Chapter 14:

A little more than a week had passed, ten perfect days in which life made sense again for both of them. Everything was not only wonderful but it was also peaceful, there were no demons, no sign of Vergil, no fighting, it got to a point where Helena started to believe her whole demon ordeal had been just a mistake or misunderstanding as there was not a plausible reason why someone would be after her, there was nothing special about her, although Dante disagreed on that last part. Talking about the demon hunter, ever since the news about the sighting of The Devil came out, he became a sort of urban legend in the city, with many people claiming to have seen him around at night time, but they both knew all those people were just phonies since Dante hadn't triggered again since that day.

It was around ten in the morning and Helena woke up, her head was resting on Dante's chest, feeling it slowly moving up and down as he slept, she could also feel his arm around her in a sort of possessive way. She watched him sleep for a couple of minutes thinking about how lucky she had been to have met him just when she needed someone the most and regardless of what she believed before, she now thought he had appeared in her life just in time to save her from her inner demons. As a boyfriend, Dante turned out to be nothing like she had expected him to be, he was loving, understanding, and maybe due to everything they had experienced in the past, he was also very protective of her. She knew she could be an emotional mess at times, she would be overly sensitive or freak out over the smallest thing, but even with all those terrible traits he was there for her, he was everything she could've asked for and more.

- Dante, wake up – she said shaking him gently

He shifted slightly in his sleep and mumbled something unintelligible. Knowing how lazy he was he was probably asking for five more minutes of sleep, especially now that he didn't have to sleep on the couch and could sleep on his bed once again.

- It's getting late – she said kissing him softly on the lips

Dante finally opened his eyes and a smile formed on his face, he normally hated being waken up, but this time he wasn't annoyed.

- Now that's a nice way to wake up – he said before kissing her back

They kissed some more until they were both breathing hard, then in one swift motion he rolled on top of her and began kissing her neck. Despite being lazy for almost everything else he could be very energetic when it came to love.

- Dante, not now – she told him giggling

- Why not? – he replied almost sounding like a child who has been denied candy

- I want to go to my apartment today, I want to pick up some things, and I also need to clean the mess that was left

It had been almost a month since she last went to her place, she remembered the time she went there with Dante the morning after meeting him and how the demons had made a mess out of her living room.

- Ok… I'll help you clean – he said getting up

- You? Cleaning? – she laughed at the idea - Yeah right

Once they were ready, they made their way to her apartment. When they arrived, Helena was shocked to see the huge mess that was her place, she didn't remember it being half as bad.

- What the hell happened here? – She asked in disbelief

- Uh… I may have moved a few things the time I came here without your permission… - he said with a sheepish smile and scratching the back of his head

- Moved a few things? Dante it looks like a hurricane blew through this place!

- I'm sorry…

- Now I get why you offered to help so kindly – she said sighing – well, let's start, we have a lot of work to do

They walked in and Dante started looking around, paying attention to the details of the apartment for the first time. He could tell the place was nice even if it was kind of trashed now. It had a modern look to it with everything being black and white, he liked it. It was definitely nicer and bigger than his place, maybe they should move.

Among the many things scattered on the floor there was one that caught Dante's attention, a broken photo frame. Curious to see the picture in it he picked it up, it was a family portrait, Helena around five years old with what seemed to be her parents. Seeing the picture made him think about the similarities of their childhoods, both of them losing their parents at a very young age and, peculiarly enough, around the same time, but something about the photograph made him uneasy.

- Hey babe, are they your parents? – he asked Helena showing her the picture

- Yes, why? – she replied as she walked towards him noticing his tense expression

He kept staring at the picture intensely, he could swear he had seen the woman in the photograph before but, for the life of him, he couldn't remember where. All he knew was that she looked awfully familiar.

- It's nothing – he lied thinking that maybe it was just his imagination

- You can tell me – she said looking into his eyes

By that point Dante didn't know if he was just plain terrible at lying or if she was just too good at reading him, whatever the case was, she knew he wasn't telling the truth.

- Is just that… your mother looks… familiar

Helena gave him a puzzled look, sure that he was just mistaking her mother for another person.

- I don't think that's possible, she died when you were just a kid and we've always lived in this city, you told me you had never left Limbo City up until last year

- It's only a two-hour drive, but yeah… it's probably just because she looks like you – he said trying to forget about it

- I'm sure is just that – she said taking the picture - you can throw the broken frame away

He did so and began picking the other things that were on the floor, papers and some magazines that were scattered all over the place. After only a few minutes of tidying up he got bored and began looking through some of the magazines.

- Hey, you are on this magazine! – Dante said excited pointing to one of the pages where there was a picture of Helena in a lingerie campaign

- Yeah… I took those earlier this year… - she looked a little embarrassed – give me that, I'll throw it away

- No way! I'm keeping it, you are so fucking sexy… when are you gonna do a private shoot for me? – he said winking at her and with a devilish smirk on his face

- Maybe when you finish cleaning – she told him jokingly

- I'm on it! – he said doing a military salute and grinned – I just needed some motivation

After a couple of hours, they were done cleaning the living room, unfortunately that was not the only messy room in the apartment. They went into her room, which was kind of chaotic too. The first thing she noticed when they entered was the big file opened on the floor with some of its pages and pictures scattered around it. When Dante came to her home looking for the file many days before, he had forgotten to put it back in the drawer and just left it there.

- Shit! I'll get that – he said rushing towards it, the last thing he wanted was for her to think about that

He put it all together and closed it, but it was too late, when he looked up she already had a gloomy look on her face and he just couldn't stand seeing her like that.

- You know, we should burn this thing... there's no point in you keeping it… and who knows? it might even be therapeutic – he suggested

Helena remained silent for a couple of seconds, the idea actually didn't sound bad at all.

- Maybe… but we can't burn it here

- We can go to the forest, there's no one there

She remembered the time he took her to the forest to teach her how to shoot, it resulted to be very easy for her, and surprisingly she thought it was kind of fun, so maybe they could go again and he could teach her more advanced stuff now.

- Fine, but since we are going to the woods again I want to have another shooting lesson

- That's my girl! – he replied sounding thrilled - But I don't think there's much more I could teach you, you are already pretty good

- It'll be like a practice then

- Sure, we can do that

Dante proceeded to put the file in a bag, along with a lighter and some empty cans for the shooting practice and then continued with the housework. In the process of cleaning he noticed the apartment had a big study with a great amount of books. Luckily for them that room was intact, just a little dusty.

- You've read all of this? – he asked fascinated

- Yeah, most of them

- Wait, don't lie, these are not even in English – he said as he noticed many of the books were in different languages

- Remember I told you that before dying my mother said something to me in an unknown language? Well when I was younger I tried to learn some languages in order to maybe discover what she said, but sadly I could never find it out

- So… how many do you speak?

- Four. English, Latin, Spanish and Italian

- Wow – he said raising a brow - You are so smart, I speak English and Sarcasm how's that?

She laughed, one of the things that she loved the most about him was his sense of humor, he probably wasn't the most intellectual person in the world, but he was very witty and she liked that, she was grateful for it since he had managed to do in a few days what two months of therapy couldn't.

Dante's attention then went to one of the books in the shelves, it was a copy of The Iliad by Homer

- Were you named after Helen of Troy? – he asked curious

Helena was happily surprised he knew the character.

- Yes, in Latin is Helena

- When I was a kid they made us watch a movie about that in the orphanage, I fell asleep during most of the film, but I remember that name, she was important I think

- She was, she was a daughter of Zeus and she also caused the Trojan War – Helena said chuckling

- She alone caused a war? How?

- It sounds ridiculous but, long story short, two men were fighting over her, and the war began when one of them kidnapped her

- She must have been beautiful then – he replied thinking that maybe the story was not as absurd as she thought

- Yeah, actually in Greek myths she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world

- Well, you definitely live up to the name then, it suits you perfectly – he said grinning and pulling her closer to him

She just blushed, she was still getting used to Dante's constant flattery, and the truth was he meant every single one of his compliments. He was crazy about her, never having felt like this before, he would do the impossible just to make her happy and see that smile he loved to see on her face. Dante leaned forward and kissed her hungrily, he simply couldn't get enough of her, but after a few seconds they were cut off by a loud rumble from his stomach. They separated and stared at each other for a moment before laughing, they had been so busy they completely forgot about lunch.

- Ok, maybe we should get something to eat, I think I've exploited you enough for today – she said teasingly

- Damn! Today is not my day… let's go eat first and then we can go to the forest

- Sounds good, but please let's go to another restaurant, one where the waitresses don't know you

- Sure - he answered laughing - you can choose this time babe

Of course! How could I've been so blind? All this time I thought that by two keys Sparda meant my and Dante's amulets, but they actually only form one of the keys, the other key being Assiel's necklace, everything makes sense now… I guess it's finally time I pay Dante and his whore a little visit.

After lunch they started walking to the same restricted area in the forest as the other time, but now they went even further until they found a clearing where they thought it would be safe to burn the file. Dante took the lighter and the big folder out of the bag and was about to lit it on fire but was interrupted.

- I want to do it – she told him grabbing the lighter

He nodded and gave her the lighter and the file. He put his arm around her waist as they both watched for a while as the flames slowly consumed the paper.

- It's done, it's in the past now – he said once the fire extinguished

She sighed and looked up at him smiling, it actually felt good watching that thing burn to ashes.

- Now we can start the practice – she told him excited

- Sure, we'll try a bigger distance this time

And so, the shooting practice began. Dante was standing about 150 feet away from her while holding and throwing empty cans for her to shoot, and once again she was aiming perfectly. He even went as far as placing a can on his head for her to shoot at, and she did it perfectly, with so much ease that he was utterly impressed. Sadly, their fun wouldn't last for too long.

- SOMEONE HELP ME! – They heard a loud female scream from afar – PLEASE!

- Did you hear that Dante?! We have to help her! – Helena said as she started running in the direction of the voice

- Helena wait! – he said running after her

Something inside of her urged her to help the woman in danger, she had been in that position before and didn't want anyone else to go through something like what she lived, so she didn't pay attention to Dante and kept running. He ran as fast as he could, surprised at how fast she actually was, but still after a few seconds he was about to catch up to her when suddenly the trees in front of him moved blocking his path, making him almost ran face first into the newly created wall made of crooked branches.

What the fuck?

Dante looked around realizing they were not in the same forest anymore but in the Limbo version of it, it was a trap.

- Fuck! – He cursed – Helena wait! We are in Limbo!

Unfortunately, she couldn't listen to him and she couldn't realize they were in Limbo as the forest in front of her still looked pretty normal. Dante summoned Osiris to cut through the trees faster, but as he was doing so, the ground began to open and some lesser demons began to appear, making things a lot more complicated for him. Helena was nowhere to be found but he realized the trees kept moving, blocking his way only in one direction so she had to be there.

Helena arrived to another clearing and saw the thing that had been screaming for help, it was not human, it had a female shape but her skin and hair were bluish and it had something like a shield around her. When she turned to see if Dante was near she realized in horror the path was blocked.

- We meet at last – she heard a male voice say behind her

Helena turned around and couldn't believe her eyes, there was a man that looked exactly like Dante, but there was something different about him besides the hairstyle and clothes, he appeared to be mentally unstable and deranged, like he had just escaped from an insane asylum. There was no doubt, he had to be Vergil. She looked nervously at the katana he had in his left hand, that's probably what he used to kill that girl named Kat.

Vergil was far enough from her that she thought she could escape running. Being Dante's twin meant the gun she still had in her hands was useless against him so she started running in the opposite direction, but after only a couple of steps he appeared in front of her out of nowhere, almost as if he had teleported, making her run right into him knocking her over backwards, the impact felt like running into a concrete wall.

- You can't run away from me – he said with eyes cold as ice

A wicked smile formed on his face as he grabbed her by the hair, pulled her up violently and held her against him with one arm wrapped around her neck, almost choking her. She tried to move his arm and elbowed him in the ribs but he wasn't moving an inch, it was like fighting against a stone statue, he was way too strong.

- Come on, call your dear boyfriend, so you can see how useless he is – Vergil said as he snatched the gun away from her with his free hand

In that moment some of the crooked trees in the area were cut to pieces as Dante came running, but when he saw Vergil holding Helena he froze, he felt a lump form in his throat. He was too late, once again.

For someone who was almost strangled to death, having Vergil's arm around her neck was a totally nerve wrecking thing, but she tried her best to appear as calm as possible so as not to freak out Dante.

- I think this is yours – Vergil said throwing Ivory next to Dante, he knew Dante wouldn't try anything as long as he had a hold on her

Dante just looked at his gun, without even picking it up, he was sure Vergil was capable of anything so he had to think very well before acting.

- You are pathetic Dante, I killed that witch Kat and what are you doing about it? Nothing. Look at you, you don't even want to pick up your gun because you are scared I'm going to break your whore's neck, you are such a disgrace!

Vergil waited a moment to see if Dante dared to talk back, but just as he thought, his brother remained silent, so he continued.

- You see Dante, I always knew you weren't the brightest individual, but I never thought you were actually this stupid – Vergil said with an air of superiority - Out of all the women in the world, you had to fall for the one that I was after! God I'm surprised we are even related

- Let her go Vergil!

- I don't think so, I had my eyes on her before you even knew she existed, I've been looking for this girl ever since the day you betrayed me – he said with hatred in his voice - but I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about since you've always been so ignorant

- Why? Why were you after her? – Dante replied sounding completely concerned

- I won't illuminate that decaying brain of yours on that matter, but don't take it personal, it's truly a shame you fell in love with her, I guess some people are simply destined to suffer, like both of you – Vergil said looking at Helena, tightening his grip on her and then looking at his very distressed brother – I know what happened to her, poor thing, don't you think?

Dante's expression quickly changed from worried to shocked

- You know? How?

- Unlike you, I like to plan things first Dante. A little over six months ago I had some demons try to drag this girl into Limbo to make sure she was the one I was looking for, but unfortunately, they couldn't, that made me believe she was just a mere useless human so I was about to discard her, but since all my calculations pointed at her I kept a close eye on her for months to see if there were any signs, something that could confirm my theory, anything; until one day… well you already know what happened, I saw how weak and helpless she was, if she had been the one she would have easily beaten those men, but she couldn't do anything, which made me believe again that she was just a human, so I had to start my search again from scratch. However, after months of research, everything kept pointing at her so I decided to do one last test and sent some more demons after her to try to drag her into Limbo once again and guess what, she could be dragged into Limbo! But that's when you appeared, getting in my way once again. Now you might be wondering how is that possible, I think that after being so close to death some of her "abilities" began to manifest, but there are others that are still hidden and I need to find out how to bring those out

Helena was convinced Vergil was completely delusional. He was saying she could have easily beaten them, he was crazy, there was no way. She had fought them off with all her strength and was not even close to get rid of them. However, Dante saw some sense in what he was saying, the first thing that came to his mind when Vergil mentioned she had some "abilities" was her insane skills with guns, but still he didn't understand what he meant with Helena being the one, the one for what? Nevertheless, there was something that Vergil said that completely disturbed him.

- You were watching her when she was attacked? You could have stopped them…

Vergil laughed as if Dante had said the most absurd thing in the world

- Why would I have done that? The one who said he would protect humans was you, not me

- You are a sick fuck Vergil – Dante said with his face full of repulsion

He faked being offended by Dante's words

- I didn't watch the whole thing if that's what you are thinking, I had more important things to do, but tell me Dante, what where you doing while she was being raped? Oh that's right, you were getting drunk and crying over that witch's death, so much for mankind's protector! Maybe if you had listened to me none of that would've happened, I told you humans needed someone to rule them, you have seen what they do with freedom, they kill, they steal, they rape – he said looking at her – but you didn't want to listen, everything is your fault

Helena could see the guilt growing in Dante's eyes, Vergil's words were truly getting through his head.

- Don't listen to him Dante!

- Shut up! – Vergil said tightening the grip on her neck making her gasp for air

By that point Dante was starting to look frantic

- Vergil… please – he said with a hint of despair in his voice

Vergil laughed once again

- Now you are begging! Wow I never imagined I'd see this day… you are far more pathetic than I thought… well, since you like begging so much, why don't you kneel?

Dante just stayed there looking at Vergil with pure rage in his eyes.

- Don't do it – she tried saying in a choked voice

Seeing his brother wasn't planning on kneeling, Vergil yanked Helena by the hair fiercely causing her to whine in pain. Dante instantly dropped to his knees looking to the ground, he'd never felt so humiliated in all his life, but he was willing to swallow his pride for her, he just couldn't bear watching her getting hurt and Vergil seemed to be enjoying every second of it.

- This is just too much fun, but I can't waste any more time with you brother – he said as he snapped his fingers

As soon as he did that three Dreamrunners appeared between the two Nephilim. Dante got up rapidly summoning Rebellion, but in a blink of an eye Vergil opened a portal with Yamato and before Dante could do anything, they were gone. She was gone.