Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry or one of the boys.

This is my first fanfiction in English and I thank my Beta-Reader for finding my mistakes. My story WILL contain violence and it WILL contain slash in the later chapers. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Reviews are always welcome. Please, enjoy!

Part one: An unexpected call

Five years had passed since the demon gate had been closed again.

Nevertheless, many unnatural and evil creatures still wandered like ghosts, crawling through the nightly streets of New York, always looking for victims.
Whoever was foolish enough to walk alone through the side streets after sunset experienced a quick and unpleasant death.

Sometimes groups of three or four people disappeared into nowhere, leaving nothing behind except for bereft family and friends.The police department was helpless. There were no hints that there had been fights or at least signs of an act of violence.

The demons mostly lurked near bridges and subway stations and attacked everyone who was coming by.

At one of those subway stations a red-clad figure stood leaning against the wall near the stairs.

The long coat nearly hit the ground, covering the skin tight black leather pants and knee high black leather boots with shimmering silver buckles. Going on up the muscular body a keen observer could identify the little bulges which were on both sides of the slender hips.
There, hidden from sight, two handguns were hidden, waiting for their master to act – they were called Ebony and Ivory.

But the young man stood motionless with his arms crossed in front of his well-built chest Black leather gloves covered unusually slender hands.

He let his head hang a little so that his long silver bangs covered his icy blue eyes which were able to frighten anyone he looked at.

A bitter smile lay on his lips as he watched two boys struggling over a bottle which probably contained alcohol. The boys were twins, sixteen or seventeen years old, with dark brown hair. Their faces showed the same lines and characteristics. The only difference between them was the length of their hair; one had a short and spiky haircut whereas his brother had a longer ponytail.

The two were drunken and happy and unaware of the danger they were in.

A few meters away in a dark corner, impossible for human eyes to see, a large creature with a long sickle hopped from one foot to the other. Not nervousness but excitement caused the beast to wriggle like jelly.

The boys noticed nothing. Only the bottle was interesting for them. The bottle and who had it.

For a few minutes nothing happened.Then the beast cried out loudly and began to move towards the boys.

For someone who was not involved in the scene it seemed to happen in slow motion. The large red-white creature started running and jumped towards the boys with the sickle raised high above its head and ready to kill.The bottle slowly fell onto the ground and broke.

Dark brown liquid splattered over the ground and shimmered in the dim light.

Eyes wide with fear the twins stared motionless at what was coming for them. It seemed that there was no way out.

No-one could, or would help them.

The beast got nearer. Swinging its sickle, it looked pleased with its prey.
Both boys had closed their eyes in awareness of the oncoming death, when a loud bang echoed through the subway hall.

Silence fell over the scene.

One of the twins, the one with longer hair, opened his eyes slowly just to stare at ... nothing. He stumbled backward grabbing his brother's shoulder. The other one ripped his eyes open and turned around to flee towards the stairs.

But he stopped dead at what he saw. A young man with a long red coat stood there. His legs were slightly spread and in his right hand he held a black gun which was pointed directly at them. Icy blue eyes stared at them.

For a moment the air seemed to flicker with the tension between them. The silence was deafening.

Minutes passed by but nothing happened until a small laugh ripped the silence apart.

It came from the man in the red coat.

He put his gun back into its holster and relaxed a little before he made his way toward the two boys who still stood like statues. His heels clicked on the ground with every step he made.

The boys began to shiver. They were unsure if this was a better situation than the one before.

The chuckling rose to loud laughter and the red-clad man stopped in front of them.

"Who are you?" the short haired boy asked, his voice trembling.His brother just stared at the guns which hung at the other's hips.
"Name's Dante, demon hunter," the red-clad answered with his deep voice.
He flipped a small card out of his pocket and held it in front of the boys' faces.The long haired boy took it gingerly, his hands shaking.
"Demon hunter?" His brother asked distrustfully. "Demons don't exist!" His voice got smaller with every word, "...do they?"
The demon hunter, Dante, smiled mildly, his eyes focused on the dust which was the remaining rest of the beast.
"Sure they exist," he answered quietly tearing his eyes from the ground and staring into the boy's.
"Or what would you call that beast which attacked you two?"
"Hallucinations?" answered the boy doubtfully. Dante shook his head and turned to walk away. The boys stood there, not knowing what to do.
"Go home and try to avoid the subway stations late at night," the half demon suggested as if reading their minds. Slowly he walked toward the staircase. At the bottom stair he stopped, turning around.
"And stop drinking so much, it's not good for your health," he added. Then he stalked out of the subway.

Behind him he could hear the twins arguing about the things they had experienced. Again a smile appeared on his face, a sad one.
He thought of his own brother, Vergil. Five years ago they had fought against each other.

He, to save the human world from being mingled with that of the demons' and his brother to open the gate to the demon world.In the end he had seen that they both had been toys for Arkham who had tried to get their father's power. That fight was the only one in which he and his twin had worked together.

After Arkham was defeated he had to face his brother in one last fateful battle.

He realised that it was a bitter victory after Lady, Arkham's daughter, had left for Europe.

He had been alone since that day five years ago. Only in his dreams did he see his brother again.
They were dark dreams, where he had to relive the battles again. Every night, for five years, he saw his brother falling down into hell.

Dante walked slowly out of the station. The night was cold but the sky was clear.

When he felt the cool air around him he rose his head and looked up to the moon which now was nearly full.
Most nights ended in the same way: he would sit on his roof staring up at the stars.

Right now the young half breed stalked towards the Hudson River where his shop was situated.
It was a long way but Dante didn't care.
He wanted to walk, wanted to think, wanted to forget what had happened.

A fresh wind came up and caused his long hair to get into his eyes.

His long silvery hair had grown and now it was nearly half way down his back. Normally he avoided putting it up in a ponytail but this night he made an exception.

Time went by while Dante was walking through the empty streets.

His thoughts wandered back to the last fight and Vergil's fateful decision.
He saw himself trying to grab his brother's arm and he could feel the pain when Yamato had sliced his hand.
Though there was no scar Dante could still see his blood running out of that cut.

Every time he thought about this last meeting with his brother his heart seemed to stop because of the sadness that rose in him.
There were days and nights where Dante thought about himself and his brother.

Was his twin right and he had too much human than demon in him? Did his feelings – these human feelings- avoid his real power?
Were these feelings the reason for his wish to rescue the human world?

He stopped and looked up into the sky.

The sight of the clear moon had no answer but it calmed his mind. A sigh escaped his mouth and destroyed the peaceful moment he had stolen.

Shaking his head he started walking again. The streets were silent and empty. There were no human beings outside. Not even the beggars were at their usual places because of the demons.

Sometimes Dante thought of Lady the young huntress and their first meeting. She had attacked him and shot at him three times, but nonetheless they had been a good team at the Temen-Ni-Gru. After she had killed her father she had spent some time with him hunting down the demons which were left. Then she decided to go to Europe to fight there. They kept in touch even if it was only a call at a birthday or at christmas.

Now he missed her.

Though she had been annoying her reasons for getting in his way were understandable, even if he had needed some time to realize it.

The smell of the air changed. Just a little bit but his overaverage abilities sensed it.
He was near the Hudson River, near his shop. Near home.

Dante looked up and stopped again. In front of him lay the river and the stars were reflected in the dark water. The waves reminded him somehow of his older brother because Vergil was a little like the element water. Normally he was calm and thoughtful- if it came to his plans – but he could be really dangerous and deadly. He for himself was more like the element fire – passionate and – mostly – thoughtless.

A little smile rushed across his face when he remembered the fight against Arkham. The moment he gave Ebony to his brother he felt somehow complete. Back to back with his mirror image – it was a situation in which he hadn't thought about danger or fear – in which he had felt safe.

Since that last time he was off balance and restless. A sigh escaped his mouth and he lowered his gaze. A cold wind came up and the young half demon turned away from the river. He started walking again. Slowly and lost in his memories he made his way toward his shop which was just a few blocks away.

There was no noise around him. No-one, not even the dogs, was outside. Everyone was afraid of the demons. He could understand it.

A cold drop hit him on his face. He stopped and looked up into the sky. The wind had brought dark clouds with him and it began to rain.
Again he had to smile grimly. It had rained the night when his brother fell into hell.
Dante lowered his gaze again and looked directly at the neon sign which hung over his frontdoor.

"Devil May Cry"...

"Yeah," he murmured, "Devils may cry... If they lose what they love."
A single tear ran down his face, like the night after the fight.
He saw his brother's face - not angry or full of hate but with a smile... a picture from the past nearly fifteen years ago.

Dante ripped his eyes from the sign and opened his front door.
Inside his shop it was dark and cold but he didn't turn the light on because he knew where everything was.

Slowly, closing the door behind him, he walked inside the room and toward the desk.

His answering machine blinked. He had a few new messages - to be more exact he had six.
Dante pushed the little button and listened.

The first message was a call from a customer who called at least once a week. The young demon hunter took off his coat while the man was talking. Hanging the red coat on the stand he listened to the other messages.
The first five were customers. One had a problem with Enigmas statues, an other had a few Abysses.
Nothing too dangerous, nothing too interesting.

He moved away but froze when he heard the last call.
He turned around and stared down at the little black machine.

"Hey Dante," a female voice said. "It's me, Lady. I guess you're not at home at the moment but please call me. I have something really interesting for you. Okay, see ya."

The silver haired man waited a few minutes then he deleted the messages.Hesitating, he picked up the telephone receiver. Dialing was more difficult because he didn't really want to know what she had to say.

On the other hand he was a little curious because she normally called just at Christmas and the New Years day.
Breathing in deeply he dialed her phone number.

For a few painfully long moments nothing happened. Then she picked up the phone.

"This is the 'Devils' Fear'", you're speaking with Lady, how can I help you?""Hey Lady, it's me, Dante" the young hunter answered.
"Oh, hey! How are you?" she wanted to know.
"Fine, as always," he said with a bored voice. Leaning against his desk he looked over to his mirror.
His mirror image looked tired, his long silvery hair hung tarnished over his right shoulder. His black clothes were covered with demon dust.
"Okay, right," she replied, "what do you want?"
"You called and said you have something interesting for me," he answered bluntly.
She was silent for a few minutes.
"There's no reason for being so rude," she complained but went on. "I think I found a gate."
"What do you mean, a gate?" asked the young demon hunter.
"It looks like a demon gate but I'm not sure. Anyway, near the gate were more demons than in other places." she explained.
Dante remaind silent. He looked into the eyes of his mirror self. Part of him hoped that it was a real gate.
"Hey, are you okay?" Lady asked worriedly.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm alright. Listen, I'll think about it, okay?" he said shortly and without waiting for an answer he hung up.

Covering his face with both hands he stood there, thinking.

If it was a demon gate then it would be possible to open it and then he could look for his brother."Vergil," he whispered. Moving his hands away from his face he looked into the mirror again. His expression was stern and thoughtful.

After another few minutes he got up and went towards his window. Outside the night was dark, and there was nothing to see.

Dante thought about it but then he made a decision on impulse.
Turning around and walking to the phone he promised himself to not hope too much.Picking up the phone he dialed a number. First nothing happened. Then...

"Hello, First Choice Airways. May I help you?"
"Yeah. Can I book a flight please..."