"How do you know my name?" Nero asked defensively. His hand instinctively reached for his weapon and settled preemptively on his hip.

The detective looked him up and down and took another drag of his cigarette. "Let's just say I'm a friend of a friend," he said calmly.

"Let's just say you tell me who the hell you are before I make you regret sending those guys away," Nero said seriously, moving his coat aside to reveal his gun. "When people know my name it's usually for one of two reasons: they're family or they're enemies. And you sure as heck don't look like family to me."

"Alright, alright, jeez," the detective replied, holding his hands up. "I'd heard Dante could be difficult to work with, but I didn't realise it was genetic."

"Dante…?"

"I'm a friend of Morrison's," the detective said, holding out his hand. "You can call me John." He grinned.

Nero hesitantly reached out and shook the man's hand. "Lemme guess, surname Doe?"

"I'd rather not get too personal," John said, lowering his hand.

"Alright, so now I know who you are, what are you doing here?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed…" John gestured to his attire. "I'm a detective. It's my job to be here."

"Little too coincidental, dontcha think?" Nero prodded. "That you just happen to turn up to the one job in the whole city that I just happen to be involved in?"

"I can assure you that our meeting this evening is just a coincidence, but a lucky one at that." John reached into his pocket again and pulled out the CCTV image. "I actually came here looking for him," he said, pointing at the white haired figure in the photo. Nero suppressed a shiver as he looked at the grainy image for a second time. "Been tracking him for a while actually. He's a hard guy to pin down."

"What do you want with my-" Nero cut himself off and almost kicked himself when he saw the detective's eyes light up. "What do you need him for?"

"If you can just tell me where he is then I'll take that up with him directly. No need to worry your little head about it."

"I don't think so," Nero said. Dante didn't even want Nero to bother Vergil, and he'd be damned if he was going to let some random stranger playing dress-up get to him first. Besides, this guy was starting to piss him off.

"I really think it would be in your best interests to work with us here," John said, putting the image away. He smiled as he did so, but Nero wasn't oblivious to the frown that crossed his expression.

"Who's us?" Nero asked. "If Morrison wanted something he'd contact us directly."

John hesitated and flicked the butt of his cigarette away. He looked around briefly then leant a little closer. "City Hall," he whispered finally.

"Huh?"

"Look, I don't really want to talk about this here, is there somewhere we can go?"

Nero shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

"Wow you really don't like making it easy, huh?" John lit up another cigarette. He glanced around again. "Alright look - don't you ever find it strange that after that stunt you guys pulled in Red Grave a couple of years back, that no one knows who you are? Not to mention the, ah… Let's just call it the Apartment Incident last year. You know that almost took out the whole town right?" He sighed. "Someone had to cover for you guys."

"I don't understand…" Nero trailed off. Now that it had been brought up, he was amazed he hadn't questioned this before. Not that he wanted to be recognised of course - it was already hard enough trying to fit in with this old man hair (a phrase affectionately coined by Nico). As for Dante… sure he got some friendly nods here and there, but that was pretty much as far as the acknowledgement went. It hadn't escaped Nero's attention that his uncle tended to hide indoors for a few weeks after a particularly big incident. Nero wondered if Dante was aware of what had been happening behind the scenes. But… "Why would you guys do something like that?" Nero asked, trying to hide his consternation.

"Think about it kid," John said seriously. "You saw how people reacted to that… thing in Red Grave. Can you imagine how much chaos there'd be if it got out that demons and the like actually existed? It's in all our best interests to keep it on the down low."

"That's…" Nero looked down at his shoes. He realised suddenly how scuffed they looked and felt a strange pang of self consciousness. He hummed thoughtfully. Could this be why Dante was constantly complaining about being in debt? After all, someone had to be compensating these guys, right? But keeping such things hidden from view… He sighed internally as he remembered how much simpler - how much happier - his life had been before he discovered the much darker world that was lurking just beneath the shadows of his own. What he would give sometimes just be able to go back to those days…

"You're probably thinking it would be better to be honest, so that people know what to look out for, huh?" John guessed incorrectly. "Well answer me this Nero, how many civilians do you know that found out about demons existing and lived to tell the tale?" He chuckled. "Normal civilians, that is, not that crazy bunch that are involved with you guys." He looked up at the sky and blew out a stream of smoke. "Honestly, I don't know how Morrison does it."

"How much do you know?" Nero asked sharply. Ally or not, he didn't like how familiar this guy seemed to be with their setup. Part of him wanted to drag him back to the van and present him to Dante, but he didn't know if that would present more or less danger to their group. Besides, he was an adult. Whatever this was, he could handle it. He didn't need uncle Dante backing him up for everything.

"Enough," John said matter-of-factly. "Now granted, I don't quite know all the details of who's who and where to find 'em, but I know the basics." His radio crackled suddenly, and he turned away to mumble something into it. Nero caught the tail end of the conversation, which sounded something like 'working on it'.

"So back to my original question," Nero said curtly, "What do you want with…" He nodded toward John's pocket.

"Vergil, right?" John posited. "Word on the street is he's the go-to guy for supernatural jobs these days. Last I heard, you and Dante weren't around so much lately."

"Well you heard wrong," Nero said defensively. He hesitated. "...What kind of job?" His nails dug into his palms. Now really wasn't the time to be trying to take on extra work. Not when they still had those to deal with. But at the same time… He glanced back towards the van, barely visible in the distance. His arms shook ever so slightly. He'd been feeling a strange tension in his muscles ever since he and Dante had got back. It almost felt like he was itching from the inside out. Perhaps fighting a new enemy was just the sort of thing he needed to burn off all of this excess energy. Maybe then he could actually think rationally again instead of lashing out at Dante and Kyrie whenever they disagreed with him. He hadn't been himself lately and he hated it.

John looked him up and down, a slight smirk forming. "Well you've suddenly changed your tune."

"Just tell me before I change my mind."

John laughed then, short and sudden. When Nero scowled at him, he apologised. "Look kid, I appreciate the offer and all, but…"

"Call me kid again," Nero growled, suddenly gripping the Blue Rose. Just who did this guy think he was talking to?!

John looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Come on, kid, we both know you're not into injuring civilians."

A beat passed as Nero bared his teeth, debating what would happen if he actually unholstered his gun, then angrily huffed as he let go of the weapon and slung his jacket back over it. "Just get to the point," Nero grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

John continued to look at him with a bemused expression, then sighed. "I'm sorry. The thing is, this really is only the sort of thing that can be dealt with by an experienced-" He paused as a pair of paramedics walked past a bit too closely, mumbling something about soup and the complete waste of time trying to get over here. One of them suggested they get an early lunch at the restaurant, earning a swat to the back of the head from his colleague. John waited until they had passed then tapped his pocket. "Look, that sword in the photo - it opens portals right?"

This had been a mistake. And a potentially fatal one at that. The throng of beings had engulfed him before he'd even crossed the threshold. A horrifying conglomerate of sticky appendages and ice cold liquids had found their way onto his skin, soaking through his silk shirt and forming shiver-inducing rivulets down his spine. He'd been blinded before he could gather his bearings, the sudden contrast to the darkness of the evening causing his head to pound as a wave of dizziness overcame him. And then there was the noise. An endless roar of high pitched noises and horrified screams, each one seemingly louder than the last. He'd fought for what had felt like an eternity just to free his limbs, growing further from escape with each movement. And now here he was, staring down the barrel of a gun, while this… thing looked down on him; mocking him with its plastic smile. How had it come to this.

"Oh my god just shoot already," Lady huffed, crossing her arms.

Vergil jumped, almost dropping the small tin rifle he was holding. A piece of cork flew forward from its tip, pathetically bouncing off the tarp a few feet away.

"That's yer third shot," a rotund man said gruffly from behind the counter. He made some sort of awful noise and spat on the floor before taking a drag of his dirty looking cigarette. "Want another go?"

"Now wait just a moment," Vergil said coldly. The gun suddenly felt heavy in his hands and he tightened his grip on it. "First of all, that shot was in error-"

"Still counts."

"And secondly," Vergil said sharply, "I know for certain that my first two attempts were perfect. There must be something wrong with your device." Vergil held the gun up to his eyes and inspected it closely. Sure he wasn't the best with the damned things, but even he knew how to aim. "If I didn't know better, I'd say this was rigged."

The other man snorted then stood up to serve another customer. "THREE SHOTS FOR THREE SMACKEROOS! COME ON UP AND TRY YOUR CHANCES!" he yelled out once he'd handed another gun over to the next unsuspecting victim.

"We're not done here!" Vergil yelled angrily over the noise. Next to him, Lady sighed and placed a hand on Vergil's shoulder.

"Come on, let's just come back later," she said, gently pulling him away. "It'd probably be annoying carrying that thing around all night anyway. We can try again when we're leaving."

"But what if someone else claims it?" Vergil asked, slamming the gun down on the counter with enough force to earn a glare from its owner.

"I find that unlikely," Lady said dryly. She offered her own dirty look towards the overly hairy man. "Besides, he probably has a bunch of 'em."

"Remind me again why exactly you want a giant strawberry with such a horrifying expression?" Vergil asked, leaning close so he could be heard over the endless racket surrounding them.

Lady shrugged. "I just figured it would make a nice present for Dante. To make up for missing his dinner, you know?"

"I don't…" Vergil glanced over his shoulder towards the stall. The red beast stared back, unblinking.

"Well he likes strawberry sundaes right?" Lady offered. "It's kinda the same thing."

"It really isn't," Vergil mumbled, glad when he could finally no longer see the object of Lady's desires once they'd walked far enough.

"Well hey, it's only the first stall we managed to get a good look at, maybe we'll find something even better!" Lady said, looking around excitedly.

"First? " Vergil groaned. "You know, I think I may have changed my mind after-"

"Oh look, candy floss!" Lady squealed. "Fresh too! I haven't had that for years!"

Vergil let out a resigned sigh as Lady's hand slid down his arm and grasped his palm, dragging him towards whatever sweet pink hell awaited. Perhaps getting arrested wouldn't have been such a bad option after all.

The first thing Nico was aware of as she groggily came to was wind. It whipped through her hair and pressed her dampened clothes against her body, sending chills across her skin. The noise was next, a high pitched roaring assaulting her ears and making her head hurt. For a brief moment she thought she was falling again, and her eyes finally snapped open in panic. It was only as she struggled to sit up straight that she felt a sudden wave of warmth across her back.

"Stay still," a voice hissed harshly into her ear. The tickle of hot breath made Nico shiver, earning a tut from the person behind her. "Come on, the last thing we need is you falling into the road after all that." An arm reached down and propped her up before returning to what Nico was now coming to realise were motorbike handles.

"Trish…?" Nico mumbled shakily, trying to raise her head. A blur of lights sped past them, although at this speed it was difficult to tell if it was street lighting or other vehicles. She had no idea how long they'd been travelling at this point - Just how far had those things thrown her?! - but she hoped they would stop soon. She felt like the entire contents of her stomach would be making an appearance soon if this carried on for much longer.

"We're almost there, don't worry," Trish said calmly, using her left arm to keep Nico upright as they presumably rounded a sharp corner.

"There…" Nico said quietly. Where was there exactly? She sure as heck didn't feel like ordering dessert, that was for certain. And would Trish really risk taking her back to- She jolted as a memory came back to her, sharp and sudden. "Yamato!" she called out. "They're after it! We have to warn-"

"I know," Trish said bluntly. "I figured it out - well, perhaps confirmed it may be the better word - around the same time as you did." The wind whipping around them was making it hard to hear each other, but Nico had managed to catch every word.

"Wait a sec, you knew?" Nico asked in disbelief, finally managing to sit herself up straight.

"We'll discuss this more when we're back," Trish said firmly.

Nico opened her mouth to say something further, but knew better than to try and argue on the back of something moving this fast. She instead focussed on staring ahead, wondering how they hadn't yet been pulled over by the cops.

"Nero's been gone for quite a while, don't you think?" Kyrie asked hesitantly. She and Dante had been sitting in silence since he'd left, trying to ignore the tension that still hung in the air.

"He'll be back when he's ready," Dante said, dismantling and reassembling a gun that he'd found lying around for at least the fourth time. Kyrie watched his movements as he clicked the pieces back into place, inspecting each one closely despite knowing the compilation of the thing off by heart now. He glanced up at Kyrie, who looked away when he caught her staring. "Want a go?" Dante asked, holding the weapon out to her.

"Oh goodness no," Kyrie said, shaking her head. "Just the idea of using weapons is…"

"It's not loaded," Dante said, grinning. When Kyrie shook her head again, Dante sighed and tossed the gun onto a nearby table. "You know…" he began, then trailed off. You're the weakest link in our group, he'd almost said before realising how disrespectful that would sound. Not to mention the ass-kicking he'd probably get from Nero if Kyrie told him what Dante had said. He decided to opt for a different approach. "Given our line of work, do you ever think you might benefit from some… ah… combat training?" he suggested. "Just in case you ever run into any trouble alone?"

"It didn't do Nico much good," Kyrie said, surprisingly bluntly. When Dante's eyes widened, Kyrie shrank further into her seat again. "I'm sorry, that was awfully rude of me," Kyrie corrected herself. Now it was her turn to sigh. "The truth is, now that you mention it…" She paused. Dante raised an eyebrow for her to continue. "...Nico and I have actually been doing some basic self defence training together for a while now," she admitted.

"Is that so?" Dante asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Kyrie nodded. "I was extremely reluctant at first - I've never been one for conflict after all. But then…" Kyrie looked down at her hands, which she only just realised she'd been frantically wringing. She took a deep breath. "Well, when you spend all of your time with people that fight potentially world-ending demons on a regular basis, it only makes sense to be prepared. Especially since I'm in charge of so many children."

A smile had spread across Dante's features as she spoke, and he now clapped his hands together suddenly, making Kyrie jump. "Well gee Kyrie, that's great!" he said enthusiastically. "I had no idea!"

"No one does," Kyrie replied quickly. She finally looked up again, staring into Dante's eyes. "And you can't tell anyone. You have to promise."

"What? But-"

"I have a certain image I'd like to maintain," Kyrie said a little more firmly this time. "I fear that if Nero knew what I could do that he… Well, he might see me differently. It was meant to be a private thing between me and Nico, and I'd like to keep it that way." She paused, then added. "Please."

"I mean, if you want my opinion I think Nero would be thrilled to know you've taken some steps to make yourself stronger, but…" Dante scratched the back of his neck. It was easy to see where she was coming from, he supposed. Kyrie was meant to be the 'pretty' one of the group. When he thought of Kyrie versus Nico, it was easy to see which one would make the better wife. But on the other hand, Lady was well versed in combat and she… Dante felt a sudden flush of heat on his cheeks as the idea of her and Vergil being an item crept into his mind again. "I get it," Dante said at last. "Your secret is safe with me."

A/N - I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I'm not sure why haha~

Sorry it took a while again, but we're getting there! Due to my current schedule I'll be trying to aim for monthly updates (or thereabouts). The time passes so quickly these days that a month hardly feels like any time at all for some reason!

Thank you to everyone sticking with it, it is much appreciated and I'm sorry to always make you wait so long! I hope you'll continue to see it through! ^_^