Thank you all who have reviewed and added this little story. We are nearing the end and there a surprise in it for you! Sit back and enjoy and I'll be back soon. Lastly, I proofread, but still things creep up… let me know if you see any mistakes. Don't forget to review!

Chapter 9: Just Cause

"Just took a few detours," Vergil smirked, "You didn't make things any easier."

He drew his hell-forged blade in a very deliberate manner. The shiny surface reflected images of Arinna and a disheveled Malina. The young witch appeared as though she hadn't slept in weeks. She sat huddled over, Indian styled, and slowly rocking back and forth.

Malina was in her own world. Dull eyes stared off into space and lips muttered chains of incomprehensible words. He couldn't stand to look at her. His icy eyes painfully tore away from Malina and returned to Arinna.

Why? He wanted to say it, but couldn't form the words. This is where it all came to a head. Dante had died, Malina managed to take on some of his powers and now she remained insane. Now, her life was probably in danger as well.

"I am surprised that you do not remember me, young Sparda," Arinna mused, "Maybe if I referred to you a Nelo... Would that help?"

He teleported just in front of her and pointed the blade to her throat. "Say what you will," he said through clenched teeth, "you'll sooner be dead."

"Do you not remember," she asked again, "Possibly... a familiar..." She paused as she pulled away her veil. "Face."

He was taken aback by what he saw, but Vergil dared no to show it. He knew that face and knew it well.

It was that woman who "cared" for him in Mundus' prison. Or perhaps it was her influence that kept him by Mundus' side in the Underworld.

He remembered that she remained on Mallet Island, watching... waiting, with that long ebony mane that shimmered in the sun. Maybe it was that radiance… that beauty that kept him bound to her in the Demon World; a companion in a very one-sided relationship.

The raven-haired demon had smooth, milky skin with impossibly mismatched irises of crimson and cobalt. Her ruby lips would lure any man into a venomous kiss.

Yes, she bore a striking resemblance to Lady... there was no doubt about it. She even carried that unmistakable scar across the bridged of her nose.

Not, quite Lady, but Lilith in all her sexual splendor… She was the first, the queen-mother of all succubae and incubi. He knew the name, but didn't risk speaking its power into existence.

Vergil pressed his sword even harder on her neck. "If that is the form you wish to take on," he pretended to be unfazed by her appearance, "then so be it."

"Do you not like it? You did become close to that human in Temen-ni-gru. You would have been an excellent demon lord, had she not tainted you back then. I tried to remedy this." She bowed her head almost in shame.

He felt sorrow… for the crazed girl in the corner… and conflict in cutting down the Lady-masked demon. He honestly couldn't forgive himself if he should slay Dante's wife.

No. It wasn't her… so why was he still clashing with himself? Maybe, things would be different if he was still that young man, with delusions of power and righteous honor, who did what he needed to get the job done.

She brought up her blood-caked katana and swatted Vergil's blade aside. He didn't fight her objection. Vergil allowed his limp sword hand to swing back to his side.

"Age has definitely not hindered your fight," she taunted, moving into a battle stance. Vergil released a small sigh and followed suit, only that he didn't step into a particular posture. He stood there, rather capriciously, but ready nonetheless.

Give it no more thought. End it quickly, he told himself.

Vergil combed a hand through his hair. There was no gel, hence no spikes, but at least it was pushed back and there were no super-long bangs in his face. As he did this, he paced backwards and then lunged forward with a series of rapid slashes.

Lilith parried the slashes with equaled skill, swords sparking with every clank. "Come now, you think you, a half-demon, can defeat me," she goaded.

Vergil only intensified his assault, which finally threw the demon off balance. This was his chance.

He brought Yamato down and back, near his left hand that held the sheath.

Vergil dug his right forward and performed his signature move, the Judgment Cut. There was something different about it. It was far more powerful than ever before, shearing away pieces of the industrial shelves, walls, and overhead beams.

Subconsciously, he strengthened his resolve, reminding himself why he was here. No matter what it would take, Lilith would be sent back to hell today. She will die today.
His graceful, yet devastating strokes pushed the demon into the far wall behind her, hard enough to send small shockwaves through the warehouse.

Lilith was down and had yet to recover. Vergil saw this as his chance to gather up Malina. The building could be brought down at any second and he didn't want her to see what he was going to do to the succubus queen.

He sheathed his sword.

"Come on. It's time to go," Vergil softly coaxed the girl from her spot out of the door. More incoherent mumblings spilled from mouth; something along the lines of 'a human can't have a devil's power'.

He ignored it, focusing on escorting her outside safely with tenderness of handling a baby. He encouraged her every step of the way.

They were about twenty feet away when the entire building collapsed upon itself. Vergil quickly looked around. With no sight of Lilith, he continued moving Malina into the alley. If he could get her out into open, maybe someone would see her, help her. It didn't matter if he was caught, she was his priority.

And what a sight… A white-haired, barefooted man dressed in pajama bottoms and a tank top walking alone with a dirty and confused teenaged girl. Now, that's something to talk about.

"A little farther," he said calmly.

Suddenly, he felt a hand clamp around his shoulder, near his neck. Before he could fight it off, he was yanked backwards down the alley. He was sent crashing into a dumpster. Yamato clattered to the ground nearly two yards away.

As soon as he made it to his feet, she was already behind him. Lilith secured her arms around Vergil, straightened his neck, bared her vampiric fangs, and… sank in her teeth.

Her teeth transmitted blood thinning and paralyzing agents into Vergil, making escape nearly impossible.

She suckled at his life giving blood, dripping some just past his neck. At first, Vergil could feel her pleasure surging through him, translating into his own and then into pain. She was actually sapping away his strength.

All the while, he stretched his arm farther for his O-katana, with no luck. Soon, he could no longer stand under his own power. He was brought to his knees.

Even his vision blurred a little, but still… he reached.

She kneeled behind him still attached to his neck. Vergil was growing increasingly dizzy, breathing becoming a little stridorous. She loosed herself and said, "My, my Sparda. How sweet is your blood? I feel your heart slowing… it's only a matter of time before you pass out… and die too. And guess what, Vergil?"

He didn't answer.

"I'll kill her too," she said as she harshly pulled his head up to face the frightened girl.

"Please, help me Vergil," Malina managed to choke out into lucidity.

Lilith grit her teeth and spoke into Vergil's ear, "Do you like? Huh? Does it turn you on? I know it did at some point… I felt it. I have waited years for this. Your father thought he could render powerless forever! HA! Now, I feel his power coursing through my veins. Soon, I'll have hers and Dante's. Then I shall rule the Underworld."

"What shall we call you," Vergil asked, his voice barely a whisper. He reached again for the sword. Vergil could feel it trying to pull closer.

"I am the Queen… the first of my kind. I am L-l-l –" The last bit stayed on her tongue, unable to move away.

He let out a hoarse chuckle and whispered, "My father stripped you of your name. You don't have power and you'll never find it."

Malina head began to clear, her trance nearly broken.

The sword flung itself into Vergil's hands. In the fraction of a second, he unsheathed Yamato and ran himself through with it. The blade reached past his back and inside the demon woman as she let out a drawn out gasp. He pushed it in farther and twisted it.

He didn't care about the pain he felt… Vergil just wanted her to suffer. "This belongs… to a son of Sparda," Vergil wheezed with blood oozing from his mouth, "You shall never have it!" Vergil twisted his blade again, gaining new cries from the succubus.

"Oh no? Then I'll have hers," she said in a pained, but cold voice.

The demon displaced herself from Vergil's blade to just behind Malina.

No. He had her and she slipped through his fingers. Lilith stretched Malina's neck and widened her jaw. Vergil used the very last of his might to summon a phantom sword and launch it at the she-devil. It hurtled just past Malina, barely grazing her skin, and right into Lilith, knocking her Lady-like head clean off her shoulders.

Her face bore the look of utter surprise. No, possibly disgust... foiled again by a Sparda. Almost in slow motion, her severed head sailed past Malina and transformed into ash. The rest followed suit and drifted away on a gust of wind.

Seeing that, Vergil collapsed on the pavement with his vision tunneling. The last thing he saw was Malina running towards him.

"Vergil! Vergil," she called to the fallen form.

He didn't stir.

"Oh God, no! Not again! Not again," she said as she tried shaking him. "Please… I'm so sorry." Malina began crying.

She kneeled and pulled out Yamato, slowly and carefully. She was greeted with a flood of sanguine and the same sickening squish she heard when she stabbed Dante.

"Vergil, please don't die."

Malina turned him over to his back, took off her jacket and used it to apply pressure to his neck and torso. His lips and fingertips were already blue and his pale skin was cold and clammy. She realized that he had lost air and went into shock long ago, that his sheer will alone kept her alive.

She glanced at his seemingly sleeping face. Malina turned her head towards the alley opening and tearfully shouted, "Somebody, please help!"

---

Vergil found himself standing a few feet from his own body, still dressed in his sleeping wares. He looked up to see a few good Samaritans heed Malina's call. One pulled the sobbing Malina away from Vergil's lifeless body, serving as a distraction. The other two began checking for vitals.

"Dante was right," Vergil said to himself aloud, "this is rather disturbing to watch."

"Damn right it is." Vergil attention shifted from the men trying to revive his discarded shell, to the voice behind him.

"Dante?"

It was indeed his brother, dressed from head to toe in black with his arms crossed on his chest.

"Verg, what are you doing?"

"I figured it out… You wanted Malina, but you needed her to clear her conscience first. To cleanse her soul… but she's just a child."

"It's not your decision, V."

"The hell it isn't! She's got her whole life ahead of her! Take me instead."

"Vergil," they heard Malina scream.

"She's a great a kid, Dante. Just think of all the evil she will purge."

Dante chuckled and said, "You still don't get it, do you? It's not your time yet nor hers either… True, I at first came to collect her soul, but you changed the timeline, saved her life. You got her to push through that spell and cleanse herself. Great job. And…" Dante handed Vergil his customized red Sidekick.

"As you can see, you are not on my list today and neither is she." Dante took it back and put it away, "Thanks big bro for making my job A LOT easier… but you gotta go back now, and it looks like they're about to give up."

"It's no good. I don't feel a pulse. This kid's long gone," one frustrated rescuer said, "where's that ambulance anyways?"

Malina heard their conversation and cried even more. The distraught girl broke free and ran to the platinum-haired devil's side.

"Please, don't leave… don't leave," she cried. She laid her head on his still chest.

"Okay, I'll go," Vergil finally said to Dante.

"Okay… I guess I'll see you soon enough. Close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Vergil obeyed. It was no time at all when Vergil began to feel the effects of his wounds and Malina's weight across his chest.

She began to hear slow, regular thumps. "Huh? Wha-? Guys… his heart's beating again," Malina exclaimed happily.

"Oh, sweetie," the rescuer that first distracted her began, "I'm so sorry, but your friend's gone. We just didn't get here in time."

After all, she must be delusional. There were no signs of life for over ten minutes.

The rescuers were forced to stifle their comforting condolences and stare in awe when Vergil drew in a breath and released wet, wheezing coughs. He opened his eyes briefly before losing consciousness again. Malina didn't care, he was alive.

Eric: How can you stand being impaled that often?

Dante: Tons of practice... Kids, don't try that at home, we're professional video game characters.

Vergil nods in agreement

Weird ending, I know… and I have yet to exhaust my "cheese" factor. Stick around Chapter 10 is on its way.