Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry; Capcom is that lucky person. I'm just making use of it to tell a little tale. Enjoy.
Devil May Cry: Foundations
Chapter One: The Fall to Come
June 10, 2021, off the western coast of Sicily, Italy...
The summer winds had been calm over the Mediterranean Sea since morning, but only until the invisible battle had begun. Then, the winds had become a raging tempest, and the sea had turned into an enraged, roiling beast of huge waves and crashing surf. For over an hour, the elements bellowed their discontented feelings at an unseen slight, and scientists all over the world could only wonder what in creation was going on. They soon received their answer when, to their disbelief, a huge portal of infernal light blazed into being overhead! Seconds later, a creäture seemingly made of stone, massive in size and bearing tattered wings on its back, fell through the gateway, and crashed hard into a sizable coral reef! An instant later, several points of light followed after the mysterious creäture from the portal, which slammed shut after them! With the closing of the portal behind the lights, the winds and the sea quickly began to calm down, forming up the background for the last movement to come.
'How had it comes to this!?' The giant stone figure mentally fumed, trying to steady his badly damaged form out of the sea. 'How could his descendants still have the power to defy and defeat the King of Demons!? The stone giant, now revealed to be Mundus, the King of the Demonic Realm, and the one trying to again invade and conquer the mortal world, growled out his frustration at being thwarted yet again, only for a voice to shout at him... the voice of his enemy.
"Aw, come on, Mundy!" The swaggering tone of the Devil Hunter called out as he calmly sauntered into view. "It's not curtain time for you already, is it?" Once more, Mundus turned the gaze of his three blood-streaked eyes upon his hated foe, and spat out his accursed name.
"Dante... Son of Sparda..." Mundus spat.
"You know it, Mundy." The silver-haired, tall and lean, red trench coat-wearing form of Dante smirked back at the wounded Mundus. "What's this make the record between us now, huh? Three and oh in my favor, I believe...?"
"I think you mean, in our family's favor, 'brother.'" A snarky voice, sounding like Dante's, spoke just then. Dante frowned, looking over his shoulder in response at its owner. Using the sheathed length of his treasured Yamato blade to support himself, the familiar sight of Vergil, Dante's cold-hearted twin brother, came into view, his blue coat and face slightly worse for wear. Squinting at Vergil, Dante sent him a quip.
"You know, Vergil, we could have just left you where that Nelo Angelo armor of yours had left you hanging in the Tower." Vergil scowled back at Dante, even as Dante kept a close eye on how both he and the Demon Emperor were healing. Mundus was still damaged all over the place, but with the half of their parents' amulet in his grasp once more - and his human form restored after being freed from imprisonment under Mundus' thumb, - Vergil already looked better than he had before.
"You're right, Trish." Another voice sounded out, followed by the appearance of Nero, the former Order of the Sword devil hunter, his lightly glowing demonic right arm - his Devil Bringer - on his hip as Trish, one of Dante's devil-hunting allies, followed him over, as did Kyrie, Nero's betrothed. Trish was dressed in her regular leather top, pants, and boots, while Kyrie was wearing white robes like a cleric. "He is ten times as grumpy as I am, and that's saying something." Trish and Kyrie
snickered, prompting Vergil to arch an eyebrow at Nero.
"Acknowledging you as my son is one thing, Nero..." Vergil growled at the hoodie-clad former bearer of his own father's sword, now replaced by the devil-energy enhanced Red Queen over his shoulder. "... but, I am far more in control of my emotions than you are. But, we digress, don't we, Lady?"
"No kidding." The multiple gun-clad form of Lady appeared behind Kyrie, reloading one of her handguns as her mismatched eyes glared at Mundus' battered form on the beach. "Fugly here still needs to be dealt with,... once and for all." At those decisive words, both Dante and Vergil spun on their heels, their heirloom blades flashing into place just under the chin of Mundus. The demonic claymore Rebellion in Dante's grip glowed from its skull eyes on its pommel, while the sleek katana Yamato in Vergil's grasp literally cut the air as it found its perch at Mundus' throat.
"You know what?" Dante said, his eyes mirroring those of his twin for the first time in a long time. "You've got that right, Lady. Trish, would you and Lady take Kyrie over behind those cliffs? What comes next..."
"... Is reserved only for the sons and descendants of Sparda." Vergil finished. Nero nodded, and turned to Kyrie.
"Go, Kyrie. We'll be along shortly. I promise." Kyrie nodded, kissing Nero on the cheek, before joining Lady and Trish as they walked off. With that, Nero turned back to where Mundus was still lying, his form pinned by Dante and Vergil's blades, and slowly pulled Red Queen from his back, joining his sword with those of Sparda's sons under the scarred chin of the fallen Demon Emperor.
"You murdered our mother..." Dante started, a shimmering red glow forming on his body and Rebellion.
"... enslaved me against my brother, cursed me to forget what my father left for us in his stead..." Vergil followed up, a crystal blue glow seething into being on his body, and enveloping Yamato's length.
"... and tried to use your own minions as fodder to resurrect yourself again when the former, mislead members of the Order failed with their murderous plan that involved me, and Kyrie, as the core of their 'Savior.'" Nero finished, his Devil Bringer humming in tune with Red Queen as he revved its handle, flames running down its blade. Dante smirked as he looked at his two compatriots, then growled again at Mundus.
"All these centuries... all this pain... all because of your wish to rule the mortal world, and because Dear Old Dad kicked your pompous ass." Dante barked down at the damaged Demon King, causing him to growl back, but unable to do anything with the three blades pinning him, and his own power so totally drained.
"Humanity is too weak to survive...!" Mundus croaked out, only for him to be silenced as Vergil neatly slashed off one of the remaining fingers on his left hand. The defeated Demon King hissed in pain, but Vergil was unmoved.
"They will outlive your petty existence." Vergil snarkily replied, prompting Dante to chime in.
"So, bro,..." The red trench coat-clad said to his twin. "... which one do you want to end this schmuck? Ebony or Ivory? I know those Summoned Swords of yours are decent, but in this case..." Dante's words trailed off as Vergil half-grinned at him.
"My moves are crisp and clean, Dante." Vergil responded. "Ivory, if you please." Effortlessly switching hands on Rebellion as he nodded at Vergil, Dante pulled out one of his personalized handguns - Ivory - and tossed it to his twin, who caught it and aimed it at Mundus. Dante then pulled out Ebony, Ivory's twin, with his left hand, and pointed its business end at Mundus. Nero followed suit, drawing out his double-barreled Blue Rose revolver, and completed their trio of death stances.
"Betcha' never thought it would end like this, did you, Mundus?" Nero quipped, which made Mundus reply with disdain to his waiting executioners.
"You fools..." The beaten Demon King rasped. "... it will never end... the darkness will forever be jealous of the light that humanity was blessed with... and no matter how strong you all become,... no matter how hard you fight,... humanity will lose this world they call home... and the ones you care for will die... ARRRRGH!"
Dante's stabbing of Rebellion into Mundus' shoulder stopped his tirade cold, and a firm twist of the grey claymore's blade made sure the Demon King was listening to his reply.
"All things die, sooner or later, Mundy..." Dante replied, cocking the hammer of Ebony in his grip, while Vergil did the same with Ivory, and Nero focused his gaze on the Demon King, Blue Rose at the ready. "... but, that never means giving up, or letting beasts like you roam around when we can put you down."
"Consider this a last message from the Sons of Sparda, Mundus..." Vergil said, his blue aura intensifying along his twin's crimson glow, and the powerful hum of Nero's Devil Bringer. "... Damn you back to hell for all your crimes, and this time, you will not be coming back. Like old times, Dante?" Mundus realized that his end was coming at last, and got ready to make a final plea, only for the trio to all yell out one word.
"JACKPOT!"
The Demon King only got out a strangled cry of defiance before the end of his existence. "No...!" was the last word Mundus, the ancient and multiple millenia-old King of Demons, spoke as three energy-charged rounds pierced into his three eyes, and the blades of the three devil hunters above him slammed into his rocky chest! The massive explosion that followed echoed across the Mediterranean. When the smoke from the blast soon cleared, it revealed Dante and Vergil in their Devil Trigger forms, and Nero enshrouded in the energy avatar of his Devil Samurai. The three devil hunters sheathed their swords, and Vergil tossed Ivory back to Dante, who holstered it on his back hip along with Ebony. Nero slid Blue Rose away into his chest holster, and they all soon reverted to their normal human forms. Moments later, Trish, Lady, and Kyrie all came walking over to see the results. The charred, lifeless stone form of Mundus lay there, not an ounce of demonic energy left in it to hold his essence to the mortal plane, or the demonic plane, even, for that matter. The Demon King was, at long last, dead and destroyed.
With that, the twin sons of Sparda looked at each other, then toward the clearing heavens above them. Sunlight streamed down through the thinning clouds, prompting both Dante and Vergil to say the same thing in perfect tandem. "Mother... Father... it's done, at last... rest in peace..." Looking at each other, Dante and Vergil finally fist-bumped each other, then did the same with Nero.
"So?" Trish chimed in, resting her chin and arms on Dante's shoulders, while Nero hugged Kyrie, and Lady kicked some sand at Mundus' dead body. "Where to from here, boys?"
"Where else?" Dante replied. "We find a hell of a party, get trashed, and then,... we get back to what we do best: killing demons and kicking ass!" At Dante's words, the entire group was shocked when Vergil chuckled in response.
"Wait a second...!" Lady said, wide-eyed as she looked at Vergil. "... did he, actually, laugh, just now!?" Dante smiled as he looked at his brother.
"Found your sense of humor again, did you, Vergil?" Dante quipped, prompting Vergil to respond in kind.
"Never lost it, brother." Vergil half-smiled as he looked at Dante. "Just wanted to laugh at something amusing for once. Your other comedic routines stunk." The whole group burst out laughing at that statement, and Dante nodded at last.
"Yeah,..." The red trench coat-clad devil hunter said as he extended his hand toward his brother. "...that's the old Vergil. Welcome back." Vergil finally smiled widely as he took his brother's hand and firmly shook it.
"I see you missed me, Dante." Vergil replied, looking over his shoulder at Nero with an upraised eyebrow. "And you, Nero,...?"
"Yeah,... old man?" Nero replied with his usual swagger, prompting Vergil to squint an eye at the young man he now knew to be his son.
"Boy,..." Vergil replied. "... I will make a true swordsman out of you, even if it kills you, again and again." Nero grinned in response. Kyrie scolded Vergil back.
"Gods, are you always this harsh with your family?" At that, Dante and Vergil laughed out loud, before Dante answered Kyrie's retort.
"Kyrie, you ain't seen nuthin' yet." At Kyrie's gasp to Dante's response, Vergil continued on.
"If Nero is to carry on our legacy as a descendant of Sparda, Kyrie, he will learn to fully control his Devil Bringer and his powers, and the absolute best way to do that is to master the way of the sword." Vergil eyed his son up and down before walking over to lightly jab Nero in the stomach with Yamato's pommel. " I will enjoy showing you just what areas your sword skills are lacking in, my student. Be prepared." Nero gulped, while Lady just rolled her eyes.
"Can we go now? I could use a shower." Dante looked over in Lady's direction, ready to fire off a quip, only for Trish to tap his shoulder.
"No snarky comments, wise-ass." Trish said. "Remember what happened to your last trench coat when you said something about Lady's backside?" Dante frowned, but nodded at Trish's wisdom. His bullet-ridden jacket was still hanging in his closet, thanks to Lady's reaction to his quip back then.
"Ah, good point." Dante then called over to Vergil. "Verge!" Vergil looked back at Dante. "You think Yamato's got enough juice to cut open a portal back to the shop and save us all a long walk home?" Vergil frowned.
"Of course,..." Vergil replied. "... but, you're springing for food... for all of us, brother, and no skimping." Dante shook his head in response.
"Damn... glad I made sure Enzo started keeping an eye on the money I did invest with his holdings...and that they paid off at last." Dante grumbled as Vergil drew Yamato, and with one clean stroke, slashed it through the air, opening a teleport portal back to Dante's shop, 'Devil May Cry.'
"March, all of you." Vergil groused. "I am worn out." As the group stepped through the portal one by one, Dante was the last one through, and as he looked back at Mundus' stone form one last time, the devil hunter whipped out both Ebony and Ivory from their holsters! A pair of energy-charged rounds blasted from Dante's weapons, shattering the dead Demon King's body into ash! Spinning his handguns once before putting them away again, Dante growled out a curse before stepping through the portal and going back to his shop.
"Twist in the Abyss forever,... you damn piece of garbage..." Those words echoed out across the beachhead as the portal vanished from sight.
Undisclosed location, United States...
The small group of military men sat at their computer consoles, watching what satellite images they were still able to receive, and trying to comprehend just what exactly had happened across the Atlantic. A group of six people had literally torn apart a huge stone giant with wings, with words like 'devil' and 'demon' passing their lips, and using weapons that emitted energy that could only be described as arcane. The commander in the room, a General, looked at his aide, a Colonel, and spoke in even tones to him.
"Just who are these people, Colonel?" The General groused. "I've never seen such skill and power in any group of individuals!"
"Neither have I, sir." The Colonel replied. "Our files on each one of these people that we've seen are extremely thin, sir, but these two,..." The Colonel continued, pointing at pictures of Dante and Vergil. "... are no doubt twins, and have been sighted several times when there have been mass casualties in areas of highly suspected supernatural occurrences."
"More devils and demons..." The General said, rubbing his temples. "... well, Colonel, what do you make of their mêlée weapons?"
"Capable of rending tank armor with no effort, sir." The Colonel replied, before handing the General a blurry picture of the blue-garbed man slicing through rows of strange creatures with effortless strokes of his katana. "If intel is correct here, sir, this one's sword,... well, sir, our experts say that it was literally cutting through the fabric of time and space, due to the spatial readings we picked up."
"Unbelievable... can we acquire them for evaluation?" The General asked, only for the Colonel to shake his head.
"Not recommended, sir." The Colonel said. "Estimated losses in attempting to do so are unacceptable, and it's highly possible that they are somehow 'linked' to their owners in some fashion. If we were to try such an operation..."
"They would not like it one bit. Understood." The General replied. "In the meantime, keep a full surveillance team on this 'Devil May Cry' locale. Any intel they can gather on their operations is of paramount importance."
"Will do, sir." The Colonel saluted as he headed off to carry out his orders... and to make contact with his brethren in the reformed Order of the Sword. They needed to know that now, with Mundus destroyed, the sons of Sparda and their allies were now being closely watched by the government... and for all the wrong reasons.
End
Well, here is my latest re-invention: a foundation story that contains the original first two chapters for my 'Dreads and Devils' cross-over between Devil May Cry and Vandread. Just so that you know, the DmC reboot game does not happen here, but elements and visual representations from it will be used to further the story, i.e. the look of Ebony and Ivory from DmC being more futuristic looking than Dante's original guns from the main gameline. Also, the heroes will NOT be Dante or Vergil, but they will be featured in one way or another, as wil the others of the series up to DMC 4. Comment and chat as you will, and as they say, let the games begin!
Next time...
The military meets with Dante and company... and events of the future come into play along the way...
Chapter Two will be posted here soon once I've edited it through.