Virgil sat back at the front desk of Devil May Cry. At the end of last summer, Dante and Applejack had headed off to Death City to see about enrolling Applejack in DWMA. The only communication he'd gotten back since was from Dante, stating that he would be taking up free residence in Death City - a gesture of respect and honor to their father's blood in his veins from Death himself - until such time as Applejack graduated from DWMA. He would also be doing a few odd jobs for Death that called on his special talents. Apparently, some of the jobs that Death needed doing were too much for even 5 star Meisters and Death Scythes. The message had also promised to come visit for summer.

That had been nearly a year ago. It was now the first day of summer. Virgil and Trish - with occasional help from Lady - had kept the business going. They'd brought in quite a bit of money on their various jobs, and Virgil had also taken the time to research the group that had taken Nero. He hadn't gotten many leads yet, but the few he found looked promising if he was careful in their pursuit. He was almost glad Dante wasn't involved in this part, as his approach would likely have involved breaking down doors and taking names, which would have gotten nothing.

He would have liked Applejack's involvement, though. Not that her strategy was any different from Dante's, but her irrepressible optimism would have been welcome as lead after lead seemed to go nowhere...not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

A knock at the door drew him out of his musings.

"I'll get it," Trish said, sauntering easily to the door. She'd taken over greeting new customers, as she generally made a more favorable first impression than Virgil did. This was a relief, as Virgil didn't like dealing with people...although he refused to admit that her flirtatious manner with potential customers upset him.

"Honey! We're hoo-oome!"

Virgil groaned aloud as he heard that voice, though he inwardly smiled. "Back for summer vacation?" he asked as he approached his brother. Trish had already pulled Applejack into a warm embrace, kissing her on the cheek. "Going to be heading back to DWMA come fall?"

"Nope," Dante replied. "She's already graduated."

"What?' Virgil asked in shock. "But she's only been there one year!"

"According to Death, the only reason she was kept there that long was to help with certain anticipated events and to let her interact with others her own age," Dante pointed out. "Had a positive effect on all involved."

"How did she graduate so quickly?" Trish asked curiously.

"The only requirement to graduate is for a Meister's Weapon to be upgraded to a Death Scythe," Nevan said calmly as she sauntered in. No longer nude save her hair and miasma, she was now garbed in skin tight black leather zipped halfway down to expose her cleavage. Her hair was bound up in a long braid that hung down over one shoulder. "All that takes is 99 kishin egg souls and one witch's soul."

Applejack chuckled. "And those kishin egg beasts weren't much stronger than Seven Hells," she pointed out. "I could kill 99 o' them before breakfast."

"And the witch wasn't even as strong as Arkham was when he merged with that mass of demonic energy," Nevan added, "although she was a better fighter."

"The hard part was learnin' ta fight as a human instead of as a pony," Applejack admitted. "Threw mah balance off."

"You learned to assume a human form?" Virgil asked, glancing at the little pony.

"Yup!" Applejack bragged. "First thing ah learned!"

"Can I see?" Trish begged, setting her down.

Rolling her eyes, Applejack closed her eyes and focused. Her body flared with light.

The top of her head came up to Dante's elbow. Her hair was the same as her mane and tail had been. Her orange coat had become a slightly tanned skin tone, with freckles on both cheeks. She was garbed in a button down white t-shirt that bulged just slightly over the beginning of what would likely one day prove to be a 'bountiful harvest' and blue denim jeans. Beowulf had taken on the form of white, sparkling gloves and cowboy boots, giving her a 'rhinestone cowboy' look. She brought her right hand up to tip her hat down over part of her face as she smirked, showing her even white teeth.

Virgil grinned. "Nice look for you," he said dryly.

"You're adorable!" Trish squealed.

"So you're a Death Scythe now?" Alastor asked Nevan.

"That's right," Nevan replied. "I can even maintain my physical manifestation - complete with combat abilities - all on my own now."

"Impressive," Alastor replied. "But...has your weapon form changed?"

"It has."

"May I...see?"

Smirking, Nevan took Applejack's hand.

In a flash, Nevan had assumed her guitar form. The body of the guitar was still the electric violet it had always been, but the strings were now pitch black, like threads of darkness. The riffs were gold, glittering in the light. The headstock was now a bone white Death's Head skull.

Alastor was silent for a time.

"Why is my shoulder getting wet?" Dante demanded of the blade.

"Coincidence!" Alastor proclaimed as Nevan and the other weapons giggled.

Smirking, Applejack began playing.

Virgil noticed something interesting about the music. When it was dark like a dirge, he felt his power being drained away. When it shifted to upbeat, he felt his energy being replenished. "Your music influences the energy levels of those around you?" he asks in surprise.

"In addition to summoning my bats," Nevan replied before shifting to scythe form. The shaft was the same purple, the arch holding the blade golden, the blade itself a shifting void of blackness. The white Death's head now held the shaft and blade together.

Dante blinked. "Do I want to know why my back is wet?"

Alastor hesitated. "...no, but you might want a bath."

Next Chapter: Summer Break 5 Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes