Diabolus Sileo (Rae: Vergil, Gus, and Atty)

[Rae]

"The nymphs nearly killed Atty," Vergil said quietly, stroking the back of Selena's hand with his thumb. He doubted he was the better parent. He noted Selena's expression and tilted his head slightly. "What's wrong?"

---

The boys shook their heads. Gus patted Tomtom affectionately.

"Mom and dad's gonna be pissed, huh?" Atty whispered, playing with one of the hair clips.

[Basil]

Selena stiffened. She could feel her temper flaring up again. The air around them was heating up rapidly. The grass around the boulder started wilting. She took a deep breath. She resisted the temptation to walk over to the lake and jumping in. Her fire spells were useless in the water. She promised Vergil that she'll keep her temper in check!

"He has taken care of them," she thought to herself.

She repeated it over and over again till she had calmed down. She forced herself to smile a little. "I'm okay..."

She paused. Dion was trying to communicate with her telepathetically. She wanted to ignore the message but she couldn't. That bloody owl will be here in fifteen minutes. She bit her lip. She can't avoid it now. She had hoped that she could delay it a little longer by going into hiding. Apparently, that didn't work. She took another deep breath.

"Dion is coming..."

She stopped. She couldn't bear to continue. Vergil won't like it anymore than she did. She was tempted to let him find out from the owl himself, but things might escalate out of control. She still had the kids to think about. She didn't want the kids to think that they didn't want them anymore.

~+~+~+~+~+~

"Not as pissed as when Mommy finds out that Dion is nearly here."

Eva realized that that must be the reason why Mommy was so distracted earlier. Aunt Erin told her before that Mommy never liked Dion much. She didn't know why, but she didn't really care. There were a lot of people Mommy didn't like.

She rolled onto her belly and sat her elbows on the bed. She watched Gus patting Tomtom. Her tonberry seemed to perk up when Gus did that. It must really like Gus. She was happy that it did. She stole one of her clips back from Atty and played with it. She tried to pry the plastic strawberry from the clip.

"Do you think Mommy will come back today?" She asked absentmindedly.

[Rae]

Vergil cocked an eyebrow. There was something Selena wasn't telling him...there had to be. "And that bothers you enough to set the grass on fire?"

He gestured to a small patch of grass that was, in fact, burning.

---

Atty frowned when Eva took the clip away from him, then looked to Gus.

"She'll be back. Mother never leaves us long when we're in trouble," Gus pointed out quietly, still petting the tonberry.

[Basil]

Selena laughed. "That gave me away, huh?"

She extinguished the flame. She leaned back slightly so that she could see Vergil clearly. "Now it's your turn to promise me you won't get mad."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Dion wants me to put the triplets up for adoption..."

She waited for awhile to let the news sink in before she told him the whole story. She knew she was being bias, but she can't help it. She didn't mind that Dion never liked her, but she can't stand the fact that the owl took every opportunity to make her life miserable.

~+~+~+~+~

Eva nodded. She hoped Gus was right this time. Mommy might really leave them this time. She might always get along with her mother, but she missed her dearly whenever she wasn't around. Aunt Erin said Mommy had to work, but she didn't believe her. She believed it had something to do with her half-sisters.

"Do you think it'll help if we say sorry?"

[Rae]

Every bit of expression vanished from Vergil's face as anger washed over him. His eyes were hard and, at that moment, he looked a lot like how he'd felt before he met Selena; cold, bitter, resentful, and uncaring about what happened to the rest of the world. For the first time in a very long while, Vergil was having a hard time controlling his demonic side.

"And what," he began tightly, "would make her want to do that?"

It was a very good thing Dion wasn't in the immediate vicinity...her head would have been parted from her body by now.

---

"It might help," Gus replied evenly.

"Uncle Dante says sorry doesn't count unless you mean it," Atty informed them in a small voice. He really wasn't sorry for what had happened. Sure it had been scary, but in an odd way it was kinda fun.

[Basil]

"She says that they are better off without me. She definitely doesn't have anything against you. I highly doubt if she has met you before."

She stared moodily at the sky above. "She's from my world, so I guess old prejudices still remain."

Vergil was scary. She had never seen him that angry in a very long time. She was both pleased and worried at the same time. She didn't want him to get hurt. Dion was a bully, but there were others ways of negotiating with her, ways that won't make her forcefully separate them from the triplets.

"There are less violent methods of handling the situation. Nothing is definite. We just need time to study the law carefully. I believe there's a loophole somewhere."

~+~+~+~+~+~

"Then we shouldn't say sorry then."

Eva gave Atty a funny look. She was about to say something, but changed her mind. She decided that since he almost drowned, maybe Mommy and Papa had forgiven him already. That means that only she and Gus were in trouble. She smiled as she turned to her older brother. "That leaves the two of us."

She frowned. "How should we say sorry?"

[Rae]

"We don't have time," Vergil reminded her broodingly. He tilted his head thoughtfully. "She simply wants you to put them up for adoption, correct? She can't force you to or take them away from us, can she?"

The wheels in his head were turning like they hadn't in a long time. Why did all of his big plans involve demons?

---

"Walk up to them and apoligize?" Augustus suggested bluntly.

[Basil]

Selena frowned. "I don't know. She might. After all, she works for the ministry. Well, both the one in our world and in the Realm as well."

She turned to him. "Can you freeze time again? Maybe we can take the kids somewhere and hide them before Dion comes. We can always ask someone we trust to adopt them for us."

She bit her lip. "Not that I would want anyone else to adopt them. They are our kids after all."

Time was against them. Dion would arrive soon. Erin could always send them to her place, but that was risky. Dion was better at detecting and opening portals than she was. They needed somewhere safe to dump the kids. Somewhere Dion wouldn't think of looking.

~+~+~+~+~

Eva laughed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

She leaped down from the bed. "Want to come to the kitchen? Aunt Erin said she was making hot cocoa and pancakes."

She wasn't hungry, but she could certainly use the distraction. She hoped Uncle Dante was there too. He was probably the least likely to get angry with them. She hoped.

[Rae]

Vergil frowned.

"I can't freeze time, though Dante and Nero can slow it. Let's take them to my parents," he added abruptly. "Mother and father will look after them until this is sorted out. Dante could drive them." They would probably adopt them, too.

---

Gus wasn't hungry, but he was too lost in thought to say it. Were their parents going to be very cross? Why were they taking so long anyway? Something's not right.

"Yeah," Atty nodded and got to his feet, feeling hungry though it had only been an hour since he'd last eaten.

[Basil]

Selena nodded. "Let's do so quickly."

She got up and grabbed Vergil's hand. She smiled as she bent over and kissed him on his lips. She was feeling better now. She had been dreading the meeting. Vergil certainly hadn't let her down at all. "I'll teleport us back."

When they reappeared, they were in the kitchen. She motioned for Erin to be quiet. She whispered to Vergil. "Five minutes. I'll go and get the kids."

~+~+~+~+~

Eva opened the door and looked to her left. She stepped back. She stopped herself from slamming the door shut and locking it. Mommy would simply blast down her door. Mommy must still be very mad for her to be hurrying over to her room like this.

"Mommy's coming."

[Rae]

Vergil nodded once, air tricked to the door, then went to talk Dante into taking the kids. It wasn't taking the triplets out that would be a problem, it was convincing him to go to their parent's house that was a problem.

In the end, Dante agreed to it. Though Vergil wasn't looking forward to seeing what his twin would ask for in remuneration.

---

Gus looked up and stared at the door with Atty. This would probably be scary.

[Basil]

Selena walked into the room. "I need all of you to follow me quickly. Uncle Dante will be taking you to see your grandparents."

She raised an eyebrow when she saw Eva's look of disbelief. She also noticed that her daughter had cut her hair. No, they didn't have time! She scooped Atty up and grabbed Eva's hand. "Mind taking carrying Tomtom, Gus?"

She knew that Eva couldn't sleep without the tonberry. She didn't want to cause Eva and Sparda any trouble. She nodded to Gus and stepped out of the room. Of her three children, Gus was one she could rely on. She walked down the hall. She tried to keep it at a comfortable pace for Eva. She noticed that the girl was stumbling. She slowed down a little. She turned to check on Gus.

She entered the kitchen and passed Atty to Dante. She reluctantly let go of Eva's hand. She smiled guiltily when she saw the red marks on the little girl's arm. She didn't know she had gripped it that tightly. Eva pouted as she rubbed her arm. She bent down and hugged both Eva and Gus.

"Don't give your grandmother and grandfather any trouble, okay?"

She walked over and ruffled Atty's hair. "Now, you be a good boy and listen to Gus. If not, I'll punish you when you get back. Got it?"

[Rae]

The boys exchanged looks. Gus picked up the tonberry and followed his mom to the door of the kitchen. Something definitely wasn't right. They never left the house when they were in trouble.

"But you'll punish me anyway for going in the lake," Atty pointed out.

Dante muttered something about a smart@ss, not happy to be holding his nefew again. He gave Selena a look as he gestured the kids toward his car.

"Verge is in his study again," he told her. "Good luck getting him out anytime soon."

The youngest son of Sparda set Atty in the back seat of his crimson convertable and made sure the kids buckled themselves in. There wasn't any car seats...so the least he could do was make sure they had their seat belt on. Selena would probably burn off certain body parts if he didn't and something happened.

Without further adue, Dante sped off towards his first home.

[Basil]

"We'll take about that when you get back."

She watched as Dante ushered the kids to his convertible. She watched as the kids buckled in. She waved as they sped off. Dante better arrive there safely, or she'll never forgive him. She walked back into the kitchen. She gave Erin a curt nod. "See you around, Erin. Sorry to cut your visit short."

"It's okay. I hope everything works out for you." Erin answered as she hugged Selena.

Selena watched as Erin stepped into the portal and vanished. She rested against the counter. She checked the clock. Dion was late. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't realize she was so tensed up. She went to Vergil's study and knocked.

"Vergil?"

She prayed that he wasn't planning on barricading himself inside. She didn't want to face Dion alone. She would probably say something stupid and live to regret it. She needed to keep calm. Vergil was the only one who could calm her down.

~+~+~+~+~+~

Eva had her arms wrapped tightly around Tomtom. She squirmed a little uneasily. Usually she'd be excited to go and visit Grandma and Grandpa, but today was different. Why did Mommy sound like she wasn't going to see them again? She bit her lip. She didn't like it at all.

"Uncle Dante, how long will we be there?"

Not long, she hoped. They didn't bring any clothes along. Was she thinking too much? She reflected on the past few days. Mommy definitely didn't mention that they were going to see their grandparents. She frowned again.

[Rae]

"Come in," Vergil murmured, half hidden by books. Normally he kept away from law books (the only type of books to make him fall asleep), but now he was searching through them feverishly looking for a loophole. He thought he'd found one. A very obvious one...which worried him.

---

Atty and gus watched their uncle, hoping for an explanation. But Dante didn't give one. He stayed uncharacteristically quiet the entire drive, occasionally shooting grim looks into the mirror to check on the triplets.

Dante had a kit of sorts in the trunk. Clothes for everyone who lived at the house, recreational items, weapons, even food, medicine, and water. Him and his brother had decided on it once everyone had moved in together. In their line of work it payed to be prepared.