A/N: Hello again everyone! Sorry that has been a while, I've been working on some other fics, which I hope ya'll take a look at later. To make up for my lateness, I bring you two new chapters.

Thanks to all reviewers and those who liked the story enough to add it. Um… I don't own the DMC Series or their characters… Capcom does. Are we all happy now? Cool… As always, I am open to criticism, so please review! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Change

It had only been two days since Vergil had his brief encounter with Seth... Or Dante, however one would like to put it. He was getting used to the idea that he wouldn't see his little brother ever again and here Dante shows up out of the blue.

Vergil could have shared his experience with Trish or Lucia, but he didn't. He hadn't told anyone, not even Sister Aurora, who still shared leads on Malina's whereabouts.

And why not? It wasn't completely outside the realm of possibility. After all, they had been called out on jobs that required them to vanquish poltergeists and demons possessing children.

He honestly thought that it would only give Trish or Lucia one more reason to put him away, strait-jacket and all. He had heard them whispering about sending him to a therapist.

Still Vergil pushed on pretending that had never overheard them.

They'll see that I am right and I will bring Dante's killer to justice.

But in those two days, Vergil was finally near being at ease. He may not have been aware of the difference, but he was far less edgy. He was dressing more like himself and even styled his hair in the usual spikes. He was even sleeping better.

One morning, Vergil graced the women with his presence at breakfast. Trish and Lucia were chatting over eggs, bacon, pancakes and coffee when Vergil casually walked down the stairs in a pair of blue jeans and a royal blue shirt layered above a white tee-shirt. He was wearing a nice pair of blue and white sneakers, which he didn't raid from Dante's closet, and his hair gelled up in his signature do.

He substituted his usual glare for a smile and a more cheerful, "Good morning."

The two were so shocked that they were only able to stammer out a, "G – g –good morning, Vergil."

He went to the kitchen and returned chewing on a slice of bacon. For the first time in weeks, he actually ate something. At this point, the two would have settled on him eating crumbs.

Vergil wasn't wasting away, his demon side made sure of it; but the question was geared more so to his human side. Could there side effects for hybrids that stop taking in nourishment?

Vergil became more productive and seemed more stable during missions. He had tossed aside the angry fighting style he adopted in the wake of Dante's death and reverted to his normal graceful, stylized sword movements.

For the first time in a while, Vergil wasn't obsessing over Malina. But he hadn't forgotten about her. He'd sometimes dream of what he would do to her once they crossed paths.

Finding Malina was an endeavor in and of itself. As she convalesced in her hideout, Vergil had to take into account whether or not she had any allies. If she was truly as close as Dante had said, she or someone else must be using very powerful majicks to veil themselves. What's worse is that Vergil couldn't sense it. Normally, a witch's spell would leave behind a residue or an echo.

Those can stay in an area ranging from days to years. An example being the Sisters of Light, who don't have to keep performing the same enchantments on their house because of an echo. The greater the power, longer the echo. Except that there wasn't any that could be detected.

Another problem that a confrontation with a witch posed was the fact that Malina could just as easily kill Vergil as she had done Dante.

Vergil couldn't debate it any longer, Malina had to be eliminated.

Vergil returned from a mission, showered and turned in for the night. He closed his wary eyes and dreamed a reverie that left him... changed.

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His could hear the song of the morning birds ever so clearly. The smell of freshly cut grass and spring flowers in bloom traveled in and out of his nostrils.

Vergil felt the warmth of the sun against his skin. He opened his eyes despite the harsh light that was sure to rush into his pupils.

He looked about himself to see that he and half of his room had been transported to the center of a park. Vergil shot out of bed. He was no longer wearing the blue pajama bottoms he fell asleep with, but rather the sweater and slacks he attended the funeral in.

Soon, he realized that he and his room had gone unnoticed by the park patrons. The children laughed and played in their own world at the jungle gym. Old men sat on benches feeding birds. There were young men playing basketball on a nearby court. A group of joggers passed in front him on an asphalt trail, their earphones blasting various melodies.

It took a small child tugging on his pant leg to snap Vergil out of his trance.

"Hey, mister!"

Vergil looked down to see a small boy with pale blond hair and blue eyes. He was four maybe five and was beaming ear to ear, showing that he lost a few teeth. An image of a four year old Dante with that same wide smile flashed to mind.

"Hey, mister," the boy continued, "your name's Vergil, right? That guy over there gave me five bucks to tell you that you're late." The boy pointed to man dressed in a business suit and fedora sitting in front of a stone chess table. He showcased his reward at the same time.

"Late?"

"Yeah. He said that you have an appointment and that keeping him waiting is very unprofessional."

Before Vergil could respond, he heard a distant call, "Tony!"

Tony? Could this child actually be...?

His thought trailed off when he saw a woman run up to him. She was wearing a short lavender dress. She had flowing gold-spun hair.

"Tony, there you! Daddy's lighting the candles. You'd better get back before your brother blows them all out." Tony gasped, spun on his heels and took off, all the while shouting, "Gilver, wait for me!"

"Thank you for stopping my son for me. So much energy. Given the chance, I think he'd keep running clear across the country." Her hand brushed her hair out of her face to reveal a very familiar one. That angelic face that had smiled at him for the first eight years of his life; those baby blue eyes...

"Yeah, lightning in a bottle," Vergil finally said, "My brother was the same way at that age."

The woman smiled and said, "Have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere." Vergil shook his head, no despite knowing otherwise.

"Maybe in another life," Vergil answered.

"My name is Eve," she reached out to shake Vergil's hand. He took it. "My husband and I are throwing a party for our sons. You are welcome to join us."

"No thank you, I really have to get going."

"Aww. Sorry to hear that. Anyways, it was a pleasure meeting you...," she dragged out the "you," leaving room for him to mention his own name.

"Vergil."

"Vergil? That name sounds so familiar," she mused aloud and continued, "Well, it was great making your acquaintance, Vergil. You have a nice day." With that she returned from whence she came.

Vergil turned and made his way to the suited man. As he got closer, he noticed that the man was speaking into a Bluetooth headset and fiddling with a SideKick phone. "Yes... Yes... No, that's no good."

Vergil took the seat opposite the man in front a fully set chessboard.

"Okay... Thank you... Good bye." The man pulled the headset out of his ear and put it and his SideKick in his pocket.

"How have you been, V?" Vergil straightened at how he was addressed. The only people to call him "V" were his parents (on occasion), and mainly... Dante.

He took off his hat and placed it on his knee. Dante's platinum locks were combed straight back, which reminded Vergil of Sparda and of Dante lying in that damned casket.

Dante looked at his senior and said, "Sooo... what's on your mind?"

A little on the short side and a little slow by way action. :(

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