A/N: Hey guys, another week another chapter, aka, I'm sitting in Adam's room typing on a Sunday afternoon again. Taking a break from homework just to sit and type, yup… anywho, I'll get on with that chapter now ^^;

Disclaimer: Vergil doesn't even have his own game (which is sad), why do you think I own him?

Not Strong Enough

Vergil woke up the next morning, well truthfully he jolted awake when he was pierced through again in his dream. It was something that he just couldn't help but keep thinking about, and no matter how much his conscious mind tried to push it off, his subconscious just kept bringing it back up, he kept reliving that moment over and over again in his dreams, turning and seeing his mother dying next to him. The young half devil bit his lip, curling in on himself, trying to fight down the choked sobs and the tears burning at his eyes. He needed to be stronger, stronger to be able to protect himself, stronger to be able to find Dante, stronger to be able to protect the little bit of family he had left, stronger to get revenge on the monster that had done this to them. His mind refused to acknowledge the idea that Dante might have perished in that fire as well, he would know, he would be able to tell if Dante was gone, be able to feel it. At least that's what he told himself. He bit his lip harder, skin breaking and the sharp taste of blood leaking onto his tongue. Vergil swallowed and rubbed at his eyes, trying to shake off the doubts and fears of his nightmares and stepped onto the cold floor.

He looked out the window, the sky was a very pale blue, the color of a cold dawn, it would only get colder from here. The half devil sighed and then closed his eyes, focusing on the aura of the ancient katana within him, calling upon it. It appeared in his hands, sized to his small frame and he took stance and then slowly, extremely slowly, walked through each of the kata he knew and then into freeform, each movement working into the next one and then the next, speeding up with each step until the blade and its wielder were a blur of rapid movement. Vergil was careful to not move his blade too quickly, not to put too much power into it so that the wind from the blade didn't knock anything from the shelves, he knew he was strong but it wasn't strong enough. The strike was off balance, the blade nicked into the floor and the half devil stumbled, fists clenching around the hilt of the katana as he resisted the urge to slam his fist into the wall in frustration.

"It's not enough…" he growled, his anger interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Anthony?" it was Madeline's voice, the half devil nearly growled again, he'd only been here for one night and this woman already had a knack for interrupting him, not as bad as Dante but she was getting there.

"Yeah?" he asked, Yamato dissipating in a small stream of light.

"Breakfast is ready, we have to go back to the police station in a bit, can you be ready soon?" she asked and Vergil sighed

"Yes." He heard her footsteps receding and true to her word, the smell of eggs tickled at his nose and caused his stomach to growl loudly. He sighed again and pulled on the clothes that had been set out for him last night, heading into the bathroom to wash his face and teeth.

Once cleaned up the half devil went downstairs only to find that Madeline wasn't the only one in the kitchen, Laurie and Ricardo were there too, both nursing cups of steaming coffee.

"How are you feeling?" Madeline asked, Laurie glared at him. Vergil met the glare evenly, not in the slightest bit offput.

"Fine." He said quietly, taking the plate offered to him and sitting at the table and eating quickly, surprised at the hunger that plagued him. He could feel everyone's eyes on him but ignored them, he wouldn't be here long anyway.

-The Boy in Blue-

It was a quiet and rather long ride to the police station but Vergil didn't mind, he enjoyed the silence and the scenery flashing by, it was normal, mundane, and calmed his frayed nerves. He could tell that Madeline didn't like it though, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat until she finally coughed and said.

"You know they're going to ask you a lot of questions."

"I know."

"About what happened to your house, to your mom…" she said and Vergil met her quick glance away from the road with even eyes

"I know." He said, it hurt deep in his chest to think about the fact that his mother was gone and never coming back. The place he grew up was forever gone as well, his nest, his sibling… all gone… he took a deep breath, he could do this.

"It's okay to cry you know." She said and the half devil winced, that was something that his mom always used to tell him, that it was okay to cry, that crying was something that only humans did, that it was a sign that he was human at heart.

"I know." The words were the barest thread of a whisper. It's all he could manage around the lump in his throat.

Madeline looked over at her charge, he looked like he was on the verge of tears now, though moments before when she had been reminding him that he was going to have to talk about what happened, he had been as calm as a cucumber. What had she said? Did he feel like he needed permission to let out his tears, his feelings? The poor boy had been through far too much in the past day, maybe it was all finally sinking in…

A/N: Damn, poor Verge… though I feel like we're starting to see the beginnings of the power craze that boy has…

Till next time,

-Winged Element