Hey guys, Alito Here!

So? Huh? Huuuh? Not too far apart on updates right? Well, thank the Coronavirus for that. Work has been cancelled and I gotta stay cooped up at home for two weeks. Hopefully, it all passes by real quick so I can enjoy spring break. But alas, I'll just be spending my time writing my original stuff and fanfiction for the time being. Good news for some of you ;)

I've been out of the Dead or Alive series for some time, that I have no idea who some of these new girls are. Tamaki is the newest fighter to enter Dead or Alive 6 from Venus Vacation. I actually had curiosity about Aikido, so this is perfect. From what I know, Misaki is the shy kawaii support to the owner, Luna's the emotionless weirdo with a sweet potato obsession, Tamaki's a perverted swimsuit model with a drinking problem, Fionna's a love struck princess girl, Nagisa is sort of the tsundere dom girl with chuunibiyo clothing, Kanna is if Marie Rose and Nyotengu fused, Monica has a gambling problem, and Sayuri is "Helloooo nurse~" personified. So far, I like Kanna best. She's got more of a sad story to her, but Sayuri's doin' somethin' to me ;)

Devil May Cry 5 has been out for about a year now and we STILL have no Playable Vergil. Modders do most of the work to make him playable and have honestly done so much of a good job at it. I just have the sinking feeling they'll release a Special Edition some time down the line, and make us pay almost 30 bucks for it or more. Why sell Vergil as DLC, when you can make so much more of a profit by selling him with a whole copy of the game you already have? Well, at least if they DO end up doing that, we better get a playable Lady and Trish like last time, or some new stories that involve Lucia in the mix. I'm just trying to keep hope alive.

Anyway, now that I'm back for a while, let's get on to the story.

DISCLAIMER I OWN NOTHING. DmC: Devil May Cry and Dead or Alive 5 belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 46: Recruitment final part: Power

UNKNOWN AREA

UNKNOWN TIME

Vergil saw everything as a daze. All he could see was the darkness that surrounded him. His consciousness slowly came to a head as he heard the muffled sounds of voices. His eyes struggled to stay open to the distorted image of grey clouds in the sky. He blinked to the small glimmer of the sun poking through the grey splotch above, before seeing a figure look down at him.

Vergil rubbed his eyes to begin to make out his surroundings.

"Hayate-sama, Rachael-san! He has begun to awaken!"

Suddenly more figures made their way to him and looked down at him, as he attempted to sit himself up.

"Easy, easy now…" a male voice said, taking Vergil's back and helping him sit up.

His vision had finally become clear enough to see that the figures were Hayate, Rachael, and Momiji, sitting on the ground with him. He also realized his surroundings was no longer that odd room with the giant Nephilim statue. They all were back outside the forest of trees. Vergil looked behind him and saw that his car was still there. Somehow, someway, they had been able to escape from the Realm.

Vergil felt something familiar in his left hand. He looked down, and was rather shocked to find his beloved katana, Yamato, had returned to him. In fact, his entire appearance looked as it did before he entered the forest; unscathed, hair slicked back, and clothes in tact save for the dust from lying on the floor for an undocumented time.

"W-What…what happened?" Vergil asked, still in a daze.

"We've returned to the real world." Hayate said, "While we waited for Ryu to recover, a rift opened in front of us, leading to this exact location. When we came through, you were lying here."

Vergil found that odd at first, but then came the memory of what happened. That room, the Rebellion…Seditio. It all came flooding back to hit him like a bus. He immediately went into a small panic, as he clutched his amulet that had been around his neck.

"How long have I been out?-!" Vergil questioned.

"A-About an hour…" Momiji timidly answered.

"And…did you see me with…someone else?"

"No, it was just you." Rachael chimed in. "And since you didn't bother to mention, yes, Ryu is fine. He's resting in the car."

Oh…That's good to hear…" Vergil said with relief.

"Also…We found this."

Hayate handed Vergil something that he raised a brow to. It didn't seem like anything valuable; just an old, small notebook that looked like it would fall apart just touching it. Regardless, Vergil took the small book, and examined its exterior.

"What is it?" Vergil wondered.

"It was on your chest when we found you." Hayate answered.

Vergil finally opened it. A long spew of lines was written in, what he assumed was, old fashioned ink and feather pins. The notebook's pages were turning yellow with time, but the words written down were as clear as day. He read a few lines of the small notebook.

He stopped. He couldn't bear to read any more of it. His heart had sunk with dread at the last word he read of the first paragraph. He couldn't even fathom what he had in his hands until reality came at him in the form of realization. He didn't both to hide the creeping fear that overwhelmed him. He could no longer afford to stand still any longer.

"Vergil?" Hayate called.

"I'm sorry, but we can't stay here!" Vergil rushed to get back onto his feet with the support of Yamato and Hayate's aid. "I-I need to get back…! Back to New York!"

"Please wait, Vergil-san." Momiji sternly pleaded. "You are in no condition to—"

"I don't care!" Vergil lashed out. He pushed Hayate off of him and struggled to stand on his own. Regardless, through breaths, he proceeded to use Yamato as a cane and hurry towards the car.

"I…need to get to…my brother…! He needs to see this…!"

TIME SQUARE

NEW YORK

10:45 AM, Thursday

Dante felt his body fall into a lucid state of mind. He could not see, nor hear, or even feel anything. For a moment, everything was still to his senses. He desperately tried to gather his mind back, but it proved difficult every few seconds he had control. It was like being in and out of consciousness. There were the slightest moments he felt his muscles tighten; as though he were swinging his sword. The echoed sounds of a pig's whine rang through his skull. The sweet scent of blood filed his nose. And then, just as he felt all of these sensations, they ceased.

Dante felt his body finally touch something solid on his back. It was hard and hurt like concrete. Suddenly, his senses began to return to him. His body and mind could feel once more.

Then he heard a voice call his name. It was faint, but slowly became clear once he started to open his misty eyes.

"Hey! I think he's coming to, Hitomi! Kasumi, over here!"

He heard the shuffle of frantic feet towards him.

"Dante! Dante, can you hear me?" Called a woman's voice.

He could have sworn it was his mother for a moment, before his eyes became clear to the sight of copper-orange hair in a long pony tail. What followed was two other women also looking down at him with equal worry in their eyes.

"Ugh…K-Kasumi…?" Dante groaned. "Lei…Hitomi…"

Kasumi's eyes welled up in tears as she embraced Dante into a tight hug that held him close to her. "Thank goodness! Thank goodness, you're okay! I was so worried!"

"Hey, Hey, ouch…!" Dante cringed.

"You might wanna ease up on him, Kasumi-san!" Hitomi warned.

Kasumi realized her actions and quickly released him. Her cheeks even went beat red as she composed herself. "S-Sorry about that."

"Nice to have you with us."

Dante painfully sat up and saw the Red demon, Barbatos, approach him. For a moment, Dante and had become cautious, but calmed down, remembering that Barbatos was on their side. Judging from his fresh injuries, he assumed that the battle had gotten out of hand. Upon remembering that, Dante looked around to find that the entire city had been removed of its hazy smoke that the Headless created.

"What happened?" Dante questioned. "Where's the mist? And that ass-snatchin' demon?"

"Ass…snatching?" Lei-Fang said fearfully.

Suddenly Barbatos small smirk turned grim. He pointed towards something behind him. "Perhaps…you should see for yourself."

Dante followed his finger. What he saw was something that horrified even someone like Dante within the moment he realized what he had seen. It was the Headless—or what was left of it. The entire body had been slashed to pieces, scattered across the area of the city. Its arms dangled on street lamps, Its intestine was scattered across the floor, and what was left of its blooded, fatty insides and flesh were plunged into by the Force Edge. The giant's body fluids had painted the town, the creepiest shade of red Dante had never seen.

"Holy fuck…" Dante said breathlessly. "W-What happened?"

The girls starred at Dante as if he had said something irrational.

"Wait…you don't remember?" Lei-Fang asked.

"Uuuh, I wouldn't be asking if I did." Dante said, massaging the back of his head. "Now what—huh?"

Dante noticed something strange with the back of his head. It felt like there was something long in it. He tried to pull it, but to no avail. It was in his hair really good. He put his other hand back there, only feel more of those longer strands. He could feel the Mohawk finish but at the top, he felt something else. He even felt these strands on his forehead.

"W-wha…? What the…?"

"Oh, so you've finally noticed." Kasumi said.

"Noticed, what?" Dante said frantically. "What?-!"

"Here, allow me." Lei-Fang complied.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a rather large compounder with a mirror attached. Inside, Dante looked at his reflection. His eyes went wide at the sight of it; his hair had changed. It had grown slightly longer than it was before, and was a shade of snow white that matched Vergil's.

"Oh…my god…! What the fuck?-!" Dante exclaimed in a panic. "W-What happened to my hair?-! Why's it so…! So…!"

"Cool?" Hitomi finished, earning strange looks from everyone. "I mean…it kinda is…"

Dante looked to Kasumi for answers. "Help me!"

"I-I don't know! It just, sort of, ended up that way after you…came back." Kasumi tried her best to answer.

"Came back? Back from where?" Dante questioned harshly. "A fuckin' anime convention?-! Why is my hair white all of a sudden?-!"

"It is because you have been awakened."

Barbatos strolled past the four of them and looked towards the carnage of demon entrails across the city.

"Since your birth, your inner Nephilim heritage has laid dormant within you; unable to bind with your body properly. Your brother was the exception and was born with the privilege of embracing his species. You, on the other hand, were not as fortunate."

"Huh. Story of my life…" Dante humored.

"That is, until now." Barbatos turned to face the now white-haired Demon Killer. "Your heritage was forced to its surface and it was far too much for you to control on such short notice. You lashed out for only a moment against the Headless and slashed him to pieces, before falling unconscious."

"So…I did all that?" Dante said in disbelief.

"We saw you." Hitomi noted. "It was both really cool…and really scary!"

"Shit…" Dante sighed. It was all so much to take in so soon. Suddenly, he felt like he didn't know himself anymore. It hadn't been long that he learned of his origin, and then there was the first time he transformed into that strange form he used on Mundus, and now his hair was white. It all felt like a constant whirlwind that wouldn't let up in the slightest. He wondered if Vergil ever had to deal with the same internal questions once he discovered who he really was. What did it even mean to accept one's heritage? What new changes would come from it?

"Barbatos." Kasumi called. "Before, you mentioned a name to me; when Dante transformed. You said…Seditio returned."

"Seditio…I remember that name." Dante recalled. "That's the name of that Nephilim who Sparda killed. They were friends." Dante quickly rose to his feet with the support of Kasumi to keep him balanced. "The hell did you mean he returned?"

"I do not believe now is the best time to explain." Barbatos waved off. "We are still in Limbo, after all."

"He's right. We should get out of here first before we get into story time." Lei-Fang suggested.

All were in agreement. Dante had been able to stand on his own. Hitomi and Lei-Fang reluctantly followed the red-skinned demon towards wherever the DOATEC building was located in the mixed-up world of Limbo. Kasumi was just about to follow, when she quickly noticed Dante wasn't with them. She turned to see him; still standing in the exact same spot with, clearly, something weighing heavily on his mind.

"Are you okay?" Kasumi asked, walking to his side.

"No…why would I be?" Dante said.

He simply walked past Kasumi to join the rest of the group. She assumed he was going to climb up that slashed pile of remains to retrieve his sword. However, what instead happened was that he simply opened his palm towards the Force Edge, and, like magic, the longsword came spiraling out of the demon guts, and right into his hand. Needless to say, both Kasumi and Dante were caught by surprise.

"Whoa!" Dante gasped, looking back at Kasumi to share in their surprise. "That's new…!"

SILVERSACKS TOWER

LIMBO CITY

11:01 AM, Thursday

Mundus watched the city of Limbo bellow. He watched the humans scurry about in their pathetic little cage of a city. All of them unaware of their own place in the world. They were nothing but unadulterated children that deserved to have someone watch over them. Lest they run rampant in their idiocy. He believed himself to be a just God to the feeble-minded vermin. Had he allowed them to continue to rule themselves, chaos would ensue. This was the obvious way of life.

And yet, he is pestered by Sparda's children who demand to challenge his law, and allow the world to fall into its own demise. This was why he despised Nephilim. Never being a part of the status quo.

But oh, how karma can be a cruel mistress. He realized this the moment he stepped foot into his office. It was so ironic; he could not help but chuckle to himself.

"So…death didn't take after all…did it, Seditio?" Mundus said.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the familiar, long-haired alley he once knew so many millennia ago. His expression seemed to have been indifference, but from his trembling fist, he had been ready to throw down at a moment's notice.

His outfit had changed from the metal armor and cape to a black trench, white dress shirt, slacks, and old sandals. His face was still as disheveled as he last remembered it.

"Ah, I see you're finally free of that ridiculous armor, and…" Mundus immediately noticed the sword on his back and grinned. "…you've finally found yourself, so to speak."

"Hmph. Your words imply that you knew of my identity all along." Seditio deduced.

"More or less." Mundus said, strolling back towards his desk. "I had suspicions that there was always more to you than meets the eye. I was able to connect the dots much later. It was only a matter of waiting for you to reveal yourself unto me."

He sat down at his desk with hands clasped together for his chin to rest on.

"Oh, I almost forgot. That friend of yours…Was he even real?"

Seditio knew who he referred to. With only a snap of his fingers, the draped figure in tattered cloth and chains appeared from thin air to take a knee before Mundus.

"He is but a puppet to my needs." Seditio explained. "Lignum was the replacement to the fourth knight of hell, Barbatos. I believed I had killed him, but he found a way to escape at the last moment."

"Ah, so Barbatos was the fourth Knight of Hell. He had been such a trusted lacky. It all suddenly seems so clear." Mundus smirked. "But let's cut the crap and get to brass tax; why have you come here to me?"

Seditio, rather than relent to his desire to plunge Rebellion into the bald man's skull, smirked and said, "Why would I not?"

"Well, besides the obvious; me forcing Sparda to kill you, my purge of the Nephilim, killing Abbarrane, the first Nephilim—the list goes on." Mundus egged on. "I would imagine you'd want to go into hiding to avoid the inevitable."

Mundus pointed his thumb behind him to the swirling portal of demonic energy that sat behind him.

"So long as this Hell Gate is functional, you have no means to be able to kill me. I am a God."

As annoying as it was to hear, Seditio had to agree; there was no feasible way to destroy the Hell Gate or Mundus. Any chance he had in fighting the bastard was minimum at best, and impossible in survival. He truly was a God of this world. And so, he calmed his seething rage towards the demon, and took a deep breath, something Mundus noticed right away.

"You are correct; I have no chance in defeating the likes of you…"

"…buuut?" Mundus assumed would be his next word.

To his chagrin, Seditio replied. "…but I have faith that your kingdom will not last long."

Mundus' grin fell into one of furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"

"You believe that those boys are foolish creatures; waiting to be at the mercy of your cruelty. However, I see something more. I see those twins being your downfall." Seditio's grin grew more confident than ever before. "They're more than just Nephilim…Their Sparda's sons."

Now it was Mundus who fists trembled in anger. "Where are you going with this, Seditio?"

"I simply mean I, and Lignum will continue to serve under your command; such is the loyalty of the Knights of Hell." Seditio explained.

He snapped his finger, and just as he arrived, Lignum had vanished once more.

"However, I will also act as an observer to how this scenario will play about." He raised one hand. "Will you be proven right and kill the sons of Sparda and myself, to realize your true rule…" Then came the other hand. "…or will they, and by extension; myself, prevail, and hold your head on a pike?"

Mundus raised a brow. "I see. And you're willing continue to side with the one who destroyed all that you hold dear?"

Seditio could see him trying to get his goat, but it did not take. The white-haired man smiled of arrogance.

"A small price to pay…for the simple pleasure of seeing you sweat."

It took everything within the Demon King's essence to not chuck his desk right at the Nephilim's face and ring his neck. How dare he attempt to play him for a fool? Just because he returned from the dead, did not give him the right nor authority to oppose to him the way he just did. He wanted to kill him; he desperately wanted to see his chest ripped open and make him watch as his heart is consumed.

But alas, Mundus had to be patient—to at least prove that he was beyond such empty words. He was a God after all, and a God must act accordingly. He sighed deeply and simply said; "Very well."

He stood from his desk and strolled back towards the window with hands behind his back. "You may do as you please, old friend. But this play of yours won't do you any good."

Mundus, once again, looked down at the humans with a look of discontent painted onto his wrinkled face.

"You will learn that those who try to oppose me, will face permissive judgement…starting now."

Mundus reached into his pocket for his cellphone and dialed a number.

"Donovan. It appears that a traitor has nestled into pack. And you know exactly who…yes…thank you."

Mundus hung up his phone and looked over his shoulder with a grin towards a confused Seditio.

"Don't mind me, Seditio…" Mundus said creepily. "…I'm simply finishing what you couldn't."

DOATEC TOWER (LIMBOFIED)

NEW YORK CITY (LIMBOFIED)

11:06 AM, Thursday

Dante and co. had finally made their way to Limbo version of DOATEC; reduced to floating ruins with demonic corrosion across its glass structure and the giant letters making a makeshift ramp towards the eleventh story. It hadn't been too easy getting to the building, what with Limbo's usual interferences of demons, world-shifting, and the occasional obstacle that tried to kill all of them. Regardless, they were in the clear once they had finally reached DOATEC.

"We made it!" Hitomi sighed in relief. "Good! I can't wait to finally be rid of all this crazy stuff."

"You're tellin' me!" Lei-Fang agreed. "A good fight is one thing, but punching demons doesn't sound too fun in the long run."

"You're tellin' me…" Dante commented.

"It appears Kat has made a way for us to enter into DOATEC." Kasumi pointed to the DOATEC letters acting as platforms towards the eleventh floor of the tower. "These letters lead directly to where Kat set up the rift portal back to the real world."

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Dante said, "Up and at em'."

All agreed to take leaps onto the first giant, red letter 'D' and ran across it towards the next. First went Kasumi, then Hitomi, followed by Lei-Fang. They had made it across onto the 'O' before looking back at Dante and Barbatos, waiting for them to follow.

"Alright, let's go." Dante said.

He took his first leap onto the giant 'D', before realizing that he had stepped onto it alone. He turned and saw that Barbatos did not join him. Rather, he looked up at Dante with the saddest and desperate stare the Nephilim had ever seen on the Red-faced demon.

What's the hold up? Let's go already." Dante called.

"No, I…I believe this is where we must part ways for now."

Dante raised a brow. "What?"

"I cannot enter through the veil of Limbo to the human plain anymore." Barbatos said, "The disguise I wore gave me access to walk amongst the humans to gain intel. However, when I discarded it, I also discarded my visage to the human world. Where you all are headed, I cannot go."

"So…what're you gonna do?" Dante wondered.

Barbatos pondered his options for a moment; his spiked tail swaying back and forth for answers. "I do not know…I can only hope to remain in hiding for a little while longer—until you are in need of me again."

"In need? What're you, my servant?" Dante chuckled.

"Hmph. Do not push your luck, Nephi—"

And suddenly. Everything went still. It hadn't registered to neither Dante, nor Barbatos what had just happened. However, his buddying smile with the Nephilim had slowly fallen in to a look of horror at what he had seen poking from his chest. It was an arrow—embedded with strange green aura. It had lunged into his back and through his chest.

For some strange reason, the pain that quickly followed was unlike anything Barbatos had ever felt before. It was a stabbing sensation, mixed with his insides becoming inflamed. He could barely catch his breath before his legs gave out on him. Barbatos fell to his knees, clutching his chest in sheer agony. His vision and hearing grew weary as he looked up to see the Nephilim had leaped off of the 'D' platform, and onto the ground to hold him from collapsing.

He attempted to make out bits and pieces of what he heard Dante saying.

"Hang on! We(inaudible)! You hear me?-! Just stay still! Kasumi! Get(inaudible)! Now! We—"

Barbatos had heard enough. He grabbed Dante's shoulder, which made the white-haired Nephilim turn his attention back towards the Red Demon. Barbatos couldn't see very well what his expression looked like, but he could possibly picture it as more or less one you give upon losing an acquaintance.

"No…I-It is…alright…" Barbatos weakly assured Dante. "This…this was inevitable…"

"Hey! Stop talking we're(inaudible)!"

"No…! No…" He desperately denied in between breaths. "I do not…want you to waste precious time saving an old devil such as I…Instead, this is how it must be. Mundus has discovered the truth…my being an ex-knight…my alliance to you…He means to dispose of this puppet of his…Heh, heh…It was foolish of me to expect I would make it a little longer…"

He gripped Dante's lapel and forced himself closer for the Nephilim to hear him.

"About Seditio…he has returned…from the grave." Barbatos said weakly. "He…he is one of…the Knights of Hell…he is…the one who tried to kill me…and take my place as…one of the knights…"

This made Dante's eyes wide; just as Barbatos expected.

"For what his reason is…for returning, or how…is unknown…I only hope…that he is your ally…"

More blood had begun to hack up from his throat. It burned upon contact with the ground. Dante finally sat Barbatos back; cradling his body with Barbatos' back against his knee to sit him up.

"It's…it's strange…" Barbatos shakily said, "I wanted…nothing more than…to have vengeance…for my true lord, Lucifer…and yet, I knew…I knew all this time…I knew the truth…"

Barbatos could no longer hold it in any longer. The burden had suddenly overwhelmed him. There was no strength to hid the facade. He released the floodgates and let the tears fall from his welled-up eyes. He sucked in what little air he could taste and attempted to try and speak again.

"I was…nothing to him…was I?-!"

Barbatos ached with each pain-felt suck in of air. Yet, he desperately wanted to hear it from someone. He knew what was true, but there was that small spark within him that wanted to be proven wrong; to have justification that his actions were for a greater good.

"I…" Dante tilted his head down; as if in thought. He quickly looked back at Barbatos. "No…you probably weren't."

There it was; the truth. All the millenniums spent, holding on to a burning anger, and a thirst for vengeance…all for nothing. He was nothing but a foolish solider; forced to serve a pious demon, who was crueler than the original. He never had a chance. Whether he held on to his revenge or not, he would always end up as a sacrifice; forced to fight a war he could never escape from.

And that realization…that hopeless understanding of his place in the world…made him bawl his eyes out, right in front of his enemy.

Barbatos began to feel his entire body begin to heat up like his insides did. He could faintly see the smoke radiating off of his red skin. The smell of his own insides and blood cooking alive was a chilling experience that even he would not wish upon his worst enemies. He realized he did not how long for this world.

Through his watery eyes, he looked up at Dante. For a brief moment, Barbatos focused his vision to get one last look on the Nephilim's face. There, he saw the eyes that he had given…they were…sad.

It was unexpected. Why would this man; a killer of demons and, once upon a time, his enemy, shed such a solemn mug to the likes of him? It baffled Barbatos. And yet, for some reason, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness himself.

And then, he saw the Nephilim do something so unexpected. He felt his hand held tight in a grip. He could feel the sincerity from just that hand alone. For a brief moment, his hearing had cleared, and he could hear the world around him.

"I'm sorry…" Dante said, swallowing his own guilt. "I am so sorry…"

Barbatos sniffed and asked, "For…for what? I should…be the one…to be sorry…so, why…?"

"Because…I know what it's like to not have control of your life…"

He gripped Barbatos hand tight and looked him in his eyes. It was the first time anyone showed such compassion for him. He couldn't begin to properly comprehend what the Nephilim was doing. Regardless, the gesture was not lost on him.

"For what it's worth…in the time I've known you to now…you are more than just a demon…I just…wanted you to know that."

That…was all he wanted. That was all he needed to finally feel at ease. Despite the many millenniums of death, blood, and fulfilling the orders of corrupt petty despots. He finally felt a single iota of compassion, respect…love. They were strange feelings, the emotions he felt. They made the pain he experienced seem so miniscule.

For the last moments of his life…he smiled. A genuine smile had appeared on his face through his tears. Death had never felt so serene to him as it did then and there.

"Thank you, Dante…" Barbatos said weakly, with the last of his breath. "Thank you…so…much…"

And with those last words, Barbatos finally closed his eyes for the last time. He could feel nothing envelop him. But he did not fear the unknown. He graciously accepted the unknown; knowing that he had received the one thing he had truly always wanted…love.

Dante watched as Barbatos body had dissipated into ash in the wind. When there was nothing left to hold, Dante rose back to his feet. He didn't know what it could do or whether there was even a higher power to pray to, but he gave a final farewell to the Red-faced demon through the best means he knew how. Though their time was brief, Dante truly had begun to believe that Barbatos was more than just a demon. He was a person.

"Dante?"

The Nephilim looked up towards Kasumi. She had empathized with Dante's mood and offered herself as comfort to him. He happened up towards the other platforms to see Hitomi and Lei-Fang, who also felt grief upon seeing the stranger die in such regret. However, Dante saw this, and did not want it to turn too inward. He had felt enough sorrow and grief in his life. He did not want the final memories of Barbatos to be heartfelt ones.

"I'm fine." He said with absolute certainty. "Come on, the others are waiting."

With those words, Dante walked past Kasumi and towards the platform. She saw him off; knowing that what he had said was not the words of a man at a loss, but rather, one who has gained a new resolve to go on. It was a far cry from the Dante she knew from the very beginning. He did not let the pain of Barbatos' death shake him, and dammit, she didn't want it to break her either. She had to be strong as well; for herself, for Dante, and for those she wanted to protect. She also knew it was time to speak with Ayane once and for all.

That was why she turned and looked up towards one of the neighboring buildings where she saw the arrow come from. For a brief moment, she saw someone up there that must've been the shooter. She didn't see the figure right away, but could recognize the black cloak she wore. No doubt that was the 'Phase 4' clone. Which could only mean one thing…

"Donovan…" Kasumi uttered in seething rage.

DOATEC TOWER

NEW YORK CITY

11:10 AM, Thursday

"Hiya! Wa! Achooo~!"

That was all the blonde maid heard from her best friend dressed in her school gym uniform, and her training buddy in the kimono. Why they decided to break out into a session of martial arts in the center of Ms. Douglas's second office is beyond Marie's understanding. Though, as long as nothing was broken, it didn't seem like too big of an issue. That is, until it began to grow annoying while she engaged in some reading. Not even her morning tea could relieve the insufferable noises of their battle cries.

Finally, Marie had enough at the last Bruce Lee homage, and slammed her book shut. She got the attention of the two practicing as she stood up.

"Ms. Kokoro, Honoka…" Marie said calmly…at first. "…As much as I appreciate your need to hone your skills, I would be even more appreciative if you could just do this, oh, I dunno, somewhere else!"

"Ah, s-sorry, Marie-chan!" Honoka apologized.

"We'd train somewhere else if we had anywhere else to go." Kokoro said, "Vergil-san said we should stay put until either he or Dante-san got back, and the gym is out of the question with all those other employees coming in and disrupting us."

"Not to mention…the eyes." Honoka said with a shudder. "I hated it when those older men just sat there and stared at me."

"I'm afraid those were Vergil's orders."

The three happened upon the wiccan of Vergil's Order, hood down to reveal her short, brown hair and silvery eyes. She had been concocting something in a small bowl on one of the coffee tables. Mila had sat by out of curiosity as to what it was.

"Until we retrieve the ninja, Ryu, we can't afford to leave here." Kat explained. "I can't even risk peeking into Limbo right now. Our best option is to stay in one place."

"Tell that to Ms. Famous and Ms. Douglas who both high-tailed it out of here the moment they took the cure."

Kokoro referred to Tina Armstrong, who, upon taking the cure, left the group to begin her new World Tour in preparations for the Dead or Alive Tournament. Meanwhile, Helena departed to prepare the location of the tournament itself.

"regardless, Kat's right." Mila added. "No sense in risking our lives just because we've been cured from entering limbo."

"I suppose so…" Kokoro lamented. She then noticed the odd bowl Kat had. "Say, Kat-san, what're you making?"

"A compound of an old wiccan recipe." Kat explained proudly. "It can ensure quicker travel into Limbo if Dante or Vergil ever needs it."

"Huh. What's in it"" Honoka asked.

"Oh, the usual; sea-salt, shark oil, iron shavings, defecated squirrel semen, wolf hair—"

"Okay! That's all we really needed to hear!" Marie exclaimed.

Honoka shrugged, "Okaaay…anyway, back to training!"

"O-Oh, of course." Kokoro said returning to her Baji Quan stance, "Though, you seem to have a good enough grasp of Baji Quan already. Have you studied it before?"

The pink-haired ditz pondered for a moment. "Hmmm…nope! I just learned it after watching you!"

"Did you…?" Kokoro was ever curious about this girl. Baji Quan required years a training in order to truly master it's most basic of techniques to perfection. Yet, this high school girl simply watched Kokoro use a couple of stances once and then copied it verbatim. There was definitely more to this girl than meets the eye.

"Huh. So that's your specialty, is it?"

Just then, the girls were startled by the arrival of a new gaggle of people that stood at the entrance to the office. Their guard was lowered once they saw that it was Ayane. However, she was accompanied by two men; one was a blond who was dressed in a duffle coat and was almost as pretty as a girl. The other was a long-white haired rugged one, who was dragged by his ankle across the floor behind him.

"Ayane, and…Eliot?" Kokoro said with a surprised smile. "It's been such a long time, Eliot!"

"Ah, Kokoro!" Eliot replied with a polite bow. "I'm grateful to see you again so soon. Look, I brought Brad Wong as well!"

Brad muttered something in his drunken slurring. He had consumed large quantities of the complimentary alcohol in Helena's private jet within the first three minutes upon take off. Needless to say, there was no regret in his goofy grin.

"Oh. Great…" Kokoro said unenthusiastically.

As the two spoke, Kat, Mila, and Marie were all left confused to the new guest; specifically, the man who seemed to be passed out drunk. Kat was the first to say what she was thinking.

"I don't wanna be that bitch, but is everyone who was in the past Dead or Alive Tournament so…what's a good word…?"

"Crazy?" Marie answered.

"Correcta." Mila nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, big hellos all around!" Ayane interrupted. "Back to the topic at hand; what's the deal with you?"

"Huh? M-Me?" Honoka said in confusion.

"Obviously. How is it that you can mirror people so easily?" Ayane said, approaching Honoka with those stern, red eyes of hers. "Where did you learn such a skill?"

Immediately, Marie could see the problem beginning to manifest right in front of her. Clearly, Ayane was going to try and challenge her to a fight, and knowing Honoka, she won't hold back. That was all the incentive Marie needed to get up and run to Honoka's aid.

"M-Marie senor! I smell danger!" Marie exclaimed as she stood in front of them.

"Hey, Ayane! Back off!" Kokoro said, also standing in her way. "This is not a time to fight each other."

"They're right, Ayane." Eliot chimed in. "We didn't come here for a battle. Save it for the tournament…please?"

Ayane hated when Eliot passive nature with those dangerous puppy dog eyes of his. Regardless , she sighed and crossed her arms in submission. "Whatever…"

"N-No! It's fine, you guys!" Honoka blurted out. "I don't mind going a round or two!"

"Honoka, no!" Marie protested.

"Now is not the time for squabbles!" Kokoro added.

"Relax, you two! I can take her! Watch!"

Honoka demonstrated her prowess with a roundhouse kick to the air. She expected her foot to land back onto the ground with no fuss. To her surprise, her foot was instead grabbed. Whoever it was, they had a good grip on her ankle. She looked up to see that it was grabbed by a mysterious stranger with white hair that resembled Vergil's, but a tad unkempt. She ripped her foot from his hand and took a couple steps back from him.

"Whoa! H-How did—I-I'm very sorry, mister!" Honoka said with a bow.

"Jeez, watch where you start Roadhouse-ing it up, Honkers!"

"Don't call me, Honkers, Da—"

Honkers. That nickname again. Only one person she knows calls her that. Then, it dawned on her. She looked back at the stranger with widened eyes.

"D-D-Dante-kun?-!" Honoka said in disbelief. "I-Is that you, Dante-kun?"

"You know anyone else as good-lookin' as this? The answers no, by the way." Dante smirked.

Suddenly, Kasumi, along with Hitomi and Lei-Fang, also appeared out of the veil of Limbo through a port key that Kat had created.

"Ah! Hitomi-san! Lei-san!" Kokoro said cheerfully.

"Oh! Kokoro-chan!" Hitomi smiled.

"It's been a while!" Lei-Fang joined.

All three embraced in a tight hug. Despite their familiarity with each other being acquaintance level at best, they were simply relieved to see more familiar faces to give them a sense of comfort. Anything was better than being alone in such trying times.

While those three got caught up, Honoka, Kat, and Mila were still perplexed by the greatest change to Dante's appearance all together.

"Holy shit, Dante, your hair…!" Mila said. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it for a second. "It's so weird…like you're a whole different person!"

"Yeah, maybe that's for the best…" Dante said, regarding the recent terrorist announcement.

Then, without warning, Dante felt his hair being stroked by Kat, who examined it thoroughly. Dante's eyes darted back and forth in discomfort.

"Havin' fun there?" Dante wisecracked.

"Sorry, but…it's fascinating." Kat said. "It's the exact same texture and color as Vergil's. He once told me that all Nephilim are born with their white hair, but you were stunted at growth. At least I can now see the twin resemblance."

"Yeah, I'll say." Honoka chimed in. "You really do look more like your brother now!"

"Hmph! I wouldn't go that far, Honoka…" Marie commented, joining with the rest. "I mean, it's not a bad look, but it doesn't even begin to hold a candle to my Vergil and his beauty. You just look like a poorer, more unkempt clone of him."

"'Least I don't look like I still need a training bra." Dante mused.

Instinctively, Marie covered her chest in embarrassment. "Wha—I-I already said I'm an adult!"

"Barely." Dante said with rolled eyes.

Before long, Marie was wailing her fist around to try and hit the Nephilim. If not for Dante effortlessly holding her back by the head, he'd only start laughing at how weak her punches were to him and hurt her feelings.

While this had been going on, Ayane couldn't help but stare at Dante. This time, not out of some small infatuation for his new look, but rather the dangerous aura that emitted from his body. It was faint but she could see the blistering energy form into a pair of ethereal wings from his back. One was a sky blue with angelic light, while the other was red with demonic flames. She figured it was only natural for a Nephilim to give off such intense energy.

"Ayane…"

The purple-haired kunoichi's attention was settled on the last person she felt like seeing right away. Just the sight of the traitor was enough to make her turn her gaze.

"What do you want?" Ayane said harshly.

She figured that would be her half-sister's reaction. She happened to eye Eliot, who simply waved her to try again. Despite Ayane's attitude, she pressed on.

"Ayane…I want to talk to you about something…Something I feel you should know…"

She snorted. "As if I would listen to you—"

Just then, a thought popped into her head. It was the sight of when she last saw her half sister during the inferno of the village, and Victor Rodriguez at the center of it all. But that wasn't what she focused on at all. It was the story of how the Mugen Tenshin Village formed, and its cruel history. Ayane realized that if she and Hayate hadn't known about their clan's past, then Kasumi didn't either. Was there any reason to inform Kasumi of the truth? What would Ayane gain from doing so? Why bother?

All these questions, but in the end, Ayane knew Kasumi at least had a right to know.

"Actually…there's something I must share with you…but not now." Ayane said, turning her back to her sister. "We will have this discussion later."

Kasumi was confused, but left it at that. At the very least, she could finally talk to her sister again without hearing her scream the word 'traitor' every minute. That was a win in her book.

The good times, however, did not last. Coming through another set of doors to the office came another group of people. The room turned quiet at the appearance of Vergil, Hayate, Rachael, and Momiji. In Hayate's arms was also the Super ninja himself, Ryu, who was still rather unconscious.

"Hayate-sama! Ryu-sama!" Ayane called, running to Hayate and Ryu's aid.

"Ayane…" Hayate said, before looking around at the others in the room. "It's good to see you all here."

Hayate's eyes settled on the girl he had hoped to see in the room with the others. Hitomi noticed his staring and returned the gesture with an awkward wave and blushing smile. Hayate nodded, catching Ayane's attention and giving death glares towards the karate girl, much to Hitomi's discomfort.

"How'd you guys get here so fast?" Mila wondered. "Weren't you in Germany? And you—you went to China!" Referring to Ayane and co.

"Magic port keys serve as more than just portals to Limbo." Kat explained.

Attention was back to the sight of the once feared Super Ninja, Ryu. He didn't seem to move an inch with bruises on his right arm. Kasumi feared the worst.

"Momiji-san, Rachael-san." Kasumi called to. "His arm…was it that curse again? Is Ryu-sama…?"

Momiji settled her worries with a smile. "Not to worry. Ryu-sama need only to rest."

"Apparently, there are more important things to worry about." Rachel said, pointing towards Vergil.

Everyone saw that he had already seen the blue Nephilim make his way towards Dante. Vergil looked at his twin brother with astonishment. He only needed to feel the raw energy that radiated off of Dante's body to know that his inner Nephilim has also been awakened—right down to the shimmering white hair. Though a tad unkempt compared to his own.

"Amazing…!" Vergil uttered.

"Yeah, guess we really are brothers after all." Dante smirked.

"T-There's so much I want to say, but…I-I don't know where to start…!" Vergil said.

"Well, for one; we can start by gettin' the new faces here cured." Dante pointed out.

Vergil took notice of the new arrivals to DOATEC. It appeared that the recruitment mission was a success. He admitted to having doubts in any of the other's abilities besides Dante's, but he was thankfully mistaken.

"Yes…yes, of course." Vergil agreed, fixing himself. "I'll work on preparing them for the serum. In the meantime…here."

Vergil presented Dante with an old notebook that looked far too out of its time. Confused, Dante took it off of Vergil's hands and examined it just as his brother did upon first receiving it.

"What is it?" Dante questioned.

"Answers. There's only a couple pages used, but…it'll explain a lot."

Before Dante could ask what his twin meant, Vergil had already walked towards the crowd of new people to inform them of what was needed to be done. Dante was left to ponder at the small notebook; curious of what could have his brother so perplexed, that he would want Dante, of all people, to read it.

UNKNOWN AREA
UNKNOWN LOCATION
UNKNOWN TIME

Donovan had only regained consciousness but a few moments later.

He groaned in agony as he slowly pulled himself up from the ground. He could feel his head had been cut on the side he laid on, while his old bones ached something fierce. The ringing in his ears finally ceased to the sound of electric wiring going haywire, and the emergency alarm giving him a terrible migraine. His vision was blurry but he could only make out the image of his underground laboratory. Something had been wrong—structures had been hung by a single wire, while desk, where other scientist worked had been flipped. Sparks of fire seemed to surround him, while growing more and more intense.

"Ugh! What…what the hell…?-!" Donovan said in utter shock. "M-My glasses! Where are they?-!"

He frantically searched the ground for his specs, but could not feel them anywhere nearby. He cursed his nearsightedness. He knew he should've worn contacts.

But as he searched, he heard something. It sounded faint but yet so close. Then there was the chill that went down his spine. Sweat dripped down the side of his temple as he slowly, and shakily turned back around to in front of him.

Even to his blurred eyes, Donovan saw a figure just inches from his face. He screamed bloody murder and attempted to get up and run, but had only just now realized he was pinned to the floor by one of the main computers on his leg, with the figure on top of it.

"N-No! No, please! W-Wait a minute!" Donovan pathetically pleaded. "I-I created you! I was the one who g-gave you life! I-I am your master! Yes, a-and you should see me as your savior for bring you back from the dea—"

A loud slam right beside his ear was enough to make Donovan yelp into silence. He shakily starred up and saw the blurred features he could make out of this strange individual. He saw creamy pale skin all over—the assumption of them being stark naked, and long strands of white reaching from her head to her chest. They had been hunched over towards him on all fours.

"You...You talk too much." Said an otherworldly voice.

One of its hands reached up and came close to him. He clutched his eyes shut and prepared for whatever pain would come next. However, he instead felt something slip across the sides of his face, and sit on the bridge of his nose. He had opened his eyes to his glasses. But what he saw in front of him had startled him significantly.

The figure revealed to be a woman; confirmed to be naked with her breast hidden by the thick, white strands of white hair that was so long that it passed her exposed bottom. Her dull, almost lifeless eyes were heterochromic—one of a gel-like green, while the other a shimmering sky blue.

"Y-You…you have…awaken…!" Donovan uttered with a shaky grin. "Y-you have finally woken up…ALPHA…!"

ALPHA lips stretched into a grin. "Not Alpha…"

This wiped the grin right off of Donovan's face as the white-haired woman grew closer.

"I am…Assiel."