Had to remove the reviewer replies coz of new rules. But you know who you are: thanks so much! I love to hear what the readers think.

Things in-between 'thoughts'

And on another note: I've decided to class the bad guys. Into Devils and Demons. Now there are different classes with in these as well. For example: Mundus is a high class devil while Trish is of lower class and Nobodys are high class demons while Marionettes are the lowest class demons. Got it? If not, I'll probably explain it more in detail in the story later on.

And I know the dialogue from the game might not be correct, but you can always correct me. And yes, Dante pulls out E&I after speaking, but I want it this way.

On to the story…

Chapter 2: Awakening

Darkness…Nothing but darkness. But this darkness that held Trish was not unwanted. It was a calm dark, a place where she could mend, a place for her to rest. And it was a place where no one would ever rule over her again. She would be at peace here.

'When I'll finally be at peace. It might take awhile, considering all the things I have done.' It was strange though, not as she had envisioned death to be like. But she knew she was dead, she had to be. Because she was no longer on earth…nor was she in the demon dimension. All that there was now was darkness.

'But why am I here? And what is this place? Devils should not be allowed to feel at peace.' For what seemed like hours, then days Trish thought about this. Wondered at the strangeness.

Then as the weeks passed, she began to feel restless. 'I should not be at such a place! I should be in torment! So how can it be that I am here in this peaceful place and not somewhere else?' She was soon becoming really frustrated, and the darkness no longer seemed so peaceful, but constraining instead. 'But maybe this is what it's supposed to be like. Things sure have changed around here…without actually changing.' She laughed then, but it was a humourless sound. As the sound of her laugh seemed to warp around the space, changing into something sinister, like words and sounds that were taunting her. 'Great, now I'm going crazy! And why the hell can't I feel my body any longer?' She had felt it at first, and it had been as if far away, but still there. She had felt a connection, however small, to it. Now she could only feel her mind floating around in this place. A jumble of thoughts everywhere she turned. And it was bugging her beyond anything she'd ever felt before. Haunting her.

As time passed the sounds kept growing louder and louder. They had warped into a strange voice-like sound that was taunting her, reminding her of the things she had done, things she had wanted to do and things she had wanted to experience but would now forever be without. Things she yearned for with all that she was.

Then as aeons passed the darkness felt damp against her, which she found ridicules as she couldn't really feel anything any more; then it felt as there was a fog around her. A thick cloud of damp, warm fog. It seemed to pass through her, yet it clang to her skin. And the sounds kept getting louder and louder. 'Stop it! STOP IT!' she kept shouting in her mind. These feelings were driving her mad.

But soon she was aware of nothing but the incredibly loud thumping that seemed to be everywhere.

And then she felt pain, mind numbing pain, after which she fell into another kind of darkness.

Meanwhile somewhere in the Underworld

Dante was pissed. Actually he was beyond pissed, he was furious. The Underworld was falling apart around him, it was probably even worse at the island, he had no way to get off said island, there were devils and demons everywhere wanting to kill him now more than ever (but this was actually a good thing as he could vent a bit by killing them), he'd possibly (well, probably) killed his long lost brother and most of all he felt he hadn't gotten a good enough revenge at Mundus for all the things he had lost to the devil. And that brought him to Trish. The devil that had looked exactly like his mother but had been the exact opposite of her. He had hated her and then he had cared for her. But now she was dead, dead because of him. But why had she done it? Given her life for him when he had told her that he himself would take her life the next time they met? And what had Mundus been talking about? And why the heck was he thinking about stuff some pathetic devil had spoken of. 'Pathetic, dead devil.' Dante smirked at that. At least something had gone right today.

'Whoa! That was a little too close…' he thought as a Nobody almost sliced his head off. 'Back to business! Think about serious stuff later.' With that thought in mind Dante grabbed Alastor and chopped the Nobody until there was nothing left except a puddle of slimy goo.

Then he continued running.

'Burning…Hot…Feverishly hot….ugh…' Trish had never felt like this before. Sure she'd felt the warmth and heat of summer, but never inside her like she felt it now. 'It's like there's a fire burning inside of me.' It had started with the fog heating up, and then it seemed to have moved inside of her.

The heat was quickly becoming unbearable, and then there was suddenly something cold.

'No, not cold…cool.' She began searching for it, pushing away from the heat of the fog that clouded her. As she came closer to it, things began clearing up in her mind; the madness lifting. The heat was still there but it was quickly becoming replaced by pain.

'I'm hurt!' The realization didn't strike her as odd, for she could not remember dying; the aeons spent in confusion had erased the memories of her demise. Then the cool presence was there again and Trish knew she needed to reach it. Something important was hidden in that cool. 'If I could just reach it…' Stretching all the she was she tried to reach it, further and further she went until there was no distance left between her and the cool.

She reached for it and suddenly she felt as if she was burning up after being cut into small pieces. The pain was beyond anything she had ever experienced.

And then Trish awoke.

She opened her eyes and then felt the ground shake.

'What's going on?' she wondered. The pain was being pushed to the back of her mind; she knew somehow that there were more important things to deal with right now. Sitting up, she felt something fall from her chest.

'A pendant…' She reached for it and found that it was cool to the touch: the same cool she had felt previously. "You saved me." She told the pendant. She smiled a little at her silliness. 'Speaking to a pendant, I really must be crazy.' Trish studied it for a moment longer, and then a memory suddenly flashed before her eyes. Dante! This was Dante's pendant! She had died for him… but where was he now?

The ground shook again and Trish stood up. For the first time she noticed Sparda stuck in the floor. Recognizing it as also belonging to Dante, Trish began to worry a little. What had happened? 'Perhaps this is not the right time to ponder on such things.' She thought as the ground once again shook. 'I need to get out of here…but how?'

After fastening the pendant around her and strapping Sparda to her back, she began to think of a way out. A way to Dante.

"The Gate has been opened. Dante, you are not getting away THIS is where you will DIE." Mundus declared.

'Great. Just what I needed: stuck in a room with no way out on an island that's falling apart. Oh, and let's not forget the devil that managed to open the portal to the Underworld and get here. Did I mention that he wants to kill me? Pathetic excuse for a devil. Does he ever stop yapping?' Dante, deciding to get this over with, drew Ebony and Ivory and got ready to get down with it.

"I'm not going anywhere! Besides, there's no place to go, Look around! This will be your burial ground as well." He said, and then attacked…and attacked, and attacked some more.

'oookay…this is not working. Shitshitshit. Not good.' For some reason he was doing no damage to Mundus whatsoever.

His breathing was hard and he kept backing away from Mundus, trying to get some distance so he could think up a way to get out of this alive. Sure he'd been in bad situations before, but this was definitely taking first prize. 'What the hell do I do now?' Not that he would ever admit it but something strangely like fear was sneaking up on him. Not fear of Mundus, but fear that he would fail the responsibility that was his. His responsibility to keep the people of earth safe from demonic invaders. The responsibility that was his because of his blood. Blood that was now screaming at him to do something, to do his duty. To complete the legacy that his father had left him.

'But what if I fail?' The thought came unbidden; it was simply there and would not release Dante from its grip. Doubt then started to sink its claws into Dante; it wanted to poison his mind against him. It wanted to claim him as its own.

Pushing away these dark thoughts Dante tried to focus once more on defeating Mundus. But for some reason he could not keep the doubts and fears away. 'This just might be it… I might not make it through this one.' Hope had left him then… And now there was nothing left…

But then there was a voice in the darkness; a voice that chased away all his doubts and filled him with confidence again. It was the voice of hope and faith: the voice of Eva, his mother.

"Dante…You'll be okay…You can do it." For an instant both Mundus and Dante froze… Both in disbelief.

"Mo…mo…mother…?" The wonder could not be contained in Dante voice as he questioned his hearing.

Then a flashing light, and there she was, his mother alive and right there! But wait, no, not his mother but Trish. Alive and well, with his mother's pendant hanging around her neck and Sparda strapped to her back. Dante was in complete shock, something that had never happened to him before. She was truly a vision. Blond hair and pale skin almost gleaming, even in this place of darkness, a fire burning in her eyes; this was a true warrior... the vision of an warrior angel.

"Dante! Use my power!" And then he felt power surge into him. Not the same as before, this was warm, powerful… a source of great power.

"Trish!" the shock was clear in his voice. How was she alive? 'Ask questions later, kick ass now.'

Using both his and Trish's powers, he was able to defeat Mundus. The devil screamed at him that he would return to rule the earth, but Dante simply put him off by letting Mundus know that someone would always be there to fight him.

It was his legacy, and his destiny and it would fall on all those who came after him. Mundus would never rule the Earth as long as the Sparda blood ran true.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Feel free to do so again.