Hey guys, this has been an idea that's been stuck in my head a while now, and I was debating on publishing it or not, mostly 'cause I want to focus on my story in the -man fandom, but I thought what the heck, might as well start it. With that being said, my other story is my first priority, but I will still publish this one, just not on as regular of a basis. I've also seen some NeroxOC stories, but not enough to satisfy me ;) hence me writing my own. Wanted to try my hand at it. Tell me how I do, I'm not sure I keep the characters in character all the time, so if you notice any OOCness, please point it out.
This is taking place during DMC4, but some events might turn out a little differently, but the whole Savior incident will still occur as in the game. After that, I get to have fun with the plot I concocted :) Also, it's not a reader being thrust into the game story, my character is from within the world of DMC already and has her own past and all that fun stuff. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy :)
Warning: Rated T for swearing and violence.
Disclaimer: I do not own DMC, only my OCs and the plot later in the story.
"To believe in that which is 'evil' is to fear it. To believe in that which is 'good' and 'holy' is to want to be it. When one fears something, they want to disassociate themselves from it as much as possible, but when someone revers something, they strive to be like it. And that is where ultimate corruption of humankind lies."-Anonymous
Ember's POV
Nero was late again. Would it kill him to be on time for one of the gatherings? I swear he was going to end up giving Kyrie heart failure one of these days. Didn't he remember how happy she had been to be selected to sing for the Festival of the Sword? Of all people I thought he would be the one to be on time for this thing. I didn't want to be here either, but like a good friend, I was here for Kyrie.
She noticed too, as the opening chords of the song began. She glanced over in my direction, eyes focusing on me briefly-to which I smiled encouragingly at her-then to the vacant seat beside me. Her expression fell quite considerably, though she quickly tried to cover it, as to not let her audience catch on. When it was her queue, she began to sing. She truly was a good singer. I couldn't think of anyone better to sing for such an occasion, though the point of the festival was lost on me, even though I'd been here for just over a year or so now. Though I did know that they had a great love for swords. My father would be content with that knowledge at least.
She was finishing her song when my back began to burn. I rolled my shoulders to ease the ache when the bench jostled and the faint sound of a rock song hit my ears. Nero decided to show up after all. Good timing he has…
"You took your time," I murmured irritably to him, gazing accusingly at him from the corner of my eye.
Nero turned towards me, smirking, "Why? Miss me?"
I rolled my eyes flipping him the bird.
"Not in a church," he chastised, mockingly.
I repeated the gesture. "It's an opera house, dumbass."
The guy to my left turned towards us with a glare and a harsh, "Shh!"
In unison, Nero and I turned to the man, both glaring at him. Without another word, the man focused his attention back on Kyrie, ignoring us. Though he shifted somewhat uncomfortably. Smart man.
The song ended, leaving the large room in silence for a moment, while everyone absorbed what had just been sung. Then simultaneously, the crowd broke out in applause, and I joined them, glad to see Kyrie finally smiling. Even if she was smiling in Nero's direction. Was I the only one who realized she was smitten?
She left the stage shortly after, to put her sash and crown away before joining the crowd. During that time, the priest "His Holiness" began to preach to us.
"Here we go," I muttered, slouching in the bench, putting my arms behind my head in an attempt to get comfortable, and prepare myself for a nap that was sure to follow.
From the corner of my eye, I kept tabs on Kyrie's approach to us, a smile never leaving her face. She paused beside us, grinning down at Nero. Being the jerk that he was, he simply turned his head away, pulling his headphone over his ear with his left hand. I elbowed him in the side. The least he could do was be nice to the girl after arriving when she was almost done singing. Alas, he discreetly shoved me back with his slinged arm. I fought back the urge to shove back. While I knew that his arm wasn't actually paralyzed, no one else did. Nero had been adamant about keeping its recovery hidden. I didn't fight him about it at the time, nor did I ask why, though I had sensed something…inhuman about it.
My eye twitched at his lack of manners, but then a thin, blue rectangular box caught my eye. Focusing more intently on the object, I noticed that was in fact, a small gift. I looked away sharply, the corner of my mouth falling before I chastised myself. I wasn't here to worry myself with petty emotions and get too attached. I was here to find information about my father and get out and maybe extract revenge if necessary, though I liked to hope that it wouldn't come to that. Having my ugly, green monster rear its head at the fact that Nero got her a gift and not me was a ridiculous notion. Besides, the boy did nothing but grate my nerves every day.
From deep within me, something stirred, a presence I had long since accepted, but denied. I could feel its silent, almost hesitant disagreement.
I quickly stamped on it, forcing it back into the dark corner of my mind.
The bench jostled slightly again, throwing me off guard as Nero stood. I glared up at him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm leaving. I'm falling asleep."
"That's rich coming from the guy who wasn't even here from the beginning. God, did you never learn any manners? Oh, wait. You didn't."
Nero frowned down at me, before his gaze abruptly shifted to his arm, the same time my back began to burn again. What the hell was it this time?
"Nero, what's wrong?" Kyrie asked, standing to grab his arm gently.
She never got a response. The glass dome over head was broken with a crash and a man clad in red fell down, landing in front of "His Holiness." There was a moment of stunned silence, as if everything and everyone was frozen. The man quickly drew a gun, and fired, making "His Holiness" quite literally, holey. The bang broke the spell. The citizens in the crowd were instantly frantic, trying to flee, while the knights present went on the offensive. The man stood, and turned, overseeing the ruckus, with the priest's blood painting his face. His gaze stopped in our direction, pausing to look at Nero then myself. His attention was drawn elsewhere when Kyrie's brother led an attack by the knights present with a cry of, "Your Holiness!"
The white haired man regarded them calmly, even as the horde of them charged after him. He simply pulled the sword from behind his back in front of him, and jumped into the fray, all but hacking the knights to pieces.
I watched the fight in front of me in a sick wonder. The man was most definitely skilled in the art of battle. I'd almost venture to say that he would pose a challenge to me. It had been so long since I got a challenge. Being forced to act like an innocent woman who didn't know how to fight at all definitely reduced my odds. But now, with the opera house mostly empty, I could actually get some fun.
Kyrie's hand grasped mine, trying to pull me along with her as she was dragged away by Nero, but I let my fingers slip from her grasp. I was not going to let this man run away before I got a chance to fight him. Who knew when I'd get the chance again? He wasn't going to be killed that was for sure.
"Ember!" Kyrie protested, her arm still extended in my direction as Nero pulled her away. I ignored her. How to join the fight? Perhaps take one of the dead knight's swords? Perhaps change one of the pews into a bow and arrow set? That would draw his attention towards me… I would have to keep an eye on his gun. That would be a bitch to try and dodge. Not impossible though.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nero snapped in my ear. When did he get there? Wasn't he dragging Kyrie away from the danger?
I ignored him too, though Nero's exclamation drew the red clad man's attention briefly. His eyes passed by Nero to land on me, watching me apprehensively as he continued to take down the dwindling knights. I returned his gaze, with my own calculating one. I sure as hell wasn't going to jump into a fight without assessing the situation first.
Seeming to notice the white haired man's attention on me, Nero struggled harder to keep my attention. He roughly grabbed my arm, pulling me away. I pulled my arm free, ignoring the burning sensation the action caused. I was still focused on the skilled fighter in front of me. But he was no longer focused on me, instead his back was towards me and he was advancing on Credo, who had rushed to the priest's side.
"Credo!" Kyrie cried.
I thought Nero got her to safety. That was the reason why he came for me wasn't it? Once he was sure she was safe.
Kyrie being the foolish girl that she was, ran mindlessly towards the assassin. I stood, prepared to stop her. However, she was knocked to the ground by a knight who tried to attack the red clad man from behind. She fell to the ground, looking up to see said man before her.
My mind shut off. I couldn't let Kyrie die. Nero would be heart broken. My muscles tensed, and I ran, just as Nero called out, "Kyrie!" Then my disappearance registered in his brain and he called out my name too. But it was too late, even as he rushed after me. I used my enhanced speed to increase my momentum as I fell, sliding and knocking out the assassin's legs out from underneath him. My increased speed ensured that I wasn't fallen on. I stood as soon as my attack was carried out and rushed to Kyrie's side.
"Get out of here," I told her, gripping her shoulders. "Go with your brother and Nero and get-" I cut off when I saw Kyrie's eyes widen and my back burn more harshly. In seconds, I pushed her backwards and threw myself to the side out of harm's way, making it appear as if Kyrie was the one who pushed me. The sword swung harmlessly, though he turned on me quickly, blade resting against his shoulder.
With expert speed, I put up the face of a horror struck, helpless woman as he advanced on me. With a practiced quiver in my voice, I spoke, "P-Please don't hurt me. I-I only w-wanted to h-help my friend." I raise my arm protectively in front of my face. I always kept armour plates wrapped around my arms, in case of emergencies like this.
Glancing up at my attacker's face, I could tell my act wasn't fooling him. It was fooling everyone else though. Especially Nero, who decided to steal my thunder. Instead of getting to fight back, Nero ran towards us, kicking the man in the face with both feet, sending him flying. In a fluid motion, Nero landed and shot at the white haired man. The man twisted in midair, using his sword to deflect the bullets before he landed. Oh, I so wanted to fight him now.
Nero didn't give him a chance to recover. He charged after the man who was still soaring in the air, aiming to kick him again. The man foresaw this, causing Nero's attack to knock his sword out of his hand and lodge its self into the Sparda statue. In unison, they pulled their guns on each other. Note to self, the white haired man had two guns to keep an eye out for.
"Kyrie, Ember, go with Credo and get out of here," Nero demanded, his gaze never leaving the target in front of him.
Oh, hell no. I was not going to run away like I was stupid and helpless-no offense to Kyrie. I was especially not going to run when I didn't know if I'd ever get to fight someone with the same skill as that man in the red jacket. God knew I needed something to entertain me after all this time.
Credo's hand gruffly grabbed mine as he responded, "I'll come back with reinforcements."
I snorted as pulled my arm free for the third time today, running off in the opposite direction. I slid behind the benches that hadn't been knocked over in haste, hiding behind them as Credo dragged Kyrie off. She struggled torn between Nero facing down the white haired man and me, who was currently curled behind a bench. In the end, she disappeared behind the door with Credo.
"I won't hold my breath," Nero said, as something fell to the ground lightly.
There was a series of bangs, grunts and clangs as I bid my time behind the bench. There was a moment of silence and I dared to peek over the side of the bench. I bit back an exclaim of surprise when I saw the statue's stone sword falling in my direction. What the hell were they doing to cause that? Rushing with all my might, I dived to the side to avoid being crushed.
Once the sword crashed to the ground, there was a click of a gun being reloaded and silence. I glanced up again to catch sight of what was going on only to see the red clad man walking up behind Nero. I opened my mouth to warn him, but my gaze caught the other man's again. He regarded me with a slight smirk before turning his attention back on Nero, who had realized the threat was now behind him.
"This isn't going to cut it," Nero said, more to himself than his opponent as he holstered his gun while kicking a sword that had been lying on the ground. The blade spun in the air as he expertly caught it by the hilt, slamming it down and twisting the handle of the advanced sword causing it to rumble in warning. "What's the point of hacking a sword if you aren't even going to use it?" Nero taunted, staring the man down.
The man regarded him with amusement, resting the tip of his sword on the ground mimicking Nero and twisting the handle, mocking him. I fought back laughter as it bubbled in the back of my throat. Nero wouldn't take that well. It was amusing as hell watching the two provoke each other, trying to get a rise out of their opponent. It almost made me want to continue to be a spectator. Almost. My desire to face the other man in combat was stronger.
Nero attacked the man first, charging, without much forethought. Not that I expected him to have any. It wasn't like him to assess his enemies beforehand. He was more of the "in the heat of the moment" type of guy. And that was where his downfall led in this battle. Within the first few strokes, it was clear to me that the man was strongest in his use of a sword. Much more so than Nero. Not that I would tell him that, I wouldn't wound his pride that much. I was giddy, however. I liked to pride myself on my swordsmanship, with my skill as a marksman in a close second. To be able to compare myself to him, that would be a true gift. And it seemed as though my chance was coming. The man had disarmed Nero mere seconds later and was charging at him for the final blow.
I took my chance. I rushed towards the fighting duo, catching Nero's falling blade as I jumped between Nero and the attacker, just barely managing to stop his attack with the blade. There was a moment of silence that rang out after the clashing of metals in which I was regarded with shock by Nero and amusement by the other. I used the moment of standstill to push the white haired man a safe distance away from Nero and myself. Most likely not anticipating my strength, he was shoved a good few feet and stumbled. He would have fallen had his balance been weaker. Though I would have been greatly disappointed.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to jump in."
I raised my eyebrow, surprised the man broke his silence. "And I was wondering if it would be possible to make you speak." I tilted my head back slightly in Nero's direction while keeping my eyes on the man in front of me. "Beat you on that one, Nero."
"You were supposed to have left with Kyrie and Credo." I could feel Nero's eyes bore into the back of my head.
I rested the sword against my shoulder like I saw Nero do countless times. "You're just mad I stole your thunder."
He sighed irritably, and came to stand up beside me. He held out his left hand, waiting for me to give him the sword. He would be waiting a long time. "I can take it from here."
"Clearly," I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. I looked back at the white hair man who mirrored my position with his sword. My eyes met his, "Besides, I've got some time to kill."
A singular raise of an eye brow was his silent agreement to my challenge.
Nero's hand reached out, anticipating what I was going to do and tried to grab me to stop me. But it was too late. I was in battle mode, and as a result, time began to slow down. Nero's hand moved at a speed that I easily dodged as I ran towards my prey. My muscles almost froze in shock and glee when the man in front of me wasn't affected by the time difference. I sure as hell wasn't making him an exception, so his being unaffected was a sight to behold, for it was a first. His grin snapped my brain back to the task at hand as I raised the blade up in a position to swipe easily at his middle, but he blocked.
Attacking, blocking and dodging went back and forth for a while, but I could feel the effect of controlling time wearing my body down. My breathing was becoming heavier and my muscles dragged. Of course, to many they wouldn't see a difference or change, but to those experienced in the way of combat, it was obvious. The white haired man was one of those people. As much as I hated it, I'd have to end this quickly. I didn't want Nero to butt into my fight when I let time return to normal. So I changed my approach accordingly.
I twisted the blade so the dull end was facing the man as I charged, jumping up to get height. The expression on his face was one of silent laughter as he moved to block my attack. I grinned down at him as he did as I predicted. Our swords clashed. I used my forward, falling momentum to aim myself to land behind the man, twisting my blade under his as I did so. As I landed, I pulled, forcing the blade out of his hand. I caught the hilt as it began to fall and turned on him pointing his blade directly in front of me, while I held mine over my head. With that, my power broke. Time snapped back into its normal speed and I was left struggling to stand up. Damn, I was really out of shape. This was what I got for not practicing in over a year.
Nero's hand fell to his side as he grasped air. A look of confusion flashed across his face-it was sort of cute too…no, never mind, I didn't think that! His hand fell uselessly to his side as he glanced up at where he thought my opponent would be, only to see us standing to his left, both blades in my hands pointing threateningly at the red clad man. His eyes widened almost comically.
The man at the other end of my swords looked anything but worried. With the fight he put up, I wasn't really surprised. No human could keep up with me so easily.
"It seems I underestimated you," The man said, his hands reaching down to his waist where he hid his guns. I moved the blade in my left hand down slightly, warning. He stopped.
"You aren't the first, nor will you be the last," I replied coolly, trying to hide my exhaustion. I threw him his sword. I had no intention of killing him, like Nero had. I wanted a decent fight and I got one.
Beside us Nero approached, face harsh even behind his confusion. "What the hell just happened?"
"We had a party. Sorry you missed it. Yours was kind of dull. No offense," I said, breathing hard as I poked at his pride with a verbal stick-a sharp, verbal stick. Even as I said them, I handed Nero his sword back. "Now, I'll leave you two to your testosterone fight and I'll watch from a safe distance, 'kay?" With a smirk, I walked off towards one of the unaffected benches, and plopped myself down. I would really need to get back into training again. Geez.
Just as I had predicted, the two started fighting again. Really, it was Nero's fault. The other man looked ready to leave but Nero charged. He was probably trying to nurture his wounded pride. I wouldn't blame him really. I'd act the same way if someone I had always thought didn't even know how to hold a sword properly, beat an opponent I was having trouble with. I'd feel like I had no skill at all. That definitely wasn't the case with Nero. He had some natural born talent that was for sure. Just, not as much as the man clad in red. But then again, I supposed that man also had years more training than Nero.
As I sat watching them parry back and forth, I could feel my strength growing, but so was the ache in my back. I wanted nothing more than to ram myself backwards into a wall, to relieve some of the pain. But my rational side knew that would only cause me more pain. So I sat, slumped, as I rested my head on my hand.
Oh, there Nero goes again, losing his sword. Really, does that boy have butter fingers today? Eh, I'm not going to save his butt again. He'd probably only yell at me. Besides, my back hurts damn it. I must have pulled it when I was fighting. What a pain.
In my moment of not paying attention, my back flared hotter than before, and I fell to the floor with a groan. I curled up in a ball, hoping to relieve some of the strain as it felt like my bones were pushing up against my skin, trying to tear through it. My fingers clawed at the marble ground uselessly as I fought back screams. What was happening? Periodic soreness I was used to. 'Specially when I ran into a couple demons, but this?
A strangled cry escaped my lips, as my back arched. Make it stop, make it stop. I could feel sweat begin bead on my forehead.
Time left me. Days could have passed, or even just a few minutes. I couldn't tell. I couldn't hear if the fight around me had stopped or not. They could have destroyed the whole opera hall and I wouldn't have been able to tell, even if I was beneath a pile of rubble and crushed half to death. At some point I think I might've let a scream loose, hell, I might've been screaming right now. That tells you how out of it I was.
"Ember, Ember can you hear me?"
Yes, but don't expect me to respond to you.
I was moved on my back. Do you know how I knew? My back screamed. It was as if millions of little knives were being dug into my back, poking at bone and tearing through muscle. My muscles and bones responded by sending their own pain filled screams through my nerves and to my brain. That time, I knew I screamed.
The pressure alleviated and I must have been moved back on my side.
"Must be with your back," Nero muttered to himself, as I felt hesitant fingers glide over my shoulders, working their way down. He gasped suddenly, as did I. I could feel his fingers brush over my shoulder blades and downwards, bringing to light that bone was in fact pushing against my skin, and it was not my spine or shoulder blades. And they were strangely sensitive. It relieved the pain and added to it all at the same time. How annoying that was. Do one or the other please.
"What the hell…?"
Get him away.
I jerked in surprise. Who the hell was that?
Get him away.
Who? Get who away? Nero?
GET HIM AWAY.
With a jolt, my back snapped forward, and the pain ebbed, leaving a mild ache behind. Slowly, I unclenched my hands, and took a deep breath. As I came to my senses, I opened my eyes with caution, and sat up slowly. I felt an arm instantly support my neck. It wasn't the most comfortable form of help, but I could tell he was trying to avoid my back, should it still hurt. When my eyes opened fully, I saw Nero. I could see the worry in his eyes, as we stared at each other. I blinked, unfamiliar with such a look on his face when he was looking at me.
After a moment's pause, he helped me sit up fully, and then using his freed hand to bring his thumb to my cheek. There was an awkward pause before he swept it across my cheek. It was then that I realized my cheeks were wet. I had been crying. I hadn't cried in years. I felt my cheeks heat up. And I hadn't blushed since the day before I last cried. It was awkward. Especially since it was Kyrie he was usually giving such looks. I always got the smirks and the glares. It was different. It felt…nice. And completely unnecessary. I was fine. I wasn't a weak little girl who needed her knight in shining armour for everything. Again, no offense to Kyrie. She was a wonderful person and friend.
I stood abruptly, dusting myself off.
Nero frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Standing and preparing to leave, what's it look like?" I snapped back.
At the sound of my harsh tone, Nero's own mask slipped up, the one I was most familiar with. Here we go. This was territory I understood.
"You were…injured. You shouldn't be moving around too much, you'll aggravate the injury."
"Oh, because you're the prime example of this? I've seen you fight when you've almost had some organs sliced out of you and your body beginning to fail due to exhaustion. Yet you fight on. Why the hell shouldn't I be able to stand and leave?" I growled, towering over him angrily. From this angle, a bright blue light managed to catch my eye. Indirectly, I examined it, eyes widening when I saw it was coming from Nero's arm. An arm that was red and scaly. It looked like a demon arm. That would explain so much…
Nero stood, over powering me with his height again as he returned my harsh stare, bringing his right arm behind his body as he did so. "That's because it's my job. I have to fight to protect others from those demons."
My eyes tightened and I crossed my arms, as I returned my gaze to his. "It's because I'm a girl, isn't it?"
"No!"
I scoffed. "'Course not." I glared, "I'm not Kyrie, and I'm not someone who needs to be coddled. So leave me be and let me get on with my business." As if to prove my point, the doors slammed open and reinforcements arrived. "Took them long enough," I muttered. I turned back to Nero, leaning in slightly before I continued on my way. "You might want to pull down your sleeve." With those parting words, I walked away, a fake hysteria in my eyes as I approached Credo and Kyrie.