The unanticipated sequel to my generally well-received first published fanfic, Original Crisis, which anyone is welcome to check out. It's full of signs of my inexperience at the time of writing, but I'm still fond of it. Zone is mine, Arson/Reiko/Hade belong to bustahead, Keahi is Lori's, and everyone else belongs to Capcom. Most importantly, enjoy :D.
----
Two decades ago, there was a war between the canon characters and the other, the Mary Sue.
But three original characters woke up to Justice and stood up against this threat together.
They were a devil-angel hybrid, a vampire, and a hamster. Later they quietly remained in the fandom and continued to aid the canon characters in their small ways.
They did not become legends, for they fought to preserve the way of things, not for change.
----
Lightning illuminated a slummy, gritty downtown street. The flash passed, leaving the muddy glow coming from a few buildings and the light of the baleful moon. Suddenly a woman fell from that moon, blonde hair trailing as she landed in a crouch. Standing, she turned to look at the only building that had all its lights on.
When no phone ring pierced the air, Trish realised she was slightly early, and took out a mirror to check her complexion. It was a cold night, and not for the first time she cursed the outfit Mundus made her wear. Who dresses a clone of their arch-enemy's dead wife like a prostitute with a leather gimmick, she thought bitterly.
She was thusly occupied when she saw a flicker of movement in the mirror. Spinning around, Trish relaxed, "Dante? Why are you out here?" she chided. She knew he got bored of doing the opening over and over, but regardless, they had a job to do. "Dante?" she repeated, and then her smile slowly faded, "you're not Dante".
----
Inside, a phone rang, and was picked up, "Devil May Cry". The answerer listened to the caller. "Sorry we're closed at night" he lied, then hung up. "Again, no password. Can't seem to get any real business" he said out loud for the benefit of any potential observers who may have mistaken his suave coolness for simple apathy.
Suddenly, his front doors exploded inwards. "Whoa, slow down babe" Dante began. However, as the debris cleared he realised it wasn't who he was expecting. "You're not Trish" he said, standing up. Once he saw the visitor clearly, he stopped. "Father?" he gasped, and then, ahead of the script, he was impaled with a sword.
----
An hour later, another figure approached Devil May Cry. Three important facts about this person: one, his name was Reiko, two, he was a vampire, and three, he carried a mop, broom and bag of cleaning products.
Wearing a long coat, jeans and shirt (all black), with medium, draping (also) black hair that contrasted with his pale skin, Reiko was a vampire with a purpose. Specifically, to tackle the formidable (and long-overdue) task of cleaning the Devil May Cry offices. Also, something had lifted the spirits of the melancholy soul, as he was to be assisted by a friend of his named Keahi, for whom he had feelings that went beyond friendship.
Reaching the curiously intact doors, he opened them.
Having known it would be a shocking sight, Reiko had avoided setting eyes on the office until he closed the door and braced himself for it. Turning around, despite his mental preparation, what he saw surprised him so much, he dropped his mop. It wasn't the mess that did it, frightening though it was. It was seeing Dante pinned to the back wall by pretty much every one of his swords, turning him into a half-human pincushion.
Rushing over, Reiko gripped a sword and yanked it free. Diligently he removed them, the wounds healing in their wake. Finally unpinned, Dante slumped against the wall. Normally impalement didn't concern him, but run through with twenty large blades he'd been immobilized and unable to remove them, thus unable to heal.
"Are you alright?" Reiko asked, offering Dante a hand, "What transpired here? No common demon could have done that to you".
"I'm fine..." Dante said, rising unassisted as his superhuman stamina recovered from his injuries. His already troubled expression darkened, "It wasn't a demon. It was something far more dangerous and evil. Gary Stu".
"Gary Stu..." Reiko did a remarkable Solid Snake impression. Memories of a past nightmare filled his mind.
Dante nodded grimly, picking up Ebony and Ivory from the floor. "He took Force Edge and the Amulet" he said, fingers grasping at the emptiness over his chest where his mother's gift usually resided, fire in his eyes, "he's heading for Mallet Island, I'm going after him".
Reiko saw the resolve on Dante's face, and knew there was no arguing with him. "I shall come, if I may. If I can assist in any way it will be worth it" he offered selflessly. Dante turned to look at the vampire. He didn't want to put anyone in danger, and Reiko wasn't close to his own power. Still, the entire fandom now faced a threat that could destroy it, and had beaten him effortlessly; he needed all the help he could get. He nodded.
Reiko gave a small, thankful smile, and then had an idea. "I may be able to gain us some further support" he said, and reaching into a pocket he withdrew a phone.
They went outside, Reiko making another call as they waited. A few minutes later, someone came running down the street. As it approached, they saw it was a boy in his late teens with shoulder-length auburn hair, wearing a black jacket over a red top and dark jeans. Reiko smiled, and then frowned as they came closer.
"Arson, thank you for coming" he began, making the devil-angel hybrid smile, "but what is he doing here?".
The vampire was referring to the being on Arson's shoulder. It was, to be candid, a hamster, six inches from head to short tail, tan-and-white-furred, and smirking.
Arson shuffled he feet shyly. "Well... He was visiting and we were playing, when you called..." he muttered.
"What he means I was owning him with Zasalamel, and this was an excuse to chicken out" the rodent cut in.
"Nuh-uh, Zone!" Arson retorted, "You were only two rounds up, me and Cervantes would've caught up, cus he's a pirate and nothing is awesomer than pirates!".
"Guys" Reiko cut in swiftly, forestalling a potential argument, "firstly, Arson, did you bring our weapons?".
Arson nodded, and threw Reiko his staff, then revealed the handles of his own swords, strapped to his waist.
"Excellent" Reiko said, catching his weapon. "Zone" he began, looking at the grinning furball. He had seen the rodent prove himself, but still, "This one will be extremely dangerous, are you sure you want to come?".
"An adventure with you guys, danger and adversity? Sounds like fun to me" Zone replied, smirk unfaltering.
"Very well, it is your decision" Reiko said. After all, they could use all the help they could get. "Thank you" the vampire added, Zone giving a nod, then turning to Dante, he said "we follow your lead". Thus it began...
----
The first obstacle they faced was deceptively simple. It was a wall. Reiko tapped on it; it was unmistakably solid. He looked back at the path they had taken along the cliff edges of Mallet Island, straight to this wall.
"I think the architects were a few fragments short of a Blue Orb" Zone said, twirling a paw besides his head.
"There is normally a hole here. After you pass through it seals up behind you. Gary must have already come through and triggered it" supplied exposition!Reiko.
"How did we even get here?" Arson asked curiously.
"You know" Dante said, looking unusually thoughtful, "I'm not sure. There's a cut scene, with a view flying over the ocean towards the island, but I have no idea how we cross it..." he rubbed his chin contemplatively.
"We can climb the cliffs" Reiko tried to keep the group focused. "Splitting up will save time, one of us with Dante, the others together" he recommend, then turned to Dante, "I would be honoured to accompany you".
"Aww, I wanna go with grandpa" Arson whined, earning a uneasy look from Dante.
"Yeah" Zone chipped in, "who made you protagonist's pet?".
Reiko sighed. There was only one way to settle matters at times like this. "Alright. But can we decide this in a civilised manner?" he implored. The others agreed, and so they gathered together, knelt down (for Zone's benefit), and proceeded to paper-scissors-stone it out. Dante watched this display without verbal comment.
After a few two or three-way ties, a victor emerged. "Yes, haha! I get to go with Dante, this is so awesome!" Zone cheered, doing a victory dance. Reiko and Arson sighed, the former giving Dante an apologetic shrug.
----
Once on the castle's roofs the two groups split up. Dante leapt from a turret overlooking a courtyard to a stone path. He put down Zone, who couldn't make the jump himself, and had somewhat self-consciously asked him for a lift, and they were about to move on when the rodent spotted something, "What's that?".
Dante turned; there was something on the path behind them. He walked over to it, Zone hurrying after him. Kneeling, he picked it up; it was a mask-like helmet, with two twisted, down-turned horns on the forehead.
"Well?" Zone asked curiously. When no reply came, he walked around Dante to see for himself, "Oh. Shit".
Dante stood, wearing a grim expression. "We have to hurry" he said, dropping Nelo Angelo's helmet with a clunk. Even the smart-assed Zone could tell now wasn't a good time to share his opinion, and glancing back at the vacant expression of the helmet, he followed Dante. They dropped through a hole to a balcony below, gaining entry through some doors that led into a bedroom.
----
Meanwhile, Arson and Reiko headed for another part of the castle. The vampire traversed a large, rounded window in the ceiling of a cathedral. They were making good time, and Reiko dared a minimal smile. It had barely crossed his face when the hairs stood up on the back of his neck, and he spun around, weapon raised.
"Arson!" he barked upon seeing the cause of the sensation.
Arson was stood there, looking confused and guilty, frozen in the middle of cuddling a big red balloon. His hair looked like it was trying to eat it, indicating a huge level of static. "Yes, Reiko sir?" he muttered shyly.
Reiko bit back harsh words, maintaining his patience. "Where did you get, that?" he gestured to the balloon.
Arson held it up proudly, "There was this dispenser selling them in the toilets of that cafe we ate at! They're not too flexible, I had to blow on it really hard to get it this big, and an old lady gave me a funny look when she saw the packet. I think she was jealous cus her lungs aren't good enough to inflate the extra large ones".
Reiko's face fell. "Uh, Arson, those are not... Normal balloons" he said, wondering how to tell the teenager.
"Oh, I know!" Arson gave an energetic nod. "This one is strawberry flavour too!" and with that, he licked it.
Reiko gave up. "Just, don't rub it too much" he implored, turning around. He took one step, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Arson..." he groaned.
----
Dante and Zone entered a large open-topped room with a fountain filling the centre. Dante walked through the shallow water while Zone went around, as his stature meant he would get soaked. They exited at the far end, Dante waiting for Zone before closing the doors. Turning around, he came up short as something flew past his face."Wow!" Zone yelped, jumping aside as a dagger ricocheted from where he had been standing. They looked up the hall to see a shambling horde of shabbily-dressed, life-sized, knife-armed mannequins.
"Finally, some action" Dante said, rolling his shoulders.
"About time" Zone agreed, drawing his weapons, a laser gun and a miniature lightsabre.
Dante glanced down at him curiously, "Where were you keeping those?".
"Same place you keep Rebellion, Nevan, Spiral and Kalina Ann at the same time" Zone replied with a grin.
Dante chuckled. "Touché" he said, and drawing Ebony and Ivory, spun them in his hands and aimed them at the possessed Marionette horde, "anyway, let's rock".
"I get to battle alongside Dante in the debut action scene, kick-ass" Zone said to himself, grinning excitedly.
Dante opened fire, leaping into the fray guns blazing, while Zone noticed a straggler separate from the rest and ran towards it. The Marionette didn't notice him at first, but when he leapt and drove his red lightsabre into the possessed puppet's side, he got its attention. It tried to slash him off with its knife, but the hamster kicked off its body and back-flipped, evading the blow and severing the puppet's hand, then caught hold of the stump and scurried up its arm, sabre in mouth. The puppet lashed out with its remaining blade, and Zone leapt over the stab and at the thing's head, sailing past and slashing a huge gouge across its features, landing on its shoulder. He kept on dodging and dismembering, finally abseiling down the dummy's face, dragging his blade through it before dropping to the floor. "One down" he breathed excitedly, wearing an eager grin.
Dante was having just as much fun. The remains of several puppets littered his path, and he moved forwards to face the next wave. Stepping in-between two Marionettes he fired to either side simultaneously, knocking them both back, then drove his boot into a third, pinning it to the wall and pumping both pistols into its face before releasing it and kicking it into one of its friends. As another lunged at him from behind Dante flipped backwards over the blow, unleashing a storm of bullets while upside-down, cutting it down in a rain of lead.
Finding himself on the other side of the mob, the devil hunter ran to the far end of the corridor. Before him, a heavy sword impaled the stone carving of a woman, and an ominous voice reverberated through his mind.
"I am Alastor.
The weak shall give their heart and swear their eternal loyalty to me."
With that, the sword crackled with electricity, burst from the stone, spun lethally through the air... And was caught by Dante's outstretched hand. "No time for that Alastor" He said. He heard the sword telepathically grumble something about no-good, unappreciative-cut-scene-skippers, but otherwise it complied with him.
Zone, by now, had his paws full. He fired his laser gun at one puppet, the crimson blast stunning the demon, but failing to kill it. "Die already!" Zone yelled, continuing to shoot until it collapsed into a pile of kindling.
Glancing at his laser, the hamster cursed. These demons soaked up much more punishment than the Hells he was used to, and he had already spent a quarter of his gun's reserves. At this rate he was going to deplete his main weapon's power supply way too soon.
Seeing an opportunity he used a burst of laser to propel himself towards a red-shirted mannequin. Zone flew at its face, then had to bring his weapon up rapidly as it intercepted him with its blades. His lightsabre saved the rodent from being split in two, but he was still thrown away dizzyingly. Landing hard, Zone rolled to the side a split-second later as a blade struck the ground, barely missing him. The puppet bore down on him, the hamster desperately raising his laser gun and unleashing a massive blast of energy, annihilating it for a hefty price. He had barely risen before two more loomed from behind him. He stalled one with a controlled burst, but didn't have time to stop the other as it slashed at him. The deadly edge descended, then was consumed in a storm of electricity, charged bullets ripping into the weapon and its wielder, knocking them crashing back.
Zone looked up in time to see Dante slay the last few puppets with Alastor. "You OK?" he asked the rodent.
"Yeah, thanks" Zone nodded. He got up, dizzy and sore, but not seriously injured. He actually had one Blue Orb, and the hamster was so little it could heal him even if he was cut in half. Still, he didn't want to lose his sole safeguard against dying, so he was being sincere.
----
Arson looked at the balloon, which he was holding at arm's length. He was about to say it wasn't him, when there was a loud crash from above and behind him. Turning around, he looked up as small pieces of rubble fell from the wall behind him. One hit his over-inflated balloon, popping it. "Mr. Bubble?" he whimpered.
Reiko turned around at the noise too, and felt sweat prickling his brow. A second later, two giant mandibles appeared over the edge of the wall Arson was standing by. A massive cross between a scorpion and a spider with a body of stone and lava leapt into view, crashing down between them, "Bah, just a pair of morsels, but I've got nothing else to play with" it grumbled irately.
"Phantom..." Reiko gaped, recognising the mighty demon. Before he could even begin formulating a plan to combat it, he saw Arson running towards it, "Arson!".
The hybrid charged at the monstrous demon, bringing both swords down with tremendous force. The dual blades descended, and rung harmlessly off the thick armour of the Phantom's hide. The demon turned and roared, an inferno building in its mouth then erupting forth, straight into the hybrid. "Arson!" Reiko called.
When the smoke cleared, Arson was standing, arms covering his front but still visibly shaken. "Spitting is rude!" Arson yelled, "you're a, a... A discourteous host!" he condemned, and lunged forwards once more, bringing his blades down on Phantom's head. The blow stung, and Phantom recoiled slightly, but nothing more, and he smashed Arson into a wall with a claw.
Reiko descended from above, stabbing his staff down into the Phantom's back. The blow barely registered, and the vampire felt his weapon rapidly heating up from the creature's molten blood, forcing him to retreat before he had to abandon it. Phantom paused, then jerked, and a huge ball of magma erupted from its back, followed by many more. Reiko leapt forwards into a roll as the first one exploded just behind him. Looking around, he saw Arson getting up, yelling PG-rated abuse. "Arson, that won't d-" he started, but then paused, glancing behind him as he ran across the glass window, which was being damaged by the fireballs that hit it. "That's it, Arson, taunt him on the glass!" he shouted.
Arson nodded, and ran onto the window. He turned around, bent over, yanked down his pants, and smacked himself. "Hey, bug-ugly! Come get some!" he invited.
"You puny pathetic thing, I'll crush you like an ant!" Phantom recycled game script threateningly, and then leapt high into the air. Arson continued to mock him as he came crashing down, and then dived aside at the last second as Phantom smashed onto then through the skylight. Tumbling town, he was impaled by a large spike on some architecture beneath. "No, the Legendary Sparda, it can't be!" he wailed, writhing in agony.
"You're right!" Arson called, hanging onto the edge of the new hole in the roof. "I'm his, uh" he paused and counted on his fingers, "Great-Grandson!". With that Phantom died, his last vision on Earth Arson's behind.
Reiko helped Arson up, and while as the hybrid did up his pants, he surveyed the aftermath. "Big and dumb, how cliché" he muttered under his breath. After ensuring neither of them were badly injured they moved on.
----
The four reunited shortly after, Reiko waiting for Dante and Zone by the castle's gate, then calling Arson on his phone. The hybrid, having already used the device that lowered the drawbridge, released the lever that kept the portcullis raised, the water-based mechanism letting the gate slowly fall, but Arson raced through the castle and got under before it closed. "Any problems?" Zone asked once they were all on the other side.
"Nothing we couldn't handle..." Arson said, grinning.
"What about you, any trouble?" the vampire inquired.
"Nothing we couldn't handle" Dante smirked. "But, there was something" he added, "Mundus' statue was missing from the main hall". Reiko felt a shiver run up his spine. He couldn't even guess what implications that had. On an unspoken agreement to hurry, they proceeded out of the castle's main gate to Mallet Island.