When he was young, Agnus buried himself in medicinal study. He wanted to become a doctor. "I want to save people" he would say. "I want to help people."

His mother was a nurse for the Order, this was what motivated him to become one as well. It was his passion, his love, his life. He loved the smell of antiseptic. He'd often hear the injured scream, and it never bothered him one bit.

This simple pleasure of his caught the eyes of his parents, his father, Abraham, mostly. They tried to keep him away from the world of a doctor. His father tried to get him to enjoy his training as a knight, something Agnus detested. He could not fight, he would not fight, and as a result, he was cast off. He spent most of his rebellion running laps or other types of chores.

Agnus wasn't like the other boys, he did not want to become a knight. His father tried to inspire him to be like the others. Agnus refused to take on the challenge of becoming a knight, he claimed he'd rather save lives than take them. He'd go out into the fields and read. The result was the cruelty of the other boys. They took his books and tore them up, threw them in the mud.

"I only want to learn to help you." was what he said.

It didn't help him much, and he'd go home bloody. He would fold himself into the arms of his mother, weeping. His father couldn't be anymore disappointed, "Useless brat." he'd whisper, loud enough for an eight-year-old Agnus to hear. Agnus learned the meaning of the word "hate" from his father, the first person he could truly ever hate.

His father was truly despicable. He was hardened from all the battles against demons, the harsh way that they could easily take a human down. Fortuna lost a lot of people in one raid back then. Young Agnus could see that this was why his father was cruel towards Agnus' decision, but it inspired him to find a way to somehow make the knights stronger, to help them overcome their weaknesses against a demon.

Regardless, his father would still come home in a rage, that his mother had to order him to his room and to not come out. No matter what he heard. There were some nights when his father would barge into his son's room. His mother would try to protect him, to no avail.

There was one night when Abraham came home, that Agnus' mother had to tell him to play hide and seek. A wicked game with daddy.

Ten years old, Agnus' mother died. It was a demon raid, she was trying to tend to injured children. She tried as hard as she could, but she could not save one young boy. Agnus watched as she struggled, all the blood down the front of her white dress, how the boy's breathing slowed and stopped, the blood pouring from his wounded chest. His mother sobbed as his life was lost in her arms. The boy's father watched in horror. He screamed at her, he called her a child murderer. Agnus' mother tried to calm him down, Agnus was looking at the dead body when he heard the scream. He looked up. The knight who had lost his son, stuck his sword through his mother's chest. She fell limp to the ground.

Agnus made no sound, he simply looked at her, he felt her wound, the warm blood gushing through his fingers.

His father refused to take care of his useless, pathetic child. He decided that he was going to send him to Headquarters to live, so that he wouldn't be bothered with him again.

"I want to be a doctor." Agnus said again. His father shook his head.

"You can't, Agnus. You're going…you're going to become something else."

"Why not? Why can't I be a doctor?"

"Because you just can't, Agnus…You're leaving tomorrow, you'll get a better life, I promise."

"I don't want to go!"

That night, Agnus stood halfway out of his window, hands clamped together, and prayed. He prayed, "Please Sparda, let me become a doctor! I want to help people! Don't let them take me away! I want to be a doctor!"

His answer came from three red eyes falling from the sky, staring at him.

That was how it began.

With voices in his head that said harsh things, convinced Agnus to do terrible things. Once upon a time, he fought against them. Tried to ignore them. They stopped on the night Agnus snuck into the house he used to call a home. Fourteen years old, Agnus tried to seem friendly to his father. But Abraham wasn't impressed.

It started as an argument. Then it began to build up to a brawl. Then it became kill or be killed.

The people of Fortuna heard the yelling and all the struggle.

There was blood on Agnus' hands, he was shaking over his father's body. He was terrified with what he had done, Sanctus, and a majority of Fortuna, could only pity him. They all knew how cruel Abraham was to his child, it was about time he got his just deserts.

The voices stopped, and they became one.

It had been nearly forty years since his mother died. Agnus never thought about her, even working as the head of the infirmary, he mostly thought of his father, the man who told him "you can't", he'd think about him for maybe a brief second, then return to what he was already doing.

Medicine was not his only profession, he lived as an alchemist underneath the bowels of Fortuna. Very few were privy to this double life of his. To nearly everyone else, he was simply the doctor of Fortuna. He was the best at what he did, saving lives, helping others. The only problem many people had with him was his attitude, the odd look in his eyes, his size.

Agnus hid his secret life well, but he couldn't hide his appearance. A majority of the people in Fortuna were terrified of him, especially children.

Morning broke out, Credo opened his eyes, only to be greeted with the realization that he was not alone in his bed. He turned his body around, and saw the one laying next to him.

CREDO'S VISITOR

She was curled up in a tiny ball,

and as Credo rolled over, she only curled up closer to him.

Her face was red and sweaty, and her hair was all over them.

"Kyrie?" he whispered as she opened her eyes. She closed them again and nudged closer to him. Credo wrapped his arm around her. He held his little sister close to him. He looked over at the clock, he still had some time to sleep in before he was expected out of bed. He couldn't, though, looking at Kyrie's innocent face as she slept, he just couldn't bring himself to leave her.

There was a sudden knocking at his door, and Gloria let herself in, she gasped as she saw the siblings wrapped around each other. She thought she had somehow lost Kyrie. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to His Holiness, noting that his eyes were wide open.

"Your Holiness?" She whispered.

"Gloria." He replied, rolling over just a little bit, "Tell them that I might be a little late today."

Gloria nodded, she shut the door quietly as she left. Kyrie stretched a little bit, inching closer to her brother, a kind of sadness was on her face as she slowly breathed in and out. She shuddered. Credo wondered if she was having a bad dream. What it was probably about. He worried about what had happened to her. The bruises on her face. All the blood down the front of her dress…

The sudden thought caused Credo to sit up abruptly. He took in a deep breath of air, he looked in horror at his sister, who woke as he sat up. He cupped her face in his palms, his fingers trembled.

"Who…?" Was all he could muster. He clenched his eyes shut, he jumped out of the bed and quickly dressed himself, he skipped his morning shower, he turned to his sister, "Stay put, Kyrie." was what he demanded as he shut the door behind him.

He walked through Headquarters, he slammed his fist on the walls, he cried out in anger, he walked up to Gloria, who was in the middle of a conversation between Agnus. The two of them looked in shock at their furious leader.

"Gloria. Do you remember the day, at least a week ago, when Kyrie first went missing? Do you remember what you said about the bridge?"

Gloria looked up, trying to recall that day, she looked back at Credo and nodded, "The man in red, he must have lifted it to keep us from following him."

"…You said something else, concerning Kyrie's disappearance."

Agnus bit his lip to keep himself from smiling.

"I said," Gloria paused, her eyes widened, "The blood…"

Credo yelled out in fury, "That bastard! That…devil! He…" Unable to finish his sentence, Credo pressed his hands to his face.

"No…no, Credo, I don't think he'd…"

"Then who, Gloria? Who else was in that castle with her? Who else could have done that? 'Nice song' he said to her. That sick monster!"

Credo turned around and headed back into his room, Agnus and Gloria followed after him as he approached Kyrie, sitting on Credo's bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Kyrie!" He said as he gently clutched her hands, "Kyrie…tell me. Please. Was he…was the man in red there? Did you see him?"

Kyrie nodded, her eyes shifted to Agnus, his smile was bright. It nearly blinded her. Credo continued to speak.

"The blood on your dress…Kyrie…Kyrie…he did this to you, didn't he?"

Kyrie's heart raced, she looked at her brother in shock, she looked over at Gloria and Agnus, he was smiling, Gloria looked terrified. Kyrie wanted to say no, she began to cry, she tried to shake her head, but in the end, she only looked ashamed, and, without her words, and with Agnus towering over her, she could not tell Credo he was wrong.

"No, no, no, no!" Credo shouted, holding his sister tight, "That bastard!" He looked over at Agnus and Gloria, "…I want his capture! Tell the knights that he's more wanted than ever! Tell them to work up their search! Find him! And bring him to me! Alive!"

Agnus bowed happily, "As you wish, Your Holiness! I'll be more than happy to find this cruel devil! And he shall get what he deserves for ever laying his hands on your lovely young sister!"

"Shall we send them all to Fortuna Castle?" Gloria immediately suggested. "After all, he's probably still there, if we send a vast amount of knights there, there's a bigger chance that someone will come back."

Agnus glared at her, "Are you crazy? Fortuna Castle is…too dangerous! They won't come out!"

Gloria smirked, "Kyrie did. Now, if one songstress can make it, what makes you think a group of knights won't?"

"She only survived through pure luck."

"It was not luck." Gloria snickered, "It was the grace of Sparda."

Oh, the irony.

"S-sending knights to Fortuna Castle is too dangerous!" Agnus stuttered, he looked at Credo for support, he was stroking his chin thoughtfully. He closed his eyes, he looked at Kyrie.

"Do you know if he's still there?"

Kyrie shook her head.

"Fine then, we won't send anyone to Fortuna Castle, it may be a little too dangerous, the best we can do though, perhaps, is surround Fortuna Castle, see if we can drag him out."

"Excellent idea, Your Holiness." Gloria said. Agnus continued to glare at her.

"It seems you're enthusiastic about this whole idea." He sneered, "Perhaps you're eager enough to brave Fortuna Castle?"

Gloria turned at Agnus and gave him a rather sharp look, "Funny," She said in a perky voice, " that's the second time in two days, that an Order official has tried to send me to a dangerous area, where I was likely to get killed. I'm starting to feel a little unwanted here…If I could only understand why they all disliked me." She scoffed and turned, "No matter. Kyrie. I'll be in my room, get to your room and get dressed."

Gloria strolled off, Agnus watched her in annoyance. Credo crossed his arms, Kyrie gave a small smile, but soon jumped from Credo's bed and began to walk out of the room. Credo stopped her, he gave her his coat, to cover her up while she wore that frail white nightgown, then sent her off.

Agnus turned and went about his own business, Credo stood there for a good while. I stood next to him. I was ecstatic, Gloria was a smart, brilliant woman, and I could feel it. I could feel that she could see through all of Agnus' bullshit.

Fortuna Castle shook with my laughter. Wind howled, book cases rattled, chandeliers swung back and fourth, making loud squeaking sounds as they rocked.

A COMPLAINT FROM AN INTRUDER

"Do you have to haunt the place now, dead boy?"

"I'm trying to sleep, god damn it!"

Kyrie was in a red dress, Gloria brushed the young girl's hair and put it in a pony tail, Kyrie lifted her white hood over her head. Gloria held her in her arms, Kyrie could hear her heart beat, she closed her eyes, she wanted to tell her everything.

It was not the Red Assassin who did this, it was that man. That large man with the monocle. He's the one responsible for everyone's loss. You have to stop him, Gloria, he wants to hurt Credo.

But she didn't make any note of these things, she knew what would happen if she did. Gloria sighed, she released Kyrie and stood up, pacing around the room, she looked at her young charge, she sighed again.

"Kyrie…I can tell you don't like that man. But the two of us made an agreement. About you."

Kyrie's heart raced as Gloria spoke.

"Every other hour, Kyrie, you will have to spend with him, he only wants to supervise you and make sure you're stable and well. So, in five minutes you will meet him in the infirmary, and after the hour is up, you'll come back here, okay?"

Kyrie trembled, she took in a deep breath, and she nodded. Gloria could see the reluctance and horror in her small brown eyes. She nearly soared into Gloria and held onto her waist, a way of begging, "Don't let him near me, Gloria. Please don't let him come near me."

"I'm sorry." Gloria said, holding on to her "I'm sorry, I know you don't like him, I'm sorry. We have to do this, I'm sorry."

It took her a while to let go of Gloria, gently, she was nudged off, the reluctance was clear in her eyes as they glistened with tears. Gloria didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to, for the girl's safety.

That was it, right?

He'd be helping her.

Right?

Kyrie was pointed out to the infirmary. Slowly, she released Gloria's hand, who was already late for a meeting. She was alone, and right through that door was the man who murdered me. She clenched her fists, she closed her eyes. The horrifying images of Fortuna Castle flooded her vision, but there was something else.

SHE DID NOT LOSE FAITH

I was the ghost who protected her.

Dante was the Son of Sparda who saved her.

She was not alone.

She entered the room. All the beds were empty, Agnus had his back to her, washing his hands, she wondered if she should just try to walk out before he saw her. She took a step back, but hit a wall, alerting him. He turned, he smiled, and he dried his hands.

"Kyrie, there you are. I didn't hear you come in, darling."

Kyrie winced, she glared at Agnus, who continued to smile as he put his large black gloves on. His smile was oddly kind, but Kyrie knew it was just a cover, a mask. Slowly, he approached, she took a step back.

"Now, now." he said firmly, "You're still very ill. That poison is still hurting you. It's why you caught such a terrible fever yesterday, now come here, I'm going to help you."

Kyrie shook her head. Agnus sighed, he approached her and plucked her from the ground before she could run away. She tried to scream, make any noise that she could, but it was no use. She could make no sound as Agnus put her on one of the nearest beds. He told her to stay put.

But Kyrie would not comply.

Instead, she fought him. She pounded on his face with her fists, his monocle flew off his face and rolled on the ground. Kyrie did not notice that he did not have an aggressive look on his face as he tried to sit her down.

"Please calm down." He coaxed, but she would not stop flinging her fists at him. Her nails dug into his flesh, but he kindly took it, he tried to calm her down. He released his hands from her and took a step back when he saw it was useless.

Kyrie scrambled off the bed and ran to the door, but he grabbed her again. He shut the door. His breathing was heavy. "Please do not make this difficult. Kyrie. You won't like it." He promised, He glared at her, his cruel self resurfacing. "You don't want me to call your brother and tell him what a naughty little girl you've been, would you? Now go sit and be good."

Kyrie still refused, Agnus shook his head, he walked past her and to one of his drawers. He pulled out a syringe and a bottle of medicine. He told her to hold out her arm, she refused, still. Agnus grit his teeth, he would have crushed both the bottle and the syringe if he had no self control. He wanted to yell at her, wanted to slap her, forcefully grab her arm, but he wouldn't. He knew it was too dangerous. It was better to let her attack him.

"Come on, now. It's just a little poke. It'll only hurt for a second. I'll even give you some candy."

Kyrie backed away from him, she noticed, sitting perfectly on a countertop, rows of knives. Slowly, she reached for them, Agnus saw her.

"Don't." He ordered, "I'm not going to harm you."

Kyrie didn't believe him, she didn't want to believe him ever again, she'd never believe a word he said. She grasped the nearest knife and held it out menacingly. Agnus continued to get closer.

"Do not make this difficult." He implored as he inched closer and closer to her. Soon enough, he got too close, Kyrie attacked him.

It wasn't a very good idea.

Constant screams of "YOUR HOLINESS!" could be heard throughout Headquarters, tracing all the way back to the infirmary. Credo shot up from his desk and ran towards the noise, he knew it was Agnus' voice, he knew he was supposedly talking care of Kyrie.

Expecting Kyrie to be hurt or seriously ill again, Credo instead found Kyrie on top of Agnus, a knife in her hand as she tried to push it into Agnus' throat. He was holding her hands back, but his face was sweaty.

Credo immediately jumped into the scene. He grabbed his sister from behind and pried her off of the doctor. He grabbed her hands and forced her to drop the knife. Kyrie thrashed, still trying to get at Agnus. Credo noted that the doctor's face was bleeding.

"Are you okay?" Credo asked, still holding her back. "What happened?"

Agnus told the truth: "I was only going to give her a shot, she fought me, clawed at me with those tiny little hands of hers. I tried to calm her down, but I must have seemed hostile, and she attacked me with the knife. I knew I shouldn't have been leaving them lying around." He sighed, "Especially since I had been… expecting this."

"Expecting what?" Credo demanded, "What were you expecting?"

"I've just been thinking…I mean. She's the only one who's survived Fortuna Castle. Who knows what she's seen! I've just been so worried, Your Holiness. I've been worried that those traumatic experiences have left her mind…unstable! I mean…she must be disturbed since the rape. She must have been…screaming for hours with no one to save her! "

"Absurd!" Credo cried out. Kyrie had stopped fighting him, her heart was racing, finally seeing everything clearly. "Kyrie…Kyrie is not insane! She's perfectly fine!"

"Your Holiness…" Agnus said softly, "You must think it through, she was alone in that castle for so long. Remember those two knights who came out of Fortuna Castle? They had gone daft! Pointless mumblings about a ghost. And they were only gone two days!"

Credo held tightly onto his sister, Kyrie felt his grip tighten. She tried to push off of him, he would not let go.

Gloria heard everything, and she was not happy. She stormed into the infirmary, "Insane?" She snarled. "You think she's lost her mind? That's not true! Kyrie's been acting fine since I found her. She's only acted 'crazy' whenever you're around! You're the problem! Not her!"

"Gloria…" Credo said quietly, "She pulled a knife on him."

"Good!" Gloria snapped back, she turned to Agnus, "You've done something to her, I know you have! She hasn't done anything to prove herself as 'disturbed' or 'unstable'. You did something to her that made her hostile! Why don't you just come out and say it?"

"…What do you want me to say?" Agnus gasped, "All I did was try to treat her. I'll admit I must have startled her, but that does not mean I have done something to her…How could I have done something to her? Do you…expect that somehow I must have been in Fortuna Castle?"

"I may as well, after all, you're like a phantom. I only found out that you existed a few days ago."

"…And your point is?"

"My point is that no one knows anything about you! No solid facts, at least!"

"..And what do we know about you, Gloria? You're an outsider to us all. You only have been privy to my existence because you've only been here for so long. And in those short moments, you've only been taking care of her." he pointed at Kyrie, "And…from the condition she's in now, you haven't been doing a very good job. After all, who's job was it to watch over Kyrie when that disaster in the town had happened? Yours! And who let Kyrie get separated from her brother because they weren't paying attention? You! Gloria, you are the cause of all this! It was your carelessness that put Kyrie in this pitiful state!"

There was silence. Gloria's mouth was wide open. Agnus was trying not to smile. Credo looked at the floor, Kyrie stared in awe at the situation, her eyes were wide, her hands were shaking.

"Gloria…let it go." Credo said.

Kyrie trembled.

Why? She's right. He was in Fortuna Castle, Credo. He did this to me.

Can't you tell?

Look at me, Credo! Look at what he did to me!

Why won't you listen?

Why won't you look at me?

Why do you believe him?

It was this moment that Kyrie realized that Credo was no longer holding her in a death grip. She turned around, she looked at her brother, slowly he looked at her. He looked at Agnus.

"Do you need my help to treat her?"

NOT REALLY, CREDO

You're going to need help though,

seeing as your sister just punched you in the stomach.

It was simple, a punch to the stomach bent him forward, Kyrie began to slap and claw at his face. Credo toppled over, he was set upon.

You idiot, Credo.

She scratched his face, he was bleeding. Tears were falling from her face.

How can you listen to his lies?

He tried to defend himself, but he couldn't bring himself to attack his sister.

Gloria is the only who suspects right and no one believes her!

She punched him, hurt herself, she kept on punching, she wanted to scream.

"Get her off me!" Credo wailed.

Kyrie could feel Gloria grabbing her arms, she tried to push her off, Gloria was trembling. Kyrie was crying. Credo was screaming. Agnus was smiling. But for only so long before he decided Gloria needed his help. Kyrie was still kicking when he pried her off. Credo scrambled up.

Kyrie stopped resisting, she looked at her brother's face, a face she had created. Credo dabbed at himself with his fingertips and winced at the pain, he felt the warm blood trickling down his face. Agnus let Kyrie go. She was crying, she tried to apologize, but Credo backed away.

"What are you doing? Keep hold of her!" He yelled.

"Your Holiness…you might want to go to your room and wash yourself off." Agnus suggested calmly, "I will take care of her from here."

Credo trembled, he was gasping for air as he looked in terror at Kyrie. "…My god…" He muttered, "…you were…you were right." he quickly turned around and left the infirmary. Gloria followed after him.

Kyrie and Agnus were alone again.

He chuckled. "Now then…do you see? This could have gone so much easier if you would have just cooperated. But at least my job of keeping you in line will be much easier now…"

And Agnus finished his job. He gave Kyrie the shot, and this time, she did not fight him. She was too busy crying about what she had done.