Author's Note: Welcome back and hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three

Despite Dante's insistence that they all go to dinner, Kaiden managed to pry out of his Uncle's grasp and sneak away. Or, more accurately, he managed to walk away quietly as both Angelica and Nero acknowledged his departure by ignoring it entirely. He would have no trouble finding them again, not when the power of his grandmother's soul quite literally radiated through the hallways. And Kaiden didn't miss the palace workers hovering around wherever he went.

If he did get lost, someone would find him. It was only a matter of time. And, at the moment, Kaiden hoped he had at least a few minutes to himself.

The palace library was easy to find, and he had a feeling from the various feathers sitting on top of books that this was also a place his grandmother visited. It was much smaller than Pythagoras's but much cozier. Pythagoras had hundreds of bookshelves that went in random directions and were too easy to get lost in. These shelves were perfectly aligned and marked with demon script that Kaiden was proud to say he could finally decipher. Two sets of curved stairs led to a second floor, though those books were contained on much darker shelves behind a tall, golden banister.

If it was true that the palace built itself off of what Vergil and Ashira wanted, then Kaiden was happy to say that his grandparents had good tastes. But as much as Kaiden wanted to simply explore everything this place had to offer, he was searching for one thing; a book somewhere that Pythagoras somehow didn't have.

It would help if he knew what that exact book was, but figuring that out was half the fun. Or it would have been if he wasn't so stressed.

Kaiden wasn't sure how long he'd wandered the stacks before he found something of mild interest; a book on the physiology of half-demons. He'd read plenty of those in Pythagoras' library but a fresh voice was better than nothing. When he picked it up, however, a quiet "thunk" echoed from inside. Surprised, he opened the cover, only to find that the book was hollow. Inside was a silver pocket watch with words and numbers written in some kind of demon script. Except this was one he couldn't read; a rarity nowadays.

He couldn't deny the small thrill that coursed through him as he reached for it. The metal was impossibly smooth, and he could feel the demonic power thrumming through it like some kind of strange battery. When he turned it over, he was surprised to find new letters. A language he'd never seen before, like the others, but one he could actually read.

Odd.

"The key to the future lies in the fragments of the past," He murmured as his fingers brushed over the new script. "What does that mean?"

"Is someone here?"

Startled, the pocket watch slipped from his fingers. Kaiden scrambled to catch it, cursing when it hit the ground. It popped open, revealing a striking white interior. There were no numbers. No hands to designate the time. Instead, there was a convoluted mess of circles and swirls. But the more he stared at it, the more he realized that they were infinity symbols, all crisscrossing each other in nonsensical ways. But his thoughts stopped short when he remembered.

Hadn't someone called my name?

Sheepishly, he pocketed the item and peered out from the stacks. "I apol-" He froze when he saw the older demoness. While she looked calm - hands clasped in front of her with a gentle smile - Kaiden knew something was wrong. It was slight, but her pale blue dress was floating off to the side as if she had taken a step, but the dress itself never came back down.

And her soul… the flames were as still as someone close to death.

Swallowing his panic, Kaiden sprinted from the room.

Nero thought dinner was a lot more awkward than it should have been. The dining room was massive. There were blue and gold stained-glass windows with pillars between each one. The ceiling was high and rounded with an exorbitant chandelier that had so many lights that Nero risked going blind if he did more than glance at it. The metallic, black table was ridiculously long, which was made even more comical as all six of them were crowded alone at one end.

Ashira and Vergil were perched in their lavish, dark blue chairs, something they hadn't even tried to get out of. Apparently, no matter what chair they sat in, the palace would transform them anyway, so the two had accepted Dante's laughter ("And I thought you looked pretentious before, Verge") and moved on. Now, Nero was certain they were sharing some sort of private conversation given the faraway look in their eyes. He suspected it had something to do with Ashira's "incident" earlier, though he still didn't have a clue what had actually happened. Dante was to his right, chowing down on everything in range. But he too seemed off. He threw random jokes Vergil's way every few minutes, but they always seemed hollow, and his smile never quite went to his eyes. Kaiden was missing, though Ashira assured him that he was on his way. Angelica was the only one who had escaped the dining room gloom and had even amassed a small following of demons eager to listen to her fantastical tales.

Nero was simply confused, and secretly hoped that whatever had his family in a funk wouldn't last the rest of their visit.

"So," Nero said. He swore both Vergil and Ashira flinched as their gaze snapped straight to him. And he might have been more embarrassed if he wasn't trying so hard to be casual. Instead, he crossed his arms with a cool smile. "How's the royal life been treating ya?"

Dante slurped his soup much too loudly at that exact moment. With a content sigh, he said, "Just look at 'em, kid. That'll tell you all you need to know."

Nero scowled. "They look pretty normal, chairs aside."

"Well yeah," Dante shrugged. "We caught them in a rather relaxed moment. Just wait until the royal garb comes out." He grinned at Vergil and Nero saw a hint of confusion on his father's face. Even he didn't know what Dante was getting at. "I bet Vergil's got a crown bigger than his head. Or maybe he lets Ashira wear it, since she's his lovely Queen." Vergil's eyes narrowed, and Nero felt like he was missing something very important.

"Dante," Vergil said. "Is everything…"

The door burst open. Kaiden stumbled inside, eyes wide. "Something's wrong. I…"

Then, Angelica screamed.

Nero was on his feet in a heartbeat, barely in time to catch Angelica before she tumbled to the floor. His eyes widened. Every demon Angelica had been talking to was frozen, caught between one moment and the next. It was like they had turned to stone, but Nero could see the terror in a few of their eyes as if they had sensed it happening.

"Vergil…"

His father was by the frozen servants in a heartbeat, his brow furrowed. "It's magic of some kind. Shir-" He froze before he turned to face her. Ashira was staring at the doorway, her demon eyes hazy and unfocused. "Shira," He said. "I'm here. He's not…"

Ashira collapsed. The second she hit the floor, a portal opened beneath her - Yamato, Nero thought. Vergil blinked to Ashira's side, but a second portal opened behind him. Black tendrils of smoke shot out, yanking him back as Ashira vanished. "Shira!" Vergil fought back, but more shadows scrambled to hold him. When he finally stumbled, Dante shot across the room to catch him. But, before he reached Virgil, the shadows grabbed him too. Both were gone in a heartbeat.

"Dad!" Angelica screamed. Nero whirled around and dove without thinking. One arm wrapped around her as he snapped his wings out to grab Kaiden. But dark smoke flooded in from all directions. He felt something slimy grab his ankle and barely managed to tear Kaiden free. His son rushed to his side as Angelica scrambled for safety. In another second, more than a dozen smokey appendages clung onto the rest of him. All Nero heard was Angelica's panicked shriek as all three of them were yanked into the darkness, their own portal snapping shut.

I know you see them, Phoenix, but I wish you didn't have to. I knew the worlds were crumbling, but I had not anticipated this. A second force. Someone trying to undo everything I've worked to fix.

And you… You've been dragged into it.

How many deaths have you seen now? Four? Five? I know it weighs on you. Every death you see. Every life lost. You feel it in your soul, even if you don't know why.

But don't be afraid, little Phoenix. You, your king, and I will fix this. One way or another. Just hold on a little longer, and the pain won't bother you anymore.

Ashira's eyes snapped open. A frantic gasp for air turned into painful coughing as she forced herself upright. The voice echoed in her head, an endless stream of repeating words that she couldn't quite untangle.

But the vision (hallucination? Dream? She didn't know anymore) was sharp. Teenage Vergil stumbling through the dining room with a wide gash from hip to shoulder. His healing should have fixed it, and her Vergil's brief thoughts told her it had. But that Vergil crumbled and bled… and his body was still there when she slipped away.

She clutched her head as it finally dawned on her.. "They're all different versions of you," She mumbled, dizzy. "Vergils that didn't survive the events you did. But why? How?"

A hand gripped her shoulder. Not too tight, but enough pressure to still her thoughts. "Breathe," V said. "Calm yourself, as I'm afraid we have much larger issues to deal with."

With a deep breath, Ashira pushed away whatever thoughts she could and let herself slip onto her back. Her head pulsed in pain, but she ignored it. Silence fell. The ground was painfully rigid, digging into her back in all the wrong ways. The tingling sensation in her appendages was borderline painful, and all she could do was wait for it to go away.

Then a pair of wings smacked her in the head.

"Get up, Princess!" Griffon screeched. Ashira opened her eyes but didn't move. Griffon huffed, and she felt the tiniest of pricks against her cheeks. "Don't make me peck you."

She glared at him, silently grateful that she'd had the sense to wear her glasses today. "Is that not what you're already doing?"

Griffon's head dropped until it knocked against hers. "Not yet," His beady yellow eyes stared straight into hers like some strange kind of power struggle. Except Ashira simply shifted her eyes to the Phoenix and he scrambled away as if she'd burned him. "But don't think I wouldn't."

Finally, Ashira forced herself upright, groaning at the sheer pain in her body. Her head spun, a gentle purr followed by Shadow's fur pressing against her arm pulled her back to reality. The white ground was uneven and covered in dirt and light green bark that resembled stones. Sharp rocks rose in random directions. Some curved slightly high above her, but other sections had nothing but the partly-cloudy sky. Ashira forced herself to her feet and carefully moved to the edge. Below her was an unstable, crackling red portal that she was certain led to the Underworld, but there was nothing else around it. "We're pretty high up."

"Wow," Griffon said as he swooped in front of her. "Did you figure that out all by yourself?"

She scowled at him. "Feel free to tell me where we are you dumb chicken."

"Excuuuuuuse me, Princess," He said. "How am I supposed to know where…"

V's hand clamped down on the bird's beak. "We," he said as he bopped Griffon's head with the cane. The bird shouted something unintelligible before V quite literally threw him over his head. "Are on top of the Qliphoth tree."

Whatever choice words Griffon had for his former summoner, Ashira didn't hear them. "The Qliphoth Tree?" She said, "You mean, the tree you raised over two decades ago?"

"The same." While his voice carried that usual hint of amusement, his frown was deeper than she'd seen it in a long time. He flipped the cane a few times in thought, before resting it on his shoulder. "Though how we got here is another question entirely."

"We can't be in the past… right?"

"Only one way to find out!" Griffon shouted. "I'll just go down there and find 'ole Shakespeare himself, and see if this one remembers it."

V rolled his eyes. "There are so many flaws in that logic that you are the only one who could have possibly thought of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

V snapped the cane out again, but Griffon dodged it. "You are simple-minded," V said.

"If we are in the past," Ashira said. "Then you meeting yourself probably isn't the best solution."

Offended, Griffon shot into the air. "The plan's foolproof! I'll show ya!" He pulled in his wings and dove toward the edge…

… and crashed straight into an invisible wall.

Ashira was by his side in an instant, while V merely sighed and shook his head. "Are you alright?" She said as she gently lifted the bird's head. She swore she saw something like stars in his eyes, but Griffon merely groaned and flopped his wing out to the side.

"He's fine," V said. "But what he just found is… concerning."

"We're trapped."

"No," He said as he stepped back to the same edge she'd been at moments before. "There's no wall here."

"There could be during the drop."

"Nightmare will be happy to test that out for you."

"But if we are in the past," She said. "Do you think you and Dante are down there already?"

"Possibly." The end of the cane hit the ground as his eyes scanned the horizon. "Given that the tree is still standing, there are a few potential scenarios. The first is that we've already fought and are working on cutting it down. The process didn't take long, so I'd suggest we get off this tree quickly so we don't go with it."

"The second?"

"Is less likely," He said. "I highly doubt we'd be here if I'd already…"

They both froze when demonic energy spiked behind them. "Or our timing is impeccable," V said dryly. Ashira turned just in time to meet Vergil's gaze as a portal snapped shut. His widening eyes were the only sign of shock she got, and Ashira was certain she wouldn't have noticed that if she didn't know him as well as she did. But this Vergil wasn't her Vergil. Of that she was certain. His soul was different, as claw-like black marks cut across it in random directions; scars that she'd never seen before. But even if he was the same Vergil, this was undoubtedly before they met, and long before he'd gotten any of his memories back.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Ashira blinked as her brain caught up to who was actually speaking. It had been years since he'd sounded like that. So… young and… inexperienced. A man who had eaten the Qliphoth fruit all of ten minutes ago, not one that had been cultivating its power for over twenty-five years. They looked virtually identical, but this Vergil was practically a baby. Hell forbid he try to fight her, as she had a feeling that he might not stand a chance. She'd trained with the older, improved him long enough to hope for that outcome at the very least.

V snorted beside her. "He'd kill you if he heard you say that."

"First off," Ashira hissed. "No. And second," She put up two fingers. "He's not here."

"Tell him that," V said, gesturing to the other Vergil.

"I'm not asking you again." Other Vergil said.

Ashira glared at him before she could stop herself. "Do you mind?" She snapped. And whether it was the stress of the situation or the fact that the silence in her mind was more irritating than usual, she finished with, "The adults are talking."

His eyes narrowed. "If this is a younger you," She thought. "You better forgive me for whatever happens up here."

He clicked Yamato from its sheath. "So you wish for death?"

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes as she absentmindedly twirled Yamato in her hand. She wasn't afraid of him, but the weight of the sword was enough to keep her grounded. "I'm glad you've outgrown this dramatic flair of yours."

V snorted again. "Are we talking about the same man?"

"... I suppose sarcasm counts."

But when she looked back at him, she saw that his gaze had fallen to her Yamato. She realized her mistake. "Vergil," She said as his grip tightened on the hilt of his own Yamato. His eyes narrowed at the sound of his name, and Ashira swore in her Phoenix tongue. "Trust me," She said. "You do not want to rush into…"

Vergil launched at her before she had a chance to finish.