A/N: Before we start, I needed to create an alternate universe for this special Devil May Cry x Snow White Crossover! Thank you to Ariel_Wild for requesting on my previous part! I hope this is as good as the Beauty and The Demon was. As always, feel free to pm or leave comments for requests!

[The Man With The Snow White Hair and the Seven Sins]

(Alternate Universe where Vergil is still under control by Mundus, but as himself and not as Nelo Angelo, and Dante never killed/saved him. Mallet Island basically never happened.)

Vergil stood, exhausted and beaten up, in the middle of a circle that his enemies had created. Their pitying eyes on him hurt him more than the injuries did as he fell to his knees, Yamato falling from his grasp.

Are you finally dying?

Mundus's voice in his head taunted with glee, and the only effect it gave Vergil was only to fill him with another surge of rage.

"I never wanted to kill any of you..." Vergil panted, his lips coated in blood. "But... Mundus has control over me... I could not disobey..."

"We know." The man holding on to a bow answered. "We don't blame you. We could feel your hesitation, but you are not enough for us together."

"If you went to us one-on-one, you might have taken out Lux, Gola and Avar before you fell." The woman standing to his right, Invidia, holding a staff, added.

What are the Sins doing? Why haven't they finished you yet?

Mundus's question echoed in his brain. This was the truth; the truth that the Seven Sins had told him during their fight.

Vergil Sparda had been a servant of Mundus for as long as he knew; so long that he no longer remembered what life was like before his servitude. He didn't even remember how he came into this servitude anymore; all he knew was that his life had just involved him initially struggling then eventually becoming resigned to his fate. A fate that involved him doing heeding every of Mundus's orders against his will, not being able to control his body to carry out every mission and task given to him. The effect was exactly as Mundus had wanted it; Vergil hating himself for obeying the very person towards whom he harboured a fire of hate so strong that his soul had turned black.

They have yet to finish you, but I can feel you are close.

Mundus continued with satisfaction in Vergil's mind.

Is it the truth? That you sent me here to kill me? That if I did not die by the Sins, you would kill me anyway? Vergil asked, falling on his hands and knees now as the blood snaked in rivulets down his arms, legs and face.

I guess they told you the truth? Yes, I sent you there to kill you. You should have known that your death would come soon as long as you continued to gain power, Vergil Sparda. After your father, I learnt that I cannot afford anyone to have power beyond what I decide is appropriate for them. You have amassed too much power and reputation amongst my demons, so you will have to die for that before you pull another stunt on me like your father did.

"Mundus's truth hurts." Ira announced, standing at his three o'clock. She held the weapon of a pair of daggers.

"I... I never expected him to cherish or value me as a weapon..." Vergil coughed blood onto the grass beneath him. "But dying like this... For the sake of a man I despise..."

"We have unwittingly been made your executioners." Accidia, standing at his five o clock, announced with a frown, holding on to his spear. "Mundus has used us well and you even better."

"We can offer you a choice, Vergil Sparda." Avarizia picked up from where his brother left off. His weapon of specialisation was throwing knives.

"It is a choice we have only given once before. Once, to the Fallen Angel Lucifer. He has proved himself well. Will you prove yourself, Vergil Sparda?" Continued the last man, Gola, using a broadsword.

"A choice for Lucifer... To make the Angel of Death...?" Vergil panted.

"The Angel of Death, our controller, our master, our conduit. Your life will deplete as you use our powers until you die, but you will be empowered with a chance to survive Mundus." The last member of the Seven, Luxuria, held Vergil's weapon type –a katana.

"Make your choice, Vergil Sparda. Die by our hands, or be our Angel of Death." The leader of the Seven, Superbia, asked formally.

"I..." Vergil had crumpled to the floor by now. "I want to live."

"Our Angel of Death, it is." Superbia, the Sin of Pride, announced.

________________________________________________________________________________

"The Seven Sins are immortal beings." The Alpha Male of the werewolf pack that Vergil had defeated in combat said. After winning and being recognised as the new Alpha of the pack (despite not being a werewolf at all), Vergil and the now-ex-Alpha, Lazark, had made fast, unlikely friends.

"If that is all you came here to tell me, you have made a wasted trip." Vergil answered, cleaning Yamato. He had yet to depart to fulfil the newest task that Mundus had ordered of him. It was about to be one of the hardest task yet –Vergil had been sent to conquer kingdoms and wipe out villages and towns to help Mundus extend his reach (against his will). But never had he been sent to kill the Seven Sins, which every being within Hell knew were invincible.

"I am only just beginning." Lazark answered with a smile at Vergil's icy words.

Lazark had never met a man as powerful yet helpless as Vergil Sparda, and the thorny attitude that Vergil held against everyone somehow seemed to work in an effect opposite the intended one –he had gained admiration and attraction from his peers with his cool, hard attitude.

"Then make the end equally fast." Vergil bossed, but he knew that Lazark gained no insult. The strange friendship he had crafted with Lazark was something of an atypical nature; something that even Vergil couldn't completely explain. Lazark was a smooth talker –a very charming man while in human form –and while Vergil did not like to admit it, Lazark had provided him with many interesting perspective on things Vergil had assumed natural. The perspective of a werewolf and a demon differed on many aspects, and learning it from Lazark was... interesting to say the least.

"In our werewolf legends, the Seven Sins are immortal beings that have lived for as long as Hell has existed. They exist to serve as counterbalance to power, and the protector of races. They do not interfere with anyone's life unless a particular race is threatened into extinction. Typically, they appear individually or in small parties to talk to the Leaders of each race when they feel the need to interfere. If no agreement can be made, judgement will be cast upon the race. It usually ends up in the death of the leader that rejected their interference." Lazark explained, as Vergil paused in the act of cleaning his sword, looking to his friend sitting languidly by the lake.

"The legend amongst us demons was created that the Seven Sins are out to prevent demons from gaining too much power. Demons have been taught to fear and not cross the Seven Sins, yet treat them as our natural enemies." Vergil revealed, surprised at yet another radical difference in the way they viewed the same things.

"You have good reason to. The Seven Sins have appeared before the demons more times than any other races. With chaos and thirst for power being the fundamentals of demon society, the Seven Sins appear more often to the demon lords to prevent them from trying to decimate the other races." Lazark answered with a nod.

"Yes, there are many stories amongst demon-kind about how demon kings and lords have been killed by the Seven Sins." Vergil corroborated with a nod as well. "I presume that the reasons behind these killings also differ between our races?"

"For that, I'm not sure." Lazark answered. "Werewolves like us stay out of demons' way. We don't want to know what stories you guys tell your young to make them fear the Sins."

"It has been largely successful." Vergil answered. "No demon with the right mind will go against the Seven Sins."

"Except Mundus. And apparently you." Lazark's answer reminded Vergil instantly of the order he had been given.

"I cannot go against his order." Vergil sighed, returning to wiping his sword clean. "What else can you tell me of them?"

"We have a Legend of a Fallen Angel who went to the Seven Sins with the hopes to return to Heaven by striking a deal with them. He gained the power of the Seven Sins and became the Angel of Death. Though, nobody really knows if that is true." Lazark answered, watching Vergil nod again.

"Demons have the same story. The Legend of Lucifer and the Seven Sins."

"The rumour amongst the were-people is that Angel of Death is another title for the King of Hell. To us, Lucifer is the strongest being in the whole of Hell." Lazard added.

"He is? I don't think I have heard of any stories about anyone seeing him." Vergil paused once more.

"My grandfather used to tell me that the strongest beings are the ones who never appear in front of anybody. The beings who common people doubt exist are the strongest, because they can hide their powers from even the strongest leader of every race." Lazark answered honestly. "To the were-people, Lucifer reigns supreme."

"Then it would be interesting to meet him once." Vergil replied, giving one last wipe of his sword before surveying his own result carefully.

"I'm sure you will be the only person who can keep his cool upon meeting the Supreme Leader." Lazark smiled, this time something sad in those eyes that watched Vergil sheath his sword steadily, then pick himself up from the floor. "Go forth with safety, my friend. I pray you survive well."

"Keep your prayers for someone else." Vergil answered, taking one last look at his unlikely friend, because the both of them knew that Vergil would hardly be able to come back alive.

"My prayers are only for friends that are deserving." Lazark raised his voice to let his voice be heard while Vergil walked away. "You deserve them."

That was the last time Vergil spoke to anyone before he was killed by the Seven Sins.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Vergil! Wake up! We have training today!" A gleeful voice and rough shaking drew Vergil Sparda out of the dream he had of his old friend Lazark; of days when he had been weaker. Stirring awake, he was not surprised to find himself sleeping in the bed that had been assigned to him, in the room in which he shared with the other guys.

"Wakey wakey! Vergy wakey!" The childlike voice continued to yell at the top of his lungs as Vergil furrowed his brow. He hated days of training with this particular boy, mainly because of the unending childlike enthusiasm that made him feel old in spite of the fact that the boy had lived for much longer than he.

"Avarizia, I'm going to kill you if you continue screaming your head off." Vergil growled, opening one eye to see the young boy of ten still grinning shamelessly. A short flash of memory placed the image of Avarizia's adult form, holding his throwing knives, as a part of the circle back when Vergil had almost died. The current form of Avarizia was definitely the younger version of the fine man he had seen that night, but Vergil could not understand how his brain seemed to have reverse-aged as well.

"You can't kill me. Super will kill you first." Avarizia countered with a grin. "Come on! Let's play!"

"Go play with your brothers." Vergil groaned, turning around underneath the covers to put his back to the young boy. "I need more rest."

"Can't." Avarizia teleported to the other side of the bed. "Acci, Super and Gola are out fishing. Lux, Ira and Invi are shopping for clothes."

"Again?" Vergil groaned, this time shifting to lie on his back on the bed. "The girls are shopping again?"

"Girls." Avarizia answered with sarcasm in his voice. "Come on, it's time for you to work with me."

Vergil groaned again. 'Work' was an easy way to put it. It felt more like torture to him. He had already had four Sins absorbed, and it was already making him feel unnatural. Avarizia –Greed –was the fifth.

"Tell me that Invidia is cooking today." Vergil conversed as he forced his tired body up. Nowadays, he spent more time on the bed than anywhere else. He couldn't be blamed; he had almost died, and afterwards, being forced to train with the Seven Sins, having to absorb their power to complete his ascension as the Angel of Death... all the mentioned things to do took an extremely heavy toll on Vergil's body and most times he just found himself sleeping if he wasn't eating or training.

"She isn't. Acci is." Avarizia answered. "He cooks good too."

"I don't want to hear that from someone who thinks something Superbia cooked is edible." Vergil answered, dragging his sore, unnatural-feeling body out of bed.

"In my defence, he really plated the food very well!" Avarizia followed Vergil out of their room, past the girls' room, and stood outside the washroom as Vergil began his wash-up.

"Whatever you do, never let him enter the kitchen ever again. He doesn't need his Sin or weapon to kill anyone, he just needs to cook something." Vergil answered while scrubbing his face.

"Maybe he's just really good at poisoning people." Avarizia pondered. "Unintentionally."

"If what he made was unintentional, I don't know what I will do if he intentionally did it." Vergil answered with a cold shudder, reaching for the toothbrushes.

"Did Gola use up the toothpaste again?" Vergil asked, annoyed.

"Did he?" Avarizia's answer was a little bit too innocent.

"Did you waste the toothpaste again?" Vergil spun around with the open tube of squeezed-empty toothpaste.

"I'll call Lux and get her to buy some!" Avarizia seemed to know danger when he felt one, scampering quickly away from the washroom to call his little sister for help.

Sighing heavily once more, Vergil had to brush his teeth without the paste as he stared at himself in the mirror.

It had been a month since he had been sent by Mundus to kill the Seven Sins. Expectedly, they had killed him. But instead of letting him die, they had given Vergil a choice and made him the Angel of Death.

Unfortunately, becoming an Angel of Death was not as simple as saying he wanted to become one. Upon waking up, he had been told by the leader of the Seven Sins that he needed to train with all of them one-on-one, to master the ability to hold and control the Sin's power, before he could try to absorb it. Only after absorbing all seven could Vergil consider himself a true Angel of Death.

Becoming more than just a half-demon had never been something that Vergil had wanted to be. The thought of becoming an Angel of Death was just another way of saying that instead of being a slave to Mundus, he was now a slave to the Seven Sins. He had been repulsed by that idea initially, but it was soon made clear to him that leaving the safe space that they had created for him was impossible when he tried to step out of the boundary that they had drawn.

It appeared that Mundus's hold over him still held once he was outside the boundary, and Vergil almost died once again just for stepping one foot out of the boundary before he was dragged in again by a vigilant Ira who had caught sight of him attempting to escape. Left with only one choice –and that was to gain the full power of the Angel of Death so that he could override Mundus's last order for him to die –Vergil had grudgingly stayed put and followed instructions.

The family setting that the Seven Sins created for him was more annoying than comforting. None of them seemed to bother about the fact that Vergil had been a lone wolf for almost his whole lifetime, and stuck to him like annoying siblings. In a very distant part of his mind, they actually reminded Vergil of someone that he had long shucked away from his mind, and that irritated him very much as well.

The family that he now (unwillingly) had consisted of the seven sins all in their dormant forms: Luxuria, the sin of Lust, in the form of a young 10 year old girl. Gola, the sin of Gluttony, in the form of Luxuria's twin brother. Avarizia, the sin of Greed, as a boy one year older than them. Accidia, sin of Sloth; a teenager of 16. Ira, sin of Wrath; Accidia's twin sister. Invidia, sin of Envy, a full 21 year old grown woman. Lastly, there was Superbia, sin of Pride, and also the leader and oldest of them all in his most original form – a grown late twenties man with a charming smile and depthless black eyes.

Vergil had no explanation for why the sins (save Superbia) were all in their dormant forms, and it appeared as if none of them would explain why Luxuria, Gola and Avarizia were behaving and looking like children when Vergil had clearly seen them in their most powerful form the first time they met.

"Avarizia." Vergil called as he dressed up for the new day, stepping out of the small cabin they called their house. Vergil's boundary thankfully included the small field in front of the cabin, as he stepped out to breathe the fresh breeze, looking around for a young boy who had been so enthusiastic to be training Vergil that he had apparently disappeared.

"Avarizia." Vergil called again, hoping that the training hadn't started and that the Sin could be hiding and trying to take him off-guard. Still, he wouldn't be particularly surprised if Avarizia did that, because the sin of Greed had been the fastest and most elusive when Vergil had fought the Seven Sins the first time around.

"I'm not starting the training now, Avarizia. We need to set down some ground rules first." Vergil raised his voice to be heard by the hiding Sin.

"Just a minute! There's someone here who-" Vergil rounded the shed that sat behind the main house, hearing the young boy's voice as it was cut off mid-sentence. He caught sight of the situation a second later, as Avarizia crumpled to the floor, pain written across youthful features as he pressed against the hole in his chest, blood all but spilling from between his fingers.

"Avarizia!" Vergil's exclamation, and no second thought entered his mind as he ran towards the young boy who had crumpled a short distance away.

"Stay away from him, Mundus!" Vergil summoned the powers of all the Sins he had absorbed so far, blasting it all towards the man who stood in front of the dying boy.

"Too late." The grin hanging on the demon king's face was unrepentant as he dodged Vergil's strike. "Come and get me."

Vergil knew that he should have thought about his course of action; that he should have hesitated and wondered why Mundus would be so daring to travel into the territory of the Seven Sins and kill one of them. He should also have paused to wonder why a Sin was dying so easily when they were supposed to be immortal. Even if Avarizia had been caught by surprise and in his dormant form, Sins were supposed to be immortal beings.

But all these thoughts did not slow Vergil down as he charged forwards, summoning his sword. Invidia had taught him how to light fire to his sword, and thus Vergil did as he ran towards where Mundus stood, still grinning.

Vergil did not get the chance to swing his sword at all.

"Die." The order rang in his head and in his ears as Vergil watched the lips from which the order was made move. His sword fell from his hand and he collapsed on the floor within an instance, cold seeping through him. His toes and fingers felt like frostbite had chewed away those appendages, and there was nothing he could do except struggle breathlessly.

"Vergil... you idiot..." He heard Avarizia's wheezing voice say, turning his eyes up to see the young boy dragging his body along the floor to reach him. "Sins die easy... But we are reborn as long as someone in the world holds the sin in their heart... You shouldn't have come running out..."

"To be very honest, I didn't expect it to work." Mundus's voice was satisfied as he stood over the two dying beings. "I didn't expect you Sins to not tell him how you guys get born again after dying. I also certainly didn't expect Vergil to come charging out like he cared for you. I fully expected to have to come in within the boundary to kill him before your brothers and sisters came back."

"Then you should get lost..." Avarizia reached Vergil's almost-lifeless body. The young boy's blood was running out, but still the Sin held on to the last thread of life as he threw his small arm over Vergil, looking up at Mundus with effort. "My brothers and sisters are here."

The announcement almost acted as a cue, as the tip of an arrow appeared in Mundus's abdomen.

"Leave." Superbia emerged from the trees, his bow and arrow ready. Beside him walked the remaining 6 Sins, all in their most powerful forms and their weapons all out. "Remain here one second longer and we will see personally that the demons require a new king, Mundus."

"Very well." Mundus knew when he would not win. The grin, however, still did not slip from his face. "I have accomplished what I set out here to do; I won't ask for more."

The demon king took his retreat quickly, but it became quickly clear to the Sins that Mundus had been surprisingly truthful.

Vergil was dead.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Are we really so helpless?" Invidia sobbed against her elder brother's chest, feeling no comforting warmth from Superbia despite his arm around her. "Is there nothing we can do to save him?"

"This must really be the first time that the Seven Sins are rendered so completely helpless." Superbia, leader and eldest amongst the Seven Sins, answered sadly. "We have an Angel of Death which we would give our lives to protect, but he gave his life to protect one of us instead."

"If only we told him that Avar wouldn't die just by getting a sword wound!" The distress that the lady showed could only be hidden deep within Superbia's heart. As the eldest of the Sins, he had no choice but to show no weakness outwardly –though the sadness still wrote unconsciously in his eyes.

"Even if we told him, he would have gone rushing out of the boundary we set for him." Accidia answered, wiping the back of his hand over his eyes to rub out the moisture that had collected there. "He didn't like to admit it and he liked to pretend that he was stuck here without a choice, but he really liked us."

"We liked him too." Ira added, which would easily come as a surprise under any other circumstance. Ira was a girl with hard emotions and harsher words even towards her own siblings, and to have her openly declaring that there were comfortable feelings that she felt with their Angel of Death was shocking.

The family was gathered around the coffin that they had laid their barely alive Angel of Death in the middle of the field that stretched out in front of their house. White hair sparkled against the faint sunlight, a face pale and completely devoid of emotions stared back up at them, eyes closed peacefully against the suffering of the world.

A baby began to cry, and with the sombre silence disturbed, everyone looked over to where the ten year old Luxuria stood, carrying the infant in her arms.

"Is Avar doing fine?" Superbia asked. Their little sister didn't look happy to be rid of the position of the youngest at all. Having Avarizia die and be reborn as an infant was nothing Luxuria liked to be happy about (which she would have on any other circumstance) because Vergil had sacrificed himself for nothing.

"He'll live." Luxuria answered her elder brother, bouncing up her now-baby brother up and down to stifle cries. "It takes more than just a knife to kill him."

"Is there really no way we can help him, Super?" Gola spoke up, eyes brimming with unshed tears. The young ones had irritated Vergil while he was alive, but the love had been there between them –in their own strange way.

"I wish we could, but we have never had an Angel of Death dying before he is completed before. Lucifer only died after he spent centuries as the Angel of Death." Superbia answered with a heavy sigh, looking back at the man lying still in the coffin.

"I really thought that we found someone who could replace what Lucifer was to us." Accidia added sadly, no longer tearing but unable to draw any expression other than sorrow on his face. "Lucifer died because of us, and now he's going to die too."

"We're not going to let him die." Superbia answered his brother, patting Invidia on her head to calm her down. "I will search to the end of the world if I have to, but I swear that I will find a way to bring him back to us."

The suddenly-determined declaration from the leader of the Seven Sins startled his siblings as their tears stopped temporarily.

"But... we haven't gone out beyond what is needed for us for the purpose of anything else other than to exact judgement." Invidia, with her tear tracks still obvious on her face, looked up at her elder brother.

"Then it's time to try." Superbia answered. "We have already tried to complete him by giving him all our Sins, but even with all seven sins, he's not waking up as a complete Angel of Death. There has to be some form of explanation and a way to save him."

"If there's a way out there," Accidia interrupted before any protests could be made, standing up with his fists clenched, "count me in."

"And me." Ira volunteered, looking equally determined.

"Me too!" Gola raised his hand enthusiastically, not about to be left out.

"Sorry, Gola, but you're still too young." Superbia shook his head. "If you didn't die fifty years ago, I would have brought you along."

"But I wanna go on a road trip!" The young boy whined.

"It's not a fun thing to go on, Gola." The eldest answered with another definitive shake of his head to emphasize his point. "Besides, I need a guy to stay here to take care of the girls and Avar."

Before allowing time for another whine to come, Superbia turned to his sister to signal that the argument was closed. "Invidia, I want you to stay and watch over the young ones."

Because the lady had always been the mother of the household, Invidia offered no protests as she nodded with teary-eyes. Luxuria did not put in a protest nor a desire to take part in the party.

Thus, the next day, the three Sins set out into the world to find someone that could save their Angel of Death; the man with the Snow White hair.

________________________________________________________________________________

Years later...

It was another normal day in the household, and Avarizia –now a young toddler who could babble fast and crawl faster –had made another mess at the breakfast table. Luxuria, now in her early teens, had been sent to the nearest town to buy milk powder, and Gola –a young man who had grown quickly in height and muscles –stood outside the house, swinging an axe and chopping up firewood.

The coffin that sat in the middle of the field was still there. Invidia had casted a spell of protection over the coffin, and no rain, wind or intense sunlight could touch the coffin and its inhabitant. Nothing had been moved; not a single inch. The coffin sat outside the window, reminding the Sins of their Angel of Death who slept the days and nights away.

A phone rang within the walls of the house, and Invidia, in the middle of wiping the table off Avarizia's mess, left her tablecloth on the counter and made for the phone.

"Hello."

"Invi?" A familiar voice called her by the name that only the siblings called.

"Acci! How are you guys?" Invidia's happy tone came. It had been months since she last heard from her brother.

"We're fine. Guess where we are now?"

"I don't know." Invidia sighed in relief to know that her siblings were still fine. "The last time you called, you guys were going to the Human World."

"Well, we're back now. And someone wants to talk to you." Accidia said, and Invidia heard the shuffles as a phone was passed from one hand to another.

"Invi! They're with me! We're in town!" Luxuria exclaimed in glee, and it didn't take long for Invidia to understand.

"They are back?"

"Yup! And they brought someone that they think can save Vergil!" Luxuria squealed her happiness.

"They have?" Luxuria could hardly believe the news. Years of disappointment had passed, and now they finally had a shot of saving their Angel of Death?

"Yes, and you won't believe what he looks like." Luxuria continued excitedly.

The next words, however, were interrupted by an exclamation of a familiar voice in the background.

"What's wrong?" Invidia asked quickly, knowing deep down that something must have gone wrong for Ira to sound so pissed.

"I don't..." Luxuria paused their conversation, and Invidia waited impatiently for her little sister to understand the situation enough to relay the message.

Once again, the phone changed hands.

"Invi, it's Super." Superbia's serious voice was one that Invidia missed terribly. "We've met a little trouble. The guy we were supposed to bring; he just gave us the slip. Don't worry, we're going to find him and bring him back. He couldn't have gone far."

Invidia could not even wedge well wishes for her siblings to stay safe before the call was disconnected. Not completely assured but having nothing else that she could do, Invidia turned back to her daily household chores, and changing Avarizia's diapers since the little boy had started wailing from soiling his pants. The worry over her other siblings was relegated to the back of her mind as she did the mundane chores, all the while hearing the rhythmic thud of Gola's chopping of firewood in the background.

Almost half a day passed, and Baby Avarizia had finally been put back to sleep for his afternoon nap. Gola was done with the firewood and had gone out hunting for some meat for dinner, leaving only Invidia and the sleeping baby at home. For any potential enemies, it was the perfect time to come, and thus Invidia was only mildly surprised when she felt an unfamiliar being cross through the boundaries that she had made to protect her family.

Knowing that she would have to be the only person capable enough to defending her home and family, Invidia summoned her staff and activated her most powerful form –though she had already grown old enough to always maintain her most powerful form like Superbia. Neither she nor Superbia had died in a long time –thus they had managed to maintain their physical form in their best throughout all this time without accidents.

Teleporting to where she could feel the intruder within the boundaries of her house, Invidia appeared in front of the coffin, the sight of a cloaked figure standing right beside the protective barrier that she had casted over it.

"You must be powerful enough to break my barriers and not fear the consequence." Invidia announced her arrival, pointed her staff at the intruder's back. The fearless figure did not turn around to acknowledge her presence, facing the coffin with a bowed head.

"State your identity." Invidia commanded when the figure did not react to her. From the form's silhouette and height, she could guess that it was a man. But that was all she could assume from sight, because the cloak that he had thrown over himself had done very well obscuring any important points for note.

The shaking started small at first, but as moments of silence passed, Invidia watched as shoulders began to shake more obviously. The figure began to tremble, hunching forward a little. Invidia watched as a pale white but muscled arm appeared from within the folds of the cloak, covering already-shadowed face. In the silence, Invidia heard a very soft sound and was instantly confused. Was the man crying? At the sight of the Angel of Death?

"Do you know Vergil?" Invidia asked carefully, not willing to lower her staff yet, but not completely convinced that the man was out to harm since all he had done since entering her boundary was to stand in front of the coffin and barrier.

"I wish I didn't..." The sobbing voice answered, and Invidia lowered her staff only slightly in concern when the man fell to his knees, shoulders still shaking vigorously. Was this man family? Vergil had never talked to them about his family before, and given the circumstance that Vergil had been a servant of Mundus long prior to coming to fight the Seven Sins, Invidia had always assumed that Vergil's family were all gone.

"Excuse me? Are you okay?" Invidia asked, but still kept caution just in case the whole crying-thing was an act.

"Okay?" Something about the tone in the man's voice changed, and Invidia's defences came up quickly all over again. "I'm more than okay! I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore."

With that declaration, loud guffawing laughter rang as Invidia stood utterly shocked, realising a little too late that the man hadn't been crying all this while, but stifling bouts of laughter. The situation bewildered Invidia so much that she stood frozen, not knowing what to do as the man threw back his head, laughing helpless laughter till the extent that he seemed to have troubles even keeping upright.

"I... I can't believe this! This is classic! I haven't laughed so hard in ages!" The man declared, as Invidia began to register above the shock of seeing the intruder laugh. The voice of the man's registered deep, and Invidia instinctively looked back at the coffin, at the man still lying peacefully in there with hands clutched over his stomach.

"This... This is too good. I'm never going to let him live this down ever..." The man's laughter finally seemed to die down a little as he got his bearings back, grabbing the side of the coffin to drag himself back on his feet. Invidia didn't even realise that the man had effortlessly pierced through her barrier around the coffin without even showing effort.

"C'mon, Verge. Wake your lazy ass up." The man hung over the side of the coffin, staring down at the peaceful sleeping face. "Stop being a Sleeping Beauty."

If that could work, Vergil would have been awake so long ago. Invidia didn't know why, but she did not move to stop the man as he reached into the coffin, watching him pinch Vergil's cheek.

"Oi." A rough smack on Vergil's cheek didn't wake the man up.

"Get up." Another smack on Vergil's other cheek did not work either.

"Fine, if you don't want to get up, I'm going to force you." The man rolled up his cloak sleeves to reveal two finely-toned arms. Those arms reached into the coffin and held Vergil's head tightly between the two palms.

There was suddenly an explosion of wind that Invidia was forced off her feet, jumping back. Raising her staff again at the sudden power, she was ready for a fight... except that there was no fight to be made. The wind had blown the man's hood back, and she saw the face of the man who was still reaching into the coffin.

"Vergil...?"

"Stop it, Dante." The piercing voice cut through the chaos, and as sudden as it started, the wind died down.

Invidia blinked when the man who looked like Vergil withdrew his hands with a shameless grin, and slowly, but surely, the man who had been lying in the coffin sat up. Invidia's eyes began to fill, heart faster than brain to catch up on realities.

"I saved your lousy sleeping ass, Verge. I couldn't believe it when those people told me Mundus killed you. If anyone gets the chance to kill you, it's going to be me first." The man that looked like Vergil asked as the man who was supposed to be Vergil looked around, catching sight of Invidia.

"You're going to have to wait in line." The man Invidia assumed was Vergil climbed gingerly out of the coffin, pushing his doppelganger to one side as he carefully stood on his two feet, facing her. "Invidia, it's good to see you again."

"Vergil... you... you are..."

"Is Avarizia..."

The man was still thinking about her little brother's well-being? The tears threatened to overflow from Invidia's eyes.

"He's fine. He was reborn a day after the two of you died. It's been years." Invidia said quickly. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine now, thank you." Vergil answered with a nod of assurance. "I apologise for the trouble I must have been causing."

"Not at all... You are our Angel of Death... It is only right that we watch over you..." Invidia replied softly, disbelieving that the man was speaking to her, not showing a single sign that he had been sleeping for the past few years, motionless.

"I feel..." Vergil frowned a little. "Powerful. Did you, Superbia and Avarizia give me your Sins?"

"We thought it could save you..."

"It did." Vergil smiled softly, and as if to prove his point, Invidia watched with numbed shock as black wings began to unfold from his back. They were wings that had disappeared from Invidia's sight ever since Lucifer died. She had never thought she would see those wings again; those wings that she and her siblings had to give up their Sins to see.

"Wait. I thought I saved your sorry ass, Verge?" The man who looked like Vergil –the one who had laughed –still stood beside his doppelganger, looking confused and not at all impressed by the magnificent black wings that signified Vergil's complete ascension as an Angel of Death.

"You didn't." Vergil answered. "The Sins saved me, but they couldn't wake me up. I was waiting for Sparda's power to wake me up."

"What; so if I didn't come along, you would have slept away all eternity?"

"I doubt you would have managed to escape Superbia for long." Vergil answered. "You might have given him the slip for half a day, but that's just about as much as you can do, Dante."

On cue, the leaves at the boundary of the field ruffled, and familiar figures popped out from the leaves, eyes of wonder casted on the doppelgangers standing in the middle; Vergil's black wings out for display.

"We've found him, Super, and- OHMYGOD VERGIL IS AWAKE! SUPER, DO YOU SEE?!?" Luxuria screamed her joy, hugging Ira at her side.

"Hey, how come I don't get any screaming or crying girls when they see me?" Dante mused, ignoring his twin brother as Vergil turned to face his unofficial family members fully with his most grateful smile.

"You have got to be kidding me." Gola's exclamation came as the young man came returning from hunting on time, freezing up at the sight of miracles. Invidia rushed indoors to collect the sleeping Avarizia, running back out to see that her family members had crowded Vergil and his unexplained twin brother by now.

It was as it is; a family reunion. With the addition of a strange twin brother of Vergil that Invidia never knew existed.

________________________________________________________________________________

"You know..." Dante said casually, taking a swig of beer while he sat beside his twin brother beside the fire late that night. "I actually didn't think you'd actually be dead. I agreed to come back to Hell with Super and the rest because I was bored."

"I wasn't dead. I was sleeping." Vergil answered, looking over at the rest of his unofficial family members. All of them were sleep around the fire because Invidia had approved of an outdoor camping night out to celebrate Vergil's return. Even Baby Avarizia slept in the warm embrace of Invidia.

"Whatever you say, Snow White." Dante retorted. "What now? Are you going to get back at Mundus or what?"

"Getting back is the least of what I will do to him." Vergil answered, turning back to look at his only official living family member. "Now that I am a complete Angel of Death, and you are... well, you are just Dante..."

"I didn't sign up for this." Dante took another big mouthful of beer. "I'm not part of the seven dwarfs."

"Seven Sins." Vergil corrected with a glare. "Do you not want to get revenge on Mundus for what he did?"

"Say what you want, Snow White, but I'm just here for fun, not start a revolution or kill demon kings." Dante shrugged nonchalantly.

"One more Snow White joke, Dante, and I will murder you."

"But you have the seven dwarfs! All you need is a mirror that says that you're the fairest lady in the world." Dante paused, cocking his head in consideration. "And a poisoned apple."

"Seven Sins." Vergil corrected once more. "They're my family."

"I thought I was your family." Dante protested with a whine and a fake-hurt look.

"You are. But they are too."

"Whatever." Dante finished the last of his beer, then shifted so that he was lying down on his back on the floor, arm propped up behind his head as he closed his eyes.

"Maybe Snow White and the Seven Sins, and Dante Sparda the Awesome as a legend sounds good as well."