DmC Illia's Chronicles

Mission 17:

Illia rummaged through all of her salvageable belongings; she lost quite a bit between the Order's hideout exploding and the quakes from the city. She supposed it made it easier to pack light; however, she was saddened that many of her ancient tomes that were gifts from her uncle lay in ruin, a knowledge that wouldn't be recovered any time soon. She filled two bags, one of her things and the other of Heine's belongings, stuffed to the brim of everything they had left. Money that they both stowed away under loose floorboards, tightly folded into the lining of her jacket pocket. That was everything besides what little furniture that they possessed. She figured they wouldn't need it, nor would they ever return to reclaim it. Leaving a note full of rent for the next month and the key to the residents on the small kitchen island that resided in the middle of the room—walking through the empty halls, proceeding down the steps that led to the devastated city.

Surprisingly, the block where she lived was still standing without much impact after all the commotion from a week prior. Her feet felt heavy as she made it a block away from the complex. Though she hated this city, this was a place that she made her home for the past five years, and leaving it now with answers in hand was a bittersweet ending. Before she could cross the next street, her name being shouted was just enough to draw her attention to the hand that gently gripped her shoulder from her deep-rooted thoughts.

"Hey, I finally found you!" Dante panted out, sweat dripped down his face, and his hair was now white, matching his brother's.

"Dante?" she gasped in surprise as a bold smile began to overtake her face.

"I was worried when I didn't see you at the warehouse. And Kat said you pulled a disappearing act." He returned her smile, glancing down at her giant bags that hung off of her shoulders.

"Yeah, there was a lot that happened... I found the answers that I was looking for."..." her smile, fading, thinking of everything that transpired that week before; to Heine's hardship, along with her discovered truths, and what Vergil had told her, this wasn't as a joyous reunion as it could've been.

"You know what happened to your uncle?"

He joined her for a couple of blocks, and she told him everything that he missed in her absence. She made sure to skip out on the details of his brother. From what Vergil had mentioned, she didn't want to spark up any unneeded animosity. His expression shifted in tone when he noticed the shuriken demeanor that she was now displaying, only stopping a moment for him to pat her on her shoulder as a sense of comfort.

"I'm sorry..." he said, with eyes soft with sympathy.

"It's alright, I am just happy to now know what happened..." she said, with a sad smile.

"Actually, 'happy' isn't the right term."

The hand that he had placed on her shoulder tightened, sharing a warm smile to try to lighten the mood and only stopping when he felt one of the straps of her bags—throwing in the question that he had grown ever since he saw her emerge from her building.

His expression shifted in tone when he noticed the giant bags that hung off her body.

"Are you leaving?" his brow twisting,

She didn't know how to answer him, and it was evident that he knew what her response would be; however, the way his tall frame began to slump, he wanted her to say it aloud.

"Yes, now that everything is done. It's time for me to get out of this fucking town."

He was silent for a moment, lightly chuckling from her clause behavior and finally looking at her with a smile.