Right, so just to let you guys know, if you haven't already figured it out by now, I can't update very often.  I just have way too much work to do right now.  If one of you guys can figure out how to abolish school, that would be a big help.  But as for now, there'll be a new chapter whenever I can get it out of me.  Just don't hold your breath waiting.

I've also gotten a lot of great reviews for this thing so far, so thanks big to everyone who's bothered to post one.

Reaper M G:  Dun worry, Alastor isn't gone.  It just isn't in the picture right now.  I love that sword too much to take it away from Dante.   Just be patient (tho I know it's hard for you).  It'll be back.

*********

Raven's Nest

The doors slid open just as the elevator landed softly at the bottom.  Zephyr immediately stepped out into the sterile hallway, expecting the others to do likewise but Dante didn't budge.  His eyes were scanning what could be mistaken as a hallway in any hospital.  The walls, floors, ceiling, everything was white.  And the florescent lights reflecting off the smooth tiles of the floor made the scene almost blinding to look at.

"This is your place?" Dante asked skeptically, "I feel like I should be seeing patients walking around with IV stands, or something."

Raven smiled.  "Well you're almost right actually.  This is our med wing.  We should have gotten off at a higher floor but I guess Zephyr decided we needed help first."

Both mercenaries looked at the tall brunette.  Dante shook his head.

"I'm fine."  He said, walking out of the elevator, but had to stop to lean against the door frame as his stomach and head swam.

"Better hurry up before you collapse in the elevator, Sparda," Zephyr said smugly.

Dante grit his teeth but Raven nudged him with her elbow.  "Don't," she said, grabbing his arm, "You may say you're fine, but I'm not in denial.  I at least need help, so c'mon."

Zephyr lead the way down the hall and into the second door on the left.  Dante found himself standing in something he took to be a reception room, minus the inviting feel.  The room looked just like the hallway; white and stark.  The only difference was that the large desk where a kind looking old women sat, reading, was brown and cluttered with various pictures and a vase of flowers.  Dante was glad to see that there had been at least some effort made to make the place more welcoming.

He stood back with Zephyr as Raven walked up to the desk and lightly tapped it with her knuckles.  "Knock knock," she said, making the seated woman jump.

 "Oh Raven," she said with surprise and obvious relief.  "You're alright.  You had me worried sick, dear."

Raven smiled kindly and touched the woman's hand, "I'm sorry Flora.  I won't do that to you again."  She crossed her heart with her finger, "I promise."

Flora puffed out her chest and made her voice playfully stern, "See that you don't.  I couldn't bare any more thoughts of you not coming back."

"Well I almost wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Dante," Raven said a little gravely, but quickly hid her tone with a smile. "He saved my butt."

"Did he?"  Flora said, looking approvingly of the silver devil.  "In that case I won't have to belt you for making Raven go out after you."  She winked at Dante and then turned back to the dark-haired woman.

"Well I'm glad to see you're still in one piece, but you can't be feeling all too well with that poison in your blood.  Those blasted hounds.  You must be more careful," the old women said in a disapproving tone.  "And as for you, my dear," Flora came around her desk to get a better read of Dante, who felt increasingly uncomfortable under her critical stare.  He held up his hands.

"I'm fine," he mumbled but Flora didn't back down.  She instead took a sharper look at him.

Raven grinned from where she sat perched on the edge of the old woman's desk.  "It's no use lying, Hero.  Flora can tell what's wrong with you just by looking at you.  She's scary that way.  That's why she's so useful to us in the med wing.  Guys can come in here unconscious or half dead and she'll be able to tell you what's wrong and how it happened."

Dante stared bewildered for a moment and then looked directly at Flora.  "That's how you knew about the hounds?"  Flora nodded and Dante was silent again.  He folded his arms across his chest, silently hoping it would stop her from seeing right through him.

"There's no need to be bashful," Flora said amusedly, "I already know what's wrong with you."

"I'm fine," Dante said evenly.

Flora frowned.  "Another stubborn one," she rolled her eyes at Raven and then turned back to the devil hunter.  "No matter," she said, "I'll straighten you out."

"But I-" Dante stopped mid-sentence, not believing that he was allowing himself to be intimidated by the old women who was half his size and twice his width.  Or maybe it was her stature that was freaking him out so much.  Just looking at Flora, he realized that despite his first impressions of her being a cheery, grandmotherly type of person, she was not, however someone to be taken lightly.  He realized that she was probably quite capable of holding her own in a fight and Dante wasn't in any hurry to get on her bad side.

As Flora stood between Dante and her desk, her eyes remained locked with his.  "I think you're a fine young man, Dante and that's why this has to be done."  She reached up a hand and slapped the white-haired man across the face.  Dante couldn't do anything but hold his stinging cheek in shock.  He heard Zephyr snort and knew without looking that the man was smiling.

"Hero or no," Flora continued, motioning to Dante, "You see what cockiness gets you?  A serious bump on the head and a body full cuts and bruises."  She shook her head, "Honestly, toying with level five demons when you haven't the slightest concept of what you're up against.  You young men will do practically anything to impress a girl."

As if the slap wasn't enough, Dante now felt as if he'd been caught with his pants down.  He felt exposed and the center of attention. Raven wasn't looking at him.  She'd turned away and was hiding her face with her hand.  Was she blushing?  Had she assumed by what Flora said that Dante had been trying to impress her?  He hoped not because it wasn't true-not entirely anyway, but he was too stunned to form a coherent sentence.  'What-no-you-I-you don't-I didn't,' was all he managed to get out before he gave up trying to defend himself.

"Nice save, Sparda," Zephyr said, but he wasn't smiling.  Something about what Flora had said, or something Dante had not been able to say, had angered him.

Flora turned to Zephyr, "And are you hear for any particular reason?"

"Actually I was just about to leave," Zephyr grumbled, "Take care, Raven."  He brushed shoulders with Dante as he left.

"Now," Flora focused on the two ailing mercenaries, "Both of you go get Nick to fix you up.  And I don't ever want to see either of you in here on business again.  Is that clear?"  Raven and Dante nodded solemnly.  "Good," the old women smiled brightly, ushering the hunters through another door, "Get going then."  She closed the door behind them.

***

Dante woke up hours later in a sparsely furnished room, having only two beds and a small table set between them.  Raven was in the bed beside his and she was quietly watching him.

"How long was I out?" he asked her, putting his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling.  At least it's not white.  "I can hardly remember what happened after we left Flora's."

"We saw my friend Nick and he treated the poison and our wounds and then we were brought here for some much needed rest."

"That's weird," Dante surveyed the room, "I don't remember being taken here."

Raven smirked, "No, you wouldn't.  You were out when they brought you here."

"What do you mean I was 'out'?"

"I mean you passed out the moment we walked into the examination room."

"What?!?"

"Yeah," Raven affirmed, "One minute you were standing and the next you were on the floor.  But don't take it so hard.  Nick says you're the easiest patient he's ever had."

Dante closed his eyes and breathed heavily, "Great."  He turned his head to look at Raven, "Does prissy boy know?"

"Who?  Oh yeah...Zephyr," Raven shook her head, "No, there's enough animosity between you two so I think we'll keep this our little secret."

"Good," Dante sighed.  "So what do we do now?"

"Well," Raven pretended to ponder; "Now I go to sleep for another five hours because I don't have your super healing powers.  And you can either go back to sleep or wander around the underground aimlessly, possibly get yourself lost, until I'm ready to get up and show you around.  How's that?"

"Wonderful," said Dante, getting up, "I'll see you around then.  Be prepared to send out search parties for when you can't find me."

Raven smiled, "I'll be sure to do that."  She watched Dante open the door, "And hey," she called to him, "I'm sure you buddy Zephyr would be more than happy to give you the tour if you can find him."

"Yeah," grumbled Dante, "I'll be sure to do that.

***

The second Dante stepped out of the room where he and Raven had been housed; he was already contemplating going back inside to wait.  He didn't know what floor he was on or even where the nearest exit was.  All he was thankful for right now was the fact that there were no white walls in sight.  But that still didn't change the fact that this hallway was just as deserted as the med wing.

He looked up and down the hall.  Both ways ended in an identical staircase except one led down and the other led up.  From there Dante could gather that he must be above the med wing because he knew that that was the bottom floor.  Or maybe that had just been the last floor the elevator he had taken down could go to.

Great, I hate this place already.

Dante walked towards the staircase leading up.  At least if he kept climbing he'd have to hit street level sooner or later.  But just as he was a few feet from the stairwell, he heard a familiar sort of explosion; a gun blast coming from the lower level in the opposite direction.

"Ebony and Ivory."

Dante ran back the way he'd come and continued down the other staircase, taking two stairs at a time.  He landed in a short, dimly lit hallway with a single large door iron door at the end.  The shots were coming from inside, along with unearthly screeches and shrieks; the cries of demons being annihilated.

Dante walked towards the door and pushed it open.  It wasn't locked, but it was extremely heavy and hard to open.  As he stepped inside, the light from the hallway was completely absorbed by the black of the room.  The door slammed back by itself and Dante was immediately lost in the Abyss of shadow.

A bullet whizzed by his head but Dante did not flinch.  He knew it hadn't been intended to kill him, just scare him.  He knew the person who had fired the shot was close by because he could smell the smoke from the barrel of the gun-his gun.  He also knew who was holding it.

"Hey Zephyr," Dante called out, "It was a lot easier to find you than I thought it would be."

The tall brunette stepped forward.  He had to stand close for Dante to be able to see him.  "You're interrupting my training," he said flatly, "What do you want?"

"Well first of all I'd like my weapons back."  Dante held out his hand.  Zephyr just looked at it.

"And what weapons would those be, Sparda?"

"I don't know," Dante said sarcastically, "Maybe the ones you're holding in your hands?"

"Well if you're that uncertain," Zephyr leered, walking past Dante, "Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

Dante roughly grabbed his arm.  "Don't try to be cute asshole.  Just give me my fucking guns."

Zephyr stopped and calmly pried Dante's hand off his arm.  "I don't think I'll be doing that Sparda.  These are my guns now.  You know the whole finders-keepers thing.  You left them in the construction yard and now they're mine.  Next time take better care of your things."

"I'm warning you, Zephyr."

The brown-haired mercenary smirked, "You're warning me.  And yet somehow I'm not afraid."

Dante growled and looked at his handguns in the taller man's hands.  "I'm surprised a stuck-up bastard such as yourself could even lift those, let alone fire a clear shot."

Zephry frowned, "And I didn't know monkeys could talk, but I suppose we've both learned something today."

"I guess so."

 "And what do you need the guns for anyway, Sparda?  Having trouble impressing Raven?"

"No," Dante stated with malice, "You must be getting me confused with you.  I don't need help impressing Raven because I've already done it.  And you know what?  I didn't even have to break a sweat.  My name was enough.  But you on the other hand, I can see why you'd need my guns, or any help for that matter.  You've got nothing-not even a name.  Zephyr-what is that anyway?  It certainly strikes fear in my heart."

Zephyr went deathly calm.  Dante could tell that he was straining to keep himself from lashing out, but that didn't stop Dante from digging a little deeper.  "You've probably tried everything to get her to notice you and you're still just nothing."  Dante shook his head, "It's sad.  Don't you think?"

Zephyr didn't speak, but his hands were shaking as he handed over Ebony and Ivory to Dante.  Dante half expected him to level him but the brunette merely turned on his heel and headed out the door.

Dante didn't really know why he did it, but he called out to him.  "Wait," he said.

Zephyr stopped short, sighing deeply, "What?"

"Raven said you'd be willing to give me the tour of this place."

"Nobody knows Raven's nest better than she does," Zephyr said coolly, "Just wait for her.  You can even make it a date."

Dante took a step towards him, "C'mon Zephyr."

"I'll see you, Sparda," Zephyr said and disappeared up the steps.

Fuck.  Now I'm going to have to apologize to that ass.

"Later," Dante stuck his guns back in their holsters and left the training room.  He headed back upstairs to see if Raven was ready to give him the tour and hoped that he wouldn't bump into Zephyr again for a while.

**********

Not as long or as action filled as I'd like, but at least it's something.  The rest of the plot should be revealed in the next chap so hopefully you guys can wait till then.  Alastor should also be returning in the next chap too.  I also didn't proof read this thing so let me know about (ONLY) major problems if you find them.

So yeah, remember to review and such and I'll to have the next chap out when I can.