It was just another windy Saturday night. For Dante Sparda this was the only free of demon- hunting night. And he planned on spending it in the nearby club- 'Love Planet'. This was one of the few possible ways for the legendary hunter to loosen up a bit after a long mission. Just like his last.
However, there was something extraordinary about the club tonight, if such a thing could ever be said about a place where sin and madness were sold by the litre. Maybe there were way too many demonic forms of life. Maybe it was the better service of the breasty staff.
Before there would barely be more than 30 people including the stuff. Now, thank God, he was a regular costumer to be able to find a front seat. There were even people fighting at the entrance for the last tickets.
Soon all of Dante's questions were answered by the appearance of a not just one but three dancers. And they were one of the hottest. Unanswered to the Sparda son, remained the question, was it just his imagination, or were his regular drinks more expensive? Unfortunately, the amount of heat and unrestrained desires, mixed with the sweating, naked bodies of the dancers and the intoxication of the alcohol clouded his mind and cleansed it from everything materialistic.
The show sure was a lot better than before, but the same thing could be seen in a lot of other strip clubs. It didn't make it that special. Not to mention that above the loud music, voices from all over the world could be heard, in addition to all demonic slangs. 'Love Planet' was the only place where demons didn't have to worry about their lives while being in one room with a Sparda.
Time passed by quickly as Dante's thoughts raced between reality and a dreamland where he was surrounded by all those magnificent girls. Where those beauties raced their fingers through his long silver locks, and whimpers echoed through the four walls of his office in 'Devil May Cry'.
It was about 2 a.m. when the music became a mix of hard rock, the three dancers were sent back inside and a guy appeared from purple smoke. He had that sly smirk, which meant nothing good was about to happen. 'Ladies and gentleman, I am really happy to welcome you here tonight, as soon 'Love Planet' would be the most well known bar in the world. I am here to present you our black diamond. Her name is Cassandra. She is rumoured to be the best dancer the world has ever had. And she has really peculiar blood.' After those words a girl no older than 17 was pushed on the stage. She was dressed in tight and sexy clothes, but her eyes revealed insecurity and fear. Despite her evident need to run away and the lack of bounds, it felt like something was restraining her. However, the guy disappeared, allowing the music to start. As the girl began to move, it was like the earth stood still, and she was the centre of it all.
Her body moved as if it was the rhythm itself. She never stripped a single garment, but she was a lot better than all those hookers. As Dante watched mesmerised, he failed to notice that someone had taken a seat next to him. 'My, my, little brother, you truly looked dumbstruck by this little devil child...' Vergil. So he was here, too. Dante slowly turned to face his brother. 'What are you doing here, Verge?' 'What everybody else ...maybe except for you... No one came here for the sake of watching a good stripper. This kid over there is rumoured to be one of a kind.' 'What do you mean?' 'You will see once you take a closer look. As to her past, she is oblivious to it, so you may need to do a little investigation.'
It was already 4a.m. and Dante never felt how the hours have passed, as he was too busy trying to find anything more about the gorgeous girl on the stage. Few people were willing to talk and what they mentioned was obscure and insufficient. Where did she come from? What was her family? To those questions he never received a normal answer. The only clue he managed to find was an old witch, calling her a devil child and a demonic bastard, referring to her as a being above all nephilim and below all angels. All the others just laughed at his questions and asked if he lived on another planet not to have heard.
At about 6a.m. the girl finally retreated backstage. Noticing that, Dante decided to follow her. Making his way through the crowd, the half- demon, ended up in a small backroom. Occult signs covered the place. To the normal human, those would look more like some strange paintings or will just go unnoticed. But the Sparda son knew perfectly well what such sigils were used for- binding an angel and lessening its grace. Although, he had never seen such a thing before. In the middle of the room stood the kid. It was bound only by a thin rope.
No doubt it would have been an easy escape if she had her powers. Instead, she looked beaten and thorn up. Now that he got the chance for a closer view, he noticed all the cuts and bruises, covering not only her arms, but also her body. Apparently they were forcing her to dance, but there was something more to it.
As Dante approached the girl, she jerked back and nearly screamed. The fear was evident in her slightly trembling form. 'I am not here to hurt you, kid. No need to worry. But answer me on one thing, why are they keeping you here? ...What makes you so special?' When Cassandra started to speak, her voice sounded more like a melody. 'I was known as the leader of 'Silent Doom', a small organisation of freaks and outcasts without a place in the world. I was their angel. I gathered them as I was a world wide- famous dancer. Some of the people I met told me I was strange and different. That I was going to bring chaos on earth...' None of this actually answered Dante's many questions. But there was something more in those eyes. A dark secret, lurking in those deep oceans of blue. And a horrific tragedy, hidden behind the sweet smile. With one spin of Rebellion the ropes were down. The half- demon took the child by the hand and led her to the door, killing the gang of demons, trying to stop him along the way. While walking down to his office, holding Cassandra's hand, he noticed she made no obligations. 'Kid, why aren't you trying to run away, now that you are away from the binding spells?' 'I am tired of running away. I spent my entire life on the track. And besides, you can't be any worse than anything I have already been trough recently.' 'Don't you have family?', the question even surprised Dante himself. 'Don't you, Dante Sparda?' 'How did you know?' 'I have my ways and you are quite a star in this underground world...' The answer seemed kind of logical.
As the two of them reached the office of 'Devil May Cry', no one expected a warm welcome by a flock of relatively strong and determined demons. They clearly wanted the girl back. As to why, none of them bothered to answer. It was near dusk and the girl was already situated in the furthest corner of a couch. Dante had noticed the variety of scars and bruises on the pale skin, but dared not ask. 'It seems to me, like you want to ask me of how I got here, so I am going to tell you my story, as I owe you my life.' 'Ok, kiddo... so, how did you manage to get yourself so beaten up?'
'I used to be a dancer. One of the best, actually. I had a lovely rock band and we had many followers and fans. I was never the abusive type and we always managed to keep our heads low, as none of us was strong enough to lead a real fight. My life was relatively peaceful, excluding the demonic deals I made, to raise more money when needed and all the demons and freaks I helped out. This lasted until those bastards showed up one day. There were just too many of them. They killed most of my friends. Some managed to get away. And they took me with them, telling me I had an important mission in helping them rule the world and bringing the End. Everything else was just too many beating and rapes and my futile attempts to kill myself. Demons are sadistic creatures as you might have guessed. They used to beat me to unconsciousness every time I disobeyed. Later on when I learned to follow their orders, they started having even more fun than before. Now there were ropes and chains, the hits were harder, the knife carved a lot deeper, my screams were no longer a punishment, but an entertainment. They called me all possible insults, as they did the dirtiest things with my body. I never want to remember all the things they made me do. Each night I prayed for salvation that never came. I am no longer the girl I used to be, as I have lost myself in a lake of pain. Therefore, I will fail to care whether you will be nice or rough on me. There is nothing more you can take away. Ever since than I became what you saw last night- a satanic whore... End of story.'
Dante just took her words for read, showing no emotion as always and went on to order the usual meal- pizza. Only this time he had a guest and there was one more portion. The girl never complained as this was the finest meal she had in the last few months. No wonder she was skinny. No wonder her eyes seemed so... dead. They were missing their meaning of life. In front of him stood a girl, from whom everything was taken away. A mirror image of what he might have become, had he not been so strong and well- trained to take care of himself. Then again, there was something more to this girl. She wasn't half-devil like him. He felt like he had to go have a little chat with Virgil. The Demon Hunter had serious concerns about leaving the child all alone with an entire demonic army looking for her, but eventually his curiosity took over. Picking his irreplaceable Ivory and Ebony, he stood up and left, with only one 'Take care, I will be back soon!'
Vergil wasn't hard to find as he always picked up remote and deserted paces to hang out. The other twin was standing atop of an old building, peering into the darkness as if waiting for someone, although Dante was more than sure that no one was going to come. His brother was always like this- calm and watching, alone and dangerous. As the Hunter approached his brother, he reasoned that the older already knew of his presence. They fought each other no more. There was a silent peace treaty between them. After Vergil somehow managed to come back from Hell, all bloody and on the verge of death, Dante was the one, who found him, took him back to 'Devil May Cry' and gave him all the medical care needed. As soon as he could walk on his own, Vergil left his twin's home to wander the world alone. It wasn't a tearful goodbye, but it was the closest thing they had to love. From time to time Vergil came back, not bothering to knock on the door, as he knew when his brother would be inside. Sometimes, Dante would also come. Find the newest deserted place, the older had chosen to settle in for a while. Rarely, they would even go on a mission together. As a team they were unbeatable, as no one could rival the Sparda twins. There were even the times when they would help each other by exchanging information. Tonight was from the last type. To Virgil it was perfectly clear that his brother took really deep interest in this girl. Taking the reliability of all his info on her into consideration and evaluating the risk, the older half- demon decided to answer his twin's questions.
'Tonight is a lovely night, huh, Verge?' Dante's familiar voice resonated from behind. Vergil turned around as two pairs of icy blue eyes met. 'I know you have come here to talk, Dante. And I have some information to offer you.' 'I know you do. So, what up with the kid? Why Hell wants her?' 'She is really special. To them. As you might have heard, Hell is planning on rising. Azazel and his gang of fallen are planning to make their new kingdom expand. Before they can reach Heaven and execute their revenge on their brothers, or maybe just for the sake of annoying God, they decided to bring in the Apocalypse. In order to do that, they need their boss free from Hell. I am talking about Lucifer. To break his cage, they need a very special sacrifice, which leads to that little lady. She is rumoured to be the only child mister Satan has. After he is set free ...he has to kill her.' Upon finishing his story, Virgil shut his eyes closed and turned his back on his brother. This child, so innocent and caring was forced to live in hell only to die as a sacrifice and wonder in the real Hell forever. Not to mention her dead would bring the worst horrors to all people.
Upon hearing that Dante was silent. No cool catch phrases or ironic comments. Just silence. After a few moments with no other sound than the wind, Dante spun on his heels and with one last 'Goodbye, Vergil' barely breathed, he left.
In a half an hour, he was back home; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The girl had fallen asleep, where he had left her. For a first time since they had met she seemed so peaceful. There was even a trace of a smile upon her lips. Dante brought her some covers and gently sat beside her, taking her into his arms. In this position they spent the night until the rays of the dawn woke her up. There was the loveliest gleam of light in those sapphire eyes as she woke up, still unconcerned by her own living nightmare.
'Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!' At the soft words the girl shifted a bit and stood up to face the hunter. 'Good morning to you, too.' After a few too long moments of silence, the Hunter was the first one to break it. While, gently placing one of his hands around her waist, he spoke: 'Last night you failed to tell me something, darling...' Her eyes immediately dropped to the ground and pain went through her features. 'So someone must have told you while you were out...' 'Told me what..?' Her eyes still refused to meet his as a tear rolled down the pale skin. 'I am a freak! I am not a nephilim, but I have six black wings...' Her broken sob broke the sentence. And then it hit him! She never knew. No one told her. And he understood. He knew what it felt like, being an outcast in this big big world. But she was even worse than he used to be. She was one of a kind. And there was no one to teach her how to fight, to protect her from all the evil. She never had a family. She was completely and utterly alone in this misery.
Silently Dante promised himself not to give her up, maybe even to take care of her. The mare feeling of this slim form in his arm brought the feeling of holding something so graceful... so holy. Cassandra must have felt that, because she finally found the courage to look at him and asked: 'Care to see my true form...?' Dante nodded and slowly released her from his hold. She stood in the middle of the room, taking a small ring off her finger. Then the room was brightly illuminated by a light that seemed to radiate from the creature before him. As Dante's eyes adjusted to the brightness, he was mesmerised by the perfect mixture of six raven black wings and the shining slim figure. Her eyes were a whole new level of beautiful. They reminded him of endless oceans, now holding all the knowledge of the world. Her hair was a bit longer, tangling with the soft feathers. And her wings were magnificent- six at all, touching the ceiling and the floor and fluttering like those of a caged bird, aching to be free. Her skin was also very spectacular, as it shone like fire was burning beneath it and thousands of diamonds were sparkling between the pores. She radiated love and compassion. A being of purity and grace. How could some people call her Devil Child? She was an angel in human form, if that was even possible. And she was no nephilim. He had seen those dirty lowly beings, filled with all the hatred towards humanity, their superiors and their slaves.
Then the half-devil knew. The Morningstar, the Devil Himself was once the most handsome being in creation. The image of pure perfection. What did he expect from his only child? Nothing less, of course. As she sat back down close to him, folding her wings a bit and gently laying her hand on his shoulder, Dante felt a wave of bright energy sweep through his body and heal both his body and soul.
After a few moments spent like this she returned to her normal form by putting the ring back on. And the room was no longer shining and the warm feeling of purity was gone.
The rest of the day went smoothly, until the time came for Dante to leave for the night. As always he had a mission to cleanse another demon liar. When he left the girl was securely locked up in his office, armed and protected by a few symbols to chase away the demons. Luckily, this time his appointment with Hell was closer to his office and he could keep an eye on Cassandra. But like they say, when something bad is bound to happen, there is no escaping it. At the middle of his fight, Dante found himself, being surrounded by millions of scare cows and the circle tightening around his own office until he was pushed to the front gate. A loud scream came from the top bedroom, where he had left the girl. Minutes later, he saw her being dragged down by no other than Azazel. He had her in a tight grip, while his eyes shone with insanity. 'Why don't you take on someone your size, huh, Azazel?' The voice came from above Dante and it belonged to no other than Vergil, but the fallen angel just laughed. 'If you want to get to me, you'll have to go past the entire Hell first! Our Lord is rising tonight!' With those words he dragged the girl further to an improvised satanic ritual tribune.
Dante had no time to examine all that surrounded him. He was just furiously lashing forwards and slaying everything that stood on his way. On the other side, his brother was doing pretty much the same. If there ever was Heaven, how could all those holy beings just stand there and watch as this helpless child was crying her eyes out, begging for her life on numb ears. Watching as her finger with the magical ring was cut off. Screaming as Azazel recited the deadly hymn of her last hour. Crying as the stronger was pinning her down and slicing her innocent skin sharply until the blood soaked the entire altar. Humming softly at the realization that Dante was never going to come for her and she was doomed. Something deep down in her cracked. Now only grave tears rolled down her cheeks and the black wings wrapped around her. She managed to slide off the altar to the ground. Azazel didn't care to stop her. He was too busy admiring the shining portal that had opened between the two worlds. 'Our Lord will walk the Earth!'
The light was blinding. No one dared to move. Everyone's attention was turned to the altar, including that of the two twins. Some demons began screaming in ecstasy. Dante started pushing his way to Cassandra. He had to save her, but the tall figure that appeared caught him off guard.
It was a man with really long platinum blonde hair. His eyes were the same as Cassandra's. They held the knowledge of the Millennia. No truth remained hidden for that gaze. The skin was radiating so much light it seemed like it was on fire. It was true Dante and Virgil were well- built but compared to that fallen angel they were more like insignificant bugs. He had the perfect musculature- not too famine, but still elegant and strong. His entire being gave out the aura of superiority and perfection. His features revealed pride and the need of adoration. As a matter of fact, it was hard to keep your head up high at the presence of such a being. Not to give in and bail in front of his beauty. To complete his image, he spread his wings. Never had Dante seen anything so white, so pure, so ... untainted. Despite the millennia in Hell, he still managed to keep his glory.
Suddenly, like flashback, Dante remembered the sight of Cassandra in her true form as well. This made him figure out the difference between the two of them. She had never looked down on anyone, while the King of Hell held his love only for himself. There was most probably a gaping hole where his hart had once been. There was no more love only hatred.
The Hunter's thoughts were interrupted by Azazel's voice: 'Welcome on Earth, Master Lucifer!' For a second his gaze caught the futile attempts of Cassandra to escape the altar. If he hurried, he could get there just on time. He saw his brother doing the same thing, but Vergil was even further away.
The girl looked up at the tall figure in horror and was frantically trying to crawl away. But the Light Bringer's eyes fell upon her and he reached for the blade, Azazel was offering him. His old angelic sword. His name was carved along the metal in enochian. 'My heart breaks for you my child. I wish I could grant you Heaven, but you are my needed sacrifice... All I can give you is a painless death. Forgive me, Cassandra.' His voice was sweet and sounded like a finest symphony. His calm and lying eyes met the teary gaze of the kid at his feet. Gracefully, he bent down, kissing her forehead and after pulling only a few inches away, he swiftly drove the blade through the fragile form in his arms. For a second her body shook, but his strong arms supported her. Blood stained the white clothes of the fallen. He held the body of his only daughter close for just a second more than it was needed. His hand gently creased the soft skin one last time. When Dante finally got to the altar it was just in time to see the final flutter of six black wings, which never knew the feeling of travelling freely across the night sky. Sudden sadness gripped his heart, as he looked up. Maybe it was his imagination, but the half-demon could swear he saw a single tear roll down the Devil's face, falling upon the lifeless body of the sacrifice. But then his hair covered his face and he reached out to close the wide-open lifeless eyes.
'To all my sins I may find redemption, but for what I just did there is no salvation. Once you start going down, there is no turning back.' With those words Lucifer walked past Dante to greet his army of misery. That night both the angel and the devil were crying, it left Dante to wonder was Lucifer crying for his daughter or for himself?
It didn't stop raining that night. The Heavens were crying as the half- demon Dante dug a shallow grave. There lied the body of Cassandra. She wasn't dressed in white. Her body was never properly cleaned. There was never a coffin of white satin and ivory wood. Her cold remains were wrapped in a simple white sheet. There was no tombstone, only two pieces of wood, forming a cross. The name Cassandra was written in white chalk; sadly the Hunter never knew the girl's family name or birth date. He never cared to ask. Beneath small letters said: 'Lucifer's Angel'. From afar the emotionless eyes of Vergil witnessed the act. He never came any closer. After burying the body in the soil ground, Dante took one last glimpse towards the improvised cross. 'Not even the rain dares to wash away her name...' ,he thought. is voice was