The Cowboy Song
Part II

Rhinefeld prayed that he wasn't speaking to the demon Tony had described. For the sake of his of sanity, he hoped that Dante was the one who had emerged.

"Dante, I presume," the doctor said.

The young man nodded slowly, taking his time to recover from the transition. When he did, Dante lounged on the couch in a manner similar to Tony. He seemed as carefree as his other personality, but there was a seriousness to him that Rhinefeld would never associate with Tony. The doctor realized that he had very little interaction with this Dante and briefly wondered if he would reach a breakthrough as he did with Tony. But a part of him could already tell that this conversation was not going to be remotely similar as he had with the man he warmed up to just minutes earlier.

Those icy eyes seemed so cold and stern. They betrayed an age older than the man's physical body, the years calculated in having seen and known too much in such a short amount of time. Despite the severe expression on Dante's face, the doctor could tell that Dante could be a lighthearted person if placed in different circumstances.

"You rang?" he asked in a droll tone. "I hear that Tony decided to give my entire life story. That little rat. I'll have to deal with him later."

The doctor straightened in his chair, attempting to mask his trepidation. "Yes. Tony spoke up, because he was concerned for yours and his safety. Like your friends and business partners, he asked for help. I commend him for his bravery and honesty."

"I'll be sure to relay the message," Dante coldly replied.

"I'm sure that you probably already know what has been said when Tony and I spoke." Rhinefeld wasn't sure if the statement he made was true, but still tested its validity. He wanted know the extent of the coexistence between the two personalities. Was there a complete partitioning between the two? Did they have to relay information as it is received? Dante had already conveyed contradictory details. The doctor wondered if this was purposeful misdirection or if Dante was blowing smoke because he wasn't sure of everything himself.

Dante shrugged and gave an uninterested glance out of a window. "Maybe."

"I thought that we were past this, Dante. Do you remember the last time we spoke? You talked about turning over a new leaf. You said that you would try to become more open during our sessions."

"Eh." The young man made a noncommittal hum and then lied. "Must've been Tony."

The doctor could sense the lie Dante told. "We also discussed being truthful," Rhinefeld said. "Let's try again. Do you experience anything while Tony is interacting with the world?"

Dante paused, studying the old man. Rhinefeld's brows creased in apparent frustration and his neatly folded hands trembled lightly in his lap. Dante could tell that the anticipation was killing the doctor. The old man was trying to remain patient, but both he and the young man knew that it was a losing battle. Dante was sure that the desire for knowledge will eat Dr. Rhinefeld up one day and leave him drooling in a strait jacket.

"Your problem is that you want to know too much. If I were to tell, then you will only hunger for more. It'll never end. You're nothing but a glutton. Why can't you just be satisfied with what you know now," Dante said. "One day, that desire will leave you empty and bitter. It will destroy you."

The doctor was a little taken aback at how his patient had turned everything on him. Sure he wanted to help his young patient, but Rhinefeld also realized the faults Dante laid out about him. He did thirst for more knowledge and he was also vain in that aspect. He couldn't count how many times the very idea of publishing his findings in some peer-reviewed journal and the recognition it would bring had danced in his mind. How could the young man have read him so well?

But, the boy's grief washed the passion out of his statements. The sadness in Dante's voice wasn't lost on Rhinefeld.

"You sound as if you are speaking from experience. Does this have to do with the losses you have suffered? Is this directed to your family?"

The answer would have been yes, if Dante had been more forthcoming; more free to explain that he had known all too well of how a person's thirst for knowledge could lead to his destruction. Why couldn't people remain in blissful ignorance?

There was a sudden, burning ache in Dante's chest. His eyes burned, threatening tears. His unflappable façade was crumbling. Dante stood from the couch and raked a hand through his hair, regaining his composure. "I'm leaving." His tone was low and even. The young man walked toward the office door. Just as he brought a hand to the knob, there was firm grip on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly. "Let go. I'm sure that you would like to keep that hand."

"No," Rhinefeld said firmly. "It doesn't take a blind man to see that the mere mention of your family dredges up emotions that you would rather keep buried. You shouldn't have to walk around, shackled with that kind pain. If you have something to get off your chest, then say it. I'm here to listen and we have all the time in the world as far as I'm concerned. Trust me, if you sit and talk about it, you'll feel better."

Dante paused again, as if he was considering the doctor's proposal. He twisted the knob, the lock clicking open as he did.

"Wait," Rhinefeld said, trying to stop the young man again. "We don't have talk about them. What about yourself or your friends? Tell me about Patty."

"Patty?" Dante's grip loosened on the doorknob.

"Tony told me a little bit about her. He said that you're like her big brother. I'm sure that you take great care of her. I know that because of the special provisions he said you made for her. She's still a ward of the state. Have you considered adopting her?"

Dante's hand dropped to his side. "Yeah. I did adopt her. I guess I'm not her brother anymore. That makes me her… f-father. Wow. That still sounds so strange to say that."

"Tony didn't mention anything about adoption."

"Probably because he doesn't know."

"You keep secrets from him?" Rhinefeld asked.

"Yeah. Wouldn't you? I knew he would just blab everything one of these days. Besides, he probably keeps things from me too. It's best that he stays out of it for now."

"For now?" Rhinefeld led Dante back into the seating area. The two sat down, Dante again on the couch and Rinefeld in his leather swivel chair. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have plans for Tony, something I'm sure that he'll rise to do."

"Does this have to do with your latest suicide attempt? It sounds like you are going to use Tony to continue raising Patty."

A wry smirk crossed his features. "Can't get nothin' past you, Doc. I adopted her so that I could make sure that she was well taken care of if something were to happen to me. Patty's birth mother recently tracked her down and wanted her back. I resisted at first, but then I realized that this woman could give her daughter the stability that I couldn't. So, I contacted a lawyer and we set up some final plans. I didn't need to be in the picture anymore. She had her mother back and my only concern was taking care of Patty. She's still legally my kid. With the money I set aside and insurance policies, she'd get enough to go to any school she chose and a place to call her own."

"It must have been traumatizing knowing the prospect of losing Patty. There are certainly parallels that could be drawn between her and your family."

"I thought that we were keeping them out of this." Dante crossed his arms in attempt to hide his growing anger. "They have nothing to do with this."

"We don't have to talk about your family now, but we will have to come back to that subject eventually. Don't deny that your experiences with them have shaped the way you guard your emotions. You mentioned that you couldn't provide Patty with any stability, what do you mean by that?"

"You should already the answer to that or at least know what I will answer. Don't play stupid." A smirk tugged at Dante's lips.

"Humor me," Rhinefeld said, smiling.

"Despite the agreement, Tony comes out when I least expect him. His job is to boost me when I'm feeling low, but it's getting harder to predict these mood changes. The last thing Patty needs is for me to go flying off the handle. I don't want to scare her anymore than I have."

"You've scared her in the past?"

Dante broke eye contact and chose to stare at the floor, collecting his thoughts. "She saw my de— the other me."

"Your demon," Rhinefeld supplied.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that Tony would mention that? Well, it does make things a little easier to say now," Dante said. He paused and brought his eyes up to meet Dr. Rhinefeld's again. "I was called out to a job. Some demons were snatching up children around Domino City. I tracked them to the train yards and the demons all came out the woodwork. They came at me in droves. It wasn't easy, but I managed to beat them back. I searched the train yards for the kids, but ended up only sniffing out their bodies."

Dr. Rhinefeld shifted in his seat, straightening himself. Dante once again collected his thoughts and continued. "I called the bodies into Domino's Finest and headed back home. Before I got there, I got this feeling that Patty needed help. I raced back and found some demons closing in on her. There was only a few of them, but fighting them was hard. I don't know, maybe I was still tired from that fight in Domino. Before I knew it, they were getting the best of me. It felt like my body was shutting down on me, like that was the end. I thought I was going to die. But, no. That would have been too easy and the other me is not into giving me breaks."

"The demon?"

"Yeah. Sucks knowing that I can't just die peacefully. The demon would never allow it. It took over, beating the demons into a pulp and then when it was done, it turned onto Patty." Dante's hands began to shake. "It used my body to attack her. Normally, I can come back after a battle, but I couldn't rein it in this time." He squeezed his eyes shut. "She must have been so scared."

"And then what happened?"

"I had her in my grasp, about to choke the life out of her then, I blacked out. When I woke up, Trish told me that she had to knock me out and Patty was going to be staying with Lady for a few days. I visited her about a week later and she flinched when I tried to hug her. That was it for me. I couldn't— can't put her through that again. I mean, who's to say that it won't happen again. So, I drank. Enough to kill a few grown men. It should have been enough to completely tax my demon's ability to heal me. The persistant bastard. Then, I cleaned Ivory, one of my handguns and here we are."

"Patty saw you try to—" Dr. Rhinefeld trailed off.

"Yeah. But it had to be done. I posed too much of a danger to her. I love her too much to let her get hurt."

"So, how does Tony fall into your plans? If you were going to end your life, then why include him?"

"I deal in contingencies. I figured that if I somehow didn't die, I could hand control over to Tony." Rhinefeld said nothing and Dante continued, "He's good with Patty, better at controlling the other me, and he can do a spot on impression of me. Most times, they can't tell if they're speaking to me or him."

Dr. Rhinefeld took off his glasses, cleaned them, and replaced them on his face. "How old is Patty, if you don't mind me asking?"

Dante thought that it was an odd question, but still decided to provide an answer. "She'll be ten by the end of May."

"Nine. Still rather young. I'd imagine that it would be hard to break the news to her if you had died. How would anyone go about doing it?"

The two sat in silence for moment before Rhinefeld added, "This isn't a rhetorical question. I want you to think about that hypothetical scenario; how would you let a young child know that his or her loved one has passed away?"

"I'd soften the blow by saying they went to be with angels or something. But, if you're getting at me, I have written letters to her that are all stored in a safety deposit along with other final wishes and money. Lady has a key to it and Trish knows where I keep my copy in case something happened. Then again, I have Tony. He knew that I set aside some money and other things, but he doesn't know for what. Where he concerns Patty, she doesn't have to know anything until she's older. He knows her and has been with her as long as I have. He sees through my eyes and I through his most times."

"You both can work in tandem, it seems."

"Well, yes and no. Sometimes one of us sleeps and wakes up with an idea that something's going on. But, generally, one has control of the body, while the other observes and makes little internal comments. The other normally can't physically interfere, unless the one in control relinquishes the body. There was one night when Tony was attacked by a demon and let go real quick, because he knew he was a terrible swordsman. We can both experience the same situation, but one of us just has no say in it."

"Aren't you afraid to letting the cat out of the bag? You were saying that you didn't want Tony to know about his inclusion in Patty's care. Why not tell him?"

Dante chuckled. "Tony spent too much time in control. Right now, he's dead to the world. Consider him asleep for the time being. There's a reason why he doesn't need to know about the adoption or anything else. If something is sprung up on him at the last minute, he'll do it no questions asked. On the flipside, if he is given time to think about it, the least likely he is to do it. He's a strange dude."

"So, you take advantage of his thought processes?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Dante sat back into the couch. "Say, Doc, I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"What's everyone up to? I mean, I took a three-day vacation and now my wing man is KOed. Can you fill in some blanks?"

"I'm sorry, Dante, but I can't speak about your coworker's joint session with you."

"What about Tony?"

Rhinefeld chuckled, "He had quite a lot to say, in fact."

"Nothing good, I bet." Dante rolled his eyes.

"As I said before, he was mostly concerned about you. He told me that that you were slated to attend MIT. What happened to that?"

Dante threw his head back and laughed. "I was a dumb kid. I should've known that college would be out of the question. When I came into my own power, I had to start controlling the demon population like my old man had before me." His expression became somber. "Trouble always follows me. It looms overhead like some dark cloud since the day I was born."

Rhinefeld questioned, "How so?"

"Here we go. I might as well get it out the way now, before you ask me again." Dante took a deep breath and continued, "My father disappeared not long after my brother, Vergil and I were born. He went to seal away some straggling demons and never came back. He probably died. But when he was gone, he left us unprotected. When we were seven, demons attacked us, kidnapping Vergil and killing my mother. After the countless orphanages, foster homes, and my brief stint as a gun-for-hire, I decided to dedicate my life to killing demons. I figured that if I kept going, then maybe I'll find the one's responsible for my mother's murder."

"Did you?" Rhinefeld asked.

"I did, eventually. But not before running into my brother. We were sixteen when we first met again. He was consumed with gaining more knowledge and in turn, more power. He kept saying that if were just stronger, he could have protected Mom. I tried to assure him that we wouldn't have been able to do anything; we were only a couple of first graders back then. We were fortunate enough to come out it with our lives. But, there was no reasoning with him. We went our separate ways until he raised an unholy temple called Temen-Ni-Gru. He was hoping to embody our father's powers."

"Your brother was responsible for that mysterious tower popping out of the ground in Capulet City? And the experts were saying that trapped gas pockets pushed up ancient rock formations." Rhinefeld shook his at head his naïveté for believing in such an explanation.

Dante continued, "Vergil and I fought. He was still obsessed with power and thought that plunging the world into chaos would rectify it. I don't think that he thought of me as a sibling anymore when I refused to join his insane cause. By the end of it all, I thought that I had killed him. He was badly wounded and he fell into Hell. I didn't think that he stood a chance. By the time we were twenty-one, Vergil attacked me, this time under the control of the demon that ordered the death of our mother. I didn't recognize him until it was too late. I had run him through with my sword before I realized who he was. I gave him a fatal blow and my twin was gone."

And there was a parallel that Dante was drawing between his brother and the doctor. He was equating the doctor's need for knowledge to Vergil's desire for power.

Dr. Rhinefeld studied Dante's face. His eyes were distant, as if he was lost in the memories playing before them. Tears welled up in them. The doctor offered the young man some tissues, which he declined.

"Naw, I'm good." Dante wiped them away with the backs of his hands.

"I can't imagine having to go through with the act of killing a sibling… twice. It must have been hard speaking to me about it. Thank you for sharing that with me." Rhinefeld softened his voice.

"I had to do it. Other lives were left in the balance. What he did was tantamount to holding a gun to someone's head. What was I supposed to do? Just wait for him to pull the trigger? I acted and it got him killed. That's the end of it. I'm always being told that I shouldn't beat myself up for his death, but why is this guilt so heavy? Why do I feel like I committed the most egregious sin? Why is it so hard to look into a mirror and not see him?"

"Dante, these are all questions that only you can answer. Or perhaps, they have no answers. The better thing to do here is to live on, despite the circumstances."

"He would— We would be thirty-four next week." Dante choked back a sob as he gazed out the window again.

"Dante, take a deep breath in and hold it." The young man obeyed. "We are letting go of all of that negativity. Now, let it out slowly."

He exhaled.

"Good. When you are ready, we can move on to your business partners."

Dante took a few more deep breaths. In and out, allowing the tears to dry in the ducts. Then he tiredly said, "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with Lady. How did you meet her?"

"In Temen-Ni-Gru. Her father was looking to make a deal with a demon for power and teamed up my brother. He wasn't just looking any power. He wanted Sparda's and he was willing to use Vergil's and my blood to undo the seals. Lady was looking for revenge because her father murdered her mother. I decided that I'd help out some. I saw a little bit of me in her. We opened a little business together and we've good friends since. She became my girlfriend for a little while, but it didn't work out because I am half of what we kill on a daily basis. I just wish that she'd gotten past that, but I'm not mad."

Rhinefeld nodded, listening on. "How about Trish and Morrison?"

"Trish was sent to kill me, but she realized that she liked me more her orders. Morrison was recommended by an old information broker. He brings in work sometimes, other times I have to look for it myself. I keep him around to fix things that get trashed in my office."

"It seems like you have a rather impressive support network. But you are willing to throw it all away. For what? From what I gather having met them all, they love you and show you more care than most people see from their biological families."

"All the more reason to disappear before I can hurt them. They are a great surrogate family. I appreciate them and I'm afraid that I may turn on them like I did to Patty. What do you do to a dog that has mauled a child? You put him to sleep, right? This is no different." Dante lounged into the couch. "Everyone's going to be happy with Tony. They'll never know the difference."

"Dante, what are you saying? Y-you're no dog. You are a human being," Rhinefeld appealed.

"No, Doc. You've got it all wrong. I'm a monster that deserves to return to the shadows. I'm an abomination that should have never been born." Dante's voice was scarily calm, a tone Rhinefeld had come to know all too well. It was the tone people used when they realized that they no longer had anything left to live for. It was the voice of someone preparing for suicide. Rhinefeld moved in, approaching his patient in some attempt at intervention.

"Think about it first, Dante. You don't want to leave Patty fatherless yet again. Can't you see you in her? But that can be changed right here and now. If you go through with this, she'll grow resentful of any familial figures, particularly males," Rhinefeld pleaded to Dante's genius, his rational side. He hoped the man's superior intellect would override his emotions. "She'll develop an idea that anyone she becomes attached to will leave her. These abandonment issues often lead to sociopathic behaviors. That's probably what happened to Vergil. He displaced blame on his father and the community that did nothing to help. He sought to punish them. He set out to take his father's powers and the lives of anyone who had the projected attributes of that community. Please, you can prevent Patty from becoming like your brother."

"No. She won't become him. Patty's got a strong will and the support system I never had growing up. You said so yourself. She's in good hands. Tony deserves to have what he never had— a body to call his own. All he has to do is pretend to be me for a little while, not a tall order. He's always said that there is little room in this head of mine. I did some research, by the way. The point of therapy sessions for DID patients are about coming to Integration; an accord between the alters, but someone has to be overwritten, like a computer program, and between the two of us, I should be the one."

"You misunderstand, Dante, Integration is not a unilateral decision. All parties involved, must agree."

"No, Doc. It's all perfectly clear to me. It was nice knowing you."

The calm was too unsettling. Rhinefeld was up and yanking his office door open to call in orderlies that had been on standby with sedatives. Within moments three men were in the office ready to inject Dante with a cocktail designed through trial and error specifically for him.

He didn't struggle, he only said, "No hard feelings, Tony." He went limp in the arms of the orderlies before the needle could pierce his skin. Dante was lifted into a waiting wheelchair.

He sat there, limp and unmoving. "Dante? Dante, speak to me," Rhinefeld said. He patted the young man's cheeks hoping to rouse him.

Soft blue eyes fluttered open once again. He looked about himself, confused, wondering how he ended up in a wheelchair. The confusion subsided, giving way to full panic. "I-I can't feel him," the young man said, eyes widening in horror.

Rhinefeld's heart sank when he realized who answered back, but he dared not show it.

"Tony? Now I need you to calm down—"

"Where is he? Where's Dante?" Tony was already taking quick, shallow breaths, hyperventilating.

"Take a deep breath. Breathe." Dr. Rhinefeld signaled the orderlies to hold Tony down in the wheelchair.

"Why can't I hear him? Feel him? Talk to me. What's going?"

A lie probably would have worked to diffuse the situation, at least for the short term. Rhinefeld couldn't bring himself to lie to the obviously distraught young man. The doctor grimly spoke, "An integration of sorts. Dante allowed his personality to be overwritten by yours. Dante is—"

"Gone?" Tony stopped struggling when the realization hit him and the men let go.

"Yes. I'm so sorry."

Tony sat there with his gaze dropping to the floor, unmoving. He didn't flinch or make any other reaction when the doctor tried to gain the young man's attention. No snap or hand clap in front of the eyes brought him out of his trance.

"Dr. Rhinefeld, what should we do?" one of the orderlies asked.

"He's been through enough for the day. Just take him back to his room." The orderly obeyed.

Dr. Rhinefeld walked back to his seating area and picked up his voice recorder. He pressed stop and rewound it until he could hear himself speaking, "Dr. Alois Rhinefeld. This is session eight and day fifteen with patient, Dante—" He stopped the tape once again. He grabbed the winged back of his leather office chair, rolled it behind his desk, and sank into it. Rhinefeld pushed his hands underneath his glasses and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. He sat there as the dying sunset illuminated his office in its last orange glow.

The orderly wheeled Tony into a dayroom and left him for a passing nurse.

"Hey, Baby," he said in a salacious tone.

Not far from where Tony was left, a little blonde girl in a pink dress was signing into the front desk with a brunette woman dressed in a white pants suit. A set of barred doors slid open and the pair crossed threshold with a teddy bear and balloons.

"There he is," girl pointed out, "Over by the window."

They crossed the room with the gifts. "Hey, Dante," the girl called out.

Tony lifted his head to see Patty with a mile-wide smile and arms ready to wrap him into a bear hug. He already felt guilty for what he was about to do. Please, don't hate me, he thought.

"Hey, short stuff," he greeted the girl as Dante normally would, "How's school?"

"Busy. I got to come up with a good science project by the end of the month. That Jeffery Willis wins every year. I just want to beat 'em once. Just once!"

"Don't worry, you will," Tony gave a smirk.

She whipped her head into the direction of the big screen TV in the far corner of the room, in time to catch the opening credits of her favorite soap opera.

"Oh, can I please," Patty begged.

"We're not going anywhere," Lady waved the girl off.

"Thank you so much," Patty said before racing off to sit in front of the TV.

"I'll never understand that girl and her obsession with soaps. Anyways, how's it hangin', Lady?"

The brunette glared at him for a moment before speaking, "You seem off today. You okay?"

"Yeah. They got me jacked up on meds," Tony lied.

"No… it seems more like Anthony has come to play."

Tony smirked and chuckled. "How'd you know?"

"You don't have the same fire in your eyes as he does. So, where is he?"

Tony's lips bunched into a frown. "Long story. Before everything went down, Dante told me to never tell Patty, to play along until she reached a certain age and to get the safety deposit box ready."

Lady knew what the box meant. Dante was by accounts, dead. She wanted to grieve, but she had to remain tough. "Damn. He got what he wanted anyways, huh. I'll get the paperwork started and let Trish and Morrison know. What are you going to do? You can't pretend to be him forever."

He glanced over the blonde girl parked in front of the TV and smiled. "I know. I can't explain it, but I just have this strong feeling that all I want to do is to make her happy. I can keep it up for as long as she needs me to."

Lady nodded in understanding and said nothing else. She wheeled Tony to where Patty watched her program, both feigning interest with what was on television. Both sat with the girl in silence.

Why do I keep finding errors after all the proofing in the world?! I give up. Anyways, please help me grow as a writer and send some criticisms my way.