Blood slowly dripped from the ceiling to the dusty soiled floor, the room remained silent as what contained voices of children were snuffed out leaving behind their corpses, disfigured, some mutilated beyond measure leaving grotesque body parts. One child was seen in two from the top to bottom, while some were missing parts as they laid few had expressions of terror as their souls left their bodies. Unable to fight back from the foe who broke into their home.

In back of the room a small girl sat on her knees with her hands by her sides. Eyes vacant and her body rigid giving one the thought that she was dead. However low puffs of air left her nose as she stared at the scene before her. Long black hair remained messy and sticking to her form due to blood and sweat caused by the fear and the carnage that plagued her home.

First the sound of her uncle's yells before he was snuffed out, laying on the entrance of her home with a stunned look by the time she was taken to another room. Then, her aunt had tried to understand what was going on pleaded the attacker to leave them be. Unable to understand why the attack was occurring, why they were being targeted before being stabbed in the gut before being dragged down the stairs to bleed out and die by the steps leading to the basement.

One by one each member of the family had died while the attacker taunted the small girl, mocking her for being powerless while licking the knife clean of blood from time to time. Relishing in the sweet nectar that was their lifeline before going after the next child, knowing that they could not fight back. Knowing that their parents had left them without knowing of the horrors that would await them.

Only, the girl could scream while tears ran down her face in despair until she found no strength left to cry. Semi shaking she stared before the attacker chuckled darkly causing her to look up with vacant eyes.

A loud yell filled her ears before a body fell before her, long light blue hair fell beside a body before a series of groans filled the girl's ears before silence filled the room once more. It was then a maniac laughter filled the room causing her to look up in shock. Life almost filling her eyes once more as the one who filled her heart with ease laid dead on the floor, protecting her from the sudden blow that was aimed for her by the attacker who had now lost patience with her lack of response.

No longer could the girl hear the songs created by the fallen woman who would never enrich her life with hope, gone were the gentle assurances that she was protected and loved. Gone were the futures that were filled with joy and wonder, instead pain and regret filled the girl's mind. Wondering why her existence became a sin for those who hatefully attacked her family.

Glancing up slightly, she watched the attacker as they muttered to themselves about the woman and how they blocked the attack, how he was only playing with the girl. Only now, he glared at her before his blood red eyes glinted in fury for wasting his time.

However before he could strike- her once brown eyes turned ruby red. It was then intense heat filled the room leaving inhuman screams to fill the room.

Hara gasped inwardly as she woke up, sweat matted her fur but ignored it due to her shaking limbs. Her heart beating rapidly in her chest as her breathing became shallow from the dream.

"Easy Whitey, just a nightmare. No need to get your fur in a mess" Griffon's distant voice alerted her that she was not alone nor human causing her to look at him quickly. Her ruby red eyes dilated but alert startled Griffon from his perch on the side of the seat.

"Deep breaths kid, no need to lose your head" he said in hopes of lightening up the situation, sadly it resulted in a glare from Hara who narrowed her eyes in distaste.

"You really know how to annoy someone when they just woke up" Hara muttered, stretching as much as she could. Her bones clicked out of protest from being in the same position for too long.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked now sitting on her hind legs while her front paws began sorting out her messy but drenched fur. She grimaced from the nightmare and the fact she was a mess, what a way to wake up. Watching her silently Griffon sighed.

"You really are like Vergil" She looks at him with a confused expression, not knowing what to make of the comment.

"You both are always putting up a barrier when something is bothering you. Makes me wonder what you're like with good dreams" he muttered before looking at the door. "Oi V! She's awake now!" Griffon yelled causing her to tense up, her ears pinned themselves to her head tightly from the sudden loud noise.

"Why couldn't you have just gone after him instead of shouting from here?" she mused wearily as V appeared from the room next door, a brown book rested in his hand as he took in her dishevelled appearance but said nothing. Instead he slowly placed a hand near her neck and began to stroke her softly, earning him a quiet purr from the tired fox.

"You had me worried" V said before he could stop himself, blinking the pair stared at the other wordlessly before Hara sighed softly. Tilting her head to the left she released a tired smile before nuzzling him lightly to show her thanks.

"What got you upset though?" Griffon asked as Shadow stood beside V. "You were turning and whimpering in your sleep" he added while she frowned at him, hissing sharply Shadow scolded Griffon who squawked in reply.

"Am I the only one worried here? Last thing we need is her collapsing and slowing us down" Griffon muttered as V gave him a reprimanded look.

"Don't mind him, are you well now?" V asked causing Hara to look up with distant eyes, the expression reminding V of having to relive his past nightmares the moment he had awoken. Clenching his jaw slightly he tried to mask the pain forming on his face before pausing as Hara nudged him slightly. Yawning silently she shook her head, now looking wide awake when she stood up.

"Don't push yourself on our account" Griffon muttered before yelping as Shadow swiped a paw at him causing him to fly into the air to avoid getting hit.

"You can rest on my shoulder" V finally said after watching the pair for a few minutes resulting in silence, stunned the group watched him in disbelief not truly believing what they were hearing.

"V's willing to actually carry you? Are we all in a dream or what-Oi!" Griffon said in disbelief before Shadow growled at the avian who grumbled a bit to himself. Swallowing his thoughts of ignoring the fox and allowing her to suffer alone V picked Hara up before she could make a decision and allowed her to rest in his arms, allowing her to rest her head on the side of his left arm.

"Rest now, we have to make it to Dante's soon anyways. We must make haste" V said with a sigh now recalling Griffon in order to avoid him getting eaten by Shadow, that and to prevent the avian from annoying him anymore with his comments. Licking her paws Shadow nuzzled V's side before following him out the abandoned bookshop.

Still stunned Hara watched the area move past her while remaining in V's arms, sighing she allowed herself to rest before images of red sparked in her mind causing her to flinch sharply.

"You're one of us, you know… don't worry I was told to make you suffer before I killed you. Aren't I a nice guy?" a low voice sent shivers down her spine causing Hara to clench her jaw tightly, her muzzle inching into V's arms in order to push out the thoughts from her mind.

Feeling her move V looked at Hara who now curled up tightly in his arms, earning her a sad mewl from Shadow who moved closer to the unsettled fox. Pressing her nose onto Hara's head Shadow made a few noises in hopes of easing the troubled fox.

"Makes me wonder what you went through to make you shiver in this manner" V mused before they trekked down a path that led to a train station. Sitting down V winced as he remembered that he had no currency that would allow him to travel.

"What's up V?" Griffon asked as he materialised, he noted Hara's half lidded eyes as she appeared to have zoned out leaving him wondering what to do.

"I'm hungry" V muttered startling Griffon.

"You're kidding me?!" Griffon snapped startling Hara out of her daze. "Don't tell me I have to get rats for you? Honestly I don't even know what you humans eat!" Griffon groaned causing Hara to sit up.

"Can you believe this idiot? Comes all the way here and he doesn't have any money on him!" Griffon whined, Hara listening carefully looked away to one side in thought before something came to mind.

"Now where are you going Whitey?!" Griffon yelled as V stood up in shock, the pair watched as Hara took off to the right part of the train station without looking back.

"Great… now she's flown the coup! So much for team work" Griffon muttered darkly until he spotted specks of white approaching them slowly. Blinking he stared at the now approaching fox who has what appeared to be a white bag in her mouth. Stopping at V's feet she slowly drops the bag and stares at him.

Startled and baffled at how she could have got the bag, V gingerly picks up the bag to see two boxes of sandwiches, two bottles of water and what looked like money under the food boxes.

"Holy smokes! How did you get that?" Griffon yelled taking the question from V's mouth, disbelief filled the male's face before his shoulders sag. Just how did she do this? Why indeed?

It's not as if he could do anything in return for her, so why go to these lengths? And for someone who is wasting away of all things.

Nodding his thanks, V slowly sat down and began eating from one of the boxes slowly. His mouth watered from the food and tried to make his response as quiet as possible as to not embarrass himself anymore than he already had.

Sadly a belch left his now reddened face earning him a laugh from the avian causing V to now glare at him. Hara meanwhile raised a brow but said nothing except allow some of Phantom's fire to lightly smack the back of Griffon's head.

"Hey hey! Who-what was that?!" Griffon snapped as he looked around to see no one, this made her mentally smirk and pat a now smug spider who rested in her mind.

"That'll shut that fool up, I grew tired of his mockery" Phantom muttered before going back to sleep. Mentally humming Hara rested beside V, her mind soon went to his now ebony hair thanks to his latest contract- Nightmare. A creature that appeared to have no mind of it's own. Created by Mundus to only act as a puppet only he was too dangerous to be kept free resulting in imprisonment. Something Hara frowned at knowing that it was just a waste of good talent, if anything she doubted Nightmare was anything but a puppet. It had to have some consciousness in order to live as long as it did.

Otherwise why did it allow itself to form a contract with V? It could have easily killed him and yet it didn't. Something she was willing to keep an eye on. Unfortunately she knew it could only come out for a few minutes before V would collapse. A thing she refused to have happen again.

Before

Hara's face dropped the moment she stared at V's unmoving corpse, her heart stopped before she took an unsteady step forward.

"V…?" Hara nudged him with her nose. "V wake up, this isn't funny" his eyes remained open but lifeless in her eyes causing her to shake.

"V! Don't you dare! Come on wake up you idiot!" Closing her eyes tightly she placed her nose on his cheek.

"V wake up!" focusing on her power she entered his mind to see him sitting on a large setae leaving her baffled as to where they were.

"Wake up Vergil" a voice entered V's ears causing him to look around as the area grew dark "someone needs you, you cannot give up now while you still have time" hearing this he released a bitter laugh.

"Needs me?" V said with mirth in his eyes. "Who on earth would need someone like me? I rely on no one, I survived this long so-"

"So the ones who have been sticking by you are just there because they feel like it?" the voice challenged in a cold tone as darkness fully surrounded the room.

"Are you that willing to throw everything away just when you are so close?" V chuckled darkly.

"I was thrown away if case you didn't know" V pushed hair from his face allowing the voice to stare at him with distain. "For being a symbol of weakness along side his nightmares. I was not needed-"

"Yet you still cling onto life?" the voice asked silencing V. Turning to the voice he saw nothing but a silhouette of pure light only to his surprise, the light did not hurt his eyes.

"Who are you to speak to me this way? Do you know who I am?" V asked coldly as he folded his arms tightly.

"You are someone who knows what it's like to be alone, only I learned that being alone doesn't mean I wanted it to happen. It's something caused by those around me. It doesn't mean I will have to live alone, I had yet to find the right people who I can willingly trust to stay close to me. Sadly for both of us there is a glaring difference" V released a haughty laugh.

"And that would be?"

"Your heart is torn between logic and common sense, yet your sense of fear clouds your judgement because you fear to fall. Scared that no one would be there to catch you if that moment were to ever occur" the voice replied causing his eyes to narrow.

"I fear nothing!" V snapped furious from hearing the laughable reply.

"You fear death!" the voice replied with equal venom causing the hairs on the back of V's neck to stand up, to his horror he could not respond to her comment.

"Death is a part of life Vergil. We life, we grow old and die" the voice said while V clenched his jaw a bit more tightly.

"What you also fear is abandonment. You also have an inferiority complex towards your brother which is stupid since he's apart of you" the voice scolded earning her a shocked but furious glare.

"I do not-"

"You can lie to everyone but not yourself Vergil so do us both a favour and stop" V froze now feeling the pressure of the light consume him leaving him suffocated by the strong force that stood before him, strange that it is currently a presence and yet he could not tell who it was he was speaking to. Except, he could make out that it was a female voice. Something strange since most disembodied voices were genderless.

"You have eyes, but you do not use them. You have a brain but you shut it off when you need it the most. You have emotions but you lock them away because you fear it will control you. Sadly Vergil powers are often tied to emotions, the more you feel the more energy you can release but it depends on how you use that power is important"

"So you're giving me a lecture on how to live my life now?" V asked as he narrowed his eyes at the voice.

"I want to help you, but only if you swallow your pride and accept it without thinking I'm after something in return" the voice said coldly.

"And what makes you think I need anything from you?"

"You're running out of time, what you just did killed you" V froze in shock as he took in the voice's words.

"However, I can provide you a means of surviving but only if you try to not push yourself. Do the right thing, go see your brother for help and I'll provide you with a means of living a bit longer"

"And I should take your word on it?" V asked with sceptical eyes. "To ask an oaf like him when he could just turn me away? As if he would help me! I do not need his help!"

"I'd curse bright fortune for my mixed lot,
And then I'd die in peace and be forgot." V paused from the words the voice spoke.

"Is that what you want? To be forgotten? To have lingering regrets?" the voice asked almost as if they were challenging him, a scoff soon left his lips before looking up at the light. To think it would use his own interest against him in such a manner.

"You twist the knife so deep, and yet, you capture my attention" V said before approaching the light. "How can you help when my time is already up?" the voice revealed nothing leaving his brows to furrow.

"That will not be something you need to know, what I can tell you is to keep your friends and allies close. The rest will fall into place"

"But how will I-?" the area slowly started to vanish leaving V disorientated as he tried to steady himself.

"Hey!"

V gasped as he awoke, his eyes screamed in torment from the sudden light filling them causing him to clench them tightly. Suddenly what sounded like worried squeaks filled his ears followed by Griffon's relieved voice.

"Thank goodness he's okay, for a moment I thought he was a goner!" Griffon sighed as he flew around V's form, slowly opening his eyes V noticed Hara staring at him with worry taking him by surprise.

Without warning Hara climbed onto his knees in order to nuzzle his neck shocking V once more.

"Wake up Vergil, someone needs you" V's mind went back to the voice who spoke to him while he was in what he assumed to be limbo. His face remained pensive as he felt her pressing close, almost as if she was trying to give her own version of a hug leaving V surprised. To think the voice would remind him of the fox and… them. Looking at Griffon talking to Shadow and Hara, V swallowed lightly, allowing her to remain close as her neck rested on his shoulder by his own neck. To his surprise instead of pushing her away, V placed his left arm around her back and sighed in relief.

Now

V rested his head on his fist as he watched the view from the train's window fly past him quickly. To think he had to resort to riding a human contraption instead of demonic means annoyed him and yet, he knew better than to be picky.

Looking at Hara who was resting her head on his lap, V began to stroke her head in an absentminded manner as he noticed her growing more sleepy. Leaving him to assume that it was due to the nightmare she sustained earlier on.

On the other hand, V's mind soon went to the sudden change of energy that occurred from within his body once he had woken up after forming the contract with Nightmare. Even now it was almost as if he was not on borrowed time and could almost assume he could live for a long time, sadly V knew it was a fools hope to think such a thing.

For how long this effect would last, he did not know for sure, but hoped for the voice's sake that it would hold true to it's word.

After all he had a mission to complete, one he desired to get done without any hiccups along the way. Specially with what was at stake should he failed to stop his demonic half.