"You sure you don't want Nero to get in on this?" Dante asked Vergil as Trish walked over and placed three mugs of weak looking coffee down between them. They were all huddled around Dante's desk, with Dante in his usual chair while Vergil and Trish perched somewhat uncomfortably on the edge of the desk either side of him.
"I have already angered the boy enough today," Vergil said, picking up one of the mugs and sniffing it tentatively. "The hour is growing increasingly late; I believe the last thing he would want is a call from me interrupting his slumber." He took a small sip and almost immediately spat it back out again. "What is this… dishwater?" he growled.
"Sorry, there wasn't much coffee left," Trish shrugged. "Had to make do with what we had."
"I should probably restock that at some point," Dante said absently, downing half of his mug in one gulp. "Anyway, let's get back to business," he continued, sounding surprisingly serious for once.
"Indeed," Vergil agreed, pushing his cup away from him with a look of disgust. Dante hesitated for a moment before reaching for it and tipping the contents into his own.
"Well, it all sounds pretty obvious from what you've told me," Trish said, her own coffee still untouched. "The guy has clearly sent you on a wild goose chase to throw you off his trail."
"Yes, but why?" Dante asked, scratching his cheek thoughtfully. "What's his…" he glanced at Vergil and grinned mischievously. "Motivation?"
Vergil let out a sigh and shook his head. "One thing is obvious, and that is that he has used this 'Christian' as a pawn of some sort. The reason why is as yet unclear to me, but I also have no doubt in my mind that Christian - the real one that is - is dead."
"We can't prove that," Dante said. "How do we know he didn't just dye his hair and put in contact lenses?"
Vergil stared at his brother in silence, his jaw twitching slightly as he tried to suppress the urge to call him out on his stupidity. "A valid point," he forced out at last, his voice clearly strained from his frustration. Trish placed a hand over her mouth and tried to suppress a giggle, earning a cold stare from both brothers. "However, you have already confirmed to me that the man in the photographs and the man you met are undeniably different people," Vergil continued. "Unless you wish to suggest that you were wrong?"
"I mean, without a photo of the guy I met, it's impossible to be one hundred percent certain right?" Dante said hesitantly. "Maybe I forgot something."
"I admit that without any of us having seen this mysterious visitor apart from you, it does make things a little more difficult," Vergil agreed. "Let us consider then, for a moment, that your theory is correct. It would match up with the fact that the vase he gave you contained nothing but nonsense runes. As evidenced by the human-repelling wards we saw in that bedroom, the person who resided there was likely clueless when it came to the casting of spells and similar. It could be that he had planned to plant some sort of spying device on me but failed."
"There's a problem with that theory though," Trish began. "First of all, he would surely have made further attempts at contact after realising that it hadn't worked, right? Not only that," she turned to look at Dante. "You told me that he almost left without handing it over at all once he found the apartment occupied. It's almost like the vase was an after-thought; a back-up plan, in case things went wrong."
"That's right," Dante agreed. "I do remember finding that a bit weird at the time - in addition to everything else of course."
"In that case, let's assume that the functionless vase and the drawings in the room are not connected," Vergil said, tapping his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. "And that my theory of the real Christian being dead is correct. If this is indeed the situation, then what we have is a mysterious man, who we shall call 'X', who has-"
"Isn't 'X' a really generic name for this kinda thing?" Dante butted in. "Can't we come up with something more relevant?"
"Like what?" Vergil hissed, glancing at the clock and trying to ignore the fatigue that was slowly creeping up on him. It had been a long day.
"I dunno… 'Fake Christian'?" Dante suggested.
"Creepy Landlord?" Trish chimed in.
"Creepy Christian!" Dante said enthusiastically.
"We will refer to him as 'FL'," Vergil sighed. "...Fake Landlord," he clarified when the other two looked at him in confusion. "Since we can't confirm that he is actually called Christian."
"Sounds good to me," Dante nodded.
"Anyway," Vergil continued in exasperation. "What we have here, is this person, FL, who has - for reasons unknown to us - used this young male, Christian, to gain Nero's trust for the sole purpose of renting me an apartment." He paused. "...This sounds more and more ridiculous the further I think about it," he said, closing his eyes and massaging his temples.
"Hey, when did it say that kid turned up at his father's workplace?" Dante asked Trish, looking around for the folder she had 'borrowed'.
"About a year ago, I think?" she replied.
Vergil's eyes shot open and he looked over at Dante. "That's…"
"About when we came back, right?" Dante said. "I remember because it was one of the hottest summers I'd ever seen. I even joked about hell being cooler, remember?"
"And now here we are in late summer again," Trish said, fanning herself lightly.
"How long has the town I reside in been demon free?" Vergil asked, feeling increasingly uneasy.
"Still not clear I'm afraid," Trish replied. "I can't find any official sources on it."
"How did you find out?" he asked Dante.
"Nero told me…"
"And who told him?" Vergil asked, sliding off the desk and starting to pace up and down.
"The landlord, I guess?" Dante said quietly.
Vergil's eyes grew dark and he crossed his arms, continuing to walk up and down in a short line from the desk to the wall and back. After a few minutes he paused and glanced up at Trish. "Did you ever feel any adverse effects when visiting?" he asked her bluntly.
"Nothing I can immediately think of," Trish said, after a moment's thought. "Although I do remember being quite tired after the dinner you made, but that could have just been the alcohol."
"Tired…" Vergil mumbled. He had been sleeping more than usual lately, he realised. That could of course be down to the amount of stress he had been under recently, and the fact that he actually had a comfortable bed to sleep on for once. His body might just be making up for years of restless nights.
"I always felt fine when I was there," Dante offered.
"I think we should speak to Nero about this after all," Vergil said at last. "We need to know exactly what was said to him."
"Want me to call him?" Dante asked.
Vergil glanced up at the clock. It was approaching five in the morning. "Not yet," he said, leaning against the desk again. "We need him to want to help as much as possible. He's not very happy with me at the moment, and I'd rather not make it any worse."
"In that case, how about we finally get some rest?" Dante suggested, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm beat."
"Didn't you sleep most of the day?" Trish asked disapprovingly.
"I've been up for almost twenty-four hours," Vergil noted. Minus a small nap in the rain, he thought regretfully. "Perhaps getting some rest is not the worst idea."
"Hey, you wanna stay here?" Dante asked, almost too enthusiastically. "I kept your room for ya!"
"...I think I would rather risk whatever FL has in mind for me than sleep in that box again," Vergil said coldly, feeling a small pang of guilt when he saw a look of disappointment flash across Dante's face.
"In that case, how about I come with you?" Dante offered.
"I appreciate the thought, but I think I can look after myself," Vergil said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of his eyes. "I've been sleeping there just fine for a few weeks now."
"Yeah, but we hadn't broken into that dude's house before," Dante said huffily.
"Dante," Vergil said sternly. "I don't need you to look after me."
Dante opened his mouth to protest but shut it again when Vergil's hand moved towards the Yamato. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "But if you get into any trouble - any - you call me straight away, ya hear?"
"We shall see," Vergil said, heading towards the doors. He paused and looked over his shoulder at the pair. "...Same to you of course," he added before yanking the doors open and disappearing outside.
The apartment felt strangely cold and empty now that its integrity had been called into question. Vergil took a few minutes to check for the umpteenth time that there were no hidden runes or summoning circles that he had missed, before letting out an exhausted sigh and sitting down heavily on the sofa. He closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Despite his best attempts at trying to focus on the information they had gathered however, he found that his thoughts continued to drift back to visions of mis-matched eyes staring into his own, and the feeling of soft, dark hair brushing against his forehead; he pondered briefly what might have happened if Dante's call had not interrupted…
The knock that awoke him started off as a distant thump in the depths of his subconscious somewhere, before seemingly increasing in volume until it felt like his skull was going to split apart. With a pained groan, he pushed himself up from the sofa - where it seemed that he had accidentally fallen asleep, much to his irritation - and buried his face in his hands, trying to resist the temptation of falling back asleep. With a sudden moment of clarity, he realised that the knocking had stopped, and he wondered if he might have just dreamt it after all. After a few more seconds of silence, he made his way over to the front door, cautiously gripping Yamato at his side. "Who is it?" he called out, annoyed at the slurred remnants of sleep that were still obvious in his voice.
"Open the door and find out," a young sounding voice called out.
Vergil yanked the door open with such force that he had to catch it to stop it from smashing a hole in the wall. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, looking down at the small girl in front of him.
"I was worried about you," Alisa replied, grinning slightly at his dishevelled appearance.
"How did you get here?" he asked, making no move to step to the side and allow her entry.
"I snuck out," Alisa said proudly. "I waited here all night for you, but I didn't notice you coming back. I guess I must have fell asleep."
"I didn't see-" Vergil began. Of course he hadn't seen her, he had teleported directly into the apartment without needing to use the front door. "How did you know I was in here?" he asked, feeling slightly guilty.
"I could hear you talking in your sleep," Alisa said, giggling slightly.
"What's so funny?" Vergil queried. He could remember nothing of his dreams that morning. In fact, it felt like he hadn't really been asleep long enough to dream.
"Oh, nothin'..." Alisa said, pushing her way inside. "Just be glad it was me who knocked on your door and not that Mary lady…"
"What-"
"Nice place!" Alisa said, walking through to the living room and placing her hands on her hips. "You really got lucky, huh!"
"I will ask you again," Vergil said, closing the door softly and hoping that the redness in his cheeks would be attributed to his just having woken up rather than embarrassment, "How did you get here?"
"Magic," Alisa said teasingly, turning to face him and wiggling her fingers in the air.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes," Vergil said coldly. He glanced at the clock and realised that he had only been asleep for about two hours. "If the orphanage finds out you're here, I'll be in a lot of trouble. I'm taking you back."
"Wait, wait!" Alisa said, holding her hands up defensively. "I… I have to tell you something." Her expression became serious, and it seemed that her entire demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds.
"Out with it then."
Alisa stood there silently, chewing her lip. "I…" she began, before pausing.
"My patience is wearing thin."
"I-I need you to promise not to take me back there first," she stammered. "If he finds out I spoke to you about this, I'll get in big trouble!"
"What are you talking about?" Vergil asked, a feeling of uneasiness starting to creep in.
"I think I might know something about the guy you're looking for," Alisa said, looking down at her feet.
"Well don't just stand there, tell me!" Vergil yelled.
"I-I was approached by someone yesterday, n-not long after you left," she began. "I was playing by the swing like I always do, when I heard this voice calling to me from the trees-"
"Did you see what the person looked like?"
Alisa shook her head violently. "All I saw was their arm."
"Their arm?"
"Let me finish explaining!" Alisa shouted, looking up at Vergil with tears in her eyes. "He asked me if I was friends with the 'big scary blue guy' and I told him that I was. I asked him why and he said he wanted me to do a favour for him that would help you feel less sad all the time."
"And you agreed?"
"I was worried!" Alisa said. "I was scared that if I didn't help him, he might get someone stupid to do it, someone that would actually end up hurting you!"
"What was the favour?" Vergil asked. They were still standing in the living room facing each other, as though neither dared to move.
"This," Alisa said, pulling out a small phial containing a brown liquid of some sort. "He asked me to pour it into your drink the next time I saw you."
"Give that to me," Vergil demanded, grabbing it from her small hand with perhaps a little too much force. He held it up to the light coming from the kitchen window and shook it slightly. It just looked like brown water. "What did he offer you in return?"
"He said if I helped him out, he would guarantee my adoption. Said he had a nice family with a great home and lots of pets all lined up - and all I had to do was complete a few tasks."
"What were the other tasks?" Vergil asked, looking back down at her.
"I don't know about the rest 'cause we got interrupted. He'd already given me the thing you're holding by then, and told me to meet him there again tomorrow - today now I guess."
"Did he give you a time?" Vergil asked sharply. He realised that this could finally be their chance to apprehend this person - perhaps their only chance.
Alisa shook her head again. "I don't think he'll turn up anyway. Not once he realises I'm gone."
Vergil turned the phial over thoughtfully in his palm, staring off into the distance briefly while he formulated a plan. "It's worth a shot," he said, more to himself than Alisa. "Is there anything else you can tell me about him?" he pushed.
"All I can say is that his aura made me feel sick," Alisa said, shuddering in remembrance. "He was obviously a liar, but there was something else there too that I couldn't figure out. It didn't feel nice being near him."
"Thank you," Vergil said, pocketing the phial. Then, "It's still early, perhaps he has not yet noticed your absence?"
"He told me he's been watching me," Alisa said. "It's how he knew we were friends. He probably noticed me leaving too."
"...How did you leave?" Vergil asked suspiciously. "It wouldn't be a very good orphanage if children could just walk out."
"You're right," Alisa said, fidgeting nervously. "So it's probably a good thing I didn't do that."
"Well then?"
Alisa remained silent.
"Answer me, child."
"I'm sorry," she said at last, starting to cry.
Vergil's hand slowly moved towards the Yamato. "...What for?"
Alisa moved towards him suddenly, as though to pull him into a hug. It was only at the last moment that Vergil noticed the small syringe in her hand and hastily stepped to the side, sweeping her legs out from under her in the process. Before she had even finished crying out in pain, he had disarmed her. He now stood above the snivelling child with Yamato's tip aimed directly at the centre of her chest. "P-Please-" she begged.
"I knew I disliked children for a reason," Vergil growled angrily. "Explain yourself immediately before I end you where you lie."
"He threatened to hurt the other children!" Alisa called out. "He said that without Nero there to protect them, they were easy targets… It's all your fault for hurting Nero in the first place!"
"You're quite the actor for one so young," Vergil said, moving the sword closer. "And here I thought we were 'friends'."
"It's true!" Alisa said, tears pouring from her eyes. "He sent me here to hurt you, but I had no choice! I didn't want to, but I didn't want my friends to die-" She started sobbing uncontrollably, seemingly unable to catch her breath. Vergil hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his weapon and pulling Alisa roughly to her feet by the front of her shirt.
"You speak the truth this time?" Vergil demanded, shaking her. Alisa could only nod. "Did you arrange a time and place to meet him again?" Alisa shook her head, still trying to catch her breath. "Don't lie to me," he hissed, gripping the fabric even tighter. "What did he tell you would happen if you succeeded?"
"H-He just told me to wait here," she choked out, frantically wiping her eyes.
"He said he would come here?"
"I don't know!" Alisa wailed. "I'm just a kid, what more do you want from me?!" She burst into a fresh set of tears and tried desperately to dry her face with her sleeves.
Vergil tutted in disgust before finally loosening his grip on Alisa a little. In one swift movement, he slung her over his shoulder and unsheathed Yamato. "Hold on tight child. I won't be responsible if you get lost in the demon realm."
In the few seconds it had taken to arrive at Dante's place, Alisa had passed out. Whether this was due to stress or from passing through a portal was unclear. Vergil was more than a little surprised to see that Dante was still sitting at his desk, watching TV.
"Whoa, talk about Déjà vu," Dante said, not bothering to look away from the screen. "Missed me that much huh? Good thing I couldn't sleep."
"Look after this," Vergil said, carefully laying Alisa down on the couch in the corner.
"Trusting me with your belongings? That's - Hey what the heck?" Dante suddenly called out after finally looking over. "What's with the kid?!"
"I have no time to explain. She'll be safest with you. Where's the woman?"
"Like hell you don't have time to explain!" Dante said, angrily marching over. "You can't just dump some random brat on me! Jeez, you've only been gone for like two hours, what happened?!"
"Tell the doppelganger to make her way to the orphanage immediately. I need to talk to Nero-"
"Stop ignoring me, damn it!" Dante said, taking a swing for his brother, only for Vergil to step smoothly to one side.
"The orphanage may be in danger, and our 'landlord' may be paying a home visit," Vergil said quickly. "I don't have time to waste. Find the demon and tell her to go to the orphanage. I'll handle the apartment."
"Whoa, hang on a sec," Dante said, grabbing Vergil's arm as he tried to leave. "You're telling me we might have a chance to catch the guy we've been looking for, and you want me to sit here babysitting instead of helping out? I don't think so."
"He may try to target the small one," Vergil stated. "I need to guarantee her protection."
"Get Trish to do it," Dante suggested.
"I want you to do it," Vergil replied, pulling himself free. "Besides, you have experience with children."
"Yeah, and I hated every second of it," Dante grumbled. "Just bring her back to the orphanage or something-"
"Just do what I ask of you for once," Vergil said, almost pleadingly. "Every second we argue leads us closer to losing our target."
"But why me? I can totally help out at-"
"Because I trust you," Vergil growled. "You're…" he swallowed and looked away in embarrassment. "Just be quiet and do it," he said dismissively before storming outside.
Dante let out a defeated sigh and turned to look at Alisa. He failed to see what was so special about some random kid. He looked back towards the still closing doors and smiled to himself slightly. Vergil would definitely owe him big time for this one. And that comment about trusting him? He grinned. Teasing fodder for weeks.