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"What the hell is going on?" Lili cried as the house shook
"Earthquake," Lady replied, "But this is so much more intense than normal"
"Evil has risen," Vergil said, "I can feel it. Whatever it is, it's powerful"
The shockwaves subsided, as Vergil headed to his library, searching through his books, trying to find whatever he could that would explain the earthquake
"Got anything?" Lady asked
"Nothing. Maybe Dante knows something. I'll ask him"
Vergil grabbed his cell phone, flipping it open and dialling Dante's number
"Damn, phone lines are down"
"Yep, this is so not good," Lili said, "We're going to hell"
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"Okay, let's get started," Dante said, "Who the frigging hell are you?"
"I'm James Knight," he answered, "I'm a demon hunter"
"Yeah, but you're also part Linkin Beast. And I hate those demons"
"I am not like those demons, just like you," James said
"Dad, he was helping me to stop the Cult," Jenny said
"For all we know, he was probably helping Maverick in secret," Dante said
"Sounds like you know this Maverick guy," Tristan said, "Got a history?"
"Yeah, he was the one who raised Lucifer fifteen years ago," Dante said, "Luckily, I had some help from Cloud and we managed to defeat Lucifer. But Maverick got away. Now, I get to kill him"
Dante started to head back towards the office, when another earthquake rumbled out. This time, however, a massive tower started rising up in the centre of Fortuna
"Is that Temen-ni-gru, Dad?" Jenny asked
"No, it's not," Dante replied, "This is something else"
"It's the tower of the Goddess," James said, "Her throne"
A massive orange portal opened up above the tower, as demons of all kinds started pouring out. But Dante also noticed a few familiar demons coming out of the portal. Demons he knew that were to be dead
"Come on, let's head back," he said, "We'll call the others and sort this out"
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"Isn't this pretty sweet?" Maverick asked, "I managed to raise the Goddess of Death and she's answered to my prayers. Well, not so much prayers, more like demands"
"For once, I'm glad someone listened to you," Gloria said, "Being in the Underworld really sucked major"
"You're the only who got your ass handed to you by Nero, who is kinda weak when compared to Dante and Vergil. Shame on you, sister"
"At least I get another chance to kill you if you piss me off too much"
"Are you getting affected yet?" Maverick smirked
"Cut it out, you two," Beelzebub growled, standing on the edge of the tower, his arms crossed, "You two are nothing but a pair of headaches"
"I'm sorry, Father," Gloria said, bowing slightly towards him
"Yeah, I'm sorry too, Dad," Maverick said, rolling his eyes, "Shouldn't all of you be bowing before me? I saved you all from the Underworld"
"You had nothing to do with it," Balthazar said, "She brought us back, not you"
"Tough luck, brother," Gloria smiled
"I did better than you. I've raised Lucifer and now I've raised the Goddess. What's the best you've done? You raised Dad from his tomb. So I'm better than you"
"Lucifer was just a simple demon king. Father is a godking. So I did better"
"I am this close to sending the pair of you to the Underworld," Beelzebub warned
"Send him there so he knows what it's like," Gloria said, pointing at her brother
Beelzebub sighed and rubbed his forehead
"See, this is what happens when you have kids," Janice said
"No, this is what happens when you have a father like him," Maverick said
Beelzebub whirled around and fired an energy blast, which Maverick blocked with a wall of ice. The ice melted away, as father and son glared at each other
"Ah, I'm outta here," Maverick said, "Got better things to do"
He walked over to the edge of the tower and jumped off, as Beelzebub sighed
"Your brother is a fool," he told Gloria
"Yeah, I could have told you that," she replied
"So, what are we gonna do now we're alive again?" Janice asked
"Kill Sparda's kids," Balthazar replied, "Hell, that's what I wanna do"
"And I think we will be able to succeed this time around," Gloria smiled
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"Dante, what the hell is going on?" Trish demanded, Ash and Caitlyn close to her
"We've got major trouble with a capital T," Dante replied
"That's what he used to say about Mom," Jenny whispered to her twin, who smirked
"Okay, so tell me," Trish said
"Remember Maverick? Well, he's gone and summoned forth the Goddess of Death, who I'm told can resurrect the dead, something she's already started on"
"Let me guess, all those bad guys we've defeated over the years are now back"
"Yep, that's right, which means all hell is gonna break loose"
"Dante, what's going on?" Vergil asked, bursting into the office
Lady, Lili, Nero, Celeste, Spencer, David and Michael were close behind him as Dante let out a groan and sat down at the desk
"James, you tell them, since you know all about it"
"He's a Linkin Beast," Vergil said
"Only half," James said, "That huge earthquake you felt earlier was the signal that the Goddess of Death has been summoned. That massive tower belongs to her"
"Simple, we kill the Goddess and send the tower back to wherever the hell it came from," Celeste said
"Won't be easy. The Goddess is very powerful. She is able to resurrect the dead"
"Which means Mundus, Balthazar, Beelzebub, Abigail and everyone else," Vergil said, "Who brought forth the Goddess?"
"Maverick," Dante answered, causing Vergil to swear
"That little twerp? I thought you killed him all those years ago"
"Guess not. Anyhow, we've got bigger problems at hand here, mainly the Goddess"
"We all take her on," Nero said, "All combined, we'll be able to defeat her"
"Keep dreaming," James said, "In order to weaken her, we have to take out those she's resurrected. She's already used a large amount of her power and she's just returned from the dead"
"Well, first off, we have to evacuate the civilians," Dante said, "Then the Goddess"
He got up from his desk and grabbed Alastor, Ebony and Ivory, before selecting Ifrit, Cerberus and Pandora, as Trish grabbed Sparda
"Okay then, Lady, can you stay here with the kids?" Trish asked
"Sure can"
"Alright, let's go kick some ass," Dante said
He kicked the office door open and stepped out into the night
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"So, how you feeling?" Maverick asked cautiously
"I am doing fine. Don't be concerned," a feminine self-important voice boomed
"Oh, I'm not concerned at all. Okay, so a little, because we've got to deal with the blood of Sparda. They're not easy to fight"
"Hm, the blood of Sparda. I'm sure I can handle them just fine"
"Well, that's always good to hear," Maverick said, "Good job bringing my dad and sister back from the dead. They're just what I needed right now"
"Then you are welcome," the Goddess replied
"Pfft. I hate them, so you didn't quite do me a favour there. Dad especially will be on my case and he would want to run the whole shebang"
"I can dispose of him then"
"Nah, I'll let one of the Spardas kill him. It'll be entertaining"
"You have served me well so far. I thank you for releasing me," the Goddess said
"Sure, not a problem," Maverick said, "So long as I get amnesty from you"
"I have no intention of killing the one who released me"
"Good. Glad we've got that out of the way. Now, back to the killing"
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