Author's note: Actual best girl makes her debut in this chapter. Just saying.

Chapter 9: Of Optimism. New Plans, and Unexpected Guests:

"..."

"So are you lot going to say anything, or are we going to keep doing this awkward silence gimmick?"

"..."

"Suit yourself."

The ride back to Beacon proceeded in silence. The members of the teenage huntress-in-training group, RWBY, all wallowed in various kinds of sullen brooding. Blake sat with her legs drawn up and head down. Weiss simply stared at the floor of the car. Ruby stared at her teammates, wondering if she should try to console them, but ultimately shook her head and said nothing. And Yang simply looked out the window, refusing to even glance at any of the others. Especially the man riding next to the driver.

The afore-mentioned man was clad in a red leather jacket, which, given the kind of action it had seen that evening, was remarkably undamaged. Even his hair, hanging in bangs half covering his face as always, seemed untouched. As for the man himself, he looked at his students in the rear view mirror, but chose to let them have their brooding session. All too soon, they'd be called upon to give answers. A little reprieve until then wasn't a bad idea.

The car passed through the automated front gates of Vale's premier hunter-training academy, Beacon. Recognizing the vehicle's electronic signal, the metal doors slid aside, allowing it to enter. A few minutes later, it stopped at the walkway leading straight to the dreaded tower that most students never visited, and hoped they never had to.

"This is our stop," said the silver-haired man. Getting out of the car, he waited for the girls to do the same, which they did. The four of them stood in front of him, refusing to meet his eyes, even as the car drove off to the garage.

Staring at them for a while, he wondered if he or Vergil ever looked like that when they were in trouble with their parents. It was impossible to remember everything from one's childhood, and the occasions when Eva or Sparda were actually angry with them were exceedingly rare. No, looking back, more than anything, he remembered their kindness. The few memories Dante had of those eight years with his family were all good.

Things went to hell, didn't they?

RWBY were older than he and Vergil had been when their lives had turned upside down.

They're not so different from us, brother.

Decision made, he turned and faced the tower, invincible smile once more on his face.

"Time's wasting. Let's get this over with."

He walked forward, and heard the footsteps of his students as they followed him.

All the way up the tower they ascended in the metal elevator, the doors of which opened to reveal a lavishly furnished office. Right in front was an ornate wooden desk. And behind it, sat a grey-haired man whose eyes seemed concealed by his spectacles, though his gaze was clearly on the devil hunter and the four teenagers.

The girls looked at Ozpin uncertainly. They knew they were in trouble. But it was impossible to tell how bad, given that the headmaster's expression was unreadable.

As for Dante, he walked straight forward, unbothered.

"Hey, Oz. Nice evening, huh?"

"Indeed," replied the wizard. "Particularly good for encounters, wouldn't you say?"

"Pretty much. Ideal for training."

"But not so much for foiled espionage missions."

"There are no good evenings for those."

The members of RWBY all cringed.

These not-so-direct, but also quite direct reprimands stung.

It was incredible how well Ozpin's smooth, undetectable sarcasm and Dante's cheerful but all-too-accurate statements gelled together.

Fortunately for RWBY (or unfortunately), there was someone else in that room, who chose to be far more blunt with her words.

"Have all four of you girls taken leave of your senses?"

Glynda Goodwitch's tone, always strict and intimidating, was doubly so tonight. Every syllable was loaded with disapproval, and the four huntresses flinched at each one.

"We will be absolutely clear: what you did was not just a violation of Beacon rules, it was also against Vale laws. Trespassing on kingdom property, discharging your weapons on said property, engaging in vigilante action instead of informing the appropriate authorities. Any single one of those would be grounds for legal action, let alone expulsion."

Weiss felt her face grow pale. She had sacrificed everything to get here, and put her future on the line. If she was expelled, her life as she knew it was over.

Blake was feeling the familiar sensation of a good thing crashing to an end around her. Would this be yet another chapter of her life that she would have to run from?

Ruby, the youngest of them all, who was only at Beacon because she had been specially chosen, was realizing that her position wasn't guaranteed. It could be gone at any moment, and she didn't want that.

And Yang, even being the thrill-seeker that she was, was realizing that being a huntress mattered to her. And she didn't want to lose her chance at that.

All four of them stared at the ground, unable to look at the adults.

"Even aside from the fact that none of you should have even been there, do you realize how dangerous what you tried was? There is a reason you are attending Beacon. A reason you are training, learning. Rushing headfirst against an unknown enemy, outnumbered and with no information. All beginner errors.."

Goodwitch shook her head.

She looked at Ozpin, who was still silent, and Dante.

"I suggest that all four of them be suspended until further notice", she said. The four were in need of re-instruction and discipline, and being removed from active duty was a step in that direction, in her eyes.

"That won't help," said the devil hunter.

Glynda's voice rose slightly. She took the safety of her students seriously. By now, she knew that Dante did as well. And that was why his words made no sense.

"Do you realize what they've done? You of all people know how much their actions could have cost!"

Dante shrugged.

Up until the car ride back, he had been unsure how he felt about the whole incident.

On the one hand, it was frustrating to have all the work he put in to earn the shadow group's trust possibly ruined.

On the other hand, there was something else at stake, something far more important.

"Yes," he replied. "They could have died. I know that, because I was out there making sure they didn't."

At this statement, the simmering nervousness, fear and anger that had all been bubbling inside Yang all burst out.

"Is that what you call it when you were kicking our ass?"

"Language, young lady!" said Glynda.

"Yes, that is what I call it," said Dante firmly. He regretted having to do it, which was also why he had offered to make it up to them. But they needed to understand why things went down the way they did.

He looked Yang in the eye.

"I had to be the one taking you all on, because you weren't ready. None of you were. So here's how it could have gone. You went in. All four of you, guns blazing like you're Rambo, beating the hell out of a bunch of goons. Until some guy got a lucky shot on you. And then some other guy. And then another. Nothing your Auras couldn't handle. Until old Torchwick got on his Bullhead and started shooting the really big guns. And all of a sudden, things aren't looking so easy, are they? But you can still manage. Until some guy gets the bright idea to call for backup. So while Torchwick gets away with the stuff he robbed, the four of you get stuck at the docks fighting an army of mooks, until, slowly but surely, you run out of steam.

And you die. Killed by a bunch of two-bit punks who don't hold a candle to you.

So you tell me. That lesson I gave you… or not coming back to school tonight. Which one would you pick?"

Yang was about to argue, but the words caught in her mouth.

"Still headstrong. Still so easy to rile up," said Dante. "You think that anger makes you stronger, but here's a newsflash. You're predictable. And above all: you're out of control. Was it worth it? Just to land one punch?"

The brawler's eyes widened.

At the time, she'd been preoccupied, so she hadn't noticed. But Dante's face was smooth and unmarked. The welt from her blow had healed up within seconds of her landing it.

She looked down, feeling humiliated, on the verge of tears.

Dante turned to Ruby.

"Aren't you supposed to be the leader? You're the one supposed to keep these three out of trouble. Or is the only thing you can come up with a bunch of combo attacks?"

The scythe-wielder thought to her many, many arguments with Weiss over whether or not she was suited to be leader.

Yet, when it had come down to it, she had neither been able to keep Blake from running away. Nor realize that attack had been the wrong option at the docks.

With nothing to say, she stayed silent.

The devil hunter looked at Weiss.

"Out of all of you, I thought you were the one who made the most progress. You played to your strengths, looked out for your teammates. If only you'd been the voice of reason you always say you are."

Weiss would have preferred it if he had been angry. This disappointment hurt more.

And finally, he turned to Blake.

The cat Faunus was feeling many things, and among them, high up was her fear and distrust of the man she was all but convinced was a devil.

"You're the one who started this mess," said Dante.

Blake said nothing.

Dante looked at her curiously.

Out of all the members of RWBY, she was definitely the one he knew least about. He was aware she was a Faunus, one who pretended to be human, but little aside from that.

Was that why she went to the docks?

Did she know the White Fang would be there?

Was this some kind of attempt to fix things, as a Faunus?

"You chose the wrong battle to fight," he said to her. "There are some things you just can't run away from. Maybe you should start with those."

He looked pointedly at her "bow", and Blake realized, with a shock, that he knew. He knew what she really was.

But two could play at that game.

She knew what he really was too.

But… was she right about that?

Now that the battle was long over, she looked back, saw how distorted her thinking had been.

In the first place, Dante was right about one thing. Going after the White Fang with Sun had been a bad idea. She would have gotten them both killed.

After that initial mistake, she'd made another when she'd wasted the opportunity Dante had created for her to run.

He hadn't pressed the attack. Meaning, at any time, they could have retreated.

Which brought her to the final point.

Dante could have finished them off at any time.

It was incredible that she and the rest of the team had chosen to fight him, despite knowing this.

They had seen already just how powerful he was, how skilled.

The outcome was already decided.

What had happened was Dante simply showing them just how outmatched they were.

She didn't know how to feel about that.

On the one hand, it was clear Dante had saved them from Torchwick and the White Fang. He had also gone easy on them during their "battle".

But there was also the nagging truth of his identity.

The instinctive fear that all inhabitants of the mortal world had towards demons was colouring her thinking. And that same fear was twisting her logic, giving her reasons to distrust him.

Thus, to her, it was terrifying that this demon was not only at Beacon, he was trusted and liked by most. And whatever he was planning was long-term enough that he saw no reason to slaughter anyone right now.

While all these thoughts were going to her head, it was Glynda who spoke out loud.

"What you've pointed out is even further proof that these four are immature. They are not ready for the trials that await them", she said.

"Damn straight. And they're never going to be ready if we coddle them", replied the half demon warrior.

Glynda frowned.

Why was he defending them on this?

Did he not see the damage he was doing by letting RWBY think that there were no consequences to their actions?

Before she could point this out though, Ozpin decided to make his voice heard.

"What do you suggest we do about team RWBY, Dante?"

The devil hunter barely spared the team a glance as he answered.

"Same thing we're doing now. Educating them. Keeping them in school. Showing them where they're going wrong, and making them work till they fix it."

Nobody spoke for a moment.

It had not escaped anyone's attention that Dante was saying that they basically be allowed to continue attending school, with no suspension or legal action being taken against them.

"So you'll take responsibility then? For the problems they have caused with your investigation. And for team RWBY themselves?" asked Ozpin.

Every member of the team looked up as Dante answered that question without hesitation.

"Of course I will. It's a teacher's job to keep his students in line. If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't have taken this job in the first place."

It wasn't just a statement of his confidence in his own abilities.

There was another message there, one that RWBY heard, loud and clear.

He was believing in them.

To not screw up again.

To learn from this, and get better.

He was showing them that his faith in them was stronger than something that could be broken by one mistake.

And he was showing them that he was on their side.

And that was a far stronger reason to take his words to heart. Far more than any number of weeks being suspended from Beacon, or spent in jail.

Ozpin spent a few moments just looking at the devil hunter, neither of the two backing down as they looked the other in the eye.

Finally, the headmaster nodded.

"Very well, then. On this occasion, and only this occasion, team RWBY will be excused for their actions, on the recommendation of Combat Instructor Dante. Please be aware, this is not a chance that has been given lightly, nor is it a chance that will be given again. Are we clear on this?"

"Yes, sir," the four of them said.

"Then you may return to your room."

As the elevator door closed behind them, Ozpin's attention shifted to the devil hunter himself.

"You're putting a lot of faith in them," the wizard pointed out.

"Yeah. I find people respond better to that. But hey, I'll be watching, to make sure they don't mess up."

"Indeed. On a different note, regarding your investigation…"

"Well, normally, I'd say my cover's blown. But I think we should wait and see. At least until I talk to Torchwick again, it's best to not jump to conclusions."

He paused a bit.

"Oh yeah. Also, it's a good idea to maybe start combing the city underground, and maybe set up some more security. I'm pretty sure they're planning to hit us from the inside."

Dante still didn't trust Ozpin, but if it was to prevent casualties, he would cooperate.

"Very well, then. Is there something else you want to add?"

Dante thought a little, and remembered there was one other strange occurrence at the docks.

"I ran into a demon back there Unusual one. Got away though."

Glynda looked at him in alarm.

"That isn't good. There's one of those creatures running around in downtown Vale?"

"So it seems. Even more reason to set up that security. But I have a feeling I'll run into her again."

Having said everything he needed to, Dante made his way out of the office. To his surprise, he was joined in the elevator by Glynda Goodwitch.

Raising his eyebrows initially, he decided to say nothing. Right now might not be the best time for his usual quips.

The two stood in silence as they carried down.

"You're too lenient on them," she said finally.

Dante looked at her. This might very well be the first time she was ever speaking to him in an unofficial capacity.

He shrugged.

"Aren't you the same though?" he said.

To his growing surprise, the woman did not respond with her characteristic tone of disapproval.

"Yes," she admitted. In a softer voice, she added, "Sometimes I wish I wasn't. But it's just…"

"It sucks letting kids not be themselves, huh?" Dante finished.

The witch looked at him, not having expected that from the man.

"They already took a blow to their confidence tonight," he said. "Suspending them would have been the worst thing to happen after that. We'd be telling them they failed. That we gave up on them. And then, they'd give up on themselves too. I wanted to prevent that."

For a while, Glynda simply stared at him.

"You're a strange man. If I didn't already know, what you just said would have given you away for sure. That kind of optimism just doesn't exist on Remnant."

The devil hunter laughed.

"I get that a lot."

"As well you should," replied Glynda. "While you, with that illogical strength of yours, may feel safe enough in being that optimistic, the rest of us.."

She trailed away, not finishing that sentence.

"But maybe we could do with more of that illogical optimism. If more people had that, maybe the world would be just a little better off."

Dante's eyes widened.

The elevator doors opened. They had already reached the ground floor.

He watched the telekinetic witch walk off..

What just happened?

Elsewhere in Vale:

Roman Torchwick paced nervously. Things had very, very nearly gone south moments ago. He was lucky he'd been able to survive. Those Beacon brats… they were strong. Too strong. They'd be a problem.

Hearing the door open, he whipped around.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

The woman who had just arrived merely smiled slightly.

"Why, you seem to be a little out of sorts. Did something unfortunate happen to you?"

"Almost," he grunted. "Got away by the skin of my teeth. Little Red and her team is going to be a problem."

"Is that so? Going by the report I've received, they were handily beaten until one of them landed a lucky blow."

Roman glared at her.

"That was because of Redgrave. He bought me enough time to get away. And that's not all! Some other girl was there too. She was… strange. Something was very off about her."

"One thing at a time," chided Cinder. "What were you saying about Redgrave?"

"... Like I said, he held those brats off, gave me time to escape with the Dust. But those kids, they already knew him! Called him a teacher, if I'm not mistaken."

Cinder considered this.

It had been clear from the start that the new recruit was hiding something. Was this it? He was a teacher at Beacon? If that was true, then which side was he really on?

On the one hand, trusting him with more information now was a risk. He might be leaking it all to Ozpin.

On the other, if he really was a spy, then did it really make sense he had done nothing so far? The success rate of the robberies had gone up immensely with Redgrave helping out, and even at the docks, he had made sure the operation hadn't failed.

Hmm… if he was on neither side, then the best move would be to give him a reason to join them.

"Give Redgrave a call. Set up a meeting."

"I thought you didn't trust him," said Torchwick.

"I don't. But his skills are valuable. And if he is a teacher at Beacon, think of everything he could do for us."

Redgrave City, Back on Earth:

Vergil looked around him.

"This is… so gaudy."

He shook his head in disapproval. Everything his brother was tasteless, right down to the way he had set up his office. What kind of man kept a billiards table, a jukebox and a drumset in the front office of his business? And why all the posters on the walls? Was that (he squinted) a message on one of the pillars, scrawled in lipstick?

"This is your doing," he said, pointing at the message, while looking at a certain blonde woman in leather clothing.

"Maybe," said Trish, shrugging. "What's it to you anyway?"

Vergil frowned. Just when had this creation of that filth Mundus gotten such an attitude? It must be from spending time with his brother. To make it all off, she was saying all this while having his mother's face.

He shook his head again.

Anything even vaguely connected to his brother was a mess.

Why was he even still in touch with her?

He looked at the other woman in the room, who was wearing a white shirt and jacket, along with shorts, several leather holsters strapped on her torso and around her waist. On her back was a rocket launcher.

The immature child of that fool Arkham.

Vergil all but groaned.

He looked at his son, who was also in the room.

Nero held up his hands.

"Hey, don't look at me. How Dante runs his business is nothing to do with me."

"Hmph."

Pointedly ignoring all of them, he made his way over to the walls, where various Devil Arms were hanging.

He saw a familiar set of black and silver gauntlets and greaves.

"This is mine, I believe."

He reached out with his mind and hand, making contact with him.

Right away, he heard a telepathic howl of anger and fear.

You! Shouted Beowulf in his mind. The one who put me in this pitiable state! Wretched spawn of Sparda!

Putting the Devil Arm on, Vergil smashed the gauntlets against each other.

Be silent, he thought.

Immediately, Beowulf shut up, realizing perhaps that this might not be the best time to run his mouth.

He looked around, surveying the rest of his brother's collection of Devil Arms.

The Sparda Sword had already been absorbed by Dante. But Vergil was still curious to see what demons his brother had defeated.

He saw all kinds of unique beings of the underworld, who had sworn their allegiance to Dante.

He paused when his eyes landed on a certain one.

"... Is that an electric guitar?" he asked aloud.

"Sure looks like one," said Nero. He was a bit of a rock and metal aficionado himself, though the design on this particular instrument seemed to be a bit towards the death metal side of things, where he wasn't interested.

"He turned a demon into an electric guitar?" Vergil asked aloud.

Then again, it wasn't the first impossible thing his brother had done. He vividly recalled the meeting at the top of the Qliphoth, where Dante had unceremoniously thrown a motorcycle at him. Several times.

Curious in spite of himself, he reached out for the guitar.

It was at this point that several things happened.

Firstly, this particular devil, who had long been dormant, in a state akin to sleep, was awakened by the touch of Vergil's potent demonic presence.

Secondly, this particular devil also had the ability to drain and absorb demonic energy from others.

Thirdly, Vergil was not the one this devil had sworn allegiance to.

Fourthly, all of the above put together meant that this happened.

Vergil suddenly felt his finger stuck to the guitar, as though by a magnet. He tried to pull back, but failed. Alarmed, he felt his power being sucked out at an incredibly fast pace.

"Enough! Know your place!"

Holding firm, Vergil pulled his arm back and threw the guitar through the air, hard enough to have shattered it if it had been an ordinary instrument.

However, that was not the case.

As soon as the Devil Arm lost contact with him, flying through the air, it transformed.

In a flash of lightning and bats, the demon regained her true form for the first time in many years.

Trish, Lady and Nero all blinked.

In the middle of the office, standing with her bare skin covered only by bangs of her own scarlet hair, as well as what could only be described as a garment made of living darkness, was a figure that was undoubtedly feminine. Tall and lithe, her frame curved sensuously, both soft and supple. Her wide hips and generous breasts were on display in all their round glory. She could only be described as the envy of all women, and the desire of all men.

Nevan, the Lightning Witch.

"What in the actual hell…" muttered Nero.

Lady simply stared. She had not imagined that the electric guitar Dante had used in battle back at the Temen ni Gru was actually… this.

As for Trish, being a former resident of the Underworld, she was familiar with the stories of the demon, despite never having met her in person, until now. Suffice it to say, she hadn't liked what she had heard.

"My my, it's been a while. That was quite a nap. And a nice snack to wake up to, as well."

Nevan's voice when she spoke was sultry, with just a hint of teasing lilt to it.

She twirled around gracefully, taking a look at her potential prey.

She stopped when she noticed Vergil and Nero.

"Oh. Not one but two descendants of Sparda. But neither of you are the one I'm looking for. Tell me: you boys wouldn't happen to know where Dante is, would you?"

Vergil glared at her.

"Some subordinate you are. Not even aware that your master is no longer in this world."

Immediately, Nevan's calm demeanour shifted. Her eyes glowed red ominously as she bared her fangs and snarled.

"You lie. Dante cannot be dead."

"You have a tremendous amount of faith in my incompetent younger brother."

"Silence! I'll not hear you insult him!"

A blast of lightning struck the floor where Vergil had been standing a moment ago, instantly vapourizing a section of it.

She's strong, Vergil noted.

Especially considering that she had just woken up. It probably had to do with the power she had absorbed from him.

Which also explained why he was moving fractionally slower than he normally did.

Vergil in his normal state, in any other battlefield, would have sliced through Nevan by now.

But caught by surprise, weakened, and also being in Dante's office, which he found to his surprise he didn't want to destroy, he hadn't drawn Yamato immediately.

And so, Nevan was able to make her next move.

Everyone in the room felt volt upon volt of electricity surge through their body.

Lady fell to the ground, stunned, unable to move.

Nero felt mildly itchy, as though from static.

Trish merely felt more lively than usual.

And Vergil… Vergil felt the remainder of his patience evaporate.

"Enough."

It was overkill, but he Triggered immediately, transforming into his Sin Devil state.

Rushing forward before Nevan could react, he grabbed her throat.

"Begone."

Pulling back his arm, Vergil used his demonic strength to perform a throw that would have caused most Major League pitchers to retire immediately if they had seen it.

Nevan was sent flying through the wall, into the sky.

Indeed, so much force did the throw possess, the mortal plane of reality was unable to process it.

It fractured time and space, forming a dimensional rift.

Basically, Vergil had created a portal, like he would with Yamato.

But he had done it with nothing but raw physical strength.

Nevan's body slipped into the portal, and she disappeared from view.

Nero blinked a couple of times.

"Did you just yeet that demon lady out of this world?"

Vergil rolled his neck, Devil Trigger disappearing as he returned to his normal form.

"She was being an annoyance."

It was… the single rudest thing Nero had ever witnessed in his life. And it was glorious. For the first time, he acknowledged that his father might actually be pretty cool.

"I tire of this. Let us go home."

And so, the two left.

Lady had by now recovered from the shock, and stood up again. She and Trish looked at the woman-shaped hole in the wall.

"... Leave this one to Morrison?"

"Agreed."

And so, as they all went their own ways, little did they know that Vergil had achieved by accident what he had failed to do on purpose so far. Entirely by chance, he had located the right world, without even knowing it.

Back on Remnant:

A rift opened up, ungodly amounts of kinetic energy breaking the rules of reality and forcing time and space to move aside.

And from out of that rift, came a beautiful woman with scarlet hair, who seemed to be wearing a garment made of shadows.

Despite how hard she had been thrown, Nevan landed perfectly on her feet, skidding across the ground until she came to a stop.

"... Well, that was rude."

She looked around. Being a demon, she was familiar with the idea of there being several universes, but this was the first time she was finding herself in one aside from the Underworld, or the version of the Human World she had been in earlier.

As she spread out her senses to gain her bearings, she immediately felt a familiar energy.

"Master! So you're here!"

That blue devil's words made sense now!

Dante wasn't dead. He was in this world.

A hungry grin spread on Nevan's face.

Time to go see him.