(Part 3)

"Leah?" The worried voice of someone I knew very well sounded close in my ear, as if he were right next to me. I stirred a little back to reality, a painful ringing in the back of my mind rising in decibel as if a cue had been given. "Leah, are you alright? Wake up."

He was calling me, but I didn't feel like getting up. I felt tired –tired and battered. I had been sent flying into worlds by Azazel before, but this was something else entirely. I had never felt so tired since... I don't even remember the last time I felt such a lack of energy.

"Vergil?" I ventured to whisper, knowing he could hear me when I heard sounds of someone shifting even closer. The warmth at my side was comfortable, but I was too drained to even move towards him. "I'm tired... Let me sleep a little..."

"Leah, you shouldn't." There was a certain seriousness in his voice that I couldn't completely ignore. Vergil always let me have my way when we were living together in my world, and so I had learnt that when he cautioned me of anything I shouldn't do, I was better off listening to him. Besides, my boyfriend tended to know things. Maybe it was his instincts as a half-demon, or a son of Sparda, but it changed no fact that Vergil just knew things.

"Will it be bad... if I sleep?" I muttered softly, already feeling the welcoming arms of sleep claiming me. It didn't feel very bad –it didn't feel like something bad was going to happen if I fell asleep.

"Yes." Vergil's reply was short and worried. "Please open your eyes."

I sighed, and forced myself to obey my boyfriend. Vergil knew things, and I trusted that he would explain it all to in due time. All I needed was to open my eyes.

Around us was darkness, but I saw that we were lying in the alley between buildings.

"Where are we?" I asked softly, smiling a little when I saw that Vergil was hovering worriedly above me. No wonder I felt something warm against my back. I was leaning against his legs and he was most probably propping me up.

"Back home." He replied vaguely, but there wasn't a smile on his face. "Leah, you must promise me that you won't sleep."

"I'll try. But why?"

There was a single flash of conflict in his eyes, before he looked away hastily, as if it could erase the look I saw in his eyes.

"Why? What's wrong with me, Vergil?"

"When we're in Limbo..." Vergil answers softly. "Lily is a problem for us."

The words lost themselves from my mouth as I looked at the perplexed expression on my lover's face, trying to decipher what was meant by that face, paired with his refusal to look at me. Was he getting disturbed that he had been in love with a person who was supposed to be his sister? When we first started dating, he had assured me that it was fine. But that was before Lily became powerful, and before I died.

That was before Vergil came into my world to live with me. Now that we were back in Limbo, where Lily was a very real threat to my own life, was Vergil going to be uncomfortable with it?

"It's not what you think." Five years living together must have taught Vergil about how my mind worked, because he seemed to directly answer my rapidly-derailing thoughts. "I'm not going to break up with you because of my sister. I'm not going to love you any less just because you have Lily as a demonic side."

I don't know if the tears in my eyes were touched tears that he knew me so well, or scared tears that he might just up and leave me anytime.

"B-But... you said she was a problem for us now that we are in Limbo..." I was no longer feeling as lethargic as I was moment ago, but I guessed it had something to do with the fact that my heart was pounding loud with the fear that my loving boyfriend would breakup with me just because he had sibling problems.

"Yes," Vergil rushed to say. "But I meant that she is a danger to you, and I fear for you. I still love you with the whole of my heart, Leah Katherine Cartlier. You harbouring the demonic side of my sister will make no difference to me at all. But Lily is an angry soul, and she is powerful. You remember how she took over you the last time, and you died. I don't want that happening again. You dying once was enough for me."

I blinked, taking my time to process his words in my mind. Vergil... loved me strongly despite the fact that I was technically his sister while I was in Limbo? It was a little too late for me to be having doubts in our five-reaching-six-year relationship.

"Leah, if I didn't love you, I wouldn't have given up everything that mattered to me to find you in your world." Vergil assured in the single most sentence that calmed every bit of my insecure little fluttering heart. I smiled, wiped my tears away, and nodded at him to show that I understood his heart.

"What's going to happen if I sleep? Will Lily come and take over me?"

"She wouldn't. My little darling daughter is appeased and sleeping peacefully within you. It is safe to say that Lily is content to live the world she could not have through your eyes, Leah." A new voice interrupted us, and I gasped at the familiarity of the voice.

Looking up on instincts in unison with Vergil, we watched as Eva floated down from the sky above us, her beautiful wings splayed behind her. She positively shined against the darkness of the alley, and I struggled not to cry in relief and happiness. Vergil helped me quickly to my feet, holding on to me as if he could somehow sense that I still had jelly legs.

Our (technically, only Vergil's, but still) mother smiled peacefully at us, a totally satisfied face pasted on her beautiful features as she watched Vergil hold me close, landing a short distance away from us.

"My children, I am so happy to be able to see the two of you once again." Eva expressed with the pure bright smile of happiness splayed across her face.

"Mum!" I cried, pulling myself away from Vergil through pure instincts. It was probably a stupid move, because I still had jelly legs. And so, I pitched forwards towards my mother, feeling the utter sense of relief and happiness when her warm arms caught me and held me up.

"Be careful, my dear. You're still weak from travelling between the worlds." She cautioned, but still hugged me tight. My boyfriend/brother-while-in-this-world stayed back and allowed us girls to hug things out quietly.

"I missed you so much, Mum. Me and Vergil both."

"And so have I." Eva replied with so much love that I almost felt the tears fighting to leak out. "I've missed all of you, my darlings."

"Mother," Vergil finally greeted after we separated, taking our time to look carefully at each other, "It is great to see you again."

"My darling Vergil, you've grown so much as well!" Eva grabbed him in a surprised hug, and I couldn't help but laugh at the motherly move while Vergil blushed a little in embarrassment. It wasn't particularly the best situation for a family reunion, but I wouldn't have it any other way as I watched Eva scan her son up and down, as if searching for any physical injuries.

"Mother, have you seen Dante recently?" Vergil pounced at the chance to ask, obviously worried about whatever that Azazel had dropped on both of us. While Dante being an extremely lazy individual was totally possible, the way Azazel had said it had sounded as if Dante was planning to hibernate the rest of his life away. The problem was that no one knew exactly how long half-demons lived, and it was obvious that Vergil was worried about his younger brother wasting life away doing nothing.

"Unfortunately, yes." Eva replied honestly with a short frown. "He has potential to do so much more, but he simply gives them all up."

There was a disappointed shake of head by the worried mother which definitely did not calm the nerves of my boyfriend. To say Vergil was protective of his brother was an understatement. Some women might find it a turn off, but to me, it was part of what made him Vergil. It was a part of Vergil that I wouldn't change even if I could.

"Where is he now? I want to see him." He wasted no time to demand, but Eva only shook her head softly again, this time regaining a semblance of a small smile, as if approving of her son's protectiveness over his brother.

"There is little need to worry yourself over it. We have something planned for him."

"You mean you and Azazel?" I interrupted, surprised that they were working together again. The last time I visited Limbo, Azazel and Mum had been working together. Mum had watched over me while Azazel tried his best to steer me in the path that he wanted. Now they were working again to manipulate us to help save Dad?

"Rather, Azazel has things planned out. I'm willing to go along with him, because he cannot possibly mean us harm." Eva admitted, as my jaw dropped.

Yes, Azazel had been my own personal angel-helper the last time we were around, but I could never forget the headache he put me through. With his less-than-helpful attitude every time I met him, paired with his fondness for cryptic and very vague hints, it had been a big miracle that the mission the last time had been a success. Now, my mother was planning to leave the fate of our father into the hands of someone like that again?

Worse, she was trusting Azazel to be able to wake Dante into the world –even without Vergil's presence?

"I don't trust him." Vergil's voice pierced through my bullet-train thoughts. "Even if he is an angel, and even if he used to be Leah's guardian angel. I don't trust him to care enough for Dante to do something nice."

"There is something the two of you don't understand about Azazel." Mum did her best to convince us, but I knew from experience that it was hard to change my boyfriend's mind when he set it. And it seemed as if he were dead set into thinking that Azazel was an individual who could not be trusted.

"You cannot ask me to leave Dante alone, Mother." Vergil didn't even bother waiting for an explanation, his face filled with grim determination. His eyes held a hint of regret, as if he regretted disobeying our mother, but could not help but do so. "He was all I had left after you and Father left us. If there is anyone to wake him up back to reality, it is me. I left him like that; it's my responsibility to pull him back standing."

"No." Mum was surprisingly forceful, her perfect green eyes piercing through her son. I immediately saw where my boyfriend inherited his dead-eye stare from. Where I stood between them at the side, I could almost feel the electricity jumping from one side to the other as they stood staring, almost-glaring at each other. "Listen to me this time, Vergil. There is something else that you and Leah must do. Leave Dante alone for now. He will come around."

"He won't if I don't pull him back. No one knows Dante as well as I do." Vergil bit, not willing to budge as I did my best to swallow my comments since I was agreeing on the arguments on both side, unable to choose.

"Yes, but there is no time for that. This is different from what Leah experienced that last time, Vergil. Leah had the luxury of time the previous mission, but this is different. Azazel and I are taking a big risk carrying out something like this, and if we fail... All is lost. Please, my son, listen to me for once."

Appealing to emotions definitely worked on me as my heart melted in Eva's favour. Vergil was his usually hard and icy cold self as he stared back at the pleading look his mother shot him. But I guess that even someone as strong and independent as he could never disobey his mother –especially when she had been the one who had blessed our relationship. I knew he lost the argument the moment he turned to look for me for help, then sighed when he saw my eyes glittering with melted love.

"There are things that need explaining." Vergil's shoulders dropped, and he shook his head. Still, he held on to my hand, threading his fingers through mine, and kept me close. "I'll play by Azazel's book for once. But if I suspect, even for a moment, that he might be planning something against us or Dante, I'll damn all working alliance you might have with him, Mother, because I will never let Leah or Dante be hurt."

Eva grinned immediately in satisfaction, knowing that she had turned victorious.

I immediately knew, as well, where Dante got his bright grin from.

"You have my word." Eva said solemnly, toning down her grin so as to not let her son feel the bitter loss. "I am so grateful and happy to know that you and Leah are willing to sacrifice a safe, loving life for your father."

"It's for you too, Mum." I interjected brightly, doing my best to soothe the situation. Vergil still didn't look very happy about losing, but I knew anything more would tip him over. It was the same way how one of the popular rich guys at our university had tried to ask me out on a date. Vergil had immediately been wary and defensive, but the guy hadn't seemed to know danger in the form of my volatile boyfriend. Despite friends trying to mitigate the situation, he had continued baiting my boyfriend until Vergil burst. "We want you to be happy with Dad."

It hadn't been a nice turnout –particularly for the permanently scarred rich spoilt brat who finally learnt the lesson that some people just could not be baited.

"Sparda would rest well wherever he is now, knowing that his children have all grown up and matured in ways that we could never imagine. Particularly for you, Leah."

I distantly remembered the man who had helped me break the chains holding Lily down the last time I was down in Hell. He had been so desperate to help me, and Mundus had just merely used torturing me as a way to further torment Sparda. It had been horrible, but in the end Sparda had broken the chains for me. He probably didn't know what happened next.

"I want to see him again. I want to thank him for what he did for me the last time, and for enduring all Mundus put him through to stay alive." I spoke from the bottom of my heart. They were the true pair –the pair of parents that probably were the best in the world. I knew I would never meet another pair of parents who could love their long-lost daughter so wholeheartedly, even when she wasn't born into their family. They had sacrificed so much for me, for Lily. It was time for me to give it back.

"To do that, you have to complete a series of task before you can infiltrate Hell. You must finish everything here first, because neither Azazel nor I can reach you in Hell." Eva's expression turned worried, and I, in turn, did my best to smile at her in encouragement.

"Leave it to us, Mum." I spoke with the confidence that I wasn't particularly sure that I had, but Vergil simply backed me up as he stood behind me, a hand on my shoulder as if to declare that I wasn't alone in the mission like how I had been the last time. This time, I had Vergil along in the ride with me. And when Vergil was around, things always had a way of working out. It just happened naturally whenever I was around Vergil –and I wagered that it could happen again.

And so, Eva left us with her tasks, and took off when she was done. Of course, before she took off flying was another round of hugs and farewells, and a not-exactly-all-grown-up-Me holding back tears and asking when I would see her again. She couldn't give me an exact answer, but she said the one sentence that mattered: "I will always be watching over you."

It was when she left that we realized that we were still in the alley we appeared in.

And the amazing thing was the fact that we had no idea where we were. We weren't in Limbo City, and even when we emerged to lighted places, Vergil had no idea where we were. Plans to find a hotel to stay for the night was dashed when we realized that we had no money on us. It was apparent that both Azazel and our mother had forgotten about our daily needs and expenses, and we were just about to resort to sleeping on the street when someone bumped into me.

"I'm terribly sorry." A voice that sounded strangely familiar came with the light bump. Both Vergil and I turned around on instincts, then froze in surprise when we met the young man who had walked into us. Rather, he was still a young boy in all his rights. Though I would admit that he was already beginning to adopt a dashing set of features.

Upon hearing nothing of reply from me, the young boy frowned a little at the ground in confusion.

"Excuse me, are you still there?" He asked, a little unsure what to make of my non-reply.

I squeezed Vergil's hand so hard that I was surprised it didn't break under my strength. My boyfriend was definitely calmer in reaction, but he was definitely pleasantly surprised as well in the way a stupid smile hung on his face. The glittering eyes of a pseudo-father came, and I was instantly reminded of how I fell in love with Vergil in the first place. I had fallen for his gentle, caring side when he displayed it to his pseudo-family.

And it was back again, as both of us stared down at nine-year-old Leon.

"Leon!" I could not help but squeal in my happiness, before I grabbed the young boy in a hug once more. The shocked boy definitely could not make out who the crazy woman hugging him was, but he was calmer than a rock in a storm as he held still. Eventually, it was Vergil who pulled me back understandingly.

"Err... Who is it?" Leon asked unsurely, still blurred from the sudden shock of someone grabbing him in a hug.

"Do you still recognise my voice, Leon?" Vergil asked quietly, and the reaction was instant.

The confusion faded away instantly, and the brightest grin that I had seen in a long time appeared on the young boy's face.

"Papa! Miss Leah! You're back!"