Trish had just gotten done with a chapter of the book she was reading when she heard the door to the shop fly open and then slam shut. Whatever was down there was now running up the steps to the apartment. She quickly ran into the hall and stood in front of the door, ready to attack. Nero and Marie were sleeping and she was gonna protect them from whatever was sprinting up here. When the door flung open, Trish was relieved but annoyed when she saw Dante. He better not have woken up Marie.

Trish was about to snap at him but Dante immediately grabbed her and said "Are you okay? What about Nero and Marie?" Trish was surprised, wondering what has gotten the demon hunter so freaked out.
"Nero and Marie are fine, they- Marie is staying my room." Trish was gonna say that the two were sleeping but she didn't get to finish when Dante cut her off.
"She is staying in my room with me," Trish said, a bit annoyed. Dante suddenly got angry and said, "She is staying with me in my room, I'm not gonna leave her side."
"What the hell? At first, you were annoyed and didn't even want her here and now you're suddenly protective her?" Trish said, crossing her arms. Dante glared and went off on Trish, snapping at her that he heard demons talking and that they are coming back for Marie and they plan to help her awaken and use her and that she has an evil inside her and that demons were patrolling so that as soon as he left they would storm the shop, kill her, Nero, and take Marie.

Trish's eyes went wide when Dante had said all that. Marie has an evil inside her? Is that the dormant thing she had sensed within her? When the demons and her sister talked about her awakening, were they talking about the evilness inside her? Dante walked past Trish into her room and immediately picked Marie up out of her crib, holding her close.  Trish walked in and saw that the expression on the demon hunter's face had changed from angry to sad. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said: "What's wrong?" Dante was silent for a second before saying "I'm gonna raise her, I'm gonna keep her safe. She has been with multiple families and the demons killed all of them to get to her, she has been running and hiding her entire life, losing everyone that loved her and that she loved, except for her sister. But she's not gonna bother with her anymore." Trish felt sad too when she heard that.
"No one was able to keep her safe, but I'm gonna keep her safe, I won't let any of those bastards get near her," Dante said and gently put the toddler back in her crib. Trish picked up the bags and said: "I'll bring these to your room now." Dante watched Trish leave then turned his attention back to Marie, who was now awake and had tears forming in her eyes. The cambion picked her up and said: "Show me what's wrong." knowing she can't tell him what's wrong.

Trish had set the bags down in a corner of the room and went back to her room to get the other stuff, but what she saw made her smile, it proved that Dante really does care about Marie. He had just cleaned her up and was helping her into a pull-up, something he said he would never do. Once the plush garment was on, Marie yawned and held her arms up, signaling she wants to be picked up. Dante smiled lightly and scooped the toddler up in his arms. Trish walked past Dante and said, "You should put her back in her crib, it's late and she needs sleep, and so do you." Dante didn't object, he laid Marie in her crib and rolled it into his room. He placed it next to his bed and looked down at the toddler resting inside, she looked up at him with curious eyes, curious of her new surroundings and curious of the sudden change in Dante.
"Go to sleep, I'll won't let the demons take you, I'll keep you safe," Dante said loud enough just so Marie could hear.

The toddler smiled and held her arms out to him. Dante smiled lightly and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Marie smiled and closed her eyes, feeling safe and happy. She couldn't remember much, but she did remember that she has never felt safe, but now she finally does. Dante laid down on his bed and placed Marie on his chest and started a steady rhythm of breathing so she rose and fell gently with each breath. The toddler yawned loudly and fell asleep within seconds. Dante closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but it was hard. He couldn't stop thinking about how he had acted towards Marie earlier, he also remembered the fear he felt when he heard the demons talking. They said there were two of the wolf demons patrolling near the shop, waiting for him to leave and when he did they would storm the shop and kill Nero, Trish, and take Marie. He left them all in danger, but he came back before anything happened. The demons were gonna use her, for what he didn't know. The only thing he knows is that she has a dormant evil residing within her and they planned to awaken it. They also talked about her as if she wasn't human. Could she be a demon like Trish or a cambion like him and Nero?

No, no. Dante knew that it was neither of those, she wasn't a demon or even a hybrid, but he knew she wasn't human. When her sister said she was able to stay and hide at a safe place where the people could kill demons easily he knew that she was in some place holy. She said the people there refused to help Marie and that they wouldn't let her near them, they must have known she isn't human and of the evil sleeping within her. But something doesn't make sense, they would gladly help her twin but if Marie isn't human then her sister can't be a human, she had an odd but strangely serene aura, this was confusing him. Dante sighed, hoping that the evil within Marie will never awaken, hoping it would stay dormant forever, 'cause he knew that if it ever awoke, he would have to stop it, and that would by killing her so she could not use it. No! The protest was sharp in his mind, he would not kill her, he would need to find another to stop her, he will not kill her.

Dante sighed and opened his eyes, knowing he won't be able to sleep. He was going to sit up but remembered the toddler sleeping on his chest. He looked down at her and watched her sleep peacefully. He didn't want to disturb her so he closed his eyes and tried to sleep again. As he tried he started thinking again, but it was different. Marie had been with many families, all slaughtered by the demons, and now she doesn't a family at all. Dante did say he would raise her so he thought about adopting her so she was legally in his custody. He would be her dad, Nero would be her cousin, and Trish already acts like a mom towards her. She'll have a family again, not a perfect family but it's functional. Deciding that's what he'll do and he'll do it tomorrow, he was able to calm his mind and fall asleep.

Dante groaned as morning light leaked into the room and hit him in the eyes. He turned his head away from the window and tried to get a few more minutes of sleep but then noticed that his chest felt significantly lighter. He opened his eyes and saw that Marie was no longer sleeping on his chest. The demon hunter sat up and looked around, not seeing the toddler anywhere. He thought that maybe somehow the demons had gotten her, but then he saw his closet door slightly ajar and felt relieved, knowing she was in there. He got off his bed and walked over to the closet, opening it to see Marie sitting inside with her knees hugged tightly to her chest.
"Marie," Dante said, trying to get her attention, but when she didn't respond Dante tried again. When she didn't respond again Dante knew she was sleeping.

He knelt down and picked up the toddler, surprised when he saw that her face was tear stained. He gently tapped her face and said: "Hey, wake up." Marie opened her eyes slowly and immediately turned her head towards the window once they were fully open. She pointed out there as if something abhorred was out there. Dante set Marie in her crib and walked over to the window, looking out and seeing nothing. He didn't see anything and there were no traces to show anything, human or demon, had been out there but he knew something had been out there some point in the night, and Marie saw it. The demon hunter picked up Marie and said: "Don't worry, it's gone now." He carried the toddler into the kitchen and saw that either Trish or Nero had set up a highchair for her. Dante set Marie down instead of in her highchair and said: "I'm gonna make breakfast, can you wake up Nero and Trish?" Marie smiled and nodded, running off to do her job.

The toddler ran into the blonde demon's room and jumped on her bed, shaking her awake. Trish awoke with a start and sat up, smiling when she saw it was just Marie. She went to pick her up but the toddler jumped off the bed and pointed towards the kitchen, then she ran out of the room. Trish was confused but got out of bed, heading into the kitchen to see Dante making breakfast. The blonde demon smiled lightly and watched the cambion cook, something he doesn't usually do.

Marie ran into Nero's room and stopped when she saw him, he kind of looked like Dante, but that isn't what made her stop in her tracks, it was his arm. The toddler slowly approached the teen cambion and touched his weird looking arm that was hanging over the side of the bed. Nero instantly sat up in bed and got ready to hit whoever touched his devil bringer but stopped when he saw Marie. The teen looked at Marie then at his arm, knowing the kid was curious as to what it was. He didn't know how to explain it to her so he just decided to be blunt, knowing that she'll most likely just forget what he said.
"It's a demonic arm, I was born with it," Nero said and stood up, Marie just stood and looked up at Nero, not sure if she should be afraid of him or not. The teen cambion knew what she was thinking and said: "I'm not evil, I'm good, like Dante." Marie was still for a good few more seconds before smiling and pointing at the kitchen, running off in that direction. The teen sighed and followed.

When he entered the room, he saw Dante was actually making breakfast and had just finished. He set plates at the table and set one on the tray to Marie's highchair, picking up the toddler and putting her in it soon after. Nero walked over and said, "Doesn't sitting in that thing annoy you?" Marie just smiled and shook her head. The teen rolled his eyes and sat at his spot at the table. For breakfast, unconventional but still good, was BLTs. They all started eating, except for Marie, who was picking apart her sandwich. Trish saw this and got up, going over and saying "Don't pick it apart, eat it as it is, it'll taste better." Marie looked up at her for a second before putting the BLT back together and eating it.

While they ate, Dante told Nero about everything that happened last night, about Marie and that demons are after her to awaken a dormant evil inside her and they'll kill him and Trish to get to her. Nero swallowed the food in his mouth and said: "Like I'd actually be killed by some demon, I kill them for a living, like you, incase you have forgotten in your old age." Dante sighed, not in the mood to respond with a comeback, instead, he said "Listen, I need to take Marie somewhere, you and Trish stay here and man the shop until I get back. I don't know how long the demons will be patrolling or if they are even still here but I'm not gonna take risks." Nero put the last of his sandwich in his mouth and put his plate in the sink. He swallowed and said, "The shop will be safe, go and do whatever it is you need to do." Dante put his plate in the sink and took care of Marie's. He then picked her up and settled her on his hip, quickly heading down the stairs to his shop. He put on his red trench coat, placed Ebony and Ivory in their holsters and left the shop.

As soon as they were outside, Marie started squirming and crying.
"What's wrong?" Dante asked, having a bad feeling for some unknown reason. Marie pointed at the roof of Love Planet. The demon hunter quickly turned his head but saw nothing. Confused, he tried to walk towards his car but Marie would hit him every time he tried and kept pointing at the roof. The demon hunter sighed, annoyed, there is nothing there. Suddenly, his very acute hearing had detected something, someone... or something, was growling, it came from where Marie was pointing. He looked at the roof again, knowing that whatever was up there was not good. He reached into one of the pockets on his trench coat and pulled out a bottle of holy water. He threw it so it landed on top of Love Planet. He heard the bottle break and something howl in pain before it went silent. As soon as he heard the howling he knew it was one of the demons that were supposed to be patrolling near the shop.

Despite the demon being killed, Marie still cried but now she was pointing at a dumpster in an alley. Dante didn't know how but Marie was able to detect the demons, she didn't need to see or hear them, she automatically knew where they were. Dante smirked, the last demon was in there, the one he overheard last night said he only sent two of them and he already killed one. He drew Ivory out of its holster and fired at the dumpster, immediately a pained cry was heard. The lid to the dumpster flew open and another wolf demon jumped out, blood soaking the fur on his left arm. Before it had a chance to even take a single breath, Dante had already fired 7 bullets, 4 in the chest and 3 in the head. As soon as it was dead, Marie stopped crying. Dante sighed lightly in relief, glad that there were no more of those bastards. He holstered his pistol and buckled Marie into the backseat of his car before getting in the driver's seat.

Marie watched the body of the demon get smaller and smaller as Dante drove away. When she couldn't see it anymore she turned her head and looked out the front windshield. She saw so many signs and writing on store windows, she just wished she could read what they said, she also wished she could talk so she could ask Dante what they said. Getting bored real quickly, the toddler put her head down and fell asleep.

~

Dante parked his car outside an old brick building, it looked pretty horrible but this is where he was gonna get the adoption papers. He got out and went to unbuckle Marie but suddenly he felt like someone was watching him. He turned around and saw Marie's twin standing under a street lamp that was broken and always on. The demon hunter quickly got Marie out of the car and walked over to the odd girl.
"What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be hiding?" Dante said in an angry voice. The girl just stood there, silent, unaffected by Dante's anger. It was odd, the cambion was starting to calm down even though he didn't want to. He then glared at the girl, knowing she was doing this.

"I know you're going to adopt my sister, but don't let her keep that abhorred name." The girl said, her voice was different now, it sounded sweet, angelic.
"Well she can't tell me her name, she's mute," Dante said, trying to remain angry, this girl pissed him off and he didn't want to be calm towards her.
"Her name is Ember."
Dante sighed and said, "Why didn't you tell me her name when you first met me?"
"I wanted to see if you were good enough and would take care of her." The girl said. Dante sighed and started to walk towards the old building but the girl immediately said: "I know you're scared, about her awakening." Dante stopped dead in his tracks, how did she know that?

The cambion turned around and said "Okay, I want some damn answers. What the hell is your name and how do you know everything that's going on if you've been in hiding?" The girl took a step forward and said "My name is Seraphina, I know everything because I've awakened, the people I was staying with helped me and had taught me to hone my powers. They can't help Ember, but you can. The evil residing in her, it is not evil, it's raw power, but a special and much different power than I have. The demons after her want to awaken it and use it for their own demented use, but Ember had different plans for it. She didn't want to join and help them, so I told her to look for you, that you would help her. After all, you two are similar."
"What the hell do you mean 'similar'?" Dante demanded, Seraphina ignored it as if he hadn't spoken at all and said "The raw power within Ember, it can be used for good or evil, the demons only see it as evil because of what she is. You were right about her, she is not a demon like the ones chasing her and she is not a hybrid like you, you were also right about her not being human, I'm not human either, but I won't tell you what I am nor what Ember is, first, you have to prove yourself worthy to me. Take care of my sister, raise her and protect her, help her awaken and then I'll tell you anything you want to know. Oh, and take this." Seraphina handed Dante a bottle of holy water and said "You shouldn't have wasted one of your bottles of holy water on the demon from before. It was another wolf demon, they are as weak as Hell Prides." Dante took the bottle and as soon as it was in his hand, Seraphina quickly ran off.

Dante just stood there, not sure what to make of this. What did she mean by that he and Ember are similar? And... Dante sighed, not wanting to bother with this bullshit. He walked up the steps and inside the decrepit building. As he walked up to the desk, he looked down at Ember, he did not understand the name, it didn't suit her at all. The lady behind the desk smiled and said: "Oh, what a pretty little girl, is she your daughter?" Dante took one more look at the toddler in his arms before picking his head up and saying "No, but I want to adopt her."