Hey, I'm back again with another chapter; I confess, this one is a lot longer than previous chapters, but once I had an idea in my head, I had to keep going with it. :) This chapter features a fair number of the weapons from the DMC series. Not all of them make it in, of course, but I figured I'd pay homage to both the standard weapons used by our beloved DMC characters, along with some of the other Devils Arms featured in DMC3 and 4.

Of course, the chapter doesn't just talk about the weapons, but you get to read about them in action. Hopefully, this chapter is enjoyable to you, dear readers, and as always, a mixture of humour and fluff is present. Please R&R. Your feedback is much appreciated. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry; it, along with its characters, are the property of Capcom. This fanfiction is non-profit, and purely for entertainment purposes.

Weapon

Dante parked his corvette next to the neat row of shops, pulling the car right up to the curb with smooth precision. Glancing in his rear-view mirror, he watched the two women on speed bikes do the same, the rumbling of their engines quieting as they dismounted.

With a sigh, the half devil opened the car door, and stepped out into the fading sunlight, giving his limbs a needed stretch after the long trip.

"I almost thought I lost you back at the district." He said over his shoulder as he opened the trunk, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Please," Lady snorted, coming up behind him with Trish beside her, "better drivers than you have tried."

"Besides, how far did you think you'd get?" Trish added, as both she and the brunette shared a smirk behind the half devil's back. "We were on the same ship; your car was unloaded at the same time as our bikes."

Dante only scoffed in reply, as he rummaged through the trunk, examining each weapon as he tucked it in its appropriate case, or on his person.

"Holy hell, Dante…" A male voice came from behind the group, all three hunters turning in unison to look at the young white-haired man. "What did you do? Bring your entire arsenal?"

Nero grinned at the elder devil hunter, his sword resting on his left shoulder.

"Hey, you called me here, remember." Dante countered, tucking the shotgun Coyote-A in the back of his red coat. "And since you called me here, I assume this job requires more than just my usual weapons. You did say there were a lot of element-based demons skulking about, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Then shut up, and be grateful that I'm here at all to save your sorry ass." Dante grinned lopsidedly at the youth, a scimitar in each hand.

Before Nero could make a good-natured jibe back at him, the blue scimitar spoke, causing the younger man to let out a choked gasp.

"He's got a point."

"I believe he was joking, brother." The red scimitar piped up, Nero stumbling backward as his eyes darted nervously between the two weapons.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed, casting an inquisitive look at Dante.

The half devil let out a growl, clacking the jeweled heads of the scimitars together. "Hey, what did I tell you two about talking all those years ago?" Before they could reply, he clacked their heads together again for good measure. "No…talking!" He ground out, looking pointedly between the two blades.

Satisfied when they remained silent, he returned his gaze to the bewildered youth in front of him.

Letting out a soft chuckle, he raised the weapons, allowing Nero to have a better look at them. "Eh, don't mind them, kid. This is Agni," he waved the reddish scimitar forward, "and the blue one is Rudra. They're brothers who were once guardians at the Temen-Ni-Gru; when I defeated them in battle, they swore allegiance to me." He finished this statement with a casual shrug of his shoulders, as if to say, Hey…what can you do?

"What the heck is Temen…You know what? Never mind, I don't want to know." Nero waved his right hand dismissively, the Devil Bringer flashing as he cast the scimitars another wary glance.

"So, you don't let them talk…ever?"

"Nope."

"That seems a little harsh..."

"Trust me, if I gave them an inch, they'd take a mile." Dante declared, scowling at the scimitars once again.

"So…how long have you had them for?" Nero asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"A long time."

"How long is a long time?"

"Since I was roughly about your age…" Dante's voice held an edge, his eyes narrowing as Nero stifled a laugh.

The youth regained his composure, feigning a look of wide-eyed innocence. "Wow! That must make you ancient!"

Both Trish and Lady burst out laughing, the she-devil and female devil hunter clutching their sides as they doubled over.

"Oh, laugh it up, babes." Dante drawled, "Clearly you both have forgotten just how close in age you are to me; I'd reconsider laughing, if I were you. Those wrinkles around your eyes aren't getting any smaller, y'know…"

This had the desired effect, as both women sobered considerably, their eyes narrowed at the half devil. Turning his attention back to Nero before either of them could retort, he crossed his arms over his chest, quirking an eyebrow as the younger man fought to compose himself once again.

"Do you want my help, or not?"

"Okay, okay." Nero smirked, "I was just messin' with you…old man."

Dante ran a hand over his face, and hissed between clenched teeth, "I'm not that old!"

"This age business is really getting to you, isn't it?" Nero snickered, securing Red Queen to his back and putting his hands in his coat pockets.

"You've become a real comedian haven't you, kid?" Dante's voice held the promise of painful retribution, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Nero replied with a chortle, not sounding sorry at all. Clearing his throat, he changed the topic, Dante grudgingly letting the kid's smart remarks slide…for the time being.

"So…I take it then, that some of your weapons are elemental?"

"Give the kid a gold star," Dante jested, grinning smugly as Nero glared at him. "Yes, Agni is a fire elemental, and Rudra is a wind elemental. Together, they create a firestorm."

Securing the scimitars to his hips just behind Ebony and Ivory, the half devil pulled out an edgy, purple guitar.

"Okay…and what's with that?" Nero cocked his head, shifting into a more comfortable stance as he studied the instrument curiously.

Dante placed the guitar in front of him, the fingers of one hand quickly tickling the strings, as the other roved up and down the neck of the guitar, shrill rock music assaulting Nero's ears, Lady and Trish clapping their hands over their own in displeasure.

"This," Dante twirled the guitar in the air, the instrument flipping open to reveal an elegant scythe, "is Nevan. She was a lightning witch, and like Agni and Rudra, she transformed into a Devil's Arm for me, once I defeated her in battle."

Nero shook his head in bemusement. "Man, how many 'demons-turned-devil-arms' do you have, exactly?"

"A few, but I only brought one other with me." Dante pulled out a triple nunchaku, the ends resembling femur bones, glazed with a thick coating of ice. "This came from a three-headed dog named Cerberus; he was another guardian."

"And let me guess…once you proved your worth, he surrendered his power to you?" Nero stated dryly, the right side of his mouth turning up into a grin.

"Exactly." Dante replied, clipping the nunchaku to the inside of left jacket pocket. He turned back to the trunk, pulling out a few more Devil Arms that Nero was familiar with.

Lucifer, which when secured to the back, created a supply of red energy daggers; Pandora, a light-filled brief case that transformed into six-hundred and sixty-six different weapons; and Gilgamesh, a powerful close-quarters combat weapon that took the form of greaves, gauntlets, back armour, and a protective face mask.

"Don't you think Pandora alone would have been more than enough?" Nero inquired, as the elder hunter passed the merchandise off to him.

"You're probably right, kid." Dante declared, securing Rebellion to his back. "But, I didn't want to take any chances. Besides, maybe if you're good, I'll let you play with some of my weapons."

The half devil snickered, Nero only glowering at him as his finger absently stroked the trigger of his revolver, Blue Rose.

"Hey Trish, you have Alastor with you, right?" Dante turned to the demoness, smiling as she grabbed the lightning sword from the back of her bike and handed it to him. "Oh, good; well, I think it's safe to say we're all set."

"Gee, you think?"

Dante chuckled to himself at Nero's muttering, and turned to look back at the younger man.

"Alright kid, lead the way. It's time to kick some devil ass."

Approximately one hour later…

Nero led the other three devil hunters deep into the mines, stopping short when they approached a split junction. Holding his right arm aloft, he swept it from left to right, letting out a satisfied grunt when it pulsed bright blue.

"This way…" he cautiously made his way forward, pulling the hammer back on Blue Rose as the four of them rounded the corner.

Dante's gaze swept over the cavernous walls, drifting over the yellow lanterns that dotted them every few feet or so, occasionally gleaming off of pyrite fragments imbedded deep in the rock ceiling above them.

Making their way around two overturned carts, they came to a halt, Nero holding them back with one arm. Dante made his way forward, crouching down as he peered over the younger man's shoulder, instantly recognizing the slightly more spacious processing area of the mine.

"Why are there so many of them gathered down here?" Lady whispered from beside Dante's left shoulder, her mismatched eyes widening in surprise.

"That is strange," Trish mused next to her, "those Frosts were created by Mundus, himself. They shouldn't want to be anywhere near those Basilisks."

Basilisk of course, was a misnomer; the fire hounds had been created by Agnus, the lead alchemist of the Order of the Sword-before his untimely demise, owed to a precise shot from Dante, Ivory in hand.

Dante looked further into the cavern, a wicked grin lighting his face as he watched a Blitz attacking a group of Scarecrows. The lightning beast lacked eyesight, and tended to attack everything it sensed around it. The Scarecrows scattered, many of them meeting a gruesome death as the devil hunters stood and watched. A pack of Assaults shrieked and roared from behind the Blitz, shooting the electrified demon with the barbs on their tails in warning.

"Maybe if we wait long enough, they'll just kill each other…" Dante suggested in a hopeful tone.

The others glared at him, Trish shaking her head slowly in disapproval.

"Oh, alright…" Dante pulled Pandora out, tracing his fingers along the edge of the suitcase. With a click, it opened up, transforming into a throwing blade before their eyes. "It's going to be a tight fit, fighting down here…don't come out until I give you the signal." He ordered.

With that, Dante rushed into the fray, throwing the blade with vigor. It whizzed around the open area of the mine, slicing into several of the demons before returning to his gloved hand, though none of them dropped, much to his disappointment.

Every demonic eye in the cavern was on him, a mixture of growls and roars echoing down the tunnels as they approached their prey.

Not wasting another second, Dante ran his finger along the bottom of the blade, Pandora transforming once again, support rings framing the devil hunter's back as the weapon turned into a mobile missile battery.

Taking hold of the hand triggers that appeared before both of his hands, he placed his feet on the pedals, bracing his back against the framework as he took a steadying breath. With a smile, he pressed his thumbs down on the triggers simultaneously, four missiles launching from Pandora, colliding with several of the demons.

The explosion rattled the tunnels, causing small rock shards to rain down from the ceiling.

"You might want to rethink using that much firepower!" He heard Lady shout, the red-clad warrior stifling a chuckle as he heard Nero cursing in the background.

Transforming the multi-purpose Devil's Arm again, he grabbed hold of the Gatling gun that appeared, kneeling beside it and unleashing a torrent of bullets on the approaching demon horde.

Before he had time to react, the Blitz appeared beside him, its electrical discharge momentarily stunning him as it sent him skidding across the ground, Pandora knocked from his hand and resuming the form of a brief case, once again.

"Okay…now would be a good time, guys!" He grunted, grabbing Ebony from his left hip, his finger squeezing the trigger quickly, over and over.

Without missing a beat, Nero jumped into the fray, firing a charged shot from his double-barreled revolver as he simultaneously snatched a Scarecrow with his Devil Bringer. Holding the weak demon in front of him as a shield, he ran to the elder devil hunter's aid, rapidly firing at the Blitz with Blue Rose.

The lightning demon backed off with a snarl, clearly not impressed with the stinging bullets piercing its skeletal armour.

Nero tossed the Scarecrow at the electrical beast, the lesser demon letting out an eerie cackle as it died, vanishing in a puff of black smoke.

Dante jumped to his feet, giving Nero a grateful nod as he grabbed Rebellion from over his shoulder. Charging forward, he swept the blade horizontally from left to right, Nero mirroring him with Red Queen, as they took out the remaining Scarecrows. Catching sight of Pandora, the half devil lunged toward it, wedging the toe of his boot beneath it, and kicked it upward, catching it in his outstretched hand with skilled grace.

Nero let out a yelp, drawing Dante's attention as the kid was knocked over backwards by a flaming skull. Patting the fire out on his coat, the youth bared his teeth at the Basilisk responsible, and threw his demonic arm forward, pulling the flaming hound in close. Turning it around, he squeezed its sides hard, forcing it to launch yet another regenerative skull…this time at its fellow Basilisks.

Dante chuckled at this, thoroughly amused at the kid's ingenuity. Grabbing Cerberus from his belt, the elder hunter whirled around, smacking one of the other fire hounds directly in the mouth with the ice nunchaku.

The creature let out a pained whimper, before collapsing on the ground, engulfed in its own flames. With a last thrash of its tail, it disappeared, leaving nothing but a pile of ash behind.

Dante turned his attention back to the Blitz, as it bore down on Trish. Fortunately, the she-devil didn't bother unloading her own lightning on the demon, knowing full well she would only give it more strength.

Putting Cerberus back on his belt, Dante grabbed hold of Agni and Rudra, and whirled the scimitars around, joining them at the handles to form one large, double-sided scimitar.

Twirling the fire and wind weapons over his head, he leapt forward, striking the Blitz with the fire blade.

It whipped its head around, nostrils flaring as it tried to track the devil hunter. Dante strafed to the side, stabbing the demon just below its front leg, blackened blood spurting from the deep wound as the creature shrieked in fury.

Catching sight of Lady as she flipped overhead, Dante grabbed hold of Trish's arm, the pair rolling off to the side as Lady hoisted Kalina-Ann onto her shoulder, blasting the lightning devil with the missile launcher.

"What was that about not using that much firepower?" Dante shouted, as the mine shuddered all around them.

"Hey, I got rid of the Blitz, didn't I?" She shot back, shouldering her favourite weapon as she landed lithely in front of the demoness and half devil.

Looking passed her, Dante reluctantly had to admit that she was right; the demon had exploded in a bright flash of red light, dried chunks of bone flying every which way.

Jumping to his feet, Dante pulled Coyote-A from behind him, levelling the shotgun on two Assaults as they bore down on Lady from behind. Pulling the trigger, he hit both of his targets right between the eyes, the creatures recoiling with pained howls.

Lady looked back at them, her gaze returning to Dante. The half devil smirked at her, blowing the smoke from the shotgun's barrel.

"If you don't brag, I won't either." Lady declared, narrowing her blue and red eyes at him.

"Fair enough, Lady." Dante replied, ducking down as Trish released a surge of electrical energy over his right shoulder, hitting a Frost full in the chest.

The elite demon encased itself in a large block of ice, attempting to regenerate its power.

"Oh, no you don't!" Dante growled, rushing forward with Alastor in hand, the electrical broadsword smashing through the ice crystals as he used a downward stroke. The Frost crumpled to the ground, letting out a savage hiss as it attempted to get to its feet. Dante plunged the blade downward, piercing the ice demon's chest, the sword's electrical current finishing the job as it coursed through the dying creature's body.

Satisfied with his work, the red-clad half devil looked around, his gaze coming to stop on Nero, as the younger man unleashed a savage, fiery attack with Red Queen, performing three brutal upward strokes with the modified durandal.

As the last of the Assaults shrieked in their death throes, Dante cast another sharp look around, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized the youth had finished off the last of them.

Nero strode forward slowly, letting out a groan as he rotated his right shoulder, a pained grimace on his face.

"Hey, you alright, kid?" Dante asked, eyeing the young man curiously.

"Yeah, I think I just knocked my shoulder out of alignment, that's all."

Trish came forward, resting Luce over her right shoulder. "Let's head back up to the surface," she suggested, "then we can take a look at your shoulder."

"It's not that big of a deal, really." Nero protested, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Still, let me take a look at it, just to be sure." Trish offered, giving the youth an encouraging smile.

"Take a tip from your elders, kid." Dante grinned, "Never argue with a woman, least of all when it's one of these two. It's doomed to fail, right from the start."

Turning on his heel before either Lady or Trish could retort, Dante took the lead, all too eager to get back out into the fresh, open air.

The half devil could hear Nero chuckling behind him, amidst the conspiratorial muttering of his female allies.

Shaking his head in wry amusement, Dante snorted. "Shut up, kid." He called back, not even bothering to break stride.

The youth only seemed to laugh harder at this.

"You really have a way with women, don't you old man?"

When this is all done, it looks like I'm going to have to teach him another lesson…

Much to the four devil hunters' displeasure, reaching the surface didn't mean their job was over. Upon reaching Fortuna's gates, their ears were met with the frantic screams of the town's people.

"Shit!" Nero swore, his demonic arm flashing brightly in anger. "I have to find Kyrie, make sure she's alright…"

"Whoa, slow down, kid." Dante grabbed him by the shoulder, the youth glaring back at him impatiently. "I'll go with you."

Nero went from glowering at the elder hunter, to casting him an appreciative-though still somewhat impatient-look of gratitude.

"Trish, Lady…will you be alright taking care of things here?" Dante asked, grabbing Rebellion's hilt, and pulling the claymore from his back.

"Don't worry about us," Lady smirked, pulling out her submachine gun and pistol, "we've got this!"

Knowing that time was of the essence, Dante turned to Nero, all trace of humour gone as he stared at the youth, utmost seriousness in his deadly blue eyes. "Where was Kyrie before you came to meet us?"

"She was back at our apartment." Nero replied, shooting a scarecrow in the head without even looking at it.

Without another word, the two men dashed off, heading toward the residential district while their female cohorts set to work on protecting the people within the city's gate.

As they ran down the main strip, Dante's stomach rumbled, the half devil catching the scent of grilling meat as he and Nero ran passed the restaurant.

Not now! He mentally chided his stomach, as his eyes came to rest on three Mega Scarecrows blocking their path. Just like that, all thought of food and hunger left his mind, the devil hunter bringing forth Nevan from the left side of his back.

Holding the purple guitar in front of him, he began playing a rapid solo, sparks shooting from the guitar's frets as the sky was momentarily blotted out by the wings of hundreds of bats. The summoned night creatures savagely attacked the Mega Scarecrows, shrieking and biting as they did so.

Twirling Nevan so that the guitar turned into a scythe, Dante rushed forward, slicing into the closest of the bloated, bladed demons.

The creature let out an angry cry, bracing its bladed front claws on the pavement, staring the half devil down.

Knowing what was coming before it happened, Dante leapt into the air, the spinning blades of the demon missing him by a mere hair. Landing on top of a wrecked car, Dante brought forth Lucifer, strapping the weapon to his back while dodging a secondary spinning attack from one of the other Scarecrows.

Quickly grasping a red energy dagger between each one of his fingers, he thrust the blades forward, puncturing two of the demons as he flipped over top of them. Once he hit the pavement, he clapped his hands twice, Lucifer's blades exploding inside of the wounds they had made.

Satisfied when his prey evaporated with only their blades slamming into the ground to mark they'd been there to begin with, Dante turned, watching as Nero fought the remaining Mega Scarecrow. The youth revved the handle of Red Queen, the durandal's blade turning a fiery red. With an upward thrust, the younger devil hunter unleashed a flurry of spinning slashes, flames leaping off of his blade as he tossed his enemy high into the air.

The demon disappeared at the exact same moment that his boots hit the ground, the youth meeting the elder hunter's gaze. He grasped his sore shoulder for a moment, rolling it to work out some of the kinks. Giving the half devil a reassuring grin, he secured his sword to his back, and grabbed hold of his revolver.

Dante nodded at the younger man, knowing full well there wasn't time enough for Nero to tend to his wounds; it would have to wait. The two raced down the tunneled side street, throwing open the large door that stood sentinel to the residential district.

Much to both Dante and Nero's surprise, Kyrie met them as they came through the large door, the auburn-haired woman gasping as she collided with the elder devil hunter.

"Kyrie, you're alright!" Nero exclaimed, his tone a mixture of surprise and relief. He grasped her shoulders, pulling her into a quick embrace.

"Yes, I'm alright." Kyrie's voice came out shaky, her golden eyes darting backward. "I just got out of the apartment when they broke down the door...I…I think there might be a child trapped down there! Half of the building has been destroyed…" She let out a pained sob, her eyes filling with tears, her face pale, stricken with guilt.

Dante clapped the younger man on the shoulder, giving him a quick nod before he ran down the alley toward the apartments. Coming to a halt, he heard a child crying from deep within the building's rubble, the cries giving way to frantic screaming.

Quickly equipping Gilgamesh, Dante sent several savage roundhouse kicks to the pile of rubble, finishing with a solid punch that broke the heavier debris away. Backing off, he caught sight of the little girl that had been crying; her large brown eyes pleading as she stared up at him through the narrow crevice. The girl's head turned and she let out a shriek, clearly afraid of whatever was coming up behind her.

Grabbing hold of the large slab overtop of the girl with one hand, he lifted it up with a groan, and grasped the small girl's arm with his other hand, quickly pulling her out just as a Mephisto lashed out with its scythed tail. Cradling her against his chest, Dante pulled out Coyote-A, firing as quickly as the shotgun's reload time allowed him to, the half devil quickly backing up all the while as the girl sobbed into his chest.

When the wraith-like demon finally met its end, Dante put his weapons away, rubbing a hand soothingly on the terrified child's back.

"It's okay, I've got you." He murmured, hugging the little girl close. She couldn't have been more than five or six, her long brown pigtails bobbing as she sobbed quietly into his shirt. Noticing she was shivering, he pulled his coat around her, waiting until her cries turned into hiccups.

"Was there anyone else in the building with you?" He spoke gently to her, as to not frighten the already traumatized child further.

"Yes…m-my mommy…but she….she's…" The little girl broke down again, her green eyes filling with tears before she buried her face in his chest again.

Dante felt a lump in his throat; he could relate all too well with the child's pain. "Where's your father? Do you have any other family around here?"

He was momentarily startled, as Kyrie and Nero came up behind him, the youth clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"I know her." Kyrie said softly, "Her father was killed during the Savior incident." Her eyes drooped with sadness, as she gently attempted to relieve the half devil of his burden. The little girl only clung tighter to Dante, Kyrie smiling sadly at him when he gave her an inquisitive look.

Realizing he didn't mind the child in his arms so much, the red-clad half devil gave a slight shrug, grinning sheepishly when his eyes met Nero's. Ordinarily, the youth would have made some smart-assed comment about the elder hunter's impact on children, but given the gravity of the situation, Nero remained silent, his own eyes unfocused as though he was trying to remember something important. Dante could only conclude that the youth still couldn't recall his own childhood, and how it had set him on the path he followed today.

"She has an older sister on the other side of town, though." Kyrie explained, bringing Dante out of his introspection as she rubbed the child's shoulder comfortingly. "When she's calmed down, I'll take her to her."

"Do you know if any other residents were in this building at the time of the attack?" Dante asked, gesturing to the half demolished apartment.

"No, everyone else took off down toward the pier." Kyrie confirmed. Her eyes lingered on the child a moment longer, a solitary tear rolling down her cheek.

"Well, we'd better head back," Dante said after a moment, adjusting his hold on the little girl, "there's no telling how much of the city Trish and Lady have torn up by now."

Once they reached the gate, Dante's jaw dropped; the gate had been blasted clean off, no doubt thanks to Lady with Kalina-Ann. Holding the little girl tightly against his chest with one arm, the half devil pulled Ivory from his right hip, and cast a sharp look through the gate.

Trish had Luce and Ombra out, the light and dark pistols coming up to meet him at the same time that he brought Ivory up.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Trish lowered her weapons, Dante doing the same. The she-devil looked at the little girl in his arms, a faint smile on her lips. When her blue-green eyes met his, the smile faded, her expression becoming sad.

"Does she have any…?"

"No…" Dante replied softly, "She lost her father a few years ago during the incident…and her mother just today. Kyrie says she has an older sister here, somewhere." He looked around, frowning.

"We brought the people into the Opera House." Trish explained. "With all the demons around, we couldn't evacuate them through the gate."

Lady came forward then, wiping a hand across her brow, a pistol still in hand. "Well, that's the last of them." She declared, panting. Upon seeing Dante with a little girl in his arms, she did a double-take. Seeing the grave expression on his face, she held back her usual wisecracks.

The little girl stirred in his arms then, casting a fearful glance around her. Her grip loosened, though her hands still rested on either side of the devil hunter's neck, her green eyes still red and puffy from her earlier tears.

Kyrie came forward, extending her arms invitingly to the small girl. "Tawny, your sister should be in the Opera house, okay? Why don't you come with me, and we'll find her together?"

The little girl named Tawny looked back and forth between the gentle, compassionate Kyrie, and the rugged, powerful man holding her. It was clear that she felt safe in his arms, but now that the danger had passed, she wanted to be with family. Giving Dante one last look of longing, the small girl managed a smile. With a quick motion, she kissed him on the cheek, and extended her arms to Kyrie, the red-haired maiden taking her in her arms, directing a small smile at Dante's dumbstruck expression.

As Kyrie walked up the path leading to the Opera house with Trish in tow, Dante became acutely aware that he was blushing, his face warming as Nero snickered behind him. Jabbing an elbow backward, he produced a grunt of pain from the youth as he connected with his ribs.

Lady stood next to Dante, a mixture of amusement and tenderness lighting her heterochromatic eyes. The half devil shook his head, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. As tough as she was, Lady still had a soft spot when it came to kids.

Women… Dante thought to himself, a quiet chuckle rumbling through his chest.

Kyrie and Trish returned then, the town's people warily following them down the cobblestoned path. Dante caught sight of Tawny, the little girl waving at him shyly from the secure arms of her elder, fair-haired sister. The woman's green eyes met his, and she gave him a small smile of thanks, despite the tears in her eyes after having learned of her mother's unfortunate fate.

Nero broke the silence then, bringing Dante's attention to him as he scratched his neck, his gaze averted. "You did a good job with…well, you know…" He floundered, his face reddening. "I uh…I just wanted to thank you, all of you…for coming out to help me."

Trish placed a hand gently on the youth's shoulder, drawing away quickly at his pained groan.

"I'm sorry, Nero." She said, placing her finger tips more carefully on his wounded shoulder. "I'd forgotten."

Without another word, she leant him some of her healing power, a slight greenish glow emanating from where her hand met his shoulder.

"Thanks." He smiled up at her, his gaze returning to Dante. "I meant what I said…if you hadn't come, that little girl might not have been saved in time…I couldn't have protected everyone on my own…I owe you one."

"You owe me several," Dante laughed, clapping a hand on the younger man's shoulder good-naturedly, "but hey, who's counting?"

Later that evening…

"Are you sure you can't stay the night?" Kyrie clasped her hands together, casting the devil hunters a hopeful gaze as Trish and Lady mounted their speed bikes.

Dante packed the last of the weapons into the trunk of his car, grinning appreciatively at Kyrie as he ran a hand through his hair. "That's really kind of you, but we have to get down to the pier before the cruise ship leaves."

"You really don't have to go," Nero stepped forward, "after all you did for us today, you're more than welcome to spend the night here. The ship will return first thing in the morning...you can always go, then…"

Dante stroked his chin, his other hand resting on his hip. Meeting the imploring expressions of Kyrie and Nero, he surrendered with a sigh. Looking over at Trish and Lady, both women nodded in agreement, getting off of their bikes in unison, giggling at the long-suffering look he gave them.

"Alright, you win." He grinned. "Hey kid, I guess you'll get a chance to play with the weapons, after all."