DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH

Here it is - the final chapter! Yay, finished! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and put this story in their alert/favourite lists. I hope you all enjoyed this, I had fun writing it. I know Patty is far from being a popular character, but I hope I managed to make a good fic all the same.

Chapter 13: No Place Like Home

Dante stared glumly at the glowing haze in the distance, knees drawn up under his chin, hands wrapped around his legs. Patty sat next to him in silence, not knowing what to say. She had saved them by using Dante's power to teleport to safety, but Eva had still died. Really ... had she changed anything by coming to this time? Dante was now an orphan, his family all gone.

"Lucifer told me Vergil is alive," said Dante, his voice glum. Patty stared at him.

"Do you believe him?"

"I ... I'd rather not."

Patty blinked, unsure she had heard him right. "What? Surely you don't mean that?"

"He told me ..." Dante's face tightened, "He said that Vergil sold us out. That he told Lucifer where to find us."

She couldn't believe it. Sure, Vergil could be annoying at times, but to sell his mother and twin brother out to a monster like that? She shook her head. "No way. He wouldn't."

Dante continued to stare at the haze of the burning town. "Maybe. I just can't help thinking that we should never have left him behind."

"Dante, Lucifer is just messing with your head. He wanted you to suffer before he killed you. It's just the kind of thing he'd say to hurt you."

He finally tore his gaze away from his hometown and glared at Patty. "Vergil isn't dead. I can feel him. He's still alive, and ... I can feel his resent."

"Resent?"

"Towards me. I'm his twin brother, and I left him for dead. He would never have done that to me, not even if it meant his own life. We live together and die together. Except ... I didn't. I cut and ran."

Patty was quiet. She didn't have any siblings herself (as far as she knew), but she'd heard that twins - especially identical ones - had a connection. If one was hungry, the other would be hungry. If one scraped their knee, the other would feel the pain too. Add to that the fact that Dante and Vergil were anything but normal ... she couldn't argue if he felt Vergil was alive.

"If you're right," she said slowly, thinking, "then that means he's sided with the demons."

Dante looked back at the burning town, frowning. "Yeah. He sold out his own family to demons. I was wrong to leave him behind, but what he did ... I cant ever forgive him for that," His eyes narrowed, "If I ever meet him again ... I'll make him pay."

Patty watched him and shivered. She looked away and stared into the distance. "What are you going to do now?"

"Don't know," he said, "I can't use any of my parents stuff, not if Vergil is on their side. They'd be waiting for me to try, and I'd just be walking into a trap."

Patty nodded. "You can't use your own name now, either. Not for a while anyway."

Dante unfolded his arms and legs and stretched out on the grassy hill. "True. I'll think of something," He glanced across at her, "Don't suppose I could stay with you?"

Patty hesitated, unsure what to say. "No ... probably not a good idea. Lucifer knows exactly who I am. If we stick together there's a chance he'd get both of us."

Dante sighed. "So we have to go our separate ways. Just my luck. Will I ever see you again?"

Patty smirked, just a little. "Probably," She watched him rub his eyes, looking incredibly weary. Not surprising. Just then, a thought occurred to her. "Hey Dante, do you have something I can write with?"

Dante rummaged through his pockets, eventually producing a small stub of pencil and an old crumpled receipt. Patty took them and jotted a note down on the blank side before handing them back. "Here," she said, "Try this place out."

Dante took her note and peered at it. "An address? What is it?"

"It's the orphanage I grew up in," she said, "it's a good place to stay if you can't find anywhere else. They'll take good care of you there until you can figure something out."

Dante smiled sadly and tucked the address away, "Thanks. What about you?"

"I'll be fine," she said, "don't worry about me."

They both got to their feet and stood around awkwardly for a few moments. Dante rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the ground.

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you around," he said. Patty watched him with puppy-dog eyes as he turned and walked away. Unable to stop herself, she ran after him and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Dante smiled. When he felt her let go he turned around to say something to her.

She was gone.

Dante blinked. "Skuld? Are you there?"

Silence.

He was alone.

With a weary sigh, Dante turned and left.

"Where did she go?" Lady demanded.

"Why are you looking at me?" Dante asked, offended at her accusatory glare. He carefully put the smoking candle down and stepped away from it.

"Trish?" Lady asked, turning to the blond demon. Trish merely shrugged.

"I've got nothing."

"What happened to my daughter?" said Nina, searching about frantically, "Is this a joke?"

"Nope, there she is," Dante pointed towards the corner of his office, where Patty stood with her back to them all, "Wow, that girl can really move."

Everyone turned to regard her, and they noticed that something was ... off about her. Her previously clean birthday clothes were crumpled and soot-stained, her hair a tangled mess. She continued to face the corner of the room, not moving or making a sound.

"Patty? Honey? Are you all right?" Nina asked, taking a step towards her silent daughter. Patty spun around to face them, her eyes shining.

"I'm fine!" She chirped, smiling. Lady and Trish exchanged looks. Patty ran towards her mother and wrapped her hands around her waist, embracing her. Nina was puzzled, but comforted her daughter all the same. When Patty let go, she turned to Dante and did the same to him.

"Oh great, not again," he grimaced. Patty leaned her head back and gazed into his blue eyes, still smiling.

"You're okay!" She exclaimed.

"Uh ... thanks?" Dante responded, confused.

She chuckled and let go of him, much to his relief. Lady put her hands on her hips and frowned. "What happened to you? You look a mess."

Patty spun to face Lady, Trish and her mother and shrugged. "Nothing much. Took a stroll down the yellow brick road for a while. There's no place like home."

While they all seemed thoroughly bewildered, Patty stared at Trish. She really was the spitting image of Eva. It was ... nice. Dante may have lost his mother, but in a way he had sort of got her back again. She wondered for a moment how he felt about Trish, but let the thought go - there was no way this Dante would tell, he'd just crack a joke and move on. Patty clapped her hands together instead.

"So - who's for cake?"

Hours later everyone had left. Patty however stayed behind, offering to tidy up the mess in exchange for Dante giving her a lift home when she was done. He was only too happy to have someone return his office to normal, and her mother was fine with it - Dante had taken care of Patty for the better part of a year after all.

When she was done and giving the place one final sweep, she stopped and leaned on the brush, glancing over at Dante, who was lounging on the couch reading a magazine.

"Hey Dante?"

"Yeah kid?"

She winced at that, but let it go. "It's still technically my birthday, you know."

"Uh-huh," he said, not really listening.

"I was wondering if you could grant me a favour - a birthday favour, as a kind of present."

"So long as it doesn't involve moving or paying for something, sure," he replied, turning the page. Patty snatched the magazine from his hands and tossed it away.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"My birthday favour!" She said. Dante sat up, annoyed.

"Fine. What is it?"

"I want you to answer some questions, that's all. But ... I want you to be honest. Don't treat me like a kid and just brush me off - you have to promise to give me proper answers."

Dante scratched his head and stifled a yawn. "Sure. What'dya want to know?"

She stared at him. "What happened to your brother?"

Dante said nothing for a long moment. Finally he gave her a suspicious look. "How do you know I had a brother?"

Patty folded her arms. "That's not the deal; you have to answer my questions, not the other way around. So?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"... I killed him. He went to the dark side, we fought, and in the end I won. He's dead. That answer your question, kid?"

"Yes," She said, a little quieter. Dante got up from the couch, crossed the office and turned his jukebox on, letting some rock music fill the air. He went to his desk and sat down. Patty followed him and hopped up onto the edge of the desk, sitting there as he put his feet up.

"What, you got another question?"

Patty nodded. "Your first kiss. Do you remember it?"

Dante smirked. "That sounds more like you. Eh ... my first?" He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, "Yeah, I guess I remember. It was a long while ago; I was just a kid myself. Before your time."

"What was she like?"

"Can't remember her name," he said, causing Patty's heart to sink a little, "but she was a lot like you. About the same age, had the same hair ..." Dante looked at her strangely for a moment. Patty swallowed.

"What is it?"

Dante relaxed. "Nothing. Just had a little deja-vu," He sat bolt upright, suddenly alarmed "Ah hell, I hope it wasn't your mother ... the girl looked that much like you, now I think of it ..."

Patty sniggered and shook her head. "Don't worry, it wasn't my mother," she said, resisting the urge to laugh at the worried expression on his face.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me," she said, "it wasn't her."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he leaned back again and sighed deeply, "Well, she was sweet anyway. I kinda miss her, now I think about her again."

Patty smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Sweet! Ha! Should she tell him? "Yeah, well I bet a guy like you has been around a lot since then, right? Bet you've had plenty of girls since that first one."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure kid. I'm a real lady's man."

Patty slipped off the edge of his desk and brushed herself off. "You better not let Lady hear you say that."

Dante winced. "Good point. She can be really scary sometimes."

"Still, at least you've got me, right Dante?"

"Sure kid," he said, ruffling her hair as he walked past her towards the front door. Patty glared at his back, annoyed at him for a moment. Then she smiled and hurried after him.

"Hey Dante, can I ask one more question?"

He sighed. "If you like."

"If you had one wish, what would it be?"

That gave him pause for a moment. He stopped outside and looked up, thinking. "One wish?"

"Yeah."

He glanced around at her and smirked. "Pizza."

"Pizza?"

"Yup, pizza."

Patty stared at him. Then a grin spread across her face. "Can we?"

"What, get pizza?"

"Sure, why not?" Patty asked. Dante shrugged.

"It's a little late, and I have to get you home, remember?"

Patty put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chin, striking a defiant pose that gave Dante another feeling of deja-vu. "It's my birthday, and I wanna go and get some pizza!"

Dante tilted his head to one side and smiled faintly, thinking for a moment. Finally he gestured to his car, "Well all right then, hop in little lady."

Patty laughed and got in. As Dante slipped behind the wheel and started the car, Patty rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"My first date!"

Dante frowned and pointed a finger in her direction, "Don't push it."

"What? Am I not good enough for you?"

"No, but I don't date jailbait. Besides, why are you acting this way all of a sudden? I thought you once said you'd never date someone like me in a million years."

Patty chuckled. "Maybe I'm just lowering my standards."

"Ouch. That hurt."

Patty leaned out of the side of the car slightly, letting the breeze cool her and stream her hair out behind her. "I know I'm too young for you, Dante," she said calmly, "Just ... let me pretend for my birthday ... please?"

Dante nodded and floored the accelerator, speeding down the dark street. "Okay Patty, it's a date then. No kissing, though."

Patty pulled herself back into her seat and put on her seatbelt. "Sure Dante. Oh, that reminds me, thanks again for the present."

"Hmm?"

"The DVD's? It's one of my favourite anime series, Ah My Goddess. It's about these three goddesses - Belldandy, Urd and Skuld. Skuld is my favourite. You'd like her."

Dante stared straight ahead, his eyes wide with shock. Beside him Patty sat in silence, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

THE END