Dante pulled his sword out of the wreckage and took a look around. Erika had gone back into the office. She was very quiet.

"How did you figure out that she was a fake?" Dante asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know what that machine makes, but it definitely isn't coffee. Nobody in his or her right mind goes near it" She commented, pointing at the machine in question "how did you find me?"

"There are posters of your car everywhere. They all have this address on them. Seemed a good place to start"

"Damn you Hank" Erika said quietly, swinging back on the chair. Dante sat on the desk.

"You know he's probably dead, don't you" said Dante

"I know"

-

Back at the office of 'Devil Never Cry', unnoticed by Trish and Wilson who were busy arguing, the sword Sparda began to hum gently and glow with a faint amber light...

-

In the small office of 'Calhoun's 24 hour Auto Repair' Erika put a hand on her head, as if she felt dizzy. Dante was about to ask her what was wrong when he too felt a dizzy spell. For a moment the room seemed to spin, then everything went black...

-

Dante awoke in a room he had never seen before, yet nothing about it felt sinister or dangerous. It felt oddly like home. He looked around. It was definitely a bedroom of some sort. His weapons were gone, he was wearing different clothes and there was no sign of Erika. Cautiously he approached the door. The hallway outside was empty. Dante had the strangest sense of deja vu, as if he knew where every door on this hallway would lead. This feeling unsettled him. It was like knowing where you left your watch and knowing at the same time that you don't own a watch. This weird feeling told him that somebody was waiting for him in the study. He had no idea where the study was yet his feet knew instinctively where to go. He pushed open the correct door to reveal a comfortable study with a large couch and an old armchair. Around the walls were several bookcases and an old fireplace. Erika was sat on the couch. She was also dressed differently but that wasn't all. Her hair had gone from its usual ebony black to a silvery blonde colour. She suited it that way, Dante thought. She watched him enter the room. There was one other person in the room with them. He stood by a window, looking out. Then he turned to face them as if he had sensed that they were both here. It was like looking at a double exposed photograph. The man who stood before them was easily as tall as Dante; he had snowy white hair and a beard. His face had a look that wasn't young yet wasn't old either and his eyes sparkled with every shade of blue imaginable. No human eyes could ever look like that. At the same time, towering above them in all his glory was none other than the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda himself. Who had once faced down the armies of the Underworld and looked more than capable of doing it again. He looked at Dante and smiled.

"You're here. I was starting to wonder" he said

"Are you..." Dante began but found that he couldn't finish. The man understood anyway.

"In the flesh, or so to speak. None of this is real but on some level, yes. I am Sparda"

"Wait, none of this is real?" Erika asked

"Dante sit down. You both need to hear this" said the man who claimed to be Sparda. Dante sat next to Erika. For some reason the chair seemed out of bounds.

"I'm assuming you know about the curse Herikarras placed on her sword, that anyone who tries to use it sees their hearts desire. The same applies to those crystals that the sword makes, only its not as strong" He explained as he sat down in that chair

"Explains why those guys are so easy to beat" Dante mused

"Trish put my sword on that crystal you dug out of that goombah's eye. It still has my essence in it. That was enough to trigger this, a vision of my hearts desire. A safe place to raise my family"

"But I'm not..." Erika began but Dante cut her off

"Are Mom and Vergil here as well?"

"Dante, you've got to remember that this is just a dream. The two of you are really still in that garage. Although they could be here and most likely are, that's not what's important now"

"What is important?" Dante asked him.

"You two aren't stupid. On some level you've probably figured this out already" he said. "How many times have things seemed familiar to you?"

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Erika asked slowly.

"All I can tell you is what you already know. Even if you aren't aware that you know it. The rest is up to you" said Sparda gently, "Its time to wake up now".

With that the room started to fade.

-

Back at 'Devil Never Cry' the gentle hum and glow that the sword Sparda had been making died down as subtly as it had begun. Neither Trish nor Wilson noticed, as they were both still busy arguing.

-

It felt like waking. Dante was back at Hank Calhoun's tiny office. According to the clock on the wall no time had passed at all. Dante looked around for Erika. He needn't have worried. She was still in the chair. There was no way she could have left, he was between her and the door, and the office was too small for her to sneak past without him knowing. Her hair was black again but a streak of silver remained, standing out against the black like a beacon.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Can't have been a dream" Dante said

"What?"

"Sounds to me like we had the same dream, if that's what it was"

"No, that's impossible"

"Whatever it was, it was real" said Dante, touching the line of silver in Erika's hair. She pulled back, shocked at this.

"What do you think your doing?" she shouted

"Check it out" Dante picked up a spare wing mirror that had been left on the desk. She took a look.

"Erika, you're half devil. You've got demonic blood in you" Dante tried to explain

"Demonic blood? I don't know what's going on here but that is..."

"The truth. I know because I'm the same"

"Half devil?"

"Yes"

"This is stupid. You expect me to believe you. I don't even know you" Erika was getting really distressed about this.

"After everything that's happened tonight how can you not?"

Erika didn't reply. She looked at the mirror again, running a finger along the white stripe.

"Look, there's nothing more we can do here. Lets head back to my place. You left your car"