Author's note!

This chapter is slightly different since it's taking a break from the boys down in Georgia. This will happen from time to time, but the main plot will mostly follow the perspectives of Nero, Dante, and Vergil. Besides playing around with different characters perspectives is fun XD You could say this is my April Fools prank to you guys XD Not intentional it just happened XD

On the side note, I am praying for y'all out there. Even if you don't believe in anything, I hope it comes to you as me hoping for your safety. These are crazy times and it's even stressing me out these days. I hope these stories give you a bit of ease from the world out there now. Not trying to be sappy or anything, I am truly wishing y'all's safety. I would put this out on Tumblr as well, but I'm currently fasting from social media XDXD If it helps at all, I highly recommend these songs "Legacy" from DMCV; "8:28" and "Messengers" by LeCrae; "Love Shack Trigger" by Triple-Q; "Believer" by Imagine Dragons (the choir version is epic); "Space is Cool" by Markiplier; "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell; Bad Lip Reading songs and "Demon Days" by Gorillaz. These songs are helping me get through this time, either encouraging or just fun songs that make me smile. I'm throwing them out there if someone needs some songs to get their head out of the funk.

Stay safe guys!

ComposerEchoFox

Everyone woke up late, with myself being the last to wake up. My head felt like it was slammed into a wall. In a way I didn't want to get up, but the smell of food lured me into the kitchen. Kyle, Julio, and Carlos sat happily at the counter, wolfing down on waffles. I swear they could lick the plate off if they wanted to and I wouldn't be surprised. I sat down next to Kyrie and got into my food. Me and her took our time with our food, unlike the kids. If I weren't so tired, I'd have this finished 3 seconds flat. I cut off small pieces of the griddled waffle, still hot from the press. The dream kept circling around in my head, especially the last words that V said. You wouldn't want family to die now, would you?… Of course I don't want them to die. If they didn't leave me behind I'd go with them. Though eversince they left, the color red has appearing in my dreams. There's always three glowing red circles in my dreams… then I find myself coated in blood. Maybe it's because of the incident? Or I'm fighting too much? There's blood that gets on me, but I'm taking a break from fighting right now…

"Is something wrong Nero?" Kyrie asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I snapped out of my thought, then realized that everyone is staring. I shrugged my shoulders let out a small laugh.

"Oh, I'm okay" I flashed a smile, digging into the meal more. "Just thinking that's all" The boys shrugged and continued to lick the plates, as I assumed. Kyrie kept glancing over to me as we continued to eat. If I still continued to eat and maybe finish before the boys, maybe I can slip out of here… Unfortunately that didn't happen. Carlos and Julio chased each other around the house after they finished. Kyrie let them outside eventually and they chased each other out there. Must've been all of the sugar that are making them go bananas. Kyle, on the other hand, slinked out of the kitchen in the midst of the hyped up Carlos and Julio. He didn't look too well but maybe he was just tired or too much sugar for him. I was just about to get up until Kyrie sat back down beside me, locking me into place. Dammit, I should've went when she was taking care of the two.

"Now that the boys are gone," she began, picking up the plates. "What is bothering you?"

There's many things wrong with me, I'm a quarter demon and my father is a complete douchebag. I wanted to say. Of course I can't say that to her. Especially the swearing, I've had enough thwacking from rulers as a kid… "Just didn't sleep well…"

"Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Her brows knitted into a worried look, making me feel worried as well.

"I dunno…" I shrugged it off, trying to make her less worried. "I've had similar dreams before so it's not that big of a deal—"

"Do you want to talk about it?" My body tensed up as those words left her mouth. Everything paused in my head, as if someone just punched me in the gut. My head felt numb and void of thought. I gotta get out of this conversation. I can't tell her. Not now, I can't.

"No I'll be okay" I forced a smile, standing up from the table. It made me feel disgusted on the inside telling her that. But I can't say "I dreamt of half of my dad telling me to tell me to go get them" and have a feeling to do that. We just got our lives back to normal, the orphanage is almost complete thanks to the jobs I've been getting. I don't want to break her heart by saying I'm going down to Hell to find Dante and Vergil. It'd worry her sick if not worse since I wouldn't be able to contact her. I still feel bad for not telling her about leaving to fight Urizen. Kyrie cocked an eyebrow, not believing in my half-assed smile. I hate how she can see through me… if I lied to Nico she'd totally believe me.

"I don't believe you" she said crossing her arms. "I think you're hiding something."

"Kyrie—"

"I'm here for you, why can't you tell me what is wrong?!" She raised her voice, pressuring me even more.

"What if I just don't know what is wrong!" I yelled, clasping my mouth shut with my hand. The feeling of someone choking me faded away, but the horrible nauseous feeling gotten worse. My face flushed red, ears piping hot. We've never gotten this mad at each other, nor has she gotten so pushy to know what's wrong with me. Kyrie stared at me with widened eyes, shocked at my outburst. "Kyrie, I'm so sorry" I apologized reaching out to her. She pulled away, avoided looking at me. Why do I get so stupidly mad easily. She pursed her lips, biting the edge of them. You really screwed up now didn't you. Nice going Nero.

"It's fine…" she whimpered, trying to hold it together but I could see her eyes watering. "I'm sorry I gotta go." Kyrie stood up from her seat and quietly left the room. The door shut behind her, turning the knob to make her exit more silent.

"Dammit!" I muttered to myself, putting my hands up to my face. I sinked into my chair, digging my fingers deep into my scalp. I couldn't believe that I yelled at her… Why can't you just calmly say "I don't think I can talk about it right now"? Though she was kinda pressuring me to say something… and I panicked as a result. But still... I sighed, running my hands through my hair. Kicking out of my chair, I stormed into the garage to calm myself. I went over to the workbench, pulling out my latest blade project. It was a Durandal sword, one of the Order of the Sword's blades. After the scavenger hunt with Nico a while back, I picked up parts of the blades and fused them back together. While I doubt Red Queen will conk out anytime soon, it's relaxing to tinker around with the remains of it. The blade was dulled and chipped, took a beating before I could find it. But the rest was clean and had minimal rust. The engine, however, was a piece of work to deal with. The horsepower behind it was weak, and if you revved it up at all it explode on your arm. Plus there was some parts that needed to be replaced like the muffler. Grabbing the toolbox, I began to work on it some more. As I worked, my hand kept shaking. Taking a deep breaths, I'd keep trying but the damn screw driver won't go in the damn—

"SHIT!" I yelped, realizing that I stabbed my hand. Luckily it wasn't hard enough to where I'll bleed, but it hurts like hell. I set down the driver and tried to shake off the pain.

"Hey" a voice said behind me. I jumped a little, quickly turning around to see Kyle by the entrance. How long has he been there? I hope he didn't hear me swear…

"Oh, it's just you" I chuckled, grabbing my chest. My heart pounded against my chest, wanting to break out of there. Lovely to know he scared me half to death. "For a second I thought you were Kyrie, haha"

Kyle shook his head, then slinked into the garage more. He leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms. "I heard you had a nightmare."

"Who told you that?!" I urgently replied, grabbing the table. Kyle shrugged his shoulders, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Overheard?" he muttered in a quiet voice. If it weren't possible for him to get even more quiet, he achieved. I let go of the table, in an attempt to be more calm. Or at least appear more calm so he isn't afraid of me anymore. He kicked some dirt away, hanging his head low. "I have nightmares too, sometimes they keep me up at night… But then I go to Kyrie and she'd help me go back to sleep…"

"She's really good at that…" I commented, rubbing the back of my head. When she's not trying to push you to say something. There was a long pause between the both of us, making things awkward. "I'll go talk to her okay?"

"Okay." Kyle ran up the wooden stairs, going back to the kitchen area. Of course that's why he was down here. I hope he wasn't bothered with the whole thing… With a sigh, I stopped working on the blade and got off my stool. Coming back to the kitchen, Julio and Kyrie were doing the dishes by the sink. Kyrie was teaching him how to clean the dishes… without breaking any. He'd try to sneak his own way that involves throwing them in the air. . In a gentle passive aggressive way, she'd correct him. Thank god she doesn't see me doing the dishes, I just rinse them off. It's clean when there's nothing on it right? Plus hot water is good for killing bacteria. Kyle was on a chair in the living room, reading a book. I went over to the kitchen area, hoping she doesn't notice me yet. What if she's still mad at me? Should I still go over to her still? With all of my hesitation stopping me from saying anything, Kyrie turned around to see me.

"Oh, hi Nero" she said, surprised by my appearance. She paused wiping down a pan, with Julio turning around to see me.

"H-hi" I stammered, feeling my body tensing up again. "I just… I just want to apologize for earlier." I scratched the back of my head, digging my nails deep into my scalp. "I didn't mean to yell or anything, I just couldn't… breath you know?"

Kyrie stood there with her arms crossed, expressionless. Meanwhile, Julio continued working on the dishes. I bit my lip as thoughts ran through my head faster than I could pay attention to. Mustering up the courage, I took a deep breath to say, "I'm sorry for earlier. I hope you can forgive me for earlier."

Finally it's out of my system. Now time to see if she will forgive me. She remained standing there, staring me dead in the eyes. As my anxiety began to work up, I asked her again "Do you forgive me?" I would've screamed this but I needed to resist the stupidity of my anxious self.

"Julio this is what you don't do when you apologize to someone" Kyrie finally spoke, turning to Julio.

"Oh okay!" Julio happily said, finishing up wiping down the last dish. "Can I go play now?"

"After you apologize to Carlos you can," she responded warmly. Immediately, Julio sprang to life and ran out of the kitchen. She smiled to me, laughing a little. Though it still begs the question if she isn't mad at me anymore.

"So… um do you accept my apology?" I quietly asked again. Without breaking eye contact with me, she stepped over to me. She landed a soft kiss on my cheek, then asked me, "Does that answer it?"

My ears flushed red, making me smile giddily without me realizing it. "I don't know, maybe you'll have to tell me again" I quietly spoke, wrapping my arms around her. She wrapped hers around mine, pulling each other closer. Right when we were about to kiss again—

"Ewwww" Carlos and Julio said in unison, standing at the doorway of the hallway. They made vomiting sounds, snickering among themselves how gross we are together.

"Did you guys realize you left the water running outside?" I asked the two mischievous boys. With widened eyes and a turn of their heads, they hurried out the front door. Me and Kyrie both snickered to each other as they ran out the door.

"I didn't hear the water running though?" she said, puzzled.

"It isn't" I smiled, holding her closer to me. I lightly stroked her long brunette hair down her back. My hand effortlessly went down along her hair, like touching silk. Her head rested into my shoulder, happily nestled.

"I'm sorry Nero… I'm just worried for you," she apologized, gripping me tighter.

"I know," I kissed her again, hugging her tighter. Before we could delve into this beautiful moment any further—

"JULIO! THE WATER!"

The moment came to an immediate halt. Water from the kitchen sink began to drip, as the hose outside ran. Even though I didn't see it, I could feel water going around my bare feet. It must've started a lot earlier cause it'd take a while before it can flood. As I began to let go of her, Kyrie held onto me more, not loosening her grip.

"We should take care of them…" I told her, looking down.

"It can wait…" she pouted, not letting go. I didn't want to let go either, but I don't want to get in trouble again. Pulling away from her more, she clung onto me tighter. We broke into a laugh as she slid down midway my back. Eventually she let go of me and we both walked outside through the back door. Outside was a muddy mess: Julio and Carlos had blotches of mud all over them as water sprayed everywhere. Both of them wrestled with the hose, strangling it almost. Water trailed down the steps into the backdoor. So that's how the water went into the kitchen so quickly. We both stood there with widened eyes. Though internally I knew it wasn't as bad as it could be. As they continued to fight, they were completely ignorant of us standing there watching them.

"HEY!" I shouted at them. The two boys immediately stopped wrestling with the hose, staring at us like deer in headlights. Julio, drenched in water with mud caking his shoes while Carlos stood with the hose pouring water down his shirt and soaking his used to be white clean socks. Carlos let go of the hose and pointed at Julio.

"He wouldn't let go of the hose" Carlos pointed. Julio threw up his hands, letting go of the hose as well. With a sigh, I picked up the two nincompoops by their hips.

"Come on, you two need to clean up," I say as I carried them back to the apartment.

"But it's not my fault!" they both whined, trying to wiggle out of my arms. They kept complaining until I dragged them into the bathroom. Gently, I set them down in the tub. "But Nerooo!" they say in unison.

"I don't care. You two made a huge mess, I don't want to see you until you are clean. Okay?" I sternly told them. The two nodded, looking sorry for themselves as I closed the door on them. After taking care of the kids, I went over to help out Kyrie with cleaning up the mess they made. Compared to the other adventures of those two, this was the least messiest. One time they tried to make a volcano dessert thing where it involved baking soda, toothpaste, soda, and a sock. I don't know how all of those worked together to create a sticky mess, but it did. The mess coated the entire living room, making it sticky wherever you stepped. It took about a month to get it out of the floor, though you could still get some sticky spots. As we headed back inside, I thought about the dreams and finally came down to a decision. "Hey Kyrie, I'll be heading over to Nico's sometime soon"

She turned to me, the bright smile leaving her face. "You going to leave so soon?" she asked, quickly fading into a sorrowful look.

"No, I'm just going to visit. I should be back by the evening" I smiled. I hope it doesn't take any longer than an evening. As much as I love her, I can't tell her about the dream or my plan. It'll worry her so much to where she gets sick… literally. Maybe Nico could help me, I know that she's always up for adventures. If she can help me get down to Hell, then I have achieved part of the goal of finding Dante and Vergil. Hopefully it's not like what the textbooks said where it's just constant boiling lava… though if Vergil went down there several times, it's gotta be somewhat appealing. I don't look forward to smelling like demons when I get back though. I gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me, it will be okay."

She took a deep breath in, then sighed "Okay, just call me when you're coming back okay?"

I kissed her on the forehead and warmly told her "I promise I will call you."

Kyrie leaned into me for a hug. I hugged her tightly around her waist as she did the same to me. She pressed her head into my shoulder, shifting her hands to go up to my back. I knew this was hard for her to hear since I just got back. However, if the dreams will stop when I find Dante and Vergil, then I will find them. Then everything will go back to normal.

—

The roads down in Heppin were decorated with cracks, making for a bumpy ride. Luckily, Nero ain't here to bug me about how I should slow down. It's not like I'm going to pop a tire anytime soon, how else did I make it through the Qliphoth? Once I saw Rock's Shop, I pulled over to a screeching stop, landing the parallel parking perfectly. Not a dent or a scratch on the ol' girl. Can't say for the other cars though. Maybe a scratch or two… hopefully not a dent to notice. I popped a pack of ciggs into my pocket along with my lighter then I leaped out of the car. I slammed the door shut, locking her up tight. The van rattled from the impact, making things jingle inside. While it did concern me a bit about the Devil Breakers, it should be fine. Plus if Nero's stuff breaks, it's his damn fault for not cleaning up after himself. I do swear Sparda men are hellishly messy somehow. How Kyrie puts up with him is beyond me. People stared at me as I walked into the shop, which is typical. Probably new guys who've never seen me before. As long as they can stay the hell away if I'm on the roads, we won't have a problem.

Opening the door, a bell chimed throughout the store. A few heads turned my way, then back to gazing at the work of art. The store was filled with guns decoring the walls, mechanical parts in a glass case displayed for sale with price tags. Panels of wood lined the walls behind the guns, complimenting the gun's dark and silvery beauty. My favorite was still up, Nell's signature guns Lucem and Tenebrae. Nothing can compare to her artisan work. Someday I will be in the ranks of her craftsmanship. It's a journey in the making though, still have a long ways to go before I get to her standards. A rugged black haired man came through the back door, carrying out a refurbished pistol. He went over to the customer at the counter, shining up the finished product as he walks before he handing it to her.

"All good to go" he presented the gun to the customer. The man took notice of me and smiled. I waved to him as I flocked over to him. Hurriedly he finished up business with the woman and then turned his attention over to me. "Hey Nicolette," Rock said in a quiet southern drawl. A vague smile came across his face, which is one of the few times Rock's ever smiled. He's a quiet fellow, like his name. He wore his usual brown leather apron, greasy matted black hair with his glasses almost always fogged up, tan shirt and black jean combo that I've never seen him without.

"Howdy Rock" I greeted, giving him a big ol' hug. Unlike his name, he's a squishy fellow who doesn't always look like it. He may be thin but he is a fluffy kitty at times. After I let go, Rock readjusted his thick black rimmed glasses up to his face again. "How do you do?" I say, leaning against the counter.

Rock shrugged "Same old, how have you been holding up?"

"Took care of a nasty weed problem," I flexed on him, cracking some knuckles. "Helped out Nero in the process."

"Ah, I've heard about those. Haven't seen that much of those 'round these parts"

"The asshole's doing well, kicking demon ass like usual" I beamed, pulling out a pack of ciggs and a lighter. Rock brightened up as he saw me pull them out, putting out his hand for one. I helped out my old man by lighting his first, then mine. Inhaling the cigg into me, I let out a nice stream of smoke along with my pop. All of the week's stresses left me as the toxins seeped into me. I've been holding out on this one for a while cause I respect Kyrie too much to deal with that torch-blower. Rather not get her the idea that he's smoking now. He's too much of a wuss to do so even. As we enjoyed our smoke, people trickled out of the shop, grumbling about the smoke. "Sorry 'bout that, Rock…" I muttered apologetically.

"Meh, was about to close up shop anyways…" Rock grumbled. He went over to the shop door and flipped over the sign and locked it up. "Come on, let's go upstairs and chat." I followed up Rock up the stairs in the back, turning off the lights as I left. We sat around the table island that divided the living room and the kitchen. It was clean for the most part, besides a few beer bottles accidentally left behind.

"I thought you didn't drink?" I motioned to the bottle.

"Only occasions, keep it around for guests," he replied, throwing away the bottles. "Well, the guests bring them and never take it back with them."

"Ahh, no wonder you got crap around here," I commented, putting out my cig into the ashtray. Rock went around the counter and sat on the stool on the opposite side of me. He caught me up on his events, mostly selling his guns and pawning off parts for other people. Several devil hunters came and went in his shop, none very notable but discounted the ones that got rid of the bugs around Heppin. It felt like the old days where we'd share our customer tales and horror stories in the shop. One of his tales was about how one worker left dramatically last week, but they were an asshole and no one cared for him. "Sounds like an ordinary Rock day," I joked, snickering to myself.

"It was usual," he quietly chuckled, finishing up his cig before putting it out. "How's working for a Sparda?"

"He's a big ol' asshole as usual" I smirked, thinking about our times together. "Though he's simmered down a lot since the Qliphoth incident in Red Grave. Eversince he found out about his daddy, he's been stressed about something but dunno what… but business is doing well, Nero kicking demon ass ass per usual!"

Rock rolled his eyes as he took a sip of water that was around. "Sounds like you guys are doing well"

"Pretty much honestly," I chirped up, resting my head on my hands. "He's home with the girlfriend and orphans"

"They ain't married yet?" Rock asked, scratching the back of his neck. He took a big yawn then replied "At this point might as well…"

"Probs wanting for things to blow over before doing that" I fiddled around with a nearby pencil, weaving it in and out of my fingers as we talked. There was a pause before Rock replied, his eyes locked onto the glass.

"You thinkin' he might go after the two?" he muttered, looking at the nearly empty glass.

"He wouldn't go after them," I immediately reply. "If he were to it'd be stupid of him…" I know Nero enough to where he wouldn't go after them. Especially after promising his girl that he'd remain in the human world, there's a slim chance he'd go after. Plus, as far I know he'd need some sort of portal to get down there. Or his old monster arm that made a portal a long time ago.

Rock scratched his prickly five 'clock shadow, then replied "I told you the same thing when you went off to find that piece of work…"

"At least I know now and don't have to stress over it," I defensively said, crossing my arms. "I don't care for that son of a bitch anymore…" The vile in my stomach grew again, making me feel even nastier than earlier. Why can't I just not get so mad about him anymore? I should be fine knowing he's dead and I got his notes from his research, which ain't too bad. Although, they got to be disturbing sometimes… makes me wonder how did Nero not see any of that happening all those years ago…

"I don't mean to get you fiesty or anything," Rock calmly told me motioning his hands. He leaned his head back and groaned. "Your mother was quite a lot like you, like a lighter she'll kick into a fight. Literally. Broke a nose once 'cause of her actually."

"Serves you right for messing with her" I smugly replied, relaxing my arms a bit.

"I think it was over the tv remote or something… But anyways," he leaned forward and got up from the stool. "You take care of yourself 'aight?" Rock put his large calloused hand on my shoulder and looked me into the eyes. "No reckless driving" He pointed at me as he spoke.

"If roadkill happens, it's free dinner" I grinned, getting up to his face. He made a long sigh as he shook his head.

"Just don't kill people…" Rock grumbled as he walked away.

"I almost killed a chicken!" I beamed with joy, shouting to the other end of the room. Rock kept walking, ignoring my near-triumphant victory. I wonder how I was like my ma, outside of my reckless stubbornness. Or even how her and Anus got together and lead to me and asshole leaving… One thing I know for sure is that I don't want it to happen for Nero.