Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry, it remains property of Capcom. This is not the penguin you want to sue, okay?

Dedication: To Clairavance, who has waited four years for me to post this. I'm sorry for not posting it sooner. *guilty* Also to le masterful beta, chaotic one1, for editing 80% of this story. Cheers to you both.

Prologue:
Paradise Lost
"Like a breath of fire sent from hell..."

To say it had been an ordinary day would have been stating the obvious. It always started with an ordinary day, didn't it?

The castle town of Fortuna was painted in the colours of dusk and a sleepy silence hung in the air. It was an odd time of day; when the deepening shadows cast an ominous gloom over everything and when lighted windows projected a sense of comfort. Given that it was a Sunday, few people were wandering the streets.

And no one noticed when the hellgate began to bulge.

In the nearby opera house, a small girl, Kyrie, kept her head bowed in silent prayer. At the front of the room, a man was giving sermon. It took most of Kyrie's will power to focus on Sanctus' raspy voice and not to turn on her two companions and give them a royal tongue-lashing.

"I'm bored. Can we go already?" a small, white haired boy whined under his breath. "All this preaching's putting me to sleep."

The whispered argument was one she'd heard many times before. Her brother, Credo, wanted her best friend, Nero, to stop fooling around and listen. Nero, however, found Mass boring and wanted to leave. And so Kyrie was stuck listening to the pair the entire time (which defeated the purpose of even going).

"Enough, Nero," Credo spat under his breath. "Now, calm down and listen."

Nero's witty retort never made it out of his throat. A shrill scream cut through the air as injured people came running into the crowded opera house, a pack of scarecrows hot on their tails.

Kyrie and her companions ducked down, attempting to hide behind the pew in front of them as chaos engulfed the room. The girl clung to her older brother, fearful that they'd be found and Credo held onto her as he checked the exits. Most of the ways out were too risky. But there should be a back exit, he thought, trying to make Nero sit down.

"Credo, let's go," Kyrie whimpered as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.

Nero attempted to protest as Credo pulled both him and his sister to an unblocked door. The elder boy pushed Kyrie through just as a scarecrow stabbed Sanctus through the gut.

"Whoa," was all Nero said, not sounding entirely upset about the elderly man's demise as he too was pulled through the door.

"This way," Credo instructed, walking as fast as he could while still keeping a grip on his sister.

The side street was deserted and deceptively calm. For a moment, the only sounds they could hear were the calm rippling of water and the echoes of their footsteps.

"Credo, you're hurting me," Kyrie gasped as Nero said, "Are you crazy? They'll see us and we'll die just like the people back there."

"They're not going to see us," Credo insisted, not relinquishing his grip on Kyrie. He added with a snap, "What?"

Kyrie stopped tugging on her brother's sleeve and said meekly, "C-Credo…what happened to it?"

She was staring wide-eyed towards the rest of Fortuna and what the others saw caused them to stop and stare. It looked like the hellgate exploded. Chunks of dark stone hovered in midair as countless black shapes poured through a spinning, miasmic portal. Nero's blue eyes were wide beneath his fringe of white hair.

"They must have used it as a portal," Credo said very quietly.

"What're they?" Nero inquired.

"Do you ever listen to Sanctus? They are demons."

"I'm scared," Kyrie whimpered. "I want to go home."

"It's going to be okay," Credo told her reassuringly. "The Savior will save us."

"The Savior isn't real; we have to save ourselves," Nero observed, ignoring Credo's death-glare. Despite his brave words, he clutched nervously at Kyrie's free hand.

The trio continued on their way, lapsing back into nervous silence. They'd barely cleared the opera house when they could hear the screaming again.

"We're never going to get past there," Credo muttered as a blood goat tore a woman in half.

Kyrie pulled her eyes away from the sight of the woman's gleaming intestines and, employing six-year-old logic, said, "Let's hide there."

Both boys' eyes followed Kyrie's pointing finger, only to stare at the large covered planter. It was large and round with shapes artfully cut from the porcelain. Credo offered a silent prayer of thanks to whomever had thought to leave a bench next to the wall the planter sat on.

"Do we have to?" Nero asked even as Credo pulled him towards it, hopped up, and began dragging the lid off.

Kyrie jumped in and crouched down as Nero was deposited unceremoniously onto the dirt beside her. As Credo joined them and replaced the lid, Kyrie was glad that she'd found this place. Grit and rocks pressed uncomfortably into the girl's palms, and anxiety had caused beads of sweat to form on her brow.

It was difficult to ignore the screaming. Kyrie flinched every time she heard a noise and grabbed onto Nero's hand tighter and tighter.

"They can't see us in here," Nero whispered, trying to ignore how much Kyrie was hurting his hand. "They won't find us."

Kyrie kept staring through the tiny slats in the ceramic planter walls. She hoped he was right.

Credo frowned, also watching intently.

"They might be able to smell us," he told them solemnly. "Perhaps they will not realize we are here."

There was no reply. Nero shot Credo a 'get lost and die' glare and Credo narrowed his cool grey eyes at him.

The sounds of battle rose and fell around them as the plaza slowly emptied of the living. Blood soaked into the concrete, dyeing the plaza dark scarlet under the glow of the few working streetlamps. Dark shapes soared endlessly through the air, though none ever touched ground. It was a very…creepy feeling as an eerie silence eventually fell over the plaza, enveloping the children like sorghum.

"Should we risk it?" Nero whispered, wanting to go home. Despite his bravado, he really wanted to be back at Kyrie and Credo's house, eating dinner or perhaps being tucked into bed. The scent of death and demons made him feel sick and the humid air was cold, causing him to shiver.

Credo looked over to where Kyrie was shivering, curled up in a little ball against the planter wall. She didn't need to be out there still. The older boy started to stand and push the lid aside as a trio of demons made their way out of the plaza.

"Credo!" Kyrie gasped worriedly, pulling her brother back down and causing the planter to shake.

Only the shaking didn't stop. The planter teetered a second before falling off its pedestal and crashing upside down on the cement. Kyrie's scream and Nero's yelp were cut off as a wave of dirt came crashing down upon them. Credo, however, ignored this and attempted to find a way out.

The demons started towards them; their cloaks dragging on the ground and their red eyes staring straight ahead as they moved at a zombie-ish pace. Kyrie felt a slight pang of pity for them as she noticed their perpetually open mouths and the pained moans erupting from them.

"Go," Credo insisted, pushing the younger children toward a hole in the planter.

"No," Kyrie whimpered, shaking her head as she realized what he was asking.

Nero froze, looking between them in the near absolute darkness. "What's going on?"

"Nero, you need to take Kyrie and run, do you understand?" Credo asked, authority lacing his voice.

"You have to come with us," his sister begged, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as Nero nodded in confusion.

"I won't fit," the older boy told her. "You need to go. Find mom and dad and tell them what has happened. Alert the Order if you can."

"But I want to stay with you."

Credo helped Nero extract Kyrie and gave her an apologetic look. "I will find you, I promise. Go."

Nero pulled Kyrie through street after street and what seemed like an endless maze of alleyways. They saw no one, but menacing shadows and demonic snarls and yelps seemed to follow them everywhere. It appeared that luck, or perhaps something else, was on their side as nothing jumped from the shadows to eat them.

A quiet, steadfast determination took hold of Kyrie. Credo had said to find their parents or a member of the Order of the Sword and that's what she would do. Somehow, in someway, she was so convinced that if she found one or the other, things would be right again. Things had to be.

The girl abruptly pulled Nero down a side street; wincing as Nero yelped.

"My arm!" he moaned, grabbing at his aching shoulder. Kyrie murmured an apology as Nero added, "What're you doing?"

"We have to get back," Kyrie panted, letting go of Nero's arm to push a trashcan and bench out of the way. "We…can't let them find us."

Nero helped her give the bench a final shove and tugged on her sleeve to get the older girl to move. "Then stop making so much noise or they'll hear us."

The girl sent him a withering look as they continued on their way; the only sound being the smack of their shoes on stone. As they ran, Kyrie thought she heard something, something feral and big, but she never saw anything. It wasn't until Nero got her attention and pointed up that she realized where the 'big' sound was coming from.

It was a griffon; huge, and darkly silhouetted against the sky. Kyrie whimpered, noticing that there was something, or someone, in its talons. The children exchanged worried looks. Would it get them? If it did, what would it do? Eat them? Rip them to shreds? Hold them over a nest like a worm to its babies? Their imaginations filled in the awful blank caused by 'if'.

Kyrie froze as she felt an odd breeze behind her, like that of a fan. She turned and stared, tugging on Nero and backing away as a portal opened up before them. Something like a giant armored lizard leapt from the vortex and let out an unearthly roar.

"Run!" Kyrie shrieked, dragging Nero behind her as she turned down a random alley and ran.

Walls and other objects went by, blurred as they continued on. Nero tripped, causing Kyrie to fall with him. Ignoring the stinging in her knee, the girl got to her feet and ran on. Terror added to her speed, causing her to run faster than usual. She didn't look back to make sure Nero was following her. If she did…if she did and that…that thing was following her…she didn't know what she'd do.

Her pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out the sound of everything else. The only thing she could think of was, Is it still there? Am I going to die?

The girl stopped, unable to run any longer as she reached a small plaza that she didn't recognize. She stood there with her hands on her knees and realized one bittersweet fact: she was alone.

"Nero?" she asked in a small but breathless voice. There was no answer.

A cold wind swept through the area, bringing with it the scent of decay and causing Kyrie to shiver. Her best friend and her brother…were they both gone? Dead, like so many others? Or had they, by some small chance, escaped? How could they? she reasoned. If the Savior didn't save the rest of the people, why would he save them?

She took a deep breath and readied herself for whatever came next. She had to either go home or find somewhere to hide until the mindless killing was over. However, knowing what she had to do made it that much harder to do it.

And that was when she heard the growling.

The girl looked up from beneath her curtain of brown hair to discover that she was facing a wall of dark…things. Some were large and slightly fluffy looking, like black saber-toothed cats with shining red eyes, while others looked oddly like wolves with frog-like legs.

Kyrie wanted to run away, but they were too close and she was so tired. She tripped over her feet and fell back, staring at the demons pleadingly.

"Help," she nearly choked, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear her.

The demons readied themselves to attack, and, as one of the creatures leapt into the air, the girl closed her eyes and futilely threw her arms up in an attempt to shield her face.

She waited. The plaza went oddly quiet, but Kyrie never looked. The wind picked up again as she waited for the blow that never came.

Then she heard a footstep. It was loud, heavy, and generally odd sounding. Curiosity at whether something else was now out to eat her made Kyrie peek out from behind her hands.

It looked like a man, tall and wearing armor. Like a knight. A large sword rested in one of his hands, glittering with dark blood as his glowing eyes surveyed her through his horned helmet. And something inside the girl knew he had saved her. She didn't care why, or what any of his reasoning was, the fact alone made her stare in awe.

For a long time they remained that way. They watched each other, anticipating the other's next move.

The girl wanted to move, to run and find her parents. Her eyes flicked towards the nearest exit, and she knew she'd never make it. He may have saved her, but something in her mind told her this man was far from human. And it seemed he didn't want to fight. At least not for now.

Kyrie hesitated then got up and walked over to him. He watched her, head slightly tilted as he extended his hand. The girl looked down. She didn't want to go wherever he might be taking her, but he'd saved her... Kyrie placed her hands in his, and, in a vibrant blue flash, they were gone.

Nero skidded to a stop halfway up a hill before realizing Kyrie was no longer with him. That fact alone made him stare wide-eyed around, worried about what would happen now.

"Kyrie?" he called out worriedly. "Kyrie?! Where are you?!"

Receiving no answer, he stood there in semi-darkness waiting and wondering. He knew he should go back, but he was scared and angry and didn't know what to do. He'd always been told to get an adult if something bad happened. The trouble was: he couldn't find any adults.

Nero looked up the hill, where lights shone from several windows. Was anyone up there alive? With a groan of frustration, the boy resumed his trek.

He didn't notice the woman until he'd ran into her. And the next thing he knew a gun had been nearly shoved in his face.

The woman relaxed, replacing the gun in its holster and looked him over. She returned her gaze to the destroyed hellgate.

"You saw what happened?" she inquired, looking faintly disgusted as she stared down at the mostly destroyed city.

"The demons," Nero panted, "they killed everyone. You've gotta come back with me. We have to save Kyrie and Credo."

The lady watched him, wisps of dark hair falling into her eyes as the breeze picked up.

"Your friends are probably dead," she told him. "Let's get out of here."

"But Kyrie is alive," the boy insisted as the woman adjusted what looked suspiciously like a rocket launcher on her back. "I know she is. We have to go get her."

Nero stared at her; he didn't want what she'd said to be true. But, he realized, it probably was. And, in that moment, he decided something. He wasn't angry about demons; he didn't dislike them. He hated them. If they'd killed the only family he'd ever had...he would kill them all. No matter what it took.

"Look, kid," the woman's aggravated voice cut through his reverie. "If you want to stay here and die, you can. If you come with me, I can help you. But you have to come now."

The woman turned and started down a street, adjusting her bazooka as she did so. Nero hesitated. He didn't want to go. But he didn't know what else to do. The boy started after her, only slowing when they were walking side by side.

"What's you name?" she asked him quietly.

Nero sniffled. "Nero."

"I'm Lady," she replied almost gently.

The rest of the walk continued in silence, both lost in their own equally morbid thoughts. And by the time they'd nearly reached Lady's scarlet motorcycle, the moon had risen.

Lady abruptly froze; drawing a pair of guns as she looked for something they couldn't see. She fired at something inhumanly large in the black depths of a building's shadow. It moved and she fired again.

"Get to the bike," she instructed Nero, backing toward it as she went.

Nero looked around anxiously but did as he was told. He didn't see the devil until it had buried its claws in his right arm. There was a flash, illuminating the thing's burgundy scales, before the demon had turned to dust.

"Are you alright?" Lady asked, kneeling next to him and setting her bazooka next to her.

"M' arm hurts," the boy half-moaned, misty eyed.

The woman watched him nervously, bandaging his arm with some gauze from her gun belt. Nero wondered why she would watch him like that, like he was about to attack. And it made him wonder... Could demons...maybe...infect people? Turn them into other demons? Was Lady worried he was going to turn into a demon? Would she still help him if he did?

"I think I should take you to Dante," she murmured, so low Nero wasn't sure he'd heard it. "Come on."

Nero got to his feet, the pain already starting to fade from his arm. He didn't tell Lady though, he was too worried that she would take it as a bad sign and leave him behind.

However, as the woman helped him onto her bike, Nero took one last look at the city of Fortuna. One day, he swore, he'd come back. He would save his friends, his family. And, no matter the cost, he'd make things right.

AN: Hi there, everybody! Sooooo...it's been a while since I've posted anything for DMC, right? It was, at least, a whole reboot ago. But I've finally decided it's time to post this lil' monster up. It takes place between six months and a year after DMC3 and covers everything from DMC1 onward (minus DmC). With time gaps, of course, because, despite having a 13 page timeline written out with exact dates for everything...not even I have the brain power to type all of that up. Sorry. Um...lemme think...oh, yeah. So, 80% of this story is complete, but there are a few chapters that need to be finished, so I'll be posting as I finish and edit them. Sorry, in advance, if that leads to any long waits, but...it is what it is. (And I'd probably never post this if I waited til all the chapters were completely finished.) I hope you all enjoy it. ^^ Hugs! Please let me know what you think and if you notice any errors!