Marilyn slowly opened her silver eyes, only to see the darkness surrounding her. Is this real or another dream? She wondered as she tried to make out anything in the darkened environment.

After shifting her head for a bit, she decided to stand and feel around for anything. The last thing I remember was…that thing that looked like Dante and the real Dante fighting… She tried to recollect her memories as she got up.

Just then, torches suddenly lit up all around her by themselves. Though a little startled from their sudden actions, the light they provided allowed Marilyn to make sense of her current location.

“I don’t recognize these walls from the village,” she said as she approached the cracked and moss-covered brick wall, “if I’m not in the village then, where am I?” she asked herself as she turned to look around the torch-lit room. An old wooden door soon came into her view. Hesitantly, Marilyn walked up towards it, but she soon stopped as she heard a noise coming from the other side. Is someone over there?

She took a deep breath before deciding to move closer to the door and as she did the sound became a little clearer. It sounds like…crying. She placed her ear to the rough wooden door. Sure enough, it sounded very much like someone was weeping inside the room. Marilyn contemplated whether to enter or not, though it didn’t take her long to decide on an answer.

She reached out for the doorknob, and as she opened the door cautiously a slight creak echoed out from the rusted hinges. The cries became more audible as she peered her head into the room. The room was just as old-looking as the other. However, there seemed to be a rotting wooden desk which contrasted with the newer looking mirror which was placed on it.

She scanned the room more and soon a bed entered her gaze, along with someone on top it. I can’t believe it… she thought to herself as her eyes rounded at the sight of the woman.

“Moyra…is that really you…” the woman looked up with her teary violet eyes. Her brows raised as a few tears dripped from her eyes as she stared at Marilyn.

“Mary…no you shouldn’t be here…why…”

“Moyra!” she immediately rushed into the room, “finally, I found you, after all this time.” However, Marilyn’s happy reunion with Moyra didn’t last long.

“Stay back!” Moyra shouted at her as she turned away, “you shouldn’t be here…”

“M-Moyra…” Marilyn halted her approach in confusion as she heard her long lost friend’s words.

“Please, leave me alone…for your sake, and everyone else’s.”

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“But Moyra, I’ve been preparing months to find you, and not just me, but Lacey and Kayla too!” she told her as she slowly began to approach her once more, “Her Majesty too, she’s-”

“She’s the last person I want to hear about!” she yelled out as tears ran down her face, “Mary…leave, please…” as she spoke, she remained turned away from Marilyn, “I’m not the same person from back then, please leave before-” suddenly clanging of metal sounded from behind them. Marilyn swiftly turned around, however, a metal gloved hand gripped her throat as she did and held up.

“You shouldn’t have come…” Moyra softly spoke as the black knight gripped into Marilyn’s neck with more force.

“M-Moyra…he-help!” she forced out her pleas as the pressure around her neck grew.

“I’m sorry Marilyn, so, so sorry…for everything,” more tears spilled out as she refused to even turn to look at Marilyn.

“Moyra!” Suddenly something burst through one of the walls. Rubble and dust flew out into the room. Marilyn’s eyes caught a large shadow within the dust and as it settled a feeling of relief came over her. “D-Dante…”

But, instead of going after the black knight which was strangling her, he instead approached Moyra. She looked up in him and her eyes widened as his hand wrapped around her neck and he began to strangle her himself.

“D-Dante! Don’t…that’s Moyra!” she shouted to him, yet he still continued, but suddenly she soon noticed the black knight’s grasp on her weakened, and soon she let her go. While Marilyn coughed out, she soon witnessed the black knight holding her neck as she fell to her knees.“Dante…please don’t…” Marilyn struggled to speak as her vision blurred, “Dante!”

Soon everything faded to black, though not too long after, a roaring sound became audible to Marilyn and it slowly stimulated her consciousness.

“Huh?!” Marilyn opened her eyes, and a familiar scene entered her view. This is… the jeep but how- While she thought that a voice cried out to her.

“Lady Marilyn!” Tina immediately held onto her from the driver’s seat as droplets came out of her eyes.

“T-Tina…” she voiced out. I guess that was another vision then… after thinking that she looked around and found both Lacey and Kayla unconscious in the back seat. All the while the torrents of rainfall and bursts of thunder echoed from the outside. “Tina what happened while I was out?” she asked the young girl.

“Mhm…Dante saved us from that…thing,” Tina explained, “but afterward we came back and met Lady Lacey… and Lady Kayla. They were still acting weird so Dante had no choice but to fight them,”

“Is that so…” Marilyn said as she glanced at the two unconscious girls.

“After all that, he brought everyone here…then he left…” she told Marilyn as she continued to leak tears, “I was so scared…he said he’d be back…but it’s been soon long… and you all weren’t waking up…I thought I would be all alone!”

“Tina, it’s alright you’re not alone,” Marilyn held her close as the little Tina continued to cry.

He left… could he have… Marilyn soon contemplated Tina’s explanation as she held her.

----------------------------------------

The endless drops of rain continued to drench Dante’s body. While he had no watch and the sun wasn’t visible, the fact the area was getting darker meant that the day was most likely coming to an end.

“I wasn’t expecting to run into so many obstacles on the way here,” he said as he tossed the quillhound corpse towards the five other corpses behind him, “but we finally made it, just in time too.” Before him, an old and ruined castle stood a short distance away.

“Y-yes this i-is my m-madame’s s-s-stronghold…”

“Let’s hurry and get over there,” he said as he forced the mind-controlled shapeshifter forward.  All the while a pair of red eyes stalked him from within the nearby shrubbery.