LDN's official disclaimer: Dante and Trish belong to Capcom. Her OC's Gabriel, Flame and Damon belong to LDN. Solely her, so don't use them without her consent. Thank you!

LDN: Hey everyone! I bet you thought I was dead or something, but nope I'm still alive. The cold has come and gone, considering it has been a few months since I last updated. Don't be angry with me, I was off writing some fics and playing with some cool computer programs. I am finally here because hearing about DMC3 has rekindled my love for DMC. Yes, love you read that right. I love DMC and I love writing DMC fics. I can't wait for DMC3 to come out so I can write a fic on it. I have refrained from starting it now because I don't want to contradict myself or something. MUST. REFRAIN! (laughs) :)Thanks so much for the B-day wishes and Athar for singing to me. Merci! Thanks to for reviewing: Athar-Luna, Dead Eye Stud (reviewed 2 times. No there will  not be a love scene. :P), Kikoken, Bustahead, Dante, GothicMiku13, Ms. Cornell. Now on to chapter 13. Please enjoy. :)

Chapter 13- Flame's Parting Gift

            Trish urgently headed over to Dante. "Don't be dead! Don't be dead!" She whispered to herself over and over as she reached him. She turned his prone figure over and cradled his upper body in her arms. His eyes were closed, a few unsettled strands of silver hair across his face. He was so still.

            "Dante," She said timidly. "Can you hear me?" She placed two fingers on the crook of his neck, checking for a pulse. She could feel a very faint and erratic pulse, but she couldn't tell if he was breathing. Not a movement from Dante's chest to indicate if his lungs were still carrying oxygen.

            She wasn't going to cry she told herself mentally. Her eyes watered and a low whimper escaped her lips. She gazed down at him and caught the slight movement of his chest as he breathed. She breathed out in relief. He was still alive, but for how long? And why didn't he wake up? She looked back up and saw the smoldering, still body of Damon, but no Flame.

            Where the hell is she? Trish thought to herself frantically. She turned her head to the side and noticed Flame walking toward Gabriel. Gabriel. She had completely forgotten about him. Trish sparked with yellow electricity. "Don't go near him!" She warned Flame, the yellow electricity amplifying with her rage.

            Flame turned to look at Trish and put her hands up in a yielding manner. "Wait! Don't barbeque me just yet." She told her. "I just want to say bye to him."

            Trish looked at her skeptically. "Bye? You're not going anywhere." Trish told her tersely.

            "Yes, I am." Flame countered. "When he dies, I'm dieing too." She said pointing at Damon.

            "I don't understand." Trish replied perplexed, the yellow light around her fading a bit.

            "It's too long a story. Please, just let me say bye to him." Flame pleaded sincerely.

            "All right, but I'm watching you. Any suspicious movement and I'll fry your ass." Trish told her.

            "Got it." Flame said in complete understanding. She went to Gabriel's side and knelt down beside him. She looked at his unconscious face, but she didn't dare touch him. "Can I hold his hand?" Flame asked Trish without looking away from Gabriel.

            "Sure," Trish told her. "Just no funny business." A part of Trish was curious to see what Flame was up too.

            Flame reached down and took his hand, interlocking her fingers with his. "Gabriel, I don't know if you can hear me, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about everything that I put you through." She said sincerely. "Before I go, I want to give you something, but I need your consent before you can accept it from me." She explained. "Will you accept?" She watched his face as he slowly opened his eyes. His eyes weren't cloudy anymore, but crystal clear. He ran his tongue over his upper lip and pressed them together. His lips had felt so dry. "Yes, I accept." He rasped out.

            She smiled at him. "Thank you for accepting." She said gratefully.

            He felt a warmth surge through him, but the warmth lingered on his hand. "What did you do?" He asked her softly, looking at her as he sat up.

            "I gave you my power." She told him.

            "You can do that?" Gabriel asked amazed.

            She nodded her head. "I won't need it anymore. Besides it might do more good with you then it ever did with me." She added. She leaned toward him and whispered against his ear. "If only we'd met sooner," She said sadly. "Things could have been different." She gently kissed his cheek and pulled away looking into his light blue eyes. "I'm sorry." She said softly and she released his hand.

            "No, I'm sorry." He told her.

            Flame looked at him questionably. "Why?" She asked him.

            He looked at her sadly. "Because I couldn't help you when you needed the most help." He replied, a tear trickling down his cheek.

            She reached out and wiped the tear away. "Don't cry for me, Gabriel." She told him softly. "It's all right."

            He nodded at her and put on a strong face.  

            She rose to her feet with a sad smile on her face. She stood still for a couple of seconds, and then her skin began to melt away. The skin seemed to be devouring itself until it was gone, then the muscle, until nothing but fully clothed bones remained. Her fully clothed skeleton stood for a second then it fell onto the ground, turning into a pile of ash on contact. 

            Gabriel ran his hand through his black-silver highlighted hair. His head was killing him. What the hell happened? He rose to his feet and a small gust of wind blew from behind him. He turned slightly to catch sight of black shiny feathers against him.
Oh…right," He said uncertainly. "My wings." He flexed his wings slightly, watching them move with mute fascination.

            "Gabriel!" Trish called out to him urgently. "Something's wrong with Dante!"

            Gabriel looked away from his wings and turned toward the direction of Trish's voice. He saw Trish cradling his father on the floor. He rushed over to them and knelt down opposite of Trish, beside his father. "What happened?" He asked anxiously looking Dante over.

            "Damon sucked out his essence. He's breathing and he has a pulse, but he doesn't wake up." Trish told him. "He might be in a coma."

            "Fuck!" Gabriel cursed, slamming his hand on the floor. "I was here and I didn't do anything! I was fucking passed out on the ground! I'm worthless!" He ranted upset.

            Trish reached out and touched his arm. He was really upset if he was cussing. "It's not your fault." She told him compassionately. "It couldn't be helped."

            He caught sight of her arm. "You're hurt too." He said looking at the nasty second degree burn on her arm.

            "I guess I didn't get away from the flames quick enough." She told him. "I'm fine though."

            "No, wait, if I can heal you then maybe I can heal dad." He told her.

            "Ok, it's worth a shot." Trish said in agreement. "Have you tried it before?"

            Gabriel shook his head. "Nope, first time." He told her. He placed his hand above her burn and he focused all his concentration and energy on healing it. A white light emitted from his hand and absorbed into Trish's arm.

            "It worked!" Trish exclaimed cheerfully, as she saw the burn vanish.

            "All right!" Gabriel said reciprocating her reaction. He placed his hand over his father's chest, and then he quickly removed it as if it had stung.

            "What? What's wrong?" Trish asked frightened.

            "You know, on second thought, we should just keep him like this." Gabriel said jokingly. "Just prop him by his desk at Devil Never Cry."

            "Gabriel!" Trish snapped at him, smacking him on his arm.

            "Ouch. Ok...ok." Gabriel smirked. He placed his hands over his father's chest and concentrated hard. The white light emitted from his hand again and it went into Dante's still form. After a few seconds Dante stirred slightly and his brows creased.

            "It's working." Trish exclaimed relieved.

            Gabriel kept his concentration on healing his father; it was taking a lot of energy from his part. At last the silver haired hunter awoke.

            "What the hell happened?" He asked still in the circle of Trish's arms.

            "Not much." Gabriel replied. "Just your soul got sucked out from your body and you almost died." Gabriel said dismissively. "Just a normal day in the demon hunting business." Gabriel added off-handedly.

            "So everyone's dead?" Dante asked slightly disappointed.

            "Yup, all the actions over." Gabriel said simply.

            "It's time to go home." Trish told them. Gabriel and Trish helped Dante to his feet; he was still a little unsteady.

            "I guess so." Dante said simply.

            "No, not quite yet." Another voice spoke up, from the darkened hallway.

            "Who the hell is there?" Dante demanded.

            A figure stepped forward out of the darkened hallway.

            "I don't believe it." Dante said shocked, catching sight of who stood before him.

Lady Deadly Nightshade: Ohhhh another twist. Apparently the action isn't over. There is a new player still lurking around, but who is it and what do they want? Well find out in the next installment but when will it appear though? This chapter took 2 months to come out. Ah well we'll see. Later everyone! :)