A/N: Loved the reboot, blah blah blah. Edited this to make it so the prologue/first chapter are together as it probably flows better that way.

PS: Forgive me if some parts are not correct, I'm going off my memory and a semi recent replay.

I don't own DMC.


ABANDON ALL HOPE

i.

If someone were to ask Remy how she'd gotten herself into this dire situation – being dazedly dragged along by some guy in some sort of twisted dreamscape, chased by... by things – she wouldn't really know what to say.

It had all started at the boardwalk; if she were honest with herself, the strange happenings in her life had started a while ago, but for all intents and purposes of explaining her current predicament, the boardwalk would have to do.

Remy had just finished her shift at the diner, a little rundown place that was only still there because it had cheap food and was situated next to the ocean. It had been a typical shift, complete with complaints and shitty tips and customers that got a bit too handsy – she was sure the ridiculous little uniforms all the girls were made to wear (courtesy of their sleazy boss) didn't help.

And so, deciding she needed to take a few moments for herself before she began the long trek home, Remy trudged up to the railing by the end of the boardwalk. Letting out a sigh, she crossed her arms on the railing and leaned forward, trying to just enjoy the breeze and all that simple pleasure type of nonsense people liked to talk about.

That may have gone well and good until she heard someone banging on the door of the trailer parked somewhere behind her, the door banging open in response a few moments later. Sighing again, Remy opened her eyes; maybe actually looking at the ocean waves would help relax her a bit, she thought.

Her half lidded gaze snapped open as she took in the once sunny view. The sky had grown dark, so much and so quickly that she wondered if a storm were coming – and then she saw it.

It growled a name as it rose from the sea; a horrible face with slits for eyes, its large and grotesque body growing ever closer.

"Dante..." She thought she heard it rumble, and chills crawled up her spine and held her in place before she snapped out of it.

Remy backed away from the railing as her breath quickened, her head whipping around to see if anyone else was seeing the same thing. To her dismay, all she could see were silhouettes of the people that had just a few moments ago been milling about around her.

There's no way I fell asleep standing up, right? Or... maybe this is just another episode?

"Shit. Back in Limbo." Came a disgruntled voice from behind her. "... Bad day for a hangover."

She could see him, whoever he was. Remy might've averted her eyes at his nakedness if her mind was able to properly process such a courtesy, and then she realized he looked familiar. If it hadn't been for the hideous thing quickly approaching the boardwalk, she might have tried to place him. She turned back to the monster to see it shooting some sort of giant grapple, her hair flying against her face as it clamped onto the trailer behind her.

"Get your filthy fucking claw off my trailer!" The man screamed, in such a way that it made her think of an old man yelling at kids to get off of his lawn.

Remy could only watch as the man jumped into the trailer-turned-deathtrap, crashing out from the side fully clothed as the trailer snapped back into the air and exploded, courtesy of the forceful swat of the monster. Dimly, she was impressed at his proficiency.

"Missed." He chimed as the monster dove back into the water. It was then that he seemed to notice her as she stood there like a deer in headlights, her eyes wide as she gawped at him. His dark brows furrowed. "Hey, you-"

"W-what's... what's happening?" Remy stuttered, her hands fisted in the sides of her skirt. "What was that – that..."

He examined her with eyes that seemed too sharp, especially when you considered the scent of whiskey that clung to him. "What are you doing here?" He asked, not without suspicion.

"How am I supposed to know!" She yelled, feeling a bit indignant at his tone.

It wasn't like she wanted to be … dealing with whatever this was. The boardwalk began cracking off to the side, sinister shapes taking form and making wretched noises; gasping, Remy backed away before she was being grabbed and shoved further away behind the stranger.

"Just do us both a favor and stay back there." Remy liked to think she was – or at least, could be a reasonable girl; and so she decided not to argue with the guy who was unsheathing a sword that had come from nowhere and do as she was told.

"You wanna fight? Let's go."

The clang of blades rang out through the air and she held her hands to her chest, gnawing on her lip every time it seemed that the man would be hit or sliced open. The fight was over just as quickly as it had began, and she had to wonder how many times he'd been through this (if this were all real, that is).

Remy heard him muttering something about guns under his breath as the grapple shot out again, the wooden planks rippling under their feet.

"Look-" His eyes darted down to her name tag. "... Remy. Hang on, unless you wanna capitalize on your already shitty luck and become demon fodder."

"Demon what?" She squeaked before she was being yanked along the crumbling boardwalk.

A slew of curses came out of his mouth as she lagged behind, and she was gripped up and thrown over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes as he leaped forward. Eyes squeezed shut, she held onto him as best as she could as if he were her only lifeline – which seemed to be an accurate description at the moment.

Finally, she felt him land, and so she finally opened her eyes and slid off of him and onto her shaking legs.

"Ebony, Ivory. I missed you girls."

He was admiring a pair of guns when he suddenly spun around, shooting off rapidly as the creature reappeared. To Remy's dismay, the bullets bounced off its face before it dove back into the water.

It wasn't long before another demon appeared, floating around with tiny wings. Coming to her senses, at least a little bit, Remy darted towards a warped arcade. She wedged herself next to what used to be a pinball machine, hoping it would be enough to shield her from the chaos. What the hell did I do that this is happening to me right now? As much as she wished it were all a dream, the whole situation felt too real; the fear coursing through her entire body and the heavy thumping of her heart were testament to that.

She watched him as he sliced his blade through the monsters and sent a hail of bullets at the ones out of reach, and when pinching herself didn't work – it had been a hopeless attempt to wake herself up, anyway – she could only think:

Just what have I gotten myself into?

When the path seemed to be clear, she unsteadily pulled herself up before making her way over to him.

"You alright over there?"

"Yeah." She swallowed thickly. "I think a drink is in order after whatever this is... or five. If I'm still living, that is."

He barked out a short laugh in reply. "Just five?"

"Dante!"

They both turned around, the stranger – Dante, she supposed – immediately swinging his guns forward.

"Don't shoot!" The hooded girl held her hands up, "My name is Kat, I'm not a demon. I'm still in the real world, you're in Limbo." Kat seemed to notice her then, looking both concerned and confused at the same time. "Someone got dragged in with you?"

"How come I can see you clearly?" Dante asked as he lowered one of his guns, ignoring her last question with the remaining pistol still up.

"I'm a medium – a psychic. I can phase into Limbo and communicate with you. I can see you, talk to you, but I'm not actually in Limbo with you." Kat glanced at her. "Not how she is, at least."

"And if I pull the trigger?"

"I'll die. I'm risking my life here for you. I want to help."

Help? That sounds like a great idea, Remy wanted to say. However, she was still stunned by everything going on; she felt more like an observer than a participant. It wasn't far from the truth, anyway.

"I don't need your help."

"The hunter has dragged you into Limbo. I can get you out."

"I've been down here before. I know how to get out. You fight whatever shit-sucking demon dragged you in here."

"You don't want to fight the Hunter. He's not your regular demon-"

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?"

Both he and the girl, Kat, turned to face her. She – Remy, he thought as his eye caught her name tag again – appeared worse for the wear, her skimpy uniform made even more so by her rough arrival in Limbo. She wasn't bad looking, though; if she wanted to reward him in certain ways for rescuing her, Dante figured he wouldn't say no.

In that vein, Dante wondered if taking her with him was a mistake. He had to admit to himself that although he was great at being an asshole, he'd regret it at least a tiny bit if he left some defenseless girl by herself in Limbo. There was no doubt in his mind she'd have been torn to shreds in a matter of minutes – if that – if he hadn't. Hell, he was still wondering how the fuck she was even there with him.

I'll consider this my good deed for the day. Actually, lifetime may be more fitting.

"What's going on is you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, sweet cheeks."

"We don't have enough time for an explanation. I'm sorry." Kat turned away, her ghostly visage going further up the boardwalk. "Follow me, now!"

With little else in the way of choices, they ran after her, Dante picking off the demons with ease as they appeared. When she was just about out of breath, he paused and looked up at the ferris wheel. "Is that my coat?"

"Does that actually matter right now?" Remy huffed out, hands on her knees as she tried to regain her breath. It was then, of course, that the ferris wheel began moving. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Without warning, she was shoved off to the side as the ferris wheel groaned, beginning to spin away. Remy could only watch in disbelief as he somersaulted into the ferris wheel, somehow managing to grab... his coat.

"... Ridiculous," She mumbled.

"Well," Dante said, brushing off his coat sleeves. "Buck up, princess. You'll probably see a lot more crazy shit before we get outta here."

Crazy to her, at least. He tried to remember how he'd felt when he'd first entered Limbo, and figured it must be a thousand times worse for her. Dante took the liberty to assume that she hadn't killed any demons at an orphanage when she was a child as he had, and judging by the way she was still shaking, she'd never seen demons at all.

Just when he was considering the thought of trying to say something slightly reassuring or comforting to calm her down, the hunter demon appeared. The grapple shot out again, and Dante was almost glad for the interruption as he grabbed her again, dodging the destruction.

"Hey! Through here!" Kat's voice rang out, her silhouette turning into the Dollhouse.

Dante made a mad dash into the building, still holding onto the girl; as soon as they were past the threshold, the entrance was closed off by the debris. Dante set her down, turning back to the dark hallway.

"Oh, this is just perfect," She groaned. "This place terrifies me enough as it is."

"Feel free hold onto me, babe. It may just be your last chance to." Dante felt the tiniest bit like a bastard once he saw her dark eyes widen.

"Don't tell me that!" Remy whisper-yelled before smacking him on the shoulder. "And don't go getting any ideas just because I'm going to take you up on that offer."

"Is that right?"

She sniffed before grabbing onto the back of his coat tightly with both hands. "I just feel like it's less likely I'll die if I do."

With that, they set off around the twists and turns in the darkness. It was eerily quiet; nervously, she searched for something to say to break the silence.

"Dante, right?"

He grunted in affirmation, which she took to be a better reply than silence.

"Remy. Guess you already knew that, though, since I still have this stupid uniform on." She sighed. "I take it this isn't the first time this has happened to you." Remy stated as they advanced down the hall, watching their reflections growing larger in the giant mirror at the end of the corridor.

Dante glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't exactly keen on sharing his personal history with her – a stranger. "I take it this is your first time."

"In this... Limbo, or whatever you call it, yeah. But some of these things... I've seen some of it before. Not for this long, though," She babbled in her anxiousness, "I thought it was just a result of-"

The mirror promptly shattered, glass flying as Remy shrieked and released his coat in surprise. She stumbled back, falling on her rear as the hunter demon lunged for them. He grabbed her by her collar as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding a giant claw. Sparks flew as Dante held it off with his sword before it bounded off again.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"Shouldn't we not interact with the giant thing trying to kill us?" Remy hissed, heart pounding.

"I'm more of a 'face your problems head on' type of guy." He shot back, pulling her up by his hand.

"Clearly."

Some amount of fights, a situation involving sawblades (that Remy would rather never revisit – or any of it, really), and hanging onto Dante for dear life later, they reached the exit and emerged onto the boardwalk. Something came whizzing by with such force that a snow white wig found itself on top of Dante's head.

"Not in a million years." He sneered, looking at his reflection in a cracked mirror.

Remy was in the middle of absentmindedly thinking he'd be able to pull it off when the demon showed up again. Dante was in the middle of emptying his clips into its face when Kat rejoined them.

After explaining that the demon was – of course – bulletproof, Kat mentioned something about a rift before running off, Dante and Remy behind her. She pushed her legs to go faster upon seeing the lit up GOODBYE! sign growing closer.

"We made it!" Remy exclaimed with a weary smile, looking back at him.

The smile immediately fell as the wooden planks shot up, creating a barrier between Dante and herself.

"D... Dante!" She began pounding on the wooden barricade against her own instinct of self-preservation, though it was for naught. Remy hadn't been able to do anything earlier, and wouldn't be able to do anything now. He'd helped her survive even though she'd just been baggage to him; it wasn't fair. "Hey!"

And then the sky wasn't an angry red anymore. She could see the stray ferris wheel, toppled onto its side in the distance. Next to her, Kat finally looked to be solid, saying something about how fierce a fighter the hunter demon was.

There were flashes of both Dante's and the demon's forms flickering in the same ghostly way that Kat's had been – and that was the last thing she remembered before she passed out cold.


A/N: I'm still trying to get a handle on what type of character Remy will be. Here's hoping characters don't become OOC.

All thoughts and opinions are welcome, as I'll probably only continue this if other people would enjoy it as well. Hope it was worth a read!