Marcus's followers were so easily swayed it was pathetic, Giselle thought to herself. It was the sword they wanted and they would follow whoever had it into the seventh level of Hell. They were like addicts. The powers from the crystals only lasted a few hours, after that withdrawal symptoms set in and the people were left in a zombie-like state. Marcus had believed that the crystals gave best results from those who had not used them before. To that end most of his followers were now beyond hope and would do anything to receive a second crystal. Giselle now stood on a balcony overlooking a hall full of these pitiful creatures. Some once mortals, others, who knew? Strapped to her legs were the two handguns she had taken and in her right hand she held the sword Herikarras. Feeling its presence the wretched crowd began to murmur excitedly. She held the sword above her head.

"Followers of Brajin, Hear what I say. Marcus has betrayed us. He would have let the children of Sparda live free and our Master damned for all eternity. Marcus is no longer a threat to us, but those who carry Sparda's bloodline must pay. Any of you who can bring me an heir of Sparda, dead or alive, shall receive Master Brajin's favour!" Giselle called out to them. As one they all turned for the door, all desperate to be the one to please their new leader. Mindless automatons, all of them. Giselle laughed at how easy it was.

-

The blizzard raged stronger than ever, yet worse still was predicted to come. The Skyline was now completely buried. Erika wasn't too worried about it, but the weather was so bad now that by the looks of things, she was going nowhere. Dante, Trish and Wilson were now convinced that she was somehow related to this 'Sparda' character. Erika had heard Trish say that he was Dante's father, so what did 'related' mean? That Dante was her brother? Half brother? Erika found the whole idea too far fetched to even consider.

-

The snow was falling so thick and heavy that it wasn't setting on the ground or freezing over, it was just piling up. The wretched Brajin cultists struggled through the whiteout, barely able to move. The first few fell through the treacherous surface the snow provided, the rest climbing on top of their fallen companions. They moved like a herd, not like any type of sane group. All of them driven by the single, desperate desire to be once again in their master's favour. They struggled on through the bitter night, relentless in their single-minded quest.

-

Wilson was pretty sure he had found all the info he was going to, he couldn't think of anything he had missed. Unfortunately all the sheets of information were now in a disorganised heap all over the place. He wondered idly for a moment why he was worrying about things like that, especially now. Dante had gone into a back room to calm down. In Wilson's opinion that was probably for the best. Erika didn't want to know. She still wasn't convinced, even if everyone else was. Trish was watching her like a hawk. Wilson didn't think that Erika would go anywhere in this snowstorm, but there was no telling Trish that. She was still a bit sore for jumping to conclusions. It had been quiet since they had figured it all out, the radio had been left on but apart from the occasional weather report nobody was really bothered about it. Wilson was trying to think up something to say, just to break the silence when they heard a loud thud come from the door.

"What was that?" Erika asked. Trish shook her head and went to a window. Another thud followed by another. As if someone were trying to break down the door.

"My god, look at this" Trish said. Barely visible through the whiteout was a horde of the most desolate Brajin cultists; half-frozen and barely able to stay on their feet they threw themselves at the door in a pitiful effort to break it down. It reminded Trish of a zombie movie she had seen recently. At that point Dante came back in.

"What's going on?" he asked as he joined Trish by the window. "Wilson?"

"When exactly did I become the fountain of knowledge? I have no idea how zombies figure into this"

"They're not zombies; they look more like junkies than anything else to me" said Erika

"They're wearing Brajin robes. I am so sick of those people" Trish groaned

"You're right Trish. I say we take the fight to them. I'm sick of being dragged around by the nose" Dante said as he turned away from the window.

"And you've got a plan for getting through the blizzard? Oh wait, 'you have your ways' right?" Wilson said in a disgruntled manner.

"Don't be so negative, it doesn't suit you" Dante mocked. "Trish, I say where we're going, think you can make it?"

"Anything's better than sitting here playing 'Dawn of the Dead'".

"You too kiddo, I'm not letting you out of my sight" Dante said as he grabbed Erika's shoulders despite her protests.

"And I'm supposed to stay here and hold the fort" Wilson complained

"That is a good idea" said Trish as she put one arm around Dante's neck and the other around Erika's.

"Hey! What am I supposed to do if they break in!" Wilson protested

"Tell them we're closed" Dante remarked. Trish closed her eyes, a second later she and her two passengers were engulfed by a strange golden lightning. Once it cleared they were gone, leaving Wilson alone.

-

That eerie gold coloured lightning filled a now empty hall. It cleared as suddenly as it had started; leaving behind three figures that hadn't been there before. Trish had handled the teleport beautifully. Dante hadn't been aware that she could take more than one person at a time. From what he had seen Marcus's office had been near the top floor.

"Any ideas?" Trish asked

"Sure. Find Marcus and kill him" was Dante's reply. He headed to the elevator, dragging Erika with him.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Erika shouted, pulling against Dante's grasp.

"I told you before; I'm not letting you out of my sight" Dante said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Erika pulled again, this time managing to break free.

"What are you gonna do? Drag me around like some kinda pet? I don't know what happened before but I'm pretty damn sure that it doesn't give you the right to act like this!" she growled, sounding much more dangerous than she could possibly look.

"You're right, You don't know. That makes all the difference" Dante scowled icily. Erika wasn't prepared to back down just yet.

"The difference between what?"

"You'll see". For a moment they stared each other down, neither one willing to relent. Then Erika turned away and walked off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dante shouted after her

"Anywhere you're not" was her answer. Dante moved to go after her but Trish stopped him.

"Dante, she needs time. This is a lot for her to take in" she said.

"She's vulnerable on her own. I'm not going to let her..." Dante started

"Then we shouldn't have brought her here. Look, she's managed to survive on her own for years. I'm sure she can manage one more night"

"Think what you want, I'm going after her" Dante said, brushing Trish aside.

"Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn?" Trish said quietly

-

Erika ran blindly, not caring where she was headed. All that she knew was that she had to get as far away from Dante as possible. She paused for a second to hit the call button for a nearby elevator, then spotted an open door close at hand. She dived through just as Dante closed in. He saw the lit up button.

"Erika, I know you're around here somewhere" he called out. Erika pressed against the wall, trying to figure out some way out of this room. Dante would spot the open door soon, and if she tried to close it she would give away her position.

"Erika!" she heard him shout, then another voice.

"Dante, shouting like that won't help" Trish. The room seemed to be some sort of art gallery; it was full of various sculptures of gargoyles. Erika was thankful that that Giselle witch wasn't around. A second later Dante burst into the room. Erika slipped behind the nearest statue.

"Dante! Would you listen to me!" Trish shouted as Dante smashed a particularly ugly gargoyle with his sword. Behind them the elevator bell rang. The sound of high heels echoed all too clearly on the polished surface. Alastor twirled in Dante's had as though it were alive.

"Why don't you come where we can see you, I'm bored with your little plot already" Dante called out. Giselle entered the room like a queen.

"Do you know how much those statues cost" She said disdainfully.

"Send me the bill" Dante said dismissively.

"I'd be careful what you say around here" said Giselle in a childish tone.

"I'm tired of subordinates. Where's your boss"

Giselle's eyes started to glow. Dante stood ready, Trish took her cue from this and drew her sword. Just then Giselle was pitched forward. Erika had appeared behind her, as stealthy as a ninja. Giselle screeched furiously, her eyes burning. As one, the gargoyles rose from their pedestals. Trish and Dante took out the first few quickly. Then behind them Giselle grabbed Erika and held a gun to her head.

"Not another move or I swear I'll kill her" she spat as she backed out of the room with her hostage. As she left Dante plunged forward only to be intercepted by a second wave of those gargoyle creatures. Trish dropped her sword and held her arms up, that familiar gold electricity surged between her hands, then she hurled it at the creatures, dropping them like flies.

"Go! I can handle things down here" Trish called to Dante, who didn't need telling twice. He dived through the window, glowing with intense light. A moment later he shot skywards like a bullet.

-

As the elevator slowly pulled itself towards the top of the building Giselle gloated at the way things had turned out.

"I bet you thought I'd never find you. You little brat. You owe me more than you could ever imagine" she crowed.

"Shut up you damn bitch!" Erika snapped. She was in no mood to chat. Giselle slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that; you wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me!" Giselle spat darkly.

"How stupid do you think I am? My mother was Natalia Romanov, not..."

"I made you. I kidnapped dear Natalia from her home in St. Petersburg and I took the blood of Sparda from the Herikarras sword. I cast the spell that created you. If that harlot you call a mother had just behaved herself I wouldn't be in this mess, thankfully I had the common sense to have a sorcerer put a seal on you before you were even born. Not even Sparda himself would have known you were his child with that seal intact". Giselle hissed. Erika had an idea.

"You're too late. Dante told me that the seal is already broken"

"It doesn't matter. By the time you develop your full power my Master Brajin will have returned. Either your heart or the Son of Sparda's will work. I tricked him into getting involved so I could have two chances to make this work". The elevator reached its destination. Giselle pushed Erika out ahead of her, forcing her into the office. Who should be sat there on the desk waiting for them but Dante Sparda? He had found the manuscripts and was now flipping through them.

"Let me get this straight. You hide important documents in the desk drawers where anyone can find them? Isn't that just a little arrogant?" he said in a mock innocent tone. Giselle roared and ran at him, forgetting all about Erika. Dante waved his hand in an indifferent manner then tore the manuscripts in two.

"Oops" he taunted, then said in a severe tone, "Where's Marcus"

"You're so keen to meet him; here he is" Giselle said in an unnaturally calm voice, clicking her fingers. From a corner in the room, hidden in the shadows, a huge figure stumbled towards them; shaky on legs that didn't belong to it.

"Things are a little different around here now. I'm the boss, and my darling Marcus is... see for yourself"

The beast that shambled out of the shadows had been human once, now it was the kind of thing people have nightmares about. Clearly visible on its deformed face, behind those many gargantuan spider-like legs, was a single gunshot wound in the centre of its forehead. Right beside this the left eye was punctured. That could only mean one thing...

"Amazing, isn't it. I had no idea that the crystals had such an adverse affect on the recently deceased" Giselle spoke

"Listen, I take it you're new to the whole 'major villain' thing, so I'll tell you this: The big words don't make you sound any scarier" said Dante as he strode forwards.

"Big words, little words, its all just words in the end" said Giselle casually. She clicked her fingers again, beckoning the monstrosity forward. Dante drew his sword. Behind them Erika tried to move back toward the elevator. Giselle spotted what she was trying to do and leapt, grabbing the girl by her arm. Erika had had enough of being grabbed tonight. She jabbed her elbow into Giselle's stomach as hard as she could. Winded, Giselle dropped the arm that was holding her gun. Erika seized the weapon before Giselle could recover and aimed it at her face just as Giselle drew a second gun and aimed it at her.

"You little brat, I'll die happy as long as you go first, you and that hero of yours" Giselle ranted

"So you'll be nice to Dante but you call me names?" Erika retorted.

-

Dante had enough problems of his own to be dealing with without worrying about what the witch was up to. The monster formerly known as Marcus was stronger than it looked. Dante's first impression had been that it was slow and graceless. How wrong he had been. In spite of its awkward movements it was extremely strong and could move very fast when it wanted to. Its first assault had caught him by surprise and thrown him clear across the room, crushing the desk as he landed. He was not going to make that mistake twice. Dante flipped to his feet athletically as the creature threw itself at him. He thrust his sword at the beast's nearest leg, shearing it off. The fiend roared in anger and swung at him. This time Dante was ready, he dodged it effortlessly and was ready for it's next move.

-

Erika wasn't faring much better. Giselle was trying to point her gun at Erika's face and pull the trigger. At this range Erika could push her arm away but somehow she couldn't bring herself to return fire, she had aimed guns at people before but she had never fired at anything but targets. She couldn't do it. Giselle kept breaking free and aiming and Erika kept pushing her arm away. It hadn't occurred to Giselle to move back to where Erika couldn't reach, she was too angry to think straight. She brought her arm around again. This time Erika ducked underneath her arm and kicked the back of her knee, forcing her to the ground. Erika dropped the gun and seized Giselle's arm, twisting it so she couldn't get back up

-

The creature lashed out, catching Dante and pitching him back slightly. Cursing himself for being overconfident, he drew his guns and opened fire. The beast howled with fury as small chunks of its face disintegrated under the hail of bullets. It picked up the Herikarras sword from the wreckage that had once been a desk. Giselle had left it there. Then it leapt, sweeping the sword in a wide arc. Dante grabbed Alastor and parried the blow. The monster may be strong but it was no swordsman.

"Let's rock", Dante sneered as it regained its composure. Lunging forwards, Dante jabbed repeatedly at it's chest, not giving it time to move. Then he slashed upwards, catching the brute and hurling it into the air. He then switched to Ebony and Ivory, suspending the thing in mid air with the force of the shots. He let it fall to the ground before swinging Alastor at it again for good measure. It didn't get back up

"You're losing your touch" Dante sneered as he approached Giselle's prone figure.

"If you think I'm finished you are wrong" Giselle tried to sound fierce. She dived forwards, breaking free from Erika and rushed to the torn manuscript. Two gunshots hit the paper just as she reached out for it. Giselle spun, glaring angrily at Dante only to see that it wasn't him who had fired. Erika held the two guns Giselle had lost during the fight. The barrels were smoking and her hands were shaking slightly but the look in her clear blue eyes was unmistakable. She had had enough.

"What are you going to do? Haven't you figured out by now that you can't win? You were so scared of the real Child of Sparda that you made the world's best forgery and even that proved to be too much for you. So what happens now?" Erika sounded calm but her hands were shaking worse than ever now. Giselle spotted this

"That's all you are, isn't it? A forgery! A fake! I don't think the ritual would have worked if we used your heart, I don't think it's good enough" That was when a new shot was fired. The sound deeper than the one Erika's pistols had made. Ivory was smoking in Dante's hand. He twirled it like a gunslinger. Giselle fell to the ground.

"She talks too much" he said simply

"How can you be sure she's..."

"Headshots usually work"

Erika turned away. There were tears in her eyes.

"You don't believe what she said about being a fake? Because I sure as hell don't"

"What?"

"Your alive, you can't fake that and that's good enough for me"

Erika was quiet. Either she didn't want to speak or couldn't think of anything. Dante didn't care

"Come on kiddo, let's find Trish and get out of here"

-

Dante's office was unusually quiet considering the way it had been when they had left. The mob outside had disappeared and Wilson was nowhere to be seen. Dante almost hoped Wilson had gone to wherever it was ghosts went, but it had been because of Wilson that the night's events had unfolded the way they had. It didn't seem right that Wilson would just leave.

"Are they all gone yet?" said an all too familiar voice; Wilson hadn't left after all.

"I thought you had gone. Am I gonna have to call a priest?" said Dante

"Very funny"

"Where were you?"

"Doing the invisible thing, ghosts do that occasionally"

"What happened to the cultists?" Trish asked

"Weirdest thing, they just turned around and left. It was as if someone had called them back" Wilson explained

"And where were you?"

"Hiding. When you're intangible there's not much you can do. What happened to you guys?"

While Trish explained Dante checked on Erika. She had been quiet ever since they had got back.

"You ok?"

"Not quite, but I'm getting there"

Nothing else was said on the matter. There would be plenty of time for that later.

"Dante, I have a favour to ask" Wilson said, "After I've gone I want you to destroy all the work I did on that manuscript. I want it to be like it never existed"

"Consider it done. You may be annoying but you're ok by me" said Dante

"That's all I needed to hear. Maybe I'll see you around someday" said Wilson. With that he has surrounded by a brilliant white light. It glowed so intensely that it hurt to look at it. Then it faded and the ghost of Wilson Greene was gone, leaving the three of them to figure out where they went from here.