The Prologue
It was early morning in Fortuna. The sun had barely risen, but you could already hear the shouting of the craftsmen and construction workers who, after all these years, were still busy rebuilding the ruined streets and buildings of this city. Big, yellow cranes towered over the rooftops like ugly statues. At this early hour, hardly any residents could be seen in the streets. After the catastrophe five years ago, there were not many citizens left anyway, most of them fled or died, when the Savior was brought to life. A gigantic Statue that destroyed more than half the city.
Yawning and with dark rings under her eyes, Nico sat behind the wheel of the old RV which served as a mobile office, workshop and temporary home. One hand on the steering wheel and in the other a coffee cup, the mechanic and self-proclaimed artist stared wearily at the street.
Less than an hour ago, Nero had stormed into the garage like a madman, tearing her out of her dreams. He was babbling something about a phone call from Dante's Agent Morrison and a job they would even get paid for. Nico was not paying attention, she was too busy yelling at him and throwing tools in his direction. That asshole knew exactly that she had been working on his gear the whole night...again.
Nero, the young devil hunter sat in the passenger seat, he had his arms crossed behind his head and his dirty boots propped on the dashboard. Oblivious to the fact that she was still mad at him Nero let his foot tap to the rhythm of the music. He loved this song, and he obviously enjoyed that his usually cheeky mechanic was too sleepy to talk.
He could enjoy this peace for yet another moment, until that crazy woman found the biggest pothole Fortuna's old streets had to offer. The heavy car made such a jump that Nero's head struck the ceiling.
"Dammit, Nico!" He yelled at the dark-haired woman next to him. Who was still sitting there, unimpressed, sipping her coffee. She gave him an annoyed look: "Calm down, Kitty."
"You did it on purpose! And stop giving me those crappy pet names. ", Nero scolded, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned forward to fetch the book from the footwell that had flown off his lap during the impact. He wiped dirt and sand from the leathery cover. It was the book Vergil left behind, just before he and Dante dived into the underworld like two death yearning idiots.
Nero carried the book with him most of the time, staring at it thoughtfully or flipping around in it without ever reading a word. Everything he had experienced in Redgrave City still haunted him. Thousands of questions whirled around in his head, keeping him awake at night. There were so many things he still didn't quite get. Was V really gone? How can a person just disappear? Why does it seem that the number of demons never decreases even though the door to the underworld has been sealed and the Qliphoth was destroyed? Why had Dante never told him that he had a father? Why had he hesitated so long? And did Vergil know that they were related when he cut off his arm and left him to die?
Ever since he came home two months ago he had nightmares. He woke up in the middle of the night, every time he was drenched in sweat and clutching his right arm or needed to make sure that Kyrie beside him was still breathing. It was exactly like it had been after his battle against the Order of the Sword and Credo's death. He felt weak and powerless. It took him almost a year to recover from that shit and now it started all over again.
Angry, the young devil hunter shooed these thoughts out of his head. The only people who could have answered his questions were stuck in the underworld anyway, if they had not already killed each other. Dante and Vergil. His fucking family who had just left him behind to do the dirty work.
At that thought, Nero's face darkened, and his fingers clutched Vergil's book so tightly that the binding began to bend. For a moment he felt the urge to rip this stupid book to pieces and throw the remains out the window. But the moment passed, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. When Vergil threw the book at his feet, he ordered Nero to take care of it until his return.
You better come back, so I can beat you in the face for everything you've done, asshole.
After taking a deep breath, he folded his arms behind his head, preferring to focus on the music again. Nico's voice gave him goosebumps as she destroyed one of his favorite songs with her terrible singing.
"Are you serious? Do you want me to go deaf? "
With a big smile on her face and a cigarette in the corner of her mouth, she raised her voice even more.
Who had the stupid idea to write a fan fiction in English? Oh, Right! It was this German idiot here. - J.
