I will yawn like how I always do. And now I shall begin the disclaimer that everyone has heard countless times. (yawns some more)

Dante does not belong to me, neither does Trish or Xyphos. Arson and Ash and Rayne don't feature in this chapter for once. But yeah, they still belong to me. Anyway, it's been some time and I think I'm getting even worse with my writer's block. Nothing is giving me any inspiration for Havoc In The House and I'm feeling drained and exhausted. Is this the boredom of my summer holidays settling in? Oh Bah…anyways, I'm so messed up I've even forgotten which chapter number it is. I think it's ten but I'm not entirely sure. It's confusing after a while…using Chapter 1 for the Prologue and what not and…(is waffling)

Maybe I should get a blog or something so then I can rant and rave and basically be as weird as I want. I mean, let's be serious, this type of thing doesn't really have a place in my fanfics does it? God knows…(glowers at the blank wall in front of her) I read Harry Potter and was disappointed. Now don't get me wrong. It's an amazing book and it was well written and everything. But everyone who knows me knows that I love phoenixes…SO WHERE WAS THERE A PHOENIX??? I thought the whole plot would be about the phoenix but I WAS WRONG!!! (wails) The only time a phoenix does come is when Fawkes is acting as a guard dog and the other is when he gets roasted into a little hatchling again. (scowls)

Ah I do love talking like this. It gets a lot off my mind y'know? Anyways, here comes a little insight on Arson's past, for those of you who want to know.

I also have to thank Chasm who indirectly helped me. Remember how I said that Sparda had a spirit in the first chapter? Well Chasm's ideas of the swords having spirits in his amazing fanfic gave me a couple of ideas. Swords can think…

Chapter 10

            The snow had carried on falling throughout the day. It was now evening and the darkness was beginning to fall. The children had long ago returned to their warm living rooms, where they would warm and dry themselves by a blazing fireplace. The warmth…how he longed for it after trudging around in the snow and getting water in his boots.

            Snow crunched noisily under his feet, but no matter how hard Dante tried to keep his silence in the cold, the snow always betrayed his presence. Dante grumbled to himself inwardly. Trish had said that she had sensed some kind of force, a demon taint. Dante knew better than to ignore her. Trish's senses were more delicate and refined then his own, she could pick up taints quicker and more accurately then him. But there was a horrible gnawing anger that coursed through his veins.

            Dante was not shocked when he heard a voice sound in his head. At first he had been surprised but now he had grown accustomed to it. Sparda. He paused and listened to what the spirit had to say.

            'You're worried, aren't you?' Dante stiffened slightly.

            'Considering I just felt a huge power surge, what do you think?' he said bitterly. Snow began to fall again, but on Dante's silvery head, the snow flakes were barely noticeable. People may have been surprised to hear Dante say this. His outward appearance was calm, and it was to the point that it was hard to believe that he was feeling slightly uneasy. Dante could now understand why Trish had been unable to rest properly. Even he had been able to feel it now. He waited to hear anything else that the sword might have to say. When there was no reply, Dante carried on walking through the snow, his boots still crunching the flakes underneath his heel.

            An hour passed. Dante paused again, uncertainly. He could now locate the demon source. It was somewhere to the north west. Whereas before it didn't seem as though it was much to worry about, the tint had begun to grow more and more stronger. Dante had at first thought that it was simply a huge group of lower class demons…such as a Jothromsira or something. But now he knew that this was something a lot more menacing.

            Again the voice sounded, and Dante found himself getting irritated by it. His sword had the spirit of his father, Sparda in it. Some part of his father had been preserved, but only now when Arson had seemingly vanished had the spirit chosen to talk. The thought irked him.

            Dante didn't see the sword as a part of his father however. He couldn't bring himself to. His father was dead, his body destroyed by the demons who had ambushed him and had overpowered him by their sheer weight of numbers. It annoyed him somehow that the sword kept on talking to him. He had preferred it when it had been an inanimate piece of steel. But now that he thought about it, no other sword had felt quite like Sparda. He had never held a sword that had allowed him to slay and cause pain as easily as Sparda. The sword had felt as though it naturally belonged to him…no it felt more like a part of him. Dante stopped his musings to listen to what the sword had to say.

            'As a demon hunter, you should not be afraid.' Dante bristled at this remark.

            'I'm not afraid. I've just never felt anything quite like this before. This taint's different to even Mundus…or even Argosax or the Despair…' He fell silent. If Dante hadn't been superstitious-it was crazy not to be considering his job-he would have never heard the sword laugh. It was a harsh deep grating sound, something that only a full blooded demon would be capable of. He was reminded painstakingly of his brother, Virgil, who had laughed in a way similar to the sword. However, even he had not been a full blooded demon, and now that he looked back on it, he sounded no way near as menacing as this. But now, considering the sword was now actually talking to him, he might as well ask a few questions himself, before the sword decided to be a stubborn piece of steel again.

            'Why now?'

            'Why what now?'

            'You've only chosen to talk now, after so many years of having me as your wielder. Why now? Why not before?'

            'You're growing old.' Dante huffed out a chuckle. 'You may not look it, but it is simply the truth.'

            'Yeah? Well so what? I know I am. It doesn't bother me though. I've led a good life.'

            'The time has come to pass down the legacy of Sparda.' Dante unsheathed the blade and held it up to the lamplight nearby. It was a beautiful blood red sword. He would hate to part with the blade… 'Of course, by passing down the legacy, it does not mean you simply pass down the weapon. It involves a lot more…and the weapon doesn't actually come into it. The legacy I passed down to you was the fact that we are of demon blood, and yet we do good and not evil.' Dante ignored what the sword had said and remained silent. It was true, he was becoming old. It wasn't that he had stiff joints or anything. It wasn't that he had lost his will to fight. It was simply that his job seemed to lack something that he was looking for. It bored him. The fact was Dante had seen it all and it had come to the point that even Trish had commented on how he seemed to be lacking something in battle. Oh yes, he still looked  and behaved the same…but looks were often deceiving. Despite knowing sooner or later that he would pass it down, he was surprised and dismayed that the sword, this inanimate object was also telling him the same.

            'You've given Arson a test, haven't you?'

            'Yes, to see whether he really is capable of being a hunter. I test him, and he has to find ways in passing the challenges. He has to learn how to face the unexpected, which he has done with more grace then I would have expected. True there have been times when he's cursed the world and dissolved into depression, but he's coped a lot better than I had hoped. He has to learn also to do the things that he must hate doing. He has to learn how to trust his judgement and he must also learn how to hide his feelings. There's a lot more besides all that too.'

            'Why didn't you try to test my son, Arson's father?'

            'Kryder? Your bastard child?' Dante was silent. He had made a mistake when he had been caught up in a night of passion with some woman, and because of that he had ended up becoming a father…but he had only found out the result when Kryder managed to find him after journeying. Kryder had been around thirty five or so when he had finally found Dante. He had been surprised and shocked to see the green eyed man with black streaked silver hair standing in front of him and claiming he was his son. Sparda cut into Dante's thoughts again.

            'I did not pass on the test to Kryder simply because I did not like him. He does not deserve the honour of carrying on the legacy.' Dante frowned. He had always imagined that it had been he who would choose who carried on his legacy, but he had been wrong. The sword was the one who chose. The sword decided everything. It was also true that Kryder had many faults but it seemed somewhat unfair that he would be dismissed so easily. Sparda continued to explain his choice.

            'Arson has a true heart and he knows about justice. He knows the difference between killing for self gain and killing for the sake of others. However, Kryder doesn't. When Ophelia died when Arson was fifteen, Kryder only came to his son's age because of his own vengeance. You may not know it, but Kryder and the leader of the Fallen Angels had a bitter rivalry. Kryder could have spent more time with his son but after a week, he had left again.'

            'Are you saying that Kryder doesn't give two shits about Arson?' There was no reply. 'Because if that's what you're saying, you're wrong. My son is not like that.'

            'And how would you know? You were never there to bring him up.' Dante growled angrily at this remark. The spirit had touched upon a sore spot. Another thought struck Dante forcibly. Hadn't he become a demon hunter for vengeance? His mother and brother…they had been killed because of demons…and he had been sent into a rage. So wasn't vengeance his main motive for hunting down the demons? Again the spirit read his thoughts and answered his question for him.

            'No, Dante. You wanted vengeance but you also wanted to make sure that no one else went through the same pain as you.' Dante came to another halt.

            'You didn't choose me. By luck I found the amulet that Virgil cast down.'

            'I could have become unwieldy in your hands. But as soon as I saw you, I understood that you were the one to carry on the legacy and not Virgil.'

            'Are you really Sparda?'

            'In spirit.'

            'I thought you were killed by demons.'

            'Yes but my spirit was trapped in the sword upon my death. I ordered it to be this way, and I had to undertake many procedures for my wish to take place. The sword itself was born of my own body, in a way I refuse to tell you. The memory itself still burns. Though I was in body killed, the spirit within the sword lived on.

            'I won't have the same fate will I?'

            'Only if you choose to. Dragon and Phoenix would be your host simply because you were the one who made minor adjustments to their design. You had a part in the making of the swords, and if you choose to become a spirit in a sword when you die in body, they will be your hosts. You could act as Arson's guide if you so chose. I didn't need to act as your guide, for I saw that you were fully capable of handling yourself.' Dante shook his head.

            'No. I don't want that.' As soon as he said this, he knew why he had refused. If he died, he wanted to die completely. These villains all thought of being granted eternal life, or eternal strength. But to be eternally living would mean seeing his loved ones pass away. He would be left behind, facing the same pain over and over again, as well as causing pain to others, spilling the blood of demons. He may have wished to continue to fight, but the fact of seeing the death of his relatives and friends was enough to turn him away from these thoughts. Wasn't this what he had wanted to get away from? He didn't want to face seeing someone as close to him as his mother had been die again. He would never be able to handle it if it happened again.

            'A wise choice,' said the spirit. Dante tensed and looked up as he felt another power surge.

            'Did you feel that?'

            'It grows ever stronger. You and Trish won't be able to defeat this new threat by yourselves. It is now way above your own power limits combined.'

            'So now what?'

            'Wait until the day is done.'

            'What? So then it gets even stronger? What kind of shit is that?' Dante's eyes suddenly dawned with realisation. He nodded grimly and then turned back the way he had come.

            'I will give you more information on the beast we have to face. I know now who he is from the power. But first wait until the dawn of the next day.' Dante nodded again.

            'Fine.'

            'Tomorrow, the real test will truly begin.'

I'm guessing a lot of you thought that this was going to be about Arson and no one else. Well guess again. Dante is still going strong in my fics. He's going to get a lot more of a role in this fic from now on. (grins)

            Anyway, I hope that didn't go too badly for one with writer's block…review and tell me if you agree…please? (looks hopeful and then stares at everyone like a cute puppy)