Chapter Five

"Once a long time ago, demons were brutally murdered, and their angry souls plundered around everywhere. Soon, the human souls were trapped in this world also, not allowed access to the peaceful sleep of death. They soon grouped together to form large mists of blue-green that, when they were solid, were swirling mass of blue and purple. They began to terrorize towns. After a while, it was finally learned that to defeat them and finally put them to rest, they must be shot to pieces."

As the soul eaters started to whirl at them, the three grouped closer together. The stars disappeared and a great mist surrounded them.

"Rose! Shoot the mist, we'll take care of the solid forms," Rayne shouted, loosening her blades.

Rose complied, rapidly shooting into the mist, causing the solid forms to appear. Some were blown apart by gun shots, but most were felled with blades. As she shot, she went into a killing frenzy and she cackled like a maniac.

Rayne whirled around with her blades out, slashing one Eater in half. She attacked the next, distracting it while Dante jumped and slashed from above. As they fought, they worked as if they were two people sharing one mind. Where one attacked, the other blocked and where one was left open, the other took that chance. After about 10 minutes they had defeated all the mists and Eaters. Rose still shot, laughing away, while Dante just stared at her.

"Bit crazy is she?" he said, staring at her like she was insane.

"Just the killing frenzy," in her Rayne answered, sighing.

After finally calming Rose down, making sure they weren't shot at, they walked into the Alter of Evil, holding their weapons ready. After making sure no enemies were in there, they relaxed some and walked closer to the Alter. The three golden heads faced them, and one looked like blood was coming from its eyes.

"Ew…that's really gross." Rose said, wrinkling her nose.

"Pansy," Dante said, jumping up onto a sword and onto the balcony around it. Rose stayed on the ground, looking around while Rayne followed Dante up there. Together they pushed an obstacle in their way, hearing a groaning noise like something was moving after they stopped.

"Woah, that is even worse! Another head is crying blood guys!" Rose's voice drifted up to them.

"Well," Rayne spoke, "I guess they don't want to see us leave."

"That was bad, you lose points for that," Dante replied shaking his head.

"Yes, but what about your loss of points for that tacky wardrobe a bit back? Hmm?"

"Oh please shut up about that."

"She's right you know," a voice spoke from no where.

"Um…who's there?" Rayne asked a bit nervously.

"Just us…" said the voice again.

"…his trusty blades." A matching voice spoke up.

"Well, "trusty blades", it's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is…"

"…all ours."

"Aw, Dante, they are so polite!"

"Unlike him!" Rose called up to them.

As he leaned over the edge and glared at her, she gulped and said, "Um…just kidding."

As Rayne and Dante went back to work together, and as they jumped back down to Rose (who was mortified at the three heads crying blood still) Rayne muttered, "Thanks for the help," before she jumped in front of him.

Dante just stared at her while his swords quietly spoke, "Uh oh, Dante has the moves."

"Shut up you two!" he snarled before jumping down to the two girls.

As he jumped, he landed on top of a Vanguard that had just appeared. As it bucked around, he held on, looking very much like a cowboy on a bull. The girls managed the other Soul Eaters while he and the Vanguard faced off.

"Here Vannny, vanny." He said, taunting it on.

As it cackled and walked towards him, he loosened his guns while acting like he was grabbing his blades. As the Vanguard attacked, he used Agni to block, whirled around and brought out Ivory and shot into his back repeatedly. The Vanguard whirled around and managed to nick Dante's shoulder before he got away.

"If that leaves a scar you are dead!" Dante growled at him.

He put up Ivory and brought out Rudra, starting an onslaught against the demon. In five minutes the demon was gone, and Rayne and Rose were staring at him worriedly.

"What? Do I have another eye or something?" He said, not understand while they were staring.

"You got cut!" Rayne said an uncharacteristic touch of worry in her tone.

"Oh that? Pfft, easily taken care of," he shrugged, healing it with his demon powers.

"Well…that's news." Rose said, surprised as Rayne nodded in agreement.

The freight sped off once they stopped on, causing Rose to fall on her butt. Embarrassed she stood up blushing muttering something about balance. They sped down the lines, fighting the demons that would appear. Then a crate full of Enigmas and Greed pulled up next to them. .

The Vanguard appeared with a crack, laughing its stupid evil cackle. Dante was already being attacked by three demons at once and Rose was fighting her best against the other two. Rayne quickly took in this information and readied her own blades.

"Oh, look at me. I'm a little evil Vanguard," she said, doing her best to draw his attention to her. When she began her imitation of his laugh, he swung his head at her. "Come to mama stupid thing," she said, crouching down into a defensive position.

It moved towards her and she jumped forward swing her two blades. One got stopped by the Vanguard's own blade, so she twisted her body midair and slashed with her other blade at his arms. She dropped to the ground, and watched for an attack. When he swung the large sickle down at her, she blocked it with a blade and rolled under the arm. She slashed at his back, getting a good hit before he turned back to her. She was unprepared for his attack, so she couldn't block the sickle in time.

It hit her arm, and created a deep gouge. She cried out a bit in pain, but still kept going. She struck again at him, but dropped her left blade from the pain in it. Her arm was hanging by her side, some scrapes on her face, and yet she kept fighting. She didn't notice Dante finishing; she was so focused on the Vanguard.

"Stupid…me…choosing…the hardest…one…yet." She gasped out trying to get behind him again.

As she went for an attack, she left her back open, not realizing it. Dante saw his sickle swinging down in slow motion. He ran forward, hoping to get there in time, "RAYNE!" he screamed, trying to get her to move. She turned back and saw the sickle with large eyes. Time seemed to slow down as he jumped forward and tackled her.

With a huge disturbance of air, the sickle barely passed over their backs. The evil cackle was cut in half. They looked up and saw Rose standing with her guns smoking. "You ok?" she said worriedly.

"Yeah," Rayne said, smiling at Dante, "this lout saved me."

He just stood up. "We're here," his voice came out gruffly.

"I always knew he smelt bad," Rose whispered to Rayne as Beowulf and Dante had a verbal spat.

"It could just be the stench of Sparda…seems like this demon thinks it's horrible."

"You never know, he may have gotten so…excited? I guess that's the word, at the sight of you he started sweating because he was nervous of your beauty."

"Shut up you twat," Rayne snapped, slapping the back of her head.

"Ow!" Rose said, grabbing the back of her head. "You didn't have to hit so hard."

"Yes I did, now shut up."

Beowulf roared and charged at them. Rose immediately jumped to the left pulling out her guns, whirling around and shooting at him, her lose hair flying around her face. Dante jumped straight up into the air, and as he fell on him, be grabbed his twin blades and swept an X-shaped attack on him. Meanwhile, Rayne had slid under him, slashing up with her own twin blades.

With the two swords masters swirling their blades in attacks so fast they were blurs and the constant rain of fire kept up from Rose who made sure to stay out of the way. Rayne was now out in the open and fighting. Then when Dante appeared next to her, they jumped as one body and twisted in midair to make a double half-moon slash. As they landed, Beowulf stood up on two legs and stomped his left leg four times.

Slightly out of breath, Rayne made a quick comment to Dante, "Temper tantrum…much?"

He gave a breathless laugh and they prepared for another attack. But instead a large tower like thing fell down in front of Beowulf. Hitting it with his left paw, he sent it flying at them. Dante quickly pushed Rayne to the side and rolled over himself. The tower crashed into a wall, exploding. The two jumped up, just looking at the spot. Catching Rayne's eye, Dante smirked.

"I just have to stop saving you."

Rose didn't notice the tower until it was too late; it came hurtling straight at her. As she looked up, she gasped and froze, immediately blacking out when it hit her. Rayne saw her unconscious form fall to the ground like a limp doll and screamed.
"ROOOSE!"

--We interrupt this thrilling scene for a commercial from the twisted Author and her friend.--

Episode of the Secret Handshake…or "MMM HMMM"

Rayne and Dante leaned closer, their deep love reflecting in their eyes. Dante moved closer, about to kiss her, an adorable blush highlighting Rayne's cheeks. Suddenly Rose randomly ran by, screaming loudly. "SECRET HANDSHAKE!

Dante growled, pulling away and grabbing his giant sword off his back. "COME BACK HERE YOU!" he yelled chasing her down the hallway.

Rayne just stood there helplessly, a huge sweat drop on her face. (A/n think Anime there.)

Rose ran down the hallway, trying to keep away from Dante. He was looking really scary and she didn't want to be caught. As she took another glance back to see where he was, she ran straight into a firm chest.

"Virgil!" She cried happily, running behind him, "Save me!"

He looked down amusedly at her, wondering why she was hiding behind him. She smiled up at him, holding onto the back of his robes. As a loud noise echoed to them and Rose hid again as Virgil looked forward.

Dante ran in, his sword held up, eyes crazy. "Where is she? Where did that little girl go?"

Virgil just gave him a calm, stoic look. "She hasn't come this way."

As Dante left, Virgil turned around, "For that, I deserve a prize."

Rose looked up and thought, "Hm…what should the prize be?"

Virgil smirked, "I know," and with that the two couples shared a blissful kiss.

--Back to the main story--

After Rose had fallen, Rayne attacked Beowulf with a new sense of fury. She whirled, sliced, jumped, and cut. Her two blades, Adara and Mara, were moving in faster whirls, never ceasing their attack. Dante kept up with her, attacking Beowulf, silent in his fury at this new turn of events.

Rayne dropped back to give herself a quick breath before diving back into her attack again. But before she could move, Beowulf dove straight at Dante. Agni flew through the air and sliced straight through the remaining eye, just as Beowulf smashed Dante into the ground.

"Dante!" Rayne shouted, scared that she had lost him.

She ran at him, dropping down to the ground next to him. As she helped him up, Beowulf flew away. Making sure he didn't have any broken bones, she gave him a quick hug before she ran to Rose, who was still crumpled at the ground. Rayne looked over her quickly, hoping to make sure she was ok. Seeing the tell tale sign of breathing, she relaxed slightly.

A hand touched her shoulder, and Rayne looked up. Dante's voice spoke, "Is she ok?"

Rayne, uncharacteristically, leaned back on his legs, too tired to support herself up. He tensed, clearly uneasy with this sudden display of hers, but he soon relaxed, slowly placing a hand on her head. They sat like this, waiting for Rose to wake up, an easy peace between the two.

With a groan, Rose moved her head to the side. She blinked as her eyes opened, seeing the cracked ceiling above her. Trying to figure out what had happened, she moved to the side. A slight smile came on her face, seeing her friend so at ease. Dante was watching her head, where his hand was currently resting, as Rayne slept leaning against his legs.

"Is she ok?" Rose whispered, still not moving. That tower was making her body hurt.

Surprised, Dante's gaze shot straight up. "Oh…yeah, she's just worried and tired."

Rose nodded, and slowly sat up. Rolling over onto all fours, she gestured for Dante to sit down. "We should get some sleep," she said simply, curling up into a little ball at Rayne's feet. Dante watched her easily fall asleep so close to her friend's comfort. He sat down; still supporting Rayne's back and fell asleep.

About an hour later, he opened his eyes to find that warmth was missing from his arm. Startled, he looked for Rayne and found her head in his lap. Nearby Rose was lying in the same spot as she had fallen asleep in.

Dante, awkwardly, gently shook Rayne's shoulder to wake her up. As she slowly woke up, she realized that she was seeing everything from the side. 'Hm..,' she thought, 'Why is there something warm under my head…?'

Snuggling deeper into his lap, not knowing it was Dante, she gave a satisfied sigh. She lay there for the next couple minutes, still not fully awake, until it hit her where she was. Shooting straight up, she turned slowly to look at Dante. A bright blush covered her face as she looked him in the eye.

"Ah…sorry about that…" she said, greatly embarrassed.

He smirked at her, and slowly stood up. After he got up, helping up Rayne, he walked over to Rose. Slightly kicking her, he growled at her, "Get up you, its time to go."

"WAAHH!" Rose screamed, shooting straight up. Looking at Dante, she glared. "What was that for butt head?"

"You wouldn't wake up. You're just slow."

"Don't call him butthead…his head is pretty," came Rayne's sleepy voice.

Rose looked over at her, and then back at Dante, "Did she just wake up?"

"Um…yeah…why?"

She slapped her head and walked over explaining. "If she doesn't have anything in the morning to wake her up, she's a bit…well…eccentric."

Rose bent down to Rayne's level and began to whisper in her ear. After a few minutes, with a slight blush, Rayne woke up fully and stood up.

"Well," she said a bit flustered, "Tally ho?"

Rose grinned, "Right oh!"

"You're both idiots," Dante muttered.

As they moved to the podium at the end of the room, Rose's eye caught sight of the bright, shinny object. She ran at it, drooling. She got near it and her eyes widened. It was a bright, purple, shinning ball. "So…pretty…" she said memorized.

"Don't touch it Rose," Rayne's voice out of no where.

"Aw…Rayne…" she said, wanting to see the pretty shiny thing.

Dante strode past the two arguing girls and grabbed the ball himself. He tripped at the sudden loss of strength, but caught himself. Rayne ran at him worriedly, holding him up.

"What's wrong Dante?"

"Nothing…I just tripped."

"This is amazing! Even the boy is no match for it!" The Jester was cut off as Dante grabbed him and shoved Ebony in his face. The Jester slowly started up again. "You're not going to shoot me, are you? If you do, I'll die, you know."

"If that's what it takes for you to shut you up. It bugs the crap out of me when someone talks more then I do."

Rose leaned over and whispered to Rayne, "Does that mean I "bug the crap out of him?""

Rayne just shrugged, concentrating on the conversation going on between the two. The Jester was speaking again.

"Don't act so rashly my boy. I got a doozy of a story for you, but if you snuff out my voice like that, I won't be able to tell it now, will I?" Dante just threw him to the side, tired of dealing with him. The Jester got up, speaking to the two girls, "I thought I was a goner for sure. Oops!" He turned back to Dante, "You saw it too, didn't you? The huge tower jutting out of the ground? That thick shaft that causes women to shudder is actually a tunnel-linking the demonic domain to the human world. And of course, your brother, Virgil is the one who controls it by using your mommy's amulet."

Now Rayne whispered sarcastically. "I could have told you that."

Rose just swatted her arm, wanting to know what Dante would say next.

But instead, he just said one short word, "Amulet?"

The Jester gave an evil grin, "He's headed to the control room in the basement. If you don't hop down there," here he hopped like a bunny himself, "quick like a bunny, he'll open the gate to hell. Isn't that a scary thought?"

Dante looked at him distrusting him, "And you are telling me this because?"

"Oops! I forgot to mention one teeny wittle item. That gizmo there is actually the KEY to move forward. But the tricky thing is, it sucks the souls of those who hold it." Rayne a short gasp that she muffled immediately. "So I think you'd better hurry! But, in return for your soul, it'll give you power. Marvelous, isn't it? Just let your spirit drive you and go for it."

Dante growled at him, "Wish you would have told me that in the first place. You big mouth moron." He quickly changed into his Devil form.

Rayne just nodded approvingly at it, while Rose's jaw dropped. "I didn't know he could do that."

Rayne rolled her eyes, "He's half-demon if you haven't figured it out. Of course he can."

"Well excuse me for not being all cuddly with him."

Rayne didn't answer, but once again just swatted the back of her head.

Dante stumbled as they ran down the stops and Rayne held him up. She looked at him worriedly, locking eyes. She gave him a soft smile and helped down the rest of the stairs. Rose was waiting for them on the train, and as soon as they stepped on it took off. Dante sat down, looking at the two girls.

"How many vital stars do you two have?"

Rose looked confused, but Rayne understood. "I took as many as I could, but I doubt we'll use them later."

The promise, though unspoken, hung in the air. If he needed them, they would be open to his use. Not using a verbal answer, he nodded at her and stood up, the first batch of demons were coming.

Dante began to grow sluggish, the orb was drawing strength from him, and this Vanguard just didn't want to die. As he gave a groan from a practically hard blow, Rayne showed up next to him.

"Take this!" She yelled, throwing a green star at him.

His arm shot out and grabbed it, his reflexes blessing him once again. Rayne stepped forward and distracted the Vanguard while Dante used the Vital Star. With his strength back, he attacked with a renewed fervor.

Dante crossed blades with the Vanguard in the front making a loud clanging noise that reverberated through out the whole hallway. While the Vanguard was drawing back his scythe to attack again, Dante leaped behind him, twisted in the air and cut in an X-slash across the back. The Vanguard died with a loud shriek and Dante collapsed on the floor exhausted a bit.

Rose and Rayne helped him up, which he gave a grunt in thanks too. Together they walked into the Rotating Bridge Room.

Author's Note: Oh me gee! This is so long! Over 6 and a half pages on Word! Sorry it's been so long, I've been really hectic. I'm just going to let you know that I'm going to Scotland on Tuesday and won't get back till the 15th…so I won't be able to update for a couple weeks. But I plan on writing in Scotland, so don't worry! Other then that, I wanted to say a really big thanks to Vampy for pushing me and Silver Roses…OH ME GEE! That totally pushed me through this last part of the chapter. Well love you all!