The Eight Sin

by Yumiii

DMC3 Xover. Dante's in town to find Vergil when Temen-ni-gru's out again. However, it isn't Vergil who is the mastermind. Full details and such inside. Mighty long story.

Title: The Eight Sin

Author: Yumiii (that's me!)

Pairings: VergilXRan, DanteXOmi, some VergilXOmi and DanteXRan. Depends on how you want to see it, actually

Summary: Dante's in Japan thinking that Vergil is up to something again. When he arrived he was given a warm greeting and meets Omi. Finding out the truth of the Vergil Weiss had saved before, the two are out to find Vergil and Ran where the two themselves meet the unexpected.

Warning: Shounen-ai lingering, mild language, no Ken and Yoji, self-implicated situations, possible OOC, one OC, possible grammatical errors, mighty long story taking up some time to read.

Disclaimer: uh.. none of these dudes belong to me. everyone wishes to own em man.. sadly, we can't cos we're poor beings.. hell. I don't wanna own the OC in here either O.o

Author's starting ramble: It just occurred to me. I don't know. I haven't played DMC3 in ages and I might just go back to playing it again. I'm a very bored and boring person, seriously. Frankly, these sort of supernatural stuff are my thing. I just love mixing up the real things. It's fun. Uh, back to point. I pretty much, you can say, dislike the fact Vergil has to remain in Hell. Furthermore, I kinda like a sweet Vergil, Dante and Ran interaction. I added Omi to even things out a little. I mean, I could've done a VergilXRanXDante but I thought it was going to be too boring. Okay, get on with the story. It's going to take you a quite a while, depending on how fast you can read.

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Dante cocked Ebony and Ivory. The last Hell Pride under his shoe gave a weak moan of defeat. Others which have already perished started to fade into dust, flowing away as sands of Hell. Dante kept Ivory behind him, slotting it back into his sling. The hand with the black gun, held in a firm grip, pulled the trigger once he removed his foot.

"This is boring", he snorted, keeping his weapon. "Can't you find me more entertainment, Vergil?" Dante said out loud, his voice dying in the sounds of splattering rain. Clearly, he wasn't going to get a reply. He scoffed at the sky which constantly poured its waters.

The rain started falling three days ago. Puddles weren't just puddles anymore. They were starting to be streams, collecting in concaved grounds and streaming through roads and alleyways. The media said that the next day would be bright and shine. He begged to differ.

He couldn't blame them though. Virgil was probably the cause of this chaotic weather. The last time he saw his 'evil' twin was at Devil's Tower. Virgil didn't remain in Hell. He was on the loose again, this time fleeing to the busy area of Japan. It had been five months since the Devil's Tower incident and a week since he knew his psycho brother was idling.

Not that he really cared about stopping Virgil or any other supernatural forces. He was always reasoning with himself it was for the sake of the human race which had no ability what-so-ever to deal with the psycho freaks (in his words). Of course, he was proved wrong like a billion and one times with Lady who was clearly able to handle situations herself.

Actually, he never knew the reason why he is fighting. His father, Sparda, fought to protect his mother at first, before moving on and saving others. Was it for fame? Or glory? He never knew. Hell, he has never even seen his father alive. The only thing he could refer to as a rough image of the renowned man was the statue of him. Though, he always snorted since the block of cement and he never had a single resemblance.

He had just arrived in Tokyo about fifteen minutes ago. Got off the bike (borrowed from Lady) by a road sign to check where he was going and boom! Seven Hell Prides waiting to stuff their scythes up his ass. Needless to say kicking theirs was easier than eating a piece of cake. He didn't even need to use his trusty sword.

"Where the hell are you, Virgil. You're wasting my time", Dante growled.

He got back onto the bike, crouching over and turning the ignition key. Once he started up the bike, he turned the handle towards him and he drove away from the rural side of the city.

He avoided the flooded areas. The rain mattered to him no longer; he had been complaining to himself since he stepped into the country. He wasn't the umbrella or raincoat kind of man. So, thus, therefore, he was currently soaked with his heavy red trench coat. Helmets weren't part of the like-list either, and his hair was flying wildly as he sped down the relatively empty streets.

When Dante first entered the city, he was wondering where to start looking. The city was huge, too many buildings which shielded each other from sight. As if to annoy him further, the rain just got to a 'peak period', falling heavier.

The heavy rain caused his vision to blur, making it hard to decipher walkway from road. He almost hit several cars which were stupidly parked by the road side. He would've continued if he wanted to, but decided to give in for the moment.

He stopped the bike by a lamppost, looking over to the opposite end of the street to a small shop which actually had lights on, giving a welcoming look. Figuring he might be able to take shelter for a while, he pulled out the ignition key of the bike and stuffed it into his pocket.

He got off his bike and took his time to cross the street, hardly bothering about traffic, which hardly had any vehicles (except those illegally parked ones). Is such weather, he'd laugh if he saw another person actually out in the rain.

Dante glance up at the sign board of the shop. Koneko no Tsumi? He chuckled to himself at the ridiculous name. His 'Devil May Cry' rocked better. He raised a hand and wiped off the outer glass of the shop, clearing the mist and giving him a clearer view of the inside.

The first thing he noticed was that the entire shop was filled with flowers; a wide variety, in fact. He wasn't that fond of flowers, but it wasn't like he hated them. He gave a whistle of impress. Other than plants, no other beings were visible in sight. He walked over to the entrance and pushed the door, amused to hear a sharp tinkle sounding above his head.

The sweet/stinky aroma of flowers wafted to his senses and he crinkled his nose. The amount of pollen in the air was choking him already. It was as if the plants were trying to kill him with their bountiful amount of microscopic babies. He gave a sneeze in attempt to remove foreign particles.

"Irashyai mase!!" A cheerful voice piped up from the back, catching Dante by surprise. He glanced away from the flowers and looked ahead to see the back of a teenager with short brown hair, dressed in a plain white tee and blue shorts, white sneakers… what the hell was that in his hands?

The blond was carrying a pot way, way too big for his size and in the pot it was a plant which resembled a mini-coconut tree. Or palm tree. Whatever. The small blond could hardly fit through the door with the giant porcelain. As expected, it only took a step before the other missed a footing due to the uneven leverage of the room inside and the shop. The kid dropped forward, the pot slipping.

Giving a sigh, the half-demon caught the underside of the pot, effortlessly holding it him place. He was also partially supporting the weight of the youngster, making use of the pot like a wall and keeping him standing.

"Ow…" The blond groaned, picking himself up. He removed his hands from the pot to rub an aching bump on his forehead, forgetting that he was supposed to be the one holding it. After remembering it so, he turned to the costumer and was about to apologize and thank when he stared at Dante.

Dante caught his gaze. "What?" He said in half-annoyance. He looked down at his hand and noticed that the heavy pot was still in his hands. He didn't even know that the teen had his hands away. "Right…" Dante rolled his eyes and placed the pot down on the counter which was to his left.

He could tell the aura of the teen was a little different as compared to the time he stepped into the shop with a cheerful voice. Now, he was looking at him with slight suspicion.

"Thank you", the teen said, in any way. Dante nodded and looked around. He felt warmer in the enclosed, now that he was inside and not warring against the freezing rain and chilling winds, especially not when he was riding the bike in the cold. Speaking of cold, shouldn't be the kid be in something a little more… warmer? (cough, less exposing)

"You're welcome", Dante replied, which seemed like ages later. The teen resumed his duty and picked the pot, this time with less difficulty as he could grab the bottom easily. He carried it over to a corner where other potted plants were and put it down, giving a sigh of relief and brushing his forehead.

"Mighty cosy place, eh?" Dante randomly commented. Without acknowledgment of the shopkeeper, he just sat on the chair behind the counter, ignorance being a little active in his character. However, from his position, he was watching the younger guy's butt and he looked away, up at the ceiling instead. He crossed his arms behind his head, refraining from tossing his legs onto the counter. "Mind if I stick around for a while?"

The younger blond looked up and over his shoulder at the other and doubted his intention was to buy something. He looked at the window where the pouring rain disfigured the view outside. Even with the small tent, water was still running down the shop windows.

The rest were out for today, leaving him in charge. For the past few days, business hasn't been too good since the rains started. Phone orders occasionally dropped by, but it was still bad. Of course, not that it would bother 'them'. Their night jobs was the one keeping the income flowing.

The opening of this flower shop is just a simple disguise to hide the real truth. The one thing the people of this house shared was their secret job of assassination. All four of them, brought together by something they all have in common: dejection. Of course, all of their problems came from different sources.

"Why not? The rain's really heavy and I'm alone anyway", the teen smiled graciously. Inside, he still had the vigilance running in him. No way was he going to let his guard on a stranger. Any stranger. Especially, more not on a guy who was lifting a pot 50 kg with a single hand. Plus, a big sword which was awfully dangerous looking, kept in a sheath slung behind the stranger.

"I'm Tsukiyono Omi", he introduced, without thinking. Although, he shouldn't really do that, since a normal person would probably be chasing the other out. He had a big sword, and guns for heaven's sake. But it was because he was used to seeing such things he forgot how a common being ought to be flailing about helplessly.

Dante smiled at the tiny offer of hospitality. It wasn't common around wherever he went, due to the fact that he didn't look very normal. Silver hair, uncommon eye colour… Another reason why most people would avoid him was because of the big hideous sword his had behind him. He doubted (or so he thought) the kid could see his guns by his side, shielded by his red coat.

"Dante", he replied back. He saw the teen, Omi, nod with a smile and he noticed how sapphire orbs were looking at his. They were filled with one thing: innocence. But his sixth sense told him more. Behind them was something different. It wasn't something normal, either.

They both were locked onto each other's gaze and Omi suddenly pulled away, turning around and grabbed a small flowing pot from the wall, pretending to tend to the plant he had just settled down. Dante managed to catch a tint of red on the other's cheeks and he smirked.

"So, Omi. How old are you?" Dante asked, cocking up a lame topic. Omi proceed to with water the next pot. The half-demon yawned, wondering if this it what florists do all day.

"Sixteen", Omi said. He placed the watering pot down, getting back up and clapping his hands together to remove dust. "You're a foreigner, right?" He asked, stating the obvious. He walked over to the counter and started chugging papers together, making sure each piece were set upright.

Though, it was truly a ridiculous question to ask. But he was a little interested, because Dante looked familiar, facial features and all. Even his hair colour had a high resemblance to someone he knew a few months back. He had shrugged it off the first glance he saw Dante. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

"Just popped into the floods half an hour back." Dante crossed his arms in front of his chest this time, draping an ankle over his other thigh and shaking that leg. Omi seemed to be able to amuse himself with the tiniest thing, he noticed. The teen was taking his own sweet time packing up the counter, using his hand like a mop and sweeping off particles which did not belong on the table…

"So why are you here? Isn't it a little weird to come at such timing for a holiday?" Omi questioned, putting aside the stack of papers, totally unaffected by Dante's lack of sitting antiquate. He grabbed a pencil from a wooden holder and started scribbling on the piece of paper which was on top of the neatly packed stack.

"Ungodly timing, I know", Dante grunted. "But I've got a little problem I have to deal with." Omi gave an 'ah' as he continued writing, not looking up at the stranger at all. Dante, being a curious cat that has yet to be killed, leaned over and peeked at the boy's stuff.

Omi gave no response which hinted that he was nervous or unhappy. He just continued. Dante watch an order being writing: Ixora and Bluebells, evening at six. The boy's handwriting was horribly neat, Dante admitted to himself. Ixora and Bluebells? Right. Flowers.

Omi didn't pull back from letting the other read. Suspicion is the one thing he cannot risk in this place. When he was done, he kept the pencil back to where it was and took that single piece of paper. He walked around the counter to Dante's side. From the softboard he pulled out a tack and placed the paper up high, having to tiptoe as the lower half was already filled with other notes.

Dante watched with a secretive smile as the boy reached up. However his face twisted a little when he saw a mark on the lower back, just a little above his butt…Out of curiosity he dropped and tilted his head an inch to get a better look and was astonished at a dark blue-ish mark.

"Aren't you a little too young for a tattoo?" He just asked. Dante stared at it where a cross where intricate patterns were made out. Long vines were encircled around that very cross, and at the inner corners were a pair of slim wings which stretched across most of his back, stopping about three inches before his hipbone.

Omi jumped at the other's remark and dropped back down, feet flat on the floor as one hand went to his back and pulled the hem of his shirt down. "Ah… well… That is…" He blushed with his head dropped, seeing that his little secret was exposed.

Dante could feel the corners of his lips spreading. The other was taking a few peeps up at him to see if he was still looking. "So…?" Dante asked. He got off the chair and picked the piece of paper from Omi's hand and another tack from the board and for once, neatly put up something.

"I got it… a few weeks back… on my birthday", Omi reasoned, jamming back the tack he had into the softboard with his thumb. "'Cause I wanted to do something special…" He saw Dante nod, amusement still washed over the other's face. From his shorter height he noticed now a thin, long scar was along his neck to his lower jaw, cutting slightly to the chin. He found it very familiar as it was thin, yet very marred.

"Well, happy belated birthday", Dante said, bored. Without heeding where the chair was he just dropped back nicely, wrapping his arms behind his hand and leaning back pretty dangerously. He ended up looking at the ceiling where a chandelier-like lamp was.

"Thanks", Omi said with a pout as he could hear a slight sarcasm. Though, he was happy. The other wasn't telling him off like he was too young or some. Yoji and Ken would. Ran? He was the one who signed the papers to acknowledge the tattooing. The redhead himself actually got one on the same day as well.

Silence washed over the two for about ten minutes. Dante had remained in the same spot without moving and Omi was cutting off dried or dying leaves, no matter how small they were, from the plants. After clearing a row he took a glance at Dante, wondering how he managed to remain at the seemingly uncomfortable position.

The blond place the clippers down and walked over quietly, using his stealth the same way he would during missions to avoid being detected. He stood in front of the counter, looking at Dante's side-way view. Dante's breathing was really shallow and his muscles were relaxed. He noticed that his hair was dripping wet and so were his clothes.

Omi looked around the shop and frowned at the black stains on the floor. Why hadn't he noticed them earlier? He ran off to the back and grabbed the mop. He came back to find Dante standing at the shop window, back facing him. Tilting his head in wonder, he placed the mop against the counter and walked over. "What's wrong?"

Dante lifted his hand and covered the blond's mouth, placing a finger on his lips to inform him to keep quiet. Omi looked up at the other puzzled but nodded. Dante removed his hand as he gaze followed to the roads.

Dante heard a soft gasp from the teen. He smirked to himself as both their eyes were affixed on a group of beings which were definitely not human. One thing for sure, their bodies were grey ridges, strapped at the legs with thick, dark brown bands. Their black, tattered clothes were flapping in the wind as they dragged themselves to circle the bike Dante had been riding. In their hands were scythes, the tip of the blade scraping the rough ground.

"What are they…?" Omi asked, a little afraid. Having nothing to grip onto, he clenched his fists by his sides. Dante gave a soft scoff, silently cursing about them following him.

"They're Hell Prides, and they're bored again." Dante reached to his back, one hand grabbing his gun. Omi caught sight of that and stepped back, staring at the gun. He caught sight of a white gun with a gold word carving and he flinched at the sight of another black one.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Omi frowned. "You mean they were after you before you came?" He asked in disbelief. It was as if he lured them here… Now he was starting to treat Dante like an enemy.

Dante rolled his eyes, tapping his gun against his shoulder. "No way", he paused. "Well, yes but it's their hobby to follow me." Dante stared down at the face which currently depicted fury and suspicion. "Never mind. I'll leave." He walked around the small guy and pulled the door open, refraining from slamming it close.

Omi stared at the taller guy's back in disbelief. What was he going to do? His attention shifted to the Hell Prides outside who were walking slowly towards the shop. They had heard the tingle of the bell at the door and caught sight of their enemy walking out.

The Hell Prides dragged their weapons no longer. They were lifted in tightened grips and were groaning at Dante. Omi dreaded what was going to happen next. Dante ran up to the harbingers and pulled out his other gun. As if the gun was loaded with limitless bullets, the white-haired guy kept firing with perfected aiming, hitting mostly the skull or rib area.

But the Hell Prides weren't 'dying' easily. As if possessing some form of resistance, they brought down their scythes on Dante, roaring. However, they were slow in doing so; Dante dodged it easily. In fact, Dante seemed to be having fun, giving exclaims of amusement.

Omi just watched on helplessly. He wasn't sure if it would be considered his business, but his nature was to help in any way. The blond heard a whish noise and glanced down at the pavement right in front of the shop. The water puddle there darkened to a purple shade and Omi jumped back in shock when several Hell Prides crawled out.

Now he could see them face-to-face. They weren't just skeletons, actually. The blackness at the chest he thought it was just the cloak's draping shadow. But up close, he saw that it was actually the internal organs, blackened to the same shade as charcoal. He could see the lungs moving, the heart beating…

Omi stepped back as five or so emerged from that puddle. They were walking up to Dante, their oddly shiny blades glinting in the rain. The blond was frozen in his spot. Should he call out to Dante and warn him? Subconsciously, his hand fiddled with a needle which he had always kept under his watch.

His head spun around when the mop which had been leaning on the counter fell, clattering to the ground. Slowly, he looked up from the floor hearing a soft scrapping noise coming from the doorway. The next thing he knew, he was cowering from a loud shattering noise of the shop's window and the cracking of the door.

He crouched on the floor, raising his hand to shield primarily his face, wincing as he could feel bits of glass tapping him on his arms. He removed his hands to stare at three Hell Prides, their red eyes beaming down at him. Their mouths open with silent laughter as they brought their scythes to point to the Heavens.

"Dante!!" He called out, bringing his arms back up as he shut his eyes. It never occurred to him that he should've been avoiding the attack, in which he could have, seeing the speed at which these inhuman beings were moving.

But it was something else which struck his vision at that time. What he saw weren't the skeletons in black cloaks. The skulls possessed the facial features of the people who had him kidnapped when he was still a young lad; the horrible faces of the people who were going to kill him... and they were about to do it again.

Omi felt a small wisp of wind brushing against his bare arm, but felt no blow. But at his shoulder he could feel a tingle, as if something thin was seeping through the shirt at his collar bone. Half-trembling, he removed his arms from his vision; the first thing he saw was white before being blinded by a bright shine.

He felt something warm dripping on his bare legs and a familiar coppery scent hit him. His eyes widened when he realised that Dante was over him, hands on either side of the blond. "D-Dante?" He whispered.

The other was hunched over and he couldn't see his face. All he could see now was the Hell Prides backing over with moans. He noticed their scythes weren't in their hands anymore. "Dante!" Omi cried when the said person dropped onto his side.

Three perfectly silver blades were not trickling with red, the sources from the body. Omi stared at the area where the scythes blades pierced: one in the chest and two in the middle. Dante started coughing blood out.

"Dante…" Omi bit his lower lip, reaching over and shaking the shoulder little. "Dante… Don't die…" His voice hitched because of the lump forming in his throat. His chest swelled with fear when he felt a bony hand grab his shoulder, pulling him away from Dante.

Omi screamed when another hand cut his voice, feeling some bony ridges dig themselves into his throat. He ended up getting pressed against one of the Hell Prides which did not possess their scythe any longer, since they were in Dante. He could actually feel the coldness of the inhuman being. It was as if he was leaning against a wall made out of ice.

His throat hurt so badly. His eyes were shut as he chocked and cringed, trying to struggle out of the grip. The blond felt his head hurt already. Unable to breathe sufficiently, he knew he was close to losing consciousness.

However his eyes snapped open when he heard a gun shot. His captor released its grip and he fell to the floor on his knees, wheezing as own hand replaced his throat, feeling the pain go away. He glanced up to see Dante standing. The scythes were still in the man and blood was getting all over the floor, even his knees were stained with blood.

Omi watched, partially in awe and shock as Dante fired his guns at the Hell Prides in their faces and chests. Each of the harbingers fell to the ground before turning into dust, leaving small mounds of sand on the floor. Dante continued round after round and Omi was starting to wonder stupidly where they guy got his bullets from.

After the three in the shop, the place was once again quiet as night. There weren't any more rising from the puddles and none making their way into the shop. Omi gave a sigh of relief, hand on his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Dante sniffed and slot his guns back into his sling, giving a stylo spin before that. He looked over and down at the teenager and smirked. "Are you okay?" Omi stared up at him in disbelief. Dante, the guy who currently still had (if he forgot), three scythes embedded into his body. And he was sure Dante ought to know because half the blade was sticking out his front.

"Are you okay?!" Omi blurted back. He scrambled back up to his feet and stood in front on Dante, wondering what in the world he should do. Blood was still running down the guy's bare middle and staining up his black pants to a dark shade. Omi's mind was going frantic in wonder of what he should do. "First-aid!" He said out loud and was about to make a dart for a box behind the counter when Dante grabbed his shoulder. Omi looked behind to see the other shaking his head.

"No need for that", Dante grinned. Omi was close to scolding the other, his mouth opening. But Dante beat him to it. "Just help me pull them out." He pointed to his back with his thumb. He could remove it themselves, actually. But he was still a little human and doing it by himself usually hurt more.

Omi stared up at Dante hesitantly. Slowly he went around the taller guy and stood, grimacing at the sight of the scythe handles before the blades, in which he reckon, was probably one metre long or so. Taking a deep breathe, he placed his hands onto one of the scythe handles. They felt… slimy, yet rough at the same time because of the ridges. It looked like it was made out of metal, but it was rusted with black patches.

"First one", Omi said and upon seeing Dante nod, he pulled. It took a lot of energy trying to pull one out, seeing how deep it was impaled. Dante grit his teeth tight together in endurance as he could feel the blade slip out from his insides. After it was removed, he had a hollow feeling in his stomach which made him feel… hungry. "Second."

Dante made a soft gasp when another scythes was removed from his middle. It didn't hurt as much at the previous one, but he could feel his blood spurt from the open wound. He caught a soft whining sort of noise from the young blond and he secretly smirked. "Third", he heard next.

When the open from his chest was pulled, he immediately felt blood rushing through his lungs and he involuntarily choked on his own blood. He placed hand over his mouth and coughed into it, breathing heavily as he felt his body mechanism start to work.

"Thanks", Dante managed in between breathing. The last scythe clattered to the floor and Omi went to Dante's side, bringing the other's arm over his shoulder. Dante looked to his side, wondering what the kid was up to. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing you in", Omi said, stating the obvious. "You can rest inside while I clean up the mess." The blond led the other into the back, noticing that Dante was still walking normally, and the weight on his shoulder seemed to be decreasing. By the time they went through the door, a tiny corridor and another door, they ended up in the house's living room. "You can sit here."

"Another cosy place", Dante said, impressed. He removed his arm from the blond's shoulder and Omi was gaping at him. He looked at the teen's face, following his gaze to his middle. "They're all healed", he said thoughtfully. He sniffed, knowing it would be weird to say so. Less than a minute ago he was cringing with blood dripping all over the place. Now, he was perfectly fine, innards and all.

Omi was still staring at him, spaced out. Dante rolled his eyes and gave a snap in his face, jerking the boy back into reality. "But that's not possible! Just a moment back…" He got cut off by Dante placing a hand over his mouth and leaning in dangerously close.

"And I'm fine now", he smiled. Dante removed his hand, still leaving the boy on his toes. "Long story", he said dryly. Omi crossed his arms on his chest, making him look like a boy about to throw a childish fit.

"I've got time to listen", Omi replied, his voice telling Dante he wasn't going anywhere til he receive a good reason. Somehow it reminded him of Vergil who would also be evil and forcing stuff out of him.

Dante shrugged in defeat and took a seat on the couch, knowing that Omi still had his eyes on him. Out of his usual bad habit, he tossed his legs onto the coffee table in front of the couch, ankles crossed. "Heard of Sparda?"

Omi did the same, sitting on the couch but not putting his legs on the table. Instead he crossed his, knee over knee as he got himself comfortable with the upcoming 'long' story. "Yes, I've heard of him. I learnt about him in History class. He was a man who fought with bad guys. He was a historical figure of strength, like Hercules, fighting for the people."

Dante looked over at him and burst out laughing. He composed himself when saw the younger boy looking at him disapprovingly. "Sorry, but is that what your teacher teach you these days? Or what those flimsy papers... textbooks? State about Sparda?"

"Well, yes", Omi said puzzled. Why was Dante laughing anyway? And what has it got to do with Sparda? In his history book Sparda was very closely compared to the Spartans who warred despite their numbers. One of Sparda was like the three hundred who fought against the Persians. Brave, strong, intelligent…

"He's my old pops, kid", Dante grinned, pointing a gloveless thumb to himself. He burst into another grinning fit when Omi was staring at him with his jaw wide open, as if inviting a fly to come and sit in. "Yep, that's my old man."

"You're crazy", Omi scoffed. He should've known better than to invite this lunatic in… In fact, he wondered why he did so! He had close to a million reasons why he should've booted the guy out when he had a chance to.

(Note: all the 'he' refers to Dante)

One: he was carrying deadly weapons (a sword and two guns). Two: he had no proper etiquette. Three: he was dripping wet and was dirtying the floor he had spend ages cleaning. Four: he was fighting against things that were highly impossible. Five: he was close to dying, but now he's alive and laughing at him. Six: …. (that's enough)

"That's what y'all think. Haven't been exposed to the outside world now, have you? Or more likely, to the other world." Dante smiled back at the face which was frowning at him. He removed his legs off the coffee table and placed his elbows on his knees, leaning over and closing the gap between the two. "Tell you what. I'll give you a history lesson you'll never forget."

Omi became hesitant. He was curious, but he always played by 'curiosity killed the cat' rule. Right now in front of him was the man who claimed he was Sparda's son. A hero who was said to have died a thousand years ago, he had a son? In this timeline? Pft, no way. "Okay, entertain me."

Dante nodded, looking satisfied that someone was going to listen to his gibber. "Sparda was a demon…" he started. "-a demon fighting against other demons. He surfaced to Earth to slay those which roamed too wildly. He spent his days hunting, killing… Until one fine day he meets a lady. Young, beautiful and sweet."

Omi rolled his eyes at the drama the other guy was making up. He was not amused by that, seriously. He wanted to know everything now. So maybe textbooks weren't so helpful, after all, he smiled secretly. Now he was getting a first-rate story of Sparda (whether it was real or not, he'd listen anyway).

"So naturally, they fell in love, had kids yadda yadda", Dante snorted. Omi was sure his ears perked up at the word 'kids'. Plural. Not single. Dante had another sibling? "Then the news spread. Through Heaven, Earth and more importantly, Hell. Everyone knows loved ones are always good targets, so they all ganged up and swept the entire planet in search for their enemy's family."

"This family remained in the shadows, safe." Dante raised a hand and stuck his thumb and forefinger out, making it like a gun. He pointed it across the room, aiming at a small champagne glass which was on a display shelf about ten feet away. "Bang."

The blond looked over at the champagne glass before turning back to Dante. "What happened?" Omi asked, starting to get impatient at Dante's sleazy pace. He was sitting at the edge of the couch.

"They were found. By luck, the kids could hide away, but in their hiding place, they were watching their mother get ripped apart alive." Dante draped his hand over his knee, looking into the sapphire orbs which depicted fear and sorrow. "But Sparda didn't come and save her. No one knew where he went. He just disappeared."

"No…" Omi covered his mouth in disbelief. "How could he…" His eyes dropped to the other hand which was on his lap. "But why? Amongst all that chaos, he should've been by their side!" he said, not realising his voice grew louder with each word.

Dante stared at the blond, wondering what was up with him. He should be the one getting all moody and depressed, not the boy… "Oi, you okay?" He asked as his hand reached over. Just before he came in contact with the small shoulder, he came face to face with a pained-look with tear trails running down the cheek.

A father not being by the side of his son… It was one pain which lasted forever. The past which ache his heart year after year never subsided. It just grew worse. He swore to himself never to dwell on what had happened; it wasn't worth it. Not on a man who didn't save him. Not on the man who would sacrifice someone…

A cold droplet landed on his thigh and he blinked. "Eh? I'm sorry", Omi said quickly, brushing away the tears with his wrists. "I didn't mean to... I'm so dumb..." He forced a laugh, leaving his hands to shield his eyes. "I must look really stupid... crying like this…" Dante probably suffered more than I did…

"Something happened to you too?" Dante asked. He was sure of it. He knew, because it was the same kind of face he would see in the mirror after the day his mother died. In fact, he didn't even need a mirror. Someone else with the exact same face was showing it.

"My father… He said I wasn't his… so he chose to give me up to the dead", he smiled weakly. "When you said your father didn't come and rescue your mom, or you, that's the past I recalled." In his head he was scolding himself for being so childish. Dante was more emotionally hurt. He, for one, didn't see someone die in front of him. Well, at least, someone he's highly emotionally attached to. Even Ouka…

"Well, ain't he nice", Dante scoffed. Seeing the tear-tap of the teen stop he leaned back into the couch and threw his legs onto the coffee table again. "But seeing you're alive and well here you're doing fine?"

Omi cheered up and gave a big smile. "Yep. I've got three friends with me. They work in the flowershop too, but they're taking a rest for today." Dante's word came back into his memory so he decided to ask. "So… who's your other sibling?"

Dante straight into his eyes, glinting of slight anger. The blond drew back a little, wondering if it was a taboo topic or something. "My older pain-in-the-arse twin brother." Omi was sweat-dropping at such words to address a family member. Well, not like his were any better.

"So, don't mind if I ask…" He said slowly. "What's his name?" So he started getting curious. Well, his cat was almost killed. He heard a word from Dante's mutter. It didn't sound like a vocab word, so he presumed it was name. "Pardon?"

"Vergil", Dante growled this time. Omi immediately stood up from the place he was seated, catching the half-demon a little surprised. The blond repeated the name as if in disbelief and Dante knew something wasn't right already. "So he is here?"

"Vergil? As in the one who uses a katana as a weapon?" Omi asked relatively quickly, partially stumbling on his words. It was Dante's turn to stand. He grabbed the smaller guy at one shoulder and grit his teeth.

"How did you know him? Where is he now?" Dante demanded. Omi winced at the tough grasp on his upper arm and took hold of the other's wrist. He was doing a little thinking at that time, like why Dante was so infuriated at his older brother. The only time he knew why he hated his brothers was because they were doing something evil… the Hell Prides?

"Vergil… He came into Tokyo a few months back all injured and stuff… So out of kindness we sort of took care of him…" He answered the first one. "I don't know where he is though… but one of my friends does."

"Vergil's the cause of the unnatural rain and the Hell beings running loose", Dante smiled thoughtfully, making it a highly sarcastic remark. "He's the one planning to let demons rampage Earth. Not long later the Devil's Tower may just rise again", he snorted at the thought.

The previous tower shattered to the ground right after he kicked Vergil's ass back to Hell. He wondered how it was possible for the lunatic to leave again and be back on Earth, further more in the horrible state he was in. Someone must've let him do so. Dante was sure of it.

"Devil wha-?" Omi was puzzled. What was going on? Dante made it sound like Vergil was the evil twin. Maybe he was? He shook his head. When they first met Vergil he was badly injured. He was close to death. If they were twins he should've healed as quickly as Dante, right? "Whatever you're saying Dante, I don't get you at all."

Dante shut his eyes and forced his mind to calm down. There would be no way the teen could understand everything right away. He didn't see the past. Only Vergil, Lady, dead Arkham and he witnessed everything. "Anyway, stay away from Vergil. He'll use whatever he can reach out to."

Dante heard the teen gave a sharp gasp which was cut off a tiny bit later. He looked at Omi and eyed his dangerously. Another situation gone amiss. The blond obviously had something he has yet to say. "What?"

"Ran…" He whispered, hands clenching into fists. "My friend… Ran…" Omi dropped back down to the couch, burying his face in his hands. "Oh no…" He wasn't sure if Dante was right, but hearing what he had to say he couldn't be lying. Was Vergil really a bad guy? When they met he was really nice. He didn't look like a bad guy…

"Time to hunt Vergil", Dante grinned. Omi looked up to see Dante pointing at the same tiny champagne glass. Dante did a gun-cock move and said a soft 'bang', but this time, the blond was dumbfounded when the glass cracked and shattered.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Vergil glanced out of the small apartment, face showing not a single emotion. He eyed the rain as if it was acid, dangerous and highly corrosive. He had been sitting on the window ledge for the past ten minutes, one leg draping off the edge which dangled two stories up. The other was bent close enough to lay his wrist down comfortably.

The rain seemed to be haunting him. Wherever he went, there would always be rain. Sometimes he wondered if he was a walking jinx, inviting the clouds the shed their tears.

He'd always remember the tale about the skies when he was young. She said the sky was always watching. When the sun shone she was happy. When the rain fell she was sad. When there was a storm she was angry. Same goes for the Earth, who was supposedly more temperamental, who only shook earthquakes with fury or tornados to punish.

He stared up at the heavily clouded skies. It had been grey for the past hours. It was getting darker and in the distance the skies could be considered black. Since it was day, the street lights weren't shining, making the view look very dull and depressing.

"Vergil", he heard from his side. The voice was soft but low, calm and gentle. He turned his head away from the outskirts and to a redhead who was walking over to him. He stared at the guy who brought over a cup and placed it out for him to receive.

"Thanks", the half-demon replied, taking the cup. His hands coiled around the ear carefully, making sure he had a firm grip before feeling the weight of the cup shift to his hands. He pulled it to his mouth and took a sip of the warm drink, the first thing hitting him was a tinge of bitterness.

Ran turned to face the living room as he sat down on the long ledge, a little in front of Vergil's foot. He held his cup with both hands and partially placed it on his thigh since his wasn't that hot anymore. He looked over his shoulder into the rain. He couldn't see the rain, but it was making the image outside fuzzy. The rain reminded him of so much.

His family. His parents who died. His sister who fell into coma. The man who brought this pain to him. Thankfully they were all gone. Except the part about his parents dead, he'd visit their grave monthly, dropping by flowers he knew they loved. His sister awoke, leading her normal life. He'd see her time to time. As for the man, Takatori, he was six feet under. Though he wished he could bring that man the exact pain bestowed, he wasn't going to let himself turn to the dark side.

Another rain incident- and that was when they all met Vergil. A few months back they were on a mission. Not assassination, but information digging. They were retreating when they found him in an alleyway, against the wall. He was wounded badly, bleeding heavily from one just below his ribs. Yoji had suggested they minded their own business, but the other three insisted on helping. After all, it would've hurt to, right?

Vergil made an incredible recovery. For a normal person, the wound he possessed would probably force him bed-stricken for months. However, in a day he was up and walking. Everyone was dumb-founded, but Vergil never told them how it was possible. He thanked them for their helped and was going to leave, but Ran followed him.

It didn't take long for the white-haired guy to notice him despite being in his incredibly stealth mode. Ran knew that Vergil was no normal human and insisted that he told the truth. So Vergil did. He spoke to the redhead of his origins, Sparda and all. How he was supposed to remain in Hell after he was defeated by a man called Dante. What he didn't understand was how he managed to surface back to Earth.

The past was the past, and that was how the two conversed easily. They needn't words. It was a physical communication. They spar with katanas and shared books of interest. If anyone knew, they'd end to be the perfect couple. And that's what they are now.

Every weekend he would pop by Vergil's apartment. It was just a few streets down from the flowershop, bought down by the half-demon himself. He found it nice and cosy, the wall pale yellow and the couch velvet black. There was a small kitchen, two rooms, a toilet and a bath. Overall it was homey, cosy and stuff. It was a nice getaway place from the place he shared with his three other teammates.

The trust grew between them despite the silence, and in so-called exchange for knowing that Vergil was a half-demon, Ran told him about his own secret job. Vergil didn't look surprised; he snorted at it, stating that it wasn't uncommon in his point of view. Ran suspected Vergil might've done some of it as well.

"They said the rain'll clear tomorrow", Rain commented mildly, not really intending to strike much of a conversation but nevertheless saying something. From the corner of his eyes he saw the other nod in acknowledgment that he was listening. Vergil took another sip from his coffee.

"Dante's here." Ran looked away from the liquid which was still in his cup. His face was slightly emotionless, but Vergil could tell the redhead was not really comfortable with it. "I might go find him."

"Why? He tried to kill you before right?" Ran said softly, the grip on his cup tightening. His fingers curled around the handle so hard his knuckles were turning white, hand turning cold. He didn't even heed his nails digging into his palm. "Don't go Vergil."

Vergil looked Ran's pale face, his eyes curtained by his long bangs. His ear-tail had grown relatively quickly, now lay on his chest. Even the hair at the back has grown to shoulder-length, curling a bit inwards due to the shoulder.

He hated the colour of red very much. Red had many meanings to it. It was the colour of blood, death, anger and wrath. It was the colour of the sins he had committed so many times and he always saw them everywhere he looked. Ever since the day he saw the bloodshot eyes of his dead mother looking at him, staring at him when he peeked through the crack of the underground.

But when it on Ran his impression of it became different. It wasn't like the same red he'd see on bodies. It wasn't the colour he see only when he's angry. It was calming, gentle and vibrant. Vergil reached over and picked the ear-tail into his hand. It was smooth and soft. It taught him that the same thing can be different.

Ran looked sideways at the hand fiddling his hair before averting his gaze to Vergil. "He only finds me when there is a reason to", the half-demon stated, slightly tugging at the hair when he dropped his hand. "Although I wonder what it could be, now."

The redhead kept silent, keeping to minding his own business. But it was hard to, since he know this Dante person might bring harm to Vergil. He didn't want to find Vergil in the state he was in when they first met. "Vergil, please don't go find him."

Vergil looked at Ran. He hardly begged for anything, but hearing the other's voice sounding really uneasy he sighed. "He would find me, eventually." He threw his legs back into the house and walked over to the dining table, picking up his katana while placing his cup down. "He won't stop until he finds me, so there is no reason to hide anyway."

Ran kept quiet, knowing that he was in defeat. Vergil never really listened to him much anyway. This time wouldn't be any different. He got off the ledge and walked to the table beside the other and placed his own cup down. "Then I'm coming with you."

Vergil gave a firm 'no' right away, turning to see Ran glaring at him. "You're going to find Dante. That's your decision right? So I'm going to act on my own accord as well." Ran reached over and grabbed his own katana which had been settled beside the other's sword.

"Ran, Dante may not be going to kill you but he won't hesitate to injure you", Vergil frowned. But sometimes, for a weak person, the injuries would just cause death. He used the hand which wasn't holding Yamato to keep Ran's katana on the table, pressing it down. "I won't be able to protect you."

Ran gave a snort, pulling his sword away from the other's reach. "I can take care of myself perfectly fine, thank you very much." The redhead turned around to a tall stand and took off a black coat. He hooked his katana on the stand by its tie and put his coat on. Inside he was wearing a three quart sleeve-length top with a nice 'V' cut at the collar, showing off some nice collar bones. His lower half was his black khakis with some paled lines as a design.

Vergil watched him do so, also unable to do anything. Ran didn't bother to zip it up since it was troublesome- the zipper started from the hem of the coat which was at his knees. Ran put on the gloves he used in his missions, meant for improving his grip on the sword and obviously not to leave any fingerprint trails.

The half-demon sighed again and picked his blue coat from the couch, pulling over his black, body hugging top and black pants. He sealed up the gold buttons along his lower arm and picked Yamato from the couch. He looked over his shoulder to see Ran putting his boots on.

Doing the same, he slipped into the dark green boots and strapping them around the top, making sure they firmly clamped onto his calf. Ran's boots had the strap over his foot and at the top, also serving the same purpose. It wouldn't be fun if they lost a shoe during a fight anyway.

Ran walked out first, knowing clearly that Vergil would have nothing more to say once he's out the door. Vergil followed closely behind, closing the door softly and they both made their way down the stairs. Halfway through the second set, Vergil, being in front of Ran, lashed his hand out to stop the redhead from continuing. Ran stared in confusion and was about to snap at him when Vergil said a soft 'Hell Prides'

The redhead immediately froze. Vergil had explained to him the Seven Hells before, each of them possessing different existences. He also mentioned how they were, but he never really saw them before. Why now? Because of Dante? But according to Vergil, Dante would never summon…

"Wait here", Vergil ordered and Ran silently obliged, standing at where he was. He never knew how strong these Hell things were, but if he could avoid it he would very much do so. He watched Vergil head down, made a turn at the end and hearing the door creak open before slamming with a loud smack.

He waited for a moment before hearing Vergil say 'I didn't call for any of you' in a calm tone, but he could tell the half-demon was pissed. It wasn't long before he heard the hissing of the katana along with the hissing moans of the Hell Prides. Ran descended the rest of the stairs and barged out of the door, seeing a flash of black which caught him off-guard.

"Ran! Get back in!" He heard Vergil yell in the rain. He couldn't see the other though; the rain was too heavy and everything was in a blur. The rain splattering his face also threatened him to shut him from his vision and he ended up frantically blinking. He used his glove and brushed his face, making his view clearer. "Ran!"

With a natural fighting instinct, he pulled his katana out of its sheath and lifted it up, his left hand raised and supporting the back of the sword. A loud sound of metal hitting metal echoed in his ears and he was pushed down a little from the force, making him bend his legs. He came to realize the front of his katana caught a corner of a foreign weapon.

His eyes widened to see he was caught in a deadlock with one of the Hell Prides, the blade of its scythe dangerously close to his face. It was looking straight into him with blood red eyes and he was momentarily frozen. In its eyes, images were forming. Like replaying a video, it was showing his past. The times when he assassinated people…

"Ran!" He heard and the redhead snapped. He shook his head and looked back into the face which was hissing at him. He grit it teeth and mustered strength to push against the scythes, making the Hell Pride fall back. He saw a shine flash across the body of the harbinger and blinked as it fell to the ground as sand, the rain water darkening the particles.

"I told you to stay inside." Ran glanced up to see Vergil standing behind the small mound of sand, looking annoyed. The redhead gave a small shrug and with experience and skill, slipped his sword back in. Vergil did so as well and Ran was looking around, seeing that there were about ten or so tiny hills of sand.

Vergil booted the sands as if he was throwing a tantrum. "Something's not right. You'd better stay here." And he received a glare from the redhead. Vergil frowned back at him.

"You know I wouldn't, so why bother saying?" Ran sniffed, stuffing his gloved hands into the coat pockets. He noticed it was getting colder as there was vapour forming when he spoke.

"Not funny, Ran. The Hell Prides claimed they were summoned by me, and when I ordered them to return back to Hell they retaliated. Going against orders is something they're not really capable of by themselves…" He paused, bringing a hand up to rub his chin. "Dante?"

Ran rolled his eyes. "Maybe he was the one who summoned them. I mean, he is trying to get to you." He looked at Vergil in disappointment when Vergil shook his head at the statement.

"Never in hell would he summon them. For one thing, he enjoys blasting their heads off", Vergil reminded, knowing his brother too well. His hands drifted to gaze down at the ribbons of Yamato fluttering in the wind. He could feel the wind grow stronger and an earthquake shook the area.

It was a really strong one; Ran ended up having to support himself on his knees and hand but Vergil stood there unaffected, the sensation feeling familiar. A loud, splitting ruckus caught their attention and they both eyed a fissure creeping towards them as if they were prey. Vergil jumped and grabbed Ran by his waist and leapt up against the wall, bouncing off and flipping onto the roof of the short building.

Ran was stunned by the action and crumbled to the floor once he was let down. He looked at Vergil, who was looking to somewhere in the distance. Another rumbling noise came and about a hundred blocks away a tower rose out of the ground, breaking any houses which stood in its way.

"Temen-ni-gru…" Ran heard Vergil growl. The redhead got back up on his feet and stared as the tower just kept 'growing' out of the ground, as if it was a plant of some sort. His hand unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Vergil's upper arm, feeling his hand go cold despite the gloves.

The tower came to a halt when it stood close to fifty stories. A loud roar came from beside, deafening the two. They peered over the edge of the roof to see the floor starting to crack like an egg shell. Vergil grabbed Ran again and jumped a few more roofs, the redhead yelping in surprise.

When they were at the third block, the two were forced to the ground by an invisible pressure. Vergil kept a protective arm over the upper back of the redhead and they both stayed close to each other, Ran gripping the outer coat of the other's. A tremor shook the building they were on and another, but more distant groaning noise sounded.

The two recovered from their positions and Ran blinked at the sight of a giant whale-looking creature floating about in the air. It beat its flipper, opening its lower jaw which was thrice the size of the upper as it 'swam' through the air and headed towards the tower. Its tail was spread like a fan, flowing behind gracefully.

"What's that…?" Ran asked softly as he got back onto his feet. Sub-consciously his hand reach for his sword to make sure it was still sheathed in its casing. Vergil gave a sniff and pushed his hair back, making his shorter fringe stand.

"Leviathan", he replied and brushed the hair by his ears backwards as well. "This isn't good. It's like a repeat of that time." Ran was watching Vergil's facial expression. He obviously didn't look too happy and was taken aback a little when the other's eyes suddenly widened. But before Ran could say anything the half-demon said, "We have to get to the top of the tower."

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"What was that?!" Omi yelped as he levered himself off the ground with arms on the couch. He looked over at Dante who was still standing, perfectly unaffected by the sudden tremors. He saw a crossed look on the half-demon's face and took big, quick strides towards the door which lead to the flowershop. "Hey, Dante?!"

The blond scuttled back to his feet and ran out of the house, through the flowershop and frowned to see Dante standing in the middle of the rain, on the road and staring into the distance. The rain caused him to blink many more times than required but he followed Dante's gaze.

"What's that?!" He blurted out loud, staring at a very tall building which stood among the short ones, like a tree in a field. It was all cracked and wrecked-looking but it was still standing. He made out tiny figures of statues at the top. A roar caught their attention and they turned to see a giant whale-like hovering in the air and circulating the big building.

Omi heard Dante clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Temen-ni-gru. It must be Vergil up to something again." He emphasized the last word out of boredom. He turned to the direction of his bike, further pissed since the vehicle was laid on its side. "She's going to kill me", he grumbled, referring to Lady.

"Where are you going?" Omi asked as Dante picked the bike up, putting it back onto its wheels. He flicked the tiny bits of ground material off the seat and got onto it. He heard tapping noises and he looked up at the blond whose hands were on his hips.

"Where else?" Dante rolled his eyes and diverted his attention to fumbling for the keys. He pulled it out from his pocket and jammed it into the ignition, giving it a sharp twist.

"I'm coming with you." The half-demon burst out laughing at the half-hearted attempt in trying to get the bike working. "What?" Omi frowned. He didn't really like people laughing at him.

"No, seriously. It's not a roller coaster ride kid", Dante stifled laughter behind a hand and the fingers went back to starting up the vehicle.

The blond, annoyed that he was treated like a child, stood in front of the bike and slammed his hands down on the small screen, catching Dante's attention. "If Vergil is there, so will Ran", he growled.

Dante stared at him without a word. It was the first time in the past hour or so they've met and well, it is surprising that Omi can actually be serious. Oh what the heck. "Fine. If you get your ass eaten it's not my problem", he snorted, sitting up and crossing his arms on his chest. He gave a twitch seeing the blond smile.

"I'll be right back. Give me five minutes", Omi shouted as he ran in the direction of the flowershop. Dante's mouth was open, not getting many words out. "I'm gonna change!" He said again, answering Dante's mental question.

The half-demon snorted and leaned over his bike, resting his hand on his palm, elbowing the hard metal plate. The bike gave a rumble of anxiety to start. He noticed that the rain was starting to simmer a little, making the view of Temen-ni-gru much clearer. The building had changed a little. It wasn't so complete or brown. It was cracked and black.

Leviathan was acting like a fly and hovering about the massive building. The bloody fish-out-of-water, he was sure he had done away with it. How did it survive, not to mention, revived anyway? Seeing all these things come back, he was sure he had to start from the bottom again, Cerberus, Beowulf and all…

A lone figure on the roof caught his attention. They may be far apart, but he could see them as if they were ten feet away. His head rose off his hand a little for clearer inspection and he growled when he saw the familiar figure of Arkham. The guy was looking down, straight at him with those different coloured eyes. Oh, how much fun would it be now if Lady saw her dead father 'zombie-ing' around. Another silhouette came to the edge and he immediately recognised it as Vergil. His maniac, power-hungry brother who-

"Dante!" The half-demon snapped his head to the side and caught sight of the teenager running to him, this time with a jacket but still in shorts, sneakers and a small bag. Dante sniffed at the boy's dressing. He wouldn't be surprised if the latter caught a cold anytime soon.

"Get on", he half-ordered, feeling a slight tension growing in his chest. He shifted his weight to one foot on the floor as he felt the smaller guy hop on with ease. He must've been riding bikes or something, Dante thought to himself. He could feel the other pressing against him a little, but felt no arms around him.

Dante looked over his shoulder, at Omi who had his bag wedged between the two bodies. The blond gave a 'yes?' and Dante smirked. "You might want to hold on. We're going to get to the top the quickest way."

Omi gave a look of suspicion. "And that would be- Ah!!" He yelped when Dante turned the handle, the accelerator roaring. The blond, by reflex, hunched forward and wrapped his arms around the firm body, momentarily forgetting about the sword which was positioned a little dangerous for someone at the back.

He had his fists clenched on Dante's middle, since he wore no garment under. Reluctantly he held on tighter, feeling as if he would fly away. The bad in between was much safer than he was. Both weren't wearing helmets either. He felt a rumbling at his ear and he realised it was Dante laughing, He pouted, wondering what the other found funny.

"What's so funny?!" Omi shouted, his voice fighting against the sounds of splattering rain, roaring engine and the hysterical laughter of Dante's. He couldn't see the other's reaction, but the heaving of the older guy's chest suggested he was still chuckling.

"Because it's rock and roll time!" Dante was speeding down the street, shifting side to side as he avoided cars, cut through useless traffic lights and once or twice, wove through the narrowest alleyways. In a matter of inches their knees would be scrapped of their skins. Omi was praying to god he made it out alive.

The bike gave a sudden halt and a loud screech echoed in the empty streets as Dante swerved, making the bike slow down side-ways. They both jerked when the bike stopped and Omi was covering his mouth in attempt to swallow his vomit, partially conscious to his forehead which was throbbing from the collision against Dante's solid back.

"Are we there already…?" Omi asked behind a hand as he turned his head, staring at an empty entrance. It looked like a colosseum entrance, ivory pillars with crack lines, depicting their old ages. The main gate was half shattered and the blond was squinting his eyes amidst the darkness inside. He caught a shadow move and he yelped, about to fall to his right towards the gate, saved by Dante's arm.

"Better stay back", the half-demon advised, although sounding much like an order. Dante's eyes kept their gaze into the darkness of the hall he remembered where Cerberus was, guarding like any little pet. A grin tugged his lips as he turned the handle, hearing the bike rumbling in anxiety. "We're gonna bust the doggy's arse."

"Dog? Wha—" Omi was abruptly cut off by a consecutive howl, deafening him. His hands reached up to shield his ears from the sounds as his teeth grit tight together. He gave a yelp when Dante started the bike up once more, pulling it up vertically on its hind wheels before driving a sloped-debris.

At that moment, a large black animal charged out of the gate, crumbling it into large materials. The three headed hound from Hell roared and barked at the intruders, lifting its large, clawed paws from the ground before slamming it back down, sending rows of spiked ice towards the bike.

Dante pulled out one of his guns and fired, the other hand busy with keeping the bike running. Each bullet cut through the ice, seemingly as easy as when a knife slices through a cake. Hearing Cerberus roar in fury, he smirked.

"I will have my revenge you worthless human!" The middle head roared, shaking its neck. The large chains clattered to the ground, broken and useless while ice fragments showered like hardened snow, glittering. It didn't melt when it hit the ground. The hound pushed against the thickest of shackles at the base of his legs above the paw, determined to break out of it.

Dante stopped the bike, lifting his gun and tapping it on his shoulder. "Well, what do you know? Seems like you aren't ready to head back to the dog house", he taunted. Omi swallowed. "Or was it slaughter house?"

"Insolent wretched!" Cerberus snapped, his other two heads growling and baring disoriented rows of teeth. His massive body size was causing the chains to split. "After a few months and you foul mouth has yet to be cleaned. I will make sure you will lose that jaw of yours!"

With one last bellow, Cerberus broke free from his imprisonment. He darted towards the bike, all the heads eager to rip flesh off bone. However, one of their visions blurred, affecting its brain system and the other two started howling in pain. The blue and yellow eyes glanced to their middle head, seeing it slumped, a sword neatly embedded between its eyes.

"Woohoo… One down, two more to go", Dante licked his lips eagerly, feeling his muscles getting pumped up. Cerberus looked up to find Dante on his feet, leaning against the bike with one of his gun twirling in his hand. Omi was behind the bike, hands fiddling with several diamond-shaped darts. "Bring it on pup!"

The two heads roared before biting at the neck of the red. Omi grimaced at the sight of them tearing through the fur first before pulling the next off, dropping it to the ground. This was to avoid a worthless distraction. Their quick work lasted only ten seconds.

Following after, Cerberus got back on its hind legs, extending his claws and Dante's eyes narrowed, able to remember the dog's trade moves. He reached over to his back and slipped his arm around the teenager's chest and pulling him upwards, hearing the boy yelp in surprise. Dante stepped on the small leverage of the bike and pushed against it, jumping upwards.

That moment, it was as if the world truly froze over. A layer of ice covered the ground as if it was a lake and the floor shimmered in the clearest of frozen water. Dante stepped on the bike seat, holding Omi in place before they slipped. The ice was highly solid, able to keep even the bike on its two wheels.

Cerberus came charging over, his long claws making horrible scrapping noises against the ice at his feet. Dante pulled his hands back and grabbed his other gun, jumped off and was running towards Cerberus. Unfortunately he wasn't the best of ice skaters despite his sturdy balancing and found himself sliding a little too quickly towards the hound.

Dante grinned, in any way. He had already started firing at Cerberus, concentrating his energy into the gun. Cerberus was barking and snarling at the bullets pierced through his thick fur, but proving not much damage as there was no blood. Taking the chance when Cerberus was busy was avoiding the bullets to his eyes, Dante slipped under the dog, lying on his back as he shot the underside.

It proved a better source of weakness as blood immediately splattered down to his face. He skidded out from under and turned his shoulder, planting his feet and dragging the end of his gun to slow down. He raised his guns and fired off another round, Cerberus having a paw up to shield his face.

Suddenly, the large padded foot shifted away and the two heads of Cerberus each sent a blast of ice-breath, catching the half-demon unaware. This ended Dante getting knocked back a few feet despite raising his arms to keep most of the damage out. He found himself against a car, car acting like glue and keeping him frozen.

"Shit.." He grumbled as he watched Cerberus advance, its heavy legs crushing the ground. He tried to move his hands, but they were in the thicker side of the ice and his fingers were frozen, unable to even pull the trigger.

"Say your prayers, son of Sparda!" Both head roared and both the heads turned to the side, one aiming for the upper half of his body, the other, lower. Dante grit his teeth. If he still had Rebellion behind him he could break out easily with the sword's power. Unfortunately, it was still embedded in the dead head a hundred yards away.

Like any natural reflex, Dante shut his eyes as he saw the images of their teeth coming closer. The smell of their breath, needless to say, was foul and reeking. He was preparing for the assault. True enough, it came, but only on his left leg. He gritted his teeth, feeling the several razor teeth pierce through his thigh and lower calf. The bite force increased.

He cried out softly when the jaw retreated, leaving his bare flesh. He was still held up by the ice on his right side, but left arm was limp and had even dropped his gun. He gave a few pants, wondering what was up with Cerberus, since the hound was attacking him. He cracked his eyes open and was dumbfounded to see a certain blond, on Cerberus.

Omi was on the head which he wasn't attacked by, a single metal blade of his pierced into one of the blue eyes. That same head was thrashing, but the blond was keeping his hold with another blade jammed into the top of the head, making it look like some rock climbing game.

The yellow eyed roared and Omi jumped off the head, barely missing a chomp from the uninjured head. The head which had the blade in its eye yelped when his neighbouring head gave a sudden crunch to the side of its face.

Omi landed with a yelp, his foot slipping under him. Even his groove-filled sneakers weren't of help on the relatively smooth surface of the ice. He skidded til he reached the car Dante was stuck against, using his feet as springs to avoid crashing into the vehicle.

He looked over his shoulder to see the two heads fighting each other and he hoped they kept going on until he can get Dante out of the current mess. He got up to his feet and using a dagger he pulled out from his back pocket, started hacking at the ice.

"It's not fast enough. Use the gun", Dante hissed. His leg was healing, but still hurting. He couldn't reach down to grab his gun either because it had fallen between a slightly deeper crack from where he was standing.

Obeying, Omi slipped back his dagger and went to the other side, picking the gun up with both hands and with a perfect aim, pulled the trigger at an unoccupied spot between the half-demon's calves… And fell backwards at the force of which the recoil was too much for him to handle. He dropped to the ground on his butt, groaning.

Dante's other leg came out and reached down, grabbed his gun and shot the ice keeping his arm captive. Omi was frowning since Dante's hand didn't even shake from the force. Dante shook the ice off his body and extended a hand out. The blond took it graciously.

"Now, back to doggy business", Dante smirked, not noticing that Omi was sulking a little as he didn't even receive a thanks. The half-demon raised his arms parallel to the floor and whispered. 'Get the sword' before walking ahead and shooting at the crazed animal.

Omi was stumped then. Sword? What- His eyes caught sight of the silver blade with the creepy skull at the hilt on the other side, a few yards away from Cerberus's hind foot. It was dangerously close to being crushed but he figured the hound ought to be advancing and not backing. He made a dash for it.

"How'd you like this you stinky mutt?" Dante shouted over his firing as Cerberus roared, having a few bullets drive through the roofs of their mouths as they did. It charged again, this time a little off balance as the blue one was close to falling. It was a lucky shot when Dante had blinded a yellow eye, and both the heads were howling in pain. He gave a quick peep over to the blond who was sneaking behind cars.

He had to distract Cerberus long enough to get the sword. Once he had the blade, this bugger would be more than just dead. He slipped his guns back into their slots and raised his arms in fists, skipping back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Wanna bring it on? I'll play handicap too", he grinned. "Hell, I can even keep my eyes closed kicking your furry butt."

Omi smacked a hand against his face. Must Dante always taunt? He peeked through his fingers to see the half-demon sliding around and avoiding being pawed or bitten. Cerberus was weakened badly from injuries and exhaustion. It didn't take long before it fell to the ground, close to death.

"Hmph I'd expected more from you", Dante rolled his eyes, kicking one of their faces and jumping back when it attempted to turned and bite. He raised a finger and waved it, saying 'bad doggie', but his smirk turned to a look of discontent when Cerberus was snorting with laughter.

"It doesn't matter if we die. We only had to buy time… and blood", it laughed. Dante shifted back, secretly concerned about what the hound had just said. He looked down at his leg, pants ripped but the wounds gone.

Vergil would only complete the ritual if he had both their bloods… But he needed a human's one as well. Dante whipped around and shot the base of the bike, breaking the ice. That move caused the blond to jump since he was behind the bike, but caught it quickly before it toppled over.

"We have to get to the top, fast", Dante growled as he slot his guns back, throwing the back of the coat behind and getting onto the bike. Omi got on after and held onto the half-demon, wondering why he was this eager. His head looked up at the giant whale-like animal coming around the corner, forty-storeys in the air.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Vergil and Ran stood on of the smaller building which was not badly damaged by the commotion. The half-demon was looking up towards the darkened sky, watching as Leviathan had just passed by, flapping its thick fins. Ran, on the other hand, was looking around. Something had been amiss since Temen-ni-gru came out. There were no signs of any other beings.

The two heard the roaring of a vehicle and they looked over at the bottom of the building. From the blind spot a red bike came rushing towards their direction. It was a red motorbike and two people on it…

"Dante." Vergil frowned, watching his younger brother manoeuvre the bike professionally. He caught sight of a smaller person behind and even before he could process who it was, Ran blurted out the younger blond's name.

"Why is he with Dante?" Ran hissed. He ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off, taking to the metal stairs which were meant to be emergency exits. Vergil was still looking overhead, knowing for sure that Dante has seen him. He decided not to move yet, just standing by the edge of the building.

Ran walked up to where the bike had just stopped, left hand gripping his katana. If Dante had tried to do anything with his teammate, he was so going to-

"Ran!" Omi squealed with delight, hopping off the bike and running up to the older guy, catching the redhead by surprise. Omi latched himself around the waist and gave him a big hug along with a sigh of relief.

Ran was about to open his mouth but the blond beat him to it. Omi pulled away and started: "Ran are you okay? Did Vergil hurt you or anything?" He asked with a worried tone and for that moment the redhead was stumped a little.

"I'm fine… why would I be hurt anyway?" He replied, confused with a deep frown. He paused for a moment before glaring at Dante.

Indeed, the twin's reputation did live up to each other. If it weren't for the different clothes they wore or the fact that Vergil liked his hair up, telling them apart would've taken ages. Dante looked exactly like Vergil when he had just stepped out of the shower, hair all down and wet.

The half-demon shot back a smirk and slipped his hands behind him. "Well, well. If it isn't my dear brother's pet?" He pulled out a gun and pointed to the two assassins, causing them to tense up.

"Dante…?" Omi stuttered. He had no idea why the half-demon gave a sudden stand against Ran. It wasn't like the redhead was at fault for anything. He wasn't the bad guy here-

The blond yelped when Ran pushed him down all of a sudden. It caused him to fall to the ground and scraping his knee in the process. Ran had also dropped down with him, an arm over the smaller guy as he broke his fall with his elbow. The blonde winced at the gunshots running and looked over the redhead's shoulder from his position to see a different form of harbingers roaming.

This round, they wore red capes which had feathered colour of grey. They weren't hooded, so their facial features were clearer as compared to the Hell Prides. Their hands wielded the same scythes, but they were long and deadly, seeing that they could block out most of Dante's bullets.

A flash of silver caught his attention and he saw Vergil, slashing the Hell Lusts into two. From the corner of his eyes he saw Dante running up to the group as well, the guns still firing away. Omi turned his attention to the redhead who was groaning slightly.

"Ran, are you okay?" He asked as he got onto his knees. Ran shook his head and blinked into sapphire orbs before pushing himself up, sitting as he rubbed the side of his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He glanced up at the two brothers who were hacking away at their enemies, somehow not each other despite the meet. "Nn…" He cringed as he felt a certain spot hurting at the back of his head. He removed his hand and saw a few small blotches of red.

Omi helped Ran up, getting the redhead to be stable on his feet, not noticing the small injury the redhead had taken as he was watching the two in the distance.

Dante had just ducked under the swipe of a scythe, giving the matrix feel as the blade whipped past his face. He threw back his arms and his lower half followed, kicking the Hell Lust under its face, sending it sprawling. Vergil had Yamato back-handed, the blade facing the back and he pulled it out from one of the harbingers.

"Eh? Ran you're hurt", Omi finally stated after noticing that the redhead wasn't standing properly. Being the one who usually deals with his teammates' injuries, by a natural reaction brushed aside the red hair to get a closer look. He pouted when Ran pulled away.

"It's minor", Ran muttered when his eyes caught a glint of silver. His right hand pulled his katana out while the left grabbed the youth. His right arm braced itself for the collision between his sword and a scythe of the Hell Lust which had suddenly formed from dust.

Omi yelped when he got pulled. He fell to the floor, looking up to see another group of Hell Lust heading towards them. He glanced opposite and the twins were still busy with their own group. Ran and he would have to deal with these themselves. The harbingers were ascending slowly, so he had time to get ready with a more efficient weapon than his darts.

The blond reached back and into his back, grabbing a thick rod. He pulled it out and gave it a flick; the pole flipped open, section by section like a spinal bone and stiffened. As it extended a wire stretched out hissing at the forced tautness. He switched hands and his left hand gripped his custom made archery bow at a rubber-grip at the middle, beside a few cleavage points. His right reached back for his arrow stash.

Ran growled at the Hell Lust which was looking cynically down at him. The harbinger stood almost a head taller and its strength was hard to match. The redhead pushed upwards and slashed across, cutting away some of the red cloak as it jumped back. He heard Omi's archery bow forming from the clicking noises and he sniffed. He knew both of them were treating this like a mission already.

They stood back to back, covering each other. They were partnered too many times to count and by practice, silent communication was possible. Ran readied his katana in front of him while Omi had his bow angled horizontally, three arrows positioned in each cleavage. When the Hell Lusts advanced, it was their cue.

Omi let go of his arrows first. They propelled forward and hit three on their heads; they howled. The blond pulled out three cigarette-sized sticks between his fingers and flicked, extended to ten times its current length, thin and sharp at the end. He placed them on the cleavages and prepared another round.

Ran was using his speed to his advantage. He darted under their coats and separated their knee joints in the process, causing them to crumble to the ground legless. Occasionally he was swipe upwards, the sword giving a clean cut from chin to forehead.

Not many 'died' despite the attacks. It merely slowed them down. They were still moving forward, scythes ready in their hands. Avoiding the big blades were a little tough as they just swung them carelessly, not even bothering is they hit a fellow comrade.

Little did the two assassins know they were just being tired out. The harbingers were not even serious in their attacks, as ordered. They were just there as a distraction and a work out session. Two headless figures were watching from two different roofs, waiting for the right moment.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"Looks like you haven't lost your sense of fighting", Dante smirked, blasting a skull off a body. He sidestepped to avoid a scythe and kicked out with his left foot, sending a headless Hell Lust into the air. He raised one gun and shot it.

"You aiming have yet to falter as well", Virgil replied dryly, uninterested. He kept Yamato, seeing that the rest of the harbingers were on the floor as sands. He noticed something unusual, unsure if his younger twin had taken note of. The Hell Lusts were not attacking as vigorously as they would. Usually, they would dash around frantically to remove their heads but this time…

Dante blew the smoke emitted from the gun. "Well, what a way to meet, with a welcome party?" The half-demons were glaring at each other and Virgil knew exactly what the other was thinking.

"I have no intention", Virgil said flatly. His left hand tightened on the sheath of his katana, feeling a still urge to fight his brother despite so. It was a natural thing for them to do. Meet. Fight. Meet again, fight once more. He could see the desire of Dante's as well; they were staring at a mirror image of themselves.

"Then why don't we give a warm welcome to each other?" Dante spread his arms open, as if for a hug. "What do you say?" He smiled, his head tilted a little to the side in sarcasm. Dante gave a sudden changed the of angle of his hands and the guns were pointing at his older brother, fingers rapidly jamming the trigger.

Virgil braced himself as a series of bullets headed his way. He pulled out Yamato even faster than he could see, spinning it between his fingers like a fan and defending himself. When the first round stopped he shifted his right leg back before giving a throwing motion with his sword, returning the bullets with the same speed and strength Ebony and Ivory gave.

Dante ducked, side-stepped and jumped to avoid the counter attack. He never ceased his gunfire and Virgil sword spinning never came to a halt. Even they themselves were too busy with the adrenaline to kill each other they never saw two figures advancing on the other two.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"Omi!" Ran called out when he heard the younger blond crying out. He whipped around, tightening his grip on the katana. He caught a glimpse of a large red figure darting in the distance and he saw the blond thrashing in one of its arm. The other hand was holding a large blade with a red orb at the end.

The redhead swore under his breath as he barely avoided a scythe in which hissed by his ear. He felt an itchy tingle on his cheek and knew it was a scratch. He had to get his team mate back so he avoided another attack before running in the direction where the red figure went.

He had only taken a few steps when a similarly built figure was heading his direction. Ran cursed under his breath when a sudden wind blew him in an opposing direction, momentarily blinding him. It was crucial enough, as he felt the air knock out of his lungs when the blue headless form crashed into him.

Ran dropped his katana by accident. He felt a strong grip at his middle and his vision was blurred by the ground. He started to feel a headache kicking in with a rush of blood to his brain after realising his upper half was hanging from the shoulder.

His vision blotched up even more in bigger circles and everything became too bright. He knew his eyes shut closed and his mind went blank.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

The twins heard the call of the name. They paused in a position where Yamato and Rebellion were against each other, a slight reddening from the spot where they meet. The dusting they brought up from fighting cleared and they both caught sight of two beings running in opposite directions.

"Agni", Dante growled. Vergil finished with 'Rudra'. Recognising them was easy: headless, sword-weaponed and running with a bit of retard-ness. They pulled back from each other and dropped their swords by their sides, calm.

"I take it that it's not your doing?" Dante asked with a sniff, elbowing his brother who scoffed back. Vergil brushed the arm away and kept his sword.

"Would I bring harm to my own… comrade?" Vergil started walking, not hinting the slight sense of emergency. He wasn't sure which one grabbed who. All he knew was Ran's katana was on the ground, abandoned in the distance.

Dante caught the hesitation in the last word and gave a hooting noise as he picked his steps up to walk beside Vergil. "Oh, a comrade? Why do I think it's something more?" He coughed when Vergil had given his younger brother his own elbowing treatment and Dante rubbed his abused middle.

Vergil picked Ran's katana up, examining the blade. The finely sharpened blade was chipped, no match for the tougher scythe blades. He was surprised that the redhead was able to wield the sword in a way that it would still last. He brushed a finger along the edge, feeling the soft ridges. The craftsman of this sword ought to be one highly respectable.

"Pick one", Dante said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Vergil looked over at his brother and made a slightly noticeable grin. "I take it we'll do it the old ways", Dante sighed with a shrug. He dug the back of his pants for a coin, fingering it for a moment before flipping it into the air with his thumb.

Both watched the coin carefully as it turned, one, twice… With a swift move the two pulled their swords out and sliced the coin before putting the blades aside. The other hand skimmed horizontally and each of them caught a half. A thin middle piece fell to the floor with the softest metallic clatter. They opened their hands and Vergil had heads, Dante tails.

"You owe me a dollar", Dante reminded. Without another word from either of them they sprung into opposite directions, Vergil heading for Agni and Dante for Rudra.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"Let me go!" The blond barked, hitting his elbow on the muscled back. His body kept bobbing back and forth he was getting dizzy already. His sides were also dangerously closed to getting scraped by the spikes on the arm of the left. "Let go!" He shouted again, before yelping when the figure as tossed him to the ground.

Before that, this inhuman thing had been running for about five minutes, probably trough the building and apparently, up the stairs. Omi could tell because he kept seeing lines after another. Everywhere was bricked and exactly the same; it was like a maze.

Finally, whoever had nabbed him brought him to a place which looked like a library. It was all books and shelves his eyes were blinded by the number of them. He groaned and rubbed his butt, glaring up at the red figure.

The headless being approached him and he flinched back, backing against one of the rounded shelves. He almost cried out when the figure jammed the sword dangerously right in front of him, between his legs. His body shook a little when he came face to face with the orb at the end of the sword.

"No need to be afraid", he heard. He blinked and realised a vague movement of a line on the orb. He gave a soft squeak when a pair of what seemed to be eyes, opened and stared at him. "I am Agni. My brother is Rudra, and he has your friend."

A moving headless being and now a talking sword. Omi was starting to get a little scared to what other things he may see in this tower. "W-what are you?" He managed out, shuffling a little to keep his legs against his body.

"We are demon swords, beheaded from our body as our power is in the blade. We fight to seek strong opponents worthy of wielding us. Our body is very much useless, as you can see", Agni spoke again, the orb without emotion. Omi looked at it suspiciously. "I await one of the demon brothers while Rudra shall wait for the other."

"Is that why you decided to separate us? To lure them apart?" Omi frowned, finding the conversation pretty dull. It wasn't like he couldn't trust any of the twins to help but…

"Indeed. It would weaken them profusely." Omi was about to burst out laughing at the tiny head no bigger than the size of his fist.

"I think they might do better without each other", the blonde coughed, refraining the previous thought. Agni was giving scoffing noises which sound like a pig snorting.

"They are formidable opponents. Fighting one Dante was tough, but the excitement of knowing that we brothers fight one-on-one with such formidables. Even we are willing to risk separating ourselves."

Omi was close to blabbering how much they might have hated each other. In fact, this Agni and Rudra ought to know the two twins were fighting against each other less than ten minutes back. Then again, his mind interrupted, if those two did work together in battle they might just be invincible.

The blond heard a hiss of metal before silence. He stared at Agni's face which looked stumped, mouth slightly open and eyes unblinking. The demon's body shifted all of a sudden before falling to the ground, a puddle of red liquid forming. Omi looked up at a splitting image of Dante, but the person wore blue.

Okay, screw the idea of them pairing up, Omi thought as he scrambled to his feet, lifting himself by pushing on one of the shelves. "What was that for?!" He barked, hands fisting.

Vergil gave an uninterested look with a slight tinge of disappointment, keeping his sword as he gazed down at the dead body. He brought a hand up to his face and pushed back the fallen fringe.

Omi noticed another katana which had the flower imprints carved on the handle and he gasped. "Where's Ran?! What did you do to him?!" He yelled. In his hands were his smaller, finger-sized darts which looked like a needle, inside filled with a tiny length of poison. He had it ready for throwing, if Vergil gave the wrong answer.

"Rudra has him", Vergil replied flatly. Omi's finger's loosened from the dart. He recalled Agni had said the same thing, so there was no reason not to believe… right?

"Impressive. It would take more than just silent footsteps to approach me", Agni said all of a sudden, when Vergil was standing behind the sword, away from the face. Vergil gave a sniff and turned away.

"Wait! Take me with you", Agni said as a plea. The half-demon paused in his steps in consideration. "Dante would have no problem with my brother. We can fight, brothers with brothers." Omi caught a hint of a smile from the silver-haired man. Vergil had made a decision and he watched Vergil half-turned, grabbed Agni with a quick move.

"Just make sure you keep that mouth quiet", Vergil said, angling his wrist to get used to the heavier, broader weapon. It would be a little harder to wield this blade than Yamato, since he was built for speed rather than strength. Dante was otherwise.

Omi blinked when Vergil walked up to him. He stared at Vergil's left hand which held out Ran's katana. "Do you mind holding it?" He asked gently, and Omi was surprised that this guy could do so. Without a reply he just took it in his hand, feeling the edges were rough.

He never knew how to hold a sword so he just took it by the hilt, turning it so it faced the back. Vergil had already started walking and he followed, not knowing that the half-demon was still a little worried.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Dante was grumbling as he was running. Rudra was a hundred yards away and by the way the redhead was limp and oblivious to his surrounding, he guessed he was unconscious, which made it harder to get to him. A small part of him wished that it had been the smaller blond instead as saving him would be much easier. Sadly Vergil went for him instead.

The half-demon pulled his gun out and started firing, concentrating on his aim so as to not hit the redhead as he ran up and down ground debris, occasionally having to jump or flip to avoid fissures and holes. His attacks were working as Rudra was slowing down.

Rudra gave a sudden turn and in the process, sent a horizontal tornado towards him. Dante raised his arms to block out the attack, feeling the air lick his skin like fire. It dissipated and Dante looked up to find Rudra nowhere in sight and he cursed.

He felt the ground gave a small shake and he quickly jumped aside as another tornado whipped up, close to engulfing him. He gave a roll, landing upright on a knee and raised his guns parallel to the ground, eyes and ears sharp for any signs.

Dante heard a soft tapping noise of a stone and turned to the direction, pulling the triggers rapidly. The blue figure dashed out from behind the rocks empty handed except for the sword. Dante swore under his breathe as he ran after Rudra.

"Stop running you stupid thing. I've been on you for ages!" He roared angrily, shooting without much concern since the redhead would be somewhere else. He grinned when he knew that Rudra heard him. The demon was charging towards him now, sword up and ready to fight.

Dante chucked Ebony and Ivory back into the sling and took Rebellion off his back, running up as well. They both were caught in deadlock first, before Dante made a full turn, crouching at the same time and separated the body in the middle. He winced at the blue blood staining his blade.

"Your power is still strong", Rudra commented and Dante snorted. He put Rebellion back and picked the talking sword, shaking it about. Rudra gave a draggish 'whoah' noise.

"And you're still as noisy as ever. Thanks god your other half isn't here", Dante grunted. He lifted the sword so the blue orb and his face were looking at each other. "Where's the guy you dragged off?"

"Over there, behind the building", Rudra said and Dante nodded with content that the demon said no more. Holding Rudra, he walked over to the said place and found Ran against the wall, slumped and still unconscious.

Dante groaned at the trouble he might have to go through carrying the sleezy person into and up Temen-ni-gru. He put Rudra upright on the ground first and reached over, grabbing an arm.

The half-demon jumped a little when the redhead's hand suddenly reached up and grabbed his, stopping Dante from the supposed good intention of helping. Dante frowned and pulled his hand back, holding his breathe a little when violet orbs came to meet his.

"Don't touch me", Ran growled softly. Dante gave a tiny sigh and got back onto his feet, picking Rudra at the same time. He gave a word 'fine' and waited for the redhead to get up on his own, one hand on his hip.

Ran didn't stand though. He continued sitting there, head lowered so Dante could not see his face. The redhead had his eyes closed, trying to keep himself awake as the pain from the injury was replaced with the growing headache. He didn't even notice Dante had knelt in front of him again.

The half-demon reached over once again, this time to brush a cheek which had the faintest of scars, yet finding it relatively smooth. His hand smudged away a small patch of black mark, leaving a few specks of it left on the pale cheek.

Ran responded by tilting his head up a little, still unable to keep his mind focused on anything. "Vergil?" He asked softly, lips barely moving. Dante scowled a bit at his brother's name.

"Nah. It's Dante", he said back. Upon saying so he felt the redhead flinch back against the wall and he didn't care any more. He had one of Ran's upper arm in his grasp and he effortlessly pulled the redhead back up onto his feet.

Ran gave a soft yelp at the sudden action. He involuntarily leaned against Dante, grabbing the other's shoulder to keep himself from crumbling because of his legs. He attempted to open his eyes, but realised he still saw nothing.

However, he recognised the built of the body he was holding. It was familiar, warm and calm… "Oi." He heard. Ran stiffened as the hand on the upper arm pushed him away and he winced at the strength of the grip. "What's wrong with you? Stand properly."

Something got over the redhead though. Ran was clinging onto Dante tightly, not letting go. Dante frowned and was about to remind him when Ran's face tilted upwards, eyes blank and spaced-out looking. His eyes widened when he came to realise the problem.

"Oi… " Dante waved a hand in front of the redhead. There wasn't a response. "Shit, you can't see?" He blurted. He saw that the redhead tensed up, hesitant about his movements. Dante reached to the back of his head and clicked his tongue in annoyance when his fingers came in contact with a thick, dry feeling. "You hit your head."

Ran was close to scoffing, but wasn't too keen on doing that right now. It was a temporary loss of sight, hopefully. He was trained to go around blindfolded; the rest were too, so the darkness wasn't scaring him. Still, it was pitch black and his hands were scrounging up the other's sleeves. He was mentally sighing and thankful that Dante hadn't just pushed him away.

"I'll be fine. Where's Vergil? And Omi?" He asked, concerned more about the other than to start a mini-war with Dante. Ran shifted his foot carefully, getting a feel of the ground he was on; sandy and full of tiny rocks. He presumed they were still outside the building.

Dante sniffed at the cold tone. Obviously, the redhead didn't sound too worried about his current blind state and was in fact, suspiciously calm about it. No matter, he had other things better to do. "They're in the building. Vergil ought to be with the kid right now." He saw Ran had nodded and he looked up at the tower, seeing Leviathan was not in sight. He winced in suspicion, before looking back at Ran, who had let go of his clothes without a sound.

"Let's get to them, then", Ran replied flatly, a hand instinctively reaching up and touching a wall. Dante noticed that he was going in the right direction, facing the building and taking normal paced, yet careful steps.

"I wonder what you're trained to do", Dante smirked, following. "You walk like a duck." And he got a glare over a shoulder. He stifled a soft chuckle when Ran wasn't exactly aiming his glare at the right direction.

Dante looked about, trying to think of a way to get to the top of the building without going through much of a hassle. He could do his vertical bike riding to at least one of the higher balconies; the one he had caught Lady's foot and received a bullet in the head as a reward. He scoffed at the memory.

He glanced at his (Lady's) bike was a fair distance away, on its side and unfortunately, wrecked. He groaned at the thought of Lady putting the cost of repairs on his tab. He has yet to pay off the one months ago.

A loud crash caught both their attention and Dante lifted his head up, eyes narrowing at a black figure lunging out of the side of the tower. A loud neigh rang in his ears and he immediately dashed up to the redhead, grabbing his wrist.

Ran gave a yelp when he was pulled. It was surprising enough for him to hear some loud noise and the calling of an animal. He hadn't expected anything to grab him from behind so he lashed out his arm by accident, jamming his elbow on Dante's nose, hearing a pissed 'ow' from behind.

The next thing Ran knew, he was once again grabbed from behind, and arm around his middle the same way Vergil had done some time back and he was pulled against the other. He was about to elbow Dante again when he heard some thunderous trampling noises, along with the sounds of crushing cement. 'Geryon', he heard.

Dante glared at the gigantic black horse pulling the large, spiked carriage. Its blue-flamed mane flapped behind the long neck and Dante remembered the feel of it licking his arms once. It hurt like shit.

Geryon rushed towards the two. By a natural reaction, Dante ought to be jumping out of the way, but he cancelled the thought when he noticed the horse acting a little different. He stood there, an arm around the redhead as he eyed the steed which had stopped a few feet away.

The trail of blue, luminous flames faded from the path it had ran in. Geryon raised itself on its hind legs, neighing before slamming its front hooves on the ground, snorting and blowing hard through its nostrils.

"What? No chicken game?" Dante asked. The animal gave a grunting noise and shook its mane, digging one hoof into the ground before lifting it and reapting. It got down on its front knees before the hind legs coiled under, laying in front of the two. Of course, Ran was clueless about what was going on. "Looks like we've got a free ride."

"What?" Ran asked, puzzled and confused. He jumped when Dante took his wrist and made his hand come in contact with something soft, warm and fuzzy. The texture didn't go away and he found it a pretty good feeling to touch, and he brushed it.

"Meet Geryon. He's roughly a 20-foot tall horse with a luxurious carriage for your hinney-ness", Dante teased. "You wouldn't want to sit in it unless you want spikes up your ass." Ran gave snorted at the lame joke and placed the other hand on the horse's snout (he presumed), patting it and giving a tiny smile when Geryon gave a soft whine of content, pushing its nose into the hand for more.

"Stop pampering him. You can do that later", Dante rolled his eyes at the affection those two were giving each other and shooed the redhead to the side of the horse, lifting Ran and putting him on the large animal's back, impressed that th steed was capable of making its hundreds of degrees flame feel like nothing.

He turned to Geryon and grinned. "You're actually likable when you're not bombarding me with mines", he said as he reached the furthest he could, patting the tough, firm neck above the chest. "How about you show me a few more things other than slowing time?"

Ran was wondering what the half-demon meant. There had been too many unexpected things occurring, it was hard to imagine what might happen next. He felt Dante's presence in front of him. He wasn't keen on holding on, but the way the ride he was sitting on was very unstable, he placed a hand on Dante's shoulder, holding on.

Geryon gave a loud neigh, getting back up on its feet. It started trampling its hooves on the ground and crushing the debris. Then it started trotting and pulling the heavy carriage it was accursed with. The steed walked to somewhere near the short buildings, certain that the carriage would be unscathed as it turned around, facing Temen-ni-gru.

Dante was smirking in amusement, looking up at the tower. His hands tightened around a thick, metal bar which bounded the firm neck. What Geryon was planning to do, he wasn't too sure, but probably what he was thinking. It might be cooler than a bike going vertically. He was going to see the strength and speed of this horse..

The steed got back on its hind legs and flailed its front ones, gave a final cry before throwing itself forwards, giving the strongest push it could give for the starting sprint. It pounded the ground with its several-inches-thicken, blue hooves and left a fresh trail of navy fire behind which lined out where the carriage wheels ran over. Geryon picked up its pace every few cycles as it ran towards the tower.

Dante was being annoying, giving out a silly cowboy call while Ran was silently scared crap, having to grasp Dante with both his hands just to stay on. The movement were highly vigorous and by judging the force of the wind smacking his face, he'd say they were going very, very fast.

He gave a soft gasp when he felt the gravitational direction change. He felt himself slip backwards and he reluctantly wrapped his arms over Dante's chest. It took him a while to realise the difference. They were running up vertically.

"This is what I call fun!" Dante laughed, watching the images of dark windows passing from top to bottom. The feeling was even better than he was riding the bike up the tower; Greyon was going at a much faster speed than the rusty old junk.

Half-way through the ride up, a series of bird-howling caught their attention. Ran tightened his grip and tensed up while Dante was able to look over his shoulder. A group of red, bird-like figures were swooping about and cackling. There were at first, five of them, but Dante growled when they all split into four times their numbers.

Dante slid Rudra in one of the gaps in the collar and grabbed Ran's hand from his chest, placing it on Greyon's metal collar and made sure the redhead had a good grip before jumping away from the front. Ran called out softly, asking what the half-demon was up to. He was too late though. The half-demon had already left his post and was gone.

Dante landed on the front of the carriage, seeing that is was a good leverage when they were going upwards. He picked himself up and his guns were already in his hands. He glared up at the Blood-goyles starting to swarm around him and he pulled the triggers of Ebony and Ivory.

Some of the bloodied statues flinched with every bullet which hit them, but they all continuously dived in for Dante who had to duck or roll to avoid being pecked at. A few turned back to their original rock formed descended back down, but he knew they would be back in a few seconds.

Dante heard Greyon giving shrieks, and he looked up to find another swarm of Blood-goyles attacking the steed, which was shaking its head wildly to rid of the small pests. Ran, on the other, was holding onto the collar, hunched and unable to retaliate. Cursing under his breath, he jumped up and used one of the nearby demons to pick a greater height as he fired at those attacking.

"Oi!" Ran heard before a cold, fairly heavy metal had slipped under his chest and was caught at his middle. With one hand he reached down and picked it up, recognising it as a gun. "Shoot them!"

The redhead was close to yelling at Dante. How was he to know where the demons were? He didn't know what they were up against. "Shoot where you hear them! You won't miss!"

"Fine", Ran growled to himself. He positioned the gun in the correct manner in his hand and raised it, his ears alerts. The swarm came back, since he was hearing numerous shrieking-chirps getting louder. Regardless of where he was shooting, he just did.

Dante was back on the front of the carriage. He cringed at the nerve impulses screaming in his head about his new wound at the base of his neck near his collar bone, received one of the flyers had a lucky swipe while he was descending. He was single-handedly firing at the Blood-goyles which numbers don't seem to be decreasing. In fact, they were starting to swarm even closer and more dangerously close. Dante glanced about at the carriage and an idea struck him.

With his free hand he pulled Rebellion out of its sheath on its back and swung it to keep the Blood-goyles away for the moment. "Greyon!" He shouted, sounding like a single-word order.

Right away, time slowed. Dante smirked at the flyers, frozen in the air and were easy pickings. However, he directed his attention from them and raised his sword before hacking downwards at the bridging of the carriage to the horse. Greyon gave a neigh and gave a kick to the carriage and Dante jumped upwards from it.

The spiked carriage pulled apart and starting descending, heading downwards back to where they started. The steed, without its extra baggage, increased his speed upwards to an opening on the side of the building; the balcony Dante had intended to reach.

Greyon leapt and charged towards the centre of the cylindrical tower, halting itself sideways as it stormed about furiously. Dante was already off the animal by the time Greyon found a steady position, firing with one gun. When the Blood-goyles dropped to the ground as statues he whipped his sword out and slashed them into two.

Dante looked over at his shoulder where Ran was and the redhead was shooting almost exactly at any Blood-goyles going near him. He smirked in content as he dashed over, doing away with those which were defenceless against modern weapons.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"What was that?" Omi asked after stabilizing himself from a sudden shock. Vergil was hardly a few steps ahead of him, eyebrows knitted and hand wrapped tightly around Agni's hilt.

"Run", Vergil growled. The blond threw a puzzled look to the back of the half-demon's head when Vergil ran up ahead, towards one of a balcony-resembling corner. Omi had called out for the other, but his voice was overpowered by a deep, groaning voice.

Vergil pulled his katana out with his right hand and wielded both swords in each hand, spinning them as he sprinted. His eyes were kept right ahead where a red orb flashed black before becoming red again.

"Vergil!" Omi shouted when he saw the red circle had shifted. He cringed when the solid wall beside the balcony entrance cracked and shattered, the large chunks of building dangerously flying past him. By luck none had hit him. When he recovered he was first staring at a row of white, jagged triangles and a red surrounding which was slimy looking.

Next came a loud roar from the thing in front of him and he covered his ears. The large jaw was removed from his sight as it turned away and aimed at something blue.

"Vergil!" Omi shouted again as he ran to the side of Leviathan. He looked up to see the half-demon had jammed both his katana demon sword into the back of the whale. Vergil was keeping a firm grip on both and pushed it in deeper, earning a loud, throaty hiss from it.

Leviathan thrashed about dangerously in the compact space in attempt to get Vergil off. It yapped at its back, unable to reach the half-demon and it threw itself to the ground, hopping to squash him flat. Vergil managed to jump away in time.

"How are we going to kill that?" Omi yelled through the rumbling noises. Vergil stepped away from the demon and his face turned into a frown. Omi did the same as the other had just ignored him.

"Run!", Vergil repeated louder before running towards Leviathan. Omi stood there stunned before seeing Leviathan open its jaw wide and dug its mouth to the ground, over the half-demon. It tore out a chunk of the ground, leaving a huge hole where the lower level could be seen and lifted its head, jerking as if it had swallowed the contents in its mouth whole. The blond gasped as its attention came to him.

Not exactly ready to die without a fight, he placed Ran's katana aside and had all his diamond shaped darts in his hands. When Leviathan charged, it literally threw itself forward through the gap in the wall which was way too small for it to come through. Omi dodged it and had three of his weapons buried in its eye.

The demon gave hissing noises of pain and it blindly knocked its head on the ceiling. The force of it was so strong the upper level's flooring crumbled down. The falling rocks in turn damaged those Leviathan was on. Another unnecessary was given, its weight making the floor break and its upper half dropped through.

Omi had been watching the Leviathan and did not know his own floor had shifted. He was about to step away when his back foot had made the cracks around him deepen. The blond yelped when the floor gave way, reaching up and catching a more solid ground. He looked over his shoulder and swallowed hard when the next flooring wasn't one or two metres down. It was probably at least a few hundred right to the middle of the circular tower.

He averted his concentration to getting himself up and grabbed the rough edge with his other hand, careful not to swing about. A few feet away was Leviathan hanging over the other edge, making choking and gagging noises. Omi chose to ignore it and using all his strength, tried to grab somewhere further from where he was and successfully got his upper half safely onto the proper flooring.

The blond looked over at the whale and saw blood trailing down its lower jaw, before it suddenly spurted a larger amount of it. It gasped heavily, head jerking as the blood continued flowing, dripping off the edge of its mouth and down to the ground floor.

A thin line appeared on the top of its head before it split open, Vergil jumping out of it. The half-demon had his katana kept before he even stepped on the ground and he glanced back at Leviathan, which didn't move a single bit. He gave a tiny smile of victory before walking over to the blond whose lower half was still over the edge.

Vergil grabbed the teen by his lower arm and pulled him up without difficulty and Omi said a thanks. The blond winced at the sight of Vergil's clothing which was totally darkened by the animal's blood. He silently watched Vergil flick Agni to rid of the blood while he brushing his face to remove the stains.

The blond blinked up at Vergil and reached up, cleaning away a spot that the other had missed. Vergil looked down at the teen in question but Omi gave a smile as a response.

"There", Omi said, giving a nice wide smile. Vergil blinked and looked away from the sapphire eyes. He had never noticed how similar they were to someone close. He felt something shift at his sleeve and he shot an unintended scowl at the younger guy, who flinched back.

"I'm sorry. You were spacing out so…" Omi bowed his head in apology. Vergil sighed at his mistake and ruffled the younger's hair, showing that he was not trying to be that serious.

"Let's go. Dante might be at the roof already."

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Greyon had become part of Dante and the half-demon was more than welcome than to have its time slowing ability. The Blood-goyles were dealt with and on the floor as pieces of stones. On the other hand Ran was settled against a wall, burying his face in his knees.

Dante sniffed at the redhead. "What's up with you? Sulking for the dead?" He teased and walked over, dropping to the ground and leaning against the wall as well. "You don't have to you know. They're not even alive."

"You're injured, aren't you?" Ran said softly. He felt Dante shift a little. The redhead sighed as he removed himself from his position and one hand slowly searched for the half-demon. He managed to get the other's arm and he traced it up until he reached a cold spot.

"It's not going to affect me", Dante scoffed and placed his hand over Ran's, stopping him. His wound was still in the process of repairing himself and despite so it was actually hurting more to heal. Ran managed to trigger off another series of pain. "You of all people ought to know."

Ran lifted his hand and made Dante's drop. "I know", he replied and pulled the red coat aside. "That's why I'm only going to do this once." He pushed himself off the ground and clamped his mouth over the three-inch long wound running from Dante's collar bone to a small length of his back.

Dante hissed as the redhead sucked on it. He clenched his teeth tight together as the pain feeling faded, replaced with something more pleasurable. He grabbed the back of Ran's neck, urging him to continue. His fingers raked the back hair, head thrown back to let the redhead have better access, but to his disappointment the other pulled away forcefully.

Ran spat out the blood which splattered on the floor as a black substance; something he was familiar with from his experience with Vergil. He brushed the corner of his mouth and sat back again, uninterested to what Dante might do or say next.

"Shit. So you know?" Dante grumbled, still discontented. The pain was gone and his flesh was fully healed, not a single mark left to prove he had been wounded. He heard Ran grunt and he looked over at him.

"Which part?" Ran asked back. "The one where the demon's poison is buried in your blood or the part where I knew how to get it out?" Dante gave a half-snort, half-chuckle at the answer.

Indeed, the pain inflicted would never be as painful as when the wound hurts more healing as the blood would be fighting against the poison implanted when they were wounded. Vergil had told Ran of this, but the redhead acted in accordance to him own belief, stating that it might be less painful if the poison was out.

"Looks like Vergil fed you with a lot more extra info", Dante snorted. He didn't really like the fact that others pried in more that was necessary, but he was somewhat grateful.

"More than you'll ever know", Ran sighed. It was always troublesome to know things others don't. Of course, he was the one who insisted on knowing, but he didn't know it might have affected him too much. Usually Vergil would tell him off…

Speaking of Vergil, his mind interrupted. He wondered if the other twin was okay. He gave a mental sigh. He'd very much prefer he be with the silent guy than this loud, brash person, but he wasn't as bad as Yoji. At least Dante could live up to his cocky side.

One more thing, he hoped his sight recovers soon. The relapse usually lasted a short while but in this current situation it was a very, very bad time to be having it. Sure, getting around would be alright but…

"Let's get moving", Dante yawned, tapping Ran's shoulder. The redhead blinked a few times before tilting his head up at Dante. The half-demon stood up stretching and peering at the other who was using the wall as a leverage to stand. Pretending to give an annoyed sigh, he pulled Ran up back onto his feet and kept him stable before letting go.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"We're running out of time. Quit playing games, Lucifer", Arkham said calmly, but his voice hinted the impatience which had built up since the time the tower rose a few hours back. The mere thought of having to watch the people and intruders fight with re-born nemesis bored and annoyed him more than Dante himself.

However, he was pleased at a small discovery he and his associate had found. The two intruders, consisting of a teenage blond and an older redhead, were somehow important to them both. To further add the advantage, they would not require having to find a human host to complete the ritual.

"Why not? It's fun", came a chuckled reply.

Arkham glanced to his side at the waist length, silver-haired person. He eyed the blinding bright color of yellow trench coat, buttoned at the top and utterly horrendous against the black background. In addition, the tight, hip-hugging pants did not go along with his high boots. Yet, what captures him most was the face. It was exactly the same as the twin brothers.

Apart from the face though, there was no resemblance in the attitude or behaviour, thankfully. However, there was a fact that this Lucifer person acted oddly womanly. He was not against it, but the actions and manner of speaking occasionally send shivers up even in his own spine.

"Doppelganger", Lucifer called out as he turned away from the sight of the city. He peered down at the floor in a proud manner as a black, faceless figure rose from the floor like a growing plant. "Dear Arkham here wants to make the ritual quicker", he smiled and glanced at Arkham, who distinctively straightened up. "Shall we bring out guests here quicker?"

The shadow gave a nod in acknowledgment of his mission. Like water, he fell to the floor before appearing to seep through the cracks of the floor and down below.

"Oh yes, one more thing. Thanks for the brotherly impersonations", Lucifer smiled.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Dante gave a loud, rude sneeze without bothering to cover his mouth. Ran groaned at the lack of proper manners and at the echoing 'achoo' going through the place, wherever they were.

The half-demon snorted and rubbed the base of his nose. "Someone's thinking about me", he commented, receiving a sarcastic 'ha ha' from the redhead. Dante looked over his shoulder with a frown. "Hey, at least there is someone."

Ran snorted. "Well, whoever they are, I don't think it's for a good cause anyway."

Dante gave a childish pout, crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue; a few things he'd never show anyone, but since Ran was currently sightless, he did it. "Well whatever."

They proceeded through into a familiar dungeon-like hallway with caged chandeliers and Dante accidentally gave a pissed moan. He smacked his forehead with a hand, grumbling under his breath and looked up when Ran tapped his shoulder in question.

"It's nothing. It's just that there's this pain-in-the-arse dog-with-wings thing that nearly ripped my head off the previous time I came here", Dante said as he looked around, scanning the area for any signs of Beowulf. He grinned, happy that he wasn't the one to have to fight this time.

Ran laughed quietly to himself, a smile hidden behind a hand. Although he had his back facing Dante, the half-breed knew the redhead was thinking about something, and gawked when the other said a single word 'kid'.

"What kid?!" Dante scowled at Ran, who turned his head and seemed to peer at him over his shoulder.

"You're face before. It was… priceless", Ran turned away, retreating behind his hand once more.

"Wha-" Dante paused, processing the words carefully. He felt a vein twitch and he went around the redhead, pushing the hand down from the other's face. "You mean you can see?" And Ran nodded.

Dante gaped at the assassin. "When?"

"Just a moment back. I think... maybe because of your blood", Ran coughed, composing himself as the mildly embarrassing memory of him doing what he did. He diverted his gaze away from Dante's to screen the area better, taking a note in his head to keep away from being under the metal chandeliers, which were, for some reason, starting to sway a bit.

"Oh Christ", Dante hissed, turning his back to Ran. The free hand not holding onto Rudra raked his hair back as he faced in another direction, knowing that he was probably red since his neck and above were oddly warming up.

"Embarrassing", he heard Rudra said and he held the base of the sword up, eyeing the blue orb face-to-face.

"Shut up, you", Dante warned in the toughest voice he could muster at the moment, but failed to when it came out sounding more like a timid croak. Rudra stifled another word in which Dante had no interest in finding out what.

Ran shook his at the two where Dante was distinctively glaring at the miniature head while Rudra was giving the blank look. He went over and pushed Dante's hand down. "Cut it out. We don't have time for this."

"You can have him. He's annoying", Dante scoffed, reaching over to Ran's hand. He placed it palm-up and put Rudra's hilt in it. The redhead felt the adjusting and shifting of the sword's weight and almost yelped when the heavy broad sword nearly caused his hand to collapse.

Ran steadied the heavy sword in both his hands and grimaced at the weight pulled at his hands. He reckoned it weights close to ten times his light katana and angled the sword to admire its features. Ran glanced at the head at the base of the hilt, which continued to blankly stare.

"Not efficient enough, but it'll do", Rudra commented and this time it received a glare from its wielder. Ran had also done the same to Dante who was laughing his head off, hands around his middle.

Dante's laughter died down when he leaned against the wall for support, acting as if the joke caused his legs to expire. He pretended to wipe off crocodile tears and grinned at the redhead. "Oh that's a good one", he snickered, amused when Ran rolled his eyes.

Ran went over to the half-demon and put the sword against the wall beside him. "Quit joking around. We have to –" He whipped around when there were crashing noises. His eyed widened with shock as the jailed chandeliers were now on the floor, their hanging chains broken.

Dante clicked his tongue and placed his arms out in front of the redhead, his hand instinctively reaching to the other side to grab Rudra. The redhead involuntarily backed against the wall, eyeing the several fallen cages, his ears rustling with the noises of the chains slithering down the rounded top of the structures.

The metal constitutions started to tremble and Dante knew what was in for them next. Once the chandeliers moved, he summoned Greyon's powers, momentarily freezing them. They shook in their invisible hold, threatening to break loose of their confinement anytime.

"Ran, go!" Dante hissed, keeping his mind focused on keeping the gift stable. Whoever was controlling the jail compound was utterly smart yet dumb at the same time to have all the hanging cages to attack them.

Ran looked around, seeing whether he could find anything to be of help when he saw a whizzing black shadow through the gaps of the chandeliers. A sudden confidence kicking in , he grabbed Rudra from Dante's hand and ran out.

Dante called out for the redhead, since he was running in the wrong direction and was darting between the barred structures. Snarling, he pushed his luck and let go of the unseen seizing and jumping, flipping forward and watching the chandeliers crash into the space he was initially standing in.

Getting his gravity right, he landed on his feet in an agile manner as he glanced about, looking for the redhead. He managed to make out two silhouettes in the distant darkness and ran over, occasionally caching glimpses of flashing blue and purple.

The half-demon jolted when Ran had just swung Rudra out of frustration, releasing a whipped-up wind blast at Nevan. The bat-lady drew back with a shriek, striking her hand outwards with a silent order for her bats to attack, in which intercepted by the bullets of Dante's gun.

Nevan warped herself to the other end of the room, giving a throaty hiss, her canine fangs bared with fury. "Son of Sparda…" she purred, straightening up in serenity. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" And she blew him a kiss.

Ran threw a look of disgust while ante shrugged it off with a charming smile. "Well know, if I'd known better, you look like you've grown much slimmer", he complimented, making the she-demon giggle behind a hand of three-inch long nails.

"You flatter me, boy", Nevan flicked her hair back proudly. However, her smile turned into a beam of hatred towards Ran, who did the same back. "Although, of all little pets, why a little runt?"

"Beats me." Dante looked took a quick glance at the redhead who seemed to be able to remain calm despite the insult. He grinned and turned back to Nevan. "Well, for one thing, he's probably prettier than you."

Ran gave an instant look of astonishment. He partially frowned at Dante and figured it was probably just a taunt for the seemingly beauty-infatuated demon. For one thing, the jeer seemed to work as the demon curled her fingers and fisted her hands.

"You repulsive child. I'll show you!" She shrieked as she raised her arms into the air.

Ran got himself ready for another round of fighting. In the mini battle they had before Dante stepped in, she had been sending swarms of bats he had easily taken care of. Along with that, she had attempted to strike him with purple lightning which zapped past him, thanks to his stealth.

Nevan unleashed a series of voltages towards the two, who split up and ran from the oncoming strikes. Dante was firing at the she-demon who had her bats shielding her from most of the bullets, but howled when Ran gave a sudden slash from the side and managed a cut along her arm.

Ran had no time to avoid her nails which left three fine lines of red across his cheek. However, the injury was minor and he shifted back, half-consciously looking at Dante who took the chance to drive Rebellion into her middle.

Dante twisted his sword to assure death was once again brought to the being he had defeated months back. Only when he had done so, he pulled his sword out, watching as blood as dark as black flowed out of the wound and gushed down her middle and back.

"Dante…" Nevan said hoarsely, managing to grasp onto the half-demon's red coat. Dante, being a little gracious to the demon before it died, held her up by her back and kept her from falling to the floor. "Dante", she repeated.

The demon raised lifted a hand weakly up and touched the other's face. Then, she smiled. "I still think you're better… than the other…" Her eyes closed slowly and her hand lost its strength, dropping and hanging in the air.

Ran had been watching silently, wondering if the line had meant Vergil. He continued to stare as Dante placed the body on the floor, wiping his bloodied hand on his coat.

"I had always been better", Dante scoffed and Ran heaved a sigh at the other's thick skinned-ness. The half-demon slipped Rebellion back into its rightful place behind him.

Ran was already proceeding to the door, passing the fallen chandeliers when he noticed a slight movement from the structures. Sensing something amiss, he stepped back from the metal cages and yelped when Dante grabbed him from behind, sending both of them to the ground.

That moment, the barred structures shattered and the two looked over their shoulders to see statue figures standing over them. The one closest had their attention and Ran noticed it resembled a human-sized chess pawn. His eyes were fixed onto it in wonder as two blue streaks of light along its supposed blades shimmered red.

The redhead winced at the loud banging noises of Dante's guns. Dante shot the Damned Pawn into pieces before directing his guns in two different directions, precision focused on both hands as he shot the rest which were bursting out of the cages like chicks from eggs, only a lot faster.

Ran heard a soft snorting noise and he looked up, shocked to find a rounded white circle overhead. He had no idea what it was, but he lashed out Rudra in any way, unconsciously releasing its wind ability and sent the foreign object away. He gaped in surprised when the thing fell. Another chess piece, but it possessed the head of a horse so he deemed it was a knight piece.

"Get moving! I can't keep all of them down!" Dante shouted, getting up to his feet. Ran did the same and gripped the hilt of the blue sword with both hands, preparing himself. "Head to the door! These things aren't very friendly!"

Ran grunted in agreement. He dodged the large swinging head of the Damned Knight, ducking under before slashing across and breaking the head from its base. Dante was still randomly shooting about, trying to keep the statues distanced as the duo tried to head to the door.

Just when they thought they had reached, another group Damn Chesspieces barged into the hall, sealing their escape route. That left the two back against each other, surrounded by at least ten of either type.

"Remember the thing I did just now?" Dante asked in a whisper. Ran, tilting his head a little, nodded unsurely. The half-demon grinned and took a step forward, summoning Greyon's powers and giving a war cry before stopping the cursed statues in their tracks.

Ran slipped between them and took the liberty to destroying a few on the way out of the door. When he was outside, he turned around and called out for Dante, but froze when he saw several of the Damned Pawns' swords raised over a crouched figure.

"Dante!" Ran screamed about to run back into the hall when a Damned Knight from the side intercepted him with a crushing blow of its head directly into his middle. He gave a choked gasp, feeling the air knock out of him. For a moment, he couldn't breathe, which was what caused his mind to shut down.

As he dropped to the floor half dazed, his eyes fought to stay open. It had not been a wise thing to do as he helplessly watched the half-demon being penetrated with marbled blades. The memory burned his mind and even with his eyes closed, he could still see the image of Dante still bent over and receiving the blows without fear.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Vergil stiffened at the sudden wave of anxiety. He recognised it as a feeling, one he had not felt in ages since he and his twin were young. It was the emotion of anguish in which either brother would feel when they opened up to each other. Vergil clenched his hand around his katana's hilt. Something was not right…

"Vergil!" Omi called out, and the half-demon looked up at the blond who was standing in front of a big door. Vergil nodded as an acknowledgment of what Omi had found and went over, recognising the door. It was the one which led to the battlefield Dante and himself first used in their combat. He sighed as he pushed the door open.

Omi kept close to the older guy, keeping his senses up. Vergil seemed to walk in without much concern and stood in the middle of the room, looking around.

"What's wrong?" The blond asked softly, just in case something may be out there. The half-demon shook his head.

"It's nothing. Let's get go-" He abruptly stopped and pulled his katana out, whipping around and pointing his sword to the figure who had snuck up to them. He eyed the figure, in which Omi gave a happy 'Dante'.

Dante, who had his hands raised in a surrendering pose, chuckled. "Yeah it's me. Might want to keep that to yourself bro", he said as he used a single finger to push down the katana blade.

Omi went over happily, about to give Dante a hug when he was hauled back to Vergil's side by the half-demon himself, who kept the boy beside him with a slightly forceful grip on the shoulder.

"Vergil, what are you doing?" Omi asked with a frown, wondering why the other still insisted on keeping his sword up at Dante.

"Doppelganger. You have to do more than that to trick me", Vergil said calmly, eyeing the figure in front of him. 'Dante' stepped back with a cynical smile which sent creep vibes up the blond's spine.

"Surely you don't want to kill your twin, bro", the fake figure chuckled, spreading his arms out. "Why don't you put Yamato aside? Ran's waiting for us."

"The Dante I know would never leave someone alone", Vergil cut in, pleased when he saw Doppelganger's face change to a glower. "He's dumb, but not irresponsible", he twisted his hand so that the base of the sword was placed under the chin of the image of his younger brother. "Try tricking again some other time."

'Dante' gave another grin. He stepped back while eyeing the two, glancing back and forth from Vergil and Omi. The blond grabbed Vergil's coat, his brows knitting as he watched.

Doppelganger changed its features, starting off by making its whole body black as a shadow before the black skin faded away, revealing another Vergil. The exact face, height… even his weapon.

"Vergil…" Omi said softly, clutching the other's clothes. Vergil looked down and patted the blond on his head, telling him to stay back. He knew what Doppelganger was capable of, and it was going to take quite a while to get through the tricks up the shadow demon's sleeves.

Omi stepped back slowly as Vergil went forward, bending over a little in a starting battle-position after slipping Yamato back into its casing. The blond grasped Agni and Ran's katana in his hands, eyeing the demons. The fake Vergil also shifted to the same position the real Vergil was in, legs apart and hands over the hilt of the sheathed swords.

With a lightning speed, Vergil advanced and Doppelganger did the same. They charged to each other and the sickening scraping of clashing metal deafened the blond's ears. Omi winced at the continuous clanking of swords, making them sound like the most horrendous xylophone piece ever created. He crouched on the floor, covering his ears.

The battle went on for a few minutes, and Omi took the courage to open his eyes to see the two standing far apart from each other, neither panting nor yielding. As if a mirror, they drew back a little before using the walls to give a boost in aerial rush, attacking mid-air as if they could float.

Amidst the fierce fight, Omi noticed small crumbling falling to his feet. Without thinking, he raised his head and his eyes widened at the sight of an oversized spider overlooking him. Its jaws separated open and it gave a chirruping noise snapping the outer jaw in anticipation. The blond didn't move, but looking sideways he made sure his hand had a firm grip on one of the two swords he had, the closest being Ran's katana.

With a swift move, he jammed the sword upwards. The spider managed to lift its head up so the sword went through its thorax, but started screeching. Omi rolled aside to avoid a flailing spiked leg, jumped back up to his feet and threw a dart at it, perfectly scoring when it hit the spider's smaller head. It took a tiny while before the spider dropped to the ground, its legs curling inwards in a death pose.

The blond heard more of the chattering noises and he gave a soft yelp when he barely avoided an advance of another spider which emerged from the hole in the ceiling which he presumed was made by the dead spider. It was not the only one though. A few more were crawling out and he scrambled to his feet.

Omi managed a quick glimpse at how Vergil was faring. The half-demon had yet to notice the mini invasion of arachnids and the blond was partially relieved of that. Breaking into a run, he barged out of the door and retrieved a few of his diamond blades from a hanging belt behind him and made a sharp turn, giving a careless toss of his weapons, but knowing that they will not miss. This was confirmed when another sharp cry sounded behind him.

However, he was jinxed by the fact that he had no idea how to get around. After hitting a T-junction, he took a wrong turn and ended at a dead end. Biting his bottom lip, he started to panic a little when he heard the chain of tapping claws on the ground. Frantically looking around, he saw a small indent in the wall and threw his bag to the opposite end and hoisted himself up into the small inner carving. It was small, but big enough to fit his size. For once he was thankful he wasn't too tall.

The tapping noises became louder and he drew back as much as possible against the wall. He was out of any light's way and praying hard that the spiders were blind and not smell-dependant, he covered his mouth in order not to let any sound slip from his mouth.

At last, he knew the spiders were at the end as well. He could see the uppermost joint of their legs and there were many; too many in motion that it almost blinded him. The spiders were making clicking noises with chattering and Omi shut his eyes in hopes that they won't be able to see him as he can't see them.

A while later he opened his eyes and they were gone. He knew better than to step out, but Vergil was still fighting the clone. Swallowing, he optioned to run out, grab his back and run. He still had his poisoned needles in his hands, so they would prove a little protection. In his bag was his crossbow as well.

Omi took a deep, silent breath and inch slowly, but quietly to the lit entrance. He saw small crumbling falling from the top of his hiding place and he paused, knowing that the spiders were probably on the walls and waiting for him to leave. The blond bit his lip. It was not or never…

He made a dart for it. In two movements he was out of the hole and scarcely missed the grabbing of a spider which had truly been waiting above the hole. Omi flicked one of the needles at it and although it seemed unaffected, the blond knew it would take a while before the poison starts to break down the brain cells.

Omi ducked the swipe of one spider hanging overhead by a thick thread. He sent another needles to it and spotted the hint of the poison taking effect in the spider at the back as it fell to the ground, starting to spas in its position.

However, his leg hit something hard and sharp and he tripped. He managed to break his fall with his hands, but groaned at the pain shooting up from his leg. He looked over his shoulder, dreading to see the floor starting to pool with blood as he gave a pained cry when the object which had caused him to trip shifted, causing another series of pain to rush to his head.

The spider which had him fallen crawled over the blond, who was panting in trying to recover from the impulses. Omi looked over his shoulder with a hiss. He tried to move away when the spider's head came closer, but the pain was too agonising. He awaited death to befall him when he felt two fangs pierce into the muscle of his shoulder. Immediately he felt an upsurge of sleepiness flowing into his veins and his vision darkened.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

"Omi!" Vergil shouted into the corridor, pissed. He knew Doppelganger had wasted most of his time, not to mention served as a good distraction. He was totally unaware of the spiders coming in and attacked the teenager. It was only after the fight did he notice a dead one on the ground, Ran's katana and a dagger blade in it.

The half-demon cursed under his breathe at his carelessness, and he was angry at himself for it. He neglected his duty of keeping the blond safe, as his conscious had scolded him. Vergil darted through the narrow paths, following the trail of tiny scratches on the ground left by the frantic scuttling of the spiders. It brought him to a junction.

Immediately, he saw the backpack of the blonds which was left at the right of the junction. However, his eyes averted to something which required more attention than the bag. A slight fear in him grew when he saw a pool of blood on the floor. He went over and touched it, the coppery scent agitating him.

He knew it couldn't be any else. In fact, the color of it was a dead give away. The spiders' blood was as black as any demons, excluding Dante and himself. Needless to say, the stench of it was causing his stomach to churn. He never liked the scent of human blood. Theirs was not this strong.

"It is about time", Vergil heard and the half-demon looked up at the owner of the voice. He glared into two different colored eyes and stood up. Arkham gave a small bow, a hand still on the book he had always kept to his chest. "Wouldn't you want to be there to watch?"

"Where did you bring the kid?" Vergil asked in an authoritative voice, but Arkham remained emotionless.

"They are all waiting for you", the human replied and was silently amused at Vergil's changing expression from calamity to fury. Arkham stepped aside and held a hand out in welcoming the half-demon.

"With the word 'they', I'm presuming Dante is with you?" Vergil fisted his right hand while his left tightened around Agni's hilt and used all his might to control himself.

"Yes, Dante, along with the companion he had with him."

He lost it. Vergil charged up to Arkham and even before the human knew it, he was clutching onto the area of his ribs where Vergl had given a clean cut across. Arkham choked out blood before falling to his knees, unable to make any noise as the blood filled his lungs. He dropped to the floor face down and Vergil took a deep breathe.

"It might've been better if you stayed dead. That way you need not experience death twice", Vergil glared over his shoulder and broke into a run, feeling his blood boil with every step he was closer to the roof.

xXxXThe Eight SinXxXx

Ran stirred to a soft, sadistic sounding chuckle. He opened his eyes and saw nothing. For a moment he thought that he was once more blinded, but upon feeling something brushing against his eyelashes he was partially relieved that it was not the case.

He jerked his hands, only to find them bound by chains which rattled with each movement, and his legs were fastened to the cold wall his back was on. Judging his position, he gave a groan when he came to realise he was lying on the floor.

Not only that, his hands were cold, and so was his face. There was wind which moderately caused his face to be stiff. He wet his dry mouth and exhaled into the air, releasing the accumulated warmth in his chest. He heard a shuffling noise and stiffened.

"Oh wonderful. You've awakened!" The voice which had been laughing before spoke and Ran kept silent, trying to locate where the voice was coming from.

A thud came next, and it sounded like a body being tossed to the ground. It was loud, so he presumed whoever was mistreated was right beside him. "Dante?"

The redhead heard a weak moan and it didn't sound like the half-demon. It hit him, hard, when he blurted the younger blond's name.

Another soft, pained response came from Omi, who roused and lifted himself up onto his elbows. He looked up to see the redhead in front of him. "Ran?" He asked softly as his mind processed everything around him a little too slowly, as his vision was not helping by spinning.

He raised a hand to his head to keep his head stable, blinking a few times to get things right. Omi glanced back at his comrade who had a black cloth wrapped around his eyes. He was about to reach over and remove it when he heard a 'no, no' behind him. The blond turned around a little quickly, forgetting about his leg and he cringed when he made half a rotation, supporting himself with one elbow.

Omi eyed a tall silhouette in the darkness at first. The figure then stepped a little closer where his night vision worked better and he was dumbfounded at the person standing in front of them.

The man, exact face of the twins, walked up to the two. He smiled down at them, glimpsing at Omi first, then Ran. "Now, what am I to do with you two delectable children?" He asked, bringing a finger to his lip and tapping it. Omi gave a disgusted look as the voice was annoyingly horrible, like a high pitched low voice.

"Who are you?" Ran demanded, both hands yanking the cuffs.

"Lucifer. As one of you can see now, I'm very close to the twins", the person said again. Lucifer reached over to the blond and grabbed his chin before the boy could shift away and they made their faces look towards each other. "What do you think?"

Omi growled and swiped the hand away, dragging himself back a little to be with the redhead. One hand blindly reached behind and pulled off the cloth letting the redhead be able to see again.

"Tsk, tsk. I would expect you to be a little nicer, dear Omi", he received a glare from Ran and he grinned. "You too. Oh well, it won't matter much after I'm done with you two", Lucifer chuckle behind a hand and looked over his shoulder where two Blood-goyles were carrying Dante by the arms using their veined tails. "Here's the man of the show."

The two assassins watched as their chest tightened. Lucifer stepped to the unconscious half-demon in a repulsive cat-walk manner and stopped in front of Dante. "Time to wake up, dear brother!" He shouted and slapped the back of his hand against Dante's cheek.

Blood splattered onto the floor and Dante coughed. The half-demon gave a shallow breathing, and from under his bangs, he glared up at his assailant. Lucifer gave content smile and returned his attention to the two on the floor.

"As you can see, brother, 'we' plan to complete what was not finished months back", Lucifer explained, snapping his fingers and a purple light erupted from the floor in front of him. Upon another snap, it surrounding the two alike a wave about to crash onto the shore.

"Don't even think of calling me 'brother'… What do you mean 'we'?" Dante spat, his posture held by the red flyers, and currently he was still a little weak from his exertion.

Lucifer threw an amused look, because of the might Dante wanted to always express. "Vergil and I, of course. Before I made him able to leave Hell, he promised to cooperate with me to summon the Seven Sin Masters up to Earth. It was a quick and easy contract."

"Verg would never do something like that. He's not a type who cooperates very well", Dante sneered. "Especially not someone with the likes of you."

A frowned washed over the face of the two brothers and Lucifer swiped an arm. As if it sent a slicing wind, Dante doubled over and coughed blood out.

"You wish he didn't… but he did!" Lucifer piped up like a child and walked through the purple light to the assassins and reached to his back. The two eyed him and when Lucifer pulled out a sword which had a fencing blade, and a yellow cuffed handle with a skull similar to that of Dante's Rebellion.

Omi was about to dart away, but failed to when his injured leg caused to him to collapse. Not only that, the pain torturously caused him to cringe on the ground, his full weight on the unhurt leg. He let out a deafening scream when Lucifer jammed his thin sword down into the boy's calf, letting a new wound free another pool of blood.

"Omi!" Ran shouted helplessly, and Dante was fisting his hands, caught up in the same state as the redhead. He watched on powerless as Lucifer pulled out another of the same sword and sliced the back of the teen's, showing clearly the tattoo grazed with a thin line.

"This, Dante, is what Vergil had done. Sub-consciously, he had these two marked as sacrifices." Lucifer traced the outline of the vine-trapped crossed with the tip of his fence, screening in amusement as blood trickled slowly out of the areas he had lined, making the tattooed back a vibrant red. "Now, would you care to watch the other one be mutilated?"

"Not if I can help it", a low, dangerous voice cut in and the few on the roof looked towards the stairway where a very pissed looking Vergil stood. Lucifer smiled, but it faded when he was returned with a glare.

"I don't know what you're up to and I don't remember what I said, so this 'contract' of yours is cancelled", Vergil growled, walking up.

Lucifer gave a shocked look. "No, it can't! I even had myself to look like one of you. I thought I would be able to replace Dante…"

Vergil scoffed and he caught Dante doing the same. "Replace Dante?" For once, he grinned. "No one can replace that stupid, brainless, senseless, dense, foolish, arrogant, proud, pompous, egotistical, irresponsible, reckless, thoughtless, blind, deaf and dumb twit."

Dante tipped with every word as they stabbed him in the heart. If any of them could, they would laugh as they were pretty much facts. The younger twin twitched in his seize and his hands curled into fists. "That…" He uttered softly. Vergil smirked as he knew Dante was back on track. "WAS TOO MUCH!" He roared and broke out of the hold, jumping and giving a kick to the two Blood-goyles.

The veined flyers cacked at the sudden retaliation and backed away. Dante darted towards his older brother, past the assassins and even Lucifer, who was chuckling in amusement. He had the impression that the two were going to kill each other, but he was blind to their silence communication.

When Dante was close enough, Vergil three him Rebellion and Agni, where Dante caught in his right and left respectively. Vergil held up Yamato and Rudra the same way and they clashed all four swords together. Unlike what Lucifer had expected, the demon gave a surprised look before dodging a blast of flames which came quicker with the help of a wind.

When Lucifer recovered from a roll, he glared at the twins in disbelief. "You two should be fighting each other!" He roared at the two who were crouched, their swords ready in battle positions. Vergil's fringe had fallen due to their sudden offence, and standing there the two were split images of each other.

"I'll kill you two and summon the Sins myself!" Lucifer roared again and raised his hand out. Another cry erupted from the blond when the fence sword was removed from his leg and drifted with a high speed into the demon's hand. Wielding both his swords, he charged while the twins did the same.

In the meantime, Ran used all his strength to pull the chain on his right side, in which he noticed was weakly hooked at a point. Omi removed the bandana on his head and wrapped it around his calf, wincing at the pain as he tied a knot. Ran peered up to see how the blond was faring and noticed something silvery behind the teen.

"Omi. There's a gun behind you", Ran said and Omi looked over. True enough, it was Dante's Ivory. Picking it up he pushing himself to a standing position and dragged his leg excruciatingly. If Ran could, he would have told Omi to not move at all, but his help would work better if he was freed from the chains.

Omi aimed the gun directly at the cuffs and depending on all that he got, shot the base of the chains and Ran broke out of them, managing to catch the blond before he hit the ground due to his unstable state. He glanced over at the twins fighting Lucifer and prayed hard that they end the battle quick.

"Ran!" The redhead heard and brought his attention to where the teen was pointing and dropped to the ground when something whizzed past them. Getting back to his feet, he snarled at the sight of the Blood-goyles splitting into several smaller ones.

"Omi! Shoot them!" Ran ordered as he recalled the method of defeating them. Omi proceeded to doing so and Ran searched around, spotting a soft reflecting and picked up Ebony. He skid it across the floor to the blond who picked it up with his other hand and fired on.

The redhead found a pillar's metal exoskeleton and made do with it, shattering the flyers which were stoned back to statues. Momentarily he would glance over at the twins to see how they were doing, but it was not much of a use as the demons were fighting at a speed too hard for the normal eyes to catch. He resumed him task of destroying the Blood-goyles.

The following came in random order: dodge, slash, swipe and duck. The two on one combat had been faring well and the twins were highly confident in their combined ability. They worked simultaneously, almost like a pre-choreographed dance. Lucifer had been a pretty good match and was able to intercept or avoid just about every attack any of the twins delivered.

Dante thrust Agni forward and Lucifer dropped his upper half backwards, catching a quick glimpse of Vergil who was heading his way upside down. He vertically threw the red sword him away with his own sword and straightened up to avoid the horizontal slash of Yamato.

Lucifer slipped between another two horizontal attacks coming from either side of his face and felt his hair getting sliced. He lashed out both his swords to the sides and the twins each back-flipped away and landed a short distance away without much grace.

"Your abilities are making Ambiguity jealous", Lucifer said, peering at his sword. The twins dropped their words in question. Lucifer answered their puzzlement with a smile. "How about we cure these two of it?" He asked out loud and the two fencing swords floated from his hands before splitting into six.

"Oh man. I thought we were over the splitting thing?" Dante groaned and tilted his head when one of the fencing swords darted past. Vergil scoffed in agreement and hit away one of the swords, which clattered to the floor uselessly.

"Ambiguity serves as a mere distraction", Lucifer blew a kiss to Dante who pretended to slice to into half. The half-demons threw each other a surprised look when Lucifer seemed to have slipped through the floor and disappeared. Just when they were about to move, the fencing swords started attacking them. As if held by invisible hands, they attacked in an efficient way, giving the brothers a handful to deal with.

"Dante! He's trying to complete the summoning!" Vergil shouted as he evaded one of the swords and coming to a clash with the other two.

Dante gave an annoyed 'I know' and pushed away the swords with a cross attack of Rebellion and Agni. He looked over at the assassins who were able to successfully suppress the advances of the Blood-goyles, but saw a faint, black portal-like hole in the floor near the redhead.

Ran had not come to notice on the sneaking. He heard someone calling his name and he looked over his shoulder. He saw Dante running towards him, shouting something he could not hear clearly. However he gasped when he felt something pierce through his left shoulder. His hand released the metal pole and reached up, grasping another thin metal.

He gritted his teeth tight when the sword pulled out of him. Ran managed a small turned to catch of glimpse of Lucifer's cynical face before dropping to the ground, feeling the warmth of his blood seeping into his clothes. He clutched his wound and glanced up at the demon who had hit the blond aside. Next, he averted his attention and was currently in a deadlock with Dante's swords. Unable to keep his strength up, he shut his eyes.

"Now, the summoning will be complete", Lucifer grinned at Dante, whose eyes were burning with fury. Lucifer gave another smile in which only seen when victory took place and he jerked when three consecutive pierces occurred along his spine, one below another.

Dante slowly looked over his shoulder and apart from Ambiguity's duplicates in him, Vergil was also crouched on the floor, the other replicas in him: one at the back of the neck and the other two at his back. "Verg…" Dante choked when the swords rove themselves even deeper, and he could see them sticking out of his front. "You... bastard…"

Lucifer gave a gracious smile and pushed Dante away from him. Just before the half-demon hit the ground, the fencing swords disappeared into dust. The ones in Vergil were also gone. "I know. Have had always been one", he grinned and raked his hair back. "It's sad, brother, that it has to end this way."

Dante gave a scoff weakly, smirking. "You're far from family, asshole", he growled, pushing himself up on one elbow despite the increasing pain. Lucifer glared down at him and grabbed the collar of his trench, raising the half-demon off his feet.

"Why? After all I did? Not you, but at least Vergil ought to-"

"Ought to what?" The said person cut in and Lucifer looked over at the older twin who was standing, using the swords as a support. "Appreciate? Sorry. I don't appreciate other people's help", he smirked.

Dante gave the same expression of victory. "Like I said. He isn't a cooperative type."

Lucifer gave a roar of fury and threw Dante to the ground and stabbed Dante straight into his heart. The half-demon below spat out blood, his throat giving chugging noises. Lucifer glared down at the dying body. "Why?! After all I've done…"

"That's because…" Dante reached up and held the sword in place, making Lucifer unable to pull it out.

"You're the one with ambiguity."

When Lucifer looked up, it was the image of Vergil's face, before something silver blinding him.

Omi shook his head and groaned, recovering from the impact which Lucifer had given him. Remembering his friends, he looked up, calling out Dante's name when he saw Lucifer's body falling backwards to the ground, Yamato embedded in his face. There was no blood of any color, but Lucifer's body became dust when he hit the floor.

Vergil roughly pulled Ambiguity which was stuck in Dante and the younger twin gave a 'yeow!' before cursing at his brother. Vergil snorted at the childishness and went over to Ran and Omi managed to limp over.

Vergil heaved a sigh of relief to find the redhead still breathing, but dangerously shallow. However, it was nothing a good treatment cannot take care of and Vergil picked Ran up in his arms.

Omi gave a smile and knelt beside the younger twin who was grumbling about the aching. Evilly he poked Dante's shoulder and the half-demon flinched back with a frown.

"How's your back?" Dante asked. Omi nodded with an 'alright' and stood up. When he almost tumbled Dante caught him and at the same time caught a glance of the reddened back. Sighing, he took of his trench and threw it over the younger blond. Omi looked up at Dante and gave a tiny smile.

"You might want to just carry him as well", they heard Vergil say and Dante gave a middle finger to his brother inferring to mind his own business while Omi blushed a little.

Dante grumbled and Omi patted the other's shoulder. "It's fine. I still can walk on my own… I think…" The blond adjusted his leg and wined when pain shot through him.

"Vergil's playing hooky… I'll show him", Dante said and picked Omi up, ignoring the blond's yelp. He darted towards his older brother who had Ran in his arms and shouted "Screw you!" before literally jumping about seven steps at a time.

Vergil grinned at the challenge and did the same.

Finally, they were going home.

---

Haha. Finally finished this super long one. i can't remember how long i took. well, i got to completing after kicking the bad guy's arse in KHII TWICE. Hell, are you not able to save after you finish defeating him?! COS I CAN'T SAVE IT'S LIKE STUCK IN THE REPORT PAGE I summoned chicken little.. twice O.O wth... Hope you enjoyed it!! i mean the story. Cos I enjoyed writing it, although it took a heel long of a time O.o okay, this is going to be ranting, which also means I'll explain or clear up a few things of what and why I did the story the way it is now. Some of the stuff are my own opinion inserts, technically. I mean, for the foreign stuff. Okay… let's start! (btw, this is not very grammatically right in any way haha)

Well, first off I was being a little… gay. Ha ha. I didn't know how to really start… ouch. Anyway the first part pretty much explains dante's presence. Wee Hell Prides. Don't mind, I'd call them Prides but adding the hell made it more.. emphasized. Oh yes, they're considered harbingers. Of course, that may not be true since they're not the one hacking people's brains off like real grim-reaper. But somewhere along there. Oh, and if you noticed, about the part where omi and ran had so called images of their pasts, I came to do that because well, the Prides are supposed to be in charge of dealing with people's sins right? So ya. Basically what I made them do was let the guys be able to see what they have done, which could be considered a sin. Also, it plays as a distraction I guess. Haha, dante and vergil are sin-less, which is obviously bull crap. Maybe they're just not stupid or bored enough to SEE INTO THEIR EYES.. haha…

You'll have to mind the guy's bit of ooc-ness. I'm sorry I can't fit in the true self of the guys.. especially Ran. ESPECIALLY HIM. In the story I have a feeling I made him pretty gay… well if you are a yaoi fan like me you wouldn't mind but believe me I've tried to keep him in character. Also, major apologies that Yoji and Ken (for all you them lovers) did not appear the least bit in the story. Frankly (apologies again) they'd be a little bit of a distraction… it would be a bit tough to add em in and get them to do something… useful.. I'm sorry!!

So yes.. omi knew Vergil times ago blah bah… I doubt many of you are surprised that verg and ran are together.. but I have a bit of problem.. omi and dante? Oo omgs… I have no idea how to do that! Seriously! I considered a triangle… but if that was the case what's omi in here for? TT.TT gee.. so somehow I was trying to force my way through getting all of them to interact with each other.. and for some reason dante and ran do more in the most.. unexpected of ways X.x eeps. Bad dante. Haha. Poor omi. Maybe it could turn out to be a four way… omg..

Which reminds me, about omi's tattoo. I'm sorry I was so bored. So yes, omi has a tattoo.. I get mixed up in the memory of which tattoo belongs to who.. ah yes. Now that I reread, omi's one is the large one taking up most of his back. If I'm bored I might draw it out haha… I know, omi is supposed to be the good boy.. I think. But come on, good boys turn bad –innocent smile- haha. And ran's. I'm sorry but I'll reveal ran's one in the epilogue… sad. XD I'll try remembering I said that too btw.

Verg and ran get along well O.O don't look like they're snapping off each other's head. Guess they are meant for each other. Just a thought haha…

Okay as for temen-ni-gru… I only played DMC3 so that's about the only info I can extract from. Yes, as you should've read, Lucifer used Doppelganger to fake it was either one of the brothers. Meaning Dante saw 'verg' on the tower, while verg saw 'dante'. It's basically a flip thing. Lucifer's intention was to try to get the brothers to fight each other, duh. The snagging of ran and omi was just something random. Lucifer had intended to get rid of them, but as you can see he found a better use of them as hostages.

All the bloody demons have been resurrected! I tried to make the fights as brief as possible, as they may be if the guys are trying to speed things up. Some may be too short, in fact. I noticed. i'm sorry. I wish I could emphasize things a lot better. I tried to fit the appropriate attitudes of the demons, like Cerberus and Beowulf, leviathan blah blah… I hope they're not too ooc for your likings. Cerberus for one is easy to control. ON THE CONDITION that they do not become dante's weapons like in the game, I'm just giving a brief assumption that they were slain by dante, and now want revenge. With the exception of greyon who is much more useful being an ability. Quicksilver, was it? Time stopping has its advantages, so it's useful. The other two, agni and rudra are nice. Personally I like the swords and how they pissed dante off so much in the game. "what is sigh?" THAT was hilarious, so I added in a little but of 'sensed talking' in the swords. I think if you picture them in the game with the same voice their lines are pretty fitting. I'd say they're the best I can imitate XD haha

As for the others, I guess it was alright. Cerberus and his doggy winning streak. The fight against him would probably be an interesting one, since I made up a little of what Cerberus could do. 'hell froze over'… I wonder if I said that. Anyway, I was amused when I wrote that dante wasn't very good at skating. Well, the big guy ought to have a few flaws by the least right? Ice skating ain't his thing I supposed, correct me if I'm wrong XD

One more thing, about omi's 'dart'. In the anime, he does use the darts, but what I'm more interested to use as his weapons is a blade which sort of looks like a dagger shaped without the hilt. If you refer to the weiss kreuz assassin manga 2nd something something, his weapon is portrayed there, and that's what I'm referring to. I pretty enjoyed making up the features of his archery bow. I mean, in the anime, if someone was carrying a bow that size it would be troublesome won't it? So I made it high tech a little. Retractables. :D I apologise if my description of my made up bow turns out to be a ribbon in your head XD It probably means I suck at describing new stuff… ouch.

The fight between dante and verg.. it's silly, but I needed them to be distracted so I can get agni and rudra in. simply saying those two are still after each other's necks, but hey. They are still brothers. They could hate each other for like but come on. They worked together against arkham! So there must be a hint of love with them. Devilcest. Weee sorry no action like that in here. As much as I want that. I'm better off reading fics about them cos I'm afraid of ooc-ness. Hell, I'm afraid they're too weird in this story! O.o okay ahem. So they stopped fighting.. oh here's an interesting part.

The coin thing. Clearly, I made it up. Technically, I was thinking of a way these two might… cooperate with each other in such case. I'd option for rock scissors paper but that would be plain boring. So a coin would be good since it had both sides.. then here comes the problem. O.o even if it did land head or tails, how are the guys supposed to decide on what to do? So here comes the sword.. basically how this little brotherly interaction works goes like this. They flip the coin, slice it into three parts. So there's two bits rounded and one middle rectangularish piece. This piece decided on where the heads will go. About the comment 'you owe me a dollar', I don't think it's really possible cos in jap yen it's like one yen or a hundred haha.. but let's ignore that shall we… I'm sorry if I confused you once more

How coincidental! Verg gets to save omi and dante had to save ran, who unfortunately turned out momentarily blind I'm no doc so please don't scold me if a temporary blindness is not possible. But hey I removed that using dante! Which brings me to remember of the tiny dante and ran interaction :) part of my made up rubbish is here as well. You know, how dante managed to heal soooo fast after getting like, stabbed, shot or god knows what. I was just thinking, maybe because he's pretty much immune to such stuff. Yes it had got to hurt but what I think ought to hurt more (sorry. Sadistic person here) is the healing process. Just how your wound itches like hell when it's healing. For dante, it shall hurt! Demon poison, as I might call it. You know, dante gets hurt, but his body aches more in the process of trying to destroy this made up demon poison. It sounds dumb haha.. but as ran said the removal of the poison would made dante heal faster. In turn, the intake of dante's blood, although not swallowing, made ran feel all better again. :D to witness a childish side of dante.

Greyon… nice horsey. I just randomly made greyon retaliate the bad guys. I don't know, play by animal instincts? Seriously, anyway. I think its for the better if ot I have to do up another battle scene X.x imagine that. Wouldn't it be cool if your horse could run up vertically? I took the liberty of having dante separate greyon from its carriage. I dunno.. for fun. in which I have no idea how it may end. Blood-goyles. Annoying little critters.

Ahhh the dante and omi interaction!! Seriously people tell me how you would like the epilogue to be.. of course, somewhere surrounding the four guys -.- I'm in a dilemma of who to be with who.. standardizing first, verg and ran are a pair. No tearing em apart. I could throw in omi and dante if you want a big happy family and yes, I COULD throw in a little bit of.. devilcest. –snicker snicker grin grin- I love those two as well. Gyah I'm getting off a little topic.

Lucifer… surprised to find out that dude? Well, they're not really related. he's just the twin-infatuated person. as you can see (gee I gotta find a new line man) he was just trying to get the twin's attention, not so much of killing them or anything. Yes his assumption of releasing demons would make verg happy but now that verg ad ran GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM MAN!! Leave those two alone! In which is successful through the wonderful brave fight of the two brothers. I didn't want to make ran be too much of the victim so I added omi as well.. I'm sorry. If I was truly eccentric on ran omi wouldn't be here… in which I would have IF omi wasn't here. Nyah…

Still, Lucifer scares me. Ew. I don't like him. ONE THING IMPORTANT! he was most likely (what am I talking about. he is the one) who made verg be able to step out of hell. More like portal opening. I believe ver could've done the same if he had the strength to. Apparently not since dante so called wounded him before.

The resurrection of temen-no-gru is… hopeless. Well, love wins em all…die arkham die! I don't like him much.. he's.. ugly.. not to mention a big distraction. Gyah die!! Luckily he died again. Wopee. Oh, Vivan's comment of 'you're better' should be referring to sparda, not verg. Don't think she's met him. But if you remember in the game she was commenting about dante being very alike his father or something something. Can't remember well been ages since I played that game.

Surprise surprise! Damned pieces in those metal chandelier thingies! I seriously have no idea what to call them, so I hope the impression is clear to you guys.. sorry. Like I said, bad description. It was just a random thought of adding those things in there. I wanted those damned things tobe attacking when omi and verg were in the library, but I forgot.. haha. I'm sorry. So they were successful in taking dante down. I was thinking that dante would probably spend most of his energy trying to use greyon's power, seeing as it is pretty powerful. I mean ,in the game to standardize everything you can only use it for like, split seconds or something. Okay not that short but a few secs. But in this case, dante has to use it for quite a bit of time not to mention a lot of things. Thus, power consumption: high. Makes him sound like a washing machine haha…

Oh brotherly love! The silent interaction! Yeah yeah just those kind of intuition thingy between twins. It's fun actually. Let's call it the eight sense!! Lol haha. Seventh more likely. Or whatever. Go brotherly love. I like incest, did I say that? Wel I just did. I love incest. :D I have incesty brothers. OC characs I mean. Unfortunately one of them is wedded off. Oops off topic. Back to main things.

Ah another omi and vergil. Talking about the part doppelganger is onto vergil. I don't have much to interact to them. If you noticed, my verg and omi parts are always shorter in comparison to ran and dante… oopsie… well those two are not so fitting for each other. Actually its ok.. whadda you think? Omg spiders. Chomp chomp. Ouch.

Ack. I pity omi that he had to take a more painful damage. Imagine that. A spike thing not only tripping you. I mean you're already pretty much embedded on it, but the spider retracting its legs back? That's gotta be like.. more than ouch. It's gotta be OWWWWW poor kiddo. I'm sadistic. I've already mentioned it. I indulge in torture and bloody gore haha

Just a small tip on how vergil killed doppelganger. Using his head! No joking. More like his heart. Well, It was mentioned. Yay for verg killing arkham! Why can't that man stay dead anyway… boo… I made it quick, easy and spotless. I mean, if verg's angry I don't think he'd be like "OMG YOU MOTHR F-- " followed by SLASH CUT CHOP… that would be pretty ooc. So how about an unseen attack? Thus you have the one hit KO!

Just an insert info. When Lucifer approached the two and omi so called about to run away, obviously it wasn't his own decision. Techinically ran told him to scoot away before god knows what luci would do. Well, too bad. Omi's wound. Can't run. Oh the tattoo!! How cool isn't it? Marked sacrifices!! Coincidental, but at least I put them to good use. Lol.. remind myself: ran's tattoo in epilogue.

Vergil's appearance. He found dante's sword(s) on the way up. Haha. How random. Don't need guns! They're playing with Rebellion, Yamato, agni and rura –smile smile- I apologise if the last battlescene is not fabulous.

I found am ironic part. When Vergil was fighting with Doppelganger, he said dante was not irresponsible. Guess what he said next? "No one can replace that stupid, brainless, senseless, dense, foolish, arrogant, proud, pompous, egotistical, irresponsible, reckless, thoughtless, blind, deaf and dumb twit." Haha.

Don't you just love that line?? Wel I do. I'm sure verg has a sense of humour in there. Also, it managed to piss dante off, but naturally dante knew the reason for it. If you don't, I'll tell you. Serve a distraction and pretend that they two were going to kill each other. But as you've read, the turned their attention to Lucifer. Haha/

There is no Beowulf, I noticed. Oh well. We can do away with him. Not like I have much to do if he appeared anyway. Did the ending sound ok? If it doesn't I'm really sorry. Maybe I'd edit it. Tell me what you think…

Okay this ought to be the last thing I'm going to say. Most of the remaining stuff will be explained in epilogue. Ask me questions and I'll try answering in the form of the story. If not I'll just reply in the author's ramblings. Toodles people wait for epilogue! Review on it kk? I love reviews! But try not to be mean if I'm bad… I get emotionally sad easily. D: