Oddly enough, it wasn't something life threatening- or even threatening at all- that caused the crash in Lorena's room. It was, in fact, a spider. Not one of those huge demonic ones, no, but a small house spider that had the misfortune to fall on her nose while she was trying to go back to sleep. What few people knew was that she was deathly afraid of the little arachnids... so her reaction was inevitable.

In a mad attempt to get the little creature off of her nose and then immediately incinerate it, she'd managed to knock it under the sheets. Once in the sheets, she lost it and leaped out of the bed before knocking into the bedside table and stumbling backwards into the parlor. She was hiding out behind the couch when the twins burst into the room... and she was less than decent.

Dante's jaw may have hit the floor.

Not that she really cared. The spider took precedence over her shame at this given point in time. Sprinting from her position behind the couch, Lorena practically glued herself to Vergil's back. The elder twin did not miss the envious glare his brother shot him.

"Oh thank God you're here," she breathed, her words tumbling out over each other. "Hurry up and kill it!"

Vergil glanced around the room, confused at her panic over the seeming lack of a threat. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Kill what, exactly?"

"The spider, you moron!"

He blinked.

"The... spider?" he echoed.

Lorena nodded vigorously. Vergil took a deep breath and raised a hand to his temple.

"You mean to tell me," he said slowly, "That you caused this commotion over a spider?"

The witch glared up at him.

"I don't. Like. Spiders."

Vergil could almost swear that he heard Dante stifle a snicker.

"What kind of a spider was it, Red?" the younger twin asked. "Was it huge and on fire?"

Her eyes widened and she clung tighter to Vergil, her nails starting to dig into the leather in a not-too-comfortable manner. The blue twin's lips pressed together into a tight frown, which only deepened into a scowl once his brother burst out into laughter.

He was really starting to dislike this woman.

"I can't believe this!" howled Dante. "You throw fireballs from your hands and you freak out over one tiny little spider!"

"They have fangs!" she spat at him, too scared out of her mind to care that he was mocking her. "Tiny, venomous fangs that can kill you!"

It goes without saying that Vergil was very disappoint. This... this was a colossal waste of time! There were several other things that he could be doing that were SUBSTANTIALLY more important than dealing with this. Frowning slightly,he reached down and pried Lorena's hands from his coat.

Then, Vergil had a thought. A thought that almost made his frown twist into a smirk worthy of the Grinch.

And he was never one to turn away from an opportunity at revenge.

"Brother, I leave this situation in your questionably capable hands," he said curtly, giving the woman a push back towards his brother.

Lorena's jaw went slack for a moment almost out of complete shock. She stared up at Vergil, her eyes missing the twitch at the corner of his mouth that hinted at a smile, and watched him turn on his heel and leave the room. Petty as it may sound, he was more than content to let her suffer with her own fear for the time being.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Lorena was stunned that Vergil had left her with Dante. Alone. With a spi-

Another shriek erupted from the witch as she saw a small black splotch skitter across the floor and she practically leapt into Dante's arms. Not that he was complaining, mind you. He had a real nice view of her boobs.

"Ohgodohgodohgod just kill the damn thing, won't you?"

The words fell from her lips in such a haphazard manner that he almost didn't understand her. It didn't help that she was practically inviting him to-

He had to grit his teeth and will certain parts of his brain to calm down, among other things, before peeling Lorena off of him and setting her down. Out of the corner of his eye, the black splotch twitched and began to skitter ever so closer...

BANG!

There was a long pause after the shot was fired, perfectly precise, into the floor and therefore into the unfortunate eight-legged interloper. The spider had dissipated into nothing more than a small puff of inky black smoke. Lorena stared at the hole in her floor, wide-eyed, and swallowed. Okay, so the guns weren't just for show... She had to admit, a little part of her was impressed.

"So what the hell was that, Red?"

Still hated him, though. Scrounging up what dignity she had left (which wasn't very much to begin with), Lorena cleared her throat and looked away.

"I just..." She sighed. "I've hated spiders for as long as I can remember, okay? Go ahead- laugh."

Dante looked down at Lorena, the woman's cheeks flushed pink with shame and embarrassment, and smiled. She shifted awkwardly and glanced up at him.

"Why aren't you laughing?" she asked quietly.

Oh, he was. Just not out loud and, as much fun as it was, he didn't fancy getting third degree burns somewhere where it was really going to hurt. Dante's not stupid- as much fun as rough, angry sex with Lorena was bound to be, he'd rather be able to actually still have it period. Now that she had come down enough from her fear induced frenzy to think clearly again, he was not going to poke that bear. So he had to content himself with a smile.

"Did you want me to?"

Lorena frowned.

"You're a right pain in the ass, you know that?"

Dante's smile broadened into a cheeky grin.

"As long as it yours."

There was a loud smack, and Dante had third degree burns on his face. Again.

{break}

"What do you mean you haven't heard from her?!"

It was easy to forget how much Salem was Adrienne's son. The boy was just as protective of his mother as she was of him. Sparda didn't look up from his book, opting out of being subjected to the look of despair on the young man's face.

"I'm afraid it is exactly what I mean, my boy. Your mother has not reported in since her departure."

He could almost feel the air in the room around him become heavier with Salem's anger.

"Then why haven't you done anything?" he demanded.

Sighing, the elder demon set down his book and looked up at Salem.

"Because I trust your mother," was his calm reply. "If she is in a situation where she cannot risk contacting me-"

"And what if she can't contact you at all?" shouted Salem.

Sparda froze. Salem never shouted like that. Not without a very good reason.

"Salem," he said quietly. "What did you see?"

The young man hesitated, reluctant to elaborate. Salem had a certain talent that, according to Adrienne, that he'd inherited from his grandmother's family. He was the first Oracle born into his family since Adrienne's great-grandfather.

Salem hated his premonitions. They made it hard to sleep some nights, if he even slept at all, and sometimes they were completely inaccurate. The easy answer was that the future was constantly changing, that there were too many variables. Still, it was hard for Salem not to feel responsible if something went wrong, despite constant reassurance that it wasn't his fault in the slightest. So far he, his mother and Sparda were the only ones who knew about his gift.

Salem continued to remain silent.

"What did you see?" repeated Sparda, a little more forcefully.

Heaving a sigh, Salem began to play with his hair. A nervous tick inherited from his mother.

"Him," he said quietly.

"What?"

"Well, not exactly, I don't know. It was dark and cold and I... I just knew," he told the other man, "I haven't had a premonition like that in a long time."

Sparda rose from his seat and grabbed his coat from the rack beside the door.

"Salem, I am going to retrieve your mother. Let Vergil know that he is in charge during my absence and, with any luck, I should be back within a day."

"But sir-"

Salem's protest was cut short with the look that the elder demon shot him.

"...Yes sir."

{break}

Of all the places she could have wound up, he had to admit that this was not exactly what he was expecting. The lone falcon sitting in the oak tree in the garden outside of Lorena's room watched the events inside with a bemused expression.

Well, at least as bemused as he could look, anyway.

She was arguing with the red one right now, who had apparently decided to make himself at home in her room. He was lounging on one of the sofas while Lorena continued to demand that he leave. The falcon briefly considered just flying in there and making his presence known, but scrapped that idea when he realized that the man would shoot him if he did. Being set on fire he could survive. Getting shot- not so much. Fluffing his feathers up against the cold, the falcon decided to wait. It wasn't like he had anywhere else he needed to be.