bush.

It's been days since the mission at the chapel, but it looks like Nero still isn't over what happened with Vergil. You wish you could say it's to your surprise... But not really. The stubbornness is admirable, really.

Nero halts a moment, glancing back at you. Then he averts his gaze back on the aisle stretching out in front of you.

"No," he grumbles.

You hum in response, the music continuing to faintly play in the background, filling the beat of silence.

"Why not?" you ask, voice gentle.

"I dunno," Nero starts; a mumble barely even audible for you. "If I call him out, he just acts like I'm the one being unreasonable- You were there- And even if he wouldn't do that, I'm not the one in the wrong- Why should I go to him?"

"Right," you comment, just allowing him to rant without interfering with your opinion. The two of you keep walking back down the aisle to the front of the store.

Nero's jaw clenches before he continues. "Shit looked like it was actually going somewhere, and then he does that- He does whatever the fuck he wants, no consideration, no communication- And then acting like there's nothing wrong with it."

A beat of silence falls, and Nero sighs.

"It's just- How the hell am I supposed to work with that? One second it’s like he actually gives a damn, and the next he can’t even admit he might be in the wrong."

Another moment of silence follows. And when Nero doesn't continue, you finally respond.

"Then say that to him- Not me- to him."

He glances up at you, as you two approach the checkout and get in line.

"I understand it's frustrating- But you said it yourself. He doesn't see his own mistake. You can't expect him to come apologise for something he didn't know he did wrong- as obvious as it may seem to you."

You start taking your groceries out of the cart. "Because yes, he is in the wrong- But he's not the one who's gonna come to you. You're gonna have to tell him what's bothering you."

Nero just lets out a low hum- neither agreeing or disagreeing- and helps you unload the last groceries from the cart.

At least he's not protesting. That's something.

The silence lingers while you both move along the line, the only sound the rustle of plastic and the beep of the scanner. You catch Nero's jaw tensing like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t.

When getting to the front of the line to finally pay, your eyes fall on the row of mints, chewing gum and chocolate bars lined up to add last-minute- Recognizing one of the wrappers.

You toss the bar in with the rest of the groceries, and a moment later you and Nero pack everything in two seperate bags and pay.

When leaving the crisp air of the store behind, walking through the door, Nero starts looking through a bag.

"Where'd you put that chocolate bar?" he then mutters after a moment, still searching.

"That one's not for you," you chuckle, and he looks up at you. "You already had it last time."

---

You returned to the agency alone; you had a feeling Nero didn't wanna stick around because of Vergil. So he went home, with his part of the groceries.

Inside, Vergil is in the kitchen, waiting for water to boil.

Luckily, the electricity's working again since yesterday, so the daylight filtering through the windows is not all you have anymore.

"Is Dante still at the library?" you ask as you approach.

Vergil glances over at you once before answering. "I would assume so, yes."

You set the groceries on the counter, sliding a carton into the fridge before grabbing the chocolate bar out of the bag. Without making it a big deal, you place it down near his empty tea cup.

"This looked familiar," you say, a little amused. As much as he denied he wanted that last chocolate, back then in the van- it was an obvious lie to save his pride. "Got it for you- since you didn’t get it last time."

Vergil glances at it, then at you. His gaze lingers on you a moment longer than necessary. Then for a second, it looks like he’ll brush it off- some dismissive remark ready at the tip of his tongue. But it doesn’t come. Instead, there’s a faint exhale through his nose, almost like a laugh he won’t let you hear.

"Thank you," he says quietly, and moves to pour the now boiling water into his cup.

Your lips curl into a smile, and you continue putting away the other few items of groceries, not expecting anything else from Vergil.

He makes his tea and takes his leave, cup of tea and chocolate in hand.

"I'll be upstairs," he dismisses himself- And you look up at that.

You don't think he's ever really said something before, when retreating back to the upstairs.

He's always just. Left.

Without a word.

"Alright," you mutter in response, still trying to figure out for yourself if you're looking too deep into things or if that's something new.

---

"Hey, Pajamas- Come look at this."

You peek around a bookshelf, seeing Dante standing by a desk and motioning for you to come over, without having taken his eyes off the pages in front of him. You walk over, curiously eyeing the book as you stand beside Dante.

"Didn't you find something similar to this last time?" he asks, a finger tapping on a piece of text.

Your eyes dart over the page, the warm light from above illuminating the ink of runes and drawings, next to the descriptions of text. It does look similar to what you found three days ago, but-

"None of that mattered. It was as irrelevant as everything else we have found so far," Vergil drones from across the other side of the table, before you can even open your mouth.

Your gaze flicks over to him, and you watch how he turns the page of a book without looking up.

"Well-" You turn to Dante, "Yeah, pretty much... that."

"Ah." Dante slams the book closed. "No, that's great- Perfect."

He lets out a defeated sigh and leans back against the table, arms crossed in front of his chest.

You glance back over to Vergil. His fingers softly tap against the wooden surface of the desk as his eyes scan over the pages, before he flips one back.

"Have you had any luck?" You then ask after another beat of silence.

"He hasn't read a word for this past hour," Dante glances over his shoulder to his brother. "Just been flipping back and forth through those pages."

The rhythmic tapping of Vergil's fingers stops. "Do not project your own laziness onto me," he replies sharply, and looks up from the book in front of him.

"Laziness?" Dante gasps, clutching his chest like he’s been mortally wounded. Then, with all the seriousness of a child at recess, he grabs one of the useless papers of scribbles and notes, and crumples it in his hands. "I've spent just as much time in here as you two, reading dusty garbage for hours."

He throws the paper ball at Vergil. It bounces off his forehead and rolls onto the table. He brushes it aside with one finger, his gaze not drifting away from Dante.

"If you devoted half as much time to studying as you do to prattle, Dante, we might achieve something more than wasted paper."

"Hm, yeah, right- Cuz brooding counts as studying, huh? You can't talk when you're achieving no more than me!"

The scraping sound of wood against flooring follows as you pull a chair back. "Well, bickering isn't gonna be the solution either," you mutter as you sit down and pull a few papers with scribbles towards you, starting a new attempt to put some puzzle pieces together. Maybe you missed something...

Dante walks off, returning a book to its place on a shelf, while you and Vergil stay behind in silence. You're staring at the drawings and notes- some practically unreadable; deciphering Dante's handwriting is almost as hard as figuring out anything about this damn Stone- It's all runes, symbols and alchemy stuff. But none of it is actually related to this Philosopher's Stone-

"Dante?"

"Huh?" He comes walking back through an aisle around the corner, and you look over your shoulder as he approaches you and Vergil again.

"Are you sure it was these types of engravings on the stone?" You start, and then turn your attention back to the mess of papers, flipping through them. "It's just- I'm almost thinking we're just shooting in the completely wrong direction here."

"Ehh- No."

You turn back to him, brows furrowed.

A beat passes, without any elaboration.

"'No' what?" you ask.

"No, I'm not exactly sure it was these types of engravings."

Well, shit.

You aren't sure either. All you can remember with the vivid image in your head is-

"All I know it's some dice-shaped rock with some stuff carved into each side."

- that.

You sigh, once again disappointed in your memory when it comes down to these important things.

"...And that 'stuff' being some sorts of symbols," you add to Dante's description.

"Yup."

The annoying part is that you could very well have had the correct images in front of you. But it's like it doesn't matter, even if you do, because nothing ties back to anything regarding the Philosopher's Stone.

Dante lifts his head to his brother. "Hey, Vergil, do you remember whe-"

Your eyes shoot up when the book across the table suddenly snaps closed-

Vergil gathers his notes and gets up.

And he just leaves.

"Where are you going?" you ask, a little hesitantly.

"Somewhere quiet."

His footsteps fade between bookshelves. The silence settles and you and Dante are left at the desk with the mess in front of you. There's a child laughing somewhere over in the front of the library before being shushed by its parent- but besides that it's dead silent.

"Ehh-" Dante starts, and then you hear the thud of a book landing on a desk, just an aisle or two over.

You glance up at Dante. Brows raised, his eyes are still on where Vergil just disappeared around a bookshelf.

"Just me, or is he crankier than usual?"

You hum softly. You wouldn't really say cranky is the right word to describe his usual behaviour, but that's besides the point- And if it's not the right description on other occasions, it is now.

And you have a feeling about what the reason could be...

"Maybe..." You mutter in response, absentmindedly placing the papers in front of you in a somewhat organized pile.

"Nero... talked to him," you then start. "Maybe that has something to do with it."

You received a text message from him yesterday. All he said was:

Nero: nope

Nero: he can piss off

Nero: not even gonna bother anymore

...to which you responded by calling him. And he explained how exactly his talk with Vergil went.

"Ah. Well, if that's the case, no doubt that has something to do with it," Dante responds, sighing. "He's never been much of a talker, and, well, knowing Nero..."

You nod slowly. "Yeah... It didn't end well."

Dante drops back down in his chair with a grunt, leaning back with crossed arms. "The day I'll experience Vergil having a heart-to-heart conversation, will be a miracle."

You let out soft a hum, thinking about that. "I wouldn't say it'd need a miracle- And, hey, don't act like you're not one t-"

You cut yourself short, brows furrowing in confusion when you suddenly see Vergil walk across the open space towards the front of the library- to a completely different section.

Dante catches your expression, and turns around to look over his shoulder.

"What the hell is he doing..?" he mutters, watching Vergil disappear into an aisle of shelves with more modern books.

Honestly, you can't even answer that. Finding anything related to medieval chemistry and runes over there seems... highly unlikely. But, hey, you never know.

"Maybe he's onto something..?"

"Dunno," Dante responds, then turns back around, nudging his head back to where Vergil went. "He seems to tolerate you better than me."

You take that as an implication that you should go see what he's up to- So you leave the piles of notes and old books behind, weaving past Dante toward where Vergil disappeared.

It's quite a bit lighter over here, with light from outside coming in through the windows. You take a lap around two shorter aisles, no one in sight- but then you turn another corner, and see Vergil.

He has a book open in his hands, just standing there, reading, right in front of where he plucked it from its shelf.

"Found a new lead..?" you start, approaching him slowly, despite knowing he's obviously noticed you already.

"Hm."

He doesn't take his eyes off the pages, and you curiously turn your head sideways to read the cover.

Parenting 101: How to deal with teens.

You fail to hold back a laugh. He probably overheard you and Dante.

"You know Nero is well beyond being a teenager, right?"

"Well, he sure still acts like one," Vergil mutters dryly.

Oh, trust me, he was worse as a teenager.

You lean against the deep brown, wooden framing of the bookshelves, just watching Vergil read for another second or two. He doesn't dismiss you, and he doesn't really purposefully ignore you either. He's just... reading.

His eyes flick over the words, scanning for keywords... not seeming very impressed.

"You probably won't find the answer to mending relationships in a book, y'know," you then murmur, eyes softening with compassion.

That's when his gaze lifts. Sharp, but not unkind. His fingers pause, pressed against the open pages.

You hesitate, just briefly. "Nero told me about your talk," you then say quietly.

Vergil regards you for a moment. His eyes don’t narrow, but they study you as though measuring how much you already know. "...And what did he say?"

You shift your weight against the shelf, crossing your arms in front of your chest. "That it didn’t go well. But I’d rather hear what you took from it."

His jaw tightens, as if he’s weighing what more to tell you. "He said I... neglect to communicate. That I act without consideration," he finally says, lowering his hand with the book slightly. "Which I suppose I can see. So I will look to be more aware of that from this point on."

You blink, surprised by the blunt honesty.

Another beat passes before you speak, some people whispering over on the other side of the bookshelf filling the lingering moment.

"...But did you tell him that?"

Silence again. His eyes drop back to the page for a moment too long.

"I just explained the reasoning behind my actions," he then tells you.

"...And he probably took that as you only defending yourself," you counter gently. "That’s where it went wrong. You obviously did listen to him. He just doesn’t know you did."

Vergil's gaze lifts to you again, and your head tilts ever so slightly. "That's why he's still mad," you explain, voice remaining soft.

His cold blue eyes remain on you... it's hard to decipher what he could be thinking. You catch a faint hint of something like curiosity- But he doesn't say anything.

And neither do you.

The moment lingers, your eyes now drifting to where the sunlight paints shadows across his features. A faint draft causes the slightest of movement in his hair, a stubborn piece falling over his forehead- 

Then your gaze threatens to meet his again, and you quickly avert it- Pushing yourself off the bookshelf with a sharp inhale.

You back up a few steps, arms falling beside you again. "I'll go back to helping Dante."

Vergil closes the book in his hands. "Alright. I... might be back later."

You chuckle. "He's not that bad. I'm sure you can put up another hour with him."

"...Perhaps."

You give Vergil one more glance before walking back down the aisle, on your way back to Dante and the pile of research.

When rounding the corner, your hand lingers on the bookcase. And you halt.

"Vergil?" You turn back around, standing there on the corner.

"Hm?" He looks up again, while placing the book back on the shelf. His movement pauses.

"Just-" You hesitate another moment, but then open your mouth again. "He gets so worked up about it- only because he cares."

Another beat passes.

"Nero," you add, and then finally turn away, letting the silence close behind you.

Chapter Text

"Hey, by the way, don't you think it's about time you move in properly?" Nero asks from the couch behind you, while you flick on the heat beneath a pan in the kitchen.

"Wait, what-? Don't tell me ya've been sleepin' on the couch this whole damn time?" Nico adds before you can even turn around to them.

They're both staying for dinner. It was a little unexpected, but Nico had texted you about an hour ago that they were near Redgrave, after dealing with a little demon incident. You knew you had more than enough food for more people, so asked if they wanted to drop by. You haven't seen Nico for quite some time- and Nero for like a week at this point.

You check the heat for a second, and then turn around. "Well- Yes, but it's not a problem. I already said this when I-"

"It's been a month," Nero chuckles, "I can't even remember the last time I stayed the night here, and you're not just here as a guest anymore. Take the damn room."

You open your mouth to protest again, but then hesitate- Nero kinda has a point. To be polite, you'd said you were okay with the couch back then... But now you're basically living here.

"I see complianceeee. Yeah, there we go! Nero, go get'cha stuff outta there." Nico gives him a nudge on the shoulder with her foot, earning her an annoyed glare.

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah. Why not? We're here anyway- and don't tell me ya got boxes full'a junk in there, it can't be that much."

"Ehh-" You don't really protest. Like, okay? Apparently this is just happening right now..? Sure.

Nico gets up from the couch and makes her way over to you. "C'mon, you go see where ya sleepin' from now on, I'll take care of this."

Your eyes narrow at her, head tilting in doubt. "Can I trust you around fire..?"

"Nope," Nero answers in Nico's stead as he gets up from the couch, this time him being the one getting a glare from Nico.

"Yes, 'course ya can!" she then assures you, turning her attention back to you. She waits for you to in fact trust her and leave her there, hand on a hip and the other leaning on the kitchen counter.

The smile on her face doesn't quite convince you- but surely it's fine. You were joking anyway.

Kind of.

You give her one last glance before following after Nero, up the stairs.

He passes Vergil's door, and then opens the second one. The room right next to his.

"Ehh." Nero flicks the light on, and walks inside. "It's not massive, but at least a bit more private and comfortable than downstairs on the couch."

Your hand lingers on to doorframe when you stop there. Your eyes flick over the room. Sure, it's not massive, but it's not small either.

It's perfect, to be honest.

There's a bed right next to the door to your right, and in the back there's a closet. And the lamp is... just a lightbulb. Not much of a lamp. The glow illuminates everything in a warm yellow.

It doesn't smell bad. Just faint, unused. A guest room that never really became anyone's.

The bed is unmade, and there's not much else beside the basic, dark wooden furniture.

Not much, but not nothing, either.

Your eyes fall on the nightstand besides the bed, or more specifically, the headphones on them, next to an empty mug. Both a little dusty, like everything else.

Your lips twitch into a smile when you recognise Nero's old headphones. You avert your gaze and look back up at him, and he's now taking clothes out of the closet in the back. He carelessy throws them into a duffelbag he pulled from underneath the bed.

"Okay, I think that's all," he sighs as he zips the bag closed and stands up again.

He turns back to you, and his eyes fall on the nightstand. "Oh, and that old piece of junk," he mutters as he walks over, grabbing the headphones and hanging them on the bag handles.

You let out a chuckle, now watching how Nero picks up the empty mug, one brow raised before they furrow together. "I don't think i ever cleaned this- ehm," he says before he clears his throat and lowers his hand with the mug.

You laugh again. "Probably not- Just put it with the rest of the dishes later."

Moving out of the way, Nero walks back out through the doorway, and he turns back to the room, hand already on the lightswitch. "It's still a little dusty, but at least my stuff is out of there now," he says before flicking the light off.

"I'll take care of that later, it's fine," you say as you close the door behind you, and follow Nero back down again. He drops the bag on the floor by the bottom of the stairs, and the two of you join Nico again. Nero plops back down in the couch, while you go check if everything is fine in the kitchen.

It smells fine. Nothing's burnt.

Nico leans back against the counter when you step in. She tips her head toward the pan, smirking.
"Still alive," she says. "Don’t go askin’ me if it’s seasoned right, though. That’s your department."

You glance at the pan, then at the cutting board where the rest of the ingredients still wait. Definitely not touched.

"Right," you mutter with a small laugh, stepping past her. "Guess I’ll take it from here again."

"Mmhm, ain’t wanna ruin your masterpiece. Call it a professional courtesy," Nico says as she steps away to join Nero on the couch again.

You shake your head with a laugh, reaching for the knife. "Yeah, sure. That’s exactly what it was."

You fall into the rhythm of chopping and stirring again, knife tapping against the board while the pan hisses. From the couch, Nico’s and Nero's voices serve as background noise. Nico's starting pitching ideas for Devil Breakers... And you don't know if you should be impressed or appalled by it. You're absolutely enjoying yourself, though, listening to the stupid ideas.

As long as you don't take her too seriously.

"Okay hear me out: an arm that looks like a giant rubber duck. Ya can take it off any moment, right? So, ride it into battle. And, bonus: screams quack when you attack."

You don't have to look over your shoulder to know what Nero's face looks like right now. The silence tells you enough.

"God, Nico- That banana arm was bad enough. What even..?"

He doesn't even finish the sentence, it just dies down in utter disappointment and disbelief.

Again, it's funny as long as you don't take it seriously.

The space has started to fill with the delicious smell of food, while you add the last few things before the only thing left to do is wait for a bit.

"Alright, alright- Maybe that one's a lil excessive- How 'bout this then: Arm that extends like a whip, shoots flames, and shoots mini missiles- But the trigger is a tiny foot pedal. Ya gotta balance, jump, AND punch at the same time. Skill combo!"

You fail to suppress a snort, while Nero immediately protests. "How the hell am I supposed to walk, then? Huh?"

"I dunno, not my problem to figure out."

"Eh, I'd say it's a bit of a design flaw," you chuckle, lazily stirring the almost-done dish in the pan.

Nico and Nero both respond at the same time.

"Thank you!"

"Hey, 'scuse me?!"

At that exact moment, too, is the sound of the front door falling shut. You look over your shoulder. Both Nero's and Nico's heads turn as well, watching Vergil walk in.

For a second there's only the faint sound of the sizzling of the pan.

"Hi," you then greet him with a small smile, and his eyes trail over the scene with faint curiosity.

Your gaze flicks between Vergil and Nero.

He doesn't seem mad- Just in general he's been way less grumpy, too. Maybe they're okay again..?

"Hey," Nero then greets him as well- the smile on his face a little awkward, but it's there.

Vergil returns the gesture and greets you three back with a curt nod, before he turns to take his coat off and put it away.

So they did properly talk it out, huh?

A smile creeps over your lips, soft and almost shy- content, with a touch of pride- before Nico clears her throat and drags your attention back.

"Ya just insulted my genius idea- Why're ya havin' his back, huh?" she teases.

"Because he has a very valid point," you laugh, turning back around to the pan.

"Not all your ideas are genius, Nico. You've proven that before and now you're just... Nah, you've lost your mind."

"Ya know what? You're an ungrateful lil shit, that's what'cha are."

"Ouch- Hey!"

You don't see what's happening, but imagination is enough to make you smile again. Biting the inside of your cheek, you attempt to hold back a laugh. You move to flick off the heat under the pan- but flinch, jumpscared by Vergil suddenly standing to your left.

You had not noticed him approach- at all.

"Oh, hi-" You glance up at him. Or more specifically... you're searching his face, eyes flicking over his features, watching his expression as a corner of your mouth slowly curls into a little smirk.

"You want some?" you ask, amused by the obvious intrigue and curiosity on Vergil's face as his eyes flick over the pan and empty cutting board.

They then avert to you, looking down and for another second he still doesn't say anything.

"It smells good," he then comments, eyes briefly flicking back to the pan before settling on you. He doesn't really answer your question.

The smile on your face grows. "We got enough for four," you urge, teasing.

Having heard the little exchange, Nero got up from the couch and joins you and Vergil, walking up and handing out a plate to him.

It's such subtle gesture, almost casual- But it's clear that he, too, wants Vergil to join.

Vergil’s gaze flicks to the plate, then back to Nero. For a fraction of a second, a shadow of a smile crosses his face before he nods slightly and takes the plate in hand.

"All right," he accepts the non-verbal invitation.

The four of you plate up quickly, setting your own portion on the low table by the couch before sliding down onto the floor in front of it. "Easier than squeezing with four onto one couch," you shrug, half-joking.

Nico laughs, flopping back into her spot with her plate balanced on her knee. Nero sinks beside her, already digging in, while Vergil settles on the far end of the couch, quiet and composed, plate in hand.

Nico keeps running her mouth between bites, Nero fires back at her, and you join in now and then when you can actually swallow your food first. Vergil, though, doesn’t try to wedge himself into the chatter. He just eats, slow and deliberate, eyes occasionally flicking toward the three of you as though cataloguing the noise.

"Ya hated the other two, but what 'bout this then," Nico starts, pointing her fork at Nero. "Arm with a jackhammer core, chainsaw blades on the outside. Instant demolition."

Nero throws his head back with a groan. "You’re unbelievable. Do you want me to saw my own leg off?"

You swallow a bite just in time, laughing at his comment. "Maybe she's actually very determined to kill you."

Honestly, this idea doesn't even sound that insane, given which Devil Breakers have in fact made it to become reality in the past.

"Nahh, I wouldn't go that far-" Nico stabs her fork at you now, grinning. "Just think 'bout the damage, though. Bam, one swing!"

"More like bam, Nero’s dead," Nero mutters, shoving his last bite into his mouth.

Nico grins wider, waving his comment aside. "Details, details."

Vergil doesn’t say anything, but if he didn’t want to be here, he would’ve already gotten up and left. His silence feels deliberate- more like he’s letting the noise exist around him than being forced to endure it.

It's nice. The floor isn't even that uncomfortable either. You're perfectly fine, sitting there with your feet folded under you and lazily leaning on an arm against the low table.

And you've been pleasantly surprised by your own cooking skills.

With a smile tugging at your lips, you put your last bite into your mouth.

---

A few more afternoons in the library go by- once alone, the others with Dante or Vergil. The endless researching is starting to burn you out a little... Luckily you're not there every day and all the time, but it's starting to feel so hopeless. Plus, the anxiety with the fear of some old books crumbling in your hands, falling apart with every page turned, doesn't help.

Lady and Trish dropped by for the first time in a while, and you were tempted to ask Trish more... But the thought of making yourself sound suspicious, with maybe accidentally saying more than you're supposed to know, held you back. Besides, Dante's talked with her already, but he didn't get anything new or helpful from her... so why would you be different.

You still religiously write in your notebook nearly every day- Sometimes it's more frustrated rants about this fuckass Stone, but there's still nice distractions as well. One day- yesterday at this point, actually- you and Nero went out to the forest to spar again. When inviting Dante to join, Vergil tagged along as well- last minute appearing in his doorway, like he had been weighing whether to go or not as he was listening to you three downstairs.

You're glad he did.

Though, it was a little... intense, watching the twins spar. You know they're not out to kill each other- But still.

It was nice to see Vergil smile more again, even though it was only because he had his blade directed at Dante. And that's nothing new. Honestly, the twin rivalry is pretty funny.

As long as they're not out to kill each other.

You fought Nero, and it actually went really well- You're proud of the improvement you're making. Especially getting the hand of Severance's double blades is getting a lot smoother. You'd refrained from actually using it in battle before, since it's simply such a massive thing to be swinging around.

Even Dante allowed you to spar with him, of course he did go a little easy on you- But if you hear one more "Royal Guard", you will genuinely, willingly bash your head into a wall.

You didn't go up against Vergil, and you don't even know if you'd have wanted to. It's just... different.

Nero, however, did challenge Vergil, causing him to get all riled up again, but it least not because he's angry with Vergil. Just incredibly irritated in the moment, at most.

From the sideline, you noticed how much more soft-spoken Vergil was. He did not hold back with fighting, God, no-

But his tone was different, his words more measured.

It was a fun day.

Unlike today-

You're finally leaving the library, tired and drained from... doing nothing, honestly. It's been getting so hard to focus and keep your head up, that you've mostly just been looking at words without reading them. And when you weren't looking at the pages, you were staring at Vergil, sitting across from you at the table. 

Way more fun and interesting than the old garbage, at this point. Or, well, admittedly you'd prefer to look at Vergil in any case, but that's not quite the point.

The two of you step out into the fresh air, your foot crunching a leaf when stepping on it. The sun feels warm on your skin, but the wind is sharper than usual.

Neither of you bother to fill the quiet. The crunch of leaves and the low hum of the city are enough. You honestly enjoy these walks back to the office- It's not that you mind Dante talking whenever it's you and him or the three of you, but there's something so peaceful about the more quiet walks with Vergil. You genuinely enjoy his company... It's not just because he's your favorite videogame character walking beside you in real life.

The idea of him being fictional has actually become a really strange idea.

The silence stretches, comfortable. Your steps fall in sync without effort, the rustling of leaves filling in where words don’t.

You're so in your own head, though, that you don't notice Vergil glancing around, eyes occasionally flicking down to you.

He shifts beside you. That's when you catch it in the corner of your eye- the way his shoulders tighten, how his hand flexes once before relaxing again. He draws a breath like he’s about to speak, but the silence stretches, unbroken.

You glance at him, curious. His jaw tightens, and then, finally-

"Nero."

Just his name. Vergil's gaze stays fixed ahead, then briefly flicks down to you before shifting away again.

You keep your eyes on him, patiently waiting for him to speak again while he's obviously looking for words.

Both your eyes follow a car driving past, before Vergil continues. "I... am unsure of how well things are getting along with him."

You let that sit for a moment, the two of you continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

"Are you asking..?" you start the question a little hesitant. But you never finished it, concluding that yes; Vergil is asking you how you think he's doing with Nero.

He’s waiting for you to speak- but he doesn’t look at you.

"...Honestly?” you then start, voice gentle but more certain than before, eyes ahead. "I think it’s going better than you give yourself credit for- I mean- given the fact you're asking me."

You raise your shoulder in a faint shrug, then looking back up at Vergil again. "I'd even say it's going really well."

He glances down at you again, this time his eyes remain on yours for longer.

They then focus somewhere else, a slight twitch in his brows as your answer sinks in.

"Hm." There's a hint of an appreciative smile on his lips, gaze redirecting forward again. "...He remains... easily provoked."

You laugh softly under your breath. "He’s always easily provoked. Trust me, it’s not just you."

Vergil gives a quiet hum again, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "I am aware," he says after a beat, tone measured.

That makes you think.

About V.

About how much Vergil remembers... and how. How the memories feel- Whether they even feel like his or not. Whether the time spent with his son back then are like his own memories, or those of someone else.

It's not that you can really ask, though.

You open your mouth again, ready to say something, but Vergil speaks first. "...You seem to understand him well."

The words catch you off guard, heavier than you expected, but not probing. More an observation than a question.

Your lips tug into a small smile. "Yeah, well... we’ve spent quite a lot of time together. And... I guess I just pay attention..?"

All you get in response is a soft hum again.

You both turn the corner, now walking down the street of the Devil May Cry agency, past Dante's busted up, old Mustang.

Despite the discomfort, that car has its charms, you had to admit.

You and Vergil walk up to the entrance, and you push the heavy doors open-

"There you are- Goddammit, I called like ten times," Dante greets you from behind his desk- boots on the table- and a whole pile of papers.

Holy sh- What the hell?

"Sorry, my phone died..." you start, staring at the bigger mess than usual.

"Ah," Dante smacks his lips, throws an envelope back on his desk and lowers his feet to the floor. "Vergil, it's about time you get a phone-"

"No, you bother me enough with your mere presence," Vergil responds dryly from the corner where he's putting away his coat. "I have no interest in you doing that through some device, even when you are not here."

"Ah, come on, you don't mean that!"

You walk over to the desk, eyes skimming over the papers, not even really hearing Dante and Vergil.

"Hey, is everything okay..?" you ask quietly, and Dante turns to you, brows raised.

"Huh?" his eyes flick to the bill in ur hand, just one of the many invoices spread out on the table. Then he looks back up at you. "Oh, yeah, great. Just a lil behind on, ehh... everything."

You stare at him a moment.

The ability to just not sound worried or serious for even a second is... truly remarkable.

"Alright-" You sigh, and then walk off to pull a chair from under the stairs, putting it next to Dante's.

You take off your jacket, hang it over the chair and sit down.

And then you realise that by doing that, you just offered Dante to help with math.

Ah, fuck-

Chapter Text

"How did it even become this much, out of nowhere?" you mutter, flipping through the papers.

"Oh, it didn't," Dante says, before squinting his eyes at the text in front of him, "I just put it aside and forgot about it."

Ah, well, if that's not relatable.

"To how far back do these even go- Dante, this one says May." You turn a pink envelope in your hand, before Dante takes it from you.

"Ah, shit-" he then mutters, and tosses it to the corner of the desk- an attempt at putting it away, seperate from the mess. It's not as bad anymore now you've worked through some of it, but it's far from done yet.

"Birthday party I skipped out on," he then explains to you. "Probably still gonna suffer the consequences of that."

Oh, yeah, checks out. The pink wasn't really giving financial bussi- Wait, birthday party?

...Patty?

You almost said it out loud, but luckily stopped yourself in time.

"A birthday party?" you ask, attempting to sound completely clueless.

"Yeaahh," he sighs, and then waves it aside. "Just leave it- I'll deal with that later."

Mhm, cuz that mindset has gotten you far. All the way to this mess right here.

You chuckle softly, and then focus back on the relevant envelopes and papers in front of you.

Goal is to just clear the mess for now- get rid of whatever is old and taken care of, calculate how big the problems are that will be left.

Your eyes flick briefly to the staircase. Vergil had immediately gone back upstairs... You don't blame him, at all- But it would've been nice to have someone competent help out with this. But it's not like you offering to help Dante is his problem-

And eventually you and Dante got it done, though. An hour or three and multiple breaks later, you're left with neat piles, an overflowing trashcan and a bunch of paper airplanes scattered around the office.

To say that this day was exhausting is an understatement- But luckily there's the comfort of a bed waiting for you.

The couch really wasn't bad, you slept just fine. But you'd be lying if you said the bed wasn't an upgrade. There's enough space to sleep diagonally, and it's a lot more cozy.

The room is still bare and boring, but at least you have your clothes put away in the closet, and you can leave your notebook somewhere else than between the couch cushions.

After writing and doodling a thing or two, you put it away and finally get that well-needed sleep.

Next morning, you let yourself sleep in- which is why you’re still in pajamas, lazily making breakfast when the front door creaks open.

Nero steps in, looking awake- much more awake than you.

"Morning," you greet him with a yawn, spatula still in hand. "You’re up early."

He gives you a flat look. "...It’s almost noon."

"...Right. Well, I’m up late,” you admit, earning the faintest smirk. "So, ehh- Why're you here?"

"Looking for Dante," Nero says simply, shoving his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t clarify further, but the way he says it sounds like checking in, or nagging about something Dante forgot again.

"Right," you nod, then turn your attention back to your breakfast. "No clue where he is, though. Haven't see him yet-"

Almost on cue, a door upstairs creaks open and footsteps drag over the floor. You turn when you hear them coming down the stairs, to see Dante appear there, hair a mess and rubbing his eyes.

"Ah. Found him," you comment, vaguely gesturing towards him with the spatula in your hand.

Dante yawns, and cracks his neck. "Man, what a night. I had the weirdest dream-"

Nero groans. "Don’t start. Last time you told me about one of your dreams, it was ten minutes about a pizza that wouldn’t cook."

"It was weird!" Dante protests, already heading for the kitchen. "I put it in the oven for, like, an hour and it was still raw in the middle-"

And then, before he can ramble further, a sharp voice cuts down from above.

"This device refuses to function."

Both Dante and Nero pause, turning their heads toward the upstairs. And so do you.

Vergil's standing there with a look of irritation, phone in hand like it personally wronged him.

"Hey, you got one! When the hell did you even buy it-?" Dante then breaks the moment of silence.

"God, it's noon, not everyone just woke up-" Nero sighs, before looking back up at Vergil. He seems to hesitate a moment, but then speaks again. "What's not working?"

"Everything," Vergil responds flatly, and turns the screen towards Nero. "It remains black."

Nero glances at you, and then rolls his eyes. "Alright, come here with that," he says, and walks over to Dante's desk, where there's still two chairs from last night.

Vergil makes his way downstairs while Dante joins you in the kitchen, stealing a bite from your breakfast.

"Hey, go make your own food!" you joke, earning you a grin from Dante. You plate your meal, and make your way over to the couch. You fold your feet under you when sitting down, and curiously listen in to Nero and Vergil, who are now sitting at the desk together.

"Did you charge it?"

"What?"

"The phone- They aren't always charged when you buy one."

Vergil’s jaw tenses, like the suggestion alone is an insult. "...That would be absurd. One should expect functionality from a new device."

From the kitchen, Dante snorts around a mouthful of something straight out of the fridge.

Nero groans, and gets up to get a charger from a drawer somewhere. "Make sure it has power before you declare it broken, yeah?"

Nero plugs it in, and the cable is just long enough to reach the desk. When the screen finally lights up, Vergil blinks, brows furrowing together as words immediately fill the screen.

Choose your language.
Connect to Wi-Fi.
Sign in with your Apple account.

The phone dings, then buzzes again. A notification flashes at the top: Enable Location Services.

Vergil narrows his eyes. "It is... demanding."

From the couch, you're quietly laughing, shoulders shaking and covering your mouth, refraining from looking at Dante to prevent actually laughing out loud.

"Oh, Jesus, you fucking boomer, alright-" Nero mutters with a sigh, taking the phone from Vergil.

"Hey!" Dante shouts from the kitchen, mock-offended at the indirect insult to him, given he's the same age as Vergil.

Vergil only exhales through his nose, gaze fixed ahead like he’s enduring the world’s greatest burden. "If this is what digital communication requires, I question its worth."

You finish eating your breakfast, with the great entertainment of Nero and Vergil in the background. After a quick shower and getting dressed, you decide to head to the library again. Alone, this time. It may have become an incredibly tiresome job, but giving up isn't going to get you anywhere either.

With a book you borrowed last time under your arm, you open the dark, heavy door of the library.

After returning the book at the front desk, you might try a different section this time... Not that it makes sense, but getting answers by skimming over the same stuff every time isn't likely either.

Lost in thought, you’re barely watching where you’re going until your shoulder bumps into someone else’s.

"Oh, sorry-" you mutter quickly, taking half a step back.

The man you bumped into steadies you with a hand and offers a polite nod. He’s tall, dressed in a suit, an unreadable sort of smile that flickers across his face. "Pardon, miss."

You blink, caught for just a moment by the unexpected formality, then give a curt nod of your own. By the time you turn back around, he’s already walking away, disappearing behind the door falling shut.

You continue your way to the front desk, with a lady sitting behind the counter, typing away on her computer.

"Hi, I'd like to return this, please," you greet the librarian, and place the old book on the counter.

She offers you a smile. "Alright, very well." She opens the book to take out the sticky note with your name and the date you borrowed it, since it doesn't have a barcode. None of the old books do.

You patiently wait as the librarian types some stuff on her keyboard, probably putting in the system that you've returned the book. That's when your eyes fall on the cover of a book in a crate next to her...

"Sorry, ehm- Can I have a look at that?"

The librarian looks up at you, and then at the book you're pointing at. "Oh, of course. These have just been returned. Feel free to borrow it."

She hands it to you, and your eyes are glued to one specific part of the cover. It's an illustration book- a kids' book: The Shadowhermit of Fortuna Castle.

But it's not the title that caught your attention, no- It's the drawn image of the Philosopher's Stone, in the hand of some wizard-looking guy. The exact Philosopher's Stone from Mallet Island.

But it's a children's book... Of what use could this ever be?

"Okay, all good! Thank you for returning it," the librarian pulls you from your thoughts, smiling at you and taking the book from the counter.

"Right- Yeah, okay, perfect. Thanks. I'll, ehh, I'll just be reading this back there," you tell her, before walking to the back of the library, between the shelves of old, weathered books. The usual study place.

It's grown on you, despite the time spent there not being very enjoyable.

You sit down at the desk, and flip the glossy book in your hands. The light from above reflects on it, making it a little hard to read the summary on the back:

The Shadowhermit of Fortuna Castle. The outcast who made a stone, binding man and devil together, turning night into day and life into forever, dwelt in the caverns below the bell tower that tolls no more. When he vanished, the villagers whispered that his soul had turned to rock, still waiting for one brave enough to seek him.

Sure sounds like a fairy tale.

But Fortuna... They've used real locations.

You flip the thin book around again, opening it this time, thumb grazing the shiny cover. Cartoon-ish illustrations fill almost half of the pages. 

There's something dark about them- You can't quite put your finger on it...

You flip through it a bit more, eyes squinting as they pick apart the images. Is it the coloring..? The faces? ...Does it even really matter? You're here for real information, not to judge the illustrations of a children's book.

Yeah, it's stupid. 

God, just leave it. You're being desperate. Get some real work done instead of wasting time on this.

You toss the book onto the desk, and lean back in your chair, arms crossed and eyes still glued to the glossy cover like it’s mocking you.

After a moment, you huff and push yourself to your feet, turning back into one of the aisles you’ve walked through countless times before at this point. The familiar shelves of dusty papers and cracked spines feel safer- serious, at least. Real. You drag your fingers across the bindings, scanning for something, anything that you might’ve missed before.

Maybe there’s a detail you overlooked. Maybe some phrase will mean something new this time.

The clock ticks; an hour bleeds away. Your shoulders ache from hunching, your eyes sting from squinting, your brain feels foggy with exhaustion.

You shut a book harder than you meant to and stand there in the quiet, staring at leather spines with faded titles on the shelf in front of you. You already know the truth: you’re circling the same dead end again.

With a groan, you turn on your heel and head back toward your table. The children’s book is still sitting there where you left it, bright and out of place against the muted backdrop of the old library section. You hesitate, then snatch it up with more force than necessary, tucking it under your arm.

Fine. Maybe it’s a waste of time.

But maybe it isn’t.

"Hi again," you start when you're back before the front desk, and put the book down. "I'd like to borrow it, please."

"Sure thing," the librarian smiles at you, and a bleep follows as she scans the barcode on the back of the book.

---

"Oh, you got us a bedtime story for tonight?" Dante jokes, after you tossed The Shadowhermit of Fortuna Castle on the table in front of the couch, the sharp thud cutting through the office.

You're tempted to roll your eyes- "Look at the cover," you urge, gesturing at the book.

Dante grunts, pushing himself up to sit straight. He reaches for the book, and your eyes flick between that and him, waiting for him to say something.

"Oh, hey, that's familiar," is all you get after a beat.

"Yeah, no shit- Hey, where's Vergil?"

"Upstairs?" Dante shrugs, seemingly guessing as well.

Okay, then he'll probably come down by himself. You don't have to go looking for him.

"Just a quick question-" Dante starts, now turning to you, the book still in his hand. "What are you planning on doing with a kids' book?"

"Okay, I know it seems stupid," you begin, and move to sit down next to Dante. "But of what we've found, it's the only thing even somewhat relevant to this Philosopher's Stone- And there's real locations used. Call me crazy, but maybe this isn't entirely fiction."

A beat passes.

"Crazy," Dante then echoes under his breath, flipping the book open.

"You would be surprised of what people hide in children's tales."

The voice comes from the stairs, calm. You don't have to turn to know it's Vergil, descending the last few steps, as if he’d been listening long enough to know exactly where to interject.

Dante snorts. "Don’t tell me you’re buying into this too."

Vergil takes the book from his brother’s hands without asking, studying the cover with narrowed eyes. He doesn’t laugh, doesn’t scoff- just flips through slowly, then closes it. He turns the book in his hands, eyes lingering on the summary text.

"I find it improbable that an artifact of such magnitude would be reduced to a child’s illustration," he says finally, though his tone is contemplative rather than dismissive. "But improbable is not the same as impossible."

Dante groans. "Great. Now we’re chasing fairy tales."

You give a faint shrug. "I mean... wasn't Sparda depicted in fairy tale-like stories as well? Myths, legends, whatever-" Your eyes flick between Dante and Vergil.

"Yet you two exist."

They exchange looks.

You lean forward, elbows on your knees. "Look, I know how it sounds. But we’ve spent weeks combing through dusty books and straight up garbage, and we’ve got nothing. If there’s even the tiniest chance this isn’t just some fairy tale..."

"What do you wanna do? Go around and ask for the dude with just his name? The name of a wizard from a bedtime story for kids?" Dante responds and leans back in the cushions again.

"I don't know, but- That wizard is holding the exact Philosopher’s Stone that's supposed to be on Mallet Island," you shoot back. "It’s not a coincidence."

For a moment, no one speaks. Vergil’s gaze is fixed on you now, cool but intent. Not mocking like Dante’s- weighing, thinking.

"I admit," Vergil says finally, "if that is true, the accuracy is... concerning. However, without some sort of plan, there is not much we can do here. Simply a visit to Fortuna will not suffice."

Your shoulders sag. The frustration you’ve been swallowing down all day burns in your chest. "So what, then? We just keep circling the same dead ends? Assume this wizard-guy or whatever he actually is doesn’t exist because it looks stupid?"

"Never said that- Look, Pajamas. I’m not saying give up. I’m saying use your head. This-" He gestures at the book in Vergil's hands. "This is reaching. And I'm all for it- But even for me; we have too little to go on."

You look at him, without really having anything to counter. You lean back in the couch with a sigh, and turn your head to Vergil. He's looking through the pages again.

His gaze lifts to you, and he closes the book. He extends his arm out, not dropping it into your lap or onto the table, but carefully handing it back to you.

"I would not discard it just yet," Vergil says, his voice gentler, seemingly directed just at you.

Your fingers brush against his as you take the book. His eyes linger on yours a fraction longer before he leans back again, turning around to the stairs in the same motion.

Your gaze remains on his back, without you even really noticing you're staring- Until Dante clears his throat next to you on the couch, and gets up.

You turn your head, and as you watch him walk over to the fridge, you accept the defeat.

For now.

You kick your shoes off and fold your feet under you, letting your head rest against the cushion in disappointment.

It's not really unexpected... even you, yourself, thought it was stupid. Dumb. Way too far of a stretch to be useful- But still, it's annoying that those feelings just got backed up.

The sound of a bottle of beer opening in the kitchen pops, and at the same time you feel buzzing in your pocket. You pull your phone out, to see a text notification.

"Pajamas, you want one?"

"Ehh-" You start, opening the text and already typing a response, a smile curling at your lips. "No- No, thanks. Probably shouldn't be drunk driving."

---

The highway wind pulls at your jacket, with the sound of two loud engines drawing out everything else- 

Trish guns her throttle first, sliding past you with a look over her shoulders. You just know she's grinning under that helmet. Her fingers flick once off the grip, "come on then".

You answer without words- leaning forward, twisting the wrist until your bike snarls to life harder, faster. Lady's arms squeeze tighter around you as your speed increases, catching up with Trish.

A tunnel swallows you, encasing the road and blocking everything else off. Trish rev-bombs hard, the sound bouncing off the concrete like cannon fire. You join in and laugh at the obscenely loud noise echoing through. A car ahead swerves slightly, driver sticking an arm out the window with a middle finger raised- Trish just blows him a kiss as she zips past.

The tunnel continues, white lights flicking by until you reach the daylight again.

Signs blur overhead. The world is reduced to speed, asphalt, and the faint heat of competition- until Trish suddenly flicks her blinker and veers off an exit. You have no clue where you're going, but follow after her, speed reducing when you follow the bend of the road.

After a while, the road narrows, the wide, smooth lanes of the highway replaced by cracked asphalt that smells faintly of brine. The buildings here are sun-bleached, windows crusted with salt. Fishing boats rock in the distance, their masts rattling in the wind.

You roll to a stop at the edge of a wide industrial pier, the kind that's sort of converted into something softer. Cafés with cheap plastic tables stalled out on the concrete, paired with matching chairs with comfortable cushions. Strings of lightbulbs overhead, and enough people to make it feel warm and not over-crowded. It has its charms. 

A skater rolls past, heading towards a group crowding together not much further down the pier at a skatepark. Shouts of laughter pair with music from a speaker.

Trish kills her engine and swings one leg over her bike in a single, fluid motion. She takes her helmet off, and strides straight to a vending machine with bright stickers peeling off the metal. She pulls a bill from her pocket. "Drinks on me," she calls back.

When you switch off the bike, Lady lets go of you and climbs off the back.

"Not too bad for your first time on the highway," she laughs after taking her helmet off.

You peel off your helmet, breathing in the salt-thick air. "Well, you kinda entrusted me with your life with that, so I sure hope so," you chuckle, and finally swing your leg over Lady's bike as well.

"Wait, that was your first time on the highway?" Trish asks as she hands you a can of soda.

You pop it open, the bubbles sizzling. "Thanks- And, yeah, it was."

"Well, that was some great riding."

You offer her an appreciative smile, and take a sip from the can, the soda sharp and cold on your tongue. Trish is already walking toward the low concrete barrier that overlooks the water, the skatepark noise drifting over in the background. Lady jerks her chin in that direction, and you follow, the three of you lowering down to sit at the edge with your legs dangling above the water, cans in hand and helmets on the ground behind you.

For a minute, it’s just the sea smell, the clack of wheels on concrete, and music blasting from the kids' speaker. You stare out at the boats rocking in the harbor, trying not to think, but your shoulders refuse to relax.

Lady notices first. She side-eyes you over her drink. "Alright, spill. You’ve had that look since before we left."

"Huh?" You look at her to your right, can against your lips as you were about to take a sip. But you lower it instead, thinking.

"It's... the Stone- Trish, I know Dante's kinda talked to you about it," you start, glancing at Trish to your other side.

"Yeah, he has. Sorry I couldn't be of any more help, I really wish a knew more," she says.

You huff a faint chuckle through your nose. "No, no, that's alright- What I'm getting on is that we've found something new- Well, I mean... Not really, but kinda."

"Oh, yeah, that fully makes sense. Very clear," Lady says sarcastically before taking a sip of her soda.

You laugh, a soft gust of wind blowing hair in your face. "No- We have a lead. We do. And I think it's worth going after but I can't convince Dante and Vergil."

"Want me shoot them until they agree?" Lady offers- and you're actually not sure if she's joking or not.

"Ah, yes, right- Cuz shooting Dante has gotten you much in the past," you remark with the same sarcasm she carried before. 

Lady snickers, and gives a light shrug, the wind gently pulling at her dark hair.

"What kind of lead do you have?" Trish brings the conversation back to topic, and you take a sip before you speak.

"A children's book."

A pause. Just the sound of music and skates.

And a seagull.

"A children's book?"

"Yeah, see- This is the problem. It sounds stupid, it kind of is. And there is not much solid information to work with- So even if I do think it's worth looking into, I get why Dante and Vergil won't."

"Okay... But then what solid information do you have? You said not much, but that's still something," Lady asks, sounding a bit more serious than before.

"That's exactly what I said- What we have is a location: Fortuna. And a name: Haldwig."

Lady pulls one knee up, her elbow leaning on it with her soda can hanging loosely in her hand. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said not much."

You stare at the fizz bubbling in your soda.

"Yeah..." you then finally, painfully agree.

"But it is the only lead you've had since you started searching, right?" Trish asks, and you nod.

Lady hums, and downs the last bit of her drink in one go. "Then maybe just go. Yeah, it's only a name and a place, but asking around is more than aimlessly flipping through pages." She leans back on her hands, looking at you as you throw your head back.

"I know..." you mutter, staring into the blue sky above as clouds drift by, and then face forward again. "But how do I convince Dante and Vergil?"

"Oh, come on, Dante’s not that hard to drag anywhere," Lady chuckles and sits up straight again. "Vergil, though..."

You hum softly, and then tilt your head. "I actually think he's the easiest one to convince. He seemed way less dismissive."

That makes Lady blink. "Really?"

"I don't know Vergil very well..." Trish starts, and you turn to look at her. "But I have to agree that it can never be that hard to convince Dante."

"And if he's really that stubborn, I'll just offer him money," Lady shrugs, and you raise your brows.

Now, that might work. Sounds much better than a bullet that won't do shit anyway.

You open your mouth again to speak, but suddenly there's loud crying from behind you.

All three of you turn around, only to see a skater had bumped into a little kid wandering around.

Parents rush towards the toddler, clearly not having kept an eye on it very well before.

The crying stops fairly quickly- the kid was just being dramatic from the scare.

"Drama king," Lady mutters, and you chuckle.

The three of you end up lingering for hours, legs dangling off the pier while the afternoon fades away. You talk and laugh, time flying by. You end up grabbing food from one of the stands, enjoying salty fries with the sound of the sea in the background. A seagull dives low, snatching at Lady’s paper tray, and you laugh while attempting to help her when she tries to swat it away.

By the time the sky colors orange and pink, the harbor is glowing with string lights, and the skatepark’s music has turned mellow. It doesn’t solve anything- you still have a half-assed lead, two stubborn men, and no good plan- but it’s lighter now. Less impossible.

When you’re back on the highway, this time pressed against Lady’s back instead of the other way around, you let your eyes close for a moment. The sound of the engines fills your ears. The wind tears past, Trish surging ahead again with a reckless laugh, and despite everything waiting at Devil May Cry, you can’t help the small smile tugging at your mouth.

For now, it’s enough.

Chapter Text

That night, you roll around over and over in your sheets.

Staring at the blank ceiling.

At the wall.

Unable to sleep.

You listen for sounds, just anything at all to grab your attention. But it's quiet.

You lay still, flat on your back. And after another few seconds you blow a piece of hair out of your face and roll over, grabbing your phone from the nightstand.

The room is suddenly lit in a white light, with the flashlight of your phone turned on. You drag your legs out of bed, and start searching the floor.

Maybe you'll find some new solid information in that little book to back up a plan.

However- it doesn't take long before you realise you never brought The Shadowhermit of Fortuna Castle up with you- It's still downstairs.

You sigh, irritated that you have to go all the way down the stairs- But you reach for the handle, and carefully open the door. In your pajamas and with your phone's flashlight lighting the way, you walk into the otherwise dark space, past Vergil's door, and down the stairs.

Soft moonlight pools in shapes of the windows on the floor, but it barely illuminates anything else. And with your eyes not used to the dark space, it doesn't help with seeing much.

Phone in hand, you walk straight to the coffeetable, the taps of your footsteps sounding awfully loud in the silence.

But there's no book on the wooden surface- Instead you find Vergil, sitting on the couch with it in his hands.

"Oh, shit, sorry-" you apologise, voice kept down, after blinding him by directing your flashlight straight at him. You quickly lower it to the floor, so there's still enough light to properly see but without anyone being directly in the spotlight.

Vergil blinks a few times, and then lifts his gaze to you.

"Can't sleep either?" you ask, staying right where you are.

"I have not yet made an attempt," he answers, unbothered. He lowers the book into his lap, eyes remaining on you.

"...You're still up..?"

You catch the shadow of the faintest twitch of a smile on his lips.

"Yes."

"Hm." You awkwardly stand there for another moment, but then walk over to the couch and sit down next to him, putting your phone on the table with the light up. "What're you up to this late, then?"

His eyes flick over your face, and then back to the book in his hands. "I figured I'd try and see whether there is more to this tale, or not. Possibly something to form a concrete plan."

"...In the dark?"

"I can see just fine."

You let out a quiet chuckle; of course he can.

A beat of silence follows, and you pull one leg under you to face towards Vergil. Your eyes scan over the open pages of the book as you think. You hesitate a moment, but then open your mouth again, keeping your voice down. "It's just... We do have a plan. Sort of." You pause, and Vergil patiently waits for you to continue, the slightest tilt of his head as a cue he's listening. "Asking around with only a name may not be much, but Fortuna is not that big. At least we'd be taking action instead of spiraling into depression in a library."

Vergil's eyes narrow slightly, taking in your words. They flick back to the book, and he slowly flips a page.

"It would be preferable to have something more solid... But even if we fail to come with a better plan, I admit it may not be a waste to visit anyway."

You light up at the words. Yes, you probably should still try to come up with a better strategy- You fully agree- But at least you now know you'll go anyway, even if there's nothing else to work with besides the name and place.

"Yeah, for sure it'd be way better if we manage to come up with something else. But in case we don't, we'll have to convince Dante- dunno if he's up and can hear us-"

"He is asleep- You... do not hear that?"

Vergil looks at you, brows slightly furrowed in genuine confusion.

Your expression mirrors his, eyes flicking back and forth between his blue ones.

"Hear what?"

"His obnoxious snoring."

You lift your gaze to the door upstairs that leads into Dante's room, a sharp shadow cast over it from your flashlight, and then look back at Vergil.

"No, I don't..?"

"...Hm."

Honestly, you completely believe Vergil. But apparently it's just not loud enough for your ears to pick up on through the walls. You're now envisioning it, and an amused smirk tugs at your lips, before you get back on topic again.

"Okay, so we'll then talk to him tomorrow morning," you say with a nod, affirming it to yourself, before looking back up at Vergil. "And right now, we can try and figure out a better plan."

Vergil glances between you and the open door to your bedroom upstairs, before his gaze fixes back on you. "Don't you think it would be wise to get some sleep at these hours?"

You give a faint shrug. "Kinda failing at that- And I came down to do this anyway."

His eyes flick over your face, expression unreadable, before he hands the open book to you.

A silent agreement that you can stay, and try to figure out more together.

You blink and shift in your place, gaze dropping to the pages as you take the book from Vergil.

It's already hard enough to read a word with the dim lighting, but you're also painfully aware of Vergil next to you. Watching you, instead of the pages. It's so quiet. Just the faint humming of the fridge, and the paper when you flip a page. You're almost scared he can hear your heartbeat-

God, who are you kidding; he can, for sure.

You try your hardest to just look at the pages instead of stealing a glance at Vergil, bringing the book closer to your face as you squint at the words.

Except you genuinely can't read shit.

"Ehm-" You then start, and turn the pages towards Vergil so he can see better. "One thing I noticed is the drawings. I don't really know why, but there's just something eerily dark about them- For a children's book."

His eyes are on the illustrations as he takes the book from you. He's scanning over the pages, looking for what you mean. This time it's you staring at him, instead of the book.

Watching how his head tilts a little when he flips another page, the little dot of light from your phone reflecting in his eyes as they flick back and forth.

You shift in your place again and tear your eyes away, the second you notice you're staring. "I'm not sure in what way it could be helpful, or mean something. But it's just something I noticed."

"Hm, no, I see what you mean," Vergil then mutters. "However, it seems rather unlikely that that alone will be of use."

You let out a soft hum, disappointed, but agreeing. Vergil then flips the book, looking at the glossy back of the cover.

"Although, perhaps this will be."

You furrow your brows, shoulder brushing against his when inching a little closer to read the text in the left corner, where Vergil is pointing.

Author and illustrator: Dorothy Adkins.

---

"Hi! Sorry- Do you maybe know of a man named Haldwig?"

"Haldwig? No, sorry, miss. Doesn't ring a bell."

"Okay, then maybe a Doro-"

The barman turns away from you, on his way to help someone else who's ready to order.

You stand there, defeated, book in hand.

You turn around, lips pressed into a thin line, and walk back to Vergil and Dante. They're standing in the middle of the place, tables with people seated around them.

Dante's waiting with his arms crossed, mouth opening for a "what did i tell you?", but you cut him off before he can get a word out.

"Don't-" you dismissively raise a hand at him, and walk past the brothers, towards the exit of the cafe.

You hear him snicker behind you as both the twins follow you out the door.

You and Vergil had tried your best, but the stupid little children's book truly gave you nothing more to work with than two names. So with no different plan, and only difference being that Vergil was on your side, you'd gone and tried convincing Dante.

Which actually didn't end up being that hard- Probably since at least now one of the people is actually real, and not only a fictional wizard. You didn't even need Lady for either bullets or money to bribe him.

Except what's annoying is that he was very right about the plan being utterly hopeless.

Walking out of the so-manieth place you've tried today, your shoes hit the tiled roads of Fortuna. You hear the door swing shut behind the three of you, cutting off the café noise. You turn your back towards the cars driving past on the asphalt street, when facing Dante and Vergil again.

"This was to be expected..." Vergil starts before you can out your frustration.

And instead of taking it out on Dante for being a smart-ass, you sigh. Your eyes flick over the busy street, before lowering to the ground. "Yeah, I know."

"Hey, I admire the persistance, I'll admit that," Dante says, defensively raising his hands and already turning around to continue. "Care to try another one?"

Okay, now he's just bullying me.

...Which he has every right to do, Goddammit.

You silently exchange looks with Vergil, before following after Dante down the sidewalk.

Rows of gorgeous, white buildings rise to both sides of the street. Old, elegant lamp posts line up besides the road alternated with trees, leaves colored golden and green. And over the lines of grey roofs, there's tips of towers and domes visible, all equally beautiful just like the windowframes decorating the buildings.

The Town of Fortuna truly is breathtaking-

Except you're not quite in the mood to be admiring beautiful architecture.

"Hey, Dante- Hold up," you call after him, and he turns back around to you and Vergil, standing still right in the middle of the sidewalk.

You pull him aside with a sigh, so the people walking here don't have to maneuver around him.

"Okay, first off- Even if we achieve nothing here, it's still better than sitting in the library. Because then, too, we'd have achieved nothing and at least now we're doing something."

Before Dante can even reply, Vergil cuts in with you. "An outcome devoid of results is still preferable to no attempt at all. At least this way we eliminate possibilities."

"I wasn't gonna disagree. I'm no fan of that library. All I wanna say is-"

"No-" you start.

"- I told you so."

You stare at him, unimpressed.

And he looks back at you, way too amused for your liking.

You sigh again. "Okay, well- Then let's split up. That way we triple our chance at finding someone who might know something."

Dante raises his brows, eyes lighting up at the sound of that idea.

"If anyone finds something, we can just call each other- Vergil, you have both our contacts, right?"

Instead of answering, his eyes drift past you, and before you can turn around to see why, you feel two taps on your shoulder.

You turn, and see an old lady lowering her walking stick back to the ground. Her posture is like that of a shrimp, and her clothes... out of place, for Fortuna. Too much like old rags to fit in.

Grey curls fall past her cheeks, framing her face which is carrying a friendly smile. "Follow me."

She turns around before you can even answer, and you look over your shoulder, exchanging confused glances with Dante and Vergil.

Dante motions with his hands, urging you on to follow her, looking intrigued. Vergil looks a little more suspicious... But both men follow you when you fall in after the woman.

You open your mouth to ask something, but she speaks first, without looking back at you. "I believe it is Haldvigue you're looking for."

The word comes out softer, almost French on her tongue. Not "Haldwig", the way you’ve been saying it. Haldvigue.

You raise the book, which is still in your hand. You open it to find a page with the name, and you read over it again.

Haldwig. Haldvigue. Right- pronunctiation.

Your heartrate picks up as you start to feel a little hope, and your arm falls back beside you, the book closed. "Ehh, yeah. Haldwig," you repeat, briefly glancing back at the twins again, and this time pronouncing it correctly. "That's who we're looking for."

The old lady doesn't respond. Her walking stick ticks on the tiles with every step as the four of you continue down the street, and cut into a side alley.

The noise of the street with people and cars fades behind you. The walls rise high, narrowing the small alleyway. You catch a bird flying over, before you look forward again.

"Just you. The men stay here," the lady suddenly says, dismissing Dante and Vergil with a motion of her walking stick. Keys jingle as she grabs them from her pocket, and she stops by one of the doors on the right side.

"Wha-" you stammer, and you hear Dante scoff a "Yeah, right" behind you.

The lady turns back around for the first time. She looks at you, like she's waiting for an answer.

Waiting for you to agree.

And you have a feeling she won't open that door or even speak with you if you don't leave them behind.

You take a moment to weigh your options. But it's not like you have many- You came here half-expecting to get nothing. And now it might pay off- Only if Dante and Vergil stay outside.

Your jaw tenses a moment, and you glance back just once. "Just wait here. It won't take long," you then decide, not looking back at the brothers again to prevent it changing your mind.

"Like we're just gonna let y-"

Whack.

The walking stick taps against Dante's shin before he can even finish. Not hard, but sharp enough to make him stop.

"The men. Stay," she repeats, looking at him.

"...Did she just hit me?" he mutters, half to Vergil, half to himself.

The lady ignores him and offers you a friendly smile again, before turning to the door.

You nervously tap your fingers against your leg, waiting as she unlocks it.

This time Dante stays as quiet as Vergil, but you feel neither of them like you walking through that door.

You're just grateful they trust you to be okay on your own, despite it.

You enter a messy, yet cozy kitchen. It's directly connected to a small livingroom, with just a couch, armchair and a little table. There's pots with plants everywhere, books scattered around and weird things stored in glass pots.

The door falls shut behind you, and the lady waddles past you as you take in the place.

You don't feel unsafe. Not at all, actually.

"Take a seat, take a seat," the old woman offers you, gesturing to the couch with her walking stick before she places it against the wall. You manuever between plants and books on the floor to sit down, while pans clatter in the kitchen.

"So you're looking for Haldwig, huh? Haven't met anyone trying to find him in a long time," the lady begins.

With The Shadowhermit of Fortuna Castle in your lap, you keep glancing around the room. There is something to see everywhere-

"Ehh, yeah. We were hoping to find..." your sentence trails off, as your eyes fall on a number of drawings on the wall. Your eyes narrow, head tilting.

Something about them... Dark. Eerie.

Just like-

"Sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name?" you then ask, tone friendly but curious.

"Dorothy," the woman answers, offering you a smile from over in the little kitchen. "Dorothy Adkins."

Aha. Jackpot.

"Tea?" Dorothy asks, a mug in her hand.

You hesitate just a moment- But then nod. "Sure, thank you."

You look around the room again, with all the little trinkets, rocks and crystals on shelves. After a moment, Dorothy waddles over to you, two mugs in hand.

"Treasurehunting based on a children's tale, hm?" she says with a warm tone, having seen you carry the book with you. You let out a soft chuckle, and Dorothy hands you your mug before sitting down opposite of you in the armchair.

"I would say it is a very absurd thing to try. But you know all about fiction having a chance of being real, don't you?"

You pause- or better to say; freeze.

Huh?

"I assume that's why you came looking for Haldwig. With his knowledge of runes, and... oh, all sorts of things. Portals, life and death, the nature of the universe itself. ...Dimensional travel."

Panic sparks in you, heat crawling up your neck- Your eyes flick to the door in the kitchen.

Dorothy hums softly. "Ah, yes, as I thought. They don't know. Don't worry, dear, they can't hear a word we're saying. Not even with that demon-hearing."

You clear your throat, and awkwardly shift in your seat with the warm mug in your hands.

I better hope not... And how does she know? About... any of this?

"...No. No, they don't know. But- why does this matter? I- It's not what we came for."

"Oh, it's not?" Dorothy sounds genuinely surprised, her mug at her lips, pausing as she was about to take a sip.

You shake your head, nerves calming down a little again.

"Then what is it I can help you with?"

You carefully take a sip of your hot tea, and then lower the mug into your lap again. "It's the Philosopher's Stone. We're trying to figure out if it can be recreated- And, well, given you're the author of a book about its origins, and you're saying Haldwig is real..."

"... You wish to know what else of that little story holds a truth," Dorothy finishes your sentence for you.

After a moment, you nod.

Dorothy adjusts her grip on her tea mug, expression saddening.

"Ah, well. Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," she starts, and your heart sinks. "What Haldwig did in his life... Those are dangerous things to meddle with, dear. They have consequences. Sometimes irreversible ones..."

Huh? This... sounds like it's going somewhere. This isn't disappointing at all.

You sit a little straighter, intrigued. Dorothy drinks her tea before she continues. "He wasn't the first with hunger for knowledge that turned into greed. Greed for more than knowledge... For control. Might. Power."

You listen intently. You're barely even aware of your mug cooling down in your hands.

"But he also wasn't the last. People lose themselves in it, lose parts of their soul... or the entirety of it."

Dorothy's voice sounds almost like a warning- but then her expression falters. It turns regretful, and you feel bad. It sounds like she knew Haldwig personally. It would make her... God knows how many years old, but that doesn't seem so impossible, given her connection with the wizard- Or alchemist. Scientist- Whatever he is.

"The Philosopher's Stone is the regrettable aftermath of Haldwig's ever-growing desire for more... His soul is intertwined with it. So no one can ever recreate it. I'm sorry, dear."

You... don't know how to feel. This is good. Great, even. It means at least this possibility for the Gate to the Underworld being opened is off the table.

But Dorothy's story stings.

The birth of the Stone was Haldwig's death.

"I'm... sorry for your loss," you say softly.

"Oh, don't be silly. That was a lifetime ago... or two. Don't you ask me how old I am. I've lost count of the years," she smiles at you, and you return a weaker one.

A moment of silence falls, and Dorothy drinks the last bit of her tea. You set your now luke-warm mug on the little table between you two, the soft thud breaking the silence.

"But, ehm- We didn't want to know about this because we want to create a new Stone," you then start, "the opposite, actually. So, this is good news to me. Thank you."

"Oh," Dorothy's face lights up, "I'm glad to hear that. Would hate for you to leave disappointed."

You smile at her, and then glance at the door in the kitchen. Where Dante and Vergil are waiting outside, right behind it. "Ehm. Thank you, truly- But I think I should probably head out, before, you know..."

"Oh, of course, of course!" Dorothy gets up with some struggle, and walks back into the kitchen. You get up to follow her to the door, book in hand. "I'm sorry about that, by the way! I was under the impression you didn't want them to hear anything."

You chuckle softly, finding the compassionate thought endearing. "No, that's okay. It's those two outside who probably have the biggest issue with it."

Dorothy laughs, and turns back to you with her hand on the doorknob.

For a moment, she just looks at you. A little curious, maybe?

"You truly do not wish to go home?" she then asks you, and the question catches you off-guard.

Do you want to go back to your own universe..?

"No." You shake your head. Your tone is soft, yet determined. "No, I don't."

There's a twitch of a smile tugging at your lips, thinking about everything that's happened. "Honestly... If anything, I would say this universe is home."

Dorothy lets out a hum, her eyes scanning over you. "Alright, then."

She turns the knob, and opens the door.

"Finally!" Dante pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against, but pauses, relaxes, when he sees your content smile. Vergil, next to him, looks up when the door opens, uncrossing his arms.

You look down at Dorothy once more. "Again, thank you."

She gives you a nod, her smile heartwarming. You step past her and join the twins, beside Vergil. His gaze lowers to meet yours, lingering just a little too long, curiosity evident in his eyes- Yet he stubbornly refuses to ask.

Unlike Dante.

"And? We couldn't hear shit- What did she say?"

"I have good news," you chuckle at his impatience, and your eyes flick back to Vergil's again. Your voice softens a little. "Thank you- for trusting me there to go alone."

"Ahhh, I see now," Dorothy says, suddenly sounding very amused, like she knows something no one else does. You turn back to her, brows slightly furrowed in confusion.

"You be careful, little lady," she tells you, finger pointed at you in a warning. "Remember my words."

Her eyes flick to Vergil once, and she then shuts the door with a thud. All three of your are left staring at it.

"The hell was that about?" Dante then breaks the silence.

You look at him, another pause following. A car honks in the distance, somewhere over in the streets.

"I... have no idea," you answer honestly, still a little baffled.

What the hell was that about?

Chapter Text

"So that was Dorothy Adkins?" Dante asks to confirm after you just told him and Vergil, strawberry gelato in hand. He takes a bite straight off the top of the cone instead of a lick, speaking around the cold like it’s nothing. "The woman who wrote that little story?"

After returning back on the main streets of Fortuna from the alley, you'd gone into the first icecream place you saw. Even Vergil got some- Now, with one strawberry, one chocolate and one of your flavor of choice, the three of your walk back out to the front to sit down at a round little table outside.

"Yup," you answer, chairs scraping over the floor. "And like I said- I have good news. But at the same time, we've hit a dead end again."

The three of you sit down, and Dante and Vergil exchange glances.

"The Stone can't be recreated," you begin, leading with the good news. "But that does mean we still have no idea why the portals at the town are being kept open."

"Hm. At the very least this means there is no chance at a new key being manufactured," Vergil affirms what you were saying. His eyes flick to his melting cone before he takes a careful bite.

You nod. "Yeah. So we most likely don't have to worry about the Gate suddenly opening, because whoever is behind this managed to do it. That scenario is off the table."

You take another lick of your ice cream, letting it melt on your tongue. A little lost in thought, you stare at the people walking by, before Dante pulls you out of it.

"Yeah, but then why?"

You glance at him. He leans back in his chair, and folds one leg over the other. "Those portals."

You shrug. "I dunno," you mutter, already feeling defeated again. This one answer you've been trying to find for weeks, gave you nothing more than new questions.

You let out a long sigh, and sit up straighter again, trying to put the feeling aside. "Okay- Then let's look at this from a different angle. We've been trying to figure out what is happening, and why-"

"-But not who's actually doing it," Dante interrupts you, and you nod while you have another lick of your icecream.

Both of you look over at Vergil. He lifts his gaze from his icecream. "Once we know who is responsible, we might get a lead to find out their intent," he then agrees after having given the suggestion a thought.

A short moment of silence falls.

"It... makes sense. There is not much else we can go after at this point- The only pieces we have are the Gate, its key, the other portals and the one behind everything. The Philosopher's Stone is a dead end, as far as we know; the Gate is nothing without it... We've been to the portals twice already and went through-," you start summing everything up, "...So that leaves figuring out who's behind it as the only thing to do. And then the 'why' of everything is next after that."

Dante looks like he's processing everything you're saying- But kind of failing.

"Sooo..." He starts, "no more library visits?"

Vergil remains pretty quiet, lost in thought and making sure his icecream doesn't melt to the point of getting dangerously close to his knuckles. But he's been listening.

You, too, stay quiet for a moment. A million thoughts in your head, but they never quite fully form before the next one comes.

"I don't know," you then eventually answer Dante, and he lets out a disappointed groan upon not hearing a definite 'no'. "Honestly, I have no idea where to even start with this."

The table falls quiet again, save for the occasional crunch of a cookie cone. Around you, the noise of the street continues, with exhausts of cars and people chattering as they walk by.

"Did she say anything else? At all?" Dante then asks after finishing his cone, and you look up.

Dorothy's words come back to you. The ones that nearly made your soul leave your body upon hearing them.

"...you know all about fiction having a chance at being real, don't you?"

"No. No, she didn't," you answer, and shift in your chair, eyes falling back to the last bit of your icecream cone.

At least not anything relevant.

---

Nico’s voice is half muffled under the hood of the van, a ratchet clicking as she works. "Hand me that ten-mil- nah, the other one. Yep, thanks, darlin’."

You pass the wrench over without looking, your fingers still holding the cold steel for a beat too long before she takes it.

She keeps talking- but you’re not really there for any of it.

Your mind keeps circling Dorothy’s words.

"You know all about fiction having a chance at being real, don’t you?"

Why haven’t you told them yet? It’s not like they’d- what? Kick you out? Be mad? You severely doubt Dante would even care. And Vergil... you aren’t sure.

That’s the problem.

Maybe you could tell them.

Maybe you should.

It’s not like you can keep this forever-

"-yo, you even listenin’?" Nico leans back from under the hood, dark smudge across her cheek, brows raised. She snaps her fingers once in front of your face.

You blink, caught off-guard, the wrench you'd just given to Nico back in your hand. "Huh? Sorry. What?"

She smirks, shaking her head. "Knew it. Zoned out. Told ya, too much library dust’ll rot your brain."

You huff a faint chuckle through your nose. "Yeah, maybe it does," you mumble.

Nico ducks back under the hood, and pulls on some things. "That should be grounded all right-" she mutters to herself and then walks off to a corner of the garage.

Not long after you finished your icecream, Nico had texted if you were free to help out with the van. Apparently Nero is out with Kyrie, so he can't do it. She didn't give much context, besides saying it was all busted up.

Honestly, you'd expected she finally crashed it- But turns out she was just talking about some stuff under the hood.

Either way, since you were in Fortuna anyway, you came over. And now you're here, handing wrenches and whatever else she needs.

But your hands move on autopilot. Tools in, tools out. Your mind is miles away.

It's just that everything is okay now- Besides the looming possibility of end of the world by Hell and Earth colliding-

But with you and... everyone. That's okay. More than okay.

You don't feel like you don't belong.

...And what if you mess it up by telling them..?

"Hello? Help out a sec, will ya? Unless you’re plannin’ on sittin’ there lookin’ pretty while I do all the work," Nico's voice suddenly cuts off your thoughts again- and this time coming from under the van.

"Huh- Oh, shit, sorry. Yeah," you quickly kneel down to peek under the van, which is now lifted off the floor just enough so Nico fits and can move around a bit. Next to her is a plastic, square bowl.

She nudges it towards you. "Take this, alright? Just- put it, ehhh, somewhere that's not here," she instructs you, and you pull it towards you- "careful, so ya ain't spillin' oil everywhere."

You slow your movement a little, and after pulling it from under the van you stand back to your feet. You put the bowl with murky, dark oil on a workbench, and turn back to Nico, who's already crawling from underneath the van again.

"Hey, so- What are we even doing here?" you ask, trying to distract yourself from your thoughts.

"Oil change," Nico grins at you, while trying to wipe the dark substance off her hands, but only making it worse. "Was kinda leakin' everywhere, but it should be all screwed on again."

"Is this thing even road-legal?"

"Dunno- Haven't had any problems, so surely it's fine," she waves your comment aside, and you snicker at the bluntness.

Hm, well, I guess if you're not driving on roads, but through buildings, it doesn't have to be road-legal.

Nico lowers the van back to the ground, and then ducks back under the hood.

"Hey, can ya go inside 'n give some gas while i check somethin'?" she asks, just pulling back for a second to look at you.

"Oh, sure," you nod, and walk around the van to crawl behind the front seat. The keys are already in the slot, and you turn them.

The motor sputters- 

And doesn't turn on.

"Ah, shit-" Nico cusses, and you curiously watch her walk over to the workbench, muttering something about a battery.

A moment later she returns with a wrench in hand, and she disappears behind the hood again.

Another moment later, a thumbs-up peeks over, and you take that as a cue to try again.

The motor sputters again... and then comes to life.

"Hell yeah, alright! Now a little gas- that's the pedal on the far right, sweetheart."

"I know how to drive, Nico," you chuckle while checking if it's in neutral, before you gently press down on the gas pedal.

And the sound that's coming from the back... you're not sure if that's good.

And judging from Nico's face , which suddenly appears over the hood as she looks up- it isn't.

You two exchange glances through the front window, and you climb out of the seat.

"Where the hell did you drive this thing into?" you ask as you join her by the workbench- and immediately doubt her choice of material when she grabs a roll of tape.

"Nahh, nothin' specific," she shrugs, "the many bumps 'n all are prob'ly just kinda catchin' up with her."

You laugh softly, impressed by the lack of concern for her van falling apart. You watch her crawl back to the floor, half under the exhaust. 

You can't see what she's doing, but patiently wait with your arms crossed. There's the sound of ripping duct-tape and some clanging.

"Fuck-" you hear her mutter under her breath, and a grin tugs at your lips.

"You okay?"

"Yeaaaah, all good!"

More sounds of tape and metal follow, and then Nico's standing back on her feet, admiring her handiwork.

"Just some new oil 'n then she's all done," Nico says with a grin, before turning to you. "Thanks, by the way. You're a real help. Saves me some cussin'."

Any more cussing than there is already, then.

"Yeah, of course," you say, casually tossing a wrench in the air with a flip before catching it again, and then smile at her. "Anytime."

Nico walks off to somewhere behind the van to grab something, and you're left staring at the reflection of your eyes in the metal wrench.

With thoughts creeping back to the forefront of your mind.

It's not that you're scared Vergil would be upset about you being from a different universe... Just maybe the fact you've been lying about it.

Though, it's not strange that you're keeping it from everyone.

Right?

Maybe he wouldn't mind. Probably not.

But your fear of being wrong is greater than your certainty.

---

Two days crawled by of just trying to figure out a plan. It felt like whatever you'd decide to do next, it would be a shot in the dark. There's no connection to anyone or anything- it's like grasping at shadows and merely hoping to get a hold of something.

Mornings bled into nights with having achieved no more than a headache. The hours felt slow and heavy, with not knowing what to do, until eventually you settled on something.

To Dante's greatest disturbance, you ended up back in the library. It's already dark out, and you him, and Vergil are the last in the building.

Besides the staff.

The only thing to go off on, is the ghost town where the portals are located. With that as only confirmed relevant information, you decided to dig into the history of it.

It's abandoned... but for how long has it been in this state? Why did it even happen?

What made everyone leave?

Though this time, you did bring a laptop. Sure, the town is old and abandoned, but not ancient to the point there's nothing to find on the internet.

Or so you had hoped.

"Are we even sure it's this area?" you mumble while going back to the Google Maps tab for the so-manieth time. Right where the town is supposed to be, it's blank.

There's no buildings. No streetnames. And no name of a town.

Dante bumps into your side- He'd somehow found a chair with wheels, and he's been rolling around more than opening books.

And the fact it can spin doesn't help with keeping him focused either- but now he has his eyes on your screen, and you zoom out a little.

"Yeah, it should be," he says, and points at the screen. "Look, that's the highway we took."

"Hm."

You already knew that. You know it's the exact same spot- but then why doesn't it show up?

"Maybe it's been abandoned for so long that this version of Google Maps just scrapped it?" you mutter, zooming in and out around the area.

Dante shrugs beside you, and then rolls away again, the chair spinning. "Maybe."

When clicking back on a tab with an old news article mentioning the area, you see Vergil appearing out of an aisle again, from behind the shelves. He sits down at the desk with a book he found, side-eyeing Dante.

But he chooses to keep his mouth shut.

For a moment it's dead silent. You're scrolling through the article, scanning over the words. But you're starting to doubt if the article is even old enough to be from when the town was inhabited. Either way, there's no mention of it specifically. You rub your eyes, the words on the screen starting to blur together. Your mind’s been running in circles for hours, and you can feel the fatigue pressing in now that it's getting late.

Then the sound of rolling wheels disturbs the quiet.

"What'd you find?" you hear Dante whisper from across the table, and you look up.

He's fully leaned into Vergil's personal space, eyes squinting at the pages without a care.

Vergil doesn't answer him. His eyes flick up to you, irritation written all over his face.

You chuckle quietly at the scene, before Vergil shoves his brother aside.

"More-" he says dryly, "than you have, this entire time. Once again."

"Hey, you're acting like I haven't done anything at all-"

"Well, he'd be close enough," you tease, and Dante stops spinning in his chair, looking straight at you with mock-offended disappointment.

A warm, apologetic voice of a woman behind you breaks the moment before any of you can speak again.

"Hi, sorry. I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We’re closing up."

You turn around to see the librarian stand there, hand resting on a bookshelf.

"Oh- Of course, yeah. We'll pack our things and be off," you kindly tell her, and already close the laptop.

It's not like you had anything to finish up anyway.

The librarian gives you a short nod with a smile, before she leaves to the front desk again.

When turning back to the twins, Vergil flips through pages with disinterest, and then closes the book.

"I will put this away," he mutters as he turns to leave.

"Wait-" you stop him, and he glances back, "you can take it home, then we don't have to look for it again next time."

"Hm." His eyes flick down to the book, and he then folds it under his arm. "No, I doubt it will be of use. It turned out not to be what i thought."

You shrug, being fine with whatever, and Vergil turns again to put the book back where he found it. Dante doesn't have much to put away, so the two of you wait for Vergil to return.

It's only a moment later that he's back, and on your way out you wave the librarian goodbye, wishing her a good night.

The door opens to the crisp late evening air, and warm light from lampposts illuminates the streets. It's gotten noticably chillier at the later hours, and it honestly feels like you're finally allowed to breathe again after the heat of late July and warm days of August.

You're the first to step out onto the sidewalk, and you take a deep breath, the action followed by a yawn. Vergil follows after you, Dante stepping out last with the door falling shut behind him.

A car drives past as you turn to follow the road back to the office, a long shadow of your bodies shrinking on the tiles as it drives up from behind.

"Hey, actually-" Dante then speaks up from behind you, and you turn around.

"I'm gonna grab a drink before heading back- wanna join?"

A faint smile flickers over your face, before shaking your head. "Thanks, but I'm pretty tired- probably better off spending the night on the couch."

Dante shrugs, in a way that says 'fair enough'. He then turns to Vergil- maybe a little too hopeful.

"No."

Vergil already turns around again, walking back the way you came from the office. Your eyes stay on him for just a second longer before facing Dante again.

"Ehhh- See you tomorrow?" You guess he probably won't be back before you've gone to sleep.

"Yeah, probably," he says with a grin, and raises his hand in wave as he cuts into the opposite direction you and Vergil are going.

You turn back to see him standing still, a small distance ahead under a lamppost. Waiting for you to catch up.

With a little jog, you join in next to him, and the two of you walk back together. A soft breeze tugs at your hair, and the rustling leaves on the trees overhead.

When returning, the office feels quiet without Dante. Quieter still after Vergil disappears up the stairs.

You tuck yourself into the couch cushions, turning the TV on and skipping aimlessly through channels until you settle on something half-watchable. The glow of the screen paints the room in shifting colors, the only company left with you.

A few minutes pass in that stillness, and you then get up to drag yourself into the kitchen, putting on water to make yourself some tea.

Despite the exhaustion you feel in your body, you really don't feel like going to bed yet. Maybe the cozy warmth of a cup of tea will lull you to sleep by itself eventually.

While you wait for the water to boil, you open the fridge, eyes curiously scanning over its contents. You find some strawberries, and snack on them until your water is ready. The smell of the herbs enters your nostrils as you pour it into your cup, and you contently shuffle back to the couch.

Attention back on the TV-show, you try and figure out what's going on after you missed a bit. By the time you understand the context, you hear footsteps coming down the stairs. You glance over, watching Vergil join you downstairs with a book tucked under his arm. You expect him to pass through to the kitchen for tea.

"I just boiled some water- There's probably more than enough left for another cup," you tell him, and he turns his attention from the TV to you- then to the kitchen, and back to you.

"Thank you," he says, an appreciative smile flickering across his lips. Your gaze follows him walking past, and lingers as he puts his book down on the counter, and then pours himself a cup of tea as well.

Your eyes tear away, back to the screen, the moment he turns around. You take a careful sip of your tea- burning your lip.

You frown at the sting, and quickly put the cup on the table in front of you so you won't make the same mistake half a minute later.

That's when you feel the cushion next to you dip under weight. Vergil lowers himself onto the couch beside you. He opens his book, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

You feel like you're in a play, and someone just went off-script-

...except you've never been taught how to improvise.

He's never willingly stayed downstairs in his free time. Let alone joined you on the couch.

You sit a little straighter, your feet folded back under you. For a while, the only sound is the TV and the soft turning of a page. You steal glances, not entirely sure what to do with... well, just... this.

Should you say something? Or just let him be-?

"Do you watch this often?" Vergil's voice then disturbs your trail of thought, unexpectedly. He doesn't sound judgmental- a little hesitant, if anything.

You glance at him, seeing how he's lowered his book to temporarily look at whatever is going on in the show.

You blink, realizing he’s talking to you, not just idly remarking. "Not really. I was just... killing time, I guess."

A faint hum leaves him, neither judgment nor agreement, just acknowledgement. He looks back down at his book, but the air feels different now- like he opened a door you didn’t know was there.

You smile, small, a little nervous. Just a brief silence falls between you.

"What are you reading?" you then carefully ask, genuinely curious.

His eyes flick up, briefly catching yours. There’s the tiniest pull at the corner of his mouth, almost amusement. He lifts the cover slightly, just enough for you to see a glimpse of it.

The Iliad.

"Just some light reading, huh?" you joke, voice soft, and your eyes flick back up to his.

"A story of war and pride," he replies, tone even, yet there's a rare softness in his eyes. They drift back to the pages, and he flips one. "I figured I should finally give it a read."

Your head tilts slightly, curious. Vergil looks up to the TV, once, before his gaze rests on the book again. "This is the one I bought," he says after a pause, quiet, as though it doesn’t really need saying. "Back when you insisted on that notebook."

Your lips curl into a smile. That for sure is some time ago. You weren't able to catch a glimpse of the title back then, in the bookstore.

You hum softly. "That's been catching dust for a while, then, yeah," you mumble, amusement in your voice.

Again, there's a flicker of a smile on Vergil's lips.

Your eyes stay on him a beat longer, another moment of silence between you.

One that doesn't feel like it needs words to fill it.

The noise from the TV grabs your attention again, and your eyes drift back to the screen. A lot more relaxed now, you watch the show.

With Vergil beside you, reading.

Minutes pass, your mind honestly not even really following the show anymore. Sleep starts tugging at your consciousness as you let your body sink into the couch cushions, the sound of flipping pages grounding in the comfortable silence between the two of you.

The buzzing sound of the TV fades to the background...

...and your head tips over, eyes closing, sleep quietly overtaking you.

Chapter Text

You blink against the morninglight, the brightness filtering through your lashes. Leather clings faintly to your cheek, and you lift your head from the couch with a yawn.

Fuck... What time is it?

To peek at the clock on the wall, you move to sit up straight- But pause when a blanket drops from your shoulders, pooling in your lap. You lean back on an elbow, frowning at it- you definitely didn’t grab one last night.

Last night... what even..?

You probably dozed off at some point.

The room is still, the type of quiet that only comes in the morning. You rub your eyes, before they fall onto the book Vergil had been reading, left closed on the coffee table. There is no sign of him now.

Him or Dante.

Your eyes drift back to the blanket, still covering your legs. You lower them to the floor, sitting up straight and gathering the fabric in your lap. You fidget with it, the material soft against your skin and still warm from your bodyheat.

I fell asleep without it- So did Vergil..? No... is that delusional? ...Maybe Dante gave it to me, when he came home and saw me asleep on the couch.

You stop fidgeting with the blanket, and stare at it.

...Could Vergil have bothered?

You become increasingly more aware of your heart beating in your chest, the more you think about it- So you pull your phone out of your pocket, distracting yourself from overthinking it. And there's a rare notification of a text message from Vergil, from an hour ago:

Vergil: Dante and I are at the library. In case you wish to join us. - Vergil

You can't help but snicker at the sign-off as if he's sending an email. You type a quick reply that you'll be there soon, and then get up to take a shower and whatever before heading out the door.

Continuing doing research in the library seems the only thing you can do for now. It's the most logical- Yet there's still this part of your mind that's gnawing at you... A part that wants to go back to the ghost town. Just to see if there's anything more physical you can find. Anything at all.

But you've already been, and it's probably not going to bring you anything new by going again. So another trip to the library, it is.

However, you never arrive there.

Walking over the sidewalk, with the morning sun overhead, you turn another corner- And see Vergil walking in your direction, a short distance away. Your brows furrow, curious as to why he's here. You hurry your steps a little, meeting him halfway of the distance that was between you.

"Hey- Is something wrong..?" you ask, curious but a little worried, but then you suddenly turn hopeful. "Or did you find something?"

"Neither," Vergil answers, it almost sounding like a sigh, "well, not necessarily. I am only returning to retrieve the computer. Dante left it behind, when leaving this morning."

He pauses, and there's the faintest twitch in his brows. "And given he has finally managed to make himself useful, I did not want to risk ruining said rare focus."

You can't help but chuckle. Honestly, fair enough for wanting to keep him at the library in that case. You lift your gaze to Vergil again. "You could've texted if I could bring it, though? I was on my way to you guys, anyway," you shrug.

"Hm. Yes, I suppose," Vergil mutters. "That had not crossed my mind."

There's a pause between you, and a thought flickers across the forefront of your mind.

You reconsider it for another second, and then open your mouth to speak. "Ehm, I was thinking, actually..."

Vergil's eyes flick back and forth between yours, with a curious, faint tilt of his head.

"Should we go back?" You then throw it out, and a beat passes before you elaborate. "The ghost town. I... don't know why, but there's just this thought in the back of my mind that refuses to go away."

Vergil looks at you. Zero change in expression... It makes you have a hard time trying to figure out what he's thinking-

Then a soft hum escapes him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You wish to go back?"

There's another pause. A group of people passes you, and your eyes flick to them once before looking up at Vergil again. And you nod.

"I see how it can be of use. After all, previous visits we were not actively looking for trails of people. Or even for merely having absolute certainty that there is nothing more to be found there, we could return."

You still wait for a definite response.

He looks to be considering something, and then he straightens his posture.

"Hm. I do suggest we leave Dante be," he says dryly, hand shifting to the hilt of the Yamato. "For the exact reason I just told."

"Oh- Wait, we're going now?" you ask, a little perplexed by the immediate effort to take action upon your suggestion. You were just voicing a thought.

"I don't see why not," Vergil replies, already having the Yamato unsheathed.

In the middle of the street- Alright... I guess there's not many other people.

"Okay, yeah- We should let Dante know, though," you say, taking your phone out of your pocket while the humming of a portal enters your ears. "I'll just text him."

Vergil patiently watches you, waiting as you're typing a quick message.

You: me and vergil are going back to the town. wanted to let u know- we're only leaving u here so we can do two productive things at the same time

You hesitate a second, almost putting your phone away again, but then send another text:

You: and btw thanks for the blanket :)

After that, you put your phone in your pocket again, and give Vergil a nod. "Alright, let's go."

He disappears through the portal, and you follow after him. It's been a while since you've felt the odd sense of cold engulfing around you, drawing out all else before washing away like you've never felt it to begin with.

You step out in the now more familiar, sandy, overgrown street. Dirty, old and abandoned houses around you, with orange-tinted leaves of the trees reaching up in the sky over roofs. The rustling sound grounding in the new environment, while the buzzing portal behind you zaps away.

Vergil is a few steps ahead, looking around before his gaze rests on you.

"Is there anything in particular you suggest we should look for?"

"I'm... not too sure," you answer quietly, catching up with him. "Like you said, previous times we hadn't really been looking for any signs of people. Except I have no clue what those types of trails or signs would look like."

Vergil looks at you a moment longer, and then turns away to start searching around, you falling in next to him.

"Then what compelled you to want to return here?" he asks, with genuine interest. "You spoke of a thought refusing to quiet in the back of your mind. Is it purely instinct?"

You sideways glance up at him, and think a moment.

"Pretty much, yeah..." you then mutter, and halt right by a gate leading onto the porch of a house, to your left. Vergil glances up at it, eyes scanning over the windows, then resting on the front door.

"Then we will simply see what it brings us," he says quietly, and passes in front of you to open the gate, its hinges creaking.

You follow after him, onto the porch to the front door.

The rustling sound of leaves in the wind dulls, when entering the house. You step out in a hallway, framed pictures still hung up on the wall at your right side, and a staircase leading to the next floor on your left.

Vergil continues down the hall, stepping into what seems to be a livingroom.

But you stay there a moment, looking at the pictures. They're covered with dust, but through the layer of dirt you can still make out the people. It looks like the house belonged to a family of four... A father, a mother, and two little boys.

You wonder where they are now.

The stillness in the house feels heavy, like the past of their lives still echoes through the walls. All you hear is Vergil, in the room ahead-

And the sudden buzzing of your phone in your pocket catches your attention. You quickly pull it out, expecting to see a response from Dante.

And you were right:

Dante: Oh thats not my work. Yoi were already snuggled under it when vergil dragged me out of bed this morninf

Your brows furrow together.

It... wasn't Dante who put a blanket over me?

You lift your eyes to the doorway ahead, into the livingroom, where Vergil still is.

Then your phone buzzes again, and your eyes flick back down.

Dante: And ohhhh yeah SURE thats why you two lefr me behind💔

Dante: Dont worry pajamas, no hard feelings

Dante: I would hate to intrude

You were about to type a reply, asking what the hell he's on about, but your fingers abruptly stop moving, when an image pops up on your screen.

A picture.

You, with your head resting on Vergil's shoulder, and his head resting on yours. Both asleep, his book left open in his lap, and the faint light of the TV softly cast over you two.

And he sent it with a caption:

Dante: Look how cute🥰🥰

Your eyes are glued to your screen.

You had no idea.

I fell asleep on him?? ...And he let me???

You stare at the photo, at the steady rise and fall of his chest frozen there in stillness, and for one dizzy second you swear you can feel the weight of his head resting against yours again. You feel your heart practically beating in your throat, heat rising to your cheeks.

When he woke up he must've put a blanket over you, then- And he let you sl-

"Are you all right?"

Your eyes shoot up, phone still in hand. Vergil's standing in the doorway, eyes resting on you. For as far as it's visible on his face, he looks genuinely concerned.

All you do is stare at him. You can't get a word out- Until your name leaving Vergil's lips pulls you out of your trance.

"Y-yeah, yeah, no, I'm fine," you manage to get out, voice tight from sudden nerves and fear he notices the redness in your face. "Why?"

Vergil looks you up and down a moment, eyes squinting ever so slightly.

"Your pulse. It suddenly picked up."

Oh, God, that's even more embarrassing.

"Oh-" You chuckle a little awkwardly, and you put your phone away. "No, I just- I was just wondering about these people."

Your eyes flick back to the photos on the wall. "About what happened to them, y'know."

Vergil approaches, looking at the framed pictures, and he halts next to you.

While he's now inspecting the photos, you're more focused on your breath, in a poor attempt to make your heart calm down.

He's so indifferent about it... He hasn't even mentioned it- I mean not that he should, but... it's like it never happened, while it's such an unusual thing. Am I being dramatic-? Does he even know Dante has a photo?

A soft hum from Vergil pulls you back from your thoughts. "Yes, I do wonder why they left in such haste. That counts for every household here, for that matter."

His gaze drops to you. "In any case, whatever future they imagined for themselves here, it ended the moment this place fell," he mutters, eyes flicking back to the frames once, before he turns to the staircase. You look at them a moment longer, before following after him.

"Maybe Dante has more luck with finding out anything about that," you say, the stairs creaking with every step, and dust falling off the railing as your fingers trail along. "About what exactly happened," you add quietly, eyes falling on one door specifically, out of the many in the hallway you newly find yourself in.

The only one that's left open.

Vergil walks in ahead of you, a faint touch opening the door a bit further with a squeak.

A boys' room.

With walls the color of a faded blue, toys left untouched on the floor, legos and books on a shelf. An unmade bed with flannel sheets, where no one will ever sleep again. There's a handmade, wooden sword standing up against the wall next to it, and stains on the wall and floor right under the window, from rain finding its way in over the years, through the gap that's left open.

While Vergil looks around, you remain still. With your eyes on him.

You can't help it.

His face is expressionless, devoid of anything readable, as he takes everything in. He pauses a moment when his eyes fall on the wooden sword. It leans forgotten against the wall, its edges dulled from play. Vergil’s gaze lingers on it for just a beat, though his face remains impassive. He then looks away again, and reaches for one of the books on the shelf.

There's something soft about the quiet stillness of everything, yet the memory of a little boy's childhood weighs heavy in the air.

Dust falls from the book, when Vergil picks it up. With his fingers brushing the cover, the material creaks when he opens the book.

Your expression shifts to faint curiosity- though whether at the book, or at the man holding it, you can’t be sure.

He flips a page- just once, barely glancing at the next page. Then he shuts it again, sliding it back onto the shelf without a word.

His head turns, eyes falling to you.

"We should move on."

You're a bit startled by the suddenness of it- You've just been standing there, doing nothing.

"Ehh- yeah. Yeah, let's continue."

You turn around, moving out of the room first. You clear your throat, and glance back at Vergil once.

"I'm curious about everything here-" you begin, already opening the door next to where you walked out of. "But... do you think we'll end up finding anything actually useful?" Your voice is no more than a soft mutter, almost careful, as you're starting to doubt your own instinct to come back.

The door opens up to the master bedroom, and the first thing grabbing your attention is the tall, full-body mirror right opposite of you on the wall.

Your own eyes staring back at you, the rest of your reflection shaping and melting in odd ways. Vague, shifting colors show Vergil standing behind you in the doorway.

You hear him hum softly. "Perhaps," he mumbles, but it doesn't sound very certain.

You tear your gaze off the mirror, it falling onto the perfectly made kingsize bed to the left, and you walk inside. The room barely feels lived in, with how neat and tidy it is. It's just... dirty, with the amount of undisturbed dust layered on everything.

There's a framed family photograph hung above the bed, and a closet standing opposite of it. Your eyes circle around the room-

Until they fall back on the mirror.

"What if we're searching on the wrong side?" you wonder, walking up in front of it. Though it's more of a suggestion to go through, rather than an actual question.

Vergil looks up, and then moves to stand behind you again, eyes flicking over the reflective, warping surface.

"You are unarmed. Do you think it is wise to be following through from this point on, if it means entering the portal without a weapon," he reminds you- And you'd forgotten that there's still a small chance of running into demons on the other side.

Could I manage to beat one of those little fuckers with just my fists..?

Your eyes squint ever so slightly, thinking about it.

Then you turn, looking up at Vergil.

"If we stay together it should be fine. Maybe I can't get rid of one without a weapon, but if it came down to it, I can hold it off long enough for you to end it."

Vergil's eyes flick over your face, considering it.

"Very well," he then mutters, and pauses a moment. "...Shall we, then?"

You turn back to the mirror, and look back at him in the odd reflection just once, before bracing yourself, and stepping through.

Cold ripples over your skin, a knot tightening in your throat as it threatens to cut off all air. Despite having felt it before, slight panic rises, the pressure on your chest increasing-

...until it ebbs away, as you step out into the bedroom again.

Everything mirrored.

And... nothing is different.

It's set in its current time.

You're not sure why, but it feels off. And it's not the ever-changing, melting of your sight.

Vergil steps out of the portal behind you, and you turn towards him.

"Nothing is different," you state with a slight frown. "Did we come across parts that were in their current state, last time?"

Shit, I can't remember... The thing that's stuck with you the most is that everything was in a different time. Except which ones exactly..?

Vergil seems to be trying to remember as well. "I cannot say for sure," he then says, and nods at the hallway a moment later. "Let's return to the street, and see where we shall go from there."

You nod, and turn back around to the door. The two of you go back down the stairs, walk down the hallway on the lower floor, and out the door.

The red glow of the Mirror Dimension washes over the porch, a faint rumbling echoing in the far distance when you walk outside.

You glance around, opening the little gate and going back out to the middle of the street.

It looks familiar.

Of course it does, you've walked here before. It's the same street you walked out on the last time you entered the Mirror Dimension here.

Except back then, it was paved tiles under your feet. Not covered in sand.

You turn to look at Vergil- and judging from his expression, he's come to the same conclusion.

"The moment in time is different," he says.

You're not quite sure what it'd mean... but it sure as hell makes you uneasy. "Yeah... It is."

You glance down the street, at the other buildings there.

They look the same. Abandoned, like the house you just came from and how they are over on the other side of the portals. They're still part of the same block- so the borders are not what's shifted.

It's the literal moment in time which the chunk exists in.

That's what's changed.

"Your instinct to return was not misplaced," Vergil says quietly, drawing your attention back to him. "If this sector has shifted, then we must determine whether the rest have remained constant."

You think for just a short moment, and then nod. "Yeah, just one part doesn't give us the whole picture- Let's go down the same way we did last time."

On guard for any demon to appear, you and Vergil walk down the street, side by side. Dusty sand kicks up with every step as you continue in silence, until you reach the corner the street takes.

And right where Dante halted last time- the two of you stop.

"It continues..." you mutter under your breath, eyes straight ahead.

There is no forest. No trees, no bushes- just a paved road, and lines of houses on either side. These perfectly intact.

"So each individual section switches time period," Vergil theorizes.

"That's what it looks like, yeah," you agree, and turn to him, eyes worried. Except you're not sure yet why you're so anxious.

You try to wrap your head around it.

If the moments in time switch... Then what- How does it even happen? Could it be random? Is it a circuit-?

Your mind trails off to different questions, while Vergil's expression suddenly sharpens, eyes flicking up to yours.

"If these parts are constantly changing, there is a possibility we have reason to worry."

"Yeah, I was doing that already- I just can't figu-"

Suddenly, you feel like all color is being drained from your face.

"The Philosopher's Stone," you mutter, as it hits you.

Vergil nods.

"If the time can change, the Stone can be back at Mallet Island. It just depends on when it shifts to a moment when it was there."

"Precisely," he says, his voice low.

---

"You two don't look too happy. Didn't have fun?" Dante says with a grin, as you and Vergil hurry over to him at your usual research desk in the library.

"No- Listen, we probably have some bad news," you start, a chair scraping over the floor as you pull it back, and you sit down beside Dante, turning to him.

"Oh-" His expression falters slightly, some curiosity in his eyes as they flick between you and Vergil, who's moving to sit down at the table as well. "I mean that's not great. But I have good news."

You exchange looks with Vergil, all three of you staying quiet for a moment.

You wonder what on earth he could've found while you and Vergil weren't here. Either way, your news probably is more urgent.

"Okay, sure, but save it for last. Bad news first: there's a chance the Philosopher's Stone isn't gone."

Now Dante genuinely looks a bit more serious. There's a faint twitch in his brows, as he glances over at Vergil, before his eyes rest on you again.

"What do you mean 'isn't gone'?"

"The time the sections of the dimension find themselves in, has the ability to change," Vergil answers, and both you and Dante look at him, "Considering that fact, there is a likely possibility the location of the Stone will at some point switch to a state where it is present."

A silence falls over the table.

Then Dante leans back in his chair, dragging a hand down his face. "Well, shit- Yeah, that's bad news."

You nod slowly, eyes absentmindedly staring at the wooden surface of the table.

"We're gonna have to figure out if there's maybe some sort of pattern in it," you say, lifting your gaze again, "that way, if we're lucky and there is a pattern, we can maybe predict when it'll happen."

Dante hums in acknowledgement. "Yeah, sounds like the best plan for now."

You let another silence sit for moment, before you speak again. "Anyway, though... You said you have good news?"

"Well, not necessarily good news-"

Oh, are fucking kidding me...

"-but I have progress."

Again, you silently exchange looks with Vergil-

"Don't look at each other like that, have some faith in me, jeez!" He jokes, and sits up straight again.

"Well, then what is it you found?" Vergil asks, patience running low.

"I managed to dig up some interesting bits about the history of the area," Dante starts, and you straighten your posture a little, intrigued. "I didn't find anything about what happened there, and why it is the way it is today. But turns out it's been unowned land for years- up until a few weeks ago. Someone bought it."

Someone... bought the land? What?

"Oh, and thanks for the laptop, by the way, that was a real help," Dante adds sarcastically, looking at Vergil. "Now I had to use those ancient computers they have at the front-"

"Okay, ehm- you can blame me for that. But someone bought the land?" you ask, refraining from dragging off-topic.

Dante turns his head to you. "Yup."

Your brows furrow together in a frown, thinking. "Did you find anything about who bought it?"

"Nope, I have no clue," Dante answers. "But I know where we might find the answer."

Both you and Vergil look equally as confused, waiting for Dante to elaborate.

"A real estate agency."

"Okay... But then how do we get the information? Isn't that like- I don't know, maybe confidential?" you ask, still just as confused.

"Well, yeah," Dante shrugs, "but that doesn't matter if you're not asking for the information."

Vergil exhales through his nose, the faintest twitch at his jaw. "Your plan is to break in and steal the applicable files," he states. It's not even a question-

But the grin on Dante's face sure as hell is an answer.

Chapter Text

You're flat on your stomach, staying as low as possible. With moist moss under your palms, you cling on to the edge of a roof. You peek over it, watching Dante and Vergil go down a rain pipe and landing in the alleyway below, illuminated in soft moonlight.

A cool breeze tugs at your hair, it slightly obscuring your vision as you're staring down, procrastinating following after the twins. The cold from the surface under you has made its way through your clothes at this point.

God, it's so annoying we couldn't just teleport inside with the Yamato...

You close your eyes a moment, and take a deep breath. When you open them again, you see both Dante and Vergil looking up at you, quietly waiting for you to follow.

It's not like putting it off is gonna change the fact you're gonna have to climb down-

The sound of gravel shifting under you, when you move to lower yourself over the edge, sounds incredibly loud against the quiet of the night. Your feet find a bit of surface to stand on- even tho it's only two bolts on the sides of the rain pipe- and your fingers curl around the cold, metal pipe, adjusting your stance so you can climb down.

This roundabout way to get in better pay off.

Careful, and aware of every beat of your heart against your ribcage, you place your feet up against the smooth, concrete wall, and start climbing down.

"Alright, no doubt there will be cameras inside there. Just teleporting in would be dumb," Dante says, typing away on the laptop in his lap, comfortably laid back in the couch cushions next to you.

"Hm. Then I'm surprised you consider thinking of it as a bad idea," Vergil mutters dryly, earning him a look from Dante, before he leans forward to put the laptop on the table, showing a Google Maps streetview.

After deciding your next move would be to break into a real estate agency of the area, the three of you immediately went back to the Devil May Cry office to work out a plan. If you manage to come with something solid, you'll be going tonight.

"Look, see that alleyway? That building on the corner is where we gotta break into," Dante continues, pointing at a small side alley right next to an officebuilding on the screen, and Vergil walks around the table to be able to see as well. "There's a window in the side," Dante says as he zooms in on the white-framed window against the bare, concrete wall, "that's our way in. Picking the lock at the front won't work because of the security camera outside."

You squint your eyes at the screen, and then lean forward to zoom in. "But there's a camera right there on the corner as well," you mutter.

"Yes, but it's angled towards the street. As long as we don't walk into the alley from the front, we won't be seen," Dante responds, a proud grin on his face.

"So we will climb down from the roof, into the alleyway. I assume that is your plan?" Vergil says, crossing his arms. And it's only now that you see that the narrow passage has a dead end on the other side.

"Exactly," Dante confirms, leaning back into the cushions again, one leg over the other and crossing his arms as well.

You think a moment, leaning forward with your elbows on your knees. "Okay... Sure. But then once we're inside? You just said that there will be cameras. We'll still have to deal with those."

"We'll tape 'em up. Either me or Vergil will go in first and black out the cameras. We're fast enough to not be seen- or recognised- on footage."

Okay. That doesn't sound like a horrible plan.

You nod slowly. Next to you, Vergil hums, seeming to agree with the idea.

"And then we try passwords to get to the files on a computer?" you guess the next part, and Dante shrugs.

"Pretty much. It's kinda hoping we'll get lucky at that point. Maybe some forgetful old fart has it written down somewhere."

Gravel crunches under your shoes as your feet hit the ground, and you turn to Dante and Vergil. Dante gives you a short nod, and then a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"We're in luck so far," he says, thumb pointing over his shoulder at the window- your way in.

It's left open. Not fully, but just far anough to reach inside and open it all the way.

While Dante is on that, Vergil waits beside you, and you put on a pair of gloves- which the twins already did while waiting for you to climb down from the roof.

Even though you're not physically stealing anything, leaving any traces would be irresponsible. No doubt they'll notice someone broke in, from the blacked out cams.

The hinges of the window creak softly against the quiet of the night, and you look up to see it wide open- But you're starting to wonder if these two men will even fit through.

"Alright, Vergil, your turn. Just let us know when we can come inside," Dante says, moving out of the way.

Vergil says nothing, and just climbs through- With a surprising amount of ease, given his shoulders in fact barely fit.

Honestly, you're not even sure if you're actually are surprised. Impressed, though, that's for sure.

Dante stands leaning against the wall next to the window's opening, arms crossed and completely unbothered like you're not actively breaking laws.

You were about to say something to fill the silence while you wait- but before you know it, Vergil appears at the window again.

"All cameras on which we could potentially appear should be taken care of," he informs the two of you, and Dante gestures for you to go first.

"Ladies first."

You let out a half-amused hum, and walk up to the open window. Your eyes scan over the frame- only just now this moment trying to figure out how to climb through.

Well, shit.

Then you decide to just go for it, lifting a foot and hoping the rest will follow naturally.

Not even half as gracefully as Vergil, you manage to struggle your way through. Your feet land on the other side, inside the building, and immediately Vergil's hand comes up, gently steadying you when you momentarily lose balance.

"Thanks," you say quietly, and his hand lingers a second longer as you move out of the way for Dante to climb through after you, before it falls back beside him.

You blink a few times, eyes adjusting to the dark.

The only light is coming from the streetlights, through the large windows at the front. There's half a wall separating the front area with the back, where you three are. There's various desks, all with a monitor, some with circle stains from mugs. Underneath there's tiny specs of light from the PCs. All the way in the back is another wall separating the space. It's... really boring.

In a few corners are a tiny, blinking red lights- The cameras. All perfectly taped off.

"Alright... Time for password-guessing," Dante mutters as he strides past you and Vergil, pulling back the closest office chair.

You watch him turn the PC on, the sudden light of the screen half-blinding you. It cuts hard against the darkness of the room, Dante's face illuminated in bright white.

"Okay, we'll look for something like a paper or sticky note with a password," you suggest, voice kept down and eyes slightly squinted. Dante gives you a thumbs up, and you glance over at Vergil.

He nods, and the two of you start looking. Vergil starts scanning past every desk, while you go to the back. The musty smell of old coffee enters your nostrils, turning the corner behind the wall. There's a small kitchen area, with a coffee machine. And a whiteboard with scribbles and notes.

You take out your phone, turning the flashlight on.

Password, password... Password... Come on, please...

Your eyes flick over the various notes hung up with magnets.

But no password- Well, there's a WiFi password, but that's useless.

You angle your flashlight to the counter, and start looking through stuff there- Pens, paperclips... Sugar, milk, honey, spoons... But nothing even remotely close to what you're looking for.

Next, you pull open a drawer. There's a whole bunch of bullshit, but no note with a password.

But there's keys. Keys with labels.

Specifically, it's the one labeled 'files' that looks interesting.

Do they still keep physical maps with papers of all the files here..?

Your flashlight moves across the wall, to a door. As far as you noticed, it's the only other door here besides the one to the toilets.

You turn around to go and let Dante and Vergil know what you've found- but Vergil is already right there. You flinch at his sudden appearance, almost bumping into him.

Everything is so quiet that you hadn't heard him approach you.

"I think I found something," you whisper, taking a tiny step back and looking up at him. The keys jingle in your hand as you lift it, showing them to Vergil.

There's a faint twitch at his brows. "Physical files?" he mutters, reading the label on the keychain. His eyes then lift to yours, before shifting to the door behind you.

"I have no idea what types of files, but it's worth a shot to look through them," you say as your fingers curl around the keys again, and Vergil's gaze lands back on you.

He gives you a short nod, and you turn to try out the key on the door. "It is likely there will be more cameras in there. Wait here a moment," Vergil instructs as you turn the key- and the door unlocks with a click.

You open it, and Vergil slips through.

Only two breaths later, having barely even heard a sound from the room, he's back already at the entrance. You step inside when he gives you the softest nod. There's a stuffy smell in the air, a little similar to the old section in the library. The space is even darker than the office area, and you shine your flashlight past Vergil.

The beam reflects off rows of metal filing cabinets, all labeled with letters too small to read from where you're standing. Your flashlight moves to illuminate the rest of the aisle, faintly washing over a bank of shelves with ring binders stands at the far end.

The room isn't huge- but there's more than enough cabinets to feel intimidating; where the hell are you supposed to start?

You hear Vergil's footsteps in the background as he continues along the racks, going shelf by shelf, methodical. You move closer to one of the drawers, squinting your eyes at the smudged writing on the label, flashlight focused on it.

"A"

...It's in alphabetic order? Shit, that makes sense, but we don't know the buyer's name- For fuck's sake. The one thing we're looking for is what we need to navigate through all this?

The loud sound of scraping metal disturbs the quiet when Vergil opens one of the drawers, and you immediately redirect the light to him. His gloved fingers brush along the edges of the many maps, before his hand stops. He pulls one out just far enough to read the label, along with some dust.

"They are sorted on location," he mutters, letting the map fall back between the others, and pulling out another one. "If I am not mistaken, these are neighborhoods."

"Neighborhoods?" You frown, and walk over to Vergil. "The whole town seemed to be non-existent on the map... Do we just look for the name of the surrounding area?"

You pause a moment, trying to recall the name. Your eyes avert to the floor as if it will give you the answer if you stare long enough. "Shit, what was it... Burrow- No- Narrow... Narrow-something?"

Vergil shuts the drawer again. "Marrow Glen."

Right. Marrow Glen.

Almost in sync, both you and Vergil turn to the other wall, flashlight scanning from top to bottom over the cabinets, the metal flaring white. You squint your eyes at the labels.

K... L- M.

You quickly pull the top one with the "M" label open, being just tall enough to be able to read the marked names on the tabs. Vergil is right next to you, his fingers flipping through the maps quickly.

These aren't even close to 'Mar-'.

"Try the next drawer," Vergil mumbles, and you both simultaneously close and open the two drawers above one another.

Mag-... Map-... Maple... Maple... Maple...

"Why's there so many starting with 'Maple'," you mutter with an irritated frown- until your eyes suddenly light up.

"Marrow Glen," you read the name on the tab, a flicker of excitement in your eyes when you briefly exchange glances with Vergil.

He pulls the map out, the yellow paper new and dust-free. You scoot a little closer when he opens it, laying it flat on the remaining maps in the drawers.

It doesn't contain much.

Your eyes scan over the text, looking for one thing only: a buyer. A name.

Your flashlight beam pools on the text, stark white against the cream paper, the edges of the page falling away into shadow. Your eyes squint to catch the words, letters blurring for a second before they sharpen.

And right when your gaze falls on the words, Vergil's hand comes up and he points at the name, his arm brushing yours in the motion.

"A company," Vergil mutters, finger tapping on the name.

Damaris Development Inc.

Your brows furrow into a confused frown. "A company bought that land?"

You turn your head to the side, looking up at Vergil. "Then maybe they have nothing to do with the portals..? It's not weird for a business to buy land, right? Maybe they're planning on renovating it."

"Hm, that seems rather unlikely, given any sort of name and address has been wiped off the map," Vergil mumbles, eyes flicking over the rest of the text, his finger trailing over the lines.

You drop your gaze again, and hum softly, admitting there's truth in that.

And then Vergil's finger pauses.

"Besides... this does not contain anything regarding renovation plans."

You lean a bit closer, curious to read what Vergil has paused on.

Agreements and conditions...

"...They bought it only so they could place security?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case," Vergil mutters in thought, brows slightly furrowed.

But there is nothing worth protecting there, except those portals.

You look back up at Vergil, and his eyes meet yours. "Then they gotta have something to do with all this, right? Why else place security in a place like that?"

Vergil hums softly, his gaze dropping briefly. "What concerns me more is the fact we did not notice any form of security. Meaning either it is horrible, or they chose not to interfere."

You let the thought marinate in your mind a moment, before speaking again.

"...Going out of their way to buy the entire land only to put security on the grounds, and then for it to be mediocre... That doesn't add up," you add to his thought, and it's all only confusing you even more.

"Precisely," Vergil confirms, eyes squinting at the page again.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Dante's voice suddenly cuts through the quiet stillness, more light spilling into the room when he swings the door open.. There's this tiny hint of a tease to his tone.

Your head shoots up at the abruptness of it, like a deer in headlights. In the doorway, Dante's silhouette leans lazy against the frame, one hand braced on the handle, the other on the wood. The faint glow from the office behind him catches the edges of the smug little smirk on his face-

Which is quickly wiped away, when you purposefully shine your flashlight directly at him. He flinches, raising an arm to shield his face.

"No, you're not."

"Okay, shit, sorry-" he snickers, and then walks in when you lower the beam, joining you and Vergil to your other side. "Found anything, then?"

"Yes, we did," Vergil says, and Dante's already reading over the paper.

"Oh, this is the same thing I found in the digital files," he mutters with raised brows. "Apparently they have physical copies, huh?"

"You figured out the password?" you ask, genuinely impressed.

Dante turns to you with a grin. "Nah, just found it. There was a note hidden under the keyboard."

Oh.

"Hm." You pause a moment, eyes briefly falling back onto the open file in front of you. "Anyway, did you come to the same conclusion? It's pretty suspicious we didn't notice any sort of security, while that was their sole reason for even buying the land."

"Yeah, we should probably look into-"

"Let's not discuss this here. There is nothing else for us to find, so we should leave," Vergil then interrupts his brother.

Oh, right. We broke into this place. Staying longer than necessary would be stupid.

"Okay, yeah, I'll just take a picture of this," you say and raise your phone to make a photo of the file. The room suddenly goes dark when you open your camera app- Then the flash blinks once, and the image is added to your gallery.

You open it, zooming in to check if it's readable, and then nod. "Okay, yes, perfect. Let's go."

Vergil flips the yellow map closed, finding its original spot in the order of the maps and letting it fall back in place, all in one smooth motion. 

Dante's already waiting in the doorway when you close the drawer, the metal scraping until it clicks shut.

While following Dante out, you quickly send the photo to both him and Vergil.

---

Back at the Devil May Cry agency, you're still completely awake.

Purely from adrenaline.

The time is nearing 3am, when you, Dante and Vergil are gathered by the couch again. The warm light illuminates the room from above, and the "Devil May Cry" sign glows bright red behind you.

You've kicked your shoes off, comfortably huddled into the couch cushions with a pillow in your lap. Vergil's standing beside you, and Dante is sitting on the edge of the couch, fingers on the mousepad of the laptop on the low table in front of you.

The image of the file is opened on the screen.

"Okay, so we got a company name," Dante mutters, scrolling up and down to quickly scan over anything else potentially relevant for now- but he then opens the internet browser. "Not a direct person, but a lead to maybe finding one."

You hum quietly. "Yeah, unless genuinely the entire company is behind it. Not just the owner," you say as Dante types "Damaris Development Inc." in the browser. "Why? Beats me... but I guess it can be a possibility."

"Yeaahh, maybe..." Dante mutters, clicking on a link.

A website opens up.

It's... Very blank, very boring. Blue and white. It has a very modern look.

Dante scrolls through the first page with a long sigh. There's paragraphs of promises about development, renewal, community... Not anything you three care about.

"Go to the 'about us' tab," Vergil cuts through, and Dante briefly glances at him before moving to mouse to the tab, and clicking on it.

More paragraphs of text. Mission statements, vague words...

There's pictures of people, but not specifically someone standing out as the owner.

You sigh, and Dante scrolls further down- and finally something interesting shows.

"Founder & CEO: Victor Damaris," you mutter, reading the text.

But there's no picture.

You frown, getting a bit annoyed.

"Nothing else on the guy," Dante concludes after skimming through the text beneath. "What the hell..?"

"He's the owner of the company, and he doesn't even have anything about himself on his own website? Not even boasting about his wealth, or just anything?" you say, genuinely surprised at the lack of information. It only makes it all the more suspicious, but it's not helping.

"Try looking up his name separately in the browser," Vergil instructs again, voice sharp and focused.

"I was already on it," Dante grumbles as he opens a new tab, typing in the name.

Multiple links show up, and you read through a few articles and paragraphs. But it doesn't take long to realise that it's close to impossible to find anything about this man. Most articles are phrased as gossip, and more serious ones tell more about Damaris Development Inc. or state that Victor Damaris is a very private investor and developer. Little is known, avoids publicity, he's rarely photographed.

Well, more like not at all, apparently.

"Well, Victor... You're one hell of a suspicious man," Dante mutters, and you can hear the annoyance in his voice.

"Honestly, this looks like only more confirmation that this is our guy, though," you say in an attempt of optimism, but you can't help but share Dante's irritation.

Finding out who the person behind the Mirror Dimension portals is, is great and all. But what use is it if his name is all you know?

Beside you, Vergil hums, crossing his arms. "I must say, I agree. This does frame him to look more suspicious as an individual, rather than the entirety of the company. Perhaps he uses it as a front to work behind, so his actions will not be directly linked to him."

Dante shrugs. "Yeah, maybe..."

He clicks back on the tab of the company's website, and starts looking through other random stuff.

He scrolls without much care. Board members, mission statements, stockholders- blah, blah, blah. All the same empty corporate noise.

There's only the buzzing of the laptop's temperature regulation, the clicking of the mousepad and the faint humming of the fridge.

You’re half tuned out when Dante suddenly pauses.

"...Oh, would you look at that."

The page loads with a handful of glossy photos- hotel ballrooms lit by chandeliers, tables lined with champagne glasses, businessmen shaking hands like they’re acting for the camera. All very curated.

At the top, a bold header reads:

Annual Damaris Development Halloween Gala.

You blink, sitting up straighter. "A Halloween event? That’s... not what I expected."

Dante snickers, leaning in closer to skim the text. "Says here it’s some networking thing. Business owners, investors... Y’know- pretend they’re human and making friends."

Your brows furrow as you take in the sleek promo photos. Men in tailored suits, women in elegant dresses, masks and decorations giving the rooms a false warmth.

"...You think he attends this annual event?" you then theorize, and Dante's head turns to you, tilted. His brows are slightly raised, considering that potential idea.

Vergil leans slightly over your shoulder, his voice low. "If he truly is as private as the articles claim, then it stands to reason this... gala may be the only setting where he makes himself visible."

Dante grins at him. "What, you suggesting we crash a party?"

Vergil doesn't respond- Probably meaning that, yes, that is exactly what he's suggesting.

You glance up over your shoulder at him, then back at Dante.

"But Halloween is still... a little less than two months away," you say, a slight frown on your face, doubting whether it's smart to sit around for that long.

"Yes, that is true. However, if we do manage to decipher a pattern in the changing of the time sections, we may be able to afford waiting that long," Vergil says, but you're not quite understanding what he's trying to say.

You turn to him, curious to hear his elaboration.

His eyes flick down to meet yours. "If it allows us to predict the correct date and time of the Philosopher's Stone's reappearance, we can be certain of this gala being an oppertunity. That is if the date is set after October 31."

Now it clicks in your brain- "Because we'll know for sure that nothing will happen before that date. So if it's after October 31... We can safely wait for that long," you reiterate to confirm, and Vergil nods.

You turn back to Dante. His eyes shift between you and Vergil.

After a moment, he shrugs.

"Alright, sounds like we have plans for Halloween."

Chapter Text

"So... How do we even go about deciphering this... pattern. If there even is one," you say with a frown, a yawn swallowing your last few words.

The adrenaline, and maybe even excitement, made you stay awake until late- And it was already a few hours into the night by the time you got in bed; it's safe to say you didn't get much sleep last night. The couch feels so comfortable right now, that you doubt you'll want to get up and do something today.

"Dunno," Dante shrugs from over in the kitchen, the sound of metal scraping against a pan following right after. "Mr. Genius over there is the one who came with the idea- The idea which I still don't understand, by the way," Dante says, turning around and vaguely gesturing with the spatula towards Vergil, sitting behind his desk. He doesn't acknowledge Dante in the slightest.

"But you did agree to it..?" you ask, being rudely interrupted by more spatula scraping.

"Yeah, well-" More struggled scraping, "you seemed to get it, so surely it makes some-" Scratch, "sort of-" Scratch, "sense."

Reluctantly, you get off the couch and leave the comfort of the cushions behind, dragging your feet over to the kitchen to see what the hell Dante is trying to do. "You are going to ruin that pan even more than it was already, if you keep that up," you chuckle- and your brows furrow in confusion and disgust when you stand next to Dante, finally seeing what's in the frying pan. "...What is that supposed to be?"

"Pancakes."

He sounds a little too proud for the mess of dough lumps presented to you, sizzling in the pan with crunchy bits here and there.

"Right," you comment, lips pressed into a thin line- not even surprised. Or disappointed- It's just dreadful acceptance. "Last time I checked pancakes aren't supposed to be scrambled."

"Well, they stuck to the pan, what else was I supposed to do?" Dante retorts defensively.

"Properly prepare, and follow a recipe, so that would not happen to begin with," Vergil finally decides to join in on the conversation.

You turn to look over your shoulder, leaning on the kitchen counter with a hand.

"And for your low comprehension skills, I shall repeat our next plan of action once more," Vergil continues with slight irritation, as he gets up from the chair and instead leans against the desk, crossing his arms and facing you and Dante.

Dante picks a syrup-drenched chunk of pancake scramble that was already on his plate, and mindlessly chews away as he faces Vergil again. His expression silently urges him to go on.

"So long as the Philosopher's Stone is nonexistend, we have no need to worry about the Gate to the Underworld being opened-"

"Mhm, yeah, I got that far. Don't worry, I'm not that slow."

"If you would let me speak..." Vergil replies with a clipped tone, and an amused smile twitches at the corner of your lips before Vergil continues again. "...What this entails, is that if we were to know when exactly the Philosopher's Stone reappears, we can be certain the Gate will not be opened before then."

"Which makes that period of time safe to just wait out, since nothing can happen," you add, and Vergil nods.

"Precisely."

"Right. So now you wanna go try and predict when the Stone will reappear?" Dante asks, brows twitching into a frown as he's thinking. "And if we're sure the point is after Halloween, we can go to the gala."

Vergil nods again, and Dante hums before plucking another lump of pancake from his plate, and adding the rest from the pan.

"But what if there's not a distinct pattern in the change of time? If it's just random? That'd mean we can't predict it," you ask, only thinking about that just now.

Dante looks over at his brother again, seemingly amused that you found a flaw in Vergil's plan- either that or expecting a solution. Or both.

"Yes, that is a possibility. In that case we will simply need to come up with a new plan to find this Victor Damaris. Either that, or risk the wait, but I would strongly suggest we refrain from doing something so precarious."

You hum softly, just thinking about it for a moment. As long as we don't have a set date, we're in constant uncertainty- and maybe danger, if the timing catches us off-guard...

"Okay... And what if there is a pattern, and we can predict the date, but it's before Halloween? What do we do then?"

"The same thing," Dante shrugs, "come up with a new plan. Basically, what I'm getting from this is that it's a whole lot of hoping things will go according to plan- If it doesn't, we might be absolutely fucked."

You look back over at Vergil, with an uncomfortable tightness growing in your chest.

"Unfortunately, yes. Dante is right."

You shift your stance a little, trying to deal with the unease of the confirmation.

Last night, the plan seemed so perfect... But now you realise it's very risky. There might be a ticking time bomb, inching closer as it's counting down... and you don't even know.

But if there was a better plan, you would've come up with it already. You have nothing to go off- So having faith is all you can do.

You nod, taking a breath. "Okay. Yeah. No, I'm sure it'll work out fine- Still, to get back to my initial question, though: how do you plan on deciphering a pattern?"

"Logging the time periods of the chunks of land," Vergil starts as you walk back over to the couch, and let yourself sink back into the cushions. "Theoretically speaking, it is quite simple. Only it requires time and patience."

"You just want to write it all down... and then try and work out a pattern from the logged time changes?"

"Yes."

God, that sounds anything but simple. You don't know where to even start with keeping an overview of it all- let alone puzzle with the data to find patterns.

"Okay, so you're saying we'll spend the next... days- weeks- In that dimension? You wanna scribble it all down while being in that sickening place, day and night?" Dante asks while chewing, not making any attempt to hide his distaste for that idea.

"Depends. But if necessary, yes."

"So you're volunteering?"

"I severely doubt your presence would be of any help. So yes, I am."

Dante opens his mouth again, but you interrupt before he gets a chance to speak. "Ehm- Aside from who would be of help and who wouldn't be; I do think it might be a good idea for only one person to keep track of this. It sounds like it will be... a lot. And if all three of us are going to make an attempt at keeping track, it will just become a mess no one can follow."

"Sounds good to me," Dante agrees, shrugging and crossing his arms.

"Then at least that is one thing we can agree on," Vergil says, his tight expression slightly softening when his eyes fall from Dante back to you. "We can attempt to work out a pattern together, but yes, the notes must be made by only one person."

His gaze lifts before he adds: "I will do it."

You glance between both brothers. Dante made it very clear he doesn't think he should be the one to do this- But you feel bad to have the responsibility automatically fall onto Vergil. "Are you sure? I mean, I could do it, too-"

"I know."

Your eyes meet Vergil's again. You stay quiet, gaze lingering, and then accept with a nod. He clearly doesn't doubt whether you're capable of doing it- yet still wants to be the one to take up the responsibilty.

And why argue? You aren't exactly eager to do this job- hell, even if Vergil is, you aren't sure if you could actually do it without messing up.

The silence stretches for a moment longer, while Dante is still eating in the kitchen, and lazily throwing dishes together in the sink. For some reason, your mind goes back to their earlier back-and-forth bickering, and a small smile twitches at the corner of your lips.

"Hey, why don't you two spar together more often?"

"Huh?" Dante responds, looking over his shoulder at you with raised brows, and then glancing over at Vergil- who was already turning away to leave, but he stops and turns back around.

You shrug, when seeing their intrigued but somewhat confused expressions, and then elaborate. "Instead of the bickering, why not fight more often in a way that's actually fun?"

Neither of them deny finding it fun. But neither of them say anything to confirm, either.

Both Dante and Vergil glance at one another, and then you, before Dante shrugs. "He doesn't like losing."

"I have never lost."

"Yeah, yeah, sure you haven't," Dante waves it aside as he turns back to his plate.

You snicker. "You both clearly enjoy it," you add, the amusement on your face growing. "Spend some time together. Just- don't kill each other- But I don't think it's a bad idea."

A silence in response again.

Vergil eyes you up and down, assessing you, before turning back around. "Perhaps," he then answers vaguely, and ascends up the stairs.

Once his door falls shut, Dante immediately turns around to you, chewing on the last pancake chunk from his plate. "He has lost. Multiple times. Even to Nero, once."

"You know he can still hear you, right?" you chuckle.

"I know. That's the point. Only now he can't deny it, cuz he's not here."

As if on cue, the door upstairs opens again, and Vergil reappears. This time with the Yamato in hand, and a notebook tucked under his arm.

"I will not deny having lost a fair fight. Yes, I lost to Nero. With you, however, that has never happened," he drones as he comes back down the stairs.

Dante's gaze follows him. "Agree to disagree," he says with an amused grin, crossing his arms as he leans against the kitchen counter.

It earns him a glare from Vergil, but no verbal response. "I will take my leave. The sooner we start on logging, the better."

"Wait, you're going there right now?" you ask, brows furrowing and posture straightening in surprise.

"Yes."

"Okay, wait-" you start, and quickly get on your feet to grab your shoes. "I'm coming with you."

Vergil pauses, glancing your way for a moment- it’s hard to tell if he’s surprised or just weighing the idea- before he nods once, and unsheathes the Yamato.

---

"Why aren't we at the castle on Mallet Island?" you ask, after having stepped out onto the street in the ghost town, the one that's gotten familiar at this point.

The buildings around you glow in the deep burning red, illuminated from the sky above, and the lines of frames and walls of buildings melt into one another- A sight which has gotten familiar by now as well.

"The island resides in the same dimension. There is no need to be in the exact location, if we are merely deciphering the behaviour of the dimension. Whatever pattern- if we will find one- applies here, will be where the Stone reappears as well," Vergil informs you, his lips moving out of sync with his voice.

Dante didn't come along, since he'd be meeting up with Lady not much later today. So it's just you and Vergil, walking beside each other, down the same street as you did yesterday. It's still in the same state as it was then.

"Hm. Yeah, okay, that makes sense," you mutter, looking down a narrow street to your right as you walk past. It's dark, not even touched by the blood red glow from above.

The distant echoing sound of your footsteps continues, for a while that being the only sound around you. Not even a quiet rumble in the distance.

Just stillness-

Until Vergil speaks again.

"Earlier," he begins, and you glance back up at him, "You asked why Dante and I do not spar more often."

Your head tilts to the side a little, curious as to why he's bringing it up again. "I did, yeah."

"Most would discourage it," Vergil continues, and his gaze meets yours. He halts, and so do you, turning towards him. "You, however, seem to think it’s... endearing," Vergil adds, with a sense of interest to his voice.

A small smile tugs at the corner of your lips, and you give a faint shrug. "Well, yeah. Because in a sense I think it's your way of showing you care about him."

Vergil's eyebrows twitch, knitting together in a glimpse of surprise on his face as your words land- but there's no dismissal to the idea of it. For a moment, he doesn’t speak. The faint hum of the distorted air around you is the only thing filling the pause.

A beat later, he opens his mouth to finally say something- but no words leave his lips, because he catches your eyes narrow as they shift past him.

Something moved, and not like a distortion. Crumbling. A stone wall, bricks falling apart.

A glass pane in a window shatters as the frame caves in, and Vergil's expression now mirrors your worry- you turn around to see the buildings on that side of the street breaking down as well.

"What's going on?" you ask, the words barely getting past the tight knot in your throat as vibrations start to shake the ground.

The rumbling sound around you grows louder. Dust from the sandy road wafts up around your ankles, as cracks start forming under your feet- And in that same flinter of a second, Vergil's arm wraps around your shoulders.

But it's just a fraction of a moment too late.

When his body tenses to sprint to the outside of the changing area, something tugs on your ankle and you fall to your knees with a surprised yelp.

You don't know what happens next.

You're held in place by something- Your entire body.

You can't move.

The light is blocked, even through your closed eyes you can tell.

What's happening?

Sounds of breaking branches and rustling leaves join the rumbling and sound of crumbling stone, and you can practically feel your heart beating out of your chest.

The ground still trembles, shaking under your palms.

What's going on?

Where's Vergil?

The rumbling noise filling your ears slowly dies down, and the ground settles with a final quake.

A few branches still creak, and leaves rustle like in the sway of a strong wind... but fairly quickly, everything settles.

And as if nothing happened... it sounds almost peaceful. If it wasn't for the eeriness that the quiet here carries.

You blink a few times, hesitantly opening your eyes with a heaving chest from rapid breath.

What you see is blue. Just blue, and light filtering in from the side.

And a second later you're aware of the heartbeat pulsing against your ear.

It's calm.

Then you feel a palm shifting at the back of your head, and Vergil pulls slightly away from you.

You look up to meet his gaze, your faces close enough that you can hear is breathing.

Red glowing light fliters through the green of the canopy of leaves around you, encasing the two of you in a tight enclosure. Branches twist just a few inches away from Vergil's face, and his hair is a complete mess.

"Are you okay?" he asks, almost quietly, and only now you notice the blood on one side of his face-

Blood from already healed scratches.

"Y-yeah," you answer, with adrenaline still pumping through your body, but your racing heart is not just from that alone. "Yeah, I'm okay."

And it's the truth. You don't feel any stinging from scratches on your face. Vergil's body shielded you off from the rapidly growing branches around you.

"And are you okay?" you then ask, your eyes scanning over his face, but obviously not finding any open wounds or scratches.

"Yes, I'm alright," Vergil answers, his eyes doing the same with you; checking for any signs of a scratch.

Vergil's hand drops from the back of your head to your shoulder. You just sit there a moment, in the eerie stillness.

But the moment stretches too long for you to handle, so you avert your gaze, and try to shift your body around- But quickly regretting it.

You wince as a thick branch pokes into your side.

"Try not to move," Vergil instructs, and you nod- already having concluded that that's a smart idea. "I will free us. It will take just a moment."

You remain still with one leg dragged behind you, still stuck in whatever got a hold of your ankle, as Vergil forces himself through the braided branches behind him.

It creates more space, and eventually enough for him to safely draw the Yamato.

After that it's only a matter of seconds before he's cut through the bushes with quick and precise cuts-

And you finally get a view of what actually happened: thick trunks rise from the ground, into a canopy of branches and leaves far above you, with the red lighting bleeding through the leaves. Between the trees is only thick, dense undergrowth of vines and bushes.

Which you and Vergil got encased in, as it grew around you.

Vergil kneels down by your foot- and now you look back, you see it's entangled in strings of vines with thorns.

Luckily they didn't pierce through your shoes and clothes, despite the pressure from it being so tight.

"I'm sorry," you mutter, feeling bad for getting caught in it, resulting in Vergil getting stuck between the branches as well.

"What for?" he asks, and his gloved hand reaches out- bare fingers brushing the vine- then stops. For a heartbeat, something human and impulsive flickers in his expression.

Then he exhales, steadies himself, and draws the Yamato.

"We got stuck in this because my leg got caught."

"That was out of your control." The Yamato's blade hovers a breath from your ankle. "Hold still," Vergil warns- and the way his voice lowers on the words makes you obey without thinking.

He moves with precision; every flick of the blade severs a strand without even grazing the fabric of your clothing.

The vines snap, and your ankle gets free.

"Thanks," you say quietly, and you push yourself up, brushing dirt from your hands. You glance around. The entire street is gone; only a dense, overgrown forest stretches in every direction, the red light bleeding through the canopy like sunset caught in glass.

"This place..." you whisper. "It changed completely."

"A different alignment in time," Vergil says, getting back to his feet beside you. He makes an attempt at fixing his hair, but some strands still fall beside his face and bits of leaves remain entangled. "We got caught in the middle of it."

The rush of adrenaline in your body slowly calms down, and you think for a moment. You turn towards Vergil.

"Those rumbling noises... The ones we heard in the distance every time we were here before," you start, and your brows twitch into a small frown. "Do you think that could've been from chunks changing time, somewhere nearby?"

"Yes, that is very likely," Vergil answers, and he draws the Yamato again. "Let's get out of here, first."

With quick precision, he starts cleaving away the branches of bushes reaching to above your heads. Gradually, a path frees the way. You follow behind Vergil, the path he creates curving in the corner which you know the street that used to be there takes- Until the forest suddenly stops, and cuts to the street again.

The edge of the chunk.

You step out onto the paved road. The street with intact buildings on either side- Same as yesterday.

You draw a breath to say something, but Vergil is faster.

"I do think it might be best for you to return home," he says as he turns to face you.

"Go back?" you ask, not liking the sound of that. "Why?"

"By staying, you are putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Both of us being here is not required, and what happened just now demonstrated the risk of it," Vergil tells you calmly. "We are lucky to have gotten out safely- Fact of the matter is, we aren't familiar with how this place works. You got physically stuck. There is no guarantee you cannot get stuck between time."

The words send a shiver down your spine.

You hadn't thought about that. If your body gets devided between two different moments in time... You'll be torn apart.

"I- But what if that happens to you? If no one else is here, me and Dante won't even know," you argue, trying not to think about the hypothetical scenario.

"That will not happen," Vergil assures you, not even thinking twice.

And you believe it. You do- But still, that discomfort gnaws at your chest.

You take a deep breath, and then nod. "Yeah. Okay."

Vergil's gaze lingers on you a moment longer, before he turns back around to face away from you.

The Yamato slices through the air, blue slits opening up in a humming portal.

It buzzes low and steady. You stand there, watching the light ripple across his sleeve, before you finally take a step-

But immediately pause again.

Dante's earlier words come back to you. "...so you're saying we'll spend the next... days- weeks- In that dimension? You wanna scribble it all down while being in that sickening place, day and night?"

Day and night. Maybe for weeks.

"Will you really just stay here the whole time?" you ask, looking back up at Vergil. Faint blue light dances across his features as he watches your face carefully, before he speaks.

"That depends on what I find. If there are constant changes, say... every hour or so- We cannot afford missing anything, so yes, I suppose I would stay here the whole time."

A tight knot aches in your throat.

Weeks..?

"But if there is a much longer period between changes- and I have confirmed that is constant- then no, I think I will not have to stay here. Frequent visits would suffice."

Your gaze drops to the ground as the words settle in your mind, and you nod slowly, accepting that this is necessary.

"Alright," you then still somewhat unwillingly agree, and look back up at Vergil. "Call or text if there's anything- Or, well, at least I hope that works through different dimensions..."

"You will hear from me," is the only thing Vergil gives in response, and you nod again, understanding.

You turn back towards the portal- hesitating to look back one more time before stepping through, but you don't.

You take a deep breath, and let the cold engulf around you, knowing that you cannot go back once you're through.

And that Vergil will be left behind.

---

Friday, September 6:

It's been a day since Vergil stayed behind in the Mirror Dimension. I don't like it. I hate it. That shit that happened with the time changing right in the spot we were standing-? Never happened before. But now we know how exactly the place changes and it's fucking scary. Vergil's words didn't exactly help. If he does get literally torn apart by time we have no way of knowing, and getting there would take forever. I'm sure everything is fine it's only been a day but I just can't get my mind off of it. It's not like there's much going on to take my mind off either, I haven't seen Dante a lot and I'm just kinda eating myself away with thinking about all of this too much.

Monday, September 9:

Still haven't heard anything from Vergil. Honestly, I think calling or texting doesn't work if we're in different dimensions. I hope everything is okay.

Nico came over today, though, so that helped a little with taking my mind off. She tried dragging Nero along, but apparently he already had plans with Kyrie, so it was just me, her and Dante for movie night. He joined last minute, which was fun. Only he did keep stealing my popcorn.

Wednesday, September 11:

I really hope it hasn't come down to Vergil having to stay there 24/7. I know he did say he'd need to confirm over a longer time, if changes take long enough, but still. It feels like it's been weeks already. I just hate that I don't know what's happening over there.

---

"Alright, what's going on in there?" Dante asks as he taps his index finger to your temple, giving your head a gentle nudge.

The two of you are sitting at a bar in a cozy place, just a few streets over from the agency. It has that old-brick, worn-in kind of warmth. Not fancy, just welcoming and snug. There's enough people that there's chatter all around, but it's not crowded. It's nice, in all honesty.

Yet, you still can't get yourself to get out of your head and be in the moment. Your hands are lazily wrapped around your glass, and you glance at Dante in the stool next to you.

You shrug, and force a smile on your face. "Nothing, I- I'm just a little tired and low on energy, that's all."

Dante sets his drink down, turning more toward you. "You're a horrible liar, you know that?"

That earns a weak chuckle from you.

Dante keeps looking at you, expecting you to spill-

And you groan as you decide to give in. "Fine, okay- Yes, of course something is on my mind. Aren't you worried about Vergil? It's been over a week."

Dante's lips curl into a smirk. "Worried? About him? Nah, with the pain in the ass that he is, he's probably giving time itself an existential crisis."

You tilt your head a little, not all too amused. "I'm serious, Dante."

He studies your face for a moment, grin fading into something softer. "Yeah. I know." He leans back a bit, glass turning in his hand. "Listen, I've been convinced he died, multiple times in the past. Not a single time has it been true. Trust me, Vergil doesn't die that easily. Genuinely, I'm sure he's fine."

There's genuine sincerity to his voice, and his words carry brief hint of something heavier.

Your expression softens a little, and you give a faint shrug. "Still... It just doesn't sit right, not knowing."

Dante nods, quiet for a beat. "Yeah. I get that." He glances at you then, tone easing. "You really care, huh?"

You pause, caught off guard by how gently he says it. "Of course I do. He’s-" You cut yourself off, searching for a word that doesn’t give too much away.

Dante raises an eyebrow, smirk creeping back. "He’s..?"

The right word doesn't come. "I don't know- I just care about him, okay?" you mutter, shifting in your seat.

"Mhmm," Dante hums, clearly unconvinced. "You just care enough to be all mopey in a bar on a Friday night."

You glare half-heartedly, but he laughs.

"Look," he says after a sip, setting his glass down. "I bet you, he's okay. Knowing him, he's probably too focused on the job to consider we could worry about not having heard from him."

There’s an unexpected steadiness in his voice, enough to make your chest ease just a little.

"Yeah," you breathe, "Yeah, you're probably right."

Dante shrugs. "Of course I am. Now finish your drink- You're thinking way too much for someone with alcohol right in front of them."

You let out a small laugh, finally lifting your glass.

Chapter Text

The park is nearly empty at this time of day. A few people pass by- a man walking his dog, someone with headphones in- but otherwise it's just the sound of rustling leaves, and your pen scratching on paper. You've been sitting here long enough that the sun is starting to set, its light filtering through the trees, the leaves growing more golden with every passing day.

You've been writing and doodling in your journal at a picnic bench. Just you and your thoughts. More and more pages are being filled over time, the ink quietly immortalizing your time spent here.

You look up as the streetlights blink on, dots of warm light lining the park paths. You rest your head against your hand, elbow propped on the table, and your eyes drop back to your journal. Your fingertips graze the edge of the paper, absentmindedly playing with the pages.

It's strange.

This feeling.

You've always felt some sense of "missing" Vergil- back at home, in your own universe. Because there, he wasn't even real.

But now it's different.

You've shared the same spaces. Felt his skin touch yours. Made him smile. He's become more real than you ever could've imagined.

And so has what you feel for him.

Maybe his absence has made you realise that.

You flip back a few pages, and reread back up to today. The more absent Vergil was in your life, the more present he grew in your writing. It's stupid, really- Of course you know he's okay. It's Vergil. But despite the logic, you somehow can't manage to shake your worry.

Rereading doesn't help. If anything, it makes the silence feel louder.

You let out a sigh, hoping it will ease the ache in your chest. You shut the journal and tuck it into your bag. Adding more words to the paper will not suddenly make you rewrite reality.

The walk back to the Devil May Cry agency is as quiet as your time spent in the park. A few cars drive by, and grey clouds start to gather in the sky, dimming the last bit of golden sunlight that was left of the day. The warmth of the streetlights illuminates the way back home, and when passing the last corner you can already spot the red neon sign glowing above the door. Two motorcycles are parked next to it, and it swings open right when you walk up to the steps.

Trish steps out, with Lady following after her, idly spinning a gun in her hand, before securing it onto her thigh. They both halt when they spot you.

"Hey," you greet them, adjusting your bag on your shoulder, "you two heading out?"

"Yeah, small job," Lady answers, smiling. "Something about an old farmhouse on the outskirts."

You hum quietly. It's been a while since you've had something productive to do. Truth be told, you kinda miss it. Just sparring for fun is not quite the same as going out on a mission. And especially right now, you wish you had something to do. Just anything at all.

Trish assesses you for a moment, tilting her head before giving a small nudge with her chin. "You wanna tag along?"

Your face brightens up at the invitation, and you give a firm nod. "Yeah," you breathe. "Yeah, I could use the distraction."

"Good, gear up then," Lady says, an approving smirk curling at the corner of her lips. "We'll fill you in when we get there." She walks past you and Trish, fishing keys from her pocket. Your gaze follows her for just a moment, before you head inside. You switch the light on, and drop your bag on the couch- you'll take it to your room when you're back. You hurry to the drawers and wall with gear behind Dante's desk. The motions are automatic: your hands move swiftly to switch out your belt for the one to carry your daggers. After securing them, you pause a moment, hand hovering above a pair of thigh straps, for two more blades.

Might as well. Better to bring another pair of Scorchers...

The sound of buckles and zippers fills the silence, grounding you in something tangible again. It feels good- the weight of it all, the focus it demands. It takes you a moment to figure out the belts and straps of a new piece of gear Nico gave you; something so you can carry Severance on your back. You were a little skeptical at first, given the weight of the sword, but might as well try it now. How else are you gonna get Severance with you on a motorcycle?

Once everything’s strapped on, you give the garters one last tug to make sure they’re secure, and then swing Severance over your shoulder. Something clicks in place, and you hesitantly let go of the hilt.

Oh. Oh, that's not too bad.

Sure, you feel the weight, but it's not uncomfortable at all.

On your way out, you grab a helmet, and the door falls shut behind you as you rejoin Lady and Trish outside. Lady’s on her bike, waiting for you to get on the back, with her helmet dangling from one hand, while Trish revs her engine, the low hum vibrating through the quiet street.

"Nice sword," Lady says as you walk up to her, over the sound of the engines.

You grin, realising neither Trish or Lady have ever seen you wield Severance before. "Thanks."

Lady chuckles, and then pats on the back of her bike. "Alright, hop on." She puts her helmet on. "It's not far."

And it truly wasn't far, yet the ride was long enough for the sky to bleed dry of sunlight, as it fully set behind the horizon. And as the amount of buildings lessened, heading into the outskirts of the city, so did the street lights. The engines disturb the quiet of the early night, as the two bikes ride down an asphalt road with acres of bare land stretching on either side. There are no buildings, apart from one.

The farmhouse.

Its windows are dark, the roof caved in like the spine of something long dead.

Trish and Lady ride onto the driveway, the large wooden fence being wide open. No lights are on.

Once both engines are killed, the silence is deafening. Trish and Lady exchange looks, and after a beat all three of you take off your helmets.

"It looks... abandoned," you observe. It's dark... But it isn't quiet in a sense of no one being home, but in the sense of it not even being anyone's home at all. Gravel crunches under your feet as you swing your leg over the bike, and you take out your phone.

"Yeah, it does," Trish agrees, and both her and Lady get off their bike as well. "Wasn't specified in the call, but it only makes our work here easier."

You walk a little closer to the main house, shining your flashlight over the windows and red brick walls. "So... what was specified in the call?" you ask as you turn back around to Lady and Trish. This building is so far out from... everything- at least too far to just walk past it on your way to somewhere. Anyone passing by doesn't make any sense, so who on earth could've even reported anything?

"It was a girl, who called," Lady tells you. "She said she and her friend were ghosthunting. Just for fun; neither of them actually believe."

"But they heard voices. She said they're sure it wasn't a real person- They got scared and decided to look for real ghosthunters to call, but ended up only finding Devil May Cry, so they called," Trish adds.

"Mhmm," you hum, a little skeptical. You turn back around to the house, the beam of your light illuminating the caved in roof. "Two girls who came ghost hunting? So... this could just be a prank call? You said they didn't actually believe in anything paranormal."

"They're still paying us to come here, though. Seems a little expensive of a prank call if you ask me," Lady says, joining next to you as you shine your light further down the property. Weakly lit, you can see the double doors of a barn.

"Okay, fair point," you admit. "Still, maybe it was a real person and they just got paranoid."

"Either way, we'll have to look out for something, demon or not," Trish says as she walks up to the front door, crunching gravel cutting off as she steps onto the tile paved path leading up to it.

Lady hands you an actual flashlight, before following after Trish. You put your phone away and join in last.

The door is unlocked, and creeps open with squeaking hinges. Your three flashlights diverge, the beams trailing over the faded wallpaper and warped floorboards of the hall. A wooden staircase leads to the next floor, curving around the right side, and there's two grand doorways leading to other rooms to your left and straight ahead. The brightness of your flashlight nearly blinds you as you accidentally shine it directly into a mirror- You blink a few times to get rid of the strain. The oval mirror has a beautifully detailed bronze frame, and is hung above a table with lace cloth and dead flowers in a vase.

Lady lets out a low whistle as she walks into the living room, to the left. "Creepy," she whispers, her flashlight beaming over the beige couch and armchairs, before shining it up at the chandelier with chrystals- covered in cobwebs.

"What is it with people randomly packing up and leaving their homes behind around here?" you mutter, mostly to yourself. Quite literally each and every abandonded place you've been in has just been forgotten with all the stuff left behind. You watch Lady for a moment longer, but then follow Trish into the other space; the kitchen.

"What exactly are we looking for? Anything specific, or..?" you ask, louder this time, your voice disturbing the quiet more than whispers and footsteps.

"Not really, no. If anything, listen for voices. If those girls' story is true, we're looking for the source of that," Trish answers, searching the dark wooden cupboards with her light.

"And I don't think it's here- unless you found something," Lady says, joining the two of you in the kitchen. You shake your head.

"Nothing," you say, and turn around, walking back into the hall. You aim your light at the hallway on the second floor, the wooden railing casting strong shadows to the wall. "You think it's safe to go upstairs?" you ask, eyes squinting to see if you can spot any sign of the caved in roof from here.

"With the risk of the whole building collapsing? Probably not," Lady shrugs. "Let's go."

Despite just saying it probably isn't safe, Lady goes up the stairs. You and Trish exchange doubtful looks, but the creaking under Lady's feet continues- So you two follow after her.

Upstairs, there's a bedroom with mainly a metal framed bed, with sheets of that same beige color as the furniture downstairs, another one of those mirrors, and a closet carved from a similar wood as the kitchen.. All covered with a layer of dust. There's a bathroom and a room full with boxes and old junk.

But no sign of a demon.

The three of you regroup in the bedroom. Lady shakes her head as she walks through the doorway, reporting she's found nothing. Neither did you and Trish.

Honestly, maybe this was a prank call after all. If there was anything, even nearby, you'd have noticed it by now, right?

"Okay, so-"

You start a sentence, but cut yourself off.

There’s a sound- quiet, wavering, too human to be the wind.

Crying.

"Did you hear that?" you ask, the moment of silence being disturbed with the faint sound of crying again.

"Yes, I did," Lady says, all three of your faces suddenly a lot more serious, guards up. Your gaze moves to the window in the slanted ceiling, and you redirect your flashlight to see outside.

Softly illuminated in the glow from afar, there's the barn.

"Maybe we've just been looking in the wrong building," you mutter.

The three of you quietly exchange glances, and then go back down the stairs, the wood creaking under your steps. Outside, the wind has picked up- colder now, sharp enough to bite through your sleeves. The crunching of your footsteps fill the quiet-

There's no more crying.

All three of you on guard, you deliberately approach the barn. You already reach for Severance's hilt- but then pause.

A smell.

The stench of rot-

"Looks like we'll find something here," Trish mutters to your right, and to your left, you hear a click as Lady loads a gun.

And you let your flashlight fall to the ground, freeing both hands as you draw Severance from your back, ready for any attack.

Just a moment longer, to listen for any more crying or voices, you three wait before the large, red barn doors.

But there's nothing.

Just your own heartbeat, thumping in your ears.

Trish kicks open one of the heavy doors, and it slowly opens, the low squeak dragging out through the night stillness. Her light shines down the space, revealing a tractor- rusting away-, a pile of haybales, plastic barrels... Wooden beams go across the top, lights attached to them. The floorboards creak as Trish goes inside, and a terrible feeling knots in your chest. But you follow after her.

Something about the air inside the barn feels thick. Familiar, in a way that makes your stomach turn. You can’t place it- not yet- but it clings to your skin like it knows you.

You’ve breathed this rot before.

"Hey, guys, I-"

A gorggling sound, a wet screech.

You turn, Severance at the ready, and-

BANG!

Purple goo splashes onto your face when Lady's bullet pierces through the slimy, moving mass, attacking you from above. It screams, far from human- and the high-pitched sound gets swallowed by new cries as Severance's blade slices through the mass, buying you enough time to slide away from under it.

You scramble to your feet- "Run! Outside!" You trip once, but quickly stand up again. For a fraction of a moment you catch the confusion on Trish and Lady's faces, before they turn, and you run after them through the door.

"It’s the same thing," you breathe when you're outside, chest heaving and mind racing. "Same as the church."

"You've seen this before?" Lady asks, brows furrowing in confusion as she exchanges glances with Trish. You turn around to them- but your eyes are glued to the barn doors.

Making sure that thing isn't coming out.

"Y-yeah. With Nero and Vergil, a few weeks ago," you begin to explain, anxiety pulling at your chest. "Listen, they can't be cut up. That rot? Those are corpses- my guess is they're beneath the flooring, they were last time as well- I-"

You pause a moment to catch your breath.

It's fine. You know how to kill them. You're okay.

Everything's fine.

You take a last deep breath, and then look back up, at Lady.

"You don't happen to have that bazooka tucked away in a pocket, do you?" you half joke- hoping she has some other form of explosives on her at the very least.

Lady gives a weak chuckle, expression still laced with confusion. "No- Hey, what is that thing? What do you mean, 'corpses'?"

Your eyes flick back to the open barn door- "Yeah. Corpses." You meet Lady's gaze again. "That thing is connected to a corpse, if we destroy the body, it will die. There's no other way, it'll just regenerate if you cut it up. Not even Vergil could kill it with the Yamato, it's pointless."

"So then we destroy the corpse," Trish says determinedly, as if it's as easy as that.

You give a weak shrug. "Well, yeah, basically," you sigh, heart still racing. "Except reaching the body without that... thing protecting it, and then blowing it up while being out of reach is... easier said than done- Besides we don't know how many corpses there are. If many more of those things appear, it'll make an even bigger problem."

"How'd you do it last time?"

"I was stuck below, with the corpses. Accidentally blowing up the floorboards got me out of there, but-"

"So let's blow the floor to smithereens first. At least then we know how many corpses there are, and where to aim," Lady decides. After a second of consideration, you nod, and peel a scorcher free from your thigh.

Surely this is safe enough of a distance, right..?

You toss it in the air once, adjusting your grip upon catching it. Aiming right through the doorway... you pull your arm back, and throw-

BOOM!

You squint your eyes against the blinding light, covering them with a hand.

Still blinking against the strain, you hurry to the edge of the hole you just created, already pulling two more Scorchers free.

Scattered in a dirt hole, there's multiple bodies- but it's not as big of a pile as in the church.

And not as old.

Just destroy them befo-

You freeze.

A face. Though pale and with barely a layer of skin clinging to its skull-

You've seen it before.

Why do I..?

Splurge!

An eye pops out of its socket, a slimy mass crawling out of the hole. More bones crack, and the body shudders as the goo gushes out of its chest, the fabrics of the suit getting drenched in the purple substance-

In a split second, you're pulled away from where you stood frozen in place.

Sound comes rushing back to you, and Trish's arm locked in with yours pulls you back to reality.

"What are you doing?" she asks, letting go of your arm. She pulled you away from edge of the hole, to behind the tractor in the back of the barn. 

"I-" You don't have an answer, and instead peak around the tractor, crouched down, to see what's going on.

Fuck.

Soft wailing fills the space, and with a racing heart you watch how the slimy blob has blocked off the entrance- and another massive one rises from out of the hole in the floorboards.

You can't just plant a few Scorcher's in the bodies- not now you can't get out. You'll get caught in the explosion; Trish will heal and survive, but you sure as hell won't. Your eyes scan the entire interior, brain working as you're trying to come up with a new plan.

The wooden beams- No, probably can't use that. Hay- No.

Barrels.

"Trish?" You ask, without turning to look at her, your eyes staying glued to the plastic barrels. "What's in those barrels? Can you smell anything?"

A low, gutteral groan comes from the rising substance, and your eyes shoot back to the thing. The dark holes it has for eyes caught onto you.

"Gasoline," Trish answers from behind you, and in the exact same instance you make a run for it- opposite direction from the barrels.

And the purple goo lunges at you.

"Soak the bodies in it!" You shout over the cries of the thing as Severance's blade slices a chunk off the flank, its attack having missed you by a hair.

Between guns or a blade, the latter will work much better as momentary self defence against these things. And for distracting, that's enough. If you keep the entities busy and away from Trish, she can set the corpses ablaze, and they'll burn without putting your life at risk.

As you steady yourself on your feet, you catch Trish crossing the distance to the barrels in the corner of your eye- Before the blob blocks your view, tilting its head in a jittery manner as it focuses on you again, the cut off mass solidifying and reattaching.

"Will h-he... come back... for-"

You don't let it finish, and plant Severance's blade into its face, to the hilt- and slash it across.

The blob shrieks as you rip Severance free- then gunshots fire behind you, followed by another shriek and a wet, dragging pull.

Shit.

The other one's moved away from the door-

You pivot back just in time to see it heave its mass toward you, forcing you to dodge sideways-

But the first one recovers quicker than you expect.

You’re boxed in.

"Trish?!" you shout.

A crash- Trish tipping the barrel. Liquid splashes and runs through the cracks in the floor. Good. Good, that’s good-

But you won’t survive long enough for it to matter unless you can control the space.

Your grip tightens on Severance. The first creature snaps in anger from your previous attack, rising above you- and your sword pierces it once more as it comes crashing down, warm, purple goo splashing across your face and clothes.

The impact makes you stumble backwards-

"P-please..." The wailing is right beside your ear, the low rumble of the unnatural voice sending a shiver down your spine-

And in an instance you flick the switch on Severance's hilt. The blade splits clean down the middle, unfolding like a pair of monstrous scissors. The metal flashes in the corner of your eye as the half cleaves through the mass it was pinned into- extending out backwards as it clicks in place-

And with force, you ram it into the creature creeping up behind your back.

With a spin, you rip it free- You slide under the crying blobs, and scramble away from the corner. In the same instance, a sudden spark lights in the corner of your eye. Trish’s hand crackles with electricity.

"Clear!" she shouts.

Only now you notice you're right at the edge of the hole- the smell of gasoline wafting up from it.

You rush to stand on your feet and get away from it.

And the world turns white.

A blow of heat whooshes up behind you, and you fall to your knees again, Severance dragging over the floor.

A pair of hands catch you, and when you look up, you see Lady. Gentle, warm light dances across her features.

"Are guys you okay? I couldn't get inside, that thing blocked the way once Trish went through," she says as she steadies you, and you get back on your feet.

You nod. "Yeah, I'm okay," you reassure Lady, and her hand drops back beside her from your shoulder.

In the background, you hear the entities screech in pain. You turn around to see Trish easily jumping onto one of the support beams to cross the fiery pit, and then landing beside you and Lady.

Everyone's okay...

With a sigh of relief, you finally turn to the corner, where the purple blobs splatter and melt away as the corpses burn.

"Where... is... h-he..?"

Last words- a last plea- with their last ounce of strength, before they bubble away, seeping into the floorboards.

And then there’s nothing. Just the crackling fire. Just your own breath. Just the mechanism of Severance shaping back into one blade, and the quiet click of it locking into place on your back.

And when your arm drops back beside you, all your limbs suddenly feel heavy.

"Who were they calling out for?" Lady asks quietly, when the silence has settled.

You stare at the liquid, purple remains seeping into the wood. And you're wondering the same thing.

"I don't know."

At the church, it was the exact same thing. Same entities. Same situation.

Same pleas.

And you have the exact same, unanswered question.

"I... I recognized one of the bodies," you begin, looking up at Trish, and her expression softens slightly.

"That's why you froze," she says, and you nod. 

You couldn't help it. Every fiber in your body refused to move- But why? You don't know that man. Besides everyone from the games, you don't know anyone here. You're not from here. So why did you recognize him?

Lady circles around to stand back in front of you, her expression both worried and slightly curious. "Who was it?"

"...I don't know," you say again. "I recognized him- I know I've seen him before but I just don't know where."

Your eyes avert to the dancing flames in the pit. A disgusting smell of burn and rot is starting to fill the space, entering your nostrils. "Let's find a fire extinguisher," you say, changing the subject and already walking out the door, "those things are gone. We can't let the fire spread."

Luckily, you're quick to find one, right outside the barn, around the corner. You watch Lady extinguish the fire, the light and heat dying as your thoughts still race. But not about the man- not the corpse. The other man. The one that these things keep calling out for. Two mass graves, created by one single person... you can't just brush over this. Especially not because these aren't just corpses- demonic entities are birthed from them. Could their way of dying have anything to do with it?

You need to know who killed these people.

You, Lady and Trish walk back outside, leaving the scorched bodies and ashes behind. The cold wind blows your hair out of your face, and bites at your skin, completely contrasting to the heat of the fire. You wipe off the remaining slime and goo from your face, before speaking up.

"Those girls," you start, as the three of you walk back to the motorcycles. "The ones that called. Do you still know the phone number?"

"Well, no, I don't remember it. But we can easily look it up in the call history," Lady answers, picking up her helmet from the ground, beside her bike.

You give a firm nod. "Okay," you breathe, "Good. Thanks."

"Why?" Trish asks, genuinely curious.

"I wanna see if I could maybe talk to them."

---

You're back at the park. The sun is out, and it's a little busier than yesterday; there's kids playing, people walking their dogs, groups gathered by picnic tables-

But you're here for two specific people.

As you approach the main square of the park, with a statue in the middle, you fish your phone from your pocket to check the time.

03.04pm... Only a few minutes late. Maybe they're already here.

You look back up, and your eyes catch two girls sitting on a park bench. One red-head, with a pixie cut, and the other with long blonde hair. They're talking, and haven't noticed you yet as you walk up to them.

"Hi- ehm, Mika and Mackenzie?" you carefully try to make yourself present to them, being almost completely certain they're the girls you're looking for.

Yesterday, after getting back to the agency, Lady quickly looked up the phone number that called for the job. At that point you thought it was a little too late at night to bother them by reaching out, so instead you called this morning. It's Mika you spoke to, and she agreed to meet you in the afternoon and said she'd check in with Mackenzie if she had the time to come as well.

And it looks like they're both here.

"Hi- Yeah, I'm Mika," the blonde girl says, giving a small wave. "You're... the demon hunter?" she checks, and you can't help but chuckle at that. Seems a little silly, calling yourself an actual demon hunter- But you nod, and properly introduce yourself.

"Mackenzie," the red-head shortly introduces herself as well, offering you a smile. She scoots over a bit, inviting you to sit down. And you do.

"Thanks- For meeting me. I was hoping I could ask a few things about what exactly happened at the farmhouse," you start. "And what you heard."

They exchange looks, and Mika then nods. "Of course, yeah. Is everything okay? Did no one get hurt?"

You quickly shake your head. "Don't worry. Everyone's fine," you assure her with a soft chuckle, appreciating her concern. "It's just that I think there may be a connection between this place, and another encounter I had a few weeks back. I'm trying to figure out what the bigger picture is. So I hoped you could maybe help with that... Have you been to the farmhouse before, or was this the first time you came there?"

"We've been there before. Quite a few times actually- I think it was in... June, maybe? That we went for the first time," Mackenzie answers almost immediately.

"You might think it's a bit of a strange place to hang out, but we always went to go ghosthunting. So, ya know, a creepy abandoned farmhouse is kinda the perfect vibe," Mika adds to her friends' story.

You nod. "I was told, yeah," you say, and wipe your hair out of your face as a soft breeze picks up. "How many times did you go ghost hunting? Have you heard those voices before, or only last time? Since, well- it's only that time that you called."

Mackenzie briefly glances at Mika, before turning back to you. "It's only twice, that we heard voices," she begins, and you can't help but notice her fidgeting with the rings on her fingers. "The first time was... about two weeks ago, I think. I'll be honest, I don't really believe in all that paranormal stuff, it's just fun for the scare- But we always bring equipment, or do some stupid stuff with a deck of cards."

"Sometimes, the little bleeps and lights do go off- I don't know how it works but that doesn't really matter- Ehm..." Mika continues for her friend, and your brows furrow slightly, curious to where she's going with this. "Except when we heard voices the first time, none of it went off... Which honestly scared me more, because it made me think it wasn't a ghost that we were hearing."

Well, it wasn't. These actual demons we're dealing with have nothing to do with paranormal activity... But that's irrelevant for you two.

You nod, letting her know you're understanding what she's saying so far, and urging her to continue.

But it's Mackenzie who speaks up again. "That time, we left because we got scared. I'll be honest, I couldn't really make out any sentences or words... I mostly kinda heard crying."

Well, shit, that's nothing new.

"And the second time? You came back after having heard voices once, despite leaving that time out of fear."

"Yeah... We did," Mackenzie answers again, and scoffs. "Curiosity or stupidity, I dunno."

There's a brief moment of silence. You let it sit there, as it looks like they're looking for the right words to continue.

"I think we both sort of wanted to prove we weren't scaredy-cats..." Mika then speaks again. "So that second time, we stayed longer after hearing something. It started with crying, but later we could make out sentences."

"It was like they were begging... I almost felt bad, despite the fear, I can't lie..." Mackenzie says, eyes focused on the ground, and still fidgeting with her rings.

Honestly, you can relate. You know that those souls were long gone, there's nothing you could do for them... But there was a haunting sadness about them that evoked the same emotions from you.

"It was asking things like 'Why?' and 'Will he come back?'... It was honestly really sad," Mika agrees. "And a name- Over, and over again, a single name."

"A name?" Your heart skips a beat. "What name?"

Mackenzie lifts her head again, looking back at you.

"Victor."

---

Victor.

Fucking Victor.

How on earth is he related to all of this- Well, it has to be him, right? Damaris. No way it's just a coincidence of it being the same name. You refuse to believe that.

You're in bed, flat on your back. It's the middle of the night- or later, maybe almost morning? God you don't know, let alone care. You can't sleep, that's one thing for sure. Your pillow feels warm. Your toes are freezing off your feet- And your mind won't seem to shut the fuck up.

Victor Damaris.

Well, on the plus side, if this guy is behind everything it means that it isn't Mundus. Sure, the Gate to the Underworld opening up is bad enough... but at least it not being him behind it means that he's likely to actually be dead.

You turn in your sheets, making another attempt to get comfortable. But the fabric is itching all over your body and every inch of your skin is screaming at you to turn again- and again-

And you just get out of bed.

Half blind in the dark, you reach for your phone on your nightstand. Your hand finds it- almost drops it- and you blink and squint your eyes when you turn the flashlight on.

You find your journal. And a pen.

And you make your way downstairs in your pajamas.

You let your body drop into the couch cushions with a long sigh. It's far less claustrophobic down here- If you'd stayed in your room for another minute you'd have started to lose your mind.

You need to just stop... thinking.

You turn your flashlight off, letting yourself sit in the darkness. There's a faint, warm illumination from outside, the street light out front casting its light through the windows. Gentle rain ticks against the glass... and just for a moment you can allow yourself to breathe.

And you're not touching your journal.

You just listen to the rain. Listen to the faint ticking of the clock on the wall behind you.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick-

Time passing.

...Another day.

I just wish there was a way for us to know what's going on...

No. That's a lie. Well, it's not a lie, it's true... Of course you want to know what's happening with Vergil. But that's not really what's causing this ache in your chest.

It's his absence.

Yesterday night it was fine. For the first time in days you were fine. Fighting for your life and covered in demon goo, sure- But not tormented by your own mind.

And now there's nothing... nothing except your mind.

It's like it's seeping down your throat, threatening to tie a knot-

And the ceiling fan starts to become blurry.

Please just come back...

You continue to stare straight ahead, head dropped back in the cushions. Another beat passes. You sigh, breath slightly trembling. Your lids fall closed, and you feel the tears trickle down your cheeks.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick-

And then a soft buzzing. Gentle. Vibrating in the air-

You open your eyes again.

Through the blurriness of your tears, you see a faint shadow of the fan cast across the ceiling, outlined in blue.

Chapter Text

You sit up straight, and look up.

A portal illuminates the room in a soft blue. It buzzes, as it hangs there in the air- and then it zaps away.

Revealing Vergil.

You shoot up from the couch-

But then you just stand there. Suddenly unsure what to do.

You want to run to him, embrace him into a hug and tell him you were worried. That you're glad he's back; glad he's okay.

But you just stand there, feet glued to the floor, eyes on his back.

"Vergil," you say softly, your body finally allowing you to breathe. He turns around, and it's like the movement frees you from the invisible shackles on your ankles.

"You're back," you say with a relieved chuckle, walking over to him. Standing before him, you look up at him, eyes darting over his face. "You were gone for so long, I-"

"You're crying," Vergil interrupts you- but his voice is gentle. Careful. Not judging, just making a quiet observation. He looks at you, eyes scanning over your face with a faint hint of visible concern.

You open your mouth to come with some excuse, embarrassment rising to your cheeks because he was the reason you were crying- But you immediately cut the first sound that leaves your lips when Vergil's gloved hand rises to your face.

A quiet motion.

He wipes the tear from your cheek with the side of his thumb. Your heart skips a beat, even though it's such a small, efficient gesture- as if he were brushing away ash.

"It- It's nothing..." you mutter, looking away. But when your eyes flick back to him again, you're unable to take them off his face. The warm light from outside illuminates one side, drawing shadows over his features. You watch how his eyes follow the movement of his hand. Not cold. Not distant. Just... present. Focused.

And he doesn't pry. He hums softly, just acknowledging you don't want to elaborate.

He lowers his hand back to his side. "Don't you think you should be getting some sleep?" he asks when he notices the time on the clock.

"Well, yeah... But I can't- Just restless, I guess," you chuckle half-heartedly, crossing your arms as they started to feel very awkward just hanging beside you. "What, ehm- What did you find? Is there a pattern?" You choose to change the subject.

"I suspect there is, yes," Vergil starts, taking off his coat and turning away to go hang it up. "However, I will not fill you in right now. You need sleep. This is not the right moment to discuss new information."

At first you want to protest- But you don't. He's kind of right, and just confirmation that there is a pattern- and that he doesn't seem to be worried- is enough for now. Besides, it'd be better to have Dante here as well for when you do discuss it.

"Go back to bed," Vergil suggests, turning back around to you. "I will tell you everything tomorrow."

You look at him for a beat longer, but then you nod. "Yeah, okay. Goodnight." You offer a small smile, before walking past him and go up the stairs- But halfway, you pause.

"Vergil?"

On his way to the kitchen, he halts. He looks up at you, silently waiting for you to speak again while you hesitate a brief moment.

"I'm glad you're okay," you then say quietly.

For a heartbeat he simply watches you- unreadable- and then something in his expression slightly softens. There's a small tug at the corner of his lips, acknowledging your words.

"Goodnight."

He gently dismisses you, and you continue back up to your room.

You settle back into your bed, curled up under the sheets. Your room feels less like a tight enclosure; your bedding less like itchy hay.

And your mind isn't as loud. It's distracted by the faint noises in the night stillness, of Vergil downstairs. It continues for a short while, before you hear his footsteps coming up the stairs. And right before your door... they pause briefly- and then continue down the hallway to the bathroom.

A brief spark of curiousity hits you... But you don't act on it.

And not much later, the distant sound of the running shower eases you to sleep. Your eyes fall closed, and you're finally able to get some rest.

---

It was your journal. And your phone.

This morning, when you opened the door to go downstairs, it hit something. Confused, you peaked around it, and on the floor you found your journal and phone. It immediately brought a small smile to your face.

Vergil brought them up for you, since you left them on the couch when you left.

And right now you, him and Dante are at a diner. For breakfast. A little short on groceries at the moment, Dante was convinced there was nothing to make breakfast with. And apparently he had a job yesterday, so why not immediately spend all the money on food the next morning? ...Right?

Despite it being a poor decision, he dragged you and Vergil with him, since 'it's a great oppertunity to talk about what Vergil found anyway'- as if you couldn't have done it at home like you always do. Either way, you're here now, tucked into a booth with bright red benches; by the window with Vergil next to you, and Dante across from the table.

"So... You found a pattern- but you don't have a Doomsday date?" Dante asks after Vergil briefly summarised his time in the Mirror Dimension.

"I have established there is a pattern. Except I believe it does not go in a circle, more like a spiral, and therefore I cannot fully understand it yet. What's most important is that I have made sure how often changes occur, and it is certain I only need to revisit instead of staying at all times."

A... spiral? What-? ... As long as he knows what he's talking about it's alright, I guess...

"Uh-huh..." you say with slightly furrowed brows, still trying to wrap your head around his explanation- But then you let it go. "Ehm, those visits- How often do you need to go back?"

"Every ten hours or so. And rivisiting is only brief, the sole purpose will be checking the changes that have occured."

God, that news is relieving.

Ten hours? That's basically a whole day, so we won't even really notice. And returning quickly also means we know what's going on. This is good.

You give a small nod. "Okay."

Dante opens his mouth to say something, but instead of words coming out, his face lights up. He's looking down the aisle, and not a moment later the waitress appears at your table with your food and drinks. 

"Thank you," you offer her a smile after she sets down your plate last, and then leaves the three of you again.

"Honestly," Dante starts, digging into the stack of pancakes in front of him, "even though you don't have a date yet and still have to go back, it's good that you'll at least return regularly." He takes a bite, and then vaguely gestures at you with his fork. "You had Pajamas over here worried sick, staying away for so long."

Immediately, your cheeks burn up and you kick him under the table- The way he says it so casually with a light chuckle, earns him a glare.

"I just wanted to know what was going on, that's all," you mutter, feeling called out.

"I apologize," Vergil says, and you're able to look at him again. "My perception of time appears to have been somewhat affected, by being in an ever-changing environment. I hadn't noticed how long had passed." There's a faint twitch in his brows. "I think I may have been too focused on the job at hand, as well."

You look back at Dante- immediately regretting it, as he mouths 'told you', before shoving another bite into his mouth. You let out a long sigh.

"It's okay, really," you then say, turning back to Vergil. "Most important is that we got the information we needed from your time there. And that you're back."

You both finally take a bite out of your own breakfast as well, and for a brief moment, the table is quiet, and there's just the noise of the few other people and music playing at the diner. Dante seems to already be halfway done, while you and Vergil only just started eating.

"I actually have something to tell you guys as well," you then say after swallowing your food, and both brothers look up. You hadn't told Dante about this yet, either. And since he hasn't brought it up, you doubt Lady or Trish did.

"Two days ago, I joined Lady and Trish on a job," you start, and look at Vergil beside you. "What we found was the exact same as we did with Nero, weeks ago. At that church."

His expression turns a bit more serious. Interested.

"What? A mass grave and slimy demonic monsters?" Dante asks, and you turn to him.

"Yeah. Exactly that- Same thing with the bodies under the flooring of a barn, except there were fewer bodies and they didn't seem to have been rotting away as long as the ones in the crypt," you explain, and Dante actually pauses eating.

"The exact same thing, huh?" he says, probably thinking it's connected to each other, just like you did.

You nod. "Yeah, but that's not what's bugging me the most- Those entities; they talked. They did at the church, and they did here. Same words, same pleas. Except these ones apparently kept repeating a name."

"...Go on..." Dante urges you- And Vergil just silently listens.

"Victor. The name they kept repeating, is Victor. And I'm not saying it has to be him, but can it really be that much of a coincidence?"

Both brothers stay quiet for a moment.

"There is no way to be sure, but yes, perhaps we should consider the posibility of it being Victor Damaris," Vergil then says, and Dante is still thinking, with his brows knit together in a frown.

"What could he be going on a killing spree for? Last time I checked, opening the Gate doesn't require human sacrifice," he finally says, half-joking.

You shrug. "I dunno." You pause a brief moment, propping your arm up on the table, resting your head in your palm and staring at the surface of the table. "I just don't understand why those entities grow from it. It's almost is if they're... not fully dead. What could he possibly have done to them for them to suffer like that, even in death?"

"Hey- We're not sure if it's him, okay?" Dante says, but you shake your head, lowering your arm back down. 

"Yeah- I know, but... that doesn't make a difference. Whoever did it... the results are all the same."

The table falls quiet again. You take a sip of your drink, and Dante picks up his fork again.

"It does not form a threat to us. Your questions are valid- and perhaps answered with time- but worrying will bring us nothing. The bodies are destroyed; we cannot use it as a lead either," Vergil tells you, his voice softening slightly when validating your internal conflict. "Let it be, for now."

You sigh, and then look up at him. He's right, you know he's right- But telling your thoughts to shut up, repeatedly proves itself to not work at all.

You nod once. "I know. And I will- I'll try."

The three of you continue eating- Though Dante not for long since he finished soon after the important conversation ended- And luckily the mood quickly flipped around, when a new waitress clocked in. A woman with short red hair. Apparently, Dante knows her, and she briefly stuck around at your table to chat with you guys before her shift actually started. You were smiling again, and by the time you paid the bill, your thoughts weren't as fixated on demon business anymore.

The three of you walk back outside, the morning sun warm on your skin and a gentle breeze tugging on your hair. You tuck your hands into your pockets against the chilly air, laughing at something Dante said. And then you hear Vergil clear his throat, and he halts.

"Dante," he says, and both you and him stop as well and turn to Vergil, both with curiosity.

You because you swear to see a hint of rare uncertainty in Vergil's demeanor- so small you're barely sure if that's actually what it is.

"I have about four hours left," Vergil continues- it coming out much more ominous than he probably means it to- "Would you want to take up her suggestion?"

His eyes briefly flick to you- Then to Dante again.

Suggestion..? OH- The sparring thing.

You can't help but smile, and immediately you look over at Dante- And he's already grinning.

"I sure do, but don't go sulking around when you lose," he says, tapping his brother's shoulder as he walks past him, back the direction you came from.

"Your ego truly is a flaw and incredibly misplaced..." Vergil drones, and Dante just laughs. You look at both of them, still smiling.

Vergil meets your gaze, and it almost seems like he's waiting.

You nudge your chin at Dante. "You two... have fun? I'll walk myself home," you chuckle, and Vergil looks at you for a heartbeat longer before he nods, and you both turn around to go your seperate ways.

You look back one last time. "Don't kill each other!"

You say it jokingly... But you're actually kind of serious. Well, no, you know they won't kill each other- At least, you're pretty sure- But still.

The "No promises!" you get back from Dante doesn't help- Still, you laugh at it.

It's fine.

Things have changed.

And so you continue your walk back home alone through the streets. Happy. Content. Depite the uncertainty and questions that are still there... At ease. You pass people, look through the windows of an antique shop or two and even stop to pet a stray cat. Eventually, you round a corner, almost being back at the agency-

But then you stop in your tracks- suddenly hit like a truck with a realisation.

The library.

The corpse in the barn. That man.

You know where you've seen him before. You bumped into him at the library, a while back when you were researching the Philosopher's Stone.

Was it a coincidence that he was there..? It very much could be. It's just a public library after all.

You just stare at the pavement, dread seeping back into your mind.

Either way... He's dead now.

And possibly at the hands of Victor Damaris.

---

You wrote it all down. Everything. Your theories, your worries... your hopes, your fears. You just had to get it all out on paper. Even if you were repeating yourself. You brought the thoughts to ink as many times as needed to relieve your mind from their weight. It's as if everything is connected- There is no confirmation. All you have is this feeling, this voice in the back of your head that's spinning red threads except it's like they're entangled-

And writing it down managed to somewhat undo the knots... Enough to at least not constantly occupy your mind.

Dante and Vergil returned back home, both alive, and you could tell your suggestion was a good idea. Vergil may not have shown it very well... But it was there. You could tell he had fun. He didn't stay though, when they came back. Almost immediately he left for the Mirror Dimension.

The day went by and bled into night, and so the next morning came.

It's around 11.00am when you're on your way out- or, well, looking for your phone. You're lifting the couch cushions, starting to get irritated.

Where the fuck did I leave that motherf...

You sigh, putting the cushions back in place. You swear, you've looked everywhere.

You turn around, taking a hand through your hair- But when you lift your gaze you're met with Vergil. You hadn't noticed him coming down the stairs- or through the door? You quickly compose yourself, putting your irritation iside.

"Hey," you greet him, and still glance around, over at Dante's desk again- where you had already looked- "Ehm- dumb question, but have you seen my phone by any chance?"

"Your phone?" he repeats, a slight lift in his brows, and he glances around at any surfaces where it could be.

"Yeah," you sigh, turning towards the pool table, "I can't find it anywhere..."

Not even really looking properly because you know you've already gone over this, you turn back around- Only to see Vergil walking over to you with your phone in hand.

"Between a pile of your daggers... On the shelf behind Dante's desk," he says, a bit amused.

Oh, for fuck's sake, of course. You counted your daggers this morning to tell Nico how many new ones you need... And apparently you left your phone there.

You relax a little, relieved.

"Thanks..." you chuckle, and he hands your phone over once he stands before you, his fingers briefly brushing yours. You don't know if you should be annoyed at yourself for not being able to find it and that it took Vergil no more than ten seconds... or just happy that he found it.

You two stand there a moment longer. He draws a breath to say something- but not quite immediately do words come out.

Like he's hesitating.

He briefly looks away, but then speaks up. "Do you have any spare time today?"

The question almost catches you off-guard- Despite the build-up to it being asked.

He clears his throat, and turns away, the pooltable apparently being much more interesting all of a sudden. "Just... curious. Nothing more."

Your breath catches a little-

He's asking to spend time with you.

...Right?

One corner of your mouth curls up a bit- you can't help it. The way he isn't being directly straight to the point... You can't help but find it amusing. Endearing.

Vergil turns back to you- and immediately you try to compose yourself, pulse picking up when you fear he saw your smile.

"I- Ehh, yeah. Yeah, I do," you say before you think- Which was dumb, because you were literally on your way out to meet Nero and Nico. "Only later, though. I'm meeting up with Nero and Nico today," you quickly add.

Vergil looks at you for a beat, and then nods once. "Evening is fine. I wanted to ask if you were up for a sparring session, perhaps?"

A... sparring session?

You want to. Of course you want to. But you'd be lying if you weren't fearing for your life at the idea of it- Any time the suggestion was even uttered before, Vergil insistently opposed.

But now he, himself, is asking you.

You realise you're staring at him, mouth half-open as your mind is racing.

"Yeah. Yes- I'm down," you then quickly say, blinking yourself back to conscience and shifting your stance, like you need the ground to remind yourself you’re still here.

Vergil nods again, his eyes lingering on you a beat longer before he speaks. "Good. I will see you tonight, then." He steps away, the movement silently dismissing you.

"Yeah- Yeah, I'll text you," you say, and finally put your phone away in your pocket. You stupidly look it him for another second before finally turning away, heading out the door into the chilly air outside. The heavy door falls shut behind you- and only then do you realise you're smiling.

---

"Dude I think I found somethin'."

A gust of wind blows hair in your face, and no matter how hard you try to brush it away with your hands, the wind stubbornly keeps bothering you. You watch how Nico is crouched down in the wet sand, brushing something clean.

"It's just another rock, Nico. You're not gonna find anything valuable here," Nero says over the sound of the waves.

The three of you took the van to that same place you went to with Trish and Lady sometime back. That pier. But instead of actually hanging out there, you cut to the right, past the small harbor, to walk along the beach. Every now and then, Nico swears she sees something cool in the sand, only for it to just be a rock or scraps of junk.

"Nah, it's not," Nico disagrees- but then pauses. And a second later she drops whatever she was holding back in the stand, and she stands up, turning back around to you and Nero. "Yeah, okay, it was just a rock."

"What are you even looking for?' you laugh, and she shrugs.

"Dunno. A fossil or somethin'. Or shark tooth."

"A fossil?" Nero asks, and you're not sure if he's surprised or disappointed. Probably both. "The hell you wanna do with that?"

"Sell it on eBay."

Now you shake your head in slight disappointment as well, quietly laughing. "Well, this probably isn't the right type of beach to look for fossils. There's a literal harbor and pier right around the corner. All you're gonna find is junk."

"Yeah, speaking of- Why don't we just go there? If you wanted to walk along the beach just to find a fossil, we might as well leave," Nero says, and Nico shrugs, completely unbothered by the wind blowing her hair up in her face.

"Sure- But I'm not sayin' junk can't be useful either. Kinda depends what material, but ya never know whatcha find," she says as she already walks past you and Nero, back the way you came.

Nero exchanges a look with you, and then you both follow after her. "I'm not trusting any weapon you make out of beach scraps. Just so we're clear on that," he mutters, burrying his hands into his pockets against the sting of the wind.

"Yeah, my ass, you wouldn't. You lyin' through your teeth; if it's cool, ya gon' wanna try it," Nico calls back. "And everything I make is sick."

The three of you walk. The sand turns to rock, the crash of the waves softening behind you. Seagulls circle above- and by a washed up piece of wood, two of them are fighting over a fry someone must’ve dropped over at the pier- Which you're getting closer to again. It’s quiet, but not awkward. The kind of quiet that lets your thoughts speak a little louder than you’d like.

The day has been fun, but you can't help but keep thinking about tonight.

Surely there's a reason he asked you to spar. He never wanted to before- Hell, you didn't either. And you kinda still don't- but only because you're scared. And maybe more scared about disappointing him, rather than physically getting hurt.

What if he expects you to be stronger than you actually are? Or what if you're so fucking nervous that you can't even focus? What if you ju-

Absolutely not paying attention to where you were going, you bump straight into Nico. She'd turned around when you didn't respond, as she apparently was talking to you.

"Ya gotta get your head checked out, man- You're off somewhere else in there like all the damn time," she says, gesturing to your head with a hand as you take a step back.

"Sorry- Ehm, were you saying something?"

"Yeah! I was," Nico says and continues walking again. The three of you walk up the steps of a concrete staircase, leading to a path curving around the harbor to the pier. "I was sayin' that tomorrow ya can come pick up a new batch of Scorchers- Like afternoon, prob'ly."

You huff. "That's if I live to see tomorrow."

Both Nero and Nico halt in the middle of the stairs, turning to you with confused expressions.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Nero asks, looking genuinely a bit concerned. And you open your mouth- but hesitate to actaully tell them.

Tell Nero, specifically.

But you're just gonna spar with Vergil. It's nothing more than that, you're just training- Yeah, you maybe have feelings for him, but you sort of did from the start. Nothing is different now. Right?

"I, ehh- I'm training with Vergil tonight."

Nero and Nico exchange looks.

"Girl, ya gotta have a death wish to ask him to spar," Nico then says with a laugh.

"You were literally the first person to suggest i should fight him, the second you got me a weapon!" you say, a little baffled that she isn't all in for it. Well, she probably is- yet she chose to say that.

"I was?" she responds, brows furrowing in doubt for a brief second, but then she shrugs. "Well, my bad. Didn't mean to wish death upon ya."

You let out a chuckle, and continue walking again. "Apology accepted, I guess?" You pause briefly to take a breath. "And I actually didn't even ask him."

Not an immediate response from either- Nico just looks over her shoulder at you with a questioning expression.

"He asked you?" Nero then asks- And even though there's no suspicious undertone at all, you feel like you just got caught doing something illegal- And you quickly try to compose yourself, clearing your throat.

"Yeah, he did," you answer, as casually as possible.

"Hm," Nero hums, squinting his eyes against the wind picking up. "Honestly, good that he's actually offering help with improving your skills. And that he's like- I dunno, actively putting effort into working together."

You look at him for a moment, and then straight ahead at the cafés on the pier that are coming into view.

"Yeah," you breathe, choosing to just simply agree.

"Yeah, I appreciate it."

Chapter Text

Metal clashes-

The ringing sound of Severance scraping along the Yamato's blade sings through the forest clearing when you parry a strike.

Your arms jolt under the impact- forearms burning- but you hold.

Sparks fly off, and in their light you briefly catch a glimpse of Vergil's face before you pivot-

He's focused.

Not a sign of struggle.

You go low, turn- your lungs tighten on the inhale- And meet his blade head-on again.

Wha-? He's here already? I-

A glimpse of metal, moving. The pressure relieved from your arms.

He goes left, low- you force a breath through your teeth and evade, then stabalize your stance.

You turn your heel, tighten your grip on Severance and swing-

But you're met with a katana's blade right before your eyes, forcing you to freeze in place.

A paused scene.

In the moonlight bathed clearing. The stillness of the evening.

Only your ragged breathing. The sudden awareness of the sting in your throat. A pulse throbbing in your wrists and fingers where you hold the hilt too tight.

Your arms ache. Your palms sweat.

And your eyes follow the blade, going along the sharp metal edge to the hilt... then Vergil's extended arm, until you meet his eyes.

"That would be death number... three?" he says, slowly lowering the Yamato, gaze never leaving yours. And despite the seemingly negative comment... a hint of amusement tugs at his lips.

Three out of three matches, yes...

You sigh. "Yeah..."

Despite not being surprised, you're still a little disappointed... Losing back to back is never fun- even if it's bound to happen with an opponent like Vergil.

"You are doing well," Vergil then comments, and you look up- heart skipping a beat at the unexpected compliment.

I am?

"You hold your ground decently well. And you are not holding back," Vergil continues, circling around and standing still before you.

"Why would I hold back?" you respond, brows twitching with slight confusion. "Not only would it be stupid, it would also be disrespectful towards you."

Vergil's head tilts slightly, and something glints in his eyes- only briefly. You're not quite sure what it was.

He looks at you for a moment longer, and then takes a small step towards you, raising his hand, it ghosting by your right shoulder when he pauses.

"May I?"

...What?

"Ehh, yeah- Yeah," you answer- too quickly, barely having processed the unexpected question.

His hand makes contact with your shoulder. Gentle, but firm enough to carefully adjust your posture. His gaze leaves yours, eyes now trailing his own movements.

"Your stance..." Vergil starts, his other hand taking yours, and guiding it back to Severances hilt so you're holding it with both hands. "...right before I struck the final blow. Take it again."

The... what? How was I-

How was I standing?

His voice is indifferent. Not cold, not distant. Just instructing.

He moves behind you, his hand on your shoulder switching out for the other, gently nudging it a little lower. His other hand brings your left elbow up, so you're wielding your sword again, holding it in the same position you did before you were about to swing.

"You were lacking in speed," Vergil continues- closer now. His voice right by your ear. Soft, yet so practical. ...It's almost unthinkable he seemed nervous back when he asked you to spar.

...Speed.

You focus on staying still. On breathing. And you try not to focus on how close he has to get to correct you. To not focus how his hands remain on your elbow and shoulder-

His foot presses against the inside of yours, just a nudge against your heel.

"By shifting your stance, shifting your weight, you can use it to your advantage in your movement," Vergil continues, and you're trying to listen to the actual words spoken, and not just the sound of his voice. "Let physics work in your favor."

His hand on your shoulder moves to your back, to steady you. And for just a second he stays like that. To let his words register.

"Right..." you breathe. You're pretty sure you're understanding what he's saying.

From your elbow, his left hand moves to your thigh, fingertips gently resting there. "Now move this leg back, and lower back into your original position."

Leg... back to... Huh?

That's when Vergil steps away- And it's like the space he leaves empty gives your brain room to function. You look down at your feet- briefly losing balance, but quickly catching yourself-

Right- before I came up, and around...

You move your leg back, and lower your body- While keeping your upper body the same as instructed.

"Yes. Good," you hear Vergil behind you, leaves and grass rustling as he walks back into your field of view. "Now come up- and swing. Exactly as you did before."

You inhale. Hold it-

And move.

The strike feels... different. The blade cuts through the air like it was already meant to be there.

Controlled. Precise.

It's unlike any other time... Then, you drive on pure instinct, barely able to register any movement your body makes.

"That makes a world of a difference... I don't even know what I did differently from before," you say as you look up, turning around to Vergil.

"The starting position now forced your body to move in more natural, smooth ways," Vergil begins to explain. "And this was only from a stationary position. When in battle, you will be moving in constant- meaning momentum will be working with you."

That... makes sense.

All you've done so far is just practice handling your sword, but you never got into any of this. Any technique.

All you did was rely on these instincts.

"You... said you are unaware of what exactly it is you did differently this time," Vergil then says, looking intrigued- almost curious. "Do you mean to say you were completely unaware of what you were doing before?"

"I-," you start, but then take a moment to actually reflect and think about it.

How aware were you about your actions? Has there ever been any conscious thought behind your movements in fights- at all? 

If anything, the more I actively thought, the worse I fought...

"Yeah, I think so," you then answer Vergil. "I've been relying purely on instinct. My body just... moves."

Something changes in his expression. And you can't put your finger on it... you can't tell what it is- But then a small smile tugs at his lips.

"Interesting," he simply comments, and then turns away.

Interesting? Wha..? Why? What's interesting about it? Bad interesting?

"You were not slow. Just simply too slow," Vergil then speaks again, without turning back around to you, but instead taking a few steps to distance himself. "Your technique is not bad. Just simply not good enough opposed to me."

This... doesn't sound good? Well, not necessarily bad either, but- Where is he going with this?

You anxiously adjust your hold on Severance. The blade has just been hanging from your grip all this time you've been talking. Vergil turns back around towards you, now a small distance away, the middle of the moonlit clearing right between the two of you.

"If this is what your instinct alone allows..." he says, tone measured, "then there is much room for improvement, by honing skill."

You let the words land.

It almost hits you as a bad thing... 'Much room for improvement' sounds like you're not good enough- But that's not what he's saying...

If with instinct alone I can already achieve this, I can get so much better if I start learning to move with intent. By understanding what I'm doing.

You nod, taking his words as the compliment it is.

It settles between you. A quiet acknowledgement that you understand.

Vergil holds your gaze for a moment longer. Then- without a word- he begins to move.

He circles. His footsteps barely disturb the grass, coat following the line of his stride like it’s used to going where he leads. As he walks, he spins the Yamato. Balanced along his knuckles, turning once, then again. Effortless.

"Instinct is already getting you quite far," he begins, speaking as he walks.

And you start to move as well, mirroring his path. A slow orbit forms- two bodies moving in the same rhythm, apart only by distance. Tension hangs in the air between, making you awfully aware of youir heart beating in your chest.

Not racing. Just present. The awareness grounding you in your body.

"But skill..." Vergil continues, his gaze on yours, unwavering. "Skill creates what instinct cannot find."

The point of the Yamato angles forward- but not threatening. Just clear.

Your pulse picks up.

And you both stop moving.

"We begin again," Vergil states, and you raise Severance.

Ready.

You move first- pushing off the ground, forward.

You swing-

And Vergil doesn't block.

He redirects. The Yamato catches your blade with a turn of his wrist, sending your strike of its mark with insulting ease.

But you react- before a counter can come- and pivot backwards, regaining space- but only letting your foot tap the ground before you strike again.

Faster. With intent-

The impact of swords clashing rings louder in your ears- you feel the strain through your arms. Through your chest.

You grit your teeth together, fighting to hold your ground as the pressure persists. It's almost cocky, how he holds you in place like this- Not redirecting, not dodging. But blocking and holding.

Your eyes flick up to him- None of the struggle in your own face visible on his.

"Keep up," he says- and before you can register the instruction- the warning- he moves.

Scraping metal rings through the clearing as he shifts sideways-

You adjust, catch yourself, and parry one strike.

And the next-

Then his pace shifts. Subtle- then sharp.

The next blow comes before your body resets. Steel meets steel again-

Then slips past it, throwing your balance off.

You almost stumble- but don't. You fight for balance, and win it back-

Only to immediately be met with another strike of the Yamato, and you catch it with a struggled grunt.

"Think," you hear Vergil's voice over the clashing of metal. "But do not get stuck in your head."

You evade the next attack, dodging sideways- going low-

Heels. Shift.

You come back up, swinging in the same motion-

Your strike gets redirected, twisting your wrists.

He's everywhere. No matter where you strike; he's there.

Persistently, you come back up, gritting your teeth in frustration.

You swing again-

And when the Yamato catches your strike, you flick the switch on your sword's hilt-

It springs open- metal flashing under the moonlight as a half of the blade forcefully pushes Vergil back.

For once.

Severance's halves click into place. The weight shifts. Different balance. Different weapon.

You adjust your grip instinctively- just in time to block Vergil's next attack already-

Like he was never even pushed back in the first place.

Severance spins in your hands, one end catching the Yamato with sparks flying off-

And you catch a glimpse of his face.

He's smiling.

...Oh shit.

The air changes.

There’s no tension in his shoulders now. No restraint. His stance lowers- just slightly. His fingers settle on the Yamato’s hilt.

And then he moves.

Faster.

The next strike doesn’t clash with yours- it cuts through it. You block, but your arms jolt with the impact. You barely register the force before the follow-up comes- another blow- then another.

You step back. He follows. You raise Severance- he’s already past it.

There’s no instruction now. No pauses. Just intent.

Winning intent.

You try to push forward- forcing Severance to spin again, aiming to break his rhythm- 

But Vergil doesn’t let rhythm exist anymore.

The Yamato brushes past your defense, making you pivot- weight shifting. He doesn’t give you the beat to recover. Another strike forces your guard wide- then another-

You’re being pulled backwards- but your body keeps fighting to stay upright.

A sharp breath leaves you as the final blow comes from below- swift, controlled- sweeping your legs.

The world tilts.

Grass hits your back.

The stars replace Vergil in your line of sight.

Silence.

Just your breath. Heavy. Your pulse pounding through your ribs. Your limbs. Your temple.

Fuck...

You didn't stand a chance.

You let out a breath of a chuckle. That strength... wasn't even his limit. Just only enough to beat you.

You don't move. You simply lay there, in the grass. Exhausted, and already reflecting on the match.

Then there's a soft click, of the Yamato being sheathed.

Footsteps approach, but unhurried.

You expect Vergil to come into your view. That he'll tell you to stand up, and go again- but he doesn't.

Instead, you hear faint rustling of leaves and grass to your left, as Vergil lowers himself to the ground as well.

Not close, but not far either. Just laying there on his back beside you, without a word being exhanged. Both with your eyes on the same sky, stretching above the clearing.

You don't look at him. A part of you is scared to- The other part is simply content with just laying like this, in silence, existing next to each other. And if you look at him, or speak... maybe the moment will end.

Your pulse calms down, and your breath eases. The grass tickles your skin as a soft breeze blows over, rustling the leaves on the trees around you.

"You adapted," Vergil then gently breaks the silence between you. "Was that a conscious choice?"

Both of you still gaze up at the star-filled sky.

And you think about it.

You got frustrated- the choice to split Severance was impulsive. But it was a choice.

Your own.

"Yeah. It was," you answer. "It was an impulsive decision, but I decided to do it. It didn't... just happen."

Another silence falls. Just a beat, stretching out. Comfort settling.

"Then that is improvement," Vergil then tells you, and you can't help but smile, pride momentarily warming your chest.

You briefly hear grass rustle to your side, and then feel his gaze on you.

Your smile fades- to something you hope comes across as relaxed.

You don't move. You can't get yourself to.

You keep your eyes glued to the stars, and subconsciously fidget with strands of grass between your fingers.

He can hear your heartbeat... Calm the fuck down...

After only a few seconds, you hear the faint rustling again. And you know he's looking back up at the sky.

You take a breath- it sounding way too loud for your liking.

The silence stretches, but not empty. It gives your thoughts space to wander. Inevitably... they wander to Vergil.

The man who has spent years chasing strength. Power.

Who made it his life goal to not only rise to the level of his father, but surpass him.

Who was defined by that pursuit. Consumed by it.

...Is he, still?

It's been weeks since the Qliphoth incident in Redgrave. And he's been living with Dante ever since. It's not like there's nothing going on... You obviously have Victor Damaris and the threat of the opening of the Gate.

But there was a time where it was Vergil who tried to dissolve the border between worlds. All for power.

And now...

He's right by your side, attempting to stop it.

You wonder if to him, these weeks feel like peace...

...Or defeat.

Is he content with how things are? Could he be?

The question almost scares you. The possible answer.

And you nearly ask it- The first word is just short of leaving your lips, before you realise you're not supposed to even be able to wonder about this.

You're not supposed to know anything of his past...

So you shut your mouth again, a pained ache pulling in your chest.

You glance at him, gaze averting from the half-circle moon, finally tilting your head to the side.

He doesn't return it. Still looking at the stars, unmoving. Unreadable.

The silence thickens for a few more seconds-

Then, without turning toward you, he speaks.

"Sirius," he says quietly. "That one there. The brightest to spot."

A slight motion of his chin guides your eyes to a bright star, low to the horizon.

"Though in older times, it was not a symbol of brilliance."

You look back at him, curious by the sudden drop of a fun fact, and distracted from your earlier trail of thought.

"It was said to bring fever. Misfortune. Hardship," Vergil continues, eyes still on the star. "I read that once in a work by Hesiod, a Greek poet."

A small smile curls at the corner of your lips again as you listen, and you catch a brief twitch in his brows.

"Unfortunately only its Latin translation, however. Opera et Dies. If I could understand Greek, I would have read the original."

"And... you do know Latin?" you ask, both curious and impressed.

When on earth did he have time to learn that?

A brief smile flickers across Vergil's lips, and he finally turns his head to the side as well, his eyes meeting yours.

"Not fluently. But enough to understand what mattered."

You hold his gaze for a moment, unsure what to say. The white moonlight reflects a dot in his blue eyes, and paints soft shadows across his features. For a brief moment you listen to the wind in the leaves on the trees, and just simply look at Vergil. And he at you- then you quietly draw a breath, averting your gaze, up at the sky again.

A few heartbeats pass. Quietly. Peacefully.

The grass rustles beside you again, and Vergil stands up.

"We better return back home," he says, offering you an arm to help you get up. "It has been nearly ten hours since my last visit to the Mirror Dimension. And I will not leave you here."

Oh. Right- That's still a thing...

You reach for Severance with your right hand, and take Vergil's in the other. He carefully pulls you back up to your feet.

"Thank you," you mutter, before steadying your voice. "And, yeah, you're right. We shouldn't risk messing it up by having you go too late."

You swing Severance back into one blade, the mechanism clicking in place as Vergil turns away, drawing the Yamato again.

Even though you didn't talk much... You're disappointed the moment is over. If it were up to you... You would've stayed here the whole night. Even if it would just be sitting in silence.

But that's not possible. And you know that.

There's still important things going on... Things that can't be neglected.

So just for now, you have to let him go again.

But only for a while.

You'll see him again tomorrow.

The blue rift of a portal opens up before you, and Vergil steps aside to let you go first. You stare into the dark blue void as you swing Severance over your shoulder.

Maybe this doesn't have to be the last time. If you can improve your fighting by honing skill...

You'll need to practice.

You exchange one more glance with Vergil, before stepping forward, leaving the clearing behind.

---

"Hey, look who's still with us!" you hear Nico from the garage as you pull up on the driveway, and kill the engine of Lady's bike. You'd asked her if you could borrow it to pick something up from Nico in Fortuna, since, well... You don't exactly have your own way of getting around.

You chuckle, the sound weirdly hollow in your helmet before you take it off.

"Yeah... I'm still alive. A few bruises, that's all," you say as you take a hand through your hair- an attempt at blindly fixing it. You get off the bike and join Nico at the table. Next to a bowl of chips, it's filled with tools, scraps, screws and bolts. And one of Nero's bionic arms is in front of Nico, half taken apart.

"Really?" Nico asks- genuinely a bit surprised. "No scratches- None'a that? You sure it was Vergil ya were fightin'?" she then jokes, and you let out a laugh at the idiocy of the question.

"Yes, of course it was," you say, putting your helmet down in an empty spot on the table, "He just... I dunno- not necessarily held back..? But it was more like he was teaching me- He didn't fight me with the only intent to win. That's all."

"He actually tried to teach you, and not by just attacking you with full force? Damn, he's never even done that with me," you then hear Nero behind you, appearing from behind the van with another metal arm in his hand. You turn around, happy to see him as well. There's no bitterness in his voice- Just making a lighthearted joke.

You smile to yourself, seeing that as notable progress as well.

Then you shrug. "I think that's a good thing. It means he acknowledges your strength and finds it worth his efforts to not hold back," you casually respond, leaning over the table to steal a chip from the bowl, not noticing Nero pausing and exchanging a glance with Nico. He then slowly puts the arm down next to the other one in front of Nico, brows furrowed as he's trying to process your words.

"Ehhh. Yeah. ...Maybe. Probably?" he then says, sounding more optimistic yet doubtful with every word, and then dragging a stool over with his foot before sitting on it backwards.

The topic drops as easily as it came. No prying, just a moment acknowledged, then let go- exactly how you need it to be.

Your attention shifts to the table. To the two arms- now both in various states of dissection- lying open under a white work light. Wires exposed, metal plates removed. One is Gerbera, at the top of your head... the other one you can't quite remember.

You tilt your head.

"...Can I ask something?"

Nico pauses working, and looks up at you. "Shoot."

"Nero has both his arms now. So... how exactly do these work? You can't just attach them to a limb."

"Yeah, tell me 'bout it. Was devastated when he grew that damn arm back..." Nico says, earning her a silent 'what the fuck?' glare from Nero. "Couldn't use those old Devil Breakers no more," she clicks her tongue. "So, figured it was finally time to do sum tweakin' to 'em."

Aha, that's what she's doing.

"So you're making them so they don’t... replace anything? You just wear them like equipment?"

"Pretty much," Nero answers, still side-eying Nico for her previous comment as she starts screwing something to an arm again, but then turning to you. "Kinda like armor, but it's a weapon."

"Takes sum time, though- Really wish I could put it into makin' somethin' new- But can't let these beauties go to waste just 'cause he's a damn lizard, growin' his limbs back."

"No, this is better, actually. Lately you only come up with ridiculous shit- I'm not wearing that."

"Oh, yes, you are."

"The hell I'm not."

"He absolutely would," Nico says, now looking up at you from her work, pointing at Nero with her screwdriver. "He wants one that shoots lightnin' 'n plays rock music when it powers up. Wasn't even my idea."

"That was a concept."

"Ya made sketches."

You laugh, and grab a few more chips from the bowl on the table. Nico wipes her hands, then ducks under the table and pulls out a box wrapped in reinforced tape- about the size of a toolbox.

"Here ya go, by the way. Fresh batch o’ Scorchers. What'cha came for," she says, tapping the top of the box before handing them to you.

Oh, shit, that's a big box...

How the fuck are you supposed to bring this back with you?

"Ehh, yeah. Thanks- Ehm. One thing, though..." you say, looking back out the rolled up garage door, at Lady's bike.

"Ah. Shit," Nico says, coming to the same conclusion. Then she gets up.

"Hold on a sec."

She disappears behind the van, and shortly after returns again. This time with an empty backpack.

"There ya go. Should fix the problem," she says as she lays it on top of the box- and you hope it's big enough.

Luckily, after some trial and error, you get the box to fit in there, so you can safely ride back home. You hoist the backpack onto your back.

"You guys take care," you say as you grab your helmet from the table.

"You too," Nero answers, giving you a small two-finger salute.

"Don't die," Nico adds with a mouthful chips, focused on the wires in the mechanism in front of her again. You chuckle as you put your helmet back on, and turn around, back to the motorcycle.

And with the engine growling in your ears, you roll off the driveway, back onto the road.

---

That next day, you're up early. By 9.00am you've eaten breakfast, are already dressed, and sketching in your journal at Dante's desk- While he's in the kitchen, eating cold pizza from the fridge for breakfast. Still half asleep.

Vergil left about an hour ago, for the Mirror Dimension. And now that you think about it... you have no clue how long he usually takes with these trips.

Not that it really matters, though. You just need him to show up again.

And he does, every time.

Your pencil scratches on your paper, as you're mindlessly drawing, not really aware of anything happening around you. You're trying to sketch the park, from memory. And it's... not particularly going well, but at least something is taking shape.

You erase some lines- scribble some down again- erase- try again.

"What'cha making..?"

You flinch when you suddenly hear Dante behind you- with an almost annoying amount of curiosity.

"Dante- Jesus... You scared me," you say, looking at him over your shoulder, dropping your pencil. "And that's none-" You push him away- or, well, attempt- "-of your business."

"I'm just showing interest!" he laughs, mock-offended.

"No, you're sticking your nose into places it doesn't belong," you chuckle- it's not that deep, anyway. If you were seriously writing, however...

Dante is about to counter again, with a mouthful pizza, the remains of the crust in his hand-

But then the front door swings open, and a girl barges in.

"DANTE!" she shouts, face beaming with excitement.

And you don't doubt for a second who this is-

Long, blonde hair in an 80s blowout with bangs. High heels, pink shorts, a black top and all-round sparkling, matching jewellery.

...Patty?!

Chapter Text

She looks completely different from how you know her- yet exactly the same. Just grown up.

The girl who was... well, practically under Dante's care, almost? Sure, she lived at an orphanage- But with the amount of time she spent here at the time, Devil May Cry may as well have been her home.

How many years ago would that be..? Eight? Maybe nine? It was never confirmed how old Patty was back then. The only thing you're sure of, is that right now she's 18. And- Oh my god- Is this about her birthday party Dante skipped out on? He did say some-

"You have a girlfriend?" Patty's exclamation pulls you back to reality- She's looking right at you, in disbelief but smiling from ear to ear.

"What?" Both you and Dante respond the same second, before exchanging looks.

"Oh, nooo- No. She's not mine," Dante then adds with a light chuckle, defensively raising his hands.

Before you get the chance to say something, Patty speaks again. "Oh- Honestly, who was I kidding. Would be a miracle," she laughs and walks up to the desk with clicking heels, extending her hand over it to shake yours. "I'm Patty!"

Dante chews away on the last bit of pizza crust as you shake Patty's hand and give her your name, introcuding yourself with a friendly smile. "I, ehh, work here, at Devil May Cry. Since just recently."

"You work here? That's so cool! Dante refuses to teach me how to fight, he won't even let me shoot a gun," Patty starts. "You'd think he'd trust me with that by now, right? But no- You aren't dressed yet?"

She suddenly cuts herself off when she turns back to Dante, only now noticing he's still walking around on his socks and in sweats. Your brows furrow slightly, a bit confused but curious as to why she seems to be in a hurry- And Dante seemed to have noticed the look on your face.

He clears his throat. "Yeah, ehh- I maybe sort of forgot to say something about today-"

"Forgot to tell her or forgot completely?" Patty asks, her tone sounding more like a warning than a question.

"Only forgot to tell her! Relax, it's only... what? 8am? We have all day."

"It's 9am and the park opens at 10! We are supposed to be leaving right now! Just a reminder that it's for you that I want to go there for my 18th birthday."

"I know, I know- You already said that. But why?" Dante chuckles, dragging his feet over the floor as he walks back to the kitchen. "It's for your birthday, choose what you wanna do."

"Yes, and in the half-century you've been on this planet, you have never been to a themepark before. Which is crazy," Patty shoots back, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg. "So for my birthday I want you to go to one with me."

She then suddenly turns to you. "Actually, you should join us, too!"

Huh?

You'd just been idly listening to their back-and-forth, not expecting to be dragged into the conversaton.

"You should come with us to the themepark! It's so fun- Have you ever been there? It used to just be a small fair, but grew into a massive park. When I went there with my mom six years ago they had so much less than right now- Really, you should come!"

A themepark..? You didn't even know about any themepark here. It sure sounds like fun. But it kinda feels like intruding... Maybe you should just let Patty and Dante have their day together?

"I, ehh- I mean, thank you. I-"

You cut yourself off, when blue light carves a slit in the room, behind Patty. She turns her head, and all three of you silently watch as a portal opens up, and Vergil steps out. The portal zaps away, and he seems taken aback by the presence of three others in the room, confusion briefly flickering over his face.

He probably expected there to be no one.

A moment passes, with everyone just kind of staring at each other with the faint humming of the ceiling fans in the background.

"Who are you?" Patty then flaps out, and you hear Dante quietly groan in the kitchen.

"That, ehh- That's my twin brother," he starts, slowly walking back to join you by his desk. "Vergil."

Patty's head snaps towards him.

"Your what, now?"

Dante sighs, then lazily gestures between Vergil and her with his hand. "Vergil, Patty. Patty, Ver-"

"In the nine years that I've known you- you never thought to tell me you have a brother?!"

You exchange a brief look with Vergil. His face lacks expression, but his eyes are clearly asking what the fuck is going on. A smile curls at the corner of your mouth, and you give a small shrug.

Just let it play out...

Dante smacks his lips. "Well... Complicated. But, hey, you know now- Whoa-"

Patty suddenly grabs him by the shoulders and drags him over to stand next to Vergil, and then proceeds to examine the two.

You're honestly surprised Vergil is still standing in the same spot and hasn't decided to just walk away.

"Are you sure you're twins? Dante, you look like... twenty years older, there's no-"

"Hey now! Okay, that's enough- I'll go get dressed and we'll go to that damn themepark already."

You laugh, still from your front-row seat of everything in Dante's chair, as he turns away to the stairs.

"Yes, and actually, you both should join us!" Patty now adds Vergil as well, looking between you and him, and Dante stops again, turning in his place.

"To do... what, exactly?" Vergil speaks for the first time- severely skeptical, having just heard the word 'themepark'.

"Patty is taking Dante to a themepark for her birthday," you explain. "And-"

"I want the two of you to come with us!"

Both you and Vergil look at Patty for a moment, and then exchange looks with each other.

Maybe it'd be good for him to go..? Neither him or Dante have ever had the experience. If he wants to leave, he can. At literally any given moment. And if Patty really insists on having you two join... Well, it's her birthday. Can't really be invading anything if she wants you there.

You give a faint shrug again, the gesture asking Vergil to consider it. He looks at you for a moment longer- maybe, just maybe, considering it- and then turns his attention to Patty again.

"...No, thank you."

"Alright, then," Dante says from the base of the stairs before anyone else has the chance. "And you, Pajamas?"

You're still looking at Vergil- unsurprised, but a little disappointed.

...Could you convince him?

"Pajamas?"

"Hm?" You look up at Dante, now realising you were a little zoned out. "Oh, yeah. Sure, I'll tag along."

"Perfect! Now hurry up, otherwise we'll miss half the rides," Patty cuts in and turns to Dante before he can respond, and he disappears up the stairs. Patty then briefly turns to Vergil again, assessing him once more- but then making the wise decision not to keep pushing. Her heels click against the flooring, and then muffle when they hit carpet as she walks over to the couch. "I brought snacks, by the way! Thought it was smart not to leave that up to Dante," she says as she sits down.

"Yeah, probably a wise decision," you chuckle, and then look back over at Vergil, who's now hanging up his coat, his back turned towards the room. You tap your fingers on the desk, making up whether or not to try and change Vergil's mind.

Your fingers stop tapping. And you get up.

You walk to the base of the stairs, and lean on the railing. Vergil doesn't just walk past you, up the stairs, but stops, clearly understanding you want to say something to him. He looks down at you, intrigued, maybe a little curious.

"You can just leave, y'know?" You carefully start. "If you come with us, no one's gonna tell you to stay."

He doesn't immediately say anything, but just lets your words process.

"Even if it's after only five minutes."

Sure, it really doesn't sound like something Vergil would typically enjoy... But you think it would genuinely be a shame if he wouldn't even give it a chance. Even if it's just to see what it's like.

"You want me to join, don't you?"

You shrug. "Well, yes- But I'm not trying to convince you to go- I'm just... saying why you shouldn't not go."

He hums softly, almost a little amused, his eyes scanning over your face. And you stay quiet a moment longer, before speaking again.

"If you think it's stupid, you can leave. If it's taking too long, you can leave- If you think it's a waste of time, you can leave." You pause briefly, looking up at him. "Whenever you want."

He looks more serious now, eyes slightly narrowed, this time genuinely reconsidering it. And you're not adding anything else. Whatever he chooses now, is your answer.

It takes another moment for him to give it, adjusting the notebook with the Mirror Dimension logs under his arm before he speaks.

"Fine, then. I will come," he then finally says, and your lips curl into a smile. "Let me put this away, and then I will wait with you here for Dante."

You nod, still smiling. "Alright." And only when you step away from the stairs, he continues up.

---

Patty is a surprisingly good driver- especially given the fact there was barely a moment where she wasnt talking, while having to focus on the road as well. And her car was a lot more comfortable than Dante's. Him and Patty did most of the talking and fighting over music- every now and then you tuned in, but you and Vergil mostly just listened to them from the backseat. Or, well, that's what you did- You're not sure what Vergil was doing in silence. Maybe he wasn't listening at all.

Eventually, you got there and were assigned to a parking spot- Since the park had been open for over an hour already and there were many other cars, it was a spot pretty far to the back of the parking lot. Dante didn't fail to complain about the long walk to the park entrance- and Patty told him it was his own fault and that he should've been ready this morning so they could've left earlier.

"By the way, I packed your other pair of shoes," Dante tells you once you've entered the park, carrying the backpack with snacks, drinks and whatever else him and Patty brought.

You look up at Dante to your right, a bit confused. "What? Why?"

He nods at Patty, who's walking a short distance ahead of you, Dante and Vergil, heels clicking against the pavement with every excited step. "I'll give it an hour- max- before she starts complaining about her feet hurting," he chuckles, and you can't help but laugh. "So, hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. That's actually really thoughtful," you tell him, and look back at Patty again.

Well, if there's anyone who'd wear high heels to a themepark... it'd be Patty.

"And- Yeah. An hour is still pretty generous," you then add with a chuckle.

You mingle with the crowd, as you continue deeper into the themepark. You glance up at Vergil to your left. He- unsurprisingly- hasn't said much. His eyes scan over the people, easily sticking out over nearly everyone at his height. There's groups of teenagers, families with kids, parents with buggies- And sound. Everywhere. Music from speakers along the path, people talking, others screaming from the descend of a nearby rollercoaster ride- a toddler crying behind you because it faceplanted to the floor, tripping over their feet when running. At nearly every crossing or corner of the paths there's food stalls, but not yet with long queues at this hour.

"Well... It certainly is popular among the average person," Vergil then says, having noticed you were looking at him. He then looks down, meeting your gaze.

You chuckle at the obvious observation, judged from the crowds around you. "And for good reason. Even for people who aren't into rollercoasters and stuff, often there's more than enough fun stuff to do-"

Before you can add anything else, Patty suddenly drags you with her by your wrist.

"You wanna go on this ride?" she asks, and you look at the drop tower to the left of the path, the queue zigzag lined out in front of it. It's themed to an old castle tower, with a fire breathing dragon animatronic at the top.

"Sure!" you say, feeling the heat from the flames, right before the seats with people drop all the way from the top of the tower, their screams following.

"Oh, hell yes, starting strong," Dante grins, taking off the backpack and turning to Vergil, holding it out in front of him. "If you're not gonna join us, you can watch our stuff."

Vergil averts his gaze from the tower, and looks at Dante. Then at his held out hand with the packpack- and back up at him.

"You may take it with us yourself," he says, before being the first to step out to the entrance of the waiting line.

Patty follows right after, passing him to join the queue first. You turn back around to Dante. "Was that your version of persuading him to go, or..?"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

You laugh, and it gets even funnier when you catch a glimpse of the side-eye Vergil gives his brother.

The line was pretty long- Or, at least too long for the short duration that the attraction itself is. But that's kind of the case with every ride in an amusement park, so it was to be expected. Dante already cracked open a bag of chips Patty brought, snacking to pass the time. Over half an hour later, you finally reached the front and got seated. Vergil next to you, Patty to your other side around the corner, and Dante next to her. But you can't really see either of them.

A themesong starts playing in speakers by your ears, and the cart is slowly being pulled up, a faint breeze blowing your hair out if your face.

"Is it supposed to feel unsafe?" you then hear Vergil to your side, voice rather monotonal, just before the cart clicks into place at the top.

"Well, no- Just... exciting," you say, idly swinging your feet. And Vergil doesn't even have a chance to respond. Heat washes over you from the dragon's fire, and you fall- feeling like your insides are being left at the top.

...And that over again and again, until it slows down, and the ride stops at the bottom.

You, Vergil, Dante and Patty leave with the rest of the group of people, walking back out onto the pathway by a little square with merch stores, and a tree in the middle.

"Why exactly did we wait nearly forty-five minutes for... that?" Vergil asks you over your shoulder, genuinely just sounding a little confused, and not insulting. You turn around to him.

"Well, it's kind of with every attraction, to be fair. There's just many people, so the lines are long. Some might even have up to two hours..." you say, but Vergil still looks as unimpressed as before.

"Yes, but why wait at all, for something insignificant such as this?"

You chuckle, unsurprised he's not very impressed with it. The actual rollercoasters probably won't be very appealing either. "Just the adrenaline rush, I guess?" you shrug, explaining. "Barely ever anything goes wrong in these places, so it's kind of a safe space to feel that. It's fun- for most."

Vergil's eyes narrow, seemingly wrapping his head around the idea of it. Then he just hums, acknowledging it- maybe judging. You can't help but smile a little- he's not really to blame, if he is judging.

You turn around again to ask Patty and Dante where you all should go to next- only to see they're not here anymore. Your brows furrow, confused, as you look around the themed town square, but you can't spot them between the people. Not even a hint of a red coat or bright blonde hair. "Dangit, where have they ran off to?"

"Over there. By the horses."

Horses?

You look up at Vergil again- having no clue what he's talking about- only to see he can easily look over the crowd, and he nods to the opposite side of the square. He gently nudges you by your shoulder to follow him, and the two of you make your way over to the other side. Three ponies are lined up, while another one is led around by a park staff member, with a little kid on its back.

Patty is petting one of the lined op ponies, and chatting with the staff member taking care of it.

"Maybe don't run off somewhere without telling us where you're going..." you say to Dante, who's waiting next to Patty with his arms crossed- either for her to be done or for you and Vergil to show up- you're not sure.

"Run off? What do you mean? I could still easily see you guys over there, it's not like we went to the other side of the damn park," Dante chuckles.

"Yeah, maybe you could see us, but I couldn't see you guys-" you protest, "You'd think you'd stand out a little, but it's really damn crowded, okay?"

"Okay, okayy- Sorry, my bad- Won't happen again," Dante laughs, and then nods at his brother, behind you. "At least you'll have Vergil to spot us in case Patty does run off again."

You turn around to look at him, only to see he's not paying attention to you and Dante, but gently petting the nose of the horse next to Patty's. The animal snorts softly, ears flicking as Vergil’s hand moves with slow, careful strokes. It’s such an oddly gentle sight that it pulls a quiet smile from you before you can stop it.

"Oh, you two are back!" Patty then catches both your and Vergil's attention again, and he lowers his hand back to his side. "They're so cute, right?"

The way she's calmly petting the horse is such a contrast to her... chaotic personality. It's actually really sweet. "This is still around from the very early stages of the park- From when it was only a fair. That way-" She points the direction of the path continuing behind her. "-Is where all the fair games are! We should go there later- It's around lunchtime now, right? We should go to the big rollercoasters, the lines should be less long around now!"

You don't even get a chance to talk between her lines- or after it- and she's already walking the other direction again, after briefly waving the horse and staff member goodbye.

"...Okay then," Dante says after a pause, and hoists the backpack further over his shoulder as the three of you follow after Patty- before you lose her.

The path grows a bit more crowded the further you go, until reaching a large open area with a carousel in the middle, and a restaurant and entrances to various rollercoasters around the edges, the queues swirling and twirling through gardens with flowers and trees. People are spread out more, groups forming by benches and attraction entrances rather than everyone walking around in chaos.

"We have to do that one! It's new-" Patty starts, dragging Dante by his arm. Caught off-guard, he gives you an expression over his shoulder saying nothing other than 'help'. You laugh, and then look up at Vergil next to you to make sure he's with you to join, before hurrying after Patty and Dante to catch up. The line entrance is a wooden arch, with a phoenix on it, and a themesong plays from speakers as the four of you walk the first bit of empty waiting line until you reach the start of the people in the queue.

Time blurs into small movements forward, overheard conversations, the occasional burst of laughter and chatter. You found out the bag of chips had already been completely robbed from its containts, and you noticed Patty seemed to start regretting her shoe choices after standing in line for an hour- Eventually she did in fact start complaining, and Dante gave her your extra pair of shoes to switch them out. Vergil doesn't mix himself much in conversation, but mostly observes the people who are waiting without a worry or care in the world.

After far longer than it feels like it should take, you reach near the front. The people in front of you are being sorted into the seats, and a new long cart, themed to the fiery phoenix bird, enters the building.

But when it takes off, it doesn't slowly roll away- but literally takes off; getting drawn back like an arrow in a bow, and being launched off, reaching its maximum speed within seconds.

The screams fade, and themesong calms down again. Patty excitedly jumps from one foot to the other, grinning.

"People truly just blindly put their full trust into these machines, huh?" Vergil than says next to you, it being more of an observation rather than an actual question.

"Oh, come on, like something ever really goes wrong?" Patty says, having heard him, but she already turns away again when the gate at the front opens, and you're let through to line up in pairs for the seats.

"Yes... Precisely that..." Vergil mutters dryly, noting exactly Patty's blind trust that he's talking about, while following you to your assigned spot for the cart. You can't help but laugh at the comment- though he does make a point.

"True, it sort of is blind trust..." You start, turning around to Vergil once you're standing in your spots before the little gate. "But with the amount of tests they do, and maintenance, and small numbers of accidents... It's kind of justified, I think."

Vergil hums, thinking about it, as the next cart rolls in from around the corner.

"Perhaps..." He mutters, seemingly still not convinced of the justification, before the gate opens and you get in. The restraints lock into place with a sharp click, pressing snug across your shoulders. You glance sideways- but your view is blocked, and you can barely see Vergil. Only that he’s sitting perfectly still, posture straight, hands resting loosely on his thighs. You can hear Patty and Dante talk in the cart behind you, but over the music you can't make out what they're saying.

Then the cart hums beneath you, vibrating faintly as it's being pulled backwards-

And before you can fully register it, you’re launched forward- air ripping past you, your breath stolen in an instant as the track blurs into light and motion. Your stomach lags somewhere behind, the force pinning you back into the seat as the phoenix theming flashes overhead.

It’s over almost as quickly as it began.

The cart slows, coasting back into the station, the world snapping back into clarity as the restraints release with another click.

Patty is beaming with excitement once you get out, and Dante's clearly having fun as well.

But Vergil... is as calm as before, almost unsettling so. Like the ride didn't even do anything. It's almost a little sad... but the way it's so incredibly unsurprising gives a humorous side to it.

"Still not impressed..?" you ask, a little teasing, as you walk next to him via the exit route.

And that pulls a small twitch of a smile from him, before answering. "Can't say I am, no."

Yet you're still here...

You laugh quietly, mostly to yourself. But he noticed.

You join back with Patty and Dante again, and the four of you continue to go about your day in the park, and time slips by in fragments.

Some rides loud and fast, others calm and pretty- and a few barely worth the wait. Patty dragged Dante from one attraction to the next with unrelenting enthusiasm, you and Vergil following after them. He remained quiet throughout most of it, and was just there with you. He watched the people more than focusing on his own experience of the rides- But he didn't choose to leave. Eventually you'd seen most of it, and ended up at the old fair part Patty had talked about, with the many minigames and prizes to win.

Teenagers were wasting their money on the rigged claw machines, pressuring each other to keep trying- Kids ran around with lollypops and cotton candy, and a lucky few had prizes in their hands. At a fake gun shooting minigame, Patty tried multiple times to win something, but repeatedly failed- then blamed it on Dante for never having taught her how to actually shoot with real guns. Then she made him try- and despite it all being rigged, he did win a prize.

And now the four of you- and a big panda teddy bear- are waiting in line to finally get a decent meal, instead of just eating snacks. You're pretty sure Vergil hasn't even eaten anything at all-

And he still apparently chooses to keep it that way.

The food stall didn't have much diversity to offer, so when you and Patty both ordered loaded fries, Dante got a burger and fries... Vergil stubbornly declined getting anything.

I honestly don't even think he'd hate these fries...

You grab a small fork from a tray by the cashier, before the four of you find a picnic table to sit at- Patty, Dante and the panda bear opposite you and Vergil.

"Ugh, my feet are so tired," Patty complains, finally sitting down and being able to let them rest. "Thanks for bringing the shoes... Really, I don't know how else I would have survived today," she says to Dante- who's already halfway through his burger with one bite- before she tries one of her fries. Dante shrugs, unable to speak with the food in his mouth. You start on your own meal as well, eating the fries with your hands.

And they're actually really good- way better than what you'd expected from amusement park food. Crispy and flavorful- not even that greasy at all. Just the right amount. And the topping is nice as well.

You glance at Vergil, who's idly listening to Patty and Dante's conversation.

After watching him for a beat longer, you prick a fry onto the little fork you'd grabbed and hold it out to Vergil, quietly offering him a bite to try. He glances down at it, then up at you. Not your words, but your expression is saying: 'sure you don't wanna try some?'

He doesn't refuse... and after a moment he actually accepts, taking the fork from your hand. Patty and Dante are too busy talking about the swinging ship attraction to notice Vergil reviewing the park catering in his mind- And a small, but positive "hm" told you enough.

A small smile curls the corner of your mouth, and as you tune back into the present conversation being held, you nudge your tray with fries to between you and Vergil, so he can grab some more if he wants.

"No, seriously, we have to go again- It's so much more fun if you're all the way in the back or front!" Patty argues, still talking about the ship.

"You just wanna try again and again until we're lucky and they put us there?" Dante asks, before popping a french fry in his mouth.

"If I recall correctly, they split the line to choose either middle seats, or ones at the far ends," Vergil joins in- Which is true, but this afteroon you didn't pick the correct line.

"They do?" both Patty and Dante ask in unison, seeming genuinely unaware of this.

"Yeah," you laugh, "you hadn't seen that?"

"No- what? Okay, now we definitely have to go again-" Patty says, and so the conversation continues, with Vergil picking a fry from the tray between the two of you every now and then, sharing the portion until it's gone.

When everyone is done eating, Dante and Patty go try and find a trash can to throw away the paper trays, leaving you and Vergil behind to watch over the backpack and panda bear.

"It's not so horrible, right?" you ask him lightheartedly. "I mean, you stayed all the way until now."

A small smile tugs at Vergil's lips again, and he turns to you. "It would have been rude to leave you to deal with Dante and Patty on your own in this place."

You quietly laugh at that, knowing there has to be some other extra reason that got him to stay. "Sure..." you say, before pausing briefly. "Either way, I'm glad you chose not to leave."

He simply looks at you for a beat longer, but doesn't answer. His eyes then flick up to somewhere behind you, and there's a small twitch in his brows.

"Would it be rude to still leave now?" he says, and his gaze drops back down to you. Curious and a little confused as to what made him say that, you turn around to look at what he saw.

Oh.

A clock.

It's around a quarter to seven- Probably...

"...the Mirror Dimension," you mutter, turning back around to him. "You have to go, right? Ten hours have gone by?"

He nods.

Fuckass stupid dimension shit-

"Yeah, no, that's okay. Of course," you say calmly, understanding despite not liking it. "I'll tell Dante where you've gone."

"Thank you."

He gets up, and turns away to leave- but then stops, pauses briefly, and faces you again. "I doubt it will be many more visits. Likely, in the coming few days the last will take place."

Finally.

Your face lights up slightly upon hearing that, and you nod with a small smile. "That's good," you breathe, before pausing. "...Be careful. And see you... tomorrow?"

A beat passes, and Vergil then nods, before this time turning away for the last time, off to find a somewhat secluded place to not draw any attention to the Yamato and the portal it'll open.

Chapter Text

"Duty called?"

You turn away from where Vergil had disappeared behind a group of people, back around to face Dante who's walking up to you with Patty beside him.

"Yeah," you sigh, leaning your elbows on the table.

"Good to know it won't take much longer before we'll have some more certainty about the situation," Dante says before you even have the chance to tell him why Vergil's left, and he hoists the backpack back over his shoulder.

Right. Of course he heard our conversation.

You nod, agreeing that it's a relief that you'll finally know when that goddamn Stone will reappear into existence. You just hope it won't be anytime soon, since it's still over a month until Halloween. Imagine if it's like... this week? If you find out the day before? Fuck, there is an actual chance that that's the case... What the hell are we supposed to do, then?

"Situation? What situation?" Patty curiously asks, and you look up- of course she has no clue what you and Dante are talking about. "Where's your brother run off to-? He didn't even say goodbye." She scoffs slightly.

"Just demon stuff," Dante waves it aside. "Don't worry about it- So how about that ship? We still have a good amount of time before the park closes." He changes the subject, and Patty immediately seems to forget about Vergil suddenly leaving, her face lighting up as she's already walking ahead.

"You comin', Pajamas?" Dante turns around to you, waiting for you to get up. You laugh at Patty's relentless enthusiasm, and then follow after the two, taking the giant panda bear with you.

Patty's energy stayed at an all time high for the next hour- until exhaustion suddenly hit her like a truck. And you were pretty tired at that point as well. You managed to go on another few short rides, but eventually decided to go back home. Dante drove back, and with Patty being just as tired as you felt, the ride back was a lot more quiet and peaceful than this morning. The clouds above in the sky slowly colored pinks and oranges, until eventually the sun set, and tail lights of other cars dotted out the road ahead of you in the evening dark, with streetlights overhead. Patty came back with you and Dante to Devil May Cry- given it was her car you were in.

"I'm exhausted. I claim the shower first!" Patty declares as the three of you get out of the car. "I just want to go to bed and sleep."

Hm. Bed. Did we even consider that..? All rooms are taken.

"You can take my room for the night," you offer. "I'll be fine on the couch." It's not like it's unfamiliar to you, anyway. It's really not that bad.

Patty thanks you as Dante opens the front door and you three- plus the panda, which Patty is carrying- head inside.

"What the hell are you doing?" you hear Dante chuckle before you even see Vergil hunched over the pool table- it being covered with notes and torn out pages from a notebook. Vergil ignores Dante, rearranging paper on the table and crossing out notes. Only a single light is on, right there in the corner, illuminating the entire surface of the... organized mess?

Patty seemed to not be more curious about that than that she cared for going to sleep- You hear her and Dante talk as you curiously walk over to Vergil by the pool table, head tilting slightly and not exactly focused on what Dante and Patty are saying. "And thanks for today," you hear Patty add the last moment, before she hurries up the stairs.

"Ehh, goodnight!" you still quickly say, having been distracted by trying to figure out what's displayed on the table in front of you. And when a door upstairs shuts, it's quiet in the room again. You and Dante on either side of Vergil, both just as confused, while Vergil is focused.

Looks like this trip was the last one, maybe?

"What is all this?" you ask quietly- obviously understanding that these are the notes from whatever happened in the Mirror Dimension- but what you're not understanding is what Vergil is trying to do here.

"September 20th," Vergil then says- not answering your question, but sure as hell answering something.

...

What.

"The date the stone reappears?" Dante asks, while you had come to that same conclusion, and you feel color draining from your face.

"Yes."

"But that was..." you mutter.

"Yesterday," Vergil finishes it for you, finally looking up from the spread out notes, turning to you.

"You're so calm about that," you state- not even ask- And you genuinely don't understand how. Shouldn't this mean the Gate has been opened? "Why?"

"Because yesterday was only the day of the Stone's reappearance," Vergil starts, turning his attention back to the notes, and you hear Dante cross his arms on Vergil's other side.

"But that's exactly what we needed to be after Halloween," he says, just as lost as you on why Vergil is so calm about all this.

"No. What we need to be after October 31, is the oppertunity to open the Gate to the Underworld," Vergil continues, glancing at Dante. "Yes, it would have been favorable if we could have obtained the Philosopher's Stone. However, our plan can still work."

He grabs a torn out page with notes, and points at the written down numbers. "This pattern," he starts, "alligns with one of the two parts that make up the area of where the Gate is located."

...Okay. What does that mean? 

The silence from both you and Dante is probably sign enough for Vergil that neither of you understand. "As of right now, it is gone."

Oh- OH!

"The gate is incomplete," you suddenly flap out, catching on to what the situation is. "So even though Victor could have his hands on the key- there is nothing to unlock."

"Precisely," Vergil says, looking up from the notes again, and taking a step back, looking between you and Dante before continuing to explain. "The time we visited the Castle together, the Gate was complete. However, as it turns out, two different blocks of time make up the area, splitting right through the Gate. They simply happened to allign when we were there. So long as that exact situation does not happen, the Gate cannot be opened."

You nod slowly, having hope again that you won't suddenly have to fight for the sake of the world the very next day.

"Alright. Yeah, sure- That's great. But then when does that happen? Isn't that what we've been tryna figure out? When exactly our big bad guy will open the damn thing?" Dante asks- and rightfully so. This is what you need to happen after Halloween, so you'll have to chance to stop Victor before the Gate is even there.

"Right..." Vergil mutters dryly at Dante's impatience, and he then leans over the table again, reaching for another piece of paper with scribbled down numbers. "This is what alligns with the other half. As I have previously said, it runs in a spiral, not a circle. And while I was not wrong, it appeared not to be entirely correct either. It spirals, but reverses. A whirlpool with two endings. So when taking the date we were there-" he pauses, and takes a pen to encircle a number on either page, and writes down multiple dates on both papers. "These are the ones where the same state reoccurs, within the rest of this cycle of changings."

There's three dates on one page.

Four on the other.

And only one is the same.

"November 3..." you mutter, reading it aloud.

Vergil steps back, and nods. "That is when the Gate will be complete. So that is when there is an oppertunity to open it, for whoever is in possession of the Philosopher's Stone."

A brief silence falls, the information settling in your brain.

"Well, it's after Halloween," Dante notes.

"So we stick to our plan?" you ask, looking between both brothers. They exchange a brief look, and Dante then shrugs.

"Yeah, I don't see why not."

Vergil nods. "We will go to the gala, and use it to find Victor Damaris. We need to be certain it truly is him who we are after."

Oh, shit. Right.

You were so focused on Victor, that you forgot you weren't even completely sure yet that it's actually him. But it has to be, right? With that stuff at the church and barn as well... it simply can't be a coincidence.

You nod, for some reason just incredibly sure of yourself. "It's him. It has to be, I just know it."

"And then we kill him on the spot. Job done. World saved," Dante says, clapping his hands together.

You huff a quiet chuckle, a bit skeptical. "You make it sound easy."

Sure, Dante and Vergil are incredibly strong... but that doesn't matter if you're not even able to find Victor. Strength doesn't matter if you don't even know who to fight.

"Because it will be," Dante says with a grin. "Might even stick around afterwards for the party."

You can't help but laugh at the comment. Least surprising thing he could say.

"Let's hope you're right," you sigh, leaning back against the pool table.

"Of course I am," Dante says, yawning and waving your worry aside, going up the stairs. "Now I don't know what you two are planning on doing, but I'm off to bed."

Sleep... God, you could really use that. Your feet are still killing you from walking around all day. "Yeah, same," you mutter, his yawn infecting you- And then your eyes fall on your bedroom door, where Dante just passed, going into his own room.

Wait, Patty's already asleep... Or, well, maybe not asleep but I don't wanna bother her...

You groan in slight irritation. "Shit..."

Vergil turns to you, then follows the line of your gaze and looks back at you again with a questioning look on his face.

"I offered Patty to take my room for the night," you tell him when you notice. "Except I still have to change- But I don't want to wake her up to get my pajamas in case she's sleeping already."

He hums quietly in acknowledgement, and then turns away. "You may borrow something of mine. Then at least you won't have to sleep in your current clothes."

... Huh?

"Oh, eh-" you start, cheeks suddenly heating up, and being unsure what you were even gonna say. The offer came completely unexpected to you. "Thank you..." you then get out, and quietly follow after him up the stairs. You wait by the door of his room while he's grabbing some clothes for you, and it doesn't take long before he comes back out and gives you a grey tshirt and loose fitting black pants, both neatly folded. Just something comfortable for you to sleep in.

"This should be just fine for the current temperatures," Vergil tells you, having gotten you something that won't have you freeze, nor boil to death at night.

"Thank you," you say again, eyes on the clothes as you take them from him. You clear your throat, trying to be subtle about it but suddenly you're unsure how to speak- so when you look up at Vergil, and your eyes meet his, you simply offer a somewhat awkward smile and then turn around to go to the bathroom.

Not your best work when it comes to social interractions... Fucking hell, just speak...

The bathroom door closes behind you, and it's as if it completely sets you in a different state of mind. Distant. Yet calming. In the shower, you let the water wash the exhaustion from your body. The warmth seeps into your skin, relieving tension from your muscles, and the water gently runs down your hair, soothing to your scalp. You close your eyes, almost forgetting about the time.

It's a relief. The certainty.

October 31st... Halloween.

Almost six weeks. Every day you'll know nothing can happen. But each time the sun rises, it's also a step closer to the inevitable.

And you can't fail.

We won't fail. We'll find him; we'll get rid of him.

You sigh- like it'll ground your confidence- and you open your eyes again. You turn the shower off, get out, and lazily dry yourself off. In front of the sink, you wipe condense off of the fogged up mirror, and you stare at yourself for a moment.

And another...

...Seeing the twitch in your own brows as your expression changes.

What if I can't take him on?

Victor... You know nothing about the guy. Who he is. What exactly he's after; his principles. How far he's willing to go to reach it.

You need to get stronger. You need to be able to protect yourself, no matter who it is you end up facing... Maybe asking to train with Vergil more often will have more important reasons, besides just wanting to spend that time with him.

You stare into your own eyes for a beat longer, and then turn away. You grab the small pile of clothes beside the door, and get dressed. You pull the shirt over your head, the fabric soft and cool against your skin before it slowly warms. It's heavier than what you usually sleep in. Grounding, in a way. The pants fit- though are way too long. You chuckle at the fabric pooling around your feet.

It's simple. Practical.

And still, thinking too hard about it makes your chest feel oddly tight.

You stand there another moment, dissociating with tiredness heavy on your eyelids. You fidget with the hem of the shirt, feeling the fabric between your fingertips- Before you snap out of it, and open the door.

You're careful not to trip over the pants, with them flapping around your feet- And you stand on them with every step. It feels a little stupid, but you can't stop a smile from curling at a corner of your lips. At the top of the stairs, you take the first step- But then you halt.

You turn around, looking over your shoulder at Vergil's door.

Should I just ask right now..?

You think about it. Hesitate.

And then turn back anyway, down the stairs.

I'll just ask tomorrow.

---

'The diary-like notes of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius are a unique combination of of life experience and philosophical insight. In various military...' Mhm, blabla... 'Stoic art of wisdom: Humanity and tolerance, modesty and respect...'

...Hm.

You turn the book in your hand, looking at the cover once more.

Marcus Aurelius. Meditations.

The material slightly creaks in your hands when you open the book. Idly flipping through the pages, your eyes scan over parts of texts and sentences.

...Would this be something he'd read?

The book rests still in your hands, with your eyes focused on the inked letters of a word- without actually reading it.

Dunno.

You snap the book closed and put it back on its designated spot on the shelf, next to the three other copies. It's a cozy bookstore, where you find yourself in. Old, dark wooden shelves are lined along the walls, reaching all the way up to the ceiling where the book genres are carved into thick lining. Warm light illuminates the rows of spines and their book titles, from lanterns hung above. It honestly reminds you a lot of the library section with the old books, where you'd spent so many hours before.

It's almost creepy, but maybe that's just because you're all the way in the back. Walls with books rise to either side of you, separating the aisle from the rest of the store, drawing out the faint piano music playing from a record in the front. 

Your eyes scan over the various colors and sizes of bookspines, before turning around to the other side, movement almost lazy, as your curious gaze falls over these other titles and names. Then they catch a name all too familiar, and a smile curls at the corner of your lips.

William Blake.

With a finger you peel a thin paperback from the shelf. You flip it, to read the title.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

You huff a faint chuckle. Well, if that isn't oddly thematic to current events.

You turn the little book around- but the back doesn't make you any wiser on what the poem is about. So you open it-

And what catches your attention first is how gorgeous it is. No simple black ink. No bare text.

But colors; illustrations painted around curves of red lettering. It's so pretty... you hadn't expected it. Though, to be fair the cover did say 'in full color', but-

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

You jump up, the book nearly falling out of your hands, being startled by the sudden voice behind you.

"Sorry," Vergil follows calmly after your reaction, and you catch a flicker of amusement on his lips when you turn around.

"I- No, sorry, i just hadn't noticed you," you laugh a little awkwardly, being a bit embarrassed by yourself. You were so in your head, thinking about him, that you'd almost forgotten he is here with you- and that while he was the one who'd asked you to come with him earlier today:

You're on the couch, flipping through your journal, rereading memories and judging horrible sketches and doodles you'd made while being bored. It's quiet. Patty already went back home this morning, and you have no clue where Dante and Vergil are. It's just you and the sound of the TV- you'd put on a random show as background noise.

As you lazily flip through the pages, you keep thinking about it. Considering if you should just text. Why not? Easy as that, just a quick 'hey would you like to- mind training together more often?'

But you're not doing it- You can just wait until you see him, and ask in person. You're not avoiding it. Why would you avoid it? You want to train with Vergil again.

Best next time you see him, you'll ask. No need to tex-

The sound of a door upstairs, and footsteps down the staircase pull you from your thoughts and your eyes from the pages.

Best next time, huh..? Looks like that's gonna be right now.

You close your journal and move to stand up from the couch- but you pause, seeing Vergil grab his coat.

Oh. He's going somewhere- Bad timing. 

Sitting up straight, still considering if you should open your mouth, you watch Vergil. He seems to be completely lost in thought, as he leaves- But he pauses. His hand is on the door handle, and he's already opened it. The cold coming in through the opening reaches you, and a shiver runs over your skin as you still watch, a bit confused.

Maybe he noticed I want to say something?

He steps back, turning around towards you as the door falls closed again.

"...Hey-"

"I was-"

Oh.

You both start and stop speaking at the same moment, when noticing the other wanted to say something as well. For a beat your eyes just meet in silence, but then you let out a quiet chuckle. "Sorry- What did you wanna say?"

Vergil straightens his posture slightly, and his hand drops from the door handle. "I was going to go to a bookstore. One I have not been to before," he starts, and briefly pauses. "You may come with me, if you want."

Already having forgotten you meant to ask him something as well, a smile curls at the corner of your lips, before you nod, and get up. "Yeah, sure! I'd love to."

Now, here in this dimly lit aisle of said bookstore, your eyes briefly fall back onto the copy of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell you're holding. "Sorry, what did you say? Just now, before I noticed you," you ask quietly, amusement playing on your lips again as your eyes flick back up to meet Vergil's.

There's a faint twitch in his brows before he speaks. "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom," he repeats, eyes dropping to the book, "one of the Proverbs of Hell."

Honest to God, you have no idea what that means. Proverbs of Hell?

"Have you read it?" Vergil then asks, and your eyes meet again, your brows slightly raising at the question.

"Oh- No. No, I haven't," you start. "I thought maybe you had, though. So I was just curious," you tell him- both telling a truth and a lie. You didn't think, but know he's read it. Whether he likes Blake or not isn't a guess or question. It's a known fact that he does. It is true however, that you grabbed the book out of curiosity because of his fascination with Blake's work.

Vergil's head slightly tilts sideways, and there's a faint difference in his expression when he hears your words. The smile momentarily grows more visible before he speaks. "To know extreme- excess- before knowing wisdom- sufficiency. It means that one must experience 'not enough', and 'too much' before being able to understand 'enough'," he then explains the proverb he cited, his voice gentle. "It is one of Blake's most famous proverbs."

You simply listen to him. Watch his lips move as he talks, and how a dimple appears as one corner of his mouth curls into a brief smile between sentences.

"The proverbs are... far different from those in the Bible. These are meant to be provocative. Their purpose is to make one think."

A brief moment of silence lingers before you decide to speak. "Why did you tell me about this particular one?" You ask out of genuine curiosity. Maybe it was random- just one out of many- Maybe it wasn't.

Vergil looks it you, intrigue evident in his eyes before his expression turns more thoughtful.

"Because it has worked its purpose. It is one that has been on my mind, and made me think."

For some reason the answer surprises you- not necessarily because of the words that leave his lips. But because it feels too honest- too vulnerable- coming from him.

But it's sincere.

You're not quite sure what to say. For a moment, neither of you moves or speaks. The piano record skips softly somewhere at the front of the store.

You draw a breath to say something again- though unsure what- but that same moment you notice Vergil has been holding a book all this time as well. Your head tilts out of curiosity, eyes fixated on the title as you try to read it. And exactly when Vergil notices your intrigue and he raises his hand, you recognise the cover.

You've read this book- But it sure is a surprise to see Vergil walk around with it.

"I didn't think you'd read something like that," you say with both intrigue and amusement, before looking back up at Vergil- And then his gaze drops to the book.

"I do not," he says, and your brows slightly furrow, now being lost on why he's holding it. Vergil's eyes flick over the cover and title, before speaking again. "Though I thought you might," he adds before meeting your gaze again, almost looking curious.

Huh? Me?

"Oh-" Is the only thing you can get out, feeling flustered over the fact you crossed his mind when seeing this book you would in fact read because you already have. You let out a soft chuckle. "Well- I mean, you're not wrong. I've actually already read it, a while back."

Vergil studies your expression for a moment, something unreadable passing through his eyes. Then, slowly, a small smile curls the corner of his mouth. "Well, yes, then at least I sure picked correctly."

After one more exchanged glance, and without another word, he turns and walks down the aisle. The hem of his coat brushes against the wood as he passes the corner.

It takes you a second to realize he’s heading for the front.

You let out a faint hum, glancing once more at the Blake in your hands before putting it back on the shelf, and following after him.

You join next to him by a table with piles of fiction novels and sets of calligraphy pens, those beautiful ones with seperate ink bottles to dip the pen into. You actually get excited when you see them- you hadn't noticed on your way in.

"Did you actually wanna come here for something in particular..?" you then glance up at Vergil, and he looks down to meet your gaze.

"Not really," he answers simply, and then glances around the store. "Do you want to look around some more?"

You hum softly, looking up at some shelves, but not exactly with great interest. It's a beautiful store, but you're honestly kinda hungry. You wouldn't mind going home. "No, that's okay."

And so you decide to leave, neither of you having bought anything. The bell above the door chimes when Vergil pushes it open, and cold air rushes in to replace the warmth of the store. You step out after him, the sounds of the street flooding back in- a car drives by and wind rustles golden leaves on the trees. There's not many other people.

The door shuts behind you.

For a moment, you just stand there, hands tucked into your sleeves.

"Vergil?" you then say, before you can overthink it.

He turns to you, attentive.

"I was wondering..." You hesitate, then straighten slightly. "If you'd be open to sparring again sometime. More regularly, and maybe more like actually training me. I want to get stronger- be prepared."

Vergil considers you in silence.

There is absolutely no way of telling what he's thinking for a moment- but then his expression shifts.

Though besides thinking it's something positive, you're unable to tell what it is exactly.

After a moment, he nods. "I actually meant to propose the same. Given the uncertainty of the day that lies ahead of us."

...He wanted to ask the same thing..?

You can't help but smile. There's something comforting about that sentence- not the part about the uncertainty, but about that he had the same in mind.

You nod. "Thank you."

Despite the knot of anxiety you feel every time you think about upcoming Halloween, you feel determined-

Determined to at least do everything you can, for when the day comes.

Chapter Text

A few quiet days pass. Besides helping Dante with a thorough clean-up of the agency- after convincing him it was necessary- and one training session with Vergil, you haven't had much on your hands. Luckily it's been the calm type of quiet, and not anxiety-inducing. You've had time to reflect back on the training session; rethink every move you made and letting Vergil's instructions sink in. You're honestly glad you could even focus enough to have them register in the moment, back then at the clearing in the forest.

The times you're just minding your business at home, Vergil is often beside you on the couch or sitting at Dante's desk with a book. Yesterday he asked a question, relating to what he was reading, unannounced- and only when you looked up to see him looking at you, you realised he was directly asking you, and not just thinking out loud.

"Can a person consisting of opposing natures still exist wholly, as one?"

It was so random- to you, at least- God, you're still wondering what he was reading that made him ask that question. And if it may have been about more than just that.

"I think the complexity of different natures in one person is exactly what makes us human," you'd said, after having given it a moment of thought.

Was it too simple? Should you have elaborated? It didn't seem like he expected an elaboration, but still...

"You're distracted."

His voice is close by your ears- and before the words even register, the world tumbles sideways and your feet are swiped from under you. Your back hits the damp grass with a thud, and Vergil's silhouette stands tall over you, the sun right behind him half blinding your squinting eyes.

Fuck.

"I know- Sorry," you say, pushing yourself upright with a grunt. You stare at the grass in front of you for a moment. "What were you reading?" you then ask, and look back up at Vergil. "Yesterday. When you asked me that question."

You catch a brief flicker of amusement on the silhouette of his face. "You truly think a lot, don't you?" he says- and then turns away, resheathing the Yamato as he walks to the most nearby tree. "Steppenwolf," he then answers.

You crawl back onto your feet with Severance in your hand, and you're a bit confused when you see him put the Yamato up against that tree before he turns back around to you.

"Leave your sword," he says, before you can even ask a follow-up question about the book. "I don't exactly prefer it, but sometimes hand-to-hand combat is inevitible. Especially since we will likely be in a crowded space- and we may not be able to use weapons- it would be smart if we practice this as well."

Oh.

You drop Severance again, and it lands in the grass with a soft thud. Hand-to-hand combat..? "So... practicing things like boxing techniques?" you ask curiously- but you're also a little nervous. Fighting him with a weapon is one thing- But this direct contact?

Your brains might turn to scramble- and not from a direct hit to the skull.

"Not exactly," Vergil answers as you follow after him to the middle of the clearing.

You stand opposite one another. And you're waiting for him to give some sort of instruction, or explain principles..? Anything along those lines-

"Come at me."

Huh?

His hands are raised in a defensive stance, waiting for you to make a move. Your brows furrow. "What? Like-?" He genuinely wants me to just attack?

He gives you a short nod, straight face, encouraging to just try.

But honestly, it's more the closing of the proximity rather than being afraid of looking stupid what's making your pulse pick up- But still, you adjust your stance and raise your hands, mirroring Vergil.

You still hesitate- take a breath- and then move.

You step and angle in, striking with a controlled- but almost too careful- motion. In response, Vergil shifts- though barely- and your forearm is caught mid-motion, redirected outward as he steps in.

Your own feet shift to try and refind balance, but the momentum is no longer yours- He guides you down rather than throws you, releasing just before you hit the ground so you land solidly on your back, breath knocked loose but unharmed.

Vergil looks down at you.

"You didn't overextend. That was good," he begins calmly, and you wipe a piece of hair out of your face before you look up, slightly squinting against the pale sun. "However, you assume your reach ends at your hands."

He offers you his hand, and carefully helps you back to your feet. "In close quarters, your center is the weapon," he adds. You still look at him for a beat longer before you give a firm nod, and he lets go of your arm.

"Okay... Yeah," you breathe, getting back in position opposite Vergil. But he still keeps his arms beside him.

"Where controlling your weight distribution is vital in any fight, in close combat your body is all you have. Use your weight not only in your favor, but as a weapon," he continues, and you relax slightly, listening intently. "With a sword, you are used to distance-"

Vergil now raises his hands back up- so you quickly focus again as well. "-Now, you get in close."

You move again- faster this time.

Not reckless, but less hesitant. You close the distance decisively, keeping your stance low as you step in, shoulder angled, hands up- One hand reaches to check his forearm, the other follows through toward his center.

Vergil meets you head-on.

He pivots, guiding your momentum past him. You feel his hand at your elbow, then at your shoulder-

You shift your weight.

Your heel digs into the grass, hips turning with the movement instead of against it.

Vergil still gains ground- of course he does- but you're still on your feet as well. Even though it's only because he allows it.

"Better," Vergil says quietly- And the word lands heavier than praise should.

You press again, forcing proximity, slipping inside his reach before he can fully reset. Your forearm comes up to block, your knee lifts sharply- not to strike, but to claim space.

Vergil catches it mid-motion.

Frustration flickers across your face, but you’re not being dismantled outright- Your foot taps the floor once just before you jump over an attempt to sweep your legs, only barely catching yourself again.

You land close enough that your shoulders nearly collide. For a fraction of a second, you’re chest to chest, breath brushing fabric.

You disengage immediately, pulse spiking, almost stumbling back.

Your heart's racing, chest heaving and cheeks burning. Your eyes are focused on Vergil through strands of hair, past your raised hands, and you're trying to remain focused.

Fuck...

"You’re thinking too much again," he says, stepping in without warning.

You react on instinct- parrying his arm, turning with the motion, using his forward momentum against him. Your foot hooks behind his ankle, just enough to throw him off-line.

It doesn’t take him down.

But it would have- Just if it wasn't him.

His grip tightens briefly at your waist as he stabilizes- the contact firm, controlled- and then he releases, stepping back just far enough to reassess.

He just nods, reassuring, and more pieces of hair fall over his forehead.

You come at him again- this time committing.

You duck under his arm, shoulder brushing past his chest as you turn, attempting to slip behind him. He counters immediately, catching your wrist and pulling you back into range- and suddenly you’re too close, movements compressed, options narrowed-

And you can feel you're in a dangerous spot.

Vergil’s arm comes around your shoulders, his weight shifting behind you as he pulls you off balance and down. You twist mid-fall, managing to keep from being pinned outright- but he follows you to the ground regardless, movement fluid, inevitable.

The grass is damp against your heated skin, and the ground cold beneath your back.

Vergil straddles one knee beside you, one arm locked across your chest, the other braced near your head. His weight is controlled- not crushing- but absolute.

"Allow one more move from your opponent here... and you're dead," he says calmly.

Your breath stutters- not from fear, but frustration.

You shift your hips, trying to create space. Your hand moves instinctively to his forearm, fingers pressing where muscle meets joint- searching.

"Don’t rush," Vergil murmurs. "Think."

Think... Think... Fuck, I'm trying-

You angle your shoulder, testing the lock. You could get out of this- you know you could, with time, with leverage-

But then you look up.

And Vergil is right there.

His face so close that you can see the faint crease between his brows. Close enough to feel his breath, steady and controlled, ghosting over your cheek. His gaze catches yours-

And his focus falters- just a fraction- but you feel it immediately.

The grip on you loosens.

And for the first time since the sparring began, Vergil stills.

It’s subtle- but you don’t miss it. His jaw tightens, eyes flicking briefly away before returning, sharper, unsettled.

"...This is not a situation you allow to linger," he says- but the words come a beat too late.

Then, abruptly, he releases you and rises to his feet, turning away as if nothing happened.

You sit up slowly, heart hammering. Your eyes flick from the grass to Vergil, still with his back toward you. He combs a hand through his hair- failing to catch all the strands- as he turns back around. You stand up, still out of breath. And both of you stay quiet- before Vergil is the first to speak.

"That was enough for today."

Oh-

That came a little unexpected- You hadn't been going for that long yet, at least compared to the two other times before. But that's fine. "Okay," you say with a nod, while still catching your breath and walking up to Vergil who went to pick up Severance from the ground.

He hands the large sword over to you. "You did well," he says, as you take the hilt from him- But when you look up, your eyes only meet briefly before his flick away.

"Thanks," you mutter, a proud smile twitching at your lips. You swing Severance over your shoulder, staying right where you are as you wait for Vergil to get the Yamato, and open a portal to go home.

He unsheathes the blade once he's next to you again- but briefly seems to hesitate, before slicing the air open in a blue rift.

You both step through, and cold forest air gives way to the warmth of the office. The ground beneath your shoes hardens from damp earth to tiles as you step through the portal at Vergil’s side-

-And nearly collide with Dante.

"Woah-!" You raise your hand to not fully bump into him, and only when he steps back and turns around, you notice Lady and Trish by the front door.

The portal zaps away behind you and Vergil when Dante assesses you both with furrowed brows. "The Hell happened to you two?"

Oh, right. You forgot that you're both covered in muddy sand- mostly you- And you don't even wanna know the state of your hair.

You blink, Severance heavy against your shoulder, and your brain's still fuzzy, and too slow with registering to answer.

Vergil, composed now, steps past Dante without a word.

"We were training," he says flatly.

"Uh-huh," Dante responds, his eyes following Vergil. "Well, alright- You both hungry, then? We were gonna go get pizza," he asks, now turning to you, expectingly. In the corner of your eye you catch Lady's disappointment in him inviting Vergil to join, as you're putting Severance away.

"No, thank you," Vergil answers simply as he takes off his coat, tone even, as if his answer should've been expected.

You, however, have absolutely nothing against joining the three of them. "Sure! Yeah- Ehm, I'm a little dirty, though-"

"Just brush it off outside, it's not that bad," Dante waves your concern aside- and honestly, whatever. If the sand dries it's probably off in a second- So you shrug, and follow Dante out, after Trish and Lady. He lazily waves Vergil goodbye before stepping out the door- but you halt and turn.

"I'll, ehh, see you later," you say, hand lingering on the heavy door as you stand in the opening. "And thanks- For the training."

Vergil's eyes remain on you without a word, for a moment. His expression is hard to read... but it's not cold, or stern. Then he gives a short nod. "Of course."

As you turn away, you glance back one more time before you let the door fall shut behind you. You attempt to fix your hair a little as you hurry to join Dante, Lady and Trish again.

"How did you end up rolling around in the dirt when you're just swordfighting?" Lady chuckles as she brushes mostly dried sand off your back and shoulder.

"Well- We actually didn't," you say, wiping dirt off your legs as the four of you continue walking down the sidewalk. "We ended up training hand-to hand combat, instead of fighting with weapons."

You hear Dante snicker to your left, and you look up at him. "What?"

"Nothin'."

You keep staring at him, and he then looks back down at you, grinning. "Put him in a headlock next time- Step in like you’re about to do something stupid- because you are. When he shifts to correct you, you slide past his right side, hook your arm around his neck, and crank his head sideways." Dante twists his forearm slightly, pressing the flat of it under the jaw. "Don’t choke. Crowd him. Shoulder in his back, hip against his leg so he can’t reset his stance. Then swipe his feet from under him and bring him to the floor with you." He grins. "Always caught him off-guard when I did it. He hated it."

"Will maybe work once, now," Lady says dryly before turning to you, and a playful smile forms on her lips. "After that, you better be ready to move fast."

You laugh at that- she's probably right. And if it's not just moving fast, it'd be running fast. You then turn back to Dante- You noticed the use of past tense, and how the memory seems to be much more playful, with the way he says it- Your brows furrow in curiosity, head slightly tilting. "Was this when you were kids..?"

"Yup. And it always worked- Though, he did get free one time," he pauses, and smacks his lips before continuing. "He then, ehh, shoved me against a closet. And a vase dropped on my head."

You can't help but chuckle, and a smile remains on your face- you're really surprised to hear Dante tell you this, but in the absolute best way possible.

"Well, if she tries it, her death is on your hands," Trish jokes lightly, and Dante shrugs.

"She'll be fineee."

You quietly laugh again, shaking your head. Honestly, bold of them to assume you'll even manage to pull it off. When fighting Vergil, the only reason you're constantly still on your feet is because he wants you there. He adjusts fully to you, so you can learn- and you know that. So you doubt even attempting this would get you anywhere.

None of them pressed any further about your training on the walk to the pizza place- and it was quite busy when you walked in. The air is warm and thick with the smell of grease and garlic, and one wall is lined with booths, while a few wobbly wooden tables are placed throughout the rest of the little restaurant. In the back, you can see inside the kitchen, which is honestly really fun. Dante lifts a hand in greeting toward the counter, like he’s been here a thousand times before- which he probably has.

And that thought was confirmed when the four of you sat down in a booth Dante claimed to be "his". When a waitress came, she asked if he wanted the regular- he did- and you, Lady and Trish ordered your own pizza's as well. It's a really nice atmosphere; it's loud and busy, but not in an overwhelming way. You can hear some Italian being exchanged between the chefs every now and then, and the music and chatter of other people fill the space with a cozy vibe. And it didn't even take all that long before your food got here.

"Yeah... They still got it," Dante, next to you, nods to himself with a mouthful of his first bite of pizza.

Lady snorts, opposite of you at the table. "You say that every time."

"Because it’s true every time," he says, folding his slice like it’s sacred. You're quietly laughing to yourself- though you had to admit, this is some really damn good pizza. "Been coming here since before I knew any of you- and they've never messed it up."

"The same place for over... at least like twenty-five years?" you ask, brows raised- but, again, you're not surprised, because the food is great.

"Well, not all that time straight- on and off through the years- but known about 'em for that long, yeah," Dante replies with another mouthful.

A brief silence falls as all four of you take a moment to have a few bites.

"You ever actually end up remembering anything?" Trish then asks casually- and she's asking you, you then realise.

Right, the memory loss... I never brought that excuse up anymore- But no one has asked about it for a long time, either- until now. For just a short moment you think about the best way to handle the question, and then you shake your head, swallowing a bite of pizza.

"Not really," you start, and briefly pause to come up with some addition, "But in a way I've sort of accepted it. It's like I've built a new life here, so it's not like I really miss a past."

Trish hums in response, seeming to respect that answer, but she does think about it for a moment.

Was that too casual of a response to something that'd be pretty traumatizing if it were real..? You can't exactly throw out here that you randomly jumped universes, so best to maybe let it settle with an answer like this.

"That journal hasn't had an effect, huh? Well, shit," Dante mutters, and then shrugs, "Or a win- Depends how you look at it. Maybe there's things you don't even really wanna remember."

You look at him for a moment- watch how he contently has another bite, after casually saying that. You wonder if in reality, he actually feels that way. Or even just sometimes.

But not like you're gonna ask that. "Yeah. Maybe," you mutter instead, and have another bite of your own.

"Well, either way, that sure was one Hell of a concussion you got, though," Dante then says, and it actually makes you laugh. If you really think about it, your made-up story is almost just as crazy as your dimension-traveling reality. A concussion resulting in entire memory wipe-out...

"Yeah, you could say that," you snicker, and from there the conversation shifts to different topics.

Eventually, Dante is the first to finish his pizza, and attempts to steal a slice from Lady- resulting in getting kicked under the table- so then you become his next victim. And you allow him to have a slice- but only just once, though.

---

Tuesday, October 1:

October already. God, I hope this next month goes by slower than the past ones. Something about the calendar flipping over made it hit that time doesn’t actually pause just because I want it to. Will be training a lot tho- And also Nero texted earlier- Nico’s apparently made changes to an old Devil Breaker and wants it tested. For some reason that involves me. I trust him, but I don’t trust her- well not exactly with this, I mean- so let’s hope I don’t lose a limb today.

Wednesday, October 9:

I'm getting a lot faster- I'm so much more conscious over every move I make, and it feels a lot better. Tho Vergil notices it, too, so he constantly adapts to that- I know he won't hurt me but fucking hell I do sometimes get scared I'm not fast enough. Like if I’m a second too slow, I’ll pay for it. In a strange way I don't hate it tho. He's not underestimating me- if anything, he estimates me perfectly. I'm glad I asked him to train with me consistently.

Sunday, October 13:

Power just went out. I’m wrapped in two blankets on the couch and it’s still freezing- and it's getting dark outside, I can barely see what I’m writing. And Vergil is just reading next to me- I'm kinda jealous of that crazy eyesight- like fym you can read just fine in the dark.

By mid-October, the sun barely shows itself anymore. Evenings slowly start losing light, mornings get colder, and the air always feels damp, even when it hasn't rained. Halloween decoration have begun appearing throughout town, and trees are thinning out; their leaves now coloring the streets gold and orange.

And despite the discomfort of a burning throat and ice cold hands, you're determined to have training continue, anyway.

Even when it rains.