A/N: Guess I'm on a roll lately :D

As I watched my Mother die, I lost my head
Revenge now I sought, to break with my bread
Takin' no chances, you come with me
I'll split you to the bone
Help set you free

Dante wasn't worried.

Devil May Cry (patent pending), was a little project he and his brother….

….nope, not worried. Not a bit.

Anyway, this little dog and pony show they were running was barely a year old and they were raking in the cash quite handily. Turned out, they were quite a monopoly in the demon-hunting business.

Well, a monopoly in the demon-hunting-and-living-to-tell-about-it business anyway. Lots of cash to make a comfortable living, fearsome reputation that made most criminal organizations leave them alone.

So really, what was there to be worried about? A simple possession case was nothing to get worked up about.

There was the slightest click from the doorway that cut off Dante's train of thought.

"Vergil? You forget something?" Dante called, as he heard his brother make his way to the living room.

"No. I'm done."

Dante looked at his brother incredulously. Vergil was never one for jokes, even before that night, but he seemed to have closed off even more these past few months. He supposed he couldn't blame him. The demon attack that killed their mother changed their lives forever.

Vergil was always a little hard to read, but these days, it was like talking to a vegetable. He barely ate, barely slept and kept taking hunting jobs. Every job, no matter how trivial, no matter how violent or dangerous, Vergil accepted it.

He watched as his brother started to head upstairs.

"What, exactly, do you mean by 'done'? You were gone fifteen minutes."

There was a blank expression on Vergil's face. "It was too late."

"Too late? What does that…."

"Exactly what it sounded like. The girl was too far gone Dante. There was nothing of her left. A mere vessel for the demon."

Dante's blood went cold as he slowly got and made his way to face his twin.

"You didn't even try an exorcism? You just went and killed her?"

Vergil met his stare with an icy expression. "There was no point. She had already killed her entire family when I got there."

The younger of the two crossed his arms. "Why'd you even take this job? Possessions aren't really our thing. We deal with corporeal manifestations most of the time."

"Leave no stone unturned. Any calls while I was away?"

"No. We are NOT taking another job tonight. Not until you talk to me."

"What's there to talk about? We are hunters. I am merely doing my job."

"Let's just….let's take a break, alright? Re-asses how we're going to handle delicate jobs like tonight."

Vergil's gaze turned even colder. "Take a break? Have you forgotten what….who it is we're doing this for?"

Dante put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "That's not what I mean. You know that. It's just…I feel like I don't know you anymore! When we started this, we talked about how we were going to go about this. Keep going until we hit the jackpot."

"That's what I'm doing."

"No, what you're doing is reckless. It's destructive. This is the eighth time you've decided that a case was 'too late'!"

Vergil actually smirked at that one. "You're lecturing me on recklessness?"

"What you're doing…this isn't right. We swore we would minimize collateral damage, keep innocents from being hurt."

"No one's innocent, Dante."

The younger twin frowned. "The hell are you talking about?"

Vergil sat down on the couch, motioning for his brother to do the same. Dante complied, glaring at him the whole way.

"We've been in business for about a year now, correct?"

"Yeah. What's your point?" Dante grit out.

"Do you know why the demon decided to possess that girl a while ago?"

"No. Should I?"

"It's because that girl's father had been raping her for almost her entire life. She made a deal with a demon so that she could exact her revenge."

Dante frowned. "That's fucked up, but what does that have to do—"

"All the cases we've taken over the year, do you know what I've found out? Humans keep bringing this onto themselves. They are a malcontent and malevolent species, bringing nothing but pain and destruction to themselves and others. Demons….they act merely on instinct, no different from animals. The humans are the ones who choose, the ones who kill for sport, who destroy for profit, who bring ruin for the sake of ruination. It is their pride, their lust, their greed, their anger that feed the forces of Hell! They are scum, barely different from the demons themselves."

Dante swallowed heavily. This wasn't his brother – wasn't Vergil anymore.

Maybe he hadn't been for a long time.

"And Mom?" Dante ventured. "Was she just scum too?"

Vergil sighed. "She was the exception to the rule, and for her, I will have my vengeance. But rest assured, once I have it…."

Silence fell over them.

"You think this is what she'd want?" Dante snarled, trembling with rage.

"She's dead, brother. It doesn't matter."

"God Vergil….what the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Can you honestly name me one person, aside from mother, who was worth saving? Can you name me one client who stood out to you as being deserving of salvation?"

"Everyone deserves to be saved, Vergil. Even you."

"Save me? From what?"

"From yourself."

Vergil let out a sudden bark of laughter, causing Dante's heart to leap into his throat. "Do you even know who I truly am, brother? Who you truly are? What you and I are capable of?"

Dante looked in horror as a terrifying facsimile of a smile appeared on….this thing wearing his brother's face.

"You've never tried it have you? You've never been able to trigger it?"

"What are you talking about?!" yelled Dante, unable to contain his anger any longer.

"Oh, what sights you will see, brother. You will hear every lie that comes from the lips of the humans before they barely have time to fabricate it. You will sense every action from their muscles before they even have time to think it. You will know your true self."

Dante looked at the man wearing his face, fatigue starting to set in. "We need to get some sleep."

"You know that neither you nor I need sleep. If you'd just let me show you…"

"This isn't you, Vergil." Dante said, finally standing up.

The elder twin mimicked his action and made his way to the door.

"Isn't it?"

The door closed.

On with the action now, I'll strip your pride
I'll spread your blood around, I'll see you ride
Your face is scarred with steel, wounds deep and neat
Like a double dozen before you, smell so sweet.

END

A/N: Read and Review! Happy Holidays guys!