A/N: Hey folks! I'm glad you liked the start. Thanks for reviewing!

Veronica: Wow, thanks. : ) Here's the second chap hope it doesn't disappoint.

Bustahead: That you promised. –grins- Thanks for that. Nah, I won't leave this one as a one-shot, I just love the idea of V&L biting each others' head off too much for that. We'll see how the story gores. Enjoy!

Chaos Sparda & Crimsonwolf &kiki0303: Glad to see my old readers back! Yay, hope you enjoy this one.

Anonymous & Sam Valentine: Thank you very much for the support!

Kireiko: I remember you reviewing Bittersweet, in fact you were one of the first to encourage me! –hugs- Thanks!

Anonymous person: I hope this chapter clears things for you a bit. As for Lady's name, you know, I agree with you on that one, actually. Hmm, I called her Lady in Bittersweet but in this one she's Mary, oh well, hope it's not too much of a problem for you though she's the same person, -to me, at least- by the way you're right on the 3rd pov. Regardless, she's Lady from this chapter onward. It suits her personality better somehow I reckon.

Please enjoy, and tell me what you think, where I need to improve the story etc etc... Ta!

I'm in Hell all right… The raven haired huntress thought grimly, her eyes searching the vast, subterranean marble room for some semblance of an exit. Her awakening had been a bitter, disturbing memory; something she'd rather forget…

After her manipulating bastard of a father had broken the spell to unseal the entrance into Hell, the whole building had vibrated with a dark quake. Arkham had successfully eluded the devil twins and his daughter, kicking them over the edge of the pedestal rising out of the ground rapidly with a quick sweep of his leg, sending them tumbling down into the dark oblivion of the lower Temen-ni-Gru.

When she had awoken, it was to find herself sprawled atop a man, the enemy, Dante's dark twin brother Vergil, to be exact.

She remembered, with embarrassment and annoyance, that when she lifted herself off him groggily, she couldn't help but pause to acknowledge his cold beauty; her gaze flicking over the sharp, prominent cheekbones, the straight patrician nose, the regal lines of his face, the mussed platinum-silver hair that no ordinary human possessed…

But his outward beauty was only a mask to his diabolic mind and cold-blooded, ruthless spirit.

Lady didn't know which was more irritating; the fact that she was stuck in a dingy, godforsaken underground room with that annoyingly arrogant and cold-hearted bastard of a half demon, or that the deep cut Arkham inflicted on her inner thigh with Kalina Ann's sharp blade began to sting again, fresh stains of bright red blooming through the piece of cloth she had quickly used to stop the bleeding.

She stole a quick glance across the room to the half-devil, who was apparently having no success finding a way out either. His pale face was expressionless, cool, lazuline blue eyes sweeping over the place without emotion. The fact that he could be so calm in a desperate situation like this, only added to her frustration.

Vergil paced around slowly, studying the sturdy walls, examining every nook and cranny, tapping his finger with a silent rhythm on the hilt of his katana thoughtfully, purely out of habit.

This makes no sense…How did I end up here in the first place?...There must be an exit here somewhere…His mind went back to the ritual, the fight with Arkham, then the fall, following the inner sanctum's revival. He remembered his disoriented body plunging into a chasm…

He immediately looked up to the high ceiling, supported by grey pillars, but there was not even so much as an opening in the ceiling, not even a single trace of disturbance in the entire place. This seemed very odd.

So, they must still be in the Temen-ni-Gru, possibly in one of the subterranean rooms of the lower levels, maybe even the dungeons used centuries ago by the disciples of the demon clans. But Vergil dismissed this theory as there were no torture implements or any other horrid punishment devices. In fact, the torchlit room resembled a perfectly ordinary section of the infernal citadel. Though, Vergil could swear he had never been to this part of Temen-ni-Gru before.

He cut his gaze to the girl, who was wrapping a piece of cloth around her pale thigh to contain the bleeding, black lashes lowered, a slight crease marring her smooth forehead as she worked, pain flickering in her bi-coloured eyes.

There he was, trapped underground like a rat, while that viper Arkham was getting closer to ascending to godhead.

All of a sudden, there was a deep vibrating, rumbling sound as a slight tremor shook the tower, as though the whole building was rotating. This caused Lady to snap her head up sharply and glance about cautiously, her desert eagle drawn at the ready.

Vergil made no move, however, and stayed stark still, listening with his sharp, supernatural hearing.

Then he remembered something.

The realization brought a triumphant light to his eyes. Someone, possibly Dante, must have accidentally activated the tower's ancient mechanism that changed the whole interior of the Temen-ni-Gru into that of a complex, maze-like labyrinth to keep intruders out, or even worse, trap them inside. The only way to reach the surface depended on sheer luck and some basic knowledge of the layout of the labyrinthine tower.

That was why the entrance had been sealed, possibly behind solid walls, only to be revealed to sight when the tower would soon rotate again…or so Vergil hoped.

His steely blue eyes clashed with Lady's bi-coloured ones, and Vergil stared at her with a superior look dominating his face. Under normal circumstances, he would have completely ignored her, but…something about her stirred his curiosity, a bizarre urge to challenge where other men would find her threatening and overbearing. Maybe it was her no-nonsense, screw you attitude that he found mildly intriguing for the time being.

Lady frowned, her suspicion and irritation mounting as she whipped her gaze to the blue-clad half-devil.

Vergil was casually leaning against a pillar, with an air of someone waiting, his hand resting on the hilt of his katana.

He obviously despised her. Why that annoyed her so much, Lady didn't know, and wasn't eager to find out either. Indeed, he must dislike her intensely, he didn't need to say the words, the look of disdain in his eyes spoke volumes…

"You can wipe that smug look off your face, asshole. I don't see you leaving any time soon either." Lady snapped.

Vergil would have laughed if he didn't know better. A violent urge to roll his eyes at the tempestuous human took over, carefully hidden by his noble breeding. When the time comes, it's going to be a pleasure to put her in her place.

"I simply asked for your co-operation, and that doesn't involve you buzzing in my ear all the time." Vergil said flatly, regarding her with cold contempt.

"Since when have I agreed to assist you, demon filth?" Her words had a mocking edge, causing her usually soft voice to sound harsher than it actually was.

Vergil was completely unfazed, his naturally low-pitched, deep voice darkly polite and distant as ever.

"I see no reason whatsoever why you should resort to such crude means to express your objection. You might not be familiar with the conducts of Ladylike etiquette, but at least you can try to be civil; and not calling me names is a good start."

"God, as if I care. How about you stop lecturing me and start looking for a way out? What are you waiting for? A magic portal to open or something?" Lady scoffed.

Then, the colossal tower shook with the force of the rotation, the walls shifting and sliding to reveal a steel-chrome door engraved with a large, ancient demonic emblem.

"I think I'd rather use the door myself." Vergil said triumphantly with a note of satisfaction.

Lady rolled her eyes, ignoring his last remark and inspecting the door.

"Stop." Vergil ordered in a warning tone with an ice-laced calm.

Lady could not believe he even had the nerve to exercise authority over her. She opened her mouth to ask him to please stop patronizing her, but Vergil put a finger to his lips, motioning silence, and drew his katana swiftly.

Lady, seeing him react thus, promptly pulled out her desert eagle, placing her finger on the trigger, backing away from the door slowly.

"What is going on?" She murmured.

The half-demon did not answer, his keen, supernatural hearing detecting the unmistakable sound of irregular, clawed footsteps, the rustle of coarse, hell-spun black robes, the low croak of demons as they communicated in their hell-tongue. Hell Vanguards by the looks of it.

Sensing prey on the other side, the demons blasted into the room in a flurry of sand, wicked scythes raised to seek and slay tender human flesh.

Lady was the first to react, firing both guns with a professional accuracy, the hallow points finding their target instantaneously. Then the huntress focused her attention on the lesser demons that started piling into the room, reloading briskly and commenced shooting.

The other Vanguard lunged toward Vergil, seeing he was the closest target, scythe lifted as it went for his face.

Vergil raised his katana above his head and parried the strike, forcing the monster back and quickly launching a counter attack, Yamato slashing at a vertical pattern at maximum speed, slicing the creature in half effortlessly.

The remaining Hell Vanguard, seeing the half-devil was preoccupied with his dying foe, teleported beside Vergil, taking advantage of his distraction and catching him by surprise. With eyes blazing unholy hellfire, the dark reaper brought the scythe wildly in a downward arc. The blade glanced off Vergil's neck as he ducked his head just in time, but the hellish metal grazed his shoulder, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

Vergil's lips twitched slightly, his teeth clenching at the sharp pain, causing him to swing around to impale the monster on his katana.

The creature vanished into thin air with a shrill, malicious laughter, just as Vergil was about to strike back, causing Yamato to clang against the ground in vain.

"You're not worthy as my opponent!" Vergil uttered a sharp hiss at the cowardly entity as it re-materialized behind him.

Just as suddenly, without even looking back, Vergil lifted the Yamato high in the air, executing a lightning rapid combination of slashing strokes with his blade that invoked a blue-white blaze in its wake.

The Vanguard's shriek ceased abruptly as it stilled, its hideous features frozen in shock, the weapon dropping from its skeletal, taloned hands.

Vergil slid the Yamato back into its scabbard with a slow, silent grace, as the monster stumbled, its top half sliding down to the ground with a disgusting sound of muscles and bones tearing, and then burst into a cloud of dust.

Meanwhile, Lady was already out the door, holding her gun in front of her as she searched the dim passageway ahead.

Vergil moved beside her stealthily as a jungle predator, pausing to survey the narrow, marble staircase that seemed to spiral downward forever into the lower recesses of the tower.

"Well, move it!" Lady said impatiently. "Or are you going to stand there and wait for the rest of your demon buddies to show up?"

Vergil's frosty demeanour did not once waver, but his blue eyes turned sharper, flaring a fiery shade of red for one fleeting moment as he glared at her.

"I suggest you exercise some self-control and keep your witty little remarks to minimum. You would do well to remember that I'm not Dante, and will not further tolerate your disrespectful tone with me."

Lady was ready to tell him to shove it and go to hell, but something dark about his voice cautioned her that this might not be a good idea after all. She was wounded, tired and in a weakened state, and biting her tongue seemed easier than to confront him again one on one in another bloody conflict.

To the half-devil's surprise, her cerise lips curved in a brief, chilly semi smile that vanished as soon as it came.

"You know, a simple "get lost" would have been enough." She said mildly.

Vergil's eyes glittered with a cold gleam as he pushed past her and began to descend down the stairs.

Lady followed behind, trying to ignore the goose bumps in response to the brief electric contact of their bodies as he brushed past.

Vergil moved further down the spiralling staircase, passing through an archway and emerging into a feebly lit, narrow corridor.

Looming down the end, blocking the door was a legion of more Hell Vanguards, attended by a horde of Hell Prides.

Vergil frowned at this unusual predicament. The Vanguards were a solitary race and preferred to hunt alone, or in pairs. A pack of them certainly did not bode well, and Vergil counted at least six of them. He knew he had to act quickly before the demons alerted to their presence.

"Stay back." Vergil commanded in a low voice, concentrating on his demon energy.

"Stop treating me like that already, I can take care of myself!"

"I warned you." Vergil said simply, his voice changing, deepening.

Lady understood his meaning and backed off immediately when the devil-tide began to ride Vergil's body, blue black energy pulsating around him and damaging all that came into contact with the unholy ripples of the transformation.

Within a second, a flurry of blue crashed into the Vanguard pack, Yamato spinning like a hurricane, cutting through the demonic ranks with wrath of the devil knight and turning them into a mist of fine dust.

Another tremor seized the tower; the walls trembled, even though the citadel was not rotating this time.

A huge crack split the ceiling, running the entire length of the corridor, growing wider each passing second.

Vergil and Lady dashed down the corridor, to their utter horror, finding the door tightly sealed.

Vergil hauled his entire weight against the steel door, but it wouldn't budge. He knew doors like these were constructed with magic to resist demonic strength and supernatural force.

Lady suppressed a sigh…where was her trusty Kalina Ann when she needed it the most? Then she remembered, seeing the triangular shaped symbol on the door, two green stones gleaming, and the third slot empty. She fumbled in her belt, withdrawing the green stone she had found earlier in the first room while Vergil was unconscious.

Vergil's sharp gaze fixed on the glowing object in the girl's hand. Of course, the orihalcon stone! How did he ever miss that?

Lady fitted the green stone into the empty slot and stepped back, relishing her moment of victory as the door slid open to reveal an elevator.

Then, as she was about to step inside, the floor beneath Lady split and broke.

Vergil, seeing her doom, acted purely out of instinct, and quickly pushed her roughly out of the way and into the elevator.

"What was that for you assh...!" Mary glared, her sentence trailing off as she drew in a breath, seeing the floor cave in, marble and debris disappearing down into the chasm below.

"A simple –thank you- would suffice." Vergil commented harshly, jumping in after her.

Lady leaned against the chrome wall of the elevator in sudden exhaustion, wiping dust off her face with the back of her hand. Her stubborn pride refused to express the gratitude she grudgingly felt, and she lapsed into unusual; silence. Her stomach was churning, and she was feeling dizzy from blood loss.

As the elevator hummed to life, and shot upward, Vergil wondered just what kind of irrational thought possessed him for that one moment, and drove him to save the daughter of his loathsome foe, even though he didn't give a damn whether she lived or died.

Great, he thought broodingly. I'm turning into a maiden saving knight. Father would be proud.

Vergil, however, was far from proud.

He was furious.