Hey guys, Alito Here!

Damn I missed the anniversary of this fanfic Dec. 24th, 2012. It's been so long to be honest. I hate that I've extended this story so long without a proper liner path towards the tournament.

Well, that all changes this chapter and the next, because the tournament arc will OFFICIALLY start after this one! Promise!

But for this chapter, it actually links to another fanfic I wrote a while back that I still have up on my gallery. I'll let you guess which story though. It's fairly obvious really.

Now for what I always do; retrospectives!

I got my hands on playing as Vergil for the PS4 version of DMC5 and he's still as smooth as butter as he was in DMC4: SE! It almost makes playing as Dante, Nero, and even V seem like a chore in comparison.

And DOA Xtreme Vollyball has yet ANOTHER new character in Lobelia. No idea what she's all about but apparently she's of royal blood like Fiona. I dunno, guess we'll see.

Anyway, now that I'm back for a while, let's get on to the story.

DISCLAIMER I OWN NOTHING. DmC: Devil May Cry and Dead or Alive 5 belong to their respective owners.


Chapter 51: Words from Dead Lips


LIMBO CITY (Limbofied)
CENTRAL PENITENTIARY
2:54 pm Thursday

Hayate had been turned around while traveling through Limbo's upside-down realm.

Vergil seemed to naturally adapt to the strangeness all around him. Especially at the sounds of suffering souls just above them. Or should he say on the ground above them. Their journey through the weird was a sight to behold, given how rare Hayate got the chance to transverse through Limbo without the immediate threat of annihilation.

However, their journey seemed to take them to the underside of Limbo's old bullet train systems. Below him, Hayate saw the pouring rain rise upward towards the ground above. He made it a point to keep himself still during the train's course across the tracks.

"Do you know where we must go?" Hayate asked.

"There."

Vergil pointed towards an old train station, just across from the train tracks they stood on. It was teeming with the same errie, upside-down atmosphere that the rest of the bluish world carried.

"How do you know?"

"I have specific intel in this penitentiary."

"Intel?"

Vergil simply pointed upward to the streets above them. "A mole, so to speak."

Hayate took a second to ponder that statement. When it pieced together, he stopped in his tracks, and realized what Vergil meant by a mole.

"Wait…you threw one of your own into this hell?"

Vergil stopped to turn and face the doubtful ninja. "It was a necessary sacrifice. There are things in this penitentiary that I wish to be in the know of. He has severed me well in this prison so far…"

"But to just send a fellow man into eternal torture for information?" Hayate protested rather bitterly. "Did he, at the very least, offer himself?"

Vergil snorted humorlessly. "As if any sane-minded individual would just throw themselves into prison."

The implication was enough to furrow Hayate's brows and clench his fist. "You forced him into this torture."

Vergil's smirk fell into a cold grimace towards the Mugen Tenshin leader.

"In war, there is no such thing as cruelty." Vergil stated. "Only survival to see your victory or your failure." Vergil stated. "Come. We shouldn't linger in Limbo for too long."

Vergil continued forward, leaving Hayate to stand there and watch this supposed leader of his organization, care nothing for the man he threw into a hellish prison. He also understood sacrifice for the sake of victory—it was one of the principles he was raised on as a Mugen Tenshin ninja. However, he was also taught consent to those sacrifices—to never force someone to put their life on the line and make compromises in another form.

But Vergil was so much crueler than Hayate had first assumed. He had a hunch of just how cruel he was based on how the Nephilim treated Kat. But there was always an air about him that felt vindictive. It was why Hayate always kept his guard up around the blue Nephilim, just in case.

Not to fall behind, Hayate followed behind Vergil, as the two plunged deeper and deeper into Barbas' prison.


Dante's entire world immediately disappeared.

He did not have the chance to question, before everything fell into darkness.

Dante could no longer see Seditio or even Kasumi. He could feel the hands in front of his face but his vision was nothing but shadows at every turn. Not a sound erupted to indicate whether he was even alone or not. If it was not for his ability to feel spiritual energy, he would have believed Seditio had disappeared. However, there was nothing of Kasumi that he could pick up at all.

"W-What the fuck is this?" Dante exclaimed. "Where are we, what the hell did you do?-!"

"Patience."

Dante was spooked to the sound of Seditio from behind him. He quickly turned around to see him as clear as day amidst the darkness. He looked down at himself and saw his own body as well. Meanwhile, Seditio stood there; eyes closed as though he were mulling over something. It wasn't a long moment of meditation, before the long, white-haired man opened his eyes and said;

"Yes…this moment is substantial."

A snap of his fingers, and suddenly, Dante could see the first spite of snow that fell right in front of his eyes. It soon fell in droves all around them from the abyss above.

"In the slush of snow; when trees were barren, and the lands were devoid of existence." Seditio narrated. "The world was as grey as it had ever been on the afternoon."

Suddenly, the darkness had subsided to reveal the battle field at which Seditio had described. The land had become a barren wasteland of dead trees and billowing snow. The skies were angry with grey clouds that threatened thunder. Though he seemed to be in the middle of winter, Dante didn't feel cold in the slightest. He was so mesmerized by the scenery, that he didn't even bother to keep his guns trained on the other Nephilim.

"It was here, on December 19th B.C, that another war had occurred between the Demons and Angels."

Suddenly, Dante was startled by the sounds of swords clashing, and millions of screams erupting from all places. He saw monsters and humanoid beings with feathery wings soaring across the skies in combat. The ones on the ground held nothing back. Blood flew and bodies had been severed. It was pure carnage in every direction. There were even moments where Dante was afraid, he was going to be attacked, before the weapon went right through him.

"Fuck…!" Dante hissed.

"Worry not. This is simply memories."

Despite that explanation, it did nothing to calm Dante's nerves in seeing multiple enemies running towards him at every term. He could not help but allow his instincts to take over. He was ready to shoot just about anything that moved. Years of Limbo from such a young age had forced him into fight-or-flight mode.

"Perhaps this will be easier." Seditio said.

Once again, he snapped his fingers. Dante saw the being and flying creatures suddenly freeze to a statue's standstill. Eveyone had been paused in the moment; whether that be an Angel stabbing a Demon, or a Demon ripping off an Angel's wings. All had been frozen in time. Dante quickly calmed down with a sigh of relief.

"Now then, I would assume you know of this man, correct?"

Seditio pointed to his left. Dante followed his gaze and was met face-to-face with someone whom had been in the middle of carving his sword through one of the Angel's backs. They were dressed in purple garbs with dark, short hair.

He looked so…familiar to Dante. It hadn't resonated with him who it was, until he looked at his face and saw familiarity in it. He quickly realized just who it was.

"Wait…Is this…him?"

"Yes." Seditio nodded. "That is Sparda—your father."

The younger Nephilim turned back towards his father. It wasn't until now that he realized that he never truly saw his face. It was almost uncanny how similar him and his father looked. From the cheekbones, to the way their eyes were shaped. Even their hair was similar, or at least they were before Dante's hair turned white.

"Shit…and I thought seein' Vergil was a trip…" Dante commented. "'least I know where I got my good looks from."

"Your father was an elite warrior." Seditio said, strolling over to join him. "He could clear a field of Angels within minutes. Like most demons, he too had control of Limbo and could manifest it to his own will. He was one to help turn the tide during this war."

Dante happened to eye Seditio, who looked at his father with the reminiscence of a smile.

"Such a fierce warrior…and a good friend."

Dante could only imagine what Seditio was thinking as he stared at Sparda's visage. It must have been a melancholy that he could never understand himself. Dante had heard the story of how Seditio was killed by Sparda through Mundus' command. He did not appear angry with Sparda, nor did he try and exact vengeance on Dante. If anything, he just seemed happy to see some former reflection of his friend again.

"Enough reminiscing." Seditio lamented. "Perhaps, I should take us towards where everything changed."

Once again, Seditio snapped his fingers, and the world around them suddenly shifted in color and in style.

Suddenly, the two of them were in a spacious, towering room of red and fire. The ground below them had no floor. Instead, Dante was startled by the sight of distorted dead souls that were unfortunate to be trapped in the dark void below their feet. Above them was a chandelier made of human bones and melted phalluses for candles.

"Jesus…" Dante expressed. "…wouldn't wanna meet the interior decorator for that one…"

"Focus." Seditio said. "Look."

Seditio pointed towards what was behind the white-haired Nephilim. He turned to see someone he did not recognize. However, the chill that ran down his spine at the sight of him, instilled a familiarity towards the evil he had always felt while in Limbo. He slowly strolled into the room from a brush of flames.

His skin was pale—perfect of any imperfections expect the small bit of scars, and blond hair, groomed back. His eyes were a sharp black that looked into the bright light appearing in front of him.

The light revealed to be another individual with golden, long hair, draped in white robes and shimmering white wings. Dante was at a loss for words. He could not even begin to form a single thought towards the magnificence that was the man in white. All those years of questioning and disbelief, and there one was—right in front of him. He did not need to question; that was an Angel if he ever saw one.

"Holy sh—cow…!" Dante uttered.

"Indeed." Seditio agreed. "I'll allow you to listen."

Dante did so; watching the meeting in the strange room of fire take place. Granted, it was hard to keep his mind off of the deceased human souls under his feet.

"Michael…it has been a while." The man in black spoke.

"Yes. It has." The angel nodded with a firm expression.

"I must say, it is good to see you again." The one in black smiled as he walked towards the angel.

"No…it isn't…" Michael said in disapproval.

This made the black-draped one stop mid-stride.

"…But somehow I knew this day would come some way or another." Michael finished.

"Then you know what I am offering unto both you and my father, correct?"

Dante interrupted with a hand raised towards Seditio. "Wait, wait! Pause!"

Seditio did as demanded, and snapped his fingers to freeze the surroundings; including the two speakers, and the souls under them.

"So…that's Lucifer?" Dante asked, pointing towards the one clad in black.

"Yes." Seditio nodded. "The ruler of Hell before Mundus' reign."

Dante recalled Barbatos talking about Lucifer—how he was a righteous god to them, until Mundus came into the picture and changed the hierarchy of things.

"Okay…" Dante said, gesturing for Seditio to continue the scene.

Seditio did as instructed and snapped his fingers to continue.

"Of course. Why would you not? Which means you have realized the error of your ways?" Michael assumed.

"Far from it." Lucifer replied offhandedly

"What?"

"What I did…what I have created; they are all of just causes." Lucifer proclaimed. "I was not wrong to question our father's so-called wisdom. In his creation, he put so much faith within the humans that he even bore his own essence into the flesh and blood of a virgin woman to present unto the Earth! He puts his faith in garbage, and I refused to follow in his demands!"

"And look where you have arrived as a result!" Michael yelled. "Scorned onto the planet with no reason for living except to bring chaos to our home; you have no just cause to your actions! They were all of selfish endeavors!"

"Selfish? WE became nothing but tools to him!"

He pointed towards the trapped human souls of the damned bellow both of them.

"Do you not see the space bellow slowly being filled to the brim? We were casted out as mere objects to them, Michael! Most of them did not even believe we existed on that blue rock!"

Lucifer stomped his foot into the black glass. It immediately silenced the lot of them and forced them to scurry like rats, back into the darkness from wince they came. It made Dante sick to see people be reduced to vermin like that. However, he also recalled where he was in, and for all he knew, they were the worst kind of criminal and deserved to be there. Regardless, it was not a sight Dante wanted to see.

"We were something more than this!" Lucifer continued. "Now, we are simply means to an end for these pathetic pieces of meat that could be decimated with but a sneeze! How are THEY more worthy of being loved by God than us? We should be ruling them as our subjects!"

Michael could only shake his head in disappoint.

"It appears you have not learned a single thing. You are still as self-centered as you were in Heaven, and your arrogance knows no bounds. The humans are God's greatest conquest and we as higher beings should be gracious that he has appointed us as powers to protect them as much as we can behind the veil."

"You say that…but are YOU gracious?" Lucifer challenged, "Can you truly say this is what you want?"

There was a pause between the two of them for a moment before Michael said, "Enough of these words. I did not come here to argue with you. You have called upon me personally. Now, speak."

Lucifer sighed. "Very well… As you know, what I offer to you and our father will serve as a right to return to the throne."

Michael raised a brow, but continued to humor his brother.

Seeing this, Lucifer dropped to his knees with his head against the floor. He had dropped to a true, groveling bow towards his brother with his dignity removed.

"For you see, ruling this kingdom of vermin and filth are below my capabilities. They only know war and pleasure. I grow disgusted by them every single moment I have to look at them. These putrid demon scums are the embodiment of my desperate plea to rejoin my original brothers once more."

"And you believe that will be all it takes?" Michael said apathetically, "For what you have done, it will require more than a plea and swearing your loyalties back in our father's good graces. You must fulfill your end of this agreement in order for your ligancy to be trusted."

"Simply tell me what I must do, and it shall be done…" Lucifer practically groveled.

Michael took pity on his exiled brother and dropped to a knee himself. He lifted Lucifer's face to his with a stern look in his golden eyes towards Lucifer's black ones.

"You must cease this war once and for all, Lucifer…" Michael implored to his brother. "you must destroy your demon legion. You must destroy hell."

Dante was shocked. He could not believe what he had just heard, or better yet saw. It was as though everything he thought he knew was turned on its head. He quickly had to turn away from it all just to gather his thoughts. He could feel a migraine begin to form the more he contemplated the magnitude of info that had revealed itself unto him.

"P-Pause…" Dante uttered out.

Seditio did as instructed and snapped his fingers to pause the scenery around them once again. He watched the young Nephilim try to make sense out of everything. Seditio could relate to the confusion. It was a hard concept that even he himself had to come to grips with.

"Okay…" Dante said, trying to make rational sense out of everything. "So…Luci over there was gonna gank all of Hell?"

"Precisely." Seditio confirmed. "In a desperate plea to reclaim his place in Heaven, Lucifer was prepared to sacrifice all of Demon kind to do it."

Dante thought on it for a moment. The results if Lucifer had been able to go through with his actions and what it would have done to the world.

"Hmph, kinda wish he wasn't stopped…" Dante said to himself.

"Aye, but had he done it, all of the Demons would've died…including your father."

"And that's a bad thing, because…"

"You'd rather not be born?"

"You've been with me all these years; what do you think?"

"I see…" Seditio nodded. "Then there is no sense in beating around the bush. Let us skip towards the end."

Seditio, once again, snapped his fingers and suddenly the area had morphed into something else once again. This time, Dante saw the depiction of an intense battle among flames. At the center of it all, he saw his father, Sparda, Mundus, and Seditio fight with an army of other demons. They were battling larger foes that Lucifer sent after them for protection, as he sat on a throne high above.

"This was my final battle." Seditio reminisced. "This was the moment were I truly believed that we would fight for our freedom, or die trying."

"I'm guessin' you weren't so lucky." Dante figured.

"Unfortunately."

The scene changed again. This time, Dante saw the very ground from under his feet break away into nothingness. He was startled at first, but could feel a distortion bellow that allowed him to walk across the air. In front of him and Seditio, Dante was horrified to see a monstrosity that towered over him like a mountain. It was larger than any demon he had ever seen in his life with glowing eyes and a body of marble and dark mass. If not for the three eyes on its forehead, Dante would have never guessed who it was.

"W-What the fuck…?" Dante uttered.

"That is Mundus." Seiditio explained. "It is his true visage behind the human form you've grown accustomed to seeing."

The white-haired Nephilim could not form words to what he was seeing. To think; all the times he had pledged to kill Mundus, and that was who he had to deal with? To think there was such a difference in power between them. He almost felt fortunate that Mundus did not summon that form to finish him off when they fought earlier.

"Lucifer's pride made him out to believe he created us, when in reality, we had always existed since the beginning of time. Though his crude experimentations with Angels and Demons did produce oddities."

"Wait…experimentations?" Dante repeated.

"Yes." Seditio nodded gravely. "Though it pains me to say it…Lucifer was the original creator of the Nephilim."

Dante remained quiet to allow him to continue. In reality, he just could not find any way to react to all of this except a stone-faced intractability that tried to keep himself of rational mind.

"It was one of the secretive reasons he was banished from Heaven, as well as disobeying God." Seditio said, "The first of the Nephilim being Abbarrane."

"Yeah, I know about him." Dante said.

"Do you?"

"Yeah, he's…"

Dante was just about to lift his hand to reach over his back for Force Edge. However, something in the back of his mind stopped him from making another muscle. He could not shake the intuition to not reveal Abbarrane was in his possession just yet. Since Dante has always trusted his gut, he let his hand drop before it could even lift.

"…he's someone Vergil mentioned to me."

Seditio did not look as though he bought what Dante had just sold to him, however, the young Nephilim quickly turned the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"He also told me Abbarrane was responsible for keepin' the peace between the Demons and Angels for a while. "

"He was. And through that peace, many Nephilim were brought onto the world. We had grown so large that we became the third race."

Seditio's tone grew grimmer as he seemed to reminisce on something troubling. "I…had believed all was going so well, until…"

The words could not come out of Seditio, but Dante had heard the story already.

"…Until Mundus killed Abbarrane."

There was the grief that Seditio held in so harshly. It had hit him so hard that he could not keep himself from wallowing in sorrow, right before Dante's eyes.

"I'm…I'm afraid so." Seditio said solemnly. "I didn't discover that truth until much later on in the centuries, along with Sparda while confined to the form of Rebellion."

"Okay, but…I don't understand." Dante questioned. "Why help my old man if he was the one that'd killed you?"

"Hmph…why indeed?" Seditio pointed towards the scene in question.

Dante followed his finger towards the moment just before his father plunged his sword into a downed Seditio's chest. The look of regret fused with the blistering anger on Sparda's face was too apparent, while Seditio was anguished; not to be slain, but rather to be slain by one he once considered a brother-in-arms. And then, there was Mundus—who spectated the entire thing with a grin that read true evil incarnate.

"When Sparda vanquished me, even as I felt my body fade way, I…I could not come to hate him." Seditio reminisced. "…I could never not consider him family."

The smile on Seditio's face was one of conscious acceptance. Dante could imagine Seditio had too long a time to think things through while being Sparda's companion. Still, Dante could only imagine how it must have been to be contained in a sword for well over nine millenniums. Certainly, a need to stretch one's legs and take long bathroom breaks or something. Dante, himself, considered the possibility of even wanting to retrieve Seditio as his sword again. He seemed more satisfied with his newfound freedom then being attached to him.

"So…do you wanna stay separated?" Dante asked. "'Cause if that's what you want, then…I'm cool with it. I don't mind knuckle boxing demons around."

Seditio chuckled. "Do not misunderstand; I loved being useful to Sparda; just as much as I love being useful to you, Dante."

Dante had to admit; he was a little appreciative of his own sword enjoying all the bullshit he had put it through.

"But I'm afraid I cannot come back to you just yet." Seditio fretted. "There is still much to be done…especially now."

"What do you mean?"

Seditio eyed Dante with a grave expression that made even him have chills in his spine.

"Assiel has returned."

Dante raised a brow. "Assiel?"

"Yes. She is an ancient one." Seditio explained. "A Nephilim—like you and I. Said to have been the second Nephilim to Abbarrane."

Dante felt a tinge of worry within him by the way Seditio described her. His curiosity begged him to ask: "So…I'm guessin' she's not so friendly like you, is she?"

"Assiel was a cruel and vindictive person." Seditio foretold. "Unlike Abbarrane who desired to keep the peace between all the races, Assiel was only interested in concurring the rest below her. Whatever she could not have, she destroyed."

"Wow, where've I heard that one before?" Dante remarked, thinking of his bastard demon god of a so-called uncle.

"Well, unlike Mundus, who wants to rule over both the Demon world, and the human world, Assiel would rather destroy all that stands in her way, until only the Nephilim race thrives."

"Wow…" Dante said, "Then on a scale of 1 to 10: how worried should I be?"

"Very. But I'm sure we—"

Seditio was about to further explain himself, before he swiftly stopped to point his gaze towards the dark skies around them. He seemed frantic as he looked about for a sign of something. Dante could see nothing, following the old Nephilim's gaze. Whatever Seditio had grown frantic about was beyond Dante's sight.

"What's wrong?" Dante said, just as cautious as Seditio was.

"No…No, how?" Seditio said in a panic, "How did she find—"

And just like that, the world snapped to blackness. Not a single sight nor sound rang through. Nothing but the abyss was present.

Dante was so taken aback by the whiplash of change that he stood there in a daze. He looked high and low, but all he could see was pure darkness surrounding him. He could still see himself but that was about it. He searched for a sign of Seditio, or anything for that matter, but he stared into the endless dark abyss that filled the empty space.

"Hello?" Dante called. "Seditio?"

No response. Only the echo of his own voice.

Dante tried to find something remotely undarkened by the blackness around him to cling to for a hint of dwindling sanity, but was left, quite literally, in the dark. No Sparda, no Mundus, no Seditio, no Kasumi. Just him and the shadows around him.

"Okay. Don't panic…" Dante muttered to himself. "Just relax…take a deep breath, Dante…I'm sure this'll all fix itself…right?"

The silence was deafening. He swore he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat. Even the smallest noise he made rung through his ears. Only seconds in the dull space did he slowly begin to lose his calmness and spiral into a state of animalistic panic.

"Damnit…!" Dante growled. "What the fuck is everything? Seditio! Kasumi! Anyone!"

For a moment, he heard nothing again. Utter silence, and darkness as far as the eyes could see and the ears could hear. He was truly alone in the never-ending abyss…

…until he heard it.

Whatever sound it was, it seemed to pressed against the makeshift floor under his own feet. Without hesitation, Dante turned his entire body around; expecting to see Seditio and give him a piece of his mind.

However, who Dante saw was anything but his expectations.

It was a woman—one of long, white hair of a similar shade to his own, and mix-matched green and blue eyes. Her skin was pale against her outfit of a short, faux fur collared suit coat, over a white dress that did little to hide how impressive her chest was. The dress parted near the hip to reveal one of her bare legs and foot.

"Okay…you're definitely better than Seditio." Dante flirted, trying his best to keep his panic down.

The woman said nothing. She simply stared at him with an alluring smile that held a mature nature about her. Dante had seen the type before; pompous, haughty, and very high society.

"Mind tellin' me who you are, or do you just plan on gawkin' at me?"

The woman placed her hand on her chin, with her other under the arm's elbow. She observed Dante from head to toe; never once dropping her curious smile.

"Yes…You're definitely him." She said with a reverb in her voice.

"What?"

The woman took a single step forward towards Dante, to which he hesitantly stepped back. He could not explain it, but there was a palpable negative energy that radiated off of her wicked smile.

"But you're not quite where I want you." The woman retracted her foot back and crossed her arms. "I'll have to speak to the other one instead."

"Other one? What're you talkin' about?" Dante demanded.

He instinctively went for his guns, only to find empty holsters. Now, the worry began to set into the young Nephilim. The woman's presence was suffocating. She was clearly Nephilim, but something more that Dante had never seen before.

"Who are you?-!" Dante exclaimed.

The woman chuckled. "It would be pointless to speak to the lesser twin. Until we meet again…son of Sparda."

The woman turned on the heel of her foot and strolled towards the dark abyss beyond. She left nothing more to say, nor any indication of her intentions. She was an anomaly to Dante in a lonely world of blackness. She had to have known a way to escape.

He quickly began to take one step with a hand extended to reach out to her.

"Hey! Wait a—"

And then, just like that, his vision went black. His body grew numb to the touch. He could barely keep his mind from falling into a daze. There was nothing but the muffled sounds slowly coming to the surface as though he were at the bottom of the ocean. He did not collect himself until he finally felt the sensation of touch quickly return to him; a pair of hands shook him towards consciousness.

—te..."

—ante..."

"Dante!"


The white-haired Nephilim immediately opened his eyes wide. He took in his first gasp of air with a deep inhale, before fits of coughing followed right after. His lungs felt like he was on fire; choking on the new air that he felt like he was deprived of for too long a time. He hunched over on his bed to try and regain air through his coughs. He could barely keep himself from wanting to puke, but held it all in for his own sake. He was as exhausted as a runner after a 3-mile dash.

"Dante, Oh, god, are you alright?"

Dante looked up to see a familiar face of concern stare back at him. She was still dressed in her robe that showed just enough cleavage to prove it was Kasumi.

"Oh, shit…!" Dante gasped. "W-What happ…happened, wh…where am I…?"

"Whoa, whoa, Dante. Breath, alright? Just breathe." Kasumi advised, while placing an arm around Dante's back. She sat next to him on the bed to try and comfort him in such a dishuveled state.

"Ugh…K-Kasumi…" Dante uttered. "What happened…?"

You don't remember?" Kasumi reminded him with concern in her furrowed brows. "You were just standing there like a statue for a couple seconds after you read 'You're his sons.' Then your face started to go pale and your eyes were rolling back. I-I thought you were having some kind of stroke or seizure!"

Dante recalled Kasumi was frozen. He remembered Seditio had just visited him and told him that he was Rebellion the whole time. He then took Dante through a brief history of his father, him, and Mundus. He remembered everything as it hit him like a bus. There was far too much to take into consideration. Everything he saw, all that he had just learned—He had no clue what to do with such information.

"Kasumi…! I-I gotta talk to Vergil!" Dante exclaimed.

He quickly shot out of bed, only to have his legs buckle on him. He almost fell over, if not for Kasumi catching him in time.

"Whoa, hold on, Dante! You're in no position to be moving!" Kasumi warned. "Whatever happened has weakened you! You need to get rest!"

"No, I…! It's Vergil! Someone's goin' after him!"

"Who's going after me?"

Dante stopped. He looked up towards the entrance of his room to see his twin brother there; confused and concerned for Dante's well-being. He also noticed Hayate, and Ayane standing right behind Vergil.

"V-Vergil…!" Dante gasped. "You're alright…!"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Vergil asked.

"I…I mean you were…" Dante tried to sputter the words to describe what he had just gone through, but his mind only drew blanks. Finally, he sighed and said "…that was one hell of a read, that book you gave me."

"I figured as much." Vergil said, "Now you know about Seditio."

"Yeah…Can we really trust 'em though?"

Vergil contemplated in silence for a moment. "For now."

While the twins had their discussion, Kasumi turned her attention towards the two ex-family members she once knew. She could not begin to find the right words to say to them after the events of the Mugen Tenshin village almost burning to the ground. Even on Zack Island, Ayane avoided Kasumi the entire time, leaving her no time to talk to her.

"Hayate, Ayane." Kasumi said.

"Hayate nodded. "Kasumi."

Kasumi's eyes happen to lock with Ayane's for a moment, before the purple-haired kunoichi quickly turned away with a troubled look on her face. Kasumi wanted to say something, but the words did not come out.

The awkward space between the three of them was palpable enough for Dante and Vergil to both look at each other in a desperate cry for either of them to say something.

Vergil reluctantly cleared his throat, snapping the three ninjas out of their daze.

"Anyway, I need to call everyone into the conference hall." Vergil stated. "We need to have a meeting."

"About what?" Dante questioned, standing back up with the aid of Kasumi. "And where the hell'd you go?"

"Reconnaissance." Vergil answered. "I think I know how to defeat Mundus."