Dante was sleeping peacefully, his arms and head resting on his desk. It was a long day and he really needed some sleep but he didn't bother going to his room, he has slept at his desk plenty of times. Suddenly his head shot up, feeling annoyed when he heard someone scream. Kids always run up and down the street chasing each other and screaming. But when he heard the screaming again and realized someone was screaming his name and it was in pure fear, he was perturbed, not knowing who was screaming for him but knowing something bad was happening outside. He grabbed his signature weapons and bolted out the door. What he saw shocked him. Three demons that resembled wolves were chasing a young girl. She looked fine, unscathed, but the demon hunter knew if he didn't do something then she would be as good as dead.

Dante shot one multiple times while charging the other with his sword. As soon as the two were dead, he turned towards the other one, who had a grip on the girl.
"Dante! Help me!" The girl screamed and struggled while the demon laughed and said: "He can't help you, you traitor." Dante shot the demon 3 times in the head, but not before it sunk its teeth into the girl's neck. Suddenly, the teenager had disappeared. Dante sighed and walked over, suddenly noticing that there was a lump under the pile of clothes. He immediately moved them aside and saw a toddler who resembled the teenager quite a bit.

Dante grabbed the toddler and wrapped her in the now too big shirt and carried her inside. He set her on the couch and kneeled down in front of her, examining the child. No doubt it was the teenager, she had the mark on her neck where the wolf demon bit her. The toddler looked back at Dante, wondering who he is and why he brought her here. Dante finally spoke and said "What's your name?" the toddler just tilted her head to the side, as if she didn't know how to answer.
"What's your name?" Dante asked again except louder and with a bit of annoyance. The toddler just straightened her neck and didn't say anything. Dante getting more annoyed.
"Can you understand me?" The demon hunter asked. When the little girl nodded, something struck in the devil hunter's brain.
"Can you talk?" The girl shook her head. Dante sighed and said "Great." in a sarcastic and annoyed tone.

The cambion stood up and ran a hand over his face. He knew her mind was changed as well as her body and he doubted she could write her name or even read. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was close to midnight. Trish should be back soon, Nero wouldn't be back from his mission until the next day. He couldn't leave the girl alone because somehow he knew the demons would be back for her. He looked down at the toddler, wondering what to do. Right now he needed to know her name. He can't just call her kid all the time. The demon hunter raked his hand through his hair and said: "Okay, I don't know your name and you can't tell me, so I'm just gonna call you Marie for now, okay?" When the girl nodded, Dante sighed lightly in relief, now he has something to call her. Now he just has to figure out how he is supposed to take care of her. He doesn't know how to take care of a kid much less a toddler. She could sleep until Trish returned but Dante doesn't want her to sleep, not knowing if she would have an accident on his couch. Then Trish walked through the door.

The blonde demon saw a toddler in an oversized shirt on the couch and said "What happened? Where did she come from?" Dante ran his hand over his face, feeling annoyed all over again.
"I woke up to her screaming my name outside, she was being chased by wolf demons. I was able to kill two but the other grabbed her and bit her before I killed it. It placed some kind of curse on her and now she's a toddler. I'm confused 'cause it called her a traitor and I don't know how she even knows my name. She can't talk and I don't know her name so I'm just calling her Marie." Trish looked over at Marie and smiled lightly, the toddler smiling in return.

The blonde demon walked over and reached down to pick her up but suddenly froze and got this look on her face. Dante noticed this and said, "What's wrong?" Trish regained her composure and picked Marie up, saying "I just got this odd feeling from her."
"What kind of feeling?" Dante asked, suddenly curious. The blonde looked down at Marie and said "I don't know, it's strange. I can sense something dormant in her." Dante looked at the toddler for a bit before saying "I wonder if that has anything to do with why the demons were chasing her."  Trish didn't say anything, she knew that is why the demons were chasing her but decided not to say anything.
"What do you plan to do with her?" the blonde demon asked. Dante sighed and said, "I don't know, I know the demons will be back for her so I should probably keep her here."
"If we're keeping her here then she's gonna need a room," Trish said and rubbed Marie's back.

Dante was about to say how all the bedrooms are taken but Trish interrupted him and said: "I know there are no more rooms, I don't think it would be a good idea for Marie to stay in yours or Nero's room so she'll stay with me in mine." She looked at the toddler and said "She looks so small, so young. She can't be older than 18 months. She's gonna need a crib and some other stuff." Dante didn't like this, he doesn't want a toddler running around his shop, but he has no choice. She'll be safer here with them. "One of us needs to go shopping and the other has to stay and watch Marie." Dante immediately grabbed his car keys and said: "I'll do the shopping, I don't know how to take care of a damn toddler."
"Don't swear in front of her," Trish said and covered Marie's ears. Dante sighed and left the shop. Trish looked down at Marie and said: "Are you hungry?" Marie nodded so Trish said, "Okay, let's take you upstairs so you can watch T.V. while I make you something to eat."

~

The blonde demon set Marie in front of the T.V. in the living room and grabbed the remote, turning on the T.V. It was playing a news station, it looked important, to Trish, anyway. She quickly picked up the toddler and carried her to her room, setting her on the bed and saying "I need to see the news real quick. You'll stay here and be a good girl, right?" Marie smiled and nodded. Trish smiled too and patted the little girl's head, quickly leaving and heading back into the living room.

She stood at the doorway so she could listen to the news report but also be able to hear Marie in case she needed something. The news talked about how a family of 7 was murdered with two teenage twin girls left missing. The murder was brutal, it looked like some kind of monster had killed them and that no human was capable of doing this. It showed a picture of the twin girls on the screen and said their names have to be kept secret for their own safety and that if anyone sees them then to call immediately. Trish's eyes went wide. The twins, one had bright blonde hair and light blue eyes, but the second, she had jet black hair and dark blue eyes. Trish turned the channel to Nickelodeon and ran to check on Marie, needing to get another look at her.

As soon as Trish entered the room, she felt sick. Marie had jet black hair and dark blue eyes. Just like one of the twins on T.V. She was one of the girls on the news. She was running from the demons because they killed her family. But something still doesn't make sense. One of the demons got its hands on her but didn't kill her, instead, it called her a traitor and cursed her. Marie noticed Trish entered the room and held her arms out, signaling she wants to be picked up. Trish put on a smile and picked up the toddler, carrying her into the living room. She set her in front of the T.V. and said "Okay, you watch T.V. and I'll make you something to eat." Trish calmly walked out of the room and into kitchen, but as soon as she entered the room, she grabbed her phone and called Dante.

~

Dante was in Walmart, he got a crib and some clothes but had no idea what else Marie would need. Suddenly his phone rang in his pocket. He checked the number and saw it was Trish calling him. As soon as he answered the blonde demon immediately started talking.
"Dante, forget shopping, you need to find someone, quickly,"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Marie has a twin. Demons murdered their family but they managed to escape. The demons chasing Marie were the ones who killed her family. They didn't kill her but her twin may not be so lucky. She looks exactly like Marie except her hair is bright blonde and her eyes are light blue. You have to find her before the demons find her."
"How do you know all this?"
"I took Marie upstairs so she could watch T.V. while I made her something to eat but as soon as I turned on the T.V. the news was playing. I put her in my room and watched the news. It said a family of seven had been murdered with two twin teenage girls missing. The murder looked like a monster had done it and that no human was capable of doing it. One looks like Marie. She was the girl screaming for you while running away from the demons. The news said nothing about her twin, so she is either hiding from the demons or the demons got her and made sure no one would find her. She could still be alive, you have to find her." The cambion sighed and said "Fine, did it say what her name was?"
"They didn't say their names for their own safety." Dante groaned when Trish said that.
"Fine, I'll look for her."

As soon as he hung up he raked his hand through his hair and said "Great, where do I look?"
"Try behind you." Dante immediately turned around and saw a girl right behind him. She looked like a teenager, about the same age as Marie, well, how she used to be. She looked like her too but her hair was bright blonde and her eyes light blue, just like how Trish described her.
"Listen to me, you need to keep my sister safe, I can't save her. I'm not strong enough, I can't protect her." The girl said. Her voice was soft like silk and she had a soothing aura. But Dante knew something was up with this girl just like her sister 
"I know you can't, now come on, you're coming with me." Dante reached out to grab her arm but she had jumped back quickly and said "I have a safe place to stay and hide, the people there had killed the demons chasing me and they did it like it was nothing. They'll gladly help me, but they won't help my sister, they won't even let her step foot on the grounds. Please, protect my sister, until she can awaken." Dante was about to ask her what she meant by 'Awaken' but the girl had quickly run off. Dante was now more confused. He shook his head and went back to shopping.

~

Trish watched as Marie had finished her food. The blonde demon got up and took the plate while patting the toddlers head, saying "Good job." She walked into the kitchen and put the plate in the sink and was about to start washing it but she heard the door to the shop open downstairs. She ran into the living room and picked Marie up, saying "Dante is home." She quickly walked downstairs and into the shop, feeling dread when she didn't see Marie's twin with him. Trish watched as Dante brought everything inside and started tearing open a box. He started to set something up which turned out to be a playpen. The cambion beckoned Trish to follow him and walked off to a corner far away from Marie.

Trish followed and as soon as they were out of earshot, Dante said: "Okay, something is seriously fucked up here." Trish was about to talk but Dante interrupted her and said "I found her twin, she was right behind me in Walmart and she decided to make herself known as soon as I hung up. She told us that we had to keep Marie safe, that she can't protect her. She said she had a safe place to stay and hide and that the people there had killed the demons chasing her. But she also said that where she's staying, the people won't help her or even let her set foot on the grounds. She said we had to keep her safe until she 'awakens'. First demons were chasing her, they don't kill her, call her a traitor and curse her, you said you could feel something dormant in her, and now her sister is saying she needs to awaken. Something is up with that girl I need to find out soon or all of this is gonna make me snap." Trish used a calm voice and said, "The only thing we can do is keep Marie here until she 'awakens' I don't know what her sister meant by that but we have no choice but to wait and see what she meant." Dante sighed and looked at Marie before saying "I'm going for a walk." He quickly strode towards the door and opened it, slamming it shut as soon as he left.

Marie jumped in surprise and started crying. Trish sighed this time, at least she has patience. It's a good thing she knows how to take care of a child 'cause she knows Dante won't take care of her. Nero might help but he might not. Trish picked up the crying toddler and said in a soothing and calm voice "It's okay, Dante is just angry right now, he just needs to calm down. He'll be back." Suddenly the door to the shop opened and Trish turned her head to look at who came in, surprised to see Nero.
"You're back early." Trish said, Nero stretched and said: "Yeah, the mission was too easy, I got it done within a few hours." Trish smiled lightly and said, "Well, since your back early, do you think you could help me with something?"
"I'm assuming it has something to do with that little girl in your arms." Nero said, Trish nodded and said: "Yeah, I need to try and calm down Marie, can you take that stuff up to my room and set up the crib, just leave everything else and I'll handle the rest." Nero looked at everything on the floor next to the playpen and walked over, taking the things upstairs without saying a word. Trish thanked the young cambion and turned her attention back to Marie.

The blonde demon held the toddler comfortingly and started to sway, the soothing motion more gentle than rocking and potent in calming down Marie. The toddler yawned and rested her head on Trish's shoulder. The demon looked towards the remaining items on the floor and was glad to see a bag of clothes and a few other stuff. She searched through the bags and grabbed a pastel purple nightgown. Perfect. Now she just needs... Trish looked at the package of pull ups and the note on it.
"I'm not cleaning the mess if she has an accident." Trish sighed, she had expected this of Dante. He doesn't really like kids and he knows nothing about on how to take care of them. She grabbed a pull-up from the package and brought that and the nightgown with her and Marie into the bathroom.

She had a bit of trouble getting the oversized shirt off Marie because she was tangled up in it but she did get it off. She quickly put the toddler in the pull-up and nightgown and said: "There you go." Marie lifted her nightgown a bit just to see and glare at her pull-up. Trish sighed and said, "I know you don't need them but Dante doesn't trust you, he doesn't trust any kid." She left out the part of him not liking kids. The blonde demon picked up the toddler and carried her back into the shop when she heard Nero coming down the stairs.
"I set the crib up." the teen cambion said and grabbed the rest of the bags, bringing them upstairs. Trish quickly followed.

She stepped into her room just as Nero had set the rest of the bags down. She thanked him and set Marie in her crib. She kissed her forehead and said, "It's very late, you should sleep." Marie just curled into the fetal position and closed her eyes. Trish smiled and grabbed a book off her bookshelf and sat on her bed, planning to stay up until Dante came back.

~

The devil hunter sighed, deciding to turn around and go back to the shop. He had been gone for two hours. As he walked back, he heard odd, creepy voices talking. He followed the voices and hid behind a tree when he saw two wolf demons, one of them was chasing Marie earlier, he could tell because of his blood stained fur, he had managed to survive. Dante was a good distance away and they were talking pretty quiet but he has very acute hearing so he was able to hear them just fine.
"The girl, she turned on us, she betrayed us, she must die."
"No, we can still use her. And we won't be able to get to her anyway. The demon hunter, he protects her."
"Hah, that guy doesn't even like kids. Like he'll actually protect her. All we have to do is wait until his nephew and the demon leave and that brat will be easy picking. He won't even care, hell, he wouldn't care if we killed her."
"Yes, true. She has escaped us many times, we have had to kill all the families she hides with but we have never been able to catch her. But now, it will be easy, I've placed a curse on her. The demon hunter doesn't care about her, even if he knew what she was he still wouldn't care. Now, all we have to do is get the girl away from him. She has lost all her memory, if we can get her in time then we will be the ones to raise her, we can help her awaken inside. No one will suspect her or the evil inside her. I've already sent two of my men to patrol the perimeter. If the devil hunter was to leave, they would storm the shop and kill his nephew and the demon and take the girl." Dante's eyes went wide, he was right, they would be back for Marie. And now her, Nero, and Trish are all in danger.

In an instant the cambion had turned and sprinted towards his shop, all the while thinking of what the demons said. What stuck out the most was about the evil inside her and how they were gonna use her. They also talked about her awakening. Something was wrong with Marie, he still didn't fully understand but he had a guess as to what it was. Dante instantly cleared his mind and focused on his running and tried to go faster. He needed to get back to shop before anyone got hurt.