"Helloo~o?" Dante walked into the empty kitchen, disappointed to find the cook missing.

He held his hands out to his sides, "Where is everybody?"

Fiona stood behind the demon hunter in wonder, looking carefully around her surroundings.

She stepped infront of him to the stove and glanced at the stew pot,

"I don't know where she went off to..."

"Huh." The hungry Dante folded his arms, "Well I'd like to file a complaint on her customer service..."

He sarcastically walked over to the still-warm pot and took a gander inside it.

"It's still got somethin' in it, at least." With that, he grabbed a nearby spoon and scooped himself a taste.

After a few seconds of slurping the reddish, soup-like liquid he began to roll his tongue around to get a good flavor of it.

"Hmm... not bad. It's got an aftertaste alright. Kinda- oh boy." Suddenly his stomach started painfully turning,

"What the-!" He tried to hold back a gag reflex.

Fiona panic-fully watched as she held on to his shoulder, "Oh my, are you okay!"

He looked up at her with a weak smile, "Oh yeah, I'm alright but I don't think my gut is-" He held back another gag.

"I-I think I just need to lay down." He started for the door, holding onto his abdomen.

Fiona closely trailed behind him, and opened the rusty door.

"You can rest in the guest room, c'mon." She said in a soft tone as she gently held his hand.

They slowly walked up the stairs, Dante's stomach emitting strange gurgling noises with every step.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Fiona asked when they made the last step.

Dante shook his head, "Yeah, baby. Just to lay down for a second is all." A reassuring grin perked his face.

The worried girl nodded and led him to the cozy Guest Room. The fireplace was still burning, but a lot more dimmly than last time.

The exasperated young man hastily made it to the bed where he collapsed and instantly dosed off.

Fiona had a worried expression on her face as her hand suppressed her chest.

"Well, I hope he'll be okay." She walked up to the bed and covered the snoozing Dante in a fresh sheet.

"There. At least he'll be cozy for the time being-" ARF ARF!

Fiona was cut off by a familiar barking-

"Oh, is that Hewie!" She ran out of the room,

"Hewie, boy! Come here!" She called out to him.

The dog's noise began to become more and more audible the more she yelled.

"Oh yes, he hears me!" She excitingly exclaimed, "Don't worry boy, I'm here!"

Soon the barking faded and there was cold silence.

"B-boy?" She looked around anxiously.

Then, little pawsteps filled the emptiness and Hewie walked in through an open door, a scared look on his face.

"Oh Hewie! What's wrong boy? Come here." Fiona ordered him, but the dog just lingered in the doorway, very ghost-like.

She looked on, a dreadful feeling filling her. Why wasn't he coming?

"Good boy, now run along you beast!" An all too familiar voice chilled the atmosphere.

The shocked girl retreated a step as she kept a sharp eye on the shadows that dwelled behind Hewie.

Sure enough, a hooded man stepped out of them, a ghastly smile across his face.

"Fiona..."

She shook her head slightly, stepping back more. "No... n-no..." She glanced over at her dog, a shameful look on his face.

"Boy! Help!" Fiona called, to no avail. The canine seemed to be under a spell or something.

"Heh heh, sorry Fiona. I'm its master, it answers to me." Riccardo coy-ishly explained.

She began cowering more, forgetting of the stairs behind her.

The keeper cleared his throat, "You should watch your step, my dear."

"Huh?" Fiona asked, taking a half -step back.

She wobbled at the flight of stairs below her, "Wha-what?" She was cornered.

Hewie whined as he nervously watched his vulnerable friend... he had to do something.

"Come with me, Fiona. Everything will be just fine." Riccardo tried to comfort, his rough voice tingling Fiona's eardrums.

"I...I can't. I just can't."

He reached out a hand, "Sure you can, now please..."

Suddenly, Hewie ran up to them and lunged at the keeper's back, biting into it hard.

"Ah! Damn you!" Riccardo tried to shake the determined dog off.

Fiona got a huge adrenaline rush and took off down the stairs, running into a small storage closet.