The chapters may be quite short, but this story isn't going that badly… Or is it?? Uh… I have no faith in my own story writing skills… Besides, I was writing chapter 2! Here it goes!...

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Dante, Trish and Clinton made their way back to 'the long corridor'. Marionettes clogged the path, but it turned out Clinton was quite a soldier.

"My only gun experience is shooting competitions, and I've only ever got bronze." He said modestly and shrugged. "I surprise myself."

Eventually they got to the end of the corridor, where the big double doors to the cathedral stood. This was where Dante had first claimed his sword Alastor, after it impaled him. "Happy days." He muttered to himself, remembering the pain of being dragged through the sword's blade and handle. Trish pushed open the cathedral's doors.

Inside was a large cathedral, with pillars shaped like trees pulsing on either side of the room. The door which led to the path of trials was locked. The evil puddle which had led to the underworld was gone. But, on the stand where Dante had found the pride of lion once, he now saw a briefcase.

That definitely didn't fit in. Dante ran up, and opened it. Inside he found some red orbs and a couple of diary logs:

"Barder, head of security: That old sage wanted far too many red orbs if you ask me. But, as he did manage to resurrect Mallet Island, I had to let him off. But the carving where he said we'd find Alastor was a door, in fact leading the crummy cathedral room I'm writing in. Jay said he'd take a sample of that murky puddle to experiment on. I agree with him, something about that puddle just sent shivers down my spine… The Boss, Thompson, is calling us back. I'd better go…"

"Jay, Scientist: I wonder still where the Alastor sword has gone, and if coming here to find it was a complete waste of time. No, it wasn't a waste of time, because of that puddle! Something in it isn't right… I shall have to run further tests."

"People were here," Dante said, "After Alastor. God knows why, but they must want it a lot if they bring back a whole Island for it! I wonder where they are now." Dante picked up the briefcase hoping to find more information in it. Big mistake.

The briefcase was on a pressure pad, and as Dante lifted it, Machine turrets smashed their way out of the tree pillars. They were made of a heavily reinforced metal, and were sticky with what looked like resin. Those pillars were more treelike than Dante had thought.

Trish shot away at the turrets, but it did no harm to them. Dante rolled across the floor, nearly being hit by a spray of bullets. Clinton smashed through the wooden covering of the briefcase's stand. He was expecting to only see a small area in here, which would be the inside of the dais; instead he was surprised to be plummeted into a vast rocky chamber with water at the bottom. His fall was cushioned by the water, but he pulled himself out of it quickly, for who knew what was in its depths. Apart from a small skylight above, which was where Clinton had fell in, there was no exit. Except the tunnel Clinton could see under the smooth clear surface of the water. Time to dive…

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Dante ran past the door to the path of trials. The stream of bullets hitting the wall next to him obliterated the hand in the door, like Dante had planned.

"Through here!" Dante yelled, pulling Trish through the door.

Now let's hear this path's history. Dante had only been over this path once with it intact, for on his return trip it was hit by cursed lightning and collapsed, dropping him into a chamber of Sargasso. On his next trips over, bits of the path floated in the air, and it was a crazy stepping stone game to get across. Now, the stepping stones were also gone. Damn.

"One long jump." Dante muttered.

"I'm very good with jumps." Trish said, and leapt over the gap. On the other side, she found a carving where the staff of Hermes was meant to go. She also found a small switch which she guessed was the turret controls. She pulled the lever to 'off', and jumped back.

When Dante and Trish went back into the cathedral, the turrets were limp and dysfunctional. The two went back into the long corridor, for the wood that Clinton had smashed had mysteriously sealed over, and they couldn't find him.

"Shame, he was good with that Glock." Dante had said. They went into the now open doors to the library, and out into the fountain room. Well, Dante got through, but the doors shut in front of Trish.

"Dante! Help!" Trish yelled through the door. Dante heard footsteps, and they weren't the slow clanking of marionettes or the crashing scuttling of Nobodies, they were human footsteps.

"Get her!" One voice yelled.

"Good idea, Barder! Kidnap the first person you see!" Another voice yelled back.

"This is an order." The voice of Barder said. "We can't trust anyone in this place! And she might lead us to Alastor!"

Dante heard lots of thumping, and Trish yelling incoherent things at the attackers. Dante couldn't get through however much he tried. He stood in silence, until the scuffling sounds of Trish's kidnappers were inaudible. Dante looked around. All the doors in this room were locked.

Dante walked over to the fountain. The water looked wrong, it was fizzing green.

Suddenly, all the water in the fountain gushed up like a geyser and formed a humanoid shape. It was a poisoned Naiad.

Dante drew Alastor, and ran around the arena. The acidic green water was lurched at him in every way possible. Dante leapt up and slashed at the Naiad, but it darted away. Phantom the fire spitting spider was tough, and so was Nightmare, but Dante hadn't really got used to a super quick foe. When his blow missed, Dante fell from the air onto the ground below, only to be pummelled with a wave of deadly water. Dante struggled up, and slashed away. He analysed the fight, and got used to the way the Naiad attacked and dodged. He swiped it one heavy blow, and it exploded into a shower of green rain.

"Oh, how I love these enemies that try and kill me." Dante muttered sarcastically, collecting a green orb from the wasted Naiad.