Happy new year everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas!

"Families are messy.

Immortal families are eternally messy.

Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...

and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."

...

...

Lucy had fallen right back to sleep the moment she returned to her room, and now she was having a nightmare. She was back in the cave and she couldn't move, just like when the impostor had her under his spell - she saw the girls from the convent standing in a horizontal line before her with their eyes closed – before Lucy could make sense out of this, a thin horizontal red slit appeared across their throats from nowhere and blood began pouring from their necks. Their complexions were chalky white and suddenly they rose off the ground, hovering, and their bodies came closer and closer to her.

No, stay back! She wanted to scream those words but she found she could not speak.

Once they were close enough, Lucy screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. When nothing happened, she re-opened her eyes slowly and saw no-one else but Chloe.

Chloe...?

Just like the other girls, a thin red line appeared across Chloe's throat and her body began to close in on her. Lucy shook her head fiercely, sobbing. As soon as Chloe was close enough, the corpse's arms suddenly jerked into life, reaching for her, and then her mouth stretched open and maggots came wriggling out of her mouth, dropping off the roof of her gums and down her chin and -

Lucy yelped and woke up with a jerk in bed; her eyes were wide as she glanced around the darkness, drenched in cold sweat...

- and suddenly there was a grip on her shoulder – she was about to scream until a hand clamped over her mouth and she came face to face with Vergil; he was a little too close for comfort and it seemed he felt that way too - he let go of her and she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled the duvet closer to herself.

"What are you doing in my room?" She squeaked out.

"I was keeping watch." Vergil said simply; he returned to the chair and crossed his arms with Yamato near him.

Lucy rubbed at her eyes tiredly, still half-asleep. "What time is it?" She was in danger of falling asleep in mid-sentence there, her eyelids drooping.

"It's almost dawn."

She hadn't slept for a long time even though it felt like she had. "Oh." The room fell into silence with Lucy sitting up in bed with her knees tucked to her chest and her worn gaze on her lap. "Why did you come here?"

"My business with Hag is finished, so I left to find new bearings."

"...I never got to say goodbye to her."

"If you want to see that witch again you're more than welcome to return to the woods, if you make it out alive, that is."

She glanced at him tiredly in response, "Are you staying here?"

"For a while."

She had to resist from verbally demonstrating her opinion on that matter. She couldn't believe he would be staying here – then again, he was Dante's brother... With a raised brow, she muttered, "Why are you in my room? Didn't Dante give you one?"

"He did, I chose not to take it."

It took a while to sink in and Lucy threw her gaze to her lap. "...Vergil?"

"Yes?"

Speaking to him was identical to treading on thin ice. "You've never really told me who you are."

"What is there to know?"

"I don't know anything about you. Dante told me that your father is Sparda and that you guys fight a lot."

In that case Dante seemed to have summed up everything in a nutshell. He generally preferred that she didn't know much about him. "What else do you want to know?" He asked.

"Who's Mundus?"

"The ruler of the Underworld. He was defeated by my father."

Her eyes widened slightly when the words slid from his mouth so casually. She remembered Dante telling their dad defending and protecting humans from Mundus and demons, and he had told her all about demons and how he fought Vergil a long time ago atop a tower called the Temen-ni-gru; Vergil was then lost to the demon realm and did not return until Dante fought him on Mallet Island as Nelo Angelo. Apparently Vergil was completely brainwashed by Mundus...

Vergil continued, "I was his..."

She waited for him but he did not finish his sentence therefore she suggested, "Underling? Slave? Minion?"

His fist curled somewhat. Giving her a sharp look, she went quiet again. "As Nelo Angelo, I challenged Dante and when he emerged victorious I was recalled by Mundus and punished. I was to be burned eternally by hellfire. I had no memories or recollection of who I was."

"But you escaped and you regained your memories."

"Yes."

"What happened?"

Everyone seemed to ask him this. He stiffened somewhat then grudgingly said, "...I woke up."

"You woke up?"

"Yes, must you repeat what I say."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for my impoliteness, go on." She said derisively, and he shot her another dark look before slowly rising from his seat, moving towards her. Lucy immediately shrunk as he loomed over her. "Uh, what are you - "

He grabbed her chin and made her look up at him which effectively silenced her. Although it was dark, he could see some of her features from the moonlight outside. "You are an imprudent little human." He muttered, turning her face to one side then to the other. It was hard to believe that this was what woke him up. What kind of power did she hold anyway? From what he could gather, she really wasn't as simple as he had believed initially. He could hear her swallowing loudly, her heart thumping. He let go of her then, returning to his seat and she was left to rub at her chin. His touch had been surprisingly gentle.

It went quiet in the room again and she glanced at him. "So...aren't you gonna tell me what happened next?"

He crossed his arms, turning to her. "I escaped, and I have not gone unnoticed. Mundus will be amassing forces as we speak. I need more power to defeat him, to become even stronger than I am now, so I went to find one of my father's crypts to find a new means to achieve power. I heard about a compass that my father had entrusted to me which was foretold to bestow great power to its bearer. And then I encountered you." He omitted the glutton demon for good reasons.

Encountered. Makes me sound like I'm some kind of wild animal... She said, "Dante defeated Mundus; you could ask him for help."

"I will deal with Mundus on my own. This doesn't concern anyone else."

"That's understandable... What will you do now? Find more of your father's crypts?"

"Yes. I aim to leave soon."

"Oh...I see."

"I believe this conversation has been sufficient enough. Any more questions?"

"What does the Underworld look like?"

"Visually, it is hard to describe. But what I experienced is difficult to forget; I remember pain, isolation, desolation...the epitome of suffering."

Now she was truly scared.

He smirked, noticing how quiet she'd become again. "The Underworld is enough to drive one to the brink of insanity and madness."

It's a good thing he's intact. Or is he? He must've seen all sorts of weird and disturbing creatures in his life... "How did you escape?"

"A portal. It was not an easy feat. I found where they had kept my sword and the rest of my belongings and I killed hundreds of legions to get here."

Lucy contemplated his words. He's been through a lot. I can't believe this is happening...here is a guy before me who is a half-devil and literally crawled out from the fiery pits of hell...It's so surreal... "Where do I fit in with all this? Can I help at all?"

He drew a breath. Mate. She was his mate. She just had to pop up now. "Your usefulness at this stage is beyond my knowledge. From the events so far, you certainly have proved that you are not of any significance to me."

She frowned, cheeks reddening. "I-I didn't mean it that way!"

"Humans will always be the target of demon attacks. Unfortunately you were a victim of one recently. Perhaps your priority should be the victims and their unjustly deaths. My brother will deal with any explanations they require."

It took her a while to reply. "...I know; I am dealing with the memorial service." Lucy mumbled, "Then I'll probably...find a job or something."

With that, the conversation seemed to be over.

Their paths were too diverse.

Vergil escaped from hell and was on the road to defeat Mundus once and for all. He was to seek out more power.

She was to return to her life without demons...find a flat, get a job...

Huh, now everything sounds dull when you put it that way, she thought, as Vergil rose to stand and she watched as he began to leave the room. "Wait. Where are you going?" She asked. He stopped in his pace, but did not turn round fully. Instead, he gave her a small glance over his shoulder. She couldn't see the rest of his features from his bandages, but his blue eyes shone in the darkness. She added, albeit a little hesitantly, "You're always going somewhere. Could you stay? Just for now?"

Vergil said nothing. She thought he would leave until he returned to his seat. Lucy watched him as he sat down, careful not to sit on his coattails. Then she hurriedly delved under the covers, taking care to wrap herself entirely with the thin blanket. She heard him shuffling slightly and it went silent. Slowly poking her head out of the covers, she glanced over to see him staring at her. Immediately, she ducked back under the covers again, her heart pounding. It made her a little anxious, knowing he was watching her, but at the same time she was happy that he was here.

Lucy was an early bird but on this occasion she slept until noon. She would wake up feeling itchy (...could be bedbugs...). Daylight poured into the room from the dusty window and she glanced over at the empty chair by the bed; inwardly, she wondered if Vergil appearing to her last night was only a dream. It probably was. Shrugging, she shifted to lie on her back and put a hand to her forehead, which was warm, but the blanket was wrapped tightly around her like a cocoon. With a sigh, Lucy proceeded to shimmy her way out of the cocoon-blanket and roll out of bed, then she shuffled out of the room with messy hair, eyes half-open and dried drool over one corner of her mouth, and moved sluggishly onto the landing.

"Good morning."

"Mornin'." She said drearily, passing the older twin on the way towards the stairs.

Wait a minute. Eyes wide, she whirled round to see Vergil stopping at Dante's room to peer inside, where he could see his twin sprawled over his bed with his head face-down on the pillow, albeit demonstrating the uncanny ability to snore loudly that it resonated throughout the entire shop. Vergil's brows scrunched up in disgust at the sight before he would close the door and then turn to her. Lucy stared at him wide-eyed, then realized the state she'd woken up in and rushed down the stairs and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Vergil could only smirk.

Lucy would then re-emerge from the bathroom to see Vergil at the couch, reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee on the table. The sight was bizarre in many ways more than one.

"Are you done?" said Vergil, without looking over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Bones the Scythe was fast asleep on the wall and oblivious to their conversation. "You won't accomplish much with staring."

Lucy cringed and sidled out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "Vergil?" She had to think twice about what she was going to say next, "Did you have breakfast?"

"No."

"Do you want any breakfast?"

"You won't find much." came Vergil's mere reply as she went over to the fridge, "My brother apparently sustains himself on nothing but alcohol and junk food."

"I hope he won't mind..." Lucy muttered, as she opened the door to Dante's refrigerator and indeed, all she saw was dozens of beer cans lined in oddball fashion and old pizza slices with all toppings ranging from pepperoni, meat feast and triple cheese. There was nothing else edible within. It was a bit of a waste of a fridge, really. She bit her lip and turned to the blue-clad twin who picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, averting his cool gaze to her. She knew she had his full attention and she pointed to the door, "I think I might go out and get something – "

Suddenly, a half-naked Dante emerged from his room, yawning loudly. He was still dressed in yesterday's beer-stained pants. Once he spotted the duo downstairs, he grinned, "Oh, hey Verge, hey Luce."

"Morning Dante." Lucy was the only one to greet him. She caught an eyeful of his rippling physique in all its morning glory and found herself staring. Vergil would follow her gaze and discover the animosity he held towards his brother would suddenly increase tenfold for no apparent reason.

"What's goin' on?" Dante asked; he too, appeared as half-asleep as Lucy was.

"I'm going to make some breakfast." Lucy announced.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to make?"

"Uh...you don't really have anything else except from beer and pizza...and coffee, which is good... because that's breakfasty – "

"Breakfasty, HAAAH!" Dante doubled over, snorting with laughter and thumping his clenched fist over the railing that it shook. The urge to leave right here and now was surmounting for Vergil.

" - but I was thinking eggs and pancakes – "

Dante let out a whoop before she could finish. "You need cash, Luce?"

"No, I can manage."

The younger twin would disappear into his room again without another word but the door was still open. She couldn't see him from where she stood downstairs but watched the doorway in confusion until his pants came flying out and over the banister. Lucy turned away, realizing he was getting changed. Vergil finally sat up, closing the newspaper and turned to her.

"This might not be of surprise to you but my idiot brother has no manners or sense of dignity and for that, I apologize." He said.

Lucy cringed. How could they both be twins but be so different? "I'll go get ready." She mumbled, waddling past the older twin despondently as she hung her head low. She wasn't feeling so great since she woke up. She was still warm. She would only manage halfway up the stairs until she felt her legs grow weak.

Before she collapsed, a pair of strong arms caught her and she looked up into clear, gentle blue eyes. It was none other than Vergil. "Oh..." She uttered.

"Woman. What's wrong with you?"

But of course, despite gentle blue eyes, the words that escaped his mouth were ice.

Lucy struggled feebly in his grip. "...I don't feel so good."

He raised his hand, placing it gently against her forehead and she heard him let out a scoff. "Of course. A fever." She heard him utter next, "I forgot how susceptible humans were."

"Let...let go." She continued weakly, "You're touching me. Why are you touching me? I thought you hated humans...hated me. Hated everything about me."

"If I despised you so much I would've let you fall and break your neck." He uttered as he lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

Such macabre words. Lucy felt weak all over and tried to lift a hand to smack him as he carried her up. "Urgh..." Her arm fell limp, dropping to her side weakly. He smirked in response at her lack of strength.

Returning to her room, he scanned the tussled duvet on her bed before placing her gingerly over the mattress. The room was in poor shape but he preferred this room than Dante's. Instinctively, she curled into a ball and pulled the covers over herself, squeezing her eyes shut. Vergil reached and drew the blinds, causing the room to go dark. Suddenly, bumbling footsteps entered the room and Dante was at the doorway.

"What happened? Luce? What's wrong?" As usual, Dante was his loud, boisterous self.

"Keep your voice down." Vergil snapped at him, "She is unwell."

"Unwell?" Dante went over and put a hand over her forehead, then poked at her a little with his index finger. "She's burning up."

"Yes, good observation." said the older twin, frowning.

"So now what?" Being half-devils, Dante had never been ill before or came across anyone who was afflicted with illness. "I mean, we need to do something about it or it might get worse. Where's Hag when you need her?"

"We don't need that wench."

"Maybe she just needs rest."

"So you insist we leave her alone?"

"Yeah, or maybe she needs a cold shower – you know, to cool her off. You can take her clothes off and I'll hold her up in the bathtub - "

Dante was immediately chased out of the room by a summoned sword.

"I was just jokinggggggg!" He could be heard yelling as he fumbled down the stairs; the sword slammed into the wall of his shop and promptly disappeared but the crack on the wall was definitely there to stay. There was a loud scoff behind Vergil and he turned to see Bones in human form.

"Your lack of knowledge as to how to treat humans truly astounds me. Move aside, let the professional through." She declared. He didn't remember a bone demon being so high and mighty. Vergil raised a brow as Bones sidled past him and squatted down beside Lucy, taking her wrist in hers and pressing two fingers down, applying pressure. "Her pulse is weak. She needs nourishment. Has she eaten over the past couple of days?"

Vergil couldn't answer, partially because he couldn't really recall. Hell, when was the last time he had a proper meal?

Dante returned upstairs but kept a safe distance from the room. Vergil was more than displeased with him but Dante said, "Bones, you know what to do?"

"Of course. My little sister Sophia was terribly ill. Her health was always poorly since she was born. I grew to learn to care for her and prescribe her daily medication."

"What do you suppose we do?"

"Leeches."

There was a slight silence until Vergil said, "Leeches."

"Yes, we need leeches, maybe five or six, gathered from the shallows of a freshwater lake. They must be black and at least ten inches long. Once we have the leeches, we will then throw them all over her body and let the little blighters suck out all the bad energy – " Bones stopped when Vergil slid his gaze to the side, his brows furrowed tightly in disapproval whilst Dante cupped a palm over his mouth, sniggering. "What? What's so funny?"

Suddenly, there was a grip on her wrist and Bones turned to see Lucy. "Ibuprofen...I just need some...Ibuprofen..."