Brother Dear

"You look really damned cute with glasses."

"Would you forget about the glasses?"

"Put your hair in pigtails."

"Forget about the pigtails!"

Regan thought she could scream. Dante had been bugging her all morning long since he'd woken up and found her sitting there in bed with a book on her lap, white tank top on, and reading glasses on her face, going over the pages quietly. She looked like a librarian, or a school girl, either way, and he kept asking her to put her hair into pigtails because of it. Regan was fairly amused by it to be honest, but his persistency was enough to make her want to pull her hair out rather than tie it into pigtails for him.

It was somewhat humorous as well, where Regan had felt the need to cover herself back up, putting on a tank top and some panties, having needed a pad for her slight bleeding from last night anyway, Dante just continued to lay there, stark ass naked, arms behind his head, grin plastered all over his face. She glanced over at him once or twice, and every time she'd just shaken her head.

"Can't forget about it, I like handle bars," he told her with a silly smirk.

"What?" She asked in reply with a disbelieving look cast in his direction. "Good grief, I'm really not doing it now."

"Give a guy a break, it'd be cute."

She turned the page, "Cute is not what I'm after at ten in the morning, Dante."

"Yeah, it is a little early," he yawned slightly. "I'd go back to sleep but I'm having too much fun distracting you from your reading."

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I've been reading anyway," she pointed out blandly, still ignoring him and looking into her book.

"Pssh," he scoffed, rolling over and onto his side, getting comfortable again, "Like I said, you're no damned fun."

Regan was just grinning, looking at him for a moment as he laid there, eyes shut, and she just went back to the book. She had the brief thought to tell him that wasn't what he'd said last night, but she really didn't want to start a baiting game with him, and just continued reading the pages. After all, she felt she was starting to come to understand a lot of things better now.

Lady had found a good book apparently. She wished she would've picked this one up first. The cover of it said 'Demonic Legends and Rituals of Ancient Times', and while the name of course would have been a real 'yawner' to someone like Dante, Regan actually found it interesting. She'd found a ton of information on several things so far, things about Vampires and Werewolves, wondering if they actually existed, thought to put the question to Dante sometime when he was actually a bit more awake, and she of course found out more on the subject she was looking for, the Gateway.

She even had a piece of paper she was writing a few things down onto, the word Sapa Hanhepi Wi being at the top, circled, with a question mark beside it. The book she was reading now was mentioning whom the ritual was to be performed by, and that was a demonic priest. Regan wondered who the hell this demonic priest was supposed to be.

But she didn't get to consider it long. She heard the unmistakable sound of the door downstairs shutting, and she narrowed her brows. Wondering who it could be, she pushed herself up and grabbed some more clothing, making her way down the hall to find out.

Coming to the top of the steps, she looked down and gasped suddenly when her niece grabbed her legs, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Evelyn?" She leaned down and lifted her up with a grunt, holding onto her with the book she'd been carrying against her back as she walked downstairs. Seeing Lady and Marvin moving into the reception area, Regan decided something had gone wrong, wondering who she should ask. So she just asked in general. "Where did you guys come from?"

They both opened their mouth to speak at once. Marvin just stepped back and held out his hands, letting Lady go first. Lady just snorted humorously at him and shook her head, then turned her attention onto Regan. "Doc was a cultist. Dante suggested to me that it would be a good idea to follow him and Marvin, which I'm glad I did now. He tried to kill Marvin, and he did kill Jack."

Well, that answered Regan's question about where Doc was, but it wasn't the answer she expected or even wanted to hear. She had to sit down on one of the couches as soon as she did hear it, and she supposed Evelyn already knew everything from overhearing it because Evelyn didn't seem shocked at all. Doc killed his own son. Regan's calm vanished into a very sorrowful, even angry state. Her eyes watered a bit and she looked up at Lady with narrowed brows, watching the woman sit across from her on the couch that faced the one on which she sat now.

"Why? Why would he do that?"

Lady shook her head, "Prove himself to them."

"To them? Demons?" Regan turned her head, couldn't help herself. "I've had enough of demons to last me a fu–," she stopped herself because of Evelyn, "a damned lifetime."

"You and me both," Marvin spoke up with a soft groan, rubbing his eyes as if he might've been tired, which was probably the case.

"Believe me, I understand," Lady sat back against the cushions, "I've had to deal with them for most of my life without even knowing it at some points. But get ready because you know we'll have to deal with more."

"Sadly," Regan sighed, leaning back and looking at Evelyn who was still resting against her chest, then glancing up at nothing, her lips parted as she drew breath. "How could he kill his own son? God," she swallowed a lump down in her throat, "Jack, I hope you didn't know what he did." Regan had to admit there were a million and one ways that Doc could have killed Jack being a doctor like he was, and would know how to get away with it easily. Regan had thought something was off about Jack's death, it never settled right with her, but this? This was the last thing that Regan had ever expected to see coming. She knew Doc when she was a kid for crying out loud.

"Don't cry, Regan," Evelyn whispered, looking up at her, "okay?"

Coming out of it at the sound of the childs soft voice, Regan smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, "I won't, Evelyn, I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

Evelyn just nodded and glanced back over at Lady, saying, "We camped in the truck to keep warm until the storm passed, and then Lady got me eggs."

"I thought you didn't like eggs," Regan picked at her and tickled her side, making her grin and giggle helplessly.

"I was hungry," she explained to her aunt desperately, pushing her hands away from her tickling spots. Regan smiled and let go of her, watching as Marvin came over to them both in that moment.

"Come on, Evelyn," he said, lifting her up, "I'm gonna take her to get a bit more of a nap. We didn't sleep too well in the truck last night."

"Oh, okay," Regan replied, pushing herself up to kiss her niece's cheek, then smiled and rubbed the bridge of her nose, allowing Marvin to hoist her off upstairs, giving her a piggyback ride on the way which the child seemed to enjoy. Anything to distract her after what had happened last night and make her feel loved and safe.

Looking back at Lady, Regan sighed a bit, telling her, "I think it'd be best if we got away from here. It don't think it'll hide us, but we all need a change of scenery. What do you think?"

"I think it's probably a good idea for you. Couldn't hurt anyway, but where would you go?"

"Honestly, I was considering going to Capulet City for a slight vacation. I didn't think it'd hurt anything anyway."

Regan just hoped that her choice wouldn't end up being misconstrued by Dante as an attempt to settle down with him. She honestly wanted to just get out, and everything personal that the two of them had done together aside, she simply felt safer with him and even Lady around and about. She trusted them, especially now that Lady had saved Evelyn's life and brought her back like this. So in the end it really did have the least to do with the feelings she felt she'd developed for Dante over the past short while she'd been with him.

"I say go for it," Lady spoke in response, "you'll be a lot happier."

Regan nodded her head, then she moved to grab the book she'd been holding onto and set it onto the coffee table across from Lady. After that, she changed the subject, "I've been reading this, Lady, and I've found out some interesting things. Especially something about a temple called Black Moon or Sapa Hanhepi Wi where the Gateway Ritual was supposed to be performed. Do you think it could still exist?"

"Probably," Lady shrugged, then looked down at the book for a moment. She seemed to really consider it, finally nodding her head, "Anything's possible, especially with these demons around. I know a guy in Capulet City who'd know for sure. He's a demon himself, but he's very nice, friendly, and oddly enough loves children. Dante actually thinks pretty highly of him too."

"Why is that so surprising?" Regan asked her.

"Well," Lady smirked, shrugging her shoulders a bit, "you'll find out when you meet him if you ever do."

Chuckling, Regan nodded, "Alright, sounds fair."

Lady smiled, "So, speaking of the half devil, where is Dante, still asleep?"

"Yep, last time I checked." Regan looked up at the top of the steps and then she shrugged, "Do you think he'd be objecting to us going to Capulet for a while?" She glanced back at Lady inquisitively, still worried about what he might think.

Lady shook her head, "I don't know why he would. Unless you were planning on staying with him, then maybe, I don't know how much space he has."

Regan smirked, looking down in thought, wondering if he would bring it up or not. She had the money for a hotel room for a little while though so it really didn't bother her too much. "That's fine if that's his only objection, I mean, I can get a hotel."

"Who can get a hotel?"

The two women looked up to see Dante standing at the top of the steps, groggy and shirtless, making his way down. Regan watched him coming down and answered his question, "I could. We were talking about leaving, there's some bad news, or, well, actually I don't know what you would call it."

Dante glanced up at them once he reached the landing, and Regan couldn't help looking him over, trying to divert her attention from his presence for a moment, unable to help the thoughts of last night she'd had again. She could feel a blush lighting her cheeks and hoped it went unnoticed. But Dante didn't seem to be paying attention at that moment as he yawned and headed over to the couch, swinging his legs over the back of it and sitting on the cushions next to Regan.

"Let me guess, Doc tried something," he stated casually on a somewhat sleep filled voice.

"How did you know?"

"Because he's not here, and the kid's around."

"But," Regan paused, still watching him, all thoughts of last night having faded now in light of what he was saying, "that shouldn't mean anything."

"You're right, it shouldn't, babe," he finally looked over at her, "but he's been hangin' around that girl since the beginning. Once he offered to take her to the mountains, it just all clicked. So, what'd he do last night?"

"Well–," Lady started, but was interrupted by Regan.

"Wait a minute, Lady, Dante," Regan looked at him, "are you trying to say you questioned him from the beginning?"

"Nope," he shook his head honestly, still casual as hell, looking at her once more. "Just saying that ever since Jack died, he's been acting kinda funny. Jack was his only son, right? But somehow he so easily takes on the responsibility of dragging another kid around with him? The day of his sons funeral? So I told Lady it might be a good idea to go watch 'em for a while."

Regan felt like she was blind. She looked down, turned her head a slight bit, had thought maybe Doc was just lonely, or just trying to help prevent more from happening. Was she too trusting? She also felt angry, betrayed, and completely stupid, and she looked up at Dante, asking him, "Why didn't you say anything to me about it?"

"Because you had enough to worry about, Regan," he grumbled a bit, still somewhat tired, putting his feet up on the table. "Besides, I wasn't a hundred percent sure, it just seems like that's how things usually work out."

Regan frowned again, turning her head and looking down with a sigh. He'd surprised her twice. Not only had he been completely aware of something she hadn't really thought of when it came to Doc, but he'd also been thoughtful of her needs and feels, and she just hadn't really expected him to be. It wasn't that she thought he was incapable of it, but he also just didn't seem like he'd be the type most times.

Dante wasn't ignorant to her dejection either, but he wasn't going to draw attention to it by saying anything else about it. Instead, he just let her think it over, knowing she'd be better off if she sorted things out in her own head first before she discussed it with anyone. So he just asked Lady again, "What happened exactly?"

Lady nodded, then went over the events with the both of them, finishing by telling Dante, "Also, I was supposed to deliver a message to you."

Dante snorted. Waving his hand a bit, he asked, "Since when did you become my secretary?"

"I don't know, I thought the same thing, do I really look like I have a pen and some paper?"

The comment made Dante smile, and he stretched his arms back and stuck them behind his head. "So, then, let's hear it. Who's it from?"

"Arias."

"Oh, Mr. Dark and Dramatic. Should be interesting."

"Actually not really." Lady began. "He just said he's not interested in you or me or anyone else here for that matter, even Evelyn or Regan, just that we were all enemies with a common foe. He told me he had to play along just so daddy would think he was cooperating."

Dante seemed to listen to her words completely and consider them. "A demon with a personal objective. He's just ready to be rid of his father, that's all. He'll probably end up helping us out if it suits his needs."

"That's what I'd thought too," Lady told him, leaned forward onto her elbows. "But there's nothing left here. I mean this mission's been a failure so far. You came to find out about the cult activities going on, but by the time anything showed up," she shrugged, trailing off because Dante knew the outcome.

"Well, it was a mix up in location," Dante said in return, "you had me sent to the Ranch, I should've went to the town. Might not've fixed anything though. I just know that for the time being, things aren't as hot, unless someone comes after Evelyn. Arias killed Doc, and that was her caretaker. Tells me he's not interested in looking out for a kid. Then again, that coulda been a move against his daddy's wishes. How much you wanna bet dear old dad will retaliate?"

Lady smirked, "I'll bet you buffalo nickle. But something doesn't add up. Arias took Doc out of the picture in order to convince his father, not rile him, unless he was lying which wouldn't surprise me. But he has no reason to lie about it."

Regan was getting a bit lost now, "Hold on a second," she looked at the both of them. "Arias is the one who stabbed me, right? If he doesn't care whether we live or die, or if he doesn't care about me or Evelyn, then why did he do that? Didn't he throw you guys to some kind of demon too when you were in town checking out the cult there?"

"He probably wanted us to get rid of some of their power. There's no telling how long that worm had been down there in the storage rooms, eating whomever they fed to it, gaining power," Lady told her, "got us to do his dirty work for him. So he's more than likely just setting everything up into his own favor."

"Let him," Dante replied, "if we're enemies with a common foe, then he'll try to set it up so we'll win, right?"

"Good point," Lady agreed, "just like he got us to take down the worm."

Regan looked between the two of them, the way they talked about it, how they figured things out, and she thought it over herself. Glancing back down, she added, "But that doesn't mean that Democrities won't send someone or something after Evelyn. At what point does Arias have to pretend by taking her, or me for that matter?"

"Gettin' scared, cutie?" Dante asked her, smirking.

Regan looked at him, sarcastic expression on her face, and she replied, "Only of your hormones."

"They're raging, ya know."

"Just like your ego."

"You like my ego, it's nice and big. You like big things."

"Only when they work in my favor."

Lady looked back and forth between the two. Her expression went bland and she sighed, sitting back on the cushions, deciding to interrupt, "Why don't you just leave here for a little while, Regan, and try to relax?"

Dante looked at Lady, then at Regan, reminded of his first question when he'd entered the room, and he asked her, "Where are you going to go?"

Regan shrugged and looked over at him, "I thought it might be a good idea to go to Capulet with you and Lady, just for a little while, get away from here. It couldn't hurt anything anyway."

Dante thought about it for a moment, Regan going to Capulet, a cowgirl in a big city, the thought nearly making him smirk. But he just shrugged, "Might be a good idea. Especially since you're scared."

Regan narrowed her brows, "I am not scared, Dante."

"You're terrified."

"Who says?"

"I do."

"And who's that?"

"The big bad wolf."

"Oh yeah? Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"

"You will be. Girl like you in a big city wouldn't last a day."

"I think I can handle it, Dante, after all, you survived the country."

"She's got your there, Dante," Lady smirked.

"No one asked," Dante rolled his eyes.

"They don't have to," Regan interjected, "they can see you're full of shit."

Lady was snickering, her hand over her mouth, not trying to hide it, simply trying not to interrupt, wanting to see how far the two would go. Dante glanced over at the woman and then shook his head with a loud sigh. "Women."

"You love us," Regan informed him, "otherwise you wouldn't hate us so much."

"I'll tell you what I love," Dante started, devilish grin in place on his lips, "I love it when you bend over and–"

"Knock it off," Lady grumbled, "let's just get back onto the subject, hmm?"

Regan was shaking her head at Dante's shamelessness, and then looked at Lady, informing her, "We'll just ride with you guys, I'll get us a hotel room somewhere. Evelyn and I can go with Dante, and Marvin can ride with you, does that work?"

As they spoke, Dante narrowed his brows. Deciding not to say anything at that point in time, having thought maybe it'd be the best idea for them to stay in a hotel room, he listened as Lady told her that was fine, and then watched Lady get up to go use the bathroom. So, he thought, another road trip, one he actually really wanted to make at this point. That was a rarity in itself.

Regan even mentioned something about it, telling him, "You look tired, Dante. I think you should go lay back down for a little while longer." She brushed some of his hair out of his eyes and tilted her head at him.

Watching her through his half lidded blue orbs, Dante reached out and pulled her onto his lap, then he lifted her up. Regan gasped her breath out and grabbed hold of him just for fear of not being able to steady herself, and she stared at him. "I can walk if you want me to go with you."

"Too late. I wanna bug you some more about those glasses and pigtails anyway."

"You really are shameless, did you know that?"

"Shameless enough to make a sailor blush."

Damn, Regan though with a shake of her head. Now that was pretty bad. She just relaxed against him as he hoisted her upstairs and went back to what they'd been doing in the first place, sitting on the bed and bickering about meaningless things until he'd fallen back to sleep.

---

It was cold. Phrases played in his head that he'd heard before, things said about the heat, about burning, comparing the blaze of flames to this place. He could only imagine peoples surprise. Not that he cared about such things. Not at all. It was nothing compared to the battles and the bloodshed he'd participated in. How long had it been going on now?

Time meant nothing here. He had no idea how long it'd been, no idea how hard he'd fought. He was exhausted. Perhaps it made the cold seem worse, but even then, it was freezing. Something began to fall from the sky overhead, landing on his cheek and melting. The white flakes, only sprinkling a slight bit, the surrounding area brighter than many places, but somehow he knew that it meant nothing no matter how calm it was, how much light there shined into the area. The grey stone walls rising from the platforms, drifting landmasses, warped and distorted in view of a coldly shining light that seemed to somehow imitate a sun was the venue. In a way, it seemed oddly pristine, such a stark contrast to him, blood dried against his skin, both his own and others, soot marring his complexion, having lost his blue overcoat long ago, his vest not completely in shambles but it was no where near the newness it once had been by far.

Drawing in his breath, he looked into his hand. The unbreakable had been broken. Lifting the handle of the once finely crafted katana named Yamato, its blade laying detached from the hilt near his legs, the eldest son of Sparda unfolded his dirtied fingers from around the blue and white hilt, let it fall to the ground where he sat with a metal clank sounding as it landed. Vergil stared off into the distance for only a moment, turning his arms to push his hands into the broken bit of stone he laid against, and he pushed himself up slowly.

He'd lost. The battles he'd fought, the minions he'd defeated, some even having proclaimed to work on his side and had perished. Now he didn't know, however, if they'd been lying and then killed in battle by their own masters, or if they'd been telling the truth all along. Things seemed twisted, up seemed like down and left seemed like right. He took a shaky step and leaned on the stone he'd once been sitting against, his thoughts briefly returning to that cliff that had led him here, the plummet he'd first taken into hell. It seemed like ages ago to him now. As if it were another lifetime.

Rumbling sounded in the distance. Vergil fell onto his knees at the sound and the shaking. His name was spoken, the voice somehow distorted yet completely discernable, low and empty, yet somehow full of power. Complete power.

He needed it. Now more than ever.

He turned his eyes up slowly to the skyline ahead, seeing three glowing red lights growing stronger as they neared him. The snow continued to fall onto his back as his lips parted, gusting a steamed of breath from his lungs, and somehow he thought he could hear the distant playing of pipe organs amongst the cathedral like scenery as if a phantom might have been set to fill the area with a gloom of haunting notes for all of eternity.

"Vergil."

His eyes opened and he remained silent.

"You've fought well, proven your worth to me. I will have you as my right hand. Will you accept my gracious offer?"

Clear, clean blue eyes glanced up from behind the mask of a soiled face, white strands of hair stained with blood drifting messily about his crown. The three lights before him reflected in his pupils, the voice continuing after a moment.

"For your effort, I will grant you unlimited power. You will become feared and respected by all whom I rule, by all of those whom thought you weak for your blood. You have proven them wrong, and thus I will reward you. Do you wish for this power?"

Vergil remained silent. His eyes closed. In a single movement, still on his knees, he pushed his upper body forward, hands planting into the ground, a bow that was unmistakable by anyone's eyes, showing his acceptance of the offer placed before him.

The deal had been set.

"You have made a wise decision." The sky began to turn dark as clouds gathered overhead, the snow fading, turning instead to a rain as the light faded a bit around him, the cold also fading, leaving behind a refreshing wash against his skin which he lifted himself back for, lifting his face to the sky, the soot and blood becoming washed completely away. It felt wonderful.

"Receive your gift of power now, and your new form to better harness it." Thunder sounded, wind began to pick up, and lightening flashed. Smaller bursts of the electricity hit the grounds near him, blowing away chunks of stone. "Your name worthy of such power is now Nelo Angelo."

Lightening crashed down onto Vergil's body, the charge blasting away in a bright burst of power that surged across the stone ground on which he'd kneeled before his new master, the King of Hell and his sire's greatest enemy. His body shifted, his mind erased, a vessel now for the power he was attaining by proclaiming his new master. The lightening vanished and left a steaming crater carved into the stone in its wake. The three glowing lights faded away.

Slowly, the man who now resided in the center of the crater pushed himself to his feet, a set of black armor materializing around his body. What once was the Son of Sparda now was a minister of evil against the Son of Sparda.

His power had been gained.

---

Regan opened the door to her bedroom and stepped inside. She'd already packed most of her things, and she was just doing a once over to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything important for her trip. Finding nothing, she just took another look around the room and reminisced. This had been her bedroom since she'd been a young girl, and she knew she was going to get homesick while she was gone. But she also knew that she'd probably be distracted by the sights and scenes, so it probably wouldn't be too bad.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she could see her brother, the few memories she did have of him chasing her about. He was happy when they were alone. Friendly, liked to play hide and go seek with her. But when they were with their parents, he became a different story, angry somehow, and she wasn't sure why.

She supposed now she'd never know.

Dante had walked in behind the woman, leaning against the wall as he watched her looking about, wondering what she might've been thinking off, and he asked. "Something deep on your mind?"

Regan turned around to see him behind her, smiling a bit and shaking her head as she glanced down at the floor. "I was just thinking about how long this has been my room, long enough for me to remember my brother being in here before he split. This room has a lot of memories for me."

She cast her green eyes about as she said that, Dante watching her, knowing what it was like to get a memory like that from a particular place or object. Regan looked at him then, and he watched her smile, thought she was really pretty when she actually did so, heading towards him and folding her arms over her chest.

"Do you have any family? I mean, outside of your father."

Dante thought about his family for a moment. His mother, brother, had only thought of Vergil recently anyway when Arias had brought him up. Ever since a little over a year ago, Dante had pushed the thought of his twin from his mind completely. He hadn't let onto it much, but somehow Lady had known that the loss of his brother to the underworld had effected him more than he'd showed. Maybe it was because of how things had gone, how Dante had believed for most of his life that his twin was dead anyway only to find out he'd been wrong. Then he'd lost him anyway.

It was like a dashed hope he supposed, a false hope that he might not've been all alone in the world. He had no idea why things had to happen that way, and he'd been trying not to figure it out, not wanting to dwell on it, and not with Arias's words of Vergil's final act being played out. Dante could only imagine what that might've meant. Being in hell, there could've been a million things that had happened to Vergil so far, and Dante refused to consider that they did.

But Regan had a very similar tale. She'd lost her brother when she was younger, didn't know him very well, and was probably confused about where he'd gone. Maybe she'd thought he'd died like her parents had, being so young as she was back then. Then, she glimpsed him alive for only a moment before he actually was killed, left behind with his daughter who probably wouldn't remember all that much about him either.

Something about the situation made Dante actually open his mouth, and he told her, "I never really had a father, I don't know him, never met him. But my mother was always around. When I was a kid, she probably pulled her hair out because me and my twin brother fought all the time over the stupidest shit."

Regan smiled at him. "You have a twin? Oh no."

After making the joke, Dante smirked but shook his head, "Nah, Vergil was the exact opposite from me. Everything about him, left handed, quiet, enjoyed reading and doing his homework. Guess you could say he was the more mature one."

Regan nodded understanding, knowing twins usually seemed to come out opposite like that, wondering why. She was curious about him though with his twin, also thinking that the names Dante and Vergil were priceless somehow. The Divine Comedy. Had his mother or his father come up with that? Deciding not to ask since he'd never met his father and might not have known, she asked instead, "Where are they now?"

"Well," Dante sighed, leaning back against the wall behind himself again, "Mom's dead, and Vergil is," he paused for a moment, for once, his face seeming a bit more seriously, turning his blue eyes at her face finally. He honestly didn't know. Something in him told him that his brother was still alive, though he wasn't sure he could trust that instinct or not. After all, he'd grown up thinking Vergil was dead when he was actually alive. Wouldn't that mean that now was different?

Seeing the look on his face, Regan reached a hand up to his shoulder and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask about something delicate."

"Nah," he shrugged it off the best he could, "I just honestly don't know. It's been a little over a year since I last saw him, so there's no telling."

He knew she wouldn't completely understand. But she didn't ask anymore, seeming to realize when to changed the subject, and she offered him a warm smile, "Don't you hate siblings?"

"Yep," he smirked, "they're a royal pain in the ass."

"Amen," she grinned back at him. "Well, anyway, I hope you don't mind my asking to come to Capulet with you and Lady."

"Why would I mind?"

"I don't know, I just didn't want you to think I was trying to impede you, step on your toes, crowd you, whatever you might call it."

He got it now. She didn't feel comfortable with him as a couple. He'd agreed to see what would happen with her, but somehow she still felt as if she might've been making him uncomfortable in turn.

Dante reached his hand out and pulled her in closer by her own hand, wrapping his arms around her shoulders with a lopsided smirk settled onto his handsome features. Regan let him and she leaned against him, the side of her head against his chest, getting the point by the simple gesture alone. It felt nice just being close to him, Dante himself getting the same feeling, wondering why he'd overlooked smaller things like this before. They just stood there for a few minutes, and it was nice, despite his penchant for thrill seeking and things like it. He supposed he just needed to take a break every now and again like everyone did.

"You know, I forgot to ask you about that sword," Regan spoke up suddenly, interrupting his thoughts on the matter of being with her like this. Her eyes had opened and she'd spied the weapon sitting there in the corner of her room, the silver hilt with the skulls head at the tip which had been around since the night Arias had stabbed her. "What are you going to do with it?"

Dante looked over at the sword and he remembered what the name of it was. "Well, it's something I can't really use. Arias said it only works for people who have the blood of Democrities in them, and he told me to give it to you."

"Great," Regan muttered blandly, "but you know I can't use a sword."

"Well," Dante started in reply, standing up straight and letting go of her so he could grab the weapon, picking it up and carrying it back to her, holding it out, "it's not like it'd hurt to learn. Especially considering what you are now."

Regan let her fingers wrap around the sheath covering the blade and then glanced her green eyes back up at his face. Pulling the sword in closer to herself, looking it over as she pulled the blade out of the sheath partly, Dante continued, "He said it's name was Demoncaller."

Regan lifted a brow, then she pushed the blade back into the sheath and shrugged, "If you can give me some pointers, it'd help."

"No worries, doll," Dante walked over to her and slung his arm around her shoulders, walking her to the door, "I'll make sure you're nice and informed."

"I feel better already," she muttered.

"That's just wrong," Dante replied, going down the hallway so that they could head outside, "I've been completely nice to you today."

"Yeah, outside of begging me to dress like a schoolgirl for you," she grinned and stuck her chin out cutely.

"But I got you a sweet sword, you should be thanking me."

"Alright fine," she pouted playfully, "thank you, Dante! It's the bestest present I ever gotted!"

"Goddamn, you can stick to insulting me if you're gonna act like that."

Her chuckling could be hear going down the hallway and outside of the lodge.

---

OMG Poor Vergil! I bet you guys never saw that one coming LoL ^^!

I hope you guys enjoyed that little snippet, and that maybe some of Arias's words have come more clear to you all now. If not, then yes, it was at this point in time that Vergil was converted into being Nelo Angelo and for those of you who are still a bit confused since this story takes place a year after Vergil descended into hell and he's just now being brainwashed, then it's because we've come up with the thought that time probably runs slower in hell than it does in the human world. You spend an hour there and a whole week's gone by in the real world or something lol ^^!

Anyway, just thought I'd explain that for the ones of you who might've been a little bit lost kk!? Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed it! -GieGie