Shah mat: Hell's Fairytale
Author's Notes: Shah mat means either "the king is dead" or "the king is ambushed" its of Persian origin. I was introduced to the phase in Catherine Neevile's book The Eight. It's a good book and it gave me the idea to go into what would happen if Dante had taken on the role of being King of the Underworld after his defeat of Mundus. After all, "the king is dead, long live the king." Also Dante is going to start off as being 25 in this story, thus making Mika around seven, when he defeats Mundus.

Thanks: Thanks to Catherine Neevile for writing the book, which had the phase in it that inspire this story. Thanks also to Mae Simris, nikki walker, and kitsunefyu who discussed the plot with me. Also thanks to Kyia Star, my online big sis, who betaed the work for me.

Notes and Warning: When I started writing this story I started getting the idea that the court of the Underworld would be a lot like the old Royal courts with court summoners, parties, gatherings, court politics, etc, etc, etc. Also I am going on the fact that a female is considered an adult when she reaches her first menstruation so it will deal with Mika and Dante having a relationship when she is younger then 18. Guys at and luna ya'll can check the story out at fosff for the unedited version of the story.
Also as this is an Alternate Universe Dante will be out of character from cannon.
Just so you know Dante and Mika's relationship goes from Uncle-niece to father-daughter and mentor-student, to lover-lover.

b WARNING THIS IS A DARK STORY AND INVOVLES NIGHTMARE FUEL! WARNING THIS IS A DARK STORY AND INVOVLES NIGHTMARE FUEL! WARNING THIS IS A DARK STORY AND INVOVLES NIGHTMARE FUEL! /b

a fun and addicting game where for every answer you get right they and you donate 10 grains of rice to feed the hungry! WOOT!

Dante walked into Mundus' throne room, tossing the head of the dead king in the air and catching it. He had every intention of taking it to his mother's grave and posting the head on her gravestone as a tribute. Trish joined him and the two of them walked out of the throne room only to pause when they saw hordes of demons waiting for them. Dante reached for his weapons automatically and Trish moved into a fighting position, summoning her lightning powers in preparation for an attack. What happened next surprised them; the demons all got down on one knee and bowed their heads low enough to show the backs of their necks, a show of the ultimate submission.

"The king is dead," one of them shouted. "Long live the king!"

"Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!"

"Okay," said Dante in surprise, turning to look at the blonde lightning demoness standing next to him. "This is unexpected."

"Yeah," muttered Trish, shrugging her shoulders and kneeling before him as well.

It didn't take long for word to spread that Dante was now the Lord of the Underworld, nor did it take long for him to place a new law in action that said, "No demon can ascend to the Human world without written permission from the lord." Dante understood that some demons needed to feed on the life force of humans, that did not mean he was going to let them run amuck amongst their world. It didn't take long after that for several demons to make an attempt on his life and even less for them to realize that might not be such a good idea. After the final attempt on his life he had the twin door guardians, Agni and Rudra, appointed as his body guards.

Not long after the coronation, Dante immediately set about trying to find his brother. What he found after weeks of searching was his twin brother, enchained in the lowest parts of the dungeons. It was a lab and evidently Vergil wasn't the only half breed Mundus had ordered to be experimented on; he was however the only one to survive this long. After finding his brother, he ordered the scientists to undo whatever they had done to them. Once this was finished he had them jailed within the very capsules they had held their test subjects in and within a month they were nothing more than hollowed out shells.

Things started to get rather interesting after that.

With his brother Vergil fully healed and back to his normal self, being a cold hearted jack ass, Dante set about trying to find the twin protégés of his father, Baal and Modeus, to be guardians of his brother. Within a week he learned this was less than ideal; Vergil threatened to behead Baal if the man did not stop bugging him for fights. After that Dante had Baal and Agni switch positions, therefore Dante was placed under the protection of Baal and Rudra and his brother Vergil was under the protection of Modeua and Agni. Dante would put up with Baal's constant nagging for a fight, which cut back after promptly being flattened by his lord and master three times.

The demons of the lower ranks were rather pleased with their new lord, he was after all the only lord who had cared about how they fared. The higher ranking demons for their part were too scared by his overwhelming power, which continued to grow with time he spent within the Underworld; also their daughters were attracted to his roguish good looks and flocked to his bed as their fathers sought to use this to their advantage in Court politics. His advisors and court members constantly pushed him to get married, he had yet to show any signs of wanting such a relationship with a woman, he would much rather enjoy spending his free time enjoying sex with no strings attached as a current lifestyle.

It was Vergil who first noticed it; his younger brother's human side was slowly, ever so slowly starting to erode away and become submissive to his demon side.

Vergil first noticed it when Dante removed the head of someone who had gone against his law of going to the human world without consent and licked the blood from his face with a satisfied smirk gracing his face. He had always been after his younger brother to get him to release his inner devil and it looked like his brother was doing just that. The thought made Vergil smirk.

It was several more incidents just like that over the next few months when something interesting happened, that surprised even Vergil. One of the females that Dante had been thoroughly screwing over the past few weeks off and on had attempted to kill him. When the guards had burst into the room, upon hearing her screams, they had found her on the floor of the bedroom with her internal organs ripped out and spilling around her corpse in an elaborate pattern; not only that but her hands, feet, and head had been removed from her body and were laying in a neat little pile away from their owner. Dante for his part was standing over her, naked, coated in her blood and licking it off his arm with a dark smile across his face. Perhaps what had surprised Vergil the most about the situation was his brother's disposition when it came to women, he tended to treat them differently than he did men, even the females that disobeyed his laws.

It was then that Vergil became aware of how much exactly his younger brother was being influenced and corrupted by the essence of the Underworld. Which all things considered was a good thing. The thought made Vergil happy, well as happy as he could be in the situation, after all no matter how much power his brother had it wouldn't do much good if that was all he had to back him up. After all, there were other things that the demons of the Underworld operated on such as ruthlessness, blood thirstiness and fear. The demons would need a healthy combination of fear of both Dante's ruthlessness and his immense power. Respect was good and all but in such a world it would be worthless without fear to back it up.

A month before the anniversary of his one year reign something happened that cemented itself into the memories of everyone under Dante's rule. Just because he was half human didn't make him weak and he was more than willing to prove it to anyone who thought otherwise. After all, how many men have you seen rip the heads off of their enemies, with the spine still attached mind you, and use it for decoration on his throne? The demon had attempted to poison Dante and he soon learned that the culprit was not alone in the conspiracy. The other culprits were soon found and suffered the same fate that their comrade had faced.

Meanwhile, outside the castle Dante had started a collection of the heads of his enemies and had them displayed outside on the black stone railing surrounding his land, the rest of their bones were being used to decorate his throne and the dining room set; it reminded Trish and the other demons that had been in his immediate service in the past of the heads that had adorned his office walls back on the human world.

A little more than a year since his reign had begun he started becoming more blood thirsty, the demonic essence of the Underworld turning him into nothing more than another Mundus.

It was during the end of a rebellion that the demons finally realized going against Dante was a bad idea. The leaders of the rebellion were kneeling before Dante, with their heads bowed and their hands secured behind their backs with iron shackles. The silver haired male stared down at them with an amused expression on his face. His sword, Rebellion, was balanced over his shoulder as he paced before them allowing the blood of their slain comrades to drip from its tip. He paused in the middle of them and slammed the tip of his sword into the ground crouching down so that he was staring into the eyes of the main leader.

"You should have taken a clue from the others who tried to rebel against me," he chuckled darkly. "You'll lose and I'll win."

"Filthy half-breed," spat the man. "You should be slaughtered like that bitch of a mother of yours."

Dante's dark smile widened and he slammed his fist into the man's stomach, grabbing hold of his spinal cord, and ripping it out through the hole he had made with his fist, dragging the attached head along with it. He hummed a little staring at his new trophy in triumph.

"Looks like the only one being slaughtered will be you and your men," whispered the half breed, his blue eyes alight with blood lust.

He turned his attention to the others, ripping the skull from the spine and dropping it to the ground before crushing it beneath his feet. He ran his gaze over the faces of the captives wondering what he was going to do with the survivors, when an idea slowly began to worm its way into his brain. The dark grin reappeared on his features and he turned his back on them motioning to his generals to gather them up.

"Take them to my training grounds," he commanded walking away. "I'll play with them there."

Later, the only sounds that could be heard from his personal training room were screams and the unmistakable sound of flesh and bone being ripped apart. When Dante left the room, his body was splattered with blood, bits of flesh and parts of their inner organs. Trish, who was passing by the room, glanced inside and smirked at the carnage she saw.

"Wow," she commented to herself. "I didn't even realize that bodies held that much blood within them. The servants have their work cut out for them."

That was how the rest of Dante's reign continued with him ruling over the world with an iron fist.

Morrison's gruesome death, three years after the start of Dante's reign, became clear to him the moment it happened. He opened his eyes, they had been closed while he listened to his brother's report, and straightened himself on his throne, ignoring the questions coming to him from the others in the room, staring off into the distance as the words of the contract he had signed five years ago flashed before his eyes. He got to his feet and grabbed Rebellion as a portal to the human world opened beside his throne room.

"Baal, Rudra with me," he commanded, on his way into the portal.

"Where are you going, Dante?" asked his brother, turning to watch him leave. "The court will convene in an hour and I still have yet to finish the report I need to give you before they arrive."

"There is something on earth I must now claim as my own," smirked Dante, pausing briefly at the portal. "Hey Vergil, keep a watch over things for me while I'm gone, I'll be back in an hour or so after I have claimed my new pet."

Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose, watching his brother disappear into the dark portal before turning his attention to the others in the room.

Dante appeared in the front room of his old friend's house and saw the man lying on the carpet in a pool of his own blood. He looked around the room, sniffing the air delicately for the man's niece and upon not finding her he slipped into another portal.

"Lady," he whispered softly, his eyes flashing red in irritation before heading for the woman's mansion.

Lady stood in her bedroom, watching the little blonde girl sleep in the reflection of the rain drop painted window. She sighed and slipped out the door, heading downstairs for the kitchen to get a drink of water for her parched throat. The moment she shut the door to her bedroom a portal opened and Dante stepped out with his two body guards. The silver haired Lord of the Underworld took a step towards to the sleeping child, who stirred in her sleep before waking up.

"Lady?" she asked, rubbing her eye and looking around the room for her.

"Princess," he responded, walking up to the bed and picking her up.

"Dante!" shrieked the little girl happily.

"Do you want to come stay with me in my castle from now on Princess?"

"Yeah!"

"All right," he smirked, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Let's go home."

The girl in his arms, closed her eyes and smiling happily, snuggled into his arms. He smirked and ran his hand through her hair a few times putting her to sleep.

"Lord Dante, what's with the human brat?" asked Baal, following his master towards the portal.

Dante's response was halted when a gun shot rang through the air and barely missed him. All three males turned as one look at the female Devil Hunter, Lady. Dante smirked and cuddled the girl in his arms a bit before turning his attention to the woman with the gun.

"Lady," he purred, a smirk forming on his lips. Dante found that his mood was improved now that his new possession was safely in his arms. "You haven't changed one bit."

"Give her back to me, you bastard."

"No," replied Dante, moving his free hand around for one of his guns his good mood suddenly plummeting. His demonic inspired mind recognized her as a threat and potential thief of his possession. "Besides, she's not yours and never was yours to keep. You see she belongs to me now that Morrison is dead."

"Like hell she does!"

"According to this," Dante smirked and released the gun back into his holder to retrieve the contract from negative space. "She does."

Lady stepped closer to Dante, not taking her gun or eyes off of the three men. As she snagged the will from Dante she glanced down quickly to skim the document.

"I doubt Morrison was expecting you to turn traitor on the human race when he made out the will."

"Doesn't matter," smirked Dante. "That's a contract by the way not a will."

"This is a will!"

"A will is in fact a contract, when it's made with a devil. Therefore, she belongs to me now and I will take her with me to my home. She is now one of my possessions and we both know how possessive demons can be. Don't we?"

"You can't be serious!" snapped Lady, her heart was beating in horror and adrenaline. "She is not a possession and you know damn well that a living human being cannot survive living directly within the Underworld without repercussions. She'll be lucky if she doesn't lose her mind!"

"She still belongs to me now," shrugged Dante.

Dante turned back towards the portal and took a step, Lady fired her weapon again this time hitting him in the shoulder.

"Come now that's not very nice and besides," snarled Dante, his two body guards reaching for their weapons and waiting for the signal from Dante. "You almost shot Mika."

"I will not let you take her!"

"You don't have a choice!" snapped Dante, grabbing his gun, Ebony, and pointing it at Lady. "The contract is very clear in that after his death Mika belongs to me. Morrison is dead and thus his niece belongs to me."

"It's a fucking will and it doesn't work when you're living in the goddamned Underworld."

"Will, contract, when it comes to devils, they're the same damn thing," laughed Dante, cuddling the sleeping child again. "Besides, since I'm not technically dead it's still valid. Say good-bye to Mika, Lady. This is the last you'll see of her for a long, long time."

Lady snarled and fired another gun at him, this time getting him in the middle of his head. Dante stumbled back and his two body guards lunged forward, before another shot was fired and Lady collapsed to the ground before she could even pull out her other pistol. The two body guards froze in their tracks and turned their attention back to the master, sheathing their swords.

"All right boys," he said, tightening his grip on the child in his arms. "Let's go home."

The moment the three males stepped out of the portal and back into Dante's throne he was well aware that various other members of his court had shown up in his one hour absence. Whispers started the moment they noticed the small, human child in their Emperor's arms. Seeing human children was not all together unheard of in the Underworld; several children had had their souls sold to various devils by their parents or assorted relatives; one time, a grandfather even sold the soul of his three year old grandson for youth and another chance at living. But those were souls and this was a living, breathing human child composed up of both her body and her soul. There was no historical recording of a child every being brought body and soul to the demon world; probably because this was the first time it had ever happened. The courtiers speculated quietly amongst themselves on what this could possibly mean. One of them even had the nerve to ask his question and indeed the most popular question that was on all their minds.

"Is she your food?" he asked.

That was not the correct question to ask, much less even consider, and thus the unlucky demon found himself without a head, which was promptly mounted on the gate outside the palace. Dante, continued his trek to his throne room where he promptly took a seat and set the small child, still sleeping, on his lap and motioned for the court to begin.

Nevada News

Police report that the dead body of Gabriel Morrison was found today in the front room of his modest home, two miles south of Las Vegas. The body of his niece Michael Morrison, also called Mika, was found missing and witnesses say that a woman known only by the name, "Lady" was last seen with the child. Investigations into the whereabouts of Lady found her dead body in her bedroom of her family's manor. Police are still investigating the disappearance of Michael Morrison who upon her Uncle's death was to be placed into the care of her uncle's friend, Dante. Dante has been reported missing for the last three years. The police are looking into possible mob connections as Mr. Morrison was well known for both shady and respectable contacts. Written by Beryl Edwards