Oh my god. It has been so long since I've uploaded anything. I apologize for that. I've been promising updates for such a long time and I've only now had the chance to actually upload something. I've been doing my internship and an Ob/Gyn clinic and it's pretty tiring xD But, regardless of delay...here it is! The next chapter. It's a long one and I hope to all things holy that you are satisfied with it. Seeing as I have Spring break next week, I'll be able to get a few more chapters cranked out. In the mean time, read this and tell me how you like it. I didn't do a whole lot of editing to it...I just picked up where I left off a long time ago and finished it off. If it sucks, I'll be heartbroken /3 Anywho, happy reading!

-Love, DarkenedDante

The alarm clock seemed like it was laughing at him. Dante didn't like it. He didn't like it one, single bit.

He rolled over, taking the pillow and hugging it over his face. Why, oh why, did this mission require him to be out of bed at 6am on a Friday? This was his day to sleep till noon, laze around eating pizza, and then head over to Love Planet for some drinks and a dance. It was not supposed to be the day to struggle to wake up, listen to two girls rant at him, or blast through hoards of demons that some poor soul made the mistake of fucking with. He grunted, scooting back under his dear covers and drifting back off. Fuck it. He wasn't ready to get up. He was going to get his extra hour.

"When are you going to grow out of this, Dante?"

He knew she'd been standing there, but because he felt like being an ass he didn't acknowledge her presence. She leaned over him, blonde hair hanging in front of her face. "You know I've been standing here, yet you're still trying to sleep again. Tsk, tsk, tsk".

"Shove it, Trish". He rolled back over, laying his head on his arms and yawning loudly. She could wait. Surely this job wasn't so urgent that he couldn't have at least another hour of sleep.

"Dante", she crossed her arms, "Get your ass out of bed. We have work to do".

"Five more minutes".

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I thought you'd know by now that I would do this". She grasped the covers and yanked them off to reveal a very naked Dante. She sneered, turning around.

"I'd thought you'd know by now that I always sleep naked", he smirked.

Trish, once again, crossed her arms and gave him a deadpan tone and stare. "Seriously Dante? You think I care?" Secretly, she kinda did. Would she let him know that? Not a chance. "Now…get up!"

He sighed, sitting up and facing her. "Fine, fine, fine. If it's really that urgent, I guess I can drag my ass out of my warm, comfy, bed". He stood, moving toward the closet to retrieve his clothes. He really, really didn't want to have to deal with an extra bitchy Trish. She was always bitchy, but if she got anymore so he was afraid that he just might shoot her in the head. She'd heal and be so angry she couldn't see straight, but it'd be satisfying as fuck.

"You're just a ray of sunshine this morning, aren't you?" She walked over to him, seeing him button his pants with no sign of there being underwear underneath the red leather. She shook her head.

"The biggest ray of sunshine that ever fucking shone". He pulled on his shirt, fastening the buckles in front. He just wasn't in the mood for any of this. He hadn't been in a good while. He cracked his knuckles before pulling on his gloves and facing Trish. "So babe…what is it this time? Town in distress? Someone summoned something they shouldn't have? You need me to go buy you tampons?"

Trish felt like smacking him. He was worse than her when she was actually in need of said items. She narrowed her eyes, "What has gotten you all worked up?"

He shrugged, "Fuck if I know Trish. Fuck if I know. But, really…" he looked in the mirror, adjusting his belt buckle and gloves again, "What is this mission all about?"

She walked to the door, "I'll fill you in over coffee. We've got thirty minutes".

Dante almost asked her why, but then saw his alarm. It was 5:30am. She changed it.

"Dirty pull, Trish. Dirty pull". He couldn't help but smirk a little. She knew him all too well.

"See ya downstairs". She vanished out of the doorway.

Morning brought him no comfort. He was sore, hungry, and his heart hung heavy in his chest. No matter how hard he tried, there was not going to be any way to relieve the pain. He thought that the batch of demons he'd taken out last night would have made him sleep easier. For the most part, he was wrong.

Sunlight began to shine through the treetops and he rose, rubbing his eyes with his human hand to survey the place where he'd hunkered down. It was well shaded and grassy with a huge tree to lean against. It wasn't the most comfortable night's sleep he'd ever gotten, be he did sleep. That was the important part.

It was too bad that he dreamt again. It was the same dream he'd been having since the incident. It kept replaying in his head. He couldn't make it go away.

"Fuck", he sighed. He hung his head, bringer glowing a duller blue. He gritted his teeth. Why was he angry with her? He shouldn't be. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know what to do without Credo there to be by her side. He was the last family she had left. She just couldn't handle it. She'd been sheltered for so long…

He screamed. Balling the fist of his Bringer, he smashed a nearby rock and sent shrapnel flying in all directions. Silently in the wake of the falling dust, he let tears flow down his cheeks and he settled back against the tree. He didn't want to be angry with her. He wanted to remember everything good, wholesome, and wonderful about her. Yet, in the back of his mind and in the depth of his heart, it kept festering like a sore. He just couldn't understand why she had just given up despite her losses. It was like nothing he did for her mattered; none of it ever mattered. Despite every good feeling he had for her, she just disregarded it.

Like that, with the flick of her wrist, she took her own life.

He shook his head, running his human hand across his cheeks and through his hair. It just wasn't like her. There wasn't a single time that he had ever imagined her doing such a thing. Even when she reached her saddest, he just couldn't see it. Then again, he had to accept the fact that she just wasn't strong enough to pull through the hard times. Unlike him, she hadn't had to deal with such disasters before. In a way, it probably shouldn't have surprised him.

But he just couldn't help himself.

"It's all the demons' fault. Every. Single. One of them". He got to his feet, putting Red Queen on his back and Blue Rose in her holster. He wasn't going to sit here and mope all day. He had places to go and things to do. If he was ever going to feel any kind of vengeance, he would feel it by taking care of whatever it was that was infecting Pristinia. Swallowing the leftover angst and sorrow, he headed toward the cobblestone pathway again. He still had about 2 hours' worth of walking to do.

"Well, Pristinia", he whispered as he passed another wooden sign, "I hope you're ready".

"So….somebody tried summoning a demon", Dante shook his head, turning onto the long road that would lead them to their destination, "When will people learn?"

"You'll stay in business as long as they don't", Lady said rather nonchalantly.

"It seems that the only thing you're ever worried about is money", Trish's voice carried a hint of a sharp dislike.

"Ladies, Ladies", Dante held up a hand, keeping the other firmly planted on the wheel, "No cat fights in my car. I'll wreck and destroy this beauty trying to watch".

"You wish", Lady leaned back in the seat, her precious Kalina Ann lying across her lap. "What is this town supposed to be like anyway?"

"Sounds a lot like Fortuna", Trish crossed her legs and watched the surroundings speed by out the window, "Secluded, religious, backwards, and we'd never heard of it until we got the call".

"Perfect", Dante grunted. He was still trying not to be such an ass about it. There was something rather disenchanting about having yet another town thrown into hell because of someone's greed, or stupidity. It might have kept him in business, but sometimes it felt redundant to have to save people from what they bought upon themselves. It wasn't that he didn't understand that there were innocents in all the cases who were just caught up in it all, he just wished people understood what they were getting themselves into. Or, if they knew and didn't care, he wished they did.

"I say we split 50/50", Lady said as she tested the sharpness of Kalina Ann's blade.

"Dante and I get 80%. You get 20%. It's only fair", Trish stated firmly. She honestly got annoyed with Lady. She wasn't even sure, at times, if she really cared for these people or if she just wanted the cash.

"Fine", she sighed.

"Well, babes", Dante actually grinned a little when he saw the road sign in front of him. The beaten and weathered wood reading that it was 20 more miles to Pristinia. "Won't be too long now. Sit back and enjoy the ride".

He sped off to the right, tires spinning.

Nero's heart pounded in his chest and sweat glistened on his forehead. It was like he hadn't slowed down, taken a break from walking, or even looked at anything other than the road he was walking on for miles. He wasn't even sure how much longer he had to go. The only thing he could think about was getting there and obliterating every last demon the place had.

It was then that he could smell it. He could smell the scent of something burning.

He was close.

A slight smirk came to his face as he looked up, watching smoke twist across the patch of sky he could see between the trees. A small part of him felt bad for the anticipation he felt, but it didn't really matter. He was going to enjoy watching the scum die by his own hand.

He stopped in his tracks, just staring up at the smoke as his smile faded.

"It's for the greater good…I can't forget that". He said it softly, closing his eyes and turning away from the smoke.

Nero steadied himself. Regardless of how badly he wanted that sweet vengeance, he couldn't let himself lose sight of what was right, or let himself slip into some sort of craze. He'd seen what happened when others had let themselves do just that. He wasn't going to let it happen to himself.

He took in a deep breath, setting his eyes forward once more.

"Here I come". He walked forward, feeling at least a little better than he had before.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

It was bad enough that the main road had turned into a dirt road at least 5 miles back, but it was even worse that it had begun to rain and his favorite ride was now stuck in one gigantic, muddy hole. That wasn't the issue, though. The issue was that the new wheels were now scuffed.

"Well, looks like were walking form here", Trish slid Sparda onto her back, looking back at Dante, "I'm sure it'll be here when we get back".

"Why don't you just push it? You've lifted gigantic stone shit before. Surely you can push a car". Lady adjusted Kalina Ann on her back, a sneaky little smirk sliding across her face.

If he had never wanted to slap her in the face before, he surely wanted to now. He shook his head, letting out a slow breath before shutting the trunk and strapping Rebellion to his back. Ebony and Ivory went into their holsters and he stared at her. "For starters", he really tried not to sound irate, " I don't want that wheel fuck up any worse. Second, it's a better idea to walk into Pristinia than drive up, in the streets, in a loud car. Ya know…just an idea".

"He's right", Trish agreed. She slicked her wet hair back, "The only one who knows were coming is the client. It's best if it stays that way until we're actually doing our job".

"You don't have to be such asses about it", Lady rolled her eyes. She closed the car door, getting the seat belt caught in the door's framework. She shrugged, opening it again to remove it.

Dante was beginning to wonder if he could make it through the day without shooting her. It was bad enough that he couldn't shake his irritation, it was worse that she wanted to try her damnedest to piss him off more. He suppressed a growl, making sure everything was locked up before striding in front of the two. "Also, we're almost there. See?" He pointed up. "No point in driving any further, anyway."

In the sky, leading toward a point a little way up the road, was a trail of smoke. The scent hung in the air; the scent of burning wood and the unforgettable scent of burning flesh.

Nero's pace quickened; he could smell the smoke now and, just faintly, could hear screaming coming from his destination. He ran…just a little further. It was just a little further and he'd be in the middle of it all, slashing his way through the scum that plagued Pristinia.

He broke out of the forest and right into the city.

He immediately felt a presence that was somehow familiar. He stood in the middle of a cobblestone street, his sense trying to decipher the uncanny feeling. Why did it seem so familiar? For a minute, it even seemed pleasant. He was tempted to follow his senses, letting them lead him to the presence he somehow knew.

He snapped away from the thought, quickly beheading a Greed that lunged at him. There were tons of them, coming from all directions. A smile spread across his face as he sliced through every one that crossed his path. This is what he's been waiting for; he'd been waiting to take as many of these scumbags of the planet as he could.

"Help me!"

He looked up to see a woman, covered in blood, being drug into a small building at the end of the street. Everything else didn't matter now. He paid no attention to the burning buildings around him, what the building the woman had been drug into looked like, nor if there were any other victims in need. He immediately forgot about how pleasurable it was to be sending these demons back to whence they came. All he saw was the woman and the army of unfamiliar demons that stood in his path.

Red Queen was already revved and flaming.

"I gotta say", Dante looked over the town in flames, "It looks like one hell of a party went on here".

"If by party you mean death". Trish stood next to him, scanning the town for herself.

"It looks deserted", Lady said. She looked again, pointing, "Nevermind. I see some people down there. Not many, but they're down there".

"They must have been the ones that didn't escape", Trish's tone sounded almost sad.

"And there's a shit ton of Greeds and Gluttonies down there", he drew Rebellion. He scanned again. Almost every building was on fire, many already smoldering piles of ash. That is, except for one small building at the edge of the town.

"That building has to be the source. Cliché, huh?" He put on his gloves on, one after the other. He was starting to feel adrenaline rush into his blood. Perhaps, this was going to better than he thought it was going to be.

"It's the only one not on fire. I'd go with it", Lady suggested.

"We'll gather the rest of the townspeople. You know what to do, Dante. Don't have too much fun". Trish giggled, jumping off the steep hill in front of them, landing with grace and running in the direction of the people they'd seen.

"What she said. See ya". With that, Lady was off as well.

"Let's rock and roll then". Dante, with Rebellion drawn, jumped down and made a bee line for the building. Whatever was going on here had to be centered there. That's pretty much how it worked. Besides, he could feel it in his gut. There was a strong sense of demonic energy coming from it. There were also some senses he recognized. He couldn't quite put his finger on how he did, but they struck a memory somewhere in his brain.

He ran, Greeds and Gluttonies dashing at him from all sides. One fell swoop from Rebellion took care of them. They didn't even stand a chance.

He turned a corner, only to be met by a man cowering in front of an Abyss. The Abyss's scythe raised into the air, threatening to slice the man in two.

"Get out of the way!" Dante yelled at him. The man, however stunned, rolled to the side as Dante threw Rebellion at the Abyss. It shrieked as Rebellion pierced its skull and nailed it to a nearby building. A shot from Ebony finished the job and the thing, with one last shriek, withered into dust.

"What…what the hell…was that thing?" The man got to his feet, looking dazed.

"That was a demon. You're pretty lucky I came along. Now, go. There's two pretty babes on the other side of these buildings taking all the townspeople to a safe place till I kick these demon scum's asses. Better get a move on". He holstered Ebony and ran off again, leaving the man to marvel at what just happened.

He ran again, faster than before. Ebony and Ivory did the trick, taking down what tried to stop him. The demonic energy got stronger the nearer he got.

And just as he finished off a lingering Greed, the small building stood before him.

It reeked of demonic energy. It was like Dante could bathe in it by just standing there. There was something big in there. He'd felt this kind of before…when there was a gigantic, nasty piece of shit he had to smite.

"Just my luck". Ebony and Ivory still at hand, he slowly opened the door….

Nero proceeded with caution, Blue Rose drawn.

He had that same feeling as before; he felt that same presence. He shook it, moving forward.

He had entered the building where he'd seen the woman and followed the small staircase down. To his surprise, it led to an underground corridor. It was lit only by a few lanterns placed throughout the narrow passageway. It was chilly and damp, making him shiver as he walked through.

"No!"

He hurried along, hearing the woman's scream again.

"What are they doing to her?" He gritted his teeth, his Bringer glowing a brilliant aquamarine. He honestly wasn't sure why he felt so inclined to save her besides the fact it was the right thing to do and he couldn't just let her die. He kept going, hearing her scream again.

The corridor got wider and in front of him was a large, steel door. Behind it, he could hear the woman crying softly. Without hesitation, he burst the door open, Red Queen and Blue Rose already readied for anything that would attack.

The door opened up to a large chamber, dimly lit by torches on the walls. It smelt of blood…lots of blood. He looked around, seeing strange markings and writing on the chambers walls. He shook his head. When would people ever learn?

"Help me, please…" The woman spoke to him, unable to reach out a hand. Nero turned, seeing her lying on a stone table next to the wall. She looked so pitiful lying there. Her wrists were bound, as well as her ankles. His heart sank as he gazed upon her, seeing that her sandy blonde hair was matted around her tear stained face. He could see the blood that stained the white dress she wore. How could anyone do this to her? She was so innocent. Nothing bad should ever have to happen to someone like this. She was so young and beautiful….like Kyrie had been.

Nero's heart nearly stopped as he looked upon her, the realization hitting him hard. He rushed to her, beginning to undo the binding around her ankles…

"You sure you want to do that?"

The voice startled him and he spun around, Blue Rose already drawn and his finger on the trigger. The voice had come from a man who was now standing at the other end of the chamber.

Nero narrowed his eyes, looking the man up and down. He seemed so out of place here in this forsaken cave. He wore a very stylish, black pinstriped suit complete with what looked like a red, silk tie. Nero had to admit, it looked pretty good. He had asymmetrical black hair that hung in front of his right eye. It had an odd, red tint as he advanced in front of the torch on the wall. Nero couldn't see his eyes due to the set of dark glasses he wore, but he could tell that this man wasn't human. Regardless of all the other senses that were pulling at him, the sense that he picked up from this man was strongly demonic. He gritted his teeth, fingers threatening to pull the trigger.

"I really don't think you want to be pointing that gun at me, lad", he said rather nonchalantly as he looked at Nero. He removed the dark glasses to reveal dark crimson eyes. "I'm not the threat here".

Nero almost laughed, shaking his head. "You're not the threat? Then tell me…who is? Me? Well, maybe…but not to myself. The only other one here is you".

The man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a beautiful, heavily modified gun that resembled a German Mauser. He raised it, pointing behind Nero.

Nero immediately fired at him. The audacity that man had….it made him cringe. He growled underneath his breath, wanting to kill the asshole on the spot. Only a fucking demon would threaten to hurt an innocent woman right in front of him. He stepped toward the man, drawing Red Queen from his back. "So, this your idea of fun? Coming into towns, burning them to the ground and killing innocent people? Is this how you get your rocks off?"

"Quite the opposite, actually", the man kept the gun pointed behind Nero. "You really are blind, aren't you?"

His temper was raising. "Blind?" He almost yelled, swiping at the man with Red Queen. The man easily dodged, drawing swords of his own; twin katanas. He successfully blocked Nero's second swipe, pushing him back.

"You're letting your emotions get the better of you. I'm not the one you should be attacking". The man's voice was stern, but didn't show any signs of agitation or aggression. Nero backed off for a moment, shaking his head.

"My emotions? You don't even know me and you have no idea what my emotions are". He picked up Blue Rose again, cocking it and pointing directly at the man's head. "I'm not blind, You are".

The man, once more, pointed his own gun behind Nero….at the woman. "I can smell angst, despair, remorse: they 're pouring off of you. Your senses are weakened. You haven't even given a second thought to the situation you're in right now. Turn around…look at that poor, 'innocent woman' again".

Nero was so angry with the man, but out of sheer confusion and, perhaps curiosity about how much truth the man spoke, he turned slightly to see…

The woman, whom he rushed to save, was no longer tied or bound. In fact, she was standing and cackling at them. She wasn't even human.

She was a demon.

Nero stared at the figure in front of him. The man was right. He had been blinded by his emotions. With everything he'd been through, he had let the image of Kyrie embed itself so deeply, he hadn't even taken the time to notice that the 'innocent' wasn't innocent at all. He'd ignored the sense of the woman's hellish origin, paying attention only to the fact that she should be spared. He'd thrown all precautions and better judgment to the wind.

He felt so ashamed.

"Come on, this is no time to start feeling sorry lad", the man pulled the katanas from his back, "This thing is here for one purpose: to destroy and kill everything. You best ready your sword".

Nero's head swam. How could he have let himself be so stupid?

"Are you even listening?" The man nearly yelled, slashing at a giant tentacle that had reached toward him from the grotesque demon in front of them.

Nero's mind raced, his heart pumped his blood at a rate he didn't even know possible. He could hear it beat in his ears, the sound deafening.

"PAY ATTENTION!"

Nero snapped into reality, drawing Red Queen….

Just in time for a tentacle to reach him.

.Dante heard the yelling, Rebellion already off his back as he slammed open the iron door in front of him.

Of course, he wasn't prepared for what played out as soon as the iron hit the stone wall.

The familiar sense that had been buried in the back of his thoughts, and honestly annoying the shit out of him, grew its strongest in this cave and he knew why now. He dashed forward, unable to stop the white haired kid from being smacked against the stone wall with a sickening smack.

"Nero!" He dodged a tentacle that flew his way, making it over to the unmoving kid. He was alive, but blood dripped down his face from a large gash on his forehead. From the looks of it, he'd also snapped his wrist. The kid was gonna be sore, that was for sure. He had so many questions as to why the kid was here, but it would have to wait. There were tentacles flying everywhere and he wasn't too chill about it.

"Why is it always tentacles", he muttered, slicing one off as it tried to smack him against a wall, too.

"Dante! It's nice of you to join me. That lad over there wasn't too much help I'm afraid". The man jumped to the side, slicing off two tentacles at once with his twin blades.

"Why in the hell are you here, Eryn? Jesus, I was missing one hell of a party, wasn't I?"

The man dodged more attacks, coming to a stop beside Dante, "It's good to see you too, old friend. Now, how about we put this thing down?"

"Not a bad idea". Dante examined the demon in front of them. Perfect…he thought. He'd fought something similar to this thing before. The nasty green and slimy skin, the multitude of tentacles it whipped around, and the god awful stench that surrounded it. Yep. The way to bring this thing down was to pretty much rush and stab the bejesus out of the pulsating, bright red heart in the middle of all the flapping tentacles. To think…he came all this way for one of these pieces of shit.

"Tell me, Eryn", he said as he fired some shots from Ebony and Ivory, "This thing isn't what caused all this havoc, right? There's a giant mastermind behind that summoned this crap, right? I bigger, badder monster?"

Eryn sighed, firing a shot off as well, "If you're referring to the greedy snitch who thought it'd be a good idea to steal one of my summoning books and read off encantations from it, then yes. Other than that, this is the last demon left in this town assuming you killed all the stragglers up there".

Dante literally felt like stabbing himself now. He raised Rebellion, looking over to his old friend, "Ready?"

"Of course. 1, 2, 3, …GO!"

Both men rushed at the beast, who had to hunch not to drag it's body across the ceiling, and pierced it's giant heart with their swords….thrusting in and ripping across. There was something strangely satisfying about the sound of the flesh ripping into pieces.

It was like watching a bizarre ballet dance. Dante and Eryn moved so fluently, weapons moving in time.

"I almost forgot how fun this is", Eryn smirked as he sheathed his swords. "Tell me, Dante…how come you reek of disappointment? Surely you aren't sick of your job."

Dante shook his head, returning how own weapons to their places and avoiding the nasty fluid that seeped out of the demon as it withered away. He always forgot that Eryn was an empath along with all his other powers. Not only that, be he had the ability to enhance other people's emotions. He stood beside him, looking over the man who hadn't changed a bit since he'd last saw him, "I could never get sick of this job. I just get sick of how people never learn…how people bring this shit upon themselves. You'd think that after all the disasters, no one would want to summon demons or play around with incantations".

"I see", Eryn turned, looking at the unconscious Nero, "Humans are Humans, Dante. They will always be evil ones, curious ones, desperate ones, stupid ones. Demons are Demons. Not all of us are bad, but those of us who are will always play upon that. Humans will play upon it, too. It's just how it works."

Dante sighed. He actually felt better to hear that. He also turned, looking over Nero. "Any idea what he's doing here?"

"Not a clue". Eryn drew closer to him, "All I know is that he's in a lot of pain. Poor lad..", he ghosted a hand over the boy's broken wrist, noticing that his arm was also broken at the elbow, "Not just emotional pain, either. It's going to suck when he wakes up. Regardless of if he can heal, or not".

"Whatever it is, it must have been good for him to leave that little brunette's side". He gently picked him up, carrying him in way as to not upset his injuries. "The least I can do is take him back with me until he heals. Hopefully he won't mind. Not that he really has a choice, ya know".

Eryn grinned, "Say…mind if I come along as well? This book needs a better keeping place than my shop". He held up a book that honestly looked like it had been burned about a dozen times.

"Why not? The more the merrier". Dante smirked. "Let's just get out of here and you can explain all this to me when we get to the shop".

They started through the corridor, not bothering with the iron doors as they left.

"You forgot that that vile blood is pretty harsh on clothing, didn't you?"

"There's a hole in my jacket, isn't there?" Dante had completely disregarded that the demon's blood was just acidic enough to ruin his dear jacket.

"Yes". Eryn laughed.

Dante sighed, Nero's head bobbing against his chest.