DEVIL MAY CRY

CHAPTER SIX: INVESTIGATION WORK

Dante was pissed. To think that the people he is working for want him dead, after all he did for them. He has been sitting in an empty window of an abandoned building that concealed an entrance to the underground facility. Next to him was a box of pizza that was half finished. Dante ripped off another piece and bit into it. Suddenly, the door to the room opened up. Dante sighed without bothering to turn and see his guest. "Mr. Dante…?" The voice was familiar. It was Tifa.

Dante threw his head back and turned to face her. "What'd ya' want, kiddo?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Then why are you here?"

Tifa walked over and stood next to him. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure, I don't care." said Dante turning back to the evening sun set. Tifa picked up the box of pizza and placed it on a near by table top. Dante turned to see what she was doing with his pizza. "Hey, at least put it somewhere I can reach it." Tifa crawled up into the stone window and pulled her legs up to her chest. Dante took another bite of the slice he took earlier and chewed slowly as he looked at Tifa's compact body. "So what's bothering you, little lady?"

"That taberu chi that kidnapped me—I think that was the one that killed my family." she said. "It said it recognized me from somewhere."

"That's called fate, y'know." said Dante. "By fate you would reunite with the very thing that slaughtered your folks." Dante crossed his legs. "I don't like the idea that fate controls our lives. I'd prefer to think that I'm in control of my own life."

Tifa sighed. "Yeah, right."

Dante reached over to her and reached his hand down her unzipped black jacket. Tifa's eyes widened at this action. She was about to question why he would commit such a perverted action until he pulled his hand out with her crucifix in the palm of his hand. "Where was this when you were getting snatched up? Did you know this would have kept him from even touching you?"

"I-I left it in my room; I didn't want to loose it on the mission." she said looking down at the cross attached to the chain wrapped around her neck. "Besides, the crosses in that church didn't help anyone."

"Those wooden ones don't hold a candle to a silver one." Dante said.

Tifa put the cross back in her jacket and pulled her legs in again. Tifa also looked out into the sunlight as it hid behind the other buildings in the scenery little by little. Tifa turned to Dante and, out of curiosity, asks him a question. "What is your family like?"

"My family?" Dante stuffed more pizza into his mouth and swallowed. "Well, my mother and my old man died quite a while back. My brother just died recently."

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Don't worry about it." Dante stood up. "C'mon kid, no reason to sit here and mourn over the past." Tifa put on a weak smile and jumped to her feet. Dante grabbed his box of pizza and walk out of the empty room with Tifa by his side.

Around midnight, Sakura sat down in front of her mirror undressed to brush her hair before going to sleep. As she did she thought about Dante and the situation with the dart. Was there really someone among them that wanted him dead? It could be anyone. Since all of the members have a mutual hatred towards demons, it would be impossible to just pick someone out of the group that would be the single person that would want him dead. What was also a surprise to her was the fact that she was the first person that Dante put the blame on. She also felt some what offended. She stopped and put the brush down. Sakura stood up and walked over to her bed. As she pulled the sheets back, some one knocked at her door. She sighed and threw on her robe and headed to her door. She pulled it open to see Dante on the other side. After she realized who it was, she pulled her robe tightly shut and pulled the door open a little more. "I should have guessed."

"You going to sleep?" he asked.

"Why are you here to ask me that this late at night?"

"Just wondering." he said. Dante turned to his right and continued down the hall.

"Wait!" she called. Dante heard her call and turned. "W-what are you doing up this late anyway?"

"Taking a stroll; just thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing since I was in the neighborhood." he said as an excuse.

"Right…Good night…" she said in disbelief as she closed her door.

Once Dante saw her door close he quickly started to run down the hall. Dante waited all day to do this. He ran all the way down to the elevator and stopped to press the button. "Let's see what we can find out." The doors opened to an empty elevator. Dante strolled in and pressed B13. The doors closed and he stood patiently as the elevator slowly made its way down the shaft. The elevator music didn't at all make the trip any better. He looked up to see the screen display: B10…B11…B12…B13. The bell rang and the doors slid open to the hall. "About time." Ever since that incident at the church, Dante had become suspicious of the organization and he wanted to know what their real intentions were. In order to do that, he wanted to go straight to the source.

Dante expected to see the two robot women standing guard, but instead he saw a web of lasers all the way down the hall. He grunted. "Why couldn't they keep the robo-girls?" Dante walked out onto the floor and stared at the beams. "Do I want to find out?" he asked himself. Dante took his sword off his back and leaned it against the wall. Dante walked back and fourth as he looked at the beams. Then he stopped, turned, walked to the far wall and put his back up against it. He took a deep breath and jolted off. With his running start, Dante leaped through a net of beams and rolled onto the ground back to his feet. If he had gone any further, he would have struck about 6 other beams. Slowly, he pushed of the ground and stood straight up. After a few seconds of looking for another way through, Dante smelt something had been burnt. He looked down and pulled open his coat to see that it was cut open with something hot. "Laser beams?" Dante dropped his coat on the ground and paced back and fourth as far as he could between the beams to see the next opening. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around and dashed for the wall. He put his feet up on it and ran down it through the beams at full speed.

Once he cleared the beams, he jumped off and landed on the ground with his feet. Dante stood up and looked back at his progress. "I should go into a secret agent gig at some point." he said chuckling to himself. Dante strolled over to the steel plated door and looked at it. "How did the old man get through here again…?" Dante looked around and saw the control pad. Prof. Graves had his retina and thumb print scanned in order to get in—in other words—Dante needed the Professor's biometrics in order to access the lab. Dante grit his teeth and slammed his fist against the door. "Dammit! All this trouble for nothing!" He stepped back, crossed his arms and examined it. "If I forced it open and happen to break it, then that would be too suspicious…" He soon noticed there was nothing he could do.

After retrieving his coat and sword, Dante used the elevator to return to the floor where his room was located. He was left with disappointment in his venture for the truth, but he knew he would have to find a better way next time around. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open with the last person Dante wanted to see the whole day standing behind the doors. Shaun stood right in front of them as if he was expecting to see Dante from the start. He was wearing his same uniform and stared at Dante as if he was his superior. "What do you want, limey?"

"What could possible keep the Son of Sparta up this late, I wonder?" he asked.

Dante grit his teeth in disgust with Shaun's attitude and his superiority complex. Dante exited the elevator. "I was going to take a shit."

"You do know you have a lavatory in your room, do you?" he questioned Dante.

"Well, I didn't like it." Dante said as his last minute excuse. He walked around Shaun and down the hall right after he answered him.

Shaun turned around to face Dante's back. "Better rest up, Mr. Dante." he said, which made Dante stop in his tracks, "We have a big day tomorrow and we'll need you in top form for the mission."

Dante turned his head and faced Shaun. "Yeah, I'll do that." With that, Dante walked off and never saw Shaun for the remainder of the night.

TO BE CONTINUED...