Danteand theShadow of Darkness
By ZoFran
The inferes watched the human female from the shadows. Saliva dripped from its massive jaws. The large muscles of his forearms shivered in excitement as he watched her flesh move under her skin, the blood trickling through her veins. He yearned to pounce and grasp her tiny, weak neck in his mouth and hear the crack as it broke, taste the blood running down his throat. But this was not the one he waited for. His master had promised him many humans if he killed the human male. Out of all his brothers he was the strongest, the fastest. His master had created him to kill, and so he would.
/
/
Dante sneered in disgust as the bloody body of a demon turned to dust. He wiped his sword and put in on his back before turned back to the woman, a girl really.
"Wha...wha...what...was that?" She managed between sobs.
"A demon."
"A...de...de...mon?"
"Yes a........."
"What...what's...that?"
He sighed. He hated dealing with hysterical woman. Where was Euphie or Thalia when you needed them? He guessed Aglaia would have less patience than he had.
"Have you got some place you can go? Family members et cetera."
"Mm...my...mum."
"Alright, why don't you call her and get her to pick you up."
Nodding she managed to get to her feet and find the phone. The minute she heard her mother's voice she burst into fresh tears.
Dante rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for his crap. They were getting pizza for dinner and if he stayed any longer he'd miss it. Damn bitches wouldn't save any for him.
"Can...can you drive me?"
"What? No."
Her lip trembled.
"Okay, okay fine. Jesus. But it's a motorcycle, you got a problem with that?"
Vemently she shook her head.
He heaved another heartfelt sigh.
"Hurry up then."
/
Dante pulled up by the Three Graces, mumbling is severe dislike of all hysterical females. He was too late for pizza. He could feel it. He got off his bike and froze, hand on his sword. The only sound was the faint whisper of the night breeze, nothing moved in the shadows. Nevertheless he watched the street for a long time before he relaxed his stance and turned to walk up the stairs. Probably just a stray, he thought.
He heard only the soft scrape of claws on concrete before a colossal weight slammed into his back and he crashed to the ground. The ribs that had broken on impact were quickly healing but in the wrong shape as the thing continued to press its massive weight upon his back. He twisted his head around just in time to see a huge set of sharp teeth baring down on him before they bit into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the things jaws crushed bone and flesh. Then still holding on to his shoulder it lifted him up and began to shake him like a rag doll. Dante watched the world move in a frenzied blur through a pain filled daze. It let go just before his shoulder failed and his entire arm came off. He flew into the wall of the Three Graces, stopping him a mid flight and sending him plummeting to the ground. From his back Dante vaguely indentified the beast as a curiously large inferes. It snarled, its once white teeth red with his blood. Dante clumsily scrambled to his feet as he saw it tense its muscles in preparation to pounce. He threw himself to the side just in time and managed to stay on his feet. Dizziness made him stagger as he reached for Ebony. His blood soaked fingers slipped on the handle, costing a few precious seconds. The inferes lunged again, Dante dodged but not quick enough. Its 5 inch long claws dug deep into his chest and slammed him into the ground. It loomed over him as he lay half conscious on his back. Digging in its claws it leant forward, depositing almost half its weight on Dantes chest. Blood began to fill his lungs, causing him to start coughing uncontrollably. Every racking movement causing him more agony.
Slowly it leant its massive head and opened its deadly jaws in preparation to rip Dantes head from his shoulders.
If the inferes could have smiled it would have. Blood lust and a deep sense of dominance over the puny creature he crushed with his superior claws and strength welled in its enormous chest as it prepared to taste the human male. Its thoughts turned to the female it had seen earlier, as soon as he was finished with the weakling, he would enter their nest and drink her sweet smelling blood. But first...
A sharp sting its thick hide gave it pause. Its deep growl shook the earth as it slowly turned its head to look behind it at what would dare attack it. Three human females stood motionless, the dark one held a fire stick. It curled its lip back in a snarl and its mouth filled with saliva as it inhaled the females sweet scent.
/
Aglaia waited, gun ready to get a clear shot at the inferes's head which had previously been out of range as it bent to sink its teeth into Dante's head. Thalia and Euphie stood at her sides wearing grim smiles. Slowly the thing extracted his claws from Dantes chest and stepped off from him. Dante took a deep breath as the massive weight lifted from his chest but was unable to draw in any air through his blood filled lungs.
The inferes approached the Three Graces, not overly concerned about the gun pointing straight at him. He waited for them to run. Humans helpless cries and feeble attempts to escape him on their weak two legs amused and exited it. But these ones didn't run, just watched him with cold eyes, predators eyes.
"Aglaia?" Euphie said mildly, as the inferes stalked closer and closer.
Aglaia's lip curled to reveal a feral smile. "Scared sister?"
"Not particularly, I was just wondering if you wanted to admire the demon about to pounce on us or let me help Dante before he chokes on his own blood."
"Serves him right, I'm getting a little sick of rescuing him."
"Quite. This wouldn't be a petty attempt to convince yourself Dante means nothing to you by standing by watching him die."
The inferes bent low in preparation to spring. It could already feel their blood in his throat.
It sprang, lightening fast, its claws and teeth ready to sink themselves into their soft, feeble flesh. In the same instant Aglaia fired her gun. Bullet and beast met in mid air. The bullet caught it between the eyes and lodged itself in its brain, where it promptly shattered into a hundred lethal slivers of metal and turned the creatures brain into mush. It fell, quite satisfactorily, Aglaia thought, at her feet, dead before it hit the ground.
"Satisfied I'm not allowing my misguided romantic angst to get in the way of killing a demon Euphrosyne?"
Euphie just smiled and hurried over to Dante. Aglaia watched as the massive body of the inferes collapsed into dust and tried to control her shaking hands.
/
/
Dante fought through the pain filled haze toward the light. Then colours formed blurry patches until they slowly transformed into shapes. He blinked and tried to concentrate on a out of focus woman with long blonde hair who was smearing something very cold onto his burning skin.
"Euphie," he whispered hoarsely.
"Shhh, its alright Dante, Aglaia killed the inferes. You're in the shop. I'm just patching up some of the damage the son of bitch did to you. But I can tell you this buddy boy, in a couple of minutes your gonna wish you stayed asleep."
"Why?" He said in a slightly stronger voice.
"When the inferes attacked you it broke a large number of your ribs."
He frowned impatiently. "So?"
"So they healed in the wrong shape, I'm going to have to break them and set them in the right places."
"What?!!"
At that moment Thalia and Aglaia walked into the room.
"Ahh, he's awake," Thalia said gravely.
"Unfortunately," Euphie sighed. "Alright, on you get girls."
"Wha...what are gonna do?" Dante spluttered as Aglaia and Thalia advanced upon him. They didn't answer, just kept walking with resolute expressions. Thalia climbed on the bed near his feet, sat on his legs and placed her hands on his ankles, holding him fast.
Aglaia did the same, yanking his arms above him, she proceeded to sit on and hold them. Slightly panicked, Dante tried to move but the women's weight and grip held him fast.
Then he looked up to see Euphie walking towards him with a scalpel in her hand.
"What the fuck are you doing!" he shouted at her.
She looked at him apologetically.
"I can't fix your ribs from the outside, I need to open you up."
"What?" he screamed and began to struggle wildly.
"Dante!" Aglaia moved her hands from his arms to hold his face. "Listen to me!"
He stopped struggling and looked up at her upside down face.
"You aren't going to get better until she does this, you understand? You won't be able to do anything, no walking, no running, no fighting, no nothing. If you want us to leave you lying crippled on your bed, we will, but I know you don't want that. So calm the fuck down and let Euphie do her job. It'll only take a few minutes I promise, and I'll be here the whole time."
He didn't answer her but Aglaia saw the change in his expression and she nodded to Euphie.
The cold edge of the blade touched his skin and he flinched. He lifted his head slightly to see what Euphie was doing, but Aglaia pulled him back.
"Don't look at her, look at me."
He stared up into her dark eyes, trying to block out everything else but their bottomless depths.
He managed to stifle a scream when Euphie made the first incision, but was unable to stop the inarticulate sound of pain in the bottom of his throat.
Aglaia shushed him gently and stroked his face.
After Euphie had made the first incision she quickly applied surgical clamps to the wound so it wouldn't heal.
Then she firmly took a hold of the first rib and positioned her hands. Usually this procedure was done with more finesse but the usual didn't really apply to Dante. His metabolism meant he couldn't be tranquilised for any great period of time, and his healing abilities meant there was no need for sanitisation or the usual care; if she made a mistake there were no consequences other than taking the time to fix it.
When she was ready she looked up at Dante's strained face.
"Okay, deep breath, on three. One..."
With a resounding crack the bone broke and healed in its proper place. Dante screamed and jerked wildly, almost unseating Thalia and Aglaia.
"Jesus fucking Christ you bitch!"
"Dante stop it!" Aglaia snapped. "You've got six more of these to go so..."
"No it's alright," Euphie interrupted. "Its proven that swearing alleviates pain."
"Fucking aye," Dante agreed.
Aglaia scowled at him but said nothing.
"Alright," Euphie said, once more positioning her hands on a rib. "Here we go again."
/
Dante was lying in a field that stretched on forever. Grass rippled and tossed in the wind that swirled around him.
Dante.
He sat up and looked around but there was no one there.
Dante. The wind whispered, and the grass shook.
He stop up and suddenly she was there standing in front of him, ten feet away.
"Aglaia."
Her head was bowed, she didn't look up as she spoke.
He walked toward her until he could have reached out and touched her, but he didn't.
Its coming...
The wind spoke again.
He looked at Aglaia to see if she had heard it but she didn't move.
"Whats coming?" he shouted to the quickening wind.
But it didn't answer and he turned back to Aglaia.
Something dark dripped from her mouth.
She looked up.
Dante gasped in horror.
Blood streamed from her mouth and nose, choking her, he reached to her but she was too far away.
Darkness swamping him, blood was everywhere, covering the earth, screams from a thousand mouths filled his ears, everything was desert, and every moment was the night of no stars.
Then it all disappeared and he saw nothing.
And the wind finally told him.
Death.
/
"Dante."
He groaned and rolled over.
"Go away."
"We don't have time for this, the demon tracker is here."
He bolted upright.
"The what?"
Thalia gave him a withering glance.
"Did you listen to anything we said you last night?"
"I might've if I wasn't in excruciating pain!"
She rolled her eyes.
"You're such a baby."
"Am not."
"I can beat you up, you are."
She turned on her heel and walked off, he scowled at her back but got dressed.
When he walked into the office a very old man with white hair and eyes stood serenely in the centre of the room, his hands resting on a cane.
Euphie came towards him.
"This is Abram, he feels the supernatural. He was blind but born with a connection to demons and others. He'll help us track the demon."
"Young man."
Abram spoke in a voice that barely seemed more than a whisper but it seemed to fill the entire room.
"You have been gifted with great power. A power you have chosen to defend the innocent. The other half of you however is not so noble. Evil leaks into is soul and poisons him. I feel him as he was standing right next to me. The blood bond is strong, it has not weakened."
Dante stared at him. Who was he talking about? Himself or... No he was dead.
"I don't know what your talking about."
Abram gave a slight smile that was tinged with sadness.
"You will in time Son of Sparda, your destiny is written and cannot be unwritten."
The whole room was silent for several seconds. All the Graces stared at Dante.
Finally Aglaia looked away to Abram.
"You were brought here to track the inferes, I suggest you do so."
Dante expected the old man protest at such treatment but he only smiled.
"Then that is what I must do. Thalia my dear, would you show and old man to where the beast attacked your young friend."
Thalia walked forward and gave the man her arm to put his hand on and lead him outside.
When they were gone Dante and Euphie both turned to Aglaia.
"What?" she snapped, taking in their reprimanding expressions. "We brought him here to find the damn thing not give us a palm reading."
She stomped off after Thalia. Euphie and Dante shared a sigh before following.
/
When they reached the place of ambush Abram took his hand off of Thalia's arm and knelt to the ground pressing both his hands into the concrete. He stayed like that, motionless but for some little shudders for a long time.
"How long does this usually take?" He whispered to Euphie.
"I've seen him take as long as two days, it depends on the individual creature how long he takes to follow its path."
"Can he hurry it up?"
She gave him a look which told him to shut up, which after a few grumbles, he did.
After half and hour, which the Graces endured with stoic dignity, and Dante with much fidgeting and sighing, Abram stood up.
"Your path leads you a garden of wild red roses by a mansion of once great prestige and elegance, but this now decrepit and forgotten. The course of the creature ends there, but that is not from where he began. His trail is has been removed, I can trace him no further. The rest of the way is your own."
Dante began to protest but Euphie laid a hand on his arm and shushed him. Dante was watching Abram and when Euphie touched him the man's eyes went wide and darted between them as if he could see them.
"Son of Sparda," he commanded in a stronger voice than Dante had heard him use before. "You will come with me now and listen to what I have seen."
Dante looked at the Three Graces who looked as puzzled as he felt, but Euphie jerked her head in Abrams direction as an indication to go.
He sighed heavily and walked over the old man, who immediately took his arm and lead him away till they were out of ear shot.
He suddenly stopped and turned to Dante.
"You must not continue on this path."
Dante frowned. "What?"
"The wind whispers of death."
Dante's eyes widened and he sucked in a startled breath.
"The wind has spoken to you?" Abram demanded.
Dante nodded and somehow the man knew of his assent.
"What did it tell you."
"That...that death was coming."
"The wind always speaks true. Death is the only end I see to this battle. When Euphrosyne touched you I saw your destiny and it foretold of rivers of blood and fires burning, burning everything it touched. Death, death comes for you Son of Sparda, and those you love. You escaped it as a child and this has only made it want you more. It comes and when it catches you there will be none to save this earth from the creatures of hell when they come to claim it. You must not continue on this path."
"I have to help my friends."
"No!" cried Abram fiercely. "If you do death will take you and doom us all. You cannot go!"
"Alright, alright," said Dante placatingly .
He seemed to relax. "This is good. You will let your friends do this. Death will be thwarted once again."
"Again."
Abram smiled wryly.
"Death has been coming for me for many years now. But I feel when he does and I escape him time and again. One day I will let him catch me. But that may not be for another very long time."
With that the he turned and walked away, finding his way as if he could see everything in front of him.
/
The Graces had pestered him about what Abram had said but he wouldn't tell them anything so they eventually gave up and dropped it. Even Thalia, who usually wouldn't let something go until she knew everything she wanted to know.
It had taken them a week of searching but they had finally found the mansion and its garden of roses. As he looked up at the ruined house he felt a creeping dread come over him. A coldness in the pit of his stomach.
For a fleeting moment he thought he should have listened to Abram. But he quickly pushed the thought aside and ran to catch up with the three graces who were approaching the house.
"Alright," Aglaia said. "Euphie and Thalia, you guys take the house and me and Dante'll do the garden. Don't leave any stone unturned, we're gonna find this son of a bitch if its the last thing we do."
Euphie and Thalia hurried up the house, kicked the door open and went inside.
Dante cocked a brow at her.
"Who died and made you boss?"
"Move your ass Dante, we've got work to do."
She turned and started toward the back of the house.
He hurried after her and spoke and in low voice near her ear.
"Oh Aglaia baby, I get all tingly when you take control like that."
She said nothing, just walked faster. He chuckled and followed.
The garden really was wild. Shrubs and trees were large and overgrown. A manmade pond, which Dante supposed was once picturesque, was now a sizable swamp. And everywhere red rose bushes had infested into every available space. Their blooms the colour of blood and their thorns jutting out menacingly.
"You take the west side, I'll take the east."
With that she walked off. Dante smiled.
"Gotta love a women in control."
Then he surveyed the thorny bushes and sighed.
This is so not gonna fun.
/
An hour later Dante would have gleefully burnt this whole property to the ground, especially the garden, and especially the roses.
Screw this demon were after, he thought. From now on roses are now arch nemesis.
In one hour he'd been scratched enough times to make a homicidal cat proud. The poison in the thorns meant he didn't heal as fast, so the cuts accumulated nicely.
He'd just been got a particularly nasty one on this left cheek and was cursing like a sailor when he suddenly stilled. Somebody was behind him. He whirled around but not fast enough. Strong arms grabbed him and a knife slit his throat from ear to ear. He screamed in pain but the only sound that came out was blood filled gurgle. He was roughly pushed to the ground and waited I agony as his throat knitted back together.
Thank god there wasn't any inferes poison on that knife, he thought. Or I would have been screwed. When he was healed he gratefully sucking in a breath and realised the man who attacked him was still standing next to him.
Rage rose like a wave and in one swift movement he sprang up and unsheathed his sword.
The man was so shocked he almost fell over when he looked at Dante's throat and his murderous eyes.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now," Dante snarled.
"Leon?"
They both looked over to where Aglaia had appeared. The man visibly relaxed as she grinned and walked over to slap him on the back.
"Man I haven't seen you in ages! How've you been?"
He gave Dante a furtive look before replying.
"I got a new partner, he's pretty damn good actually. Names Dean. We've been working together for a few months now. He's checking out the house now."
"Well I'm sure Thalia and Euphie will know to greet him properly."
Leon grinned.
"I'm sure they will. Think I'll see my partner alive again?"
"Stranger things have happened. And let me introduce you to Dante, Dante this is Leon Kennedy an old friend of ou..."
She looked at Dante and frowned.
"Whats your problem?" she asked, taking in his ominous expression.
"You're old friend just gave me a fucking Columbian necktie is what my fucking problem is!" He exploded.
She looked at Leon in shock.
"You did?"
He had the grace to look sheepish.
"Yeah sorry about that dude, I thought you were a demon. We've been given intelligence that this the lair of a very powerful demon whose been doing some pretty bad things round the place."
"Well its not, alright? So I suggest you piss off." Dante snapped.
Aglaia looked outraged. "Dante..."
"Do you understand what I just told you? He tried to kill me! He slit my throat with the knife he's holding in his hand right now. He's literally got my blood on this hands! If I weren't half demon I'd be dead right now!"
Before either Aglaia or Leon could answer they heard Euphie call out from the house.
"Aglaia! We've got a guy here who says he's Leon's partner. You got Leon there?"
"Yeah he's here!" Aglaia shouted.
There was a pause.
"Can I shoot him anyway?"
"Not yet! Were coming over."
Aglaia and Leon walked off toward the house. Dante stood there for several seconds trying to quell the urge to take his gun out its holster and shoot Mr Kennedy in the back.
When they cleared the tangle of roses they were met with the sight of a pissed looking Euphie holding a gun to the head on an equally pissed off looking Dean.
Dante heard snorting from beside him and saw that Leon was having trouble quelling his laughter.
"Can I shoot him now?"
"What did he do?" Aglaia asked.
"First he tries to punch me out, but I ducked and he just clipped me, which doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like a fucking bitch by the way!" she shot at Dean, who rolled his eyes. "Then when I got him to the floor he had the nerve to insult my clothing and my sword."
"You're wearing thigh high boots and a jumpsuit what was I supposed to do? Tell you, you look simply fabulous darling?"
When Euphie clicked the safety off Aglaia jumped forward.
"Euphie stop it. He is Leon's partner, you don't have to like him but I don't think Leon would appreciate it if you shot his friend in the head."
"Who said he was my friend?" Leon grinned.
Dean shot him a dark look.
"I'm glad you find the situation amusing Leon," Aglaia drawled. "But I'll thank you not to aggravate the situation."
With difficultly he smoothed his face so it was almost expressionless.
"Thank you, now Euphie."
"Guys I found something."
They all looked up to the house to see Thalia standing in the doorway looking at them gravely.
Argument forgotten Euphie and Aglaia immediately went to her. The men all exchanged glances before following. Thalia lead them into the basement, and though a door which Dante surmised was one behind a large shelf that sat beside the door, judging by the drag marks on the floor. The door lead to a series of passages which Thalia navigated through until they got to a large metal door which looked like it serious business. It was slightly askew, the little opened letting a horrible smell drift out to where they stood.
It smelt like death.
/
They all went through the door which revealed a lab that looked like it had been abandoned for decades. Dust covered the entire room, except where Thalia's feet had disturbed it. From the state of the room it looked like whatever happened there ended badly. Lab equipment was everywhere, the glass of test tubes was scattered all over the floor, table were turned over and all the electronic equipment was destroyed, with wire and metal hanging from their broken frames. A dark substance was splattered around the room which Dante strongly suspected was blood.
"It's worse through here," said Thalia quietly and led them through another door. Dante almost gagged when the stench hit him. All over the room were the rotted corpses of at least a dozen people were strewn about. All of them had been ripped apart to some degree. The floor was almost black it was covered with so much blood.
"What could have done this?" Leon whispered.
None of them knew the answer so they were silent. One by one they came out of their trance and began to move about the room. Dante walked over the corpse of what he assumed was a young woman. Her features were rotted but her hair was long a golden. He thought of Euphie and shuddered. He looked down her mangled body and it was clear to him she had been feed upon.
"Oh my god."
They all jumped as Euphie's loud voice split the heavy silence.
"What is it?"
Thalia and Aglaia were at her side in seconds.
They were sisters, Dante thought. In all but blood.
Euphie was holding some partially destroyed papers in her hands.
"This is the Samael experiment."
Thalia and Aglaia gasped but the men stared blankly.
Thalia did an impressive eye roll.
"You don't know what she's talking about do you?"
All three of them sighed in perfect synchronisation.
"About ten years ago there was a rumour," Euphie began. "they a group of scientists were experimenting on demons. Hardly anyone believed that of course because who'd be stupid enough to try? Then some new evidence came to light that they were in fact a real group, and had funding from several parties to do it. Obviously it is illegal so thats why they were down here. Later I also heard..."
She frowned and broke off.
"Wha..." Dante began but she cut him off with a sharp "Shut up."
There was a faint noise from the direction of the passage ways. Then a couple of seconds later there was another one, closer this time.
Then there was an echoing hiss that chilled Dante to his bones.
"Run," whispered Euphie. "Fast as you can, as quietly as you can, if you want to live do it now."
Her words sent them sprinting through the door that led deeper into the facility. When they had run for several minutes though the series of corridors and labs Euphie called a halt and locked the door behind them.
They spent a few seconds catching their breath before Dean asked the question.
"What were they?"
Fear flitted across her expression and Dante felt dread start to build in his stomach. Not one of the Graces showed fear often, and when they did it was serious cause for concern.
"Euphie," prompted Thalia quietly.
Euphie took a deep breath. "Night prowlers."
"Shit," Aglaia whispered savagely. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."
Leon's shoulders slumped and Thalia's lips were pressed tightly together.
Dante frowned and tried to think back to where he read about night prowlers. It had to be in one of Euphie's god awful books. When he remembered he uttered a quiet but emphatic 'Fuck'.
"Okay," said Dean slowly. "I seem to be the only one out of the loop here."
"Don't worry," Dante said. "They'll probably kill us anyway, I don't think it matters what they are."
"Dante shut up," said Euphie wearily.
She turned to Dean. "Imagine a spectre from your worst nightmare. A man with teeth and claws like knives, hunched over and deformed, with no eyes, just holes where they should be that seem to stare at you anyway. Its quiet but you know in your bones that it will rip you to shreds and devour you before you even know what happened. It comes in the dark and you'd better hope you're nowhere near one when the sun goes down because they were made to be our nightmares, the reason why were afraid of the dark."
Dean was silent for a minute before he saying, "Oh."
"Yah."
"So what do we do now?"
"We can outrun them, we can't fight more than one and they only hiss like that when they're in a large group. They must have been experimented on and then overran the facility, killing the staff and presumably the people that owned the house along with the servants."
"That didn't answer my question."
She glared at him. "I can still shoot you know."
"Go ahead it'll save me being ripped to shreds by Night Prowlers."
"Guys, come look at this." Said Thalia.
She was leaning on a bench over a set of plans detailing the layout of the Laboratory.
They all crowded behind and her looked as she pointed to a place on the plan.
"We're here," she moved her hand. "The prowlers are coming from this direction. Now over here it looks like there's a passage that comes out on the outside. Near the door there is a large containment facility which should according to these plans have bolted steel doors that lock from the outside. We can lock it behind us so they won't be able to follow us outside."
Suddenly there was a faint hiss and all froze.
Dean grabbed Euphies arm and started to pull her toward the door. "I think thats a sign that we should be going."
He started jogged still holding on to Euphie. They disappeared into the passageway and almost immediately they began to hear Euphies protests about such male chauvinist behaviour. Dante saw Leon grin and even saw Aglaia's lip twitch before they all followed Dean and Euphie about out the door.
/
Fifteen minutes later they ran into the containment facility and stopped running.
"Perfect," Thalia grinned. "You see these walls? Steel, six inches thick. You could set a nuke off in here and you wouldn't hear it in the house."
"That's nice Thalia," said Dante impatiently. "But I don't think now's the time to look at the decor, lets get out of here before they catch up to us."
They all ran to the passageway the lead outside and Dante turned back to lock it. He grasped the wheel on the door to lock it but it wouldn't budge. He tried again but it still resisted.
"What's the hold up?" Aglaia said coming up behind him.
"The door won't close."
Dean came over. "Maybe I could try..."
"Listen if I can't close it theres no way you'll be able to buddy."
"Dante just..."
"I'm not your buddy, guy, and look I could still try to close..."
"Dean..." Euphie sighed.
"Stay out of this Euph, its mens talk."
He turned back to Dante, who saw the slight smile on the other mans lips, showing he was just trying to get a rise out of Euphie.
"Don't call me Euph you bastard! And don't you dare that's its mens..."
"There isn't time to waste arguing. Let's see if it can lock from the other side." Leon quietly interjected.
They all fell silent and looked guiltily at each other.
Leon walked inside the hold, Dante and Aglaia followed. Dante heard Euphie start up at Dean again behind him, and smiled.
Leon tested the handle and it turned freely.
"It can be locked from here."
"But..." Aglaia said, confused. "We can't use this wheel from the other side."
Dante saw want he wanted to do.
"No man, you're not exactly my favourite person, but this not something I'm gonna let you do."
"What?" cried Aglaia, getting more anxious by the second.
"He's gonna stay inside here and lock it so we can get away."
"What! No you're not Leon, we'll figure something out okay? We'll just..."
"No, we can't outrun them outside in the dark. Once they have our scent they won't let up until they have something."
"No! I'm not letting you do this."
He looked down at his feet and sighed.
"Alright, lets go." He looked behind him. "We'd better hurry."
Aglaia nodded in relief and ran into the passageway with Dante following. Then just as Dante stepped out of the hold the door slammed behind him and he heard the sound of the wheel turning and locking into place. He whirled around and didn't see Leon. Immediately he tried the door but again it wouldn't budge.
"Leon!" he bellowed. "You don't need to be a hero! We can get away together!"
Hearing his yell Aglaia rushed to the door and grabbed the handle, trying as Dante did to open it. Banging the door with her fist she shouted, "Leon you bastard you unlock this door right now and come with us!"
The tears forming in her eyes made her voice crack.
Leons voice was sounded far away through the thick door.
"I'm not going anywhere Aglaia. You need to go now you..." He stopped for several seconds then shouted, "Dante get her out of here!"
Dante hesitated for a split second before picking her up and running toward the door to the outside. Almost immediately Aglaia began thrashing and screaming at him to let her go. But with grim determination he held onto her and kept running. Behind he heard several sets of running footsteps and knew the others where following him. But they didn't fast enough not to hear the screams.
/
Later they were all sitting in an abandoned house, lost in their grief. Once they had gotten outside and Dante had put Aglaia down she had slapped him so hard he almost fell over. To his surprise Euphie had turned to weep on Dean's shoulder and they were now sitting together against the wall. Aglaia hadn't said a word to him and neither did she look at him.
He wasn't sorry for what he did, but he was sorry for what happened to Leon. He now admitted that Leon was a good guy and certainly didn't deserve what he got.
Euphie said something in Deans ear, stood and walked over to Dante.
"Can I speak with you outside please?"
He nodded but inside he groaned, he should have known this was coming. The lecture about how he should have done more to keep Leon from sacrificing himself.
She lead him outside and turned to him, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.
Dante frowned. Did she write down what was going to say to me?
She handed it to him, and he grew even more confused.
"Open it."
Suspiciously he did, and saw a few lines of a foreign language.
"What is this?"
"It's latin. You need to learn it. Don't ask me why, I can't tell you. Just know that your life my depend upon it in the near future.
She took a deep breath and the next thing she said sounded toneless and recited.
"When you need light to banish darkness say this and it will be so."
Then she turned away and walked back into the house. Dante was left to stare after her, still holding the strange words in his hand.
/
"You can't come with us."
They were all getting ready to leave when suddenly Euphie had turned to Dean and spoken.
He raised his eyebrows, "I'm sorry I didn't catch that."
"You can't come with us, its too dangerous. This isn't your fight, its ours."
"If its your fight its my fight."
She blinked in surprise then did her best to scowl and not blush, failing miserably at both.
"Look you just can't come okay?"
"I'm sure I could if you gave me the chance."
Her eyes widened. "Did you just...?"
He wiggled his eye brows at her.
"Wanna give it a go?"
She made a show of being outraged. "How dare you?! I would never..."
"Tell it someone who believes you sweetheart."
For a moment she looked like she would slap him. Though gritted teeth she said, "You can make me feel cheap if you want but you're still not coming with us."
"Look you still need to find the demon so..."
"Thank you Captain Obvious."
"Don't interrupt, and you need all the help you can get."
"We don't need you help to find him, I already know where he is. And no one else is getting killed because of us, so the last fucking time you're not coming with us."
He leaned in close to her so their faces where inches apart.
"And for the last time I'm coming with you no matter what you say."
She uttered a long suffering sigh. "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this."
She closed the extra inches between them and their lips touched. He was still for a moment before pulling her to him and kissed her fiercely. She returned the kiss or several seconds before she pistol whipped him the gun she had surreptiously pulled from her holster as they kissed. He went slack and she broke his fall as best she could.
When she straightened the rest of them were smirking at her.
"What?" she demanded, irritated.
"Enjoyed that did you?" Aglaia enquired.
She scowled and said nothing.
"I thought so."
"Shut up."
"Ohh well that put me in my place."
"Guys," Thalia interrupted. "Stop it. Euphie how do you know where the demon is?"
"When I was looking at the report detailing the facility, it mentioned another one they controlled but instead of Prowlers in specialised in inferes's. But it said that that particular facility was shut down for reasons unknown but the only reason they wouldn't provide an explanation is something happened and they didn't want their own people to know about it. Hence I deduced due to the inferes experimentation and suspicious events, that the demon took over the facility a long time ago and made it his lair."
"Thats a bit a big assumption."
"Well have you got any better ideas about where he might be?"
There was a moment of silence.
"The inferes laboratory it is then."
/
The Three Graces and Dante were crouched in the bushes in front of the abandoned mental hospital which housed the facility.
"Are we sure this is the place?" Dante asked.
"Yeah were sure," Aglaia said, her lip curling in disgust. "I can smell the bastards from here."
Suddenly a large inferes appeared in the buildings courtyard.
Aglaia sniggered. "Speak of the devil."
They waited before if disappeared again.
"Come on," said Dante. "We've watched the place enough, we know where the demons are, we can avoid them. Lets just go get the son of a bitch."
"While we're all for your gung-ho attitude Dante you don't invade a demons lair busting in guns blazing."
"Maybe not way you do it."
He jumped up and ran over to the building, almost immediately inferes's were upon him. Smiling with grim delight he pulled ebony and ivory from his holsters and cleanly shot every inferes that lunged at him in the head until no more came. Grinning he replaced his guns and waited for the graces to come over.
They did and brought along stunned expressions.
"That's how invading a lair is done ladies."
They just stood there alternately looking at him and the demon ashes slowly being blown away by the wind.
Finally Aglaia cleared her thought.
"Well, you shouldn't have gone in alone anyway."
She walked briskly past him, with Thalia following and he gave both of them a triumphant smile.
"Have you learnt the incantation yet?" Euphie asked.
"What? Oh yeah I have, since you seemed so dire and serious about it."
"It is dire and serious, more than you know. Now get your cocky ass inside before I have to kick it."
They followed Thalia and Aglaia inside to find them waiting.
"Glad you could join us," Aglaia said.
"Always a pleasure," Dante replied.
She rolled her eyes and turned to Euphie. "So where's the laboratory?"
"The report said it was in a basement in the south wing."
"Alright south wing it is then."
They all pulled out their weapons and started in the direction of the south wing. It wasn't long before the next inferes encounter. They rounded another corner and came face to face with three smaller inferes's who hardly even got time to react to the strange humans in their territory before they had bullets in their brains and collapsed into dust.
Not pausing they moved on. At one point Aglaia turned around to ask Euphie something but found she wasn't there.
"Stop! Euphies missing."
"What?" Thalia cried. "For how long?"
"I don't know, I turned around and she was gone."
"We have to go back, come on we..."
"What have we got to do?"
They all whirled around to find Euphie there smiling prettily.
"Where the hell did you go!" Aglaia exploded. "We always stick together! What the fuck..."
"Relax Aglaia, it was only for one minute. I just had to check something out was all."
"What was so important you left the group without telling us?"
"Oh its nothing, come on lets go were wasting time."
She walked past them and continued down the hall.
Aglaia looked like she was going to say something else but Dante stopped her. "You can have a temper tantrum later Aglaia, right now we've got bigger stuff to deal with." He hurried after Euphie leaving her spluttering for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and told herself she could seek revenge later.
Euphie lead them to a large door claiming to be the basement. She opened it and motioned Dante in. "Ladies first."
"Ha, ha," he said sarcastically as he passed her. He walked down the dimly lit stair case and ended up in a very large room. Dante frowned and looked around. The room was almost totally empty.
"Wheres all the lab equipment?"
"Oh we got rid of that stuff years ago."
It was Euphie who spoke but her voice was deeper and saturated with power and arrogance. He turned just in time to see her hands by engulfed by black flames and with her flaming hands grab the throats of Aglaia and Thalia who, at her touch, slowly lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Euphie looked down at them lying at her feet, her expression that of someone regarding an insect.
"What the fuck."
When she looked up her eyes were black. Not the black of night, or shadow, but the darkness of where no light has been or will ever be.
"Who are you?" Dante demanded.
She gave him a feral smile.
"Why, I'm the last thing your whore of a mother ever saw."
"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"
He ran at her, sword ready. She just stood there smiling as he charged her. When he was almost upon her, quicker than he thought possible, she sidestepped him, tripped him, punched him in the jaw, knocked his sword out of his hand and grabbed his throat with her flaming hands. The moment she grasped him he felt his energy drain away until he collapsed, barely conscious on the ground. She knelt down beside him, tutting and shaking her head.
"Uh uh uh, wouldn't want to damage this fine packaging now would we?
"You're possessing her, you bastard let her go."
"Oh I would, but see the thing is, I don't really like demon hunters, they kinda cramp my style if you know what I mean."
"Fine, you've got me, leave them alone."
"Dante...so noble, but unfortunately for you buddy boy, you ain't really in a position to bargain, now are you?"
He gave her a look of pure loathing.
"What have you done with Euphie?"
"Oh shes in here all right...screaming, because she knows that very soon you and her sisters are gonna be taking a little trip downstairs"
Somehow Dante found the energy to lift his head up and look her in the eyes. I'm going to get you out of her and kill you myself."
"Thats mighty tough talk for such a little boy. Besides..." she got up and started to idly walk around him. "Can you even get up?"
He didn't answer and she smirked. "I thought not. Now Dante I've have something for you, you might remember." She walked over to a table that was pressed against one of the walls. On it was a long black case which she proceeded to open.
"I hope you don't mind that I borrowed this but seeing as I'm giving it back to you..."
From the case she lifted a gleaming sword. Dante sucked in a breath.
Rebellion.
"Oh you remember this do you? After I killed your family I saw it on the floor and just couldn't resist. I wanted a token to remember the day."
Never had Dante felt so angry before. He wanted to rip her apart. He shook himself. No he didn't want to kill Euphie he wanted to kill the thing inside her.
She walked toward him turning the blade in her hands.
She stopped when she was standing over him.
"Hold this for me will you?"
She lifted the sword high above her head and stabbed it down into this chest. He screamed and she laughed.
"Stay there would you? I'd like to deal with these pesky friends of yours."
He shot a panicked look at Aglaia.
She caught it and smiled with such malevolence he shuddered.
"Did I interpret that look right? Do you love her?" She walked over to an unconscious Aglaia and examined her.
"Well that'll will make killing her a lot more entertaining won't it?"
She knelt down and gripped Aglaia's throat, raising her until she was half sitting up.
"Watch closely Dante and do tell me should I drain her, slit her throat? I would torture her but who has the time anymore."
She appeared to think about it for a minute. "I think I'll slit her throat, blood is such a good visual aid don't you think?"
She pulled Euphie's knife from her boot. "Well isn't that convenient?"
She pressed the knife to Aglaia's throat.
Suddenly all Dante's panic, anger, pain, and sadness exploded inside him and he screamed as the demon ripped out of him and energy shot to the every part of his body. So quick the thing inside Euphie couldn't even react he grabbed her throat and slammed her into the wall and held her there.
He stood there panting, trying to control the urge to kill her.
"Go on, do it. I can see the bloodlust in your eyes. Squeeze just a little harder and break her neck. See how weak humans are? How pathetic? That little slut over there isn't worth the time to kill her. Join us we can exterminate them all. Cleanse this wasteland of human sin."
"Shut up," he growled and squeezed her neck harder. He could already feel the power flowing out of him as he fought his anger. She saw it too and smiled. You don't have much time left boy, your power is leaking away even as we speak. Are you going to kill me? Or are you going to let me kill you all?"
Dante looked into her black eyes and remembered Euphie's words: "When you need light to banish darkness say this and it will be so."
The words came to him in a flood of knowledge.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas..."
"What are you doing?" Euphie demanded sounding worried.
Dante ignored her and continued to say the incantation.
"Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, et secta diabolica,
Ergo draco maledicte et section..."
A pure white light began to form in Dante's closed fist. He brought it up close to her face.
"Ergo draco maledicte et legio secta diabolica
Ut Ecclésiam tuam secúra tibi fácias servire libertáte, te rogámus, audi nos. Lumos..."
"No!" she screamed. The light grew in strength.
" Lumos."
"Stop it!"
" Lumos."
He opened his hand and placed it on her face. The light was so bright it should have blinded him but the only thing he felt was warmth. The demons screams rang in his ears as the light filled every corner of Euphie's being and the shadow was snuffed out.
Then suddenly the light as gone and Euphie sagged in his arms. Immediately he lowered her to the ground and took her face in his hands.
"Euphie! Euphie can you hear me!"
She groaned and he sighed in relief. Assured that at least she wasn't dead he ran over to Aglaia who was still lying on the floor but was struggling to open her eyes.
"How do you feel?" he asked, gently lifting her up.
"Like I've been on a month long bender."
He laughed weakly and couldn't resist clutching her to him like he didn't ever want to let her go.
/
They all sat in the apartment of the three Graces. No one had asked Euphie about what happened but it hung in the air between them and caused the silence they were now enduring.
Finally she sighed. "I guess you'd like to know some things."
"Just maybe." Said Aglaia tartly.
"I know you're annoyed Aglaia that I haven't told you everything about me, but I'm telling you now...You all know that my parents are demon hunters. But the truth is their not by biological parents. My biological parents were killed by a demon on my first birthday. My adopted parents came too late to save them. They defeated the demon but before they killed it the demon told them prophecy. It said that it is written that a girl child will be born under a starless sky, whose parents are slaughtered under a red moon on her first birthday, and this child will kill the Son of the Demon Sparda so causing the damned to take the earth. Whereupon fire will fall from the sky and burn the earth to dust, and blood of the innocent will turn the rivers red.
"They killed the demon but even though he had foretold such a horrible future for me they couldn't kill an baby. So they took me in and raised me as their own, and taught me how to fight demons in hopes that I would make the right choice and didn't kill you. When I turned eighteen I overheard my parents talking about it. I had no idea I wasn't really theirs or about my destiny. I argued with them and left. And that's when I found you two," she looked at Aglaia and Thalia. "But I never forgot what I was destined to do. That spell was one of many I have in a book from my parents. They never mentioned that particular incantation to me, never said it was important or made me memorise it like the other exorcisms. But I always knew it was important, this spell that called on the light of heaven to banish the darkness of evil. And that was why I gave it to you. It seems I was right in doing so."
She fell silent.
Dante was stunned. It had been her destiny to kill him? I guess that was what the old man was going on about.
"So if it was your destiny to kill me why aren't I dead? Does it mean you still are?"
She smiled softly.
"No, that is no longer my destiny. The cold I felt in the pit of my stomach is gone. I've felt like my whole life. That was your death Dante, and now I no longer carry your death with me."
"That doesn't explain why you didn't kill me."
"Because I love you Dante, you're my family. That wasn't part of the prophecy and neither was your relationship with Aglaia, if you hadn't had such strong feelings for her, she and all us would be dead. And I would have killed us."
"It wasn't you..." Dante protested.
"I don't think the particulars mattered, just that my hand was the one that killed you."
They once again fell into silence.
"I guess you didn't think shit like this would happen when we took me in to train me did you?" He joked.
Euphie and Thalia exchanged a glance.
"Dante," Thalia began, "the skill you have displayed in recent weeks, and your behaviour...we don't have any more to teach you Dante." She paused and glanced at a silent Aglaia before continuing. "It's time you left us and go on to do all the great things you're destined to do."
Dante was shocked. He had gotten so used to being taught by and living with these three women.
"I don't know what to say."
Euphie smiled gently. "You say thank you, and then you say good bye."
At that moment Aglaia got up and walked out of the room. Euphie rose to follow her but Thalia stopped her.
"You go Dante."
He didn't move for a moment, just sat there and frowned at her. What was she up to?
"Well hurry up."
He gave her a hard look before doing as she said and going after Aglaia.
He found her in her customisation studio. When he came in she appeared to be extremely engrossed in what she was doing when in reality she couldn't see anything past the tears.
"Um, Thalia told me to come see if you were...whoa are you crying?"
"No!" she sobbed.
"Don't get upset, I'm not going anywhere."
She attempted to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks but they kept coming.
"I'm not crying about that! And yes you are. You can't stay here Dante; this isn't the place for you. You were born to do great things, and you can't do them here...and you can't do them with me."
He sat down next to her and drew her close.
"What if I don't want to do great things? What if everything I want is right here."
She turned her face away from him. "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices Dante and now is one of those times. One persons happiness is not reason enough to choose it over the greater good."
He gently grasped her chin and turned her face toward him.
"Just one persons happiness?" He asked quietly.
Her lip trembled and she looked down.
"Look at me," he whispered.
She did and one look in her beautiful tear filled eyes broke his heart.
"I love you."
Her breath hitched and she let out a small sob.
"I love you too."
Dante didn't know who moved first, all he knew was they were kissing and all the passion and love he felt for this woman was poured into his kiss. But it was all bittersweet because he knew she wouldn't let him stay. He finally had her, and now he never could.
They broke apart and she pressed her face into his chest while he placed his on her hair. "I'll come back for you."
Her laugh was anything but happy.
"No you won't."
"Yes I will, I'll always come for you if you wait."
She sighed and he knew she didn't believe him.
"You only need to love me right now."
"You know I do."
"Then prove it."
/
Dante watched the sun rise from the roof of the Three Graces with a heavy heart. Today he left his family, and he didn't know when he would be coming back.
"I thought I would find you up here."
He turned to see Euphie smiling at him.
"You found me."
She sat down beside him and several minutes of silence followed.
Then she gave his shirt a strange look.
"Well I guess you showed that guy."
"What guy?"
"The guy who bet you wouldn't buy that shirt."
Against his will Dante found himself laughing.
"Well what all this then?" They both looked round and saw Thalia and Aglaia walking toward them.
"I was just complimenting Dante on his choice of attire." Euphie explained.
Agaia looked at him.
"Why? His shirt is awful."
Dante fought back a smile. Ever his little Miss Blunt.
Thalia sat beside Euphie. "Remember that little talk we had about tact Aglaia?"
"No." She dropped down beside Dante and looked at all of them sitting there. "I'm having déjà vu."
Euphie sighed. "Our last time all together."
"You never know." Thalia shrugged.
"Stop killing my nostalgia."
"Everybody shut up," said Aglaia. "The suns rising."
Once more time they sat together and watched the sun climb up into the sky, its rays washing away the nights hurts.
Dante pulled Aglaia closer to him and she let him.
They didn't know if they'd live to see each other again, but for that moment as they sat under a new dawn their hearts were full.