Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, even if I would love to!

So, this is the next chapter...

Please, read and review...


Chapter 7

Part seven: Planning and Preparing

When Dante awoke the next morning he needed a few minutes before he realized his situation. He was lying on an old – fashioned bed with red curtains around it. The cushions were a little too soft for his liking and it was way too warm inside the room. Slowly he stood up and noticed that he must have been really, really tired the evening before because he was still wearing his clothes.

A soft smile crept over his face when he remembered something like this happening to him and Vergil years ago...

It was a warm summer evening. The sun hung low on the horizon and covered everything in soft red light. A seven year old Dante sat under a big tree and watched his brother who was training with their father. He himself had already had his lesson a few hours ago and was now relaxing.

He needed his time to relax because Sparda, their father, was a strong-minded and sometimes stubborn man who wanted just the best for his sons – be it life or fight.

Watching his father and brother fighting against each other, he couldn't prevent himself from admiring the grace of his older twin. Vergil was quick and it was easier for him to escape the stronger attacks. Dante wasn't that fast but he was stronger than the other one and so he could defend his body. The little half breed was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that his brother and father had stopped their training.

He snapped back into reality when Vergil let himself fall heavily into the grass next to him.

His breath came out hard and he trembled a little.

"You were great, Verge," Dante admitted quietly his eyes never leaving the clouds which were coming by.

A small huff was all he got as an answer. Vergil never talked much. He preferred to listen to what others had to say. Mostly he remembered every spoken word even if they had been spilled a few days ago.

"Daddy seems to be satisfied with our abilities," Dante tried again. This time he got nothing for an answer. Looking down angrily at his brother he noticed that Vergil had been fallen asleep. His eyes were closed and his facial expression was relaxed. Shyly Dante reached out and rearranged his brother's pony strands. Now he looked exactly like him.

A soft smile lay on his lips when he whispered:

"I hope we'll never fight against each other."

Now, years later, an adult Dante stood inside the guestroom of his fellow demon hunter and friend and sighed sadly because of his memory.

We fought against each other, once... twice... three times..., he thought and went over to the window. Placing one hand on the glass he watched the sun rising behind the houses. His senses told him that neither Lady nor Scott were up yet.

After a couple of minutes Dante decided to have a look at the roof. Slowly and noiselessly he walked out of the room and through the hallway. The old staircase looked surprisingly stable. Setting one food on the first stair he felt himself being pulled into another part of his past...

"Dante! Vergil!" their mother shouted through the house. She had prepared dinner and was waiting for their twins to come down. Dante, who loved his mothers cooking, arrived at first.

"I'm ready, mummy," he gleamed. His mother smiled warmly down at him.

"Well, then, we'll just be waiting for your brother to come, too," she added when they took their seats. Minutes passed and Dante got a little nervous. Where was his brother?

"Dante, go and get your brother before the dinner gets cold," his father said with a smile on his face. Hurrying the young half blood ran up the stairs and looked into his twin's room. It was empty as was his room and the bathroom.

Standing in the hallway, annoyed and frustrated, he tried to think of other places he could look for his brother. A soft creak caught his attention. The door towards the attic stood open and a soft draught caused him to shiver. Dante hated the attic and the roof. He couldn't get comfortable with the thought of being that high above the ground without walls around him.

Taking one last deep breath he climbed the stair and pushed the door open completely. The attic was crowded with cardboard boxes, cobwebs and dust but else it was empty.

"Vergil?" he asked cautiously stepping into the room. There was no answer.

"Vergil?" he tried again, a little louder this time. Again he got no reply. Walking through the room slowly he finally reached the only window. It was open too. His nerves vibrated when he pushed himself out a little looking for his older brother.

He found him sitting on a little edge of the roof looking into the star- covered sky. Climbing out of the window clumsily Dante tried to get to his brother. Vergil who hadn't heard him until he bounced on the roof turned around and watched his brother curiously.

"Be careful, 'Te," he said quietly waiting for him.

"I am careful, Verge..." with the end of Vergil's nickname Dante slipped a little and slithered towards the end of the roof. He already saw himself crushing to the ground when he stopped hard.

Vergil had grabbed his arm and was now tugging him back on the edge. Huddling closer to his older twin Dante tried to get his breath back into normal speed.

"Why are you here?" Vergil asked quietly putting his arm around the shivering shoulders of his little twin.

"Dinner is ready and Daddy asked me to go looking after you," he answered shyly, embarrassed by his clumsiness which could have been very painful. Vergil gave him no reply he just held him close.

They sat there for a couple of minutes until Dante was calm again. Then the younger one asked: "Why are you here? Outside, on the roof?"

"I love to watch the stars and try to find the starsigns, you know?" Vergil caused his little twin to gaze up.

"Look, over there you have the great bear and over there is the lesser bear. And there..." he pointed over toward a few other stars.

"... you have the Lion." Dante tried to follow his brother's eyes but he couldn't find the pictures.

"Hey, shall I show you the pictures again, after dinner?" Vergil asked softly.

Dante just nodded and let his big brother help him inside again. They walked down together and when they closed the door behind them he gave it a curious look...

Just like the older Dante did now.

"Dante? Is this door so interesting or why have you staring at it for more than ten minutes now?" a soft voice asked him. It wasn't Lady, it was her smart-ass assistant, Scott.

"I was just remembering something," he replied absently.

"Something nice?"

"Yeah, something really nice..." A small smile enlightened his expression.

"That's good to hear," Scott whispered.

"Do you want some coffee? I was intending on making some." Now Dante looked up and watched the boy. He wore old jeans which had a few thin places and a white T-Shirt. His hair was a mess. The only thing that seemed to be new was his glasses.

He shrugged and nodded. Following the teen into the kitchen he thought about his last memory. It was a nice one, indeed, he said to himself. Stepping into the kitchen he was greeted by a fully clothed Lady who sat at the kitchen table.

"Hey, good morning, boys!" she greeted them tiredly.

"Morning Lady," Dante said and took the seat opposite to her.

"Thought you would still be sleeping. I couldn't sense you," he added softly taking the cup of dark liquid out of Scotts hand.

"Well, maybe you're still too exhausted," she replied sipping her own coffee.

"Why are you up then?" Scott leaned against the fridge and looked at his boss.

"To be honest, I was thinking about the gate and how we could close it."

"And? Any ideas?" Dante murmured.

"No, not even one," the huntress sighed. Leaning back she observed her friend.

"Well, than we should try to get a plan, because I don't think that these creatures will be closing the gate voluntarily," Scott said.

"Wow, did you figured that out all by yourself?" Dante asked teasingly.

"Smart-ass," was the hissed answer her got.

"Boys! Please," Lady placed her cup on the table and rested her elbows on it, too.

Dante just shrugged and ignored the blonde who was still leaning against the fridge.

"Well, than, I think the best would be to go there and to first take a look around because we don't know which demons are around and how many and stuff like that..." he said leaning his head back gazing at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Lady answered slowly.

"But I think it could be difficult because if we show up as a group the demons might hide from us and that would make it hard to find out how many there are."

The young demon hunter dropped his gaze and looked into the bi-coloured eyes of his opponent.

"I never said that we're going as a group," he corrected her softly.

"You and the smart – ass..." "Hey!" " ... are going together. I'm walking for my own. I've never been the type of guy who needed a bunch of partners, you know. I'm always for myself."

Dante stood up and put his cup into the sink. He didn't want to wait for an answer he knew would be negative for his reaction. But Lady surprised him.

"Okay," she said.

"I'll take Scott with me and you're looking around for yourself." The red clad hunter turned around his brows rose in a questioning manner.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, it was me who wanted to fight alone five years ago, don't you remember?" A smile crept over her face.

"I know you can keep yourself alive."

"Right," Dante sighed making his way out of the kitchen and back inside the guestroom. Finally inside he closed the door and leaned against it. His heart was pumping and he felt a sudden excitement rushing through his body.

Could it be? Could it really be that there is a way to get him back? He thought.

He made his way towards his bed where he took his seat cross-legged. Then he took out Ebony and Ivory. He touched the guns with tender fingers and whirled them around.

"There's some work waiting for you," he whispered. The guns vibrated for a second like they wanted to show him their eagerness.

Slowly he separated the guns into their single parts before he cleaned them carefully. Every part – and be it so little – was taken into slender hands which removed every small piece of dust or dirt.

Time went on.

The young half breed was so caught up in his work that he didn't notice Lady standing in the door frame watching him. He didn't hear Scott talking to him. All that mattered were his guns.

When Dante had finished his preparations it was nearly two in the afternoon. He stretched his upper body and relaxed his tensed muscles. It hurt a little but he was used to the pain.

A soft knock on his door caught his attention.

"Who's it?" he asked while he climbed from the bed. His legs tickled because of the long time without moving.

"It's me, Scott!" he heard the voice of the blond boy. Mumbling something nasty Dante stepped to the door and opened it. A serious looking teenager awaited him.

"What's the matter?" Dante asked gazing over the boy's body. He was wearing a pair of dark trousers, knee-high boots with metal plates at the toes and heels, and a black shirt which was too big for him. Like he wants to cover something. And over the shirt he wore a long black leather coat. He looked like an assassin.

"Lady wants to talk to you before we're going," the blond replied. Without a second word he turned and left leaving an unsatisfied half breed behind.

Growling deeply Dante placed Rebellion on his back and holstered Ebony and Ivory. Before he left his room he looked into the mirror which hung next to his wardrobe. His mirror –image didn't look like he was used to. His silvery hair had lost its shine, hanging like a grey curtain around his face. The once so sparkling blue eyes were clouded with sorrow, worries and anger. His lips which always carried a cheeky smile had now a stern expression. The only things which hadn't changed were his red coat, the pair of brown leather trousers and his boots.

"Oh hell, I look like shit," he said to himself.

"Well, you certainly don't look good," a voice announced behind him. Whirling around Dante grabbed Ebony and aimed. Lady stood in the frame in a relaxed manner. Somehow she seemed to be getting used to be confronted with his guns.

"You wanted to talk to me," he mentioned while whirling Ebony back into its holster.

"I just thought that maybe you would tell me what's bothering you if Scott's not around," she replied softly stepping into the room. Her bi-coloured eyes lay on him they sparkled with curiosity and some hints of worries.

"You thought wrong," was the answer she got. "I said that it's a personal thing, something I need to take care of my own. I don't want any interferences and I certainly do not wish to get you two involved in this mess."

His voice was calm but the suppressed anger was noticeable. Lady looked at him with sad eyes but she nodded.

"I understand," she said.

"So... let's go downstairs. I have a map from the part of the town where we think the gate is situated. We should discuss who is going which way and where we meet if we don't find it right away."

Dante looked at her for a moment then nodded. Lady copied the gesture and turned around to leave the room. He hesitated to follow her. Once again he glanced back into the mirror.

"I'll find you, I promise," he told his image.

Then he turned and went down to get an overview of the area he had to go to.

Lady and Scott sat around the office desk. The surface was covered with a large map of London. Both were looking down at it. From time to time one was pointing at a place, shortly after it the other shook his head.

Dante cleared his throat to get the attention. Both faced him with stern expressions. Coming closer to them he glanced down at the map.

"So," he began leaning himself against the desk.

"How's the plan?"

Lady pointed at a subway station which was a few streets away from a place called Trafelgar Square.

"I thought that maybe you could take over this route because there are demons which are faster than we can handle," she admitted without looking him into the eyes.

"Scott and I are taking this one," she pointed at a street right opposite of his. Lady looked up to see if Dante had some conditions or ideas.

He hadn't.

"We thought that we'd meet again after about three hours," Scott started slowly getting the attention of both.

"We couldn't decide whether we'll meet here," he pointed a nearby subway station.

"or here," this time he pointed at a church which was farer away.

"What do you think about it, Dante?" Lady asked curiously.

The half-breed was silent for quite some time.

He wasn't sure if he would meet them again.

If he wanted to meet them again.

"We'll meet at the church," he decided after thinking about the possibilities to get a little more time or to get through the gate without Lady or Scott noticing. The subway station was too near for his liking.

"Okay, the church then," Lady sighed. She didn't seem to be satisfied but she accepted the decision.

Dante turned ready to leave the shop when Scott grabbed his arm. Frowning he looked down at the hand which took a hold of him.

"Take this, too, so we can keep contact," the blond boy offered him a headset.

"It's for our safety," he added when he noticed the disbelieving gaze from Dante.

"Please do it Dante," Lady interfered.

Sighing heavily the red clad hunter took the headset and put it on.

"Satisfied?" he asked cockily.

A smile was his answer.

"Well then," Scott said from the door.

"Let's go and kick some asses!"

Lady shouldered Kalina Ann and Dante took Rebellion into his right hand both followed the blond boy who stepped out of the door.

Hold on, Verge, it won't take me any longer... I'll get you out of hell...

It was four o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was hidden behind a wall of grey clouds which seemed to be a foreboding of a deadly evening and an even deadlier night...