Thank you to Demerah, AJudgeToCrush, Eric Draven201, Werecat Rei, Devil Rebel, and Hunter of Darkness for reviewing! Sorry this took so long to get up, things were kinda hectic around here for a while!

Jasmine:

"Dante!" Hezen shook her head back and forth, her emotions getting the best of her. "Goddammit kid hurry up and mix your blood with mine! We can't win this if you get hurt!!"

How could he be so damn stupid? Pena had explained it over and over to the two of them and yet there Dante was, trying to prove that he could do this on his own again. She knew he could fight, he had done it for the past seventeen years but now things were different. Without his human side, he had no idea how to balance his physical powers, let alone take control of what was going on in that little head of his.

Wrapping her good arm around her midsection, Hezen closed her eyes. "Please God," she whispered, "don't let any bad happen. He can't die here, please give him the strength to see this through!"

She had to find something, anything that she could slice her hand open with. Turning in all directions, her eyes desperately searched for a sharp or pointed object but to no avail. For the first time in her twenty-eight years of living her mind went blank, unable to process the simplest thing that could or would get them out of the sticky situation they were in.

"It is submerged over there. Get passed me and you can do what you wish with it."

"The Point!"

"What Point?" Pena turned his head up in Hezen's direction.

"Dante asked Lore about some kind of Point. He said it was in the pool." Hezen faced the pool and took a large breath inwards through her nose. "I've got to get rid of it."

"Point, Point," Pena repeated as he brought his right paw to his mouth. "Where have I heard that before? I know it means something important but I just can't remember what it was. Perhaps I—"

The doctor sprinted forward, her eyes locked on the pool that lay not too far away. Her heart slammed within her chest, the fight between Dante and Lore in the back of her mind as she ran. She had to help Dante someway, she just hoped that this was the right way and not something that would screw up everything. But just as she reached the edge of the pool, a red barrier rose that stopped her in her tracks.

"What…the hell?" She pounded on it with her working arm, but it remained as strong as ever. "Come on!" she screamed. "Let me in!"

Pena arrived beside her and stood between her and the barrier. "Stop it, you're going to hurt yourself and that's the last thing we need. Points are the spots where Sparda defeated the seven gods; you aren't going to get in only a descendant of Sparda can enter."

Hezen slammed her hand against the red blockade as water gathered around the corners of her eyes. "Damn I'm so useless!"

And as much as she hated to admit it, she was. Until Dante and her blood met, Hezen was nothing but a bystander. She couldn't call forward the shield that would protect him, the only thing she really could do.

"Wait a minute!" Pena perked and turned towards the entrance. He wasn't going to take off was he? "Hezen, stay here I'll be right back. Scream for me if something goes horribly wrong like I think it will."

Hezen nodded, not being able to find her voice. She watched through fogged vision as the cat bolted away but the sounds of gunfire tore her attention away from Pena's path and she again focused on Dante and the strange looking Lore.

xXx

"I am Lore, the sixth Dream member and I am here to defeat you, Dante Son of Sparda."

Did they all have to introduce themselves like this? Rolling his eyes, Dante pointed Ebony in Lore's direction and began firing. Bullets rang through the air, but as they neared the transformed demon he casually hopped out of the way. Ice blue eyes followed the figure as it dashed around, becoming nothing but a blur in the air. What was happening to his vision?

"Dammit," he muttered.

"Dante watch it!" Hezen called.

What was she talking about? Ebony released another barrage of bullets where the handler had once seen Lore, but they came to a stop when the demon appeared before him with a grin on his face. Ebony fell to the hard, cold ground and Rebellion came up in its place. Again sparks rose as their blades met, Dante's knees buckled underneath the immense pressure the enemy used and started kneeling down as pain shot from his wrists to his elbows.

"I have been waiting years to see the Son of Sparda bowing to me." Lore chuckled and applied more force. "How does it feel, Dante?"

"Bite me!"

Then, without warning, Dante's hands changed to that of a beast. His fingers became claws that gripped his hilt with a new found strength, and a thick dark red armor came over his entire body save for his finger tips and face. Horns made of the same protective covering that hide away his human features curled up near his forehead, and wings sprouted from his back also covered in the shell.

But he didn't feel any different save for the power and adrenaline running through his veins.

"What…" Lore's pink eyes grew wide. "What are you doing?"

Not bothering to give an answer, the newly converted demon raised his left hand and shoved it through Lore's chest without any sort of resistance. Hot blood erupted out from the hole, a large amount splattering backwards onto the nearby wall while a small river sprouted from underneath Dante's hand. Lore groaned and fell forward onto Dante, mouth agape in agony. Spit dribbled down the injured man's mouth, a pale red swirling within the once clear liquid.

"Now I'm gonna take care of your Point." Dante slid his hand out of the still warm body and, without the support, Lore crumbled to the ground in a puddle of molasses-like blood.

xXx

"D-Dante…" Hezen's eyes grew wide behind her glasses as her heart raced at a speed she had never thought possible. The name that left her lips didn't fit the thing she was now looking at, and thing was the only name she could think of calling it. What was going on? Where had Dante gone?

"Hezen!" Pena shouted as he ran down the same path she had moments ago. He arrived at her side and dropped an object he had been holding in his mouth: a box cutter. "Here," he pushed it in her direction, "I found it in the mail room."

She glanced down at the blue box cutter and took a deep breath inwards. What good was it now? "Will it be able to help him now? Look at him!"

The black cat blinked, confused and followed the order from his long time master. His eyes widened as he took in a gasp. "He's in his full demon form!"

"What are we supposed to do?" She nearly choked on the urge to cry. Everything looked so helpless, so dark and she had no idea what to do.

Pena bent down, the fur rising along his spine. Was he scared as well? "Just be careful. He's very unstable right now. Cut your hand just in case he's got an open wound somewhere; the sooner we get your blood mixed with his the better."

"Right." She nodded. Reaching down, Hezen grabbed the box cutter and slid a knob there back until a razor-sharp knife emerged from within the plastic scabbard. How was she going to do this with a broken arm?

"Pena," she tore her eyes away from the box cutter, "I need you to do this for me. I can't do it."

"Yeah, just gimmie a second."

The feline shut his eyes and a great white light came over his entire body. The light molded around his four legged form, and seconds later the brightness started shaping into that of a human. The overwhelming color disappeared when the human form stood up straight, and revealed Pena in his two legged figure.

"Alright!" He spun around, blond hair following, and cut down Hezen's palm. Blood welled at the wound, and Hezen released a pain filled hiss as the blade cut through the first layer of skin. "There!" Pena cheered. "Now we've just got to get Dante to—"

"Hezen…"

She snapped from her pain filled trance and cast her field of vision to where Dante and Lore had once fought. The demon that once held the body of the seventeen year old boy she knew came towards the both of them, and because he lacked the facial features of a human, Hezen could not tell what was on his mind. What was he going to do now? Could he change back? Whether he was conscious or not was a totally different question the brown haired woman wanted to know and yet at the same time refused to acknowledge. What if that wasn't Dante but some strange being that had taken over his body? What if—

"D-Dante?" she stuttered.

Pena jumped forward and extended his arm in front of Hezen. "Careful! We don't know what's happening to his body right now."

But his words fell on deaf ears, Hezen knew who this man was. He was the man who allowed her to cry on his shoulder when she discovered her pregnancy, the man that came after her when she ran away because she didn't want to return home, and the person who cooked a meal for her when he knew how badly she felt. There was no way that he could have lost those memories or his human side. Even though her logical side screamed away at her, reminding her that she in fact was carrying his human side, her heart told her otherwise. Dante still had his human heart, no matter what the old legends said.

"Dante!" she cried as she ran forward. Avoiding Pena's out stretched arm, Hezen dashed in his direction and stood in front of him with a slight smile over her mouth. "Are you alright? Dante?"

"I told you I could do this on my own," the demon said as bolts of electricity and energy glimmered over his body. "You worry too much!"

He was alright.

"Well," she sniffled and wiped a stray tear, "if you didn't act like such a child I wouldn't have anything to worry about!"

"Ich, don't start that again! Look, can we just get back to your apartment and settle this later?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "And how are you going to get back like that, kid?"

"Dunno, I was thinkin'—"

"Dante, Hezen!" Pena shouted at the top of his lungs. "Get down!"

Hezen perked at his words and spun around. Lore, now up and looking rather healthy, ran towards the both of them, his massive sword drawn and aimed at her. Brown eyes grew wide, but for some reason her legs refused to work. It was as if she had rooted herself to the ground against her own wishes, and nothing worked. A white blankness came over her mind, and her instinct faded into the whiteness.

She had a child to protect.

Like a spark in the dark, Hezen placed both arms, even the shattered one, around her stomach and leaned forward. She had to protect the last thing of Evern she had left, even if it meant giving her life for it.

xXx

Dante wrapped his left arm around Hezen's neck and shoulders as Lore's attack came, and shielded her with his right. As much as he tried to take care with the pregnant woman, he felt her wince in arms. With a scream from his enemy, a thick, silver sword tore straight through his demon armor, the tip just inches away from piercing Hezen's forehead. Damn, why had he gotten up? Why couldn't he just accept his defeat?

"You think that's all I have got?" Lore said with a high pitched laugh. "Come demon spawn of Sparda! Fight me!"

"I'll fight you," Dante replied, his cocky human attitude coming through once more. "But leave Hezen out. She doesn't have anything to do with this."

Lore advanced, a grin consuming his mouth. "I only follow requests once my victim has passed away! You have a choice, Dante. Die or the girl does!"

A harsh laugh left Dante. "You get that it means you gotta kill me first right? I don't even think you can do that! Come on then, Lore!"

The demon shoved Lore away and released Hezen, once more taking care in how much force he applied to her. She stumbled out from the hold the once human had her in but she quickly caught herself and sprinted towards Pena. Dante watched out of the corner of his eye as Hezen ran, and smirked inwardly when he saw that she had arrived safely beside the blond haired angel.

Good. That stupid cat better take care of her.

Spinning back around, Dante rushed towards a still recovering Lore. He raised his sword and with all of his might brought it down upon the man who had challenged him to such a one-sided fight. Lights flew like fireworks up into the air when the Rebellion crashed with another, weaker blade and a high pitched scream echoed through the hotel lobby. The two demons grunted as they pushed into one another and withdrew their weapons only to have them smash together a second later.

When their blades collided again, Lore moved his face inches away from Dante's. "Tired yet, child?"

"Huh." Suddenly Dante's wrists shook under the immense force, and his knees buckled. Muscles began burning as if they had been lit on fire and his breath came in to sore and bruised lungs in shorter sips. "What the hell?"

Glancing back up at the strange man, Dante saw a dangerous leer claiming his mouth. "I am surprised that you have lasted this long after a stab from my sword! I think it is about time you turned back into that disgusting human form of yours."

Then, unlike anything that had happened to Dante, he shifted back into his human appearance. No warning, no funny feeling, nothing. The battle between the swords ended before he could get his bearings back; the enemy's blade entered his stomach deep enough for the tip to peak out of his back. Dante opened his mouth to say anything, something that would express the multiple feelings running through out him, but all that emerged was a gathering of clotting blood.

"Dante!" Hezen screamed.

"How does it feel on the other end, Son of Sparda?" Lore chuckled and dug the hilt of his sword within the wounded demi-demon. "If only the other Dream Members could see me now! I have finally destroyed the last line of Sparda!"

Would this guy ever shut up? Huffing, the white haired boy glared up at the other demon. "I ain't dead yet so quit braggin'."

Lore's laughing halted. "That can be easily arranged!"

Lore ripped sword from within Dante, blood flowing from the open wound like an ocean's wave. And before Dante could react enough to do something, he shut his eyes and they remained closed though he struggled to force them back open. An empty white color absorbed the usual blackness that came when one closed their eyes, and warmth shot down his body. No pain, no thoughts, just a simple pleasure.

xXx

Hezen watched, her brown eyes never able to leave the boy she had come to know over the past few weeks. His blood, the same blood she had cleaned now stained the floor in an ever-growing puddle. She wanted to puke, to empty her stomach and pray that it would be enough to stop this senseless fighting. Yet deep within her heart of hearts she knew that a wish of such magnitude would never come to pass.

"He's going to need help." Pena extended his arm forward. Light gathered in his hand and when the particles came together it formed a thin silver sword. "Stay here and combine you blood with his whenever you get the chance!"

She nodded. "Right."

Lore withdrew his sword and kicked the devil hunter with all of his might. Dante flew into the air and passed both Hezen and Pena, his body hunched over like a puppet whose strings that had been cut. Too horrified to look, the sound of an impact on water rang within her hears but her ears did not pick up on the noise of breathing.

Was Dante dead?

No! Hezen shook her head; there was no way a strong person like Dante could die that easily! She spun on her heel and darted over to the pool as fast as she could with one arm, her eyes locked on the pool water as it waved over and over again and took Dante beneath its surface. Blood dripped down from her cut palm and created a path but she paid it no mind.

Meanwhile Pena jumped forward and landed in front of Lore before the strange Dream Member could do something more to damage the situation at hand. Bringing up his thin sword, Pena inhaled through his nose.

"Don't move," Pena hissed out.

Lore smirked and rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do? You failed as a guardian angel, what makes you think that you can destroy a god?"

xXx

What happened?

Wait…the fight with Lore, transforming into a demon…what else? Oh yes, Lore had stabbed him and the world had gone white. How long had it been since then? Hours? Minutes?

Dante parted his lips to breath, but instead of air, water gathered inside of his mouth and threatened to fill his lungs. He struggled in the water and pushed his arms upwards as his legs kicks underneath him. Water rushed by him and when he felt the humid air touched his face he inhaled with everything he had.

"Aw what the hell?" he panted as he bobbed around in the water, his legs still jerking to keep him afloat.

"Dante!" a female voice cried out.

He turned around in the water and saw Hezen kneeling down near the edge of the pool with her good arm stretched out towards him. He swam over to her but stopped; What about the Point?

"Dante what are you doing?"

Hezen widened her fingers as she scooted forward bust instead of grabbing it, Dante lowered his head and looked down at the crystal clear water. Pale blue eyes danced around in a hurry, looking for the one thing that might be able to change the battle around in his benefit. And there, lying at the deepest end of the pool lay a glowing green crystal just waiting for someone to do something.

"Ah ha!" Taking a deep breath in, he dove under the surface of the water. With what little strength he had left he swam towards the crystal until he arrived at its side. He wrapped his fingers around the crystal and smashed it. Blood swirled in the water around him as the shards broke the thick skin there, but it was nothing compared to the pain he had felt moments ago.

Oh yeah, jackpot!

Victory in mind Dante kicked the bottom of the pool and propelled himself upwards. He took in a gasp of air when he broke the surface and swam over to Hezen's direction. His blood darkened the water around him as she reached her blooded hand to his.

"You idiot…" she whimpered as tears cascaded down her face. Why was she crying? He wasn't dead or anything. "You'd better be okay!"

"Fine." Dante rolled his eyes good-heartily.

"You don't have much time!" Pena's strained voice echoed throughout the lobby. "Hurry up and mix your blood!"

Hezen glanced back at Dante and held her bleeding hand out. "Come on, Dante. I know you can do this."

Smirking, the devil hunter slapped his hand into hers and cupped it. "Right!"

Skin broken by cuts and sacrifices bled and their blood touched with one another's. Her human blood seeped into the slash of a demon's hand and his human innocence came back to him as if their bonding had never happened. Light broke from their combined hands and the light filled Dante's dark being. Every wound on him healed within the light, and he sprung from the water with his trademark cocky grin.

"Pena!" Dante crossed Ebony and Ivory over one another and bent back a bit to help with the recoil. "Get down!"

Without hesitation the blond human jumped away from the bloodied Lore, giving Dante a clear shot. Bullets shot out from the barrel of each gun as Dante's index finger pulled the trigger over and over again. Heat shot up his arms from the guns, a heat that brought him comfort in the darkest of places. Lore screamed out as the bullets entered and exited his body, gore and chunks skin flying backwards with a bullet right behind it. Every tiny piece of Lore smacked against the nearby walls, and without his Point he could not heal the wounds simple bullets created.

"Noo!!" Lore screamed out at the top of his filling lungs.

Dante shoved Ebony and Ivory back into their holsters and charged forward as he brought Rebellion forward. Yelling as he pointed the sword his father had left him forward, he used his human and demon strength and thrust his blade deep into Lore's body. Another pain filled cry left Lore as he threw his head back, life fluid and torn pieces of organs spraying from his mouth.

"H-h-how is this p-p-possible?" Lore whined as the thick spew dribbled down his chin and coved his shirt.

"Shouldn't have challenged the Son of Sparda." Dante removed his blade and allowed it to drop at his side, crimson dripping off of his sword. "Hey, don't you owe me a question or somethin' like that?"

Blood gushed from Lore's lips as he collapsed to the floor. His back slammed against the floor with a wet slap as his back met the shattered organs that once belonged in his body. "Whatever you wish…I never go back on my word."

The question left his mouth before he could even think it over. "Why is Evern hangin' around the Hilton hotel?"

Hezen perked at that name and stepped forward, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open. "Evern?!"

"He is the," Lore coughed up a collection of gore, "fifth Dream Member. You must fight him in order to move up the ladder and meet the leader. He will beat you, Dante! I promise you…that…"

In a bright flash of light, Lore's body dissolved into sand that stretched along his height right along the devil hunter's boots. Dante chuckled and sheathed his sword, then turned and walked over to Hezen with a proud smirk on his face. He had done it, Lore was gone and he was one step closer to finding out what this whole Dream Member thing was about. Next on his mental list, he had to visit the Hilton hotel and get Evern to talk.

Two down, five more to go!

"Well, well, well, look at the job I did here!" Dante said as he approached Hezen, whose eyes remained locked on the pile of sand. "I say we head on home!"

But Hezen had other ideas. "W-what did he say…about Evern?" she whispered as her bleeding hand dropped to her side. "You said that he was at the…Hilton," she trailed off before finding her voice again, "the Hilton hotel, what are you talking about?"

"Oh…" Words froze in his mouth, his vocal cords refusing to work. How could he forget something so important? Hezen didn't know about the meetings with Evern, and as he stood there the memory of Pena asking him not to tell filled his mind. Smart move.

"Dante?" She marched over to him and stood in front of him as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. "W-what did you s-s-say?"

Why was she stuttering? What emotion was she holding back? Dante glanced down at the shorter woman, eyes shifting around in their sockets as his mind searched for some sort of lie that would make sense in this situation. But nothing came to him, as fast his mind worked to keep up with his smart mouth he blanked out.

"Dante!" she screamed. "Answer me!!"

Like a deer caught in the headlights, Dante threw his hands up and chuckled, his default gesture. "Look I fought this demon in the Hilton hotel and he turned in Evern after a while, alright! No big deal!"

She gripped her good hand into a fist. "W-was that the time you came back all beat up?"

"Uh," he glanced upwards and mentally counted how many times he had come back to the apartment cut up, "just about, yeah it was."

The next thing Dante felt was a bloody fist pressed into the left side of his face. The force from the punch moved his face in the said direction, but otherwise he remained still. His cheek throbbed, but as his human blood coursed through him the muscles there healed and the pain disappeared.

"Hezen, don't!" Pena called.

When the fist was removed from his face, Dante looked downward and saw Pena holding his master back who, by now, had a stream of tears running down her face. His right arm linked underneath her good one as his left wrapped right above her stomach and underneath her breasts. She struggled against his strong hold, a harsh glare in her eyes.

"You bastard!" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me!? What the hell is wrong with you, Dante? Do you understand what you've done?"

"Apparently not," he answered rubbing the left side of his face. "Jeez you've got a great punch for a doctor."

"Screw that you Goddamned child!" Hezen wiggled in Pena's hold, her legs kicking underneath her. "Why didn't you tell me he was still alive!? Are you mental? You knew…you knew how I felt about it and yet you didn't tell me!" She closed her eyes and screamed in frustration.

"Sorry, I thought I was doing you a favor." Dante rolled his eyes and spun on his heel. She definitely needed some cool down time. "I'm going to take care of Evern tomorrow morning, so why don't you head home and relax? You don't even have to come."

Her eyes widened as she gasped. "That's it!" She ripped herself from Pena's hold and stomped her foot. "I want nothing more to do with you, you've caused nothing but problems since you've come into my life and I won't put up with it anymore!! I'm done with you!"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like a child earlier. You can take care of yourself well, and I guess…"

She's just mad, she'll calm done in awhile. Just like last time, I ain't gonna let it get to me. Just walk away and come back later, things will be fine.

Dante shook his head and walked away from the two. "I'll catch you two later!" he said as he strolled down and exited the building. He threw up his hand before he stepped through the door, but to who he didn't know.

She would get over it, she had to.

R&R please!