DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF THE DEVIL MAY CRY SERIES. THANK YOU.

Chapter Eleven: Shorai Cliffs

It had been nine days since we'd last seen Shetani. Every town would point us in the direction of where she and Vergil had gone when they left, giving us a route. However, this last town, no one knew where the two had gone. The hotel they'd been meant to stay at said they took off in the middle of the night. We were at a complete loss as to where to go now... so Sika decided it was time to try some of the older magics. We were in a clearing in the woods, meaning to spend the night there, though none of us were tired. Patty was hurt the most by far. She had ceased being able to cry about four days ago, after being given a single gift that Shetani had left behind with the hotel clerk, just for her. It was a simple necklace, but Patty treasured it and was often seen holding onto it tightly. Now, she never spoke, only stared off into the distance, almost like a walking zombie. Shetani's vanishing act had crushed Patty's very soul, something that had royally irked Dante. Origionally, Dante had just been mildly irritated with her... but as days passed, it had grown to full on fury. Everyone was dreading the day we found her simply because we knew Dante would be sure to attack her in his anger. Due to lack of results in finding her, tensions were running high in all of us.

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked, sitting down next to Sika. Myself, Lady, my love (Nero), and Patty were all around the fire with him.

"Yes," he answered. "It won't tell us where they are, but it will open a way to speak with her, to try to get the answers straight from her."

Dante looked ready to blow a gasket, but Sika immediately put a stop to that.

"We mustn't say anything to upset her or she may close the connection on purpose, letting us learn nothing," he warned. "We play this communication game... by her rules."

Trish was still blatantly against finding Shetani, but had softened up a bit as Patty's condition got worse. Now, she, like Sika and I, wanted to find her, if only to see Patty smile again.

Slowly, Sika lit the fire, then threw some powder into it, turning the flame blue. He chanted something under his breath, a spell... and then the fire changed a bit. Now, instead of looking into it and seeing the burning logs, I now saw a vision. Shetani was there, relaxing in a hot spring, Vergil meditating nearby.

"Honestly," she said, turning over and placing her head on her crossed arms on the edge of the pool, looking at him. "Meditation only gets you so far, Verge. Take a moment to relax! My God! Do you even know the meaning of the word?"

A look of pure irritation crossed his face as he opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"I would relax... if a certain harpy would shut her mouth for ten minutes," he told her, though there was a teasing tone to his voice. She grinned.

"But that's no fun," she answered, then grabbed ahold of him and jerked him into the water. When he came back up, she laughed at the glare on his face, holding her sides. "Priceless!"

In response, he tossed her over his shoulder into a deeper part, then got out and shed his coat. However, what he did after that we didn't get to see as the vision closed in on Shetani, tredding water as she watched him alertly.

"She... tan... ni," Patty said, almost like it was painful to say. Shetani's eyes widened for a moment as she froze for a second, then she got a grip and swam to a shallower part.

"What is it?" asked Vergil.

"Sika," she answered. "He's using an older technique to communicate."

There was the sound of Vergil getting into the water nearby, but, again, the vision only showed Shetani.

"Patty?" she said softly. "I can hear you... are you all right, little one?"

Patty broke down right there, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Why did you leave?" she burst out. "I miss you! Please come back!"

Shetani looked saddened, deeply saddened.

"I know, sweetling, I know," she said softly. "But I had to leave. There's something I had to do, something the rest of you could not come with me to do."

"Why not?" sobbed Patty. "Why didn't you take me with you?"

Her heartbreak was in her voice. Shetani got a gentle look on her face, one that Patty was watching as if entranced.

"Little one, I cannot protect you as they can," she said softly. Then her eyes began to glow a green matching her eyes. Slowly, so did Patty's. "Yes... I feel your pain, little one... and I take it from you..."

Patty's tears ceased almost immediately, her body seeming to waver as the exhaustion she'd been fighting crept up on her.

"Sleep, my child," Shetani continued softly. "I will see you again, you have my word... but for now, do not let your heart be troubled... rest now... and prepare for another coming day."

Then the green glow faded. As soon as it faded, Patty slumped, immediately asleep.

"What did you do?" asked Lady.

"It's a simple ability, inducing sleep," Shetani answered. "The child was exhausted... and I needed to clear away her pain before she would sleep... It's a cat-devil thing. We are very rare, treasured beings, at least, that's what I've been told and have read. Sika, continue on to the compound. I will meet you there at a later date, though my avoidance of that place shouldn't truly surprise you. I learned an interesting fact about that compound, something I have a sickening feeling that you all ready knew."

Sika tensed.

"Were you aware that that particular compound experiments on devils, injects them with a serum that makes them more... complacent?" she asked, her tone clipped. "They take powerful devils, great warriors... and turn them into mindless dogs, content to obey orders for all of their days."

All eyes flew to Sika.

"I was aware," he answered. "Resa gave me a guarantee that this would not happen to you. We were simply going there to get a DNA sample and a few neurological tests done... then you'd be free to do as you pleased until the time they came up with an answer."

"Liar," was her immediate answer, her voice going cold as ice. "I can hear your thoughts from here..."

That made the rest of us tense.

"I know you and Resa planned to use my DNA to create an army of my kind," she spat. "I know your soul now... You can hide nothing from me."

The vehemance in her voice was shocking, considering that they had seemed so close.

"Then... you're not going there or returning to us?" I asked, unable to stay silent. Patty wasn't the only one that had missed her. Her face and eyes gentled a bit for me.

"No," she answered. "Turn around and go home. You waste your time out here. You all ready have your money. I suggest you take it and run before Sika finds a way to betray you."

She shifted, then got a soft smile.

"And you might want to tell Nero that little secret soon, my dear," she continued. I blushed as Nero looked at me. "However, if it's any consolation, it would appear I have a very similar secret to keep."

My eyes flew back to her.

"You... you're joking," I said, unable to help myself. "Shouldn't you tell-"

"No," was her immediate answer, cutting me off. "It's a need to know basis and, quite frankly, it doesn't need to be known."

"How did you find out?" I asked, intrigued. "How long have you known?"

"Vergil and I found out in the last town," she answered. "Things were getting a little too... coincidental. I wanted answers... and I got them. Not the kind of answer I wanted, but an answer nonetheless."

"She... why are you staying with Vergil?" I asked, wondering aloud what everyone was thinking. "Is he your... mate?"

She burst out laughing, the laughter shaking her whole form.

"Is that what you think?" she asked, highly amused, still laughing. I blushed.

"I'm not able to think much else," I defended myself, embarrassed.

"No," she said, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I am not Vergil's mate."

There was a choking sound nearby (probably Vergil), making me blush even darker.

"Goddess, I needed that laugh," she said, wiping her eyes. "No, I'm not staying with him for any reason of the sort. I'm travelling with him... I guess... because he has yet to tell me to leave him."

She shot Vergil a small grin. It made me wish I could see his face, just to see his reactions. I hated only seeing part of the story.

"How come he can go where you're going... but none of us can?" Lady asked. She looked troubled now, like she didn't know how to answer that.

"There's... very powerful wards..." she tried to explain, but that said enough for Lady.

"You're going someplace only felines can go," she stated. Shetani nodded. "I see... That makes sense... but how is he..."

She stopped suddenly, understanding flashing across her features.

"I see," she said again. "I think... we finally have an understanding."

Shetani looked grateful that she didn't have to spell it out.

"Well, we'll let you get back to your relaxation and annoying Vergil," I said. She grinned.

"Thanks," she said. "I need all the time I can get."

That made us (Lady and I) laugh. Then she cut the connection and the fire returned to it's red color. I wasn't stupid. I knew none of us were going to follow her instructions, not with Dante out for blood. Nero and I would go simply because I wanted to see her again. Patty would go on just to see her again. Trish might turn around and leave, if it weren't for Dante and her jealousy. Sika... he was a toss up.

"I think I'll stick around," Lady said, rising. But, before she got far, she pulled a gun on the unsuspecting Sika... and pulled the trigger, blasting his brains all over the fire. Patty slept right through it. "Sorry. I don't like waiting to be betrayed."

"What about Mundus?" Nero asked. "Can he get through those wards?"

Lady shook her head immediately.

"I know where she's going," she answered. "That place is impossible to reach if you're not a feline nor with one... and even if you do get inside, there's no guarantee you'll get out alive. Cat-devils were very secretive creatures, very stealthy and hidden creatures. There will be charms against Mundus personally."

"Why?" I asked.

"He's the reason the felines are nearly extinct," she answered, checking her weapons. "A prophesy was made several thousand years ago that a cat-devil would bring his defeat. To avoid this, he had every cat-devil assassinated that he could find. So they went into hiding. However, it was only after there were none left in the outside world that he realized what he'd done. Their race is the most powerful and most sought after race in the entire universe, not only for their extremely sexual natures [Trish got a sour look at that], but for their enormous power, as well. See, when they choose a mate, their mate is then given access to all of the cat's power, able to use it themselves at will. Mundus seeks to add her hidden power to his own. Vergil's knowlege from the books gave him all of the answers she sought about why she was once human but was no more. It told her how to get home... well... more that she never can go home. Those of royal blood carried a power greater than any other, power over life and death itself. However, this power only awakens when it is needed most. It takes several thousand years to develop one's ability to use it."

She paused and looked over at us.

"We talked a lot," she defended herself. "If you want the rest of those answers, you'll have to ask her. I didn't. They didn't matter to me."

That was a lot to absorb. She had all those answers in hand... then why did she continue on this quest if she all ready knew? Then it hit me.

"Kyrie, what secret was she talking about?" Nero asked me. I tensed. If I told him now, her own secret would be exposed, and Lady would be able to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle at once, just as I did. And if she did, so would everyone else.

"I'll tell you later, when we're alone," I told him quietly. "It's not something I want widely known at this point."

Not to mention once I told him, he, too, would know what was really going on inside Shetani's head. Slowly, he nodded, accepting my answer. It was very unlike me to keep things from him, but this was something I had to think about before telling him. I was terrified of how he would react.

Shetani... I hope you appreciate what I'm going through for you...

"Lady, where are they headed?" asked Dante, his tone dangerous. Lady looked at him casually.

"Shorai Cliffs."