Ripley's Believe It or Else

Game sold badly? Fired

Game sold well? Fired

Game just came out? Fired

Game not out yet? Fired

Game literally just announced? Fired

[Source]

the second believe that Nero is manipulating her (and the rest of the populace) with his evil demon magic. hes the real leader and shes his puppet. this group leaves, besides a few left behind on Fortuna as spies, to go figure out how to stop him. some watch Dante's office. a lot of them believe Nero is lying and killed Dante and Vergil so they wouldn't be able to stop him. if Nero was telling the truth, Dante would be able to save them, if he ever comes home. he did manage to put his brother on a leash! Nero can't be that hard to stop, right? they arent putting all their eggs in one basket, and are seeking help from companies that are now hoping to create demon erradication methods in the meantime.

after they leave, Lucia comes in and tries to explain whats really happening. she explains that theyre just trying to protect Fortuna. that Kyrie is the one in charge, and Nero is happy to follow her lead. Nico is also there and doing the best work of her life.

its a pretty realistic explanation of whats going on, but leaves Dante with something like the third impression. doesnt help when he calls Lady and she adds that Nico and Kyrie are boning while Nico keeps nearly blowing Nero up. Morrison doesnt know much and Trish is not picking up her phone so. better go check on his nephew

she comes for dinner often. she really comes to admire Kyrie and they become good friends. she handles most of the heavier jobs on the mainland so Nero doesnt have to leave Fortuna undefended so much. she helps Nico test weapons and brings her demon parts, earning herself some cool stuff. she ends up keeping an eye on the faithful that left to plot against Nero and Kyrie. their kids are calling her Aunt Lucia pretty quick.

before Nero can get too angry, Vergil starts thanking him, for fixing Yamato, for giving him and Dante another chance with each other*. he tells Nero he owes him a great debt. he also fills him in on the visits and phone calls to Lady and Morrison. Nero did know about Lucia and the cultist visiting bc she called, but it does win Vergil some brownie points for transparency. regardless, Nero is like "great, thanks. fuck off" so Vergil leaves but not before promising to check in soon.

Dante is so upset that Vergil disappeared so soon after they got back. he's livid when Vergil tells him where he went. Nero is so mad at them! he told them to leave him alone! Vergil points out that Nero told Dante to leave him alone. Vergil had stayed quiet and let Dante handle it, as requested. besides this wasn't about the cult shit. Dante still isn't happy, but he cant stop Vergil from trying to have a relationship with his son.

over the next few weeks, Nero and Nico take more hunts on the mainland. things are stable for now with everyone wondering how Dante and Vergil being home changes things. Nero needs an outlet, Nico could really use some new research material, and they're always tight on cash.

Vergil keeps popping in, at first just staying long enough for Nero to kick him out. Nico, however, isn't. she wants to talk to him! this can be his in! he starts visiting when Nero is actively hunting, bringing Nico demon parts and answering her questions. Nero doesn't hunt him down and try to kill him, or at least tell him off, so its probably fine.

he also gets a lot of info on what exactly is going on with Fortuna, between Nero and Kyrie especially. well, at first Nico makes a lot of jokes about cucking Nero. she does eventually explain everything.

eventually he finally decides to confront Nero about it. he is truly impressed by what they've accomplished in such a short time. it was an entirely logical course of action to protect themselves and others. he also admires that Nero acknowledges the limits of his skill and found good partners (Kyrie for actually controlling people and Nico who understands all the research left behind). that's the first time Nero really questions if they're doing the right thing. oh well, they've come to far to turn back now.

she has mixed feelings about Dante. he saved them. he let Nero keep Yamato. then he just left and didn't contact them again. sending that sign got Nero's hopes up a little that he would. he made it very clear that he didn't want anything to do with Nero, unless they had the kind of problem he can swing his sword at. he blew off Nero's concern after being presumed dead for a month and then he fucked off to hell with the brother he just tried to kill for 18 months like everything's fine now.

now he's worried about Nero? what right does he have! it's almost flattering that he thinks Kyrie is capable of either manipulating or magically binding Nero, and comforting that he'd stop her (unlike the companies that have commended her for it). but he didn't even talk to Nero before jumping to conclusions! it shouldn't be surprising considering he's made up this idolized version of who he thinks Nero is, despite never having a proper conversation with him. and now he's just fucked off again.

Vergil, however, is making a conscious effort. he keeps checking in on Nero and actually listened to him and Nico before drawing conclusions. he isn't pushing Nero for more than he's willing to give. he's been helping Nico with her work, even. he's offered to help with the rest of it and is letting them decide to take him up on it, instead of just doing what he thinks needs done. Vergil even talked to Nero and thanked him! if only the guy hadn't ripped Nero's arm off, razed a city, and dragged Nero out of his hospital bed. if only he actually apologized for it. giving Nero the book before leaving for hell was a nice gesture. probably.