Dante leaned against the window of the three half demons' dorm room watching as the last of the students scurried away from the school with their parents or guardians, his breath leaving patches of condensation on the icy glass as he breathed. Snow had begun to drift to earth from the clouds, adding to the overall bleakness of the night before and the day to come. His large broad sword, Rebellion, was held up by the wall next to him just in case a use for the weapon arose.

Early that morning before breakfast, the students of Westbrook had been called to the main hall for a mandatory and extremely important meeting. There, Mrs. Connoly informed them and the staff that the school would be closing for the remainder of the week and at least until the end of the holidays for their safety due to an observation of mold in the school. The woman did not mention the events of the true events night before, and the four witnesses said nothing either, especially since Lily was nowhere to be seen that morning.

Waves of concerned conversation and cheers swept through the crowd at this announcement and no one stuck around to even question the validity of the claim. After the headmistress dismissed the excited students to pack their things (for their parents had already been informed of the situation and would be picking them up through the course of the day), she beckoned Vergil to join her in her office while Dante and Nero retreated to their dorm once more.

The meeting concerning the fate of the teen devils had been a relatively short one: Vergil, begrudingly taking on a more Dantean approach than he would have liked, informed the woman that the three would not be leaving and there really was nothing she could do about it. "Besides, the three of us are much more susceptible to pain and injuries than normal humans," he had added with a slight touch of arrogance in his tone.

With a severe look at this comment and only a few half-hearted arguments, since that was all she could manage at that point, Headmistress Connoly consented to the teens staying to help with the problem, only on the condition that if things became too dangerous or got out of hand, they would seek refuge, no questions asked. Vergil agreed to this term and exited the frazzled woman's office for the library to pick up a few books.

It was now -, and the three half demons had not spoken to each other much, save for a few grunts of acknowledgement or one-worded answers to a question another may have proposed, as they played hermits in their dorm. Dante had secluded himself to the window with Rebellion, feeling too drained, physically and emotionally, to do anything except stare forlornly out into the gloomy landscape outside. Nero planted himself on his bed after the school-wide meeting and hadn't budged since, his mind too clouded by images of that horrid event involving Rina and the guilt that had crept in, convincing him that this whole ordeal was his fault. The eldest of three had chosen a more productive activity for his afternoon. Vergil gathered any book he could scrounge from the library about demons, hoping to possibly find answers and give the inexperienced devils some insight into what they may be dealing with.

The formidible silence was finally broken when Vergil snapped his book shut and announced, "We need a plan of action. It will do us absolutely no good to just charge into this without thinking it through first." He shot his twin a quick glare during the last part. The younger brother just shrugged and pushed his body away from the window, wrapping his hand wround the hilt of his sword, slinging it over is shoulder, and returning to his bunk.

Nero, who had violently snapped out of his reverie at the harsh sound of the book being so forcefully shut, nodded in agreement. "I think that's a good idea." The youngest chewed his lip nervously. "What did you have in mind though?"

Vergil leaned back against his headboard and stared up at the ceiling in thought. "Well, we're going to have to find this thing somehow, and fitting in rest will be difficult, especially since the demon is most likely to be nocturnal." He returned his blue hues back to his audience, who were for once listening intently. "All I can think of is to do this in shifts: one person searches, another rests, and the third guards the dorm...at least at night. During the day, I say we stick together."

"But what if one of us needs help?" chimed Nero, failing at keeping the apprehension out of his voice. He still felt insecure and vulnerable due to the fact he did not at least have a weapon as the other two did or the skill needed to on in the first place.

Suddenly, as if reading the youngest half demon's mind, Dante perked up and crossed the room to Nero's bed. "Your arm."

The fourteen year old stared at the older male with wide, questioning eyes. "W-what?"

"Your arm, kid," Dante repeated, a small grin managing to cross his features. "I bet it could be useful in battle somehow. I mean, it [i]is[/i] a devil arm after all."

Nero silently appealed to the eldest in the room with his blue orbs, hoping he would roll his eyes and tell Dante he was being ridiculous and that was far too risky. However, Vergil's response was the exact opposite of Nero's hopes: "He does have a point, Nero."

Dante's grin was full now. "Of course I do. Now, c'mere." The middle devil beckoned for his younger room mate to follow after wrenching the door open and bounding down the stairs to the corridor below.

Nero sent a last fleeting glance at Vergil, who simply shooed him out of the room with Dante, stating, "If he tries to hurt you or something, just return here." The older twin then buried his nose in one of his books again, signalling that he did not wish to be disturbed anymore.

Without bothering to re-sling his demonic arm since no one else was in the building anyway, Nero sighed and descended the stairs into the silent corridor where Dante awaited his arrival patiently.

The sixteen year old smiled at Nero as he stepped in front of him. "Alright, hit me," he ordered, pointing at Nero's Devil Bringer. "And do it with that glow stick of yours."

Taking a step away from the older male with an incredulous look on his face, Nero shook his head, shouting, "Are you nuts? Why the hell would I hit you?" He instinctively wrapped his human hand around the scaly skin of his demon arm, massaging the sensitive blue flesh.

Dante rolled his eyes, then punched himself lightly in the stomach. "C'mon kid! Right here!" When Nero shook his head again, the elder of the two chuckled softly. "I'm giving you a free shot here and you won't take it? That's just crazy! I know you've wanted to punch me before and here's your chance!"

"Why? So you can hit me back or something? Fuck that." Nero crossed his arms over his chest and rooted himself to the spot stubbornly.

Dante sighed and was about to give up before a bright, but possibly stupid, idea dawned on him. He smirked slightly to himself and said, "Ah well. I guess you're just too chicken to hit me. Though I guess I knew that already."

Nero's light blue eyes narrowed. "I'm not chicken, dumbass. There's just no point to it."

"Oh wait, that's right," Dante sneered, his smirk widening, "it's because you [i]can't[/i] hit me."

Finally feeling fed up with Dante's snide comments, Nero uncrossed his arms, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Can't hit you huh? Fine, I'll fucking show you I can." That being said, Nero quickly attempted to punch Dante in the face with his human fist. The elder however dodged the blow with ease.

[i]Hook, line, and sinker.[/i]

Dante laughed heartily and held his stomach as if it were painful for him to do so. "Is that all you got kid?"

The younger part human snarled. "I'm not a fucking kid!" In another swift motion, Nero sent his left fist flying for the older male's face once more, only for it to be caught with ease.

"Maybe you should try the other hand?" Dante pointed to the Devil Bringer which was emitting a gradually intensifying glow as Nero's anger flared.

Nero ripped his fist from Dante's hand, absolutely seething. "Fine!" Neither of the demons were expecting what happened next. Nero's deformed fist collided with Dante's abdomen with amazing force, sending him flying backwards into the wall behind him, which had been a sizable distance away. The impact seemed to shake the whole ediface and caused an antique painting to crash down onto Dante's head, breaking the frame.

Both teens were in shock as they stared at each other. Finally, Dante picked himself up and surveyed the damaged wall behind him. He whistled and said, "Damn! That sucker can do some damage! That actually really fucking hurt me too!"

Nero just stared at his room mate, too awe stricken to reply. He had never thought his arm had been capable of that sort of strength. It had always seemed a hindrance in his life. Now, it seemed like it would be helping him more than ever.

Dante re-crossed the hall and clapped a hand on Nero's shoulder. "Well, there you have it. You've had a weapon all along!" He scratched his chin in thought for a second, then added, "And just to be safe, we could always steal one of those swords from those suits of armor."

Before Nero could reply, Vergil appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a scowl on his face. "What are you two doing?"

Dante grinned at his twin. "Testing Nero's glow stick. He can really pack a punch with that thing."

The youngest of the three elbowed Dante in the ribs, swiped at his nose in embarrassment, then shoved passed Vergil and back into the dorm. Vergil shook his head at his sibling's antics. "You are such an idiot sometimes."

"What's wrong with giving him a little confidence to use that arm of his? If you got it, flaunt it."

"Because you're being so obnoxious," Vergil began in his usual cool tone, "you get to start tonight with guard duty and I will be the one scouting for suspicious activity. If you had behaved, I was going to allow you to be first."

Dante scoffed at his brother's words. "Whatever! You had intended to go first all along!"

The elder twin ignored this remark and followed Nero back up to the dorm. Dante growled in annoyance and stamped up the stairs close behind him, intent on bugging the living hell out of Vergil until he allowed him to assume the position of the first scouter of the night.