HI EVERYONE! 3 Thank you for the reviews! I really want to respond to them, but it's 3am and I just wanna publish this for you all!

I'm super glad Vergil's "burns" were well received cause part of me was like "Would Vergil even care about these people enough to analyze them?" (except for Dante) But then I was like SCREW IT, IT'S MY FIC AND IT'LL BE FUNNY. Haha.

Updates will be a little slower now because I don't have any rough drafts, but you all manage to keep me ~motivated~ Enjoy the chapter! :D

31 January 12:35am

Cyra had everything they would and might need. The serum, syringes, sedatives, gauze. The only thing Dante had that Cyra didn't was alcohol. Vergil might need it for the pain - which he wouldn't, but Cyra might need it for her nerves. It was all overkill anyway, because the serum would be all that truly mattered.

Dante, Vergil, and Trish were all staring at her, waiting for her to explain. Vergil was of course more than eager to finally be cured, but there was still the curiosity of what was bothering her. He could see it on her face, beyond the tired eyes from not sleeping properly. It wasn't hard to notice how hard she was trying not to look at him.

Cyra held up a syringe filled with transparent white liquid, "We have one chance. The needle has to puncture straight into the Nidhogg parasite on the heart and we can't miss. Rupturing the heart at all will be really dangerous and while it usually wouldn't kill you, your healing factor is pretty unpredictable at the moment, so we can't risk it," She explained, eyes settling on the floor.

"You sure you're awake enough for all this?" Dante asked.

"I'm fine," Cyra said.

Dante sighed, "Alright…So you're just going to stab him?"

Cyra looked up at Vergil. It was the first time she's stopped to look at him since she saw Amelia's memory. She felt a light shiver work its way through her body when they made eye contact. There was a sadness behind his eyes that she didn't have enough time to decipher. Somehow, she felt he could see right through her and read her mind, although she knew that was impossible. It was hard to explain, but she felt her doubts were obvious to him. Was she really about to heal the man who inadvertently brought his on himself? Temen-ni-gru was one thing, but he summoned the Qliphoth, too, which is where the Nidhogg came from. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about Amelia's memory again, causing a pain to shoot up to Cyra's head. Her eyes shut tight and she brought a hand to her head to relieve the pressure, but the pain was already gone.

"You okay?" Dante asked and took a step to rest a hand on her back. Vergil's eyes narrowed to the physical contact he was making.

"Yeah," Cyra lowered her hand, opening her eyes only to coincidentally fall onto Vergil's. His pale blue eyes held no malice. In fact, he was concerned; a complete contrast to the event she had to remember was 25 years ago. What was with her second guessing herself!? Cyra shook her head and turned to Dante holding the serum out, "I'm not going to do it. You are."

Dante held out his hands, "Why me!?"

"Without an X-ray, I can't tell exactly where the Nidhogg is, which makes it too dangerous if I do it because I'll definitely miss," Cyra said.

Dante winced and grabbed the syringe from Cyra. He grazed her hand in the process, which made Cyra's heart drop momentarily. She forgot she was tethered, but when there was no jolt or sudden wave of emotions, she figured the effect must have worn off. What a relief that it wasn't permanent, she thought. That just led to the question of how long the effect went on for. Dante held the syringe in his own hand, inspecting it, "Makes sense…" He muttered begrudgingly, "So what's the step by step?"

"First, Vergil, you need to devil trigger so the Nidhogg can wake up and drain your energy so it can make itself known," Cyra continued, "Dante, that's when you find it and stab it. It's probably about an inch big, so you have a little bit of wiggle room," Cyra explained. She turned to Trish, "And I need you to be a spotter in case Vergil gets violent. We don't know how the Nidhogg will respond as it's dying."

"I can handle that," Trish confirmed.

"Soooo we ready?" Dante asked.

Vergil sighed begrudgingly as he removed his coat and undid his vest, removing it from his body. Vergil wasn't worried about the stab; he felt far worse pain. What he was worried about was how this parasite would react when it was trying to fight back. Losing control again would be frustrating, but if he was going to do it, at least it would be for the last time… he hoped.

Dante walked up to Vergil who was bracing himself against a wall so Dante could properly control how far the needle went in. Cyra couldn't contain herself, "Remember to release the serum slowly!"

"Slow, got it," Dante confirmed.

"Make sure it's straight!" She piped in.

"Alright," Dante confirmed.

"Don't miss!" Cyra added.

"Cyra!" Dante cut her off and held out a hand to calm her down, "I got this."

Cyra crossed her arms to try to keep herself from fidgeting too much. She had to take several steps back and watch. All the information was told to Dante, he'd have to go through with the rest of it. Trish stood carefully next to Vergil.

"Ready? Do you need a countdown?" Dante asked.

Vergil glared at Dante, gritting his teeth. He exhaled and Devil Triggered, waiting for the Nidhogg to respond. It was like he was staring at that metaphorical countdown. The anticipation of it dropping from 10 to 9 was almost worse than the feeling itself.

"Alright, I got it!" Dante said sensing exactly where the Nidhogg was, making Vergil revert back to his human form, "Ready?"

"Just do it!" Vergil said through gritted teeth.

Dante wasted no more time to stab him in the chest, exactly where he felt the Nidhogg's energy, Vergil wincing from the impact. He was careful to keep his composure as Dante slowly pressed down on the plunger of the syringe to disperse the contents, straight into the Nidhogg. Once he was sure the syringe was empty, he pulled it out and took a few steps back to give him space.

If it all went according to plan, then the parasite would start to die off. They were waiting for the reaction. Vergil slightly staggered, but was able to keep himself up using the wall's help. Dante's eyes never left his brother, "How do we know if it worked?" He asked only to be answered by Vergil falling to his knees, groaning in pain. He was digging his nails into his chest, shaking from the painful feeling. He was all too familiar with that painful burning sensation in his chest, but this felt different.

"What's happening?" Dante asked Cyra. When she didn't respond, he looked over to Cyra holding her own green syringe. Her attention was hard pressed onto Vergil. Dante turned to fully face her, "...Cyra?" He asked carefully

Cyra watched in horror as Vergil was struggling against the pain. His breathing was ragged as he let out painful groans between breaths, "Do you sense the Nidhogg?" Cyra asked, eyes never leaving Vergil's form. Cyra couldn't see it, but there were small waves of energy releasing from Vergil's form, visible only to Dante and Trish.

"Cyra… was that...?" Trish asked. She was familiar with how the energy was leaving his body.

"Do you sense it!?" Cyra asked again.

"It's paralyzed," Trish confirmed.

"Hold him still!" Cyra commanded as she took a few steps forward. Dante and Trish held his arms although he tried to resist. Cyra crouched down and placed her hand against his cheek, though he couldn't muster the strength to look back at her. He was probably unaware she was even touching him, "You're going to be okay," She said softly as she injected her green-filled syringe into his neck. She threw it off to the side so she could place her other hand to also rest on the side of his face, "Relief will come soon. You have to hold on," She tried saying, her own voice shaky.

Vergil was no longer resisting, muscles giving out. Dante and Trish let go of him, but Trish maintained her position. Dante stood up to pull Cyra away from Vergil, hand gripping her arm tightly, "What'd you do?" Dante asked her. Vergil then clutched his chest even harder, falling forward so that his hand would hold him up. Cyra pulled her arm away quickly and glared up at him.

"That was the serum!" Cyra said.

"Then what the hell did you make me use?" Dante asked.

"Unholy Water," Cyra answered, confirming Trish's suspicions. She's used some on missions in the past.

"What!?" Dante asked, getting closer to Cyra, but the conversation was stopped when Vergil lunged to unexpectedly punch Dante in the face.

"Don't touch her!" Vergil growled almost inhumanely, but Trish used her electricity to shock him once to stop him from attacking again. His body snaked back to the floor. It was clear Vergil was trying to contain his pain, not wanting to display the amount of torture his insides felt. The Unholy Water felt like it was melting his blood, but soon his body started to feel numb, momentarily thanking whatever god might be listening, but soon realized what a numb body meant - he was starting to lose control.

Cyra once again crouched with him, not afraid of getting close, "Vergil you have to relax!" She grabbed his hand, but he immediately pushed her hand away knowing that he'd just end up crushing it.

"Stay… back," He groaned with his remaining energy. That metaphorical countdown finally reached 0.

Vergil couldn't say anything as he stood up and he couldn't control himself from violently swinging his arms, wanting to desperately attack whatever was around. Cyra stepped back as Dante and Trish went over to try to hold him back from hurting anyone or himself, unaware that it was the Nidhogg's defense mechanism. It could feel itself weakening and used the last bit it could to go into overdrive and try to take over Vergil's bloodstream, unaware that the Unholy Water was preventing that from happening. Vergil went into his demon form and tried to throw off his restraints. Dante went into his demon form as well to be able to keep up with Vergil's strength.

Vergil's demon form stared hard into Cyra's eyes, growling in rage. Cyra felt the fear of being stared down by a demon. Those cold, merciless eyes… Those eyes that Vergil himself stared down at people in the past, from atop a tower, without the Nidhogg in the picture. That Vergil was always capable of showing itself...

"How long is this going to last!?" Dante said. Trish used her electricity to try to zap Vergil. Dante let go so he didn't get affected.

Vergil took a few steps forward, feeling weaker as the electricity was slowing him down. Soon, he reverted back to his human form and started falling down, one knee at a time, before he fell forward, passing out into the floor in complete silence. Trish stopped her attack and Dante reverted back to his human form as he kneeled down to Vergil, turning him so he was laying on his back.

Cyra's eyes were wide and her heart was pounding, "Is he…?"

"He's alive, just weak," Dante confirmed.

Cyra placed a hand on her chest and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Oh, thank god…" She whispered and fell down to her knees, the adrenaline finally wearing off.

"What?" Dante asked, looking over to her.

"I didn't think that was going to work," She admitted in a breathy tone.

"You were just winging it!?" Dante asked angrily.

Cyra glared a bit, "That amount that you used was all I had of the serum, and I couldn't recreate it, so I didn't exactly have the opportunity to do many tests. I knew the serum would work, but I had to come up with a way for the Nidhogg to stop regenerating and using an Unholy Water was the answer!"

"Couldn't that have killed him!?" Dante asked, voice raised.

"If you got the heart, yeah. That's why you couldn't miss!" Cyra yelled back.

"You couldn't come up with anything else?" Dante asked.

"I'm not a witch, Dante! I can't just come up with magic potions on the spot. You forget I'm just a doctor! I told you that this was in over my head, so I did what I could! " Cyra defended.

"Well, I can't sense anything, not even his own demon energy, so it must be gone," Trish reassured. She knew Dante probably wasn't thinking straight in this stressful situation.

"Yeah, I don't sense it either…" Dante confirmed.

"The Unholy Water just removed their energy, right?" Trish asked.

"Yes," Cyra nodded, "Vergil was still stronger, so once the Nidhogg got its energy expelled, the serum was finally able to start killing it's cells."

"We couldn't sedate him to do this?" Dante asked.

"No. I don't like it either, but Vergil needed to be aware to fight it," Cyra said.

"Are you just winging this explanation, too?" Dante accused.

Cyra felt hurt at his tone, "Dante, I'm sorry… Winging it was the only option."

Dante grabbed Vergil's arm to pull him up and throw him over his shoulder to carry him upstairs to his spare room. He didn't look back at Cyra or Trish. Cyra was sat on the floor, eyebrows scrunched together. Did she not just save Vergil? Why was Dante mad? She did what he asked her to do. Did it matter how? Trish walked over and lent Cyra a hand, which she took.

"I did… what I had to do…" Cyra muttered.

"Don't worry. He knows a thing or two about winging it through tough situations. It's just different because it's Vergil. He'll come around," Trish smiled at her, trying to make the tense situation easier.

The last thing she wanted was for Dante to be disappointed in her, and even after saving his brother, her worst nightmare was coming true. She kept replaying it in her head. There wasn't anything else she could have done with the resources she had!

Trish sighed, "Go get some rest. You've earned it," She said.

Cyra shook her head, "I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Did you want to wait here?" Trish asked.

Cyra sighed and looked back up to the spare bedroom, where Dante was still in, "Suddenly, I don't feel very welcomed… Yeah, I should probably go."

Before Cyra could head for the door, Dante came back downstairs. Cyra froze, for some reason unable to leave. She expected for him to yell at her, but she couldn't wait for it to start, "Dante, I'm so sorry," She caved.

"You know, you could have at least warned us about the Unholy Water!" He said.

It was true, she could have. She had no reason to keep it a secret. She was worried that they would have the same insecurities as she did, regarding Vergil's life. They couldn't read her thoughts. She was the only one who knew that she saw Amelia's Temen-ni-gru memory, after all, but she was paranoid that if she mentioned Unholy Waters, they'd doubt her drive to save Vergil. The part of her brain was so divided. Amelia's influence nudged herself into Cyra's subconscious and she kept having to remember that was the only reason she was doubting herself. If she didn't know any better, she'd call it mind control. Cyra looked at the floor, "I know…"

"Well!? Is there a reason for the secrecy?" Dante asked.

Cyra shook her head, "If I told you to inject him with Unholy Water, would you?" She asked.

"I trust you, so yeah!" Dante said.

Cyra was silent, feeling ashamed. Of course they trusted her, especially Dante. He came to her in the first place. If only he knew what she was thinking - how confused she was, and that's where most of her shame come from, "I just thought it'd be better if I didn't," She muttered.

"I think we should continue this later after Vergil recovers," Trish said.

Dante sighed and crossed his arms. Cyra turned on her heel and left Devil May Cry, tears finally escaping from her eyes. Dante didn't fail to notice her tears. This was an example of what Dante feared he'd do to screw something up with Cyra. He rarely lost his temper, in fact, he couldn't remember the last time he was truly angry. It wasn't an excuse, but the fear of losing his brother once again was just too much for him to handle, and he took it out on the person who tried harder than any of them to heal him. Dante put his hands on his hips and sighed again, turning to Trish who just shot him a quick glare. Dante nodded, "I know, I know… I'll apologize in the morning."

Trish smirked and headed for the door to leave, "There's hope for you yet!"

31 January 4:39am

Cyra found herself curled up in her chair in her bookstore. It hasn't been moved since she placed it in front of the door. She was exhausted, but she didn't think she could fall asleep. There was something wrong about sleeping in her bed. After sharing it with Vergil, she felt it'd be too lonely without him, at least while he recovered. Unfortunately for her, even the chair she was in smelled like him. So much that she even considered sleeping on the floor.

Only sleep didn't seem likely no matter where she would lay. She stood back up, feeling stiff from being curled up in the same uncomfortable position for so long, and trudged her way back to Devil May Cry.

She unlocked the front door and very quietly made her way up the stairs to the dark room where Vergil was asleep. She slowly closed the door behind her, careful not to wake him, or Dante, up. She examined his form from afar. His shirt was still off, the blanket resting high up on his body, but his arms were over the covers. He was facing away from her. For a while, Cyra stood by the door, afraid to get closer, even if she knew he was asleep and harmless.

When she walked closer to him, she couldn't stop herself from reaching to touch his hand. This was it, he was cured. She finally did it… Did she? She supposed they'd have to wait and find out. If it worked, he could go back to the demon world if he wanted. Back with Dante, or by himself. Vergil seemed to care so much about that place, making her wonder what it was like, though she realized it was more of a personal thing. Dante told her that Vergil still felt pride in their father, Sparda, and wanted to live in his world. It was vain of her, but a large part of her hoped he'd just live in the human world afterwards… with her. Though she was unsure of that at the moment, because of recent events. Cyra's fingers lightly grazed over his knuckles that were exposed since his gloves were finally off. She missed the feeling of his hands on her. Would she ever feel that again?

Would she ever feel the hands of a murderer on her skin again?

Cyra quickly retracted her hand from his knuckle, only to have her hand slightly hover over his. The feelings that were associated with Amelia's memory was almost trapped behind a distant fog. The anger was nothing more than a thought, haunting the back of her mind. Seeing his sleeping face now, she couldn't see anything more than the Vergil who kept her protected; who went out of his way to make her happy; who was so gentle with her despite how powerful he was. Cyra smiled sadly. She slowly sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to wake him up. She lightly pulled his hand in her lap, once again caressing his knuckles. It made her angry that Amelia had the influence to make her doubt those qualities she adored.

It hurt to know she was responsible for him being in his current state, but she didn't have many other options. She couldn't experiment with the vial. She didn't have the inventory or the time. What else could she have done to make sure the Nidhogg would die without killing him in the process? Dante's anger at her made her feel guilty, but she'd have to make some sacrifices. As long as Dante could forgive her... Cyra felt his hand twitch and grip her own hand slightly. Cyra's eyes went over to his face, seeing him slowly turn it towards her. His pale eyes were somehow visible even in darkness. She lightly smiled, relieved to see him awake, but she dropped his hand and stood up to be one step away from the bed, "I-I'll tell Dante you're awake."

Without speaking, he reached his hand out lazily to grab her hand back. It was a light grasp, due to his weakened muscles, and Cyra could get out of it if she wanted, but she didn't. Looking down at his hand that reached for her, it was hard to deny him. She remembered the other night when she needed someone and Vergil volunteered to stay, even if he didn't have to. Cyra tightened her brows together, unable to let him down. If he wanted her to stay, then she would stay. Vergil let the corner of his lip twitch upwards momentarily when she understood the meaning of his gesture.

Vergil let go of her hand so he could use both hands to push him up into a seated position, groaning as his muscles were unexpectedly giving out. Cyra restrained herself from reaching over to offer help, "How do you feel?" Cyra asked instead.

"Terrible," Vergil answered, dragging his legs over to the side of the bed. He was hunched forward, knuckles white from how hard they were gripping the edge of the bed just to keep himself up.

"You should really keep resting," Cyra couldn't help but suggest.

"I no longer have that parasite in me. Even like this, it's the best I've felt in weeks. Trust me," Vergil said in a breathy tone, trying to maintain his composure.

"You can tell it's dead?" Cyra asked.

Vergil nodded, "That lingering pressure in my chest is gone. Feels like I can finally breathe again."

Cyra's lip twitched, "I'm sorry you had to go through that… I wish I could have come up with a better solution if I had more time and more of the serum, but-"

"Cyra, I don't care. You cured me," Vergil interrupted, barely. He weakly raised his hand once again to reach for her's, pulling her body closer to his seated form. Cyra didn't know if she should pull away, or sit down next to him. Vergil moved both hands to grip the sides of Cyra's shirt that was covering her hips. He leaned his head forward so that his forehead was resting on her stomach. Cyra wasn't sure what to do with her hands, so she stood still, looking sadly down at the man below her, just thankful he couldn't see her apprehension. She could feel how weak his muscles were with how much his fists were quivering around her shirt. He let go of the fabric to let his hands drop down to lightly grip the sides of her legs, "No one else would have done that for me," He said in a weak voice. No one else would have gone through the troubles to cure the man once known as Urizen.

She almost didn't, she admitted to herself. Her eyes were threatening to spill tears down on his shaking form. The way he was desperately grabbing onto Cyra made her heart ache. Her own hands raised, wanting to wrap them around him to comfort him. Or to push his body off of her. She was fighting with herself; mind telling her to leave, but her heart wanted her to stay. Her own lip started to quiver, just wanting to give into her heart's demands, but he interrupted her thoughts when he pulled his forehead away from her body and dropped his hands back to the edge of the bed.

There Vergil was, actually reaching out to her. It felt vain, but he was expecting her to wrap her arms around him or say something to make him feel as loved as she had before. His heart felt sunken and this time he knew for sure it had nothing to do with the parasite.

Cyra felt his disappointment when he turned his attention to look away. She felt terrible. That was his admission that he needed to be comforted and she rejected it. Screw what my mind says, she thought and sat down next to him, pulling a hand to rest in her lap and she cradled it, "Vergil…" She said soothingly, not sure what to say next.

Vergil rubbed his thumb against the bandage that wrapped her hand. He looked over to it, but didn't say anything. He didn't need to, because Cyra picked up on the cue, "I just cut myself on some glass…" She muttered. Vergil was satisfied with her answer, so long as someone else didn't harm her. He couldn't tear his attention away from her hand though. There was something worse going on with her than the bandaged hand. Something that couldn't be covered and left to heal on its own.

"Will you tell me what happened in that cathedral?" He asked, his voice a bit more stern than before. That tenderness was gone and Cyra knew it was because she didn't respond to his reach for comfort.

Cyra looked back down at their hands. She couldn't stop herself from caressing his hand with her other one, once again grazing over his knuckles, "I tried to kill Amelia."

"I meant before you ran off. What happened that frightened you so much?" Vergil asked finally looking at her face.

Cyra shook her head lightly, mostly at herself. She couldn't tell him, "Oh, that… I-It was nothing."

"Remember what I said about those eyes giving away your secrets?" Vergil said.

Cyra forced a smile, "It was just a scary situation, is all. I'm fine," She said. It didn't feel right lying to him.

Vergil knew she was lying and didn't want to press the situation. Once again, he took into account what Dante, Lady, and Trish said about giving space. How much space was too much? He certainly didn't want to cross boundaries, but he didn't feel like asking her what was upsetting her was a bad thing. He wanted to be the one to fix her problems.

Vergil slowly unclasped his hand from Cyra's so that he could run it over her thigh for a moment before he moved it to rest behind the both of them on the bed, keeping himself up. He brought up his other hand to rest gently on the side of Cyra's face so that she would turn to look back at him. He snaked his hand behind her neck to pull her slightly towards him while his face leaned forward, lips lightly brushing against hers. She closed her eyes at the gesture, but didn't do anything to advance the moment or pull away as she was just enjoying the light teasing feeling of his lips on hers, "Why won't you tell me?" He whispered against her lips.

"I don't…" She whispered back.

Vergil pressed his lips further into hers, relieved to feel her lips move first to initiate the kiss. He parted his own lips even further to respond, but Cyra finally realized what he was doing. He was trying to seduce the answer out of her.

Cyra jumped up off the bed to turn back to him, "Temen-ni-gru!" She blurted out without meaning to. Turns out his method worked. Vergil's expression hardened, not looking forward to what she had to say next. He knew something bad was hurting her, but he wasn't prepared for that. Neither was Cyra, but it was too late to turn back, "I saw it…" She said more evenly, "When you resurrected it… and … I saw the people it killed," All the people you killed, "Amelia was a victim of it… She made me see her memory. Demons killed someone important to her and she kept using Gabriel so I could relate to her and make me want to kill you, but..." Cyra finished and didn't move.

Vergil just looked over at her. Whether she was unwilling or unable to look at him was irrelevant. It hurt him to see her so affected by it, "But?"

Cyra shrugged, "I already knew about Temen-ni-gru… But actually seeing you be responsible for the deaths was… really hard. All Amelia felt was anger, and I still haven't been able to shake that off, but I… don't want to kill you."

"You had the opportunity to kill me earlier, and you didn't," Vergil observed.

"There was a part of me that thought about how easy it would be, but I know that was Amelia's influence," Cyra admitted.

"At least now you're understanding what everyone else sees when they look at me," Vergil said casually.

Cyra finally snapped her eyes back up at him, "N-No! You don't know that!"

"But I do. It's alright. I know I will forever live with the consequences for my past actions, and I don't deserve any different, but…" Vergil trailed off, unsure of how he would word the rest of his thoughts, "I wasn't prepared for how it might affect you," How I might lose you, he thought.

"O-oh," Cyra said. She felt sad at his words. He was clearly hurt by her doubt, but it wasn't her fault, "I had some time to think…" Cyra began, "And I realized why it felt different with Urizen. He didn't look like you, and he was only half of you, and well, I didn't see him kill anyone. Amelia's memory was different because I still saw you, even if it was 25 years ago…" Cyra said.

Vergil nodded, "It felt new to you," He reasoned.

"Yeah… You know how I really feel about you. This is just something I have to work through…" Cyra said, blushing.

Vergil shook his head, "I don't need any favors, Cyra."

"What?" Cyra barely asked, heart feeling hollow. Did she hurt him?

"You needn't have a moral dilemma for my sake," Vergil said, starting to feel annoyed.

"That's not what I meant!" Cyra tried to defend, voice slightly raising.

"Well then, care to elaborate?" He asked sharply.

Cyra opened her mouth to speak, but it took a moment for her to find the right words, "I don't know yet," She said honestly.

Vergil narrowed his eyes at the woman. There was more she wasn't saying, but he guessed that's part of what she had to work out. He hated when she didn't speak her mind, "Then leave and come back when you find out," He said coldly. He wasn't sure why he had that tone. Maybe it was a defense mechanism for being hurt. Perhaps he did get too attached to the woman, making him soft when he was around her. His current tone was one more common for when he spoke to anyone else.

Cyra felt the words laced with ice. She didn't think it was possible, but she really had hurt him. Looking at him look back at her with his eyes stearn, no longer carrying the softness he started to show around her; it made her feel inferior. It was like day one when she met him. Vergil told her to leave, but she couldn't do it. She didn't want to leave him. Her heart began to ache and she had to bring her hand up to her chest, "Please, don't be angry with me… I-I… This isn't my fault. I didn't want to see the memory! I was perfectly happy being ignorant to what you've done, I…." She forced herself to stop talking, worried that tears would start to spill.

Vergil kept his neutral expression at her. Once again, he hated when she wouldn't speak her mind, but he supposed this is what giving her space meant. He tightened his brow at himself, angry with himself, while seeing her desperate pleas for him to understand her. Why was he being cold with her? Here she was about to shatter into an emotion puddle just at the thought of him being angry with her and he was telling her to leave. The memory must have been intense enough for her to suddenly have an internal battle with herself. He softened his face, remembering the woman in front of him wasn't just anyone. This woman in front of him was worth compromising for… Vergil inhaled deeply, letting out his breath slowly.

"That man you saw in the memory… That is no longer who I am," Vergil said, finally admitting it. His sins would forever live with him, but looking at the woman in front of him desperately made him want to do whatever it took to properly atone for them. He wasn't sure why he was trying to convince her, but he realized that if he didn't put himself out there, he could lose her and it would be his fault. Not because of his past, but for how he was behaving presently. There's always consequences to be paid. He then understood what Dante meant about being afraid of screwing something up with her.

Cyra's aching heart began to flutter, giving her a similar sensation to the current dread she was feeling, but her brain realized it was for a different reason. He was fully coming to terms with his humanity… He really has changed, and Cyra knew it. Damn Amelia and her manipulation. The man she was looking at already said goodbye to his villainous ways, long before she met him. Before she could say anything, the door opened, revealing a half asleep Dante.

"I thought I heard voices… Cyra? What are you doing here?" He asked and looked to Vergil, glad to see he was awake.

"I was just leaving," Cyra said awkwardly and attempted to walk away. She was afraid of confronting him again. Dante held out his arm to stop her.

"No, stop running off! I need to talk to you," Dante said.

"I don't want to talk," Cyra said quietly.

"Let her go, Dante," Vergil warned.

Dante glared back at his brother and moved his arm to let Cyra leave. She quickly rushed down the stairs and they both heard the door close behind her, "What happened?" Dante asked.

"She saw the memory of when Temen-ni-gru was resurrected along with the casualties. Apparently that sorceress had someone she lost due to it. Making me the reason for her revenge," Vergil explained.

"Well, that explains a few things…" Dante said with his hands on his hips and eyed Vergil for a moment, "Sooo am I right to say that Cyra is just as much of a target?" Dante asked. If Amelia wanted to kill Vergil, surely she'd go after someone close to him as part of her revenge scheme.

Vergil felt his muscles getting weaker and wished Dante would leave so he could lay back down, but he didn't want to show weakness in front of him, "I don't know what Cyra told her, but it's best to assume worst case scenario."

Dante nodded, "Well, at least we got a motive now. Everything is falling into place. How are you feeling?"

Vergil nodded, "All is well without that parasite."

Dante nodded, smiling a bit, "Would have been nice if she warned me before I stabbed you with Unholy Water," Dante said.

"That memory is precisely why she didn't say anything," Vergil said. Cyra didn't have to outright tell him, but he knew. She didn't let the memory influence her decision, but she didn't want anyone to doubt her.

Dante scrunched his face, "C'mon, she knows we trust her!"

"Didn't matter," Vergil said, straining to continue speaking.

Dante got the hint, "Well, get some more rest, we can talk about it later."

Vergil was relieved when Dante closed the door. The muscles in his arms gave out and he finally let himself lay back down in the bed. He finally let it sink in that he was cured of the Nidhogg parasite and that nightmare was behind him. It was a strange feeling. Vergil being cured led to so many opportunities. The demon world would always be important to him, but the human world was suddenly open to a world of possibilities. His plan originally was to get cured then continue what he was doing, but the thought of not seeing Cyra everyday felt empty. He had the Yamato, he could go back and forth if he wanted. That way he'd be certain that no one in the demon world would dare to enter the human realm and threaten her life. The woman who worked so hard to treat him, comfort him, and somehow melt the ice that lingered around his heart. It was finally his turn to protect her the way he knew best.

When Dante closed the door to Vergil's room, he thought about Cyra running home alone. She was definitely going to be a major target on Amelia's revenge for Vergil. If Amelia didn't know about their relations yet, she would soon find out. Dante silently stalked down the stairs, and threw on his shoes and leather coat to make sure Cyra got home okay.

31 January 5:24am

Dante pushed the door open out of instinct, only to feel a resistance. He remembered she started using books as a barricade and hoped she'd find something better soon. Due to the new lock, Dante knocked on the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before he heard the shuffle behind the door and watched as it opened, revealing a sad and confused looking Cyra, "...Hey."

Dante's intention was to talk business, but he threw the plans out the window seeing her face. He sighed, "Hey... Can I come in?" He asked. Cyra just moved to the side, holding the door open for Dante, allowing him to walk in, "I'm really sorry about how I reacted. You're right, if you said it's all you could do, then I'm just glad it worked out," Dante said.

Cyra shook her head, "N-no, it's okay, I understand."

"Nah, you did so much for him and I acted like an ass," Dante added.

Cyra lazily smirked, "You did, but I don't blame you."

Dante had his own slanted smile spread across his face, "Hug it out?" He asked, holding his arms out.

Cyra's lazy smirk turned into a genuine light smile, "Sure," She said returning the hug. She expected it to be quick, but he didn't let go.

In fact, Dante tightened the hug. He moved his face down so that he could speak softly against her ear, "Thank you for helping my brother."

"Yeah, no problem. It's what you asked, and the last thing I'd wanna do is let you down," Cyra said quietly back to him as they broke the hug.

"I don't only mean curing him of the parasite," Dante added. Cyra looked into his eyes and knew what he meant. She smiled and nodded. Just like that, any animosity was abolished. Both Cyra and Dante were thankful they had each other in their lives in that moment. No drawn out apology was needed. The fact that Dante reached out and apologized at all was enough for Cyra, and the fact that she at least understood where his anger was coming from was enough for him.

Dante sighed, "Well then, get some rest, you earned it."

Cyra's thoughts went back to Dante's comment. Did she really have that much of an effect on Vergil? "Wait... Dante?" Cyra began, "Do you think… you would have treated him differently if he wasn't your brother?"

"What do you mean?" Dante asked.

"With all the evil he's done. If he wasn't your brother, would you be able to let all that go?" Cyra asked.

"Probably not," Dante admitted. He was glad Vergil told him that she saw the Temen-ni-gru memory because now he knew why she was asking, "No one's asking to pretend nothing ever happened, but if I had to fight him again to stop him from taking over the world or something, I would, even just as an excuse to see him."

Cyra already knew what his answer would be, but she needed to hear it. Of course he would make his brother an exception. Vergil was the most important person to Dante and even if he did wrong, Dante would either try to reform him or defeat him as many times as it took. Luckily, it didn't seem to have to result to a battle to the death anymore. Dante of course helped, but in the end, Vergil reformed himself. Hearing Dante's admission just reaffirmed her own insecurities. How could she still be so smitten by a demon who not only once, but twice, killed entire cities to gain power? Because it was Vergil, that's why.

"What about you?" Dante asked.

Cyra blushed lightly, "It's strange, because… The Vergil I know may as well be a different man from the stories and memories I've seen. My brain says that I'm just delusional and holding him up on this pedestal, but I know I'm not," She decided. If only she could have said these things to Vergil earlier.

"Yea, it's complicated, isn't it?" Dante asked.

Cyra chuckled, "Yeah. My life was pretty straight forward before I met you troublesome half demons, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Dante smiled for a moment but it quickly dropped, "I'm sorry you had to see what Temen-ni-gru did."

Cyra looked to the ground, "He told you?"

"Yeah. I wish you told me, or either of us, earlier," Dante said.

"It was just a lot to take in…" Cyra said, "And I was worried that if I told you I saw it, then you'd think I was suddenly on Amelia's side," For some reason it was easier to explain this to Dante than to Vergil.

"Did you think about taking her side?" Dante asked.

"It's hard to explain. I feel like I should. I'm a human, and seeing all those dead humans because of something a demon did, it's hard to fault Amelia… But, also, the thought of intentionally wanting to hurt Vergil actually disgusts me. So I guess i'm riding on the fence between right and wrong," Cyra admitted.

Dante sighed, "Your definitions of right and wrong is probably very different from Amelia's. So instead of worrying about morals, just do what feels right to you."

Cyra put a hand on her chin, pretending to think, "Hmmm, what if summoning a giant demon tower to gain absolute power felt right to me?"

Dante smirked, "Then I'd have to do what feels right to me and kick your ass."

Cyra chuckled, "Sounds about right."

"You know, I'm not so good at this advice thing, but I think you already know what side you're leaning on, and just too worried about admitting it," Dante said.

"Well, you're wrong about one of those things… You're pretty good at the advice thing," Cyra said.

Dante's grin spread across his face, satisfied with her response, "Good night, Cyra."

Cyra smiled, "Night," She said and watched him walk back home. Cyra closed the door and replaced the book to keep it shut. She could actually fall asleep in peace now. There was still no chance she'd be able to sleep in her bed. She hoped the next time she would, Vergil would be there, too. Wishful thinking, maybe, but he was cured wasn't he? They were waiting for his cure to advance whatever their relationship was. Cyra shook her head, realizing she should stop getting ahead of herself. Their 'raincheck' as they call it, was just one night of sex, right? The things Vergil has said to her weren't things people say if they were only in it for one night of sex, she reasoned. Cyra blushed a bit, feeling yet another mental divide.

She wished she could go back in time to when he desperately reached out for her and rest his head on her, asking for her affection, so she could return it. She wanted to return it, but her stupid brain was too focused on Amelia's memory. She just wanted to run back over to Devil May Cry and tell him she was sorry and that she wasn't going to doubt him anymore. He wasn't the man she saw in Amelia's memory. He wasn't even the same man she saw in his own memory; angry and tormented. He was different. She hated Amelia for actually being able to manipulate her as much as she did. For a moment, Cyra felt ashamed, but she knew it was just something she had to work through on her own terms. Cyra smiled. Vergil's recent time as V should be the only indication of who Vergil would be from that point moving forward. Dante and Nero could attest to that. She wondered about Nero, hoping to meet him some day. Maybe she'll ask Dante if he'd come around so she could get to know him. Cyra couldn't stop her thoughts from finding their way back to Vergil. It finally set in that everything was working out so well.

When Dante pleaded for her to help a poisoned Vergil, she just desperately wanted to do and say whatever she could to appease Dante. The last thing she wanted was to let him down. She was worried she'd disappoint him. Demon blood wasn't something she was so used to working with, but she finally did it. She did something she constantly had doubts about. Even if it wasn't solely due to her own abilities, she fought her way to make it happen. With all the recent commotion, she didn't have a chance to finally let it set in.

Vergil was cured.

31 January 8:59am

"Certified Panacea reseller!" Victor the Vendor was calling out to people walking by, not one person stopping to listen to him. Perhaps they were getting tired of getting scammed by him. It was only a matter of time before they realized buying from a vendor was risky, "Oh, forget it.." He said. Victor turned his attention to a teenager in a pizza delivery hat walk up to him.

"Uh, 'scuse me. Are you Victor?" The boy asked timidly.

Victor narrowed his eyes. He could only recall one person that he used that alias with, "What do you want?"

The delivery boy pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to him, "It's from a woman in a bookstore. I forgot to get her name, but she seemed to know you."

Victor took the envelope, opening it to pull out a note:

I really need someone I can trust. Meet me at the bookstore at the end of Ennerdale when the sun sets. I'll also give you 300 dollars if you fulfill my shopping list - P

Victor checked back in the envelope for another sheet of paper with a shopping list:

Coffee grounds
Stapler
-Condoms-**
3 metal baseball bats
2 extra wide curtains
Hammer + nails
Umbrella

Victor looked back up to the delivery boy and nodded, "Thanks for the message, kiddo."

HE'S CURED! Or is he? o_o

**Fanfiction doesn't allow for strikethrough (like a line going through the word), but that's what should be there. As in, she wrote it and then crossed it off her list.