A Darkness That Torments You

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story was inspired after I read "As The Trumpets Sound" by Laryna6. As such, elements from that story are going to be used in this one, only with a twist. Mind you, I found "As The Trumpets Sound" an enjoyable story and Laryna6 really outdid herself when she wrote it, but there were many things that I disliked about it at the same time. This story is going to be almost a "What I would do if I was in that situation" type of story. Mind you, this is NOT a Sparda/Eva fanfiction. This is just an idea I had, something that ties into the Devil May Cry storyline (events in the game still take place, this is just something with a twist). I hope you enjoy it. Please read/comment/criticize. I would appreciate it. I don't own Devil May Cry or any of the characters. I own Nora and this story and nothing more.

"In Your Eyes I See
A Darkness That Torments You
And In Your Head Where It Dwells
I'd Give You My Hand
If You'd Reach Out And Grab It
Let's Walk Away From This Hell..."
-Into the Dark, The Juliana Theory

Chapter One

Things had finally seemed to be going according to plan.

Graduation, a car, a job. Now all that she needed was the money to go to the college of her choice. Nora had her mind set, and as far as she was concerned, there was nothing that was going to get in her way. She was working harder then she ever had before, saving up as much money as possible to pay for her tuition. She stopped going to the mall as frequently, stopped going to the movies as often, and quit smoking cigarettes all together (she was surprised at how much money she saved doing that). She was going to be as persistant and as focused as possible to reach her goal. To go to that school. To create a life for herself...

Her family was supportive in the sense that they pitched it as much money as they could afford, but she knew she had nobody to rely on but herself if she wanted to go to that school. They weren't very successful or wealthy people, and Nora felt wrong asking them for money, so she hardly ever did. But mostly, she was annoyed at how they responded to her determination. Instead of praising her for it, they criticized her. She was spending more time focusing on raising money then she was on being social. She wasn't dating, she wasn't visiting her friends as often as she used to, claiming that she would probably be spending too much money on gas and booze if she were to do that. It was really starting to aggreviate her.

Her older sister was a hard worker. She had the same kind of determination that Nora had when it came to her studies. But when she was pregnant at eighteen, that was when Nora saw all of that hard work go right to waste. Nora knew first hand that boyfriends and children got in the way of things. She wasn't in the mood for dating, and certainly didn't plan on having kids. Granted, her nephew was a complete doll, but she had no patience whatsoever for children. At times Nora and her sister would get into a horrible fight over him, when he was being too loud and distracting when she was trying to work. Yes, she certainly didn't want to have one of those.

Nora was an art student. It was her passion. She wanted nothing in this world but full concentration and art supply, because her works were nothing short then perfection. The projects were usually very abstract, and she claimed that they were based on the images in her mind. Some were paintings of landscapes, pictures in her mind about forests, mountains, beachs, while others were drawings of people, both fictional and real. She used to create costumes for the drama club at her high school and was praised for her creativity and detail in each one she made (to her dismay, she had to sell most of them on the Internet in order to pay for her tuition).

But her latest work was done in oil pastels and water color. Celestial figures, demonic figures, light and darkness colliding together like a yin-yang. Shadows that resembled demons, and highlights that resembled angels. She wasn't sure why this particular topic came to mind. She wasn't exactly a religious person, so faith had nothing to do with the portrait. Although she did love mythology and fantasy, she didn't think that her works were based off of anything from the Greek and Roman stories.

It didn't quite matter to her though. She had a talent for taking things from her mind and putting them on a canvas for all to see. It was as close to a window into her imagination as she could get, and it worked perfectly. The college thought so as well, after recieving a letter with pictures of her work. Going to that school would be a dream come true for her. She wouldn't let anything get in her way, no matter what...

Twilight had come now. It was Friday: movie night for her family. She left the canvas in her room, changed out of her dirty, paint-splattered clothes and proceeded out of the house. Her mother had given her money to go to the store and buy the candy and cheese corn for the movie. Her father had rented a film adaption of the story about the Greek god Hades and his beautiful captive, Persephone. She had been wanting to watch that movie ever since she saw the previews for it on television, yet refused to go to the theatre to see it herself. Nora didn't want to waste money on gas, so instead of taking the car, she pocketed the cash and began to walk.

"Excuse me..."

Halfway to the store, she stopped in her tracks after being addressed. Nora blinked and turned around.

A man stood before her, dressed rather strangely, but she didn't say anything. He had an accent (which to her surprise, sounded very similiar to that of Kain, the protagonist from a favorite video game of hers), and she figured that he was probably a foreigner who was on vacation. He was holding some kind of amulet that was glowing brightly in his hand. She looked from the amulet to his face, a puzzled expression playing on her face.

"Hello... are you lost?" she asked him.

"Not anymore..." the man responded as he moved the amulet in her direction. "As it turns out, I seem to have found the person I was looking for..."

She did not like the way that sounded, for some reason. Everything in her being was telling her to run home.

"What is your name?" he asked.

She ignored that feeling, still feeling uncomfortable. "Nora Jacobs." she rose an eyebrow. "I... don't think we've met before. Did you hear about me from the school?" She was considered a prodigy in her school for her unique, artistic talents. Sometimes her work made the newspapers. Perhaps he wanted to buy a painting?

But if that was the case, he would have known her name...

"I did not." he responded, then tucked the amulet away. "I am sorry to disturb you, but I must ask you something. It may sound strange, but I ask that you stay and indulge me..."

Run home. she thought to herself. Get away from this creep.

He saw her discomfort and spoke again. "Please..."

She sighed. "Please make it quick. I have to get home."

"Do you, Miss Nora... believe in magic?" he asked.

She wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't want to come off as rude. But all the while, she felt that he was just wasting her time. "Not... really..."

The man rose an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah..." Nora began. "I'm not into the whole Wicca, witchcraft and sorcerery thing. Personally... I think it's all a bunch of bull..." she stopped herself. She didn't want to rant, or offend him. Judging by the way he looked, she figured that he was probably a Pagan. It would be rude to insult his faith. "Well, I don't believe in it. I'm not saying that you don't have to..."

He shook his head. "This is going to be difficult... it may surprise you, but magic does exist... and you have a lot of it inside of you."

The last time Nora heard something like that was when she was in the eighth grade and was dating a boy who happened to be in a gothic clique. Apparentally he wholeheartedly believed thatt he was thousands of years old and his entire family were demons from Hell. As it turns out, he was just an idiot who read too many of Raven Silverwolf's novels. Needless to say, she was about to tell him to buzz off and be on her merry way.

But that feeling kicked in. What was it? Dellusion? Instinct? Whatever it was, she was believing him. Something inside of her knew that he was right. He seemed to notice this, and began to speak again.

"There is nothing wrong about it..." he said. "As you may or may not know - it doesn't matter - there are two kinds of magic in existance. One of darkness, and one of light. Yours is of light."

Light, like an angel. At least, that was the first thing that came to mind. It was another one of those feelings that kicked in. One that seemed so unbelievable, yet she knew it to be true. People had always commented on her art as angelic, and she noticed that the elderly and sick that visited the art shows seemed to look young and lively again after visiting her portion of the gallery. Sick relatives and friends that she visited seemed to get better faster then usual as well... even her little nephew seemed to be abnormally healthy then a three-year-old little boy ought to be...

"Your children would inherit that power as well..." he continued. "Which is why..."

Her head snapped up and looked right at him with large eyes. Another one of those feelings. She almost knew exactly what he was going to tell her...

"You aren't married, are you?" he asked. For some reason, she knew that he was delying his request.

"Of course not!" she snapped. "And I don't plan on getting married anytime soon. Besides, boyfriends and dates cost a lot of money with the restaurants and movies and gasoline for the cars and stuff, and I'm saving up every penny I own to go to a college I want to attend. I literally work myself to the point where I'm about to break because I want to go there so bad, and I'm so determined..." she realized that she was ranting and stopped herself. "Anyways... I can't let boys get in the way of things. It's my dream to go to that school and I've been working hard to get there. I can't let anything get in my way..."

He nodded slightly. "I commend you for your determination." he looked impressed, but it was evident that he disliked the idea.

She wanted to run. She didn't like this guy. There was something about him that scared her. And it was getting darker... she wasn't far from home. She could sprint there if she absolutely had to. But why wasn't she? He noticed her eyes shifting from him to the direction of her house and began to speak again.

"Do you know the legend of Sparda?" he asked her.

"I heard about him in my mythology class..." she admitted. "Something about him killing demons, coming to Earth, sealing off the Demon World with a sacrifice... something along those lines?"

He looked troubled by her words, but nodded slowly. "Something..." he muttered, then rose his voice. "The reason I ask is... I want to have children."

She blinked. "That's... nice..."

He still looked troubled. "And if you were the mother..."

She stopped him right there. "Sir... you don't seem to be from around here. But in this country, people don't usually hook up with complete strangers." she put her hands on her hips. "And remember when I told you about that college? Boyfriends aren't the only things that get in the way of things. Babies do too. And I'll be damned if I'm going to throw away months of work and sacrifice towards achieving my dream just to be mother to some screaming kids with somebody that I don't even know-"

In the middle of her rant, he held up his hands. "Please... I know it sounds like a lot to ask, but because of your magic, if you were the mother, your children would be capable of surviving... one of your powers include the ability to heal faster then that of a normal human being, and..."

She glared at him. "I'm sorry Mister, but you're-"

"I can pay you. I can get you into that college, if that is your desire." he said, and his face showed no signs of deceit. "I'm dying... this is important..."

Nora hesitated... he dressed odd, but formal. And judging by his groomed hair and glass eye, he did look rich and wealthy. The very thing that she wasn't. Could she, perhaps... but then she stopped herself.

"You're missing the point!" she protested. "I can't go to college if I'm pregnant. I wouldn't be able to focus on my studies when I'm throwing up or taking care of a baby. Sir, I can hardly take care of myself. How am I supposed to take care of a baby?" then she crossed her arms. "Besides, I'm glad you're willing to pay for it, but I'd rather work for it. I don't want to take people's money..."

That look of admiration came again... but he still looked troubled. Perhaps desperate. "You don't understand... the fate of the world is at stake, Nora. I have protected this world for a millenia... and now I am dying. My children must continue to guard humanity..."

That did it. That hit the nail on the head. There was no lying, his face still showed no signs of deceit or that of someone who was playing a prank. He knew about magic... he said she had it inside of her... and now...

"You're not..." she didn't want to believe it. "You really aren't..." she felt herself shaking. "What are you?"

He straightened himself, then bowed his head slightly as he spoke. "My name is Sparda..."

She was shaking more... she remembered in mythology, Sparda was supposed to be the good guy, wasn't he? But the stories she had read... the kind of creature he was before he became the "good guy"... he was a monster. A murderer. This man who stood before her, with that eerie presence around him, who knew about magic and spoke about guarding the humans... the man who claimed to be Sparda...

She shook her head. "Find someone else." she sputtered. "If it's so damned important then find someone else! Leave me out of it!"

Nora went to run, but he reached out, grabbing her wrist and stopping her. "Please, wait..." he pleaded.

"Get off!" she snapped, twisting his arm and trying to jerk her wrist away. Using a basic escape technique that ultimately failed in the end.

"Our children... stop struggling and listen to me, please..." he said. "Our children would inherit our powers. My dark magic, your light magic... and if they learn to master it..."

She kicked at his kneecap, but he didn't budge. She forced her palm up against his elbow, but it never moved. It was as if his body was made of unbreakable steel...

"You must understand, Nora. I will not live past the end of this millennium and I don't know how much time I have left. I have been working so hard... searching for centuries for a person with enough power..."

She drove her knuckles into his fingers. His grip was like iron. He sighed. "Please... what would it take to convince you?"

She responded by driving her palm into his face. He flinched... but still didn't budge. Her eyes were large... his nose was supposed to break. He was supposed to wince and let go, giving her an opportunity to escape... but he didn't. In fact all she managed to do was knock his glass eye out of place, which he correctly adjusted a moment later while looking into her blue eyes. She knew right then and there that she had made a mistake.

"I wish this wasn't necessary..." he hissed. She screamed, but his other hand lashed out, grabbing her by her throat and silencing it. "I took an oath and swore to protect the human race at all costs... I will not let Mundus take over..."

She kicked at him, choking in his grip, finding herself beginning to black out. And a moment later, she was no longer on the street. There was no warm, summer breeze. There wasn't a street lined with houses and lights. There was a spacious room, but she didn't have time to examine it. He tossed her onto the ground and she collapsed, gripping her throat and coughing violently. And he continued to speak.

"I promise you... after they are born, I will wipe away your memory and send you back home..." he was moving away from her. "I sincerely wish that this was not necessary..."

He was gone. A door had opened and closed, probably locked... it didn't matter. Within moments, she blacked out on the floor...

Things seemed to be going according to plan... at least they seemed to be...